Hi there what shall I play next out of this ridiculous backlog - by Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread Man on 20/2/2020 at 18:18
He, les enfants! Remember when I said "If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it"?
HERE WE GO!
I have a substantial backlog at this point. While I'd like to say that I have nearly as many fucking launchers as games (Rockstar, Ubisoft, Epic, Steam, GoG... probably 20 or 30 others, who can count that high?) Doesn't help that the past year or more has been 100% devoted to Fallout 4, Banished, and GTA V / Online -- I keep racking up free games and purchasing others, but I just stare at them like they're gonna magically entertain me while I play whatever it is that I've been obsessed with. To be fair (to be faaair to be faaaaaaair), I've played a few minutes of most of these titles, sometimes enough to get through the intro tutorial, sometimes not. This means that at least one of these games is sitting idle because I was either unimpressed by the very first bit or found it completely at odds with my current habits in gaming. Neither of these are great ways for me to approach titles I've bothered to download, and I'm starting to get burned out on GTA Online...
Um.
Here are the titles with a thought or two if I can dredge them up:
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate -- I have only ever played the first AC game, I liked it a lot. I've never even SEEN the sequels.
Surviving Mars -- Jesus this seems hard, but I adore micromanagement colony sims.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance -- no idea AT ALL, it was free
Red Dead Redemption 2 -- Started a little, seems lovely, control scheme is responsible for punching those lawmen, not me.
Farming Simulator 19 -- Had a brief look, seems fun.
Batman: Arkham Asylum -- To be honest, the character design is gruesome in these games. Batman is wack and I can't seem to get past that.
Batman: Arkham City -- Okay, still gruesome, but this time I think I managed to suss out the ZOMG PLOT TWEEST in the few minutes I played because the writing is so shabby.
Batman: Arkham Knight -- No idea, heard the Batmobile stuff is tedious. Probably still populated by fat rubber gruesome men.
Metro 2033 -- Love the concept, started a little bit, seems very challenging.
Conarium -- Not a AAA game by anyone's reckoning, but I dig the atmosphere and the Lovecraftian stuff isn't as ham-fisted as it is in most games that stab away at Cosmic Horror.
LA Noire -- This is where GTA V has bollocked me. I'm sure this is a great game, and I want to play it, but I need to get the stench of Really Awesome World Graphics out of my head before I can really get into it.
Tomb Raider -- Done the tutorial, actually bought a controller for this game, seems like a good TR title so far.
Far Cry 5 -- Fuck's sake the intro... I haven't been that stressed out since I played the first Ant Lion level in HL2 while I was way too high. This is probably the most beautiful game I've ever seen, and that's pretty good when it's competing with GTA v and RDR2.
Alan Wake -- Remember when this first dropped and we were all like WTF HOW DID THEY MAKE SO BIG A WORLD JESUS? It seems a bit clumsy, but endearing so far.
Hitman 2 -- Yeah, probably no need for much feedback on this one. I am a drooling Hitman fan and I still play Blood Money like a junkie. I've only just started Miami, and I'm incredibly impressed.
Little Nightmares -- Lovely art direction, don't know much else. Opinions very much appreciated.
Limbo -- I love sidescrollers, but I'm having a hard time getting into this one. Gorgeous, though.
The Banner Saga -- Turn-based stuff is another of my jams, and the score is just a hair more lovely than the art. I don't really understand who everyone is or what's going on, but I'm assuming that's gonna change.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided -- I really loved Human Revolution, I'm guessing I can expect the same sort of experience with MD?
Dishonored 2, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Prey -- Okay, let's get this out of the way: We all love 0451 Games, we always have. But (and I don't mean this to sound as harsh as it's gonna) can I please get something from Arkane that isn't "this is what we think Thief 3 should have been like"?
Manhunt -- Gotta love assassination sims. How's this one stack up today?
Sunless Skies -- This seems far more intricate and involved than the previous title. Anyone know if it's sufficiently different to get stuck into?
Mad Max -- Well, I have actually cleared the first zone for this one, don't know if it should be on this list... What a fantastic world design.
Anyway, that's the list. What I'm asking is for observations, thoughts, feedback etc on where to start with this pile. I know I'm gonna have to find some way to bridge the gulf between GTA / FO4 and literally everything else, and that's the bottleneck. Every time I pick one of these games up I'm confused and a little frustrated with either the art direction / graphics, perspective, style / pace, or simply not finding it easy to get into the story. These are problems in MY head, but it's MY head that's playing, you know?
Help a big ol' stupid man? Or maybe let's just talk about these games so I can get an idea of how you lot and your Highly-Esteemed Opinions (not a joke, I honestly value them) feel, maybe that'll shake some semblance of a plan loose from this gigantic melon on top of my neck.
(PS HI I LOVE YOU GUYS IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME EVEN JUST FOR ONE STUPID NARCISSISTIC QUESTION LIKE THIS ONE RIGHT THE FUCK HERE!)
henke on 20/2/2020 at 18:37
Hi Geebums! :D
OK
First off, Manhunt was fun back in the day, but by today's standards it's stealth and action probably doesn't hold up, and the story isn't especially interesting, so discard it. Also, Conarium was kinda interesting at first but once you get into the more fantasy parts it's kinda dull, I'd skip it as well.
MUST PLAYS (imo): Batman: the first one, Limbo, Prey
AC: Syndicate is the best AC game, and TTLGer Kroakie designed the Thames section in it!
Most of the other ones gets a solid thumbs up from me as well.
What I suggest you do is: play some of these games, whichever, doesn't matter, just as long as you have something to distract yourself with until next Wednesday when my game (
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1133590/Stilt_Fella/) STILT FELLA comes out, then buy STILT FELLA and play it.
