The silksong community is one of my favorite of all time for years now. Every couple of weeks a new “theme” of insane shitposting evolves. Most fun and creative silly posting I’ve ever seen.

One common post is “_____ every day until silksong comes out”. People are doing fanart challenges, one guy posts a video of himself petting a cat every day which is very popular. The cat had to get a surgery at one point and needed a cone but was fine.

It’s not just noise. It brings people a lot of joy. There’s been several posts over the years from people basically grieving the potential loss/change of the community once the game actually drops. I’ll miss it, too

No no it’s good, this is actually better than them making a proper announcement. Community loves this shit.

Quick summary:

Dev changes name, handle, and pfp on twitter. Posts a cryptic message about keeping your eyes closed tomorrow.

Reverse image search of pfp leads to a recipe released April 2nd

Cryptic message appears to be a reference to an Imagine Dragons thing from April 2nd

“Tomorrow” was interpreted as being related to the big switch 2 reveal, launching April 2nd

The name and handle also appear to be references to things having to do with April 2nd

The community is ablaze right now. Without a hint of irony: there is more genuine belief in the game actually coming out this time than there was before the original delay was announced in 2023, back when we had an official release date

Silksong launch title?

Christmas has come early!

Now this is a list! Thank you, based on the few I have played here I can’t wait to check out the rest

Yea! An all time favorite, but I played it a long time ago. I wanted to keep my little list just to recent games. Irl I am very annoying about recommending OW to everyone, as well as its dlc which continued to blow me away

Lots of people have replied with similar experiences.

But personally? I’m having the time of my life currently playing tons of new games. I love trying new ones and getting surprised, and maybe falling in love with a genre I hadn’t considered before.

I feel totally contrary to what others are saying: as I’ve gotten older, I find myself enjoying games way more. My time is more valuable to me now than ever before, so I want to fill it with things that are joyful and meaningful. Often those things are art. Games to me have always been very special in the way they can deliver a powerful artistic experience.

I think they also have a special power to be blatant disgusting soulless cash grabs, to be fair. As the years go by I feel like many aspects of the industry have become particularly unpalatable. But many studios are still releasing good games, and so far I’ve continued to find joy in seeking them out.

Not too many people on this post are actually listing games. So, in no particular order, here are some games I absolutely adored that I played recently. Games from the last ~year that have touched and moved me in some way. Experiences I don’t think I’ll forget.

Sable
Chicory: A colorful tale
Manifold Garden
Signalis
OneShot
The Talos Principle
Night in the Woods
Citizen Sleeper
Webbed
Rusted Moss
Armored Core VI
Iron Lung
Slay the Princess
Ghostrunner
Mundaun
Crosscode
Eastward
Animal Well
Pseudoregalia
Dave the Diver
Nine Sols
Patrick’s Parabox
Cocoon
Smushi Come Home

Not to imply that I expect you or anyone else to take a deep look here or to try any of these games. Just wanted to throw my perspective out there, and to show the games in concrete terms that have left an impression and continue to motivate me to keep looking and keep trying more

Oh, the mechanics are superb. I also didn’t see it from the trailer, and originally got the game based on the art alone lol.

But the gameplay feels absurdly good. The main hook I would say is the talisman system. When you parry attacks, you build up charges of what is essentially an explosive that you can then use an another offensive option. Not only that, but it’s applied via a dash, which is a movement option (and can be used to do some cheeky sequence breaking outside of combat, if you’re into that sort of thing in these games). There’s an upgrade tree with several options for it that affect gameplay in a huge way as well.

Other than that I mean, I just like everything about the game. The story was well constructed and emotional. The characters are well designed, especially the bosses who are not just enemies but important characters in the story. The boss fights themselves as I mentioned. Music got me going. Environments are jaw dropping.

To give voice to the other commenter who bounced off the game after 4 hours, it has overwhelmingly positive reviews on steam but even among the good reviews a common complaint is that the game takes a fairly long time to spin up. There’s a lengthy linear section before you get some more freedom of exploration, and even then it never becomes the game’s strongest point. It also takes a long time to get certain essential upgrades. I think this is a good thing in terms of boss design, but can feel like somewhat of a slog if you’re experienced with metroidvanias and really just want your basic dash and double jump etc.

It’s a long game, took me around 40 hours. But I enjoyed it very much in the beginning, and continued to enjoy it more as I progressed and unlocked things. I went in with no expectations however, and was surprised as the game organically developed from “cool little project I’m supporting because I like the genre and the cat is cute”, to “possibly my favorite action game since sekiro”. I hope I’m not doing a disservice by setting expectations too high! But in the end, yes I was left feeling like it was that good

This is purely conspiratorial but I think given the studio’s notable previous controversy, they probably excluded it because Wukong has such a prominent presence this year.

Other than that, yeah it just doesn’t make sense to me. Nine sols has better sales and reviews than other games being honored

My GOTY personally. Left a really strong impression. Combat is an absolute joy, and the boss fights are my favorite since Sekiro. Story and atmosphere are incredible, you can at times really feel that this is a studio accustomed to making horror games.

