mohab
@mohab@piefed.social
- Comment on Weekly Recommendations Thread: What are you playing this week? 18 hours ago:
I bought it and so I wanted to finish it, especially since it's not all that long. And I don't like leaving things unfinished 😂
Understandable, TBH.
That makes me feel so-so about it, especially having spent I think around $9 on it (last chance before it getting delisted). I heard there is somewhat more of a story in it? That was one thing holding LIMBO back for me.
I think I paid about $12 or something, but that was back in 2018 maybe, and it was on Steam, not GOG—I always felt GOG has that DRM-free tax and sales don't go as hard on there.
There is more of a story but not really because of the nature of the story… it's, uh, nonconventional to say the least. It's fantastically bizarre, but in a modern, industrial setting. Definitely more interesting than LIMBO overall. Best way I can put it: it's that scene in Eraserhead where he was walking home in an industrial hellscape, but stretched to a 5-hour game.
It apparently runs okay on Xenia Canary but I haven't looked into it yet.
Yeah, you're right! I forgot you'll need to setup Xenia to play it, but it's just as easy to set up as Xemu, and runs great.
- Comment on Weekly Recommendations Thread: What are you playing this week? 19 hours ago:
Why did you stick with Blasphemous 😂 I remember you hated it a couple of weeks ago.
INSIDE is better than LIMBO, IMO—in terms of production and sound design, at the very least. Without revealing too much, some sections are more fun. Although the core gameplay is not much different, unfortunately.
My opinion on LIMBO and INSIDE hasn't changed since playing them: they're worth $2-3 each, not more.
Xemu is super easy to set up, yeah. I hope you enjoy the rest of your NGB playthrough, and you can definitely beat it, yes!
Word of warning about Ninja Gaiden 2 Black: it's more or less Sigma 2 reskinned, unfortunately. They called it "Black" for marketing, but it's not really the definitive version. You can pick it up and install the White mod, which brings it closer to OG NGII, but if you already have Xemu set up, might as well just play OG NGII—it's an incredible experience, but also get ready to experience a ton of NES bullshit moments in 3D 😂 It's downright hilarious how OG NGII just doesn't give a flying fuck about balance, but it's definitely part of the charm.
On Ninja Gaiden 4, it's a collab between Team Ninja and Platinum Games, which's exciting, but I'd say maybe adjust your expectations for a slightly different experience than the typical Ninja Gaiden.
- Comment on Weekly Recommendations Thread: What are you playing this week? 19 hours ago:
OK, seeing the fighting game community is experiencing some kind of tag fighters resurregence right now, I decided to give them a fair shake.
I had not before because they seemed too much work. Like, picking and learning 1 character is so difficult that I felt exhausted just at the thought of picking and learning 3. I also always thought the team composition aspect of it adds a premeditated layer of strategy that I could do without.
All that said, I still felt I was missing out, so I picked up Dragon Ball FighterZ and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 this week.
Now, I faintly remember watching parts of some DBZ episodes when I was younger, and just loathed it. I did have a weird and not necessarily good taste as a child though, so I'm not sure if I'd hate it as much now. That said, I still do not feel desire to check out the show, TBH. I feel it doesn't have a lot I'd be interested in after playing the game.
Before getting to the gameplay, and even though I bought it on a deep sale, I'd like to bring up that buying it was not a pleasant experience. Bandai successfully bamboozled me into buying the base game and the first season pass separately, which costs $2 more than the FighterZ Edition, which includes both. TBF, I could not have foreseen my desire to buy the season pass because I don't know much about the roster and couldn't have foretold I will like and want to designate Android 17 as the point in my team.
I'm willing to admit the fault is mine as much as it is Bandai's, but I still feel bitter about the $2 😅
Gameplay is surprisingly super fun, although I'm yet to figure out how to effectively do tag combos, chain supers, or any of the super fun shit I picked up the game to ultimately experience. Learning BnBs and getting familiar with the game mechanics has been fun so far. It helps a lot it's an Arc System Works game and I'm familiar with their combo systems and whatnot.
