Dungeons of Hinterberg is great. A must for any fan of Zelda dungeons. The story is also supposedly good but I didn’t pay attention and fast forwarded all the dialog and cutscenes 
4 Likes
Ben playing the DLC for brotato which is crazy hard but seems updates have been rolling out that should help.
And playing black ops 6 campaign and multiplayer with a couple rounds of zombies
2 Likes
You shouldn’t “Shpeshal_Nick” the game, the story and dialogue are pretty cool. 
That being said the game as a whole is freakin’ awesome, loved my time with it and it’s so far the best indie game I’ve played this year. The stuff that this small team achieved with this game is very very impressive.
Now what I am playing huh? a few days ago I completed Alan Wake 2 and it’s expansions and what an amazing experience that was…breathtaking art direction and visuals, amazing atmosphere, awesome story and characters (Saga is great), a lot of variety overall from the gameplay differences between Saga and Alan to the varied locations of the game, very satisfying gunplay and exploration and impeccable use of live action videos that fit so nicely into the game.
Oceanview Hotel and the Wellness Center were the highlights for me, especially the latter is one of the best survival horror levels that I’ve ever seen (sound design is god-tier in that level). Now about the expansions I thought that the Night Springs episodes were an interesting idea but I found them weak overall both gameplay and story wise, The Lake House was so much better in comparison…it’s no Separate Ways (REmake 4) but it’s a very good expansion considering the genre. Overall it’s an excellent survival horror game and a great sequel from a very special studio, to be honest I am now thinking that I should replay Quantum Break since I never played it with the One X enhancements. Can’t wait for Control 2 and the Max Payne remakes!
Now besides AW2 I am still playing Operations mode with friends in Space Marine 2 and I have to say that I love this game so much, one of the most fun and addicting gameplay loops (it’s that “30 seconds of fun” level of awesomeness that we don’t get often nowadays) in an action game IMO and yesterday I started the Black Ops 6 campaign as a little break before I dive in Metaphor. 
I’ve played some really cool games this year and I still haven’t checked out Animal Well and Inscryption that were recommended by Sik in the previous podcast and sound right up my alley…2024 is such a great year IMO.
2 Likes
Recent purchases; NASCAR HEAT 4 for xbox one.
- This game’s career mode is amazingly fluid and fun. I have had a blast so far. Looking for more nascar games soon.
Ghostbusters 2009 on xbox one
- Nostolgia overload from the past.
2 Likes
Nascar Heat 3 and 4 for xbox one. I recently added 3, though it isn’t as polished as 4 is but variety matters. Gotta love “left turns” -_-
1 Like
Just hit the 1st prestige level in Black Ops 6 Multiplayer. Took me some time to get used to the faster and more frantic gameplay, compared to Modern Warfare, but damn does it feel good now.
Sometimes when playing a few games of TDM or Domination, I get into some kind of hyperfocus and play almost purely on reflexes instead of with my mind, not really sure how to explain it. But when it happens, hope you are in my team. 
Also bought Dragon Age a couple of weeks ago, in chapter 8 or 9 now, and I hope it picks up cause I’m getting a bit bored already with all the simple puzzles and long combat encounters.
1 Like
The wife and I are continuing to work our way through Baldur’s Gate, and let me tell you, sometimes it really does feel like work.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying my time playing it well enough, but it’s got way too many finicky control issues, bugs, and headscratching design choices that I really don’t understand the near universal praise. But I’m trying Ringo, I’m trying real hard.
I’ve been trying for 36 hours so far and I’m sure we’ll keep at it until we’ve completed the story. But once we’re done, I’m extremely unlikely to go back for another helping.
1 Like
I’ve been enjoying Death Stranding, like, surprisingly. But it’s starting to test my patience in the snowy mountainous region… The game generally wasn’t frustrating and was manageable, and if anything was a bit easy, but this region went up in frustration measurably and not gradually, I especially find BT encounters a painful annoyance. I do hope it gets better later, I feel I’m in late game so I won’t quit, I really want to finish it on a good note because I enjoyed the first 40 hours or so very much.
Been playing a bunch of call off duty but plan on picking up metaphor since it’s 20 off and i got next week off so figured I’ll play that and will probably pick up kill the suicide squad since it is pretty cheap right now
Has anyone put time into Monarchy ? Looks intruiging
Reached episode 12 and gave up, insta uninstalled. This went from an incredible experience in the first 70% of it to a frustrating mess late on, and I sat through like a whole hour of cutscenes. Kojima needs people to tell him NO.
2 Likes
Sonic Allstars racing transformed for xbox one; just purchased this morning. What a classic. Knuckles forever
2 Likes
It honestly bangs so hard, I hope there’s a new one, there’s a place for it on the platforms that don’t have Mario Kart.
Have been playing Spyro Reignited the last week or so. I never played the original games, but with the remake on Game Pass I decided to give it a whirl. I’m enjoying the first game enough to 100% every level (not that it’s hard). I’ll probably play the entire trilogy.
