What game(s) are you playing now?

[Traveller]

Finally the DLC for Forza Horizon 5 arrived, so playing that. And recently I did a playthrough of Route 96. I really enjoyed that - a kinda roguelike point and click adventure in a dystopia where you need to escape from not-USA to not-at-all-Canada.

Game Pass Subscriber as well? I have Route 96 downloaded, but still have some titles in the backlog.
Played the FH5 DLC a bit today, but waiting for tomorrow for the temperatures to drop to really dive into it. Are you satisfied with it being Hot Wheels again?

[magnusbernhardsen]

Game Pass Subscriber as well? I have Route 96 downloaded, but still have some titles in the backlog.
Played the FH5 DLC a bit today, but waiting for tomorrow for the temperatures to drop to really dive into it. Are you satisfied with it being Hot Wheels again?

I actually haven't played FH3, so I haven't tried Hit Wheels before. I also haven't played with the actual toy cars, so there's no nostalgia for them for me. But I like the DLC so far - it is good there is a system for advanceing from B -> X class.

[Traveller]

Game Pass Subscriber as well? I have Route 96 downloaded, but still have some titles in the backlog.
Played the FH5 DLC a bit today, but waiting for tomorrow for the temperatures to drop to really dive into it. Are you satisfied with it being Hot Wheels again?

I actually haven't played FH3, so I haven't tried Hit Wheels before. I also haven't played with the actual toy cars, so there's no nostalgia for them for me. But I like the DLC so far - it is good there is a system for advanceing from B -> X class.

Even though I played FH3 and the DLC and was at first disappointed of another Hot Wheels DLC, with the bit of time I spent on the new DLC so far, it really is just fun. I like the progression as well - the base game was too generous and had none really.

[outdoorcats]

I'm still wrapping up Elden Ring and therefore have no time for anything else, but has anyone else played the cat game yet? (aka Stray?)

[magnusbernhardsen]

I'm still wrapping up Elden Ring and therefore have no time for anything else, but has anyone else played the cat game yet? (aka Stray?)

Nah, I don't have Playstation. But I love all the tweets of cats watching people play Stray!

[hurluberlu]

I'm still wrapping up Elden Ring and therefore have no time for anything else, but has anyone else played the cat game yet? (aka Stray?)

Nah, I don't have Playstation. But I love all the tweets of cats watching people play Stray!

It doesn’t feel there is much more to say on that game anyway.
(It’s on PC too)

[magnusbernhardsen]

(It’s on PC too)

Oh, OK - I see it is on Steam. Might get it then!

[dirty_score]

I'm still wrapping up Elden Ring and therefore have no time for anything else, but has anyone else played the cat game yet? (aka Stray?)

I have the game. Planning on playing it on my next day off.

[mightysparks]

I started playing Stray last night but didn't get very far as we went out but it was starting to get pretty cool at the point I left it. It seems to be nicely paced, as soon as it starts to feel too repetitive it adds a little extra. Pretty game and cute cats.

I also started playing Dinkum and I do love my farm RPG style games and this one has been pretty fun and nice so far. I like all the Aussie stuff about it too. People described it as a mix of Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, My Time at Portia etc. Back in around 2006-ish I remember looking EVERYWHERE for all tycoon or simulation style games available and was so disappointed and I am so happy that those kinds of games are in style at the moment. I came across a video on Youtube that was like 15 coolest farm RPG games coming out this year and it's like FINALLY. I guess all the other people my age who wanted those types of games 15 years ago are finally making them

I finished Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order a while and loved it. I ended up having to decrease the difficulty from normal to story mode because it was getting frustrating at times and I liked it so much more. Combat is basically my least favourite thing in any game and it just cut out some of the grind (and also some boss battle combat was annoyingly finicky). I played with headphones for the first time ever as my bf was working night shift at the time and I've fallen in love with headphones after being deadset against them my whole life. It was so much more immersive and now I wear headphones all the time for everything. But anyway awesome game and had so much fun with it.

[flavo5000]

I flipped all the houses in House Flipper and decided to move on. So now I'm playing A Story About My Uncle, a first-person grappling hook-style platformer (like a 3D Bionic Commando with no combat), which is pretty good so far. I also played through the visual novel Clannad: Side Stories which had some nice additions to the original Clannad stories.

