WTF Are You Playing?

Not gonna lie, appropriate capitalization in forum topics is my jam, so that felt good.

What's got you hooked?

I finally picked up GOD OF WAR, the newer one. I loved the original trilogy and this feels as difficult (but not Souls-like) as I remember. Two buttons, tons of possibilities! My life changed a lot since the originals, like Kratos, I too went from angry young man to dad, so this game hits close (though I have a daughter). Only a few hours in and will be chipping away for months. Hope to stick with it.

At least until the Mistlands update in VALHEIM.

I've been slowly going through Elden Ring. I have a bout 30+ hours of the game, and I am enjoying myself. But what's keeping this from GOAT material is that I think the actual combat is the weakest aspect of the game, at least compared to the exploration aspects where you might go past a section of the game you've past multiple times, take a turn you didn't before, and find yourself in an elevator taking you to an underground city. Stuff like that makes Elden Ring just a breathtaking experience.

What I don't care for is that the game is not really fair. More often than not, you will get killed because the game's enemies have can hurt you in ways that its nearly impossible to defend against. So it stops being about "gitting gud" and more about cheesing the system so that you're strong enough that it doesn't really matter how annoying the enemies are.

Well, when I'm not playing my Evercade retro console I've been enjoying the insanely fun (and somewhat challenging) SUPER CYBORG on my PS4. Basically a love letter to the Contra console games with some really great music and cool level design.

I haven't played a AAA game in awhile and I'm fine with that.

I had never heard of that, and now I am greatly intrigued. Is it challenging like a Souls game , or challenging like the original Contras?

It's challenging like the original Contras. The boss fights will make you turn the air blue.