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We have the Netflix and several music threads so I figured a video games recommendations thread was in order. It is winter which, for me, means catching up on or replaying some classics.
I’ll start with:
Hollow Knight - Simply the best Metroidvania ever made.
Ori and the Blind Forest/Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Beautiful, sublime controls and if they don’t make you cry then you’re dead inside.
Prey 2017 - Underrated spiritual successor to System Shock. A bit like Bioshock in space. Full to the brim with cheap jump scares. Whoever came up with the idea of a badly drawn Half Life face hugger as the basic enemy, that disguises itself as inanimate objects, was a sadistic genius.
Alien Isolation - Genuinely terrifying, a better sequel to the original than any of the films. Hilarious when it glitches out and you can befuddle a Xenemorph with a piece of furniture.
Sekiro - Tenchu meets Dark Souls and Guitar Hero. Utter bastard of a game that I love and hate in equal measure.
Kula World ⚽
Long live that lovely beach ball 😍
Currently playing and addicted to assassin's creed odyssey. Such a stunning and massive environment to get lost in. Interesting and historical story line, great music. Just epic. Play as Kassandra as she is awesome.
I'm maybe half way through The Witcher 3. I can see why so many people say it's one of the best games ever!
Witcher 3 is great. Both expansions are worth it too. Not tried an AC game since the second or third one so might add to the Gamepass to play list.
Elden ring. Fantastic game but not for the faint hearted.
Iracing- Keep coming back no matter how annoying it or the others users online get.
The most expensive bit of software I have bought ( maybe ) 5 years subscriptions and over 40 items ( cars and tracks)
Loved Elden Ring, didn't get passed fire giant, will return to it on DLC/expansion release
recently started a quick second play through of cyberpunk 2077 to get to the phantom liberty dlc
then hopped over to starfield as that's my bag, enjoying roaming the universe
Witcher 3 has to be one of the finest games
I made the mistake of putting Elden Ring down near the end game. Tried picking it up again this winter and just keep getting battered 😂 I think it is the easiest game that From have made but also the best. Death of the Wild is the best way I’ve heard it described
then hopped over to starfield as that’s my bag, enjoying roaming the universe
I’m a huge Bethesda fan and was looking forward to Starfield. Uninstalled after twenty hours or so. Glad you’re liking it but I just couldn’t gel with it. I always loved Bethesda games for messing about and the “I wonder what’s over there” element. The loading screens and planets with copy/paste points of interest killed it for me. Might revisit once mods have had it for a year or so.
Learning how to do combos on modern fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 11, having not touched the genre since Street Fighter 2 decades ago. 😮
Thank goodness there's Rocket League Rumble to fall back on, to get ~8min game fixes that can turn into an hour.
Alien Isolation
Just completed this (apart from the DLC) the pacing is sublime, it remains tense up to the very end.
Hollow Knight
Struggling with this one. I'm new to using a controller rather than KB+mouse and the combat is killing me.
Currently enjoying hitman world of assassination.. Includes remastered versions of hitman 1 and 2 aswell so plenty to go at!
Endless fun killing people in devious ways. Poisoning the marks food and then following them to a bathroom and drowning then in the toilet is my preferred method, never gets old.
Assassin's creed valhalla was great I thought.
I've got red dead redemption 2 to have another go at as my pc is much better than my old one, so I've got a fair few games catch up with now that I can turn all the settings up!
It's gotta be Assassin's creed - cannot remember the one I have though WOW
Outer worlds is also a great romp, and cheap on cd keys
https://www.cdkeys.com/the-outer-worlds-spacer-s-choice-edition-pc-eu-steam
Also epic are doing thier Christmas giveaways again this year.
You have to download the epic launcher and create an account, but there's usualy at least a few really good games given out that are worth grabbing amongst some not so great ones.
Ori is good, downloaded it for my daughter.
Shoot me (I mean everyone else does) but CS2 has been getting a lot of play from me. Good for a match or two and then put it down.
Have Cyberpunk sitting since 2.0 came out I started it and got past the prologue but haven't touched it since. I did have ambitions of buying a 7850XT so I could play it fullscreen (3440x1440) but the cost of that and a new PSU was just daft.
Prefer open world.
So its DayZ for me. It's dated, has none of the super fancy graphics seen today, but each adventure is unique, and each adventure is an adventure that can and for me usually does, end badly.
