What PlayStation games are you playing ?

MrZibi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118712560#Comment_118712560

Yes and yes.

Played Elden Ring for a few hours on PS5 and despite some performance issues (occasional pop-ins and frame drops), it is a rich open world that looks really good. However, as someone new to souls like games there's a bit of a learning curve mainly because of slowness/sluggishness during the fights, something that you would not experience in Horizon, God Of War or Witcher. Also game throws you in deep water as soon as you finish a short tutorial so you quickly learn that you have to avoid some mini-bosses that you can spot within 10 minutes from loading the game. Ohh and you die a lot (unless you are an expert in Dark/Demon Souls) so perseverance and patience are key.

Cyberpunk on PS5 after the upgrade is finally a proper release (the one in 2020 should never see the light of day. It's not perfect but it's a solid game. Its defo worth the current price tag (25 euro).

Hope it helps :)

johnny_ultimate

Elden Ring is magnificent and the type of open world design we get far too rarely: mysterious, exploration-based, and rewarding to those who indulge their curiosity.

Be aware it is still a Souls game so the difficulty is steep, even if it is a more approachable game in some ways. There are a lot of in-game options and tools to ease the difficulty curve, although the game won’t always tell you that explicitly. But there are still hard-hitting bosses and unforgiving enemies to take on, so just be aware of what you’re letting yourself in for. The challenge is there, but IMO the rewards are many and the sense of satisfaction incredible :)

keane2097

I don't get to play too much so the only games I've spent any time on were TLOU remake when it was free on one of the subscriptions (finished that on one of the harder modes, loved it) and the Demons Souls remake which I've spent a good few hours on and love. Never played a souls game previously.

If Elden Ring is like a modern take on that I think I will love it.

mrcheez

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118712995#Comment_118712995

you should get TLOU 2 if you loved the first one

keane2097

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118713756#Comment_118713756

I thought I read somewhere that they're doing a remaster of that or something so I was holding off.

CastorTroy

Started Nier Automata last night so not too far into it.

mrcheez

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118714265#Comment_118714265

I think it's the original (Part one) that is being remastered for PS5.

Afaik part 2 has had the PS5 treatment already

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2021-the-last-of-us-part-2-has-been-upgraded-for-ps5-and-weve-tested-it

Can seriously recommend... fighting mechanics and ai are great.. the story will stick with you too. It's epic.

Sad Professor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118714580#Comment_118714580

That was a patch for the PS4 version to unlock framerate. A full PS5 version with adaptive trigger support and upgraded graphics is inevitable at some point.

Wossack

Last few weeks;

played and finished Deaths Door - enjoyed it. Some challenging boss fights, but nice and tight controls, and short enough compaign. Was tempted to go through and try and platnium it, but there is a gathering aspect to it that I couldnt be arsed with

Was playing through Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (via EA Play), and enjoying it. Finished first one, and a few hours into the second..

But sure didnt Cyberpunk 1.5 come out there, so foolishly got the demo, so had to get it - nearly finished I reckon (at the point of no return)

But sure didnt Elden Ring come out then... and I cant be buying more games, so I went into the back log and am playing through Dark Souls 3 now, to scratch that itch. Enjoying it a lot more this time around. If I finish it, I may reward myself with Elden Ring :P

El Gato De Negocios

About 10 hours into HFW. Absolutely loving it, the game is stunning and feels properly next gen.

duploelabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118717984#Comment_118717984

Am about 50 hours in and still discovering new stuff to do. The depth of that game is absolutely stunning

Potential-Monke

That'll most likely be my next purchase, nearly finished Dying Light 2 so I'm either trading it straight in for HFW, or trading it for Elden Ring which I trade for HFW a couple of days later. Not sure if I want to try that yet, but I feel like if I don't at least try the game I may miss out on something. Doubt it, the combat is still very From and that's a deal breaker!

Anyway, playing DL2, massive game, excellent movement as to be expected from Techland. Story is the weakest part, but there's so much to do you frequently forget about it. Forcing myself through the main ones just to get it finished and move on, not because I'm not liking it, but it'll be a game that I can easily come back to in a year or two and do the other dialogue options and clean up then.

Also playing Sifu, which is amazing! It's hard, no doubt, but only until you get better. Reminds me of From games, but waaaaaaay faster and more immediately enjoyable and with direction. Nothing has come close in a while to the sheer joy second to second this game can give. When you go back through areas again, but with more experience and you breeze through (usually!) areas that were hard, it's so satisfying, even though you're not actually stronger. You can avoid fights to get directly to bosses, but I always find myself doing the first level without the first skip point, because that corridor fight has me beaming like the Joker for the entirety of it. I thought the repetition would kill this game for me, but so far it's adding to it. Nearly everything I dislike about these types of games is here, but Sifu somehow manages (so far) to keep me utterly entertained. And I still haven't gotten to the final area. A must buy if you liked the Arkham style combat, but harder. If you could do the hardest Arkham combat challenges, you'll probably love this.

Phil.x

Anyone playing Gt7, I'll be getting it next week, cannot wait as I think the last time I played Gt was on ps1.

duploelabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118734104#Comment_118734104

Yep. Drove 473 miles in it yesterday. Its bloody amazing although the cars are a lot more oversteery, but rightfully so

KH25

Decided to give Bloodborne a go. Spent about 2 hours with it yesterday but had to pack it in for a while after the first boss killed me. I played Dark Souls years ago and thought the combat was a bit sluggish. Seems a bit quicker in Bloodborne.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118744248#Comment_118744248

Combat is definitely quicker in Bloodborne. It rewards being aggressive, particularly as you can get health back if you hit the enemy quick enough after you've been hit. There's also fewer options for ranged combat, and no shields to block or parry either.

Niska

60+ hours into Horizon Forbidden West and still loving it.

