Games That Don’t Have a Thread Catch-All

Oh god, I blocked it out! Mommy, nooo!

Also making me cry: quoting that image link. What is happening there?!

Spiritfarer is (Region Select - UK) £19.99 on PS4 verses £23.79 on Switch. If anyone is looking to save a few pounds (in the current climate especially). I haven't pulled the trigger yet as I'm also looking towards Mortal Shell (PS4) which looks really good for a £24.99 asking price. I've watched part of a stream for the latter and it's very tempting for the Soulsborne fan.

I’ve spent about an hour with Spiritfarer. It’s beautiful, but it seems like a game where nothing really happens. Do I just need to keep going? The most recent thing that I did was build the garden.

I enjoy good dialogue. So far this hasn’t grabbed me. I’ll give it a bit more attention.

Trailmakers! My only complaint is that I want more than 4 vehicle slots in that instant summon menu.

Genshin Impact, the game that people complained about because it looks a lot like Breath of the Wild comes out on September 28th to PS4, PC, and mobile. I.. think it's F2P... with a gacha mechanic.

The bit I watched of this video was the guy explaining a lot of the systems.

I'll probably check it out a little bit, just to see what it looks like actually in game, but I assume there will not be enough good meat on it's bones / a story with an end.

I'm in!

I'm out.

This probably isn't the best place for this, but the Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online stream schedule went up, in addition to individual schedules for Capcom, Level-5, Koei Tecmo, and Square Enix.

One of the first streams will actually be Microsoft, which should be interesting to see. They'll probably show off Scarlet Nexus more, as well as Phantasy Star Online 2 and perhaps the next Tales of game, since those have all featured during their presentations. I'm curious if they'll have further announcements.

Capcom has only confirmed Street Fighter V Championship Edition and Resident Evil VIIIage, though there may be more in their one-hour stream segment.

Square Enix has the most content, with tons of titles both console and mobile. No idea of any new announcements, but they list Babylon's Fall and Balan Wonderworld as two games that they'll be showing off.

Both Sony and Nintendo are absent, which isn't really surprising at this point.

Sony has been emphasizing their own events as of late in their continuing efforts to imitate what Nintendo has already done. As Microsoft is planning to launch a new console, we've returned to the "desperately try to appeal to the Japanese gaming audience" cycle of their marketing. Sony is likely confident they don't need to put additional effort in, while simultaneously preferring their own streaming events such as the Sony PS5 reveal. Then again, they just had that full Ratchet & Clank video for Gamescom, so it's peculiar they'd opt for that and not TGS. My guess is that they have their own September or October event lined up, if not both, where they can be the only conversation.

Nintendo has just been a mess this entire year. Covid seems to have hit them harder than other developers. I anticipate that they're working at their own pace on their own Direct presentation which is rumored to go live this month. You're also correct that I'm not sure Nintendo has even shown up there as of late, despite still having a presence at E3 and Gamescom.

Regardless, both Nintendo and Sony have been relying more and more on their own presentations rather than big events, so it's not a surprise to see both of them absent from TGS Online.

So basically, double the number of games press websites and clog the competition even further?

There's a few reasons that hasn't been done yet, with the first being that people still enjoy going to the big events. Recall that these are only online because of Covid, and otherwise would still have that physical meat-space element. The question then is whether they ought to be so corporate since it's no longer necessary to withhold press information for specific times (in magazine days, this is when press would get months worth of news and previews as opposed to a flood of announcements in the span of a week before everyone moved on), or to emphasize that fan element more. San Diego Comic-Con is a weird blend whereas something like PAX remains more fan focused and less corporate.

Regardless, there's also the angle of ownership of announcements. By releasing several announcements at once you're throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks for all your demographics. Just one announcement can be viewed negatively or dismissively, but three good announcements, one great one, and two negatively perceived all in one batch comes away with largely positive feelings.

All marketing manipulation and all that.

On that note, Ubisoft has an event on the 10th that will contain information on Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Siege, Hyperscape, and Immortals: Fenyx Rising (formerly known as Gods & Monsters).

But the colon implies it's the first in a series. That way, they can now name the next one "Immortals 2: Fenyx Rises Again."

Immortals 3: Please, just let Fenyx sleep a bit more willya?

So someone at Microsoft screwed up and posted the page for Immortals Fenyx Rising early. It has since been taken down, but suggests a December 3rd release date (which is surprising since only indies and Nintendo seem to release in December). Some of the screenshots give some Kid Icarus vibes, though whoever decided on that blank, dead-eyed expression should probably be fired.

And evidently Ubisoft isn't even including the ':' colon in the title. So it's Immortals Fenyx Rising, which makes it an even worse title.

EDIT: The more I look at that face the more I hate the change in character design. It's amazing how a very brief glimpse in the original trailer made such a better impression.

Slight smirk, expression of confidence, like "Yeah, I'll take you on, and I'll win."

"What? What do you mean I can't wear this t-shirt just because it has a swear word on it! Ugh! My life sucks! I hate you mom and dad!"

What a downgrade.

I took a gamble on One Night Stand due to a pocket change price tag (whilst on sale) and I found my intrigue to be adequately rewarded. It's a visual novel which leans into (as the title implies) awkward moments and uncomfortable exchanges, but with grace and poise, rather than through a lewd lens or being laced with satire. This provides an interesting and a thoughtful social interaction study between two strangers after a hazy impromptu hookup.

It's short. 15 minutes or less. It's meant to be replayed multiple times to explore the different conversational paths and their outcomes. So multiply that by your curiosity.

FYI - should it matter to anyone - you play as a man and wake up alongside a woman.

I'm not sure how broad its appeal would be. I found it interesting. But I've also never had a one night stand. The awkwardness. The unkown. The boundaries. The trust. Nope. I'll make do with this visual novel recreation.