Shin megami tensei 5, replaying persona 5 royal, just finished yakuza like a dragon, and Being A DIK. Never thought I would try an adult game for story, but frankly it’s better than 99% of other games stories and shits on sjws.
Honestly I’ve been a hardcore smt fan since 2 and so far I’ve enjoyed it, definitely have to stack critical on bosses but they’re manageable. Mp drain hasn’t been much of an issue since the first boss and the ability to change mc abilities and resistances in save zones is awesome.
Oh and party switching is extremely viable/ nearly necessary in boss fights, but I see that as a plus because the variability of demons in the smt universe makes it more convenient than nuisance. The people complaining about mp drain either aren’t planning weakness stacks or keeping a large demon roster.
No Mans Sky which is fun and chill because its pretty but has absolutely no skill required grinding gameplay. Have pretty much quit because the "old universe" story is kind of abstract and hard for me to get into.
Still occasionally popping into Shadows of War to kill or enslave an orc captain or two but not really progressing the main quest
Dragon Keep, which was the best Borderlands 2 DLC, was recently released as a standalone game for free on Epic store. It is a promo for the new fantasy Borderlands that is coming out. The main story is fun and the SJW and general cringe "look at how self aware we are" dialogue is limited to the sidequests so its bearable. I'm a big fan of the Borderlands gameplay and progression even though it is super shallow compared to newer stuff.
Mainly playing Path of Exile because I wanted to see passive tree and defense changes and heard scourge league was good. Not disappointed but eventually the map grind gets to me so I'll probably quit soon. My SSF poison conc build is petering out in yellow maps and scourge world is super rippy.
A friend got me to buy Satisfactory to play with him. It looks great but I don't care for the gameplay, even though I acknowledge that it is a technical achievement. It is mainly a vehicle for just chatting over voice while we mine and build shit in game.
I've played Path of Exile actively for nearly ten years but the latest two consecutive giga-nerf patches have destroyed the game for me so I've basically quit. It just feels like work now.
I've found that how much of a chore it is depends entirely on your build. If you follow a guide and run a low-fiddly meta build then its a breeze. If you go homebrew or ssf and your build is suboptimal for the content level you are at then its work.
I'm much more relaxed about progression now and just play until whatever build I pick craps out. I take that as my call to do something else until next league.
Yeah I'm "self-taught" meaning I've always made my own builds from scratch ever since I started playing in closed beta. My favorite part was to play lots of different builds per league, including "wacky" ones that somehow still worked. I'd play one build until I got bored of it somewhere around 90-95 and then looked forward to starting a different build with all the shit I had collected.
With the current state of the game nothing repulses me more than the thought of starting a new build.
OSRS Group Ironman which is going to get shelved on Friday when I get access to the new FFXIV expac
Oh, also Gladius: Relics of War which I got from a humblebundle a while back. It's nominally a 4X game, though it feels to me more like a hex-map turn-based combat strategy game. Reminds me of a 40k game I played as a child, Rites of War which I just remembered I bought from Gog a while ago. Anyways, Gladius is fun but given the DLC structure, would not recommend buying unless you find a good sale
I've been watching YouTube videos about the gun mechanics and realism in Escape From Tarkov, but I haven't bothered with it because if it's multiplayer only I don't think I would enjoy it very much.
I've been into the very old and doing a lot more turn-based lately. So right now, Final Fantasy VI and Disgaea 3 mostly. Although I have been thinking about giving Scarlet Nexus a try, which if I do would be the first game from 2021 I've played.
It’s pretty good. I can’t get any of my IRL friends to play it with me though, even if I offer to gift them the game and all the dlc. “This doesn’t even look like a game, just menus and spreadsheets!”
People give me shit for it, but I really love world of warcraft. I know about all the issues, and yeah, the current version of the game is not a very good version of the game, but it still brings me so much joy and makes me feel good about myself when I play it.
