The wife and I are doing our first play through of stardew valley.
It's a lot better than I expected
If you're playing on PC and end up wanting more content, I can't reccomend the Stardew Valley Expanded modpack enough.
Adds a ton of new townsfolk, and an entire second neighboring town, all as fully fleshed out as the OG townies and all woven in with base game content to the point that they don't stand out as mod added.
Thanks! We will finish vanilla and then look into mods. We haven't even unlocked ginger island yet. Haha
Maybe SVE on the first playthrough is a little much...
ALSO the anthro character mod… my sweet dragon Abigail.
They put Reatroachievements on Gamecube games so apparently I'm now balls deep into OG Animal Crossing. Don't even know how it happened, but Tom Nook is saying my kneecaps are at risk if I don't come up with 150K bells by the end of the month.
Man, that Nook is teaching everybody hard truths about capitalism.
Holy shit, by bringing this site to my attention I think you may have ruined my life, but fuck it. I'm going in.
It is really cool. I don't always love the achievement design some of the volunteer coders land on, but it's still a wonderful way to revitalize old games. And the recently added completion tracking stats, where you don't just get an award for 100% every achievement, but also for beating the main campaign, is incredibly fun and useful to track which games you've playted through. Sony and Microsoft should steal that immediately.
does Fallout:London count for patient gamers? Fallout 4 is old, but the mod itself is new. That mod has consumed all my gaming hours so far.
I've been wanting to try it, how is it? Is it closer to Fallout 4 or Fallout 3/New Vegas?
it's been multiple eternities since I've played 3 or NV. 4 I've played more recently, but that was ... basically when the last dlc dropped? So... memory of those games not really the sharpest.
London is mechanically almost identical to 4 (duh? because mod, duh.). The parts of the main-story I've done has been great. I recall preferring side and dlc missions over main-plot in 4, but I was pretty into the main stuff (dlc or not) in NV.
some thoughts about it in no specific order:
- I'm around 20 hours in, and it feels like I've only started. Plenty of map markers opened, but VERY little of actual land area explored.
- there seems to be less emphasis on settlements, haven't had a permanent residence (storage, bed) so far, been storing my junk in some friendly town crafting stations which don't seem to de-spawn stored stuff (as tipped in the mod's discord).
- but settlements are apparently still a thing (not sure how I feel about it, they were the worst part in 4, imo) - haven't aquired a settlement yet.
- it's bit more difficult than 4, ammo is a bit scarce and some enemies are ridiculously tanky, even at normal difficulty.
- the early game can be a bit brutal, but eases off as you get levels (ref: at ~10-15h or so in, I was finally able to take enemies down with confidence)
- The city is HUGE and dense (requires some more grunt from the computer than base-game), there's things to do and see in every corner, a lot more buildings to enter.
- "level design" is mostly great, but there have been places where the route forward/mission critical progression item was hidden by all the clutter and generally darker lighting.
- the level design also contains surprisingly deep puddles here and there on the streets, and those build up radiation QUICKLY. Bodies of water in this game are dangerous.
- Food and other non-stimpacks seem to be in quite a big role, at least in early game. IIRC fallout 3/nv/4 basically showered the player with stimpacks.
- Voice acting is pretty good, if a bit hammy at times.
I recall enjoying all fallout games, some more than others. I mostly mod for convinience (eg. busywork, carryweight) so I'm not really playing the game(s) as intended. And this one is great... if a bit buggy here and there - but not any more so than actual Fallout games. :D
I totally recommend London, but it comes with an asterisk: the mod requires tweaking, and depending on your computer-skills it can be either "man, this is obvious" to "wtf am I doing". Config-file editing and extra mods are required to get it actually working. Def recommending Mod Organizer 2 as well. Also, if your base fallout 4 (and dlc) are from steam, you need to downgrade from the "Next gen update". I'm fairly sure there's good step-by-step how-to's to get it set up at this point.
I guess we play old games partially because we wait for mods to release? So we shouldn't have to wait for the mods to be old?
Hades.
Avoiding spoilers, the game just keeps unfolding out additional gameplay content and story long past what originally appeared like it was going to be the end.
