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Post by tuigirl on Mar 8, 2024 18:31:34 GMT
Quick PSA: Electronic Arts finally unlocked their dungeon and let loose a bunch of old, classic PC games onto Steam, including Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, the Dungeon Keepers, and all of the remaining Command & Conquer games (including Red Alert 2)! Anyway, this week I'm excited to dive into Vanillaware's latest masterpiece, Unicorn Overlord. The story is... pretty bad, but the gameplay is phenomenally good. There's a very generous demo available and if you're even remotely interested in strategy games, I highly recommend checking it out. Now there's a fantastic game. Kind of weird we got two really nice-looking games about marginalia the same year, though. i recently picked up the other -- Inkulatl, i think's the title -- but haven't had time to try it out yet. Let me know what you think of Inkulinati. I had it on my wishlist for a long time, but some of the reviews have put me off so far.
I certainly like the artstyle.
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Post by tuigirl on Mar 8, 2024 18:46:21 GMT
I have been mainly playing Last Epoch recently, it is a very nice ARPG that runs well on the Steam Deck- with some tweaks. For example, there is some kind of memory leak which causes the game to crash on the Deck frequently, so someone recommended installing a 3rd party software CryoUtilities on the Deck. I like Last Epoch enough to go out of my comfort zone and managed to install that 3rd party program (using a step-by-step Youtube guide). It pretty much fixed the issues for me, so I can enjoy the game. Nice game, lots of interesting classes to try out, typical ARPG formula.
Recommended.
I also got En Garde! a colourful swashbuckling fencing game in the style of the old Zorro and Errol Flynn movies full of hammy characters. I got it because it came highly recommended for the Steam Deck.
OMG, this game was made for the Steam Deck and it is such a treat to play.
Fun, fluid movements and perfect for me to practice my muscle memory skills with all the buttons.
Plus, you can pet the chickens!!!
Since I rediscovered racing games because I enjoy playing them on Steam Deck- Flatout Ultimate Carnage was re-released yesterday and it runs perfectly on the Steam Deck. I am having a blast with it.
And then I tried Expeditions- A Mudrunner game. I am a scientist myself and I have taken part in some cool expeditions, I called helicopter supply airdrops with a satellite phone, we students scouted ahead to find a path for the trucks and our native guides showed us sacred burial sites as "side quests". The game immediately appealed. Sadly, I am VERY bad at it. I have never played a game in the series and had no clue what I was doing. I ended up falling off a cliff and drowning IN THE TUTORIAL, in a game where reviewers said it is impossible to drown. I managed. And there was not even an achievement for it.
After 110 minutes I decided to refund the game via Steam, since I had such a hard time with it. But in theory, if someone knew what they were doing, it plays well on the Steam Deck and the controls are responsive and work well.
I will keep it on my wishlist, maybe they add some quality of life features for total casuals like me in the future.
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Post by Star Platinum on Mar 8, 2024 20:35:07 GMT
I’ve been playing a lot of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth since it dropped.
This game is frankly amazing. The world is gorgeous rendered, everywhere I’ve been is frankly beautiful, wastelands, deserts, lush forests all of them beautifully rendered.
Combat has been a real delight as well, every character is totally unique and fun to play as, though I still have a few more to add to the party.
Minigames galore, the piano has been quite a bit of fun and I look forward to finding a new song on each one. Speaking of songs, the faithfulness to the original soundtrack is amazing, but each song has been elevated to even greater heights. I even caught Yuffie singing her own theme!
The expansion to the original’s story has been very well pulled off so far, the story has been massaged and expanded, sercret characters like yuffie are now properly intergrated into the plot and served very well by the new writing.
It also feels more light hearted than REMAKE, there are moments of fantastic levity which had me howling with laughter, in particular Red XIII on the cargo ship.
I’m only just starting chapter 9, but so far this game has been worth every penny I’ve spent on it.
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Post by tuigirl on Mar 17, 2024 10:39:55 GMT
Just found another really fun game! Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.
