General gaming discussion

Thecageyone

Deleted User wrote: »

Last years Underrated Gem

Yeah it's very well put together and holds your interest from the off. It feels like it should a triple A, but many gamers have either not heard of it or brushed over it because of lack of promo maybe - Not sure how long the game is, and it's maybe not one you would replay [though it looks like you can replay each chapter selectively once you pass them to find all secrets] but the experience is very enjoyable first time around

Potential-Monke

I'll be honest, I never looked at it properly as I assumed it played like This War of Mine, which is good but way too depressing. I generally try to avoid depressing games tbh, I've enough of that in real life!

Might give it a go at some stage, looks interesting.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Last years Underrated Gem

Might check it out. I had heard it was well overrated.

MOH

gimli2112 wrote: »

https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/17/nothing-lidl-about-crowds-as-surge-makes-supermarket-scrap-ps4-sale-thecube

I was in Lidl once, I hate crowds and doubt I'll ever go back. They decided to sell PS4s for €95 to entice people back to their store after a 3 month lockdown. I imagine it was pretty much my version of hell.

At least it was for a cheap PS4.

They had to close Tesco in Baggot St at lunchtime the day of the first social distancing announcement because it was mobbed with people panic buying toilet roll.

JimBurnley

Plague Tale is excellent. Played on PS4 a few months back. Brilliant story and very atmospheric, gameplay develops at a nice pace and it's not overly long to outstay its welcome. Highly recommend

Thecageyone

Deleted User wrote: »

Might check it out. I had heard it was well overrated.

If you're talking about Plague, I would say it's the opposite, underrated - I heard very little about it when it was released, and probably wouldn't have tried it only I stumbled across a couple reviews when checking out other games. I'm very impressed, having had zero expecations going in.

Potential-Monke

I think it depends on the person. Like, are the people who are saying A Plague Tale is brilliant the same people that think Journey is a masterpiece? I find myself and critics rarely agree, on anything from music to film to games. Horses for courses and all that. Will still check it out, maybe wait until it's on PS+/Now...

Thecageyone

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I think it depends on the person. Like, are the people who are saying A Plague Tale is brilliant the same people that think Journey is a masterpiece? I find myself and critics rarely agree, on anything from music to film to games. Horses for courses and all that. Will still check it out, maybe wait until it's on PS+/Now...

Never played Journey but I can say I am about as harsh a critic as you'll find, there's only ever been a handful of games over 30 years of gaming that I would give a 9+. I'm not scoring this one, as I'm not even half way through, but I can easily see it as a 7+ maybe an 8 already

JimBurnley

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I think it depends on the person. Like, are the people who are saying A Plague Tale is brilliant the same people that think Journey is a masterpiece? I find myself and critics rarely agree, on anything from music to film to games. Horses for courses and all that. Will still check it out, maybe wait until it's on PS+/Now...

Not me. I found Journey to be a pile of sh#te if I'm honest (although good luck to anyone that does enjoy it, each to their own and all that). PT is a solid 8/10 for me, defo worth a playthro

Got a few duplicate Steam games in a Humble Bundle a couple of months back. Up for grabs. Reply here with the game you'd like, I'll PM a link then.

For the sake of fairness, I'll say "only one per person", but probably lump the two Darksiders together.

• Darksiders Warmastered Edition
• Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition
• Psychonauts
• The Witness (Gone)

gizmo

Not sure if any of this was featured in the NoClip documentary but it provides a pretty cool overview of how Horizon came together over the 10 year development cycle from prototype to release.

Varik

Love seeing the Killzone weapons being used as test assets at the start.

CastorTroy

Watching the latest ign Game Scoop and they're doing Game of the Year watch at the half year mark.
Got me thinking, every year for GotY, there seem to be 1 or 2 games that I see and realise "Oh yeah, forgot that came out this year". So was wondering, are there any games released so far this year that you think will fall into that category or just forgotten about due to releasing early in the year?