I still haven't fucked around enough with Marvel to talk about how I feel, but I can say I bought it on a deep discount too, did not run into any issue buying it because it's the Ultimate edition, so no DLC bullshit, and I'm excited to learn Viewtiful Joe and Amaterasu.
Even though it's revered, a reason to hesitate before buying UMVC3 was it still has delay netcode to this day, which more or less means it's unplayable online. I hope this changes at some point, but just the act of buying it now represents the first instance of my breaking the no "rollback = no buy" rule… I don't feel good about that, but the way I try and cope is justify it with: (1) it's a super deep discount—less than $5—and (2) it's Mahvel… way I understand it it's the quintessential tag fighter… avoiding it would feel like avoiding Kurosawa while exploring Japanese cinema.
- Comment on Weekly Recommendations Thread: What are you playing this week? 20 hours ago:
Pikmin 2
How do you feel about removing the time limit?
- Comment on How can i casual gamer enter a game online competition? 1 day ago:
Im curious if its possible to enter a game competition or something as a casual player?
Yes.
want to someday atleast try one but im not sure what game to get better at or what sites to use to enter some without making myself look like a fool?
The game to get better at is the game you enjoy most, and what sites depends on the game. You can ask again here after you decide on a game and I'm sure you'll get a good number of suggestions.
No one cares if you lose. Really. Everyone loses at some point, and if you happen to run into a dick who makes a big deal out of beating you, just say ggs and move on. It's not worth it to take the bait.
In my experience, most people are nice as long as you are, and they'll even give you advice if you ask.
I also dont want to pay because thats sort of like gambling at the start.
I think about 99% of online tournaments are free, so don't worry.
- Comment on What's your preferred way of buying games? (digital/physical/physical digital) 2 days ago:
I have no interest in any kind of physical media. GOG and Itch.io do not carry any of the games I'm interested in, so I only buy through Steam.
I like Steam, I just wish we were buying the games, not leasing them. Bullshit system and I hope it changes one day.
I only buy games on deep discounts—I spent only $100 over the course of the past 4 years to buy 14 games.
If I'm curious about a game but not sure if I'll like it, I sail the high seas to try it before committing.
- Comment on What game sequel ruined a beloved franchise or character for you? 2 days ago:
It was not rubbish, but what Xrd did to my main character, Zato, irreparably damaged my relationship with any future Guilty Gear game, and Strive just finished off whatever hope I had left.
And to be clear: I'm not talking about power level here—fuck that. I'm only talking about how much fun I had with the character, and still do in Guilty Gear Plus R.
- Comment on What are some games with absolutely fantastic soundtracks? 3 days ago:
The entire Guilty Gear franchise. Runnung joke is e every album comes with a free game.
- Comment on Darksiders 4 | Announcement Teaser 5 days ago:
I agree, and I said this in another discussion and I'll say it again: this is 2nd best case scenario for action games. I'd rather we get Project G.G. or Scalebound than Bayonetta 3 or Ninja Gaiden 4, but if new iterations are all we can get for now, we'll take them—it's better than nothing, and may eventually lead to new IPs, who knows.
- Comment on Darksiders 4 | Announcement Teaser 5 days ago:
Wow, OK, now we kind of have to start talking about an action game resurregence: DMC5, GoW reboot, Bayonetta 3, NG4, Onimusha reboot/spin off, and now Darksiders 4. What even is missing at this point?! MGR 2? Even Shinobi got a new game…
For the love of any and everything holy, Capcom, please, there's no better time to open the vaults and release Viewtiful Joe and God Hand! You even got Kamiya back and resurrected both Okami and Clover, come on!
I'd also ask KOEI TECMO to release NGII on Steam, but we all know they'd rather shut down than touch that codebase for some reason.
- Comment on Mastercard release a statement about game stores, payment processors and adult content 5 days ago:
Ima quote Serj on this: "La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la, lie, lie, lie 🎶"
- Comment on Death Stranding 2's stunning new statue somehow makes Sam look even more realisitic than he does in the game 5 days ago:
Is he spinning pizza dough in the main picture or am I tripping?
- Comment on Goosebumps: The Game will be removed from sale on August 8, 2025. 1 week ago:
I wish I did. I read you can still find codes, but they're worth hundreds of dollars now.
