Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@PorkChopExpress Don't get me wrong I still really like what I've played so far and if you like the Persona games then I have no doubt that you'll enjoy it. I think I just prefer the setting less than the school setting of the Persona games. Plus there seems to be a lot less voice acting than in the Persona games, where every other scene was acted. But like I said above I do think that the main reason I'm not as interested in playing it atm is because I've not been feeling great. I'm sure once I feel better I'll get into it properly and end up loving it.

@colonelkilgore I also really enjoyed Gris when I played it a few years ago. Neva was definitely worth the wait! It takes everything Gris did so well and really builds on it. Actual combat, better platforming, a similar but less abstract and more developed art style, and a somehow more emotionally resonant story are all adding up. Might just be one of my favourites in what has been a stellar year for gaming. Being that you liked Gris, I think you’ll get a lot out of Neva when you get to it.

Neva looks great but it seems to be another extremely short game (about 4 hours). That's what I find most irritating about a lot of indie titles. I'm having a great time but before I know it the game just ends.

I'm finally done with Days Gone - I ended up getting platinum - and I started Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. I'm really enjoying it - the dark humour mixed with some moving moments, the fast gunplay, the cool areas. At times it's a bit punishing - I'm not really that experienced in FPS games - especially that I refuse to use aim-assist, but it's still fun.

@lotan666 congrats on the Days Gone plat buddy… and good luck with Wolfenstein 2. Personally I love that there are games available of vastly differing lengths. It would honestly be exhausting if everything was an intense 100 hour+ grind-fest. Don’t get me wrong, I love them too but… after playing a few games of significant length and intensity, there’s nothing better than a quick dip in something serene like GRIS or Neva. Then before you know it, you’re reinvigorated and ready to slaughter nazi’s for hours on end again… or whatever 😉

Sure, but there is a certain minimal satisfactory length that I want from a game For me personally that would probably be around 10 hours (I usually play for 2 hours a day, so that would give me a week's worth of fun, excluding weekends). I also get tired with most 100+ hour titles and 20-30 hours seems to be a perfect length for me. But 4-5 hours just seems a bit disappointing. I recently played Dave the Diver and it was a rare indie title that was actually around 20 hours in length. I loved e.g. Planet of Lana but I felt I'd gladly spend more time in that world.

Started my first foray into playing The Last of Us (Remake Part One) and I don't think Sarah is really grasping the seriousness of what is happening right now 😛

I'm not sure I'll play much before the 'Pro' comes, or maybe I will. What I will say the Performance mode in TLoUp1 is the best performance mode I've ever seen, it is in no way is off putting like some performance modes are to me, in terms of looking fake and having a sped up quality, and is really nice with unlocked fr + VRR. I was surprised that a fully cinematic game nailed a performance mode so well when most of the time they can annoy me. Bravo, ND.

Maybe my eyesight isn't what it used to be or maybe it's a result of me playing on a relatively small screen (27' gaming monitor) but I'd say in a vast majority of games I played performance mode for me was almost indistinguishable from fidelity mode in terms of image quality. GoW: Ragnarok, the Spider-man games, Ratchet&Clank, The Last of Us, GTA5, Cyberpunk 2077, Horizon FW... All of them looked absolutely fine in performance. Actually the only games I remember looking bad in performance mode were Hogwart's Legacy and Jedi Survivor. (Yes, I know about Final Fantasy but I haven't played it ;P)

@lotan666 yeah, a smaller screen will probably help with that with much more densly packed pixels for starters.

But I'm talking about the actual implementation of the motion im games in this instance and how it feels to me to play in those modes. The game still looks great, no doubt, although resolution mode did look even better/crisper, despite me deciding to stick with Performance mode this time as it was clearly a good choice for this game.

But a lot of games I try in performance mode just really mess with my eyes, it's a combination of their motion, cutscenes being completely ruined, strange motion of objects, and the characters acting and moving in a totally fake and exaggerated way, stuff like that makes a lot of games feel less realistic than in their standard 30fps resolution modes, to me. Like a Michael Bay/transformers movie, that'd be a good example from other media 🤮🤮🤮 and I have also tried plenty that look noticably much worse image quality wise too, to be fair.

I will have a good idea of what improvements come via the Pro when that arrives though, but tbh the Pro for me is more a third party saviour for now, and i will still assess modes on a game by game basos for what looks and feels right for me, but current and future SIE titles being pushed further will be a nice cherry on top. And if I get a TLoUp1 performance mode this well done in even higher fidelity on the big screen, then i'm all for that, too, as it is technically pretty darn good as is.

@PorkChopExpress I haven’t played Gotham Knights yet but I’ve enjoyed a load of games that were supposedly terrible according to the general media consensus. Probably comes down to the appeal of any one game to the individual, serving to counteract its inadequacies. That and how inconsistent games journalism can be lately (these last 5 years or so). It does seem like it can be very unfashionable to like a certain type of game within review circles or in some cases even an individual game. With every negative poured over while any positive is minimised to almost nothing.

Games reviews have put me off a fair few games over the years, games that I have subsequently heard enough positivity elsewhere (from gamers) that I’ll eventually pick up it up and have a great time with it. One of the many reasons forums like this are so important.

