this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2025

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What Are Ya'll Playing? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by PKscope@lemmy.world to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world

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Just thought I could get a discussion thread going. What is everyone playing lately?

I just finished playing Metal Gear Solid Delta, it was great! I decided to play through the series finally after years of watching video essays on the game, and I'm glad I did! I played Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Subsistence through emulation (4k HD for the win!) It was a great experience and I can see why the series is so highly venerated. It holds up remarkably well, and the long cut scenes were really enjoyable. I thought it would be annoying, but I actually found myself looking forward to them. Delta was like jumping forward in time 30 years, but still extremely fun. I'm glad they stayed so close to the source material so I could just play the new release instead of booting up Snake Eater through emulation.

Now if I could just play IV without a PS3, that would be awesome. I might have to try emulation on that, but from what I read, the experience isn't great.

Regardless, now I'm replaying Max Payne 3. This game IS SO FREAKING GOOD. I had forgotten how good it is. The noir narration is just amazing. The gameplay is tight as a snare drum. The art style and visuals are still amazing even when compared to modern games. Rockstar really knocked this game out of the park. I still haven't played Max Payne 1 or 2, and maybe I should. Also, I found out that one of the bands I've recently discovered and have been listening to like crazy, Health, did the score for Max Payne 3. The music is fantastic. If you haven't played it, I highly recommend giving it a go.

Other than those games, I plan to play through The Last of Us 1 for the first time soon. Not sure how "retro" it is, but I think it is borderline given the original release date and hardware. Looking forward to trying it for the first time. I've never had Sony consoles, so I've missed out on a ton of first-party Sony games over the years. Trying to make up for that by playing modern PC releases and through emulation.

So yeah, what do ya'll have going on right now? What do you recommend playing and why?

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[–] mrfriki@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

The Amiga version of Alien Breed 2. Bitch is hard as nails in a coffin. In comparison the Alien Breed trilogy on PC on hardest difficulty is a walk in the park.

[–] Gonzako@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Cyberpunk 2077. Felt like a good moment to buy it as its finished. It's basically modernized skyrim and I love that.

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Probably my favorite game and game world of all time. Though, to be honest, I'm having difficulty in relating it to Skyrim. Then again, I was never big into Skyrim. I always got bored half way through the game and never finished it. Probably just a setting thing. I really like sci-fi and less into fantasy.

Did you get Phantom Liberty? If not, I highly recommend it. It's ridiculously good. I'm on my 5th or 6th playthrough and still finding new things and details I missed previously. The world is ridiculously dense.

[–] Gonzako@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

I'm running Phantom liberty right now! I'm liking it quite a bit. I'm at the part where you gotta get into the big hotel.

[–] biofaust@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

A Plague's Tale: Innocence
Blade Runner
Freedom Fighters and trying hard to make Dominatrix work to play SiN Gold again.

[–] LazyPotato@lemmy.zip 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'm playing Chrono Trigger on my Miyoo Mini and I'm planning to finish it and play Mother 3 (since I finished Earthbound some time ago and really loved it). Also honorable mention when I need a quick time kill: Catrap (GB) and Apotris

I absolutely do recommend playing Earthbound if you still haven't because this really is a story with a soul and I'm astonished that I haven't heard about it before. Also btw this game has an S-tier manual, google it.

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Heck yeah I'll check it out!

I keep thinking about picking up one of those small emulation devices but I keep coming back to the same thing... My phone is probably just as powerful and I already own it. It's a little annoying to have to have a controller to play, though.

I have all my emulators up to ps2 on my phone and they run great in high resolution. I'm struggling to find a need for one of those aside from "I want it." Lol

[–] LazyPotato@lemmy.zip 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Yeah, I also had my phone emulation phase but it kinda sucked having to lug around a controller, searching for it in my bag, turning on, connecting via BT - that took a lot of time and eventually I got kinda lazy and stopped doing it. Plus the distractions of my phone (nothing sucks more than getting a message from boss in the middle of the game) and fast draining of charge.

But you do you man, I'm happy that it's working for you! Kinda even jealous for ps2, my miyoo can only emulate anything up to ps1. And shooters are not great on it. Tried Quake 2, playable but not super comfy.

By the way, reason like "I want it" is valid too, miyoos are really cheap, I remember thinking to myself "worth a shot, as long as I won't fall into a rabbit hole of modding it or collecting dozens of other emulators" - and I didn't. Thx for answering btw, it's great seeing folks with different experience. What are your favorite games apart from Max Payne?