I did sail the high seas to play it though, pretty good game. Solid, mid-tier Platinum game—more fun than Korra, which wasn't bad even though the world felt a little too empty.
- Comment on Metroidbrainia: An in-depth exploration of knowledge-gated games 1 week ago:
Yeah, but the tag makes it sound like these games have more similarities with metroidvanias than just gated areas.
Imagine someone clicking on the tag because they recognized Metroid only to find The Witness…
- Comment on Metroidbrainia: An in-depth exploration of knowledge-gated games 1 week ago:
I hate it, I think it's silly, and will potentially confuse anyone who's not familiar with it, but if it makes it easier for people to find these games eventually then eh 🤷♂️
I hate "character action games" too but I use that tag regularly to find new games.
I wish we go back to just layering descriptors though… more room for nuance this way.
nonlinear + puzzle + first-person = The Witness
action + long combos + style meter + third-person = Bayonetta
I understand a shorthand tag is convenient, but it also adds confusion.
- Comment on Weekly Recommendations Thread: What are you playing this week? 2 weeks ago:
I spent exactly 1 hour with Blasphemous before refunding it. Too much platforming for me and the combat is not exactly fun and didn't feel fresh.
Best combat in any metroidvania is F.I.S.T: Forged in Shadow Torch and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, IMO. They're almost like character action games: launchers, on-the-fly weapon switching, dash/jump canceling… etc. Full combo systems—only thing missing is a style meter.
- Comment on Ubisoft: Microtransactions make games more fun 2 weeks ago:
It's hilarious though 😂 I imagine the guy who said it was trying so hard not to break.
- Comment on Ubisoft: Microtransactions make games more fun 2 weeks ago:
I've never had fun playing any Ubisoft game 🤣
Stick of Truth was fun, but they just published that—Obsidian developed it with Matt and Trey.
- Comment on Novels and Movies Offer Closure. Video Games Should Too. [The New York Times] 2 weeks ago:
Hmm… I suppose I can just put this down to my disagreeing with the article's headline: I say a lot of movies and novels don't offer enough closure and are bad examples to follow—games can and should do better.
- Comment on Novels and Movies Offer Closure. Video Games Should Too. [The New York Times] 2 weeks ago:
Hmm… but isn't it an "ongoing series"? Like, you can have short or long arcs, but if the continuity is the same, the story technically hasn't ended.
I agree gaming takes it a step further, but this is like comparing a worse example to a bad one… yeah, one is worse, but they both suck at the end of the day.
I'm glad you like Fast and Furious, but it's only one example of many. It's not the only movie franchise being milked to death, and won't be the last.
- Comment on Novels and Movies Offer Closure. Video Games Should Too. [The New York Times] 2 weeks ago:
Yes, but it's also devoid of creativity and takes up space that could be occupied by more creative endeavors, so it's a similar path at the end of the day.
My point is pointing a finger at Fortnite and Epic Games is fair, but same finger should also be pointed at Universal, Disney, NBC… etc.
And the biggest finger should be pointed at capitalism itself.
- Comment on Novels and Movies Offer Closure. Video Games Should Too. [The New York Times] 2 weeks ago:
And time machine leads to multiverse, and multiverse leads to reboot. Never mind the spinoff potential…
- Comment on Novels and Movies Offer Closure. Video Games Should Too. [The New York Times] 2 weeks ago:
Hmm… title is a little bit clickbaity—author seems to be mainly going after live service games, not necessarily every video game.
Also, novels and movies don't always end 😂 Not sure why they threw that into the title. Freaking Fast and Furious will surely outlast planet Earth at this point 😂 What about Star Wars? It'll never end.
I agree with the general sentiment though: I think players are flexible and will be inclined to give your new IP a shot, but capitalism is risk averse, and will obviously disagree.
- Comment on Would you considering watching playthroughs of a game the same as playing that game? 2 weeks ago:
Yes. You probably will miss out on branching paths if there's any, but you will miss out on those in a regular playthrough anyway
You also probably should've asked this question instead of the one in the title of the thread—they're two fundamentally different questions.
I know narrative-driven games are dominant nowadays, but not every game is narrative-driven.
