@Scottie - let me know how Wolfenstein Young Blood plays these days. I mostly enjoyed it at launch for the setting and some of the battles (and some story nods to what I assume is The Man in the High Castle), but they released post-launch patches to better balance mission difficulty and tone down the ammunition-vs-armour system.

As for FEAR 3, I replayed it back-compat on the Xbox Series as they've been discounting it again and wish I hadn't. FEAR 2 already drifted closer to a COD-like left-trigger-right-trigger-repeat experience with the importance of reflex time diminished, and FEAR 3 went even further while also mangling the plot so badly the levels barely feel connected and coherent. Still think the best approach for new players is to get FEAR 1, the expansions, and leave it at that.

Blades of Fire (PS5) -

Played through the demo that includes the opening sequence and first major area of the game. The combat is snappy and feels more like Darksiders/Lords of Shadow, rather than a classic, sluggish 'Souls-like. There is also a well-integrated but complex combo system that forces you to consider enemy armour and posture vs. weapon type, slashing/stabbing attacks, and left/right/high/low strike assigned to the face buttons.

The complexity I could get behind in a Souls-like form - especially as there are three difficulties to moderate the challenge - but the forging, weapon drop, and weapon durability system feel like they exist to take that classic Souls-like grind to another level. Even after getting a grip on the combat system and shifting it down to "Bronze" difficulty, weapon durability ensure you can never explore freely (and maybe this is just early on) as you've only got two weapon slots and will have to return to anvils to repair or reforge new ones. This means you're gonna be grinding through basic foes repeatedly, even if you master the combat, as you'll inevitably degrade your weapons to the point they're ineffectual against even a basic foe.

The demo might not be representative of how the system evolves but it's not the sort of bonus frustration I enjoy in an already challenging genre.

@Lurch - I think a case can be made for at least parts of FEAR 2 but FEAR 3. Beyond woeful. Now it's out the way I'm going to restart Youngblood.

Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2, so far it looks and runs well in handheld mode, hasn't quite captured me in terms of the game yet .

Enjoying Youngblood despite every change they made being for the worse. The greatest crime being turning the sturmgewehr into a gun that shoots popcorn instead of armour piercing rounds.

Still I'm having fun even with the go back there and bug a phone stuff.

Ninja Gaiden Ragebound - Enjoying it, game runs smooth and is responsive, I'm not the biggest fan of this style of game as there isn't much depth to them when it's not a metroidvania and much prefer Ninja Gaiden as an action game but as a taster before NG2 this is good. Annoyed that the Switch version is only 30fps but 60fps on everything else, would have been perfect for switch but ended up getting it on Ps5.

STALKER 2 (PS5) - Another example of why 1-year exclusivity periods can end up benefitting those who wait. I already thought it was great at launch for fans of the STALKER IP despite flaws but, a year on, it know feels far more polished, stable, and the world feels way more dynamic with more animal and mutant life coupled with warring factions vying for areas (which I think you can now influence as you play).

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (the Nintendo Switch port)

Aspyr sticking to low-hanging fruit when it comes to remasters/ports but I'm glad I can play it on the go. On the Switch 1, it's 30fps and looks somewhere between the PS3/X360 versions the X1/PS4 release (great in handheld, but rough edges when docked). Playing on handheld is a great fit for those who like 100% maps as you can do a little bit here and there and just leave it suspended between session.

Just disappointed we've not seen a proper remastered trilogy of Legends/Anniversary/Underworld? The Xbox back-compat versions are a good option but the PS2-for-PS4/5 classics versions are rubbish. That trilogy could do with new life on all platforms (and the Xbox 360 exclusive DLC that wrapped up Underworld's story should be included).

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Distinctly average and repetitive by the halfway point. It is a great way to introduce new/younger players to turn-based strategy as it's quite accessible and you've got co-op team battles (though the difficulty is tied to how far you've progressed in the campaign, not how far you've upgraded all the characters).

Destiny 2 - yes still..

Expedition 33 - Just started, so far so good..

Backlog:
Black Myth Wukong
Wuchang Fallen Feathers
Assassins Creed Shadows
Ghost of Yotei

Crisol: Theatre of Idols (Xbox Series) -

Loving this despite it feeling a little padded at times. Unashamedly old-school and channeling Resident Evil-style exploration and puzzling, Dead Space dismemberment, Bioshock world structure and flow, and bits of other classic story-FPS like Singularity (recommended for fans of any of those games if you can handle the first-person perspective). It’s published by the Blumhouse Games (a spin off from the indie horror publisher I think), developed by a Spanish studio, and only costs R300!

