Video game spotlight thread
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Y'all idiots wanna hand me free money?
Careful, you're starting to sound like @flabdablet.
Also: No.
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Goddamned maybe I should set up a patreon. Y'all idiots wanna hand me free money?
Unless you're going to play Minecraft videos and scream about budder[1], you're not likely to make a lot of cash from it.
[1] yes, I know he stopped.
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Somehow that post reminds me of the apaches in Terraria.
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Note: The daily sales are actually for two days, but the ones unlocked by the silly browser game are only for a single day.
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https://www.patreon.com/bay12games?ty=h
"Hello, I'm whoever the hell you guys are talking about, and I'm less popular than Dwarf Fortress."
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So, Valve is about to launch their DOTA2 Source 2 Beta.
Here's hoping Source 2 impresses.
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What they've done to Hammer is impressive, if nothing else.
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Part of that is because Hammer is pretty terrible.
As I recall, UnrealEdit (launched in 1998ish) was better.
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They did the thing I thought of, which must mean I had a really obvious idea.
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High praise from me: for a tower defense game, Creeper World 3 is actually pretty innovative and fun.
You basically play creep-vs-creep.
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The "evil" creep is purple, and you build a series of collector nodes to make your own network to defeat it. The purple creep just constantly flows from generators, so you need to create a "hole" in it with turrets until you can get close enough to plant a bomb next to them, which destroys it permanently.
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#Wings of Vi
Wings of Vi is a challenging 2D platformer in which you play as the angel Vi, tasked with defeating the Demon Lord Jeh’oul after he is freed from captivity.
It feels like it's a platformer that wants to be more like "I Wanna Be The Guy" but "easier" in that not everything kills you instantly. Effectively, it's a puzzle platformer with a bit of action mixed in. I didn't read in too closely, opting to read the reviews more for feedback than the description, otherwise I probably would've passed on the game.
Speaking of, the description:
The game takes inspiration from "Megaman", "Cave Story", and "Castlevania", along with a host of masochistic retro platformers, while cutting out the arbitrary difficulty of hidden traps and pixel-perfect jumps in favor of skill based gameplay.
Emphasis mine. Problem is, very early on, you do have to deal with "pixel perfect" jumps (not 100% exact but two different attempts on some of these jumps that felt like they happened at the same point had different results), then when you get the "flutter" ability, the timing issue starts to get worse, because you have points where you have to walk off a platform, hit "flutter" to dip under something, then jump out to a platform. Do it too early, you hit the thing you're trying to go under, too late, you fall to your death.
Only after a long path of precise jumps like that mixed with crumbling platforms and a few enemies that kill me in two hits, you finally get to a point where there is an item you can activate that will give you a preview of the path you will go. Nice, but a bit late, and oh, there's one of those enemies on the path too, and you can't tell when it is shooting until you get there, which may screw you up since you have to slide under its shots on a crumbling platform, and this is after having to dodge one of them, so you may already have been hit.
Now, for the reviews, a number of the top ones mention "Dark Souls" as an in comparison game.
Dark Souls is one of my top games, I enjoy it immensely, and it's a game I would say is "hard, but fair." The only guaranteed instant death in Dark Souls is falling too far, and any other points where it may seem like something is an instant death (like opening a Mimic chest), you can actually survive. A lot of people claimed Dark Souls was "trial and error," which isn't really the case, as plenty of people could go through areas and beat bosses first try by being careful, being perceptive, and being skilled. Trial and error is really reserved for something you don't get much chance to see ahead of time and generally forces you to redo for messing up anything, and that's not Dark Souls.
In comparison, Wings of Vi is "arbitrarily hard" and does suffer from "trial and error." Specific example (I wish I had a screenshot of the bottom of this section, but I don't):
To get to that platform I'm currently on, I had to jump on 3 crumbling platforms below and to the right of where the character is. Each of those platforms was made of 2 blocks. The switch to the left opens the path to go, but also knocks you back down. That means you have to go up those crumbling platforms twice, and if you slip at all and break both blocks, you have to die to try it again. Oh, and there's only one safe spot below the platform above, so you have to flutter over an enemy that can kill in two hits, jump to the crumbling platform, then jump up it without blowing away the whole platform, and crumbling platforms only reset on death.
