I'm enjoying The Outer Worlds immensely Pierrot, it's been a good while now since i've played a game of this caliber. I'm not the guy that enjoys much reading when 'i'm gaming but the writing is superb and dialogue choices are a blast and a meta into itself, if you're a fan of Fallout 3, NV and 4 go for it, it's a game that feels very alive and interconnected rather than patch together and displaced as a whole.
So first, The Outer Worlds. I can confidently say this is the best game Obsidian has ever put out. It maintains their tradition of excellent dialog (especially with your companions) and tightens up all the mechanical jank they've had in the past. If you've played an Elder Scrolls game you'll be familiar with the bones, but this game does a much better job with making all builds viable. Some this comes from how skills cross pollenate; dialog skills give you combat bonuses, and skills are grouped up such that one skill point in the group goes to all of the skills in the group up to level 50 (out of 100). Also, the stats that govern skills are set up in such a way that any focus still gives you a decent amount in things you weren't focused on. So there's no crippling overspecialization. The game also goes for a larger number of smaller sandboxes, rather than one giant sandbox, so it makes things much more manageable and approachable.
As for that other list, lemme give you a rundown:
Timespinner - It implements its two castle mechanic as a time travel mechanic, so things you do in the past affect the future, and paths might be open in one that are closed in another. You time travel at your standard warp points once you reach that part of the story (which isn't too far in). It integrates the weapon system with the magic system; every weapon has a corresponding spell, and attacking with the weapon increases the power of the spell over time. It's a solid title, but doesn't do anything earthshattering; the biggest thing is every friendly character is somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum and it is treated pretty well.
Ori and the Blind Forest - This is on the challenge platformer side of Metroidvanias; your primary movement is a mid-air dash in any direction that can be recharged by hitting certain objects. The game likes to throw sections of instant death spikes that you have to navigate through like in your standard challenge platformer. The biggest draw for the game is the environments; there was a huge amount of care taken in the environmental design and it keeps you in a constant state of unease, as you are a little guy in a big scary forest.
The Messenger - This is Ninja Gaiden for the first 2/3 of the game, then at the end you gain the ability to revisit areas. This includes getting into a new level, but you're mostly going into areas you couldn't before to get collectables to unlock the final level. Once you unlock the Metroidvania segment you also get to do the time/style flipping; there will be segments in the world where you pass through a portal and it switches from past (8 bit) to future (16 bit), which affects level layouts. But it really is focused more on Ninja Gaiden style platforming, rather than true exploration.
Guacamelee 2 - You said you really liked the first, so go ahead and get this. You get all the old powers in a different order, and there's a couple of new powers for the chicken form. I also haven't decided which ending is better, the bad ending or the good one. The good ending is more obviously happy, but the bad ending isn't "you failed" like 1's was. If anything it's more meaningful, in my opinion.
Hollow Knight - Exploration and melee combat. Another really well realized game aesthetically, but I'd also call it the hardest of the bunch you listed, as it's consistently hard along various axes. The exploration is hard because regular enemies are not pushovers once you're past the initial area, and the map is the least helpful Metroidvania map. You first have to get midway through an area to unlock the ability to map it, then go to all the rooms you passed in to record them (though once you unlock the map for the area some stuff is already filled in). You do not get position within a room, just whether or not you are in a room. So it's more like trying to navigate while having an issue of Nintendo Power open next to you. Combat against bosses is tricky because it is very pattern and reaction based. Enemies have these sweeping attack patterns you have to dodge and then nail them when they're open, as you have limited healing options and can't just face tank like in SotN. You also have very limited ranged options (and it uses the same resource as healing).
Momodora - Haven't played this one, so can't help you.
I would say start with The Messenger as a palette cleanser, then it comes down to what sort of thing you're looking to experience. If you want to be sure you'll have a good time, Guacamelee 2. If you're looking to relax, Timespinner. If you want to focus on challenge platforming then go Ori. Finally, if you want challenging boss fights go Hollow Knight.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Radical! Thanks for the rundown on those games, Popo. With all of those things in mind, I think I might bookend with the unfamiliar masocores, and fill in with what sounds like the more 'fluff' stuff. I'm thinking:
Hollow Knight -> Timespinner -> Guacamelee 2 -> The Messenger -> Ori and the Blind Forest
I'd kind of like to play Ori sooner than later, but I don't think I'd want to play any of it, Hollow Knight, or Guacamelee 2 back-to-back. I played a tiny bit of Momodora the other day, and didn't really like the weight or momentum the main character has, so I'll just leave that for if I actually get through these other games. I can probably find it in a bundle at some point later on.
lordb0rb4 wrote:EDIT: My bad, you haven't played any FO games.
