PWB: April 2020 QUARANTINE SPECIAL

So we've all got plenty of time on our hands now, right?

Play

The Witcher 3, for the third month running. I'm halfway through the Hearts of Stone expansion, which is very good, but ultimately more of the same and I'm getting just a little jaded with this now (turns out you CAN have too much of a good thing). I'm torn between giving it a break, and potentially not remembering how to play it when I do ultimately return to it, or just powering through to the end.

Metroid: Samus Returns on the 3DS. I'd forgotten how much I like the (New) 3DS, with its nice bright screens, excellent 3D effect and the way in which everything actually seems designed for the size of the screen you're playing it on (unlike the Switch, where it's clear stuff is designed first and foremost for a TV-sized screen). This is a straightforward but ultimately very fun Metroid game, it feels like I've played the exact same thing before in many respects but it's pretty good all the same.

My boy has been playing Super Mario Maker 2 which is one of a number of re-releases/sequels on the Switch that's actually slightly worse than the original - it's got a few extra toys to play with and a single-player mode now, but the creation side is clunky without the dual-screen/stylus aspect from the Wii U version. Still, it's got a very active community and it's a great source of a virtually infinite number of Mario levels, if that's what you want.

Want

I was keeping an eye on Resident Evil 3 but it sounds like performance is atrocious on the Xbox One X so that's off the list for now. Also very keen to play Ori and the Will of the Wisps but it has a nasty habit of shutting down my console while trying to load (as well as a number of other reported bugs) so waiting for a patch on that one too.

I'd really like to leave the house, visit my parents, go to the pub, see my team in the office, buy some toilet roll etc etc etc but honestly it feels like we are in this for the long haul so it's just a case of hunkering down and trying to stay safe. Hope you're all doing OK out there.

Bin

Oh, just everything.

Play

It's wall-to-wall Animal Crossing New Horizons 'round these parts. Trying desperately to temper my urge to Do Stuff Now and take it at a more sedate pace, but I spent more of this morning sprinting around trying to catch cherry-blossom petals so I could craft a picnic blanket than I would care to admit. (I've never been so glad for long meetings of only tangential relevance to my actual work.)

We've now done two online games of 13th Age, which both have gone pretty well but were also both quite combat-heavy; next session will be more RP heavy so it'll be interesting to see how that goes on a video call. Roll20 is working out okay, but I'll have some work to do updating character sheets before we play again, as they've all levelled up as of last night.

And occasionally I'll dip into Slay The Spire when I feel like something a bit more structured than Animal Crossing.

Want

I'd desperately love to leave the house for more than our government-mandated daily walk. I want to talk to people face-to-face. I want time to myself – I don't think I ever realised how valuable those moments were during the day when Miles was off to nursery but I hadn't gone down to the office yet, or the 20 minutes between the end of work and when he got home. It feels like there's just no break in my mental activity these days.

Bin

I don't think it's COVID, but I've been feeling a bit run-down for the last couple of weeks; a persistent sore throat and intermittent headaches are shortening my fuse somewhat – which isn't great when there's a four-year-old to entertain all day. (He can happily run around watering flowers and catching bugs in ACNH, but we're trying to keep mornings as screen-free for him as we can so mostly he's demanding that I print off clipart for him to colour in. We've already had to replace the ink cartridge once.)

Play
We've been playing Divinity 2 online a lot. Myself and two friends who I normally play boardgames with. It's an incredibly impressive multiplayer achievement, interlacing the turn based combat and general chatting/item management in a really interesting way. The story is bobbins but delivered with gusto. What has been interesting is how two of us remain really engaged with it, but one is starting to get frustrated with the combat as our turn length extends - so he feels he no longer has any agency. I claim he's actually moaning because early game he was doing all the cool stuff now we all are and he's no longer a special little rainbow, but there you are.

I've been diving into Apex a lot too. Two of my kids, and one in particular is now a beast at this. Like playing with some sort of energy drink addled Ninja-esque streamer downing enemy after enemy in a ballet of violence. Great game - though I far prefer the first map, and hope they do something similar at the next Season rotation.

