Comments 358

Re: NieR: Automata Just Keeps Winning, Passes 9 Million Copies Sold Mark

Hyena_socks

Still a completely absurd game in concept, a game that doesn’t really get going story-wise until you complete the 40-ish hour prologue twice and opens with an hour long boss rush without a save point.
But that third playthrough puts everything into focus, and then pummels you relentlessly with spellbinding drama, tragedy and existential ideas.
Plus you get to run around as a maid and a bishi twink in a great fun action RPG in between, and occasionally a mech suit

Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 RPG of 2024

Hyena_socks

I really enjoyed plowing about 40 hours into Unicorn Overlord, but then suddenly just got really bored with it. Yes, you get different units, but the stories rubbish, the characters are dull as dishwater and it’s basically the same thing over and over. Still, it itched an itch at the time!

Re: Game of the Year: #8 - Dragon's Dogma 2

Hyena_socks

The organic bond you build with your bunch of weird pawns, ambling around before pliéing through complete carnage really makes this game. I completely understand why it’s not for everyone, but I fell in love with it. Then I got distracted and now it’s been 5 months. I’ll have to dip back in in the new year

Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Open World Game of 2024

Hyena_socks

DD2 is wonderful, really feels like a proper adventure fantasy game. The story is rubbish, and it’s quirky as anything in pretty much all respects, but the combat and sense of adventure getting from point A to Point B is superb. The Pawn system is excellent too.

Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Action Game of 2024

Hyena_socks

Dragon’s Dogma 2 all the way. The gloriously bombastic random nature of wondering around is unparalleled. I stumbled into a three-way battle after bringing down a gryphon I’d ended up clinging to as it took flight, somehow we both survived but ended up fighting the dragon we’d almost collided with before bandits for some reason joined the fray. How many games have that kind of unscripted carnage?

Re: Rumour: The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Is Getting an Unreal Engine 5 Remake in 2025

Hyena_socks

I’d very much enjoy jumping back in, the guild quest lines were all fantastic, but I really hope they’d fix a few things:

  • make the Oblivion gates less annoying, either more fun to close or less persistent (I know it’s the main threat, but they were annoying af)

That’s it. The rest I’m happy with just a spruce up. Hopefully any remake still lets you climb up paintbrushes

Re: Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Dev Hit with Second Round of Layoffs

Hyena_socks

@ChimpMasta I agree 100% about Veilguard, it’s great it wanted to raise subjects not often handled in video games, but it was poorly written and soulless in it all. It felt more a corporate exercise than anything genuine.

I don’t think the same can be said of Life is Strange. Perhaps we should agree it’s possible they’re all just very close friends.

I just feel a friendship that intense, the way each one idolises the other, and the intensity of the feelings - is more typically found in more than friends.

Re: Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Dev Hit with Second Round of Layoffs

Hyena_socks

@ChimpMasta as normal a friendship as jumping through parallel dimensions affords.

But I think it’s pretty obviously intended, the first game has one romance option, the future games and comics lean into it, it’s clear Chloe had feelings beyond friendship for Rachel.

I would ask you to reframe how you’re seeing it though - queer people have by necessity hidden their feelings, in person, in media etc. for generations out of very justified fear - someone who is queer, or has queer friends, is going to better recognise those cloaking methods. These days, incredibly, people have a bit more freedom to be open - so they don’t need to hide it so much.

That’s what you’ve been seeing. Life is Strange isn’t quite strikingly queer. It’s a bit sad you’d never explore that path in the game, it adds a lot more weight to the game’s narrative. Otherwise, what, they’d sacrifice a town to flat-share for a bit and share the odd pint?

Also, just have to say, it’s not a case of ‘belief’, it’s there whether you like it or not - it’s a case of tolerance. much like that Kenyan official trying to banish gay lions, denying it doesn’t make it not exist.

Re: Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Dev Hit with Second Round of Layoffs

Hyena_socks

@ChimpMasta I thought that was it, but it’s a bizarre argument dude.

From the first game throughout they’ve all been super queer-friendly, the romance between Chloe & Max is pretty much cannon in the first game.

And I see you’re talking about the Nazi symbols - they noticed the ‘88’ first, true, but they also noticed the hagal rune, and clear signs of memes often used by the far right. It sounds like a 4Chan-affiliate messing around tbh, but weird they felt the need to undermine the game’s themes.

I do get not wanting things rammed down your throat, and things are more front and centre these days. But it’s always been there, people were just under more threat by being more open before, I see it as a plus we have media representing a large number of people out there myself.

Re: Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Dev Hit with Second Round of Layoffs

Hyena_socks

@somnambulance I agree with you completely. The game is emotionally on point, some of the best graphics in the series, they did an excellent job portraying an older Max.
The only way I can really understand the low scores is that, as you said, someone reviewed it who just isn’t a narrative led game, centred on relationships and trauma.
Hopefully this won’t be the death knell of the studio.

Re: Feature: Robert's PS1 Memories

Hyena_socks

This was a lovely read, what a wonderful Mum and shared memory to treasure.
I faced Tomb Raider one myself, I remember spending a life time figuring out what to do in the first bloody room. I do remember living the rest, and the intensity of that T-Rex in the tunnels.

Re: Feature: Khayl's PS1 Memories

Hyena_socks

My childhood experience is pretty much identical! I only managed to finally beat FF8 through use of a cheat disc (remember them?), giving me 99 of all items, even then the three (four?) stage battle was immense. I was enraptured by the game and characters though, kicked off a JRPG lifelong love

Re: Analyst Says Dragon Age: The Veilguard Had a Good, But Not a Great Launch

Hyena_socks

The game I has fun gameplay, but a completely toothless story, and characters that just aren’t very interesting. Maybe it gets better, but there are games with more fun gameplay and/or a better story I can sink 50-80 hours into.

That said, hope it sells decently, I don’t want the franchise to die - I just want to see it unafraid to deal with heavier themes again.