PWB December: Merry Covidmas

Here we go again:

Play

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla - as a long-term fan of the series I'm trying hard to like this but it still hasn't quite clicked. There's always been a bit of a push/pull between the two studios making Assassin's Creed games and it often feels like each game is in part a reaction to the previous one; maybe it's because I liked Odyssey so much that some aspects of Valhalla are leaving me a little cold. It's much more story-based than previous games, for instance, with the main quest being 80% of what you'll do in this game - which is fine, but the writing and animation isn't really all that good, so it lacks the kind of dramatic impact that it needs to actually pull you through the story. There's a bizarre tonal shift between the main story and the side quests. And it's very, very long even by the standards of this series - I've done the tutorial area and two of the main story arcs, and I'm about 18 hours in: there are 14 story arcs though plus a bunch of other areas so even with a minimal amount of side stuff I'm already looking at 100+ hours to see this through and I'm not quite sure yet it has what it takes to hold my attention for that long. That said, when I do play it, I do enjoy it, and it's fairly undemanding fun… but it's the first Ass Creed game in a very long while that I haven't immediately lost myself in, and that's a bit of a shame.

Hitman 2 isn't helping, of course, because it's as captivating second time around as it was the first time and it demands you pay attention to it at all times. I thought I'd just whizz through the levels as a refresher but inevitably I've spent days on a single level (not even one of my favourites) trying to pull off increasingly ridiculous challenges like slapping both targets with a fish or murdering someone with a coconut. It may well be my favourite ever game.

Two Point Hospital is what I play when my son is around (all that murdering not being good for him, apparently) and it's good. I haven't played Theme Hospital so I don't know how it compares; my only criticism would be that it often takes ages to do anything, and there's a fair amount of building things then just waiting for the level to play it. But it's a good plate-spinning game and someone's had a lot of fun thinking up disease names.

Want

I've got way more 100-hour games to get through than I need (I haven't even booted up Yakuza Like A Dragon yet) so I really don't need any more to play. I mean Cyberpunk 2077 is on the list somewhere but I'm happy to wait for the "real" next-gen version next year plus a few patches I think. Hitman 3 is an inevitable purchase. That'll do though.

Bin

I didn't think it was possible to be more angry at this government than I already was, but here we are.

Play

I'm making my way through Yakuza: Like a Dragon slower than I'd like – I'm trying to grind up a few levels to take the teeth out of the next boss fight which has already ruined me a couple of times – but it's still very enjoyable to potter around picking up random nonsense and fighting wandering groups of weirdoes.

I can't very well punch my way through Yokohama with our five-year-old watching though, so in an attempt to find kid-friendlier games I started up Banjo Kazooie (a two-generations-ago remaster of an N64 game is an excellent use of my £500 next-gen box, I'm sure you'll agree) and have made it to the fifth level or so – there's a bit of a difficulty spike from about Clankers Cavern onwards, which makes those tougher for the kid to take the reins on, but he's persistent in asking me to "play the bear game with the duck".

Want

Time to get through all the games I've downloaded on the Xbox. I've got Gears Tactics that I'm pretty keen to get into; Doom Eternal which has gotten strong enough word of mouth to pique my curiosity; I wanna play more of Destiny 2 since the GamePass version has all the up-to-date DLC; I need to finish my Grim Fandango playthrough and want to give Full Throttle another go; and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice should be much more playable on the whisper-quiet Series X than my aircraft-engine PS4.

Bin

After we rewatched the Sonic the Hedgehog movie at the weekend, there was a demand for a Sonic game, but the only one on the Xbox store that wasn't more expensive than I was willing to pay was the Dreamcast… "classic", Sonic Adventure. Hoo boy, this is bad. I don't remember the original's controls being this horrendously twitchy, and it feels like it might be running a little quicker than the (PAL?) Dreamcast game. I've unlocked Tails, and our son is quite insistent that I unlock "the red one", but I don't think I can take any more.

I can't very well punch my way through Yokohama with our five-year-old watching though, so in an attempt to find kid-friendlier games I started up Banjo Kazooie (a two-generations-ago remaster of an N64 game is an excellent use of my £500 next-gen box, I'm sure you'll agree) and have made it to the fifth level or so – there's a bit of a difficulty spike from about Clankers Cavern onwards, which makes those tougher for the kid to take the reins on, but he's persistent in asking me to "play the bear game with the duck".

