2023 VIDEO GAME CATCH ALL THREAD

[J.T.]

I'm doing my best to get into the latest Star Ocean joint, but to say that the combat system is a bit janky does a disservice to the word "janky." 

I managed to beat the first boss without a party wipe-out, so I am not completely garbage at this game.

I think it is hilarious that after all these years, the game's basic health recovery items are still blueberries.

Edited March 19, 2023 by J.T.

[Robert S]

9 hours ago, odessasteps said:

Against my better judgment, downloaded Civ Vi on game pass

That's only the vanilla version of Civ VI, without Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm mechanisms, right?

[Casey]

35 minutes ago, Robert S said:

That's only the vanilla version of Civ VI, without Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm mechanisms, right?

Yeah, it's just Civ VI + the Vikings, Poland, Australia, Persia & Macedon packs.

I want to play RTS games on console but (for me) those types are the rare ones where I prefer mouse & keyboard. I spent an entire day playing Stellaris on PS5 once but came to the conclusion I'd like it way more on my laptop - or, now, my SteamDeck.

[tbarrie]

Yeah, traditional console controllers are terrible for point-and-click games IMO.

A wiimote is actually better than a mouse for such games (again IMO), but for some reason the console industry backslid on controller design after the Wii peaked.

 

[tbarrie]

And speaking of point-and-clicks - I finally bought Return to Monkey Island a few days ago. It's pretty great. Currently stuck near the end (I think) of Part II, after having been stuck for a while near the end of Part I.

[Death From Above]

Anyone playing the Diablo 4 beta? Seems like there's a lot of positive buzz for a change with Blizzard.

[odessasteps]

I saw someone stream it but with long delays waiting to get it. 

[John E. Dynamite]

On 3/8/2023 at 9:16 PM, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

I'm trying to finish up my 3DS downloads before the store closes in two weeks. I'm buying every Boxboy game. Are there any non-RPG Nintendo exclusives on 3DS that are worth getting besides those? Every Picross E game is download-only, right? I should have bought more of those when they were on sale. 

I've been doing a lot of this over the last, I guess year. I got back into gaming via picking up a 3DS and have been full-blast over the last decade, so I picked up a lot of these when they were fresh. And if you are a Picross person the US never got a physical version of 3D Picross 2.

Pushmo and Pocket Card Jockey are essential, as is Rhythm Heaven Megamix (a full game we never got physical). All three are Nintendo as fuck and pure joy. Harmoknight is just a step behind those but still worth it.

The Sega 3D Classics by M2 are a great line, although half of them have a physical release. The ones that don't tend to be the better games, including the absolute best versions of Sonic 2, Gunstar Heroes and Streets of Rage 1 & 2 . If any of those mean anything to you it's worth checking out. Very good versions of OutRun and Fantasy Zone as well. Some pretty nice NES 3D remakes including Excitebike, Kid Icarus, and I think Kirby 2.

LEVEL-5's Guild series is another thing you gotta check out. They're all experimental short-form game that are YMMV-type genre dives, but Liberation Maiden is a high point for gameplay and Attack of the Friday Monsters is one of the better stories/atmospheres I've ever taken in. There's some other fringe ones that'll click with fans of the right genres.

What I've really tried to be good about is grabbing free DLC before it goes away. I own all four Layton games on 3DS (Miracle, Azran, vs. Phoenix Wright, Katrielle) and the daily puzzles on those are bountiful and high-quality. Loads and loads of killer puzzles. The PL vs. PW DLC might require beating the game first, though.

Capcom has a sale currently where the Phoenix Wright, Resident Evil, and Monster Hunter games are dirt cheap. Megaman Legacy is three bucks right now. Also if you want to nab some Game Boy games that probably won't come to Switch, GB Megaman V is an entirely original game and of a very high quality. GB's really where the money is at with the 3DS VC. Mole Mania, the Donkey Kong Land games, Donkey Kong '94, Kirby's Pinball Land, Legend of Zelda Oracle of Age/Seasons, Mario Tennis & Golf, OG Shantae (speaking of which)

WayForward rules. There's a lot on non-Shantae stuff from them that just radiates charm and good design. Mighty Switch Force! 1&2 and the even more underrated Mighty Milky Way stand out. I want to say they have more DSiWare stuff too.

