(Archived 2022) The thread in which we talk about games we are currently playing

Funbil

Syzygy Surprised you would say this

It’s definitely picking up by now! But the first half of the game left me mostly unimpressed (the Beyd detour in particular plummeted my enthusiasm - but, I pinched my nose and trudged through). I also think what I didn’t particularly enjoy was likely an artistic decision so the tone shift in this second half holds a little more gravitas. Mostly just wasn’t a fan of how so much of the early story felt frivolous and childish, which is why moments like the mutant plant stood out so much. Now that the game is taking itself quite a bit more seriously, it definitely seems deliberate looking back. Not convinced that this is necessarily the best way to handle this kind of duality, but I think I can appreciate what it’s going for. Might be something I grow to appreciate more as I play through this second half as well, depending on whatever consequences may be waiting for me from the first half.

whatsarobot

I reached the first big story dump in Shin Megami Tensei V (when the gang gets warped back to a Tokyo high school and finds out about bullying on the lacrosse team), and could not stop cringing. Really killed my desire to keep going with that game. The open world exploration and battling has been enjoyable, but has also felt kind of… I don’t know, flimsy and timid, for an SMT game? By comparison, SMT IV and Nocturne felt to me like confident declarations of punk rock video game energy and intent. SMT V feels more like… a fan project by people who kind of enjoyed SMT in the past, but also felt pressured to make sure Persona fans could get into it. It’s lacking some essential sense of conviction, doesn’t feel like it’s Doing Its Own Thing the way mainline SMT games used to feel (up until SMT IV Apocalypse), and I’m not sure the Unreal engine is doing the game any favours.

sabertoothalex

whatsarobot I’m also not super enjoying the characters but I don’t think it’s because the devs are trying to ape Persona, because if they are then they’re doing a really poor job of it. Persona for all the things it does wrong very intentionally deep dives on characters and makes you spend a lot of time with them, revealing lots of different facets as the games go on. They’re not lazy games, there is obviously massive amounts of effort and time put into fleshing out that part of them because that is clearly what their most important goal is.

I just think this shorthand I’ve been seeing on this forum for what Persona is feels a bit detached from reality. SMTV can fail on its own merits, it can have generic and shallow characters, which I think it does so far. I don’t even think that’s exclusive to this game either! IV has a much more confident and unique setting but the characters themselves aren’t exactly a masterclass in writing or Thematic Weight. If they’re truly trying to reach Persona fans then they’re not actually doing a good job and are super far off from what expectations would be.

It reminds me of the last 10+ years of people using “anime” as a catch all term to mean a million different things all wrapped up into one tropey package. Persona is becoming that in a smaller sense where it seems like whenever two character speak to each other it’s oh no Persona is here!!! I hope we can just be a lil more intentional and nuanced in what it is we’re actually not liking about something.

yeso

I think you’re right :( about that, but they tell me in other thread not to worry it gets better. But I keep just kind of picking away at the game rather than getting real into it….

But lately have been playing Granstream Saga and I like it quite a lot. Don’t know how it turned out this way, but it’s ultra sharp and a sold 60 fps on my little rg 350 thing. Looks great and I always seem to appreciate the weirdness inherent in these early console game before “good” design is settled. And I’m pleased that it still has the quintet oddness to it

whatsarobot

sabertoothalex That’s a fair criticism. Let me be a little bit clearer about what I mean.

I’ve played Every Single Persona Game, and enjoyed several of them. I am intentionally being surface-level here, because I do not want Tokyo High School Teens with Mundane Problems to be the central focus of a mainline SMT game. If High School Teens is not a central identifying aspect of Persona games, then what the heck is, you know? So I do not dislike the story in SMT V for being shallow or generic. I dislike it for not having the courage to feature… I don’t know, adult protagonists (like Strange Journey did), or a more unconventional conceit (like SMT IV did).

@yeso Yeah, SMT V feels like a big but ultimately unsatisfying iceberg lettuce-based salad with out of season tomatoes and maybe some grated carrots, served up to me when I’m really not that hungry. By comparison, SMT IV felt like a chopped kale-based salad with walnuts, feta cheese, apple, and a nice vinaigrette, and no matter how much of it I ate, I always craved more. Maybe I gotta try Granstream Saga lol.

