Mainly my focus for the last several months has been playing through my girlfriend's favourite games, so I can fully understand them and be on the same wavelength. It started with Xenogears (peak fiction) and now I'm in the middle of disc 2 of Final Fantasy VII. Which, is pretty good so far!
In my own time, I'm about two thirds into Xenosaga. I felt obligated to experience it due to it's connection to Gears, and it's been a veryyyy slow burn. Lots of things I'm liking in the latter half of the game, and there's great character moments spread throughout...but, it hasn't captivated me like it's predecessor. I'm hoping it will by the end of it, since I want to love it.
*Rubs hands* I've been replaying a bit of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines now that its poorly received sequel is out (Tremere FTW) but is it cool to shill some indie games & demos as well?
Shoutout to THREE VERSES³ and Elation for the Wonder Box 6000, they're by far the two indie titles I'm excited for most. I'll probably replay Disillusion ST now that Steam achievements have been added, and PRODUCER 2021 sometime soon as well. THRESHOLD and Funeralopolis have similar vibes aesthetically, so if you're into grungy, oppressive societies with a rusty color palette, I can't recommend them enough.
in between a bunch of games rn because i've been stricken with chronic indecisiveness/have been reading a lot more, but right now i'm replaying Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume since it was recently its 17th anniversary in japan and I'd only went through it the one time ages ago. i liked it then, still like it now. i like some of its ideas in Theory more than Practice, but it's still a worthy entry in the series that's easy to forget about with how acclaimed the other two are. i think the switch to the SRPG genre is neat and I think it maintains a lot of the core ideas of the series' gameplay despite the genre hop.
the MC (Wylfred) is broodier than batman, and you can tell his mission is misguided right from the jump even if you haven't played the other games since the game doesn't really glamorize it. Lenneth from VP1 chooses his father as an Einherjar after he falls in battle and in the wake of his death, his family utterly falls apart. Wylfred swears to kill the Valkyrie and off you go. i think it's a cool route to take on the idea of a human's perception of the Valkyrie's mission, but I could see how it'd be annoying to some people to follow a protagonist who's logically pretty off course, even if you can understand him emotionally. i kind of like stories where the protagonist sucks though so it works for me. neat little game
Consistently? I'm kind of just going between BF6 and some kind of community remaster for need for speed most wanted (2005) at the moment. Having a decent time.
I don't really have much fun anymore with indie's and such so I've just been following my friends and playing some NFS on the side.
Also been playing through Crysis 2 but I'm struggling to get particularly hooked. The environments and such are all pretty cool and I can appreciate them for it but the story is just boring and the combat is always really short, a fight is over in a minute tops.
Also finally tried Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-tered. Honestly can't tell the fucking difference between it and the original. Slowly playing through it on and off and its still a pretty fun game but its also just the same as it always has been. If you haven't played it yet I'd recommend it its truly one of a kind.
I've been playing a game called "Boku No Natsuyasumi 2" (translates to My Summer Vacation) for the PS2. It recently got an english translation patch so I decided to try it out. I am having the most wonderful time playing it so far.
It's a really chill game, literally the only thing you do is run around as if you're enjoying summer in the Japanese countryside and that's what makes it so addicting. It also has some other activities of course like bug catching, fishing, beetle sumo, etc. I definitely recommend it if you ever want to just relax and chill, it's that kind of game.
And lastly, it has one of the most BEAUTIFUL pre-rendered background of all time (I still love FF8's though).
I've been playing Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus not just because it's an important part of my childhood but to also see what it's like to play a fully fledged game on the PS2 with RetroAchievements enabled. It definitely pushed me into actually trying to show good performance in every level, but it also made me wonder how I managed to beat this game at an age so young...
