What are you playing?

[bonaduce80]

So I don't think we ever had a thread like this on the old DG forums, and seeing this subforum in particular isn't too active decided to create this one.

I currently own both a PS3 and PS4 and after getting the Platinum for Bloodborne got back to Dark Souls. My first toon last year had over 140 hours invested with lots of farming and his stat spread was awful for the sake of experimenting, so I went the safe route this time and created a Pyromancer with heaps of Vitality and Endurance. Now I am on my way to get the Platinum for this one too, only missing the second ending and the weapons trophy.

I already finished Demon's Souls in March/April last year, and a good chunk of Dark Souls too; but after completing Bloodborne, you really can admire the transferable skills these games give you. Even bosses like S&O felt really slow in comparison with the beasts of Yharnam.

Really enjoying From Software's titles lately. Once I platinum this one I might get back to The Last of Us, which I barely started. Having a son really cuts down in leisure time...

[shenlong]

I'm not really playing anything at the time. I kinda dropped off the console scene after the PS2. I got a second hand Gamecube last year, but haven't had much time to play the games I got on it (Tales of Symphonia, Baten kaitos, though I finished Eternal Darkness a few times).

Other than that, I mostly play games on my CPU. Old games, or games that don't need a lot of ressources because my computer is not made for gaming at all. Allowed me to discover Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines for example, which I had been curious about for a while, and Star Wars Kotor. This year, though I haven't played much. After reading some stuff about the Ace Attorney series, I decided to try it out and fucking tore through all DS episodes in like what two months ? Loved it. They're very well written and fascinating as a satire. Also tried a few Layton games after that, but I can't say I've been thrilled. Finished the first two, and while they were relatively pleasant, I'm just kind of meh on them. Started the third one, but I haven't touched it in a while. Maybe i'll come back to it eventually.

[bonaduce80]

I have the same problem with Level 5's games. I can acknowledge the quality on their craft, but they don't quite grab me. I have played a Layton game for the 3DS but it was just okay for me.

Tales of Symphonia was good fun when I played it many moons ago. The only Tales game I've finished other than Phantasia for the SNES.

Oh, forgot to say I am also couch playing with my brother Sacred 3 for the PS3. The game is so formulaic and unoriginal it hurts, but makes for great trash banter and bonding on our free time.

[ovimaister]

Yakuza 5 for the ps3. It got a western release and we all know how hard it is for localization of certain products to reach us. The yakuza series has always been a hitter for me, as the last bastion of sega´s good games. I would always recommend.

[bonaduce80]

I finished the original Yakuza years ago and went through 90% of Yakuza 2 only to leave it unfinished due to completionism OCD... I have access to 3 and 4 but never started them. As the older but equally romantic brother of Shenmue, I've always loves the series with its aesthetics and musical style (and how visceral and rough the fighting is.)

[bonaduce80]

So I got Scholar of the First Sin as a Christmas present and didn't stop playing it until I Platinumed it. Entertaining and with some smart ideas but the feeling of the game is definitely different of DS1 or Bloodborne. Even with different game mechanics you can feel the evolution whereas this one is more like a deviation from the path carved from Demon's Souls. Of course the fact I decided to spend all that time to get all the trophies says a lot of my enjoyment, but as a solo player not interested in PvP nor in paying for online services, I don't see myself returning to this one anytime soon (whereas I already created a new character for Dark Souls even when I am not done with my Platinum character yet).

Also, since I still have Uncharted 4 to start, I decided to borrow the PS3 trilogy and play it before U4. Just finished the first and will probably start U2 sometime this week. Maybe after U3 will move on to The Last of Us. Or perhaps that Resident Evil 5 playthrough I never finished... So many games, so little time.

[paraparajmo]

Ryu ga Gotoku Kiwami 2
And various PS4 VR games

[bonaduce80]

So I have been clearing some of my backlog for the last 5-6 months. Given I can spend a couple of weeks without playing on occasion it's a fairly good pacing, I would say:

-Dragon's Crown with all characters (stopped woth just a couple of trivial trophies left for the Platinum).
- Uncharted 2 and 3.
- The Last of Us.
- Demon's Souls Faith build to detox of all the Naughty Dog bingeing.
- Ni no Kuni (my first Level 5 game cleared out!I had an old file with 42 hours clocked in from 2014: I managed to finish it and even Platinum it after 80 more hours).
- Resident Evil 5 (started an old file from scratch with some upgraded weapons: some of the latest bosses are discouraging when you don't know what to do and soak up bullets without a hint of being doing anything right. Other than that, enjoyable if forgettable, unlike Resi 4).
- Just started Nier (PS3).

