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Took a detour from playing CONTROL to check out TUNIC and boy has a game seemingly loved by critics and consumers left me cold. The obtuseness in this game is off the charts and not at all what I recall from playing A LINK TO THE PAST in the 8th grade. That game was difficult because your small brain couldn't suss out some of the out of the box thinking required - this one is difficult because it is obscuring data seemingly by design. So far, nothing I've figured out past the first bell, which felt genuinely rewarding, feels satisfying as I'm not trying to pixel peep my way through a solution.
That frustrating part is I know WHAT I'm meant to do (the manual mechanic is kind of cool in that, I presume, it gives you the direction/solution you need at the current moment of your playthrough) just that there isn't an obvious way to do it. Shame.
Yeah, I've watched someone play it and realized that it is not LttP, it's more like . . . importing an obscure NES game and trying to piece together what the game is telling you in a totally different language and with different intent than you might have first guessed.
Which, from what I gather, is exactly what the dev was trying to recreate, their importing Japanese games and having to suss out what the language and terms and intent behind everything is, and it awoke an abiding love in them for all things opaque and puzzle-shaped.
Also the combat doesn't feel good. Granted, I'd just come off of Death's Door where the combat is absolutely fantastic, but Tunic's combat core design philosophy seems to be "what if literally everything felt bad to do and also the bosses can stun lock and then stomp you into the ground?"
0
FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
It's not the greatest game ever. But it's solid and enjoyable, and 22 hours in I'm still going strong.
The Internet is well know for hating games that are "solid" and "enjoyable". If the Internet also hears that you're having fun, you might have to go underground for a while until the heat dies down.
Took a detour from playing CONTROL to check out TUNIC and boy has a game seemingly loved by critics and consumers left me cold. The obtuseness in this game is off the charts and not at all what I recall from playing A LINK TO THE PAST in the 8th grade. That game was difficult because your small brain couldn't suss out some of the out of the box thinking required - this one is difficult because it is obscuring data seemingly by design. So far, nothing I've figured out past the first bell, which felt genuinely rewarding, feels satisfying as I'm not trying to pixel peep my way through a solution.
That frustrating part is I know WHAT I'm meant to do (the manual mechanic is kind of cool in that, I presume, it gives you the direction/solution you need at the current moment of your playthrough) just that there isn't an obvious way to do it. Shame.
Yeah, I've watched someone play it and realized that it is not LttP, it's more like . . . importing an obscure NES game and trying to piece together what the game is telling you in a totally different language and with different intent than you might have first guessed.
Which, from what I gather, is exactly what the dev was trying to recreate, their importing Japanese games and having to suss out what the language and terms and intent behind everything is, and it awoke an abiding love in them for all things opaque and puzzle-shaped.
Also the combat doesn't feel good. Granted, I'd just come off of Death's Door where the combat is absolutely fantastic, but Tunic's combat core design philosophy seems to be "what if literally everything felt bad to do and also the bosses can stun lock and then stomp you into the ground?"
I'd say the bosses are "tough but fair." When I had missed the level up mechanic, I got rocked pretty hard, but after that they were challenging, but beatable. They all have learnable and manageable fight patterns.
Force of nature update
Okay, charged deep into the desert, got another force of nature shard....but still gotta grind for topaz shards (which is really easy in this fucking biome) and now I will look around my base, tech up, and move onto another expedition into the island.
I get why people have achievement based leveling in their tabletop games, because this would not be as interesting a game if I could just grind my way to Galick Guning my way through everything.......
Now if I had to acquire regents to prepare a Galick Gun to utterly annihilate my way through victory every now and then, that would be a different batter.
Still cranky that it looks like a good chunk of the reagents enemies are dropping are just trash.
Took a detour from playing CONTROL to check out TUNIC and boy has a game seemingly loved by critics and consumers left me cold. The obtuseness in this game is off the charts and not at all what I recall from playing A LINK TO THE PAST in the 8th grade. That game was difficult because your small brain couldn't suss out some of the out of the box thinking required - this one is difficult because it is obscuring data seemingly by design. So far, nothing I've figured out past the first bell, which felt genuinely rewarding, feels satisfying as I'm not trying to pixel peep my way through a solution.
That frustrating part is I know WHAT I'm meant to do (the manual mechanic is kind of cool in that, I presume, it gives you the direction/solution you need at the current moment of your playthrough) just that there isn't an obvious way to do it. Shame.
Yeah, I've watched someone play it and realized that it is not LttP, it's more like . . . importing an obscure NES game and trying to piece together what the game is telling you in a totally different language and with different intent than you might have first guessed.
