What Has Everyone Been Playing This Week? 4

[QualityChimp]

I don't remember getting the electric gun, what does it do? To be honest, its a distinctly average game, with some good graphics, and a scattergun approach to gameplay.

The electric gun is used to activate motors, so far I've only needed it on Riddler challenges, but can zap some perps too.

"Scattergun" is a very apt description as there is so much going on.
The game needed to evolve so there's lots going on for your money, but you're kind of stuck between levelling up or an average experience.
You can play the story and only do the minimal side-quests, but without those upgrades, it's less fun.

Ultimately, I'm getting home and wanting to play some more, so it's doing something right.

Deffo tempted to swap back to the 60s Batman costume though!

[wakka]

I WAS playing Observer via Game Pass, but I've just seen that it's just been removed - noooo!

I was probably about 60 or 70% of the way through. If it was £5 - £10 I'd probably buy it to finish it, but at £23.99 I'll give it a miss.

It's a shame, I was enjoying it too. An interesting horror cyberpunk walk 'em up, where you're tasked with solving a mystery and unravelling a mystery inside a slum apartment block. The framerate was pretty horrible and it had some dodgy stealth sections, but I actually liked the writing a lot.

Anyway, I guess I'll never finish that one. The perils of digital subscriptions I guess...

Not sure what to move onto. Something with a decent shelflife on GP, or that I actually own!

[Dogg Thang]

That’s a shame. I really enjoyed Observer. It really did something with the cyberpunk world and was quite unique. I loved it (aside from those stealth bits).

[JazzFunk]

I gave that a blast when I got a month of Game Pass for free, seemed decent. Deffo got a 'future Game with Gold' vibe about it...

Currently on Symphony of the Night. Only quite early on, recently got the wolf form but clueless what it does, got stuck but now found a path into the library on the right hand side where the big lift is. If only all games were ace like this is.

[Cepp]

Just started Gears of War 4 and I'm not sure what the hell is going on tbh.

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

Got myself Ray Gigant on the Vita last week. I thought I'd really enjoy it as it's by the same people that did Demon Gaze and Stranger of Sword City. Anyway, it seems a LOT more linear than the other games and with a little bit of grinding it's definitely less of a challenge. However, it's still quite fun and definitely better than Operation Abyssmal. Only on chapter 4 out of 19 and I'm hoping it gets more challenging as so far I've not had a game over, which happened regularly on their other titles. Hopefully I'll have finished it in a couple of weeks and I'll get on to MeiQ or Moero Chronicle.

[JazzFunk]

Just started Gears of War 4 and I'm not sure what the hell is going on tbh.

I know the feeling. The first mission is actually a chapter but seems more like a 'prologue' bit....I've forgotten whom I was controlling, already.

First chapter proper stars Marcus Fenix's son. Again, I've already forgotten.

It's either Craig or Harold Fenix. Like I said, I've forgotten. But it plays like a decent dream n' looks snazzy.

[JazzFunk]

Absolutely opened out Symphony, btw. What a game. Can double jump, now. Every time I'm away from this thing, the music is in my brain and I get this feeling like I want to eat it like food when I'm starving my guts out and it's the only food and best food I will ever get in my life.

[Family Fry]

Just started Felix the Reaper, was very surprised to hear Patrick Stewart is the voice of your boss, some of his voice over work and delivery makes me chuckle.

It’s a puzzle game that’s just hit Xbox/PC Game Pass, you play as a grim reaper. Every every level starts off with a person that needs to die, a cut scene of an accident in which they are close to, time stops when arrive so you then have to re-arrange the scene so the person on your list gets killed.

Levels are grid based and as a grim reaper and controls are point n click, as a reaper you can‘t step into direct sunlight so you have to take cover behind shade, you also have a sundial which changes time of day, shade shifts in a pre-set pattern when you use it. Felix is also loves dancing and cannot stop dancing, so every time you move him, he pulls some moves.



Enjoying what I’ve played so far.

[wakka]

That’s a shame. I really enjoyed Observer. It really did something with the cyberpunk world and was quite unique. I loved it (aside from those stealth bits).

Yep I read your impressions. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I definitely enjoyed it. Gameplay was actually surprisingly varied, with the odd physics puzzle and item hunt in the mix (along with the bad stealth). I did find a few of the memory exploration sequences a bit overlong (and headache inducing, not helped by the fact it appears to run at about 20fps on the base Bone), but the atmosphere and the writing were really very good. Agreed that it is ‘proper’ cyberpunk, too.

I’ve just seen it’s £9 on Switch. At that price I’d buy it to finish it, but I don’t want to start it all over again. Hopefully it will go on sale on the Xbox store at some point.

Last night I restarted Hitman (season 1) via Game Pass, having originally given it a bit of a go on PS+. I redid the two introductory levels, and the game really clicked for me this time - I blasted through the first proper stage, Paris, with two really satisfying and interesting ‘unseen kills’, involving disguising myself as a famous supermodel and posing as a poison-wielding bartender. A really unique experience, I’m looking forward to playing the rest of the scenarios. Interesting that a game about killing should be almost combat-free.

[Dogg Thang]

Yeah, I found the first couple of memory sequences way too long until it kind of clicked that they are the meat of the game rather than an obstacle to the meat of it, if you know what I mean. And there are a few janky bits in there. One wouldn't progress until I stood in the right place and it took me ages to find.

[wakka]

Yeah, I found the first couple of memory sequences way too long until it kind of clicked that they are the meat of the game rather than an obstacle to the meat of it, if you know what I mean. And there are a few janky bits in there. One wouldn't progress until I stood in the right place and it took me ages to find.

It's a good point re: the memory sequences. They are the meat, as you suggest. I guess the problem was that I found going round, knocking on doors and talking to the strange people beyond more interesting than stumbling through the scary dream sequence type bits. I did like them, but sometimes they went on for over an hour, and it was a bit much.

Yeah, there's a fair bit of bugginess. I had one full crash back out to the dash as well, and the game frequently felt like it was teetering on the brink after that. I've rarely seen a game so badly optimised - I don't know what it was like on Switch, but as someone who isn't at all sensitive to framerates usually, the way it drunkenly careened between 10 and 30fps (often within the same, small, empty room) was a bit offputting.

But - still a good game. It rose above the jank. And a bit of jank isn't always a bad thing. It's often those 7/10s that are so much more interesting than the 10/10s.

[Dogg Thang]

The frame rate is all over the place on the Switch but it's too bad considering how good it looks on the system. It feels like a game that should run well on the XBoxOne but then doesn't on Switch, if you know what I mean. So I was surprised to hear how poor the frame rate is on other systems too. Doesn't sound like it is much worse on Switch but some parts are kind of smeary because the resolution drops in places.

But yeah, I really enjoyed it and you're right - it's often those more unusual gems that, in spite of their flaws, can offer a more interesting experience.

[teddymeow]

I'm halfway through Concrete Genie and loving it.

It's absolutely beautiful to look at (especially in 4K) and the story is revealing itself to be a bit of a tear jerker.

[Cepp]

I know the feeling. The first mission is actually a chapter but seems more like a 'prologue' bit....I've forgotten whom I was controlling, already.

First chapter proper stars Marcus Fenix's son. Again, I've already forgotten.

It's either Craig or Harold Fenix. Like I said, I've forgotten. But it plays like a decent dream n' looks snazzy.

Aye, it certainly looks nice! I'll keep at it. I keep switching between the controller and keyboard/mouse. Aiming is so much easier with the mouse but character movement in this series never feels quite right with a keyboard.