Many feel they’re not really making the most out of the PS5 in the first place If that's a joke, it lacks salt...
Let me be blunt here. PS5 Pro needs to exist because many third party devs and publishers are a bunch of lazies when it comes to optimizations, plain and simple.
For ef's sake look at Dragon's Dogma 2 that just launched, it can barely keep 30fps on PS5. And that's just one more ball added to the existing chain of titles, that started when A plague tale : Requiem launched on PS5 more than 1 year ago, and did the exact same...
Keep in mind that we're looking at at least 3-4 more years until PS6 launches. What's gonna happen on future PS5 titles launching until then, we're gonna be playing them at 20fps ?
At least on PS5 Pro they include more upscaling tech with PSSR to (hopefully) help reach 60fps. I know some (many?) don't give a damn if a game runs at 30fps, but I for one am avoiding getting third party titles on my PS5 for this very reason, and getting them instead on PC to at least play at 60fps - for my eyes it's a night and day difference between the 2 values....
How was that old song again: "And another one bytes the dust!"
So apparently Sony didn't actually learn squat, they just postponed launching GAAS games until they could hire people that could actually lead and train one their teams on how this sh...t works, innit? And they actually chose the team they consider most "expandable"... I feel bad for those devs, really, being thrown to the wolves like that, "survive or die, it's up to you!" style... I would have 100% preferred they worked on Days Gone 2 instead.
Just think of all those money they spent on Bungie in a futile effort to chase the same thing.... I wonder how many AAA first party epic games they could have made with that cash for the PS5 - a generation that it's over half it's life and it's still "barren lands" when it comes to it's exclusive first party titles portfolio!
Never played the first one, didn't think it was for me so I never gave it a chance.
But now for DD2 - I completely agree with the review, this game is just that good.
Just sunk 6 more hours into it yesterday evening, I didn't even realize when the time passed... I was getting more and more sleepy, when I looked at the clock it was already 2 AM... Oh sh..t! It's Monday already! Sleepy as hell now in the morning, but it was worth it!
Diverse quests, fun exploration and such immersive gaming experience, i did not expect it!
And it has some of those special moments that are good for gamer buddy stories when you get together.
Like: I was playing after a battle, exploring a river bank, and suddenly I received a message on the screen saying to stay away from the water, or the Brine will get you. Was like "ok, saw that at the start of the game, got it already"
It wasn't until 2 minutes later I realized one of my pawns was missing... so... guess what...
Later on, while exploring on a ledge, another one fell like a bum in the water... yet another a good meal for those red Brine things... Crap! And the nearest Rift stone I know of is aaaaallll the way back... that way!
Oh and check this out... at one time I had to replace the secondary pawns because they were low level... Went to a Rift Stone, selected the secondary pawns to be as high lvl as I could, and then left.
2-3 minuted down the road, one of them said : "I know this has no bearing on the current conversation, but did you know there are only women in this party?"
And another replied "And yet not 2 of us are the same!"
Funny as hell! I was so busy searching for high level pawns, I didn't even realize I ended up leading a party of Valkyries !
It would have probably gathered much more attention if it didn't launch alongside Dragon's Dogma 2...
Not that DD2 is some kind of epic masterpiece, but it's a new game, as opposed to HFW which is almost 2 years old.
And it's eagerly waited for by many of the first game's fans
And has a more aggressive marketing campaign.
And both titles are Single Player story-driven games, played by the same target audience...
Bad move on Sony's part to compete with it - if it postponed it by a single month, those "launch numbers" would have been quite different.
Should I mention that HFW doesn't have Denuvo, so it also gets "played for free", reducing those Steam numbers even more? Condemnable tactic, but a reality nonetheless...
Dragon's Dogma 2 of course.
It's by no means a masterpiece. There's some story in it, nothing fancy, but it gives you some context. And it has some weird combat mechanics, but you eventually get the hang of them, and they get the job done.
It has some of Elden Ring's "dangerous exploration" pull to it, if you're into Souls games you'll recognize it right away.
I'm already 5 hours in, and I want to play more - meaning it's a good game, at least for me.
As I understand it it has a 40 hour campaign, and much more than that if you get your "completionist" hat on - so it's worth playing it at least once.
Considered getting Horizon Forbidden West on PC too... but since DD2 got me playing it, I'll buy it in a couple of weeks, after I'm done (already finished it twice on PS5 anyway, so no rush).
Watched and red a lot of reviews, "Before you buy" type videos, and opinions, and the micro-transactions fiasco.... - some labeled the game "bad" some stated it's "good".
Realized I'm getting nowhere fast, and only procrastinating what was becoming obvious...
Put an end to it and got the game, to actually play it and see for myself.
Ordered it, it's already installed, will dig into it this evening.
@Deityjester You're missing the point bub.
On the PS5 Pro I want Sony to get rid of this "feature", of the choice that even you mention in your comment: having to lower the resolution and graphical quality in order to reach 60fps.
With the PS5 Sony promised gaming in 4k - no mention of that 4k being "30fps if you want quality mode" anywhere in their marketing campaigns.
So we were kind of duped - I for one, despise that.
With the PS5 Pro I want "quality mode at 4k@60fps" plain and simple - no more corporate talk, no more marketing BS.
I don't care about 8k or RT or 120fps, they can stick them up... somewhere.
And weather that 4k resolution is "real" or upscaled (using something akin to FSR or DLSS) I don't really care - I use DLSS 2 or FSR2 on my RTX 3090 to obtain exactly the same thing on PC and it works flawlessly.
They CAN do it, no matter what anyone says - even if the console ends up costing 700$... though IMO 600$ should be enough for hardware that can achieve this, especially if they implement "frame generation" too. And they'd be crazy not to use frame gen, especially considering this new hardware has to "hold the fort" for the next 3-4 years until PS6 comes to town.
People wanting better image quality, will buy the Pro - people that don't care about graphics, or don't have / want to spend the money, can keep their current PS5 or buy the PS5 slim - and everyone's content.
