WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[Onyx2]

On 10/4/2026 at 11:04 PM, SpiritOfTheForest said:

Thanks to the fellas who were raving about Vampire Survivors. Completed it today and as a trophy hunter it gave me much joy. A whopping 284 trophies on that beast! And the strangest thing: despite basically doing the same thing over and over again it never really got boring. 

I'd always ignored the game but based on the chat here gave it a go yesterday.

I now have it installed on 3 different devices. Fucking addictive. Just one more run...

[Ironic Indie Lad]

For anyone who just needs even more of it, Warhammer Survivors is coming out in November. Its on everything including iOS and Android.

[Dr. Alan Grant]

I started Gears Of War: E-Day yesterday. Exactly what you’d expect it to be. An absolute blast to play.

I’ve been convinced by the hype around that Star Wars Galactic Racer game. I’m generally not a huge fan of racing games (I pretty much only play a new Forza Horizon when it comes out and get bored after a month or two), but seeing everyone raving about it has convinced me to give it a go soon. Of course it will take a backseat come November, along with any other game I’m playing. 

[RedTwoster]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Alan Grant said:

I’ve been convinced by the hype around that Star Wars Galactic Racer game. I’m generally not a huge fan of racing games (I pretty much only play a new Forza Horizon when it comes out and get bored after a month or two), but seeing everyone raving about it has convinced me to give it a go soon. Of course it will take a backseat come November, along with any other game I’m playing. 

Very interested in your thoughts on this one. I've been mulling it over too, but there are so many great games either out right now or coming out soon that I've not taken the plunge. With Final Fantasy Resonance coming out in a few weeks and the likes of Fire Emblem, Splatoon Raiders and Crimson Desert on the backlog I'm really struggling to fit in all of the interesting new releases that are coming out. 

Also, I can't stop playing Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth. It's stupidly addictive. 

[gmoney]

Warner Bros sale on Steam. You can pick up all the Batman Arkham games for £7.50, which is an absolute steal if you've never played them. The Mordor games are also dirt cheap and really good, you don't need to know anything about Lord of the Rings to enjoy them. 

[The King Of Swing]

Star Ocean The Divine Force (PS5). 

Tried multiple times to get into it and it never clicks. 

Managed a couple of hours this time, but gave up again. Just a really boring game.

[Jazzy G]

Started playing through Borderlands again. Vicky was watching me play the other night so I've picked up a pad on eBay and we're going to start a split-screen co-op playthrough and work through the whole series, although I've not got 4 yet. They do go on sale pretty frequently though, so I'm sure I'll get it for a reasonable enough price when we do get a bit closer to it. 

I'm playing through as Roland, having finished it as the other three characters on the original 360 version. It's going better than the first time I played, but I didn't have as much knowledge of the game back then as I do now, which is still only superficial knowledge, but enough to have a much easier time. 

[The King Of Swing]

Reminds me that I recently finished Borderlands 4 (PS5). 

Waited until all the DLC was finally available and I'm glad I did. Had a blast abusing Loveless's contagion skill, basically wiping out entire mobs, firing barely a shot.

Story felt shorter than previous games, with less padding. Pretty decent, overall. 

Having a break before getting started on the story DLC's and cleaning up side missions. 

@Jazzy G

You should definitely wait until you can get everything in one go, on sale. Wouldn't be surprised if there is another season of DLC, eventually. . 

[Jazzy G]

3 hours ago, The King Of Swing said:

You should definitely wait until you can get everything in one go, on sale. Wouldn't be surprised if there is another season of DLC, eventually

I've got everything else, including Wonderland on my XBox. I've got the Pandora's Box on Switch as well so am cracking through on there as well, when I can tear myself away from Vampire Survivors and Brotato. New Brotato expansion Primal Horrors is out next month. It's dinosaur themed. 

[Onyx2]

I've ploughed 15 hours and 31 deaths into Returnal and I'm tapping out. I can't do the first boss.

I'm no stranger to difficulty; I've platinumed DS1 and Elden Ring and I've had a run of bashing-your-head-against-walls bosses this year with Prince of Persia: Lost Crown and Blasphemous 1 & 2. The boss in Returnal (Phrike) isn't that hard, probably 2 or 3 more attempts and I'd get it but it's the hour-ish runback that has done me in. I just don't have time for a level that is pseudo-randomly generated, not knowing if you will get any decent upgrades or items (the astronaut and some health boosts are a must). If it was checkpointed right by the boss I'd probably be OK with that, but the thought of giving up another hour to potentially die again is not my idea of a fun time. I think it's especially grating when you can see health boosts etc on a distant ledge that you can't yet reach because you haven't got the next upgrade. "No, you're not good enough to have these yet, once you've proved yourself you can have more health."

It's such a shame, because I like the protagonist, the art design, I like where the story is going but I'm done.

So off to the new CastleVania instead.

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, Onyx2 said:

So off to the new CastleVania instead.

I've completed this now. I liked it enough, the movement is great and it's a good game but it didn't really feel like a Castlevania game to me, or at least, not close enough to the original formula to scratch the itch that I had. I get that metroidvanias have evolved and they probably want to cater to the audience they know still exists - even Metroid took a more Souls-inspired route with Dread - but I dunno, I think there's still room for a more traditional game in that genre in which the exploration is more important than the difficulty.

But it wasn't just that - it felt more Souls-inspired than Castlevania-inspired, and that's not what I wanted. 

As I say, I liked the game and it demoed very well, but the more of it that I played, the less I felt like I was getting what I wanted. You get a good game, but not necessarily a good Castlevania game. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts when you're done with it. 

[Onyx2]

53 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I've completed this now. I liked it enough, the movement is great and it's a good game but it didn't really feel like a Castlevania game to me, or at least, not close enough to the original formula to scratch the itch that I had. I get that metroidvanias have evolved and they probably want to cater to the audience they know still exists - even Metroid took a more Souls-inspired route with Dread - but I dunno, I think there's still room for a more traditional game in that genre in which the exploration is more important than the difficulty.

But it wasn't just that - it felt more Souls-inspired than Castlevania-inspired, and that's not what I wanted. 

As I say, I liked the game and it demoed very well, but the more of it that I played, the less I felt like I was getting what I wanted. You get a good game, but not necessarily a good Castlevania game. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts when you're done with it. 

I'm only an hour or so in but it feels like they took Prince of Persia and reskinned it. I'm OK with that, but it doesn't feel like CastleVania at all.

[Chest Rockwell]

That's a shame. I really hoped it would find a sweet spot in the middle. I really enjoy Prince of Persia but I wanted this to feel like its own thing. I was excited for it. I am sure I'll still play it but I'll temper my expectations!

Edited 11 hours ago by Chest Rockwell

[FLips]

3 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

I've completed this now. I liked it enough, the movement is great and it's a good game but it didn't really feel like a Castlevania game to me, or at least, not close enough to the original formula to scratch the itch that I had. I get that metroidvanias have evolved and they probably want to cater to the audience they know still exists - even Metroid took a more Souls-inspired route with Dread - but I dunno, I think there's still room for a more traditional game in that genre in which the exploration is more important than the difficulty.

But it wasn't just that - it felt more Souls-inspired than Castlevania-inspired, and that's not what I wanted. 

As I say, I liked the game and it demoed very well, but the more of it that I played, the less I felt like I was getting what I wanted. You get a good game, but not necessarily a good Castlevania game. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts when you're done with it. 

I downloaded the demo on Switch and was getting disappointed by the Souls-like features as I was playing. When the enemies respawned and my potions refilled at the checkpoint I was one foot out the door, and then when I got to the boss and they killed me in about 3 shots I was fully out. I wanted Castlevania, not another Souls game.