They copied WoW and made it better. Thousands of hours of actual story in the free trial. Don't sign in through Steam though you'll be stuck with steam version forever and there's no reason to.
Some SJW players, but story is fine and Square doesn't let them parade around the main areas.
Currently finishing my third play of NieR Replicant after putting it down for a while because I got bored, but I want to get endings C, D and E off my list. I also recently moved FFXI private servers because the one I was playing on is dying. Not looking forward to doing everything over again but whatever. Finally, wife is making me play the new FFXIV expansion with her which comes out Friday.
I've been hooked on a lot of the SurvivalCraft type games lately myself: The Forest, No Man's Sky, Valheim, Raft, etc. They tend to get regular updates too, so basically even after you've completed the content, eventually one of them comes out with something new for you to tinker with.
Like usual, I keep a handful of games in my rotation so that I can pick and choose whenever I want to play something else. Right now that rotation is:
Snowrunner
Offroad trucking game, where most of the challenge is in making sure you dont get bogged down in the mud/snow/swamp/all of the above, while also carrying cargo for different organizations who hire you out. Luckily, unlike Spintires or Mudrunner, its not all just logs. It can be concrete slabs and steel girders for construction, it an be a tanker for a remote outpost, it can even be specialty cargo like an oil rig and its drilling equipment.
Anno 1800
I have been in a Victorian mode lately (probably because I am hyped for Victoria 3 to eventually come out), so why not play one of the only games in the setting. And it honestly looks pretty good as well as having a healthy amount of challenge.
Hearts of Iron 4
Been getting back into this since they came out with the new DLC. So far, I have been playing as the US, with a Fascist Canada to my north, a Communist Mexico to my south, but no one declaring war on me because its 1947 and I have like 30 nukes and my army standard issues assault rifles while everyone else is just getting around to semi-autos. Also like 30 aircraft carriers, because "Fuck you and everything in a 200 mile radius."
Tropico 4
I guess I am on a city spree right now too. I have been working my way back through the Tropicos to do achievement hunting and replay the campaign. Will probably go to Tropico 5 when I believe I am done with 4.
Age of Darkness: Last Stand
Got this on a recommendation, and I will also recommend. It takes the same gameplay style and loop as They Are Billions, then improves it in literally every way. Its just a much better game than TAB and is the new platinum standard for Survival Strategy in my book.
HighFleet
Kind of fell of the wagon with this one, but I am want to get back into it. Its pretty difficult, but I love every second of it, and its probably one of my top games of all time.
Picked up Mechwarrior 5 with the DLC package on sale the other day. Nothing really scratches that itch quite like Mechwarrior. 5 isn't the best game in the world, the friendly AI are retarded and the storyline is absolutely basic, but big stompy combat mechs with weighty controls and big guns is something the game does well.
You mention skill levels and that made me think of a question. I've been looking for something to play with my nephew. Does it have player and enemy levels as well? The problem I've run into with those PVE games is that if one plays without the other for any length of time, now they are way more advanced and it ruins the whole playing together thing because one player either doesn't contribute at all or is just a hassle to keep from being one-shotted by everything.
youtube recommendations got me interested in playing lego star wars again, so i 100%ed that and now i'm just going through my star wars games in steam. currently replaying force unleashed 1, maybe 2 next. or republic commando then fu2.
Shadow Tactics was a really good time, especially if you're in any way familiar with the old Commandos series. Queuing up your actions and firing them all off successfully to spring a big silent trap that takes out multiple guards is very satisfying. Good soundtrack too. I've been wanting to play their newer game, Desperados 3, but it's a bit pricey and I heard not quite as good.
I recently got back into Brigador and I'm clicking with it much better the second time round. Trying to keep my momentum up with Yakuza 5, but feeling a bit of burnout with that series. Also continuing my readthrough of Full Metal Daemon Muramasa, but since I'm doing that in it's original language it's been a project that's taken much of the year. It's great though.