.
Trust no one. They're all out to kill you and steal your loot.
Beware the packs of cannibalistic Canadians 😮
Oh, Among Us! If anyone wants a game I'm up for that.
Currently playing and addicted to assassin’s creed odyssey
I've just started this, I think I got it as part of a bundle when I bought my One a few years ago! Can't say I'm addicted but I'm enjoying it so far and it looks great even on a last gen console.
I’m maybe half way through The Witcher 3
...and I picked this up cheap a while ago, it's next in line. It'll have to wait until I finish ac though.
Hollow Knight
Struggling with this one. I’m new to using a controller rather than KB+mouse and the combat is killing me.
Stick with it and use a guide if necessary. Once you’ve unlocked a few charms and core abilities it becomes easier. My last play through I went full coward mode with weaver song, grub song and Grimm child. Basically dodge and have your minions kill everything. There are loads of fun build combos to play with. Best to have an explorer build and then change it up at benches for different encounters.
It is a very tough game though. Pattern recognition plays a big part. It’s very easy to bimble in to areas you’re not ready for too.
It's a bit niche but Pistol Whip on the Oculus is one I keep going back to. It's available on steam too but you really need the VR to experience it as it should be.
Recent purchases were Diablo 4 - which is a bit meh - and Baldur's Gate 3 - which is phenomenal but the worst kind of time sink. I have lots of other stuff to do so it'll be a while before I can put some proper hours into it.
I tried RDR2 but got annoyed about 2 hours in because it won't let me give any bush meat I've hunted to the butcher at the first camp, so I spat my dummy and haven't played in about a year. Looked very good up until then though.
Stick with it and use a guide if necessary.
Yeah, so many rave reviews can't be wrong. Might play Ori first to try and access the necessary mindset. Cue someone telling me Ori is no less difficult than HK.
The second Ori game has many similarities and even outright steals a character from Hollow Knight. Definitely easier than Hollow Knight but has a couple of chase sequences and some platforming sections that are rage inducing. The first one is much more platform focused and has a couple of sections that are just plain evil (flooding tree in particular).
If you’re planning on playing then I’d do them in order and be prepared to cry like a massive baby.
Hollow Knight is a hard game. If you're not experienced with using a controller it will be very challenging! Ori is definitely easier but there are still some tricky parts to it (the mandatory chase sequences come to mind).
+1 to Prey, worth checking out the Dishonoured series of games if you liked it (by the same people).
Frost Punk is way better than I thought it might be - particularly if you're a fan of "which of the bad options is least bad" choices.
Still playing Worms+ and SS Achilles on the Atari 8 bit.
Just picked up Wild Metal Country on the PC in the Lidl charity box. A missed DMA early Rockstar classic.
It's on Myabandonware if any one is interested.
https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a523846/lemmings-bronze-statues-erected-in-dundee/
Best statue in the world.
Liking the Hollow Knight game. Not played, was just expecting another 3D shooter... But just seeing the trailer and the resurrection of a platform games .... Nice.
Loads of these type games on Itch.io
Check out the game jam entries....for the new cutting edges ideas.
I couldn’t get in with Hollow Knight but may give it another go.
Just finished the Last of Us again ready for the remastered sequel coming out in January.
I love that gameplay but mostly the story and voice acting. What do you recommend as a game in the same vein (PS5).
Has anyone played Lies of P on PS5? Looks very good, but as we know - just because it looks good doesn't mean it is..
Human fall flat, great puzzle game to play with friends.
Blatedly getting into Jedi Fallen Order, very much enjoying it
Hollow Knight and the Ori games were all excellent, proper old school gameplay done to an amazing standard.
I really enjoy the gentle charm of Stardew Valley, such a relaxing little game.
But i think the two fairly recent standouts have been Breath of the Wild and Eldin Ring
Rust. Fun game about survival, crafting and base building/defence.*
*And by that, I mean getting repeatedly murdered by toxic 13-year-olds with added racial slurs. 🙂
Seriously, though, the games I keep coming back to are Doom (2016) for mindless slaying to the best game soundtrack in recent years, and Dishonoured 2, probably the most enjoyable stealth game/world I've ever played - I instantly went out and bought everything else Arcane made, but haven't really found the same magic in their most recent offering (Deathloop) and got a bit stuck on Prey.