Let's see how 2018 goes!

[jedah]

Darkest Dungeon: A Lovecraftian-horror RPG with turn-based combat. Features highly stylized art, and a wide variety of enemies & hero skills to play with. When attempting missions, it's similar to putting together a team in XCOM. The player establishes their base (the Hamlet), and you slowly upgrade/rebuild the town. As you progress through missions, you'll use the Hamlet for stress reduction, and to remove negative quirks from your heroes. Eventually, you'll unlock all the abilities for each hero and upgrade their weapons/armor, and camping abilities. Camping is a special phase of the dungeon which occurs when you click on the firewood in your inventory. Depending on how much food you use, it'll restore health & reduce the stress of your heroes. However, you can be ambushed during the camping phase, so bring a hero who can prevent a nighttime ambush. Combat buffs can be applied during the camping phase, giving the player a significant advantage for the next 4 battles. Useful for killing bosses. The bosses have unique designs, featuring grotesque (but very cool) gothic artwork, they're walking abominations & Eldritch horrors.

Consider upgrading the Stage Coach as soon as possible, you'll need fresh meat for attempting missions. Plus, assembling new party combinations always spices up combat. The difficulty scales up significantly towards the endgame - heroes will die, and missions can go south. Brutal difficulty, but very fun. My advice would be to pick Radiant mode first. Radiant is less punishing, and still provides you with the opportunity to go through the whole campaign. The narrator is terrific, and deserves to be mentioned. He sets the tone/mood of the game. Highly recommended!

Brigador: Mech warrior meets Hotline Miami, this game has a killer soundtrack and features old school controls. Steering a tank takes getting used to, but you can bust through buildings, walls, and use cloaking devices, EMP grenades, or smoke bombs to overcome your enemies. There's tons of weapon & mech variety, and everything can be purchased, so you can build your own badass custom mech. Everything on the map is destructible, too. Yeah, this game is really good. The soundtrack is by Makeup and Vanity Set.

[bonaduce80]

Darkest Dungeon has been on my radar for quite a while, have watched aome videos and the atmosphere, music, character design and THAT NARRATOR are definitely my thing. Alas, I already spend money on Sonic Mania and Nier, and got The Evil Within 2 and Resident Evil as Christmas presents (and I never played The Evil Within, so will have to borrow my brother's before I jump into that one....), so I will be quite busy until I can consider it.

Nier is going fine. I can appreciate its aesthetics (even if character models look like taken from the PS2 era), the music and the feeling of the game. If you are a completionist, though, the first half is a nightmare, with droll fetch quests that have very little payout and feel like busywork of the worst kind. It is finally starting to feel the way it should, but unless you are able to rush to follow the story (unlike me), I don't think I could recommend it.

[bonaduce80]

Aaaand I finished Nier. As luch as I can appreciate the game from a narrative stand point, the game into itself is nothing to write home about. I can see why Platinum Games would deal with thataspect in Automata, which I haven't played. The fetch quests can be quite annoying, and knowing how much you need to commit to the Platinum trophy (since ince you have finished it for sure it is likely not to be replayed, I decided to go for it) it gave me a sour taste. Those random drops for Subdued Bracelets can go eff themselves.

After that, I am mixing several non commital games:Sonic Mania, Gauntlet Slayer Edition and just started Uncharted 4 to finish with my Nathan Drake backlog. I should get back to Dark Souls and finally Platinum it, but my PS3 has been stuttering of late and it is a pain making it work every time.

[shenlong]

Just replayed and finished Lost Vikings for the SNES. I could never beat the penultimate level when I was a kid. That game is unforgiving as balls.

[bonaduce80]

Funny how Blizzard never did anything with that franchise as far as I know. I suppose it wouldn't be as profitable as stuff like WoW, Diablo or Starcraft...

[jettatore]

Grim Fandango Remastered. I never played the original version, so I'm enjoying it as something new.

[bonaduce80]

Time does heal almost everything. After reading that post where I was bitching about Nier, I can definitely stand for every single word... but the only thing that stood in my mind was the bittersweet story, messed up characters and moments, and beautiful music. Enough to make me buy Nier Automata a few weeks ago and having progressed quite a bit with it. Funnily enough makes me stick with it when other games come and go without completing them.

Other than that, I bought Dark Souls Remaster, since my PS3 us not going all that great and started toying with a few toons but nothing serious.