League of Legends - from time to time. I'll never be good enough at it for it to be enjoyable.

I've also been playing some sort of large scale shooter called Vietnam Red Napalm 2 something (I really can't remember). A friend played it a lot and invited me to try it. It was like actual war. Crammed into a helicopter, descending into a warzone. My team mates mowed down in front of me from people hidden in a treeline at the edge of the beach. Cowering behind a rock as a player screamed at me to advance. Blood everywhere. Bullets pinging around my head. More screaming at me stop being a coward. Choppers falling out of the sky on fire. Napalm lighting up a village. Sobbing. Yells of fear. A shot. Then darkness. Repeat. I had to stop playing it as it was making me edgy.

Sea of Thieves - the exact opposite. Wonderful, chilled game. Had an entire play session where a ship stalked us around islands for about 20 minutes as they knew we had some sick lootz on board and we eventually lost it in a storm with some masterful sailing making it back to a port to sell the stuff and finish a quest. The emergent narrative and memories from that time will last longer than any shitty pre-rendered cinematic or engineered scenario in Uncharted or something.

Want
To see my partner
To believe that this will change anything in society, and when it's all over people won't go back to being utter cunts (but know 100% this is not the case).

Bin
waves generally at things

Play

I'm playing Persona 5: The Royal. Considering the Final Fantasy 7 Remake is out in less than a week this might have been the dumbest decision I ever made but I'm sorry I've wanted to replay it for ages and even did so a few weeks before Royal was announced at which point I obviously dropped it.

There's quite a lot of changes, from big stuff (new character who sadly joins dead last, new district) to quality of life stuff like ammo refilling after every battle, Morgana forcing you to go to bed less…

Is it worth buying again if you beat the base game which was already long as fuck? 1) I can hardly answer 'no' without looking pretty stupid considering I have it 2) I'm not sure yet but that video lists quite a lot of stuff. I'm nearly at the second Palace, so far I've had a few new scenes with the new girl, Kasumi (who I already think is the best), the first Palace was slightly different, with a few grapple hooking points, and the boss had a new attack. I've also go a new confidant, the School Councillor brought on to help students after the abuse the first villain brought to the school.

At the very least I think it's more than Golden added to Persona 4? By most accounts the new semester added to the game is like 30hours or so which for everyone who took 100+ hours to beat Persona as is might feel physical pain reading that lol.

Want

lmao, everything.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - purely on the back of the Resi 2 remake, gotta' say some stuff I've read has been concerning, but I won't spoil any of it. I do think Resi 3 wasnt a great base to build off, but I'm sure it's still worth buying regardless.

Animal Crossing: New Horizon - This looks so god damn wholesome, everytime I see a clip or screenshot of those smiling villagers enjoying their house or fishing it's hard to not smile. Simple pleasures in life I guess.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake - Soon, but apparently Austraians have this already so I'm mad jealous.

bin

Doom Eternal - probably the best FPS I've ever played, I've still got more fun to do but not the time for it.

Tales of Zestiria - I absolutely hammered this after well over a month of the Tales train being derailed. I like it, but it's still the second worst Tales game I've played, making the two most recent Tales games the worst games in the series..yikes. I breifly tried the next one on my list, Tales of Graces F and combat wise at least I already prefer it.

I can't believe Persona 5 still isn't available on the Switch. I'm refusing to play it on general principle until they sort that situation out.

Play
Animal Crossing. Obviously. It's so good. I know that at some point I will lose interest but right now while there is so much to do and my daughter and wife are enjoying it and most of you lot are there too, it's pretty fantastic.

D&D. My Whitehack game moved on line with just a little wobble as I only gave myself 2 hours to learn Roll20 before the first session. Since then I have run another two sessions of 5e for my teenagers group and I'm starting Tomb of Annihilation tonight. Online isn't the same as face-to-face, but I'm not sure it's worse. It's more focused. And battlemaps are clearer.

Want
To fix my Lenovo laptop. This mac is old and sucks.

