WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[Retro Red]

I’ve had my eye on Clair Obscur for a while, absolutely delighted to see the initial impressions and I’ve already got it pre installed for tomorrow as soon as work is done. Oblivion is great but ill timed, but it can wait until I’m finished with this.

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, Cousin Jim Bob said:

The somewhat daftly named Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is apparently living up to all the hype and reviewing through the roof. It is a beautiful looking turn based RPG from a small French studio.

It is out tomorrow and also on Game Pass.

Game Pass is on fire atm. 

It’s absolutely brilliant - for anyone who gets good use out of the PS Portal (or would like an Xbox equivalent) I can’t recommend XPlay on Steam Deck enough. It lets you stream from your Xbox through your Steam Deck and it’s worked like a dream for me. With competition for TV time at an all time high in my household, it’s been my primary way of playing my Series S, and I completed Atomfall, Avowed and a few indie titles on it. It costs around £5 on the Steam store, but it’s well worth it.

[Dr. Alan Grant]

It might be time to get Gamepass going again. With Claire Obscur, Indiana Jones, that recent Souls-like whose name I’ve forgotten Avowed, there’s a nice backlog of games to check out there. If they can compete with Oblivion that is. I’m hoping the turn based combat is a world away from Baldur’s Gate 3, as I hated that.

@RedTwoster, how was Avowed? What would you compare it to?

[RedTwoster]

42 minutes ago, Dr. Alan Grant said:

RedTwoster, how was Avowed? What would you compare it to?

It’s a Bethesda-style fantasy RPG, with a smaller open world. I suppose The Outer Worlds would be the closest comparison for obvious reasons, although it’s set in the world of Pillars of Eternity. If you like Bethesda first person RPGs, you’ll likely enjoy it. 

I preferred Atomfall myself, which is the first game I actually managed to stomach doing an ‘evil run’ in; mainly because I didn’t trust anyone, and wanted to see how many major characters you could kill and still finish the game.

(Turns out the answer is ‘all of them’…)

[Jazzy G]

I've been having fun playing Keeper's Toll. It's a roguelite (I know) in the style of Vampire Survivors, but with some little nods to Fromsoft games. Your runs are sometimes "invaded'by what looks like another player from online (but I don't think it is an online player), there are bosses that turn up every ten minutes and so, and a little narrative going on as well with different levels to visit. Visually it's similar to Vampire Survivors, but I think the best description of the aesthetic is that it's 16-bit style graphics compared to VS's 8-bit look. If you're into those kinds of things it's well worth a look.

Also started having a crack at Barony. It looks like Minecraft, but plays a little more like one of the older Elder Scrolls type such as Daggerfall. I'm still doing the tutorials at the moment, but have seen there are online and couch coop modes available, plus there are race and class types when you get into the game proper. 

[DavidB6937]

Random question but just got a non-work PC that I'll be able to do gaming on.

Already got a Steam account and some games from my Steam Deck playing.

Just wondered what else would be good for gaming? Preferably cheap!

Thanks

[SuperBacon]

4 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

Random question but just got a non-work PC that I'll be able to do gaming on.

Already got a Steam account and some games from my Steam Deck playing.

Just wondered what else would be good for gaming? Preferably cheap!

Thanks

I believe @Devon Malcolm has 4836 Steam games he'll sort you out.

[Devon Malcolm]

1 hour ago, SuperBacon said:

I believe @Devon Malcolm has 4836 Steam games he'll sort you out.

And I've played at least 11 of them!

[Merzbow]

12 hours ago, DavidB6937 said:

Random question but just got a non-work PC that I'll be able to do gaming on.

Already got a Steam account and some games from my Steam Deck playing.

Just wondered what else would be good for gaming? Preferably cheap!

Thanks

Get an Epic Games account, they routinely give away games good on their app.

[DavidB6937]

Thank you ?

[Bus Surfer]

I'm not much of a gamer these days, but a friend recommended Still Wakes The Deep

Which is currently on Gamepass. Kind of a walking simulator, set in the 1970"s on a northern oil rig. I've only played 45 mins, but it seems a nie little atmospheric horror. The dialects are cracking. 

[RedTwoster]

Clair Obscur: Exhibition 33 is really good, although it definitely needs a minimap. I’ve not been sure where to go on far too many occasions, accidentally wandering back to the start of a dungeon instead of progressing through it. It’s very annoying.

[Dr. Alan Grant]

I haven’t got very far in it yet, pretty much the first area after the prologue. I spent far too long exploring every nook and cranny to make sure I spoke to everyone at the beginning and to beat down a creepy mime. My success rate on parrying and dodging is about 30%. I just cannot nail the timing. Enjoying it though. The premise is interesting, the main character is very different to your usual RPG protagonist and the music is cracking. 

[RedTwoster]

10 minutes ago, Dr. Alan Grant said:

I haven’t got very far in it yet, pretty much the first area after the prologue. I spent far too long exploring every nook and cranny to make sure I spoke to everyone at the beginning and to beat down a creepy mime. My success rate on parrying and dodging is about 30%. I just cannot nail the timing. Enjoying it though. The premise is interesting, the main character is very different to your usual RPG protagonist and the music is cracking. 

I’ve just finished act 1, lack of minimap aside, it’s almost certainly going to end up my game of the year unless something truly spectacular comes out. It’s exactly the kind of game I’ve been wanting to play for some time; a modern take on the traditional turn-based RPG formula, complete with world map and everything. I’d love to know your thoughts when you get to the point I’m at, so do let me know. 

[FLips]

Yeah I’m up to my knees in Clair Obscur too, some way into Act 2 and exploring the world map for random bits and bobs currently. Very happy with it other than as has been said, it needs a minimap because you get turned around a lot, especially coming out of cutscenes and dialogue.