Gaming

I've been playing a couple new-to-me games lately, Plague Inc and Guntouchables.

I can see why Plague Inc is so popular. It has a bit of that "one more turn" feel to it for me, and it is interesting how you can employ different strategies to try to win. I find it to be a decent game for relaxing after a tough day of work (though it could also be frustrating when you lose).

Guntouchables I got for free when it first launched and just played it yesterday with some friends (who also got it for free). It is a fairly simple co-op rogue-lite top down shooter, but I think it is well executed, and I enjoyed the couple runs we had. I'll probably buy the supporter pack DLC for this at some point, because I do feel it deserves that.

Cookie Cutter

I heard ages ago that the animation was something special and then saw it was dirt cheap on sale and grabbed it a while after that but was just never in the mood to start something that looked so frantic. Finally actually started playing it a couple days ago.

For starters, the main character’s animation work really is something special. The snappy movement, the expressive face, the terrible posture, the confrontationally ever-visible underwear.

Everything other than the visuals seems so undercooked, though. The setting is high concept but the plot is a basic “get revenge and save the girl” type deal. It’s one big map like a Metroid game but the levels are as straightforward as a level-based licensed platformer. The combat is trying to be spectacle-fightery but there is absolutely zero complexity to it. And I was just playing it last night and have already completely forgotten the music sounds like aside from, like, there’s electric guitar.

I’ll stick with it longer in hopes that the game around this extremely likable main character develops into something beyond baseline technical competence. I’ve simply never played a game that is so lovingly and expertly made in one specific regard that phones literally everything else in as hard as this seems to so far.

I’m also getting into Death Stranding 2 but it feels like there’s nothing to say about it. First game again but more of it. Weird to see Kojima making so conservative a sequel. Like with Cookie Cutter, I’m really hoping for more from this as I progress. Not to say that they’re equivalently disappointing.

I finished my No Man's Sky expedition. This is the first time the game had actually hooked me. I really don't know if it's the corvette building or something else but I really enjoyed the whole experience.

And of course I was playing Silksong because still haven't explored everything. But I will say, I'm not getting the same high I got from Hollow knight. I feel like the areas in Hollow knight had more sense of discovery. Most areas in Silksong feel like a different gradient of run down. It fits thematically but when you're exploring I'm not getting the "I wonder what's here" because I know there's just more decay. I also don't enjoy how hidden some places are. I don't remember Hollow knight being like this but Silksong feels like I'm playing Wolfenstein 3D where I'm just hugging every wall to see if there's a hidden wall. I don't feel that rewarded for being perceptive because finding new areas comes down to swinging the nail at anything that looks remotely breakable or jumping at any place that looks passable. I also enjoy the charm system of Hollow knight more because it's more flexible. Overall Silksong kinda makes me wish I was playing Hollow knight instead. It doesn't mean it's bad, it's just not as good as Hollow knight.

Just started Beyond Good and Evil on GameCube.

I never played many console games in 2003, so I don't have much point of reference, but I'm impressed so far. I think the stylized graphics aged well. Environments look organic and detailed without losing readability, and characters look like they belong. The voice acting is solid, and I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Porco-Rosso's banter is good. I don't expect much from the plot, but the characters and world seem well-realized.

Finished my Hollow Knight: Silksong 100% playthrough. Great game with some weird, frustrating and outright bad segments, that make you question what the devs were smoking.

Then I also beat Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. I was pretty close to the end two weeks ago, before I took a break because of Silksong. Only one small boss and the final boss was left, but hunting for the rest of the secrets still took a while. It's definitely better than Circle of the Moon, which I played before this, just because it doesn't play like absolute cheeks. Graphics and Music are a major downgrade though.

Next up is the final Castlevania GBA game, Aria of Sorrow. I've played the sequel, Dawn of Sorrow on the NDS years ago, and I remember it being great, so I have high hopes for this one.

Then I started Megabonk. It's Risk of Rain 2, but as an ASS game (Auto-Shooter Survivor game, like Vampire Survivors). Each run is 1-3 loops of a single map, and there are only two different maps in total. Characters, weapons and leveling are like VS, so your choice is for a starting weapon and each characters innate passive. Then you also earn money during a run to open chests for different items, like in RoR. While I think the game is solid, you have to like the gameplay enough to be fine with just not much variety in the visuals.

Tried Warframe and Marvel Rivals, both fun. I prefer Warframe. Also Gekishin Squadra.

I'm playing two games at once this week, firstly I'm playing bits and pieces of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword on my 3DS. It's a really great game so far, super fun and surprisingly good at translating the mainline NG gameplay onto a handheld and using stylus input for controls. Might well end up one of my favourite DS/3DS games when I'm done with it. I'm about halfway through so far I think.

I'm also playing through Enotria: The Last Song on PC for the first time. So far I'm having a blast with it, after some initial information overload I'm finally starting to engage with the systems and am starting to really enjoy using the stances and elemental rock-paper-scissors. From what I've seen so far it does not really deserve its mixed steam reviews - yes, there is some jank and it's plainly AA but there is a lot of good to make up for it. The world design is gorgeous, the level design is great with lots of verticality and the setting is so lovely and unique. I have heard it's fairly short, and I do maybe concur that it might not merit a full price purchase, but I do think it's worth wishlisting for a deep sale if you like the genre. I'm having a lot of fun with it so far.

Grim Dawn. Over and over and over again

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Really enjoying it.

I’ve gone back to Hand of Fate 2 for like… the 15th time. Just such a cool concept. In a world full of card-based roguelikes, I’ve still never seen anything else quite like it.

Your deck isn’t just the equipment and buffs you might gain. It’s also the threats you might face, and the clues that might lead to new quests.

You’re playing against the deck, in many ways. Such a simple inversion, but it opens up the door to so many interesting modifiers.

I've been on a 3D platformer binge.

Just finished Castle on the Coast and was pleasantly surprised. It starts off feeling a little janky, but after the first 30-60 minutes realize it's intentional and you are a silly giraffe parkour GOD. Some later levels get into abstract platforming and refreshingly different mechanics than I've experienced before. Worth checking out if you're a 3D platformer-head.

Currently playing through Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Never played any of them before, but always wanted to. Just finished the first one and it was quite fun, although I did not like the final boss. There should have been a checkpoint after the first phase (2 keys phase). Looking forward to finding out how they developed the mechanics from there in 2 and 3.

I've been absolutely obsessed with the 2014 reboot of Thief over the past couple weeks. I'm having so much fun just sneaking around and stealing stuff and finding new hidey holes lol. It's making me really want to try out the older games. I don't know how I slept on it for so long because it's been great.

Mostly played Resonance of Fate. The story is surprisingly slice-of-lifey and the character interactions are pretty charming. The gameplay tho is a bit dull. I'm 15 hours in and more or less have been repeating the same thing for each battle, so I'm not sure how long I'm gonna play.

Also just started Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon.

Got an infection and couldn't get off the bed much for a couple days, played lots of Silksong. Would have been bored to death otherwise