#blade’s playstyle looks so fun to me

[petrichorium]

Blade trailer…….. May I be vulnerable here guys I think I’ll be more disappointed by losing this 50/50 than when I lost jing yuan’s

[waywardsalt]

finally got around to putting together elden ring builds for the post-ph crew, and tested them out briefly, so here are the builds i came up with and all that! (absolutely a very long post, i had fun explaining a lot of my reasoning)

i'm not going to give them exact stats, just some vague idea of what they'd likely lean towards, and i can't say much to what equip load they have. when i tested these builds out i had 72 endurance. this uses exclusively base-game equipment since i don’t have the dlc and wanted to test these out for myself.

i also don’t use many spells or any incantations so the spell and incantation choices are mostly based on wiki descriptions and whether or not i felt it would fit the character.

some context is that this is with the idea that somehow these four get zapped into the lands between as tarnished, and this is the equipment i think they’d use, disregarding what is needed to access most of this stuff.

i also didn't change my tarnished's appearance for these, not that i think i could accurately replicate these four in elden ring's character creator, anyways, so you get to see my tarnished's face with all of these :)

Link:

His armor is: the highwayman hood, the blue cloth vest, exile gauntlets, and Carian knight greaves.

There's practically no green armor in this game, and what is there isn't really armor and isn’t exactly good protection. I wanted a bit of a balance between just cloth, but also some armor, as well as a headpiece somewhat like the usual hero's cap. The highwayman's hood works well enough, honestly, and I think it fits in well with the blue cloth vest; plus, I can see it being helpful in keeping dust and whatnot out of his eyes. Blue works well enough with Link nowadays, and I do think the blue cloth vest actually fits Link well enough- I doubt he'd want to wear something like a plate breastplate, so a vest like this is good.

The exile gauntlets I feel work well, they're simple and slim with some decent coverage, and the Carian knight graves not only look great with the blue cloth vest, but are also something that I believe fits Link, and the tall boots are likely decently practical in the same vein as the hood.

His weapons I chose are: The Carian knight's sword, with the pulley bow as a secondary weapon, and the Carian knight's shield in his offhand, with the academy glintstone staff as a secondary.

He obviously had to be the good standard sword-and-shield combo fighter, but I went ahead and gave him with Carian sword and shield partially because they look decently similar to what weapons he normally uses, but also because I enjoy the idea of him dabbling in magic along with typical damage types. The Carian sword does a good bit of magic damage along with standard, and the shield guards again both of those types, and the sword's unique ash of war (Carian Grandeur) is a good mix between swordfighting and magic, and actually really good to use in-game. I feel like they suit him well.

For his secondaries, I had to give him a bow, and I feel like the pulley bow is just right, especially with it's special feature of having increased range. I could see him being the one tasked with deactivating faraway traps and hunting the animals of the Lands Between for materials, and even just luring enemies with some normal arrows.

The academy glintstone staff is a solid staff (and the one I personally use), and him using magic is a good way to translate his usual versatility, though I only limited him to five spells, those being:

Loretta's greatbow, giving him what is technically now a second bow, and a pretty good spell for luring and doing some decent magic damage,

Magma shot, a good, simple fire damage spell,

Glintstone Icecrag, a good ice spell, especially for causing frostbite buildup,

Great glintstone shard, a very basic but reliable spell, and is good when cast a few times in succession,

and Thops' barrier, for deflecting magic attacks, and though I've heard it's a mediocre spell, I could see Link getting the timing down and getting some good usage out of it. I tried giving him a decent range of spells, which is a little bit easier said then done considering the actual spell variety and wanting to pick spell that I think suit Link, but I think this is a good lineup.

For talismans, assuming that all four of them have all four talisman slots open, Link gets the silver scarab, the graven-mass talisman, the erdtree's favor +2, and the companion jar.

The silver scarab, raising item discovery is... perfect for Link. It only feels right that he gets a talisman that makes him more likely to get items off enemies. It definitely works, too, while testing, I got way more items out of the gatefront ruins group than I'd ever seen before.

The graven-mass talisman boosts sorcery power, which is certainly perfect for boosting Link's versatility and magic power, simple and useful.

The erdtree’s favor +2 is just an all-around great talisman to use for the hp, mp, and stamina boost, and it feels perfect as something for Link to use, especially to increase his effectiveness and endurance in battle.

And then the companion jar, which goes hand-in-hand with him also being a pot user to further his versatility, and it’s very easy to see him doing the Jar-Bairn side quest. My choices here disregard how the items are obtained, but I could absolutely see Link going out of his way to interact with Jarburg.

Link’s standard fighter, with a balance between offense and defense and physical and magical damage with a slight leaning towards magical, and the main archer who aims to do more damage with archery, and uses pots when needed. He’s probably the one ‘leading the charge’ in that he’s suited for most situations, but isn’t necessarily the most effective in all-out combat- he is the most defensively oriented, however. He’s likely in the mid-to-light equip range, and likely mostly levels Strength and Intelligence to keep his damage up, and focuses a lot on keeping his Vigor up for a good chunk of health.

Linebeck:

His armor is: the black knife armor, the gauntlets, and bandit boots.

The black knife armor is the most important part of the set, not just for it being a nice blue, but because it has the unique effect of completely silencing your movement sounds- perfect for steal and getting in a good number of sneak attacks. It’s light, too, and so are the generally standard gauntlets and bandit boots, all put together for a general… blue rogue kind of look? It’s practicality and some looks and all put around the idea that he’s going to be sneaking around and panic-rolling out of the enemy’s way- so his defenses are a bit lacking in favor of mobility. I do think it’s a good look overall.

His weapons are: A bloody antspur rapier with the poison mist ash of war, the redbranch shortbow as a secondary weapon, and the frozen needle in the offhand.

For Linebeck's build, it was either daggers or rapiers, and the extra damage, range, and great designs for the rapier won out- and I think rapiers suit him well. This specific pair of rapiers are oriented around inflicting ailments, with the frozen needle inflicting frostbite, and the antspur rapier- specifically with the poison mist ash of war and blood upgrade- can inflict scarlet rot, bloodloss, and poison with poison mist active. With the blood upgrade, the scarlet rot buildup suffers, but with the speed of rapiers and just how effective scarlet rot can be, it's a decent trade-off for the ability to do four ailments at once. His role in the Radahn fight is to inflict scarlet rot and then run off to snipe him with the redbranch shortbow, which is a simple ranged option, and helps with further ailment inflicting with ailment arrows.

His damage would probably be pretty decent, especially considering inflicting frostbite and his equipped talismans, but he's mostly going to be heading in with everyone and sticking around until proccing an ailment, and then backing off, especially if poison, rot, or frostbite are inflicted. Plus I think dual rapiers look great and it's very easy to see Linebeck using rapiers.

For talismans, he gets the gold scarab, the assassin's crimson dagger, the dagger talisman, and the blessed dew talisman.

The gold scarab boost rune acquisition by 20%. It's perfect. It's one of my favorite talismans. I can't make an Elden Ring build for Linebeck and NOT give him the money-boosting talisman.

The assassin's crimson dagger restores hp upon successful critical hits, and paired with the silencing effect of the black knife armor, is perfect for someone who's more used to sneaking around and taking down enemies from behind- and it's good for topping off your hp.

The dagger talisman boosts critical damage- so then making sneak attacks all the more effective, and even making any critical hits he manages in fights do much more damage.

And then the blessed dew talisman gives you a very minuscule constant hp regen, about 2 hp per second iirc. It’s incredibly slow, but it's hp regen all the same, good for saving flask uses and good for some health regeneration if you back out of the main fight.

Linebeck's got a big focus on stealth and ailments, with just a bit of health regen tossed in with the talismans to help with survivability. his weapons and offhand options are mainly based around ailments, and besides the bow, he tends to use darts and other throwable items, and is often the one to pick off enemies at the edge of a group while the others go in to the handle the main group. With bosses, he's in the front lines until an ailment is inflicted, and will jump back in either if he's really needed, or if ailments are needed again. For longer bosses, or bosses immune to a few ailments, he would probably find moments to jump in and get a bunch of quick hits in, then back out and wait for another opening. Rapiers are pretty good for quick hits considering that I believe you actually get three attacks from a dual-rapier sprint attack. He’d likely have a focus on Dexterity and Arcane, with some Endurance mixed in for that good running and rolling stamina.

Damien:

His armor is; the sacred crown helm, exile armor, crucible gauntlets, and drake knight greaves.

Picking armor for Damien was a bit of a challenge since he’s still a bit of a work in progress and I usually picture him in generally casual clothes, but I knew I wanted to stick with some red clothing and put together a bit more of a practical sort of outfit. Plus this end result kind of helps me further figure out Damien’s actual design and outfit variations.

I knew I wanted to give him one of the simple footsoldier helmets, and the sacred crown helm won out with the additional detail of the little vine-looking wreath, plus the minor faith boost. It’s a nice little helmet and I think it suits him. The exile armor was considered due to the red cloth around the shoulders, and was properly decided on when I found that the helmet got rid of the cloth covering the bottom half of the face. So it’s a good solid chest piece.

The crucible gauntlets and drake knight greaves work both with color and giving him some more armored extremities, the crucible gauntlets are pretty good heavy armor gauntlets, if the crucible knights themselves are anything to go by, and the drake knight graves seem to have a good bit of practicality with the high boots and armor. It’s all meant to end up somewhere in the medium equip load area, for a balance between defense and speed, and the lighter helmet and chest piece were primarily to even out with the heavier weapons.

The weapons he gets are: the axe of Godrick, the highland axe as a secondary, and the clawmark seal.

The axe of Godrick is a pretty good greataxe with what selection there is, some good damage and a really good ash of war skill with a really good area of effect. It’s fantastic for crowd control when two-handed, and worked pretty well for me when I tested it out without having upgraded it. It’s all in all a great standard axe. The highland axe as a secondary is used partially as a faster one-hand option, and partially for the boost given by its war cry ash of war. The axe of Godrick is almost always what he’d use, but the highland axe is probably better for some specific situations. Damien was always going to end up using axes, and I think these two are pretty good and fitting.

