Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

@oliverp actually lost my gaming mojo a bit of late… so no nearer purchasing an Xbox but not necessarily ‘that’ busy with my PS5 either tbh. I’ve put a lot of hours into gaming over the past 5 years or so… maybe I’ve OD’d as a result.

@colonelkilgore @CaptD Spider-Man 2 should be ashamed of itself - 1/10 not enough loading screens 🤣

@colonelkilgore with you on that CK. Same situation really. For all these 'must play games' I'm jaded and a bit bored. Having gamed none stop most nights for years.

So I wrote a list of games to finish in my backlog and will tick them off as I go. 27 games all in. And will pick up Bomb Rush cyberpunk, Baldurs Gate 3 and Elden Ring then call it a day.

I've let my gamepass sub lapse, weirdly it was a weight off my shoulders. The final straw came playing cocoon, rave reviews all round. But it offers nothing I haven't seen before. Then watching a bunch of online team multiplayer games dot the recent schedule, I've got a 3 month code but gave it to my son.

So 30 games and will then await the release of the PS6.

@render I actually wouldn’t put it past a few reviewers… ahem stevivor… excuse me 😉

@themcnoisy so I’ve totally changed tack… as you might remember when we’ve chatted in the past, I always adhered to a pretty tight schedule that quite a lot of thought went into. Well it worked for a time and I thoroughly enjoyed almost everything I played for a good few years… think it became a bit much though and I’ve decided to revert to just playing whatever I feel like.

I bought Nioh 2 in 2020 and have been holding off from playing it as I would only play two souls-likes a year but as I was feeling a bit disinterested, I thought **** it I’m playing Nioh 2 and am really enjoying it tbh.

@render if Spider-Man 2 was built on the same engine as the previous Spider-Man 2 then perhaps there would be a loading screen after every swing.

@colonelkilgore Good to hear you are enjoying Nioh 2 (that one is still on my list). I find following a schedule becomes a bit tiring and too much like work. I also find subscriptions services to be exhausting as well, my schedule is just becoming longer and longer, it is draining.
Also with the colder darker months sometimes you just want to kick back and relax rather than game.

Quite a long watch but does go on to explain the Ubisoft contract for Streaming rights and what Content that includes, what is in place to stop MS manipulating things to prevent 'others' from access, loopholes 'closed'. Quite an interesting watch.

@colonelkilgore Interested to see your recent gaming adjustments, Colonel. I know you had recently a goal to slow down a bit and then it seemed like you ramped back up, but I think we can all relate to the occasional rut we find ourselves in.

Like you I plan out my gaming more than the average Joe, but I have concluded that my schedule has to be flexible. What ends up happening though it a lot of games end up only partially finished that way, but I find that the cream always rises to the top and the good stuff will always keep me engaged enough to complete.

The release schedule this year has been insane, compared to prior years, and I wonder if there’s an element of being overwhelmed with options making none of them appealing.

Anyways, will be curious to see how Nioh 2 holds up as a Souls-ey experience

@colonelkilgore That is a hell of a change going from having a ridged schedule to playing what you like. It must have been pretty hard work to try and stick to it knowing that you'd got a certain amount of time to finish a game in but fair play to you for making it work for so long.

Having played pretty much what I like the only reason I normally have for having something scheduled in is if I fancy picking something up day 1, and even that doesn't happen much these days. I've been pretty busy over the summer and actually just enjoyed doing other things that gaming has taken a bit of a backseat. Not to say I don't enjoy it still but I've not been getting that feeling that if I'm not making progress in a game then I'm wasting my time.

@Th3solution Like you mentioned this year has had such a good release schedule that in previous years I'd have been getting the sweats if I'd not have picked up some of those games as soon as they released. Now I'm just happy knowing that I'll get around to them one day, or not, but there's no pressure. I'll just pick them up at some point when there's a good deal or I have some time.

@colonelkilgore I knew you'd break eventually and see the light!

@CaptD @Th3solution while I’m loving Nioh 2, I’m finding it pretty difficult fair play… can’t remember if I found the original quite this tough 😅. The combat is pretty much the same (which is excellent) but it seems to improved on the original in terms of level design (from the ones I’ve seen so far at least). I’d say it’s pretty much a s-tier souls-like and will be interested to hear your thoughts if you ever play it.

