What Are You Playing Right Now? (bideo games)

I just came back from beating Demon's Souls (Great game, not as good as Dark Souls, but still totally worth the time) and I'm still going through Fire Emblem Fates Conquest (Loving it. The maps are just so good) and recently started Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight because I needed a Metroidvania

 

I haven't tackled a video game with an actual storyline in a while. Been playing too much League lately, though I'm getting excited for Dark Souls 3. I'm about to start a playthrough of the first two games, since I've gone through Bloodborne a couple times now. I'd really like to continue with it, but the DLC is way too difficult for my character in her current state, so I'm waiting for a pal of mine to swing by and play through it with me.

 

And then Muddy comes and reminds me that I'm also probably going to start up a new gameplay slot of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow again, too. I've been feeling too dang nostalgic for too many games at once! Conquest is absolutely amazing, too - I agree. Haven't played any of the Souls games, but am deeply invested in the Witcher franchise (a series that I hear has a very similar combat system to Dark Souls?) to the point that I'll one day buy a PS4 or Xbox One just to play Wild Hunt. Good times ahead.

 

I've been vaguely interested on the Witcher due to everybody raving about 3, but not enough to actually get one and try it out. Mind trying selling me on the game?

I also forgot to mention that I'm going through the Bravely Second demo and it's great. I completely forgot how much fun Bravely Default was and I really want Second now.

 

Well, today is my birthday and I will be "present" of Witcher 3 today or tomorrow. My expectation is that Witcher 3 will be a Fable like game, but I will post an update on how I enjoy it.  Another game I want to play is paper mario, thousand year old door for gamecube, which in all reality is a far off wish. Wii U only plays wii and wii u games haha

I cannot seem to get into the newer DK series.

 

@Muddy - Well, here's why I'm a fan of the Witcher games - it takes its cues from a series of books extremely popular in Poland by author Andrzej Sapkowski. Unlike other adaptations, however, these are seen as an extension of the franchise instead of a retelling, taking place where the books left off and offering you, the player, to forge a path and create your own continued canon throughout the three titles. Through branching story paths crafted by your choices, you invoke yourself into the character of Geralt of Rivia, who already is a sinewy, multi-layered anti-hero of a character to begin with. The baseline storyline itself is set upon the infrastructure of a book series that has created a vast world to explore brimming at its seams with interesting characters; it's one of those few games where nearly every NPC feels fully invested in their world and not all entirely useless, and where you're taken on a narrative journey with turns that make sense whilst still having the sense to captivate as any overblown twist in any other contrived series would tenfold.

The combat is very similar to Dark Souls, from what I've seen. The games hardly pull their punches in terms of combat difficulty and you're given a range of options at your disposal when it comes to dispatching enemies. As a Witcher, a human who has modified themselves through intensive training, conditioning, and rituals, to become a mercenary for hire with a variety of magical spells at hand, you're given an individualistic character with spells to use in and out of battle in unique ways, who is also adept with swinging around and shooting with a bunch of different weapons. So, the gameplay is always varied and never quite feels samey, so that's a major plus, too.

Overall, I can see some footing as per this becoming one of my favorite series... once I finally get to play Wild Hunt myself, probably. I've only played the second in the series, but it is absolutely a fantastic game - among the very best that I've ever played.

 

The Witcher is pretty awesome. I just got to play it about two weeks ago. Really hard, but that's a good mechanic for the player to gain skill and understanding of the battle system quickly on.

As for what I've been playing, Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth, Tales of the Abyss, Melee (of course), and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.

 

As work ramps up again and I have less time for games than I'd want, I'm still staggering through TPHD at a snail's pace but am finding more fun, for the time being, given the short spurts that I even have to game in, with Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire. I'd never played it before I bought it in a whim a couple of days ago on the Wii U eShop, but I did have some great fun with the original Pokemon Pinball, so I went in with high hopes. These hopes weren't tarnished. It's a fantastic game that reminds me well of when I first came into loving Pokemon with Sapphire on the GBA back in 2003, prior to gearing on back to play Crystal and Yellow thereafter. I can't imagine paying $30 for it back in the day, but it is very much well worth the $8 that I smacked down for it.

