Bleak Sword DX

I got stuck on a tough boss for a while, so I replayed some earlier levels to level up my character. We’re back in business. It didn’t even feel like a grind since each area/battle is short and gameplay feels great. Maybe 15 minutes to get the 2 level ups I needed. I’m enjoying the steady increase in difficulty and how new enemies are introduced. The game does a good job of making you assess the situation and use the techniques available to overcome it. There’s even some fire/environmental hazards that can be used to your advantage.

Fae Tactics

Also got stuck on a (boss?) fight, so I took some time to rearrange my party and spells to get some better elemental synergy and buffs and it worked! Definitely feels rewarding and, well, tactful.

9 is one of the best. Not sure what you didn’t like about 8, but 9 feels a lot more true to the older games imo.

I love them. FFIX was the reason I got a Playstation (2). To me, VI to X + Tactics were peak. I had a hard time finishing the older ones even though they were decent, but from VI forward it seems like they put a lot of thought into the characters.

I own FFXIII AND XIII-2 but didn’t get more than 5 minutes in thanks to the battle system. One day I’ll give them another try.

I really like the trope of a secret island in a corner of the world map.

I feel this. I’ve been playing it on medium-ish settings to compensate. It will be a blast when you do play!

You’re in for a treat. Currently have some of the DLC in my backlog

Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree

I’m 160 hours in, completed the base game, and now am on what I believe to be the final boss of the DLC. I got to phase 2 on the first try, only to hit a brick wall lol.

The DLC is a lot bigger than I was expecting, and some of the bosses are the most difficult I’ve faced. The highlight for me has been Cerulean Coast and

Looking forward to NG+ and beyond as I work towards the 100% achievement - speaking of which, it’s a little disappointing how little is required to get it compared to DS1/2/3, especially since ER is so much bigger of a game. I really enjoyed hunting down all the rings for DS3 and felt they could have had a talisman achievement to match in ER.

My favourite moment of the past week was when I summoned two players for a certain boss (another phase 2 kicking my ass), but we got invaded by “Jesus” who just kinda lore-walked around and gestured, and eventually we followed along. Nobody got hurt, and they even gave some gestures of encouragement for us to go beat the boss.

Ilamentia

Very weird indie puzzle/platformer. It feels like a fever dream. You have a FPS view and (some of the time) a set of hands that shoot projectiles (reminds me of Gauntlets of the Necromancer from Heretic), except they don’t necessarily do damage, they interact with the puzzles in each world.

There are some abstract hints for each level, but I find myself really having to think about what’s in front of me to solve the puzzles (in a good way). I noticed a negative review complaining about the game mechanics not being consistent, but I think that is completely intentional and serves the overall feel of the game nicely. It’s not meant to be obvious or easy, you have to figure it out. I don’t think this is a game for everyone, but I am enjoying it for what it is. Apparently there are 96 levels so I’m more than getting my money’s worth.

Bleak Sword DX

Action/roguelike/soulslike? Each world is broken into about 10 levels + boss fights, and from what I can tell there are about 10 worlds. I’m enjoying the feel of the gameplay a lot - blocking and dodging are satisfying like a souls game. The difficulty is starting to ramp up as I work to finish world 3. Surprised I hadn’t heard of this sooner. Probably a good one for Hollow Knight fans, but there isn’t exploration. It’s bite-sized action and it’s done well imo.

Noita

What a game. Alchemy, wand-building, every single pixel is trying to kill you. Especially the water which is also on fire. It’s amazing and highly addictive. I have no idea how large the world actually is yet, since I’ve been busy discovering new ways to blow myself up. Pretty much every run I see something new. This will easily get 100+ hours out of me.

A little bit of The Binding of Isaac, and Gran Turismo 5.

A lot of Elden Ring (I’m late to the party).

Your decision to italicize that gave me chills

I would actually say Witcher 3 is good for that. There’s like 100 smaller quests you can do in 5-10 minutes each. Some of the main storyline quests (which are marked as such) might take 20 or 30 minutes when you’re ready for them. It also has imo one of the best quest tracking systems I’ve seen, as well as best inventory system (sorting, yay) so you don’t have to remember everything after time away from playing.

Dark Souls games can also be played that way - from one bonfire (checkpoint) to the next is usually around 5 to 10 minutes depending on how you play.

Chrono Trigger and Grandia 2 come to mind.

Yes, same with every other ledge lol

First time playing DS1. I’m trying to keep it mostly a blind first playthrough, but I have had to look up help after trying my best and giving up in a few spots - including those archers.

Like how I wandered all the way down to Tomb of Giants extremely early, no lantern drop, no Lordvessel. The Pinwheel fight was so easy that I thought I must be going the right direction.

That your first time with Dark Souls? I played it for the first time on that remaster a couple of years back. I remember those goddamn Anor Londo archers being maybe the only thing in the game that pissed me off so much I had to quit and come back. Damn near EVERYTHING in that game feels “tough but fair” e

First time playing DS1, yes!

Dark Souls Remastered. Just hit the halfway point (Anor Londo), upgraded to Great Scythe +15 and things are starting to look up. Now the toughest opponent I’m encountering is gravity.

I completed the Steam 100% achievements for Dark Souls 2 and 3 so decided it was time to try Dark Souls Remastered. So far I think I’m spoiled by the other two games because DSR feels so tedious without bonfire warp. I’m trying to keep my first playthrough mostly blind, but this game does not really seem designed to make that possible. Luckily spoiled the part about going to Tomb of Giants too early and having to backtrack, but I did wander far into Catacombs right after the Gargoyles fight. It’s becoming more enjoyable as I level up and have switched main weapon to Great Scythe, though. Hoping I warm up to it more like I did with DS2 after the initial difficulty.

I’ve also been playing Fae Tactics. It’s surprisingly unique and satisfying with some combo mechanics and customizability. Definitely worth checking out if you like tactics style games.

The Messenger was wonderful. Looking forward to whatever they release in the future .

I hated the Xbox controller when it first came out, probably because my child-sized hands couldn’t reach the buttons comfortably. So it was Playstation style for a long time.

Now as an adult I’ve switched over to the Xbox style (easier to plug and play for Steam gaming) and I like it a lot. It feels a lot more durable than any other controller I can remember using. Though I feel the size and weight of the controller makes it slightly more difficult to use the bumper and trigger buttons compared to PS controllers, it’s not a big deal because I’m not playing FPS these days.

Still got it! Agreed, the music is iconic. Nicholas Picholas was a great host too. I just looked him up and apparently he’s a radio host now.

Super Mario 64 has to be my favourite (and is also the most recent one I’ve tried). When that came out it rocked my world, and I didn’t even have my own N64 at the time. I would play at friends’ houses or Toys R Us.

There was a Canadian TV show called Video and Arcade Top 10 and they would frequently give games away. I wrote to them explicitly requesting SM64, and a year later it just showed up in the mail.

Still playing Dark Souls 2 - almost 100 hours in and there’s just Darklurker and Aldia left. This game just keeps going and going, really well worth the cost. Since I’m almost through, I can see why it seems to be the black sheep of the series. But, despite some problems (like needing to refer to a guide constantly) I like it a lot, and will definitely do a NG+ eventually.

Also started Yooka-Laylee and I love it already. It’s very true to the Banjo Kazooie style.