render

@adrianthealchemist Always happy to help where Returnal is concerned 😁

Easy, Returnal! It's the game I've sunk so many hours into and platinumed and still can't help but play it. Ratchet and Clank would be second because that's pretty damn good too.

I'd buy this anyway but I'm interested to see what the difference is between the standard edition and this.

@orson Thanks for the heads up. I've seen several other people say the same so I'm definitely leaning towards not bothering with this game.

@ShogunRok Do you think this will get a re-review at some stage like when the PS5 version arrives? I'd be interested to know what you guys think after all these "improvements".

Good to see both this and Returnal doing well. This will obviously sell more copies out of the two but it shows that even at this price people will pay for quality games.

I'm happy to pay for a game that I know will get many hours of my time.

@Mgene15 You definitely need to get it back on there. I’m still hoping for some extra modes or something like that as there’s definitely more replay value in this yet.

Reading through what everyone is playing it sounds like people are having a great weekend of gaming.

I’m playing a bit of Destruction AllStars (yeah I know I must be the only one!), and some more Ratchet and Clank. R&C is good fun and looks amazing, especially where you can quickly shift into another dimension. Still doing a few cycles on Returnal as well as I’m finding it hard to give up even after getting the platinum.

So basically their thinking is that more people can play this game than before even though they've pulled support for PS because you can access it via Xcloud. But what about people who might not want to play it on a cloud subscription service or don't have a great internet connection? Not sure they thought that one through entirely but I get where they are coming from...nice of them to think of us gamers 😂

@Enigk It is the way everything is going, you are correct and I think that people are now conditioned to accept a small monthly payment for so much content, hence why we keep hearing the "best value in gaming" slogan bandied about.

Those on here that speak out about that model do have valid reason for concern though. Spotify is a good example of what does actually happen with these sub services. There's only so much money in the pot to pay out to all the artists, based on how many subscribers there are, so the more content there is on the service means that that money is spread over a larger number. The larger labels / artists end up getting a reasonable payment but smaller artists really struggle and get such a small cut to a point where they might not even bother to pay out to them.

If GP is going the same way then it basically means that the more games there are on the service / the more deals that MS make the less each game makes. Over time less and less people will be buying games as they will end up just playing that curated list of things on the subscription service and stating that they will wait until it's on GP so publishers will just have to accept that in order to make money they have to sell out to whoever it is running the subscription services. Games are likely to change quite radically to fit that model, with less AAA games being made etc.

Hopefully it won't come to that but that's how I can see it playing out.

It's another game that looks quite good but the trouble is if the next one isn't coming to PS that will most likely make it skip this one.

@Col_McCafferty With third party games I guess this is going to happen more often than not as as the Xbox user base is lower compared to PS and it seems that, regardless of what is said by MS, more Xbox people are waiting for a game to be on GP rather than buying it.

I can see your point about how it makes those publishers look greedy though as people said the same about Sony with MLB going on GP. In that sense they might actually be losing more money than they are making from the MS deal.

@JechtUltima Thanks for the recommendation 😁

A real shame this isn't a better upgrade as I really enjoyed the PS4 version. Might have a go one day but I'm not going to rush.

As a Death Stranding fan the directors cut is definitely a must for me. Quite like the look of Salt and Sacrifice although I haven't played Salt and Sanctuary yet.

Matchmaking are a real pain point with this game. I really enjoy it when I can be bothered to play, but even on the PS5 it's soooo slooowww getting into a game.

@eagletrippin Yep I had the same problem there and just couldn't believe I was getting beaten so badly. The dash problem is worse because you start without it and by the time you are used to not having it they give it you and then you forget to flippin use it!!

@RubyCarbuncle Totally agree, it can be really hard. Especially in that battle arena if you are on a harder difficulty, the ammo doesn't seem to stretch very far.

@nessisonett You should get on their discord server and have a good complain on there as other people have been asked to open a ticket for their issues. It does seem to be that others are still reporting issues with trophies so worth pursuing.

@RubyCarbuncle @eagletrippin I actually think R&C can be harder on the highest difficulty setting than Returnal, or I’ve just got so used to Returnal that I can’t actually play anything else 😂

I’ve not watched the show case but I get the impression from this site and others that it’s great if you’ve already got gamepass but it’s unlikely to sway anyone who isn’t. One thing several people have mentioned who already use GP is that they will likely buy less on PlayStation, and that is the danger area. The less games people buy on PS the less money goes to Sony so the outcome could be that they have less to spend on their studios / hardware / cloud etc.

