What game(s) are you playing right now?

[faultychips]

...as in, what did you play in the last week or so? I want a sort of "what are you listening to right now" thread for video games. Can be good or bad, big release or small title, just released or old gem, just talk about what you're playing lately and what you think about it! (And maybe add a link where possible, especially if you like the game  )

I've got a good handful I've been playing lately, but the most recent one was Bugsnax. I think the game is a really cute idea and I love the designs of the little bugsnax, but some of the character interactions leave a little to be desired for me. It's a little too quest-oriented I think...? It's tiring to run back and forth to fetch stuff for these guys. I would love a version of this kind of game where you are on your own to explore a beautiful landscape full of strange creatures, lead by what you want to see and collect. Kind of like Pokemon Snap with a bit more freedom maybe...?

I've also been playing some Look Outside, which is a phenomenal RPGMaker horror game that I think is gaining some well-deserved traction right now. Definitely pick it up if it looks like it would be up your alley; I was a little put off by the art at first (I've been set up to expect some fairly shallow if well-drawn horror a la Gorefield from this artstyle in the past) but the game is genuinely very engaging and thoughtful and I think it's a Game of the Year contender for me. My only problem is that it is harddd in the early game especially if you don't grab some party members. I recommend playing on easy mode so you can save whenever you want instead of having to trek home to preserve your progress.

Finally, I've been playing a bit of Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping here and there; my dream is to one day find an idle aquarium simulator that really evokes the calming aesthetic of those old computer screensavers and I think Tiny Aquarium comes the closest out of everything I've seen so far. I've lost a lot of steam on it lately just because I've basically seen most of the fish the game has to offer, but I'm keeping an eye on it for when they host another event or something.

[KatiePla.net]

This week I finished Baldurs Gate 3, woo hoo! It took me almost a full year of playing to finish it, and I'm so happy to be done with it! For the longest time I was joking that "I'm done with Baldur's gate, but Baldur's Gate isn't done with me!" - The game is great and all, amazing experience, but it was MUCH too long for me, personally. I love deep narrative games, but man, it has a lot to offer. I have severe "RPG Fatigue" now, so I'm moving on to playing more casual games for awhile before jumping into more serious gaming again. (Like Final Fantasy 16..?)

I celebrated completing BG3 with buying, "Thank Goodness You're Here" and LOVED it. It was maybe a 3 hour experience, but it was so much fun!!!    I laughed and laughed, and the animation is just so so delicious to look at. My husband watched as I played and we had a great time - I was shocked that I got $20 worth of satisfaction from such a short game, I was highly impressed.

And currently I'm also playing BugSnax! I actually just started yesterday. I was looking for a light and fun game to play after the mammoth RPG that was Baldurs gate, and I just got past the tutorial. So far its fun, cute, and light, and I hope to complete it in a month or so's time.

In between BugSnax I've been dabbling in The Last of Us, I'm really enjoying that too! I'll admit I'm having a gripe with so many of the best high-budget narrative based RPGs being centered around fighting, especially gunplay which I really don't enjoy. I'll still play them for the story, but the fighting/combat genre isnt really my favorite. I would love to play a game with beautiful graphics, a gripping adult oriented narrative, and challenging gameplay (for serious gamers, not children) that isnt centered around some form of combat. If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear it, because I'm starving for a solid triple A game about managing a restaurant or hunting ghosts in the woods or literally anything that isnt "swing sword/shoot gun". I feel like my only options for those kinds of experiences are casual games and I'd love to find a better, adult oriented challenge.

[batsunsetz]

I would love to play a game with beautiful graphics, a gripping adult oriented narrative, and challenging gameplay (for serious gamers, not children) that isnt centered around some form of combat. If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear it, because I'm starving for a solid triple A game about managing a restaurant or hunting ghosts in the woods or literally anything that isnt "swing sword/shoot gun". I feel like my only options for those kinds of experiences are casual games and I'd love to find a better, adult oriented challenge.

its not triple a and id debate on challenging gameplay but have you seen disco elysium? its a top down rpg almost entirely about dialog trees and some degree of stat management- technically you can occasionally do violence but its done in the same way as talking to people (aka, click button on dialog tree)- no fps mechanics or anything like that.

anyway ive been dating everything- i have my grievances with the game but the characters endear me so much and i like the idea of putting aaa level effort into a "lesser" game genre like a dating sim. its good i like it. also a lot of google solitare i love google solitare. and the nyt games

[Malice]

I haven't been playing a lot of "real" games lately for some reason, but I've been playing Neopets a lot lately. About a month or two ago they had some sort of glitch with their daily quest system that I didn't know about until a couple of days prior to the glitch and they gave everyone a really expensive item as compensation, so I auctioned it off and became a multimillionaire overnight! I started doing the quests daily after that and started selling codestones I got from the Battledome and Now I'm sitting on nearly 16 million NP ^_^ I'm saving up for my faerie doll collection

[GideonWilhelm]

I've been going indie and retro a lot more the past couple years, right now my obsessions are Path of Achra and Moemon Star Emerald.  PoA is a lot of fun, you pick an ancestry, class, and god, and then as you play, you can buy skills to create synergies that ramp you to ridiculous power levels.  Oh, and the whole game can be played by holding TAB for attacking builds, space bar for standing builds (builds that trigger 'on stand still'), or hitting 1/2/3 for prayers.  As SsethTzeentach put it, where other games are wide as an ocean and deep as a puddle, PoA is a kiddie pool you drown in.

