Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of September 3rd

Still playing Baldur's Gate 3

17

Judgement - this is basically just Yakuza Kiwami reskinned as a light detective game. I love the Yakuza games so I’m enjoying this. I wish the detective elements were a bit deeper, but they always do a great job stuffing the world with different weird side quests and characters.

Stellaris (console edition) - first time playing. This is Civilization in space. There’s a learning curve of course, so I started out on easy. I like the bit of detail they add in descriptions of strange sci-fi events, although this probably gets repetitive after your first game. They did a great job with the controls for console. Overall I’m enjoying it but it’s very much like Civilization where AI civs hate you for no reason.

Sea of Stars - this is good. I’m around 10-12 hrs in. The story picks up a lot after the dull intro thankfully. I’m slightly disappointed with the music. It’s fine, but none of the tracks are something I really want to listen to again. I’m impressed with the amount of detailed artwork and animation. I like the verticality of the world which adds interest to running around and provides good ways to hide secrets. The battle system is good. The only thing is I wish there was a bit more to the character customization. It’s pretty standard physical/magic attack and defense and there are very few armor and weapon choices so far. Overall, I’m enjoying it a lot.

6

Sea of stars came out of nowhere for me. I played the demo about a week ago and I was hooked. Looks like a great throwback to my favorite era of rpgs and I'm very excited.

2

Baldur's Gate 3

It's incredible so far. I just made it out of Act 1. For the most part, you can come up with plans and ideas on your own, and they'll usually work, which makes you feel like a genius, but I have to call out two times that this specifically did not work the way I thought they would.

some light spoilers ahead

Early on, there's a target that you have to either eliminate or side with, and I choose to side with them, with the express purpose of getting them to let their guard down so that I can separate them from the group and eliminate them. The dialogue options even allude to the fact that this is a strategy they want you to use. This target wants you to sneak into another (good) faction and open a gate for a bloodbath of an assault on that faction, but the target also leaves their battle plans out in the open. So I figure I'd steal the battle plans, give them to the other faction, and just not open the gate, and then that target dies. Well, it doesn't work that way, and progressing that far along with the target invalidates the other quest entirely. Bummer.

The second is a fight right near the end of Act 1 where you've got to eliminate or side with a target again, in a room with a lot of lava, some slaves you can try to rescue, and a lot of enemies. Depending on how the dialogue goes right before the encounter, you either side with the target against the room full of enemies (but the slaves die), or you fight everyone. There are about 15 enemies in the room, which means they get a lot more turns than you, and since they're all grouped in that room, there's no real way to isolate them and take them out stealthily ahead of the encounter. I tried using a bard Performance to get them to all clump up so that I could push large groups of them into the lava, which was fairly effective, but then the slaves would join that group too, and it was very easy to aggro them. Worse still is that the slaves will happily fight you if you aggro them, but they won't join you to fight the other enemies in the room that enslaved them, let alone the target you're trying to eliminate. The only way I found through it was to reload an earlier save and to make different dialogue choices with a particular NPC so that some of those 15 enemies end up on my side in that fight when the time comes.

end of spoilers

The game usually lets me get away with whatever crazy plan I come up with, but I just wish these two points so far were a bit more flexible.

5

For the fight in Grymforge you're talking about, there's also an opportunity to get some of the duergar on your side, which makes the fight a lot more manageable.

Also, the game never explains this, but you know the buttons in the bottom left of the screen during cutscenes? You can use these to trade with characters that don't normally have an option for it, to switch party members to sneak around while the one in conversation distracts an NPC, or to attack before a cutscene finishes playing out. Doing these things can affect the outcome of game events!

2
- Please elaborate on this trading feature! When did it change NPCs/quests? Maybe keep spoilers hidden or to things already discussed here.
  
  1
For your second fight, you can actually get above all the enemies (there's a platform, to access some other parts of the map) and just completely break the AI, because they can't get to you. I don't remember if the slaves even joined the fight, but they all survived.

You can use this "tactic" in multiple locations, if you're not above cheesing fights. If the enemy doesn't have a ranged attack, or have no easy way to get to you, they just run in circles.

