What You've Been Playing This Week

[Golgo]

Still Zelda BotW: although it's not the dungeon-heavy Zelda of old that I like best, the richness of the world and the freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want is really engrossing. I've settled into a relaxed rhythm and I'm just letting the main story beats come as and when I can be bothered to follow them up. I've drifted way off the main missions, so the late discovery of the

->Open Spoiler<-

Hero's Path upgrade has been a godsend in terms of mapping where I've been.

Also just started Metroid Prime Remake. Never played the original but this is stunning.

[dataDave]

I’ve personally taken a break from TotK while me and my son try to get more time together. Instead I’ve started Death Stranding Director’s Cut on the PC. This is the first Kojima game I’ve played since MGS2, but it’s an amazing presentation all round. Jumping from sub-1080/30fps to 4K/120fps/HDR is quite the jump in fidelity. Seriously, I know lots of people have issues with PC HDR but this is not my experience at all. This is the very first time I’ve had HDR make me stop and take notice, and it’s been utterly jaw-dropping in parts.

The game started off well enough for me to go and buy a DualSense (with a decent Bluetooth dongle) for the haptics. Thoroughly impressed with the controller so far, and last night I was amazed at the force resistance on the triggers - after a while carrying the cargo was physically strenuous on my hands.

My onboard WiFi adapter seems to be well and truly borked, so I’m not taking advantage of the online aspects of the game. Maybe I should remedy that?

Being away from PlayStation since the PS2, this definitely feels like how I’d expect a modern PlayStation game to play out. The only negative being that the cutscenes are literally sending me to sleep. I just couldn’t carry on last night and was in bed for 11:30pm.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Wait until you finish the game. I think the ending movie clocks in at just under 2 hours.

[dataDave]

I’m liking it the more I’m playing it. It sometimes feels like every single rock jutting out of the ground has been carefully placed by the map designers. The 4K fidelity really helps here as well, and I don’t really think the game would work quite as well on anything lower - I can spot clearances a fair bit away, and can then adjust my approach accordingly. It’s nice to be in a constant battle with the landscape.

I ran into the bad guy bandit types last night. It felt great being chased like that over a long distance as I’m trying my damnedest not to slip/trip on a stone.

I also realised that the haptics don’t work while using Bluetooth, you have to be wired up. That’s a bit of a bummer.

[importaku]

Decided to try out the demo of pikmin 4, it's really charming just as the other games, i like the new mechanics that they have layered onto from the previous editions not enough to overwhelm you but enough to change things up. The environments are as pretty as ever and the pikmin still adorable i genuinely feel bad when they die on me. Same as i make sure none of the little buggers get left behind at the end of the day i quickly hit the radar map & make sure none are hidden away just waiting to be eaten. The demo gives you plenty to try as the level in the demo if filled with stuff to find as well as plenty of mini dungeon entrances, already completed it but you can go back in and continue a bit more it seems.

[Neon Ignition]

Struggling again to fit any gaming in, what little has been happening has been split between:

-Day of the Tentacle: Remastered
-Spider-Man: Miles Morales
-No More Heroes III

[Cassius_Smoke]

FF7 Remake: Coming off the back of FF16, this is by far the better game. It has the RPG elements that are missing in 16. It has tactical combat, it has full a magic roster, it has skills, it has equipment load outs, Mini games, everything you want from a fleshed out RPG. Its my second play through but id forgotten most of it. Really enjoying it.

Vampyr: Just plucked this out the PS Extra. Its not bad. It reminds me of a PS2 era game, in the fact that its a bit quirky. It has 3rd person combat that is a little basic but your vampire skills make it interesting enough. The key part of the game is that you get XP from killing specific NPCs, but you get more XP from them the more you know them, making it harder for you to go through with taking their life. Each person is also missed by the other population and the more you kill, the more panicked an area becomes. You get to know each person by talking to them and finding letters etc. Its ok, worth a go.

Wolfenstein Youngblood: Playing this online with a friend. It got a bad rep. Its not a game like the original 2 were, but more a 'made for co-op' game. Repeat maps, and lots of killing. Gun play is nice and playing co-op makes a lot of games more fun anyway. The main characters are annoying as hell, but when the gameplay is this fun it doesn't matter. One thing of note...its hard as nails!

Dying Light 2: Also co-op. Its had quite a few updates recently and the latest one has rendered going out at night almost impossible. I still feel this game is lacking something that the first had, and I think that's balance. I don't think the skill trees really add that much to your ability to traverse or kill zombies. I suspect I could not bother taking any skill, and still get by just as well as I am. I want skills that make me feel like a god by the time I've filled the tree, and this definitely doesn't.

[huxley]

I`ve put TOTK on hold for the last couple of weeks. Its the sort of game I like to play in long sittings, and with it being summer I dont want to miss the sunshine. So thats on hold for the winter.

I did pick up Dead Space remake on steam as its finally on sale! This game is perfect for shortish bursts as it has games save a plenty.
Enjoying it immensely. I`ve seen plenty of talk of stuttering etc but I`ve not had many issues after the first couple of seconds of gameplay each session.

[randombs]

Just had an incredible, action-packed Zelda TotK session that involved me falling off my glider and then skydiving after it to try and recover the crystal I’d attached.

The glider just kept slowly twirling out of control as we both plummeted through the beautiful blue sky.
Hilariously, I actually did manage to land on the glider but it was upside down and I still got thrown off while the ground sped towards us like a crazy person.

Did I mention there was also a star fragment falling alongside us? I managed to grab it while parasailing (didn’t know you could do that!) and then went back to free-fall before pulling off one final parasail on the last sliver of stamina to break my fall mere centimetres from a mountain surface.

It was a goddamn beautiful minute straight out of a Mission Impossible film �� ✈️

[kryss]

Grinding away on MHR Sunbreak again, currently MR142 and still have monsters to unlock!

[Finsbury Girl]

FFVII Remake still. On my hard playthrough, early days but it is a big step up from normal.

[eastyy]

Dead Island 2, really surprised how much i have been enjoying it, though i suspect the gameplay loop may get a bit old it is fun and really enjoy exploring the places

[Atticus]

Dead Island 2, really surprised how much i have been enjoying it, though i suspect the gameplay loop may get a bit old it is fun and really enjoy exploring the places

I enjoyed it too … and found it didn’t outstay it’s welcome

[importaku]

Woke up early this morning around 8:00 to max out my gaming time today ended up playing pikmin 4 all day. it's now midnight & i still cant leave the damn thing there's so much content that i keep going to do one more dungeon then i spot more items and upgrades and then i find a new set of missions then another dungeon in a crazy loop of stuff to do. The graphics are some of the nicest i have seen on the switch the lighting and textures are gorgeous.

Currently at the night missions now after 100% ing the first 2 areas and potchi has been upgraded to do a lot more, the dandori battles are pretty fun too although they are tricky as you have to max out the order to do stuff in as the times are tight.

[Atticus]

I’ve been enjoying Pikmin 4 too … it’s so good