If you want something slightly more up-to-date in a similar vein, then New Super Lucky's Tale is worth a look. It's a very undemanding, very derivative 3D platformer about a fox that's tailor-made for the younger audience.

Don't overlook Nuts & Bolts, too, especially if your kid likes building stuff: strapping random crap together then attempting to drive it in a straight line never gets old, and of course it's got the same bear/duck combo he's already so keen on.

Both on GamePass anyway.

I just googled because I was curious; the Banjo Kazooie remaster is now older than Banjo Kazooie was when the remaster came out. Isn't time terrifying?

Play
PS5 tings. AstroBot is probably going to be my GOTY. Miles Morales is more fun than the original (they got rid of stealth waves, thank god!). Borderlands 3 has gone from being a painful, jerky mess to a thing of 4K, 60fps, instant-loading beauty. Isn't next-gen great?

DS roms. I didn't realise the DS emulator scene on Android was so good. Every game runs perfectly on my budget Pixel 4a. I'm currently working my way through Pokemon Soul Silver and Phantom Hourglass, and they're excellent ways to spend an extended loo break.

Want
Work to stop getting in the way of gaming fun.

Play
Wasteland 3 - It's a nice crpg, really. The writing isn't terrible, it's got a sense of humor and it feels like a low budget Fallout game made by people that really remember that Fallout should probably not have a central message of 'actually, nukes are cool!' It's a bit buggy, the party mechanics aren't great but it's a good way to get that rpg feels good thing.

Destiny 2 - We cracked the Deep Stone Crypt the other day and I've got to say it really is something special. Bungie are doing stuff that's more cinematic than they've ever done and they're working it into the gameplay. One of the encounters has players in the control room of a space elevator, on the elevator and on the space station all at the same time. Then once you've completed that encounter, you have to crash the space station into the planet it's over. The encounter progresses, with the background in the level changing as the heat shielding gets stripped away, chunks of the station fall off ('Did the primary buffer panel just fall off my gorram station for no apparent reason?' came the call from voice chat) and then you crash. Then there's a running escape from an explosion and then you get the final encounter. It's really very neat.

Can't remember if I linked this but man D2 has some amazing music. This song plays during a moment of peace in the new raid after the players ride a space elevator to an observation platform over Europa. You've just finished a very pitched fight where you've had to blast nanite clusters that were inhabiting bodies out of an airlock; for the first time you step out of an airlock and into space, moving across the platforms rigging, gantryways, and past rows upon rows of server storage, kept cool in the cold of space. Every once in a while an enemy ship flies by and peppers the area in fire to remind you to get a move on, but they're not a threat. An AI enemy speaks to you occasionally; he talks about the damage you're doing, how the plot of the game is being changed by you, and how 'you now face godlike judgement. My it extend eternally.' It's just a lovely scene.

Want
Fuck, man, where do you begin? A lot of overlap with Bin - I would like the world to very much go back to normal, but I understand - haven't come to terms with yet - that we're never going to get 'normal' back again.

Bin
The sinking feeling that there's going to be a group of people - probably very wealthy - that are going to refuse to believe that Normal isn't coming back, and that these people are going to make everyone else pay an incredibly high price in both human life and treasure to feel like Normal is, actually, back. In darker moments, this feeling rolls harder, reminding me wholly and utterly that people will forget what Normal was, and their cosplay of it will become a twisted, nightmarish remembrance of something that never existed. Happy Days but with more drone strikes.

Also, not having an advent calendar. That can go in the bin.

Play
I decided to play some Fire Emblem and have decided that I really don’t enjoy Fire Emblem. It’s just too easy to make a mistake which necessitates a restart. So instead I’ve been playing Advance Wars again. AW Days of Ruin remains perfect. The little tweaks to the units (motorbikes, anti-tank guns, aircraft carriers, flare guns) add to the formula so well. I have also played through most of the first GBA Advance Wars, It still looks great, especially when you play it on. A DS rather than on a GBA, but I’d forgotten how much of a tutorial the whole story mode is. Embarrassingly, I’m also stuck in a late game fog of war level.

In terms of RPGs I’m about to drop down from running three games a week to running just one. It should give me time to prep the ridiculous planet-hopping 13th Age campaign I want to run next. It also means I’ll be playing in a couple games which is nice.

