Gaming The RedCafe General/Random Gaming Chat Thread

Redlambs

Creator of the Caftards comics
Joined
Aug 22, 2006
Messages
42,176
Location
Officially the best poker player on RAWK.
should I be consuming the boss souls or saving them for a unique weapon?
Queelag's one is good for a weapon, but it depends on your play style for the others.

Also, you probably are over levelled so your best bet is to head to ring the bell where you are, then head to Sen's fortress (remember the blacksmith? it's above him) and go through that. If you hit the best part of the game and you are too powerful, you are going to miss out on one of the most aggravating fights but ultimately best victories of your video gaming life :lol:
 

TrustInJanuzaj

'Liverpool are a proper club'
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
10,664
Queelag's one is good for a weapon, but it depends on your play style for the others.

Also, you probably are over levelled so your best bet is to head to ring the bell where you are, then head to Sen's fortress (remember the blacksmith? it's above him) and go through that. If you hit the best part of the game and you are too powerful, you are going to miss out on one of the most aggravating fights but ultimately best victories of your video gaming life :lol:
Not sure I like the sound of that but I’ll head there immediately next. That’s a job for tomorrow! Thanks for your help in this thread so far! Very much enjoying this.
 

caid

Full Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
8,267
Location
Dublin
should I be consuming the boss souls or saving them for a unique weapon?
Save them, the weapons aren't particularly good in most cases but souls are so easy to come by its not really worth it. I kind of liked having all the weapons by the end too personally.
 

Ainu

Full Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
10,130
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
Started another game that had been part of my (significant) backlog for a while now: Celeste. After reading so much about its difficulty, I'm curious to see how hard it gets. First world was ok (missing some strawberries though) but I expect it to ramp up quickly.
 

CassiusClaymore

Is it Gaizka Mendieta?
Scout
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
35,610
Location
None of your business mate
Supports
The greatest team in history
Really enjoyed what I played of Aliens Fireteam last night. The weapons are spot on (love the demolisher especially with the smart gun) and sound exactly like they do in the movie. The bots are actually fairly decent as well which is surprising.

It doesn't really give you any explanation of the controls or perks etc though but I don't mind winging it.
 

amolbhatia50k

Sneaky bum time - Vaccination status: dozed off
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
95,336
Location
india
So decided to pick up two games - Hellblade & A Plague's Tale this weekend, instead of Hollow Knight. Just want new experiences rather than a game I've played more than 2/3rds of. So Hellblade has started really well. It's interest in that you wouldn't say the fighting mechanics or the puzzles are particularly great, but the game creates an excellent sense of intrigue, tension and mystery through the audio. Really liking it thus far.

Also, Disco Elysium is the second game I'm playing and this one is just brilliant. The writing and dialogue is of such a high level, absolutely love sinking into it. Although it does seem to be shorter than I want it to be but maybe it'll suit the narrative right.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

'Liverpool are a proper club'
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
10,664
So I finally got through Sens Fortress which was an absolute ordeal. I felt going into it I was pretty strong but it brought me right back down to earth. Those lizard men at the front door alone must have killed me about 50 times. Anyway finally made it through and took out the Iron Gollum and progressed through to Anor Londo and I'll be honest it's my least favorite location so far. So since then, I've managed to unlock three bonfires and get to the bosses Ornstein and Smough and I reckon this is my first proper roadblock, they are absolutely solid! I have managed to take down Ornstein a few times only to be taken out by the second phase of Smough, but I feel like I'm getting a grip of the move set slightly. To prevent some burnout I've just headed backwards again to level up some more and maybe test out some new weapons/armour etc. Feel like I'm getting much better at the parrying right now, particularly on certain enemy types. The thing I'd say is I never realised how much depth there was to the Dark Souls games. They are massive! it feels like I could pump hundreds of hours alone just into DS1 let alone the others too.

