ATaco

@rjejr
While you don't need to ever touch the Gacha if you don't want to, it would definitely be wrong not to point out how convoluting upgrading the characters you do own can get. Each character needs a currency to level up, a currency to upgrade individual skills, different types of currency to unlock passives and even more currencies to upgrade engines and drives. Not to mention that when you increase the level the grade of the currency required also increases. If you get lost, just press R3 on the upgrade screen of whatever you are trying to upgrade and it will tell you where you can obtain it and, most usually, warp you to where you can get it.

Unfortunately that's where the one drawback to Hoyo games becomes apparent. You will need recharging stamina to grind out those various currencies. I wouldn't say it's ever bad enough to stonewall progress but it will definitely take a couple days to level up every character you want to use to endgame stats.

@Mikey856
I don't get why we're still using live service as this catch all Boogeyman term, as if its as bad a concept as NFTs are. Suicide Squad wasn't a bad game because it was a live service, it was a bad game because the publishers were only focused on milking a popular franchise in the same way we used to get terrible movie tie-ins. When care isn't put into a game it can be felt by everyone that plays it.

@Nf157
It really depends on what style of game you're looking for. Genshin has been out the longest so it has the most content, has a big open world with a lot of exploration but also might be missing some of the improvements that newer Hoyo games have implemented.

Honkai Star Rail is a turn based JRPG with smaller environments and what I would say is a more focused story. There's a bit of exploration to be had but the focus is definitely on building your teams properly to clear content.

Zenless Zone Zero is like an arena combat game, a very lite version of games like Devil May Cry. Every character has their own fighting style but nowhere near the same amount of moves. Some might find the combat a bit too easy, boring even because of this but a bigger emphasis on dodging and parry and chain attacks becomes necessary the further into the game you get.

Ultimately you can get through the game just fine with all the free currency you get from completing missions and objectives. Just don't fall into the trap of missing out and you won't wind up spending. The hard part is that Hoyo is really good at making you want characters...FOMO is the biggest drug.

I like that the game isn't a huge open world. I can see this being a game you can sink a quick 30 minutes into it or so a day.

After playing the game for a couple hours ZZZ seems like an interesting mix of Persona, arena action games like (a very simplified devil may cry) and there's even some Splatoon vibes here and there. Honestly I just love the world more than anything and the characters are already pretty likeable. I can see myself sticking with this to see where the story goes and since it's not another huge open world game I feel like I can play it comfortably with Honkai.

Kind of cool but only Jin looks cool enough to display to me.

You guys are playing through Elden Ring with weapons? What a bunch of noobs! Fists only is the way to go, otherwise are you even playing??

I would be happier for Borderlands 3 if it hadn't already been on Extra and I didn't already get the plat. Ah well, at least ZZZ comes out in a few more days.

@LowDefAl
"Sure Stars is still busted"
Why are we so quickly sweeping that under the rug like it's an afterthought? It's not like this service has been gone for a day or two, it's been a long while with no updates or communication and it's a service that a few of us would take advantage of to feel rewarded for purchasing games. Weird how all the things that are pro consumer take forever to be repaired or looked at.

Good to see the extra money going into the subscriptions is being used to improve stars and the overall online experience. 🙄

I, like many others, despised free to play games and Gacha and stuff like that...but Honkai really sold me. I gave the game a try and I still put down 30 minutes a day to play through the dailies and set aside a couple hours extra whenever new content releases. There can be really high quality free experiences out there that can be totally beatable without ever touching the gambling aspect of the game.

And for those complaining that the game is constantly begging for money? I guess you probably shouldn't play literally any game with microtransactions either.

I remember playing this back on the PS3. It was a fun time but still felt like Telltale hadn't really hit their stride with this style of game. Just don't expect a Walking dead or Wolf Among us, or even a tales of the borderlands and it should be a fun time.

My wife left me after she found out I played games on easy mode.

The game looks fine enough but the voice acting has been pretty terrible so far.

