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

@LtSarge Played and platted this on PS4 earlier in the year after finding a $5 physical copy online.

It's very nostalgic in that it feels like it was ripped from the PS2 era. Kind of janky and low-budget, and it does get repetitive, but it also remembers it's supposed to be a game first and foremost.

Masterpieces are what people buy consoles for, but sometimes you need really greasy fast food to satisfy a particular craving, and this is the gaming equivalent of that.

Got the premium Age Of Mythology Retold pack on Steam and have access to the game. Am in Heaven… one of my favourite ever games redone, and with QoL improvements. It’s so good.

@Ralizah I agree about it feeling like a PS2 era game. But I'll happily take a low-budget game that offers new ideas than a high-budget one that not only takes a long time to develop but is also more of the same. I seriously miss those times when more developers dared to be experimental.

@LtSarge @Ralizah I had a lot of fun with the game too, despite it's faults. I think it came at just the right time for me, after just finishing a bigger game.

Just like when you watch something like a popcorn movie, sometimes you can overlook a dodgy script or a lame story if it is entertaining enough and it is a fun experience.

Was absolutely not on my radar at all, I am only a casual fan of Gundam at best, but the reviews for Breakers 4 somehow found their way into my algorithm. Watching a couple, I really liked what I heard (even though reviews overall are quite mixed) and picked it up.

And? Its been great so far, honestly. Its still the working week so I haven't been able to really dig in and have long sessions with it, but it almost feels designed to be played in the hour or so long bursts I have been experiencing it in so far.

Maybe I am just cooked from almost two months of playing just gacha games which feature almost no direct progression at all, but I found the loop of Breakers really enjoyable and I really felt comfy with it straight away.

You do a short battle, aim to break as many pieces off of the enemy gundams as you can, fight a boss and then go back to your base, clip those new parts you broke off onto your Frankenstein's monster of a Gunpla (this changes your appearance, changes your stats and gives you new abilities) and then you go back and do it all over again.

Missions are always easy and short enough that the problems with this loop never really have a chance to set in. I won't say the combat is great or anything, but again, because enemies go down so easily, and that you are constantly getting new equipment with new moves and play styles, you're never really bogged down in anything long enough to start thinking about the problems of things. Just yeah, a good time I did not expect to be having.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Never tried it before, but the news of the Castlevania DS collection's release finally motivated me to play it.

It's... okay so far, but I don't really understand the love for it so far. Most of the Castlevania games I've played stomp all over it.

Yokai Watch 3 Tempura 3DS.
Still interesting game to play with more than 320 hours I have accumulated.

Just playing Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! on my phone, some of the song charts are absolute heck to play haha. I nearly messed up on an extremely hard song because I hadn’t played the game in a hot minute, and I did full combo it, but I’m not super proud of how much I nearly messed up on the song, probably need to relearn it a bit more now.

Going to play Banjo-Tooie later this morning on the Xbox.

^ replying to the message above without a ping to avoid double ping: Lol, I feel silly that I replied in NL first, so I’ll just repost my comment:

Same. I haven’t touched it a lot yet. Busy with our club too.

I urge everyone to give Bakeru a look if you weren't planning on doing so already.

I know it'll probably get trampled underneath the hype for Astro Bot (probably the biggest platformer of the year) & Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (probably the biggest Switch game of the year) since it released the same month as both, but I'm having a blast with it so far (only played through the first 5 levels though).

A few screenshots I've taken so far (playing the Steam version, but it's also available on Switch):

It's a wide linear platformer like Super Mario 3D World or Kirby and the Forgotten Land (reminds me a bit more of Kirby though, as the levels have a "sense of place" rather than being floating platforms), where each of the levels is a microcosm of one of Japan's 50 something prefectures (with nods to their individual landmarks, culture, folklore, etc.). The hidden collectables in each level come in the form of Souvenirs and factoids related to the region it's based on.

It's developed by GoodFeel, whom I believe was the developer behind Princess Peach Showtime which released earlier this year, but honestly this feels larger & more premium.

I was a little worried that the charm of Gundam Breaker 4 would wear off quickly, but I am happy to say I am around 35 hours in now and still thoroughly enjoying it.

Do I wish there was maybe a little more mechanical depth with the enemies? Sort of?

Like when a person is hyped up in the story and then its just a regular fight, it feels a little anticlimactic. But they do also have these giant Gundam bosses that do have actual mechanics to them and almost all of them are weirdly overtuned (compared to everything else, they aren't necessarily brutally hard) and just sort of annoying to fight (lots of them hang really high in the air, or rapidly moving from one end of the arena to another, kinda forcing you to use lock on abilities and just chip, which makes them very tedious).

