The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[Jacob]

New DLC for the Old World: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/597180/view/499473486646870714

 

[frunk]

New DLC for the Old World: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/597180/view/499473486646870714

 

Speaking of which, anybody have opinions on the existing DLC for Old World?

[The Minsky Moment]

Last Next Fest demos

Windrose Survival crafting in the golden age of piracy. Looks nice.  No controller support for now so played a bit wonky on the Steam Deck; I got killed by a dodo.

Lost in Art casual art puzzle game based on the work of 16th century Ottoman miniaturist.  Gameplay is very simplistic, but the artwork is fantastic. 

Darkhaven Diablo clone from a design team involved in Diablo 1 & 2. What you'd expect.  Will have to compete with the newly released Diablo 2 remake.

Gunboat God Side scroller, go through obstacles in jumping and diving gunboat while shooting down diving batlike creatures.

Kreigsspiel 7 Years War   Ooh a 7 years war game.  Graphics and UI phoning in from the 1990s.  Interesting ideas here though.  FOW system where you can only see what your general sees and what your general learns from sending couriers back and forth.  Units require courier borne orders to move or attack. Couriers can be intercepted as can be supply wagons which are modelled individually as well.  One to watch.

Tabletop Tavern   Play Total War style RTS battles but in the context of a roguelike campaign system. "Normal" medieval units like archers, horse cavalry and infantry face off against undead warriors, goblins and spectres, or against hostile human townsmen.  If you win you can recruit troops from the losing side. Seems to have the rock paper scissors gameplay down; e.g., pikeman destroy charging hell hounds and spectres ignore rough terrain.

[mongers]

New DLC for the Old World: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/597180/view/499473486646870714

 

Speaking of which, anybody have opinions on the existing DLC for Old World?

That's a good question, as it appears I've only got the Aegean one.

Thought I've hardly played much.

[Syt]

Cities Skylines 1 is getting new DLC for its 11th anniversary.

Something for racetracks: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4031130/Cities_Skylines__Race_Day/

Get ready to rev up your city!

Transform your streets into high-octane race courses, host thrilling running and cycling events, and dazzle crowds with massive parades. Whether you're drawing in tourists or entertaining your citizens, this expansion lets you create jaw-dropping spectacles and adds dynamic city-planning features that kick your city into overdrive.

Features:

Host Races & Parades

Use Event Roads to create routes for Motor Races, Running Races, Cycling Races, and Parades. Event Roads function as regular streets day-to-day, then temporarily close to traffic when an event starts—transforming your city into a safe, festive venue.

Build a Custom Race Venue

Create a race destination that's uniquely yours. Build a custom motor racing venue with Motor Race Tracks and your own road layout. Design a purpose-built circuit, or connect your track to Event Roads to create a citywide race route that roars through the streets on race day.

New Event Buildings and Spectator Stands

Build the heart of the action with new event buildings such as Race HQ, pit garages, and start and finish areas. Line your routes with spectator stands and decorations to pack the sidewalks with cheering crowds and boost the spectacle.

Customize Your Events

Run the show with new event tools: choose event types and tiers, set ticket prices, and manage your city's full event lineup, from past highlights to current happenings and upcoming shows.

A content creator pack: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4031140/Cities_Skylines__Content_Creator_Pack_Renewed_History/

Transform your skyline with "Renewed History" by Brum, a Content Creator Pack inspired by modern architecture that balances history and progress. Mesh tradition with function through buildings clad in steel, glass, and concrete. This pack explores the contrast between old and new, with structures that complement traditional architecture. Create neighborhoods where modern development and historical preservation coexist beautifully.

"Renewed History" includes:

• 7 Service Buildings
• 11 Unique Buildings
• 10 Parks
• 22 Props

And one for Sheilbh. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4031150/Cities_Skylines__Content_Creator_Pack_Iconic_Brutalism/

Embrace raw concrete and unapologetic design with "Iconic Brutalism" by Cristolisto. This Content Creator Pack celebrates the iconic architectural movement defined by geometric forms, functional design, and monumental presence. With a focus on civic structures, these buildings give your city an austere, modern edge with a timeless sense of strength.

"Iconic Brutalism" includes:

• 18 Service Buildings
• 5 Unique Buildings
• 3 Plazas

[Sheilbh]

And one for Sheilbh. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4031150/Cities_Skylines__Content_Creator_Pack_Iconic_Brutalism/

oh no

I take it that's the Geisel Library looking fabulous.

Hate that we stopped building the future

[Syt]

Dunno, you'll know them better than I

[Norgy]

That looks a lot like Durrës in Albania, apart from the metro. 

[The Minsky Moment]

Hate that we stopped building the future

Just for you, on sale now for less than 10 roubles!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/784150/Workers__Resources_Soviet_Republic/

[Sheilbh]

I tried to get into that game

(A little too complex for me.)

[The Minsky Moment]

I tried to get into that game

(A little too complex for me.)

What?  You couldn't optimize your bauxite supply without spiking demand for liquid fertilizer? 

[Sheilbh]

Overwhelmed by the productive forces.

[The Minsky Moment]

Overwhelmed by the productive forces.

Such an experience is to be expected when a denizen of the decadent, sclerotic capitalist West encounters the dynamism of Stakhanovite socialism.

[Syt]

Esoteric Ebb is out, getting 90% from PC Gamer: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/esoteric-ebb-review/

"Esoteric Ebb review: Not just the best Disco since Disco, the closest anyone's come to the magic of tabletop D&D in a videogame"

"Esoteric Ebb is the best game like Disco Elysium that anybody's made since Disco Elysium, an RPG with a focus on exploration over combat, a literary, political bent, where your skills attributes talk to you. But it's not some rehash of the things Disco did well and few have managed to replicate: Esoteric Ebb has a charm all its own, and it's an impressively reactive RPG with an innovative approach to combat.

Where Disco was all surreal noir with a grounding in Twin Peaks, True Detective, and post-Soviet melancholy, Esoteric Ebb is more classically fantasy, approaching Dungeons & Dragons with a sensibility close to Shrek. Disco Elysium is one of the funniest games ever made, and Esoteric Ebb is even more madcap⁠. Not funnier per se⁠—I can't pit two queens against each other⁠—but it boasts a greater density of laughs per minute, while still telling an affecting, dramatic story.

The humor and grounding in familiar D&D elements⁠—attributes, classes, races, alignment, etc.—belie a shockingly confident, weird fantasy setting, something closer to Planescape or Spelljammer than the comforting (yet vanilla) Forgotten Realms. Mechanically, this game is capital-R Reactive, with seemingly minor items and choices reverberating throughout the story, and multiple dialogue-based "fights" whose complexity and variables rival Disco Elysium's climactic Tribunal."



I will maybe look at it on the weekend. Not really into video games at the moment. Most "gaming" I've done is play "Halls of Torment" (a Vampire Survivors-like with a Diablo 2 aesthetic where you fight waves to get more powerful to fight stronger waves to unlock more items to fight stronger waves to unlock more abilities to ... ) while listening to podcasts. More in a reading mood right now. I promised myself to NOT buy new books unless I finish some of my backlog. Finish 2 books, I can buy a new one. Similar with story games.

[The Minsky Moment]

Esoteric Ebb is out, getting 90% from PC Gamer: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/esoteric-ebb-review/

I played the demo two Next Fests ago, was one the more promising prospects.