Currently playing...

[VNVObit]

Army of Ruin
Steam deck verified and another in the vein of Vampire Survivors but with prettier graphics. Plenty of unlockable bonuses (weapons, charms, trinkets, players, etc.) as well as plenty of replayability. Have sunk over 28 hours (and still plenty to unlock) into the game and have enjoyed it thoroughly.

each playing field has 4 base levels (timed/wave based for 3 and unlimited for 4) all of which have multiple difficulty levels. Stupidly large number of achievements(over 200) linked to specific tasks within levels (e.g. kill special bosses with Character x). Reallocating your upgrades is easy and means you can try some of the tasks which are upgrade limited. Currently 6.69 on Steam but suspect there are discounts on other sites for it

[Deckard]

Looks good - i'll buy on the switch in 5 ! Yeah just got from CZK online for a fiver !

[Deckard]

Good call on the Army of Ruin- thoroughly enjoying it and loads left to unlock...

[VNVObit]

Good call on the Army of Ruin- thoroughly enjoying it and loads left to unlock...

Have sunk over 40 hours into it and only have a few unlocks left but they’re pretty much grinding ones which I don’t enjoy (don’t move but complete level )

Have started Marvel’s Midnight Suns (currently cheap via Humble Bundle Choice which is how I got it)
It’s a bit of a mashup of JRPG/DeckBuilding set in the Marvel universe

Battles are turn based but actions are based on available cards in your hand. Enjoying it so far and runs reasonably well on the Steam Deck (though do hear fans kicking in every now and then). Not got very far as been exploring the hub world (missions are just fights with objectives so no random fights which is a relief as never really liked them).

[MattyP]

Had a play on Those Who Remain on GamePass for a few hours. Interesting light puzzle walking simulator type game. Tries to be scary but its not. Has a time warp element in there. Probably going to drop it so unless you are a fan of these types of games I'd avoid.

Heading back to the Switch again for some more Super Mario Wonder or Pikmin 4 - not decided yet.

[VNVObit]

Nordic Ashes:Survivors of Ragnarok is my latest time sink. Lovely little game again in the vein of Vampire Survivors but with a bit more depth as you choose how to spend your skill points as you level up. Plenty of items to unlock and levels to play. Still haven't completed the final level but have managed to do most of the earlier ones at higher difficulty levels and unlock all but 2 of the characters. Do like art work
Fun game that's still in early access (£7.99 on steam though got it in a bundle which reduced the cost)
I find it runs well on the Steamdeck. individual runs aren't too long (usually c20 mins per level) with 2 sub bosses plus main level boss. Each sub boss beaten gives you access to buy more weapons and/or power ups weapons are pretty varied and it does get quote hectic on higher levels.
Each weapon has a number of stats, a selection of which improve as you level the weapon up.
trailer

some game footage

[MattyP]

Just played Still Wakes The Deep by The Chinese Room.

Great stuff and very atmospheric set on an oil rig off the Scottish coast in the 70s. Love the localisation/dialect in this - Scottish slang and very sweary makes it feel very gritty.... Think "The Thing" on an oil rig and you won't be far off. Around 6-8 hours in length so doesn't outstay its welcome. Worth a look if you enjoyed TCR's previous games (Everyone's Gone To The Rapture etc).

On GamePass too. Also on PS5/Steam.

Now back to God Of War Ragnarök which I am also enjoying so far...

[gilesgoat]

I discovered/been playing since a while "Animals Well" ..



On PS5 with controller ..

I must say "I LOVE IT"

It's really DIFFICULT in parts but "not as difficult as Celeste" .. still it has quite some sessions requiring really high concentration and are a bit nerves wrecking.

So far I dare to say ( to me ) the most difficult session been "the ghost cat( or dog ??? It's not very clear !)" but then again there's a "little shortcut" to it, still difficult.

Let's say "if in Celeste you'll die 1000 times to pass a particularly hard level here you'll die 250" .. also it's "more puzzle oriented/exploration oriented" I'd say, overall a difficulty level ( so far ) pretty manageable but still quite challenging !

Also there seems to be "alternative ways" to do some levels, actually some CAN be done "in a really hard way" that CAN become "quite simple" "if you find the right thing".

It's NOT EVERYWHERE "pixel perfect jumps" but IN SOME PLACES it is.