ToolHead on 20/2/2020 at 19:41
GBM! \o/
Dishonored 2 is a masterpiece and a couple of the missions are among the most memorable I've ever played. Easily my top pick from your list. The gameplay is refined, slick Dishonored goodness with a significantly wider array of non-lethal options than in the first game. Also, it doesn't hurt that Karnaca is a jaw-droppingly beautiful setting. Haven't yet played D2: DotO as I've only recently gone back to PC; I gave it a spin on PS4 but the controls, the low FoV and horrible framerate really killed it for me. Top of my own Steam to-play list right now.
Limbo is absolutely worth playing as well. So many memorable scenes. I say give it another shot.
Renault on 20/2/2020 at 20:01
I won't heap more praise on Dishonored 2 (even though I want to), but you should definitely play it through (if for nothing else but to play Digi's Clockwork level). But Prey is one of the great underappreciated games from the past 5 years. And it's not trying to be Thief 3, it's trying to be System Shock 2, and it's doing a great job of it.
And yes, Hitman 2.
WingedKagouti on 20/2/2020 at 20:28
Quote Posted by Gingerbread Man
Batman: Arkham Asylum -- To be honest, the character design is gruesome in these games. Batman is wack and I can't seem to get past that.
Still a better Batman than what we saw in Batman vs Superman.
But try playing until you unlock multiple gadgets to help your traversal. If you still don't enjoy it at that point, there is no reason to play any other games in the series.
Quote:
Batman: Arkham City -- Okay, still gruesome, but this time I think I managed to suss out the ZOMG PLOT TWEEST in the few minutes I played because the writing is so shabby.
Given that the main plot hinges on events that happened near the end of Asylum, you might just be wrong. Also, more toys to play around with than in Asylum.
Quote:
Batman: Arkham Knight -- No idea, heard the Batmobile stuff is tedious. Probably still populated by fat rubber gruesome men.
The batmobile is indeed the worst part of that game, but the rest of it is the same core gameplay as the other Arkham titles. In any case, if you ever plan on playing City, leave this till last as it spoils a couple of major plot points from that game very early on.
Malf on 20/2/2020 at 21:21
While I love the Dishonored series, I have to say that Prey is my favourite traditional im-sim in years.
It's superb.
And it sounds like I don't need to convince you to play Hitman 2. It's just so generous. I go back to it at least once a month, and I always find something new and cool.
While the mission structure of RDR2 is maddeningly rigid, it's simply the best-realised open-world game around. I would love to see what Rockstar could accomplish if they just took a leaf out of the im-sim playbook and made missions with varied outcomes that allowed multiple approaches.
Renzatic on 20/2/2020 at 21:44
I haven't played Prey yet, but I have to give props to the Dishonored series, especially the sequel. Play it, live it, love it.
Tomi on 20/2/2020 at 23:47
Kingdom Come is one of the best games that I've ever played. It's a huge pseudo-realistic RPG that hasn't got magic and elves and dwarves and stuff, which is surprisingly refreshing in an RPG. It's a rather long game though, it will easily take 100+ hours, so that might put you off, dunno! Some say that it's buggy, but I never noticed anything like that apart from some silly physics glitches here and there.
Limbo on the other hand is pretty short, also very stylish and nice. I wouldn't say that it's exactly great, but it's enjoyable for the few hours that it lasts and rather memorable. Gameplay isn't its strongest point, the game is more about the experience.
I haven't played AC: Syndicate either, but if you liked the very first one that was very pretty but otherwise a bit dull imo (AC 2 was a huge improvement and AC:Brotherhood that came after that was even better... that's where my AC experiences end though - these games are so exhausting that whenever I finish one, I can't play another one for a <s>while</s> few years), then I'd say that it's fairly safe to assume that you should like this new one too, especially when it comes with the henke certificate of quality. :p
Alan Wake is very atmospheric and has a great story, but the gameplay hasn't aged so well. I played it for the first time only a few months ago and absolutely loved it though.
Manhunt? Quite a surprise name on that list of yours, but... nah. Might be worth playing for nostalgic reasons, but if there's no nostalgia involved, then I'd say skip it.
LA Noire sounds good in theory, but the interrogation/investigation bits can be quite frustrating at times, and the action bits just aren't so great. The game has its moments though, but there are better games on your list.
Don't know about the others!
Renzatic on 21/2/2020 at 01:25
Alan Wake is good too. The gameplay is pretty simple, but it's still good fun.
Also, Death of the Outsider is on sale on GOG. I got it. Now I'm gonna play it.
Also also...
...we're not babies, alrite? :mad:
demagogue on 21/2/2020 at 02:03
My list from your list --
Kingdom Come, also I think the best game for me in the last few years. The world draws you in.
Dishonored 2 & Prey, lol, you seem to have summed them up yourself. They still have fun gameplay, just not the same magic.
Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA5 with horses. This is such a sprawling game; I just jump in and play it in bits and pieces, which is probably the way it's best taken.
Ones you didn't mention but fit your list--
INSIDE, LIMBO is good, but the one you have to play is its successor INSIDE, which is better in every way and has real magic.
Grim Dawn. This is a classic Diablo-like, and the best form of it.
Disco Elysium. This is ... different. It's got that vidya game magic all up in it in spades, but uh... Maybe watch a few reviews and think if it's for you. It's a point and click story-driven adventure in a surreal world. The player has a sprawling beard, "the look", and talks to his limbic system. And he improbably solves crimes and other misadventures because he's a rock star. Also very shattered up in his noggin.