What are you playing right now?

[cold comfort]

I'm usually a very patient gamer but someone asked me to play that new Texas Chainsaw Massacre game with them.

It's a lot of fun IF you're in a party or I guess with randoms using voice chat but that's very rare. It's kind of like Dead by Daylight but more stealth-based, and there are 3 family members (Leatherface, Cook, Hitchhiker etc) vs 4 victims. Grandpa is also chilling somewhere on the map in his rocking chair and if you feed him blood he'll give you perks. It's super satisfying to coordinate with your family and corner the victims. I find it much harder to play as victim (there are some aggressive victims strats that make things easier I think, but that ain't me) but when you're hiding in a bush for what feels like minutes while Cook and Hitchhiker scuttle past you several times missing you by a hair and then you finally open the exit and limp-sprint to freedom with Leatherface chasing you with his chainsaw raised over his head - it feels ~so good.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

Just Cause 3
I had it on PS4 (when I still had that console) but never went far into the story because I couldn't stand the motion blur and the shitty framerate. I got it yesterday on PC for really cheap via GreenManGaming (not an ad). Really fun so far, although I still don't like how the unlock system is based on the challenges in the open world instead of the actual story.
Also the gunplay is really awful.

Just Cause gunplay being bad isn't really excusable, but you shouldn't look for good shooting in it, the gameplay is driven by the grappling hook and hijacking vehicles.

 

[Rome's rightful successor]

Kirby Tilt n Tumble. King Dedede is up to no good and Kirby rolls around like a ball in the sky for some reason.
It's a surprisingly a challenging game by Kirby standards.

 

[Meat Target]

Metro Exodus. I'm liking it so far. Being topside makes it feel like a True & Honest spiritual successor to Stalker.

I didn't know, or forgot, that Anna is Colonel Miller's daughter (and thus Artyom's father-in-law). She's cute, but you can tell when her voice actress's fake Russian accent slips.

 

[Generic Anime Girl]

I've gotten through Easy and Normal mode of Touhou 19, but I've put the game down for a while because I was never able to beat hard mode as any character. Fuck Suika for ruining my chance of a 1cc.

I wish I was fucking joking, but I've been playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure almost religiously for a the past few weeks now. It's kinda like Animal Crossing with a loose plot, you can just turn off your brain and run around and collect shit. It's really fucking comfy, You need Apple Arcade to play it, though.

 

[Mr.Miyagi]

I've been playing through FAITH: The Unholy Trinity. Finished Chapter 2 and...it's okay. I dunno, after hearing people talk about the game and all the memes, I was expecting a bit more. It's not like the games are terrible or anything, but I don't really feel that they're scary (though the "when you see it, don't move" part was very nice), and my biggest complaint is just how fucking slowly you move. It's like a walking sim sometimes. There's building tension, and then there's spending 10 seconds to cross a screen of trees.

It feels counterintuitive, because the games have a bunch of alternate endings and notes to find (including one requiring you to find all other notes in a single run), so moving faster would help successive playthroughs. The funniest part is that you can unlock turbo mode, and while it's jank, the 2x speed feels almost perfect for how fast your character should move (though it makes combat sections harder), but you only get it after getting everything else. It's like intentionally wasting your time.

Chapter 2 was a definite step-up from 1, so maybe 3 will really tie things all together and I'll appreciate it more. Maybe if I was more into/afraid of occult and demon stuff it would work more on me, I just feel like I'm missing what got people so enamored with the game, beyond the retro aesthetic.

 

[Rockzo]

I got kinda soured on Starfield and how bad that was. I wanted decent sci-fi so I dug a bit and found something.
Called Lightracer Spark, It's a narrative visual novel with some light gameplay elements. I was a bit suspicious, it's from a Chinese company, the translation is a little MTLish and they're releasing the story bit by bit but I actually played and really liked it.

You play as the Master Amender, an ascended being who's job it is to go through time lines and "amend" a civilization onto a course to help you in your goal, to stop THEM from developing tech that will shrink and destroy the universe.

There are three endings in the first scenario, mainly dealing with civilization states in the Micro-Electric era, the game calls it. The third ending however, that's one that got to me. It asked the question of "Do cognizant traits hinder from prolonged evolution and environment?" I.E The species on the planet had evolved in such a way, would said evolution hinder them going forward? The ending to that path is them being increasingly reliant on machines to the point of becoming cyborgs. It really made think.

The second scenario that just released is dealing with a split civilization on a planet, one that's enhanced genetics, one that's enhanced mechanical.

 

[Mr.Miyagi]

I got kinda soured on Starfield and how bad that was. I wanted decent sci-fi so I dug a bit and found something.
Called Lightracer Spark, It's a narrative visual novel with some light gameplay elements. I was a bit suspicious, it's from a Chinese company, the translation is a little MTLish and they're releasing the story bit by bit but I actually played and really liked it.

You play as the Master Amender, an ascended being who's job it is to go through time lines and "amend" a civilization onto a course to help you in your goal, to stop THEM from developing tech that will shrink and destroy the universe.

Reminds me a bit of a game called The Fermi Paradox that's in early access. Never got it a shot myself, reviews are a bit mixed, but has a similar theme of guiding civilizations through their history and onto the galactic stage.

 

[Rockzo]

Reminds me a bit of a game called The Fermi Paradox that's in early access. Never got it a shot myself, reviews are a bit mixed, but has a similar theme of guiding civilizations through their history and onto the galactic stage.

I think I remember trying this when it first came out, might give it another try. Thanks.

