somnambulance

Looking forward to Quidditch. I played the closed beta and really enjoyed it a lot more than I expected, but WB deserves the loss, given how they’ve been the last couple years. Not sure I’ll ever forgive them for cancelling Infinity Train.

Well, for that price (and its reputation), I’ll be buying that in a minute

I’ve got to wonder what Sony is making about all the perception with this game. I was genuinely surprised they didn’t address the game tanking on player counts in the beta. If it launches in a DoA state, what are they going to do about it? Clearly, a lot of money was invested into this project… Are they really going to just shoot this one out into the ether and watch it sink? It seems strange…

I’ve got this one wishlisted now. Excited for this one. The Pathless was one of the first PS5 games and it felt almost like a next gen Journey when it launched and Abzu’s absolutely a classic too.

@Batesy125s it’s a shame Lost Records was delayed because it really felt like we were going to get competition in this little niche genre with Dontnod vs Deck Nine, and I was really looking forward to that. I’m in my 30s and midwestern American, and I totally get what you mean about the characters being relatable. They’re just so well written, even with the cheese and melodrama

I still don’t get the hype on Helldivers. I bought it at launch and found the game to be relatively boring. I’ve tried to go back to it a couple times, but alas it’s not for me.

I am definitely excited about this one. It might be my most anticipated title of the year, above even Astro Bot and Zelda. As messed up as the plots for these games can be, they are so dang cozy, and I say this as a person that doesn’t typically play “cozy games.” My wife and I play through these games day 1. It’s practically the only game where my wife calls up my parents to watch the kids, so we can both experience the game together.

I really hope Rebirth gets some GotY nods this year. Thus far in the year, it’s had no competition (in my opinion, I know some may disagree) and it doesn’t look like there will be much to fight it in the coming months, though the release slate does look solid for the rest of the year. As the massive epic that it is, I do think it deserves praise and recognition and hopefully the sales to ensure the ending of the trilogy is suitably ludicrously budgeted to be the biggest spectacle yet in the series.

Realistically, the other Silent Hill projects from earlier this year convinced me to be very skeptical of this remake

I’ll take it as a standalone game too if Square’s in the mood for that.

Maybe Nobody Wants to Die, depends on how the day looks and how tired I am. I can’t play it around the kids and I’m sort of drained from work, so I don’t want to fall asleep playing it, which… sort of happened last time I tried to start it. 🤷‍♂️

I’m not really playing anything in particular, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I just play something retro, like the TMNT collection. I’m sort of tempted to pick up Sand Land while I wait for Wukong.

Definitely interested in this. Can’t wait to see more. Can’t believe THQ has their hand in this!

I preordered the base version of the game and FF7 is probably my goty, but no way I’d spend that much for a character in a game to get cool merch. If there’s a male version of that cactuar cardigan in real life though, I’d consider getting that…

Still not worth the dollar, honestly. Was Mass Effect 3 the last good EA game? It feels like I haven’t even thought about buying anything they’ve done in ages.

I’m looking forward to trying this one out today. I’ve been on the fence about whether or not to get this one, but I practically enjoy all the things Square has put out this generation, so I’m tempted, even if the last couple attempts at rebooting interest in Mana felt underwhelming to me. I’m going to jump off the fence later today in either direction, I’m sure.

I really want to enjoy this one too. The palette they used for this one makes me think of DQ12, which I feel like I miss playing at the moment for some reason.

While it’s a shame some will lose their jobs, realistically this may end up saving more jobs than would be lost if Sony didn’t step in. I’m all for Sony turning Bungie around.

@Gamer83 I don’t know if I’ve ever played something from a franchise I liked that much and was that disappointed by it. It was a shock by how revulsed I was by it.

Ender Lillies is a great add. First one I’ll actually download from Essential in ages.

Worst thing I’ve played in ages. I decided NOT to preorder Silent Hill 2 based on this game. Put me at real concern for what Konami will produce in the future.

I bought it. Loved Braid years ago and still do, but I do wonder what the expectations were. I mean, the price is double the original’s at launch and it’s a remaster of an indie from a time when it was novel that an indie could compete with AAA studios, you know? This wasn’t going to be a mass seller at launch, but a trickle seller over the longterm. Sort of sad that this is the mindset Blow has with regards to his game.

