Julius

Seems to be doing solid on Metacritic for now, 78 critic score and 90 user score. No big or even medium outlets from what I can see, but seems to be pretty well received. I do think Sony got things the wrong way around when it came to reviews and things like that, I think it would have made much more sense to give reviewers Demon's Souls a week earlier than they did, in addition to Miles Morales and the other games. What we've seen are reviews for Astro's Playroom, Miles, and Bugsnax come out, and then major outlets (perhaps rightly, from a business perspective) turning immediately then to Demon's Souls, as they only had a couple of days to review a 30+ hour RPG. Still think that was an odd choice.

Launch trailer: Looks like reviews have started going up too! Don't think I'll be getting to this for a few weeks, but hope everyone who checks out enjoys it! Really looking forward to reading through some impressions

So, Yodel is trending on Twitter in the UK now that a fair number of GAME and Very customers have cottoned on to the fact that has had me concerned for the last week I've made peace with it for the most part, though I'm still annoyed at GAME for their blunder. I didn't see any issues with Yodel when shipping the Series X | S for Very last week, so fingers crossed! Also seen a couple of Amazon UK orders ending up with Hermes? Hopefully those here who ordered with them ended up with Logistics! What's everyone's plans for launch day/weekend? What are you all planning to play? And do any of you have a priority list of games to install?

This is super cool! But the flex is unreal So much for the console war being over I guess Keep finding myself checking my emails every few minutes, despite knowing full well it'd be a surprise for the tracking info to be sent before this evening. But still, so close!

It might have almost no bugs when you first start, but they release new ones each month. You've just got to be patient.

Just woke up to my dispatch confirmation too, should apparently get an email or text with my 2 hour delivery window tomorrow! Next 36 hours are going to be crazy, hope everything goes smoothly for everyone! We're nearly there!

I mean, I wouldn't be against it! Incredibly charming, ridiculously rich and diverse OST which perfectly complements it's world and characters, an awesome gameplay loop...as someone who dropped the game after the first month and "only" put 50 hours in, or something like that, this game has undoubtedly been a massive part of gaming in 2020. I love that many are still enjoying the game too, and I live popping into the New Horizons thread, especially to see everyone's reactions to the new updates! Even if it doesn't win, I feel like it deserves special recognition; can we at least get it an award for being the Best Escape? I doubt I'll catch up on the one or two games I wanted to check out before the TGA's come around, but I do hope I'll catch up by the end of the year and be able to hash it out in my head. It's been such a strong year for games, another one of those years where we've ended up with an embarrassment of riches!

I'm not generally a fan of celebrity ads, but the Brie Larson ones put up today are a rare exception. The Animal Crossing one is especially wholesome! So...Samus when?

The Digital Foundry train never ends! Their review: Think this will be the last thing I check out about the game before I boot it up after Astro's and Miles Morales. Looks absolutely fantastic, music sounds great, I can honestly say that I've never been so excited to get my ass handed to me

10 minutes of One X and Series X footage in a special episode of Night City Wire:

Okay, but why does it look so bad? Also, new definitive cut by Coppola of The Godfather Part III: Love the first two, but the third is definitely a big step down. Very much looking forward to this!

Heck yeah!

Scoooooops (at least for the PS4 version). Game will require 70GB minimum and will ship on two discs (perhaps not too much of a surprise given the scale CDPR are going for).

First firmware update has rolled out, hopefully fixing some of the issues users were having over in the States and elsewhere ahead of our launch on Thursday. First time I've ever been happy to see a stability update

