WHAT VIDEOGAMES ARE YOU PLAYING RIGHT NOW?

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I'm loving Tales of Berseria. Combat feels balanced, more over than Zesteria. The story is a bit more captivating as the characters aren't all do-gooder types like I've seen in recent Tales titles.

And customizable combo strands? Oooh yeah.

I take breaks from this to play Warframe with friends.
I am hyped for Berseria, but Yakuza Zero also comes out today which I am hyped for! Not that it matters because my computer and PS4 are in storage right now. I'm stuck with is Dragon Warrior 6 where I'm getting into enemies that can oneshot Ashlynn and Seven Knights where I'm already at Chancellor who can oneshot my status immunity guy now instead!
I've been playing The Witness and SMT4 Apocalypse. I'm enjoying SMT4A way more than I initially thought I would. I think I'm preferring it over 4! I'm about 12 hours in and everything is clicking well with me.

The Witness, to me, is me hitting my head against a wall until I suddenly understand. It's quite a clever game and I look forward to cracking it.
Melkino
solos collectors on purpose
2021
I played the Berseria demo the day it dropped on Steam because I hadn't played a tales game since Abyss nearly ten years ago, but...I just couldn't get into it. Didn't like the skits or the mascot character's voice (and it didn't even look cute like Mieu), and there was no plot hook to make me want to see more. :/

Then again, I've played very few jrpgs these days anyway. But I got Lightning Returns on sale a while ago and have been playing that. The story's pretty ehh, but I've been having fun collecting the little dressup items and the timing-based combat--once it clicked after unlearning the tighter guard timing I picked up from Metal Gear Rising, haha
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
Lightning Returns is in my top 5 favorite games. I absolutely adored it. The storytelling is a bit weird until you start to really get into Vanille, but I did really love Lumina. Fantastic villain imo.

The Berseria demo is absolute shite. It's a glorified tech demo and PC benchmark. There's no way to appreciate the battle system when it throws the 30-hour-mark fully unlocked system at you within two minutes. And yeah, basically no story except the awkward "i don't get women" stuff.



This is what got me into Berseria. The NamcoBandai youtube has some decent character intro videos, too. The animations really help pull off Laphicet and Roukuro's personalities, I think.
The Berseria demo doesn't do the actual game any justice. I had doubts going into the main game (even though I preordered it before I played the demo), and going in with reservations readied me for all-out judgement.

But within the ten+ hours I've sunk into it, the game seems to reward the daring; grouping enemy groups together for more Gald and EXP; weapon and armor skills are learned by Grade earned during fights, combat is fast and frantic but without a ton of effects popping every which way and that.

With the combat - it seems like they want to encourage players to play on higher difficulties AND fight enemy groups. Average fight nets me, at the moment, right under 100 exp, but if I group enemies, it goes to nearly 400, and enemies drop more items this way, too.

Mystic arts are easier to use than I remember - holding L2 when in combo (or in this case, doing two attacks top can set it off) makes obliterating enemies too easy. Suppose that's why they encourage group fights and harder difficulty then? -shrugs-

But I have to complain about character designs - not so much for the males, or hell, even Velvet herself (I gave that a pass cuz...meh?)

No, it's Magilou's character and her damn mascot character. -_- Just...what is with that outfit of hers?

All in all - you're not playing as what I'd call 'the good guys' this time around, and it seems like a "Tales of One Piece" game; minus all the rubber, prostrating about and declaring oneself "King of the Pirates!" over and over, but kept all the action. lol

And the cast is...surprisingly likable. A step above Zesteria, but not quite sure where I'd rank it overall in terms of Tales protag groups.

Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
I think what's most impressive about Berseria so far is that they wrote two stories that are told at once -- one for people who are new to the world, and one for people who played Zestiria. Basically everything in the first few hours is incredibly alarming yet foreseeable for anybody who played Zestiria, and for fresh players it's going to be sudden and new territory. A malak (seraphim) being infused with malevolence to become a dragon is very obvious to somebody who played Zestiria, although it's still horrifying, especially since it is on demand. The impact is there, just in a different way (since we know that these "malak" are being abused instead of being allowed to live).

Velvet is a force of hell and good writing. I'm adoring her so far. She'll use any tool at her disposal.
author=zDS
I'm enjoying SMT4A way more than I initially thought I would. I think I'm preferring it over 4! I'm about 12 hours in and everything is clicking well with me.


