Topic: Games you've recently beat

Just finished Erica on PS4. Another short game, roughly two hours long, but it makes sense with this one considering it's an interactive movie. At first I thought it would've been better to just watch this as a movie. But you do make enough choices towards the end that change the outcome and I ended up with a good ending, or at least one that I was happy with. When it comes to choice-based games, I rarely get a good ending on the first try. So it made me very happy to do so with this game and it enhanced my experience a lot.

I remember playing a game called Hidden Agenda on PS4, which is a similar game like Erica. They were released as part of Sony's "PlayLink" initiative back in the day where you control PS4 games with your smartphone. Anyway, when I played Hidden Agenda, literally every choice I made was bad and I probably got the worst ending that you could get. After that point, I was completely upset with the game. I got the impression that they didn't make it clear what was good and bad. You could make a bad choice but there was no indication of it beforehand. I didn't have an issue with this with Erica because the game gave enough clues about what's good and what's bad.

So yeah, this playthrough could've been an absolute disaster just like with Hidden Agenda. But it wasn't and I'm very thankful for that. Really glad that I got to finally experience this game!

Dead Space. It was a such a great remake. It rebalanced some of the weapons in the best ways, added a few features from DS2 in the best way possible with the impalement, and made adding Issac as a speaking character so natural that it didn't feel like the conversations were really even changed, and I say that having played both within a year of other, but months apart, so not close neough to remember each word, but enough for something off to feel odd.
It kept all the best parts, and just updated some of it to really match the original vision even better.
I really hope DS2 gets a remake as well.

Just finished my second playthrough of True Colors, this one being my first time on Steam Deck. Feels kind of a waste to cram all those gorgeous visuals and incredible facial animations down to a handheld screen, but I had experienced in its full glory once already and this became like a bedtime story for me this time around. Usually playing around half of a chapter before going to bed.

I contemplated doing a full review of this, but I feel like I sorta have so much to say and nothing to say about this, all at the same time.

I'm in my 30s now, I grew up in a world of art and nerdy *****. Because of that, I've been blessed with consuming a LOT of media in my life, and getting to experience some of the best works in mediums or genres at a young age. The by-product of that though now I'm older is a weariness of feeling like I've experienced everything before, and as such a lot of media just kinda washes over me now. Something to fill the silence when I'm eating my dinner, swiftly forgotten about the moment it is over.

It is because of this, that when things even make me feel just a little, that feels special these days. When something makes me feel as strongly as this does, and as often as this does, I can't help but just fall in love with it.

Like, you can tell me it is badly paced, or messily plotted, or anticlimactic, or full of smoke and mirrors or whatever, and maybe I agree with all of that. But I also don't care. I don't care, because I laughed until my belly hurt, I cried until it hurt, I cried through sheer joy, I grew a deep sense of connection to these characters and this place.

To me, that matters more than anything.

As polished as your title may be, as refined as its mechanics may be, if it doesn't make me feel anything at all, then what is the point of it?

@Pizzamorg I wholeheartedly agree. This is perfect.

@LtSarge It'll never be considered a great game, but I loved Erica when I played it back on the PS4 when it originally came out. It was my first FMV game, and while I have yet to play another one since, I will always regard Erica higher than it's Metacritic score and be glad I played it.

@Pizzamorg I can't say I got that emotional during my time with True Colors, but it will always be on my list of the special gaming experiences I've had on my PS5. Granted I loved both Life is Strange and even the often disliked Before the Storm, but I thought this was easily the series' best and an overall really well done game.

I know some have just dismissed it as a walking sim, and I get it that these kind of games aren't for everybody, but obviously I don't mind these kind of games. Something different from the usual blockbuster game is never a bad thing if it has a really good story with really good characters like Life is Strange: True Colors or Detroit: Become Human, two gaming experiences I would put up there with some of the blockbuster gaming experiences I've had.

@LtSarge @KilloWertz I’ve been saving Erica as a game to play with my wife. She’s not a gamer at all, but ‘tolerates’ it.
I’ve been trying for a while but nothing seems to stick (Until dawn, telltale games, etc), but I’m hoping the shorter length will keep her engaged enough.

