EnsignWashout

You want a toe? I can get you a toe - out of Quark's replicator!

Thanks! ☕🫖

🍻 I like that. Thanks.

They're terrible.

Yes. And honorable mention to Portal 2 which is a worthy enough successor that there's healthy debates which chapter is best.

I realize you'll know this, but I figure we can mention it for folks who aren't familiar with the franchise. If they get a discount on the two-pack, it's well worth grabbing both.

I think "Rise of the Tomb Raider" did a particularly good job of this.

It's much more "on rails" than other games in this thread - but the mechanics, abilties and puzzles arrive at a comfortable enjoyable pace.

A great tutorial anf learning curve is what set the first Tomb Raider game apart from competitors, and I think the franchise has done well to maintain that across the many entries. Almost any entry in the Tomb Raider is a solid choice for this.

But "Rise" really stands out as an enjoyable experience with the right amount of challenge that feels really good to play, particularly late game when routinely pulling off epic movie heroic moves.

Edit: Rise of the Tomb Raider is sometimes just the "Dragon's Lair" formula perfected, but it works.

Saints Row 3 does a very good job of introducing game mechanics.

It sometimes falters by dropping an overly hard optional mini-game in the player's path too early without clarifying that it is optitonal.

Otherwise, nearly a perfect game to play through and unlock interesting mechanics in a relatively smooth progression.

The "crew" mechanic does a very good job as an optional any-time challenege slider. When I'm having trouble, I can "phone a friend". (also works with actual friends - the multiplayer is great and drops into the same mechanical gameplay slots).

Saints Row IV also does this really well - but... it's really different. It jumps the shark early and then keeps jumping back over the shark, over and over again. If that sounds fun, you'll love it. But it's not everyone's cup of tea - and the game mechanics can come in uncomfortably fast if the player gets lucky in finding some unlocks before being prompted to seek them out.

Rogue Legacy is close, but it suffers from being too hard early on and maybe too easy in the late game.

Rogue Legacy 2 fixes those issues, and is really just a delight all the way through.

Rogue Legacy 2 also has accessibility settings available from the first moment of the game - so if something is throwing off my play through, I can just change it.

And the accessibility settings can be tuned in the opposite direction for bragging rights and increased challenge during replays (as a "new game plus" mechanic).

SteamWorld Dig 2 nails the learning curve for all the exploration mechanics. It's fun early, it's fun late, and it doesn't overstay it's welcome.

Edit: And the allocatable action point system provides many accessibility settings. Fall damage spoiling my play through? I move a build point into it and it goes away.

I imagine they'll solder the RAM in, but I've heard Amazon sells de-soldering tools.

My friend could hypothetically order a battery, and desoldring heat gun, and have both conveniently delivered by a drone full of RAM sticks...

Wild. I will keep that in mind if I ever have a drink with either of them at a politcal fund-raising party.

I wonder - is it the ones confined to a tiny cube their whole lives with their beaks cut off? Are those the ones in distress?

So...Can I have my AI money, now?

Or was the whole point of using AI to shift accountability to a computer?

Edit: At least they acknowledge that the primary chicken industry isn't the buyer.

While this technology might not be practical for huge commercial chicken flocks with thousands and thousands of chickens, it would greatly help smaller chicken farms.