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deadmomjokes · 4 months

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Betwixt Christmas gift cash and Steam Family Sharing workaround shenanigans, the husband and I have finally started Baldur's Gate 3.

Went in basically blind except for knowing the names of the companions and the fact that Astarion is a vampire (couldn't miss that cultural osmosis).

We also came in on two different meta-levels as players.

He is very familiar with D&D, D&D-based games, computer games in general, and these sorts of games specifically. He's also that kind of person that plays things on Extreme Difficulty Mode for fun. He quits when something isn't challenging enough. His idea of relaxing, rewarding gameplay is ultra-hard-mode Elden Ring and Dark Souls.

I, on the other hand, am bad at games. Full stop. I have lost Wii Mario Kart to a 6 year old, repeatedly. I get hopelessly lost even when there's detailed maps, trackers, compasses, and flagged waypoints. I also panic in combat situations and have no strategic ability aside from "stand there, hit it, and hope it doesn't move." I'm more of a low-stakes visual novel sort of gamer. Stardew Valley is as intense as I get.

He is playing a Seldarine Drow warlock in a pact with an archfey. She's a noble with a ridiculously high Charisma score, a perfectly balanced spell loadout, and an even more balanced overall stat build. She's DPS without being totally squishy and helpless, and has advantage to almost everything. She also has an impeccable fashion sense and always looks put together, even when on death's door to a brain worm. Or, to put it in a way my husband would loathe, she got that drip.

I am playing a ginger himbo of a high elf fighter with -1 to Charisma and a -1000 to common sense. He's an impulsive maniac with, somehow, a +3 to intimidation despite being a truly gentle soul that believes every sob story he comes across. He's a sweaty, dusty, grubby little feral child (outlander background) with the world's messiest ponytail and greasepaint-turned-eyeliner that a 90s ex emo kid would be proud of. And that's him trying to look presentable. Despite having an impressive dexterity score, my natural disadvantage to dexterity (and Wisdom and Intelligence) as the player makes it so that this man bumbles his way into everything and only gets out by making horrifying threats he has absolutely no intention of following up on, or by being forced to stand his ground and take it on the jaw.

So this was going to be An Experience no matter what. And boy, it sure has been.

Thus far, we have:

Accidentally pacifism'd our way into every Goblin/Absolute aligned settlement we've encountered on the pure luck of husband's choice to play a Drow because he thought it would add an interesting dynamic. That interesting dynamic, he thought, would be difficulty. He thought being a Drow would make it harder because of the general hatred toward them. He's technically good-aligned, but, y'know, planet-of-hats racism means he was expecting it to work against him, which he likes because he likes when things are hard. Only now it's basically a free pass into all the areas we'd normally have to fight or sneak into. Great for our shared pacifist tendencies, but LOL

Lost a full hour of progress because my computer screen is tiny and bad at graphics and I hadn't learned all the controls yet, so while trying to investigate a hole in the floor of an abandoned church I tripped in face-first and got us into an unescapable, imminent-TPK situation, whereupon the game immediately autosaved for the first time since waking up on the beach. We have since learned to spam the quicksave button liberally.

Accepted a ton of mutually exclusive quests, half of which we have no intention of doing, just to try and get out of situations without combat, so now the mini map now looks like a cubist rendition of a simple sun drawing and I'm SO worried it's going to come crashing down and get us shanked in our sleep.

MET BEST BOY DOGGO I WILL DIE FOR SCRATCH 😭

Discovered husband's character is, build wise, a carbon-copy of Wyll. This was 100% unintentional and he's BIG mad about it LOL RIP

Impulsively pushed a button in a crypt without saving and woke up a bunch of skellies we weren't prepared for, but were somehow also saved by that same impulsivity because I had previously run around the entire area and looted every single skeleton no matter how useless it was to my character, so they all woke up without their weapons so HAH take that I TOLD YOU being a klepto would pay off

Immediately after this fortuitous stroke of fate, having learned exactly nothing, my impulsive maniac opened the shiny sarcophagus before consulting anyone or healing. Luckily it wasn't cursed or trapped or full of enemies (it was Withers, and I'm love), but I'm now not allowed to open or interact with anything bigger than a crate without announcing it first so husband has the chance to go NO WAIT LET ME SAVE FIRST

Sneaked into a secret underground passage, whereupon my husband sent his invisible'd familiar around to carefully scout the area, discovering the button that would turn off the overpowered guardian statue. My character then readied a crossbow shot to hit said button, but in trying to move out of the way of the other party members, stepped right into the statue's attack circle. I panicked, tried to move, but couldn't figure out how to unselect the attack I could no longer use, and tried to fix it by pausing. But all of that just resulted in me standing there, doing nothing, until I finally dropped dead. Luckily I passed my saving throws, and more luckily still, my husband managed to stop laughing long enough to eldritch blast the statue to pieces and come get me.

So anyway, we're having the best time. I know we're late to the party, but it really is so good. I may have even teared up a little during the dream sequence with the psychedelic neon light guardian warriors. This is going to consume my brain for the next few months, and I'm happy to have paid for the privilege. 10/10, absolutely deserves that GOTY and the $60 price tag both.

No spoilers please, we're only level 3 and just encountering the Goblin Camp. (We've met everyone but Karlach, I believe.) But rest assured, as we learn and discover more I will come yelling and seeking those who will screech with me. Probably mostly about my new sons that I've acquired, namely the lying purple sadsack trash wizard with some horrifying kind of chronic illness and/or addiction, and the prettiest most specialist murder machine who definitely won't admit it but is definitely gonna need a hug when I finish breaking down those obviously performative emotional walls.

Also, Lae'zel scares me. Please stop yelling at me, you cranky fish woman, I'm trying my best here 😭

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #no spoilers plz #also i love how the companions are:#scary women #and secretly messed up sadboi prettymen #i have so many sad sons

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theomeganerd · 2 months

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Video Game News Stories for February 26th, 2024

Legal Battles Rock the Industry:

Call of Duty Lawsuit Challenges Esports Dominance: A group of gamers sent shockwaves through the esports community by filing a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, Inc., accusing the company of monopolizing control over Call of Duty esports leagues and tournaments. This legal action could have far-reaching consequences, potentially forcing Activision to adjust its esports strategy and pave the way for a more competitive environment.

Platform Shifts and Strategic Moves:

Microsoft Embraces Multiplatform Strategy: In a surprising turn of events, Microsoft Corporation announced plans to release four upcoming Xbox titles on external platforms, including PC and potentially even rival consoles like Sony's PlayStation. This move signifies a significant departure from the company's longstanding strategy of platform exclusivity, a cornerstone of the "console wars." The new approach could lead to wider accessibility for Xbox games, potentially attracting new demographics and impacting development strategies across platforms in the face of increased competition.

Sony Adjusts PS5 Sales Target, Prepares for IPO: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. adjusted its PlayStation 5 sales target downwards, citing ongoing supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainties. This news comes alongside reports that the company is planning an initial public offering (IPO) for its financial unit in 2025. The revised sales target suggests potential adjustments to Sony's production and distribution strategies in the coming months, while the planned IPO could be a strategic move to raise capital for future endeavors.