For december I am going back through the entire Legend of Zelda franchise (2 down already. Started Thanksgiving week. Yay school schedules!) And running back through ff12 and ff5.
I just got G Gundam Generations Shining Rays and intend to enjoy that.
Figure Fantasy and ff7:the first soldier on my mobile.
MVP Baseball was one of the first victims of developers signing exclusivity deals with major sports leagues.
I played tons of 2015 on PC. I remember it had a strong modding scene for many years after the franchise's demise.
I switched over to 2K Baseball on Xbox until that series ended too, but the 2K series seemed more like annual roster updates rather than anything innovative.
Probably one of the biggest issues with baseball video games for purists is the fact that it's hard to incorporate walks into gameplay in a realistic manner.
Taking walks as a human player requires lots of batting eye skill and practice, but also requires an AI opponent that will throw enough balls to walk the player occasionally, especially on Ball 3.
When the human player is pitching, there also has to be a mechanism that makes their player wild enough that pitches don't always go where intended and the player can't always throw a strike on command on Ball 3.
Another issue is lack of foul balls in video games. There are way more foul balls per inning/at bat in real life that often isn't replicated in games to sacrifice realism for better gameplay.
But without realistic levels of foul balls, pitch counts remain too low, at bats are resolved too quickly and the player is often rewarded too consistently for swinging with abandon.
Shin megami tensei 5, replaying persona 5 royal, just finished yakuza like a dragon, and Being A DIK. Never thought I would try an adult game for story, but frankly it’s better than 99% of other games stories and shits on sjws.
Honestly I’ve been a hardcore smt fan since 2 and so far I’ve enjoyed it, definitely have to stack critical on bosses but they’re manageable. Mp drain hasn’t been much of an issue since the first boss and the ability to change mc abilities and resistances in save zones is awesome.
Oh and party switching is extremely viable/ nearly necessary in boss fights, but I see that as a plus because the variability of demons in the smt universe makes it more convenient than nuisance. The people complaining about mp drain either aren’t planning weakness stacks or keeping a large demon roster.
recently:
No Mans Sky which is fun and chill because its pretty but has absolutely no skill required grinding gameplay. Have pretty much quit because the "old universe" story is kind of abstract and hard for me to get into.
Still occasionally popping into Shadows of War to kill or enslave an orc captain or two but not really progressing the main quest
Dragon Keep, which was the best Borderlands 2 DLC, was recently released as a standalone game for free on Epic store. It is a promo for the new fantasy Borderlands that is coming out. The main story is fun and the SJW and general cringe "look at how self aware we are" dialogue is limited to the sidequests so its bearable. I'm a big fan of the Borderlands gameplay and progression even though it is super shallow compared to newer stuff.
Mainly playing Path of Exile because I wanted to see passive tree and defense changes and heard scourge league was good. Not disappointed but eventually the map grind gets to me so I'll probably quit soon. My SSF poison conc build is petering out in yellow maps and scourge world is super rippy.
A friend got me to buy Satisfactory to play with him. It looks great but I don't care for the gameplay, even though I acknowledge that it is a technical achievement. It is mainly a vehicle for just chatting over voice while we mine and build shit in game.
Edit: Also doing daily grinds in Genshin Impact but have pretty much quit since that is getting stale. You can watch hours of gameplay on my Odysee channel :)
I've played Path of Exile actively for nearly ten years but the latest two consecutive giga-nerf patches have destroyed the game for me so I've basically quit. It just feels like work now.
I've found that how much of a chore it is depends entirely on your build. If you follow a guide and run a low-fiddly meta build then its a breeze. If you go homebrew or ssf and your build is suboptimal for the content level you are at then its work.
I'm much more relaxed about progression now and just play until whatever build I pick craps out. I take that as my call to do something else until next league.
