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Sony exclusives : Ghost of Tsushima, FF7REi, Days gone, Horizon Forbidden West or GOW Ragnarok ?

StereoVsn

Member
OP, you should try Yakuza series. Well, except the last one (to start). It's Open World-ish but compact with a lot of condensed content.
 

Aaron Olive

Member
Hello my beautiful lads and lasses.

OK, here's the thing :
After getting my PS5 about 2 months ago, and after finishing the (excellent to me) TLOU2 (this will be a topic for another day), I'm having a really, REALLY hard time choosing what to play from the friggin' Ps plus extra catalogue...
You see, I never had much love for open-world games, plus, gaming time is nowadays limited so i really don't have the luxury to be playing all those 60-70 hours "epics" anymore.

I mean, heck, I still don't know how I managed to finish TLOU2 in its 40+hour bloated glory (grounded difficulty), I don't know how long it took other people to finish it but, those 40+hours I mentioned ? Shit, it took me about 2 months to be able to watch the ending credits.

I also managed to finish stray with my girlfriend (we loved it) and part of the reason we managed to do so is because it was a short (but sweet) experience clocking at about 8-9 hours.

Returnal is mighty good and right up my alley atmosphere/aesthetically wise and I fire it up every now and then, same thing with Demon's souls.

After these 4 games though...well, fook me :

- Days gone : I really wanted to like it since word of mouth has been pretty good after all the bug patching and 60fps on the PS5 but, for fuck's sake, this is an Ubisoft game in all but name, side quest this, side quest that, collectibles, craft mats collecting, 647583 icons on the map, quests that make you ride to the other side of the map and....AAARrghhh, couldn't do it anymore, back to the back burner it went .
Also : After finishing TLOU2, man, this game just can't compare when it comes to attention to detail, animations, sound production etc etc.

- FF7REi :
Listen, I never was a Square enix fan (nor a FF one) but after finishing the mediocre FF15 a couple of years back i thought "why not".Anyway, when there's actual gameplay it's actually kinda fun ? The thing is though - you guessed it - it's another 50-60-70 hours "epic" and I bailed out as soon as I saw the map after meeting Tifa (cutscene with hooded dude after getting to your room).
I keep reading in here that the game is padded to hell and back and...I just don't know if I could do it.
Back to the back burner it went.

- Ghost of Tsushima :
I expected more from the graphics to be honest (those faces and lip-sync aren't great) but the problem is - YOU GUESSED IT AGAIN - that it's another open world Ubi-like game with everything it entails.Combat is simple yet fun but I just don't know if I can muster the strength to continue playing.

- Horizon forbidden west:
Finished the 1st game back in the day and while I find the basic "google became Skynet and the whole world got fucked®" story intriguing, the rest is - sweet mother of god - just...shite ? Who the fuck are these uninteresting characters and why won't they just shut the fuck up ? Shit boys, I keep skipping dialogue lines constantly and I never do that in games, it's just that everything feels boring, plus, game is another - YOU GUESSED IT MADAFAKAS - Ubi-clone with infiniiiiite icons on the map, a gazillion side quests etc etc, fuck me, people were right in here saying that it was a bloated mess...
Shame, since I'd really like to know how the story goes with the Ted Faro guy and any upcoming twists but, again, bloating too stronK.

Bonus : I also have GOW Ragnarok since it came with the console and...yep, another 50 hour epic apparently, keep reading in here that it's also a bloated mess with more cutscenes than actual gameplay but, tbh, after 3 hours of gameplay I still prefer it to Horizon FW.

And here lies the real problem : it's not me being tired of games, it's the fact that developers nowadays think that everything has to be a 70 hour game/epic otherwise their game(s) won't sell , thing is, this kind of homogenization isn't good since - obviously - everything starts to feel so similar/familiar to the point where most games feel like re-skins of other ones if I'm to be (kind of) hyperbolic.

So let me ask you this :
Which games of those that I mentioned you enjoyed the most and why ? Which one should i choose to play when held at gunpoint and why ?

Love you all
heart-shape-heart-sign.gif
Sounds like you need to stick to corridor games (checkpoint to checkpoint) but..... I'll guess you'll complain that there's nothing to do and the story is too long, short or not enough freedom of things to do.

!FYI all those extra icons you see are optional and for people that like exploration and completionism of the game, if you don't like it don't do them. It isn't required to finish the story in none of those games out there.