 

Playing through Super Mario 3D World again and, while I would wish for a real overworld hub and just that much more of a lightweight, but effective general plotline, it really is a fantastic title. At just $20, it is an absolute steal whether you're going to be going in solo or playing in conjunction with friends and family. I'd actually forgotten just how great it is and am enjoying a pleasant stroll through it all over again.

 

Still keeping up with some Twilight Princess HD when I can, but I'm mostly attached at the hip to Star Fox Zero, right now. It's such a fantastic game that it's a shame that the control scheme really does mire it, at times, but it's meant to be played in an arcade style. The more that you play it, the better you get and the better it feels to play. Would I have preferred a traditional control scheme? Hell yes, especially if it meant getting real multiplayer modes involved in it. At the same time, it isn't a bad game by any means. I'd knock off a point for the controls and lack of multiplayer, but it still garners a solid 7/10, in my mind, and has been a joy to play. 

Is anyone else here even remotely interested in Star Fox?

 

Oh yeah, I love Star Fox Zero. My only complaints are how slow and cumbersome the Gyrowing stages are (Reeeally breaks the flow) and the fact there's only one final boss. Other than that, it's great. I got used to the controls rather quickly and see what they were going for. They just shouldn't force it onto everybody. I give it like, a high 7/10, totally get it if you find it on sale someday. Also, Star Fox Guard is fun and I hate the tower defense genre.

I also played through 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and its sequel Virtue's Last Reward and I highly, /highly/ recommend this series. The writing is excellent (aside from one massive asspull that made me yell "are you serious" in the first game), the puzzles are great (Especially in the sequel) and the twists are just brilliant. You guys have to play these games. Like really.

 

HYPER. LIGHT. DRIFTER.

Dude, I've been so eagerly following this game ever since the Kickstarter campaign a few years back. Advertised as having the gameplay of classics like the old-school 2D Zeldas and Secret of Mana, this game honestly hits all the right notes for me. I can't express just how much fun I'm having with it. I just had a grueling tussle (more like a slugfest) with the first boss and it was glorious. The graphic style is really neat, although I knew I would love the game's aesthetics from the moment I laid eyes on the promotional work for it. The music is eerie and plays perfectly into the experience. The gameplay -- oh, the gameplay. It handles like a dream.

Although I will confess that the hitboxes can be a little misleading... I feel like more than once I've looked at the screen with my hands up as though I'm looking for some sort of referee to give an official call. Maybe that's just an Eebit issue, though.

Also, there's no dialogue that I've yet encountered -- all of the story (at least thus far) is conveyed to you through graphics or cutscenes. So if you're someone who appreciates an NPC telling you where to go next... well, it definitely hearkens back to the JRPGs of yesteryear. The direction is mostly intuitive, but sometimes you just want to confirm things with an NPC character, y'know?

 

I've decided to go for another run through Red Dead Redemption completely on a whim, and damn is it still a great game. I hope its sequel is finally announced at E3 and it ends up being everything that I know it can be.

Also going through Skyrim again, which has been some good fun, too.

 

Am I going to do a shitty game review???? Maybe.
boy he boutta do it
---

So. My birthday's this month. And @CodastertheDisaster, being the dude guy bro person that he is, made me give up a name of some video game for him to buy.

So I guess we should all thank him; without that, I wouldn't have had this experience and you guys wouldn't have this damn sexy post yOU'RE WELCOME.

And so, without further ado, my fellow ZEJians...

Spoiler: I present to you...!

​

 |★★★★★|​

“You are on a boat at sea.​

Also, you are dead.”​

Spoiler: Story

Story

   A fairly simplistic narrative at face-value. You are dead; a ghost. You're on a boat. Why are you dEAD AT SEA??? The purpose of this game is to find out who you are and to unravel said mystery.

   It's a truly engaging and intense little mystery game, plot-wise. Seeing the connections between things as they click into place is a major aspect of my enjoyment in this game— And a key part of mystery games, imo. As most mysteries go, that sort of thing is pretty intense. On the one hand, you have the moments of victory when you see how to next solve the mystery. On the other, there's the unsettling twin side to that, in which you have the moments of clarity as to the truth.

   It's really a neat little story and it's one of those narratives that gets me actually meaningfully invested.

