[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

We've both started playing Stardew Valley.

I don't understand why a farming simulator is this relaxing, but who am I to argue?

Also, it's been lovely seeing Mr NAB actually enjoy a game again. He's somewhat living proof that when a fun hobby is your job (he works for Rare as a technical animator) it largely kills being able to enjoy it as a hobby.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 06 February 2024 - 11:51 AM

[Maark Abbott]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 06 February 2024 - 11:50 AM, said:

We've both started playing Stardew Valley.

I don't understand why a farming simulator is this relaxing, but who am I to argue?

Also, it's been lovely seeing Mr NAB actually enjoy a game again. He's somewhat living proof that when a fun hobby is your job (he works for Rare as a technical animator) it largely kills being able to enjoy it as a hobby.

Stardew is amazingly good. Fair warn that lategame farms CAN get stressful on Spring 1 but there are tricks to mitigate it.

[Mentalist]

Nintendo announced a whole bunch of stuff today. Shin Megami Tensei 5 going multi-platform, Ender Lillie's getting a sequel, Warren Spector's Wii exclusive Epic Mickey is getting a remake courtesy of THQN.

Age of Empires stream coming up on Fri, with announcements for AoE 2 (a "campaign-focused" expansion), plus an update of the new remake for Age of Mythology.

[Maark Abbott]

Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery is releasing on March 22nd.

Pretty excited for that.

[Mentalist]

Nixxes is doing God's work, porting another Sony blockbuster. This time it's the Sushi Ghost, releasing in May.

Rumours are also flying about some Gravity Rush re-release, including an eventual PC port. Here's hoping.

Also, based on Japanese retail pre-orders, the OG S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games are coming to consoles. Huh.

Xbox is doing a "partner preview" thing today. Might be something interesting there.

EDIT:

Some good stuff in here.

Sinking City 2 is gonna be doing a Kickstarter (understandable, with the war and everything).

Aside from that, we got 5 3rd person AA action-y games, and 2 of them are new IPs!. Good times for AA gaming.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 06 March 2024 - 08:07 PM

[Tsundoku]

So this is all my kid and all the other bigger kids at work are talking about these days ...

[champ]

Tsundoku, on 04 April 2024 - 07:20 AM, said:

So this is all my kid and all the other bigger kids at work are talking about these days ...

https://www.youtube....h?v=xw-ent-tI5w

Because they have sense my friend!

[Mentalist]

Some neat things in this year's Summer Announcem,ent Season thing.

Perfect Dark looks like an Invisible War remake, and South of Midnight also looks pretty good.

[worry]

I'm hyped for new Life Is Strange.

The fact that it's

Spoiler

a return to Max is a nice bonus.

[Maark Abbott]

Demo is up on Steam for Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire, a more aviation focused Skies-adjacent JRPG. Looking forward to giving it a go!

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Dragon Age is having a completely bizarre few days.

The trailer for the new game (now titled The Veilguard, rather than Dreadwolf) seems to be a poorly judged mess (it honestly looked like Disney does Dragon Age) which jars terribly with the gameplay footage released today, which gave me a much more positive feeling about the game. Some people in marketing really need a talking to.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 11 June 2024 - 09:55 PM

[Maark Abbott]

I would be more enthusiastic for it if not for the fact that I had to BUY THE ENDING FOR INQUISITION AS DLC ;-;

[Tiste Simeon]

I've seen a lot of people saying the same TRB. While I was never into DA even half as much as I was into ME (I love you FemShep!) the dark and gritty beauty of those games was a thing to behold. It will be interesting to see how it evolves as they get closer to release.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Maark Abbott, on 12 June 2024 - 07:30 AM, said:

I would be more enthusiastic for it if not for the fact that I had to BUY THE ENDING FOR INQUISITION AS DLC ;-;

Whilst I love Trespasser, I certainly hope that isn't a mistake they make a second time.

Tiste Simeon, on 12 June 2024 - 09:29 AM, said:

I've seen a lot of people saying the same TRB. While I was never into DA even half as much as I was into ME (I love you FemShep!) the dark and gritty beauty of those games was a thing to behold. It will be interesting to see how it evolves as they get closer to release.

The gameplay looks more on a par with Dragon Age and picks up the Solas story straight away, so it would suggest dark a-plenty.

Spoiler

And I'm pretty sure a key character is going to die in the thirty seconds or so after the gameplay footage cut off - which is a yikes very early in the game!

I'm not kidding anyone - I'm buying it the minute it comes out and will probably book a day or so off to play it, so I'm definitely still very excited. It just feels like a weird mistake for a studio as experienced as Bioware to make with one of their major IP properties.

[Maark Abbott]

They've made it in two games - I never played the DA2 DLCs so going into Inquisition I had literally zero clue who the hell this Corypheltits guy was. So I'm not hopeful. I want to be, but...

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Maark Abbott, on 12 June 2024 - 11:47 AM, said:

They've made it in two games - I never played the DA2 DLCs so going into Inquisition I had literally zero clue who the hell this Corypheltits guy was. So I'm not hopeful. I want to be, but...

Each to their own, I guess - I played Inquisition without DA2 (and now I've played 2, I think that DLC is one of the weaker parts of it) and it didn't bother me particularly, so I don't think knowing who Corypheus was prior was integral to enjoying it.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 12 June 2024 - 12:24 PM

[Maark Abbott]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 12 June 2024 - 12:21 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 12 June 2024 - 11:47 AM, said:

They've made it in two games - I never played the DA2 DLCs so going into Inquisition I had literally zero clue who the hell this Corypheltits guy was. So I'm not hopeful. I want to be, but...

Each to their own, I guess - I played Inquisition without DA2 (and now I've played 2, I think that DLC is one of the weaker parts of it) and it didn't bother me particularly, so I don't think knowing who Corypheus was prior was integral to enjoying it.

Oh no, not integral - but it was a 'huh, who is this guy' moment that was then soured somewhat by finding out he's the focus of a DLC I hadn't touched and that contextualised him and why he was such a desperate threat, rather than being a giant space flea from nowhere.

I'll reserve judgment on the new game until I can see some proper gameplay or play a demo. It could be good. I would like it to be good!

[Avatar]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 11 June 2024 - 09:54 PM, said:

Dragon Age is having a completely bizarre few days.

The trailer for the new game (now titled The Veilguard, rather than Dreadwolf) seems to be a poorly judged mess (it honestly looked like Disney does Dragon Age) which jars terribly with the gameplay footage released today, which gave me a much more positive feeling about the game. Some people in marketing really need a talking to.

Totally agree, on both the trailer and the gameplay.

[Tiste Simeon]

I finished Ghost of Tsushima and it's honestly up there in the best games I've ever played. Such a beautiful, immersive experience.

Picked up Assassin's Creed Valhalla for cheap so I'm playing that now. I can't get it but I just love these games, even though the combat thus far feels a little clunky compared to Ghost of Tsushima.

[Mentalist]

Reveal trailer for veilguard was... okay. I don't mind the "band of misfits" concept, since it's basically what Origins was.

Gameplay trailer looked like a prettied up version of something like Witcher 2. Not being able to issue orders to companions is...a choice. One that essentially strips a big part of what differentiated Dragon Age as a series.


It still looks okay, but definitely not a Day 1 purchase.

Anyway, it's Steam NextFest week, and ALL THE DEMOS are there. I'm feasting on AA goodness like Steel Seed, Dungeons of Hintenberg, Caravan SandWitch, The Alters, Dustborn, Flintlock, Fading Skies, Enotria, etc.

Good times.