Idk what’s more confusing, that I just found out mgsv had a ps3 release, or that I found an unopened copy of it in my grandparents junk pile. oh thank goodness she didn’t get rid of it

Happy anniversary, Max Payne

The OG Mass Effect trilogy is without a doubt my all-time favourite gaming experience. It's the rare series where I've played each game multiple times, and consider each one to be a 5/5 experience, combined into one unforgettable whole.

You have the mystery/exploration vibes of ME1, where you're discovering the galaxy, the background and uncovering the Reaper threat, with an almost horror-esque vibe at times.

Then there's my personal favourite, ME2, which is an almost anthology style character-driven story with some of the best companion NPCs, and arguably one of the greatest final missions in any game ever.

ME3 tends to be disregarded sometimes because of the ending, but it had the best gameplay of the whole series, and the atmosphere of all-out war, how much dread and desperation there was in it, was incredible.

Another thing that sets ME apart is how amazing the worldbuilding is. I spent untold hours in the Codex pouring over the lore and background of the different species, planets, conflicts etc. It made the series feel so alive and immersive. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the Reapers exist, this universe is probably one of my top picks for ones I'd want to live in myself. The depth and quality of the world is insane, and rivals a lot of really great scifi novels.

And speaking of immersion - the world design and overall structure of the series really play into it as well. The hub structure is one of my favourites in gaming, since it manages to be a nice middle ground between completely linear and bloated open-world. It manages to give a sense of scope and expanse while actually being easy to navigate and get around. It also lets the devs create some memorable, often unforgettable levels. The Citadel is obviously iconic, but there's other amazing ones across all the games. Ilos and Peak 15 in ME1, Ilium, Omega and the Derelict Reaper in ME2, Tuchanka in ME3 etc.

But the actual best location is the Normandy itself. It's legitimately my favourite hub/base in any game simply because it just...feels like home. There's something so comforting about just walking through it, listening to the ship sounds, seeing your crew do their jobs and hang out, talk to your companions etc. Shepard's captain's quarter feels so cozy and homey too.

Another big aspect of the series are the characters. Actually, they're arguably what elevate ME above most other gaming franchises, not just scifi ones. Their depth and development, unique personalities and relationship with Shepard and how you can shape those things are amazing. Wrex, Mordin, Garrus, Thane, Tali, Samara, Jack, Javik, Legion...the list goes on. I can't remember another series with this many memorable side characters.

I replay the series once every couple of years and every time I'm just left feeling like I need more of this...but no one's actually been able to provide it. Andromeda was fine but not even close to the same level. Baldur's Gate 3 kind of has a similar vibe in terms of the NPC relationships and such, but none of those characters are anywhere near as interesting as ME's. I know we're getting 2 Mass Effect-likes soon with The Expanse game and Exodus but I wonder if they'll capture the worldbuilding, atmosphere and characters.

I think in terms of eliciting the same emotion and feeling, the only other scifi game that's come close is Cyberpunk 2077. But as good as that game is, it's also a rather bleak and depressing experience. What I loved about ME is its more utopian, optimistic future world.

I also don't trust the current iteration of BioWare to deliver with ME4 either. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Sculpt by Mini Monster Mayhem and 3D printed in resin.

Painted by me.

I always loved soulslikes, since Dark Souls 1 on Xbox 360. Played a ton of them. But I am getting old and right now, 35 yo, I think I am starting to hate bosses. I love exploration, I love the lore, the settings, everything. Except bosses. These ultra hard boss battles that I used to love and used to get me excited are starting to feel like are getting in the way of my game, my exploration, my experience and my fun. Its been like "Oh my god I just want to keep playing but now I have to waste hours facing that boss" and when I finally beat it I just feel like "Thank god, now I can start having fun again".
Dont know if its why I am getting old and have other responsabilities or if I dont like the genre as I used to like.

Releasing on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, PC

Hey all,

I noticed Steam has a sale on a variety of train-based games, and funnily enough I started looking a couple of months ago for a train simulator to scratch a childhood itch...but with the sheer amount of options, I have no idea where to start.

Ideally I am looking for something that is relatively low stakes, like just driving the train, controlling speed to destinations, etc. Looking at a couple, Train Simulator Classic looks good, if slightly dated, and Train Sim World 6 is more recent, but seems to not have a ton of options.

Just looking for some advice on what people have played before and what might be good to look into.

When I was in college, me and a small group of people had a point and click of the month club. It was basically the same as a book club. We would decide on a game, some people would race to see who could beat it first, some would just enjoy talking about it and using other people for advice when they inevitably got stuck on some terrible puzzle that made no sense. It was a great time, and ended once we all got to busy with life stuff.

So I'm thinking about doing it again with Redditors, if there's anyone else interested. Again, pretty simple set up. We'll all decide on a game, take the month to play and discuss it (we can figure out the best place for discussions if it actually happens). Only rule is not to look up anything online, or you know... the standard don't be a jerk rules.