ERG89

CastorTroy wrote: »

Watching the latest ign Game Scoop and they're doing Game of the Year watch at the half year mark.
Got me thinking, every year for GotY, there seem to be 1 or 2 games that I see and realise "Oh yeah, forgot that came out this year". So was wondering, are there any games released so far this year that you think will fall into that category or just forgotten about due to releasing early in the year?

Nioh 2 and DOOM Eternal released and I don't think were as big as I was expecting. Maybe I expected DOOM to be huge as it released when a lot of people were stuck at home but I never got the urge to buy it myself.
Dreams and Gears Tactics came out in the spring, reviewed well also but I barely heard or seen much conversation about either. I actually bought Dreams but its the video game equivalent of channel hopping where you stop to see something that sounds interesting (to play) but quickly move on. It's the type of game that would take a significant amount of time to make something really good and substantial.

johnny_ultimate

Kentucky Route Zero Act V is the obvious one - released to deserving acclaim in January, but I wonder will it get lost in the next-gen excitement and big blockbusters come December. One of the most impactful pieces of interactive storytelling I’ve ever played, potentially even the most impactful.

Also curious to see what kind of footprint the remarkable Half Life Alyx has later in the year. An obviously stellar experience and massive leap for VR - but will have to see whether its still niche hardware demands will restrict its lasting impact.

CastorTroy

Half Life Alyx was mentioned as only 1 of the 4 was able to play it so to not having access to VR setup.
The reason I never vote in the GotY here is because I haven't played all the games nominated and that's what they do. They have to play all the games before voting. So when it comes to Half Life Alyx it'll be a strange one. It may be eligible but omitted due to not being able to play.

Zero-Cool

CastorTroy wrote: »

Half Life Alyx was mentioned as only 1 of the 4 was able to play it so to not having access to VR setup.
The reason I never vote in the GotY here is because I haven't played all the games nominated and that's what they do. They have to play all the games before voting. So when it comes to Half Life Alyx it'll be a strange one. It may be eligible but omitted due to not being able to play.

I only don't vote in categories where i haven't played any of the games. You can't be expected to play ALL the games or else there would be very little to no votes.

pixelburp

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Kentucky Route Zero Act V is the obvious one - released to deserving acclaim in January, but I wonder will it get lost in the next-gen excitement and big blockbusters come December. One of the most impactful pieces of interactive storytelling I’ve ever played, potentially even the most impactful.

Also curious to see what kind of footprint the remarkable Half Life Alyx has later in the year. An obviously stellar experience and massive leap for VR - but will have to see whether its still niche hardware demands will restrict its lasting impact.

Honestly I keep forgetting Alyx came out at all. Presumably the VR requirement kept its impact low but post launch it seems to have barely made a dent in the gaming zeitgeist / culture.

Robert ninja

Anyone I know who actually invested in VR say it has completely changed their video game world in a way that cannot be reversed for them. I've seen a few videos like this that make me wish I could afford a setup but things are just too dicey economically for me. It's a slow burner but I think it will eventually take off once something like Garry's Mod 2 for VR is out and there's enough youtube videos showcasing how fun it can be. ...and when it's not as expensive + people aren't as broke as they are right now.

VR hardware is selling out everytime it's stocked because of HLVR

It's more popular than you may think

It's easily game of the year for me.

Arguably the best gaming experience in the last decade

Azza

Yeah Alyx has changed gaming from me.

Like in past games I've might have spent a few seconds staring at a pretty vista and said well that's quite nice. First time in Half Life Alyx when standing on the balcony overlooking City 17 and the under construction citadel I just stood in place for like 10 minutes going holy ****. Walking around when a Combine Strider almost steps on you and I'm physical trying to get out of the way. The sense of panic when a headcrab jumps on me or a swarm of ant lions start closing in.

The sense of immersion, interactivity and the ability to create a sense of tension and fear is leagues beyond what a non VR game can do.

Shooting is now fresh again, as your now aiming like you would in real life and loading weapons is both satisfying and a bit panic inducing in a fight.

