What are you playing this weekend? 2023-07-29

I've just started playing TotK, and so far it's great! I also try to make some time for Diablo IV and Catan with my SO.
- How are you playing Catan? Actual board game or some digital version? I have the boardgame version, and just got the Cities & Knights expansion pack (though haven't played it yet).
  TotK is a great game, just don't try to rush through it, and enjoy it at your own pace.
  Who are you playing as, in Diablo IV? Finished the campaign?
  
  Both the Catan Universe android app and board game. We just got Seafarers as well! But We've also been playing a bit with the 5-6 player expansion, even if we're only two or three, and it's been great!
  Yep, I'm going to take my sweet time with it. I only have a limited time with it with two kids and my SO that also plays it (she's only got Ganon left though).
  My eternal character is an Arc Lash Sorc. I can't say I noticed the nerfs that much, but I'm quite hyped for the buffs that are incoming! On Seasonal I'm trying out Druid. The leveling is quite slow, but I've heard it's going to pick up quite a lot after 50, so I'm holding on to hope!

Will I ever stop playing TOTK?
Nope. Not for the forseeable future. 😎
Though there are some new tracks on Mario Kart 8 i might want to try a bit.
- > Though there are some new tracks on Mario Kart 8 i might want to try a bit.
  I was wondering what I had forgotten! New tracks on Mario Kart!
  TotK is a game that you can play for a long long time. How far along are you?
  
  storywise i just have to go for Ganondorf at this point. Currently exploring the depths and using it to track missing shrines.

Regarding Super Mario Bros Ultimate, If you think it's hard in the 2nd world wait till you get down the way. Especially the hidden levels and the star levels. But the game is very fun regardless.
This weekend I am off for vacation and left the Switch home so I am not playing anything
- Not hard in general, but there was a certain portion in world 2 where I lost about 4 lives.
  Vacations are great, stay away from screens, and have lots of fun!

Pikmin 4. Had to get it after playing the demo. Fun and relaxing and very well suited for quick sessions.. then I saw Octopath Traveller 2 was on sale and now I’m 10 hours deep into that..
- Ah, didn't know Octopath Traveller 2 was on sale, maybe that's why so many people are playing it this week. How are you enjoying it?
  
  I’m liking it overall. The story being 8 separate ones, one for each character, makes it so they are somewhat limited in their depth. It could also do with some QoL stuff compared to like Bravely Default 2 (what’s up with those weird jrpg titles?).. auto-battles would’ve been much appreciated with how grind-y it gets. The atmosphere and graphics are great though. It’s like how I remember rpg’s from the 90s to be

Now that I finished Tears of the Kingdom, it's time to get back to finishing the last two stories in Octopath Traveller 2.
- Nice! Which 2 are left? I haven't played it yet, but have seen all the characters.
  
  The final chapters of Agnes and Partitio. And I guess there's gonna be a final final boss again, like in the first game.

I'm falling deep into the Pikmin nostalgia hole. Bought Pikmin 1 and 2, played the crap out of them. Beat 3 two days before Pikmin 4 dropped, now my girlfriend and eye are casually taking turns ('2 player's mode') working out way through that. I'm usually the type to like difficult and challenging games, but something about the chillness of this new one has got me in a good way.
- Wow, nice! I am glad you are enjoying Pikmin! I should show it to my wife too, it looks like a kind of game she might enjoy.
  
  3 is the best for an active 2 player experience (at least as far as the story goes). The multiplayer battle modes are good in both

I've been playing Pikmin 4, it's chill and fun. I probably won't get back to TotK until I've finished Pikmin 4. I might play some Sonic here and there too, and I've been wanting to get back into Smash Ultimate for some time now.
I received Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons physical yesterday. I only booted it up to download the update and have a quick 5/10 minutes play, so it's ready for the weekend. I'm looking forward to playing that one with my girlfriend!
- How good are you in Smash Ultimate? If you are somewhere between not good to bad, we can have a few challenges sometimes 😀
  Double Dragon Gaiden looks pretty good. I am glad the beat 'em ups are coming back. It's one of my favourite genre.
  
