everynowandben

I just finished Road 96. Thank you to everyone who recommended it in the other article! What a great game! It totally would have passed me by if not for people on here talking it up.

Also, while yes, its undeniable that PC gaming is not as convenient in certain aspects, I have found that 99.9% of the time I have much better experiences on PC than I do on console (and I basically have all of them). My PC is in my living room, and I play with a controller 99% of the time. I don't know why people think they need to play on PC with a mouse and a keyboard at a desk. You really don't. Also, basically every game launcher allows you to import games from other launchers - Pick your favorite and go from there. There are easy solutions to every "issue" people talk about. I'm not trying to be an a**, play however you want, I'm just saying that all of these "problems" are solvable and well worth the increase in framerate, fidelity, modibility, extra options, free online play, free games, cheaper games, and access to a much, much bigger game library than any singular console by incomparably wide margin.

Still playing Wolfenstein The New Colossus (nearly finished) and Bayonetta 3 (1/3 of the way through), but I picked up Road 96 before it leaves Game Pass and am enjoying it so far.

Looking forward to Bramble!

I got F.I.S.T. for free on EGS, and I was not a big fan of it. Hope other people like it more than I did.

I wanted to play Omori, but I'm not in the mood for it and never have been since it came out on Game Pass, so, I guess I didn't want to play it after all.

I didn't know what Road 96 was, so thanks for the recommendations, people. It looks cool. I'll play through that one before it goes.

I took a couple days off from work to burn a little vacation time, and ended up playing through the entirety of both Dark Messiah of Might and Magic and PT yesterday.

Dark Messiah is now my least favorite Arkane game. I really didn't expect it to be so linear, and I like linear, but it's simply not a very fun game imo. It has some elements of the genre, but it's a stretch to call it an immersive sim. Similar to Bioshock in certain ways with the magic being similar to plasmids, and the skills being similar to tonics, but Bioshock just did it so, so much better. I ended the game with 20+ skill points I didn't even want to use. And though Dark Messiah came out a year earlier than Bioshock, it looks and plays like it came out a decade earlier. It's easy to see the inspiration drawn from Thief (and I appreciated the little Easter egg in the description of the master thief's outfit), and even how it led to Dishonored, and where the kick in Deathloop came from, but the game just didn't turn out very well. I felt like in a lot of ways it was even a step backwards from Arx Fatalis. And the dialogue... simply terrible, especially from the succubus lady. Maximum cringe.

PT... where to begin. Okay, to beat PT, you do absolutely need a microphone/headset. Based on my experience, I am convinced of it. Anyway, I spent almost an hour trying to 1.) not change my pants, and 2.) trigger the second laugh. So I'm going through practically every guide and youtube video on the internet, only to see someone comment about how they didn't realize on PS4 there is a seperate volume control menu you can access by holding down the PS button (vs going through settings) where there is an option for "mute all microphones" they had turned on... Wow... Yep. Me too. I felt so dumb! I unselected that option, and almost immediately I got the second laugh to trigger.

So now I'm playing Bayonetta 3, which is not nearly as funny or OTT as the previous game so far, but I'm still having fun with it.

I'm also playing Wolfenstein: The New Order which is fantastic so far.

I did also just learn that Amnesia: The Bunker is an immersive sim, and while I wrote off the franchise after Machine for Pigs, I will take a look at The Bunker. I heard Rebirth was terrible, reaffirming my choice to give up on the Amnesia games, but I might go back if I like the Bunker enough, just to round out my experience with the series. Would anyone actually recommend Rebirth? If so, why? Any reason to play it before The Bunker?

I will check out Neon White. Not really interested in the rest, but glad there's a lot of variety.

Still going through System Shock. I think I'm probably about 3/4 of the way through it. I'm having fun with it, but its not very easy to get into. I've got a couple pages full of notes, and even then, I still felt compelled to look a couple (fairly minor) things up.

Tonight the guys and I will likely return to Back 4 Blood. We're on act 2 now and enjoying it enough to keep going this time.

On Thursday I rolled credits on Zelda: TotK. Of course I didn't do everything, but I don't plan on going back in until the inevitable DLC releases. Too many other games to play!

Yesterday I played through the entirety of Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath - Vengeance of the Slayer which was amazing in so many ways. It's a 5-hour comedic gross-out boomer shooter made by a fictional character from the game Hypnospace Outlaw. Being in my late 30s, I thought it was hilarious.

