Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 398

Mass Effect 3

Dragon Quest 11 and Animal Crossing both on Switch.

Really had planned to finally finish the final tower in a like a Dragon but still can’t bring myself to, so got FF7. One of the very few series I’d replay.

This week I’ve mostly been playing Far Cry 6 😁

I’m enjoying it for the most part but there are a few annoyances...

I miss the skill tree so much! All I want to do is permanently increase my crouch speed so I don’t move like I’m wading through tar. I had to Google how to do it and found out you have to purchase and equip a specific outfit. Not sure how I feel about having to change outfits constantly to use different perks. I’m currently using the Parkour outfit which increases your stamina and makes you run super fast (for a short time) after you slide. It’s great when you need to get somewhere fast. I don’t want to keep swapping and changing though.

I also really miss hunting animals to upgrade your gear. I haven’t quite figured out how the upgrade system works in FC6 (it seems overly complicated) but I do miss the old way.

Enemy AI is so frustrating! Trying capture a base using stealth when suddenly the enemies are alerted somehow (???), setting off the alarms and immediately hundreds more enemies show up. There’s probably a stealth outfit I should be using... but why?

One example involved a mission to break a friend out of prison. I stealthily cleared all the enemies bar one. I even hid the bodies. Then for no reason a plane flew overhead and I saw paratroopers descending towards my position. Maybe the one remaining guy realised he was alone and called for backup? Who knows. One of the paratroopers spotted me (from the air) and suddenly, the alarms are triggered and 20 soldiers are shooting at me. Very frustrating when you’re trying to play a certain way.

Did I mention respawning enemies everywhere...?

Another thing I’ve noticed is how the mini-map and waypoints disappear for a few seconds every time you enter a new region and the name of the region fills the bottom-left corner of the screen. A minor annoyance but I hope they fix this in a future patch. I don’t need to know that I’ve entered a new region but I do need to know where I’m going. Nothing worse than missing a turn because you couldn’t see the bloody map.

Also, not being able to jump whilst inside base camps. Trying to jump over a small fence to leave but having to go the long way around because jumping is disabled. I also fell to my death in the first base camp because I jumped from a tower and found out the parachute is disabled too. I don’t know if it’s because you change to third person perspective when entering base camps, which is weird in itself. I wonder why they don’t give you the option to play the whole game in first OR third person?

Finally, not being able to pause cutscenes. I missed a crucial scene because a parcel arrived and I couldn’t pause the cutscene whilst I answered the door. I probably should have pressed the PS button to exit the game (not sure if this works) but I didn’t think of that in the moment.

It sounds like I really hate the game but I don’t. It’s a lot of fun once you accept its imperfections and adapt.

Trying langrisser 1&2 demo, it's pretty good, waiting for psn/eshop discount before buying the game.

As an Arkane fan can't believe I kept this long in buying PREY. Arkane is just unique, I wish Sony if possible broke the bank and bought Arkane instead of securing a single game Deathloop. And finally got one of the most silliest trophies of all time - MAFIAIII: Recurited to 5th SFG - 5 headshots in 5 seconds - nuts! Plus beat Uncharted 3 on Crushing, seems it's easier than 4 or TLL or I just got extremely gud! If I'm able to take a break from PREY, it'd be some more MAFIAIII & RDRII.

Owlboy, lovely game.

Tales Of Arise, getting towards finishing the story then going back to side missions for completion. Metroid Dread, just defeated the second major boss which was tough. Lost Judgement also if time allows

Returnal … enjoying/despising the challenge of Biome 6!

I've been playing Death Stranding directors cut since that came out but I've got back into Returnal recently. I can only play it at the weekend though because some runs last quite a while. Just about the fight the 3rd boss. Absolutely fantastic game.

Batman Arkham asylum, Sackboy a Big Adventure free trial and Rocket League on PS5

Ori and the Blind forest on Switch, have to fight my wife for it though as she's playing DKC with the 7 day free online trial 😂

Have a great weekend everyone.

The very very good Far Cry 6. The more I play it, the more I love it. Some of the treasure hunts and stories are quite eerie and it's like playing an atmospheric horror at times. Mierda!

First week back in work after annual leave and I am already itching for my next load of time off, looking at you December 13th 😂. So to cheer myself up I have decided to challenge myself and try and platinum the Assassins Creed series, first one up is Brotherhood and I'm looking forward to it.

Metroid Dread and probably a bit of the great Returnal.

