It’s pretty much the same game but better. Mordor feels a little more dated in comparison, but it still stands on its own compared to War. If you liked Mordor, you’ll definitely like War even more

It was quite some time ago when I played the game, so I might not remember everything.

• The story felt like it was a good continuation of the first title and somewhat tied in to the books/movies.
• The combat was fleshed out more with more moves and weapons
• more interesting uruks, personalities, afflictions they can developed as a result of the way you killed them first
• the sieges were a cool addition

It was definitely more of the same in a way but it was executed well. There was that whole controversy around real-money loot boxes to pull good uruks from that you could employ to guard your fort, in a way being pay 2 win if you had money to spend on loot boxes. But at least that was removed and made free.

I just realised the game came out like 7 years ago. Where does the time go…

You didn’t like the game too much, I take it?

Shadow of War is even better. Are you planning on playing that at some point too?

After finding out that you can (rather easily) jailbreak the 3DS family consoles, I promptly did so for my childhood 3DS, loaded a bunch of Layton games onto it and gave it to my SO for her birthday two years ago. She’s had a blast with it. No way in hell will I be paying 100+€ just for two used copies of the 3DS Layton games if I can just jailbreak the console and get all the games I could want.

After clowning on it for years, I also got myself a 2DS because it was the cheapest 3DS-family handheld I could afford and have had a lot of fun with it too

Not OP, but I haven’t seen it recommended in this thread yet: the Monster Hunter games for 3DS are really good. Specifically 4 Ultimate is considered by fans of the games to be among the very best the series has to offer. Added verticality to the previously very flat games, lots of new moves for existing weapons that make them actually viable options, amazing new monster designs and areas etc etc. Huge recommendation. The story is also actually quite passable and engaging compared to previous entries.

If you’ve played Monster Hunter back in the PSP days, Generations might be up your alley since it’s kind of like a best-of title of most main-line MH games prior. Really beautiful homage to the roots of the franchise

Mantis God all the way. And OP death cards are fun too. I had a 1 mana 7/7 with flying and double strike the other run, I think, which was pretty nuts

I literally just started watching that video :D

You should be fine. It’s a card game first and foremost, so no enemies sneaking up on you per se. There are some creepy things happening and, without going too much into detail, a lot of fourth-wall breaks - you’ll know when you see. That can take you by surprise a little, but if you’re fine dealing with that, you should be ok.

There can be some minor body horror involved that can be a little gross. There is one action you need to take to progress the game eventually.

Overall, it’s not full of jumpscares - it’s just scary atmosphere and creepy vibes. I myself am usually rather easily scared by video games, but I’ve been fine throughout. Give the first hour or so a try to get a good feel for it. The rest of the creepiness will unfold itself later on

Can’t reddit just die or something?

Gonna be controversial but Monster Hunter World for me. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the game a lot at first and put 100+ hours into it. But it marked the departure from the silly, cozy, slightly under-the-radar franchise to something that’s just too big for my tastes. I feel like each entry is trying to top its predecessor in new mechanics, bigger maps and stuff and end up getting lost in the sauce.

I started playing on PSP with Freedom 2 and Freedom Unite and moved over to 3DS when the games came out for that. The games were never unpopular per se, especially in Japan where they’ve been a staple since the PSP days, but they always felt a little more niche and unknown. They felt more focused, more streamlined, tighter. All the new combat mechanics added in newer installments definitely help the fluidity of the gameplay and add a lot of fun and variety. But that’s it for new additions that I’d miss when going back to older titles. These huge open-world-esque maps just don’t cut it for me.

Rise would likely have been last MH that I could enjoy since it’s a good mix of classic MH with good QoL features added in to make the game more modern, but even that one didn’t quite catch my attention for too long.

I don’t know, I feel like Monster Hunter kinda lots its charme in chasing industry trends of open world games and more realistic graphics and physics in favour of character, silliness, and focus.