Which, from what I gather, is exactly what the dev was trying to recreate, their importing Japanese games and having to suss out what the language and terms and intent behind everything is, and it awoke an abiding love in them for all things opaque and puzzle-shaped.
Also the combat doesn't feel good. Granted, I'd just come off of Death's Door where the combat is absolutely fantastic, but Tunic's combat core design philosophy seems to be "what if literally everything felt bad to do and also the bosses can stun lock and then stomp you into the ground?"
I'd say the bosses are "tough but fair." When I had missed the level up mechanic, I got rocked pretty hard, but after that they were challenging, but beatable. They all have learnable and manageable fight patterns.
I think I only remember one boss that made me go "okay, this is kind of bullshit, guys". The rest seemed quite reasonable, with learnable patterns and reasonably dodgeable hitboxes.
@Karoz did a thing. A thing most foul!!! Thanks for Chained Echoes. Now if you'll all excuse me, i have some nostalgia to huff.
+10
QuestorPAX Aus Tabletop [E]Melbourne, AustraliaRegistered Userregular
Completed Borderlands 3 last night.
I am a self confessed fan of Borderlands, even though I know it has flaws - most enemies are WAY too bullet spongy and you get into a rut of sticking with one gun that works way beyond where you probably should. Despite that I always gravitate towards them for my shooty goodness - in fact it's pretty much the only FPS game I enjoy.
This one....well, let me be honest. The story is mostly a pile of shite. Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2 was such a good villain, they really couldn't outdo that, and they really didn't here. By the time I finished it I really didn't give a shit about who I was trying to kill.
The gameplay is the same old Borderlands. If you love it, you'll like this, if not, this definitely won't convert you.
Dragged down by the story, and the distinct lack of Tiny Tina in the game - wavering between a [7] and [8] so it'll have to be a [7.5]
+5
Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
edited February 2023
Does Cultist Simulator have a good story?
I liked Sunless Sea but the fact that CS has no real visual representation at all other than a board and the cards always kind of takes me out of it when I watch footage.
I liked Sunless Sea but the fact that CS has no real visual representation at all other than a board and a the cards always kind of takes me out of it when I watch footage.
Maybe? The bulk of it is a lightweight strategy game juggling timers and reacting to events. There is a lot of text as you progress through the higher plane of existence you enter via ritual but it's not exactly a story in the normal sense. There's no spelled out reason why you're creating a cult and trying to achieve apotheosis. It can be very atmospheric when you're into it but it certainly doesn't present well.
I liked Sunless Sea but the fact that CS has no real visual representation at all other than a board and the cards always kind of takes me out of it when I watch footage.
I loved CS. The writing is excellent and if you go in blind, the sense of discovering how it works feels very much like you're uncovering ancient secrets.
+2
FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
I think the creator of CS turned out to be a shitbag?
+1
21stCenturyCall me Pixel, or Pix for short![They/Them]Registered Userregular
I mentioned Wanted: Dead in the last thread. I really want to play it, even if its got some jank.
Looks like a big ol nostalgia trip for the early oughts.
If the new trend after Wanted Dead and Evil West is a throwback to that era of game, I'm okay with it. Hell, now they're just making X-likes for games of my youth. Did you like Advance Wars? Wargroove. Wario Land? Pizza Tower.
I mean they went all in.
The soundtrack, the story, hell even the style of anime they cut to during story scenes are all ripped out of the 90's.
Chipmunks are like nature's nipple clamps, I guess?
+8
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
I can't find the Witcher thread(s) for the life of me, but after way too long, I finally truly finished Witcher 2.
Boy was that a lot of variables near the end. I feel like it was more about the journey than the resolution, and it really didn't seem to make a lick of difference, but I felt the 'Geralt' thing to do was
let Letho live. And sail off into the sunset with Triss.
The real question: if 3 can run on anything I own... 2 was struggle enough.
+5
KoopahTroopahThe koopas, the troopas.Philadelphia, PARegistered Userregular
edited February 2023
Tunic Story Spoilers
Kinda was expecting something bad to happen after getting all the keys, but for some reason I wasn't expecting to get stomped on by a fox spirit 'heir', and literally sent to the shadow realm.
I spoke to one of the fox ghosts outside of the key room and they were like "blah blah blah hero blah fool blah blah". Which yeah, that sounds about right. Pretty much only doing things in this world for curiosity sake at the moment, and because the manual is pointing me there.
Game is pretty good guys. Loving the art direction and use of camera and cinematic sequences. Bosses have been super crazy, but I agree fair. Each one has taken a few tries but I eventually got em. I also agree that combat is not great, but it's serviceable.