To play some Persona. I want to play through P3FES on my PS3, and I have P4G sitting untouched on my Vita.

Upcoming Switch games. I never did play much of Xenoblade chronicles on the Wii, a remaster on the Switch sounds great TYVM. Also Mario Sunshine will be a welcome virtual tropical holiday when we are all still stuck inside over the holidays and Super Mario 3D World is coming too.

Bin
where to begin?

Play
For some reason, my brain has decided that now is the best time to revisit both The Last of Us and Dishonored, two games featuring apocalyptic plagues that wipe out huge swathes of the population. I don't get much time to play at the moment, so progress is slow; I'm aiming to finish the Dishonored DLC (for the first time) before restarting Dishonored 2, though I'm only partway through the first mission; and in TLoU, I've just gotten to Pittsburgh.

Want
More time, mostly; The Last of Us Part II, for sure, and DOOM Eternal, eventually, once I get back to finish the last one; oh, and I'm looking forward to the Final Fantasy VII Remake, which is supposed to be out in ten days, assuming civilization lasts that long. I'd also love to play some board games and TTRPGs; I need a dad-friendly online D&D game, or something.

Bin
Doing a non-remote-capable job in what feels like the only fucking company still operating in the midst of all this pandemic shit. My entire Twitter feed is full of people playing Animal Crossing while "working" from home.

Also Mario Sunshine will be a welcome virtual tropical holiday when we are all still stuck inside over the holidays

I didn't think about that. This could be my time to forgive Mario Sunshine.

Who has treated this Pandemic worse, the UK or US? It blows my mind that we're pumping out these 'Stay at home for the NHS' and 'Clap for the NHS' messages yet some places that shouldn't be open, are open and in Manchester at least if I wanted to go out and hang out with a group of people I coul and no one would stop me.

Who has treated this Pandemic worse, the UK or US?

In case it affects your rankings, apparently the UK government has quietly downgraded the official severity of COVID-19 so that they can get away with buying lower-quality masks to meet the required PPE standard.

Who has treated this Pandemic worse, the UK or US? It blows my mind that we're pumping out these 'Stay at home for the NHS' and 'Clap for the NHS' messages yet some places that shouldn't be open, are open and in Manchester at least if I wanted to go out and hang out with a group of people I coul and no one would stop me.

That whole "clap for the NHS thing genuinely pissed me off" because it's the same as the Americans offering their "thoughts and prayers" it's people going "look at me, I care" after spending the fucking weekend on Mt Snowdon

Exactly this. We had a few people doing their little doorstep performance where I live, and I willing to bet significant sums of cash that 90% of them vote Tory.

You want to show your appreciation for the NHS? Try voting for a party that isn't trying to dismantle it and sell it off while lying to your face about it.

Play: Surprisingly Call of Duty: Warzone. Played a bit by myself and was on the verge of deleting it when PC pals pinged a message to play with them. More friends piled on so those of us without the base game ponied up so we could all play the multiplayer together. Since then there've only ever been 3/4 of us on so we've just been playing the free Battle Royale game. Like most online games it's great with pals, really enjoying it. Have dipped into the regular multiplayer a couple of times and it feels pretty good. The last experience I had with CoD was MW2 which felt too frantic and, frankly, I'd played a tonne of the first Modern Warfare so was done with shooters for a bit.
Before that, with an eye on the lockdown I picked up Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Steamworld Dig. Haven't really touched either.
Want: To not have to go to the shops. I'm kind of fine with the rest of the situation but found the one trip to the shop so far quite stressful. We have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and, to be honest, getting all of this time to spend with them is great.
Bin: Selfishly, my partner's job. We're both lucky that or employers are set up for remote working and we're both continuing to be paid during this period which is one less thing to worry about. She works in theatre and the situation there at the moment is quite stressful – freelancers need paid, venues are worried about whether they'll exist in the post CV19 world due to loss of revenue and organisations are scrabbling to get content out online which is… like people don't have enough content to consume? – and isn't helped by colleagues sniping at each other for "not working their hours". I mean… Get a fucking grip.

