RedShell

Hey N-E, help me decide what to play next on Game Pass, please! Below is a list of everything currently available on Game Pass for PC, excluding the stuff that I’ve already played: Yeah, there’s probably some serious duds in there not to mention genres that I’m not a fan of, but I feel like taking this opportunity to step out of my gaming comfort zone a bit, so if anyone has some recommendations from that list I’d love to hear them.

Wasn't planning to, but having now spent some time with the Insect Glaive I'm thinking I will! Messed about with that weapon type briefly in a previous MH game and hated it, but in Rise I'm kind of loving it. Reckon it'll take me quite some time to master (especially after spending so much time using the hammer) but combined with Wirebugs you can basically fly with this thing! It also has a very neat trick up it's sleeve that feels like it'll be particularly useful in this version of MH: Going to fire up MH World in a bit, take it for a spin on that.

My first completed games of 2021: Tetris Effect: Connected Doom Eternal Tetris Effect was cool, I really liked how well it blends your gameplay with the visuals and audio. Lots of variation with all of the different themes as well, although a few of the vocal ones were slightly too cheesy for me. The co-op multiplayer mode is genius though, that moment when each player's individual screens connect and you can then momentarily work together across the entire puzzle... epic stuff! As for Doom Eternal, well I was definitely impressed with the presentation (something I wasn't really expecting, coming off Cyberpunk 2077), it looks amazing! Super well crafted and everything is so crisp, not a single dodgy texture in sight. But as for the game itself, while it was enjoyable at first, the longer it went on, the less fun it became. I think I just got tired of the extreme and relentless pace of it, there's basically no downtime at all. It was exhilarating initially, but the later levels started to take the piss, they basically throw multiples of every enemy type at you all at once, at which point it just becomes a complete and utter clusterfuck! I get that it's supposed to be overwhelming so that you feel like a badass after finally defeating all the demons, but it's absolutely ridiculous at times. Also, I wasn't a fan of the "platforming" at all. Lost count of how many times I fell to my DOOM (sorry ) as a result of the flaky climbing/jumping mechanics. Oh, and the online multiplayer isn't my cup of tea either. Was expecting it to be like the 2016 version, but instead it's this weird 2 demons vs 1 slayer malarkey. Anyway, still glad I finally got to check it out, but yeah, also happy that it was via Game Pass and I certainly never want to play it again!

Nice one! What was your team/gear/tactics? Asking... for a friend.

Yep, chances are high that I’ll be playing, have been very impressed by the demo. I’m still slightly disappointed that I can’t play as Prowler (the thought of a cat riding a dog is just too funny ) but at least my other go-to weapon (the hammer) is available! And it seems to combine very well with the Wirebug mechanics, launching into jump attacks with it is super satisfying!

Yeah, it's a great way to do surprise aerial attacks on monsters too! I have to admit, Palamutes are pretty awesome. Still love having a Palico around though, and thanks to the Wirebug traversal techniques it's possible to zip around quite quickly even without a Palamute.

Good job too, as the English voices were doing my head in after less than a minute! Actually, even MH language is a bit annoying after a while, but luckily there’s an option to reduce the amount of speech or even disable it completely, so it’s all good. I’ve been really impressed with this though, it’s a lot like MH World but it also retains the vibe of previous Nintendo versions of MH. Liking it a lot!

Not sure if it’s gone down again since, but I managed to download the demo about an hour ago.

You’re aware this is a video game forum, right?

I never played Ultra Smash, but if Aces is considered the finished version then damn, Ultra Smash was seriously unfinished!!

Pretty much, yeah. But don’t worry, that wouldn’t be the only thing to stop you going for the platinum!

Hopefully a Judd the cat costume for Palico too!

Seems like a weird thing to hate, but ok. I reckon the flow of the game would be messed up if it was possible to keep increasing the bond without any restriction at all, as you could be unlocking the perks associated with higher bond levels too early. Having the lock also gives you a reason to periodically return to the bar during the main story, which serves as a nice little break as well. It doesn’t increase behind the scenes, but you definitely don’t need to be avoiding anything that increases the bond level, as there are more than enough ways to level it up.

Yeah, I thought of @S.C.G and @Dcubed during my struggles with the SEGA test, and how they would no doubt ace it regardless of the question set! I gave it a bloody good go. Managed to reach the final boss one time but towards the end of the fight he... Yeah, I don’t think I have the patience to level up anymore, or even just to redo the tower up to that point again, as that takes quite a while too. Annoying though, because that’s the last achievement I needed for 100% completion. Oh BTW, here’s something for you to check out on the English dub if you can be bothered. Go to Survive bar and have a chat with the bartender there...

