somnambulance

If they kill it, we can only hope it stays dead.

Madden 25: Like a Dragon

I dunno. I’m sorta at an impasse with Erdtree, as I’m waiting for my friend group to embrace the game before I get into it and that just hasn’t happened yet. Part of the fun of Elden Ring in the first place was playing with friends, but there’s not really anything else I’m playing. I find myself fluffing about on the NES app on my Switch more than anything else right now.

Honestly, I’m not sure I want to play this one (Atlus games are just difficult for me to stick to), but that story trailer looked fantastic. If I don’t sucker myself into the hype (let’s be real, if it reviews like P5, I will) and get the game, I’ll be looking forward to the anime.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the only contender by a wide margin so far this year. I loved every moment of it and have practically been missing it since I finished it. Balatro is the only other game I feel should even be in the GotY discussion so far, as it is the best game this year for Xbox and Switch so far. Not sure Rebirth will have competition in the second half of the year or not, but it does look like my top 10 list will start to look better.

Also, just curious if others feel this way too or not, but does it feel like square in the 7/10 games are the popular goty contenders being discussed this year? The discussion with Helldivers, Stellar Blade, and Dragon’s Dogma just sort of seems off to me. I usually vibe with the critical hits, but I dunno. Those three games in particular were just sort of good, not great to me.

The gameplay’s not for me. Not into Warframe. I think I may be hitting a point where I’m just aware that F2P games are for a different demographic than me and that’s ok. I try them all, but I think Splitgate was the last one I really liked.

@MikeOrator All it takes to overcome that is some good games. Prince of Persia’s solid, so if they knock it out of the park with two more games, it’s hard to argue that Ubisoft sucks if they released three solid titles in a year. Not sure any other publisher has done that. I suppose we’ll have to wait for release on Shadows and Outlaws, but I’m hoping for some hits this year. Honestly, Ubisoft is sort of soloing the AAA landscape this year, so we’ll see what happens with that. If I’d guess, I’d say potentially Wukong and Indiana Jones are the only other games releasing the second half of the year in that budget scope.

This game was honestly released at the wrong time. As a story-based Metroidvania, it came right after Ubisoft pulled an unexpected revelation in Prince of Persia. I suspect people were still full on the genre when this one launched, and, if they weren’t, Animal Well threw the genre into a blender and was yet another revelation. Had this one released last year or later into the summer, I think it would’ve had a better shot. It’s sad to see an obvious passion project failing expectations

@MikeOrator I agree with you there. I’ve got AC Shadows preordered myself, but I am still surprised to see it ranking so high, given how critical people can be toward Ubisoft these days. It’s not like CoD was in the top 10, you know? It actually feels like this might be the year Ubisoft heads in a more positive direction.

Really interesting. The taste for readers is a bit different than I thought it would be. Surprised to see two Ubisoft titles in the top 5. Wukong is also more popular than I expected. Looks great to me, but still… I thought for sure Metaphor would’ve been above it! I can’t wait for August. The gaming year is about to light up, for sure.

Also, one other note, poor Dragon Ball down there at #18. Never expected DQ3 Remastered to be above what looks to be the biggest DB game yet.

Haven’t gotten a chance to play the demo yet, but I’m looking forward to it. July is sort of a dead release month, so if I like the demo, I’ll likely jump into this game.

Played a bit of Donkey Kong Country today. Not sure why but I sort of want to play Flight Sim and Forza Horizon 5 randomly. I put a good 10 hours into Erdtree and felt like I’m not quite there for it after blitzing Mohg and Malenia last week and struggling to the point of frustration on the dancing lion, so I’ll wait for friends to buy into it, as that was half the fun of Elden Ring in the first place. Sort of hoping I can get the band together because Elden Ring is sort of my gaming plan til Wukong!

Only reason I renewed PS+ in any capacity is because of playing Erdtree with friends.

There’s actually too many games now to plan to play them all, which is neat because I’ve been struggling to find something to sink into for a few months. Come August, we’re flooded. For me, Astro is number 1, but the surprise of Life is Strange is up there too. I’m finding myself more excited than I thought about Wukong and AC too. I can’t wait to hear more about The Plucky Squire too! I’m not sure about Silent Hill 2, but I can’t wait to read reviews, at least.

Oh, and Dragon Ball Sparking Zero… how can I not mention the game I anticipate being my most played game by the end of the year?

And that’s just on PlayStation! Nintendo and Xbox have enough to be compelling too. Zelda and Indiana Jones are games I’m almost just as excited about as Astro and LiS. More Mario Party? Yes! First time I’m thinking about jumping into the Mario and Luigi series too.

@daveofduncan Regardless of a rush, it looks like an outdated game that’ll flop with critics and players alike right now. The internet is already tearing it apart. Games that get shafted into this cycle rarely succeed

I would’ve bought them both. Well, at least I’ve got one of them this year. Really looking forward to both!

I’ll try a free beta, but I suspect we’ve got Sony’s Redfall moment incoming.

I like AC, but no. Just no. Give me interesting new games.