Snowrunner is great game for chilling out to. The concept is simple, you drive your truck around various maps completing jobs, such as delivering timber or challenges like driving to the top of a mountain.
You will spend a lot of time bogged down in mud and cursing your own recklessness or choice of route but it's surprisingly addictive and fun.
Titanfall 2 campaign is fantastic if you want a solo FPS experience. Only takes 6-8 hours, but loads of cool mechanics, the movement is beautiful, it looks good and it's like £3.
I don't think I love any game more than Ghost Of Tsushima.
I heard some really good things about The Day Before recently.
But seriously, Baldurs Gate 3 was the best game this year by a mile and is well worth 300 hours of your time!
From a slightly different angle, a couple of Christmases ago my girls and I had an absolute hoot (honk?) with Untitled Goose Game. Very fond memories of working out the challenges together. Any other similar recommendations??
The game I will always go back to is Rez, I want a PSVR2 to play it now...
Prey if you like the jumpy/shock/scary thing.
Subnautica if you like a story and also like the scary thing with some resource gathering
Subnautica Below Zero if you like a great story, good music, adventure and exploration.
Starfield if (like me) Fallout could've only been made better if they'd combined it with Privateer II from the mid nineties.
Anyone got any recommendations for cheap, fun pick up and play games for XBox One?
Will have some time to kill this Christmas so may dust the XBox off - but not interested in games where you have to invest days and weeks.
Trust no one. They’re all out to kill you and steal your loot.
Can't beat a Stimpee Day Z Youtube video as he roams around betraying and murdering every poor trusting unfortunate he meets.
Digital Combat Simulator has been my main draw for the last few years. Basically it's a flight sim but with semi-modern jets/helicopters and bombs and stuff. It's amazing.
Really off the wall recommendation for those with an Xbox is Moonglow Bay, it’s a 2.5D pixel art fishing game that is really good. Eastward is also absolutely brilliant if you like running around a post apocalyptic world hitting slugs with a frying pan.
On PS5 I’m really enjoying Sekuna which is a great light adventure game about growing rice and killing fantasy monsters. Also, and this will probably get me a lot of hate, I really got into Days Gone. Still haven’t finished it as it’s such a big game. I’m also playing through Far Cry 5 which is just great fun, tried 6 but really didn’t enjoy it and none of them have been as good as 3.
Another vote for Baldur's Gate 3. Although I do like to revisit XCom 2 from time to time.
Kula World ⚽
Long live that lovely beach ball
We loved that game and it's still available on the PS Store I believe. Original copies are on Ebay at around £100!! (I only had a pirated copy).
We used to play it with drinking forfeits – if you failed to clear a round, you had a shot and tried again. Fail again and it's another shot. Once you passed the round, it goes to the next player (and of course they then get a harder round).
So much fun.
Snowrunner is great game for chilling out to
Snowrunner is great but can also be incredibly frustrating. It's far too easy to just hop on and and look at a mission you think will take 15 mins and 2 hours later you're still there delivering logs to a shack in the middle of some woods up a track covered in deep mud.
Goat Simulator - great for just arsing about for 15-20 minutes.
Dredge, an eldritch horror fishing game was fun
Dredge is on my wishlist, when a suitably large sale comes along.
If it's not been mentioned before, Elden Ring of course. It's the spiritual successor to the Dark Souls series, but also better in a lot of regards, and not nearly as brutally unforgiving as Sekiro. The only real accusation one could level at it is it's just too big - I'm about 60-70 hours in and have maybe got through a quarter of it so far?
Control is one of my repeat pleasures. It's a great combination of action/ adventure and lore, and really draws you in with wondering what the world is about and how it works.
The Outer Wilds is also an absolute gem, definitely check it out.
I thoroughly enjoyed Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West.
Also Red Dead Redemption 2 whilst a bit long in the tooth is still fun.
I made the mistake of trying Factorio, now I dream of endless conveyor belts.
Another vote for Baldur’s Gate, not my usual sort of game having never played D&D but it’s beautifully made and challenging.
I have been repeatedly told to buy Red Dead Redemption 2 by a friend and thus far have resisted it. It needs investment and I never get the time to invest in it.
DayZ... What to say about it? For sure a game that has unique interactions with other humans and which can, at times, be lonely and a walking simulator. It can be fun if you are running with a team and it _is_ full of sociopaths and nutcases. But not as much as Rust.
