What's everyone playing?

[Pak-Man]

Decided to dig in to Dragon Quest XI. I think what I love most about Dragon Quest is how it sticks to the Old Ways. Dragon Quest was really the first JRPG as we know it, and it's always stayed close to its roots (Right down to continuing to use some of the same sound chirps and blips from the very first game). You can even choose to play it in 16-bits, but I'm saving that for after I beat it in its gorgeous 3D mode. Even more than the old fashioned turn-based mechanics, I love the old-fashioned tone. RPGs over the years have tended to become more and more gritty and dark, but Dragon Quest XI keeps it light and fun. Bad/Sad things still happen, because that's how storytelling works, but there's a lack of cynicism that I appreciate, especially at the current moment in history.

[CJones]

Still playing Sekiro. There was a recent update that adds a boss rush mode and harder versions of some of the bosses. Harder?! Are you kidding me?

I beat the Demon of Hatred, finally. Owl (Father) was probably my favorite boss in the game. Demon of Hatred was easily my least favorite. F*** that guy. Burned through nearly all my healing items in the third phase.

On to the final boss. Who thought it was a good idea to put him in a field full of tall grass? Really obscures your view of him.

[Iron Curtain]

Nimbatus on the PC. It's a spaceship simulation game where you (yes, you!) build the spaceship! Of course, you have to make sure your ship could fly and can control well, otherwise, you'll have a lot of trouble. I'm looking forward to the studio's next game, the Wandering Village.

Steam Page

Kickstarter Page for The Wandering Village

[Russoguru]

Tetris 99 on Switch. God dammit, I thought I was a good Tetris player, but every fucking time I log on and start playing against 99 other human beings... I get my ass kicked! I think I finished in the top 10 ONCE... ONCE(in all the hundreds of times I've played already), but that's it. I mean I'm sure there are some very advanced strategies for playing it but I've been playing the goddamn game since 1988 and with the exception of one or two added dynamics, Tetris has relatively speaking changed very little since it first came out.

[Variety of Cells]

Playing Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity with my girlfriend. We’re still getting in the groove, but it’s enjoyable. I don’t think I’d like it as much on my own, but it’s fun murdering tons of people with a friend.  Split screen is annoying, but a necessary evil. Remember four player split screen?  On tiny CRTs?  How the hell did we do that?

The justifications for some of the people we are murdering is a bit sus though. “We have arrived in this land of our allies to ask for help, but they are attacking us!  That’s weird. I bet the leader of their clan will know why. But we have no other option than to murder about 1,000 citizens of theirs to reach him and ask him a question.”  And I kept waiting for the story to say “Oh sorry, our people have been infected by an evil force which is why we were attacking you.”  Which was kind of true once, but the other time it was cause the leader was grumpy or something.  But we’re not here for the story, so it’s all good.

[CJones]

Just picked up Death Stranding. It's half off on Steam right now ($30). I'm almost done with Horizon Zero Dawn, and still 10 days to go til Cyberpunk 2077, so I figure this can fill the gap.

[Variety of Cells]

Just picked up Death Stranding. It's half off on Steam right now ($30). I'm almost done with Horizon Zero Dawn, and still 10 days to go til Cyberpunk 2077, so I figure this can fill the gap.

It's good!  I really liked it.  Weird, but the good kind of weird. 

[Iron Curtain]

Playing Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity with my girlfriend. We’re still getting in the groove, but it’s enjoyable. I don’t think I’d like it as much on my own, but it’s fun murdering tons of people with a friend.  Split screen is annoying, but a necessary evil. Remember four player split screen?  On tiny CRTs?  How the hell did we do that?

The justifications for some of the people we are murdering is a bit sus though. “We have arrived in this land of our allies to ask for help, but they are attacking us!  That’s weird. I bet the leader of their clan will know why. But we have no other option than to murder about 1,000 citizens of theirs to reach him and ask him a question.”  And I kept waiting for the story to say “Oh sorry, our people have been infected by an evil force which is why we were attacking you.”  Which was kind of true once, but the other time it was cause the leader was grumpy or something.  But we’re not here for the story, so it’s all good.

Yeah, it just seems weird to

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

murder a lot of Gerudos just to get through to Urbosa and they immediately forgive us afterwards as if nothing happened

. It's just one of those things you accept in Warriors games.

[Pak-Man]

Had a little time on my hands, so I played through the first chapter of the Sam and Max Save the World remaster.

It's been a while since I've done a Sam and Max playthrough, but in my fuzzy 10+ year memory, everything definitely looks nicer in the reboot. Bosco's voice actor has been changed to Ogie Banks, which is in keeping with the trend lately to replace voice actors with actual people of color (And maybe sets up the return of Bosco in the upcoming VR game). He gets it close enough to the original that it's not too jarring.

Most importantly, it still makes me laugh. There are great zingers all over the place. Some of the jokes have become a tiny bit dated (Remember when it was all about threat levels and weapons of mass destruction?) but most of it is timeless.