[dirty_score]

I'm still wrapping up Elden Ring and therefore have no time for anything else, but has anyone else played the cat game yet? (aka Stray?)

I have the game. Planning on playing it on my next day off.

Finally got around to it. It's a very simple but charming game. The first part/hub is the most interesting. the puzzles aren't difficult and the stealth sections are a bit lame that you can rush through it. It's a nice game to chill for an afternoon.

Also played (and finished) As Dusk Falls which is a choose your own adventure graphical/visual novel made by ex-quantic dream devs. The story and the characters weren't really interesting but I did like most of the outcomes and the conclusion that depended on my choices. It's far from the best Telltale game but far from the worst too.

[outdoorcats]

According to HowLongtoBeat.com, even completionists only take 130 hours or so to beat Elden Ring. Took me about 188 hours. Loved every second of it. Even 160 hours in, I still found new areas that made my jaw drop with how insanely beautiful and detailed they were. The two standouts being the first time you enter Leyndell, and just the entirety of Miquella's Haligtree. Surely this has the best art direction in the history of video games? As well as a strong contender, perhaps winner, for the most aesthetically beautiful.

Is it my favorite game of all time? Well, Sekiro was technically more perfect, and had more fun/satisfying combat and gameplay. Not sure right now.

[flavo5000]

I recently finished the puzzle adventure game Roki which was pretty good. Decided to start playing Katamari Damacy Re-roll. Very satisfying rolling stuff up into a big ball. I wish there was an easier to unlock non-timed mode though.

I've also been playing through Control. Really good stuff. I've enjoyed pretty much everything I've played from Remedy Studios so far.

[dirty_score]

My August in games:

Marvel's Spider-man Remastered is the newest PC port from Playstation ex-clusive. I have memories of my first Spider-man game being the 2000 one from the PS1 era and while I didn't get very far, this one I managed to finish but while it was fun swinging through NY, it just didn't click with me. Another good port from Nixxes though.

Then I looked for something shorter and silly and the result is House Party, an adult sex comedy videogame. It's damn funny, stupid and cringe at the same time. I finished most of the quests but even for some I needed a guide. There's not an ending exactly, as far I know. So I left the game when it wasn't amusing anymore.

Finally decided to venture through Silent Hill and finish the oldest games in my backlog. It was never a series I gave much thought, even if played a little bit of the first game back in the PS1. Silent Hill 2 is considered the best one among fans and it's more a psychological thriller while Silent Hill 3, the direct sequel to the first, it's more actionery with a great horror atmosphere so I ended up enjoying this one more out of the two. Most fans believe that 4 or after 4, the series went downhill so I stopped at 3.

----

Currently, I'm halfway through Lust from Beyond, an adult horror walking simulator with stealth sections and a few puzzles. It reminds me a bit of Outlast and it's not as bad as people made it out to be. The erotic realm of Lusst'ghaa has a lush design based on the works of Lovecraft and HR Ginger.

[mightysparks]

Been playing Temtem last couple of days. Pretty fun. Basically a Pokémon clone but I love Pokémon so it’s good for me. Review bombing coz of a battle pass has been happening to it but it’s purely cosmetic stuff and it’s not in your face so idc. But yea is good.

[flavo5000]

I finished up with Control and started playing Maneater. Pretty fun open world shark game.

I've also started playing Omori, a very Earthbound-ish RPG. really good so far.

[dirty_score]

Finished Little Orpheus, a platform game in the vein of Limbo/Inside but less demanding. It's very straightforward actually and very easy. Its short runtime makes it for a nice lazy afternoon play.

[BulldogDrummond]

Darkside Detective is next up for me.

[Pretentious Hipster]

No offense but that "I compiled a list of the most popular video games of all time" post is pure cringe, cause I'm 100% sure if I replaced the word "games" with "films" I'd be bullied on this forum. Still an interesting list though, but I find that a lot of those games are gonna be seen as outdated quite soon.

Speaking of outdated, I wanted to try out something slightly newer, so I'm playing Saboteur. It is the era of games that I hate, and has all the annoying tropes of the era, but I was curious to see if its heavy use of style would make it age better. I would say that is the case, but it's not really enough to make it a good game. Also, it's hilarious how the opening tells you to use the nude DLC.