Bought the PS5 to get rid of the noise my "vacuum style" PS4 Pro made (had the first iteration of it, that had a cooler noisy as hell).
Considering getting the PS5 Pro for 2 big fat reasons (aside from playing PS exclusives ofc):
because the PS5 is already at it's limits... more and more games launch with 30fps as their main mode because it can't do more than that... it became abundantly clear when A Plague Tale Requiem launched more than 1 year ago... and it's a trend now with the latest titles (Dragon's Dogma 2, etc).
in the hope that after 2 generations (1,5 actually) I'll finally get rid of the effing "choice" (good-looking Quality mode with 4k@30FPS vs bland looking Performance mode in @60fps)....
I don't give a crap about 8k or 4k@120fps, that's marketing BS I, at least, don't need or want.
But 4k@60fps good looking Quality mode - that should be possible and MADE possible for existing and future games.
Put a 700-800$ price tag on the damned thing if actually required by the hardware costs, just give me this feature and we're golden.
As the old saying goes "beware of trailers that promote graphical prowess over actual gameplay".
Speaking of... I wander what's the point of working so much to include such astonishing graphics if 90% of the game's buyers can't / won't even enable them?
Current console gen can't fully support this, and PC owners that afford a 4080 or 4090 that can (maybe) pull this off at an acceptable framerate... enough to take a look at the latest Steam charts to form an idea of how few they are.
IMO it would be best for the devs to concentrate on things that matter to most players, like enriching the world, the story/lore, refining to perfection the gameplay mechanics, the combat etc - the bits that actually make a game epic!
With all due respect to the work that was put into it before it was canceled, but I'm glad it didn't pan out.
Releasing it as GAAS was not the way to go, just look at the other flops in the genre...
I wonder though : what ever happened to classic multiplayer ?
Why does every multiplayer now has to be GAAS?
Maybe they should have scrapped the GAAS parts and make the multiplayer as a ~40$ one-time payed DLC.
Depending on the included content (and it looked like they had some ideas, like coop fighting threats in different dimensions... or at least it seemed that way) I think people would have been eager to get it and "partake in communion" to quote a famous line.
Look at The Last Of Us Part 2 - it's the best example of this. What if they had done the Factions MP as a 1 time pay multiplayer DLC instead of going greed-forward for GAAS... A lot more people would have bought it and played the living hell out of it.
Should I add to this the inevitable increase in PS+ subscriptions (needed to play online) ?
But no, instead they went for the GAAS even though many didn't / don't want it.
And in the end devs scrapped all their hard work, gamers ended up with a cancellation of fun gameplay, and received instead a needless Remaster of a game that barely released less than 4 years ago.
Good job Sony! Great vision your leadership possesses...
From the video, for the build that's presented at least, the graphic quality is kind of low, and the world seems empty. There are some activities besides doing quests, and mechanics like the grappling hook that tend to add diversity... but i don't know.. It leaves a feeling of "wish there was more to it"... especially considering it's an open world game, which take usually longer to finish - the lack of overall "proper entertainment" will exact a heavy toll. It'd be best to wait for the full review to see more. For now at least it seams like it's gonna be a 6 maybe 7 score game.
Is it just me or "new games in old genres", like this one here, when made or re-made for current gen, seem to lose enemy and sometimes even player visibility?
In the original games, enemies stood out from the background. Now everything in the background is so colorful, so detailed, just like the characters, that sometimes you lose track of enemy movement especially during chaotic fights.
It's becoming more and more eye-straining to keep up with it.
Contra isn't the only game, saw this also in new games from other IP's like Turtles, Streets of Rage and others.
Hell even in Mortal Kombat the backgrounds have become so colorful and full of moving objects in the latest games, that have become quite a distraction from the actual fight.
I could be wrong, but that's my impression.
Bringing a game to multiple platforms increases the number of clients - doh! Took them a looong time... They stand to gain much more by doing this than by going exclusive in an effort to lure people to buy consoles.
@TimeDelayedGamer I know exactly what you mean... First time I played Bloodborne (also my first Soulsborne game) I stumbled upon a character on a hidden balcony with it's back turned, so I sneaked up on it with a grin on my face to go for a visceral... Imagine my surprise when that attack only drained a flimsy portion of it's life... and I was eating dirt a few seconds after. It wasn't until much later in the game i found out she was actually Eileen, and she was friendly unless attacked... and on top of that, her questline was actually the best one in the game.... bummer!🤦🏻
Oh, and if you hit her by mistake a few times during the fight with Henryk, you can aggro her, even if you are actually trying to help her out... I wonder if that's something that can happen in Dragon's Dogma 2 with some of the NPC's...
Nixxes is on a roll ! Horizon Forbidden West this month, Ghost of Tsushima in May, less than 2 months after.
Clearly they have at least 2 teams... Sony is very keen on making those PC versions.
I wonder what game is next. God Of War Ragnarok perhaps, and Spider-man 2 after it?
As for Ghost of Tsushima - I'll certainly get the PC version. Played the game once on PS5 after the 60fps patch, and enjoyed it plenty. High time I give it a second playthrough - and the graphically improved PC version provides the best way... and opportunity.
RTX 4080 vs Radeon 7900XT for the same 4k@60 FPS resolution... Shouldn't that be RTX 4070 TI (Super) vs 7900XT?
On the other hand, DLSS is the only tech keeping nVidia's cards on top, so....
I wish there was a much stiffer competition in the GPU market, to drag the prices a few hundred $$$ lower per card tier... PC gaming has become a very expensive hobby since the RTX 2000 series and the boom of the mining ops ~5 years ago.
Especially if you have a 4k screen and want to get 4k@60fps with some kind of graphical settings that don't make the game look like 10-15 years ago...
He didn't say anything that we didn't already know.
It only comes to reinforce what I've been saying for years... Sony is keeping it on ice for a next console.
As we approach the launch of PS5 Pro, and still no peep, It will most likely be remade for PS6.
