What are you currently playing? v.12 (True Face Edition)

[Valhoven]

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A mask tells us more than a face.
-Oscar Wilde

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This weekend 25 years ago (yes, we’re old AF) saw the release of one of gaming’s most beloved adventures:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask





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Unique to Link’s trials in Majora’s Mask was the 3-day time system.

You had 72 hours to save Termina from an impending collision with a moon in free-fall. And with clocks in HUD as well as world to make sure you didn’t forget it.








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It was Nintendo 64’s darker Zelda and like Ocarina of Time, was one with masks.

Majora featured two dozen masks, actually, that transformed protag into various creatures with cool abilities.






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Dungeons, time loops…this title was a banger in the gamerverse. It regularly populates gaming lists for highest grossing and bestselling titles of its release year, south of 4M units now in lifetime.

Nintendo, thank you for the memories.

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Celebrate our history as players by remembering how we got to where we are today:

>Title: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

>Released: 26 October 2000

>Publisher: Nintendo

>Developer: Nintendo EAD

>Engine: Modified Ocarina of Time engine (Proprietary)

>Directors: Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi

>Artists: Yusuke Nakano, Takaya Imamura

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Dawgs know the score but newcomers welcome: Talk here non-threadworthy gaming.

First rule of gaming: Never stop being hardcore

Second rule of gaming: Always save the princess and/or universe

Third rule of gaming: Never skip leg day any dungeon ever

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Face life's demons with your true face,

Dawgverse bless

 

[Valhoven]

Poll topic. Want one. Thoughts?

 

[Ashen One]

Poll topic. Want one. Thoughts?

Hmm. Favorite Zelda title?

 

[Cole train]

Playing AC black flag to fill the void of pirate media

 

[Fury]

It's not necessarily the best Zelda but the first is my favorite. How the hell my brother and I beat that as kids still amazes me.

I still have that gold cartridge in a box somewhere

 

[Zazen]

I voted Twilight Princess. I haven’t played all of them but this one appealed to me a lot. I liked the dungeons and I found the story great. It seemed a bit more mature than a lot of others in the franchise which I appreciated.

 

[Zazen]

Wrapped up Ninja Gaiden 4. Played on Normal difficulity. This is Platinum at their best since Astrain Chain in 2019 and Bayonetta 2 in 2014. There are many flaws such as level design and a weak story but it makes up for that in having some of the best gameplay I've ever experienced in an action game. It's quite different from the remaster of Ninja Gaiden II. It plays A LOT faster. This is definitely more of a Platinum game than a Team Ninja game so keep that in mind if you do play it. There's also a surprising amount of platforming in this game but most of it is on rails (literally in some cases) so there's no frustration of dying here. I actually kind of liked it. It breaks up the monotony of fighting. I don't mean that this is a bad thing since it's the strongest aspect but there is a ton of fighting in this game and every now and then it's fun to watch the ninjas move really fast.

Another flaw is towards the end of the game. I'm sure by now everyone knows Ryu Hayabusa is not the main character. That's not an issue but they handled it kind of poorly. Feels like they just added him to the game because they were afraid it would be too short otherwise. You only get him for a handful of chapters and the levels he's in are just repeats of previous areas. It's the DMC 4 problem all over again but at least it didn't feel nearly as long. I would have preferred them waiting to do the DLC in the main game and just releasing it later because apparently they're adding more Ryu chapters. It came across as a bit rushed sadly. For those who are not huge fans of this franchise it may be worth it to wait for a discount to get both the main game and DLC for this reason as 70 dollars is kind of a lot to ask for a 10 to 12 hour game with some copy and paste levels.

Despite that last complaint, if I was a critic I'd still give it an 8. The combat is just that good that it makes up for those other weaknesses. I'm happy Platinum delivered. They are still very talented and it shows. I hope they can continue to make awesome games after having a couple of stinkers over the past few years. Very few developers can make games as fun as they do.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Wrapped up Ninja Gaiden 4. Played on Normal difficulity. This is Platinum at their best since Astrain Chain in 2019 and Bayonetta 2 in 2014. There are many flaws such as level design and a weak story but it makes up for that in having some of the best gameplay I've ever experienced in an action game. It's quite different from the remaster of Ninja Gaiden II. It plays A LOT faster. This is definitely more of a Platinum game than a Team Ninja game so keep that in mind if you do play it. There's also a surprising amount of platforming in this game but most of it is on rails (literally in some cases) so there's no frustration of dying here. I actually kind of liked it. It breaks up the monotony of fighting. I don't mean that this is a bad thing since it's the strongest aspect but there is a ton of fighting in this game and every now and then it's fun to watch the ninjas move really fast.

