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@themightyant it's tricky mate, I think we exist in an enthusiast bubble and our views are often not represented in a wider commercial sense. Add to this we have a new generation of gamers who are coming up who may never have engaged with a physical game ever and the future doesnt look rosy. Don't get me wrong, if the ps6 and the next xbox don't have a disc drive then I won't be there at launch but millions will.

@themightyant I think because whilst there is a vibrant retail sector for physical games online now, that's going to go down the line as well. You nearly always get a better deal with physical copies as it stands. I got zelda totk for £48 and got it a day early. I personally think those days are numbered, not least because the console providers would rather you buy digital and get a bigger cut as well as kill the secondary market. The series s accounts for 75 % of all xbox consoles and is digital only. The new ps5 revision has an optional disc drive but how well the additional drive sells remains to be seen. The new series x revision is rumoured to not have a disc drive. Arguably two of the biggest ps5 releases of the year in Balders Gate 3 and Alan Wake are digital only! I don't like it but predominantly digital future would seem to be the direction of travel.

Retailers in UK have already started to head down this Rd, tesco have stopped (link below), my sainsbury has (though don't know if this is uk wide), game is struggling and my local shop is 50:50 space between games and cheap tacky merch. CEX might be one of the busier retail shops in my local shopping centre but if it gets harder to buy retail and digital takes over, they are done too as they won't get supply of stock. Sucks as I buy predominantly physical games, not from a preservationist perspective but because I like to sell games on after I've finished with them.

https://www.gamesradar.com/games-retail-unsustainable-according-supermarket-giant-tesco-why-it-going-so-wrong/

I think I might pick up viewfinder for 15 quid, I really enjoyed the demo! I wasn't hugely loving the narrative stuff but the mechanics game me big portal vines. Very cool mechanics

I've been feeling proper rubbish over the last few days with a crazy cough so have been bunkered down playing tons of Starfield. I might be sad enough to try build a klingon bird of prey in the ship builder!! Going to play some more quarry too, loving the 90s scream vibes. I also managed to check out the viewfinder demo and dave the diver demos and now want to buy both! Crazy time for games. Have a good one folks

@twitchtvpat which new single player ip have they announced they are working on?

Will returnal be the only new first party single player ip we see this generation? Live service tosh we don't want, remasters/remakes of games that runs top notch backwards compatible (last of us 1, now 2 and reportedly horizon zero dawn), no hint of anything new/unusual single player coming soon. Jim Ryan has just left but suspect as consumers we will be stuck with some of his decisions around company direction and thevtype of games/pitches being greenlit for years to come.

I love me some hard sci-fi but my Scottish brain can't handle a society of people called "Belters"! 🤣🤣🤣

I've been playing some Starfield this morning and I'm enjoying some of the side content I've found recently. Have a good one folks

I played a little humanity earlier, left in complete peace with the dogs and fam out, with a cup of decent coffee and a podcast on. It was bliss!! Hoping to put some crew motorsport demo on later, what I've played yesterday was pretty solid.

It sounds like a little thing but I wonder if having to spot activities rather than just being icons completely changes how you explore the open world. Sounds awesome!

I'm working, jealous of everyone gaming and hopeful I can squeeze some starfield time in Sunday night!! Have a great weekend folks

@johncalmc thanks for the review, I'm still interested down the line if they can patch up some of the technical hiccups. With regards to the voice acting, how bad is questionable?? Really bad VO can be a bit of a sticking point for me, I remember giving up on road 96 as some of the VO sounded like local am dram society 😬 is that the vibe here?

@zekepliskin fun little fact, I understand noclip and digital eclipse shared an office at some stage. Now digital eclipse do documentaries (albeit interactive) and noclip have been making a game (stunt derby)!

Playing some more ori will of the wisps and some layas horizon on Netflix. Layas horizon is a brilliant little mobile game, well worth a look.

Fantastic experience and truly mad something this weird and complicated got made. Worth a try!

I've found gaming subscription services transformative for how I engage with games. Having access to a wide variety of titles and experiences to dip in and try, combined with folks who are on the same service having a common library is great. I would not have bought titles like tchia, stray, venba, immortality or pentiment day 1 but with a subscription model I can play them and know that the devs have been funded. You can also not feal cheated if you play a game that just doesnt work for you, as you can just stop and play something else. Whether it works for giant AAA title sustainability or profit remains to be seen but as a consumer, there can be benefits.

Having dug out the wii last night, I'm away to pick up a balance board (as mine has died) and wii sports resort from cex. My daughter was really digging wii sports last night to the point of even playing the baseball game!! Hopefully squeeze in some time to play ori will of the wisps as well, still only a few hours in but the movement feels fantastic. Have a good one folks

@wiiware the best game worlds are the ones that genuinely make you feel like you go to visit and exist in, rather than just play. Enjoy, they are rare!!

For that money, you would be better buying a switch lite and getting access to a whole new eco system. The Ps5 is such a beast of a console, the majority of big AAA games on it feel right for playing on a big screen.

I kinda wished I had never played cyberpunk now! The changes look great, will definitely try the dlc early next year. Alan Wake 2 looks great too, otherwise not too much for me

Some more totk, I think I might be closing in on the end but I'm not sure I want to finish it yet! Might be favourite game of all time, just so much pure fun and discovery.

