Just a guy
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If you manage or know an art community that doesn’t allow AI, tell me about it and I’ll try to contribute
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Decided to give Baldur’s Gate 3 another try, though this time I’ll also be doing some modding. I wish I could remove most of its D&D-ness, but then again, at that point I might as well just replay Original Sin 2 instead. I’ll at least have a mod with 2x or 4x Spell Slots, because that’s one of the most obscene mechanics in a TTRPG with spellcasters, but also other general gaming changes like merchants dropping items or better highlighting.
Still having fun with Deep Rock Galactic, unlock the Hazard 5 difficulty but don’t see myself getting too deep into it. Though I also wish the game had ‘pointless’ Assignements besides the weekly one, I play a lot better when I have a fake objective to pursue, rather than just going through missions at random.
After a week of Hades 2 deep diving, I’m back in the literal mines of Deep Rock Galactic. Haven’t played in long enough that I can safely wipe out my years old save and start anew, and its still a pretty good experience. Kinda wish there were more Assignments running during the week, but hitting random and helping out folks feels good enough.
Also enjoying Rusty’s Retirement while I’m browsing stuff or watching a stream. Not much to say, its a good chill idle game and I enjoy raising the little crops and building more helper bots.
Taking some time with Dave The Diver. I can see why this game felt so gripping at the time of release, it just keeps introducing mechanic after mechanic, minigame after minigame, though that flow feels oddly exhausting - I’ve gone very few dives without something popping up - as well as slightly stagnant at a certain point.
Doing runs on ScourgeBringer until I can think of something else action-y to play. Roguelikes tend to be my “in case of emergency” games that I play when I can’t think of anything else plot-based to dive into, and this is one of the most satisfying, fast-paced titles that I own, so its always a pleasure to replay every once in a while.
Overall, I find Nioh to give you far more tools than the usual Souls game, but also not demand as much mastery of them. There’s still some punishing mechanics (the only game that I’ve enjoyed doing the Exp recover after dying was Lies of P) and obtuse stats (even more when you consider the loot piñatas), but its still a game where I can go “All right, I don’t want to deal with this” and use the Yokai transformation to melt a boss’ HP.
Of course, at the end of the day, to each its own, so if Souls+Diablo gameplay doesn’t sound appealing to you, its an easy skip.
Having played very little Ninja Gaiden, I don’t think they’re similar at all save from being 3rd person games. Nioh is much closer to the Souls formula, which slower combat, stamina consumption on actions and a demanding care on facing enemies, with the added complexity (though not necessarily added difficulty) of weapon stances and combos, skill trees, colored loot, and a Devil Trigger-like skill.
If you’re going to try one, you should expect something more akin to Dark Souls + Diablo lootfest than the action romp that is Ninja Gaiden
There was a bluesky thread on games that scared you as a child, and I was reminded one of mine was Duke Nukem 3D. Since I haven’t played it in over 20 years, I decided to look up that remastered version and you know what, pretty fun game still. The levels feel much smaller to me nowadays - even though they’re fairly dense - but the guns feel good, killing enemies is satisfying, staying on your toes all the time hits just right. I also find it deeply amusing that creating a character was as easy as putting as many one liners from your favorite movies in the script as you can.
Picked up Nioh 2 on the PC, a game that I already owned for the Ps4, but now I’m trying the complete edition. Turns out that the DLC added new weapon types - and weapons in Nioh are far more intricate and complex than other soul-styled games - including a Fist type. Not only that, but literally the first skill you can learn is the Dempsey Roll! I feel cheated from having played only the base version. Maybe this time I’ll actually finish this game.
Still in the Warframe mines, though now that I’ve reached the standings I wished with the new syndicates and have the frames I had been missing on, I’m feeling its grip letting go of me slowly. Though there is going to be a major update later this year, so who knows.
With the latest Momodora finished (good game, I still liked Reverie better), I’ve started Virgo Versus The Zodiac. Cute looking turn-based RPG starring a protagonist filled with bloodlust and with a merciless combat system. If you miss the timed hits, you will die, even to the most common enemies. I’ve cleared up the first Zodiac realm/introduction to the game and am now trying around an optional grinding area before heading into Taurus.
I’m back in the Warframe mines, after my Whispers in the Walls break. Dante has been a lot of fun, most interesting frame I’ve had in a while, and I’m also catching up on Prime releases while building up Hex trust.
Still slowly going through Momodora: Moonlit Farewell, the moment-to-moment gameplay isn’t hitting very strong, but I do appreciate the mobility upgrades, the wall jump was a godsend.
I’ve been slowly going through Momodora Moonlit Farewell and hope to play other brazilian indie games this month. This one is a series of delightful platformers/metroidvanias.
Also went back to Leaf Blower Revolution, as it got some nice updates, including better offline progression.
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I’ve finished Subnautica: Below Zero, and while I do appreciate the few QoL it introduces, overall I’d just stick with the original games. Too many surface sections, too much NPCs voice logs, plot isn’t that engaging, the research and building is generally more of the same
Began Saga Scarlet Grace: Ambitions, one of the first remakes/remasters of the SaGa jRPG series made exclusively for perverts who want to be punished. Getting the hang of the game and its battles, its a fascinating system were you don’t have levels, but rather your stats go up as you use them, and your techs also get less costly the more you attack; There’s a huge focus on delaying or cancelling enemy actions, as well as speeding up or slowing your own, so you can land United Attacks where several members of your party wham on a single for, and can use more actions on the following turn. Also, a huge plus for any jRPG: You can apply negative statuses on bosses.
I played this back in the day, and the mix of being a console release - thus having very limited RTS controls - and attempting to split the gameplay - rather than focusing on a single type of mechanics - really drag down what’s an otherwise very charming title.
