the biggest problem plaguing the STALKER remasters is a strange bug that seems to cause the games to render at a resolution lower than what you set it as and then upscale it improperly, resulting in blurry, muddy visuals that persist even if you turn settings like AMD FSR Super Resolution and depth of field off.

Okay that’s… that’s not great, but should be fixable in a patch surely?

Another highly contentious change that’s drawn the ire of fans is the complete removal of everything Russian or related to the Soviet Union, including all Russian voice acting and localization, the use of Soviet rubles as in-game currency, and even every Soviet sign, statue, and landmark present in the real-world Chernobyl Exclusion Zone that were included in the original titles.

The versimilitude and basis in real world locations was a massive part of what made the originals so great, you can’t just scrub that off. I empathize with them, and I am personally firmly on the side of Ukraine but this sits really poorly with me.

The Zone’s supernatural mysteries are layered over recognizable pieces of Soviet iconography and rusting Soviet technology is a huge part of what gives STALKER its atmospheric vibe, and the absence of beloved voice lines like “Cheeki breeki iv damke!” just feels…wrong

Yeah I’m not touching these abominations. They even removed Cheeki Breeki? The single most recognisable thing in their games, the most prevalent and beloved meme?

Both are absolutely excellent, I ended up preferring some voices in French and some in English. For me French feels more immersive, but I grew up in a country that always used subtitles over dubs so I’m used to reading.

I’ve also just always loved french and speak and read a bit of it still so I was always going to go for that in a french game.

Blue Prince is such a masterpiece.

It’s not finished yet but OpenXray Gunslinger is probably going to be a better STALKER: Call of Pripyat remaster than the official one that just got announced.

I’m just at the beginning of Act 3 of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I’ve dragged my feet doing a lot of side content and playing slowly because I sort of don’t want this game to end. For once I wish this was a standard 100-hour JRPG fare and not as relatively short as it is at probably half that.

The game is very good. What else can be said at this point. There are minor niggles and nitpicks and occasionally some AA-ness rears its head but it’s overall one of the best games I’ve ever played so far. The story is amazing, the presentation is beautiful and the turn-based combat with QTEs and parries is super fun. The boss fights are cinematic and challenging in an almost Souls-like fashion. All the characters have distinct play styles and fun synergies.

It’s also an unabashedly French game and I’m really enjoying immersing myself in that to the max by using the French VAs.

PipePipe is my go-to as well.

Well needed to be honest. I love the original trilogy but they could do with a fresh coat of paint. I wish they’d touched up the animations too, the gunplay of the originals can feel quite… early 00’s.

Not sure this is the ideal long term solution but anything that combats Discord’s status of being an absolute information black hole is good.

Man, reading that old 2005 PC Gamer article really brings me back to older, better and happier times of gaming journalism too. It even mentions the bundled DVD with demos, mods and goodies you’d get each month. Those really were the days.

I think there is some memorable side content, and I don’t think there are too many main story sequences that are that bad. However, I agree with you that a fundamental problem no patch could fix is that the story CDPR wanted to tell marries really poorly with an open-world RPG. It’s often immersion breaking and it frequently messes up the pacing.

It almost feels like they felt pressured into including an open world from outside expectations when what they really wanted to make was a linear, cinematic action game.

Yes, plenty. This mod is what you want, but make sure to go into the comments and check the pinned posts. A user there has made an incredible compilation of essentially all the mods out there that makes the game harder and gritter. Just pick the ones that sound appealing from that list.

There are so many amazing mods that it’s easy to sink probably the equivalent of an entire playthroughs worth of hours into setting up a modlist. I have like 250 mods going or something like that.

Highly recommend it.

All the detail, the world building and the little pieces of narrative, the puzzles within puzzles and the constant feeling of the game just opening up under you and always throwing things at you making you go “wait, how big is this game?” was just so cool.

I might be high on recency bias in my praise but I was thoroughly enamoured with it.

I get that on Blue Prince. Even with the RNG control you’re afforded late game you’re still heavily affected by the luck of the draw. I still think it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played.

If you’re looking to see the rest of the game through someone else’s eyes to get a glimpse of the remaining puzzles I thoroughly recommend Luckless Lovelocks playthrough on YouTube. It’s still ongoing but I’ve really enjoyed his note taking and puzzle solving.

Still on an extended break from Blue Prince, hoping my sister and her fiancé catch up to me eventually so we can take a crack at the final(?) puzzle together but they’ve been busy lately and not had much time to play. If you enjoy puzzles and haven’t played it yet you are truly missing out. I still think it will be in GOTY contention even with all the other heavy hitters this year.

In the meantime I’ve been utterly enjoying Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I’m probably over the halfway point now in the story, though I’ve been dragging my feet doing side content and optional bosses to extend my playtime. For once when it comes to a JRPG I wish it was actually longer. I could easily lose myself in this world, story and among these characters for 100+ hours.

Really recommend the game, though with the effusive praise it’s been collecting that’s hardly a surprise. Brilliant music, engaging combat, interesting story and well written dialogue that is superbly acted whether you go for the English or French. And all that for a €50 game?!

That’s fair I’ll edit.

Yeah the payphone is also up there, and honestly, opening the secret compartment in the ledger too. Which when you think about it, all those best moments are so missable. Completely psychotic by the devs.

I’m thinking we’re sticking with games older than this year, as the dust hasn’t settled yet so to speak? Because honestly otherwise some recent entries would qualify for me. I’m thinking of you, Blue Prince and Clair Obscur.

I have a lower opinion of BG3 than most (it’s fine), but I absolutely agree that the Raphael boss fight and music was an absolute gaming highlight, and worth the price of admission alone.

Alan Wake 2 in its entirety would qualify for me, but if one moment has to be singled out then the We Sing chapter was something else. Honorable mention for

near the end, that was incredibly memorable.

Finally, and the real standout for me was the Final Dream in Disco Elysium. The most emotional, most impactful and heartbreaking and memorable moment I’ve had in gaming. And the most impressive seeing as Kurvitz (who wrote the scene) managed to distill the pathos and denouement of the entire game into three words to close the dream:

Will the Larry games still be up on GOG I wonder? I’ve played the (remake of the) first one and have been curious about Love For Sail as well as it’s apparently the best one (?). For better or worse they are iconic games that are part of the cultural landscape of gaming.

We had Balatro last year. Blue Prince released a month ago and is a bona fide GOTY contender from a tiny studio and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is possibly the best AA game of all time but sure, the games industry is dead. I’m convinced, back it up boys.