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[FormerlyJamesW]

I found it better than AC too. I loved the setting, duels that felt quite authentic and the quieter moments like the Haiku. By that stage I was well and truly over AC though.

It was revolutionary in the least glorious way possible.

The grass.

I won't bore with the details, but one of the major issues you have, as a developer, is how much shit you can put into a level. More stuff = more draw calls on your GPU, More draw calls on your GPU = more work for the GPU and less available processing power for all the other stuff.

The grass in that game can be rendered to pretty much an infinite amount and is incrediably optimised.

It's crazy and it looks insanely good.

 

[defensivebomb]

I’ve just finished (PS5) Disco Elysium and the Last of us 1&2.

Looking for some inspo in this shitty weather

Any other must-play titles? Given family commitments, would prefer something that can be done in bite-sized playing times (like 30mins to an hour). None of this roguelike or open world crap. I am a simple man

 

[Kaos A.D.]

I love starting games but I never ever finish them, Dark souls3, blood borne, elden ring, witcher, ACreed, i get through about 3 quarters then give up, probably starts getting to hard, get frustrated then give up.... just picked up a game after year off gaming and I'm loving it, Hollow Knight one of my all time favorites im about 3 quaters in and im getting sad it will end

 

[Kaos A.D.]

I’ve just finished (PS5) Disco Elysium and the Last of us 1&2.

Looking for some inspo in this shitty weather

Any other must-play titles? Given family commitments, would prefer something that can be done in bite-sized playing times (like 30mins to an hour). None of this roguelike or open world crap. I am a simple man

Hollow Knight it starts of slow but its a classic, I play a little every day or two

 

[Kestrel84]

I love starting games but I never ever finish them, Dark souls3, blood borne, elden ring, witcher, ACreed, i get through about 3 quarters then give up, probably starts getting to hard, get frustrated then give up.... just picked up a game after year off gaming and I'm loving it, Hollow Knight one of my all time favorites im about 3 quaters in and im getting sad it will end

Lucky you.. Hollow Knight: Silk Song is supposed to be out this year after 5+ years of "it'll be out anytime now...".

Both me and my son can't wait.

 

[Matiunz]

I found it better than AC too. I loved the setting, duels that felt quite authentic and the quieter moments like the Haiku. By that stage I was well and truly over AC though.

I have never spent so little time on games (I'm 45 now). I find there is just not that much coming out that I connect with, and they are really expensive. A good game is worth the money, but it is a real issue when it isn't.

Having said that I stumbled onto a JRPG that took me back to the good old days called Octopath Traveller 2. Oldschool random encounters etc. but I had fun with the storylines. It made me crave less focus on graphics and more focus on gameplay, story and regular releases of top games.

The last AAA game I played that I really enjoyed was probably Elden Ring/Horizon Zero Dawn, which is going back a while.

I’m a similar age and found it harder to get into games than I used to. Think a lot of it is the big games are like 5 years between installments whereas they used to be yearly, also a lot require either online play or microtransaction which I loathe

 

[Ever Hopeful]

For those that liked Ghost of Tsushima I have just seen that its standalone sequel Ghost of Yotei is due to be released this year.

And for those of us that like the oldschool Square Enix games, Dragon Quest 1 &2 gets its remake this year.

I have just splashed out on Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 after reading some pretty outstanding reviews.

 

[snake77]

For those that liked Ghost of Tsushima I have just seen that its standalone sequel Ghost of Yotei is due to be released this year.

And for those of us that like the oldschool Square Enix games, Dragon Quest 1 &2 gets its remake this year.

I have just splashed out on Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 after reading some pretty outstanding reviews.

I'm keen on playing Kingdon Come Deliverance 2. I got the first one on a good deal, I think it was like $7.

I'm still getting through the first one. Only on the first few missions. I want to finish that one first.

It's funny I've found it frustrating being a third person game although I like first person shooters. I think if it was third person like GTA, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor or Medieval Dynasty I might have found moving around and combat a bit more natural.

I've got quite a few medieval era games on my Wishlist after playing Medieval Dynasty. That one is funny as everyone is watching trying to figure out the point while I'm building houses and farms.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

I'm keen on playing Kingdon Come Deliverance 2. I got the first one on a good deal, I think it was like $7.

I'm still getting through the first one. Only on the first few missions. I want to finish that one first.

It's funny I've found it frustrating being a third person game although I like first person shooters. I think if it was third person like GTA, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor or Medieval Dynasty I might have found moving around and combat a bit more natural.

I've got quite a few medieval era games on my Wishlist after playing Medieval Dynasty. That one is funny as everyone is watching trying to figure out the point while I'm building houses and farms.

I was always staunchly 3rd person from Resident Evil forward, because I liked seeing my character, and seeing the gear changes etc. I never got into Doom etc. for this reason. After resisting for a long time, I'm now pretty settled in first person and it definitely suits immersion/combat better.

Wow memories stirred there. Ikari Warriors as a kid, and Final Fantasy and Resident Evil as a teen left such an imprint!

 

[snake77]

I’m a similar age and found it harder to get into games than I used to. Think a lot of it is the big games are like 5 years between installments whereas they used to be yearly, also a lot require either online play or microtransaction which I loathe

I've only just recently upgraded from a PS3 to a PS5. That last 10 years I haven't had much time to game with the kids being so young. Now they are at an age they can play as well it's a little easier.

The new console I love. Especially with the my games all being digital.

My biggest bug bear is the micro transactions. I can live with the WWE DLC's or the fighters in UFC. What I have found confusing is all of the cards. In the WWE games it's My Faction in the sports games it's some team name.