The Last of Us Part II has been delayed indefinitely, so that'll be staying on the want list for a while yet.

I am fairly certain Persona 5 is the longest game ever made. 50 hours in and I'm only on Palace 3. This is the JRPG equivalent of Witcher 3 for sure. (I'd say that applies to the quality of the game too).

I was loving P5, but gave up after finding the hacker girl. It was just too much content.

I needs me some variety.

/goes back to picking up boxes in FF14

Just a quick play. Picked up Control when it was £20. Very Alan Wake, unsurprisingly. Which means I’m loving it. The character graphics in the cut scenes aren’t great. But the story is bonkers with some satisfying combat.

Decided to put Witcher 3 on hold for a little while and jump into Yakuza 3 instead.

It's… a little rough, to say the least. It's just a straight remaster of a fairly early PS3 game so it's a clear step back from even Zero and Kiwami, let alone the bells-and-whistles engine of Kiwami 2. Character models are ropey, cut-scenes are really simplistic, the combat system is stripped back, mini-games are mostly tragic and the whole thing just feels ancient… not in a Shenmue kind of way, where you know it's dated but can see it was impressive for its time, but in the kind of way where it's kind of like a modern game but worse in every possible way.

That said. The story - which carries directly on from the previous games - is picking up, it's got all the same voice actors so the continuity is very strong, and there's still fun to be had. But it's going to be a case here of blasting through the main story I think and moving on to the much better Yakuza 4 and 5 (still PS3 remasters, but of much more sophisticated titles), I can't see myself going for anything like 100% completion on this one.

Play

The Last of Us - seemed “appropriate”. I’d always meant to run through it again, and what with current events, and Ninchilla and a real-life friend both playing it at the moment too, now seemed as good a time as any.

Gwent - I played it once years ago during my solitary sitting (so far) on Witcher 3, and have now done the tutorial, and played a few quick games, on the standalone iPad version too. I liked it, so we’ll see now if I keep going back (even though I’m intermittently playing Hearthstone again now too).

I’m also playing a bit of the other usual suspects on the side - Tetris Effect, Darkest Dungeon, Slay the Spire, Dead Cells and Overwatch have all had at least a quick play lately.

Want

Not a lot, besides an iPad version of Slay the Spire. Other than that, I now have a lot of time to work through the backlog (of games, books, and whatever else besides), so I really want to try and make something approximating “the most” out of it.

Bin

All the obvious, and also apparently work - I’ve been furloughed, provisionally until the 1st of June, and so have rather a lot of time to fill now…

I’m certainly not going to complain though, not least because of all the other people who’ve got way more to worry about than going a little stir crazy. In better circumstances getting paid to not work would be the dream, and it would appear that I’ll still be getting full pay, so other than initially feeling mildly slighted, I don’t really have a lot to complain about. I’d probably have been bored out of my mind a lot of the time if I’d had to keep working anyway.

Play
Shenmue 2 - I played through Shenmue, and am partway through 2, with the intention to follow straight into 3. It's still great, still infuriating to control, Ryo is still an endearingly clueless protagonist, and all the stuff that was funny about it first time around is still funny. Asking random strangers weird questions, the way everyone talks, playing the same six men (all in either horrendous shirts or white vests) at Lucky Hit, speculating on the back story of the guy you shift boxes with.* By the way, I had a terrible run of luck on Lucky Hit, where my opponents hit their targets an incredible fourteen times out of fifteen. It remains hugely enjoyable though, and I'm looking forward to playing the third game, and waiting a further twenty years for the fourth, which will still not finish the damn story.

Slay The Spire - This is really good. It's a really good game. Very well designed, with all the hooks of a card game, making combinations and builds, but without the time commitment. Starting you from scratch each time means that you have to work your build out on the fly rather than forcing you to scour massive decks for the optimal combinations. You don't min/max, you see what you get and figure out the best use of whatever happens to come up on that run. You can lean one way or another, or build around a particular relic, but it's all a bit less anally retentive than these games can often be.

