Games That Don’t Have a Thread Catch-All

Ted wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

Well I guess Hall & Oats isn’t the worst band to get stuck in your head.

You being down on H&O?

Well I can't go for that.

Say it isn’t so... you’re out of touch.

BadKen wrote:
Ted wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

Well I guess Hall & Oats isn’t the worst band to get stuck in your head.

You being down on H&O?

Well I can't go for that.

Say it isn’t so... you’re out of touch.

You’re a rich girl. But you’ve gone too far and you know it don’t matter anyway.
Ack! I couldn’t make it clever. I just didn’t want to be left out of a Hall and Oats’plosion.

RawkGWJ wrote:
BadKen wrote:
Ted wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

Well I guess Hall & Oats isn’t the worst band to get stuck in your head.

You being down on H&O?

Well I can't go for that.

Say it isn’t so... you’re out of touch.

You’re a rich girl. But you’ve gone too far and you know it don’t matter anyway.
Ack! I couldn’t make it clever. I just didn’t want to be left out of a Hall and Oats’plosion.

But your kiss is on my list.

Wait what?

RawkGWJ wrote:

I just bought FUSER VIP edition for $99.99USD. OUCH. something tells me I won’t regret it.

I did too and I have some thoughts

- It costs $150 so far. That's $60 for the base game (100 songs), $40 for VIP Edition (25 more songs), and another $50 for the first season pass (I think this is like 21 songs plus some outfits). This is roughly the same price I paid for Rock Band songs. I understand most of the money is probably going to license holders too. So it might be fair, but it still hurts.

- The steam version crashes constantly. You can still play the game because it autosaves after everything you do and it doesn't take long to load up, but man it's annoying.

- This isn't really a music making game, so much as it's a music performance game, a la Rock Band. Or maybe it's best described as a hybrid between the two. You have to come up with your own mixes and there's a lot of room for creativity there, but you also have to time everything correctly and think quickly. You can't just lay out your song and hit play.

- There's a HUGE social element to the game. Everything you do can be shared, liked, etc. You can join live freestyle sessions with other players. You can submit a mix to a weekly contest (note: voting on these contests seems to be the quickest way to level up your profile). You can battle other players (haven't tried this, don't know how it works).

- If you don't like any of the social stuff there's not a whole lot to do. The campaign is an extended tutorial really. You can solo freestyle and hear some nice music I guess

Overall I think I'm having fun but I can't convince any of my friends to buy it so far, so we'll see.

I've been playing Eastshade recently. It looks and feels like an Elder Scrolls game. It has similar quest chains and an openness in its world, but instead of RPG leveling and combat, you paint pictures for people. The main quest is to paint a few specific landscapes in memory of your mother, but as you wander, you'll encounter people who will ask you to paint their portrait or a view they love or would like to remember. It's really engaging and very chill.

I've also been playing A Plague Tale: Innocence, which I don't think has its own thread. I feel late to the party on this one, but I'd avoided it because I'd heard that it was an uneven and buggy experience. I'm not sure where I got that idea, because at the game's midway point it's been polished, stable, and very engrossing. I wasn't surprised to read that the developers were inspired by The Last of Us, because in many ways, A Plague Tale feels like a medieval take on a harrowing, emotional journey through the apocalypse, much like The Last of Us.

But are there medieval monster closets?

BadKen wrote:

But are there medieval monster closets?

Not that I've found, but honestly, monster closets don't bother me so I'm not sure if I would notice.

There are a f*ckload of rats, though.

A Plague Tale has been on my list for a long time, I've just got to peel myself away from other games to play it. It's not all that long, so I'm not sure what is stopping me.

It's only $13.49 (historical low) on Steam right now 'til Dec 1, but my check comes in Dec 3, and I already got my quota of Thanksgiving gifts with Ubisoft+ :D. I bet it'll be on sale again for the Winter sale.

BuzzW wrote:
RawkGWJ wrote:

I just bought FUSER VIP edition for $99.99USD. OUCH. something tells me I won’t regret it.

I did too and I have some thoughts

- It costs $150 so far. That's $60 for the base game (100 songs), $40 for VIP Edition (25 more songs), and another $50 for the first season pass (I think this is like 21 songs plus some outfits). This is roughly the same price I paid for Rock Band songs. I understand most of the money is probably going to license holders too. So it might be fair, but it still hurts.

I have some thoughts too.

I’m sorry that you’re having crash issues with the Steam version. On Xbox it’s been fine.

After buying the $99.99 VIP version I also noticed that the season pass was not included, which was surprising. Haven’t ponied up for the season pass because...

