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there's a frog in my snake oil
Ok, damn you steam sale. I've bought a lot of rogue-likes, several archery games, a tiny delicate diorama, and at least one Spiderman clone.

Also this indie dev apparently having a nervous breakdown for 40p...

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here



there's a frog in my snake oil
Aha, this oddball detective student project is free! Can't get me again Steam!



But dammit, this is £10, and supposedly involves Journey-style multiplayer, including live actors somehow?... so presumably won't be supported for ever.... Uh oh...




“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
The CP77 stuff looked about like you would have expected it to, amazing. The Badlands stuff should be a nice break from the neon and wet pavement.



there's a frog in my snake oil
The CP77 stuff looked about like you would have expected it to, amazing. The Badlands stuff should be a nice break from the neon and wet pavement.
5 types of pubic hair?

They're totally gunning for Rockstar...



The People's Republic of Clogher
All the detecto-vision stuff in the video made me a little uneasy. I hope there's not *too* much of it in the actual game (they alluded that it was there to expand on lore) because I'm gonna tire of it awful fast.
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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



there's a frog in my snake oil
Ok so I did good with my 'big money' buys in the Steam sale

First Look: Windlands 2



Enjoying this more than the first one. Partially because I've got my VR legs these days, and could spend the time getting the 'swoosh around things' (rather than swoosh into things) going, and get my momentum up. And partially because there's a bit more shape and direction to it. But mainly because of the boss battles. (The fact that you could die but keep your hits felt a bit odd, but also welcome, given you're trying to score aerial bow hits )

If nothing else, even the basic act of low-gravity jumping to a new spot feels grand in VR. Still not totally sold on the 'find 10 things' areas, but when I actually chained some decent paths around the green grabby-bits, or figured out a way to path to a tricky area, it all felt pretty ace. Nailing an air shot in the boss battles, having done a momentum-switch spin, is the best bit though


First Look: The Under Presents



What to say. Eclectic mix of a shared puzzle space (with Journey style online), and a 'rewind time' / 'hear all the conversations' mystery in a bottle similar to the Invisible Hours at the heart of it.

Think I enjoyed the shared puzzle solving (and mutual confusing) the most, with its magical masks. The mystery is pretty slickly done too though. (I just wasn't totally sold on how they used their finger-clicking mechanic to force you to zone in on the mystery-world conversations. It was effective, but slightly annoying in practice).

Ironically the 'distend the world' teleportation technique was borderline nauseous, but it was trippy too, so I stuck with it. Damn difficult to get around tight corners with though...

On balance, I enjoyed Virtual Virtual Reality by the same guys, and this is a fresh twist with similar experimental beats.

And as others have said, best to go in knowing as little as possible. That said, one of their mysteries won't be supported for much longer, so here's a SPOILER

**SPOILER**



WARNING: spoilers below
There are live actors in certain shared shards, nudging you towards certain realisations about the game mechanics



there's a frog in my snake oil
Dammit, just spotted the '£5 off if you spend £30' bit of the Steam sale...

Star Wars: EA Spin Off it is then...

(Grey market guys will probably have better deals come launch, but that’ll do. I’m telling myself I’m rewarding the VR support and the minimalist old-school microtransactions )

If nothing else good comes out of covid, I guess the games market is going to survive at least...



there's a frog in my snake oil
Probably need to stop now. So... many... rogue-likes...



That one works in flatscreen too apparently, so legit for the thread.

Just had to get in on some more indie oddity. Who doesn’t want to light a giant match by hand and fire it from a crossbow?



there's a frog in my snake oil
So an actress in a crab avatar just got stuck in a spiral staircase, and then told me and another VR-head a very bad story. Based on the items we were pulling from our magical masks.

(The magic system in this art-house game is like some giant puzzle, which I haven’t solved. So I mainly produced a lot of onions. My giant spoon did become a main character though.)

The crab was quite squat. We sat down for the story.

It was very odd.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
So an actress in a crab avatar just got stuck in a spiral staircase, and then told me and another VR-head a very bad story. Based on the items we were pulling from our magical masks.

(The magic system in this art-house game is like some giant puzzle, which I haven’t solved. So I mainly produced a lot of onions. My giant spoon did become a main character though.)

The crab was quite squat. We sat down for the story.

It was very odd.



I have no idea wtf you're saying here but I'm sure it's a scene from Naked Lunch.





there's a frog in my snake oil
I have no idea wtf you're saying here but I'm sure it's a scene from Naked Lunch.


I’m gonna stick a shortened vid up later. (The story really is genuinely bad ).

It’s this Journey-style multiplayer puzzle game called The Under Presents, with added VR oddness



there's a frog in my snake oil
EDIT: **SPOILER WARNING**: I think both Aus & Yods would like this game a fair bit, and have VR access, so um, probably don't watch this you two

Not so much for the 'live theatre' stuff, more for the magic system, which you spend a lot of the game learning from other players.

---

Ok, it's not a good story, and the crab actress can't say the word 'crab', but it was a curious thing to take part in




Started playing Dead Space. People always mention how great it is, so I finally took the leap. Oh, my god the angle of my character took some serious getting used to. I've been attacked by every monster in the game so far because I can't get a decent view of my surroundings. I hear them and before I can turn around they come out of nowhere and start eating my face! Don't even get me started on the weapons. Aiming is hell and if I try to use melee he's swinging everywhere but at the damn monster right in front of him. Also, how do you jump in zero g? I looked it up and did what it says but doesn't seem to work.

