I finished The Roottrees are Dead the other day, really enjoyed it. Chill puzzle game with some nice ui elements
Prey (2017), killer immersive sim. Reminiscent of System Shock 2 mainly.
Impatient week for me as I’m trying out as many demos as I can during Steam Next Fest. Will return to Arkane’s Prey once it’s over, this time for sure I’ll finish it!
MiSide. Not very patient, it came out recently. But it’s I expensive and my partner and I LOVED DDLC.
I’ve been playing a bunch of PS2 games thanks to PCSX2. It’s fucking awesome. I’ve finished the first Sly Cooper and I’m halfway through the second now. I’m super excited to play the third one again (the last time I played it I was probably 10-11 years old).
I’ve also been making my way through the Jak & Daxter games cause of course. After that I’m probably gonna play through the Ratchet& Clank games cause I never did.
I’m currently addicted to Necesse, is a really good settlement builder + dungeon explorer (it’s like Terraria and Core keeper had a child) it’s still in early access but have a lot of content, is planned to launch this year.
The big thing about this game is that your villagers can work for you on your farm and organizing your items, crafting items and so on…
I discovered Brutal Wolfenstein (a Doom II mod that replicates and enhances Wolfenstein 3D) so I’ve been slaughtering nazi scum for a while.
Marvels Midnight Suns. Really wish it got a sequel but that’s not happening. I really enjoy the hangouts and exploring the grounds. And the cat.
I finished Sleeping Dogs and am pondering whether I want to play the DLCs or move on. I started the first one but I’m not really feeling it.
The game itself was fine, I’m a little less high on it now than I was initially. The story climax committed the same crime RDR2 does - the kill count and utter destruction you cause pull you out of any sort of immersion you might have had. Especially since this is supposed to be an undercover cop story. It’s still a fine GTA clone if you like that sort of thing, and at 80% off (like it was recently) it’s not a bad deal. Solid 7.5/10 probably.
If you enjoy the combat, Sifu takes that/the Arkham Batman style to a new level. Definitely has a crazy high kill count, but the story is all about revenge so there’s not too much ludonarrative dissonance.
Sifu looks good but I’m kind of scared of it. I’m not sure I’m good enough to enjoy it, I might be too old and slow. I’ve stayed away from the Elden Ring DLC for the same reason, and likewise Sekiro.
There’s a story/cinematic difficulty, but I haven’t tested it out. The standard difficulty is a challenge, but in my experience it felt fair. I’ve never played a Soulslike so I don’t have a point of comparison on that front lol.
I played the game a few months ago and agree with everything you said, including the final rating of the game.
I’m wondering if you have the same takeaway as me or if you have a different view: perhaps it would have been better to play this game when it came out? At the time, the only recent GTA-likes were GTA IV (overall serious, almost a simulator), and Saints Row 4 (over the top, very arcadey). Sleeping dogs was somewhere in the middle of those two.
Yeah most likely. That’s a good point you’re making. But even then, it wasn’t that successful or talked-about at the time. When I first started playing it I was wondering why it wasn’t a bigger hit, but after finishing it I think I get it. So maybe even playing it around release wouldn’t have changed much? I will say the pacing and length was pretty spot on. The story had a brisk pace and for once for an open world game it didn’t feel too long (bearing in mind I only completed maybe half of the optional open world stuff).
It also needs to be said that it is a remarkably good looking game for being 13 years old and made for the PS3. Sure, I played the Definitive Edition and with DLDSR 1.78x on a 1440p HDR monitor with RTX HDR enabled, but still. It looks really good for its age. It’s especially impressive how crowded the streets are on the max setting.
Back in 2012, I only heard about Sleeping Dogs through word of mouth. Perhaps the marketing was really poor?
Gameplay-wise, I agree. It starts off pretty solid but once you get further, much of the open world feels samey and the missions start to include too much shooting, imo. That, and I didn’t really gel much with the melee combat after a couple of hours, but it seems like I’m in the minority on that. Finally, I feel like a lot of open world games at the time had a similar “formula”; they had many icon activities on the map, which were more-or-less duplicates of themselves.
