I’m slowly continuing my playthrough of Divinity: Original Sin II and absolutely loving it.
I also recently bought Stardew Valley, finally, and started playing it a bit.
Last one, Mushihimesama as the c/shmups Game of the Month.

Voyager works perfectly fwiw

I finished a couple of games last week, SotN and Sayonara: Wild Hearts.

I’m currently back on DOS2 and I quite enjoy the slow pace of the game.
I might also attempt another playthrough of Bloodborne.

• Castlevania: SOTN
• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

I didn’t think I’d enjoy SOTN so much, as I tend to have mixed feelings towards metroidvanias, but it delivers in many areas - I’d say it’s too easy, but then again it’s a matter of adjusting your equipment to make it more difficult.

I’m attempting another playthrough of 13 Sentinels, I’m not sure why I bounced off of it a couple years ago but I’ve been getting into “gameplay-lite” games lately with great results.

I finished Pentiment yesterday, what an absolute masterpiece. It’s certainly not for everyone - and I initially hesitantly added it to my backlog for this year as a very different game from what I’m used to - but it resonated so much with me.

I also started Castlevania: SOTN, which I quite enjoy so far - metroidvanias are usually hit or miss for me so I’m going in with tempered expectations.
And I’m attempting a fresh playthrough of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, which I shelved a couple years ago.

What mods did you end up with?
I shelved RDR2 a while ago (year and a half ago?) but would like to get back to it at some point, likely with some QoL enhancements

I started Pentiment last week and am now wearing my detective hat - I can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen next.

I’m also playing Eigengrau, a shmup with elements of a twin-stick shooter - it’s not bad!

No?

Realistically, as you mentioned with FF XIV ARR now being a classic but also being a pain to get into is true for any other older FF, many people simply have rose tinted glasses to keep them from seeing all the flaws present in those prior entries.
I also started with FF VII, but 25 years after its release, and let me tell you that it did not age well (at all) imo.

Had I not picked up FF XVI, I probably wouldn’t have given the series another chance.
I now played both FF VII remakes to date and absolutely loved them, especially Rebirth, and am going through FF VI, which I also think is a masterpiece tbh.
FF IV didn’t work out for me, but that’s fine.

All that to say, video game series evolve, ARPGs have been quite popular for a while and FF went that route - for now. That doesn’t make for bad games, and the series will keep evolving.

No way, Jolla is actually still around, that takes me back!
Doesn’t look too bad, though it probably makes more sense to use Sailfish OS on any other (used?) supported device

I started 1000xRESIST over the weekend and just can’t put it down, I should finish it in a few hours.

After that, I’ll likely pick up either Divinity: Original Sin 2 (I’m a couple of hours in) or the DLCs for Alan Wake 2 (since I finished the main game a few days ago), we’ll see.

I’ve been using AntennaPod for over a year - moved over from PocketCasts back then - and am very happy with it. I have very simple requirements though, so it might be as full-featured as other options.

In an ideal world, every game should be fully cross-buy IMO, but that tends to never be the case.
PlayStation used to have PS3/PS4/PSVita cross-buy games for a while, but they didn’t keep it going for their recent PC porting efforts (that clearly wouldn’t help their bottom line).
Xbox has Play Anywhere, and that’s likely the closest to a functional cross-buy (and cross-play) we have today - that’s the main draw for me if (when) I ever buy games digitally on Xbox.

Tekken 8 is slowly consuming me whole… and I don’t mind. I love the game so far! When I’m not playing, I’m looking up combos, pro replays, various advanced tutorials… I’m fully committed at this point, haha.

That being said, my library has let me know that a copy of Sonic X Shadow Generations is available for borrowing, so I’ll switch it up a bit this week!

Burnout, what a game! I know 3 still is regarded as one of the best arcade racers to this day, although tbh - controversial opinion, I know - Paradise is likely my favourite in the series.

If you have Decky Loader set-up on your Deck, I might also recommend using the Wine Cellar plugin.

Shmups. Not any one in particular, although ESP Ra.De. or DDP DaiOuJou often tend to be top of my list.
Otherwise, Streets of Rage 2 or TMNT: Turtles in Time.

Mouthwashing, which I should finish tonight, Selaco - this one required a bit of tweaking but can mostly hold 60 now - and Balatro.

I’m still playing Persona 3 Reload and I believe it finally clicked for me.
I still don’t particularly like Tartarus that much, but I’ve been able to complete each section relatively quickly so far (and without grinding) so it’s certainly not too bad. The rest of the game has definitely opened up though (thankfully, I’m about 30-35 hrs in, haha).

Slowly making my way through Jeanne d’Arc on the side - gameplay wise it’s up my alley (minus grinding…), however the story is pretty subpar imo.

I picked up quite a few games - Deathsmiles, DoDonPachi Resurrection, Mega Man X Legacy Collection, Mushihimesama, ProtoCorgi, Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds Saga, TMNT Shredder’s Revenge and Ultrakill.

I’ve only played ProtoCorgi so far and I kinda love it - I mean, you’re a corgi, barking or shooting lasers at various enemies in space, what’s not to love?
I’ve already played most of the other games before and wanted to own them on Steam, except for Ultrakill (and I’m really looking forward to that one).

Persona 3 Reload - I’m not sure whether I like it or not just yet tbh. I’m about 20 hours in (or 2 months of “in-game time”) and the plot is very slow to unravel.
I don’t like turn-based RPGs usually, so combat is a bit of a chore and the exploration of Tartarus is very samey. Social sim aspects have been fine, but I guess I expected a bit more interactivity? I’m not sure. Its been nice to learn more about side characters, albeit ones not present in the “core” team.
The only somewhat similar game I’ve played before is Fire Emblem: Three Houses and I absolutely loved it, but I was much more interested in the gameplay (T-RPGs are 100% up my alley) and social sim was okay as well.
I think my primary issue with P3R is the setting - which I didn’t think would matter so much - I really don’t relate to high school life / issues anymore and it’s making it hard for me to get into the game…
The OST is absolutely S-tier though (and it has made exploring Tartarus much more bearable!)