kendomustdie

@LifeGirl Oddly, we have GB, GBC, Famicom and Super Famicom titles...but no standalone GB version of the original pack-in Tetris.

@Hyena_socks It’s kind of designed for you to fail and learn how to identify each demon efficiently. Also, the success/failure loop is very quick. You might get it right first time and see the basic ending within 10 min, then the next shift could be much trickier.

@WhiteRabbit I didn't have the courage to use headphones, but the sound design is fantastic. Some of the scripted sequences have frequent jump scares, very effective ones.

@mrbone yeah the movement is the same. Tanky is a good word

@Jaz007 There is. There are 3 modes - 4k performance, full HD and 4k image quality. I did play on all 3 modes and the image quality mode will tank the frames a bit. Really though, it runs fine in all modes.

@mrbone collecting crates is still the route to weapon/armour upgrades

@sword_9mm The devs are being cagey. PS4 & PS5 crossplay is possible (as it should be), but it's not looking like PC is available at release.

Absolutely loved this game on PS2. I can still hear the main character's death cry of "avenge meeeh!"

@sketchturner I installed the PS4 version on my Pro and played the opening up to the first Mamago Garage visit. It seemed to be as stable as the PS5 version. Hope that helps

@adge_uk all controls can be inverted. Individual modes, like 3rd person cam and photo mode, can be tweaked separately as well.

@TheFakulty it’s sharper, the colours pop more. Performance mode is very smooth. It can’t be understated how crisp the soundtrack remaster is, though.

@LazyLombax There is

@morrisseymuse Exactly. Don’t forget to add an ear splitting whine and the sound of 100 dial up modems all trying to connect at the same time. Memories.

@sanderson72 I can still hear the sound of my Spectrum games loading...

@Bingbongboyo Hover Bovver is in there! Along with a lot of supplemental materials just for the mower mayhem

Just started playing The Finals. Always nice to find something I can pick up and play with mates, really enjoying it.

@zekepliskin As much as I love Bloodborne, it doesn't use a cat as a humanity detector so...

@Tomato_Goose I honestly thought i'd be bouncing off it after my 3rd playthrough (Good Bard, Dark Urge Paladin, naughty Wizard) but I struggle to pull myself away to play other stuff. It's a really enjoyable job at this point...

God Of War is up their with my all timer franchises (3rd after MGS and Resi). I'm older now and, and while I don't have kids, I appreciate the journey Kratos has been on. He deserves the slow, arduous reward of a peaceful life as a role model to his BOY. When I play GoW2018 and Ragnarok, I treat the previous games as the tragic backstory Kratos is trying to deal with and/or run away from. That makes the newer games so much more satisfying to play, the new Valhalla DLC emphasises that.

Can't fault Jaffe though, he's a fantastic creator. Thing is, he still very much comes across as the creator of the franchise as it was in it's original state.

@Kiefer-Sutherland Definitely got the brightness issue, thought it was my TV at first, generally happened during combat. Also got stuck in terrain...a lot.

@Camlambelot Every time a game comes out with quirky AI companions that you use in combat...I shed a tear for the majesty of press button to Great Eagle

@Camlambelot War In The North is an immensely underrated game

@Damage99 this is true, so there is an inherent bias there, which should caveat my review. However, i've put an ungodly amount of time into No Mans Sky, Subnautica and Valheim in recent years. These are games that have streamlined the survival grind to an extent that genre haters can enjoy them. I just don't think that's present here.

@TitoTitans92 All modes perform a connection check. So if you're in the campaign and reset the connection for whatever reason (rest mode, general restart/update) you are kicked back to the main menu to login to Relic's servers. I have not yet tested killing my connection to try and use the single player modes, but from what i've read, a connection is always needed. Very frustrating for a game with such a large-scale single player component.

@OrtadragoonX Yes you can use a compatible mouse and keyboard

@Impossibilium I really want to be good at Sifu, it’s a game designed to make you feel like a master once you nail it. Alas, I am a forever apprentice. Strayed Lights parrying isn’t too tough, there’s an ability that ignores colour changes for a limited time that’s quite helpful.

@djlard the music does elevate the game. The boss battles in particular are improved significantly by those tracks and there’s a wave based sequence in the mid-game that’s just outstanding thanks to a brilliant cover. I’d say Mick started a new wave of action games that use musically driven setpieces to wonderful effect.

@Loamy Prior to starting the game, I read the dev announced dynamic, variable performance in the open world sections and 60fps stable in interiors. However, I can't say I saw a huge performance change when running around outside. It's worth noting that there is a pretty sizeable day one patch which is important enough to actually block playing the game. This may address any performance issues that might be noted elsewhere. But personally, it was stable on my TV.

@LIMA Aside from the crashing issues mentioned, no performances dips whatsoever. Even during boss fights, which are hectic, it ran smooth as butter.

