The Wednesday Inbox is surprisingly critical of indie favourite Outer Wilds, as one reader is worried about Elden Ring invasions.
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One more time
I have to admit, I was holding out for GTA 5 on PS5 having at least some new content. A couple of missions seemed reasonable or at least something more substantial than just new cars. Perhaps it’s silly to expect these things – I think a lot of entitlement from gamers comes from these sort of unfounded assumptions – but given how long it’s been, and how rich Rockstar is, it does seem like a pretty blatant cash grab.
So now I don’t know what to do. I am a big GTA fan and was looking forward to this release as an excuse to get back into GTA Online, which I haven’t played for a few years now. But do I really want to triple dip? There’s no free upgrades here and I’m thinking the sensible choice would be to put the money towards getting Elden Ring instead.
I have to admit, the terrible state of GTA: The Trilogy remasters has also soured me slightly on the whole idea. I’m weak though and will probably end up getting it. But I really did think there’d be more of a reason to pick it up than 60fps gameplay and almost literally nothing else.
Goff
Familiar feeling
Just before the release of Gran Turismo 7, a game which I’ve been excited about since Gran Turismo 6, I managed to get a PlayStation 5. Whilst Gran Turismo 7 is amazing, it perhaps doesn’t add that much to GT Sport or indeed the games that came before it. The menus and interface update nicely and the not waiting forever for each challenge to load up makes a practical difference, but is there really anything that new?
I’m a compete petrolhead, so I’ll be putting in the hours without a doubt but it perhaps retreads very similar steps whilst adding very little that is new. It’s almost like the PlayStation 5 itself, what does it really add over the PlayStation 4 apart from greater power? Though the controller is impressive.
Which brings me to my favourite console of all time the Nintendo Switch. I’ve owned pretty much every console, perhaps apart from a 3DO and Atari Jaguar, but the Switch and its software and ability to play anywhere keeps bringing me back… which makes me wonder if the Steam Deck will surprise everyone. If I wasn’t a hardened Mac user for all things apart from games, I’d perhaps consider PC gaming when I get to the end of the road with Gran Turismo 7.
I look at what is coming on the PlayStation 5 and don’t see anything amazing first party wise. I am going to buy Elden Ring and I may well purchase Guardians Of The Galaxy, but this is mainly due to the cancellation of Advance Wars and, whilst the right decision, the loss of what would have been many hours on that game. Horizon Forbidden West came with the PlayStation 5, I’ve played about an hour and it isn’t captivating me… should I give it longer?
Just reading about Tunic in the Guardian…. looks good.
team_catcave (PSN ID)
GC: The Tunic review embargo is later today.
Working overtime
When you guys said you were busy in a previous response to a mail you weren’t kidding, seems to be more games released last month than I can remember in recent times.
However, despite the deluge of games I am hoping you guys will manage to review Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin soon. Other reviews seem to be all over the place, ranging from 4/10 to 8/10 depending on which company is reviewing it. Not sure I like the new action role-playing game and the demo was a bit all over the place, so hoping some wise words from GameCentral will guide me to a buy now, buy on 50% off sale, or leave well alone decision.
Michael, Crawley
GC: We’ve never known anything like it for this time of year. We will definitely review Stranger Of Paradise, but probably not until tomorrow.
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Clown invasion
I’ve just read about the clown (not the C-word I’d like to use) getting people banned on purpose in Elden Ring. I had it on release day and installed it straight away, but I got sucked into Horizon Forbidden West and I’m really enjoying it, so I haven’t gotten around to starting Elden Ring yet. But what I’m after knowing is how exactly the online element of Elden Ring works. Obviously, I don’t want to get banned because of someone who seems to have sociopathic personality traits hacking my character or inventory.
If I do run into this guy, is it possible to quickly disconnect before he can do his thing or is it too late at that point? I’m also wondering if it’s possible to play solo and if it’s viable to take on the bosses without help?
Mitchell
GC: That depends entirely on how good you are, but it’s certainly possible. You can simply switch off the online elements, if you want, but the chances of running into that guy are extremely low – especially as he’s in the US. The Reddit link in our story does offer some advice though, including simply contacting Bandai Namco and pleading your case.
Too real
Interesting reading Bobwallet’s thoughts on racing games, and as someone who loves a good racing sim, I agree with him! I think it is a niche market.
At the end of the day, a good racing sim does what you expect: it simulates racing on a track. And that, well, it’s hard! It takes time, patience and practice, as well as some natural skill.
Personally, I love them, but then I’ve always loved real motorsport. Trouble is real motorsport is expensive.
So, with a half decent wheel and pedals, and a half decent PC, I can actually race.