I'm playing Cyberpunk 2077 right not and it's clearly marked but I will attest to that some games have better side story content than others.

Main Jobs
Side Jobs
Completed
 
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Fbh

Member
Of the ones from your post:

Ghost of Tsushima:
Found this one underwhelming. The setting and visuals are nice, the main story quests are fun and the story is decent, also the combat is really fun and satisfying. BUT the world is boring, the side activities are terrible, the side quests are some of the worst I've played in an open world game in the last 10 years and even the combat starts to get old and repetitive because of a lack of enemy variety.
7/10

FF7 Remake:
Love the combat, visuals, music and boss battles. This has probably my favorite combat system in the entire FF franchise which made it a blast to play through. BUT the side content is terrible, there's some clear annoying padding which makes it feel like they wasted the opportunity to expand the Midgar section in more interesting ways and the constant forced walking and/or squeezing through tight places sequences get old.
8/10

Forbidden West:
Overall enjoyed it, I think the combat is fun, I still think the world is really interesting and the visuals are absolutely fantastic, it has some solid side quests too (though lacking in good rewards). BUT the plot is subpar, Aloy is still extremely boring as a character and progression in the game feels unrewarding.
8/10

TLOU2: I thought the combat and visuals were excellent, the gameplay outside of combat is terrible, I didn't really care much for the story and I wasn't a fan of the overall structure either Would have preferred to alternate between the 2 characters instead of fully upgrading Ellie only to not play as her for like 10+ hours . Also it feels too long and doesn't have the gameplay, location or enemy variety to justify its length
7/10

Haven't played Days Gone, nothing about it seems appealing to me. And I'm waiting for a sale or price drop to pick up Ragnarok because games are too expensive these days.
 
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Represent.

Represent(ative) of bad opinions
GOW Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West are the 2 must plays on that list without a doubt.

Ghosts, after playing something like TLOU2 will feel outdated as fuck in comparison. (stealth is in the PS3 era, combat not nearly as visceral as it should be, horrible cutscenes, auto fail steal missions, etc)

No comment on FF7
 
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Codes 208

Member
GoT and GoWR are the best of that list for my taste. im fairly indifferent to FF so i couldnt care less about that one. Horizon was good but it didnt set my world on fire. Days gone was just meh.

So my pick: stray
 
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John Bilbo

Member
John, i had an XSX for 2 years and trust me, the only games i played were indie ones since, well, xbox wasn't exactly known for its blockbuster exclusives these past 2 years :D
Will give a short hike a look, cheers man !
Yeah gamepass and Xbox haven't really shined on the first party titles...

Seeing as you enjoyed Stray I think A Short Hike might be to your liking.
 
Roman, there's no need nor urge to tick a checklist, nor do i have a "lack of commitment" or short attention span ffs, i'm not 18 years old man, it's just that - again - i've been getting picky due to having limited time nowadays and i have to be selective with what i'm going to play next as to avoid the notorious " i'm not enjoying anything, everything is shit" mantra due to choosing the wrong media at the wrong time.

In hindsight, it's solely MY fault for subscribing to ps plus extra as soon as i got the PS5, i could have beat TLOU2 and RE4 Remake first and then actually subscribe, hence the "FOMO/OCD" tongue in cheek comment.
Great to hear your input Giallo. I understand better your situation and can't say I haven't been there lately due to work and other IRL stuff happening all at the same time, making gaming take the backburner. I still have RE4 Remake to finish and Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC got pushed back to when I get the time to sit and play it. Only games making my list of "must-play when it launches" this year were RE4 Remake, FF7 Rebirth, FFXVI, and probably just that because I bet I'll take a long-ass time to finish both FF games.

I wish you to get some quality time with the games you choose to play moving forward. If I had to choose any games you presented for you to play would be:

  1. Ghost of Tsushima - B line the story and only do the mystic quests since they're the best piece of content the game has to offer and they offer the best upgrades in the game. You can always come back to it if you like it enough and get the time to do the side content. Time to finish this way - around 25-35 hours or less;
  2. God of War - Another game you can rush the story and you won't miss much. The main game should take 20 hours that way;
  3. FFVII Remake Intergrade - There is no cutting it too short since there are a few chapters that work as padding for character progression/worldbuilding but there are a few you can simply do the minimum requisites to progress through the chapter and move on (like chapters around Sector 5, 6, and 7. Basically the "open world with fetch quests" chapters). The game is long but it shouldn't take more than 40 hours to finish. The Yuffie DLC is super short in comparison but a good time nonetheless, with 5 hours max of gameplay.
Hope I was of any help this time around.
 

