Here we are again (again): the thread where we discuss the games we are playing in 2025

[xhekros]

Well, I forgot writing about Disco Elysium, so…

For the record, I love the game despite having its issues.

The good part lies in its worldbuilding. To be honest, it reflects very well the late and post-stages of any political system, in the sense that there is a bleakness behind ideological facades and posturing, and it manages to portray not only the collective pain, but also the incoherence, the grimness of each day and the whole idea around the corpse and the strike manages to do a very interesting setup that balances very well the most idiotic things your character can do. Also, it’s quite interesting to see a wide array of character: you have your weasels, your corrupt dudes, the guys who turn up straight garbage once you give them a nudge of power, those who are in the middle of everything or of nothing… It’s really well-written in terms of characters and environment, and the many indisious voices you have in your head (and by that I mean the RPG voices) do a lot.

As for the drama bits… not so good. It’s like they didn’t know how to put that into a coherent form with the gameplay. I mean (spoilers), having your own MC a late-stage alcoholic detective that doesn’t remember things is great in a game like this, but I get why yeso mentioned that the presence of the wive as a dramatic element is something that is over-the-top (has she died, or has she left? If it’s the former, it’s too much for a game like this, to be honest).. I think that there are some dramatic elements that are over-the-top, but at least there are other moments that are very comedic and pathetic and the pathetism and nihilism around all the characters are great, since I feel that this and Citizen Sleeper share in a way the sweet point where, past the most pathetic or disgusting moments of people, you can find very authentic moments once you scratch the characters around.

Right now, I’m at the chapel, and I’ve managed to talk to everyone and trying to find out what is happening with the big bear fridge and the woman hiding in the furnace and making dice. I think that may be some extra content, but it’s nice to find some extra elements with some alternate agenda that doesn’t necessarily are political in its essence. I’m having my time and I still don’t trust anyone aside Kim in my communist crusade utopia, so…

I think it’s a great game, but so far I don’t know, but I loved Alan Wake 2 more. Let’s see once I finish it.

[Magnanimous]

Very minor DE spoilers

The whole wife subplot didn’t work for me until the very end of the game, and I’m not sure if you’ll get the same scene I did. Your mileage may vary I guess.

[namshubofenki]

Started the fungus game (Awoved) and i’m remembering how is to play a game that seemingly has an ending. It is an interesting experience, still getting used to the melee combat in first person while i build my mage and convert this onto an FPS.

The setting and environment is pretty.

[Tom]

I mean I am playing it this year:

[Psinuxi]

Mind elaborating on the wife bit? In my game I thought that they divorced/broke up and that, combined with the drudgery of the job, was what led to Harry hitting rock bottom as he failed to cope. There was a phone call I did with I assume her that did not go very well.

[Death_Strandicoot]

Disco Elysium spoilers:

There is a dream sequence near the end if you rest after the boat ride that is a huge payoff for all the wife stuff.

[Magnanimous]

Yeah, I wasn’t sure if that scene always happens or people can miss it.

[Psinuxi]

Haha, I had forgotten the dream sequence. That part really does disambiguate the whole thing. No clue how I forgot.

[MegaSigil]

Finally played through Pseudoregalia. I see what Tim meant on the GOTY episode that year when he said this person is going to make a great game someday. The main thing I was missing here was just quality-of-life stuff like a player position indicator on the map or just icons to help me remember where shit is, stuff I’m sure there’s some weird reason it’s difficult for a solo dev to code (especially if he’s coming from an art background learning the programming side as he goes, which is my guess). I did eventually got pretty good at the wall jumping, enough that when I got stuck because I never went back to the tower when I had enough abilities to pick up the wall run, I was still able to sequence break a couple of platforming sections without it. Eager to play their next game!

I’m on a trip and I’d thought I wouldn’t start any big games, but I went and started Yakuza Kiwami 2. Even knowing vaguely that this was the Kiwami that feels more like a Whole-Ass Videogame, I was kind of startled by the jump in visuals. I know it’s probably mostly slightly touched up recycled assets with new lighting, but the first time I walked seamlessly into a convenience store from the main map I was like WHOA

Hope the story is better than Kiwami 1 but I’m already a little weirded out how Kiryu is talking to Dojima’s son and saying stuff like “you’re your father’s son, Daigo, only you can restore the clan to what it was in your father’s time” like Dojima wasn’t a greedy, cowardly murderer who tried to rape the love of Kiryu’s life? Like is Kiryu just being diplomatic about not shit-talking the man to his son’s face or is any of that gonna be acknowledged later

[kuu]

I finished Bravely Default 2 - it was okay! It was fine! The music was nice!

My favorite part of the 3DS entries was setting up turns into a cascade of just locking bosses down, it made even random encounters into a little puzzle to solve. But it doesn’t work with ATB, and BD2 has ATB, so it’s just very FFV I guess? That’s fine, it just felt like a very defining thing about the combat before. But it was cute and comfort foodish and was really nice to look at on the steam deck.

