The New Video Game Recommendation Thread v2.0

[Rhythm]

Oh man, I had no idea how badly people bounced off The Witness. I loathed Braid but thought The Witness was pretty perfectly paced with great logic puzzles throughout. The only set that stumped me was the set in the jungle where you have to

Spoiler: show

listen for sounds that give you the patterns

Particularly loved the part where

Spoiler: show

the environmental puzzles make themselves known. Lining things up like the Riddler puzzles in Arkham Asylum worked really well IMO

[Dio]

So "OH finally a puzzle game WITHOUT time limits, bring it on !" ..

Oh, there's a timed puzzle later on....

[rowan]

<continued rant out of nowhere >

My question was "did you ever try Talos Principle?"
It may be more up your tree.

[gilesgoat]

<continued rant out of nowhere >

My question was "did you ever try Talos Principle?"
It may be more up your tree.

I haven't yet I *INSIST* after playing yesterday more and finishing "The Quarry" ( with a small help in the last 2 puzzles ) that some puzzles I INSIST are "really badly hinted".

I mean "even if you know more or less what you have to do" you still can't figure it out "because the logic is lightly different than what you think it is", those "tetris shape puzzles" are THE WORST because "despite you know the rules by now" there are still cases where "you can't really work out how the shape should turn" and when you see it it's like "yes kinda but it still doesn't make much sense to me".

Also yesterday, we are 99.9% sure we found a puzzle that had "a perfectly valid alternative solution" that was meeting all the criteria but wasn't accepted because it was NOT THE ONE they tought about.

We got mad quite a bit thinking "what's wrong with that ?" and we are quite sure "nothing was wrong except that it wasn't the one solution they tought about", which was LIGHTLY different but still our was perfectly valid !

No but I would say that :

- "It's NOT really a relaxing game", it "appers so" because the graphic is so pretty and "relaxing"
- "It's FAR too hard"
- "We could discuss a lot about 'the logic' , it's a very pervert logic many times"
- "I still think, misses too many hints to make you understand things better"
- "The tetris parts are really crap"

[gilesgoat]

Also if I'd be really stuck in that island where "The Witness" happens I'll surely be died of starvation by now but MORE PROBABLE I'd killed myself out of "I CANNOT MAKE ANY SENSE FROM ALL THIS !"

This game introduces "a new meaning" to the sentence "psychological torture" or I don't know "some people are not meant to be thinking in a certain way", makes you feel "my brain is rubbish" or such.

I still think at times "my brain must be really rubbish compared to certain standards" because a few times, for the SUPPOSEDLY FUN, of it I tried some IQ test .. after 5 mins I was already "I do not understand A SHIT of what they want me to do here".

I think I am "particularly bad" for things like "here are N shapes find the logical order or the one that should fit" .. then if you add a "and you have X time to sort it out" I am fucked .. I swear once I tried one of those puzzles where "supposedly you had 30 seconds for each" .. after 1 HOUR I was still thinking "I cannot grasp what kind of logic you want me to have about these paricular shapes !!" ..

I still remember "that thing at math uni" .. if someone says you "1,2,3,4 .. " what's the next number in the sequence, reality is YOU CANNOT ANSWER THAT QUESTION .. "some" would say "5" maybe .. but logically ANY number could be NOT knowing "the rule" ...

/me returns back to get NUTS with OpenGLES and how to fit round pegs into square holes ...

[edit] - Just tried "to see if it really was still like that" another of those IQ test .. I don't know, "it's all about shapes" ..

Around "question 14" I got the point "I cannot see any fucking logic of anything in all those shapes" and/or "I am tired to see shapes give me some questions !" ..

I think I may have really "the IQ of a billy goat" given that it seems I keep failing all those sorts of tests.

Given that "at times" I do have also "the social appeal of a billy goat" I wonder if I'd ever find a job anywhere else, I think the answer is "no, that's why you HAVE to run your own business" ..

"Why people become entrepreneurs ?" .. "because no one is going to hire them" ..

[fog]

<continued rant out of nowhere >

My question was "did you ever try Talos Principle?"
It may be more up your tree.

