Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

Started up Dragon Quest XI within the last week. It's been pretty great so far (recently arrived in Gondolia). Not since Spider-Man have I been this hooked on a game (including taking tons of screenshots).

Been playing Hitman 2 recently, following @RogerRoger's glowing recommendation. So far I've only finished the Prologue and have started the Paris Legacy level, but I'm enjoying the depth to the level design and how the assassinations are planned out. The controls are also simple, which is nice.

@Ralizah Well, I took your advice and took a break from the Tetris stage that I had trouble passing and then went back and by some miracle I completed it on my fourth try tonight. Then I felt confident cruising through the next section until I got to the last stage and it cranks up to speed of 10 at the end and it just gets so frustrating for me. 😩
I’ll have to try again after another break for a day or two. I guess I’m not a natural at Tetris after all. And I’m not sure my brain will be able to compute things at the top speed. I did try the Master Mode just for fun and it is just pure luck if I get the pieces in place in the 0.2 milliseconds you get. Not sure I even completed more than a line or two.

@Th3solution So, one thing I find helpful when pieces start falling especially quickly is to rotate them continuously until I've moved them to the spot I want them in. If you do it quickly enough, it'll keep the game from sticking them to the board. The key to managing faster speeds is to do this while keeping an eye on the next available piece so that, subconsciously, you know where to direct the next piece when it comes out.

Don't worry about not being great at the game: you'll get better with practice, and sometimes people just struggle with certain games for no particular reason. In my case, although I'm pretty decent at Tetris, I am terrible at Puyo-Puyo, and struggle to create chains bigger than two reactions long. I understand the game conceptually, but in practice, I just can't seem to grok the moment-to-moment of it in a way that allows me to play at even a semi-competent level. I did practice, though, and I went from failing continuously at even rudimentary levels of the game to being able to complete the story mode in Puyo-Puyo Tetris and get much further than I was ever able to before in Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine.

I've had a busy week and so I've been reduced to the status of 'lurker' on Push Square these last few days. Games I've been playing while I've had the chance:

Terraria: My eldest son got some Terraria guide books for Christmas and we've been delving into the deeper aspects of this game. He loves it. The game is insane, we've been playing it loads and I see it when I close my eyes. I've been helping him try to beat a boss called the 'Wall of Flesh', my every waking moment consists of planning ways to bring that sucker down.

Shenmue: Ah, Shenmue. I love this game so much. I've not had much chance to play it yet, and when I do it's either to run around Ryo's house switching the lights off and plunging Ine-san into darkness, or legging it down the arcade to play darts. The compressed voice effects are terrible but I'm used to them now, and I don't remember Ryo being this difficult to control. Anyone struggling with Red Dead should play Shenmue for a bit - Ryo makes Arthur Morgan look like Kat from Gravity Rush. Trying to negotiate him into an alleyway is like trying to drag a drunk out of a pub at closing time. Still, wouldn't change a thing about this beautiful game.

Spyro Trilogy - I remember playing the first one back in the day, but I don't remember it being this fun. The kids have been playing it and I've jumped in when they've needed help. These kids need to get their arses back to school so I can play this game proper.

Hope everyone's had a great Christmas, and Happy New Year for tonight.

@RogerRoger It's just so good. Can't wait to get properly stuck in. It's like going back to a town you haven't visited since you were young.

UPDATE Apparently the kids have defeated Terraria's 'Wall of Flesh' boss today, while I was out. My wife said she heard a massive cheer from downstairs and wondered what was going on. Sports Day can screw off, this is what it means to be a proud parent

@KratosMD I played a little bit of Shenmue II back in the day, but not much. That's one of the reasons why I'm so excited for this re-release. They introduced some sort of time-skipping mechanic in the second one. I can't remember how it works because I never used it, but it's there.

I thought I heard something about them working it into the first game for this reissue, but unless I'm missing something it doesn't seem to be there.

I just started Jurassic World Evolution this evening and it’s good fun so far. It takes a while to get going and earning money but I’m now sat on a silly stash of cash on the first island. It doesn’t explain some things well either so thank god for google.

Being able to drive/fly around the park yourself is cool, as is taking down a dinosaur with a tranquilliser when needs must.

@KratosMD Even though the first one will feel as slow as it always did, you'll still get that warm glow you're talking about. The streets, the people, the terrible voice acting, it's all like you remember. It seemed a little bigger at the time, but then the places from your youth always do.

I had a look in the options menu last night, and while I still can't find a way to skip time in the first game, you can at least fast travel to your destination, rather than having to walk through all the districts each day to get to work, so that's something. You'd miss some optional conversations and objectives though. I think you can turn it on and off at your leisure.

I'm not sure I should admit this, but I put GoW on hold after playing a few hours and started Dark Souls 2. I like God War a lot, but buying DS2 on sale I had to try it out and it has me hooked. I don't know what it is, but Fromsoftware games pull me in like no other. I'm also surprised how active it is. Maybe it is due to the recent sale.

@Elodin Yeah I'm always surprised how active the online aspect of From games are years after release. That they still keep finding hidden bosses and stuff for Bloodborne 3 or so years after release amazes me.

@JohnnyShoulder To hold an active player base this long shows how well made Fromsoftware's games are. I'm trying a sorcerer class in DS2. All other souls games I went knight or warrior. This could get interesting.

I’m seeing tetrominoes falling when I close my eyes. I suddenly want to put everything packed tightly together and I hear sound effect and music play when I fit something together.
... Tetris Effect is both entertaining me and driving me bonkers.

@Th3solution Have you gotten past the roadblock you were previously stuck at?

@Ralizah Yes. I made it past that level and then am now stuck on the first level of the final section. I tried some of the other modes and I think it’s helping to fine tune my skills at placing pieces quickly. I’m getting better. We’ll see. It is definitely challenging, but the game is so beautiful and well presented that it makes even the difficulty tolerable.

@Th3solution Do you realise what you have explained there is what people consider the Tetris Effect in real life?

@Th3solution Some of the other modes really forced me to play the game differently. Particularly target mode. I didn't start getting decent scores in that until I realized that I'd have to stop forming these perfect sets of lines and really just start slamming down blocks in unconventional ways to quickly eliminate target blocks.

@RogerRoger 🤣. Haha! Hadn’t seen that before.

@Th3solution @RogerRoger @JohnnyShoulder @Ralizah There are other games which do the same thing.

MGS 5 - Fulton

Man I could see stuff to fulton everywhere in the real world. Metal boxes, gaurds at train stations, old grannies etc.

I own Puyo Puyo Tetris so it's not worth picking up Tetris effect as yet. If it drops below £20 I will slot it into my collection like a line piece setting off a tetromino. Then quickly add Puyo Puyo next to it for a back 2 back.

I'm currently playing Soul Calibur 6. It's great, I wish it was a little slower like SC2, it's a tad too fast but great to play. Their are 3 single player modes. Chronicle, Arcade and A big huge world spanning weapons collectaphon - I can't actually remember it's name but it's great, you level up your character and stuff.

Persona 5. I'm very early on in it and have only just made it past the first day of school, but it's good so far. Currently it feels more like a good anime then a game, but I'm sure the gameplay will get more involved soon enough.