Another flaw is towards the end of the game. I'm sure by now everyone knows Ryu Hayabusa is not the main character. That's not an issue but they handled it kind of poorly. Feels like they just added him to the game because they were afraid it would be too short otherwise. You only get him for a handful of chapters and the levels he's in are just repeats of previous areas. It's the DMC 4 problem all over again but at least it didn't feel nearly as long. I would have preferred them waiting to do the DLC in the main game and just releasing it later because apparently they're adding more Ryu chapters. It came across as a bit rushed sadly. For those who are not huge fans of this franchise it may be worth it to wait for a discount to get both the main game and DLC for this reason as 70 dollars is kind of a lot to ask for a 10 to 12 hour game with some copy and paste levels.

Despite that last complaint, if I was a critic I'd still give it an 8. The combat is just that good that it makes up for those other weaknesses. I'm happy Platinum delivered. They are still very talented and it shows. I hope they can continue to make awesome games after having a couple of stinkers over the past few years. Very few developers can make games as fun as they do.

Interesting that you described it as the DMC4 problem because that’s immediately what I thought of when I read what you said about the backtracking with a different character.

 

[GtehMVP]

I'm thinking of picking up V Rising. I've been jonesing to play some vampire stuff while I waited for VMB2, but it sounds terrible.

I've had my eye on it for a while but just wondering about the base building and DLC.

I hear DLC is all cosmetic, but includes base building decorations, which i'd like.

any of you have experience with it?

@SwamiLeoni did you mess with base building yet? Do they give us a lot of options in the base game, if that's what you own?

 

[Valhoven]

I'm thinking of picking up V Rising. I've been jonesing to play some vampire stuff while I waited for VMB2, but it sounds terrible.

I've had my eye on it for a while but just wondering about the base building and DLC.

I hear DLC is all cosmetic, but includes base building decorations, which i'd like.

any of you have experience with it?

@SwamiLeoni did you mess with base building yet? Do they give us a lot of options in the base game, if that's what you own?

Also love vampire lore and have this game installed (base only). Been curious over it for a long time but haven’t fired up.

I just downloaded REDSEC, the Battlefield 6 100-player BR (70 GB) so I’m not sure when I’ll get to it.

We should prioritise V for Halloween weekend, TBH.

 

[ChrisBenoit]

Ghost of Yotai. Been talking slow. Just finished chapter 1. When I complete it I'll go back and finish Borderlands 4 and maybe try outer worlds 2

 

[SwamiLeoni]

I'm thinking of picking up V Rising. I've been jonesing to play some vampire stuff while I waited for VMB2, but it sounds terrible.

I've had my eye on it for a while but just wondering about the base building and DLC.

I hear DLC is all cosmetic, but includes base building decorations, which i'd like.

any of you have experience with it?

@SwamiLeoni did you mess with base building yet? Do they give us a lot of options in the base game, if that's what you own?

I’ve been slowly building my base up. Took me a while to really get the hang of everything since the game doesn’t explain much, but you should start building within the first hour or so. Early setup isn’t anything wild, just the usual refineries, benches, storage etc to keep things moving.

What’s tripping me up a bit is holding L2 to rotate the camera. It's easy to forget when you're in combat. Also, it’s super easy to get smoked early if you stumble into higher-level enemies too soon. Still having a good time though, even with the slow start.

 

[HereticBD]

Halls of Torment

Yet another game in my new favorite genre of auto-shooter rogue likes. It's good, but I'm starting to feel the grind in these games. They're expanding them a little too much IMO, with the whole meta game within the game, where you have do a whole bunch of runs to get those permanent upgrades and build options, to beef up your characters in order to truly get anywhere. This game requires you to make 30 minute runs(which feel like 45 minutes) and go through the motions, just to maybe nab a piece of equipment to conquer the tougher areas of the game. It's nice that these games are trying to become more than just a quick fix of stupidly addictive second by second gameplay, by designing a game within the game, but it's starting to work against that formula, where the core gameplay starts to become secondary.

Don't get me wrong, though. It's still very addictive, and the OG Diablo look to it is awesome. It's got enough powers and upgrades to keep you tinkering. This game also tries to involve the player a bit more, as you have to actually aim your core attacks(you can put auto aim on, but it's not ideal), so there is tiny bit more to it than most of it's ilk. Even though I'm kind of complaining about the whole structure of the game within the game, it is very well done and makes significant strides in evolving the genre. I just think it's a bit slow going and artificially lengthening.

8/10

 

[Zazen]

Halls of Torment

Yet another game in my new favorite genre of auto-shooter rogue likes. It's good, but I'm starting to feel the grind in these games. They're expanding them a little too much IMO, with the whole meta game within the game, where you have do a whole bunch of runs to get those permanent upgrades and build options, to beef up your characters in order to truly get anywhere. This game requires you to make 30 minute runs(which feel like 45 minutes) and go through the motions, just to maybe nab a piece of equipment to conquer the tougher areas of the game. It's nice that these games are trying to become more than just a quick fix of stupidly addictive second by second gameplay, by designing a game within the game, but it's starting to work against that formula, where the core gameplay starts to become secondary.

