Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@JohnnyShoulder Definitely yeah, despite the high-fantasy aesthetic that predominates in most areas, save Caelid etc., for example Limgrave suggests Spring and Altus Plateau is very Autumnal, but I think it kind of works in the sense that the combat is still absolutely brutal, it's 'Light Souls' rather than 'Dark Souls' really, a bit like what Enotria: The Last Song was going for I think.

@colonelkilgore Haha! thanks. I'm actually playing the ps4 version on ps5 b/c I read that the ps5 has significant frame-rate issues, whereas the ps4 version runs fine. I've had no issues with it, so far. 🤞

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN yeah that’s how I played it at release. I picked up the ps5 version too though, as I knew I’d want to plat that one too eventually 😉

Finally bought Helldivers 2 and have been sucked in now. I haven't played shooters of this type in awhile. I can see myself being a recurring player. I finally got pulled away from GTA online. I also am currently still steadily pacing myself through The Last of Us 2.

@FuriousMachine how is the witcher 3 playthrough going? I noticed you mentioned in the DA:V thread it's 6 months now, and you've managed to reprogramme yourself to not necessarily try to clear everything/tackle every question mark. (Contract boards are way better than question marks, anyway tbh) so thought I'd ask in the "currently playing" thread.

I'm still super annoyed I missed out on the Rock Troll statues from Dark Horse, too 😫 they are one of the many high points in the game, and always make me smile, so having one of those fellas sat on a cabinet would have brought me such joy 😅 ahhhh

@Ravix I'm done, played it through with both DLCs As I got into the DLC I started ignoring many of the question marks that didn't correspond to quests or contracts I picked up through notice boards or elsewhere. Also, well into Blood & Wine I also started ignoring the gear collection quests I hadn't done, unless I actually stumbled upon their locations in the wild.

Loved the entire experience, but fatigue was beginning to set in at the end. Still, a lesser game would have had me burnt out many, many, many hours earlier.

Blood & Wine is probably one of the best DLC expansions I've ever played, but even so I think I would have loved it even more if I didn't have so, so, so many hours under my belt already. At that point I was also a bit tired of questing for better gear, so once I got the grandmaster versions of the Ursine set, I was satisfied. Also dropped down the difficulty to make things go a little smoother.

Now I'm currently playing Banishers which is a very good game, but it pales in comparison with Witcher 3 (as most games of the genre will). An unfortunate side effect of playing this as my next game is that the light attack button is R1, while muscle memory from six months of Witcher 3 is square. This is unfortunate, as square in Banishers is "drink health potion", of which one has a finite amount and Banishers is a game that will happily let you drink all your potions even if you have maximum health... this has created quite a few annoying situations

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Nicely done!! Elden Ring does such a great job of providing the player with choice. It’s always interesting to hear the different paths to take. Stormveil was one of the first areas I worked my way through, and didn’t see the Altus Plateau until I had sunk many hours into the game. Your build sounds awesome. I called upon the jellyfish ashes for a long while as well, at least until I discovered the ridiculously helpful Mimic Tear! Good luck with whatever you stumble upon next!

@FuriousMachine hahah, I'm very much the same when I switch games and the buttons are completely different. Square to drink a potion seems almost egregious though, have they not heard of... the D Pad 😅

Glad to hear, and I kind of get the burn out thing. Luckily I ended up playing the DLC seperate from the full main game, as even though I really liked the main game on my second attempt, I didn't truly love and appreciate it until I was playing the DLCs. And by the time the Blood and Wine credits rolled I was very much of the mind that: "damn, that's how all games should be." It's also a great time to start the short stories and novels to fill that Geralt and company gap And in fact, reading the books then made me love the game even more and actually morphed my memories of it to be even more positive than they already were because you got to see just how much they respected and loved the work. It kind of shined a new light on it and expanded the characters and my understanding of everything.

Banishers always looked interesting to me, but falls in to the category of, when the heck am I even going to play it, as I mostly limit myself to long playthroughs of great games, games I want day one, and the odd shorter Indy title.

I think a few fantasy titles without sidequsts would be an interesting niche to fill right now, and could help some devs woth releases. And possibly why I might try out Hellblade in the coming months, as I think it's a very point a to point b title, but still with a setting that appeals.

I have been in a gaming slump for over a week, so much so that I couldn’t get into Metaphor Refantazio. I even tried Ys X (my favorite RPG series), Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, and Kunitsu-Gami, and while I was enjoying all of them, I was unable to get satisfaction from it. It wasn’t until Monday when the reviews for Dragon Age came out that my interest in gaming sparked again. I decided to retry Metaphor, and I’m so glad I did. It’s clicking with me now, when initially it was overwhelming me.

