What are you playing right now?

[Niahak]

I've been playing exclusively on the Switch recently, and was addicted to Sailing Era for roughly a month. Played through the base 4 characters (DLC isn't on Switch yet, else I'd be tempted).

It's a worthy successor to Uncharted Waters. Although the translation isn't as good, and the actual sailing aesthetic is kind of rough, the fantastic portraits, ease of trading, and character recruitment/perks add to the experience and it's overall a positive experience.

I did encounter a bug that prevented me from taking on bounty quests in my final play-through, which blocks off some sidequests and ship blueprints. A bit frustrating, but still enjoyed my experience overall.

Thinking of one of these next:
* Any of the great games on the Switch Classics lineup (I'm overdue for Breath of Fire 2, not sure I can handle 1 anymore)
* Phantasy Star AGES
* Dragon Quest XI (I'm in Act 2, I think at least 1/3 through but I'm not positive)
* Dragon's Dogma (couldn't resist picking it up for $5, played through the original twice)

[Kong Wen]

Thinking of one of these next:
* Any of the great games on the Switch Classics lineup (I'm overdue for Breath of Fire 2, not sure I can handle 1 anymore)
* Phantasy Star AGES
* Dragon Quest XI (I'm in Act 2, I think at least 1/3 through but I'm not positive)
* Dragon's Dogma (couldn't resist picking it up for $5, played through the original twice)

My vote is either finishing off DQ11 for backlog satisfaction purposes (that has been the theme of my gaming year, other than a break for FF16), or Phantasy Star, which is not super long but the updates are apparently quite nice. A couple of the guys here played through that version recently and enjoyed it; it's sitting on my home screen waiting for me to get there.

[Sharecrow]

As I typically do, am playing a bunch of games at once.

Going for completion in SotN
Playing the second loop in Castlevania
Hard mode and collectibles run in Callisto Protocol
FF5 Pixel Remaster
Sea of Stars

Was hooked on Star Ocean 2 but completed the demo so now it’s a waiting game.

[Kong Wen]

Right now, my currently active games are:

• Langrisser I & II - early on my first Langrisser II path, eventually going for completion. Once you get rolling (after beating the game for the first time), cleaning up the other paths doesn't take as long because your main character should be wildly overpowered for the earlier sections of other routes. — this will take me another 50+ hours
• Carrion - my October/Halloween/Sharefest game. I don't know how far into this game I am, but I suspect it's not a long one. Goal is platinum before the 31st. — this might take me another 5 hours?
• Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - on pause while I focus on Carrion (similar kind of game, but playing as complete opposite creatures).
• Final Fantasy VII: Remake Intergrade - Already got the platinum in this, so now I'm halfway through the DLC/expansion Yuffie chapters. Honestly shouldn't take too too long. Maybe 20 hours if I bother grinding levels and materia to max levels before tackling Hard Mode again.
• Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood - People are always surprised to hear that I'm playing this in a healthy way (i.e. just chipping away a bit at a time, patiently, only really playing with my buddies are also online to hang out and chill in a party chat). I guess a lot of people get hooked on spending hours every day in these MMOs, either because of addiction or rushing to be able to unsubscribe again till the next expansion? Anyway, there's a lot of meat to this game, so trying to clear it all as quickly as possible would be fruitless, like trying to chug the ocean. My goal is simply to complete this expansion before 2024.

[Claytone]

I've allowed myself to start playing several games at once, which is very rare for me and is making things a bit of a mess! But this is what's up:

Mortal Kombat 1 - I finished the story on this one for the :B:, but I am enjoying ranked matches and working on other 1P stuff for the platinum. Apparently one of the trophies is for a some kind of seasonal/live service content that isn't even out yet, so that won't be happening anytime soon, I suppose. On that note, this game pretty clearly launched in an unfinished state, which is disappointing. Almost certainly pressure from WB. Annoying. Still fun, though.

F-Zero 99 - This will obviously be keeping me occupied for awhile. A great return for one of my favorite series that is just a blast to play. I'll have to pull myself away from this one to keep my backlog in check.

Hi-Fi Rush - Started this one last month and need to get back to it before I forget what was going on. Super cool rhythm-based character action game. Great so far and possibly a personal GotY contender if the quality continues apace. This will be my 1P game of priority until I knock it out so it doesn't get abandoned.

Halloween Game TBD - I still haven't picked a game for this October, but after failing to do so last year as well, I'd really like to! After I'm back from this weekend's travel, I think I'll pick a short, one-sitting game to knock out. I think Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti or perhaps the original Splatterhouse are strong contenders.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon - With Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name around the corner, I'd really like to get LAD7 knocked out soon. It's looking like I won't get it beaten by Gaiden's release date, but I'm ordering an import copy of that anyway, so not sure how quickly it will show up. Regardless, this will be a priority very soon.

[Sharecrow]

Am playing a few things right now. See below:

1. Castlevania: Bloodlines - Never played this one before but it’s next in my years-long chronological play through of Castlevania games (I’ll have to come back for GBA ones as that collection wasn’t released yet when I started this). I bailed on completing SotN….love that game but I’d had my fill. I may go back for completion later…

2. Callisto Protocol - still playing this one in hard mode though I’m on the last level now. Tough game but hard mode isn’t that much harder than normal mode. I’ll have to replay it in a fresh save due to a glitched collectible, though…

3. FFV Pixel Remaster - slowly chipping away at this one. One of the trophies is rather daunting, but I’ll get it or at least I intend to.

