Abandoned Games

[Jamin]

Dicey Dungeons

Played over 15 hours of this but the punishing RNG based difficulty has finally done me in, when there are plenty other gamepass distractions. Did the first two episodes of every character but the 3rd stages seemed masochistic for me. I could have checked a guide, I guess, but rinsed what enjoyment I had from it.

 

I wish they'd graduated the difficulty a bit more as I really enjoyed this one until it hit the oppressively hard point. 

[Jamie John]

On 03/10/2022 at 12:10, Unofficial Who said:

Sable (PC)

 

 

This broke my heart. I love the art style. I love the music. I love wandering around this vast desert world.

 

Snap! Although for different reasons.

 

I can't remember the last time I took such a sudden about turn with a game. I was enjoying this happily at the start of the week, and commented to that effect in the Game Pass thread. The game looked beautiful, the ambience was calming, and, after having played a pretty brutal survival game recently (Darkwood), I was very much onboard with the gentle exploration and lack of threat on show here.

 

These last two evenings, however, the performance issues started to get to me - the constant stuttering and jerking that seemed prevalent no matter what I did. While I'd normally say that I wasn't that susceptible to this sort of thing, playing this evening and getting to a forest area, the frame-rate tanked, making my hover plane suddenly impossible to control, and I'd had enough.

 

Moreover, in a game where you spend such a large amount of time gliding about, the very act of gliding must feel good. I wanted to sail effortlessly over dunes at speed, soar through the air majestically and bank around sand banks with grace and poise. Instead, however, you just bob and ditch over crests like an escaping chicken, the collision detection freaking out every time you land, and it just feels rank. Granted, things might improve later, but the stuttering and slowdown means I'll likely never find out.

 

A genuine shame.

[James Lyon]

35 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

These last two evenings, however, the performance issues started to get to me - the constant stuttering and jerking that seemed prevalent no matter what I did. 

 

Were you playing on Xbox? I played this on cloud and had zero issues with performance. Have they got it optimised in some way for that?

[Jamie John]

6 hours ago, James Lyon said:

 

Were you playing on Xbox? I played this on cloud and had zero issues with performance. Have they got it optimised in some way for that?

 

I played it locally installed on my Series X, where you'd have thought performance would be strongest, but apparently not. The opening area seemed fine,and I wondered what everyone was moaning about, but it definitely became more noticeable the longer I played. This is an actual thing, apparently - something to do with caches over time that I don't understand.

[Vimster]

Final Fantasy XIV Online (PC)

Not played an MMO in years and for whatever reason had this desire to sink some time into one again. Gave this one about 17 hours which I know is peanuts in MMO terms but just got a bit bored as there were too many "go here and deliver a message" missions and not enough standard combat ones. I did a bit of reading up and it was advised you avoid side missions and play through the story as they'd tweaked it enough you didn't need to level outside of it. A shame as the side missions were more enjoyable. There was just a bit too much story for me, way to much dialogue to the point I'd just skip it and read the last paragraph which invariably told me what I needed to do, guess I'm not much of an RPer, just like to get to the essence. Plus I was playing this solo the whole MM bit was pointless too. It's not bad, and maybe if I was playing with others regularly it would be different. 

 

I find I can't get addicted to games like I used to either, at least this one didn't grab me like it should do. I'm immune!

[df0]

@VimsterThose two negatives you mentioned, those only get worse. There's moments where it's exposition dump after exposition dump, cutscene after cutscene where nothing of value is said. As for the side quests, those only get worse; go to A to talk to B, go to C to pick up D, return to A to meet B who tells you to meet B at C. At C talk to B who asks you to go to A to pick up E. Deliver E to B at C. Meet B at A to complete quest.

 

Combat is fantastic, dungeons are great. Everything exciting gameplay related is absolutely fantastic, tis a shame about the story.

[Calashnikov]

^ this guy always talks shite about XIV’s story. Depends on your tolerance for high camp Saturday morning cartoon silliness, granted, but if you’re in any way a Final Fantasy fan, then XIV’s story and characters are right up there.

