somnambulance

A little bit of Concord, a little bit of Erdtree (as great as it is as DLC, I’m not enjoying it as much as the base game, though I do want to beat it), a little bit of Kunitsugami, and I picked up Bo Path of the Teal Blue Lotus yesterday with $20 I got from PS Stars coming back online and a $5 credit I had from Sony Rewards. Last night, I pushed through to Sakura City (man, that Sengobo Bridge section was hard as nails), and I’m really enjoying the game, even though the platforming is sort of floaty and it can be exceptionally challenging at times. Concord, Erdtree, and Kunitsugami I’ll play a little bit with, but Bo, I’m going to play that one a few more hours if I can. There’s a part of me that wants to buy Nobody Wants to Die as well and try that out too.

@NEStalgia I don’t think they’re going after Nintendo. They can’t be that foolish. They can go against Steamdeck though. That’s a battle they could win if they do it right… or at least provoke Steam to make a revision to their current hardware and start a battle for best handheld gaming PC that goes on for a little bit with semi-regular revised models. I do think they’re going to full-in on gaming everywhere.

@NEStalgia Exactly.

Also, realistically, if I’m Xbox, I’m not thinking about generations. I’m thinking: I hope the dongle strategy works out because it’s a cheaper way to get more people into the ecosystem faster. I think the strategy for Xbox is about to shift to a powerful handheld X pro and dongle strategy.

This generation has barely started. If this is a short generation, I feel that would contribute to a gaming crash as many would continue to sit on old hardware, unable or unwilling to purchase new hardware for the sake of playing the same games on older consoles. This is probably the best time to have a longer than average generation and wait until consumer spend is in a more stable place before making a mistake. Any time a console has come too soon, it’s not embraced by the public. Switch 2 will be an instant success, but I think a neXtbox or PS6 would be a disaster right now as many are still shifting to the current generation years late.

I mean, they’re not wrong that Xbox was doing a bunch of lip service to pass the merger…

Not surprising as Paramount is sort of falling apart as a platform.

Looks like Xbox is trying to turn Gamepass into a better Stadia.

If you haven’t played A Short Hike or Venba yet, do yourself a favor and play them both this weekend. It’ll take 4 hours to play them both and they’re both great.

I’ve played all of these games, but that goes to show the issue with these types of charts. While I’ve played them all, most of them I’ll never touch again and there’s even some of them that I actively disliked. I’d rank most of these games as 6/10 tier games. There’s a few I’d rate higher, but not for the live service features. Overwatch was a 10/10… years ago… it’s a 6/10 experience now. Halo Infinite is probably best of the bunch, but that’s for the campaign. Infinite isn’t my least played Halo mp only because Halo 5 exists.

Probably Elden Ring, RDR2, and, to game the system, one of many retro compilations. This would be a most bang for the buck scenario

These articles are going to get really confusing come September

Giving Concord a go and… uh… two birthday parties and a funeral, so there’s my weekend.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Fair enough. We don’t even know if anything will be day 1 and I expect that things won’t be communicated in any sensible way either at this point, given how Xbox clearly struggles with that.

Absolutely baffling. Doom and Indy below Fragpunk!? You’ve got to be kidding me.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Lol. That’s a good point! Everything anyone might’ve planned for GP might not be GP for them that day. Jeez, what a mess.

@Markatron84 They’ve already given up the console space on a silver platter to Nintendo and Sony, so honestly I think it makes sense. I think Gamepass is Microsoft’s attempt at making a Stadia in the era where people are willing to accept that it exists.