If I had to pick one or the other, I guess no mechanics is better than these mechanics? But that doesn't mean those no mechanic fights don't feel a bit flat.

The story is also somewhat of a mixed bag, I almost wonder if it would be better if they set it up like a season in a sports game and you play through a career calendar doing tournaments and assembling teams, with a degree of random generation to make each season block feel a little different. Like the old WWE or Madden games. It kinda works like that already, but all of it is scripted and somehow that just kind of makes it less interesting?

Although they do do some interesting things narratively with it being a game within a game I quite enjoyed.

But those things aside, the core loop of break gundam, unlock their parts, stick their parts onto your Frankenstein's Monster Gundam, do it again just remains so satisfying. It feels like you are always unlocking new things, unlocking new systems, constantly getting to toy around with new weapons and abilities. It knows how thin its core loop is, so it makes sure to never overstay its welcome and instead keeps you locked into a near frictionless near endless loop of constant shiny newness.

And at least for my smooth brain, that is like 90% of what I need.

Just started up Persona 5 Strikers on Switch. Wow, it's been so long since I played Persona 5 Royal. I really missed the Phantom Thieves.

I've played it for an hour so far and it seriously feels like a sequel to Persona 5 even though it's a Musou game. The gameplay just feels so fitting for the series. I can't wait to play more!

@LtSarge I really wanted to like it. Something about the gameplay rubbed me the wrong way, even though I love P5 and like some musou games.

The story is unnecessary but cool. Some really neat new characters. And the presentation really makes it feel like a proper extension of P5.

The fact that I hated playing it but still finished it anyway should speak volumes to the quality of everything else in the game.

Very very very obligatory comment on my end as this site’s largest musou nut that I’m happy to see you enjoy a musou. Strikers is definitely a proper sequel to P5 too.

That’s ok. Not a perfect game for sure. Happy you enjoyed it though!

@Ralizah Ah that's unfortunate to hear. But yeah, it's definitely a quality game as the presentation is on par with the base game. Cutscenes, music, everything just feels like more Persona 5. Sure the story might be unnecessary but if you want to spend more time with these characters then it's a good way of doing so.

@Yousef- Wasn't aware that you're a musou fan. I believe this is my first musou game. I'm not really interested in Dynasty Warriors, which is the "main" series I think? I'm more interested in the spinoffs like Hyrule Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, Dragon Quest Heroes and naturally Persona 5 Strikers. These games seemed fairly simple back in the day but nowadays they seem to incorporate actual stories which makes them more worth playing if you're not a musou fan. Like Age of Calamity being a prequel to Breath of the Wild for example.

Started playing Condemned: Criminal Origins on Series X. I couldn't wait anymore to play a horror game so I decided to start this one up for the weekend. Apparently, it's not a long game so I think I might be able to play through it during the weekend. Anyway, it's a fun game so far. I like how the focus is on melee combat rather than shooting. It's fairly scary as well. I'm enjoying it overall, although I'm a bit worried the gameplay will grow stale as I've already grasped the combat and the game is very generous with health packs. But since the game is short, it might not become a problem.

Due to some travel, I’ve been away from my PS5 and PS4 for a couple weeks, and was getting anxious to play something so I’ve started Vampire Survivors on my phone.

I’m opposed to mobile phone gaming in principle 😜 but I’m getting addicted to this game.

I am starting to get annoyed at having to watch ads on it and I wish I was earning trophies, so I might just have to buy the PS5 version. For now the mobile phone version will have to do. It plays fairly well, but I very much dislike the touchscreen controls.

@Th3solution never thought I’d see you post here 😆

@Yousef- Haha, I tend to stay in my PS4/PS5 lane. I downloaded Vampire Survivors ages ago on my phone since it’s free, but just never felt fussed to try it until now.

Mobile phone games are so predatory in general and also they specifically try to lead you along and get you addicted to a never ending game loop. Not to mention that I have to have my phone with me at all times, including work, so I don’t want to have a constant temptation to play a game when I’m trying to get work done. So I avoid them like the plague. Until now. 😂

@Th3solution damn right they are
Also if I’m away from my consoles I generally tend to… read? Well, I don’t have any books on my phone, and honestly I shouldn’t cuz books are better in your physical hands, but I do read manga. I think they’re actually quite relaxing to read when you wanna pass the time for a few moments. Works like magic