The Gaming Thread

Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
2,495 Posts
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Sweden
Half life fans got to check out this amazing documentary below, built around interviews with the original developers. Such an inspiration to see and hear how this project came together.

Still my number 1 game of all time and it's clear after watching this why it was such a mind blowing experience for everyone when it came out in the late 90's, and why it still holds up today. It did things no other games had done before; things like seamless loading between levels, scripted events, reactive environment, and the long cinematic train ride at the begging made for an immersive experience that had just never been seen before. Even the sound and texture design was unprecedented. Something as simple as adding reverb when inside a vent or echoes in laarge spaces... The whole Black Mesa game world felt alive.

Being a gamer in this period was the best, expectations were being blown away each year. Today the innovation comes purely from small improvements to graphics, and how big things can become (maps). This is now an obsession of which has come at a cost to actual gameplay imo. There's nothing new for us anymore with the current formats. VR and AR is the next frontier when we can see rapid innovation return again, i'm very excited for that.

meh, you are generalizing and cherry picking. Feels like you're romanticizing a bit too much with the rose-tinted glasses on perhaps`?? im almost as picky about my games as my music, but i would say the last 10 years has been pretty good for gaming in general. maybe even the best time for it... but yeah, there could be more innovation, but its like with music...its an oversaturated scene. Theres def good games out there to be found. But sure theres problems with early access,bugs,endless patching,overhyping games, bigger-is-always-better-open-world-games...difficulty levels, microtransactions, remakes over new ip's..etc...etc...

I had the exact same view before and never played any newer games and missed out on a whole decade before starting to play again. Having a this-is-the-best-game-of-all-time is silly aswell,IMO. Having a fav game is fine though, sure ;) Putting things on a pedestal is just silly imo. There was a time when I called Ocarina of Time THE best game of all time, but that time has passed now, many years ago. It was influential, sure, but arguing from the standpoint that one game is above all else is silly, once again...sorry my opinion.

Btw, I never played half-life...but I will one of these days (maybe it is the best game of all time ;)) ...only been gaming actively now for a couple of years again, and Im discovering alot...
 
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Katadunkass

The Banhammer
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Jun 27, 2020
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I think this year have been amazing for games and the past couple of years have been exceptional for indie developers. It has never been easier for a small company to develop and release a game and we see a lot of innovation in that area. We even see a lot of smaller publishers working together to keep the indie scene alive and well. GoDot is stronger than ever and with the release of the Steam Deck games are finally being pushed really hard to Linux, which is fantastic.

I also have a "favourite game" of mine, but I would never say "it's the best ever made" because I have no idea what that game would be. Different fish for different people.
 
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Rok

Member
Jul 13, 2020
160 Posts
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Slovenia
Honestly, I still enjoy modern games as much as I enjoyed games 20 years ago. Both AAA and indie titles. This year specifically has been one of the best in the last 10 years and the bigger problem for me was finding enough time to play everything I wanted rather than finding games I enjoy.
 

Hensmon

Admin
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
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UK
Have a read again my dudes. I said Half Life was *my* no1 game of all time, not the world's no1.

But since you brought it up...you can definitely apply an objective lens on games and say one is better than another. If that's true (which it is) then there is no reason that logic cannot be extended outwards to eventually leave a selection that stands above the rest. In fact in principle that logic can be applied with enough scrutiny that a definitive no1 is hypothetically feasible to align on (subjectivity aside)

There's nothin rose tinted about putting half-life on a pedalstool either. Objectively it delivered on all aspects of gameplay at the highest level, and in ways never been done before. Innovation + quality + stands test of time. There is a reason it is still played, remastered and celebrated 25 years later. earlier GTA and Skyrim did something similar for open worlds.

See again that my comparison between now and then was directly about innovation. I never said there are no good games now, just that the frequency and pronounced nature of the innovation was higher back then. If that's something that's important to you then it was the best time for gaming. If unbelievable graphics, realism and stories is more important then modern gaming is unbeatable. Personally I get more excitement from the former.
 