Tried out Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Man, it's brutal, and absolutely visceral on headphones. But there is also a bit of humour to it, not a lot, but a touch. I don't think it helps the mood at times when the main voice in your head that you acquire early on sounds like James Nesbit in the Hobbit 😅 but then they play off that, as he talks about magic cows or whatever. For the most part it is harrowing, though.

Not sure I love the combat/camera/lock on, but the voices do give clues when you're being attacked from behind.

Extinguished the fire giant, so that will do for now. Definitely worth a try if people have yet to play it.

It looks stunning too, even though it's fairly old now. But it's not got too much other than visuals to worry about, so it makes sense that it still looks good (technically a ps4 game, woops, but it feels like a ps5 upgrade just because of how good it does look. Edit: Actually that is because I technically played it on series x and it is actually enhanced on there, but they never enhanced it to PS5 🤦‍♂️)

@Ravix I really enjoyed Hellblade more than most people did. Just a wonderful harrowing experience. People complain about the gameplay but I felt it played fine. It’s not got the combat pizazz of God of War, but it’s perfectly fine. The puzzles are also reasonably entertaining. But yeah, overall the audio design is the highlight, along with the visuals, the setting, and the subject matter.

@Ravix I actually finished the books right before starting the game, so it was fun bumping into characters and other references from the novels.
"Banishers" seems like a much more linear game with little to none "filler" quests; all side quests seem hand crafted and related to the main story.
Will try my hand at "Hellblade" down the line, as well. Tried the first few minutes back when I first bought it, and I liked what I saw.

@Kraven Ah that is good to hear, I often get in mini slumps when nothing sticks, usually after playing a big game.

The last was after I completed Shadow of the Erdtree, and a couple of games I was part way through and then went back to I just didn't fancy playing anymore.

@Kraven Great to hear you're back on track. As much as I love Dragon Age but don't put Metaphor aside to play Dragon Age and play it later. Also, let us know how it goes with Metaphor

@Khwarezm89 Thanks! Now that I’m enjoying Metaphor a lot more, I’m now debating whether I continue with it or start Dragon Age tomorrow. I guess this is a good problem to have, though.

@Northern_munkey Vampire Survivors is a proper addiction! I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did before I picked it up, but it's horrendous. It's a great game to understand what people feel who are gambling addicts, because it basically just gives you that exact dopamine high minus the bankrupting of your bank account. It's one of those games I never uninstall because I know I might crave it at some point randomly. It's unfair they keep releasing new DLC too to keep pulling you back in... just let me live!

@Tjuz yeah I can't stop playing the damn thing lol..just unlocked the trophy for having 6 evolved weapons at the same time..

Been playing Dead Island 2, I am enjoying my time with it, but I am not vibing with it like Dying Light did

@Tjuz @Gunnerzaurus I have just bought the HZD remaster and I also purchased the 2nd game and the burning shores expansion so I'll be taking those 2 on. Already played HZD but I'll replay it again as it is such a great game.

So after a week hiatus from gaming and then about 10 hours of side quests later I'm actually back on the main questline of Mass Effect 1

I rescued Liara T'soni (well I actually did that before the side content) and am partway through Novaria? (The labs/snowy planet).

... Yes I am still enjoying it.

I wouldn't go out my way to say it's the bee's knees like most people do (I am still relatively early on in after all in the first title of a trilogy) but I am enjoying it more then I did Dragon Age Origins (I hate to keep bringing it up but it's my only other Bioware comparison).

I have had a couple of bugs revolving the game. I fell through an elevator and one VERY minor side quest bugged out, completing it early but other then that it's been rather smooth sailing!

As for my thoughts on my teammates?

Ashley sucks, she can go get shoved out an airlock.

Kaiden's... Okay I guess? I don't find him that interesting yet but he's not bad.

Garrus is fine? I'm gonna use him a bit more now though as I mainly used him at the beginning and have been rotating the other in to get the 5 missions trophies.

Wrex is pretty cool. Really quite like him. I wish I had 3 party member slots to include him more often.

Tali is adorkable, i love her and I'm devastated I can't romance her as femshep. I do wish her visor was completely opaque though and didn't reveal she's just basically human under her cool helmet.

Liara is... Well she got really forward really quickly and I might somehow be in a relationship with her despite doing nothing? Gonna be honest I'm not a fan of the Asari's design and their weird slicked back head spike things.

So yeah... Going pretty well so far.