What You've Been Playing This Week

[QualityChimp]

Genuinely thought you'd be having a break from games, Martino!
Impressive!

[Shin Gatsurai]

WWE 2k22, it's not bad; haven't played a wwe game since 2016 so it's fresh.

[MartyG]

For what I'm calling Free Game Wednesday, I've been playing ...

Oxygen: First Breath - PC

This is a city-builder strategy game where the world was nearly destroyed in a nuclear war in 2022. Fortunately, this didn't happen, instead, it was destroyed by Lava Flood basalts, filling the air with toxic gasses, and reducing the level of oxygen to critical levels.

Just in time, someone is able to invent and build an oxygen machine, and it's now your duty to manage your citizens by building them models of stars and canteens, whilst ordering them to do manual labour. So just like in real life in 2055 then.

It is just a game preview, but you can play it for free. It definitely needs a bit of work before release later this year, as it's just pretty boring to play at the moment. So I give it 5 carbon monoxides out of 10.

You can find it on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2..._First_Breath/

[Golgo]

Boneraiser Minions. This has come on a lot since I first dabbled with it. Still Early Access but very much feature-complete it seems to me, and a great alternative to Vampire Minions if anyone is burnt out on that game. Feels like the more strategic game as well. You don't fight yourself (apart from the occasional spell), but instead focus on raising/combining legions of undead to fight for you. And you can also 'architect' the play area with traps and stuff. Charming 8-bit aesthetic. About three quid on Steam.

[QualityChimp]

Boneraiser Minions.

Is this some kind of Internet Rule 34 abomination?

[Neon Ignition]

About halfway through Halo 3... sticking with it but its a reminder of both how much these games have aged and how much public goodwill MS and 343 coasted on with this franchise.

Gonna dabble with some GTA Online whilst still mulling what to properly focus on

[Neon Ignition]

Halo 3
Picking at one level per day. Still that overwhelming sense that it has aged but I think how Infinite plays has caused most of the issue.

Bayonetta 3
Only on Chapter 2 and so far it's... okay? Very much more of the same so curious how the rest of the game goes as there's a definite risk this time I feel that Platinum will be just shoving out worse and worse versions of the same game.

Grand Theft Auto V
I don't know how but I've ended up going through this yet again, the need for a new entry I think is getting too strong

Grand Theft Auto Online
I dropped my old character where things felt very aimless and started again and the experience is much better. Picked a Gunrunner with an underground base, weapons research team and mobile assault truck compared to my previous character who had... nothing. Did the first mission of the most recent story addition as well and helped successfully fend off a public event attack on armoured limos. I like that there's a proper online mode menu screen too, I'll likely just pick at this rather than sink proper time in but 10 years after release it seems to finally be in a better set up form.

Grand Theft Auto IV
With all the visual mods and also the gameplay mods to bring how it plays more in line with GTAV and... jesus it's so much better. Very, very early but this should actually be a decent revisit.

[wakka]

A mate lent me a copy of Mario 3D World on Switch. I originally bought my WiiU on the day of the release of this game, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I never picked it up on Switch as I felt I'd played it to death, but that meant I missed out on Bowser's Fury, which I'm now playing for the first time.

I was silly not to grab this on release - as a big fan of mainline 3D Mario, I should have played this long before. It's the usually maximalist magic from EPD, but it's also a fascinating insight into where their heads were at a couple of years ago in terms of planning for the next game.

If we imagine a Bowser's Fury writ large across many lands, a Breath of the Mario that integrates the abstract genius of their best level designs into a fully explorable open world, it's a very very exciting prospect indeed.

Would certainly make for an incredible Switch 2 launch game in a couple of years....(hey, I can dream!)

[QualityChimp]

[MENTION=5490]wakka[/MENTION], do either of these have the kid mode where you can't die?

Thinking of playing with my daughter.

She needs the god mode not me, before any snarks get in!

[wakka]

So, it's almost a decade (urk...where the **** did that go?) since I played 3D World, but that game is actually built from the ground up to be a multiplayer game. You explore the levels together as equal partners and I'm pretty sure when one of you dies they just respawn straight in again alongside the other player.