Another recommendation for The Talos Principle.

The Witness was very clever but the puzzles were repetitive and boring, whereas The Talos Principle had some really great puzzles.

And even though they all used the same handful of elements they offered plenty of variety in level design. Very few levels didn't have that satisfying 'Eureka' moment when you work out the solution.

[gilesgoat]

Again yesterday in the "Swamp" ( we still finishing all puzzles there ) we found a few puzzles we are quite sure "have an alternative solution" that is NOT the one they found.

It pisses me off quite a bit also when "you finally understood a rule" .. to have after some X rule the rule been changed again often leading to a solution like "it does not make any sense if I compare it with the previous one UNLESS you decided there's a NEW rule at play".

I still think "most awful puzzles" are those with "the tetris blocks" ..

[venusian]

Rain On Your Parade is better than it ought to be (and is on Game Pass). You play as a rain cloud tasked with doing particular, generally bad, things in small levels. You can see it's pulling inspirations from the Untitled Goose game but isn't a copy. Cute graphics, simple gameplay, sense of humour, every level ends in chaos. You can set fire to the credits.

[gilesgoat]

So ... after much swearing and only A LITTLE "fuck that shit how the heck is all that let me see" .. incredibly .. WE FINISHED THE WITNESS !!

Now .. in a certain way we could say .. "one of the saddest endings" .. ( not to say maybe even "one of the shittest endings" ) ..

I was at least hoping "it would allow me to continue exploring/discover all the rest I have NOT discovered" .. but no .. actually the end is really "a big WTF MAN ??" ...

But .. but THIS IS A GAME I'd really would like to have in VR and just enjoying it to walk all around the island .. it's .. SO pretty.. so RELAXING .. I SO wish I'd have a tree house like those in the game !

.. so .. "cause it was on offer for just 7 pounds about" .. I got this Talos Principle ..

Maybe "I am spoiled now" but I can start saying "already I don't like it that much" This whole thing starting "so epic" with "my child .. my temple .. the eternity .. " .. ... hm .. "fanculo" ...

Then again "another spoil" I SO *HATED* those "tetris puzzles in The Witness" that starting a thing ( the Talos ) principle that already begins with "collecting tetris stuff" makes me a bit "ngh here we go again".

But also .. "it already contain some elements that make me a bit anxious".

Overall in comparision from what I've seen so far "the look and feel of The Witness is SUBLIME" oh Goat if I'd love to be just walking around in an island like that feeling that warm and smelling all those flowers

Mind you I have been in the real Pompeii .. Talos principle certainly ( at least this first level I am playing ) did copy quite a number of elements from it, there are SOME ( but it's not all like that of course, actually the real thing is much better ) parts of what I am seeing that really look like the real thing .. but only in parts.

But yeah "the witness" is another story.

Also now I remember what The Witness reminds me of, another game - WITH A COMPLETELY FUCKED UP ENDING AND EVEN MORE FUCKED UP WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE GAME IS REALLY ABOUT !!! - that I did play and finished ( almost all in one go ) and enjoyed a lot .. until I arrived at the end .. "Rime" ( which many compared to ICO, another game I did finish and I think has one of the best ending I ever seen in any game ) .. they have that graphic style ..

So I don't know .. so far I still have mixed feelings about The Talos .. anyway about the witness I dare to say "a really nice game where THEY REALLY COULD HAVE SPENT A BIT MORE PLANNING A PROPER ENDING !!! " ...

Ah and certain puzzles CAN ROYALLY FUCK OFF !!!

[gilesgoat]

So I wanted "something I can enjoy" and to be honest I wasn't really sure about this thing SO much "yes BUT" I heard around ..

However .. been so impressed by the trailers I decided to give it a go so we bought "Stray" for the PS5 ...

And to start with "it's been already quite a weird decision for me" given that I am not really "a cat person"

Also said that "I had more than enough" of certain "arty-farty" games that yes are so graphics and NO playability or overall is NOT that good at all ..

But what about this one ? .. well .. the more you play it the more makes you go .. wooooow ... ( or maybe someone should say "meoooow" ? ) ..