I’ll focus on the positives, because there definitely were some: Absolutely agree on the graphics. There’s parts of the map that are pretty scenic (beach areas, city areas with more trees and vegetation), and night time looks amazing. Graphics wise it’s hard to believe it came out 13 years ago. I liked the music selection and I also thought the driving physics were pretty neat. Also, I liked that there were many things to buy, so cash isn’t just some point system.
It’s funny you say the open world felt samey, because one of my main takeaways after playing this game was “man, CDPR really hit it out of the park with architecture and level design for Cyberpunk 2077”. Hong Kong looked great and crowded- particularly at night like you said - but it didn’t have nearly the same distinctly different districts with identifiable character as you’d find in Night City.
The melee combat only got somewhat interesting towards the end of the game when there were some enemies that could resist your counters, otherwise it was mostly a case of waiting for someone to flash red and pressing Y. There are some interesting ideas with the techniques you can unlock and the combos, but most of it felt like window dressing more than necessary tools. The only thing you need besides counters is the upgrade that lets you disarm enemies carrying melee weapons.
Finally, I feel like a lot of open world games at the time had a similar “formula”; they had many icon activities on the map, which were more-or-less duplicates of themselves.
This is a great example of the game design sickness Ubisoft inflicted upon the world with the success of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It’s released right in the window where that was all the rage, and this is absolutely peak Ubisoft Open World^TM. But that trend held for far too long - I’ve leveled that criticism against even titles as recent as Ghost of Tsushima.
The music selection was good, but I kind of wish the radio selection was deeper and not as wide. I would have preferred somewhat fewer channels but with a bigger selection of songs on each. I also missed more humour and talk show style radio. The driving did feel pretty good and the races were fun, although the AI was so atrocious at driving there was hardly a challenge. But throwing the cars into corners with handbrake turns and counter steering was enjoyable and I liked how the different cars had wildly different characteristics.
I still need to check out Cyberpunk 2077. I held off due to its launch but apparently the game is in a much stronger state now. Glad to hear that the level design is solid.
This is a great example of the game design sickness Ubisoft inflicted upon the world with the success of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It’s released right in the window where that was all the rage, and this is absolutely peak Ubisoft Open World^TM. But that trend held for far too long - I’ve leveled that criticism against even titles as recent as Ghost of Tsushima.
YES. I also dropped Ghost of Tsushima, Days Gone, Far Cry 4 for the same reason. Like the formula “works” for a mass audience, but man does it just not work for me anymore.
At this point, give me well thought-out level designs. If I want emergent gameplay and natural discovery, I will play any of the well-received immersive sims like Dishonored or Deus Ex.
Also, unrelated, but have you played Metro Exodus? The game is roughly 50% open world, 50% linear. The open world levels feel natural, and the linear levels are well thought out. I feel like the game was smart about rewarding players who chose a non-lethal playstyle as well. The consequences of being a murder machine are baked into the story and gameplay outcomes, in a way that makes sense.
I still need to check out Cyberpunk 2077. I held off due to its launch but apparently the game is in a much stronger state now. Glad to hear that the level design is solid.
How you will like it will depend on what you expected of it, I think. Some people wanted a completely free RPG where you could be whoever you wanted and play in an open world as dynamic as RDR2 - the game isn’t that. Much like the Witcher 3 you’re playing as a specific character and you can only choose small variations in how that character acts. But V will always be V. The open world is also much less dynamic than people wanted, but that can be said about Witcher 3 as well so I don’t know what people were expecting. CDPR aren’t Rockstar.
There are also some fundamental problems with the game that are too big to be fixable with patches. I’m talking stuff like reactivity to decisions, pacing for parts of the main quest and how well (or rather poorly) the story they wanted to tell meshes with an open world game.
That being said I think the game is now in the best state it can be for what it is, and that state is still a pretty damn good game. I really enjoyed the story, I thought it had some great characters, and the revamped post 2.0 gameplay and skill tree feel good. It has great writing and voice acting, Night City is beautifully designed and art direction in general is great. I found the game really immersive and enjoyable, and would definitely recommend it. Especially if you can get it on sale.
It also looks phenomenal and if you have a good PC that can play it maxed out (including Path Tracing) it’s one of the prettiest games out there. Look for the Ultra+ mod for further optimization and visual oomph.
