This weekend, I’ll be continuing my adventures in Deathloop. So far it’s more Dishonored than Prey, both in level design and general gameplay flow. It’s a little too fiddly to engender genuine out-of-the-box thinking on the fly, but more so than previous Arkane games, going in guns blazing is a viable approach.

I found the tutorial section a little tedious (okay, very tedious), but the game opens up a lot once you finish it. It’s a much more entertaining experience once it lets you loose a little. There’s still a critical path to follow, but you have a lot of leeway in how you tackle it and in what order.

I’ve got the game downloaded and will probably fire it up tomorrow after finishing Psychonauts 2, but it sounds to me like it’s fundamentally at odds with itself: it wants to be a cerebral puzzle-box immersive sim like Prey, but it also wants to be a badass, balls-to-the-wall action romp. I don’t think it’s impossible…

I intend to finish off Psychonauts 2 this weekend. I’m into [SPOILERS INCOMING] what appears to be the second hub area, akin to how in the first Psychonauts you went to the abandoned mental hospital after completing the initial levels at the camp. The game has gotten a lot darker, so I’m hoping for another dose or two…

LIS1 has a genuinely twisty plot. It kind of falls apart in the final episode, but the central mystery is extremely well constructed.

I’ve been playing Psychonauts 2 as well, and I also find it hella charming. I just finished the level described in the article, and I too thought it was a weird mixture of frustrating and hilarious. It’s impressive just how much humour and quirkiness are packed into this game. I happen to think that Psychonauts is a…

There are some standout moments on this album (e.g. the two “Jesus Lord”s) but what I can’t get over is how impersonal the rest of it sounds. Most of the album has zero inventive production. So little of it sounds interesting. It’s all flat. It sounds like filler, and more than that, all the filler sounds the same, so…

It seems like I dodged a bullet by choosing just to plug away at Scarlet Nexus and Genshin Impact rather than buying 12 Minutes. This game sounds insufferably pretentious.

Still chipping away at Genshin Impact. It’s clear to me that I haven’t been levelling up my weapons or talents enough, because I’m getting absolutely destroyed by this relatively simple Ritou Escape Plan quest. I don’t mind killing lots of enemies, because I’m good at tanking, healing, and avoiding damage, but having…

Speaking of comedians who would be good Jeopardy hosts, I’m surprised they didn’t try out Andy Richter. He’s knowledgeable, he has competed on Celebrity Jeopardy before, and he has hosting experience.

I started Kasane’s campaign in Scarlet Nexus this week, and so far it’s taking some getting used to. She doesn’t play as similarly to Yuito as one would think. Because she’s a mid-range fighter, instead of the typical light and heavy attack, she has a regular attack and a backstep attack that positions her closer to…

Still playing the Future Connected epilogue of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. I find that I’m actually gaining levels faster in this game than in the base game, so there’s a lot less mindless grinding. I still don’t find the combat system as engaging as it should be, but I prefer this relatively relaxing…

My favourites of the year so far are Hitman 3, Adios, and It Takes Two. Hitman 3 and It Takes Two have been discussed at length elsewhere, so let me just take a couple of moments to sing the praises of Adios. It’s a brief (~2 hours) first-person narrative adventure set on a farm. It’s wonderfully atmospheric,…

Gonna try to finish Yuito’s route in Scarlet Nexus this weekend. I’m in Phase 8 now, and the plot has gotten batshit bonkers, in a good way. More games need this kind of go-for-broke nonsense. I wouldn’t say it’s exactly good, but boy howdy is it compelling.

Don’t you love living in MadLib reality?

Continuing my adventures in Scarlet Nexus. I’m currently in Phase 5 of Yuito’s story, and while the combat is good fun — telekinetically ramming a car into a monster’s face will always be satisfying — I’m finding the story increasingly difficult to follow, and nobody’s motivations are clear at all. Piling twist on top…

I looked up his Wikipedia filmography page, and apparently he spent a lot of the past five years doing production work. I wonder what brought him back to acting.

Started Scarlet Nexus last night, and yeah, it’s definitely a slow start with a lot of clunky exposition. Glad to hear it opens up and becomes fun. What I will praise, though, is the art direction. I’m loving the mix of grungy urban environments with high tech displays. I think it’s neat that they went with…

Man, fuck cancer.

I didn’t even know that this show existed, which goes to show just how good Netflix is at promoting their content.