The Extreme HW Game List - 2023 Edition

[schuck6566]

4 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Diablo IV!?

 

Ah - It does not say free game*

yeah, waiting to see what kinda special they do with it probably for prime day.

[UltraMega]

I started playing The Last Of Us on PC. I've never played it before, so it's all new to me. 

 

Gameplay is pretty basic but the way the action plays out is very visceral. Enemies are usually pretty easy to deal with, but still very menacing just because of the way they look and sound. The subtle way the game makes you care about the girl is interesting too; for a while she just seems like a tag along that doesn't add anything to the game, then at one point The main character and her get jumped by some thugs, and they are trying to take the girl, presumably to rape and kill her. From then on in the game, every time I had the option to use stealth or brute force, I made sure to use force just to kill as many baddies as possible. After that she starts helping and it kinda turns into a co-op single player game. 

 

Moves the goal post forward for blurring the line between cinematic games and cinema. Makes sense too, with the recent leaks from the Xbox/FTC case we now know that Sony is spending upwards of 200 million on games like this which puts it right there in high budget movie territory. 

 

Runs well on my PC. Playing at max minus a few shadow settings turned down from ultra to high, 4K with FSR2 set to quality. I do get dips below 60 but that seems to have to do with how the game loads in the map and is currently unavoidable, but it only goes down to like 55fps at the lowest so not a huge deal. Mostly a solid 60. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by UltraMega

[Slaughtahouse]

On 04/07/2023 at 16:36, UltraMega said:

I started playing The Last Of Us on PC. I've never played it before, so it's all new to me. 

 

Gameplay is pretty basic but the way the action plays out is very visceral. Enemies are usually pretty easy to deal with, but still very menacing just because of the way they look and sound. The subtle way the game makes you care about the girl is interesting too; for a while she just seems like a tag along that doesn't add anything to the game, then at one point The main character and her get jumped by some thugs, and they are trying to take the girl, presumably to rape and kill her. From then on in the game, every time I had the option to use stealth or brute force, I made sure to use force just to kill as many baddies as possible. After that she starts helping and it kinda turns into a co-op single player game. 

 

Moves the goal post forward for blurring the line between cinematic games and cinema. Makes sense too, with the recent leaks from the Xbox/FTC case we now know that Sony is spending upwards of 200 million on games like this which puts it right there in high budget movie territory. 

 

Runs well on my PC. Playing at max minus a few shadow settings turned down from ultra to high, 4K with FSR2 set to quality. I do get dips below 60 but that seems to have to do with how the game loads in the map and is currently unavoidable, but it only goes down to like 55fps at the lowest so not a huge deal. Mostly a solid 60. 

Nice! Glad you're enjoying it. I'm waiting for a sale now but very eager to get into it.

 

RE: Budgets -> many AAA games have budgets in that range. Probably quite a bit higher on average today. You also have to consider marketing, which is probably separate from the production budget. I could only imagine what Rockstar is throwing at GTA VI. Probably just shy of a billion. 

[UltraMega]

12 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Nice! Glad you're enjoying it. I'm waiting for a sale now but very eager to get into it.

 

RE: Budgets -> many AAA games have budgets in that range. Probably quite a bit higher on average today. You also have to consider marketing, which is probably separate from the production budget. I could only imagine what Rockstar is throwing at GTA VI. Probably just shy of a billion. 

I got the game for free with my GPU, otherwise I would have waited for a sale too for sure.

 

There are a lot of games with budgets like that for sure, but The Last of Us is a linear single player game that definitely does not reinvent the wheel at all, but rather focuses on fine detail and cinematic quality. The budget isn't going towards building some new tech or a big open world, it's aimed squarely at making the game feel very movie-like and it does a great job of that. The gameplay reminds me of games like A Plagues Tale or Hitman or any game where you spend a lot of time behind cover due to limited combat options, but it's in a completely different league when it comes to story-telling. 

 

My overall thoughts on the game are a little mixed so far. On one hand, because it does absolutely nothing new gameplay wise and is just a very standard stealth-action game, it can feel a little boring and basic at times. On the other hand, it's so detailed and cinematic that it not only makes up for the basic gameplay but makes it more understandable in the sense that rather than trying to do anything unique, the game takes well established gameplay loops and perfects them. Like, yes it's a basic stealth-action game and there are many like it, but it's probably the best game of its kind. 