Want
Horizon: Zero Dawn.

My eldest decided to restart Mirror’s Edge Catalyst last night. So now I want to play Mirror’s Edge. I guess that would keep me going till Giftmas when I can play Paper Mario and Horizon.

Bin
So much.

I just googled because I was curious; the Banjo Kazooie remaster is now older than Banjo Kazooie was when the remaster came out. Isn't time terrifying?

Thanks for that.

Play:
Quite a bit. Enter the Gungeon has become my warm up/quick play. I love it and can't believe it's taken me until now to play it. I variously die on my arse or make it to one of the 2nd areas but am at peace with lack of progress and having a lot of fun.
I picked up Mutant Year Zero in the psn sale before last. Have had an eye on it since it came out and it sort of hit that price point where it seemed worth giving it a go. It's quite demanding and I'm not really that far in because a couple of days after downloading it Hitman 2 hit the black Friday sale.
There's been a swell in interest in Hitman as a friend recently picked up a PS4 and this was one of his first titles. The chat group seemed to go from reminiscing to replaying or diving in for the first time very quickly. Going back through levels from the first game has been great and many of us are making our first forays into broadcasting play or sharing videos for others in the group to watch.
This was all pretty much sparked by one pal who mentioned he was really missing being in a room with everyone and watching someone else play a game. Thinking about the times you pass the controller to get into the military base in GTA or fastest times in Burnout etc. so this has been perfect for that.
These are friends I've known for a long time and embrace geekery - one of them held an annual 2D/3D fighting competition called The Punchening which featured a spinning wheel to choose the game for the next round so the possibilities for hitman are already escalating.
It's all very wholesome apart from the murder simulator at the centre.

Bin:
Finished the Outer Wilds last week. It's great, what a game! I got pretty close to discovering everything but got frustrated towards the end and looked something up which sent me off towards the end game. I really liked it, hard to say why it grabbed me, I think it's something to do with the scale. It's compact and clear (in terms of where you can go) and then it layers things on top of a fairly simple central premise but doesn't expand beyond it. And the music is great.

Play
Exclusively PS5 at the moment, because it's still shiny and new.

Miles Morales – Much more fun than the original; all of the niggling little issues have been solved. No more waves of enemies, meaning stealth is a viable, fun choice. No more trekking across the map for collectibles (thank you PS5 Activity Cards). No more fiddly, infuriating combat (there are more difficulty modes, and Miles has some super-fun AOE attacks to deal with large groups of goons).

AstroBot – Almost finished, but I'll definitely be going back and mopping up the collectibles. (Again, thank you Activity Cards.) This is as good as anything Nintendo have ever done with Mario. It's an incredible technical showcase, a Nintendo-esque marrying of hardware and software, and just a joyfully inventive, bloody brilliant game. It should be the first thing people do with their new PS5.

Worms Rumble – The first Battle Royale game I've ever won a round of. For that reason alone, it'll always have a place in my heart. It's lightweight, and screams PS Plus freebie (which it was), but it's great fun.

Genshin Impact – The PS5 transforms this game. It was clunky, slow, ugly and unintuitive. It's now slick, speedy, beautiful and unintuitive. There's some secret sauce in these next-gen consoles; I'm beginning to think 4K 60fps would make any game fun.

And seeing as I've mentioned them about three times already, one more word of praise for PS5 Activity Cards. They're a game changer (literally). No more decision paralysis, no more 'ugh I have nothing I fancy playing'. Just tap a button and you're presented with bite-sized bits of gameplay, for every game you own, with a tempting 'Resume' button. They might be side missions, story missions, or even just 'you haven't found this collectible yet…'. Only have 5 minutes to spare? Each card tells you how long the activity will take.

Then one tap, and you're sent straight to the relevant location in-game. It takes less than ten seconds – there's no menu screen, no company logos, just instant gameplay. It sounds like a small thing – essentially just a UI tweak – but it completely transforms the way you'll play your games.

" No more trekking across the map for collectibles (thank you PS5 Activity Cards)."
If you don't swing every where you are NOT Spiderman.

It really makes you feel like Spiderman.

Edit: Incidentally, I just watched the AstroBot credits and Connie Booth got a special mention. What on earth did she have to do with it? Googling doesn't throw up any answers…

I've made it through the first two levels of Gears Tactics and while I'm glad to have a pretty accessible, console-friendly strategy game, I really wish the bad guys wouldn't spam overwatch so much. On more than one occasion, I've found my units pinned down by two or more enemies, and taking any action other than reloading gets 'em shot.

