Earlier this week I beat Animal Well, which was amazing. If you were considering it, I would highly recommend going in as blind as possible and seeing what it has to offer for yourself. You won't be disappointed. It embodies the refresh the metroidvania genre needed.
I also went to an arcade a few days ago and played through the entirety of Luigi's Mansion Arcade for the first time. The machine itself was a little inconsistent with tracking the reticle, but it was still a blast. Took maybe 30 minutes or so and I spent about $12 on credits to get from start to finish. The arcade also had Mario Kart GP, but I didn't get to play it there. However, I found "alternate means" of playing that, and have been racing through Mario Kart GP 2. I didn't realize the cups are just the same track 4 times in a row with slight differences like rain, or item limitations, or the items are in a different spot, or the track bends left instead of right and maybe there's a "new" aspect to it like a bridge instead of a tunnel, etc. So there are technically 32 tracks, but really there are only 8 tracks and they just change sometimes. Some of the items are interesting though, like the black shell, which explodes like a bomb when it hits something. I think that might be the only instance of a black shell in the Mario universe. There are actually a ton of items that are not in the main series of Mario Kart games. Some of the more interesting examples are tacks that flatten your tires and make your kart veer off to one side, and other more imaginative items that will lock your steering wheel, or prevent you from jumping, or make your tires square. There's a lot more than that too. Kinda neat, and way more creative than the track design is.
Last night the guys and I played a few rounds of Helldivers 2 which is fun, but I personally don't find it to be the masterpiece that other people seem to think it is. It's pretty repetitive and I'm not a big fan of some of the mechanics such as how reloading works or the way it forces you to buy things you don't want in order to unlock the possibility of buying something you do want. Don't get me wrong, it's fun, and good, just not a "great" game in my opinion.
Also still chipping away at Warhammer 40k: Boltgun and Mortal Kombat 9.
I finished Hellblade 2 the same day it came out, so not that. It was alright, maybe even good. But the gameplay lacks depth, and it can be boring at times. This weekend I'll be testing out the waters in Sonar Shock which is a System Shock inspired game that takes place in a submarine. Just came out yesterday on Steam and it looks amazing. Maybe some more Fallout 76 with the guys tonight too.
@Benjamin This remake is much less of an immersive sim than Prey. There aren't really enough systems in place or level design that allows for deep player choice/creativity in the way that Prey, Dishonored, Deus Ex, etc. have to really call this one an imsim. It's also much more difficult than Prey in my opinion if that matters to you one way or another. For me personally, Prey is 10/10 while System Shock remake is 8/10.
I got the One S with Doom and a second controller for $150 on a Black Friday sale and that was hard to resist. My friends play mostly on Xbox and those 2 factors got me into their ecosystem. I'm done with Xbox after this gen though. I have a nice PC and a Steam Deck now and have no reason to own an Xbox console going forward, especially in light of their recent self-sabotaging business practices. I post mostly on this site because there isn't a PC version of the sister sites. Speaking of that, why isn't there one? 🧐
Last night I finished Ashes 2063, which I really enjoyed as my first Doom total conversion. Interestingly, it looks and feels a bit more like a Duke 3D mod than a Doom one. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland with small outposts filled with shady characters to talk to, trade with, and shop from. The guns are nothing overly crazy, but are all pretty cool/useful, and ammo is a bit scarce, so you will find a use for them all. There are subways, abandoned facilities, radiation zones, and motorcycle rides through the desert. The soundtrack is just incredible, too. Mutants and punky scavengers make up most of the enemies, but there are a couple surprises as well. It has some lite RPG type elements thrown in, but its mainly a boomer shooter experience. Maybe 5 or 6 hours long. I would highly recommend checking out it if you're into games like STALKER, Fallout, Metro, and also games like Doom, Duke 3D, or retro shooters in general.
I'll be mostly playing more Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age the rest of the weekend, but I'll knock out a few levels of Warhammer 40k: Boltgun as well.
@Lup My buddy convinced me to give it a shot and I've never played it before, so I'm potentially part of the audience for whatever it's worth to mention it.
Even though I'll personally probably never play it again, I hope they let Arkane Austin finish and release the offline patch they were working on for Redfall.
Last night the boys and I fired up the Dimension of the Machine expansion for Quake and played through a few of the levels. It was a blast! I didn't know until just the other day that you can play the game co-op like that.