I know it's a huge money spinner for the companies I just find it weird spending so much money on a game they will like upgrade after a year.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

I've only just recently upgraded from a PS3 to a PS5. That last 10 years I haven't had much time to game with the kids being so young. Now they are at an age they can play as well it's a little easier.

The new console I love. Especially with the my games all being digital.

My biggest bug bear is the micro transactions. I can live with the WWE DLC's or the fighters in UFC. What I have found confusing is all of the cards. In the WWE games it's My Faction in the sports games it's some team name.

I know it's a huge money spinner for the companies I just find it weird spending so much money on a game they will like upgrade after a year.

I never buy digital, though I understand the convenience. Games are usually 25% cheaper in physical copy and when you play through them you can usually sell them for 75% of their value if you are quick enough. The primate membership on mighty Ape makes all postage free too.

I've never felt the need to make a micro transaction, and only buy DLCs if I'm obsessed in a game, which is pretty rare, because even a game I love I usually psychologically ready to move on from by the end.

 

[Kestrel84]

I never buy digital, though I understand the convenience. Games are usually 25% cheaper in physical copy and when you play through them you can usually sell them for 75% of their value if you are quick enough. The primate membership on mighty Ape makes all postage free too.

I've never felt the need to make a micro transaction, and only buy DLCs if I'm obsessed in a game, which is pretty rare, because even a game I love I usually psychologically ready to move on from by the end.

I have really shifted my thinking about physical/digital games in the past few years. There are a select few modern generation games that I feel I need physical copies of, due to the significance/greatness of the title - but otherwise I'm totally happy to have games digitally. PS4/Nintendo Switch onwards has been the big shift to digital, where you're far more likely to pick up a better deal through a well timed digital sale.

I also had the very unfortunate scenario of my PS5 disc drive crapping itself (outside of warranty) while I was 3/4 of the way through Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, meaning I had to buy the game again digitally to keep playing. Thankfully save games are stored online and can be used either on physical or digital.

I think the current generation of consoles are just not designed to well support physical games, and we're seeing how disinterested the industry is now where some physical copies don't even include a game disc/cartridge, but just a code to go online and download the game. Madness.

 

[Matiunz]

I have really shifted my thinking about physical/digital games in the past few years. There are a select few modern generation games that I feel I need physical copies of, due to the significance/greatness of the title - but otherwise I'm totally happy to have games digitally. PS4/Nintendo Switch onwards has been the big shift to digital, where you're far more likely to pick up a better deal through a well timed digital sale.

I also had the very unfortunate scenario of my PS5 disc drive crapping itself (outside of warranty) while I was 3/4 of the way through Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, meaning I had to buy the game again digitally to keep playing. Thankfully save games are stored online and can be used either on physical or digital.

I think the current generation of consoles are just not designed to well support physical games, and we're seeing how disinterested the industry is now where some physical copies don't even include a game disc/cartridge, but just a code to go online and download the game. Madness.

My PS5 has a physical disc drive but I think the only physical game I’ve ever actually purchased was when I purchased the console. Found it much more convenient to buy online except of course you need to keep removing games due to storage. I use the os subscription service a decent amount on games I wanna try but not 100% sure I’d buy, turns out pretty economical but you also run the risk of the game being removed.
I’m assuming digital is the way of the future considering the amount of eb games that are closing/being converted to zing stores over here, the ever shrinking gaming areas in the likes of JB hifi etc.
Would say it’s going the way of the dvd but supposedly they’re seeing a bit of a resurgence due to the fickleness of streaming availability.

 

[BabylonPink]

I’ve just finished (PS5) Disco Elysium and the Last of us 1&2.

Looking for some inspo in this shitty weather

Any other must-play titles? Given family commitments, would prefer something that can be done in bite-sized playing times (like 30mins to an hour). None of this roguelike or open world crap. I am a simple man

Disco is amazing aye. Made me think a lot.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

I'm sure digital is the way of the future.

I treat a bought physical copy as a rental. Final Fantasy XVI cost me around $10 by the time I had bought it (on release day), played for a month and flipped it. I found the game a slog, and the idea of it not costing me $125 was a pretty big relief.

Most popular games cost me around $20-40 bucks when played this way.

 

[Kestrel84]

My PS5 has a physical disc drive but I think the only physical game I’ve ever actually purchased was when I purchased the console. Found it much more convenient to buy online except of course you need to keep removing games due to storage. I use the os subscription service a decent amount on games I wanna try but not 100% sure I’d buy, turns out pretty economical but you also run the risk of the game being removed.
I’m assuming digital is the way of the future considering the amount of eb games that are closing/being converted to zing stores over here, the ever shrinking gaming areas in the likes of JB hifi etc.
Would say it’s going the way of the dvd but supposedly they’re seeing a bit of a resurgence due to the fickleness of streaming availability.

Unfortunately you don't truly own a game now unless it is physical, and even then it is dependant on the hardware still functioning to play it. Even with PC gaming, if you are purely a Steam gamer, then you don't actually permanently own a copy of that game and they can essentially limit and control your access to that game.

I have a huge collection of physical games, but am heavily into the emulation scene, purely because it gives me unfiltered access to my games in a better way than was ever possible previously. I've also switched heavily to PC gaming and purchase games (where possible) through GOG, so that I actually have control of the game I've purchased. The gaming industry now is pretty depressing, and unfortunately it is generally supported by fanatical fanboys that can't see the forest for the trees. I'm maybe buying 3 or 4 games a year now, which is a drop in the ocean to where I was even a decade ago.

I've moved away from both gaming and tv/movie subscription services and have really spent a lot of time building my own personal collection, digitising DVDs, upscaling them and managing a Plex server, building a Launchbox/Big Box library for my games, etc.