- Comment on Mercedes-Benz will let you use an in-car camera in Microsoft Teams while driving 2 weeks ago:
Nice, now CEOs get to do mass lay offs on-the-go 😂
When will the capitalism cult die… has got to be more casualties than the two world wars combined at this point.
- Comment on Weekly Recommendations Thread: What are you playing this week? 3 weeks ago:
Based on my experience so far, I totally agree with you. I'm simultaneously impressed by the ideas and confused by the package they came in.
It's just that the fluff and errors are glaringly obvious… hard to fathom how the same mind who came up with these captivating ideas wrote, or at best OK'd, the fluff and errors.
I'd say I expected poor and somewhat pretentious writing and got that, but I'm impressed enough by the ideas that I haven't started skipping cutscenes yet, so I assume, overall, it's net positive… not by much, but it is.
- Comment on Weekly Recommendations Thread: What are you playing this week? 3 weeks ago:
Unbelievable, but fucking Death Stranding 😂 The story has some cool concepts and moments—e.g. Mama's story—but it's too obtuse, has too much filler, and many senseless moments. Like, the [spoiler]Junk Dealer and his girl[/spoiler] living literal meters away from each other and for some reason trying and failing to find each other or establish contact for years, or an entire MULE camp peacefully coexisting next to a Timefall farm… best way I can describe the world and story so far is it's an inconsistent mess.
Funniest moments though has got to be The Craftsman going "Fuck you, not joining your UCA!" only to go back on that in the literal next sentence with "But maybe if you do X, we can talk!" 😂
Apart from the odd climbing bugs and the silly, barebones combat, the game is nice though. Rebuilding the world and cooperating with other players feels really nice. And barely making it through BT encounters on very hard is exhilarating.
Fucking bikes are awesome to ride too… I love how goofy they're meant to be.
I don't see myself coming back after I 100% it though… I'm halfway through and I don't see any value in replaying the game so far. It's not exactly a skill-based game, and after roads and ziplines, I'm hardly motivated to go back to walking, but I don't think it's meant to be replayable, and I'll probably get like ~70 or more hours out of it in total and I bought it for $7, so I suppose that's OK.
- Comment on Does anyone else find HiFi Rush highly overrated? 3 weeks ago:
It is tricky, I agree.
Another point I think I need to try and comment on:
Ultimately yeah, I'm saying the game isn't for me. But I often hear the game in discussions of what the industry is missing in terms of game design, and I don't think I agree that it's worth that level of praise.
I think when people praise Hi-Fi Rush, they basically mean: "Hurray, a mid-budget, FINISHED action romp from a big publisher with a cool gimmick and no intention to drown me in microtransactions!" which is why you see the PS2/PS3/Xbox 360 catalog comparisons.
I don't think anyone actually means Hi-Fi Rush is the Jesus Christ of gaming—and if they do, I completely disagree.
- Comment on Does anyone else find HiFi Rush highly overrated? 3 weeks ago:
He also directed two action GOATs: God Hand and Vanquish.
He did not direct Hi-Fi Rush though—that was John Johanas.
- Comment on Does anyone else find HiFi Rush highly overrated? 3 weeks ago:
I think it's up to the game designers to motivate certain playstyles. If there was a reason beyond the personal self imposed challenge to attain S rank in every fight, that would be a motivation, but there isn't a style rank cutoff for completion.
I'm gonna go ahead and agree with you on this: Hi-Fi Rush was released in 2023—22 years after the first Devil May Cry game and we're still using some variation of the same goddamn style meter with little to no improvement. This needs to be addressed by action game designers at some point.
And tying ranks to points to unlock moves faster is not a strong motive, IMO, because you typically end up unlocking everything in your first playthrough anyway. What about "style to regain health" or something? Gungrave has a similar mechanic with demolition shots.
On the other hand, I still think part of it is on the player. I think ignoring the style meter while playing an action game is akin to having no desire to Catch'em All™ while playing a Pokémon game. Like, you don't have to complete the Pokédex, but this is kind of understood to be the ultimate goal and is in itself the reward, or at the very least, it's probably on your mind while playing through the game.