Off Topic The Video Game Thread Strikes Back

[Geoffrey Taucer]

So what's everybody else playing these days?

I recently played and loved Octopath Traveler; it's been a good 15 years since I enjoyed a JRPG this much. Visually stylish, stunning soundtrack, fascinating lore, loved it.

Thoroughly enjoyed Breath of the Wild, got all the shrines but not all the Korok seeds.

Still playing Starcraft 2 (just hit Diamond last week) and Smash Bros Melee/Project M/Icons: Legacy

.... and I'm currently watching (again) a playthrough of Horizon: Zero Dawn. I don't have my PS4 set up so I can't really play it right now, but even just watching it, I think it's one of the best games of the decade.


How about y'all?

 

[Zivaah]

I just recently played all of the mass effect games with my boyfriend together (not Andromeda)! Storywise still the best game, I have ever played. And your profile pic is awesome afterwards there was a huge post-ME depression, because we haven't found a game comparable to this one yet and the soundtrack still makes us emotional. Thalos principle was nice though and has a an awesome soundtrack.

Before our last ME run we played Divinity Orginal Sins and now started with WoW again after the Classic release. But right now, I have no time to play anything anymore. Here and there one round of Civilization Vl.

 

[Empowered]

My husband and I have fallen down the classic wow hole. We both played when the game was originally released and had missed the difficulty that slowly fell away with each retail expansion.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I just recently played all of the mass effect games with my boyfriend together (not Andromeda)! Storywise still the best game, I have ever played. And your profile pic is awesome afterwards there was a huge post-ME depression, because we haven't found a game comparable to this one yet and the soundtrack still makes us emotional. Thalos principle was nice though and has a an awesome soundtrack.

I LOVED the ME trilogy (hence the avatar). I've played through the whole thing probably at least six times (and have decided that Shepard is canonically female, and Garrus is canonically her boyfriend).

If you're looking for another game with a strong story, good character development, and extensive lore, give Horizon a try; for me at least, it scratched the same itch as the ME trilogy.

 

[Zivaah]

I LOVED the ME trilogy (hence the avatar). I've played through the whole thing probably at least six times (and have decided that Shepard is canonically female, and Garrus is canonically her boyfriend).

If you're looking for another game with a strong story, good character development, and extensive lore, give Horizon a try; for me at least, it scratched the same itch as the ME trilogy.

Sorry not sorry, but Shepard is a male and Liara is his girlfriend (occasionally getting killed by Morinth). My Shep always falls in love with Asari . - And sorry, Ashley is dying everytime in Virmire. I never warmed up with her.

I looked at the trailer for Horizon, was hyped and then... what a pitty just for PS4. But it will maybe come for PC next year.

 

[moogacat]

Since you so charitably started a thread :

My husband and daughter bond primarily through gaming. Their current fave is Red Dead Redemption 2, which they've been playing since last Christmas. They still get enjoyment out of it even though they've "finished" the game, so to speak, but I'd love to get them another game that they could enjoy together. Any ideas about a reasonably similar game (not the first RDR, which they aren't interested in)?

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Since you so charitably started a thread :

My husband and daughter bond primarily through gaming. Their current fave is Red Dead Redemption 2, which they've been playing since last Christmas. They still get enjoyment out of it even though they've "finished" the game, so to speak, but I'd love to get them another game that they could enjoy together. Any ideas about a reasonably similar game (not the first RDR, which they aren't interested in)?

I haven't played RDR2, but most of my friends who love that game also love Breath of the Wild, so maybe check that one out?

Sorry not sorry, but Shepard is a male and Liara is his girlfriend (occasionally getting killed by Morinth). My Shep always falls in love with Asari . - And sorry, Ashley is dying everytime in Virmire. I never warmed up with her.

I'm with you on saving Kaidan over Ashley on Virmire.

If, hypothetically, my Shepard were male, he would definitely go for Tali

 

[sun]

Semi-retired from playing competitive Melee, I pretty much just practice tech skill once a week or so on 20XX or UnclePunch.
I've really been enjoying watching my roommate practice and learn the game. He's ranked #1 in Berkeley and just got ranked #19 in northern california

I just started playing a game called Yakuza 0, and it's maybe one of the best single-player games I've played in the last 5 years

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Semi-retired from playing competitive Melee, I pretty much just practice tech skill once a week or so on 20XX or UnclePunch.
I've really been enjoying watching my roommate practice and learn the game. He's ranked #1 in Berkeley and just got ranked #19 in northern california

I just started playing a game called Yakuza 0, and it's maybe one of the best single-player games I've played in the last 5 years

Who's your roomie? Anybody I've heard of?

I go to tourneys at Xanadu sporadically (like, a couple times a year), and I play on netplay with my brother, but that's about it.

 

[sun]

His tag is "theunabletable", he hasn't traveled much, but he's beaten Nintendude, Homemadewaffles, Kevbot, Umarth, Azusa, Darrel, pretty much everyone in the area haha.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

His tag is "theunabletable", he hasn't traveled much, but he's beaten Nintendude, Homemadewaffles, Kevbot, Umarth, Azusa, Darrel, pretty much everyone in the area haha.