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Katadunkass

The Banhammer
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Jun 27, 2020
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Oh, I didn't say anything about Half-Life 2, just this year in general. I've been having a blast this year with so many great games
 

Hensmon

Admin
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Jun 27, 2020
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@Katadunkass and @Rok - best games from this year I should look into?

I admit that I do find a lot of celebrated games in recent times to be overhyped. All the ones I played recently have been, which were Starfield, Sea of Stars, Cyberpunk, Diablo and even Elden Ring was only a 7.7 for me. I think i need to focus more on Indie games, but as mentioned I really love innovative stuff and thats why I turn to the bigger games, which deliver in some ways but capitulate with the gameplay.

@Daysleeper too, need some suggestions please. I have a feeling we have similar taste.
 
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Contraband

Member
Aug 29, 2023
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Fuck I went from like gameboy to snes to ps1 to GameCube to Xbox 360 in like 10 years. Of course gaming was more innovative back then. Now it takes at least a year just for a console already released to come into stock, and it’s only marginally different from the one 10 years before it and I still can’t play multiplayer with my room mate.
 
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Katadunkass

The Banhammer
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Jun 27, 2020
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@Katadunkass and @Rok - best games from this year I should look into?

I admit that I do find a lot of celebrated games in recent times to be overhyped. All the ones I played recently have been, which were Starfield, Sea of Stars, Cyberpunk, Diablo and even Elden Ring was only a 7.7 for me. I think i need to focus more on Indie games, but as mentioned I really love innovative stuff and thats why I turn to the bigger games, which deliver in some ways but capitulate with the gameplay.

@Daysleeper too, need some suggestions please. I have a feeling we have similar taste.
It really depends on what you're into. I absolutely loved Baldur's Gate 3, but if you're not into that type of game I can't see you enjoy it that much. Alan Wake 2 have been praised a lot as well and there's no need to play the first one. I feel bad for you that you played Starfield, though, holy hell. If you like rogue-like games there's a fun one called Death Must Die. If you're into chill games, there's Dave The Diver. I never played Cocoon nor Pizza Tower, but both games have received great reviews. There's a game called Noita as well (Can't remember if it's from this year, but that doesn't really matter) - what about Dead Cells? Or the entire Yakuza series? Again, it's difficult to know which games to recommend, all of them are very different, but perhaps one of these will tickle your fancy. If not let me know, I have a bunch more
 
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Katadunkass

The Banhammer
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Jun 27, 2020
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I absolutely fucking loved Elden Ring (almost a 10/10 game for me), but I never really got into the Half-Life games (I completed both and I can understand why people love them, they just didn't do much for me) - the gaming world is so broad, so there's something for everyone, thankfully
 

LostLegend

Senior Member
Dec 5, 2020
883 Posts
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Liverpool, UK
Website
www.beatport.com
Enjoying the full release of ‘Ready or Not’

Never been very good at the fast paced FPS games, so I prefer the slower paced, tactical style games like the old SWAT games or the original Rainbow Six.

This is a spiritual successor to SWAT 4, so it’s very much about planning, the right load out for your team and clearing each level slowly and methodically. Room by room.

It is quite hard, but not unfairly so for the most part, although the AI can be a bit overly aggressive and aim-bot-y. Getting headshot by a meth-head at 200 meters, in the dark with a pistol for example :LOL:
But ai imagine they’ll balance that out in an early patch.

Also spotted this during a mission. Can’t get away from it!


3-D0-DCF36-EC4-F-42-D3-8-F75-34-E53-FE02723.jpg


There’s also been some massive updates to the friendly AI, so playing solo (like me) is much better. They actually cover each other as they move, identify threats and react to your actions dynamically.

Big recommend from me if this is your kind of thing.

 
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Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
3,940 Posts
2,835 Thanked
Enjoying the full release of ‘Ready or Not’

Never been very good at the fast paced FPS games, so I prefer the slower paced, tactical style games like the old SWAT games or the original Rainbow Six.

