Topic: What (Non-PS4) game are you playing??

Started playing Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Spectres on 3DS today. I think it was three years since I played through the first game, so it definitely has been a hot minute since I experienced this series. Not that the second game feels much different than the first. It's still the same town as in the first game but the Yo-Kai are different.

What I like about this game coming directly from Persona 3 is that it's a very relaxing JRPG. So even though I just finished one JRPG, I don't mind playing this one right after. It's also not as long as P3P, it's only 25 hours long according to HLTB.

It's also nice to be playing a 3DS game now because for some reason, I haven't touched my 3DS backlog in ages. It's weird because I have tons of must-plays on it compared to Vita, such as Fire Emblem Awakening, Bravely Default, Dragon Quest 7 and so on, yet I keep playing on my Vita lol. Just goes to show how much I prefer the Vita.

@Kairu There’s not a huge number of bosses but they’re all quite fun fights.

There’s a a particularly chunky end game/post game segment though which is a lot of faff to get the complete ending which I have no idea how anyone can figure out without a guide.

Playing a lot of 'Return to Monkey Island' on Switch, and surprised by how much I'm enjoying it.

I've not played a point-and-click/adventure game in decades, but remember the genre fondly from my younger years...

The dialogue is fairly humorous, and there thankfully aren't too many throwback jokes to previous entries (presumably to avoid alienating newcomers to the series).

My only small gripe would be that it is slightly on the easy side... and there has only been a couple of times I've been 'stuck'. There is an in-game hint book, but so far I've avoided using this at all - and I plan to (hopefully) beat the game without resorting to this.

For sure though this game has made me want to revisit the genre a bit, and I'd be keen to explore what out exists in the Switch's library that is similar to RtMI. I think the Switch is probably a tremendous platform for games like this, which don't demand too much graphically or gameplay-wise.

Been playing a lot of Yo-Kai Watch 2 lately and I'm liking it more than I thought I would. The game isn't that different from the first one gameplay wise, but the story is more interesting, there are more locations to explore and there's a good combination of old and new monsters to befriend. The simplicity of this series is what keeps drawing me in, even though I should be playing other games right now lol. It's just so much fun!

got Pokemon Brilliant Diamond on Saturday this past weekend. Started playing a little bit of it in the beginning of the game yesterday.

brings back memories of playing Pokey Platinum for my Nintendo DSi and 3DS

Finally got to MR100 in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, which was a pretty massive grind. The next title update won't drop until late November, so I'm setting the game down until then.

In the meantime, I'll be picking up Triangle Strategy again to continue through my NG+ run until Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope releases later in the week.

On PC I recently, well about several weeks back to be more precises, completed Days Gone. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it looked and ran beautifully.

Also recently completed Greedfall.

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile in Phantasy Reverie (Steam) - Just started this up today & have most recently completed level 3-2 (the one with the plant boss).

Big Kirby vibes in terms of tone & aesthetic. With how strong a following the pink puff has, hopefully this remaster will give Klonoa another chance to break out. Simple graphically, but it has a strong aesthetic and I don't think I've ever seen a 2.5 platformer make such good use of the fact that it exists in a 3D world (maybe the modern DKC games come close in this regard).

I think I've discovered one of the coolest indie games ever. It's called Signalis. I saw a review of it on NintendoLife and the reviewer gave it a 9/10, which piqued my curiosity as I thought it looked like nothing more than another one of those retro-styled indie games. I recalled that the game is also available on Game Pass, so I decided to give it a shot there. It's basically a mix between top-down survival horror and point-and-click. It looks retro-styled initially but it's like a mix between retro and modern graphics as the characters are 3D. On top of this, the game's characters come from a country that has been apparently combined, which is Germany/China. So the in-game texts consist of both German and Chinese languages, which is really cool. The overall presentation is also very cool. I'm super impressed by this game, if you're looking for a refreshing indie survival horror game that's heavily inspired by Resident Evil, then give this game a try!

@LtSarge Signalis looks super dope. You just don't see a lot of indies attempting to replicate the look and feel of early 3D console games very often. It's apparently also modeled after early survival horror gameplay, which is cool.

PS reviewed it as well, and scored it an 8/10.

https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/signalis

It's probably my next Switch purchase before Fire Emblem Engage.

