What are you playing right now?

[The Shoemaker]

Been playing a lot of InFamous Second Son for the past week or so, which I got on sale during E3. I've now gotten platinum on the game, it was fun. Surprised how much it feels like InFamous 2.5 though, I was expecting a bit of a greater change to the formula. With that said the story was enjoyable and it ends up being a nice tight medium length package.

Have you played/seen First Light? Now that you've aced Second Son, this one might be right up your alley. I got it when it was cheap as dirt (maybe even PS+ free?) a few months ago, so it probably gets a good discount every now and then.

I've just dipped into Life is Strange, which is a critically acclaimed point & click adventure game with a bit more gameplay mechanics behind it. It was originally release in episodic format, so I've just completed the first episode. The story has promise so far (which is really all you can ask from this kind of game, since the actual action of walking around and looking at stuff isn't compelling in and of itself).

Yeah I saw First light on sale during the same E3 sale I got inFamous on. Might grab it the next time it's on sale.

Played a couple new games in the past couple days:

Gone Home - I think I've said all I need to say about this game in the chat already, but I enjoyed it. The atmostphere is great, and process of exploring the house and more of the story is great. I don't want to seem heartless, but the story wasn't for me. I appreciated how human it was, but when it comes to story based games, I want a little more impact. This one ended on mellow note considering you knew the end from the first third of the game. It has some good background stories, but they are a bit too hidden in random letters, receipts ect, and by the end of the game I was just skimming the excess of notes.

Mega Man V - Beat all 8 bosses and working on the Wily stages now. I really liked the levels in this game compared to III and IV, but I think the music in this one is the most mediocre.

[Jordan]

Currently playing Thea: The Awakening. The game is sort of a combination of various genres like rpgs, roguelikes and 4x strategy games, with battles being a card minigame.

The premise focuses on leading a group of people through trials and tribulations in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting. Specifically, the game draws upon Slavic lore and mythology, even featuring old Slavic deities which represent the player's avatar as the player guides his or her people toward survival.

I'm liking it a lot so far.

[Claytone]

Man, I've only just found this thread, and it's one I've always wanted on this site. Better late than never!

I'm currently playing a few things while I wait for my things to arrive from Tennessee.

Ultimate Ghosts'n Goblins: I downloaded this PSP game onto my Vita ages ago, but I never gave it an earnest try. I am now, and I'm really enjoying it. Ghouls'n Ghosts for Genesis is one of the games I'm most proud to have beaten (yes, hardest difficulty and both laps), but I've yet to manage to knock any other games in the series out. I think this will be my next one. I think it's a fair bit worse than the older entries in the series, but it's still quite fun. I'm currently playing on Normal difficulty, which isn't a "pure" GnG experience, arguably, but I don't really care. This game features exploration aspects, and I think the difficulty is significantly cheaper than the other games, so I'm okay with the concessions present in Normal mode. Anyway, fun game. Would love if I could beat it before my other games arrive, which will probably distract me away from it.

Spelunky: I've also been playing this bastard of a game a little bit. I've always thought it was right at home on Vita, and it's as fun as I remember it being when I first played it a few years ago. Hoping to one day finally beat this game, but it is awfully tough.

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon: For some reason, I thought I should finally give this series a try, despite the middling critic scores it gets for pretty much every entry. Not sure if I regret that or not. I've had fun with what I've played, but I'm not sure if it has the staying power to pull me through to the end. It's simply not deep enough. I'll keep going, and if the plot picks up a bit, maybe that will keep me interested enough to knock it out. Otherwise, at least I can say I tried this particular spinoff, I suppose.

[The Shoemaker]

Man, I've only just found this thread, and it's one I've always wanted on this site. Better late than never!

Something I've wanted for a while too!

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon: For some reason, I thought I should finally give this series a try, despite the middling critic scores it gets for pretty much every entry. Not sure if I regret that or not. I've had fun with what I've played, but I'm not sure if it has the staying power to pull me through to the end. It's simply not deep enough. I'll keep going, and if the plot picks up a bit, maybe that will keep me interested enough to knock it out. Otherwise, at least I can say I tried this particular spinoff, I suppose.

I tried the demo for the game that came out before this and wasn't too impressed, though this one looks to be the best of the series. I'm more interested in Etrain Msytery Dungeon actually.

Progress!

Completed the Mega Man Anniversary Collection (1-6) and now moved onto Mega Man 7 on 3DS, as well as Mega Man 9 on Wii (don't think I'll be able to try 8 unless it comes to the PS4 store). 7 is a good upgrade in music compared to MM 3-6, I'm sure the capabilities of the SNES has a lot to do with it. I wasn't sure about the 16 bit style at first but I dig it. Game feels more like an adventure and less of a precise run and gun. I think it's a fine shift, feels good. Mega Man 9 is great classic gameplay though. Working on the Wily levels now and it's definitely my favourite of MM 1-6.

Mutant Mudds Super Challenge - Sort of continuing on my Mega Man streak with this platforming shooter. I enjoyed the last Mudds game, and this one continues with the ideas in a Lost Levels sort of way - just upping the challenge. It has some great chip tunes and visuals, really enjoying it so far. This game even added boss battles and more levels than the original. Completely different game by the way, doesn't use any of the previous levels, by some of the world themes.

Hyrule Warriors Legends - I'm on the third adventure map - The Master Quest. Lots to do in this game and I'm just making slow progress until school starts again. Game is good for bus play. Every once in a while they add some new DLC and free ruppees and fairy food so it's always a good reason to pop back in.

