Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@TheBrandedSwordsman That sounds great. I’m pleased to hear it’s such a solid first impression. Hopefully it holds up in the long run. I’m flush with games in my backlog so I don’t really need another one to add to the pile, but if you continue to like LotF then I’ll need to consider adding it for play later. I really liked the first Dark Souls.

So I started Resident Evil Village a few days ago and are having very fun with it so far.

@oliverp It's an amazing game and enjoyed my time with it when it released

I started Control a little over a week ago and was a bit worried with the shooting bits in the prologue. It felt floaty and I'm not good at shooters and with no difficulty setting to lower, this seemed like it had the potential to kick my butt and frustrate me rather than entertain.

Tonight I played through the "Unknown Caller" mission and I needn't have worried. Holy pooptesticles (I try to respect the no-swearing rule here), this game is a lot of fun! I'm enjoying it immensely; I took to the combat better than feared and with the first power-up I was dispatching The Hiss with glee! I also enjoyed the story and the lore and am devouring the flavor text in the collectibles with sheer gluttony. The first proper boss fight took me a good few tries, but once I figured out the proper tactic, all was good. As long as the game continues being generous with the checkpointing, this will probably end up high on my list of favourites

@Thrillho @Th3solution @KilloWertz I agree with your assessments of this in the "Games you've recently beat" thread, especially re.: the map. That is not a good map, to put it mildly.

@oliverp There you have my initial impressions, and I'll give you my final impressions when I'm done with it, too. Glad to hear you're having fun with RE:Village

@FuriousMachine Awesome! So glad that it’s fit for you. It really is a fun and frenetic game. I’m not very good at shooters, but this game isn’t really all that worried about accuracy, as much as it’s about very quick twitchy reactions and simultaneous tactical balance of switching between telekinetic powers and shooting your weapons. It’s all about hitting a rhythm of switching attacks while the other one recharges. While also dodging and running around like crazy. 😄

Couple that with the crazy Twin Peaks vibe that Remedy loves and with really interesting design of the Oldest House, and you have a real gem there. Top 5 on PS5 for me, probably.

Pro-tip — if you’ve not figured it out yet, the better way to find your way around is often by using the in-game signs rather than the game map. Just take on the perspective of Jesse and look at the signs and most of the time it’ll more easily point you where the desired department is and how to get there, just like a real world office building.

I’ll be interested to hear more of how you get along. There are a couple tough encounters. One or two bosses that pushed me to really get creative (and sometimes lucky) and a few encounters that were tough due to multiple enemies overwhelming you. If I recall correctly, the DLC missions had some of the tougher bosses and encounters. But the way they integrate the DLC, you may not even know they are the DLC because they just pop up on your mission list in the natural course of the game.

And as a final thought — if you like the combat, keep Returnal in mind. I can’t remember if you played it, but it has a similar kinetic feel to it and I played it shortly after Control and I loved it too. Both are just so satisfying

As i'm kind of putting off BG3 until I can do a few good long sessions to wrap it up (Wrym, Astarion, Big G, Big O and finale) and i refuse to play it if ive had a drink, just incase i completely f*** up my save 🤣 I was going to boot up Cyberpunk 2077 via the ps premium trial for a quick mess around, sold my old game discs recently so the trial seemed the best way for now as I had left it installed, but it kept saying to insert the disc 🤦‍♂️ so I've deleted it from console storage and am reinstalling it to see if it loads up, made sure to claim the trial via the app too, just in case it is still being silly. I'm gonna buy it again digitally, but surely the trial should have just worked on any install for now🤷‍♂️

Soooo hopefully going to have a go on Cyberpunk at some point this weekend, definitely craving something futuristic to break up all the fantasy i've played this year, and plan on revisiting my old V to take him on a photographic city tour and maybe finish off that save ready for a completely new V 😁😁

Old V was a pretty grimey low tech run, so a full implant and upgrade run might be fun for a city dweller and completely different to everything else I've played this year

@FuriousMachine So, what you're trying to say is that the map made you go "holy pooptesticles"?