 

I’ve got the lore encyclopaedias and everything 

[df0]

Cause it's trash. I swear I'm the only sane one here 😐

[Vimster]

36 minutes ago, df0 said:

@VimsterThose two negatives you mentioned, those only get worse. There's moments where it's exposition dump after exposition dump, cutscene after cutscene where nothing of value is said. As for the side quests, those only get worse; go to A to talk to B, go to C to pick up D, return to A to meet B who tells you to meet B at C. At C talk to B who asks you to go to A to pick up E. Deliver E to B at C. Meet B at A to complete quest.

 

Combat is fantastic, dungeons are great. Everything exciting gameplay related is absolutely fantastic, tis a shame about the story.

I'd got into that section and it infuriated me no end. I dreaded meeting new characters because it would result in another 20 pages of guff. There's only so much setting I can take before I just want to get into the game proper which by all accounts looked great, couldn't wait to get stuck into the dungeons and all that. 

 

Wouldn't knock the story, I'm led to believe if it chimes with you then you're golden, there's a huge epic story to follow, and yes you can probably get steeped in it. I bounced off it. 

[Calashnikov]

8 minutes ago, df0 said:

Cause it's trash. I swear I'm the only sane one here 😐

By what metric though? Sure, it’s no fucking Catcher in the Rye or whatever but for a fucking computer game about elfs and dwarfs going to outer space it’s told really well.

[Calashnikov]

15 minutes ago, Vimster said:

I'd got into that section and it infuriated me no end. I dreaded meeting new characters because it would result in another 20 pages of guff.

It’s oft said, of course, but later expansions once you get past A Realm Reborn are nowhere near as bad for that type of padding. It’s a pity that it’s such a big commitment getting through ARR. They apparently have improved on it for newcomers, and you’d hope they’d continue to do this and allow folk to more quickly get to the promised land of Heavensward and beyond 😭👌🏻🙏🏻👑 

[Unofficial Who]

Scorn (PC)

 

 

This took me back to the 90's. On the positive side it's a lot like Dark Seed, but in 3D! On the down side this reminds me a lot of PC gaming back in the 90's, especially Myst type games. I think some people will love this, there is no handholding here. Just wandering around the innards of a mysterious rotting bio machine and trying to work out how to coax bio machines to help you progress.

 

But after wandering around for close to an hour randomly prodding at things I felt like David 8 from Prometheus. Not for me. Looks fantastic though.

[MattyP]

1 hour ago, Unofficial Who said:

Scorn (PC)

 

 

This took me back to the 90's. On the positive side it's a lot like Dark Seed, but in 3D! On the down side this reminds me a lot of PC gaming back in the 90's, especially Myst type games. I think some people will love this, there is no handholding here. Just wandering around the innards of a mysterious rotting bio machine and trying to work out how to coax bio machines to help you progress.

 

But after wandering around for close to an hour randomly prodding at things I felt like David 8 from Prometheus. Not for me. Looks fantastic though.

Exactly very Myst like... And feels similar to the graphic adventures LucasArts used to create back in the day. Probably why I like it.

[Boothjan]

Grounded

 

The idea is great, the visuals and the presentation is top notch.  Honey I Shrunk The Kids: The Game really should be my cup of tea - but it's SUCH a chore to play.  This definitely a case of 'it's not you, it's me' I'm afraid.  A good game but it needs a LOT of attention and the crafting element just strays too far into the 'mundane' category, with a stingy inventory and long treks between targets, avoiding obstacles so you don't lose everything you've collected etc.  And those spiders can fuck off.

 

I'd probably enjoy this if I played with friends, or even had the time to properly invest in it - I'm also sure it's a very good game, but it's not for me.  A shame as I was really looking forward to it.

[JamesC]

After a few hours with it, I've decided to bail on The Evil Within 2.

I really wasn't enjoying it and the more I played, the more it felt like a chore.

In terms or story/setting it's a pretty charmless Silent Hill rip off.

In terms of mechanics, it felt similar to Days Gone but with all the fun removed.

Maybe I'm just in the wrong mood for this game and maybe I'll give it another go in the future but for now I'm glad to see the back of it. 

[acidbearboy]

I managed to delete a couple of demos off the switch this weekend. I have no nostalgia for Klonoa 1&2 and the demo didn’t grab me. Seemed like a fairly generic cutesy platformer, a little reminiscent of Nights.
 

The second demo I deleted was Mighty Gunvolt Burst. It played well, like a modern Mega Man, but I just don’t have the patience for that sort of game these days. 

