La5t Game You Fini5hed And Your Thought5

Yeah I'll cool on it over time, I reckon. There's not enough game in there to get me back, and I deleted it from the hard drive immediately after finishing it

I bought Abzu, when it was new shiny as it's from some that worked on Journey and to me it is a poor Journey imitation.

Well that's awkward! I got this also as a freebie, and wasn't going to play it. Scrolled down... oh it's excellent! Oh not wait it's disappointing! I guess I should try it myself, but interesting to see 2 differences of opinion, mostly on the emotional tone I'd say. What I might also say is that these opinions aren't dealing in...

Abzu-lutes

masofdas wrote:

I bought Abzu, when it was new shiny as it's from some that worked on Journey and to me it is a poor Journey imitation.

That's interesting and I can see similar tones. However, I didn't get on with Journey at all. It was all a bit empty and the gameplay was floaty, which suits the underwater setting more (translation: you can away with that underwater). The bits in Abzu where you are out of the water are the worst part of the game.

Jimbob wrote:

Well that's awkward! I got this also as a freebie, and wasn't going to play it. Scrolled down... oh it's excellent! Oh not wait it's disappointing! I guess I should try it myself, but interesting to see 2 differences of opinion, mostly on the emotional tone I'd say. What I might also say is that these opinions aren't dealing in...

Abzu-lutes

Very good.

I'm one of those blasphemous people who didn't like Endless Ocean, so I reckon I'm probably good without Abzû.

Madness, gJones liking Abzu over Journey.

If you do like Endless Ocean, Beyond Blue out now on Switch.

If it's only 3 hours long I'll play it some time this week and give you the definitive opinion.

I would also say Abzu is more enjoyable than Journey. I felt it was a nicer world to explore and just inspired a bit more wonder.

This is madness indeed, some 6/10 imitation better than a near masterpiece.

Both Journey and Abzu are excellent. Journey is better but that's not slight on Abzu. The difference is that Journey is a multiplayer game and you need that specific multiplayer experience to get the most out of it, whereas Abzu is strictly a solitary affair.

Mas getting wound up about peoples Journey opinions again, what is this 2013?

More of thinking Abzu is some how better.

Be like saying a knock off Souls-like eg Mortal Shell is some how better than actual Dark Souls, if you didn't like Dark Souls the better game of the genre.

masofdas wrote:

More of thinking Abzu is some how better.

Be like saying a knock off Souls-like eg Mortal Shell is some how better than actual Dark Souls, if you didn't like Dark Souls the better game of the genre.

Now that's madness. Some of the Journey team actually made Abzu - not really a knock-off if it's the same people making it. Reading up on it, the director said the underwater setting was a reaction to the desert setting of Journey, so if anything it's a spiritual successor.

I have Journey so will download it and give it another go. I didn't experience any of the multiplayer stuff, as OrangeRakoon said, so would have just played it on my own.

Yep what you're saying is why Isaid bought Abzu when it released as Journey is in my Top 25 of all-time, and found it to be a poor imitation, which out of your reviews agree with Cappa.

Enough Abzu, Journey talk. Well, will say play Sky, the actual next game from thatgamecompany as it is damn good.


Finished Pokémon Just Fine Diamond last night, and it is just that just fine as it has nothing that makes it standout like even though I didn't think SWiSH were that great but at least the Britishness made it a bit different.

Maybe if I had played Diamond on DS my view would be different, yet this first time I've played and have played more Pokémon games since its OG release, as I did also find the Pokedex to be meh as well, says I saw like 130 Mon where it feels more like the same ones of Geodude and Ponyta over and over.

One for Pokémon fans, or try one of the other two on Switch instead.

I have lots to say about a game about three people will care about, so I'm going to try and cram it into about three paragraphs.  About.

The second paragraph proper's going to be all dunking on this game, followed by a relatively positive score, which might seem confusing.  Ys VIII, though, nails the basics of gameplay - especially the battling.  The fighting feels more like an action game than an RPG, with a parry that sends your attacks critical and a dodge that's basically Witch Time. (I recommend Hard difficulty to get the most out of the system.)  Battles aren't cordoned off from overworld exploration either, giving the game a Xenoblade-lite feel (especially when you accidentally disturb a level 80 dinosaur). Combined with nippy movement and an option to fast-forward every cut-scene, Ys VIII feels really fast and really good.

Everything else apart from the music is a bit duff.  The story starts okay, a decent romp about surviving on an island, but gets tedious when you meet the titular Dana and her dull friends - and I do mean 'titular', the female costumes are universally awful.  It's a couple of cup sizes away from being as bad as Xenoblade 2, down to a jiggly alien boss near the end.  Anyway, the bits where you're playing as Dana solo not only have the mediocre writing and characters, but make the battling feel less like a really good RPG system and more like a duff action title.  The worst of it all, though, is the performance.  There's no excuse for a Vita game to run like this: not when the world's cordoned off into little areas rather than being truly open, not when the graphics are noticeably old, not when you get to a dramatic vista telling you 'you'll cherish this memory forever' and your first response is to laugh.  The game slowed down so much as to crash on me three times, including during the final battle.  Terrible.

So, we have a game that feels really good and ladles a lot of poo on top of that good gamefeel.  Is it still recommendable?  Yes, just about, the battling is good fun.  Is it better than the Xenoblades?  Dear God no!  But it is lighter and nippier, and might appeal to slightly different people.  Outside those people, if you loved Xenoblade, you'll probably like this.

I'm glad you generally liked it in the end. I worried that I'd recommended it to the point where you'd played it and then you'd ended up hating it.

