Octopus Overlords

Did not get my money's worth. (And I bought it on sale). Bounced off it pretty hard, with no yearning to return.

(Just a counterpoint to the raves. Glad they enjoyed.) And an interesting observation regarding the exclusives. It bears watching down the line. You'd think they keep some exclusives to help push PS5 when it launches.

Baroquen wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:40 pm Did not get my money's worth. (And I bought it on sale). Bounced off it pretty hard, with no yearning to return.

(Just a counterpoint to the raves. Glad they enjoyed.) And an interesting observation regarding the exclusives. It bears watching down the line. You'd think they keep some exclusives to help push PS5 when it launches.

They are. They've recently said that they have no intention of releasing games on PC at the same time as they arrive on PS4/PS5. So, while the PC version arrives, the upcoming sequel will still be for the time being a PS5 exclusive.

Anyway, I've been playing this for the last several months and beautiful game. I love the storyline, but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired at times. I find that having a bow as a main weapon makes it harder than it needs to be. I think I'm heading towards my final mission, ie heading down to the earth, if that is the final one.

I wish this was out now so I could play it if I get quarantined for COVID.. hehe

Just finished this, so here are some thoughts:

I liked the game, in particular the story. The combat, err... not so much. There are a lot of contradictions in the gameplay. For example, the game likes to emphasize stealth aspects, but at some points in the game, they'll force you out into the open or either pit you into close quarters, such as in one of the cauldrons. And being that there are so many of those robotic animals around everywhere you go, it makes it hard to be stealthy, especially when you come across those that can detect you when hidden. I mentioned before the bow, and I found the combat using it was much too difficult for its own good, particularly when you have to scramble around trying to find a good spot to hit from. So yeah, I wasn't a big fan of that bow-style combat. It isn't even so much that it's difficult, but that enemies tend to be take lots of arrows and it's severely imbalanced in places.

I never had any room in my inventory and kept having to swap stuff even with upgraded pouches. You come to a point where you've already gotten rid of anything you possibly could that isn't critical and still don't have enough room, and this was about mid-game for me. This game has a serious inventory issue.

End-Boss was utter bullshit. Yeah, I get that they maybe wanted to give players a sense of urgency, but it isn't like combat isn't difficult enough as is. They go and add a timer to the end-boss. A timer. On top of that, it sends out other corrupted robots after you while you're trying to destroy the thing. Even on easy, I barely killed it with enough time to spare, I think I was down to 90 seconds when I finally killed the thing. I'd love to say that I did all this while under cover, but that's another thing. In certain cases, cover is absolutely useless as it can crumble before you from anything that attacks. I had the best armor on and I still struggled so much with this boss fight, it's unreal. I would have killed it quicker, but I couldn't craft any precision arrows, because my inventory was already maxed with other resources and none of what the high precision arrows are needed for.

Didn't you also have trouble with another none problematic game? .. #past_gaming_age_gamer

Im kidding you. Some games do give one a problem and not another I know. I got only half way in this game before I stopped playing for something else so I got no room to really comment on it a lot. I will say I also HATE timers of any kind. By the time Im done Im breathing fast because Ive held my breath and my heart is racing. Or worse ive broken my control device in frustration.

Stop throwing things at the TV, Dae

Heh, but yes, I do often have trouble with games. Admittedly, I don't do very well in the heat of difficulty. I easily get frustrated. So, when I put something on easy and I don't find it easy.... you can bet I'll rage I just realized that I was playing that battle not on easy, but on Story, but I still felt it was difficult. I do appreciate when games allow you to change the difficulty on the fly though, as that helps a lot.

I always played on normal until a few years ago and Ill put stuff on easy or story now days. Im more into stuff for the stories usually anyways.