@Gremio108 See it's on sale and it's sat on my wishlist for some time. I'm a big a fan of retro platformers and I hear this one's special. The only thing giving me pause is the sheer size of my backlog. How's your experience with it so far?

Grinding away with Countermeasures in Control, only 4 more to go and I'll have the Platinum and will finally be done with this special game.

May try and find time for more AC Valhalla once I've achieved the above.

Going to start knocking out the story in Far Cry 6. The side content kept me pretty busy.

No breaks for me!

Still all in on FFXIV

Darkest dungeon best indie games ever made.and the witcher 3 wild hunt complete edition.one of the best games ever made.watching good times.martin.saved by the bell.and the Jefferson.watching this instant classic horror movie.spyral.from the people who made saw.chris rock did a good job in a horror movie.who knew this legendary funny men actor could act in his first horror movie.and watching. Sunday night football 🏈.my 💛Pittsburgh Steelers🖤 win tomorrow night.word up son

Yakuza Kiwami, only 2 chapters to go. The Kiwami's are the only ones I haven't played in the series so I'll get on YK2 next. Really liking the Majima Everywhere system they put into this version, he's one of the best NPC's in all of gaming.

@nofriendo Having a great time with it. It's part platformer, part twin-stick shooter thanks to the way you carry your partner around, but it never gets overly challenging. It's a bit Metroidvania-y as well. The graphics are charming (shout-out to the animations) and the story is meatier than I expected. If you're into retro, you'll love it.

I was actually playing ni no kuni 2 on the ps5 and castlevania on the switch but got surprised with an Xbox Series X and ultimate gamepass yesterday so I started playing halo 1.

Besides that I installed bug fables, carrion, dead cells and some other games I’ve wanted to play for a while now.

Red dead hat retention 2, I’m nearing the end but I keep getting distracted with sightseeing or canoes or gta 3.

Far Cry 6, it's very good, although on my trusty PS4 it has some annoying glitches like freezing when driving, and the having the truck you are in randomly be thrown in the air and crash..... it's not only Cyberpunk that was released a little too early...I mostly walk everywhere in these games, so my enjoyment is not being compromised, it's all good

@fR_eeBritney So there are still enemies respawning everywhere... that's horrible, thought they'd tone it down a notch.

A Switch gaming weekend for me ( sorry guys ha ) with the best game of the year by far Metroid Dread which is a masterclass in game and level design. Just brilliant
Also trying to crack into Skyward Sword a vastly underrated Zelda game.
Might squeeze a few bouts of Guilty Gear Strive in in between
Have a great weekend guys ❤

@fR_eeBritney You can turn off those region notifications by customising your HUD. I have everything turned off except for the compass and it's so much more immersive to play. As for your movement speed, you can find or buy gear which can help with that. It is a bit of a strange mechanic but it really does improve your gameplay when you have the right gear equipped. Remember Juan's rule - 'The right tool for the right job.'

I’m really enjoying Death Stranding on PS5. It’s strange cos I never got that far into it on PS4, maybe I got sidetracked with other games. It’s also a lot bigger than I first thought - I must have put in around 25 hours so far and yet I’m still only in episode 3 😮 it’s definitely a unique game, and quite relaxing...until those pesky BTs show up 😬

DMC5 SE, finally caught a sale. Animal Crossing NH, can't wait to design some vacation houses! Far Cry 6, Ubisoft's getting better at making memorable events outside the campaigns.

Mostly playing Tales of Arise. I'm near the end of it now and then will finish stuff up until I get the Platinum. Also making some time to play Far Cry 6 but I'm still quite early in that

I'm playing Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5 (my second playthrough, the first one was on XSX at launch) and enjoying it immensely. Only difference I see compared to XSX is that when driving the streets suddenly become empty. Otherwise it looks great and plays well.
Also, some Insurgency and GT Sport on the side.

Finishing up Scarlet Nexus on my Series X this weekend, then likely onto The Medium as I want to play at least one horror game this month and I never got around to it on my Series X yet.

I’ll try getting back into Guilty Gear Strive.

Cracking on with Far Cry 6, unlocked all camps now and got a few decent weapons. The story opens up more once the home camps/bases are opened plus good buffs for upgrading them. Best of all, I just got ****** back so he is my side kick from here on in!

I think im nearing the end of Lost Judgment main story. So that will be the focus and then it's time for Far Cry 6.