Also thanks for reminding me about Hidden Agenda. I definitely have it in my library somehow (PS+?).

I have a somewhat morbid fascination with the exploration of grief, I think. I lost my Mum at a very similar age Gabe did. So when you deal with the initial death in the early chapters, and then go through her experiences afterwards, it just resonated with me really deeply. I know grief is a unique experience to everybody, but I think there is definitely a difference between the portrayal of genuine lived in grief and grief that is realised from people who only know what grief is from movies made by other people who have never experienced genuine grief, either.

(Which I guess reading back sounds like some sort of weird emotion elitism and gatekeeping, but that isn't really my intention.)

I guess what I am trying to say is because that grief felt so genuine and I related so deeply to Alex pretty much from the getgo, I was effectively a puppet on a string for the rest of the game and any stumble bounced off this emotional forcefield it had built around me. There are loads of moments in here which I could easily pick at, call cringe or poke a hole in until they unravel all together if I wanted to, but I never did want to.

Those high moments of joy hit me just right. Like when she has that moment with Ryan and gets to use her powers to experience a positive emotion for the first time, I was in pieces, even the first time I played this when I'd know these people for like less of an hour.

When Alex felt pain, or sorrow, or rage, I was right there with her and that really had a profound affect on how I processed all of this. had it not, those criticisms others have levied would have likely bothered me more, as would like you say, the somewhat lacking gameplay loop which mostly involves you just walking around small environments, clicking on things until you get to the next conversation.

Although, even then, games like Mass Effect, I pushed through the gameplay sections to get to the next talking section as that was the joy of the game for me. You do a Mass Effect where all the gameplay is turned into cutscenes and I would just control the dialogue and narrative choices, that would be fine with me. I know I am somewhat of a minority there.

Next up I'm about to replay the first Life is Strange game on Steam Deck. I have played this a couple of times, but I'm going to say it is probably closer to a decade than it isn't to when I last played this. I also think I played Before the Storm, but never the second Life is Strange game, so they are likely to be much fresher experiences for me as I had I think just over a year's distance from True Colors only.

Thank you!

@Pizzamorg You're fine and I get what you're saying. I have experienced loss as well (I think a lot of us have at this point), but while I don't get that emotional about media, I'm not going to criticize people for it either. People are entitled to experience games, movies, etc. however they do. Obviously I'm glad you had a special experience with the game, even if for only because it was a game I also loved in my own way.

I highly enjoyed both the dialogue sequences and the gameplay in the Mass Effect games. For the most part, it is games like that where I can really love the story/characters along with the gameplay that become truly special for the most part. It is why that series can sit alongside the Uncharted series as two of my favorite series of all time.

I haven't played the first one since early on in the PS4 generation as that was one of the first games I played on it after Metal Gear Solid 5. For whatever reason I didn't play Before the Storm until 2 or 3 years ago, but I did enjoy it more than most as I have no problem with the Chloe character. I too have yet to play Life is Strange 2, which I dismissed for years because it had little to do with the original. I do plan on playing it someday though, and it's inclusion on PS Plus Extra recently doesn't hurt.

Completed quite a few games recently but probably most notably Trails to Azure, which I played the PC version of as I’d been halfway through it before it released in English last month. Up there with the very best JRPGs, which has made the 80% of Trails of Cold Steel I’ve played so far look slightly amateurish. I get that anime changed a lot between the 00s and the 10s but Cold Steel’s irritatingly shounen nonsense is increasingly undermining the great overarching story of the series. It’s a similar deal with FE Three Houses and Animal Crossing New Horizons to me as well, you feel less like a character existing within a world and more like the world revolves around your interactions. It’s what I liked about the first two arcs of the series, you were ultimately cogs in a much larger machine doing jobs while events took place around you. In a sense, the party members were more interesting people. This one seems to be going down the chosen one route which is a bit less interesting, while every party member exists to tell you that you’re amazing. Always hated the harem silliness as well, which is made especially worse by female characters being seemingly designed to cater to specific fetishes instead of being characters in their own right. I can only hope that the sequels ditch the cringe, as the world building is still great.

Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack for the Wii. It's a collection of three live action FMV (full motion video) games. The games were originally arcade light gun games that were ported to the Wii.

The 3 games included are Mad Dog McCree, Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold, and The Last Bounty Hunter. Mad Dog McCree involves an unnamed bounty hunter attempting to rescue the mayor and his daughter from the nefarious outlaw Mad Dog. Mad Dog II has the unnamed bounty hunter searching for lost treasure, whilst Mad Dog is up to his usual tricks. And The Last Bounty Hunter involves four new outlaws to hunt down. I enjoyed Mad Dog McCree 1 the most, as that had the most coherent story. The others felt that their scenes were more disjointed in comparison.

The control scheme on the Wii works well with the game's light gun roots. The controls are basically to point the Wii remote at the enemies, and press A or B to shoot. Reloading is done by pointing the remote off screen and shooting.

In terms of gameplay, this Wii version does get frustrating. The enemy hitboxes are weird at times. And the window of opportunity for when you're able to shoot is also weird, as often the shots won't register unless the obvious baddie is reaching for his gun. There's also a lag between the enemy shooting the player, and the damage indicator appearing on screen. This means that there'll be times when the player thinks that they've shot the enemy, only to discover that they've actually lost a life. The worst part was the duals. Duals involve waiting for the enemy to reach for his gun, at which point the player has to reload and shoot the enemy first. The timings in the duals seemed really strict, and I struggled a lot at them.

The FMV aspects were a lot better though, for those that enjoy these kinds of live action games. It's got the standard campiness and B-tier acting, but the production values are actually quite good. It's filmed in a variety of Wild West looking buildings and outside areas, and there's also a good number of actors in decent enough costumes. And there's a bunch of stunts for when certain enemies get shot.

I wouldn't recommend anyone buying this collection just for the gameplay, though those that enjoy FMV games may get enjoyment out of it. As I'm weirdly fond of the FMV genre, and as I only paid a few quid for the collection, I'd say I got my money's worth from it.

@KilloWertz I think it's cool to play FMV games sometimes but the issue I have with games like that is that the gameplay is not really compelling. An entire game about making choices for where the story should go is not fun at all. I've realised that the older I've gotten, the more I look for fun gameplay in a game in order to keep my interest up. When I was younger, I didn't mind playing a game purely for its story. I remember when I really got into JRPGs back in 2016 with Persona 4 Golden as my first "true" JRPG experience. I decided to lower the difficulty to "Safety" and just breeze through the dungeon crawling portion in order to get to the next story section as well as social interactions. I played the game just for those aspects alone. Today I could never imagine myself doing that. When I played through Persona 5 Royal, I took the time to appreciate both the story as well as the gameplay.

I don't mind playing games that are purely about the story aspect from time to time, like with Erica. But I'll always prefer gameplay over story. Kinda like how I'm enjoying the hell out of Miles Morales now. Absolutely love it!

At the same time though, I have to admit that my favourite games of all time are games that focus on the story. JRPGs like Persona and Trails of Cold Steel as well as visual novels like Danganronpa and Steins;Gate. However, it is becoming harder for me to enjoy games like these. I lose interest quite fast because I want to do something more in a game, not just read.

Went on a bit of a tangent there but sometimes you need to do that! It felt good reflecting about my current gaming life and how things have changed throughout the years.

@Fight_Teza_Fight I don't know if you should be grateful that I reminded you of Hidden Agenda considering my awful time with it, lol. But who knows, maybe you'll have a better experience than I did!

@RogerRoger Nice to see you too. I'm still around here. It's just a mixture of being busy with other things, along with not having a PS5 yet, has meant that I'm not as active in this community as I used to be.

@LtSarge For me, it depends on the kind of game. If it has a solid story and not completely atrocious acting, I wouldn't mind playing a FMV game or other games some consider walking sims (Life is Strange, Detroit: Become Human, etc.) It's actually sometimes refreshing to play a game with simple gameplay.