[Goemon]

Bailed on Baldo

 

The game is close to being great but unfortunately it’s being designed and built in a vacuum so it’s just not made with the user in mind. They wanted to make a Zelda clone, but tough! And in doing so they’ve just made everything a chore to do.

 

example puzzle

 

You’ve got a moving platform and 2 unreachable eyes

You pick up a throwable and wait for the platform

You get on the platform, throw it at the first eye…and a timer starts while you’re stuck on the platform

The timer runs while you’re still on the platform, when you the platform returns you start again

You get off and go pick up another throwable

You wait for the platform to come back

You got on the platform and put down the throwable item

You wait for the platform to return to the start

You get off the platform and pick up another throwable

You wait for the platform to come back

You get on the platform you throw the first throwable, you throw the 2nd throwable, nothing happens

You’re like WTF, you look around wondering what’s going on…and you spot a partially hidden 3rd eye in the environment!

The timer runs out

You start the whole process again.

This probably took me 20 mins to do and was zero fun.

You have map sellers dotted around, which fill in areas of the map…and they put them in places where you can’t easily get to them. I could see a guy and wandered around for like half an hour trying to find how to get to him, running into multiple dead ends, deaths to enemies, exits to other areas and yet never got to him. The ironic thing was this was to get a map of the area I’ve just spent half an hour wandering around figuring out.

 

You do get the satisfaction of figuring stuff out, which drives you on but in the end the chore to satisfaction ratio is just too lopsided

[Boothjan]

Deathloop

 

I can't quite put my finger on why this just isn't sticking with me.  I love this sort of idea, the game mechanics are fine..... but something about it really bugs me, to the point that when I was about to load it up the other day, I wasn't that excited to do so, and only started it because I thought I had to.  Maybe it's trying to be too clever?  It certainly didn't engage me - the world felt really uninspiring and generic.  Whilst there's nothing inherently wrong with this, there's nothing that stands out about it either.  

 

With so many games in my backlog, I've decided to be a bit more ruthless - if it's not grabbing me or if I'm not enjoying it (or both), move on.  I found this to be very bland, and I can't understand the hype around it whatsoever.

[Jamie John]

Olija

 

This looked right up my alley, and seeing as it's on Game Pass, I thought it would be a shoe-in for something short but sweet. However, after giving it about 90 minutes of my time and defeating the first boss, I don't think I'll be going back. It's not a bad game, particularly, but there's not much about it that entices me; it's obscure and opaque enough to the point of irritation rather than intrigue (there's nothing to explain the controls, for example), and the MS Paint-style, chunky pixel graphics, which I found endearing in games like Hyper Light Drifter, I just found aren't clear enough here for me to tell what's going on.

 

Some people have really enjoyed this, and seeing as I tend to like these sorts of side-scrolling action platformers, I thought I might, too, but it's not for me.

[RubberJohnny]

I think Days Gone might end up here. The first few hours aren't bad, there's some genuine panic in running out of petrol in the middle of nowhere, and some good tension in that you're properly vulnerable and go down as easily as the enemies.

 

But the missions aren't really keeping up their end of the bargain, most are just "go to location, hit X to interact", or slow social walks behind people. I have a flashback about picking plants that involves slow walks and picking three plants, I then have the present day mission where I have to go to a location and pick three plants for real, thanks guys.

 

I'm ten hours in(!) and it still feels like I'm waiting for the plot to start, like it's incredible the extent there is just no drive or motivation for the player or the main character except to do generic open world activities like clear camps and reminisce about your dead wife. The game keeps teasing that something might happen - a helicopter! No it's just a series of shadowing quests, fuck me. A new area! No it's just the same stuff in slightly different scenery.

 

I did wonder why people were so down on it because it looked well-made, but it's like they spent 95% of the effort on the prestige cutscenes and 5% on the the missions that they feature in. And I don't like Sam Witwer, so I want to skip the cutscenes.

[acidbearboy]

Zelda The Windwaker.

 

I hadn't enjoyed any of the 3D Zelda games until BotW, but I always wanted to like WW due to the art style. I had tried it briefly a couple of times before but never got past the first dungeon - and that's exactly where I gave up again yesterday. I didn't know where I was supposed to be going, I had no weapon to fight and the stealth was boring. I was battling the camera and kept rolling when I wanted to pick things up. It was just frustrating and I don't have time for it. It was interesting to see how many things carried over from WW to BotW though.

