Let me try this

I have been playing City of Heroes, which is a superhero MMO and I’m surprised how much I dig it despite multiplayer games not being my thing. PVE is much more comfortable for me and the game let’s you make any kind of hero you want, and u can make ur own battle cry as well which is funny.

Also it has one of the best gender options in gaming: Male, Female or Huge. Badass

Another one I’m playing rn is Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, this is a remaster of the old Alex Kidd in Miracle World game which I never played but I’m digging this remaster as well. The new graphics and art is gorgeous and the ability to switch seamlessly from new to old graphics is spectacular. I have always loved old 2D side-scroller even though they are always more challenging than modern games, I like having to fight through something after multiple tries. I was having trouble with the game and after reaching one of the later levels of the game, my save file glitched and reset everything(cloud sync issue probably, I need to turn that off) which almost made me quit the game but I had learned so much so I gave it another try and was surprised that I got to where I was in an hour and beat the boss I was on before in first time. Very very satisfying

There are some other games I’m playing rn but I don’t wanna write too long so here are just their names: CLeM (amazing, intriguing puzzle game), Skies of Arcadia (emulated through Flycast with RetroArch, has achievements even!) and Peggle which I’m trying to 100% even after 30 hours haha

Lorn’s Lure - This game absolutely enthralled me over the past 2 weeks. It’s a parkour/exploration game, one developer, and it’s just so well designed. Punches way over it’s price for $15.

The maps are these enormous sprawling runes of an ancient machine, and there so much to find and see in each level. Then after beating the game you can go back with all upgrades and there are so many new paths, new secrets. There’s this special feeling when a developer adds so much in just for their love of the game. Things that don’t unlock new content, don’t satisfy any goals, just more fun and interesting stuff to look at and play around in, if you want. Then you get to the last level and it’s such an emotional peak. It’s like the dev spent 7 chapters just teaching us, preparing the player for the final level, and then doesn’t hold anything back.

AND it relates to both Hatch and Kill the K.O.T.H., Hatch specifically could be a lesson in pacing, I recommend that as well for anyone interested.

Started Horizon Zero Dawn. I usually don’t like open world games, but this one has an interesting setting and the gameplay seems fun, so I’m giving it a try.

Finally finished Trails of Cold Steel which was meh. It felt needlessly padded (it could have been shortened to like 30 hours instead of 60 IMO) and there were too many uninteresting characters (I actually can’t think of an interesting one). Hopefully the following games are better, as now the setting should be more interesting.

The Forever Winter. Released in early access due to popular demand. It’s rough, divisive, and difficult as hell. It’s also incredibly grim and hauntingly beautiful. It’s a PvE-only, stealth-based, extraction (non-)shooter where you scavenge resources to survive in the shadow of a military-industrial complex run absolutely amok. You are incredibly underpowered, outnumbered and outgunned, to the point where if you need to start shooting, you’re probably already dead. Gameplay is tense, frightening, and really drives home the overwhelming feeling of being a small fish in a really fucking big pond. It’s the opposite of a power fantasy and I’m really glad someone is doing something that different.

I’m not sure I’d recommend it in the state it’s in, if at all, but it’s definitely making me feel some kind of way. I don’t normally enjoy extraction shooters, but I find myself coming back to this one. Not that it’s really a shooter. Maybe that’s what’s doing it for me. The most divisive part is the water mechanic. It’s a key resource for your settlement; If you run out of water you lose all your stuff. But, it drains in real time not game time so it’s kind of a big commitment at the moment. Personally I understand both sides of the argument and I haven’t decided where I fall yet. It’s definitely worked on me because I find myself thinking about the game when I’m not playing, but if I end up taking a break I’m not sure I’ll have the commitment to build back up from scratch again.

I tried darkwood this weekend, and it’s left me torn. I really enjoy certain aspects about it, but I feel like the pacing is weird.

I finished Still wakes the deep the other day and I thought it was ok. It was an interesting environment to explore, but I didn’t think it was all too scary.

I’m off to find a different horror game to play now.

Got back into Yooka Laylee after a fairly long hiatus. Still on the first 2 levels because of the high amount of exploration and things to do, so I’m not far at all, but definitely having fun.

Lots of Skyrim!
Also this game for Playdate called Spilled Mushrooms, I’d been waiting for it to come out a while. It’s a nice blend of simple card game and puzzle, each round only takes a few minutes. The goal is to pick animals to help collect your mushrooms from different areas, animals have different abilities and each biome can have modifiers. It’s pretty much endlessly replayable and very satisfying once you get into a groove! I’m glad it’s not on more platforms because I’d lose so much more time to it

I need to get UFO 50! It looks like so much fun

Cult of the Lamb - Got this for my birthday from my buddy and it’s been very solid. I see why the reviews hype this game up; it’s a weird rpg with base building elements and that’s right up my alley. I’ve been playing it on the steam deck with a conservative power profile and it’s been a lot of fun.