You can break a unit's overwatch by damaging them (and there's a specific pistol skill that is much more accurate for this purpose, but it does very little damage and has a ludicrously long cooldown), but if your whole squad is covered or you don't have a decent line on at least one of the opponents, it gets frustrating trying to break out.

PLAY
Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ - Fallen down this rabbit hole in the worst way on my Switch Lite, it's pretty much the only thing I'm playing when I have time. Where I'd done most of the unlocks on PS4, the Switch version has very little done to it (I've not even beaten Mega Satan once yet), so I'm doing all of that. It'll take a while.
Sea of Thieves - The only other thing I'm playing. Despite it being the obvious cash cow we should have all expected, I'm keen to see what the upcoming Seasons direction and Plunder (read: battle) Pass deliver. Could be the thing that rejuvenates my love of the game, not that I've lost it, or it could be too much and make me annoyed. Hmm.
Red Dead Redemption - No, not the sequel, although I did get the Red Dead Online segment for a fiver for Xbox One (I have the full game on PS4, but that's sitting there unplugged right now). I grabbed the original again after my partner and I played a board game called Western Legends, which is basically Red Dead in physical form. Despite being hella-old, RDR still looks gorgeous and is good to play. Shame they overegged the pudding for the sequel and made it so complicated, I couldn't be bothered.

WANT
Xbox Series X - I definitely don't need one, but I want one. Not having one or, more specifically, not being able to get one is doing my head in. In Germany, stock's not just limited but seemingly non-existent… I went into GameStop today and they wouldn't even take a pre-order for a unit, let alone sell me one on the spot. It's ridiculous. I can't see me getting one this side of February at this rate.
Motivation to play something else - I bought Hitman again on Xbox One because of moving it to Series X when the time comes. I bought Super Mario 3D All Stars and scratched the surface of it. I got a bunch of things in the eShop sales (I only grab stuff mindlessly if it's less than £4) and haven't even touched them. I really should try, but I think I'm still in that honeymoon period of living with someone where I don't want to exclude them… if it's not co-op, then I don't play. Picross S5 is the only thing that's seen that go sideways a bit, since she's a Picross fiend and so I've had time to do my stuff. That's nearly done now though, so back to playing together it is…
Citizenship - Apparently, because I already submitted my paperwork a year ago, I'll get a certificate that lets me stay in Germany without lifting a finger. Then I need to go for an interview and I'll have my German citizenship, meaning I'm welcome for good. Stick that in your Brexit pipe.

BIN
People leaving - Two close friends at work are leaving (one this month, one in February) and I'm really sad. It's going to leave a gaping hole in my team, and that's not good for morale - we're hiring, but how are you meant to build up relationships and comradry while working from home? I'm not looking forward to it.

I agree with the last bit. I started a new job three weeks ago, everyone is working remotely, the rest of the team all know each other from the pre-pandemic office days, and it’s been really really tough. They don’t even use their video cameras on calls so it’s literally just a bunch of disembodied voices to me. Rotten but what can you do?

I agree with the last bit. I started a new job three weeks ago, everyone is working remotely, the rest of the team all know each other from the pre-pandemic office days, and it’s been really really tough. They don’t even use their video cameras on calls so it’s literally just a bunch of disembodied voices to me. Rotten but what can you do?

Ask to use cameras? What's the social makeup of the place like? Do other people play games or is it just you?

Ask to use cameras? What's the social makeup of the place like? Do other people play games or is it just you?

Cameras just don’t work - we’re using Microsoft Teams running in a web browser on a clunky Windows 7 Citrix virtual desktop and whatever configuration the organisation has doesn’t allow it to recognise people’s webcams. One or two people have been upgraded to Win 10 and it works for them; maybe in time it’ll get rolled out to the rest of us.

I have no idea what these people do in their spare time as every conversation is intensely work focused. It’s amazing how little you learn about people when you strip away all the social interaction that just comes from being in the same space at the same time. Now it feels like every interruption has to have a purpose.