@Hamst88 PS5 says my playtime is 15hrs and that’s two playthroughs. Although second doesn’t really count as a) I knew the solution to the puzzles and b) the puzzles are easier! Didn’t find all the trivia cards though…

@Arnna I’m a big Cameron fan. I loved Aliens and the Abyss when I was a kid because they helped feed my obsession with horror and science fiction. I’ve only ever watched Avatar once because I refuse to watch it in 2D. Also, at the risk of devaluing everything I’ve written and will write for this site…I love Titanic. At a push, his eye for scale and love of cutting edge technology to make his films is what I like about him.

I think, for me, the choice to make an action game based on the opening half of Aliens, missed the point that film was trying to make. I say the opening half because Cameron’s film was very much based on an over confident military force in no way equipped to deal with enemy or terrain (Vietnam etc.) Almost the entire squad dies in one single set-piece. When I say ‘Alien’ game, I’m talking about the overall tone and the level of threat from the Xenomorph. I can definitely see the issue with that kind of blanket comparison.

I genuinely appreciate that the license can be used for something like this, but for me it just didn’t match the tone I wanted.
The game seems popular, though, which means more Alien games get the green light and that’s a good thing.

@Ssimsim I'm glad you're enjoying it! I did find the challenge cards shook things up a bit. I think in direct comparison to L4D or Vermintide, it didn't seem to keep that spark on subsequent mission runs for me. I experienced a big sound bug in the first mission of the second chapter (sound cut out completely after the bridge), but nothing passed that...maybe I was hypnotised by that pulse rifle rattle.

@RubyCarbuncle I’d also recommend the anime. It covers the main story beats of the first game and is a great primer for NEO.

@Sakisa You're right and i've been reading recently that people think NEO is directly copying P5. This is not the case. NEO feels like a TWEWY game, but it's definitely picked up some stylistic tics from its peers during development. I wish Final Remix got a PS4 release, it would be great for new players to contrast them.

@Sakisa I did contemplate just mentioning the Persona series as a whole, as it does inform a lot of the work both Nomura and Kando have done in the past. However, I really think P5 has had a stylistic impact on urban-set JRPGs and visual novels of the past few years. The brighter, more energetic style of NEO has more in common with Persona than it's own predecessor. But that's a big IMO!

@Sami_Whale I think a full play through on normal took me about 10ish hours. Tried out the harder difficulties and went back on easy to poke around all the little hidden areas. Not considerable, I’m afraid. But there’s some replay value here.

@ILikeStake Jack > Jin. Although minus points for no foxes.

@Disharmonist none at all! It was a very smooth experience. There are frequent wave-based encounters with a lot of enemies on screen and I never noticed a dip.

Next to the Total War games, Vermintide are definitely the pinnacle of 40k titles. V2 is getting a lot of new content soon too!

@rjejr A bit longer depending on your tolerance for completion. I did the main chapters, levelled all battle types a decent amount and maxed out some social links, alongside what seems like TOO many side errands. Rough estimate for that is about 12-15 hours.

It couldn’t be anything other than Death Stranding for me. I really do understand the position of it’s many critics and negative reviewers, but for me it’s a pure Kojima joint and I was intoxicated by it. Still trudging through the mountains now. As for the rest, they were the games that had the biggest impact on me. DMC5 has toppled 3 as my fave in the series, Sekiro is jostling Bloodborne for my Soulsborne top spot and Resi 2 was everything I could have expected from a remake of a classic and so much more. Kingdom Hearts didn’t live up to expectations, but it still made me feel like I did back in the PS2 heyday. I’m usually a bit behind on indie games, Return Of The Obra Dinn was hands down the best experience I’ve had with a game this year...but it’s a 2018 title

@Nightcrawler71 absolutely, Trine games work great solo. Co op is a happy bonus

@Bartig yes, floaty is a good word to describe it.

@oldschool1987 Linearity is great, we've all got open world fatigue, but poor pacing makes it a bit more frustrating. Corridors are fine, long corridors, not so much.

@Enuo one of the main reasons I was cold on the 2016 film was because this game had done a great job of continuing the story, then everything got retconned

@KALofKRYPTON motion controls are out. Could be patched in with multiplayer, though?

@Zukato Path of Exile is fantastic... and free!

To clarify my headline, Torchlight was the game that came closest to emulating the model that Diablo 2 refined. Torchlight 2 released alongside Diablo 3 and still managed to gather a wide following and critical appeal. After putting an unhealthy amount of time into both series on PC, I'd proffer they are definitely contending titles. My overall score rests partly with how the game has aged.

@Loki7T1 I'm afraid couch co-op is absent

@LowTech They're all fantastic. Monkey Island aren't high on my list, but they are still classic in their own right. Blade Runner is a genuine masterpiece of the genre, word on the wire is that it's getting updated for an optimised PC release!! RIP Westwood Studios