Unlike FIFA or Madden, in which what you actually do to play the sport is nothing like it is in real life, racing games are able to far more accurately represent the actual sport they are simulating. To the degree that some sim racers have gone on to have pretty successful racing careers.
Alas, one thing I have found is that some in the sim racing community can be a bit snobby about equipment and setup. Fortunately, I’ve found a great sim racing community that doesn’t indulge in such pettiness!
Anyway, if anyone is interested, but doesn’t want to spend huge amounts of cash on a sim, right now Humble Bundle have a ridiculous deal that will get you pretty much every major sim going for a song! (PC only mind.)
The Dude Abides
Good night
After considering starting again and hitting a bit of a brick wall, I had a massively successful Elden Ring session last night.
It took me a number of attempts, but I stormed Fort Haight and got the Bloody Slash Ashes of War and then thought this might help me defeat the Tree Sentinel.
Unfortunately you can’t use this ash of war whilst on horseback, but to my surprise I didn’t actually need it and managed after two attempts to kill him. I’m not sure how, I’d tried a few times before and not gotten anywhere. Somehow it seemed I’d got the hang of fighting on horseback.
Then I found a cave with some wolves in, which I’d given up on when I first started the game and again on the first try got all the way through and killed the mini-boss on the first try.
Not more than 10 minutes later I stumbled across Margit, The Fell Omen. I’d already heard bad things and feared the worst, but to my surprise I managed to chip away at half its health on the first try. So, I gave it a good go and defeated it on the fourth try. I did get assistance from another player but, honestly, I’m not sure I needed the help. The other player mainly served to cause a distraction to take some attention away from me and died halfway through anyways.
In an hour and a half I’d made almost more progress than in all my time since getting the game.
I only hope that things are starting to click and it wasn’t a fluke.
I’m in no way and expert and still a novice but might have to do a Reader’s Feature about certain strategies and weapons/spells that have helped me get to this point.
matc7884
Good omen
Interesting to see XCOM 2 come in at nine on that European sales chart you covered.
I’m guessing that’s because it has been on sale at very cheap prices a lot recently (e.g. it was about £3 for the entire XCOM 2 Collection on Switch at one point!).
Makes me wonder if these massive discounts are part of a marketing strategy for an upcoming XCOM 3 announcement.
The Boar King
GC: We can but hope.
Free pass
I just finished Outer Wilds and I’m so glad it’s over. There’s a really great game in there somewhere that deserves all the praise, but it’s hidden beneath multiple layers of frustration and faff. The repetitive nature of the time loop gameplay was sometimes inspired but mostly just infuriating. The first time I fell into that black hole, crashed into a planet or was killed by the anglerfish was interesting, the 20th time not so much.
I think just a few little gameplay tweaks would make the game so much better. The first thing I’d do is get rid of the oxygen and fuel gauge. Why have survival elements in what is essentially a puzzle/exploration game? I know they might tie into the game’s theme, but they add nothing to the gameplay other than exasperation. Trying to solve an often obtuse puzzle with an arbitrary time limit forced upon you is not fun, especially when it can take several minutes of travel and waiting until you can retry the puzzle.
The next thing I’d do is improve the in-game hints. I found the Outer Wilds Ventures very early, thinking they’d give me lots of helpful advice but they were pretty much useless. I don’t want to be spoon-fed the answers but just given a little guidance on how to approach the puzzles, some of which were not intuitive at all. My final suggestion is a bit more radical but why not have a way to rewind/speed up time? There were several times, especially towards the end of the game, where I just had to sit about for five minutes with absolutely nothing to do, waiting for some event to happen. If you’re going to take influence from Zelda: Majora’s Mask why not include its time travel element too?
I do think indie games get a bit of a free pass sometimes in terms of critique. When they are very admirably offering something new and different, their more basic flaws are sometimes overlooked. I personally think this is very much the case for Outer Wilds.
Ryan O’D
Inbox also-rans
This early review of the Halo TV series is a good sign that video game adaptations are on the up. I’m very encouraged and have always felt a TV series format is a better fit. Fingers crossed for The Last Of Us being of similar quality.
Anon
GC: This one isn’t.
Kudos to whoever made that Sonic 2 movie poster look like the old Mega Drive cover. It’s details like that which win me over and make me think they are interested in the franchise as more than just a random licence.
Elfall
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Simey, who asks what is the least favourite part of your favourite game?
Nothing is perfect, so what do you consider to the be the least perfect part of your favourite (or close to it) game? Is it just a minor irritation or something more significant? Is it something like a particular level or area that the game would have been better off without or perhaps a technical or control issue?
Did the issue get resolved in any subsequent sequels? How tolerant are you generally about flaws in otherwise good games, in terms of both playing them and considering them to be true classics?
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
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