Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of April 13th
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of April 13th
Whatcha all playing?
I've been diving deep into Blue Prince.
Really awesome roguelite puzzle game. Highly recommend checking it out!!!
A Mind Forever Voyaging, by Infocom.
It's an old text adventure from the 80's with a particularly cool and oddly relevant concept: You take the role of an AI that's been meticulously raised in a simulation to truly become a general intelligence. The reason this project was undertaken was to eventually send you, the AI, into other simulations based in the near future to test the outcomes of various political policies of the new republican government, record your interactions, and report back to the engineers who created you.
The game's designer said that he created the game in response to the despair he felt from Ronald Reagan being elected.
I haven't gotten super far in it, but it has an incredibly well written short story in the manual that details all the events leading up to the start of the game, and so far the game itself is unlike anything else I've ever played.
How can I play this? It sounds really interesting!
You can play the game here on Archive.org, or you can download a copy from that page and play it in DOSBox Staging.
Here's all the physical documentation you'll need, such as the short story, how to play manual, and an in-world map (you'll have to draw your own, but it'll give you a rough idea of the land. If you find map making tedious, you could use a map someone else made).
Lastly, you'll need this interactive copy protection wheel when it prompts you for a combination in game, right before entering a simulation.
Good luck! :D
Still trying Baldur's Gate 3 solo Honor Mode. I've died a lot, to all kind of different enemies. Currently, I got a good run going, made it to level 6, still Act 1, but almost done. Hopefully I don't turn off my brain again in a crucial moment and just eat dirt.
Blue Prince is monopolising a majority of my mental bandwidth currently as I'm growing increasingly obsessed with it. I've spent about 11 hours on it so far and have taken probably a dozen pages of notes in my little notebook next the to the PC.
I think this game could go down as a modern classic, and if it sticks the landing it will likely be my GOTY. It's cheap too, and even 10% off right now as a release week sale.
I can't really say anything more because, much like Outer Wilds, the less you know about it going in the better. If you even remotely enjoy mysteries and puzzles do yourself a favour and go play it like... right now.
Same.
I'm now 15 hours in, my runs look nothing at all like my first ones, and are rapidly changing each new run but also still haven't "beaten" it once.
Feels like I built a skyscraper and yet still have to get across the grand canyon to actually win and it has nothing to do with the skyscraper.
Except now I have foundation.
It's so good isn't it? Figured out some big brain puzzles yesterday and was blown away. Absolutely loving it
I'm loving it, but definitely also constantly second guessing whether I'm smart enough for this game haha. Especially when you come across a problem and can't work out whether you're supposed to wait for the clue/solution to turn up later or whether it's something you're supposed to be able to solve but are being too stupid to notice/connect.
How far in are you in terms of Days/time played. I'm at about 12 hours and 12 days played.
Morrowind.
Ages ago I got a new video card that came with bundled games, including the slightly-old Morrowind.
That was the intro for me to deep RPGs, and I fell hard.
A few weeks ago I decided to revisit it, and went with Open-MW and a vanilla experience.
So awesome.
Morrowind is clearly and by far the best TES game ever made. It's old and it shows, but this doesn't take anything from the quality of the game. It has one of the best executed and most interesting worlds in any game I've played, it has great main story that is still just a scratch among other stories hidden throughout the Vvardenfell, and lastly the soundtrack... It's epic when it needs to be epic, it's calm when it needs to be calm, great melodies very well tied to different areas and parts of the game, it's just awesome.
I'm also starting to lose myself in Blue prince. I was a bit hesitant in the starting hours, feeling like progress was limited, the puzzle element rather basic and the whole game too RNG based.
But now that I'm further in, I'm really starting to unravel the hidden depth of a lot of its mechanics and secrets. I'm keeping notes on my netbook and it's starting to become more of a wiki. I'm currently unlocking and discovering new stuff at a very satisfying pace, and my opinion of the game is growing immensely.
If I remember correctly you were also a huge fan of Outer Wilds. While I do understand the comparisons, this does feel like a whole other thing to me. More mysterious and strange, but also a bit more sterile. Outer Wilds is just so filled with love and beauty on top of its mystery, that I cannot fathom any game ever pushing it from the top spot in my favorite games of all time.
