What games are you currently playing?

[Harpic fraîcheur]

I'll be playing Oddworld New 'n' Tasty after school.

[buildersith]

Recently discovered an intersting RPGmaker game called OneShot, there are 2 versions of the game, the original 2014 freeware game and an updated remake released on steam last month. It's a story driven puzzle advemture game, it's also a meta game in a similar vein to Undertale, Pony Island or Irisu Syndrome in the sense that the game is self-aware, or at the very least, aware you're interacting with it's characters and world through a computer.

The free version is interesting because its true to its name, you have one shot to beat the game, there are designated save points that will close the game safely when you use them, but if you close the game by closing the window or through the menu's, then the main character will die, rendering the game unplayable, at least until you figure out where the games save data is actually stored so you can clear it.

The steam version doesn't have this mechanic (though the game still tries to discourage you from closing the game outside of designated save points) for obvious reasons which is understandable but disappointing, the steam version also lets you play through the game again after beating it in a similar way to how Undertale handles the same thing.

I would definitely recommend at least giving the free version a try, and if you want more buy the steam version since as well as updating graphics, simplifying menu's, it also adds more story and puzzles and its been hinted that even more is coming at a later date. Much like simmilar meta games the game is best experienced blind though so I'm putting the rest of my thoughts on it in a spoiler.

The basic premise of the game is that the world is coming to an end, the sun has disappeared and the world is beginning to deteriorate in the eternal darkness this has brought about. The game starts with a young Neko called Niko waking up in an unfamiliar place, a dark house, after some basic puzzle solving Niko finds a lightbulb that's damn near half the size of him. it lights up in his arms and let's him leave the house, upon getting out Niko now finds himself in a dark wasteland and after some exploration, Niko finds a robot, called Prophetbot.

Prophetbot explains that the light bulb is the world s new sun, and that it is Niko's quest as a Messiah to make a pilgrimage to the tower in the city of Refuge in order to return the sun and bring back the daylight and also find a way back to his own world. Niko is not alone in his quest, he has the ability to communicate with the god of this world and his guide, you.

This is one of the lesss talked about mechanics of the game and that kind of surprises me because its easily one of my favourite things about it. At various points in the game Niko can initiate conversation directly with you reflecting on things that have happened, asking about things he doesn't understand, or even just getting to know you, and while you very rarely get more than 2 dialogue options in these moments it definitely helps you form a bond with Niko and make you care about him and his plight. By the end of the game I cared about Niko more than any other video game character I've ever expirienced.

The main gameplay loop of the game is exploring the dystopian apocalypse solving puzzles and trying to figure out how to proceed on with your journey. The majority of puzzles are similar to old point and click puzzles, were you'll find various items in the world, you can use these items to interact with certain objects in the world, or combine them to create new items, that you can then use to interact with various objects in the world. These puzzles are fairly basic but generally logical and not too tough, were the game really shines are the puzzles that require you to think outside the box, or rather, the game window. Throughout the journey Niko can find various computer terminals, at these terminals you will be contacted by a being called the entity, and usually when this happens it means something has changed on your computer, this can be as simple as creating a text document in your documents folder that gives you a code to a safe or changing your desktop bakcground to a picture that gives you the solution to a puzzle, but in the games second half you'll have to start experimenting a bit more with how to solve these puzzles and though there aren't very many of them they are a real delight.

The games graphics are simplistic but beautiful, making good use of lots of glowing colours, and custscene art is incredibly well made and pretty to look at, sound is mostly ambiance, usually somber and mellow, fitting with the game's generally gloomy tone that wouldn't feel out of place in a Dark Souls game. For all its cute designs, and Niko being the pancake loving bundle of joy that he is, the world of oneshot is a grim one, pretty much all of the inhabitants are aware of the impending doom, they're hopeless and generally believe that even though Niko is determined to save the day, the world may already be beyond saving or not worth saving at this point, and they've pretty much come to terms that they're going to die. Again it feels like Dark Souls or Majora's Mask and thats not something to take lightly since both those games were masters of tone.