[mjf314]

No offense but that "I compiled a list of the most popular video games of all time" post is pure cringe, cause I'm 100% sure if I replaced the word "games" with "films" I'd be bullied on this forum. Still an interesting list though, but I find that a lot of those games are gonna be seen as outdated quite soon.

Which games do you think will be seen as outdated soon?

I would be interested in seeing a "most popular films" list, but it would probably be similar to the Empire list, so I'm not sure if it's worth it.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Actually an interesting question lol as I wanted to make this list. What I think about fan-made lists is that they'll focus on a) generational nostalgia, and b) games that were considered mindblowing on a technical aspect back when it came out, but it had nothing else to go for it, so it'll just be outdated after a while.

The Last of Us
Skyrim
Red Dead Redemption
GTA V
Oblivion
Batman: Arkham City
Assassin's Creed II
Halo 3
Splatoon
The Walking Dead: Season 1
Dragon Age: Origins
Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2
Fallout 3 (New Vegas will probably stay popular though)
Borderlands 2

I was thinking of Bioshock, Journey, and Uncharted 2, but that's probably more debatable.

I haven't played the Dragon Quest games yet, but having that many in the end looks kind of sketchy. Most likely the same with Final Fantasy as well.

I also do think the fact that quite a few of the older games still being there is a testament against the anti-recency bias, but at the same time the fact that there's like 3 NES games means that the generational nostalgia is there.

I think this will make a fun discussion.

[mjf314]

Actually an interesting question lol as I wanted to make this list. What I think about fan-made lists is that they'll focus on a) generational nostalgia, and b) games that were considered mindblowing on a technical aspect back when it came out, but it had nothing else to go for it, so it'll just be outdated after a while.

I haven't played any of these games, so it's hard for me to judge. Most of them are part of genres that don't interest me, but at some point I'll probably play (or at least try) The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption, Kingdom Hearts, and Journey.

Dragon Quest is very popular in Japan, and very influential, so it's not surprising to see 3 of them in the top 100. The Dragon Quest games got most of their points from the Japanese lists (Famitsu and TV Asahi). Outside of Japan, I think Dragon Quest XI is the most popular one, but it didn't make the top 100 because it's too new.

[outdoorcats]

...

Surely The Last of Us doesn't belong on this list. I played it nearly 10 years late - on a PS3, no less - and it jumped to near the top of the 'best games I have ever played' list (where it remains, with its sequel). An incredible story, animation, voice acting, soundtrack, game direction - when would these qualities become dated?

I agree on RDR, Oblivion, The Walking Dead: Season 1 (a game that suffers on replays, like most Telltale games). I still love Fallout 3, though not as much as when I first played it.

[toromash]

Actually an interesting question lol as I wanted to make this list. What I think about fan-made lists is that they'll focus on a) generational nostalgia, and b) games that were considered mindblowing on a technical aspect back when it came out, but it had nothing else to go for it, so it'll just be outdated after a while.

The Last of Us
Skyrim
Red Dead Redemption
GTA V
Oblivion
Batman: Arkham City
Assassin's Creed II
Halo 3
Splatoon
The Walking Dead: Season 1
Dragon Age: Origins
Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2
Fallout 3 (New Vegas will probably stay popular though)
Borderlands 2

I was thinking of Bioshock, Journey, and Uncharted 2, but that's probably more debatable.

I haven't played the Dragon Quest games yet, but having that many in the end looks kind of sketchy. Most likely the same with Final Fantasy as well.

I also do think the fact that quite a few of the older games still being there is a testament against the anti-recency bias, but at the same time the fact that there's like 3 NES games means that the generational nostalgia is there.

I think this will make a fun discussion.

