General gaming discussion

PixelPlayer

I've hit tbe same wall on my 2nd playthrough of Cyberpunk as last time. I found it so boring I just had no desire to play it.

2nd time around I've found the improvements a bit better. I've been doing more side quests and my character is better levelled up which makes the main story less frustrating. But I'm so disappointed again. its just too boring. I found myself scanning my phone during cut scenes, it just hadn't grabbed my attention.

I hear Phantom Liberty is better, I'm just not sure I can even get to that point. I should have just skipped to Phantom Lib at the start instead of starting a new game from the beginning but I wasn't sure if I'd be lost story wise. Going to try and push through it, PL better be bloody worth it.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121884699#Comment_121884699

Awee, no Switch version. Thought it was a long shot but the remake didn't seem that technically taxing that something economical couldn't be made - especially given Nightdive's pre-existing expertise.

Quigs Snr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121884762#Comment_121884762

... So I installed it finally on series X... and have been loving it. Largely because I just focussed on the story missions and a few of the more significant side ones initially.... but somewhere around the 30 hour mark nearing the end of the second act my OCD has kicked in and I find myself in ubisoft-esque map clearance mode doing meaningless gigs etc.. I have completed more interesting side quests (the crucifixion one, the politician couple, Panams story, doing Judy's stuff etc..).. is there any point in taking any more gigs from fixers, or do I just go back to the main story and end this thing ?

Corvo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121885802#Comment_121885802

I'm biased here as I rank Cyberpunk 2077 as one of my favorite games of all time (blemishes and all) but I would say with regards the gigs that you would have to be invested in reading shards etc. as a lot of them link in with other gigs and there is some background. Mainly the gigs are more interesting side filler with decent end rewards per fixer.

I personally ignored the NCPD quests, I did not find them interesting in the slightest and only used them for early game level up on harder difficulties.

The main story is the meat of the game of course and if you are not finding that interesting, I say the game isn't for you! :) Strangely, I didn't find the vast majority of Phantom Liberty as interesting (though after some thought I came to love it), it was Johnny that and that dynamic that really interested me.

Dave_The_Sheep

Phantom Liberty had some lovely set pieces and some genuinely interesting characters. Story was pretty good too, better than the main game for me.

If you're not sold on the base game though, the gameplay is much the same (with a few tweaks) so one probably might not enjoy it.

SuperBowserWorld

Spider-Man 2

Incredible graphics for a 500 quid console. OLED TV/HDR/Fidelity mode/120 hz/Uncapped framerate/Ray Tracing. Wow! We are not worthy.

Those guys sure know how to programme the PS5.

Sony let people from Insomniac go. Mad.

pixelburp

I just saw some chatter about Stellar Blade and digging into it... yikes; anyone wanting a reminder about how ... faintly embarrassing it was to admit you played video-games back in the 2000s, this game has you covered. Haven't seen this brazen a T&A approach to its main character in a long while; not that there's anything from with a little horniness but I'd forgotten just how "bad" games used to be for that sort of thing, lol.

Potential-Monke

Sex still sells. Hollywood and the music industry still pushes it. While more people are likely to call it out now, it'll still sell well. I do find it funny that the most sexualised suit Eve can wear, the skin suit, basically makes the game harder by removing her shields while wearing it. Genuis.

Penn

I've still been playing Tekken 8 solidly since release and have about 120 hours in it so far. But I have to say, played an hour or so of Balatro last night, and it might be the one thing to break Tekken 8's hold on me. Even with that hour, I could definitely start feeling a pull of "Maybe one more run...."

J. Marston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121897381#Comment_121897381

It's cringe but jiggle physics have come a long way from the clips I've seen.

On that topic, Nier Automata managed to straddle the egregious fan service with 2B with great gameplay and an interesting story, so it can be done.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121900671#Comment_121900671

I was on a flight during the week, turned on Balatro, and suddenly it was ‘we’re making our initial descent…’ 😂

A very fine game though. Have gotten to the point now where I’ve won three or four runs with different decks, and the extra Jokers and wildly creative synergies you can unlock can be quite delightful to discover.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121898530#Comment_121898530

Undoubtedly, not without reason Pornhub is awash with Overwatch porn. But gaming's early golden years seemed built off bad CGI of busty women adorning everything; Christ even graphics cards had weirdly sexual covers - speaking to the horny boy market dominating the landscape. It's so weird to see a game so fully into that old approach; though as @J. Marston notes it's rather funny the ostensibly sexiest "outfit" is basically Hard Mode ... uh, as it were.

