texsn95 said:

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State of Decay 3 where are you????

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Whoop!

https://www.polygon.com/state-of-decay-3-alpha-release-undead-labs/

Funny that I'm about 20 hours into Elden Ring and the PS tells me I'm at 0% completion still. Lol.

I think I spent 25 hours in Limgrave/Weeping Penninsula before fighting Margit, on my first playthrough.

Lathspell said:

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I think I spent 25 hours in Limgrave/Weeping Penninsula before fighting Margit, on my first playthrough.

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Close to that. I beat Margit about 20 hours in and then I beat Leonidas(?)...that lion thing in Castle Morne about 25 hours in last night. Took out 4-5 lesser bosses too but I'm still running around in Limgrave/Weeping Peninsula for the most part.

That Stormveil Castle where I'm supposed to beat Godrick is stupid large and taking forever to get through so I take swipes at it as I level up elsewhere.

I'm also not really using a lot of the inventory stuff they get you because I find it useless or I don't know what I'm doing with it. Throwing darts or some of the other weapon buffs like poison or flame just don't seem to do anything and they don't last long. Throwing darts is pointless because you can't really aim them and they do no damage.

I can go the entire game without crafting anything. However, there are some mid to late game crafts that can really help you out against some enemies.

Throwing darts or kukri's are literally just ranged options for very specific situations. They are not meant as damage dealers.

Yeah, another game in my history of gaming where I almost completely ignore crafting outside of a health or mana potion.

I can't think of one game where I actually ever really paid attention to it.

YouBet said:

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Yeah, another game in my history of gaming where I almost completely ignore crafting outside of a health or mana potion.

I can't think of one game where I actually ever really paid attention to it.

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That's me. I absolutely despise crafting in games so avoid at all cost.

Still playing Death Stranding... crap this game is long! Realizing I spent WAY too much time collecting resources to build roads n stuff early on.

I got to what I thought was the end of the game... in crazy Kojima fashion the boss was even saying crap like "Time for a Final Boss Battle!" and after he said "So, you finished the game".

LOL, they do this whole end of game type cut scene only for the plot to take another twist and I'm right back to it. Looks like I'm only 3/4 through.

jr15aggie said:

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Still playing Death Stranding... crap this game is long! Realizing I spent WAY too much time collecting resources to build roads n stuff early on.

I got to what I thought was the end of the game... in crazy Kojima fashion the boss was even saying crap like "Time for a Final Boss Battle!" and after he said "So, you finished the game".

LOL, they do this whole end of game type cut scene only for the plot to take another twist and I'm right back to it. Looks like I'm only 3/4 through.

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I really liked this game but it's typical Japanese weirdo stuff. I spent a ton of time building roads. For some reason, I got enjoyment out of building those. I never completed all roads because I didn't need to.

The sequel looks to be much more action oriented.

YouBet said:

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jr15aggie said:

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Still playing Death Stranding... crap this game is long! Realizing I spent WAY too much time collecting resources to build roads n stuff early on.

I got to what I thought was the end of the game... in crazy Kojima fashion the boss was even saying crap like "Time for a Final Boss Battle!" and after he said "So, you finished the game".

LOL, they do this whole end of game type cut scene only for the plot to take another twist and I'm right back to it. Looks like I'm only 3/4 through.

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I really liked this game but it's typical Japanese weirdo stuff. I spent a ton of time building roads. For some reason, I got enjoyment out of building those. I never completed all roads because I didn't need to.

The sequel looks to be much more action oriented.

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The sequel is incredible, and I had only gotten 3 hours into the first. It was my most played game in 2025

I just downloaded Mouse: PI for hire.



Played through the first story so far and it been pretty fun

Alright, I gave it the ol' college try but I'm going to abandon Elden Ring at this point. Looks like I'm about 16% complete. It's just not any fun for me which is fine. I've never really played a Souls game, so this was my first attempt on the one that is the most lenient and I wanted to give it a shot.

Not sure what I'm going to try next. I may take a short break from gaming until I know what I really want to invest my time in.

I don't think I would call Elden Ring the easiest Souls game. Its size alone is daunting. As an avid Souls player, I ended up setting the game down for a while about half way through. Eventually went back and finished it but it was a grind.

sadness. my favorite game of all time. What specifically do you not like about it? I think you said not a strong story which is kind of a Souls thing where the story isn't just handed to you. I loved the combat and the incredible amount of combat styles you can choose from. Also the risk of dying at any moment amps up the fun for me.