Stretchmo - More puzzles done. Only 3 or so left in the main game. Getting tough.

[Kong Wen]

As I was getting my computer all updated, I started playing Little Inferno again. Perfect game to while away time while doing other stuff. I'm on the 5th catalog now and have about 40/99 combos discovered.

[A Beta Fu7ure]

I'm about ten hours into Secret of Mana 2.

I have a Party of Angela the witch, Kevin the werewolf and Carlie the other one. I'm one level away from a class change and just suffered my second death (both have come at the hands of armoured golems).

I'm liking it more than I recall liking the first game. Probably because I understand RPG logic a little better these days.

[Kong Wen]

I'm about ten hours into Secret of Mana 2.

I have a Party of Angela the witch, Kevin the werewolf and Carlie the other one. I'm one level away from a class change and just suffered my second death (both have come at the hands of armoured golems).

I'm liking it more than I recall liking the first game. Probably because I understand RPG logic a little better these days.

Did you ever play Final Fantasy Adventure on Game Boy (I guess it would have been called Mystic Quest—not Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES)—in Europe)? It got a GBA remake as Sword of Mana, and a recent mobile/Vita remake as Adventures of Mana. It's the first game in the Mana series, so Secret of Mana's direct predecessor, and could be an interesting place to go next if you find yourself enjoying the gameplay more than you did the first time around.

I've been playing Life is Strange on PS4. It's Square's answer to those Telltale point & click adventure games. Along the same lines, it's pretty good. The story is of course the draw, but I find a lot of the player choices are pretty subtle. Minor things change depending on whether you help or pay attention to minor NPCs during the "free roam" sections. The big main-plot player choices are less subtle but even then your options can be quite nuanced, especially since it's not clear exactly how they'll play out in later episodes, since you don't know if the person you're treating a certain way will end up being a friend or foe later. I find this encourages me just to play the game my way instead of trying to do something "right" to manipulate an exact/expected outcome.

Having finished Knightmare Tower, I've also moved on to both Fingered! and Flywrench on Steam.

Fingered! is simply a showcase for Edmund's art, and it would be right at home on mobile as a time-killing quick-clicker. It's fine. Can't complain for $1.

Flywrench is a lovely game. I guess it's kind of a platformer... you have manoeuvre your little dude through courses towards an exit point. It's very fast and very responsive, so some of the trickier levels really become about memorizing a certain rhythm of button presses and holds. It would be just fine if it were only the gameplay, but what pushes this game into truly great territory is the whole presentation—flashy pseudo-vector graphics, quick burst movement and loading, and great splashes of sound and music. It's like a mix of Super Meat Boy, N++, Super Hexagon, and of course Nidhogg, which was developed by the same guy.

[A Beta Fu7ure]

I'm about ten hours into Secret of Mana 2.

I have a Party of Angela the witch, Kevin the werewolf and Carlie the other one. I'm one level away from a class change and just suffered my second death (both have come at the hands of armoured golems).

I'm liking it more than I recall liking the first game. Probably because I understand RPG logic a little better these days.

Did you ever play Final Fantasy Adventure on Game Boy (I guess it would have been called Mystic Quest—not Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES)—in Europe)? It got a GBA remake as Sword of Mana, and a recent mobile/Vita remake as Adventures of Mana. It's the first game in the Mana series, so Secret of Mana's direct predecessor, and could be an interesting place to go next if you find yourself enjoying the gameplay more than you did the first time around.

Sword of Mana for GBA was actually the first Mana game I ever played. However it remains one of the only videogames I've ever actually lost....so although i technically owned it I've no idea what happened to it. I only played it a little before losing it, because I remember it had a really,really long cut-scene (like five minutes long) right before a hard boss fight on an airship quite near to the start that was unskippable and had to be replayed again and again if you died.
Apparently this was enough to put me off back in the day.

Which do you prefer? the GB original or the remake?

[Kong Wen]

Which do you prefer? the GB original or the remake?

I quite liked the GB original, and since you're the kind of gamer that enjoys lo-fi retro handheld games, it's an easy recommendation. The GBA remake is meant to be quite good, and it might be cathartic for you to reclaim it. I'm going to give the Vita remake a try as well, but I don't tend to trust modern Square remakes.

[The Shoemaker]

Progress!

Dark Souls 3 - Done! After about 70 hours I made it to the end. Very enjoyable experience, definitely want to come back for new game + sometime.

Bloodborne - Gave this one another go after putting it on the backburner for a few months. Turns out the game is way easier when you actually equip weapons :p It's interesting seeing the differences from this game and Dark Souls 3, from the aesthetics to the combat. Different but the same. Anyways, made it past the first boss.

Fallout 4 - Managed to get this game at a really good price, despite not having a lot of interest in it beforehand. I'm enjoying it a good amount actually. I much prefer melee combat to gun combat in games, but I don't mind it in this one. It's tough when you're being swarmed by enemies, but that's probably when you're supposed to use the time freeze stuff. I really like the idea of making settlements as well as the standard open world quests. I definitely like the feeling of survival the game gives with the radiation everywhere.

Mutant Mudds Super Challenge - working on world 4 now, I believe there are 5 worlds. 100% all of the previous levels so progress is good.

Mega Man 7 - Working on the second Wily stage, appears to be a pretty annoying boss. So far I've enjoyed this one, loved the Ghouls and Goblins music in Shade Man's stage.