Re: What are you playing now?
Hades 2 just released in early access on Steam yesterday so I'll be giving it a go tonight. I still haven't finished the first one properly but I loved it so I'm happy to shell out the money for this one now. I have faith they'll work hard on it and make it every bit as good.
Other than that I'm still playing Palworld on and off with my manager and a couple of weeks ago there was a demo up of Assassin's Creed Mirage. I hate their rpg ones (Origins was fucking awful, I admit I haven't played Odyssey and while Niall enjoyed it I've felt no pull towards it, and Valhalla just looked terrible from the moment it was revealed) but Mirage is a step back to the old style ones so I figured I'd give it a go. Fell instantly in love with it. It feels like #1 but with all the improvements of titles like Brotherhood, Black Flag and Syndicate. I think the setting also helps; being a similar area to the original gives nostalgic vibes. The 'Hidden One' (they're not assassin's yet) bureaus are basically the ones from the original game, where you drop through a hole in the roof into little courtyards with fountains. Oh and they removed the idiotic block on being able to assassinate heavy enemies. If you sneak up on them you can one hit kill them again so I've given in and bought that.
I also got Manor Lords. I know, 2 early access games in a couple of weeks of each other, I feel ashamed. But it's surprisingly well done and has a lot to it already. I think there are 3 scenarios. I chose the one with no combat first and it feels a lot like Banished but a bit more forgiving. I haven't really found any bugs yet other than when I completed that scenario; it gives the option to end game or continue playing in sandbox mode, but if you choose sandbox mode every few seconds it pops up the "Victory!" window again. I have started one of the combat scenarios and died horribly.
Edit: Played Hades 2 for about an hour. Every bit as good as the first one so far. Some interesting changes as you now have a bit more magic and gathering but it's very well delivered so you don't feel overwhelmed at any point by all the new things you can do. The powers still feel very similar yet different enough to feel refreshing and there are a couple of returning characters so far but they've been revamped. I've managed to defeat the first boss but my very first run I died in the second room