Video Games

[Kryptonic]

I'm playing RDR 2 again on Steam Machine on the TV. Incredible game. Doesn't require you to play RDR 1 first. Currently on sale on Steam and one of the best games ever made. I prefer it over GTA.

Yea, the gameplay from rdr2 is gonna be more inline with how gta6 plays from what I’ve seen and agree it’s one of the best games ever. GTA 5 is fun for the 3 protagonist you get to play as.

[Mori Chu]

I own RDR2 on Steam and played it for about 2 hours but found it pretty complex (lot of button combos to memorize) and tough (initial tutorial missions were hard for me). Also I was trying to play it on a Steam Deck so the performance wasn't quite there. Maybe it'll run better on the Steam Machine? I can give it another look.

[AmareIsGod]

I own RDR2 on Steam and played it for about 2 hours but found it pretty complex (lot of button combos to memorize) and tough (initial tutorial missions were hard for me). Also I was trying to play it on a Steam Deck so the performance wasn't quite there. Maybe it'll run better on the Steam Machine? I can give it another look.

That's definitely how I felt too at first. Chapter 1 is the worst part of the whole game, it's a linear tutorial slog in the snow and it throws all controls at you at once. The game doesn't actually start until chapter 2 when the map opens up. You quit right before it gets good.

The controls stop mattering after a few hours, it's not a twitch game, it's slow on purpose. There's also a toggle to run setting in accessibility that fixes the button mashing, and aim assist does most of the work in fights (but you can definitely disable aim assist if you want. I use gyro mapped to joystick).

The Deck was the problem. Lower res, maybe 40 frames per second? I'm running it on the Steam Machine at 1440p locked 60 on high and ultra settings and it's a completely different game. Genuinely the best looking thing I've played on it. Give it one more evening and just ride around after chapter 2 opens up. Don't rush the story, treat it like a place instead of a game. That's when it clicked for me.

[AmareIsGod]

Also, I only play RDR 2 in first person. It is incredible.

[Kryptonic]

Also, I only play RDR 2 in first person. It is incredible.

I tried the GTA V in first person and it's actually kind of good if you mess with the controls; but the killer was the dodge/roll.. LOL, that just felt janky and went back to third person. Maybe they've patched it, which is always possible and cool with these games and how the developers have been supporting it forever.

You see CDProject Red is doing another Witcher 3 dlc and free major update? Looks awesome and a reason for me to go back to it after about 10 years.

[Mori Chu]

I will definitely try RDR2 again on Steam Machine. (Will need to tell it to install and let it sit overnight; the thing is like 111 gb, oof.) I had that sense that you described, that it would get better after I got out of the first few rigid tutorial hours, but I never could quite get there.

It sounds like you guys are saying I don't need to play RDR 1 first? I do own both, and have not played through either. What would you say about RDR 1 vs 2 in terms of a starting point?

BTW one thing I wish were true about all these open-world exploration games is, I wish they were more Breath-of-the-Wildy. Specifically I wish they had more puzzles and things similarish to shrines. A lot of these games, you just explore around and gather twigs and berries, and you occasionally talk to a peasant and he gives you a side quest to kill four orcs or find his chickens or whatever. Or you follow the map to the next main quest and cutscene. All that is fine, but I want me some puzzles and thinking, too! I know that not every game dev wants that in their game, but it seems like almost none of them have any of that kind of content, which makes my heart sad.

The closest I ever found to BotW-like feeling was Immortals: Fenix Rising, the Greek-themed game. It has "vaults" which are almost exact ripoffs of BotW shrines. I really liked that game. But it was an unabashed BotW ripoff through and through, but that was fine, because I want more games like that! Give me pirate BotW, ninja BotW, Greek BotW, Cyberpunk BotW. I'm here for them all.

[AmareIsGod]

I will definitely try RDR2 again on Steam Machine. (Will need to tell it to install and let it sit overnight; the thing is like 111 gb, oof.) I had that sense that you described, that it would get better after I got out of the first few rigid tutorial hours, but I never could quite get there.

It sounds like you guys are saying I don't need to play RDR 1 first? I do own both, and have not played through either. What would you say about RDR 1 vs 2 in terms of a starting point?

BTW one thing I wish were true about all these open-world exploration games is, I wish they were more Breath-of-the-Wildy. Specifically I wish they had more puzzles and things similarish to shrines. A lot of these games, you just explore around and gather twigs and berries, and you occasionally talk to a peasant and he gives you a side quest to kill four orcs or find his chickens or whatever. Or you follow the map to the next main quest and cutscene. All that is fine, but I want me some puzzles and thinking, too! I know that not every game dev wants that in their game, but it seems like almost none of them have any of that kind of content, which makes my heart sad.