"new hardware is definitely a part of what gives these remakes value"
Heh... rather the other way around for Sony, who's using those very appreciated IP Remakes to boost initial console adoption and sales...
As for a PC version - given Sony's recent trend it may be possible that Bloodborne will one day come to PC...
But on the other hand, Sony will keep this Miyazaki creation exclusive for the Playstation consoles, just like Demon's Souls (that still doesn't have a PC version even if it's been more than 3 years since launch...).
Time will tell I guess...
Gameplay trailer AND the release date, all into one - color me impressed! And hyped at the same time. Still have the character with which I platinumed the main game 2 years ago - ready to go!
This weekend it's time for some artifact and puzzle pieces clean-up in Astro's Playroom in my son's playthrough - he plays for the most part, and if he hits a difficult area, then it's "dad to the rescue" 💪
As for myself, I'm continuing my trek through AC Mirage, which turns out to be a better game than I was expecting after Valhalla...
Also bought Last Epoch in preparation for next week's launch, can't wait for the final version to go live.
Sony owns 100% of the Bloodborne IP, a 15% stake in FromSoftware, and we are still 0% closer to getting a sequel or even a remaster some nine years later
That's entirely Sony's fault.
Miyazaki loves Bloodborne (or at least that's what he stated a while back). My bet is From Software would have done something about Bloodborne until now
But they can't do jack sh..t because it all depends on Sony...
Which doesn't really give a crap about people's wishes, and is quite content to keeping it on ice until a next console launch (PS5 Pro less likely, more like PS6), and use an eventual Remake of BB to boost the console's adoption and increase $$$ revenue, like they did with Demon's Souls... capitalizing as much as possible on the IP and From Software's renown.
No new game in existing franchises also implies remakes could launch in the interim. Could we at least hope for a Bloodborne Remake or Remaster to launch with the PS5 Pro?
They didn't say anything definite, can't really be taken as a negative point, he merely stated the obvious, they didn't announce a launch date 'till now. If anything, the fact they're "working hard" proves they are nearing the deadline, when work usually becomes hectic... It's best if they don't announce a date until closer to launch, to avoid awful reactions against the devs from some of the nut jobs out there...
Microsoft is not as much eager to spread it's games across other platforms, as it's trying to get anti-monopoly lawsuits of it's back.
That's why Diablo 4 is now on Steam, even though Blizzard has kept the IP exclusive to it's own launcher since ... forever.
That's why it's gonna launch many of it's other exclusives on different platforms.
Doesn't mean it's bugging out of the console business, Xbox will continue to get new revisions.
But it's easy to see that as a consequence to it's 69bil $ buyout, it has to make some... concessions, in order to avoid future possible lawsuits.
And by far the cheapest way is to get it's most (if not all) of it's internally-made games, to be multiplatform. And no, PC is not enough. They own Windows, remember? PC doesn't really count, it HAS to be the other consoles in order to really matter, even if they are actually competitors.
And this way, no one will be able to say: "Microsoft buys all gaming studios to make most games on the market exclusive to Xbox".
In the end, what exactly do they have to lose?
Did they sell so many Xbox Series that if they are gonna stop having exclusives, many will no longer buy their hardware? No, Xbox Series consoles are selling ... what ... 1 to 3-4 sold PS5's?
Is all of their income based on revenue from Xbox exclusivity or from console sales? No, they earn so much from the Game Pass service, and from other sources (software, etc) - the rest is dwarfed by comparison.
If anything, this is gonna increase the sales of it's self-made games, which will actually benefit them in the long run...
Gaming-wise, concentrating on being first and foremost publishers and service providers, is what they are aiming for for the future of the Xbox brand.
Trying to clear some of the unfinished backlog, until Last Epoch comes along later this month.
This weekend I'm gonna "wear my Ubisoft hat" so to speak.
Continuing my trek through Assassin's Creed Mirage. Say what you will about it but it's quite a good game to get lost in, for at least 1 playthrough. After 10 hours I can say with certainty that it's more captivating than Valhalla was... perhaps because it's smaller and it goes for a more... concentrated experience... rather than diluting it over an insanely big world map filled with meaningless activities.
Planning on starting Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown too but most likely it'll remain for next week... AC Mirage will take up most of my gaming time.
Have a fun weekend everyone!
EDIT
By the by - next week Tuesday the 13'th, "Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden" launches on multiple platforms, including PS5.
It seems to be a very interesting game, that for some reason it's mostly flying under the radar... @ Push Square - just curious, but do you plan to do a review for this title?
It's because of harassing a-holes like these that Sony also decided to refrain from making game announcements until very very close to actual launch dates (talking here about their own PS studios IP's)...
Again, the lack of proper legislation and punishment when it comes to abusive and violent online behavior weirs it's ugly head. I wonder how many years (decades?) it will take for things to evolve in this area, and mofos that behave like this can actually be brought to justice.
It was ok-ish... somewhat... More so than I was expecting, given last year's abysmal experiences... As a con (for me at least) they presented a lot of trailers from "oriental"-style games... a style that never appealed to me. And didn't show any trailer for any of the PS Studios IP's... again!
At least it had a trailer for Silent Hill 2, that looks very well - can't wait to replay it. The "Short message" one... not so much, too "teeny", and too much based on jump scares instead of building up atmosphere... And then there's Death Stranding 2 of course, eye catching as always. So I guess it's a good step forward (or backwards, towards the showcases "of old" that were fun to see...).
As a recommendation to Sony though - stop focusing those showcases on multiplatform games, and excluding PS Studios IP's completely. It's what many of us bought (and buy) the Playstation consoles for! We need some kind of roadmap, a hint, a teaser, something other than dry tweeter messages. What is Bluepoint working on? "Are they still there?" to paraphrase the turret from Portal : ) How about Sucker Punch, is Ghost of Tsushima 2 in developement ? That's what many of us want to see!
A game centered around Shadow the hedgehog? Color me intrigued.
It would be fun to actually play with him, as an antihero...
like a Darth Vader game we never (properly) had.
