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

@nomither6 I still think Infinite is the best game of the series but that might be because it was the first one I played (PS+ freebie back on PS3). In fact, the Bioshock demo I played early on in the PS3 era and wasn’t impressed with it!

I did play the whole series through the Collection on PS4 and agree the story etc for the first game is fantastic and WYK is an iconic gaming moment.

The DLC for Infinite is highly recommended if you’ve not played it though!

@Thrillho I preferred Infinite too as I thought it was more balanced than the first game, which the final third dragged on for too long. I didn't like the 2nd game at all.

@Thrillho fair enough. i’m just not a fan of the sky setting and change of direction but i can see why people prefer it

@JohnnyShoulder yeah it’s unfortunate bioshock 1 has some painful lows to an otherwise work of art , and the game does start to drag . a remake (not remaster) would do it so much justice . maybe a reboot or spiritual successor to the first game and i’d be interested

@nomither6 It is still a banger. The atmosphere was something special at the time and felt more spooky than some straight out horror games.

@JohnnyShoulder The atmosphere is definitely one of the most special things about the original Bioshock. Besides the fact that it's one of the best FPS games of all time, how great the atmosphere was in the game has probably only been duplicated to that level in maybe a handful of games since. I never really thought it was scary, but I do remember how many people thought it was (and experienced that opinion in person watching other people play it at a LAN party).

I definitely need to go back and replay it sometime. I played it originally on Xbox, but I did claim the Bioshock Collection when Sony gave it away on PS Plus many years ago. So, a fresh trophy list is another perk of getting to replay it again.

Onto Rock Band 3 after smashing through 2, Lego and Beatles. The engine’s a lot better and being able to download customs onto a USB cause I’ve got CFW on my PS3 is a godsend. The tracklist is a mixed bag as always and I do wish I had drums and keys but there’s some bangers in there. Cannot wait to absolutely fail Bohemian Rhapsody on vocals. I do like how they’ve continued the trend of having a song by The Who late on too, with I Can See For Miles joining Pinball Wizard and the obnoxiously long Won’t Get Fooled Again from the first two games. It’s honestly just a good soundtrack in many ways though, with The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Big Country, The Smiths etc filling a massive void that Guitar Hero kept leaving during this time period.

Custom songs are brilliant too, loads of sites out there still active and I loaded up a bunch of songs as a proof of concept. Played some Suede and Pavement on guitar and I’m looking forward to trying Common People on vocals, apparently it’s max difficulty.

played little bit of Saga Frontier Remastered digitally for my Playstation 4.

the game is weird for an RPG game. I dont understand what the heck is going on story wise.

im doing the Mystic scenario and now ended up at some port town that has a mansion where the underground cellar has a squid for a boss. Dunno how to beat the damn thing.

I've been playing blasphemous 2, which is a 2-D metroidvania with the gameplay feel of something like dead cells but with vivid gothic/early modern Catholic pixel art. It might be some of the weirdest and best pixel art I've come across. Gameplay is solid, with spells/mana as well as melee weapons. It's lore descriptions for items make souls games item and lore descriptions seem positively straightforward! Only a couple of hours in and really enjoying it, though I am a sucker for a 2-D metroidvania. It's on PS5 but I'm playing on switch and yes believe it or not, even in the year of our Lord 2023 the switch can handle a pixel art game at 60 fps 🤣

@R1spam Did you play the first Blasphemous? If so, how does the 2nd game compare?

I really enjoyed the first game, but a couple of reviews I've seen for the 2nd game have kind of made me less enthusiastic about getting it.

@R1spam Hey mate, Blasphemous 2 is a great shout... I beat it a couple of weeks ago, and for me it certainly lived up to the hype. I would probably still put B1>B2, mainly due to atmosphere and bosses... but there is definitely a lot that B2 does to improve on original game (weapon choices, replayability etc)

Keen to see how you find the challenge curve? For me, I found this game relatively easy compared to B1.... until the penultimate boss. This 2nd-to-last boss (Eviterno?) is honestly the hardest challenge I have experienced since Ishinn the Sword Saint in Sekiro. I lost a few days fighting Eviterno, 2nd phase is absolutely bonkers. Proud to say I didn't cheese him, but my God it was difficult.

How you finding it so far? I enjoyed both Blasphemous games more than Hollow Knight in fairness, but can objectively appreciate that HK is probably 'the better game'

@JohnnyShoulder I didn't play blasphemous 1 so don't have any frame of reference I'm afraid. I'm still pretty early on and suck at games so I've found the difficulty fine, though I some criticism that it's easier. The mechanic around restricting mana with succesuve deaths feels more punishing than something like hollowknight. @CJD87 I've completely missed the first game so all of aesthetic is new to me and I'm loving it! The novel death animations are so cool. I'm still pretty early and have found the difficulty ok but now I'm worried lol. I'm still working on the parry window. I love hollow knight, it's probably my favourite 2-D metroidvania but I do really dig metroid dread too. Haven't spoke in ages mate, you been digging into more souls-like stuff? I started lies of P but haven't got too far and I bought a copy of Sekiro and keep thinking about firing it up but get intimidated by the need to parry lots.