In his other hand is the clawmark seal- scaling with faith and strength and so working well with him relying on strength, and boosting bestial incantations, of which he has one- and he mostly uses support incantations with some minor attack incantations- but he is primarily support, usually backing out of the fight to switch to casting due to usually two-handing the axe of Godrick. He gets six incantations, those being:

Heal, as a very standard heal, mostly just for himself,

Erdtree heal, a heal more intended for group healing,

Golden vow, a group offense and defense buff for a time,

Protection of the erdtree, for increased non-physical defense, which is likely useful for many bosses,

Bestial sling, which is a pretty basic but effective attack incantation, and boosted by the seal he uses, and is probably great in tandem with his axes to break an enemy's poise,

and then Dragonclaw as his final spell, a stronger and closer-up attack spell, likely for individual bosses that are lower on hp.

His offenses are standard and meant to be pretty decent for crowd control and poise-breaking, so his attack spells follow suite, while his support options are based around healing and some basic buffs. I personally do not use buffs or incantations when I play, so I do not know the nuances of a lot of this stuff, but Damien's got a good set of incantations to use.

Damien's set of talismans are the green turtle talisman, the mottled necklace +1, the axe talisman, and the bull-goat's talisman.

The green turtle talisman is a great talisman, simply increasing the speed of stamina regeneration, and it's a fantastic talisman. Very useful with the stamina drained by axe attacks and backing off to cast spells.

The mottled necklace boosts immunity, robustness, and focus, an across-the-board status boost, and I imagine it's useful for being up close with enemies and then staying alive to help with support- even if he doesn't have much in the way of ailment-based support.

The axe talisman is a damage booster, and considering his decent poise, charged attacks are pretty viable for him to be using.

The bull-goat's talisman is standard but very effective in practice (or maybe that's me being used to low poise), as it raises poise, therefore making it harder for you to flinch or be knocked out of an attack. Very helpful with a slower main weapon like the axe of Godrick.

Damien's standard all around, with pretty good damage and likely very helpful with crowd control, usually two-handing the axe for maximum damage and will back off when using incantations. He primarily uses incantations for support, and the offensive incantations are usually saved for bosses or rougher encounters- or sometimes just if he wants to switch things up for fun. He's likely going to focus on Strength and Faith, with some Mind thrown in for most casts.

Bellum:

His armor is: the altered tree sentinel armor, and the malformed dragon gauntlets and greaves.

Chosen partially for the color and because they're all heavy plate armor; meant to emulate a lot of the phantom designs, and for that yellow color, and I wasn't even aware that the malformed dragon gauntlets had a darker color until I was initially putting this together. Heavy armor fits with a desire to survive in battle, plus I think decent mobility in heavy armor suits Bellum; when I tested this out, I was firmly in medium equip load territory, plus it made for a good bit of poise to go with slower weapons. It wasn't too hard to pick out armor for him.

The weapons I felt suit him are: the blasphemous blade, the Marais executioner's sword, with the gravel stone seal as a secondary.

The blasphemous blade was practically necessary, a greatsword with the bonus effect of hp restoration on enemy death, plus the Taker's Flames skill, which also heals hp when it hits an enemy. This is was made me decide on greatswords over colossal weapons, trying to stick a bit with some ideas from the phantoms, plus the hp-leeching effects, plus it’s a pretty good weapon and I think it originally belonging to Rykard also fits pretty well; it’s Bellum’s main weapon unless he switches to the Marais Executioner’s sword for it’s specific skill. That sword is mostly chosen for it’s skill, as well as it’s origins- those bellum-bearing hunter’s are absolute nightmares to deal with- so the two swords are kind of also picked for a sort of intimidation effect. At least the wriggling flesh on the blasphemous blade does the job well enough if someone doesn’t know the origins (which don’t practically matter). He would likely switch to the executioner’s sword for some boss fights, and its skill can be highly damaging to lone enemies- the focus with these two is on heavy damage and hp regen.

The secondary left hand weapon he has is the gravel stone seal, which boost dragon incantations, and so he only uses offense incantations, with a lot of incantations that cover a wide area and some that inflict ailment buildup. Bellum gets five incantations, all attacks (and all maybe emulating the idea that he’s a monster forced to be human in the lands between lol);

Beast claw, a pretty standard but pretty effective ground-level attack,

Unendurable frenzy, a wide range, fiery madness-inflicting incantation that, while only inflicting madness on a select few enemies (and himself) is likely more than useful for crowds and large enemies,

Rotten breath, a dragon communion incantation that is about what it says on the tin, a dragon’s breath attack that inflicts scarlet rot,

Fortissax’s lightning spear, another dragon incantation that summons a pair of lightning spears, with the damage at it’s best up close,

and Aspects of the crucible: tail, a wide-range crucible incantation, and the most fitting of the crucible incantations, I feel.

He has no issue getting up close to bosses, since he can fall back on the honestly insane hp regen he’s afforded by both his main weapon and some of his talismans.

The talismans Bellum gets are; the taker’s cameo, the dragoncrest greatshield talisman, the pearldrake talisman +2, and the godskin swaddling cloth.

The taker’s token has the same passive effect as the blasphemous blade; hp restoration upon enemy death. The fun part is that the taker’s token and the blasphemous blade’s hp regen effects stack with each other.

The dragoncrest greatshield talisman reduces physical damage by 20%, and the pearldrake talisman +2 reduces non-physical damage by about 11%. Covering just about all defenses with these two talismans.

The godskin swaddling cloth allows for additional minor hp restoration upon landing a certain number of melee hits within a short timeframe. This could be harder with greatswords, but with dual greatswords and jumping right into the action, I don’t imagine it’s at all impossible for the talisman’s effect to never trigger. As always, it’s extra effective with a larger number of enemies.

Bellum’s the main damage-dealer with a focus on staying power and lots of hp regen, using the blasphemous blade for regular battles while switching to the executioner’s sword for bosses due to the more aggressive ash of war. His incantations are more often used for crowd control, but are absolutely effect for boss battles, especially when given time to charge them up. He’s all about staying power and straightforward damage-dealing, with some decent poise to back things up despite his checking piece being altered and his lack of a helmet, and all of his incantations are a bit more bestially-inclined. He'd probably focus on Vigor and Strength, with some Faith or Dexterity thrown in for damage-dealing.

Overall, the idea is that the four of them are in the lands between like this, working and running around together, probably fighting over what bosses to go after next and whether or not to head into the catacombs that one of them just spotted. I could see them taking the time to scour the lands between for every little trinket and discussing whether or not to bother with some character's quest. Not too different from actual post-ph stuff, but it's fun to put them in Elden Ring and think on what kinds of equipment to give them and what would suit them.

[harvatat]

bake you a cake || jing yuan, dan heng, blade

jing yuan understands the very concept of a cake (because cakes are not common culture in the xianzhou alliance). it is a liquid batch of flour and flavours that must be baked in the oven at a certain temperature for a certain amount of time. he understands. but how does someone even begin? he attempts to bake in the astral express kitchen (with prior approval from pom pom, of course), and march, dan heng, and occasionally welt interject with helpful tips. the cake turns out relatively well, although he did use too much sugar and vinegar. 7/10, but the flavour is mildly nasty.

dan heng is well-aware of what a cake looks like and how to bake it, having baked many with march and then stelle for various events like a successful trailblaze and birthdays, so he quickly enters the kitchen to bake you a cake. however, he overestimated the amount of batter he required, and ended up using the remaining batter to make muffins. he gave the muffins to welt and himeko, who don't entirely prefer sweet things, and divided the cake between you, march, and himself, leaving a piece for pom pom. his go-to flavour is chocolate, but also experiments with banana-walnut, strawberry, and vanilla. 10/10 because he's experienced.

blade, like a mix of jing yuan and dan heng, understands the concept of a cake and has both seen and eaten a few pieces over his years with the stellaron hunters. kafka and silver wolf both enjoy cakes on his birthday and bake him a small batch of muffins on his to eat, so he's seen the process and is vaguely aware of how to replicate it. kafka is his only helper- silver wolf is in her room pulling for a character that "looks just like bladie" with the silver-haired trailblazer, and sam is away on an espionage mission given to them by elio. while kafka makes light fun of him, she does give him the exact quantities he needs, and the picture of the first cake he's ever baked hangs proudly in the living room, sloppy decorations and all. 10/10 because it's adorable as hell.

i wrote the most for blade bc unfortunately i am very biased (he charmed me with his backstory and playstyle during his release banner) reposted from @.ameleii (my old account)

[delzinrowe]

i meant characters for bg3 !! sorry WAAAAA ;-; w playstyle question it is more towards what class is your fav or who you like playing the most with their base class >:D

blade is def some of the best lore i think hsr character wise, aventurine is one of my favorite designs too! he looks like a silly little man with such flair and fashion and i am here for it !! and the firefly abilities are so fucking fun i love just appearing onto my foes :D

My absolutely favourite class to play in terms of playstyle is Wizard, which shouldn't come as surprise considering Gale is never leaving my party and most of my Tavs end up being Wizards. If my tav isn't a wizard, then the second favourite of mine is Bard, no doubt the dialogue is funniest even if battle wise I'm a bit baffled still on how to use bard TT I try to avoid combat if I'm a bard, would only be lore accurate.

Ahhh a fellow person of culture <333 I love my stellaron hunters and my fancy rich mcgee who spoils me rotten

[toushindai]

What's your playstyle for Hades and Hades 2? Preferred weapons, heat/fear level? Are you working to max out the minor prophecies?

I'm really intrigued honestly by how different my playstyle is between the two games? I'm not enough of a Gamer™ to put a finger on exactly how or why, but even thoughts like "I can afford to spend a lot at this Well of Charon because it's going to be a while before I see a shop" are ones I'm having more frequently. And another interesting thing is that when I'm playing a difficult run, in Hades I, the beginning will not be so much more difficult than normal and then things start ramping up in Elysium or thereabouts; in Hades II, though, I feel like I am suffering and hating life until I'm about halfway through the third biome and then my build clicks and everything comes up daisies. Well, at least this has happened a few times.

