What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Marc]

F-Zero Maximum Velocity, Knight Cup Expert down. First go, though I was down to my last machine. Some fun tracks here, overall I'd have to grudgingly admit that it seems better than the original so far in that respect. Learning to live with the AI, though it's still infuriating. I'll tackle the final cup tonight, then start Master level.

Ready to give up with Iconoclasts. 8 hours in, and hit a boss fight that seems to want me to play hide & seek with the two characters in my team. It's massively tedious, and I've been losing interest for the last two hours or so anyway - too much cringe dialogue and too much traipsing from one side of the map to the other, with even the nearest fast-travel spot a decent trek away from where you need to be.

Picked up ATV Drift & Tricks, as despite its somewhat scrappy nature, I had a lot of fun with Microid's Moto Racer 4. It's.... the same game. As in every track I raced last night was in MR4. Only paid £2.50, but still, that's a pretty damn shady thing to do.

Got Dirt 5 to start at some point. I had no interest in it at all, but I was in a Eurogamer comment section where someone opined that it was the closest thing they'd played to Sega Rally Revo. We'll see how true that is, I can only hope. All else fails, I'll start that again. After GRID, Wreckfest, Crash Team Racing, Sonic Team Racing, Dirt Rally, WRC 6, Monster Supercross 2... I like racing games And yet I'm attempting to beat a 20 year old GBA title on it's most cheaply frustrating difficulty while these are queued up.

Of, forgot about Mario Golf. It's....OK I guess. It's missing some really basic stuff from the PS4's Everybody's Golf - instead of just being able to call up a grid showing you the lie of the land where the ball is roughly landing, it's got this shitty weird, twitchy camera; there's no indication of how your shot is affected when shooting from rough - and I'm pretty sure those two at least were already in Mario Golf 64! Just feels as though it needed another week's polish.

[Immryr]

i haven't been able to settle into playing anything recently, just flicking between games and never finishing anything... but i started playing Kowloon High School Chronicle on the switch the other day and it has immediately grabbed me. I had no idea this game existed, but apparently it's a remaster of a JP only PS2 game. it's part visual novel and part first person dungeon crawl.

the game is somehow both fairly straight forward, and quite cryptic. the VN stuff is more or less what you would expect, talk to people, react to things they say, build links to make them join you as a buddy in the dungeon sections etc. the way things are done in the dungeons is more unique. there are no random encounters, fights occur in specific rooms against specific enemies and only refresh once you completely leave the dungeon and return to school. there are lots of environmental puzzles, some standard moving stuff around types, others more about figuring out what item you need to bring or craft - you pick up tons of random stuff both in school and the dungeons and it seems like almost anything can be a puzzle item, rather than having specific puzzle items which don't do anything else often you need to craft an item out of two or more very common place items.

the combat itself is quite unusual too. you only control your main character, the two buddies you bring along have both passive and active abilites, but generally you can only use their actives a couple of times before you find a save point to refresh them. fights take place in the main dungeon rooms you're exploring and are sort of like a tactical rpg. you have action points which you use to move around and use your attacks, when you run out you pass the turn and the enemies get their go. it's pretty straight forward but quite different to anything i've seen in a first person dungeon crawler before.

the thing i found the most obtuse so far is the quest system. you don't get money for beating enemies in this game, you need to complete quests which you can accept from your room. the quests are insanely random. things like an art collector wants you to bring him some sausages so he can display them at some art show, they make no real sense. when you accept the quest you're given a kind of riddle which hints at a location and an action you need to perform in the dungeon - they're pretty cryptic and tough to figure out wtf you're supposed to do. i managed to figure out a couple of them, the screen flashed a different colour, my retro-futuristic helper computer said 'congratulations on completing your quest' and..... that's it. i didn't get the quest item i needed to complete the quest. i didn't get the reward. the quest was still showing as active in my quest list. this was driving me absolutely crazy for about a day, but i finally figured out that the quest items had been delivered to this thing called 'the door to yomi', which you can access at the save points in the dungeon. i'm not sure if i just missed it, but i don't think this was explained anywhere. you can complete the quests by just crafting or finding the quest item too, but generally you won't have access to them till a bit later than if you solve the riddle.

i'm not too far into the game yet, around 8 hours but i'd definitely recommend checking it out to any one who's interested in this sort of thing.

[Kino]

Samurai Shodown 4 is SS3 done right.

A falsehood repeated constantly over 25 years is still a falsehood at the end of the day.