Yeah I agree there so far. I'll have to see once I beat it and peel back some of the layers. But yeah while it is scratching that same discovery itch for me, outer wilds is an unmatched experience. I will say though, while the rng is definitely different, there is a similar feeling to starting a new loop in OW and starting a new day in BP
True, that same "I wonder what I'm going to discover today?" feeling. Just had an insane run in BP with lots of new stuff an an absolute abondance of all resources. Sadly no antechamber, but I'm getting closer. Also starting to unravel the story, this too seems way more interesting than at first glance.
@chloyster Grim Dawn on my highest level character (Lvl73) but still getting my head bashed in by some Mini-Bosses on Ultimate difficulty.
Blasphemous - gave it a swirl for about an hour / hour and a half. Lovely world building and premise, but for the souls-like platforming I really need to be in the mood first it seems.
Cassette Beasts and soon Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, Tape 2
I’m playing Cassette Beasts lately too! It’s such a good monster collector. The low poly 3D+2D aesthetic is on point and it’s real cozy. They don’t hide their Pokémon inspiration but they do their own thing with it and I really like their take. It feels both kinder and more stimulating. I love that basically all battles are doubles.
Yeah. I never really got into pokémon as I didn't like the idea of capturing creatures and forcing them to fight, but Cassette Beasts doesn't have that problem. Oh yeah, good point about them being doubles. I do like the aesthetic/graphics and that it's avaliable on every platform, unlike pokémon.
Played through Chants of Sennaar - great unique language puzzle game.
Started Dredge now and it seems really fun.
Chants of Sennaar
samesies. Finished it yesterday, absolute banger of a game. The different word order/sentence structures between the languages did my head in a bit, and the last few glyphs I had somehow entirely missed on earlier areas, and when I did finally find them - the backtracking to solve the remaining translations was a bit of back and forth. But man, what a vibe that game was.
Just saw a video on Blue Prince earlier. Would totally love to play it but I saw someone play through the demo enough to where I feel spoiled enough to not wanna play it because I know I'd probably just cheat. Probably a game I'd pick up in a few years, after I've forgotten it, similar to Baba Is You, which I've been stumped on certain levels of recently.
Otherwise I've mostly been absolutely addicted to Pokemon Rejuvenation because of debug mode making the game a lot more fun. Absolutely would not recommend it if you don't like long pokemon games or edgier stories in your pokemon.
Same thing with Feudal Tactics on my phone/laptop. Very simple game. You have a map made up of coloured tiles. Six different colours. Two or more of the same make a city/kingdom(?). Get resources by having/taking over more connected tiles, buy/upgrade people, conquer land, defeat everyone else.
You should still play Blue Prince. I sincerely doubt you can be spoiled enough by the demo to not make the game worthwhile. There is so much in this game to find and figure out.
Starting Little Nightmares today… orrr at some point this week, depending on Life™️.
I basically stopped playing everything except chivalry 2. I don't know why, but it's the only thing I've been playing for months
I played chivalry 1 a lot back then until people became so good that it didn't feel organic anymore to me and there wasn't really any kind of matchmaking... I really miss the early days of it. How is chivalry 2 doing?
Unfortunately, I feel it's heading in the same direction. Torn banner released a final update in 2024 and basically dropped the development in order to work on other games. The skill ceiling is super high, and most players are very very good. Every now and then there's a sale or the game goes free and there is an influx of new players. In any case, I still enjoy it a lot 😁
I just started playing "Dave the Diver". It's been a lot of fun so far. There are a lot of systems to play with, and you keep unlocking more. I just unlocked the fish farm.
I was trying for the second time to enjoy animal well. I kind of see how it's a great game, but playing it feels like torture to me. I'm constantly second-guessing myself whenever I'm stuck, I don't know if I haven't figured out the puzzle, suck at platforming, or missing a tool.
Thinking about playing Hades again next week.
Lonely Mountains: Downhill. A voxel indie mountain bike riding game that basically has you trying to ride down various mountain trails in shorter times and with less crashes. Very chill game, good for parents who don't have a lot of time to game anymore.