My Hades preferences are so very firmly established: if I wanted to have as fun a run as possible for me personally, it's the Chaos-aspect shield with Doom on the special and something to inflict another status curse on the attack to get easy access to Privileged Status active as much as possible. At my best I was trying to make it so that all four levels of Extreme Measures + Middle Management + a level or two of Tight Deadline felt like a baseline, "normal" run to me. Having not played for a while I can't promise that I could still do that with consistency (EM4 was never quite a given for me) but it was feeling pretty comfortable for a while.

As for Hades II--

I can't decide what my favorite weapon is. It might be? Charon Axe? Drop a plain cast, fire off a special, deal AOE damage, it's a good deal. Especially if you can get like Super Nova and the double-omega-special hammer in there. Before the recent patch, which improved the skulls, I feel like I'd gotten into a groove with Persephone skulls, and now after that patch I am worse at them. The staff feels like a nice safe weapon and the new Momus aspect rocks. The blades... I'm not terribly compelled by their playstyle (and I'll trade their omega attack for the ability to hold to attack continuously at the first opportunity) but a dagger and a sickle is literally the hottest weapon combination I can imagine. And the torches are weird. I'm used to them! I can do them! They even feel good to me know. But they're weird. Maybe the sixth weapon will steal my heart. I have a secret hope for the sixth weapon but it's a secret.

Thus far my actual Preferred level of Fear is "none," although I did spend a little time practicing on one level of the Vow of Fury (enemies go fast) so that that speed essentially feels normal/default to me now. Thus turning that into three free Fear. Vow of Arrogance is my second go-to vow because it's just another element to keep in mind and build around. I am, however, up to about 20~24 with the bounties so what I actually prefer is not so much what's driving my choices. At this point I just have to broadly suffer. I'm also slow as hell, my Underworld runs are still averaging about 40-45 minutes which means I can't put on even one level of the timer. I've got to work on that. (I should start ignoring resources. I have so many resources. I don't really need more.) I'm somewhat confident in my ability to finish up those bounties soon and then my focuses will be a) attempting 32 Fear until I hate myself and b) trying to wrest Defiance out of Chaos, as that's the last achievable prophecy I still need to work on. I have no confidence that I'll be able to do this quickly. During the Hades early access period, I was chasing Defiance for several months' worth of repeated patch notes that SGG was making Chaos offer Defiance more often. They finally coughed it up on my first run of the Nighty Night update. I look forward to Chaos once again withholding this from me until some kind of significant plot update involving them is implemented.

[ftalos]

[CDB] Celestial Dragonblade Portalcraft Cards: First impressions.

I just finished the GP (Evo, 4-1 yay, Duck Fragon) and found out Shadowverse Portal updated with the whole list of cards from Celestial Dragonblade, the next expansion arriving tomorrow. A couple of cards from the Shadowverse Flame Anime are being released and most of them got considerable changes. Putting aside my disappointment for not having a Story mode related expansion, these cards do get me excited, I like Laevateinn Dragon a lot more than Ignis Dragon, as well as some other released (and, hopefully, soon to be released) cards (Shinobu and Andrea’s Aces where? gimme gimme).

New playstyles are around the corner for most of the classes, Chess rune as a board-based deck for the spell-based class looks interesting, as well as the Armed Dragon playstyle, specially because Forte will enjoy those stats buff to become hard to remove; but I am most hyped for Tsubasa’s Storm Ward Haven and Ren’s Hero Sword, the former being the most interesting of all to me, and the latter looking the most fun (Battle scenes Ren gotta be one of my favorite Characters, below Light).

As a class that has almost zero presence in the anime, Portalcraft got just one anime-related card that contributes to hyping the upcoming anime story while the rest of them are support for our most popular playstyles: Artifacts and Puppets. However, this didn’t make them less interesting, as these decks are getting strong support to, hopefully, stay in the top tiers of the next environment.

Alright, let’s jump onto it and check what cards Portalcraft will get.

Bronze Cards:

Puppets, Assemble!: Quite the funny name in the EN translation and, as usual, the first bronze card is strong support. Getting 2 puppets in hand synergizes well with Orchis to keep field control and the Rally (10) effect gives 4 puppets, which is easily achievable during the midgame to set up your storm + Lishenna Amulet combo. 4/5, not a mulligan priority but it does help.

Rusted Giant: Well, I was not wrong about getting Machina Cards this expansion, but this one is underwhelming, that 5-cost and effect make you think of plays with Gullias and, strangely, Magna Transformation for a 6 PP 6/6 Storm. And that’s it, I don’t think this one will see plays outside of memes, at least for now. 1/5.

Dandy Marionette: That effect is so nice but his cost makes him hard to pull off, not exactly unplayable but definitely not a staple as current puppet builds have a more aggressive playstyle. 1/5

Mech Wing Attendant: These mech wing guys are all nice, getting you artifacts on hand and that, while not being exactly necessary for your builds. I like her stats and the Artifact it provides (Draw a card on fanfare, I’m sold), it might be playable in and Aggressive artifact build but I think she doesn’t mix well with the current pool. 2/5, nice, might have more presence in the future.

Silver Cards:

A New Discovery: Spinaria rotating out left us without good Paradigm Shift Artifacts (Yes, Plucky Coil is nice but she’s a tempo loss and hasn’t been working lately). This one is a Great attempt at bringing them back without being overpowered, it looks more like a calamity support and I’m not mad, but I’ll try it in pure artifacts still. 4/5.

Alterplane lifeform: Portal outerdimensional beings are always hit or miss and this one is… Hit? It feels like a recycled Vajra Ashura but it is a good recycle as it keeps the Rush. Does Calamity Control need it? Maybe, I see it more playable that most of the bronzes. 3.5/5.

Sweeper doll: Yes! You don’t need to proc the evo effect, you want the Bane on puppets, I was wondering if Dual-blades rotating out would leave us without fast removal but this girl does the job perfectly. 4/5.

Gold Cards:

Ark: The Anime card that is as playable as it isn’t, it won’t be easy to keep your evo points higher than your opponent so don’t try to go for it consistently and enjoy whatever RNG effect you get as none of them are bad, but, what deck doesn’t need the board space? 3/5. You can destroy It with Lish Spell in case you need the space.

Zerk, Artifact dominator: I remember seeing the card when it was released in Japanese and thinking “the art screams artifact and the colors scream destruction”, then reading the effect and yes, it is an artifact support that destroy Artifacts with his accelerate effect. A valuable addition to Artifact builds as it provides healing, draw and ups your destroyed artifacts count. 4.5/5. His fanfare isn’t the reason to play him but don’t sleep on it.

Legendary Cards:

Absolute Chastity: Here it is! The third card to complete the Virtues Trio is here! And its strength sits in the middle of Modesty and Tolerance. Cost reduction followers are always valuable and this one is easier to proc, it has removal and protection for you to sit in at least two wards at the end of your turn (Either Shion or Loid will love the company) and the evo Effect refills your hand. 5/5, the best puppet portal support while not being useless in Artifact builds, also Calamity will use her yes.

Vyrmedea, Synthethic Voice: The last legendary of the expansion is Artifact support and a really good one. “Burial rite: Summon a Keenedge artifact” means you will have at least 3 artifacts destroyed fast so your Genesis and Ralmia will come online faster. And that Ward - +1/+1 is not something to sleep on either. 5/5, good staple.

And there you have it, as always, the most valuable support comes in the form of gold and legendary cards, especially for Artifact Portal, while Puppet portal already has a good deck to perform and just needed support to keep its wincon happening. While the rest of the classes enjoy the novelties, Portalcraft reinforces itself to stay as a great option to play in the next environment.

[realboutfatalfury]

was thinking of who i'd play if i got strive and like. giovanna is literally there she is so so awesome i need to play her so bad.

[moved-to-void-kissed]

"Avalon (Japanese: アーサー, Āsā) was a Special Rare Blade in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. They could grant tremendous power to their Driver Aline and her allies. Avalon used the light element, wielded a Glaive Dirk, and acted as a Healer in battle. He was renowned for his ability to crystallise ether and use it for multiple purposes, including healing Core Crystals.

After the events of Torna ~ The Golden Country, Avalon’s Core Crystal was passed down through Aline’s family as an heirloom known as the Brilliant Core Crystal, and was eventually broken 500 years later by the impact of a shipwreck in the mouth of the Urayan Titan. Sapphire ended up acquiring some of Avalon’s powers when fragments of the Brilliant Core Crystal entered her body."

Avalon is a Blade OC I created for Xenoblade Chronicles 2! They mostly came about as a way for me to provide reasoning behind Sapphire’s abilities, but I’ve now figured out a way to make them important and relevant by incorporating them into TTGC - including doing so alongside my other XC2 self-insert, Aline - so that’s been very fun to work on and use to develop them both! ^-^

(Please note that the image above isn’t accurate to their clothing, although it is accurate to their physical appearance, and was also not drawn by me; instead, it was created using a Picrew by Nase_Nikyuu, linked here! A lot more information about Avalon, their story, and how they might work in-game is under the readmore, if you’re curious!)

As promised, here is some more information about Avalon that isn’t just restricted to the Xenoblade Wiki’s structure (which is what I was trying to replicate up there above the readmore):

Just to clarify, Avalon is nonbinary, and uses both he/him and they/them pronouns interchangeably! ..I didn’t necessarily intend for his colour palette to have all the colours of the nonbinary pride flag on it - I picked the purple eyes and blond hair since I thought they looked neat on him, then only realised after the fact what would happen if I made his outfit mostly white with black accents (albeit the Picrew image doesn’t show that since it’s more for showing his physical appearance than his outfit) - but, that has also happened.

Avalon’s character:

Avalon is Aline’s first and only Blade during the time of TTGC. She awakened their Core Crystal unexpectedly after unearthing it in the middle of a crop field, and she did not realise she had the aptitude to become a Driver, so she picked it up without expecting anything to happen. Except it did. Oops.

