Ditto. tbh after hearing Ben Starr in the first few seconds of the trailer, I was hooked, but the style and gameplay showcased definitely impressed me even more.
I finally started Horizon: Forbidden West - gameplay changes compared to HZD keep trickling in and I couldn’t be happier. I love Aloy’s character so I’m really happy to be in her shoes again.
This past week was pretty disappointing before that:
Hellblade II was good, but nowhere near as impactful as the first one for me. I’m left with a sour taste overall, although I’ll admit they did a tremendous job with cinematography and character rendering.
Stellar Blade was insipid. Whatever could save it in my book - its gameplay - turns out stale pretty quickly, so I ended up abandoning the game midway. The story and characters were really uninteresting imo, couple that with how EVE is represented… I couldn’t really find any redeeming qualities.
Absolutely! You could sort of “cheese” your way into climbing some parts of the world of Zero Dawn, but Forbidden West’s climbing is much improved - to the point that I’ve been getting sidetracked a number of times already just exploring and getting to great vistas.
That’s right! It’s referenced in the video as well (and from memory Neil also mentioned it in a previous video, but I wouldn’t be able to link to it tbf)
I finished DMC 5 SE sometime last week (or the “primary” arc at least) and it was fun as heck.
I moved on to Stellar Blade, combat is very fun/engaging, but story is utter sh*t (so comparisons with NieR were definitely unwarranted IMO, seeing as it’s pretty much the opposite of my experience with Automata).
As far as this weekend goes, I am playing Hellblade II, which was probably my most anticipated game of the year. I am loving it so far!
As I've gotten older as a player, I have found myself dropping some eras of gaming that I used to be nostalgic for. One of them is the 8-bit era, the NES days. I have played some of the best that system had to offer and I will never say that system didn't have any good games....
Most handhelds tbh.
I didn’t really grow up with “traditional” (home) consoles, but I always had handhelds (and a PC).
I have trouble going back to most handheld games pre-Vita nowadays, even if I remember the PSP (and GBA to a certain extent) fondly, between the controls, smaller screen and cut versions of games vs their home console counterparts, it’s hard to go back. Emulation makes it somewhat nicer for me, but still.
And let’s not begin with GB or GG games, they have a certain charm, but I usually can’t stand them for more than 5 mins nowadays.
Shmups, I’m only a beginner but I have a few suggestions:
ESP Ra.De. - somewhat slower bullet hell with pretty interesting scoring, the “Psi” re-release has a lot of useful QoL features.
Espgaluda II - you could think of it as a successor to the former, it has refined gameplay and recent releases have great QoL features. Somewhat faster paced bullet hell?
Ikaruga / Radiant Silvergun - Although these are two very different games, they have entirely different mechanisms to most other shmups. Ikaruga feels like a “puzzle” game a lot of the time, while Radiant Silvergun has some light RPG elements. Both are somewhat hard to get into imo.
Dodonpachi Resurrection - great starting point re bullet hells, the recent re-release offers a ton of QoL features and the game itself has interesting scoring / gameplay. Soundtrack is awesome.
Raiden IV - Super biased, but I love the soundstrack. Pretty great, if simple, game otherwise.
I have many more shmups in my backlog (Ketsui, Dodonpachi Daioujou, Battle Garegga, Rolling Gunner, etc) which I’m sure I could recommend, but seeing as I haven’t played them first hand yet… I’ll leave it there for now.
Just finished Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty, which I enjoyed greatly, despite all the jank!
I’ll likely move on to DMC 5 now, since I left it unfinished a few years ago and would like a shorter / fast-pace game atm.
I’ve also been playing a fair amount of Guilty Gear Strive on the side, first real fighting game and it’s a blast so far trying to learn the right combos, cancels, etc…
Not to be a Debby Downer, but you’d either need a LG TV which is already rooted, or one you can root (per the repo’s README, “RootMyTV is unlikely to work on firmware released since mid-2022” and given firmware downgrades are impossible…).
AFAIK firmware updates are opt-out by default, so as long as you connect your LG TV to internet, you’re likely to have received one, but I could be wrong.
Maybe? You would need to know rooting a TV is even a possibility in the first place, I had no idea that was the case and I’ve had my LG TV for over 4 years.
