GMH posts opinions generated on Steam's Discovery Queue

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-23 04:16:51

I've done this a couple times before and ~~I might dig up those if I feel like it~~ they're [I can't find where it is] and here.

But there's renewed reason to go through said Queue because the current North Pole Noir Sale gives out free cards for going through said queue. So, why not post commentary on it again, because I clearly don't have anything better to do with my time and clearly am not punting things that I ought to be responsible for taking care of.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-23 04:17:19

1. Squad

See, this is an example of how I actually don't hate military FPS games. This looks interesting, and the idea of a massively-oligoplayer (50 vs. 50) with tactics and teamwork is something I find really interesting, at least from looking at it. The use of "integrated positional VoIP for proximity talking & radio" also seems like an interesting idea to increase the realism of the combat scenarios.

However, the game's $40, and still in Early Access, and I also don't have anywhere near 50 people with whom I'd like to play this. Also, it's FPS, which means that it's still going to involve that likely period of nausea during which I have to get used to the game.

Verdict: interesting, but not for my wishlist currently.

2. Kerbal Space Program

Apparently this is a space program simulator, with a good dose of humor. A very good dose, apparently, since as far as I can tell the game has quite a good reputation. And to its credit, it apparently recently emerged from Early Access.

While it seems like a great game, I don't think I'll be getting it anytime soon. Sim games aren't really my thing these days, as much as I find them interesting, and I've already got a few of them should I feel in the mood.

Verdict: interesting, but not for my wishlist currently. Sorry, I can't play all the greatest games in the world.

3. Hurtworld

* the term "hardcore" used as a positive quality: check
* survival: check
* "twitch based PVP" which probably just means "a way for players to gain self-esteem by being obnoxious and abusive toward other players and enforcing their superiority by violence": check
* first-person perspective: check
* hostile NPCs just because: check
* "highly" and "tightly" contested resources, designed to foster an extremely competition-oriented mindset: check
* still in Early Access: check

Yeah, no.

The only interesting aspect of this is its aim of simulating every little detail. For example, making that steak freeze if you leave it in the snow but making it take longer to spoil. (That's the example given in the game's description.)

Verdict: Not interested

4. Just Cause 3

Or Just Cause™ 3.

The description of this game makes it read out like Grand Theft Auto, just with slightly more ethical justification (you're a freedom fighter looking to overthrow a brutal dictator rather than a gangster looking to make trouble for the cops in a US city). But you're still using whatever tools you have to cause chaos (or "cause Chaos" as the description puts it).

I like the story premise, but it's rather clear that the gameplay doesn't particularly much care for it (the main character wants to restore his homeland to the beautiful and peaceful thing it once was...by causing extremely destructive mayhem all over the place).

It's all about making things blow up in spectacular manners, basically.

While it's something that I might play around with for a little while, I don't think I'd care for the 80 different vehicles by which I could do this, nor do I feel like dropping nearly US$50 on an Explosion Simulator.

One good thing about it, though, is that it's third-person, which is a bit less likely to make me barf while attempting to rig the enemy base with explosives.

Verdict: Not interested

5. Turok

Hey, I remember this name from the N64 days!

Apparently, looking at the reviews, the port job was done well.

Oddly, I feel a little bit of nostalgia for this, despite never having ever played this game. On paper the premise doesn't interest me at all -- and I already have another "shoot dinosaurs with guns" game in my library, that being Dino D-Day. But this does look pretty fun. I was going to say I wasn't interested at all, but it actually does look kinda reasonably intuitive and inviting to play, in a way that super high-res modern stuff isn't. I don't know why, but it just seems to "make more sense" when I look at it, with its well-designed visual elements.

Verdict: Not for my wishlist now, but it seems close to striking my fancy. Next.

6. RWBY: Grimm Eclipse

Ahh, I can't punt this one anymore, can I.

I do like RWBY, but I don't think I'm ready to jump on board this game yet. Especially if it's true that, as one of the reviews from four days ago says, I can't rebind keyboard keys yet. It's still in Early Access anyway. Based on skimming the reviews it seems that it's reasonably fun and has some promise but isn't there yet. I'm not picking it up like this, and especially not at full price.

Verdict: Not interested now, maybe later. Next.

7. Elite Dangerous: Horizons

Yet another Early Access game, asking me for $60. I don't mind them doing that, but I just won't buy them at that price, or even much less. Plus, I don't think I can run this anyway.

The description seems interesting. The name, yes, I know, is stupid. But the game doesn't seem to have anything that would make me hate it. The crew teamwork aspect seems interesting. And overall it seems like an interesting game, with interesting lore and gameplay.

Verdict: Not for my wishlist now. Next.

8. Path of Exile

I've heard a lot of praise for this game, but what I'm seeing here is basically like a higher-def Diablo. I've been playing through Torchlight myself, and I'm wondering, how is this different? Perhaps it might have some more interesting things like camera rotation?

I'm also a little curious how they do the "free to play" aspect of this game. Because it seems like they have an extensive single-player campaign, and PVP and co-op seem to be features on the side, at least as implied by the trailer vids. I mean, I guess I kinda appreciate the gesture of making it f2p, and I appreciate their commitment to never go pay-to-win, but it does make a little skeptical. I presume it's just gonna be a bunch of cosmetic equipment, or having more frequent drops?

Having "hundreds of unique skill combinations" is a nice thing for some gamers, but not for me, since I almost certainly won't spend the time to discover all of them. I like settling into builds that work in ways that I enjoy, and then I just stick with them and make them work.

The game's visuals look...decent, though not spectacularly appealing.

Verdict: I'm not sure I'm ever going to play this, but...well, y'know, it doesn't offend me or anything. Next.

9. SimplePlanes

Ooh, this actually looks pretty interesting.