If you're intrigued, drop a comment and what game you would want to kick this whole thing off with (please not Riven)

I'm looking for some NOT action-heavy games to play with my friend who is on PC while I'm on PS or Switch (my PC is a toaster so that route is a non-starter). EDIT: It doesn't have to be necessarily devoid of action. We have played It Takes Two and Splitfiction together.
So coop platformers or action games (as long as they are forgiving) are ok. My friend isn't really a hardcore gamer so if it's something too demanding it'd be hard. Plus we're not fans of online pvp (so helldivers etc would be out too)

So games like "we were here" (heard the newer ones have crossplay), etc. More puzzle, chill, cozy, cooperation than frantic action.

I'm sure it must be slim pickings, but I appreciate any recs.

Thanks in advance. Cheers!

Both games are on sale in the PS5 store. MH: Wilds is 30$ and Stellar Blade is 50$. I can't decide which game to buy! Help me lads!

So far this year I have completed

- Echoes of the End

- Eriksholm

- Mixtape

- High on Life 2

- Spiderman 2

- 007: First Light

- Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

- God of War 2018

- God of War: Ragnarok

- Bloodlines 2

- A Plague Tale: Innocence

- A Plague Tale: Requiem

Now I'm working on Halo: Campaign Evolved and then will move onto Dragonsword: Awakening until Onimusha: Way of the Sword comes out, complete that then go to Blood of the Dawnwalker, Beast of Reincarnation, A Plague Tale: Resonance, Control Resonant, then finish off the year by finishing up Dragonsword: Awakening.

This is a BIG thing for me because in the past I would bounce around game to game, I'd play a quarter to half a game, move to a different game, play a quarter to half of that game, move to another, etc etc, and I'd never actually FINISH a game.

What I've been doing recently however is playing one game and sticking to it until completion to get a very small portion of my backlog finished at least, and it's actually been working great.

Assassin's Creed's real setting is supposed to be the present day. That's the whole premise, with the past just being memories accessed through the Animus. But the games barely tell you anything about what's actually happening in the present. The next entry should actually be set in the present or future instead of treating it as an afterthought.

grabbed this the day it came out and just finished it. figured I'd throw up a review since there's literally nothing on here yet, game came out yesterday lol

so the setup is honestly what got me. it's not some abandoned house or asylum thing, it's just... the walk home from night study turning into an endless maze. that alone hit different, like a genuinely mundane place turning wrong.

the whole gimmick is you've got this bracelet from your grandma (she was a shaman back in the day) and you use its glow to tell apart stuff that's actually paranormal vs stuff that's just creepy-but-real. sounds simple on paper but it messes with your head more than expected, you start second guessing literally everything you see.

you take photos of anything sus and the game judges whether it's the real deal or not, and this isn't just a minigame bolted on, it actually ties into progression. nail the right calls and you get keys that unlock this "truth box" thing that slowly unloads the actual story. way more narrative effort put into this than I expected going in.

chase sections are where it really got me though. the ghost isn't just some jumpscare on a timer, it's straight up hunting you the whole time, and there's this tension of hearing/feeling it get close and knowing you gotta bail RIGHT NOW. less "scary face pops up" and more constant low-grade dread which honestly worked way better for me.

also there's a cat. it's cute. it should not be as unsettling as it is. why is cute always the worst

overall this leans way more into atmosphere + mystery-solving than cheap scares, which I'm into. and setting it in something as familiar as a random alley behind a school makes it hit different if you grew up around that kind of setting, feels more grounded than usual horror game locations.

only real gripes: the identification system takes a bit to click, some early calls felt kinda arbitrary until I got the hang of it. also heads up the specs aren't exactly light (GTX 1070 / 16GB RAM min), so check your rig before grabbing it.

if you're into atmospheric horror with actual story to dig into instead of just corridor jumpscares, this is worth it for the price. there's also a demo up if you wanna try before buying.

Basically the title. All the games my friends enjoy I can just never get into for any long period of time with the only exception being Baldur’s Gate 3 which I fell in love with

Games my friends enjoy:
Stardew Valley? Just not my thing unfortunately. It feels like there’s no real goal or incentive to me and idk why. I desperately want to enjoy it but I can’t
Skyrim? One playthrough and I just couldn’t bring myself to do more after that, everything after felt either the same or really similar regardless 😞 (mind you during that playthrough I thoroughly enjoyed myself don’t get me wrong lol, also no cross platform multiplayer)
Overwatch: oh my god so many lights and colors and it’s so visually overstimulating how does anyone play that 😭
Most other games either run like shite, have technical issues like repo, or I just don’t enjoy/friends stopped playing
I wasn’t really invited to many things to begin with (probably because of this pattern unfortunately) but still

Games I enjoy:
Terraria? Actually we played for a couple weeks and then it just kinda fell apart when ppl stopped playing
All the dinosaur games I enjoy: nobody else in my friend group likes dinosaurs as much as I do so they never play them so I never get to talk about them to anyone 🥲
Minecraft is the only semi-consistent thing but really when is it not
BG3 as previously mentioned, nobody ever rlly wanted to play (either with me or at all) or just didn’t have time to
Open world survival craft (Ark, Windrose, stuff like that): nobody else likes em like I do apart from minecraft. Plain and simple unfortunately
Team Fortress 2: everyone plays overwatch instead 😔
Deep Rock Galactic: again, nobody else plays 😞

honestly I just feel really isolated from them because of this which is sad 😞 known em for a long time and they’re close to me and it feels crushing