I've been saying it over and over. Not only is it going to go all digital, the next step is going to be streaming only. Hopefully the Internet is good enough by then to handle it. At the very least storage problems will be a thing of the past. Future generations won't comprehend games needing to be "installed" before playing.

@Sweetz
Ironically it's games like this that make sure devs have the funding to make stuff like Stellar Blade without having to bow to the whims of investors.

People take their video games so seriously. Like, does anyone really care if you managed to beat the super hard version of something? I mean unless you're a streamer doing a challenge run (which you can totally still do no matter how much they nerf the game) then who really cares?

Well that's one way to instantly nuke your entire career overnight.

Thank God it's not Crunchyroll, hopefully this means no sudden shutdown of games.

Almost like people still want to play the games that made PlayStation big in the first place. It's almost like Sony forgot its roots chasing after all these cinematic experiences.

Gex enter the gecko scared me so much as a kid. Something about those early 3D graphics...

I'll definitely pick one up in that golden time when the device is considered worthless before it skyrockets in price, like the Vita TV.

Bloodborne ported to PC...but you have to sign up for PSN to play.

Monkey's paw curls

I really hope they release it soon so I can stop seeing people spamming it on every presentation Livestream.

Anno 1800, at long last I can get stuck in.

A shame, lord knows that the Sims needs some competition so they don't keep coasting along with barebones DLC releases.

Interesting statistic, though I'm unsure what it has to do with PlayStation at all.

@WolfyTn
I absolutely hated Monster Hunter when I tried to play it as a melee fighter. To me the game just feels way too clunky for that but once I became a heavy bowgun user the game changed completely for me. Not saying it'll fix any problems you might have with it but you might just enjoy ranged combat more.

It looks like it plays how the new Saints Row should have played.

@Shigurui
Yeah I've started to realize that speed boots in particular tend to be the hardest ones to pull for naturally so I've started saving my premium crafting materials to try to get those and ropes. Too bad that they can be a pretty scarce resource.

I feel like only game journalists are personally offended by someone leaking incorrect information. The rest of us barely even care.

Awesome, now I can more quickly get the useless relics I don't need thanks to the annoying randomness of relic farming. My least favorite part of the game trying to an energy Regen rope or speed boots and don't even get me started on trying to also get optimal sub stats if I manage to get the aforementioned gear.

I wonder just how many of these so called "get gud" -ers use guides to figure out how to beat bosses, or what the overpowered builds are or where the strong weapons are hidden? Personally I consider that the closest thing to playing on "easy" mode for a souls game.

Yessss I waited and waited for Anno to drop and my patience has been rewarded!

Kind of ironic that a series X/S can run PS2 games better than a PlayStation console can...but you didn't hear that from me.

So it's more of a DMC-like instead then.

I mean Phil has proven time and again to go back on his word and be a snake. He's in good company with Todd Howard and Bobby Kotick...well, before they kicked the later out with a nice and hefty bonus.

Someday I hope the AC team can make a hitman style game but with Assassin's Creed's unique trappings. Replayable sandbox stages sounds like way more fun than what they've already been doing for years.

@NinjaNicky
I don't like that we call those games JRPGS now. In my old brain a JRPG is a turn based games, not souls-like that we get so many of nowadays.

Very welcome change, hopefully the entire classic selection can be updated in this way to make revisiting old games a fresh challenge.

The final fantasy tactics art style looks great.

Too bad WB patented the Nemesis system...and then never used it again. This kind of game seems perfect for such a system to be implemented.

I never trust digital versions of board games because the dice rolls never truly feel random. Somehow somebody that is low on money will ALWAYS land or boardwalk or someone else will ALWAYS wind up going to jail despite the odds. Reminds me of playing Mario Party DS and its "random" rolls.

All I learned was that we should be even more cynical.

I'm pretty sure most people will just plug in a M&K if they really want to play a super sweaty game like this.

They'd better sell out after all the complaining.

If I remember correctly the DLC is free on Gamepass right? Something to consider.

They announced Civ 7 which I'll likely be playing for the next several years so I'm good.

Taken away and brought back again.

"Put it on PC but take the Sony out of it!!"