You mean to say this one is not gonna be as lame as the last 5 of them (at least) ?
Yeah... not buying it. Until proven otherwise, I'll stick to reading the bullet points next day.
It's a 9 score game for me. It's not perfect but it certainly doesn't deserve all the hate, the threats against the devs and the antagonism it received. Some gamers out there really need to get a life... it's a game, you're confusing effing fiction with reality... If you don't like the story then cut the crap and move on, spare "the rest of us" the needless social media drama...
As for the remaster.... since on the PS5 the graphical improvements are next to zero, it's not worth it for me right now... The upcoming PC port will have better graphics, and include every piece of content, gonna get that one at a discount somewhere down the line.
The eternal 30FPS... Reason why I play all multi platform games on PC. I suppose the game's resolution is 4k (checkered or whatever)... it's not mentioned in this article. Here's hoping PS5 Pro will finally lower the number of those 4k@30fps cases (at least for a while...)
As for single slot saves... Bloodborne has it too for example, and no one made a deal out of it. It is how it is. Not to mention that on console you can still save scum using PS+ or external storage if you really want to...
Ever since PS4 Pro I've crossed over to the digital side.
The long (and noisy) game copy times, and the fact that I could have at home a very good priced and stable 1000Mbps internet connection, drove me in that direction.
Not to mention the gained storage in the house, no longer occupied with DVD / blue ray cases.
It was nice to have physical copies when I was a teen and a student, but then my own family came along and priorities changed.
On the other hand, I don't like where the digital games are starting to go towards... meaning that more and more examples of how companies can revoke your access to your own digital games at any time, even though you've payed full retail price for them, are starting to show up.
Problem that exists due to a lack of proper legislation in this area... they can do whatever the hell they want, can change and adjust the EULA as they see fit whenever they want, with no legal repercussions whatsoever, all for their gain and in the detriment of us, the end users.
Just look at Ubisoft and the carefree remark that gamers should get used to not owning their games... I know this was related to their Ubisoft+ service, but their current mentality towards ownership of digital games is becoming painfully clear. And they're not the only company tending to go this way....
Will play the DLC? Yes!
Hyped about it's launch date or up for allocating time to theorize on this? No.
Since nowadays 90% of announced release dates get delayed at least once, I've learned to be numb about it. Hell, even the phrase "game is golden" no longer means that it won't be delayed anymore, either on all platforms or on some of them....
Hype comes naturally when we actually manage to get to a few days before the launch, when the certainty that it won't get delayed again tends towards 100%.
Until such time comes, there are plenty of other titles to play.
I wish the devs good luck, and I hope they take all the time they need to do this DLC right, be that next month or 2025!
Helping my 5 year old son with Astro's Playroom on the PS5. He absolutely loves that game, but it has some platforming portions that are difficult for him to do for now - and that's where dad comes in
Aside from that, some Prince of Persia The Lost Crown (took a month of Ubisoft+ 'cause it's cheaper than buying it retail). And maybe continue my trek through NG+ of God of War Ragnarok a bit more, if there's time.
Did a 2nd playthrough of the original PS4 game on PS5 just a few months ago, and have no interest in the roguelike content- so I'll skip this upgrade. Will get the PC version directly next time nostalgia strikes (in a year or so), since it will have improved graphics over the console versions, and will include all of the previously released content.
Comments 874
Re: Devs Allegedly Pondering the Point of Sony's PS5 Pro Upgrade
Many feel they’re not really making the most out of the PS5 in the first place
If that's a joke, it lacks salt...
Let me be blunt here.
PS5 Pro needs to exist because many third party devs and publishers are a bunch of lazies when it comes to optimizations, plain and simple.
For ef's sake look at Dragon's Dogma 2 that just launched, it can barely keep 30fps on PS5.
And that's just one more ball added to the existing chain of titles, that started when A plague tale : Requiem launched on PS5 more than 1 year ago, and did the exact same...
Keep in mind that we're looking at at least 3-4 more years until PS6 launches.
What's gonna happen on future PS5 titles launching until then, we're gonna be playing them at 20fps ?
At least on PS5 Pro they include more upscaling tech with PSSR to (hopefully) help reach 60fps.
I know some (many?) don't give a damn if a game runs at 30fps, but I for one am avoiding getting third party titles on my PS5 for this very reason, and getting them instead on PC to at least play at 60fps - for my eyes it's a night and day difference between the 2 values....
Re: Celebrate Jim Ryan's Legacy with Iconic Digital Bobblehead
Good riddance, BOY!
On your way out, watch out for that door, it has a mean swing and an arse kicking habit !
Re: Days Gone Dev Bend Studio Staffing Up for 'AAA Live Service' Game
How was that old song again: "And another one bytes the dust!"
So apparently Sony didn't actually learn squat, they just postponed launching GAAS games until they could hire people that could actually lead and train one their teams on how this sh...t works, innit? And they actually chose the team they consider most "expandable"... I feel bad for those devs, really, being thrown to the wolves like that, "survive or die, it's up to you!" style... I would have 100% preferred they worked on Days Gone 2 instead.
Just think of all those money they spent on Bungie in a futile effort to chase the same thing.... I wonder how many AAA first party epic games they could have made with that cash for the PS5 - a generation that it's over half it's life and it's still "barren lands" when it comes to it's exclusive first party titles portfolio!
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 (PS5) - The Apex of RPG Adventuring
Never played the first one, didn't think it was for me so I never gave it a chance.
But now for DD2 - I completely agree with the review, this game is just that good.
Just sunk 6 more hours into it yesterday evening, I didn't even realize when the time passed... I was getting more and more sleepy, when I looked at the clock it was already 2 AM... Oh sh..t! It's Monday already! Sleepy as hell now in the morning, but it was worth it!
Diverse quests, fun exploration and such immersive gaming experience, i did not expect it!
And it has some of those special moments that are good for gamer buddy stories when you get together.
Like: I was playing after a battle, exploring a river bank, and suddenly I received a message on the screen saying to stay away from the water, or the Brine will get you. Was like "ok, saw that at the start of the game, got it already"
It wasn't until 2 minutes later I realized one of my pawns was missing... so... guess what...
Later on, while exploring on a ledge, another one fell like a bum in the water... yet another a good meal for those red Brine things... Crap! And the nearest Rift stone I know of is aaaaallll the way back... that way!
Oh and check this out... at one time I had to replace the secondary pawns because they were low level... Went to a Rift Stone, selected the secondary pawns to be as high lvl as I could, and then left.
2-3 minuted down the road, one of them said : "I know this has no bearing on the current conversation, but did you know there are only women in this party?"
And another replied "And yet not 2 of us are the same!"
Funny as hell! I was so busy searching for high level pawns, I didn't even realize I ended up leading a party of Valkyries !
Re: Horizon Forbidden West Off to a Sturdy Enough Start on PC
It would have probably gathered much more attention if it didn't launch alongside Dragon's Dogma 2...
Not that DD2 is some kind of epic masterpiece, but it's a new game, as opposed to HFW which is almost 2 years old.
And it's eagerly waited for by many of the first game's fans
And has a more aggressive marketing campaign.
And both titles are Single Player story-driven games, played by the same target audience...
Bad move on Sony's part to compete with it - if it postponed it by a single month, those "launch numbers" would have been quite different.
Should I mention that HFW doesn't have Denuvo, so it also gets "played for free", reducing those Steam numbers even more? Condemnable tactic, but a reality nonetheless...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 521
Dragon's Dogma 2 of course.
It's by no means a masterpiece. There's some story in it, nothing fancy, but it gives you some context. And it has some weird combat mechanics, but you eventually get the hang of them, and they get the job done.
It has some of Elden Ring's "dangerous exploration" pull to it, if you're into Souls games you'll recognize it right away.
I'm already 5 hours in, and I want to play more - meaning it's a good game, at least for me.
As I understand it it has a 40 hour campaign, and much more than that if you get your "completionist" hat on - so it's worth playing it at least once.
Considered getting Horizon Forbidden West on PC too... but since DD2 got me playing it, I'll buy it in a couple of weeks, after I'm done (already finished it twice on PS5 anyway, so no rush).
Have a fun weekend everyone!
Re: Poll: Are You Playing Dragon's Dogma 2?
Watched and red a lot of reviews, "Before you buy" type videos, and opinions, and the micro-transactions fiasco.... - some labeled the game "bad" some stated it's "good".
Realized I'm getting nowhere fast, and only procrastinating what was becoming obvious...
Put an end to it and got the game, to actually play it and see for myself.
Ordered it, it's already installed, will dig into it this evening.
Re: Rise of the Ronin (PS5) - A Safe, Outdated Open World Game
Nothing wrong with giving it a go when it's gonna be offered as a PS+ monthly game somewhere down the line.
Re: Sony Polls Players on Favourite Games That Aren't Bloodborne
All included games have PS5 versions or PS5 upgrade patches.
Bloodborne doesn't.
That's all there is to it.
Re: Rumour: PS5 Pro Is Up to Three Times Faster Than PS5 as Specs Surface
@Deityjester You're missing the point bub.
On the PS5 Pro I want Sony to get rid of this "feature", of the choice that even you mention in your comment: having to lower the resolution and graphical quality in order to reach 60fps.
With the PS5 Sony promised gaming in 4k - no mention of that 4k being "30fps if you want quality mode" anywhere in their marketing campaigns.
So we were kind of duped - I for one, despise that.
With the PS5 Pro I want "quality mode at 4k@60fps" plain and simple - no more corporate talk, no more marketing BS.
I don't care about 8k or RT or 120fps, they can stick them up... somewhere.
And weather that 4k resolution is "real" or upscaled (using something akin to FSR or DLSS) I don't really care - I use DLSS 2 or FSR2 on my RTX 3090 to obtain exactly the same thing on PC and it works flawlessly.
They CAN do it, no matter what anyone says - even if the console ends up costing 700$... though IMO 600$ should be enough for hardware that can achieve this, especially if they implement "frame generation" too. And they'd be crazy not to use frame gen, especially considering this new hardware has to "hold the fort" for the next 3-4 years until PS6 comes to town.
People wanting better image quality, will buy the Pro - people that don't care about graphics, or don't have / want to spend the money, can keep their current PS5 or buy the PS5 slim - and everyone's content.
Re: Rumour: PS5 Pro Is Up to Three Times Faster Than PS5 as Specs Surface
Bought the PS5 to get rid of the noise my "vacuum style" PS4 Pro made (had the first iteration of it, that had a cooler noisy as hell).
Considering getting the PS5 Pro for 2 big fat reasons (aside from playing PS exclusives ofc):
I don't give a crap about 8k or 4k@120fps, that's marketing BS I, at least, don't need or want.
But 4k@60fps good looking Quality mode - that should be possible and MADE possible for existing and future games.
Put a 700-800$ price tag on the damned thing if actually required by the hardware costs, just give me this feature and we're golden.
Re: Empire of the Ants May Be the Most Photorealistic Game on PS5
As the old saying goes "beware of trailers that promote graphical prowess over actual gameplay".
Speaking of... I wander what's the point of working so much to include such astonishing graphics if 90% of the game's buyers can't / won't even enable them?
Current console gen can't fully support this, and PC owners that afford a 4080 or 4090 that can (maybe) pull this off at an acceptable framerate... enough to take a look at the latest Steam charts to form an idea of how few they are.
IMO it would be best for the devs to concentrate on things that matter to most players, like enriching the world, the story/lore, refining to perfection the gameplay mechanics, the combat etc - the bits that actually make a game epic!
Re: Cancelled Live Service Spider-Man PS5 Game Allegedly Surfaces
With all due respect to the work that was put into it before it was canceled, but I'm glad it didn't pan out.
Releasing it as GAAS was not the way to go, just look at the other flops in the genre...
I wonder though : what ever happened to classic multiplayer ?
Why does every multiplayer now has to be GAAS?
Maybe they should have scrapped the GAAS parts and make the multiplayer as a ~40$ one-time payed DLC.
Depending on the included content (and it looked like they had some ideas, like coop fighting threats in different dimensions... or at least it seemed that way) I think people would have been eager to get it and "partake in communion" to quote a famous line.
Look at The Last Of Us Part 2 - it's the best example of this. What if they had done the Factions MP as a 1 time pay multiplayer DLC instead of going greed-forward for GAAS... A lot more people would have bought it and played the living hell out of it.
Should I add to this the inevitable increase in PS+ subscriptions (needed to play online) ?
But no, instead they went for the GAAS even though many didn't / don't want it.
And in the end devs scrapped all their hard work, gamers ended up with a cancellation of fun gameplay, and received instead a needless Remaster of a game that barely released less than 4 years ago.
Good job Sony! Great vision your leadership possesses...
Re: Preview: Rise of the Ronin Shows Promise, But It's No Showstopper Yet
From the video, for the build that's presented at least, the graphic quality is kind of low, and the world seems empty. There are some activities besides doing quests, and mechanics like the grappling hook that tend to add diversity... but i don't know.. It leaves a feeling of "wish there was more to it"... especially considering it's an open world game, which take usually longer to finish - the lack of overall "proper entertainment" will exact a heavy toll.
It'd be best to wait for the full review to see more.
For now at least it seams like it's gonna be a 6 maybe 7 score game.
Re: Mini Review: Contra: Operation Galuga (PS5) - Run-'n'-Gun Series Back to Its Best
Is it just me or "new games in old genres", like this one here, when made or re-made for current gen, seem to lose enemy and sometimes even player visibility?
In the original games, enemies stood out from the background. Now everything in the background is so colorful, so detailed, just like the characters, that sometimes you lose track of enemy movement especially during chaotic fights.
It's becoming more and more eye-straining to keep up with it.
Contra isn't the only game, saw this also in new games from other IP's like Turtles, Streets of Rage and others.
Hell even in Mortal Kombat the backgrounds have become so colorful and full of moving objects in the latest games, that have become quite a distraction from the actual fight.
I could be wrong, but that's my impression.
Re: Exclusivity Is the Achilles' Heel of Huge Blockbusters, Says Former PlayStation Exec
Bringing a game to multiple platforms increases the number of clients - doh! Took them a looong time...
They stand to gain much more by doing this than by going exclusive in an effort to lure people to buy consoles.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Has Over 1,000 Unique NPCs, and If They Die, They're Dead
@TimeDelayedGamer I know exactly what you mean... First time I played Bloodborne (also my first Soulsborne game) I stumbled upon a character on a hidden balcony with it's back turned, so I sneaked up on it with a grin on my face to go for a visceral... Imagine my surprise when that attack only drained a flimsy portion of it's life... and I was eating dirt a few seconds after.
It wasn't until much later in the game i found out she was actually Eileen, and she was friendly unless attacked... and on top of that, her questline was actually the best one in the game.... bummer!🤦🏻
Oh, and if you hit her by mistake a few times during the fight with Henryk, you can aggro her, even if you are actually trying to help her out...
I wonder if that's something that can happen in Dragon's Dogma 2 with some of the NPC's...
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Has Over 1,000 Unique NPCs, and If They Die, They're Dead
It won't be long after launch until you see videos like: "Can I finish the game if I eliminate all NPC's?"
They'll have their work cut out for them...
Re: Ghost of Tsushima's Anticipated PC Port Launches an Assault on Steam Charts
And those Steam results are only a taste for what a Bloodborne PC version can accomplish...
Re: Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut Finally Confirmed for PC, Launches This May
Nixxes is on a roll !
Horizon Forbidden West this month, Ghost of Tsushima in May, less than 2 months after.
Clearly they have at least 2 teams... Sony is very keen on making those PC versions.
I wonder what game is next. God Of War Ragnarok perhaps, and Spider-man 2 after it?
As for Ghost of Tsushima - I'll certainly get the PC version. Played the game once on PS5 after the 60fps patch, and enjoyed it plenty. High time I give it a second playthrough - and the graphically improved PC version provides the best way... and opportunity.
Re: Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Demands a Futuristic PC
RTX 4080 vs Radeon 7900XT for the same 4k@60 FPS resolution... Shouldn't that be RTX 4070 TI (Super) vs 7900XT?
On the other hand, DLSS is the only tech keeping nVidia's cards on top, so....
I wish there was a much stiffer competition in the GPU market, to drag the prices a few hundred $$$ lower per card tier... PC gaming has become a very expensive hobby since the RTX 2000 series and the boom of the mining ops ~5 years ago.
Especially if you have a 4k screen and want to get 4k@60fps with some kind of graphical settings that don't make the game look like 10-15 years ago...
Re: 'High Possibility' Miyazaki Delegates Direction of Future FromSoftware Souls Games
I hope Sony moves it's lazy freaking arse and gets Miyazaki to do Bloodborne 2 before he retires....
Re: A Bloodborne Remake on PS6 Might Have More 'Value', Creator Suggests
He didn't say anything that we didn't already know.
It only comes to reinforce what I've been saying for years... Sony is keeping it on ice for a next console.
As we approach the launch of PS5 Pro, and still no peep, It will most likely be remade for PS6.
"new hardware is definitely a part of what gives these remakes value"
Heh... rather the other way around for Sony, who's using those very appreciated IP Remakes to boost initial console adoption and sales...
As for a PC version - given Sony's recent trend it may be possible that Bloodborne will one day come to PC...
But on the other hand, Sony will keep this Miyazaki creation exclusive for the Playstation consoles, just like Demon's Souls (that still doesn't have a PC version even if it's been more than 3 years since launch...).
Time will tell I guess...
