games

I recently started playing Dwarf Fortress, it's always interested me but I just got around to trying it, it's a bit of a learning curve but it's fun so far.

What video games have you played recently?

iRacing

What are you currently playing?

iRacing

And what will you play?

iRacing

What do you like most about 2023's repertoire of video games?

idk, iRacing has some pretty good new content

To be slightly less facetious, I really don't care for new TrIpLe A releases. I haven't even played Starfield or whatever came out in the past few months. The only thing I really see myself playing is Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name because that's one of my favorite series.

What I'm playing now? DCS. It's a military flight simulator that tries to simulate planes as accurately as possible, down to all the buttons in the cockpit. It's very fun to play multiplayer. Bombing the enemy team's factory with other players and having some people be the ones to destroy air defenses with air to ground missiles, and then the other people carry the bombs for the strike is a great experience. Or just being bait for enemy interceptors and then your friend comes to shoot them down while you just evade them and stay alive.

What I've beaten this year? Rain World, Fear and Hunger, Celeste, and Deltarune. Rain world is a survival platformer where you are a small animal and must survive the ecosystem. It's genuinely beautiful pixel art, because it's made by artists. However, there's some parts that can be called bad game design, because it's made by artists and not game designers.

Fear and Hunger is a rpgmaker survival horror game, that is brutally difficult. In it, you suffer in many gruesome ways. Basically every possible content warning applies to this game, so be warned. Ever wanted to play a game where any fight can permanently cripple you, like losing a leg and being forced to drag yourself everywhere? Or stepping on a rusty nail and then having to bonesaw off your infected foot because there's no medicine to stop the infection? Now you can.

Celeste is the platformer game where you are transgender and can double jump. Everyone here knows it already.

Deltarune is funny and good, with great character writing. Again, you've probably heard of it.

Replaying Pool Of Radiance and also started Baldur's Gate 1, been on a dnd kick.

Finally playing baudur's gate, it is an epic pain in the ass to mod Linux.

Just finished Everspace 2, it was extremely good.

my brain has been completely overtaken by Noita modding for months now, i love it so much

replayed Hades recently, I'd forgotten how hard that shit is before you have unlocks

started on Mario Wonder and kinda fell off a couple worlds in, gorgeous game but Mario gameplay just doesn't quite hold me like it used to

I’ve been playing Cyberpunk 2077 and its expansion. The update makes the core game much better IMO, and Idris Elba is cute and a good actor. That’s most of the good bits.

If you thought this was just going to make Cyberpunk into Cybercop 2077 (well, more than the base game), congratulations, you’re right. Join the ~~CIA~~ FIA and fight for the NUSA (that you’re not even a citizen of, as Night City is independent)! And, of course, they fuck you over no matter what (typical of the genre).

Whatever, I’ll keep playing that garbage. I’m a sucker for the setting. Neuromancer made me a simp for the genre.

Caves of Qud. The gameplay is addicting and it has stellar world building with non-binary tinkering bears covered in quills, and an anarchist freehold city in the middle of a gigantic reef. The devs are definitely comrades. Right now I'm running a winged mutant who generates electricity and beguiles enemies into becoming followers, and most importantly uses the power of precognition to see into the future.

i'm back on my roguelite bullshit, so Vampire Survivors yet again and i'm now getting into Roboquest

Recently beat BG3, AC6, and Starfield. BG3 good, broad recommend. AC6 solid, recommend people pirate it and give it a shot. Starfield literal garbage, do not play under any circumstance.

A friend bullied me into playing Honkai Star Rail because it supposedly has "a good plot" in parts. So far this is a lie. Gameplay is meh and made substantially worse by gacha mechanics. Very insidious with its daily login etc. Won't let me skip dialogue after reading subtitles most of the time. Still better than Starfield.

Played a few hunts in Monster Hunter Rise, and it's still good, but I'm rusty so it's not going great (and I'm only just starting high rank ).

