I’m also not a fan of the SMS verification. It doesn’t matter to me, but my son can’t play because he doesn’t have a phone. I think Blizzard is going to get enough pushback on this one, though, that it will change.
Can you use a phone with dual SIM just for the activation?
They just announced today that they are changing it for anyone that had a battle net account already won’t need the SMS verification.
We have made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players. Any Overwatch player with a connected Battle.net account, which includes all players who have played since June 9, 2021, will not have to provide a phone number to play. We are working to make this change and expect it to go live on Friday, October 7. We will update players once it is in effect.
And I just read that the change is live.
I don’t have one. I suppose he could use my wife’s number as she will never be playing Overwatch…
It sounds like you just need to get your son a cell phone. I mean, obvious solution.
Kidding!!
Based on a conversation a few weeks ago with @geigerm and @Mirefox in the Stately Play Journalism thread…I went and finished SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech.
This might be the first RPG I have actually started and finished in a decade? Seriously, I never finish anything. So it felt strange to see the credits roll.
It was a good game, about 21 hours of actual play time on that run.
I like the game, I think my only problem with it is that because it is a deckbuilder RPG, but not a roguelike, you end up playing the same decks for a very long time. I guess I could have switched things out more, but once you get 3 decks rolling, there is not a lot of impetus to experiment. So you feel like you are playing a roguelike deckbuilder, but without the experimentation part.
Cute story though and again, only 21 hours of game to finish (which took me only like 2 years to play 
)
I am still deep in on Magic The Gathering at the moment, keeping up my daily wins, made it to the Diamond League (one before mythic).
Also playing Symphony of War which is awesome and reccomended, as well as curious expedition 2, which style I love.
I really enjoy this game (and this style) as well : )
Yes, you need to voluntarily change things up just for fun if you don’t want to stick with the same party and decks that you start the game with. The later character have some fun mechanics, though, so it is definitely worth experimenting.
I did not stay with the starting ones, I ended up with Coprenica, Galleo and Tarah/Thayne. But once I had a good setup with them, I never changed anything really from there on out. It was fun though.
Putting aside bugs, server issues, gross monetization, and the awful SMS verification, Overwatch 2 has been fun. Meaning, when you actually get into a game and put all of that stuff behind you it can be fun. But is feels almost exactly like Overwatch 1. I never played the first competitively enough to feel how different the game is with 1 tank instead of 2, but everything else feels very similar. At least when you get the new CoD yearly release you get new maps and new weapons; this is nothing more than a patch to change the game’s launcher…
I’ve been playing Grounded this past week. It’s on gamepass. It’s the first game in the survival genre that I’ve actually played for more than an hour. I would have never tried this game if it hadn’t been for the setting. It takes place in a backyard. You are mysteriously shrunk down to the size of an ant and the shrinking process has left you with temporary amnesia. It has a really cool “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” vibe. And I never would have stuck with the game if the crafting system was obtuse. But crafting was pretty straight forward and intuitive. I didn’t need to go to google to search for crafting/survival tips. I’m shocked that I’m have a lot of fun with the game.
Went to Worlds for the Star Wars CCG this week, because it was in Atlanta and I live nearby. Didn’t participate in the main event, but did do a Cube event where you draft decks together. Very interesting experience, glad I did it.
Speaking of CCG events, anyone else here going to Vegas for the MTG 30 event? I had a buddy talk me into going.
Well, I wrapped up Symphony of War - would recommend based on the character classes and mechanics.
I then bought and refunded Hard West 2 on steam, and also Jaws of the Lion…. Didn’t click on Hard West and couldn’t face Gloomhaven…
So I have moved to my back catalogue of Switch games. I have Triangle Strategy / Octopath Traveller / Final Fantasy X to wrap up.
Started on Triangle Strategy and oh my god the set up is just talk talk talk…
The older I get the harder it is for me to get into RPGs that are nonstop talking. I think it’s more of a time thing. If I find 45 minutes to sit down with a game, spending 40 of that on dialogue isn’t fun.
This is what’s kept me from making the purchase on this. I played the demo, and it was good, but so…much…dialogue. And that is not usually a complaint I have about a game–I play VNs a lot, in fact.
If you make it very far into the game, I for one would be very curious about what you think, as I’ve really been on the fence about this one.
Will let you know!
So I flew to Vegas today and it was my first time traveling with a Steam Deck and that is just wonderful!
I played a bunch of Vampire Survivors. My nephew had bought it for me. I would have told you I would have hated it…but damn that is some addictive fun. And works great on the Steam Deck.
I fired up a run of Monster Train, only because we were talking about it on here this morning, but I had a bad run.
I spent the rest of the trip playing Aria Chronicle which is like a JRPG, Darkest Dungeon mashup that seems pretty cool so far, but I am only a couple hours into it.
I was really hoping you’d report back about the steamdeck experience, but I didn’t want to ask because traveling is complicated enough… Glad it’s been great!
So a little big for the tray table if you are going to have anything on the tray table with it. So a drink + Steam Deck was difficult. I had a sandwich with me and had to put the SD away. But if I had been watching something on my iPad that I downloaded from Netflix, I could have managed it being on the tray table alongside my sandwich. But other than that, once I found the place to turn it into airplane mode (or games won’t load because they can’t find Steam) it was great. I had it plugged in the whole time I was warned that the power might not be enough, but it kept at full charge.