Stellaris is nice if you like that sort of thing (and by "that sort" I mean like Civilisation) and I still go back to CS when I feel like interacting with toxic Russian kids for lolz.
Currently on a bad spell with my Mountain biking. Started off poor and continued to be poor due to wedding planning, work, flu beginning of the year, waiting for Mum to have her Brain tumour removed (successfully removed and benign) and a back injury.
So the Xbox has been getting a good bit of use this year.
I'm addicted to
flight simulator
Forza Motorsport is fantastic
Thought I’d give the poorly rated Battlefield 2042 a go also and it’s not bad.
Dead Space remaster is awesome
Looking to find a new Laptop so I can play Blackmesa the Half-life remaster. Along with Ocarina of time one of my favourite games.
Tiny Rogues. A classy minimalist rogue-like for under a tenner.
Beautifully simple, snappy and satisfying. And unlike lots of similar games, it's not maddeningly difficult.
Great for playing while listening to music.
Alien Isolation – Genuinely terrifying
I borrowed that off a mate.
Played it for two hours. Spent the entire time shitting myself. Didn't see a single alien.
Anyway.
The best game I've played in recent years is Life Is Strange. It's a slow burn but if you're into story-driven games it is truly exceptional. It's episodic and the first episode is free. There have been further games in the series but the original is the best.
Just bought Jedi survivor as it's on offer which is good. However, the game I've loved the most this year was Bramble, hall of the mountain king. It starts off a bit happy and childlike but soon decends into a fairytale nightmare. Very nice little indie game..
I don’t think I love any game more than Ghost Of Tsushima.
Oh yeah! That was last winter for me. Another beautifully stunning game and online with friends was the best online gaming experience I've had.
Still playing World of Warcraft and Im liking the new versions of classic they've brought out lately.
Wreckfest is brilliant! If you've not heard of it but like driving games it worth a try as long as you're not very competitive and must win! Winning online is quite hard when some folk turn their bus or truck around and start lapping backwards 🙂
Tom Clancy's The Division 2.
Good call on trying Ori before Hollow Knight, very similar but Ori has a more clear sense of progression, or I'm just doing HK wrong. Not sure it's going to make me cry though, bugs zapping bugs on hallucinogens.
Are most games fighting/killing games? I don't play them. Tried playing Doom, but yeah, not really for me any more.
Factorio
Check out https://shapez.io/
I play quite a few games that AliensRock on youtube plays. Talos Principle II (are people frogs?). Patricks Parabox. Slime Rancher. A Little to the left. Railbound. Tandis. Steamroll. Antichamber. Hexcells.
Generally games where I don't need to rush around, can chill without penalty, solve a puzzle or several.
Althought I'm finding with many of the puzzle games, if I don't play them often I completely forget how to play them and my 6yo boy ends up better at them than me.
Farcry 6 went on gamepass today. 3/4/5 were great games.
Wolfenstein new order, now playing old blood. Enjoying them, basic fps but interesting, fun and like choice of stealthing stages or going guns blazing.
Starfield was/is great if you're a fallout/elder scrolls fan. Lots of hate, but I'm really enjoying it.
Scorn is an interesting puzzler.
Prey, I only just started the other day. Seems promising.
Red dead 2 I played for 15 is hours but couldn't dedicate enough time/concentration it deserved. Will definitely go back to it next year.
Generally games where I don’t need to rush around, can chill without penalty, solve a puzzle or several.
This is a tenner on Steam at the moment...might be right up your street, I loved it, very origonal, just don't read too much about it if you are going to play it, it's one of those games you really have to go in blind to really appreciate the WTF-ness of it all! 🙂
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/stanley-parable-the-spoiler-free-review
Very low hrdware requirements too, so should run on pretty much anything.
Any of the main Borderlands games (2 is probably the pick of them for me). Should be pretty cheap on Steam by now?
All of the Dishonored titles. Death Of The Outsider is probably the most accessible as it doesn't punish you for going on a killing spree but Dishonored 2 is just sublime (worth it for the Clockwork Mansion alone).
Dying Light. Top drawer zombie slaying free running weapon crafting fun. Tempted by Dying Light 2 but seems a bit sillier to me?
Currently in one of hiatuses (hiati?) from gaming but Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 is calling me back I think.