They totally nailed it, in other words. Great post-release support as well. Can’t wait to see what they do next

Absolute banger of a game. Loved it when it first launched, excited to jump back in with the new content. Just in time for Halloween, too

For me personally, the solution I prefer to see for “Our idea for this game is shaping up to be packed full assets that will swamp development” is for them to find some excuse to cut the content. Genuinely. Artistry thrives in the presence of limitations.

Have an AI naturally grow the forest. Wait, there are plenty of games already doing that

What games out of curiosity? You don’t just mean normal procedural generation which has been around forever? It’s not the same as using AI to generate a million different haircuts.

Honestly I’ve done just about everything over the years except ultimates (I play with IRL friends and I’m happy if we can clear a savage tier lol)

If I had to pick a “main” activity I think it would be parsing tbh, I really enjoy chasing the numbers. I level up all jobs and also try to perfect at least the basic rotation for all of them. I’ll hang out on party finder and jump into extreme farms on off jobs to practice.

But there’s also been months where I’ve done nothing but like, ocean fishing, diadem, pvp (I love crystal conflict, best part about endwalker to me) and so on. That’s been one of my favorite things about the game; you can get totally wrapped up in a huge project. Almost like you can play the game to take a break from playing the game. Just recently we’ve gotten into treasure maps, super chill

Sorry, I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking. The games being too similar is an issue, not something I wanted

I genuinely hate it lol, as do all of my friends IRL.

We’re all huge into 14, which was produced by the same team. I mention it because there’s a ton of overlap with 14. The cinematography in the cutscenes and even the emotes the characters use feel lifted straight from the older game. The structure of the combat segments is also uncannily similar, they feel a lot like 14 dungeons. So, my group generally felt like the game got stale really quickly, which colored our impression as a whole.

The moment-to-moment gameplay also feels like a hyper simplified version of the “rotation” system in 14. You have a basic filler combo, and larger more powerful moves that can only be used again after a long cooldown timer. I found it to be under-stimulating, even after unlocking a few more things.

The story was awesome in the segments covered by the free trial, but then everything after that just kind of slipped off my brain. More than anything, I remember side quests in particular were really boring to the point where it felt like a joke.

We were really hyped and really really wanted to like the game when we first heard about it, and we were super hyped after playing the demo, but in the end it just felt like a really unpleasant slog to actually play.

At the same time however I can totally see why people do really enjoy the game. I think it’s a divisive release, and often the people who love/hate it will cite the exact same things but paint them in a different light. I ultimately wouldn’t not recommend the game, I think $50 is a really fair price for it too for what you’re getting

I’m still crying about that :( olli olli world is such an incredible fucking game. I had just bought rollerdrome when I heard the news

Surprised by how much he adores the game, I usually expect super harsh criticism no matter what lol.

Personally Nine Sols hit super good. A bit early to tell, as it’s still brand new, but it might be in my top 5 games of all time. Highly recommended if you’re on the fence

Hey, just wanted to add that it’s not just an optional player-made challenge, but actually an in-game achievement/trophy!

Hey, Outer Wilds super fan here. Bought the game twice, recommend it to everyone, etc.

I’ve seen a couple people bounce off the game because of the space flight, which is totally valid! It’s legitimately very difficult, doubly so if it’s your first time doing a zero G type of thing.

I’ve also seen people thoroughly enjoy the game despite crashing into everything! So that’s possible, too. I wish I knew the secret to making it click, as I think once the story really gets its hooks in you it’s one of the most rewarding experiences out there.

With all that being said, a couple tips:

The autopilot let me crash into stuff blocking its path so I gave up on that too.

Don’t give up on auto pilot! I simply can’t imagine traveling between planets without it.

You just have to keep in mind that the auto pilot isn’t intelligent. When you activate it, it does exactly three things: it lines you up, it accelerates you, then it slows you down to a stop in front of your destination. You have to watch and be willing to interrupt it if it looks like you’re going to crash into a planet or the sun. You also have to make sure you’re reasonably far away from a planet before activating it in the first place. Once you’re there, keep a close eye on your instruments and just guide the ship in slowly until you can land.

Even if you don’t have any obstacles, the auto pilot can still rarely result in a crash in certain scenarios where the planet is orbiting directly at you. This is especially prevalent with the twin planets.

But the game is designed with crashes of all sorts in mind! Make sure to always put your suit on immediately when you first enter it on Timber Hearth. That way you can abandon the ship if necessary. There’s even a working eject button!

I hope things work out, but best of luck no matter what you end up doing!

I guess I just don’t really resonate with that idea, personally.

In Nine Sols you can turn on story mode and access sliders to adjust the combat however you want. It disables boss achievements. I’m still perfectly able to enjoy the intended experience regardless of what anyone else does.

Coming from someone who buys every fromsoft game day 1 and enjoys them thoroughly as-is, at this point I genuinely think it’s just a marketing thing. Pretty much every other game has accessibility options, and you really never see anyone complaining about it as if it somehow ruined the game for them. On the contrary, other communities are proud of the accessibility options and are glad to welcome all different types of players.