@OldGamer999 @NEStalgia Xbox certainly used to be a more viable alternative. It had an ecosystem that felt “its own” until the second half of the Xbone’s life cycle. Seriously, I do think Phil Spencer’s vision for the brand jettisoned it into the heap it’s in. His whole push has been Gamepass and failing to change the industry with a Netflix of games. If Xbox would’ve made moves to justify how they’ve improved their ecosystem, people wouldn’t be so ready to give up on the console. I swear, if I see Indiana Jones get a release date on PS, I’m considering Xbox a publisher rather than a platform moving forward. As a longtime Xbox user, I’m just tired of the way they do business. The price increase is bad, but it’s saying that price is staying the same that makes my brain boil, it’s making a tier of Gamepass to remove features when they said they wouldn’t do this is what makes my skin crawl. If they wouldn’t say something only to change their mind and do the opposite, I’d probably say the changes make sense, even if I don’t like them. A lot of people say that Xbox is trying to be the next Sega, but I think they’re trying to be the next Stadia.

@armondo36 I’m not saying it’s easy, but after a small launch line-up, a barren year, and a full year of flops (with one hit… to me… that came from a studio that was closed), we’ve had a year of constant poor messaging and a carrot on the end of the year in Indiana Jones and Avowed. Who knows how those will turn out? The showcase was fantastic, but realistically there’s very little that was exclusive to Xbox.

Now, next year looks great, but if I stop subbing to Xbox and buy the multiplatform games I’m looking forward to, realistically I’m saving money buying the games on PS5 now. I don’t get how Xbox doesn’t realize they are shedding their customers fast… unless that’s what they’re aiming for?

I hope they justify putting all their first party releases on PS5 moving forward because Gamepass is more expensive than buying games on Xbox now

I’m ready to give up on Xbox and buy Xbox games on PlayStation instead at this point. They’ve pushed me away hard the last generation and a half. People complained about Mattrick, but he’s got nothing on what Phil Spencer has done to the brand for me. I just want to play good first party games. Why is that so hard for Xbox to do?

I’ll subscribe on months it saves me money and unsubscribing the rest.

Jeez, I just got back on Gamepass too after months off. Looks like I may cancel again until Avowed and Indiana Jones comes out and it’s worth having. If there’s anyone in gaming that can just whizz away any whiff of goodwill and fast, that’s Xbox now. Sad. I miss the 360 era.

Not sure if it counts or not, but I’ve got an Ori and the Blind Forest t-shirt. That’s the only one that I think is potentially Xbox branded. My non-work related clothing is practically all gaming t-shirts.

Wasn’t planning on revisiting Neon White, but heck, it’s not like there’s anything else interesting coming out in July!

I dunno. I’m sorta at an impasse with Erdtree, as I’m waiting for my friend group to embrace the game before I get into it and that just hasn’t happened yet. Part of the fun of Elden Ring in the first place was playing with friends, but there’s not really anything else I’m playing. I find myself fluffing about on the NES app on my Switch more than anything else right now.

I’ve used mine less than 15 hours total this year, and a dozen of those hours were for Palworld, which I thought was ok. I had cancelled Gamepass for most of the year and resubbed recently because my son begged for it to come back. My gaming spend is the lowest it’s been in over a decade, possibly in my adult life, so I said whatever and resubbed. To be honest though, the year hasn’t been much better for Switch, and PlayStation has only been the superior console because it’s hosted the lone GotY contender for me this year in FF7: Rebirth and because Animal Well and Dave the Diver were better than anything that’s gone onto Gamepass this year for me. Even so, I cancelled my PS+ premium sub last month as the sub sort of felt more expensive than buying the games I actually played on the service.

First half 2024 has been sort of disappointing. Most of the “hits” so far this year have been misses for me. Helldivers, Dragon’s Dogma, and Infinite Wealth just didn’t hit for me. The fact that my top five has two DLCs in it just feels wrong, even if the are DLCs for two games I’ve said were GotY for me before.

