Last Game You Played

@tsi Thank you!
And I've heard similar sentiments about Cyberpunk 1.0. I'm aware of how bad it supposedly was, but I never even really cared about the game so I'm very glad I didn't buy it when it was new, that's for sure. I can say, if you haven't played since, that it seems to me like it's a lot better than it was because I'm not having any issues at all. It's pretty fun so far. Even if, like many RPGs, the enemies are too bullet spongy for my tastes.

SM2 has some stuff I don't love, but that are ultra video-gamey elements that I can't really be mad about. Like villains that would need to have 100x the wealth of Jeff Bezos to do the stuff they do, along with an unending army of non-powered losers that are fully confident running into a one-on-one fistfight with a dude that just ripped a turrent off a tank and threw it at them. Without that stuff, a game like this just doesn't work. I totally get that. Concessions must be made. So to be fair, I absolutely loved the first 2/3 of Spider-Man 2, with just a couple of hiccups.
There were hints (although that implies a subtlety that wasn't present) of where things were going that I wasn't thrilled about, I was surprised by how much I genuinely disliked act 3 of this game.

On the other hand.. 100%ing this game was like the easiest thing I've ever done. I wasn't even really trying to do it and boom.. done.

I've been playing Cities: Skylines II. I'm about 12 hours in and my city is up to 60k residents. I'm not much of a zen gamer, but some of these management games are right up my alley (namely Cities and the Civilization series). I'm enjoying it despite a few crashes and bugs so far.

My one big issue a lot of the in-game systems work on a logic system that does not apply in real life. For instance, all your subway lines need to start at the train depot and circle back to it. Most of the real-life subway systems I know operate in straight lines, not loops. While they've fixed most of the logic issues and limitations of the first game, some persist.

@tsi Cities: Skylines II sounds like a game I would enjoy relaxing to, but that also isn't interesting enough to me so it always ends up way at the back of the list. But it's also the kind of game I feel like I'd be more inclined to bump ahead in line on PC. My PC is too old now to handle modern or semi-modern games. Haven't kept up with it and have focused just on playing console games.

I'm a huge fan of Civ, so maybe at some point I should give Cities a chance. Are you playing on console? If so, what's the experience like? I tried Civ, I think, on console once and I wanted to peel my own skin off within 20 minutes.

As for SM2:

Cyberpunk continues to be fun with one glaring exception. The 'hold button to progress story' thing rears its head BIG TIME at the end of Act 1, where you basically get an hour long cut-scene occasionally punctuated by 'push stick to move forward.' Not that it's a bad story - but just give me the goddamn cut scene and stop making me pick up the controller so you can pretend this is gameplay. It's easily my biggest pet peeve now in all of gaming. I hate this more than I hate loot boxes.

I should start by saying Cities isn't nearly as engaging as Civilization unless you're dealing with a rent crisis, worker shortage, or city-wide pandemic (all things I've seen in the series), but it does engage that part of my brain that likes to build, organize, and manage.

I'm playing on PC with keyboard and mouse. I had a similar experience playing the Sims on console about a decade ago. I understand the controls for games like this have improved over time, but I can't personally vouch for that.

All my friends bought PCs a few years back, so I had no choice but to adapt. It hasn't changed my gaming habits that much, but it has given me a smoother gaming experience and access to a greater number of games. Of course, I still own a PS5 for exclusives (🙄 ) and the upfront cost of a PC is astronomical compared to the Series X or PS5.

I had a lot of issues with Cyberpunk when it first came out. It's the buggiest game I've played to date, the character builds were unbalanced to the point where only a few were viable, and the world didn't feel lived in at all. While I've heard the first two issues were fixed, I'm not sure they could fix the third. It's like the anti-RDR2 to me. Everything was surface-level. It was a clear reflection of the rushed development cycle.

On the plus side, the main story is very good.

I'm pretty excited but also apprehensive about the return of Sega. Like... the last Streets of Rage (4) was made by Dotemu (and like Lizardcube or something?) and was probably my favorite SoR game. A near perfect brawler. Loved it start to finish. Is Genesis gonna come back with that same energy and do a SoR that's worth playing?

Also, I am HERE for a return of Golden Axe, but if that's not beta footage then.. wtf? Is it a goddamn mobile game or something, because it kind of looks ass. Shinobi looks great, though.

So yeah.. excited, but apprehensive. I really want these games to turn out well.

Still playing Cyberpunk right now but I'm hoping to have the time to wrap it up soon. I've enjoyed it, but it's definitely not the transcendent gaming experience some people online make it out to be. I think at this point I'm kind of realizing I'm done with it but there's still at least several hours of gameplay left if I don't do any more side stuff. I guess the specific gameplay loop has just worn out for me and I'm ready to play something else.
One thing I've consistently found frustrating is that basically half of the guns I randomly find in the world are significantly better than the 'iconic' ones I've spent time and resources leveling. Random Tier 5 pistol is just straight up BETTER than any Tier 5 Iconic Pistol in my stash. That's... pretty lame. Not sure I understand what the point of these iconic weapons is supposed to be since it's obviously not for them to be worth using. The only iconic weapon I've kept through the game is Satori, and that's just because I like the way it looks, not necessarily because it's any better than any other katana.

