Kraven

@Rees Exactly this. I understand the trepidation behind the motorcycle and the possible open world, but I can guarantee that MP4 is going to be more of the same as always — a good thing, mind you — and have a lot of secrets up its sleeve. I think this is why we aren’t seeing a ton of footage; to maximize discovery. Now, will it live up to the hype? I don’t know. People have incredibly high expectations. For me, I can’t wait to play.

This looks sick! I really hope this game delivers.

I was waiting for reviews before purchasing. From what I’ve read, it sounds like a must buy for Musou fans, and I’ll be checking it out for sure. Thanks for the review!

I’ll be shocked if any game other than Clair Obscur wins GOTY. It will probably — and should — win best OST, too. Regardless of what game wins, it’s a nice reminder that there are a lot of great games released this year.

It’s an easy 9/10 for me. The QoL improvements alone make this package special, but it’s bolstered by two classic games to begin with. I also like the additional story content.

This is great news, and well deserved. It is such an incredible franchise, one that has truly been genre defining. I can’t wait to see what Dragon Quest XII simply is.

How could you go wrong with any of those top 3 games? They are so good.

This weekend I will not be attending a wedding—thankfully, I might add. However, I had an unfortunate accident two nights ago. I totaled my car by hitting a deer on my way home from work, so that is coming with its own set of stressors and awful back pain. With that said, this thread is about games that are being played, and thus I shall begin;

First and foremost, I’m playing Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake (say that five times fast). Prior to its release I was thinking to myself, ”this HD-2D aesthetic is beginning to lose its charm”, and then lo and behold, this game releases and it’s visually breathtaking. It’s also been a huge pleasure to be in this world once again.

Dragon Quest has always been the ultimate comfort JRPG. Each time I defeat an enemy, or level up, and even save my progress, the jingle that plays always gives me a burst of dopamine. I’m not being factious - it warms my heart in an unexplainable way. And considering my circumstances, it’s needed.

In addition to DQ, no, not Dairy Queen, although that sounds delightful, I’m playing Absolum. Wow; what an incredible surprise. I typically enjoy rougelike(s), but they only hold my attention for few hours until I find a more structured narrative experience.

As much as I thoroughly enjoy my time with the likes of Hades 1 & 2, my issue stems with how the story is presented. The writing and characters are unbelievably well realized and developed, but the story unfolds by dying. While that may be the core essence of the genre, it becomes repetitive despite how good the gameplay is. Once the feeling of excitement for how new things seem, you eventually reach a point where you understand what you’ll stumble upon in the next room. Simply put, it loses its magic, at least for me.

With Absolum, while it features your common attributes in every rougelike, it plays more to its desired roots — a proper beat-‘em-up — but with a side scrolling adventure that feels like a condensed open world. There are secret paths to uncover, hidden chests, varying routes that can lead to intriguing side quests, and several characters to unlock. Dying may be part of its design, but runs last longer, giving me the sense of real progression.

All of this should be no surprise considering the studio that developed this game also made Streets of Rage 4, but this feels like a culmination of everything that Guard Crush Games is masterful at and dialed up to a 1000+ combo hit. What a year for the French; baiser du chef!.

The only game this week is Dragon Quest 1 & 2. I’ve been playing for the last three hours and it’s absolutely sublime. This will be my new addiction for the foreseeable future.

How is this game? Does it feel cheap, or even mobile phone-ish, or does to feel like a proper video game/dungeon crawling RPG with mechanics that help you learn Japanese organically? I am intrigued by it, so I’d love to hear opinions!

I have it downloaded and ready to go for tomorrow morning! I usually take my Switch on my morning walk and it’ll be perfect tomorrow!

I’m definitely picking this up—DQ is one of my all time favorite franchises. I’m glad to see this Remake do well, and feature a seemingly robust amount of QoL improvements. This will be the perfect RPG to play during the holidays.

I’ll happily be purchasing this digitally on my Switch 2. I’ve left the physical copies behind years ago and it has been such a freeing experience, especially when physical hardly ever includes any accoutrements.

I might get it. I have to be in a certain mood to play these types of games. I did like the last one, but I didn’t finish it because I lost interest after a while. If this one can tell a good story despite its inherent gameplay oriented nature I will probably get it.

This weekend I’ll be attending a wedding several hours away from where I live. I won’t be gaming much. However, an update from last week: I finally wrapped up the platinum trophy for Ghost of Yotei. It was an excellent experience. With the little sliver of time I do have, Ball x Pitt will be taking up my time. It’s the perfect travel companion, and I was not expecting it to be as addicting as it is.

@w1p3out To be fair, I think the FFVII remake has the perfect blend of real time combat and turn based mechanics. Don’t get me wrong, I love turn based RPGs dearly, but let’s not act like the combat is anything but superb in the recent FF games.

In Nightdive I trust.

Awesome news! Despite its flaws, Fallout 4 was fantastic to me. I got the platinum trophy for it too. I’ll happily double dip!