In all, I'm not saying it's "absolutely terrible" or anything, only that so far the initial impression is pushing me away. If you're a fan of "punishing" platformers or other challenging games somewhat similar to them (like bullet hell shooters), you might like it. I'm going to keep on with it, see if it gets better (and I know one thing that would help, an actual double jump, but I'm only about a half hour into it).I can't recommend this game at all. Read the rest to see why. You might like it if you liked "I Wanna Be The Guy", but I didn't, and I don't much like this game either.
Oh, but one more item in the this game <-> Dark Souls comparison, Wings of Vi doesn't actually pause when you "pause" the game, similar to Dark Souls. But at least Dark Souls has an excuse, since it was built for online play.
Edit: Speaking of "bullet hell shooter", I'm on the second boss, and the game just turned into a new level of BS.
Playing on normal difficulty, I have 100 health (top left corner). This boss, if it hits me with pink spit, does 15 damage. If it hits me physically, 20. That means I can take 5 to 7 hits, max. The spikes are, for once, not instant death, but do 20 damage. Some of the attacks the boss has are followed up with pink spit that I have to avoid, which gives little time to actually get in any hits. Each hit from me does 1 damage, though the attack does multiple swings and I can get up to 5 swings to connect on a single attack.
The boss has 5 attacks:
- Stay on the right, push me back, and spits lines at me. I have to dodge by jumping or sliding where the spit line isn't. Then, before it leaves to do another attack, it gets close, but spits a spray if you're close in to attack.
- Fly closer in to the platform, then machine gun spits where you are. To avoid, you go from one end of the platform to the other. Then it hovers in for a bit letting you attack.
- Hover overhead and stomps on you. The earliest tell is the angel it is holding appearing above you. It stomps three times, and the best way to dodge is to slide, but sliding takes you the length of the platform.
- Dive bombing, you have to run off the back of the platform, hover, then jump back on. You don't get a chance to attack on this one.
- Flying across the screen, it goes from right to left three times, you have to jump, but while jumping you can swing down. Once it comes in from the right the third time, it sprays spit while it flies up off the screen.
Doesn't seem to bad, but once you get the boss to 30% health, it goes into phase 2, and the attacks change slightly:
- The spit lines to dodge are a bit longer, but not any more difficult.
- The end of each machine gun spit fires a circle of spit with gaps, which you have to try and jump through, but you're actually a fairly big target, and the hit detection is a bit biased.
- Each stomp becomes two stomps, the second trying to get closer to where you moved to.
- When the boss is directly over the platform, it releases a circle of spit, just like in #2, which you have to worry about while you're still trying to get back on the platform.
- The boss leaves a trail of fire on the platform as he passes through it, so you have to hover after jumping.
I'm on try #25 or higher now, still only got to "phase 2" twice so far. This boss fight is making me much more inclined to actually not recommend the game at all.
Killed it, finally, on try #30, one hit from dying myself.
And immediately after that boss is some more "trial and error" memorization bullshit:
What's the point in showing me height and width attributes if you just fucking ignore them Discourse? I have to make a single image manually to do what I wanted.
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Single-player games without pause are satan. And yes, that includes Dark Souls.
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What about multiplayer games with pause?
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#DarkQuest
Did you ever play HeroQuest? It's fairly similar to that, except with a computer as the Game Master.
It's rough around the edges and doesn't give you any means to play strategically, but it's still a bit of fun, especially if you have history with HeroQuest (yes, that means most of the enjoyment is nostalgia related).
If you don't have any history with HeroQuest, you might just want to give it a pass, though it's regularly $5 and currently 30% off during the Summer Sale. Or, if you want to play it on Android or iOS, it's also available on those (and I think it's only $2 there).
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I can't solve all your problems for you, Ben L.
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I was asking your opinion of Dota 2.
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Creeper World 3 is actually pretty innovative and fun
QFT.
It's great - especially with all the new stuff compared to 1/2.
(Multiple bases? Transport planes? TERRAFORMING?!)
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DarkQuest
Did you ever play HeroQuest? It's fairly similar to that, except with a computer as the Game Master.
It's rough around the edges and doesn't give you any means to play strategically, but it's still a bit of fun, especially if you have history with HeroQuest (yes, that means most of the enjoyment is nostalgia related).
If you don't have any history with HeroQuest, you might just want to give it a pass, though it's regularly $5 and currently 30% off during the Summer Sale. Or, if you want to play it on Android or iOS, it's also available on those (and I think it's only $2 there).
I like the looks of this. Once I'm home, I'll go through all my accounts, just in case I already bought this.
If not, I think I'll dish out the $5 on their humble bundle store link. Support the developers!
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What about multiplayer games with pause?