So he's the puff? That rest was pretty clutch

 

[sun]

Yeah, he plays only puff. hoping he does really well at next Genesis

 

[Aero]

I'm a little late to this thread, but I just have to brag! I just got the platinum trophy in Death Stranding. Man, Kojima is such a visionary! Being a diehard Metal Gear fan for most of my gaming life, I was incredibly intrigued by him striking out on his own and creating Death Stranding with his own team. It is a radically unique game, and the story is like nothing you've ever experienced. It got very divisive reviews from all over, and to be fair, I understand why, but being the kind of gamer I am, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Feeling that Mass Effect itch again, I started up a file on ME2 yesterday. (ME1 is just too much of a slog, so I skipped it).

There are definitely aspects of this game that have not aged well, but I still love it.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Since we're stuck at home, I'm sure a lot of people who aren't usually gamers are looking for new ways to alleviate their boredom, so I compiled a short list of game recommendations for people who never normally play video games:

Journey is tied as my favorite game ever. It is stunningly beautiful and serene, and the soundtrack was the first game soundtrack ever to be nominated for a Grammy. It was originally a console game, but is also available on PC and Mac now (though I don't know what the system requirements are). It's mechanically simple and intuitive, and should be enjoyable to gamers of any (or no) skill level.

Sky: Children of Light is a phone game made by the same studio that made Journey. I haven't played it, but my wife loves it.

Monument Valley is another phone game, a puzzler inspired by the art of M. C. Escher. It's very beautiful, very beginner friendly, and challenges your ability to reason in three dimensions.

Dear Esther is a haunting (if somewhat depressing) character study. Very pretty, somewhat abstract, but doesn't require any particular skill with a controller.

The Stanley Parable is a darkly comic commentary on either gaming or modern society in general, depending on your interpretation.

All of the above have only minimal mechanical challenges; that is, they don't require a lot of speed or precision with a controller or keyboard.
If you're up for something with more of a mechanical challenge, here are a few more recommendations:

Katamari Damacy is weird, whimsical, and delightful, and while it does require some precise control at some points, the learning curve is fairly gentle and you don't have to be particularly good to find enjoyment. Like Journey, it was originally a console game, but is now available on PC (and I think Mac as well, but don't hold me to that).
It also has a phenomenal soundtrack -- I suspect about half the game's dev budget went to the audio department.

Tetris is a classic which has stood the test of time. You can learn how to play in under a minute, and then spend years improving your technique. There are versions of it for pretty much every platform imaginable; heck, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a version that can run on your toaster.

If you've never played a platformer but want to try one, honestly the best place to start is with the original Super Mario Bros, which you can play for free online here: https://www.retrogames.cz/play_005-NES.php?language=EN
While the game is 34 years old, the learning curve was crafted with astonishing care, and even to this day is often held up as an example of brilliant and intuitive level design. Later levels can get brutally difficult, but the game does an excellent job of gradually ramping up to that point.

Civilization is a series of strategy games. The whole series is excellent, though I have a special soft spot for Civ 4; its main menu theme, Baba Yetu, was the first piece of video game music ever to win a grammy.

Chrono Trigger is a Japanese RPG widely considered to be among the greatest games ever made, with one of the greatest soundtracks in the history of games. There is a mobile version, as well as a mac/PC version.

Portal is a first-person puzzler for PC/Mac, which is loads of fun, easy to get into, and has some of the funniest dark humor I've ever heard in a game.

 

[Zivaah]

Civilization is a series of strategy games. The whole series is excellent, though I have a special soft spot for Civ 4; its main menu theme, Baba Yetu, was the first piece of video game music ever to win a grammy.

Baba yetu, yetu uliye... this song always gives me goose bumps. Right now I am playing a lot of Civ6 with my boyfriend.

Stanley Parable is awesome, but i get major motion sickness with it. No way, I can play this game longer than 10 minutes.

Talos Principle i can highly recommend. Puzzle game with a philosophical theme - sounds boring or not so interesting at first, but it really caught me and has an awesome soundtrack.

Limbo - very dark, but you can easily spend a day with this game, trying not to die.

Cheers,
Zivaah

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Baba yetu, yetu uliye... this song always gives me goose bumps. Right now I am playing a lot of Civ6 with my boyfriend.

Have you gotten Christopher Tin's (the composer) Calling All Dawns album? It's amazing, and it has a re-done version of Baba Yetu on it that's absolutely sublime. I met him at a concert once, really cool guy. I mentioned to him that I was working on a Baba Yetu remix, and he sent me a copy of the original score, and posted the mix on his blog when I finished it.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I've been streaming my Starcraft 2 Ladder games on twitch. Not playing at the moment, but if anybody wants to pop in and watch sometime, it's at twitch.tv/geofftaucer

Sometimes I have my mic on, sometimes I don't. Fair warning: expect foul language when I'm up against a Terran opponent (generic swearing and trash-talk, nothing racist or homophobic; can't make the same promises about my opponents, though)

 

[JBS]

We got a Switch for Christmas... been playing lots of Mario Kart with the family.

It also has a cool add-on where you can play lots of old NES games too. My Son and I played Metroid. This is how it went... my Son played for about 15 seconds and died... then it was my turn... um yah... he got another turn about an hour and a half later.

 

[Nikki4]

Clash Royale, minecraft and old schooling it on Mario kart n64. And a little pubg