@simple What a coincidence! I've been getting back into this lately.

This game is fantastic if you enjoy VRChat/Webfishing/etc. It's like those but with a ridiculous amount more in terms of minigames, microgames (see: arcade), and custom spaces/places (condos).

You can load all manner of custom player models, object models, images, etc.

It provides plenty for solo players & groups of players, both with coop & competitive options. Well worth checking out!

@cm0002 This puts me in the mind of the old .hack// series of single-player JRPGs, but from a Western perspective.

If they take some creative liberties with it to give it its own distinct feel and narrative, as the .hack// games did in their day, it could be a pretty charming game once it's out of Early Access.

@spizzat2 It is, the cosmetics were unlockables via SnapMap, providing some ways you can customize the look of the Doom Guy/Doom Slayer.

SnapMap was Doom 2016's limited level creator basically. Not proper mod tools unfortunately, but an okay compromise compared to nothing at all.

It was what sold me on the game, but I'm a sucker for accessible level editing and the like tools in games.

@ampersandrew More annoying to my mind than the lack of MP is lack of SnapMap. Like you said, may not have been the selling point for most, but given Doom's legacy is as much courtesy of user created stuff as it is its technical contributions, it's a big loss to not have that.

Tempted to see if there's a way to hack SnapMap back in to a degree so people could still play backed up custom maps (which exist thanks to dedicated modders hacking & extending SnapMap functionality).

@misk Seems nice until you look into the biz that acquired them: Gunzilla Games is another of these sketchy new development studios trying to build a game around blockchain nonsense.

https://gunzillagames.com/en/news/41-G

😔

Thanks for the suggestion!

This is definitely in the vein of what I'm interested in, however real-time mechanics as you mention, "Each action (like sending a ship to a location) typically takes an hour or two to finish." are never to my tastes, even if the game is wholly built around them.

Still, I've read some amusing stories produced from games of Subterfuge, so at least I've managed some secondhand entertainment from it!

@Rai ? I glanced at the store page for it and it says network connection not required, so it's not always online, which fits my preferences.

However, that was the Steam version, maybe mobile is different & what you had in mind?

@ItalianSkeletonGaming @games not sure how well alt text federates, so for those wondering the games in the image are Jump4 (top) and ParaPerspective (bottom)

Haven't gotten around to trying any demos yet personally, but ParaPerspective looks like my kinda game as someone that enjoyed Echochrome

Heya, I dig the walls of text sometimes! I also tend to bounce around a variety of games, so I like the idea of short notes about each. Until recently I was writing similar notes digitally as separate notepad files and littering them throughout my computer, but I've been trying to make a habit of using stuff like Zim or Joplin to keep them better organized. 😅

Also right there with you on covering weird jank and "subpar" games, so thanks for writing about them!

Hey yeah, appreciate the detail in how you go about it! I'm kinda surprised by the responses saying they don't tend to write anything until further in and/or completion, but it's reassuring in a way, as that's been my approach too for some time.

I also dig that you try to engage with the "soul idea" as you call it of games. It resembles what I've read elsewhere of a reviewer trying to evaluate in part on whether a game achieved what it set out to do or not, which I thought was interesting.

Interesting approach, and I get it for those more involved or longer games, as some don't even have all their systems in play till awhile into the game (which is worth noting in itself!).

Thanks for your perspective!

Oh yeah, and here's to Outer Wilds! Absolutely a game for the ages!

I agree, and strive to remain cognizant of how both game size and digital only games serve to widen the digital divide.

Appreciate your reply compelling me to elaborate, as without I see where it can read like, "why not redownload several 50+ GB games" which unfortunately is increasingly people's situation with games. 😟

It's decent enough to consider it, I'll give you that.

Something worth adding, I think:

I mainly play smaller games (like ≤ 10 GB, often below 5 GB at that), with few bigger ones in the mix, which is why I even considered this method.

Also back when GOG Galaxy was being introduced, GOG had fewer big games, I think. If not then it's that I lean towards smaller and older games in general.

@JulesTheModest Er...How do you mean? The Galaxy app has its issues, but I've not run into this one.

Biggest issue I ran into was years back trying to point it to my existing directory of GOG games from before Galaxy to get it to recognize them without reinstalling them, but eventually I just decided to reinstall whenever I felt like playing them again (and uninstall from old location).

I think I may have it wishlisted, so I'm definitely trying to keep an eye on it. Waiting till it's fully released so I don't feel compelled to play it more like pseudo-QA and enjoy it less though

Thanks for the suggestion!

It sounds kinda familiar, but I don't know if I have or not. I'll have to look into it!

I'm also bookmarking Worlds Apart to check out later, so thanks for both suggestions!

These are solid suggestions for sure! I still need to get around to the rest of the Dishonored series past the first and finish Prey.

Immersive sims I think are pretty close to what I might be wanting, but they're unfortunately not that common, and some have RPG elements I don't find enjoyable. The Arkane games you mention pretty much avoid them last I checked though, and I dig'em for it

I have, a little, and have enjoyed those I've played, but I'm also fond of more visual art in games, so on the text heavy front I lean towards point and click adventures and visual novels more.

However like yourself, I tend to think I should play more of them, see what they experiment with and push boundaries on.

Btw you might check out The Trackless if you like interactive fiction. It mixes some light text parsing with a 3D adventure game, making for a unique experience.

Right, as I mention though, from what I recall they didn't always have cheats, or necessarily the sort I might want like removing random battles for the games with them.

I use Steam, but I also go for games outside of Steam, which is what my message was indicating. I'm into first/third-person puzzle games, for sure.

Not much of a fan of Bethesda's style of RPGs (given you asked in another comment). They're too buggy/unstable in my experience, but also plainly RPGs.

@Donjuanme Yeah, you're not wrong. The trick is, "games these days", which I enjoy a fair amount of, but I'm also interested in games from across time, so older titles as well.

Those are a little iffier to play given some lack the settings or options, and sometimes also any cheats. Do you happen to know of any sites/resources advising how to use emulators to sorta do that for older titles?

Alternatively may need to review which old titles I have that have cheats for that kinda thing...