Beyond the Headlines:

Nintendo Switch 2 Rumors Gain Momentum: Speculation surrounding the potential launch of a successor to the hugely successful Nintendo Switch console later this year continues to gather steam. Fans eagerly await official announcements from Nintendo regarding the next iteration of the popular platform, with potential implications for the continued success of the Switch franchise and the broader handheld gaming market.

Elden Ring Mobile Version: Speculation Ignites Fan Interest: Rumors of a mobile version of the critically acclaimed game Elden Ring are circulating online, sparking excitement among fans who desire to experience the title on the go. While unconfirmed, the prospect has captivated the gaming community, leading to discussions about the feasibility of adapting the game's complex mechanics to mobile platforms and the potential impact on mobile gaming trends.

"Princess Peach: Showtime" Generates Positive Buzz: The recent Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase unveiled "Princess Peach: Showtime," a new title receiving positive first impressions for its innovative gameplay and engaging story. This upcoming release has garnered significant interest within the gaming community, particularly among fans of the Super Mario franchise, potentially influencing player expectations and pre-order trends.

This Week's Video Game Releases (February 26 - March 2, 2024):

February 28, 2024:

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Cook, Serve, Delicious! (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One)

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

Additional News Stories:

Call of Duty Servers Crash, Player Stats Reset: Adding to the woes of Call of Duty players, server outages caused frustration and confusion due to data resets.

PlayStation VR 2 Expands Horizons with PC Support: In a move that may delight PC VR enthusiasts, Sony announced that PlayStation VR 2 will support PC games sometime in 2024, potentially expanding its player base.

Fortnite Emote Faces Lawsuit: A choreographer filed a lawsuit against Epic Games, claiming their copyrighted dance moves were used in a Fortnite emote without proper permission, raising discussions about intellectual property rights and fair use within the gaming industry.

#video games #gaming #gaming news #fortnite #call of duty #star wars #star wars dark forces #playstation #sony #xbox #microsoft #nintendo #princess peach #princess peach showtime #nintendo switch #news

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slightly-gay-pogohammer · 5 months

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i hope you're ready for a long answer.

OKAY, this is a little more complicated. dark souls has a plot that follows all three games, but it's more of a "dark souls 3 is a somewhat direct sequel to 1, 2 has a separate plot but what happens is important". it depends how much you value surprises, and honestly i think that, plot-wise, you can play them in any order. i played 1 and 3 and watched a gameplay of 2 before 3 so i got the "canonical experience", and especially 3 has like. a LOT of shoutouts to the first game, both with locations and characters, and it's a great ending to the trilogy

BUT.

i'd argue that even retroactively, the plot points are still intact. of course you're going to get a much bigger reaction to the abyss watchers in 3 if you know who artorias is while playing 1, but viceversa discovering artorias' story in 1 is going to be fun with the knowledge of the abyss watchers' existence in 3, for example; same goes with ornstein in 1 and his armor in 2 and 3

when it comes to mechanic. that's a little different. dark souls 1 is what i truly consider the "vanilla fromsoft experience", even more than demon's souls (another game of the series that has Nothing to do with dark souls if not certain characters dw). it's very arcade, a little arcaic, very slow paced compared to the others and missing some key elements and refining the rest of fromsoft games have, but it's still an incredible gem; dark souls 2, again, is kind of considered the fromsoft black sheep for many reasons, one of which being the different mechanics. it's a good game, but it puts a lot more emphasis in a LOT of boss fights, ganks and dangerous locations; dark souls 3 is my favorite specifically for the mechanics because, while not as much as bloodborne or elden ring, it requires you to get used to be way more aggressive than the others and hit hard. it's also by far the easiest soul game to me, and maybe the easiest fromsoft soulslike in general along elden ring. at least in my opinion :^)

TL;DR

it's up to you, really.

dark souls 1 is a more basic experience, a somewhat simpler plot, and still quite difficult. a little clunky, but still an incredible experience with a world you get easily lost in. it really rewards taking this slow, bosses included. > i think steam has the prepare to die edition, so the DLC should be part of the package. if you have to play even just one DLC, play this one. it's totally worth it.

dark souls 2 is a much "heavier" gameplay, with big emphasis in combat, boss fights and dangerous locations. a little bit of an "outsider" compared to the rest, i wouldn't recommend starting with this one but it's still a fun and much darker experience. great if you enjoy battles and a more cinematic, hollywood fantasy epic compared to the more vague plots of 1 and 3 > again, I think steam has the scholar of the first sin edition. It adds some extra lore and a different final boss compared to vanilla

dark souls 3 is the true sequel to 1, and an incredibly powerful experience. darker than the first and with emphasis on a more apocalyptic world, if DS1 requires patience this one tells you to be aggressive and fight further. easier than the other two in my opinion.

.....................and personally. DS3 is my favorite fandmsg

#gio replies

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blueberry-lemon · 8 months

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You've probably seen this image. I've seen it many times. I have mixed feelings about it.

It's a funny image, and represents a good cause. It's usually posted by people who want to support fairer working conditions for game developers, and want to show support for smaller titles.

It's usually posted in contrast to something like Cyberpunk 2077, Watch Dogs: Legion, The Last of Us: Part II, or God of War: Ragnarok.

There's a part of me that cringes every time I see it, though. I imagine there may be other game developers who feel similarly.

I think the reflexive cringe comes from the phrase "shorter games with worse graphics." People being paid more to work less sounds great, tbh, and barring any sort of production pipeline blocking, I think most devs would be into that.

These are the thoughts that fly through my mind when I hear people say "I want shorter games with worse graphics."

Short compared to what?

Shorter than Elden Ring? Shorter than Hollow Knight? Short like Venba? Short like Celeste? How short could a AAA game be before, even despite posting this phrase, you'd find it unsatisfying or incomplete? How short could an indie game be before you don't consider it a "real game"? Games can be anything from Ulysses to a haiku, but it rarely seems like people are talking about the haiku style of games.

What does "worse graphics" mean?

I just can't imagine a world where "worse graphics" could possibly correlate to Hi-Fi Rush, Undertale, Hollow Knight, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Celeste, Mario Odyssey, Wind Waker, A Short Hike, or Hades. Even though those are the types of games that I often see people use this meme in support of. Those games have incredible art that talented artists worked really really hard on. It feels like a bit of a sting to associate those beautiful games with the term "worse graphics." That phrasing, sadly, implies that photorealism is the bar by which all other games are compared.

Forever Games

Where do replayable games, like roguelikes, tycoons, crafting games, and farming sims land on the realm of "shorter games"? They're not inherently any shorter than a big AAA game, and they're designed to be replayable and to suck your time in. That can be great, but it also might be a treadmill that is not inherently any more honorable than a game trying to tell a linear story.

Are you really "not kidding"?

