I usually play open worlds for about 100 hours. By then I’ve usually completed the main story and after that I often lose interest. Every now and then I follow a few loose ends of side quests but that doesn’t last long… and I think that’s enough time for one game.
I’m also not the type to play a title several times. There are too many for that and I don’t feel like playing the same quests again if I already know the outcome. Even if some developers have included many strands, it’s still basically the same story.
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I’m usually the same way. If I can even make it through the main quest before I lose interest. I don’t think I’ve ever even completed a Witcher game despite playing all 3 of them. There was just something about playing the melee berserker in Cyberpunk that I couldn’t get enough of. 
I was sad to put it down.
And since I went on a tangent in this thread, I’m currently playing Barony and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and enjoying both of them.
And I recently played and beat Tactical Breach Wizards, by the developer of Heat Signature. I think that was my favorite game of the year.
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This isn’t a game I’m playing, but rather a series of games I’m learning about. The series of videos does an excellent job of showcasing how Ultima III-VI were each incredibly innovative in their own way. They introduced entirely new approaches to CRPGs and, I’d argue, to game design in general (including board games). If you’re into game documentaries, I highly recommend this series. Ultima VI, in particular, was the first fully non-linear, do-anything-you-want, interact-with-the-world type of game. Skyrim owes a great deal to it.
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Caves of Qud 1.0 recently released. I’ll probably be recording a Digital Dive episode on this soon.
Highly recommended for fans of Metamorphosis Alpha, Gamma World, and Dark Venture.
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Wow, been 4 years since I last played CoQ. Sounds like a good time to load it back up. Update says 17 years of development!
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Playing Path of Exile 2 right now, level 13 Lightning Sorceress.
Game is hard though, much harder than the first game.
Boss fights are cool. Everything so far seems well made, excited to see the future of the game.
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I love this guys videos! I grew up with Ultima V on my families Tandy 1000.
I’m actually in the process of replaying it right now! I’m trying to go into it as blind as I can, but I do remember some things from youth, as well as a few things I’ve learned over the years. I love having to manually take notes, and read maps. It’s so fun, and it’s a vibe that’s missing from modern games.
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Yeah. It’s an amazing achievement.
There are actually a lot of these kinds of old school games out now. A total golden era of old school vibes during the last 5 or so years. Moonring, Caves of Qud, Dwarf Fortress, Outer Wilds, all the Souls games, etc.
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That’s awesome! I’d love to find the time to jump into as well at some point.
I highly recommend checking out Skald: Against the Black Priory as well as Nox Archaist. Both games are highly influenced by Ultima V in particular with Nox being a very similar game and Skald implementing a lot of newer inspirations as well. I’m playing Skald right now and it’s really great.
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Holy crow the new Indiana Jones game is masterful! Pure joy! The level design is so good.
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I haven’t played it yet but watched a decent amount of stream and the level design does seem top notch, lots of attention to details and really well made!
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Y’know, I thought I could count on AAA games based on blockbuster movies to be terrible. Especially in 2024. I didn’t even give this one a second glance… And now it’ll probably be the next thing I play. I just made my girls watch The Last Crusade a couple months ago…
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The last good Indiana Jones movie, but I do hear the story in the game is fantastic!
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It’s from a bunch of the same people who made Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay, and that was an all-time great game.
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Oh yeah?! That game was really good. Glad to see these guys got to work together again then. I’m even more excited now.
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Yeah. The core team started MachineGames after Starbreeze folded. They also made the last 2 Wolfenstein games.
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Eurogamer’s review of Caves of Qud is worth a read.
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Wave function collapse (a procedural generation method) was used to create the worlds of CoQ. It’s fascinating if you look into it and consider it in the context of randomization in board games.
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My friends are thinking of getting into it. How complex are the systems compared to poe1?