What are you playing?

[Jassassino]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4

I'm a little bit...bored, I think? I dunno, I've always liked Tony Hawk, and I really enjoyed the 1 + 2 remaster a few years ago, but I'm struggling to play this for more than an hour at a time. Maybe I'm getting a little bit over the genre.

I actually feel somewhat similar - I ordered the Deluxe edition with the board, THPS3 was one of my all-time favourite games on the PS2, I spent hours on that nonstop. For some reason, this entry has me feeling a little deflated, and I can't quite pinpoint why except for a couple of minor reasons.

I also think the new parks aren't that great, and there's still some weird glitches (like spine-transfers having fucked up guiding which will break your combo) which break it a bit for me. Not only that, but I think some of the unlockables are just... boring? I'd rather have good, stylish looking clothing options to unlock or alternate pro skater outfits/styles to purchase instead of like... I don't know, gemstone themed hoodies? Or cel-shaded post-processing looks?

Doesn't help that the secret skaters are lowkey the worst in the series so far lol. It's gutting how much red-tape there is now between collaborations which means we'll never see a THPS with Wolverine, Spider-Man, Darth Maul or Jango Fett in again.

[Dirty Duck]

Who are the secret skaters this time around? (Or is it a secret?)

[Jassassino]

Who are the secret skaters this time around? (Or is it a secret?)

Doom Guy (who is actually a returner from THPS3 which is pretty cool), Revenant (Doom enemy), Hawk Man (skeletal bird which you see on Birdhouse decks), Michelangelo, Officer Dick, Bam Margera and Andy Anderson.

It's not a "bad" list by any means, but it's just nothing on the classic Pro Skater series of secret skaters.

[Bread]

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Honestly, very solid game. Gameplay is mediocre af, but I'm absolutely invested in the world that Dont Nod have built here. Some fantastic lore knocking about here.

[Silent Assassin]

About 5 different things...

Just finished DS2, thinking of going for 100% but I doubt it. Recently bought Crow Country (indie, PS1 era graphics, horror game) and Moons of Madness, another horror game.

I'm playing the very first Deus Ex, because I finally bought all DLC for Mankind Divided, a game I played years ago...

And I have 3 different PSVR2 titles, left, Including the Metro game for it.

And MGS3 is coming up and after that, the games just keep on coming. But I do have 3 weeks off of work and I'm gonna sit my butt down and enjoy some gaming.

[Dirty Duck]

How's the PSVR2? I feel like from an outside perspective the PSVR seems to have the most fully realised 'games' out of every VR attempt. I have an Oculus Quest 2 but I'm hard pressed to find anything I'd want to play outside of the novelty of VR.

[BULUPTAX]

I picked up the Tomb Raider 4-6 remaster on Steam sale because I really like the 1-3 remaster. Currently playing The Last Revelation and really enjoying it

[Silent Assassin]

Not sure what to tell you about PSVR2. It's my first VR headset. Playing in VR is great but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed the first time I played it. Trailers make it look nice and crispy but you can definitely see jaggies while using it. It took a while to get used to so now I don't even notice it.

I just wish Sony supported it more with 1st party games. But they simply gave up on it.

But VR gaming is another level, if you can make it past wearing something heavy on your head. And, thankfully, I don't suffer from motion sickness while using it. It's just a completely different experience trying to reload a weapon like it's real, while looking an enemy in the face in RE8. Or going over a big hill in GT7.

[BULUPTAX]

Mafia: The Old Country

I've been a long time fan of the series, the idea of setting it in Sicily in the early 1900's was a neato idea, rather than having it set in the decade after the previous game and making it another GTA clone.
It's really atmospheric and I got immediately sucked into It's world. The shooting mechanics feel pretty nice as well. The story so far seems like a reskinned version of Mafia 1's story but I hope they change things up soon

[Bread]

Cyberpunk 2077

Funny story, this is the FIFTH attempt to get into this game. I've attempted to play it on 4 different occasions since 2020, played for about an hour each time, struggled to get into it, decided I "wasn't in the mood" for it and dropped it. The 4th time I dropped it, I told myself that I had dropped it for good and that there's no way I'm just "not in the mood" 4 times in a row, I clearly just don't like the game. Got bored recently, and with Mindseye being fucking terrible, was in the mood for a futuristic, open world sandbox game.

Now I'm obsessed. 15 hours in. Just in time for my week off. I guess sometimes it's all about timing when playing certain games.