What games have you been playing this week?

link to the past with an emulator and xbox controller

Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition.

I've only played vanilla and liked it—well, non-combat sections aren't fun, but combat is great.

I've never played with Lady or Trish, so I'm looking forward to that. I decided to go through Dante/Nero and Vergil's campaigns first to freshen up though, it has been like a decade since my first playthrough.

I've been playing the SNES version of Dragon Quest III. This is after I spent 20+ hours with DQ3 HD-2D Remake.

Somehow the SNES feels more fun to play. It probably has to do with the difficulty balance, and the lack of QoL "improvements" that take away the gameplay. For example the AI auto-battle in the remake completely eliminate the need to engage in battles. I tried to fight manually at first, but then the remake required me to grind heavily in order to beat the bosses. The AI auto-battle is also able to anticipate enemy moves in advance and act in a way that's impossible with manual actions. That's practically cheating.

In the SNES version, the progression is well balanced. Grinding feels fun instead of punishing. Also, as good looking as the HD-2D is, I still prefer the 16-bit pixelart of the SNES version.

Clair Obscur, currently banging my head against the Paintress.

Still slowly replaying Ion Fury on max difficulty. Trying to get all the secrets.

Been playing some Path of Exile 2. Had two misfires because the first character I created made me feel physically ill to play, and the second just wasn't very fun due to mechanical quirks. The third time has been the charm though, and I've actually been having a good time playing the endgame. I still dunno if I'd recommend it for general audiences yet, but if you're a PoE1 player and got a key for free, it's finally worth checking out.

Mainly Enotria: The Last Song, a somewhat janky and occasionally buggy but absolutely gloriously beautiful and quite charming AA Soulslike. I'm in the final area now, a decrepit and run-down take on Venice, and the level design continues to impress me. Verticality, shortcuts, paths looping back on previous areas - it's really well done on top of being visually stunning. Combat is fun, heavy emphasis on parrying and more character customization than most Soulslikes thanks to the skill tree, four active ability slots and three hotswappable loudouts. Been a blast so far.

I'm also playing short sessions of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword on my 3DS here and there. It's a good game to play in short bursts so I'm not rushing through it. Very fun game, definitely recommend it.

Heard the drama about Silksong, decided to try Hollow Knight. it's pretty good

Xenoblade 3! The first game is one of my favorites of all time, and I played 2 for the first time this year.

Its got some immensely satisfying worldbuilding for fans who have played the games leading up to it, and I absolutely love the main cast. Music is amazing as usual

Slime Rancher 2!

It officially launched on the 23rd and I’ve been playing it (admittedly sparingly) since then. The environments are lush, the slimes are just as cute plus new ones, and the gameplay discovery feels delightfully natural.

The upgrade loop is slower and it can make managing ranch/exploration balance trickier than the original but on easy settings it’s not too much of an issue.

Overall it’s pretty relaxing and it’s well worth the ~$20USD on Steam while it’s on sale. Oh and the original is on sale for $2! Highly recommend.

Bg3. I've never made it through Act 3. It's amazing, but the time investment..... I'm committed to finishing it this year though. I'm 60 hours in after about a month, so i like my odds.

Rise of Nations. Still an incredible game after all these years, and I still see a number of active users in the multiplayer browser.

Space Station 14! It's a blast. It's a combination of a lot of my favorite things. I love space station simulators. I love secret antagonists. I love roleplaying.

Pokémon Heartgold & Control. Kinda got mad at control cause I got stuck on a boss fight & took a break.

Space Marine 2. Only have two classes left to level up, but I'm having a lot of difficulty with the, well, higher difficulties. Afraid my reflexes aren't what they were two decades ago, and trying to parry/block 10+ enemies at once is a bit out of my competence.

My friends and I picked up Brawlhalla again after a long time lol

Caves of Qud

Been playing a lot of Silksong this week. Been dragging my feet on it a little, I only got to act 2 a couple days ago. (fucking Last Judge...) I like taking my time with metroidvania games, getting myself lost and exploring every nook and cranny.

I'm on Balatro and Against the storm, a roguelike citybuilder, with lizards. I don't know why, but I lost all my progression when I changed my OS, so I decided to start again because I like this game and there is bats and frogs now so I'm stuck for another 100h.

Hades 2 with god mode cause otherwise I'm not finishing it. Having fun! Seeing new stuff! Want to see even more!

Also Palia and doing ranching. Gotta get those animals raised and sold I guess. I'm waiting till they're venerated to sell them which takes some time. Unless they're an ancient dingus like one of my first chickens, er, pekis. He aged at super speeds.