I started Fate Samurai Remnant! I don’t know anything about Fate! I know there’s a big gacha game. But I guess it’s a whole big franchise!

That hasn’t gotten in the way at the least - having a great time with this lightweight LAD Ishin! with anime paint on it. Pretty sure the big guy is Samson, that’s fun. Very relaxing to walk around, do little fetch quests or find dogs and cats or breakup fights between townspeople by catching their fists with your big not-Kiryu anime hands. Very funny to guess who is going to throw the first punch incorrectly and get socked in the nose. Musou combat in small encounters always feels a little off but it’s enjoyable, they really play up that you’re not really the best swordsman and you can feel that - lots of trying to survive long enough to summon your friend with the lasers or Samson and his hair or whatever. Really surprised and delighted with this one!

[kuu]

very obsessed with the protagonist’s nose as well, i can’t explain it

[MoH]

I played a little bit of that Astro Boy game Treasure developed for the GBA today after seeing someone (I forget who) recommend it in the GBA thread. It was pretty cool! I played about 60-90 minutes of it and think I’ve had my fill.

I don’t know if it was because I was playing an oddly ripped copy I found online (I don’t believe it was ever natively on virtual counsel), but it experiences really tremendous frame rate drops at certain points, like when a lot of enemies came onto a screen that already had a certain visual effect running. This didn’t really bother me, but it made me realize that had I played it when I was a GBA-fiddlin little kid, I just would have thought “oh cool the game slows down to make the fights easier” or something. I didn’t really have the notion that games could have technical issues or be broken back then.

[xhekros]

@kuu

d you can feel that - lots of trying to survive long enough to summon your friend with the lasers or Samson and his hair or whatever. Really surprised and delighted with this one!

I wanted to play this back in the day and I’m glad the came came out well.

[UncreativeOutput]

I’ve played a few hours of Expelled!, the new Inkle game and pseudo-sequel to Overboard!

In general it’s very good. And the writing is excellent as usual. And has the most of a certain type “You can’t just mention stuff like that in a video game” moments since Bioshock Infinite.

Inkle games normally come in hot, and ship with some weird bugs. But I also feel like I’m fighting the game itself a bit in this one. Like they haven’t thought of a few very obvious interactions.

Overall very good so far though.

[kuu]

yeah i think it would be easy to look at this and see anime shovelware but you can tell they put a lot of care into the whole thing

[yeso]

I played through Centum - dont want to be too hard on it. Wasnt what I was expected, meaning that there was very little cryptic and surreal puzzle game stuff vs the bulk of the material which was Nier:Automata metatextual exposition. The quality of the writing could use some editing: it does not read like a native English script though I notice the lead writer has an anglo name. I wonder if it’s a pseudonym since it looks out of place among the other credits. Has some strong images and I was really into the puzzle loop it opened with, but that’s not really what the game is unfortunately. That said - other people might be more sympathetic to the storytelling than me because I acknowledge the sci fi + wife stuff pile up just isnt my style god bless though

[Mnemogenic]

I needed some head-empty gaming, so I decided I would try my first EDF: Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair. It’s exactly what it always looked like: big spectacle. Giant things, buildings collapsing, explosions everywhere. It’s what I wanted it to be.

I will say, I would like weapon collecting and experimenting to get more interesting. And I wish some missions had more of an arc to them (like in a musou game where, for example, an ambush will happen or you’ll get cut off from some other group and now things have changed). But yeah, making everything explode has been a good time. I’m like 20 missions in? On normal difficulty.

[kuu]

@yeso

the sci fi + wife stuff pile up

i’m actually going to try to never find out more about this game because i like this phrase so much

[brettch]

For the past few days all I can play, all I can think about, all I dream about is… m i k u

This is not good… I love the dancing. I love the music. I love the rhythm. I love the awful tambourine default sound.

This is a sickness. I just bought it and played on Steam too.

Am I going to learn the different Vocaloid names??? I must…

I am ashamed of my Miku obsession, and of all games, I am worried it may scare my spouse

I showed my 2.5 yr old daughter Miku and she was not interested at all, send help

[Funbil]

Finally popped on Cleopatra Fortune today after hearing about it around here for years and frankly being pretty intimidated by it. Can a puzzle game really be that good? Well it is and everyone was right. God damn. I’ve only played a single round and I’m already overcome by how this is absolutely the most interesting falling-well puzzle game ever. Such a simple system but so many different directions and angles to think from. Ever since I was a kid Tetris Attack/Panel de Pon has reigned uncontested as my favorite arcade puzzle game but just after a single sitting this is gunning for the crown. I fear what will happen as I play more. Consider me fully indoctrinated