With regards to the clash between the performance and the script talking about how beautiful it is, I found that pretty funny, and just embraced it. It's obvious that its production values aren't that high, but I thought that was quite charming. I think it's in part because Ys is a series that was never big in the West so it felt a bit like a curio that sort of broke through from Japan, and that would have been in a feature in NGC back in the day.

Rum wrote:

It's obvious that its production values aren't that high, but I thought that was quite charming.

Balla doesn't have the bit of the brain that does this.

Rum wrote:

I'm glad you generally liked it in the end. I worried that I'd recommended it to the point where you'd played it and then you'd ended up hating it.

With regards to the clash between the performance and the script talking about how beautiful it is, I found that pretty funny, and just embraced it. It's obvious that its production values aren't that high, but I thought that was quite charming. I think it's in part because Ys is a series that was never big in the West so it felt a bit like a curio that sort of broke through from Japan, and that would have been in a feature in NGC back in the day.

I liked it enough to ask for IX for Christmas! Although given how nobody said anything about the performance of VIII and it ran like a slideshow in parts (and - again - crashed three times), I'm more than a little worried about that aspect in IX...

I don't think Ys VIII can quite carry off the 'ironic beauty' bit, not for me anyway.  I imagine it would have been quite pretty on the Vita originally, so it's not like 'ah, isn't Missingno looking lovely today' levels.  And honestly I didn't mind that bit - like I said, I laughed mostly.  It's the combination of graphical jank by Switch standards and the lousy performance that's behind the gripe.

VIII never crashed on me! And I don't think IX did? Maybe it did once. That said, IX's performance is arguably shitter overall, just to warn you.

I dunno, all the reviews pointed out that the games are rough around the edges, so it never bothered me. I'd still rather play a slightly shit Ys game again than I would a slick-but-uninspiring Octopath or Bravely Default.

So I've read, that's what I'm worried about! And don't you knock my boy Bravely Default. I still probably prefer 2 to Ys VIII. That job system is top.

I will get to Ys VIII at some point, but SMTV will come first on the JRPG front.


I got sent a code for Chorus by KochMedia for the PS5 and will say it might be a hidden gem of this year, another game that forgot is from Deep Silver as I always think a bit of poor quality yet from them had things like this and Plague Tale a couple of years ago.

Before getting my hands on the game, all I had really seen is a few trailers and info from the cloud gaming community more than anyone else, and I do think the game might be a bit of a hit on Stadia more so than on a PlayStation or Xbox just due to content. I also got this feeling even if I say Chorus is great, Xbox players will go I'll wait for it on Game Pass as it does feel like something that will come to the service more so than a Resident Evil Village for instance.

As what is Chorus it is a flight game and not in Ace Combat vibes but more Star Fox or Panzer Dragoon style, a genre which I didn't think we would really see again after Zero was panned and same for the Panzer Dragoon Remake (I was fine with this as it was like I thought it would be) with both being on the short side as well. That maybe if Chorus followed the same trend and was only a few hours for £35, it wouldn't be worth it.

Thankfully according to my PS5 says I've played for 9hrs (HLTB has this higher) and I do have more side quests I could do if I wish, that think the length with the budget price of £35 is perfectly fine for this sort AA title which does look good, has a neat story where you have to take down this religious cult in a semi open-world which just works but lacks that something that would make it a 9/10 game worth £70.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it has sneaked into my Top 10 of the year, it is still a tad hard to recommend as Balla may want something like Star Fox yet this is too dark and gloomy, not arcadey enough for a Cappa, and so on possibly a Muss or a Smurf would be keen on the game and feel they would enjoy as much as me.

Oh!
I didn't know what this was, but now I'm interested! I love Star Fox and Panzer Dragoon, not to mention the Death Star level of Rogue Leader.

masofdas wrote:

Finished Pokémon Just Fine Diamond last night, and it is just that just fine as it has nothing that makes it standout like even though I didn't think SWiSH were that great but at least the Britishness made it a bit different.

Maybe if I had played Diamond on DS my view would be different, yet this first time I've played and have played more Pokémon games since its OG release, as I did also find the Pokedex to be meh as well, says I saw like 130 Mon where it feels more like the same ones of Geodude and Ponyta over and over.

One for Pokémon fans, or try one of the other two on Switch instead.

Following on from that, that’s Pokemon Shining Pearl beaten. Masofdas kind of summed up my feelings about it. It’s an extremely safe remake that’s resolutely retro in the way that it’s near identical to it’s source material. It’s formula and structure are more or less the same as every mainline Pokemon game that came out before the original Diamond and Pearl in all truth. Apart from a (in my opinion) regressive graphical overhaul, a handful of modern quality-of-life updates to HM and TM usage and a slightly more varied Pokedex, this is a remake that doesn’t especially set itself apart from those DS games. Essentially, you’ve got a game here that was already knackered in 2007, trotted out once again while half-asleep, still in its pyjamas and with slabbers on its chin.

But it’s truly immortal stuff. That formula and structure I mentioned? Aye, it’s total déjà vu right enough – forest, gym, HM, cave, gym, HM, mountain, gym, HM, blah blah blah. Yet at the same time its comfortable, uncomplicated and, you know what, still damn entertaining. I absolutely tore through this game, clocking in about twenty-five hours in under a fortnight. Wading into the tall grass and embarking on your new adventure still grips me. And even though I know what comes next, I’m still hooked all the way through.

Admittedly, I think most other generations of Pokemon games are better than the fourth-gen ones, but it’s still Pokemon all the same. It’ll always be something I enjoy (unless they make a horse’s arse of that Arceus game next year). 7/10.