Jimmer-jammer

DLC would be very welcome in my world. My favourite game I’ve played this year and overall one of my favourite Final Fantasy’s.

It needs to be said that shaming others for their interests is akin to schoolyard bullying. Anyway, I’m looking forward to playing this and will hopefully pick it up today. The Harry Potter universe is rich and filled with wonder.

@Feena Right!? I see my kids playing Astro’s Playroom, remember myself playing Burger Time on the ol’ Coleco and think to myself, “you have no idea…”

PlayStation has prioritized building a relational ecosystem of developers, like a family, who support each other in consistently developing titles of the highest quality. They value their I.P., believe in the creative process and understand the benefits of collaboration. I believe this is the unsung bread and butter of their success. As Stadia has proven, you can’t buy your way into games.

With this and a good wheel, I fear I’d never leave the house!

Frictional are a talented developer and I like the sound of this. Hopefully I’ll be giving it a go come May!

Some pretty bold decisions here, especially as the interactions between Bill and Ellie are pretty memorable, and I was looking forward to the banter. But then, watching Bill and Frank grow old and die together on their own terms was an emotional ride I won’t soon forget. Good stuff!

I’ve been slowly picking my way through OlliOlli World and it’s been pretty fun! Training myself not to press X to ollie has been a task though.

I think adapting to tv might actually smooth out a lot of the rough edges Part II had for me, mostly around pacing and underdeveloped characters that resulted in a tonal and thematic mess at times. Congrats to the team!

@Th3solution I think the brilliance of The Last of Us though is in its deep exploration of what love is. You’re right, the “power of love” is a well trodden trope, but neither game makes this purely its focus. If anything, it seems much less concerned with the exploration of love’s power, and more with its cost.

I like the tendrils! Cinematically, it’s so much more interesting than spores. Another tasteful change that doesn’t lose sight of what The Last of Us is about.

I thought this was another excellent episode. Some narrative changes are actually pretty drastic, yet they haven’t lost the plot at all…it really is an impressive adaptation thus far.

This will most likely be the first game I buy in 2023. Nioh II is excellent and this looks to be shaping up wonderfully. I love how fast paced this is.

@Porco Thanks for that! For me personally, and for as much as I can glean from this piece, it solidifies my position on the matter. Cheers!

@Porco Yeah, I’m definitely open to being wrong in this as well, I just don’t see the way it’s been done as a problem and think the whole thing fuels this unwarranted hate towards Druckmann that seems to spread rapidly around gaming circles left unchecked. We can at least agree that Straley should have been mentioned or thanked or something somewhere along the way. Seems like the right thing to do.

@Porco The Last of Us was a collaborative creation by Naughty Dog. Druckmann is credited as writer and Straley is credited as game director. There is no discrepancy with this the way the credits have been doled out for the show. Should Straley be credited in American Dreams? Should Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau be credited in the show’s inevitable season 2? Further, should Mazin then be credited in any future games that happen to lift something from the show? It all gets a bit messy. I agree that, on a personal level, a mention in some capacity of Straley was the least that could be done here, but I really don’t see how he’s entitled to have his name front and centre on this particular production.

With the information we have, it appears to me that credits have been given appropriately. Credit for the game is rightfully given to Naughty Dog via “based on the the Playstation Studios video game by Naughty Dog and written by Neil Druckmann”. Credit for the show is rightfully given to the showrunners, which include Mr. Druckmann. I don’t see how Mr. Straley is entitled to a credit on this production, though a shout out or special thanks would certainly have been a nice show of appreciation. The fact that the show is currently sitting at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and Mr. Straley recently starting up his own game company after an extended absence from game development gives the optics of sour grapes. Who really knows what’s gone on though.

@NEStalgia 😂 …Chris Judge…yeah, I’m finding it hard to get through all the games these days. I’ve been thinking of picking up a Series X for the likes of Starfield and whatever else eventually comes down the pipeline from that deal, but with PSVR 2 on its way, well, it’s getting a bit hard to realize all of my gaming ambitions. Anyway, hopefully Elden Ring sticks the landing with you. I thought it was one of the best games I’ve played. BotW 2 should be a safe bet so here’s hoping you enjoy that too!

The Last Faith, Oxenfree II, Pacific Drive and Viewfinder jump out at me from this list but I’m most looking forward to Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, if it’s ‘indie’ enough.

@NEStalgia For what it’s worth, I’d say that Ragnarok comes much closer to, and arguably exceeds, the bombast of the original trilogy at times. When the rubber hits the road, I prefer my action games in the flavour of something like Nioh II, but I really did enjoy Ragnarok and think it’s a great game.

@Niktaw Yeah, I thought the gameplay loop of exploring, fighting, looting and crafting worked really well and the world was beautiful.

They all have their place, but I defaulted to the axe more often than not. I will say that getting the spear was one of my favourite sections of the game. Riding the lift to the basement with Sindri and the bit with the mermaid were such memorable and great bookending moments.

@NEStalgia In this case, I think Ragnarok is both, really. I never felt that its cinematic endeavours ever took away from its ‘game’ side or vice-versa, and were integrated into a pretty satisfying whole. It’s not my personal pick of the year but I can’t deny the great time I had playing it or the great game that it is. I mean, it’s very ‘gamey’, isn’t it? Moreso than some of Sony’s other first party output. My only real niggles with it are some overly confusing environments to navigate (especially in achieving the platinum), and what I personally thought was a step in the wrong direction when it came to equipment and upgrading. I don’t know, man, it’s a pretty great game.

