General video game discussion

[MarkB]

What put me off ever giving it a go was the idea that it's all a simulation and you aren't actually exploring planets in outer space but are just some AI's fever dream or whatever. Is that still the case?

Honestly, no idea. I got through to some form of main-plot conclusion back when it first came out, but it was all very metaphysical and as I understand it there are a few different endings.

For the few hours I've played so far (a bit of tutorialised exploring and base building on one planet, then reaching a space station) there's been talk of iterations and data corruption, so it wouldn't surprise me if it's heading that way.

Honestly, not sure I'll continue with it myself. The game's sense of enforced aimlessness and endless grind are still very much present, and it's dragging me down more than it's drawing me in.

 

[môrgondír]

The game's sense of enforced aimlessness and endless grind are still very much present, and it's dragging me down more than it's drawing me in.

My experience is similar - I'll get interested by something, an update maybe, try it again briefly, and the game's loop will push me away from it once again.

 

[pukunui]

The game's sense of enforced aimlessness and endless grind are still very much present, and it's dragging me down more than it's drawing me in.

I am so over the grind. I also find lots of customization off-putting these days. I've been playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which is very basic and linear by today's standards, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. Just a nice point-and-click game.

Looking at newer WW2-themed games, I see they're mostly either geared toward online PvP, which I avoid like the plague, or they're like Elite Sniper 5, which looked fun until I saw all the gun customization options, and then I was like, "Yeah, nah. I just wanna shoot Nazis. I don't care what kind of gun stock I've got."

 

[Reynard]

My experience is similar - I'll get interested by something, an update maybe, try it again briefly, and the game's loop will push me away from it once again.

That's my experience with WoW. The big expansions always look amazing, but then I log on and get bored with the loop very quickly.

 

[môrgondír]

That's my experience with WoW. The big expansions always look amazing, but then I log on and get bored with the loop very quickly.

But there was a time when you played it semi-regularly?

Twenty years ago, I used to log into EverQuest fairly regularly - the cycle has slowed - I may log into in once a year or one-and-a-half years, just for a brief taste before going on to other things.

NMS never quite reached that point.

 

[MarkB]

I am so over the grind. I also find lots of customization off-putting these days. I've been playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which is very basic and linear by today's standards, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. Just a nice point-and-click game.

Looking at newer WW2-themed games, I see they're mostly either geared toward online PvP, which I avoid like the plague, or they're like Elite Sniper 5, which looked fun until I saw all the gun customization options, and then I was like, "Yeah, nah. I just wanna shoot Nazis. I don't care what kind of gun stock I've got."

I've been playing Elite Dangerous for a couple of months, and am the same way when it comes to the game's Engineering system. Yes, there's lots to tweak, but it's so much grinding to unlock initially (seriously, at one point I was doing tasks to unlock the engineer who'd let me unlock the engineer who'd give me access to the engineer who provided the modifications I actually wanted), and then to gather the materials required to actually make the modifications. And this is the streamlined, lower-grind version of the system as it was originally introduced!

At this point I'm no longer playing regularly (thus the looking around for something new), but I am keeping up with some current interesting story progressions that may lead to some new things being unlocked in the near future.

I'm starting to feel another playthrough of XCOM 2 coming on. That game's my comfort food, I can happily get lost in it and know that it'll entertain me through another complete playthrough, at which point it'll go back on the shelf until I need it again.

 

[Zardnaar]

I am so over the grind. I also find lots of customization off-putting these days. I've been playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which is very basic and linear by today's standards, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. Just a nice point-and-click game.

Looking at newer WW2-themed games, I see they're mostly either geared toward online PvP, which I avoid like the plague, or they're like Elite Sniper 5, which looked fun until I saw all the gun customization options, and then I was like, "Yeah, nah. I just wanna shoot Nazis. I don't care what kind of gun stock I've got."

Im thinking of booting up Call of Duty 2. Similar reason.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

I'm starting to feel another playthrough of XCOM 2 coming on. That game's my comfort food, I can happily get lost in it and know that it'll entertain me through another complete playthrough…

Wonderful game to be addicted to. I rather prefer the B-movie atmosphere in the first of the modern XCOMs, but the gameplay is definitely better in the second. I do miss the MECs, though.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Wonderful game to be addicted to. I rather prefer the B-movie atmosphere in the first of the modern XCOMs, but the gameplay is definitely better in the second. I do miss the MECs, though.

I've been doing XCOM1 with the Long War mod for a while now. Lot of nice things about it (though I'm literally playing the easiest version of the eight levels) but it drags out the end game which has always been an issue with those in general.

 

[Gradine]

My comfort food game is Civilization VI, generally, but every time I come back to it I get fed up with it all the more quickly. I still haven't been able to make any progress in any narrative-focused game since beating Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which I'm sure you've all already played because I told you to, yeah?