What You've Been Playing This Week

[Dogg Thang]

Have to admit, I don’t really get the fuss over Vampire Survivors either. I enjoyed the few games I played but it didn’t hook me. It’s nicely cheap though so I don’t regret giving it a shot.

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, it's definitely ideal for playing in short bursts and it's fun as a mild distraction in that way but that seems to be all

[Lebowski]

I keep going back to it but can only really stomach one full 30 minute run at a time, where it shines is the madness, creating a set up that gets you to the 30 minute mark and discovering a new combo as well as opening a few new characters leveling up your skills or finding some sort of secret. It's not a game you can play for hours though. Often I get fully leveled by the 20 minute mark and just look at my phone for ten minute till the reaper appears.

This week ive mostly been playing Destiny 2 again and it feels like this season is the laziest yet, silly me for paying for a year of this garbage and only playing it sporadically

Ive also been enjoying some very chilled sessions on DorfRomatic on the switch, its a tile based world builder with the simple premise of build your world as big as you can before you run out of hexagonal tiles, each tile can have woods, houses, rivers, farms, or railways and quite often contain multiple of each. To gain more tiles mini tasks pop up over the play area starting simple like Build a railway 8 pieces long or build a Woods with 200 trees. Smart building is requires as rivers can block railways and it can be very easy to back yourself into a corner and fail to complete tasks with incorrect placements. You can also get tasks by building towards ghost tiles on your board too these are especially advantageous as they normally give you new styles of tile pieces. In addtion to new tiles their are seasonal skins for your worlds to collect. its a really addictive little puzzler that gives you that one more go type feeling. It's a joy to see little boats appear on your rivers as they get larger and trains chugging along your tracks, its such a good game Ive bought it twice i own it on steam and on the switch.

[fuse]

Have been quiet on here of late so it's quite a big catch up of what I've played.

December was tough and I was in a pretty grotty mood. I needed something familiar and with the right vibe, and Paradise Killer was absolutely the right thing to revisit. I loved the mystery when I first played it a year ago, and although that is slightly less a draw on a second run, I still loved just exploring, collecting, and generally moving about in that space and soaking up the atmosphere and the music.

Then played River City Girls 2, which is excellent. It's a smart, quirky, well-executed brawler that made me laugh and made me smile. Deserves more attention. Also tried a bit of River City Girls 0 but that's a tougher sell and I'm probably not going to see that through.

Also finally getting to Cuphead - the first chapter was the last thing I played on my XB1 before that got shelved, and I've been waiting for a physical version with all the content since. Done the first couple of worlds now and will go back to finish it up soon.

Then Torchlight 2. My play sessions have been quite late in the day recently and with very little brainpower / attention left, this is ideal low-effort ARPG fodder.

edit: forgot I also played Case of the Golden Idol, which is GREAT. It's like Return of the Obra Dinn, but with 2D VGA graphics instead and split across multiple scenes of mystery over a longer period of time. It's an odd looking thing for sure but it certainly grows on you, and it's an incredibly satisfying once you start to figure out what's going on.

[wakka]

I have been playing...

Modern Warfare II

I've mostly weaned myself off caning rounds of Kill Confirmed on my own on this now, but I've been really enjoying playing the co-op levels with a friend. Sadly there are only three, plus a horde mode level, but they've been a lot of fun to play and replay. Shame there isn't more in the way of co-operative PvE (and it's a bummer that the new Raid mode requires three players, and can't be played with two).

Pokémon Pinball

Been dipping into this one for quick bursts, and it's a lot of fun. Not as advanced or as well developed as its GBA sequel, but still a very enjoyable game in its own right. I'm not really playing for score, and instead I'm focused on completing the Pokédex. Hit the ramps, bash the bumpers, then catch the Pokémon - it's an addictive gameplay loop. And they did great work with the graphics here considering it's GBC. Everything feels really chunky and bold.

Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel

My first time playing this. I've wanted to play it since it came out, but never had it at the time and never got round to it since. I think I'm pretty near the end now so I'll post fuller impressions in the retro folder in due course, but I'm really, really liking it. It can be a bit finicky and frustrating in some places, but it's a terrifically credible little MGS adventure, that captures so much of what makes MGS1 - my favourite MGS - great. I was glued to it for ages yesterday and only stopped because it was the small hours and I'm working today!

[Blobcat]

So, this weekend I started playing Metal Gear Solid for the first time!

Had a little go of it a couple of years not long after we moved into our new flat to have a try but I struggled with the controls (Did not grow up with a playstation, playing on PS3).

Just got up to the 2nd disk tonight, actually really enjoying it!

[QualityChimp]

Elden Ring.

[fuse]

Cuphead. This one's been a long time coming. It's good! I quite enjoyed the challenge of it but I also wouldn't have minded some downtime to soak up the artistry.

The Forest Quartet was a quick little couple-o-hours thing that is about a jazz quartet that live out in a forest, reflecting on the passing of a band member and also on each of their issues. Feels very personal and heartfelt. Enjoyed it.

Persona 3 Portable is, contrary to popular belief, not very portable when played on a PS5. I've done the opening few hours of this a few times before now but I'm hoping this is the time I actually make it to the end. Early impressions of the port are a bit mixed - character portraits look quite nice, but when you get into fights you suddenly remember that oh yeah - it's using models from the PSP version. Putting the quality of compositions aside, the music does not sound great either. I'm sure there will be proper breakdowns of the port quality of this and P4G soon enough.

[wakka]

I played Cuphead back when it was an Xbox exclusive, and I have to say I didn't like it. I really wanted to - the graphics are genuinely extraordinary - but I found the controls stiff and the gameplay quite dull.

I'm intrigued to play P3 Portable. Like yourself it's one I've done the opening hours of a couple of times (via the FES PS2 version) but never actually cracked playing through the full thing.

[gunrock]

Disco Elysium. It's clunky and weird. It's in-game lore is quirky and odd, francophone-ish and I like how off-kilter it makes me feel,

->Open Spoiler<-

with its protagonist's mental breakdown apparent in the internal monologue from differing parts of the psyche and his addictions, all-the-while trying to appear "normal" in front of the cop partner (who's from a different precinct, culture and doesn't know you).

[Cassius_Smoke]

Still infrequently trying to get through Trials of Cold Steel while at the same time I've just fired up Trials in the Sky on psp.

[QualityChimp]

Elden Ring and Goldeneye!

[Golgo]

Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I didn't think I'd click with the combat as it looked totally chaotic from video reviews, but the tutorials are brilliantly snappy and it doesn't take long at all for it to make sense. It's really enjoyable. Piling-in in in first person is also weirdly exciting. I'm also enjoying the snippets of story - early days, but it's moving along quite intriguingly.

[Finsbury Girl]

I've been see-sawing between Salt and Sanctuary Yakuza 3 and Demons Souls

[Atticus]

Elden Ring mainly ... but when it gets too much I've been enjoying a few laps with Ridge Racers 2.