Rate the last game you finished

[Rorschach]

Finally finished the main campaign of Horizon Zero Dawn on PC. First up, it was a great game - the start was slow and slightly tedious but once you were let loose in the overworld it really started to pick up. When I first got it, it was effectively unplayable, bug central. However, Sony did a great job patching the hell out of it, hasn't crashed on me since I first bought it. The gameplay definitely feels like a first generation PS4 game, there are gameplay mechanics that needed a lot of polish - collision detection being one and invisible walls being another but overall nil big issues with the core game loop. The graphics really shine. It's not in the same league graphically as something like Death's Stranding but the PC graphical updates improve on almost every facet of the world (not a huge fan of the HDR look though). One thing though I really enjoyed was the story - it had just the right amount of dystopian nihilism even though it suffered from a lack of a big bad boss to end out the game. This has me extremely excited for the sequel and continuation of the story. If you can get this on sale, immediate buy - even at full price it's a buy. 9/10

[t0mby]

I think Horizon was one of two full priced games I bought digitally upon release (other being GTAV on PS3) and I too enjoyed it but as soon as I got the Platinum I deleted it and didn't bother reinstalling to get the dlc. I agree with the first generation comments, I remember thinking the same when I played it back in early 2017. Whether I get the sequel depends on whether I end up getting a PS5, I have so much to play on backlog and still purchase the odd game that I not sure if it's really worth buying yet another console at this point. If I had a PS3 dualshock I'd be smashing out some 10yo games in my backlog.

[Rorschach]

Same, my backlog is vast and depressing. I should just stop buying games but the inner child that wants everything now laughs at me

[Twiztid Elf]

I literally have no backlog right now.

[Ambrose Burnside]

I literally have no backlog right now.

Impressive

[Twiztid Elf]

old mate Elf is here to help.
If you want, list your backlogs, and I'll cull and prioritize them for you.

My current state of play:
None of it I consider "backlog" as such as I'm not committed to "finishing" any of this. No real focus on any single game right now. Just what I consider secondary stuff and curiosities.
Wreckfest. Already platinumed the PS5 version, but still often jump onto online for a bit of fun. Man, the bogans playing this online are an absolute hoot.
Ring Fit Adventure. Occasionally return back to it, and slowly chipping away. Like most people who have a proper training schedule, this is just a toy. Nice distraction for rest day. tbh, not bothered if I never "finish" it.
Dishonored. After Pepps glowing recommendation, I'll definitely take a look and see where it takes me.
Returnal. Enjoying it a lot. It takes a long time to "click", but when it does, it bites hard. It is so much fun to play. It's fucking hard, but you do learn and get better the more you play it. Again though, if I never finish it, I don't think I'll feel any guilt or shame.
Super Console X Pro. Holy shit I'm having so much fun with this thing. I was playing the Amstrad CPC version of Buggy Boy for ages last night ffs. Terrible version of Buggy Boy fwiw.

Upcoming:
I think I do have backlog coming in June though, but then again, there is nothing behind it at this stage. Lets see what E3 brings.
Guilty Gear Strive and Ratchet and Clank on the same day.
Hope I'll finish Ratchet and Clank before:
Mario Golf and Scarlet Nexus. Scarlet Nexus looks amazing. Oh the demo is out on PS now - rushing off to download!

[flipswitch]

I can’t seem to stick to finishing games myself, but despite that I keep buying more!

Twiz. I’m always impressed ( and jealous) when I see you post your reviews here.

Good job.

[Twiztid Elf]

Thanks mate.
It's funny looking back. I can tell the exact moment when something flicked over in my brain in relation to gaming.
I was a huge pirate during the SNES/MD gen.
I'm pretty sure I had one of the first PS1's in Australia (I had one in 1994). And boy, did I pay a huge price for it. I got scammed, but I was ok with it to get it when I did. Off the top of my head I think I paid $1200.
But when I got that PS1, I looked back on the SNES/MD gen, and despite having access to just about everything, I could honestly say I legitimately only really finished Super Mario World (and a lot of Super Mario Kart and SFII).
The shame was too much to take, and I vowed to be different going forwards.
I decided to no longer be a pirate. To make careful purchasing decisions, and play things through. The payoff was huge. So rewarding. MGS, RE, RE2, Gran Turismo, FFVII, etc.
And I still live that philosophy toward gaming today.

