Story wise though, i’m a bit mixed on. I’m really liking the story, just not as a Max Payne story. The Brazil setting isn’t really doing it for me and it feels a bit more GTA Coded than Noir, at least until i detach it from the first two games.

This is pretty much the general consensus of the game overall I think. Good game, just not a good Max Payne game.

There are some high performance VA panels that are good for gaming. Samsung Odyssey Neo G7/G8 for example.

Are there really no mini-LED monitors in your country? I’m a really big advocate of them. As close to OLED HDR performance as you can get without burn-in and with better peak brightness. I’m currently using a Cooler Master GP27Q that I got for cheap as an opened box, which has been a really solid monitor for the cheap cheap price I got it for (couple hundred euros).

I think a 27 inch 1440p monitor with 2000+ dimming zones will be the sweet spot between performance and affordability, though none like that are on the market yet.

Look Ubisoft: this is what your devs could be making if you’d let them make what they want to be making. Instead of churning out another cookie cutter “Ubisoft game”.

Yeah GoT quickly turned from a fun game I enjoyed to a game I almost loathed and resented as I had to force myself to finish it.

It really doesn’t have enough variety to support being that long, in my opinion. The mission design is way too bland and samey and the tone of the writing just starts wearing you down. Literally everything is the same serious tone delivered in a dour monotone. A handful of moments with Kenji is not enough to break the tedium. It would be fine if the game was 20 hours long, not 60.

I still think it’s a fine sort of 7.5-8/10 at the end of the day but I consider it one of the most overrated games of all time. It’s just a polished Ubisoft collect-a-thon open world with solid combat at the end of the day. It’s not game of the decade or whatever.

This is certainly a game that is best played blind. Peeling back the mysteries is so rewarding and there is a lot more under the surface than you think at first.

I don’t think there are many puzzles relying on foreknowledge. Most of the puzzles also have clues to be found later, sometimes clues leading to other clues, so if you can’t find a solution to something right away I recommend just moving on for the moment and coming back later, doing other puzzles and investigations in the meantime. Exploring and figuring things out, both in terms of puzzles but also narrative is the whole game so just take it slow. You’re not meant to solve everything in one run, but gradually learning and making progress over time. Contrary to what the intro video suggests there is no time limit, so there is no rush.

Also: take notes. I have filled out like 30 pages of notes at this point. This is a very satisfying game to take notes of, making connections and spotting details.

This is one of those rare Obra Dinn/Outer Wilds type games that only pops up once every couple of years. If you’re into that sort of thing you should absolutely jump on it right away, it’s spectacular.

I suppose I will use the same “supporting indie devs is a good deed” justification as when I purchased Blue Prince on launch day for this game.

La Belle Epoque inspired game that is reviewing at 92/100 on OpenCritic with several mentions of it being a GOTY contender? And the themes are about wrestling with hope and optimism in the face of nihilism and hopelessness? (Disco Elysium my beloved)

I never stood a chance.

Mumble is where it’s at.

Ubisoft made a fun game, but it’s way to big for it’s own good.

Well, everyone expected this game to copy Ghost of Tsushima, so maybe it’s not surprising that it ends up copying its biggest flaw as well.

That’s a wild looking thing! Had no idea that was a thing.

Cross posted this to [email protected]

Still wrestling with Blue Prince and still as enthralled with it as I was last week. It’s such a clever, beautiful, unique and interesting game.

I’m finally starting to glimpse the finish line at the horizon now after having been in the endgame for about a week. Still a couple of puzzles left to solve, still a couple of unanswered questions left to investigate but I can feel how close I am now.

God damn it am I going to miss this game once it’s over. Experiences like this don’t come around often. If you like puzzles and mysteries and escape rooms be impatient for once and play this game. It’s extraordinary.

I think even in back 2012 an argument could be made quite easily, but it’s a shame Roger Ebert didn’t live long enough to see some of the games released over the past decade that quite convincingly demonstrate how video games can indeed be art.

I agreed with him very often but that was one instance of him having an inexplicably bad take.

I’m a slut for La Belle Epoque so even though I’m not necessarily in the market for a JRPG at the moment I might just cave anyway with scores like this.

I’m almost done with Blue Prince too, so it’s fortuitous timing.

I don’t follow any personally, but there are many out there. Browse by Channels on Twitch and search for the autistic tag and you’ll find a whole bunch of small streamers.

I used to watch Savannah Brown and she was great, but she hasn’t streamed for like two years now. Don’t think she’s coming back.

It is the best written video game ever and it’s not particularly close either. It’s one of the best written pieces of media I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming.

I haven’t had time to play as much the past couple of days, but when I do I am similarly entralled by Blue Prince. It’s going to be very hard for another game to pip it for game of the year for me I think.

It’s so full of mysteries, so full of intricacies, so full of interactions and puzzles within puzzles. The narrative and lore is great too. I really do love every single element of it. Even the basic gameplay of the roguelite portion is so well done that you are always just fiending for one more run, the dopamine rewards of drafting a satisfying house really just tickles your brain just right.

Seriously, if you haven’t already then go play it.

They’ve already been paying crazy money for poop coffee for years so maybe this was always an untapped market.

Possibly good material for the Relics of the Old Web thread over at [email protected]

God damn it my backlog is already long enough why’d they have to go ahead and do this.

Sigh

Now where’s my credit card?

I think this criticism is fair to be honest and is one of the things that’s sort of swept under the rug a bit in discourse about Witcher 3. I definitely think the pacing is off just as you mentioned. I’ve heard other people regret their choice of Triss because they had basically locked in her romance already by the time you start doing stuff in Skellige with Yen and start seeing what she’s like.

Personally I think the Yen/Geralt dynamic is a lot better than with Triss, although it’s got its own troubles (nobody is perfect). I like the banter between them and they feel more like a proper couple.

The game as a whole also flows better with Yen as your romance choice in my opinion and to me it feels more like the Triss romance is an afterthought yes. A bone thrown at those who desperately can’t stand Yen.

Geralt (in the books) is deeply in love with Yen and is also bound to her by literal Djinn magic, so it makes sense that he’s always hot for her in the game and I think the attention paid to the Yen side of things is a desire by CDPR to anchor their game in the preexisting lore.

If you’re not dead set on Triss or wildly opposed to Yen I’d say go with it and do the Yen romance. It’s very suitable for a first time playthrough imo.

It was even 2 RNG heavy ones but I was forced to take Weight Room twice (thanks Hall of Mirrors!) so I couldn’t make it downstairs. Worst feeling I’ve had in a game in a long time actually. I honestly think sanctum keys could be permanent without the game being too easy.