JohnTunoku

I"m mostly on Abby's side here, even if I don't fully understand the Valkyrie point. Freya's turn, even if it was rooted in mythology to some extent, felt very weird and hamfisted and undermined the character in a big way. I didn't really feel the lack of women characters as much, but that's because, to me, it felt like a game with a purposefully sparse cast. Most characters outside Kratos and Boy (the overwhelming focus of the game) were very tertiary, I could see more female characters in the sequel. Felt like more a consequence of the part of mythology they wanted to engage with at the time then anything else.

Dan is legitimately very good at this game.

Well I guess I'll be that guy and point out you can stop using the gears before they run out so you don't get that lengthy refractory period.

Don't buy the PC port. It is a coin flip port, which means it's 50/50 whether it will work properly regardless of what hardware you are using.

Brad sure hates that N64!

I think the difference in opinions regarding DS2 difficulty mostly devolves to when/if you discovered the magical bullshit of ADP and/or one of the overpowered weapons. I could see anyone who used the rapier thinking it was the easiest game.

For me I didn't realize ADP fixed a lot of the hitbox jank till I was mostly done and used a slow two handed weapon throughout. It served me well in DS1 so I thought it would in DS2 too.

I think Dream Daddy is benefiting from being a lot of people's first experience with an above average VN. Putting it above Persona 5 or Yakuza feels pretty bonkers. The only characters that fell flat for me in P5 were Niijima and Anne, the rest I liked quite a lot. The story itself didn't really do much of anything for me, but that cast was very very strong.

Also, Dan seems uncharacteristically quiet during pretty much every discussion. Seeing Zelda and Mario, both probably best in series or at least top 3, get axed time and time again has got to suck.

Woah this is a pleasant surprise. Hope things are going well for Mr. Fish.

@marokai: Also, Nioh. The best souls game since DS1 and the best thing the Gaiden team has made since Ninja Gaiden 2.

Nioh is definitely the best game that nobody played this year. One of the best games of its style without question and it's made me very excited for whatever they do next. I've put more hours into it then any Souls game.