Want
I'm not sure. I wanted time to be able to play games, paint, hang out with my family. I've now got it. I mainly feel incredibly guilty that I'm suddenly in a position that if I'm completely honest, really suits me, but people are dying. How can I enjoy a second of this time? I feel like taking any positive at all is a shameful thing to do. I want everyone to be okay. I want it to be okay to be happy to be at home.

Bin
Donald Trump. In times of crisis you see people's true character, and somehow he's showing himself to be even worse than we all thought. He's consistently saying the wrong thing in every situation, the most irresponsible and unhelpful things. He's boasting about the ratings on his presidential addresses. He's claiming false miracle properties of a malaria drug manufactured by one company he part owns and another who contributed millions to his presidential campaign. Yesterday he told a senior public health official not to answer a question about how safe or unsafe this drug is. One person has died from taking it already. Through gritted teeth I said I hoped Boris Johnson recovers from C-19. I wouldn't say the same if Trump caught it.

*It's very peculiar. Why do you spend time manually shifting a load of boxes fifteen feet? What benefit is there to having the boxes there rather than where they started? Why is it always the same guy, while no-one else is doing the same job? Why does he take such a convoluted route, dancing left and right, instead of going in a straight line? Our theory is that he doesn't actually work there. He's this strange guy who hangs around the docks being a nuisance. He's into shifting boxes with young men in a sexual way, and intentionally makes it difficult so you drop the box and he can assert dominance by shouting at you. You're essentially being paid to keep him out of the way of the real work that is going on.

I want it to be okay to be happy to be at home.

It's more than OK. I'd suggest that it is incredibly important, right now. Everyone should do everything they can to find some sort of joy in their situation anyway, and if you're cooped up with other people you can do them a favour by not trying to put a dampener on your own happiness.

If other people want to become ascetics for whatever reason, that's on them. Don't let the idea of other people tutting and frowning at your getting the best out of this situation stop you from doing stuff you enjoy. You aren't harming anyone, after all. The thought police and any self-appointed moral guardians trying to enforce blanket misery should be encouraged to fuck all the way off.

Cheers mate.

Just to be clear though, the guilt comes entirely from within. I don't care what other people think, but if I start to think "it's nice to have a few hours to paint" I feel guilty. My own brain is my enemy.

I’d always meant to run through it again, and what with current events, and Ninchilla and a real-life friend both playing it at the moment too, now seemed as good a time as any.

Ooft.

Ooft.

I’m just jealous because I can’t grow a proper beard.

No need to push him away.

My replay of The Last of Us continues to shamble along; out of Pittsburgh, and into the underground sewer refuge thing, which is somehow even more grim than I remember it being. I've even had a couple of tense moments, too, as I'm getting into sections of the game I don't remember all that well. I'm still only playing on Easy, though, so I'm mostly fine unless a clicker grabs me.

Additional Play: Final Fantasy VII Remake. My copy arrived today, and I've busy gotten past the demo section. There are a few changes, even from that - an extended intro sequence, an extra flashback during the reactor bombing - but mechanically, it's basically identical. I'm starting to get a better feel for the controls, though I'm still terrible at remembering to assign orders to party members I'm not controlling. Still, early days.

I'm on the extended Third Semester of Persona 5 Royal now, that is, completely original content now. Not that the other additions aren't original, like the 'Showdowns' (new special team up attacks like Golden but flashy as hell) but they were spliced into the main game. This is basically to Persona 5, what 'The Answer' was to Persona 3, new story, villain and Palace which I'm sure after 100+ hours and like 7 Palaces depending if you count the last one or two you're just dying to dive into another one.

TBH I don't wanna' discuss it much until I beat it (hopefully tomorrow for obvious reasons LOL) but all I'll say is…best story arc since Kamoshida?

