What game(s) are you playing now?

[outdoorcats]

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

Well, that's just silly...everyone knows the Bloodborne DLC is better than the main game.

[toromash]

After top 5, Paste loses sense of the ranking. It does not make any sense to place a game like Bloodborne behind mainstream fun like Alien Isolation and Until Dawn (have played all three, and Bloodborne would be like comparing The Shinning to Saw). Im also unsure what constitutes a horror game, when i looked at their list. And of course Walking Dead is ranked high, you already know my opinion on that game.

[mjf314]

I just finished Final Fantasy VII.

Good game but I think I liked FF6 a little bit more. I think FF6 had a better story and better graphics, and the ending of FF7 seemed a little rushed.

[flavo5000]

I recently finished Super Cane Magic Zero. A pretty fun, wacky hack n slash, kinda like if Diablo was made by Cyanide and Happiness or something. Also finished Maize last night, a pretty funny first-person puzzle game about mutant sentient corn and scarecrows in a secret government facility.

I'm about halfway through Grim Fandango Remastered and am enjoying that one so far too. It's one of the few LucasArts games I never finished back in the day (The Indiana Jones games and The Dig being I think the only other ones).

[dirty_score]

Finished yesterday GTA Vice City a.k.a. Scarface the videogame. The gameplay aged like milk but the rest is stellar: the 80's vibes, the soundtrack and the cast. Ray Liotta.

[mightysparks]

I’ve been playing Against the Storm a lot lately. It’s still in early access but it’s pretty solid and lots of fun. I saw a review that said it was ‘for people who love the first 2 hours of city builders and get bored’ so it sounded like the game for me.

[Traveller]

Over the last few months, I played through

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Anniversary Edition
Pentiment
Persona 5 Royal
SOMA
Vampire Survivors

Danganronpa 2 was not as good as the first one, but still enjoyable. Pentiment was not quite as good as I had hoped, but still a great game. Persona 5 Royal is one of the best games I've ever played - completely lost myself in it and its soundtrack... SOMA was short but nice. Vampire Survivors was fun and somewhat addictive.

[outdoorcats]

+1 for Vampire Survivors...I don't fully understand how such a simple and basic game (all you do is move with WASD and dodge enemies) is so fun.

[mjf314]

I just finished Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Good game, but I'm not sure if I like it more or less than the previous Zero Escape game. I think it's better in some ways and worse in some ways.

[outdoorcats]

I just finished Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Good game, but I'm not sure if I like it more or less than the previous Zero Escape game. I think it's better in some ways and worse in some ways.

I had never heard of this series and your post made me look it up. It looks up my alley! And on PS4 to boot...

I have been spending a lot of free time playing Hades, and it's amazing. It pretty much masters the rogue-like genre, both with incredibly satisfying action but also with the mechanic that each time you die and start over, you get to advance the story and your relationships with various characters, which makes starting over fun and not frustrating. And the story and relationships are worth advancing because the game has fantastic music, great writing, charm and humor galore, and collectively some of the best voice acting I've heard in a video game. Gorgeous art direction too. Did I mention your character has both a male and female love interest you can date? (Also a floating Gorgon head, but that one is strictly platonic)

[dirty_score]

I have been spending a lot of free time playing Hades, and it's amazing.

Then you'll be probably happy to hear that Hades 2 was announced in the last The Game Awards show.

--

I've been dabbling with Atari 50 - The Anniversary Celebration which is an interactive journey through a timeline that offers insider looks on a curated list of games that you can play, documentaries, interviews, posters and even some close up-information traded between employers related to the games. So here I am, in my gaming rig, playing Pong, Asteroids or Breakout

[mightysparks]

I’ve been playing Dishonored all day and I love it. I’ve tried it many times over the last 10 years but couldn’t get into it. I would often get annoyed at how terrible I was at stealthing and give up. I never got further than the first proper mission. But this time I told myself I wasn’t going to get caught up in being stealthy and just go with it. The first mission was fun but The Golden Cat mission sold me. Was only going to play for a few hours but couldn’t get off once I started and had to pull myself away so I don’t stay up all night. I bought the second game during Christmas sales and I’m hoping it’s as fun.