In terms of how I feel about GP it doesn’t really factor into my decisions. I don’t own an Xbox and nothing I’ve seen previously has made me want to get one. The games on PlayStation have just been amazing this past 4 - 5 years and they are still pumping out plenty of fantastic titles. I’m on the side of happy to pay for one great game that I play for a month or two compared to having access to lots of ok games for less.

Now on the other side I’m guessing there are a lot of people who don’t like the same games as me and perhaps are happy to pay less for a ton of ok games. It sounds like there’s space in the market for both models but I think the GP model probably works better for a TV app. I can’t imagine many people installing a TV app and then paying full price for games.

This sounds great, I’ll definitely be giving it a go.

Continuing with R&C, which is very cool btw, and perhaps some more Returnal. Even though I’ve got the platinum I can’t stop playing, it’s just so much fun. Really hope they can add some DLC or even different modes to it.

Will be totally up for this. The landscapes and that soundtrack...awesome! Plus those adaptive triggers are surely made for this.

Performance RT it is then. Looks like the best of both as it should be.

@Jeevz Cheers for the advice, I think I will be doing just that. Good luck on the last of those last ciphers and scout log. They will turn up eventually and at least you'll have fun finding them!

@Voltan Perhaps I might need to get both then and at least when I'm tired of dying in DS I can make plenty of progress in R&C 😀

@Jeevz Yeah I feel the same Returnal has been a great return(al) on investment. I've platinumed it now but it's been keeping me going for what seems like a long while now.

This does look spectacular and is no doubt really fun to play like all other R&C games but would I be done within a week? Demon's Souls is currently on sale and that is tempting. I guess the difficulty of that would stretch it out a bit.

When the PS5 OS was first shown off didn't they mention some kind of landing page that was displayed when you first logged in but was only available in some territories to start with? I wonder if I'm just imagining that now but that would be a good place to re-introduce themes.

@WYRMWOOD23 Awesome, well done and I'm really glad it worked for you!!! It's bizarre but it seems to do the trick 😁. Oddly the room with the hand I've had loads of times but other rooms that some people say they've had I hardly ever see. Even still playing now I saw one room yesterday that I'd never seen before. It's like the RNG is tied to something unique to your system / save.

@eagletrippin Yeah I do wonder if it's to push the replayability angle but I can definitely understand the frustrations with it. I spent an age trying to get the last Crimson Waste collectable and did quite a few runs of 5 when I needed that one, which was harder work as you couldn't just go in there without any upgrades.

@AgentGuapo Congrats on earning the platinum as well 👍

@eagletrippin Totally agree with you there, it’s a very fun and addictive game and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

I can understand about the trophies though. It probably wouldn’t be such a big issue if all the rooms had a equal chance of spawning, but some of them are pretty low odds.

@WYRMWOOD23 It could be the same one I was missing which has a 1 in 25 chance of spawning. I found it easier to run it in reverse, going to the top and working my way back. Couple that with speed running the 1st biome and outside section of 2 and it was possible to do a cycle quite quickly.

@Daleaf With log 9 they way I found it was to just run through the first biome ignoring all the hostiles, tried the first 2 triangular doors I found and if it wasn’t behind one of those I’d restart the cycle. I’m sure I found it within 10 goes of doing that so was really quick.

@eagletrippin Nice work on the platinum. Shame it changed how you felt about the game. I really enjoyed being all powerful by that point and just destroying stuff in a run to collect things. Totally different to the feeling I had edging through the rooms trying not to die when I started.

@Dobbos @awp69 Great working even getting that far. I felt totally out of my depth when I got this game and really did think I wasn’t going to get any further than biome 3. I’m glad I persevered so can totally recommend you keep going. Fingers crossed for you 🤞.

@Arugula Ha ha yep guess I just need to invent an amazing console or two and I might get one as well. Cheers though, it was awesome to get it 😁

Just got the platinum today as well. I know that still doesn’t make me as good as Mark Cerny but it’s something 😉

@adrianthealchemist She says that’s really nice and thanks 👏😀.