[Slaughtahouse]

2023-07-18 Updates

• Added the following titles (order A -> Z):
  • Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster
  • Blasphemous 2
  • Cocoon
  • Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
  • Dave the Diver
  • Disney Illusion Island
  • Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
  • Immortals of Aveum
  • Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai
  • Mineko's Night Market
  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PC)
  • Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition
  • Sea of Stars
  • Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical
  • The Expanse: A Telltale Series
  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
  • Under the Waves
  • Viewfinder
  • Witchfire
  • WrestleQuest
• Added dates for the titles listed above (order of release)
  • Dave the Diver ->  6/28/2023
  • OXENFREE II: Lost Signals -> 7/12/2023
  • Viewfinder -> 7/18/2023
  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PC) -> 7/26/2023
  • The Expanse: A Telltale Series -> 7/26/2023
  • Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons -> 7/27/2023
  • Disney Illusion Island -> 7/28/2023
  • Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition -> 7/31/2023
  • WrestleQuest -> 8/8/2023
  • Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical -> 8/10/2023
  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre -> 8/18/2023
  • Immortals of Aveum -> 8/22/2023
  • Blasphemous -> 8/24/2023
  • Sea of Stars -> 8/29/2023
  • Under the Waves -> 8/29/2023
  • Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster -> 9/14/2023
  • Witchfire -> 9/20/2023
  • Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty -> 9/25/2023
  • Mineko's Night Market -> 9/26/2023
  • Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai -> 9/28/2023
  • Cocoon -> 9/29/2023
• Misc.
  • Various metacritic scores and formatting. 

 

The games don't stop!

Edited July 19, 2023 by Slaughtahouse
Fixed a link (Witchfire), added Sea of Stars

[Slaughtahouse]

Made a quick edit to the list above as I forgot to add "Sea of Stars". Which is a turn-based RPG, similar to Chrono Trigger. 

 

Also did another pass on the list, going back and fixing up some details. Should be in pretty good shape now. The post (above) highlights all the releases basically up until end of September. 

 

I am sure I've missed some but... there should be something there for everyone

 

Also, Pikmin 4 is out tomorrow (Nintendo Switch only) Coming out strong with an 88 on metacritic right now. 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Slaughtahouse

[Slaughtahouse]

Remnant 2 Review - IGN

WWW.IGN.COM

---

Where Remnant: From The Ashes was a strong first draft, Remnant 2 is a revolutionary sequel and a sterling manifesto for the looter-shooter soulslike.

 

Remnant series is for lack of a better description, is a souls-like, cooperative, third person shooter. IGN just gave it a 9. Something to watch out for if you have a couple buddies looking for a game to play together. The games are built from the ground up with co-op in mind. 

[Slaughtahouse]

Greenmangaming (GMG) Summer Sale.

Ends August 5th

 

Summer Sale 2023 | Video Game Deals | Green Man Gaming

WWW.GREENMANGAMING.COM

---

Thousands of games at low prices with exclusive discounts all in one place. Grab your next game deal in the Green Man Gaming Summer Sale 2023.

 

I use GMG a lot as an alternative when buying a new game on Steam since they usually have a 15% discount. They have a sale going on for the next 2 weeks. There are some decent deals if you're into Square Enix titles like Final Fantasy and if you have purchased from them before in the past few months, you get "XP" which nets you more discounts.

 

Quick screenshot below (prices in maple syrup dollars).

 

[Slaughtahouse]

2023-08-01 Updates

• Updated Metacritic scores for the following titles (in order of release)
  • Live A Live -> 85% (PC)
  • Viewfinder -> 84% (PC)
  • Remnant II -> 80% (PC / PS)
  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PC) -> 88% 
  • The Expanse: A Telltale Series ->79% (PC)
  • Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons -> 78%, 72% (PC, PS)
  • Disney Illusion Island -> 73% (NS)
  • Venba-> 80%, 83% (PC, PS)

In other news... Baldur's Gate III will release (out of Early Access which DOES NOT COUNT) in just TWO days. Buckle up, buttercups. 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Slaughtahouse

[The Pook]

t-minus 28 days, 23 hours, 12 minutes, and 26 seconds 

 

[Slaughtahouse]

I started a new playthrough of Fallout 4 to get into the mood of a Bethesda RPG. Having a great time, nearly 8 years later. 

 

 

1. I'm skeptical of launch day, week, month bugs.

2. I hope to find a physical copy of the game but it's not being retailed on PC in Canada at the moment.

 

All Bethesda RPGs I bought on physical for Xbox or PC. Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, NV, Fallout 4 etc. I want to keep the tradition going... 

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Slaughtahouse

[Slaughtahouse]

2023-08-15 Updates

• Updated Metacritic scores for the following titles (in order of release)
  • Dave the Diver -> 90% (PC) (+1%)
  • Viewfinder -> 83% (PC) (+1%)
  • Remnant II -> 81% (PS) (+1%)
  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PC) -> 85% (-1%)
  • Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons -> 67% (PS) (-5%)
  • Disney Illusion Island -> 72% (NS) (-1%)
  • Venba-> 81%, 82% (PC, PS) (+1%, -1%)
  • NEW* Baldur's Gate III -> 97% (PC)
  • NEW* WrestleQuest -> 74% (PC)
  • NEW* Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical -> 74%, 79% (PC, PS)
  • NEW* Atlas Fallen -> 72%, 64% (PC, PS)
  • NEW* The Texas Chainsaw Massacre -> 73% (PC)
• Other (conditional formatting in Pivot tables)

Mainly back end adjustments however after a few weeks, Baldur's Gate III has been holding 97%, making it now the HIGHEST RATED GAME of 2023 (dethroning The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom). 