I’m still not that good but I find I get way less stressed playing these games now and I’m also ok with reducing difficulty to baby mode if needed so find it a lot easier to sink into it and enjoy (I’m playing Dishonored on normal though and it’s fairly easy even for me).

[flavo5000]

I played the first person shooter Industria for a little while but got annoyed with how hard it was and gave up (which is not something I do often but this game was beyond frustrating). Ended up starting another FPS, Homefront. The gameplay is pretty generic but the story line of an alternate history where the North Koreans took over the US is an interesting one.

[mjf314]

I just finished Inside. I think I liked Limbo slightly more.

[Pretentious Hipster]

[mjf314]

I finished Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. It's kind of like an inferior version of Symphony of the Night, but it's still a good game, so I'd recommend it to fans of SotN. SotN has better graphics, music, and story, but I guess the gameplay is about the same.

[flavo5000]

I played through Chapter 2 of the Wallace & Gromit Telltale game. It's showing its age a little but still an enjoyable point n click adventure. Also just finished The Flower Collectors which is kinda like Rear Window: The Game but with a political twist. I really liked it.

[Mulholland]

I've started Persona 5 Royal. 10 hours in, still lots of tutorial and I am loving it.

Only know Persona from the dancing games so looking forward to trying 3 and 4 after finishing this.

[mightysparks]

My bf and I treated ourselves to a new game each after doing a tough travel job. I got Hogwarts Legacy and he got the Dead Space remake/remaster/whatever. I didn't know anything about the Hogwarts game and I'm not much of a Harry Potter fan but it just seemed like what I was in the mood for right now. Super casual exploration type of game, puzzles and fun combat. It's not the greatest or most original game ever and the goody two shoes dialogue/characters are irritating but I'm really enjoying it and the more I play the more settled in I feel. My particular graphics card has a visual issue with the water (it glitches vertically or just appears as a black void) which is frustrating and my PC can't play it higher than medium settings. One thing I really like is that if you can wear upgraded loot but change the appearance to any other loot you've acquired, so you're not forced to wear stuff you hate because it has better stats.

I tried playing Dead Space around the time it came out and I'm not even sure I made it to the first save point before being too scared to continue. So I'm watching my boyfriend play since I think it's too scary for me. He normally plays every game on the hardest difficulty but opted for medium because he's bored of hard difficulty just being 'bullet sponge' mode. Anyway it seems pretty tough on medium. The atmosphere, lighting, sound effects, creatures and the gore are all amazing. I also love the lack of a hud and using the character's 'backpack' as a HP gauge. It's a game I can really appreciate from afar but could never play.

[kongs_speech]

I oughta play some more Duke Nukem 3D today. Haven't done much gaming lately, been hella busy with stuff. If I get some good screenwriting done today, I'll play a little as a reward.

[flavo5000]

I've been playing the Ghostbusters game that came out a few years ago. It's actually pretty fun and includes all the original voice actors. Plot-wise it's kind of a rehash of the movies but if you wanna paly a game that makes you feel like a Ghostbuster, this is probably as good as you're gonna get.

I also fired up Max Payne 3 to murder the shit out of some folks while jumping through the air in slow motion.

[Traveller]

Haven't played much recently, only finishing some quick completions:

Contrast
Before I Forget
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
INSIDE
Tinykin

Tinykin and Turnip were fun and INSIDE was interesting; the other two were pretty meh.

[mjf314]

I finished Shadow of the Colossus.

I started playing Journey, but I got bored, so I don't think I'll finish it.

Edit: I finished Journey. It gets a little bit better, but I still found it kind of boring.

[mjf314]

I started playing God of War (2018). I like the story and visuals so far. I'm not sure how I feel about the combat and the controls. It's very different from anything that I've played before, so it might take some time to get used to it. I haven't decided if I'll finish it, but I think I'll play it some more tomorrow.

Edit: I played it some more today, and I'm getting tired of it. I still don't like the combat and the controls. I think I'm going to drop it.