She’s getting on with b4 now so guess I’ll be trying to find my last item for the platinum another night 🤣.

Got to be the 60 with RT. It was great with Spider-Man so should be just as good with R&C. The action is always fast paced so I’d be really surprised if anyone could tell the difference in actual game play.

@adrianthealchemist Just to follow that up wife’s only gone and done it...cleared biome 3 and beat the boss!!! She did the boss on only her second go as well. I think I might have taken 3.

Great write up in the subject as well 👍. Definitely a good place to start for anyone thinking of getting into Returnal.

@adrianthealchemist Yes it’s those friendly drones. Using all the things that worked for me i.e. void beam and barrier shields etc she was still hitting a wall with them. Funnily enough though she happened upon exactly the strategy that you’ve suggested and made some progress. She was using the lobber and running into a nearby room and taking them out one or two at a time where you would normally get swamped by them. All good tips 👍.

@Dezzy70 I’ll chime in with all of the other guys on here singing Returnals praises. It’s an amazing game and much more than that, an experience. I’m one item away from the platinum and I’m going to be disappointed that I’ve done everything. I’m definitely a below average gamer so it’s been a challenge but it makes every hard earned victory so much sweeter.

My wife got into it too and now is so committed that even though she’s still struggling through the 3rd biome she can’t give it up.

And not forgetting proper fast travel on the PS5 as well hopefully. Sounds great though, especially the climbing as that was something that needed improving from ZD.

Still on Returnal as I’m trying to get all the collectibles. It’s proving tricky with the random nature of the game but I’m committed. Thinking about what to play next and how everything is likely to be a come down from Returnal. Not sure if I should go for Demon’s Souls, Mass Effect Trilogy or hang on for R&C 🤔

Sold, sold and sold. I would have easily bought this off the back of playing the first one but after that state of play it's reminded me just how good a game it was.

Watched it again this morning in 4k with the headphones on and it looks and sounds amazing. The general look of the game is that really boosted colour saturation which really makes it pop. It does look like Aloy is lit differently from the scene though so gives her that superimposed sort of look but it doesn't take away from how good it looks in motion.

Really looking forward to getting hold of this when they are ready to release it. I'm definitely happy to wait so we get the very best experience.

Great that Returnal is up there and happy for Housemarque that what must have been a huge risk for them as paid off. It's an awesome game that I've had from day 1 and it's still providing plenty of entertainment. Hope that Sony continue to partner with them to produce many more amazing experiences.

Can't wait to check this out later. Going to see if it improves my performance on the knitted knight trials 🙃

This I am very excited for. In some ways I hope they haven't wandered too far away from what made the first one great, but I also hope that they've thrown a few surprises in there just to keep it fresh.

I’m totally happy with my purchase of Returnal and I know there are lots of other people who feel the same despite the message some people seem determined to spread. This is a fantastic new IP with some brilliant gameplay and an intriguing story.

Ok there have been a few problems and the difficulty plus lack of save might have lost it some sales but I think it still sold well enough for HM and Sony to recoup their investment. I really hope that they can carry this experience and momentum into their next project and produce something equally as outstanding and original.

I’ll be racking up a few more cycles in Returnal and trying desperately to get better at Sackboy. Edging slowly towards the platinum in both.

@frabbit The deceased scouts were there for a while in the patch that they ended up pulling. Currently they are there but so rare that you've got an infinitely small chance of actually seeing one. Hopefully this patch will fix that.

I've hit a number of bugs with this game but none have knocked my enjoyment of it. If this patch fixes those then it would make it an even better experience for anyone yet to play it or stuck because of them. I'd definitely class myself as an average / below average gamer and have managed to finish everything (bar getting the platinum @Voltan 😃) so would urge anyone on the fence to give it a go, it's a fantastic game.

@NemesisSam30 @themcnoisy Maybe I should just get into the Souls Games instead, it might save my sanity 🤣.

Finishing the last levels of Sackboy is proving harder than finishing Returnal. Perhaps donning this suit will give Sackboy Selene’s abilities and I can finally finish it.

If they add more areas or challenges or anything to this game I’ll be there. The credits rolled for me last night and even then I didn’t want to stop playing. Luckily there’s plenty more to do still so am keeping on going. Save would be good sometimes but most of the time I’d died before I’d have had chance to use it 😁