PSN+ this month.

[Twiztid Elf]

Bloodborne
Ratchet and Clank
WINNING

I already have R+C and it's fucking awesome. Looking forwards to trying Bloodborne. I struggled hard with Demon/Dark Souls, so I'm happy to be trying BB for free*.

[Replica]

Bloodborne consumed me and I have played it to death. One of the few games that I have the platinum trophy for, I think I hit new game +7 before finally letting it go. If you can get past the first difficulty hurdle it is a deeply rewarding and incredibly fun game. Easy front runner for my favorite game of this console generation.

Ratchet and Clank is fantastic and makes me wish I had a PS4 pro.

[Madmya]

Sensational lineup. Worried about the Game Pass?

[klee123]

Bloodborne is pretty much my game of the generation.

Anyone with a PS4, but has never played it should give it a try.

Once the game clicks, like what happened to me with Demon's Souls back in 2009, the Soulsborne games are simply bliss.

[t0mby]

Sweet, Bloodborne. Haven't played that, don't know why as I loved Demon's Souls and to an extent Dark Souls.

[lestat]

Bitter sweet month with the news we will no longer get any vita/PS3 games, it will be just 2 PS4 titles going forward.

I already own these 2 titles, but with gamepass and GWG giving 4 games away. I have too much to play as it is, I'm dropping the service when my sub finishes since I don't play online on PS4 anyways. Money saved on plus will fund gamepass going forward for me.

[Gamma]

Did these just tick over today? I grabbed the free games yesterday and it was RiME (sweet), Knack (fml) and some JRPG.

Got Bloodborne ages ago but definitely keen for R&C.

PS+ is on sale at the moment too, $59 for a year. I'm paid up a couple of years in advance but it's not bad otherwise.

[t0mby]

Nah, they tick over on the first Tuesday of the month.

[Gamma]

Ah, cheers.

[Mavy]

Bought the Jak & Daxter Trilogy Pack in the PSN Sale. Oh man. Naughty Dog have come a long way!

Shame it wasn't presented a little better. Straight PS2 port pretty much.

[Gamma]

Great line-up, Mighty No. 9 is there too which exactly fits the bill for a game that I want to try out but definitely don't want to pay for.

This selection has injected so much new life into Bloodborne, Central Yharnam hasn't seen this much action since launch. I forgot just how atmospheric the game is.

[t0mby]

I'm struggling to get into Bloodborne, or any game for that matter. I'm feeling really burnt out on games these last few months.

[Candy Arse]

What the?

[t0mby]

It'll come around, swings and roundabouts. Been through this phase before.

[PhoneMonkey]

I know how you feel t0mby. My cure for that is a bit of retro gaming - been making my way though FFVI/FFIII and having a blast.

[Twiztid Elf]

I'm struggling to get into Bloodborne, or any game for that matter. I'm feeling really burnt out on games these last few months.

I'm not entirely sure you can put the blame on your shoulders t0mby.

The whole game industry is in a shocking slump right now.
Yeah, yeah, I know, pre-E3-lull and all that, but seriously, this time last year we had Zelda, Horizon and Persona drop. Felt like a final goodbye for quality game overload to me.
What have we had this year? Remakes of some of the best games ever (Bayo, SotC)? Sure. But what new? DragonBall FighterZ, and that's it?

Seriously, there is nothing interesting right now. IMO, the last truly interesting game to drop was Super Mario Odyssey.

PC gaming has never really interested me.
Microsoft are a fucking basket case.
The big third parties are fucking basket cases.
Arrogant Sony are back, and where are the games?
Nintendo are still rocking it, but they're running at their usual slow cadence, and loading up on ports - great if you never had a Wii U I guess......

The entire industry is awash with remakes and micro-transactions.

Seriously, right now, what's interesting coming up this year???
Shin Megami Tensei V
Ys VIII (another port - only listing it because I've never played a Ys game).
OnRush maybe?
Smash (is it a port?),
RDR2 (will it even be this year? - not that hyped either tbh - wasn't that big on 1).

