What video games have you been playing? ΚΔ (24)? More like ΚΔ,Ζ,ΤΞΕ!

[Ajidica]

I've been playing the crap out of Cyberpunk after I got a new computer - RTX 5070 too! So I can do full path tracing etc. The game looks absolutely stunning.

 

[FredLC]

Just finished "Ghost of Tsushima", with the DLC.

Good game, but I expected more than it is due to the high praise it got online.

I played on normal and the game is too easy, so perhaps the lack of challenge all the way through took the bite of the enemies.

Also, the story is not that great. Every bit of it is 100% predictable from beginning to end, so it is always taking a while to meet me where I already was for some time, which is never a good dynamic. It also can get a tad repetitive with all the enemy camps to raid.

After going through a few action adventure games (Horizon, Spiderman, GoT), I'll probably try shifting gears and try a CRPG: Aliens Dark Descent, or a souls game: Demons Souls remake. Still deciding.

From what I heard, lack of challenge won't be an issue with either....

Regards .

 

[Akka]

Also, the story is not that great. Every bit of it is 100% predictable from beginning to end, so it is always taking a while to meet me where I already was for some time, which is never a good dynamic.

Hey, I warned you about it ^^
I'd like to point, though, that as a love letter to samurai movies and the cultural background of said movies, "predictable" is par of the course. There is a whole aspect of storytelling in Japan that is geared toward execution of the expected, where the point is precisely to rely on the audience knowing what will happen, to be able to focus on the execution and to enhance the catharsis (a bit like when you go to see an horror movie, you psychologically prep yourself to be horrified) - rakugo being probably the purest form of this leaning.

As such, knowing how the story will go from the get-go is not a bug, but a feature.

After going through a few action adventure games (Horizon, Spiderman, GoT), I'll probably try shifting gears and try a CRPG: Aliens Dark Descent, or a souls game: Demons Souls remake. Still deciding.

From what I heard, lack of challenge won't be an issue with either....

I suppose you've already finished the other Souls-like (Dark Souls/Elden Ring/Sekiro/Bloodborne) ?

 

[Ordnael]

You should all be playing the Oblivion remaster now. It's a great remaster of a great game. Zero complaints so far.

My interest is aroused at this. If if gets to a Nintendo Switch 2 release I will sink my teeth into it, just like I did and do from time to time with Skyrim.

Also very eager to get said console to play Cyberpunk...it does, indeed, look very stunning, most likely it will not look as good as in a proper rig, but I never got to the PC mustard race arms race so I'll be fine!

 

[FredLC]

Hey, I warned you about it ^^
I'd like to point, though, that as a love letter to samurai movies and the cultural background of said movies, "predictable" is par of the course. There is a whole aspect of storytelling in Japan that is geared toward execution of the expected, where the point is precisely to rely on the audience knowing what will happen, to be able to focus on the execution and to enhance the catharsis (a bit like when you go to see an horror movie, you psychologically prep yourself to be horrified) - rakugo being probably the purest form of this leaning.

As such, knowing how the story will go from the get-go is not a bug, but a feature.

Totally get the cultural thing. That said, Story usually is important for my taste. All my favorite games ever - Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear 3 Snake Eater, Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age 1 to 3 (yes even 2), The Witcher Series. God of War 2018 and 2021, Freespace 2, Tyranny (and slightly less Pillars of Eternity), spam a few genres but all have in common being story-heavy, all of them.

Hey, if you guys know other great gaming narratives, let me know.

I suppose you've already finished the other Souls-like (Dark Souls/Elden Ring/Sekiro/Bloodborne) ?

Not really, no. Exactly because of the characteristic low-key storytelling of that genre. But as these last few years I have tried to improve my skill and prowess in mechanics, I decided to give the genre a shot. I had the original Demons Souls but never played it, so I figure the remake was a good place to start.

Regards .

 

[Akka]

Totally get the cultural thing. That said, Story usually is important for my taste. All my favorite games ever - Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear 3 Snake Eater, Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age 1 to 3 (yes even 2), The Witcher Series. God of War 2018 and 2021, Freespace 2, Tyranny (and slightly less Pillars of Eternity), spam a few genres but all have in common being story-heavy, all of them.

Hey, if you guys know other great gaming narratives, let me know.