It's graphically STUNNING everything feels "so realistic-irrealistic" it's the kind of stuff you'd LOVE it'll be in VR and where you ( or at least I ) can get lost for hours just trying to spot all the details of the scenery.

This game has "SUBLIME" use of colour/illumination/effects ... the environement is just "jaw dropping" ...

Fundamentally "if you love Blade Runner and you love cats you CAN NOT miss this one !".

Or just one of the two.

The ANIMATIONS are "some of the best I ever seen" everything feels "so natural".

Now the game itself/control system .. "it is constrained but less constrained than how I imagined", takes some mins to get used to but "the trigger points" are so many and such in "strategic places" that "it almost feels like you have total control".

Initially is pretty linear, but it's also a bit of a "tutorial" stage so "understandable" I tried to spend most time "looking at everywhere" to see "if there's anyting else" at the very start there isn't much.

But then you'll finally get to the place called "The Slums" and there the "linearity begins to break" there are N things to be done that can be done in different order ( even if you need to do them all to progress ) and some "side missions" that I have no idea yet how/if they impact the main story.

The interaction with characters is a bit limited but you can still have some answers/things.

Difficulty wise so far I encountered "a few places with a few swearwords" but mostly is down to "find the correct way" it has some "tense moments" when you get stormed by "those things".

I wished they slowed down a bit certain sequences to give you more time to look at the surroundings, this game is really "an art piece".

So is it difficult/long/etc. ?

Well "I am taking it in little doses as I don't want to eat it all in a go", maybe it's not a super long/difficult game but hum "now comes into my mind a comparision" it has "a similar kind of nice vibe like Night in the Woods".

Yes there are puzzles, no so far not super complex but some you'll need to reason a bit, some puzzles I have NOT been able to solve them yet.

In a two words this game could be "Pretty and Charming" and "to be taken gently to savour it"

Maybe not for everyone but I like it quite a bit, again the graphics/animations are really "something else", well done !

[gilesgoat]

.. "damn" ... I just finished "Stray" ... oooh it's SO GOOD !

Actually "is the entiere voyage, not just the end" ...

Ok it's not "super difficult" but DOES HAVE some parts would make you SWEAR a bit .. and some parts "I am not sure if that was the inteded way" but did work for me ...

I don't want to say anything more about it .. but .. yes .. it's really well done .. and has a few twists there and there of things you won't expect.

My only regret I could say "they could have just hidden a few more things to find there and there just to make stuff last a bit longer" and has ox was saying "could be nice that once finished you could be just free to roam the city and explore again" ...

But yes in terms of "athmosphere" and "emotion" definitely "a la' ICO/SOTC/etc." ..

[Deckard]

Dunno where else to drop this but I see one of my gaming curation sites is having a little bit of a member problem with a game about raping women....

I wonder what your thoughts are on this ?

Can you really just stand by and say "its just a game" , or "we aren't the morality police ?" or "where do we draw the line as China has loads of banned games"

[zip accident]

Dunno where else to drop this but I see one of my gaming curation sites is having a little bit of a member problem with a game about raping women....

I wonder what your thoughts are on this ?

Can you really just stand by and say "its just a game" , or "we aren't the morality police ?" or "where do we draw the line as China has loads of banned games"

It's not a funny sybject.

Why only women?

[Jonesey]

Maybe it's an incel thing?

[Rhythm]

Dunno where else to drop this but I see one of my gaming curation sites is having a little bit of a member problem with a game about raping women....

I wonder what your thoughts are on this ?

Can you really just stand by and say "its just a game" , or "we aren't the morality police ?" or "where do we draw the line as China has loads of banned games"

Take the fact that it's a game out of the equation. Whether a product like that is "art" or not is a separate debate, but it's a creative endeavour and the modern world generally agrees in freedom of speech.

Whether it's music, a videogame, a book, movie etc, that creative endeavour has just as much right to exist as any other. Do stores have to carry it? Do distribution networks have to ship it and make it generally available? Does a curation site have to acknowledge and host it? Of course not - that's down to the rules and morality choices those people make.

In the modern world it gets framed as "nanny state" and "deplatforming" but it's really just *that* XKCD again