whatchu playing now

Finally got around to Subnautica (PS version) and found myself really enjoying it. That changed abruptly after the game glitched out on me and corrupted/removed my 20+ hour save game. Googled it and apparently that’s been a common issue for YEARS, still not resolved. Wtf, guys.

Anyway, game does the survival/building/exploration thing very well and the sense of dread and wonder as you roam the deeps is great. I, uh, unfortunately can’t recommend it.

I've been wholly uninterested in playing just about anything lately (at least on consoles) but Chicory is absolutely delightful and charming. Light puzzling with adorable animals = yay!

that seems like a natural for the switch

And yet it's not on there!

To the Moon (2011). 10 years to get around to playing this - basically, visual novel - made in RPG Maker XP. Saccarine and sentimental as all get out, I can't lie, it worked for me. Great story concept, and not surprised they're trying to adapt it into an anime film. A sequel came out years later and the third part of the trilogy comes out at the end of this month.

Side question: is this the most notable RPG Maker-made game outside of Super Columbine Massacre RPG!?

Yume Nikki is a bit of a Velvet Underground situation in that it's influence over game creators is far greater than the amount of people who've actually played it
Omori has a chance to become big given how much hype it's got over the last couple of years

this one just got an english translation: https://dinklations.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/ruina-fairy-tale-of-the-forgotten-ruins-english-version/

The Artful Escape: Hold right while you look at cool art! Occasionally do some light Simon Says puzzles! Celebrity voices! Some classic Annapurna stuff right here.

lol the classic 'oh i played a demo of this at pax in 2017 but its still only 2 hours long with no signficant gameplay additions'

I just picked up Psychonauts on the PS4 for $4 because the sequel is getting raves, once I finish Chicory (GOTY!) I'll probably give that a whirl.

psychonauts a classic 'i played the first couple hours at a friend's house once' game

same with all the ps2 platformers - ratchet & clank, jak & daxter, basically anything with an ampersand

psychonauts gets better in the later stages. milkman world and the board game especially.

I never got past the meat circus because fuck that shit

But still a great game

all correct. it's kind of a shame because most players probably won't ever get to the back half. then get a terrible final level. but the inside of the sandwich!

they fixed the one hard jump in meat circus in all releases since 2011. still an annoying stage!

Black Mesa, cos its currently £3.74 on steam.

I'm finding it hard!

Playing Ace Attorney Chronicles. Currently defending classic Japanese author Natsume Soseki from the accusation that he's stabbed a woman in London.

playing tales of arise right now. while i prefer the anime style of the previous games, i have to say i'm really impressed that they were able to pull off the "next-gen" look while still feeling like a tales game

as the resident fan of tales games not called vesperia i ought to be playing that but i am behind the curve on new jrpgs still. looking forward to getting to it next year

Been playing a bit of Spiritfarer, coop mode (my friend plays as the cat), and am enjoying it mostly.

It's clearly a linear experience, dressed up to give the idea you're making choices, but the characters are interesting enough and I'm keen to see where it all goes. I do like the mini games for each room you build, the Sawmill one is so hard though.

I'm a big boat fan in games, and not enough games let me just sail around and maintain a boat. Not necessarily interested in combat or exploring islands I just want to do mundane tasks on a boat. Let me just scrub the deck all day long amongst the roaring sound of the waves please.

Just finished Psychonauts 2! It's fantastic. The PSI King level has to be one of the most beautiful platform game levels I have ever seen. But it's amazing how gross and horrifying it can be too (teeth level, glove puppet boss fight...) I do wish they did more with certain characters, but that's a minor quibble. And being able to explore all the locations and complete the side-quests at your leisure after beating the game is a nice touch.

Star battle
Star battle
Star battle

echoing Duane's post - finished Psychonauts 2, was great fun and that PSI King level was incredible looking. so much wit and invention throughout.

Really loving The Long Dark. Survival game where you're dropped into the Canadian wilderness and have to scrounge for food, shelter, supplies, all that good stuff. Thankfully free of zombies and monsters and what-have-you, just gotta deal with the elements and the wildlife. Top notch if you're into the genre.

Yeah might have to check that one out, thanks

was mivered into playing duos on Fortnite with my 12yo nephew. He is level 70 or so and I'm 2, so matchmaking had us against easy prey for him and so-so for us. We won a fair few games, but it was just as annoying as I remembered it and I'm out already.

had fun with the new wario game but the thing where you have to push right when you want left and down when you want up is just beyond my capabilities

turn the controller upside down

I'm in a PC adventure game mood. I recently beat Toonstruck which was great. I started Legend of Kyrandia but I don't like it so far -- it's very much a King's Quest clone, with similarly illogical puzzles. I got stuck in a cave, and it turned out that to progress you have to drop glowing rocks on every screen -- they go out if you change rooms while carrying them, but if you drop them they never go out. Riiiiiiight.

I also just discovered http://magneticscrolls.net which might become a huge waste of time.

It's interactive fiction comp time, so I'm back on my IF roll. Seems to be less outright bad stuff than some years, the general quality is pretty good, but nothing's blown my mind so far. (I know there's an IF comp thread but I'm often the only person there so thought I'd post about it here instead.)

Anything stand out for you, Emily?

I haven't played them all yet, but the ones I've given the highest scores to so far are:

And Then You Come to a House Not Unlike the Previous One by B.J. Best
The House on Highfield Lane by Andy Joel
The Song of the Mockingbird by Mike Carletta
What Heart Heard Of, Ghost Guessed by Amanda Walker

I also had a fair bit of fun with:

4x4 Archipelago by Agnieszka Trzaska
Grandma Bethlinda's Remarkable Egg by Arthur DiBianca

I played Psychonauts (1) for an hour, and man, it just felt BAD. Muddy graphics, annoying controls/camera -- I'm not sure I want to go on.

I haven't played 1 since it launched, but 2 is definitely a much more refined experience.

Thanks abanana for the Magneticscrolls heads up

Inscryption, which seems pretty great so far, but I think I've only just scratched its surface

finished Superliminal, fun puzzle game. presentation heavily influenced by Portal but the mechanics made it feel enough like its own thing.
playing Carto now, another puzzle game but a lot more simple, more of a chillout game with nice atmosphere & music.

Carto totally sounds like my vibe. Will wishlist it

Carto was more of a "casual" game than I expected.

inscryption is so goddamn good

haven't started it yet but it's probably the first game i bought new in years (i think the last one was BOTW) on the strength of the gamejam it was based on (sacrifices must be made, free on itchio). just want to carve a good chunk of time to spend with it.......

Damn, that looks great. I loved The Hex, too (and I did like Pony Island but was bad at it).

Windows only atm, though ;_;

is it just me or is it deliberately invoking The 7th Guest?

Picross 6 baby. But seriously - I really need to stop, it's compulsively addictive

Played If On A Winter's Night, Four Travellers last night. It's short but pretty. The puzzles are not difficult so it all ends up being a bit of a walkthrough. It's free on Steam though so if you have a spare couple of hours..

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1603980/If_On_A_Winters_Night_Four_Travelers/

inscryption is excellent but i should caution anyone curious that it's not really the same thing as the sort of deckbuilder roguelikes that are endlessly replayable (slay the spire etc.), it's drawing on those but going in a very different direction. it didn't really come across as a bait & switch or anything to me given the dev's history but i've seen people very put off when they discover that it isn't aiming for the same thing as slay the spire etc.

Not that I've played that many new games this year, but The Forgotten City is now in my top spot for GOTY. It's soooo good and has thoroughly colonized my brain

i just went to check what it is and it was on my wishlist already whoops