Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@Ralizah you’re bang on regarding Japan Studio, they were a big part of the PlayStation identity, it’s a huge loss, especially combined with Sony’s vanilla focus on the increasingly played out AAA third person action adventure.

@kyleforrester87 Totally agree. Japan Studio was putting out games that felt like classic Playstation, even as all of their other studios became increasingly Naughty Dog-ized. They added much needed diversity to their exclusives output.

Clearly Sony is very good at the particular type of game their studios now specialize in making, but it's depressing for those of us who enjoyed offerings that weren't photo-realistic movie games.

@HallowMoonshadow Great minds indeed! Funnily enough though, I've stopped playing it. I had last week off work so I managed to play a good few hours of it, but time has been short then. I'll definitely pick it up again at some point though, it's a lot of fun

I'm feeling increasingly bad for Soul Hackers 2 and it basically being sent out to die

But yeah I'm rather excited to try Metaphor too. From the trailer it seems to have some sort of class/job system to it judging by the status menus which is quite intriguing.

I do plan on retrying Persona 5 with Royal at some point. It won't fix my problems with the game... But... Enough time has passed and I know what I'm getting into now that maybe I'll find some aspects to genuinely like about it.

Have you got around to trying Raidou yet by the way?

And I've really been meaning to get Gravity Rush as they do look like a very unique set of games. I just keep distracted by other things whenever I decide to purchase something. Soon I swear!

@HallowMoonshadow Soul Hackers 2 was such a pleasant surprise for me. Extremely similar to Persona but I actually preferred SH2 as an overall experience. The whole vibe just appealed to me more though the soundtrack in P5 will forever remain elite.

Ah that's a shame @Gremio108! Hope you get some more free time soon. Was always a favourite of mine back in the day with it's sense of humour and I love Sir Dan as a character.

For some reason it's the only game my mother who's never been that interested in games always remembers. That and Croc. I have no idea why either

I actually bought Soul Hackers 2 a few days ago @Ennui and I'm really looking forward to dive into it fully soon as I did give it a little go for about half an hour and was enjoying my time with it.

I love Ringo and her sass already.

As for P5's Soundtrack? I... Really don't like Lyn's voice to be honest so I don't really remember thinking all that much of it! Not a patch of 3's or 4's in my eyes

@HallowMoonshadow

RE Soul Hackers 2: I tried Soul Hackers 2 for a few hours on Game Pass. It's alright so far. I get the sense I'll like it if I ever properly get into it. It should have been a new IP, tbh, since it feels nothing like the original Soul Hackers in terms of gameplay or tone. Then I wouldn't need to make direct comparisons, which almost never flatter SH2.

Sort of like that team's previous game, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, I feel like it's probably a fundamentally decent game that just does a terrible job of selling itself.

I will say I'd like the game way more if it styled itself more after SMT and put more of a focus on the demons in battle. but alas.

And yeah, Ringo's snark seems to be everyone's favorite aspect of the game.

I'll probably play it on the Steam Deck OLED once I get that. I may not be able to have a Switch version, but I'm intent on playing it on a handheld!

RE Raidou: Nope! If I can get some PS2 action going smoothly on the Deck, though, I'll probably be tempted to give at least the first one a go.

RE P5R: IMO the new story elements add a LOT to the game. The third semester expansion gives it a VASTLY better final act, for one thing, with the new villain arguably being the best one I've encountered in an Atlus game to date.

It also allows you to plat the game in one complete playthrough, which I appreciate so much, considering how annoying the trophy lists usually are for Atlus JRPGs, and especially for the original release of P5.

Persona 5/Royal's soundtrack is a top three gaming soundtrack for me, so I couldn't disagree more with your assessment. But I also thought most of the tunes in Persona 3 were mediocre to borderline unlistenable, so that's where I'm coming from.

Considering I didn't get on too well with the 3DS version of Soul Hackers... I'm not personally fussed at all at the change in direction but obviously I get why quite a few people are notably unamused at Soul Hackers 2 and the change in aesthetic, tone and such...

I am a Devil May Cry fan after all and had to live through Capcom's stupid years and Ninja Theory's DMC: Devil May Cry 🤢

Thankfully Soul Hackers 2 is nowhere near as bad that.

Never got to play the sequel due to it being a US/JP only release but I've heard that improves on quite a few things from the original.

I will say the setting for Raidou 1 was top tier. I really liked the characters, The music was pretty good, The story was fine... The combat was pants and easily the worst part.

Hope you do like it though! It certainly has a unique charm compared to any other Atlus title.

RE P5R: IMO the new story elements add a LOT to the game. The third semester expansion gives it a VASTLY better final act, for one thing, with the new villain arguably being the best one I've encountered in an Atlus game to date.

Yeah I never cared for Shido or Yaldabaoth (Or any of the villains bar Kamoshida) so hopefully that helps... Or maybe I'll think it's even worse? Who knows?! I will give Royal a try. Someday. Not anytime soon though.

Persona 5/Royal's soundtrack is a top three gaming soundtrack for me, so I couldn't disagree more with your assessment. But I also thought most of the tunes in Persona 3 were mediocre to borderline unlistenable, so that's where I'm coming from.

Different strokes for different folks! P3's soundtrack lives in my head rent free... As does 4's but I honestly can't remember much of 5's barring the big tracks... Which... Eh.

The fact I can't remember a thing about P5's ending theme for the life of me, which considering how good "Memories of You" and "Nevermore" are (and how emotional I got from them), That's the ultimate sin for me.

As for actual PS4 games I'm playing I'm still on a bit of a break from P4 Golden and have been playing A Hat in Time the past few days.

This game is one of the most enjoyable, fun and creative platformers I've played in a long time.

Hat Kid is such an adorable protagonist and scamp despite her barely uttering a word.

The worlds are charming and there's some genuinely funny dialogue and the soundtrack is really REALLY good!

Just finished the second world "Battle of the Birds" in which you team up with two film directors "The Conductor" with his love of trains and Westerns & "DJ Grooves" the funky moon penguin with you helping one or the other to win the annual "bird movie awards" just so you can get those time pieces for your spaceship.

The boss fight was amazing with it incorporating elements from the previous levels into the attacks and the music was SO good. I'm itching to play more!