Having completed Cyberpunk 2077 (and now also reached the max level in it) I’m back on Game Pass. Luckily that £1 for 3 months offer was still available too. Started playing Doom Eternal... imtoooldforthisshit.gif What a rush that game is! Absolutely relentless. You stop moving for even a second and you’re as good as dead, even on the easiest difficultly setting! It feels like playing a bullet hell SHMUP in first-person! Also downloaded and had a quick go on Tetris Effect: Connected. So nice! Really relaxing. The perfect companion game to Doom Eternal actually. Game Pass is awesome.

Very well said @Hero-of-Time. As for your comparison with TLOU2, I couldn’t agree more. Not played that game myself, but already knew about what goes down in it. And yeah, to say that I have absolutely no desire to play it would be a serious understatement! Anyway, glad to see that the Yakuza series has another lifetime fan to help spread the word. By the way, how did you do with the SEGA exams in Like a Dragon? I was actually struggling to pass before a Space Channel 5 question showed up.

Most of the games I played last year were released before 2020, so I'll start off with a top 10 for those: 10. RiME 9. Forza Horizon 4 8. Death Stranding 7. Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder 6. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard 5. The Touryst 4. Monster Hunter: World 3. Sea of Thieves 2. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night 1. The Messenger Didn't play or complete enough 2020 releases for a top 10, so here's a top 5 instead: 5. Microsoft Flight Simulator 4. Streets of Rage 4 3. Cyberpunk 2077 2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons 1. Yakuza: Like a Dragon So yeah, 2020... an incredibly crap year overall but a pretty good one for gaming. The above lists show just how much Nintendo are slipping in my opinion though. Were it not for Animal Crossing I wouldn't have played a single new Switch game in 2020! Almost all of my gaming time (apart from AC and some older Switch/mobile stuff) was spent on PC. Here's hoping Nintendo have far more compelling and original content prepared for 2021.

I pretty much stuck to the same jobs throughout the entire story, so it’s not actually too important. Having said that, there is one useful skill which is tied to a specific job, as mentioned by @martinist here:

It is, yeah. But even so, it’ll still have you grossed out/in tears before the credits roll. I loved the Sujimon thing, so entertaining. And yeah, Dragon Kart is awesome, surprisingly deep too. I reckon you might not be a huge fan of it during the more difficult races though, knowing how much you like rubber banding. The cinema mini-game does have a Catherine vibe to it, yeah. Great music too. BTW, it can be used as a way to level up your bond with party members, I didn’t get to take advantage of that feature on my playthrough though, as I’d already hit max bond with everyone before I really focused on that mini-game. Nothing like what was in previous titles unfortunately. I think the devs realised they could never top the live chat mini-game from Yakuza 6, so didn’t bother. That, or they’re becoming politically correct... There’s some entertaining stuff in the sub stories though.

Oh nice! Great game to end the year with. Hehehe! There’s still the QTE stuff and timing your defensive moves to keep you busy during battles. Timing can be quite an important part of the battle system actually (especially once you have a full party) due to the way characters automatically move around during a fight. If you initiate an attack when there’s something (that’s un-kickable ) in their path to the enemy it can interrupt the attack. Works both ways though, as enemies can occasionally miss attacks like that too. Anyway, really glad to see you playing and enjoying this. Your Yakuza marathon this year has been absolutely incredible!

Not that anyone here will care but a patch has arrived for the save data issue on PC. I spent ages sorting out my items anyway, had so many duplicates from constantly looting and then just chucking everything in storage! The menu system (especially for item management) could definitely do with being streamlined in this, very clumsy/slow as it stands. But yeah, even if improvements are being considered for that, I imagine it’ll be pretty low on the list of priorities for the devs at the moment.

For me it was initially a case of no longer being able to make it on Thursday, but now it’s also that I’ve simply lost interest in MK8DX. The N-E MK League has spanned several MK titles already, but when you take into consideration the Wii U version, MK8/DX has almost certainly had the longest run of the lot. The way I see it, a new MK game is long overdue at this point! You lot will scoff at this but the truth is I get my MK fix from Tour these days. And I actually think it’s a real shame Nintendo didn’t find a way to incorporate the content from that game into MK8DX, as it would’ve massively helped in keeping it fresh. But yeah, unfortunately I’ve just had enough of MK8DX. Whenever MK9 becomes a reality you can guarantee I’ll be very much IN! the N-E League once again.

Not really, no. There is some stuff in the game that links to previous entries, but it’s nothing that will stop you from understanding the story. Well it’s not on the PC Game Pass, but there is often a different selection of games on the console one, so maybe. The Yakuza games do seem to be a popular choice on Game Pass though, so I’m almost certain this will be on there at some point. Hope you get the chance to play it anyway.