somnambulance

Fallout is the first new show in maybe two years that I made it through, so I’m happy to see it get some nominations. I really enjoyed it, my wife enjoyed it, looking forward to the next season. My wife and I binging a show together hasn’t happened in a long time, so it honestly felt like a time machine to when we both liked TV more a little bit.

Rebirth is undeniably GotY at this point in the year. There’s still time that could change, but the gulf between Rebirth and anything else is vast and it would take a surprise to change that.

3-5 tier, so a 4, I suppose. It represents a lot of the current problems in the gaming industry.

And I was one of them! For an hour-ish, but I’ll never come back. Thought the game was boring, but it was free, so why not try it? I’m sure freeness has a lot to do with this number.

Played a couple matches and so far, I’d say it’s a competent hero shooter. Like Overwatch before it, it’s an FPS that you can pick up and play and not need to be a sweat-lord to be able to enjoy it. My biggest frustration with mp fps games these days is that the barrier to entry is so high since so many people are so invested into the genre that it’s not really a genre for casuals. I say this as someone that WAS a hardcore Halo player through Halo 4, but the keyword to that is WAS. The last ten years or so, the genre has not been one I get particularly invested in, so, despite the fact that I used to love mp fps games, I’ve usually gotten frustrated that clearly they are typically designed for people that want to play the games more seriously than I do. And I get it, I totally do. My years of being am-pro level in Halo make me understand that craving to be the best. I’m the one that changed and started preferring less competitive games.

What I do like about Concord is that I was competent to start. There’s no dedicated meta or anything like that right now, which means that you can just pick up and play without going against people that have boiled things down to a science, and I appreciate that. It does remind me of Overwatch 1 because that one felt very similar, even after the meta developed.

However, it differs strongly in the vibe of the game and the characters. Overwatch had an exceptionally balanced roster. Concord does not. Some characters are essential to a team, others are practically useless in the current balancing of the roster. That may change following the beta, of course. As much as I love to steamroll in a match, I didn’t feel like I did that by skill or teamwork, but by picking the right set of characters, or rather, by not picking the junk characters.

The visuals and overall aesthetic is very polished, if slightly bland as a setting. The world definitely feels “done this before” in a not so positive way. I’m not a fan of Guardians of the Galaxy or Marvel or whatever, so I’m not as familiar with that stuff as others, but, still, I definitely feel the designs are derivative of sci-fi tropes I’ve seen elsewhere. That can be ok, of course, but we get so many games that feel static and flat these days and Concord feels like another one. Not sure why so many sci-fi stylized things have that quippy tone to them where they deliberately pair clowns with flat characters, but Concord is another one of those. And even so, it feels a little off on that too. Depending on where they go with the characters, I can see some people really appreciating the cast. The alien designs seem oddly a little off and b-movie, given the budget for this one, and it does seem to have a fairly inclusionary cast, which some people really enjoy. It could have its followers.

It seems the internet has chosen to disregard the game at large already too, so the game’s got an uphill battle. Other games that have snagged on “the internet” have historically struggled no matter the genre or the quality of their content. Having played what I’ve played, I don’t think Concord will be able to beat the internet, but I do think it’s possible it may start with a dedicated and niche fanbase that appreciates the entry level difficulty and has some interest in the characters. As nice as niche games are, given the budget on this one, I don’t think that’s what Sony wants out of this one.

Giving Concord a go and… uh… two birthday parties and a funeral, so there’s my weekend.

I no longer sub, but I’d say that it’s a strong month for those that do and actually utilize the service. Might buy Jeanne d’Arc if it’s for sale sometime.

Works for me and was able to redeem $20 right away for my preorders for the rest of the year.

I’ll download it. Why not try a free beta? If it’s good, it’s good. If it sucks, it sucks. Free is free. Won’t take more than an hour to know either which way.

I’d imagine Sony was surprised at the early reception of it and general lack of buzz, especially when the beta should be the highest profile gaming event in a bone dry July.

@GymratAmarillo @Wilforce I suppose you’re right that it’s not currently a live service title at this time. The way it’s structured just feels like it will become one down the line. I only played for maybe a dozen hours or so.

It’s really interesting how this is going down with Sony. I didn’t know that about Aniplex. That’s genuinely really interesting to me. Given that Xbox is a husk in Japan, I am surprised Palworld isn’t on PS. I wonder if Nintendo will allow it on Switch 2…

@B0udoir I wonder how much longer they’ll go with it. I can’t imagine the whales are too large on this one.

It’s a live service game, so of course Sony wants a piece of the pie. I suspect it’ll be on PS soon enough.

Honestly, Palworld is practically the most “this is just ok” game I’ve played this year, so I don’t get the hype, but, hey, that’s 2024 in games for me in a nutshell so far.

Nope, the lack of new games coming to the service caused me to lose interest. I wouldn’t sub to PS+ in any capacity if you didn’t need it for online play. I’m going to be unsubscribing (again) from Gamepass due to the price hike. I’ll resub on occasion to save money on Day 1 games. NSO, weirdly enough, is the only one that seems to be the right price for the value.

In my opinion, I think the streaming service, GaaS, perpetual income strategy is irrevocably damaging the industry and the executives refuse to see that, but such ignorance is already having consequences and I suspect the consequences will continue to grow.

Isn’t this game hitting sub-100 player counts at this point?

This is what a sales chart looks like in a month without major releases after a month without major releases ahead of a month with no major releases.

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.