Anyway, I’m derailing the thread. As you were.

we’re using Microsoft Teams running in a web browser on a clunky Windows 7 Citrix virtual desktop

the hell

Teams has been my saviour during this period, being able to reach out and chat or even meet for video call coffee helps stave off isolation. But then, we all have W10 and use the app properly…

Play. Super Mario Bros U - I’m finally onto Star Road - I assume the final level, I’ve got two of the five stars on file - but star road 2 - it’s a sprint along timered blocks that revert to coins, unless you precisely hit three p buttons. It’s killing me.

Want: someone to come round and complete star road 2.

I gave Sally a list of five games, for her to pick one for Xmas - I’m looking forward to see what’s she’s picked.

On the subject of work video calls - my boss has terrible IT skills - so we barely talk online. Our department has only just got it’s act together about arranging group meetings and social events, but it’s the Zoom calls and online games that have kept me sane.

Play: I had a dig around in the PSN sale and solved my "I want to play something" issue by buying Doom 64 and Geometry Wars 3.

Days Gone was another PS5 freebie, and I almost feel bad disliking it. The level of technical polish is incredible; it's got the look and feel of the very best Sony first-party games.

But my god, it's a dull, po-faced slog. I can't even find the energy to list all the reasons it's so boring. It's just… bleh.

It makes you appreciate other AAA games, as there's clearly some secret sauce that make them enjoyable.

That was certainly the impression I got from the trailers; very polished, but a little too derivative to inspire much excitement.

I'm still alive, to the disappointment of many I am sure.

PLAY
Oh my dear sweet [insert deity here] Spelunky 2 is fantastic. Imagine Spelunky HD, more stuff, better gameplay, and so many more insanely frustrating yet 100% fair it-is-your-fault-for-being-dumb elements everywhere, tons of hidden paths and things to find, and pixel-perfect gameplay. I actually thought I wouldn't bother with this thing and that it can't be better than the original because how can it, but I took a shot and now I'm addicted.

A Hat In Time is… well, it's not that great, I'll be honest, but at least the controls and gameplay aren't as bad as most 3d platformers, especially when played with a PC's mouse and keyboard. Is that heresy? I don't even care. It at least works.

I'm still playing tons of old games but you don't care about that, do you? /s

WANT
Tallowmere 2: Curse of the Kittens because I had some fun with the original. It's a very simplified, frankly kind of ugly game, but damn if it isn't fun. I guess. When you don't want a whole lot of games and nothing excites you, you have to pick and choose your battles.

BIN
Doom 2016. I gave it a 100% fair try and it's utter, complete, lunatic garbage. The stupid platforming double-jump doesn't belong in a Doom game, the arena combat areas when you grab one of those heart things from the pillar things (I'm sure everything has names and purposes, but I haven't been paying attention to the story and lore, as I am wont to do) are really annoying, everything is an overblown bullet sponge that seems to be designed to drain every bit of your ammunition, and the glory kill for health and some ammo/chainsaw for a shower of ammo is a contrived, dumb bit that should have been left out. I would never even bother with the repetitive, intrusive, flow-breaking glory kill crap if it wasn't absolutely necessary to survive the stupid game.

Hey, I tried.

Destiny 2 – I mean, it's kind of okay, it just seems very… pointless? I don't know. I guess I just don't understand what's going on. I know, I know, I should have been listening to the story and lore and all that but I don't care. I did some missions and things and now I'm stuck in this one map where I'm just fighting things with… other players, I guess? Maybe? Every time I jump back in and think I'll figure out what to do, it utterly loses me. Maybe I'm just dumb. Okay, no maybe about it. Old age makes you dumb. Still, throw me a bone here, Destiny 2. I'm ready to give up.

Good to hear from you Doc. I'm playing Doom 64 on my PS4 just now and having a great time. Stupid monsters, super shotgun, weird architecture, switches, colourful keys, hidden doors. It's great.

Good to hear from you Doc. I'm playing Doom 64 on my PS4 just now and having a great time. Stupid monsters, super shotgun, weird architecture, switches, colourful keys, hidden doors. It's great.

Now Doom 64, and not Doom 2016, and definitely not Doom 3, that's a great Doom game. Didn't care for it on the N64 where the controller is an uncomfortable, ugly pile of crap, but the official PC version (and the fan-made mod PC version from a ways back) is so good.

