What games are you playing now?

[Lulcielid]

Started Monster Hunter World last weekend.

The game is pretty overwhelming, played four hours of the game and I feel the game is in an odd position where it's in a rush to teach me dozens of mechaniques at once with boring textboxes but at the same time is no hurry to explain other stuff (like how weapons work or a bunch of exploration stuff).

At the moment I can say that hunting monster is entertaining, even if I don't quite get the grasp of combat, yet.

 

[Guitar (pseudo)God]

In the 17 years I've been playing Final Fantasy IV (and in no way is this depressing), I got my first Pink Tail drop yesterday.

 

[Lulcielid]

Still playing ranking matches in Dragon Ball FighterZ, I never strongly cared about the competitive aspect of fighting games but this one has been the exception, while I still don't consider myself a hardcore FG fan I have been pretty hook and this games gives me enough incentive to try improving my skills, if a little bit.

 

[FFChocobo18]

I started playing Dragon Quest XI today, I got to my first campsite I intend to grind tomorrow before I head on to the castle.

 

[Guitar (pseudo)God]

Okay, let's begin Dragon Quest XI. So far -- it's, well, a Dragon Quest game. It reminds me of Dragon Quest VIII, which was my favorite in the series. Early days, though.

 

[FFChocobo18]

I played more of Dragon Quest XI, and oh boy, things are getting dark, in my opinion at least, I have around 52 or so hours on my play-time clock, some of that portion of time I've been grinding my main Hero character to level 44, and my other characters to around levels 41-42, and I cleared nine side quests, as well as exploring, and now I'm at chapter 10, which I'm not going to spoil, but let's just say that things hit the fan in Erdrea, and I'm looking forward to progress on with the story further, but other than that, I've been taking my time with it, and enjoying it so far, probably more so than Dragon Quests V (DS version) and VIII (3DS version) which I beat last year or so, currently.

 

[FFChocobo18]

I finished the main story of Dragon Quest XI, and I enjoyed it and the game, I beat it around 72 hours and 44 minutes on my game-clock. and I enjoyed the story, and exploring, and grinding, as well as the main cast, I had tears in my eyes in certain moments in the story, and that enriched it for me in the long run. I did take a peek at the post-game, and without saying any spoilers, I feel torn about it, so I might not play it, but just watch the post-game on YouTube. Post-game is what I usually do in most games I play, but this one is something that makes me feel uncertain, so I might just continue on exploring and other things, but every time I beat a main story of a game, I consider that the finale, any other time I play it, it'll just to explore, and grind, but it's still one of the best games I've played this year, and my favorite Dragon Quest game all in all. Who knows, I might do the post-game when I reach level 99 to breeze through it.

 

[LeonBlade]

I finished the main story of Dragon Quest XI, and I enjoyed it and the game, I beat it around 72 hours and 44 minutes on my game-clock. and I enjoyed the story, and exploring, and grinding, as well as the main cast, I had tears in my eyes in certain moments in the story, and that enriched it for me in the long run. I did take a peek at the post-game, and without saying any spoilers, I feel torn about it, so I might not play it, but just watch the post-game on YouTube. Post-game is what I usually do in most games I play, but this one is something that makes me feel uncertain, so I might just continue on exploring and other things, but every time I beat a main story of a game, I consider that the finale, any other time I play it, it'll just to explore, and grind, but it's still one of the best games I've played this year, and my favorite Dragon Quest game all in all. Who knows, I might do the post-game when I reach level 99 to breeze through it.

If you got to the credits, the game isn't over yet. You should spend the time to complete the game if you love it so much.

 

[FFChocobo18]

If you got to the credits, the game isn't over yet. You should spend the time to complete the game if you love it so much.

Oh, don't worry, I think I will do the post-game after just to do the major stuff in it, I might put it on a separate save file. I'm currently going to grind my characters to around level 75 before I do it. I won't 100% the game, that's for sure, I'm not someone who goes for 100% completion rates. Even though I'm not a completionist, I really love this game, along with other games, I usually consider the main stories of games to be finale of sorts for me in my opinion. The reaosn I felt uncertain in the post you quoted is because it involves some form of

Spoiler: Spoilers

Time travel, in the games I've seen, which can be a interesting thing if done right, when I watched the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, even though I never played it, but it did that well, but it can also be bad and invalidate parts of a narrative, like KH3D's time travel which was utilized by Xehanort to gather versions of himself, and boy oh boy, I did not like time travel in that game one bit, that's why I was reluctant earlier.