Aline recognises that he is a very powerful Blade (not only because light-element Blades are so rare but also because of his special crystallisation ability), and so sometimes worries that her aversion to combat is holding Avalon back from his true battle potential. However, he seems content with taking a more supportive role, given his proficiency and role as a healer.

In terms of personality, I would say he is fairly calm, but determined to do what is right, and is protective of his teammates; I imagine him getting on well with Aegaeon in particular, but maybe not as well with someone like Minoth (which I suppose arguably makes sense, given that Minoth is dark-element which opposes Avalon’s light-element). Given my relative lack of knowledge about TTGC’s characters, this isn’t particularly set in stone.

Avalon’s ability - Ether Crystallisation:

As was mentioned before, Avalon has the unique power to crystallise ether out of the atmosphere in their local vicinity; these crystals are always white in colour, because of their status as a light-element Blade. This has many potential applications - for example, on a large scale, they could do this enough to create walkable platforms (possibly as a unique Field Skill that’s used similarly to the Ice Mastery bridges in the main game of XC2, but for TTGC instead?). They could also use the ether crystals as projectiles to attack with during Specials, or maybe shields to defend with in combat.

However, on a smaller scale, Avalon can also repair damaged Core Crystals by restoring the crystal, regardless of whether it is unresonated (so a fracture can be healed, allowing the Blade in the Core Crystal to be awakened again) or already-resonated (so an awakened Blade with a damaged Core Crystal can be healed, and although no such examples existed in his time, Blades whose Core Crystals had been eaten to create Blade Eaters can also be stabilised and further enhanced by his power.) This allows them to be a very effective and appreciated healer for the forces fighting against Malos, since they can heal both humans and Blades thanks to his ability.

(This is also the only aspect of Avalon’s powerful that Sapphire “inherited”, since she can’t crystallise anywhere near much ether as he could in one go, due to the source of that ability - i.e. Avalon’s Core Crystal inside her body - being incomplete and fragmented. Sapphire’s not a Blade, after all.)

Avalon’s fate:

Speaking of Avalon’s Core Crystal - which has a special name, the Brilliant Core Crystal (like how Kasandra’s is called the Lucky Core Crystal) - it is passed down through Aline’s family after her death because of the exploits the pair achieved together during the Aegis War. Whenever Avalon is awakened, their Core Crystal is shaped like a medieval sword on their chest.

The inheritance process continues for almost 500 years before the Brilliant Core Crystal is passed down to Sapphire’s mother, who does not have the aptitude to become a Driver. She was keeping the Core Crystal safe as a family heirloom, intending to let Sapphire try to resonate with it once she was old enough, but it ended up being destroyed in the shipwreck that caused Sapphire to wash up into the mouth of the Urayan Titan.

The Brilliant Core Crystal was shattered into fragments by the impact of the shipwreck, and Sapphire ended up being flung against a wall and landing on top of its shards. This caused them - and subsequently, some of Avalon’s power as a Blade - to enter Sapphire’s body and become integrated into her (essentially turning her into an unofficial/unintentional Blade Eater), and the enhanced regeneration that all Blades have allowed Sapphire to survive the awful injuries she sustained before Vandham and his crew found her and brought her back to Garfont Village.

Avalon’s hypothetical playstyle:

Avalon wields a unique weapon type, the Glaive Dirk. Essentially, it’s a long-bladed knife (i.e. a dirk) that can also turn into a spear (i.e. a glaive), because.. the pole is made of ether, or something. This was mainly just an excuse to classify them as a healer, since combat roles are tied to weapons in XC2 (and I want them to be a healer because of their unique power but also the fact that there are no light or dark healer Blades in XC2), but I didn’t think any of the pre-existing healer weapons really fit them. And it kind of makes them more special, which they deserve!

If he was playable in the main game of XC2, his animations would probably work like a mix of Megalance and some kind of one-handed Knuckle Claws (since.. too many other unique weapons use Twin Rings’ animations), with maybe different Drivers favouring either the glaive or the dirk aspect more for their Arts and auto-attacks (e.g. the taller the Driver, the more they use it as a glaive, since it’s so much longer?). A very versatile weapon because it’s essentially two pre-existing weapons from our world rolled into one.

In terms of their playstyle, Avalon would be more able and willing to take aggro compared to other healers, to fit the fact that they’re supposed to be inspired by an archetypal “knight in shining armour” despite not being classed as a tank (since.. their name is Avalon which is a paradisal island from Arthurian legend, their Japanese name is supposed to be read as Arthur as in King Arthur, and also they’re light-element).

I was thinking that maybe one of their battle skills would be some kind of damage absorption mechanic, so they actually have more defensive potential than their stats would suggest and there’s merit to them having aggro? Or maybe they provide a small constant healing effect to the party - it’d have to be small so as not to be too overpowered, but still enough to have a noticeable effect and improve party survivability while they’re on the field. That might make more sense, actually.

I think that’s everything for now, and if I want to add more then I always can later. I know I still need to figure out what their outfit would look like, possibly incorporating some kind of knight’s armour (though trying to do that without making it look tank-like and bulky will be tricky), but I wanted to post this now since it’s been in my drafts for a long time.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far, because I realise that I wrote a lot but it means a lot that you would read it all if you did so!

[lem-argentum]

next bunch of rf countdown questions :•]

84. favorite monster?

SNOWYS!!!! lil snowmen that roll around. incredible. second choice would maybe be the fruit & veggie ghosts because they’re cute <3

83. least favorite monster?

i never liked ignis because they’re annoying little fire monsters who keep teleporting around and RUINING MY DAY-

82. favorite boss fight?

ooh i always thought marionetta was cool!!! i like that you can win by just throwing the tables n chairs

81. least favorite boss fight?

DEATH WALL? i think it’s hilarious that there’s a boss called Death Wall and it’s a literal Wall with a Face and it’s implied micah knows it from somewhere but it never ever goes into how. i beat it ok but it was stressful EHEH

80. favorite boss monster to tame?

can you believe while i was playing i never knew you could tame bosses

79. toughest boss fight?

hmm i’m not sure. i remember struggling a lot with ethelberd my first time playing rf4 (like. 4 years ago) but it was pretty easy for me the other times. THE TANK THAT YOU HAVE TO FIGHT IN THE FLOATING EMPIRE THOUGH …..

78. favorite returning character/cameo?

OHH. well excluding doug & meg being in rf5 (since they’re my favorites and it would obviously be them) probably barrett :) i like the braid he gets <3

75. favorite bachelor/bachelorette in the series?

looks at doug. we all knew this

71. favorite non-romanceable character in the series?

gaius or zaid.. zaid is such a fun character i wish there was more with him in rf3 :’]

70. favorite weapon in the series?

LOLLIPOP. OR THE FISH SWORD. i usually only like dual blades or fists (because agility is my #1 favorite video game stat) but those are so fun. the first time i invited pia into a party i was like NO WAY WE HAVE MATCHING FISH SWORDS

68. least favorite bachelor/bachelorette in the series?

LEAST FAVORITE? hmmmm. i guess i never cared for alicia or vishnal..? but i don’t think i dislike any of them. those’re my friends <3

67. favorite weapon type?

dual blades my beloved <3 at the start of rf3 i was super excited we got to pick our first weapon i wasn’t expecting it :] thank u gaius <3

66. favorite festival?

FIREFLY FESTIVAL!!!!!!! i love the idea of all the selphians watching fireflies together late at night it’s so lovely

65. favorite date spot?

in rf4 the observatory!!! and rf3 sol terrano!!! because stargazing!!!!!

62. favorite event from rune factory 4?

OHH HMM. THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD ONES. i love the one where doug n dylas do each other’s jobs for a day i thought it was cute. the one where meg plays a song for the ghosts is heartwarming too :]

i also like the one where Doug Gets Scammed because in it you have to sneak after him at night, and when i was told that i immediately went and initiated conversation with him and failed the event and had to do it again

57. do you care about crop levels? do you work to upgrade your crops?

besides rune prana which i never did, i got through all of rf4 without growing a single crop. this is the lemmy playstyle of Plays Farming Sim And Doesn’t Do The Farming

[askroahmmythril]

Happy New Year, Roahm! I hope, next year will be much better for you and everybody else. This year was a nightmare for all of us. Here's last question from me in this year. Can you describe playstyle of each character (not counting alternate styles for Mega Man) in "Mega Man Powered Up" difficulty-wise and why?

Mega Man : Your basic average playstyle, points for having access to all the weapons, giving him a lot of variability. He does of course have his extra abilities with charging and sliding if you get those unlocked. Overall well rounded and simple enough to play.

Rock : We ain't calling him Mega. I'm fine with Roll using that as his nickname AFTER his conversion, but it makes no sense otherwise. Anyway, dear gods why. Yeah, Rock is NOT easy to use, having a tiny little melee kick. He's not the only melee character, but definitely the one with less range.

Roll : The other melee character with lots of cute costumes to boot, and actually has RANGE to her attack. I think I vaguely remember she even gets a small hitbox behind her when she attacks? That and the melee attack she has is fairly strong if I remember correctly.

Proto Man : I honestly didn't try using him too much. I think his deal is he has the shield and a powerful charge shot, but takes more damage? I forget if there was more than that...

Cut Man : Rolling Cutter is a fun weapon, his wall jump also allows for some ease in exploration while looking for construction kits, though I don't know how much more it does for him practically. Still not a bad ability, and he's fun to play.

Guts Man : Hey, what if Super Arm was actually brokenly good, but not in a boring way like Metal Blade? That's Guts Man for you. He's super fun, and watching him break some boss AIs is hilarious.

Elec Man : Fairly basic surprisingly, I don't think he has too much setting him apart as far as unique moves, but hey, he has infinite Thunder Beam, so there's that.

Ice Man : Being able to freeze everything in your path is definitely useful, pretty fun overall.

Fire Man : Best voice and personality in the game, that's for sure. Just don't take him to watery areas if you can help it.

Bomb Man : This guy's fun, now that Hyper Bomb is actually good. He has a lot of control over it and can thus make some interesting shots.

Time Man : You're going to get sick of the charging sound REAL fast, but other than that, he's pretty fun.