  I'm probably as good as in Mario Kart. I think I'm good when I play with friends, but then I play online and get my ass handed to me 😆 I haven't paid for Nintendo Online for about two years now, but I could get back to it for some Smash and Mario Kart online!
  I love beat 'em ups too. I have a decent beat 'em up collection for Switch now! Both classic collections and modern ones.

For New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, if you have one of the SNES controllers (or something similar), that may help. I found it played a bit better than the Pro controller, for some reason. Probably my muscle memory from playing so much SNES back in the day! I thought New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was really difficult to get through even though I played through and conquered the other Marios.
- I think it's the kind of game where it's better to use the D-pad than the stick. And the D-pad from the Pro Controller is an absolute joke, registers random stuff all over the place. I use the 8bitdo SNES controller for anything that's better to play with a D-pad.
  
  Hmm... maybe I can try my DualSense, I have couple of adapters that allow you to connect different controllers with different systems. Would have to look up if they support DualSense.
- I don't have SNES contollers. Pro Controller is all I have (or JoyCon)

I just picked up Mario + Rabbids. Just got to world 2 after beating Rabbid Donkey Kong and boy was that a difficulty spike. I’ve always been a big fan of Fire Emblem, and this is very fun with all the movement options and such.
Does anyone know how the sequel holds up? Obviously not a masterclass in terms of story, but very very fun gameplay.
- I would compare it more with X-Com than Fire Emblem. Technically, they are very similar, but in my mind, they are very different games.
  As for the sequel, I haven't played it myself yet, but have heard great things about it. I loved the first one, and from what I have seen second one improves on it a lot.
  
  Ah I never played XCOM. But from what I’ve seen they do look really similar.
- That game was so much fun. Haven't played the sequel yet.

Children of morta! I'm really enjoying it. Didn't like rogue likes at all before 😮
- What is it you like about this that you didn't like in other roguelikes? Or this just feels good to play? Mainly asking because I don't like rogue-likes, so if it's a one that I may like regardless, it seems like worth a try (specially since it free with PS+ Extra)

Been doing a side by side thing where I play my n64 games then play the equivalents or remakes of them on the switch. Think this weekend will involve some pokemon snap and new pokemon snap action.
- That sounds like fun! Just having fun or do you stream / post your videos somewhere?
  There's also a !pokemon_snap@lemmy.piperservers.net community, where you can post your Pokémon Snap Snaps (though currently it's just one person sharing their snaps, they are sometimes to fun look at)
  
  Mainly just for fun, usually do it when I'm watching over my nephew. He just turned 10 and loves the Nintendo games, and I'm just an avid retro collector who likes to somewhat "teach" / keep the history of the retro games. He can't get enough of "how different everything looked back then".
  Maybe I should do some documentation and share the differences some place! Thanks for pointing me at the snap community btw 😀.

Still on Trails into Reverie.
Long game is long, but I got some good progress this week. Reached the final chaper, did the whole intial section and I’m now free to explore Crossbell while preparing for what I assume is the final dungeon.
However, there’s a ton of extra content that I want to clear before moving on, so I’m now rotating between:
~~Going to all locations marked as “NEW” on Crossbell for the extra bosses/events~~ Done!
~~Doing runs of Stratum 4 of the Reverie Corridor to unlock the missing Daydreams/Minigames/Bonus Characters~~ Done!
~~Playing the remaining Daydreams~~ Done!
Playing minigames - Pom Pom Party is addictive, but besides that there’s some minigames that include additional story bits like the one about the Tyrfing S
But I think I’ll finally be able to beat the game during this next week. Which would be good because I got two VNs coming from Play-Asia and looking at the tracking information they should arrive soon.
Edit: Also just found out there's a free book for this game with the backstories of two of the new characters. It's available in-game and also on the official website. I just finished converting so I can read this on the Kindle, which honestly sounds like it was worth the effort since it turned out to be even longer than I expected, almost 100 pages!
- Nice. Seems like you are progressing well. Combination of playing a long game and then few small games goes really well together. That's why after finishing TotK I am playing a few smaller games, before going back to Dragon Quest 11.
  That book sounds interesting, with a game with such a deep lore, its nice to have a nice companion book giving some behind the scenes stories.

