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The Adventure Starts Here!
It's left enough of an influence that I've been going out of my way to figure out what other games I can play on the Switch, instead of the PC, to fill that void. Tunic probably first.

Great game, as good as everyone said, and (mostly) playing it so late means I only half to wait six months for the next one, which is cool.
I bought myself a Switch for Christmas (finally upgrading from the Wii), and I am playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons almost exclusively. So if you have any suggestions for games in a style I might enjoy, pass them along!



I bought myself a Switch for Christmas (finally upgrading from the Wii), and I am playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons almost exclusively. So if you have any suggestions for games in a style I might enjoy, pass them along!
Stardew Valley is the first that comes to mind. Kind of like Farmville but with an actual story and without all the awful crappy monetization manipulation stuff.



I'm currently replaying the original Mass Effect trilogy (remastered edition) Absolutely adore these games, some of my favourites of all time. Just about half way through the 2nd game, probably my favourite out of the 3.
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The Adventure Starts Here!
Stardew Valley is the first that comes to mind. Kind of like Farmville but with an actual story and without all the awful crappy monetization manipulation stuff.
Ha ha ha! Too late! I have 500 hours in that game on the PC. Yes, very similar. Kinda like if Animal Crossing and Minecraft had a baby.



I'm currently replaying the original Mass Effect trilogy (remastered edition) Absolutely adore these games, some of my favourites of all time. Just about half way through the 2nd game, probably my favourite out of the 3.
it was free last month on ps+ . loved the 2nd one of my favs



A system of cells interlinked
Finally...

After 165 hours, I have finally finished Elden Ring. Pretty sure I located and completed at least 95% of the content, but you never can tell with FromSoft games. I unlocked all but three of the achievements, with the final three being the two endings I didn't get, and the "Get all the achievements" final unlock. The notion of going through the entire game again to get those endings is not particularly attractive at this point in time. Probably the best open world RPG of the current era, and top 5 all time for me. The wonder of discovery, the thrill of finally overcoming a difficult challenges, and the absolutely breathtaking beauty of the world design and atmosphere will be trough to beat in the future.

Not much negative to say about the game except the sort of silly-on-the-surface complaint of there being about 30 hours too much content, and I would add that the final run of 5-7 bosses, a couple of which were optional, had be contemplating walking into the sea, never to be seen again. Melania especially was a teeth-grinding affair, and she is perhaps the only boss in FromSoft history that one could level an argument against for being straight up unfair. I shut off the game at one point and thought that the next time I played, I might have to break my tried and true "no-summon" rule, and call in help from another player or two. Alas, After about another 20 attempts(!!!) the next time I played, I managed to defeat her, and really, it was sort of luck that helped me win. Not a well-designed boss. That said, her art style and music was jaw-droppingly gorgeous, so I enjoyed that aspect at least.



Anyway, I ended up with the "Age of Stars" ending, which in FromSoft tradition, was as brief as all the rest of their game endings. These are games are all about the journey, with the destination being a final, relaxed sigh of relief.

For those of you that would like to see the sort of melancholy and grim art style and atmosphere of a FromSoft game, but have no plans on putting yourself through actually playing one, here is the Age of Stars ending video. Spoilers (obviously).

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Dang, nice job man. Lotta commitment there, for sure.

I wish I liked the brutally unforgiving style of these games more, I really do, because they're gorgeous. I like the lore, and I love that they've made a big open-world game full of secrets and discovery...but I just can't get into it. Too punishing, not enough fun. Heck, I even get genuine fatigue in my hands trying to play them.



You ready? You look ready.
@Sedai tell me you're a masochist without telling me

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"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza



A system of cells interlinked
Dang, nice job man. Lotta commitment there, for sure.

I wish I liked the brutally unforgiving style of these games more, I really do, because they're gorgeous. I like the lore, and I love that they've made a big open-world game full of secrets and discovery...but I just can't get into it. Too punishing, not enough fun. Heck, I even get genuine fatigue in my hands trying to play them.
You are not alone in feeling that way about these games. I recall jumping on voice chat on X-Box 360 when Dark Souls was all the rage, and my buddy Patrick had picked it up the same day. We created a room and just shot the shit while we played, and poor Pat never made it out of the tutorial area, running up against the boss and just never getting by it. He was quite frustrated by the end, and hasn't touched a Souls-like since.

I do think Elden Ring is the most new-player friendly of the bunch, as it isn't nearly as restrictive insofar as if you run up against a boss you can't beat, you are free to wander off and do other things - the Souls games are a brutal gauntlet from which is there little to no deviation for quite a ways into the game. Still, you eventually do have to get past those bosses, and they are still punishing.



Anyway, I was hitting uninstall pretty much as soon as the credits were done rolling.

Which then had me wondering how my old 10 series card would run Cyberpunk 2077, which I recently received as a gift on Steam! I installed it and let it set up the resolution etc., and fired it up to check it out for a few minutes. Four hours later...

Game runs fine, btw!



there's a frog in my snake oil
I was just thinking about Dark Souls 2 the other day, and how weird it is what makes or breaks games for you.

It's the only FromSoft game I managed to get into properly, to the point where I was fine carving out the time to bash through the walls of challenge/frustration. I was digging the combat, enjoying nosing away from firepit safety into the world, nursing those precious souls, getting adrenline kicks out of finally figuring out a boss....

But the swords man... Those daft enormous swords...

As soon as the ravaging min max demands of DS's design meant I really had to run with a big cartoon blade, I fell out of love with it. Didn't like the fighting style like that, didn't really believe in the world any more seeing me flailing that big ole wishbone around. That was it...