The reviews seem to say that this is a flight sim with the emphasis on plane design and physics. It's certainly a novel and interesting thing, and I could imagine it being like Lego but with plane parts. It seems like it's still being actively developed, which is a plus especially in light of what seems to be relatively sparse content aside from lots of plane designs, and slightly "arcadey" physics.

I wonder if I can reproduce that Ace Combat plane with an iDOLM@STER paint job. I wonder if it allows paint jobs. Well, modding is a thing.... Meanwhile, the line about flying with a missing wing makes me think of Star Fox 64.

I'm not going to take the plunge just yet, as I'm not sure how much time I can dedicate to this, but I almost want to put it on my wishlist. I wonder if I should.

Verdict: Let's stick this on my wishlist, albeit at a low spot. It's certainly an interesting thing to be aware of. Thanks, Discovery Queue.

10. Sword Coast Legends

An impressive trailer! In any case, this seems to be a D&D adventure that allows single-player and co-op play, and also has a custom campaign feature. This seems quite nice...but why does it have a "Mixed" score on Steam?

Looking through some of the reviews it seems that the general complaints are lack of sufficient customizability in the Dungeon Master mode and the game being too simplistic or too easily exploitable. Apparently the game is reasonably fun but not worthy of the D&D name, or something like that.

One thing about the negative reviews, which a positive review points out, is that they seem to be focused on what the game was expected to be, either based on the name or based on something other source of expectations.

So, not yet. Besides, I've got NWN2 to finish first. But it doesn't seem to be that bad of a game -- just a bit lacking in gameplay depth. Though one concern one review highlighted is that apparently the game reports information from your computer to the publisher.

Verdict: let's just move on.

11. Hacknet

I didn't know hacking sims existed outside of Uplink and the Hacker Evolution series. Let alone one that could be said to be "popular".

The trailer certainly makes this look interesting. The music also seems interesting. Apparently it is surprisingly realistic and can even teach a thing or two about computer architecture and *nix commands.

I gotta say, I'm curious.

Verdict: Wishlisted. Thanks, Discovery Queue.

12. Helldivers

This game appears to be Magicka in space. Same devs, same sense of humor, same tendency toward accidental friendly fire. Or "accidental". Whichever.

Only thing I'm a bit skeptical about is something a review pointed out to me -- just how much DLC there is. Also, I still haven't gotten through Magicka yet.

Verdict: Moving to the next one. Oh wait, that's the end of the queue!

Bee · 2015-12-23 06:11:45

N64 Turok was fun, but ridiculously hard for all the wrong reasons. It was like Metroid Prime platforming, but with tinier platforms, less slip room, instant death, and limited lives.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-23 06:36:52

I want those three cards.

1. DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin

I've been considering playing the first Dark Souls game. I'm not going to bother with this one until I've played that one. Next.

Also apparently there are two mutually-incompatible versions of Dark Souls 2. Dunno why.

2. Wolfenstein: the New Order

85% off a $60 price tag. Interesting.

I watched the trailers and they seem...very intriguing.

Still though I think this is the sort of thing that might work better as a movie than as a videogame. I'm a bit worried that the game might consist of lots of immersion-breaking moments. But on the other hand, if it actually does a plot like this well, that would be a good thing too.

Gonna just punt this one. Next.

3. The Talos Principle

This seems like a higher-res, more complex Portal. Kinda intriguing storyline. But the negative reviews pretty much all say that the puzzles don't remain interesting. I'm not really in the mood for puzzles, much less more first-person stuff. Next.

4. Besiege

Seems nice, a physics-based medieval combat simulator. Probably not quite my thing as I probably wouldn't have the patience to sit through this. Still though, nothing about it offends me. (Except maybe it being Early Access but that's not something that offends me per se, it just makes me less likely to buy the game.)

The lack of surrounding details seem a little odd, but that could also be a good thing. Not sure.

Next.

5. Pillars of Eternity

I am sometimes in the mood for a good WRPG, but for what it's worth, I have already acquired two WRPGs, NWN2 and DAO. I don't hate POE, but nothing about it strikes me as must-buy before I've gotten through both of those...which will probably take me a few years, let's be honest. Next.

6. Arma 3

For a military FPS, this game actually seems to take war seriously. (At least, the combat part.) That I respect.

Only problem is, it's not really my thing.

Well, okay, two problems. The playerbase seems to be much less mature than the developers. In the "devs take it seriously, only for the playerbase to use it as a paint-throwing sandbox" way. Heck, I'd rather hang out with the serious "milsim" (i.e. "military simulation") people, but the reviews suggest that there are a lot of the young bored teen kind that would shit all over that.

My apologies, but I'm not interested.

7. Tabletop Simulator

This seems like an amusing toy, but it's one I would never use, unless there's a specific reason for me to get into it, such as a friend telling me to get this in order to play a specific game. The sandbox aspect -- table-flipping included -- would probably have novelty value for at most about two hours. After that it seems like it'd merely be a physics sim.

Still, it's a decent price for what it is, with a lot of open-endedness for interesting fun. I guess I won't throw it off the boat just yet, since it doesn't really offend me.

At least the trailers are amusing. Fun fact: the music for the third trailer on the Steam page is shared by the ending music in many Wildlife Aid videos, such as this one.

Okay, next.

8. Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition

Okay, after Pillars of Eternity had to show up, this did too, of course.

Again, it looks like a very nice WRPG, but I don't want another one right now. My apologies.

Next.

9. Elite: Dangerous

Didn't I cover its sequel already?

Next.

10. Tales from the Borderlands

I think I once marked Borderlands itself "not interested", though I can't check for sure since there's no way to see titles that we've marked as "not interested". That said, Telltale Games does do good storytelling, and the trailers don't offend me.

Next.

11. The Long Dark

Another "Adjective Adjective" title, for those people who enjoyed making fun of "Elite: Dangerous".