Oh gee, I couldn’t think of something to put here. But Fable 3 was definitely a flop

For entire OSTs: any of the FromSoft soulslikes, Lies of P, Diablo 2 + Lord of Destruction, any Monster Hunter game really (especially the ones in Pokke village, so Freedom 2 and Freedom Unite/Portable 2nd G), Hollow Knight, currently enjoying Ridge Racer’s (PSP) soundtrack for working out, Deltarune and Undertale, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and Bboy the Game for some perfect-vibe licensed music…

Disco Elysium’s is my current favourite OST, but the game itself might also just be current favourite game.

As for individual tracks, I like the Spanish guitar portion of “The Drive/First Contact” off the RE4 soundtrack. Back when I started out with breaking (“breakdance”), think 2008/9ish, we had a remix of that specific part of the song that would play often - I’ve got very fond memories of that. The song itself, its remixes and the remake versions actually are some of my favourite running music for the gym.

Here’s the remix in question if anyone’s interested: https://youtu.be/SMWV-3pbcLE

As for one favourite individual song from each of the aforementioned OSTs:

• Hunter’s Dream (Bloodborne)
• Shadow Flower (Lies of P)
• Rogue (Diablo 2) + Lord of Destruction intro
• Pokke Village theme (MH Freedom 2/Unite/Generations (Ultimate)) and Mizutsune theme (first fought in Generations)
• Mantis Lords (Hollow Knight)
• Rotterdam Nation - Remix (Ridge Racer)
• Ruins (Undertale) and My Castle Town (Deltarune)
• I’m a Swing It by House of Pain or Ace of Spades by Motörhead (THPS3)
• Don’t Sweat the Technique by Rakim or Apache by Incredible Bongo Band (Bboy the Game)

This was lots of fun to think about. I hope anyone reading can find something of value here. :)

Sure, buddy. How’s that copium? Delusional c-suites

Playing movement-based heroes like Lucio is a little weird and aiming is harder, but it probably just comes down to getting used to it

I get that - it was the same thing for me. It’s barely noticeable, though, unless you’re very familiar with the novel and the Disney adaptation. It’s a very tasteful homage to the novel by Carlo Collodi, but you don’t need to have read the novel to appreciate the game for what it is. It’s essentially Bloodborne 2 for what it’s worth. Truly amazing game.

Might just be a tad biased :D But if you keep an open mind about it and that’s all that’s keeping you from giving it a try, I promise you - you won’t regret trying it. There should still be a demo for the game if you’re up for it. :)

Lies of P: Overture. There’s rumors of a shadow drop happening this week

Edit: It literally just dropped as I typed this out. I’m beyond excited

Absolutely amazing decision. Difficulty settings make games more accessible - period. And gating accessibility behind “artistic intent” and “vision” is just stupid. Sure, not every game has to meet everyone’s idea of a good time, but come on - it can’t be that hard, and it would only be a net positive for everyone.

Shameless plug: [email protected]

It’s so sad to see. I’ve spent way more time listening to the soundtrack than playing, I’ve listened to it working out, I’ve listened to it at work, I listen to it when commuting - his work is just amazing. All that lost because a higher-up fucked up and didn’t care enough to mend the relationship. Whilst straight up lying about the events of what really happened on reddit, of all places.

Is it? Judging by the numbers all the recent installments makes, I would have assumed the general consensus to be that the new direction is what people want. Apart from old-heads who grew up with the PSP games, many seem to prefer the new games.

How’s it with you?

I wouldn’t worry about downvotes and wouldn’t say it’s controversial either - it’s just a preference. There are so many games to choose in this series, you can be picky about what you want out of your experience and what you don’t.

That said, if you feel like giving it a try, you could have a look at Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for the 3DS. Back when it was released, three-dimensional movement - think climbing small ledges mid-combat to get an aerial attack in and less flat areas overall - mounting attacks, and a lot of new weapon moves have been added to the game, leading to a pretty huge improvement to the MH formula. It still holds up today, but you’d either have to have a New 3DS (2DS) for the c-stick, so you can move the camera with a second stick, or you would have to get a circle pad pro for regular 3DS (XL). You can’t really play the game all too well if you can’t freely control the camera without needing to re-center the camera via the L-button.