Catch-up post #2. JUNE XENOBLADE CHRONICLES | 2010 DEFINITIVE EDITION | 2020 I'd been holding out for a few years when Nintendo announced last year in a Direct that Xenoblade Chronicles would be making it's way to the Nintendo Switch, with a fresh coat of paint and a number of quality of life improvements. This game starts out rough, in that it is almost overwhelming with so little progression in its opening hours. Tutorial screen after tutorial screen, massive areas where you can get lost in any direction, quest markers and green dots (NPC's with something supposedly important to say) filling up the map. I found myself questioning whether I was ready for a long haul JRPG, which I can honestly say is the first time that I've ever asked myself, especially after looking forward to a game for so long. Just give it another hour, I thought to myself. And I'm glad I did. The opening hours of this game are light on story but quite heavy on exposition, but a short smattering of it later, finding myself familiarised with how to traverse Colony 9 - and the areas immediately surrounding it - and doing a couple of quests, and it all just clicks. Don't get me wrong: it is overwhelming. But once you've adjusted, once the frequency of tutorials popping up dies down a little, the quests and sense of exploration take hold, and quickly became this loop I craved to run around in over and over again. Experience for finding a new area. A treasure trove of experience for finding a secret area. A map which is simple to read (if a little confusing in terms of bridging levels at times), more than happy to lead you to directly to the next area to critical path the story, but is filled with exclamation marks to boot once you've stocked up on quests. You might not remember which quest you're taking that monster down or picking up that item for, but it's the perfect way to guide your wider exploration of the world and level up. It rarely felt like grinding. The feedback loop of arriving at new settlement, talking to the locals and taking on a load of side quests, explore a new area and tackling a load of side quests, raking in items, EXP, materials, etc., is honestly one of the best I've encountered from the perspective of making you want to explore. I don't need these items, and I don't need this EXP, but it's on the way/just slightly off the beaten path, so I might as well check it out, and I would be grinding in a JRPG anyways. The UI is simple to navigate, and not having to make my way back to complete all of the side quests and being able to be told that I've completed them mid-fight is such a simple but respectful thing to do. That's without mentioning the generous checkpoints pushing you to explore, or how there aren't any traditional healing items (at least that I've come across yet) but instead your health regenerates insanely quick while exploring after a battle, and battles feel like they're in their own vacuum, like when a protagonist in an anime recovers from a fight in one episode to be back at it again against someone else in the next. And then there's jumping (or rather, falling, much of the time!) and taking fall damage which quickly recovers, but balances out the adventuring of the world with the fact that this is a JRPG. And speaking of adventuring, the sheer scale of this game put a grin on my face time after time, it made me feel giddy and almost like a child - you know, that sense of awe and wonder every time you saw something enormous, or cool, or remotely interesting? It's such a powerful thing for a game to put you back in that mindset, and it's one of the best reasons to play Xenoblade Chronicles. This game is MASSIVE, and it does such a great job of conveying that. Not only that, but time after time, I was blown away by just how diverse and unique locations were, massive new zones which are basically their own biomes with their own acclimatised fauna and flora, and extremely memorable by just how far this game goes with its colour palette and scale. At times, it almost feels as if it's taunting you: I mean, you bought that the world is massive, right? You'll probably buy the trees glowing at certain times of day too. I think a big part of that is the verticality of this game, and the scalability of those vertical components: climbing up vines, descending down ladders, jumping from a cliff above a massive waterfall, it's something I haven't really found as a focal point in world design in other JRPG's, or honestly, many other games in general. You see the head of that titan up above you? You can go there. I want to share an example of the game's scale giving me that sense of awe, which I shared in the game's thread early on into my playthrough, but want to share again here, because it was probably the most memorable time it happened. And I haven't even got started on the level variety of creatures in these massive areas, which again, feeds into the feeling of this being a real, living and breathing ecosystem, and encountering a LV. 90 enemy rightly informs you that you are definitely going the wrong way - but load times after death are forgiving and very fast for a world of this size, they really want to let you loose and just explore, a far cry from what you would typically expect from a JRPG. Attacking a beast and then seamlessly transitioning into battle, the types of triggers which can draw them to you (sight, sound, being attacked), utilising Arts, preparing and making full use of Chains...the battle system is very unique, even if it does feel like its overstayed its welcome by the end of the game. This game is not without flaws. It has pacing issues in the second half. The story is pretty predictable...even by JRPG standards. Again, the battle system doesn't do much in terms of progressing in any meaningful way in the second half. Some quest chains are ridiculously long, or tedious, or both. Technically, not a spectacular game (frame rate dips and pop-in are consistent throughout). Some members of the cast are kind of tossed aside in the second half, which is a shame. The lack of a Photo Mode for the times in the game where you say to hell with the technical side of the game, the sense of scale is spectacular, I'm going to open the Settings, empty my HUD, zoom in until I am quite literally in the character, and the weapon on their back is no longer visible, adjust the camera - WAIT! the weapon is visible from this angle, turn slightly... - and then screenshot (and this is assuming that your Party Gauge is empty, otherwise enjoy waiting for that to drain, because for some reason it won't disappear with the rest of the HUD you just went into settings to remove). Being staggered out of the use of an Art (a similar issue I had with Final Fantasy VII Remake earlier in the year). Hilariously bad examples of clipping. And I do feel that the zones should have zoned in a bit in terms of scale much further from the end than they end up doing. Oh, and the game really pushing for you to do some crazy high-levelled quests towards the end (which I had a blast with), but then not having a scalable final boss (which, uh, given the context of what the final boss is, perhaps more than ever, makes very little sense) meaning that it's a cakewalk. And yet, despite its flaws, this is a game I would recommend to anyone, on the back of a rewarding gameplay loop, great world design and scale, and, you guessed it: a killer soundtrack. Yoko Shimomura, Manami Kiyota, ACE+, and Yasunori Mitsuda deliver a soundtrack which is an embarrassment of riches, covering a variety of genres, feels like it would be at home alongside some of the best and most diverse Final Fantasy soundtracks, and takes this game up another level. One such example of this is in most location tracks featuring day and night versions, which greatly fleshes out the vibe for the location, and goes a long way to defining your relationship with it; for instance, Satorl Marsh (Night) is this ethereal track filled with light piano strokes, strings, and an understated vocal element which makes you feel like you're floating in some fantasy, whereas Satorl Marsh (Day) brings a steady beat, bass, and heavier piano strokes to the forefront. Hometown feels like a starting Pokémon town in the best possible way, it captures a light and hopeful feeling extremely well; Gaur Plains is this epic adventurous track which makes you want to explore its wide open fields; A Friend On My Mind is a particularly beautiful composition, which always makes me a bit misty eyed; A Tragic Decision is an insanely diverse, rich, and haunting track; Riki the Legendary Heropon (yes it deserves to be here, it's a very silly but well composed track, plus the seriousness of the guitar is hilarious!); Thoughts Enshrined(/While I Think); The End Lies Ahead(/To the Last Battle); Ancient Mysteries with its slow and epic choir; the epic electric guitar riffs and awesome as hell trumpets in You Will Know Our Names; I could go on and on, and I'd probably end up listing half of the soundtrack, they did that good a job. However, there's a certain track which plays in an overwhelming amount of cutscenes, which builds slowly, has an intense guitar solo, a moment to breathe with a few piano strokes, and then, hits you with everything all at once: Engage The Enemy, easily my favourite track in the game. Xenoblade Chronicles is not going to be for everyone, and it's far from a flawless