SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Lowell wrote: "Sarah... the information you were given was not correct.

[spoilers removed]"

Well shoot. 🙄 lol. That’s what I get.

lori wrote: "Joon wrote: "...it doesn't feel mean-spirited or deliberately shallow (just inadvertantly shallow). They tried something they maybe weren't equipped to handle cleanly."

I think you hit that nail o..."

Nope- absolutely wasn’t anyone here. It happened around the time Origins came out. But thanks for the concern!

And I sympathize with the opposite reaction too- I just don’t think (view spoiler)[changing characters mid story is ever a good idea. I can think of FOUR games where this has been pulled and in three of four cases I quit before the end because I just refused to play beyond that point. The fourth game I probably would have quit early but that was the one I didn’t spoil for myself 😂. I had serious trust issues after that. (hide spoiler)]

Honestly I think Origins had the wrong main character anyway. Should have been the other person the whole time. Would have made a better story I think.

lori wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I can think of FOUR games where this has been pulled..."

I can't remember this happening in any of my games. Can I get spoilers? I'm so intrigued..."

I just googled this, found a few lists that go through games that do this, and I guess there are a lot more than I remembered. I guess I don't really notice it when it's just for a little while (for example, Catwoman in Arkham City.) They're just little diversions to break the pace of the game I guess.

A few Rockstar games have done it. A few Naughty Dog games. Assassin's Creed 3 did it to pretty good effect, but it was early on. Who can forget the Joker sequence in Mass Effect 2.

Joon wrote: "Honestly I think Origins had the wrong main character anyway. Should have been the other person the whole time. Would have made a better story I think."

I wouldn’t even disagree with this- I think my objection is just that I get attached. I saw a theory that the other character was actually cannon and Ubisoft defaulted to a male lead for fear of putting some of their fans off.

lori wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I can think of FOUR games where this has been pulled..."

I can't remember this happening in any of my games. Can I get spoilers? I'm so intrigued...

@Joon: I agree!"

Yes- but consider yourself warned- some of these are major spoilers!

(view spoiler)[
Assassin’s Creed Origins - switch from Bayek to his wife (Aya?)
Red Dead Redemption: Switch from John Marston to his son, who was just a horrendous character to play. Granted - you don’t play him for very long in the story mode, but you are stuck with him post story.
Red Dead Redemption 2: Switch from Arthur to John Marston - who by then Rockstar managed to make look awful, just whiny and irresponsible and uncaring.
The Last of Us 2: probably the most grievous offense since fans were promised Ellie’s story. I know what they were trying to do and can respect that, I just cared very little for the other character and nothing was going to make me sympathize with them after some of those opening scenes. (hide spoiler)]

This is just my own preference though- I tend to get too attached to fictional characters 😂. They’re all great games and well worth playing to form your own opinion.

I also want to note that I don’t have a problem with this if the expectation is there from the beginning.

Ugh, Sarah, that sucks if that's what actually happened to the Origins main character - I am with Joon in wishing it had been the other way round. But like lori, I would even have been okay with (view spoiler)[more Aya time that wasn't on the fucking ships. I was really hoping that at some point you'd be able to go back and play through some of the assassinations she carried out, for instance. (hide spoiler)]

It’s just one fan theory of why Origins was set up that way given Aya’s part seems more significant in the overall cannon. Ubisoft has never come out and said that to my knowledge. I do believe Kassandra and female Eivor were cannon in Odyssey and Valhalla so I guess the option to choose is progress though?

And I don’t mean to disservice the fan base- I think I worded that wrong (and will edit) but more that Ubisoft interpreted it that way.

lori wrote: "@Sarah, I actually played the middle 2 and didn't think about them! Well, mostly I watched my spouse play because I still stink at free aiming in games and those were especially hard. The first lef..."

I think the middle two probably do it best- and I was half expecting it with the second game but hoping they wouldn’t go that route. (view spoiler)[As much as I loved John, I LOVED Arthur. I just hated playing through and seeing him get progressively more sick. And I highly recommend The Last of Us- especially the first game! The second one is still good, just not the masterpiece the first one is. (hide spoiler)]

I just got to England (in AC: Valhalla).

I don't know what I was worried about. This is already one of the most beautiful game worlds I've ever seen.

Part of me wants to stop playing Valhalla until I get an Xbox Series X. This game looks so good.