It is a futuristic game about joining a skater gang, doing some artful skating around the city, graffiti and escape the police.
This is one of these games which you start up and it is simply fun and engaging. Since I got my Steam Deck, I am very happy to try out new types of games and genres which I have never played before, just for the pure joy of trying out new things. This game is a dream to play on the Steam Deck, it is fluid and responsive and feels great to pull off all the tricks. I am glad that I gave this a chance.
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Post by tuigirl on Mar 20, 2024 19:38:05 GMT
And I finally made it to Subnautica. I had this game for a while but I never fired it up. And this despite I LOVE scuba diving and this game looked like it was made for me. Well, I started on it, but then I read that the standalone expansion " Below Zero" does has a story, character interaction, has a more objective driven gameplay and has less horror to it. The original Subnautica is indeed listed as a horror game on Steam! In the end, I decided to play the stand-alone expansion Below Zero FIRST. Main reason is not the horror aspect, but the objective driven gameplay. Sandbox games where you work at your own speed and according to your own objectives are well and good, but mentally, I am not up to it at the moment. I need explicit instructions of "do this and go there", otherwise my mind is all over the place.
I will play this first, in the more relaxed freeplay mode (without hunger and thirst) and will then continue with the original game.
I have also been playing "Murder on the Orient Express". Which is a nice relaxing puzzle detective game, following the story by Agatha Christie with some modern embellishments.
I like it. It is nothing mind-bending or stunning, and no classic, but a nice chill experience. Which can be enough.
And then I have to make a recommendation for an absolute awesome little game names "Summerhouse". It is a wonderful small-scale experience of building a nice holiday home in some beautiful environments. Just a small builder to play around with for a short time. This is something to calm down, to come down and for ADHD people like me to focus on something for a few minutes each day. As small scale as it is, it is a great experience. And beautiful.
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Post by christmastrenzalore on Mar 23, 2024 20:22:49 GMT
And I finally made it to Subnautica. I had this game for a while but I never fired it up. And this despite I LOVE scuba diving and this game looked like it was made for me. Well, I started on it, but then I read that the standalone expansion " Below Zero" does has a story, character interaction, has a more objective driven gameplay and has less horror to it. The original Subnautica is indeed listed as a horror game on Steam! In the end, I decided to play the stand-alone expansion Below Zero FIRST. Main reason is not the horror aspect, but the objective driven gameplay. Sandbox games where you work at your own speed and according to your own objectives are well and good, but mentally, I am not up to it at the moment. I need explicit instructions of "do this and go there", otherwise my mind is all over the place.
I will play this first, in the more relaxed freeplay mode (without hunger and thirst) and will then continue with the original game. I haven't played Below Zero yet, but it might not be a bad call. I loved the game, but I think it took me 4 months to beat it. Portal: RevolutionNot a bad fan game at all. The writing was nowhere near as sharp as the games propper, and the difficulty curve was a bit uneven, but I enjoyed my time with it a lot. HadesHaven't beat it yet. It's tough, but moreish. Broken Sword 1 & 2I had fond memories of the guard dog puzzle on an old demo disc, and bought the series on GOG. They have very charming writing, and the puzzles are intuitive for the most part. There were a couple I had to use the hints for regrettably. Only issue is the remasters have made some questionable graphical choices that aren't very cohesive. I looked up the guy who voices George. I wasn't expecting him to be the American narrator of the Teletubbies, AND the guy who got drugged with laxatives in Mission Impossible. Armoured Core IV: The Fires of RubiconThis is nuts. Bonkers difficulty spikes. I think I love it.
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Post by tuigirl on Mar 24, 2024 10:56:38 GMT
And I finally made it to Subnautica. I had this game for a while but I never fired it up. And this despite I LOVE scuba diving and this game looked like it was made for me. Well, I started on it, but then I read that the standalone expansion " Below Zero" does has a story, character interaction, has a more objective driven gameplay and has less horror to it. The original Subnautica is indeed listed as a horror game on Steam! In the end, I decided to play the stand-alone expansion Below Zero FIRST. Main reason is not the horror aspect, but the objective driven gameplay. Sandbox games where you work at your own speed and according to your own objectives are well and good, but mentally, I am not up to it at the moment. I need explicit instructions of "do this and go there", otherwise my mind is all over the place.