No worries. I haven't played them, but that doesn't mean they don't interest me. With The Outer Worlds being more of its own thing, though, I'm more inclined to go with that, and from your endorsements, I think I'll be making a point of squeezing it in to the list.
pierrot wrote:Radical! Thanks for the rundown on those games, Popo. With all of those things in mind, I think I might bookend with the unfamiliar masocores, and fill in with what sounds like the more 'fluff' stuff. I'm thinking:
Hollow Knight -> Timespinner -> Guacamelee 2 -> The Messenger -> Ori and the Blind Forest
I'd kind of like to play Ori sooner than later, but I don't think I'd want to play any of it, Hollow Knight, or Guacamelee 2 back-to-back. I played a tiny bit of Momodora the other day, and didn't really like the weight or momentum the main character has, so I'll just leave that for if I actually get through these other games. I can probably find it in a bundle at some point later on.
lordb0rb4 wrote:EDIT: My bad, you haven't played any FO games.
No worries. I haven't played them, but that doesn't mean they don't interest me. With The Outer Worlds being more of its own thing, though, I'm more inclined to go with that, and from your endorsements, I think I'll be making a point of squeezing it in to the list.
Pierrot, would you mind adding me on Xbox Live? My gamertag is b0rb4d3v4sc
I also second that The Outer Worlds is Obsidian's best game, and a very well written and playing experience. Absolutely fantastic open world game I'm enjoying every moment of <3
Popo already did a great job of running down those Metroidvanias (and I've only played a few of them), but while I haven't played Momodora myself, I have seen someone else play it on Twitch before.
Momodora is a Metroidvania, but it is much more focused on combat and difficult bosses. I'd describe it as a less exploration-focused Hollow Knight in that regard, I suppose. I haven't seen the whole game played through, but that was the impression I got. Definitely not as relatively easy as something like Timespinner, for sure. Hollow Knight is definitely the longest of those Metroidvanias, though, and I understand Momodora to be quite short by comparison (only a few hours long). Very pretty, dark aesthetic though.
To give my two cents on the Metroidvanias I have played myself:
I 100% agree that Hollow Knight's difficulty for both platforming and combat is not for the faint of heart. Also no level grinding, which is an issue I know Maru ran into with his playthrough. If it's not something you can play at least relatively consistently to maintain a skill level at, you're gonna have a really rough time with Hollow Knight.
Timespinner's combat is closer mechanically to Order of Ecclesia, but its aesthetics are VERY SotN. Even the "LEVEL UP" animation is more or less taken directly out of SotN. Aside from that, the world and the narrative lean more into sci-fi than Castlevania-esque fantasy (although fantasy is there). It's definitely one of the best written Metroidvanias I've ever played, granted that isn't exactly what you'd usually go to a Metroidvania for. Aside from LGBTQIA+ things I thought it handled wonderfully, it also explores political themes in a way I found very engaging.
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
pierrot wrote:One last thought, because I got it for free with my GPU: Has Activision gone crazy with their naming? The new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is confusing as hell. When I saw it as a promotional game for my GPU, I was thinking, 'Wow, a decade old game. Neat.' Then I find out it just came out a couple days ago..
I hate it when 2 things have same or similar titles. For example Doom (93) and Doom (2016)
pierrot wrote:One last thought, because I got it for free with my GPU: Has Activision gone crazy with their naming? The new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is confusing as hell. When I saw it as a promotional game for my GPU, I was thinking, 'Wow, a decade old game. Neat.' Then I find out it just came out a couple days ago..
I hate it when 2 things have same or similar titles. For example Doom (93) and Doom (2016)
Or God of War (2005) and God of War (2018) XP At least we can call God of War (2018) "Dad of War" and Doom (2016) "Doom 4", but I really wish that they'd throw in SOME kind of subtitle on these reboots. Especially when they're really good, so we're obviously gonna talk about 'em a bunch
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
pierrot wrote:One last thought, because I got it for free with my GPU: Has Activision gone crazy with their naming? The new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is confusing as hell. When I saw it as a promotional game for my GPU, I was thinking, 'Wow, a decade old game. Neat.' Then I find out it just came out a couple days ago..
I hate it when 2 things have same or similar titles. For example Doom (93) and Doom (2016)
Or God of War (2005) and God of War (2018) XP At least we can call God of War (2018) "Dad of War" and Doom (2016) "Doom 4", but I really wish that they'd throw in SOME kind of subtitle on these reboots. Especially when they're really good, so we're obviously gonna talk about 'em a bunch
exactly, and its really worse when you are trying to look up information or tutorials
I am trying to get the best picture out of my N64 without the HDMI mod. I am going with the RetroTink, although this video gave me second thoughts, but does it matter if the input was composite or S-Vide? I don't have the 64 S-video cables.
No worries. I haven't played them, but that doesn't mean they don't interest me. With The Outer Worlds being more of its own thing, though, I'm more inclined to go with that, and from your endorsements, I think I'll be making a point of squeezing it in to the list.
