As always when Fall starts, i get in the mood to replay Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The Game is 13 years old, but still holds up so beautifully.
Story, atmosphere, gameplay and especially the voice acting are just fantastic.
It’s an absolutely underrated masterpiece.
I would love to replay it again. Sadly I don’t own a ps3 anymore and I doubt that a PS4 port exists.
That’s why i keep my xbox 360 around…but it’s on steam too and if you happen to have the highest ps plus tier you can stream it.
GOG is giving away this little spooky gem 
Does the steam version support controller?
Yes it does. I have it on steam too, but my pc is dead at the moment 
Thank you, that looks really neat lol
I recently re-played all Mafia games. I started with the Remake of first game. Under going this adventure I quickly learned that I hadn’t gotten very far in the original game, some 21 years ago. This goes without saying that the race was to big of a hurdle for 12 year old me. Even though it was easier this time around, it still took me a few attempts.
I was surprised that on foot controls where a bit clunky and felt dated. The shooting was a lot smoother and so was the driving. I heavily enjoyed this game from start to finish, very well told story and some iconic moments that mimic classic Gangster film darlings.
It’s not the last time I replay the remake. A contained story in a open world without free roaming (expect outside the free roam mode) felt refreshing compared to the modern open world game full of bloat and busy work. The game was full of small details that one might take for granted, going through a tunnel and the radio signal gets worse.
Mafia II one of my favourite games, I replayed it a lot surrounding it’s release window. I can say that outside characters and a few missions. It doesn’t really hold up, the combat and physics feel very dated. The amount of environment destruction that the game sold itself on with it’s fysic-x engine isn’t as impressive as I remember it being. It was alright to replay, but it lived a better life inside my head then it did in reality.
Mafia III - Originally when it was first announced, I didn’t really care. I hoped for more Italian American action and I had a hard time seeing how Lincoln clay would fit in and I also heard a lot about it being very repetitive, so I put it off. Then after playing the remake of the first game, I decided to play the hole trilogy.
I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed Mafia III, all from characters, to story, to music. Let me linger a bit on the music, it’s one of the best ingame soundtracks, next to Vice City. From one 60’s banger to the next. The gameplay was tight, smooth and the gunplay was very satisfying. I created my own little addiction of serving justice in the 60’s south. Walking into all kind of establishments, knowing that some places do want a coloured man in there. Then only for me to punch them in the face and empty the Cash register. I used a lot of time, doing just that. Knocking out some racist hillbilly and taking everything he owns.
The repetitive nature of the game, never bothered me. The gunplay was to fun and the narrative held it up until the credits.
Now I’m eagerly awaiting Mafia 4.
Sniper Elite 5
Thanks for the reviews, I am enjoying this game.
That signature sound masking and bullet kill cam is evergreen. Hiding body in crate like 47 !!
This game series quite similar to stealth action game like Hitman and Splinter Cell.
Here is a screenshot I just took (crate and the generator) :
Ah, the first Sniper Elite game I played back in year 2006 during my university days - nostalgic 
That tank mission … wow.
Fallout 4 is very fun. Fallout 4 is specifically very fun if you mod it so that you can fly and use superpowers which include slowing down time, force pushing people and turning yourself into an extremely dangerous walking electricity person.
Highly recommended mods. God mode in console commands helps, particularly with flight, but that’s personal preference.
Sony was handing out a game for free, I had my eye on it for sometime and I decided that since it was free I might as well see what all of the hubbub was about, I bit the bullet and got Saints Row (2022).
It was surprisingly decent. Not as bad as the internet thinks but it isn’t Last of Us Part II, I would put it as being better than Four, roughly below three possibly rivalling 3 if a little more love (and by love I mean Swedish Krona and time, the two most valuable currencies in the world) and below 2. Weirdly enough this game reminded me of two in a lot of ways, like if Volition made Saints Row 2 it would be this but better.
I’m replaying the first Resident Evil Revelations, it’s a great little game.
It is. Dare I say one of the better games in the series.
I had fun with Revelations, I still need to get around to playing Revelations 2. Got to pick up the RE4 Remake at some point too.