EDIT: As @yeso so beautifully articulated, less has traditionally been more in the SMT mainline storytelling department, and that approach has allowed for a greater sense of mystery, intrigue and Unsettling Vibes. With SMT V, too much curtain is pulled back, and what’s behind it is depressingly 1) juvenile, 2) boring, and 3) unfortunately reminiscent of Persona games, which I was definitely hoping this would not be.

yeso

my disappointment with the writing in SMT isn’t that I think it apes persona: I think it renders it’s own story/characters/vibe prosaic and flimsy rather than weird and menacing. Of course an individual game within a series can be its own thing, and I’m certainly not arguing in favor of long running series always hitting the same beats, but, as you say, I think it’s not great on it’s own merits. I’m certainly guilty of using persona as a broad insult, but I can be more precise: when I use that term I’m referring to the tactic of inserting (at least in my view) anti-social and inappropriate “social links” as weird, sub-adolescent brain-hooks in a manipulative way

But, no, I don’t think that’s the problem with SMTV. The disappointment there is that the plot makes the setting/characters/themes seem flimsy and prosaic rather then strange and dangerous. I still like the game, and it’s not a total write off, but it’s a bit of a misfire (IMO). And yeah, IV, and the earlier games don’t have much in the way of plot and character, but what’s there is suggestive and in service to the mood/atmosphere, rather than: we’re an elite squad of demon operators blah blah

sabertoothalex

yeso Yeah, I agree with all of this! V isn’t hitting for me the way I wanted it to where I’m at, for a few different reasons. You can see glimpses, and there are certainly entire sequences/moments, that feel in-line with that has traditionally been so good about the mainline SMT games. There’s just a lot more limp stuff there too…I just don’t think it has much to do with Persona specifically.

I was actually thinking about a post you made about how the menacing middle distance shots that are used so well in all the pre-V games really make them feel both explosively and subtly menacing. And none of that is in here. It’s one of the more disappointing things about it. It’s even missing the intentional staging that a Persona game retains because you can just whip the camera around most of the time and it’s kinda silly.

yeso

exactly, and I’m not even especially attached to that middle distance thing if they’d devise some new ways of creating other potent effects. The music is still heavy though and the blue hair is a good wild choice. There’s still a lot of cool stuff in V

tapevulture

I’m playing SOMA (2015). it’s so fuckin scary. i keep trying to pass the controller to my partner to get them to play instead. but they always refuse so i am playing

rejj

tapevulture I’ve had this in The Pile for a while – always meaning to get around to it and never quite doing so.
(in fact, lately I have been living in the 2nd order position of wanting to want to play something rather than manifesting an actual want to play)

How is the difficulty? I recall reading that there was a mode (added later? always there?) that essentially turns off fail states or something of the sort, while preserving the atmospheric exploration. I figured I may be interested in that mode, so I can just hang out with the game for a bit (as much as one can “hang out” with a tense, suspense/horror style game).

Snowdecahedron

rejj It’s been a while for me but I remember that I wished I played on safe mode. You can only choose at the beginning and the more annoying monster encounters show up later. I really enjoyed the story but as is the case with most horror games I play, it’s scary until you die one or twice and then it’s a lot of “is it gone yet…. i hope it’s gone…. nope…. fuck you man, let me through”

Moon

rejj

You could play Soma with the enemies entirely turned off and still have a good spooky time with it

(I played with enemies turned on and it was fine (I didn’t get stuck too bad), though I did exploit some glitches to get by a few spots and it does require some trial and error)

KingTubb

Snowdecahedron I had a similar experience with Soma. Worst case of that I ever had was Alien: Isolation. That game is outstanding as far as atmosphere and vibes go, but that xenomorph is a turd burglar and I really, really hate that thing. Not scared of it anymore, I hate it like that kid that would bully me in boy scouts growing up.

yeso

Does the safe mode in SOMA remove the enemy encounter or just make them harmless? If they’re still there and you get the distressing+weird effects then I’d say safe mode is the way to go no doubt. More of a judgement call if the experience is excised completely though…

Heck of a game in any case

JoJoestar

yeso Does the safe mode in SOMA remove the enemy encounter or just make them harmless?