game. That being said, in a vast sea of JRPG's, Xenoblade Chronicles - with it's epic scale, world class soundtrack, and wonderful gameplay loop - is perhaps one of the most ambitious, keeping me hooked for the better part of the 70+ hours I spent with it, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. THE LAST OF US PART II | 2020 There is so much, yet so little, I want to actually say about The Last of Us Part II. A lot has been said - good, bad, and even sometimes in the middle - about this game, and I truly believe that I could write page after page about this game, like so many have, and so many will. But I think doing so would genuinely rob those who have yet to play the game of one of gaming's most intriguing and most complete experiences, and if anything, this is one of those rare games I'd rather people just experience, so while the rest of this will be focused on my opinions and thoughts about the game, I'm not going to be spoiling anything. Not even in spoiler tags. Let me get one thing out of the way: The Last of Us Part II is perhaps one of the most intense and emotionally draining experiences I have experienced in any form of entertainment. It is unrelentingly ferocious in its violent imagery, incredibly vivid in its depiction of love and hate, and horrifying in its insight to the potential malice of humanity. Blood spatters and sprays as the enemy clutches their neck, the blood audibly gurgling in their throat, before collapsing heavily in a heap; wailing on the enemy, cutting through them like butter as your breath grows tired and your face is dyed red; the unanswered screams of the enemy looking for their friend, now face down in a pool of his own blood. Every facet of combat is visceral, from the audio design of a machete meeting the long handle of an axe as it protects its wielder, to the fluid animation as you dive into the grass after being spotted while you searched for a way around, scrambling as you reach for something - a gun, a bow and arrow, a distraction - to protect yourself with. The production values of this game are on a level I don't think we've ever seen before, with faces and the Infected looking as detailed as one could possibly be comfortable with, and it's ironic that a game this beautiful is so grotesque and unremorseful in its depiction of violence. The story to this game is absolutely epic, in terms of its scale, design, and structure. It does an awfully good job of putting you in someone else's shoes, making you see Ellie's perspective, but then shifting the perspective and then asking questions of you: is she doing the right thing? Is Ellie going too far? As important and as well characterised as Ellie is in this game by Ashley Johnson, a lot of the heavy lifting in this game is done by the excellent work of its secondary characters, who, like the game's story, are constantly questioning why Ellie is willing to go so far, and be so brutal. Is it love? Or hate? Which is it that is driving her in this moment? While I do think that the game can be a bit heavy-handed when it comes to its core themes at times, it does so with such ambition, and such great range, that it's hard to not praise Naughty Dog in how they wrote this game, Neil Druckmann, of course, in particular. There were easier routes to take as a writer, but above all else, Druckmann is true to this game's characters and world - for better and for worse. This all being said, I do think that while the game has an abundance of memorable and great moments and interactions, it can oftentimes feel lonely when compared with the first game, as we control the hands of a much older and much more independent Ellie. That being said, the guitar mini game (a really fun use of the touchpad, and a great way to involve us in what could have easily been a cutscene), and hearing Ellie play the guitar and sing covers of some songs - mostly when she has someone around to listen - are especially touching, and Ashley Johnson has a brilliant voice. And I do think that the game - the second half in particular, though it is noticeable throughout - has some serious pacing problems, and while a large part of this is down to the story structure and writing itself, it's also down to areas being much larger, too. There is an area early on where you have free reign to explore a few blocks of a city, which is an amazing and open experience, and I want to make it clear: I have no issue with that part. It made sense in that the characters were searching for clues on what to do next, stock up, and so on, that this part of the game should have been more open. But throughout the game, everything just seems much larger than it needs to be, from the number of buildings you're free to explore in an area, to the number and size of the rooms in that building, to the size of that building's hallways - it always feel like you're reaching for something, which is a little further away than it would have been in the first game. This isn't to say that areas are scarce on supplies - far from it; in fact I would say the opposite turns out to be the truth - but rather, the physical space between those supplies seems further than it perhaps needs to be. Areas are big and fill up so quickly with enemies that stocking up after a battle makes the most sense, and so the game is clearly pushing you to explore to stock back up, but it feels like you're searching multiple buildings here, whereas in the first game you might be searching only one or two. In terms of exploration, this means that the collectibles - which told so much of the story in the first game - are also very spread out, and while I think they did just as strong a job here with things like the safe puzzles and with other items or visuals in fleshing the world out, it all felt awfully familiar: scribbled notes, lengthy diary entries, and light puzzles. Another big part of exploration is that it all feels very natural, and gone are the white lines of the game to give you a sense of direction, instead relying more on the visual cues and logical hints the folks at Naughty Dog have left for you to follow. While it's generally very seamless, and does a great job of pointing you in the right direction, there were admittedly one or two times where I did find myself questioning if I was going the right way; as areas are generally larger and more open to exploration this time around, it meant that I would often find a way out only accessible through a short QTE (you know, the ones where you hammer square to push a door open, or triangle to pull a garage door's chain down), recognise this as being the way forward, and tap circle to back out of the QTE so that I would be free to continue exploring; this admittedly did go quite some way to breaking my immersion while looking around abandoned buildings and closed off exteriors. I could speak about the music until I'm blue in the face, but all you really need to know is that Gustavo Santaolalla once again knocked it out of the park, but the addition of Mac Quayle and his unique, almost Hans Zimmer-like touch with the wailing of strings, brass, and guitar blaring scenes into life, screaming at you to take action, is also excellent. It adds an entirely new soundscape to the soundtrack when compared with the first game, a whole other dimension of music to demand your attention on a whim. I also think that what Naughty Dog has accomplished with this game with regards to accessibility is nothing short of brilliant, and it puts many other meagre AAA efforts to shame. I found myself spending 5 minutes just looking through them at the start of the game, and I seriously do hope that it shines a beacon to those less abled gamers that there are studios who are more than happy to put in the extra time and money so that you can share in experiences those more able than themselves often take for granted - myself included. It's worth checking out this video (don't worry, no spoilers there either) if you weren't already aware of the accessibility options in this game. I really think it's worth the time to take a look so as to appreciate it, but also, I think it's just great to have that perspective of how fortunate many of us are. I know I take it for granted a lot, especially in my love of playing games, and so I hope this only continues to be something we see trend on a larger scale in the coming years. The Last of Us Part II is a game like no other. Heck, at times, I think it's unfair to compare it to other games, it almost feels like it's redefined what a video game story can be. Time and time again I found myself being offered a string of QTE's in important cutscenes, struggling against characters this game told me were the bad guys, but with its sense of perspective and its attempts to challenge your own desires to "be the good guy" and "do the right thing", more than once I found myself looking away from the screen, lost in this grey moral area, hesitating to press square. If that doesn't speak to the power of video games as a storytelling medium - to gain perspective, empathy, and introspective moral questioning - I don't know what can. Yes, you have to be in the mood to play this game; yes, it is going to take a toll, in a number of ways. But, by its end, it is a brilliantly stunning, horrifyingly human, meandering epic of a game, and despite its flaws, I implore you, if you haven't already, to experience The Last of Us Part II.

