J2theEzzo

I also have Ni No Kuni on my backlog! Left off about halfway through, for some reason and am eager to return (at last...)

@Fishface45 Midnight Sons was enjoyable, but I do feel that it could get pretty limited, in that each hero (bar your main) only has a total of 8 combat abilities. So obviously, variety comes with mixing up the team and stuff, but otherwise, you might find yourself tapering off. I got the plat, so liked it enough to rush it a 2nd time, but I'd say go for whichever you feel looks more interesting/ enjoyable.

@Czar_Khastik Guilty as charged. I cross 1 off the backlog and somehow, got 2 more added to the list.

I think it's fair to say, the game received a (somewhat) undue bashing, for being so different, but... surely does not deserve anything above a (generous) 7

I hear they're porting across the Red Ring of Death...

@Judal27 After looking at the screenshot from Crisis Core, (below) I'd have to say that some parts do look really good, but maybe it's once things start moving around that there seems to be a bit of a dip in quality? Character models just looked a little last gen, and given Ragnarok (for example) was a ps4 game, I'd say that looked immensely better. But I suppose it also isn't as vastly open world!

I thought the demo was a little janky, to be honest. Graphics didn't look great, for ps5 and some parts were just a bit tedious. Combat is solid, but sometimes it was impossible to really tell what was going on or where you were being attacked from.
I feel like there's been a slew of really good arpg games lately (ff16, gow, etc.) And maybe this just didn't feel much to me like it was holding up, in comparison. But I love the original and platted the remake, so will surely pick it up down the line.

Not much of a SF guy, but this does look very cool, and the graphics are looking nice!

@Omnistalgic Yep, totally agreed on this!

Why not? People who like the more party based, family, and portable route of Nintendo can stick with/ pick up the switch, and all the other 3rd party stuff and xbox exclusives can come to the best home console, with better graphics and controls... 😉
Get gamepass on ps5, and the xbox is obsolete!

@WanderingBullet You got my vote for those 3

Rival Schools, Dino Crisis, Onimusha, Okami, Breath of Fire... and dare I say, God Hand.

Rollerdrome is a fun little game, for a quick blast and Steel rising could be worth checking out. Not really interested in 'online only multiplayer' games, but I'm sure someone is.
Just a bit of a comparatively rubbish selection, taking last month into account.

Snake...? Snake....?!
... SNAAAAAAAKKKEE??!!

@dark_knightmare2 Well that's fair. I didn't realise certain guns were character locked- but I also don't know whether I think that's a good move. (Seems like willfully limiting player choice, for the purpose of forcefully making characters feel different?) The story was defo the best aspect, but I can't fathom spending cash for that alone, when so many good games are out in the next few weeks/ months, that will surely tick more boxes for me, personally; it was fine, but I don't think that's reason enough to put out a game, or warrant buying it!

@dark_knightmare2 I played the Alpha for a good few hours... really didn't see that there was much to like with gameplay. It's derivative, and yet still not very intuitive. The map and HUD was a mess, and it got tedious very quick. Fun with 3 other friends, maybe, but for a solo experience, it was not. Took the skill tree from borderlands, so I imagine by level 30 or so, each character maybe feels more different, but if you all used the same guns, I imagine it wouldn't be noticeable- at all.

@AdamNovice You could have several mid-match transformations for some characters, for example, biding your time to build ki and take Goku all the way from regular, through each stage, all the way to super saiyan 4- or just blast up to full ki and transform from 1 to 4 at once. Had different skills and moves available at different stages, and some of these would turn a vs match into a frantic button guessing minigame (rock, paper, scissors to lay on another attack/ defend). Full control to fly up or around in the arena, dodge/ teleport away from attacks and reposition, etc. So many characters...
I could go on!

I liked the cat-like beastmen barbarians from Champions of Norrath, so maybe I'll make Khimari, from FFX, and not do him dirty by classing him a useless blue mage.

