What Has Everyone Been Playing This Week? 4

[importaku]

So... because obviously I have endless free gaming time in between ninokuni II and dragon quest XI (not) I now have started dragon quest heros II I would have started with first one but it’s not arrived yet. On a DQ fix at the moment but it’s a poor mix of games to juggle as they are all time sinks but I’m having a lot of fun. Voicework not as pleasant though Helix’s voice actor is super irritating as it comes across as posh southerner child. Was glad when I saw you can enable Japanese voices, did make me jump though on playing as I wasn’t expecting the voices to come out of the DualShock speaker not many games use that feature at all. Finding it a lot of fun though ploughing through waves of monsters. I have no idea how I’m going to juggle all this and Zelda and Luigi as well.

[Neon Ignition]

Astral Chain to get set aside for the weekend again so I'll be cracking on into Gears 5... not sleeping...

[Paddy]

I was playing Legend of Heroes:Trails of Cold Steel II for a while but have dropped off that a little recently. Decided to start Sekirō and although it can be frustrating it is also very rewarding (especially when you have a good run at bosses, parrying most of their attacks and besting them before you get their health fully down). The game is brutal but it matches the setting and I'm still pllaying it after 25 hours so it must be doing something right.

[vanpeebles]

Was glad when I saw you can enable Japanese voices, did make me jump though on playing as I wasn’t expecting the voices to come out of the DualShock speaker not many games use that feature at all.

That happened to me, the first time I played Godzilla, the controller practically leapt from my hands

[Dogg Thang]

I am Switchless while it goes to Nintendo for repairs (hopefully...) so have been playing Super Metroid on the SNES Mini. I think in the area of retro games, Super Metroid is one of the few from the era that feels like it could have been designed now. Except maybe the grapple beam which would probably be a little more elegant now... that aside, this game doesn't feel "good for its day", it just feels good. Very atmospheric and incredibly rewarding. There is so much to find and it teases those things perfectly. You often know what you're aiming for but can't quite figure out how to get there and then it clicks and there is a real sense of achievement when that happens.

I'm loving it.

[Neon Ignition]

Aiming to wrap up Gears 5 and Astral Chain this week, also another dab at the MW beta
If I get them done I'll likely turn to Blair Witch whilst there's still Game Pass time left and maybe Man of Medan too, not sure yet on Switch what'll be next.

[endo]

I've been playing lots of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and finding it very enjoyable. Hit a bug last night that crashed the game, but apart from that had no other issues in the 10 hours I've put into it. It's very nicely made and great fun, love it!

[QualityChimp]

Not played anything for a few days.
I want to get into Arkham Knight, but it's not gripping me yet.
Batmobile is cool, but drifting around the narrow streets of Gotham is, in reality, banging into lots of stuff.
Also, fighting seems uneventful, just mash the button until all the goons are downed.

I remember enjoying Lego Marvel Superheroes more than Lego Batman because NYC was so vibrant in comparison to gloomy Gotham. It's the same here - does it ever stop raining?!

[Finsbury Girl]

Been hammering Another Eden on my phone, a gatcha game that you can enjoy completely free. It's grindy as hell, but hey I love dungeon crawling so am having a ball!

[importaku]

98 hours later and Dragon quest XI finally comes to a close. All my party i managed to get upto level 99 apart from Serena has a few levels left to go, defeated Calasmos & saw the true ending my goodness the story really ramps up in fun towards the end it was super satisfying, as was the ending. I liked the DQ history during the end credits. The only thing left for me to do now is complete all the side quests, obtain the best weapons & armour for everyone and maybe mop up the remaining trophies but for the most part it's pretty much done as i managed to beat Jaspers final form in the trials dungeon and thats the hardest boss as the turn limit really makes it tough so thats all the hard bosses done now. A blast tp play from start to finish.

Never felt like a chore levelling up as the enviroments were so amazingly detailed & animated as are the monsters in them, first time in a DQ game that the grind was a pleasure & not a chore. A crazy amount of things to do in that world to keep you occupied, for £20 it was a total bargain for the amount of gaming i got out of it. Now to move onto Ninokuni II

[Deuteros]

It'd be a shame if the improvements and changes made for the Switch release of DQ XI aren't made available to the PS4 version, regardless of the form (i.e., DLC or re-release).

[Dogg Thang]

I haven’t ever played a Dragon Quest game. Do I want to? Does it matter where I start if I do?

[Leon Retro]

I bought Onrush on the PS4 for £5. Sadly, I can see why it was a huge flop. The game engine is quite impressive -- clear graphics at a good frame rate. But not having a proper 'racing' mode was a stupid decision. I also think the overall design is quite bland and uninspiring. The graphics are quite attractive, but there's no imagination and flair.

Overall, it feels more like an early alpha build than a proper complete package. If an indie developer had released it for £10, then I think people would have been more interested, but a full price game from a big studio & publisher should have been so much better in all areas.

[randombs]

Mario Odyssey is wonderful.

I wasn't sure how big the jump from Wii-U to Switch would be but it's pretty substantial.

I spent ages poking around the first island map, stomping about as a moustached T-Rex and just admiring the graphics. The cold desert level is beautiful, too. Just landed in New Donk.

Two-player is ok but my wife and I have decided to just use separate saves so we can play at our own paces.

Still more Cuphead. It's delightful and super difficult, so I can enjoy it for ages.

[fuse]

I haven’t ever played a Dragon Quest game. Do I want to? Does it matter where I start if I do?

Yes and no, in that order. The definitive version of XI looks to be the... definitive... way of playing one of the best RPGs of recent years.