I ended up liking Rev 2 my 2nd playthrough compared to my first. The only bad part about the game is the Raid Mode for Rev 2 which imo isn’t good compared to Rev 1 Raid Mode
I haven’t gotten to play Starfield yet, but I have played a little bit of HUMANITY on PlayStation, and it’s cool. Not perfect (particularly camera and movement), but a very cool and well made spiritual successor to Lemmings, which is one of the first computer games I remember playing.
It’s available in the PS+ Extra tier.
I’m playing Starfield, currently mostly surveying planets (96 of them according to the stat). Some are gorgeous ones.
I had one that basically looked like Iceland, and Death Stranding. That was really soothing to survey.
And an other one that had flora, but no fauna. Looked like the Mojave desert. Which was another good experience.
Only 6 quests done in total. That’s what I like about Bethesda games : they let you live inside of them.
Cloud gaming is much more solid than I thought.
I will have more to say about the game later on. But right now it’s solid. I like it.
I’m playing a Diplomat, with points going into the Ship Command skill. I currently have a 6 crew ship, and will aim for the maximum of 8.
All crew are unique named npcs, recruited inside bars. or during random space events.
My current ship :
(I wanted an ISS vibe, it’s a work in progress)
Also, here is an “assassin’s calibrated Beowulf” that was sold in a store. Everywhere I go, it comes back to Hitman.
I finally finished all the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters. They’re all fantastic games and the added QoL improvements make them more accessible than ever. Just being able to toggle random encounters on and off is huge, but there’s also being able to quicksave anywhere and the ability to increase the amount of experience and money you earn from battles, making grinding unnecessary (or quick) if you want. (You can also set them to zero if you want an extra challenge.)
A few thoughts, in the (weird ) order I played them:
FFVI: Still one of the best games of all-time. Oodles of charm, heart and tragedy packed into one little game. As much of a pleasure from start to finish as it was thirty years ago.
FFI: The original and the one where FF’s D&D roots are the most readily apparent. The characters are literally generic character classes and the plot is “Go beat up the evil guy”. But it has old school charm and even a completionist playthrough can be done in less than 20 hours.
FFII: One of two games I had never beaten. I played it a bit on the PS1 but couldn’t get past the weird leveling system. Which in hindsight is odd because it isn’t that hard to grasp: Use sword, improve ability with sword. Use Fire spell, improve damage with Fire spell. It’s the first one with proper characters and a proper–if predictable–story. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit for a game that is routinely at the bottom of Best Final Fantasy Game lists. (I’ll also have to revisit the SaGa series, which was started by one of II’s developers and uses the same style of leveling.)
FFIV: Another all-time classic, one that I rate right up there with FFVI. Dark Knight Cecil’s journey of redemption is heartfelt and just when you think you’ve explored the entire world, it turns out there’s another entire realm underground. And then you travel to the Moon. On a whale. 
FFIII: The one game I knew nothing about, except it had the first rudimentary Job system. (Up until now, it’s never had a proper console release in the West, though I think it’s been on a couple of handhelds.) Turns out we’re back to generic characters and the Job “system” is basically just a secondary level that improves your efficiency with weapons and/or spells. Honestly, not much stands out for me about this game so it’s probably my least favorite of the Remasters, but I enjoyed it well enough when I was playing it. 
FFV: One of those games that is cited as underrated so much that I suspect that, in certain circles, it might be overrated. It certainly has the best mainline FF Job system and I have a soft spot for the characters, even if the story doesn’t stand out as much. It doesn’t have quite the same charm as IV or VI…but it isn’t that far off either.
Now, after all that, I just need a Chrono Trigger remaster. 
An update on my Sniper Elite 5 gameplay -
I completed 3rd mission last night and wow the 3rd mission is a unique in video game industry.
I am spending around 6 hours figuring out to snipe most targets for each mission.
At first I thought it was a background environment but then sniping from this starting location feels so good. But then going further to the main objective - wow - this is one of the best level design in Sniper Elite and maybe all other games. The map itself is a maze puzzle - Mission 3 Spy Academy 
I was so curious to explore a part of area that I forgot to explore another part 