Even something as mundane as opening a press or drawer to loot for ammo and health is actually entertaining to do as you have to physically do the motions like using your arms or bending down to actually reach the item as opposed to simply pressing a button.

As is typical, its got that Valve level of polish all round. Graphics are excellent, story is very good, quite likely-able and witty characters and and my god that ending.

The cost of VR will mean relatively few people will get to play this, so its unlikely to feature in any game of the year awards where the public is voting, other than best VR game which is a shame but it is what it is.

As a skeptical of VR before trying Alyx it now I'm 100% converted. Often I struggled to maintain interest in regular games, this game made me feel like a little kid again and was only too happy to keep going back.

pixelburp

[Deleted User] wrote: »

VR hardware is selling out everytime it's stocked because of HLVR

It's more popular than you may think

It's easily game of the year for me.

Arguably the best gaming experience in the last decade

Specifically taking about Alyx. It doesn't seemed to have made the same transformative splash that HL2 made fadó. Gaming has changed a lot, maybe Valve isn't the fulcrum of PC gaming it once was. It's definitely a more crowded, voluminous market.

What kind of numbers are talking about here re VR? Cos you can sell out through low production numbers

Zero-Cool

Just speaking for PSVR, yupp, completely changed my view of gaming. Astro Bot has shown me how immersive a platformer could be and i got the same if not more amazement than the first time i played Mario. Flying around as iron Man last night was incredible and Super Hot kept me up past my bedtime. It's a shame only the minority will play VR, it should be standard with every gaming machine. I just hope ps5vr can handle Alyx.

TitianGerm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

VR hardware is selling out everytime it's stocked because of HLVR

It's more popular than you may think

It's easily game of the year for me.

Arguably the best gaming experience in the last decade

As soon as a Rift comes into stock it's gone. I'm going to add one when I upgrade the PC early next year.

CastorTroy

Zero-Cool wrote: »

I only don't vote in categories where i haven't played any of the games. You can't be expected to play ALL the games or else there would be very little to no votes.

Yeah, for me I'm so bad that I may have only played 1 or 2 games. So I wouldn't vote.

As for VR, I got PSVR recently as well and while I find a couple issues with it, playing Astro Bot was really cool. Dangerous as well due to the fact that if I hadn't realised at the last second that I couldn't lean on that wall, it could've got messy.

B.A._Baracus

Stop talking about VR :pac:
I'm bleeding half tempted to buy PS4 VR when I go the shops later now. Haha.

Edit...
That's strange. I thought ps vr was now 200? Yet Smyth's still have it much higher.

johnny_ultimate

According to Steam Spy we’re looking at 1 million to 2 million owners for Alyx - impressive for a VR game, but incredibly low when you look at sales figures for your Animal Crossings or even a more modest success like Doom Eternal (obviously not directly comparable other than three games released in the same week). Given I’d imagine a massive attach rate for those who do have the necessary tech, that would seem to be the hard limit for PC VR at the moment.

Sure the demand has increased for VR thanks to the game, but I’d say we’re years away from wider uptake unless Sony keep pushing or upgrading the hardware for PS5.

It is an immense game and a big step forward for the medium - heck, even just being a great new HL game is a big deal. But yeah that barrier is just too high at the moment, and seems like it’ll be quite some time before it’s widely accessible. Hell, Alyx is demanding enough that basic VR ready hardware from a few years ago isn’t even enough to run it.

CastorTroy

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

Stop talking about VR :pac:
I'm bleeding half tempted to buy PS4 VR when I go the shops later now. Haha.

Edit...
That's strange. I thought ps vr was now 200? Yet Smyth's still have it much higher.

It was cheaper during Days of Play last month but now back up again. That's when I picked up the mega pack for 230

B.A._Baracus

CastorTroy wrote: »

It was cheaper during Days of Play last month but now back up again. That's when I picked up the mega pack for 230

Shrewd move.
I mistakenly thought it was 199 from now on. I guess I will just have to keep an eye out. No point buying it now until they drop the price again. Seems they did the 199 thing before recently too.