I'm also playing Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age which is a fan made expansion for Thief 2. I'm maybe 1/3 of the way through it, and am really enjoying it so far.
I also played through Indika the other day, and wow. Easily one of the best walking sims I've ever played. It is surreal and insane. Really dives in and deals with some existential s*** in a funny, but also deeply meaningful way. I'm laughing one minute then crying the next. Cuts to the bone. And the way the story is told is just genius. It's almost a movie, but it knows it's a video game, and uses the format to subvert expectations in some pretty clever ways. Absolutely a work of art.
Yesterday I finished Dread Templar. Pure boomer shooter bliss.
I decided to retire Project Downfall. I'm stuck on the level called "Grounded" very near one of the endings. I'm just not skilled enough to complete it, and I can't figure out if there is a way to go back or change the difficulty without resetting my progress completely. If anyone happens to know if/how I could do that, let me know! I'd love to be able to see the game through if possible, but I dont want to play the whole thing over again.
Also playing through The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes which has been pretty good so far.
Last night my friends and I finished the Remnant 2 Forgotten Kingdom DLC which was very good. What a wild and crazy game. Some of the coolest boss fights for sure. 9/10
I tried to play Lisa the First since I claimed the other two Lisa games on EGS, but wow that game is not good or fun at all. It's interesting but it's like a kaizo Mario level in design - only masochists would get any sort of enjoyment out of it. 3/10.
The rest of the weekend I'll be chipping away at Dread Templar and Mortal Kombat (9).
Last night I finished Blacksite: Area 51 which certainly wasn't anything special, but I was curious about it as a big fan of Harvey Smith. It ended up being pretty okay, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. Too generic.
Today I played a little more of Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, and I'm glad I did because it is starting to get a little more interesting.
I also picked up Lies Beneath after putting it down for about 6 months and played through a chapter. I'll probably just chip away at that one just every so often when I'm in a VR mood. It's alright, but not compelling enough to devote a lot of time to it.
I loved Control, Quantum Break, and the Alan Wake games, but I never played any of Max Payne games. I am eagerly anticipating these remakes! Day one purchase for sure.
@Stamnoso Remedy's games are so innovative and interesting. I'm really looking forward to the Max Payne remakes.
Dishonored 2 is outstanding, some of the best level design ever imo, though I would recommend playing the story DLC for the first one if you haven't yet before getting to 2. It's included in the Game Pass version, and provides a little more context for the sequel.
I'm still playing Dread Templar, but it's getting frustratingly difficult and less and less fun as it goes on. Also playing Daymare 1998 which is very much discount RE2R in just about every way possible. Maybe I should give up on them and move on to something I'm more likely to thoroughly enjoy. Thinking about starting Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age instead..
Edit: Being 49 cents on Steam, I decided to try out Dr Livesey Rom and Death Edition 😂 Absolutely unhinged.
Nearing the end of Amnesia: Rebirth. I don't love it, but I actually like it more than both The Dark Descent and Soma. That being said, it's not even close to as good as the direction they took for The Bunker, which is by far Frictional's greatest accomplishment in my opinion.
Evil Within on PC has the DLC included and playable from the start
Don't forget you can get the EA App and link your Game Pass account to play games on that app for "free" that are not technically on Game Pass (such as Crysis Remastered 1-3, some of the old Star Wars games, etc)
Some games are not exclusive to PC but you get a much better experience regarding frames per second and other graphical features not on console such as:
-Dishonored 2
-Redfall
-Plague Tale: Requiem
-Hypnospace Outlaw (just make more sense with M&K - though I know you can technically play it that way on console as well)
Not on Game Pass, but the original version of Doki Doki Literature Club is free and without saying too much, the PC version specifically will blow your mind by the time you get to the end. Never seen a game do something quite like that before.
This weekend I finished the 2 missions that come pre-installed with The Dark Mod and looking into some of the other downloadable campaigns. Its crazy that it feels/plays almost exactly like Thief when its actually a Doom 3 mod. I was having some performance issues with it on my Steam Deck but I installed the Linux version instead of the Windows version and that helped quite a bit, though I still can't get it to run steady past 45fps without taking an intolerable hit to the resolution. 45 isn't too bad, but when I'm used to 90 on Steam Deck, the difference is pretty drastic.