They sucked all the soul out of the backgrounds, we went from far and away the best SamSho soundtrack to a mix of calming ocean sounds & inferior rehashes of previous SS themes, and rather than fix the busted ass infinites (wasn't that hard in theory; all you had to do was remove the ability to perform the same move twice in a combo), they got rid of all the interesting combo possibilities and replaced it with the universal CD combo system. So now there's little reason to do anything other than "Dial-you-an-asskicking, interrupt into WFT before the last hit". Not to mention all the missing moves or the cut animation frames (go ahead, try and convince me this has the same impact as this. I'll wait.)

I'll admit SS3's gameplay prevents it from transcending the level of "immensely entertaining kusoge", but SS4 has so little going for it in comparison, it's baffling how so many continue to put it on a pedestal. Guess people just really missed Charlotte and Jubei that bad?

[Sumez]

Don't get me wrong, I love SS3, but it comes with a bunch of annoyances most of which were fixed in 4.

[Mortificator]

Aesthetically, 3 is far superior. Gameplay-wise... I don't like either. If I want their full cast I'll just play 5 Special.

For something completely different - I've been playing Shadow Warrior 2013. Recently I've complained Metro was too dull, but now to be a contrary bitch I'll say SW is zanyness without substance. You just sort of flail around with your katana in floaty first-person melee and everything dies. I couldn't tell you the difference between enemy types. You need to collect money to upgrade your weapons, and karma to upgrade your skills, and crystals to upgrade your powers... if the trees are any indication this is going to be a long game and I should probably cut my losses and uninstall.

[Marc]

Aesthetically, 3 is far superior. Gameplay-wise... I don't like either. If I want their full cast I'll just play 5 Special.

For something completely different - I've been playing Shadow Warrior 2013. Recently I've complained Metro was too dull, but now to be a contrary bitch I'll say SW is zanyness without substance. You just sort of flail around with your katana in floaty first-person melee and everything dies. I couldn't tell you the difference between enemy types. You need to collect money to upgrade your weapons, and karma to upgrade your skills, and crystals to upgrade your powers... if the trees are any indication this is going to be a long game and I should probably cut my losses and uninstall.

I played it for release on PS4 and that was pretty much my experience. I'm not keen on the 'monster-arenas linked by tunnels' kind of FPS at the best of times, but I'd read elsewhere than this actually had some level design. Nope. The Katana combat is shit, and I do remember it being integral to recharge.... something? No, not my bag at all. I've got Hard Reset Redux on the HD (don't even remember picking that up), and it looks pretty much the same thing. Keep eyeing up Killing Floor 2 for some reason as well.

F-Zero MV down on Expert. I've really enjoyed it, but honestly the AI was so vicious that I'm not sure I can make myself go through it on Master. It's not just the AI - the amount of times I've rounded a 90 degree bend to find a mine straight in my line, with no actual way of having seen it first is unbelievable. Still brilliant though.

Control is starting to bore me now.

[Stevens]

Ghostrunner is fucking dope, so dope I haven't touched Phantom Abyss. On the other hand I've played early access games to death in the past (Noita comes to mind) and been done with them by actual release so maybe this is a good thing.

Nothing that hasn't been done before, but what it does it does really well. The platforming is fast, fun, and responsive. The combat is fast, visceral, and progresses really well as far as introducing new enemies, enemy placement, and abilities. In the family of "everything dies in one hit" it gets you back into the action very quickly and the checkpoints are very friendly.

Is it perfect? No. I could do without the Cybervoid sections, but they're few and far between (for reference I just passed the 1st boss - which was really fun). Also on a first play switching between abilities on the fly is definitely a little cumbersome, but this is the type of game that is meant to be played over and I can see that not being an issue simply because you'll know what ability you want going into each section. I've only opened up the first two so far, but don't feel the 2nd has made the first obsolete just yet.

[Marc]

On the other hand I've played early access games to death in the past (Noita comes to mind) and been done with them by actual release so maybe this is a good thing.

Is that a finished game now? I really, really want to play this but I'm not really a PC gamer - it's not the same if I'm not sat in my comfy chair with a big screen and decent beer - so if it's still WIP I'll hold out for a hopeful console release.

[Mischief Maker]

Noita hit 1.0 last fall, but I understand it's very CPU-hungry so no promises in regards to console performance.

