I started replaying the first Nioh last night. I was in the middle of the game from the last install. There's so many mechanics to it, that I remember why I stopped playing: I feel so overwhelmed by all the mechanics and options for character building. Having said that, the combat is really good and it can be an enjoyable game if you're into the genre. I don't think I have the patience for it, though.

I just picked up Grindstone on sale. It's a puzzle game that's kind of like an adventure. It's much deeper than it appears. The artwork and the music is really great. (The publisher is Cappybara, who has a small roster of some great games.)

I have been following a game called Death Trash for a few years. It's been in development, but they just released a demo on Steam. Early Access is going to open in August. It's a post-apocalyptic, pixelated RPG. Looks promising!

Anyone play Ghost of Tsushima?

Iratus Lord of the Dead is on sale for $10 on Steam.

This game is totally worth the full price, so for $10 it's a steal. If you have played Darkest Dungeon, it's similar in a way: you create a squad of 4 characters and crawl through a dungeon using dynamic turn-based actions. The big difference here is that instead of delving into the dungeon as a group of heroes, you are a necromancer trying to escape the dungeon by raising an army of the dead. The mechanics differ much after the squad concept. You play as Iratus, who has his own abilities that he can mix up with his minions that he builds out body parts from the dead bodies from battle. Stress plays a different role than it does in DD... as you cause the stress as one of 3 types of damage. There's a whole management section for alchemy and skill tree upgrades for Iratus and individual trees for minions. There are endless builds, so the replay-ability is high. Not to mention the dev team has consistent updates that change the game up. While I loved Darkest Dungeon, I never really got that deep into it. With Iratus, it sucked me in immediately and I've played the hell out of it. Bonus if you change the voice language from English to Russian (it is a Russian game, after all).

jason from volo wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:26 am Arrived in the mail today. First Mario Golf game in a long time!

(Mario Golf - Super Rush)

Let us know how you like it! I love wii golf, and golf story on switch was one of the most fun games I played last year.

fatchance wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 12:59 pm

jason from volo wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:26 am Arrived in the mail today. First Mario Golf game in a long time!

(Mario Golf - Super Rush)

Let us know how you like it! I love wii golf, and golf story on switch was one of the most fun games I played last year.

Everyone is so jazzed about this. Would love to hear about it and know what the big deal is. The Switch is more of my Wife's console than mine, but I want to expose her to other things she might find fun other than Animal Crossing.

Is there such a thing as a tactics RPG that is neither super-corny anime nor buggy as hell? Wasteland 2 was enough of a bug fest that I'm hesitant to try 3, and XCOM 2 had a save game bug that made it unplayable. I tried Mutant Year Zero and immediately returned it because it triggered a malware alert. I should have known from the installation process, since they couldn't even be bothered to have the installer grab the right Visual C++ library for you.

What is up with the people coding these games?

Shadowrun Returns seems functional so far, albeit a bit old.

biscuitdough wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 10:37 am Is there such a thing as a tactics RPG that is neither super-corny anime nor buggy as hell? Wasteland 2 was enough of a bug fest that I'm hesitant to try 3, and XCOM 2 had a save game bug that made it unplayable. I tried Mutant Year Zero and immediately returned it because it triggered a malware alert. I should have known from the installation process, since they couldn't even be bothered to have the installer grab the right Visual C++ library for you.

What is up with the people coding these games?

Shadowrun Returns seems functional so far, albeit a bit old.

Divinity: Original Sin II is considered the daddy of the Wasteland-style RPG.

I also imagine you'd love Into the Breach and the dev's predecessor, FtL. They're both great.

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 11:56 pm

biscuitdough wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 10:37 am Is there such a thing as a tactics RPG that is neither super-corny anime nor buggy as hell? Wasteland 2 was enough of a bug fest that I'm hesitant to try 3, and XCOM 2 had a save game bug that made it unplayable. I tried Mutant Year Zero and immediately returned it because it triggered a malware alert. I should have known from the installation process, since they couldn't even be bothered to have the installer grab the right Visual C++ library for you.

What is up with the people coding these games?

Shadowrun Returns seems functional so far, albeit a bit old.

Divinity: Original Sin II is considered the daddy of the Wasteland-style RPG.

I also imagine you'd love Into the Breach and the dev's predecessor, FtL. They're both great.

I have FTL but haven't played it much. I'll go for a deep dive.

I had ruled out DOS2 when I looked at it but I forget why. I'll check that and the original out again. I definitely prefer scifi over fantasy settings - I enjoyed Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics, although it had some bugs, and I would really welcome another horror themed one, if there is such a thing.

biscuitdough wrote: Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:22 am

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 11:56 pm

biscuitdough wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 10:37 am Is there such a thing as a tactics RPG that is neither super-corny anime nor buggy as hell? Wasteland 2 was enough of a bug fest that I'm hesitant to try 3, and XCOM 2 had a save game bug that made it unplayable. I tried Mutant Year Zero and immediately returned it because it triggered a malware alert. I should have known from the installation process, since they couldn't even be bothered to have the installer grab the right Visual C++ library for you.

What is up with the people coding these games?

Shadowrun Returns seems functional so far, albeit a bit old.

Divinity: Original Sin II is considered the daddy of the Wasteland-style RPG.

I also imagine you'd love Into the Breach and the dev's predecessor, FtL. They're both great.

I have FTL but haven't played it much. I'll go for a deep dive.

I had ruled out DOS2 when I looked at it but I forget why. I'll check that and the original out again. I definitely prefer scifi over fantasy settings - I enjoyed Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics, although it had some bugs, and I would really welcome another horror themed one, if there is such a thing.

Would Xcom float your boat? Scifi, tactical... Not sure if it's the tactical you're looking for. How about Shadowrun?

Seconding the recommendation of 'Into the Breach', which is perfect. The designers spent a long time on the UI, stripping the game down, if memory serves, and that serves it well. The bit of genius is showing what the enemy's going to do on the next go. I'm pretty bad at it.

'Disco Elysium' is the only game I'm playing at the moment, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. The writing is too florid for my taste, and there's perhaps too much of it. Robert Kurvitz, the main designer, was in a prog rock band and is heavily into D&D, likely sources of the splurge of lore and proper nouns that the game throws at the player with little respite. But the characters and the world are rich, distinctive, and linger in mind. The mix of point 'n' click adventure and dice rolls based on whatever mad aspects you've put points into is fun and effective, giving the impression that the story's yours based on what you choose to focus on. A friend played a few hours on my computer with a completely different character, and his experience of those first hours was very different to mine (he loved it).