There's definitely some slow parts in terms of progression though, as the resource costs for some of the permanent stat upgrades and house contractor stuff are just expensive enough to be annoying. Like, do you want to have fun this run or do you want to pray to RNGesus that you get the resource multiplier boons and hit a brick wall later when you haven't gotten enough combat boosting boons? Otherwise enjoy doing multiple runs to unlock one single thing that may or may not be purely cosmetic.
The gameplay carries it through any rough spots though, along with the drip fed stories of the different characters that progress each time you lose a run.
Overall a wonderful game.
RNGesus
I think you mean HeRNGmes
But yeah Hades is a good game. Got it in the latest Steam Summer Sale. it's my current couch / big screen Deck game.
My current desktop game is still Just Cause 2.
I very impatiently snagged Hades 2, after my 100 run Hades streak. It’s INCREDIBLE. I beat it a few times and now I’m waiting until full release to do it again.
Finally got into Baldur's Gate 3, and oh boy! I get what people were saying. I'm INVESTED. I'm going Dark Urge and currently trying to figure out if I wanna be with Karlach or Shadowheart.
Shadow heart has some nice early appeal, but karlach is bae all the way. Tried to go with shadow heart the first time around, and couldn't bring myself to do it to karlach
Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur. Loving the new mechanics so far.
I still haven't gotten to maps but I love the tiny town. Getting to trade currency is also great.
I'm playing Morrowind! It's my first time!
I already downloaded a couple code fixes to reduce crashing, Solstheim rumour fix, DB attack fix, and gender neutral dialogue. Any other must-have mods I can install on an in-progress save?
Morrowind is one of my favorites! Graphic Herbalism is nice, but the DB and Sosltheim fixes are the only necessary ones, atleast for OpenMW.
Have fun! You've probably already heard this if you're aware of the bug fix mods, but if it seems like you're missing every other attack, check your stamina and make sure you're using a weapon you're character has the skills in. A low stamina bar affects every skill check, and that iron dagger in the census office often trips people up if they try using it without taking short blade as a major skill, as an example.
I love Morrowind, but it doesn't do the best job of walking you through how combat works unless you read the manual, so I thought I'd mention it just in case :).
I'm using a bound spear. I have skills in conjuration and spear. I still miss most attacks though. How am I supposed to have high stamina when I reach enemies if getting to enemies requires walking and thus expending stamina? Should I be taking a rest break every ten steps or guzzling potions?
I just got back from the first difficult Mages Guild duty. I had to recruit a new member and gather dues from some people who live in bumfuck volcanic nowhere. I now hate cliff racers with a passion. On the other hand, I'm level 5 and I'm starting to kill scribs in one hit. I also can't believe I cleared that entire dwemer dungeon just to find the puzzle box right near the entrance. Plus side, now I'm loaded on dwemer coins. And playing a conjurer was definitely the right move when it came to those ghosts. I'd have been fucked if I were using mundane weapons.
One thing I'm disappointed by is that a minion-based build seems much less viable in Morrowind than Skyrim. Seems you can't just go all in on conjuration in this one. One thing I like is spears! Spears are the best weapon!
After you get done with your first playthrough and you still want more, check out the Tamriel Unlimited mods. They add the rest of Vvardenfell (the mainland) and it's almost twice as big as the base game, as well as tons of new locations, characters, and quests to go with it. They've also made/are making full-size Skyrim and Cyrodiil expansion maps as well.
Skyrim, I have modded the game on Steam Deck and installed a bunch of mods, including, Beyond Skyrim Bruma and it runs great.
All the deck modding guides make me anxious messing about with the game filesystem. But I would like a decent inventory manager. How easy is it to restore the game and saves if you cock up?
I just installed Vortex and modded Skyrim. I also have a couple of mods on Stardew Valley. For Skyrim, I was following https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/118alll/mod_skyrim_w_vortex_working_no_pc_needed/ and installed Vortex and there you can install and uninstall mods from the manager itself. Making them run is a bit tricky, but it is definitely worth it.
Rimworld, finally started playing with one of the expansions, Biotech. Permadeath mode or whatever it's called.
I keep shooting pods of toxic waste at one of my enemies. They keep coming over to complain about it....with fire and pain
I've been enjoying OpenArena. The bots are vicious.
Good to sée you here!
Ghost of Tsushima - Took a while to click, but now I'm really enjoying it. Pulling off some of the sword moves perfectly feels so satisfying. And it's gorgeous to look at.