If I have 3 games I'm committed to in my backlog, I do not buy anything new.

[Ambrose Burnside]

I always slip into the trap of "comfort food" gaming in the time I do have to game. Playing a quick game of FIFA or a level of ye olde OG Doom or Quake instead of chipping away at the latest and greatest.

I have finished a few games recently (Cyberpunk most recently) but that doesn't really chip away at the backlog. Doesn't make it bigger though.

In the age of Game Pass and Epic freebies you could also say there is no such thing as a backlog any more. It's like saying everything on Netflix or Disney+ is part of your movie/TV show backlog.

I've never been a big pirate. Never on console, and the PC games I've ... acquired ... I've gone back and bought myself.

[Peppermint Lounge]

Live service RPGs are bad for backlogs too. I’ve put hundreds of hours into games that don’t end.

[Twiztid Elf]

Like what Pepp?
I haven't seriously played an MM since WoW in 2008. I dabbled in Guild Wars 2, and it is very nice, but didn't hold me. I've been tempted by the FF MM.
The three I've been keeping an eye on are Lost World, Ashes of Creation and Blue Protocol.
Lost World is out now after the news of the last few weeks of P2W micros.

I just finished the Scarlet Nexus demo and wow. This is going to be something special. Of all the Japanese devs, seems like Bamco are truly embracing their anime culture and turning the dial to 11. First words out of my mouth when finishing were "<wifename> book the next flights to Japan". . Drops head and sighs.

[Peppermint Lounge]

Destiny 2 mainly. These past nights I’ve been enjoying Division 1 and 2.

[unfnknblvbl]

I always slip into the trap of "comfort food" gaming in the time I do have to game. Playing a quick game of FIFA or a level of ye olde OG Doom or Quake instead of chipping away at the latest and greatest.

This. Holy shit, this. I'm more likely to get excited about being able to play an old game anew than I am about playing a new game.
Sonic 3: AIR on Android TV? Heck yeah!
The latest COD? Mehhhhhhhh

[Rorschach]

I'm horrible for it to be honest. The worst are multiplayer games for me, particularly Destiny 2 and last year Division 2. I've easily sunk upwards of 400 hours into Destiny 2 and nearly 200 hours into Division 2 (not to mention Division 1) - could have finished 4 or more single player games in that time. Currently trying to chip away at Control, Metro Exodus, Red Dead 2, Dishonored and MGSV. Trying to commit to just one - thinking Red Dead at the moment because despite their length, Rockstar always pays off with a decent story.

Edit - And I love JRPGs. I want to go back and actually finish Tales of Vesperia but I bought Dragon Quest just the other day on sale. Shouldn't complain. When I was a kid I didn't have access to the games I wanted, when I wanted - now spoiled for choice.

[t0mby]

old mate Elf is here to help.
If you want, list your backlogs, and I'll cull and prioritize them for you.

I have a looooong list. Give me till the end of the month, I have to dig everything out when I get back from the Gold Coast.

[Twiztid Elf]

Dude. You gotta tell me when you're in the GC man. We'll catch up for a beer.

[Froggy]

Elf you'll like Dishonored I think. I played through 2 on Pep's recommendation and I liked it, I enjoyed that it had no filler, multiple ways to attack each level and the game never bored me. They hadn't made levels just for levels sake to make something go longer, that was refreshing.

God of War.. how the hell was I so late to the party on this one. Got it for $12 bucks new from JB a few weeks ago, still couldn't be stuffed until I was bored the other weekend and put it in and then within 10mins I was hooked. Never having played a GOW game beforehand and I had it all wrong, this was fantastic. I can't believe what they pulled out of a PS4 Pro, let alone a base PS4. I'm looking forward to the next one now, a good enough reason to get a PS5 if I don't have one beforehand. If you see it cheap then get it.