Best part of survival sims, fucking off to the end of the land mass and seeing far you get around.
Was kind of stuck until I realized shards of ice in the water had to be broken with an axe and not a pickaxe. Probably because they were designed under the same object tree as reeds in the tropical part of the map.
Guys, I finally got my pc built and up and running! I can play real games again! And not run ffxiv on low! Im so excited, I can finally finish Temtem which im 95% through, and get back to FFVII Remake! Plus ive been gifted quite a few things to try out. Im so excited to get back into playing anything I own again.
CorriganX on Steam and just about everywhere else.
I think the creator of CS turned out to be a shitbag?
Yeah, there were some ugly allegations.
That's why i never recommend it.
I'd be interested in seeing those allegations. I haven't followed things much, but the CS people, Weather Factory, posted some blog posts on their site in June 2022 about a dispute with Failbetter where I think they came off as pretty level-headed.
But of course I don't know if that's what you're referring to.
I think the creator of CS turned out to be a shitbag?
Yeah, there were some ugly allegations.
That's why i never recommend it.
I'd be interested in seeing those allegations. I haven't followed things much, but the CS people, Weather Factory, posted some blog posts on their site in June 2022 about a dispute with Failbetter where I think they came off as pretty level-headed.
But of course I don't know if that's what you're referring to.
Thanks for the link. I don't know what to make of it. As someone who's been involved with co-workers I can see how things can get messy when people mix business and pleasure. Read the stories from both sides and make up your own mind.
I'll continue to recommend Cultist Simulator. It's a good game if you like good writing and the occult.
0
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
Well, installing Witcher 3 seems to have literally killed my desktop. Ah well, it's several years old, was bound to happen eventually(and it ran pretty badly).
Best part of survival sims, fucking off to the end of the land mass and seeing far you get around.
Was kind of stuck until I realized shards of ice in the water had to be broken with an axe and not a pickaxe. Probably because they were designed under the same object tree as reeds in the tropical part of the map.
#gamedesign
#Forceofnature
Are you playing the first or 2nd one? I was looking around at it after I saw your posts.
Best part of survival sims, fucking off to the end of the land mass and seeing far you get around.
Was kind of stuck until I realized shards of ice in the water had to be broken with an axe and not a pickaxe. Probably because they were designed under the same object tree as reeds in the tropical part of the map.
#gamedesign
#Forceofnature
Are you playing the first or 2nd one? I was looking around at it after I saw your posts.
First one.
I also now theorize that the quest markers choose random biomes, because i skipped to a higher level biome and am now questing through several easier ones for the last two levels.
0
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
Implies that the desktop was a monster I think. Good thing the Witcher got there before anything happened to you
Given the last thing I took was a screenshot of how gorgeous the game(and *cough* Yennefer) is, I like to think her sorcery was too strong.
(I picked up a new-ish desktop, so we'll see how well this picks up the slack, I was overdue anyway.)
Thankfully i had two kilns going, 3 coal producers, and 4 bonfires crafting embers, but still, that's a lot of clicking, even with an upgraded shovel that gives 2 units at a time.
Which of these 2D soulslikes or I guess maybe just Metroidvania in some cases would you guys suggest playing first:
Grime
Deaths Gambit
Blasphemous
Vigil the longest night
Ender Lillies
I haven't played most of those but I know Death's Gambit was alright, fun enough setting but probably the weakest on the list. I still enjoyed it and beat it.
I enjoyed Vigil a lot. I have kind of lost what I thought about it, but I didn't find it super hard. Its UI is a straight rip of Dark Souls, but the game is pretty movement based, about climbing and jumping, closer to Symphony of the Night.
Posts
Also the combat doesn't feel good. Granted, I'd just come off of Death's Door where the combat is absolutely fantastic, but Tunic's combat core design philosophy seems to be "what if literally everything felt bad to do and also the bosses can stun lock and then stomp you into the ground?"
I had this experience with Gotham Knights.
I'd say the bosses are "tough but fair." When I had missed the level up mechanic, I got rocked pretty hard, but after that they were challenging, but beatable. They all have learnable and manageable fight patterns.
Steam ID: Good Life
Okay, charged deep into the desert, got another force of nature shard....but still gotta grind for topaz shards (which is really easy in this fucking biome) and now I will look around my base, tech up, and move onto another expedition into the island.
I get why people have achievement based leveling in their tabletop games, because this would not be as interesting a game if I could just grind my way to Galick Guning my way through everything.......
Now if I had to acquire regents to prepare a Galick Gun to utterly annihilate my way through victory every now and then, that would be a different batter.
