What I've Been Playing
Here's a selection of games I recently completed and posted short reviews for over on my Steam profile.
Far Cry 5
Perfectly fine "fast food" gaming, Far Cry 5 is not trying to be the greatest at anything and it offers a decent (if ultimately unessential) time as a result.
I'd recommend it on sale if you're just looking for a competent game to chew on for a few sessions, I got it 85% off and enjoyed my time but wouldn't have liked to pay more than the £7.49 it cost me.
Time to beat: 17 hours
Verdict: Recommended!
Quantum Break
This was a fun game to play over the winter break: great graphics, fun combat, and fairly straight-forward gameplay that you can just relax and enjoy.
Quantum Break's real-life "episodes" are enjoyable enough; they wouldn't pass for actual television but as IRL cutscenes they're well-produced and don't become overly annoying or invasive (as I'd thought they might).
The biggest flaw in the game are the terrible checkpoints, which really start to frustrate in the later stages of the game, as more of the levels have annoying moments where you're killed instantly for not realising what the "trick" you needed to perform was at very short notice. This took the wind out of the finale for me, but I still generally enjoyed the game overall and would recommend it at a discount.
Time to beat: 20 hours
Verdict: Recommended!
Max Payne
I was looking forward to playing Max Payne and its sequel but these editions of the game seem to have lots of issues, the most ruinous of which is completely broken audio. Installed and tried multiple fan patches to fix this, but couldn't get it working, so unfortunately I'll be refunding.
Time to beat: N/A
Verdict: Refunded!
New World
This is a fun casual MMO best enjoyed as a comfortable, low-stakes grind while you consume other media on a second screen.
The combat is fairly engaging, having an active style that feels like a mix of Elder Scrolls Online and a Souls game (without the difficulty). I appreciate the inclusion of trade skills, as it makes my lizard brain happy to watch numbers go up while cutting trees, mining ores, etc.
I personally find the lore uninteresting and mash through all quest dialogue, simply following the objectives, and I enjoy it well enough that way. I also play Final Fantasy XIV so all my "reading and caring about story" effort goes there.
There's not really an area where New World stands out as exceptional, it's just comfort food gaming and I appreciate it on that level. The dumbest thing is that they locked being able to use a mount behind the most recent expansion, which is way overpriced for what it adds.
Time to beat: Live service
Verdict: Recommended!