I’m just pointing out some specifics of the prerequisites, which the article did a pretty bad job of highlighting imo, and how this is not the miraculous solution it’s somewhat touted to be.
New week new games! Whatcha all been playing? I decided to finally finish paper Mario ttyd (emulated on dolphin). Almost done with it! Trying to beat bone tail on the 100 level dungeon rn…
Cyberpunk 2077. I just finished Act 2 last night and I’m (probably) about to begin Phantom Liberty.
Really enjoying most of the story and side quests so far!
PSP, hands down. So many incredible games, it was a RPG powerhouse, that screen was great for the time and for me it was an “everything” device (I remember browsing the web and reading mangas on the PSP… Janky but incredible all the same).
The Vita comes close - nigh “home console” games on the go and the OLED screen to make those shine.
Hey whatcha all been playing! I finally finished Alan wake 2 after a long hiatus. Maybe a tad too long but damn what a game. Cannot wait for Control 2 and whatever else Remedy has cooking
I only played through most of the first one, but really enjoyed it! The second one is firmly on my backlog.
As for FFT (WotL), do you have a Vita lying around? Its around $10 USD on the store iirc. Same on Android, but I’m not sure about gamepad support.
A physical copy shouldn’t be much more, be it for the PSP or PSX versions.
Oh, that could likely be it - you might want to look into replacing the laser as they’re pretty cheap and easy to find (but that’s not really what you’re interested in atm I suppose).
Anyways, the emulator you want to look into is DuckStation. It is pretty much full featured (save states, fast-forward/rewind, etc) and the de-facto PSX emulator to beat.
I used to be like you OP, PC-only gamer for a long while, but as I’m getting older (and got back into gaming a few years ago), I’ve mostly been using consoles or equivalents:
PS5 40% of the time
Xbox Series X 20%
Steam Deck 20%
Switch 10%
Super Nt / PS3 / Analogue Pocket / Miyoo Mini Plus / 3DS / Vita, remaining 10%
I finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth a couple days ago after about 110 hours, what a journey!
I’m currently playing a few shmups since I just purchased a (very cheap but perfectly adequate) arcade stick, easy modes for now and “moving up the chain”:
DoDonPachi Resurrection
ESP Ra De
Espgaluda II
Radiant Silvergun
After that, I’ll probably pick Cyberpunk 2077 back up (only 10 hours in from the free trial a few weeks ago).
The Nathan Drake Collection. Uncharted 1 is a bit rough around the edges, but I would recommend going in order of release either way.
Enjoy, those are wonderful games! (I might be slightly biased, Uncharted is probably my favourite video game series tbh)
So I have these old, original Game Boy (like, the grey one with the maroon buttons) games I wanna play again (original Pokemon Blue). What can I get to do so?...
IPS screen mod for your GB, these are usually not too costly iirc ($60 USD?)
GBA SP (AGS 001 is frontlit and AGS 101 is backlit), around the same budget for the former, the latter is more coveted and expensive. (EDIT - initial mistake, the GBA is not front/backlit)
Open source cartreader to dump your carts and saves (and play ROMs wherever you want) - no idea about the budget tbh
Analogue Pocket, it’s great but very likely overkill if all you want to do is play some GB games ($220 USD)
Depending on how comfortable you are with downloading ROMs (and how ethical you feel that is, given you already have the games), you could just do that without spending a penny since GB games have been preserved and are easily accessible.
There’s also a handful of other options (GameCube GB Player, SNES Super GameBoy, etc), but that’s likely more consoles and accessories for you to purchase so I didn’t mention those in detail.
I’ve been using AVG’s Alarm Clock Extreme and am looking to make the switch to a libre option. Any recommendations? The more customization options, the better. I go crazy with my alarm optimization.
That’s mostly true, except for games made specifically harder so that you’d have to rent them multiple times (eg: ActRaiser 2 NTSC-U/C / SNES is much harder than its NTSC-J / SFC counterpart).
Performance issues are definitely present in the console versions of the game, albeit not 4-5s stutters and whether you notice framerate drops or they bother you or not is a different thing entirely I suppose.
My favorite games are Omori, Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds. I cried for hours at the end of those games, and I think the common point in them is high-quality emotional writing and stellar OST (music really affect me) and my attachment to the characters....