@R1spam Yeh its been a while...! Had to sell my PS5 as my work/travel schedule really kicked back into gear post-pandemic, and I just couldn't justify having a 500 £GBP sexy white paperweight ha!
So now I'm still on Switch, and actually just got a SteamDeck as well - which I'm actually pretty impressed with (allows me to run recent titles like AC6, RE4, Lies of P, Baldurs etc... albeit with graphical/performance concessions)

Yeh for sure am starting to dig into more Souls stuff, and loved B2... I almost can't wait for you to see how horrendous the penultimate boss is. My Switch nearly went through the window!
Lies of P is great, a real 'love-letter' to FromSoft... kind of a spiritual successor to Bloodborne I guess.

Ah Sekiro still remains my #1 FromSoft game, and you'd be surprised that the parry window is actually quite generous - which is a relief as the whole game is built around parry/deflect mechanics!
Have fun with B2 though mate, I really really enjoyed my time with it - a rare occasions also where I got the physical, testament to my love of B1.

@CJD87 ooh noice choice with the Steam Deck!! One of my mates from work and got the chance to have a bit of hands on, its lush. I couldn't believe how good Witcher 3 looked on it. The stuff folks do with EmuDeck and having a ton of ROMs looks so sweet! I still play a ton of handheld switch when I want to hang out with the Mrs and Daughter and they are watching some garbage like Strictly lol. I've thought about flogging my series X for a ROG Ally just as handheld gaming makes life so much more convenient. Enjoy it bud and give it a few years and you'll be playing spiderman 2 or Ragnarok on that deck.

@R1spam Haha that’s hilarious re Strictly… can safely assume you’re UK based like me then? My missus and kids are glued to that every Saturday night, ideal Deck time!
I’m genuinely pretty impressed with the SD, and it feels bizarre being able to play something like Lies of P on a handheld (albeit at 45FPS cap, few minor stutters but nothing severe)
It really excites me for what ‘Switch 2’ could/should be capable of. SD battery life is horrific though, but not a big drama to play plugged in with a long cord.

I’ve heard v good things about Rog Ally - seems more powerful than SD, but the big concession would be price point? Handheld gaming is probably the ‘future’ for me, sounds similar to yourself.

How far through B2 are you now, you got all 3 x weapons? Long live that massive swinging hammer!!

@CJD87 Aye I'm UK based, the moment I hear "tonight dancing the cha cha cha..." is my queue to bring out the switch 🤣🤣 though I am still weirdly interested in how Tess Daily can still be fit! There is some real Dorian Gray stuff going on there...
I'm really hopeful about a Switch 2 and I guess that and price have been the thing that has held me back from the Ally. With the success of the steam deck and the Series s, you've kinda got an anchor on a lot of gamedev set up such that they have to accommodate lower end hardware, which means I think a decent nintendo handheld could last the whole gen for 3rd party support. The only thing that keeps me coming back to looking at the Ally is that you can get gamepass running on it.
For B2, I only have the sword (which i started with) and the hammer, yet to find the rapier. Still loving it though!

@R1spam Ha actually laughed out loud there... so right re Tess Daily - her and Amanda Holden seem to br drinking from the fountain of youth, both look exactly the same as they did 20+ years ago lol

re Switch2, in my opinion Nintendo just need to 'stick to the script' and basically create a more powerful unit... possibly also 2 options (digital only and physical) so that consumers can have different entry points for pricing. A new Switch with the power of Steamdeck (or slightly better) would be a dream, and also not turn off third party developpers. Here is hoping!

My deck is designed to tide me until Switch 2. When S2 lands, I may well sell both my OLED Switch and Deck (assuming S2 is backwards compatable, otherwise I'll the OLED)

Enjoy your time with B2 man, let me know how you get on!

@CJD87 If I had more disposable income, I'd be all over the Deck. It's a lovely bit of gear.

At this point, though, I want to see what Ninty plans with their successor next year, and I also have the sneaking suspicion that Valve will revise the SD hardware, so buying in at this point seems foolhardy for me, considering my gaming time has dropped so dramatically.

Then again, people have also waited years to grab a "Switch Pro" based on that logic.

@Ralizah For sure it is a luxury item, especially alongside a Switch, but the sale of my PS5 (+ games) thankfully more than covered the £££ of the Deck.

I'm pleasantly surprised with how 'n00b friendly' it is for those who are quite technically challenged (like myself) with limited/zero PC knowledge. If you only plan to play Steam games, it is actually quite simple... just google the best settings (UI and in-game) and tweak accordingly. I'm currently playing Lies of P at a pretty locked 45FPS (with exception of main hub area, few drops but nothing major).

I love the Switch, but was suffering from major FOMO regarding BG3, Armored Core, Lies of P, Resi4, Street Fighter etc... all which run pretty well on Deck.

I might look into emulation down the line, but honestly there are only so many hours in the day and I think I'll stick to the aforementioned. I cannot wait to start BG3, but fancied a Souls game first.

What is your bet for Switch2? For me, if Nintendo just released a Switch with the same power (or above) as Steamdeck + better battery life + backwards compatability... I'd pre-order without hesitation!

Starfield.. ROFLMAO!