1
- I've seen that area but had absolutely no idea how to reach it after looking around for a while.
  
  2
One thing I learned about the game fairly early on (actually in that same area, with a certain imprisoned bear) is that once you do something that makes NPCs hostile, they are going to stay hostile for good. That's not to say there aren't opportunities to flip allegiances a bit, but going fully subversive isn't well-supported. And to a degree, that makes sense; a good DM's going to make it difficult on you, because once you're seen with the enemy, it's going to take a lot of convincing.

For the Grymforge event, you can also just...

spoiler

not excavate and let Nere die in the poison trap.

1
- But again, my expectation is that I had other ways to go hostile against these folks, especially after the goblin camp. But that scenario is basically set up to make that combat encounter next to impossible, but I didn't know that ahead of time, because after you clear the obstruction, the state of the map changes.
  
  1

Currently playing a lot of Minecraft with my daughter and her boyfriend. Have set up a server so we can pop in and out when we want to. Having a blast.

Also playing started playing sea of stars. Beautiful game and excited where it will go.

And there is always time to play another round of enter the gungeon!

5

That’s a really nice idea! And a great way to connect with your children.

2

Metroid Dread on Switch, at the final boss

5

Good luck!

1

Armored Core 6. It's quite different from the earlier games in the series. Some good changes, some bad. I really don't get into Fromsoft's games from the past 12 years and was hoping this would be a return to the old AC style, and in some ways it is, but it mixes in so much from their recent successes that it makes parts of the game really unfun for me.

Either way, I'm glad for more Armored Core.

5

As a fan of the souls borne games, I'm thoroughly enjoying AC6, nearing the end of my first play through, and will likely do at least one lap of NG+

My biggest complaint is that new items are spread out well, seems to be a dump of new stuff then nothing for ages.

4
- Glad you're having fun! I'd say of you're going to do another round, you might as well just go for NG++ as well and see the "true ending". I'm about to wrap up the third playthrough and it really does add a lot of good content. More choices in missions, more parts and weapons, more battles. Each playthrough gets quicker also. Still 1 or 2 bosses that I absolutely despise though.
  
  I agree on the parts rollercoaster. At least they're not too stingy with money so you can actually buy some new stuff when it becomes available instead of having to grind cash.
  
  1

Sea of Stars! It's great so far. I only like turn based RPGs once in a blue moon, and this one really hooked me

5

I'm shelving Baldur's Gate 3 for now after a full run plus more. Had a great time with it, but I think I'd rather wait for more polish first before I tinker with it any more or check out the story branches/side quests in Act 3 I didn't see.

I started playing Hardspace: Shipbreaker and I was surprised at how quickly it grabbed me. The story has a very similar vibe to Papers, Please and something about the UI and the artistic design is reminding me a lot of old space sims. Surprisingly cozy game, though I might look into seeing if I can swap out the music. Don't know if I like what it says about me that I really like games that are work simulators, though.

4

I have Hard space Shipbreaker on my list. I'm hoping it's the type of game you can pick up and play I short, relaxed bursts. Is that how you'd describe it?

2
- For sure. The core gameplay loop is in 15 minute segments, at least at the point I'm at.
  
  3

Baldur's Gate 3 on my partner's days off when he wants to play games, that game is That Game, so freaking good, I think about it all the time. Because I don't want to progress the game past our co-op session's progress, and I've replayed Act 1 solo a few times over by now, I am back with good ol' Skyrim otherwise.

I know it is a meme, but I genuinely have the thing of only modding and not playing Skyrim. I am proud to say I am at a point where I just play, instead of finding more mods. I feel like I have a pretty stable modlist, seldom crash, and this is because last winter I spent a lot of time with the crashlogger thing weeding out problematic mods. It is really hard not to go to nexus, I actually don't visit it anymore at all, it is intense FOMO when I see others' screenshots. My main achievement is that upon returning to Skyrim after a break, I even picked up my same character instead of starting over with fresh mods--it was like, not giving up progress.