@Redlambs have I hit the bit you were mentioning before yet?
 

caid

Full Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
8,267
Location
Dublin
So I finally got through Sens Fortress which was an absolute ordeal. I felt going into it I was pretty strong but it brought me right back down to earth. Those lizard men at the front door alone must have killed me about 50 times. Anyway finally made it through and took out the Iron Gollum and progressed through to Anor Londo and I'll be honest it's my least favorite location so far. So since then, I've managed to unlock three bonfires and get to the bosses Ornstein and Smough and I reckon this is my first proper roadblock, they are absolutely solid! I have managed to take down Ornstein a few times only to be taken out by the second phase of Smough, but I feel like I'm getting a grip of the move set slightly. To prevent some burnout I've just headed backwards again to level up some more and maybe test out some new weapons/armour etc. Feel like I'm getting much better at the parrying right now, particularly on certain enemy types. The thing I'd say is I never realised how much depth there was to the Dark Souls games. They are massive! it feels like I could pump hundreds of hours alone just into DS1 let alone the others too.

@Redlambs have I hit the bit you were mentioning before yet?
He was talking about Ornstein and Smough
 

SuperiorXI

Full Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Messages
14,449
Location
Manchester, England
Dark Souls is an interesting game. I was shitting bricks at the prospect of facing Ornstein and Smogh but once I got to them I beat them after a few tries!

One of the worst Dark Souls bosses I've fought is a toss up between Pontiff Sullivan or whatever the feck and the Dancer of the Boreal Valley. Father Gascoigne deserves a shout if you're a noob at these games as well, he was a real pain.
 

Ainu

Full Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
10,130
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
@TrustInJanuzaj I'm surprised you're struggling with the second phase of the fight. The main challenge is dealing with the pair of them. Once you've killed Ornstein, you've already done the hard part. Solo Smough hits hard but he's so slow. Definitely the easier of the two to fight solo.

Also surprised you don't like Anor Londo, that first time you enter it is one of the best moments of the entire game. Maybe it's lost some of its visual impact over the years, but I found it a sight to behold. You might also want to pay close attention to a certain painting there, by the way.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

'Liverpool are a proper club'
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
10,664
@TrustInJanuzaj I'm surprised you're struggling with the second phase of the fight. The main challenge is dealing with the pair of them. Once you've killed Ornstein, you've already done the hard part. Solo Smough hits hard but he's so slow. Definitely the easier of the two to fight solo.

Also surprised you don't like Anor Londo, that first time you enter it is one of the best moments of the entire game. Maybe it's lost some of its visual impact over the years, but I found it a sight to behold. You might also want to pay close attention to a certain painting there, by the way.
My issue really is that after the first phase I usually only have 1/2 estus flasks remaining and it only takes 1 hit to take my health down by half so I just end up losing by pure attrition. I do think I can handle it, I’m confident I could beat it right now if I just put in enough attempts but to be honest I’d rather go away level up some more and come back able to smash through it.

Yeh Anor Londo is quite visually impressive I just don’t really like it from a gameplay perspective. Lots of running across huge areas and I’m not a massive fan of the enemy types. Quite enjoy facing the silver knights but the giant knights are a ball ache and those electiric imp things can feck off. It’s also kind of annoying how far the location is from the starting point but again I’m mainly moaning about difficulty related things!
 

Ainu

Full Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
10,130
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
My issue really is that after the first phase I usually only have 1/2 estus flasks remaining and it only takes 1 hit to take my health down by half so I just end up losing by pure attrition. I do think I can handle it, I’m confident I could beat it right now if I just put in enough attempts but to be honest I’d rather go away level up some more and come back able to smash through it.

