crispy4000

Would've been very odd if Series S could be $200 cheaper than Series X with only the disc drive and storage space lacking. It's surprising enough that Sony was able to answer at $400. They pretty much had to, given that Microsoft decided to deceptively market the thing as a 1440p 60fps+ machine.

Some would say it forced Sony down to $400 for the all-digital edition. Series S is $300.

I got one of those 8bitdo adapters for Switch/PC for Christmas, to use my DS4. Highly recommend it, it’s only $10 and sure beats the price of a new controller.

The GPU is ~3x as weak and it has less RAM. But the CPU and SSD tech is the same as Series X.

Meant Guacamelee 2 actually, not that it'd matter to you. Loved Guacamelee 1, probably more than Ori 1.

I don't think anything should have been expected, given how little gameplay we saw pre-release from both consoles. Direct gameplay footage comparisons came absurdly late. Some games like Watch Dogs were even shown running on Series S before Series X. I'm mostly surprised by how close the two platforms are to each other in the cross-get multiplat stuff. Almost every game has the same framerate and resolution target, with relatively small performance discrepancies distinguishing them. It's refreshing compared to the wider gaps we saw with PS4/XBO and Pro/OneX. It just means that the other distinguishing factors (exclusives, subscriptions, controllers, price, storage, etc) matter for even more. Even if a performance victor is crowned definitively, it won't be decisive enough to make the other look like a bad buy. By the time it could matter, we may already be focused on mid-cycle refreshes. The only major disappointment thus far IMO is Series S. Too many cross-gen games and last-gen ports are opting for 1080p, which is a bad sign. There's no way it won't feel like dead weight to devs within a few years.

Cross-manufacturer comparison. You'd really have to look at an equivalent AMD Navi PC card to see what the console architecture is helping (or not).

Any thoughts on Ori 2? I'm second guessing if it's worth it now, or if I should just wait for a later cheaper sale. Because I've got a few other Metroidvania's to play in the meanwhile (Guacamelee, Axiom Verge, Symphony of the Night). I might get Nier Automata if not. Reading that mods mostly fix its PC woes. Or maybe FFXV?

Do we know that for certain? I’m curious what games you’re thinking about that illustrate that so concretely. Typically console GPUs punch above their weight class. It would be atypical if PS5 (or Series X) didn’t. PS5 also has variable clockrates for both it and the CPU. Wouldn’t that make like-for-like comparisons less directly scalable with desktop PCs? In theory, you’d expect more fluctuations on the PS5. It’s still early days for both these machines as well. Devs are still coming to terms with the new tools these consoles offer (high speed I/O, velocity architecture, geometry engine, etc). And those will see software updates too. So what might seem true at first today could change in the future.

Watched it yesterday, must have forgotten it was in the honorables.

I’m noticing that Ghosts didn’t get a mention. Snubbed? Never played it, but it looks pretty good to me.

You sure? First I’ve heard if it.

Enjoy Guacamelee! It’s great, and deserves to be up there with the Metroidvania greats. I fully intend to get to the second one in 2021.

Merry Christmas! (Not entering, since I won something the last time)

Inside is free! Up now.

You might as well refrain unless you’re picking a weapon you already beat it with.

Technically there’s items that re-roll rewards. You can get them persistently from mirror upgrades. I’m pretty sure room rewards aren’t completely random in any case. You’re not going to get a ton of gemstones/keys/purple stuff several rooms in a row, for example. You’d at least be able to choose other options. Feels like the guiding hand is pretty strong to me. Those five chambers at the end will also always have a heart and coin, for example.

Getting Celeste deja vu here with the reactionary vibe to the positivity. That’s still a great game. Hades, IMO, is even better. Depends on the build, weapon, weapon upgrades, mirror upgrades, etc. Its probably more skill based than it leads on, with people going for win streaks or dialing up the difficulty options. The artifacts that give clear bonuses can really stack on. I need to get to Dead Cells, playing Hades has really rekindled my love of rogue-likes. I know I’d appreciate it too. Is the PS4 version kept up to date with the PC build? I’ve got a physical copy.

I’ve got it on Switch for portability, it plays just fine there. PC will be higher res with the art. Though even 1080p doesn’t look bad on my 4K set.

Wouldn’t agree with that. Pyre was much more of a fusion of different genres (arcade sports/rpg/visual novel). Hades just sprinkles a few bits on top of the rogue-like core giving you more reason to return. The difference is that Hades is just mechanically one of the best 2d action games ever, with upgrades and weapons you’re always excited to pick up. That’s the secret sauce.

Think I’ll probably do Mirrors Edge 2 and Ori 2, call it there. Might pick up Journey to the Savage Planet on Epic too.

Sometimes at the end of the year console sales on retail are cheaper due to Black Friday. PC usually beats those historical lows in a few months. Squadrons is technically $14 on EGS with the coupon. If you really want a Steam key, Fanatical has it for $21.50.

Go grab Brigador on GOG.

Happy Holiday Steam internet hug of death.