Topic: PS4 recommendation thread

Since I've already bought most of the games I want to play on PS4, I've been trying to expand my horizons a bit to find more titles to experience that I don't know much about. One of those is Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen and the only thing I know is that the game is kinda like a Souls game and that there are a lot of people who love it. What makes it so good compared to other games and is it hard like a Souls title? And also, is it worth getting for €15?

@LtSarge It’s not really Souls like to be honest. You do have big enemy encounters which are a highlight of the game as you can climb them and target weak points. But there aren’t particularly big boss battles and most enemies are beatable at the right level (I spent ages to beat one enemy when I was under levelled just to prove a point.. it wasn’t worth the time it took!)

The story is a bit cheesy and the voice acting almost hilarious but the combat mechanics really are cool. Plus, the pawn system is really unique where you create a small NPC character who follows you and joins you in combat. You can also recruit others online who can have knowledge of areas and enemies you don’t have (from what I remember).

I really enjoyed it as a PS+ freebie back in the dying days of the PS3 so it has been a long time since I played it. While it does have its flaws, it is still a fun game.

@LtSarge To piggyback on @Thrillho , Dragon’s Dogma is a fantastic game, and not really like Dark Souls except it’s fantasy based and has dragons. I don’t remember it being all that difficult either. In fact, I went on a fantasy binge back in PS3 after playing Skyrim and I wanted more of that genre so picked up Dark Souls at the recommendation of the worker at GameStop and I didn’t make it past 5 or so hours before I jumped off and
then went on to instead play DD and Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning in quick succession and loved them both. So the difficulty shouldn’t deter you.

The pawn system is really fantastic, and it’s a fun asynchronous online wrinkle that add to the uniqueness of the game. Definitely recommend it. This is based on the base PS3 game, I didn’t ever go back to complete all the extra Dark Arisen added content and I don’t know how the PS4 port holds up, but I’m sure it’s most likely an improvement.

The game is pretty long, as I recall. The main story isn’t probably too bad but it’s got an openness to it and it seems like I poured 80+ hours into it and didn’t even do it all.

@Thrillho @Th3solution Really enjoyed reading your thoughts about the game, especially the part about the pawn system, which I had no idea about. It sounds really interesting! I'm definitely adding the game on my to-buy list for the foreseeable future as I've been wanting to buy more titles for my collection seeing as how I'm completing games faster than I'm buying them. Not gonna lie, I've been actually getting worried that I won't have many games to play at this rate, lol. Anyway, I appreciate your informative comments about the game!

@LtSarge I’d be interested in your thought if/when you get to it, particularly if it does still hold up today.

@Thrillho Will definitely keep you as well as @Th3solution in mind when I eventually start playing this game!

Thought I'd add my thoughts even though you're already pretty sold on Dragon's Dogma @LtSarge thanks to Thrillho & Sol.

It's not very souls like as the others stated aside from it being a Japanese take on western medieval fantasy. The DLC content Dark Arisen/Bitterblack Isle is a lot grimmer and grimey in atmosphere (& harder) so that might be where more the comparisons come from? And all the Berserk references that are in Dragon's Dogma like the souls games as well 😄

The base game can be quite tough on the hard difficulty setting and with it being open world if you adventure out far enough you can get your butt handed to you by higher level enemies if you aren't prepared!

The day night system the game has is pretty neat. In the day you might find some wolves in one area whereas during the night it might be an ogre pack there instead. Plus it's pitch black at night so you really do need your precious lantern with you to illuminate your surroundings.

Fast travel is rather limited in the game with only the main town and the starting village having fast travel spots (with you needing an item as well (Though I think you're given an infinite use fast travel item in this version)) but as you go along you do get items that allow you to set up your own fast travel points. The map isn't huge though from what I remember so it shouldn't be too bad?

The combat's fun like the others have said with a monster hunter-esque flair to the bigger monsters that you can climb on with specific weaknesses and ways to get special items off them for attacking certain parts.

There's 3 starting classes for your character & pawn to chose from and then six other classes you can change into (Pawns can't become the hybrid classes) once you get past lvl 10 (I think?) that you can switch into at the main city whenever you like with purchasable skills, buffs and the likes to customise as you want.

The story's kinda inconsequential but it then weirdly comes together at the end and explains itself fairly well (And how it does the final boss in New Game+ is fun as well from what I recall).

I really like this game if you didn't get that by now. I played the PS3 version a LOT.

The PS4/Xbox port is just a bump to 60FPS (I think?) and resolution up to 1080p from what I recall so it's nothing too fancy.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy It definitely sounds like it will be a good time! Seems like most of you have played the PS3 version so it's going to be interesting to play the PS4 version and share my experience with that one. Really looking forward to playing it now!