And also Dave the Diver. Very charming game and it keeps adding more and more layers to the gameplay. The gameplay loop is really fun so far.
I really enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima when it premiered on the PS5. As you say the satisfaction of pulling off the sword moves is really nice. The story isn't bad either and some of the fight bosses certainly keep you on your toes. I brought the DLC expansion the day it came out just so I could spend some more time slashing away ;-)
I was wanting to play something 'Assassin's Creed-y' and this has really fit the bill! I like how easily you can be killed.
Should I play the DLC content after I've beaten the main game? It looks like I can go to the additional island whenever I want.
The gift that keeps on giving, No Man's Sky. Pretty much just aimlessly wandering around and having a blast!
- Played daily dose of Helldivers 2 and some EDF6.
- Finally completed Talos Principle 2.
- Gave Suicide Squad a try.
- Returned a bit to Trine 5 here and there
Final Fantasy 14, specifically the new expansion content.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Again. So good.
Happy cake day
Monster Hunter World
Sadly, I‘ve been sick, so I couldn’t play for more than a couple minutes at a time AND my Steam Deck decided to go into a boot loop for no reason, black screen, fans spinning, no BIOS access; had to let it run itself dry in the boot loop for 6 hours and when I connected the AC adapter it booted normally as if nothing happened, crazy!
Anyway, I played a little of Frog Detective 2, it‘s a silly, very short, and simple game series that was perfectly suited for my current state of mind.
Did you know Need For Speed: World is alive and kicking? Not officially, obviously, but through the power of fan servers and the wonderful project that is Soapbox Race World. It's not the best NFS in the series and can be pretty tough if you play it without power ups but it's fun.
For those who never heard of NFS:W - it's a live service, online only entry in the series. It consists of maps from Most Wanted and Carbon combined into one and brings some additional gameplay changes specific for the live service model (power ups, performance parts with incremental stats upgrades etc). It also has a pretty good visual editor - can be a bit cumbersome at times but you can do some great stuff with it.
Fan servers are surprisingly active and provide A LOT of new cars, parts etc do play with. They also have different rules so if you want a place where getting everything you want is easy, you can do that as well.
My second game is Wagahime or Waga Himegimi ni Eikan o, a comedy visual novel by Minato Soft. Unlike their other work (that I read anyway) it's set in a medieval fantasy world with magic, beast races and all the usual stuff. It has three main routes, each expanding the world and providing details for the other ones, and each filled with fun characters and events.
I won't be spending much time on it since all that's left is finishing the final route but it's a great read and I really wanted to mention it. Minato Soft seriously reignited my love for VNs lately.
Last but not least, Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery - a sci-fi strategy RPG. It came out this year so I'm not going to go too much into it but it's a great and at times challenging title. Worth looking into if you're interested in this genre.
Been going back to Minecraft parkour and adventure maps, lots of fun
GTA IV for the first time. I’m liking it so far
Absolutely loved that game. Was so stoked for its release (i watched one of the trailers oh so many times in anticipation) and got it at launch (not very patient of me...) and was not let down at all.
Skyrim SE, yet again. At this point it feels like a second job.
Helldivers 2 spreading managed democracy for Super Earth
The Last of Us Part 2 - what a RIDE!
I just started playing Sekiro.
I started once before, but life happened and I kinda just stopped.
It is a lot of fun though and I think I will stick with it this time.Minetest with mineclonia ; Dead Cells ; 0A.D. with my childrens ; Grim Dawn with Reign of Terror mod and Zombasite
C&C: Tiberian Sun. Damn, that game still looks great.
Me too! So stoked to be playing it again.
One tip for the final Nod mission I would have wanted to know before playing it - the game tells you that you have time until the GDI station makes three orbits and then gives you an hour timer. I was running out of time and made a despearate push for the final objective with just seconds remaining and then... another hour timer started. You have 3 hours to beat that map, I thought it was just the one =/
It's the finale where you have all the toys and get to play with the enemy in any way you want. Don't make the same mistake as me and rush through it, you can take your time.
I’m playing Dishonored these days. It was highly recommended after I said I was loving Prey.
Is it OK if I’m not loving it? Hahaha.
The no kill limitation was really shoe-horned in there, so I think I’ll only really have fun on the second playthrough. Shame.
Prey limits you quite a bit for the good ending, but it’s still complex, broad and fun.
