Dubstep was emerging around that time, way before Skrillex and the particular style of it that he popularized. I think I hear the similarity you pointed out, though. It may be just a coincidence or a deeper common influence - for example the first song on that Bowie album sounds like drum n bass which was a likely influence on early dubstep.

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That sounds awesome. I’m imagining it in the style of Dark Souls, but a reskin would be fun.

Obligatory Bloodborne mention.

Not sure if it’s been done already, but Zelda LttP would be cool. I haven’t played Echoes of Wisdom though I like the art style and could see it working well.

Goldeneye + Perfect Dark.

Poop butt can’t help themselves, shit ass can but chooses not to

Bleak Sword DX

I got stuck on a tough boss for a while, so I replayed some earlier levels to level up my character. We’re back in business. It didn’t even feel like a grind since each area/battle is short and gameplay feels great. Maybe 15 minutes to get the 2 level ups I needed. I’m enjoying the steady increase in difficulty and how new enemies are introduced. The game does a good job of making you assess the situation and use the techniques available to overcome it. There’s even some fire/environmental hazards that can be used to your advantage.

Fae Tactics

Also got stuck on a (boss?) fight, so I took some time to rearrange my party and spells to get some better elemental synergy and buffs and it worked! Definitely feels rewarding and, well, tactful.

9 is one of the best. Not sure what you didn’t like about 8, but 9 feels a lot more true to the older games imo.

I love them. FFIX was the reason I got a Playstation (2). To me, VI to X + Tactics were peak. I had a hard time finishing the older ones even though they were decent, but from VI forward it seems like they put a lot of thought into the characters.

I own FFXIII AND XIII-2 but didn’t get more than 5 minutes in thanks to the battle system. One day I’ll give them another try.

I really like the trope of a secret island in a corner of the world map.

I feel this. I’ve been playing it on medium-ish settings to compensate. It will be a blast when you do play!

You’re in for a treat. Currently have some of the DLC in my backlog

PLAY GWENT. The minigame became somewhat notorious because it’s really good - you can spend dozens of hours travelling the world and just playing cards.

If you can get the audio file you can run it through vocalremover.org and then maybe shazam will work on that instrumental version.

There’s a turn-based RPG sale/event happening on Steam right now. I can’t vouch for any of those games, but new ones do exist.

As for why they seem to have declined in popularity I can only guess - smartphones happened, removing the need for a home computer from many would-be RTS gamers.

It’s free to play, there’s a huge market for skins, and some gambling addiction to go with it. The perfect storm.

Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree

I’m 160 hours in, completed the base game, and now am on what I believe to be the final boss of the DLC. I got to phase 2 on the first try, only to hit a brick wall lol.

The DLC is a lot bigger than I was expecting, and some of the bosses are the most difficult I’ve faced. The highlight for me has been Cerulean Coast and

Looking forward to NG+ and beyond as I work towards the 100% achievement - speaking of which, it’s a little disappointing how little is required to get it compared to DS1/2/3, especially since ER is so much bigger of a game. I really enjoyed hunting down all the rings for DS3 and felt they could have had a talisman achievement to match in ER.

My favourite moment of the past week was when I summoned two players for a certain boss (another phase 2 kicking my ass), but we got invaded by “Jesus” who just kinda lore-walked around and gestured, and eventually we followed along. Nobody got hurt, and they even gave some gestures of encouragement for us to go beat the boss.

Ilamentia

Very weird indie puzzle/platformer. It feels like a fever dream. You have a FPS view and (some of the time) a set of hands that shoot projectiles (reminds me of Gauntlets of the Necromancer from Heretic), except they don’t necessarily do damage, they interact with the puzzles in each world.

There are some abstract hints for each level, but I find myself really having to think about what’s in front of me to solve the puzzles (in a good way). I noticed a negative review complaining about the game mechanics not being consistent, but I think that is completely intentional and serves the overall feel of the game nicely. It’s not meant to be obvious or easy, you have to figure it out. I don’t think this is a game for everyone, but I am enjoying it for what it is. Apparently there are 96 levels so I’m more than getting my money’s worth.

Bleak Sword DX

Action/roguelike/soulslike? Each world is broken into about 10 levels + boss fights, and from what I can tell there are about 10 worlds. I’m enjoying the feel of the gameplay a lot - blocking and dodging are satisfying like a souls game. The difficulty is starting to ramp up as I work to finish world 3. Surprised I hadn’t heard of this sooner. Probably a good one for Hollow Knight fans, but there isn’t exploration. It’s bite-sized action and it’s done well imo.

Noita

What a game. Alchemy, wand-building, every single pixel is trying to kill you. Especially the water which is also on fire. It’s amazing and highly addictive. I have no idea how large the world actually is yet, since I’ve been busy discovering new ways to blow myself up. Pretty much every run I see something new. This will easily get 100+ hours out of me.

If they remaster it there’s a chance they’ll release it on PC and then I won’t have to buy an entire PlayStation just for one game.

“The only alien I accept is Jesus Christ.”

cocks shotgun

“Now it’s time for you to phone home.”

My mistake. It seems like every time I check if a beloved game from that era is on PC it’s always “no”.

Time Splitters, Dark Cloud, ICO, Twisted Metal Black, Shinobi, FFX…

So many games I would gladly pay them for (again) on PC.

I was hoping to see something about multiplayer connection. When it works it’s great, but half the time I’ll get “failed to connect”, or the game will just crash when I get summoned / my summoned co-op player is spawned in. Is it just me? Playing on Steam