Game News 2.0

Zero-Cool · 18-03-2026 06:44PM

Retro Rewind - Video Rental Simulator is out today on steam and looks a goddamn delight. I usually like the idea of these simulators but they never grab me. Something very cozy and nostalgic about this one though.

https://twitter.com/i/status/2033937579205107924

MikeRyan87 · 18-03-2026 07:29PM

First Exodus gameplay footage out. Looks like a new Mass Effect. Something about it looks a bit off though?

Hopefully they can get it perfect before release next year.

https://youtu.be/RM4IXo3hcUQ?is=UnWTwHaO4qeoQw7w

Zero-Cool · 18-03-2026 07:40PM

Health bars and even worse, damage numbers popping out of enemies look so bad. I turn them off in every game that has the option and they look so much better for it.

Potential-Monke · 18-03-2026 07:45PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124322361#Comment_124322361

In the same vein, PC Building Sim 2 is out on PS5 since the end of last month. And only €25, which is nice.

Just saved myself a few bob. Was having a laziness > money moment and nearly bought Crimson Desert digitally so I could play it at midnight. Except the game doesnt unlock until 5pm tomorrow! Trip to Smyths in the morning it is. And its a tenner cheaper. Plus trade in down the line. Would that mean I can't play the physical until 5pm too?

JimBurnley · 18-03-2026 08:04PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124322529#Comment_124322529

Nothing 100% conclusive about the physical but as far as I can tell online its same for physical or digital- you can't play CD tomorrow until 10pm Irish time

Zero-Cool · 18-03-2026 08:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124322569#Comment_124322569

That's mad unless it's a fully online multiplayer game and servers go live at the same time but this looks fully single player.

Anyway, reviews go live tonight at 10pm our time, very interested to see how it does. Not just for fantasy league but also cex are giving me 50 for resi 9 and the fact crimson desert is 60 in Smyths has me very tempted, depending on reviews anyway.

JimBurnley · 18-03-2026 08:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124322639#Comment_124322639

From what i can tell you need to be online when you first play it even though it's then an offline single player game. Think the whole start time is mainly due to them wanting everyone starting exact same time around the globe. Believe its (relatively) more common on PC games in general and rare for console

Potential-Monke · 18-03-2026 08:58PM

Well balls. Booked a day off for nothing... seeing as reviews release tonight, strange to hold off the launch.

MikeRyan87 · 19-03-2026 09:06AM

Seems to be alot of debate about the way it was reviewed. Im going to wait a while for few more patches and have loads to play as it is already(Yotei, Requiem) with loads coming out (Mouse, Pragmata, Saros etc) so no rush getting to it.

Andrew76 · 19-03-2026 09:36AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323671#Comment_124323671

Sounds like it's way too much of a time committment. Watched the below and the combat sounds like a pain, also - tap A to run? Not for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIFoWNJ6Qbo

Zero-Cool · 19-03-2026 09:37AM

Yeah seen that, a lot of "this game is bad for the first 8 hours and then becomes amazing. I just finished Resi 9 in 10 hours, tough sell of the game is actually that bad for that long but still very intrigued by it.

Penn · 19-03-2026 09:55AM

These days I find myself dropping games like a hot snot if I'm not getting those warm fuzzy feelings for it after 2-3 hours. I've definitely played games before where they have really bad openings hours but then can really suck you in, but these days you gotta give me something to cling on to early doors to pull me through the opening sections, particularly if it only starts to get good after 5+ hours.

That's a big issue with open-world games in general; often it's only once you're really starting to level up with new abilities, weapons etc that getting through the open world itself feels fun. The start can be a laborious trudge to get going.

Retr0gamer · 19-03-2026 09:55AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323730#Comment_124323730

Well wasn't that the Days Gone argument? Bad game for 20 hours then good for 10 and boring when you become OP.

Honestly I wouldn't be taking the opinions of YouTubers as gospel, as they would be getting a lot of... Concessions from publishers as they wouldn't be under the same scrutiny as traditional media.

CatInABox · 19-03-2026 09:56AM

Tap A to run? Jesus, only other game that I can think of with that is RDR, and it was a mistake in that one too.

Necro · 19-03-2026 10:01AM

I'm very much on the fence about Crimson Desert. I've the kids gnawing at me for WWE2K26 all week so it will have to wait for a while anyways. Not sure I have it in me for another new open worlder, especially with GTA 6 (most likely) later this year. I'll keep an eye on the thread here and see what others think first.

Zero-Cool · 19-03-2026 10:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323765#Comment_124323765

Jesus, the world is just full of misinformation at the moment. Days Gone was 20 hours epic, 3 hours"hey boozeman, just checking in", 10 hours really really good.