Play

Final Fantasy XIV - slowly making my way through the new Patch stuff, already did Emerald Weapon fight (fun) and the concluding chapters of the Eden Raid (not as cool as Emerald Weapon imo). I think this is the first time I've tried flying in A Realm Reborn zones (ARR mounts couldn't fly in ARR). I flew around Vesper Bay to see a side of the coast literally unreachable for 6 years, that's fucked up! I think it's really cool but I kinda' think we shouldn't be able to fly, it was one of the coolest things Heavensward added and that game also had bigger maps…yes, I'm boring.

Ys: Memories of Celceta - I finished Ys: Origin (good game) and now I'm on this on the Vita, it's more free and open than Origin, you're not permanently dungeon crawling now you can take missions an go to a hub town and stuff. Feels like less of a tight experience yet I can't shake the fact that I'm enjoying MoC's combat more, it has a parry and just frame dodge, and skills, stuff Origin kinda didn't have.

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk - What do you get when you combine Disgaea with the Dungeon Crawler genre (Persona Q, Etrian's Odyssey etc)..this apparently. It's my first real game of this genre and I dunno' how I ended up here (well, someone on twitter mde it sound cool and a streamer I was watching playing Trails in the Sky beat that and moved onto this..it's like spybots infested my real life) but it's fun.

If you haven't played a dungeon crawler it's a first person view exploration RPG, where you move through grid based areas to find and fight stuff. In this I can make my own classes and skills and it sounds like when it opens up more it gets really cool. The story definitely feels like a more serious Disgaea, with some black humour (I laugh thinking about how the main character, Dronya, lets her little servant keep a Pet Goat then randomly kicks it down a well…). Objective = explore the Labyrinth of Refrain D:

I dunno' how much time I'll have for the above but we'll see….

Want

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - What do you get when you mix Fire Emblem with Persona with a bit of camp? This apparently. It looks pretty cool to me, I've seen a very Persona looking battle system, with some Fire Emblem cameos like Marth and Lucina. It didn't exactly set the world on fire as you'd expect from such a crossover, either it's not as good as it looks or the WiiU held back another game, oh well, it gets another shot on the Switch!

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - They somehow made both the returning characters just as fun as they were in HW (I say returning, they're basically new characters) and the newcomers look crazy fun in their own right.

Bin

Watched a few streams of Cyberpunk to see if it's something I want after all…I am pleased to say I'm okay to wait. For a game crunched as hard and delayed as much as Cyberpunk, it sure looks kinda' janky and unpolished, in one stream I saw a Car reverse and leave the bonnet suspended in mid air from where it crashed, not long after that in the same stream a car parked halfway inside another. Not sure they can have any excuse for this right? Not after all this?

Bugs aside…all I saw was something right out of a Deus Ex game, I'm sure what makes it great is layered underneath, but man that is some shitty AI mirite?

Tried the first chapter or so of Call of the Sea last night, it's basically a walking simulator with puzzles, like a cross between Gone Home and Myst. It's quite charming, and the narrator (who never shuts up) is likeable in an enthusiastic 1930s jolly-hockey-sticks kind of a way. I can see myself returning to this regularly for a puzzle or two to break up other stuff.

I'm really starting to tire of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla now though. I spent a whole hour last night clearing out a garrison - which would have been huge fun in Odyssey, but stealth is barely a thing in this now, taking down one person seems to alert everyone and they just swarm you, so every single time it all just ends up in a frenzy of button-mashing. It was, frankly, tedious, and I don't feel like I've progressed things at all, my entire evening's gaming time spent fruitlessly chipping away at a game that's so big it might as well be endless. I don't mind big games at all - give me Hyrule Warriors, Elder Scrolls Online or Final Fantasy XIV any day - but the minute-by-minute gameplay has to be actually fun, and Valhalla really isn't managing that for me just now.

Whole looking for simple, friendly games for the kid, I gave Carto a look on GamePass. It's… fine? The puzzles aren't as clever or intuitive as the game thinks they are, but it's got a cute visual style and is low threat, so that's all I really wanted from it.

I've also started back at Hitman 2 now that I've got it on Series X. I'm missing my lethal poison vial and syringe greatly, but I've got the lockpick now so that's a decent start. It was nice to get the SASO on my "first" Paris run, and I've gotten to do a couple of mission stories that I hadn't bothered with on PS4, so it's not all a repeat of what came before.

play FFXIV, I burnt out on catching up prior to the patch landing and now just feel "eurgh" when I see the MSQ or unlockable content icons and have been logging in to just do Ixali beast tribe quests to level up my crafters.

