Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of June 23rd

orca , 6 days ago

Definitely Shadow of the Erdtree! I’ve already beaten the Dancing Lion boss. Just started playing WoW Classic again too and found a guild filled with super nice people. So that’s been fun.

Cyv_ , 6 days ago

Yep, shadow of the erdtree :) I’ve been big on invading since Dark Souls 1 and I found that the fog catacombs are a delight to invade in.

• Long zone with few checkpoints
• Lots of traps
• Elevators :D
• Imps that do bleed so moghs great rune is decent
• Marika’s stakes so I don’t feel toooooo bad murdering people right before they reach the boss lol.

Love those cannon imps. Such a goofy enemy, and such a good enemy for invaders. Anything that does aoe and knockback is my bff in invasions.

FlashMobOfOne , 6 days ago

Fun!

I’ll probably pick it up in a few weeks. I’m having a lot of fun with BG3 right now.

Cyv_ , 6 days ago

Oh nice! I gotta go back and play that again, they added a bunch of epilogue stuff since I ran through the first time :)

its_me_xiphos , 3 days ago

The epilogue is actually pretty damn good. Highly recommended.

Coelacanth , 6 days ago

I’ve been mainlining Esports Godfather, which is the surprise hit of the year for me so far. The title is nonsensical and on the surface it looks like it can’t be good, but it’s been so much fun.

It’s a MOBA-themed sort of deckbuilder/autobattler/management game - which sounds like a hot mess but plays so much better than you’d think. At least after you get over the initial information overload.

I wish the AI was a little smarter, but even with the game being a touch too easy it’s incredible how much fun it is. Loads of cards and heroes to build synergies with and rotating version rulesets keeping things fresh even within a single run.

At just €16 on Steam I’d easily recommend it to anyone with an interest in the genre, and there is even a free demo that covers the first couple hours of a run.

CharlesReed , 6 days ago

Still working on Diablo 4: Season 4 and Mad Max

Tywele , 6 days ago

Catching up on Final Fantasy XIV Post-Endwalker content and preparing for Dawntrail.

Poopfeast420 , 6 days ago

Once again, I played far too much World of Warcraft Remix this week. I do have three more maxed characters now though and all achievements for the mode. I found Frost Mage to be surprisingly fun, after I totally hated it (my old main) and completely abandoned magic DPS altogether at the beginning of Shadowlands. This time I’ll definitely take it slower and will try to only play my Druid. It went so well the last two weeks.

Depending on how much I get into the new expansion, The War Within, Balance Druid and Frost Mage are definitely some I’ll consider taking a look, although my Windwalker Monk will most likely stay my main.

Then, more Diablo 4. I’m almost level 90 with my Necromancer, Minion build is still boring, but I’ll keep it at least until level 100, and I’ve checked out more endgame stuff.

stargazingpenguin , 6 days ago

The Elder Scrolls Online has been my go to for the weekend so far, it’s something I enjoy dropping in and out of sometimes.

FlashMobOfOne , 6 days ago

I picked Baldur’s Gate 3 back up two weeks ago.

Last summer I played Act 1 of the game and found myself thoroughly satisfied, and decided to wait to play the rest.

Act 2, like Act 1, is just as awesome. We’ll see if I decide to take another break before the third act, haha! This game is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Other than that I’ve been taking a lot of 10-15 minute breaks while working from home and enjoying the minigames on Meta Horizons.

eezeebee , 6 days ago

Still playing Dark Souls 2 - almost 100 hours in and there’s just Darklurker and Aldia left. This game just keeps going and going, really well worth the cost. Since I’m almost through, I can see why it seems to be the black sheep of the series. But, despite some problems (like needing to refer to a guide constantly) I like it a lot, and will definitely do a NG+ eventually.

Also started Yooka-Laylee and I love it already. It’s very true to the Banjo Kazooie style.

