rpg

An RPG rundown; recommendations and reviews of the best role-playing games on the market.

The Unsettling Sorcerer
The man who entered the inn out of the darkness was a haint on two legs. His ragged black hair was shot through with lightning bolts of dirty white, a hitch in his stride gave him a strange, unnatural gait, and his heavy hands boar thick, hoary nails that were akin to claws. It was his face that was the most arresting, though. Every feature, taken on its own, was beautiful. When put together, though, they were disjointed and uncanny. The eyes were too intense, and slightly offset. The mouth was full, but too wide for the face, and the teeth were strong and white but a little too sharp. His voice, when he spoke, was too deep for the chest it came out of; it created the distinct impression of something speaking through him, the words echoing out of a deep, unseen well.
By Neal Litherland3 years ago in Gamers
Tarkov's Two Wipe Cycle is Unfortunate
As of the writing for this video, we are at just under 4 months (or 117 days I think), since the last time Tarkov has wiped. This isn’t a new story for the game. In fact, for a while now, it has been this way. Wipe cycles have become longer and longer with each major cycle; patches have become scarce as well; more so those patches that have a lot of incoming updates and content. We still get smaller patches that change things around us, but what we are looking for, are those patches that usually include a wipe. And those have become kind of a rare animal out in the world of Tarkov. With the direction of Tarkov changing over the years for a variety of reasons, so too have the days of wiping the game and starting fresh on a new patch every few months. The ambitions of what BSG want to do have gotten bigger, and more grandiose. But with that, comes more work; the time it takes to have those visions come to life and be injected into the game take longer. Even now, we are still waiting on Lightkeeper; our first in-game trader. Real world issues aside, there is a very strong argument to be made that they have hit a snag with that feature and getting him to function the way they want in the game. Alongside that, with Streets looming on the horizon for the end of year, which, let’s be real with ourselves for a moment, is most likely not going to happen anymore, which is fine but again, just a reality check. It makes sense that things have slowed down; a lot. And I think we can actually pinpoint the moment were things really changed for Tarkov, and we began the times of what I am referring to as the Two wipe cycle.
By Jirasu3 years ago in Gamers
Seamless Coop for Elden Ring is Supreme
I think most of us will agree that Elden Ring is truly something special. To take the Dark Souls’ formula and add the layer of open world to it, was something I think a lot of us had our doubts about. Would it even work? How big would the world be? Would size create issues with performance? And other than some hiccups on release day (at least speaking from personal experience on the PC version), the game went off without many issues. Balance aside, the game was gorgeous, was absolutely jam packed with content, and could easily fill anywhere from 80-100 hours for a single playthrough, which is bonkers to think about even today. However, there was one system that marred it from being a true masterpiece, like all other games by From Software: the online and coop functionality. If there is one system in these games that is grossly outdated and in desperate need of a complete fundamental rework from the ground up, it’s the online functionality of the Souls’ games. At this point, whether or not the systems make sense from a lore standpoint, I couldn’t really care less. I would like these systems to be simple, intuitive, and hassle free. And sadly, that’s not the case for any of the games. Again, Fromsoft ties the online features of these games to lore, and to have it make sense within the story they are trying to convey. Use a certain item, make sure you are in the area you want to explore, use a password, don’t die otherwise you gotta do the process all over again; it’s tedious. It really is. Luckily, for all you PC players out there (sorry console goers, this doesn’t apply to your situation, sorry), there is a remedy for this. And it honestly should be how all these games going forward work.
By Jirasu3 years ago in Gamers
5 Tips For Playing Better Ninjas
The night is quiet. The only thing one can hear is the wind blowing through the eaves, and the occasional flap of a hunting bird. You see nothing, but that doesn't mean there is nothing out there. And as you peer into the shadows, you do not see one of them detach itself from the wall behind you.
By Neal Litherland3 years ago in Gamers
How To Build an Iron Hands Space Marine
In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. The Imperium of Man stretches across the stars, fighting a dozen and more foes on a thousand different fronts. From the regiments of the Imperial Guard, to the battle ships and cruisers of the line, to the overwhelming firepower of the titans of Mars, and the precision of the temples of assassins, the Imperium boasts a mind-boggling variety of warriors and weapons it has unleashed upon the galaxy.
By Neal Litherland3 years ago in Gamers
Do NOT Pre-Order Games in 2022
If there is one piece of advice, I’ve heard time and time again being someone who has consumed videogames as their primary media form for almost my entire life, is to always try your best at tempering your expectations. Unfortunately, in 2022, the industry as a whole as seen a large shift in how it functions and its overall goals for delivering games. There are still many studios out there, talented people out there, who just have a vision and want to see it come to life. And to them I say thank you and keep doing what you’re doing. It’s a shining beacon that we need to remind ourselves of every now and again. But for the rest of us, it’s hard not to see some aspects of videogames and get frustrated that games come out half-baked, buggy, broken, and dead-on arrival. Which is why I feel compelled to say this in 2022, many years after its introduction: Do NOT pre-order games anymore.
By Jirasu3 years ago in Gamers
Super Nintendo Games That Should Have Been Added To The SNES Classic.
As great and nostalgic the SNES Classic was, it left out some impressive games. Despite allowing older players to relive their childhoods, the SNES Classic left out some of the best SNES games ever created.