Another survival game. I guess it gets points for having no zombies. But it's also Early Access. On the better side though it does seem to take a much more somber tone, rather than the dicking-around sandbox feel that survival games tend to exude. Also, creativity/novelty points for featuring a female protagonist, as well as stylized art that doesn't try (and fail) to be super-realistic. Furthermore, there's no multiplayer...which might be a good thing.

Apparently the devs plan on making some sort of story component, of which the first episode will be granted to those people who buy Early Access.

I was going to say "not interested", but the trailer actually makes me curious. Gonna hit the Next button.

12. Crypt of the Necrodancer

I know what this game is.

Rhythm game crossed with dungeon crawler. Option to use one's own music. Option to use gamepad.

Okay, fine, I'll put this on my wishlist already.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-23 08:12:02

So I typed up a big post but didn't save it as draft and for some reason it's not saved in my browser cache because Vanilla is a bag of dumb so I'm going to make it quick in writing this back up. From now on, I'm drafting these in Notepad instead.

1. Broforce

I'm aware of Expendabros and I'm going to play that first. Next.

2. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

There were more trademark symbols in here but screw those.

If I want an Elder Scrolls game I'll play Oblivion or Morrowind.

Also the reviews say that this is still a grindy MMO.

Props on making a pay-once MMO. But still not for me. I think I marked this not interested.

3. Cities: Skylines

From what I hear, a better version of Sim City. Not in the mood now but no reason to throw it overboard. Next.

4. Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series

I don't think I'll ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, which seems like generic fantasy drama to me.

That said, I sometimes wonder if this sort of fantasy drama was what I wanted from Lord of the Rings. I think it is.

Maybe I'll get to this someday. Next.

5. Duck Game

It seems like a fun little game. But I also don't like Adult Swim.

I looked up the controls. It seems that I can rebind them to arrow keys + ZXCVASDF, but jump and go up are still mapped to the same button.

Not Interested.

6. Black Mesa

I haven't played the original Half-Life. Also, the multiplayer stuff and the weapon choices don't interest me. Next.

7. PAYDAY 2

Nothing about this game makes me want to play it except the fact that it's co-op. On the other hand, even the title screen makes me not want to play it.

Not interested.

8. Ryse: Son of Rome.

I checked out the trailers and screenshots and it seemed very cinematic, so I went and looked up a video of gameplay footage, which showed off cinematic combat, and talked about just how many ways one could execute one's enemies, and how doing spectacular executions unlocked access to even more spectacular executions.

No thanks.

9. Project CARS

I was going to not throw this overboard until I found it difficult to find gameplay footage in the trailers, and then I realized that the fact that I didn't care about the choices of cars and the dynamic weather effects meant I wasn't the target audience. Not interested.

10. Darkest Dungeon

The concept of this game is rather interesting, though the aesthetics don't interest me as much. Next.

11. Battleblock Theater

Isn't this game, like, everywhere? Though not any more everywhere than anything else that's everywhere, I guess...

The gameplay seems vaguely reminiscent of Blocks That Matter, but with derpier visuals. I don't think this is my sort of game. Not interested.

12. Party Hard

A...stealth game framed as a loud partygoer mass murder simulator?

...whatever. I think I'd get bored with the gameplay after a little while.

Not interested. A weird end to the queue.

Bee · 2015-12-23 08:52:38

Divinity is...weird but fun. The voice acting is mediocre to atrocious though.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-24 00:57:39

1. South Park: The Stick of Truth

"Overwhelmingly positive"? More like "overwhelmingly puerile and offensive in really stupid ways".

Also the art style is meh. lol jaywalking

Overwhelmingly not interested.

2. Euro Truck Simulator 2

This doesn't offend me. Next.

3. Space Engineers

Is this what happens after the Kerbal Space Program succeeds?

Anyway, interesting space sim with a focus on building things, and lots of startup options apparently. And if the specs are to be believed, surprisingly compatible with low specs. It's in Early Access though and I'm not currently in the mood for a space sim. Next.

4. Papers, Please

I know what this is.

I do in fact want it. But I am hoping to get it DRM-free, from GOG or Humble or (preferably) in a bundle. I can wait another half year or year.

I guess I'll stick it low on my wishlist.

Glory to Arstotzka!

5. Fairy Fencer F

Ugh, why do I have to deal with this one?!

I kinda want this, because it looks interesting and cute and bright and is the least irritating of Idea Factory's products. But I kinda don't want this, because it's an Idea Factory product and it has bouncing boobs and I hear it's similar to Neptunia which I've pretty much concluded that I won't like. I mean I can certainly go play Neptunia and try it out but I even watched the beginning and I was like, ehh, no.

Verdict: Not interested. I'm aware of it. If I pick it up it won't be through Steam anyway. And certainly not for nine bucks. If this were an old GBA game I could grab the ROM and mess with it for a few hours, but it just looks way too..."anime", for lack of a better descriptor.

Just for kicks, though, enjoy this beautiful screenshot: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=582076815

6. Satellite Reign

This seems interesting. Not sure of the gameplay, but the premise seems quite intriguing.

Not interesting enough for me to want it just yet. Next.

7. Sniper Elite III

I've played Sniper Elite II, and "on paper" I wouldn't enjoy that game, but it seemed pretty decent. If I still want this game when I'm done with that one, I'll consider it. I don't think that's gonna happen for many years though. Verdict: Not interested.

8. The Beginner's Guide

This...is weird. I can't hate it though. Slightly intriguing.

Not at this price. Thanks for the awareness. Next.

9. Grim Dawn

Early Access western ARPG. Apocalyptic fantasy. Hmm, vaguely interesting. Not yet, though. Next.

10. One Piece Pirate Warriors 3

Not a fan of One Piece. I don't think I will ever be picking this up. I don't hate it, though I haven't played a Dynasty Warriors game either.

