Playstation 5 Catch-All

We will see. Perhaps on the 13th there will be a button that says "upgrade here" but generally they have made it obscure.

It's not really obscure; as others have pointed out, they say that you can upgrade once the service is available.

Man, I needed Ghostwire Tokyo in my life, apparently. It got me through a rough week, and I Platinumed it yesterday, then gleefully hit "Delete". Felt good. Only a few design complaints. Solid game overall.
Only thing that really bugged me was anytime I'd grapple to a building, I would land in a crouch and stay there. Then it would take me a second to figure out why I was moving so slowly.

Finally got my damn PS5!
Elden Ring is so much easier to see with it.
Sunday night I plan to start Ratchet and Clank at long last.

lunchbox12682 wrote:

Finally got my damn PS5!
Elden Ring is so much easier to see with it.

As long as you can see around the actual PS5. These things are BIG

Does anyone else find it crazy that apparently we aren't getting the full list of games on the Extra and Premium tiers until it launches on Monday?

kuddles wrote:

Does anyone else find it crazy that apparently we aren't getting the full list of games on the Extra and Premium tiers until it launches on Monday?

Not really. Sony hasn't been good about communicating this stuff for a while.

Their recent reveals are either perfectly organized or haphazardly tossed into the wild with little in between. This PS+ rollout is clearly the latter.

Dyni wrote:
kuddles wrote:

Does anyone else find it crazy that apparently we aren't getting the full list of games on the Extra and Premium tiers until it launches on Monday?

Not really. Sony hasn't been good about communicating this stuff for a while.

Their recent reveals are either perfectly organized or haphazardly tossed into the wild with little in between. This PS+ rollout is clearly the latter.

Agree with Dyni with general poor communication, though I would say yeah it is suprising.

As someone who came onboard with Sony with the PS3 (was always just PC before) I don't have the love for older titles that I understand other PS4/5 players have- I have no nostalgia. I have yet to be sold on why I should upgrade. Maybe it's not for me, though I'd love to see titles to see if I can be convinced.

Maybe I'm the minority, though- and other folks don't need to see what's in that tier in order to be on board.

Oh, the top tier has no interest for me either. Out of all the PS1/PS2 era titles I have nostalgia for, they are usually satiated after playing it for just a few minutes with the dated graphics and controls sucking out a bit of the magic, and most of the few that do really stand the test of time have been re-released in better versions or even remade or remastered by now.

But depending on the list, I could see there being enough value in the Extra tier to be worth it once I'm done with everything I've currently purchased.

I probably won't go top tier, I might be willing to try Extra, but I'm perfectly comfortable with Essential for now. I have a PS2/PS3/PS4 still so I'm not concerned with needing to play those games on a newer system. Plus, my pile is huge so I really shouldn't jump into any more games right now.

farley3k wrote:

We will see. Perhaps on the 13th there will be a button that says "upgrade here" but generally they have made it obscure.

Continue to Upgrade is the text, but there is in fact a clear blue button to click.
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/6HFy6zR.png)

kuddles wrote:

Oh, the top tier has no interest for me either. Out of all the PS1/PS2 era titles I have nostalgia for, they are usually satiated after playing it for just a few minutes with the dated graphics and controls sucking out a bit of the magic, and most of the few that do really stand the test of time have been re-released in better versions or even remade or remastered by now.

But depending on the list, I could see there being enough value in the Extra tier to be worth it once I'm done with everything I've currently purchased.

100% on this.
I can handle the graphics usually, but the controls just kill me.
I've found I can't go back to the Kingdom Hearts games or Okami and similar ones because the jump button is the right icon button (B, O, A). My brain and hands just can't do it.

I tried today and it does work as expected. Downloading Returnal and Demon's Souls as we speak.

I do hope that in the next year they add many more titles but if I play those two it will have been worth the $36 upgrade.

Yeah, looking at the full Extra list doesn't make me super excited, but there are a handful of games that I want to play that I haven't gotten around to yet, and another handful that I was mildly interested in but probably wouldn't never get around to playing unless it was on a deep discount, so that would likely be worth at least a 6 month membership which may also be long enough for some games to rotate in to keep me engaged.