Oil Man : ........I applaud the idea, but execution is.... ehhh.. Oil Slider is not exactly my favorite weapon and he doesn't make it particularly easier than Mega Man using it.

[laele25]

Now to talk about something inconsequential

As I sit here waiting for an MMO to download, I browse beginner’s guides.  I have been playing WoW for going on 14 years now.  I am almost exclusively a solo playing altoholic.  I like crafting and collecting transmog, pets, toys, and mounts.  I do not raid or even run dungeons unless there’s something I want (like progression on a transmog set or mount) that requires it and I will bitch to my husband the ENTIRE time I am doing it.   I absolutely HATE PvP. But there gets to be a point in every expansion where I am tired of the slog, especially the gated endgame progression Blizz has become so fond of the past few expansions.  I have unlocked flying.  I have nearly completed my transmog collection (until I can get the rep to get more transmog, stupid content gating) and therefore I am bored.  Because of my disabilities (I have nerve damage in my right hand which makes it impossible to use the mouse to drive and often I have to use the mouse to click hot keys because my neuropathy is making the fingers dumb), I have to use a certain key configuration.  My photosensitive migraines do not like first person or super flashy particle effects.  So I have to be able to play in third person and disable or turn down as many of these as I can.  This limits the playing possibilities. I have tried other MMOs.  I loved FFXIV.  It’s a beautiful game that’s a lot of fun classes, races, and storylines.  But required dungeon content to progress every five damn quests is a no.  I have the worst pug and RNG luck and therefore I avoid them both as much as possible.  Not to mention the player housing situation is worse than not having player housing at all. Then there was Archeage.  There is a lot I liked about it.  The combat system was challenging without being frustrating and the endless class combinations were fun to play with.  Everything being a keyboard shortcut was the most neuropathy friendly thing I have encountered in MMOs.  I barely have to touch my mouse and thus don’t end up with pain in my functional fingers from endless mouse clicking.  But the alt limit and open world PvP were turn offs.  I bought Archeage Unchained because while I don’t want to play the game all the time, I do occasionally like to play it and I feel less guilty about a one time fee and not playing it for months. I played SWTOR for about a year.  But after finishing the class storylines, I lost interest.  If I wanted to play ship combat, I would play a ship combat simulator. I also tried Secret World Legends.  Which is buggier than batshit  and has the worst grouping mechanics in MMOs.  Not to mention the snails’ pace of the storyline and the buggy and irritatingly picky puzzles.  We didn’t make it out of the first area because we got fed up with the bugs and the lack of group play support. Now I am trying Blade and Soul, which is supposed to have a fighting game esque combat system.  Back before my disabilities, I was an extremely good 3D fighting game player.  Even now, the first time my husband played ARMS with me, I absolutely owned him from muscle memory alone.  That and I am always up for fantasy genre not based around Western Europe.  Asian fantasy is a personal favorite and it certainly looks pretty (which is important dammit).  I am not terribly fond of the FTP model, because it just encourages trolls and scammers, but I enjoy the ability to try out the game without spending money to see if it fits with my playstyle and preferences. And before any of you helpfully suggest ESO, I have watched my husband play Bathesda games and when the bugs are so prevalent, the company CEO is making jokes about it at E3, I’m gonna pass.  I play MMOs to burn off stress, not make it worse. And this has been a very long, very pointless ramble about one of the ways I burn off steam and waste time.  Now back to my regularly scheduled political memes and articles, cat photos and occasionally accidentally sharing gifs of my favorite Kpop groups. *salutes*

[secretsfromwholecloth]

Deadfire, day 7.

Oof, those nāgas. And when it’s not those nāgas, it’s those traps. I had to reload a couple of times, most notably after Serafen died. Properly, four-injuries-in-one-fight died. Ciphers are squishy, I’ve learned that quite well, but damn.

Wow, the rathun sure are friendly to a fire godlike Watcher.

After all this time, I still can’t not laugh when Tekēhu makes his “What a glorious hole” crack.

Talking Jadaferlas down is one of my unbreakable habits. I’m not even sure why, considering that across my various playthroughs I’ve killed both scarier dragons and ones with better arguments for letting them live. I guess because talking her down is so easy and has no negative consequences whatsoever, so I’ve never had to fight her, which would’ve reinforced that the option was there?

This is the first time I’ve brought Pallegina to Ashen Maw, as far as I can remember, and her habit of roasting unspeakably powerful entities that could squash her like a bug is as delightful as ever.

The conversation with Eothas about why the Watcher has accomplished great things, whether because they’re just inherently more capable or because of the situations their life has put them in...gnrf. The latter would be the obvious answer if a. the “strong soul” thing weren’t canonically true and b. there weren’t the whole extra meta-level of the Watcher being the protagonist and having a player behind them, and then I get to thinking about all of it, and, well, gnrf.

Xoti got an approval bump from Pallegina. That’ll be a red-letter day in everyone’s diary.

Why yes, I do have a whole bunch of feelings about Eothas telling Edér to take care of the Watcher, thank you for noticing.

I think Aeldys’ speculation about the afterlife merits another “gnrf”. Just one of those things.

Woedica, your “I <3 eugenics” speech isn’t exactly endearing you to me right now. No, that it’s magical eugenics doesn’t help.

I’ve gotten the second teleportation quest, and my regulars are all level 20, so I think it’s time to take some of the more neglected babies on a jaunt around the Neketaka hinterlands. Right now that means Rekke (level 16, I hope to all the gods I can give him some attention in the DLCs), Fassina (level 15, I’ll be needing her for you know what), and Xoti (already level 20, but I need a specialized healer with this lot, and Pallegina’s tankiness is unnecessary with Rekke to hide behind).

Yes, I’ve left it extremely late this time. I usually don’t eliminate quite so much of the mapping and bounty hunting before Ashen Maw, and sometimes I’ll make the rounds on foot when I get the bounty for Nomu rather than wait for Flaune to send me out there.

Ooh, hello there, Animancer’s Energy Blade. Yes, Anlaf would love a lightsaber to wield alongside Marux Amanth.

I normally make sure I have Pallegina along for Castol’s performance review, but you know what, I’m curious, I think I’ll dive in with the party I have.

Wait, which archmage is meant to be in attendance? Duc Remasi cuts Nirro off before he can say the name, and while there’s a person in a robe standing off to the left, I can’t pick out anything except their hair color (brown, I think).

Well, that’s done, Castol is safe. Unless he tries to come for me on the way to Ukaizo. We’ll see.

“I hear the Huana hate few things more than a food stealer.” Heh, yes, I’ve been to Tikawara.

Oh, hey, I got the box of, er, “beans”. Still no visits from any archmages on dragonback, though.

So Clelia actually saw Furrante hanged, but she didn’t go back to Fort Deadlight to finish the quest, because she wasn’t about to throw in with the Príncipi no matter who was leading them, and she got the epilogue slides for Furrante still being alive and in charge. We’ll see if I can get his death to register this time.

Looking at the Darcozzi oath, I see we have another Vailian name for a god—”Dicenas fiaces” in the Vailian text has got to correspond to “Magran’s flames” in the translation. Elsewhere we see that -s seems to be the possessive suffix, among other functions, so that’s Dicena for the Vailian name of Magran.

And I think this is the part where I turn down the difficulty and start doing the real fun stuff. First up, Splintered Reef, since I’m over here buying a certain ship upgrade anyway.

The additional challenge of Easy/Relaxed difficulty can be fun, but sometimes you just want stuff to die already. And that’s what Story mode is for. :D

Eh, the fuck happened here? Fassina, is there something you’d like to tell your casità?

...nope, I did not mean to disembark in Port Maje with Maia in the party. Nope. Maia, get back on the ship.

The reason I was in Port Maje in the first place was to buy that beautiful, beautiful bow. But who’s going to use it? No one who uses a ranged weapon and doesn’t already have their good one is going to be spending much time in the party. Maybe I can give it to Xoti. It won’t kill either of us to have her switch away from her sickle and lantern. I don’t think. And depending on who else is in the party, she could move from the melee squad to the ranged one. It’d be a way to give Rekke more attention, for one, if the fifth spot goes to someone like Aloth, Fassina, or Tekēhu who mostly does crowd control.

What’s that? My playstyle and taste in companions is tailored to Watchers with good support capabilities, playing a rogue was always going to be a trial, and I must be positively itching to rerun one of my favorites by now? You don’t say.

And now, we go after Concelhaut, because I very nearly forgot about him.

Bweeheehee, Concelhaut is so angry. :D Go on, Edér, needle him some more.

Yeah, his VO is so much funnier here. Something about all those trilled /r/s combined with the sheer indignation in his voice. And the hamminess. There’s hardly a piece of virtual scenery without bite marks in it by the end of the conversation with him.

The sheer speed with which Concelhaut was defeated only adds to the hilarity. I may be somewhat overleveled for this quest.

Oh, and the killing blow? Came from Ishiza this time. Never mind the farmhand, Concelhaut, this time you got taken down by an animal.

Hello, Tayn, and hello again, Llengrath. We’ll talk more later.

And I think Nemnok is up next, because I’m pretty sure I’m down to just that, DLCs, megabosses, and the endgame. And I’d like to get that last blackwood log to finally give my ship its good hull. But I’ll have to actually go after him in the morning, because it’s late.

[theroninknight]

Cyberpunk 2077 criticism

I’m not a reviewer. Just a guy that has played video games the better part of 25+ years. Expectations are a strong factor in how well a game will be received. CDPR had built up a strong reputation with well made games in the pass and Cyberpunk WAS supposed to be an easy homerun for them.

  Bugs, glitches, crashes placed aside, the game just feels half done. It was promised as a deep RPG set in an open world and what we got was an action game with RPG elements. Many of the promises made were left on the cutting room floor. Lifepaths don’t matter beyond the intro and a select few dialogue choices. I played a Streetkid and honestly the game felt like it was designed with V being a streetkid from jump. I’ve heard that folks playing Nomad or Corpo were severely disappointed with the opening and I don’t blame them. Originally, I wanted to have a separate playthrough with each lifepath to better experience the game but with what little choices streetkid offered, I don’t see any point to it.