Seems like it works that way, yeah.

Safe Mode doesn’t remove Soma’s enemies from the game, but this time they no longer pose much of a threat to you, and that small but crucial change makes all the difference for players like myself. To understand why, though, you first have to understand the kind of game that Soma intends to be.

Haven’t played this one myself even though it is on my to-do list as well, and I always thought I would leave monsters on even though I absolutely hate that type of horror based on stealth, or the waiting game, as I call it (games based on being passive and essentially stop playing until the thing goes away and you can do videogame things again). But this has left me thinking that having weird non-hostile stuff happening around you can be even creepier, like the anomalies on the Stalker series or the little dudes in the first Silent Hill.

tapevulture

yep i started on normal mode. whoops

@rejj i’m a couple hours in and have had i think two encounters so far, both of which have been pretty manageable. I did watch a playthrough years ago though and know harder stuff is coming

treefroggy

I could write a whole little review of Death Stranding like My Homeless Experience with Death Stranding, but I’m not, I’m just going to post here that this game is a great sim.

I own two pairs of shoes— one pair of shamma minimalist sandals that I have worn every day since one week before the release of Death Stranding, and the other, a pair of hiking boots, which I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve worn them, but they always got wet in those occasions, so I got some real rain boots, so if you count those I have three pairs. Both the sandals and the boots have vibram soles. When Death Stranding came out, I kept thinking that would have been a very appropriate sponsored product placement. The soles of my first pair of sandals wore completely through, had holes in them, and Shamma sells replacement soles for $40. Every day I wear my carhartts overalls and carry a big L.L. Bean Boat n Tote bag. These are my useful tools that, once I got them, made my life of walking everywhere carrying everything so much easier. I’ve done postmates by bicycle, longeboard and on foot on and off since 2018. I had a stint in 2021 where I was hacking ebikes, getting 20 miles for $1, and doing postmates deliveries on hacked scooters. My sandals are 1mm thick to simulate barefoot walking and strengthen foot muscles, but keep your feet safe and clean. I used to have a pair of Geta wooden sandals I made from four by six lumber that I loved to wear before someone stole them. It would be funny if Sam Porter Bridges could wear Geta.

When I first played Death Stranding in 2020, I was in the Bay Area, hiking in lush mountains around Santa Cruz, and I had just gotten these sandals, which are made for hiking and running. I felt so much like Sam Porter Bridges then. Now, I’m back in the city, and carrying stuff all over the place, groceries, laundry, stuff I wanna bring to the homie’s house… I’m pretending like I’m Sam Porter Bridges right now. I’m about to take a bunch of Amazon Returns to a UPS store that’s over a mile away. When I get to take a hot shower I feel just like Sam when he slaps his dirty self down on the bed in his Private Room. Death Stranding is a much better Homeless Simulator than whatever Homeless Simulator already exists. I wish I could bolo up the tweakers who try to steal my cargo like the MULES in Death Stranding. I guess the main difference here is that there’s no BTs….. yet…

Also, umbrellas are lame and a scam. I always use real two piece rain gear. Normal people think an umbrella is a necessity and it’s not, it’s a luxury. Use a rain coat. I suggest Frogg Toggs.

the rocky connrrr picture show

I’ve been thinking about Soma a lot lately what with this Omicron variant going around now.

treefroggy I got a pair of Shamma Warriors last year too, for summer running! They are great. I’m now 100% minimalist (save for my Bellevilles which have a 2mm drop and a kind of intense toe spring). I’d like to make myself a pair of huaraches sometime, out of tire and leather like the Tarahumara do.

treefroggy

the rocky connrrr picture show more like Donkey Kong Variant amirite

the rocky connrrr picture show

treefroggy hope I can get my booster before coming down with that DKV

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