The PG Cooper List Thread: Gamer Days

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Explain

Was this your first anime?

I thought I kinda hid it . Or at least restrained myself.

Anyways just not my cup of tea. Can see why people like it though. Animation is dope.

Leave Marty alone!



So full of hatred.

With ninth generation of gaming upon us, I thought it prudent to look back on the eighth, and rank my...


Top Ten PS4 Games


Some quick notes, this isn't a list of best PS4 exclusives, just best eighth gen games I've played on PS4. I specify that since I don't have a Switch, an Xbox One, or a gaming PC, so if a game was exclusive to one of those platforms, I haven't played it, or at least enough of it to judge it fully. Also, I set a rule for myself that I'd only include one game per developer, with one key exception. Anyway, let's get into it.


10. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain



I talked mad shit about this game on Twitter back in the day and to be sure there are several honourable mentions that almost took the 10th spot. Titanfall 2 has tighter pacing, NieR: Automata bigger emotional pay-off, Marvel's Spider-Man is a lot more consistent all around. But when MGSV gets out of its own way and lets its gameplay do the talking, the results are often sublime. The game gives a huge amount of freedom in how you approach mission objectives, with a rich sandbox of possibility that simply experimenting in proves to be tons of fun. That sense of creativity is a rare thing in the modern open world game and that feeling when your plan comes together perfectly - or not so perfectly and you have to improvise your way out - is truly thrilling. Other games might be more polished and full (it's pretty clear Phantom Pain is unfinished) but if there are any design philosophies I'd like to see iterated on it's the ones on display here.


9. The Last of Us Part II



I went back on forth on which Naughty Dog game I wanted to put on this list. Uncharted 4 offered an excellent emotional payoff to a series I love and was probably more fun to play, but it's more a refinement of the series rather than a substantial evolution. That and, for all its strengths, Uncharted 2 is still the king. The Last of Us Part II might be less to my tastes than Nathan Drake's adventures, but I really admire Naughty Dog's ambitions here. From the days of Crash Bandicoot, the studio's greatest asset has been presentation. Uncharted brought slick Hollywood production values, the first Last of Us elevated acting in videogames, and Part II now expands the structure of videogame storytelling. The way the game splits at the halfway mark to retell the story from a new perspective is more aligned with cinema or even literature than it is traditional gaming, resulting in an incredibly rich and well-developed story. The acting remains as powerful as ever, and on a gameplay level, clear effort was made to expand the stealth combat. This isn't exactly The Phantom Pain but the new tools do add a lot to encounters. The release of this game was and is marred by controversy, some legitimate, some less so, but in the moments I had my hands on the controller, I was enthralled.


8. Rocket League



I thought it worthwhile to include a multiplayer game on this list and while Helldivers put up a good fight, I had to go Rocket League. "Soccer with bumper cars", the mixture of unique concept and easy to pick up intuitive gameplay make the game immediately tantalizing. No where else are you gonna find this specific type of fun, and yet the core rules are so familiar that within seconds of loading a game virtually anyone will figure out what to do. Despite this simplicity, the skill cap for Rocket League is remarkably high, to the point that when you feel yourself really gaining control of movements and outcomes the results are borderline euphoric. That all said, it's the scrappiness that I really value here. The game releasing free to PSPlus users led to a massive audience eager to jump in yet utterly inexperienced. Those early days where no one really knew what they were doing are some of the most pure fun I've ever had playing videogames. In the years since, the community has solidified, with leagues and unlockables and a fairly in-depth trading system, but it was those simple early days that locked Rocket League's place here.

7. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice



Had I not recently replayed Sekiro there's a decent chance it wouldn't have made this list. I certainly loved the game's rich lore and sense of exploration the first go around, but I also found myself frustratingly beaten by the final two bosses. It took a second playthrough to really master the combat and I'm glad I did. Finally kicking Sword Saint Isshin's ass (not to mention The Demon of Hatred and Owl (Father)) gave me maybe the greatest sense of accomplishment I've ever got from a videogame. From Software's games are all about reward through hardship and the demands of Sekiro push that to a new level. Less I make the game's pleasures sound masochistic, I gotta stress that for as tense as they combat is, it is also ridiculously satisfying. Beyond that, I can't help but appreciate the risks From Software took with this game. The Japanese developer are in a position where they could probably coast a bit if they wanted to, pumping out sequels to their beloved IPs or clones, but they didn't. Sekiro definitely shares DNA with Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but it also plunges into new territory that the creative team had to know would alienate some of their fanbase. At a time when gaming is marred by grotesque levels of micro-transactions, IP whoring, and generally anti-consumer practices, the passion From Soft show to make new, great games is worth cherishing.


6. Undertale



I've only just recently played Undertale for the first time and it more than lives up to its glowing reputation. What's interesting is, on the surface, the game doesn't seem that remarkable. Retro indies are nothing new and metatextual commentary on interactivity has been seen from even the biggest of AAA gaming. What makes Undertale so compelling is the surprising depth of its emotional power. The minimal aesthetic and ostensible cuteness suggests a certain wholesomeness and while that is valid, there are layers of darkness at the core of Undertale that are difficult to shake. Much as the fantastic writing defines the world and amazing cast of characters, what makes the darkness and joy of Undertale so profound is how it's reflected in interactivity. The game's story, world, and basic gameplay changes massively based on the choices you make, and no matter how careful you think are in undoing the mistakes you regret, Undertale remembers. I'm all about what developers like Naughty Dog can do with their high-tech presentation, but the emotions Undertale instills with context, gameplay, and pixel art are as profound as anything in The Last of Us. In more ways than one, Undertale is a testament to why we play videogames at all. Also that score is just so good.

Since this new generation of consoles I have completely gone over to being a filthy casual gamer (I know I know...) But sekiro really interests me.

Is it at all for casual gamers? Maybe can I lower the difficulty to just slice my way through it? I've been advised against it repeatedly but dang it I wanna slice some folks.

Have you played any of the Dark Souls games?



Drac might be right. There's no way to change the difficulty, and unlike Dark Souls which offers all sorts of ways to mitigate the challenge (summoning help, grinding souls to level up, looking up the best weapons, exploiting ai/design flaws) the only way forward in Sekiro is "gettin gud", as it were. Attack power and health only increase from killing bosses and mini-bosses (for the most part) and while you can use xp to level up, it's mostly to unlock new abilities rather than making you actually stronger. That said, the game isn't completely cruel. Definitely some difficulty spikes but if you stick with it there's no challenge you can't overcome.

Ghost of Tsushima would be a good alternative though. Can be played a lot more casually while still having meaty combat. As for as open world games where you check all the boxes off the map, it's pretty fun.

I have played zero PS4 games, but Metal Gear should probably be #1

You've just convinced me its number 1.