Last game you finished, tell us about it

far cry new dawn - as expected, boring after half a dozen hours; like since the 3rd game, best thing is taking over outposts undetected, everything else forgettable

Originally Posted by JDR13
Just finished a replay of Call of Duty 2 which I enjoyed quite a bit. I had been itching for a WWII setting, and it was better than I remembered.

Now I'm looking for something short to play before Cyberpunk 2070 is released.

Did you play Control (by Remedy Entertainment)? For me it has a similar vibe as Gothic or HZD in the following four areas: Character Development, open World (though in fact it is in a very big building), very detailed and consistent lore and art style, and a strong story.

(Of course, like HZD, it is not a "real" RPG, before the usual trolls come in.)

Edit: It is not very short though, I have 50 hours in it in steam after one complete playthrough.

Originally Posted by bkrueger
Did you play Control (by Remedy Entertainment)? For me it has a similar vibe as Gothic or HZD in the following four areas: Character Development, open World (though in fact it is in a very big building), very detailed and consistent lore and art style, and a strong story.

I've thought about checking that out. Remedy's games are a mixed bag for me. I liked Max Payne 1&2 but didn't care for Alan Wake.

I didn't realize Control was open world though which is another plus. Maybe I'll try it after Cyberpunk.

Alien Isolation: it has been a while since I finished it but I keep thinking about it so it is worth a post. It was absolutely a breath of fresh air. The time I spend thinking about a game (or movie) after finishing is my criteria for how good it was. :-)

I'm susceptible to jump scares and horror in general which helps. The atmosphere is perfect with some memorable moments. Some people say it is just a walking simulator, but that doesn't do it justice. For me it is definitely much more than that. Sure it is more of a narrative-driven exploration game, but the horror adds a lot to it for me.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I didn't realize Control was open world though which is another plus. Maybe I'll try it after Cyberpunk.

My first impression based on some review were also pretty bad. It felt and looked like a B-game to me. However, since then I changed my mind seeing the positive reception and looking at some other reviews. I kind of look forward to playing it now (a wacky sci-fi story and the power-based combat sounds like fun).

As far as I know it all takes inside one building with some backtracking, so it is not really an open world.

Originally Posted by ilm
Alien Isolation: it is been a while since I finished it but I keep thinking about it so it is worth a post. It was absolutely a breath of fresh air. The time I spend thinking about a game (or movie) after finishing is my criteria for how good it was. :-)

I'm susceptible to jump scares and horror in general which helps. The atmosphere is perfect with some memorable moments. Some people say it is just a walking simulator, but that doesn't do it justice. For me it is definitely much more than that. Sure it is more of a narrative-driven exploration game, but the horror adds a lot to it for me.

I had a great time with AI. It's a very underrated game imo and one of the best horror titles in recent years. Not sure how anyone could think it's a walking simulator unless they didn't actually play it.

Shame it didn't sell better because I would have loved to see a sequel.

Nier: Automata. Not sure what to think of this one. For more than 70% of the game I was irritated by the combat, mediocre graphics, empty world, etc. There is little enemy variety, bad controls, and I often lost track of my character and confused it with your one henchman (same color palette). I kept going because apparantly there is a very vocal fanbase that says the last part is really good (except you have to play the game 3 times to get there).

Sure enough it gets a little bit interesting and I wanted to see how it all fits together. Still a lot is left open to your imagination though. You also get used to the mediocre combat… The question is do you want to cope with that mediocrity to get there? I do appreciate what they were trying to do there (with the multiple playthroughs from different viewpoints, the exploration of what it is being human, etc.). It is clear that the game was designed by more of an artistic director where gameplay took second place.

There is no other way to describe it than as a cult-hit.

I just finished Chronos: Before the Ashes.

It's a prequel to the game Remnant: From the Ashes, although it doesn't have much in common gameplay-wise. In addition to having puzzles, which Remnant lacks, combat is entirely melee based in Chronos as opposed to Remnant which features both melee and ranged action.

It's pretty short for an RPG. I use the term RPG with a grain of salt because it's really more like a Zelda clone with some soulslike aspects thrown in for good measure.

Overall, I mostly enjoyed it. Combat is fun if somewhat simplistic, and the puzzles were generally pretty good. I did find the final boss frustrating though, and it took quite a few tries and a lot of cursing before I finally toppled him.

It's worth checking out for anyone who likes these kinds of games and isn't looking for a lengthy experience at the moment.

Cyberpunk 2077 - did it after around 130h, did everything except boxing gigs; still have left some endings to explore. Very entertaining overall even with all the problems, it was the game i had most fun this year, so goty for me.

I believe you.
Just passed 100 hours, stalling the main story on the point of no return and still have 2 side quests not done. At least 2. Because it was 1 and then I got contacted for the second new one.
How many sidequests this game has? 8937456873465893746358?

Not complaining though, each is top notch!

The Outer Worlds.

Dear Mr. Leonard Boyarsky, Tim Cain (, and Eric DeMilt),

Please change the loot system in your next endeavour, Avowed. I was walking 90% of the time with my head towards the ground, filtering and picking up loot. It took away a lot of enjoyment as I couldn't focus on the nice environments and quests you made. I absolutely loathe all the useless junk, and having a level system for your weapons.

Besides that I really liked the outer worlds. I thought TOW to be at its best in the restricted areas (exploring buildings, solving puzzles. etc.), less the outside areas with all the combat.