As for me, I don't play games on the consoles I'm a PC gamer. Currently, I'm playing Baldur's Gate 3 Early access and I like it so far even with the bugs which are to be expected on an EA game.

I finally started on Hades, having picked it up in the steam winter sale..

And wow. Just wow. Good gameplay loop, incredibly good art, and all around engaging. Made 3 hours just FLY by. Totally recommended for ARPG / Roguelite type players.

Well now looks like I might have to add that one there to my collection. Need something new to play while waiting for Baldur's Gate 3 to update

Hello there, beloved gamers!

I am trying to catch up with some games I've been rejecting for a few months and now that I'm currently playing them, I'm remembering how great they are - some more than others though.

As for PS4, I'm currently playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Assassin's Creed Valhalla. About the second one, I had to stop it because I was T I R E D of the constant bugs and whatnot and honestly they were funny at first but at some point get really annoying and tiring. I have no complaints about the Yakuza game tho; I'm loving it and it's probably one of my favourites now.

On my PC I'm playing Mass Effect 2. I've been replaying the trilogy for a few months now and I will probably play the remaster because I'm a big fan of this saga, along with Dragon Age. I totally recommend it!

I also have a Nintendo Switch and sometimes I play Animal Crossing when I have nothing else to do and I'm also trying to catch up with Breath of the Wild.

Love this thread, by the way. I'm looking forward to talk to more people here!

I’m feel like I’m always finishing BOTW, I have two profiles I’m playing - I love that game. I’ll be over here forever waiting for BOTW 2. I did start Hyrule warriors, and it is actually fun couch coop gaming. I also play Dragon Quest, Animal crossing and Mario Kart. Which I guess makes it obvious that I really only play on the switch, lol.

I have been playing a lot of "Cultist Simulator" recently, it's so addictive. It's a single player game with a cardgame style, super beautiful, and you build a cult. When you lose, you can start again and select another "heritage", based on how you lost, with different mechanics. So it has a high replayability.

Daniel wrote: "Hello there, beloved gamers!

I am trying to catch up with some games I've been rejecting for a few months and now that I'm currently playing them, I'm remembering how great they are - some more th..."

Hi Daniel, Nicole, and Ines

As for me I'm a Pc gamer and have been playing Skyrim, The Witcher 3, and Baulders gate 3 with a little bit of DOOM thrown in for extra measure. Hopefully, soon I'm going to be building a new system. That's if and when I can get the parts I want for it. Love to chat and play games my Handle on Steam is DragonMaster if you want to hit me up overthere. Have a wonderful weekend

I keep returning to Skyrim or even Oblivion. I know there has been online Elder Scrolls stuff since - but for me this franchise works best as a single player experience.

I guess I am just waiting for Elder Scrolls VI. That's still a few years off though let's face it.

Sometimes I think it's a race between Elder Scolls VI and the next George RR Martin Song of Fire and Ice novel as to which actually manages to get completed in my lifetime....

New Destiny 2 Season,
WoW,
Dark Souls 3,
Deadspace 1,
Hades,
Blasphemous,
Medium.

Paul wrote: "I keep returning to Skyrim or even Oblivion. I know there has been online Elder Scrolls stuff since - but for me this franchise works best as a single player experience.

I guess I am just waiting..."

I can relate to what you are saying in regards to Skyrim as I've got it moded with about 300 mods. I've also been playing with Baldur's Gate 3 which isn't to bad

well Baldur's Gate 3 is in early access and you can play the first chapter of it. Now a bad game has some bugs but after all its not finished

John wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Hello there, beloved gamers!

I am trying to catch up with some games I've been rejecting for a few months and now that I'm currently playing them, I'm remembering how great they are..."

I played Elder Scrolls Online for a while and I always went solo despite being online... I don't know, maybe I was doing it the wrong way - haha. Well, I had a friend but we couldn't always play together.

I like the immense world it presents, and stories are really well made. I enjoyed the time I played there.

But yes, solo games are way better in my opinion. This is making me want to go back to Skyrim - I haven't played for years. I have the Xbox 360 version but I'm too lazy to set up the console now, ugh.

By the way, neither VI nor George Martin's new novel will arrive while we're alive. I just know... I'm hopeless.