Yeh Anor Londo is quite visually impressive I just don’t really like it from a gameplay perspective. Lots of running across huge areas and I’m not a massive fan of the enemy types. Quite enjoy facing the silver knights but the giant knights are a ball ache and those electiric imp things can feck off. It’s also kind of annoying how far the location is from the starting point but again I’m mainly moaning about difficulty related things!
Which bonfire are you using for your O&S runs? Hopefully not the initial Anor Londo one? It's been a while but there should be one after the dreaded archers to the side of the main building. It's not a terrible run and I think you can just skip past most, if not all, enemies.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

'Liverpool are a proper club'
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
10,664
Which bonfire are you using for your O&S runs? Hopefully not the initial Anor Londo one? It's been a while but there should be one after the dreaded archers to the side of the main building. It's not a terrible run and I think you can just skip past most, if not all, enemies.
I’ve been using the one under the bridge where you have to turn the giant bridge contraption. Now that the front doors are open I just need to run over the second half of the bridge. Past the two big knights in front of the door and then past the two even bigger bastards guarding the fog gate. It’s not an awful run and usually at most I’ll take 1 hit. I’m back in Anor Londo now so I’m gonna aim to beat these bastard bosses today!
 

Damien

Self-Aware RedCafe Database (and Admin)
Staff
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
97,065
Location
Also won Best Gif/Photoshop 2021
Platinum #24 - A Plague Tale: Innocence (PS5)


Now at level 300. Really enjoyable game - will be a pity when they're acquired by MS.
 

AaronRedDevil

Full Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Messages
9,534
Finally Platinumed Assassin's Creed Revelations. Now that's the Ezio trilogy fully completed. Jesus that was a grind. Platinum number 32. Onto the next one.
 

Volumiza

The alright "V", B-Boy cypher cat
Joined
Jul 13, 2018
Messages
13,510
Location
Somewhere in the middle
Platinum #24 - A Plague Tale: Innocence (PS5)


Now at level 300. Really enjoyable game - will be a pity when they're acquired by MS.
I keep meaning to get back round to playing this. Started it and really enjoyed it but was still immersed in another game.
 

Iron Stove

Full Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2006
Messages
5,665
Started playing the new Pathfinder game . Wrath of the Righteous. Tried the first one but didn't like the time limits which locked content.

Loving this one so far. It truly feels like Baldur's Gate. Maybe it's nostalgia but you can't beat the DnD ruleset for me. It has 6 man parties and the depth to character builds is just silly too, probably the craziest character creator I've seen.
 

Damien

Self-Aware RedCafe Database (and Admin)
Staff
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
97,065
Location
Also won Best Gif/Photoshop 2021
Got some canned stuff to fix/alleviate my Vita drift problem. Going to go back to a fair few games I started on the Vita but never finished to reduce my unearned trophy count (1,864) - these include:
  • Uncharted: Golden Abyss (54 unearned)
  • LittleBigPlanet Vita (72 unearned, don't think I can Platinum this with the online trophies that are there but will work on reducing the unearned trophy count there)
  • Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (48 unearned)
  • Persona 4 Golden (23 unearned)
  • Hotline Miami (34 unearned)
  • LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (40 unearned)
  • Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (35 unearned)
  • Final Fantasy X HD (27 unearned)
  • Rogue Legacy (15 unearned)
 

TheMagicFoolBus

Full Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2016
Messages
6,502
Location
Lisboa, Portugal
Supports
Chelsea
I've been playing Disco Elysium and its hilarious. Writing is great. It feels like a modern day monkey island or day of the tentacle. Loving it
This will be my next buy. Supposed to be brilliant.
Just (belatedly) finished Disco Elysium - don't think it's hyperbole to say that it's undoubtedly the best-written videogame of all time and personally I would struggle to think of an RPG I've enjoyed more. Absolutely magnificent. Planning to start it again as a super-strong and super-stupid cop who only follows his instincts and is physically intimidating - reckon the hardest part will be disappointing Kim!