I would wholeheartedly recommend the A Plague Tale duology (Innocence and Requiem). They both had a lasting impact on me (especially Requiem) and the overall presentation is really great IMO.
I’m not saying the combat is straight up bad, but throughout my 6-7hrs with the game (so far), it was definitely its most underwhelming aspect IMO.
I have to give it another go, but Sekiro’s was definitely more fun (or at least rewarding), while Ghost of Tsushima’s felt tedious. Maybe it just didn’t “click” for me though.
I just picked up my second CRT last night. A free 27" Sony Trinitron. It has composite only, just like my flat tube Toshiba. Both seem to be working well....
Disclaimer: I’m about as inexperienced as you are (and ended up giving up on CRTs for the time being, but mostly for lack of space tbh).
With that out of the way, my research from a couple years ago netted a couple of results, which might or might not be relevant to you (and I’m guessing you could have already found those), depending on where on the globe you are located.
If those two are not relevant to you, you might want to check your local CL / Kijiji / FB Marketplace / local equivalent(s) for potential listings.
Otherwise you could certainly YOLO it with the Trinitron since it’s well documented, assuming you feel confident enough around high voltage and are equipped with the necessary tools to discharge the tube, etc. From what I’ve seen it’s not as bad as it seems, as long as you you’re careful and follow the right steps/tutorials.
Do you have any spare PCB / whatever lying around you could use to practice soldering with? Components on CRT PCBs are indeed not so small, so I don’t know what sort of prior experience you have with soldering, but bigger components = easier to solder (as long as you use a bigger tip on your soldering iron, and feel free to use flux / add fresh solder).
This game is about to be 4 years old but i finally got around to playing it. I am floored by this game, i couldn’t put it down. I love the new combat style, the cut scenes are great how they just roll straight from the gameplay and back. The music, holy shit, the music. Every track is a banger and makes the fights and story...
Yes! I finally got to it in the past month or so, and I had an incredible time tbh.
Controversial I guess, but that’s in contrast with my playthrough of FF VII OG a couple years back, which I probably idealised throughout the years and imo really didn’t age well.
Remake redeemed the whole “FF VII experience” for me (and I guess we’ll see what they come up with next).
I can personally vouch for the OSSC as a great entry point, however there’s a caveat - if you’ll be mostly playing PS2 / inputting interlaced content and you have the budget for it, you might want to consider the RetroTink 5X, as the OSSC’s bob deinterlacing is not up to par IMO. The 5X is well worth it for that reason alone, otherwise they are both great options.
Wii, you’d be perfectly fine either way, you’ll be able to get 480p 2x on the OSSC or 3x on the 5X.
PS2, you’d really benefit from the 5X for a vast majority of games, which output 480i, as the deinterlacing on the 5X is much better than the OSSC, here’s an example on GT4, and you’d again get 3x (1440p) vs 2x (960p) on the OSSC.
You could try and force 480p via GSM otherwise, if your PS2 is nodded, but I’ve had pretty poor luck with that method so I wouldn’t recommend it.
PS1, that’s debatable, for most games you’d be completely fine either way, but there’s a fair number of them with res switching, which the 5X tends to handle better / without any delay vs the OSSC, so if that matters to you, that could be another pro for the 5X.
You’re kinda in the perfect “target demographic” for the 5X with a PS2 in a way, but it’s a matter of how much flickering bothers you or not, and whether or not the higher output res, more features, etc, is worth the price or not.
Again, both options are absolutely great and you wouldn’t go wrong with either!
I think it’s fair to see the Xbox as a Game Pass box in the short to mid-term, yes. Microsoft’s efforts have been focused on getting everyone on Game Pass, be it Xbox, PC or Mobile (and they would love for other console manufacturers to have it as well).
They are selling Xbox consoles at a loss and are only recouping money on games and Game Pass subscriptions, now that neither Nintendo nor Sony is onboard with bringing the latter to their ecosystem, might as well port their first-party games to competing platforms to make more money.
I used to play PSO V2 regularly until my game broke, and while considering returning to the game I am considering downgrading to V1 to save money and because it’s more common on eBay than the upgraded version I still have....
Assuming it’s nothing to do with your Dreamcast’s laser (in which case you might need to adjust it to get it going, but realistically replace it altogether), have you looked into getting the disc itself resurfaced?