@Max_the_German I'm not one for gaming merch but the physical manual for that game might be one of the few things I would want! Enjoy, hell of a game.

@GamingFan4Lyf I'm no game dev but I think skyrim also had physics tied to framerate when it launched. Maybe it effects more development tools than we would think? Having said that, its Rockstar. With all the GTA online money they have, launching a port of a decade old game at 50 bucks, you'd think they could get it to run at 60 on a PS5.

@GamingFan4Lyf this. GTA4 implemented boost and then you couldn't beat the game as the input was linked to the fps. People couldn't finish the game as they couldn't mash the run button fast enough in the final mission chase scene 🤣

@Darth_Stofi I played it, its great though one of the escape sequences kicked my ass! Have been digging the combat in the sequel

Played a slice of Venba last night and really enjoyed it. I'm not someone who gets emotional at any fiction in any media but God damn this game hit me in the feels! At the lightning temple in totk as my last regional phenomenon and its still so good. I'm hoping to get some ori and the will of the wisps in too. So many great games, not nearly enough time. Have a great weekend folks

Wonder If it's running in an emulator, like mario 64 in mario 3d all stars? Feels like a crazy decision after the garbage remaster of GTA 3 etc. For a company that takes themselves and their place in the medium so seriously, they sure don't give a toss about their legacy.

I've been melting in the Mediterranean sun with a pint of Mythos, yamas squad!! I did find some time to check out oxenfree 2 on android, which seems pretty decent and a little totk. Just did some sky islands with light puzzles and it's some of my favourite gaming moments ever.

@Shepherd_Tallon I'm not really a fighting game guy and last SF was 2 on the megadrive. The modern controls combined with the tutorials and training room options have made this game something I can dig into. In the training room, you can set the AI to to repeatedly do one move (like a jump to reset their behaviour then a throw attempt) to practice how you would deal with it. I realise there are probably a lot of people getting real sweaty online but ranked SF6 is my go to podcast game. It has multiplatform online too and I've only had one online match with any big lag. I'm not as hot on the world tour mode as reviews were. It's fine but I'd rather play against people.

I'm only a couple of episodes past amnesia fortnight, I watch like one a month but it's fantastic! It doesn't pull any punches either. As the team have been embedded for so long, the dev team just forget they are there.

Some more tears of the kingdom, having finally found the woodland stable I'm going to see whether my systematic decimation of blue lizards across hyrule has been worth it! Also some street fighter 6. Despite being rubbish at fighting games, I'm picking up the odd win here and there and importantly, even when I get rinsed I still have a good time. Have a good one folks

Great read @LiamCroft, I am so Jealous that you got to hang out at the GB couch! Grubb killed doing the couch this year. How was cocoon? Seems to be a lot of folks have hype for it.

What a year for gaming!! Shaping up to be one of the best years for games ever! I need to quit my job, disown my family/friends and just play games, even then I don't think I could keep up! Can't wait to get this and give it a go, sounds like I would love it. Cheers for the review Robert!

Looks incredible! I loved gorogoa and this looks like a 3d version of this.

2D Prince of persia game looked pretty awesome to be fair! Twisted metal looks horrendous ☠️

I haven't followed this, can you customise your HUD so you don't have to see constant damage numbers flying about??

The last street fighter I owned was 2 on the mega drive! Over the years I've played way more tekken (particularly 2,3 and tag) but the tutorials, options for modern controls and the button masher controls for my daughter and world tour mode convinced me to take the plunge. Now I just have to stop playing zelda to try it!

Seems to be a hard sell for this to go against a free to play marvel snap tbh for wider consumer market.

Can't believe this is digital only. I'm not someone who collects physical games but I do sell my games after I play them. It just changed my plans from pre-order to wait for a DEEP sale.

I think if I owned a psVR2, I would be really worried. Not much new software heading their way.

I've been playing some zelda tears of the kingdom, only two shrines in but it feels so good to be back in Hyrule!!

@KingPev haha hey maybe by the end, that's were I land too but just now, I'm really digging it 🙈.

Work today so not as much as i would like! Resident evil 4, just finished chapter 5 and the mixture of action and horror is so good. I can't play for more than 45-60 mins in a sitting as its just too tense! Hopefully some more Kentucky route zero too, just got to act 3 and its so weird yet compelling. Like who would think to make a point and click adventure that mashes up twin peaks and a Michael Moore documentary on capitalism?? Have a good one folks

I like extra, there is a solid game library and the odd day one indie
(Stray, tchia, meet your maker on regular plus) makes a big difference. I keep meaning to get to gravity rush 2 and have had it downloaded for a while but have just not got to it yet.

Great review Liam! There have been some amazing games already this year across all systems with more to come. I'll be dropping some big hints around the house for this for a Father's day pressie

I'm working today but hoping to squeeze in some more metroid prime (just got the wave beam) and hopefully start resident evil 4. I've never played it, despite picking up a Wii copy about a year ago. Cant wait to try a another classic. Have a good one folks

I'm very interested in this for it being a weird physics sandbox and gorgeous art style. I know they were a really small dev team but hopefully they can patch out some bugs.

Great month, I think the conversation around plus extra would change if you got a good day one indie every 3 months or so. Stray made such a buzz around the service when it launched on extra/premium

Surprised to see it didn't make the list among the community but tunic is an amazing game!! Challenging combat, amazing exploration, haunting soundtrack that I still listen to and an interesting story.