The world, while fascinating at first, is only knee deep. Giant ads ala Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner play on repeat and if you actually sit there for more than 20 mins, you’ll realize you’ve seen them all. Quest givers and story NPCs aside, the everyday npc of NightCity feels like a shell designed to give the illusion of a sprawling city. On the surface it works so long as you don’t look too close at their behavior. In fact, I could say that about so much of the game and how it feels. Sex is overexaggerated, and that’s coming from a guy who has modded his Skyrim to be a succubus play den. Everywhere you go, there is an ad with some form of sexual innuendo or just plain dicks. It’s a prominent enough for you to notice but stays just long enough as to not overstay its welcome. There was one time I was doing an investigation mission Corpo woman whose penthouse had been broken in.  mood all serious, I’m doing my best Private eye work and then I hear this moaning coming from the walls. I rush over, thinking I found a clue and it was the ad for the Orgasmic drink playing from the TV. It’s a bit of cyberpunk flavor that I’m not sure needed to be in the game at least to this extent.

The gameplay is your typical open world go here and kill or fetch this affair with a sprinkle of real gems in some side missions. This is where the game shines the most in that its not always so cut and dry. One minute you think you’re on a standard assassination mission and the next your going on a joy ride with a reborn Christian looking to change the world. The quests and the world are the saving grace of this game and I can’t think of anything specific about this game I would have to point out.

The story is…unique. There’s a lot to like about it but two things didn’t sit with me well after completing the game. The beginning has you meet with a merc named Jackie and you two become best friends almost instantly. From there, the game does a time skip montage showing all the fun you have with your new bestie until something like a year pass. WHY? The game could have easily took its time to have Jackie show us around the city, get familiar with the place and build a real relationship with the guy. Instead we’re treated to this montage like we were given a relationship skip option and didn’t remember accepting it. It makes your relationship feel forced and rushed and that’s never good.

Keanu Reeves is in the game.

Speaking of Johnny Silverhand. One of the “best” endings in the game is tied to dialogue options you have with Johnny without really knowing about it. This may sound nitpicky but any game that asks you to play for 60+ hours but ties you to dialogue choices without a better understanding of the consequences. True some endings are more organic but as far as I’m concerned, there should never be an ending that requires knowledge prior to starting the game.

Then theres the Roleplay aspect. From a character building standpoint, it leaves a lot to be desired. This game was based on a table top game of the same name and you would think they would give it the same treatment when it came to creating your character or toon as some serious RPers call em. Nope. As I mention before, lifepaths are a shell of a good idea and the perk/skill tree system is a mess. There are two prominent schools of roleplaying, play-as-you-go-jack-of-all-trades and dedicated class builds ala tank, dps, healer, etc. Cyberpunk forgoes the class build system in favor of the more common jack of all trades but with a twist. While you’re not locked into a particular build initially, as you level up, your given two points. One for attributes and another for skills. Your skill tree unlocks as your attributes go up. Once you have an understanding of what playstyle you like, raise your attributes to the required levels and unlock your skills. If you make a mistake, you can go to a ripperdoc and respect your skill points for the hefty price of 100k. At first that may not seem like a bad trade until you realize that your still limited to your attribute point selections from previously. It’s a small oversight and one that can be patched down the line or corrected with mods on the pc but it’s an oversight nonetheless. I’ve played for over a hundred hours and the idea that I have to start a character from scratch for any reason other than to replay the story is atrocious.

All in all, the game is a huge let down for anyone that was expecting to actually roleplay their character beyond surface level shooter. There are a lot of nice components that make the game enjoyable for the most part but it also fails to deliver on what was promised. For me, that’s a bigger deal breaker than bugs and crashes.  Despite how pretty the game can be when it works, its still only a part of the experience as a whole.

There is way more I could complain about but this is already lengthy as it stands.

For fans of Cyberpunk genre I can give this an 8/10. There isn’t anything like it at the time of writing this and hopefully it won’t be the last.

For none fans, I can see this closer to a 6/10. It’s a half decent GTA clone with more steps but a clone none the less. Replay GTA V if you crave a open world city.

[maryellencarter]

the Y-wing rant

So. Y-wings. The thing about Y-wings is that they are Not Fast. They are tough, hefty bombers designed to be protected by faster snubfighters while they get close enough to blow up your Star Destroyer, Death Star, etc.

The Rogue Squadron books were originally conceived as tie-ins to the Rogue Squadron video games. Knowing that, it's extremely clear what Michael A. Stackpole's video game playstyle is: he likes fast things. Tycho is an A-wing pilot, the fastest of the fast.

The current iteration of the Rogue Squadron fandom has been largely formed by and around Rogue Podron. I'm not complaining; I love my fandom and I'm overjoyed to have other people to play with here. But the podron, coming in without other reference, picked up on Stackpole's repeated references to Y-wings as "wallowing pigs" etc, and so the common fandom perception right now is that Y-wings are Terrible, The Worst, why would you put them in the sequel trilogy now that you have B-wings, etc etc etc.

So, full disclosure here. Two things: (1) Wes likes Y-wings, so I am prejudiced in their favor. I'm the *only* person in this iteration of the fandom who appears to be prejudiced in their favor, rather than against them or being neutral, which is why I am doing a rant.

(2) I mentioned Mike Stackpole's video game playstyle earlier. He likes speed, the faster the better. My own video game playstyle is also relevant to this discussion: I play the character who can't dodge and doesn't need to. The slow, trudging, impregnable front line, as @loquaciousquark said years ago after a memorable co-op game where all four of us played my favorite slow clunky un-sync-killable player character. In other words, Stackpole plays A-wings and TIEs by preference. I play Y-wings, or would if I played space battle games. (I can't brain in three dimensions at once.)

So much for disclosure. Back to facts. In "Isard's Revenge", Mike Stackpole designed his perfect snubfighter, the TIE Defender. Now, the Defender makes me kind of angry, because it's overpowered as hell to the point that I think it kind of breaks the physical limitations of snubfighter engineering as previously established, but let's set that aside and look at the stats. This would be easier in spreadsheet format, but we'll make do.

So, comparing the TIE Defender to other snubfighters, here are the relevant facts: Speed/Agility (usually treated as interchangeable), Durability, Hyperdrive, Proton Torpedoes, Ion Cannon, Tractor Beam. The Defender has *all* of these maxed out. It is game-breakingly overpowered. 6/6, congratulations.

X-wings have a good balance of Speed/Agility and Durability. Wedge believes them to be the perfect snubfighter for this reason. They also have a hyperdrive and proton torpedoes, so they're versatile in combat, but not as versatile as the TIE Defender. 4/6, a good snubfighter.

A-wings and most TIEs have speed and (depending on who's writing them) agility, but not much durability; you get hit, you're dead. A-wings at least have shields and a hyperdrive, but they're still flimsy. A-wings and some TIE models also pack concussion missiles, an underpowered substitute for proton torpedoes, useful mainly against other snubfighters (a concussion missile took Wes out at Distna). TIEs 1-1.5, A-wings 2.5, all they really have going for them is being zippy little critters.

Y-wings do not have Speed/Agility. They have put all those stat points into Durability. They also have Hyperdrive, Proton Torpedoes, and even an Ion Cannon. (No other snubfighter besides the Defender has a tractor beam. It's the only ship smaller than a Lambda shuttle to claim it packs that kind of spare engine power.) 4/6, matching the X-wing.

So... oh look. The TIE Defender's true nature stands revealed. It's simply a fast Y-wing. ;P Like I said, Y-wings are great, Mike Stackpole is just mean about them.

(Plus the Y-wing has one other feature shared only by snowspeeders and Adumari Blade-class snubfighters: a tail cannon. The ability to shoot people behind you is imperative on, oh, let's say, trench runs...)

I don't want to be the sort of person who shuts down conversation about my pet issue. Still think Y-wings are terrible? Have I made a fundamental flaw in logic? Do TIE Defenders have tailchasers? Let me know! I'm not gonna be mad or hurt, I was raised in the kind of culture where setting aside your emotions to debate objective facts is the highest virtue, and I still tend to do it for fun (to the perplexity and occasional consternation of my friends).

[callsignbaphomet]

Quick Tips for New Players pt. 2

You can roll through roars. Each monster type has different timing and will require a bit of practice to get it right but once you do it'll make fights a cakewalk.

To be fair you actually CAN roll through some lesser attacks but it takes practice to get the frames right. No, this isn't like Dark Souls where rolling through everything makes you invulnerable. Take some time to see which attacks you can safely roll through.

Every monster attack is heavily telegraphed and if you pay attention you can completely avoid all their attacks. For example right before Rathian does her air flip to hit you with her tail she will crouch lower, her roar will be a guttural growl and then she'll jump.

Every monster except for Bazelguese and Deviljho (correct if wrong) sticks to a certain path and area. As you get familiarized with the game you'll learn where they hang out and which camps to spawn in.

Gunlance users and HBG users. For the love of all that is sane please be considerate of your partners! When a Gunlance user uses Wyvern's Fire or an HBG user fires cluster bombs it sends your partner's flying. Not only will it prevent someone from attacking a monster and doing more damage to it it will also stagger a player and will prevent them from evading an attack and that could cause them to cart. The fault is all yours. So be mindful of cluster bombs and Wyvern's Fire. Don't be that person that spams that shit without regard.

Flashpods are only effective three times during the fight on tempered monsters. It's best to save them for when the monster is limping away to its nest where things can get super risky and hectic. Looking at you, Kushala.

Make use of the training room. It's fantastic! Spend some time labbing a weapon and get a feel for it. Also any items you use there will not be consumed so go ahead and test out a build and use some demon juice or powder or what have you to see how much damage you're doing.

Every weapon is capable of inflicting status effects (poison, paralysis, sleep, blast) it's just that some have an easier time doing it and with more consistency. For ranged weapons the best option is the Light Bowgun. For bladed weapons it's the Dual Blades. But even the painfully slow Great Sword can inflict ailments.

