• Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:

    1. The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
    2. Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration

    Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.

Hey, Talking Time, Whatcha Playin?

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
Like it? Complaining about it? Just beat it and want to make a post mortem? Just got a quick comment about it? Well? Do ya? Go nuts, friend! I ain’t gonna kick a fuss!
Allow me to demonstrate!

Phoenotopia recently came out on Switch, and it’s as close to a sequel to Elliot Quest as we’re ever likely to get. It’s also crazy ass difficult and it took me forever to reach the first boss and I still haven’t managed to bring it’s health down to the quarter way point.
 

Patrick

Magic-User
(He/Him)
A combo of Baba is You, Good Sudoku, Race for the Galaxy, and Breath of the Wild. All four are very good!
 

Rascally Badger

El Capitan de la outro espacio
(He/Him)
I'm closing in on the end of my first play through of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I've also started up a Chrono Cross replay, which I might or might not stick with, and Yakuza 5. That's three excellent games.
 

Tiers in Rain

Gaming Replicant!
I've been playing Alien: Isolation a little bit at a time. It's an amazing game and I absolutely love it but it tends to trigger anxiety so I only play it in short controlled bursts.
 

jpfriction

(He, Him)
Devil May Cry 1 and 3 were super cheap a few weeks ago so I’ve finally been giving them a fair shake for the first time since the ps2 days. Actually on one of the last missions of 3, game is actually doable with a generous continue system!
 

keurig

AO Tennis no Kiseki
(he/him)
Playing Xenoblade Chronicles at the moment while also playing Resident Evil: Revelations 2 co-op with my friend via Parsec.
 

WildcatJF

Let's Pock (Art @szk_tencho)
(he / his / him)
I took a break from much of anything this weekend, but I'm replaying Hotel Dusk Room 215 and having a really good time, beyond holding my 3DS sideways and it's not as cozy as my old DS was when I last played it lol.
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
I bought Prey and Blasphemous at the tail end of the PSN summer sale, currently working through Prey. I love the exploration, worldbuilding, and light puzzle-solving, but the combat in this game? It feels bad. The monsters are so much stronger and faster than you, and your ammo is so scarce, even when you pick up and recycle all the junk you find. I'd guess I'm maybe halfway through the game (I just got to Deep Storage), and I dread any encounter that's bigger than a Mimic or basic Phantom.

Flying around in space outside the station is surprisingly delightful, though!

Also, for anyone who's played -- should I be spending neuromods on Typhon abilities? I got Mimesis, because who doesn't want to turn into a mug, but the game seems to warn you off of them. I know you get attacked by turrets and Nightmares, are the benefits worth dealing with that?
 

Violentvixen

(She/Her)
Continuing to play Yoshi's Crafted World, it's very relaxing so I'm try to stretch it out. Also in the process of playing Eastshade, but since my husband and I share a computer my access to that is a bit limited.

Long-term games are Animal Crossing:New Horizons and Elder Scrolls Online.
 

Beta Metroid

At peace
(he/him)
I mentioned my experience with the early chapters of Bug Fables in its dedicated thread here.

I'm also playing Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. While the first Yooka-Laylee was an attempt to recapture the spirit of the N64 Banjo titles, with mixed results, this sequel hews much closer to Donkey Kong Country. Specifically, it feels very similar to leaning further into the direction the original series was heading with DKC3. That means overworld interaction is a huge part of the gameplay. It's full of puzzles, secrets, and character interactions. For the first few stages, I was spending very little time there, eager to play the sidescrolling platforming stages that I saw as the meat of the game. But the overworld is so full of variety and paces its rewards for exploration and puzzle-solving so well, that I quickly found myself ignoring levels and trying to explore more of it.

However, the platforming is really enjoyable itself. It's very exploration-heavy, but it seems like no significant content is locked behind 100% completion. It's extremely creative, and each stage gets a "Doc Robot" variation of some kind. Exactly what changes varies wildly (flooded, frozen, more enemies, something chasing you, filled with honey), and I've only seen an "element" reused once.

The environments are a beauty, and the music is superb. While David Wise and Grant Kirkhope lend their talents to the soundtrack (and Wise was music director), newcomers Matt Griffin and Dan Murdoch are credited with the majority of the tracks, and they do an excellent job.