I know it's not for everyone. I personally hate the new zelda open world games. shock!

Finishing up GOW 2018 and then I think I'll go right into Rag!

Don't feel bad. I can't do souls games either. I know it's not a popular option but they have such terrible game design to me. The worlds are beautiful but I just hate the concept of beating my head against a wall of a boss that I have to run back to every time I die. Plus as a bonus I get to lose all the currency I was carrying while struggling with the normal enemies lol.

Artorias said:

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I don't think I would call Elden Ring the easiest Souls game. Its size alone is daunting. As an avid Souls player, I ended up setting the game down for a while about half way through. Eventually went back and finished it but it was a grind.

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Well, I only say that because that's the general consensus I've read about it. It's less linear than the others in that you can travel around the hard parts until you are ready.

YouBet said:

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flintdragon said:

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sadness. my favorite game of all time. What specifically do you not like about it? I think you said not a strong story which is kind of a Souls thing where the story isn't just handed to you. I loved the combat and the incredible amount of combat styles you can choose from. Also the risk of dying at any moment amps up the fun for me.

I know it's not for everyone. I personally hate the new zelda open world games. shock!

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Spieg basically hit on it. The entire game is focused on beating the next boss and there are two ways to do that: (1) die over and over until you figure out the pattern only to realize you probably just aren't leveled up enough, or (2) go away and over level enough that you come back and win through sheer leveling and the pattern may not even matter any more.

And then you die a **** load just traveling around probing everything trying to figure out if you are powerful enough yet to take something on only to find out you likely aren't and then you spend an inordinate amount of time running the same path over and over to try and recover your lost runes from dying from all the probing.

And you are doing all of this alone, in silence, in a shattered world, with little story. It's frankly a depressing ass experience.

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Come fight for Democracy Helldiver! Helldiver 2 is still going strong and new warbonds dropping soon 8)

At least 80% of any FromSoft game is learning the mechanics. I've seen too many people get pissed at Bloodborne, but they ignored the tool-tip on Parrying with your gun and visceral attacks. That's literally the primary mechanic to beat that game. I've seen people get pissed playing Sekiro, but they tried to constantly force their way through by just dodging like Dark Souls but not parrying or taking advantage of the stance break mechanic aside from just R1 spamming. FromSoft games are not Zelda games.

I would be curious to know your level, what you're having trouble with, your current stat allocation, and your main weapon, just so I have an idea of where you may be struggling.

For any new player, I would recommend a status effect dex build, if you like fast attacks, or a stance breaking heavy weapon build. Both options use incredibly powerful mechanics in the game to help you boost your damage. If you aren't stance breaking or bleeding/frosbiting a boss, you are having to work harder to beat them. I would also like to know if you are using Spirit Summons or not. They are incredibly helpful for beginners.

As per spieg's post, these games have incredible game design. It may not be your kind of game, but I would hate for them to change much about their game design. Their game design has literally birthed an entire sub-genre of gaming (Souls-like) and is responsible for them basically becoming one of the top game studios in the world. Objectively, you can't call that terrible game design. Just not your kind of game.

And you don't lose your souls/runes/bloodechoes when you die. You drop them. Simply b-line it back to your stuff and pick it up. Hell, if I drop a lot of currency, I just sprint past everything until I get to my dopped stuff and pick it up.

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At least 80% of any FromSoft game is learning the mechanics.

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Which is why it's not fun. That's the issue. I get the mechanics thing and breaking stances. It's just not fun at all to try and figure out while dying over and over. If you don't time that block or roll perfectly then you are f'ed.

Im a samurai dex build with all points put in Vigor, Endurance, and Dexterity so far. I have a +7 katana, a +5 shield, and +3 wolf ash's which I use any time the game lets me. I'm frankly not sure how anyone beats any enemy in this game without ashes.

I ultimately killed three great enemies (Mitgar(?), Godrick, and a dragon and 6-7 lesser enemies (mostly catacombs bosses) but it was a f'ing grind chore to get there.

And on the runes, I hate having to constantly backtrack to get them. Even less fun because it forces you to do same **** over and over. It's a game built around sheer repetitiveness and muscle memory. It's...soulless....in that regard.