Mostly I'm still playing Deus Ex: 2027 and Princess Peach: Showtime. 2027 is very good, though I ran into a bit of trouble figuring out what to do in Moscow, and there aren't really any guides I could find that helped. I was trying to play both sides of the conflict, but I wasn't really able to progress with one of them. Oh well. Off to Siberia now!
I also played the first level of Alien Trilogy just to see if I could map the controls like a normal FPS on my Steam Deck, which of course you can. It doesn't exactly make it feel amazing, but it's a major improvement.
Have not played multiplayer in a very long time. At some point, I'd like to play through the entire series' campaigns, but that probably won't be for a long, long while... Halo just isn't that high on my priority list.
I played a bit of Princess Peach: Showtime being a little too impatient to see what its about before playing the rest with my daughter. It was pretty fun actually. The variety in gameplay kept things interesting.
I'm also playing Aperture Tag, which is a Portal 2 mod where instead of a portal gun, you have a gun that shoots the orange and blue gel. It's not too bad so far. I think I am maybe half-way through it.
And then the other game I'm playing is another mod, but this time for the original Deus Ex, called Deus Ex: 2027 (I've also seen it referred to as "Project 2027" and also just "2027"). I'm just coming out of Paris, so still near the beginning I think. So far I think it is quite good, and I am very much enjoying my time with it.
Basically the same stuff for me, Thief: The Black Parade, and Dread Templar. Earlier this week I played through Ad Infernum. Super short at about 2-2.5 hours, but I would highly recommend if you are into horror themed imm-sims like Amnesia: The Bunker and Stay Out of the House.
I didn't really enjoy my time with the first one on PC playing it for the first time a couple months ago. I would try it again on Xbox with a controller if it was on GP, but definitely not paying that much for them when they are on sale about every other week on steam/gog for $3-5
If I've already played the game, I don't buy/play the remaster unless it is significantly different or has extra content. If I haven't played it, I go with the remaster. Remakes are typically different in the sense that it isn't (typically) the "same" game and I will usually play both if I'm interested enough in whatever it is.
This weekend I'm on vacation but still finding time here and there to sneak in some game time on my Steam Deck. Last night I finished Dusk which was overall a super fun game. I'm also still playing through Thief: The Black Parade. While absolutely amazing, and not even "for a fan game", occasionally the level design falls a bit flat in the sense that there can be so, so many dead ends and twists and turns in some of the levels that it becomes a bit frustrating to figure out the correct path, which is somewhat antithetical to the imm-sim philosophy of finding your own path. Still, this only happens occasionally and forgivable considering how enormous the maps are. It's an incredible game that I would highly recommend if you're into the Thief and/or Dishonored games. I tried to play a brand new imm-sim/horror game called Ad Infernum but it crashes almost immediately on my Steam Deck so I may need to wait until I get home to play on my main PC or maybe they will patch it soon. I'd prefer to play on the Deck if possible. I also started Dread Templar which so far is a blast. Looking forward to getting deeper into it.
I'm going on vacation in a few days and loaded up my Steam Deck with a bunch of boomer shooters like Dusk, Amid Evil, and Dread Templar. Gave em a go to make sure they work, and yes, they all seem to run great. I'm especially a fan of being able to turn on gyro for every game through the Steam Deck interface. Game changing stuff for me as I like to be able to fine tune my aim with a bit of gyro, especially for boomer shooters.
I also loaded up Thief: The Black Parade which is a full campaign fan mod for Thief Gold. I'm 4 chapters in, and it is an incredible achievement. Highly recommended if you are into the old Thief games or other immersive sims like Dishonored. I'm blown away by the effort and passion that was put into this one. I had been playing this on my main gaming PC for the last few days, and its kindof amazing that you can basically just drag and drop PC games onto Steam Deck and it just works with minimal effort on my end.
Mostly just playing Quake 4. Just over half-way through it now. I played a bit more of Crysis Remastered (did y'all know that if you have GP for PC or GP Ultimate, you also have an EA Play account, and you can play that for "free" even though it isn't on GP?) and decided to give up on it. I also played a bit more of Death Stranding Director's Cut and gave up on that as well.
Last night I played some more of Sea of Thieves: Legend of Monkey Island with the guys. Nearing the end now and one of my buddies is sick of it. The puzzles are a bit convoluted, but it's Monkey Island.. it's to be expected.
I decided to give up a couple games this week, such as STALKER and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay as I was no longer having fun with either of them.