This isn't anything new, but I really appreciate how well the Download to Library feature works on the website. I have Miles Morales and Ghost of Tsushima downloading for me to check out when I have the time, and I'm tempted to toss Ys VIII and World of Final Fantasy on there as well.

It looks like the PS Now hack worked as planned, so I'm a PS Premium member through April 2024 for $60/year.

I kind of wish I had stacked at least another year. I don't expect PS+ subscription discounts to be as generous as the Game Pass ones.

I signed up for premium for the rest of the year. I downloaded a bunch of games. They send you a “thanks for your purchase” emails every time to download a game. That’s really annoying.

The $20 I spent for the rest of the year will be worth it just for Stray, which is coming dating one.

IUMogg wrote:

I signed up for premium for the rest of the year. I downloaded a bunch of games. They send you a “thanks for your purchase” emails every time to download a game. That’s really annoying.

The $20 I spent for the rest of the year will be worth it just for Stray, which is coming dating one.

They send a "thank you for purchasing" email for every demo you download, so that's not too surprising.

Stray is also the title that will probably put me over the edge.

I can't see value in anything except Essentials. It's a shame, but Game Pass is just so much better for me - Sony is a "too little, too late", at least for now.

How did people feel about Deathloop?

I get the impression that it's a bit divisive. It's a little more linear than most Arkane games despite the premise? It dropped to about $20 so I picked up a copy but I was hoping to hear from some folks here rather than Gamers (with a capital G). I'm pretty excited about the artstyle to be honest!

There’s a thread if you want to browse it: https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

I had fun with it, and also appreciated the art style, aesthetic of the game. I haven’t played any of Arkane’s games though.

A_Unicycle wrote:

How did people feel about Deathloop?

I get the impression that it's a bit divisive. It's a little more linear than most Arkane games despite the premise? It dropped to about $20 so I picked up a copy but I was hoping to hear from some folks here rather than Gamers (with a capital G). I'm pretty excited about the artstyle to be honest!

It's a unique experience and one that I had so much fun puzzle solving. I hope they take the formula and build in the future. The writing is fantastic. I hope you have a fun time with it.

A unique experience for $20 doesn't sound so bad to me

I was slightly underwhelmed but to be fair I usually hate Arkane games more.

I actually think the fact that it is more linear is it's strength. Having to replay the same day multiple times but each time with a twist basically forces you to start thinking differently as opposed to their other games which also promote "play this level in different ways" but in reality you kind of just play the path of most convenience for your playstyle. The writing makes it feel like an adventure.

The downside for me is the actual gameplay which personally is unappealing in the same way I found Dishonored unappealing.

I typically enjoy Arkane games. Prey is my favourite, by far.

While I love the moment-to-moment gameplay of Dishonored, I bounced off a little because I always felt punished for playing with all the cool weapons and actually killing people. The constant friction of knowing the non-lethal playthrough was "better" and didn't make the game harder kept me from just enjoying the fun toys the game gave me.

It didn't stop me from finishing the first game, but I eventually gave up on the second.

My first thought when picking up Deathloop was "well I guess it doesn't matter if I kill people if the day is going to reset anyway!"

The Dishonored games are two (plus, when you factor in the DLCs) of my favorite games ever, and I enjoyed Prey but thought it was hampered by the the human/alien power dichotomy. I really didn't like Deathloop at all, but I don't enjoy multiplayer shooters. Dishonored and much of Prey you can play as pure stealth puzzle games, but it's very difficult to do that with Deathloop - for a substantial portion of the game I felt trapped in a shooter where I was being hunted by an NPC, which is absolutely not what I play games for.

I expect most people enjoyed Deathloop more than previous Arkane games for exactly the reasons I disliked it; my fetish for stealth games and antipathy toward shooters definitely puts me in a minority of gamers.

A_Unicycle wrote:

How did people feel about Deathloop?

I get the impression that it's a bit divisive...

I don't think it was divisive. I think that a particular group of players (a group that included me) found it perplexing.

Without going in to too much spoiler-y detail (and based on the version that I played in December):

1.
There's a lot of trial and error in this game. And the way the game is designed what the player learns through trial and error is largely of use only on a specific level; it rarely helps them become better at the game. As a result, having to spend a lot of time on Level X doesn't translate to time saved later on Level Y.

2.
The game doesn't give enough feedback at key points. It is quite possible to miss a mission objective, and leave the mission without realizing. This means restarting the entire mission again.