[Sarlaccfood]

That’s Bayonetta 3 sold off. 
 

Just an ugly mess both visually and mechanically. I’m sure when it clicks it’s great, but it never did for me. It’s too much for my brain to process, juggling all the weapons and then the bloody monsters on top (the camera seems just as confused with them as I am). The fights are over before I start to think about trying any combos outside of button bashing and I just don’t like the characters or the world enough to see the story through. 
 

Shame. But I’ve got the first one on my Switch now so I feel quite good that I can just revisit that one when I like.

[Majora]

52 minutes ago, acidbearboy said:

Zelda The Windwaker.

 

I hadn't enjoyed any of the 3D Zelda games until BotW, but I always wanted to like WW due to the art style. I had tried it briefly a couple of times before but never got past the first dungeon - and that's exactly where I gave up again yesterday. I didn't know where I was supposed to be going, I had no weapon to fight and the stealth was boring. I was battling the camera and kept rolling when I wanted to pick things up. It was just frustrating and I don't have time for it. It was interesting to see how many things carried over from WW to BotW though.

 

The first dungeon is kind of rubbish (I'm assuming you're talking about the castle where you pretty much have to stealth around a lot of it) but it's pretty short if you can just force your way past it. It's not very indicative of the rest of the game at all, it's a weird dungeon to start the game off with.

[glb]

Hero Emblems II (iOS)

 

Looks lovely on an iPhone but gameplay-wise somehow manages to be a complete regression from the first game.

 

I’m pretty near the end but a couple of the bosses are such a joyless grind, with no clear path to victory beyond hoping the game’s rng is in your favour (it isn’t), that playing it become more frustrating than anything in recent memory.

 

A real disappointment after waiting so long for the sequel to arrive.

[Jamie John]

Final Fantasy X HD Remastered (2021)

 

The great JRPG purge continues.

 

I only played this through once back in the day on the PS2 and never thought it stood up to the likes of VII, VIII or IX. I wanted to try it again, because I remembered how you could exploit the battle system when you got to the final third and more or less break the game, which is something I enjoy doing. I played it for about 5 hours, however, waiting for the combat to get a bit more meaty, but it just never got there, and I had to put up with all the interminable cutscenes in between. Unlike the ports of the aforementioned PS1-era FF games, there aren't any of the QoL updates, either, things like 4x speed or no random battles. I also thought I'd be able to play it with the Japanese voices and English subtitles, to make Tidus a bit more bearable, but alas.

 

Anyway, I'm sure this is a very special game for some people, but it's the last of the JRPGs I had in my backlog, and I'm hoping I've learnt by now that these games just aren't for me anymore. I still want to emulate Chrono Trigger on my Deck, though, but that's more of an ARPG. (And maybe get the remastered version of FFVI...) I think SRPGs might be more my thing; combat first and stories second. That new Tactics Ogre game has caught my eye, but the 60+ hour run time puts me off.

[Vorgot]

Animal Crossing New Horizons. I've tried to like this, but it's not for me. Don't know why I thought it would be, I never got on with New Leaf. Have restarted this a few times, just never get very far in before I get really bored

[Yobo Ahoy]

I feel terrible, but Devil May Cry 5. It's lovingly put together but the story is boring me to tears and the endless corridors and invisible walls just don't do it for me anymore. I'm crap at the 'make your own fun' combos - getting worse with age -  and only V of the 3 characters is actually fun to play with. Soz. 

[El Spatula]

Wait what. V is the most fun? I can get the repetitiveness but V is awful.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Yeah man! I like stringing together the finishing moves and the panther is pure OP nonsense. 

[Jamie John]

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge Remastered - Steam Deck

 

I thought I'd give this another quick run through ahead of playing the new game, but I'm done with it after a couple of hours. The writing, voice acting and music are as good as ever, but walking to and from the different places is just so bloody tedious and slow, I can't be doing with it. The Lucas Art logic, even when making pretty liberal use of the in-game hint system, has also not dated very well and annoys more than it entertains. And it's not optimised for Steam Deck, either, which means some of the button prompts are for keyboard, not controller, and I can't figure out what button to press to switch between the original and remastered versions of the game.

 

I've heard that the new game that came out this year is a bit more up-to-date, so I'll skip this and just go straight onto that instead.