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@Flicker...

Thanks for this! I would not have even considered a game with a title like "Red Dead Redemption" (although I've heard of it), so I'll take a peek. I already played through Firewatch (and did love it). I've started The Vanishing of Ethan Carter but put it aside for other things. Might have to pick it back up. I own No Man's Sky and sometimes dip back into it. I like the exploration there but it's not as, well, pretty.

Oddly, I've been spending time in The Hunter/Call of the Wild, a realistic hunting game where you can choose a region in the world and weapons and hunt big game (or small game). My dad was a hunter, as was hubby, so I find this game interesting. You don't need to actually aim or shoot at anything, and that was my initial goal: to simply walk around these huge vistas and maybe just see animals. After a while I realized it was more fun to participate fully... until a wolf attacked me from behind and I had to start that section over. I had no clue that could happen. Should have read up on the game more.

Another such exploration game with even less danger is Morels: The Hunt. Yes, in this game you walk around hunting for... mushrooms. The areas to choose from aren't as large as The Hunter's, but are still great fun. There is a bonus animal/creature to find in each area (such as Bigfoot). Those are fun.

When GameTap closed down Uru (the online Myst game) years ago, a bunch of us dedicated Myst/Uru fans moved over to Guild Wars. Once in a while I still hop in there (GW or GW2) out of curiosity. I've also dipped my toe in the Skyrim and Fallout worlds a few times. I seem to do better in worlds where the weapons are pre-guns, with bow/arrow being my favorite because I can fight from a distance. Scaredy-cat at every turn.

I also play a handful of world games that are more cartoony and simple quest-oriented: My Time at Portia, Stardew Valley, Creativerse, Minecraft, etc.

That might give you a sense of where I prefer to land. Of course, adventure puzzle games with places to wander around (the entire Myst series, for instance) are always welcome.

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Oh, and I also play games such as Banished (I have 90+ hours in that game), Founders' Fortune (122 hours), and Pine (a few hours in so far)... Resource management is hit-or-miss for me, but if it hits, it really hits and I'm stuck on that one game for weeks.

Re-bump for Outer Wilds. Great worlds to explore that are deceptively large. Puzzles abound and charming lil text dialogue characters everywhere.

The first Red Dead might be an easier starting point as the sequel requires a bit more inventory management or whatever. Unless you've already played it?

Nope, haven't touched anything in that franchise, mostly due to its name and my own perceptions.

I've read you guys discussing Outer Wilds but never thought to take a gander.

@ynwtf...

I just watched a trailer or two for Outer Wilds. I have a feeling my motion sickness/heights issues might keep me from playing. I could barely watch the trailer due to the character falling down deep holes or huge vortexes swirling overhead. I felt almost nauseated and had to stop watching. Sheesh.

Eh, yeah that's fair. In defense, I generally get some vertigo watching others play games. I can see where that would for sure be the case in a trailer for this game. Being in control of your motion and perspective as the player really does negate a lot of that though, IMO. As opposed to watching someone else play it. Like I get twitchy when I'm a passenger riding to lunch. Put me behind the wheel and I could take a Hot Wheels loop and not blink once.


Hm. There was a sense of near overwhelming disorientation when I started this game. It is space-based and physics are legit what with gravity of the planetary bodies pulling at you, but I think that more lends to the charm and immersion of this game after a time. I hated it at first and commented here on it. Thankfully, perseverance soon over came my doubts.


The first two or three attempts at a ship "lift off" were confusing. Once I figured out how to leave the first planet, the wonder really set in and the lore that you discover around the tiny little, adorable solar system is just so sweet and emotional that it kind of swallows you up. After that, I was just inside the game.


Tough call though.


A good therapeutic puzzle game is linelight. When I start up, I just melt into the flow of it all. And the music does get better after a level or two!

Of course there's always Journey!

Yeah, umm, that game never did stick for me. Sorry!

Oh, and I do own Linelight already! Its cleverness reminds me of several other games that have gone in unique directions: Free Lines; Baba Is You; Framed; Henry Stickmin; The Pedestrian.

And you're right about perspectives. I'm often a terrible car passenger due to motion sickness but am fine when I'm driving. And I hate watching other people play games for that reason too. I hadn't thought to include watching a *trailer* of gameplay in that same issue, but surely it counts.

More VR takes on classic games

(Not sure any of the takes are that relevant here, as it's all about mod tinkering really. But hey, there's a vid )

First Look: Cyberpunk 2077 (R.E.A.L. mod)



Very much like his GTA V version, this mod (patreon) unlocks the whole crazy open world, and it just works... (After a bit of tinkering )

The TLDR is it uses: The existing classic controls (no motion controllers), with added head-look aiming, working menus and cut-scenes, and a choice of stereo vision options.

I'm using the 'R.E.A.L.' render (alternating eyes, for improved performance), and it's a lot less flickery than the older GTA V variant in the opening scenes. I need to test it at high speeds in a car though, which is where the flicker often becomes most apparent.

With all settings on low, and resolution at 1620x1620 on my Rift CV1, I'm managing to average 60fps on my rig (GTX 1080 / i7 4790K / 16gb ram). Which makes for surprisingly pleasant playing. And it still manages to look pretty amazing at points regardless, with only stuff like the low textures and aliasing shouting that you're running on 'low'. When the neon, shadows and smoke combine, as a crowd of cyber-types mill about, and some story or incidental chat plays out behind you, it all works out pretty sweet...