Holocure aka VTuber Survivors is fine. A decent podcast game, which is why I'm playing it despite knowing almost nothing about VTubers (it being free doesn't hurt). I don't like having to aim, though. Hardmode stage 3 is pretty rough, feel like I need to grind out fandom ranks on someone specific to even have a chance which is pretty lame imo.

As for the question: I think this was a decently solid year. Looking at TGA nominees for GOTY I only played BG3, but it was good. A lot of remakes/sequels otherwise, still probably good, but nothing too standout.

Tagging some friends:

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]

See above.

Enjoy!

I'm playing Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3. I'm making good time on Elden Ring, but taking my time with Baldur's Gate 3 until I finish the former. Afterward, I'll probably go back to finish The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Otherwise, I'll play, in the future, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (by Owlcat Games) and an older game called Ib, which I heard is kinda like OMORI.

As for the special weekly question:

I think this year's video games were consistently of high quality and even the AAA games were good this time (whereas normally they're below the par of AA and Indie games, I feel).

I'm currently playing through Metroid (1986). It's a lot of fun if you go into it with the right mindset and use savestates liberally. I'm actually using the manual to make my own map. From what I've heard game players of the 80s would just draw their own, so I'm doing a text equivalent. I'm trying not to use online tutorials unless I have to. By far the biggest problem with this game is that each time you respawn you only start with 30 health (out of 100, and then more when you get energy tanks). That's why I don't feel bad about using savestates.

been playing some coop halo with my lovely girlfriend
has been very fun

Power Wash Simulator. Relaxing and no-stakes game that keeps my ADHD hands busy while enabling me to pay more attention to whatever I'm watching or listening to on the side.

I'm almost at the end of Super Mario RPG remake which means I'll probably never play it again and thus continue my trend of not finishing RPGs. I think the last RPG I finished was... maybe Mass Effect 2?

Outer Worlds is better than most people make it out to be. It ain't New Vegas, but without the support of a giant like Bethesda, it was never going to be. The enemy and weapon design gets a little bit same-y after a while, and they return to the classic Fallout structure where every mission has a good ending and a contrarian ending. But where the game really shines is the companions, their quests, and how they interact with almost everyone. Listening to my crew get to know one another has been a real highlight.

Replaying Pathfinder WOTR's lich path with the new alchemist archetype that specialises in undead summons, haven't actually got to the point at which the mythic path is chosen because things keep coming up that siphon my free time.

I played Sea of stars. It's good but simple, chrono trigger Mario rpg type game. Good vibes, I cried. I'm playing their previous game the messenger now, I've beat it once but nice to see connections to sea of stars.

I played punch club 2, it is very mediocre management tycoon approach to boxing/mma. Too many reference jokes and the plot is pants on head farcical.

I've started disco elysium, physical build, sorry cop. I looked at the body explored the doomed commercial complex and keep not finding the commitment to dig into it. I really need to focus to play rpg games. Especially good ones.

There's some void game that has me very intrigued and I might buy it. Everything I've heard says it starts as a basic sokoban game that becomes something way more so that could be neat.

Been playing through the Super Mario RPG remake. Really fun and charming, if a bit simple. One of the best and most faithful remakes I've ever seen. The music is amazing too, listen to this shit

https://youtu.be/MK0KyLAOsGw?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/0M0bXhCTQj4?feature=shared

I also recently played a game called A Short Hike. As the name implies it's a short, chill game where you explore an island, all done with this very charming Animal Crossing or Phantom Hourglass-esque aesthetic. Check it out if you get the chance.

I'm contemplating getting Fire Emblem Three Houses because I have a Fire Emblem itch lately. Not sure if I'd like the life Sim elements though. I also bought The Talos Principle on a whim while it was on sale and want to check it out soon.

As for 2023 in gaming... I don't really know because I didn't play many new games lol. Tears of the Kingdom was good but felt a bit like an enhanced BOTW.

