One of my favorite games as a kid. Came free inside boxes of Chex cereal. Truly a masterpiece for a free game! The intro still holds up.

I received Ace Combat 7 from a friend who saw it on my wishlist. I'd been casually interested in the series for some time, helped greatly by videos such as these Ace Combat 7 Free Bird

The series places you as the silent ace pilot named Trigger, who gets promptly bombarded with around 50+ new Nouns for the world you now inhabit. Erusea, Osea, Usea, ISEV, Arsenal Birds, Mage Squadron; the words fly by like the missiles I barely dodge in my first missions. My growth as a pilot synchronizes with my understanding of the world and the war I've been embroiled in.

At the end of mission 3 I realized I needed to play this game in VR ASAP. After some configuring, I was placed in the cockpit flying through the cloud layer with an eye glued to my radar - one of about a dozen indicators now in my field of view. My first dogfight in VR became a battle of wits & adrenaline, physically craning my head to check for approaching missiles. My reflexes get better than ever as I estimate trajectories I couldn't perceive before. Best of all is the moments I can't plan for. Lightning striking my metal chassis, shorting my electronics & forcing me to rely on line of sight to chase an agile enemy through the storm. A sandstorm completely obscuring my vision & forcing me to narrowly pass a mountain peak.

Ace Combat 7 does a great job of providing you with varied missions, but the clear standout for me is mission 16 (spoilers ahead).

The VR mod made for an incredible experience, but sadly some missions requiring eyesight to the target would not work properly. However I highly recommend it to anyone who has a headset & is looking for an immersive action-packed experience. It's a game I'll keep coming back to when I feel the need to traverse the deep blue skies once again.

I finished Quake 1 with all its official add-on content and while it was interesting to play, I liked the older original Doom more.

The big difference to Doom is of course the real 3D levels with 3D enemies, which changes how you can hide from enemy fire and how the developers can place enemies and traps. But sadly, colours, as in plural, were too expensive back then, so the only colour they could afford was brown. Meaning everything looks so boooring, as there are few highlighting colours to contrast against. Brown castles, brown caves, brown labyrinths, brown outer dimensional planes.

The enemies are eyeless lovecraftian monsters and have different attack types leading to the player having to switch how to approach each fight depending on enemy composition and level terrain. But I did not enjoy the slower pace and more methodical approach in contrast to Doom's more hectic Run & Gun gameplay. This is strengthened due to the smaller rooms and more tunnels and hallways.

I was surprised that the levels were, similar to Doom, more atmosphere than logical and coherent layouts, but the level packs luckily improved massively there. Inside those, there was a red thread flowing through the levels and a certain rampup of difficulty and setup in the level progression. This is in opposition to the almost random feeling composition and combination of levels in the base game's chapters. And the newest level packs from the last decade really show what is possible inside the engine and how much level design improved from the birth era of the shooter genre. I also enjoyed the secrets inside the levels and how they were often possible to be found by paying attention to the environment and noticing odd parts.

Would I recommend playing it nowadays? Not really. This game was the first steps into a new genre and they didn't yet found what works and what doesn't. If you are interested in the birth of the shooter genre, sure, but it's not a hidden gem that was unfairly forgotten in my eyes. The quake engine with its tons of fan made levelpacks though? That is another thing entirely.

I just finished Baldurs Gate 1 for the first time and really enjoyed it. That's why I want to share my thoughts on. I'm acutally kina fond of the genre and love games like Pillars, KOTOR, Tyranny and already tried BG1 a couple of years ago, but I gave up after some hours (more on that later). In the meantime I finished BG3 twice, played through Owlcat's Pathfinder games and now I wanted to give BG1 another go.

Story: I kinda like it, but it's definitely not on the same level as games like KOTOR 2, Disco Elysium or Tyranny. It's just some plain and simple "someone killed your foster father, now it's time to seek revenge". Actually it is not like really like that, because on your way to revenge you kinda solve the mystery of some evil plot, but at the end it all ties together so you can seek revenge. Overall the story just serves the purpose to let other aspects of the game shine. Talking about those...

Exploration: This is where the game shines the most. The story gives you a really clear path and early on even some urgency to that by introducing two companions that kinda set you on a timer. At least that's what they tell you. AFAIK know there is actually no timer. And that's what kinda set me off the first time I played the game. I was rushing through the story which leads to being underleveld, missing out on XP and some fun side quest. During this try I ignored the "timer" and took my time. I did some side quests, explored some low-level regions I haven't seen in my first attempt and had a lot of fun. And especially with those extra XP the game felt better balanced. I didn't overdid it as I just visited some low-level areas much later in the game, but it felt kinda nice that the game just gives you this much freedom over the whole playthrough. But what even is a big explorable map without some faces to punch...

