Marquez

@JamieO Elden Ring is an excellent place to start, he can play at his own pace and in whatever style he likes. And hats off for the Valhalla dlc completion, I got the main game platinum and was too exhausted!

I randomly installed Othercide while browsing my backlog a few days ago and I cannot stop playing it. A dark near-past fantasy X-Com with rogue like elements? It's fantastic.

How this one flew under the radar I have no idea. Also, it is a perfect game to play on the Portal, which is what I did when the in-laws descended for three days.

Just picked it up in the January sale on the PS store and really looking forward to it. Might have to run through AW Remastered first though to fully appreciate it.

@JamieO When I got into AC Valhalla I thought I might be 81 before I finished it so who knows how your stepdad felt! Great list, great nod to him. Get him on the Souls-like route

I fell off it after 10-15 hours, but my son was obsessed enough to get the platinum. And that is why people, we love video games - something for everyone. Personally it wouldn't make my top ten but ask him and it's number one.

@LiamCroft Hey tbf I didn’t think it would click with me before I played it, and I can see why it’s not for everyone.

Tell me you haven't played Baldur's Gate III without telling me etc.

Good list nonetheless and another one nudging me towards that Cocoon purchase!

Dredge is one of those ‘don’t sleep on it’ indie titles that I will definitely add to my backlog during a sale and then… sleep on. It’s been highly recommended.

I'll take 13. I've ben up since 6 preparing Christmas dinner and had two bottles of red. Otherwise, I'd have nailed the natural 20.

I really enjoyed the story but didn't feel compelled to go on and platinum the game, unlike the first one. A lot of collectibles and general busy work put me off. Genuinely excited for the inevitable final episode of the trilogy though.

Trophy mop-up in AC Mirage, I platinum'd Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla so this tiny (by comparison) AC game should be no trouble!

Alan Wake 2 with its 20% discount is winking at me from the PS Store sale, but so is Act 3 of Baldur's Gate. We will see.

@Shepherd_Tallon It's just the utterly painful syntax...

EDIT 'was' the utterly painful syntax... which the ban hammer has cured.

Top list Ken, top list. And with you all the way on blaster stance. I've bought Lies of P for my teenage son for Christmas - he platinum'd Bloodborne earlier this year and will be absolutely made up. He'll also get added value from watching me play it terribly.

@Fight_Teza_Fight They did address, firstly with a statement that he was off the show while allegations were ongoing and then a follow-up to say he wouldn't be returning. I think one was at the start of an episode and repeated on SKillUp's 'Week in Videogames' and the final comment may have been on Twitter only?

@Ainu20 Yeah I see that, definitely a different personality and angle to the other three.

His contributions to the Friends Per Second podcast (alongside SkillUp, Jake Baldino and Lucy James) were great - they also cut ties in a very level-headed way, much like the studio is doing here. Guilty or not, the situation he’s in raises serious questions and I can understand why other creators would seek to distance themselves, while not throwing him under a bus entirely. Let’s see how it plays out.

@Nightcrawler71 closes curtains, turns off all the lights

I've not been forced into multiplayer, been playing the early quests solo.

I started the Skull & Bones Closed Beta last night and obviously I can't say too much about it but it's confirmation the game does exist!.

It's time limited to six hours, I've played an hour so far and have had enough fun that I will be playing more. Then I'll go back to a couple of games where I only need a handful of trophies for platinum - PGA Tour Golf, GoW Ragnarok - before working on the AC Mirage plat. My PlayStation 2023 wrap-up with its solitary platinum trophy has... shamed me into action.

This is a positive article inundated with negative comments.

Heard some great stuff about Tinykin, will definitely check it out.

Watching my son play it now and the setup is really cool, they've made the effort with new dialogue and story beats too. And of course it's GoW combat so what more could you want?

Somebody in one of my gaming groups just posted their 61 platinums this year and for a second I thought 'that would be me if I didn't, you know, have to work for a living'.

But it wouldn't be, because going outside is nice too.

777 hours played. Jackpot!

I'll take a spiritual successor to Mass Effect 1+2, especially if it has the same narrative bones.

It was definitely a blemish on what was a good show overall, although I still see Anthony Mackie pointing at me in my sleep…

Props to Keighley for building this event over the past decade and hopefully this lesson learned will mean an even better show next year.

This is going to be absolutely top quality - I can't wait and I'm getting all C64 nostalgic just thinking about it. Huge callback to some of the earliest games I fell in love with as a kid.

@naruball And most of that was me.

I'm really enjoying Destiny 2's new season, no doubt an unpopular choice given all the hate aimed at Bungie in the GaaS article on PS this week. However, the gunplay remains so good alongside beautiful environments and an initially promising seasonal story that it is sucking me back in after a break of a few months. So maybe Bungie do know what they're doing

I'll also continue to plod along in AC Mirage's story, which is serviceable at best and carried by some really solid old school AC gameplay.

And finally I closed my eyes and stuck a pin in my backlog so I'll also be playing Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator!