Variahunter

Member
All those games, imo, suffer from a mild gameplay with zero trust in the player intelligence.
More specifically, I’ll talk about GoT and Days Gone :
It’s hand holding after hand holding, automated shit all over the place (looking at you Ghost of Tsushima) with little to no real control over your character in comparison to their Japanese counter part (Shinobido, Tenchu, Sekiro…).
Characters that won’t shut the fuck up (Days Gone…) just for saying shit.

I like the relative freedom they offer and the graphics are really good.

But in the same time they feel so limited, and rehash ad nauseam their content all over the map.

GoT needs to really improve its animation, it’s jarring compared to NioH, Sekiro and Rise of the Ronin from what we’ve seen.

PS : Another horror on the animation department is Star Wars Jedi : Fallen Order and it’s sequel, it’s so bad (especially the transition between animation) I don’t even understand how someone can play this.
 
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I think you're getting too caught up in the open world aspect of Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima.

Both of those game you can play in a linear fashion for most of the game. All of the extra locations, bandit camps and collectibles are optional.

You're missing out on two outstanding stories. I also think Days Gone has the best dynamic weather I've ever seen with it's only competition being Red Dead 2.
 

Eiknarf

Banned
Hello my beautiful lads and lasses.

OK, here's the thing :
After getting my PS5 about 2 months ago, and after finishing the (excellent to me) TLOU2 (this will be a topic for another day), I'm having a really, REALLY hard time choosing what to play from the friggin' Ps plus extra catalogue...
You see, I never had much love for open-world games, plus, gaming time is nowadays limited so i really don't have the luxury to be playing all those 60-70 hours "epics" anymore.

I mean, heck, I still don't know how I managed to finish TLOU2 in its 40+hour bloated glory (grounded difficulty), I don't know how long it took other people to finish it but, those 40+hours I mentioned ? Shit, it took me about 2 months to be able to watch the ending credits.

I also managed to finish stray with my girlfriend (we loved it) and part of the reason we managed to do so is because it was a short (but sweet) experience clocking at about 8-9 hours.

Returnal is mighty good and right up my alley atmosphere/aesthetically wise and I fire it up every now and then, same thing with Demon's souls.

After these 4 games though...well, fook me :

- Days gone : I really wanted to like it since word of mouth has been pretty good after all the bug patching and 60fps on the PS5 but, for fuck's sake, this is an Ubisoft game in all but name, side quest this, side quest that, collectibles, craft mats collecting, 647583 icons on the map, quests that make you ride to the other side of the map and....AAARrghhh, couldn't do it anymore, back to the back burner it went .
Also : After finishing TLOU2, man, this game just can't compare when it comes to attention to detail, animations, sound production etc etc.

- FF7REi :
Listen, I never was a Square enix fan (nor a FF one) but after finishing the mediocre FF15 a couple of years back i thought "why not".Anyway, when there's actual gameplay it's actually kinda fun ? The thing is though - you guessed it - it's another 50-60-70 hours "epic" and I bailed out as soon as I saw the map after meeting Tifa (cutscene with hooded dude after getting to your room).
I keep reading in here that the game is padded to hell and back and...I just don't know if I could do it.
Back to the back burner it went.

- Ghost of Tsushima :
I expected more from the graphics to be honest (those faces and lip-sync aren't great) but the problem is - YOU GUESSED IT AGAIN - that it's another open world Ubi-like game with everything it entails.Combat is simple yet fun but I just don't know if I can muster the strength to continue playing.

- Horizon forbidden west:
Finished the 1st game back in the day and while I find the basic "google became Skynet and the whole world got fucked®" story intriguing, the rest is - sweet mother of god - just...shite ? Who the fuck are these uninteresting characters and why won't they just shut the fuck up ? Shit boys, I keep skipping dialogue lines constantly and I never do that in games, it's just that everything feels boring, plus, game is another - YOU GUESSED IT MADAFAKAS - Ubi-clone with infiniiiiite icons on the map, a gazillion side quests etc etc, fuck me, people were right in here saying that it was a bloated mess...
Shame, since I'd really like to know how the story goes with the Ted Faro guy and any upcoming twists but, again, bloating too stronK.