[Gamma]

Agreed- can't say I'm interested in any of the upcoming games you mentioned either. Smash and RDR2 will likely both be great, but not for me. 80% of my friends list are currently playing PUBG or Fortnite, neither of which appeal in the slightest. It's not a problem though personally, I have a metric fuckton of quality backlog to plow through. There will always be more good games than I have time to play, that ship sailed years ago.

I dunno, I've found that lately I have one "comfort game" on the go (Destiny 2) which is easy, flashy and fun. That's my go-to after a big day where I'm just knackered and want to play something without paying too much attention to it. Everything else is kind of difficult and/or complex (Bloodborne/Salt & Sanctuary/Monster Hunter World) and requires a more dedicated block of time. More than enough on my plate for the foreseeable future. Rain World will replace S&S when I'm done there, I'm really looking forward to it!

Definitely helps that I've settled into a tight-knit group of similarly-aged gamers, some of which I know well IRL, others less so. For the most part we teamed up in Destiny 1 and ESO, but these days we talk shit in chat even if we're playing different games. On occasion I cbf playing anything, but I might still jump into chat while I'm doing something else entirely.

If you need a break though, take one. A couple of weeks ago I just decided "fuck this" and pursued other interests for a while. Gaming is always there when you're ready to return, and it's usually better for having spent some time away.

[Madmya]

Downtime is good. Plenty to play.

[Froggy]

It'll come around, swings and roundabouts. Been through this phase before.

I was actually going through one of these phases when I started Bloodbourne and once I got a couple of hours in well that disappeared fast as I got consumed. Am back at the same stage as you are now but have found myself a copy of Yakuza 0 to play so when that comes in I'll be good plus Sea of Thieves this week. When I get in the same mood I tend to do what others have said, go retro or start to think about games I wanted to play but never did and I end up finding some gems like Broken Sword 5 (not everyone's cup of tea) which for someone like me who loves those adventure point and click games it was brilliant.

[Mavy]

The kinds of games that interest me has reduced a lot over the years. Pretty much I just want to play games like Uncharted/Tomb Raider. Which are few and far between. AC:Origins really grabbed me. Zelda took way to long to get into, and while Mario Odyssey was fun I don't seen any reason to go back to it.

I play games for the story these days so was looking forward to another Mass Effect. AC:Origins didn't really have a story but just enjoyed the world.

[Twiztid Elf]

I'm not actually in a slump. I've only ever had a couple of mild gaming slumps in my life.
But I am disappointed that my primary hobby, and the industry I follow with passion is stuck at the bottom of this hole.

It's not a problem though personally, I have a metric fuckton of quality backlog to plow through. There will always be more good games than I have time to play, that ship sailed years ago.

Yeah. This is always the thing huh. Even if the entire industry stopped making any more good games right now, there are enough retro gems to explore that it would probably consume my gaming time to the end of my life anyway. Certainly if you include all my personal faves that I enjoy replaying.
Right off the top of my head, I should finish that replay of FF7 that I'm half way through which I was very much enjoying. I've never played FF9. I'd like to retry RE4 - I just struggle to like it for some strange reason. And (gulp) press New Game again on Persona 5.

[t0mby]

I think Yakuza would be my "go to" games, #4 helped me last year when I was in a slump, nek minnit started and completed #5 th en into Zero but I've since misplaced Zero when I moved last December. Was itching to play that last week, especially as Kiwami is sitting there waiting to be started, #6 is out next month and Kiwami 2 in August.

[t0mby]

April's games

Mad Max
Trackmania

Some other shit for PS3 and Vita.

[Hercy]

Track Mania Turbo was free on Xbox Gold a few months ago. It's actually a pretty fun arcade racer.

[guttermouth]

Trackmaina is VR too. Hate to see how it makes you feel after playing it in VR. Playing through Mad Max now, such a great game