So instead, I decided to pick Project Downfall back up and also start Quake 4. The former I can really only play in short bursts since it's so intense, and the latter has been fun so far but I only played about 30 minutes.
I took the day off yesterday (far in advance to be a little more fair to myself) to play Suicide Squad and I ended up not even buying it.. Like Gotham Knights and Arkham Knight, it will probably go onto Game Pass at some point anyway, and paying full price for such a poorly received game seems like a stupid move when I have so many other games to play.
As far as what I'm actually playing, I decided to check out Silent Hill: The Short Message which is hitting closer to home than I expected. Honestly its helping me better understand someone in my life, and also making me reflect on some of my own thoughts and behavior when I was younger.
Last night my friends and I played the second tall tale in Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island. It wasn't as interesting as the first tall tale, but it was still pretty fun.
Most of my time this weekend will be spent finishing up Portal: Revolution which has been fantastic outside of constant crashing on my Steam Deck. Oh well. It's worth the headache.
I finished Axiom Verge 2 last night. Good game with a lot of cool stuff going on mechanically, but even so, I didn't like it quite as much as the first one. I started Close to the Sun earlier today and am about halfway through it now. It's... okay.
@fizban3332 In some, even many ways, yes, but they're all focused around PvP. Removing that element fundamentally changes what the game is and how you would play it.
Last night I finished off Spider-Man 2, which was incredible. With a good story, amazing graphics, and fun gameplay, I really enjoyed it.
This weekend I won't have too much time to game so I'll probably keep it simple and just play through a few missions of Duke Nukem Advance. I put it on my Steam Deck and re-mapped the controls to make it play as close to a modern FPS as possible, which feels pretty okay actually. It's a cool little game for what it is.
Played some WWZ: Aftermath with the guys last night. Getting back into the swing of how that one works. My buddy kept thinking of how Back 4 Blood works instead of the game we were actually playing lol.. Also playing Spider-Man 2. I think I'm maybe about 1/3 of the way through it.
Comments 840
Re: These Four Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (June 12-18)
I thought Callisto was kinda bad, but I'm pumped for Octopath 2. Started it up last night with Castti.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 1-2)
Earlier this week I beat Animal Well, which was amazing. If you were considering it, I would highly recommend going in as blind as possible and seeing what it has to offer for yourself. You won't be disappointed. It embodies the refresh the metroidvania genre needed.
I also went to an arcade a few days ago and played through the entirety of Luigi's Mansion Arcade for the first time. The machine itself was a little inconsistent with tracking the reticle, but it was still a blast. Took maybe 30 minutes or so and I spent about $12 on credits to get from start to finish. The arcade also had Mario Kart GP, but I didn't get to play it there. However, I found "alternate means" of playing that, and have been racing through Mario Kart GP 2. I didn't realize the cups are just the same track 4 times in a row with slight differences like rain, or item limitations, or the items are in a different spot, or the track bends left instead of right and maybe there's a "new" aspect to it like a bridge instead of a tunnel, etc. So there are technically 32 tracks, but really there are only 8 tracks and they just change sometimes. Some of the items are interesting though, like the black shell, which explodes like a bomb when it hits something. I think that might be the only instance of a black shell in the Mario universe. There are actually a ton of items that are not in the main series of Mario Kart games. Some of the more interesting examples are tacks that flatten your tires and make your kart veer off to one side, and other more imaginative items that will lock your steering wheel, or prevent you from jumping, or make your tires square. There's a lot more than that too. Kinda neat, and way more creative than the track design is.
Last night the guys and I played a few rounds of Helldivers 2 which is fun, but I personally don't find it to be the masterpiece that other people seem to think it is. It's pretty repetitive and I'm not a big fan of some of the mechanics such as how reloading works or the way it forces you to buy things you don't want in order to unlock the possibility of buying something you do want. Don't get me wrong, it's fun, and good, just not a "great" game in my opinion.
Also still chipping away at Warhammer 40k: Boltgun and Mortal Kombat 9.
Re: Redfall's Final Update Is Now Live On Xbox & PC, Here Are The Patch Notes
Awesome they were able to put this out before closing up shop. Sad to see one of my favorite devs die.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 25-26)
I finished Hellblade 2 the same day it came out, so not that. It was alright, maybe even good. But the gameplay lacks depth, and it can be boring at times. This weekend I'll be testing out the waters in Sonar Shock which is a System Shock inspired game that takes place in a submarine. Just came out yesterday on Steam and it looks amazing. Maybe some more Fallout 76 with the guys tonight too.