I’d be open to trying it. Erdtree is proving more frustrating than fun and I don’t have anything else lined up til August for my solo gaming, so yeah, why not? I’ll try it. It looks iffy, but it’s free, so I’ll get a half hour out of it worst case scenario

I can see where many would enjoy this, but,
for me, this is an extremely weak month. Can’t stand Borderlands and Among Us is… Among Us. I don’t have PS+ for the free games though. Only because we’re forced to use it for online play.

Not a fan of them caving, but at least maybe I’ve got a chance against that Divine Beast Lion Dragon thing now?

Do we know what the DLC cost would be? I’m definitely down for more of this fine vintage.

Didn’t know Still Wakes the Deep was physical. Cool to see it crack the top 10

I prefer easier games, but I’ll play a hard game if I enjoy it and it’s fun. I don’t have hardly any free time anymore though, so typically, as long as it’s fun or has a good story, that’s what I want. For me, Persona is harder than Souls games… and that’s because of time rather than the in-game challenge.

Sony should bring back what made them successful. We haven’t seen games like this or the cinematic games in a little while. Outside AstroBot, the year feels very off brand for PlayStation. The live service push with Helldivers and Concord… I know I didn’t buy a PS5 for that and it seems like there’s enough of a player base that feels the same.

I’ll be buying this game… digitally. Hopefully LRG prices the digital copy at a reasonable price. I did have it preordered on Amazon for Switch, but then I felt cheaper after this whole showcase season, y’know?

One of the most overrated games this year, honestly.

I’ll always try a Capcom game. Even if it doesn’t draw me in from a trailer, I mean, it’s Capcom.

For me, I loved it, plain and simple. As of right now, I’d say it’s the 4th best game on the PS5, behind only Rebirth, Alan Wake 2, and Elden Ring. Absolutely a stunning game.

Working today and helping someone move tomorrow, so I’m not sure I’ll play anything. I’d like to play Shadow of the Erdtree though and I’d like to have a session with my kids and The Thousand Year door, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.

The first contender against Rebirth approaches for the GotY crown. I can’t wait to play it. Defeated Melania yesterday to have downed all Shardbearers before this. After not playing the game for two years, I am very thankful to the two summons that carried me through that match. Sure, they both died when she was at like 4% health, but I appreciate that they let me have the final couple attacks.

I’ve got 9 games preordered for the rest of the year currently on all platforms, two wishlisted for Gamepass and I’m open for maybe one or two more (though the time, where is the time?). We are eating good this autumn, which is great because I’ve felt like I’ve been starving for a few months now. And Erdtree begins it all!

Didn’t expect Elden Ring to end with a battle against Ganondorf!

Reading these comments is interesting to me. For me, Demon’s Souls stands as the first game I ever returned after playing it for a few hours to Gamestop, and Dark Souls followed suit. For the longest time, I really despised Souls games because they just seemed sort of unnecessarily masochistic. However, I picked up Elden Ring on a whim and was utterly enchanted with it right away. After maybe an hour playing it, other Souls games clicked, where now I could go back to them and progress if I wanted to too. But, even so, Elden Ring felt special to me. It was more in line with Breath of the Wild than anything else. It felt open and spacious, but dense and immense as well. I’d say it’s as close to a perfect game as you can get. Can’t beat a boss? Better level up or call for friends to help (or carry you, depending on the situation). Get some ashes, read some guides, try new things. It’s really remarkable. I don’t think I’ve been so invested into a game since I was a child. I’ve returned to it in anticipation for the DLC, slayed Mohg and now struggling with Malenia, but that’s part of the game. It’s interesting seeing others be so disparaging toward the title, as I frankly think it’s beyond so many games that I can’t fathom criticizing it much.

@ShogunRok Very interesting. I think Dragon Age still has an uphill battle ahead for itself. I can only speak for myself, but I felt the cinematic trailer showed me the door and now I’m less interested, even though the gameplay looks fine. With all the other reveals too, I’ve effectively booked myself through December. Not having a release date wasn’t a strong move when there’s a lot of heavy competition saying “Look at me! You know I’m coming this day!” I dunno, just my thoughts on Dragon Age. I think BioWare’s day in the sun may have passed, but we shall see.

Monster Hunter Wilds would’ve gotten more votes if it was a 2024 release.

Honestly, if they’re doing a showcase in September, why do Gamescom? I’d like to see more presence from Sony, but they are clearly emulating what Nintendo does to makes themselves more successful and keep people guessing. Unless Xbox rebounds, I don’t see this version of Sony changing.

This might be the first DLC ever made that might win GOTY gongs. Quite impressive to think of that. Really looking forward to jumping into this.

Hopefully purchases made during the downtime get points! I bought five games in this downtime

I do think the problem is when games are all $70, but there’s a spectrum. I loved that LiS was $50. I’ve got my expectations set for what it is and know it’ll be quick but worth that value. If more developers do things like that, I’m down. I’m certainly going to buy more strong narrative short content games at $50 than bloated games at $70. I’ll still buy a $70 here and there, but I like there being more diversity in pricing and style in games. As much as I love JRPGs, this year has pushed me away from the genre as they’re too big and there’s too many of them, and frankly, I’m not certain most of them felt standout to me. That’s probably a me problem with my time, but it’s a problem nonetheless.