Ive not trusted difficulty settings since some game in the 90s. I dont recall the name but the settings came reversed. So easy was the hardest and hard was easy. So now days when I put it on easy and still have trouble my first thought is its broken instead of me hehehe.

well well lookee this



now i don't have to buy a PS4 anymore

hitbyambulance wrote:well well lookee this



now i don't have to buy a PS4 anymore

I did, basically just to play spider man (which is fantastic!). The PS4 Pro also came with this and God of War as pack ins.

Having fun with this one so far in 4k.

FWIW - Horizon Forbidden West has been announced, but will not be a launch title for the PS5. I sure hope it also heads to PC. Because I don't need to buy a PS5 just for one game..

Need to change that title! Coming to PC on 8/7:



100GB drive space needed!

Cylus Maxii wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 2:17 pm FWIW - Horizon Forbidden West has been announced, but will not be a launch title for the PS5. I sure hope it also heads to PC. Because I don't need to buy a PS5 just for one game..

The PS4 has almost 5000 games.

As much as I absolutely adored Horizon, I haven’t been able to get back into replaying it a second time. I’ve bunced off replays twice now, both times around the 4-6 hour mark.

I'm kinda on the fence. I like (I think) the setting and general theme (from what I've read). I'm not quite sold on fighting giant things as a game play mechanic and that seems like a core element for this game. I thought I could get into Monster Hunter world but that was my issue. There's zero interest in fighting a giant monster for 45 minutes and trying to target a tiny nipple or T-Rex arm to do critical damage. I am not sure I'm the target audience here, but I'm still watching.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 1:33 pm I'm kinda on the fence. I like (I think) the setting and general theme (from what I've read). I'm not quite sold on fighting giant things as a game play mechanic and that seems like a core element for this game. I thought I could get into Monster Hunter world but that was my issue. There's zero interest in fighting a giant monster for 45 minutes and trying to target a tiny nipple or T-Rex arm to do critical damage. I am not sure I'm the target audience here, but I'm still watching.

Fighting 45 minute battles against giant things is not the focus of Horizon at all. There are a few boss battles against big bads like that, but 90% of the game is fighting against either individual enemies or other humans.

Think usual 3rd person action game, not Monster Hunter.

Ok, that's good to know. Maybe I'm just getting confused over trailers or videos I'm seeing that are featuring giant monster fights and assuming that's a core mechanic. Thanks.

Make no mistake, outside of boss fights some of the enemies you fight in this game are massive - but you don't fight them like they're bosses, you fight them like anything else.

And it's more than just plinking them with arrows too. HZD is a game that rewards a modicum of preparation. Fire a couple of tripwires between some trees, place a couple of traps, then get their attention and enjoy the chaos that ensues. There are some other very nice tricks you have up your sleeve too but I won't spoil anything.

Absolutely nothing in the game feels grindy in my opinion, and that includes boss fights. It's also an exceptionally beautiful game with above-average voice acting and story. I think it's an incredible achievement really, easily one of the best games of the PS4 gen.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 1:42 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 1:33 pm I'm kinda on the fence. I like (I think) the setting and general theme (from what I've read). I'm not quite sold on fighting giant things as a game play mechanic and that seems like a core element for this game. I thought I could get into Monster Hunter world but that was my issue. There's zero interest in fighting a giant monster for 45 minutes and trying to target a tiny nipple or T-Rex arm to do critical damage. I am not sure I'm the target audience here, but I'm still watching.

Fighting 45 minute battles against giant things is not the focus of Horizon at all. There are a few boss battles against big bads like that, but 90% of the game is fighting against either individual enemies or other humans.

Think usual 3rd person action game, not Monster Hunter.

Yeah, most of the big battles are in the cauldrons, which think are completely optional. Other big boss battles are part of the story, but there's few of them.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:43 pm https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020 ... e-on-steam

https://www.vg247.com/2020/07/05/horizo ... cheap-vpn/

Green Man Gaming offering pre-purchase for $42 if you have something against paying retail (like me).

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:11 pm Green Man Gaming offering pre-purchase for $42 if you have something against paying retail (like me).