Still cranky that it looks like a good chunk of the reagents enemies are dropping are just trash.
I think I only remember one boss that made me go "okay, this is kind of bullshit, guys". The rest seemed quite reasonable, with learnable patterns and reasonably dodgeable hitboxes.
I am a self confessed fan of Borderlands, even though I know it has flaws - most enemies are WAY too bullet spongy and you get into a rut of sticking with one gun that works way beyond where you probably should. Despite that I always gravitate towards them for my shooty goodness - in fact it's pretty much the only FPS game I enjoy.
This one....well, let me be honest. The story is mostly a pile of shite. Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2 was such a good villain, they really couldn't outdo that, and they really didn't here. By the time I finished it I really didn't give a shit about who I was trying to kill.
The gameplay is the same old Borderlands. If you love it, you'll like this, if not, this definitely won't convert you.
Dragged down by the story, and the distinct lack of Tiny Tina in the game - wavering between a [7] and [8] so it'll have to be a [7.5]
I liked Sunless Sea but the fact that CS has no real visual representation at all other than a board and the cards always kind of takes me out of it when I watch footage.
Maybe? The bulk of it is a lightweight strategy game juggling timers and reacting to events. There is a lot of text as you progress through the higher plane of existence you enter via ritual but it's not exactly a story in the normal sense. There's no spelled out reason why you're creating a cult and trying to achieve apotheosis. It can be very atmospheric when you're into it but it certainly doesn't present well.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I loved CS. The writing is excellent and if you go in blind, the sense of discovering how it works feels very much like you're uncovering ancient secrets.
Yeah, there were some ugly allegations.
That's why i never recommend it.
Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
I mean they went all in.
The soundtrack, the story, hell even the style of anime they cut to during story scenes are all ripped out of the 90's.
I have now acquired almost all of the cat items, at least for now - not sure if more show up for sale later.
At some point, I'll probably save the world, too. But... priorities...
Boy was that a lot of variables near the end. I feel like it was more about the journey than the resolution, and it really didn't seem to make a lick of difference, but I felt the 'Geralt' thing to do was
The real question: if 3 can run on anything I own... 2 was struggle enough.
I spoke to one of the fox ghosts outside of the key room and they were like "blah blah blah hero blah fool blah blah". Which yeah, that sounds about right. Pretty much only doing things in this world for curiosity sake at the moment, and because the manual is pointing me there.
Game is pretty good guys. Loving the art direction and use of camera and cinematic sequences. Bosses have been super crazy, but I agree fair. Each one has taken a few tries but I eventually got em. I also agree that combat is not great, but it's serviceable.
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
Was kind of stuck until I realized shards of ice in the water had to be broken with an axe and not a pickaxe. Probably because they were designed under the same object tree as reeds in the tropical part of the map.
#gamedesign
#Forceofnature
CorriganX on Steam and just about everywhere else.
I might just charge straight for this last shrine and say fuck it.
Oh look, its near one of my portalssss and I'm quitting for tonight because I've run out of stamina, arrows, and this ghost is a floating blender.
Force of nature
I'd be interested in seeing those allegations. I haven't followed things much, but the CS people, Weather Factory, posted some blog posts on their site in June 2022 about a dispute with Failbetter where I think they came off as pretty level-headed.
But of course I don't know if that's what you're referring to.
Eurogamer: Two women accuse Cultist Simulator developer Alexis Kennedy of "exploitative" behaviour
Steam | XBL
I'll continue to recommend Cultist Simulator. It's a good game if you like good writing and the occult.
Boy the music started out strong, though.
Are you playing the first or 2nd one? I was looking around at it after I saw your posts.
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
Up until now I didn't realize the only thing we were missing from cats was the ability for them to upvote your cuddling
First one.
I also now theorize that the quest markers choose random biomes, because i skipped to a higher level biome and am now questing through several easier ones for the last two levels.
Given the last thing I took was a screenshot of how gorgeous the game(and *cough* Yennefer) is, I like to think her sorcery was too strong.
(I picked up a new-ish desktop, so we'll see how well this picks up the slack, I was overdue anyway.)
Grime
Deaths Gambit
Blasphemous
Vigil the longest night
Ender Lillies
I haven't played any of those, but can recommend Infernax if you haven't played it.
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
Guess what I'm doing?
Thankfully i had two kilns going, 3 coal producers, and 4 bonfires crafting embers, but still, that's a lot of clicking, even with an upgraded shovel that gives 2 units at a time.
I haven't played most of those but I know Death's Gambit was alright, fun enough setting but probably the weakest on the list. I still enjoyed it and beat it.
Trying that