I'm playing this right now, too. It reminded me how much I love the SMT series. And then there's Persona Q which I'm also playing. A bit different than I expected, but nevertheless a fun dungeon crawler.
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
persona q is literally the worst 3ds game i've played

i've played only like 10 but w/e

it's so bad. they had a chance to make something really cool with the fun dialogue triggers in the dungeon and all the battle quotes and etc., but even on hard mode the HP/SP buffers personas give you completely negate any challenge in the game. all of the characters are flanderized to the point of being completely one-note and irritatingly awful. ugh. teddie just harasses all the female characters in every single cutscene.

pq could have been incredible but it's absolute trash. i sold it without looking back by the end of the second dungeon.
Yellow Magic
Could I BE any more Chandler Bing from Friends (TM)?
3154
author=Red_Nova
YM:

Are you talking about YHVH's universe? Haven't gone down the Neutral Anarchy route yet, so maybe you go there anyway. I don't know.


Either way, I totally agree with you. That last dungeon was hell. I mean, at least it gave me 20 levels, but still. Oof.
Blimey, I thought the final dungeon was the Cosmic Egg! I've just entered YHVH's Universe (on the Neutral Peace route) and so far, this isn't exactly much better. Repeat enemies and even repeat bosses! Why Atlus why.

...I do appreciate the opportunity to beat up YHVH, though. Can't wait to get to that bit!


I'll probably share some more thoughts about SMT4A after I'm done, but so far this is probably the worst SMT game I've played.....That still makes it like 7/10 though
I am playing Metal Warriors.
I am playing La Tale...so addicting. >.<
I'm like 17 hours in SMT4A and I do not see your complaints so far in being the worst, Yellow Magic, as I'm loving the hell out of this game haha.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
author=Yellow Magic

Blimey, I thought the final dungeon was the Cosmic Egg! I've just entered YHVH's Universe (on the Neutral Peace route) and so far, this isn't exactly much better. Repeat enemies and even repeat bosses! Why Atlus why.

...I do appreciate the opportunity to beat up YHVH, though. Can't wait to get to that bit!


I'll probably share some more thoughts about SMT4A after I'm done, but so far this is probably the worst SMT game I've played.....That still makes it like 7/10 though


Worst one? Really? Now I HAVE to give Nocturne a try. I thought Apocalypse was way better than SMTIV, so I had a blast with it. Well, right up to the last dungeon.


Anyway, I had to flip a coin to decide between Tales of Berseria and Resident Evil 7. I honestly completely forgot RE7 was even coming out, or else I would have saved for it. Coin landed on Berseria, so I've been playing that.

Happy to say that a lot of my concerns about the game from Zestiria were put to rest when I finally got my hands on it. The levels are tighter and more interesting to look at and navigate through compared to Zestiria's empty fields, and the souls mechanic for the battle system encourages more than mindless button-mashing (unless you're Velvet, in which case go ham on Devouring Claw and enjoy constant barrages at full souls).

Most importantly, the cast seems more interesting this time around. Zestiria's and Graces' party members were so trope-y and uninspired to me, but Berseria's all have interesting setups, so I can't wait to see the payoff. Even Velvet herself has more personality than I'm used to seeing in these types of angry, revenge-driven characters. Not much, but there are ideas I haven't seen before. I really appreciate the prologue where you got to play as her before her life went south. Seeing her personality and hearing her voice actress act bubbly and cheerful is a strong contrast to her current attitude, and does a better job at eliciting sympathy from me than if it was all a cutscene or narration.

Not a fan of the new skit system, though. I'll just say it: the small box portrait style seen in Abyss, Vesperia, etc. was the best. Being able to move, spin, and grow the boxes added a lot of impact to some of the lines that the waist shots from Graces and Zestiria simply couldn't. And now it's even worse! It looks like some crummy Facebook knockoff chat with pictures as well as dialogue. Bleh.

I'll echo the statements that the demo was the worst way to learn about the game. Watch the beginning of an LP or something else. Anything but the demo.
Child of Light - really like the style
OldPat
OrudoPatto, kisama!
5107
Been playing RE7 recently. They finally, finally, FINALLY managed to deliver a survival horror game. No more Chris on steroids, no more Las Plagas bandits with uzis and sniper rifles in warzones (RE6), no more Leon body-slamming zombies. Just good ol' fashion horror.

RE7 feels exactly like the old games in the series with the only difference being the fact that you play it in first person mode. I'm loving it a lot so far.
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150


uptown funk gonna give it to ya

Caladium: i'm so sorry
Dark Souls 2: I just defeated the Looking Glass Knight. Afterwards I found out that it could have summoned a player instead of a vanilla enemy. Since I don't see myself winning a fight against a boss and a player, I'm glad it didn't do that.

I've not beaten New Game yet, but I have already a higher Soul Level than I had when beating New Game+ in the first Dark Souls. Well, you do need more souls levels in this game than in the first one due to how stats are handled, but this is a bit overboard.
Planescape: Torment
How could I ever pass this game? D:
It's a game and a book... at the same time.
And a great one it is!

Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
lucy, it absolutely is. i'm not a fan of the AD&D format, but planescape is very, very special game. <3 Morte <3


(click for bigger)

new title for velvet: shadow sasser