This meme has a very confident, smug energy and I think that tone invites this question: Do you REALLY want shorter games with worse graphics? I know this is going to depend on the individual lives of each human being who's ever reposted this meme, and it can never be truly answered, but it really begs the question of whether or not people REALLY DO WANT "shorter games with worse graphics." Because let me tell ya, there's a lot of shorter games with worse graphics right now and they ain't selling very well. Check the Steam reviews. Ask devs how many copies they sell on itch. There are many devs out there who make shorter games with worse graphics and no matter how many times people post this phrase, people don't seem to flock over to support those projects. And that sinking feeling of "oh, these folks don't mean the games that my friends and I post regularly on itch, they mean Hi-Fi Rush and Wind Waker" is a little bit demotivating, given the gusto with which this meme is posted. There are people whose whole careers hinge on the hope that there's an audience out there that wants "shorter games with worse graphics" and there doesn't seem to be an actual sea change that's helping those projects out. There is a treasure trove of games out on itch that you can play in between hyped releases, but most people's playing habits don't seem to shift.

Lastly...

...there are thousands of devs out there who work hard, collaborating with other devs and artists, to make their games the best they can be. Devs work hard to bring their artistic vision to God of War: Ragnarok or to Bomb Rush Cyberfunk or to experimental indies with intentionally-ragged art styles. Everyone is putting their heart into their art to make something that will connect with the player. Sometimes, this can be pulled off by 1 or 2 people. Sometimes, this will require hiring more onto the team. It's slightly dissonant to see people say they want to see "worse graphics" when you're trying to get a job in texturing or particle effects and want to deliver something your team is trying to push a boundary on. This is true in both small projects and big projects. Artists are putting their stamp on Horizon Forbidden West just as much as they're putting their stamp on Venba. There are artists looking for work in the indie space who want to make better and more beautiful "graphics."

Anyway, no disrespect to people who post this meme. I understand that it's a show of support and solidarity. I understand that it's just a joke. I know that it's not a big deal.

But I'd be lying if I said that these mixed feelings didn't flash through my mind every time I saw this hedgehog. Figured I would share them.

#gaming #indie games #game dev #gamedev #indie dev #i want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and i'm not kidding #game discourse #blogofkylelab

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astrarobotica · 1 year

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People like to say the Switch is aging but...

Metroid Prime Remastered gets a surprise release and there isn't a single part of me that thinks it looks old or outdated or even "last-gen".

I'm not sure why they called it a remaster. Remasters typically just have HD resolutions, higher-res textures and a few modern lighting/shader tricks. This thing is more of a remake, because it's been entirely rebuilt from the ground up. Every 3D asset is new. Every texture is new. Even character animations in cutscenes have been tweaked. Metroid Prime Remastered looks like a brand new game, even though the original came out in 2002.

I've seen a lot of people saying over the past few months that the Switch is "aging tech", people on reddit have convinced themselves that the "Super Switch" or "Switch 2" or whatever is imminent (just like the Switch Pro!). And yeah, Nintendo is probably gonna put out another console within a few years. But I don't feel like the Switch is getting too old. I'm just as excited for games coming out on it this year as I was when the console launched. I don't see this game and Tears of the Kingdom and think about how much better they could look on newer hardware. They obviously would look better, but they still look incredible on the Switch.

I think this is why Nintendo has my favorite first-party IPs; most big games over the past twenty years have been increasingly focused on hyper-realistic graphics, while Nintendo has almost always focused on art style, which translates well regardless of hardware. And I think some games benefit from hyper-realistic visuals like Red Dead Redemption 2. It's such an insanely beautiful game, but it's also a very good game in general. A lot of recent games feel like they use realistic graphics as a crutch to support bland game design. Graphical fidelity and art style are two different concepts. Good art style can age well even on limited hardware. Fallout 3 was a pretty good-looking game when it came out, fifteen years later however...

Nintendo prioritizes art style. The art style of a particular game/franchise can be adapted to whatever hardware it's being developed for and then pushed to the level of graphical fidelity the hardware can handle. Metroid Prime Remastered is an entirely rebuilt game, but it retains the exact same art style from twenty years ago. Breath of the Wild was a launch title for the Switch, but it still looks just as impressive six years later. Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2/3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Kirby and the Forgotten Kingdom (and many others)... they all look incredible on supposed "aging" hardware.

But why exactly is the Switch seemingly not good enough anymore? Well it came out after the PS4/XB1 and was already less powerful than those consoles. Now another generation of consoles have come out which are even more powerful, making the Switch seem more underpowered. People also tend to look at console generation trends, and most consoles are around for about seven years before the next one comes out. But that's an artificial reason; industry trends don't magically make the Switch outdated. The real reason is that people want a Nintendo to make a console with hardware on comparable level to other current consoles, or at least last-gen consoles at this point.

That's understandable, but is it because Nintendo games don't look good enough? No, it's because we want to play non-Switch games like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077 on a handheld, in particular, one less bulky and with a better battery life than the Steam Deck, and one that still has Nintendo games on it. Sure, some Switch ports are quite bad, but we also have Doom Eternal, No Man's Sky, NieR: Automata, and plenty of others that were poorly optimized to begin with or seemingly "too much" for the Switch to handle, yet we have them, and they're amazing. There's also Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which uses very clever upsampling to produce an amazing image quality. The Witcher 3 may not look amazing on Switch, but people said it would never happen, yet here we are. That isn't to say the Switch is capable of running any game, even with clever ports and decent optimization. But it's much more capable than a lot of people give it credit for.

I bought a gaming PC in 2021, primarily for sim racing. So I don't need a PS5/XBS, but I wasn't planning on buying one even before that. The only big new game I've even played from the past year is Elden Ring. Those consoles have already been out for two years, and there's only a handful of games that can't also be bought for the previous generation. Yes, games will look and perform better on the newer consoles, but cross-generation releases have never lingered around for this long before.

Even though new generations of console will always be more powerful than the last, not many games use that extra power for much more than higher-fidelity graphics. The big issue with that is that it's a matter of diminishing returns; the jump in visual fidelity from one console generation to the next has become less and less impressive over the past twenty years. Visual detail in graphics will always get better as the hardware advances, but the closer you get to photorealism, the less there is to improve on. More polygons on-screen stops being impressive when you stop noticing the polygons. The jump from 480i to 1080p was far more noticeable than the jump from 1080p to 4K. A lot of games on newer consoles are starting to boast about 60fps, because in some cases, an increased framerate is the most noticable difference between the same game on two console generations.

Overall this trend is a bit concerning to me. Honestly, it began when the "pro" consoles came out during the last generation. The old business model feels like it's rapidly becoming obsolete, and Sony and Microsoft must feel the same way, considering how many of their first-party games they're releasing on PC these days. So it feels strange to me that the Switch is somehow too weak as the other consoles just over a generation ahead of it are running straight into a very real plateau. Metroid Prime Remastered looks just as visually impressive to me as any PS5/XBS game.

