What are you playing?

Thanks! I was looking for some opinions on this game now that I have a series X.

I will be playing Gears Tactics but was also interested in SW Squadrons. Will be difficult for me to find a team and get good at the game together at a decent pace (too busy at work). So, I may have to stick to playing Gears Tactics.

Back on topic, currently playing:

  • MK11. Must say that the aftermath dlc and Kombat Packs are pricey but I am still happy to pay for it. Was expecting some black friday sale though.
  • Sekiro. Restarted the game.

Once done with Sekiro, I will hop over to Gears Tactics and Cyberpunk for the entire month of December :slight_smile:

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Happy New Year to everyone.

Just thought I’d mention that I picked up Rise of Fenyx in the MS holiday sale in the strengths of some reviews. I started playing it and for some reason it just grabbed me. I haven’t been drawn into a single player game like this in a while, but I was up until 2:30 finishing the Aphrodite temple.

The game world is beautiful. The dialogue and narration is a little targeted to the middle school set, but in a self aware way that’s not too cringe. They talk to you just enough that the world doesn’t feel lonely (which is a big difference between this and Breath of the Wild, which I know is a common comparison because of the graphic styles).

For me, it has an open world that feels really well designed and balanced. So far, when I do a side quest or discover something in the environment it feels like a fun adventure instead of a cooked up slog to bloat the game to 180 hours of playtime. The challenge level is enough to keep you focused, but it’s not a difficult game overall.

Figured I’d post because the game is greater than the sum of its parts and it really took me by surprise how much I’m enjoying it.

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Often that’s the best kind of game; the one you didn’t have expectations for and get totally blown away by.

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Lol. I love it :joy: Always nice to hear that Star Wars has a fun game out. The new trilogy really killed a lot of my attachment to the series (sometime quite literally :unamused:), but I’m always happy to have another team take an actually good crack at the universe.

For myself, I’ve been taking a break from fighting games and going through a lot of different platformers and other stuff. Played Hollow Knight (loved it!), Ori 1 (loved it!), and just finished Ori 2 (absolutely loved it, my GOTY for 2020). Liked Ori 2 so much I’m probably going to full achievement it, and am seriously toying with the idea of actually buying it just to support the devs directly even though I downloaded it through Game Pass.

Since I’ve got Game Pass now, probably just going to go through the library and start ticking down games I’ve missed for the past few years. Thinking Doom Eternal might be my next playthrough, though also may take some time to finish out a new Mass Effect Andromeda playthrough I started a month or so ago :thinking:

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I’m working through Ori 2 and I know it’s objectively great but for some reason I am not drawn to turn it in when I sit down to play. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it takes me ten minutes to remember where I am in the maze and what I’m trying to accomplish whenever I return to it. But every time I spend an hour or two with it I walk away impressed. The music is a huge part of it and doesn’t get enough credit IMHO.

We took a bit of a break from squadrons for a while but have gotten back into it with friends. It’s easy to come and go and is just a great simple concept game. The skills take practice to master but it’s flying space fighters. Having a great time with it. Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the movies. I liked them - but I think it helped a lot that I had my kids with me just enjoying the ride instead of worrying about too much. If you have a chance check out the Mandalorian. People use a lot of hyperbole but it’s just a fun show with some mysteries, character development and a sense of adventure.

As a Mass Effect fan have you heard any recent info about the remake of the original trilogy? My son is super into games that give you choices and I think he would enjoy those games. But especially the first one, I think it would be better to wait for the remake to take off some of the rough edges.

Yeah, taking breaks is the bane of all metroidvanias :-p

Yeah, Ori’s soundtrack is incredible, and a huge part of what makes the game work as well as it does. I’m trying to get the speed running achievement on it right now, and it’s pretty amazing how well the soundtrack builds suspense/emotion/exploration even while doing super fast runs through the various areas.

It’s on the list. Planning on getting Disney+ sometime this year, so once I do that I’ll definitely give it a watch. Saw a few episodes of it last year and liked it. Reminded me a lot of old spaghetti westerns, and was another good example of how cool the universe is when directors are willing to just let the world breathe.

Don’t know anything about it other than it exists. I kind of doubt they’ll meaningfully change any of the gameplay stuff though, so I’m thinking ME1 will still probably be a little weak in some places :thinking: I also recall nudity/exposure being something you were wondering about with regards to your son playing Nier: Automata, so fair warning ME always has at least one (relatively tasteful) sex scene. No full frontal or anything, but a bit of side boob is usually there.

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I am having a blast trying to fit game pass games on my XSX hard drive. Most fun I ever had with a puzzle game.

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I found a couple games that are definitely worth checking out called “Consortium” and its sequel “Consortium: The Tower”.

I just finished my second playthrough of the main Story for Rise of the Tomb Raider. Fantastic game.

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Desperados 3 is a gem I hadn’t discovered until it popped up in my recommendations. I’m hooked..