Just finished the main campaign of Dishonored. Pretty good overall, but the story was kind of meh and full of cliches. But the setting was fantastic. If not for the setting, it could have been very boring.

In the final 3-4 missions I was overpowered like hell. I was playing on Very Hard and had no issues taking everyone out, non-lethally. 80% of situations was me teleporting myself behind a guard, and chocking him out. The rest was me stopping time and either chocking or shooting guards with sleeping darts.

The highlight of the game were the levels and the level design. They look great, and they have plenty of possible paths, each of them winding in on each other. It's a very nice maze to explore and pillage for supplies.

I was surprised how little we got on the nature of the Outsider and his machinations. And why he chose to bless Corvo and Daud, among others, with his abilities. But Dishonored 2 and its expansion will likely shed some more light on that, as the name implies.

The sandbox and the abilities are also nicely done, but I feel they're way too powerful. This is the sort of game where you force the difficulty on yourself by limiting what you use. Otherwise it's a cakewalk.

Anyway, closing words are that I recomment playing it. Of course, it being as old as it is, you likely already did if you wanted to. But it's good. 8/10.

Currently I've started the Knife of Dunwall campaigns, and it seems interesting enough, playing as Daud. Is that Michael Madson voicing him?

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Currently I've started the Knife of Dunwall campaigns, and it seems interesting enough, playing as Daud. Is that Michael Madson voicing him?

It is. Let me know what you think of the DLCs when you're finished. I've never played them because they hadn't been released yet when I played Dishonored.

Originally Posted by JDR13
It is. Let me know what you think of the DLCs when you're finished. I've never played them because they hadn't been released yet when I played Dishonored.

I recommend playing the DLCs very much. They have a world design, which is at least as beautiful as the main campaign; they are harder to play and they contain lore and characters, which help to understand some persons and fractions in Dishonored 2. So they are recommended for the contents and for the gameplay.

Originally Posted by JDR13
It is. Let me know what you think of the DLCs when you're finished. I've never played them because they hadn't been released yet when I played Dishonored.

They're pretty good. I just finished the first one, and started Brigmore Witches. For some reason I find Daud more compelling than Corvo. Plus he speaks. But I think I am starting to reach the point of getting sick of the game. I played about 35h of Dishonored so far, and I think I'll be taking a break before getting into Dishonored 2.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
But I think I am starting to reach the point of getting sick of the game. I played about 35h of Dishonored so far, and I think I'll be taking a break before getting into Dishonored 2.

Too much of a good thing is bad

Like JDR13 I had the game before the DLC came out, and it felt a bit short. It left enough time between that and the 2 DLCs to appreciate it again fully. It's been a long time so I couldn't say which of the DLCs I preferred, both were good.

I never finished Dishonored 2, though, not sure why because it was good too, maybe I was too busy at the time. I should check that, you gave me some motivation to re-open this case

I like Dishonored and enjoyed the DLC.

Did not like Dishonored 2 for some reason, and it felt like a rush. I really enjoyed the Death of the Outsider (which is actually standalone) - it was smaller but well designed with optional side missions, and with very interesting story.

Finished Diablo II with a Paladin. Focused on the cold aura and Zeal. It became a chore at the end but well designed and very fun and addictive to play. I need a break before going through the expansion.

I really loved dishonoured when I got it but couldn't get myself to play the dlc as it became too much of the same thing.

Dishonored 2 has been on my list for ages but not been in the mood for it.

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Finally finished both main DLCs, Knife of Dunwall and Brigmore Witches, and I have to say, storywise it's better than the main campaign. Really liked it a lot.

Gameplay and levels are very much the same, but they do throw in some serious enemies this time that you're heavily encouraged to avoid.

They also have some nice quests. I forgot to mention this in the main post, but the whole game feels very much rpg like, with choice and consequence like most games do not have. Also, one of the quests in particular actually stopped me in my tracks and gave me pondering morally/ethically. Loved that.

Also, I loved all the non-leathal ways of finishing everything. Especially the final mission. I was afraid I would be forced into a boss fight like most games do. But no, they have clever ways of handling this all.

One thing that I would have loved more of, is more intertwining with the characters that Corvo met along. There is some, but more would've been better imo.

Oh, and I'm not sure, but do they take information from your main Dishonored save for things that happen during the DLC missions? Theoretically they're separate, but either they import world state from my saves, or maybe I just lucked into the same decisions being cannon in the story. Edit: nevermind, it seems it’s based on the chaos level that you finish on. Nice either way.

Anyways, yeah, highly recommended if you played the main campaign. Gameplay-wise it is more of the same, but story is much better and tighter and more focused. I think having a protagonist that speaks also made a big difference.

Well, I haven't had much RPG action of late, so I dipped into Trial of Champions this evening from the Deathtrap Dungeon trilogy. I'd had a couple of shots back when I bought it but had forgotten how tough a book it was to complete. I chose the dwarf character and named him Karzak. (Full points to Watchers who recall the name…)

After a couple of hours adventuring, I managed to obtain 8 of the 9 rings, but couldn't find the last one. Turns out I had to find it via a random encounter (with a Chaos Champion no less) which was a bit of an odd design choice. I completed it shortly after that and unlocked the final leg, Armies of Death. The game certainly lived up to the book's challenging nature, which I fondly recall reading in around 1990. I'm not sure how I'd go on the harder difficulties.

In any case, this was a pleasant way to get back into the flow of things RPG wise.
I'll take on Armies of Death next during the week.