Let me put it on the table that my memory might not be the most reliable resource, but I don't remember groups of days of continuous rain happening much in my childhood. It's like a monsoon and this is the first year of my life that I have to be out in it, thanks to the work I do now. Halloween was spent playing Overwatch, as any kind of parties or Trick-or-Treating was done far away from where I live.
I finally got around to getting the platinum in Hades, and I'm devastated that it won't fill my game time anymore. The game paired well with my shortening tolerance and attention span in my gaming sessions because it can be beat in 30 - 45min once you get good at it. The experience is different every time, based on the 15-20 active and passive upgrades you gain on a successful run. I can continue to do runs and test strategies, but I've exhausted all of the story developments and seen every major combination. I've had Zeus enchant my shield so that it zaps enemies with lightning after bouncing off them to another target. I've been enchanted by Aphrodite to make enemies I dash through get hit by an aura that lowers their damage output with a chance to charm them. I've even asked Hermes to improve my movement speed and ability to dodge projectiles. Hades is so thorough, deliberate and integrated that I can't find any faults. If you like action games, hand-drawn art, great music, fast-paced dynamic gameplay or roguelikes, there is something for you. It's like a 20-30 hour Diablo character run to level 99 condensed into less than an hour.
I tried the Battlefield 2042 demo...just to re-affirm that Battlefield games aren't my cup of tea. There was no screen to look at the controls, just simple toggles. The game had lots of glitches, as a beta does, but occasionally, those lead to death. In BF2042, traversal is a nightmare, especially compared to its contemporaries Apex Legends and Doom Eternal. I left out Call of Duty, cause short sprinting sucks and so does clicking thumbsticks. You'll die, respawn 1,000,000 miles away from any kind of fighting, and slowly walk your ass to any interesting points. You might get sniped on your way and repeat it again. The maps I played were too big, and I don't think the weekend I had to play the beta was enough time to get familiar with the game. The review I watched by SkillUp, someone who has more experience with the Battlefield series, confirmed the game sucked.
I'm also trying to get into Deathloop - a game that was strongly marketed for months before its original Mar 2020 release all the way to its actual release in Sep 2021. It looks like a polished Arkane/Bethesda game for the PS4 despite being on PS5. I wish the game's AA-feel stopped at the graphics, but the enemy AI is also pretty dumb. Enemies run straight into traps and only basically duck behind cover while being fired at, only to pop up after a time rather than as a reaction to my gunfire. For the most part, you can dual-wield weapons and items, which looks corny, but I guess simplifies controls. I've gotten lost in the game a few times, running around a map after all my kills, trying to figure out what to do next. If you don't remember where the exit is, you are stuck in that level, as it only marks it on the map when your objectives are complete. I just wonder how much better a game they could have produced with 12 months less of advertising shifted to producing the game. The bigger magazines gave it 9-10/10 but I have no idea what game they're playing. New IP is hard to do successfully and good for Arkane Systems for what they produced.
The one thing I like about Deathloop is the voice acting - it is superb and pretty unique, though it feels like it doesn't fit the 60s motif. I expected more 'cat' and 'groovy,' and '-idelic' and stuff, but the characters sound like modern Californians. At least they're not annoying like Borderlands characters.
I guess I'll continue the wait for good PS5 games while we cruise on to the console's first birthday.
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