[Stevens]

Is that a finished game now? I really, really want to play this but I'm not really a PC gamer - it's not the same if I'm not sat in my comfy chair with a big screen and decent beer - so if it's still WIP I'll hold out for a hopeful console release.

Noita hit 1.0 last fall, but I understand it's very CPU-hungry so no promises in regards to console performance.

Yeah like MM said - it has been 1.0 was released, but it is very CPU demanding. I'm not sure if I said it earlier - it is the only game I have to run my laptop in performance mode to get 60 FPS. Everything else I can run in silent.

[Mischief Maker]

There's a combat puzzle near the end of Ghostrunner that I feel compelled to spoil so it doesn't ruin the game for you:

Spoiler

When you're facing swarms of suicide bombers, use the force push ability plus the upgrade that instantly recharges the power gauge after a force push kill.

[Stevens]

Wow. The entire stage leading up to Hel was brilliant. The roof tops, snipers, train were all really well designed.

My build has been mostly built around dash up to this point, makes me feel like 15 from Katana Zero. I'll keep that tip in mind MM. Thanks.

EDIT - And my save got deleted. Heading out of town for two weeks tomorrow so I'll pick it up then. I was so close too!

[romanista]

On the other hand I've played early access games to death in the past (Noita comes to mind) and been done with them by actual release so maybe this is a good thing.

Is that a finished game now? I really, really want to play this but I'm not really a PC gamer - it's not the same if I'm not sat in my comfy chair with a big screen and decent beer - so if it's still WIP I'll hold out for a hopeful console release.

Ha Marc, still had an old account here i discovered..

I'm playing Mario golf now... story mode fun, rest meh...

[Marc]

Ha Marc, still had an old account here i discovered..

I'm playing Mario golf now... story mode fun, rest meh...

Hey there!
Yeah, slightly disappointed by it. It just all seems a little basic, the Everybody's Golf games are much better in this respect. Shame.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Star Renegades, via Gamepass

Gave this a shot having seen it being talked about as having combat similar to Octopath Traveler and a fun-looking art style. But also a lot of people saying how hard it is. Not sure if it gives you a random party first time around or what but I had absolutely no trouble with this game, up until the final boss which had me sweating a little because I wasn't ready for its many phases.

Started another run with a different party because I enjoyed its sense of humour and didn't make it past the first boss, because I had absolutely no way of inflicting break on it. So not sure if it's randomising naff parties for people or what.

Don't know if I can be bothered with it now. The 8 hour first run was fun, if a little repetitive towards the end, but I think it'd be best served as a "proper" jrpg - 5/10 times as long, traditional levelling and a focused party progression with proper gear customisation... and a slight rebalancing of combat encounters to go with it. As it is, the replay value is basically "try a party and see if it's useless or not". Even if it were a fixed number of wins before a final dungeon or something, gives you something to aim for.

Shame, as I really enjoyed the silly sense of humour it has - but I don't know what I'd get from it in future runs other than very rapid dead ends without reading guides. Don't see the appeal of that, maybe roguelite isn't for me? Meh. Want more, but not more of the same - or worse.

[Mischief Maker]

I love Star Renegades, but you must have a strategy in mind when you plan your parties. It lets you preview the skill layout of prospective characters when building your team.

Also the Colossus shield generator is the best starting item when you don't know what to get, just remember to equip it on your tank when starting a fresh run.

Every character has some abilities to delay enemies, some are just more specialized in it.

Also becoming overly reliant on enemy break is a bit of a trap. Some rounds you've gotta just tank the damage in exchange for, say, a quick kill of a support enemy.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Well that's just it, how can you strategise with party members you've never had before... and ones that you have had, but are starting from level 1 and missing a tonne lf the abilities you're used to using? That's why I'd prefer a proper curated JRPG party progression rather than going in blind, struggling, losing early, going again.

What's the appeal to do another run after the victory, especially having done it on the first run? Going in blind with new party members can be not fun. I don't really want to start up with the party I know works from my first run because... what's the point?

Eh maybe it's just not for me and I should stick to JRPGs

[Mischief Maker]

On the team-selection screen, when you mouse over characters they get a short one-sentence explanation of their overall role (eg. Fast Tank that can provide support, regenerate shields, and destroy armor) and if you press space you can see their entire skill tree and mouse-over that to get precise numbers and everything.

The only random factor is the equipment you'll pick up on a run, and even then you have the ability to prune the item selection pool before starting a fresh run.