I mean, that’s what the person above me was specifically replying to.

Does it affect you in any way that they were able to enjoy the game via the easy mode mod? Would it have affected you if that setting was just available in the menu?

As someone who has never used story mode/easy mode options, I agree with you completely.

Nine Sols, Celeste, Hades. Some of my favorite ‘hardcore’ games with great stories and great difficulty options. The only result of their presence is letting more people play the games who wouldn’t have otherwise. I don’t feel like my experience is cheapened in any way if others use the options.

And even if I don’t use them now, maybe there comes a day when my hands can’t keep up anymore, and I’ll be very grateful to be able to keep participating in my favorite hobby. Just an unambiguous good imo

This is “announcing I will be stepping down” material for sure, dear lord. Never seen a more ridiculous or predictable disaster

I bought it on release, love it to bits and pieces, but I mean, it’s a single player game lol. No issue waiting for a sale. I’m kind of the opposite tho lol, after how hard STP hit I bought their other game just to support the devs and am waiting for it to come out of early access before I actually play it.

I’m curious as to where you got that impression, I wasn’t sure if anyone even really played it

I work hard for my money. I do not like spending it on games that barely function. I stopped buying 3rd party games of any variety on switch because of how many times I was burned by awful performance.

Even 1st party games now. I liked TotK a lot, but frankly it’s difficult to love a game when multiple areas are plagued with nausea inducing frame drops.

Like how has it become acceptable to even publish a game that can’t hold stable 30fps at not-even-real-1080p? Not asking for the world here.

I’d be half inclined to buy a switch 2 if they told me it could actually run my switch 1 library with any faint semblance of competence. But I think I’ll probably pass on this one, especially with the steam deck and other competitors right there. I doubt the switch 2 will be a price-for-performance powerhouse. Would love to be proven wrong though

There hasn’t really been a single point since the game released almost nine years ago where its player count has dropped below current levels (20-40k active players). There was a huge boost with the update but it’s back to normal levels now. Can check steamdb for yourself to confirm

That’s another exceptionally boring game, though.

Just checking some random games:

Sekiro is currently sitting at 92% players lost from its peak after five years

Spiritfarer is at 80%

Hollow Knight has only lost 63% of players

Witcher 3 also lost 80%, and actually has a larger active player base (in number of players, not proportionally) right at this moment than HL, despite being years older and peaking significantly lower

Crosscode! To me it’s the ultimate hidden gem, as I hardly see people talking about it but most of the people who do play it go on to rate it as one of their favorite games. Especially if you like story focussed action-rpgs, I bet you’ll dig it. It’s also got somewhat of a zelda element with puzzles and dungeons

The game itself is also a ps5 exclusive currently I believe, with plans to eventually come to other platforms. So maybe just some weird technical disclaimer?

Skyrim is even topping Starfield’s player numbers now lol, at least on steam

Many who remain actively want to spread hate

This is Stryker on Crash FM, covering all things Burnout. It’s about causing as much damage as possible. SMASH into the crash junction, grab whatever pickups you can, and watch the greatest crashing chain-reaction ever. Want Rock? Crash!

Well, it kind of is, but in a roundabout way.

It doubles in strength and I think is unbreakable inside the final dungeon and possibly against guardians as well. Can tell for sure because it starts glowing

The weapons breaking and stuff is whatever, eventually you just tune it out. They shower you with new stuff constantly, so the idea is to use a little of everything. No comment on whether that’s a good or bad thing, it’s probably the most divisive part of the game. Just is what it is.

You do get permanent loot in the form of clothing (which can have interesting special properties) and powers and such

Instead of typing with letters we could perhaps invent a type of joystick-centric gestural language, similar to inputting tricks in a skateboarding game

Is that really how it works? That seems like a pretty egregious oversight if so, couldn’t groups of people bankrupt devs, especially small ones with small file size games that are easy to reinstall over and over?

I agree, I’m glad games like this (and baldur’s gate!) are enjoying so much success and attention right now. It’s better for everyone if we have a variety of polished experiences in different genres.

That being said I don’t often find myself enjoying turn based games lol. Even going back to the super nintendo, I massively preferred Secret of Mana (with it’s real time combat system) to Final Fantasy. There’s just something extremely satisfying to me about a well done action-oriented RPG, where you feel like your skills are improving alongside your character’s.

“Well done” is not to be overlooked, of course. I was quite disappointed with final fantasy 16, as it truly did just feel like mashing buttons

Sooooooo good. You could spend hours just in the paint/decal creator, but even aside from that, the actual parts you choose have a huge impact on your gameplay.

The missions have a lot of variety, so, especially if you replay missions for the best rank, you can’t really rely on a single build for every mission. The game actively encourages you to experiment and try new things constantly.

Gamefeel is so on point. Fast zippy mechs with quick weapons make you feel like a speed demon. Heavy builds like OP pictured make you feel like the iron giant lol. Absolutely amazing game, they knocked it out of the park

This is my first one as well, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything