Westernwolf4

Thanks so much for this! HZD was one of my absolute favorite games of last generation, but I had forgotten a lot of the story details. I was going to search for a recap-now I don’t have to. Well done!

Here is what I posted at Pure Xbox:

I have no dog in this fight at all. I have an Xbox and a Playstation and a Switch and a couple of other systems kicking around too.

I don't like Microsoft continuing to buy up huge developers. I think it is going to keep a lot of gamers from playing games they want to play, and I think continuing to carve out what is closer and closer to a monopoly is bad for creativity and the industry as a whole. I also don't like it that Bobby K is gong to get a huge payout from this sale.

Again: This will have no impact on me at all. I will still play the games I want to play. But some people won't be able to, and that is sad to me. I understand why it is good business for Microsoft, but I don't think it is good for gamers overall.

I have been a Plus subscriber for a long time, and this was the worst year in all of that time for me personally. Most of the games that were featured on the service were either of little interest to me or I already had. And I thought the discounts (and really, the PS Store sales in general) were pretty poor last year.

I am well aware that it is not up to Plus to cater to my gaming whims, and that some years will be better than others for every individual person. All I can give is my personal perspective, and that is that other than my sporadic online play, Plus was of very little benefit to me in 2021.

Happy New Year everyone! It is going to be a great year for gaming.

I am playing Ruined King, and I am enjoying the heck out of it. Airship Syndicate knocked it out of the park with Battlechasers, and did the same here. The art style, story, and wonderful combat system are all excellent.

If you like turn based games at all, I strongly urge checking out this and Battlechasers. Just top notch games.

@Colour I agree. Supergiant is one of the best devs. going, one of the few I will always buy from day one with no questions asked. Art style, music, story are top notch in every game they make. And Hades deserves all the praise-I played it all the way through, and it is really good.

But......I enjoyed Pyre, Transistor and Bastion more. That may be an unpopular opinion, but Hades got grindy for me at times in a way the others did not. Limitations of the genre I suppose, although still one of the best rogue lites ever.

Those who liked Hades should also play Children of Morta, which also adds story progression to the formula with good results.

Already pre-ordered, which I almost never do. Can’t wait.

@The-Grezzly-Bear Santa, is that you???????

😃😃😃

I mean, I’m sure Offerman will be great. But W.Earl Brown, who is a great actor and voiced the character in TLOU is sitting right there waiting to be cast.....

I just finished up Guardians of the Galaxy, which was super fun. This morning I started Dodgeball Academia-so far it is pretty basic but very charming. So many fun games to play, so little time........

I had Pop-Tarts for breakfast. This made my wife and probably my doctor unhappy. Where is a PS5 interruption when I really needed it?

@Arnna I agree. I am a terrible gamer, but I play most games on whatever one step above normal setting is. I agonize for a time first however. 😃

Yet another game I really want to check out and probably won't get to till 2023 at this rate......

I have mentioned this here before, but I have a strange gaming quirk where difficulty options stress me out. I always worry a little about getting the best experience and how my choice of difficulty is going to impact that. So it is actually kind of a relief to me whenever developers have no difficulty options-I know I am playing exactly as intended.

To be clear: I am generally all for gamer choice and have no beef with difficulty options. I just find starting a game more relaxing when I don't have to choose the difficulty.

February is Horizon FW time, but I will def. play Sifu down the line.........

This is a very nicely written perspective, thank you.

Gaming without guilt with regard to trophies or my backlog is my secret to happy, stress free gaming. I think trophies are fun-they are a good record of what you did in a game, and something to check to see if there are other fun ways to play (and they are easy to ignore/shut off notifications if you don't want them!). But I never go into a game looking for trophies-the few Plats I have pop because I am having fun and want to do everything in the game, or I realize I only have one or two left.

Same with the backlog-I have a lot of games I got on sale waiting to be played, but that doesn't stop me from buying a game if that is what I want to play at the time. If the worst thing that happens in my life is I die (hundreds of years from now!) with a bunch of games I spent a couple bucks on unplayed because I wanted to play Death's Door over the holidays instead, oh well.

My point is: my gaming philosophy is to play what I want when I want. In my youth I played every game to the bitter end and got as many trophies as possible. Now I play only as long as I am having fun (usually to the end credits, but I now feel free to put aside games that I bounce off or don't like).

This hobby is supposed to be fun! I think trophies are great, but being beholden to them or a backlog or slogging through a game just because you paid money for it is not fun.

Started Guardians of the Galaxy last night. Enjoying the heck out of it so far!

I recently purchased an Xbox for the first time ever for this very reason. Playstation has been my main console since PS1 and always will be, but I am not missing Starfield and Elder Scrolls and the other stuff coming from the studios now under Microsoft's banner.

For some reasons a bunch of other open worlds have drawn me in a lot more, but Skyrim was still a great game. The first few times you fight a dragon in that game are unforgettable.

Strangely, I played Skyrim on PS3 and encountered surprisingly few bugs. Just got lucky I guess.

Also: obligatory “Arrow in the knee” joke here.

Thanks to PS staff and commenters for all the years of great games discussion!

I am dipping into the olde backlog and playing Rebel Galaxy: Outlaw. It is a really fun game! Very good arcade like space dogfighting.

I liked a lot of things about the first Rebel Galaxy, but the grind to build up your ship burned me out after a while and I didn’t finish it. It isn’t bothering me this time-I think I just like piloting a fighter in this game rather than a capital type ship in the last one. And the vibe I liked so much from the first one is still there. Game is a gem.

@MFTWrecks If the game you suggest was made, I would play the crap out of it!

I was looking for news about this game just yesterday! Thanks Pushsquare!

I am an absolute sucker for any game set in the Wild West......

I am excited that Death's Door is being released for my favorite console. Other than that, not much for me.

Kingdoms of Amaur was probably the Plus game I played most during the PS3 era!

I don’t really want to play it again, but it is worth a spin if you haven’t. The story and world is kind of thin, but the combat system is a super good time.

PS: “Backbone is here!”

Me: “Meh.”

PS: “Where you play as a private eye raccoon!”

Me: “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” (perks up, loads trailer).

Second weekend in a row with Biomutant. I needed a relaxing chill game after wrapping up Hades. 😃

@Col_McCafferty Control has one of my absolute favorite levels in gaming near the end-no spoilers, but you will know it when you get there! Also, the ability to throw large objects at enemies is fun on par with the Kratos Axe. Enjoy!

No thank you Sony.

Attacking the ole backlog this weekend and playing Biomutant. It def. has flaws, but is more fun than I thought it would be.

I am interested

Thank you for the well done review! I have been on the fence about this one-it doesn't seem like my regular type of game, but something about it intrigues me. The review outlines a lot of what I hoped this game would be, so I think it is a purchase.

I love games within big open world games! Gwent forever!

I was already going to pre-order this game, and everything I hear and see about it makes me want to play it more.

@Blues2Youse If Playstation did these things I would hand them a bunch of money. I would love to play those games on new consoles.

@RBMango I wish I could upvote this more than once. X-Men Legends and its sequel are so great.

Well, the graphics don't look great, and I was expecting something closer to the XCOM system for combat. On the other hand, the story looks like it could be some over the top comic book fun and I like card based games. So-this is not a day one purchase or anything, but it stays on my list of games I am interested in for now.

We got Hitman Season 1 not so long ago, and I feel certain we got Overcooked in some form recently. And Hunting Grounds seems like a similar title to a lot we have gotten lately.

I am just thinking that Plus is feeling a little stale these days. But my backlog is shameful already, so it is hard to care too much.

This is why I love Pushsquare-putting games on my radar I had no idea existed. Looks fun!

I am playing this next after Hades is done kicking my butt.

If I ruled Playstation, I would implement two things:

1. Bundle in PS Now

2. Provide a selection of free games to choose from during a month rather than 3 that are locked in.

Both of those have huge challenges-not everywhere has PS Now, and negotiating with each developer to get stuff on Plus is probably difficult even without there being a few games to choose from. But Now would be incredible value, and a choice would give a better chance that subscribers would get something they would play rather than a month that is a complete whiff (like last month was for me).

I am honestly fine with Plus the way it is-I have been a subscriber for a long time, and I completely feel that I have gotten value out of it. But I do think the service can be improved.......

@fR_eeBritney I could not agree more. LIS 2 was a good game, but I was totally bummed by the ending I got.

The thing that was cool for me is that I have two sons that have the same age difference as the two main characters, and the game absolutely nails the sibling dynamic between them (under extreme circumstances of course).

Looking forward to True Colors, as the original LIS was also really good.

There are many great answers to this question each and every week. But this weekend there is only one correct answer: Hades.

It is great! I am terrible at the game, but it is wonderful. Supergiant has done it again.

Working my way through Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

It is fine, but I’m really just passing time until the end of the week when I can finally play Hades

I am getting this. But my cats still will not be allowed in the same room as my PS5 even when I am playing it.

They always try to make the console a bed. 😃

I have a policy of adding all Plus games to the library. I endorse that policy, as you never know what you might want to play someday. And I will add these games too.....

....but wow, these games are a stiff test of my “add everything policy”. I can’t imagine ever taking the time to play these.

Darn. I was looking forward to paying $5.99 to unlock Isaac’s iconic Plasma Cutter.

😃

@Kristos I came to post this. I’m sure Mr. O’Neil will do fine, but when you have a chance to cast W.Earl (Dan Dority)Brown, you do it! Especially when he already played the role perfectly once.

I am interested!

@hypnotoad Me too. I finished Haven last night (gameplay is not great, but a fantastic story with fantastic characters), and I am really wrestling with what from my backlog to play next. But, whatever games are next need to be done by 8/13, because then it is Hades time.

It would also help if the PlayStation Blog started doing The Drop again to highlight the games coming out each week. That is where I learned about a lot of smaller games coming to PS, but then they stopped posting it.

For me it is Hades, Horizon, Dying Light 2, with Deathloop following close behind.

The end of 2021 is going to be great for gaming!

@GamingFan4Lyf This. My wife does not play video games (although she supports me and my sons who do!). I am excited to share the story of Joel and Ellie with her when it hits HBO. She has heard me raving about it for years-now we can share it!!

Honest?

PS5: YAY

PS4: YUCK