By Halden Mile3 years ago in Gamers
Nintendo 'Falls' Short This Season
Getting Direct September has come and gone with no new Nintendo 64 game for Nintendo’s Switch Online Expansion Pass. With October upon us it has been almost exactly one year since Nintendo launched the Switch Online Expansion Pass with its original nine titles. Since December of 2022 Nintendo has released one title per month for a total of nine new titles (at least outside of Japan). The only odd months out in this distribution pattern have been November 2021, and September of 2022-the reason for my lamentations.
By Caleb Sherman3 years ago in Gamers
The Hacker - Dungeons and Dragons Homebrew
The Hacker - Rogue Archetype This is a special, brand-new Rogue — Exclusive on Patreon With the advent of computer technology and its complete proliferation through society came the rise of a new market — and with it, those who would exploit it.
By Parliament Homebrew3 years ago in Gamers
Some Lessons Other Shooters can Learn from Tarkov
There is no doubt that in 2022, Tarkov has etched its name into the world of the shooter genre. It goes above and beyond what a lot of other games try to do in making a game feel engaging and having the highs feel like cloud nine, and the lows feel worse than losing 100 games of anything else in a row. No other game, at least for me personally, has gotten my heart rate through the roof as consistently as Tarkov. I emphasize consistently because there are other games like Jump King that do it, but not for long enough to make you remember that crazy last raid where you just barely made it out before you ran out of food or water. A lot of companies play it safe; I get it. If it isn’t broken, then don’t fix it. Whatever is going to pull in money. They are against taking risks and trying to stir the pot and become innovative. Makes sense. However, the new COD coming with the new DMZ mode, which to our knowledge is going to be some form of infil/exfil mode, that might be taking inspiration from Tarkov, sounds promising. We don’t know much about the gameplay loop but, if you’re going to do it, make sure you take the right points from what you may be inspired by. To my knowledge, this will be the first time a big studio tries to replicate the gameplay hook of Tarkov. And no, Battlefield 2042’s new mode, doesn’t count. Because while there is plenty good to try and gain some insight or inspiration from in regards to Tarkov, there is plenty bad that you want to stay away from. I wanted to take some time and try my best to explain some of the aspects of Tarkov that, to me, make it so enticing and addicting once you get the bug. And, if this mode is well produced, and has an overall positive response from the community, I would implore Nikita and the boys over at BSG to take notes themselves. They have their vision and ways of getting things done. But some outside perspective every once in a while, isn’t a bad thing. Now, as a preface, I should probably mention I’m not a developer, nor am I some form of director in a position to call the shots. I know this will most likely never happen, even if someone from those companies happens to see this (which again I know isn’t the case, but just to clarify).
By Jirasu3 years ago in Gamers
The Scientist Wizard
Ashtar pulled on his robe, ensuring it sat comfortable across his shoulders, and covered his clothing. He slid on a set of rings, one silver one gold, and clicked them together thrice to activate them. He hung a medallion around his neck, and turned the facing until it clicked. There was a whir of energy, and then clean, sweet air puffed around his nose. He took a deep breath, and then opened the small sack he'd laid on his work bench.
By Neal Litherland3 years ago in Gamers
Road to Vostok
According to the steam page, Road to Vostok is a hardcore single-player survival game set in a post-apocalyptic border zone between Finland and Russia. Survive, loot, plan and prepare your way across the Border Zone and enter the Vostok. And immediately, just from a few seconds in the game, the feel and vibe of what the developer is going for speaks volumes. Now this game was referred to me from a friend I was playing Tarkov with a few nights ago, and upon downloading it and giving a try, I can already see the potential of what this game could be. Now, since this is just a demo; a very small piece of the pie, there isn’t a ton to offer. A small shooting range/tutorial, followed by a transition into a lush forest scape with some buildings to explore. It’s small, but what that allows this demo to show off, are the fundamentals of the game, and how you can expect Road to Vostok to feel in your hands. It's slow, deliberate, heavy. You’re not very nimble and that’s fine. When you turn on the AI and get to practice shooting, the guns feel good. Recoil isn’t crazy, the scopes and optics on offer execute exactly as you would need them to. And the AI aren’t hit scanning cheaters either so, that’s a huge win. For what this is going for, feeling more grounded in the world helps evoke the feelings I think the developer is going for. Which, I can’t speak for them, but if I had to guess the emotions might be, somber, serene, and stressful. Since this definitely feels like it’s going for some kind of a more immersive, hardcore style game. Made in Unity, it’s very graphically impressive. And there are a bunch of different options at your disposal for you to mess around with. Time of day, weather, and a host of graphical options to mess around with. And as you can see, framerate is very solid. I did try turning V-sync on for the latter half of my time with the build, which locked me to 60fps, and I think for my setup it looked and felt a little bit better. But your milage may vary if you decide to try this out. And you should; it’s a demo, so it’s free, and it’s small, only about a 2GB download. So, it’s worth at least 30 minutes of your time, if not more. This video is most likely going to be on the shorter end, just because I was immediately impressed by what I saw, and wanted to share it with people who may have not heard of it. There is a roadmap in the game as well the developer left in so we could see where things are going. And from the looks of it, they’re in it for the long haul. A more vertical slice of the game will be out next year, which is fine, please take all the time you need to get this game exactly where you want it to be. We will wait. I don’t want to see something this impressive be rushed out. The only big questions I have are, since this is single-player, what will our journey look like? What kind of locations or points of interest will we stumble across in our travels? Will we always be alone? I am excited to hopefully see these get answered as time goes on. So, if you’re curious about the game, it’s free to download in steam, go and check it out, it’s small, short, but very cool and again, really impressive for what there is to show off.
By Jirasu3 years ago in Gamers