I will talk about the main game a bit though. Combat is much more fun this time for me, they've made status effects much more prominent now so as to push the idea of hitting 'Technical' combos as well as elemental weaknesses. Combat is now basically:

1)Elemental Weaknesses as usual
2)Technical Combos (hitting an enemy suffering Freeze/Shock or whatever)
3)Baton Passes now increase the power of the recipient the more you do it, with the 4th even giving you free casting. (and everyone has it automatically, it's not a perk)
4)The new district lets you play Darts to increase the Baton Pass buff further, Billiards to increase the Technical combo damage further. (also the Darts minigame is awesome, think Shenmue but way better)
5)Ammo refills after every battle (gunfire can trigger knockdowns after all)
6)New Shadows called 'Disaster Shadows' take Damage used to kill them and blow up every other normal Shadow around.

So no longer are you usually looking to hit weaknesses, you will very often freeze an enemy solid and then using Makoto's Nuke spells to Technical them is a viable option. I'm using those fire/ice/thunder 50 damage items more than ever now purely to trigger weakness and add an extra Baton Pass step. You can do this and end on a fully charged HP cost skill to make THAT stronger. Then on top of all this, sometimes you'll trigger a party members assist attack as you always could and get a free knockdown or trigger the new Showdowns which are like the ones in Golden (all I remember is Yukiko/Chie's Double Dragon though) but way flashier.

It doesn't become apparent at first, but it all comes together eventually and it's just…this game is way better than Vanilla for sure imo. There's even a boss later on, that was changed to make you take advantage of this and I cried on Twitter for like a good 2 hours over how hard it was. (another Royal change, said boss isn't an issue in Vanilla because it's so different)

Look forward to me frustratingly still being unable to answer 'is it worth playing if you beat the Vanilla edition' already tomorrow!!!!

EDIT: Also, some of the story elements definitely hitting a bit different this time round, damn.

Finished! I laughingly thought that with me already knowingwhat to do, and not slowly taking everything in I'd finish it in 80 hours, I was off by 50 hours lol.

The new semester story is fantastic, the new villain is the best in the entire game since Kamoshida, the Palace is swanky and really nicely designed and the I think the new ending is way better than Vanilla's. If this was DLC for the vanilla version I think people would be in for a treat. It's like 'The Answer' for P3 FES but better realised as an extra story.

Is it worth buying the game again if you beat P5? It depends how much you love P5, it's such a mammoth game I can see people losing steam like 3 dungeons in again thinking 'I can' do this all again'. I'd say…get it a bit cheaper? idk. There's quite a lot of new 'stuff' though and I think it makes it all an even better game, I don't regret rebuing it (I do regret rebuying it like 11 or so days before FF7 released however, but I beat it in time so hey)

Even in a nationwide lockdown, 130 hours on one game, in that amount of time, is impressive.

That's my total playtime of FF14, over the last three years.

I think I've put about that much time into Animal Crossing…

Yeah, I went too far this time. :(

Even in a nationwide lockdown, 130 hours on one game, in that amount of time, is impressive.

on a game he's already played and completed once before!

I want to play something new, but I'm paralysed by indecision.

Breath of the Wild had been sitting unfinished for too long. I might restart it.

I was thinking of playing Xeoblade Chronicles on the Wii, but now that I know it's coming to the Switch I might wait for that.

I have Persona 3 FES on the PS3 or P4G on the Vita.

Also Horizon Zero Dawn and Assassin's Creed Odyssey are only £10 on PS Store just now.

I think the problem is that they are all fucking massive so I am trying to make sure I chose the right one.

Send me your thoughts, help me decide.

Play something small. Lots of good short indie games out there.

I want to play something big, I'm just not sure which one.

If you've not played P4G yet, that gets my vote. Hell, even if you have…

Or P3FES

I've got lots of games on and am trying to fit them all in, they're mostly ones I can drop in an out of so Final Fantasy XIV, Phantasy Star Online 2 and Monster Hunter World .

I'm still working my way through Final Fantasy IX but I've also started Ni No Kuni 2

If you've not played P4G yet, that gets my vote. Hell, even if you have…

I have not. And P3P is in my top 10. It was a long time ago that I played it though and I would kind of like to play P3 again first.

Horizon Zero Dawn is the only one of those I've played, but I really, really like it.