Unlike Dropmix, which this is clearly based on, these are NOT samples of the original songs. They are interpolations of the songs using MIDI instruments, as far as I can tell. The vocals might be sampled from the original recordings, but I’m guessing that they’re actually sound-alike recordings of session vocalists.

While I can instantly understand why Harmonix did this; costs less, easier to license, easier to manipulate the sounds in the software; the fine details contained in the original recordings are entirely missing, and those fine details are often the things that make those songs special and memorable. For me, this is a HUGE letdown. I’m seriously considering getting a refund for the game.

I’m torn. I want to love it, but I’m not sure if I can.

BuzzW wrote:

Overall I think I'm having fun but I can't convince any of my friends to buy it so far, so we'll see.

It has crossplay/cross platform multiplayer. I’m RawkGWJ on Xbox. If I can find you online, I’ll definitely hit you up.

A Plague Tale will definitely be in my Top 10 Games of 2020, probably in one of the top three spots. I thought it was fantastic from beginning to end.

A Plague Tale is on Xbox and PC Game Pass. I didn't expect to like it but it was so highly recommended I had to try. It was very much worth my time.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I've also been playing A Plague Tale: Innocence, which I don't think has its own thread. I feel late to the party on this one, but I'd avoided it because I'd heard that it was an uneven and buggy experience. I'm not sure where I got that idea, because at the game's midway point it's been polished, stable, and very engrossing. I wasn't surprised to read that the developers were inspired by The Last of Us, because in many ways, A Plague Tale feels like a medieval take on a harrowing, emotional journey through the apocalypse, much like The Last of Us.

It does have a thread, actually, but it's only the one page so it's not like you missed much discussion.

RawkGWJ wrote:

It has crossplay/cross platform multiplayer. I’m RawkGWJ on Xbox. If I can find you online, I’ll definitely hit you up.

I used the in game search and sent you a follow I think, it was the only option. I think a big part of Fuser is the party game/social aspect so I'd definitely be down to try that all out. Feel free to steal snapshots from my mixes.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/9...

Few hours in, but I'm starting to think that Amazing Cultivation Simulator might be a thing.

Starts out looking like RimWorld on the surface, but fills out with heavy Chinese mysticism focus, rpg & story elements.

Getting deep, deep, deep mechanics vibes with lush presentation. Feels incredibly fresh so far.

I picked up Chronicon on a whim and I'm very impressed. Not sure if anything can out-Diablo diablo, but this may be the closest thing I've played so far. The story of course is negliglble and doesn't take itself too seriously, but the gameplay and the way things can all just explode with loot flying everywhere is pretty darn satisfying. The upgrade system is remarkably deep for such a simple looking game. I believe there are 100 levels and repspecs are free. I'm sure there is plenty of min/max strats out there but I'm playing on the 3rd difficulty level and just picking up gear and fitting my playstyle.

If you're looking for a new ARPG, I think this one is a winner.

I’ve sunk a couple of hours into this fun little indie 4x/city builder hybrid thing called Before We Leave that has kept me charmed with its style. You have your little people who go out and build buildings and collect resources and there’s hexagons and a research tree like a 4x game, but it’s real time and has no combat to speak of. I hear there are space whales that may wreck your cities down so there is still some threats to your growth and expansion, but not in the form of other civs.

There’s also a decent amount of logistics involved to move tools, supplies, and research from city to city, since each has their own pools to work from. Probably nothing as deep as an Anno, but still enough to give you something to think about. This feels like the sort of 3x (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit) game I keep an eye out for. I’m enjoying the low pressure and the laid back atmosphere of this game so far, so I’m planning on rolling with it for a while.

Aaron D. wrote:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/9...

Few hours in, but I'm starting to think that Amazing Cultivation Simulator might be a thing.

Starts out looking like RimWorld on the surface, but fills out with heavy Chinese mysticism focus, rpg & story elements.

Getting deep, deep, deep mechanics vibes with lush presentation. Feels incredibly fresh so far.

I streamed this the other day and after two hours was still in the tutorial. It looks to be an amazing thing.

Sundown wrote:

I’ve sunk a couple of hours into this fun little indie 4x/city builder hybrid thing called Before We Leave that has kept me charmed with its style. You have your little people who go out and build buildings and collect resources and there’s hexagons and a research tree like a 4x game, but it’s real time and has no combat to speak of. I hear there are space whales that may wreck your cities down so there is still some threats to your growth and expansion, but not in the form of other civs.

Oh gods I’m doomed. This kind of game is crack to me.

... and it's only $20.

I played just a bit of Haven on game pass. Two beautiful young adults on the run and doing lots of smooching. But then they ate a meal and for two seconds there were mouth noises. GROSS!!

Unsung Story finally entering early access.

Steam page.

