Skyrim really does have some of the best music, along with the other Elder Scrolls games. That atmosphere is so fun to go back to, year after year.

Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 + Phantom Liberty is just amazing. Everything I wished for and it runs great on PS5.

I finished Cyberpunk a few months ago, before the 2.0 release. I'm not really interested in doing a full playthrough again, but I have started the Phantom Liberty DLC. While I haven't played a huge amount yet, it does look good. I'm keen to dive more into it soon.

Baldur's Gate 3 is gonna be the best game I play this year by far.

It's my favorite game since... a long time anyway.

Finished my first playthrough of Lies of P over the weekend.

I was on the fence about playing it since the puppet aesthetic was so far from anything I'd ever consider, but tons of my friends and content creators were gushing about it. I am so glad I tried it out and I'm happy to report that the puppet aesthetic is only scratching the surface and the story/game is so much more than that. I cannot express that more clearly without spoiling anything, so if the puppet thing held you back, don't let it deter you now.

This is an unabashed Soulsborne clone and it is far and away the best one I've ever played. The movement made me feel right at home from the second I was traversing. The combat is centered around guarding attacks. If you guard an attack, you lose some health but there is a rally mechanic a la Bloodborne so you can earn it back. This means that just blocking attacks is a viable strategy. But there is also a perfect guard which does not consume stamina/health and can help put your enemy into a staggered state. This combat is essentially a blend of Dark Souls guarding, Bloodborne's rally, and Sekiro's deflection. I'm well versed in those games so this felt like a natural progression although there were some growing pains. Dodging attacks can be a viable strategy too, but the game rewards you for learning how to perfect guard.

Enemy variety is top notch. Areas are constantly introducing new enemies and mixing/evolving ones you already know. This means the combat is always fresh and you are constantly learning. Environments are also well varied although most of it has an industrial revolution atmosphere. The game does go a bit overboard with ambushes and floors collapsing, but it made me feel like Dark Souls 1 all over again. If you're familiar with Soulsborne games, the levels will feel a bit more linear and intuitive, which was a welcome mix-up. The weapon system is super cool too. Weapons can be modified and assembled based on blades and on handles so you can create a dagger that fits on an axe handle or a greatsword that fits on a dagger handle etc. This translates into theory crafting if you're into that sort of thing (but not necessary). Boss weapons are unique as well. Although they can't be modified, they all have their own unique benefits and they feel powerful.

As for the bosses themselves, holy shit they are awesome. Many of the bosses are incredibly challenging, but for the most part they are completely fair. The game also lets you summon "Specters" for boss fights which is Lies of P's version of summons. I personally didn't use that mechanic, but it's nice to know that it's available for everyone.

There's a lot more I could say, but if you are a dork about Soulsborne games like I am, this is absolutely a must play.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood was just something else. I liked The Red Strings Club better but this one is more ambitious. 8/10.

Lords of the Fallen is easily the best soulslike game not developed by From Software. Such a shame it runs like shit on PC.

Currently playing Alan Wake 2 and I don't know what's going on half of the time but I love it.

I played Lies of P a couple of hours but I asked for a refund. I don't know, really not feeling it. Though it runs great. I'll probably grab it again when it's on sale.

I finally had some free time for gaming this week so I decided to cross some games off my wishlist.

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order was only $12 and I'd heard a lot of positive reception so gave that a go first. The opening sequence was fun but it pretty quickly descended into generic action game on the first planet. The hype about this game surprises me because aside from graphics these type of action games haven't really evolved since the 90s and Tomb Raider. Fighting is janky as hell with enemies going right through you when they're attacking and all round there's just very little substance unless you like doing the same thing over and over for 20 hours. Too many things annoyed me - the map screen, enemies respawning when you save, and the 3rd party software and "premium content" so pretty sure I won't be spending any more time with it. Glad I didn't spend more than I did on it.

Now I'm thinking it's either Talos Principle II (loved the original) or BG3 (again, big fan of 1 and 2 back in the day) but both are pricey at the moment so maybe some smaller games until there's a special. Someone above mentioned Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood and I really liked The Red Strings Club. Broken Roads is coming out soon and I'm looking forward to that too.

Talos Principle 2 is amazing and well worth the $40 CAD. Captivating writing, breathtaking soundtrack, and the puzzles are as addictive as ever. I highly recommend it if you loved the original.

I think combat is one of the best parts of that Star Wars game (which is overall great IMO)

Agreed, Survivor is even better too. Playing on Grandmaster you really feel like a Jedi

That’s a shame it didn’t click for you, it is easily my GOTY and I haven’t stopped playing it since I started. Anything in particular you did not care for?

Both the atmosphere and the combat felt a little bland but I don't really know. It also felt a bit too linear. Maybe I replay it and love it, probably just wasn't in the mood for it.

Playing Alice Madness Returns, great game relatively cheap. On EA for $20, got it for $5 during the winter sale. Kinda buggy though

Yea, I enjoyed "Poncho hunter" at first, but with all the loot being different colored ponchos or light saber handles I grew pretty tired of it. The story was interesting at times, but searching these big maps for ponchos quickly became a tedious waste of time. I won't be bothering with Poncho Hunter 2.

How do you get a refund on a video game?

Steam allows for a refund as long as you don't play more than two hours. If the game is broken or unplayable they sometimes even make exceptions.

Whoa that's awesome.

I didn't know that.

Playing ArmA 3 Spearhead 1944 in singelplayer and i wish there was a save.

Some weeks ago, a bunch of fighting games were on sale for cheap on Steam. I got Mortal Kombat X and 11, Street Fighter V, Soul Calibur VI and Tekken 7.