Kokuga is a cool shmup-ish thing from the designer of Ikaruga. Mighty Gunvolt is the 8-bit Mighty No. 9/Azure Striker Gunvolt mashup that was made by Inti Creates that actually makes the M#9 Kickstarter trainwreck worth it. Gotta Protectors is a smarmy little NES-throwback tower defense thing that's really high quality. Gunman Clive is so cheap. The Art Style games have some good puzzlers - BASE-10 stole several hours of my life the other day, literally had no idea the sun was coming up.

Edited March 21, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Craig H]

16 hours ago, Death From Above said:

Anyone playing the Diablo 4 beta? Seems like there's a lot of positive buzz for a change with Blizzard.

Yep. So, it's Diablo as fuck, but it's also pretty damn great and everything that 3 should have been. They've definitely taken/borrowed shit from Path of Exile and Lost Ark, which isn't surprising.

It's also a beta so we're not getting a full sense or feel for this being an open world game. I certainly don't feel dumb for dropping $90 on it and a few of my friends did the same. I just wish we were able to play more than a couple classes right now, but supposedly we'll get a chance to try out the Necromancer and one other during the beta.

[Gonzo]

Finished the main part of my Ghost of Tsushima playthrough so now I'm doing the Iki Island expansion instead. It wasn't available yet when I did my first playthrough.

Some of the enemies in this thing are pains in the ass, and I suck at the archery challenges (so far, anyway).

[supremebve]

1 hour ago, Gonzo said:

Some of the enemies in this thing are pains in the ass, and I suck at the archery challenges (so far, anyway).

I feel like I either got the archery challenges on the first try or the hundred and first try... nothing in between. 

[Chaos]

4 hours ago, Craig H said:

Yep. So, it's Diablo as fuck, but it's also pretty damn great and everything that 3 should have been. They've definitely taken/borrowed shit from Path of Exile and Lost Ark, which isn't surprising.

It's also a beta so we're not getting a full sense or feel for this being an open world game. I certainly don't feel dumb for dropping $90 on it and a few of my friends did the same. I just wish we were able to play more than a couple classes right now, but supposedly we'll get a chance to try out the Necromancer and one other during the beta.

I keep debating buying 2 or 3 because I've never played one. I've heard 3 on the Switch is actually kind of a fun way to experience it. Although, I figure the Xbox purchase will finish eventually, and all will be game pass accessible. 

[Craig H]

I have D3 on my computer and on the Switch. It plays super well on the Switch and you can play couch co-op with it.

I don't even know if I would bother with 2.

There's no real reason to play Diablo for the story. You can catch up on that by watching about 10 minutes of videos on YouTube. The only thing with Diablo 3 is that it's really, really easy. I breezed through the entire first run of it in a little more than a weekend. The idea with Diablo 3 is that you play through it, beat it, then play on a higher difficulty, beat it again, level up your gear even more, and keep doing the ladder in that way. I did that for a little bit and eventually the appeal wore really thing.

With Diablo 4 and it being a persistent open world, they haven't completely abandoned that approach, but it's far more interesting to play than Diablo 3.

[Andrew POE!]

The day finally came for this.

https://www.ea.com/games/battlefield/legacy-sunset

Battlefield 1943, Battlefield Bad Company and Battlefield Bad Company 2 will be removed from digital storefronts on April 28, 2023 with a server shutdown on December 8, 2023.

https://www.ea.com/legal/service-updates/r-z

Also, Syndicate (2012) is shutting down on June 15, 2023.

[Casey]

Mirror’s Edge was originally on that list but it was an “error”. The internet was freaking the fuck out about it, I’m sure that had nothing to do with it.

[Death From Above]

Diablo 2 is a genuinely all time great game but be aware if you've never played it before it's going to definitely feel dated simply because it's missing certain quality of life features that games in the genre have added since.

[Andrew POE!]

2 hours ago, Casey said:

Mirror’s Edge was originally on that list but it was an “error”. The internet was freaking the fuck out about it, I’m sure that had nothing to do with it.