I have the complete edition for ps4 sitting in my media room right now... and I am still strongly considering this.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:24 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:11 pm Green Man Gaming offering pre-purchase for $42 if you have something against paying retail (like me).

I have the complete edition for ps4 sitting in my media room right now... and I am still strongly considering this.

Even better, play it on the PS4.

Paradroid wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 2:25 pm Make no mistake, outside of boss fights some of the enemies you fight in this game are massive - but you don't fight them like they're bosses, you fight them like anything else.

And it's more than just plinking them with arrows too. HZD is a game that rewards a modicum of preparation. Fire a couple of tripwires between some trees, place a couple of traps, then get their attention and enjoy the chaos that ensues. There are some other very nice tricks you have up your sleeve too but I won't spoil anything.

Absolutely nothing in the game feels grindy in my opinion, and that includes boss fights. It's also an exceptionally beautiful game with above-average voice acting and story. I think it's an incredible achievement really, easily one of the best games of the PS4 gen.

I found it a bit grindy after the initial burst. Part of it is that it throws too many side quests at you, and a lot of the side quests aren't as interesting as the main quests. I was starting to get burned out on it until I started doing the main quests again.

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:53 pm I found it a bit grindy after the initial burst. Part of it is that it throws too many side quests at you, and a lot of the side quests aren't as interesting as the main quests. I was starting to get burned out on it until I started doing the main quests again.

That's not grind though, is it? Plus you can ignore the side quests if you like.

Paradroid wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:57 pm

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:53 pm I found it a bit grindy after the initial burst. Part of it is that it throws too many side quests at you, and a lot of the side quests aren't as interesting as the main quests. I was starting to get burned out on it until I started doing the main quests again.

That's not grind though, is it? Plus you can ignore the side quests if you like.

sure you can, but they throw so many at you that are closer than the main quests, especially early. I normally don't like using fast travel in an open world game, or try to limit it, but this game kind of needs it, even with your mounts. Get the Golden Fast Travel pack with unlimited uses soon.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:11 pm Green Man Gaming offering pre-purchase for $42 if you have something against paying retail (like me).

Just an FYI, another email came out saying this deal now ends on Monday.

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:53 pm Part of it is that it throws too many side quests at you, and a lot of the side quests aren't as interesting as the main quests. I was starting to get burned out on it until I started doing the main quests again.

Funny, but I felt the complete opposite. It's a large world, and almost too large in terms of how few sidequests there are. There were several points in the game where I felt like I needed a sidequest to do but couldn't find any in order to level up. I expected far more of them in the big city you travel to.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 7:53 pm

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:53 pm Part of it is that it throws too many side quests at you, and a lot of the side quests aren't as interesting as the main quests. I was starting to get burned out on it until I started doing the main quests again.

Funny, but I felt the complete opposite. It's a large world, and almost too large in terms of how few sidequests there are. There were several points in the game where I felt like I needed a sidequest to do but couldn't find any in order to level up. I expected far more of them in the big city you travel to.

Same here. I found that there are relatively few side quests. Maybe when you add in the errands and hunting grounds and cauldrons and crafting jobs, etc. it seems like an overwhelming amount of stuff to do.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Sun Jul 12, 2020 1:17 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 7:53 pm

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:53 pm Part of it is that it throws too many side quests at you, and a lot of the side quests aren't as interesting as the main quests. I was starting to get burned out on it until I started doing the main quests again.

Funny, but I felt the complete opposite. It's a large world, and almost too large in terms of how few sidequests there are. There were several points in the game where I felt like I needed a sidequest to do but couldn't find any in order to level up. I expected far more of them in the big city you travel to.

Same here. I found that there are relatively few side quests. Maybe when you add in the errands and hunting grounds and cauldrons and crafting jobs, etc. it seems like an overwhelming amount of stuff to do.