I can still enjoy a "normal" game if it has a great story and just decent gameplay, and even vice versa since even some of the best playing games can have a thin story. It's obviously the ones that have both legitimately bad gameplay and story that are doomed from the start.

I prefer voiced dialogue over having to read it, but I will also make an exception if the game is good enough. I'm about to finish Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, which has a mixture of voiced dialogue and text. Not my preferred way of course, but it has become one of my favorite JRPGs because it is the complete package otherwise. It is games that replace voiced dialogue with them making noises or saying random words that don't even make sense with the dialogue while the text goes across the screen that annoys me.

It's fine to go on a tangent. It wasn't like I was reading a whole novel there.

@KilloWertz The most enjoyable games for me right now are ones with a good mix of story and gameplay. Good thing I got a PS5 so I can enjoy tons of games like those from Sony!

Glad to hear that you've been enjoying Ys VIII! I played through the game a few years ago on Switch and it was so much fun. Easily the best Ys game I've played. Speaking of which, is this your first Ys game?

@LtSarge Yes, it is. I plan on playing Ys Origin and Ys IX someday as well, but I will be going into both of them knowing that neither will be able to reach the heights of Ys VIII. Maybe the upcoming Ys X will be localized by then.

I beat it today and got the true ending. It only took roughly 105 hours.

Cold Steel 1 is done. Decent enough for the most part but even more structured than Zero and Sky FC with the way it railroads you, literally. Definitely glad I waited for it too, the lack of context with regards to Crossbell is crazy considering how much it impacts the geopolitical situation for most of the game. The final chapter was quite a bit more interesting than most of the game but there are still issues with the overall pace and the way 90% of the party members are completely sidelined. The rampant homophobia and sexual harassment seems to have been ramped up in these games too, or perhaps it’s just ickier in the 3D engine. From the little bit I’ve played of Cold Steel 2 though, it does seem to be addressing some of the issues I had with the first one, with the slightly less dumbed down orbment and battle systems and being able to actually walk 5 feet outside cities without being hit by an invisible wall and a telling off for wandering.

Sounds like literally every scene featuring Olivier in the Sky games.

@Ralizah He’s actually toned down in these ones funnily enough. But I’d still say that he at least had a character outside of the nonsense while also having the excuse of it being 2004. I’ve noticed that the number of characters in the series that are incredibly predatory lesbians is increasing at a rapid pace in each game though, I’m gonna assume that the lead writer has some kind of fetish or, more likely, has never met a lesbian in their life. It’s sad considering that Zero/Azure has Wazy, who’s pretty openly bi while also being androgynous and the jokes are never at their expense as they behave like an actual person instead of a caricature. It honestly feels like the series has gone backwards since the older ones in that respect. Actually, I’ll just blame the lead writer after all, they have a whole incest subplot for like the millionth time in Cold Steel that’s encouraged by other characters and literally nobody raises the slightest objection to it.

@nessisonett The predatory lesbian concept is unfortunately pretty common in Japanese media (something Kunihiko Ikukara attempted and failed to properly satirize in his anime Lesbian Bear Storm).

None of what you're saying surprises me in the least bit, considering how embarrassingly tropey even the supposedly better written Sky games are. Also, the character designs in ToCS are awful and look like they were ripped from a late 00s harem anime.

So exactly like the Sky games, then. Is this entire series stuffed with incest baiting? I can't with this, man.

@Ralizah The Sky incest was dodgy enough and they adopted Joshua when the two of them were like 10 and therefore aware that they weren’t related. In this one, the main character’s sister has lived with him since she was 3 years old and yet crushes on him AND OTHER CHARACTERS REPRIMAND YOU FOR NOT RECIPROCATING! It’s such a frustrating series at times, the overarching story and political machinations are really great but a lot of the character stuff is real tropey and like I alluded to, this one feels like they’ve solely created the female characters to fill specific fetishy roles to encourage the harem crap that’s forced into the series. You know it’s bad when I’d rather the dodgy incesty stuff from Sky because at least that was set in stone rather than having a pick-your-porn-genre approach to romance mechanics.