Re: Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree Sounds Like a Mammoth Expansion
Gameplay trailer AND the release date, all into one - color me impressed! And hyped at the same time.
Still have the character with which I platinumed the main game 2 years ago - ready to go!
Re: FromSoftware Now Seemingly Sole Owner of Elden Ring IP
Well good for them 💪
Here's hoping they can take Bloodborne from Sony next, and finally do something with this impressive IP, to bring it back to life
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 516
This weekend it's time for some artifact and puzzle pieces clean-up in Astro's Playroom in my son's playthrough - he plays for the most part, and if he hits a difficult area, then it's "dad to the rescue" 💪
As for myself, I'm continuing my trek through AC Mirage, which turns out to be a better game than I was expecting after Valhalla...
Also bought Last Epoch in preparation for next week's launch, can't wait for the final version to go live.
Have a fun weekend everyone!
Re: FromSoftware Now Seemingly Sole Owner of Elden Ring IP
Sony owns 100% of the Bloodborne IP, a 15% stake in FromSoftware, and we are still 0% closer to getting a sequel or even a remaster some nine years later
That's entirely Sony's fault.
Miyazaki loves Bloodborne (or at least that's what he stated a while back). My bet is From Software would have done something about Bloodborne until now
But they can't do jack sh..t because it all depends on Sony...
Which doesn't really give a crap about people's wishes, and is quite content to keeping it on ice until a next console launch (PS5 Pro less likely, more like PS6), and use an eventual Remake of BB to boost the console's adoption and increase $$$ revenue, like they did with Demon's Souls... capitalizing as much as possible on the IP and From Software's renown.
Re: Sony Predicts Slide in PS5 Sales with No Major Existing IPs Planned Before March 2025
No new game in existing franchises also implies remakes could launch in the interim.
Could we at least hope for a Bloodborne Remake or Remaster to launch with the PS5 Pro?
Re: Imminent Elden Ring DLC Release Date Crushed by FromSoftware's Parent Company
@Mikey856 Hell yes!
Unfortunately it's all in Sony's hands, as they own the damned thing...
Re: Imminent Elden Ring DLC Release Date Crushed by FromSoftware's Parent Company
They didn't say anything definite, can't really be taken as a negative point, he merely stated the obvious, they didn't announce a launch date 'till now.
If anything, the fact they're "working hard" proves they are nearing the deadline, when work usually becomes hectic...
It's best if they don't announce a date until closer to launch, to avoid awful reactions against the devs from some of the nut jobs out there...
Re: Xbox Has Allegedly Insisted It Won't Stop Making Consoles, As PS5 Port Rumours Mount
Microsoft is not as much eager to spread it's games across other platforms, as it's trying to get anti-monopoly lawsuits of it's back.
That's why Diablo 4 is now on Steam, even though Blizzard has kept the IP exclusive to it's own launcher since ... forever.
That's why it's gonna launch many of it's other exclusives on different platforms.
Doesn't mean it's bugging out of the console business, Xbox will continue to get new revisions.
But it's easy to see that as a consequence to it's 69bil $ buyout, it has to make some... concessions, in order to avoid future possible lawsuits.
And by far the cheapest way is to get it's most (if not all) of it's internally-made games, to be multiplatform. And no, PC is not enough. They own Windows, remember? PC doesn't really count, it HAS to be the other consoles in order to really matter, even if they are actually competitors.
And this way, no one will be able to say: "Microsoft buys all gaming studios to make most games on the market exclusive to Xbox".
In the end, what exactly do they have to lose?
Did they sell so many Xbox Series that if they are gonna stop having exclusives, many will no longer buy their hardware? No, Xbox Series consoles are selling ... what ... 1 to 3-4 sold PS5's?
Is all of their income based on revenue from Xbox exclusivity or from console sales? No, they earn so much from the Game Pass service, and from other sources (software, etc) - the rest is dwarfed by comparison.
If anything, this is gonna increase the sales of it's self-made games, which will actually benefit them in the long run...
Gaming-wise, concentrating on being first and foremost publishers and service providers, is what they are aiming for for the future of the Xbox brand.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 515
Trying to clear some of the unfinished backlog, until Last Epoch comes along later this month.
This weekend I'm gonna "wear my Ubisoft hat" so to speak.
Continuing my trek through Assassin's Creed Mirage. Say what you will about it but it's quite a good game to get lost in, for at least 1 playthrough. After 10 hours I can say with certainty that it's more captivating than Valhalla was... perhaps because it's smaller and it goes for a more... concentrated experience... rather than diluting it over an insanely big world map filled with meaningless activities.
Planning on starting Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown too but most likely it'll remain for next week... AC Mirage will take up most of my gaming time.
Have a fun weekend everyone!
EDIT
By the by - next week Tuesday the 13'th, "Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden" launches on multiple platforms, including PS5.
It seems to be a very interesting game, that for some reason it's mostly flying under the radar...
@ Push Square - just curious, but do you plan to do a review for this title?
Re: Assassin's Creed Red Will Sneak onto PS5 by March 2025
Sounds good, will definitely play them both.
Re: Rumour: Even More Xbox Exclusives Coming to PS5 Than Already Reported
"I am become Multiplatform the ender of console wars"
~ Microsoft cca 2024
Re: Rumour: Even Gears of War Is Reportedly in Talks to Come to PlayStation
Tainting Playstation holy consoles with chainsawed Locust content... That's sacrilege, I tell you!
: )
Re: Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League (PS5) - Rocksteady's Big Gamble Just About Pays Off
Ha! Nailed the 7! (took a guess in a previous comment a few weeks back).
Que in the "review bombing" in a week or so (maybe even earlier)...
Re: Insomniac Devs Forced to Speak Out Against Social Media Abuse Over the Lack of Spider-Man 2 Updates
It's because of harassing a-holes like these that Sony also decided to refrain from making game announcements until very very close to actual launch dates (talking here about their own PS studios IP's)...
Again, the lack of proper legislation and punishment when it comes to abusive and violent online behavior weirs it's ugly head. I wonder how many years (decades?) it will take for things to evolve in this area, and mofos that behave like this can actually be brought to justice.