Again I really do highly recommend OneShot, give the free version a try first or just go straight for the remake, it really is worth the experience.

[RibShark]

I discovered OneShot a while ago and was waiting for the Steam version. Played it as soon as it came out, I would also strongly recommend it! It has a certain atmosphere about it that I absolutely love in video games, and I love the art style and music composition.

[gamerz31w]

Deus Ex The Game of The Year,Rad Rodgers,Wakfu,Freedom Planet

[Harpic fraîcheur]

Geometry Dash. The 2.1 update is awesome.

[Master]

Hmm, I did jump on Undertale, but by the time I got on it, it was pretty much everywhere. This sounds a lot less visible, for the time being anyways.

[Harpic fraîcheur]

Undertale looks like a really good game, I still need to get and try it.

[RibShark]

Undertale looks like a really good game, I still need to get and try it.

It's great, you should really try it!

[Harpic fraîcheur]

Cool, I'll get it the next month.

[Ray502]

I've been playing MLB The Show 16, on the PS4!

[Bzzit]

Playing some Fallout 4. Just equipped my arsenal of guns with reflex sights and upgraded all my armour with rank 4 mods, ready to enter Nuka World!

[Ray502]

The only other PS4 game I got as of right now is Angry Birds Star Wars, which I've been playing very recently.

[Hunchman801]

I finished Resident Evil 7 last night, and globally it was a very positive experience. Need to take a step back and think about it a bit more but I'll try to write a review soon.

[Adsolution]

I played the demo and watched my brother play through some part in the main game for an hour, and yeah, it looks great. I'll be starting it soon.

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One game I'm currently playing through Skyward Sword, and wow, people shit on the motion controls way too much. Sure, they're a little clunky sometimes, but given what it is and what you have to work with, they work pretty dang well. It took a couple hours to get used to the combat, but I'm pretty good at it now. I actually find the combat extremely fun. My only criticisms are that the diagonal strikes seem to be more difficult to pull off for whatever reason, and that you can't attack while running, which feels like a noticeable downgrade from Twilight Princess.

I've completed the first dungeon so far, and I really like the format they're going for: longer pre-dungeon stuff. It feels far more like an adventure, whereas I found that in older Zelda games, the pre-dungeon stuff was just shallow padding as a means of establishing some kind of setting really quickly before shoving you right into the puzzle solving segments. That being said, I appreciate dungeons now more than I did when I was younger - when I was younger, I would always kinda groan when I got to a dungeon and wanted to get them over with quickly - which could be in part due to the fact that the longer pre-dungeon segments in Skyward Sword allow you to build up the anticipation to start craving whatever dungeon lies ahead.

Regarding the first dungeon though, I've gotta say, that boss was way too hard for a first boss. His attacks require retardedly precise timing to avoid, and you need to be in the right position and react pretty quickly in order to even land a hit - this was more of a Dark Link-type fight (which usually come near the end of the game). The first phase was also cryptic as fuck and took me dying almost three times before I figured out what to do. I also hate it when games don't replenish your shit when you die - it's as if they're thinking "oh, you had trouble beating this boss on your first try? Well now on your second try you have no fairies and your shield is broken, have fun!"

The music and artwork are fucking phenomenal. Not that the previous Zelda games' weren't, but they've taken it a step up here. That track that plays when you're chasing Fi to the temple on the first night, for instance, was positively awe-inspiring.

This probably goes up there with the other Zelda games for me: amazing, and I can hardly decide which one I like best. I think the reason I usually say that Twilight Princess is my favourite is because Midna is hot, and it's the only game that didn't focus on trying something totally new. Ocarina was the first 3D game and thus, while being outstanding, does (only mildly) suffer from first-time syndrome, Wind Waker had the boring ocean shit and was generally very easy, and Skyward has some a few minor questionable design choices, and the motion controls (I admit they're unnecessary - there's nothing I've seen so far regarding the combat that couldn't have been done with a controller), whereas Twilight Princess was just an amazingly polished experience (level design, combat, etc), in addition to having rich and deep environments and atmosphere.