4

Been playing Spirit of the North this week. I've actually finished it, including 100% achievement completion, because it's not a huge game. What is really sticking out to me right now, though, is that I adore this game. I like a lot of games, but it's pretty rare for me to absolutely love one.

I've also just finished a run through Baldur's Gate 2, playing a bard for the first time ever. I enjoyed the class more than I thought I would. Onwards to Throne of Bhaal next week!

4

What did you like about Spirit of the North? I got it with PS Plus but haven't bothered with it because it got pretty middling review scores. Looks beautiful though.

2
- So, yeah, the fact that it's a beautiful game is definitely part of it! Visually it's stunning, and the music is also really beautiful. I also think it's superbly written: there's absolutely no dialogue, but there is still a narrative as you play through each area, and I think that's genuinely very hard to do well, but Spirit of the North does. I really got invested in the relationship between the two characters. There's also no combat or fighting in the game, so it's all focused around the platforming and puzzle elements.
  
  I can definitely see why it's not to everyone's tastes. It got "very positive" on Steam, so it's rated more highly on PC than on the PS, and the negative reviews it did get are complaining about either the controls or the game not telling you what you need to do. So the former is fair, I think: the devs focused on making a beautiful game, so it's about the experience, not the mechanics. The controls aren't bad as such, but they're not as smooth as you'd expect for a platformer, I guess? You get the occasional moment of "why didn't I make that jump?" But there's no "miss the jump, die, restart the level" mechanics, so it's normally 1-3 jumps that you need to repeat if you fall. I found the platforming elements really forgiving in terms of not punishing you for screwing up.
  
  The second criticism, that the game doesn't tell you what you need to do, I think is unfair. The direction you need to go in is always the way that feels most intuitive, either because of a path, wall, or just the shape of the terrain. Some of the puzzles need you to stop and think about them, and the game doesn't hold your hand by going "and do this here, and that there, and then that".
  
  The game I'd most compare it to is Abzu, but with more Nordic and less ocean vibes. If you've played Abzu and enjoyed it, then you'll probably enjoy Spirit of the North too.
  
  2

Voices of the Void. Because I like the subtle feeling of dread and knowing any action could result in something horrific.

Factorio. Optimization can always be improved upon.

Kenshi. Finally got my base built. Only cost a few arms and legs.... and some of them weren't mine!

4

Trying to beat Spider-Man before Spider-Man 2 comes out next month. Also finally got around to Stardew Valley. I need to finish off Horizon Zero Dawn. Too many games, not enough time, the exact opposite of my childhood lol!

3

Tarkov

3

Just finished Rakuen not too long ago and I love(d) it. The game play is really simple, any of the puzzles are simple enough, the music is for the most part pretty solid, and the story was pretty good. Nothing to complain about besides how short it is.

Not sure what the next big game I'll be playing is, but I have been thinking about saying screw it and playing Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters again.

3

Baldur's gate 3

3

I am, too.

3

I'm in Act 3 of Baldur's Gate 3 on my main run and keep proliferating new playthroughs instead of finishing the game.

3

Way too much Tetris on an emulated SNES

3

I started playing Children of Morta with my son yesterday and I'm pretty impressed with it. I e tried playing Diablo 3 a couple times and found it really boring, so I assumed dungeon crawlers just weren't really my thing. But I started to find some depth in the combat after a couple runs in CoM, and I quite like the roguelite cycle and progress. We're making pretty slow progress because my son is young and kinda sucks at it, but I'm enjoying it more with him than many other games we've tried.

I also started Baldur's Gate 3 with my partner with it yesterday and am pretty much in love so far. I had similar experiences with both Divinity games but they both were just a liiiitle too long and we would lose steam around the end. Hoping that's not the case with this one.

3

I'm on vacation, so I've returned to my default Steam Deck game: Wildermyth. I love its storytelling, particularly with carrying characters over from one campaign to another. I've grown particularly attached to the warrior from my first campaign, now fully fire-transformed. However, he's moved on from his first love, who is now far too crow-like.