If anyone would like to try a title that is entirely about being an RTS where you play as the commander in the field, casting spells and guiding your minions, Sacrifice did it much better (Though I don’t know how it runs on modern PCs)
Finished Hi-Fi Rush over the week. A fantastic, innovative, extremely charming game that lived up to every bit of hype I heard, and more. Made me even more mad over everything that happened to Tango Gameworks (and, frankly, the game industry for the past decade or so)
Currently slowly going through Everspace 2. The first title was a roguelite arcade space game, which is not a terrible combination, but not really what I wanted from the devs. With this sequel, they ditch the rogue grippings and expand into open-world arcade space, much like Freelancer or Darkstar, and that makes a world of difference. Story so far is nothing to write about, the dialogue and plot beats range from tedious to annoying, but it feels really damn good to fly around shooting down pilots.
Not your typical recommendation but Unnamed Space Idle has also been consuming my free time. As an avid idle game collector, I genuinely believe this might be the current top of the genre - at least in the current year. Every aspect, prestige layer and mechanic builds on top of each other, always pushing your momentum and never having a “Now you’re going to stop having fun for hours” period of upgrading.
glad I could help, if I remember anything else I might chime in once more
Aces Wild is an exhausting game. I actually need to take a break after playing for 15min or so due to how high octane it is. But its a damn good game.
Brigador, as I mentioned, is no unga bunga action game. You might think at first you’re a big warrior riding on their mech, but a few sudden defeats will humble you and set your mindset into what the game actually is about - strategic war crimes.
Aces Wilds is a 2D beat’em up, fast paced, straightforward arcade game
Brigador is a top down mecha shooter game; I wouldn’t usually recommend it in regards to action since it can be a little difficult, but since you mentioned God Hand then I can assume you understand that some games can be action but still require thinking. Just like you wouldn’t rush every single mook in God Hand, you wouldn’t do the same in Brigador. Look for weakpoints, burst through walls, make use of explosives and don’t think about the civilians.
Zeno Clash is a first-person brawler game set in a weird world, and it all somehow comes together. The fighting is fluid and the punches, kicks and throws all feel solid while not risking motion sickness.
STRIDER has a little bit of Vania in it, but its far more linear than its counterparts. You’ll do some basic exploring, but most of the time it’ll be following an objective and slashing foes in your way.
Zero Ranger is a delightful shmup with some tough - and sometimes unfair - challenges.
One Finger Death Punch is a simple game: You can click your left or right mouse button to attack. Now defeat wave after wave of incoming foes that require precise or different amount of clicks to be taken down. Its essentially Xiao Xiao: The Game
Nex Machina is one of the last great arcade games from Housemarque before they couldn’t break even and went into a different market. A gem, still.
Volgar The Viking takes inspirations from classics like Ghouls & Ghosts to make you regret feeling nostalgic.
You mentioned Bayo, so I’ll assume you’re aware of Vanquish, as they’re often sold in bundles, but I’ll still leave the rec here. Fast paced third person shooter where you can take cover, but its far better to just slide across the battlefield shooting at whichever is around you.
FURI is a straightforward boss battle game. Escape from a galactic prison by fighting each of the wardens in your way, powerful and merciless opponents.
Finished Yakuza: Like A Dragon during the weekend. A fantastic fresh start for the series, Ichiban is probably the best protagonist these games ever had, the addition of a party really helps in putting some color in the narrative, and the change to Turn-Based Combat actually made the game feel faster.
Started Core Keeper, and I greatly appreciate a survival/crafting game that holds your hands just enough while also throwing you into a hostile world. The 2D pixel art is a delightful, and I can feel the progression system working its dark magic in my brain. Also played a little bit of Darktide, though so far I ain’t feeling it much. The last two online co-op games of the type I played were Aliens: Fireteam Elite and Deep Rock Galactic, which I felt did more to stand out from the genre’s expectations, but I’ll give a few more missions before laying a final judgement.
They’re all on GamePass, though Like A Dragon is leaving in a few days.
It was an interesting game. Came out at a time we were going through a bit of a fast paced FPS drought and was one of the - relatively - big name reboots, but curiously one that didn’t have a lasting impact. I had fun at the time, even with the comically awful fall damage (dashing and dying from going down the stairs was equal parts frustrating and hilarious), and hold no nostalgia for the old games. There were fun guns and cool enemies to kill, as well as a story that landed with one of my favorite bittersweet endings.
At the end of the day, I think “enjoyable” would be my final mark; save for the big, busy arenas during the final levels, the game didn’t feel as high octane or thrilling as future releases like DOOM and Titanfall 2, and from the little that I played of the first sequel they really lost their way.
Flip flopping through several titles, currently. BG3 just isn’t for me, there’s no fixing my intense dislike for D&D mechanics, so I’m going through some of my previous attempts.
I’ve been in the mood to listen to some podcasts at home, so I reinstalled Factorio and have been chugging away at it. I’ve never ‘finished’ it, getting to building the rocket, but its still entertaining.
Also giving another try to Cassette Beasts, and frankly amazed that Pokémon even exists as a franchise anymore. Every other game inspired by it is simply miles ahead, aesthetically and gameplay wise. Fascinating concepts, great art, unsurprisingly amazing music, hard as balls.
Played a little bit of Memoirs of a Battle Brothel as well, which I hope I don’t need to say is a NSFW game. Its a Cyberpunk RPG with grid-based combat and business management, with some pretty interesting stat progression and checks. Not close to the depth of, say, a Classic Fallout or Planescape, but still feels good to have enough stats to unlock unique dialogue option, build Trust with characters and grow your business.