PlayStation 4 Chat III: You've Never Seen Chat Like It

No one hates anyone, we just prefer things.

Ghost of Tsushima has so far sold 5m.

God of War 2018 has shifted 20m.

Amazing numbers. I remember at the start of the gen when people on GAF would question whether Uncharted (and so other first-party Sony titles too what with Uncharted being the tentpole title back then) could shift big numbers. And now look. Think how many more they'd shift if they released them on PC.

Saint of Killers wrote:...God of War 2018 has shifted 20m...

20m? . That's more than GTA V .

I can see notes saying 12m but not 20...

No official announcement. It's guess work based on numbers sold for series as a whole. (51m according to NYTimes.)

Crypt of the Necrodancer is FREE at the moment.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/11/crypt_of_the_necrodancer_currently_free_on_eu_ps_store

Nice one, Burny.

Jenuall wrote:

OrangeRKN wrote:

Jenuall wrote:I still don't get the need for folders myself. I tried to use the feature on my PS4 for the first time the other day and it was just confusing more than anything!

I can accept that I'm possibly in the minority but I just love that my Switch is such a "game focused" device. I power it on, it gives me a big list of my games and lets me jump right in and play them - the whole thing is slick and fast and responsive. The PS4 seems to go out of its way to throw other crap in my face that I'm just not interested in and is slow as a dead dog to navigate at the best of times!

I have three folders on PS4 - singleplayer, multiplayer and Jak ( ). It makes finding the right game easier because they aren't all mixed up in one long line with media apps and the like. I don't know how it could be confusing!

It'd be great to have folders on Switch so that I could stick all the local multiplayer games in a folder. Then when I go to play with friends, we could easily browse through what to play rather than having to mentally filter out the singleplayer games. It'd also be helpful in finding games if they weren't only arranged by order of last played or order of total playtime!

The implementation of it was just terrible. I couldn't find a way to mark the items I wanted to add into a folder, it wasn't clear why I couldn't just hide certain items or whether they always needed to be present, there are loads of icons that I'm just not interested in - PS5, PSNOW, all sorts of media things - I want to get rid of those but it won't let me, I want to put them in a folder to hide them but that just moves them to a more prominent position in front of everything else!

It's the worst of both worlds between the customisation of a PC and the streamlined nature of a console. I'll take the simple and fast Switch UI any day of the week.

OrangeRKN wrote:I'm not going to defend the PS4 UI because it sucks, but folders definitely make it better than without folders! You just press options and select "Add to folder". The folders still obey the same ordering as any other app - most recently used appears on the left - but the folders will take the position of the most recently used game/app within the folder. I'm not sure but creating the folder might automatically put it on the left as most recently used but as soon as you start launching other things it will fall down the list, so you should be able to hide away the things you aren't interested in.

The speed of the PS4 UI is awful and Switch is loads better, but I don't think that's because of a lack of folders! The PS4 UI was just as bad before they added in folders iirc.

(Continued from the Switch thread!)

I like the PS4 UI and I love the folders . It's not turbo-speed but I find it okay to use; and folders are a must for organising lots of games. I wonder if it's a disc/download thing? I went digital on my PS4 and so have a fair few digital games; the folders allow me to tidy them up into "Action", "Sport", RPG", "PS Plus" etc. I could see how they're probably not as useful for disc versions, though.

Jen, all those apps can be tidied up into a single folder to get them out of the way. And you can arrange the games/apps order within the folder to suit your own preferences, too.

Death Standing is in the sale. What’s it really like? I quite like the plodding sound of it, but I’m not sure if it just ends up feeling broken / boring / repetitive.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

I never actually finished it at 60+ hours playtime but it's a brilliant game, the singular focus on environmental traversal is great, the progression curve in giving you more and more traversal options is very rewarding, and the actual gamefeel is wonderful as you might expect (although it suffers the same as MGSV in being so well controlling that combat is too easy, but the combat in Death Stranding is certainly not the focus). The setting, story and characters are mental but absolutely engaging in part thanks to the performances. The only reason I didn't finish it was other games coming along, I was taking the game probably too slowly/completionist to see it through although I know I was relatively close to the end.

I've not played anything else quite like it and I can certainly see it not being for everyone.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Death Standing is in the sale. What’s it really like? I quite like the plodding sound of it, but I’m not sure if it just ends up feeling broken / boring / repetitive.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

I've played the opening four hours or so and I really like it, kaz. I could see it being pretty divisive, though; some folk would find it a bit boring. Funnily - or maybe oddly - enough I'd compare it to MudRunner/SnowRunner; it's all about selecting the right tools for the journey and easing over challenging terrain - and, in Death Stranding's case, with a very freaky storyline behind it.

I'm hoping to get "The Art of Death Stranding" book for Christmas :-) .

I actually loved the traversal. It was chill and felt like I was slowly working towards something.