Combat: Combat can be seen as some mixed bag. In the early game your party is frail as f. It really feels cheesy, how you fight in the beginning. You just kite enemies and kill them with bows and slings and throwing daggers, you enter buildings with a single party member to lure single enemies out of them, Sleep is op end ends whole fights single handedly. But in my opinion, that is another strength about this game. Not because this part of the gameplay is so good. But because the game evolves. Whereas in Wrath Of The Righteous early game and end game fights feel the same (at least for me) and mostly differ by the amount of pre-buffing and high-level spells mostly replacing low-level, in BG 1 the combat evolves over time. Sleep gets useless against stronger enemies. You encounter more and more mages over time, meaning that you can't kite so much and have to react quickly to interrupt them. You gain more spells that you need figure out. Pre-buffs are getting more and more important, but not to the ridiculous levels of Wrath Of The Righteous. All of this might turn people off but I was actually really surprised by the amount of variety the combat offers.

I'd like to mention a particular fight that I remember: I was exploring the red canyon early on and there is that one cleric who fights you with a giant army of undeads. I failed that fight a couple of times, because the normal kiting tactic did not really work. He was using magic, some of the undead were archers und undead are immune to Sleep. So I wondered if I should give up and come back later after some leveling or if iI can find a tactic to beat him. My plan doesn't sound that amazing, but I feld kinda genius at that moment: What if I don't fight this battle fair and square and just beat the cleric, loot him and leave. Because my PC was a fighter/cleric himself and I also had a paladin with me. And both have the Turn Undead ability. So I managed to just scare his army of summons, interrupted his casting with the good ol' Magic Missiles and finished him off with a rain ob arrows. I looted the body and just got the f outta there, because I really didn't want to deal with the horde of undead at this time. Great moment. His loot was really worth it.

After all that praise, I want to get so some "negatives". And those have mainly to do with the game's age. The thing is: BG1 really laid the foundation of modern (C)RPGs. It contains a lot of things that we take for granted these days. But there are also things, the we take for granted, that did not really exist back in the day.

QOL: This is where the game feels kinda dated. I don't know on how many things the Enhanced Edition improved the game, but there are some things, that are really not on today's standards:

1. There is no way to see your currently equipped items while you are trading with a merchant. You always have leave the dialogue, switch to your inventory, remember the stats, speak with the merchant and compare. This is really weird.

2. The quick bar is really flimsy and not really fun to use for spellcasters.

3. The menu controls are terrible. "Load Savegame" kicks you out of the game session. Only click it when you are really certain you want to reload or do a quicksave before. Also: You can exit the inventory or character sheet by pressing Escape. But not the journal. Too many times I went into the pause menu when I did not want to.

Companions: Modern (C)RPGs really put a lot of emphasis on those. BG1 does not. There is an entire army of potential companions (in case you let them die) which leads to them not having long quest lines around them. You really have to use your imagination to bond with them. I actually did not dislike that, because it also took the urge to complete quests for companions I acutally don't care about and just want to complete. But people who start the game with different expectations might dislike that.

Conclusion: If you made it this far, you probably only read this text because BG1 is you favorite game anyways. So yes, it was (probably) groundbraking back in the days, still holds up to this day (in most parts) and is rightfully considered one of the greatest RPGs of all time. I personally am looking forward to play Siege of Dragonspear next and continue with BG2 afterwards. I might even try Icewind Dale. Or Neverwinter Nights. They were all in some Humble Bundle with Wrath Of The Righteous .

Been over a decade since I played Sacred 2 on XBox 360, so I thought I'd play through it again since I remember having much fun last time. Got Gold edition on Steam and the community patch so it doesn't crash due to memory leaks lol

Doing a simple BeeEffGee build, so Revered Technology is my main aspect, with some put into Exalted Warrior.

Loving the fantasy tech magic theme, with T Energy pipes everywhere, environmental issues due to them bursting, all the animals and npcs that make the towns feel like places people actually live.

So much to do and find, it really is a great game and I highly recommend it if you're into this kind of RPG. Take note, though, that most quests are "go there and kill monster", "find artifact and bring it back", "kill that monster", "find that artifact" and so on, so if you're not down with that kind of questing maybe give it a miss.

When I'm done, I'm gonna go back and play Sacred as I've never touched it.