Still playing Smite but it crashes on modes that aren't assault
- Is that a known issue? Or just something with your game?
  Maybe you can try contacting the devs, maybe there's some workaround in the works.
  
  I sent a feedback message because I'm on switch and this didn't happen as often on pc

Husband plays Tears of the Kingdom while I'm at work, farming resoures and fighting. I take over in the evenings to do the questing and puzzles that he doesn't like.
- I read it as, "While I am at work, farming resources and fighting for my family in real life, my husband is playing Tears of the Kingdom" 😀 Had to read it twice.
  Are you both playing in same account? That seems like an interesting way to play. Maybe I can get my wife to play more games, if I let her do the stuff she like and take care of the things she finds annoying...

BG3 early access, want to get familiar with the mechanics before next week's release.
- Ooooh! BG 3! 💖
  How are you liking the game?
  
  It's really similar to traditional DnD RPG but with some extra quality of life built.
  you no longer needs to press stat roll for hours to get the stat you want. It's a bit more modernized but use the 5e rules(I am not familiar, just read it from others' comment)
  the opening(I am about 4~5 hours in early access content wise) and think the pace is actually quite good. party size is 4 instead of 6 in older games.
  there could be more QoL change to the camera operation as currently there is only limited freedom when you operate the camera around. I understand that you can venture out of visible area(so you can't peak into area you haven't get close enough yet), but lack of free looking sometimes make navigation around tight corridor/cave area with multiple levels a bit tricky. (they can probably allow free look but use fog of war type to block/masking out intractable/enemies)
  That said, even in the early area, there might be some glitches for events, how the game loading stuff, schedule tasks in weird order. ie. in one of the main sequence, it loads the map and play cinematic at same time, BUT, the map finish loading first and you see the "result" of the cinematic before it cuts in and started playing. So definitely don't expect it to be bug free, especially with the scale mentioned in the press.
  It's probably gonna burn you quite a bit of time before you get comfortable with the system, I don't know how far into the game to allow you respec the character( it was mentioned by larian to be a feature but didn't know how it would be implemented), so you might play some hours and decide to restart if the respec feature is only available mid/late game to have a smoother run or challenge higher difficulty.
  some of the keywords or system might be a bit confusing but fortunately there is wiki for BG3 already form years of early access.(which also mean it may or may not be out of date because of the patches)
  I think overall I can look past the short coming and enjoy the game so far, no annoying crash or very flow breaking stuff. You do need to save frequently cause the auto save spot could be far apart. Best to save before you run into group of dots on your map AND after you finish a bit fight + short resting. The reason for this is this game does have trigger zone and you can't save during force triggered conversation/combat. If you forgot to rest it could put you into serious disadvantage(cause the high damage output spell or special skills are locked behind consumable points which only refresh after a long rest, and some events might be time relevant, so you have to weight your risk for proceed without rest and more rest but make your schedule tighter.(judging from a bit of search, it's event related, if you trigger a start of event but then go do other stuff the event will resolve itself even if you did nothing and long rest.)

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. Fun game, good port, and harder than I remembered.
Also putting more time in TOTK, Diablo 4, and WoW.
- Wow, so many games. I didn't know about Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, but looked up some details on launch, and now planning to play it someday.
  How far along are you in TotK and Diablo 4? Finished the campaign in Diablo? And who are you playing as?
  Also, how's the WoW community these days? I was under the impression that it's pretty much over now.
  
  CoH is one of those games that isn’t quite a “recommended to everyone” game but it’s one that I think many will really like. It’s also only $15 right now, so not a huge investment if you don’t like it. Kinda weird there haven’t been many similar games made (I was aware of like 2).
  Completed the Diablo 4 campaign. Loved the story (lots of good stories in the side quests too) and the ending cinematic was one of the best they’ve ever done. First play through was a chain lightning Sorcerer and now trying a werewolf Druid on Season 1. Have also played Necromancer and a little bit of Barbarian.
  WoW’s community is kinda toxic sometimes in group stuff. Population wise, it still has plenty of people. The latest expansion, Dragonflight, is one of their best expansions. Having a lot of fun with it.