Digital Foundry with the Series S vs X comparison video: I won't lie, I've had to talk myself out of keeping an eye out for a Series S a few times in the last couple of weeks. Mainly for legacy Star Wars titles and the older Xbox catalogue, and I don't have much interest in going physical when I do pick an Xbox up (much as I love it, Game Pass pretty much ensures I won't be going that way). Only think I'm missing is the juice from the Series X. Hopefully they'll put out an all-digital version at some point?

Heck yeah! Fingers crossed it's all smooth from here, I know they had some issues with one or two of their Xbox deliveries last week, but I think that just comes with the territory, and hopefully they've got any of those kinks knocked out! Don't imagine I'll be getting another update from GAME until Wednesday when it ships, and then it's onto waiting from Yodel. It's weird because I've only historically heard bad things about them, and not had great experiences with them myself, but apparently they were pretty solid last week for Very in delivering the Series X | S. Everything is crossed. This week is going to be weird, when I don't think about it, it's going fast with work...and when I get excited, it's another three whole days! Managed to agree with my manager to finish nearly an hour and a half on Thursday after staying over and doing some extra work last week, so hopefully it shows up around lunch for me to set it up and I can jump on soon after. If not, oh well, I'll just have to distract myself with a film or something, otherwise I'll be waiting by my machine for a few hours!

So did I to be honest, didn't even notice how wide the gap was between RRP and the prices listed on ShopTo, SimplyGames, Amazon, and others this gen for the longest time! Yeah, it's a weird one for some. I do think they've got their bases covered for a strongly received launch with a remake of a game which kicked off its own major following and practically its own subgenre in Demon's Souls, and you know Miles Morales is going to perform like crazy and is there as the system seller (short as it might end up being), but it does feel like something else - not necessarily exclusive, mind - was needed to fill that gap, but I can't put my figure on it. Though, of course, I'm personally really excited, I get it. I think it's why I'm really excited to play Astro's Playroom, of course we're getting Bugsnax for free with PS+ too, and I've only heard great things about The Pathless! And then Cyberpunk in a few weeks too, though you know that's going to be a bit of a mess at launch, and won't be making full use of next gen. Heard and read good things about Assassin's Creed Valhalla, though I'll be the first to admit that those games aren't my cup of tea, from the short time I've spent with them. Solid launch lineup in my eyes, but I get that it won't be to everyone's liking. Hopefully something like Ratchet & Clank isn't too far away for you!

Yeahhhhh I know it's not really the relevant thread for it, but @Aneres11, I think emails have started going out from Amazon saying that more stock will be made available at 12:00 on Thursday for the other console