I’ll definitely pick this up day one if it’s a solid port, but MP4 will be my primary game for the month of December.

This is good news, in my opinion. Take as much time as you need—we have a plethora of games as it is. I’m hoping this time will help make the handheld experience as good as it possibly can.

My copy has been preordered for a while now. I can’t wait get my hands on it—it feels like the perfect Christmas game.

This is an easy day one purchase for me. It reminds me of the 90s when my parents would take me to a pizza shop and they had arcade cabinets featuring X-Men, and a Metal Slug.

I’ve been debating on picking this up for a while. I think I might just pull the trigger today and get it over with. I’m sure if I do buy it now it will go on sale tomorrow, haha.

I have it downloaded and ready to go; I can’t wait for its release.

I thought the demo played fine—this isn’t really a jarring experience for me in terms of frame rate. I’ll be happily playing this in a couple of days.

This weekend will be a busy one for me, so gaming might not be in the cards. My best friend is getting married today, and I’m the best man! It’s going to be a fun evening, albeit a long one on Sunday, if you know what I mean. And the following weekend I will be attending another wedding.

To provide a quick update: I’m probably 75% through Ghost of Yotei. I’m hoping to get the platinum in the next couple of (free) days I have. In addition, I’m approximately halfway through Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter and it’s one of the best remakes I’ve ever played. I’m so happy this franchise is getting more prominent in the West.

That’s about all I’m playing. I was hoping to have both games completed by the time Persona 3 Reload releases on the Nintendo Switch 2, but that is implausible. Anyway, that’s all I’ve got.

I’m excited to check out the new update! I’ve been playing in my Switch 2 without any issues, but any new additions is only a bonus.

This is a really cool concept, and I’m looking forward to the final product when it releases. I’ll be back in a month.

Nothing for me this week which is fine considering I’m drowning in games at the moment.

This is a good reminder for me to play Vengeance. I played the original version and absolutely adored my time with it. I’ve been meaning to replay the game with the Vengeance version, so maybe when the game—when and if—receives a Switch 2 update I’ll jump back in for a fresh play-through.

I just woke up and read the headline. I thought the final word said “porn” instead of poem. I was VERY confused, but equally curious.

I’ll be getting MP4 without a doubt; however, I am slightly interested in AC: Shadows. If it reviews well, I might pick it up.

I think I’m a little burned out on gaming at the moment. I’ve been bouncing around with several games—something I rarely do because I typically focus on one game at a time. It’s not as if the game(s) I’m playing aren’t holding my attention; they most certainly are, but I feel overwhelmed with the amount of games currently out that I want to play.

With that said, as mentioned earlier, I am playing multiple games. This is because my wife surprised me with a Nintendo Switch 2 while I was at work. When I got home, not only did she have it set up, she even purchased and installed Donkey Kong Bananza and Cronos: The New Dawn. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement.

The games I’ve been playing are as followed:

Ghost of Yotei - I’m still enamored with Ezo. I haven’t made a ton of progress in advancing the main narrative — I’ve yet to kill the second member of the Yotei Six other than the first person that is unavoidable. The side content, however, is so engaging, and always flows back to its overarching narrative, so everything you do feels meaningful rather than checking boxes off, though there are a few trappings of modern game design. More importantly, GoY knows how and when to be a “game”. Everything in this game feels deliberate, and I think it’s a masterclass in open world game design.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter; Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - The Trails’ series has always been one of my all time favorites, and this remake is no different. To newcomers, I’ll say that the harshest negative most games in this franchise has is its opening hours are a slog to get through. If you can muster five to ten hours of slow pace world-building you will be rewarded with an incredible journey.

Cronos The New Dawn; Nintendo Switch 2 - I’ve been playing handheld and it’s been great so far. Blooper Team has clearly found their footing in the survival horror genre. I’m impressed by the pacing and excellent world-building and environment storytelling. It may not be entirely unique—it wears its inspirations on their sleeves, but it doesn’t detract its own ambitions.

That is about it so far. I’m really hoping I can finish at least a couple of the games on my docket before The Outer Worlds 2 and Ninja Gaiden 4 releases, but I don’t think it’s likely. In the next two weekends I’ll be out of town because of weddings. Oh, well; the games will still be here when I get back, and so will my anxiety.

I just started this game in earnest yesterday on the Switch 2 and am having a blast. I will always take more updates, though - this one sounds interesting.

This review sold me on the game. I was curious to see how the beat-em-up genre would translate with roguelite elements, and I’m glad to see it is handled well.

The only game I’m interested in this month since Mina The Hollower got delayed is Persona 3 Reload. That will be a day one purchase for me—just in time for my extensive holiday traveling.

This is a real bummer—I have been wanting to play this game for years. With that said, if it needs to be delayed for polishing and to make the game better, so be it. Thankfully, it won’t be a long one.

This looks awesome — I’ll definitely check it out.