Seriously though, I'm glad you are loving the game. The biggest issue with the map, if I remember correctly, is that it's too flat and it's hard to tell if you should go up a level or down one at times.

@FuriousMachine I think Control has been one of the best games in slowly revealing itself from a story perspective but also improves the feel and flow of combat really nicely too. I echo the suggestion of using the signs around the place as well to guide you. Enjoy!

@Thrillho @KilloWertz @Th3solution Relying more on the signs and less on the map is good advice, and I found myself doing it too before long.

The peeling back on the story (and yes, I'm a huge Twin Peaks fan, so I love Remedy's penchant for leaning heavily into the TP vibe) and the evolution of the gameplay loop seems pretty well paced and balanced so far. And the fun I'm having with it will build a high tolerance for the occasional difficult encounter, so I do believe I'll be able to make it through without too much frustration.

I've sort of dismissed Returnal for being too "shooty" (real scientific classification), but seeing as you had fun with it, @Th3solution, without being a pro at shooters, I will give it another look. Shame there's no demo, but I'll put it on my wishlist and pick it up if it reaches a price point I consider to be fairly "risk free" should I happen to not enjoy it as much.

Oh, and I typically reserve the use of "holy pooptesticles" for emphasis when something has surprised me in a positive way (eg.: "Holy pooptesticles, that was a lot of fun!") and, as such, the experience with the map don't really qualify. I wouldn't even go so far as saying the map urinated me off; guess it is more of a case where I occasionally found it to be sexual intercoursing annoying.
(I'm beginning to really enjoy family-friendly swearing and think I will endeavor to employ it in other conversations, too )

Metro Exodus,Dead Space,Somar

Resident Evil 4 remake, i wasn't a fan of the early ones but the pace of this is brilliant and having read a review earlier think i will give Village a try next for that reason.

@Th3solution @colonelkilgore I finally finished my build, stats-wise. I am now at 50 Vit, Int 18, Str 34, Magic 50. I am using the crescent falchion +1 for regular enemies and the Dragon Bone Smasher for bosses. Now I can actually start playing the game. 🤣. Next step is to go through some of 4-1 getting Adjudicator's Shield and the Regenerator's Ring, then kill Dragon God, Tower Knight, free Yuria ,kill Penetrator and learn Curse Weapon spell, plus upgrade the DBS with a couple of colorless demon's souls, then go through the rest of the game in any order I so desire. I'll be sure to let you both and @Jimmer-jammer know how I get on with the bosses. But they should mostly be a cakewalk with DBS, Curse Weapon and those health-regenerating items.

By the way, what games are you three playing and how are they going?

@TheBrandedSwordsman Oh man, you’re going to be wiping the floor with everyone with that setup! Dragon God is the one boss that is not necessarily much easier with the max build, but every other enemy you come across should be easy pickings. And Dragon God isn’t that tough once you figure out the scripted sequence of things you have to do.

I hope it will be fun running around all the worlds without having much concern that you’ll run into a situation you’re not leveled for. There’s still a few tough levels because of environmental hazards and there’s always the ever present ‘death by gravity’ that plagues all Souls players, but you should be set for combat really nicely.

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Regarding what I’m playing, I’ve continued to be a little on the busy side so gaming time has been hampered. I finished Disco Elysium last week and quite liked it. It’s unlike anything I’ve played before. I said elsewhere (so apologies if this is repeating myself) that I’m excited to try more CRPGs now and I am well prepped for Baldur’s Gate 3 now. But it will be put on hold until I finish my other current game which is Final Fantasy XVI. I’m about halfway to maybe two-thirds of the way through that (I think I’m about 40 hrs along). It’s been great. Much more action-y and twitchy than Souls games, but the storytelling has been phenomenal and the bosses have been fantastic. Each boss encounter seems to be more bombastic than the last.