Playing no-build Fortnite with some buds tonight. Will try to get some Tears of the Kingdom or Octopath Traveller 2 in as well
- I am not a fan of BR, but Fortnite has become pretty good, specially the no-build mode. The feel of the game has improved a lot since it's earlier days.
  How far along are you in Tears of the Kingdom and Octopath Traveller 2?
  
  > I am not a fan of BR, but Fortnite has become pretty good, specially the no-build mode
  Exactly how I felt too. They regularly switch out weapons and items so it keeps it fresh, but a little frustrating when they take away something you like.
  > How far along are you in Tears of the Kingdom and Octopath Traveller 2?
  Not very far at all in totk, I thin I've done 10 shrines maybe. We have a new born in the house so that keeps me pretty busy. For octopath I'm nearing the end, most characters are high lvl 30s or 40s. Almost time to start some chapter 4s

Building my Eevee team in Scarlett ;)
- Catch'em all!

Just picked up Moonlighter yesterday and already deeply addicted to the thrill of running my store
- Moonlighter is a fun game, but for some reason I wasn't able to get into it. I don't like roguelikes, maybe that's why.
  The game-play loop is fun though, glad you are enjoying it.

Still side questing/shrine hunting in TotK. Didn't play as much as usual this week, it's been a bit busy preparing for a vacation I'm taking next week, so I probably won't play much next week either. Any tips on how to beat lynels?
- As I told Dougas above, vacations are great! Stay away from screen, and have fun!

Tears of the Kingdom. Hoping to find the last few shrines I’m missing…
- I am still very far from reaching that point.
  Have you finished the game? What percentage did you reach? And how many hours?
  
  I haven’t finished yet so I don’t know how far along (in terms of percentage). My goal before finishing is completing all the shrines, light roots and as many quests as I have picked up along the way. After that I’ll likely finish the game and then look up the side quests I haven’t done yet.
  So far I’ve played for 145 hours and completed 142 shrines.

Probably random games on the SNES console or maybe getting back into ToK
- I read it as "getting back to Tik Tok".
  Have you finished Tears of the Kingdom?
  
  Not even close to finishing

I might start NSMBUD myself, we’ll see. I’m still playing Dragon Quest and it is really heating up. Love this game. Also I think there’s a Rilaboom available in SV Pokémon raids this weekend, so I’ll fight for that.
- I need to get back to DQXI too, but after TotK, trying to clear some smaller games before fully getting into such a long game again. How many hours in are you?
  Good luck with the raid!

I know I’m late to the party but I actually beat New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe this weekend! I actually also found certain parts to be challenging but every time I tried to google for guides I found community after community talking about how absurdly easy it was. It was kind of surreal so I just wanted to validate your feelings about the challenge.
That being said, when I went back to replay older levels…..it was way way way WAY easier and I found that I have progressed over the course of the game to have become pretty competent. The game’s difficulty curve trains you pretty well.
- So, basically what you are saying is, "git gud"! 😀
  Jokes aside, it's nice to know I am not the only one, and there's actually a difficulty curve for those who aren't platforming experts. Thanks for the feedback.
  
  Yeah just to update you on that comment. I started playing Super Luigi U and I’ve been very humbled. I’ve been playing Toadette because this shit is hard. Like really hard.

Outside.
- The game? It seems to have very negative comments on steam. How are you liking it?

I'm trying to finish Mercenary Kings. I've gotten a long way but it's taking so long to finish. You really gotta commit to this game.
- How are you liking the game? Doesn't it become repetitive? I played a bit of the start of the game, and it was pretty much all in same area, doing same kind of things? (I am seeing the irony, talking about same area and doing the same thing, while playing Monster Hunter myself...)
  
  Yeah it is at first because you do multiple missions in the same area which are very similar. As you move up the ranks you unlock new levels with new enemies that are much harder, but it takes a long time to get there.