I also started up the System Shock remake yesterday, and got through the first level. This game is tough! The original is often credited as the grandfather of immersive simulations, and I can see how this game inspired the likes of Bioshock and Prey (2017), but it's not really an immersive sim in and of itself. The remake doesn't seem to have updated the old school design philosophy at all, for better or for worse. Looking forward to diving back in and running around with a very limited sense of where to go and what to do next!

I will be picking this up later today. Very excited to check it out!

Slayers X looks amazing. As a big fan of what Hypnospace Outlaw was trying to do, I can't wait to check it out!

I enjoyed Bridge Constructor Portal and Maneater. Serious Sam 4 didn't click with me, and I wasn't interested in the others.

I'm mostly playing Zelda: TotK, but I did start Wolfenstein: TNC the other day just to change things up a bit. I didn't get further than about 30 minutes, but it was fun and I will certainly stick with it. Foolish to think I might be able to finish it before the System Shock remake comes out though, so it will have to sit on the back burner for now.

The guys and I finally beat Redfall a couple days ago, so we're moving on to something else, but not sure what yet. We might try out Omega Strikers or just hop back into Sea of Thieves or Gears 5.

I tried the Street Fighter 6 open beta last night. I don't think it's a game for me. It might be more fun if I was playing against friends, or even against the computer, but I uninstalled it fairly quickly.

In a fighting game mood, I also booted up Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe which I've never played before. I thought it might be like Injustice, which I loved. It is like Injustice in many ways, but it's also pretty different. One key difference is that Injustice is a great game, and MKVSDCU is somewhere between lackluster and terrible in just about every way possible.

Of course I'm also going through Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom which is an absolute blast.

Hypnospace Outlaw boomer shooter spinoff? Yes, please! Looks hilarious! I can't wait to try it

I use it all the time. Honestly I don't use my Series X much anymore since I got a decent PC around New Year's.

I think GP for PC is amazing. There are games on it that are not on Xbox like Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Quake 4, and also certain games like Dishonored 2 are not 60 fps on Xbox. I haven't tried Squarons in VR, but as mentioned in the article, that's there too.

Finished up Jedi: Survivor yesterday. I really enjoyed my time with it. Amazing game.

Started Zelda: TotK yesterday. I am very impatient to get the paraglider or whatever its called, hahaha... I only got through the tutorial yesterday so hopefully I won't need to wait much longer. Overall I'm super excited to play this game for the next month or so!

The guys and I also played some more Redfall last night. We're really starting to pick apart the shortcomings as we get further into it, but we're still having fun with this one!

It's not of the quality I expect from Arkane, but I'm still having a blast with it.

Best studio out there. Redfall is a fluke in Arkane's nearly flawless history of incredible games. I voted Dishonored 2, but they are all amazing imho.

Also, Arx Fatalis is on Game Pass for PC and not in this list.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Jedi: Survivor and loving it. Played some more Redfall last night with the guys, too. One of them couldn't make it, so the rest of us started a new file on one of their accounts instead of mine, each of us choosing new characters and whatnot, and we ended up just as far along as we were in our original playthrough. People are dumping all over these games, but I'm having a blast with them, and I'm playing both on PC. Neither are perfect, but they both work well enough to be fun.

Hugely disappointed with this one. It's just not very fun to play. I keep wanting to give it another chance too, but every time I play it, I turn it off within 20-30 minutes. Still, for some reason I do feel compelled to see it through. I'm sure I'll beat this one at some point, but it's been chilling on the backburner for a while. I will certainly not be paying for or playing the DLC.

I've seen a number of glitches and weird stuff so far including being randomly booted to menu, animations for movement not working on both teammates and enemies, my buddy was floating about 2 feet off the ground for a few minutes, then later he was vibrating up and down super fast about waist deep into the floor for about 5 minutes, textures not loading in correctly, and one graphical glitch where a 20 foot spike was coming out of a downed enemy's head. I've played about 4 hours total, and honestly my friends and I have really been enjoying it. That being said, it is not of the quality I expect from Arkane, and it definitely deserves all the flack that it's getting.

Playing on PC.
Crashes before yesterday's patch: 0
Crashes after yesterday's patch: 3
🫠

I started Hi Fi Rush earlier this week, hoping to finish it quickly, but this did not go as planned, and now I will not be back before completing Jedi: Survivor. I'm playing on PC (4080, 13700k), and while the frame is not rock solid, dropping the settings from Ultra to High and turning off ray-tracing makes a gigantic difference and I'm getting 60 frames most of the time in 4k. I'm not trying to defend the state of the game, just saying that it's not the Cyberpunk mess people are making it out to be. So far it's really fun, and I'm loving my time with it. Might play some more Sea of Thieves with the guys tonight too.