Also, I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but I have been -completely- unable to take Cyberpsychos alive. Two of them I was able to sneak up on, grab them, and do the 'nonlethal take-down' and V still got on the phone and was like 'had to zero him.'  Like.. what? No you didn't. We didn't kill him. So this annoying lady on the phone keeps getting upset because I keep killing cyberpsychos unnecessarily but like.. I'm not?
Same thing with nonlethal weapons -- the cyberpsychos always die even if I'm only using nonlethal weapons. It's honestly ridiculous.

I think I'm level... 40? Maybe higher than that. What I like is that I was able to spread out my skills to do different stuff without feeling like I'm -bad- at anything. I can do some quickhacks, I can shoot, I can melee, I can assassinate. So unlike certain shitty fucking Bethesda games, I've been able to level in a way to let me have fun with all/most of the game's different systems without having to play through the entire game several times. That's nice.

Think I might try Days Gone after this. It's on PS+ and will save me from dropping like a hundred bucks on BGIII.

Just finished up my first BG3 playthrough and started a 2nd, although I just interrupted that with Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader. The menus on PS5 are abysmal, but it's a fun game so far. Sort of hurts it that I'm playing immediately following BG3, but I still like it. Very similar to Shadow Run if any one's played that series. 

@theknightdamien a good way to take Cyberpsychos alive is to hit them with the Overheat quickhack when they're at like 3% health. It's worked for me every time.

Although the Buddhist monk didn't appreciate me using overheat to knock out all the Maelstrom gang members holding him hostage, so it doesn't always read as non-lethal apparently. But it's worked 100% of the time with Cyberpsychos for me. I think the main thing is knowing when to stop shooting, because if they're already bleeding out and you shoot them, that could trigger a death. No idea why the choke out didn't work though.

I'm still enjoying the heck out of Elden Ring.  I'm currently jumping back and forth between the Plateau and Caelid, so I think I'm getting close-ish to end game stuff.  I've tried to do everything though with a game and world this big I'm sure I've missed a ton.  I've been pleasantly surprised at how well I can handle most of what I run into.  There are still a few encounters that I've got marked on my map to revisit but I've beat a lot of the mini-bosses and bigger enemies on the first try.  Even Radahn only took like 5 tries, he ended up being way easier than I expected.  I love the variety of things you run into, you can tell they really loved making this game.  Like last night I was wondering around and saw a rock that for some reason just didn't seem like it belonged.  So I hit it and sure enough it revealed a "phantom".  Turns out I had to find and touch three of them to reveal a mage tower.  Not the coolest or even most creative little puzzle but I'm probably 50-75 hours into the game and this was the first time I'd run into this kind of thing.  I love me some Zelda but TotK would have re-used this puzzle like 10 times by now.  And I love how often I run into amazing things that you could easily miss even if you're trying really hard to explore, like the rooftops in Raya Lucaria or a dragon mini-boss in Nokron. 

I think the only area I find disappointing is the itemization.  I have been using the same sword (Bloodhound's Fang) since probably the 10-hour mark or so.  It's a great sword and gets the job done nicely but it really stinks to find a cool new sword in some hard-to-reach spot only to see it's much weaker (and yes I've tried upgrading a number of random swords just to see how they compare). 

But yeah, so good.  I won't know for sure where it ranks for me all-time until I've sat with it for quite awhile but right now it's feeling like a top 10.

Radahn must've taken me 50 tries, and I was doing it with friends. One of the hardest bosses in the game in my opinion.

I don't want to dunk on BotW/TotK anymore than I already have, but I hit the same brick wall playing TotK that I did with BotW. I powered through BotW, but as someone who isn't into building things, I'm not sure it'll happen with TotK. I'm honestly a little surprised people put those games up against the likes of Elden Ring. They're good, but I don't think they're transcendent.

@misterskeezler Appreciate the suggestion. I might try that next time - although I think I only have like two left. It's just so frustrating to have the game expressly ask you not to kill someone, and then have them die from attacks from expressly 'nonlethal' weapons. Like.. WTF. Guess it's just a holdover from when the entire game was a fucking disaster. I should probably be thankful I'm playing this in November/Dec 2023 and not right after it was released.

@mikeysee  I think the itemization thing you're talking about is pretty common and, in fact, isn't a problem with the game but rather a problem with your approach to the game. Based on how more experienced players than me have talked about this issue, what it comes down to is that this isn't a traditional-style RPG where you're always looking for upgrades on your gear.
For instance, one of my primary weapons right up until almost the end of the game (because I haven't ever actually beaten it), is the starting sword. Many players have said some of their favorite weapons are early-game weapons. Because the weapon you use, thanks to being able to upgrade everything, depends a lot more on your playstyle than on there being a set of 'best' late-game weapons. The short version I've heard is just to say 'the game is about you, the player, getting better, not your character getting more powerful/better stuff.'