Yes, Nintendo will eventually release a new console. But we’ve reached a turning point with Sony and Microsoft where the reasons to buy their new consoles are less obvious and convincing than they’ve ever been. So maybe it's a smart strategy for Nintendo to take their time and make sure their next piece of hardware is substantially more impressive than the Switch

#metroid #metroid prime #metroid prime remastered #nintendo #switch #gaming #video games

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autumnbrambleagain · 3 months

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ok im putting putrid avatar up there in my top 5 worst boss designs of all time alongside profit-fucking-taker

hi! i have an attack that causes a massive AOE toxic zone. you can only dodge it by running away from me. this attack is triggered by you being close to me.

i also have an attack that causes a dozen homing lasers. you can only dodge it by running in a circle around me or doing multiple perfect dodges. this attack is triggered by you being far away from me.

you come near me and hit me once. i start my AOE. you have to run away because it's impossible to tank it. now you're too far away! i use my come-back-here laser beam attack. maybe twice. okay! now i'll swing my weapon once. are you ready? this is your one single opening to hit me.

oops and now you're too close! guess what i'm going to do next :3

honestly dont think ive ever had a bossfight that was so tedious i literally died from boredom because after a solid 5 minutes of doing the same thing and it still being at 1/3rd health i finally slipped up once

id question why elden ring got like, unambiguous perfect game of the year but starfield got like most innovate game on steam so like. yeah no i get it.

#autumn rambles #i whine about video games a lot but like #ok see i'm objectively correct at all times and also i'm cute #so it's fine

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laurarolla · 1 month

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So yeah, next game I'll be playing is Pathologic 2. And before you ask, yes, I do own a Pathologic Classic on Steam, but the "2" in the name doesn't really require you to play the first one. I tend to play games in order if there's good reason to do so when playing the series for the first time, but in this case I know I can jump straight into "2" with no real issues.

As a random aside, I plan to temporarily dispense with the randomness to play Elden Ring for the first time before the DLC comes out, so that might be the next game on the list, but for now, let's go on an adventure to deal with a plague!

#backlog resolution #pathologic 2 #video games #gaming

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hiriaeth · 2 months

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I'm going to get Elden Ring seeing as Bloodborne will never come to Steam but also I do feel shafted out of having one huge game with cool worldbuilding.

#also looks like a casual gamer like me for sure can play

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warsofasoiaf · 1 year

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Your character analyses are always a joy to read. Could you do one on Lunar Princess Ranni next?

Sure. Lunar Princess Ranni is a character who looms large over the setting, perhaps one of the most active ones in the setting. Her plot not only stretches back before the Shattering, but arguably is one of the most ambitious plots in the entire game. Where the Elden Lord endings involve mending the Elden Ring either as it was or with a new philosophy or sense of reality, Ranni's ending does away with the Golden Order and replaces it with her Order of the Stars. At least if the achievement percentages on STEAM are any indication, this is the most popular ending of Elden Ring (26.4% versus 19.3% for Elden Lord versus 13.3% for Frenzied Flame as of when I wrote this), so there's something to the Age of the Stars that has popular appeal.

Ranni is the daughter of Radagon and Rennala and much like her mother, grew to become an accomplished sorceress. Also much like her mother, Ranni adventured at a young point to discover a moon. Where Rennala discovered the full moon when she was young, learning its potential for sorcery and charming the academy with this new arcane field of study, Ranni discovered a dark moon that was "old, dark, and veiled in occult mystery." There is reference to this Dark Moon not just in the sorceries that Ranni learns, but in reference to the Eternal Cities of the Nox, who earned the ire of the Greater Will and were banished underground to cities with a false night sky of gemstones instead of stars (and kept away from Starlight Shards, which are components for Eternal City intoxicants - I'm not making that up or having a goof), to await the return of their coming Age of Stars and Lord of Night. So from before Ranni was even born, there was a plot for the Age of Stars, waiting for the arrival of one who could advance it.

Ranni meets another person in her young life - an ancient snow crone "deep in the woods." This crone, Renna the Snow Witch, taught Ranni to fear the dark moon. While the traditional reading is to tread with care when dealing with the Dark Moon, there's another interpretation of the world fear when it comes to a deity. The "fear of God" is not an actual fear of a divine figure to avoid wrath or smiting, rather it is a sense of awe and submission to a religious figure. This crone also taught Ranni cold sorcery. While we never meet Renna, it's possible that she was of the ancient Zamor from the Mountaintops of the Giants, who use ice magics and are the only other source for cold sorcery besides Ranni herself. The Zamor fought with the giants and their fiery god who held the Flame of Ruin in their forge (different from the Frenzied Flame), so we perhaps see yet another godly conflict between the Dark Moon and the god of the Fire Giants. Whether this is true or not, the idea of godly conflict and new orders run large across Ranni's plotline.

At some point, Ranni was named an Empyrean by a Two Fingers, and granted her own shadow in the wolf-man Blaidd. Being an Empyrean was a position of enormous power, a possible successor to Marika, Eternal Queen and Goddess of the Lands Between. Ranni detested this fate, believing it to shackle her to the Greater Will, and so she sought to find a way to free herself. Being an Empyrean was a lifelong sentence, and so she sought a way to kill herself without dying. She found her salvation in the Rune of Destined Death, removed by Marika and sealed within Maliketh, her half-brother and shadow. Ranni sought the help of her brother Rykard, gifting him the Blasphemous Claw to allow him to parry Maliketh's powerful attacks and challenge him in combat, though that did not appear to be necessary in the end. Through unknown means, Ranni was able to steal fragments of the Rune of Death from Maliketh. Ranni then contacted the Black Knives, the assassins of the Eternal City (hence why I talked about Ranni worshipping the Dark Moon and tying it to the Nox of the Eternal City) and secured their help, imbuing their blades with the deadly rune fragments. There, Ranni orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives. The Black Knives broke into Leyendell and slew Godwyn the Golden, the son of Marika and Godfrey, and at the same time, slew Ranni at the same time at the Divine Tower of Liurnia. Both had the centipede shape of the Rune of Death carved into their flesh, the simultaneous nature broke the Rune and allowed Ranni's plans to complete successfully. The attack slew Godwyn's soul and Ranni's body, allowing Ranni to escape by placing her soul into a magical doll modeled after Renna. Godwyn, by contrast, was a soulless husk whose body sprouted deathroot after it was placed into the Erdtree, which spread the curse of undeath throughout the world.

