What are you currently playing?

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Finished Sakuna:  Of Rice and Ruin today. 


Low enemy variety is the main flaw holding Sakuna back from a 5 star rating, especially in an action RPG.  You'll see the same rabbits, birds, boars, and deer everywhere, from the forest to an active volcano.  Some areas introduce other foes, like clams in the water levels, but they're not enough for a 25-30 hour game.  Awkward platforming is another problem.  Sakuna doesn't jump very high, and grappling with her short "raiment" is annoying.


Don't expect Dead Cells combat when you play Sakuna, but it is satisfying to slam monsters into each other!  A charged Boiling Rage can blunt damage and make for an effective attack too.  Instead of a dodge roll, you can use the raiment to whip around to the other side of an enemy.  Sakuna's stat growth will appeal to RPG fans.  Once your Strength is high enough, you can go back to earlier areas and one-shot old bosses.


Sakuna's rice farming is what makes the game stand out from other action RPGs, and even other farming games like Rune Factory.  You have to manage details such as how far apart you plant seeds, raising and lowering the water level, adding nutrients to the soil with fertilizer, pulling weeds, and more.  Labor-saving devices are acquired throughout the game.  At the beginning, Sakuna has to till by hand, but by the end you have a cow that can plow the rice paddy in seconds.  Sakuna has to pound rice with a mortar and pestle at first, and eventually gains a water wheel to do it automatically. 


Levels are gained by growing better rice, not by fighting monsters.  Monsters do yield materials and Amber that can be used to create better equipment and increase the effect of enchantments.  Cooking gives you temporary stat gains and other bonuses.  For example, you'll want Poison Resistance before exploring the toxic gas caves around the volcano.


Sakuna is an impressive game considering the small development team, and I'd want to play a sequel.  Apparently it sold well enough to get Spirit representation in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

There was a Switch Eshop sale this afternoon, so I picked up Going Under and Crypt of the Necrodancer.  Going Under is the "roguelite" where you beat up startup employees with office supplies, if you're not familiar with it.  Necrodancer is more of a gamble, since I don't know how good I'll be at a rhythm game.  (Though there is the Bard if all else fails.)


EDIT:  Forgot to mention that I found the "GIT GUD" quote in Dead Cells today.  The player character thinks it's an "incantation".

[Bobchillingworth]

Still playing Cyberpunk 2077; the quality improved significantly past the fairly rough early game, and I've been enjoying the experience. To rate the game by way of increasingly effusive superlatives, it's never less than a good experience, being very good more often than not, occasionally excellent, and having rare moments which approach the sublime.

Too often though something will occur which snaps me out of the moment and makes it all too clear that the game was rushed to completion. Textures randomly fail to load, the game refuses to recognize certain keys for several seconds at a time (the number pad and what the game insists is "mouse button four" are particularly susceptible), an intriguing game mechanic is brought up a few times and then permanently discarded, a sidequest or character arc terminates just when it's getting good. Even the main quest seems like it's only around 70% complete, and though I haven't formally played through it, from reading spoilers it doesn't sound like any of the endings are particularly satisfying.

The world the developers created is incredibly detailed, gorgeous, and a lot of fun to just explore (even if the number of secrets to uncover are like 10% what you'd get from any given Fallout game), and CD Projekt was fairly good about releasing quality content for Witcher 3, so the canvass is there if they want to complete their work. They're apparently busy trying to crowdfund (???) weeb comic books about Geralt of Rivia though, and promoting some shitty mobile game, so my faith in their corporate leadership is not yet restored.

[Tarkeel]

I just picked up Mini Motorways, having previously enjoed Mini Metro. The game is differently enough to justify it, and it's a nice little thing. Starts out quite relaxing, but turns into chaos management during the course.

[AdrienIer]

I just picked up Mini Motorways, having previously enjoed Mini Metro. The game is differently enough to justify it, and it's a nice little thing. Starts out quite relaxing, but turns into chaos management during the course.

Agreed, it's a very nice game whether you've played Mini Metro before or not.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

They're apparently busy trying to crowdfund (???) weeb comic books about Geralt of Rivia though, and promoting some shitty mobile game, so my faith in their corporate leadership is not yet restored.

"CD Projekt Red is launching a Kickstarter for a full-length Witcher manga where Geralt meets Japanese folklore".


You weren't kidding!  Your money would be better spent on Sakuna:  Of Rice and Ruin if you want a Japanese folklore story.


Thoughts on the games I mentioned in the previous post:


Crypt of the Necrodancer-The rhythm mechanic is NOT for me, even if it's well made.  Playing with the Bard feels like a standard "bump attack" roguelike, if one with better music and more tactical movement than, say, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.  Don't know how long I'll stick with this one.  If I'm going to play a traditional roguelike, I prefer something like Tales of Maj'Eyal.   