Moemon Star Emerald uses the Pokemon FireRed tileset to introduce a day/night cycle that wasn't there before, extends all of the routes, and even makes small tweaks to some towns.  Every pokemon game/Special manga protag is there: Ash Ketchum, Leaf, Gold, etc and they all love to pop out of nowhere and challenge you.  They've implemented every pokemon and move in the series, including mega evolutions, and the fairy type.  I'm only 3 badges in but honestly I'm having a pretty great time with it.

[niko]

I’ve been playing casual games on my phone whenever I have a few moments recently. I’m in a guild on a match-3 puzzle game called Gems of War with players from all over the world. We have a Discord server where players share tips and collaborate on weekly guild events. The other day I re-downloaded OneBit Adventure because I had a hankering for some turn-based roguelike fun and I’ve started 3 different classes (archer, warrior, wizard) to see what the play styles are like. It’s a fun game that I can pick up for a minute or two and still make good progress.

[thirty_smoke]

Uhh... It's kind of weird for me to say that I don't really play games much now. (My 6-14 yr old version would be SO sholed if they heard it  )

But recently, like a month ago I started a minecraft forever world. With lore and stuff. (I love roleplaying in my head). And also it's a huuuuge comfort game for me (like for many of us here), I remember dreaming, like really seriously dreaming about living in minecraft as a kid...

I log into minecraft like once in week or two and do something there. It's very relaxing. I once heard someone that hour of minecraft should absolutely be a part of a work day and live by that rules from that.

I have like a huge modpack that i gathered, also I have a lot if mods that make Minecraft actually a survival game. Like... removing the ability to sleep or make a spawn point on bed, removing sprinting, removing shields, hunger bar (food heals), reducing food stacks (sadly i couldn't find a mod that it makes them like in alpha versions...). That stuff. It's MUCH more fun that way, trust me. (Even though most of my friends call me masochistic now  )

Also some classical biomes'o plenty, ice and fire, botanica, create, supplementaries, alex's mobs and caves, some structures variations and just all the fun stuff.

My siblings played in that world, so it's two more unfinished houses there...

I'm not really playing anything despite of it.

Even though, thinking a loooooooooooot about RainWorld, it's my fav game which I didn't finish yet 
And Hades. First Hades. Wish I had time to play those.

[fawn]

I have done it.. I have started Final Fantasy VI and I am in love! I was actually starting a replay of the Mass Effect trilogy, but I'm going through some rough family times right now and don't want my replay to be associated with that. I don't know why FF felt like an exception to the rule, but I'm glad it did because it's been bringing me a lot of comfort. I've experienced some pretty bad game burnout over the last couple of years and was super bummed that I wasn't able to stick with longer/more dense RPGs, so it's been really refreshing and fulfilling to to return to the franchise. I've only ever played IX, XIV, XV, and about half of both X & XIII. I love the games so much so it's really nice to return and have hope that one day I will have played them all. I love viddy games!!

[Phoenix]

Ive been playing a LOT of space marine 2 lately.

Been a warhammer fan for a bit, but space marine 2 has gotten me into the 40k side more. Its been really fun! The coop is especially quite fun.

[Choko]

Basically a lot of Project Sekai since it's a rhythm game that contains vocal synths two things I enjoy, so that is my main idle game. It's the easiest thing to play as it's on the phone.

Besides that I've been slowly getting back to playing Pokemon White 2 as there's a set on RetroAchievements I'm trying to do (the set), it's has been fun playing this game as I only somewhat played Pokemon Black and never touched the sequel games until now.
My team at the moment:

While playing I got deeply attach to the Dunsparce I caught at the start whose is named Linda, at this point she has become my everything to the point I like to call her my ace.

Also a lot of playing Peak with friends as it's a really fun game!

[BlazingCobaltX]

Currently extremely addicted to We Who Are About To Die. It's like the perfect re-imagining of a childhood favourite, Swords and Sandals. I just managed to finish one storyline and I immediately jumped onto another one. This game will keep me entertained for many months to come.

(If only I could change the names, tho, that would make for great roleplaying)

[shapezncolourz]

i've been hyperfixating on PEAK lately!! you're a scout who has crash-landed on a mysterious island and you have to climb to the peak of the mountain (of which is generated daily to keep the challenge new) to be rescued!! it's mostly centred around playing with friends with in-built proximity voice chat, but it's still very fun to play solo - there's even an achievement for it! speaking of, achievements are used very well in the game - every new achievement you get adds a badge to your scout sash and unlocks a new cosmetic, which is a breath of fresh air in a modern gaming environment full of microtransactions

...it's also what many deem as the newest iteration of 'friendslop', but if you actually unironically use that term you must be MISERABLE, what's wrong with casual co-op??