The Last of Us - Nope, clear masterpierce and will remain that for many years and it is also still my favorite game of all time
Skyrim - Yes, i think it's already outdated. Played it in 2020, and i got bored after just 20 hours. But i'm a trophyhunter, so i had to endure 100 hours, so i know a lot about this game. I think the Witcher showed the next step in the evolution of RPG, and Skyrim post Witcher feels very meaningless, artificial and clumsy. More is better stopped being important to gamers, and it progressed towards less is better in terms of content.
Red Dead Redemption - Maybe, though it has it's merits. I replayed it this year, it's ugly as f in terms of graphics, especially if you played RD2.
GTA V - Yes, will happen when GTA VI releases.
Oblivion - Haven't played it, but i think it will suffer the same fate as Skyrim, though unsure.
Batman: Arkham City - Nope, and not a game i have seen on best of all time list at all anyway. Don't think it deserves that high regard, but it's a very solid game. It works, gameplay is smooth, concentrated open-world, fine characters and a fine story (by comic standard). Arkham Asylum is a better game though.
Assassin's Creed II - Yes, a game that was never really that good. Completely outdated along all Ubishit AC games before Origins. Looks ugly, plays badly, mediocre story and so on. Will be forgotten very soon, and if not for the constant releases of new AC games, it would already have been forgotten.
Halo 3 - Don't know (ps player), though FPS games do not fare well.
Splatoon - Don't know this game.
The Walking Dead: Season 1 - Trash game along all TT games. Have never understood why anyone likes these games. They are beyond trash, and continues to get mentioned. I don't get it
Dragon Age: Origins: Have only played DA: I, which was trash. Have also played ME, and i don't think these games will survive long term, since there is something completely wrong with the core characters existing in the games.
Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 - Don't know, haven't played it, but it's a kid game, it will survive.
Fallout 3 (New Vegas will probably stay popular though) - Bethesda again, so same fate.
Borderlands 2 - Have never seen this on all time lists. Have only played the first, not my type of game.

[Pretentious Hipster]

New Vegas will definitely remain popular. Hell, it's at its most popular now and it's been ages.

I wasn't sure about The Last of Us cause I find that naughty dog's stuff might have not aged well gameplay wise. Hell, the uncharted stuff can be a bit rough now and it didn't have the art direction to stand out. But, because of the posts here, the plot might be enough to always make it relevant.

I'm sad that there's not really any point and click games on that list, and they are some decades older that are still more relevant today than The Walking Dead, so I'm really surprised that that was the game there.

[dirty_score]

The Walking Dead: Season 1 - Trash game along all TT games. Have never understood why anyone likes these games. They are beyond trash, and continues to get mentioned. I don't get it

It's very simple. Every genre has its audience. I'm a big fan of "choose your own adventure" type games but not all of them, mind you. I liked the first 2 seasons of Walking Dead but I only played the games once and I liked the outcome. Will I enjoy a repeat? Don't know.

Thing is, I don't think I will ever enjoy or endure a Souls like game and not because I need to "git gud" but because I feel it's just not for me, like some other genres. Likewise, they have their audience. No need to trash on someone else's fun.



Anyway, I'm currently playing Final Fantasy VII Remake and I've been enjoying it so far. I've only played the original and even though I never got around to finish, I still spent a good chunk of hours on it. This is a good quality remake, it doesn't deviate much from the original (so far), it actually expands a lot of stuff from it. The presentation is beautiful, almost like a playable anime, the turn based combat from the original was ditched in favor of a more hack and slash approach and the soundtrack is soo good, that takes me back to my childhood.

[outdoorcats]

Thing is, I don't think I will ever enjoy or endure a Souls like game and not because I need to "git gud" but because I feel it's just not for me, like some other genres. Likewise, they have their audience. No need to trash on someone else's fun.

As the resident Souls fanboy, all I'll say is...I thought the same thing, until I gave Dark Souls a try. The "EXTREME DIFFICULTY" thing is just a silly marketing stunt (but hey, it worked!). The games are challenging, sure, but objectively only about as challenging as your average Mario game - you will die a bunch of times and respawn at the last checkpoint, just like Mario.

[toromash]

The Walking Dead: Season 1 - Trash game along all TT games. Have never understood why anyone likes these games. They are beyond trash, and continues to get mentioned. I don't get it

It's very simple. Every genre has its audience. I'm a big fan of "choose your own adventure" type games but not all of them, mind you. I liked the first 2 seasons of Walking Dead but I only played the games once and I liked the outcome. Will I enjoy a repeat? Don't know.

Thing is, I don't think I will ever enjoy or endure a Souls like game and not because I need to "git gud" but because I feel it's just not for me, like some other genres. Likewise, they have their audience. No need to trash on someone else's fun.



Anyway, I'm currently playing Final Fantasy VII Remake and I've been enjoying it so far. I've only played the original and even though I never got around to finish, I still spent a good chunk of hours on it. This is a good quality remake, it doesn't deviate much from the original (so far), it actually expands a lot of stuff from it. The presentation is beautiful, almost like a playable anime, the turn based combat from the original was ditched in favor of a more hack and slash approach and the soundtrack is soo good, that takes me back to my childhood.