 

[Lulcielid]

Yesterday I bought Bloodborne.

Quite adictive to play despite being pretty punishing and brutal with your mistakes, I'm liking it a lot. I beat the first boss last night and now I'm doing a bit of grinding to beat the second boss.

So far so good.

 

[FFChocobo18]

I finished the main events of Dragon Quest XI's post-game, and wow, I enjoyed it more than I thought, and elevated the story even more for me. Dragon Quest XI might be my game of the year this year.

Spoiler

Even though there was time travel, it didn't bother me as much as it did when I saw it on YouTube, and even though I Watched pretty much the entire post-game on YouTube before I played it myself, I still enjoyed playing the post-game, I even forged some powerful weapons, and beat a lot of superbosses, and got to level 99 with the party members I was mainly using.

 

[Guitar (pseudo)God]

I'm about 20 hours in with DQXI. Some observations:
- It's a LOT easier and more accessible than previous games in the series. The battling and field exploration are so much faster than any other DQ game.
- The Pep and Forge gameplay systems borrow their concepts from DQVIII -- but far more streamlined.
- Going back to the accessibility comment -- the one thing I've never liked about the DQ series is how much of an investment there needed to be to play the game. The earlier games required a fair amount of grinding. The job system in DQVI and DQVII were wide, but not deep -- and they also required a lot of grinding to see results. Any mistakes (i.e. maybe Carver shouldn't be a mage-type character) would require more grinding. This iteration is far more forgiving, which allows me to enjoy the story and setting without needing to fight hundreds of random battles.
- Interesting observation - people complain about the Final Fantasy series' "Press X (or O) to win..." Well, this game has a "Press nothing to win" setting. That's not a criticism, mind. You can still play it like any other DQ game.
- It's still the same vignette-driven style that ends up into an overarching calamity, though there are some nice surprises along the way. There's little to no character development among the main cast, but their character archetypes are so charming it doesn't really matter. (They act as bemused onlookers for the most part.)
- The game is gorgeous and fully realized. The towns are intricate and detailed. And with the removal of random battles, exploring the fields isn't tedious any longer.
- I'm a fan of the localization. The dialog, the clever word play -- I can't help but be impressed. Special mention goes to the townspeople who speak only in Haiku.

 

[Storm]

a lot of people complaining about the MIDI soundtrack, if you guys are playing on PC, check this out:

 

[Lulcielid]

Yesterday I bought Bloodborne.

Quite adictive to play despite being pretty punishing and brutal with your mistakes, I'm liking it a lot. I beat the first boss last night and now I'm doing a bit of grinding to beat the second boss.

So far so good.

UPDATE:

25 hours into the game, currently on the second last mandatory location of the game (just reached the place), with a few other optional areas still unchecked. Currently I plan to tackle those optional areas first before moving forward.

Currently I character level 47, my stats are:

VIT: 30
EN: 20
ST: 27

I perhaps allocated a point or two in another stat but I can't remember.

My favourite weapons to use are the Saw Clever and Hunter's Axe, the former high dps with low stamina usage, and the later for its AoE spin attacks to take down multiple enemies at once.

So far so good, I'm liking the game a lot, I'd have liked a bit more of enemy variety and the Chalice Dungeons are letdown next to the main areas, even with that it's still a fun time.

8.8/10.0

Depending on how the last stretch of the game unfolds I might bump the score.

 

[Storm]

are you planning to buy The Old Hunters DLC? one of the best pieces of additional content i've ever had the pleasure of playing, i assure you won't regret a bit.

the Chalice Dungeons do take a while to get interesting, but soon you'll find some of the hardest bosses..

 

[Lulcielid]

Unlikely, I'm short in money at the moment and I'm saving for KH3 and DM5 next year.

