WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[Jazzy G]

Doom 64 is quite underrated as well.

[Merzbow]

I like Doom 64 but it suffers from too many illogical "puzzles" that are just flipping a switch an accidently finding what it opened, it has killer atmosphere though thanks to the art style and Aubrey's music.

[Devon Malcolm]

Another grown-up game for me, Yoku's Island Express. A pinball platformer! A bit too much backtracking for my liking but not quite like anything I've ever played before and surprisingly large.

What I've learned between this and SteamWorld Dig is that I like metroidvanias quite a lot. My Steam wishlist is quivering.

[TildeGuy~!]

Finally picked up Silent Hill 2 Remake in the sale at Argos(after using nectar points it ended up being £10!) 

Just left the apartments and I’m really enjoying the atmosphere and sound design.

Edited May 27, 2025 by TildeGuy~!

[Devon Malcolm]

Had to pause on Yoku's Island Express because I got totally stuck and I'm actually wondering if there's a bug in it where if you complete things in a certain order you can't complete it. That's my excuse anyway. Good game though.

So now I've moved on to SteamWorld Dig 2 and it's just as good as the first one, maybe even slightly better. Nice continuation of the story, a couple of backtracking kinks ironed out, superb soundtrack. What a great pair of games.

[RedTwoster]

On 5/24/2025 at 12:38 PM, Devon Malcolm said:

Another grown-up game for me, Yoku's Island Express. A pinball platformer! A bit too much backtracking for my liking but not quite like anything I've ever played before and surprisingly large.

What I've learned between this and SteamWorld Dig is that I like metroidvanias quite a lot. My Steam wishlist is quivering.

Funnily enough Steamworld Dig is what made me realise that too. A few recommendations that I’ve enjoyed:

Axiom Verge

It’s a bit like Super Metroid, but with slightly more modern sensibilities. The powers are satisfying and fun, the story is intriguing and I just generally loved it. 

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

This one is on the harder side - even the platforming is rock solid. The combat is also really challenging. I must admit, I wasn’t sure about this one at first but I persisted and really got into it. 

Carrion

A giant monster game where you play as the monster. It’s a pretty unique metroidvania for that reason, and playing as the monster is a lot of fun as your powers grow. There are puzzles, which weren’t always for me, but that’s partly because it’s so fun rampaging through the facility you’re trapped in, playing the movie monster. It’s often dirt cheap on Steam sales.

Ender Lillies

Another metroidvania that ramps up the difficulty, as you can probably see from the bullet-hellish screenshot I’ve chosen. It’s incredibly challenging with a stunning soundtrack, and if you’ve enjoyed games like Hollow Knight (assuming you’ve played it) you’ll probably get on with this.

Dome Keeper

Not really a Metroidvania - not one at all actually - but since you liked Steamworld Dog, this is the closest thing I’ve found. Yet it’s pretty different. It’s a tower defence game where, when you’re not defending your tower, you’re digging for resources to strengthen your dome. It’s a roguelike which isn’t typically my cup of tea, but I enjoy it for the same reasons I enjoy Vampire Survivors. It’s easy to rack up the hours on it, but equally, it’s easy to fit a blast of this in when you have limited game time.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

Finally got round to playing Atomfall. It's not perfect, but it's scratching the itch for a new Fallout game.

[Nexus]

I quite enjoyed Atomfall. The lack of fast travel was a bit annoying, and I turned the difficulty down because I couldn't be arsed with the ammo management, but as you say, it scratched a Fallout itch. 

[seph]

20 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

Ender Lillies

Another metroidvania that ramps up the difficulty, as you can probably see from the bullet-hellish screenshot I’ve chosen. It’s incredibly challenging with a stunning soundtrack, and if you’ve enjoyed games like Hollow Knight (assuming you’ve played it) you’ll probably get on with this.

I loved this, particularly the soundtrack. The sequel (Ender Magnolia) is out now on Steam; it feels a little empty but there's greater NPC interraction.

Edited May 28, 2025 by seph

[johnnyboy]

There's a Retro Classics collection on Xbox GamePass that contains H.E.R.O. and challenges based on H.E.R.O.

It may also contain other games, but that isn't important. 

Xbox dpads and a button to drop dynamite are far more forgiving than an Atari 2600 stick.

Edited May 28, 2025 by johnnyboy

[FLips]

Been making my way through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and I'm currently over 100 hours into it.

It's not a well made game in nearly any sense of the word. Crashes frequently, riddled with bugs that leave quests incompletable and do things like fly dragons off the screen or has NPCs get stuck in loops. The graphics are nice in some places but look like shit elsewhere, the quests are a dull affair and yet here I am over 100 hours into it for some reason.

It has a charm I suppose but that being said the reason I'm playing it is because I don't ever remember finishing it on the 360 and yet for nearly every mission including the DLC ones I'm going "oh yeah I remember doing this one". Very forgettable.

My wife is playing through the Oblivion Remaster and that crashes on her every 10 minutes so I've got away lucky I guess.

I was texting my mate about it and summed it up to him, that I don't think any developer is as both equally brilliant and awful at making games as Bethesda. Imagine these games in the hand of competent developers.

 

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, seph said:

I loved this, particularly the soundtrack. The sequel (Ender Magnolia) is out now on Steam; it feels a little empty but there's greater NPC interraction.

I’ve not picked this up yet because I’d heard it felt emptier, I thought I’d hold off until a sale. What’re your thoughts, would you recommend, or is it disappointing?

[SuperBacon]

Thought this would be of interest, the OSW lads have done another video on Elden Ring. 

Their first one was nearly 4 hours long and even though I know nothing of the game, still enjoyed it.

Also, this was a fun read on houses in games 

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/may/23/the-13-greatest-video-game-properties

[Vamp]

18 hours ago, Nexus said:

I quite enjoyed Atomfall. The lack of fast travel was a bit annoying, and I turned the difficulty down because I couldn't be arsed with the ammo management, but as you say, it scratched a Fallout itch. 

I'm really tempted by the world of that game but really put off by the thought of the game play. I always want to get into Fallout and never manage it. I just feel like I'm constantly running out of ammo or constantly over encumbered and instead of feeling like I'm rewarded for exploring I feel like I'm punished because I inevitably have to spend an hour deciding what to get rid of.

[BrodyGraham]

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is pretty much perfect.

I couldn't necessarily get on with the Vs SNK titles at the time, but really enjoy them in the context of this collection. SF Alpha 3 Upper is a much better version than the one that appeared on the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection and Alpha 3 might be my favourite Street Fighter game.

The stars though are the curios. Plasma Sword and Project Justice feel  so weird and fresh 20 odd years on. What's shocked me now though is how hard the Power Stone games are. Even on the easiest setting you're spending most of a round getting absolutely pumped by the CPU, but I suppose that's not the point of them though. 

I'm not touching Capcom Fighting Evolution.

It's also really nice sharing these games with Little Brody. She loves fighting games for the cool character designs and so this has been a real treasure trove for her.