I will play this first, in the more relaxed freeplay mode (without hunger and thirst) and will then continue with the original game. I haven't played Below Zero yet, but it might not be a bad call. I loved the game, but I think it took me 4 months to beat it. Portal: RevolutionNot a bad fan game at all. The writing was nowhere near as sharp as the games propper, and the difficulty curve was a bit uneven, but I enjoyed my time with it a lot. HadesHaven't beat it yet. It's tough, but moreish. Broken Sword 1 & 2I had fond memories of the guard dog puzzle on an old demo disc, and bought the series on GOG. They have very charming writing, and the puzzles are intuitive for the most part. There were a couple I had to use the hints for regrettably. Only issue is the remasters have made some questionable graphical choices that aren't very cohesive. I looked up the guy who voices George. I wasn't expecting him to be the American narrator of the Teletubbies, AND the guy who got drugged with laxatives in Mission Impossible. Armoured Core IV: The Fires of RubiconThis is nuts. Bonkers difficulty spikes. I think I love it. Below Zero- I like the game, it is relaxing (playing on low difficulty settings), I like how you can explore and I am also curious about how the story continues and what has happened to my sister. I think it was a good decision to do Below Zero first, since it provides more story, more guidance and more hand-holding, compared to the original.
But it has mixed reviews, exactly because of that. Some people like it, others don't. Right now I am in the mood for more hand-holding.
Plus, best of all, it is a good looking game with interesting creatures and environments.
From looking at the walk-throughs, I might be a bit over half-way through by now.
Concerning Hades- I thought about getting that one too, especially because it always is one of the first recommendations that pops up on my Steam Deck Storefront. But I am easily frustrated, so I am not sure how I will mentally handle a difficult game. What is your experience?
Armoured Core looks good, too. But then again, I am not sure how well I will be able to handle the controller gameplay. I am still very clumsy with it. Even with Subnautica, I sometimes click the wrong stash or am not fast enough when a sea-monkey steals my equipment. It can be annoying. Please let me know how you like the game when you are a bit further in, it has caught my eye.
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Post by tuigirl on Mar 24, 2024 11:01:48 GMT
Right, I just bought Tchia for my Steam Deck. I have seen you have to play it on low settings, since it is very hardware demanding.
But-
OMG, the Steam forums are an absolute cesspit of the worst humanity (and human masculinity) has to offer. In this Disney-like game you play a young indigenous girl in New Caledonia. OMG, the amount of sexist and racist comments is breathtaking. Not sure there is hope for humanity to be honest. For this game, I like the look, it seems to be a relaxing and beautiful exploration game where you can soul-jump into different animals to solve puzzles. Downloading now, I think I might like this.
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Post by sherlock on Mar 24, 2024 11:09:27 GMT
Finished Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It really feels like a next generation take on Ocarina of Time and thematically closes off a nice trilogy with OOT and Majora’s Mask. There are some aspects I found a tad frustrating, but all in all I think it’s the best experience I’ve had playing through a Zelda so far.
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Post by christmastrenzalore on Mar 24, 2024 14:36:06 GMT
Concerning Hades- I thought about getting that one too, especially because it always is one of the first recommendations that pops up on my Steam Deck Storefront. But I am easily frustrated, so I am not sure how I will mentally handle a difficult game. What is your experience? To put this into context, I was playing through it with a couple of friends, where we swapped after dying and did a run. On one hand the combat is very hectic, with a lot of on-screen visual flair. While you do get better the more you learn to deal with particular enemies, some bad matchups or RNG can cripple a run. On the other hand, you do get better stats and resources every time you retry, and new character interactions and abilities unfold the further you get. Dying might be frustrating, but it's also a key feature to the story and gameplay loop.