Also still playing Destiny 2, but I have to admit that this episode is not grabbing me. It feels like a chore to me for the first time.
1 Like
Completed Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
- Visuals - 10/10 (superb)
- Audio - 9.0/10 (excellent)
- Gameplay/Combat - 9.0/10 (excellent)
- Story/Characters - 10/10 (superb)
- Overall - 9.5/10 (excellent)
Over 105 hours of total play time. Map completion was around 90%. Missed a few treasure chests and whatnot. Played as the Rogue class. Human. Grey Warden. Played in Performance Mode with a custom difficulty level.
Visually, the art style and art direction is superb. Loved all the different environments and regions. No issues or complaints with the visuals. Audio wise, the voice acting is great, sound effects are really good and the music is excellent.
Gameplay/combat wise, really enjoyed it all. From the combat itself to the platforming to the puzzle solving to the different setups that you can use for The Rook and for the different setups you can use with your companions. My biggest issue/complaint was the lock on system as it didn’t always stay locked on to the target I wanted or didn’t work the way I wanted it to. Movement felt clunky at times and the camera wouldn’t be in the spot you wanted especially during bigger fights. Also, while a pet peeve of mine, I found it funny that your can’t swim/float and would drown in deep water.
Story/character wise, I thought everything for the most part was excellent, liked all the characters and enjoyed it all for the most part. The Taash stuff is cringe but it’s maybe 30 minutes if that and doesn’t affect/change anything or hurt/take away anything from the overall story and characters. I know those who didn’t like the story was because everyone gets along but to be honest, plot wise, that makes sense because if you’re fighting with each other, you don’t stand a chance at accomplishing what you need to accomplish.
The main quests were all excellent from the locations to the objectives to what the goals were. Side/region quests were mostly good. Companion quest lines were better. The rewards were mostly good. The gear setup was different in where you can get a duplicate of what you already have and it increases the quality of it to the next level which is cool because you don’t have to waste gold/resources upgrading it until later on in the game.
Overall, enjoyed the game from beginning to end. I really don’t understand what people were complaining about. In fairness, I will say that outside of a few hours of Origins which I don’t even remember, this is basically the first game in the series that I truly played and completed so maybe that has something to do with it. I don’t know. Either way, loved and enjoyed the game. No real major issues, negatives or complaints. Outside of the environments going nuts before starting the end game and having to reload, no technical issues whatsoever. Looks, plays and runs great on Xbox Series X.
As of now, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is my 2024 game of the year and I don’t see the other few games (Star Wars Outlaws, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Visions of Mana, COD BO 6 campaign and Indiana Jones) that I still have/want to play beating it out. It’s also my 2nd best game overall of the generation behind only Starfield.
In general, this generation has been a series of “firsts” for me. Completed my first ever Bethesda Game Studios game in Starfield, my first ever 343/Halo game in Halo Infinite (campaign) and now, my first ever BioWare/Dragon Age game in The Veilguard.
Next up for me will be Tales of Kenzera: Zau which I bought last week for $10 as I was looking for a replacement for Stalker 2 since I wasn’t into that game at all and dropped it. After Kenzera, I will wait for Indiana Jones.
6 Likes
Finished the Prologue of Genshin Impact and I really like the game, it’s incredible that’s it’s free. It helps that I always enjoy exploration in games and the real-time elemental gameplay is something I have envisioned since watching Secret of Mana’s spirits back in the day. I think I will play this game in chunks between other games. I’m not sure about how regularly I will throw in daily tasks in between other games for some more primogems (the main resource in the game to be used for the gacha stuff), but Quick Resume should make this rather easy to do.
2 Likes
I bought a couple of these pads…
…And so I reinstalled a bunch of fighters and 2D games. I’m in love all over again.
The default Series controller works fantastic for 2D games. The d-pad is one of the best and the buttons are great. But this controller feels like the Saturn controller, and also like the Genesis 6 button controller in every way. A game like VF2 feels incredible even though I’m not using the pad for 6 buttons (VF only uses 3) because it takes me back to my high school days.
I played Sonic Mania again and it felt better than ever. Maybe there’s a nostalgia thing, but as much as I like the positive feedback that d-pads on the One/Series/Vita give me, the silent (and more “mushy”) feeling d-pad here feels just right.
I also played SF2, 3, 4, and 6 and they all feel great.
I plan to revisit Hollow Knight (which didn’t grab me despite my love for MetroidVanias) and I haven’t played Ori 2 yet.
These were on sale for Black Friday and I highly suggest them. I just can’t speak to their durability. You apparently get one free month of game pass ultimate with each but when I tried redeeming the code I got an error, So I need to contact MS about that.
6 Likes
WWE 2k23; xbox one.
Custom Universe; recently added an amazing Two face design featuring the animated series batman version; blue sided paint. These creators are amazing.
WWE 2k!!!
1 Like
Just finished playing Gris, light puzzle/platforming game, some really good visuals imo and pretty good sound design. It’s not too long and I played through it all while listening to tonight’s podcast.
1 Like
WWE 2k23; having an absolute BLAST! custom creations obviously