[mjf314]

I started playing Nier: Automata. I like it so far, so I think I'll probably finish it.

[dirty_score]

I started playing God of War (2018). I like the story and visuals so far. I'm not sure how I feel about the combat and the controls. It's very different from anything that I've played before, so it might take some time to get used to it. I haven't decided if I'll finish it, but I think I'll play it some more tomorrow.

Edit: I played it some more today, and I'm getting tired of it. I still don't like the combat and the controls. I think I'm going to drop it.

You should really make an effort to finish the games you start. Drop the difficult or speedrun it at least, because the story in God of War is actually decent.

If I may suggest something that I usually do: watching a few minutes of a playthrough/walkthrough on youtube of a game I'm still undecided to play. Combining with your previous experience on similar games and even if it's someone else playing you still get the sense that you might or might not enjoy playing the game yourself. Well, at least, this has been working for me. I think I saved myself a lot of frustation and boredom with this tactic, but I'm also working towards quality than quantity.
--
Anyway, finished the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection (2020) that features the remastered version of the first 2 games: Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert. I much prefer the former than the latter, Red Alert had some infiltration missions that were a pain in the ass. I prefer my missions to be just building your base and then proceed to conquer the rest of the map, especially without a timer

[mjf314]

I started playing God of War (2018). I like the story and visuals so far. I'm not sure how I feel about the combat and the controls. It's very different from anything that I've played before, so it might take some time to get used to it. I haven't decided if I'll finish it, but I think I'll play it some more tomorrow.

Edit: I played it some more today, and I'm getting tired of it. I still don't like the combat and the controls. I think I'm going to drop it.

You should really make an effort to finish the games you start. Drop the difficult or speedrun it at least, because the story in God of War is actually decent.

If I may suggest something that I usually do: watching a few minutes of a playthrough/walkthrough on youtube of a game I'm still undecided to play. Combining with your previous experience on similar games and even if it's someone else playing you still get the sense that you might or might not enjoy playing the game yourself. Well, at least, this has been working for me. I think I saved myself a lot of frustation and boredom with this tactic, but I'm also working towards quality than quantity.

I don't agree with the "finish everything" philosophy. I'd rather try several different games, and only finish the ones that I like the most. That way I can spend 95% of my time having fun.

I don't have a problem with the story in God of War. I just don't like the combat and the controls. I tried lowering the difficulty, and it's easy enough, but still not very fun. I did check a video on Youtube, but it didn't change my mind. I don't want to spend so many hours on a game that I'm not enjoying.

[kongs_speech]

Started Batman: The Telltale Series.

[Minkin]

I had downloaded a ton of rom files, so now I own every NES/SNES/N64/Genesis game - and I have an eventual bucket list goal to "beat" all of them at some point (just like I have a goal to see every ICM movie). Anyway, for some reason, I decided to start with Mr Gimmick for the NES - which was never released in the US.

It can be strange at first trying to figure out how to bounce the star around you and try to hit anything. It's a pretty difficult NES hard sort of game, but its also a lot of fun dealing with new environments and ways to use the star - as transport or bouncing off of baddies. Then the enemies and bosses have some of the best AI of any 8 bit game - they all react to your stars and dodge them and bounce out of the way - it's amazing that even some basic enemies have that skill to them

The one problem I have is that the "good ending" is next to impossible without save states - as you can't hit continue screen and you have to collect all the hidden objects, which are mostly super difficult to get. So I used save states for the objects, but otherwise I've beaten the game (the bad ending) without save states, which I'm rather proud of.

Here's a great review of the game by Pat the NES Punk.

Games Completed

Mr. Gimmick (1992) - NES - Rating: 9/10

Can anyone recommend which NES or SNES game I should play next?

[mjf314]

Can anyone recommend which NES or SNES game I should play next?

Here are some recommendations:

NES:
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda

SNES:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Donkey Kong Country 2
Super Mario World
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 6
Super Metroid

Are you interested in PS1 games as well? PS1 should be easy to emulate, even if your computer is old.

