What Video Game Are You Currently Playing?

[Lippeth]

I've been in a beat 'em up mood for the past few weeks, since the TMNT game came out. After peeking at the file structure of the game, I noticed that there are a lot of loose assets, so I started making music, recolor and graphic mods for it and it made me realize how spoiled I am within the Doom community where people tend to credit the resources they use. And there's a general mentality in other communities (not all, of course) where mods are only made to "fix" subjective issues that the player thinks the developer overlooked or are too stupid to add in, rather than celebrating a new platform for creativity. Left a weird taste in my mouth, so I stopped modding just to enjoy the original game.

 

I then decided to buy Streets of Rage 4 because I couldn't blink without someone comparing Shredder's Revenge to it, so I gave it a try. I didn't think I would like the art style, not for the high resolution sprites, but for the hardware lighting that reminds me of Octopath Traveler; something about 3D style lighting that influences the colors of 2d assets never looked good to me. Anyway, I really enjoyed the game and got over my issues with lighting, but after being worn down with an emphasis on combos similar to a modern fighting game, my enjoyment was short-lived in search of something more simple.

 

I then discovered Streets of Rage Remake (way too late), an oddly mysterious fan game combining the first three games together in a very fun remix, full of customization and modding tools. It was officially shut down by Sega, but still has a healthy player base. I've been playing that almost nonstop for the past week along with the Golden Axe games. And at long last I am beginning to feel the beat 'em up vibes leaving my system, and have started playing random tennis games on the Sega Genesis.

[Arrowhead]

Been playing the hell out of Forza Horizon 5; also been playing the arena-shooter Hypercharge: Unboxed, and just started A Plague Tale - Innocence. :)

[Daytime Waitress]

2 hours ago, Shanoa said:

Yeah at most from 2 to 8 you'll just see the increase in roster, some extra mechanics (such as EX attacks) and stages revamp from one installment to the next. The ultimate musou experience comes in the form of the Warrior Orochi games, as it combine Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors roster into one game + Orochi's specific characters (guest characters in some cases too). KOEI finally ported Orochi 3 to PC a few days ago and it's considered the best Orochi game, worth checking out if you have money to spare (Orochi 4 Ultimate is also solid)

 

And yeah, Dynasty Warriors 8/Xtreme 8 is the weapon switching one, it's also my personal favorite mainline entry. Every characters get a unique weapon (compared to 7) and story mode includes "what ifs" stages when you fulfill some objectives.

 

I think it was because I played so many in one amorphous blob, but the Orochi games never clicked with me. I might have to go back to it at some point, though, so thanks for the rec (although KT are one of those "nickel-and-dime hoover" publishers that I have a hard time giving money to).

 

1 hour ago, TwinBeast said:

Resident Evil 4. Feels exciting. Also gave me some Blood vibes in the castle with the cultists.

 

The way they shambled towards you with the morningstars - gave 'em so much personality.

 

1 hour ago, Lippeth said:

After peeking at the file structure of the game, I noticed that there are a lot of loose assets, so I started making music, recolor and graphic mods for it and it made me realize how spoiled I am within the Doom community where people tend to credit the resources they use. And there's a general mentality in other communities (not all, of course) where mods are only made to "fix" subjective issues that the player thinks the developer overlooked or are too stupid to add in, rather than celebrating a new platform for creativity. Left a weird taste in my mouth, so I stopped modding just to enjoy the original game.

 

I feel the same way about modding in the simracing community: there are a tonne of talented folks adding amazing cars and tracks to all manner of games, but there's also a lot of drama surrounding paid mods and stolen assets and, you're spot on, the Doom community is very lucky in comparison. I wonder how the game's age or relatively smaller player base factors into that...

 

1 hour ago, Lippeth said:

 I didn't think I would like the art style, not for the high resolution sprites, but for the hardware lighting that reminds me of Octopath Traveler; something about 3D style lighting that influences the colors of 2d assets never looked good to me.