Edit: oh shit I forgot Pizza Tower came out this year lol, that shit ruled

New Vegas baby! Doing an explosives/melee run since I never used either too much before, and it's pretty fun to chuck dynamite at everything. After I finish I'll probably do a half assed speedrun to get the legion playthrough achievement as quick as possible

Baldur's Gate 3 (more or less a addiction in continuous character rerolls) has been my main focus though I'm also trying out Darktide. It's honestly a really good 40k FPS and I love playing an angry Irish accented Zealot gal bashing peeps with a giant electric hammer.

Oh also a bunch of indies I snagged at the fall sale like Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood and I Was a Teenage Exocolonist.

I've been plunking away at the Crisis Core: FF7 remaster recently. It's fine - definitely fits the niche of a game that I can enjoy in 15-20 minute chunks.

Recently finished Venba - it was cute but very short. The filled dosa chapter has me wanting to try making that, okonomiyaki, or yachaejeon lol.

Planescape torment, Hollow knight, WoW wotlk classic, Alan wake 2. Playing each on a rotation but mostly hooked on WoW cos its chill and my boyfriend will play it.

Next I think I want to play Lies of P and replay Control. Lies of piss was a lot of fun the little bit i played on gamepass when it came out.

this is embarrassing but I set up a private wow server for my partner and I to play and then invited my parents too. it's been years since the four of us played, so it's appropriate that the server I built was wotlk.

Been playing Rimworld, on that yearly binge of it. Probably going to see to finishing my Paper Mario TTYD playthrough I left on hold right before the train chapter.

As for 2023's games? Basically, I do not care for new releases, very rarely do I buy a game at launch and I play most games years after release when they are cheaper, or I pirate them if I'm unsure if I'll like it. My only exception this year was Pizza Tower, which I still have to finish, should be easier now that I finally bought a gamepad.

Still plodding through Tears of the Kingdom and working on the Zora dungeon.

The fetch quests and 'go talk to somebody' quests back and forth between the same two locations kinda sucked, but the gimmick of the dungeon itself is so cool that I can't really be mad about it lol

Elder Scrolls Online on and off for around 2 years now, about 60% done with the solo quests there, BG3 for the last 2-3 months but I'm taking it nice and slow. They added a custom difficulty mode in the last major BG3 update but it can only be applied to new campaigns. I want to do another playthrough in BG3 eventually to try the other classes and companions but I'll squeeze in one or two smaller visual novel type games before that, like Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical and Coffee Talk 1/2.

Binding of Isaac coop beta is out. There are some issues with desyncs but when it works it's a lot of fun.

Games that I've recently played and completed are Armored Core 6, Like a Dragon Gaiden, and Pikmin 4. I'm currently doing a replay of Final Fantasy 7 Remake to prepare for FF7 Rebirth. I'm planning to play the Metal Gear Solid collection later this month.

Armored Core 6: 8.5/10 great game. I only beat it once and haven't tried the NG+/NG++ stuff yet, but might come back to it when/if DLC comes out. Had a lot of fun blowing stuff up with missiles and grenade launchers lmao

Like a Dragon Gaiden: 8.5/10 another great game. Playing as definitely not the yakuza known as Kiryu and the return to beat em up action was fun. Nice short and sweet game to prepare you for Yakuza 8 coming out early next year. 100% the game and got the plat for it. The ending made me tear up a little it was so great and bittersweet.

Pikmin 4: 9/10 just amazing! Probably a top 3 game I've played this year! The gameplay loop was very addicting and gave me the "Just one more day" feeling. The space dog Oatchi is very cute and useful if not a little bit overpowered and reduces the challenge of the game a bit, but it was still a fun time using him. I really enjoyed the Dandori challenges and battles - splitting up your pikmin and grabbing all the treasures and defeating all the enemies under a time limit that requires all your micromanaging and logistic skills. It was excellent.

Nuclear throne for single player

TF2 for multiplayer. I wish I had an actual group to play with though.

I've been playing and enjoying Xenoblade Chronicles 2 lately. I tried it when I first got and hacked my Switch and bounced off it completely because I didn't really understand the complexity of the combat. I watched a few tips videos and now that I understand a bit more about how to engage with its systems I'm enjoying it.