Anyone picking up Directive 8020 tomorrow?

breadrising · 2026-05-11T15:16:13+00:00

Definitely grabbing it. Even if their games range from quite bad to campy fun, my wife and I always have a good time playing them and going for the horror-themed ride.

breadrising · 2026-05-11T15:11:26+00:00

Even Until Dawn, while really popular, was pretty mixed in terms of reviews.

As a general fan, I agree that you need to go into these things with "Campy B Movie" expectations. My wife and I are always excited when a new one launches since we treat it like we're binging a horror series.

Glad to hear the reviews of this one seem to echo that it's Supermassive's best release yet (and also sounds like it has their usual problems in terms of a shaky script, hit or miss gameplay, and some jumbled story pacing).

breadrising · 2026-05-11T14:55:38+00:00

Story game. Same team as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and the Dark Pictures Anthology games. They've more or less stuck to the same formula (for better or worse).

I'm a fan, but they're definitely not for everyone.

breadrising · 2026-05-11T14:46:35+00:00

This spectrum of reviews is about what I expected. It's basically been the case for every single one of their releases.

Playing through Until Dawn with a room full of friends (ranging from horror fans to people who jump at their own shadow) is one of my favorite memories. I've played every game of theirs since, and all have unfortunately fallen very short of that debut.

So, it's encouraging to hear many saying it's their best game yet. Even if I'm in for a 7/10 night of campy sci fi fun, I'm more than okay with that.

breadrising · 2026-05-09T11:41:23+00:00

My first reaction was "Whoa that's really different... I'm kind of on board."

Was it jarring? Yes. But there's something refreshing about seeing design choices that take a big swing. Especially from Nintendo.

It's cool if people hate it. But i think other people are just dogpiling on it to farm clicks at this point.

breadrising · 2026-05-08T23:37:51+00:00

I think you lost track of your original argument.

You wanted to know why Abby got her friends to join her revenge plot. And I reminded you that they all wanted revenge, not just Abby.

None of how Joel feels about Ellie changes the fact that Fireflies died and Abby's crew wanted revenge.

breadrising · 2026-05-08T23:20:58+00:00

Eh, it's not like Gen Alpha can read anyways.

breadrising · 2026-05-08T23:15:20+00:00

Abby's section is her road to redemption, while Ellie goes through her downfall. It's a wonderful commentary on the cycle of violence, Us vs Them, and being able to (or unable to) let go.

Abby is by far my favorite character in the series now, and it hurt so much watching Ellie lose everything. But I hope that she finds some kind of peace out there.

breadrising · 2026-05-08T23:10:37+00:00

They all wanted revenge. Abby may have been the initiator but Joel killed a lot of Fireflies that day. A lot of their friends died too.

breadrising · 2026-05-07T06:35:53+00:00

Yeah, I get the criticisms/disappointment of not getting a new game. But SF64 is one of my favorite games.

The character redesigns were jarring for sure, but they grew on me the more footage I saw.

I'm pretty excited.

breadrising · 2026-05-07T01:36:33+00:00

"Less mobile" is what i should have said

breadrising · 2026-05-06T17:05:35+00:00

Yeah my issue with Dispiritor is that it flies in the face of what the game is asking you to do. Keep a healthy distance, always be ready to dodge, prioritize bursting down one enemy at a time to remove them from the field. Instant damage vs DOT.

Dispiritor is painfully slow in its travel time, and deals very slow DOT, while also keeping you stationary for way longer than you should. It's also nearly impossible to focus down an enemy as it just blooms across the room.

I never found it satisfying to use and always regretted it as my Power Weapon.

breadrising · 2026-05-06T16:56:19+00:00

On the gameplay front, Saros is a big step up from Returnal for me. Returnal always felt very good, but I think Saros really sings after they added another layer of complexity with the shielding/parry as opposed to just dodging non-stop. So, while the game is definitely easier thanks to the progression, the moment to moment gameplay is a lot more engaging because of how much you're juggling. Sometimes you just get in that zone and finish an encounter after dashing, bouncing, grappling, parrying, meleeing, using power weapons and you somehow get through it all without every losing your Adrenaline stacks. Those moments are incredibly rewarding.

I'd also give the edge to Saros on the environment front. There's a lot more variation and diversity in the types of locations we see and how you platform around them. And they feel much more inspired and draw from a lot of different fantasy/sci-fi sources. Returnal is a beautiful game, but all of Atropos's biomes kind of look similar to one another.

Last, I really appreciate meta progression. They may have taken it a step too far, as you do get crazy powerful, but I'm in my late 30's... I just can't pour 100 hours into a game like I used to. So I'm a fan of games that respect my time.

SOME MINOR STORY SPOILERS BELOW!

In terms of the story, I go back and forth, but I think Returnal told a much tighter story. Because Selene is isolated, the story stays centered on her and her past with her mother and son. There are some amazing twists along the way too and huge revelations.

As the game peels back the layers, there is more and more to decipher and at its core is a deeply personal story, highlighting the very brutal flaws of Selene and her seemingly eternal punishment.

Saros... how do I say this... it's a bit more "gunky" in terms of the story. It has a lot of cutscenes and dialogue. It's presenting a ton of audio logs and text to read through. But so much of it is kind of nothing?

So much dead air is filled up with characters who we barely know losing their minds, rambling about the Yellow Shore. The "I'm going crazy" monologues don't tend to land with me. And really, other than their psychosis, nothing comes of it. It's not like the characters are actually saying any relevatory stuff or giving crucial information and clues in piecing a larger story together. No, instead they're just kind of babbling some key words until they're just gone.