Now free from the fate foisted upon her, Ranni looked to overthrow the Golden Order in the new era to come to usher in her Age of Stars. She sought the help of the troll Iji, servant of the Carian Royal Family, and her loyal Shadow Blaidd, and Preceptor Seluvis, a wizard and puppeteer. She retreats to the Carian Manor to plan her next course of action. We don't see her during the Shattering, but we do know that Radahn, having conquered the stars and arrested their movement, prevented a link to her destiny. Ranni dispatched Blaidd to join the Radahn Festival in an attempt to slay her brother and release the stars, and Finger Maiden Therolina, almost certainly transformed into a puppet by one of Seluvis's potions, likewise was sent as support. This is not just to free her destiny, Nokron the Eternal City is buried underground and inaccessible without slaying Radahn and allowing the meteor to fall, clearing a path. Inside Nokron is Ranni's true objective, the Fingerslayer Blade. Here we learn that Nokron's great sin against the Golden Order was this blade, and hence why the ties between Ranni and the Eternal City are apparent - the plot that the Eternal City was looking to go, Ranni will continue. When you give her the Fingerslayer Blade, Ranni claims that she needs to rest due to the limitations of the doll body she inhabits. This is probably not true, as we can chat with mini-Ranni underground and we later see her body under the Cathedral of Manus Celes with the body of a slain Two Fingers. Ranni used the blade to kill the Two Fingers (I wouldn't be surprised if this was the Two Fingers that selected her as an Empyrean). When the player reaches Ranni, she says her quest is complete, and with the ring that you acquired from Raya Luceria, you can pledge to be her consort. While she doesn't name it as such, that would make you the new Lord of the Night, and allows you to summon Ranni at the end of the game, to usher in her Age of Stars.

The Age of Stars, due to some faulty translations, is a bit misinterpreted. The English translation suggests that it is "Here beginneth the chill night that encompasses all, reaching the great beyond. Into fear, doubt, and loneliness…" This suggests that the Age of Stars is an age of isolation, absent the warmth of courage, certainty, and togetherness. In her journal, the English translation says that she wishes that: "the certainties of sight, emotion, faith, and touch…All become impossibilities." This suggests that the Age of Stars is almost sensory deprivation in a way, where people cannot see or touch and hold no emotion, while Ranni absconds from the world and leaves everyone alone. The Japanese translation is better read as: “My order will not be of gold, but of the stars and moon, and chill night…I want to keep it far away from this land. Even if life and souls are one with the order, it (the order) could be kept far away. If it was not possible to clearly see, feel, believe in, or touch the order. That would be better. That is why I will leave this place, along with the order." So for this, Ranni is saying that while due to the metaphysical cosmology of the setting, an order is necessary for life and souls (as seen by souls returning to the Erdtree), she wants to keep it far removed from the people, so they don't experience it, and so she will take that chill night with her.

So depending on how you interpret it, it can be a very benign mentality indeed. The Golden Order, Marika, and the Shattering did inflict great suffering on the Lands Between. Removing the Order, while ensuring that the divine metaphysics of the setting aren't ground to a halt, can be seen as ultimately compassionate. The Greater Will is forced to leave, and the Dark Moon is kept far away by Ranni herself. And given it's the end of the game, it makes little sense Doylistically for Ranni to lie to the player, since there's nothing that can be done about it and it's not treated as a secret evil reveal. That's one potential reason that players might opt to side with Ranni, genuine belief that her vision will work out. Another might be the fact that Ranni's ending is only unlocked by thorough exploration, it's by necessity a secret ending that requires you to go to entire regions of the map so that you can give her a ring at the bottom of a cathedral glittering with the shards of falling stars. So the Age of Stars feels like a real reward for the player's exploration, and given that you go on another journey with Ranni afterward, that feels like a valid reward for an explorer, especially since you've probably gone through the whole world map.

However, there is a sinister edge to Ranni that might put a lot of people off. My brother (who has been playing Elden Ring for the past month-ish) said that his opinion was: "Ranni calls the Tarnished her dear consort. It might actually be love. But she says she loved Blaidd and Iji and look what happened to them. Look what she did to them." After Blaidd helps to slay Radahn, Iji locks him in the Forlorn Hound evergaol. After Ranni kills the Two Fingers, Blaidd goes insane, and the Tarnished is forced to kill him if they cross paths. Iji mourns Blaidd and is later found murdered by the Black Knives (they also go after Blaidd, but fail). Seluvis is also dead, but he dies as part of Ranni's questline suggesting that either Blaidd or Ranni herself killed Seluvis when he tried to turn her into his next puppet. Will Ranni turn on *you* next? While Blaidd's shadow nature might mean that a betrayal would happen once Ranni slays the Fingers, Iji was nothing but loyal, even betraying his friend to serve Ranni. And of course, Ranni was the architect of the Night of the Black Knives, murdering her half-brother Godwyn in an attempt to further her own ambitions. So for those who don't like or don't trust Ranni, it's musical chairs at the top, replacing one cruel and manipulative god with another. So Ranni, rather than a new age that could be better, becomes another tyrannical god, and the Lands Between continue to suffer, while Ranni leaves them to twist in the wind on a journey for her own personal self-discovery.

As with much regarding FromSoft, a lot is left up to interpretation and that means players will interpret it as best they can. Hopefully this has given you a more complete understanding of the character and decide whether the Tarnished's last act is to leave the Lands Between on a journey with a blue bride with the power of the Dark Moon.

Thanks for the question, George.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#elden ring ranni #elden ring #elden ring spoilers #lunar princess ranni #character analysis

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sekhithefops · 4 months

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Sekhi's Big Boopin' "Games I Played in 2023" List.

So, since my buddy @moxpunk did one of these I figured I'd join in on the fun. As with her list...

There's gonna be spoilers.

There's gonna be a lot of games.

This will be limited to games I didn't play until 2023. Either because they came out this year, or because I didn't get around to them. I got into some, like Elden Ring, good and hard... but I got that one in 2022 for example.

Ready? Here we go!

Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader:

So this is one I started just recently, but its a hell of a lot of fun so far. Owlcat is the same company that made the Pathfinder CRPG games (Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous,) and they brought the same level of love and detail to the 40k universe. Its still a bit buggy, but unlike Bethesda they have an excuse of actually being a smaller indie studio and, unlike Bethesda again, they actually patch their games so give it a month or two if bugginess is a deal breaker, but I heartily recommend this one!

Steamworld Build:

A city management sim set in the cutesy cartoony robot-wild-west world of Steamworld. Its... okay. Its not horrible, but its not something I really feel like I'm going to get too huge into. If you're into city management games then go nuts, but in my case I've already got a lot of games that do what its doing already so it just feels like one more to the pile for me. Sadly that happens a lot these days with how many indie games come out every week anymore.

The Caligula Effect 2:

I got the original a while back but wound up returning it as it didn't grab me, but the sequel always had my eye so when it went on sale during the Steam Autumn Sale I wound up nabbing it. The sequel, happily, is far better than the original one. A great soundtrack (if you like Japanese music, which I do) and some fun as heck characters with an interesting presence of an evil Vocaloid whose music pulls anyone with regrets into a very anime Matrix essentially. Its weird, but most good RPGs, especially modern ones, are gonna be weird. Its part of their charm.

Bonus points for my fellow LGBTQA+ peoples, one of the main characters is cannon non-binary. Try to guess which one. :D

Dredge:

A fishing sim with a Lovecraftian twist. Fish up your catch to make money, but don't be shocked if some of the stuff you fish up has multiple eyes, or whispers dark secrets, or just wants to slap you with a tentacle. It can be fun, but also a bit frustrating at times too. Solid B+.

Undernauts: Labrynth of Yomi:

Hm. Its... hm... its... something. Its certainly something. A first person dungeon crawler with turn based combat along the lines of the old Wizardry games, but... well... very surreal dark urban fantasy set in Japan... sorta... except its evil parallel not-Japan.

