Coelacanth

I’m about halfway through Pentiment and I’m not sure what to think of it. There are lots of things I love about it: the art, the characters, the writing (mostly) and the historical research that’s gone into making it. All the running around and back tracking hasn’t been great. The first murder was also very unsatisfying, and it’s only now that I realise that that was the point. And I’m not sure what to think of that. It’s a strange game, with its central message seemingly being how powerless we are in the face of history and how restricted we are in our lives. Or at least people were back then. I’ll probably have to wait until I finish for my full judgement of it though.

I also snagged Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree on the Steam summer sale at 25% off. As a passionate VTM: Bloodlines fan I’ve been waiting for a reason to buy it. I’ve felt obliged to check it out as it was also written by Brian Mitsoda. Plus the game itself looked interesting. I’ve only just started playing it, but I’m enjoying it so far. The writing seems okay (not Bloodlines level) but the presentation is beautiful. I really like the splash art for characters and the cutscenes. It’s a Metroidvania Soulslike with a skill tree inspired by Path of Exile, and I can already tell I’ll have a lot of fun crafting builds here. Probably huge replayability too. The combat has felt solid so far, but I’m only at the beginning.

“Hasn’t improved” is a very polite way of putting it, but wouldn’t “gone to shit” be more accurate?

Only just started Pentiment. And by that I mean I got through the background selection, and I’m now trying to decide if I’m happy with my choices or want to go with something else. The game looks really good so far, I’ve heard good things and I’m excited to see how it plays out.

They are indeed. Very curious how they’ll end up solving the Max Payne remake with James McCaffrey passing.

Though the game I really long for is Alan Wake 3, but I’ll probably have to wait 5-7 years for that if not more.

You tried, Remedy. Now can we please get back to you guys making the type of games we actually want you to make again?

!gameart@sopuli.xyz

Sam Lake is still out there fighting the good fight. Kojima too - whether you think he’s a genius or think he produces incomprehensible nonsense you can’t deny he is at least flying the flag for the weird.

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 35 average - 0% recommended - 18 reviews

Dear lord you don’t see that often. I mean, it’s no surprise and it’s definitely deserved as the game is a hot pile of garbage but even then. They didn’t buy off a single reviewer?

I’m back on my first playthrough of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided after a two-month break for Blue Prince, Clair Obscur and F.E.A.R… It’s a great game, but I think I did it a disservice by taking the long break, I can feel I’m so much less invested now than I was when I began playing it.

It’s very unfortunate that the series ended on a cliffhanger, what they have here is really good and in many ways an upgrade on Human Revolution. A third game from the studio would have been a true masterpiece, I think.

Finished playing F.E.A.R. for the first time and am now about halfway through the first expansion Extraction Point. Man, it really holds up incredibly for a 20-year-old game.

The particle effects look fantastic for their age, the lightly destructible environments add a beautiful layer of carnage and the gunplay is surprisingly great for such an old game. Every single gun feels satisfying to use (bar the bizarrely awful assault rifle), with the highlight of course being nailing people to the wall with the famous 10mm HV Penetrator.

The AI is also just as good as people say and it continues to surprise me with shockingly good dynamic behaviour for again a game of this age. Especially the way they interact with the environment in unscripted ways impress me: closing doors behind them as they retreat to wait in ambush or smashing windows and vaulting over to charge you for example.

The horror and story is actually the weak point, at least of the main game. It’s all pretty predictable, the horror is fairly mediocre and not even the jump scares really land. I will say it has been better in the expansion so far, though, even if it’s still only sort of okay.

But that doesn’t really matter. The atmosphere does enough to sell its pseudo horror identity, but the fantastic gunplay across these well designed claustrophobic levels is worth experiencing. It’s a classic for a reason and I completely get why. And with it frequently being for sale for like a dollar on GOG it’s a must play, I think.

Just make sure to install the EchoPatch!

The 70s will remain thirty years ago until the day I die.

Yeah. For me it was before my 30s even, but it’s less to do with a specific age and more to do with the fact that as an introvert you sooner or later realise pretending to be an extrovert isn’t worth the energy and effort.

Ooh good shout, this has to be the ultimate convergence of power fantasy and boobs surely?

That’s what I thought. I bought it recently on a GOG sale but haven’t played it yet. But all I hear about Prey (2017) is people raving about how great it is.

Isn’t Prey (2017) well liked?

I finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a couple of days ago. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing people rave about it at this point. All I can say is: the hype is justified.

It’s a beautiful piece of art, with a wonderful story, gorgeous visuals and absolutely unbelievable music. One of my favourite OSTs of all time, and there’s more than 8 fucking hours of it.

It’s definitely within my top 10 games of all time. Thoroughly recommended, and a game I will still think about for a long time, even after putting it down.

In fact, it’s one of those rare games where I’m seriously considering going immediately back in to a NG+ playthrough right after finishing it. Yes, it’s that good.

You’ll always be a planet in my heart, Pluto <3

I was thinking more in regards to questions of “why is [bad thing] allowed to be [bad in this manner]?”

But you’re right.

Isn’t it always?

Spoiler alert: for an authentic representation of the game the movie will just be two hours straight of:

“I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella and I have never known defeat”