In terms of AAA game pricing, at RRP, it's a £15 bump (I think they were generally aiming for £54.99 previously). The reason it hasn't gone down £5 or so yet is because, seeing as we're at the start of a new gen, I think we're going to see retailers aiming for their new RRP mark for at least the next 6 months. A shame, I agree (hey, I'd much rather that £15 be saved and go towards another game!), but it is what it is, different strokes and all that plus, Bluepoint really do insane work with their remakes. For me, having not played the original (and now not having to experience it on PS3) and looking at how great the game looks, and how the audio and music sounds, I think it's justified, especially listening to interviews with Bluepoint and the great work they do. I'm still very surprised (in a positive way) when Shadow of the Colossus was released at a budget price in 2018, to be honest. The biggest surprise for me is seeing Miles Morales and Sackboy coming in at the same price or thereabouts (at least in terms of RRP) on PS4 as they do PS5. I get that it's because it comes with a free upgrade to the PS5 version, etc., but to be honest, if you're buying it for the purpose of playing it as a PS4 game, there's a mark-up there which doesn't make much sense to me, considering you'll end up playing the objectively worse off version. I mean, how is Sackboy on PS4 at £59.99 on Amazon at the moment, when I think The Last of Us Part II earlier this year was only £54.99? That's really weird to me. Yeah, next gen exclusive being available at launch and being a Souls game could both give it a sizeable boost; I'd rather it not be that way, but you're right. Again, one of those games which is way too long and gruelling an experience to rush out a review for in my opinion, they should have given reviewers more time. I've lost track of the number of times I've zoomed through a game, instinctively thought I loved it, and a few days later started questioning my experience a bit more and seeing a few more flaws, which I might not have noticed when first playing it. Just one of those things that comes with the territory for reviews I guess

Early review scores looking really good right now, though I think it's a shame I think that Sony left it so late to send out copies for reviewers (1 or 2 days prior to release). Especially when you consider that it's a remake. Really looking forward to this, I'm expecting a lot of frustration and confusion, which I can't wait for! Think I'm planning on starting as a Knight, I know there are maybe some classes which might make it a bit easier...but I'm here to get my ass kicked

It hasn't launched yet, and those are only physical sales made a week early, but...yeah, of course, and ditto for Xbox. And Nintendo's next console. It goes without saying still, glad it seems like both have got off on the right foot and are doing well! Hopefully we'll hear some promising figures for both in the coming weeks. Has gone quiet in here the last few days, though I don't think there's much to say while we watch our cousins in the US enjoy it all and we're still waiting. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm awfully tense about whether or not the console will show up on Thursday, and of course about the issues some have been having with it - hopefully they get patched soon though (before Thursday would be ideal, but we haven't heard anything official from PlayStation yet). Excited but very nervous to see how this all shakes out. Finally heard back from GAME on Twitter and in an email, just saying they've had issues with their previous arrangements (DPD no longer an option, so they've split them between DHL, Yodel, and Royal Mail) which is the reason for the change. As someone who was with Royal Mail before I don't understand why mine ended up changing, but seems that the earliest pre-orders they processed ended up with Yodel (go figure). I know Royal Mail are solid around my area so they would have been my first choice, I haven't had any issues with DHL the few times I've used them before...so of course I ended up with Yodel, who I haven't used in a long time (I think I received a pretty beat up order of clothes or something from them once?). Anyways, all fingers crossed everything goes smoothly. Definitely never using GAME again for a big item after this, the fact that they blocked responses on their tweets and didn't respond to anyone for a week doesn't give me much faith in them moving forwards, and then there's the matter of them still not confirming that they'll refund other customers who paid for Royal Mail/DPD but have since been downgraded. But, yeah. It is what it is, quite grateful people are still in work and we still have the option for delivery given everything going on. I hope it turns up on Thursday without any problems, and all of my fretting will have been for nothing.

Yeah, definitely agree there. Seems especially tone deaf considering PlayStation is where the series started and has come into its own in the last few years, but I guess it's a business first and foremost, and money (unfortunately) talks. Can't wait to check it out when the PS5 upgrade is available, personally it gives me plenty of time to get through 5 and 6 first (and then maybe Judgment too) so I don't mind too much it's a difficult one to judge I think, because if they were aiming for next gen launch and I were them, purely from a business sense, I think I'd do the same. There's very little in the way of new games released on the Xbox Series X | S so far, giving the game more of an opportunity to take centre stage, and I feel like it would have been drowned out by Demon's Souls, Miles Morales, and even Astro's Playroom, had the PS5 version been made available this week. Then again, Yakuza, despite its surge in popularity in recent years, is still kind of a niche series, and I unfortunately don't see many swarming to play what is mainly a turn-based JRPG at the start of a new gen, either. It's just a weird one either way for me, I think being ready for launch and the delayed upgrade are both pretty viable options for them then again, like you said, there'd undoubtedly be a spike here as everyone's after new games at the start of a new gen, and they've done a spectacular job of basically doing everything but selling this game as a JRPG; the trailers certainly look much more like your standard Yakuza affair. Either way, glad those who have the game are enjoying it! Now to just hope that a PS4 physical version without the steelbook gets released...

