Hi everyone!

I've been replaying the Mass Effect games and I'm really impressed by how great they are.

Someway, even if I really enjoyed them back in the days on my Playstation 3, I feel like it's now even better now that I get to enjoy the Legendary Edition on my Steam Deck.

I think I might have been too young to appreciate all the work that goes into creating such a universe and how you can just spend time by listening to conversations, look at the world around you and get involved in all the politics and news.

I was also surprized at how integrated the DLC's are. The other day I started playing the Omega freeing mission in Mass Effect 3, just to discover after a few hours that it's not part of the main game.

Since I don't remember my first playthrough, it makes me wonder how many of the DLC's I've played for now.

I'm around 20 hours in Mass Effect 3 and I hope the end is as good as I remember (even if I know that some people where not happy with the end). For now, I don't even know if there are many endings, so no spoiler please.

All of this, just to say that you shoud get the game if you haven't played it yet. I got it for around 10$ if I remember, but it'd would even still be worth it at the 69$ they are asking for it these days) I can lower the TDP to 7/ 30 FPS and the game still looks gorgeous on the Deck's small screen.

I feel like it's even better than Cyberpunk 2077 while still filling my need of a huge world with a lot of tech stuff and background stories.

Some people are complaining about the always online requirement, but I think you can even avoid it.

I also wanted to add that EA has a bad reputation on Lemmy (and it's probably justified in a way and not gonna get better soon), but they've created some great games over the years. Here is a list of the ones I've enjoyed just as a reminder:

-Dead Space 1-3 (3 is great despite everything people are saying) -Battlefield 1 -Star Wars Jedi Survivor and fallen order -Need For Speed Shift 1-2

The last time I played Hello Charlotte games (HC) many years ago. I didn't think much about them since then even though they heavily influenced me when I was a teenager. But recently the memories about some moments in HC started flowing in my brain once again. And, I miss this series so much!

When I played it for the first time, I was an ignorant and desensitized kiddo who could wade through tons of gore and trauma that this game throws at you. Nowadays, I've became softer regarding this stuff. I'm worried that I mightn't take it as easily if I'd try.

I'm curious to know if anyone else here played the series and what your thoughts on it. Or maybe you have similar experience with another important media!

Finally played Road 96 and I was hooked, finished it in three evenings, it was awesome!

I'm looking for recommendations of games with this main feature: replayability with different paths/choices that allows npc related story meta progression

Sorry for the convoluted description but hopefully you get what I mean. I don't remember playing a game with such a structure before, where you're playing different teenagers but meeting a recurring cast and seeing how they evolve. It was awesome, it's kind of a rogue lite, but also more story / visual novel focused.

I guess Hades would fit? But I'm not necessarily looking for games with more emphasis on the roguelike part, nor a fully story focused game like Life is Strange, just the right mix between the two 🤔

My experience with Animal Crossing started on the DS with Wild World, as I'm sure it did with many others. The game drew me in with its colorful villagers, daily routine, and slice-of-life feel. Years later I got back into the series with New Leaf on the 3DS, putting hundreds of hours into it. The progression system felt just right, and the level of customization for my villager was a real treat. However, when I finally got a hold of New Horizons on my switch, I couldn't help but feel let down. Rather than a town that felt like it moved on when I didn't play, I felt like I was in total control. Villagers would have to beg me to let them move out, rather than just leaving on their own. Everything felt a bit too... Doll-house in its design?

All that to say I started a town on the original gamecube Animal Crossing with the Deluxe mod released in 2025 by Cuyler and what a treat it is for a player like me! The town feels alive in so many ways my island felt lacking in. Villagers have more personality than ever, they don't just worship my villager but express themselves as real neighbors. Some I get along with, some I try to avoid in hopes they leave me alone.

There aren't a million incentives from Nook Miles driving me to play, I just think of what I'd like to do that day and do it. What the game lacks in progression it makes up for in a sense of community, and not competing to hold my attention for 4+ hours a day. The game is more than happy with me checking in 30 minutes a day, talking to my neighbors, catching some fish, decorating my house, and ending for the day.

