Best posts made by Phbz

If someone has a link for a biologist streamer addressing if foxes are nature's waypoints and a meteorologist streamer clarifying if it's true or not that you can change weather by playing flute please link. Still have time to cancel my pre-order.

I'm playing Animal Crossing. A game that if you asked me a month ago if I was going to play it my answer would be "no, probably never". I'm loving it. Between quarantine and me quitting smoking it's the perfect game.

Looking at the thumbnail it looks like they're trying to force on me their acoustic guitar agenda. Now I feel the need to cancel them since I'm much more into synths.

Dead Space 2

I did play and loved the first game but never followed up on the series because - honestly - when I saw reviews for 2 with the swarms of humanoid baby monsters I decided I was not in the mood for that anxiety.

Then played it for a bit when it became BC with the X1, mostly to check to see if it was 4k. It clearly isn't, it's still under 1080p.

Now I was in the mood for some horror and finally decided to beat it.

First of all, the use of colour and lighting in this game is amazing. So is the sound design. Be it the crunchy and textured synths or the organic gore and distorted vocalisations. Superb stuff!

Good variety of locations, plenty of well thought combat situations. Some entertaining environmental puzzles to break the pace. Really enjoyed the tension throughout the whole game.

The story is kind of whatever, but pretty effective in contextualising setting and fuelling characters arch.

Then in the last 60 minutes things kind of collapse. Locations get boring, combat cenarios feel more random, even the art direction takes a hit. Final boss is a super short fight, feels clumsy.

Overall I enjoyed it a lot. Weird that not that long ago EA was putting out some really high quality single player games.

Most games are good.

@mbun No, I want fewer games but showing gameplay for more than a few seconds at best. Then you can have all the commercials you want.

That's a cool topic of conversation.

The ideal open world for me has to have "emptiness" in it. Open spaces and visual landscapes that help me map the land intuitively. Trekking is one of my passions in real life, it's immensely satisfying to set a visual target and on your way accidentally coming across something, like an animal, a hidden crystalline lake or just a fellow trekker taking a shit. Which takes me to what I consider the most important aspect and what current and future open worlds should aim for. Emergent situations. Even if illusory, make me be surprised by the unexpected, make me come across stuff that doesn't serve in any way my mission in that world but it's nevertheless impactful. Take things a step further, have main quests come to me instead of telling me to check that icon on the map. And emergent gameplay too, multilayered systems that evolve towards entropy.

@jackmarison93 What an auspicious start.

8h Patagonia bush trip done. Really stunning scenery.

Easiest pick for me. Galaxy 2 stands head and shoulders above all other games released this past decade and is one of the best games ever made. True that the overworld could be better but Mario could be flipping burgers on a Macdonald's between levels and SMG2 would still be my number 1 spot. It controls perfectly, has stellar level design, unparalleled creativity, one of the best OSTs in gaming and a gorgeous art direction.

Plus, on a personal level, it's the game that brought me back to gaming. And I swear I had a smile on my face from beginning to end.

I've pretty much enjoyed every game they've put out (yes, including QB) so I'm excited about Control.

About being an Epic Store exclusive, I guess it's a good thing that our societies are in such a good state that we can focus on (un)important stuff like this.

Sorry about the spam

It's not a bad looking game, just a bit too blurry.

Fantastic sound design and great use of music. The village you initially go to feels so real. Reminds me of remote little villages you can still find in Europe but more lived in. Great stuff. The narrative continues to be top notch too, so well paced. That's why I love this type of short games, no need for filler. Reminds me of Hellblade in so many ways. Also, the companion so far is very well implemented, really engaging. And I can already feel the relationship changing and evolving, hope it keeps growing. Also being a child it's a good way to make by sure the player has a strong connection even without knowing him that well.

Ah, love the collectibles. A cool way to get historical details of when the game takes place.

Probably not my last post about this game.

I'm going to talk about some negatives and then finish on a very positive note.

-The game core gameplay severely lacks elasticity, not only on how it's linear but mostly because it's kind of easy to break it. And sometimes it demands a bit of good will from us not to abuse it, at the risk of braking immersion, or worst, when it happens by accident.
-Animation transitions can be super rough at times.
-Level design is just OK.
-Plus the blur I mentioned on my first post.

