Darth_Navster

If you have a Switch (or any platform really) I’d recommend Stardew Valley. Definitely a game you can unwind to.

PC: navster15

PSN: navster15

XBox: Darth Navster

Hit me up. I'm down to play on any platform.

Surprising that this isn't being talked about more. I hopped on Battle Royale this week and I'm obsessed. Yeah, it's probably what the PUBG fan base felt months ago, but this is the version my friends are into. Being free and on console are key IMHO.

Based on Epic's servers getting overwhelmed last night I suspect there are plenty of duders playing the game. What say you GB community? Is this the new king of the kill? Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Trek, although I fully accept that it is mostly due to which side of the Atlantic I'm on.

I think I mentioned this in a previous thread, but I feel like I vibe with quite a few of the staff in my gaming preferences. Jeff is ride or die for Forza and shooters like Titanfall, so I'm with him on that. I groove with Vinny in my love of narrative heavy and weird games. With Alex, I appreciate his knowledge of sports games. And I've totally gone down rabbit holes with Overwatch and Stardew Valley just like Dan.

I can't say I'm all that in sync with Brad, although his championing of Banjo-Kazooie: N&B early in the site's life has forever endeared me to him. Jason can get a bit obscure with his love of Japanese-ass Japan games, but I vibe with him being a Vita-stan. Ben and Abby are still new, but for the most part I like what they have to say about games.

And of course there's Rorie. Him being attached to Alpha Protocol (AKA the GOAT) and his love of puppies makes him the real talk best duder. NO ONE DENIES THIS!

I'm currently going through Torment: Tides of Numenara, but I'm definitely going to give Divinity a shot soon enough. Just a question; is it worth it to pay the first one before jumping into the sequel?

Brilliant. Transcendent. Prescient. I loved MGS 2 when it first came out and my appreciation for it has only grown in the time since. It's existence is a rebuke to the very concept of video game sequels, and it happened at a time where video games sorely needed a shakeup.

All that said, I have very little faith that Death Stranding will rise above Kojima's typical bullshit. It may end up being a fascinating mess, but I emphasize the second word in that description.

In addition to all of the above suggestions, maybe give the Game Pass free trial a shot. Seeing as you have not played a ton of recent games it may end up being a good value for you.

@nicksmi56: What special magic does Nintendo or Sony provide that makes Uncharted or Zelda "better"? Would the developers not be able to tap into their creativity the same way if they weren't making a platform exclusive? If we're talking about budget and scale, there are plenty of third party developers creating massivegames and/or games with cutting edgegraphics. If Nintendo or Sony were to go bankrupt tomorrow the people behind their incredible games won't disappear, and I doubt that they would stop creating just because they would have to draw a paycheck elsewhere.

As for your Skyrim example, you do realize that is only a small part of Bethesda? In addition to re-releasing old games (a practice that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are guilty of), they also published DOOM, Wolfenstein: The New Order, and Prey, all games that most people would agree are good to great. They, like every publisher, are driven by the fickle gaming market to put out top quality software. Voila, the free market at work!

Finally, of course platform holders want to sell their $500 boxes, and I don't see how my argument negates that. There remains a contingent of players who don't want to deal with PC gaming, and so Microsoft makes a box for them. Will it sell PS4 numbers? Probably not, but it will make that contingent happy while also pleasing PC players with Play Anywhere. In the end, that approach would make them far more money and would please far more people than keeping things Xbox exclusive and selling marginally more units at a break-even (or loss-leading) price.

@nicksmi56: Just because a corporation benefits from a policy does not mean that it can't be consumer friendly. The two are not mutually exclusive!

How does Play Anywhere reduce competition? The studios must still compete in a crowded software marketplace for consumer dollars and, as such, are still subject to a free market. What would prevent Nintendo from making good Mario games if they didn't have a platform to push? Do publishers like Bethesda and Devolver produce subpar work because they don't have their own consoles?

And who cares what the Xbox brand is losing? It's just another corporate logo, same as Nintendo, same as Playstation. The bottom line is that more people get to play more games, which is always a win in my book.