Stately Scrying: What we're playing this weekend

Front Page Discussion
#1

Originally published at: https://statelyplay.com/2019/01/25/stately-scrying-what-were-playing-this-weekend-31/

Okay, so scrying took a month off, but we’re back now and that’s what really matters, no? Hello? Okay, I get it, you’ve moved on. You’ve started reading what other non-professional, second-rate gaming blogs are doing this weekend. It’s okay. I understand. That said, can’t you make room in your weekend-prognostications for little ol’ Stately Play? I think (hope) you can.

Destiny 2

Against my better judgment, I’ve decided that 2019 will be the year I get into Destiny 2 on PC. I’ve got a couple friends who play a lot, and I figure I can use their knowledge to get me through the mountain of inscrutable jargon and submechanics caked onto what seems to be a pretty fun loot-n-shoot. I know some folks here have some experience with the game, too, so any advice is welcome.

-Tanner Hendrickson

Borderlands 2 and Silent Abyss

I’m playing a lot of Borderlands 2 like it’s 2012. Can it be 2012 again? On iOS I’ve been messing around with Silent Abyss. I like the two-character gameplay and how card-modification works. It’s not the best roguelike deckbuilder on mobile but it’s well worth $1.

-Nick Vigdahl

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Legends of Andor, Bridge Constructor: Portal, Golan ’73, and War Chest

I’m still assassinating my way through Ancient Greece on PS4 (which is really making me want to go on a Mediterranean cruise some day), and will doubtless continue this weekend. Recent iOS acquisitions of Andor and Bridge Constructor: Portal are offering me novelty on the iPad. Fortunately, my weekend need not involve Super Smash Bros; a neighbor brought that over last night, and my kids got so worked up playing it my daughter had to take a shower afterward. I’d been considering a purchase, but even the kids clearly found it too intense.

On tabletops, everything’s coming up Milhouse. I rearranged furniture so I now have a good space to do solo gaming without resorting to the basement, so I’m finally making progress on learning GMT’s FAB system with Golan ‘73. My son gave me the gift every gaming dad wants, by pulling out my recent acquisition, War Chest, asking to learn the game, then immediately asking for a second play. So War Chest is aces in my book, and I’m hoping for more. I’ll need to find better ways to handicap it, though, because I kind of murdered him.

-Kelsey Rinella

Divinity: Original Sin 2

I’m trying to get through all those games that I’ve once started and put back on the shelf. Kerbal Space Program was the latest, but this week I got the RPG bug and decided to pick up one that had earned raves when released, and I ignored due to its lack of a Mac version. Well, it’s still not out on Mac (it should be soon), but I have a Windows desktop now, so I’m playing it there. It’s…good. I think. I mean, the world is insanely detailed and the graphics are ridiculous considering my last big RPG experience was back in the Infinity Engine days.

I still don’t have my head wrapped around the world’s mechanisms. Like, what attributes do what to what skills and whatever. It’s definitely not D&D. I’m also having issues that come from being old and having kids. You just can’t get into a game this big in 15-30 minute chunks, so trying to get epic-length play sessions in is tough. I get tired. Seriously. Thus, things are beginning to drag, and I’m still in the first area with no clue of how long it will take me to escape. Oh, and the 3D camera is, for some reason, causing nausea even though it’s not a first player game. I hate my life.

Anyway, it seems awesome and I’m going to try and get as far as I can before reporting back next Friday.

-Dave Neumann

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#2

More Tank Warfare: Tunisia 1943 for me. Maybe some of the older Operation Star, too. Also trying to get an Amiga emulator to work (which is a huge pain in the ass, it turns out).

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#3

With the cold weather here, I’ll be spending the weekend bunkered in with the just released Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 on my Windows PC, purging and cleansing xenos and heretics. When relaxing in the La-Z-Boy recliner, it will be with the Switch, slaying demons in Diablo III’s Season 16. :sunglasses:

#4

The first month of the year isn’t even finished yet and I’m already declaring Subnautica the front-runner for my personal game of the year list. No matter what other games I’d like to play - Diablo 3 comes to mind - I’ll likely end up back underwater. It doesn’t help that my kids absolutely love watching me play.

Tomorrow the kids have ski school and I tend to sit by the fire in the lodge reading or on my iPad for 5 hours. I’ll likely learn Legends or Andor and will possibly dabble in some Forma.8. Unless my finger wanders to that Civ VI icon like it so frequently does.

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#5

I’m playing Alien blackout which I’m surprisingly liking A TON.
I’ve read it’s not a long game (LOL I’m actually over 2 hours in and still in level 2) and I’ll most surely dive into Legends of Andor next.