@Gremio108 Sounds like a hoot. Thank you for elaborating. Owl pick it up today!

Waaaah, really need more time to play! I want to invest some more time in Tales of Arise, but I need more hours in a day. I only real life had DLC...

Watching the 10v10 Japan vs Korea Gulity Gear Strive stream right now and will play myself afterwards. The game's even better after yesterday's patch

@TheArt Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. In one early mission I was on a smallish island - if you killed all the enemies and ran 100 yards away, they would respawn.

I don’t think they want you to play every mission the same way (stealth for me) so to stop that they add respawning enemies (sometimes).

It’s quite difficult to figure out the ‘rules’ of the game sometimes because I don’t think there are any 😂

I’m still having a blast with it though. I’m being overly critical really but it’s still a lot of fun. Just slightly frustrating at times for the reasons I mentioned.

@ApostateMage no way, thanks for telling me that. Definitely changing it! 👍 The worst is when you’re on the border of two zones and it keeps popping up as you cross the invisible line 🤣

Finishing up Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart and that game is special. Should have the game with the platinum wrapped up by the end of the weekend.

Mafia: Definitive Edition. The original was one of my favourite games of all time, so they're going to have to work hard not to F it up.

So far I'm a little disappointed by mushy controls and a few minor details that are missing, but I'm impressed by a lot of the new additions. It'll take some time to get used to the cast though.

Almost finished Yakuza Kiwami 2 and joylessly plugging away at Persona Q.

Playing Far Cry 6-loving the gameplay so far. Not liking the respawning of enemies. Also the world of Far cry 6 also feels less scary then the previous games. What I mean is that in the previous games, you would have random encounters with animals who attack you etc, On far cry 6, it doesn't happen enough, the world feels empty in comparison to older far cry games. Also had Cobra Kai delivered today. So may try some of that out later.

Finally beat Returnal last week. Def my game of the year so far.

Playing through Aria of Sorrow on switch which feels like the right platform for that game.

RE2 Remake on PS5. RE2 is one of my favourite games of all time and the remake is good but I have to confess that I’m finding it a little slow/boring at times. I don’t think going straight to this after Returnal was necessarily the best decision.

NHL 22, Far Cry 6 and some Death Stranding Director’s Cut.

I'm in a holding pattern for a few days after platinuming God of War. Actually turned out to be a pretty good experience!

Hades, made it to the surface for the first time but with only 35 health and no death defy left, I await my first escape. I am so bad at this game, have done 22 runs and switched god mode on about 10 runs ago and still haven't made it out. Credit to the game though, through success and failure they have managed to keep the steady drip of new story beets going and the game itself is so tightly polished I want to keep going

Lost Judgement. Wrapped up all Town Go Shop and School tasks including some minigames that need better restart mechanisms truth be told. Pressing multiple buttons each time to restart made the later attempts for some minigames really annoying. Then there's some grindy Town Go City stuff like cat interactions that is also not really fun. But aside from that, the game has been awesome.

Alan Wake Remastered, for me. Having never owned an Xbox etc. I never had the chance to play this. It feels like a 10 year old game, but it's still fun to play and I'm loving the story so far.

@Cyrus29 I go everywhere on foot and i'm always being attacked by crocodiles, coyotes, jaguars and the like. I was once lining up a shot on an enemy then out of nowhere a mongoose locked its jaws on to my arm. Scare the living daylights out of me.

The Walking Dead (Switch) - Playing the first season. I'm close to finishing episode two. I love playing this during Halloween!

Equalicious (Windows Phone) - On the final stretch now!

Rayman Fiesta Run (Windows Phone) - Also rounding around to the final stretch of this game as well.

@ApostateMage for me it’s been the opposite, haven't been attacked much apart from a croc. Maybe cause of the randomness of the attacks, perhaps my play through I’m just missing them? Apart from that, really enjoying the game.

TLOU2 , Miles Morales and Metroid Dread

Just finished Gleylancer. Great OST and pretty easy Platinum Trophy

Hot Wheels Unleashed, No Mans Sky (building settlement)

Continue my adventure as Samus in Metroid Dread. Seriously, I'm enjoying the absolute hell out of this game. Easily my favorite in the series next to Fusion.

@ApostateMage Well... the good news is, the region name pop-up can be disabled... the bad news is, the mini-map still disappears for a few seconds whenever you cross a border (you just don’t see the region name) 🙄🤣 Hopefully they patch it down the line (along with the ability to change from day to night).

