Just thought I could get a discussion thread going. What is everyone playing lately?
I just finished playing Metal Gear Solid Delta, it was great! I decided to play through the series finally after years of watching video essays on the game, and I’m glad I did! I played Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Subsistence through emulation (4k HD for the win!) It was a great experience and I can see why the series is so highly venerated. It holds up remarkably well, and the long cut scenes were really enjoyable. I thought it would be annoying, but I actually found myself looking forward to them. Delta was like jumping forward in time 30 years, but still extremely fun. I’m glad they stayed so close to the source material so I could just play the new release instead of booting up Snake Eater through emulation.
Now if I could just play IV without a PS3, that would be awesome. I might have to try emulation on that, but from what I read, the experience isn’t great.
Regardless, now I’m replaying Max Payne 3. This game IS SO FREAKING GOOD. I had forgotten how good it is. The noir narration is just amazing. The gameplay is tight as a snare drum. The art style and visuals are still amazing even when compared to modern games. Rockstar really knocked this game out of the park. I still haven’t played Max Payne 1 or 2, and maybe I should. Also, I found out that one of the bands I’ve recently discovered and have been listening to like crazy, Health, did the score for Max Payne 3. The music is fantastic. If you haven’t played it, I highly recommend giving it a go.
Other than those games, I plan to play through The Last of Us 1 for the first time soon. Not sure how “retro” it is, but I think it is borderline given the original release date and hardware. Looking forward to trying it for the first time. I’ve never had Sony consoles, so I’ve missed out on a ton of first-party Sony games over the years. Trying to make up for that by playing modern PC releases and through emulation.
So yeah, what do ya’ll have going on right now? What do you recommend playing and why?
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Dude! I was so fucking surprised at how well Max Payne 3 still holds up. Better than most shooters nowadays.
It’s unreal. Just the feel of the game is amazing. Modern gaming is great and all, but something about that 6th/7th generation just hits. It was like the perfect mix of player-focused design and modern tech. There’s a lot of games with amazing potential nowadays, but they are ruined by silly design choices like always-online implementation or micro-transactions. The games from the 6th and 7th generations are just so feature-rich and laden with game modes and statistics tracking that it’s disheartening to see how far we’ve regressed in those areas in modern games, seemingly all in pursuit of making the walls have 5% more fidelity than before.
Finished up “my friend Pedro” a couple of weeks ago (absolutely recommend if you haven’t played it, especially with a high refresh rate screen), played control for a bit (interesting beginning, but the more you play the more confusing/boring I found it), and been revisiting doom eternal since I just upgraded my PC about a month ago. I was planning to play it through with the dlc expansions, then maybe try cyberpunk after. Also been intermittently playing “golf with your friends” when I have game night, pretty fun to play with friends and doesn’t take too much effort.
Playing the original God of War for the first time via the PS3 collection. I’m also chipping away at Mario Picross 2 (Gameboy) on my Retroid Pocket 4.
The God of War series is on my list of “to play” games. I’ve played about 2 hours worth of the first modern GoW game, but nothing else. I’m going to start on the old ps2 games and work my way through.
Finally picked up Hades II now that it’s been officially released and I can enjoy it with all its polish. Already got 30 hours in and can’t wait to spend more time tonight. The music is just constantly stuck in my head now.
I’ve been playing OG Hades for a few days through GamePass. I started it a long time ago but never got very far. I really dig the game and its music and writing, so I’m going to give it the ol’ college try to at least make it out of the underworld once. Game is hard, yo!
It gets easier as you learn how to use the boons and weapons and other fifty dimensions of stats to optimize or adjust your build and play for your goals / whatever challenges get presented to you. Your character gets stronger as you acquire buffs the more you play, so the real trick is to just keep playing (as long as you’re having fun). I seem to recall there being a bit of a hump at the start before the ball really got rolling; the sequel seems to have leveled this out a bit better, perfecting the already well-made formula.
I’ve been playing First Contact Protocol for the GBC and it’s really good!
You know, I should really explore more of what the gameboy color had to offer. The only games that ever saw playtime on my lovely teal GBC were Pokemon Gold, Yellow, and TCG. I still play TCG from time to time through a GBC emulator on my phone. That game was excellent. Its also the only Pokemon games I’ve ever enjoyed. After Gold, it was just too many damn pokemans to keep track of and I lost interest. 151 was plenty. 251 was more than enough. After that, it’s too much for me.
Balatro till I’ve beat it
I’ve been on a Balatro kick lately too! My nightly routine is to play Mad Skills MX 2 and do all my versus races against my friends, and then boot up Balatro till I fall asleep. Good stuff. I’m working through doing all the red stakes challenges right now. I’m on the Telescope? deck. I think that’s the name of it.
Resident Evil 7. The last game I played was RE5 and I really didn’t enjoy it. It’s been years but I played the remake of RE2 when it came out and loved it. Picked up 7 and 8 during a recent steam sale. So far RE 7 is shaping up to be one of my favorites in the series.
Resident Evil is one series I’ve never been able to garner the gumption to get into. I played about 30 minutes of RE4 remake through GamePass and it’s just not for me, I believe. I’m not a horror fan anyway, but was hoping the gameplay would draw me in. Maybe I’m just missing something.
Max Payne 1&2 still hold up I think. The upshot of using comic book style slideshow sequences instead of cutscenes is that it’s aged really well. Story, mood and atmosphere is great in both and I think the gameplay is still pretty decent. Keep in mind 1&2 were Remedy games while 3 was Rockstar, so they will feel noticeably different for better or worse. Most Max Payne fans will say it like: Max Payne 3 is a great game, it’s just not a great Max Payne game. It doesn’t have that Remedy touch, it isn’t good at the things that made the first two so special. Amazing 3rd person gunplay though.
Speaking of, there is a Remedy-themed Humble Bundle online right now with their whole catalogue minus Firebreak for like 30 bucks. Not a bad way to get your hands on MP 1&2. Pretty remarkable value, although with the two caveats that Alan Wake 2 is (1) only playable through Epic and (2) coming to PS+ next month if you have that platform and service.
When the Xbox is free, Borderlands 4. (Just finished the main story and going back to grab up all them side quests)
Otherwise, my wife and I take turns beating each other at Tetris & Dr Mario.
Max Payne is nothing like the original and its sequel. I found it to be a dispassionate mess lacking any of the compelling elements of Remedy’s games. Rockstar took the name and nothing else.