C&C and Red Alert Remastered - It's free on game pass for PC. They've done a good job, have been having some red alert matches with friends, I would have liked if they'd updated some AI in the game and improved the pathfinding as it's still ridiculous where some units go, they could have also added in some better controls for selecting units. I would like them to do C&C and RA 2 so there's some more depth to the games but it's a fun bash back through old stuff if you're bored one day and well its free.

Now I've picked up A Little Hope after playing Man of Medan for free on Game Pass. Great example, I'd never have bought it if I didn't get to play the first one free, now I'll grab each game in the series as they come out. I really enjoyed Man of Medan and I think A Little Hope is a huge improvement on that so far, getting up there with Until Dawn for the first two sections I've played. Good fun on a winters night when you want something just to relax and "play" but entertain you too. I've come around to their idea of playing it with someone else and now I think it would actually be fun to have someone else making choices with you. I'm trying to keep everyone alive on my playthrough to keep it challenging, especially hard when you don't know what choices will kill someone lol.

I know what you guys mean about backlog, it's this time of the cycle I generally go around vacuuming up bargains, my main issue previously is that I'll do this and then get the next console and I instantly just never go back to the previous one, no matter what intentions I had. Now with backwards compatibility it's taken that problem away and with Corona delaying basically any decent release for the last 9months and counting I've found a nice gap to get some of these games in. Each time I go shopping I seem to keep finding more games cheap though, Tony Hawks remastered for 15 bucks the other day for example, this is why I'll always support EB or anywhere that sells physical, no matter that they might be trying to rip me off a lot is that you don't get this with digital. If the new consoles had stock I'd be into my 5 dollar bargains by now brand new from JB and EB, can't go wrong at that price.

[t0mby]

Dude. You gotta tell me when you're in the GC man. We'll catch up for a beer.

Definitely, I'm there for 3 days in June and time will be tight this trip but I'll see what I can do. Will be doing frequent trips multiple times a year from then on out but that'll be explained at another day.

[F for Fake]

OT but just quickly, check out the TimeZone in the GC. It was about 4 years ago now, but when I went I was blown away. 4 player Outrun 2 with sit in cars on full hydraulics (spent almost $80 ), same again but for Virtua Racer (actually the pics say it's Virtua Formula, not sure of the difference), Afterburner 2... I'm sure more that I can't remember. Basically, almost a Sega fans wet dream.

[t0mby]

Last time I was there was 2016, am taking the kids there in a few weeks so I'll see if my credit on my TZ Card is still valid.

[Twiztid Elf]

Back in the 80's, it was called Grundys.
In 85 they had full hydraulic Space Harrier and OutRun.
Whenever I was there, a turn on OutRun was a lineup about 20 people long.

[Vince]

Resident Evil 8 on PS5. Enjoyable enough romp. I noticed slight lag whilst playing which was frustrating but I haven't heard anyone mention it anywhere else.
Story was fine, if not completely bonkers (typical Resi I suppose). Loved the way it mimicked Resi 4 in terms of looks, weapon upgrades, merchant etc... Overall I'm not a massive fan of these new FPS Resi's. I much prefer the 3rd person perspective games.
In terms of performance, I had to turn off the ray tracing feature as the frame rate just wasn't stable. Once I left it off the game seemed to sit at a steady 60 fps. Looks nice. Plays nice (apart from that slight lag). 7/10 for me.

[unfnknblvbl]

Horizon Zero Dawn (PC)

9/10

There's a lot wrong with the PC port, but also is forgiven with just how damn good the game is. The story is thoroughly engaging, and the world is beautifully crafted. The controls are great, and I didn't even find Aloy's self-talk annoying.

Hopefully the sequel gets a PC port, too...

[t0mby]

Dude. You gotta tell me when you're in the GC man. We'll catch up for a beer.

Been crunching the time schedule and this trip won't be doable blah blah waffle drone.

[Twiztid Elf]

Yeah, life is busy. I don't get down the GC as much as I'd like (even when my folks live down there), particularly with my running schedule.
Maybe take this to PM's going forwards.

Leviathan and Atlantis won't be open yet at SeaWorld.