Just not for me but clearly many, many people love these games.

the combat is definitely a no-go for some. While some would never like it (just want to mash buttons), if you understand how to fight, all of these games become a dance/ballet of sorts. You get in a rhythm and while yes you still die a lot, you start to understand that the fights are very fair and it's just skill which is learnable. You can beat the game with a level 1 character. shoot, people have beaten it on a dance-dance controller or playing a musical instrument.

That's when you finally know that every boss is beatable (well maybe not Malenia for some) and the learning is worth it in the end when you beat one. That's when you "get it".

But alas, unfortunately most people will never get there. None of my friends want to invest time to even beat the first boss.

None of the bosses in CD has given me that satisfaction yet. Closest was that sword dude but his moveset was so simple. You can just hold block for his basics and do heavy-light-light. When he does the bigger overhead attack, just dodge and attack. His big multi-attack just block until the last hit and just dodge away. Yes you can be more flashy but most the bosses can be beaten this way so far for me.

I call total bull**** beating this game with a level 1 character. You are getting one shot by most every boss at level 1 in this game. No one is getting through game that low.

I guess I'm a thinker and not a muscle memory guy. I much prefer a hard, turn based strategy game than a hard button mashing game like Souls.

if you are button mashing, you are playing souls games wrong. And definitely a level 1 can beat it. In fact, multiple no-hit runs posted on youtube.

I'm actually pretty terrible at the game LOL. LOVE IT.

edit: but glad you at least gave it a decent shot. Can't say that about my friends!

I kinda get it. I hate games where you just figure out attack patterns and that is largely the schtick. It's not enjoyable for me.

Conversely, what I do enjoy is something that is probably even more hated these days. Grinding out passive stats so I can face tank damage and beat enemies with sheer endurance. Which you can do to some extent with Souls games but you hit diminishing returns real damned quick.

Halo Wars

Looks like Fallout 76 comes with PS sub. I'm going to give that a whirl. Apparently, it's gotten pretty good over the years since its bad launch.

YouBet said:

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Quote:

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At least 80% of any FromSoft game is learning the mechanics.

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Which is why it's not fun. That's the issue. I get the mechanics thing and breaking stances. It's just not fun at all to try and figure out while dying over and over. If you don't time that block or roll perfectly then you are f'ed.

Im a samurai dex build with all points put in Vigor, Endurance, and Dexterity so far. I have a +7 katana, a +5 shield, and +3 wolf ash's which I use any time the game lets me. I'm frankly not sure how anyone beats any enemy in this game without ashes.

I ultimately killed three great enemies (Mitgar(?), Godrick, and a dragon and 6-7 lesser enemies (mostly catacombs bosses) but it was a f'ing grind chore to get there.

And on the runes, I hate having to constantly backtrack to get them. Even less fun because it forces you to do same **** over and over. It's a game built around sheer repetitiveness and muscle memory. It's...soulless....in that regard.

Just not for me but clearly many, many people love these games.

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I lol'ed at that. I love how you completely got the name wrong, but you still managed to accurately type the exact correct letters.

Again, I have no issue with someone trying something and deciding it's not for them (at least you gave it a try). It's a bummer, because I love these games, but I get it. If you ever feel like giving it another go, drop the shield and dual wield Katana's, instead. If you started as a Samurai, then you can pick up a second Uchigatana in a catacomb in Limgrave. If i'm going Dex, my entire strategy is status effect buildup. I want to bleed them as much as possible. You would then want a secondary Strike weapon, possibly with a Cold affinity, for the various enemies in the game that can't be bled.

Instead of Wolves, I'd start with the Jellyfish (ranged and poison buildup) to help with pulling aggro off of you. Later, there are more powerful ranged ashes.

Level 1, no armor, beat the hardest boss in the game (well... before the DLC).

polksalet12345 said:

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Halo Wars

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The second one NEEDS to come to Steam already. I have an embarrassing amount of hours on the first one and I don't know how they did it but it is the only game I prefer I prefer to play with a gamepad. And it's an RTS of all things!

Fantastic game btw. Severely underrated in the RTS scene.

I think I had it right the first time I posted it though.

Finished Ratchet and Clank PS5. Great game... I've always enjoyed these going back to PS2 days. Played half of it on base PS5 and finished on the Pro. Very nice but modest Pro upgrades. 60 FPS modes on both consoles is a great experience.

Typical / excellent PS exclusive!

Anyone tried this slower paced game?