gollumb82

Thanks for the heads up guys. Was about to start Shadow of Chornobyl later today. Guess I’ll wait for the next(current) gen patch. Happy to see those guys get the much needed support from fans.
Edit: went ahead and played an hour of it yesterday. Was shocked how well it holds up graphics-wise. Animation is the only lacking aspect of the game, but I’m already engrossed in it. The world and atmosphere embarrass Fallout lol.

Both Series consoles are great machines. Yes, even Series S (had both). The only obstacle for their successors is their pointlessness in the light of the recent MS policy shift (Your car cigarette lighter is an Xbox etc).

@Prestige-worldwide
This. Nice to see a voice of reason. Then again I shouldn’t be surprised to see so many people trying to fight inevitable change. Brand loyalty or being a fan of a plastic box is only going to get you so far in this dramatically changing gaming landscape.

@Millionski
Fair points, but I honestly think gaming hardware and software will only keep going up in price. PS6 will almost certainly cost as much as PS5 Pro at launch, if not more. All that for tech with little to no innovation and measly graphical improvement in games. Even if Game Pass price goes up I will still say it’s a bargain. I still remember the jump from PS2 to PS3, but there is no way we will ever experience this again. I decided this gen is probably the last one when I bought a console. All I care about is accessibility and being able to play diverse games, including indies and new releases. With MS now allowing you to play the games you own that way (a limited selection, but it’s just the beginning) I really see no reason to pay a lot of money for hardware. As for the Xbox brand, I’m no brand loyalist. I game where I think it suits me best. At the moment it’s xCloud tbh.

While I feel for the diehard Xbox fans, I see nothing wrong in MS’s approach. They have already lost the console battle. I only care for Game Pass and its cloud component where I play all my Xbox games. I have already finished Hellblade 2, Black Ops 6 campaign, As Dusk Falls and I’m close to finishing Indy. Already deep into Stalker 2. All that for a measly $50 I paid for a GPU code at cdkeys. Game Pass is crazy value and as long as MS keeps it alive I don’t really care if their consoles go the way of the dodo. I do have a PS5 anyway, but barely use it as I’m bored with the Sony games formula.

@Sol76
Horizon is one of my favourite franchises. Both games are amazing.
@Titntin
Sorry to hear about that mate. This was the reason for me giving up on VR (I had a PSVR and Oculus Quest 2 back in the day). 30 minutes in and my stomach starts churning/I get a terrible headache.

Indiana Jones and Stalker 2, but mostly Indy. Both great games and such an amazing end to the year for Xbox.
PS5: trying to finish Horizon Forbidden West (great game as well) but Indy and Stalker 2 are preventing me from doing it.

Indy! Gaming heaven for Indiana Jones fans (like me). Stalker 2 coming in second and Black Ops 6 in third. Those were my picks.
Edit: just realised my GOTY top 2 picks were given a 6/10 and 4/10 reviews. Lol.

You guys need to understand you are a vocal minority. Most Xbox users play Fifa, Cod and they don’t care about exclusives. Microsoft knows this and their strategy (money-wise) makes sense. PS5 is my main platform, but all I’ve played recently are Xbox games on Game Pass (via xCloud, my Amazon Fire Stick is my Xbox). I checked the release schedule for 2025: no Sony game picques my interest. Xbox is where I will enjoy my gaming next year. This year the most fun I’ve had came from BO6, Stalker 2 and Indy (on PS5 it was only Astro Bot). Enough said.

Melina was amazing so I’m happy to see this. With that said, while I appreciate what NT were trying to achieve with this sequel, I hope Hellblade 3 will be less of an experience and more of an actual game.

@TheEstablishment
This. I only use xCloud for Xbox games, but used to own a Series X and have quite a few games I own. Tested CP2077 via xCloud and it works great (with some minor issues). I hope MS will keep adding to the list of games available this way frequently.

@themightyant
Honestly, being a 40+ guy means I don’t have nearly enough time to keep up with the newest releases. I feel like I’m playing catch up all the time. My point is that I don’t need a particular year to be filled with bangers as I’m trying to play those from years past lol. With that said, I do believe us gamers should be grateful for the amazing digital journeys our hobby grants us and simply enjoy the ride, rather than play tribal wars over whose gaming hardware is better, gets more quality games and especially if a given year is a dud etc.

