Community MetaSteam | October 2021 - Guardians of Ashes: Maiden of Empires

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NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
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You could look at it the bright way and now consider your controller a unique modded model.
I'd return it to the store but honestly I don't know if it was already scratched or I did it. I don't buy controllers from Amazon anymore because I was once sent an opened/ used one with no batteries, and apparently it has become very common of them.
 
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pinson

Junior Member
Sep 6, 2021
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Canada
I'd return it to the store but honestly I don't know if it was already scratched or I did it. I don't buy controllers from Amazon anymore because I was once sent an opened/ used one with no batteries, and apparently it has become very common of them.
Yeah, it's honestly pretty crazy how the quality of Amazon's offering fell in the past few years.
 

inky

🤔
Apr 17, 2019
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Played a few demos lately


Decent looking SRPG, feels very snappy aand polished, and kinda smartly optimized as a PC/Mobile game in a not obnoxious way. I just wish it did... well, anything interesting. Right away it dumps lore on you with your typical JRPG-babble "In the year (enter medieval sounding date) the Ekklesians of Etheria descendants of the Eldaran are fighting the Whatevers fleeing the Sylvanas Continent. You are a Crimson Knight Mage of the Something or Other Order. storming this castle, but the Paladins of So and So fighting beside you dislike your magics". OK, alright, chill.

And the grid combat is much too simplistic. Hard to say how it improves once you get access to more stuff, but it seems basic positioning, elemental magics, AOEs, etc. Abilities are also cards for some reason, but hard to say how relevant that is to the design. So far it just feels like a cosmetic choice that just substitutes selecting skills from a menu.

It's out soon, so I'm sure it could be a fine Saturday if you are into this kind of thing. Maybe it doesn't need to be more.


Cute, self-aware A Short Hike meets babby's first Breath of the Wild. Not much to say other than I enjoyed moving around. It feels loose in a good way. Swimming is surprisingly fun, although there isn't anything to do with it. I'm curious to see if they can make something out of this idea. Usually these kind of indies go with the small journey of self discovery, reconnecting with family, etc. that try to hit you in the feels but with not much substantial mechanics.


Don't think this is part of the event, but I saw it mentioned here a few times so why not. Bit of a weeb Hand of Fate. I don't like that the menus are also using the same UI as the regular game. Having to pick different cards to change things like volume when it's just like 3 choices is much too dumb. Settings should be fast to access. Also, the Quit "card" is kinda hidden under too many moves. Ugh.

It feels very budget but I hope they add a bit of voice acting to characters other than the narrator, or it will get old, fast (might've been just a narrative device for the demo). I liked the card mini-game you can play in the taverns, although it's very unbalanced.
Also, I'm not sure if I needed the female character in the demo to be such a BOOBA when the rest of the designs are actually appealing to me as an animu-hater:blobnoanime:. It seems she's not gonna be the main character anyway, but have some self control, lads.

Finally played the Tunic demo too. It's alright.

Got my eyes on a few other games, but I haven't downloaded anything yet. Wait, I lie, I downloaded a Robin Hood game demo that was like 20gbs. I'll try it tomorrow. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
 
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Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
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Paris, France
lepertti.com
I'd return it to the store but honestly I don't know if it was already scratched or I did it. I don't buy controllers from Amazon anymore because I was once sent an opened/ used one with no batteries, and apparently it has become very common of them.
Controllers are like tools, they are supposed to be scratched and banged up to show proper use.
 
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Wok

Wok
Oct 30, 2018
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France


The International 2021 Ticket Sales Canceled
October 3, 2021

We have been carefully evaluating the continued rise of Covid rates in Romania, as well as the resulting introduction of new local restrictions in Bucharest. To ensure the safety of all players, talent, and production staff participating in the event, we have decided to refund all ticket sales for The International 2021. We wanted nothing more than to welcome fans live to the event, but we can no longer do so in a way that allows us to prioritize the health and well-being of both audience members and participants. Those who purchased tickets will be issued a full refund automatically. The International 2021 will begin as planned on October 7, and we look forward to welcoming the best Dota teams in the world to the stage and sharing the experience online with millions of fans around the world.
According to Reddit, these are the rules in Romania.

  • Restaurants & bars will operate until midnight, at 50% capacity, for those fully vaccinated.
  • Stores will operate until 10 PM.
  • Sports competitions can be held until midnight, at 50% of the maximum capacity.
  • All participants must be fully vaccinated.
  • The mask is mandatory on the street / in all open spaces.
 
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Ascheroth

Chilling in the Megastructure
Nov 12, 2018
5,305
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So what's everyones GOTY thus far? For me Psychonauts 2 with RE Village as a close second.
I've played shockingly few games from this year, so my selection is a bit limited... but so far my top 3 would be something like this:

It Takes Two
Subnautica: Below Zero
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,285
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Trails to Azure
If you ask me what the best game I have played so far is, then yeah. Not sure I'd count it as being released in 2021, the official release on PC will not happen until next year. Really looking forward to that port too. Geofront already did a great job, but there's so much more you can do with proper source code access.
 

Cacher

MetaMember
Jun 3, 2020
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As always, no GOTY because I usually don't play the latest games. This year there is a exception (ie. Tales of Arise), but I can't say it is a GOTY material.
 
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beep boop

MetaMember
Dec 6, 2018
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So what's everyones GOTY thus far? For me Psychonauts 2 with RE Village as a close second.
I haven't played any of the big releases, but I suspect Astalon: Tears of the Earth would rank highly for me regardless. A top tier metroidvania with a Castlevania x La Mulana (light) flavor. Enjoyed every minute.
 