Also playing:
Broken Sword Serpent…ps4
Forza horizon XSX
Granblue vs ps4
Gwent PC
Samurai shodown PS4

Depending on my mood and available time, friends online etc. I switch between these games.

“Angels Fall First” is a really underappreciated gem that I recommend checking out:

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This is on GamePass now right?

I’m only slightly ashamed to admit that I’ve been playing Call of Duty. My buddy and his daughter got hooked on the free zombies week and my son and I have been playing together with them. It’s exactly the pew pew nonsense you would expect. But it’s fast and fun and we are all in a private chat together so we don’t have to deal with the other players and it makes for a good time. Video games are fun.

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Yes, I got it through Game Pass.

Looks very good. Would like to try it out.

You should check it out along with “Consortium” - they’re really cool games.

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Just bought Taxi Chaos. It’s a spiritual successor to Crazy Taxi. From what I’ve played (very little), it doesn’t seem to be quite as good as the older games in any aspect. Still, it’s a fun distraction if you can find it at the right price. I plan on making a few videos of the game over on my YouTube channel if anyone is interesting in checking it out.

Taxi Chaos: First Gameplay Impressions:

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Still looks like good fun.

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I did this Last Week on the Extreme Survivor Difficulty… Mostly just to see if a Game balanced around Regenerating Health could actually work if you turned that feature Off…
And… You can… But it’s far from Elegant… Especially at that difficulty where all enemies have 100% Accuracy.

I also tried Cold Darkness Awakened DLC… Imagine a much more bare bones version of Hades… That’s what’s Cold Darkness Awakened is like… The ending is like Warframe without the Power Fantasy :scream: !!!

It seems like Crystal Dynamics doesn’t know the nuances that make Arcade Mode like Content work… Which is a shame because that game seems like a Candidate for that kind of thing… Lara just needs to be Faster and the enemies need to be less Aggressive and more Varied.

Anyway… Back to Devil May Cry… I’m almost done with Dante Must Die… Then I can move on too Hell and He’ll mode :smiling_imp: .

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Is that the hardest difficulty where it only saves at Camp Sites? That one I’m not going to attempt as I find the exploration controls can be a tad finicky at times, and loosing an hour of play because I fall off a wall when I meant to do something else would be too frustrating.

I also did not like “Cold Darkness Awakened” at all, never completed it, but the “Baba Yaga” DLC, as well as the first “Croft Manor” DLC (the non-combat one) were excellent.

I’m actually doing a trilogy playthrough and just completed Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition last night; my first time playing the first game since 2014. Fantastic game as well.

Outside of this, my single player backlog is very small:

  • I’m wrapping up a playthrough of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC)
  • I’m playing through the Halo Wars: Definitive Edition Campaign via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (Xbox One X)
  • I’m playing through DOOM II (Xbox One X)

Multiplayer-wise, I’m still playing Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition (PC), as well as Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo Wars 2: Complete Edition with my father, though I haven’t done any multiplayer in a few weeks.

When DOOM: Eternal Deluxe Edition goes on sale again for $39.99 Canadian or less, I’ll pick it up so I can play the DLC.

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Yep… That’s the one… I wanted to see if it would feel like Dark Souls … And it doesn’t… I guess there’s more to the Dark Souls Formula than I thought :grin:.

And in Syria there are no Campsites so if you die there (by slipping like I did) you have to do that entire Chapter all over again… Same goes for the ending… Two Boss Fights back to back… No check points… Imagine have to Beat Artorius and then Khalameet without the option to use a Bonfire… Yeah… That’s what it’s like…

Yeah it’s best you get used to the way Lara traverses because it can be costly with no checkpoints, there’s a bunch of cases where y Pick Axe just Detached for no reason… I honestly don’t like the way Lara moves now… For me Lara’s mobility was at its best in Tomb Raider Legend… Which if you remember… Was the first Tomb Raider game when the Studios Changed from Core to Crystal Dynamics.

Being Stripped of all your Upgrades certainly didn’t do it any Favours and the Enemy Spawn Pattern’s are just way to Frequent… In essence the way it works is as soon as you kill an Enemy the game Immediately Replaces it… Doing this with an Unsilenced Weapon causes you to get Stuck in a Loop because the Noise just Attracts the newly Spawned Enemies.

Seeing Croft Manor Return was Awesome because that was my fondest memory of Tomb Raider Legend & Anniversary… However… It just wasn’t the same… It seemed more Narrative Focused than Gameplay Focused… I get that Lara is a Human Bean now but the Manor itself felt like more of a Character in Previous Games…
Baba Yaga was cool… Alil short but cool…

LoL… The “First” Game… Talking about the Tomb Raider games is even trickier than Talking about the Assassin’s Creed Series because it’s been Rebooted 3 Times, Remade Once and Spun Off Twice… Resulting in a Grand Total of 13 Games :open_mouth: !!!

Although I suppose Resident Evil series would be Even more Confusing :scream: !!!

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