Of course, I still have to beat the other 6/7 of Skyward Sword to really tell. It's looking to be a really long game.

Also, for note, I don't really consider Majora's Mask a mainline Zelda title (hence why I didn't include it in the list) due to how different the flow of the game is.

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The other game I'm currently playing through (under Keane's mEgAvision) is the original Half-Life, and wow, from the moment I started, I understood why it was considered one of the greatest games of all time. The level design feels so fresh and creative, even nowadays; I can only imagine how amazing this game must've seemed in 1998. All the laboratory environments, the destruction effects, the comical gore, it's so well done. I'm right near the end of the game in the alien home world right now, and it's crazy how much time and effort they put into it. entirely new assets, enemies and challenges, while still pushing you to your limits in terms of making use of every skill you've honed prior. Another thing - and this is incredibly rare for a game to pull off - is that I still find myself using every single weapon among the 20 or so you have by this point.

-- BEAR IN MIND: Everything you're about to read is being played on the hardest difficulty, and I'm aware developers often don't really test their hardest difficulties --

The only thing about the game that feels dated to me is combat against the humans/military. It's sort of clunky, and, unlike when you're fighting the aliens, there doesn't seem to be any real strategy that goes into it. The fights usually cumulate to hiding and throwing grenades or setting mines. Alternatively, you can use a dominant exploit I found within the first few minutes of fighting them: if you peek out from behind some cover very slowly, you can get a clear shot in at their heads and they won't even see you. Enemies don't react to other enemies being killed either, so you can take out an entire platoon by just standing in one spot basically.

Oh yeah, and then there are the random ninjas that show up at like two spots in the game: shit enemies. They're basically like the military except they run ten times as fast, their shots are like one-hit kill, and they're literally invisible.

I've also only ever been at 100% health at two very brief points in the game. The vast majority of the time I'm somewhere between like 2 and 30, which I actually like a lot (it makes everything super tense!!) except when you're fighting the fucking ninjas where like just fuck off.

But yeah, alien combat? Phenomenal. Dodging the vortigaunts' attacks and then double-barrel-shotgunning them in the eye(?) is ridiculously satisfying.

[NyaNyaLily]

Man, I also really want to play the original Half-Life. I actually planned to play it, but...

Well, just see it yourself.

[Dart]

]I think the reason I usually say that Twilight Princess is my favourite is because Midna is hot...

:boon:

[Harpic fraîcheur]

McPixel. I played it for an hour and it's really original and funny so far.

In each level you must find how to defuse six bombs and some scenes of the game remind me about South Park, which I also like very much. I recommend it to anyone who would like to get a fun game that is not expensive at all (it costs 3,99€ on Steam).

[Adsolution]

Well, just see it yourself.

I don't think any of that really mars the experience; most of the video just focused on the lack of gore, and I actually wasn't even expecting there to be any in the first place. Also, the thing at 3:12 where he disappears into the void happens in the original.

LOL the army are robots, that's so classic germany

The only straight-up bad thing there is the NPCs sitting down and shaking their heads when they die. I don't even know what that's supposed to signify.

]I think the reason I usually say that Twilight Princess is my favourite is because Midna is hot...

:boon:

[incognito]

Well Ad, if you enjoyed the original Half-Life, I've tested a mod that makes it 10 times better, (as a guy who finished it more than 30 times it really felt like a new game)
Here's a bit of the footage : I'm playing like a psycho here but, the mod balances the combat against the HECU soldiers and all the enemies and brings some eye candy features, in addition it has an awesome soundtrack (with some tracks I replaced by my owns) and really makes you feel like a hero.
Here's the trailer :

[DemigodRayinator]

I'm going to start playing Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga on PS2 soon.