Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Tokyo RPG Factory can't make a great game to save their life. I thought Oninaki's theme and setting were interesting, and I like the XC2-esque ghosts you can collect and use, but otherwise, the janky combat, low-rent presentation, and weird lack of music didn't really impress me.

I might still get it one day, but only when there's a deep sale.

If nothing else, it's more interesting than I Am Setsuna or Lost Sphear.

Oh this is by the same studio that made those two games? @Ralizah

I've heard of them but I don't know anything about them at all... Those aren't great either?

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Yeah, Tokyo RPG Factory's output seems to be regarded as fairly mediocre by most people I talk to. A lot of us were hoping Oninaki would be their breakthrough game, but... that's not looking like it's going to be the case.

Oh I see... That's a shame then @Ralizah

Hopefully the next one will be better then... Like you said I thought the Deamons were alright (reminded me a bit of Folklore) just it was lacking general polish to the whole thing

Played the first two chapters of Until Dawn and since now it has been a costant yawning. Zero gameplay, wonky controls, stupid jumpscarrs and annoying characters... Let's hope it gets better soon.

EDIT: Well, chapter 3 and 4 were surely better! Now that everyone is in danger, they are are way more interesting especially since they stopped their stupis chatter!

Just started School Girl Zombie Hunter this morning.

So far it's had much more of a schlocly B-Movie vibe to it (rather than the over the top anime sexualization of something like Senran Kagura), so I think it's a bit more palatable on that front (though TBH, I personally have no issues with SK or games like it).

There's a few technical hiccups here & there, and it's budget nature definitely shows with it's graphics, but it seems like it's going to be a fun enough time as it's pretty "gamey" in it's design.

@KratosMD Yeah I'm not going to go into spoilerville obviously, but Until Dawn starts out as a fairly cliched and by-the-numbers game for the first third or so, but soon turns into something a bit more than that. It's not the most radical game ever, but it's a lot of fun. Enjoy!

@KratosMD Yeah like @Gremio108 says, I was surprised how it all turned out. I don't generally enjoy slashers, but there is so much more to it than that by the end. Some really creepy and grotesque moments in there too.

Incredible post, @Kidfried

A couple of things.

1) NL gives everything a 9/10. Unless there's sexualized characters or anime fanservice, in which case the score usually drops to a 4/10.

2) It's not unusual to keep returning to something you know isn't great. Low-investment and shallow experiences are alluring, as they require us to invest less of ourselves into them. For myself, I find a truly great game, TV show, movie, book, etc. to be somewhat psychically exhausting, because the experience demands to be savored, and oftentimes I just want the entertainment version of junk food; in and out, no fuss, no nutrients, probably a waste of time, and I will barely even remember it the next morning.

3) With that said, your post taps into the big reason I refuse to play games designed specifically as mobile experiences. And the reason I almost instinctively avoid "free to play" games. It's that sense that the game is constantly dangling a carrot in front of your face, trying to get you to pay money for stuff. Bake that into the game design, and you have an experience that is inherently predatory and exploitative.

4) I think we both agree on what constitutes the "best" games we've played: the ones that offer experiences so fun or unique that they stand as monuments to what the medium can achieve, and what we inevitably compare other games in the same genre to. Most of my favorite games are probably deeply flawed, but that's natural: any piece of media that tries something new, unique, compelling, visionary, etc. is taking a chance, and taking chances opens you up to failure. I'd rather play something unique and memorable that's also imperfect than some death-by-committee AAA thing that checks a bunch of invisible boxes that I'm supposed to care about.

@Kidfried I have to agree with @Ralizah, what a fantastic post with wonderful insight! Thank you for that. It’s the most interesting dissection of a game that I’ll probably never play. Very insightful. I completely agree with you regarding a game being more than a sum of its parts — spot on with the MGS5 and BB comparisons.

Round of applause for you @Kidfried ! That was a really great read!

I have something similar with the game Star Ocean: Til The End Of Time

I find it rather average of a game and yet i've played it like 4/5 times over the years and even bought it on PS4. Just can't seem to get enough of it and I'm not entirely sure why 😅

And Ah ha! Ninty life just gave the Friday the 13th game an 8/10 @Ralizah soooo... I guess your point is proved near enough

@Kidfried I saw you playing the game the other day and did have to do a double take.

Epic post bro, we all have our guilty pleasures when it comes to gaming.

@Kidfried Excellent post.