But it's not a "choose your own adventure". It's all an illusion, which you would notice if you replay the game. Don't take it personal, i just write with no filter.

Btw, i don't agree with your point about preference. With true good games those things don't truly exist in my eyes, and i can therefore give a fair assessment of TWD.

[mjf314]

Batman: Arkham City - Nope, and not a game i have seen on best of all time list at all anyway. Don't think it deserves that high regard, but it's a very solid game. It works, gameplay is smooth, concentrated open-world, fine characters and a fine story (by comic standard). Arkham Asylum is a better game though.

Arkham City is on 6/10 lists, and Arkham Asylum is on 5/10 lists.

These numbers would flip if I update to the new Rllmuk poll, because the 2017 list only includes Arkham City and the 2022 list only includes Arkham Asylum. If I update it, both games would be in the top 100, but Arkham City would still have more points.

[toromash]

Batman: Arkham City - Nope, and not a game i have seen on best of all time list at all anyway. Don't think it deserves that high regard, but it's a very solid game. It works, gameplay is smooth, concentrated open-world, fine characters and a fine story (by comic standard). Arkham Asylum is a better game though.

Arkham City is on 6/10 lists, and Arkham Asylum is on 5/10 lists.

These numbers would flip if I update to the new Rllmuk poll, because the 2017 list only includes Arkham City and the 2022 list only includes Arkham Asylum. If I update it, both games would be in the top 100, but Arkham City would still have more points.

Weird, but you are the expert on that. I just don't understand it having played the game twice.

[BulldogDrummond]

Just realised Return to Monkey Island has already been out for a few months. I'm late to the party but will probably start playing it next week.

My favourite kind of game.

[Pretentious Hipster]

I bought it recently too but I feel like I should play the later entries first (I played the first 2 parts).

[BulldogDrummond]

I bought it recently too but I feel like I should play the later entries first (I played the first 2 parts).

I think the whole series is worth a go, years since I've played them, but similar to Broken Sword, I remember every one being good.

[dirty_score]

But it's not a "choose your own adventure". It's all an illusion, which you would notice if you replay the game. Don't take it personal, i just write with no filter.

I didn't and I agree with that assessment. After going through the rest of Telltalle catalogue I started to feel that illusion, that your choices don't really matter and maybe that's why haven't gone for a second playthrough. Speaking of, the new Telltale is releasing the sequel to Tales from the Borderlands this month.

[Traveller]

Been playing through some games lately. The Procession of Calvary was absolutely hilarious. Road 96 and Firewatch didn't really draw me in. I really enjoyed Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition, which was surprisingly addictive; might have to continue the series.

[Pretentious Hipster]

My Zelda video is now 85 minutes long focusing on a Halloween video now instead, but I can get back to it in november and probably get a dozen or so entries done. I'm quite confident in being able to finish it before the next Zelda game comes out.

[dirty_score]

Paste's The 25 Best Horror Games of All Time

[outdoorcats]

Paste's The 25 Best Horror Games of All Time

Respect for inclusion of System Shock 2 and Silent Hill 2 (at 1! are they just hyping the upcoming remake?) but...

The heck is Bloodborne doing all the way down at 19? You're telling me that's not a top-5 horror game?

Some interesting choices. I'd never thought of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. as a "horror" game (I guess it is, at least as a sub-genre?). The Last of Us and The Walking Dead (Telltale) also feel like weird choices because the horror elements are a background to the drama or action-adventure elements, but yes, technically horror titles, of course. The horror aspect is more pronounced in The Last of Us Part II, which has a few small sections which are straight up scary (see: Seattle Convention Center, the hospital basement, the first encounter with Scars). But still only small parts in a game best described as an action-adventure title.

[mjf314]

The heck is Bloodborne doing all the way down at 19? You're telling me that's not a top-5 horror game?

According to Glitchwave it's the 2nd best video game of all time (and the best in the horror genre). I think it used to be #1 but it got overtaken by Disco Elysium.

[Pretentious Hipster]

A youtuber did a video on the glitchwave charts and it probably changed it to some degree because Bloodborne was the #1 game of all time, and #3 was... bloodborne DLC