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Post by bethhigdon on Mar 26, 2024 13:48:38 GMT
They started the bootcamp for new members over at the Final Fantasy Randomizer group. I've been a new member since last year. I never seem to have the time to complete the training program, and I not going to get through it this year either. I can already tell.
*sigh*
It's a shame because it's such an interesting way to replay what is my absolute favorite game.
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Post by tuigirl on Mar 28, 2024 19:08:58 GMT
Well, I love "Tchia". What a nice cute game, with relaxing gameplay and a nice story. Plus the island music immediately creates summer and holiday feeling. Gameplay-wise, funnily enough, it reminded me a lot of the Farcry series. Well, yes, you do not have real weapons and you do not go around slaughtering everybody, the game is very low violence. But there are certain spots where you can do mini-games like racing, shooting gallery, enemy camps which you have to destroy and a there is huge open world to explore and you have your own boat to cruise around.
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Post by tuigirl on Mar 29, 2024 23:38:25 GMT
War Tortoise on Steam.
Seriously, I bought this because I thought this was a joke and I needed a laugh and thought I would check this out. Played it for 4 hours straight. Seriously, a game this silly and simple as no right to be this fun and amazing. What a great game! I went into this not expecting much. But wow, this is remarkably deep and complex. You have to stay on top of managing your tank and the infantry support and it can become quite frantic and nailbitingly exciting. Plus all those mini-games and additional content! There is even a fishing mini-game plus a 3rd person shooter mode. Seriously, this came as a total surprise. Such a fun game, very addictive and OMG! so many things to upgrade and unlock. This is insane. As an added bonus, I adore all the cute woodland creatures. Honestly, assault melee mice, hamster commandos and sugar glider scouts? How awesome is that. I am really amazed at this game. Very well done, and it certainly is worth the price they are asking. There are many games on Steam which are cheaper but have much less content. Plus it plays PERFECTLY on my Steam Deck. This is awesome.
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Post by sherlock on Apr 6, 2024 9:59:35 GMT
Finished one Zelda on Wii and started on another. Skyward Sword’s motion controls are certainly more of a challenge to wield than Twilight Princess was, but for every moment of frustration with the controls, there’s a genuinely great moment.
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Post by christmastrenzalore on Apr 20, 2024 0:23:41 GMT
Undertale Archipelago Randomizer Archipelago not onlu lets you randomize games, but can tie them together so each player contibutes to eachother's games.
Unfortunately, it was our fist go at it, and the games weren't calibrated ideally. Undertale gates sections of the game behind doors that need keys, and most of mine were locked in my friends' lategame areas. After an explosive start fighting the second hardest Boss in the game, I spent most of my time waiting.
It was interesting though. I'd try it again.
Broken Sword 3: The Sleeping Dragon Might be my favourite in the series now. Apparently the actioney sections, box puzzles and lack of point and click interface turned some fans off. But I dunno. It felt just hard enough. And I enjoyed the interface. It just felt smooth.
And it was quite an elegant transition to 3D. Even if some of the movement is a bit stilted, the art style holds up well.
Broken Sword 4: The Angel of Death When it came to the puzzle design, this had some of the highest highs. Felt like lots of thought was put into them, and there were plenty of great aha! moments. And the story was pretty great for the most part.
But it doesn't feel very well play-tested. So many parts I got snagged on needless complexities. With the other games I only had to consult the hint system about once per game. With this one past the half-way point, I was checking it every other section because they'd buried the lead or misdirected me so thoughroughly.
I got pretty pissed. But then the main character Rube Goldberg electricuted himself to deatha and I knew I just couldn't stay mad at it.
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse There was a big gap between this and 4, and it went back to it's 2D routes. Feels a little odd playing them back to back. It's almost like this one could have come right after 2. But it's got all the QOL aspects that were missing from 4. Maybe a little too much, but better to er on the side of caution I suppose. And the new approach of having 3D models over lucious hand-drawn backgrounds does look pretty great.
I'm definitely looking forward to 6 whenever it's finished.
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