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

You're right. "I want it" is completely valid. If I had a bit more disposable income to play with I think I'd probably go ahead and bite the bullet.

I wouldn't call Max Payne one of my "favorite" games, more that its a really good game that I'm currently discovering just how good it is. My favorite games are Cyberpunk 2077... Probably have like 500 hours in that. Had it since launch. By far my favorite "world" I've ever been immersed in. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been living rent-free in my head for months. That was a masterpiece. I spend 75% of my gaming time playing race sims, though. I've been going hard on Le Mans Ultimate lately. It's so good! I want a race sim rig so bad. It's the one thing I've wanted for years that I haven't been able to get a chance to get. Hard to drop 2g's on a peripheral.

Beyond that, more retro... Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, The Typing of the Dead (God I love this one. So glad RetroArch exists otherwise I would have never got to experience it)

[–] LazyPotato@lemmy.zip 2 points 5 days ago

Thx for recommendations! I'm also a biiiig fan of Expedition 33 btw, it's so good!

[–] lath@piefed.social 2 points 6 days ago

Mount and Blade Warband with conversion mods. All the different settings are interesting and each mod has its own specialty that makes it stand out.

[–] HouseWolf@pawb.social 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Started playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 again after being disappointed by the "remaster" which was just a THPS 3 and 4 map-pack without all the maps and a premium price tag...

Kinda did it backwards since I actually replayed THPS4 again after they announced the original single player mode wouldn't be in 3+4 >.>

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

I had some fun messing around with that remake they recently did. I unlocked all the levels in three and got most of the challenges done. I'm more of a Skate guy to be honest. Skate 2 and Skate 3 are all-time greats for me. The new skate game that is free to play is the biggest piece of shit I've ever played. It makes me so mad every time I think about it. Been waiting on that game for like a decade and they absolutely shit all over it and us. They absolutely ruined it.

No I'm not upset at all about it I always have steam coming out of my ears.

[–] Theprogressivist@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Dude! I was so fucking surprised at how well Max Payne 3 still holds up. Better than most shooters nowadays.

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It's unreal. Just the feel of the game is amazing. Modern gaming is great and all, but something about that 6th/7th generation just hits. It was like the perfect mix of player-focused design and modern tech. There's a lot of games with amazing potential nowadays, but they are ruined by silly design choices like always-online implementation or micro-transactions. The games from the 6th and 7th generations are just so feature-rich and laden with game modes and statistics tracking that it's disheartening to see how far we've regressed in those areas in modern games, seemingly all in pursuit of making the walls have 5% more fidelity than before.

[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

3 was great on it's own merits as a game, but the noir elements were ratched way down compared to the first and second.

Max Payne 2 was... I dunno... damn well perfect for what it was supposed to be in the era it was developed with the technology of the time.

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[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Balatro till I've beat it

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I've been on a Balatro kick lately too! My nightly routine is to play Mad Skills MX 2 and do all my versus races against my friends, and then boot up Balatro till I fall asleep. Good stuff. I'm working through doing all the red stakes challenges right now. I'm on the Telescope? deck. I think that's the name of it.

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[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Max Payne 1&2 still hold up I think. The upshot of using comic book style slideshow sequences instead of cutscenes is that it's aged really well. Story, mood and atmosphere is great in both and I think the gameplay is still pretty decent. Keep in mind 1&2 were Remedy games while 3 was Rockstar, so they will feel noticeably different for better or worse. Most Max Payne fans will say it like: Max Payne 3 is a great game, it's just not a great Max Payne game. It doesn't have that Remedy touch, it isn't good at the things that made the first two so special. Amazing 3rd person gunplay though.

Speaking of, there is a Remedy-themed Humble Bundle online right now with their whole catalogue minus Firebreak for like 30 bucks. Not a bad way to get your hands on MP 1&2. Pretty remarkable value, although with the two caveats that Alan Wake 2 is (1) only playable through Epic and (2) coming to PS+ next month if you have that platform and service.

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Good to know! Thanks, homie.

I'm definitely going to play 1 & 2. The love for them is overwhelming. I wonder if I'll feel differently than others due to playing 3 first. That'll be interesting to find out.

[–] anton2492@lemmy.nz 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (7 children)

Hey friend, cheers for the thread. I'm strangely happy and relieved to have found something chill enough to engage with in the midst of all the crazy political drama around the place.