Going Under:  I may not be from the Pacific Northwest, but I still relate to some of the satire in this game.  Especially the part about unpaid work that allegedly gives you "exposure".  You can talk to the other employees at the company to learn more about them and take on sidequests to get passive "mentor" bonuses from them".  The other form of progression is artifacts gained from bosses and passive skills that you can equip before runs.  The fact that you can only equip one skill is disappointing, since most players are going to pick "giant weapons". 


Combat itself is a basic beat em up with dodge rolls, and may not be enough to carry the game to the conclusion.  Weapons in Going Under are even more brittle than in Breath of the Wild, so you're constantly grabbing new objects to swing at enemies.  Apps for your phone are the equivalent of spells.  My favorite app uses the "Internet of things" to make objects around the room crash into enemies, but it only gets one use before it disappears.


I'm trying to find the next Dead Cells, and am failing so far.  Perhaps Risk of Rain 1 + 2 for the Switch (both on the same cartridge) will be a contender.

[Bobchillingworth]

Give CrossCode a try; it's not really like Dead Cells, but I think you might enjoy it.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Give CrossCode a try; it's not really like Dead Cells, but I think you might enjoy it.

Why do you recommend Crosscode, out of curiosity?  I hear some good things about it, but also that the puzzles are irritating.  (Though they also say you can turn down puzzle difficulty.)


Still playing Going Under for now.  I've cleared the StyxCoin dungeon.  Enemies have pickaxes and you can ride around on mine carts, since the jokes in this game are based on taking economic concepts and making them literal.  One of my favorite moments was taking the "Curse of the Graduate" from the vampire, which attached a ball and chain that said "DEBT" to Jackie for a few battles.  Going Under's humor won't make you laugh out loud, but it is usually cute.  Think of it like a better version of a bad political cartoon, if that makes sense.


(Curses give you passive skills and occasionally healing.  It's like Blazing Beaks, except you get the benefits from the curse immediately instead of having to wait for the next shop.)


The first dungeon, Joblin, was more about temp agencies or the "gig economy".  The twist was that the goblins had to take any task that was offered, sight unseen.

[Bobchillingworth]

I've sung its praises elsewhere on this site, but pretty much every element of it is excellent; graphics (for what they are), writing, music, gameplay, even the puzzles (which are sometimes hideously difficult, but as you note can be made much easier). The basic presentation will be familiar to anyone who played the SNES / Gameboy-era Zelda games, but the gameplay is its own creature and not derivative of something which employed the same concepts better.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Going Under:  After defeating Marv in the forbidden portal, your employer Fizzle "goes under" just like Joblin, StyxCoin, and Winkydink.  To prevent the employees from becoming fish people, Jackie has to complete harder versions of the three main dungeons.  But the developers were too ambitious here. 


The "True Founder" quests aside from maybe Joblin are excessively difficult for the mechanics presented.  Rooms in Going Under are tight spaces, and you have no better evasion than a mild dodge roll.  Enemies have more health, and although there are new weapons, they are mostly the same as on "normal" difficulty.  Even Steam comments lack the usual "GIT GUD" advice for "roguelites", and admit that you have to have a powerful Mentor and the right skills equipped to stand a chance.  Mentors are under complete player control, but. . .


Only 1 skill is guaranteed each time you challenge a dungeon, so if you're planning on, say, a throwing build, you might be out of luck.  Going Under skills have the same problem as Dead Cells weapons in that unlocking new ones decreases the chances of getting the ones you want.  (Does anyone ever select the skill that gives you ping pong balls?)  Picking Ray as your Mentor gives you an extra random skill per dungeon floor, but it rules out being able to use Kara for a phone app magic setup, for one example.  Going Under would have been a better game if you could guarantee maybe 3 skills at the cost of finding fewer skills in the dungeon.


EDIT:  Skill descriptions in Going Under are sometimes jokes rather than information, and you'll have to look them up online to find out what they do.


Risk of Rain 1:  I just received my copy of Risk of Rain 2 for Switch in the mail, and it came with Risk of Rain 1 on the same cartridge.  Although it's a 2D platformer "roguelite", it's quite different from Dead Cells.  Risk of Rain is much more of an RPG since you gain levels directly from killing enemies, as opposed to finding scrolls for your chosen weapon color.  The player character isn't as maneuverable either, so you'll mainly be shooting your way through the levels.  Money can be used to purchase items with passive bonuses.


The gimmick of Risk of Rain is the timer.  The longer it takes you to go through the levels, the more the difficulty increases.  This forces the player to balance leveling and item finding with getting to the teleporter quickly to avoid being overwhelmed with powerful enemies.  I wanted to play Risk of Rain 1 first to avoid it being overshadowed by the higher budget 3rd person shooter sequel when I get around to it, and so far it's fun!  There are still many items and characters to unlock. . .