Last Game You Played and What You Would Rate It Out of 10

[Grinning Serpent]

Inscryption 10/10 (6/10 on Steam Deck)

Haven't quite finished it, but I already know this'll be a 10 unless something unexpected happens. Card/deckbuilding game made by the Pony Island guy and maybe because I only played it on the deck, I kinda... forgot about that? So when the game inevitably had its "Pony Island moment" I was floored.

The card game is fairly simple but has enough nuance to be interesting, and it expands quite a lot after the Pony Island moment. Interesting game concept that apparently contained an ARG which has since been solved, so I'm sure there'll be interesting reading ahead of me once I finally finish it. They also added a free mini-expansion that turns the game into a bit of a roguelike, so that's even better value for cost.


-2 points on Steam Deck because you have to awkwardly use the pads/stick to emulate a mouse. It's functional but rather cumbersome. In many cases, a button you click on pops up when you're near something, and it seems strange that you can't just press A to automatically interact with it. Hardly a deal-breaker but annoying. I haven't yet checked for save cross-compatibility. I'm sure it's fully compatible but it'll be another -2 points if Linux and Windows saves aren't compatible (big issue with Blasphemous on the deck.)

E: It does not, in fact, have cross-compatibility with saves. Windows and Linux have separate saves. Steam Deck score updated to 6/10. Still a great game but it has a lot of warts you'll need to be willing to overlook.

[Zenfoldor]

Inscryption 10/10 (8/10 on Steam Deck)

Haven't quite finished it, but I already know this'll be a 10 unless something unexpected happens. Card/deckbuilding game made by the Pony Island guy and maybe because I only played it on the deck, I kinda... forgot about that? So when the game inevitably had its "Pony Island moment" I was floored.

The card game is fairly simple but has enough nuance to be interesting, and it expands quite a lot after the Pony Island moment. Interesting game concept that apparently contained an ARG which has since been solved, so I'm sure there'll be interesting reading ahead of me once I finally finish it. They also added a free mini-expansion that turns the game into a bit of a roguelike, so that's even better value for cost.


-2 points on Steam Deck because you have to awkwardly use the pads/stick to emulate a mouse. It's functional but rather cumbersome. In many cases, a button you click on pops up when you're near something, and it seems strange that you can't just press A to automatically interact with it. Hardly a deal-breaker but annoying. I haven't yet checked for save cross-compatibility. I'm sure it's fully compatible but it'll be another -2 points if Linux and Windows saves aren't compatible (big issue with Blasphemous on the deck.)

Inscryption is incredible!!!

Hogwarts Legacy: 8.5/10 - would be a 9/10 but the game could have stood another difficulty option. Overall though, a very solid, surprising, and endearing game that I will remember.

Destiny 2 Lightfall: (story 0/10, gameplay 10/10) - best gameplay any fps has had ever. Since they ended sunsetting the game is fun, and they have gotten so much better at risk/reward. The make destiny hard again mythos has really helped the sense of reward from winning difficult battles, and overall it is just the best the gameplay has ever been in any fps. However, the story sucks and the game is VERY expensive and out to get your money. The mechanics, especially the currency, is beyond convoluted, and very few things make sense in the actual game...but that gameplay though, is endlessly deep and thoroughly satisfying.

[hellhamster]

You guys sold me on Inscryption.

[Zenfoldor]

You guys sold me on Inscryption.

Probably my favorite card based videogame ever made. The atmosphere is creepy and just so fun. The game is full of surprises. It's incredible on many levels.

[Grinning Serpent]

You guys sold me on Inscryption.

It's an awesome game.

Also updating that review to a 6/10 - it does not have cross-save compatibility. Windows and Linux saves are separate. The game is still an absolute 10/10 but I would rate it a 6/10 on the Deck. Playable but not ideal.

[Yriel]

Probably my favorite card based videogame ever made. The atmosphere is creepy and just so fun. The game is full of surprises. It's incredible on many levels.

I think the story was disappointing, that it ended in an ARG. I don't know if they ever put it in the game but to leave the whole thing open ended and then go "Hey why don't you fly to Canada to dig up some shit in some wood" is stupid.
I gave it a 6/10 back then.

