Excellent

For context I played the first one on NES when it came out. I liked how the different games each felt imaginative and a little different yet familiar due to certain common themes. I liked the games where the battles felt more tactical, like X, XII, and of course Tactics. I really like the setting of Ivalice, couldn’t say why but the setting is just appealing. I don’t like the turn the series has taken lately. XVI was a shallow action game and an even shallower RPG with paper-thin characters acting out a superficial imitation of A Game Of Thrones. I was way more invested in the character arcs of the cast of characters in VI than in the forgettable cast of XVI.

No, I haven’t watched any myself, just saw some in my recommendations

There are videos on YouTube of other designers doing detailed criticism of the character designs if you’re interested

I had to look his name up myself. 😄 I was going to post a picture of his punchable face, but seeing the whole cast, he didn’t even stand out all that much compared to the rest. They all look like a bunch of bad cosplayers.

Make it F2P but charge for cosmetics that completely rework the art style. Almost all the characters look insufferable and I particularly want to punch Lennox in the face every time I see him.

I really only bought Returnal and Stellar Blade on PS5, and they’re both either on or coming to PC anyway.

OK, I also bought Elden Ring and Final Fantasy 16, but of course ER is already on PC and FF16 is also coming to PC. (Do not buy FF16, it is a terribly shallow RPG and also terribly shallow action game with terribly shallow characters)

It’s a hell of a ride, and just the right length too IMO

I just got ending A. I pretty much knew what “Take your rightful place” was going to mean, but seeing it happen was pretty bleak. Makes me want to do the other ending now.

Tunic. Playing it filled me with a sense of wonder and discovery reminiscent of the first time I looked at the map of the original NES Legend of Zelda. Amazing experience. I’m in the final chapter of the game but not finished yet.

Anything with procedurally generated levels, like roguelikes/roguelites. I can personally vouch for the longevity of Slay the Spire, for one specific example.

Thanks for the quick summary!

I haven’t kept up with the changes. What happened that nerfed jump attack “builds”? Were jump attack nerfed in some way or was some other element of a builds that would end up relying on jump attacks get nerfed?

Stellar Blade. Everything about it is good except the voice acting. Combat, exploration, visuals, music all very good. 👍

Well, same principle can be applied to other platforms. Find a streamer who plays a game you like you like and see what else they like.

Try looking for a Steam curator with tastes similar to yours. I like SkillUp’s curator page, maybe try that as a jumping off point.

I preordered XVI after playing the demo, but the story started to drag IMO and the combat never really evolves much. I quit soon after a fight where I beat down a gang of raggedy refugees with all my Eikon abilities, then after I won they all got back up as if they just got hit with a Nerf bat.

You’re right, my reply was rude and unhelpful. I don’t really understand the confusion because I wasn’t confused and I didn’t pay attention to the remakes until I decided to try Remake specifically after being immensely disappointed by XVI. Apparently this confusion is wider spread than I thought and at any rate I could’ve been nicer about it.

It isn’t complicated if you try to use your brain. The one that came out first is literally called Remake so yeah it’s a remake of the original. Thus, playing the original is optional. As for what order to play them in, you play the one that came out first, then you play the one that came out second, how is that so puzzling? I’ll grant that the “Intergrade” thing isn’t obvious from the name, but a glance at the product description would tell you that it’s Remake with some additional, optional content.

I apologize for the aggressive tone of this reply. I wasn’t personally confused by the remake games, speaking as someone who didn’t really pay attention to them at all when they came out because I had played the original and didn’t see the appeal in revisiting it. However, I shouldn’t have been so rude in expressing that.

There’s a candy you can use to reduce posture damage so you can start out just holding block instead of trying to parry. That can make learning attacks and timings much easier.

Almost every mini boss can be backstabbed

Most can be made much easier with the right prosthetic tool

Consider giving it another shot someday!