Re: Review: System Shock Remake (Xbox) - Nightdive Does It Again With Another Superbly Studied Remake
@Benjamin This remake is much less of an immersive sim than Prey. There aren't really enough systems in place or level design that allows for deep player choice/creativity in the way that Prey, Dishonored, Deus Ex, etc. have to really call this one an imsim. It's also much more difficult than Prey in my opinion if that matters to you one way or another. For me personally, Prey is 10/10 while System Shock remake is 8/10.
Re: Talking Point: What Convinced You To Pick Xbox In The First Place?
I got the One S with Doom and a second controller for $150 on a Black Friday sale and that was hard to resist. My friends play mostly on Xbox and those 2 factors got me into their ecosystem. I'm done with Xbox after this gen though. I have a nice PC and a Steam Deck now and have no reason to own an Xbox console going forward, especially in light of their recent self-sabotaging business practices. I post mostly on this site because there isn't a PC version of the sister sites. Speaking of that, why isn't there one? 🧐
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 18-19)
Last night I finished Ashes 2063, which I really enjoyed as my first Doom total conversion. Interestingly, it looks and feels a bit more like a Duke 3D mod than a Doom one. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland with small outposts filled with shady characters to talk to, trade with, and shop from. The guns are nothing overly crazy, but are all pretty cool/useful, and ammo is a bit scarce, so you will find a use for them all. There are subways, abandoned facilities, radiation zones, and motorcycle rides through the desert. The soundtrack is just incredible, too. Mutants and punky scavengers make up most of the enemies, but there are a couple surprises as well. It has some lite RPG type elements thrown in, but its mainly a boomer shooter experience. Maybe 5 or 6 hours long. I would highly recommend checking out it if you're into games like STALKER, Fallout, Metro, and also games like Doom, Duke 3D, or retro shooters in general.
I'll be mostly playing more Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age the rest of the weekend, but I'll knock out a few levels of Warhammer 40k: Boltgun as well.
Looking forward to Hellblade 2 on Tuesday!
Re: Bethesda Announces Plans For The Final Redfall Update On Xbox & PC
Okay. Cool that they can finish the patch at least. Farewell to one of my favorite devs.
Re: Rumour: The First Red Dead Redemption Could Be Coming To Xbox Game Pass
@Lup My buddy convinced me to give it a shot and I've never played it before, so I'm potentially part of the audience for whatever it's worth to mention it.
Re: Hi-Fi RUSH Is Getting One Final Patch As Tango Gameworks Thanks Fans For Support
Even though I'll personally probably never play it again, I hope they let Arkane Austin finish and release the offline patch they were working on for Redfall.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 11-12)
Last night the boys and I fired up the Dimension of the Machine expansion for Quake and played through a few of the levels. It was a blast! I didn't know until just the other day that you can play the game co-op like that.
I'm also playing Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age which is a fan made expansion for Thief 2. I'm maybe 1/3 of the way through it, and am really enjoying it so far.
I also played through Indika the other day, and wow. Easily one of the best walking sims I've ever played. It is surreal and insane. Really dives in and deals with some existential s*** in a funny, but also deeply meaningful way. I'm laughing one minute then crying the next. Cuts to the bone. And the way the story is told is just genius. It's almost a movie, but it knows it's a video game, and uses the format to subvert expectations in some pretty clever ways. Absolutely a work of art.
Re: Arkane Apparently Wanted To Work On New 'Immersive Sim', Potentially More Dishonored
Immersive sims are my favorite kind of video game. Earlier this year, Deus Ex was canceled, and now this too... just sucks.
Re: Xbox Studio Shutdowns Are A 'F***ing Gut Stab', Says Arkane Lyon Boss
Hoping he still has a job after saying something (awesome) like that
Re: Redfall DLC Cancelled As Developer Arkane Austin Gets Closed Down By Xbox
That is terrible news.... Redfall wasn't exactly amazing, but this still sucks...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 4-5)
Yesterday I finished Dread Templar. Pure boomer shooter bliss.
I decided to retire Project Downfall. I'm stuck on the level called "Grounded" very near one of the endings. I'm just not skilled enough to complete it, and I can't figure out if there is a way to go back or change the difficulty without resetting my progress completely. If anyone happens to know if/how I could do that, let me know! I'd love to be able to see the game through if possible, but I dont want to play the whole thing over again.