Yeah I'm "self-taught" meaning I've always made my own builds from scratch ever since I started playing in closed beta. My favorite part was to play lots of different builds per league, including "wacky" ones that somehow still worked. I'd play one build until I got bored of it somewhere around 90-95 and then looked forward to starting a different build with all the shit I had collected.
With the current state of the game nothing repulses me more than the thought of starting a new build.
Inscryption great rogue-like game, think of it like a slay the spire meets panic room type of game (at least at first).
If you like card games give it a try, it's kind of creepy but In a fun way!
OSRS Group Ironman which is going to get shelved on Friday when I get access to the new FFXIV expac
Oh, also Gladius: Relics of War which I got from a humblebundle a while back. It's nominally a 4X game, though it feels to me more like a hex-map turn-based combat strategy game. Reminds me of a 40k game I played as a child, Rites of War which I just remembered I bought from Gog a while ago. Anyways, Gladius is fun but given the DLC structure, would not recommend buying unless you find a good sale
Escape from tarkov and halo infinite
I've been watching YouTube videos about the gun mechanics and realism in Escape From Tarkov, but I haven't bothered with it because if it's multiplayer only I don't think I would enjoy it very much.
Is there a single-player component to it at all?
I've been into the very old and doing a lot more turn-based lately. So right now, Final Fantasy VI and Disgaea 3 mostly. Although I have been thinking about giving Scarlet Nexus a try, which if I do would be the first game from 2021 I've played.
Sometimes I like I sit down for a nice relaxing 16 hour game of stellaris.
It’s pretty good. I can’t get any of my IRL friends to play it with me though, even if I offer to gift them the game and all the dlc. “This doesn’t even look like a game, just menus and spreadsheets!”
That's totally not true!
(shoves eve online further under the carpet)
Path of Exile, no other game comes close.
People give me shit for it, but I really love world of warcraft. I know about all the issues, and yeah, the current version of the game is not a very good version of the game, but it still brings me so much joy and makes me feel good about myself when I play it.
Final Fantasy XIV free trial
They copied WoW and made it better. Thousands of hours of actual story in the free trial. Don't sign in through Steam though you'll be stuck with steam version forever and there's no reason to.
Some SJW players, but story is fine and Square doesn't let them parade around the main areas.
Not interested.
That's fine. Some people don't like the art style or theme or whatever.
I just mentioned because I was pretty big into WoW classic and to me FFXIV feels like old times.
FF has no appeal to me. I am not interested.
Currently finishing my third play of NieR Replicant after putting it down for a while because I got bored, but I want to get endings C, D and E off my list. I also recently moved FFXI private servers because the one I was playing on is dying. Not looking forward to doing everything over again but whatever. Finally, wife is making me play the new FFXIV expansion with her which comes out Friday.
I've been hooked on a lot of the SurvivalCraft type games lately myself: The Forest, No Man's Sky, Valheim, Raft, etc. They tend to get regular updates too, so basically even after you've completed the content, eventually one of them comes out with something new for you to tinker with.
I just started playing Crusader Kings 2.
I don't have the Islam DLC, sorry.
Like usual, I keep a handful of games in my rotation so that I can pick and choose whenever I want to play something else. Right now that rotation is:
Offroad trucking game, where most of the challenge is in making sure you dont get bogged down in the mud/snow/swamp/all of the above, while also carrying cargo for different organizations who hire you out. Luckily, unlike Spintires or Mudrunner, its not all just logs. It can be concrete slabs and steel girders for construction, it an be a tanker for a remote outpost, it can even be specialty cargo like an oil rig and its drilling equipment.
I have been in a Victorian mode lately (probably because I am hyped for Victoria 3 to eventually come out), so why not play one of the only games in the setting. And it honestly looks pretty good as well as having a healthy amount of challenge.
Been getting back into this since they came out with the new DLC. So far, I have been playing as the US, with a Fascist Canada to my north, a Communist Mexico to my south, but no one declaring war on me because its 1947 and I have like 30 nukes and my army standard issues assault rifles while everyone else is just getting around to semi-autos. Also like 30 aircraft carriers, because "Fuck you and everything in a 200 mile radius."