To isolate things to just Xbox, Balatro is Xbox GotY so far (Balatro, Rebirth, and Prince of Persia has been my only 9/10 or above tier games, and most others I’ve played are 7/10 or less), same as it would be for Switch, but overall I’d say this year is like a 6/10 on the platform. I acknowledge there’s a lot out there for others, but very little for me. HOWEVER, come September that’ll be a very different story. The last quarter of the year looks to be making up for the other three quarters being tepid. I’ve got three preorders a month September to November. Avowed and Indiana Jones are the most exciting Xbox exclusives we’ve had yet in the generation for me, so I hope they deliver. Nintendo also has a fantastic looking last quarter and PlayStation has AstroBot. It’s looking like the year will turn around.

It’s much, much less than it used to be. Part of that is that I am caught up with my backlog, so I’m not trying to catch up anymore, but most of it is that I just don’t have much free time anymore. A lot of times, if I drop a game now, it’s dropped forever with no intention to return. This is the first year that I’ve dropped more games than played through. I think I’ve beaten roughly a game a month this year, which is far below usual.

I’m sure they’re doing another one and they’re using the remaster because Capcom likes to do the remake/new game cycle. Why not print money, you know?

Played a bit of Donkey Kong Country today. Not sure why but I sort of want to play Flight Sim and Forza Horizon 5 randomly. I put a good 10 hours into Erdtree and felt like I’m not quite there for it after blitzing Mohg and Malenia last week and struggling to the point of frustration on the dancing lion, so I’ll wait for friends to buy into it, as that was half the fun of Elden Ring in the first place. Sort of hoping I can get the band together because Elden Ring is sort of my gaming plan til Wukong!

I bought it day 1. Got to the Divine Dancing Lion and I’ve sank about 4 hours trying to down it so far with no luck. Why is the first real boss feel harder than anything in the base game? Man, the one-shot combo this thing does makes me so mad. But yet I still play… can’t stop…

Immortality or Vampire Survivors on Gamepass probably. Love them both, but man do I hope the first party games start to click with me.

Is this going to be paid DLC or free? I’m likely going to get it either way, but this is a fantastic addition. This is a wonderful collection that just got better.

The game honestly looks like it’s rooted in multiplayer with its colorful aesthetic. I’m honestly not too sure about this one, but I hope they made the right choice with that. I’m cautiously looking forward to Avowed. Hope it’s genuinely the start of a hot streak for Xbox Game Studios.

@xeofate Oh, man, the soundtrack in there is fantastic too. In my younger, more eclectic years, I was contracted to soundtrack a JRPG that never saw the light of day (or finished development, for that matter). Only gig I ever got in music, and I’ve not really written music since that project like 7 or 8 years ago now, but, man, I was jealous of the sound design and songs they made for that game. So simple, so easy, but so perfect and so utterly unique. I totally get what you mean by that.

@xeofate I love Nintendo’s first party output and I love Balatro. It’s a pretty inventive take on a pretty basic game, if you ask me. It’s one of those games that wormed into my brain and I thought about it when I wasn’t playing it. I don’t get that “I can’t wait to get home to play that game!” type of feeling very often these days, so it was sort of a thrill to have that again for me. Don’t get me wrong. I love games, but I love them in a way that doesn’t usually make me distracted from normal life. Lol

I’d like to say MGS, but I still don’t trust Konami.

Honestly, Life is Strange: Double Exposure was the biggest one for me. I had no idea it was coming and I love the series. I preordered as soon as I could.

As far as Gamepass related things go, it’s really hard to pick between Indiana Jones, Fable, and South of Midnight. Honestly 2025 looks to be the year I finally use my Xbox consistently throughout the year. Sure, Nintendo’s got Metroid 4 and PlayStation’s got Death Stranding 2, which are both more exciting to me than the obvious 2025 (GTA6) or the Xbox titles, but it truly looks like Gamepass will be filling the gaps in all the right ways and honestly I can see Xbox being my most used platform next year, given that incredible line-up.

Also, honestly, this is the most interesting Flight Sim has ever looked to me.

@xeofate Can’t go wrong with Balatro. Best indie game released this year by a wide margin. If it clicks for you, man, will it click. It’s the only game my wife’s gotten annoyed with me playing this year.