The online for Mirror's Edge was shut down earlier in the year but thankfully the Platinum/100% is still obtainable.

What's sad is people bought Mirror's Edge Catalyst, but that apparently isn't good enough for EA.

[John E. Dynamite]

On 3/9/2023 at 9:35 PM, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

Rusty's Real Deal Baseball is excellent, IMO. I downloaded it and then ended up buying all the minigames. If you use your discount tickets that the game awards you for achieving game goals, you basically pay a bit under twenty bucks for the full game. I found it worth it, but I thought most of the minigames were addictive. YMMV. 

I was about to amend my big STUFF TO BUY ON 3DS post to rave about Rusty's Real Deal Baseball.

I've been putting this game off for 9 years and I'm playing it during the last 5 days where it may exists.

It's an anti-microtransaction game? A subversive free-to-play? This is kind of bullshit because you still have to spend money on the thing, but half of the entire point of the game is to spend less money than you could to buy the minigames. The other half of the game is playing really quite good post-Wii Sports baseball minigames that involve every last aspect of the 3DS to pretty-to-very good affect. And the OTHER~OTHER half of the game is the fantastic characterization of Rusty himself, an old baseball slugger saddled with ten (HUNGRY) kids and a (FAT?!) wife trying to save his used-sports-equipment store by selling you the video games he bought in bulk. So thematically it's about the decline of the Baseball Dream, about small business futility, about the desperate family man, about microtransaction systems, about nose-hair maintenance, etc. It's utterly genius and indubitably Nintendo and essential to play if you care about baseball or Nintendo or, honestly, "art" games.

It will probably not exist in four days. Get to it.

EDIT: Played some of the fielding-based minigames. They are well-programmed and put together. They may cause you to remember some childhood trauma if you were ever put through ground ball drills as a kid, I'm blown away by the accuracy of it all.

Edited March 22, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Casey]

4 hours ago, Andrew POE! said:

The online for Mirror's Edge was shut down earlier in the year but thankfully the Platinum/100% is still obtainable.

What's sad is people bought Mirror's Edge Catalyst, but that apparently isn't good enough for EA.

The original article from earlier in the day had Mirror’s Edge being delisted from online stores. A lot of people thought it was because of the rumored remaster/remake of the game that was on the NVIDIA list that leaked a year or two ago (and has been accurate so far).

Edited March 22, 2023 by Casey

[SirSmUgly]

Poor Rusty. I felt bad haggling him into the dirt and making him feel bad about his failing business, but at least he gets a fresh doughnut every time. Though considering the sugar content, I'm sure Rusty's Real Deal Baseball 2 is going to reveal that he's lost a limb to diabetes. Poor guy. 

I'm making my final moves. I like Pushmo, so I'll get Crashmo and Stretchmo, and I'll grab the final Boxboy! game I need. I just can't spend thirty dollars on a digital game that's a billion years old, or I'd get Picross 3D Round 2. I'll just get the first Picross 3D on gamecard the next time I stop by a used game store. I've seen a few copies floating around. 

I'll probably continue collecting gamecards, even the ones that are rare and therefore will be pretty expensive (Luigi's Mansion N64, Yoshi and Poochy's Wooly World, Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, etc.). I'm kicking myself for not just going out and buying copies of those late-era Nintendo-published 3DS releases even though I didn't have a 3DS yet. It was obvious that they'd be super-rare when they were announced and released. 

 

[twiztor]

9 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

Luigi's Mansion N64

is this some sort of special release, or do you mean Luigi's Mansion (Gamecube)? honest question.

[SirSmUgly]

13 minutes ago, twiztor said:

is this some sort of special release, or do you mean Luigi's Mansion (Gamecube)? honest question.

Sorry, I meant the re-release of the GameCube game.

[twiztor]

9 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

Sorry, I meant the re-release of the GameCube game.

ok, good. i know there's speculation that Luigi's Mansion had an n64 build early on, so i was worried that i was going to have to order some overpriced special edition of a previously unreleased game.