This is the first line of my last post in this thread, and well...it's safe to say this didn't go to plan it's been a crazy year for pretty much everyone, and as the months went on, I felt increasingly overwhelmed by both the pandemic and what's been going on in my work and personal life. I would sit down, start typing an update, and then quickly lose steam, which would only frustrate me further, because I love talking about games. Almost as much as I do playing them. Catching up on this thread has been on my to-do list for the last few months, and not bringing it up-to-date has pretty actively dissuaded me from playing games and, in some cases, wanting to talk about those games. It's been weird. But, all being well, I will have started my next-gen journey by this time next weekend, and I know that once that happens, there will be absolutely no way I'll bring this up-to-date. In a lot of cases I've been pretty active in the threads for the games I'm going to talk about, and seeing as there's a whole lot to get through, I'm probably not going to get into them as much as I might have normally liked to, but that's okay. I'm going to go through probably a month at a time, though that depends on how much I have to say. Either way, I want to be finished by Wednesday evening, for obvious reasons! Let's get started with what I played in the remainder of May. MAY VALKYRIA CHRONICLES | 2008 Valkyria Chronicles tells the story of Squad 7 as they fight in defence of their home nation of Gallia, a neutral country in the Second Europan War (basically this alternate world's version of World War II) which is abundant in stores of precious Ragnite ore (basically this world's main energy source and healing method), against The Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance. Along the way, it portrays the budding and innocent romance between Alicia Melchiott and Welkin Gunther in the midst of a war which sees the game deal with heavy topics such as racism, perspective, and death, as well as shedding light on scheming politicians, the casualties of innocents, and even the history of an ancient near-genocide. It all sounds very heavy, but what grounds this game is a gorgeous, watercolour-like visual style, a solid soundtrack, and the diversely opinionated - and oftentimes amusing - cast of Squad 7. What makes this game unique is that, while like most strategy games it is turn-based, it makes use of a system dubbed BLiTZ: Battle of Live Tactical Zones. During your turn you start in Command Mode, and have an overhead map of the battlefield from which you can select a unit. Once selected, the battle zooms in on the selected unit, giving you control of them from the perspective of a third-person shooter in Action Mode, from which you can control their movement and take actions such as healing your allies and attacking the enemy, and you can control a number of classes and even a number of vehicles throughout the journey. This is all balanced by the Action Points available to units, which determines how far they can move before needing to take a rest, and you can't just freely use the same character over and over again during your turn, as their available energy greatly diminishes the more they are used in a single turn, forcing you to approach things with other units in mind, and having to be careful about where your units end up - because, at the end of your turn, if they're in a spot with poor cover, the enemy stand a good chance of taking them out. A number of objectives make up the story, from routing out the enemy, to securing camps over the map, to protecting certain characters as they make their way from A to B, and objectives can often change halfway through a mission (though, in my opinion, the first few times this happens leads to a pretty big spike in difficulty). The better you perform in missions - entirely determined, unfortunately, by the fewer turns you take - the more money and experience you take home and can use to upgrade your weapons, vehicles, or even your classes through training regimens. Once back at base you can even buy newspapers, which can unlock new missions which provide more backstory to certain characters, and you can also visit the graves of your fallen comrades, or even be awarded in medal ceremonies. There are pages upon pages of character details to read through, as well as about the history of the world and the war, and these can also provide some insights into which characters might provide boosts to one another, or what their weaknesses might be (for example, you don't want to send someone into a battlefield knowing full well that they're you're putting them up against their allergies!). All of this is presented in a wonderful book, which neatly ties together the visual style of the game. Valkyria Chronicles is a game which is solid in almost every department, has heaps of charm, and is bound to bring a tear to even the most steely-eyed of players (those who have played the game no doubt know what I'm talking about, one of the most heart-wrenching moments in video games). It's well worth the price of admission, and I look forward to one day giving Valkyria Chronicles 4 a shot. A WAY OUT | 2018 Developed by Hazelight Studios and directed by Josef Fares (AKA the 'F**k the Oscars!' guy), A Way Out is a rare example of a meticulously crafted, split-screen cooperative multiplayer game: it must be played by two players, whether they're next to you on the sofa or on the other side of the world kicking it up on Bondi (and only one of you need to own the game to do so!). You play as Leo and Vincent, two prisoners who must first escape their new jumpsuits and then elude the authorities as they make their way back to their families, with set pieces gradually ramping up throughout the game to a climactic finish which would make Kojima proud. No, seriously. It takes a lot of what you'd expect to see in a Naughty Dog game - basic third-person shooter mechanics, ducking for cover, light puzzles and a hole lot of button mashing in order to lift things up - except, you know, it's co-op. And not developed by Naughty Dog. But still, it's very good. The split-screen aspect is especially interesting, as while at one moment you can both be playing at the same time and have one player distracting guards while the other sneaks around the corner, there are also many instances where a cutscene might be playing out for one character while it's not for the other. It makes for a very interesting balance in its storytelling. I sat down with my younger brother one Saturday morning and we blasted through this game, finishing about five or six hours later the same day. There isn't much else to say, to be honest: I don't think Naughty Dog-lite is a disservice to the game, and actually gives you a pretty good idea of what you're in for. But I had a blast, and so did my brother. I wish there were more games like this, and while I am absolutely up for more from Fares and Hazelight, I really think he overshadowed the game with his little display at The Game Awards a few years back, which is a real shame. This game had plenty of twists and turns from beginning to end, and while it doesn't do much new, what it does it does brilliantly. And again: that ending. A hearty recommendation for anyone who wants a game designed for two players, because this is a real gem. THE LAST OF US | 2013 It's really hard for me to take horror