YES. I also dropped Ghost of Tsushima, Days Gone, Far Cry 4 for the same reason. Like the formula “works” for a mass audience, but man does it just not work for me anymore.
I had to physically force myself to finish Ghost of Tsushima and during the last 25% or so of it I was actively resenting it. In my opinion, it is the single most overrated game of all time. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad game - I would give it a 7.5/10 - but the delta between what I think of it and the general opinion of it is the biggest. It is patently not the “game of a generation” or some such shit. It’s way too long, the writing and voice acting is way too dour, overly serious and monotone and the quest design is way too poor. Combine this with a standard Ubisoft Open World^TM and I don’t know what people are seeing. The combat is solid, but not enough to carry it for 60 hours. The game is stunning though and immaculately optimised, I’ll give it that. Ran like a dream on my fat old first gen PS4 (in stark contrast to the multiple minute loading screens of Witcher 3).
Also, unrelated, but have you played Metro Exodus? The game is roughly 50% open world, 50% linear. The open world levels feel natural, and the linear levels are well thought out. I feel like the game was smart about rewarding players who chose a non-lethal playstyle as well. The consequences of being a murder machine are baked into the story and gameplay outcomes, in a way that makes sense.
It’s on my extensive backlog. I played 2033 and Last Light last year. Loved the first game, the second not so much. I’ve heard only good things about Exodus though so I’m looking forward to it. It’s a candidate for my next game, but I’m not sure I’m feeling it quite yet. Otherwise I’ve got Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, BioShock: Infinite and Skald: Against the Black Priory in the immediate pipeline. Oh, and the entire Yakuza franchise, probably starting with Kiwami?
Cyberpunk: I see. I played the Witcher 3 (and all of its DLC) so my expectations seem to be inline with what you said. I’ll check it out when it’s on sale. I tend to take breaks from games that are thematically similar, so I’ll check it out after I’ve “recovered” from Mankind Divided (more on that later)
Ghost of Tsushima: Yeah I played parts of it during a Playstation Premium sale and felt no regrets dropping it. I had the impression that it would be ok, but definitely not worth 60 hours of my time.
Metro: Similar viewpoints on the Metro series. I’d say get to Exodus when you are ready. It was on my waitlist for about 2 years.
Mankind divided: It seems the consensus online is that Human Revolution is overall better than Mankind Divided, but Mankind Divided is better gameplay wise. Personally, I liked Mankind Divided more than Human Revolution, although the former has its fair share of flaws. I can go into them if you want, although personally I think its better to just play it and form your own thoughts on it. Personally, I made peace with the flaws and accept the game for what it is. (Also, its “A Criminal Past” DLC is amazing and highly replayable)
Bioshock infiinite: It’s been a few years since I played this, but from what I remember its a solid action shooter. It’s not so much an immersive sim like the previous entries. Go into it with the right expectations and it’s a fun time.
Yakuza: My special interest series, lmao. I have played most games. However, I have not played Infinite Wealth, nor the spinoff games (Man Who Erased His Name, Pirate Yakuza in hawaii, Samurai games, or zombie spinoff). I’ve also played the Judgement series, which feels like Yakuza meets Ace Attorney. As for which to start with… that’s tricky. I played the original Yakuza back in 2004 (with Mark Hamil’s joker voice acting for Majima), took a 15+ year hiatus from the series, returned to the series with 0, and then binged most of the mainline games during covid lmao.
After not touching it almost since launch, I’ve decided to check out The Last Starship again. It’s kind of a mix of FTL, Factorio and its own ideas, made by Introversion Software ( folks behind Prison Architect, Darwinia and other titles).
It’s developed in early access, with regular and pretty enjoyable updates (just like PA) and is shaping up pretty nicely so far.I still need to spend some more time diving deeper into all the new stuff added since my last playthrough but it feels just as fun as on launch so far.
Control and Spyro reignited trilogy
What I wild mix. I totally get it tho. I allways keep a balance between a “serious” game and a relaxed one.
Also I highly recommend playing control with headphones.
Skyrim again
Due Process, a recently revived tactical shooter that is currently super cheap (<1€) and runs on linux.
I’ve been playing Pokemon Brown on my Miyoo Mini.
Shape of Dreams, a top down action roguelite. It’s incredibly well executed and highly enjoyable.