Well, that is the thing with playing games like the Elderscrolls online is being able to connect with everyone to play the game together. I believe that is why I tend to play solo games. As I can play them when how I want. Baldur's Gate even though it is in EA its eventually going to allow you to play it either way.

Now if you want to have some new fun with Skyrim get it for the PC and then mod it as there are a lot of great mods on nexus.com

I've wound up back playing Borderlands 3. Forgot how much I loved this game.


I dipped my toe back into FFXIV just to see if there was anything (as in, if I felt anything), but there really wasn't. I hate to think I'm completely done with this game, but the desire to play it as much as I used to hasn't been there for well over a year. I can't be bothered to finish even the main story quests I have left.

I figure the only thing left to try is to start a whole new character and see if that does anything for me.

I flirted (again) with Elder Scrolls Online in December/January, but as expected I very quickly lost interest, and I legit may never touch that game again.

I've also bailed (temporarily) on AC: Valhalla. Firstly because I do kinda want to wait until I get an XSX before continuing, but also because I've become pretty fed up with all the ultra-tedious minigames and chores.

We're trying Divinity 2. There's a lot to like here--I really like the character stats, how magic works, the story and the world. But I haaaate the UI for anything related to action. Crafting, usually one of my favorite parts of games, is almost impossible, and the number of times I've been a pixel off and managed to light myself on fire instead of the bad guy literally 2 squares from me is irritating.

I tried the first Divinity game a while ago and quickly found my eyesight just wasn't up to it.

I’m LOVING Zelda BOTW. My kids have found my weakness (they don’t generally get screen hiring the week but) they will say ‘mommy can we play video games?’ Which is me playing Zelda while they tell me what to do and it’s the best thing during g pandemic winter! I’m weak. Lol

Ooh, I didn't know there was a topic for this!

Right now I'm on somewhat of a Switch binge. Been playing Trials Of Mana, and just started a game of Diablo III together with my wife. And I can't wait to get started with Bravely Default II, the demo is incredible!

On the Switch I've become addicted to The Outer Worlds. It's just so... ridiculous.

And everyone talking about it has reminded me that I need to get back to BotW!

Just started playing Wow Classic again this week. The computer and Shadowlands don't like each other sadly.

Have anyone played Hollow Knight? I started playing yesterday and it's SO SO SO beautiful, I like the aesthetic and practically everything, buuuuuuut... I don't even know where to go, what to do after I beat something big and I looked up for guides and they're not really helpful :')

lori wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Have anyone played Hollow Knight? I started playing yesterday and it's SO SO SO beautiful, I like the aesthetic and practically everything, buuuuuuut... I don't even know where to go..."

Haha, you're welcome then! I got it for free thanks to the PS Plus subscription but never got to play it until I heard there's a second game coming so I thought I'd give it a try. I hope you get to play it soon and enjoy it just like me, and don't get lost!

There are definitely Hollow Knight walkthrough guides out there. Even still, I found it very challenging to beat all the various bosses.

friend got me playing valheim with him earlier today. pretty fun.

Playing Raft with friends, was playing Guild Wars 2 with those same friends before. I also play a little Jackbox once a week too with friends.

they are. There have been a lot of BS cross-franchise promotions in video game history, I think this was just one more, and shouldn't be considered any part of the lore or story of AC in the slightest.

that particular quest/chain was actually patched in well after the game was live, too.

Daniel wrote: "Have anyone played Hollow Knight? I started playing yesterday and it's SO SO SO beautiful, I like the aesthetic and practically everything, buuuuuuut... I don't even know where to go, what to do af..."

Hollow Knight is amazing! One of my favorite games EVER. It’s a metroidvania so the game is all about exploring and discovery and...backtracking.

This might help:
https://hollowknight.fandom.com/wiki/...

Always try to find the mapmaker when you get to a new area.

Can’t wait for Silksong!

Went back to Battletech because blowing up mechs in a calm turn-based setting is therapeutic.

But also have had a lot of fun in the Early Access game Dyson Sphere Program ... it's like Factorio only you collect resources and build stuff on not just one planet, not just one solar system, but potentially dozens of solar systems. PLUS ... as the name implies, you build Dyson Spheres.

