I’m not a gamer. Suggestions?

BradLTL said:

Civilization...

Just one more turn...

 

Yes, another good one! I got frustrated with how long it took to make moves later in the game with the PS4. I need to figure out a good way to get a keyboard and mouse comfortably on my sim rig. That's one I'd play a lot more if didn't take so long for the system to make moves. 

I have a feeling with my pretty heavy-duty sim rig setup the computer could handle the moves a lot faster. 

Any updates on how our suggestions are treating you?

My inner nerd is super curious.

In reply to birdmayne :

I don't think NMS is for me... Skyrim was very promising, but after about 45 minutes staring at that screen my head was starting to feel mutinous. I played some puzzle game with a floppy character where you have to open doors and move to the next.. that was a fun time killer but 5yo said it was his turn about every 38 seconds. 
I'll keep at Skyrim as I find time and desire, it seemed right up my alley. I may also try to get a copy of the original Diablo, as I was waxing nostalgic about it with a coworker. 
Not video, still gaming, I finally managed to get a good group together and ran a D&D game on Saturday, with at least two more sessions committed. So there's that. 

Has anybody mentioned the Portal series yet?

Mario Kart.

In reply to Duke :

I didnt see it metioned, but the OP said he doesn't want to do any objectives.  Seems he is looking more for a sandbox style game.

That said, if Portal works, also check out AntiChamber, Quantumn Conundrum, The Stanley Parable, and Q.U.B.E. 2

Mario Kart unequivocally.

z31maniac said:

I saw this article over lunch and thought it was appopriate. 

https://lifehacker.com/14-boring-simulation-video-games-that-are-actually-to-1848516386

The first entry is Euro Truck Simulator 2.  I will confess to having logged more hours than is reasonable playing ETS2 and its close cousin, American Truck Simulator.  They are oddly compelling and more different from each other than you'd think.  A cheap secondhand wheel (Logitech DFGT or similar) is adequate to get started, although people do play with a mouse and keyboard.  Lots of mods are free via the Steam workshop.  Map expansion packs from SCS are available, and if you don't mind dropping a few bucks, they're almost invariably worth it.  Once you get a few of SCS's own map packs installed you can also add on some pretty incredible third-party maps from Promods, etc.  Fun stuff.

Engine sound packs are a must.  The vanilla trucks sound like a vacuum cleaner.  Get a good sound pack, and Jaking down a long grade becomes a sort of therapy.  Detroit two-stroke packs are available for people who hate their eardums.

I gotta get back on it tonight.  It's been too long.

Should add that these games are all about exploring and, to a lesser degree, strategizing.  And you can turn off the traffic tickets and sleep requirements if you really want to turn the stress levels way down. 

Minor Hijack for a game that I'm loving: Hades

Got it about a week ago on Steam sale and holy carp is this game fantastic. Super Giant knocks it out of the park again by have a clear and focused vision executed perfectly. Not a massive AAA title trying to do everything okay, but a tight indy game doing a few things to utter perfection. It feels more like playing Doom: Eternal than anything else I've played recently.

The premise is simple: you are Zagreus, the son of Hades. You're suffering immortal teen angst and trying to run away from home. Except that means fighting your way up through the levels of the Greek underworld being helped and hindered by various individuals from Greek mythology. When you are invariably overwhelmed and killed, you wake up back in the line of departed souls in Hades palace, and the cycle repeats.

Hades hits the difficulty level on the nose. It is hard, but not punishing. You're going to die a LOT, but it rewards you and makes you feel like you've accomplished something by getting as far as you do. When you suddenly get a good setup or the skills click and you blow well past previous walls that kept blocking you, you really feel like you've accomplished something.

The action is very bite-sized too. I can jump in and spend 10 minutes clearing a couple arenas and jump back out, or I can sit down and crank out a full run (or two) in 60-90 minutes.

And the setup of the game *normalizes* constantly dying. It's not just a normal part of gameplay like in something like Dark Souls or Super Meat Boy, but it's actually written into the narrative. It's the *point* of the game. It's a welcome respite, a chance to relax, purchase upgrades, reconfigure your weapons, and learn more of the story.

It also does one of the best jobs I've ever seen of having mechanics that *support* the narrative that the game is trying to tell. It really is fantastic this way.

As simple as it is, the story is surprisingly well done and feels naturally told. I find the characters interesting, and I really care about them in ways I often don't in games that are trying to tell specific stories or make you care about specific characters. I actually feel for Hades, Achilles is my boy, Nyx loves me, 'Dusa is a sweetheart, I'm growing weirdly fond of Megaera, and Cerberus is my faithful-boi.

To support this, it's the first video game to win a Hugo Award.

Although you're going about many of the same fights over and over in a very old-school kind of way, the weapon and upgrade system, and especially the different choices for boons from the different gods helping Zagreus out on his journey really mix things up and make each run feel different.