4. Golden Axe II - playing around with just due to loving the game. As I noted in the chat, I may need Ian’s help to beat it as I can’t quite make it solo.

5. Dynamite Headdy - playing this goofy, difficult game. It’s got tons of levels though…I wonder if it’s beatable by me….

6. Sea of Stars - playing very rarely but enjoying it when I do. Again just waiting for Star Ocean 2 to come out….

Edit: forgot number 7 in Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear). Am on the Labryinth zone. I think this is a port of the SMS Sonic 1, but I don’t recall as it’s been so long since I played it…

[Niahak]

Finished DQ11S to my satisfaction (at credit roll, no epilogue for me. No thanks)

I started playing BOF2 on Switch SNES classics and wow, it is pretty rough. Battles especially run really slow - if SNES classics had a fast forward option I might be able to bear it, but I think I'll probably be dropping it. I'm not sure what I'll pick up for the two weeks until SO2R though.

I played through the SO2 demo and wow, they did a great job keeping the things I have lots of nostalgia about - the sprites are great, the backgrounds are great, I even switched from original to arranged music because it still conjures the same feelings. I haven't enjoyed any other SO game, but I played the first few hours of SO2 probably 5 or 6 times over the years.

Only minus is that I couldn't upgrade field skills (item creation / stat passives). I assume that's just a demo thing, to prevent people from breaking the game too early. Battles do seem a little sink-or-swim; the quick-dodge / counter mechanic is tricky to get exactly right, and the downsides of a failed counter seem pretty bad so I may end up just ignoring the mechanic as things get more chaotic.

Spoilers go past the demo, so beware.

Spoiler

I turned Celine down, to make later recruitment decisions a little easier, especially since I'm playing as Claude and will be getting Leon later. I've always enjoyed Ashton, but I'll probably get Opera my first time through.

[Kong Wen]

Holidays are coming, so it's time to gather some comforting games on various portable platforms that will keep me company while lying on the couch with a young Doberman.

Before I leave for vacation:

• Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen - the first DLC for the excellent Final Fantasy XVI dropped last night during The Game Advertisements. I'm not sure how long this first DLC chapter is, but I should be able to finish it in a week given that I finished the 100 hour base game in a week...
• Carrion - my leftover Halloween game. I kept putting off finishing it because I wanted to stream it, and then I was always too busy to stream. But I'm right at the end, so I should be able to finish it in my next session.

PlayStation Porta{b}l{e}

• World of Final Fantasy Maxima - with all the chat about Dragon Quest Monsters, I was reminded of this FF-branded knock-off I had buried deep on my wishlist for a sale, and sure enough, it's nice and cheap right now. This will be the perfect kind of easy, brainless game to play on my PSP on the couch.

Steam Deck OLED LE

• Loop Hero - I'm about 30 hours into this excellent game. It ended up being much better than I expected. Nice hooks, nice simple gameplay. Nice variety of stuff to attempt. I have several more loops left to unlock everything and properly beat the game, but I'll play this when I'm focusing on other stuff.
• subpar pool - This is an even more brainless little game to fill time when I should be sleeping. I'll keep putting, slowly and gradually unlocking new challenges till I understand what the end is.
• Half-Life - I installed the revamped 25th anniversary edition (or whatever) to properly break in my new Steam Deck. Having some time off over the holidays could be a good time to tackle it. We shall see.

[Niahak]

I beat Star Ocean 2R once, played for around another 10 hours on a Rena playthrough (long enough to wrap Linga stuff) and kinda stopped there.
Mild character thoughts, possibly spoilery I guess.

Spoiler

I disliked Precis and Opera both more than I thought I would - they're both young people going after older people for little reason. I missed some PAs with Opera and Ernest I think, which meant I missed most of their backstory.
Welch (new character) is meh. I didn't like her but she could've been worse.
Bowman has some issues parsing his relationship with his wife, but he's overall a decent guy. I like him.
Ashton is great. Perennially unlucky, kind of introverted but likes having friends, has a fascination with barrels but isn't stupid. By the end he just rolls with the situation and is supportive of his friends.
Dias and Leon are both annoying.

Overall good. I can see how people might not enjoy it if they didn't play the original (it's a bit of a "you had to be there" game), but for fans of the original it's fantastic.

I started Disco Elysium and it is quite the disorienting game by design. Mystery upon mystery, from the very start - and the way it is framed around solving a mystery that is seemingly mundane is interesting too. Feels Planescape-y in the good ways, without some of P:T's weaknesses. I can see why many people I trust like it so much. My only real complaints so far are that I absolutely can't play it in front of my kids and it's crashed a few times on Switch.

This progress report is more for my sanity than anything. It likely contains spoilers, although I've tried to minimize them.

Spoiler

On the Third Day.
I've finished the first thing that Kim requested, though I needed help from outside to send off the thing. Discovered some oddities.
I've wiped the smile off my face.
I've learned the nature of the world, including finishing "Jamais Vu" and post-discussion which is very disconcerting.
I've learned my full name (which I had the option to reject).
I'm only now exploring the area I was able to access starting this morning.
I've largely tried to avoid taking sides, although I have had to sink to some corruption to stay afloat and housed. Kim trusts (or at least tolerates) me so I must be doing some things right... enough.

[Sharecrow]

Im pretty much exclusively playing Ninja Gaiden Sigma (again) and Berzerk: Recharged. Both fantastic games that I love.

I rarely play Persona 4 Golden but am still playing it. I hooked up my PS3 in my new bedroom so will pick something there to play as well….either DWVII or Alundra or….or….something else random and capricious.