I guess I am on a city spree right now too. I have been working my way back through the Tropicos to do achievement hunting and replay the campaign. Will probably go to Tropico 5 when I believe I am done with 4.
Got this on a recommendation, and I will also recommend. It takes the same gameplay style and loop as They Are Billions, then improves it in literally every way. Its just a much better game than TAB and is the new platinum standard for Survival Strategy in my book.
Kind of fell of the wagon with this one, but I am want to get back into it. Its pretty difficult, but I love every second of it, and its probably one of my top games of all time.
Picked up Mechwarrior 5 with the DLC package on sale the other day. Nothing really scratches that itch quite like Mechwarrior. 5 isn't the best game in the world, the friendly AI are retarded and the storyline is absolutely basic, but big stompy combat mechs with weighty controls and big guns is something the game does well.
You mention skill levels and that made me think of a question. I've been looking for something to play with my nephew. Does it have player and enemy levels as well? The problem I've run into with those PVE games is that if one plays without the other for any length of time, now they are way more advanced and it ruins the whole playing together thing because one player either doesn't contribute at all or is just a hassle to keep from being one-shotted by everything.
runescape
youtube recommendations got me interested in playing lego star wars again, so i 100%ed that and now i'm just going through my star wars games in steam. currently replaying force unleashed 1, maybe 2 next. or republic commando then fu2.
Did I just step into a time machine?
yeah
Stellaris, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and a dash of 7 Days to Die.
Shadow Tactics was a really good time, especially if you're in any way familiar with the old Commandos series. Queuing up your actions and firing them all off successfully to spring a big silent trap that takes out multiple guards is very satisfying. Good soundtrack too. I've been wanting to play their newer game, Desperados 3, but it's a bit pricey and I heard not quite as good.
I recently got back into Brigador and I'm clicking with it much better the second time round. Trying to keep my momentum up with Yakuza 5, but feeling a bit of burnout with that series. Also continuing my readthrough of Full Metal Daemon Muramasa, but since I'm doing that in it's original language it's been a project that's taken much of the year. It's great though.
For december I am going back through the entire Legend of Zelda franchise (2 down already. Started Thanksgiving week. Yay school schedules!) And running back through ff12 and ff5.
I just got G Gundam Generations Shining Rays and intend to enjoy that.
Figure Fantasy and ff7:the first soldier on my mobile.
Just recently started Hollow Knight, and all the praise the game got is well earned.
I've also tried Hellbound and is good, old-fashion single player shooter, cheap as well.
Path of Exile exists. Also playing some Minecraft on a server with friends. And replaying through Xenosaga, still on Ep1.
I've picked up Halo:MCC, SMT3, X-Wing Alliance, and Daemon X Machina during the sales.
MVP Baseball was one of the first victims of developers signing exclusivity deals with major sports leagues.
I played tons of 2015 on PC. I remember it had a strong modding scene for many years after the franchise's demise.
I switched over to 2K Baseball on Xbox until that series ended too, but the 2K series seemed more like annual roster updates rather than anything innovative.
Probably one of the biggest issues with baseball video games for purists is the fact that it's hard to incorporate walks into gameplay in a realistic manner.
Taking walks as a human player requires lots of batting eye skill and practice, but also requires an AI opponent that will throw enough balls to walk the player occasionally, especially on Ball 3.
When the human player is pitching, there also has to be a mechanism that makes their player wild enough that pitches don't always go where intended and the player can't always throw a strike on command on Ball 3.
Another issue is lack of foul balls in video games. There are way more foul balls per inning/at bat in real life that often isn't replicated in games to sacrifice realism for better gameplay.
But without realistic levels of foul balls, pitch counts remain too low, at bats are resolved too quickly and the player is often rewarded too consistently for swinging with abandon.