Last Epoch and Diablo 4
Getting ready for the new content
Started Blue Prince, but to be honest I haven't gotten past the initial "RNG wall" and I'm sorta over it. I'm 5 hours in and continue to get the same rooms I've documented in detail in my notes with little new to show for it, and while I have some leads and puzzle pieces, nothing fits. Not particularly excited about a lot of the small repeat puzzles anymore either. I get the impression that I just need one or two pieces of knowledge that the game is refusing to provide to me. Kinda hoping that the good old trick of complaining on the internet will make things work out.
Yeah I kinda get that. I've had a couple of those walls. But I think if you purposely try to pick rooms that you've not had, even if it seems bad or not useful things might start to piece together more. A lot of things can be useful in ways you might not expect. I think I've maybe had 1 or 2 runs where I truly learned nothing. Every other run has had some sort of knowledge or permanent progress. Also some rooms only appear on certain edges of the house. I've found some of the important profession related ones that way.
But yeah it's a game you gotta treat as much as a roguelite as you do a puzzle game. And it unfortunately isn't for everyone
I too had this at the start. My hint is to indeed make sure you visit all rooms at least once, even if they are bad for your layout for that specific day. Make sure you read the notes you find and make us of the items too. Some items have a clear purpose for the basic runs (just helping out with money or steps) but some seen less useful. It is these items that actually often help you unlock new things though, just think logically where you would be able to make use of them.
Also, there is actually quite a bit of permanent progression / unlocks. This only started happening for me after that long initial phase of just mocking about, but once it starts happening you are better equiped for further discoveries.
My final tip is to actually not see it as a roguelite. You don't need to just have luck / better insight for a winning run, every run is a new moment to investigate new stuff and attempt new things, not to get better at doing the same stuff like other roguelikes. I hope I've explained this well.
My final tip is to actually not see it as a roguelite. You don't need to just have luck / better insight for a winning run, every run is a new moment to investigate new stuff and attempt new things, not to get better at doing the same stuff like other roguelikes. I hope I've explained this well.
Exactly this. You start out thinking "oh okay, its a roguelite and I need to get to rooom 46". But that's not actually the point and once you realize there is more depth to it you start seeing value in every run, even those that never get close to rank 9.
At least that's been my experience so far, and I've yet to even enter the antechamber myself.
Avowed and X4 depending on the mood. X4 started slow but I think I've started the process of getting the hang of the basics after 30 hours.
Everquest. Can't believe it was easy to get back into after 20+ years away.
Came here to say HorizonXI - which is a private server of the Final Fantasy XI MMO.
It is not easy to get back into after 20+ years away.
Played Splatoon 3. The different modes are really fun, except for Turf War which kinda sucks. It's the first time I'm trying to learn how to play a team game and I'm confused on how to improve, but I'm having fun with it.
For some reason tho Nintendo thought it was a good idea to do two day events ("Splatfests") periodically which lock you out of any mode beside Turf War for their entire duration, so I went looking for other competitive games:
I went back to Guilty Gear Strive after dropping it for more than a year, but after playing it for a few hours, I still don't like how sluggish the game feels and I'm not too happy with the modern design trends in fighting games (or in general the curent state of them). The biggest issue that stops me from playing tho is the terrible online experience which still hasn't been fixed after 4 years.
Im almost 200h in my divide and conquer campaign for medieval 2 total war. Playing dorwinion and fighting endless hordes of mordors orc.
An adventure puzzle/platformer for the Game Boy. The mechanics are fun, and has you transforming between a human, frog, and snake to get through various areas. I'm about an hour in and the puzzles are fairly simple, but the charming writing and art design carry the game for me. I'd recommend it if you're looking for something somewhat casual. I have laughed out loud a few times while playing it.
If you want to check it out, you'll need to run it on an emulator.
HOLE: A simple extraction shooter-roguelite where you shoot masked d00ds in liminal spaces. Each run is a quick bite and the game can be completed sub 10 hours. Perfect grownup roguelite.
vintage story: windows has minecraft, linux has vintage story.