@PurvisP
And yet we keep hearing how 2024 was a bad year for gaming… I liked Hellblade 2, but found it inferior to Senua’s Sacrifice. Production values are through the roof, but gameplay is lacking IMO. Great to see Indy included. Currently playing it and it’s a dream come true for any Indy fan.

It’s really cool that CDPR keep adding to this game. I wish more DLC was inbound- there’s so much that could be done with Night City. Still, this gives me hope that CP2078 will be a much more complete game at launch.

Honestly, I don’t care. I have a PS5, but even if I didn’t I wouldn’t care either. Xbox is doing its own thing and I’m all for it. As long as I get to play those new releases on day 1 (or even day 4) on Game Pass for peanuts I’ll be happy.

Never played CoD before Modern Warfare (the original one). I’d gladly give those a go.

@x3King84
Worth it. I got it on Steam as well. Just in case (also my fav Forza Horizon game).

@fabisputza007
Got to the end of the first season. I hope more are to come. If you liked the first episode I recommend you persevere through the next 2, which are about exploration more than anything else. All of it will make sense later. I have just started the second season of The Expanse tv series and I’m loving it.

@PurvisP
You speak the truth, beratna. With that said, I would say Telltale have yet to make a felota game 😉

Enjoyed Stalker 2 for a bit, but then I tried The Expanse on a whim, as I love Telltale games. Liked it so much I started watching the tv series on Amazon Prime and it’s one of the best sci-fi tv series I’ve seen (only Battlestar Galactica tops it for me for now).

Guys, it’s just a game and you aren’t even one of the devs. Chill. This has to be one of the biggest meltdowns I’ve seen on this site.

I actually really liked less combat and more traversal/puzzles in Shadow of the Tomb Raider compared to the earlier games. Indy isn’t Schwarzenegger. Definitely giving this a go, but closer to Christmas. Too busy with Stalker 2 (a great game as well).

@Ricky-Spanish
Not necessarily. Steam Deck has the power of PS4 and it costs more or less the same as a Series X currently (especially the OLED variant). Gamers have to pay a premium for portable gaming devices (ditto for gaming laptops).

@nomenclaturist
PC is possible (lets you use Dualsense controllers, this game lives and dies by those). Xbox- no chance. I will say that Astro Bot is amazing, though.

@Coletrain
I had a Steam Deck OLED and a ROG Ally earlier this year. Both great devices but limited by their battery life/screen size/specs. Had a gaming PC 2 years ago and it seems like the promised land but it wasn’t in my experience. Way too many launchers to deal with, software issues (Windows updates messing up more than fixing, taking ages to download and install at the least opportune moments), driver issues (yes, they still persist), broken HDR in many games. I hated the noise level generated by mine (cheap cooling) and the RGB was just next level yuck. Plus, the size of that thing. PCs have their advantages but I feel consoles give you the best bang for your buck, unless you like to chase the graphics/mods/ fps rabbit. To each their own, though.

Sony can keep them, and I say this as a PS5 owner. Xbox has already started getting some great games (Stalker 2 and Indy this year, Avowed and Fable next year) and as a PS3/4/5 owner I can say I rarely feel excitement over Playstation games anymore. I don’t feel like playing Ghost of Tsushima, God of War Ragnarok etc. The Last of Us 3? Years away probably. Uncharted 5? Prolly not even happening. Horizon series- I like them a lot but I’m close to the end of FW and I’m kind of forcing myself to play. I’m being honest, no hate or fanboyism. I’m way more excited for Xbox games coming up than anything Sony has been releasing or have in the pipeline.

I’m probably in the minority but I actually like Forza’s career mode. It’s perfect for people with little time for gaming. Just pick out a car and race.

Game sizes are getting ridiculous. Especially AAA games. Guess it’s par for the course when it comes to the graphical fidelity we are getting, but it still irks me. One of the things that pushed me towards cloud gaming.

@Kraven
Completely agree. Just witnessed my first storm in this game and I was genuinely scared haha. Speaking of patches, they fixed what irritated me the most- floaty gamepad controls. I’m really enjoying this bleak world, to the point Indiana Jones will have to wait till Christmas.

There are bugs, sure. But the game is already perfectly playable. The feeling of dread when entering a new area and the hauting beauty of the Zone are something that should be experienced.

I second The Quarry recommendation. As for Forza Horizon 4, I hope it will be included in the next batch of your owned games you can play via xCloud. Got the game on Steam and Xbox anyway, just to be sure as it’s my fav FH game.