@nessisonett It was already rumoured to be delayed, with a filler season to keep us going. It's likely the bulk of those released were not critical to the expansion/had completed their work on it unfortunately. Gutted for them all.

Personally I'm not surprised by the delay as this is Bungie attempting to stick the narrative landing on a ten year saga, and the enthusiasm/feedback for the initial reveal was... mid.

I can't wait to see what they achieve, it's been a hell of a ride - plenty of highs AND lows - since I joined the beta all those years ago.

@Ryne-Gaia Not sure what the other three members of FPS have done to deserve that and he's off the show until it's resolved right?

@DrVenture69 Nice to know, I know they both have reaction-time combat elements, but will still give them a crack on the Portal as they strike me as decent handheld options.

@Shepherd_Tallon I just realised the Portal will really come into its own this Christmas. With the in-laws being here for a few days putting on the TV is considered rude but... a sneaky little handheld device you say? Perfect.

I was looking at my backlog this morning and remembered how excited I was when I bought games like Tunic, Death's Door, Rollerdrome and Olli Olli World on sale this time last year and then... never played them. This has been a year for me and others, I'm sure, where the incredible release schedule has seemingly doomed the smaller games on my backlog.

So I'm going to spend some time this weekend 1) not spending money on game sales that just add to the backlog and 2) listing out games on that backlog that need some love - and actually play some of them!

Boots up Baldur's Gate III and checks out the PS Store Sale

Nooooooooo...

My Portal is a Baldur's Gate machine, I can't get enough of it, it's fantastic. I haven't played everything else on the list of course, but it would be my choice. Watched my son play through TOTK and decided to pass, but I'm aware the standard 'Nintendo Bump' could see it win yet.

They missed a trick, not making one of those enamel pins a golf club.

Loving it so far. And aside from the extra cost I see no point stretching to a steam deck instead because it’s just yet another ecosystem to worry about when I have limited playtime anyway.

@Jey887 So in my situation it’s extremely smooth and uninterrupted, I do have my Ps5 hardwired to my router which likely helps since the two devices aren’t competing for attention on the network. Someone more technical than me may be able to confirm but I believe it’s less about your internet speeds and more about the quality of your ‘internal’ network - router capability etc.

Now I’ve managed to scroll past all the critical posts from people who don’t appear to own the Portal here’s my early take as one of those ‘niche market’ Portal owners.

Mine arrived yesterday; setup is simple, product and UI feel premium and it worked perfectly in all rooms barring the bathroom (yes I tried Toilet Play (tm)). And the three hours of Baldur’s Gate 3 I got to play while the TV was in use by the family already paid back a bit of my outlay. Delighted so far - 5G tethering and other WiFi networks next!

Oh, and there are headphones with… wires.

@Jammsbro Indeed, annoys me no end. Even with the £ in the toilet recently it's still 1.25x the value of the US$.

@mattb2020 Or use wired headphones... no big deal!

@Mikey856 Same! Excited now, it's a shame I'm in Dublin this weekend so it won't get a proper road test (not risking taking it) until next week at the earliest.

@Mikey856 WOW

@Mikey856 Same - money taken on 9th, no courier info yet.

@Mikey856 I would tell them to prepare for real life Tamagotchi but they've no idea what those are either...

For all the multiple posts questioning what the use case is for this - it's pretty simple. This is the Sony DadStation, designed for dads like me so we can crack on with Baldur's Gate while the only TV in the house is co-opted by other people who happen to live here for content including 'Your Home Made Perfect' and 'Sort Your Life Out' with Stacy Solomon.

Sure I could do this with my phone and a Backbone but I'd have no DualSense features and I'd be pausing to answer calls, texts etc. The device being dedicated is a great selling point for me, it's going to be way more immersive. And even with my lovely iPhone 15 Pro I just won't get the screen real estate to make text readable, with my old eyes at least.

The good news is that if I end up not enjoying the experience, all of you saying you'd have one if it was £150 will be able to check mine out on eBay in a couple of weeks!

Impossible this year for every great game to get a nod, I do think having a remake in there during such a stacked year is a bit... weird. But I can't comment on how good RE4 is because I scare too easily to play the series

Spider-Man 2 platinum in the bag this morning so already a productive weekend and missing that game already. Back into Baldur's GOTY III in a big way, with some Football Manager 24 on the side when the TV is in use by someone else... roll on 15/11 and my Portal!

I'm really excited for mine to arrive, the use case is perfect for our household and I find using Remote Play on my laptop or phone to be an ergonomically frustrating experience, as well as less than immersive unless you mute all your notifications and turn yourself off from the world. So a DualSense + screen in the palm of my hands, with my other gadgets to one side if I need them, will be very welcome.

@nessisonett Well Steam tells me I have 67 hours(!) in FM24 already and there are some nice tweaks but nothing game changing versus 23.

@nessisonett No idea re mods but if you're on FM23 currently you can continue your 23 saves in 24 - first time this has been a feature.

Spider-Man 2 plat ---> back to Baldur's Gate ---> AC Mirage as my alternative game when I need a break from the GOTY.