If this hasn’t been done before, this would likely be the first thing to attempt before considering getting a new copy tbh. Many local game shops still have the machines for it and can do that for very little money.
I’m rounding off the year with The Last of Us Part I and so far it lives up to my expectations (and even more).
I’ve also been playing some PSVR2 recently, I recently completed Moss and just started RE: Village (and it seems I’ve almost got my “VR legs”, I wasn’t really feeling nauseated after the first session).
No, I didn’t want to spoil myself at all, so I’m not sure how the two compare tbh. I would imagine there are still some slight differences and/or you might want to play on a more challenging difficulty if that’s your thing?
An Everdrive is a flash cartridge that allows you to play games on your console. The cartridge is easy to use. You “drag and drop” files from your computer onto a * micro SD card that you insert into the Everdrive. When you turn on your console, a list of games will appear. With your controller, you select the title, and you’re done!
WRT how small it is, this video comparing the OG and Slim PS2 could be of interest to you, just so you can see how Sony was able to make it that much smaller back then.
The company’s dedication to retro authenticity goes far beyond creating desirable gaming hardware.
Sure, Analogue also caters to scalpers, to a point.
Somewhat /s, I guess?
I love my Analogue Pocket, which I’ve had for a little over a year, and Dock, which I’ve gotten maybe a week ago but has already surpassed my (fairly mild) expectations. I’ve also had a Super Nt for over a year and have a pre-order in for the Duo, so I tend to appreciate what Analogue comes out with, but their recent strategy with limited edition Pockets feels a bit ill-intentioned.
They had seemingly finally caught up to production issues and were able to deliver everyone’s orders towards the end of August and suddenly made both regular editions of the Pocket unavailable to then “drop” limited editions a few weeks later.
Those are once again hard to get, unsurprisingly slightly more expensive than the “regular” variant and generate a significant amount of demand for very limited quantities.
I might be reading too much into it, but it feels like they’re still trying to cultivate a constant feeling of FOMO and/or limited supply around the Pocket, all the while being finally able to catch up with demand (I fully understand production was not at scale compared to how much demand there was for it back in 2021/2022).
Used or loaned games (provided you have libraries offering them in your area) are still a huge benefit for (most, ie physical media “enabled”) consoles.
The subscription model is broken by default, regardless of Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo, and is only good and cheap until it isn’t anymore.
Agreed that consumers have a say, to some extent, however some are too far “into the ecosystem” to either care or be willing to boycott or make a change that would inconvenience them, so they’d rather give in.
Oh absolutely, I know I’m already part of a minority when I favour physical over digital media.
We’re likely seeing the last (or, more realistically, second to last?) generation of consoles with physical media as an option and that’s a bummer…
GOG is great on the PC side of things, but as someone with a Steam Deck as their only PC, it isn’t always the best option (some games have been giving me a headache or end up straight up not working - eg I’ve had to rebuy Gris because the GOG version would show a white screen with any version of Proton I tried, while the Steam version was perfectly fine).
considering that Sony doesn’t offer PS+ Day 1 Launches, unlike Xbox
They don’t offer them as often as on Game Pass, but there are some day 1 launches on Extra.
As with most subscription models, the value proposition will probably decrease as we move forward (one only has to glance at streaming services to see what awaits us in the gaming space imo…). Bummer, but expected.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Reveal Trailer - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 (www.youtube.com)
This looks GOOD. A turn based RPG? Published by a AAA company that isn’t japanese? I can’t believe it.
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of June 2nd
What are you all playing? I’ve been trying out the slay the spire downfall mod a bit. Got some wins with the new characters. A lot of fun!
When Sega made a PC. Meet the TeraDrive | Trash to Treasure PT1 (www.youtube.com)
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of May 26th
Whatcha all been playing!...
What are some eras of gaming that you've stopped feeling nostalgic for? (kbin.social)
As I've gotten older as a player, I have found myself dropping some eras of gaming that I used to be nostalgic for. One of them is the 8-bit era, the NES days. I have played some of the best that system had to offer and I will never say that system didn't have any good games....
Shoot em ups & run n' guns
What are your favourite shoot em or run and gun games?...
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of May 19th
Whatcha all playing!...