I'm glad you're enjoying Max Payne 3. I liked it too, though It had to grow on me, especially after having played MP1 and MP2. The first one especially blew me away even when I played it for the first time back in 2008 - its combination of beautiful, prosaic noir writing, the modern incorporation of Norse mythology, and innovative (for the time) gameplay, among other traits, continues to make it stand out amongst the rest.

If you get to play it, I'd highly recommend checking out the PCGamingWiki page for the fixes to help it work better in general and on modern systems.

Currently, I'm playing RoboCop: Rogue City and Schedule I. Playing on both sides of the law by the looks of it, haha.

Rogue City is a great experience as far as faithfully adapting the dystopian, mega-corporatised, hyper-violent world of RoboCop to the gaming screen;
Schedule I has you build a drug empire through a surprisingly addictive (heh) gameplay loop of producing and distributing different types of drugs (I found myself staying up til 4AM while crafting all-new marijuana strains with kickass names like the Ninja Witch).

I've also been revisiting old PS2 games on PCSX2 emulator. Currently replaying:

WWE games - Here Comes the Pain, and SvR'06/07 (peak of the franchise, imo)
Dog's Life - the adorable yet disturbing, fantastically scored, janky GTA-flavoured canine adventure still entertains.

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[–] cdzero@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Playing the original God of War for the first time via the PS3 collection. I'm also chipping away at Mario Picross 2 (Gameboy) on my Retroid Pocket 4.

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The God of War series is on my list of "to play" games. I've played about 2 hours worth of the first modern GoW game, but nothing else. I'm going to start on the old ps2 games and work my way through.

[–] cdzero@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

As far as PS2 games go, it's very playable by today's standards. Controls are a bit funky but easy enough to adapt to.

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[–] weirdo_from_space@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I can't stop playing Enter the Gungeon, this is a cry for help. /hj

Also I decided to try Flashback again (Genesis version). This game always seemed really cool but I never progressed far on it since it's so unlike anything else from the era. Kind of surprising more indies don't take a crack at this formula.

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

I've never heard of Flashback before. That game looks sick! I'm huge into sci-fi and cyberpunk stuff, so I think that might be right up my alley. Thanks for the suggestion!

[–] Addv4@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Finished up "my friend Pedro" a couple of weeks ago (absolutely recommend if you haven't played it, especially with a high refresh rate screen), played control for a bit (interesting beginning, but the more you play the more confusing/boring I found it), and been revisiting doom eternal since I just upgraded my PC about a month ago. I was planning to play it through with the dlc expansions, then maybe try cyberpunk after. Also been intermittently playing "golf with your friends" when I have game night, pretty fun to play with friends and doesn't take too much effort.

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[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Finally playing Silent Hill 2, which is scary as heck. (Try playing it with the sound off and your controller vibration on for a bit.)

Still playing Noita a lot.

Also DMing weekly campaigns on Neverwinter Nights.

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[–] HC4L@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Megabonk and Balatro. And I've just finished Max Payne 3! Really liked it!

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[–] Caveman@piefed.social 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Max Payne 3 is an an amazing. If you like slowmo bullet time stuff you might enjoy"My Friend Pedro"

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

I've seen My Friend Pedro a couple times in various places. Maybe I should give it a shot. Thanks for the tip!

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Finally picked up Hades II now that it's been officially released and I can enjoy it with all its polish. Already got 30 hours in and can't wait to spend more time tonight. The music is just constantly stuck in my head now.

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[–] tanisnikana@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I’ve been playing First Contact Protocol for the GBC and it’s really good!

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[–] sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today 3 points 1 week ago

Not retro, but retro pixel aesthetics. Songs of Conquest is a fantastic RPG

[–] allidoislietomyself@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Resident Evil 7. The last game I played was RE5 and I really didn't enjoy it. It's been years but I played the remake of RE2 when it came out and loved it. Picked up 7 and 8 during a recent steam sale. So far RE 7 is shaping up to be one of my favorites in the series.

[–] PKscope@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Resident Evil is one series I've never been able to garner the gumption to get into. I played about 30 minutes of RE4 remake through GamePass and it's just not for me, I believe. I'm not a horror fan anyway, but was hoping the gameplay would draw me in. Maybe I'm just missing something.

[–] allidoislietomyself@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I'm sorry to hear that but I totally get it. Horror games aren't for everyone. I haven't played the RE 4 remake but it's on my list! Gamepass is great for exactly how you experienced RE4. Unfortunately for me it's made playing games a bit like picking out something to watch on Netflix. Just too many options.

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