The exploration - the need to climb the mountain just to get to the top. Climbing, with the scrambling and jumping on top of the highlighted routes, is still fun. And the combat is great too. The balance between tearing something down quickly or ripping parts off that you need.

A good example of increment changes on the original causing improvements that really elevate this game.

Penn

Playing Elden Ring. The first Souls game I've played at launch rather than following already-known guides and strategies. About 30 hours in so far.

Really loving it. It really draws you in for "one more go" or "Just want to see what's over here...". It has all the classic Souls-isms, which is both good and bad, but the gameplay loop is just as terrific as ever.

The good:

The game really draws you into its world, even when you barely have any idea what's happening for the most part. The game map just really makes you want to explore everything. Comparisons will be made with Horizon given they're both open world games released at the same time, but with Horizon exploration takes a backseat to laying out the world for you, telling you what everything is and what you can expect from it, what level you should be, what reward you'll get etc. That's because Horizon is built more for story, linear progression and activities/collectibles. With Elden Ring, the very act of exploring is like everything in the game; risk vs reward. You don't know what you'll find around any corner or in any cave, and it's up to you to decide whether to persevere or leave it until later. Their open worlds are built for different purposes.

For progression, it feels a lot less obtuse in this game than other Souls games, probably because the open world means you might find things or access areas a lot quicker or in different orders, and so you feel more free to use upgrade materials and consumables, especially as you can now craft items/ammo.

The combat is as fun and challenging as other Souls games. Enemy design is generally fantastic, and that feeling of felling a boss or large enemy is as satisfying as ever.

The bad:

The usual Souls-isms I mentioned. Some enemies and areas are just designed to f*ck you up. The wrong meter that you've never seen before builds up too quickly, and you're just dead regardless of health. Some environmental traps that a single pixel in the wrong place, and you're dead. And if you want the best items, you're going to be running around small ledges or plinths on the side of towers, making precarious jumps from roof to roof. Even as great as it is that you can now jump, that just adds to the difficulty as it can make those difficult paths harder to navigate.

Some of the game systems are also still needlessly difficult to figure out, and oftentimes the gating of weapons/skills behind attributes means once you've picked your upgrade path, you can't really deviate from it or try out alternate weapons/skills/spells.

Some enemy attacks are also just pure bullsh*t. Insane range, tracking or delays designed purely just to throw you off.

None of the negatives though are enough to put me off the game. I sunk far too many hours into it over the weekend, as it's just a joy to play and explore.

FlubberJones

Playing Elden Ring, I've played the previous Souls and knew what to expect but it's still a complete change in approach as it's open world, which is something I don't normally enjoy... but this is great

And finally I've a game that keeps me off Destiny 2!!

H3llR4iser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118734104#Comment_118734104

It's a nice return to the classic Gran Turismo formula, no "online only" rubbish this time. It's not as rich as one would imagine in terms of cars and suffers from the same old "1000 versions of the same bloody car" problem most Gran Turismo do, but it's probably the best game in the series since...I suspect Gran Turismo 2. Cars are genuinely nice to drive and feel weighty and grippy, you'll have fun even in something apparently silly like a Demio around some small track. Dualsense implementation is good, although a bit hit and miss - road features are rendered AMAZINGLY for a gamepad (you can actually feel these metal strips that connect bridge sections on the Tokyo Expressway, for example), but other things like, say, the ABS kicking in are not that well rendered for some reason. Apparently more cars and tracks will be released.

The one thing I find utterly annoying is "GT Cafe" concept, with the silly talking heads giving out an absolute sh1teload of dull, unnecessary exposition. It kinda tries to handhold you through the game giving out "missions" to complete, then goes on talking about the cars you collected. The "trivia" given out in these text-scrolls is frankly pointless - a casual player will not be interested in it and a car enthusiast will already know all of it. And nobody really wants to learn about "Japanese Subcompact Cars" and their fuel efficiency O_o. At least there are no stupid voiceovers and it's a much more mature and collected game than what passes for racing games lately (cough...FH5...cough).

Long story short - really nice on track, could have been much better in the corollaries.

El Gato De Negocios

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118744858#Comment_118744858

Have about 17 hours in myself, have cleared the second cauldron and unlocked some of the sidequests so chipping away at them. Really love the combat system, perfect mix of stealth and smashing.

Potential-Monke

GT7 basically is online only... If you're offline, you can do I think 1 race and the 3 music rallies and that's it. Everything else requires online connection. Still a great game though.

RocketRaccoon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118747546#Comment_118747546

I haven't done a single online race so not sure where you've got that from.

duploelabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118747546#Comment_118747546

Nope, that doesn't happen

Potential-Monke

It did last night when my internet done it's refresh at 05.30.

Can you play GT7 offline?

In fact, the game is whittled down to little more than a demo mode if you're not connected to the internet while playing. Gran Turismo 7 features a great number of modes and experiences, and all but one of them, World Circuits, is made unavailable if you play GT7 without an internet connection.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gran-turismo-7-must-be-played-online-for-virtually-all-content/1100-6501241/

So ok, I was slightly wrong, you have world circuits but that's it. No garage, no licences, no showroom, etc.

H3llR4iser

That is super weird, these modes THEORETICALLY have nothing to do with online. I guess it's some "call home" thing or maybe some stats are uploaded - I'll try pulling my eth cable later, just for the sake of curiosity.

I can't help but think that had this been happening on any other company's game, there would've been quite a bit of backlash on the Internet. Sony gets a free pass at times, for whatever reason.

duploelabs

Fundimentally, it's to stop people hacking the game and messing with the PP system, having it online all the time prevents this

Potential-Monke

Yeah, I mean, it's no biggie, I'm rarely offline these days and only when it's the ISP's fault. But still something to note if you don't have always online access.