Curious if you took the plunge @amolbhatia50k? Apologies if you've answered this already in this thread - didn't go through it in detail.
 

caid

Full Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
8,267
Location
Dublin
Just (belatedly) finished Disco Elysium - don't think it's hyperbole to say that it's undoubtedly the best-written videogame of all time and personally I would struggle to think of an RPG I've enjoyed more. Absolutely magnificent. Planning to start it again as a super-strong and super-stupid cop who only follows his instincts and is physically intimidating - reckon the hardest part will be disappointing Kim!

Curious if you took the plunge @amolbhatia50k? Apologies if you've answered this already in this thread - didn't go through it in detail.
Its definitely up there and i'd struggle to think of anything on a similar level. Last of Us was well written i guess but it feels a couple of levels below.
 

TheMagicFoolBus

Full Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2016
Messages
6,502
Location
Lisboa, Portugal
Supports
Chelsea
Its definitely up there and i'd struggle to think of anything on a similar level. Last of Us was well written i guess but it feels a couple of levels below.
I enjoyed Last of Us as well and wouldn't suggest the writing is bad but frankly Disco Elysium blows it out of the water for me.

I find it really interesting that so much of the perception of videogames is that you have to avoid politics or controversial topics and yadda yadda - yet Disco Elysium is undeniably great in large part because it embraces those discussions.

This is anecdotal and perhaps not everyone will feel the same way but I have yet to encounter a game that was more engaging and thought-provoking on a deep, fundamental level. Oh, and on top of that the aesthetics of the game are unbelievable - the narrator's voice is like butter.
 

caid

Full Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
8,267
Location
Dublin
I enjoyed Last of Us as well and wouldn't suggest the writing is bad but frankly Disco Elysium blows it out of the water for me.

I find it really interesting that so much of the perception of videogames is that you have to avoid politics or controversial topics and yadda yadda - yet Disco Elysium is undeniably great in large part because it embraces those discussions.

This is anecdotal and perhaps not everyone will feel the same way but I have yet to encounter a game that was more engaging and thought-provoking on a deep, fundamental level. Oh, and on top of that the aesthetics of the game are unbelievable - the narrator's voice is like butter.
I did find it funny that you could get a facist trait. I imagine the potential to be utterly terrible is significant
 
Last edited:

TheMagicFoolBus

Full Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2016
Messages
6,502
Location
Lisboa, Portugal
Supports
Chelsea
I did find it funny that you could get a facist trait. I imagine the potential to be utterly terrible are significant
That's definitely my goal on the next playthrough! Explore all the dregs I avoided previously.

I also loved how they tweaked small things about the ideologies - the symbol of love being lungs instead of a heart, the lack of hammer and sickle and no association of the colour red with communism, etc. I found it quite interesting to unpack political motivations in a context that was related to the real world but not a replica, if that makes sense?
 

Shane88

Actually Nostradamus
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
35,031
Location
Targaryen loyalist
This is anecdotal and perhaps not everyone will feel the same way but I have yet to encounter a game that was more engaging and thought-provoking on a deep, fundamental level. Oh, and on top of that the aesthetics of the game are unbelievable - the narrator's voice is like butter.
Shivers' voice is better than butter. So rare though.

I finished it last week. It's a fantastic game. Just an excellent mystery. I love how much thought you put into dialogue choices but dice checks can throw everything up in the air.

Kim is the best sidekick in gaming.

Cuno is second.
 

caid

Full Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
8,267
Location
Dublin
That's definitely my goal on the next playthrough! Explore all the dregs I avoided previously.