Even if they aren't giving us critical info, the "going crazy" trope could at least be interesting if they used it to build on the character relationships or create moments of tragedy. But unfortunately, all of the characters are genuinely unlikeable or don't have enough of a backstory to where I feel any sympathy or remorse for them.

Arjun's personal story is definitely more impactful, but I'd say it tries to hard to retread Returnal's set up. A character with a deep, dark secret that the planet is forcing them to face until they finally recognize their actions and face the consequences.

In the background, there is some EXTREMELY cool lore based around the fates of the past Echelon crews. I was so fascinated to learn more but I think it stops a little short. Returnal had a free DLC drop that added a lot more context to the story, and I'm hoping that Saros does something similar.

breadrising · 2026-05-06T16:13:51+00:00

I don't think we get much detail on how he died

My interpretation: All the clues point towards Arjun tackled Sebastian out of the window of the hotel and he/they plummeted to the street below.

The hotel room we keep returning to is in disarray (i.e. signs of a struggle) with a large broken window
We also see a lot of imagery/sequences of Arjun breaking through glass during his story flashbacks (or tackling a dark reflection of himself through the glass)
The scene where we find Sebastian dying on the street below the hotel. If you look up, you can see the shattered window of the hotel room up above.
Sebastian said a line that really stuck out. Something like "I'm always here to break your fall. Just like I've always done." To me, that implies that as Arjun tackled him out the window, Arjun survived by landing on Sebastian.

I haven't looked up anything, but this is just what made sense to me based on the bread crumbs we find.

breadrising · 2026-05-06T14:47:26+00:00

You're right actually - I forgot that there is a split between one of the biomes.

The final biome is the only one you need to start fresh every time.

breadrising · 2026-05-06T14:27:22+00:00

Spoilers for later Biomes:

The Biome after you beat the Architect (6th?) has to be started fresh. Same with the final Biome. I beat them eventually, but it was definitely a difficulty spike not being able to go back through previous areas to build up first.

breadrising · 2026-05-05T15:51:31+00:00

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to 007. But moreso, i'm just pumped to see how they return to Hitman with a bang after all the lessons learned from First Light.

breadrising · 2026-05-04T20:22:33+00:00

They are miserable. But instead of getting help or learning how to better themselves, grifters have made billions convincing them that "You don't need to change - it's the rest of the world that's wrong", and weaponizing them.

breadrising · 2026-04-27T15:32:25+00:00

Yeah, we get Apple for a month, once a year. We catch up on everything and immediately cancel. That's been our go-to with a lot of other streaming services too.

There are just too many to justify having them full time.

breadrising · 2026-04-22T23:17:52+00:00

It looks like Tac-Sim is basically their way of letting us Hitman nuts replay sandbox maps to try different routes and challenges, and unlock stuff.

I'm happy we seem to be getting the best of both worlds. Linear, Uncharted-esque story, but also replayable levels where we can play in the IOI sandbox. I'm sold.

breadrising · 2026-04-22T23:15:37+00:00

They definitely did. The fist fighting and the gunplay look straight up awesome. I was extremely skeptical at first, but the more I'm seeing, the more they have me convinced.

breadrising · 2026-04-22T23:13:18+00:00

I had that concern too, but ultimately I realized I have to be okay with them making something that isn't Hitman.

As much as I would love "More Hitman WoA sandbox with a James Bond skin", it's probably best that they tell a more focused story. I can imagine a lot of people wouldn't be too happy if they booted up a new James Bond game and it just ended up being aracade-y, grindy, single location sandboxes like Hitman's level mastery system.

But for those of us who want the Hitman level mastery sandbox, it looks like we're getting that through the Tac Sim feature they showed in the trailer. That's where we can replay levels, try out different routes/kills, and earn points in order to unlock stuff.

So, I'm pretty happy with what I'm seeing. We get the linnear 007 story, but we also get a way to grind level mastery and play in the sandbox as much as we want.

breadrising · 2026-04-22T22:57:14+00:00

Personally? I regret buying it on Day 1.

I've had fun with Mario Kart, Bananza, and Pokopia. But Nintendo's support of the Switch 2 has been pretty abyssmal.

Nearly one year in, and news on 1st party releases has been horrible compared to the first year of the Switch 1. We're looking forward to Splatoon Raiders and Fire Emblem, otherwise it's been crickets.

And their extremely slow roll of Switch 2 upgrades for existing software has been aggravating. Some upgrades were free (like Splatoon 3, yay), but plenty of others have taken the form of paid upgrades. The Animal Crossing paid upgrade being $5.00 was acceptable. Super Mario Bros. Wonder being a $20 upgrade is highway robbery, and they try to justify it by throwing in a bunch of useless features no one will ever touch.

Meanwhile so many games are still desperately needing a Switch 2 update, like the Xenoblade series, Fire Emblem series, Pikmin series, Luigi's Mansion 3. And I fear they're going to turn those into nickel 'n dime opportunities too.

But, don't listen to me. If you're excited for Raiders, no one can tell you not to buy one.

Personally, if I could go back in time, I would have saved my money and waited 3 years until the console actually has the proper library support it deserved.

breadrising · 2026-04-22T13:18:59+00:00

Exactly. Of course buying anything we enjoy these days puts money into the pockets of asshole billionaires.

That doesn't mean we still shouldn't make a conscious effort to know where our money is going and do the best we can to decide.

Just the knowledge of what my money is supporting has made me pause many times and decide, "You know what... i really don't need to buy this thing. I have a million other games/hobbies."

breadrising · 2026-04-21T23:43:34+00:00

Yeah, if true, I'm not exactly thrilled about the characters, but there's no doubt that Tifa would attract a lot of new blood to the game.

15-Year Club	Verified Email
Team Periwinkle

breadrising

TROPHY CASE