@colonelkilgore True say, old chap. I think that the problem for me is not having enough upcoming Soulslikes/quality ARPGs(not involvg guns/ being sci-fi themed) that haven't been spoiled for me by the quality of FromSoftware's output and Survival Horrors that fail to match Silent Hill 2's level of excellence to play. Maybe I just have niche taste but I can't help but feel that there must be other gamers in my position, waiting 'till next year or even 2026 for games that can reach the seemingly unparalleled heights of Demon's Souls (2020) or Elden Ring

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN yeah I do think it comes down to your taste being very niche tbh… which is absolutely fine, we all game very differently and by the sheer nature of entertainment the consumer consumes as they so wish. The problem arises though as the industry has to cast a wide net to capture as much of the market as possible, meaning that each specific genre can only be catered to, to a finite degree. Your situation is further exacerbated by From’s games being of such a high quality, that you struggle to connect with other souls-likes produced by other dev teams.

I used to be a very closed-minded gamer… I’d play GTA, Elder Scrolls, Fallout and then be willing to try games that were similar to those and that was it. It meant that I’d go months where I wouldn’t have anything to play… which was fine at the time as I was in my 20’s/early 30’s and was busy doing ‘other’ things but I always looked forward to the next game release that would fit my very narrow wheel house. Funnily enough it was Demons Souls that widened my gaming horizons, as it was so different from my usual fare… but it was ticking boxes I never knew I had.

I subsequently went on a From-only diet… playing through all the Souls, Bloodborne; Sekiro when it eventually released. And as I started getting towards the end of From’s output I did start to feel a bit anxious. Where was I gonna get my fix etc? So I started giving things like Nioh a try… and The Surge, Lords of the Fallen, Code Vein. Sure they didn’t hit in exactly the same way as what you’re getting from… erm From… but they provided as similar an experience as was necessary while also offering cool new takes on the genre.

In my case at lease, expectations going into a game are vitally important. If I go in expecting a perfect 10, I’m in for a world of disappointment, while if I go in simply hoping that a game will scratch my itch… it invariably exceeds my presuppositions. I’d recommend giving Nioh in particular a go, just approach it with the understanding that it isnt Dark Souls ie.the lore and level design are of a noticeably inferior quality… but you’ll go on to find that the things it does well (combat in particular) are arguably better.

After I played through the vast majority of souls-likes available at the time, I decided that I would start rationing my self to 2 souls-likes per year moving forwards. That way, i’ll never be left with zero souls-likes remaining (at least not for the next 5 years) and then by the time I get to play a souls-like, I’m itching to play one, which helps to supersede any inadequacies the souls-like that I end up playing may have in comparison to From’s masterpieces.

I then fill in the gaps of my gaming year with every other genre available. It turned out I was missing out on all sorts of awesome games that… may not appeal specifically to my wants and needs (ie killing fantasy beasts with an ultra great sword 😉) but undoubtedly provides entertainment on their own merits. The best advice I could give you is try everything with an open mind buddy, not everything will hit but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of stuff that will.

@colonelkilgore Thanks man, very sage advice - I will definitely put greater emphasis on my time with SH2 Remake Deluxe Edition , RE4 REmake , Death Stranding: Director's Cut Digital Deluxe Edition and GTA V in that case!

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I managed to coax the missus into starting Silent Hill 2 Remake today. Don’t think she’s enjoying it all that much as she wants everything to be like Skyrim - ie be able to interact with everything. I’m hoping it’ll start to click for her with a bit more time.

@colonelkilgore Fingers crossed for missus kilgore!

Edit: And, yes, Nioh 2 Complete Edition is also on my list. I loved Rise of the Ronin and apparently the former game is something of an oft-overlooked masterpiece, in and of itself.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN we’ve just finished our first session and I think it started to grow on her after we solved a few puzzles and started to make some clear progress, so🤞

@colonelkilgore Oh, good, I'm glad she's enjoying it so far. 🤞

I’m currently halfway through my NG+ playthrough in Silent Hill 2 Remake. I should be wrapping up the platinum trophy in a couple of days! And then my main focus will be Metaphor Refantazio.

So I just Platinumed Dragon Age Inquisition - 10 days before the Veilguard - It was fun. Now I've 10 days to kill so I think of playing the DLCs again (I finished them 9 years ago on my Xbox One) and maybe some Astro Bot in between.

I've been playing the Ys X: Nordics demo and I have to give Falcom credit where credit is due, their demos are some of the best around. I've been playing it for just under 7 hours and I'm still not done. They also released a demo for Trails through Daybreak a few months ago that was 8 hours long.

So I'm playing Mass Effect for the very first time (Well I'd done the prologue mission a few weeks ago but then stopped to play through Gravity Rush 1 & 2).

I've just done the Citadel and became a Spectre. Putting in around 6 hours listening to all the codex entries, talking to everyone and doing all the side quests I can.

My only other experience with Bioware is Dragon Age and that kinda setting really is more of my personal wheelhouse... And yet I've never really liked DA all that much to be honest. It felt very cheap presentation wise (Origins at least), unoriginal for the most part (a bit edgelord too with certain story elements) and the gameplay did not land for me (Ironic considering how much I like CRPG's now).

... And here I am playing Mass Effect and really digging it.

I dropped Ashley like a lead balloon as soon as Garrus came my way and quickly replaced... Blandy Mc Bland headache guy with Wrex (who I immediately then replaced with Tali).

Early days so everything could all fall apart but so far... But I'm really quite enjoying it.