I basically spend my life playing games, and I love sharing, so just ask
I can't promise you my recommendations will be adequate (Ghost of Tsushima, for me, isn't really more predictable nor less story-heavy than Mass Effect 3 for example), and it also depends if you are more interested by the quality of the plot itself, the delivery/pacing and/or the characters, but I can at least list some of them :

I was pretty impressed by the Bioshock Infinite story (though I found the game mechanics somewhat boring). Definitely a "play mainly for the plot" game for me.
The whole Yakuza serie is rather narrative-focused (though with tons of side activities), with pretty serious main quests and pretty goofy sidequests.
If you feel adventurous, Spellforce 3 is a weird but rather remarkable RTS-RPG with excellent writing - the plot itself might be just above-average, but I found the characters and the execution really interesting (notice : I'm strictly speaking of Spellforce 3 here, NOT the previous entries of the series, which were made by a different studio and have absolutely NOT the same style).
Cyberpunk 2077 is a bit of a genre-definer as a movie-like adventure with cinematics dialogues and action.
The Owlcat games (Kingmaker, Wrath of the Righteous and Rogue Trader) are all typical Baldur's Gate heirs (isometric squad-based story-heavy RPG). If you loved BG2, you are liable to love them. Notice that they are pretty sweaty in the min-max department if that's your thing.
I'm wondering if you'd like Kingdom Come Deliverance 1 & 2. Their schtick is that they are extremely grounded and realistic, including the main story, and focused on being authentic and detailed relative to the setting. So depending on your sensibilities, it might make them boring and pedestrian, or it might make them refreshing and original. They are gorgeous and very immersive in any case (though they suffer from a pretty clunky if interesting combat system).

And, of course, I guess you already know about Planescape : Torment ? Pretty much the heaviest narrative-based game, like, ever (or at least close, it's often amusingly described as a video game novel), and has been among my absolute favourite since I played it.

Not really, no. Exactly because of the characteristic low-key storytelling of that genre. But as these last few years I have tried to improve my skill and prowess in mechanics, I decided to give the genre a shot. I had the original Demons Souls but never played it, so I figure the remake was a good place to start.

Regards .

Ah yeah, you won't get a strong typical story from them, that's for sure. Though what you'll get is a very strong "experience" and "indirect story" - a bit like living a myth.
I absolutely can't say if you'll like them or not, but there IS some heavy narrative in these game, but it's a "background narrative" rather than a story with a plot. It's more like "discovering the setting" through tons of hints and little bits of partial information (and reading on the Internet the fans who link all that together and offer insight you would never have had). You'll never get complete and clear answers, but it definitely gets the imagination running.
(Sekiro is a bit of an exception here, it has a comparatively clear story, but it still kinda is mostly a background event you just happen to go through and the fighting is the overwhelming majority of the reason to play it)

 

[Birdjaguar]

Not really, no. Exactly because of the characteristic low-key storytelling of that genre. But as these last few years I have tried to improve my skill and prowess in mechanics, I decided to give the genre a shot. I had the original Demons Souls but never played it, so I figure the remake was a good place to start.

Have you tried Path of Exile? It is free to play (no DLCs) and has a pretty deep lore side that you can engage with or ignore. It is an ARPG that only has one level of difficulty: gets harder as you progress! There are a few CFCers who play. If you like ARPGs it is the best. It is a complex game that can appear daunting to beginners. It begins with 10 Acts followed by an endgame of enhanced difficulty. If you take a look and have questions, feel free to message me or post them here.

 

[Arakhor]

And, of course, I guess you already know about Planescape : Torment ? Pretty much the heaviest narrative-based game, like, ever (or at least close, it's often amusingly described as a video game novel), and has been among my absolute favourite since I played it.

That and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind are always my go-to for games I'd call my favourites. KCD 1 is right up there too.

 

[Snerk]

My interest is aroused at this. If if gets to a Nintendo Switch 2 release I will sink my teeth into it, just like I did and do from time to time with Skyrim.

Also very eager to get said console to play Cyberpunk...it does, indeed, look very stunning, most likely it will not look as good as in a proper rig, but I never got to the PC mustard race arms race so I'll be fine!

No idea if they'll release it on the switch 2 but it wouldn't surprise me. If they do you should check it out for sure.

That and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind are always my go-to for games I'd call my favourites. KCD 1 is right up there too.

