WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[Jazzy G]

 

20 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Sheer embarrassment when I overturned on the A6 for one run.

So that's why the 192 was late... 

[Cousin Jim Bob]

I've not thrown in the towel on Hades yet. Just managed to beat Minotaur dickhead and his mate with a spear. Some good boons and actually having a clear head helped.

They will most likely clobber me next time I fight them but I have some tactics to beat them now. 

[JLM]

Yeah they’re definitely the major “is your build strong enough?” check, which is quite common in these roguelike/roguelite games. There are fights which would probably be tougher than them on paper later, but if you’re past them you’re usually strong enough to keep snowballing in power and won’t find the later stuff as hard. Glad you haven’t dropped the game as it’s a bloody masterpiece. So, so worth persisting, 

Edited February 22, 2025 by JLM

[TildeGuy~!]

I’ve been playing Zenless Zone Zero the last couple of days, skipping all the story though as I don’t care for it but the combat is excellent.

[The Gaffer]

Really, really enjoying Avowed. As someone who doesn't play new releases much anymore it's given me exactly what I want. Nothing earth shattering, just snappy, pleasant looking open world action RPG that gives you something to do or think about every few minutes. It's not exactly New Vegas quality, more on par with The Outer Worlds but in a lush BOTW/Horizon type setting. 

It's basically the anti Starfield. A game where I plugged 20 hours literally just menu/space hopping trying to find anything engaging to do. 

[TildeGuy~!]

On 2/18/2025 at 11:04 AM, TildeGuy~! said:

The combat feels good but I just feel like I have I have no interest in the story whatsoever.

Its a big reason for my love for the series overall, Majima’s great but the whole I got Amnesia and I’m gonna be a pirate in Hawaii now doesn’t interest me.

Yea, this is bollocks, I read the reviews and decided to buy it today, will probably start it tomorrow.

[CAREBEAR LUVVA]

I've been playing Pirate Yakuza over the weekend. It's great fun, all the usual Yakuza stuff but with an extra naval battle thing added on. The ship stuff is streets ahead of shitty Skull and Bones, and I reckon more fun than Black Flag (it's faster and more arcadey). They story's not really up to much, but I'd wager that even with the best intentions 99% of people give up on the story in most Yakuza games before the end of the second or third chapter anyway, so it doesn't really matter. 

[RedTwoster]

23 hours ago, The Gaffer said:

Really, really enjoying Avowed.

Yeah, me too! It’s a lot of fun, even if I’m frequently having to remind myself of all the terminology. But it’s exactly what I want in that kind of game - fun dialogue, consequential decisions, interesting side quests, an enjoyable story and lots of interesting things to discover.

If this is the standard of Game Pass releases coming out this year - and given what’s on the horizon it’s certainly possible - Xbox will have one of its best years ever, I can’t wait.

[Cousin Jim Bob]

Balatro has just been released on Game Pass as well. 

Well worth a try even if you think you would not like it. Not in gameplay but it is similar to something like Vampire Survivors, if it gets it's hooks into you expect to lose a ton of time playing it.

[seph]

On 2/22/2025 at 3:16 PM, JLM said:

Yeah they’re definitely the major “is your build strong enough?” check, which is quite common in these roguelike/roguelite games. There are fights which would probably be tougher than them on paper later, but if you’re past them you’re usually strong enough to keep snowballing in power and won’t find the later stuff as hard. Glad you haven’t dropped the game as it’s a bloody masterpiece. So, so worth persisting, 

 

Spoiler

which makes the poison mechanic in the next level jarring because it's impossible to build mitigation of poison by any means, and has only one remedy that's on a cooldown.

 

Edited February 25, 2025 by seph

[The King Of Swing]

53 hours into Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and I haven't even finished chapter 6. Honestly forgot just how big the game is. 

Side quests are a decent improvement over XBC1, imo. Nothing great but I'm not getting bombarded with the fuckers every five minutes and a lot of them are a really good source of XP.

Still not particularly fond of the gacha system for blades. XBC3's hero system is a massive improvement, imo. 

At least Monolith resisted the urge to shovel in micro transactions. Silver linings and all that. 

[TildeGuy~!]

Yea… Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is great, finished it this morning.

Ending Spoilers 

Spoiler

Great reveal at the end that Majima’s whole reason for going to Hawaii in the first place was to find the Elixir of life to save Kiryu after his cancer diagnosis

 

Edited February 27, 2025 by TildeGuy~!

[RedTwoster]

11 minutes ago, TildeGuy~! said:

Yea… Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is great, finished it this morning.

Wow, that’s quite the turnaround from you! How long is the story portion of the game? 

[TildeGuy~!]

Just now, RedTwoster said:

Wow, that’s quite the turnaround from you! How long is the story portion of the game? 

Not long at all but there’s plenty to do as usual, about the same length as the Gaiden game.

[RedTwoster]

36 minutes ago, TildeGuy~! said:

Not long at all but there’s plenty to do as usual, about the same length as the Gaiden game.

Any stand-out side content? As much as I enjoy Infinite Wealth, nothing rivalled the business sim in the original Like a Dragon.