Other than that it's been fun!



Never mind. I'm a doofus. Didn't realize I wasn't aiming at the right surface. There's even a red flash on your weapon telling you hey, you can't go there, doofus.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
Started playing Dead Space. People always mention how great it is, so I finally took the leap. Oh, my god the angle of my character took some serious getting used to. I've been attacked by every monster in the game so far because I can't get a decent view of my surroundings. I hear them and before I can turn around they come out of nowhere and start eating my face! Don't even get me started on the weapons. Aiming is hell and if I try to use melee he's swinging everywhere but at the damn monster right in front of him. Also, how do you jump in zero g? I looked it up and did what it says but doesn't seem to work.

Other than that it's been fun!
Agreed. I really love the idea of Deadspace, it just took too long to adjust to the over-the-shoulder perspective. Sure, it helped with the scares by hindering views, but it was just too distracting to me to really enjoy it. I do love watching the YouTube death scene compilations though! And the animated movie isn't half bad, if you're OK with that goofy blocky Batman style cartoon characters.
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"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I picked up a download copy of Ghosts of Tsushima last night along with Strider that I forgot was in my cart. The latter was only 2.99 and I loved the old console, so should be good. I tested it for about 5 minutes last night (Strider) and ERMAGHERSH it's so awesome!!!! Controls are so smooth, and the background depths and animations REALLY bring this thing to life. I was a huge fan of it on my old Genesis. I can't wait to get into this.

GoTs is another matter. I haven't even opened it yet. Kinda scared =\



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
Started playing Dead Space. People always mention how great it is, so I finally took the leap. Oh, my god the angle of my character took some serious getting used to. I've been attacked by every monster in the game so far because I can't get a decent view of my surroundings. I hear them and before I can turn around they come out of nowhere and start eating my face! Don't even get me started on the weapons. Aiming is hell and if I try to use melee he's swinging everywhere but at the damn monster right in front of him. Also, how do you jump in zero g? I looked it up and did what it says but doesn't seem to work.

Other than that it's been fun!

The only weapon that works is the blade/plasma whatever cutter you start with. All the other weapons were just a waste of time.


I would have platinumed Dead Space if not for the asteroid field trophy.



Love. That. Game.



The People's Republic of Clogher
I now have 300 hours in Animal Crossing. Thanks The Global Pandemic!

*Almost* finished Persona 5 Golden now, but the final third has been a bit of a slog.

Bought Hades. It's definitely my favourite Supergiant game, probably because it's as good to play as it is to look at and listen to. Still technically in early access but you'd never be able to tell. Definitely recommended.




That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
@Tacitus
If you don't have it, you should get Strider on the PSN. Few bucks and a great, classic side-scroller. I can't imagine you NOT liking it, unless it's just too simple of controls or something.


Ghost of Tsushima
Lovely game, so far. I've put about 30 minutes into it, while pacing my ogling over the visuals. After two plays I finally reached the title screen last night. The introductory gameplay and tutorials are quite long, but beautiful. I was worried that most of the game would be cut scenes, but now the world has opened up and I can ride around. I'm not sure HOW open the world is yet, as I had an on-screen prompt warning me to return to the "tale" area with a countdown timer clicking away. That was also before I realized I was still in the tutorial play.

Visuals are gorgeous. I think that should go without saying though. Options are nice as well. For example, there is an HDR setting and a cinematic black and white film nod setting. Everything is black and white!!! You have voice acting options for Japanese or English (with Japanese accents). I tried to go full Japanese with English subtitles, but action got too much while dialogue kept rolling. It FELT perfect, but had no idea what was going on lol. There were a few instructional pop-ups during combat that I accidentally clicked past, but so far combat isn't so complicated. I feel like controls are a bit faster and smoother than say Demon's Souls, and not nearly as clunky. The visual telegraphs of your enemy's moves are readable so I haven't felt overwhelmed yet. If anything, it may be a bit too easy. Still, I've only cleared the tutorial area so I'm sure that will pick up here quick.

There are a lot of flashbacks, just in the first 20 minutes. Very nice cinematics and backstory there.

Now that I'm in the world of the game, the menu and map screens have changed up and seem more complicated. I will have to spend time exploring that but as far as I can tell, you have "Tales" that are your optional missions to track. Available Tales show icons on your map and for whichever one you select, that becomes your focus. During gameplay I'm not seeing a minimap. There may be a toggle, but if so, I think I'll leave it off. Instead, you sort of summon the wind and the leaves will blow in the general direction of where you need to go. It appears as though you have slots for equipment upgrades. I'm just not sure where or how to get them.

Interesting stuff. Nothing feels too difficult, except for the awkward "can I explore?" or, "Are there things to loot?" questions, but that will all sort in time. Right now, if any of you think you'd enjoy a Red Dead Redemption mixed with a bit of Witcher III within Crysis III environments, all with a samurai sword and in black and white and surround sound Japanese dub? Yeah, check this one out.



The People's Republic of Clogher
@Tacitus
If you don't have it, you should get Strider on the PSN. Few bucks and a great, classic side-scroller. I can't imagine you NOT liking it, unless it's just too simple of controls or something.

Bought it when it got released on Steam.

Glad you're enjoying Ghost of Tsushima. I'm gonna hold off for a while due to intense Sonyexclusivethirdpersonactionadventurewithrpgelementsinanopenworld fatigue. My doctor says this is a real thing.