I'm all seriousness, DG has an excellent first half. It starts to drag in the 2nd half but because you're OP, being able to take on hordes more than makes up for the poor story and missions.

Retr0gamer · 19-03-2026 10:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323762#Comment_124323762

Plenty of games I played that I loved took a while to get going but really it's just poor pacing by the developer. I also hate when developers gate off important abilities behind skill trees, especially when it's an ability that's basically "this game isn't fun until you get this ability that allows you to have fun".

Retr0gamer · 19-03-2026 10:05AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323782#Comment_124323782

Well only going by what a lot of people I know said about the game being a drag until you can take on hordes and then gets boring when the hordes become trivial. Unless the 10 or so people I've talked to are wrong.

Jordan 199 · 19-03-2026 10:05AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323766#Comment_124323766

Tap Y to kick someone in the balls.

Hold B to stab someone in the belly button.

Tap X to drink some water.

Penn · 19-03-2026 10:06AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323786#Comment_124323786

One of my biggest bugbears, particularly when it comes to sequels, is when you have great abilities at the start, then lose them through story, and then have to start levelling up to eventually get those (or similar) powers again.

johnny_ultimate · 19-03-2026 10:09AM

I had to laugh at this comment from Forbes’ Paul Tassi.

“I wouldn’t trust the judgment of anyone who has put less than 50 hours into the game, honestly. That may not even be enough.”

LOL if it takes two entire days of someone’s life for a game to properly ‘get good’, then I do not have to hand it to the devs.

Penn · 19-03-2026 10:15AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323782#Comment_124323782

Yeah for me, DG was great for the first 10-15 hours, then just kept being more and more of a struggle over the next 20 hours to the point that even though I was being told it'd get a lot better for the last ten hours, I couldn't bring myself to try get to that point.

J Mysterio · 19-03-2026 10:22AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323788#Comment_124323788

They are wrong

Potential-Monke · 19-03-2026 10:22AM

Sounds like a polarising game and one won't really know until they try it themselves. Rushing for review probably had an effect on some, but good to hear theres positive experiences, and 81 ain't bad to start. I'll give a late first impressions around midnight! Still avoiding spoilers, so don't even know exactly what the complaints are, but launch time considered I'm still excited to try it.

My day off has evolved into a day cleaning though... On the plus side, I replayed and got the Plat for Minishoot Adventures. Even on Advanced, I was able for it, so not the hardest game out there, but definitely thoroughly enjoyable for my combined 17 hours.

Retr0gamer · 19-03-2026 11:01AM

There's one thing that really puts me off Korean and Chinese developed games. They really do love a generic fantasy/sci-fi aesthetic. That's what they like and that's the market for them but Ive yet to see a Korean or Chinese developed game and thought, that looks interesting.

Retr0gamer · 19-03-2026 11:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323793#Comment_124323793

You're going to loooooove the Metroid games!

Unearthly · 19-03-2026 11:10AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323797#Comment_124323797

Reminds me of the launch of Football Manager 2026 last October. They redesigned the entire UI - and made a balls of it. The developer initially tried to say it would take 20+ hours for ‘legacy’ players to relearn the UI. The players saw right through that nonsense. Game has been savaged on Steam

johnny_ultimate · 19-03-2026 11:23AM

There are definitely games I like that take time to reveal their true depths - a Monster Hunter game only really becomes great in the post-game, for example (and I totally understand why some people would bounce off before that, because I have myself in the past). But there are very few I've played that aren't fun or promising much earlier in the running time, even if the learning curve is steep.

While I obviously can't comment on Crimson Desert having not played it, I do sometimes get a Stockholm Syndrome vibe when someone insists a game really only becomes good after how multiple dozens of hours.

Retr0gamer · 19-03-2026 11:50AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124323958#Comment_124323958

The pokemon mystery dungeon games are a bit like that but honestly, again that's a developer thing as they make a boring mystery dungeon for babies game and it only gets good post game when it turns into a proper mystery dungeon game. In that case the critical savaging those games get is deserved.

Trails in the Sky was another game I found tough to get through but 40 hours in the narrative threads all came together and it was ultimately worth it. It's a hard one to judge but for an action game to take a while to get going seems like bad pacing or a skill tree that cripples the player until they unlock the good stuff.

Retr0gamer · 19-03-2026 12:28PM

https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/pubg-maker-krafton-is-an-ai-defense-company-now-signs-deal-with-korean-aerospace-firm-that-includes-investment-of-up-to-usd1-billion-aiming-to-expand-the-physical-ai-ecosystem/

So Krafton are now a defense contractor. Lovely.

Let's hope you never get mistakenly targeted by Krafton's AI considering how their CEOs use of AI to get legal advice to not pay bonuses is now costing them undisclosed millions.

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