The closest I ever found to BotW-like feeling was Immortals: Fenix Rising, the Greek-themed game. It has "vaults" which are almost exact ripoffs of BotW shrines. I really liked that game. But it was an unabashed BotW ripoff through and through, but that was fine, because I want more games like that! Give me pirate BotW, ninja BotW, Greek BotW, Cyberpunk BotW. I'm here for them all.

RDR 2 is the better overall game and prologue so you can play RDR 1 after and it will actually make better chronological sense.

[AmareIsGod]

Also, I only play RDR 2 in first person. It is incredible.

I tried the GTA V in first person and it's actually kind of good if you mess with the controls; but the killer was the dodge/roll.. LOL, that just felt janky and went back to third person. Maybe they've patched it, which is always possible and cool with these games and how the developers have been supporting it forever.

You see CDProject Red is doing another Witcher 3 dlc and free major update? Looks awesome and a reason for me to go back to it after about 10 years.

I saw that! Love me some CDProject Red. Amazing devs.

[AmareIsGod]

@Mori Chu , now that you've had a little more time with your Steam Machine, how's it been?

[Mori Chu]

@Mori Chu , now that you've had a little more time with your Steam Machine, how's it been?

The kids and work limit my gaming time more than I'd like. But nevertheless the Steam Machine has been a real joy. It is simple, plays well, performs well for any game I want to play (I'm not throwing the very most demanding latest AAA games at it). Very compact, super quiet, no fan noise, doesn't get too hot, fits easily in my TV stand area. Steam Controller works well with it, and it is a good controller that I like using. I don't use the touchpads for every game, but having them there is really handy and makes me never need to plug in a mouse.

The Machine passes the wife-and-kids test, where they are able to turn it on and select a game and start playing all by themselves without needing my tech support help. They can play the consoles like Switch (2) and Xbox but never wanted to fire up a gaming PC. They didn't even really want to start up the docked Steam Deck attached to the TV because it was a bit janky to turn it on, make sure it was plugged in, set the TV input, possibly reboot it if it was busted, etc. Steam Machine "just works" and is easy to get into a game.

I've been playing a variety of stuff on it, kind of a mix of indies and more muscular stuff. I got back into Red Dead Redemption 2, which runs like a dream; 1440p res, medium detail, gets around 110-120 fps and feels buttery smooth. I could probably turn it up but I like it as it is. Red Dead is still hard to get started in, I'm still wandering around in the snow shooting outlaws and forgetting which button does what. But I'm trying to get to the part where it opens up. I was also playing Horizon Zero Dawn which looks and runs great. A few others like Super Meat Boy 3D and Slay the Spire 2. My daughter loves this lil indie game called What the Car? which plays in 4k at 120fps.

I want to try setting up emulators on it, but I haven't had the time to do that yet. I'm sure it will be a beast for emulation. But I'll have to boot into desktop mode and use a keyboard to set some of that up I think.

The box isn't perfect and it does have a few issues. One issue is that sometimes the controller disconnects, just for like 5-8 seconds at a time. It isn't super frequent but it did basically kill me in Horizon as a big dino bot was attacking me. Also, occasionally when I wake it up, the system is inexplicably running verrrrrrrry slowly and every game gets like 10-15 fps. When I shut down and reboot, it fixes itself and the frame rate comes back. Seems that the CPU remains in low-power mode and doesn't fully wake up. Also I have some issues with it sometimes zombie waking up after I put it to sleep, or turning my TV back on after I turn my TV off, or forcibly switching my TV back to its input after I try to switch away to watch TV; this can be really annoying. Apparently all of these are semi-common issues that they're going to fix in firmware and software updates, and none of them are total deal-breakers, so I'll be patient. But all of these are nuisances so I hope they fix them soon.

I got the 512gb model and I have the drive almost full already. It's a bit too small; 1tb would have been the perfect size I think, but I didn't want to pay almost $300 just to get 2tb. Maybe I should have. Oh well, I can always remove 1-2 games and have more storage free. And you can just insert an SD card for more.

Overall really happy with it, and I think a Steam Machine + Switch 2 gives access to about 99% of all gaming I would ever want access to. Really happy that my whole family is enjoying it and that it isn't just a "me" toy.