The reviews, though, keep complaining about the graphics being not good enough. This is the kind of issue that I feel like telling people to shut up about. Well, at least, I wouldn't pay this price for it, and I simply would wait if I wanted the game. But I don't see anything hugely wrong with the PC version graphics that this one person points to as if it were oh so damning.

Next.

11. Homeworld Remastered Collection

I remember onyhow telling me about this game. It seem nice; just not for me now. Next.

12. This War of Mine

Another game that I already know about and want, though I'm waiting for it to show up somewhere other than Steam at a price point I'll prefer.

Wishlisting it low.

Card 1 of 3 done.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-24 00:58:31

Bee wrote: »

Divinity is...weird but fun. The voice acting is mediocre to atrocious though.

By the way, what was the controversy that involved this game and something about the female lead's clothing?

vandro · 2015-12-24 01:55:31

The artist for divinity wanted boobplate on the cover but given criticism the original cover was rescinded.

Stick of truth is actually funny to me.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-24 03:28:50

vandro wrote: »

The artist for divinity wanted boobplate on the cover but given criticism the original cover was rescinded.

Stick of truth is actually funny to me.

Ah.

And yeah, South Park's humor is definitely a YMMV thing.

----

1. Subnautica

Seems like an underwater survival game. At the very least it looks really lush and colorful, unlike the feel I normally get from looking at survival games.

It's still in Early Access, so it's not for me yet. But it certainly looks interesting.

2. Dishonored

The combination of "supernatural abilities" and "creatively eliminate your targets" makes me hesitant. So does the first-person nature of the combat. I don't like first-person, which often looks gimmicky the way it's implemented, and this game is no exception.

Anyway, the trailer makes it out to be a dark urban fantasy thing with a flair for spectacular violence at a personal level.

Not my thing.

The bloodstains are a mess. Next time try to show me fewer bloodstains. Even if you're slicing people's throats.

Yes, "you". Not me. It's a Disney ride perspective.

3. The Jackbox Party Pack

I've actually played something like this before...but it was Quiplash, not any of the four games that are mentioned here. Odd.

Seems interesting, and I like their tech-savvy implementation of the party game.

Not something I personally want though. Later.

4. Tomb Raider

I recently mentioned that I was curious about this game, but then I heard about two issues with this -- that apparently some of the cutscenes may be kinda sexist, and that there are way too many DLCs to go with this.

I think I'll pass on it for now.

5. Mortal Kombat X

There are a handful of franchises that specialize in excessive gore, and this is one of them.

Not interested. Not my taste at all.

6. Remember Me

I'm not thinking of getting Metroid Other M, despite Anthony Higgins being cool. Sorry.

Okay, I'll stop kidding.

The game looks interesting. The story looks a bit overwrought with setting details so I don't want to get into it just yet.

It is also a bit reminiscent of Hydrophobia: Prophecy. I have yet to play that, but that game also won't run right on anything but extremely powerful rigs anyway, so...who knows. Remember Me recommends a minimum Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS, which is rated by Passmark at 616, while Intel HD 4400 is a 546, so it's possible it could work I guess.

Later.

7. STAR WARS™ Knights of the Old Republic™ II - The Sith Lords™

Some of these names really love those trademarks.

Not actually into Star Wars enough to care much about this. I've heard KOTOR 2 is really good, but...nah.

8. Don't Starve Together

The art style of this thing is weird. Though apparently it's a survival game. I guess that would explain why it and its predecessor have been so popular lately.

Not really my thing. Also still Early Access.

9. Rebel Galaxy

Space, action, indie, sci-fi, swashbuckling. Maybe.

I was worried that this would be some sort of sandbox survival nonsense with multiplayer jerks, but then I noticed that it's only single-player. The reviews also speak of a pretty bombastically fun experience. Hmm...

...well. Those trailers certainly have a very strong sense of style. And the required specs don't seem that high, if I'm not mistaken...

Wishlisted. Rather low on my list, but still there.

10. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (with optional exclamation point!)

This didn't seem like my type of game until I saw one of the trailers, which consisted of lots of shouting and was unexpectedly rather hilarious. I almost want to wishlist this. There's just a bit too much shouting for me to hit the Add to your wishlist button though. Either that, or the trailer has gone on for too long.

It's the second trailer, in case you're wondering.

11. Call of Duty: Black Ops II

No, I'm not giving you your registered trademark symbol.

12. DRAGON BALL Xenoverse

Never been interested in the Dragon Ball franchise, sorry.

Tatterhood · 2015-12-24 04:26:15

3. The Jackbox Party Pack

I've actually played something like this before...but it was Quiplash, not any of the four games that are mentioned here. Odd.

IIRC this is the games they made before Quiplash.

Bee · 2015-12-24 06:37:46

KOTOR 2 was...oof. I really, really want to like it, and it does a lot of things right. But it was transparently rushed out the door. There are a couple places where cutscenes skip or don't play sound, the voice clips aren't balanced properly, the ending was completely phoned in, and your teammates are all incredibly boring except Kreia.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-24 07:39:49

One more for the evening. This batch turned out to have a lot more "Not interested"s than before.

1. Depth

This survival game seems to be going for the horror and combat angle. Not my thing.

2. DiRT 3 Complete Edition

If this trailer has lots of footage of cars and tracks and not much footage of gameplay perspective, then this game is not for me.

This trailer has lots of footage of cars and tracks and not much footage of gameplay perspective.

Therefore this game is not for me.

I feel a little bad because racing games don't offend me. But I just know that I won't be enjoying them much either.

3. Warface

Free-to-play PvP FPS.

I don't really see anything that's going to make this worth my time.

4. The Jackbox Party Pack 2.

I have the same opinion of this as did the first one.

Actually, nah. I'm going to just say Not Interested, since half the Quiplash prompts are "adult humor" type things from what I remember.

5. Verdun

Someone mentioned this game to me recently and I've already taken a look at it. The realism is quite respectable. It's not my sort of game, though. But I won't kick it off the boat.