3

I've started playing Ghostrunner. I've really missed level based games, and the gameplay is just thrilling. It's really been a blast trying to go faster than my friends, as well as collecting all the items in some really well designed levels

3

Oh nice! I super want to get Blasphemous 2. I loved the first one.

I’m continuing my slow progress through Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

3

You def should! It's basically an improvement in every way imo over the first. I've heard some don't like the cutscene art style as much but it doesn't bother me

3
- Oh cool! I can’t wait! Cheers!
  
  2
- Had no idea there was a Blasphemous 2 ! Will try
  
  2

Unlike the rest of the answers here, I've been mostly retro gaming this week. Got my new Miyoo Mini Plus handheld emulator and it's been awesome, playing mostly SNES, GBA, Sega Genesis and PS1 games.

Games that I'm playing right now:

Mega Man 7 (SNES)
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (GBA)
The Lord of The Rings: Two Towers (GBA)
Metroid Fusion (GBA)
Prince of Persia 1 (Genesis Romhack)
Crash Bandicoot 1 (PS1)

The awesome thing about the handheld I'm using is that it supports instant saving and game switching, so if I'm getting bored I just press one button and switch to a different game, and jump into exactly where I left off. Or just press the power button and it'll instantly suspend, and pressing it back is again an instant resume. Other modern handhelds are more involved or not pocketable, so this has been perfect for me (especially considering the low weight of the thing). I think I've gamed the most this week compared to any other weeks this year, because of how convenient it is to game on the Miyoo.

3

I’ve heard of Miyoo before. Glad to hear some first hand comments on it. I might be tempted. Is PS1 the newest console it can run? How about N64 or Dreamcast? I guess the controls might be an issue there.

Also, isn’t Metroid Fusion a GBA game rather than Genesis? 😜

1
- My bad, you're right - Metroid Fusion was indeed on the GBA. I was playing Prince of Persia 1 on the Genesis - there's a ROM hack for it which fixes all the issues with the port and makes it behave pretty much like the OG DOS version, with the added graphics of the Genesis version of course.
  
  Sadly the Miyoo is a bit underspecced for the N64 and Gen 6 consoles, so the PS1 is the highest it can emulate. For newer consoles, you'd be looking at something like the Retroid Pocket 3+ or the upcoming Anbernic RG405V, but of course, they're bigger and more expensive. The main reason I prefer the Miyoo is because of how lightweight it is, which allows me to game for hours if I felt like it, and it's size makes it easy to carry around too. But I guess it won't be long before we get to see a future Miyoo, or an alternative in the same form-factor, having the specs to emulate m Gen 6 consoles.
  
  1

Diablo 4. I've been trying to push to get the season objectives done. Right now it's basically sitting around and waiting for the world bosses to show up every six or so hours.
In the meantime I've been running around in the remastered version of Quake. I'm kinda bummed id Software didn't also remaster Scourge of Armagon or Dissolution of Eternity. Still gotta use GZDoom to properly play those.

2

Same here. IMHO Diablo 4 is like a return to the art style of Diablos 1 & 2. And the sound design is top notch.

My biggest disappointment so far is that they kept the Diablo 3 generic necromancer corpses, instead of using actual (but lower quality) corpses like in Diablo 2.

1
Wait, I just played the Quake Remaster in the last 12 months, and all the expansions/addons/DLC/whatever are included.

If I remember correctly, if you launch (through Steam), you either choose the remaster or the old versions, each being a different "game," but in the remaster you can just start the expansion episodes inside the game, no need to launch anything else.

Quake 64 is also included I think, as well as the newer episodes by Machine Games.

1
- Oh, that's good to know. I guess I'll have to take a closer look next time I hop on.
  
  2

Working through the new Guild Wars 2 expansion. Once I'm done with that, it'll probably be back to Baldur's Gate 3, though that might change if it takes me long enough that the new Cyberpunk DLC is out.

2

Working my way through completely exploring the entire world of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I really love this game, but goddamn is it enormous. I'm about 75% in.

And just picked up the switch port of Red Dead Redemption. Really glad to be able to play this one without dragging out the 360. Still an awesome game, and a damn good port.