I never order the digital deluxe for any games, but shoot… I couldn’t resist. Maybe it was the passing of Toriyama making me emotional or something, but I said take all of my money when preorders went live on this one.

@tangyzesty I agree. I just don’t feel like I want to go back to Erdtree the same way I wanted to go back to Elden Ring. Maybe too much time passed or something, but I definitely feel like Erdtree has that “been there” quality to it, and it’s super tough in a sort of boring way. Unlike some, I don’t particularly want to grind to level in games anymore and that’s probably my problem since I get one-shot a lot in the DLC.

I must attempt to beat the scalpers and get this for my son for his birthday! His favorite game gets a sequel and a controller a week before his birthday, c’mon! What are the odds?

Astro was the clear highlight from the China Hero Project announcements. Can’t wait for the game. Hopefully Wukong can distract me from that anticipation for a bit. Can’t believe we’re getting a sequel to Astro and Link’s Awakening all in one month. Been a while since a single month felt so catered to my taste in gaming. This fall is going to be top shelf!

I’d like to finish Bo and the Path of the Teal Lotus this weekend and start Nobody Wants to Die. Maybe toss some Elden Ring in there. Maybe though.

For me, Wukong, Astro Bot, Life is Strange, Sparking Zero, and AC Shadows are the rest of the year. If Concord gets its release together, I’d add it. Plucky Squire if it does release this year. Silent Hill, I’d like to say I’m looking forward to it, but it’s Bloober, so I’m wincing, especially because A Short Message was the worst thing I’ve played all year. On the fence about Metaphor too…

And I don’t think I’ll have time for it, but it’s hard not to want to get DQ3 with Toriyama passing…. It’s such a good game too!

I’d rather play Concord.

I’ll put it like this: it’s not a genre that I gravitate toward or prefer, but I sure like Elden Ring.

Why in the world didn’t they do shorts like this before showing it off? I know gamers complain that they want gameplay more than anything else, but it’s absolutely baffling that they would do this after the beta. What were they thinking? This is the kind of ad they could’ve announced the game with to get people curious who these characters are and what they do.

I really liked the beta, but, like Forspoken and a few other games that “the internet” was critical of before they even launched, I suspect this one is doomed. No one played it and no one seems to want to give it a chance. The damage is already done. Unless they say, “Hey, you know what? Forgot to tell you there’s a single player campaign coming shortly after release,” I think there’s less than a dozen people here that will buy the game. Which is bad when we’re some of the most dedicated gaming fans there are.

@SuntannedDuck2 I always turn it off, personally. Skyward Sword was the first Zelda game that I genuinely could not enjoy and that was because the motion controls put a bad taste in my mouth. Any time it’s the default in a game and I encounter it, I rush to turn off the gyro controls in a way similar to how I’d rush to leave a room with a bad smell. But I get it. Some people like them. Just leave it as an option. I dislike VR too, doesn’t mean I don’t want it to exist. I just want an alternate to exist when possible.

Just remember to NOT support publishers if they prioritize AI over people. Vote with your wallet and encourage others to do the same. If we don’t act now, the industry in 20 years will be all Fortnite-likes with AI generated content to keep the hamster wheel spinning.

@get2sammyb I agree. I’ll get this on sale when people don’t buy it. I like it. To be fair, I liked Concord too. Looks like we’ve got our next Knockout City, Sammy. 😤

Persona 5 is already like 200 hours, so this must be for people that never want to play anything other than Persona. I’m not sure how people can balance other games and the constant flow of Persona 5 spin-offs these days.

If it’s an option, that’s great for people that like them, but I hate gyro controls, so if they’re mandatory, that’s a guarantee I’ll never buy the game. The Wii era was my most contentious era with Nintendo for a reason.

@Korgon I’m 100% feeling the same exact way. I liked it better than any competitive shooter I’ve played in a while. On one hand, I’m wondering if nobody actually played it, and, on the other hand, I’m wondering if I’ve got poor taste and I’m out of touch.