[twiztor]

my two favorite video game franchises of all time are The Legend of Zelda and Diablo. both have new games coming out this year. i should be hyped, right?  well, i can't really figure out exactly why, but i feel ambivalent about both releases.  I don't mean this to be me bitching, more of a "navel-gazing" take. But it will probably veer into rant territory, so keep that in mind and feel free to skip.

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo Switch)
i loved BOTW. i spent around 150 hours playing it. Took my time, enjoyed the scenery/atmosphere/etc., cleared 100/120 shrines and then decided to complete the endgame stuff. Despite my best intentions, i never went back and played the game any more. didn't finish up the last 20 shrines. didn't knock out more of the side quests that i was interested in. I downloaded the DLC but never even started it. But when i was playing the game, i was enthralled. pure bliss. 
the way i play games has changed. in 2017, i was collecting more than playing. a big release like this would get me playing, and i would casually play other games, but for the most part, i was happy to pick up quite a few games each year with the intention of playing, but never get back to them. Since the COVID lockdowns, i refocused on gaming over collecting. I've created yearly "challenge" lists where i focus on beating a number of games or series, and it has really helped draw me back into the world of playing the games. i love this as well. I've finally made the time to dig into some of those old classics that i've always wanted to enjoy (Metroid, Castlevania, Mega Man, etc.) as well as some newer games (looking at you, Hollow Knight!). I guess i'm just afraid that a huge game like Zelda TOTK is going to drag me out of my current mindset and back into "casual mode". 

Diablo IV
i have easily spent more hours playing the Diablo series than any other game series, ever. Been playing since D1 in the late '90s. i was in high school when D2 came out, and it was revelatory. i've put HUNDREDS of hours into D3 alone, which is my least favorite of the trilogy. This series has long been my "get hammered drunk and just chill and play" game. Very cathartic to just explore and wipe out swaths of demons. i fucking love this series.
So, D4 has a bit of a MMO-lite approach to it, which is the opposite way that i play. I play solo, single player. I don't want to engage with other players. If i do, i'll call up some friends and we'll do couch co-op. Random strangers are the people i least want to associate with in general, let alone online. So of course, D4 now requires a shared overworld, where you will regularly run across other players, who can/will interact with you, your missions, and your kills. So that leaves me pretty wary. In addition, it looks increasingly likely that this game will not get a physical PC release. this bums me out more than i can even say. i understand that's where the future (and, for the most part, present) of gaming is, but i'm not ready for that yet. Third strike, I tried to download the open beta for this weekend to try to find out for myself if D4 would be for me, but it won't play on my current PC. i know that's a "me" problem, and it's been past time to update my computer for a long time (random thought, i believe the last time i got a new PC was for D3, 10+ years ago!) Just bad timing, financially speaking.

[Contentious C]

Yeah, I don't know about you, but I feel like gaming is sort of a numbing technique for me - I'm not really there to be frustrated or annoyed or pissed by something (probably half the reason I can't stand The FromSoftware Game), I'm there to escape a bit.  That's probably one reason why Skyrim keeps working: clear power fantasy and piss-easy.  When I want a little more challenge but something I still enjoy wrecking, I just switch over to Witcher 3 now.  BOTW would probably go into that second category as well.

D4 I don't know how to feel about.  I never played any of the others in the series, but I also know it's "my" kind of game.  I played a shit-ton of the X-Men Legends games on console, and they may still be my favorite franchise outside of Zelda (if you can call 2 games a franchise).  So I know what debt is owed to Diablo.  But I also played way more Path of Exile than is good for a person, and it's one of the major sources of why I find myself in "avoid frustration" mode.  I *could* progress in that game with a bunch of different builds...but then you'd run into the Final Maps Boss whose name I forget or one of the map bosses that has a big damage-spike 1-hit-kill, and I would just loathe losing XP and having to grind a bunch of other shit, or have someone carry me through (at least the last section of) the Labyrinth.  And so I would just end up going back to a zombie build over and over...and I would still get plotzed by the Final Map Boss without even really knowing what was killing me, and I'd tell myself, "Never again".  This is the first time that's actually stuck.  So...I'm really hoping D4 isn't *that* kind of game, too.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Contentious C