Ahh, I see I'm not the only one. It's a very large and detailed world, with a lot of thought put into the backstory and quests, but at times, the world seemed so empty? One annoyance I had, which I felt didn't help the gameplay was that with the relatively few quests throughout the world, you had to come within relatively close in order to discover them, and I'm sorry, but I'm not scouring every inch of the world, and even then I felt I was well-travelled by the end. I'm sure I missed a few due to this. And I didn't do the hunting grounds or crafting jobs as those were very grindy. The first time I encountered the first hunting ground and realized what I had to do, ie timed trials, I tried it once or twice but realized I wasn't going to have fun with it. For all the backstory the game has, it seemed like such a cheap shot at getting more gameplay when a real sidequest would have felt much better. Cauldrons are different because they're at least tied to the lore. They did a good job of fleshing out the lore with the sidequests, making it a believable and grounded world and I wanted more of that, more substance. There were large swaths of land you'd traverse thinking you'd come across sidequests with literally nothing.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:24 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:11 pm Green Man Gaming offering pre-purchase for $42 if you have something against paying retail (like me).

I have the complete edition for ps4 sitting in my media room right now... and I am still strongly considering this.

I know you will all be relieved to hear that I played through the DLC on PS4 this weekend rather than buy the game again on PC. It was nice to revisit the world and there were a couple of super intense fights. I probably shouldn't have waited 3 years to play it.

Because I can never play games when the first come out, I'm just finally getting into this now (despite owning it since release day). Anyway, after almost 20 hours, I'm really enjoying it - it's not quite what I expected. I love the game world and exploring it - that's the single biggest thing for me in a game, being able to explore. What is just *finally* clicking now are the mechanics, namely that as you go up in level your weapons and ability to do damage doesn't change at all. I can't think of another game I've played that's like this, but it's not something I knew how to deal with, particularly as the beasts are getting harder and harder to kill.

It wasn't until I did more research that I realized my approach was all wrong. Namely, that I'd been just using the bow in combat. Instead, the game is expecting me to set up traps and trip wires to push beasts into various states (stunned, frozen, on fire, etc...) and then use my bow (and spear) to target weak points.

Once I mentally got to that point, it's definitely changed my approach in game play. I'm not entirely sold on this mechanic - I really would like to even get a small increase in weapon damage each level, but it's also forcing me to think and play differently than I normally would.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 3:30 pm I really would like to even get a small increase in weapon damage each level, but it's also forcing me to think and play differently than I normally would.

Get better weapons and better mods. Do trials to unlock better stuff as well.

I had a hard time with the weak points on them, as I'd have trouble seeing them on my screen, so the fact that combat relied a lot on finding weakpoints to avoid combat from going on and on wasn't very fun for me.

Playing on a 110" screen has it's advantages!

With 4K HDR, no doubt?

I've noticed that fonts in games these days are are quite small, which is more and more of a problem the higher the resolution. I kind of wish games would have more options. Some do, but not nearly enough of them do, but it's something I guess would be helped by larger monitors. Thing is, not everyone can either afford or have the space for larger ones. So, it's something I'd like to see addressed.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 3:34 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 3:30 pm I really would like to even get a small increase in weapon damage each level, but it's also forcing me to think and play differently than I normally would.

Get better weapons and better mods. Do trials to unlock better stuff as well.

This. You do more damage as you progress, it just isn't from leveling up your character. Eventually you hit a spot where the basic enemies you see in the beginning don't really require planning and strategy, just a few spear-smacks.

This game is so damn good - I'm really glad it made it to PC as I never would have played it otherwise.

I did get over the weapon damage "hump" and figure out how to acquire better stuff, but I also really started using trap lines and free standing traps to help deal with being overwhelmed.

This game hits the exploration element *perfectly* - I'm just cruising around the map and seeing all the sights - highly, highly enjoyable. I don't think I've had this much fun exploring a map since Skyrim.

I liked finding the holoview places. Like the old military academy and such. Seeing them as they were then as they are now. Neat.