Here's my Seraphim currently, she's looking pretty sick as

Asked "sell me on your favorite game" to a group of friends, they said it made for a great discussion, so maybe copying it to here might make a nice discussion too.

So about a year ago I was into this game and finished it. It was pretty good for an indie survival game. It seems to be rather underground as no one ever seems to talk about it, nor is there a niche about it.

Has anyone else played it?

I am having many friends over and we wish to play games on PC, there will be just one PC available but 8 controllers connected to it. Looking for recommendations!

I created this set up specifically to play killer queen black, but if there are other arcade style games that are fun and can accommodate the player count I would love to know about them!

Game is a blast for a political sim. Actually challenging depending on what kind of utopia you are aiming for. Reminded me of the first time I played "Democracy" but I actually found the political capital resource a bit more rewarding in this one. Other differences are more obvious, like the obvious leftist bent and the policy being more global then state focused.

Also it was free!

Firstly, many thanks to @Panties@lemmy.ca for providing a code for the game :)

Botany Manor is a charming little puzzle game in which you explore a manor house, gradually unlocking new sections as you work out the correct conditions to germinate different species of plants.

Visually it has the painterly, cell-shaded design of The Witness which felt perfectly at home in this pastoral Somerset valley. And flicking through the botany guide to check maps or clues reminded me of Obra Dinn.

Part of the puzzle of the game is sorting and assigning the clues to the correct plant; in each chapter you'd be given access to several different seeds and it's your job (having read through letters, posters and pamphlets) to work out which growing conditions relate to which plant.

I liked how the rough locations for clues were all listed in the book should you need any help, taking away a lot of the frustration of searching fruitlessly. And you'd only have three or so puzzles ring-fenced each chapter which stopped things becoming overly convoluted. All together it made for a relaxing experience that let you focus on exploration and solving the puzzles themselves.

The soundtrack is very peaceful too, with lots of bird song and natural ambience.

The puzzles themselves aren't particularly difficult, but I loved how varied they were. I got the sense of being in a cosy escape room without a time limit. There's a little bit of story as you go along which gets a satisfying resolution at the end.

The game took me just over three hours to complete, so it's quite short but it honestly felt like the perfect length. I'd highly recommend it for anyone into puzzle games!

I just got done installing OpenMW and setting up the I Heart Vanilla mod list. I also added Daisy's Lua Multimark to help with getting around a little better.

My only real requirement is that I want my first character to use spears as a primary weapon, because I miss them so much when I play other Elder Scrolls. Medium armor synergises well with spears and Bonemold looks sweet, so I'm leaning towards that, or maybe a medium/heavy mix later when carry weight's less of a problem.

Other than that, I'm open to suggestion on race, the rest of the build, and factions to seek out. What do y'all think is the most fun for someone coming back to Vvardenfell after so long?

EDIT: A few people liked my writeup of character creation, and it's helpful to have a record of what I've been doing in a game like Morrowind, so this is now a Let's Play-type journal that I'm calling Morrow(Re)wind.

I'll be posting updates on !morrowind@lemmy.world so as to not spam this community.

Part 1

Part 2

I’m looking to set up a co-op video game night with my friends and I’m looking for suggestions for a cozy game we can all play together virtually. We all enjoy Stardew Valley but we’ve all played it and I’d like to start something new with them. Looking for ideas that would allow me to walk away from the computer if I need to take care of my kids but still allows my friends to continue playing.

Here’s some parameters to narrow down the list:

• switch, Steam, or GOG availability
• can walk away and not die without having to pause for my friends
• preferably affordable
• lower graphics requirements, we all have older hardware
• game controller compatible
• fun to play over multiple short sessions
• either 2 player or up to 4 players

Thanks everyone in advance!

Edit: I’m so excited with all the suggestions! I realized I should put co-op in the title and add the number of players. Might be anywhere between 2 and 4. Even the single player suggestions I’ve been getting are so up my alley I’m excited to check them out. This was my first post on this platform and it’s been amazing thank you!

Basically, your wishlist (and maybe other pages as well?) display the sale % using the wrong number. It makes it look like you're getting a better deal than you are. For example, this game I wishlisted is $43.95 AUD. But if I get it in the bundle, it's $41.81 AUD. That's a 4.8% discount. But the wishlist shows 42% discount of the whole bundle, not the actual game I wishlisted. I think that's misleading.

You could argue I'm getting extra games so it's a good deal; but I don't know that other game, I haven't researched it or wishlisted it. In some cases, I've had this happen to games that are in bundles where I already own the other games. At that point I'm just getting completely ripped off, because it says 75%, but it's actually 5%, without even any "bonus games" to justify it.