Also playing through The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes which has been pretty good so far.
Re: Hellblade 2 Will Display With 'Black Bars' Outside Of Ultrawide Mode
It's like Xbox is trying to fail at this point... there's no way this "design choice" doesn't negatively affect reviews.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 27-28)
Last night my friends and I finished the Remnant 2 Forgotten Kingdom DLC which was very good. What a wild and crazy game. Some of the coolest boss fights for sure. 9/10
I tried to play Lisa the First since I claimed the other two Lisa games on EGS, but wow that game is not good or fun at all. It's interesting but it's like a kaizo Mario level in design - only masochists would get any sort of enjoyment out of it. 3/10.
The rest of the weekend I'll be chipping away at Dread Templar and Mortal Kombat (9).
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 20-21)
@adderblack39 Yeah, although I was playing the PS3 version (via RPCS3).
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 20-21)
Last night I finished Blacksite: Area 51 which certainly wasn't anything special, but I was curious about it as a big fan of Harvey Smith. It ended up being pretty okay, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. Too generic.
Today I played a little more of Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, and I'm glad I did because it is starting to get a little more interesting.
I also picked up Lies Beneath after putting it down for about 6 months and played through a chapter. I'll probably just chip away at that one just every so often when I'm in a VR mood. It's alright, but not compelling enough to devote a lot of time to it.
Re: Talking Point: Are You Excited For Remedy's Max Payne 1+2 Remake?
I loved Control, Quantum Break, and the Alan Wake games, but I never played any of Max Payne games. I am eagerly anticipating these remakes! Day one purchase for sure.
Re: Talking Point: What Have You Bought In The Xbox Spring Sale 2024?
Nothing from the Xbox sale. Bought a few games on the Steam sale though: Hyper Demon, Post Void, and Squirrel Stapler.
Re: Three More Xbox Game Pass Titles Have Just Been Announced For 2024
Awesome. Now I don't have to buy Heist 2 Hoping they put Quest on there too at some point.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 13-14)
@Stamnoso Remedy's games are so innovative and interesting. I'm really looking forward to the Max Payne remakes.
Dishonored 2 is outstanding, some of the best level design ever imo, though I would recommend playing the story DLC for the first one if you haven't yet before getting to 2. It's included in the Game Pass version, and provides a little more context for the sequel.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 13-14)
@Stamnoso Not exclusive to Xbox, but my go to recommendation is always Dishonored. If you're looking for Xbox exclusives only, I'd say Quantum Break.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 13-14)
I'm still playing Dread Templar, but it's getting frustratingly difficult and less and less fun as it goes on. Also playing Daymare 1998 which is very much discount RE2R in just about every way possible. Maybe I should give up on them and move on to something I'm more likely to thoroughly enjoy. Thinking about starting Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age instead..
Edit: Being 49 cents on Steam, I decided to try out Dr Livesey Rom and Death Edition 😂 Absolutely unhinged.
Re: Talking Point: Which Classic COD Would You Play First On Xbox Game Pass?
I've never played COD before and it's unlikely I'm going to start, even if they're coming at no extra cost to me.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 6-7)
Nearing the end of Amnesia: Rebirth. I don't love it, but I actually like it more than both The Dark Descent and Soma. That being said, it's not even close to as good as the direction they took for The Bunker, which is by far Frictional's greatest accomplishment in my opinion.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 30-31)
@SacredPYRO Here's a few I'd recommend on PC:
Arx Fatalis
Quake 4
Wolfenstein 3D
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Evil Within on PC has the DLC included and playable from the start
Don't forget you can get the EA App and link your Game Pass account to play games on that app for "free" that are not technically on Game Pass (such as Crysis Remastered 1-3, some of the old Star Wars games, etc)
Some games are not exclusive to PC but you get a much better experience regarding frames per second and other graphical features not on console such as:
-Dishonored 2
-Redfall
-Plague Tale: Requiem
-Hypnospace Outlaw (just make more sense with M&K - though I know you can technically play it that way on console as well)
Not on Game Pass, but the original version of Doki Doki Literature Club is free and without saying too much, the PC version specifically will blow your mind by the time you get to the end. Never seen a game do something quite like that before.