2

Witcher 3: Blood and Wine Finished hearts of stone last weak. Enjoyed the main quest, but felt much smaller than blood and wine. Love the new and „shiny“ are that came with blood and wine.

2

I picked up Slay the Spire after kinda recently learning about deck building games and how much I apparently love them. Been having a bunch of fun and beat the game for the first time just recently. Now I have to do it with the other characters :3

2

I finished NG of Armored Core 6, it's a good game, and I like it a bit more than other Souls games, largely thanks to how speedy the mech movement is.

I'm going to do bit more NG+, restart Wattam, since I was distracted by some other games previously, and replaying AI The Somnium Files, since I can't remember the story and bought the sequel on sale a few months ago.

2

Just an update, finished NG++ of Armored Core 6. NG+ is NG but with slight variation of the mission, since there was branching paths. NG++ has way more unique content than NG+, and the end is satisfying. Final boss is tough, I needed a couple of attempts, and finally found my older loadout that works better against the boss.

I really enjoyed the game, especially since I am having Souls fatigue. Breaking down the game into missions ala Peacewalker makes the game more manageable, and maybe because it focuses so much on loadout, I find the game bit easier / less frustrating than say Elden Ring.

1

BG3, Battlebit and Starfield.

2

I'm replaying Dark Souls 2 SOTFS with a couple buddies. Have also been playing Dark and Darker which is an incredible early access pvpve dungeon crawler.

2

Oh cool! I’m also replaying that, kind of. I completed the original and this is my first time with SOTFS. I’m loving all the changes so far. Feels so fresh but also familiar. I’m also trying a magic build for the first time. I usually favour dex.

2
- Awesome! Same here actually, played the original when it came out and this is my first time playing through Scholar. Far out, I'm trying out my first sorcerry build, and usually default to str. Subclassing dex so I can use short blades in my off hand
  
  1

Can finally rum 2077 so in the last third or so of that. Flipping over to BATTLE TECH when I need something slower.

2

Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition.

2

Its a mix of CS:GO, The Long Dark and Assetto Corsa for me lately.

I just got the Project Rome mod for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 so I've been playing that quite a bit as well! To any BC2 fans out there, make sure you get Project Rome and start playing again! It's just as fun as it's ever been.

1

Team Fortress 2

The game of all time, ever made.

1

Revisiting battle for wesnoth

1

Valorant, been playing with friends and prepping for the premier games this week. It's the gaming equivalent of a softball or bowling league, fun to practice leading up to a game, with a season that ends in a playoff. Been a lot of fun strategizing, even though we're not high level

1

Mad Max at the moment, getting ready to jump in and check out Starfield once I finish that

1

I love the Mad Max game so much. I've been thinking about replaying it (again) myself.

1
- It is seriously so underrated. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve played it over the years. I was actually really disappointed when they abandoned it so quickly. But honestly it’s just a great game as is. The atmosphere is absolutely perfect.
  
  1

Rogue Legacy 2, Elder Scrolls Online, and I recently found out about this procedurally generated BMX game called Descenders that's kinda tough but fun.

1

Assassin's Creed Origins.

There was a sale so I decided to check it out. It's all right. It's fun to play but the story is lame, I liked the original two better.

1

I recently discovered Manic Miners, a remake of 1999's Lego Rock Raiders, and ever since I've been busy reliving my childhood in 1080p. Now if only someone could remake Lego Racers 1&2...

Beyond that, I found out that the Steam release of Dwarf Fortress totally passed me by last year, and so I've been getting back into that and I keep marveling at the lovely graphics and the mouse control. I'm happy that I can support the creators this way after years of playing the game every once in a while. Still waiting for stuff like Dwarf Therapist, but for the first time I'm playing DF without tons of add-ons and it's actually pretty neat. I'm looking forward to all the FUN I'll be having! :P

1

I finished Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, it was ok. I kinda brute-forced my way through the game, basically only doing physical damage, only using one or two healers (who were shooting at range most of the time). The game had a bunch of really unfun mechanics, that I didn't like at all, so I'm not sure if I'll play any of the other Infinity Engine games.