[outdoorcats]

Can anyone recommend which NES or SNES game I should play next?

The first Metroid game should be an interesting one. I haven't tried to play it yet, but from what I've heard it's pretty unique among NES titles. So that'd be one I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts on.

[Pretentious Hipster]

I'm not that well versed into NES games yet, but I trust these two youtubers. The first one has some of the obvious classics, but some look like great deep cuts:



This one is a bit biased towards JRPGs, but nonetheless still a great video

[Pretentious Hipster]

Also mjf... if Minkin is talking about a deep cut like Mr. Gimmick, I think she knows what The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros 3 is. Hell, even people who don't know what an NES is knows that games like that exist. I have a feeling you've been trolling us in this thread all along.

[mjf314]

Also mjf... if Minkin is talking about a deep cut like Mr. Gimmick, I think she knows what The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros 3 is. Hell, even people who don't know what an NES is knows that games like that exist. I have a feeling you've been trolling us in this thread all along.

Minkin posted a "Games Completed" list, and Mr. Gimmick is the only game on the list, so I assumed that she's new to NES and SNES games.

[Minkin]

Apologies for any mix-ups! My older sister had both an NES and SNES by the time I was born / old enough to play video games (N64 was "my" first console) - so I grew up with both of them, and have plenty of memories around them, although I didn't play either Zelda or Metroid until the Wii virtual console, but have played all the Marios, Donkey Kongs, growing up - all of which I've beaten already.

I've beaten all the games Mjf listed - except Chrono + FF6 (I'm not the biggest RPG gal). But I decided to start over again, now that I write reviews for the games I play and beat - and Gimmick is where I'm starting from, - so I've beaten quite a few games, but am just now getting around to doing write-ups for them. Sorry if it made things confusing - I should've worded it better - as I'm quite an old hand at the NES/SNES, so am looking for things outside the canon at this point.

Thanks for the recommendations - although I'm hoping to find more obscure gems that people might know of (like we had Little Nemo's Dream World growing up - which is difficult but quite good). Hipster's suggestions are a great starting /jumping point for me though!

[flavo5000]

Apologies for any mix-ups! My older sister had both an NES and SNES by the time I was born / old enough to play video games (N64 was "my" first console) - so I grew up with both of them, and have plenty of memories around them, although I didn't play either Zelda or Metroid until the Wii virtual console, but have played all the Marios, Donkey Kongs, growing up - all of which I've beaten already.

I've beaten all the games Mjf listed - except Chrono + FF6 (I'm not the biggest RPG gal). But I decided to start over again, now that I write reviews for the games I play and beat - and Gimmick is where I'm starting from, - so I've beaten quite a few games, but am just now getting around to doing write-ups for them. Sorry if it made things confusing - I should've worded it better - as I'm quite an old hand at the NES/SNES, so am looking for things outside the canon at this point.

Thanks for the recommendations - although I'm hoping to find more obscure gems that people might know of (like we had Little Nemo's Dream World growing up - which is difficult but quite good). Hipster's suggestions are a great starting /jumping point for me though!

I've been on and off working on completing every game on this list:
https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-nes-games

Of course, there are a few like Hockey and Excitebike that it isn't clear what "completing" the game really means since there's no real campaign or career mode in them.

[mightysparks]

I finally finished making our house/Simselves/dog in The Sims 4 (it's as accurate as I can get in The Sims except I gave us a nice garden instead of a dead one lol). Creepily all 3 of us are in the same positions IRL right now as our Sim versions in the below screenshot.

[mjf314]

I finished Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

I put Nier: Automata on hold (I might finish it in the future, but I'm not in the mood to play it now).

[flavo5000]

I finished Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

I put Nier: Automata on hold (I might finish it in the future, but I'm not in the mood to play it now).

I really like the Paper Mario games, and I think Thousand Year door is probably the best one of them.

[mjf314]

I finished Project Kat - Paper Lily Prologue (a horror RPG). It's pretty short, so it didn't take long to finish it.

I also finished VVVVVV (a 2D platformer) a couple of months ago, but I think I forgot to post about it in this thread.