[Zenfoldor]

I think the story was disappointing, that it ended in an ARG. I don't know if they ever put it in the game but to leave the whole thing open ended and then go "Hey why don't you fly to Canada to dig up some shit in some wood" is stupid.
I gave it a 6/10 back then.

Yeah, I had to read a lot of lore online to even understand the story, but it is quite interesting. I also had to do the same for Bioshock 1 and Elden Ring, so that alone does not destroy the story. I understood so much more once I researched and viewed discussions about the game. However, I can totally see your point of view even after researching. I just think I personally liked the ending a little more than you did, but that said, the game was all about the gameplay and atmosphere for me.

[Big Thanks]

Outriders - 8.5/10

Looter shooter from square enix (3rd person)
Is exactly my style of game.
Insane graphics and good story cutscenes
Crossplatform
You can play from steam and with people from Gamepass on Xbox...just need to enable crossplatform option on settings and share the code of the lobby.

Phasmophobia - 8.5/10

Is a guessing game to know which kind of ghost is haunting the place.
Insane with multiplayer and with friends.
Very charming

[Chilela]

I'm kinda cheating a bit with this one, since I watched a friend play it from start to finish, but I have enough of an idea where I feel reasonably confident in rating here:

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - 8.5/10

Bug Fables is a game that's very much a spiritual successor to the first two Paper Mario games, where it's basically impossible to review it on its own merits without comparing the two to some degree. However, it seems to understand what made those games so beloved, between crisp dialog and a snappy combat system. However, in some ways, it outright surpasses the games that it took inspiration from.

The combat system in general feels like a natural evolution, with the notable additions of a Turn Relay system, allowing part members to sacrifice a turn to give another one an extra turn, at the cost of dealing reduced damage. However, even given that penalty, it can be warranted in many situations, thanks to a number of enemies being more vulnerable to the attacks of certain party members, on top of +Attack builds being very much a thing. Additionally, team-based special attacks are in the mix as well, which deal significant damage at the cost of eating up the turns of multiple party members. Finally, the Medal system, the spiritual successor to the Badge system, is a bit more varied as well, with medals that affect individual team members being equippable to any given party member, giving a sizable variety of viable builds for each member. The only thing really missing is an equivalent of the Star Power system, but that's really a small price to pay. As an aside, the game has a sizable variety of toggleable difficulties, from the Hard Mode badge rewarded at the beginning that increases the difficulty of fights as well as the rewards from them, a double-damage-taken medal available early on that increases currency earned from battles, and a number of unlockable menu codes that primarily make the game harder in different ways.

Character dialog also sees a sizable upgrade from the Paper Mario games, with each character having their own character arcs, and no shortage of dialog to work with, a sizable upgrade over having a silent protagonist and partners who only really have a 1-chapter character arc at best. The quest system is also a sizable upgrade from TTYD's system, allowing for the taking of multiple quests at once, and the quests themselves being a net upgrade, in terms of structure and rewards systems. Finally, the sheer volume of optional content is very impressive, featuring postgame superbosses and even a card-battling minigame, among other things.

So that leaves the question: Where DOES the game falter? The biggest issue is that the platforming can be tricky at times, with Vi's Beemarang being the worst offender. Having to precision platform whilst holding down a button to operate a crank with it is pretty wonky, as is the multidirectional aiming it has. Honorable mention to Leif's ice platform creation resulting in some fairly punishing precision platforming. Failing to properly execute certain puzzles can become fairly annoying, and there's not a whole lot of room for error on some. Another potential issue is the art style, which is fairly lacking from a technical perspective, though this one can be more attributed to the game's origin as a crowdfunded project. I personally thought it was fine, but it's one of those things some may take issue with. Finally, a few medal builds feel incomplete. While builds involving deliberately getting poisoned to boost stats are well-fleshed out to the point of being overpowered, builds that involve the other status afflictions don't quite feel finished. But that's more or splitting hairs.

I can't recommend this game enough if you enjoyed the classic Paper Mario games, and even if you simply enjoy turn-based RPGs, you should get something out of it. It has its bits of jank, but overall, this is a very, very well-crafted indie title, and one that easily surpasses Paper Mario (64), and comes very, very close to TTYD in terms of overall quality.