films seriously. Ever since I was young, having a vested interest in the filmmaking process has kept me mostly on top of it: "hey, that blood is a bit too dark, I wonder if their fake blood was drying out?", "okay, but why would you go up the stairs? Someone is clearly about to jump out [someone jumps out]", "everyone's scared of this thing? The CGI looks terrible!" Jump scares can catch me out, sure, but even when I would try my hardest to invest myself in the film's world and story, it just wouldn't click for me. But there's something about the interactivity of video games which flips that on its head, completely. I remember booting up the Resident Evil 2 Demo a year or two ago, walking around for about thirty seconds, and giving up. Leon, pal, want my advice? If there's a zombie breakout you turn around and walk away. And I'm sure seeing snippets of Resident Evil 4 at a friend's house, and my early childhood trauma of Dino Crisis when in pre-school/reception, had something to do with that, too. I haven't played much of anything that I'd call a horror game before. As you might know from seeing me post here and elsewhere on these forums, though, there's one thing I'm a sucker for, and that's a good story. Of course I'd heard of this game before playing it. A lot. Though, incredibly, I hadn't seen much gameplay of it, and hadn't had anything spoiled for me. Look up any list of Top 10 games and this probably appears in half of them. And of course I've heard of Naughty Dog, especially their modern efforts and transition to third-person action-adventure games. I mean, really: at this point, who hasn't heard of them? They're an awards darling of a studio putting out cutting edge games which are incredibly popular and critically acclaimed. A couple of years ago, wanting to get to grips with Naughty Dog's offerings, I played through Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, and while those games have their highlights (with 2 being my favourite by quite some margin), I really didn't understand what the fuss was all about. These games were solid, but they were far from blowing me away. But I was always curious about their next game, and with the sequel just over a month away, it was time to make a decision. And so I decided that it was time to finally give The Last of Us a chance. This game starts with a bang, and within those opening fifteen minutes, you'll know whether this game is for you. The tone is set for this brutally harsh reality where only the hardened survive. It's hard watching the early hours of a world crumbling under the pressure of a pandemic (especially this year, for reasons that go without saying) which sees those infected become, for all intents and purposes, human-slaying zombies, and harder to watch is how the world reacts. Early on, Joel meets Ellie, and finds himself with the task of smuggling her across the post-apocalyptic that the United States has become some twenty years or so after the initial outbreak. The Infected have taken on all shapes and sizes, and so has the malice of the remnants of man. You'll find yourself stealthily trying to sneaking around, and sometimes through, rooms filled with Infected, the tension of which is further heightened by some great survival mechanics, such as how long it takes to heal yourself, reload your gun, or craft some make-shift bomb. I often found myself promptly checking, and then double-checking, my equipment after adrenaline-pumping confrontations, or when things had been quite for just a little too long that it made me uncomfortable. But there's also this puzzling, melancholic beauty to this world, the calm of which can often lull you into forgetting about the dangers which might be surrounding you. The world is so diverse, with interiors being this flat kind of drab - mostly made up of muted greys, spoiled browns, and murky greens - which only serves to amplify the bright colours of nature which have pierced through - and in many cases, overwhelmed - the manmade landscapes of these crumbling cities. The writing, as well as the gameplay, world, and level design, all weave together to produce this amazing pacing which is consistent throughout the course of the game. Joel and Ellie start out indifferent to each other, but gradually become accustomed to and then more trusting in the other, and it's a wonderful sight to behold, which all unfolds so naturally. Their conversation and banter throughout the game does such an excellent job of fleshing them out, and Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson did such an amazing job of carrying the brunt of it all. This runs parallel to an enticing upgrade system which sees Joel's capabilities grow throughout the course of the game, and I found myself heavily investing in Weapon Sway, Shiv Master, and Maximum Health, which had me increasingly confident in my abilities the deeper I got into the game, but it never felt easy, just easier to handle. The world itself, as I mentioned before, can almost lull you into a false sense of security, and there are some areas in particular where the tension certainly ratchets way up, such as in a certain hotel basement. Screw that hotel basement. I got out pretty much unscathed and was fully prepared and I still found myself petrified. Seriously, screw that hotel basement. Though, while there are times where it certainly offers a false sense of security, there are other times where just a returning feature of the world immediately gets you grabbing your shotgun and slowly treading through a room, such as when entering a dark hallway and wondering about how it would suck to run into some Stalkers at that very moment. Areas are never too large to fully explore, and so exploring every single area's nooks and crannies doesn't feel like I'm going out of the way and losing track of the main objective. Not only that, but because this is a survival horror game, by design it knows that you're going to be checking everything out, and so finding notes, recorders, etc., feels like a totally natural way to explore the world's history. It really reminds me of items and Mini Medals in Dragon Quest in this way: practically everything you find feels useful. I read and listened to everything I found, which I very rarely do outside of JRPGs that I'm adoring, and although I didn't find everything - there's one particular door which comes to mind which I didn't have the materials to make a shiv to break into back near Bill's place, and I remember early on feeling the game was pushing back hard enough to discourage this somewhat at the very beginning - I still felt completely satisfied with my discoveries. Piecing together the history of some of these places is heartbreaking. And then there's the change of pace exhibited at Silver Lake, where things are turned on their head, and suddenly what was manageable before isn't again. It's perfectly timed, flawlessly executed, and might just be one of my favourite "levels" in any video game. It convinced me to pre-order Part II without even having finished the game, that's how much faith I had in Naughty Dog by that point. And the game triumphantly charges towards the end from there, with all its card laid bare. That ending is what video game stories should aspire to be, putting us in the position where a choice is made and overwhelmingly fighting for and relishing in the choice the character makes. It's about empathy, and