@Kidfunkadelic83 Couldn't say- it's 3 packs, and from previous experience with Nioh games, is usually a good few levels per area, with subsequent enemies and skills/ spells and maybe a new weapon to use.

@ATaco Agreed. Think the waning enthusiasm got shipped from GK to this, then, when people saw it was an always online shooter, it seemed GK was the closest thing we'd get to an Arkham game, after all. By that time, no-one was excited for either, any more. Haha

@Kidfunkadelic83 I assume you'd be able to grab the season pass for 20 quid in a sale? Had my eye on this for "wo long" (sorry, bad pun), and have to say, for 20 squid, that's a steal!

@Mad001 was thatOG Jack? Jack 1, or even just 'Jack'? Before he even looked much like a robot, and was just a weird, giant, Hitler youth boy scout, haha

Might be time for me to jump back in and finish whacking some beasts! God damned Bezelgeuse...

Still such a great looking game, too!

@themightyant An easy mistake! I'd say, while the initial hour or so might feel like a bit of a steep learning curve and slightly limited, for anyone new (or remotely new) to the genre, it's not as impossible to get into as some others (try pathfinder for obtuse explanations and rule sets!), and once you get the swing of it, I'd say it's very enjoyable. Half the time, you don't even have to fight- so many conflicts you can talk your way out of, or find ways to exploit the game, as with Divinity OS 2.

In my case, it was Divinity that made me fall for the genre, and after BG3, I can't wait to see what they do next.

@themightyant Does BG3 really have anything to do with Furries? I mean, there's orcs, and devil looking people, lizardmen and whatever the hell githyanki are, but... I don't actually think there's a single 'furry' race in the game?

As someone who has also never really cared particularly for DnD, beyond the 80's kid's show, I'd say I still enjoy the gane immensely, more for the wonderful job Larian did with world building than anything else, aside from the versatility of what you can do with character classes. Played through about 3 times now, and I'm still finding new things, or finding new ways to get through the game. The replayability is incredible- but no furries in sight, I assure you! 😉

@ShogunRok We all know democracy is a ruse... 😉

@pip_muzz Polls would suggest that just about everyone with at least a brain cell agrees with you! 😉

😮😯😲😧😦

Only number 2? Blasphemy!

@Deoxyr1bose I think they were just a little too niche? I mean, I like niche, but there's no way I want to sit down and play a game about washing dirty things; I've done that for a job already. That said, apparently a lot of people love it, so I guess it's not that niche, and is quite divisive. Actually, I like a strong 3rd person action adventure game. So this is a way better month for me!

Plague Tale is surprisingly the game that I care the least about from this list! Evil West and Nobody Saves... in that order, I've been keen to play, but never had the time or funds to try. Generally prefer to play with friends, and they're both coop, as I understand, so my mate and I are in for a good month of gaming!

I always liked Kuma. Good to see he's finally getting some decent combos and a bit more individuality from Panda! With Heihachi gone, one can only hope that soon he'll play just like his boss, and inherit the rest of Heihachi's move set.

Atmospherically similar to bloodborne, but ultimately, more of a sekiro clone? Only played the demo, but it was a little too derivative for me.

@showface There was only one "if", and I was referring to very real authoritarian states, places like N Korea, for example, where personal freedoms are regularly curbed. I'm not addressing what one individual did, but rather, questioning whether it's necessarily right to think that all laws are made with your best interest at heart, which I'd argue is not necessarily always the case.

To be honest, I have no idea what's going on with this person, or what their story is, but I don't personally believe that "you did bad, so go to jail" is always the best solution to every legal problem- situations are nuanced, because people are too.

But if you love and trust the police and authority so much, then good for you. 😉

@showface Woah, dude. What if you live in an authoritarian state, that decrees that your personal freedoms should be revoked and that you must always obey arbitrary commands, under threat of death or imprisonment? Sometimes we need to be critical of laws and who makes them. Mindless obeying can cause more harm than good- just look at WW2.