Its... something. But it sure as hell isn't worth $60. Do what I did and wait for a Steam sale if you're gonna give this one a go.

Dungeons 4:

I was a big fan of Dungeons 3 so I fully admit to bias here, but I'm having a blast with this one. A ton of over the top cheesy tongue in cheek parody of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and more in a game that basically does very well with the formula of the old Dungeon Keeper games that EA completely fucked up. The humor might not be your thing, but this is a good one for my collection.

Flipwitch: Forbidden Sex Hex:

Go ahead and mark my blog NSFW like every other queer person Tumblr, I'm including this one! I swear I felt like I was having a bit of a stroke when I first played it. I found the one good adult video game on Steam! A retro style 2-D metroidvania game where you play a witch that can swap sexes at will. You use it for sex of course, but also some really interesting puzzle mechanics that can involve swapping between male and female in mid-jump to bypass barriers and other obstacles as well as dodge enemy attacks. They took kinky sex stuff and made a good game! I didn't think that actually happened on Steam!

My Time at Sandrock:

I really don't know what to say here, I just don't care for this game at all. Its just... eh. I think its because I tend to favor Survival/Crafting games which have a lot more creative freedom than this one does, but... well yeah. Its not a bad game, but its bad for me. Moving on.

9 Years of Shadows:

You are a knightly woman who is backed up by a magical plushie who you recharge by hugging it and singing to it in a world where color has been consumed by a ravenous shadow. Dear gods its a Care Bears special.

Blacktail:

A really unique take on the old Slavic legend of Baba Yaga, set in a fairytale world where you play as Yaga (or is it Baba?) Its quite the trip, though I didn't play it for very long. Its one of those games I keep saying I'll finish one day and then OOO! SOMETHING SHINY!

Coral Island:

Its... alright. Its Stardew Valley but on a tropical island... but thats kind of the problem. Its Stardew Valley but. It runs into the same problem that the aforementioned Steamworld Build did where I already have other games I like that do the same thing. So yeah... decent enough, but don't be shocked if it's just another for the pile.

Dragon Quest Treasures:

A spinoff of the recent Dragon Quest installment (number eleven if you're keeping track) where you play as the thief character Erik and his sister when they were kids as they go on an adventure to become treasure hunters. Its... well... its alright, but it just didn't click for me. I feel like some of these Dragon Quest spinoffs are coasting on name recognition sometimes and this is definitely one of them that gives that vibe. I haven't tried the new Dragon Quest Monsters title yet though so maybe that'll be good.

Gunbrella:

Boy Devolver Digital does some weird shit don't they? Its a decent enough metroidvania style game where you play as a man on a quest for revenge with an umbrella that is also a gun. You uncover occult mysteries and it all has this 1920s Noir-ish vibe to it. Its a fun enough game... but I only played it for an hour and a half and I'll be damned if I could tell you why.

Persona 5 Tactica:

Look. I loved Persona 5, I even had fun with Strikers... but for crying out loud Atlus the bottom of the barrel has been reached. This one is a perfectly fine entry if you really like tactical RPGs a-la Disgaea and the like, but I think we're all ready for Persona 6 now! Don't even get me started on the damn mobile game.

Remnant 2:

The dimension hopping adventures of a heroine with an acid-flamethrower, a cursed rifle that shoots fingerbones, and her companion Captain Sparky McBorkbork the Wonder Dog. What more need be said? Its fun as hell, give it a go.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew:

A pirate stealth 'em up where you command a ghost crew of undead swashbucklers fighting the not-inquisition with a sentient pirate ship that has the power to reverse time in a way that allows you to use the stealth game 'that didn't happen' mechanic in a way that fits into the story itself. I've been hearing people say that it seems weird this didn't do better... but I think I might know why it didn't.

Shadow Gambit's release date: August 17th 2023.

Baldur's Gate 3 release date: August 3rd 2023

To quote Messir Robin Williams: "AHA! A CLUE, SHERLOCK!"

Two games that, at a glance, are very similar (top down, mouseclick to move, RPG elements, etc) but one of them was a LOT bigger hyped than the other. Yeah... Shadow Gambit got overshadowed it seems.

Survival: Fountain of Youth:

A survival game where you're part of an expedition in the Age of Exploration from Spain to find the mythical Fountain of Youth. Its quite the title and very involved. You need to worry not just about food and water but things like sunstroke and sunburn, exhaustion, and the like. That being said it's still early access so maybe give this one some more time in the oven. Its neat so far, but they're planning a lot more for it.

Wildmender:

A cozy game with a twist. Your world was reduced to lifeless desert by someone fucking around with shadow magic and now you need to help restore it. Go from a tiny spring next to one of the few remaining trees into a massive garden by reawakening other springs, connecting them via digging rivers, and growing plants along the bank to bring life back to the desert... and occasionally fight shadow demons with a magic mirror. Good times.

Aces & Adventures:

I'm normally not one for card based games, but this one grabbed me and I wound up really enjoying it. A sort of combination of five card poker and Dungeons & Dragons where you pick one of five classes and adventure through the world and history to save it from an evil god. I stuck with mage and found that as long as I played it right there was very little that could touch me, but there's four others who seem neat too.

Evil West:

This came out in 2022, but I didn't play it until February 2023 so I'm counting it! A spaghetti western meets Van Helsing where you play a vampire hunter who literally punches the undead to death using steampunk weaponry and a shitload of guns. Its a heck of a fun ride that evokes the better action games from the 360 era. Think Warhammer 40k: Space Marine but set in the Wild West and using vampires instead of orks. There ya go.

Marvel Midnight Suns:

It is such a damn shame they screwed up the marketing for this so bad because my god this was fun as hell. Make your own character, then hang out with Spiderman, Captain America, Blade, and Deadpool of all people while saving the world from H.Y.D.R.A and Cithon. I had an absolute blast playing it and it genuinely saddens me that we might never see a sequel because they dropped the ball so hard on getting word out there.

Octopath Traveller 2:

An amazing follow up to the original game with much improved gameplay, some of the most endearing characters I've seen in a JRPG in a long time (I actually commissioned myself cosplaying Agnea because I liked her so much,) and some absolutely incredible music. Its really astounding what Square Enix can pull off when they remember why we loved them in the first damn place.

Also Ochette. She is a precious bean.

Lies of P:

Forgot to add a few of these as I played them on PC Games Pass and they weren't on my Steam list, but yeah one of those I played there was Lies of P which actually is the reason I got back into Elden RIng. Lies of P is a superb Souls-like that, while difficult, is never too difficult to stop me entirely (except for Laxasia I mean jesusfuckingchrist how am I supposed to dodge that?) I hear that either the DLC or the sequel will be their take on the Wizard of Oz which, given what I know of the works of L Frank Baum is going to be freaking nuts. Hell they'd barely need to change the Wheelers at all to make them into souls-like monsters, and I'm pretty sure I actually did fight flying monkeys in Elden RIng.