I'd also recommend other free games/mods like:
The Dark Mod (standalone)
Wolfenstein (abandonware)
No One Lives Forever (abandonware)
Portal Revolution, Portal Prelude, Portal Reloaded, Portal Stories: Mel (Portal 1/Portal 2 mods)
Deus Ex: 2027 (Deus Ex mod)
-Also heard the Nameless Mod is amazing but I haven't played it yet.
Thief: The Black Parade (Thief Gold mod)
I haven't played Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age (Thief 2 mod) yet but I hear its great.
Sorry that was probably way more than you were looking for! 😅
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 30-31)
This weekend I finished the 2 missions that come pre-installed with The Dark Mod and looking into some of the other downloadable campaigns. Its crazy that it feels/plays almost exactly like Thief when its actually a Doom 3 mod. I was having some performance issues with it on my Steam Deck but I installed the Linux version instead of the Windows version and that helped quite a bit, though I still can't get it to run steady past 45fps without taking an intolerable hit to the resolution. 45 isn't too bad, but when I'm used to 90 on Steam Deck, the difference is pretty drastic.
Mostly I'm still playing Deus Ex: 2027 and Princess Peach: Showtime. 2027 is very good, though I ran into a bit of trouble figuring out what to do in Moscow, and there aren't really any guides I could find that helped. I was trying to play both sides of the conflict, but I wasn't really able to progress with one of them. Oh well. Off to Siberia now!
I also played the first level of Alien Trilogy just to see if I could map the controls like a normal FPS on my Steam Deck, which of course you can. It doesn't exactly make it feel amazing, but it's a major improvement.
Re: Talking Point: Xbox Fans, Are You Still Enjoying Halo Infinite In 2024?
Have not played multiplayer in a very long time. At some point, I'd like to play through the entire series' campaigns, but that probably won't be for a long, long while... Halo just isn't that high on my priority list.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 23-24)
I played a bit of Princess Peach: Showtime being a little too impatient to see what its about before playing the rest with my daughter. It was pretty fun actually. The variety in gameplay kept things interesting.
I'm also playing Aperture Tag, which is a Portal 2 mod where instead of a portal gun, you have a gun that shoots the orange and blue gel. It's not too bad so far. I think I am maybe half-way through it.
And then the other game I'm playing is another mod, but this time for the original Deus Ex, called Deus Ex: 2027 (I've also seen it referred to as "Project 2027" and also just "2027"). I'm just coming out of Paris, so still near the beginning I think. So far I think it is quite good, and I am very much enjoying my time with it.
Re: Poll: What Do You Think Of 'Control' On Xbox Game Pass?
One of my all time favorites. Everything clicked for me. Personally, I think its a work of genuine genius.
Re: System Shock Remake Is Officially Coming To Xbox In May 2024
It's a great game, but I thought it would be more of an ImSim than it turned out to be.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 9-10)
Basically the same stuff for me, Thief: The Black Parade, and Dread Templar. Earlier this week I played through Ad Infernum. Super short at about 2-2.5 hours, but I would highly recommend if you are into horror themed imm-sims like Amnesia: The Bunker and Stay Out of the House.
Re: 'STALKER: Legends Of The Zone Trilogy' Is Available Today On Xbox
I didn't really enjoy my time with the first one on PC playing it for the first time a couple months ago. I would try it again on Xbox with a controller if it was on GP, but definitely not paying that much for them when they are on sale about every other week on steam/gog for $3-5
Re: Poll: How Often Do You Buy Games That Have Been 'Remade' Or 'Remastered'?
If I've already played the game, I don't buy/play the remaster unless it is significantly different or has extra content. If I haven't played it, I go with the remaster. Remakes are typically different in the sense that it isn't (typically) the "same" game and I will usually play both if I'm interested enough in whatever it is.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 2-3)
This weekend I'm on vacation but still finding time here and there to sneak in some game time on my Steam Deck. Last night I finished Dusk which was overall a super fun game. I'm also still playing through Thief: The Black Parade. While absolutely amazing, and not even "for a fan game", occasionally the level design falls a bit flat in the sense that there can be so, so many dead ends and twists and turns in some of the levels that it becomes a bit frustrating to figure out the correct path, which is somewhat antithetical to the imm-sim philosophy of finding your own path. Still, this only happens occasionally and forgivable considering how enormous the maps are. It's an incredible game that I would highly recommend if you're into the Thief and/or Dishonored games. I tried to play a brand new imm-sim/horror game called Ad Infernum but it crashes almost immediately on my Steam Deck so I may need to wait until I get home to play on my main PC or maybe they will patch it soon. I'd prefer to play on the Deck if possible. I also started Dread Templar which so far is a blast. Looking forward to getting deeper into it.