Some NWN servers support that, somehow -- I don't want to know what sort of netcode gymnastics BioWare went through to do that..
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I looked on steam, and Neptunia Ch1 is on sale. I should finish it some time. It was kind of fun. It's full of awful game references, and would probably melt blakey. It was also some kind of semi-turn-based rpg with an acceptable battle system, which I wish would give you interesting weapons more often, since usually you only get ones with 1sqr coverage. I still love that you can aim that square just right so that two enemies are in it, because the diagonal cross-section is larger than the horizontal one. Note to self: see if the second one is on sale.
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[spoiler]
[/spoiler]That's a FEATURED screenshot, not a community one. That's a screenshot the developers took, then nodded to themselves and said, "people who see this image will want to buy our game."
I'm going to spoiler it because it will get you fired.
NOTE: this game is rated T for Teen.
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Yep, that's the one. It's an alright RPG, though. It may have too many characters is all. And I imagine most people wouldn't understand why MAGES. (The . is part of the name, they make a point of it) keeps talking about Dr. Pepper. I bought the first one because I was bored, had seen the anime, and it was on sale. The Japanese voice for the main character is horrific.
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That's a screenshot the developers took, then nodded to themselves and said, "people who see this image will want to buy our game."
NOTE: this game is rated T for Teen.
Sounds like they know their audience pretty well
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#The Fall
Summary: You play as a combat suit that crash lands on a planet and determines that the pilot inside the suit is unconscious and likely dying, so the suit, under its own power, follows the protocols it has to try and get help to rescue the unconscious pilot.
What the game is, is a mix of point and click adventure (find items, use items on things to progress) and side scrolling shooter (aim in any direction, shoot security bots that fire back). Sometimes the features mix over, and you use the side scrolling shooter mechanics to help solve the puzzles. It's not bad on that front, though at some points you may find yourself spending a bunch of time trying everything on everything you have seen and feeling you're stuck until you get an "ah-ha" moment.
It actually is somewhat well written and interesting, though also a bit misleading because, through the process of the game, you unlock abilities that are "restricted" and would normally have to be authorized by the pilot, but there is a list of abilities it gives and you only activate 3 of them (2 at the beginning, one nearer to the end).
I won't spoil the game, but the ending sets itself up for a sequel, which they already are working on. What I will "spoil" is, it's a game you can complete in 3 hours (I have 2.9 hours on record when I quit), so you have to consider that if you want to get it, though for the next 37 hours and 30 minutes on the Steam Summer Sale, it's on sale for $2 US, so it doesn't hurt to pick it up especially if you're picking up anything else on sale.
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at some points you may find yourself spending a bunch of time trying everything on everything you have seen and feeling you're stuck until you get an "ah-ha" moment
So, just like every point and click ever then.
I've tried to get into quite a few over the years, but the convoluted logic always hits a point where I feel like I can't work it out and have to look it up online. At which point every minor roadblock is a huge temptation and I end up either quitting the game or spending about as much time watching other people do it on Youtube as I do actually playing
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I just noticed System Shock 2 is selling for 0.99€ on Steam for the next 7 hours, so if like me you've missed this classic — and you're a cheapskate — you may want to grab it now.
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I just noticed System Shock 2 is selling for 0.99€ on Steam for the next 7 hours, so if like me you've missed this classic — and you're a cheapskate — you may want to grab it now.
Is it as good as the GoG release?
I keep hearing that you should try to buy old games there because they include patches and such.
(Also, 1.39€ there)
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I don't know. I'm in the process of buying it now. What I can say is "Additional Information: Game Patched to version 2.42".
Gog version is DRM-free, as usual, and it's only 0.40€ extra, so... :scratch_chin:
Edit: according to Steam, it requires 2GB disk space, according to GOG it's 357 MB
You know you want to
Yes. Yes I do.And it's less form data to fill in (I haven't bought anything directly through Steam yet).Still bought The Fall from Steam.I had to agree to their Subscriber Agreement:
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Cow orker just sent me this link. It looks amazing, and I love a 95% off.
Dino D-Day on Steam
Frantic, multiplayer action involving Nazis and dinosaurs! What are you waiting for? This is World War II as it should have been!
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Check 'em.
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Cow orker just sent me this link. It looks amazing, and I love a 95% off.
Frantic, multiplayer action involving Nazis and dinosaurs! What are you waiting for? This is World War II as it should have been!
(Unnecessarily?) Paging @blakeyrat.