Hi-Fi Rush:

I didn't wind up finishing this as I'm just really not that great at rythm games, but ye gods did Bethesda get it right with this one. Really Yahtzee said it all back in his review before the Escapist collapsed and he and his cohorts fled to form Second Wind: "Hi-Fi Rush was simultaneously announced and released on the day of the Xbox showcase, which is something you only do if you’re really fucking confident in your game’s instant appeal and high quality. And by all the locally sourced meatless lasagnas in Hell do I hate to admit they were probably right to be." I didn't finish it, but what I did play was damned amazing.

Guardians of the Galaxy:

I forgot I even played this one until my Games Pass account reminded me this morning, but in hindsight it was pretty dang neat. I got to hang out with some of my favorite Marvel characters, I got to meet Adam Warlock who was one I'd never heard of but I wound up looking up on the wiki after the fact, and I got to meet Cosmo who is the goodest comrade. It was funtimes. Yahtzee, formerly of Zero Punctuation and now Fully Ramblomatic, calls these sorts of games a 'Ghost Train Ride' but, well, sometimes its fun to go on those if they've got some nice visuals and good voice acting.

Sea of Stars:

This one is one of those "I should really go back and finish this one day" games that I know, deep down, I probably never will get around to. A lovely throwback to classic SNES/Early PS1 era RPGs with lovely sprite-based visuals and some really fun enemies (I especially enjoyed the ghost pirate captain.) Definitely worth a try and I really will go back and finish it at some point no really pinkie swear.

Warhammer 40k: Boltgun:

Funny how this list begins and ends with a Warhammer game. I swear that wasn't intentional, I was just going through my Steam library and saying 'oh right, that one.'

Boltgun is a lovingly done boomer shooter set up in the Warhammer 40k Universe and is actually a direct spinoff of W40k: Space Marine from the 360 with a fragment of Inquisitor Drogan's power source serving as the principal macguffin you're after through the whole of the game, meant to bridge the gap between that fun ork-stomping simulator from a few generations back and the upcoming sequel this September (Imma 'cited. :3)

Its fun, its cheap, its short and sweet. Go blow up some heretics.

And yeah, thats the last of them. There were others, but none really worth mentioning. These are the ones I still remembered for whatever reason. Happy Holidays everyone. Here's hoping we get some more memorable titles in 2024.

#video games #2023 in review #steam #steam games #pc gaming

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narratingvoice · 1 year

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Well, another year has ended and another year has begun. 2022 is officially over, and I didn't make the Game of the Year. Not one gaming journalism outlet named Ultra Deluxe as their #1 game this year, and very few critics even mentioned it in their top ten. (Thank you, Jess O'Brien.) It seems that this time, like last time, I am fated to be a footnote in gaming history, with a few scattered award nominations and a 'cult' following.

But you know what? I'm not going to let it consume me. My resolution this year is to stop dwelling on the past and on my perceived failures. So what if I'm not number one? I still made a game that a lot of people liked, if the Steam and Metacritic scores are anything to go by. There are so many games that come out every year that receive no notice at all... I am humbled with gratitude to everyone who gave my game a chance. And so what if everyone is calling Elden Ring the best game of 2022? I'm not trying to compete with Elden Ring, I'm not trying to make anything like it. I'm trying to make the type of game that I want to see more of, for the type of people who want to play a narrative experience without all the difficult combat and meandering exploration. And I will never make an open world game, that is a promise.

As you may recall, Ultra Deluxe was originally slated to release in 2019. I cannot count the number of times when I looked over the project in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and thought to myself "this is never going to be finished". But I did not give up hope; I persevered, and put my nose to the grindstone. And finally, after three long years, it's done! The game is complete and in the hands of many happy customers. Well, mostly complete. I am still working on the next language patch, I swear, it's just taking longer than I anticipated.

My point is, if you have a project you completed last year, no matter how much or how little attention it got, be proud! You did that, you put in the work and made something new, something that only you could make. And if you have a project you're in the middle of that seems daunting, don't be afraid! Take as much time as you need to create your masterpiece. And be proud of every step you complete along the way. Happy New Year, and hopefully I'll see you at the BAFTAs in the spring.

#the stanley parable #tsp #ask blog #original

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cyberpunkpizzaman · 10 months

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Games I’ve been Playing - Elden Ring, Fallout 3, and Breath of the Wild

It's been a while since I put together my last post about what I've been playing, but I have definitely not been idle in the intervening months. Here's what I've been up to!

All links in this post are Humble Bundle affiliate links. That means I get a small portion of any purchase made after using them. If you'd like to learn more about the Humble Bundle affiliate program, click here.

Elden Ring

I beat Elden Ring a month or so back, brute-forcing my way through the game with heavy armor and a greatsword. It's a massive game, and I feel like I've only just scratched the surface even after the many many hours I put into that run. I restarted almost immediately, playing as a mage and experimenting with glintstone sorceries. But in all honesty, I'm a bit burnt out on the game. As many discovered after an initial burst of enjoyment, the game really starts to drag after the fight with Morgott and I, like many others, was struck by an overwhelming sense of "really, there's more?" right about the time Crumbling Farum Azula popped up.

All of that said, I really enjoyed my time with Elden Ring. It was a real challenge, but I'm happy I played it. The world and the characters have intriguing depths and the moment-to-moment gameplay is tense and exciting. I just think the open world (and especially the addition of your trusty steed Torrent) breaks the tight pacing that does so much for the earlier Souls games. When most enemy groups can simply be avoided, it's often hard to tell how the game wants the player to approach situations.

Fallout 3

Playing on the Steam Deck! I first experienced Fallout 3 at a friend's house, watching him explore DC's irradiated subways on an XBox 360. Playing the game on the Deck is a wholly different experience, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. As a platform, the Deck promotes a certain kind of focus that I find incredibly compelling; multi-tasking isn't really possible, so the game takes center stage.

When I play games on PC, it's not unusual for me to have a podcast running in the background, or even a long YouTube video running on a second monitor. Playing on the Deck locks me in and focuses my attention.

I'm also having a good time with Fallout 3 itself! Much like my exploration of Oblivion last year, Fallout 3 feels like a clear first step toward the kind of multi-leveled, densely packed urban chaos we see in Fallout 4's Boston. The metro system's prominence feels more like a concession to technical limitations than anything else, with piles of rubble blocking progress along surface streets.

Tonally, the game's dialogue choices place the player at a remove from the game's world. You're encouraged to mess with the world and its characters, causing problems and drama wherever you go. You can, of course, avoid these options, but the game itself will essentially taunt you for being a good-two-shoes. It's a game that, despite the depth of its dialogue system and its world, wants you to engage with it as a game; to exert your will upon the world and its inhabitants in whatever way seems most entertaining.

Anyways, I'll likely have a longer write-up on Fallout 3 at some point in the future. I'm still fairly early in the game, and I've yet to tackle any of the DLC. More to come here.

