What are you playing?

[The Grimace]

I (sorta) completed Silent Hill: the Short Message a few days ago.

It's a free title exclusive to PlayStation 5 and was touted by its devs and Konami as intentionally being a short narrative-based game.

It was very okay. The narrative kept me playing until nearly the end. It's clearly heavily inspired by Silent Hill 2, and the game's story revolves over the topic of teenage suicide. The story is as respectful to the subject matter as it can be while also raising awareness for suicide prevention. I'd give the plot a 4 out of 5 with its approach.

The gameplay, though... it was bad. It was so bad that I opted not to do the final section and instead chose to watch the ending on YouTube. As a fan of Shattered Memories (the best western Silent Hill imo), I think it is completely possible to make compelling chase-based Silent Hill gameplay, but the Short Message fails. As I played through, any chase sequences gradually got more and more unfun. Each time the player fails, they are forced to redo the sequence until the player succeeds. Instead of being an adrenaline-induced race, it's a time-sensitive puzzle requiring clear memory of the game's setting and surroundings, which is not so easy when everything is dimly lit for ambience.

Not only that, but the final chase sequence is also a hunt for pages- a mechanic out of a poor Slenderman indie title.

The gameplay is so bad that I can't recommend it to anyone, and instead, any curious parties should just watch a Let's Play.

[Selbaek]

The new Diablo IV expansion has me intrigued enough to casually get on and fool around with it here and there. I'm nowhere near anywhere at the point of the expansion area, I've barely even really graced the main story, but I'm having my fun with it. It's a really big world this go around.

There's a new mobile gacha game called "Disney Pixel RPG" that released on Monday, and I've been dipping my toes in that as well. It's by no means a game that's setting - or even meeting - any bars, but it has somehow garnered my interest and kept me engaged for a few days straight now. I go at these games without paying a single penny for as long as it holds my interest. If I make it 30 days, I generally throw them a bone and get something off of the cash shop, but generally I lose interest as the pay wall appears and the freebies are gone. The only gacha game that's kept me interested to do things is Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis - and that's admittedly because it has story elements that add to the main narrative of the full fledged RPG remake series. Regardless, this game seems a bit fairer about its progress system than most others. It may wind up sticking around as another "pooping game" for me.

[The Grimace]

You had my attention with "Pixel." I'll take a look at that when I go on break today.

I got Silent Hill 2 Remake and I'm regretting it. $70 for a game I'm not enjoying as much as the original because the combat is so ever-present. Would not recommend. I could have used that money for a better game... ☹

[The Grimace]

I haven't had much free time lately, but when I do, I have been playing a charming game called "Dungeon Antiqua" on Steam.

It's a mixture of Wizardry and Final Fantasy III, made with the "Pyxel" engine that tries to mimic the development stylings of the NES. The aesthetics look like they would be at home in the NES Final Fantasy Series and the battles work just as well.

It also has the difficulty of Final Fantasy with how restrictive but strategic Jobs are in the game. I recommend people give it a shot of you want some old-school nostalgia.

[Random Encounter]

With everything going on right now, I haven't had much time for personal gaming. But I got completely wrapped up today in the Ode to Castlevania DLC for Vampire Survivors. That new map is so damn good! Really happy with how Konami has worked with the community lately to keep the series alive.