For big games, I have Spider-Man 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 as possible ventures next, and also have a large backlog I want to get to like Horizon Forbidden West, continuing my replay of the Uncharted series, and a bunch random titles like PowerWash Simulator, Inscryption, Gotham Knights, Hades, Nier Replicant and of course continuing my trek through Dark Souls with Dark Souls 2 and 3 and ultimately Elden Ring. Recently I have renewed interest in playing Alan Wake Remastered so that I can play the much lauded sequel. I always like to mix in smaller story games and am interested in all the Dark Pictures Anthology since I really enjoyed The Quarry a couple months ago. Same with Life is Strange and wanting to get to True Colors.

And those are just what I either already own or have access to through PS+! 😂 As soon as the price is right I’d like to get GoW Ragnarok, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Dead Space and RE4 Remakes, and Final Fantasy Crisis Core. And upcoming games I might play on release include FF7 Rebirth, Stellar Blade, and Dragon’s Dogma 2. 😮‍💨

That should be enough for all of 2024, but it’s subject to change and there’s always room for a little side-track into random games I don’t have on the current radar. I really am thinking about getting a PS Portal because I feel like it will help me get more gaming in when the TV is used for something else or while I’m watching a football or basketball game. It sounds brilliant to be able to grind away in Dark Souls 2 or play some relaxing like PowerWash Sim or a puzzle game like Humanity while I’m also watching a football game. The Portal is sold out right now though. So maybe after the holidays.

@TheBrandedSwordsman Nicely done! I’ll never forget the rush I had the first time I took down Tower Knight. Good luck!

I’m currently playing through Alan Wake 2. It’s been a bit of a land of extremes for me. Possibly the most oxymoronic experience I’ve had. A disjointed mess that’s somehow totally cohesive. Like hearing an endless joke with someone constantly elbowing you in the ribs asking, “do you get it?” It’s bizarre for something to be ten steps ahead of the player while simultaneously being ten steps behind. Even after I finish it, I feel I’ll have to let it rest with me for a while before I fully understand my feelings on it. Perhaps that’s the point? Dare I say I’m enjoying it quite a bit.

I'm back on PSVR 2 and been playing mainly Gran Turismo 7 and seeing if I can be quick in VR. I did manage to get a gold medal time on the Suzuka circuit experience, so that's a good start. Resident Evil 4 in VR is a great experience as well, the reloading mechanic is fun even if I completely forgot how to do it in a blind panic during the village fight

@TheBrandedSwordsman awesome dude, well it’ll all be downhill from here that’s for sure. Enjoy smashing those fools with your dragon-bone 😉

@Jimmer-jammer Yeah Alan Wake II sounds and looks amazing, greatly looking forward to diving into it myself, as a disorientating and yet enjoyable experience as it may appear to be. @Th3solution Sounds like you have a huge backlog to get through, as ,you say it may last you for all of 2024 and beyond! @colonelkilgore Haha, thanks man, yeah hopefully it'll be a lot easier from now on.

Alan Wake II is growing on me. Finished Initiation 5 and I have to say, I don’t think I’ve been that immersed in a gaming session in quite some time. Just really good survival horror. Hope it keeps this up. One thing, this game is way longer than I anticipated! I’m now at hour 27. Gonna swap back to Return 5.

I was going buy this after finished the first AW a couple of weeks ago but was put off by a review here how do you rate it compared to the first which i enjoyed.

@Max_Headroom I started this right after Alan Wake Remastered and if there’s one thing I can say with confidence is, these are two very different games. The first was a brisk and campy psychological action thriller with a clear goal and strong sense of forward motion. The sequel is a full on survival horror; slow, plodding, purposefully disjointed and disorienting though it retains some of that campy charm. Might be easier to list a bunch of things the game does and you can decide if it sounds fun as one persons trash is another persons treasure.

Dark, oppressive atmosphere. Walking simulator pacing. Emphasis on exploration and environmental storytelling. Limited resources along with a healthy dose of inventory management. Deliberately disorienting traversal. Confusing and overlapping drip-fed narrative. Humorously on the nose meta commentary that wears its influences on its sleeve - and that’s the point. Trial and error combat encounters. State of the art presentation and excellent performances by a great cast of characters. Puzzle solving.

Hope that helps!