6. 7 Days to Die

Zombies. Survival. Survival Horror. Open World. FPS.

No.

7. Age of Empires III: Complete Collection

Of the AoE games, I've mostly played AoE 2, and I think I want to pick that up first.

Though I'm waiting for it to show up on GOG. I don't really want it on Steam. And I can wait.

So can this. Next.

8. Evolve

Another FPS game about surviving against some harsh weird ugly violent thing by inflict more violence on it. Nah.

Calling them aliens instead of zombies does let them make more interesting enemy designs I guess. Doesn't cut it though.

9. Borderlands 2

Honestly, Borderlands prevents me from hating it by not taking itself seriously at all. And actually being pretty colorful and vibrant and interesting-looking.

Next.

10. Garry's Mod

I certainly know what this is.

I've watched so many gmod videos.

I won't be making them, sorry.

I don't hate it. Just, nothing I'll ever use. And if that changes, I'll be able to find it instantly.

11. The Forest

Let's look at the tags.

Early Access, Survival, Horror, Open World, Adventure, Crafting, Action, First-Person, Building, Indie, Survival Horror, Simulation, Sandbox, Atmospheric, Exploration, Singleplayer, Realistic, Gore, FPS, Zombies

You can probably guess my verdict.

12. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

I didn't expect myself to be interested in The New Order, but it turned out to be unexpectedly interesting.

This does, too. I'll let it pass.

Bee · 2015-12-24 07:46:15

My queues have been jam packed with cookie-cutter survival games too. When did this become such a preponderous thing?

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-24 07:52:10

It's relatively recent; within the past year or so I think.

First it was zombie apocalypse survival horror games, and then non-zombie wilderness survival games.

I feel a little hesitant sometimes to call them "cookie-cutter" since generally speaking the devs try to bring their own little ideas to the table. Unfortunately, as someone who doesn't play this genre, I can't really get a feel for how different they are, and they all mostly look the same.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-24 23:24:37

1. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

This game looks pretty interesting.

I like that it has both first-person and third-person.

2. The Escapists

This game seems pretty creative and interesting. I'm somewhat tempted to put this on my wishlist.

Okay, on my wishlist it goes.

It's apparently somewhat grindy and it's also on GOG though so it doesn't get placed that high.

3. Viscera Cleanup Detail

I don't usually have a favorable disposition toward gory games, but this...is certainly an amusing exception.

I'm not sure how much I'd actually like the game itself but it does seem like something I could conceivably enjoy as a fun toy to mess around with, with friends.

Next. At least now I'm aware of it.

4. Assassin's Creed Syndicate

I've never been forced to consider whether I'd like to play the Assassin's Creed games, but I guess here we go.

The trailer is snazzy, but comes off as...a tad bit more "badass" than I'd like it to be. The setting is interesting, but the presentation is too "cool". I mean, is this guy a street thug or an actual assassin? I thought assassins were supposed to be stealthy and secretive. No thanks.

5. Alien: Isolation

This looks interesting and well done. Only thing is I'm not sure I can run it and also I'm not sure how much my nausea will disagree with the first-person.

So let's just move on.

6. Steam Link

Not a game, for one, but a piece of Valve-designed hardware, used to stream games from one's PC to one's TV.

I don't have a TV, and even if I did I'd more easily just move a laptop over to the TV. Or, perhaps, just keep a computer perennially plugged in to the TV. And I'm personally not that big on getting a huge TV screen for gaming. I'll do a 20-inch monitor, yes, that's nice. Beyond that, though, I feel the marginal benefits to myself decrease quickly.

No thanks.

7. Infinifactory

A 3D SpaceChem. I'm not really a fan of these sorts of games because I'm never skilled at them, good as they might be. I could sit down and try to optimize through and think through lots of solutions, but I usually feel I have better things to do with my time.

Good as this might be, I should probably just say no thanks.

8. LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII

It looks snazzy, and I've been considering getting FFXIII, but shouldn't I be starting with the first one? I think I will, if I do get FFXIII. Next.

9. Nuclear Throne

Well I thought I could pretend this didn't exist so I wouldn't have to express interest in it, but okay, fine, this thing does look and play pretty cool. I remember the explosions being a little hard to see through at times, but the same could be said of a lot of games.

I'm going to pass on it at the moment though, without throwing it overboard.

10. Sir, You Are Being Hunted

This is...certainly a thing, I must say.

And pray, why be there a trombone in a survival stealth game?

Next.

11. Lethal League

This looks quite fun, but I'm not ready to jump on board because I'm mostly a single-player person, and also not a competitive type.

12. Zombie Army Trilogy

Apparently it features Left 4 Dead characters.

Not really my cup of tea, even with added silliness. One thing I do appreciate is it being third-person, though.

DYRE · 2015-12-25 00:52:48

1. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

This game looks pretty interesting.

I like that it has both first-person and third-person.

Consider Mount & Blade: Warband. Similar idea but has a good single-player mode (and good multiplayer, though I've only ever done LAN so idk how online community is) and a ton of actually really good mods. I haven't played Chivalry so I don't know how they compare otherwise but Mount & Blade is definitely really fun.

Bee · 2015-12-25 01:32:00

The queue really, really wants to sell me Agarest. One of the games in that series has come up like 3-4 times.

Honestly, I meant it the first time I clicked "not interested".

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-25 06:20:51

DYRE wrote: »

Consider Mount & Blade: Warband. Similar idea but has a good single-player mode (and good multiplayer, though I've only ever done LAN so idk how online community is) and a ton of actually really good mods. I haven't played Chivalry so I don't know how they compare otherwise but Mount & Blade is definitely really fun.

I have a friend who loves and strongly recommends M&B Warband, for reasons similar to what I saw about Chivalry: Medieval Warfare.

I was probably influenced by his enthusiasm.