I also loved how they tweaked small things about the ideologies - the symbol of love being lungs instead of a heart, the lack of hammer and sickle and no association of the colour red with communism, etc. I found it quite interesting to unpack political motivations in a context that was related to the real world but not a replica, if that makes sense?
I get what your saying yes. I loved the random bits that were different and kind of bizarre or surreal in places. I did become kind of engrossed in the world and reading random books about the mist and things like that.
I was very much into the dregs on my playthrough, thats were all the best drugs are. Using them to try and pass that wall painting test despite having no talent whatsoever was a running theme of my playthrough, i got there in the end. I missed the communist meeting because it was the scheduled for the same time as getting my gun back and had a stab at facism to try and get into the docks but wasn't enthusiastic enough about it apparently. I think he just ended up feeling sorry for me after failing to punch him the 20th time and let me past. I toyed with mystical end of the world nihilism a bit too but didn't seem to make much progress with it.
 

amolbhatia50k

Sneaky bum time - Vaccination status: dozed off
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
95,336
Location
india
Just (belatedly) finished Disco Elysium - don't think it's hyperbole to say that it's undoubtedly the best-written videogame of all time and personally I would struggle to think of an RPG I've enjoyed more. Absolutely magnificent. Planning to start it again as a super-strong and super-stupid cop who only follows his instincts and is physically intimidating - reckon the hardest part will be disappointing Kim!

Curious if you took the plunge @amolbhatia50k? Apologies if you've answered this already in this thread - didn't go through it in detail.
I'm currently playing it. Really is a fanatastic experience but I seem to be playing it at a snails pace as I don't feel like wrapping it up (so 3 games at one time), and work. In terms of writing, it's definitely the most well written and articulate game you'll play, and to be fair is more of a visual novel, so it has to be if it's to be a really top class experience (which it is).

Btw I also have played as a highly intelligent but weak/psychology aloof character and plan to for either a mad psycho or super strong chap in the next one. I'd imaging the inner narrative will be quite different as this one has been full of facts probably due to the intelligence. And yes the voices are wonderful. The reptilian brain voice makes your skin crawl. Lovely.
 

KirkDuyt

Full Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2015
Messages
24,441
Location
Dutchland
Supports
Feyenoord
Trying to beat Darkest Dungeon again in preparation of the sequal, but feck me, this game really manages to feck up your morale.
 

TheMagicFoolBus

Full Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2016
Messages
6,502
Location
Lisboa, Portugal
Supports
Chelsea
Shivers' voice is better than butter. So rare though.

I finished it last week. It's a fantastic game. Just an excellent mystery. I love how much thought you put into dialogue choices but dice checks can throw everything up in the air.

Kim is the best sidekick in gaming.

Cuno is second.
Totally agreed - love the element of chance being crucial, though I will admit to being rather frustrated when I lost a 97% chance on more than one occasion!

I get what your saying yes. I loved the random bits that were different and kind of bizarre or surreal in places. I did become kind of engrossed in the world and reading random books about the mist and things like that.
I was very much into the dregs on my playthrough, thats were all the best drugs are. Using them to try and pass that wall painting test despite having no talent whatsoever was a running theme of my playthrough, i got there in the end. I missed the communist meeting because it was the scheduled for the same time as getting my gun back and had a stab at facism to try and get into the docks but wasn't enthusiastic enough about it apparently. I think he just ended up feeling sorry for me after failing to punch him the 20th time and let me past. I toyed with mystical end of the world nihilism a bit too but didn't seem to make much progress with it.
Yeah the world-building was top notch - I think as well a crucial factor for me was a lot of the sensory descriptions; really helped me feel immersed in a sort of skin-crawly way!

I'm currently playing it. Really is a fanatastic experience but I seem to be playing it at a snails pace as I don't feel like wrapping it up (so 3 games at one time), and work. In terms of writing, it's definitely the most well written and articulate game you'll play, and to be fair is more of a visual novel, so it has to be if it's to be a really top class experience (which it is).

Btw I also have played as a highly intelligent but weak/psychology aloof character and plan to for either a mad psycho or super strong chap in the next one. I'd imaging the inner narrative will be quite different as this one has been full of facts probably due to the intelligence. And yes the voices are wonderful. The reptilian brain voice makes your skin crawl. Lovely.
Completely empathise with taking your time - I certainly did! Didn't want the game to end if I'm being honest.