 

[Snazzy Sneedy Snake]

I'm usually bouncing between a few games at a time: a few I have to concentrate more on, and one I'll do in the background while I'm doing other stuff.

Currently, the ones I have to pay attention during are Baldur's Gate 3 and FFXIV, and my background/mostly brain dead ones are Luck Be A Landlord and IdleOn. Occasionally have to pay attention on LBAL for choosing symbols and build stuff for IdleOn, but not too much. I enjoy doing LBAL when waiting for my turn in D&D stuff. I can listen to what's happening and fiddle around enough to keep up my attention (because ADHD is a bitch and my medication is usually on the outs by session time).

Edit: Also got back into Slay The Spire and Inkbound, which just got another class to play. Both scratch the roguelite (like? Idk) itch.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

I got the FF7 remake for Christmas last year and never got around to it. Think I might give it a go. Is it worth it? I never played the original so don't really care how faithful it is, I just care if it's fun.

 

[Kheapathic]

Taking a break from Armored Core 6 to try and finish up the 100% for Dragon Quest Heroes 2... ... ... I'm about to hit 200 hours and still not sure how much longer this shit is going to take. Horrible fucking game design with a large helping of RNG bullshit is making this bullshit. And yes, I know I don't need to 100% everything, but fuck you (please be nice, I'm just angry, it's not your fault).

 

[WelperHelper99]

Gotten back into world of Warships on my old account I had as a teenager. I'm in the fun zone, with a lot of upgraded ships. Submarines are fucking ass though, even if they change up the meta a bit. Also they nerfed rocket planes on carriers, like the fuck habibi??

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

Just finished the Quake 2 remaster. Base game is still really solid, great weapons and movement, graphics that now look like what you remember them being even if everything is still brown and orange, and the small addition of the compass removes the backtracking between empty areas. The two expansion packs are ok, the new weapons are a bit pointless, the new enemies annoying and both start to outstay their welcome towards the end. Quake 64 feel like a bit more of a novelty but still playable, although as much as I like the Aubrey Hodges ambient soundtracks it doesn't feel like it suits the Quake 2 aesthetic.

Call of the Machine though, now that's where it's at. They put a lot of effort into this and it shows, a lot more graphical variety and for the first time you get to face actual hordes of enemies, but despite this never really feels unfair. Worth it for this pack alone in my opinion.

 

[Mordecai "3 Finger" Brown]

Gotten back into world of Warships on my old account I had as a teenager. I'm in the fun zone, with a lot of upgraded ships. Submarines are fucking ass though, even if they change up the meta a bit. Also they nerfed rocket planes on carriers, like the fuck habibi??

I never got into WoW like I did WoT.

There was a time though where I really enjoyed The Mighty Jingles narrating ship battles on YT.

The whole concept of the ?citadel always confused me a little bit, but I assume it's just damage directly to the center of the ship.

 

[Meat Target]

Just Cause 3
I had it on PS4 (when I still had that console) but never went far into the story because I couldn't stand the motion blur and the shitty framerate. I got it yesterday on PC for really cheap via GreenManGaming (not an ad). Really fun so far, although I still don't like how the unlock system is based on the challenges in the open world instead of the actual story.
Also the gunplay is really awful.

Just Cause 3 has some of the best slapstick and violence I've ever experienced in a game.

For example, I was trying to use Rico's cables to lift a tractor up the side of a cliff to the garage, because driving it was too slow. The cables snapped and the tractor went rolling, hitting a pedestrian.

Y'know those random encounters where an NPC will want you to, for example, tow them to the gas station? I did that and completed it, but towed his car too hard and crashed it into the gas station, blowing up the entire block.

And then there's the propane tanks that take off like rockets when you shoot 'em, or grappling a civilian and slamming them into a wall.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

I'm retrying Prey (2016). Last time I got frustrated and gave up on it, I found that it was like work. I think that going in with more of an understanding of it and a different headspace, I like it a lot more. I'm much more engaged. Have made it into Life Support (going after the arming key). Last time I quit in Crew Quarters.

One of the things I came to accept about Prey is that you don't explore in it. Firstly, the game is going to naturally make you wander through everything at some point. Secondly, if you apply Fallout-like exploration, you'll end up wasting all of your resources and get curb stomped. This is a game that you do only what you have to.

Another thing I found is that at about the time when you run out of ammo, you start getting enough Neuromods to depend on Typhon abilities (which is important since killing Typhon with Typhon is about the only way to do it that's self-sustaining), but there's a brief lag before it's effective. A brief period where you'll just have to run past stuff. You have to learn to be comfortable with just not engaging with things.

It's quite an experience. It's like a casual repairman game (and that's what drew me in initially, the feeling of restoring functionality and navigating industrial hazards on the station) with the aliens thrown in, and it gives a unique feeling of being pissed all the time, the kind of thing you swear your way through constantly.

 

[Seventh Star]

Surprised there's no Enlisted thread yet.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

Surprised there's no Enlisted thread yet.

It's mediocre and the AI is braindead. The progression system (not just linked to the faction, but to the specific frontline) is retarded. The idea of playing the squad is cool but the combat is too fast and the AI to inept for it to matter, instead it's more like fighting with 80% bots (which automatically makes it more fun, I prefer mostly-bots-with-a-few-players) and your health bar (number of bots) randomly goes down.

 

[8mm Cunningham]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge. It's feels like the old SNES game with some modern improvements. I only play on Saturday with a friend. Good times.