I have to work more in the summer, so I game less. I have more family activities and get togethers as well.

I’m here with you, Aaron, lamenting the beta for Concord’s negative reception. This Marvel title looks like F2P dross. A shame this will likely be millions of times more successful.

Not gonna lie, with that approach, if this wasn’t DoA, I’d definitely purchase. That type of progression is exactly what I want from a multiplayer title. It sounds like how Halo used to be.

That’s a shame. No way I’ll ever touch this Marvel game, but I did enjoy my time with Concord, even if the character designs were simultaneously generic and try-hard.

Man, that is awful news. They’ve published a few games that were genuine hits for me.

I will gladly take more Megaman games, Capcom. The Blue Bomber is missed…

@UltimateOtaku91 I don’t think Fairgame$ will get cancelled. I sort of feel like it was supposed to release this year, but Sony slated it back because of the reception to its trailer. Otherwise the fact that they had people sign up for a closed beta last year doesn’t really make sense. I have a feeling it’ll launch as a functional game, but it’ll get an even more hostile reception than Concord. Though I could be wrong. Sega cancelled Hyenas, their most expensive production to date, after doing a closed beta with media representatives.

I’ll be that guy in the room. Can’t stand Valorant and, while I gave Overwatch a 10/10 at release, it lost me when it went F2P. Felt like I wasted money on Helldivers 2 and I still don’t get what made it such a flash in the pan. But I actually enjoy a couple of matches of Concord. I like that it’s a bit slower. Yeah, the character designs suck (not that they’re worse than designs in other games of similar genres though that are aiming for mass appeal), but I actually thought about purchasing the game for a second during the beta. The game feels polished and visually flashy. It feels good to play in a sort of similar way to how Destiny feels good to play (even though Destiny is practically impenetrable to return to if you dropped out of it for a few years now). Then I saw the player count and I was sort of scared the game wouldn’t be alive in a year, so I changed my mind. I mean, I really liked Knockout City, bought that, and look what happened there. Oh well! I’ll get it when it discounts, which I imagine will be pretty soon after release if the low player count doesn’t have them shift their strategy with the game. Can’t imagine Sony just… sending the game out to die… though they did sort of let Forspoken get eaten alive by the press and talking heads too (I know it’s Square but it was still advertised by Sony before launch). I wish Marathon more luck!

I sort of feel like the internet echo chamber is sort of bad for good, but not great games.

A little bit of Concord, a little bit of Erdtree (as great as it is as DLC, I’m not enjoying it as much as the base game, though I do want to beat it), a little bit of Kunitsugami, and I picked up Bo Path of the Teal Blue Lotus yesterday with $20 I got from PS Stars coming back online and a $5 credit I had from Sony Rewards. Last night, I pushed through to Sakura City (man, that Sengobo Bridge section was hard as nails), and I’m really enjoying the game, even though the platforming is sort of floaty and it can be exceptionally challenging at times. Concord, Erdtree, and Kunitsugami I’ll play a little bit with, but Bo, I’m going to play that one a few more hours if I can. There’s a part of me that wants to buy Nobody Wants to Die as well and try that out too.

You know, this is such a weird one. It looked so lavish in its initial trailer that it looked like a scam, then there were no reviews, but they’re starting to trickle out and I’ve got to admit I’m curious. I think I may pick up this or Bo tonight with the money I earned from PS Stars resurrecting itself!

I liked it. Thank god for Capcom being Capcom. I’ll be playing it on Gamepass til my sub runs out. Might be the best game on the service yet this year.

I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. I’ll play more if I have the time. While it’s free, it’s a decent enough break from the frustrations of Erdtree.

It’s interesting just how negative the discourse is on this one. I do think that Concord was better than current Overwatch (though it’s got nothing on Overwatch in its glory day) and certainly Valorant.

I’d guess the $40 price tag is probably something Sony decided when Helldivers took off better than expected. But that price tag is going to kill the game flat out, even if it’s better than most people think it is.

Honestly, this is the first time I can say I’ve been excited for a F2P FPS. I really enjoy a game of Splitgate every once in a while.

This list is emblematic of the reason why many of us are frustrated with the industry and why executives are baffled by our frustration