As a child I was wowed by the part at the end of the Final Fantasy manual suggesting trying the game with several different team combos, and I am more than happy playing with party loadouts in modern RPG-like games, but no longer have the hundreds of free hours to play through an entire JRPG. RPG Roguelites on the other hand are perfect to satisfy that experimentation urge while respecting my time.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Ah I'm on xbox and only noticed the brief description!

Funny, because I'm at the opposite end - I'd rather go all in on a lengthy quest that go through a short one over and over.

Is the first run always the same party (valkyrie, archon, saboteur) or is it randomised? Because that balance felt perfect and I kind of accidentally picked up empath and enforcer later, which gave me a good balance of support and extra damage.

[Mischief Maker]

No, that's the default party.

I'd actually say that Empath and Archon were overkill in the support department. I'd have gone with Marksman instead of Empath for the extra damage.

Also wow did the intro animation people get the tone of the final game wildly wrong.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Empath was useful for getting some breaks in on the enemy backline, and buffs for extra damage/quick kills or tanking on valkyrie. Felt like a classic RPG party mix without really trying which maybe is why I want more and longer with that balance.

[guigui]

I'm currently playing nothing.

Went on a 2 weeks trip to foreign country with lady and without kids, and decided not to take any gaming device with me. It is quite satisfying to be able to take such a decision, and quite enjoyable to spend some well-deserved-time-away-from-home doing nothing, rather than to spend some not-actually-available-time-at-home gaming.

Share if you had the same kind of experience.

[Mischief Maker]

I totally do that all the time with my girlfriend. I'd introduce you, but she lives in Canada.

[Stevens]

I'm currently playing nothing.

Went on a 2 weeks trip to foreign country with lady and without kids, and decided not to take any gaming device with me. It is quite satisfying to be able to take such a decision, and quite enjoyable to spend some well-deserved-time-away-from-home doing nothing, rather than to spend some not-actually-available-time-at-home gaming.

Share if you had the same kind of experience.

Just started a two week holiday myself. I've never owned a portable, so any vacation has been no games for me.

Enjoy your time away!

[BulletMagnet]

I'm currently playing nothing.

Certainly a classic, if a bit rough around the edges by modern standards; thank heavens the devs quickly got back on track with the excellent Nothing 3 after the massive disappointment that was Nothing 2: The ReNothening. Looking forward to the upcoming reboot!

[Blinge]

They're still using the same engine, I presume.

[Mischief Maker]

Twist ending: They were playing Polybius the whole time and remember nothing.

[null1024]

I threw on a few N64 games again.
My Wonder Project J2 save got disappeared when moving from my old machine to my new one [it's probably somewhere in the backup, but I dunno where].
I played some Crusin' USA which, despite being a heavily maligned port, I still enjoy because I played a fuckton of it back in the day and it's still not too bad
Also, I played some F-Zero X and I clearly have forgotten how to drive . Used to be a ton better.

also, there's nothing quite like how good these games can look when I can crank up the antialiasing
I kept the output resolution at N64 standard, but it supersamples down from 4x.
It's wonderful. Playing Mario Kart 64 made me feel like I was playing a pre-rendered video sometimes.

After seeing how good it looked, I went and turned on SSAA on every emulator I could. Damn shame that PPSSPP doesn't support it in a nice, sensible way [I want to run at 1x so I don't see all the fugly texture alignment issues for 2D objects, but I want some antialiasing because those edges are harsh running at PSP resolution on a modern screen].

[Licorice]

Playing a bit of AirMech, which is like Herzog Zweri with a bunch of modern trappings and niceties.

Very cool game. Very fun. Very glad it exists even though making a similar game has always been a dream of mine and I have very autistic specific things I'd change mainly about the engine (FPS client server or RTS tick model are *not* good fits), the action (needs the engine change to allow projectile based play), controls (should fit on a saturn pad), and art style. But they got the actual game worked out quite well, and it's very engaging both strategically and tactically.

Anyone else here play?

[Mischief Maker]

Playing a bit of AirMech, which is like Herzog Zweri with a bunch of modern trappings and niceties.

Very cool game. Very fun. Very glad it exists even though making a similar game has always been a dream of mine and I have very autistic specific things I'd change mainly about the engine (FPS client server or RTS tick model are *not* good fits), the action (needs the engine change to allow projectile based play), controls (should fit on a saturn pad), and art style. But they got the actual game worked out quite well, and it's very engaging both strategically and tactically.

Anyone else here play?

If you like AirMech, check out X-Morph Defense.