I really hope Morrowind get a remaster too. I'd love to play through it but the original version would be way too clunky for me.

 

[Arakhor]

I certainly won't miss the tortured level-up games in MW and OB, now that OBR (Oblivion Remastered) has shown a better way forward (i.e. by default, not in mods).

A Morrowind remaster would certainly be epic though, especially as I was always able to play MW with far fewer mods than either OB or SK.

 

[Akka]

That and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind are always my go-to for games I'd call my favourites. KCD 1 is right up there too.

I have to admit I don't understand why Oblivion got a remaster before Morrowind (especially when they didn't even bother to redesign the single worst aspect of the game).
Though there is Open Morrowind at least, but while it makes the game much better on current platforms, the dreadful models are more or less unfixable.

 

[Broken_Erika]

Though there is Open Morrowind at least, but while it makes the game much better on current platforms, the dreadful models are more or less unfixable.

Better Bodies + Better heads

 

[Arakhor]

That's very 2010 of you.

When I was playing OpenMW, I went for Robert's Bodies and Westly's Master Headpack X.

 

[Snerk]

I have to admit I don't understand why Oblivion got a remaster before Morrowind (especially when they didn't even bother to redesign the single worst aspect of the game).
Though there is Open Morrowind at least, but while it makes the game much better on current platforms, the dreadful models are more or less unfixable.

Oblivion had a significantly larger player base compared to Morrowind. So a Oblivion remaster is selling a lot more than a Morrowind remaster would. Morrowind doesn't have anywhere near as broad a nostalgia reach. But since the Oblivion remaster seems to be a huge hit, a potential Morrowind remaster should be much more tangible to Todd and co now. Of course Bethesda itself should focus on TES6!

 

[Akka]

Better Bodies + Better heads

I did use them even during the regular Morrowind heyday, but it's still more like lipstick on a pig, and they really clash with the rest of the game. I prefer to use Robert's Bodies as they blend better. But the model's skelettons themselves and their animations are pretty bad, so no amount of reskin will be enough.
I'd be quite happy with a Morrowind remake, but I'm extremely wary about them ruining it all by butchering what made Morrowind better (can totally see Bethesda adding more level scaling or something).

 

[Broken_Erika]

 

[H4run]

Oblivion had a significantly larger player base compared to Morrowind. So a Oblivion remaster is selling a lot more than a Morrowind remaster would. Morrowind doesn't have anywhere near as broad a nostalgia reach. But since the Oblivion remaster seems to be a huge hit, a potential Morrowind remaster should be much more tangible to Todd and co now. Of course Bethesda itself should focus on TES6!

Morrowind is insanely huge. They don't have what it takes to remaster that titan, that game was developed during the time where developer was somewhat optimist and idealistic. I personally more entertained by Oblivion than Morrowind, but objectively Morrowind is a much better game than Oblivion but it's bleak, racist and no Arena, while Oblivion is beautiful, the imperial city is fantastic, and who don't like playing as gladiator in Arena? unless you're a soccer ball that deserve to be kick, you should love playing as gladiator in arena!

 

[Ajidica]

I've been playing Baldur's Gate 3 and really struggling with Act 1. The game throws so much at you on so many levels it is overwhelming. Character levelling, particularly for spellcasters, has so many options. (And yes I know you can respec basically for free, but you still need to respec into something.) The map is full of fights that are extremely hard if you are even a level below - and are fights you encounter on your way to the area hyped as the "big final area" of the act (the goblin castle). Once you are in the goblin castle it is unclear how to go about what you need to do. And different areas operate according to their own logic. Like, ambushing and killing some goblins in this room sets the whole area hostile, but killing the goblin priestess doesn't make the whole area hostile. Who knew?

I want to like the game, but playing it is like pulling teeth. It also doesn't help the game starts out with a great driving premise but then immediately hits the brakes in terms of forward moment.

 

[Senethro]

Morrowind is much smaller than you remember. If you put view distance to maximum, or even mod it higher, suddenly everything is next to each other. It's all a trick of memory, view fog and slow walking speed.

Very handcrafted though, and must represent huge man hours compared with what came next.

 

[Yeekim]

That and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind are always my go-to for games I'd call my favourites. KCD 1 is right up there too.

What of KCD2?
Finally finished it and really liked it.