To avoid this, never buy from the wishlist or home page or any page that isn't the original full store listing. I always click into each game to see the original store page and ensure it's a real discount before buying. I'd recommend doing the same.

I noticed this years ago and submitted a support ticket and a Reddit post, but it never got fixed. I feel like it must be by design at this point. This is the first "anti consumer" practice I've seen Steam implement.

Roguelikes are infamous for their ruthlessness: instant deaths that could only be prevented with spoilers, early game hell gating most of the game for those who aren't able to learn all the intricacies of the system, many ways to permanently cripple your character in one wrong move, unbalanced classes / builds with no clear indication on what's a good choice for a beginner...

Some games like DCSS and Brogue see this as a fundamental flaw of the genre. Others lean into it instead, turning pain and (perceived) unfairness into a new masterpiece. That's Infra Arcana.

Let me predict your first run in IA:

• You open a door and meet face-to-face with a pack of wolves. They kill you easily.
• As you explore a wall collapses and a group of zombies appear. You either try to kill them and die or you try to run away and reach a dead-end. And if you somehow manage to get rid of all the zombies you end up being infected crippling your character for the rest of the run. Yeah.
• You meet a cultist with a shotgun. You make one step forward to them and they one-shot you.
• You confront a blind zealot and they maul you to death.
• You open a sarcophagus and a ghost saps your spirit in a few turns.
• You drink an unidentified potion and die.
• You try to cast a spell that removes all your spirit in one casting.

Even if you are well familiar with the genre you will find plenty of (deadly) surprises as you try to keep a character alive for more than a few floors.

Here's an example from my recent run:

I started as a rogue (focused on stealth) and opened a door in a room I spawned in. Immediately a wolf pack went inside started attacking me. I make a step back and a cultist with a shotgun appears!

I saved myself by tossing a Molotov cocktail but even then I already was one hit away from death. One of the wolves wasn't affected by the cocktail (the only way to include it in the "explosion" was by exposing myself to it too) so I had to fight it with my weak starting dagger. If I got a little bit more unlucky, that one wolf would have finished me off.

As you can see, the early game difficulty is somewhat offset by the amount of tools you start with. Every character (except ghouls) start with a melee weapon, a gun with some ammo, some explosives and throwing weapons. War veteran (the local fighter) starts with the best equipment overall while occultist (the local magic user) has the worst equipment. Since magic is very dangerous in IA and every occultist starts with only 2 spells, veteran is actually the most versatile character at the beginning unlike so many RPGs I know of.

Now, you might have a question: why would you want to play such a brutal and unforgiving game? Regardless of whether the game is actually unfair or just feels like that to a novice, it will still invoke the same feeling of a cheap death. Well, I cannot make you enjoy experience that just aren't for you but hear me out!

The game provides a formidable challenge but it's never impossible. From the very beginning you have the tools to confront the horrors of the cult: even the weakest starting gun deals a lot of damage, explosives can get rid of hoards of undead and starving canines, stealth is a powerful tool that's not punished at all (enemies grant no experience), spellcasting while dangerous is open to all who amass some spirit points, throwing weapons are a cheap and quiet way to damage enemies from afar, statues and braziers can be kicked on your foes to get rid of them wasting no resources.

Infra Arcana is a game that's very satisfying to conquer. And, no matter how harsh it looks at the beginning, it wants you to succeed.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a good game. But I'm not sure it deserves all the hype it got last year.

It does some very clever stuff in terms of gameplay, with each character having their own unique battle system that synergise with the others.

And yes, the soundtrack is incredible.

In terms of the story, whilst it was interesting, the way the game drip-feeds you knowledge in the first two acts quickly became frustrating. There were multiple cutscenes where characters speak in such a vague, superficially poetic way. In reality it just felt pretentious.

Major story spoilers:

Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion but I found the game aesthetically quite ugly. Many landscapes had a feeling of copy pasted Unreal assets that looked so same-y at points they became confusing to navigate (especially given the lack of a mini-map). The characters had these blank, uncanny stares half the time and the designs for some of them (Esquie in particular) just didn't look good to me.

Oh and I'm really not sure why the devs decided to add entirely unnecessary platforming elements!

I found certain enemy attacks to be inconsistent and not well telegraphed, leading to some frustrating encounters were you had to memorise the parry timings rather than learn them from a valid cue.

I think the game deserves good reviews, but I'm not quite sure how it won so many GOTY awards. Perhaps it just wasn't the game for me.