Now to end this on a brighter look. Damn, I'll say it, these are some of the best environments I've ever seen in a game. Fantastic colour palette. From the vibrant woods, to the stone greys of the villages and the darkness and light contrasts. Beautiful weather effects, be it a foggy night or a sunny day and all in between. And the locations are so well realised, feel so believable, with great attention to detail. The game keeps changing locations and I keep being surprised by its quality. I feel that almost every single time they absolutely nail a very specific mood, greatly helped also by a masterful use of the soundtrack.

Youtube Video

I make @ffff0 words my own.

Then for my actual words:
Quantum Break was a deeply flawed game but it had my favourite 3rd person combat this gen. Control pushes it even further making it more varied and dynamic. Then in terms of world and story it's a game tailored to my tastes - weird, dark absurd and funny. Reminiscent of stuff like X Files and Twilight Zone with some David Lynch thrown in there.

Visually it's my favourite game ever. It mixes a clean and strong architecture with surprising "rooms" that are always gorgeous.

Really good level design, very similar to a 3d Metroid. The map it's not very clear, but that's deliberate. It's enough to give you a sense of where to go but forces the player to use visual cues in the world for orientation. And it's SO rewarding to explore!

Remedy is a very unique voice in gaming and I'm so glad to see them back.

GT Sport this weekend had an epic final race.
Youtube Video

Epic stuff!

Very happy about this specs. Getting a good CPU will push things forward in a significant way. As for games pretty sure they'll keep coming. It's not like MS didn't have good releases even at their lowest. Plus their acquisitions give me confidence that they won't be just going after market trends.

As for Sony, I have no idea what's going on. But I'm not too concerned.

Hey guys

As many of us I've been closed home for the last few weeks. Decided to record some music and share it.

Electronica made with a mix of analogue and digital gear. I think it kinda reflects the melancolia and apathy that have been overwhelming me, for the most part. So don't expect uplifting dance music. 😁

https://sarronco.bandcamp.com/releases

Sea Salt

This Indie game looks absolutely horrible. It's pixel art is atrocious, uninspired and confusing. But it's a cool game. A so called “reverse horror” game where you control a group of minions and attack villages from a top down perspective. Very short and fast paced, keeps giving you upgrades through new creatures so it's quite rewarding. Not a goty contender but a cool and different game. If you have GamePass go for it.

Journey to the Savage Planet

This is the kind of game that makes me happy to be a gamer. I already had it one my “list” since last E3, it's humour and art style caught my eye. Then I heard some of the allies shitting on it and that caught me by surprise. Still was pretty sure this was going to drop on GamePass eventually and I was definitely going to give it a try.

Holy smokes, this game is pure bliss! The writing is in the same vein of Void Bastards or Outer Worlds, it genuinely made me chuckle several times. From the commercial videos to small details like your character gagging every time he eats a particular type of upgrade, humour is prevalent and tasteful imo. Big Metroid Prime influences in the way you navigate the world and unlock secrets. Immensely satisfying. Gorgeous art direction too. The world is colourful with the right amount of variation, specially in secret areas. Imaginative creature design too.

Big chance of this ending up on my goty nominations. Anyone fan of exploration focused games, do not miss this!

Animal Crossing New Horizons

Don't want to write too much about this game. Pretty sure I would never play this game if it wasn't for the proto-apocalypse happening outside. With that said, it will be a memory I'll keep with me forever. As a game? Love the graphics, the sound design it's superb, music is great and characters generate more empathy in me than pretty much any game I can remember. It's a joy to develop your island too, and the real time passage of time makes things feel meaningful in retrospect.

But on the other hand ACNH doesn't respect your time. The escalation of your production means to deal with its progression is way too asymmetrical. Turnips are cool, but can be too punishing. At the same time it's a missed opportunity that people with an internet connection can't have a global Turnip stock market in real time. But what really takes the cake is that there's bad menu design and then there's ACNH menu design. For a game that has so much attention to detail it's kind of inexplicable how terrible this game is, to the point that makes me wonder if it's intentional. I wont even go too deep into it because as I start to type my mind starts racing with examples and ramifications of how terrible it is.

I love that this game is getting good scores, because I love it too, but from a product standpoint, this is not good.