Re: 10 Years Ago, One Of The Best Shooters In Xbox History Made Its Debut
Intentional information gap headline
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 24-25)
I'm going on vacation in a few days and loaded up my Steam Deck with a bunch of boomer shooters like Dusk, Amid Evil, and Dread Templar. Gave em a go to make sure they work, and yes, they all seem to run great. I'm especially a fan of being able to turn on gyro for every game through the Steam Deck interface. Game changing stuff for me as I like to be able to fine tune my aim with a bit of gyro, especially for boomer shooters.
I also loaded up Thief: The Black Parade which is a full campaign fan mod for Thief Gold. I'm 4 chapters in, and it is an incredible achievement. Highly recommended if you are into the old Thief games or other immersive sims like Dishonored. I'm blown away by the effort and passion that was put into this one. I had been playing this on my main gaming PC for the last few days, and its kindof amazing that you can basically just drag and drop PC games onto Steam Deck and it just works with minimal effort on my end.
Re: These Six Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (February 22 - March 5)
Boltgun! Can't wait to play it!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 17-18)
Mostly just playing Quake 4. Just over half-way through it now. I played a bit more of Crysis Remastered (did y'all know that if you have GP for PC or GP Ultimate, you also have an EA Play account, and you can play that for "free" even though it isn't on GP?) and decided to give up on it. I also played a bit more of Death Stranding Director's Cut and gave up on that as well.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 10-11)
Last night I played some more of Sea of Thieves: Legend of Monkey Island with the guys. Nearing the end now and one of my buddies is sick of it. The puzzles are a bit convoluted, but it's Monkey Island.. it's to be expected.
I decided to give up a couple games this week, such as STALKER and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay as I was no longer having fun with either of them.
So instead, I decided to pick Project Downfall back up and also start Quake 4. The former I can really only play in short bursts since it's so intense, and the latter has been fun so far but I only played about 30 minutes.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 3-4)
I took the day off yesterday (far in advance to be a little more fair to myself) to play Suicide Squad and I ended up not even buying it.. Like Gotham Knights and Arkham Knight, it will probably go onto Game Pass at some point anyway, and paying full price for such a poorly received game seems like a stupid move when I have so many other games to play.
As far as what I'm actually playing, I decided to check out Silent Hill: The Short Message which is hitting closer to home than I expected. Honestly its helping me better understand someone in my life, and also making me reflect on some of my own thoughts and behavior when I was younger.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 27-28)
Last night my friends and I played the second tall tale in Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island. It wasn't as interesting as the first tall tale, but it was still pretty fun.
Most of my time this weekend will be spent finishing up Portal: Revolution which has been fantastic outside of constant crashing on my Steam Deck. Oh well. It's worth the headache.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 20-21)
I finished Axiom Verge 2 last night. Good game with a lot of cool stuff going on mechanically, but even so, I didn't like it quite as much as the first one. I started Close to the Sun earlier today and am about halfway through it now. It's... okay.
Re: Sea Of Thieves' New Mode Is Proving Popular For Avoiding 'Toxic' Players
@fizban3332 In some, even many ways, yes, but they're all focused around PvP. Removing that element fundamentally changes what the game is and how you would play it.
Re: Sea Of Thieves' New Mode Is Proving Popular For Avoiding 'Toxic' Players
Might as well make a "safer seas" version of PUBG and Warzone too
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 13-14)
Last night I finished off Spider-Man 2, which was incredible. With a good story, amazing graphics, and fun gameplay, I really enjoyed it.
This weekend I won't have too much time to game so I'll probably keep it simple and just play through a few missions of Duke Nukem Advance. I put it on my Steam Deck and re-mapped the controls to make it play as close to a modern FPS as possible, which feels pretty okay actually. It's a cool little game for what it is.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 6-7)
Played some WWZ: Aftermath with the guys last night. Getting back into the swing of how that one works. My buddy kept thinking of how Back 4 Blood works instead of the game we were actually playing lol.. Also playing Spider-Man 2. I think I'm maybe about 1/3 of the way through it.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Developer Direct To Return Soon, Could Include Another 'Surprise Release'
Calling the shadow drop: Quake 3