What videogames are you playing in 2025?

[Thomas Shey]

Shows you I'm off in my own place. While I tried out three or four different classes in ME1, by ME2 I'd settled into Vanguard and never really looked back...

 

[Paul Farquhar]

No, that IS the object. Stealth assassin. It's not like they have silencers in Mass Effect!

To be fair I thought it was demented until I tried it. Now I'd never go back!

The point, being the reason I like to play it, is to take a slow, methodical approach. I’ve always had terrible reactions, and they only only get worse with age, so the last thing I want to be is anywhere near the enemy. I never use a shotgun and only use stealth to run away.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

But it's not the only way, nor, I would suggest, the optimal way. In ME2 and ME3, you can play "shotgun Infiltrator", where you use your Cloak to reposition in a very aggressive way, you can get on top of and behind enemies a lot of the time - that plays a hell of a lot faster and more frantically (in a good way) than "sniper Infiltrator"

I don’t care about optimal I care about fun (for me!). “Shotgun infiltrator “ sounds more like a filthy Vanguard to me.

 

[Distracted DM]

It was lots of Wazhack, and then lots of Caves of Qud, and then lots of Conan Exiles (yay game with friends!) and now we're trying Soulmask.

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

I’m currently on a drawn out hospital stay to fix my heart and get a pacemaker. So I’m replaying the old Baldurs Gate games on my iPad. Good stuff that are kind to the blood pressure

 

[Retros_x]

I am very positively surprised by AC:Shadows - most fun I had with AC since Brotherhood! I love the stealth gameplay, feels like a modern open-world Tenchu. I can only recommend to put difficulty to hard so you actually have to learn and use all the systems. Its also the first AC since Assassins Creed 2 (!!) where I genuinely like the characters and am interested in them. And the world is so beautiful and immersive, especially the weather. I am normally not a big fan of these big open worlds that feel a lot like busy work, but I've always had a weak spot for AC because of the historic fantasy settings and this one is just so great, especially for someone who also has interest in Japanese culture. Way more interesting setting than Valhalla and Origins, Odyssee was ok.

 

[MarkB]

I am very positively surprised by AC:Shadows - most fun I had with AC since Brotherhood! I love the stealth gameplay, feels like a modern open-world Tenchu. I can only recommend to put difficulty to hard so you actually have to learn and use all the systems. Its also the first AC since Assassins Creed 2 (!!) where I genuinely like the characters and am interested in them. And the world is so beautiful and immersive, especially the weather. I am normally not a big fan of these big open worlds that feel a lot like busy work, but I've always had a weak spot for AC because of the historic fantasy settings and this one is just so great, especially for someone who also has interest in Japanese culture. Way more interesting setting than Valhalla and Origins, Odyssee was ok.

That sounds positive. I'm a bit ambivalent on the series in general - I've bought several of the more recent titles, and every single one I've played for a lot of hours and had fun with, but I haven't actually played any of them to completion since the Ezio games.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I’ve always had terrible reactions, and they only only get worse with age

I dunno man, for me I feel like it's more practice than anything else.

Like, I've been expecting to get "bad reflexes" at any moment for over 15 years at this point. I've been seeing people since even their late 20s bemoan how their reflexes have gone to hell compared to when they were a teen, but what's weird is, mine seem to have got better? And now I'm 47. And I can't see any way to account for that except practice and pushing myself. I also definitely think much faster on my feet at 47 than I did at, say, 25, and I'm a lot less prone to panic. That latter is definitely self-training because I even know how I trained it - playing Dead Space on maximum difficulty armed only with the plasma cutter (which, to be clear - is an extremely good weapon), and just being completely methodical about, because the first time I played it (on a normal rather than the hardest, and I didn't even get halfway through), it scared me half to death! And I was like, nah, I'm done with that, no more fear, just plasma cutting. It took some real focus but I was able to do it, and enjoyed it.

Elden Ring makes this particularly obvious, because I'm instinctively doing stuff which when I started playing, I would never have done, and avoiding attacks I could never have avoided just with "fast reflexes" alone. Doesn't mean I don't still die a lot of course! It's still Elden Ring!

I guess I should buy Sekiro at some point and put my money where my mouth is, because that requires extremely fast and reliable parrying, which definite wouldn't be possible with bad reflexes.

“Shotgun infiltrator “ sounds more like a filthy Vanguard to me.

Vanguard is a very different playstyle. Shotgun Inf is like, fast and methodical, you've got to be able to think on your feet and use the right tool for the job, whereas Vanguard is more relentless aggression combined with correct Charge timing. Sniper Inf is also very viscerally "statisfying" though, that's for sure.

I love the stealth gameplay, feels like a modern open-world Tenchu.

That is extremely good to hear, man I miss Tenchu! I tend to avoid AC games at full price, but definitely going to keep an eye on Shadows.

Shows you I'm off in my own place. While I tried out three or four different classes in ME1, by ME2 I'd settled into Vanguard and never really looked back...

I think a lot of people found a class they really enjoyed in ME2/3 and didn't really play the others. Personally I didn't try the others until I'd played a ton of the co-op multiplayer in ME3, which made me learn the other classes/abilities to a significant extent.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Like, I've been expecting to get "bad reflexes" at any moment for over 15 years at this point

Well, mine are exceptionally bad, like my parents sought medical help bad. These days I would probably get a dyspraxia diagnosis to go with my dyslexia and ADHD.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I think a lot of people found a class they really enjoyed in ME2/3 and didn't really play the others. Personally I didn't try the others until I'd played a ton of the co-op multiplayer in ME3, which made me learn the other classes/abilities to a significant extent.

Like I said, I tried some of the others (I know Infliltrator and Sentinel, and I think Soldier; I believe I started Adept at one point but the really heavy dependence on biotics I think defeated me). I just found Vanguard a more relaxing play, probably because I'm generally terrible at shooters and found the up-close-and-personal approach more forgiving).