@render yeah it certainly feels freeing to make the change. Think it came as a result of a few things really… apart from finding gaming in general a bit of a trudge of late, I’ve started getting back into health and fitness and I think that has changed my perspective a bit… that and the rugby World Cup has grabbed my attention for the last 6 weeks or so. Either way, it’s a nice change.

@JohnnyShoulder yeah, it was a good run while it lasted though.

@colonelkilgore changing tack can be good for the soul, it’s good to hear another focus has come back into play. What health fitness type stuff have you been up to? For the last few years I’ve almost had no consistency with gaming but I’ve been lucky to hit a few high marks and I definitely cherish those more than I used to when gaming was my only focus. Good luck with Nioh mate 👍

@colonelkilgore I remember the first Nioh being really difficult, at first. I was in the beta and thought, yeah I'm not buying this as it is too difficult but eventually bought it via some crazy price Black Friday deal. Really enjoyed it but some bosses did feel cheap and I remember one particular boss which I could only beat using a weapon I'd never used before and a certain fighting stance/move.
The whole stance mechanic is too much for me and besides that one boss I never changed from mid stance.

Anyway back to Xbox, I see EA Play (and by association Gamepass) is getting Dead Space next. Enjoy Xboxers.

@AgentCooper just a bit of circuit training mate but it’s been really noticeable how it’s had loads of little quality of life improvements since I’ve got back into it. Hopefully I can keep it up and shift a couple more stone (lost around two so far while also building up some decent muscle mass, which keeps me motivated).

@CaptD my memories of the original may be a bit foggy but I definitely don’t recall struggling like I have been with 2. Maybe I power levelled or something back in the day, where as I’m just playing through the sequel as it comes… but I spent around 6 hours and maybe 25-30 deaths on what I assume is a fairly early boss this afternoon 😅. It was great though in all honesty, slowly learning it’s attacks and what measures to take in each situation… just the game I needed tbh.

@colonelkilgore Cool that you are back on playing games and are enjoyning Nioh 2.

@colonelkilgore That’s incredible news mate, great to hear! I hope it continues in this vein. Made up for you 👍

@colonelkilgore I'm in the same boat. All the games in my backlog are games I want to play.

Currently Late Shift, Spyro the dragon, Final Fantasy 8 and Diablo 2. They weren't getting a look in because of the latest and greatest games on the sub services. But honestly, they are better than the newer games I've been playing recently. More fulfilling without any paid boosts and what not.

The early access stuff microsoft has launched has annoyed me enough to call it a day for the time being. I've contemplated jumping to PC, but have ptsd from constant driver updates two decades ago. Maybe watch some TV or read some books instead.

@oliverp appreciated mate 👍

@AgentCooper cheers buddy 👍

@themcnoisy Yeah I think that’s one of the main issues with subscription services… you end up putting things on the back burner that you’d much rather be playing, to play things that you aren’t particularly bothered about but will be removed from the service shortly and you want to get your moneys worth. The trouble is that every month there are games leaving the service, so you continue to prioritise the fodder and never get a chance to return to the cream.

I think there comes a point where the spell breaks though and clarity returns, sounds like that’s kicked in for you recently. Have fun with the cream over the next couple of months MC 👊

@colonelkilgore Couldn’t have picked a better game! One of the greats. Glad to hear you’re finding a healthier balance as of late. Hope you’re keeping well!

Edit: Oh, and thanks for introducing me to girlfriend reviews. Had a fair few chuckles as of late from there.

@Jimmer-jammer nice, I thought you may have already played Nioh 2 what with your love of souls-likes. I was actually tempted to pick up Lies of P or Lords of the Fallen… but I guess the backlog still holds some sway, even if it has lessened. What you been playing lately bud?

Glad you’ve enjoyed Girlfriend Reviews too… their output has dropped off a bit this past year (quantity-wise at least) but there are a load of great episodes available fair play. She’s a talented girl!

@colonelkilgore Nioh 2 remains one of my favourite games ever so I think you made a good decision there! I have Lies of P waiting in the wings but it’ll be a bit before I get to it. I was actually contemplating buying an Xbox to play Starfield but have been too busy between life and the PS5 to get around to it. Seeing as everyone I know who bought it has been lukewarm on it, perhaps I’m not missing much. Still think it looks cool though.

I’m currently all in on a second full play through of Cyberpunk 2077, including Phantom Liberty. I really love the game and it’s in the best shape it’s ever been in.