[Frostfred]

Persona 5 Royal - 9.5/10

Probably one of the best games I've played in the past few years. After an a bit slow start, I really got lost in it and powered through it in about a month. It was my first Persona game, and one of my first JRPGs, in general. The setting is really interesting with the real / cognitive world and how they correlate to each other. I also liked how this duality perpetrates more or less everything, from gameplay (time management sim as high-schooler vs turn based JRPG fights as the Trickster) to story to individual character arcs. The game has a nice sense of humor to it. The linear story is for the most part black and white, though, with only the final part having some more interesting dilemmas.

I won't go into more details about the positives, as the game was highly acclaimed, and they have been discussed more than enough by other people. There were a few minor downsides in my opinion. Some of the character arcs were a bit bland, though with 20 or so in game, I think that's to be expected. Some of the party members were also kinda annoying and immature (looking at Ryuji), though that fits quite well considering they're all high school kids. Also, it took me a while in the beginning to really get into the setting and the combat. Many possibilities in both time management and combat are only opened up as you get further into the game. That keeps stuff fresh for much longer, but makes for a slow start. There was also one major logical fallacy to the plot-twist at the end of the interrogation of Sae / the Trickster. Usually I try not to notice such inconsistencies, as most modern stories have a few and it can take out some of the fun when thinking about them too much. However, as it was about such an crucial part of the story, it was difficult not to see.

Furthermore, I didn't like how much on rails the behavior of the main character was. I don't mind a linear story now and then if it's good (as was the case here), but at the very least I'd like to be able to react differently to the unfolding story. E.g. how he reacted when the Phantom Thieves became more and more popular was imo not at all in line with how I'd see the character. I'd like to have had the option to curb the enthusiasm of the other members a bit in the dialogues. Though for the most part one could only agree with them and join in, or keep it cool while still agreeing and encouraging them.

[Zenfoldor]

I'm a ways into RE4 remake, it is excellent. Review coming soon. Right now, easily 10/10, legendary game made much, much better by smart gameplay upgrades and incredible graphics and performance. They kept the roundhouse and it's still OP, so yay! Story is still super fun too, lol. Leon is just great.

[Ashana Darkmoon]

Spellforce: Conquest of Eo is a fun game for anyone who likes Spellforce or Age of Wonders.

And if the devs keep supporting it, it can clearly get even better.

[Zuben]

Diablo 4 Open Beta, 6/10

It's Diablo. Good graphics and production values, gameplay.. Either you like it for some weird reason or you don't. I didn't. Same monotonous crap it's always been.

[hellhamster]

Drums Rock: 5/10

Bought this for the lulz.

Passable. The songs repertoire is meh, the graphics are garbage, but it is immersive with the excellent PSVR2 tracking. It is also pretty easy, I didn't need more than a couple tries for the hardest challenges.

- - - Updated - - -

Gran Turismo 7: 9.5/10

An absolute must buy for VR, it is so insanely fun and immersive, it gives the game a second wind. Seeing the cars dangerously close, trusting the other drivers to not do anything weird as you tiptoe around them trying to find a gap will never get old. You also get an incredible feeling for depth, I honestly think it made me a much better player. The cars look absolutely life-like, but the tracks themselves are nothing extraordinary. Every single car interior has been modeled so you can fuck around in it as you drive, this is honestly the highlight for me. Old beauties like the '60s Ferrari 330 are truly a sight to behold.

I never had any problems with dizziness or VR disconnect, but some friends felt like shit after trying it. Your brain thinks your body is doing things because of what you experience, but your body doesn't do anything, and this is what causes the VR disconnect for some people. Driving up Spa's Eau Rouge at 280 kph is an unrivaled experience. Once during online play, I flipped another driver in true southern euro fashion while looking at him as I passed him, but I couldn't see my hand. I was immediately mindfucked and panicked because I thought something had happened to my hand. I'm a pretty level dude, but that felt so goddamn weird. For true immersion, I can recommend playing without any game information such as timers, just the stuff like your car interior's own gas counter. Tyre degradation and traction control, or even a position, you just gotta pay attention.