You Can Now Jailbreak A PS4 With An LG TV (hackaday.com)
🌌 Let's see your northern lights photos! 🌌
Even if you couldn’t get away from city lights, let’s see them :)...
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of May 5th
New week new games! Whatcha all been playing? I decided to finally finish paper Mario ttyd (emulated on dolphin). Almost done with it! Trying to beat bone tail on the 100 level dungeon rn…
What is your favourite game console?
It sounds dumb but my pick would be the SNES. There’s just something about 16 bit games I love....
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of April 28th
Hey whatcha all been playing! I finally finished Alan wake 2 after a long hiatus. Maybe a tad too long but damn what a game. Cannot wait for Control 2 and whatever else Remedy has cooking
Stellar Blade Review Thread
Game Information...
Older patient gamers: what is your preferred gaming platform?
I used to be a PC-only gamer but the older I get the more I gravitate toward very ‘simple’ platforms....
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of April 21st
Another thread! Whatcha all been playing?...
Palestinian Relief Bundle by ghosthunter and 358 others (itch.io)
All proceeds from the Palestinian Relief indie bundle will be donated to the PCRF (Palestine Children’s Relief Fund)....
Which one should I play first? (lemmy.today)
Just got an amazing deal for these three and wondering where I should start!
Play GB games
So I have these old, original Game Boy (like, the grey one with the maroon buttons) games I wanna play again (original Pokemon Blue). What can I get to do so?...
Which alarm clock apps do you use?
I’ve been using AVG’s Alarm Clock Extreme and am looking to make the switch to a libre option. Any recommendations? The more customization options, the better. I go crazy with my alarm optimization.
Why are younger generations embracing the retro game revival? (www.theguardian.com)
[Gamers Nexus] Dragon's Dogma 2 is a Mess: GPU & CPU Benchmarks, Bottlenecks, & Crashes
Sony Reportedly Pauses PlayStation VR2 Production to Clear Backlog of Unsold Units (www.ign.com)
Looking for emotional game recommendations
My favorite games are Omori, Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds. I cried for hours at the end of those games, and I think the common point in them is high-quality emotional writing and stellar OST (music really affect me) and my attachment to the characters....
What are the best Samurai period games?
I’m watching the new Shogun and wondering which games from that period (or a bit earlier) are really good. Thoughts?
CRT RGB modding
I just picked up my second CRT last night. A free 27" Sony Trinitron. It has composite only, just like my flat tube Toshiba. Both seem to be working well....
FFvii remake
This game is about to be 4 years old but i finally got around to playing it. I am floored by this game, i couldn’t put it down. I love the new combat style, the cut scenes are great how they just roll straight from the gameplay and back. The music, holy shit, the music. Every track is a banger and makes the fights and story...
Upscalers for Retro Consoles
I have been looking to get a upscaler for my retro consoles and also to allow me to stream these analog consoles....
FF VII Rebirth - Improvements to Performance mode image quality coming Feb 21th (twitter.com)
cross-posted from: lemmy.ca/post/15392551...
EXCLUSIVE | Microsoft plans Starfield launch for PlayStation 5 - XboxEra (xboxera.com)
It seems that Microsoft may be becoming more open to releasing their games on other platforms
My Phantasy Star Online dilemma (lemmus.org)
I used to play PSO V2 regularly until my game broke, and while considering returning to the game I am considering downgrading to V1 to save money and because it’s more common on eBay than the upgraded version I still have....
What's your favorite game you played this year? (Doesn't have to be released this year )
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of December 24th
Merry Christmas!! 🎄 What have you all been playing!!
Everdrive Black Friday Sale Starts Tomorrow (krikzz.com)
If you’ve been on the fence about getting an everdrive, 20% off makes one very appealing.
Halloween Retro Picks? (lemmy.world)
I’m not normally one for themed, seasonal gaming… but Halloween seems to lend itself particularly well to playing a particular type of game....
deleted_by_author
Analogue's limited edition Pockets are delightful and frustrating (www.engadget.com)
The company's dedication to retro authenticity goes far beyond creating desirable gaming hardware....
PS Plus price hike: We'll all pay for a subscription-based future | Opinion (www.gamesindustry.biz)
Sony raising PS Plus pricing by 33% (www.pushsquare.com)
Tier Original Pricing. New Pricing...