Silksong is easily the best of the month to me. Hades 2 is also very good, and it’s shocking how much content there is despite the repeated nature of its design.

I’m playing Ghost of Yōtei. For the hours I’ve put in so far, what impresses me the most is how each thing you do feels personal, but purposeful. Similar to the first game, you’ll discover bamboo strikes, hot springs to reflect, endearing NPCs, side quests, and bounties—it all feels connected because everything in Japanese culture is intertwined with the human spirit. How Sucker Punch managed to capture that essence in video game form is nothing short of incredible.

In addition to how the game feels personal, Yotei also provides a great lesson in how we take for granted the little things in life that make this world churn. And despite its inherently violent nature narratively, it is a deeply calming game that teaches patience, humility, and compassion to people, animals, and the environment. It is a reminder to be content with the basic essentials to survive as a human being.

On the gameplay side of things, it’s more Tsushima, but with a larger variety of weapons and tools at your disposal. Every weapon feels unique in its structure and satisfying to master. There is a level of strategy involved when encountering foes with different weapons. You may be able to hack-n-slash enemies by brute force, mashing the same button relentlessly, but it’s not an optimal experience. You’re encouraged to spice things up in the fly. It’s a system that offers a lot of depth, although stealth almost seems like a tacked on mechanic similar to its predecessor.

As for exploration, I think this may be Sucker Punch’s finest work to date. It flawlessly manages to be an open world that feels alive, and full of organic encounters. It reminds me a lot of Red Dead Redemption 2; one moment you’re cooking food by the campfire, the next there may be a wanderer stopping to rest, sharing their story that could lead to new clues for something to explore. This culminates into an open world where side activities feel as interval as its main narrative because you are rewarding with beneficial upgrades. It’s a very fun gameplay loop that is consistently compelling.

All of this would be meaningless if the story wasn’t engaging; thankfully, that’s not the case. While it may feature your typical (revenge) tropes, they are handled with precision and care. I love how the narrative is drip fed through flashbacks and current time simultaneously, and you piece the past together bit by bit as you traverse the world. What may feel like riding to point A-to-B may turn into an introspection on why and how you are where you are. Again, it harkens back to that organic nature of discovery.

I’ve yet to touch on other points that make Yotei standout, particularly with its cinematic fight scenes, the music that encapsulates your every moment, customization to fit your play-style, and graphics that are some of the very best I’ve seen. There is such a wide array of positives that wash out the negatives. I really can’t get enough of this game, and funnily enough it has given me an unexpected sense of purpose, like a ghost in the dark.

I’ll be picking this up digitally whenever it releases. I don’t care about GCKs, and I’m sure the game will run relatively fine on the Switch 2. It’s not as if it’s an overly demanding game. And, if not, oh well, I’m sure I can handle 30 frames per second.

Lost Lace made me chuckle a lot. Every time she killed me she would put her hand to her head and look up and laugh, taunting me. When I finally beat her, I can’t even tell you how manically I mocked her. My wife was like, “What the hell are you doing”?, and I said she wouldn’t understand, but it is a necessary reaction.

It’s about time if you ask me. I jest; I really enjoyed your content over the years. Best of luck to your future endeavors!

I have been playing the game on my Switch Lite, but it is very blurry. I’m not typically adverse to these types of things, but it is pretty jarring. I think I’ll put the game on hold until I get a Switch 2. Aside from that, from a pure game it is fantastic, albeit a slog in the opening hours.

@SterlingEyes I had trouble with that gauntlet too. You have probably already done it (I did not), but upgrading the needle makes that gauntlet easy. I forgot all about upgrading my weapon up until that point. When I realized I probably should, I made quick work of that challenge.

I need help. I’ve become unhealthily addicted to Hollow Knight: Silksong. I’ve beaten the game twice, but I can’t get enough. As I play the game I am constantly asking myself, “Is this my new favorite video game of all time?”, and the more I dwell on it the more I can confidently say it just may be. I couldn’t tell you exactly when that moment occurred—I just know it happened frequently.

I’m surprised by this because I am not someone who typically enjoys Metroidvania games, but I simply can’t stop playing. I do want to clarify: I wouldn’t say I’m great at the game. I’m not skilled as others; I can’t do any “no damage” runs, and boss fights can still take me up to double digit attempts. However; I’m good enough to complete the game 100% without a guide. That is the best compliment I can give the game and myself, and I’m proud of it.

I promise; next week I will (hopefully) be singing the praises of another game—probably Hades 2.

This is pretty cool, but the soundtrack is way too good to turn off.

I hope this game can take away my addiction to Silksong. I’ve beaten it already, but I can’t stop playing it. 🤞 Hades 2 will take over my life so I can put Silksong on the side. Hah, we shall see.

I can’t wait—I have it pre-loaded and ready to go. I even have the day off work tomorrow, so it should be a solid day. I hope it will run well on the original Switch; but I’m sure it will be fine.

I’m ready! I have it preordered and installed—just waiting for it to release.