Working today and helping someone move tomorrow, so I’m not sure I’ll play anything. I’d like to play Shadow of the Erdtree though and I’d like to have a session with my kids and The Thousand Year door, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.

@OldGamer999 The lack of difficulty options actually adds to the game, believe it or not. I’ve long been critical of Souls games, but Elden Ring gives agency to the player to tackle it however they want. What, at first, seems too difficult turns into something you can beat with ease as you gain power and skill. According to the game’s primary creator, the object of the game, in its most basic terms, is overcoming suffering in a very literal sense. I did struggle with the game at first a great deal, but it enchanted me nonetheless. I would have usually agreed with you about difficulty options and I’ll be honest I usually play games on the easiest settings available since I’m usually racing to complete games as fast as possible, but Elden Ring forced me to slow down and experience it. It was certainly one of my most powerful gaming experiences.

Anyone else remember when Rugrats was supposed to release in March and then just… didn’t? And still no release date now

Counter Strike was mentioned so many times in this review that it reminded me how much I’d like a current gen port of that rather than Valorant, personally.

The Orange Box having the Half Life 2 episodes sort of blew my mind years ago, loved that one. Outside that, I’d argue I had the most fun with the Skyrim expansions. Those expansions felt bigger to me than most actual full game releases when they were coming out.

At this point, thanks to showcase season, the rest of my gaming year is mapped out…. But this game is one of two games (or three if I grab my clown nose) that may disrupt my plans. Really looking forward to this one! Give us a release date!

The fact that he left Xbox for Roblox sort of says enough about the quality of work he’s done, even without the fact that Xbox has been mired in disaster after disaster in PR without being able to hype themselves out of it. I’d argue 2019-2024 has been the nadir of Xbox’s ability to make themselves look appealing as a brand, even worse than the Xbone reveal, and that’s largely marketing and PR.

@themightyant Yeah, those scores have certainly prevented me from purchasing, but it is such a unique premise that I contemplate purchasing the game much more than other games I’ve passed on, for some reason. Maybe someday I’ll find it for $5 or less and be disappointed like everyone else!

A real shame, but, given how steep the expectations are in the industry, I wouldn’t be surprised if Embracer thought
Alone in the Dark was a bigger IP than it is and therefore expected too much out of it. It’s awful developers basically get one shot now if they’re not Ubi, EA, WB size.

This sounds absolutely incredible. I preordered the game on PS5 based on the previews and I can’t wait for it. Always loved the source material for the game too. I’m relieved that it’s not quite a Souls game too. I’m a little tired of Souls games being everywhere, but I’m glad to see action games building on that formula to be something different that stands out a bit.

I’m just hoping for Tony Hawk Underground and StarCraft to release someday on modern platforms. I would actually play through those ones again. Unlike most people though, I feel like I’m hoping for the old games to sift through the rubble here. Activision has a long history and I want more legitimately old games on modern platforms. I’m talking 30, 40 year old games.

And for that reason, I’m sort of ambivalent to whatever big announcement there will be because I feel like it’ll just be a bunch of games from last generation tossed on the service and I’ve already bought what I want from that, you know? I can play that on modern hardware too. Buuuuut I’m not the demographic that is the likely target here, and I get that! Activision games, outside Toys for Bob, have been out of my field of vision for probably two generations now. Pretty sure THPS, Crash, and Spyro have been the only ones I’ve purchased the last 10-ish years.

For Father’s Day, my wife is telling me I need to devote some time to gaming because I love it, but… I’m in that weird place of waiting for Erdtree and I don’t really have anything else I’m playing, so I guess I’m going to force myself to play Elden Ring? What else can I play though? Maybe Dig Dug or Galaga? Gaming is weird when you clear the backlog and get ahead of your new releases.

Was Ancestors any good? I’ve contemplated purchasing it several times and just never did because I just read so many conflicting things about it.