Ah tough luck with Riddick but I truly feel like it's one of the best games I've ever played and there really isn't any other game quite like it. If you can find a copy, get it!

I went into the HoG not having played a good handful of these games, but a few stood out to me as I played through them before cross-examination.

DOOM II

I know DOOM isn't some little secret in the gaming industry but I don't know one single person I grew up with who was even into PC gaming let alone DOOM. So the whole OG era of DOOM that released around the time when I was born was missed on me.

And as a lifelong gamer, I feel like nobody really brought DOOM up as something I have to play. It's almost always spoken about as this thing from the past. So I was skeptical going in, expecting an archaic shooter.

But holy shit! DOOM II is soooooooo fun. Once you get used to weird old school intricates like the a lack of y-axis, the flow of every level starts to feel so smooth and fun and quasi-addicting.

Without a doubt, I had more fun in 1/3rd of DOOM II than I did throughout the entirety of DOOM 2016. Where I felt DOOM 2016 was way too repetitive (3+ levels destroying nests) with far too many QTE's and samey flow to everything, DOOM II felt like it was giving me a fresh idea every single level. And if you don't save scum, you retry levels with no ammo but it's so fun to just kill a few demons and take their gun, kill another, get the next gun. Lots of audio feedback to make everything feel fast and aggressive.

What. A. Game.

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What Remains of Edith Finch

I didn't really know what to expect with this one but I'm super glad I played it. What stood out immediately in my mind, and especially as the game went on, was Don't Nod's Tell Me Why. And I don't say this lightly, but having played Edith Finch now, I feel like Don't Nod shamelessly and borderline disgracefully ripped of details from Edith Finch's overall plot, art direction, and concept. Even small details like the offspring revisiting their family home, the shape, look, and layout of the home itself, and a quirky mother locking off doors to bedrooms within the house using quirky little traps is just so on the nose ripped off from Edith Finch. It's one thing to have a nod to a game that inspired you and it's another to be the bigger studio with the bigger budgets and have Microsoft publishing your game so you go and take the overall concept and stretch it out longer.

And with all that said, I guess imitation is the kindest form of flattery. I get why they wanted to rip parts of Edith Finch off. The game is so novel in all regards. @JDINCINERATOR you did a fantastic job of explaining what no other writers seemed to explain and that is how fun the game is to play. I assumed it was a walking sim, but when I'm literally playing inside of a comic book bashing all of the objects in the house with a leg crutch, I have a hard time understand how people can even call it a walking sim.

Unlike Tell Me Why or other "walking sims" Edith Finch was all killer and no filler. 2.5 hours to beat, one banger story after another, bing bang boom. No slowdown trying to find shit or solve mundane puzzles. Just go here and do something fun. Then go there and do something fun. Then it all wraps up while it still feels novel. I'm so glad I tried this one and I think it's worth of being "one of the greats" in it's respective genre. It's up there as one of the best along with Journey.

@sheria

I mean, nobody sued him so it'll never be proven in court. But many people around the industry backed up the claims of him being a sexual harasser in the workplace.

What will be proven in court is his dropped defamation lawsuit because he has a paper thin libel case againt his accuser and 100 different people when he threw a little temper tantrum and is now suing anybody who went against him. He claims he's been defamed by a vengeful ex-girlfriend which is ridiculous because his ex has nothing to do with the accusations.

What has been substantiated is that his first accuser was really drunk at a work party when he forced his hands down her pants and kept forcing a make out session upon her in public. In which witnesses claim they saw him buying her drinks all night. And even he himself admits to making out with her but not doing any unwanted sexual advances. So all of his coworkers literally witnessed him act like a drunk horny clown in the workplace.

So all in all, it sounds like he wasn't defamed considering people witnessed him doing this stuff so it won't stand as libel when the events on the scale of probabilities (civil court) lean towards factual.

@b-cell

Ah too bad you didn't play one of the most unique video games ever made.

So you would've played it had Chris Avellone stayed on the project?

Been playing vanilla Crusader Kings III with my buddy. We're working together slowly while he helps me learn the ropes. We're maybe 4 hours into this Campaign which stacks up onto the 9-ish hours I played back in 2020 and I think I'm pretty comfortable with the game now on a surface level. It's an easy game to sink a lot of time into without realizing it, while still being bite sized enough where hanging it up after 45 mins of progress can be satisfying too.

If I continue to get into it, I'll consider buying it on Steam with the full DLC bundle. Right now I'm playing vanilla from Game Pass which is fine for my level of play.

I was recommended this dude's video series for learning about the core of the game and it is definitely useful for newcomers but I recommend just playing the tutorial first then watching these three videos:

Youtube Video

Youtube Video

Youtube Video

I think we tend to bring pretty great games. No real head scratchers here or even the prior HoG ceremonies. All bangers.

Good luck!

I can't think of very much off the top of my head but I recall playing P5 on Easy or Normal and just breezing through the game. Then there was this boss with paintings for body parts (like eyes, mouth, nose are all different painting frames) and the fucker just one shot squad wiped me. On second attempt, I mopped the floor with him. Idk what happened.

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Another actual final boss is Eric Sparrow in Tony Hawk's Underground. The game isn't that hard if you are good at Tony Hawk, but even for an adept player, that combo line to beat Eric Sparrow in fiery evil New Jersey is pretty nuts, especially on 'Sick'. The rest of the game has it's challenging moments but it's never too too hard.

Youtube Video – [16:12..]

What's funny is that the game sort of acknowledges it's hard. Because if you go through the Story Mode again, the player just punches Eric in the face, takes the Hawaii tape, and you don't have to do the boss fight and credits roll. It's a hilarious Easter Egg.

