Today's Play: Thoughts on Dark Souls, D4, Never Alone, Deus Ex; This Week's Schedule

Shawn Farner -

I think I’m actually enjoying this.

In case you missed last week’s post, I’ve committed to trying out a lot of new games — around four or five a week — so that I can experience more than the one game that’s hooked me (hint: starts with “D”, ends with “estiny”). I played four games in the past seven days that I’d never touched before, and aside from one, I thought they were all good, fun games that I plan on coming back to.

The one that isn’t making the cut for me (and the one that will make the “hardcore” crowd disappointed) is Dark Souls. I wanted to love it, because it has such a passionate following, and because I wanted to feel like I was good enough to best its challenges. But I found myself frustrated with the controls, and I grew bored with dying and having to make my way back through a lot of what I’d passed. Dark Souls is for someone, but that someone isn’t me.

Up next was D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die. This is a sort of scavenger hunt mixed with a lot of QTEs (quick time events), very much in the vein of Telltale games like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. I actually liked this game so much that I played through the entire first chapter. Right now, there are only two. I plan on knocking that second chapter out in the near future, and I look forward to continuing the adventure when additional chapters are added.

Never Alone is a puzzle-platformer that can either be played solo or with a co-op partner. If you play by yourself, you can switch back and forth between a little girl and her companion, a fox. If you play with a friend, one of you can control each character. The girl and the fox have different abilities and skills, and you’ll need both to get through certain areas. I played quite a bit of this one — enough to where I don’t think I’m far from finishing. Definitely check this one out.

Lastly, Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut. This is a game that I sense is going to require a bit of a time investment. The thing that I really dug about Deus Ex is that the game is what you want it to be. It can be an action shooter. It can be a stealth game. It can be a mix of the two. In one area, I went in with guns blazing, and took out two enemies before a third caught me by surprise. On my next attempt, I located a ventilation duct in the ceiling, snuck into the room above the enemies, and quickly eliminated all three. Nearly every encounter in the game can be approached in multiple ways, and I love that.

So what’s next on the list? You’ll find the next week’s agenda below.

  • Monday – Defense Grid 2 (Xbox One)
  • Tuesday – Destiny: House of Wolves (Xbox One)
  • Wednesday – Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)
  • Thursday – Bit.Trip Runner2 (PC)

I’m cheating slightly this week, as I play a lot of Destiny. But there’s new content coming out on Tuesday, and there’s no way I’m missing out on that.

I streamed three out of the four games last week, and you can keep an eye on that channel should you want to see how I’m faring. I don’t think any of this week’s games will be as bad as my session with Dark Souls, so there’s that to be thankful for.

Have a title you want to recommend? Definitely shoot me an email — shawn@besttechie.com. Otherwise, catch you next week.