This is a spiritual successor to SWAT 4, so it’s very much about planning, the right load out for your team and clearing each level slowly and methodically. Room by room.

It is quite hard, but not unfairly so for the most part, although the AI can be a bit overly aggressive and aim-bot-y. Getting headshot by a meth-head at 200 meters, in the dark with a pistol for example :LOL:
But ai imagine they’ll balance that out in an early patch.

Also spotted this during a mission. Can’t get away from it!


3-D0-DCF36-EC4-F-42-D3-8-F75-34-E53-FE02723.jpg


There’s also been some massive updates to the friendly AI, so playing solo (like me) is much better. They actually cover each other as they move, identify threats and react to your actions dynamically.

Big recommend from me if this is your kind of thing.

Never got into SWAT 4, but in theory I'd love this! Loved playing ARMA 3 because it also has a tactical concept to it, it wasn't like CoD I played where you just shoot your way through.

That said, it would piss me off so quick if I didn't get the hang of it.

But my bro has it in his library, so I'll be sure to check it out. Love that Ableton screenshot by the way, looks like that low cut isn't doing anything.
 
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Katadunkass

The Banhammer
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
1,457 Posts
1,276 Thanked
Age
33
Denmark
Enjoying the full release of ‘Ready or Not’

Never been very good at the fast paced FPS games, so I prefer the slower paced, tactical style games like the old SWAT games or the original Rainbow Six.

This is a spiritual successor to SWAT 4, so it’s very much about planning, the right load out for your team and clearing each level slowly and methodically. Room by room.

It is quite hard, but not unfairly so for the most part, although the AI can be a bit overly aggressive and aim-bot-y. Getting headshot by a meth-head at 200 meters, in the dark with a pistol for example :LOL:
But ai imagine they’ll balance that out in an early patch.

Also spotted this during a mission. Can’t get away from it!


3-D0-DCF36-EC4-F-42-D3-8-F75-34-E53-FE02723.jpg


There’s also been some massive updates to the friendly AI, so playing solo (like me) is much better. They actually cover each other as they move, identify threats and react to your actions dynamically.

Big recommend from me if this is your kind of thing.

Are you playing it solo or with friends?
 

Rok

Member
Jul 13, 2020
160 Posts
97 Thanked
Slovenia
@Katadunkass and @Rok - best games from this year I should look into?

I admit that I do find a lot of celebrated games in recent times to be overhyped. All the ones I played recently have been, which were Starfield, Sea of Stars, Cyberpunk, Diablo and even Elden Ring was only a 7.7 for me. I think i need to focus more on Indie games, but as mentioned I really love innovative stuff and thats why I turn to the bigger games, which deliver in some ways but capitulate with the gameplay.

@Daysleeper too, need some suggestions please. I have a feeling we have similar taste.
Honestly, a lot of the games I would recommend would kinda fall into the category you described. I admit most of them don't really innovate on the gameplay side. I guess we're just looking for different things, which is perfectly fine. :)

For me it's generally about the whole experience. Sometimes I am impressed by the art style, sometimes story and characters, sometimes it's just the overall challenge and/or scale of the game and other times it's the gameplay that make is fun.

Here's a list of some indie games, that might fit your criteria, which I played this year (most of them are not from 2023 though)

- It takes two (probably the best 2 player coop game I've played in ages, I would say this one might fit your criteria if you have someone to play with)
- Blaspemous
- Hades
- Ori and the will of the wisps (also the first one - Ori and the blind forest which is a few years older)
- Little Nightmares 1 & 2
- Hollow Knight
 
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Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
2,495 Posts
1,717 Thanked
Sweden
The holy trinity for me as I grew up with platformers are these. They really perfected the formula.

Metroid Dread (and Super M ofc, still legendary
Ori 2
Hollow Knight

Hades is also one of my faves as Rok already mentioned. Cant really give any recommendations on AAA as im discovering these myself. I havnt played much of the big games from the last 10-15 years. Im playing DS3 and Sekiro right now for the first time. Im having like 60 games on my wishlist.
 
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