Alt Ending
Youtube Video

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

Answer # 7 re: is the game scary?
@Capnbobamous

Question for @DIPSET

For years I could have swore that I played this game. Don't remember a whole lot about it, but I have fond memories and recall having a good time with it. I've even had conversations with people about how I recall liking it. However, after watching your presentation I now know that I have never played this game before in my life haha. Don't know what game I've been thinking of all these years, but apparently my life is a lie.

Anyway, after watching your presentation one of the things I was struck by was the atmosphere. Just based on what you showed, I am getting definite horror vibes, so is the game scary? What is the game's overall tone?

Short answer, no it's not particularly scary. It's more along the lines of a thriller than a horror. Long answer — this game is based upon the film Pitch Black (2000), NOT, The Chronicles of Riddick (2003) so the tone is closer to the original film than anything else.

The original film was kinda like Predator—a mix of action, suspense, horror. And Butcher Bay is sort of like that. There are parts where you are walking through dark tunnels with low ammo and a flashlight against swarms of alien creatures. There are also times when you're sneaking in the shadows a bit nervous to get caught. But nowhere does the game go into outright horror territory.

It keeps the tension but there aren't jump scares or pursuer enemies. It does have elements of survival horror with low ammo and exploration rewarding the player with better tools for survival. But again, it's never meant to make you poop your pants. More like a Hollywood thrill ride in gaming.

@JDINCINERATOR regarding WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH

I just finished this game for the first time this morning. I have to say, I think it is one of the best short art house indie's I've ever played. Taking some ideas out of Dunkey's "Stray" review here, but the best examples of these art house games should be able to cleverly communicate their story through visuals and sound without relying too much on text or narration.

My question is this — Edith Finch uses a lot of voice acting and narration to tell the story. How effective do you think the narration is when compared against an Inside or Journey that stick to audio/visual storytelling?

One thing I love about this game is it's imagination in telling every family members story. Taking all of the stories on the whole, what are some overarching themes that you took from the game yourself?

@Capnbobamous regarding THE OUTER WILDS

Your video was absolutely fantastic. Not only did you articulate how the game plays, but you really put your own voice into what the game means to you. I know you already touched on this in your presentation, but like I just asked JD, what are some overarching themes that you took away from the game on a personal level?

Without having played it (yet), it's my understanding that The Outer Wilds is one of the most recent games that seems to be pushing the video game artform forward. Do you agree that TOW is raising the bar and how do you think this title is affecting the industry going forward?

Thanks to both of you!

@ffff0 regarding FORZA HORIZON 5

I read your answer to @JDINCINERATOR so I hate to double down on this, but FH4 was my first Forza Horizon game in 2018. I put in around 40ish hours before moving on and completed a lot of the activities. Since you brough FH5, I figured I'd finally give it a try and I put a few hours in so far. And I have to say, I feel like I'm playing the exact same game that I played as recently as 2 years ago with no deviation.

So my question is this - YOU are in charge for making Forza Horizon 6. What needs to be added or changed to make the series stay fresh?

We need to get a racing game into our Hall of Greats and FH5 is genuinely a great candidate but I want to compare it to other potential great's as well. If we go back to the original racing festival video game series, Motorstorm, there is a distinct attention to thrilling track design. In FH5, the circuits are small and samey. The rally style tracks take place in the same open world that you drive around normally, but this time there are a few flag marker checkpoints. Nothing is bespoke.

So my question is this - Is the lack of great or even good track design not a major knock against Forza Horizon 5? If not, what qualities do you think the game brings to table to nullify this shortcoming?

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@Brannox regarding DOOM II

So I need to preface this by letting people know that if they have any questions about newcomers to DOOM II, I only played DOOM II for the first time in my life this weekend. It's my first DOOM game in the OG series and I am completely blown away by it. I have had more fun in the first hour of DOOM II than I did for the entirety of DOOM 2016. [RHETORICAL] Why do people not talk about OG DOOM series enough?! Haha

I told some friends how I finally tried DOOM II and how blown away I was and they asked me which version I was playing. In which I replied, "Dunno — whatever is on Game Pass". In which they said, "The PSX version is way better and has a completely different tone, atmosphere, and music"

So I looked up the PSX music and I was pretty shocked at how different it is. It makes the version I was playing feel cartoony and whimsical by comparison.

So my question is this - Do the distinctions in the various versions of DOOM II make it hard to discuss the game as one whole? I ask because it seems like different people had dramatically different experiences with the same game.

Tell me about the modding in DOOM II. On cursory research, it seems like this game has had community support for the entirety of my life. Some of these mods looks nuts. How does it impact your personal experience with the game?

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Thanks to both of you!

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

Answer #6

@bruno_saurus

Question for @DIPSET
Does the gameplay evolve enough throughout the game in the way it handles stealth, or is it just sort of the same way to handle each situation?

Without getting into spoiler territory, let's just say your stealth abilities dramatically improve in Act II after your escape kicks into gear. This means the Intro / Act I plays similar, but your power as a player has some limitations which get easier later on.

I'd say the game pace overall sort of fluctuates what you're doing. If I had to pick ONE easy way of describing the game, think of it like an action-adventure. In, say, Uncharted, you aren't always in gunfights. Sometimes you are walking and talking, sometimes you're sneaking around, sometimes you are climbing. Escape From Butcher Bay is like that.

Some of the stealth is Point A --> Point B sneaking around going from shadows and ledges above enemies or platforming around (kinda like Splinter Cell), but sometimes the stealth is active combat where you're closing the gap and trying to shank a guard in the back of his neck and dragging the bodies into shadows.

Sometimes the Point A --> Point B has a lot of verticality and sometimes it's has seriously deadly mech suit guards all in a confined space on the same floor as you and sneaking is a tight squeeze.