The story, however, is the biggest pile of strawberry floating wank I've ever had the misfortune to witness. Even for Kojima, it's a new level of pretentiousness and is wholly self indulgent. And I called the gooseberry fool, ridiculous twist right at the start of the game.

Unfortunately, the story being gooseberry fool kind of ruins everything leading up to the ending. A huge part of my enjoying the relaxing grind was the expectation that I was going to get something good at the end. Not a 4-6 hour cutscene of exposition trash.

Thanks for the replys guys. Incredibly you have both summed up the most positive and negative aspects i have heard about this game! I love Mudrunner, and something of that nature with a story to compel you to keep playing would be great. But then i hear that the story is terrible and i get put off again.

One more DS question - do you need PS Plus to take advantage of the online infrastructure stuff? I dont, and it seems like it would be a big knock against the game if all that was missing.

...confirmation that it is divisive .

I like all the weird stuff about it. In fact, this has been a reminder that I need to get it back onto my playlist.

OrangeRKN wrote:I never actually finished it at 60+ hours playtime but it's a brilliant game, the singular focus on environmental traversal is great, the progression curve in giving you more and more traversal options is very rewarding, and the actual gamefeel is wonderful as you might expect (although it suffers the same as MGSV in being so well controlling that combat is too easy, but the combat in Death Stranding is certainly not the focus). The setting, story and characters are mental but absolutely engaging in part thanks to the performances. The only reason I didn't finish it was other games coming along, I was taking the game probably too slowly/completionist to see it through although I know I was relatively close to the end.

I've not played anything else quite like it and I can certainly see it not being for everyone.

Sorry OR, i did not mean to leave you out of my thanks. Somehow i missed your comment origionally. I think i might get it. I am playing TLOU2 at the moment, and it has really got me back in to my PS4 Pro (after not using it for anyhting other than VR for the past 18 months or so). I could see this being an excellent swan song for the system, and possibly (possibly) i will be able to source a PS5 with no defects by that point!

I'm still waiting for Death Stranding to be available on PSN+. So I can grab it for free.

One day I hope.

jawa wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

OrangeRKN wrote:

Jenuall wrote:I still don't get the need for folders myself. I tried to use the feature on my PS4 for the first time the other day and it was just confusing more than anything!

I can accept that I'm possibly in the minority but I just love that my Switch is such a "game focused" device. I power it on, it gives me a big list of my games and lets me jump right in and play them - the whole thing is slick and fast and responsive. The PS4 seems to go out of its way to throw other crap in my face that I'm just not interested in and is slow as a dead dog to navigate at the best of times!

I have three folders on PS4 - singleplayer, multiplayer and Jak ( ). It makes finding the right game easier because they aren't all mixed up in one long line with media apps and the like. I don't know how it could be confusing!

It'd be great to have folders on Switch so that I could stick all the local multiplayer games in a folder. Then when I go to play with friends, we could easily browse through what to play rather than having to mentally filter out the singleplayer games. It'd also be helpful in finding games if they weren't only arranged by order of last played or order of total playtime!

The implementation of it was just terrible. I couldn't find a way to mark the items I wanted to add into a folder, it wasn't clear why I couldn't just hide certain items or whether they always needed to be present, there are loads of icons that I'm just not interested in - PS5, PSNOW, all sorts of media things - I want to get rid of those but it won't let me, I want to put them in a folder to hide them but that just moves them to a more prominent position in front of everything else!

It's the worst of both worlds between the customisation of a PC and the streamlined nature of a console. I'll take the simple and fast Switch UI any day of the week.

OrangeRKN wrote:I'm not going to defend the PS4 UI because it sucks, but folders definitely make it better than without folders! You just press options and select "Add to folder". The folders still obey the same ordering as any other app - most recently used appears on the left - but the folders will take the position of the most recently used game/app within the folder. I'm not sure but creating the folder might automatically put it on the left as most recently used but as soon as you start launching other things it will fall down the list, so you should be able to hide away the things you aren't interested in.

The speed of the PS4 UI is awful and Switch is loads better, but I don't think that's because of a lack of folders! The PS4 UI was just as bad before they added in folders iirc.

(Continued from the Switch thread!)

I like the PS4 UI and I love the folders . It's not turbo-speed but I find it okay to use; and folders are a must for organising lots of games. I wonder if it's a disc/download thing? I went digital on my PS4 and so have a fair few digital games; the folders allow me to tidy them up into "Action", "Sport", RPG", "PS Plus" etc. I could see how they're probably not as useful for disc versions, though.

Jen, all those apps can be tidied up into a single folder to get them out of the way. And you can arrange the games/apps order within the folder to suit your own preferences, too.

For me it's about the distance between me and the games, which UI is going to act as bigger barrier in that instance is going to depend on a bunch of factors like the number of games you own, the number you actively play concurrently etc.