@KilloWertz I'm not suggesting it's an excuse, but I've worked with vulnerable people on the spectrum, and a lot of the time, those individuals just didn't necessarily get why something they think is fine could be seen as potentially dangerous or harmful, either to themselves or others. I think education has a huge role to play in that, and I think it's easier to put blame on a person, than a system that (repeatedly) fails them. He's clearly very intelligent, and has skills that could be professionally put to use for benefit, and I just don't believe that punishment works as well as proactively working with people to re-educate or endorse positive use of their skills.

@KilloWertz I'd think, if he were on the autism spectrum, then having an awareness of empathy and emotions would be something that they struggle to identify or understand, so yeah, I think it's fair that those things should be considered with sentencing? Someone who willingly kills in cold blood should probably receive a harsher sentence than someone who acccidentally kills through ignorance? Point being- if he isn't really aware of what he's done, how can he be held accountable?

And hacking big companies is clearly going to be prosecuted more than person to person crime, because they have better lawyers- but should that really be the case? I think it's fair to raise these sorts of questions.

@Mattock1987 Wouldn't that be grand, haha.
Steal my materia, would you...

Probably gonna be Cait Sith, or Red XIII. A character that'll leave little impression, should you not get to play as them again...

Then again, if the game ships with chapter select, like in the first, any loss won't feel very permanent, as you can just warp back and say "hello" any time you like.

If it's going to be so vast, I just hope it won't take 2 playthroughs to get the plat again!

Black and gold, huh? Well... I like it! 👍

@homelesscretin I think the story will be it's only redeeming feature. Played the beta, thought it did that well enough, and the dialogue and characters seemed well acted. Gameplay seems a bit repetitive, but I could see myself enjoying the cutscenes, at a sale price.

With the exception of Deadshot, who's putfit looks based off of the SS film, prior to Gunn's second release, all these costumes look a bit lame, no? Subjective, I know. But objectively...

@Matthewnh Dude, Heavenly Sword was a PS3 game! But a great one no less, and one of the few to make use of the controller's gyroscope in game!

I'd say maybe hold off from Wo Long, until there's a sale or something. It's true to soulslikes in its difficulty, which kinda forces you to play a certain way, despite the fluidity and openness of combat. That said, the challenge is offset slightly by having a lot of npcs to help you. But if you're not up for fighting the same boss up to 10 times, before you get the rhythm and timing on counters to perfection, you may find it more frustrating than enjoyable?

I would actually be totally cool with this! And I guess it helps hype up FF7 remake 2, or whatever they're calling it.

Edit- but I didn't see it was for Extra... had scrolled too fast in my eagerness 🥲

@ItsBritneyB_tch I've played about 300 hours of Baldur's Gate, since launch. My friend has Alan Wake 2. Neither of us own Spiderman 2. It's not snobbery- there's just more interesting games out right now. And I was a fan of the first game, and even got the plat for it.

Looks great, for sure! Just hope they keep all the mid-fight depth, while adding to its polish. Loved the mini games in vs made, to complete your attacks; qte's to hit, button guessing games to counter, etc.

Got this sitting on my shelf, so after I finally wrap up BG3, I think it'll be time to finally see Kratos' journey through!

Nnnnope. Not one. Not gonna. 😉

@Scootybby The thing is, you get a lot less companions being evil than you do for being good. At least, Minthara would have been a replacement for Halsin, and the exclusivity forces the player into a choice, with consequences. Now, there's little consequence for being good, in that you can recruit every companion, and so, no choice either. However, being bad still nets you the disadvantage of a smaller team, but now, with no real advantage, unless you play Durge...

@Titntin No need to apologise to me, my dude! Just engaging in open debate, haha. True enough, as you say, it's entirely subjective and clearly a lot of people are enjoying this month's offerings. I think, in lieu of conversations about digital prices, and the trend towards the subscription model, I'd just like to see more 'quality' games being offered, on a more regular basis- but I suppose that's what the premium tier is for... 🤷‍♂️
In any case- happy that you get to enjoy December's games! Appreciate the positivity!