There are some neat HUD customisation options though. I’ve turned a few of them on to make finding materials easier 😬

1. FarCry 6.
We are 20hrs in and still have tons to do. Bang for the buck looks to be great.

2. Monster Hunter RISE PC Demo.

Mad Max, zooming along and enjoying the blurry sights!

@ApostateMage

Same here... Was not paying attention and when i set up to take a military target stealth i got attacked and the entire plan went sideways.

But there is an "amigo" for that. Swap him in and you are golden.

Yeah some of the treasure huts are great.

Turning back the clock this week. Busting out the PS3 and jumping into Resident Evil 2 and Resident 3 in all it's tank control glory. Finished the RE3 Remake last week and found it to be alright but lacking. What was there was a good game but lots of cut content and the pacing felt way off.

Tales of Arise baybay!

Well i was playing diablo 2 online with my brother untill blizzard decided to release a patch which ballsed it up and then released a patch to fix it but now the servers are down so i've started an offline paladin build..bloody blizzard..

Guilty Gear strive.
Beat fighting game this year, imo.

Warframe. Gonna do some steel essence farming as I heard Umbra forma is back in Tenshin's shop tomorrow.

Turns out I might be spending my entire weekend on the racetrack level that's in the Fair Play mission (Mafia: Definitive Edition). Had about 20 attempts today, and the best I've come in is 3rd. Cursing the fact I'm playing classic difficulty level, but I'll get it eventually. I remember spending a week trying to get through that level in the original as a teenager. Can't let my past self down.

@Daleaf I swear the opponent vehicle physics are not set to simulation. And their cars have a higher maximum speed. And it seems odd that the hotshot race driver, who would have been expected to come second if it weren't for Lucas' work, and whose place you're only taking because Morello's guys best him up, is placed 16/16 on the starting grid.

I do have to admit I tried taking the shortcut from the original and smacked into the tire-wall several times before accepting there would be no cheating, unless you count using the other cars as additional braking/grip on corners…

I was also surprised that it didn't take a leaf from the original's book (a few patches after release) and offer that you skip the race if you fail more than three times.

I was playing InFAMOUS 2, Motor Storm Apocalypse and Split/Second on PS Now and was having a pretty good experience but not perfect. It just made me want real Back Compatibility. So I jumped over to my Xbox One X and picked up Split/Second for $20. And it’s so much more fun. On PS4 I might Restart SOMA for a creepy game during October. Have a great weekend!

Far Cry 6, which, once again you guys were bang on the money with your 7/10 score. Fun, but frustrating. fR_eeBritney nailed down alot of the issues with the game (thanks for that, saved me some time!) But oh boy, the characters in this game are simply atrocious.....just so so bad. I rarely skip cutscenes, but I can't hold down the circle button quick enough in this case! So bad...
Co-op is still a good time though!

@Ichiban 'Philly magic bebe!'
I really like some of the characters but I can see why other people would detest them. Female Dani is absolutely boss, though.

@F1at8mot0 loved Motorstorm Apocalypse and Split Second. Brings back memories- ah those were the days !

Mass effect and PGA 2K21. Enjoying both 👍👍

Ni No Kuni Remastered. Played it 15 hours or so on ps3 and then for some reason never went back to it, but enjoying it. Also as it was my first day off in over a month, I've managed to make a pretty sizeable dent into it and have already got much further than I did previously.

Demon Slayer 😁

Playing for the first time GoT and enjoying it a lot so far. There’s something so special in it I forget I was superbored with open world action rpgs. Can’t wait to get back at it as soon as the kids are in bed lol

@Daleaf Well, I thought you might want to know, but I finished the racetrack. I was concentrating so hard I thought I had a whole extra lap to do, and was taken by complete surprise when it came up with the victory screen.

I shall not be taking questions when it comes to good long it took me, or how many attempts, but I can tell you without reference, that "Lichtenburg's in trouble, there's something up with his car" and might have the phrase burned into my brain for weeks …

@JamieO JP copies for Greylancer on the MD are also ridiculous expensive so its awesome that everyone can now experience this Game for only ~5€. Have fun with it!

@Daleaf I seem to remember the two missions in the port giving me a hard time in the original, but given how they revamped Omerta, they may have ended up being less of a difficulty spike. I remember one was "You Lucky …" and I think the latter might have been "Just for Relaxation", but I'm less sure of that. "Death of Art" was hard, but not unexpectedly so given it's the final level.