Stalker 2 on xCloud and Horizon FW on PS5. Last week I managed to finally watch Fallout and Like a Dragon tv series from Amazon. Loved both of them and now I’ll be watching Rings of Power.

That’s what a lot of PC gamers were saying when Steam launched. Physical games are dying, people vote with their wallets. Crying on X or here won’t change anything. Ditto for making offensive comments about those who are on board with digital games only.

I’m always low on time. Working two jobs sucks. Part of the reason why I fell in love with cloud gaming. I don’t have to wait for hours for a game to install and can switch from one to another easily.

Metro Exodus needs to be there, too. I bought it and TW3: Complete Edition, if only to test how they run via xCloud streaming (CP2077 runs wonderfully).

@Ricky-Spanish
Yeah, it can be a bit iffy. I’d like to see MS add some stream settings to the Xbox app. With XbPlay you can just force 1080p, FSR or CAS (especially helpful if you are getting a blurry feed). Still, I really like xCloud for what it is and I hope it keeps getting better with time.

@Ricky-Spanish
It depends on your network connection, bandwidth etc. I play Xbox games exclusively through xCloud and I have a 600Mb internet. I felt like I was mostly getting 720p/60 but I was gaming in a room far away from the router (where my 4K OLED monitor is). Just got a good wifi repeater and I’m playing Stalker very smoothly in what looks like 1080p. If I’m unsure I can force 1080p/FSR/CAS with the XbPlay app. Long story short- streaming Xbox and Game Pass games works great for me.

Is it „he” or „they”? In the opening paragraph you say Shuhei announced their departure and in the closing paragraph you wish „him” the best. Anyway, Shu is a well-loved guy in the industry and I appreciate all the stuff he contributed to gaming in general.

AFAIK it is getting a lot of love on PC and I am enjoying a much more convincing post apo rpg here than Fallout by Todd Howard.

That’s 3 copies just by me (PC, Xbox and PS5). My fav game of all time and I’m ecstatic that I can now play it via xCloud (which will be my go-to platform in the future if MS keeps developing it).

Not every game needs to be a long one. Quality over quantity and all that. Black Ops 6 took me about 10-12 hours to finish and I thought it was the perfect length. Looking forward to this one!

Finished the campaign on xCloud a few weeks ago. Thought it was great. That said, I only play CoD games for the single player campaigns, which have long surpassed those of the Battlefield franchise (sadly).

A cloud only Game Pass tier and being able to play all your owned games via cloud streaming. Just tested CP2077 that way and it plays great.

I played about 5 hours of it and I have to wait for a patch and possibly start over because of a bug. I reloaded a save after dying for the 15th or 16th time and I can’t run. Nothing works, not even leaning- I have seen quite a few people reporting the same bug in their playthrough. I really like the atmosphere (though the acting is terrible) but it really is a buggy mess.

On PS5- Horizon: Forbidden West (on hold- reasons below)
On xCloud- Stalker 2. I hated the first 2 hours or so. It’s rough, but can be a beautiful survival horror game when it works (I’d call it the Dark Souls of fps games). I love the atmosphere and it’s oppressive, unfamiliar and exploration is a blast (sometimes literally if you get hit by an anomaly). In short: everything that Fallout 4 should have been.
On Geforce Now- tried it for the first time. Works beautifully. Decided to test it by playing the first sections of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and now I can’t stop lol.

@DEATH2SONY
Haha. I read about it in one of your earlier posts 😎 I predict I will just rage quit when that happens and move onto another game. Like I did with Alien: Isolation 😂

I got 3 more months of Game Pass and subbed to Geforce Now. Think I’m done buying games for a while. Also got a few PS Plus games to play from recenr additions (Dead Space Remake, Ghostwire Tokyo).

Amazing news! Most of the games I own on Xbox aren’t on the list but it’s a great start. Waiting for full Amazon Fire Tv stick integration.

@MeanBeanEgg @dskatter
Hahah. First rime someone called me a shill. If you read any of my posts here you’d know I game on all platforms and have no favourites, take no sides. So you paid for a digital product that is on a server somewhere. It’s not bread or a can of soda. Things like that have happened before and will keep happening. With lots of people trying to access it, there will be inevitable issues. I’m just aware of this and there are worse tragedies in life than waiting a day or two to play a game.

@MaccaMUFC
I’ll be playing it via xCloud (the only way I play Xbox games) but I can wait a day or two for things to be sorted should there be any launch issues.