# Video Games You've Played Recently **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [July 25, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546 "2022-07-25T19:45:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/243 "2023-04-08T01:49:05Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > what I gleaned there indicated that one needs to go to NY to get the full D2 experience To be clear, you do need to spend the ten levels (30-40) in NYC and complete the story there to advance the story for the seasonal content, etc. What happens in NYC is integral to the plot as a whole. You just don’t need to go back once you complete that part and the new stuff added since Warlords of New York doesn’t expand on NYC much. Option B is to just never go to NYC but you lock yourself at level 30 that way and that’s the end of the content since all the new stories assume you’ve advanced the plot in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/244 "2023-04-10T16:52:34Z")
I just finished my second playthrough of Sniper Elite 5. It’s just _so_ satisfying seeing a bullet go through a Nazi’s brain in slow-motion x-ray view. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/245 "2023-04-11T00:40:46Z")
Well yeah, that’s kind of what I meant: NY is a must if you want to play any new content. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/246 "2023-04-11T00:46:17Z")
I tried the Diablo 4 beta. It was ok but it being an open-world MMO was a major turn off to the style of gameplay I normally expect from a Diablo game. I don’t see me getting it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/247 "2023-04-11T01:00:05Z")
Wait, it is? Does it offer a fully single-player mode? I mean once it comes out. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/248 "2023-04-11T01:03:59Z")
Nope. The dungeons are instanced, but it really didn’t feel like a Diablo game to me. The combat was good. There’s severe balance problems as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/249 "2023-04-11T01:06:09Z")
What does instanced mean? ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/250 "2023-04-11T01:07:22Z")
Private to your group. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/251 "2023-04-11T02:06:18Z")
Great game! I put about 300 hrs into it. Invasion mode is pretty fun once you know the maps. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/252 "2023-04-11T02:37:25Z")
Other players are sometimes running around the same zone as you are. It isn’t a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/253 "2023-04-11T04:04:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > What does instanced mean? Not pre-generated. Most rogue-type games use instanced dungeons, for example. 4X games almost always use instanced worlds/galaxies. RTSs outside of the campaign stories are generally instanced as well. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/254 "2023-04-11T15:00:58Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > Not pre-generated. Most rogue-type games use instanced dungeons, for example. > > 4X games almost always use instanced worlds/galaxies. > > RTSs outside of the campaign stories are generally instanced as well No, that’s “procedurally generated”. “Instanced” means that when you load into an area, you (and possibly your group) get a separate version of that area (an “instance”) where you are the only player(s). For example, in an MMO, you may have public areas (towns, wilderness areas with wandering monsters, etc) where you can see other players, potentially dozens or hundreds of them. But when you pick up a quest and step into a dungeon, you and your party load into a separate version of the dungeon than anyone else playing the game. The dungeon may be (and typically is) identical every time and for every group. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/255 "2023-04-11T15:15:25Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Well yeah, that’s kind of what I meant: NY is a must if you want to play any new content. Fair enough. I saw your comment that the devs were focusing on NYC content and thought you were expecting to be stuck in NYC forever. That’s not the case and the focus for the past couple of seasons has been all on DC, but it’s a moot point if you don’t want to go into NYC at all. The first 30 levels are still fun though, even if you want to cap the story with that. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/256 "2023-04-12T00:14:12Z")
Well I thought about continuing my new agent and just staying in DC, but decided against it. Too much other good stuff available to play to go through a new playthrough again. So I looked at my other agents. One is Level 40 and was still in NY. So I checked in, and they have the Wall Street mission (and therefore Liberty Island) not completed. Another is also Level 40, and only has Liberty Island left to complete. I don’t recall for certain, I’m pretty sure I’ve attempted that mission with that agent at least once. So I have 2 Level 40 agents at my disposal who are basically done with NY besides the two most pain in the ass missions. I really have no desire to do Liberty Island or fight Keener again. Every time I do it’s an hour(s?)