PixlBit

Yonder looks awesome. 

The first one has a different hit box than 2 or 3 for some reason, but they're all pretty tough. I got stuck on the tiger level in 3, unless I beat that one, in which case I got stuck on the next stage probably. Even though I have zero nostalgia for the actual series, it definitely reminded me how challenging platformers could be in good and bad ways (often simultaneously with the good and badness). 

Spyro might actually be what I'm needing to play right now. Seems like a good distraction. 

Yeah, I really liked the first one, mainly for the story. We'll see if I'm in the right headspace for TLOU 2. Either I'll love how dark it is, or I'll need a distraction like Crash Team Racing instead, which is next in my Q. We'll see. 

You do get to upgrade your cycle, so maybe it gets better but I sent it back and am receiving TLOU 2 soon. 

The only reason I kept Days Gone is cause other people told me it gets better, but the whole point of me having GameFly is to see if a game grabs *me*, and there's just too much to play for me to keep going on a game I'm not really enjoying. Also, they mentioned the STORY being the best part, so I can watch YouTube clips if I ever get the urge.

I'm very close to doing that for Horizon, but I'm torn cause I actually really like Horizon's gameplay too. It's just some of the bosses take too damn long and I'd rather not be repeating the same tactics for an hour (I'm sure I'm going in with the wrong equipment, but I think some of it could be better explained). 

That is the best free cereal toy I've ever received.

I'm not sure what the development cycles looked like, but Tomb Raider was released a couple months before The Last of Us in 2013, so I think both dev teams just had the same brutal ideas at the same time, kind of like how the Dredd remake and The Raid: Redemption are so similar but there's really no way to prove either production team was seeing what the other was doing. 

And having played Horizon: Zero Dawn, I don't get a TLOU vibe at all, but that may be since the game is so extremely colorful and TLOU intentionally looks muddy. I think Aloy had some dad issues but there was also a lot of focus on religion and corporations and such that I felt was less of a TLOU theme overall. I still haven't actually FINISHED Horizon though. 

And I played the Uncharted series pretty much straight through from 1-4 and Lost Legacy, so yes you see the saminess after a while for sure. Same with Yakuza. I really should play those kinds of games on a more spread out basis, cause they can be tiresome when you play them like that. I feel you there. 

See, but of the games you listed that I've played like God of War and the first couple stages of Evil Within 2, they were still very much their own games with their own style, gameplay, etc. I don't mind if games share some themes in common, but Days Gone reminds me of TLOU in the gameplay, visuals, and overall feel of it. That's what I don't like, but I've heard it comes into its own so I'm going to give it a bit more of a chance. 

And man, Uncharted 4 is great. I see why people who don't love heavily story driven games don't like stuff like it, but I loved it. 

I'm just still impressed by the Doom clone made for Chex cereal. Now that's 90s!

Man, I really do love the Game Boy Player. Always made me feel like I was playing the GBA Metroids on a console. Love it. 

STAGE SELECT: 

1) Levels/chapters/missions. These things are still around but I hate the focus many AAA games have on "Well, done with that mission, let's immediately talk about what you're going to do next." Like, let me have the victory and savor it for a SECOND. I get that you're busy and need to illustrate that about your character Spider-Man, but let ME have a break. Jesus. At least games like DmC still have missions that serve as actual starting/stopping points. I love being able to play games in small chunks is what I'm saying. 

And I know there are points in games (like Spider-Man) where they say "Hey, screw around and do side missions for a while," but that brings me to my next point:

2) Not having a fucking checklist for all the side content that makes me brain feel obligated to complete things. I never once worried about getting all the heart containers in Zelda, I just wanted to BEAT THE GAME. That used to only mean getting through the story, but now I'll do that and have like 15% of the trophies and feel as if I didn't REALLY do anything. 

Again, let me have a win! 

3) Arcade sports titles. I don't give a shit about real life player stats, I just want to make my character CATCH ON FIRE. That's all I want from my sports games. Fire and cartoonish brutality. How does no one else making purchasing decisions seem to understand football is more fun that way?! 

CAGE MATCH:

I like the rain theme of the name Downpour, so that I guess. Rain is cool. 

SHOW RESPONSE:

I don't have much to add but thank you for making my part-time social media gig much more bearable to complete. Also, I kinda like the PS5 design, both controller and console, but I do see everyone's point about the router/modem thing. I choose to see a spaceship. 

Also, I definitely saw a bikini when I first saw that controller, thanks to the placement of the blue light making it look like straps. Definitely prefer the custom designs, but I like the concept for that reason.