Re: Poll: Are You Playing Granblue Fantasy: Relink?
Long version: no, nein, non, nee, nej, mana, nie, nao, nu, ne, nem
Short(er) one: simply not for me : )
Re: Poll: How Would You Rate the Latest State of Play Showcase?
It was ok-ish... somewhat...
More so than I was expecting, given last year's abysmal experiences...
As a con (for me at least) they presented a lot of trailers from "oriental"-style games... a style that never appealed to me.
And didn't show any trailer for any of the PS Studios IP's... again!
At least it had a trailer for Silent Hill 2, that looks very well - can't wait to replay it.
The "Short message" one... not so much, too "teeny", and too much based on jump scares instead of building up atmosphere...
And then there's Death Stranding 2 of course, eye catching as always.
So I guess it's a good step forward (or backwards, towards the showcases "of old" that were fun to see...).
As a recommendation to Sony though - stop focusing those showcases on multiplatform games, and excluding PS Studios IP's completely.
It's what many of us bought (and buy) the Playstation consoles for! We need some kind of roadmap, a hint, a teaser, something other than dry tweeter messages.
What is Bluepoint working on? "Are they still there?" to paraphrase the turret from Portal : )
How about Sucker Punch, is Ghost of Tsushima 2 in developement ?
That's what many of us want to see!
Re: Resident Evil 4 Remake Sells 6.48 Million Units to Become the Series' Fastest-Selling Game
Yes this was (and is) a very good game.
But methinks that's enough remakes for now, we need a new game next in this franchise.
Re: Rumour: Sonic Generations May Make a Comeback During Sony's State of Play
@Rob3008 Here's hoping they've learned their lesson.
'Cause if done right, a darker tone spinoff would be a very good addition to the franchise.
Re: Rumour: Sonic Generations May Make a Comeback During Sony's State of Play
A game centered around Shadow the hedgehog? Color me intrigued.
It would be fun to actually play with him, as an antihero...
like a Darth Vader game we never (properly) had.
Re: State of Play Announced, Covering More Than 15 PS5, PSVR2 Games
You mean to say this one is not gonna be as lame as the last 5 of them (at least) ?
Yeah... not buying it. Until proven otherwise, I'll stick to reading the bullet points next day.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered?
It's a 9 score game for me.
It's not perfect but it certainly doesn't deserve all the hate, the threats against the devs and the antagonism it received. Some gamers out there really need to get a life... it's a game, you're confusing effing fiction with reality... If you don't like the story then cut the crap and move on, spare "the rest of us" the needless social media drama...
As for the remaster.... since on the PS5 the graphical improvements are next to zero, it's not worth it for me right now... The upcoming PC port will have better graphics, and include every piece of content, gonna get that one at a discount somewhere down the line.
Re: Rumour: Dragon's Dogma 2 Runs at 30fps on PS5
The eternal 30FPS... Reason why I play all multi platform games on PC. I suppose the game's resolution is 4k (checkered or whatever)... it's not mentioned in this article.
Here's hoping PS5 Pro will finally lower the number of those 4k@30fps cases (at least for a while...)
As for single slot saves... Bloodborne has it too for example, and no one made a deal out of it. It is how it is.
Not to mention that on console you can still save scum using PS+ or external storage if you really want to...
Re: Soapbox: This Is Why Physical Games Are Still Important to Me
Ever since PS4 Pro I've crossed over to the digital side.
The long (and noisy) game copy times, and the fact that I could have at home a very good priced and stable 1000Mbps internet connection, drove me in that direction.
Not to mention the gained storage in the house, no longer occupied with DVD / blue ray cases.
It was nice to have physical copies when I was a teen and a student, but then my own family came along and priorities changed.
On the other hand, I don't like where the digital games are starting to go towards... meaning that more and more examples of how companies can revoke your access to your own digital games at any time, even though you've payed full retail price for them, are starting to show up.
Problem that exists due to a lack of proper legislation in this area... they can do whatever the hell they want, can change and adjust the EULA as they see fit whenever they want, with no legal repercussions whatsoever, all for their gain and in the detriment of us, the end users.
Just look at Ubisoft and the carefree remark that gamers should get used to not owning their games... I know this was related to their Ubisoft+ service, but their current mentality towards ownership of digital games is becoming painfully clear. And they're not the only company tending to go this way....
Re: Focus Entertainment Inexplicably Rebranding to PulluP Entertainment in April 2024
Well, when one gets the itch to make a change... there it is and here we are.
Re: Evidence of Impending Elden Ring DLC Reveal Mounts, YouTube Playlists Primed
Will play the DLC? Yes!
Hyped about it's launch date or up for allocating time to theorize on this? No.
Since nowadays 90% of announced release dates get delayed at least once, I've learned to be numb about it. Hell, even the phrase "game is golden" no longer means that it won't be delayed anymore, either on all platforms or on some of them....
Hype comes naturally when we actually manage to get to a few days before the launch, when the certainty that it won't get delayed again tends towards 100%.
Until such time comes, there are plenty of other titles to play.
I wish the devs good luck, and I hope they take all the time they need to do this DLC right, be that next month or 2025!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 512
Helping my 5 year old son with Astro's Playroom on the PS5. He absolutely loves that game, but it has some platforming portions that are difficult for him to do for now - and that's where dad comes in
Aside from that, some Prince of Persia The Lost Crown (took a month of Ubisoft+ 'cause it's cheaper than buying it retail).
And maybe continue my trek through NG+ of God of War Ragnarok a bit more, if there's time.
Have a fun weekend everyone!
Re: Poll: Are You Playing The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered?
Did a 2nd playthrough of the original PS4 game on PS5 just a few months ago, and have no interest in the roguelike content- so I'll skip this upgrade.
Will get the PC version directly next time nostalgia strikes (in a year or so), since it will have improved graphics over the console versions, and will include all of the previously released content.