I dug out my old Logitech Driving Force GT from the closet and blew off the dust. I haven't gotten into a new (to me) racing game since Gran Turismo 5. The hardcore simulationist trend doesn't interest me, I miss proper career modes and I have just had some awful bad luck with games being broken. I just occasionally revisit some classics.

So after many enthusiastic recommendations I grabbed Forza Horizon 5. My first impressions were great. The intro was a lot of fun, with the big set pieces causing me to fight my wheel as it bucked after being long out of practice.

But this was not representative of the actual game. The vast majority of the content is filled by fairly normal races with long stretches driving to them, back and forth across the same stretches of empty open world. It's sort of like a Ubisoft game, but just cars.

This still could have been a good time. I like the driving model well enough, there is a large selection of cars and the environment, while bland, is certainly much less of an eyesore than what awaits me if I go back to play Need for Speed: Most Wanted for the umpteenth time.

I've got some criticisms of the actual racing (the way it generates opponents and their vehicles sucks, the tracks are boring), but what really killed it for me was this slowly creeping, eerie discomfort that built up in the back of my mind over hours until it became overwhelming. The vibes are fucked.

This is Fortnite, the racing game. It's full of cameos and tie ins with influencers. Brands are plastered everywhere. Microtransaction adverts in most menus. Everyone talks in this creepy, corporate approved "wholesomeness" and aware of how "epic" what they're doing is. There is a really uncomfortable tension between this huge festival that completely empties Mexico of pedestrians and how much the game fetishizes Americaness.

I wanted to scream during a sub-plot where you race a bunch of rich douche bags who are beefing with some guy at the festival. The game throws out shit like "they shouldn't be discriminated against for their money, they can't help the fact they are rich" and talks about fucking therapy. All the writing is this bad, I hate every single character in these inexplicably unskippable cutscenes.

The radio selection is dogshit too.

Dirt 5, dirt rally 2.0. I must hate myself because it’s snowing and I drive a forklift outside

We're late but excited to roll out our dedicated Ark server! The wife and I are enjoying taming dinos and making thatch huts.

Roboquest! It's a combination of DOOM and Borderlands, but in roguelike form. Super smooth gameplay, well optimized, and it looks great.

Baldurs gate 3 on my steam deck. Great game so far though I wish it ran a bit smoother on the deck. Maybe I'll try to tweak it some more.

I've played a few hours now of BG3 and i have a hard time getting into it.

I never played a D&D game in my life but want to give this a try.

I'm just so clueless what to do with classes, jobs, etcetera.

But the game looks great and story is interesting so I'm eager to see how it plays out.

Been playing a lot of Valheim and Trailmakers this week to get myself in the mindset for the upcoming Enshrouded EA release

Guitar and a bit of ukulele since a few months

lots of pokemon here! I've got a randomized version of Black on my phone, trying to shiny dex Moon and am slowly going thru the story of Violet

Just tried the portal: revolution. Obviously missing GLaDOS' voice, but the puzzle are neat so far.

I am still getting through Red Dead 2, just got back into it recently. Playing some Red Dead Online with a buddy too. Roleplaying an outlaw is loads of fun!

Enderal. Went in blind. So far, lots of screaming and running from spiders when my mana runs out. Story and dialog actually has some meat, so am enjoying.

I've been playing some Terraria recently with friends. I still don't really have too much of an idea what I am doing to be honest. Seems like a game that would be hard to beat without the wiki. It is fun though since I have some help, hope I can continue learning.

I’m addicted to Grand Turismo 7 right now. I don’t play anything else which is rare with me. I even got to the point where I bought PS VR2 just for this game.

Age of Wonders 4! So good. The the art, the lore, the game play, the everything.

Just picked up a copy of Like a Dragon: Ishin from my library. Hoping to have some fun there.

Also, I got Worldless but haven't played it yet. It looks really fun.

Across The Obelisk, love me a roguelike deck builder

Black Ops III Zombies, Jedi Fallen Order, Spiral Knights.

I‘m having trouble remembering all the convoluted stuff in zombies to be able to progress through the maps, but it‘s fun af!

Playing Metro 2033 Redux at the moment, finally got my new gaming PC and Metro Exodus with full Ray Tracing has been on my radar but wanted to start from the beginning since I haven't played this series before. You can clearly tell it's made by ex S.T.A.L.K.ER. devs and sometimes you get weird almost deja vu, like the guitar playing around camp fires. Overall the setting and atmosphere is really cool. The lore seems interesting but the actual plot hasn't been stellar so far. Gunplay is okay.

Just finished the Trolley Combat mission, and it's been a hot minute since I played a level in a game that bad and unfun. Here's hoping the final stretch is better.

Have been playing and just finished Geodepths. Really nice indie dev first person mining, smelting, resource gathering on an alien planet type of game. Wish it had lasted longer to be honest.

God of War: Ragnarok. I'm loving it, about 35 hours in so far and I think I'm getting near the end? But I've also skipped a lot of side quests. I'm playing on the second hardest difficulty, but I have had to lower it twice for (optional) boss fights. Some of the optional bosses are ridiculously challenging, which is the point, but after 30 deaths I usually decide I'd have more fun just lowering the difficulty and getting it over with.

(With Factorio in the background) I'm having a lot of fun with Against the Storm. Excited to play the 1.1 update that arrived today!

Way too much World of Warships

Re4 remake. Pretty good so far, but Ashley is such a pain.

Just started Lost Odyssey. I'd heard it was like a Final Fantasy game but I don't think I was prepared for just how much Final Fantasy X DNA is in the game. Mostly enjoying so far.

Football Manager 2024

I wouldn't even call myself a football fan but the management part if very fun. Currently in the 6th tier and working on promotion.

Circuit Superstars

I bought the Switch Version so I can just pick up and play whenever and so far it is very good. It's a nice mix of arcade racing with some realistic parts like pit stops and tyre wear. Hopefully online racing is still populated so I can give that a go.

Actually finished my first run of Baldurs gate after leaving it in act 3 over the holidays. Picked up Disco Elysium to give a bit of a break while I decide whether to do a second run or not

Baldurs Gate 3 with two other buddies. So many memories. Looking forward to another play through so I can see all of the things the we didn't get to. And then go again but evil.

Play a few turns off Age of Wonders 4 while working.

And when I'm in the mood and have the patience, Pathfinder wrath of the righteous and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

I have trouble focusing.

I started playing Pikmin 4 this week. The opening tutorial was pretty slow but once that was done and the game opened up I have started to enjoy it. First time playing a Pikmin game so wasn't too sure if it would be something I'd like but looking good so far!

Been playing Sons of the Forest. Visually stunning, this is good looking game. I like how it can be played as a shooter or an adventure or base building or combination of all three. The map is huge, backstory mysterious and the atmosphere is incredibly immersive, particularly in the caves which are creepy AF.