#6

Anthem demo

#7

Looking forward to hearing what people think of Legends of Andor–I have held off thus far. I picked up Partia 3 though (because I love Fire Emblem, and the dev is just one guy doing it on his own) and am looking forward to getting into that. I anticipate it will be like playing one of the GBA versions of FE on my ipad, which seems awesome to me.

#8

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I guess I’d better be!

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#9

Resident Evil 2 is everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman. She’s cold, uncaring, oppressive, and intimidating. She rewards preparation and forethought, and punishes risk-taking harshly. She’s sometimes arbitrary and demanding, full of horrors one minute, and generous and nurturing the next, dispensing rewards in irregular bursts that makes me want to hoard them against future withdrawals of affection. Codependency has never been more complete.

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#10

UPDATE: I am fortune’s fool.

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#11

Legends of Andor is superb. I just came off an overnight flight where I got far too little sleep because of it. I’d never played the board game but it seems an ideal fit for mobile. Clever mechanics that make you think without being overly complex. The app is really slick but could use an ‘undo’ button.

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#12

I am reflecting on whether I should keep playing Marvel strike Force. Up to 278 days played and really feels chore like.

I don’t think I have ever played a game with that much intensity for that long before. Not a single log on missed!!!

Thoughts? How do you normally fall off your free to play addictions?

#13

Fortunately, my weekend need not involve Super Smash Bros; a neighbor brought that over last night, and my kids got so worked up playing it my daughter had to take a shower afterward. I’d been considering a purchase, but even the kids clearly found it too intense.

I’ve pulled a muscle in my back laughing at this.

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#14

Let’s see here this weekend my wife is out of town…but I still game a lot. My daughter has lot’s of activities like piano, art class and swimming lessons for me to game during. And with an 8pm bedtime, gaming into the night too.

Mac - D3 Season 16. I only have finished part one of the season journey so far this week. And I still play on Desktop, I just can’t justify buying the same game on multiple platforms. So no Switch D3 for me. Hoping to finish part two of season journey tonight. I took season 15 off, but have up to Destroyer I think on most every other season. I did Necro for Season 14. Doing DH this season.

Switch - We still only have Just Dance 2018, Mario Karts, Pokken Tournament and a couple Zen Pinball games. We will be playing some Dancing and Karting later today.

iPhone - So I have separate out iPhone from iOS now…because I am obsessed with TapTitans2 for about a month now. And I run this game almost constantly. I think of it as a Digital Fidget Spinner with a Strategic-Lite layer (and there is some strategy in builds and stuff).

iPad - I still play 20 or so games of Star Realms at any time, about half are leagues or tournaments. I am now keeping 4 Race for the Galaxy games at all times. 1 with @js619, 2x 3 player games with randoms, and 1x 4 player game with randoms.

Gacha Section - I am still obsessed with “free” to play gacha games with dailies. Solgard, Marvel Strike Force, Star Trek Fleet Command and Epic Seven are all played daily.

There was a period last night after my daughter went to bed that I was grinding D3 rifts leveling, playing StarTrek Fleet command on the iPad, TapTitans2 on the iphone and watching the Nets game all at one time (and I had 3 more screens down here doing nothing…) :grinning:

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#15

iOS: I purged a bunch of games that had been just sitting around. So, I’m going to run through a game of Silent Abyss: Night of Heroes which is a Slay the Spire inspired card roguelite. You get 2 heroes rather than one, and I like the art style. I’m also playing through another Halcyon 6 campaign though I’m very blah about it since it’ll be my 4h time through. There isn’t enough to make each campaign different to me, so it feels like I’m going through the same motions again. Well worth my money, but it’s likely time to retire it. I’m also continuing to flesh out my Ogre Battle inspired game. Progress is steady, and I’m going to need some art soonish.

Switch: As stated in the Stately Switch Games thread, I preordered Wargroove. It looks so good and right up my alley. I’m also playing D3 - decided to try a Wiz this season. Smash continues to be fun (Samus, Ridley, ZSS and Ice Climbers). MHGU I’m still slowly getting through HR6 and Village 9. Also working through Blaster Master Zero and The Messenger. I restarted Hollow Knight but haven’t really dug back in yet.

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#16

I quit games at exactly the point you describe: when they feel like chores. I might scale back to logging in every couple of days and see if the game’s still fun, but I’ll also just quit cold turkey sometimes. There are too many other games to play to keep banging your head against something that feels like work.

However, I usually keep those games installed in case I decide to go back. The first time I quit Gems of War, I returned about six months later, and getting back in was a bit of a pain.

#17

Oh, man Blaster Master was one of my favorite games growing up. Never did beat it. Damn, I wish I had a Switch, now.

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#18

It’s also on 3DS. Same game.

I really liked all the updates and how well they kept it true to the original while upgrading just about everything else

#19

I don’t have one of those, either!

#20

Thanks for the support :). I dropped them all that day, deleted and haven’t looked back

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