I picked up Xcom 2 War of the Chosen after walking away for 2 years. Loaded it up and remembered why, half my squad severely wounded and surrounded. Knuckled down and got everyone out alive. Don't name your soldiers after your friends.
Persona 5 Royal Reloaded
I got P5R on steam sale at lowest price and found out with a jail broken PS4 (which i have) you can convert your save to PC so you don't have to start over (completed first dungeon on PS4 and dropped it a few years ago)
Can't stop playing it now, especially with mods that mix up the battle music and one ones that restore the oddly cut content shown in the recently leaked 2015 beta build. (More hangouts and more "M" rated language present)
- Alan Wake 2
- Last of part 1 remake
- Hogwarts legacy
Alan Wake 2 is an amazing game, glad I got it. Visually it’s stunning, storytelling is amazing and on all aspects just wow. Never thought they do make a sequel out of Alan Wake.
Replaying Last of us and still loving it. Not much else to say about it.
Unfortunately I’m not that happy about Hogwarts legacy. The beginning was great but after 3 hours, I find the gameplay and story very dull and close to dropping it. It makes me a bit sad, I like Harry Potter in general and was hoping for a great magical game. However, they did the whole world building of Hogwarts very well.
Hogwarts Legacy is very repetitive. I wasn't able to stick with the witcher-lite combat until the end, although a few in-game seasons passed and I felt pretty close. They did a good job on the school but the grounds and wider landscape are barren.
If only WB would have let them cook a bit more so we could actually get RPG mechanics in the game, and quidditch!
Riding around on the broom in Hogwarts Legacy was one of my favorite things to do.
I'm about to finish Phoenix Wright 1 and with it the whole saga (I started my replay with 2), and I'm playing Breath Of Fire IV. The first time was 2 years ago and my phone died mid-playthrough, hopefully this time there will be no issues. I'm playing it on an RG Cube for the portability, the only downside is I can't fully appreciate the gorgeous sprite work in such a small screen.
Startet The Witcher last week, the controls aren't as wonky as i remembered.
Starfield and Lego Skywalker Saga
Picked up elden ring on sale three weeks ago, and already have 90 hourd in it, and I'm on my second run. First was a strength build, and now a dex/arcane bleed build!
There was a sorcerer build in between those two, but it trivialised my favourite part of the game so I stopped it
I got Far Cry 5 for like $7.50 on sale and have been playing it with a friend, and it's actually been pretty fun, mostly driving around blowing stuff up with a rocket launcher.
I also got Doom Eternal, which has been more interesting than I expected; I thought it would be mostly just hold-left-click kind of gameplay, but you actually really need to think about managing ammo and positioning and cooldowns and tons of stuff like that. I feel really bad at it but it's been lots of fun.
Heroes of Hammerwatch
I completed Broforce, and it took me 13 hours. It’s a funny and gory game.
I am playing Doom Eternal. It’s a gory and cruel, raging game. The atmosphere is really vivid and cool, the hell scenes and the Cthulhu art are amazing. Masterpiece!
I’m also playing Retrowave as a BGM player. It’s a purely casual and relaxing mini game, and it creates an '80s retro atmosphere. I like it and I really love the synthwave genre.
I’m still playing Cyberpunk 2077, just drive my motorcycle and explore casually. I think everyone knows everything about this game. So I won’t introduce it.
I've been playing Forza horizon 4, Euro Truck Sim 2, and ESO. And a little Switch emulation.
EVE!
Srs bsns
I've mostly just been watching videos of things like fireworks instead recently.
Picked up my "new" 2ds xl and been playing the heck outta smash 4 3ds and earthbound.
Zenless Zone Zero. Can't stop playing it. Combats fun. Story is pretty good.
Foxhole. War 115.
Just wish I had a good team to play with.
I've started Celeste last week and damn that game get difficult quick (at least if you try to get all the strawberries^^). Also the Pico8 version is a whole other beast o.O
Also the usual TF2 for me, which now miraculously works on Linux again…
I got very high with a couple of friends and we played the party mode of flatout ultimate edition.
When alone with my daughter, we tend to play Goat Simulator 3. When completely alone I play some Bro Force or Binding of Isaac.
I haven't played this week, but I've been playing Crusader Kings 3 for a few weeks now, and it's really cool.
Crusader Kings 3