Speaking of ailments. Every time you poison, sleep, paralyze or add blast to a monster its resistances to that ailment go up. It doesn't mean you won't be able to do it again, it just means each time it gets a status effect it'll take more hits than the last time to get the effect. There are ways to make it easier like charms or decorations or you can eat for Felyne Specialist at the canteen.

Speaking of the canteen, if you scroll all the way to page 4 you'll have 6 slots to make your own menu. This allows you to save menus that have Food Skills you wanna make use of during a quest. Oh and FYI the "daily" skills ain't daily. They change every time you spawn back into Astera. I have no idea why they chose daily.

You can cancel any healing or buffing in case you need to get the fuck outta dodge or avoid an attack. Just roll. If you do it early enough the item won't be consumed.

When you heal using a potion or mega potion your character wipes their mouth. You can cancel that animation by rolling as soon as your health bar has recovered. Ain't much but it sure as shit could save your ass.

Lance users please stop "running over" your partners when y'all are attacking a monster. See #5 for reasons why you should cut that shit out. Now!

Low Rank and early High Rank players should definitely take advantage of festivals. Not only because of the events but because during festivals, up in the Gathering Hub, the canteen will have a special platter which is guaranteed to give you more health and stamina. You can only get it up at the Gathering Hub.

Do not throw away, sell or trade decorations when you start out in High Rank. Every decoration is useful and you never know how you'll change your playstyle in the future. Some of these are extremely hard to come by so keep them. Once you've established yourself a little better and are holding about 500 Palico Rally decos then you can trade them.

Hold off on trading Gleaming Stones at the smelder. I highly suggest you augment your armor first. I know it's tempting but these are a bit of a pain to come across and you REALLY will need augmented armors for end game and especially for when Iceborne drops.

Augmentation is unlocked the very second you get you hands on a Hero Streamstone or a Sullied Streamstone. Just do some tempered investigations, either threat level 2 or 3. Chances of getting one or the other are strictly RNG based. There is no way to know if you'll get it. Just keep at it and eventually one will drop.

The Siege of Kulve Taroth is super fun and can be done as soon as you're done with the main storyline. Not only do you get some really neat weapons but you can also make KT's Alpha, Beta and Gamma armors (I suggest the Beta and Gamma). Once you crafted the armor you want I suggest selling all of her materials for Zenny (the game's currency). You always end up with a bunch of materials and they sell for high easily netting you over a million. Just don't sell her gems.

With the exception of KT you should never sell any monster materials especially hard to come by pieces like tails and gems and plates. You never know which weapon or charm or armor piece you may need in the future.

If you wanna join a quest I highly advice you avoid any that have been ongoing for more than 8 minutes. Once the quest hits 10 minutes and you join you won't get any rewards. Unless you don't care for getting rewards, in that case join whenever the heck you want.

Deviation is the recoil or kick from each trigger pull. Recoil allows you to move as you shoot. All rapid fire ammo (the ammo with a white arrow pointing up) benefits from this. 3 Recoil Suppressor mods are mandatory for rapid fire ammo. You only really wanna do this for LBG. No matter how high the Deviation is it's super quick to adjust to and frankly after a few quests you won't even notice it. The wording in this game can be frustratingly confusing.

Insect Glaive users should also upgrade their kinsects along with the Glaive. Make sure you pair up the right kinsect with the right Glaive for maximum efficiency. Imma save you a lot of time and headaches. Grancathar III, Whispervesp III, and Pseudocath III are the best ones. All the others really suck. The kinsect from the Final Fantasy questline is absolute shit until you upgrade it.

If you're looking to hunt a specific monster with other players just hit Join a Quest, Respond to SOS and scroll down to Target and choose the monster you need. Some are easier to get than others but keep trying.

If you're going to join Low Rank quests don't be that asshole that never actually helps and just wants to show off. Actually help the host. Debuffing yourself is stupid as fuck.

It may feel a little intimidating at first but the hud has all the information you need. Pay close attention to it especially during a quest.

When you hover over a quest all the information about it is laid out right in front of you. It will tell you the time limit, reward, small monsters in the area, will say if it's a slaying, hunting or capturing quest so be sure to read everything carefully so you're prepared.

As you hunt monsters your Hunter's Notes get updated. Check back every once in a while to see what new info it has to offer.

Yeah, the game autosaves frequently but it's never a bad thing to manually save. I've had the game freeze and crash on me while I tried to join a game.

I highly suggest you get very well acquainted with the dive dodge. It will save your life! Remember, it can be done while running AWAY from a monster but it has to be within reach.

Some attacks will knock you down and if you don't press any buttons you'll just lay there for a few seconds. This can be super useful to avoid a fast follow up attack as NOTHING will touch you while you lay there. As you get familiar with the monsters and their attacks you'll learn when to get up and run and when to just lay there for a few seconds longer so that the attack completely whiffs.

HBG users, yeah you can put shield mods. In fact, it's kind of a really good idea to do so because putting away that weapon is painfully slow. However, you only really need just 1. Literally 1 is enough.

There can only be three monsters per map. Every time one leaves the area it's replaced by another. Do keep an eye on this HR as the missing monster can be replaced by Deviljho or Bazelguese.

Adamant Pills cure Guard Down.

Demon Powder, Might Seed, Adamant Seed and Hardshell Powder last for 3 minutes. Adamant Pill and Might Pill last for 20 seconds. Armorskin, Mega Armorskin, Mega Demondrug and Demondrug last until quest completed or you faint. Dash Juice lasts for 4 minutes. Also Might and Adamant Seeds, Adamant and Might Pills cancel each other out so you can only consume one or the other, can't eat both a seed and a pill.

Your buffs and debuffs show up next to your name on the screen. You can tell when a buff is about to go out when it starts rapidly blinking. Same for the powered up Kinsects. When they're about to go out they'll blink rapidly.

When you mount a monster quickly avert your eyes to the top right corner of the screen the game itself will tell you when to brace, attack or move. Don't look at anything else! Eventually you'll learn when to do what but it's just safer to watch the commands.

Your character doesn't level up in the traditional sense, your gear does. A level 29 could have far better gear and builds than a level 49. Don't let the Hunter Rank fool you.

Kelbi horns are fantastic items to have. Find a Kelbi with big horns and smack it in the face with a blunt attack, for example the shield of the Sword and Shield, to make the horns fall off.

Wanna talk to one person in particular in the session. Press options, triangle, hover over their name, click on chat, open the chat option and type.

Listen, no Elder Dragon in MHW (pre Iceborne) is weak to the dragon element. None. Taking a weapon with dragon element into an ED fight is just going to prolong the fight. You can get the Elder Seal effect by the dragon pods that they drop themselves. If you have the space for it the Elderseal decoration can up the effect of these pods. Dragon element weapons against Elder Dragons = horrible idea.

[achronologyofbits]

GOTY 2019

I wanted to write a personal Game of the Year list, but I realized I really didn’t play that many games that were new in 2019. So I’m ranking them, but it’s less a “top 10” and more a “10 games I played and how I felt about them.”  

10. Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts III plays like a game from 2005.

I’m not sure I can fully articulate what I mean by that. Maybe I mean its combat is largely simplistic and button-mashy. Maybe I mean its rhythms of level traversal and cutscene exposition dumps are archaic and outdated. Maybe feeling like this game is a relic from another time is unavoidable, given how many years have passed since its first series entry.  

But there’s also something joyful and celebratory about it all — something kind of refreshing about a work that knows only a tiny portion of its players will understand all its references and lore and world-building, and just doesn’t care.

Despite all the mockery and memery surrounding its fiction, Kingdom Hearts’ strongest storytelling moments are actually pretty simple. They’re about the struggle to exist, to belong, and to define what those things mean for yourself. I think that’s why the series reaches the people it does.

Those moments make Kingdom Hearts III worth defending, if not worth recommending.

9. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Admittedly, I only played about 10-15 hours of this in 2019. Perhaps fittingly, that’s about the amount of time I originally spent on Dark Souls when it released in 2011. I bounced off, hard, because I didn’t understand what it was asking of me. Once I did — though, it has to be said, I needed other people to explain those expectations to me, because the game sure as hell didn’t — Dark Souls became an all-time favorite. And I’ve played every FromSoft game since then, and enjoyed them all. Until Sekiro.

Part of it is, again, down to expectation. Dark Souls trained its players on a certain style of combat: cautious movements, careful attention to spacing, committing to weighty attacks, waiting for counterattacks. In every game since then, FromSoft have iterated on those expectations in the same direction in an attempt to encourage players to be less cautious and more aggressive. The series moved from tank-heavy play in Dark Souls, to dual-wielding in DS2, to weapon arts and reworking poise in DS3, to the system of regaining health by attacking in Bloodborne.

In some ways, Sekiro is a natural continuation of this trend toward aggression, but in others, it’s a complete U-turn. Bloodborne eschewed blocking and prioritized dodging as the quickest, most effective defensive option. Sekiro does exactly the opposite. Blocking is always your first choice, parrying is essential instead of largely optional, and dodging is near useless except in special cases. FromSoft spent five games teaching me my habits, and it was just too hard for me to break them for Sekiro.

I have other issues, too — health/damage upgrades are gated behind boss fights, so grinding is pointless; the setting and story lack some of the creativity of the game’s predecessors; there’s no variety of builds or playstyles — but the FromSoft magic is still there, too. Nothing can match the feeling of beating a Souls-series boss. And the addition of a grappling hook makes the verticality of Sekiro’s level design fascinating.

I dunno. I feel like there’s more here I’d enjoy, if I ever manage to push through the barriers. Maybe — as I finally did with the first Dark Souls, over a year after its release — someday I will.

8. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

In December, my wife and I traveled to Newport Beach for a family wedding, and we stayed an extra day to visit Disneyland. As an early birthday present, Aubrey bought me the experience of building a lightsaber in Galaxy’s Edge. And the experience is definitely what you’re paying for; the lightsaber itself is cool, but it’s cool because it’s made from parts I selected, with a blade color I chose, and I got to riff and banter with in-character park employees while doing it. (“Can you actually read those?” one asked me in an awed voice, when I selected a lightsaber hilt portion adorned with ancient Jedi runes. “Not yet,” I told her. “We’ll see if the Force can teach me.”)

