Maedhros925

Thanks everyone who took the time to respond! I checked the RT site, which had a wealth of information, good rec. Went with the C1 tonight. Seemed the best package for the price.

In case anyone reads, I gave it a shot. The game does have some bugs, but very few got in the way for me. Your mileage may vary, of course. Some few areas cause a massive drop in frame rate, but it's not a very common occurrence. More frequent is about a second's delay whenever you pulled up your PDA, or pass through a hatch. You get used to that pretty quickly.

The only true gamebreaker for me was the way the game loads in areas upon visiting. Because it's one big open ocean, the game doesn't draw those assets in until you get there. Sometimes this just means kelp forests pop in after a moment, but other times it means you smash into a stone arch that wasn't there a moment ago. The worst was when I fell through the world because the sea floor hadn't drawn in yet. That's the one and only time I had to quit out and pull up a previous save. Every other time I've been able to wait a few seconds for the game to get everything drawn.

I've poured a dozen or so hours into the game on a base PS4, and I'm well pleased with my purchase. Can't wait for Sub Zero to hit consoles.

Subnautica is the next game on my list to pick up, but when I went to Amazon many of the reviews spoke of this being a buggy and frustrating port. Most reviews are old, so I'm hoping issues have been patched and fixed. I don't have another platform on which to play this. Can anyone reading speak to the quality of this game on the PS4 console? Thanks for the help!

Writing in from the midwest:

3 Floyd's Zombie Dust, Yum Yum
Bell's Best Brown Ale, Oberon, Two-Hearted, Oatsmobile
Cigar City's Jai Alai
Destihl's Synchopathic, Apricot
Lagunitas Citrusinensis
New Holland's Hoptronix, Dragon's Milk, White Hatter, Cabin Fever
Rhinegeist's Truth
Taxman's Fellow Traveler
Two Brother's Wobble, Domaine DuPage
Upland's Wheat, Marian the Agrarian

And many, many more. I'm always trying something new, and use the Untappd app to keep a checklist with my notes and ratings.

I absolutely adore this game.

It did take a little while to open up, but once it did the game became something truly special. It's the closest thing I've found to capture that Dark Souls feeling of both exploration and danger. While I'm playing I feel like there's something new to discover around every corner. I keep stumbling into brand new areas, but always with a feeling of tension that comes with knowing each step takes me further away from the safety of my last checkpoint. And just like with the original Dark Souls - and with the very best Metroidvanias - there are enough branching paths that I always have something I can do. When I hit a wall, I go back to a different area to explore there, and I'm usually rewarded for it with something that helps me progress in another area. I can spend hours with this game, just poking around and seeing what I can find.

I can see why this game my not be for everyone. I don't know if I'll even recommend it to a buddy of mine I was able to get hooked on the entire Dark Souls series. But I personally love games that allow you to explore and reward you for it. Hollow Knight gives you a connected, cohesive world, with fun character, great art and music, and hours of content. It has its claws in me deep. Spider-Man will just have to wait.

Ah, thanks! I kept seeing the message that I needed to spend all my cells before it would open and never thought to try breaking through.

Glad to find this thread and know I'm not alone. I got to the Hand of the King with a set up I really liked. Then I died and had to start over playing the same early levels, and the starter gear I rolled was big slow weapons that just aren't much fun. Sure, I could grind for blueprints, and for cells to unlock them, but that's just more items into the hopper, making it less likely I'll get a drop of something I actually want. So it's not that there's no progression in this game, it's worse than that, it's that progression actually makes the game less fun to play.

Another complaint: after you beat a boss you have the chance to use cells to improve your drops. But because you have to burn all your cells after every stage, you can only spend the cells you just earned from that boss. I'll need to grind bosses dozens of times to start seeing a benefit. If I could save up my cells, not spending any at The Collector, and run the risk/reward of hoping I get to and past the boss on each run, that could be a neat dynamic. Instead, it just feels like a slog.

I really, really like the way this game plays. It's because of how great the game is everywhere else that I keep starting a new run after each death. But I'd absolutely love for a game that plays this well to be an intentional and crafted experience. I've let go of Dead Cells and jumped into Guacamelee 2, because that game gives me a sense of accomplishment I just wasn't getting.

Of those mentioned so far, I'd recommend Steamworld Dig 1 & 2 almost without reservation. Guacamelee is fantastic, though your mileage may depend on your patience for brawling combat and tricky platforming sequences. I felt most all those elements were well done and satisfying to complete. Axiom Verge is a Metroid-ass metroidvania game, with unique and novel upgrades, but I did get lost at one point about two-thirds of the way through the game. I enjoyed Shadow Complex a lot when it came out, less so on the PS4; Not sure if it's just because I was replaying, or because the game felt dated. Salt & Sanctuary is 2D Dark Souls. You're not finding upgrades that let you advance, so much as you're unlocking shortcuts in a connected world.

Dust: An Elysian Tail could arguably fit the category. It's mostly a side-scrolling brawler, but you do acquire upgrades that allow you to access new areas of the map within each stage. The combat felt satisfying, and the story was engaging for myself and my wife watching. A beautiful art style, as well.

There are extremely few upgrades in Hob, it plays overwhelmingly like a Zelda game, but you advance by hitting switches that reshape the world around you. It just might scratch that metroidvania itch to watch a giant pillar rise up, giving you access to a plateau you couldn't reach before.

The last metroidvania I've played on the PS4 would be Strider. You can play the game without backtracking much, but it's definitely a game of picking up new abilities and weapons to unlock places you couldn't access before.

Cyberpunk 2077

Sekiro

Ghost of Tsushima

Finding a fourth is tough, in a good way. Elder Scrolls VI would be the best answer, but we didn't actually see it. I'd say Ori, because I've been wanting to play the first one, but don't own an XBox. Maybe Metro, though I've not dipped my toe into that series, either.

Pretty much any game that doesn't require you to read or listen. Diablo, Dark Souls, Terraria are all good selections. I've been doing randomizer runs on Link to the Past while podcasting, and it works perfectly. Hob is like an old school Zelda and entirely wordless. Hyper Light Drifter. The Shadow of Mordor games work well, as the story is garbage. Roguelikes such as Rogue Legacy. Any of the Lego games. And if you're going for collectibles in a character action game, like the Riddler trophies in the Batman games, that's a perfect time to podcast.