-long ordeal and I’ve basically come to hate it. Nor, for that matter, do I desire to do Wall Street again. The last agent I know has completed NY and I last left her in the White House, she’s my most experienced one. Also the only one I’ve beaten Keener with (3x, as I recall). I just loaded that game up and it looks interesting again. I forgot how much stuff goes on on the map in this stage of the game. I’ll be picking up that agent where we left off. I did do a chicken move and slide the global difficulty back down to “Normal” from “Challenging”. “Challenging” was fun when I was really honed in, but I need at least a couple sessions to awaken the old skills and remember what I’m doing. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/257 "2023-04-12T01:07:44Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > > [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > > > Not pre-generated. Most rogue-type games use instanced dungeons, for example. > > > > 4X games almost always use instanced worlds/galaxies. > > > > RTSs outside of the campaign stories are generally instanced as well > > No, that’s “procedurally generated”. > > “Instanced” means that when you load into an area, you (and possibly your group) get a separate version of that area (an “instance”) where you are the only player(s). > > For example, in an MMO, you may have public areas (towns, wilderness areas with wandering monsters, etc) where you can see other players, potentially dozens or hundreds of them. But when you pick up a quest and step into a dungeon, you and your party load into a separate version of the dungeon than anyone else playing the game. > > The dungeon may be (and typically is) identical every time and for every group. Ah. Thank you. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/258 "2023-04-12T01:14:54Z")
I’m blown away learning that Diablo 4 isn’t single-player. I mean it doesn’t have an option to just play alone offline? Is it also going to have micro-transactions? I heard about the mobile game. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/259 "2023-04-12T02:11:04Z")
I finally got around to playing “Norco” for a little cyberpunk fix. Was not disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/260 "2023-04-13T20:15:26Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Against the Storm isn’t _Banished_ on steroids, but it sure owes that game a debt. It’s like Banished got turned into a rogue-light in a low-fantasy universe. A “round” of it takes a couple of hours to play (or less if you speed it up), as you try to build a settlement to the queen’s specifications before her impatience meter maxes out, and every settlement earns you perks toward future settlements. There are dangerous events (machines on the verge of explosions, dread spirits in the forest, cauldrons leaking toxic effluent), but there’s no combat at all; most of the game is figuring out how to gather mushrooms and reeds and berries and clay and other goods from the forest. > > It’s early release, and it’s _excellent_. Update: They’ve just added a bunch of new content, and they’ve put it on sale for $14.99, and they’ve said that in two weeks they’re going to bump the price up to a full-release price of $29.99. So now is probably the best chance to get it for the next couple of years. Here’s the link: https://store.steampowered.com/widget/1336490 ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/261 "2023-04-13T20:42:20Z")
Just finished The Evil Within on game pass. Pretty decent horror survival game/story. The controls and camera are a bit jank though. Even with sensitivity all the way up it would still take a loooong time to turn the camera around which really sucks when you’ve got some creepy boogen chasing you. I got through it in 24 hours, so it’s not very long. It has a “,new game+” feature that unlocks after you finish it so you can play it again with new feature or a harder difficulty. I liked it and all, but I don’t see myself replaying. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546/262 "2023-08-14T21:33:21Z")
My recent games: **Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom** The greatest game of all time and I wrote plenty about it over on the thread dedicated to it. Took 145 hours and I did not do everything. Absolute perfection, my favorite game of all time. **Viewfinder** Neat puzzle game, but boring story and voice acting. If it had voices and story like Portal, it would have been better. Grew tiresome to play. **Assassin’s Creed Origins** I’ve owned a free copy of this for a long time and decided to load it up. Yeah, it was OK, but very repetitive and went on WAY too long. I heard Valhalla was even worse for going on forever and having you do similar things. By the end of Origins, I kept saying, “We get it! Get on with it! Let’s wrap it up!” It did not seem well optimized for PC. I have a gaming PC that can run Elden Ring flawlessly and Origins, a game from 2017, had tons of pop-in. It ran well enough that I didn’t care, but I though the graphics would blow me away more. It looked OK. Another open world that ended up being mostly dull. I’ve played Assassin’s Creed 1, 2, part of 3, and part of 4. I heard they got even better at some point, but Origins was a decent, but not great game. I won’t likely return to the series unless I hear huge improvement have happened. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-youve-played-recently/968546.md?page=14)