I finished the Horizon: Forbidden West - Burning Shores DLC yesterday, and really enjoyed it. I loved the new area and characters, and the graphics were some of the best I've seen on a console.

Today I'm going to try and finish Forgive Me Father, and I'm on the second to last level. These last few have been absolutely brutal, but overall it's a great game.

Not sure what I'm going to play next before Jedi: Survivor. Something short. Maybe Hi-Fi Rush.

I think it was probably a good idea to give Dishonored a break to prevent franchise fatigue. Delayed gratification is powerful.

Thankfully nothing I'm concerned about

I was going to dive into Ghostwire Tokyo this weekend after a crazy week at work, but I'm quite sure I will not be able to finish it before the Horizon FW: Burning Shores DLC comes out on Wednesday, so I'm going to skip Ghostwire for now and play something shorter in the meantime. I'm planning on finishing up Resident Evil Survivor which is kinda terrible, but I still want to see it through, and then also I want to start up Forgive Me Father which I recently picked up in the Humble Bundle for boomer shooters. It looks amazing and on the short side, which is exactly what I'm looking for right now. Also, I haven't played with the guys in a while, but we're planning on getting back into Sea of Thieves tonight after quite a hiatus.

This kinda stuff is exactly why I bought a 4080

Yesterday morning I beat the Fire Emblem Engage Fell Xenologue. I played it on hard (FE is the only game I play on hard) and it was indeed much more difficult than the normal game since weapon and character options are extremely limited. I almost can't believe I beat the final boss as it was a grueling slog to say the least. The story was over the top stupid, but the maps were actually very good imo. Overall it was great and I was very happy to play through it.

Then I decided to give The Quarry a shot as I'm just not getting on with Atomic Heart. I only played a little bit after work last night but so far it's exactly what I was expecting - in a good way. Can't wait to see and vaguely choose what happens next!

Push 5 down to the very bottom, and I mostly agree with this list.

I finished Spirits of Xanadu this morning. It was okay. Based on descriptions and skimming reviews, I thought it would have more of an imm-sim feel, but it really doesn't. While there are some vague similarities to games like System Shock, Prey, and Soma, the game is pretty basic and shallow. It was only about 2 hours long and I only paid a couple bucks for it, so, no big loss.

I'm not sure what to play next. I'll probably try to finish up Atomic Heart, but we'll see. That insane April Fools joke but also actually real The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is peaking my curiosity.

I think the guys and I are going to play some Sea of Thieves tonight as it's been quite a while, but we may end up going through a bit more of Gears 5. I wish my one friend had a PC so we could try out some Midnight Ghost Hunt as the early access version is free on Steam this weekend. Oh well.

Infinite is not even close to as fun/good/immersive as the first 2 Bioshock games. It's not a bad game per se, but it isn't very good. I was disappointed with just about every aspect of it, especially with how incredibly shallow the gameplay is compared to prior entries in the series.

I actually took the day off work yesterday to play Resident Evil 4, and so far it is incredible. That being said, I don't want to blow through it too fast, so I took a break to play through Say No! More. I found it mostly enjoyable, but even at only 2 hours, it's stretching the concept a little further than it can truly support with interesting gameplay. I also installed the Diablo 4 beta to play with the guys last night, but one of them didn't even start downloading it by the time we were going to play, so while I did play the beta by myself for about 5 minutes, it wasn't really the experience I was hoping to have. Even so, I've never play Diablo before, and I'm not sure it was for me anyway. Maybe if/when it comes to Game Pass, the guys and I can try it again properly. We did play the F2P kart racing game KartRider: Drift which was pretty lame tbh. Not sure why my buddy wanted to even give it a shot, but we did, and it was bad, and never again. Looking forward to getting back into RE4, but, I did also pick up a few games in the recent steam sale, and I might take a look at Chop Goblins before work tomorrow. It's supposed to be only an hour long, and it looks like a blast.

Never on Xbox. Even on PC, I very much prefer a controller. Certain games though, like Hypnospace Outlaw, or point and click adventure games, make more sense with a mouse and keyboard, even if a controller is technically possible.