If you're burned out of New Horizons, or just want to try out a more old-school laid back life simulator, I highly recommend checking out this game & mod! I got it working super easily on my steam deck, and the portability helps the game a ton. Some features Deluxe adds include allowing fossils to be identified at the museum, a free-moving camera, widescreen support, skin tones, many many exclusive E+ features that haven't been in an AC game outside of Japan, and general fixes to bugs in the original game.

Deluxe Mod Overview Trailer

syncthing has been killing me off and on for years it seems. not only that, but if you run into a device that can't use syncthing, (rooted LG WebOS, or hacked switch) you're out of luck!

When i saw they had the webdav cloud in retroarch, being ignorant of webdav at the time, i wrote it off!

But rclone is awesome and introduced me to a bunch of things it is capable of, beyond a little webdav server!

easily installed on debian, or a docker. (plus more i am sure!)

super cool!

I finally have gotten around to playing SOMA. I got it in 2017 and always put off playing it for other games. So far, it's been keeping me engaged for the most part, but some parts have also been bothering me, which is leaving me with mixed feelings that I haven't completely sorted out.

By my count, SOMA is actually the first pure horror game I've played! I've played games with horror sections (like Half-Life Alyx) and comedy horror games (like Anthology of the Killer, though it's only mild horror). SOMA is my first time playing a game that's entirely about being scared. As a result, my impression of SOMA is also mixed in with my first experience with a horror game.

Quick info about SOMA

SOMA is by Frictional Games, the same company as the Amnesia series. After undergoing a brain scan for therapy, the player character wakes up in a high-tech base at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The game is particularly famous for its atmosphere of existential dread.

My current status (spoilers)

Thrills

As someone with little experience with horror games, I find some of the scary moments in the game very thrilling! It's the same kind of thrill I feel when action games get intense, and sometimes even more. I've found myself sweating or breathing weird while playing SOMA.

SOMA's story is the thing that everyone talks about because of how it questions how you perceive your conscious existence. I've gone a bit into the game and I'm hooked on the plot. The story really got me once I realized (I think) what was going on with the strange growths the player character can touch.

I have also been appreciating the sound design. The ambience, with all the creaking and clanging, keep me on edge all the time. As well, I'm impressed by the quality of the spatial audio in the game. It seems to be oddly rare for non-VR games to have sounds feel like they come from certain directions, but SOMA manages it.

Stuff that sinks

I'm not a fan of stealth games, yet some parts of SOMA feel just like a stealth game. Some navigation challenges are about hiding and waiting to sneak past a guard, except the guard is a scary monster, and your screen distorts as a signal that you're in danger of being spotted and chased. These are the parts of the game that feel less scary and more like a chore to me. In these cases, it feels more like I'm only roleplaying being scared than actually being scared, especially since I have to hide or run away even if I know what action I want to take.

Also, the ocean exploration parts bore me. And I can barely see what's in front of me in those parts!

I'm torn about the horror experience

Sometimes, during SOMA's slow moments while I wait for a scary monster to waddle away, I wonder to myself if I should have played in safe mode so I wouldn't have to hide from monsters so much. The story is really interesting to me, but the spooky gameplay is not as important. So why should I keep doing something that I don't enjoy?

That's the point that's making me argue with myself. I would expect that using safe mode would significantly reduce the hostile atmosphere of the game. But this is my first horror game and I do want to have the full experience. It's not that I dislike the horror and being scared — some of the scary parts felt great! It's just that other scary parts feel more like chores than thrills.

SOMA is pretty cool

Game is cool. Story is cool. Some scary parts are really cool.

Bought the Ultimate Edition from GoG when it was on sale, as I haven't done any of the DLCs before.

Boone is still my favourite companion, but Veronica is my bruiser. I know ED-E is referred to with he/him pronouns, but I read it as "Edie" not "Eddie" so the eyebot is a honorary girl ✨

There’s a moment, early on in Mirror’s Edge, where the game stops explaining itself and lets motion do the talking.

Sorry for the late post, I moved this week and it’s been pretty hectic. I just realized now that I forgot to make a post on Wednesday.

This year I cleaned out my family's old PS2 and got really into playing tons of games from the era I missed! The PS1/PS2 lineup is truly spectacular & has so many heavy hitters from big names & super unknown developers. Here are some of my favorites.

