Topic: What (Non-PS4) game are you playing??

Well I'm done with DiRT 2 and Professor Layton but I didn't continue playing Crysis. Instead, I started up a completely different game on PS3: Puppeteer. I bought it about a decade ago and I'm only now playing it. It's made by Japan Studio and it clearly shows: this game is packed to the brim with creativity. From the level design, to the character design, to the story-telling, it's just brilliant. This has to be the most underrated game on the PS3. I never hear anyone talk about it even though it's such a magical experience. It makes me really sad that Japan Studio as we knew it back then doesn't exist anymore. What an absolute waste of fantastic talent. I'm going to enjoy my time with Puppeteer as much as I can.

@LtSarge Although I didn’t finish it, I have to agree that Puppeteer is a game that was criminally underrated and forgotten. I think the main issue was its release window coincided with the launch of PS4, and so it was caught in between generations. If the game would have somehow launched as a cross-gen game, I think it would have had a different trajectory and could have possibly been a success. Developing cross-gen from PS3 and PS4 is much more complex, I think, by reason of each console’s infrastructure, so I can see why it couldn’t be done. It’s ironically exactly what Japan Studios had to deal with when considering The Last Guardian, and moving over the assets from PS3 to PS4 proved difficult and contributed to the massive delays with that game. Still, I think TLG ended up getting an improved reception and legacy as a result, even though it cost the studio time and effort.

I don’t know, it’s a tragic tale nonetheless. Japan Studios had such creative vision, but unfortunately couldn’t get out of its own way and was deemed not profitable in the end. Somehow other studios were able to bridge that gap between PS3 and PS4 better, like Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and Sucker Punch, where they had some late PS3 games and still were able to turn around and get them either ported to PS4 or develop an early PS4 sequel to maintain interest.

@RogerRoger And that is the backlog completely done and dusted! That only took about a year and change, with other non-Sonic games dotted around through all of it. I think I need a rest now... I have genuinely enjoyed every moment I've played of these games, even through all the rough patches, and all the best parts. Honestly? I think it's re-galvanised my love for gaming as a medium, which had been on the wane since I got old and games got more business'y (thank you Microsoft and Epic for being corporate overlords).

With the exception of Sonic 06 (still waiting on Sonic P-06), Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing, Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed, Sega Superstars Tennis, multiple Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Games, and much of Sonic Battle (with a view to return to it later) and Sonic Chronicles, each of which will be getting played casually. The rest I cannot play for practicality reasons, such as the arcade games like Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car, all the Sega Pico games, the Wii exclusives (the Storybook games) and so on.

Since I can't offer my opinions too heavily on PS4 games in this particular thread, I'll give brief opinions on the 4 PS4 games:

Sonic Mania: Somehow managed to make a "greatest hits" collection feel fresh and new, and still somehow better than anything before or since!
Sonic Forces: A few plot grumbles aside (this is a children's game after all), it was on a par with Sonic Unleashed in the day stages, though the combat during avatar sections was a lot easier than Unleashed's night stages.
Team Sonic Racing: Harder than I remember it being, honestly! Though you can tell this was an outsourced budget game, it still looked and felt good regardless.
Sonic Colours Ultimate: Felt more like what I expect Sonic Superstars to feel like when I get into the real nitty gritty of the game in the near future. With the exception of that damn Terminal Velocity act 1, I really enjoyed it.

So yeah, that's my marathon over and done with, and up next will be the very game that started this whole thing - Sonic Frontiers. I'm going to take my time with this one, because I'm going for the platinum (which will be my 99th platinum). Then The Murder Of Sonic The Hedgehog and Sonic Superstars. And if I'm still playing any of these games by the time it releases, Sonic X Shadow Generations. Looking forward to them!

@Th3solution Yeah I tend to forget that this game was released at the tail-end of PS3's life cycle. I actually vividly remember 2013 as that was the second year I had my PS3, which is why Puppeteer made a strong impression on me back then.

While I do like the direction most of the PlayStation studios have taken, I can't help but think that Japan Studio would still be here if Sony hadn't focused so much on delivering narrative-driven games.

@LtSarge Besides Knack, Japan Studio games were of really high quality and definitely filled a void that I agree, could have taken Sony in a new direction. Perhaps not conceding much of Japanese styled games to Nintendo.

I looked at their games and I didn’t realize they were involved with Demon’s Souls and later with Bloodborne. As well as being consultants for Sucker Punch on Ghost of Tsushima . They were instrumental in a lot of great games.

Unfortunately, some of their games which had high expectations were tied to the Vita, which Sony sent out to die. So some really big investments toward the end were not recouped.

I think Sony realizes they lost something important when they reorganized and shut the studio down. They have been trying to get a foothold back in Asia with the China hero project, the Indian project, and their heavy collaboration with Square Enix in Japan.