It's probably not been much of a help that this week has been back and forth visits to the hospital for blood tests and scans and stuff to try and find out what Charlys latest infection is (last one, back in Feb, was cellulitis + shingles which saw her hospitalised for 3 days, this one hasn't been as brutal but it showing some weird behaviours, she seems to be over the worst of it now), middle daughter had a "dress like a Roman" day at school so I had to try and make a toga and yesterday my youngest turned 6 so it's been an absolutely knackering week.

Also been trying to chip away at Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but like with the msq in FFXIV, long cutscenes have led me to me nodding off, I've got to do a review of it too…

Play
Cyberpunk (PC). Hmm. Well. Yes. Hmm. I really don't know what to say about it so far. I'm a PC lowspec pleb now with a 1070 which isn't really beefy enough for the game, though I'm fairly sure it should look and perform better than it does. The bugs are amazing. I've had trees visible through walls (literally from the opening scene of the game), tyres making a permanent screeching noise, a boy eating a beefburger with his eye and all sorts of audio glitches. It's achingly videogamey too - from the word go it's pretty devoid of anything that might make you go "ooh how interesting". But, I think it also might have enough RPG chops to be sort of worth exploring. There seems to be a lot of customisability in there. Guns have real heft and the modding is fun. Enemies are hilariously bullet spongey, but the combat is still good. The cast are all forgettable so far, and the world is somewhere in an intersection between GTA3, Deus Ex Mankind Divided and Sunset Overdrive. I think if you have an RTX card and suitable beef I'm not sure it's a title that's going to justify the 2 grand outlay. But I'm sure with 6 to 12 months it'll eventually blossom into something. Its not really blossomed now though, so I think the general consensus to wait on it is probably wise.

Death Stranding (PC). Unfortunately I played Cyberpunk just after Death Stranding. Which I think possibly had the best opening of any videogame I can remember in recent memory. It's bonkers, breathtaking, brave, cringe inducing, horrific, amazing, awe inspiring, daft and moving. It's Postman Pat with invisible ink monsters. It's achingly Kojima. But the sheer creativity of it and absolute confidence it what it's doing and the coherence of the design are something to behold. Really looking forward to playing more - and if it gets boring or shit or weird I don't think anything it does can take away from those opening couple of hours.

Also been playing a fair amount of Jackbox, Valorant, Need For Speed Most Wanted 2012 (which is our go to multiplayer game at the moment) and I'm hoping to start A Way Out this weekend.

Want
A 3-series card. I think Cyberpunk is the straw that broke the 1070s back.

Bin
waves hands the fucking Tory party. The Daily Mail. The gammons. All of it. Fuck it all in the bin.

a boy eating a beefburger with his eye

The cyberpunk dream, right there.

I have just listened to 25 minutes of the Mass Effect soundtrack.

Want Mass Effect Trilogy remaster

Want
Brian to buy Hades and stop finding endless distractions from doing so

Urgh, this again? When have you ever been right about games?

Want
Brian to trust me

Update Bin - Doom 2016. Still don't like, decided to struggle onward disliking every moment, eventually got to last boss, way too cheap and poorly done, ragequit never to return again. Shades of original Half-Life, another game I didn't care for and still struggled through to the dumb, idiotic Giant Fetus Baby abomination of a last boss and ragequit.

Want
Brian to trust me

Do you think it'll work for or against you if I say that I agree with you on this one?

(Hades is really good.)

All I've had time to play much this month (so far) is Star Wars Squadrons, which I think many two or three others here have put a bit of time into, but not recently? I really like it, though I think I'm somewhere on the lower end of average in terms of how good I am. It has the advantage of having a fairly long TTK, so I can at least feel like I'm contributing before being blasted to smithereens.

I did really well in a round of Fleet Battles this evening, and managed an astonishing 14 kills in a TIE Bomber, of all things. I didn't play enough to get ranked last time round, but I'm hoping to at least finish the 10 placement matches before the operation resets again, and thereby confirm my averageness.

Grabbed a Star Wars collection of fanatical this evening and just been playing Dark Forces. Enjoyed it from the nostalgia point of view but was lost on both levels I played.

I remember getting lost in Dark Forces. Great game when you are mowing down hordes of troopers though.