You will need your VR Legs for sure, as you're smooth turning everywhere on foot, and cut-scenes and car entries etc take control of the camera from you. Plus performance will tank at points.

There are some issues with gun face (apparently getting a fix in the next update), and things like the gun not aligning with your aim in the car. But they're not major for me as things stand. Looking forward to cyber skulking, samurai slashing, and tyre squealing through more of this world

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i bought gran turismo 7 last friday it looks soo amazing especially the graphics 😍😍 loved when they have museum about the cars also 😍

I'm about 15% into Batman: Arkham Asylum. It's still pretty great given its age. I'm playing the remastered version now on PS4. It is still quite addictive and satisfying, with just the right amount of rage-inducing difficulty when needed. Controls are now showing their age when compared to recent playthroughs such as CONTROL and Ghost of Tsushima, as I'm constantly snagging environmental objects like corners, rails, and getting caught in random holes I've created with the detonator gas gun. Even with the now more obvious limitations, the game is just great with so many layers of play styles. You can knock around henchmen, grapple-gun from rooftop to rooftop, explore the game for Riddler's seemingly infinite hidden clues and trophies, investigate for narrative cues and/or level design secret passageways that are everywhere, or just bail on the game to spend your time in the challenges section to bump the leaderboards. I'm sure I noted before, but the game is mostly linear for the larger portion of a play, forcing you into specific areas of the map with limited paths to and from. That changes once you gain certain skills and gear later in the game. I'm not sure how obvious it was years ago and even though now I am aware, the world design hides this well.

Currently, I am coming up on the Killer Croc encounter. I remember that being quite difficult so I'm getting a bit nervous moving forward. Maybe I have to fight Poison Ivey first? I can't remember.

It's nice to hear Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy's voices. I had actually forgotten how great both actors are here.

Anyway. I doubt I will post much more on this as I've already covered it here a few years back. Maybe just a major obstacle or if I finish it again. I don't remember trophies in my old PS3 version. Was that a thing back then? Maybe I just never logged into the network to sync up. Oh well. That's just one more nice thing to track along with.

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Gave up on Odyssey, after 134 hours of playing it, it began to feel a bit stale, I also felt like I was missing out on playing Elder Ring, so now I have just brought it.

Bought Hot Wheels Unleashed on Xbox One, my first Hot Wheels video game purchase ever. It is a fun game, but the rubber band AI mechanics are blatantly obvious.

Midnight Club II was like that. Loved the gameplay, hated the rubber banding. I destroyed a controller on that one then had to put it away for a decade.

Man, killing like 4 people in spectacular fashion in the first minute of free fire to have some goon come round a corner and kill me as I’m reloading..

This is fine, annoying but fine.

What isn’t is when said goon starts plodding around slowly with 1% health and not using a med pac but looking for a fight.. then you know you’ve been killed by a ****ing plum

Around 600 videogames (plus other stuff) for sale at itch.io for $10 or more depending on how you feel about Ukraine.

https://itch.io/b/1316/bundle-for-ukraine

But I'm mostly mentioning it because Minit. It features Minit and I hadn't played Minit. It's like a minimalist ancestor of Outer Wilds, all about exploring a vast puzzling world within a short time loop, and it's already driving me crazy.



The bundle also features Superhot, Hidden Folks, Rusty Lake Hotel and Baba is You. Just pointing it out. Because they can be hard to spot in this avalanche of cheap fillers.

(It actually also include a couple of other well renowned games, such as Jotun, Sundered, Midnight scenes, Eldritch, Nauticrawl, Lucifer within us and Sokobond, but, not having played them, I can't really vouch for these. Superhot and Baba is You are must haves, though.)

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Get working on your custom lists, people !

Second Look: Cyberpunk 2077 (R.E.A.L. VR mod)

^^ Little pink sports cars are good, but bikes are best ^^

Ten hours in and enjoying this a lot. It really is just another grandiose GTA folly transposed into a sinuous cyber-future

You definitely do need your VR legs to use the mod though, which starts reaching amusing heights during the various in-game VR sessions and digital flashbacks . (VR headbands sit way too close for comfortable accommodation, deranged storylines zap you into bizarre postures and drag you through pointilistic hellscapes....). It's mainly been very fitting and has added to the experience ultimately . But def be forewarned...

The latest update means guns are easier to use with ADS now, which is good. Previously they were scrunched up way too close to your face. They still kind of rove around in poor accommodation realms when just held, like the gaudy console legacies they are, but it's no biggie.

Mainly just loving the wealth of content, the bustling cyber-city, the classic 'grab a car and see what happens' free-forming. And even though I'm on basement settings, with no fancy lighting etc, having the high-end character models and voice acting track you as you move about, and all the incidental chatter and incidents, really does ground you in the world.

I'm kind of avoiding the boxing mission, as it tells me I'll die if I step into the ring, but I do want to do more of the melee. The simple dash system and counter window all work fine like this, and the first person means you do get caught up in the moments chaos and repose when circling around with a test droid.

Can imagine that there are many hacking detective trails and hot-rodding passtimes and other varied delights hiding out there. I intend to find out

This mirrors my experience with Odyssey. Game got really old after a while!

Meanwhile, here is a short video of my Elden Ring experience so far...

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that's so great lol.