New thread! Whatcha all playing! I’ve been playing more blasphemous 2. Really really into it 🙏
Got Gotham Knights on sale. After all the patches, it seems to be pretty stable and so far I’m enjoying it. It’s certainly not amazing, but for $15aud it’s pretty good. Also trying out SYNCED and I like the aesthetic so far, but gameplay/controls are a bit mushy. It also runs like a dog with pretty inconsistent FPS.
Working through the new Guild Wars 2 expansion. Once I’m done with that, it’ll probably be back to Baldur’s Gate 3, though that might change if it takes me long enough that the new Cyberpunk DLC is out.
Way too much Tetris on an emulated SNES
Metroid Dread on Switch, at the final boss
Good luck!
Trine 5. Loving it so far.
Just finished Trine 4 with my son! I’d never played one before but it was really a great little co-op experience. I’ll keep an eye on 5.
Still playing Baldur’s Gate 3
Working my way through completely exploring the entire world of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. I really love this game, but goddamn is it enormous. I’m about 75% in.
And just picked up the switch port of Red Dead Redemption. Really glad to be able to play this one without dragging out the 360. Still an awesome game, and a damn good port.
Team Fortress 2
The game of all time, ever made.
Witcher 3: Blood and Wine Finished hearts of stone last weak. Enjoyed the main quest, but felt much smaller than blood and wine. Love the new and „shiny“ are that came with blood and wine.
Sea of Stars! It’s great so far. I only like turn based RPGs once in a blue moon, and this one really hooked me
Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition.
Valorant, been playing with friends and prepping for the premier games this week. It’s the gaming equivalent of a softball or bowling league, fun to practice leading up to a game, with a season that ends in a playoff. Been a lot of fun strategizing, even though we’re not high level
Mad Max at the moment, getting ready to jump in and check out Starfield once I finish that
I love the Mad Max game so much. I’ve been thinking about replaying it (again) myself.
It is seriously so underrated. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve played it over the years. I was actually really disappointed when they abandoned it so quickly. But honestly it’s just a great game as is. The atmosphere is absolutely perfect.
Rogue Legacy 2, Elder Scrolls Online, and I recently found out about this procedurally generated BMX game called Descenders that’s kinda tough but fun.
Been playing Spirit of the North this week. I’ve actually finished it, including 100% achievement completion, because it’s not a huge game. What is really sticking out to me right now, though, is that I adore this game. I like a lot of games, but it’s pretty rare for me to absolutely love one.
I’ve also just finished a run through Baldur’s Gate 2, playing a bard for the first time ever. I enjoyed the class more than I thought I would. Onwards to Throne of Bhaal next week!
What did you like about Spirit of the North? I got it with PS Plus but haven’t bothered with it because it got pretty middling review scores. Looks beautiful though.
So, yeah, the fact that it’s a beautiful game is definitely part of it! Visually it’s stunning, and the music is also really beautiful. I also think it’s superbly written: there’s absolutely no dialogue, but there is still a narrative as you play through each area, and I think that’s genuinely very hard to do well, but Spirit of the North does. I really got invested in the relationship between the two characters. There’s also no combat or fighting in the game, so it’s all focused around the platforming and puzzle elements.
I can definitely see why it’s not to everyone’s tastes. It got “very positive” on Steam, so it’s rated more highly on PC than on the PS, and the negative reviews it did get are complaining about either the controls or the game not telling you what you need to do. So the former is fair, I think: the devs focused on making a beautiful game, so it’s about the experience, not the mechanics. The controls aren’t bad as such, but they’re not as smooth as you’d expect for a platformer, I guess? You get the occasional moment of “why didn’t I make that jump?” But there’s no “miss the jump, die, restart the level” mechanics, so it’s normally 1-3 jumps that you need to repeat if you fall. I found the platforming elements really forgiving in terms of not punishing you for screwing up.
The second criticism, that the game doesn’t tell you what you need to do, I think is unfair. The direction you need to go in is always the way that feels most intuitive, either because of a path, wall, or just the shape of the terrain. Some of the puzzles need you to stop and think about them, and the game doesn’t hold your hand by going “and do this here, and that there, and then that”.
The game I’d most compare it to is Abzu, but with more Nordic and less ocean vibes. If you’ve played Abzu and enjoyed it, then you’ll probably enjoy Spirit of the North too.
Nice, thanks for the write-up! I will definitely bump this up the list then. Honestly it looks so appealing I think I’ve just been looking for an excuse to give it a shot that outweighed my wariness from the reviews.
It’s definitely worth a shot. It’s actually a pretty small game: I didn’t rush, and spent 6 hours on it the first time I played (and 16 hours for 100% achievements). So even if you find it’s not for you, it’s a pretty small time investment to find out. :)