In Bowser's Fury, the second player takes the role of a 'helper', kind of like Mario Galaxy if you've played that. I haven't actually tried this mode since I don't have kids, and instead play my day glo Nintendo games in a darkened room, alone, aged 32, like a real gamer. But I think they are able to take out enemies for you and pick up coins and stuff, but they're not fully equal to Mario in terms of abilities and what they can do. I'm not sure if player 2 can be killed in Bowser's Fury.

I think you can be assured they would be incredibly fun to play with your daughter. It's Mario!

[Golgo]

Finished Resident Evil 8age so I've gone back to Prodeus to re-do levels on higher difficulties and hoover up collectibles.

[MartyG]

Gave King of the Fighters XV a go.

I'm honestly not a fan and it refused to let me configure my fighting stick as it seemed to be expecting an XBox start button to allow you to set the buttons, which my stick does not have. Fail.

There is also no one playing this online, taking away half of the game. Furthermore, I don't like the way this fighter plays.

If you've played the KoF series and like the SNK fighting style, and you're also not wanting PvP then there is a massive roster of fighters to choose from and it looks great.

But I'm a n00b to KoF and the default AI slaughtered me, not helped by the Xbox pad I was forced to use which doesn't work well in this game at all.

An OBS update also reset my volume mixer and I didn't notice for 7 minutes - stupid OBS changing everything every time it does an update.

I give this 5 Ryus out of 10 because of the lack of online players.

[Cepp]

Getting back into Disney Dreaming Valley with the Mrs. It runs terribly on Switch but it is addictive like all games in this genre.

[samanosuke]

Bayonetta 3
Only on Chapter 2 and so far it's... okay? Very much more of the same so curious how the rest of the game goes as there's a definite risk this time I feel that Platinum will be just shoving out worse and worse versions of the same game.

It gets better, for sure. The environments become much bigger and all the batsh*t crazy stuff starts to happen. Don’t want to give too much away but some of the later chapters are immense.

I’ve been playing Bayo 3 since I got it for Chrimbo but I’ve also been playing (if that’s the correct term) The House in Fata Morgana. I’m quite the VN fan but wow, is this different (in a good way) to your standard anime VN. The art is to die for and the music is like actual, real music that adds so much atmosphere to what is a compelling and rather dark narrative. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys VN or just reading in general. It is a stunning piece of work even if it’s arguable as to whether it qualifies as a game.

[Neon Ignition]

Let's take stock of where I'm at because all of this has really shot up my plan to complete a lot this year:

Bayonetta 3
Not really moved on this, I feel I need to singularly focus on it more so am trying to wrap up some other titles first

Grand Theft Auto IV
Likewise, a bit more testing that all the mods work fine aside, not touched it as I'm already well into another entry

Grand Theft Auto V
Can't believe I got sucked into redoing this again so soon but the thirst for a new entry is clearly there. I'm pretty late on, past where Michael and Trevor have fallen out so getting there. Hot a couple of areas I'm less familiar with, still amazes me this PS3 era title has so much detail and entire areas like the Prison and Government Research Centre that the game never has you even go near.

Grand Theft Auto Online
Some Heist, racing and missions done. Steady pace except where stupid cash restrictions get in the way. It's okay for a while but it's also a faff in some ways and I honestly still can't see why people are still funding this after a decade. It's not a great online experience outside of co-op with someone you know.

Contrast
Benched as well, I'm closing in on halfway through though

Halo 3: ODST
The next entry, usually a mission a day so another week left. I don't have great memories of this one and going back to it? Holy **** did Bungie **** the bed with this follow up. Worse in every way.

Vampire Survivors
It's.... okay? Honestly, it's fun but I'm not wowed by it the way many are. Largely just feels like an old twin stick shooter with auto-fire on, very little gameplay to it, it's just mostly dodging till the enemy numbers rocket up. Sticking with it as there's stuff to unlock etc that might change it up...