 

[Guitar (pseudo)God]

I'm about 20 hours in with DQXI. Some observations:
- It's a LOT easier and more accessible than previous games in the series. The battling and field exploration are so much faster than any other DQ game.
- The Pep and Forge gameplay systems borrow their concepts from DQVIII -- but far more streamlined.
- Going back to the accessibility comment -- the one thing I've never liked about the DQ series is how much of an investment there needed to be to play the game. The earlier games required a fair amount of grinding. The job system in DQVI and DQVII were wide, but not deep -- and they also required a lot of grinding to see results. Any mistakes (i.e. maybe Carver shouldn't be a mage-type character) would require more grinding. This iteration is far more forgiving, which allows me to enjoy the story and setting without needing to fight hundreds of random battles.
- Interesting observation - people complain about the Final Fantasy series' "Press X (or O) to win..." Well, this game has a "Press nothing to win" setting. That's not a criticism, mind. You can still play it like any other DQ game.
- It's still the same vignette-driven style that ends up into an overarching calamity, though there are some nice surprises along the way. There's little to no character development among the main cast, but their character archetypes are so charming it doesn't really matter. (They act as bemused onlookers for the most part.)
- The game is gorgeous and fully realized. The towns are intricate and detailed. And with the removal of random battles, exploring the fields isn't tedious any longer.
- I'm a fan of the localization. The dialog, the clever word play -- I can't help but be impressed. Special mention goes to the townspeople who speak only in Haiku.

So after reaching THAT part -- I soured on the game a fair amount.

Spoiler

Repetitive doesn't even begin to describe this part. The central narrative isn't strong enough to drive the World of Ruin part. And adding "Vicious" to monster names doesn't make random encounters unique. I'm at the part where I get Jade back again. Frankly, there's nothing really new to discover, and the number of recipes, mini metals, etc. have dropped precipitously. They're either locked behind quests or ridiculous casino requirements. I think I'm going to use the pep skill of Luminary, Jade, and Sylvano (oh God -- the less said about his character arc the better) to level up to see this game out. Unless this post-game has REALLY compelling content, that may be my time.

 

[FFChocobo18]

So after reaching THAT part -- I soured on the game a fair amount.

Spoiler

Repetitive doesn't even begin to describe this part. The central narrative isn't strong enough to drive the World of Ruin part. And adding "Vicious" to monster names doesn't make random encounters unique. I'm at the part where I get Jade back again. Frankly, there's nothing really new to discover, and the number of recipes, mini metals, etc. have dropped precipitously. They're either locked behind quests or ridiculous casino requirements. I think I'm going to use the pep skill of Luminary, Jade, and Sylvano (oh God -- the less said about his character arc the better) to level up to see this game out. Unless this post-game has REALLY compelling content, that may be my time.

Spoiler

That's understandable, I really liked the 'World of Ruin' arc in the game, but I understand what you're saying. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was one of the major parts that made the game shine for me, but I respect you're opinion. As for the post-game, as one who beat it, without spoilers, it's something that elevated the game's story further for me, and several super-bosses, that's all I can say without spoilers.

 

[FFChocobo18]

I played more of Dragon Quest XI today, and after around 133 hours clocked on my play-time, I finally 100%ed it, it is the first game I've ever 100% completed. This game was a satisfying experience that I enjoyed immensely, I'm looking forward to what the next main Dragon Quest brings to the table. I'll be taking a break from the game, I may play this game again after I get and beat KH3 next year, but I enjoyed the experience, and I will have fond memories playing this game.

 

[Lulcielid]

UPDATE:

25 hours into the game, currently on the second last mandatory location of the game (just reached the place), with a few other optional areas still unchecked. Currently I plan to tackle those optional areas first before moving forward.

Currently I character level 47, my stats are:

VIT: 30
EN: 20
ST: 27

I perhaps allocated a point or two in another stat but I can't remember.

My favourite weapons to use are the Saw Clever and Hunter's Axe, the former high dps with low stamina usage, and the later for its AoE spin attacks to take down multiple enemies at once.

So far so good, I'm liking the game a lot, I'd have liked a bit more of enemy variety and the Chalice Dungeons are letdown next to the main areas, even with that it's still a fun time.

8.8/10.0

Depending on how the last stretch of the game unfolds I might bump the score.

FINAL UPDATE:

Finished the game at level 87. It was a fun experience.

Now I'll start with a new character with a different build.

9/10