What are you playing this weekend?

Based on Sundown's write up of the game in the best of 2021 list, I started playing Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children. I'm still early on, like 5 hours, but the game is impressive. It feels like if they made a Persona game in the style of xcom or fire emblem. I'm just scratching the surface, but there are layers of systems, which so far seem generally well explained, which allow for crazy amounts of character customization and different builds. I'm surprised the game doesn't have a bigger following. Especially because it's only $25 on steam

Besides diving into that more, I'll progress more in my replay of Horizion: Zero Dawn in anticipation of Forbidden West.

IUMogg wrote:

Besides diving into that more, I'll progress more in my replay of Horizion: Zero Dawn in anticipation of Forbidden West.

And I'm continuing my first playthrough!

Every big fight starts with me planning out "Okay, first I'll snipe those guys from stealth so I don't have to face everything at once. That thing is the real threat, so I'll prioritize that component, and after that...." and usually ends with chaotic button-mashing. I am loving it.

Continuing on with the same games I was playing last weekend. I'm a bit more into Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and they've introduced the cult now as someone I'm going to go fight. I say this every time I play one of the Ubisoft template games, but they really are great for the busy adult for just picking one up and playing for a bit, knocking out some objectives, then putting it down to go do something else.

I'm also still working on my Nuzlocke run of Pokemon Fire Red. I'm up to the Rock Tunnel, with a solid team of 3-4, and no deaths so far. Not sure how long I can keep that up. And I'm trying as best I can to plot out my team, knowing what is available later but given that I have little control over who I actually catch. There are some sure things (like Eevee! And Lapras!) that I can use to plug some gaps later on.

And also

IUMogg wrote:

Based on Sundown's write up of the game in the best of 2021 list, I started playing Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children. I'm still early on, like 5 hours, but the game is impressive. It feels like if they made a Persona game in the style of xcom or fire emblem. I'm just scratching the surface, but there are layers of systems, which so far seem generally well explained, which allow for crazy amounts of character customization and different builds. I'm surprised the game doesn't have a bigger following. Especially because it's only $25 on steam

I'm glad you're enjoying it, especially early on! I don't like ever saying a game gets good after 20 hours since who has that kind of time to burn to get to the good stuff, but this one starts solid and then really does just keep getting better after 10 hours, and better after 20, and after 30, and after 40, and so on. So if you're enjoying it now, you have a great ride ahead of you.

I could pretend I'm going to play a bunch of different games this weekend, but that would be lying to myself. The truth is I'm going to do more gold crown chasing in Monster Hunter World, while I keep telling myself that this is pointless and that there are better options when it comes to wasting my one precious life.

What's good, Goodjers? Happy weekend!

I'll continue to plug away at W40K: Battlesector on & off the Twitch stream. Not much to say here: it's good! I recently added the Elite Units DLCs and now have access to Assault Terminators and Sanguinary Guard so... EVEN BETTER.

A kind viewer gifted me a spare key for W40: Sanctus Reach last night. I don't expect this to pull me away from Battlesector or deeply disrupt my backlog plans, but I'd like to give it a spin this weekend and will probably stream it on Sunday if it's even half as entertaining.

Speaking of all things Warhammer: I may visit a local game store to grab the 9th edition Grey Knights codex. Taking a first step towards grabbing some minis to put together and paint!

My 2nd playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 if I can squeeze it in.

More Diablo III on the Switch as I sit on the couch recovering from Covid and binging Father Brown.

I was going to play a bunch of different things but I'm really focusing on Neir: Automata at the moment. Partly because I'm enjoying it and it's a good game, but also because this is the kind of title that if you don't stay on top of it you'll completely forget what the heck is going on.

I can already tell my summary of this title is going to be really interesting.

Finishing up Paper Beast in VR and probably starting King's Quest V. Beyond that, anything's possible.

Have a hankering for some AC Odyssey, actually.

I'll also be attempting to start King's Quest V, along with revisiting Ni No Kuni and maaaybe dipping my toes into a replay of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to see if it grabs me. But there's an even chance the Hitman Trilogy on Game Pass will pull me in and soak up all my weekend time instead.

I'll be dabbling in Psychonauts 2 and Monster Hunter Stories, which I seem to take forever with yet enjoy so much.

I'll finally have all my crafters leveled to 90 in Final Fantasy XIV. Next step will be to craft them some level appropriate gear, and, uh, probably not really touch them until some content for them comes out like new daily Tribe quests or something like last expansion's Firmament. Then I'll be back to leveling Reaper and other combat jobs again.