putting you in the shoes of Joel in that moment, and it is all so, so well done. As my first survival horror game, while very intense at times - almost too intense in that hotel basement - I absolutely fell in love with this game. The DLC, Left Behind, is of course excellent too. It does nothing to take away from the main game's ending, but does such a good job in the two hours or so it takes to complete of fleshing out Ellie and her past, giving us a little bit more context for the main game, and also some insight into the origins of her love for puns. The past moments which play out mirror the point in the present in that it portrays the two moments where Ellie is about to be left alone - it could not be better named. But there's basically Hotel Basement 2.0 here, so screw that. Something that has to be mentioned when talking about The Last of Us is Gustavo Santaolalla's magnificent score. It's so restrained and refined, yet emotionally charged and visceral, so naturally tuned to the world and the interactions playing out on screen. There's the main theme, The Last of Us, which is so memorable for playing over the opening credits. with this steady rhythm of these powerful plucks of guitar strings; Vanishing Grace, which relies on the same melody as the main theme, but is slowed and much more melancholic in how it is subdued; All Gone (No Escape), with the swell of the straining strings of violins after this deep and steady cello really does a stellar job of setting the scene up to be as emotionally resonant as it is. From Left Behind, All Gone (Reunion) and its main theme, Left Behind, are the standouts. The latter in particular I feel is perfectly suited for what the DLC entails, this quiet strumming on the guitar before slowly builds and explodes into life with this Western-like part, I love it. I'm a sucker for hard cuts when it comes to endings, though, so The Path (A New Beginning) was always going to be a very difficult one for me to not find my favourite! The Last of Us is a testament to excellent moment-to-moment gameplay, coupled with an emotionally resonant story, a stellar voice cast, unforgettable story beats, which screams the importance of empathy. This is what storytelling in games is about, and still remains the standard by which other stories in this medium are told to this day. This game is a masterpiece, and very quickly became one of my favourites. YAKUZA 3 | 2009 During this pandemic I have found that there is no better escape than the Yakuza series, and specifically none greater than Yakuza 3, which I will lovingly refer to as the beach/summer special episode of the series. Continuing on not too longer after the events of 2/Kiwami 2, Yakuza 3 sees Kiryu hanging out at an orphanage he's set up on Okinawa called Morning Glory, becoming the legal guardian of a number of children there. Everything is peaceful, and it is incredibly cosy, with a beach just across the street. His biggest worries are arguments between the kids, and it's hilarious seeing how he disciplines them, choosing to sit everyone down for debates when things get heated. He even plays hide-and-seek with them. Haruka is a big sister to everyone there, often working to find peace, and going to do daily chores. Kiryu is living a good, well-earned life of early retirement. Not too long after, though, he butts heads with a smaller local Yakuza family, and from there on finds himself embroiled in a plot to save the orphanage from being built on by a massive seaside resort, which is mysteriously somehow tied to the Yakuza and plans for a military base expansion. Yakuza 3 remains similar to other Yakuza stories in that it is host to endearing characters, you'll find yourself back on the streets of Kamurocho and familiarising yourself once again with the area and getting used to its changes, but Okinawa provides a welcome change in that it just feels so much more relaxed. Problems are generally on a smaller scale around Morning Glory, and is a great change of pace from what we've become so typically accustomed to in these games. Substories remain these tiny nuggets which can be hilarious, charming, or full of emotional depth, and helping strangers in these games with their problems continues to be great fun. That all being said, I do think this game has some issues which I have to mention, though it's worth remembering that I'm playing a remaster of a game which is over a decade old. I think the main thing would be that quality of life improvements from newer entries, such as pausing in cutscenes, aren't present here, which is a shame because it seems like that would have been something relatively easy to add in here (and would've been a wise decision due to the length of some cutscenes). There's also the weird pacing of some cutscenes, which I imagine at the time of release were down to budget constraints? Sometimes a cutscene would begin with a short cinematic, before cutting away to the more typical in-engine cutscene, with text boxes and no voice acting to boot, which would then end by returning to yet another cinematic. Again, it seems like something they might have been better off updating for this remaster. To be honest, I also think that the main villain was rather forgettable, and that the Yakuza stuff going down in Kamurocho oftentimes felt more like a distraction which returned to the tropes of the series rather than the fun and refreshing time we had on Okinawa. It might have been a bit better paced if we didn't find ourselves going back and forth, or rather, just dealt with smaller issues throughout, because a large part of why the main villain seems so forgettable is because it feels like we're treading over things we've already covered in previous games. The biggest flaw of the game by far, though, is just how clunky it feels: the horizontal axis on the camera is quite sensitive and takes a bit of getting used to (with no option to adjust in the settings), and fights feel incredibly sluggish. To make matters worse, though, enemies block in this game far more than they do in any other - and yes, this is even the case for bosses, who were already notorious for having fights which went on maybe a bit too long in other games already - which narrows your options in battles considerably, and I often found myself waiting for the enemy to swing before sidestepping, unleashing a single chain of attacks, before they're blocking again and you must wait for them to hit you so that you can sidestep them - again. I think it's held back by it's age, with dated, slower, and somewhat clunky controls, and doesn't have the most interesting Yakuza storyline, but it still has a great cast, a fun world, and plenty of hilarious substories to experience, all of which still manage to make this game a great time. The best escape from this pandemic by a long shot.

Was far too tired after I finished playing games last night to watch Chapter 11, so watched it this morning instead. Solid episode all around, I really enjoyed it, and despite only coming in at some 35 minutes or something like that, felt just as long as last week's 40 minute episode, which is pretty amazing considering about two minutes are spent on the recap this time around (which I swear is the longest one we've had so far?). Solid episode, not my favourite this season, but far from the worst overall. Really excited to see how things play out over the next couple of weeks!