Perusing the current sales I find myself tempted to pick up both Shady Part of Me and The Last Campfire for some emotive, narrative driven puzzle solving type action. Now I will probably get them regardless but just wondering if anyone here has played them or have anything positive or otherwise to say about them?

So I've been contemplating buying some games in the Halloween sale and one I'm interested in getting is Manhunt. I've never experienced this series before and the first game seems like it could be rather fun. It's also only €9. Has anyone played it and would recommend it?

Hello,
I'm considering to buy a driving wheel during black friday sales.
What games do you recommend? Please one line description as i'm not used to racing games.
During old PS2 time i was fanatic of burnout. There is burnout paradise remastered. Although would a wheel be worth for this game?
Gran turismo cross my mind about wheel, but (back in PS1 era) i felt it was too much picky with my lack of driving precision and i felt lost in the deep customisation.
Colin mcrae was another one i've briefly played on PS1 but my car always fall apart and never had enough time for all repairs.
Briefly also played need for speed on PS2, but prefering burnout all the way.
That's all about my driving games.
Ideally i would like to find a game that exploit a wheel, without being too much paranoid.
Thank you

@Nechromanthys I picked up Need For Speed: Payback a while ago (I think it might even have been a PS+ freebie) and I had a great time with it.

It's essentially "Fast and Furious: The Game" with an utterly ridiculous plot and some quite hammy acting but the different race modes and open world gameplay really worked well. Lots of cars to buy and customise for the different race modes too. I bet it costs next to nothing now too.

@TheBrandedSwordsman I haven’t played either of the Ni No Kuni games. I’ve heard they are both good JRPGs, especially the first one. I think maybe they remastered the first game and ported it to PS4 so it might be worth starting there, although I have no idea if there is any carry over storyline or anything. I do get the feeling the games are very JRPG in the sense of lots of leveling and battles and story and pretty long games. It seems like one of them was criticized for excessive grinding, but I’m not sure. Perhaps someone has a better understanding of the games and their appeal. It seems like the two games play differently and some prefer the first game and some prefer the second and may be that the second game is easier, which might make it better if it’s not a genre you play a lot.

The thought came to me, have you played any Yakuza games? They are beat-em-ups and story based on the Japanese mafia. They have a dedicated following. Yakuza 0 is a good intro game which I played but I never did finish. Not that I wasn’t enjoying it, but it’s a pretty long game with a lot of side quest content and I just never got through. It has a difficulty slider so can be played on easy if it is too difficult. The combat is pretty fun and the story is really quirky and yet moving at the same time with interesting characters. It’s not English dubbed though, so has to be played with Japanese dialog and English subtitles.

@Th3solution I do think Ni No Kuni 2 is easier than the first game, from what I've read online, so that's where I'll be diving in, in an effort to avoid any serious grinding! But yeah, should be fun. I'm not really into beat-em-up games, I prefer my video game violence to be done sans fists. Sword and board for me all day long.

@Th3solution @TheBrandedSwordsman

Hey what's up you two!! I haven't been too active in the forums these past few months, how have y'all been?

@TheBrandedSwordsman Do let me know how you like NNK2 if you do give it a shot. It’s a series that I occasionally get curious about.
And fair enough on the lack of interest for the fisticuffs. Although you can pick up things like nearby bicycles and traffic cones to bludgeon your enemies with. 😂

@TraCuz- Hey, bud — doing alright! Just tying to survive Christmas and New Years. Going to be doing maybe some mobile gaming for the next week or two and then jump into some new games soon.
How about you? What have you been playing?

@Th3solution I hear ya there Sol! What mobile games piqued your interest? And you know where I've been! Playing the universally acclaimed FFXIV! I really can't stress how incredible this game is, and the latest expansion Endwalker is no exception, with how insanely cohesive it is by weaving in previous story arcs and characters. I've been thinking of writing up something huge for the User Impressions thread, but it may be a while.

@TraCuz- Oh yeah; I’m scared to try FF14 out of sheer concern that it would take over my life and I’d never end up playing anything else 😅. Did I see that they had to shut down new subscription purchases because the servers were too full already? I thought I saw something like that.

As for my mobile gaming, I am planning to get a Switch finally and maybe dip my toe into the Ninty market, mostly to use it for handheld gaming. I’ll probably start with BotW or Mario Odyssey or Metroid Dread or Mario + Rabbids or KOTOR or Fire Emblem 3 Houses or Xenoblade Chronicles or… 😅

@Th3solution Haha that's awesome, basically you're telling me you want the whole catalog xD? You're gonna love your Switch, and any of those are amazing choices.

You are absolutely correct, it will completely take over xD. But I'll be that influence that says you should try it! Well....when you're able to make a new account haha. Indeed they are currently not selling the game, and new accounts cannot be made with free trials.