This game knocked so much out of the park. What really stands out to me is its genuinely intelligent script, truly outstanding performances, clever usage of the ‘one shot’ camera and stellar boss fights. An exceptional game and most importantly, a satisfying conclusion to 2018’s GoW.

Y’all should be proud of what you’ve built here. Happy New Year! Gonna be a good one for gaming.

Maybe I’m mistaken but I always perceived Horizon Forbidden West’s reception as fairly mixed, at least around these parts. For me, I’ve put over 50 hours into it and, after what I thought was a very strong start, it’s lost its special sauce somewhere along the way. I truly hope I come around to it again.

I enjoyed the last stretch of Elden Ring. The Haligtree was probably my overall favourite area of the game. With that said, I can understand how some people would view it as more of a plateau than a climax.

Great list! God of War Ragnarok is an incredible game and an epic conclusion to the Norse arc. The only things holding it back from an easy top spot on my personal list is Elden Ring’s awesomeness and what I thought were a few overly confusing environments to navigate and a step in the wrong direction in its upgrade economy.

This is my personal game of the year. It’s not very often I can say, with a straight face, that I truly believe that a game has made me a better person, with a healthier outlook on life than I had going in but here we are. A phenomenal experience and a shining light within the medium. Thank you From Software.

I’d like to finish up Steelrising, which has been a solid souls-like but in its last quarter has turned into a very talky side questing rpg…not quite what I was expecting but I’m digging it. Happy New Year!

@AnnetteM The one that clearly springs to mind from recent memory for me is Biomutant. Almost every aspect of it feels half-baked yet I put well over 50 hours into it and enjoyed every minute. Kind of like an untoasted pop tart. It’s not what it could or should be and there’s far more nourishing options out there but it’s got icing and makes me smile.

I’ve put this on ice twice now and it’s a bit of an odd thing as I’ve enjoyed my time with it. I do plan to finish it but something about this instalment keeps reminding me that the greatest draw of the first for me was unraveling the overarching mystery of what happened to the world and without that thread, it all feels a little less interesting. With that said, this is still an excellent game on many levels.

Merry Christmas!!!

Yeah, it’s been a great year for me as well. I’ve got The Ascent sitting in my backlog along with A Plague Tale Requiem. Can’t wait to play them!

@ReadySlayerOne Yeah, it’s pretty special, isn’t it? I also really enjoyed GoWR. Been a great year for games!

Elden Ring remains one of the greatest gaming experiences I’ve ever had. Lots of amazing games this year but nothing really compares for me.

@CJD87 I absolutely loved Inscryption. You’re right to go in as blind as possible, and be ready to go with the flow in order to see it to the end. A very memorable and enjoyable experience.

I thought it was an enjoyable watch though still far too long - but these things always are. Still, this show felt like progress in a positive direction.

The thing is, there’s no right or wrong here and none of us have any idea what problems, meetings, missed deadlines, family dynamics, work relationships, messages and struggles packed the powder keg behind his words. He obviously feels this way for a reason and for folks to be so quick to invalidate his lived experience simply because they don’t agree with his point of view or choice of words does nothing but create more division and anger. Let him be pissed. He’ll figure out the rest as he goes just like the rest of us.

@JudgeDredd Top tier comment here.

I’d personally love to see Frictional move on from Amnesia but I’ll also be there to see how this one turned out. Rebirth had some brilliant moments.

Absolutely cannot wait! Thanks for the review (and that lovely second opinion bit).

@theMEGAniggle yeah, my favourite part of the experience was just existing in this ancient world that has mostly been left to my imagination. I’m hoping to start Odyssey sometime next year!

I just recently played through this for the first time. It was an excellent reintroduction to the series for me. I personally felt the gameplay and mission structure stretched pretty thin by the last quarter and I was never able to fully invest in the greater assassins/templars/Abstergo stuff but Ubisoft have crafted a beautifully realized and memorable journey through Ptolemaic Egypt fronted by a pretty great leading duo.

Generally speaking, awareness, education and discussion are far more effective tools when dealing with content concerns than the counter productive creation of forbidden fruit that outright censorship perpetuates. Surely there are specific instances in which censorship is an effective means of protection, I’m just not entirely convinced this is it. But then, I have no finger on the pulse of Japanese culture…

Nioh 2 is one of the best action games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. What a steal if true.

There has always been a certain special something to God of War’s combat animation to me. One of the things that attracted me to the series from day. I’m glad to see it remain a focus for the team. Can’t wait to face all of these new enemies!

@Ravix It would be nice to jump right in with my fully armoured/upgraded and rune-slotted Kratos, but surely there will be some kind of paring back on that front. I can’t imagine jumping into the ring with a Valkyrie Queen equivalent out of the start menu. I would absolutely welcome everything you’ve mentioned though! A deeper and more varied status ailment system could be very cool.

@Ward_ting Okay, so I did a bit of reading…sounds like you’re right in that I’m locked to a lower resolution utilizing this mode with an HDMI 2.0 display. This article explains it pretty well. Thanks for helping me clear that up!

https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2021-why-ratchet-and-clank-rift-aparts-40fps-fidelity-mode-is-a-potential-game-changer

@Ward_ting I don’t think it’s quite the same thing. My T.V doesn’t support HDMI 2.1, yet I can still run that mode in FW and RA, where it’s not a requirement. I’m a little confused about the wording to be honest.

I was hoping for a 40fps 120Hz mode…maybe it’ll come a little later like it did with Rift Apart and Forbidden West.

Sounds awesome! I do wonder how Kratos’ abilities will be balanced at the beginning of the game. The franchise go-to of angry Gods stripping him of his powers seems a little tired at this point…