Restarted my second RDR2 playthrough because a mod broke my savegame :(
Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker. I’m playing through all of them out of order. The controls in the Master Collection are a delight compared to the PSP port on Vita (they didn’t opt to utilize both sticks for some reason).
Just finished Alan Wake American Nightmare. Not too special; glad it was short. I’m pretty far into Abiotic Factor but only play co-op with my cousin so that will be a bit still. I am just starting Cyberpunk 2077.
American Nightmare was an Xbox Live Marketplace game I think, and that low budget kind of really shows. It’s fine for what it is, and I do enjoy the live action recordings of Ilka Villi getting to let loose a little bit. I would never recommend it in isolation, but I think it’s worth playing on the way to Alan Wake 2.
Yes I decided to play it as a run-up to Alan Wake 2 :) how is that game? Its on sale ATM so should probably grab it now.
I think Alan Wake 2 is in my top 5 of all time. Gameplay isn’t anything special - at least the combat (it’s a competent but ordinary survival horror) but the story, presentation, cinematics, mixed media and in general just the art aspects are all top shelf.
It also is the culmination of the Remedyverse stuff, and really pays you off for having played all the preceding games (including Max Payne and Quantum Break).
After more than 500 hours spread over 6 years, many multi-month breaks and 7+ characters I finally managed to finish the base story of Cyberpunk 2077. I went through 3 endings The Path of Least Resistance, The Sun and The Devil - even at the very end things would not go perfectly.
- The intro section before the choice and The Path of Least Resistance ended up with my V spouting random lines every 30 seconds during the normal dialogue due to one of the mods I used (dependency for others).
- The Sun crashed during its epilogue. Also, Rogue and her gun disappeared during the boss fight (not in the intended way).
- My ability to scan bugged out during The Devil. I couldn’t finish the final part and had to watch it instead.
Despite these issues all of the endings were pretty engaging though I can’t say they hit as strong as they could under better circumstances. Between multiple partial playthroughs, already finishing the game through Phantom Liberty and being spoiled on the main points of all of the finales, there was just too much going against having a full experience.
As for The Star, I’m leaving it specifically for my next playthrough as my canon ending for the game. Before that happens however I intend to spend A LOT more time in Night City. As mentioned last week, I’m planning to start from scratch just to enjoy myself as a random NPC living their life whenever I feel like it. It might take a few months or a few years, the important thing is that I already beat the game so the pressure to progress is no longer there.
I’m doing a proper setup this time too - mod manager, serious testing and no mod list changes after I start. It should help with instability and other issues I had to deal with this time.Anyway, that’s that. Not as emotional as I’d like but the feeling of closure is just as important. It’s certainly better than disappointment. Now to sort through all of my pictures in search for something worth keeping…
Personally I really enjoyed the secret ending path into Temperance. But I really like Johnny, and the relationship with V, I suppose. I kind of hate the Sun ending, it feels antithetical to Vs emotional journey and while it is fitting for the genre and setting it feels like a devolution of V and just in general succumbing to Night City.
Oh, right! I did both The Sun and Temperance actually, I forgot they represented separate epilogues and just wrote based on the final gameplay section.
I agree about The Sun. though I suppose it depends on how you played the character. If someone didn’t engage with all the elements about finding a purpose outside of “being a legend” and instead stuck to anger and the need to lash out at “the bad guy” (Arasaka) then I can see it fitting quite well.
I wouldn’t want it as a proper ending for my V but being an NC legend never really interested me so losing that goal and switching gears towards something more personal was pretty easy.As for Temperance… I like Johnny (by the end of the story) and I like that going this way gives him an opportunity to try again as a better person. I still prefer my V to have an option to make the best of their limited time while surrounded by their new family but I appreciate it as an option nonetheless. It definitely felt the most bittersweet and (positively) emotional out of all of these to me. It would probably be my choice if not for the “bail out with your bros” option.
Cyberpunk ending spoilers
I like the bittersweet nature of Temperance. Especially as chosen after the secret ending path, that way nobody else gets hurt, too. There is something poetic and beautiful to me of V and Johnny storming Arasaka Tower as a solitary duo, with Johnny cheering on, as contrasted to the very first scene he appears in in the opening. And I don’t know, V learns to stop fighting and accept mortality, Johnny gets a second chance… I just like it.
I get the appeal of the Star ending. I do. Especially if you romance Judy (Judy romance plus Sun ending is extra miserable, though). But I guess Star is a little too close to “happily ever after” for my preference in this setting. It’s a nice riding into the sunset, leaving Night City literally and metaphorically for V and the player, but such a happy ending (especially with the throwing the player a bone bit about a potential cure with some technomancer) feels oddly almost inappropriately happy for the setting. Actually I think in some ways the Devil ending might be the most appropriate, especially for some Vs. I mean I hate it and it’s terrible, but it’s also awesome and so, so cyberpunk. And it hits some nice notes with the themes, the misery, the desperation for life, the true nature of SoulKiller, destroying the Johnny engram only to become an engram yourself, the corps always win…
But maybe I’m just a sucker for depression.
