What are you playing this weekend/these days?


I've recently discovered and started playing Dwarf Fortress. I've heard the name before, but was ignorant of its background and what it is - now I feel it will eat up many, many hours...

For people that haven't bought Dwarf Fortress, as you'll be stuck on that one for a long time, this game should be somewhat similar: https://www.gog.com/en/game/rimworld
I think the free version of Dwarf Fortress is also still available: http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
 
Too bad it is not free as in "freedom" software. Just free of cost.


I found Maze of Galious in the Maemo devel repos. It is a side-scrolling platformer and a "metroidvania" before Castlevania and when no other Metroid than first had come out. Supposedly, Castlevania was based on Maze of Galious. And considering that the first Metroid is widely regarded as not being a so-called "Metroidvania", I guess we ought to name these games after Maze of Galious. I like "maze-likes". Reminds me of rogue-likes and the name is fitting since these games tend to be maze-like. Sometimes I just call them "exploration platformers", like how rogue-likes are often referred to as "dungeon crawlers".

The game is open like BotW but MoG is much more polished. Unlike BotW clunky save system, MoG has a solid password system. Only the bravest knights get cheatcodes! Obtaining these codes is a rite of passage into knighthood.
 
Metroidvania… had to Google what that actually means. A platformer with a map and regions you unlock with items…. Wow.

I never played Metroid nor Castlevania. To me, they both had crappy, old fashioned gameplay. Very clunky controls and slow. I preferred fast games like SMB, MegaMan, Ninja Gaiden, SF2, etc. So to me “metroidvania” is a super retro type of early platformer or insult.
 
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"Metroidvania" is a little bit of a vague term. Like "roguelike", it means slightly different things to different people. But generally Metroidvanias are about exploration and involve backtracking and collecting items to unlock new paths.

I do not mind a bit of clunkiness. Maze of Galious is slow and a bit clunky. The game gives the player a sword attack which is very much like that of the original Zelda, just a small dinky stab to the front. In fact, the game is a bit like a side-scrolling Zelda.
 
The original castlevania game wasn't a "metroidvania" (arguably "Vampire Killer" on MSX could be considered as one but it's too obscure to be a reference), neither was the third. The second could arguably be considered as one but they only went in that direction from Symphony of the Night on PSX.

I like the Castlevania games. They are slow but not that clunky. The lack of air control can take some time to get used to but isn't too problematic in the first game. The third one is more enjoyable with an air control patch and the ones after have better controls. What I enjoy is that they're mostly "fair" and don't require learning the levels as much as other platformers from that era. You rarely die because you had to know that there is that enemy there or that you would need to jump at that moment. Everything is on the screen and you just have to handle things as they come.

In fact, the game is a bit like a side-scrolling Zelda
Like Zelda 2? ;)
 

I have a seperate device that I run android games/apps on because the vast majority of them are loaded with spyware. I've never added any personal info to or inserted a sim card into the device. I also get the games/apps via the Aurora Store and F-Droid rather than the play store.
 
Core Wars is pretty fun. It is an old game (older than I am) involving making a program in a weird assembly language that's called "Redcode" and then letting them battle in a computer that's called "pMARS". It also had an on-line competitions available but I am not sure if any of those are still on-line.

Most importantly, a working pMARS package is available on Maemo Leste for the N900 and maybe also for the Pyra, considering the N900 gets it from Debian.
 
^ Goshdarnit... After seeing how there's new, small and fat 800x480 Jelly phones from Unihertz - those remind me so much of the N900, and the lack of similar phones in the market. I miss a modern device like that.
 
I finally beat Water Temple in Ocarina, then The Well, now I'm on Shadow Temple. I need to get better at fencing with Stalfos. I usually lose a few hearts.
 
Switching back and forth between Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime (with Dolphin-Primehack - highly recommended) at the moment. Hope to receive my Abxylute in the mail today. Sunshine + Moonlight works really well for streaming games from my Desktop while on the couch or in bed. But The GPD Win Max is too heavy to enjoy longer sessions, so I'm looking forward to that light Android handheld.
 
This is what I've got to look forward to after I've finished the PowerWash Simulator Tomb Raider DLC.

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Took a break from the Metroids (stuck in fusion, a bit annoyed by prime) and returned to Dusk. For some reason stopped at the end boss more than a year ago. Went through the whole game again and beat the boss first try. Wasn't even that hard. I love this game for what it does with so little budget in modeling and animation. Lighting, sounds and music really do it for me in this one, apart from the surprises in level building.

BTW there's Dusk '82, a 2D puzzler. The soundtrack of which is also done by Andrew Hulshult, but this time in chiptune style, based on Dusk's OST.
 
Be a sneaking, wall-jumping, katana-slashing and guns-blazing alien gal in an amazing retro-graphics sci-fi world filled with fully voiced characters, accompanied by a great soundtrack. Still early access, already awesome. Almost forgot the fisticuffs: punch, block and kick to your heart's content.

 
Be a sneaking, wall-jumping, katana-slashing and guns-blazing alien gal in an amazing retro-graphics sci-fi world filled with fully voiced characters, accompanied by a great soundtrack. Still early access, already awesome. Almost forgot the fisticuffs: punch, block and kick to your heart's content.

Looks like Shadow Warrior got an actual retroactive successor. Putting the burst pipe on fire looked awesome.
 
Be aware that, as of now, it is not very well balanced, it is indeed good in many ways, but stealth, hand to hand combat and parkour things together don't work very well, seems to me they wanted to add everything to the game, and this is cool and all, but something should be removed or modified to make the game really enjoyable.
Anyway, as far as I know they expect to finish the game in 3 years (2026), so, there's enough time to really make it a legendary game.
 
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