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Frantic
naah
multiplayer action
nope
involving Nazis and dinosaurs
OK, maybe I should give it a try...
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Why?
I played that when it came out, it's pretty fun. Not very balanced though.
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Why?
Because I'm not telepathic, so I didn't know if you knew about it or not.
I thought it would be the kind of game you'd like, so better to err on the side of caution.
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Purchased. Steam wouldn't let me stay logged into my account, so I could give them their fucking 2 dollars.
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Oh, and in case anyone wondered, I went ahead and bought that second Hyperdimension Neptunia. It's pretty much guaranteed to be a better game, since Neptune won't be the main character, meaning I don't have to hear her talk. I'd never experienced a Japanese dub that's as bad as an English one before.
Also, what's with the embodiment of Serga's next-gen gaming console being the main character? That's not a thing! You know that, Japan!
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The Fall
Picked this up last night. The controls are a little wonky, and it suffers from some typical adventure game tropes like "find the tiny hidden icon you need to click" and "how the fuck was I supposed to guess where to use this item". I wouldn't even go so far as to call them puzzles at all, but I'm only about an hour in. I've still been enjoying it despite the complaints though.
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At which point every minor roadblock is a huge temptation
This is definitely true for me for point-and-click adventures. Be stuck for a couple hours or more, look up solution. Next time, look it up a little sooner... then a little sooner... then a little sooner, and pretty soon it's if I'm stuck for 5 minutes.That being said, I have gone through a few games like this (Return to Zork, Myst + sequels, The Longest Journey, probably one or two others) and still enjoy it.
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I've noticed that some point and click adventures even have hint buttons these days to try to combat this.
Incidentally, I know some adventure games also do humorous things if you use the wrong items.
The best example of this I can think of is in Torin's Passage if you use the bagpipes on Lycentia at the game's end.
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You guys are making me want to watch the Retsupurae videos of King's Quest V and VI again.
"What the fuck was that puzzle?! They could have replaced this monster with a slot in the wall labeled 'insert tambourine, receive hairpin.'"
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Sierra games were especially bad about that. How did someone put it again?
In the opening to Phantasmagoria 2, you had to get your pet mouse to grab your wallet from under the couch despite it CLEARLY being within your reach.
(that was a paraphrase of a review I heard)
LucasArts games, the later ones in particular, were a bit better about that... but not always.
That Torin's Passage thing I mentioned earlier results in you dying... you get the normal Sierra-style death screen, but instead of a Narrator narrating what it says, you instead hear the game's creator, Al Lowe, congratulating you for doing something completely silly instead of completing the game.
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<whitespace>In order to construct the costume, Gabriel Knight must manufacture a fake moustache. Utilizing the style of logic adventure game creators share with morons, Knight must do this even though Moseley does not have a moustache.
Who killed Adventure Games? I think it should be pretty clear at this point that Adventure Games committed suicide.
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what was that game were you could throw all your items into a lake?
that was evil, there's no way someone could have done that without knowing how much it would fuck up
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DOTA 2 Reborn (the Source 2 version of DOTA 2) went into public Beta a few hours ago.
I guess we'll see how Source 2 is looking and running.
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Edit: according to Steam, it requires 2GB disk space, according to GOG it's 357 MB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ScjZGArpUs
TL;DR: it has a co-op mod added and some community bugfixes.
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#Two really good games I bought in the sale:
A Story About My Uncle is a first person platforming adventure game about a boy who searches for his lost uncle, and ends up in a world he couldn’t imagine existed. The movement is a crucial part of the games core gameplay – focusing on swinging through the world with a grappling hook that gives...
Experience the freedom of unbounded climbing as you take control of BUD, a procedurally animated robot on a quest to save his planet. Create your own path through an alien world as you control and ride a giant plant on a vertical journey to the stars.
They both fall into the category of "games without an elongated failure state that consist of rock climbing using methods that most games either ignore or don't notice and that have light blue crystals that make you able to move around more easily".
#Also a third one which I got as a birthday present:
Cities: Skylines is a modern take on the classic city simulation. The game introduces new game play elements to realize the thrill and hardships of creating and maintaining a real city whilst expanding on some well-established tropes of the city building experience.
This one is for people who want to play Dwarf Fortress but don't like micromanaging the jobs of every character. Or for people who want to play Sim City but don't like installing malware on their computer.
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Ancient Domains of Mystery
Nice world, good story, varied races and professions, stable overland, generated dungeons all adds up to a lot of fun that I've been enjoying on and off for +7 years.
