Talking Point: What Are You Buying In The Xbox Countdown Sale 2022?

I was tempted to buy Elden Ring but really not sure if I would like it as not a fan of souls games. A shame it doesn't have a trial or demo so I could be certain. Nothing worse than buying a digital game you don't like and getting refused a refund cause it's been played a couple of hours.

Saying that I should save my money as just spent £330 on the Final Fantasy XVI collectors edition. I could only justify it by calling it an early Christmas present.

Diofield chronicle, nier replicant

I just picked up Blacktail and Im good catching up with game pass backlog. If I did get anything it would be Elden Ring but I do not have time for that at the moment

Maybe Narita Boy. Was tempted to buy Soul Hackers but I'll wait.

Thinking of getting Octopath Traveler despite it being on GamePass. Really love the game and know it will be leaving in a few months. Think it’s a good price at $23.99 and want to own it!

Elden Ring for me. I hate Soulsborne, suck totally at it, play each game to like the first boss and quit, and for some reason keep buying into the hype and buying the next one anyway only to rinse and repeat. So all the talk of Elden being the one that got people to finally click with the Soulsborne formula, and hate from the hardcore 1337 Soulsborne purists that it sucked and was too easy, I figure I'll give this one a shot on the sale price. Told myself I'd get it if it was on the black friday sale, it wasn't, and then showed up on this one.

Also got the TMNT Cowabunga collection which I'll probably never play but will cherish having in my library. So much feels. Half of the feels the feel of rage remembering the bomb level of the NES game though.... the glory of Konami's distant past.

STILL waiting for AI Som Nirvana on sale on XB. It's been on sale on PS and NSW....where's the Xbox love, Chunsoft?

@rhyno_888 Props fore being one of 10 Xbox players to buy Diofield. I I bought that on the black friday sale. Enjoyed my time with the demo in Summer, though, I didn't like the grindy nature of repeating missions to level up. Someone on the review thread on Push said unlike my experience and the review experience of Rob, it was NOT grinding and they were naturally at the level of the next mission or above just playing normally without replaying, so I'm certain I must be doing it wrong, somehow.

@Cyberpsycho @themightyant I can tell you the game is well worth it. You can take it at your own pace and go where you like and want more or less of a challenge. The main quest is maybe 40-50 hours but if you want to fight all of the demigods and other minibosses it can take 150+, I've put 200 just exploring in my first save and 40 on the second run through. There's plenty to do aside from just battling bosses way to leveled up. Advice for the mini-boss in the first castle, don't go there until you're level 30! Rest should be a fun challenge. Enjoy whenever you get it!

I still haven't completed a DS game due to difficulty if that helps at all in your decision. Also, YouTube and the Fextra wiki are great resources in your journey through the Lands Between!

Tempted by elden ring but I'm still playing botw that I purchased on launch day so elden ring will have to wait a bit longer

💃 🕺 Elysium is fantastic. Buy it for 55% off.

@Microbius That's good reinforcement making me glad I purchased! I heard a few stories like that and hoped this time would be the charm.

To be fair, I'm more excited that From is moving back to Armored Core next, but....at least I can maybe finally enjoy one of the vaunted Souls games.

@Kilamanjaro you kinda inadvertently spoiled it lol, should change it to Margrit

I got the Quarry. Was on such a nice sale price now. The only game I'm going to get this sale.

@NEStalgia
Was thinking Elden ring as well, but in the same position as you. How are you getting on with it so far?
I went dying light 2 for now.

@Dezzy70 I haven't actually started it yet. I bought it the other day when the sale went up since it was on my "I'll buy it when it's on a sale" list, but haven't had a real chance to play anything from the sale other than trying high on life when it's dropped! Idk that I'll actually get to it before the sale is over to give an opinion

I am considering Disco Elysium, The Ascent and Kaze and the Wild Masks. Not sure if I will do one or all. I have some rewards points to spend. I just started The Ascent on game pass and was thinking to grab at discount in case it leaves in the near future

Bought Diablo Prime Evil Collection. Planning to buy Metro Saga Bundle, loved the first two games.

@NEStalgia I tried the demo and loved it. It reminds me of Blue Dragon plus & Heroes of Mana. Anyway I think there are around 1000 people buying diofield I think lol not just 10. In trueachievement alone there are 786 people play it, there should be more maybe not 5000, closer to 3000

Buying No more Heroes 3(even if I have the switch version) because I want the artbook and OST. stranger of paradise tempted me too

@rhyno_888 LOL, heck, it's an obscure enough Japanese game that I think only 100,000 probably bought it on Switch and PS let alone XB! It's one of those rare gems that's rough but so different from everything else.

@Dezzy70 I gave it a brief try for science. Not into it far enough to really get a solid opinion yet, I'm in the "cave of rememberance" AKA a straight line tutorial. I've got "You died" 3 times already Though I admit mostly that was due to stupidly figuring out controls, not due to any real difficulty.

Ultimately: It's Dark Souls. It looks like DS, feels like DS, sounds like DS, controls like DS, the UI is like DS, the character builder is like DS. It's DS in everything but name. Controlling and using the character is identical to every single other dark souls game.

HOWEVER. I'm reserving judgement. Presentation is a bit higher, and maybe more importantly character control feels less awkwardly ridged, though attack animations still leave you hanging vulnerable forever. Just because it's DS in every way, doesn't mean it's not a DS that isn't as brutal or doesn't handle better. We'll see if I get out into the open world how things stack up. My biggest annoyance is like any DS it really tells you nothing about what you're doing, how to really play, or how to even pick a character class, where names mean nothing and the stats assume you already are a Dark Souls obsessive.

