I've gotten sucked into The X-Com Files. It's a megamod for the original X-Com game from 1994, built on OpenXcom Extended (an open-source re-implementation).
My first attempt at the old X-Com game lost my interest a few years ago, but OXCE brings plenty of QoL changes and the difficulty of the XCF mod ramps up slower than vanilla. Now I'm having a blast hunting cults, cowering from aliens, building bases around the world.
Patient Gamers
A gaming community free from the hype and oversaturation of current releases, catering to gamers who wait at least 12 months after release to play a game. Whether it's price, waiting for bugs/issues to be patched, DLC to be released, don't meet the system requirements, or just haven't had the time to keep up with the latest releases.
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Still busy with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 since it launched and got dragged into Helldivers 2 by the friends.
My friends and I are doing Dungeons of Eternity this month. We've had three on at once but tomorrow is the first time all four of us will be on together. Excited!
Baldur's gate
God of war
2077
No man's sky, later after those are finished
Thinking about replaying rise of the triad
Re-re-replaying Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Some ESO, some Counter-Strike in the usual amounts, however I just bought GTA IV and want to finally play the story instead of just ducking around with RPGs and "the swing" 😁
Dune Imperium: Uprising. Gotten my whole group into it. Might organise a tournament for the heck of it.
Uprising is so much better than the base game but I don't think they have a digital version of it yet sadly
I believe there's a Tabletop Simulator version out, but I don't have TTS so can't say for sure.
Just picked up a PS5 finally. Price dropped and tax free. First thing I did was go to the library. They had a copy of RoboCop Rogue city available which is perfect for me.
I've already put a hold on the dead space remake
I'm still trying to finish 2016 Doom, but life has been literally Deck blocking me for the past few months, so it's been slow going.
If i finish that game in the next few weeks, I'm going to go back and give Doom Eternal another second chance again once more. I've given it a try a number of times, just like I gave 2016 Doom a try numerous times with no luck. However, this year Doom suddenly clicked for me, and I've been playing it every chance I get (which is not much or often), so I'm thinking that may translate into finding a bit of love for Doom Eternal, even though I know they are very different games with different approaches to game play.
If that doesn't work out, then I've got a few games that I've technically "started", but I haven't gotten very far in. So, if and when I decide to pick them up again, I'll either restart them because I'm not far along enough for it to make much difference OR I'll continue playing but it's so early in the game that it's basically the same as starting from the beginning.
One game I've just recently been dabbling with is a slightly older game called "Halls of Torment". Similarish in game play to one of my other favorites "Vampire Survivors", it seems like a lot of fun. I've also recently purchased the Resident Evil 4 remake and it's a nice dose of nostalgia even though I much prefer the wiimote controls of the Wii version that I first played it on.
I'm going to be honest, Hades II hasn't really clicked for me yet and I've given it lots of tries. The first game had me hooked almost instantly, so I was hoping to find that same connection with the sequel. So far, it's not happened. Having said that, I saw that there's a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game in a similar style as Hades, so I got that to play. So far I like the game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Splintered Fate, but I'm not far enough along in it to have a strong opinion.
And my trusty, reliable back-up plan if nothing else works out? Castlevania Dominus Collection. The Castlevania "Metroidvanias" are my favorites. I've played all of these DS games on the original hardware, but it's been so long since I played them, it will be like starting anew. Except in this case, there will be no question as to whether I will enjoy the game or not since I played them all before and loved them.
Doom is wonderful. Eternal isnt more doom 2016 though, which is fine it's a sequel. It's the more intensive parts of doom that are amped up and forced upon you.
In 2016 I rocked the pistol and machinegun and barely used any other weapon and I was happg
In eternal, you either use every ability constantly and swap guns constantly or you die. It's a big loop and not cycling every ability and gun makes you lose ammo or health or whatever. It's a very jarring adjustment
Sounds like Eternal might not be my thing, but who knows. One of the reasons I choose Doom over Eternal initially is because Doom lets me take my time and explore when I want to. Eternal seemed like it was go, go, go cortisol, cortisol, cortisol. And that was well above my limit.
Metal Gear Rising : Revengeance
I watched a few playthroughs earlier this year, and was struck by the games' vibes. Maybe I've become jaded, maybe 2013 was just a different time, but the over-the-top-bombastic, gratuitous-yet-totally-sincere meditation on power, violence, and humanity feels incredibly relevant, not to mention a breath of fresh air compared to the games I see coming out today.
It's also very similar to the type of video game I'd like to make someday, so it counts as homework as well!
Not to mention it feels like half of the media/art that I love from the past 10 years has been heavily influenced by this game, so playing it could give me a fuller appreciation for them.
The Long Dark and finishing Cyberpunk
I got Caves of Qud on sale over at itch.io, and have been struggling to get anywhere. The learning curve is steep, so when it gets too much I go back to my Dwarf Fortress game that I started over Christmas.
Started my year off with a new computer and a portal speed run! Sub 27 mins with no quick saving was a solid start to the year.
Actually, playing portal on max graphics and getting 60fps was the real solid start 😅
I played Alan Wake 2 last winter on my Steam Deck, fearing I would get spoilers before I build my PC. Now that I have built it, I will proceed with The Final Draft and the DLCs.
I started this year off with NIER (Ps3 Version). I've been thoroughly enjoying it thus far. I'll likely do several runs to get the 4 endings and full lore. Can't wait to sink my teeth into NieR Automata afterwards!
I honestly have no idea. I did my semi-annual playthrough of Skyrim (as a wizard for the first time rather than giving up shortly in) and finished everything I meant to last week. I have to look at my steam library, I suppose
Magic playthroughs can be fun, I’d rather be a mage in Oblivion though. I wish they kept the spells they removed from both Oblivion and Morrowind, though I guess modding can probably bring those back. I’ve never done a modded mage before
Continuing Metaphor: ReFantazio. It's the most consistently polished game Atlus made (that I played) in years, though maybe SMT VV has a chance once I get to it. The only ones that come to mind are Persona 5/Royal (however much I prefer P3 and P4), and Etrian Odyssey V. Both of which had longer development times compared to their series, who knew?
My only complaint is that it doesn't have any 10/10 aspect that I'd love, most of my favourite games are somewhat flawed anyway, as long as they have that special aspect that clicks. But then, Persona 3 had nothing like that until the endgame, so there's still time for it to surprise me.
All of my favourite games, artists, movies, and anything else I’m interested in all have something that I don’t consider 10/10 so I definitely see what you mean
To clarify, I meant that I'm fine with multiple things not being 10/10 (I was thinking of Metaphor as a 9/10 across the board, assuming a 10/10 is something I say about things very rarely) as long as some one thing is, like just the ending or just gameplay. I'm not consisent with that though anyways, I thought that Dark Souls 1 really does have 10/10 world exploration early on, yet I don't like it because of a lot of other problems. It's all really just gut feelings in the end, it was the best way I could explain why Metaphor feels like it's missing something.
I think for me this weirdness is most obvious with books, the best novels that change you, stick in your memory and make you see the world differently are never 10/10s because that would mean they simply fulfilled the expectations you had before picking the book up.
A 10/10 novel is still awesome but it is more of a comfort food experience which while wonderful isn't the same kind of experience.
I feel that way about music. My favourite artists all have songs I don’t care for, meanwhile artists where I like every song of theirs are never my absolute favourites
Skyrim.
My goal is to play through the entire series this year.
Have fun. It’s a great series