DreamyRin , 6 days ago

ayyy new thread new game!

well kind of. I’m actually playing Caves of Qud a bit, now that I understand it more (I did end up installing the tutorial mod, thank you for that! and I did watch a small non-spoilery tutorial series as well) and I’m having a really good time. I started out with a character the tutorial recommended and have been fighting fish to level up. planning on taking on the first big quest tho!

sadly I’m stuck on an old gaming laptop that doesn’t really like to play games, so I can’t jump into all the games I want to. even my gacha game I play is pushing it, although I still login every day and do my required stuff. the laptop just gets extraordinarily hot. it handles Caves of Qud, because ascii, but I was wanting to jump in to Elden Ring at some point (I don’t have the DLC, does it make new runs more exciting at the beginning or is it a later thing?) and realized it’s not an option I think due to my laptop’s specs and general grumpiness.

so I’ve been wrestling with Borderlands 3 to get it to work, and my partner and I have been playing that for a bit. I love the BL series, although 2 was imho the best for writing. the humor still annoys me sometimes but I started playing the series with the first one when it came out, as a kid, so it has a special place in my heart. my partner hasn’t really ever played first person shooter games, so Destiny 2 (when we played) and Borderlands was their introduction.

BuboScandiacus , 5 days ago

Wait. There is a tutorial mod ?! Can you give me a link to it please ?

DreamyRin , 5 days ago

yep! here it is on the steam workshop and I hope it helps you out! if you want the video series too, I can shoot that your way, it doesn’t really spoil anything and I didn’t know 95% of the mechanics even existed.

live and drink friend!

BuboScandiacus , 4 days ago

Thank you ! Live and drink !

NakariLexfortaine , 6 days ago

Slowly grinding my way through a Pokemon Red Professor Oaks Challenge(Yay, switch-training Magikarp…), and when my brains to the point of melting from that, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Kitsune Bladebound Magus, happily traipsing her fluffy way down wherever Desna may guide her.

May the Gods have mercy on the crusade she’s going to lead.

bgsulz , 6 days ago

I played Daniel Linssen’s Leap Year, and I highly recommend it! $5 for a delightful single sitting. Goofy mechanics whose depth you slowly discover by exploring and experimenting. Some of the most brilliant level design I’ve seen.

HipsterTenZero , 6 days ago

Against my better judgement, i decided to look into Genshin Impact.

I’ve resolved to not spend any money on it, and I’m fairly happy with my experience so far. I’m currently in act 2 in Inazuma, and I’ve really been enjoying the Archon quests. Despite the fact that I spent 0 dollars on it, this part of the game really does feel like a full retail game experience.

The world quests are alright, though I’m honestly having trouble fitting them into my adventures; too much adventure experience is coming in, which is causing me to hit world level increases, which is causing me to need to grind ascension mats for my roster, which is causing too much adventure xp. It’s a lot! Dragonspine was a fun detour, though.

Story quests are probably my favorite feature in this game. Low stakes hang outs with the weirdos in your party is a fun and important part of RPGs. And Genshin really gets that. The only problem is… A lot of these weirdos aren’t in my party! If Story quests unlocked the characters at their conclusion, I’d have had no qualms with putting $60 down on this game, but they’re pretty much all locked behind the gacha mechanic which suuuucks. Shenhe and Diluc should be in my gang right now, but the funny gacha rocks disagree. Not a fan of that.

The resin and primogem stuff I feel really negatively about. I don’t want that stuff getting in the way of the fun parts, but I’m constantly scraping up against both. It’s not intrusive enough to dampen my experience while actually playing through the quests or exploring though, so I think I’ll put up with it until I’m satisfied with exploring Teyvat.

Ashen44 , 6 days ago

absolutely! Genshin is actually a surprisingly good game as a f2p player! If you’re having a lot of fun with it, I’d highly recommend checking Honkai: Star Rail! It’s somehow even more f2p friendly, and it’s clear they learned a LOT from Genshin when making it. It is a linear turn-based RPG though, so quite a different game from Genshin.

DreamyRin , 5 days ago

genshin is surprisingly good (I was also wow’d when I started playing), but ultimately I found the story lacking in a lot of key places for me (justice for Inazuma’s story especially!) which ultimately led me to quit for now. I played for two years, and have a pretty well established account. however, I have really bad fatigue issues and wasn’t able to keep up as well with the adventuring requirements, such as having to unlock chests for free primogems.