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart. After this I’m selling my ps5. Probably my last console. I’m very happy with my steam machine
I have a Halloween-themed recommendation this week: Kingdom of the Dead is a fun little boomer shooter with stylized graphics. It’s playable on Steam Deck (I had to change the controls), but I’d recommend playing it on a larger screen.
Started up a new save of Bloodborne on pc and talk about a fine wine. Unfortunately I kept on experiencing freezes/crashes via ShadPS4/BBLauncher, so I’ve put it down for the time being. I’ve heard about the newfangled decomp/recomp that lets you run it natively, but idk, I don’t really think that scene is for me.
Otherwise I’ve been chipping away at Dredge and am considering a new playthrough of The Case of the Golden Idol. Never got around to the DLC with the latter, but also just going back through the base game to see all of the artwork again sounds like a good time.
Also, if anyone has recommendations for horror games that aren’t Resident Evil or Silent Hill, I’d love to hear them. Can be action horror, survival horror, scary horror, cozy horror, and so on, I’m interested in it all.
Control is the first horror anything (game, movie, book, etc) that made me click the lights on. If you haven’t already played I’d recommend
As in Remedy’s Control?
If you mean you already played ResE and Silent Hill but want something similar, Signalis seems to be very inspired by ResE. Either way great horror/survival game
I’ve given Signalis a go a couple of times and for some reason it hasn’t clicked for me. But maybe I’ll give it another try, thanks!
It’s not outright horror so much as horror-themed (as in: the game isn’t really scary) but I will recommend Withering Rooms to anyone and everyone who listens.
One of the most impressive solo dev games I’ve played. Super fun, interesting world building, gorgeous music, immaculate vibes.
Looks like it could be up my alley, thanks for the rec!
Two of the main inspirations for it are Silent Hill and Bloodborne, I forgot to say. You should absolutely play it, it’s phenomenal. Sequel is out in Early Access as well as we speak, although I would recommend waiting on the full release next spring. Needs a bit more time in the oven.
Reinstalled Tropico 6 after a while.
It took me so long to figure out how to not lose money (a few years ago). Now I play for a good while, but eventually get bored and give it a break. But it is fun.
I’m irritated at the DLC. They seem a little pricey for what you get, which is a couple of buildings and a couple of other things, introducing new systems which is fine but… like… it’s too much specific stuff and not enough general stuff.
So I ahve a couple of the DLC and that’s all, and that’s fine.
I also picked up Stray on sale and it’s fun so far.
And I picked up Vintage Story, although I’m struggling to find food so far. meh. But it’s pretty, so I’ll keep working on it.
The vaultbreakers alpha test is very fun. Its exactly what ive been asking for for a decade: pve league of legends
I just started playing Minecraft, now I see why it so popular!
If you haven’t already, push off mods as long as possible imo. They can really open up the game but they can also easily remove some of the magic. They’re like a different game entirely
Easy Delivery Co. has been on our radar for a bit, it being on sale pushed us to grab it. Really cool vibe to the game and it hasn’t been too demanding in what it asks of the player, at least so far. - Vire (vi/vim)
I’m back on my shit with Stardew Valley again. Modded this time, mostly tweaks and graphics but also taking another whack at SVE.
Final fantasy IV: The after years
I’m working my way through every FF game (except the mobile gachas) getting 100% the achievements and it’s my current.
It’s slow hunting all the bestiary but gives me something else to focus on while my wife rewatches whatever show
I’m very poorly playing ff 4 thru 10 on my steam deck. Except for 8.
I soft locked myself in 4. And royally screwed up my jobs in 5 lol. It’s been so long I’ve forgotten how to play
I feel ya. I save religiously to so many different slots. Legitimately I had only one open save slot left when I finished FFIV specifically out of paranoia of locking myself out of something or messing something up.
8 may be my favourite in the series, you chose some good ones to play
My nephew spent the weekend here so I installed Kiborg from my backlog for some mindless fun. It’s pretty decent. Good roguelike upgrade variety. Enemies are varied enough as well. Bosses are nothing to write home about. Story is barely there. All in all perfect for the occasion.
Majora’s Mask! Intimidated by the time limit, but also excited to figure everything out
I believe the game is intended to be played without it, but there is a little secret that can give you more time.
I don't remember if the game ever actually tells you this, but maybe you pick it up somewhere
Play the Song of Time backwards to make time move at half speed
I don’t think it’s intended to be played without that tip. It is technically possible to miss, but you’re very likely to learn about that before the game even tells you how to save…
(Mind you, I’ve only played the N64 version. They might have changed things in a re-release.)
Majora's Mask (how that tip is usually learned)
The game offers to tell you about that any time you talk to the scarecrow, which people usually do on the way to the observatory for the first time.
The trickier bit is that they tell you about it before you’re capable of using songs, so you have to remember that you can actually use it once it’s possible to do.
Thank you for the spoiler mark, I’ll come back and check it if I’m struggling. I’m still at the beginning right now.