You play as a solider of a Sun god sent to deal with an island fallen to a cult worshipping a Sea god. It’s an alternate 1980s with tech and mythology mixed together. There’s clearly more going on than the protagonist knows (like why he’s meant to be a force of good while consuming blood to power his weapons?). There’s tons of slow, deliberate combat; tense but manageable stalker sequences; a decent amount of puzzling; and no shortage of upgrades/collectibles/mini-games to keep you poking around in every corner. If someone had told me this was a remaster of a late X360/PS3-era FPS, I’d be inclined to believe them.

Sovereign Syndicate (Xbox Series) -

On the surface, this looks to be emulating Disco Elysium with your choices shaping the three protagonists dominant personality and outlook, but it ends up feeling more like a visual novel within a light CRPG-ish framework. You wonder about from an isometric perspective exploring Victorian-era London mixed with magical elements, but it’s all about dialogue choices and skills checks using Tarot cards (though it’s really just another version of dice rolls).

The more you explore and the more secondary task you tackle, the more dialogue response types you unlock to make future interactions easier. There’s a main thread connecting the three protagonists but they each have a major secondary quest they need to resolve.

Best thing about the game however is the writing. It’s verbose but wonderfully descriptive, with tons of exposition and world-building. Problem us that it has no voice acting (its quite indie), so you need to be in the mood to read a lot!

Got myself a PSP 3000 from a consoles store in Japan (so you know it's in mint condish). I've never owned one, so keen to hear some recs. Planning on getting Soul Calibur Broken Destiny, Wipeout Pure, and N+. The last of which is tough to get hold of but other PSP games are like R50 in the 2nd hand stores here. The console did come with a couple of Monster Hunter games but sadly I can't read Japanese

Ghost of Yotei- Beautiful game really enjoyed it.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

On my third attempt in as many years, and I think this has finally clicked with me. Just tackle the main quests, stop along the way for a few towers/shrines and gear, dedicate time to messing with the sandbox mechanics to even the odds in combat.

Treated as a traditional open-world - Ubi-style as an example - and it’s just too barren and empty. That said, it does make for a fantastic atmopshere of desolation and isolation in places when the ambient audio and rare music kicks in. Not played enough Zelda games to judge to narrative quality but it is a weird mix of overwrought emotions and quirky encounters with questionable character stereotypes and a surprising amount of innuendo.

@snow - The PSP is a gem. Some great games I would recommend:

Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy (Includes the first game as well)
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Metal Gear Ac!d 1 and 2
MGS Peacewalker
Persona 3 Portable
Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Star Ocean: First Departure and Second Evolution
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the lions
Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together
Tales of the world: Radiant Mythology

The GOAT has returned

Played the Big Walk over the weekend with some friends. So much fun! Looking forward to playing again this weekend.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

One more divine beast and everything else should be in place and upgraded to go after Ganon and finally complete this almost a decade late. BotW finally grew on me once I got past the really slow start and the world is a playful and creative sandbox that feels a little limited the longer you play but good for a game you drop in and out off.

As someone who played the Darksiders games on the X360/X1 before going back to Ocarina of Time on Switch, I do wish it had more traditional dungeons and better combat. Some shrines are great but it feels like a few could be strung together into more elaborate, singular locations.

Cyberpunk 2077

At long I've got into this post many, many patches and the Phantom Liberty expansion installed. One more investigation and the DLC before hitting the end game. So good at times when it comes to allowing you to play your own way. Mostly excellent writing and characters. Just wish they refrained from filling the open world with padding like endless crimes-in-progress, gigs, and throwaway side jobs. With hours of core and companion-style questlines, why risk ruining narrative pacing and diluting the overall gameplay quality through repetition.

The Blood of Dawnwalker

At it's best, the setting, aesthetics, and quests are on par with The Witcher II and III. You get unique locations, great writing and performances, world-building, investigations, light puzzling, tense boss battles, unexpected outcomes, and moments of player choice. The combat with directional blocks and counterattacks is fantastic and allows skilled players to circumvent typical RPG level-gating. The time management mechanics is also fun but not as restrictive as you'd think.

The downside is that the core quests and final quests before taking out a vampire lord are tied to a bland and repetitive Far Cry-style system. You have to interrupt their operations in a region through repeating copy-pasted activities spread across a world map so large that it makes more sense to just fast-travel back and forth.

Flipping back to a positive, the plot is dynamic and adaptive, so you can - in theory - just ignore these elements and push forward to the main villain with the dialogue doing a decent job of accounting for decisions and dead characters.

Putting aside my disdain for busywork, probably a 7-8/10 and fantastic first effort from a smaller team of former Witcher devs. Just wish they had stuck to a more focussed game and not padded it with tedious activities and too much empty space to house them all.

Atomic Heart
Got about 4-5 hours in, couldn't play anymore.
Its a mix of Bio Shock & Fall Out.
I like both those games, but not this.
Just couldn't get into it at all.
Looked good, & fast loading though.