Whatcha all been playing?

Continuing my recovery. I beat Mario wonder and have been playing some Mario world ROM hacks as well, including jump 1/2

  • Still having a blast playing Baldur’s Gate 3! I just made it to Act 3 and there have been some very unexpected events (don’t know how to do spoiler tags) ha ha! It’s been quite an adventure so far; I’m already planning another playthrough!

    Also thinking of doing another run of Fire Emblem: Three Houses to complete the house I haven’t aligned with yet.

  • Lies of P! I just killed the second-to-last boss, and oh boy was it tough. That game is absolutely amazing, and has surpassed pretty much every expectation I had of it.

    I’ve also been playing a fair bit of Deep Rock Galactic, which is always a delight!

      • The combat is really satisfying! People keep telling me I should prefer doing Baal runs over and over in Diablo 2 but I just can’t relate to that. Yeah, the game gets boring around level 70, but it’s fun up until that point, plus I am only on my third character because I’ve done once each season. I know there’s a mentality out there that a Diablo game is a failure unless it’s the only game you ever want to play for the rest of your life, (which, btw, I don’t even feel that about Diablo 2), but it’s ok to take breaks and play different games and come back to a game when it’s updated. I guess whatever people think Diablo 4 “should” be isn’t the game for me.

        • I think I’ve just been irreversibly damaged by Path of Exile’s fast gameplay, D4’s combat felt pretty tedious to me in comparison. Or maybe I’ve just had the wrong builds so far. I’ve been meaning to give it another shot but there have been so many other good games recently so I guess it’ll have to wait.

          I know there’s a mentality out there that a Diablo game is a failure unless it’s the only game you ever want to play for the rest of your life, (which, btw, I don’t even feel that about Diablo 2), but it’s ok to take breaks and play different games and come back to a game when it’s updated.

          Yeah I don’t get that either. I have to skip leagues (seasons) in Path of Exile both because I wouldn’t have enough time to play other games if I didn’t and also because I tend to play it so much that I get tired of it and need a break afterwards.

  • Cities: Skylines 2. Hugely problematic launch, but it runs acceptably for me on Linux (just over 40fps consistently on a Ryzen 5 7600X and a 6600 XT). I’ve got all settings on high (except Volumetric Quality set to Disabled and AA set to TAA) and it honestly looks quite good, especially with DOF set to tilt-shift.

    In terms of the game itself, I’m very much enjoying it. Every mechanic seems more detailed than C:S1 and there is a lot more planning needed to make a really successful city. Not without bugs but nothing game breaking. Lacks some of the annoyances in the first game (like needing water pipes everywhere).

  • I started a second (and third) run of Baldur’s Gate 3 (4 and 3 Player group respectively), one as a barbarian and on as a bard. It’s definitely my favorite game in recent memory, it might even be one of my favorite games or single most favorite game ever.

    Besides that, Mario Wonder has also been great, although I didn’t play a lot of it yet. I did finally get a (used) Switch for that game though, so I’m definitely intending to play through this game at least once.

    • It’s definitely my favorite game in recent memory, it might even be one of my favorite games or single most favorite game ever.

      I just began act 3 of my second playthrough, which has amounted to an obscene amount of playtime for me. I play single player games exclusively, and these days am often eagerly thinking of my next game anytime I hit the 30-hour mark of whatever I’m currently playing.

      BG3 is a truly monumental achievement. Plus Karlach is indisputably one of the best characters ever created for a game.

  • As with every time I leave it alone for a while and come back, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is like a completely different game. I booted up the latest experimental and started a new mall start character, something I do every time to get into the groove of things. Suddenly zombies are all powerful grapplers, frenzied humans listening for gunshots prowl the halls, and dodging/blocking/stunning are all a lot less reliable.

    Im scared again! And a little frustrated lol

    • I know it won’t happen, but I keep imagining CDDA getting the “Steam” treatment ala Dwarf Fortress. Both games are amazing… Should play CDDA again myself. Always such a pain to remember HOW to play though, and by the time my muscle memory gets good enough that I can actually fluidly play the game instead of staring at keybinds, I’ve kinda run out of gas 😄

  • I bought Outer Wilds recently (my consumerism couldn’t resist the 40% sale on steam), friends recommended it and I know nothing about it, but only time will tell if I’ll play the game someday or if it’ll stay untouched for years…

  • Diablo 4 - I feel like I talk about this game every week, but I’ve been playing it every week, so… working on Season 2. Doing pretty good, already on Slayer chapter, and I’m happy to see a change up in the season journey objectives from last season. Feeling apprehensive but optimistic about completing all them this round, except for the PvP objective. There’s like nobody in the PvP areas every time I’m there.
    Diablo 3 - season 29. Trying to improve my wizard for Greater Rifts. It’s going… meh. I feel like I’ve hit a plateau in progressing, even though I’m still leveling up like crazy.
    Mad Max - I hadn’t finished a previous playthrough of this game and was kind of having a shitty week, so I’ve been revisiting this favorite of mine. Ended up finishing the story while chatting with a friend, so now I’m just driving around in the Interceptor finishing up side quests and taking down camps.

  • Class of 09: The Re-up

    It’s a sorta virtual novel type game, but it absolutely knew what it wanted to be and nails it 100% of the time. It’s teenage edge with an edge so sharp it actually breaks skin.

    I went to several schools and had a lot of shitty drama growing up and it somehow nails that perfect catharsis while being funny as hell. They released an anime style trailer that made me buy it. I think it was the perfect limbic test for the whole game.

  • Against the Storm! It’s a roguelite citybuilder set in an apocalyptic world where you build settlements in a short amount of time to complete objectives and hopefully survive. While it borrows some mechanics from some city builders, I haven’t played anything quite like it’s unique blend yet. Plus the artstyle is pretty reminiscent of Warcraft but prettier.

    It’s in early access right now but it’s basically a complete game at this point.