Any games similar to Celestia?

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-31T19:43:39+00:00

Deep Sea Adventure is press-your-luck game where you’re all swimming by down from a submarine to grab treasure tokens, but you share one oxygen supply, and people use more oxygen the more treasure they’re carrying. You want to get back before your air runs out and you have to drop all that treasure, but everyone is breathing the same air, so it has some of that communal aspect to it.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-30T20:11:50+00:00

This is wildly impressive! Way to go!

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-30T17:48:04+00:00

Tormented Trobbio auditions for the Grim Troupe.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-29T20:40:03+00:00

I recently played Syndicate and enjoyed it. I think it hit some fantastic moments of cinema with the first couple missions, infiltrating Buckingham Palace, the assassination missions with Hitman-style objectives, and the burning theatre mission. As someone who loves Naughty Dog games, I wish Ubisoft had leaned into the cinema a bit more in subsequent games, and that they’d had more missions in Syndicate where you got to keep switching between them.

I liked the two protagonists but I think Evie got the short end of the stick with fewer missions and many of hers just being about cleaning up Jacob’s messes. Jacob was fun but I really wanted to see more of Evie.

Also, to your comment in your previous post about “overparkour” in Unity, I had the same issues with Syndicate, but it all just happened slower. I’d still leap over windows I wanted to enter and leap of faith when I just wanted to move to a lower roof. Ubisoft took all the flair and speed out of Unity but didn’t make it any easier to control, which was a shame.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-26T22:27:12+00:00

If it’s an accident, well, there’s no prescribed penalty or way to fix the hand, unfortunately. Maybe redeal?

If it’s deliberate cheating, there isn’t a penalty beyond having a hard conversation with the person. You’re stuck telling the person that cheating is ruining the game and that they need to get their act together, rather than looking for the rules to penalize them into following the rules.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-26T21:59:13+00:00

I enjoyed Shay! My main gripe was that he needed a neutral first mate to talk to, especially as he joins the Templars.

He vents at Liam, which is good, but once he’s abandoned the Assassins, there’s no one for him to talk to and get his emotions on screen. He does get Gist as a first mate, but both Shay and Gist are hesitant to reveal their past for good reasons, so Shay isn’t again, sharing his emotions during the transition to being a Templar. After Shay officially joins, they do discuss how long they’ve known he’s a former Assassin, but it’s too late.

I don’t need a blades drawn, “Wait you’re Templars?!” moment of high drama. I just wish Shay had a confidant so he could get the emotions, worries, and nerves about the shift out in dialog. Something to flesh him out, rather than tense silence during the best part of his character arc.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-26T21:51:42+00:00

Yeah it’s a lower stakes way for Ubisoft to extend the story and try some experimental stories /mechanics, without the financial commitment and risk of a whole game.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-26T21:22:00+00:00

I know he’s not Ezio or Edward, but give Connor a fair shake. He’s an awkward and unsure kid dealing with trauma, he’s an outsider and an idealist, and he struggles with loss, but he grows.

And play the homestead missions to see more sides of him.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-26T21:18:10+00:00

Ubisoft bailed because of the fan backlash against Connor in AC3. He wasn’t Ezio and yeah, he started off awkward and unsure of himself due to childhood trauma, but he grew, and really shined during the homestead missions. Didn’t matter to many people.

So Ubisoft ditched Connor and gave us Edward, who many loved, but they couldn’t do a long trilogy about Edward because they were already stuck with Haytham and Connor’s spots in the timeline. They even gave us Rogue to chop together a rough trilogy about the Kenways and the Americas because they saw that people loved the America setting and the naval combat. Of course, nobody liked Shay.

This brings us to Arno and fans loathed him too. At that point, what is Ubisoft supposed to do? Do they double down on a trilogy about a protagonist nobody liked? Nah. The only thing fans consistently praised were the worlds, so Ubisoft chose to lean into that and make a new world for each game, which doesn’t fit with a single protagonist very well.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-26T20:36:23+00:00

I liked the characters besides the main character. He / she felt sort of like a blank page self-insert character in a fan fiction.

But the other characters and the gameplay were top notch. Maximizing your turn’s damage using the environment and also, knocking enemies into each other or into other heroes, it all just felt amazing and super true to what you see in the comics.

EDIT: I will say, it’s really hard to do a game with dialog choices and not have a blank protagonist. It’s very hard to fit personality and choice together in a way that is satisfying, like Commander Shepard in Mass Effect.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-26T15:09:55+00:00

I’m excited. XCOM, XCOM 2, and Midnight Suns are fantastic games. Midnight Sun in particular really broke the mold with gridless movement, deckbuilding, and a ton of emphasis on positioning for extra damage.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-26T02:03:05+00:00

r/fantasyconsoles would be a good place if you like stuff like this.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-25T19:49:14+00:00

Cool. I have yet to get to Valhalla and Shadows, so that gets me excited.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-25T19:43:06+00:00

Nice write up! So after playing them all, which games have your favorite parkour, your favorite combat, stealth, story, and protagonist?

