Friday! Video games! Let’s talk!
I spent a good 7 or 8 hours with No Man’s Sky checking out its new Next update, and I think I’m done. I had a good time exploring planets and flying around in space, but the survival aspect isn’t for me and farming resources just to jump to another star system with another set of similar planets isn’t a good hook.
No Man’s Sky does offer a “creative mode” that takes away the survival bits and gives you plenty of freedom to craft bases and buy fancy ships without all the busy work. I gave that mode a few hours as well but the end result was the same — jumping into new star systems with similar enough planets, which ultimately became unrewarding rather quickly.
Still, I *did* have fun with the game and I don’t feel like I wasted $20, which is a lot more than I can say when I spent $60 at launch. I like the new third-person mode and the ability to play as a variety of alien races, and the base building is pretty cool, but I’m just not into these survival games at all.
The only other game I’ve been playing is, of course, World of Warcraft. We’re less than two weeks away from the new expansion and I have 40 levels to go on my new Nightborne Shadow Priest. Sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t. It’s just a matter of finding the time to play.
The lead-in quests have been pretty disappointing, with Blizzard completing their molding process on Slyvanas to morph her into the next Garrosh. The Horde have seen far too many Warchief changes over the last few expansions and it appears they’ll be dividing up the Horde again, with some following Sylvanas’ dishonorable warmongering while others stand by Saurfang.
If you haven’t watched the new Saurfang trailer that released at midnight today, then please do so. Blizzard’s cutscene design is second to none.
And then watch the main Battle For Azeroth cinematic to see where it ends up. So good.
Now that I’m fully done with No Man’s Sky (uninstalled and everything) I’m really just focusing on leveling in WoW and seeing where the Battle for Azeroth lead-in quest heads when it updates Tuesday morning.
What about you, folks? Any gaming plans this weekend?
Cheap Boss Attack 
Horizon Zero Dawn and Overwatch for me. Someone mentioned Overwatch to me earlier and I haven’t played it in over a year and thought tonight I’d put it on to see and had fun. So I think I’ll be playing it a bit more this weekend. I was never that great at it but at least I had some fun with it.
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I haven’t played Overwatch in nearly a year but seeing the new D.Va skin nearly had me reinstalling it lol. Have fun!
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I hadn’t played it since Orisa was first added. So it has been a long time. It’s good fun and I actually think I’m better at it now than when I was playing it before. I think that just shows how poor at it I was before, but my averages for damage etc are going up and deaths are going down. I’m trying the “new” characters (new to me anyway) and some of the original ones that I didn’t try before to see who I like now. I’m never going to be fantastic but at least if I can help the team and have fun then it is worth it.
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That’s about when I quit as well (sometime after the Uprising event after her addition). It’s been a while!
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I’m tempted to try the “new” No Man’s Sky, but I don’t know when I’ll ever find the time for it, especially when I already have Conan Exiles sitting here unplayed if I ever want to try to dive into a survival game.
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Yeahhhh, I have trouble sticking with “endless” games and making time for them. I think that’s why I was willing to give up on NMS after 8 hours and why I still haven’t started Stardew Valley on Switch.
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I’ve found I’m more, and more stoked for a certain little upcoming CROTEAM game. So I’ve been replaying the Serious Sam series on Twitch on free nights. This weekend will be work. But Sunday night (assuming there’s no Turbo Tornado as forecasted) I’ll be going to New Haven to see the Dollyrots. So not sure how much game time I’ll have. We’ll see.
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Have fun at the show, dude!
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It was pretty great!
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Tried to get into an old classic: Chrono Trigger. Heard great things about it but never had a chance to play it. First impression is not that positive. I feel like this style of JRPG didn’t age well as the pacing seems incredibly slow to me.
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I’ve always wondered how games like that would hold up with a brand new audience that has zero nostalgia. I can still play Chrono Trigger every year and have just as great a time.
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I know so many people that say this is their all time favourite game, and I have seen tonnes of videos about it. I love the idea of multiple endings caused by time travelling and your choices and all that. But I feel like the gameplay needs updating because despite me knowing that I could love the game, I can’t get myself to keep playing.
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I got bored of No Man’s Sky many moons ago. Fair play to the developer for continuing to support the game though. They didn’t just take the money and run.
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Yeah, I bought it at launch and sold it on eBay within a week. It was awful. It still runs poorly on the standard PS4 (at least on my console) and despite all the quality of life changes, it still has some ultimately baffling design decisions.
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Ah I do miss WoW. I’ll never go back though! I’m playing Airheart and I’ll get started on Phantom Doctrine if I get time!
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MMOs are serious commitments and I’ve taken plenty of WoW breaks, but I always find myself coming back for each new expansion. At least for a few months.
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I now experience WoW in the same way I experience Eve: read all the fun stuff and avoid playing it because the addiction is real!
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I’ve really been meaning to fire up No Man’s Sky and do a follow-up article on it. It’s rare to see a game change so much since release, and I’m curious to see what it’s offering now.
For me, I’ve been delving into board games more than video games this week, but have been firing up DiRT 4 and Forza 7 so I can enjoy my shiny new G920 racing wheel. Its been a blast :P
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Yeah, NMS is definitely different from its launch version, but still has some awful design choices.
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Having finished XCOM2 earlier in the week and BLOPS3 as well, I’m considering No Man’s Sky but I just get the feeling that I may as well play something else, I just don’t know what. Every time I look into my backlog I kind of through my hands up and stop looking.
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Yeah, if you watch Jeff’s NMS stream that’s basically it. Farm materials to jump to another star system to farm more materials to jump to another star system to farm… you get the idea. It’s fun for a little while but then overstays its welcome rather quickly.
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I tried it but I only lasted an hour and that was enough.
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I’m impressed with your ability to stick with WoW. I haven’t had an MMO in a while that I felt like I could keep going back to over and over, though I did recently re-open Secret World Legends so fingers crossed that I might find some momentum.
My weekend is most likely consisting of working through Undertale for the first (full) time. I had a long conversation with one of the regulars at my job and he relit the spark for me to go back and try to play it through.
Beyond that, it’s a writing and crafting weekend for me, haha. Keeping my fingers crossed for you that the upcoming WoW features are amazing!
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Yeah, I’ve been playing WoW since the beginning and although I take plenty of breaks I always find myself coming back for new expansions. My hardcore raiding and PVP days are far behind me, though. I’m a casual now.
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I got lost in No man’s Sky once again! Since the multiplayer update this game just opened new doors for me! I also tried to improve my Celeste Speedrun which is nice and played in a Refunct Speedrun Tournament and 2 different Rocket League tournaments as well! Had a fun weekend which is very nice! Curious what games next will bring me!
Have a wonderful week mate!
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