Breath of the Wild

I have no screenshots for this one; I'll add some in the future if I can figure out how to get screenshots off the Switch

Breath of the Wild is my first Zelda game and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. I'm partly playing it for my wife, so she can see the story without needing to play the game herself. But I think I might have played too many open-world games. I can see the game's strength and the excellence of its execution in every mechanic; the game gives me so many tools I sometimes can't tell if a cheesed a puzzle or completed it as intended, and the world design itself is both nuanced and beautiful.

But I think I've climbed too many towers. I think I climbed too many towers by the time I beat Far Cry 3, and I'd definitely climbed too many towers by the time I beat Assassin's Creed 3. I've filled in more than my fair share of maps and I just don't know that I'm that into it these days. Skyrim's old promise of "if you see a mountain you can climb it" feels more like obligation than exploration. And knowing that each new heart means finding and completing four shrines makes me feel like I'm completing checklist items.

I think I might just not be cut out for these kinds of games right now. I'm going to beat the game and give it a fair shake, but I'm definitely flagging and I have been from the start.

#jack-wrote #gaming #fallout 3 #elden ring #breath of the wild

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demifiendrsa · 1 year

Video

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Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon — Gameplay Trailer

youtube

Japanese version

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam on August 25, 2023.

Key visuals

Screenshots

Latest details via PlayStation Blog

Engage in High-Speed Mech Combat

Those whose primary experience with FromSoftware comes from games like Bloodborne or Elden Ring might be curious about what to expect from Armored Core VI.

You play an augmented mercenary piloting a huge, customizable mech. Yet while the pace and structure of mech-piloting action fundamentally differ from other games in the studio’s catalog, players can rest assured that the smooth, responsive controls they’ve come to expect in FromSoftware games is still here–just in a different context. Think giant, heavily equipped robots with the ability to zip around across ground and air, reacting at lightning-fast speeds to attacks and threats while trying to one-up dangerous foes with even more firepower at their disposal.

Rubicon, the Ruined Planet

Armored Core VI is a new story that takes place on the planet Rubicon, where a powerful energy source called “Coral” has been discovered. But this isn’t stuff that looks pretty in aquariums–Coral is extremely volatile, and it’s already caused a massive disaster that nearly turned all of Rubicon to ash many years prior. But those futuristic megacorps just can’t resist the siren song of Coral and continue to war for it to this day.

The various areas of Rubicon are filled with contrasts, as the hollowed-out industrial ruins from the aforementioned disaster smolder beneath a shiny shell of state-of-the-art mining constructs encasing the planet.

“It’s an intricate and multi-layered world, brimming with mega-structures and enormous underground facilities built by its former inhabitants. These structures cover a planetary surface wracked with extreme cold and contamination in the aftermath of the great disaster, and the player will be exploring these various environments as they proceed,” says game director Masaru Yamamura.

The expansive environments will deliver an incredible sense of scale, maintaining the quality we’ve come to expect from FromSoftware’s world-design maestros. And with your Armored Core’s (AC for short) advanced movement skills, you’ll be able to explore these large, open spaces to your heart’s content. You’ll be encountering lots of different scenery and objectives as you advance through the game’s mission-based progression structure (like previous entries).

“There will be missions where you’re fighting across sweeping battlefields–very combat-oriented,” Yamamura explains. “But you’ll sometimes be recovering data logs from wreckage and doing other side objectives too.”

Combat Features

Assault Boost – One of the biggest new features in Armored Core VI is an instantaneous switch between long-range gunfighting and close-range melee, thanks to a button-activated movement skill called the Assault Boost.

“Assault Boost is an offensive action that helps close the gap between enemies and lets you quickly go from long distance to close range,” Yamamura tells us. It will also provide some incredible chain abilities when fighting, as he describes vividly: “Say you activate Assault Boost to make your approach while using machine gun fire and a missile salvo to stagger the enemy, then use your pulse blade to score a direct melee hit once you’re up close.”

Stagger – Another addition to the series’ combat is a “stagger” element: if an AC takes too many hits over a short period of time, its Attitude Control System will be overloaded, making it vulnerable for a short time. Both continuous hits and big, powerful strikes will cause stagger damage, encouraging you to keep up the pressure on the opponent. The damage inflicted to an enemy’s stagger gauge varies from weapon to weapon. It can also be affected by factors like distance, adding additional strategy in equipping and using these armaments in combat.

We asked Yamamura how the pace and feel of the game compares to previous entries.

“The average movement speed across the game is somewhere between Armored Core 3 and Armored Core 5,” he replies. “But Armored Core VI has been developed to bolster the changes of tempo and combat. With instantaneous bursts of speed and sudden changes of tempo, combat can often reach the dizzying heights of say, Armored Core 4.”

Fight Challenging Bosses

The series’ big boss encounters are back, and the metal monstrosities you’ll encounter look bigger and more intimidating than ever.

“There will be a rich variety of powerful enemies of all shapes and sizes,” says Yamamura. “Huge combat helicopters, heavily armored mobile turrets, and unmanned heavy demolition machinery that’s programmed to indiscriminately crush intruders. Armored Core VI will offer a number of explosive battle experiences that challenge players to fight against the odds and overcome these ginormous, more abnormal mechs.”

In addition to these larger bosses, you’ll even fight against other ACs and humanoid mechs in high-octane duels. And in grand FromSoftware tradition, it may take several attempts and some experimentation with your AC’s equipment to fully learn and adapt to a boss’s quirks. So better prepare yourself, as Armored Core VI will offer numerous cathartic explosive battles that’ll truly test your skills.

Build the Perfect AC

Customization is a key part of the Armored Core experience. You have access to an assortment of parts to upgrade and fine-tune the power of your AC. Four slots for holding weaponry–one in each hand and two on the back–give you a lot of space to experiment with custom loadouts.

What kind of weapons are we talking about? Bazookas, gatling guns, split missiles, plasma rifles, and all the perennial favorites. There are a bunch of new close-range weapons, too.

“One aspect we focused on in I is melee weapons, exclusively equipped to the left hand,” Yamamura continues. “These can include a cluster bomb thrower, a chainsaw or pulse blade, lances, and other more idiosyncratic weapons. Since the main weapons are firearms, the melee weapons are more focused on that strength of individuality.”

Add in custom paint jobs and liveries and you’ll be able to create a unique AC that’s all yours.

The Arena is Back

There’s more good news for longtime Armored Core fans. The Arena, a much-cherished mode where you can fight a series of battles against a wide array of specially customized mechs, makes its return in Armored Core VI as a “combat aptitude evaluation program” (simulated training exercise).

“There are a lot of different AC frames and a lot of colorful characters to fight in the Arena, so we hope the players confront them all and aim for the top rank. You can even encounter the real version of these opponents while out on missions. These are more formidable than their simulator counterparts, and will confront the protagonist with their own ideals and motives in the heat of battle.”

Perfecting your combat skills won’t be the only reason you’ll want to return to the frontline: there will be multiple endings to Armored Core VI‘s narrative, with new paths opening up on subsequent playthroughs, giving players plenty of incentive to explore the world and story thoroughly. What will be the ultimate fate of Rubicon? That’s all up to you.

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