I probably have about 40 games on Switch and find getting into them a breeze - the most recently played ones are always there in big icons on the first screen and the full list (sortable in useful ways) is but a button click away. It's incredibly easy for me to see what I want and play it.

On PS4 I probably have a similar number of games (mostly via PS+) but they are hidden amongst a bunch of stuff I have not interest in on the main screen, I've never used most of the apps that appear on the first screen so I don't know why Sony keep pushing them at me! I can look in the "library" to see more but this is organised poorly with titles grouped in odd places and harder to find.

The Switch gives me very quick visibility of "what I'm playing now" and "everything else I have" which I just don't get on PS4.

For some with many, many games I can believe that sorting into folders is worthwhile but for me it's not necessary and I prefer the Switch approach where as a user the default experience "just works" for me, compared to the Sony one where it feels like I have to do something to overcome their initial configuration

The online aspects don't require PS Plus fortunately enough. They are definitely a big part of the game!

As for being put off by the story - the plot isn't great, but the world building is. As it's a mystery style narrative, learning about the setting is a big part of the story. It's probably a bit like Lost.

Jenuall wrote:For me it's about the distance between me and the games, which UI is going to act as bigger barrier in that instance is going to depend on a bunch of factors like the number of games you own, the number you actively play concurrently etc.

I probably have about 40 games on Switch and find getting into them a breeze - the most recently played ones are always there in big icons on the first screen and the full list (sortable in useful ways) is but a button click away. It's incredibly easy for me to see what I want and play it.

On PS4 I probably have a similar number of games (mostly via PS+) but they are hidden amongst a bunch of stuff I have not interest in on the main screen, I've never used most of the apps that appear on the first screen so I don't know why Sony keep pushing them at me! I can look in the "library" to see more but this is organised poorly with titles grouped in odd places and harder to find.

The Switch gives me very quick visibility of "what I'm playing now" and "everything else I have" which I just don't get on PS4.

For some with many, many games I can believe that sorting into folders is worthwhile but for me it's not necessary and I prefer the Switch approach where as a user the default experience "just works" for me, compared to the Sony one where it feels like I have to do something to overcome their initial configuration

The difference you're describing isn't because of folders though, it's because of the non-game apps. Folders actually give you a way of configuring it to be less of a problem. Adding folders to Switch wouldn't introduce the problems you talk about above.

I'm not sure how the PS library is worse than the Switch's full game list, it's just sorted alphabetically isn't it?

OrangeRKN wrote:

Jenuall wrote:For me it's about the distance between me and the games, which UI is going to act as bigger barrier in that instance is going to depend on a bunch of factors like the number of games you own, the number you actively play concurrently etc.

I probably have about 40 games on Switch and find getting into them a breeze - the most recently played ones are always there in big icons on the first screen and the full list (sortable in useful ways) is but a button click away. It's incredibly easy for me to see what I want and play it.

On PS4 I probably have a similar number of games (mostly via PS+) but they are hidden amongst a bunch of stuff I have not interest in on the main screen, I've never used most of the apps that appear on the first screen so I don't know why Sony keep pushing them at me! I can look in the "library" to see more but this is organised poorly with titles grouped in odd places and harder to find.

The Switch gives me very quick visibility of "what I'm playing now" and "everything else I have" which I just don't get on PS4.

For some with many, many games I can believe that sorting into folders is worthwhile but for me it's not necessary and I prefer the Switch approach where as a user the default experience "just works" for me, compared to the Sony one where it feels like I have to do something to overcome their initial configuration

The difference you're describing isn't because of folders though, it's because of the non-game apps. Folders actually give you a way of configuring it to be less of a problem. Adding folders to Switch wouldn't introduce the problems you talk about above.

I'm not sure how the PS library is worse than the Switch's full game list, it's just sorted alphabetically isn't it?

The library opens a new screen that has all sorts of categories down the side "all, games, apps, purchased, PS+ etc.) that just seems to complicate matters more than help with anything. Again I imagine this is helpful when you have loads to sort through but for me I prefer the simplicity of the Switch by comparison with the two main views: recent games, all games.

I agree that folders is an option to make it less confusing, my point is that it should be less confusing by default and pushing that burden onto me the user is bad (even if yes, in general, customisation is a good thing). It's more strength to that barrier I talk about between me and the games.

OrangeRKN wrote:The online aspects don't require PS Plus fortunately enough. They are definitely a big part of the game!

As for being put off by the story - the plot isn't great, but the world building is. As it's a mystery style narrative, learning about the setting is a big part of the story. It's probably a bit like Lost.

Oooh, i loved / hated Lost. Thats interesting.

Thanks for confirming PS+ not required. Hopefully the community is still active enough for there to be signs of other peoples creations etc. I suppose a sale never hurts with things like that.