Ah, the Clockwork Mansion. That, and a Crack in The Slab, such inventive levels, must be about 50 different ways to play through them. There isn't really a bad level in the game.
The original Dishonored still plays really well, although it's less forgiving for stealth. Death of the Outsider was good, I thought, but a bit short and limited (as you'd expect as a DLC).
Borderlands 2 occupied a LOT of my time, still holds up OK, although the graphics are showing their age somewhat.
Are the Borderlands games any good as singleplayer? I had a quick look at 3 but it seemed like it was missing something without co-op.
Only ever played them solo. Only time I've missed co-op is on the raid bosses which are basically impossible solo unless you're massively OP or VERY lucky and patient.
Proper behind the times and only manage afew hrs a week (still on PS4 TBH!) Playing through The Last of Us 2 at the moment. Enjoying it as much as the first and good to see the story told from both sides IMO. Also Gran Turismo for my racing fix.
Xbox upstairs that I used to play lots of Forza, Wreckfest or Sniper elite on but rarely play that these days.
My recent recommendations, all very good (if you like that type of game).
Remnant II
Lies of P
Lords of the Fallen
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty (DLC)
RoboCop: Rogue City - This was surprisingly good and a lot of fun, just like the original film.
Starfield felt dated to me, I put enough hours in to complete it but thought it was average. Mile wide, inch deep.
I've just gone back to playing Titanfall2, its a bit old but still cracking game, cross platform and hacker free.
James
Are the Borderlands games any good as singleplayer? I had a quick look at 3 but it seemed like it was missing something without co-op.
I missed out 1, but 2 and 3 both fine single player.
In 2, the decent/rare/fun/interesting guns are very very rare but always farmable with endless reloads until the right one drops. I decided I have other things to do in my life, got a save file editor, and up-leveled the ones I liked, which I figure is basically the same thing as replaying fights waiting for the RNG to go your way, at the end of the day.
In 3, the decent/rare/fun/interesting guns are so common, I didn't have time to use a lot of them before another one came along!
It appears I already have The Stanley Parable in my library! I don't remember playing it.... wonder what happened!?
Maybe I did? Must have been a few years ago.
Also in my Library that I never played, never got into, Metro 2033 Redux - 90% off at £1.77 in Steam currently - probably a bit dated for the gamers now though 🙂
Stray is a fantastic game where you play as a cat.
Also for anyone who likes diablo type games grim Dawn is also great.
No man's sky is another game I really love also (they have added about a million free updates to the game to try to make up for its bad launch (they have succeeded and then some in my opinion). Shows starfield how it should be done (I like starfield I have to admit).
Gang beasts is great to jump on multiplayer for a quick blast. Like human fall flat but FIGHT. Makes my kids scream and giggle
As a standard I have Ghost Recon Breakpoint on the go, but co-op campaign with a few mates; heli-assault all the things with belt fed machine guns.
Replaying Assassin's Creed Black Flag single player, rinsed Mirage, Odyssey, Origins, Valhalla & Syndicate, the earlier games are really dated and the control options are frustrating after playing the later games so I avoid. But they're all worthy games with hours of play and procrastination.
Red Dead 2 is epic and moody, might have a run through on the Game+ feature in the new year.
Watchdogs and Watchdogs:Legion are other good open world games.
Also in my Library that I never played, never got into, Metro 2033 Redux – 90% off at £1.77 in Steam currently – probably a bit dated for the gamers now though
That is a top quality single player FPS 'upgrade your guns and shoot the baddies' type game, it's more linier than open word, but it's done with panache ...A must play if you like shooters...get it played!
The best of the series is the latest, though... 'Metro exodus'.
Although 2033 redux holds up ok as the graphics had an overhaul for the redux version, over the origeonal.
EDIT, also The Stanley Parable is so worth a play...especially if you alredy have it... brilliant... just don't watch any spoiler vids or anything before hand.
Oh and trailmakers . So good
If we are talking underrated or didn't know it existed, it's got to be this:
Used to play it projected onto a wall, it looked stunning. A Bit like MTB, if you can't keep the flow going gameplay becomes lumpen and awkward!
Loved that game - quite a short campaign, but lots of timed challenges as well.
Newer open-world one, not so much.
If you like racing games, FH5 is a great mix/crossover of arcade silliness and sim...
IMO it's the best all round racing game ever, as evidenced by the scarey amount of hours I've played it!