The single player is still flawed with the money sink and grinding required for car collective purposes, and the roulette system is probably the worst reward system I've ever seen in a videogame all my life. The game always gives you the worst reward every time, and the supposedly highest tier of rewards is actually the worst. I also still think the cafe system is dumb. The circuit experiences, trials and licenses remain great as ever though.

The online mode is an absolute pleasure. Whenever there's some fun event that isn't the standard group 3 or 4 race, I jump into it immediately. This week we have a VW Sambabus race with 33 horsepower, on a circuit with the longest uphill road, this was so much fun. Some people whine about the Balance of Performance system, because some cars tend to be better than others anyway and becoming the meta. I'm not an A+ ranked driver so I don't really care.

The game's physics are still unparalleled, and the endurance races with varying weather are the game's highlight. Rolling the dice and pitting for intermediate tyres seconds before heavy rain makes you feel like a god.

The AI is better tuned from what I remember, but I still feel like they just pick a racing line with a complete disregard for you. There are some tough long races for group 1 and 3, I've lost more than a couple great runs after the AI decided to play bumper cars with me or even divebomb me.

The car selection is pretty standard, but I would love a few more brands like Volvo or Opel instead of having like 15 different Skyline or 911 versions. I also want more shitboxes! Nothing is more fun than beating cars that are a thousand times more expensive than your 90's Corolla that is held together by duct tape and a whole lot of love.

Anyway, probably the most fun racing game right now. You can easily find yourself spending thousands of hours playing it, and you can never get bored. Asetto Corsa and iRacing are definitely a bit more realistic, but they aren't as much fun. I might even invest in a racing wheel with pedals one of these days.

For non PSVR2 people, there is 120 hz mode if your TV supports it, I heard it's really great. The trade-off is lack of antialiasing on the track in the distance, but it's worth playing in 120 fps.

[Jastall]

Been on a tactics game binge recently

XCOM: Enemy Unknown 8.5/10

Hadn't played this in a while, decided to go in Classic Ironman. Man the early game is really tough for not entirely fun reasons. Crits can happen even to soldiers in cover and are a guanranteed oneshot. I tried to avoid the boring Overwatch creep playstyle but some missions make it seem mandatory, running into a pack of Thin Men unprepared before you have carapace armor is a death sentence for one soldier. Mid-game is super easy, and then lategame throws Sectopods at you and it goes back to one crit in cover = dead if you don't have Titan Armor (and even then).

The strategic layer has more stuff going on than I remembered but it's also quite easy past the first couple months. Once you drop the alien base panic is kind of a non-issue unless you fail a mission outright which means you got a party wipe and likely tanked the save anyway lol.

I had a lot of fun but still I got why XCOM 2 made some of the changes it did. That game is a lot fairer to the player (even if it gets real easy in the mid/lategame by comparison) but timed missions make you play in a far more fun way IMO.

WH40K Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters 7/10

Praise be to the Emperor and Steam sales in equal measure. This is a pretty neat game, the presentation is... not the best sometimes especially when it comes to animations in conversation and the dialog is at best serviceable for 40K even if I like the Tech-Priest lady. Strategic layer is not very good IMO, marines take far too long to heal early game in particular and the reward system being RNG does help replayability I suppose but there's still not much interesting going on.

The battle side has a bunch of good ideas, such as replenishing your action points when you engage in combat or the use of environmental features like statues you can shoot to drop them on the enemy. Difficulty can ramp up to be quite fiendish after a fairly relaxed start, those Plaguebearers can be quite the nuisance if you let them buff up. The Warp Surge mechanic is nice until it does something unfun like spawn pools of goop at the feet of your guys out of nowhere. And I didn't find quite enough differences between classes when it came to gameplay nor did I find the skill tree particularly appealing. In the end I had a nice time but it didn't grab me that much, I'll finish it someday.

[Faldric]

I had a lot of fun but still I got why XCOM 2 made some of the changes it did. That game is a lot fairer to the player (even if it gets real easy in the mid/lategame by comparison) but timed missions make you play in a far more fun way IMO.

I wish they would do a remake of XCOM with the XCOM 2 systems. The gameplay of XCOM2 is much better, but the first one has the more interesting setting.