 

I downloaded the Live-A-Live remake the other day, but still haven't played it precisely because I realised that it also does the sprites + dynamic lighting combo. Vomitrocious.

 

1 hour ago, Lippeth said:

I then discovered Streets of Rage Remake (way too late), an oddly mysterious fan game combining the first three games together in a very fun remix, full of customization and modding tools. It was officially shut down by Sega, but still has a healthy player base. I've been playing that almost nonstop for the past week along with the Golden Axe games.

 

I was lucky enough to play SRR when it first dropped, and had a blast with it.

What Golden Axe game are you enjoying most?

[Lippeth]

14 minutes ago, Daytime Waitress said:

I was lucky enough to play SRR when it first dropped, and had a blast with it.

What Golden Axe game are you enjoying most?

Yeah I'm really late in discovering SoR Remake only now, but am really enjoying it, and am replaying the original games to compare and contrast, and because they're also fun. I never played them as a kid so it's not really a nostalgia thing, I just really like that style of beat 'em up, where the game seems simple at first until you naturally discover all the nuances in the controls and move sets. Newer games seem to try and make the controls more obvious from the start, which is cool but sometimes that discovery is what makes a game click as a player and feel more personal.

 

It's hard to say which Golden Axe game I like the best, stock answer would be the first one on the arcade using MAME, just because it's so short and has a really strong and clear presentation, but Revenge of Death Adder is really wild and I like the huge sprites and a more evenly leveled sound mix. Then again, the second one on the Genesis/MD has a lot going for it. I'm bad with picking favorites, I really enjoy playing all of them.

 

24 minutes ago, Daytime Waitress said:

I feel the same way about modding in the simracing community: there are a tonne of talented folks adding amazing cars and tracks to all manner of games, but there's also a lot of drama surrounding paid mods and stolen assets and, you're spot on, the Doom community is very lucky in comparison. I wonder how the game's age or relatively smaller player base factors into that...

I mean is it really so hard to copy and paste an author's name, sheesh. The Shredder's Revenge modding community is so new and so small that I personally know over half of them now after collaborating and sharing new discoveries, so when I roll over to Steam and see "BEST RETRO MOD OVERHAUL 2022" etc and can immediately match each asset to specific authors that I know but don't see my or their names anywhere, it makes me wonder what the goal of doing that even is other than annoying people.

[Daytime Waitress]

20 minutes ago, Lippeth said:

The Shredder's Revenge modding community is so new and so small that I personally know over half of them now after collaborating and sharing new discoveries, so when I roll over to Steam and see "BEST RETRO MOD OVERHAUL 2022" etc and can immediately match each asset to specific authors that I know but don't see my or their names anywhere, it makes me wonder what the goal of doing that even is other than annoying people.

 

That's pretty disgusting, but also absolutely expected on Steam. I guess all you can do is report and try and get those kind of shit-heels banned, and be as vocal as possible about it. I hope it doesn't discourage the other modders like it has you, to the point where it just up and dies.

Edited July 15, 2022 by Daytime Waitress

[Lippeth]

1 hour ago, Daytime Waitress said:

That's pretty disgusting, but also absolutely expected on Steam. I guess all you can do is report and try and get those kind of shit-heels banned, and be as vocal as possible about it. I hope it doesn't discourage the other modders like it has you, to the point where it just up and dies.

I've just been leaving comments asking to be credited, and one of them just added credits about an hour ago so that works out, at least for me. I can't do anything about the other authors except inform them, but I'm actually pleasantly surprised they added credits at all, but it's still disappointing that they didn't do it from the start. It's like the most basic thing, cite your sources.

[Shanoa]

7 hours ago, Daytime Waitress said:

 

I think it was because I played so many in one amorphous blob, but the Orochi games never clicked with me. I might have to go back to it at some point, though, so thanks for the rec (although KT are one of those "nickel-and-dime hoover" publishers that I have a hard time giving money to).