It’s got one of the best stories (for a Monster Hunter game, that is - it probably still won’t blow you away), a lot of cool monsters and original areas, lots, and I mean lots of collabs to choose armour and weapons from, and it looks really good for a 3DS game.

If you don’t want to play on 3DS, assuming you have played Rise and didn’t like its “hand-holding”, you could give Generations Ultimate a shot. It’s the followup to the anniversary title that is Generations and is sorta of a celebration of everything Monster Hunter. Lots of returning monsters and areas, even back from the PS2 days, huuuuuge variety of weapons and armour, different hunter styles that change up the movesets of all the weapons, plus accompanying hunter arts that are skills with different applications, ranging from different attacks to utility skills that help your hunter/party. To this day, it’s my favourite Monster Hunter game by a landslide. It really shows that they poured in lots of love when making the game - it’s a game by fans for fans, essentially.

That said, the game can be a little hard to get into if you don’t have much experience with MH overall. Especially so if you’re used to the new QoL changes Worlds, Rise, and Wilds have brought to the table.

Afaik, there are demos for all of the games I’ve mentioned so far, so you could try those first and see if you vibe with the style at all. Your 3DS can be jailbroken very easily, so you could even get the full game for free (or get a used copy for relatively cheap), and the online community for Generations Ultimate should still be alive and kicking if you ever feel like playing online.

I think that should be pretty much all I’ve wanted to mention and recommend. If you have any questions, shoot - I’ll try and answer them.

It used to be different. A little less hand-holdy too. The story used to be rather minimalistic and the combat was more so the focus of the game. The story was mostly communicated through dialogue leading up to and right before certain quests. You’d get a cinematic intro here and there to hype up the encounter but that’s pretty much it.

Do you have a Switch or a 3DS (I’ll just assume you don’t have a PSP)? I’ve got a couple MH games I could recommend to you. You would have to make a few concessions in terms of QoL and move variety, but they hold their own even compared to newer titles.

I really hope they don’t get lost in the sauce and will still do tighter, more focused experiences similar to Generations (Ultimate) and Rise which feel more like classic Monster Hunter titles with good QoL changes. I played World back when it was new and had a lot of fun with it, but it’s too much and too big for me. Not sure how many people share this sentiment, but I checked out around Iceborne and haven’t even tried Wilds apart from the demo.

I want more of that tight, intimate feeling I got from the older titles

the difference being that an MMO actually needs other players since it’s a multiplayer game by design - it lives and breathes interactions with other players, quests, dungeons, and raids would work without them. A, essentially, skating simulator game that you’re usually playing on your own, outside of dedicated multiplayer that is, does not need an always-online feature to function

Edit: nvm apparently it’s an MMO skate game - disregard my comment

wtf

I’d wager most video game companies don’t

We’re also participating over at [email protected], so check out the stickied post if you’re interested :)

Aren’t there mods? At least texture packs, right?

That’s surprising. Would have thought the game to be “old enough” to perform well on the Deck.

I’d laugh if this weren’t so sad. Sounds like Sony is doing what they can to can any developer under their umbrella. Although, that’s more of a Microsoft thing, sad to see this happen so frequently

Got it. Thanks :)

Manual updates via jailbroken console are probably not an option either, right?

Is the game updated at all nowadays on PS3?

💜🔥

My pleasure. Enjoy the escapism and get well soon 💜☺️

The Dishonored series is amazing and is usually pretty cheap when on sale. A couple bucks at most, maybe.

Another immersive sim to recommend would be Prey. The DLC is really good too

I think Before the Storm is the best in the series. At least it was back when I played it some odd 6 years ago.

2 was actually a strong contender for me up until the ending. I liked the dynamic of the two protagonists and could relate to it because I have a little brother too

Clockwork Mansion is the best-designed level in the Dishonored series. No questions allowed

Would you like to cross-post this to [email protected]?

deservedly so

May I cross-post this to [email protected]? Or maybe you would like to?