What are you currently playing?

[scooter]

A few games I've played in the last few months.


Animal Well: Really enjoyed this. I generally like metroidvanias, but the exploration element is usually the thing I care about the most. This one really nails it. It just has such a mysterious yet relaxed vibe to it. Not particularly difficult, though if you have a completionist streak (I do not), finding all the secrets independently seems borderline impossible. But if you're willing to just go with the flow it's a really great time.


Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (HD Remake): I had never played this one before, so it was all new to me in this Switch remake. I came away feeling mixed. On one hand, there's a lot of great stuff here, and I definitely understand why people love it. On the other hand, this game was a slog at times. Way too talky for a game with dialogue that just isn't anything special, loads of time wasting/backtracking, etc. To be fair, I think if the text just moved faster it would have solved like half the problem for me, though.


Humanity: Incredibly inventive and unique puzzle game that I loved. They do a really impressive job of continually adding new wrinkles to the formula without individual puzzles becoming too overwhelming. There's a few puzzles along the way that are duds, but in general I loved this one.

[Gustaran]

Anyone else playing Balatro at the moment? Just tried it for the first time this past weekend. I blinked and an hour had gone by.

I'll bump this and point out that the mobile version of Balatro was released just a few weeks ago and the game plays nicely on a tablet.

I've been playing a lot of "Luck be a Landlord" recently. In the beginning it looks very much like a  luck based slot machine game, but it's surprising how much you actually can improve your win percentage on the highest difficulty once you really understand it. It's available on Steam as well as mobile.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/14048..._Landlord/

[naufragar]

Haphazard, on your suggestion I picked up Dice & Fold. It's very cute! Don't know what I'm doing, but it's charming.

If anybody is looking for more dice games, Slice & Dice has become one of my favorite games of all time. There's a demo on steam and mobile. The elevator pitch is "dice-based final fantasy." It's rule set is lightweight, but the sheer amount of characters, items, enemies, etc. make it mesmerizing.


I recently picked up Mechabellum and have been loving it. It's an autobattler with big robots. I haven't really played much in the genre, so I can't compare it to the big names, but I'm loving the flavor and mechanics.

[haphazard1]

Glad you are enjoying Dice and Fold, naufragar. Have fun!

Slice and Dice has been on my wish list for a while. I did not realize there was a demo; I will check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Japper007]

Bought Dragon Age Veilguard yesterday and somehow already put 6 hours in it. Really fun Action Adventure /RPG. It's sorta like a soulslike now, with some Path of Exile mixed in and of course the NuBioware writing/design (which can get a little grating but is overall still some of the best you get outside of Obsidian, and the slick cutscene production is top of the line). It is great to see that they've finally embraced full action combat rather than the awkward blend of CRPG and action they had in 2 or Inquisition. And they did good with the combat, it's very engaging.

Also thank the Maker you can finally play it without needing to install their homebrew malware on your PC. (Had to play the last titles on my Xbox 360 so I could play offline)

[shallow_thought]

I recently picked up Mechabellum and have been loving it. It's an autobattler with big robots. I haven't really played much in the genre, so I can't compare it to the big names, but I'm loving the flavor and mechanics.

I've been dabbling in Mechabellum for a while now, but probably watching more than I've played - I find the duel, all-or-nothing aspect of each game a little stressful. It's mechanics are really interesting though, IMO. I would think it would appeal to the RB mindset.

[superdeath]

Got into the Alpha for Ashes of Creation, a new MMORPG that has been in the works for awhile. Has a whole lot going for it: 64 different class combinations (on release) taming, player driven economy and world.. Your actions matter, PvPvE so you can technically be attacked whenever (and there are caravan quests you can do where you defend or attack one for loot) BUT if you dont flag yourself for PVP, the aggressor gets a nice colored name and their gear drops upon death. Has a bunch of tradeskills, mounts, mega-expansive area. No fast travel so when you journey somewhere it will actually feel like you are adventuring.