I agree, they have horrendous pricing on a lot of their products. In Canada, with our AMAZING dollars, if I wanted to buy one of the Atelier games trilogy it's like 100$+ when a lot of collections goes by the full retail price instead. (79,99 here).

 

That and their least than desirable DLC practices but godamnit I'm a sucker for a musou game occasionally.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Shanoa

[Kokoro Hane]

Been playing an indie title called Bumpers & Broadswords TOURNAMENT which is really quite fun. You play an in-world tabletop called Bumpers & Broadswords, compete against other in-game players, win victory chips at official gauntlets, etc etc. I like how there's strategy involved with all the different bumper types, stats, and advantages. It's pretty fun, straight forward, arcade-y style gameplay, I also love its very small filesize but it's packed with a lot of fun. 

[Daytime Waitress]

17 hours ago, Shanoa said:

That and their least than desirable DLC practices but godamnit I'm a sucker for a musou game occasionally.

 

What characters do you enjoy most in DW8?

Always partial to Zhang Fei and Zhurong.

And I don't care how stupid Huang Gai's pain canoe was, it's still the most fun.

[Shanoa]

Just now, Daytime Waitress said:

 

What characters do you enjoy most in DW8?

Always partial to Zhang Fei and Zhurong.

And I don't care how stupid Huang Gai's pain canoe was, it's still the most fun.

Too many to count but in 8 I had a blast with Zhou Yu, Lu Lingqi, Yu Jin and Guan Yinping in recent times.

[mrthejoshmon]

I'm playing through Armored Core, completed 1 and the standalone expansions for PS1, finished 2 and have imported my save into Silent Line.

 

Absolutely adore it, I am not using save states and I am instead using an (emulated) memory card to get the full experience of loading your save when messing something up, makes you more cautious that way.

 

Here's my core following my normal garish Purple/Yellow ("gold") colour scheme, I usually like to play the mobile but survivable type with an automatic weapon which makes the boss fights/arena matches into high effort dogfights over slugging matches.

Spoiler

 

One thing I love is the absolutely avant-garde soundtrack, never heard anything like it, some of the more "conventional" tracks are pretty good though, one of these more conventional tracks are my favourite.

[thiccyosh]

I've decided to pick up Zelda Breath of the Wild again after a long time, because I desperately need to take a break on Doom. I forgot how seriously good this game is!

 

This website (https://objmap.zeldamods.org/#/map/z3,0,0) also makes this game waay more easy if you need to collect some Korok seeds.

[Thelokk]

Got my hands on the first Dune rts, superb. The point and click elements only enrich it. 

[Azuris]

Simcity 2000 on Win 3.1 over Dosbox.

Tried to get into Simcity 3000, but something just doesn't click with me.
So i keep playing 2000 or 4 Deluxe.

[TwinBeast]

The water jet ride killed me more than the final boss, which I survived on my first attempt. Krauser also went down on my first attempt. The scorpion boss killed me a few times.

 

End of game stats, kinda long game, and there's still some extra missions unlocked now:

[Lila Feuer]

Resumed Dark Souls Remastered after nearly a year of inactivity, I last left off at Anor Londo and it is quite the place to become reacquainted with the game lol. That said I'm addicted again.

[The BMFG]

was playing manhunt but during the beginning of view of innocence, the level where you meet the the innocentz but it crahsed. and the glitch keeps repeating and i dont know how to fix it, guess ill just skip to manhunt 2

 

[OniriA]

Ion Fury, and loving it.

 

[D0M0]

Replaying Resident Evil:Village

[D0M0]

Just now, D0M0 said:

Replaying Resident Evil:Village

Even on my second time playing, I can never understand any of the puzzles

[Smouths]

Just picked up Powerslave: Exhumed for the Switch last week. Not very far through it yet, and worried I'll eventually put it down because of the backtracking through levels aspect, but blown away by Nightdive's work as always.