EDIT:

Also fun to revisit old threads like that. I have no idea what we're on about half the time

Got mobbed by the pole dancers en masse and decided to leave it a bit.
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A system of cells interlinked
I was just thinking about Dark Souls 2 the other day, and how weird it is what makes or breaks games for you.

It's the only FromSoft game I managed to get into properly, to the point where I was fine carving out the time to bash through the walls of challenge/frustration. I was digging the combat, enjoying nosing away from firepit safety into the world, nursing those precious souls, getting adrenline kicks out of finally figuring out a boss....

But the swords man... Those daft enormous swords...

As soon as ravaging min max demands of DS's design meant I really had to run with a big cartoon blade, I fell out of love with it. Didn't like the fighting style like that, didn't really believe in the world any more seeing me flailing that big ole wishbone around. That was it...
I take it you were a STR build? There are plenty of regular sized swords and daggers etc. for the DEX side of things. And finally, in Elden Ring, you can even carry a wand around, and you can actually progress casting magic as you only attacks! That stuff was always relegated to an also in previous games, and never an only.

I was actually thinking about you the other day, and how DS2 was the only one you played - that game is constantly on the bottom of people's rankings for the Souls games. Speaking of daft, the level design in that game was directly out to lunch!

EDIT: I hated those pole dancers!



there's a frog in my snake oil
I take it you were a STR build? There are plenty of regular sized swords and daggers etc. for the DEX side of things. And finally, in Elden Ring, you can even carry a wand around, and you can actually progress casting magic as you only attacks! That stuff was always relegated to an also in previous games, and never an only.

I was actually thinking about you the other day, and how DS2 was the only one you played - that game is constantly on the bottom of people's rankings for the Souls games. Speaking of daft, the level design in that game was directly out to lunch!

EDIT: I hated those pole dancers!
I honestly can't remember! I just remember getting to the point where it was the no-brainer option (plus the only way I could get through certain stages), but it just wasn't the darting d'Artagnan gameplay I'd fallen in love with :/

And yeah it's daft that DS2 is the one I went in big for. I knew I wasn't getting the artful unfolding world of DS, but it just fell at the right time I think. (I'd tried DS previously and bounced after a bit that go). Think it was just the mix of better graphics for the world-building, novel multiplayer bonus layers, and just the tight tight control set. Lots to get lost in.

That and I must have had some time at the time



A system of cells interlinked
I honestly can't remember! I just remember getting to the point where it was the no-brainer option (plus the only way I could get through certain stages), but it just wasn't the darting d'Artagnan gameplay I'd fallen in love with :/

And yeah it's daft that DS2 is the one I went in big for. I knew I wasn't getting the artful unfolding world of DS, but it just fell at the right time I think. (I'd tried DS previously and bounced after a bit that go). Think it was just the mix of better graphics for the world-building, novel multiplayer bonus layers, and just the tight tight control set. Lots to get lost in.

That and I must have had some time at the time
I hear that, I find myself burning the candle at both ends these days to make time to do stuff like play my guitar or game. The wee lass takes up much of our time, and then there is all the life stuff to keep up with etc. That 165 hours in Elden Ring started back in March 2022, although I did have a multi-month layoff in the middle of it all.

Plenty of fast bouncing about in Dark Souls 3, with some excellent world building and discovery to top it all off. Probably my favorite of the three Souls games these days. Maybe give it a go some day!



there's a frog in my snake oil
I hear that, I find myself burning the candle at both ends these days to make time to do stuff like play my guitar or game. The wee lass takes up much of our time, and then there is all the life stuff to keep up with etc. That 165 hours in Elden Ring started back in March 2022, although I did have a multi-month layoff in the middle of it all.

Plenty of fast bouncing about in Dark Souls 3, with some excellent world building and discovery to top it all off. Probably my favorite of the three Souls games these days. Maybe give it a go some day!
Ay, there def comes a sleep vs pinched hobby hours thing. And sleep starts to win

Kai's just heading out the other side now [10] where he's into games and we can overlap chill out hobbies, which is cool. (Got the split screen working for Battlefront 2, so we can at least play 'Battlefield Lite' together, while he explains what the hell the Clone Wars are to me...)

Maybe I'll get to DS3 when he graduates



A system of cells interlinked
Ay, there def comes a sleep vs pinched hobby hours thing. And sleep starts to win

Kai's just heading out the other side now [10] where he's into games and we can overlap chill out hobbies, which is cool. (Got the split screen working for Battlefront 2, so we can at least play 'Battlefield Lite' together, while he explains what the hell the Clone Wars are to me...)

Maybe I'll get to DS3 when he graduates
Stelly is just about to turn 4, and can't quite use the controller effectively yet - she can make a character move around a bit and jump etc., but can't really get oriented and get anything done. Soon!

Meanwhile, I am headlong into Cyberpunk 2077! Well, Still just the one session with it so far, but I want to play more!



there's a frog in my snake oil
Meanwhile, I am headlong into Cyberpunk 2077! Well, Still just the one session with it so far, but I want to play more!
For the mid-term I can def recommend pursuing the jumpy bionic legs. (Plus some stealth mods and a good katana ). The verticality they've allowed for is pretty great



A system of cells interlinked
For the mid-term I can def recommend pursuing the jumpy bionic legs. (Plus some stealth mods and a good katana ). The verticality they've allowed for is pretty great
So far, I have leaned pretty heavily into quick hacks and reflexes, which I believe the reflexes had some blade stuff if I recall. Trying to be fairly stealthy so far!