Tactics Ogre Reborn - I’m a FF Tactics fan and I was told this game would scratch the itch. So far I can say it’s at got a captivating story. It’s great that my choices matter in this game and that character development is based on those choices. The gameplay is familiar and fluid. The AI also seems to scale well with the difficulty setting. I’d say fans of FF Tactics should definitely pick this up.

Late to the party, but I finally picked up Helldivers 2. My friends have had it since it came out, but I was being the “hipster gamer” and didn’t get the popular game. Plus, our group has a tendency to do “flavor of the week”/FOMO gaming, where 1 or 2 people buy a new game, convince/guilt trip others into buying the game, we all spend $30-50 on it, play it for like 2 days, then never touch it again. So I was hesitant to get it, lest I get burned again (a la Starfield). Lastly, I’m also not a huge shooter player.

But I wanted to played with the boys, and they were playing it again recently, so I picked it up. And I’m glad I did. Because it’s fun. Stupid fun even. Which is right up our alley. Already put 20hrs in over the last week.

The mechanics are simple. The missions are straightforward. And I like that it’s a pickup/putdown game. Play a 20-40min round, then come back later or tomorrow. It’s not like we’re playing hours on end, which is great. We’ll play a match or two, then maybe do another before we start signing-off for the night.

I have been playing Evoland Legendary Edition. The 2 games bundled are surprisingly dissimilar, with the first being almost a parody game of extremely short length, and the second being a fairly fleshed-out, 20 hour RPG-lite, with a story of real stakes (highly inspired by Chrono Trigger).

Very worth it if picked up on sale, just be prepared for the tone-whiplash between games.

Echoes of Wisdom

Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree

I’m 160 hours in, completed the base game, and now am on what I believe to be the final boss of the DLC. I got to phase 2 on the first try, only to hit a brick wall lol.

The DLC is a lot bigger than I was expecting, and some of the bosses are the most difficult I’ve faced. The highlight for me has been Cerulean Coast and

Looking forward to NG+ and beyond as I work towards the 100% achievement - speaking of which, it’s a little disappointing how little is required to get it compared to DS1/2/3, especially since ER is so much bigger of a game. I really enjoyed hunting down all the rings for DS3 and felt they could have had a talisman achievement to match in ER.

My favourite moment of the past week was when I summoned two players for a certain boss (another phase 2 kicking my ass), but we got invaded by “Jesus” who just kinda lore-walked around and gestured, and eventually we followed along. Nobody got hurt, and they even gave some gestures of encouragement for us to go beat the boss.

Ilamentia

Very weird indie puzzle/platformer. It feels like a fever dream. You have a FPS view and (some of the time) a set of hands that shoot projectiles (reminds me of Gauntlets of the Necromancer from Heretic), except they don’t necessarily do damage, they interact with the puzzles in each world.

There are some abstract hints for each level, but I find myself really having to think about what’s in front of me to solve the puzzles (in a good way). I noticed a negative review complaining about the game mechanics not being consistent, but I think that is completely intentional and serves the overall feel of the game nicely. It’s not meant to be obvious or easy, you have to figure it out. I don’t think this is a game for everyone, but I am enjoying it for what it is. Apparently there are 96 levels so I’m more than getting my money’s worth.

Bleak Sword DX

Action/roguelike/soulslike? Each world is broken into about 10 levels + boss fights, and from what I can tell there are about 10 worlds. I’m enjoying the feel of the gameplay a lot - blocking and dodging are satisfying like a souls game. The difficulty is starting to ramp up as I work to finish world 3. Surprised I hadn’t heard of this sooner. Probably a good one for Hollow Knight fans, but there isn’t exploration. It’s bite-sized action and it’s done well imo.

Noita

What a game. Alchemy, wand-building, every single pixel is trying to kill you. Especially the water which is also on fire. It’s amazing and highly addictive. I have no idea how large the world actually is yet, since I’ve been busy discovering new ways to blow myself up. Pretty much every run I see something new. This will easily get 100+ hours out of me.

Finished Limbo after it was sitting in my library for years and it was really emjoyable. I did not expect to like it as much as I did but the puzzles were all completely doable (

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Also played through Mouthwashing and was pleasantly disturbed. The lasst 20 minutes get a bit long in the teeth but overall a great experience.

Resident Evil 1 for the first time. The voice acting is very silly.

Don’t oPen that door!

Chris is our old partner ya knoow.

Making my way through Like a dragon: Infinite wealth Loving it so far, and think this might actually be the first Yakuza/LAD game I finish, always got distracted in the past.