What I love is THE ATMOSPHERE of the game, really lovely and the fact that "is a lot about exploration" .. the levels are really beautiful ! Some of the puzzles will get you scratching your head.

WITHOUT really "any spoilers" I arrived the point "I managed to get all the flames" and open the path "to ( one of ? ) the final boss(es)" .. I yet have to defeat it and get to ONE of the possible endings of the game.

I read "the game is really deep/full of secrets" and doing one ending just "opens even more endings/things" .. looking forward to it !

But yeah if you like a challenging platformer that so far *I* managed to play without rage quit I HIGHLY recommend this !

[Misfit]

But yeah if you like a challenging platformer that so far *I* managed to play without rage quit I HIGHLY recommend this !

It's on my wishlist, but at a level I can impulse buy yet.

I thought Deckard mentioned it on here with high praise already, but maybe it was on the Nintendo Switch thread.

[MattyP]

But yeah if you like a challenging platformer that so far *I* managed to play without rage quit I HIGHLY recommend this !

It's on my wishlist, but at a level I can impulse buy yet.

I thought Deckard mentioned it on here with high praise already, but maybe it was on the Nintendo Switch thread.

He did and it's a really fun game. Blend of old school platforming with exploration and lovely sound and visuals. Picked it up on the Switch a bit back (after reading Deckard's glowing review)

If you have PS Plus I think it's on there too. Surprised this didn't also get a PS4 port really given it made it.to the Switch.

Still working my way through God Of War Ragnarok. Loving the visuals, sound and the epic feel of it all. Around half way through at the moment and already spent nearly 20 hours on this. Enjoying the story and like the blend of puzzles and action. Although at times it leans a bit to closer to the action than the puzzles which gets a bit tiring in the end and the chapters feel much longer than the 2018 God Of War.

Good showcase title for Sony though and I'm really not sure what voodoo they are using on the PS4 as it looks stunning.

[Jonesey]

HADES is on a 50% sale on XBox - about a tenner.

Just had a quick blast on The First Descendant - I love me some 3rd person looter shooting, especially the grapple hook mechanic.

I just hope I can convince my mates to give it some time - we absolutely destroyed Remnant and Outriders.

[grue]

Brotato

After burning out on Vampire Survivors, I chose the next drug of the line.
Harder. Small stages. More control of the inventory and upgrading.
Can't get past stage 15 yet...

[mb3018]

I played Selaco because I'm a big fan of the first F.E.A.R. game. I didn't like it, I played like the first 5 levels. The enemies did not seem F.E.A.R.-like at all.

Also I played a lot of Tempest 2000 on the new Jaguar emulator called BigPemu. It has a few more features than the old one Dio made. Fast-forward is nice for skipping the spinning level between deaths. It has spinner support but for some reason I feel like on Dio's emulator the spinner feels better, slightly more responsive, as if BigPemu had a tiny bit of lag. I kept adjusting the spinner settings but couldn't dial it in perfectly, I don't know.

[MattyP]

In anticipation of the new Astrobot game in September working my way through Astro's Playroom again. How lovely is this? Forgot how much of a great demo of the DualSense controller this is and all the little details that celebrate games of Playstations past and sadly an indication of how limited the breadth of Playstations first party output now is

I think they have also released some recent patches ahead of when the new game launches.

Out of interest does anyone know of any games that use the features of the DualSense as much as this does?

Also playing some Ridge Racer 2 (PSP version as it seems the only one available post PS3). Arcade racers were so good loving the music and visuals (despite them looking slightly dated these.days especially as this was a PSP game!). Still amazing fun though.

[MattyP]

Well picked up Thank Goodness You're Here! on the Switch yesterday. And finished it. Very short game (just over a couple of hours). At £15.99 wouldn't say it's the best value in gaming but it's fun and it's like a mix between Viz and Monty Python in humour.

Game is set in Barnsworth somewhere in Yorkshire with all the characters having local dialect and makes everything colourful. The game itself is just a series of tasks you need complete wouldn't even go as far as calling them puzzles. So really a narrative driven game. Lots of little visual jokes in posters and jokes in the dialogue etc.

In all honesty it's a £5 steam game at best however a lot of love has gone into this and I've paid more to watch a less than average comedy gig.