Bonus : I also have GOW Ragnarok since it came with the console and...yep, another 50 hour epic apparently, keep reading in here that it's also a bloated mess with more cutscenes than actual gameplay but, tbh, after 3 hours of gameplay I still prefer it to Horizon FW.

And here lies the real problem : it's not me being tired of games, it's the fact that developers nowadays think that everything has to be a 70 hour game/epic otherwise their game(s) won't sell , thing is, this kind of homogenization isn't good since - obviously - everything starts to feel so similar/familiar to the point where most games feel like re-skins of other ones if I'm to be (kind of) hyperbolic.

So let me ask you this :
Which games of those that I mentioned you enjoyed the most and why ? Which one should i choose to play when held at gunpoint and why ?

Love you all
heart-shape-heart-sign.gif
You’re preferred style of game seems in line with mine

If you love TLOU Part 2, you’ll love TLOU Part 1 (PS5 version) even more. It’s my second favorite on the PS5. It feels alive in your hand thanks to the haptic feedback and trigger effects that Part 2 does NOT have… Oh, and Part 1 isn’t even as long as Part 2.

My favorite currently is The Callisto Protocol. It’s not long. It’s the most current gen feeling. Using the baton feels bad-ass!! Bugs are gone thanks to the patches. No HUD. No map! Not open world. Just kick ass and feel every shot and hit!
Start on easy mode and upgrade your weapons. Then do new-game-plus and play on the harder modes.
 
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dDoc

Member
From the list that you mentioned, I would go with:

1. Ragnarok

2. FF7R (hard mode is where it shines though)

The rest can wait.
 

Robbinhood

Banned
There are a ton of shorter games on PS+ mate.

Play Uncharted 4/LL, brilliant games.

I'm not gonna say play Days Gone first but its such an underrated experience. The first few hours are slow, as your bike is limited and it builds on that. I liked that actually since it provides a sort of survival experience but the action is around the corner. It really came the closest to providing that Walking Dead world/feeling that is not found in any other game. Hordes are really intense.

I still need to check out the 60fps version.
 

RCU005

Member
Hello my beautiful lads and lasses.

OK, here's the thing :
After getting my PS5 about 2 months ago, and after finishing the (excellent to me) TLOU2 (this will be a topic for another day), I'm having a really, REALLY hard time choosing what to play from the friggin' Ps plus extra catalogue...
You see, I never had much love for open-world games, plus, gaming time is nowadays limited so i really don't have the luxury to be playing all those 60-70 hours "epics" anymore.

I mean, heck, I still don't know how I managed to finish TLOU2 in its 40+hour bloated glory (grounded difficulty), I don't know how long it took other people to finish it but, those 40+hours I mentioned ? Shit, it took me about 2 months to be able to watch the ending credits.

I also managed to finish stray with my girlfriend (we loved it) and part of the reason we managed to do so is because it was a short (but sweet) experience clocking at about 8-9 hours.

Returnal is mighty good and right up my alley atmosphere/aesthetically wise and I fire it up every now and then, same thing with Demon's souls.

After these 4 games though...well, fook me :

- Days gone : I really wanted to like it since word of mouth has been pretty good after all the bug patching and 60fps on the PS5 but, for fuck's sake, this is an Ubisoft game in all but name, side quest this, side quest that, collectibles, craft mats collecting, 647583 icons on the map, quests that make you ride to the other side of the map and....AAARrghhh, couldn't do it anymore, back to the back burner it went .
Also : After finishing TLOU2, man, this game just can't compare when it comes to attention to detail, animations, sound production etc etc.

- FF7REi :
Listen, I never was a Square enix fan (nor a FF one) but after finishing the mediocre FF15 a couple of years back i thought "why not".Anyway, when there's actual gameplay it's actually kinda fun ? The thing is though - you guessed it - it's another 50-60-70 hours "epic" and I bailed out as soon as I saw the map after meeting Tifa (cutscene with hooded dude after getting to your room).
I keep reading in here that the game is padded to hell and back and...I just don't know if I could do it.
Back to the back burner it went.

- Ghost of Tsushima :
I expected more from the graphics to be honest (those faces and lip-sync aren't great) but the problem is - YOU GUESSED IT AGAIN - that it's another open world Ubi-like game with everything it entails.Combat is simple yet fun but I just don't know if I can muster the strength to continue playing.