We’re almost through showcase season, everyone. Ironically enough, my paycheck for games is practically spent for the year now, so LRG won’t see much from me! Though I’m interested in this and that Rugrats game that has gone silent since March when it was rumored to release. We all know LRG needs to stretch out time, however…

I don’t suspect we’ll see this one this year, and even so, the release schedule has filled out now, so it’s got competition even if it does launch this year. I have a feeling that Silksong may be victim to the hype, where the team is having trouble keeping up with the expectations, so it’s lengthening the development cycle… which, by extension, raises the hype even more. I wish this one well and the team well, as I’m not envious of their position.

@JohnnyShoulder 150 is the recommended level!? Yikes, I’m level 128. I’ve beaten the game and Mogh to access the DLC, but jeez that’s intimidating. Hope there’s some ways to power level early in the DLC. Farming xp in Farum Azula gets a bit tedious, but it seems like the safest spot. Maybe it’s time I actually aim to beat Melania.

Really disinterested in the art style. Not interested at all and honestly sort of concerned with the art style the next Mass Effect game will take. BioWare doesn’t exactly have the reputation they had 10 years ago, so I’m not really holding my breath with this one.

Really looking forward to this one, especially because it’s Souls adjacent rather than Souls-like. I’m hoping to really like the combat. I want something with weight, but… more fun? I dunno, I’m hoping this one hits the way I wanted Stellar Blade to.

@breakneck It’s already a major release to me and many others. This is bigger to me (and my family because my son is going to easily sink a huge amount of hours in this one) than GoW or TLoU or Spider-Man, etc (and most other first party titles, honestly). I wish the game an immense amount of success.

For Father’s Day, my wife is telling me I need to devote some time to gaming because I love it, but… I’m in that weird place of waiting for Erdtree and I don’t really have anything else I’m playing, so I guess I’m going to force myself to play Elden Ring? What else can I play though? Maybe Dig Dug or Galaga? Gaming is weird when you clear the backlog and get ahead of your new releases.

For me, Astro Bot was the one game this showcase season that just made me really happy to see. I think Sony was insane to say they have no big games this year on the first party line-up and then just toss this one out there. The first one is still authentically the best platformer since Mario Odyssey and I’d put the game in my PS5 top 10 for sure. At this point, even given the new releases in the schedule, it seems Rebirth is certain to be my GotY now, but Astro Bot is the type of game that could knock Balatro from the #2 slot.

Outside that, I’d say that Life is Strange was the big surprise. I was looking for Lost Records, but in its absence, Life is Strange being announced out of the blue was a huge pop for me. I’ve loved most of the Life is Strange games and I know I’ll certainly enjoy the next entry as well. I felt very safe in preordering these two games. I can easily see both games in my top 5 for the year. And honestly, I think a good chunk of my top 10 list from the year will end up being late year releases now, which is very welcome to me, as I’ve struggled to get excited about my gaming for the last two, three months. I’m certainly excited again!

For others, I thought Assassin’s Creed Shadows looked like what I’d want out of the series in 2024. Indiana Jones looks fantastic (not PS, but still…) and I can’t wait for it. Likewise, from the Xbox Showcase, Fable, South of Midnight, Doom, and Expeditions 33 suggest that I’ll finally use my Xbox Series S in excess of 100 hours next year. As someone that bought one at launch, can I say finally? Man, that thing has felt like my son’s Minecraft box too long.

Dragon Ball Sparking Zero realistically might end up being my most played game this year, even if I doubt it’ll be GotY. I just love Dragon Ball and, with Toriyama’s passing, I can’t help but feel the game might hit me more in the nostalgia than I’d like to admit. Black Myth looked wonderful yet again. The Power Rangers and Toxic Crusaders beat-em-ups are very welcome. I’m curious about Phantom Blade Zero, especially in finding out that it’s not a Souls-like and has a fresh style of gameplay, which, man, I need, as I’m burnt out of a lot of current gameplay tropes.

I’m skeptical about Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid Delta, but I want to believe! Man, do I want to have that “I’m playing Metal Gear” feeling again.

I’ll avoid the negativity right now, which I certainly had from the overall season, because I was overall really impressed with a few titles enough to the point where I’ve actually got a release docket I’m excited about now. Just hoping for a surprise from the upcoming Nintendo Direct because July is purchase free at the moment! But yeah, some solid titles announced!

If it wasn’t for that Xbox Showcase, this year would’ve been absolutely junk. Astro was practically the saving grace outside that. I liked Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, Black Myth, and AC Shadows, but we’ve also already gotten a lot of info on those previous to the events. The Xbox showcase set up a strong line-up with plenty of surprises. It’s a weird year when Ubisoft looks more solid than Sony.

If they were calling it X7, it might be for the best it was cancelled. I mean, remember Megaman X7? Holy cow, the world would’ve been better off without that travesty!

I jest though. I’m sure Disco Elysium X7 would’ve made different choices.

Without any knowledge of the series, I’m curious how Stephen interprets Goku’s changing hair colors.