Right now there's no conflict in the game (no aliens or rival factions, no natural disasters) to contend with. That is actually really nice for me. I want to just figure out these factory building puzzles, constructing monstrosities of convoluted spaghetti-like conveyor belts and mines and fabricators and oil refineries and chemical plants and ... sit back and marvel that most of it works (most of the time).

But the devs have said they're looking into adding combat. I just hope they give me the ability to turn that off if I want. I'd hate to have to contend with defending my stuff and/or rebuilding after bad attacks. That's not what I like about this kind of game. Just want to build, research, go to other planets and do it all again but bigger!

I'm finishing up Assasin's Creed Origins. As much as I liked the in plot boss battle...the end game boss battles are just not fun...

I have hollow knight but I'm scared of it lol. My 3d spatial is so bad!

Joel wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Have anyone played Hollow Knight? I started playing yesterday and it's SO SO SO beautiful, I like the aesthetic and practically everything, buuuuuuut... I don't even know where to go..."

This looks really helpful, thank you!

I'm trying to get into metroidvania games, that's why I'm a bit lost - haha.

lori wrote: "Sam wrote: "I'm finishing up Assasin's Creed Origins. As much as I liked the in plot boss battle...the end game boss battles are just not fun...
I have hollow knight but I'm scared of it lol. My 3d..."

I'm going down memory lane. Finished the Metro series, Bioshock series and now playing Far Cry 3. Assassins Creed has too many to re-play but thinking about playing Origins again as liked it and only have 140 hours on it and still have lots to do and new DLC.

I've been playing No Man's Sky and really loving exploring planets and flying my starship around in space.

Just finished Starlink. It was okay. Not enough variety and very repetitive at times. I think it’s a showcase for when open world format can be a detriment.

Now playing Bioshock 1 for the first time. Loving it. Just didn’t expect it to be nearly so creepy.

lori wrote: "John wrote: "lori wrote: "Sam wrote: "I'm finishing up Assasin's Creed Origins. As much as I liked the in plot boss battle...the end game boss battles are just not fun...
I have hollow knight but I..."

I played Origins on PS4 and it took me about 50-70 hours to complete the main story and side quests - even though I had some side quests to get done yet but then I took about 170 hours between left side quests and clearing up the map to get the platinum because I'm a big fan of Assassin's Creed and I like to get all the trophies. And I haven't counted the DLCs.

Same with Odyssey.

And I'm cleaning up the MAPS on Valhalla now and I've not even finished the half of it and it's taking me F O R E V E R.

I'm still not done with Origins or Odyssey. I have most/all of the DLC for Origins left to do, and I think just Atlantis to do in Odyssey. I will get back to them one day. At the time I intentionally left them for later because I knew I'd want to revisit the games but I also knew that just playing them again would be impractical. So now each of them has some stuff to do when I decide to revisit.

As for Valhalla, I've put that down for a while. I've gotten a ways into it, but it's really starting to sink in that I just don't like it as much as Odyssey or even Origins. And some of the little tasks/mysteries/makework are tedious and not even a little fun. (Looking at you, stacking stones.)


I just got stuck back into Destiny 2. Haven't played it since it launched, and am still trying to cope with all the changes (like how they just up and REMOVED the entire original campaign from the game.) I got super addicted to the first Destiny right at the end (basically the last few months before D2 came out), so we'll see if the same holds true here. Isn't great that someone as bad as me at the game is excluded from so much content but whatever. (And believe me, however bad you're interpreting that to mean, I'm worse.)

Haha we're really into Destiny 2 right now, too. The UI is *atrocious* We keep setting ourselves on fire or because it'll say it's a targeted spell and instead it's an AoE or something like that. And I keep the wiki up because we only try so many times to get a puzzle or conversation right before we give up and go to the cheat. But whatever, we're still having fun!

I have finally stopped blowing myself up with my Void Super though, so that's progress.

Heading towards the tail end of Breath if the Wild and wondering what would be a similar kind of open world Zelda type game with the mix of puzzles and battles that would also be good for 7 year olds (to watch if not play)
Please tell me what to play with my girls next!

I'm almost done with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, about to face the second to last boss. A good, short experience, with fun puzzles, good combat, and an excellent story and setting, but I don't like that it locked me out of a couple of areas before I could find the lorestones. Considering this game was really all about the experience and the immersion, I think they probably shouldn't have included a collectible achievement.

Lori - lots of interesting ideas there thank you!