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Gelf

Junior Member
Apr 22, 2019
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This might be my worst year for a long time in terms of playing new games. I just can't do full price releases right now and I'm not into rental type services either. I think the newest release in terms of PC I played in the past year was Death Stranding.
 

spindoctor

MetaMember
Jun 9, 2019
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Yeah, it's honestly pretty crazy how the quality of Amazon's offering fell in the past few years.
I bought an iphone 12 on Amazon a couple of weeks ago thinking I'd save some money instead of buying the iphone 13. They sent an opened/used phone to me. They have a replacement only/no return policy on mobile phones as well, so when I told them I wasn't going to accept an opened box, they said they didn't have another piece of the blue phone I had ordered so I'd have to pick another colour. That was so stupid. I had to escalate the support call to the supervisor who finally agreed to refund the transaction. Ended up buying the new 13 from the Apple shop anyway after dealing with this headache for a few days.

I've also heard that it's not safe to buy PS5 games from Amazon anymore. What happens is people buy a game and when it reaches them, they open it, take the disc out, put in a useless old CD rom in it and return it to Amazon. Amazon doesn't check the item being returned and just put it back on their warehouse shelf. The next guy who orders that game gets a dud. The game is also shrink wrapped when the next person gets it, so either a) the original buyer shrink wraps the useless disc while returning it and Amazon is just being negligent or b) the buyer doesn't shrink wrap it and instead Amazon does, which makes them a malicious participant in this whole mess.

Really sad that I can't even trust Amazon anymore for stuff.

So what's everyones GOTY thus far? For me Psychonauts 2 with RE Village as a close second.
I'd say It Takes Two has been the game that gave me the most joy this year. I played Monster Hunter Rise on the Switch for 100 hours but honestly, that game was disappointing. It shipped incomplete, Capcom patched it twice to finish the game and then their post launch support has been abysmal (bordering on nonexistant). Good game but the way they've handled it after release is tragic. Not that different from Animal Crossing in that regard.

I finished Deathloop yesterday and it's a good (but not very good) game. The roguelike structure hurts the game immensely from both a narrative and gameplay standpoint. Still not sure why they chose this approach because I don't think it would be substantially less work than just making a traditional linear game, and it doesn't do anything to make publishers happy (no real recurring engagement or continuous monetization).
 

Knurek

OG old coot
Oct 16, 2018
2,520
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If you ask me what the best game I have played so far is, then yeah. Not sure I'd count it as being released in 2021, the official release on PC will not happen until next year. Really looking forward to that port too. Geofront already did a great job, but there's so much more you can do with proper source code access.
I mean, it says GOTY, not BGRTY.
I played it in 2021, so it will (most likely) be my 2021 GOTY.
 

fantomena

MetaMember
Dec 17, 2018
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Lol, I might need to delay my playthrough of Echoes of the Eye until more guides/walkthroughs are out there, don't understand what to do at all, yes I have arrived at the new location.
 
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fearthedawn

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
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So what's everyones GOTY thus far? For me Psychonauts 2 with RE Village as a close second.
Not counting Nioh 2 because it was my GOTY 2020 already and Echoes of the Eye because it is dlc, my goty so far is:

Golf Club Wasteland :unsure:
Lol, I might need to delay my playthrough of Echoes of the Eye until more guides/walkthroughs are out there, don't understand what to do at all, yes I have arrived at the new location.
That sucks, "How do i find that slight hint that gets me going again without getting to know anything else about the game i didn't know already?" is not a fun premise, unless you have a friend who watched your playthrough or something. I beat it so i guess you could ask a question but i'm going back in today to figure out what i managed to skip (i think) so i don't have a complete picture myself yet.
 
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derExperte

MetaMember
Dec 9, 2018
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Computerbase (a reputable german site for hardware & performance tests) also found a performance deterioration when they tested this.

They posted an update and apparently the performance losses are smaller with the build 22000 that we'll be getting, initially they tested with 22463 which is part of the branch/update releasing next year.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,870
15,903
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I'm in a bit of a pickle myself. The two games I'm playing these days don't really do it for me. Octopath Traveler is obnoxiously slow and long, and AI The Somnium Files, as usual for a VN, oscillates between gently boring and 'oh shit, it's happening'.
Do I dare add another one to spice things up at the risk of dropping one or more games ? Decisions, decisions.

-

Gizmo changed their name and closed their account ?
Sad news of the day :confounded-face:
 
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Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,870
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Googled Octopath number of chapters lblùsvklnlkg
 
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fantomena

MetaMember
Dec 17, 2018
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Didn't Epic just announce that they finally had automated tools for devs, though?
Yeah, but it's in beta and Epic still need to accept or reject games. So I guess noone is accepting games during the weekend?

Epic could still have accepted and published the page for it before the weekend though.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
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Revealed content
[Hidden content]
Well, honestly ? Totally out of my ass.
I noticed a user whose name didn't ring a bell in the RPG thread, and their posts where oddly reminiscent of Gizmo's tastes. Looked for 'Gizmo' in the member list and zilch.

I could be grossly wrong, wouldn't be the first time in my life, but I thought there was enough fire there to stop my little investigation.
 
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thekeats1999

MetaMember
Dec 10, 2018
1,452
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I'm in a bit of a pickle myself. The two games I'm playing these days don't really do it for me. Octopath Traveler is obnoxiously slow and long, and AI The Somnium Files, as usual for a VN, oscillates between gently boring and 'oh shit, it's happening'.
Do I dare add another one to spice things up at the risk of dropping one or more games ? Decisions, decisions.

-

Gizmo changed their name and closed their account ?
Sad news of the day :confounded-face:
Personally, if a game is boring you and has become a chore to play, drop it. There is no value in wasting your time in playing something you aren't enjoying.
 
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