I also finished the Quake 2 base game and started with the first expansion. Like I said last week, I definitely like the sci-fi environment more than the medieval one in Quake 1 and the weapons are better as well.

Despite being a bit disappointed with BGEE, I still want to play a CRPG right now, so I was going back and forth between a few different ones. In the end I started Pillars of Eternity again, hoping to finally finish it, at least the base story. This was actually my first RTwP game, and I played it years ago, the last time in 2018, when I actually made it to the final dungeon and I think the actual last boss fight of the (base) game, but stopped for some reason. Anyway, I'll give it another shot, and so far I like the gameplay a lot more than Baldur's Gate 1. The game is much more recent of course, although it was only released three years after the Enhanced Edition. Everything feels just much smoother. For a change, I'm playing a wizard this time (BG3 and BGEE I mainly used physical damage, either melee or ranged, 80% of the time).

1

I just played through Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, and the game is incredibly straight forward until you come across some weird thing that nullifies all of your damage; or AoE stuns your entire party; or requires a +3 weapon in order to land a hit; or de-levels your characters; etc. I don't think it's the Infinity Engine to blame so much as the encounter design. It's been about ten years, but I remember having a much better time with Planescape: Torment.

3
- I'm not blaming the Infinity Engine, just the systems that are used in BG, although I have no idea how much comes from the D&D rules, and how much was Bioware. I would have thought all those games use very similar rules, but I don't really know.
  
  At least in the first game, I didn't encounter too many problems. Of course there are a bunch of mages, that just regularly cast Feeblemind or another "stun" on my whole party, but that's where the brute forcing came into play. I'd either reload a bunch of times, until I got lucky with the rolls, or occasionally split up the party, so just the unimportant characters would get hit, and my main character would clean up the fight. Three fights were a bit harder, so I chugged potions and used buffs (the two demons from the Durlag's Tower story and the final boss).
  
  In the mid 2000s I played the beginning of Neverwinter Nights, and remember liking it, but not really anything else about the game. Back then, I definitely didn't know what D&D was. I always wanted to try it again, but now, after BG, I'd read up about it a bit before I give it a shot.
  
  Planescape Torment was also something I regularly thought about playing, mainly because I read so much about how you can just talk yourself through most conflicts, so if you play your cards right, you can get away with little fighting. But just like Neverwinter, I'd have to read up on the systems they use before I decide.
  
  1

Tried the demo for System Shock remastered and finally started Jet Set Radio with the release of the spiritual successor. They did not age well for me, but I could see why they were popular back in the day

1

Got Gotham Knights on sale. After all the patches, it seems to be pretty stable and so far I'm enjoying it. It's certainly not amazing, but for $15aud it's pretty good. Also trying out SYNCED and I like the aesthetic so far, but gameplay/controls are a bit mushy. It also runs like a dog with pretty inconsistent FPS.

1

I recently finished Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. it’s a fun game, but I’d say it was a bit expensive for the overall length and simplicity of it. Still, I really enjoyed it.

I also downloaded the free version of Shadow Warrior on GoG. I am not playing it blind since I watched Civvie-11’s video on it already, but it’s way harder than I expected. It’s my first time playing a build engine game, but the weapons and combat feel very intense and satisfying to use despite the technical limitations of games back then. I think I will keep on playing on “who wants some wang” for now, but it’s taking some perseverance. Lo Wang is hilarious though, and it’s making the game way funnier than I expected. If I keep on enjoying it this much, I may give other old shooters a try as well.

1

Trine 5. Loving it so far.

1

Just finished Trine 4 with my son! I'd never played one before but it was really a great little co-op experience. I'll keep an eye on 5.

1

I bought Elemental Survivors recently and it's been pretty fun so far, i'm using a character that has this garlic-adjacent spell (an aoe Vampire Survivors spell) and it's super satisfying to kill mobs with.

Apart from that i've just been playing Left 4 Dead 2 (mostly updating my mods tho) and Magic Survival and I Love Hue on mobile.

1