Still sinking some hours into
Death Stranding post-game stuff, trying to 5-star all the stops. I also have the Level 3 jetpack. Those Sonic the Hedgehog ramps are now incredibly useful (and even funnier than before)
Switched over to Switch's
Astral Chain to finally begin the game and learn the combat. My youngest son is also playing through it on his own Switch so it's fun to compare notes. Only a few hours in. Pretty fun game that feels more epic than it really is (small, linear maps). It's a typical Evangelion knockoff right down to the menacing director, otherworldly monsters harnessed for battle, and teenage angst.
Combat has simple combos and simple specials, offset by a ton of complex, circumstantial uses for your chain abilities. You are given a lot of the familiar Platinum Games 3rd person action tools from previous games like perfect dodges triggering a special, timing based counters, switching "weapons" mid-combo, even the MG:Revengence "sword slice" mechanic shows up. There are lots of pre-telegraphed attacks that show where they will land, so it has that Hades style where you're moving yourself (and your legion) out of the path of area-of-effect blasts and screen-spanning stampede attacks.
The tone is a blend of goofy slapstick and Japanese anime seriousness like all P* games. For instance one ability lets you draw the chain across a charging enemy's path (indicated by a bright glowing line) and the enemy bounces back high into the air like they're in a WWF ring getting flung off the ropes. You're humanity's last hope to protect humanity's last remaining city, yet you're also picking up litter and throwing it away, or catching stray cats, or listening to a huge mascot named Lappy.
as an aside, this game is weirdly similar to Death Stranding in a lot of ways. Similar holograms covering everything. Similar Hero plotline. Similar blend of humor and seriousness.
I am going to tuck into a hefty CRPG next. I have gone through character creation / intor for PoE2 Deadfire and Pathfinder Kingmaker and I'm deciding which one I wanna play while shelving the other one.
Deadfire is like pirate Mount & Blade with RPG combat, sailing around the map, dealing with storms, keeping supplies and morale of the crew up, completing quests... it's considered one of the most free-form CRPGs on the market. Also I really like the Pillars of Eternity lore. The first game was honestly the worst out of the last batch of these games several years ago (Wasteland 2, Divinity Original Sin, etc) in terms of gameplay and quality of life, but the worldbuilding was fascinating and the dialogue was the best out of those mentioned.
Pathfinder Kingmaker is "Baldur's Gate 2: Here's Your Keep Right Away". Since getting your keep, or troupe, or interdimensional Wizard Ship is the best part of BG2, Kingmaker game takes that idea and makes a whole game out of it, with the normal trappings of an Infinity Engine-style CRPG with combat, abilities with limited uses per day / per rest, and so forth.
'd by a dying PS4)