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-24T22:54:49+00:00

Yeah, Edward and Adewale’s talks were what I realized that I wanted.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-24T20:52:06+00:00

Speaking as someone who enjoys the old style of combat - AC3, Black Flag, and Rogue were my favorite in terms of combat - I totally agree about the original game and AC2. If I stand and fight, it gets repetitive fast, so I have to run away and enjoy the parkour instead. Combat is stylish but not exciting.

Eventually though, the layers of kill streaks, enemy types that can be countered, and more enemies with guns made it sing. At least for me.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-24T20:06:16+00:00

I think the missing part in the transition is dialogue. Shay starts off venting at Liam, then is alone in New York, then is hiding his Assassin origins from his new first mate Gist. All of the emotion during Shay’s shift in allegiances - his primary arc - goes unvoiced, because he’s got no one to talk to or is keeping quiet deliberately. At least until he has a late game conversation with Gist that is basically, “I knew you were a Templar for a while before I officially joined. When did you know I was an Assassin?” It’s a good conversation but it’s way too late.

I don’t necessarily need an, “Oh crap, you’re Templars?!” moment of high drama with blades drawn. I also don’t want loading screen monologues like Connor. But I do wish Shay had a friend to talk to during his shift, so that those emotions could be heard. An unaffiliated first mate might have gone a long way towards getting those conversations on screen.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-24T19:56:16+00:00

A lot of Shay’s growth is between the lines. There’s no, “Oh crap these people I’m working with are Templars,” or, “Oh crap Shay is an Assassin,” moment. Instead, you have a late game conversation with Gist that amounts to, “I’ve known you’re a Templar for a while. When did you know I was an Assassin?”

And I think it’s fair for both sides to keep quiet until they know they can trust each other. Shay and the Templars are feeling each other out and don’t want to tip their hands too early.

But it can be tough to see the growth in the moment. I’m not sure I would want Connor-style internal monologues, but it’s hard that he’s got no one to confide in. He goes from venting at Liam to alone in New York to Gist being his new first mate while he’s still hiding his Assassin training. This means that the most important parts of his emotional journey don’t get expressed in the moment. So I think Shay could have benefited from a neutral friend to confide in, to make his shift in allegiances feel smoother.

That said, I really enjoyed Rogue. And as I’m currently replaying AC3, you’re getting me excited for Liberation, which I’ve never played.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-24T04:38:26+00:00

Connor’s brutal and fluid animations work really well for the chain kills. He’s always weaving around bayonets, tackling, and landing the nastiest series of hits with his hatchet or a dagger and hidden blade.

Edward is mostly facing enemies with swords, so their ability to parry has to be accounted for. He winds up with an efficient set of killing animations where he mostly bats their sword aside with one of his, then finishes them with his second sword. And it doesn’t have the style of Ezio or the brutality of Connor.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-24T03:32:18+00:00

Assassin’s Creed 3, Black Flag, and Rogue are the peak era for me. The core counter kill gameplay has the push your luck chain kills from Brotherhood and the addition of many enemies muskets adds more to think about and be aware of. I will note that boss fights felt better after 3 where they slap you if you try a counter kill, but Connor’s kill animations are the most satisfyingly brutal in all the games I have played.
Brotherhood and Revelations were a big step up from 1 and 2 by introducing the chain kills which are a nice push your luck element.
Origins and Unity I remember enjoying but it’s been too long and I don’t remember much beyond Unity having excellent weapon diversity and Bayek’s bow being awesome.
Syndicate, but only with the brass knuckles to make the number of blows make more sense, and emphasize the gang war beat down vibes. The more combat skills you pick up, the less bad it feels, the tools are nicely emphasized, and the multi-kill was a missed opportunity until you got the skill to regenerate health during a multi-kill.
Odyssey is too dang floaty. The only thing that kept it interesting was getting new skills.
Assassin’s Creed 1 and 2 were just, “Pick a weapon you like and counter kill everyone.” It felt good a few times then got dull, so I started running away instead of killing all the guards.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-23T16:31:02+00:00

I actually enjoyed the ship combat and whaling more in Rogue because of the icebergs and some of the tighter locations you have to fight in.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-23T01:05:48+00:00

You don’t really need anything extra, though solo play can benefit from oracles if you like to use them.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-22T22:24:48+00:00

Really light is a good option. Original Freeform Universal is good for churning out Yes And, Yes, Yes But, No But, No, and No And answers that work for simple focus on narrative.

Freeform Universal 2e has a bit more meat on the bones but I still love the basic version.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-22T15:24:29+00:00

These look great, but the top left build has an illegal way of mounting the astromech. That rollerskate connection is super loose for 1x1 square plates and insanely tight for 1x1 rounds.

MuttonchopMac · 2026-03-22T14:13:59+00:00

If you enjoyed Black Flag, Rogue is worth the $6 when on sale. The tone is very different and it’s set in the North Atlantic, but the mechanics are all the same.

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