I know that this isn't going to be a popular choice for the cognoscenti, but I'd consider either Horizon or AC Odyssey really carefully.

I recently found my self in a similar situation; wanted to play something different to the usual stuff I have on rotation. Got loads of interesting stuff in my eternal stack of shame, but I still don't get lots of quality game time and recent attempts to play games with complex systems or mechanics have been disappointing. Too often, I've found myself trying to get back to a game and then realising that I essentially need to re-learn it. I needed something familiar. Something where the mechanics are endlessly interchangeable with similar games of its ilk. Something that can be forgotten about for weeks at a time but won't be a complete stranger when you revisit it.

A Ubisoft style collectathon is the only logical choice. Yes, they're the videogame equivalent of a potboiler, but they're slick and (if you're only getting an average of 30-40 minutes quality game time each evening) endlessly forgiving. I found Far Cry 5 Gold Edition on the PS Store for less than £20. That's a lot of content for not much cash. It also comes with FC3 Classic for free, so I ended up starting that. It's been long enough since I last played it that it doesn't feel like a dead end and (rapey Australian antagonists aside) I like the setting enough to revisit it. Yes, it's solidly a case of scan map - go to icon - make icon disappear / change colour / etc. - repeat BUT the very repetitive nature of it is it's saving grace when you're fumbling with a controller and have only one eye open BECAUSE YOU'RE SO GODDAM TIRED.

Also, they're really nice places to visit, usually. FC3 still looks good. AC Odyssey is as gorgeous as AC games usually are. Horizon was very pretty. You can drop in or out without worrying too much or - if you're lucky and get a bit more time - plough on for longer than you might usually do and you'll always get a sense of progression.

So. Not the critics choice, I get that. You don't always want to wear a nice suit and posh shoes though, do you? Comfy loungepants, some nice warm socks and your favourite band t-shirt will usually be enough to get you through the night. That's what these games are.

You don't always want to wear a nice suit and posh shoes though, do you? Comfy loungepants, some nice warm socks and your favourite band t-shirt will usually be enough to get you through the night. That's what these games are.

So which games are the gimp suit?

Of those games, I've put overwhelmingly the most amount of time into AC: Odyssey - it's easily the best game in the series and in many respects is like an Ancient Greek version of The Witcher 3. It'd be my pick for sure. Just make sure you pick the female player character when you get the option.

Persona 3 and 4 are very good but also very long without really justifying it, great if you like them but they do get quite repetitive after a while. Best strung out for a long period of time amongst other stuff to avoid burnout.

Xenoblade Chronicles also goes on for bloody ages, I absolutely loved it to start with but it just goes on and on and on and eventually I burned out on it and it turns out I was only halfway through it at the time.

I found Breath of the Wild to be a bit directionless and I bounced off Horizon Zero Dawn a few hours in, so not those.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I just finished rinsing the 2016 Doom - just some clean-up trophies to go - and then I'll need something new. No idea what. About to have a week of holiday too, so I'll be able to play a lot. Will have to go back through my catalogue and see… maybe now's the time for Astro Bot.

So which games are the gimp suit?

It's obviously R6 Siege except that I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT omgisthiscameraon?

I'll wait and see how the Switch remake of Xenoblade turns out before deciding if I'm going to try and play through that one.

I'm thinking that even if they are cheap it would be daft to buy either Horizon or AC: Odyssey when I have Breath of the Wild to play.

So the problem is simplified to Zelda or Persona? And I think I'm probably in more of a sunny wilderness kind of mood…

Zelda.

One thing that I was considering was that I would have to play Persona 3 on the TV, but then I remembered that the Vita can do remote play.

I dug out the Vita turned it on, marveled at how small it feels, then went to turn on the PS3, only to find that the PS3 isn't set up anymore. So now Persona 3 might be too much hassle.

I don't think the Vita does Remote Play from the PS3, just the PS4.

Persona 4 is better anyway. Just play that one.

Vita does do remote play from PS3, it's just a pain; you have to put the PS3 into remote play mode manually first, you can't just dial in like the PS4.