- Horizon forbidden west:
Finished the 1st game back in the day and while I find the basic "google became Skynet and the whole world got fucked®" story intriguing, the rest is - sweet mother of god - just...shite ? Who the fuck are these uninteresting characters and why won't they just shut the fuck up ? Shit boys, I keep skipping dialogue lines constantly and I never do that in games, it's just that everything feels boring, plus, game is another - YOU GUESSED IT MADAFAKAS - Ubi-clone with infiniiiiite icons on the map, a gazillion side quests etc etc, fuck me, people were right in here saying that it was a bloated mess...
Shame, since I'd really like to know how the story goes with the Ted Faro guy and any upcoming twists but, again, bloating too stronK.

Bonus : I also have GOW Ragnarok since it came with the console and...yep, another 50 hour epic apparently, keep reading in here that it's also a bloated mess with more cutscenes than actual gameplay but, tbh, after 3 hours of gameplay I still prefer it to Horizon FW.

And here lies the real problem : it's not me being tired of games, it's the fact that developers nowadays think that everything has to be a 70 hour game/epic otherwise their game(s) won't sell , thing is, this kind of homogenization isn't good since - obviously - everything starts to feel so similar/familiar to the point where most games feel like re-skins of other ones if I'm to be (kind of) hyperbolic.

So let me ask you this :
Which games of those that I mentioned you enjoyed the most and why ? Which one should i choose to play when held at gunpoint and why ?

Love you all
heart-shape-heart-sign.gif

It seems like you don’t like these kind of games and you’re having a hard time playing them, so why do it? Find games that you like and you enjoy.
 
Miles Morales for me was just right. Didn't feel bloated like Horizon or Ghost of Tshushima. Had the polish of a linear game like Uncharted while being open world.
 

Giallo Corsa

Gold Member
So, i think i'm gonna stick with FF7Ri for the time being, tried Horizon FW again and i just feel like it's not respecting my time, plus, i find the navigation extremely weird/wonky ? Fiddled with the compass options in the menus but i keep going the wrong way, and no, it's not my 1st open orld game, it's just that the "GPS" in the game is weird.
Ghosts of Tsushi will have to wait, Days gone is from the PS plus collection so it can't be taken out of rotation and i'll give it a proper go when i'll finish those other games first.Same with GOW Ragnarok, it's technically "mine" (console bundle) so i'll finish it at a later date.

Also, regarding some of the suggested titles in here :
- Psychonauts 2 : i don't have an xsx anymore.
- Stray : already finished, i really enjoyed it.
- Uncharted games : already finished all of 'em on PS4.
- Ratchet and Clank : not my style of game but, i'm gonna give it a try.

Thanks for chiming in guys/gals, 'ppreciate it ;)
 

Neilg

Member
FF7r is a 35 hour game... it's not 50-70 hours unless you replay it on hard mode.

I struggle with long games too (I play max 40 hours in a month), but ghost hooked me like the witcher 3 did once it picked up steam and I platted it in 90h.
 
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Giallo Corsa

Gold Member
Aaaand, I'm back again !

Anyway, don't know what happened but...gave Horizon FW another try and now I'm hooked ? I mean, I still heavily dislike the whole tribal aesthetics and still don't give a rat's arse about most of the cast , but man does the game really shine when it comes to the "ancient's" lore, I really enjoy exploring the ruins and reading /listening to exposition dumps (some of them are really dark) since the whole atmosphere is thick...
I just met "those" people and now I'm completely hooked story-wise (although I can already guess who they are).

The melee is also a BIG upgrade compared to the 1st game (mostly due to the unlockable combos) and the parachute thingie is a godsend.
I still have a problem with the navigation system in the game since the GPS is a POS in this one, the fact that Aloy feels twitchy to control and can get stuck in bushes etc, the fact that mounts also do the same and can't jump over small obstacles most of the time etc etc.
I also dislike that you have 475883 different weapons each with their own perks/stats.

Also : I don't quite get the "cross-gen" complaints, this is one of the prettiest games out there ffs and the world feels curated and diverse compared to the usual Ubisoft games.

Looking forward to what's coming next, I only hope that it doesn't take me 80 hours to complete 😁

Gonna finish this first and then I'll go with FF7R (if it doesn't get taken out from rotation)

Cheers
 
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