What are you playing? (Redux)

[Solmyr]

Legacy of the Dragonborn is likely the only way I'd play Skyrim again, when I have the inclination. It adds enough content for a complete new game. Also I'll get Inigo as my follower.

How grindy is Valheim? I read that if you play it solo (i.e. how I would play it), you have to grind for hours to make even basic stuff.

Anyhow, I fired up Dwarf Fortress again (with Lazy Newb Pack, so it's more comfortable). Now that's a survival game!

[celedhring]

I've never survived more than 30 minutes of Dwarf Fortress.

[The Brain]

Legacy of the Dragonborn is likely the only way I'd play Skyrim again, when I have the inclination. It adds enough content for a complete new game. Also I'll get Inigo as my follower.

How grindy is Valheim? I read that if you play it solo (i.e. how I would play it), you have to grind for hours to make even basic stuff.

Anyhow, I fired up Dwarf Fortress again (with Lazy Newb Pack, so it's more comfortable). Now that's a survival game!

I haven't found Valheim to be grindy at all.

[Scipio]

Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza Remastered 3, and Valheim. All on PC. Great fun. There's something inescapably cheesey about the Yakuza games that helps make them a lot of fun; I can see the Sleeping Dogs connection, but I think Sleeping Dogs is still the ne plus ultra of this style of game. I cranked up the Definitive Edition the other day, and it still holds up.

[Jacob]

... I think Sleeping Dogs is still the ne plus ultra of this style of game. I cranked up the Definitive Edition the other day, and it still holds up.

[garbon]

... I think Sleeping Dogs is still the ne plus ultra of this style of game. I cranked up the Definitive Edition the other day, and it still holds up.

It is a gem.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

just finished Witcher3 and its expansions...
what a ride.

Worth every hour I put in.

[Oexmelin]

... I think Sleeping Dogs is still the ne plus ultra of this style of game. I cranked up the Definitive Edition the other day, and it still holds up.

Lots of love for your work here too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9IPzJWfaj4

[Jacob]

Lots of love for your work here too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9IPzJWfaj4

It is a gem.

I haven't quite given up on making another game in the same conceptual space as Bully and Sleeping Dogs one day. It's a bit of a road to travel, but it's not impossible.

[The Brain]

Still having a blast in Valheim. It's just plain fun.

[Syt]

Since last Friday I've put almost 40 hours into Loot Hero (though not much in recent days). 

It's a weird mix of deck building, auto battler, tile placing and base expansion.

RPS's review explains it quite well:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/loop-hero-review

I've mostly been listening to podcasts while playing - it's quite relaxed, and most decisions are based around placing tiles, choosing gear, and level ups. Will certainly not appeal to everyone as later runs in Chapter III and IV can become a tad grindy.

I've beaten the boss, and feel I've gotten my money's worth, and I may return periodically to clear out the remaining achievements, including taking on the secret bosses, though they seem to be quite the grind fest. But it's chill, so there's that.

I do love the C64 style color palette (generally less vibrant than, say, NES), esp. with the CRT filter (can be deactivated), hits me right in the nostalgia muscle.









And it has an excellent retro soundtrack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O4C8J4bcXw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hm3HYpta8E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad2keGL3blw

Full playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvF_T-YzBE7jwiFhAxz5mzyTMCQPmaotq

[Syt]

I've picked up Chivalry II and been playing an hour here and there. It's silly, but I find it fun. I haven't played Chivalry I much, so can't compare.

Main modes are 32 v 32 and 20 v 20 and Free For All. I've played 32 v 32 so far only. Maps are either chains of objectives with one team attacking, the other defending or death match.

There's 4 basic classes: archer, vanguard (big weapon) + fire thorwable, basically a molotov cocktail, footman (halberds, lucernes etc) who also acts as healer, and knight (swords, plus team buff).

You get three basic attacks: swing, stab, overhead. You can feint from one into the other, and modify the arcs with mouse movement. E.g. You can move your mouse so that the overhead strike goes diagonal, or turn the mouse when doing a sideswing, increasing your arc, or hit enemies quicker (e.g. when you swing right to left while also turning left). If that sounds confusing, the game has a tool tip that explains that the WASD movement is your feet and mouse turn in attacks is your hips.

There's also kicks and jabs you can use to interrupt enemy attacks. And of course you can block and try to parry.

Combat is chaotic, bloody and occasionally hilarious. Occasionally a 1v1 duel develops, but most of the time you want to gang up on enemies and likewise don't want to be caught out attacked by multiple enemies. Going behind enemies in group fights to attack them from behind is a quite valid strategy (until their friends attack you from behind). Playing in 3rd person view is advised, as you have much better view of the area compared to 1st person.

You can unlock more weapons by leveling up, but I don't feel (so far) that there's any severe disadvantages going in with the basic weapons (though crossbows feel more damaging than normal bows, but I suppose the load speed makes up for it). You also get secondary weapons, all weapons can be thrown, and you can pick up any weapon you find on the battlefield. There's cosmetics you can unlock with currency you earn in game, or with special currency you buy with real money. I feel they're mostly "eh", so I just use the earned currency to pretty up the class I focus on slightly.

I'm enjoying it, chat this early in the game's lifetime is not (yet) toxic (though I have voice chat deactivated, because fuck that). It's mostly a huge silly bloody brawl where sometimes you chain a kill streak and sometimes are taken out by a crossbow before you got anywhere. I imagine this might be tough if you're very competitive and/or have a low tolerance for this kind of guff. It's easy to drop in and out, though I guess there's a bit of a skill ceiling if you want to master combat.

[Iormlund]

I've been playing Ghost Recon Wildlands in Ghost Mode (with permadeath and other more immersive changes) and without AI teammates. It makes the game a lot more interesting.

Died twice already by falling off a bike. 

[Josquius]

I played my first game for 3 months on Friday afternoon. A spot of witcher 3 for an hour.
Then discovered for some reason my game had stopped saving 😔

[Syt]

Btw, here's a review for Chivalry that sums it up quite well: https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/chivalry-2-review/

One thing I like is that it respawns you in groups. In some online games people trickle in as a steady line (most notably when playing with randoms in small groups like in Overwatch), only to be picked off one by one. You may have to wait up to 16 or so seconds to respawn, depending on how many else are dead, but you will have a bunch of mates to charge back in as a group which increases chances of survival a fair bit.