This game is a lot of fun, and I wouldn't let any of the first Yooka-Laylee's shortcomings dissuade you from checking it out!
 

jpfriction

(He, Him)
Also, for anyone who's played -- should I be spending neuromods on Typhon abilities? I got Mimesis, because who doesn't want to turn into a mug, but the game seems to warn you off of them. I know you get attacked by turrets and Nightmares, are the benefits worth dealing with that?

Biggest thing gameplay-wise is the turrets don’t like you but you can always hack them, and other enemies. I spent the back half of the game hacking every typhon I came across so I could walk past them. Worth it to me.

How many you have is one of a few factors that effects how a post credits movie plays out. I had quite a few and it wasn’t a big deal.
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
Thanks! I'll start investing in some of those then. Doesn't seem like it's too hard to hack a turret.
 

Droewyn

Smol Monster
(She/her, they/them)
Final Fantasy XIV, The Last of Us (replay in preparation for the sequel), Deadly Premonition (same), Animal Crossing, Rimworld, and Dominion Online.
 

MetManMas

Me and My Bestie
(He, him)
Mostly Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp these days. Decorating with new furniture and taking silly photos of my animal friends helps me destress a bunch.

In a few day's time I'll be playing Moon: Remix RPG Adventure. Already got it pre-loaded.
 

Adrenaline

Post Reader
(He/Him)
I am playing the original Jak and Daxter, which I got the PS4 remaster of as a freebie with some other game. It's fine but some of the "this was made 19 years ago" bits really drag.
 

Rosewood

The metal babble flees!
(she/her)
Monster Train off and on in between Final Fantasy XIV sessions. Thinking of going back to the first Digimonstory on PS4 but with an MMO on board, who has the time?
 

RT-55J

space hero for hire
(He/Him + RT/artee)
I went on a road trip recently where I didn't have to drive, so I used it as an excuse to dust off my 3DS and replay Samus Returns. It's a game that I'm rather ambivalent about, in the more literal sense of the word (it makes me feel both ways, not merely apathetic). I don't really want to relitigate this game's quality in this topic, but in general I feel like I'd be more forgiving of its flaws (tonal, mechanical, structural, and otherwise) had it been authorized given the latitude to be its own thing, and not just be beholden to the arduous task of remaking such an idiosyncratic game.

One thing I noticed a lot more this time around is how the backgrounds manage to be so visually interesting, in contrast to the main layer which usually feels like it's just made out of the same couple dozen prefab rock and tech tiles. That duality kinda feels like a summation of my feelings on the game now that I think about it.

tl;dr: the game's okay, i guess, but maybe nintendo should give it another shot and try making... another metroid 2 remake
 

4-So

Spicy
Playing a lot of World of Warcraft in an attempt to finish out some last-minute things before Shadowlands launches. Otherwise, working my way through Ghost of Tsushima, albeit slower than I usually do for those kinds of games, and lamenting the fact that I don't have anything new to play while at least 10 games sit on the shelf with the cellophane still on them. (To be fair to myself, I'm dealing with selling my current house while preparing to build a new one, so I have a lot on my mind these days. Hoping things calm down by Christmas.)
 
I launched the steam port of Dragon Quest XI last night, and played up until the gates of Heliodor. This is the first time I've jumped into the series, so coming off of recent Square-Enix RPGs like Final Fantasy VII remake and Final Fantasy XV, this is...a very stark contrast, though I wouldn't have expected anything else. The game is very colorful, battles start off simple, and the story is lighthearted from the get-go, despite the urgent intro cutscene. From my first impressions, this game in particular feels like a classic NES/SNES RPG in a somewhat next-gen wrapper, which is a nice and welcome change of pace. I can't wait to see where it goes!
 

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
Hob is a nice little chunk of Zeld-em-up, with a small roboy with a big hand and narry a letter involved in its story.
 

Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
Here is a list of games I have played recently:
  • Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma looked very different from the rest of the series, but I'm happy to report that it's very much in the same vein.
  • Replaying Valdis Story: Abyssal City, inspired by the GDQ run. This game just feels so good to play.
  • Monster Train remains a favorite, though I've slowed down a bit to wait for the next patch.
  • After watching the kids play it, I started doing Balloon Mode on Super Mario Odyssey. I never tried it during my playthrough because I didn't have online at the time, but it's a lot of fun and also the best coin source in the game by far.
  • I guess I'm still playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, though it's my wife and mother-in-law that drive this.
  • I picked up my old Octopath Traveler save and finished the H path. Got like three left. I also unlocked Runelord, which seems real good. Although I never quite finished the game, it's still a very good RPG; just perhaps a bit too long for my attention span these days.
 

JBear

Internet's foremost Bertolli cosplayer
(He/Him)
I'm not playing much these days, but when I do, it's Monster Train. I think I'm finally starting to get a bit tired of it, but my SO always want to play it together, and who am I to say no?
 

Adrenaline

Post Reader
(He/Him)
I'm not sure what to think of Mafia III so far. I like the style and the way it tells its story and that it confronts racism, but the shooting feels off and there was a bafflingly bad sequence driving a boat through a canal.
 

Dracula

Plastic Vampire
(He/His)
Steamworld: Heist on and off. I had a mood last night which led me to my Mega Drive, and I plunked in Sonic the Hedgehog and, for the first time ever, beat it without running out of continues. Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 had me yellin' at my screen from several instances in which I drowned in the instant before Sonic touched an air bubble. But then! I tried a different route through the stage, and cleared it on the first try. The multiple routes, thing, man. That game is so great. Chaos emeralds? What are those?
 

StriderDL

Still just a dad
(He/him/his)
Like it? Complaining about it? Just beat it and want to make a post mortem? Just got a quick comment about it? Well? Do ya? Go nuts, friend! I ain’t gonna kick a fuss!
Allow me to demonstrate!

Phoenotopia recently came out on Switch, and it’s as close to a sequel to Elliot Quest as we’re ever likely to get. It’s also crazy ass difficult and it took me forever to reach the first boss and I still haven’t managed to bring it’s health down to the quarter way point.

I'm also playing and loving this. The first boss was a huge hurdle for me, I haven't had the reaction speed to dodge that whip for years now. Took me maybe 15 tries before I took it down.
 

Behemoth

Dostoevsky is immortal!
(he/him/his)
Mostly just posting to get a post up on the new forum, but I've been playing a lot of Persona 5: Royal. After the third palace I am absolutely swimming in cash. I found the secret is to stick up a lone shadow, then get them to give you money again and again until they get mad and either attack your or summon a new shadow. If they summon a new shadow, kill off the original one then stick up the new one and demand money again and again; rinse and repeat. Anyway, I enjoy being a millionaire high school student.
 
Thanks to work, been slowly working my way through Super Robot Wars V on the Switch. Despite not having really watched any of the licensed anime featured in it beyond maybe a handful of episodes, I am enjoying it a fair bit - the localization could have probably used another sweep by the editor/proofreader but overall it's pretty good and is making me enjoy the segments well enough. I just wish that it didn't disable the use of the screencap button early on - I like taking screenshots of silly lines and that is probably my biggest annoyance with the game.
 

Paul le Fou

24/7 lofi hip hop man to study/relax to
(He)
I started the PS4 HD Remaster of Gravity Rush a bit ago, and I definitely want to get back to that and lead into GR2 when I finish.
Before Bloodborne stole my attention, I had just started Firewatch, which I want to finish.
Before Animal Crossing stole my attention, I was on the second case of Murder by Numbers, which I also want to finish.
And technically I only made it like a little over 70 puzzles into Baba is You, though it started getting exhausting opening it up and feeling stupid, so I'm not sure I'll end up going back to it.

I'm technically a little over halfway through NG+ in Bloodborne, but I think I've hit a point where I'm not driven to play anymore right now, so I think I won't. I can finish the NG+ later, or play the brand-new character I made for a new build instead. (I kinda want to get back to that one because, as a first, my girlfriend helped me make it look (kinda) like me, which is...weird, but neat.
 
I honest-to-gosh thought you were Vaeran until I saw "my girlfriend" and I was like hey waaaiiit a minute.
 
Top