Last game you DIDN'T finish and your thoughts

I forgot to mention about playing Edith Finch myself, I did complete it and went back through it to 100% it. It was enjoyable for me and I did like the story it told but I certainly didn't understand it all that much. I'd add that some of the memories (if that's what we're calling them) can be a bit underwhelming although I strangely enjoy that they're often a bit predictable at the same time.

Jimbob wrote:

Will I like Gone Home better?

I enjoyed Gone Home. It was somewhat calming traipsing through the house and piecing together the story. YMMV, natch.

Edith has recently been announced on Switch. I'm torn now as to whether to get it. I know it's very well received, but some of what you blokes are saying concerns me, and I'm not exactly short on games.

I enjoyed my time with it and I was thinking about it for the next week or two afterwards, I played it in one sitting too and I don't think I missed anything so in terms of the backlog it won't get in the way too much.

I gave Edith best narrative in my 2017 GOTY awards.

A sad double-bill this week, but as we enter the part of the year where all the games come out, I have to be realistic about what I'm ever going to finish.

YOOKA-LAYLEE:

YOKU'S ISLAND EXPRESS:

Yoku isn't even that long

Pour one out for the little dung boy

Honestly mate I tried, I really did.  He's a good beetle boy and I'm glad I gave his devs. some money.

Oh, and also:


Because the final boss introduces random elements and apparently you don't get anything much for beating it, we're circumventing him and going on to the DLC. Overcooked is one of the best co-op. games on any platform, though, and it's well worth the purchase. We'll definitely be picking up the sequel too! 8/10

Nae excuses for not finishing Yoku's Island Express! Cracking game, takes no time at all to finish!

Moving past Yooka-Laylee is a lot more understandable, though be warned: the start of Yooka-Laylee is a lot better than the start of A Hat In Time. I could see why a lot of folk would dingy A Hat In Time in the amount of time you spent playing Yooka-Laylee.

You may remember I recently posted about Madden NFL 20 and how I felt I was done within the 10hrs you get via EA Access as I did the story mode and won the super bowl, that to me was the goal of the game.

Now I'm not saying all games need a goal in a sense as I'd happily play Tetris now and again or an Animal Crossing where you town just keeps ongoing.

Civ VI could fall into the same category as AC but the difference being it ends and less about knowing what Rover likes to do. I found myself enjoying my run I did play and I gave two of the scenarios ago as well, never thinking after I want to do that again.

I didn't sense a point, and yes I've played other Civ games most recently Civ Rev on VITA which I did replay again because of trophies. I don't think a game has benefited from trophies so much as it made me play as different leaders, win in different ways etc

I had a goal in other words to the fun gameplay

masofdas wrote:

I didn't sense a point, and yes I've played other Civ games most recently Civ Rev on VITA which I did replay again because of trophies. I don't think a game has benefited from trophies so much as it made me play as different leaders, win in different ways etc

I can understand that point somewhat as there definitely was some pride in showing off how I'd won a game on a particularly tough difficulty setting to my Civ mates back when I played Civ V on Steam, but then again I suppose I'd just make my own goals to work towards if I had Civ on Switch. Screenshots exist to inflate my gaming ego, I suppose.

My Switch says I played for over 10hrs, that I did get my money's worth.

I'm sorry Jas.  I gave it a shot, and I probably wouldn't have given it a second shot were it not for your glowing reviews.  I did, though, and... well, it's not you the game, it's me.

I don't like proc gen.  I don't like the relative blandness of the overworld, the lack of a feeling of 'structural intent'.  I don't like losing all my Rupees when I die - at least Hollow Knight gives you a single shot at getting them back.  I had 76 needing 80 for the Flippers.  76!!!  It also, thus far, has felt a bit like a dude-killing game, given that the overworld hasn't been terribly fun to explore.  Are there puzzles later, in the dungeons?  Are they proc gen?  I heard that the dungeons were regenerated every time you popped in?

It's not bad!  Even if I were going on my judgement alone, and not knowing that everyone else thought it was the bombchu, I wouldn't have thought it was bad.  I could see good stuff about it.  I just got frustrated quite quickly, and at the moment I started to feel like I was getting the hang of it, I lost everything I'd picked up.  There are six games in the Deep Backlog I'd rather play, and what with them and the new releases and my wishlist I don't think I'll get to a point where this would be my choice to play for years.

Also I didn't like the soundtrack remixes as much as everyone else seems to.

That's a shame to hear but I could see it coming. I guess it's just a case of knowing what you like, or rather what you don't like in this case in terms of the procedural generation. For me the proc gen wasn't noticeable at all until after my first playthrough when I started my perma death attempts where I could see familiar tiles or puzzles but even then each tile seems hand crafted with the game then just choosing how it lays it all out.

Balla wrote:

Are there puzzles later, in the dungeons? Are they proc gen? I heard that the dungeons were regenerated every time you popped in?

I wouldn't say the puzzles are your typical Zelda fair but it comes pretty close, in that you often have to use an item to help solve it, for dungeons the puzzles are very light so you do them so you can access rooms & then defeat enemies so you can get keys to advance forward. There are also puzzles to get chests etc in the over world as well as in caves.

Are they proc gen? Tough to say really but I don't think so as I don't remember a time where I was thrown off because a puzzle appeared that I hadn't seen before. Some dungeon floors (the main floor is always the same) will regenerate if you go in & out but given that they're quite small there isn't much reason to do that.

Balla wrote:

It also, thus far, has felt a bit like a dude-killing game, given that the overworld hasn't been terribly fun to explore.

I thought that I had to kill every enemy on each tile too but it's completely possible to pick and choose your battles, don't like the look of a tile? Come back when you have better stuff.

Balla wrote:

Also I didn't like the soundtrack remixes as much as everyone else seems to.

Balla along with the price is the main reason I've not picked it up as I reckon I'll come away feeling the same way.

If it had a physical verison least if I wasn't keen could still be in my Zelda collection next to BotW and Wand of Gamelon.

Still holding out for a physical version myself, it just makes sense.

The_Jaster wrote:

I guess it's just a case of knowing what you like, or rather what you don't like in this case in terms of the procedural generation.

Yep, I was trying this knowing I probably wouldn't like it but I wanted to give it a go anyway. At least I can say I've given a roguelike a shot now...

...and take a position of hating them all without people being able to counter-argue that I haven't played one.

Artist's depiction of Mas:

Treesmurf wrote:

Still holding out for a physical version myself, it just makes sense.

Oh if that happens for CoH I'll be double dipping for sure.

Balladeer wrote:

The_Jaster wrote:

I guess it's just a case of knowing what you like, or rather what you don't like in this case in terms of the procedural generation.

Yep, I was trying this knowing I probably wouldn't like it but I wanted to give it a go anyway.  At least I can say I've given a roguelike a shot now...

...and take a position of hating them all without people being able to counter-argue that I haven't played one.

True but we will still know you are........

Jimbob wrote:

Oh you silly.
1) This one is my problem, admittedly - it turns out first person games with no static reference on the screen just make me motion sick all the time now, and
2) I only got through the first chapter; I appreciate it's probably supposed to be magical, and it might all make some kind of reasonable sense in the end, but this really does seem to be a case of "what bollocks can we make up, and convince people to take it seriously?".

Will I like Gone Home better?

I sort of finished this yesterday. Or, I did chapter 1 and then watched my girlfriend finish the rest of the game.

I really enjoyed it. I don't think it's much of a deep-think game, it's more a series of unfortunate events told through a walking simulator with serious side of imagination. The ending is left up to interpretation. If you didn't enjoy the first bit I don't think you'll much like the rest.

Gone Home is pretty good, but not something anybody should lose sleep over not playing. You might like it more than What remains because it's not about a crazy curse and is rooted more in reality. You should be able to finish it in one sitting though (although, it's meant for multiple runs). Sorry to hear about the motion sickness though. I've only experienced it in VR but it's very unpleasant.


Incidentally in games I've played vicariously, I've been watching my girlfriend go through Dragon Quest Builders on and off over the past few months. Neat game.

I've heard for a long time MLB The Show is the best sports game but it's never been easy to play in the UK without spending a fortune. When I saw it was coming to Plus for October, I was excited to give the series ago.

I remember Cappa awhile ago talking about the NBA 2K series and found it a tad naff as it's on the realistic side, the same applies here. Now you'd think baseball still be simple but you have a different type of pitches, how hard and where you hit the ball on bat changes things than other rules & strategies on top of that.

Some things like October to March mode eases you in as it highlights events like first pitch or being in the bottom of the 9th in a game. It's got a FUT like mode, a proper season mode and a career mode which is a mix of the journey and the be a pro mode on FIFA, mini-games.

Meaning it has plenty of value, just I'm someone the just wants to throw a pitch and hit it not have all this other stuff, that I just can't see me sticking beyond the 4hrs or so I've played.

The one other thing I don't think it looks good when compared to FIFA or NBA 2K.

I played through Detention the night before last. It's an indie horror game, developed and set in Taiwan. It deals with creepy Asian mythology and depressingly real history and human drama, and it's both interesting and creepy. Well worth playing.


That night, after not going to bed until like 3am, stuff kept falling down in the apartment all night so I was well creeped out.

Muss wrote:

Incidentally in games I've played vicariously, I've been watching my girlfriend go through Dragon Quest Builders on and off over the past few months. Neat game.

Same! There's no way I'd sit and play it myself, but I've enjoyed seeing what she builds and seeing the cool parts.

I hate that I'm posting this... but...


It's more like 'never started' to be honest, but realistically I don't ever think I'm going to crack Celeste's free DLC, and that's okay. It's a complete experience in and of itself...

Alright, it's not. Celeste is one of my favourite games, as you all know. I love it. There's more story content out there and more glorious music and I can't see myself ever enjoying it as intended. The problem is that there's a criterion that I know you have to fulfil to progress through Chapter 9 to any meaningful degree, and it requires playing the B-Sides.

I have no desire to play the B-Sides. Super-hard challenges for the purists, without the context of the story and characters to lend structure and a feeling of achievement beyond 'done the thing'. I was quite happy to leave them for those for whom that's something they'd enjoy. Playing with Assist Mode is always a possibility, but it would feel like cheating a game where the movement system is everything and the thrill of making the leaps, hand-in-hand with that aforementioned context, what helped keep me going.

As it is, I think I have to acknowledge that I'm not really going to finish this best of indie games.

I know you won't get that great blend of gameplay and story, but have you thought about checking out a Let's Play of Chapter 9 instead so you're not missing out on the story? If you like the game that much, it might be worth doing.

I'm a little out of the loop on Celeste, is this the first time we've got DLC or was there any previously and did that have story content?

I don't know if there were additional B-Side style levels, but this is definitely the first - and only - bit of substantial story DLC.