As recently mentioned, I played a little bit of Wuchang and Mortal Shell 2 for a bit. I haven’t continued playing for around a week now, but I might this weekend - not sure yet. I’ll definitely be playing more Slay the Spire 2. There’s been a new update that adds an entirely new character to the game, the Fool, who is a lot of fun and adds new character-specific mechanics that are very unique.

The Fromsoft soulslikes are notorious for many a thing: the difficulty of the game (levels as well as bosses), the lore, the fandom. What stands out to many is the atmosphere, the feeling of being thrown into an (un-)inhabited world that existed prior to your playing and will likely do so after you have finished your playthrough (bar specific endings with world-ending implications).

Is there any piece of media that evokes a similar feeling in you? Maybe a book, or a movie, or even another game?

I am not sure if I can come up with any non-game examples, but even though I am yet to finish the game, Outer Wilds or Subnautica give me a similar feeling. These vast open worlds (even an entire galaxy) exist outside the meddling of third parties (mostly). They have existed before I have entered the world and will likely do so after I am gone. Not a lot is explaiend about these worlds - you just exist and try to figure things out on your own.

The Mass Effect series gives me a similar feeling. You’re all alone with your crew, visiting all kinds of planets and races and whatnot. A lot of things are explained, you have a codex entry for pretty much everything you could imagine, but a lot of the story predates Shepard’s existence - think the Reapers, for example. Pretty astounding stuff.

I’m very curious to hear your thoughts! Have a nice weekend, folks. :) ✨

  • Coelacanth@feddit.nuEnglish
    2·
    11 hours ago

    I’m looking forward to hearing what you think about Death’s Door! It’s on my wishlist and I’ve also had it recommended, and I’ve fingered the Buy button several times when it was on sale for a few dollars but never pulled the trigger.

    • Skua@kbin.earth
      2·
      10 hours ago

      I played a few hours last night and enjoyed it! Controls took me a moment to get used to, but I think that’s largely a me problem because it happens every time I play an isometric game. So far it feels a LOT like Crypt Custodian, and as far as I’m concerned more Crypt Custodian is no bad thing. Some scattered thoughts:

      • Bosses are pretty cool
      • Most of the normal enemies are probably a lot more simple than they need to be, though I am only in the early game so far
      • There are fairly substantial areas with minimal combat, but the bosses and gauntlets ramp the challenge up rapidly
      • The puzzles have actually been a surprisingly solid element for me so far, there are some clever one
      • There are a few mechanics that it just doesn’t explain, but which I was able to find out naturally through gameplay
      • The characters are pretty fun, although none are super deep or complex so far