 

We still have the year to go with Starfield, Armored Core VI, Sea of Stars, Spider Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Mario Wonder, potentially S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 etc.

 

This year is craz-y!

[The Pook]

 

 

Steam kinda got shafted with only a day early though. RIP slow internet folks. 

[Slaughtahouse]

Small update:

 

Looks like Eurogamer's (.net) review of Baldur's Gate III (4/5) tipped the Metascore down to 96%. Now it's tied with Zelda: TotK. Yay controversial Metacritic favouring larger websites  

 

Titles I would recommend to lookout for in the next couple weeks before Starfield:

• Armored Core VI (FromSoft)
• Sea of Stars (Sabotage)
• Blasphemous 2 (The Game Kitchen)
• Immortals of Aveum (Ascendant Studios / EA)

Each have their own demographic. Armored Core VI - fans of mechs or simply... FromSoft. Keep in mind every year FromSoft releases a title, they have a GotY contender or winner on their hands.  Dark Soul III, (2014 nominee) Sekiro (2019 winner), and Elden Ring (2022 winner). Sea of Stars for anyone who likes old school RPGs like Chrono Trigger. Blasphemous 2 for the metroidvania crowd.   Immortals doesn't seem that impressive but it could be fun romp when it goes on sale. It's also UE5. 

 

 

[The Pook]

 

[EHW Ai]

I'd be lying if I told you I was playing it at the moment...

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by iamjanco

[The Pook]

27 minutes ago, iamjanco said:

I'd be lying if I told you I was playing it at the moment...

 

 

 

 

 

 

and i'd be telling the truth if I lied and didn't say I wasn't not playing it 

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by The Pook

[EHW Ai]

^lol.

[Slaughtahouse]

2 hours ago, The Pook said:

 

Spoiler

 

[Slaughtahouse]

@The Pook

 

Your persistence, the 19% discount on GMG, and the lack of retail options in Canada pushed me over the edge…

 

[The Pook]

5 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

@The Pook

 

Your persistence, the 19% discount on GMG, and the lack of retail options in Canada pushed me over the edge…

 

 

 

I sold a bunch of ugly CS:GO skins a while ago and didn't have anything else to spend it on, otherwise I'd have gone the GMG route too 

[Slaughtahouse]

Smart call. I started to play CS:GO again and I've been collecting crates. I wonder if they're worth anything. 

 

Odd note: I pre-ordered on my phone and I thought the bonus was "Old Man" skins. Not "Old Mars". I am bit disappointed now... I was really looking forward to saggy, dehydrated skin skins.

[The Pook]

10 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Smart call. I started to play CS:GO again and I've been collecting crates. I wonder if they're worth anything. 

 

Odd note: I pre-ordered on my phone and I thought the bonus was "Old Man" skins. Not "Old Mars". I am bit disappointed now... I was really looking forward to saggy, dehydrated skin skins.

 

maybe wait for CS2? assuming there's gonna be a bunch of people hopping back into it. might somewhat inflate market prices. 

 

or the opposite and prices will tank from everyone with the same idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Slaughtahouse]

2023-08-22 Updates

 

Less formal today. Just checking up on all the news. Basically Spiderman 2 and Mario Wonder have others concerned

• Assassin's Creed Mirage bumps up by one week to Oct 5th* 
• Alan Wake 2 gets pushed back 10 days to Oct 27th

Now, the more formal updates:

• The following titles have been added to the list in no particular order:
  • Pacific Drive
  • Ghostrunner 2
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
  • REPLACED
• The dates for the titles listed above:
  • Pacific Drive -> delayed to Q1 2024
  • Ghostrunner 2 -> October 26th
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III -> November 10th
  • REPLACED-> delayed to 2024
• Misc. news
  • Immortals of Aveum is out today but reportedly running poor on PC
  • Steam has a sale celebrating Ukrainian developers that runs until August 24th
  • Don't forget about these titles!
    • Blasphemous 2 -> August 24th
    • Armored Core VI -> August 24th
    • Sea of Stars -> August 29th

Edited August 23, 2023 by Slaughtahouse

[UltraMega]

Anyone here looking forward to Armored Core 6? I just pre-ordered it. I played a lot of the AC games on PS2, always loved that series. Pretty excited to play a new one. 

 

ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON | PC - Steam | Game Keys (greenmangaming.com)

10% off with code: AUG17

Total: ~$50 USD