Horizon Chase Turbo has become one of this year's 'summer holiday' games in my house, with myself and my eldest son determined to 100% the World Tour before school starts again. I'm enjoying these rainy day gaming sessions immensely, not because the game is any good, but because the sessions are straightforward and fun.

What's more, only player one seems to be affected by the rubber banding. It's like I can control the whole field if I slow down a bit and concentrate on getting all the coins on a track. It's a strange experience.

On the subject of summer holiday games, we bought Minecraft Story Mode Season 2. After catching up on the final episodes of Season 1, we played episode 1 of the second season today. I didn't tell the kids this obviously, but after fairly disappointing review scores my expectations for Season 2 were very low. Episode 1 was a blast though, great fun.

I've been continuing playing Batman Arkham Knight and it has definitely clicked with me a bit more. Although I'm still not overly keen on the Batmobile I am not totally against using it, and traversal outside of using the vehicle is really cool.

I've been pleasantly surprised on a couple of occasions, most notably the return of Mark Hamill as The Joker and the introduction of Man-Bat. The latter made me jump out of my skin!

I'm so so on the Riddler challenges. I like the ones when you team up with Catwoman to get the explosive collar of her. Not so much the ones you have to power up up a generator with the Batmobile.

@RogerRoger I’ll once again move my response since it has morphed yet again from PS Plus to now more of “how do I come up with the games I’m currently playing.” 😂 Hopefully this is the right place. It seems too specific to be a “Chit Chat” response.
Haha - Yeah, my list consists of an asterisks by the ‘plan to play next’ and a hyphen by ‘started and haven’t finished’ and believe it or not, I do a little research and put an estimated number of hours to finish in parentheses. 😅 - But yes, otherwise it’s a very similar system. Great minds think alike?

And I have almost started up Rime several times, but haven’t committed yet. I know it’s a short game (and a very obtainable platinum), so it would be good to get it in during a weekend soon. I’m also embarrassed to say that I didn’t list Hitman The First Season in my Plus backlog because I actually own the Complete Edition in physical form of that and have it nestled into that cozy space of games I’ll get to in due time. But hey — I am closing in on completing Lara Croft Go! I’m probably 2/3 of the way through. I think I’ll stick with it long enough to platinum it too. It’s another great ‘drop in, drop out’ game.

In reviewing my list, I have about 10-12 games currently started but not complete. That list would include a few like you that I leave open as possibly going back for a platinum one day (I’m looking at you Oxenfree 😒) or wanting to mop up DLC. Of the 10 there are really only about 5 that I’m currently making legitimate progress on, the aforementioned Lara Croft Go being one of the main ones. And I got a resurrected interest in The Council a couple weeks ago and resuscitated it from the backlog coffin for now. (Every time I play it I like it, but also get mad at it because of squandered potential).

@RogerRoger Hmmm, well - I think there’s a thread for most emotionally impactful scenes in games, so maybe we need to delve into Rime over there. 😜

That’s awesome that you finished the first Infamous. I will check out your impressions.

I've started Knack. My life can now truly begin.

To be honest it's actually a lot of fun so far, a couple of chapters in. Although I'm playing it in co-op, which probably helps. I could see it being a bit of a slog in single player. The combat is nice and straightforward, and it makes a nice change of pace from Sekiro.

Knack is a very cool hero, something which is heightened by the uncoolness of everyone around him. He is a legend in his own time.

Battlefront II - though even after the update yesterday, the mode I really want the game for (Starfighter Onslaught) is broken. And has been for well over a year apparently...

@RogerRoger Hey man.

Onslaught. It's properly broken.

Apparently this is due to an update from last year that was meant to address enemy spawn behaviour and increase the playable map area.

What it actually did was cause enemy reinforcements to just spawn outside the playable area without coming in to it and/or fly off out of bounds.

In practice, this means that you can get through a couple of waves on any given map - but after 2 minutes or so, there are no more enemy fighters regardless of how many you have left to destroy.

Nice as it is to fly around maps unmolested if you increase the timer, not really what I was after.

I've tested in in brief (loading takes way too long to do it extensively) - but have a try. Set up an Onslaught game. You'll run out of targets.

@RogerRoger
It's a shame - also, the AI in Onslaught seems a little knackered too. on rookie it's proper 'fish in a barrel' territory - move it up to normal and the first wave is relentless, then they all go to sleep before no more appear altogether.
The team mode works fine though, and is plenty of fun; there's always online too - I just want the option of having the sp wave shooter gameplay.

It's pretty tough getting screenshots - but I've managed a few nice ones. I'll post them later.