I think that bears out if you really look at the items in the game. There's plenty of later-game stuff I've picked up that I feel is actively not as good as stuff I've had for 20-30 hours already. There's stuff I stumbled on that's really good, and stuff I had to kind of work to get that I ended up not really liking. But then there's entire builds I've seen online based around some weapon that -I- think sucks. So.. it's just about how you like to play. Especially when a lot of weapons have hidden or less obvious features (like thrusting swords being able to make attacks WHILE you are actively blocking).

Except for the pre-patch version of Rivers of Blood. That sword is fucking ridiculously powerful. On NG+, once you can dual-wield it, you can basically melt the healthbar of most bosses. It's stupid.

I do think I lucked out with Radahn because it only took me a couple of tries to beat him. For me he was one of the game's easier bosses. But I've also heard horror stories of people taking days to beat him. That is NOT me saying I'm good at this game, because I've massively struggled with things other people apparently breezed through. Like everyone complains about Malenia, but I can't even get TO that boss fight because of how hard I'm finding the entire Haligtree area to be. Elden Ring is definitely the strangest game I've ever played just in terms of how different everyone's experience playing it seems to be.

The secret to the Haligtree area? Run. I was probably level 100 and still getting my ass kicked by everything in there. I just ran through and collected checkpoints.

KD is right about the weapons. You can very easily take the Uchigatana (the Samurai's starting weapon) to the end of the game. The one thing that really starts to matter toward endgame is the passive/status effects. Bleed, or hemorrhage as it's called in Elden Ring, is busted. I ran the Bloodhound's Fang until switching to the Hand of Malenia after beating Malenia. Bleed helped me cruise through most endgame bosses. The final boss was the only late-game boss who made me sweat.

@tsi @theknightdamien that all makes sense re: the gear.  I just don't like it I guess.  My favorite thing about open world games is the sense of exploration and discovery.  If I find a super out-of-the-way dungeon with a secret room I want there to be something crazy in there.  Morrowind was the best I've ever played in this regard.  If you find an underwater grotto in the middle of the ocean with a level 100 locked door you're going to be rewarded with some nuts armor.  If you happen to notice the small ledge 500 feet up in the dark cave and have a levitation spell strong enough to get up there, guess what, you found one of four Daedric helmets in the entire game. 

You get the idea.  I'm not saying the way Elden Ring does it is bad, it's just not my favorite way to handle it.  I do think it's really cool to find something for another build and immediately start thinking about my next playthrough where I could spec for that one item.  That's some impressive design, to get the player that's almost 100 hours in to already want to play the game again.

But yeah, not a dealbreaker by any means, I just wish it was done a little differently.

(and my strategy for Radahn was almost not a strategy at all, I just stayed on my horse and swung my sword wildly at his butt until he died.  I was able to easily avoid his attacks this way somehow.  I actually don't even know what his attacks were because I was behind and close the whole time.  I didn't realize you could summon other NPCs to help either!)

Finally beat Baldur's Gate 3. My friends abandoned me after Act 2, for those keeping track. That set me back a few months while they were hemming and hawing about continuing.

What a masterpiece. It's firmly in my top 10 games of all time and likely in my top 5. Couldn't recommend it more.

Now it's on to the God of War Ragnarok (free) DLC and Pony Island, an early game by the Inscryption developer.

1. Finished the "Marvel's Spider-Man 2". I didn't like the main story at all. The first game was pretty solid and focused mostly on Peter and his life. In this one they crammed in too many characters. And most of it doesn't work at all for me. I doubt I'll be interested in a third game, сonsidering how they treated canon in this one, smashing everything together. At the end, I just wanted it to be over. 0\7 awards...or whatever.

2. I played Cyberpunk on release on PC and didn't have any problems or weird bugs. I guess I just got lucky. Overall, the main story and some sidequests are done wonderfully. The problem is, developers, judging by the presentations, promised us, like some people say "Fallout New Vegas 2". A lot of factions, quests variation, important choices affecting the world and much more. We didn't get any of the above except some choices and bugs (New Vegas on release was broken too). I still love the main story and characters...(Evelyn Parker Quest line for example...just so fucked up...in a good way) and my new Melee Build just destroys everything. Ah yes... Phantom Liberty - pretty good. Will need to replay the whole game again in the future. 

3. Dead Space\Resident Evil 4. Two of my favorite games got remakes and they're both great. Imagine that...

4. Baldur's Gate III - game of the year (years).

Also, a lot of information on Wolverine game was leaked online today. The whole story, cutscenes and much more. If you don't like spoilers - well...sorry, they'll be all over the internet. Watch out, I guess.

I didn't like any of it...So hopefully after the leaks they'll redo the plot.