@AlienigenX Go for Stranger Of Paradise. It's not perfect at all but it kept me busy and the challenging missions are SO fun. Decent story too

Shenmue 1+2 and Bully for £5 each

Elden Ring at that price is an absolute bargain. Its genuinely a genre defining game and if you think you might like it, you owe it to yourself to try it.
I've never enjoyed 'souls like' titles in the past as the genre has simply been too difficult for me to make progress in. However in ER you can grind and come back, so if you are dedicated, you can complete it even if your old with shot reactions like me!
Don't be afraid to use web resources for ideas, how to starts and interesting builds - its definitely a game that benefits from such things. I have over 250 hours into it to beat it three times (no save scumming for my platinum here), and I have a level 440 character awaiting the DLC.
The best designed game world I've ever seen, and I hope that those of you who haven't already, get to enjoy it.

@Titntin
Thanks for the little reviews gents
@NEStalgia.
Might go for it still not sure as I do struggle very badly with souls games.
I did see in the internet someone at 7** character level and taking the big bosses down with like one or two hits, that must of been a lot of play time.

@Dezzy70 I've seen some mixed back and forth on it, both from people saying that it's much more forgiving than the rest of the Souls games due to the open world design, and others saying that they heard that, played it and it was just as brutal as other DS games. But I get the feeling that I've seen many more people like tintin say it's the first DS game they were able to make progress in. And with the ability to grind that means it's more like every other RPG. Not that you couldn't grind in prior DS games to an extent, but it seems more doable now.

But I definitely hear you. I've bought ever single From game thinking "this will be the time I get it" and then struggle and just abandon it. I'm hopeful this is the time, because I want to be able to enjoy their designs but actually have fun doing it. Plus the more "dark high fantasy" theme is at least a little less morbid than the eldritch gothic fantasy of the mainline DS series It has a "Tim Burton's The Lord of the Rings" vibe to it.

@Cherip-the-Ripper fixed it to mini-boss instead. I honestly get confused on that character's series of names, sorry!

@Kilamanjaro understandable, no biggie

just bought more games. soul hackers 2, star ocean the divine force. I can’t resist them lol. anyway does Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin worth it?

@NEStalgia yeah it’s very decent RTS game, but square is planning to kill that game since arrival without any marketing

I ignored all the Soulsborne hype for years without really knowing why. Then a few months ago I dipped into Bloodborne and DS3 and couldn't put them down - 30hrs on the former and 65hrs on the latter. They're so visceral, and even though they're damn hard, the whole experience, especially the combat, is so satisfying.

ER is on my watchlist but I'm taking a break from the above to mess around with High of Life and God of War (PS).

Picked up RDR2 for £15 new and some random ones like Ride 4, Squadrons and a few more. Just started parking a load onto a Samsung T7 for a rainy day.

Might snag Cyberpunk. I beat it on PS5 and I have honestly been thinking about Nightcity ever since.

@Dezzy70 FWIW, I played more through the tutorial cave (tutorial is a veeeery loose word to From software ), and only at the "boss" of the area (that died in 3 hits from a knife from an Astrologer class) and after realizing you could lock onto targets with clicking the right stick, it got a lot less deadly (most deaths were from awful swing and miss combat which is resolved with lockon), so otherwise the only deaths there are from annoying ohkos from arrows from archers you dont' know are there until you're dead. Annoying.

Then after that "dungeon" type area I got out into the open world. I didn't play much of that world, but I kind of "get it now" and got series BotW Plateau vibes. Now I realize why it's so praised. BotW was often called "Zelda Souls" when it launched and the Plateau was brutal. And the new Souls is literally BotW Souls. There's even color in the world rather than looking grayscale.

I still don't know if I can really play it, and I'm not REALLY picking up playing that 100 hour game right now....but it's promising from that early impression I think compared to other Souls games. (maybe? hopefully?)

@rhyno_888 Square makes some strange decisions, and that truly felt like a game sent out to die. But then again, Bravely Default was sent out to die and ended up with a sequel with bigger marketing. You have to wonder why they chose to publish games they don't actually have any faith in to begin with?

It's really unique. Which is another way of saying it's doomed. Gamers always want something new, as long as it's exactly like what they already had but shinier and with better reflections.

And LOL, your sale purchases are identical to mine! Star Ocean, Diofield I got on the Black Friday sale, Soul Hackers 2 I bought full price at launch (but barely played it) because I was already a huge fan of the original, and I didn't even know Stranger of Paradise and No More Heroes were on the sale until people mentioned it here, so I bought them too.

I haven't tried out Stranger of Paradise yet, I'll give it a shot now that I checked out the intro of Elden Ring tonight. From what I've read of it it's bizarre, it's ugly, it's awful, and everybody loves it An easier Nioh/Ninja Gaiden combo combat game in a campy FF 1 redo story that's self-aware it's campy. I couldn't quite resist it.

So many big games coming out this year, but I'll wait till next Black Friday/Year End to buy them cheaper

Got DioField Chronicle and The Quarry using reward points; which also let me hit the sale threshold and get more reward points. ❤️ Xbox rewards.

@NEStalgia @Rhyno_888 same here thinking to get Star Ocean and Stranger of Paradise too (but physically as they are much cheaper).

@NEStalgia square has won the worst publisher of 2022 lol. they even sold their western studios. I think games other than FF or DQ that they make barely have any marketing. even star ocean divine force many people don't even know if it does exist lol. Valkyrie too they killed it with action genre and exclusivity.
I have bought NMH3 day 1. it's a great game, but it would be better if NMH 1&2 available on xbox so I can understand the plot better...

@rhyno_888 weird thing is theyve published more than anyone else. Then forgot to tell anyone... There's that weird FF farm life sim on switch, too 😂

@Edwirichuu the trailer with My way on the background finally tipped the scale and bought it.