@Ralizah Yeah it plays a lot like the early Resi games, which I absolutely love! Something I forgot to mention in my post is that the level design is kinda like the first Zelda on NES, i.e. you're moving from screen to screen. Lots of great inspiration in other words. It's one of those games that you can clearly tell which titles inspired it but it does enough things on its own to stand out.

I'm tempted to buy the game on Switch just to support the devs but I've bought so many games lately that I need to simmer down a bit. Definitely worth getting from what I've played so far. Unfortunately, it does feel like a lot of people will miss out on this game. Haven't heard anyone talk about it, especially when considering that it's on Game Pass. It certainly deserves more attention.

@LtSarge Not saying it should be overlooked, as if I wasn't already playing something else, I would have considered playing Signalis to end October (either that or Resident Evil 8 in 3rd person). It's definitely on my list at some point after seeing that it turned out so well, but with the onslaught of releases already beginning, it likely won't be for a while. That is also probably why it is getting overlooked. I understand the release date being as close to Halloween as possible, but unfortunately for it delays and such have made the last portion of this year and even into next year pretty cluttered with releases.

I do think there's a chance it catches on at some point once releases slow down if word of mouth can keep going. I want to support the developer, so I will probably end up getting it on PlayStation, but it may end up working out in the end since it may be on sale by the time I am able to get to it. Not saying it's not already cheap, but a sale sometime down the road could also help resurrect it a bit at some point next year.

@KilloWertz For sure, it's definitely a crowded period to be releasing your game. I'm still playing the latest A Plague Tale but playing Signalis on the side makes for some good variety. I think I'll be focusing on these two games (along with RE5 and The Somnium Files) for the foreseeable future.

I actually decided to vote for Signalis as next month's title for Pure Xbox Game Club. It's only two days left but I figured what the heck, I'll throw a vote for it lol. It deserves more love.

@LtSarge Nothing wrong with that if you play more than 1 game at a time. I tried that in the past and really can't do it, but that's a bit beside the point. I'm playing Mass Effect 3 for the first time now. First time I'll have played much of it at least, as I never finished it on the Xbox 360.

I don't usually participate much anymore with that, but if I did, I wouldn't have a problem with that being the monthly choice. I guess in a way, the two games could have been flipped since this is much more of a horror game than Immortality, but oh well.

@Kairu Nier Automata is one of my favorite games from last generation, and my personal GOTY for 2017, beating out juggernauts HZD, Persona 5, and UC Lost Legacy. It’s a treat to experience for the first time and hopefully translates well to the Switch.

Not sure how in-the-know you are about the way the game is organized, but sure to see it through to the true ending. The narrative construction of the game is quite different from what you might be accustomed to and if you just put it down after the first ending you’re missing out on a lot of its best parts, imo.

@Kairu I picked up Nier Replicant on sale a few months ago and just haven’t got around to it.

For Automata, probably the most common complaints I’ve seen relate to the second playthrough, where things get a little repetitive. But if you push past that it really ends with a bang! Honestly one of my favorite endings of all time and nothing has ever been done quite like it in any game I’ve played before or since.

@Kairu One week will be a bit of a stretch, but definitely achievable. Seems like my complete playthrough (including the platinum) took about 40-50 hours…? If you’ve got 4-5 hours per day then you can probably make it by the time GoW drops.

You might find some of the discussion interesting on yonder thread:
https://www.pushsquare.com/forums/ps4/nier_automata

There’s plenty of spoilery discussion there though, so beware, but myself and others talked extensively over the last couple years about the game and it’s impact on us. It’s a very fun game to not only play but also to discuss! 😄

@Kairu LoL, you might need to come down with a sudden illness and have to stay home from work for a week. Too bad there’s not a highly contagious pandemic going on. 😜

Started up Professor Layton and Pandora's Box yesterday. Played for about an hour and I'm really liking it so far! Despite my mixed feelings about the first game, it feels nice to be playing another game in the series. It's just such a chill series, you solve puzzles and enjoy a story. It's definitely a product of its time thanks to it being on the DS. We just don't see many games like this today. So I think I might keep my eyes out for the sequels and get them eventually as well.

@LtSarge I think the first one’s probably my favourite even after so many other games came out. I do have a soft spot for Spectre’s Call and Lost Future is definitely brilliant but the series as a whole is really great to be honest. Fun fact, I found my Pandora’s Box cartridge literally lying on the ground in a theme park. Finders keepers, I’d say.