----

1. Call of Duty: World at War.

Why do none of the screenshots have first-person perspective, if the game is supposed to be an FPS?

Needless to say, no.

2. Farming Simulator

As ahilarious as this might be, it's...not my thing. I might do European truck routes, but...nah.

Still, though, keeping it visible makes for a good laugh.

3. Gang Beasts

Appropriately colorful and fun-looking multiplayer fighting game. However, in the trailer, the action looks rather slow. Anyway, it being Early Access and me not usually playing this kind of game make me pass on it.

4. Rocksmith 2014

Well this is an odd "game", if it can be called such. It's a thing that teaches people to play guitar.

Well, I've got an acoustic guitar (or rather my mom has one) and it doesn't use this cable. Plus, I'd probably be wanting to learn songs other than what's offered.

I'll let it stick around because I'm okay with it though.

5. Univers Sandbox ^2

That's supposed to be a superscript 2 but I don't have an easy way of typing it.

It's another sim game, this time a planetary body sim. Can't say I'll ever play it, but it does seem neat.

6. BeamNG.drive

Yet another sim game, but this time it seems like it's trying to simulate vehicle and vehicle part physics. The stuff shown in the video seems quite neat.

Again, not my kind of game, and it's still in Early Access too, but I certainly am positively disposed toward it even if I probably won't ever play it. Also, the amazing level of detail this purports to simulate probably requires a computer far beyond what I have.

7. Plague Inc: Evolved

This game...is a pathogen infection simulator, one could say. More like a strategy game, apparently. And despite the game merely being in Early Access, the dev apparently did in fact do his research quite well, and even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took notice of the game and invited him to give a talk.

BTW, the CDC page gives us this fun exchange:

"But, can you make zombies though?!"

"God, PLEASE don't make zombies, zombies are over! At this point I'm about ready to bring sparkly vampires back instead of more zombies."

Let's keep it around. Who knows, maybe someday it'll transmit to me the desire to play it.

8. Unturned

Voxel zombie survival game, still in Early Access. One of those games that shows up everywhere. And it seems that the playerbase is...rather immature, and not (necessarily) in the sense of age, shall we say.

I can probably run this game, given what it is graphically. That won't save it though.

9. PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist

> some Youtube personality's game, featuring other youtube personalities as playable characters
> bunch of random shit thrown together as memes
> "brofist"

Perhaps I'll go check out RUSHJET1's soundtrack without picking up the game. It sounds pretty nice.

10. DARK SOULS: Prepare To Die Edition

I mentioned previously that I've already been considering getting this game. Next.

11. Marvel Heroes 2015

An MMO action RPG where one can play as Marvel superhero characters. I've got no special opinion-beef with this, but I'm not into the Marvel catalogue nor do I much like MMOs. Sorry.

12. The Mean Greens - Plastic Warfare

Third person, colorful and whimsical theme. Seems like TF2 but just with fewer classes. Could potentially compete with TF2 and Splatoon in my book, assuming it's good.

I'll throw it on my wishlist. I won't pick it up just now though, because it's still very new. Want to see how long this lasts.

Okay, one more dozen.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-25 07:25:40

1. XCOM 2

It's...a pre-purchase. Ugh.

It's a military management strategy game, apparently. And it looks pretty cool.

Suddenly I realized I'd enjoy watching someone else playing this game. Probably something that holds true for a lot of games, to be honest. But here, that 11-minute trailer is surprisingly engrossing. I like the theming too.

I don't want to wishlist it just yet, and it also looks rather complex for me to say for sure I'll going to enjoy it. But it looks like a good game.

...ahh, heck with it, wishlisting things is free.

2. Tom Clancy's The Division

Is this queue supposed to be filled with pre-purchases?

I'm not into Tom Clancy games.

I hate these trailers that look just like movie trailers. Yes, you can make a movie entirely out of CGI these days. Whoop-dee-doo.

Nothing about this makes me want to play it. The Tom Clancy name makes me not want to play it, on the other hand.

3. PULSAR: Lost Colony

Space exploration sim, Early Access. Seems decent. Drop-in/drop-out multiplayer seems like a good thing.

4. GUILTY GEAR Xrd -SIGN-

It's kinda ironic just how many anime-aesthetic games I've been thumbs-downing, given that I normally expect to like them. But fighting games were never my thing, and they still aren't.

5. LEGO Jurassic World

lol, jurassic world

The Lego games are amusing though. I'll leave this one around.

6. Relic Hunters Zero

Oh hey. It's a free game. Like, entirely free.

I might look into this later. Co-op for 2 players sounds like a useful addition to my library, assuming this is sufficiently easy to pick up.

The top-down perspective makes me think of Nuclear Throne, though I've played neither game. For some reason, I know I've seen this perspective before but I can't seem to think of another game that has this (primarily ranged weapons, single-plane combat, top-down view). (Wait I guess there's Steel Storm, but that game is a bit meh.)

The art style of RH0 I feel meh about, but whatever.

7. World of Guns: Gun Disassembly

The problem with commenting on everything in my queue is that I have to comment on strange choices like these. I can definitely see the appeal of getting a detailed piece-by-piece look at the workings of a gun -- even for someone who's not a gun nut, the mechanical workings themselves are interesting.

And apparently they're extending this to vehicles too. This is pretty neat.

8. Time Clickers

Clicker games (a.k.a. incremental games, idle games) are an automatic "no".

9. Block N Load

This game looks fun too. Not quite as inviting as Mean Greens, but still quite fun. Something about it makes me a bit skeptical though. Maybe it's the free-to-play aspect.

Checking some negative reviews suggests that, at least as of early October 2015, there were still some balance issues.

I think I'll pass for now.

10. AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead & Undressed

The space is in the wrong place in the title, and the apostrophe is unnecessary.

Also, no. Let's be honest, this is too weeb. Being from XSEED doesn't cut it.