I started Expeditions: Rome, and so far it is amazing. They have fit the story into the period of Lucius Lucinius Lucullus and Sulla - maybe around 72BCE, they mention Lucullus' invasion of Galicia as recently started, I think - and one of your first group of travelling companions is none other than a young Gaius Julius Caesar. The art, clothing, ships, etc are spot-on. The voiceovers use the Latin names correctly. And the attitudes of the other Romans are also accurate (so far, at least). Arrogant, feisty and brave. You are encouraged to role-play as a Roman, and given one of three archetypes to follow during the game (which I think can change).

Anyway, looks like a great tactical RPG with deep historical roots. Loving it so far.

Probably going to fire up Logistical: Earth and Battletech too.

Battletech BEX for me. Hopefully I'll find more interesting weapon systems soon!

Wasting time waiting for Total Warhammer 3.

Finished Kena: Bridge of Spirits. So moving on to another actiony rpg-lite.

God of War....boy.

It also has an in-game photo mode. Lots of nice options but a bit of a pain since you have to navigate through the options menu a bit.

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More Divinity: Original Sin 2. After 17 hours I'm finally ready to leave Act I/the first island.

Still having a great time with Persona 5 Strikers. In case anyone missed it, it's free on PS Plus this month!

I also started Darkest Dungeon for no particular reason. This would be the third (?) time I've tried to crack it. Each time I get a bit further before losing enthusiasm. Will I still be playing it by next weekend? Tune in to find out!

ComfortZone wrote:

I also started Darkest Dungeon for no particular reason. This would be the third (?) time I've tried to crack it. Each time I get a bit further before losing enthusiasm. Will I still be playing it by next weekend? Tune in to find out!

Oh, totally feel you there. Found myself in this position many a time. Good luck!

I had to do some mods to Darkest Dungeon to enjoy it on PC. The inventory limit was nuts, and just artificially lengthening the game because you could never bring back enough resources to build up the village, and on and on... they wanted the game to last double the time because you could only carry 4 stacks of x, but 6 stacks of y, and only 3 of z... made most everything stack in 12s and had a lot more fun.

I would suggest playing Darkest Dungeon in Radiant mode. Also, when you take on a mission to fight a boss, Google the boss ahead of time so that you know what kind of attacks to expect and how to combat them. It's kinda cheating, but... permadeath is brutal in this game.

Same thing when you get to the final four "Darkest Dungeons". They are fixed maps. Look them up before you embark!

Thanks for the tips. I've been looking at some guides on YouTube and trying to learn it "properly". I can see that it's mostly a matter of persistence and paying attention but man, the feeling of being crippled after a couple of bad missions is tough to take. I much prefer a roguelike system where you start from a clean slate after a failure. I had the same problem with XCOM fwiw.

The House in Fata Morgana Its a VN that probably end in tragic. Don't know just yet. I have a feeling.

Deathloop I might have a few more loops before I say I'm done. It has a killer start and plateau for me before the climax.

I want to play a JRPG so maybe more Trails in the Sky SC.

I started up Death's Door last night (as it's just been added to Game Pass), so I'll be playing some more over the weekend. Also will be continuing with Outer Wilds.

For multiplayer, at least one of the following:
Deep Rock Galactic
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2
Rocket League

I should get back to Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus as it's the current game for the GWJ Strategy Group, perhaps I'll save this for weekday evenings.

After watching the first six episodes of Demon Slayer, I was in the mood for some anime action... So, I bought Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition for the Switch (as of 23 Jan. 22 it's still on sale for €9.99). I have never played a Tales-game before, so this was more of an impulse buy than anything else. So far, it looks pretty good for a game that is 13 years old, and it definitely delivers on the anime front.

Started Death Stranding. This is weird. The traversal game is fun whenever it stops talking at me.

Agathos wrote:

whenever it stops talking at me.

...I've got some bad news....

I've spent about 6-7 hours this weekend playing Nobody Saves the World. It's a nice light action-rpg by the makers of Guacamelee. It's easy to keep playing as you are constantly finishing quests and unlocking new forms and abilities. It reminds me a bit of Cat Quest I / II - lightweight games that don't take themselves too seriously.

The slug transformation was surprisingly effective. Such a silly game.

I'm back to playing MW4 Mercs again.
I love this game! Its so good and it released in 2002.

Such a shame that nothing has come close to building upon its potential. I guess Chromehounds but that too was abandoned

Still plugging away at Assassin's Creed Odyssey, a game I am playing after completing Assassin's Creed: Valhalla because people declared it to be the better game. 30 hours in and I just cannot agree. I much prefer the structure of AC:V with the town building and expanding influence on 9th Century England. That and I like playing as a Viking, which may have something to do with my ancestry.

I am also playing Tower of Doom on the Intellivision for a game club I am a member of. A Wizardry clone on a 1970s console that was released in 1987. Not a sentence I thought I'd post on this forum!

I also have plans to experience the joys of Nobody Saves the World after hearing so much praise from it recently.