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121888959#Comment_121888959

I'm getting back into it now and enjoying it again. It was probably because I was replaying the game and now I'm past where I had originally given up.

Penn

Finished my first run of Balatro. So simple, so difficult, so great. Will definitely have to try out some of the other decks.

Retr0gamer

Started that moomin game last night when I read it's only about 4 hours long. It's definitely a game for kids but Im also finding it really relaxing and loving the vibe and Sigur Ros soundtrack. It has a gorgeous paper craft look to it and has a pretty interesting message about the beauty of nature and how the man trying to control it just can't match it. It's a stealth game with puzzles but also has a compact open world.

I'd recommend giving it a go but if you've got kids at a reading age they will adore this especially if they are fans of the books.

awec

Anyone else picking up Rise of the Ronin?

This one has totally slipped under the radar for me, only noticed it in the PS store yesterday, but I'm a big fan of samurai type games so definitely interested in this.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913297#Comment_121913297

Yeah have it ready to go. Seems to be receiving a fairly good reception. Looking forward to it.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913297#Comment_121913297

I'll pick it up at some point. With team ninja involved it should at least be better than ubi mono game snoozefest ghost of tsushima. They've been on a roll lately with the nier games even if their loot systems are the worst kind of modern game design in a game that really doesn't need it. The traversal looks like a lot of fun.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913319#Comment_121913319

Ha, I loved Ghost of Tsushima, one of the games I've enjoyed the most in years!

I don't think I've ever played any other game by these developers, what's the issue with their loot system? I hope it's not a grind fest.

johnny_ultimate

LOL that they keep trying to make Alone in the Dark happen.

Is there any other series that has so consistently been unsuccessfully rebooted?

https://www.eurogamer.net/alone-in-the-dark-review-1

https://amp.theguardian.com/games/2024/mar/19/alone-in-the-dark-review-jodie-comer-and-david-harbour-cant-save-this-soporific-horror

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913331#Comment_121913331

Yeah there's definitely the DNA of a Ubisoft game in there, mostly better disguised without loads of map markers, too much resource collecting etc. But the combat in GoT is absolutely terrific to the point where I never used stealth if I could avoid it. I'd walk straight up to an encampment, do the standoff with the first few enemies, and then just bask in the glorious clash of steel. The side missions too were really well written and acted, and felt meaningful rather than busiwork. I had little expectations for GoT before release as The Last Of Us 2 was due out a month or two later, but I enjoyed my time with GoT far more.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913331#Comment_121913331

If you own an Xbox and not played ninja gaiden black then you need to fix that immediately. It's probably the greatest character action game ever.

They kind of messed up a bit with the awful ninja gaiden 3 (and rolled it back a bit with the razors edge update) but they've been on a roll with their souls like games, the Nioh series is almost From software levels of good. They issue with these games is you keep picking up "Diablo" loot with the same weapon with incremental upgrades like 1% extra fire damage and it's all completely superfluous. The games would have been much better if they just didn't have that loot system.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913338#Comment_121913338

I had high hopes for this. I mean how hard could it be to make a decent horror game based on the original which still holds up well.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913353#Comment_121913353

I loved the side missions where you'd have to duel, they were seriously fun. The map wasn't enormous, it wasn't open world for the sake of it, lots to love about that game IMO.

Retr0gamer

I don't get the love for the combat in the game but I also really hate combat systems were you have stances or colour coded weapons you have to change to to do damage to enemies. I never enjoy it and much prefer where every fighting style works but you can pick your favourite or learn a new one. Ghost was flashy but very shallow to me even if the combat had good feedback.

Exclamation Marc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913387#Comment_121913387

Oh they were so damn good. Also loved the 'duels' in regular gameplay when combat started and you faced off with one enemy and had to strike when the enemy made a move (and not when they feinted).

That was one of the few games that I platinumed that I truly loved every last drop I got out of it - there was so little filler. Well paced, great story, interesting characters, beautiful world. I'd love to play it again for the first time.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913398#Comment_121913398

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121913387#Comment_121913387

Was about to ask how it's different than recent Assassin's Creed games.

Have the game, but could not get into it after an AC Origins/Odyssey overdose.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121917894#Comment_121917894

it's much less repetitive than AC.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121917894#Comment_121917894

I throw a lot of shade at it but it's more that the game isn't for me. It's quite similar to assassin's creed and follows the ubisoft monogame template but it would better than the majority of Ubisoft's games.

Mr Crispy

Good luck Nightdive... you'll need it given the licensing hell these titles find themselves in.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/no-one-lives-forever/remaster-nightdive