11. Empyrion - Galactic Survival

Early Access survival game but set in space. Let's check the trailer to see whether I want to throw it overboard.

Ehh I'll be nice and not do that.

12. Secrets of Grindea

I remember putting this on my to-get list a long time ago.

Apparently it's still in Early Access.

I guess I've already started listing a few Early Access games on my wishlist so whatever. I'll just wishlist this too.

Okay, now we're done with the evening.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Stormtroper · 2015-12-25 07:42:13

4. GUILTY GEAR Xrd -SIGN-
It's kinda ironic just how many anime-aesthetic games I've been thumbs-downing, given that I normally expect to like them. But fighting games were never my thing, and they still aren't.

I don't pay attention to fighting games either, but I totally want to play it due to the looks. The shit they did to mimic anime-aesthetic in 3D is downright impressive.

Bee · 2015-12-25 08:15:17

XCOM is fun as long as you go into it expecting not to play it like an overprotective Fire Emblem brood mother.

People are going to die. Regularly.

Stormtroper · 2015-12-25 16:46:04

I recommend XCOM, too. It's really thrilling to see whether or not your units miss a point-blank range shot that you need to not have your squad murdered.

Maybe I should play it again.

Edit: Oh wait, I never finished UFO: Alien Invasion. I think I'll play that one.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-25 21:56:20

1. Far Cry 4

I think this review, despite being a positive review, summarizes why I think it's not for me (my emphases below):

Far Cry 4 is for people who have imagination in taking down their enemies, turning Kyrat into their personal playground. Unfortunately I'm not one of those people. Giving someone like me a large map, filling it up with collectibles, chests and various activities, I will invest 80 hours into doing all of them. After 30-40 hours that stops being fun, especially if you take too much time between missions.

[...]

What I enjoyed about Far Cry 3, I enjoyed here as well. The hunting, the combat, climbing up bell towers (again, reminded me of Fort Boyard) and liberating outposts. But that's about it. To do just that for 20-30 hours, I would be content, but since I see all of that stuff on the map, I want all of it and I have no clue why. Every open world game has turned into a completionist nightmare, not full of game, but content.

Different people play games for different reasons, and people who like these open-world mess-around-in-them games because they're basically looking for a toy. A complex and expensive and high-tech toy, but a toy nonetheless. Meanwhile, if I'm going to drop US$60 on a game, I'm looking for a mission, a meaning, a purpose, with gameplay mechanics I'm familiar with. So that would explain why I'm less interested in a freeform toy.

2. Trine 2: Complete Story

I kinda like this game except I'm not sure how much I'd enjoy it. It's been compared to The Lost Vikings, which I felt confused by as a child, but this does seem to have more gameplay options than that. I also dunno if I basically have to play co-op to get the full experience.

3. ...

...

...hey, my store frontpage is in Russian, and my cart contains Fallout 4.

No wait, it's in Swedish.

Actually, Steam is having a database caching problem. Also probably being DDoS'd.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-26 07:26:45

3. Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty

I already have Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. I haven't played it yet. Perhaps I'll play that and then decide whether I want something that looks better. I've now seen the trailer for this game and it looks pretty nice, but I don't exactly have context for it. Next.

4. Mini Metro

I knew about this game but never really looked into it. I thought it was cool. Now that I've looked into it I think I want it.

I'll wishlist it but I'll be sure to keep it on my radar on playism-games.com too (here), as Playism often puts their own games on sale cheaper on their site and do DRM-free + Steam key there.

5. SPINTIRES

Another sim game. Apparently this is Soviet Monster Truck Sim.

The dubstep in the trailer vid is amusing.

6. Call of Duty: Black Ops

No thank you.

7. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero

No thank you, again.

8. Distance

A rather neat-looking futuristic racing game. Still in development (i.e. Early Access). I'll keep it around.

9. I am Bread

Sort of a weird game.

I gotta admit, though, I...don't really care for this game. I don't think I'll ever buy it, and it doesn't quite amuse me enough for me to keep it around either.

10. Act of Aggression

Oh gosh is that the same song as the one used by the Assassin's Creed Syndicate? Yep it is. Ugh. The song itself is okay but its use seems to suggest a feeling of badass swagger that is not what I'm looking for in a game.

I appreciate the strategic depth of this futuristic RPG. I also appreciate the comparative explanations of the mechanics of the three factions. It feels a too hardcore for my taste though. But I'll keep it around.

Why are the reviews "Mixed"? It seems that people have felt that the game is somewhat clunky by trying to go for an angle of realism, including a very complex tech tree. Seems like the gist of the complaints is that it tries to be realistic but also fast-paced, and these two ideas don't go together well.

Fun fact: reading through the reviews for this game felt like reading through a bunch of things I couldn't understand, since I wasn't familiar with any of the comparable games.

11. Road Redemption

Is this an expanded version of FFVII's motorcycle minigame?

Looks vaguely fun. Hopefully it has better controls than said minigame.

Also still in Early Access.

To be frank, though, I'm not ever going to buy this, even if it might be fun.

12. Total War: ATTILA

Why do all the trailers look like movies? Where's the gameplay footage? I don't care that the game engine can create a movie; I want a game.

Y'know what, I'm throwing it overboard just because of that.

Bee · 2015-12-26 07:58:37

Why do all the trailers look like movies? Where's the gameplay footage? I don't care that the game engine can create a movie; I want a game.

This is like the main reason I immediately throw out anything by Idea Factory / Compile Heart. If you have a minute-plus trailer and the whole thing is generic J-pop and some anime faces against a glittering pink border, completely indistinguishable from the trailer for every other game you've made, with literally not even a second of gameplay, I'm going to assume they're all shit.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-26 08:29:43

1. Rampage Knights

Looks decent. The gameplay is something I might enjoy, but one of my biggest issues with beat-em-ups is that it's sometimes hard to tell one's hitbox (or the hitboxes of enemies). I'm not sure this game solves that problem. Also the art style could use some improvement I feel -- vector graphics in the style of flash just doesn't work as well as pixel sprites in my opinion.

