Finally got a game night in – sort of. I will take it!
We are all still inside, and like all of us, this has put a crimp on my social activities.
Last week, we finally started getting an online games night launched. Pretty sure most of the bugs have been ironed out now, so JackBox Party this week!
But that’s what I am looking forward to playing. What about what I have been up to?
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes – Steam
I played a few games of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes when it first came out. Playing in virtual reality on PSVR, it is a fun logic/communication problem game.
Then with game nights, the digital games took a back seat to physical games, and my plans of bomb defusal nights withered away.
With everything that has been going on, finally picked a few games to try and play digitally. The first test – Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes!
Don’t have to worry about screen share. The bomb defusing ‘experts’ can see the manual on their system while we chat. Overall, it worked really well.
The biggest issue was trying to teach people how puzzles worked. Experts with the manual can just normally point to a section as they talk about how it works. Over chat and some without video at all, this made things a smidge harder.
Because a few people had a copy already, we could even switch up the teams which was fun. Still maybe a niche alternative for some, if you have a copy somewhere playing over voice chat was more fun that I imagined.
Potion Explosion – Steam
I have talked about Potion Explosion a few times on the site. I love playing it solo against bots, but playing against people is always a better experience.
So I semi-broke my own rules, and we ended the night playing Potion Explosion. What I completely forgot to take into account was neither other played had played recently. Like, months to a year recently.
Teaching someone how to play Potion Explosion via chat only is an exercise. The rules are simple when you can see them in action, but turn based digital doesn’t help.
If you play Potion Explosion online with friends, maybe make sure everyone has done the tutorial first. Even if you aren’t used to the rules, having the controls down will help everyone have a smoother time.
Animal Crossing – Switch
I didn’t spend anywhere near as much time on Animal Crossing this week as I thought I would.
It’s not the game losing appeal or anything like that. By the time I was going to jump on and play, it was 11ish at night, the shop was shut, and I just lost enthusiasm from that perspective.
This week though, I will be back to spending my lunchbreaks playing the Switch. Island renovation recommening!
Final Fantasy VII Remake – PS4
Another victim of my mindset, I didn’t play as much Final Fantasy as I hoped either.
I did make it through another huge section, and have had my boss fight after the second reactor.
My enthusiasm for Final Fantasy VII Remake remains, but I have started getting very frustrated with the controls. I don’t know if it was just me having a bad day or if the AI had decided to end it all. My party members would just walk into boss attacks that would wipe them in a single round. I would revive them, then they would stand there to be hit again.
“Switch characters and control them!” I hear someone shout. Yep, I did. Then my main character would run into the exact same spot I ran from, and get killed.
As I said, it could have been me. I haven’t been in the mood to play a lot this week, and that does have an impact. But if you feel like sometimes your party members are being dumb – I am pretty sure they are, at least sometimes.
Normally they are great and I almost forget they are there! See how I go next week and if the trend continues.
Resident Evil 3 – PS4
So I spent Sunday night finishing Resident Evil 3. Again.
I had intended as a second run through trying to find all the files and bobbleheads. It turned into a leisurely zombie fighting run. I haven’t made any progress towards S ranks or higher difficulties. I found 1 more bobble head statue. Out of 12 missing.
Worst of all, I am missing one file to read everything. Looks like a few more runs in my future. Oh, the humanity! :p
I don’t know if I am going to go for the Platinum Trophy, but I will talk more about that in Friday’s review.