Focusing on Hogwarts now after finishing up Fire Emblem Engage. I'm not done with Atomic Heart, but I'm putting it down for now. I was playing too many games at once and needed to scale back. That being said, I am also playing through Gears 5 with the guys, but we probably won't be able to get to it this weekend as I have actually have a date tonight 😎 lol

@Wiiiiiiii type an asterisk before and after the text you want in bold

On vacation, and couldn't start Fire Emblem Engage on the plane yesterday due to no internet to check to see if I could play it 😑

Then I booted up Hogwarts Legacy on my laptop but there was no internet to sync my save from the cloud from when I played earlier at home on my PC 🥲

So I powered on my Miyoo Mini and played through Metal Slug X.

Bad weather here so ended up watching a friend play through the first 2 hours of Hogwarts on my laptop since she was unsure about getting the game for herself due to being apprehensive about how much of the game is combat. Turned on "story" difficulty and boom, no problem. It was fun to see her make different choices than I did and watch how they did or didn't play out differently compared to my own playthrough.

This game looks very disappointing to say the least. 8 years in the making, and this is what they came up with? Woof.

Hopefully the show turns out better than the Fantastic Beasts movies

Weird West is the only one that would pull me off of the games I'm currently playing. Otherwise I have played what I wanted to play out of that selection.

Oh no, those kind of games are not for me... I'll have to hold out hope for Ori 3

I really want to love this game as I've been following it for a long time, but it's just okay for me so far. I'm only maybe 90 minutes in, so it may be too early to say too much though. I'm going to play through the whole thing either way, but there are some major flaws in my opinion that I'm seeing already. The combat feels kind of bad as far as control responsiveness - the hit detection just feels off sometimes. The worst part of the game in my opinion is the voice acting - absolutely abysmal, especially the main character. I immediately hate him and wish he would just shut up. He acts like a total jerk for no reason, and not in a funny way. The way the voice actor says a lot of his lines is like he's reading the words for the first time and not really acting, like the flow of speech is just unnatural and the emphasis is off on certain syllables and/or words in the sentence. It's very distracting and immersion breaking for me. Also, there's a part in a tunnel where I was frustratingly insta-killed no less than 3 times, and I still have no idea why or how I died and I guess I just got lucky the 4th time playing the same dumb little platforming section. I think maybe something was falling on me? I just went really slowly the 4th time and nothing happened. 🤷‍♂️ The story in general is also kind of lame and poorly told so far, but maybe it will get more interesting as it goes on. The game really wants to be like Bioshock or Prey, but it's a pretty pale imitation - at least as far I've seen ~90 minutes in. I'm hoping it will get more interesting as it goes on and some of the imm sim elements will start to shine through, but unfortunately I'm not feeling super optimistic about that at this point. There doesn't appear to be many in game systems to play with or much player choice in tackling challenges. It doesn't seem to fully understand what makes the games its inspired by so immersive and satisfying. The in game world itself seems pretty cool though, and I like the style and setting, even if it does come across somewhat derivative.

I'm playing on PC with a 4080 and 13700k, so I have to say it does look and run extremely well for me at 4k/60fps with everything on max settings. If you're having issues with screen tearing on PC, there are some odd workarounds... If you have an NVIDIA card --> turn on frame generation regardless of if you can/will actually use it, and restart the game --> that will allow you to actually turn on v-sync for some reason, but then you also have to force v-sync on through the NVIDIA control panel because turning it on in the game doesn't actually turn it on. Doing all that worked like a charm for me, anyway.

Mostly Hogwarts Legacy, but I might jump into Gears 5 with the guys tonight if it ends up working out for each of us. I'm going out to California on Thursday to see the new Nintendo World part of Universal Studios, so while I'm still playing Fire Emblem Engage, I'm also sort of saving it for the trip!

Hogwarts Legacy and Fire Emblem Engage. It's going to be a great weekend for gaming.

I gave it a shot last night and thought it was kinda bad tbh. The amount of time it takes to reset is a death sentence. The visuals are a bit generic as well.

Art =/= the artist. Buying this game day one on PC. Can't wait.

Halfway through Fire Emblem Engage, third of the way through Dead Space, and about a third of the way through FIST Forged In Shadow Torch. FIST is not that great - it's like the more I play it the less I like it. The combat just doesn't feel good to me. I might even just drop it completely because I'm not really having fun with it anymore. FEE and DS on the other hand are both absolutely incredible games that I love every second with.

Anyone else catch the arcade cabinet for "Immersive Kim"? 😂 Genius

This doesn't look like it's for me. Hopefully one of the other ones is Heist 2

I was playing FIST Forged In Shadow Torch over the past week or so but I've dropped it for now in favor of Fire Emblem Engage which is amazing so far