2. RUNNING WITH RIFLES

Top-down tactical shooter. This actually seems like a pretty decent game. For a sufficiently low price I might get it. I like the exploration, the way it seems to allow for different tactics, and how it doesn't seem to be that complicated but could do a lot of things. Wishlisted.

(I didn't expect to wishlist this when I first saw it. Heh.)

3. Way of the Samurai 4

WTF is the third screenshot?

The trailer includes a tiny clip of a royalty-free tune that's used both by the game Fortune Summoners and the Animal Planet show My Cat From Hell.

Anyway, I just...am not feeling it from this game. So never mind this.

4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

If only all choices were this easy to throw off the boat.

5. Dead Realm

A horror game. Vaguely reminiscent of FNAF, which I actually haven't played and know only from people's descriptions of it and some screenshots, lol.

Not my thing. (And it's even Early Access too...)

6. Primal Carnage: Extinction

Also not my thing.

7. Sakura Spirit

Well, it's about time this got thrown off the boat.

Only new thing I discovered here is that Steam actually now has a Store page notice that reads "This game includes nudity and explicit sexual dialog."

8. Sanctum 2

I've got the original Sanctum, which I'll play first.

9. PlanetSide 2

I had this suggested to me when I was looking for a massively multiplayer Risk-like territory control game. I don't think that kind of game exists, but some PlanetSide 2 fans showed up and tried plugging their pet game.

The MMO FPS faction war idea is neat. The playerbase seems immature, though. I also don't hugely feel like playing another FPS.

Regardless, I can't run the game, and it's also fucking huge (20 GB).

Bye.

10. Elsword

This is the only MMO I've been recently considering.

My currrent avatar is one of the characters. Her name is Eve. (She's a robot girl, though incidentally the source of one of my recent Steam names and the corresponding avatar are actually EVE from WALL-E.) That's basically the one character I would play as.

The gameplay is platformer brawler mechanics. I just don't know how much I'll enjoy them. I usually am the type to just stick with one or a few attacks rather than use a huge variety. If this is done well, though, this could make for really smooth and fun combat.

I also don't know how much I'll enjoy the game in the long term. One thing with MMO games is that they're basically "enjoy now or the game disappears when the servers go offline". I mean, it already happened to Rusty Hearts. And if there's no story to really keep me there (and I expect this to have a similarly weak story), I'm not sure I'd see much reason to play it.

Also, the main character's name is "Elsword". Could they have come up with a less silly name?

There's an animated series that's going to show up soon. Maybe I'll wait for that.

11. ORION: Prelude

As much as this game looks rather ridiculously hilarious, and as dedicated as the devs are to the game and its fans, and as cheap as it is ($0.99 base price, $0.49 currently), I don't think this is my sort of game. If someone else picked it up for me, I might try it at some point.

I feel bad about throwing it overboard though so I'll keep it around.

12. Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball

This actually looks pretty cool. Not sure how much fun I'd get out of it, but at least I certainly don't hate it. Nice music too.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-26 09:36:10

1. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist

Nah.

Oh, by the way, you know that Tom Clancy was notoriously conservative in his views?

2. Windward

Ship combat in Age-of-Empires-RTS style? Interesting. Reviews seem to generally say that it is a bit lacking in depth (figuratively, though it might be literally true since you're on the water's surface), and gets somewhat grindy. I guess the exploration doesn't make that grind worth it?

Oh well, still seems kinda interesting. I'll keep it around.

3. Heroes & Generals

FPS, free-to-play, Early Access, and apparently suffers from some community issues where problematic players are the face of the multiplayer experience and the devs allegedly don't fix problems. And other things.

4. Magicite

Looks kinda like Spelunky crossed with Terraria. Spelunky's fast games and Terraria's generous respawn conditions made those games fun, so I'm not sure how combinable these two are.

It's a possibility I guess. Not right now though. Later.

5. Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies

Do I even have to explain my dislike for this?

6. Red Crucible: Firestorm

Another FPS game for being a combat badass. Nah.

7. Romero's Aftermath

Free to Play, Zombies, Survival, Multiplayer, Open World, Action, Massively Multiplayer, First-Person, Shooter, Crafting, FPS, Co-op, Adventure, Online Co-Op, Survival Horror, Singleplayer, Horror, Sandbox, Indie, Walking Simulator

You can figure out my opinion.

8. Double Action: Boogaloo

Apparently fully-free?

Action Movie Fight Scene Simulator apparently.

At least it's apparently not uptight. Apparently.

9. The Evil Within

Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, Gore, Zombies.

Not my thing.

10. Who's Your Daddy

Parenting simulator, apparently.

Also apparently pretty fun, despite being so weird.

Apparently best played with a friend.

I'll leave it around. It might find a way to electrocute itself or something.

11. BLOCKADE 3D

I'm not actually sure what this game is about.

There seem to be some FPS game modes. And then something about building and destroying objects by block units.

I still have no idea what the game is supposed to be about.

No.

12. Castle Crashers

The game looks kinda meh.

lrdgck · 2015-12-26 10:22:37

I'd like to see you play Hatred, that must be a fun sight.

Stormtroper · 2015-12-26 16:56:58

12. Castle Crashers
The game looks kinda meh.

It's pretty fun if you're playing it with multiple friends, but otherwise don't bother.

glennmagusharvey · 2015-12-26 18:11:20

lrdgck wrote: »

I'd like to see you play Hatred, that must be a fun sight.

Reportedly, the gameplay is overall decent but somewhat annoyingly unforgiving.

Would be nice to have a non-cinematic point-of-view for the executions.

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GMH posts opinions generated on Steam's Discovery Queue

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