Finally, the Art Direction is some of the most beautiful and well crafted ever. Not just pleasing, but far easier to keep track of really busy and chaotic scenes than in other games based around fast paced combat. Contrast to Nier: Automata which I played a bit back, and that infuriated me with several characters all being the same color pallette and frequently losing track of which one I was controlling, who was my ally, and who was my enemy. The voice acting is great and the soundtrack is fantastic.

This game is at least an A. I'll reserve judgement until I beat it on whether it deserves and A+.

Hades has won numerous awards and received all around praise for the last ~2? years.  I need to add it to my wishlist and pick it up next time its on sale.

ProDarwin said:

Hades has won numerous awards and received all around praise for the last ~2? years.  I need to add it to my wishlist and pick it up next time its on sale.

You missed a recent sale.

I say don't wait. Next time you're looking for a new game, buy Hades. It's well worth the $25 full price tag. Or add it to a Steam wishlist and grab it immediately the next time you see it on sale. Then pause whatever else you've been playing and get sucked in. Looks like it goes on sale every couple months.

Not out yet, but I am really intrigued by the new Harry Potter game coming at the end of the year.  If you disregard the HP stuff it still looks like an awesome game.

Beer Baron said:

ProDarwin said:

Hades has won numerous awards and received all around praise for the last ~2? years.  I need to add it to my wishlist and pick it up next time its on sale.

You missed a recent sale.

I say don't wait. 

If I had more time on my hands I would probably jump on it.  Given that game playing is pretty infrequent aside from weekly Assetto Corsa leagues, I can wait for sure.  I just got around to trying out Romero's One Humanity DoomII Level which was released 2 weeks ago.

ProDarwin said:

Beer Baron said:

ProDarwin said:

Hades has won numerous awards and received all around praise for the last ~2? years.  I need to add it to my wishlist and pick it up next time its on sale.

You missed a recent sale.

I say don't wait. 

If I had more time on my hands I would probably jump on it.  Given that game playing is pretty infrequent aside from weekly Assetto Corsa leagues, I can wait for sure.  I just got around to trying out Romero's One Humanity DoomII Level which was released 2 weeks ago.

I got hades on gamepass. It was pretty good for the one day I paid attention to it. I got a little mad when it wanted me to do magic. I don't do magic. 

Thank you for the reminder, I need to cancel my gamepass subscription.  I did the 2 months for $1 and forgot to cancel :(

On a related note, there are 2 HUGE game packs for very low $$ right now to raise money for Ukraine.

https://www.humblebundle.com/stand-with-ukraine-bundle ($40, 123 games)

https://itch.io/b/1316/bundle-for-ukraine (~600 video games, $10)

barefootcyborg5000 said:

Im not competitive. Nor am I interested in multiplayer stuff. 
A lack of hardware means no driving sims. And I'd rather explore and strategize anyway. 

Just wanted to follow up on my earlier trucksim suggestion.  Hardware can be cheap.  These things, and similar variants,are everywhere.  Not great for racing but just fine for casual truck stuff.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

For some reason that game has been absolutely everywhere I look. I don't know if the algorithm has me pegged as a HP fan, but there it is, advertised on almost every web page I visit. 
 

Unrelated, anyone know where to find a digital copy of Diablo 1? Apparently blizzard offers nothing and neither computer has an optic drive. 

To answer my own question, and if anyone else is interested...

Apparently Blizzard allows gog.com to sell digital copies of Diablo. Now gog is owned by the folks behind the witcher games, which I'm not familiar with. It is apparently the original 1996 version and commands a whopping $7.99. I'll download that when I get home tonight and see if the magic is still there. I never did beat it, but then I never beat super Mario bros until I was in my 20s. 

So I'm about 4 hours into Diablo. It's fun. When I was a kid I'd always play the warrior because getting started with the sorcerer was so tedious. This time around I'm using the sorcerer and using the patience I've gained with age. So far so good. I also remember to save more frequently. Which is good since I keep dying. I'm down to level 5 and I forgot how stressful it can be. 

This does not bode well

In reply to ProDarwin :

That feels familiar, like I should know the reference, but I've been playing without sound so maybe I've missed it. 

Since this seems to be the most recent catch all for gamers- let me throw a couple in the ring. If you have a switch and switch online, the earthbound series are online, including all of the previously not released in the us versions on the nes and Gameboy.

And then of course, the marquee title, tiny Tina's wonderlands. It's from the borderlands games, but different. It's still a shoot and loot, but there's a lot more rpg elements to it and a focus on goblins and skeletons and stuff as opposed to robots and weird mutants. It's sucked up all my time lately. 

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

Cain the elder says it (and sounds like Sean Connery)

According to the wife's computer, it took me 21 hours to beat Diablo. The last couple levels were very tedious, and I had to escape and resupply several times. 
it's lame that he drops loot but you don't get to grab it before the end scene. 
That was totally worth $7.99. Not sure I want to play the sequels. 

This thread reminds me there was a steam sale on puzzle games this weekend/is still going?

Quantum Conundrum is $0.98 and absolutely worth every penny.