God of War (2005)

I've only ever played God of War 2018 so I really had no idea what to expect from this one. The opening hydra level is an amazing intro, and the game manages to use its dynamic camera to always show the most exciting angle of the action.

The story is a lot somber than I expected, leaning into it as a proper greek tragedy. Kratos is more introspective than purely angry, and I love how the story teased out reveals. The only real disappointment of the game was the 2nd to last area before the final boss. Some truly maddening platforming that felt more like a test of luck than skill. 8.5/10

Parasite Eve

One of my favorite games I've played this year, and easily one of the best PS1 games for me alongside RE2 and MGS. The game tells an engaging story at a quick pace, and manages to deliver new combat challenges you'd typically see in a full length JRPG at a lightning fast rate. The soundtrack alone is one of my favorites from Yoko Shimomura, with the police station theme "Out of Phase" being a highlight. If you enjoy JRPGs or Survival Horror, you gotta check out Parasite Eve. 9/10

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

My first Ratchet & Clank was a lot of fun. My partner knew more about the series than I did, so it was fun to see her relive & recognize iconic moments from this game. The shooting is a ton of fun, though some of the grindy challenges for upgrades got tiring after a bit. Also a huge difficulty spike at the final boss caught me off guard. Still, I enjoyed the experience. 7.5/10

Disaster Report

This game really surprised me! I went in expecting a light hearted survival game, and what I got were some genuinely meaningful character moments, branching decisions that matter, and tons of exciting real-time setpieces that would make Uncharted jealous. This is an earthquake survival game where you play as Keith, a reporter investigating an ongoing disaster in Capital City. Through your adventure you'll meet other survivors, uncover a conspiracy, and make some narrow escapes. Unfortunately this game does have a frustrating gameplay shakeup near the end that you'll want a guide to get through, but other than that it was a great time. 8/10

Raw Danger!

Okay I gotta tell y'all about Raw Danger, because I'm convinced this is the PS2 hidden gem. Holy shit. The developers took everything they learned from Disaster Report to deliver one of the most interesting survival games I've ever played. This game features six playable characters experiencing a massive flood in the city of Del Ray over the Christmas Holidays. You start as a waiter, Joshua Harwell, staffing a bigwig event held by the mayor when the disaster starts.

The game does an astounding job putting you into the shoes of your character experiencing the signs of disaster to come. Seeing water slowly trickle into the venue, increasingly nervous fellow staff as you tend to your duties, electrical problems, and soon ankle deep water begins to seep in! The survival is a lot more in-depth than Disaster Report, allowing you to customize your character's whole outfit to maximise staying dry & warm (or looking goofy as hell). Heat management is crucial, and staying out in the rain too long can be deadly. The same real-time setpieces from Disaster Report return, with even greater scale.

The most mechanically interesting part of this game is how it handles its 6 playable characters. Each character has tons of dialogue with those around them, and key decisions they make or say can end up influencing what happens in other playthroughs hours later. You might shove some rubble out of the way, desperate to save your companion - only to curse yourself a couple hours later when that rubble you pushed causes a massive flood to sweep away your current character into a desperate situation. The game delivers on some genuine emotion, while also capturing some truly truly off the walls insane dialogue (shoutout Amber Brazil, my favorite character for this). If you have any interest in adventure or survival games on the PS2, Raw Danger is an absolute must play. 9.5/10 (The graphics/water can look real jank at times)

Also, Merry Christmas tomorrow for anyone who celebrates!

Patient gamers might be interested in this news.

I think this is funny for this comm, i'll take down if everyone else thinks its in bad taste.

I wanted to try out Dune for the first time and it just didn't power on. I am not ok. I took a look inside and cleaned it, but there's no obvious loose connections. Today is a sad day for me

I think I played whichever one was on my Amiga waaaay back in the day, and whichever one was on PS3 for a bit. I was also a big fan of some of the Might and Magic games, which I feel were something of a bridge between the old dungeon crawlers and something like Morrowind.

Anyway I was thinking of trying one out again. Any recommendations, maybe one with modern QOL features to ease in?

I see there's a remake of Wizardry 1(?) and remasters of the Etrian Odyssey games in the past couple years. I'm also kind of intrigued by Undernauts, which looks like it might throw a little Shin Megami Tensei flavor in?