Spoiler: Characters

Characters

   Of course, any narrative can fall flat with a dull cast. Thankfully, this is not that narrative. It is quite easy to get invested in the individual passengers of the ship. I'll discuss that more in the next section, though. While it's a relatively short game (It took me about 2-3 hours), the characters have ample time to shine. Each one has it's own unique personality, and each one manages to be an intriguing and human character. Their strong personalities shine through in every aspect of them— their text sounds, their appearance, their animations, their speech. There're two other great aspects where their personalities really shine, but I'll get into that in the next section as it's more relevant.

Spoiler: Gameplay

Gameplay

   Why Am I Dead At Sea is a game of walking. You will be spending this game walking and interacting and talking. Your core mechanic is possession— as a ghost, you can possess the various passengers and use them as your physical vessel to accomplish speech and action.

   There are two tiers of possession. A basic possession, in which you can move the character around and speak, etc. However, in a basic possession you are essentially just sharing their body, you can only guide them and their dialogue options are what they would say themselves. A full possession gets unlocked after "understanding" a character better. In this, a passenger truly becomes your vessel. Full possessions are for when you don't need to control a specific character, but need to take direct action as the ghost. In this type, for example, you unlock speech options for things that the vessel characters are unaware of.

   While the ghost is truly your character, the ability to possess the passengers (which is a required part of progression) makes each one feel a bit like you, in a way. The attachment we feel to our PC gets extended and distributed among the cast. For example, there is a scene with character A and B. You would be B. B and A have an interaction that is essentially a fight. When this is over, you will probably end up possessing character C to further your mission. At that point, you'll have to talk with B as C. When B references A, it's as though they're referencing the ghost (Your 'main' PC, you could say). For me, it was less a moment of "!! look at how they're reacting to A, what an interesting way to also show how the relationship between the characters was affected" and more a moment of "!!! Oh no??? We're A!?!?! I can't believe we made B feel this way."

    It could just be me being stupid, but yes, I feel like the PC aspect helps build better attachments to all these characters. You think of them less as outside characters to interact with, and you feel like you have a greater impact on the story.

    The game encourages talking to everyone as different characters and really exploring the possibilities, which I encourage too...!

The two aspects mentioned in the Characters section:
    - Each character has a "special skill" for when they're possessed. You can edit the button for this from the option screen. This is also pretty neat for characterization. A non-spoilery example that doesn't give away too much: If you possess a cat, it's skill is jumping.
    - There's a second skill other than possession that you'll get. It's pretty cool...! You'll know it when you see it, but I really shouldn't say any more.

 

Hey, good on Cody. That's stellar that he picked you something right on up. Now that is the viking way.

As for your review, I think I'd go with "damn sexy" before I ever would "shitty", given your two very separate word choice parameters and all. :5 You make a compelling case for Why Am I Dead at Sea that makes me feel like I want to give it a whirl, as well. I'm definitely looking up some gameplay videos later today, at the very least.

All the same, I never even knew we shared the same birth month. LOL. What a doozy, and how fitting. :5 Cheers to that upcoming glorious event!

 

Currently playing through an obscure Action RPG for the PS3 called Nier and it's... Really, really sad. You play as a father trying to save your daughter who is the only remaining member of your family from an incurable disease called the Black Scrawl. And the whole game is just depressing. Sure, there are some silly moments, but the general atmosphere is just down and everybody has gone or will go through some shit. Nobody catches a break. You gain a half-human that has been rejected by humanity, a boy that has the uncontrollable ability to petrify anything he sees so he's effectively blind and a magic posh-accented egotistic floating book as party members. The world is dreary and on the brink of annihilation due to a race of beings that spawn in the dark called Shades and very few people have the physical capacity to actually combat them.

There's even this one short sidequest where some random old guy asks you to find his lost dog. I expected to find it dead due to how the game is and I was right. But, it was dead holding a leaf in its mouth and surrounded by Shades. I fight through them, retrieve the dog's memento and head back to town only to find the old man's son in the quest giver's place. I talk to him and find out that the old man died to a heart attack while I was out and that the leaf I found with the dog would have actually saved him. And that's just a completely optional sidequest, the game is much, much heavier.

Oh yeah, and the OST. The OST is marvelous. Every song is just a melancholic treat to ears when it isn't pumping you up for some great and off the wall boss battle. The gameplay isn't anything that special outside of bosses, but the game really shines in atmosphere, characters and music. I really recommend it for people that feel like going through something that's constantly trying to make you feel down.