The only one I play competitively is Street Fighter since that's the series I've been playing online since Street Fighter 4. I'm positively surprised that SFV online isn't dead at all despite SF6 being out.

As for the other games, I just play them casually and they're fun. Tekken 7's story and arcade modes are a step down from Tekken 5's, though. Hopefully, Tekken 8 will be better as far as single player modes go.

I completed Stasis: Bone Totem. Great point and click puzzle game with an interesting story. Gory themes but not used for cheap shock value. The puzzles are challenging but not impossible to complete. Recommended.

What do you think of Suda51?

I’m playing Killer is Dead,total crazy game….

Laika is incredible. You all need to play Laika. Best metroidvania since Hollow Knight.

I've never heard of Laika, but I'll look into it.

Sounds awesome.

Now I felt a little nostalgic, I've beaten Killer is Dead years back.

Next I have No More Heroes in my position. I'm unsure if that's relevant, I just researched to be sure if it is. So I thought in the first place.

The GTA VI trailer is finally out



What could ever top the GTA V hype we lived 10 years ago? GTA VI. And I thought it was gonna be impossible.

The trailer doesn't show too much, but it looks like the graphics will be great. I just hope the gameplay and performance keep up.

At any rate, it's still over a year away, maybe even 2 years. There's no gameplay footage, only cutscenes. Plus there's no word on a PC release, only Playstation and Xbox. Lots of games will come and go before this is released, and I suspect there'll be a lot more trailers leading up to it.

Rockstar know they're on a good wicket here. We'll see how it all pans out.

I'm not really that interested in GTAVI, tried playing GTAV earlier this year and the humour has aged poorly. It also has a lot of filler I didn't remember. RDR2 was miles better in my opinion and much more focused.

GTAVI looks awesome, I'm sure they'll knock it off the park, but I hope Rockstar has evolved its gameplay a bit. There were many artifacts in RDR2 that IMo soured the experience. For instance, if you started a quest, you had a failure screen if you did anything except what was scripted (like turned the wrong street). The gunplay was also terrible. For all the immersive shit they put into the game like shrinking horse testicle, I feel they should have put a bit more effort into the core gameplay. (Still a great game, though.)

It's a bit what holds Starfield IMO. Starfield would have been a great game years ago. Now? Empty planets just there for the sake of discovery? It's been done before. NPCs behave better in other games. Companions are now more complex. I'm afraid GTAVI and perhaps even ESVI are going that way.

I never got into GTA, but I've always wanted a Ghostbusters game with a huge map and tons of side missions busting ghosts.

The game practically writes itself.

GTA VI is basically Florida Man : The Game and it will be glorious.

Well, coming up on the end of 2023 I can say that I played more new releases this year than I ever do. Here's my rankings:

1. Lies of P
2. Resident Evil 4 Remake
3. Remnant 2
4. Dead Space Remake
5. Wo Long

All of those games are at least 8 out of 10 for me, with Lies being as close to a perfect score as I'm comfortable giving. There were 3 other new releases that I played this year as well, but I consider them disappointments.

First would be Jedi Survivor. I played through the first one and I thought it was mediocre at best. I just couldn't get into the second one at all. The technical issues at launch have been "fixed" but it still runs like a beta. Cal Kestis is not a very compelling character to play as either, he just feels so stale. Without the Star Wars nameplate, this game would have vastly underperformed. It just feels so incredibly soulless.

Next disappointment would be Starfield. It seems like such an ambitious game on the surface, but it really falls flat in execution. Too many loading screens and the game just feels like a chore to play. I know it's a Bethesda game and their games have a certain aesthetic, but it just doesn't work for me. It'll probably be great in a few years so I'll revisit it then.

The final disappointment and biggest turd of the year is Forza Motorsport. This game is completely unfinished. It has a progression system that was blatantly pushed by the suits who want players to grind for hours. The technical issues have slowly gotten fixed but it's still not in a good spot. The always online component of the game is what really makes this game so awful. Navigating every single menu is met with a brief black screen and a loading/saving icon. That's just absurd. I've played the hell out of every Forza/Forza Horizon and this was one of my most anticipated games when I got a Series X at release. It's a mess and because of some of the core mechanics involving progression/navigation, I'm not sure it'll be salvageable.

Looks amazing! Reviews are very high. Buying this now, thanks!

What an absolute TURD Callisto Protocol ended up being. Especially with you saying the Dead Space Remake was one of your favorite games of the year. I wish I had never wasted money on Callisto Protocol and had bought the Dead Space remake instead.

Poncho Hunter aka Star Wars: Fallen Order was enough for me to not waste any money or time on Jedi Survivor. I hope they added some new colors for the grip of the lightsaber!!!! /s.

Finally beat Tears of the Kingdom and now started Blasphemous 2. I guess those will be the two games I play this year lol, other than some multiplayer indies my wife and I sometimes throw on (we just bought Bramble, which a friend recommended; looks cool, sort of like Little Nightmares but Scandinavian folklore vibes). Blasphemous 2 has instantly reminded me what I loved so much about the first one, so I'm looking forward to going deeper. TotK was 10/10.

Well, I liked it.

Did you play the Dead Space remake? I did not, but would love to hear if someone here has played both.

Y'all know about Vagante? It's from like 2018. The elevator pitch: it's Spelunky the RPG. Or Spelunky Souls, if you will. One of those games that feels like it was made for me.

I beat both Dead Space and Callisto Protocol. Liked both, but like Dead Space more,

Would you say the combat was better in Dead Space?

That was my main issue with Callisto Protocol.