 

Also wondering if I should've started the game on a higher difficulty setting, lol. I chose the easiest because I'm generally terrible with the joycons X)

Edited July 27, 2022 by Smouths

[Arrowhead]

Playing through the original Call of Duty (2003) again - forgot how oldschool it was. No regenerating health, quicksaves/quickloads, toggled ironsights, etc.

 

Really quite enjoying it. I think they started using regen health in the second game. It's actually  a pretty good bridge between oldschool and newschool FPS games.

 

Def worth a try when you see it on sale.

[RDETalus]

Fallout Tactics

This is my favorite Fallout series game. The story is about liberal faction of the Brotherhood of Steel that gets "exiled" to Chicago due to ideological differences. A disaster strikes the expedition and many are killed. With no oversight from the original BOS on the west coast, the remnants are left to forge their own path.

 

The midwestern BOS is a very interesting contrast to the west coast BOS from the first two games. They have radical beliefs such as "technology should be shared" and "humans and ghouls are equal." They will allow literally anyone to join their BOS. However, that doesn't make them good people. They are aggressively expansionist and each mission has plenty of grey morality for the player to ponder about.

Edited July 27, 2022 by RDETalus

[pilottobombadier]

In between the first Mass Effect (second playthrough) and Steamworld Dig.  Steamworld Dig is first playthrough, second attempt.  It's actually a really good game.  Mass Effect is...well, it was great when it came out.  Those shooting mechanics are shit, though.

[thestupidmeddy]

I'm playing Doom(duh), also I bought and got into Stardew Valley. Nice and chill game.

[Azuris]

On 7/15/2022 at 10:38 PM, Lippeth said:

I then discovered Streets of Rage Remake (way too late), an oddly mysterious fan game combining the first three games together in a very fun remix, full of customization and modding tools. It was officially shut down by Sega, but still has a healthy player base.

 

I also really can recommend this Game, never knew it was shut down, at is veeeery simple to find.

 

Netherless, it is so fun to play and the Stuff to buy with Points is a very good Idea for such a Game.

 

My Wife thought Beat em ups are cheap boring Games, she didn't understood what it fun about it.

I compared it to Bayonetta or God of War, only in 2D.

 

Finally, i've got her to play Streets of Rage 4 with me and she had much fun playing it.

 

Lets see if i can convince her to play Shredders Revange :P

My Copy should arrive end of the Week.

If i can fix her, maybe i can play Turtles in Time with her hehe.

 

[Lippeth]

2 minutes ago, Azuris said:

I also really can recommend this Game, never knew it was shut down, at is veeeery simple to find.

Sega told them to stop in 2011 after giving them the go-ahead around 2003, though there was a huge update a few years ago and the author(s) are nowhere to be seen online. Modders seem to not like the update because it broke all their mods, but as a player it's the definitive version.

 

6 minutes ago, Azuris said:

Lets see if i can convince her to play Shredders Revange :P

My Copy should arrive end of the Week.

If i can fix her, maybe i can play Turtles in Time with her hehe.

It might be harder for some people to enjoy the pixel aesthetic or chibi look of Shredder's Revenge, at least that's what I see on the Steam forums, but damn the sprites and environments do look great. Though if you play online, be prepared to get nauseated by the repeated special move sound effects from being spammed by other players. While I do prefer the more nuanced move set of Turtles in Time, the dodge mechanic in Shredder's revenge is a nice touch. It's more of a button masher than the combo-focused Streets of Rage 4, but that's part of what I love about it. I'm excited to read what you (and her) think about it when it arrives!

[TheFocus]

making my way through Red Dead Redemption 2 again, playing Sonic Mania on the side. oh yeah, and Doom as well. 

[whybmonotacrab]

I'm playing ADACA. Basically if Half Life 2 were more focused on tight challenging combat challenges. It's really solid so far.

[Lemonzest]

Getting my ass handed to me on Elden Ring (PS5) and Live A Live (Switch)