What are you currently playing?

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Now that I have the movement abilities up to the part where you get the glide feather, I'm having more fun with Ori.  There's a sense of progression similar to an RPG in the better platform adventures.

There are some tricky (and optional) platforming puzzles later in the game that I spent 15-20 minutes on.  Double jump dash into launch dash double jump, into launch double jump dash in between spikes and obstacles.  But it is all very fluid.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

There are some tricky (and optional) platforming puzzles later in the game that I spent 15-20 minutes on.  Double jump dash into launch dash double jump, into launch double jump dash in between spikes and obstacles.  But it is all very fluid.

It's not just the optional segments.  Some escape sequences like the one in Luma Pools make me wonder how someone who HASN'T played platformers since the end of the Super Nintendo is expected to complete them.  Difficulty settings are barely relevant when most of the challenge is in the jumps.  A lot of kids are going to be frustrated when their parents buy them Ori and the Will of the Wisps!


The only "Will of the Wisp" left for me to find is in the east, past the Feeding Grounds. . .

[Bobchillingworth]

Finally started playing Cyberpunk 2077 for real; they patched the game five months after release to allow for binding movement to the arrow keys, though incredibly to this day they still force you to use the "F" key for most interaction and confirmation prompts. I was able to edit the config file without breaking the game this time though, so I rebound it to my preferred option. Now I'm in the tutorial mission, and my character keeps sprinting whenever I try to move while crouching, which is apparently a known bug, based on Reddit posts from six months ago. Unreal how incredibly sloppy CD Projekt's work has become, though their environment designers did a pretty awesome job.

[yuris125]

I'm getting sucked into Final Fantasy 14. Send help

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Finished Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Normal.  It was fun to go through once when it was on sale for $15, though I doubt I'll replay it.  Platforming sections near the end were tricky, and the final boss killed me more than once when it destroyed the whole floor.  There was an elevator fight section before the last area, because I guess the developers had to conform to the Beat Em Up Act of 1992.


As for FF14, I predict that Square Enix will release an expansion that will somehow ruin it and save yuris125 from the game.  Isn't that usually how MMORPGs work?


Based on Bobchillingworth's comments, Cyberpunk 2077 sounds like it be improved by Bethesda or Obsidian programmers. . .circa the launch of Fallout New Vegas.  Did CD Projekt use the Witcher staff for Cyberpunk 2077, or was it a new team or something?

[Bobchillingworth]

From what I understand it was mostly a new team, though they probably had all hands being on deck for the notorious crunch period. The core team which made Witcher 3 such a hit is probably working on Witcher 4; they've been teasing that they may have an adventure set in some sort of fantasy Japan-equivalent.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Just finished Outer Wilds. It was the best.

It is a game where you explore a small solar system, sort of in the vein of Myst but with more game and less puzzle: an actual amazing 3d environment, first person platforming / orbiting / careening with a jetpack, and not so much deduction. For me it had the best ratio of epiphany to frustration of anything I've experienced. It also has a lovely aesthetic with strains of space exploration enthusiasm, camping, awe, and whimsy.

Highly recommend. Trying to avoid spoiling anything because the whole game is discovery.

I have had this game for a while and finally started playing it yesterday.  It is definitely a lovely game.  Great concept.  Great music.  My only real frustration so far is that some of the controls for platforming and piloting your spacecraft are a little more finicky than I would wish for a game based around exploration.  That said, I also highly recommend this one.

[scooter]

Just finished Outer Wilds. It was the best.

It is a game where you explore a small solar system, sort of in the vein of Myst but with more game and less puzzle: an actual amazing 3d environment, first person platforming / orbiting / careening with a jetpack, and not so much deduction. For me it had the best ratio of epiphany to frustration of anything I've experienced. It also has a lovely aesthetic with strains of space exploration enthusiasm, camping, awe, and whimsy.

Highly recommend. Trying to avoid spoiling anything because the whole game is discovery.

I have had this game for a while and finally started playing it yesterday.  It is definitely a lovely game.  Great concept.  Great music.  My only real frustration so far is that some of the controls for platforming and piloting your spacecraft are a little more finicky than I would wish for a game based around exploration.  That said, I also highly recommend this one.

Another +1 to Outer Wilds. I too found some controls and moments a tad frustrating, but the experience itself was well worth it. The conclusion in particular was beautiful and satisfying. The NoClip documentary on it was also excellent and highly recommened to anyone who has finished the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbY0mBXKKT0.

Finished Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Normal.  It was fun to go through once when it was on sale for $15, though I doubt I'll replay it.  Platforming sections near the end were tricky, and the final boss killed me more than once when it destroyed the whole floor.  There was an elevator fight section before the last area, because I guess the developers had to conform to the Beat Em Up Act of 1992.

Did you play the first Ori game by any chance? I liked the first one, but absolutely loved the sequel because I thought it cleaned up most of the issues the first one had that bothererd me - meh combat, inconsistent difficulty curve, escape sequences that were more frustrating than cool. I wonder if I enjoyed WotW more specifically because it cleaned up those things, and maybe not having that background would have lessened it at all.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Did you play the first Ori game by any chance? I liked the first one, but absolutely loved the sequel because I thought it cleaned up most of the issues the first one had that bothererd me - meh combat, inconsistent difficulty curve, escape sequences that were more frustrating than cool. I wonder if I enjoyed WotW more specifically because it cleaned up those things, and maybe not having that background would have lessened it at all.

Never played Ori and the Blind Forest, and don't plan to.  The main reason for me not being as impressed as some reviewers is that there's a LOT of competition in the 2D platformer genre.  My expectations for this type of game were set in 1996-1997 with the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Super Mario World, Kirby Super Star, and Yoshi's Island.  It's hard to get to the "5 star" tier unless you do something weird.


("Interconnected platformer" isn't the same as those Super Nintendo games, but even discounting those, Ori has to compete with Symphony of the Night.)


My next game will be Dead Cells when it comes in the mail.  Never played a "Souls" type before, so it ought to be interesting.  However, Dead Cells isn't the first "roguelite" platformer for me since I played Rogue Legacy before joining Realms Beyond.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

My next game will be Dead Cells when it comes in the mail.  Never played a "Souls" type before, so it ought to be interesting.  However, Dead Cells isn't the first "roguelite" platformer for me since I played Rogue Legacy before joining Realms Beyond.

Dead Cells is probably my favorite roguelite platformer, period.  I first played it for free on Xbox Live Game Pass, and I liked it so much I repurchased it on Steam and started from scratch when my free Game Pass trial ended.  The music is fantastic.  The gameplay fast, silky and rewarding.  I prefer Hades overall, but it's probably a solid #2 in the overall "rogue" canon for me.

I believe they just nerfed it this patch as part of an overall rebalancing of nearly every item and trait in the game, but I recommend

the electric whip with a bunch of purple upgrades

if you find yourself struggling. It's stronk.