Don't get me wrong, though. It's still very addictive, and the OG Diablo look to it is awesome. It's got enough powers and upgrades to keep you tinkering. This game also tries to involve the player a bit more, as you have to actually aim your core attacks(you can put auto aim on, but it's not ideal), so there is tiny bit more to it than most of it's ilk. Even though I'm kind of complaining about the whole structure of the game within the game, it is very well done and makes significant strides in evolving the genre. I just think it's a bit slow going and artificially lengthening.

8/10

Damn bro we go at it in the war room but you seem to like a lot of the same games as me lol. Good review. I bought it on the PS5 and have it downloaded but haven’t had a chance to play yet.

 

[Valhoven]

Damn bro we go at it in the war room but you seem to like a lot of the same games as me lol. Good review. I bought it on the PS5 and have it downloaded but haven’t had a chance to play yet.

Both you and Heretic crushed it on your Gaiden 4 reviews too, IMO. Very helpful and exactly the kind of stuff I want to know when figuring out my next game.

 

[Fury]

Ghost of Yotai. Been talking slow. Just finished chapter 1. When I complete it I'll go back and finish Borderlands 4 and maybe try outer worlds 2

I finished this last weekend, enjoyed the hell out of it.

Pretty sure I made it much harder for myself as I had 30ish travellers maps to hot springs, altars and bamboo that I hadn't used...

I also liked the story which some reviewers seemed to think was an issue. I think the story worked well with the SotC style riding you do to get from one point to another. I used much less fast travel than I do in most games because riding through the map looks amazing. That time riding after a cut scene or other moment really helped to let everything process without the need for the game to explicitly tell you how to feel about something.

It's about reconnecting to a place and

Mild spoilers for anyone in the beginning of the game but mostly thematically or at least not specifically detailed

to humanity in general. The themes of being more than the one moment that has defined your life and finding things to live for worked for me actually better than it did in the first game. It's a video game so some of it was a bit clunky but I think that smooths out as you get farther in. I also liked that the major multi-part side quests unfold slowly, not everyone tells their life story to a stranger.

Some fun things to run into too, a seemingly random stranger turns into helping him get his joint back which has a twist and turn but also if you gamble there after, you will learn a little bit about your mother.

Also, this game didn't kill my fucking horse. The story with the wolf, including the ending of the game, was on point for me too.

I enjoyed the combat and I used Miike mode the whole time. I can't imagine playing with it off now. I'd even miss the occasional times it decided Taro should be head to toe mud.

 

[method115]

I finished this last weekend, enjoyed the hell out of it.

Pretty sure I made it much harder for myself as I had 30ish travellers maps to hot springs, altars and bamboo that I hadn't used...

I also liked the story which some reviewers seemed to think was an issue. I think the story worked well with the SotC style riding you do to get from one point to another. I used much less fast travel than I do in most games because riding through the map looks amazing. That time riding after a cut scene or other moment really helped to let everything process without the need for the game to explicitly tell you how to feel about something.

It's about reconnecting to a place and

Mild spoilers for anyone in the beginning of the game but mostly thematically or at least not specifically detailed

to humanity in general. The themes of being more than the one moment that has defined your life and finding things to live for worked for me actually better than it did in the first game. It's a video game so some of it was a bit clunky but I think that smooths out as you get farther in. I also liked that the major multi-part side quests unfold slowly, not everyone tells their life story to a stranger.

Some fun things to run into too, a seemingly random stranger turns into helping him get his joint back which has a twist and turn but also if you gamble there after, you will learn a little bit about your mother.

Also, this game didn't kill my fucking horse. The story with the wolf, including the ending of the game, was on point for me too.

I enjoyed the combat and I used Miike mode the whole time. I can't imagine playing with it off now. I'd even miss the occasional times it decided Taro should be head to toe mud.

I have the one mode that changes the music similar to Samurai Champloo. I haven't tried Miike mode heard it wasn't good from another reviewer so didn't even bother. Going to try it tonight and see how it is.

 

[Fury]

I have the one mode that changes the music similar to Samurai Champloo. I haven't tried Miike mode heard it wasn't good from another reviewer so didn't even bother. Going to try it tonight and see how it is.

The camera is closer, so it's a bit more precarious if you're fighting a bunch of enemies, I read. I made it through the whole game playing that way. I also started on that mode so I don't even really know how big the difference is.

I also saw where people wanted the extra blood but not the mud. It wouldn't be Miike mode then.

 

[Valhoven]

Mb, Session map just dropped (Los Angeles, not Barcelona!) with new vanity to style our guys, new decks, new DIY for dropper, and heaps of animation, QoL updates.

Easy 8€, IMO.

@mb23100

 

[Rygu]

To this day, no game had more hype to me than A Link to the Past. I even had my mom drive me across the border to Washington so I could get it a few days early.

It definitely did not disappoint. It has stood the test of time as good as any game ever made imo.

Currently playing a lot of BF6, and recently bought my first guitar and will be diving into Rocksmith 2014 to learn to play the thing.