[bledgor]

The Last Spell: 8/10

A very solid tactical with a good sound track. Very simple base game play with a fun system of weapons/abilities that you have to use to defend your settlement from waves of the dead. Survive a varying amount of nights (depending on the map/location) to reach the boss battle. Overall I quite enjoyed the game, and the progression of powers you get for each fight to make the next battles easier. With the games release they reset progress and I had quite a bit of fun. The negatives are that RNG can be a bit brutal with what weapons/gear you get offered, where/how much enemies spawn, the boss and how they each work. Sometimes it just feels like nothing you could do would lead to victory. The last map is especially guilty of this, and was actually not fun for me to play, while the other ones I at least felt good about, even if they annoyed me.

TLDR: If you like the tactical style of games where you control a small subset of units to overcome a greater number of foes the game is a good time, with at minimum dozens of hours of fun, a good purchase for the price, and if it is on sale, would definitely recommend.

[Jastall]

I wish they would do a remake of XCOM with the XCOM 2 systems. The gameplay of XCOM2 is much better, but the first one has the more interesting setting.

I actually disagree. I think the occupied Earth setting is really cool. The shame is that they don't do much with it. Story wise liberating the planet is just something that happens by the end of the story as a result of your other actions rather than any sort of goal, and mechanics wise barring Concealment the game doesn't do much with the idea that you're an underdog, you can blaze a bloody path through the enemies just as much as in the first game and the odds aren't really against you, and liberating the planet one region at a time is a core game mechanic.

It's why I was excited for Long War 2, who promised to marry the setting and the game mechanics and where liberating the planet one region at a time is a goal. Unfortunately when I tried it back then it veered too much into the other direction and ended up being a complete slog where most missions had to be skipped due to being unwinnable if you couldn't prep for them far in advance and stupid shit like enemy reinforcements dropping every single turn even if you did prep for the mission to avoid that. The liberation missions were also very repetitive and torturously long for a game that pulls no punches even on Normal.

[Edge-]

Just finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the DLC bundle it came with. Did all but a few of the challenge tombs and collections, including all the side missions.

Overall felt like a 9+/10 game for me. Great production values, fantastic set pieces, lots of tomb raiding, interesting story and perfectly fine writing, no bugs (I'd hope not after this long). Fantastic game, very fun, well paced, and still does some of the best action sequences in the industry.

I'm actually sad that the franchise has been on ice since this game. I felt like each game was a pretty significant improvement over the previous one, and that outside of the first games hilarious ludonarrative dissonance got off to a pretty damned good start. Rise has one of the best opening sequences of any game I've played and was a fantastic action-adventure game from there, having remembered it's Tomb Raider and all, and Shadow just continued improving upon Rise in almost every aspect. The Rambo sequence was absolutely 10/10 shit and god damnit I am here for Lara Croft turning into a mud-covered machine of death for a hot second.

Only real gripe is that combat is still by far the weakest portion of the game. Stealth and all works great, but gunplay feels so weak and enemies feel fairly easy to mow down - at least on standard difficulty as I have little interest in the more survival elements of the harder ones. Guns just don't have much impact and trivialize a lot of the encounters.

I hope that if the Eidos team wants to make another one that Embracer lets them, since they own the studio and IP now.

[Floofi]

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins [7.5/10]

Dark Souls-esque RPG with Final Fantasy classes/mechanics. Almost done with DLC 1 and still having fun, but can sometimes get frustrating.

Pros:
+30(?) different jobs and 10 different weapon types leads to lots of builds/playstyles
+Story is better than the meme-fest I thought it was going to be
+Very long endgame (1st playthrough is probably 25% of the total game complete)
+online 3 player coop
+Great Memes/CHAOS

Cons
-WAY too much gear to process. Gear quantity can rival ARPG games; A single mission can give upwards of 200-300 pieces that you need to sort through once complete
-Extremely easy to be combo'd to death. Taking damage also drains your stamina, so late game bosses can easily hit you once for over 50% of your total health AND stun you, opening you up for another free hit.
-Enemies, especially bosses, can basically attack infinitely leading to barely any times to counter/recover
-NPC companions are dumb as bricks
-Transmog system is extremely clunky