I'll be getting an early-access key since I'm a backer. It'll be nice to get my hands on this game, six years after the fact.

Immediately wishlisted for the purposes of tracking its progress. Looks cool as hell.

Is this the place to talk about Unto the End? Its a minimalist and challenging game. Pretty punishing of button mashing. I'm maybe a half hour into it at a Yeti who's one-shotting me. This is seeming like one of those fascinating games I wont get very far in.

polypusher wrote:

Is this the place to talk about Unto the End? Its a minimalist and challenging game. Pretty punishing of button mashing. I'm maybe a half hour into it at a Yeti who's one-shotting me. This is seeming like one of those fascinating games I wont get very far in.

I read, friend of the website, Rob Zacny's review a few days ago. Enjoyed it but was frustrated by the combat and feel they hinder the game.

Sundown wrote:

I’ve sunk a couple of hours into this fun little indie 4x/city builder hybrid thing called Before We Leave that has kept me charmed with its style. You have your little people who go out and build buildings and collect resources and there’s hexagons and a research tree like a 4x game, but it’s real time and has no combat to speak of. I hear there are space whales that may wreck your cities down so there is still some threats to your growth and expansion, but not in the form of other civs.

There’s also a decent amount of logistics involved to move tools, supplies, and research from city to city, since each has their own pools to work from. Probably nothing as deep as an Anno, but still enough to give you something to think about. This feels like the sort of 3x (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit) game I keep an eye out for. I’m enjoying the low pressure and the laid back atmosphere of this game so far, so I’m planning on rolling with it for a while.

As I expected, I picked this up on the Epic sale for a song, and played it for a few hours today. VERY fun. Pushes all my happy buttons. The fact that there is no army building and no barbarians at the gates is super refreshing!

The music is pretty cool, too. Usually I pause these things because they start getting annoyingly repetitive, but the themes in this one seem to be well designed to repeat endlessly without getting annoying.

Started playing Bugsnax while my daughter watches. Without ever hearing the song, after we play she keeps saying "Dad, can we talk about Bugsnax?"

I've heard that the ending might not be appropriate for kids but no further information. Anyone have any experience?

Vector wrote:

Started playing Bugsnax while my daughter watches. Without ever hearing the song, after we play she keeps saying "Dad, can we talk about Bugsnax?"

I've heard that the ending might not be appropriate for kids but no further information. Anyone have any experience?

You might check the PS5 games thread for a more likely answer.

Stele wrote:
Vector wrote:

Started playing Bugsnax while my daughter watches. Without ever hearing the song, after we play she keeps saying "Dad, can we talk about Bugsnax?"

I've heard that the ending might not be appropriate for kids but no further information. Anyone have any experience?

You might check the PS5 games thread for a more likely answer.

Now I have and did not see anything related to Bugsnax.

Er sorry I meant post there and might get an answer. In theory everyone posting in that thread owns the game and may have played it.

Reposted from the space game thread since we had been talking about games that let you build your ship.

I tried From the Depths which lets you build and fight a ship, either for underwater, on the water, or in the air. You can get into the weeds with design details, sensors, AI, weapons, etc. Plus apparently there is a lot of Workshop stuff.

You pretty much need to be an actual engineer to enjoy this game. They have put a lot into it, but I think they put too much into it to be fun (at least for me). For instance, to put an engine on your boat, you need to put the main engine block, crankshafts, carburetors or fuel injectors, exhaust, radiators, turbochargers/superchargers, and other components. It all allows you to tweak your engines' efficiency versus power. Honestly I just want a block called "engine" to do it all. Guns and missiles are the same way. That doesn't even get into the AI controllers, sensors, etc. that can be programmed.

I refunded it, but others might enjoy it.

Nevin73 wrote:

Reposted from the space game thread since we had been talking about games that let you build your ship.

I tried From the Depths which lets you build and fight a ship, either for underwater, on the water, or in the air. You can get into the weeds with design details, sensors, AI, weapons, etc. Plus apparently there is a lot of Workshop stuff.

You pretty much need to be an actual engineer to enjoy this game. They have put a lot into it, but I think they put too much into it to be fun (at least for me). For instance, to put an engine on your boat, you need to put the main engine block, crankshafts, carburetors or fuel injectors, exhaust, radiators, turbochargers/superchargers, and other components. It all allows you to tweak your engines' efficiency versus power. Honestly I just want a block called "engine" to do it all. Guns and missiles are the same way. That doesn't even get into the AI controllers, sensors, etc. that can be programmed.

I refunded it, but others might enjoy it.

I agree; as I was not in correct mood/mindset when I started playing and ended up bouncing off it hard. Ended up just adding it to the pile, I will get to it eventually. Or not.