Play

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk

Someways into Dungeon 3 now and I'm really digging it, very early on you get an ability to just..break through most walls at small cost, as long as it's not got a yellow lining on the map. So even if you dunno where to go, or just want to avoid an enemy on the map you can bust through a wall and take a shortcut (this does NOT mean you can skip objectives). I dunno' if any other dungeon crawler does this since this is my first but from what I hear it's kinda' unique? Ether way it's fun to use.

Your classes (or facets) can be so customizable you can have two that serve completely different tasks in the same group based on what stat growth path you put them on, equip them with and Coven you put them in. You can have 6 of these with I believe two more unlocked later and put them into Covens (groups within the party itself, or brigade as the game calls it) and Covens can apparently have 8 slots and you get 5 spaces for Covens meaning an endgame party will consist of 40 party members, it's a good job the game is in FPV.

So this becomes pretty insane as you can have any combination of Facets spread into a mix of Covens. However, unless you spend a point to act individually you control one of 5 Covens as a group so it's not too bad….

Downloaded Hades. I'm not sure this 'roguelike for people who don't like roguelikes' is for me. And I'm someone who doesn't like roguelikes.

I did my first run, beat the sister, and died in some lava field. Fair enough. But now I can't be arsed going back and replaying all that again, just to get back to the same point. Is that really what you have to do? Like, every time?

I'll keep going, for a bit, because literally everyone says it's good.

Is that really what you have to do? Like, every time?

Kind of. The environments are the same, though the levels are not. The story advances as you use the orange vials to build relationships with characters. The bosses aren't always the same (and the VO acknowledges it). It does change, though it doesn't change significantly.

I can understand the malaise. I played until I got to the surface, died against the final boss and then haven't tried since. I probably will at some point. But I totally understand the reluctance to grind against what appears to be the same every time.

Do you have to repeat the game over and over again in the rogue-like game you just bought?

Yes.

Yes you do.

We're through the looking glass now people.

I dunno. There are roguelikes that still manage to mix it up enough to be different. Enter The Gungeon is probably a top example, because there are so many gun variations, the room environments are varied and offer interesting maps that can be backtracked through, and it offers several bosses per floor. Binding of Isaac too.

Hades focuses on advancement of the story as its driving hook, which is definitely absorbing. However, the enemies are all the same, all the rooms look the same, bosses aren't as varied and there are less weapons… the blessings mix things up, but that's just icing rather than a different flavoured cake.

I see your point. I see MPH's. Gents, put them away, it's disgusting.

It was alriiiiight. I've gone as far as I can - put about five or six hours in and kept dying at Theseus.

I'd probably recommend it myself if no-one had heard of it, but I don't know why it won any GOTY awards.

The Theseus/Minotaur tag team battle is a real sticking point. One of those 'head against a brick wall' moments that you die at repeatedly, then you finally crest with the right combination of power-ups and sheer brute force levelling. It's okay, I guess. Definitely one of my least enjoyed bits though (I like the level that comes after it the best).

Bit disappointed by Watch Dogs' version of London. I'm not sure what I was expecting - certainly not a 1:1 match - but it's SO small. It's like a little matchbox version of a city I know inside out.

It's a Forza Horizon-style greatest hits, with landmarks in sort-of-roughly the right place, and all the interesting side streets stripped away.

Although it gets bonus points for letting me play as a 55-year-old, female, Northern Irish historian. Genuinely refreshing.

Bought Super Meat Boy Forever because I've been really excited for it. I hate it. It strips out the perfectly designed precision of the original and just turns it into a procedurally generated endless runner (with ends, ironically enough) where you're just hitting obstacles constantly and not really having to think about what you're doing outside of quick reflex movement. It doesn't feel anywhere near as polished in the bit that actually matters (gameplay!) despite being far more polished in every other department.

The End is Nigh (by Ed McMillen, after he left Team Meat) is far superior. Oh well.

Going to end the year right today: it's double reputation currently in Sea of Thieves and I'm four levels away from maxing out Merchant Alliance. A bit of play today and I'll be on 75/75/75, which makes me very happy.

Still absolutely loads of commendations, titles and other tasks to do. I think I'll max Reapers next, because Hunters Call is dull and Athena isn't much fun, but I'm not an aggressive/combative player… that makes getting Reapers up really grindy. But hey! Still playing with my pirate queen on our boat, The Cheeky Nandos, and still having a great time.