3.
Crucially, the game doesn't make it clear enough how to properly use its most useful weapon for the early stages.

Spoiler:

How to charge the nailgun for silent one-shot-kills.

4.
The way and rate at which the story unfolds is a function of the order in which you undertake the main missions. What this means is that it is perfect possible to play for 20 hours and learn next to nothing about the character you're playing. Then, you play a particular mission and find yourself deluged with exposition in the last couple of hours. it makes for a strangely uneven experience.

5.
There's a pseudo-invasion mechanic, which is feels like it always takes place a the most inopportune moment. Weapon and character upgrades reduce it's impact eventually, but it will cost you progress in the early stages.

6.
Finally, as you note, the game is much more linear than it first appears. The player doesn't have to be anywhere near as creative as they are first led to believe.

Overall, I thought it was an average game. There are no standout missions (there's nothing of the quality of the Clockwork Mansion here), and the game breaks no new ground. It won't become a benchmark. Indeed, I'd be surprised if anyone is talking about it by its one-year anniversary in September.

A_Unicycle wrote:

I typically enjoy Arkane games. Prey is my favourite, by far.

While I love the moment-to-moment gameplay of Dishonored, I bounced off a little because I always felt punished for playing with all the cool weapons and actually killing people. The constant friction of knowing the non-lethal playthrough was "better" and didn't make the game harder kept me from just enjoying the fun toys the game gave me.

This is me. Prey is easily my favorite immersive sim to date.

I started Deathloop feeling like it was a 10/10 and ended somewhere around a 7. I'm glad I played it, but I wish I hadn't spent the time to finish it. The first few hours of meeting the cast and learning the rules of the world were a blast. I was eagerly anticipating the point where the game would let me loose so I could figure out how to use those rules to come up with my own solution to the task at hand, but that never really happened.

I'm not usually one to be too put off by the illusion of choice as a substitute for real choice as along as the ride is fun, but the illusion of choice in Deathloop did annoy me. The entire premise of the game is to figure out how to eliminate all visionaries in one day. Unfortunately, you have very little actual agency in how the master plan plays out. You're just figuring out the next step of the pre-determined path. That was a disappointing realization, especially when I realized how linearly the final mission was structured.

I loved Prey not just for the amount of freedom it gave you, but in the ways it offered that freedom. The glue gun is the most obvious example, but one of my absolute favorites was the recycling system that let me turn ammo from guns I didn't like into ammo for guns I did. There were so many ways to inject my own creativity. Deathloop doesn't have much like that. You have choice in how to complete objectives...loud vs. stealth, melee vs ranged, roof vs. side door... but these choices only affect minute to minute encounters. I Aside from some occasional turret shenanigans, I rarely felt like I had outsmarted the game.

I went in hoping for the follow up to Prey: Mooncrash, but instead, I got streamlined Dishonored. Not bad, but not what I was hoping for.

I bounced off it super quickly because the character movement and especially the combat mechanic felt incredibly bad. I can suffer that sometimes for narrative purposes but the characters were all abrasive and felt unrealistic too.

I ended up really enjoying Dishonored after first bouncing off, once the combat and movement started to feel smooth and natural. That never happened with the sequel or Prey or Deathloop. I think it just isn’t my genre after all.

A_Unicycle wrote:

I typically enjoy Arkane games. Prey is my favourite, by far.

While I love the moment-to-moment gameplay of Dishonored, I bounced off a little because I always felt punished for playing with all the cool weapons and actually killing people. The constant friction of knowing the non-lethal playthrough was "better" and didn't make the game harder kept me from just enjoying the fun toys the game gave me.

It didn't stop me from finishing the first game, but I eventually gave up on the second.

My first thought when picking up Deathloop was "well I guess it doesn't matter if I kill people if the day is going to reset anyway!"

I have similar thoughts and experiences with the Dishonored games, and I enjoyed Deathloop for this very reason. As was pointed out above, the game gets linear towards the end, which brings it more in line with most rogue-likes. It now reminds me of Elden Ring which had a lot of flexibility in the first 80% and then funnels you down to more classic Dark Souls towards the end.

I think it is a strong game, and when it comes out on Game Pass later this year (which I expect it will) I hope more people get a chance to try it out.