I think playing it until you’re tired of the grating parts is a totally valid way to experience it. especially because it’s free!

like the other comment, I tried Honkai: Star Rail and honestly I love it so much more. it is turn-based combat, but I feel like the writing is better, and they treat their characters better storywise (in contrast to genshin, which imho the hangouts for four stars are not comparable to the story quests some four stars get.) it’s my gacha game of choice, and while I’ve had my nitpicks, I have those with every game I play pretty much. I also agree it’s more f2p friendly.

these are all just my opinion tho! I hope you enjoy your time with the game and that you get the characters you want. may your pulls be blessed!

HipsterTenZero , 5 days ago

“…and that you get the characters you want. may your pulls be blessed!”

Thanks, I could really use the bless. I have yet to get a fire character I like and can use. I’d take the bomb goblin in Jean’s basement at this rate.

Amber could not leave my party fast enough, and Xiangling is in the timeout corner from the time her rat refused to light the torches on dragonspine. I did get Thoma from the character event, but he absolutely refuses to be ascended past level 20.

DreamyRin , 5 days ago

I feel you. I dislike most of the pyro characters honestly! and also, oof, Thoma requires ascension materials from a special huge questline island in Inazuma. he’s kind of a pain to level. the pyro four star I like the most is a tie between Gaming and Yanfei. Yoimiya is my favorite 5 star one, and she works well with Thoma, actually.

you can probably guess who some of my favorites are based on profile pic and banner (eventually, anyway, they’re both in Inazuma.)

who do you have your eyes on that you want, anyone besides Diluc and Shenhe? I don’t know what the banners are currently.

HipsterTenZero , 5 days ago

I think that’s Raiden Shogun & Kujou Sara on your profile? I juuuust met the latter on the Archon questline.

My ideal lineup would have a Greatsword, Bow, and 2x Tomes, with Anemo, Pyro, Dendro, and Hydro represented. I don’t really know the cast well enough to say who would go where. I’m currently rolling with Electro Aether, Collei, Sucrose (The MVP of my crew), and Barbie, though I’m really hopeful to sub out barbie soon, as her healing has been falling off.

I’d definitely fit Zhongli in if I somehow got him, as well as Razor and Jean. Rosaria showed up for like half a second in the story, and I’m all about that tired priestess vibe she’s got going on. Yomiya is cool, I’d have her in my team too.

ConstableJelly , 6 days ago

I’ve been enjoying Pacific Drive this week. It’s a great survival crafting game in the vein of Subnautica, which is to say there is a linear progression path for upgrades and improvement, and a well-defined objective and end goal.

I just wish it was less stressful. Even just the normal act of activating a gateway to end a run requires a race through your current zone where one misstep can cause you to get stuck long enough to fail. And sometimes conditions just really stack up against you in a way that can be unexpected and frustrating.

Overall though it really hits the spot with its loop. I love returning to the garage and going through the ritual of healing, fueling up, recharging, transferring supplies, and checking on upgrades.

Oh…I also finished and platinumed 13 sentinels earlier this week. I enjoyed that one a lot more than I expected. It’s as compelling as it is eye-rollingly funny how many sci-fi tropes the main story burns through, but I i was frequently and pleasantly taken by surprise. And the battle system, which through the first area I thought was so easy it was basically a formality, really did become more challenging and tactical, especially when trying to get S ranks.

Ashen44 , 6 days ago

The Talos Principle 2 dropped an expansion out of nowhere. It hasn’t even been a year since the game released! The puzzles so far are really creative and cool, and of course it wouldn’t be The Talos Principle without a healthy dose of philosophizing about the human condition!

Sas , 6 days ago

I’m still on the first chapter but it’s awesome. But I got stuck on 2 of the bonus puzzles and age of wonders 4 and Elden Ring both dropped dlc as well so I’m currently playing way too much Elden Ring. I have to say that the philosophising in the first chapter didn’t land with me but maybe that’s because love for me isn’t something to thoroughly analyze.