Maybe it’s because I just had that experience, but by far my favorite moment in Jedi: Fallen Order is when main character Cal Kestis overcomes his own fears and memories to forge his own lightsaber, using a kyber crystal that calls to him personally. It’s maybe the only part of the game that made me feel like a Jedi, in a way the hours of Souls-inspired lightsaber slashing didn’t.

I think that’s telling. And I think it’s because so much of Fallen Order is derivative of other works, both in the current canon of gaming and of Star Wars. That’s not to say it’s bad — the mélange of Uncharted/Tomb Raider traversal, combat that evokes Souls and God of War, and vaguely Metroid-y power acquisition and exploration mostly works — but it’s just a titch less than the sum of those parts.

Similarly, as a Star Wars story, it feels under-baked. There’s potential in exploring the period immediately after Order 66 and the Jedi purge, but you only see glimpses of that. And I understand the difficulty of telling a story where the characters succeed but in a way that doesn’t affect established canon, but it still seemed like there were a couple of missed opportunities at touching base with the larger Star Wars universe. (And the one big reference that does pop up at the end feels forced and unrealistic.)

When I got home from California, I took my lightsaber apart just to see how it all worked. Outside of the hushed tones and glowing lights of Savi’s Workshop, it seems a little less special. It’s still really cool…but I sort of wish I had had a wider variety of parts to choose from. And that I had bought some of the other crystal colors. Just in case.

That’s how I feel about Jedi: Fallen Order. I had fun with it. But it’s easier now to see the parts for what they are.

7. Untitled Goose Game

Aubrey and I first saw this game at PAX, at a booth which charmingly recreated the garden of the game’s first level. We were instantly smitten, and as I’ve introduced it to family and friends, they’ve all had the same reaction. When we visited my brother’s family in Florida over the holidays, my eight-year-old niece and nephew peppered me with questions about some of the more complex puzzles. Even my father, whose gaming experience basically topped out at NES Open Tournament Golf in 1991, gave it a shot.

I’m not sure I have a lot more to say here, other than a few bullet points:

1) I love that Untitled Goose Game is completely nonviolent. It would’ve been easy to add a “peck” option as another gameplay verb, another means of mischief. (And, from what I understand, it would be entirely appropriate, given the aggression of actual geese.) That the developers resisted this is refreshing.

2) I’m glad a game this size can have such a wide reach, and that it doesn’t have to be a platform exclusive.

3) Honk.

6. Tetris 99

Despite the number of hours I’ve spent playing games, and the variety of genres that time has spanned, I’m not much for competitive gaming. This is partially because the competitive aspect of my personality has waned with age, and partially because I am extremely bad at most multiplayer games.

The one exception to this is Tetris.

I am a Tetris GOD.

Of course, that’s an incredible overstatement. Now that I’ve seen real Ecstasy of Order, Grandmaster-level Tetris players, I realize how mediocre I am. But in my real, actual life, I have never found anyone near my skill level. In high school, I would bring two Game Boys, two copies of Tetris, and a link cable on long bus rides to marching band competitions, hoping to find willing challengers. The Game Boys themselves became very popular. Playing me did not.

Prior to Tetris 99, the only version of the game that gave me any shred of humility in a competitive sense was Tetris DS, where Japanese players I found online routinely handed me my ass. I held my own, too, but that was the first time in my life when I wasn’t light-years beyond any opponent.

As time passed and internet gaming and culture became more accessible, I soon realized I was nowhere near the true best Tetris players in the world. Which was okay by me. I’m happy to be a big fish in a small pond, in pretty much all aspects of my life.

Tetris 99 has given me a perfectly sized pond. I feel like I’m a favorite to win every round I play, and I usually finish in the top 10 or higher. But it’s also always a challenge, because there’s just enough metagame to navigate. Have I targeted the right enemies? Do I have enough badges to make my Tetrises hit harder? Can I stay below the radar for long enough? These aspects go beyond and combine with the fundamental piece-dropping in a way I absolutely love.

The one thing I haven’t done yet is win an Invictus match (a mode reserved only for those who have won a standard 99-player match). But it’s only a matter of time.  

5. Pokemon Sword/Shield

I don’t think I’ve played a Pokemon game through to completion since the originals. I always buy them, but I always seem to lose steam halfway through. But I finished Shield over the holidays, and I had a blast doing it.

Because I’m a mostly casual Pokeplayer, the decision to not include every ‘mon in series history didn’t bother me at all. I really enjoyed learning about new Pokemon and forcing myself to try moving away from my usual standards. (Although I did still use a Gyarados in my final team.)

As a fan of English soccer, the stadium-centric, British-flavored setting also contributed to my desire to see the game through. Changing into my uniform and walking onto a huge, grassy pitch, with tens of thousands of cheering fans looking on, really did give me a different feeling than battles in past games, which always seemed to be in weird, isolated settings.

I’m not sure I’ll push too far into the postgame; I’ve never felt the need to catch ‘em all. But I had a great time with the ones I caught.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

I have a strange relationship with the Zelda series, especially now. They are my wife’s favorite games of all time. But I don’t know if I’ve ever actually sat down and beaten one since the original Link’s Awakening. Even with Breath of the Wild, which I adore, I was content to watch Aubrey do the heavy lifting. I know the series well, I’ve played bits of all of them, but most haven’t stuck with me.

Link’s Awakening has. I wrote a piece once about its existential storytelling and how it affected me as a child. I love the way the graphics in this remake preserve that dreamlike quality. It’s pretty much a re-skin of the original game, but the cutesy, toy-set aesthetic pairs well with the heavy material. If this is all a dream, whose dream is it? And when we wake up, what happens to it?

Truthfully, some of the puzzles and design decisions haven’t held up super well. Despite the fresh coat of paint, it definitely feels like a 25-year-old game. But I’m so glad this version exists.

Oh, and that solo clarinet in the Mabe Village theme? *Chef’s kiss*

3. Control

I actually haven’t seen a lot of the influences Control wears on its sleeve. I’ve never gone completely through all the episodes of the X-Files, Fringe, and Twin Peaks; I’m only vaguely familiar with the series of “creepypasta” fiction called SCP Foundation; and I have never endeavored to sit through a broadcast of Coast to Coast AM. I’m also unfamiliar with Remedy’s best-known work in the genre, Alan Wake. But I know enough about all those works to be able to identify their inspiration on the Federal Bureau of Control, Jesse Faden, and the Oldest House.

Control is an interesting game to recommend (which I do), because I’m not sure how much I really enjoyed its combat. For most of the game, it’s a pretty standard third-person shooter. You can’t snap to cover, which indicates you’re intended to stay on the move. This becomes even more obvious when you gain the ability to air dash and fly. But you do need to use cover, because Jesse doesn’t have much health even at the end of the game. So combat encounters can get out of hand quickly, and there’s little incentive to keep fighting enemies in the late game. Yet they respawn at a frustratingly frequent rate. The game’s checkpointing system compounds this — you only respawn at “control points,” which act like Souls-style bonfires. This leads to some unfortunately tedious runbacks after boss fights.

On the other hand, Jesse’s telekinesis power always feels fantastic, and varying your attacks between gunshots, thrown objects, melee, and mind controlling enemies can be frenetic fun. That all comes to a head in the game’s combat (and perhaps aesthetic?) high point, the Ashtray Maze. To say more would be doing a disservice. It’s awesome.

The rest of the gameplay is awesome, too — and I do call it “gameplay,” though unfortunately you don’t have many options for affecting the world beyond violence. The act of exploring the Oldest House and scouring it for bureaucratic case files, audio recordings, and those unbelievably creepy “Threshold Kids” videos is pure joy. The way the case files are redacted leaves just enough to the imagination, and the idea of a federal facility being built on top of and absorbed into a sort of nexus of interdimensional weirdness is perfectly executed. And what’s up with that motel? And the alien, all-seeing, vaguely sinister Board? So cool.

With such great worldbuilding, I did wish for a little more player agency. There are no real dialogue choices — no way to imbue Jesse with any character traits beyond what’s pre-written for her — and only one ending. This kind of unchecked weird science is the perfect environment for forcing the player into difficult decisions (what do we study? How far is too far? How do we keep it all secret?), and that just isn’t part of the game at all. Which is fine — Control isn’t quite an immersive sim like Prey, and it’s not trying to be. I just see some similarities and potential, and I wish they had been explored a little.

But Control’s still a fantastic experience, and in any other year, it probably would’ve been my number one pick. That’s how good these next two games are.

2. Outer Wilds

Honestly, this is the best game of 2019. But I’m not listing it as number one because I didn’t play most of it — Aubrey did. Usually we play everything together; even if we’re not passing a controller back and forth, one of us will watch while the other one plays. And that definitely happened for a large chunk of Outer Wilds. But Aubrey did make some key discoveries while I was otherwise occupied, so while I think it’s probably the best game, it’s not the one I personally spent the most time with.

The time I did spend, though? Wow. From the moment you wake up at the campfire and set off in search of your spaceship launch codes, it’s clear that this is a game that revels in discovery. Discovery for its own sake, for the furthering of knowledge, for the protection of others, for the sheer fun of it. Some games actively discourage players from asking the question, “Hey, what’s that over there?” Outer Wilds begs you to ask it, and then rewards you not with treasure or statistical growth, but with the opportunity to ask again, about something even more wondrous and significant.

There are so many memorable moments of discovery in this game. The discovery that, hey, does that sun look redder to you than it used to? The discovery that, whoa, why did I wake up where I started after seemingly dying in space? Your first trip through a black hole. Your first trip to the quantum moon. Your first trip to the weird, bigger-on-the-inside fog-filled heart of a certain dark, brambly place. (Aubrey won’t forget that any time soon.)

They take effort, those moments. They do have to be earned, and it isn’t easy. Your spaceship flies like it looks: sketchy, taped together, powered by ingenuity and, like, marshmallows, probably. Some of the leaps you have to make — both of intuition and of jetpack — are a little too far. (We weren’t too proud to look up a couple hints when we were truly stuck.) But in the tradition of the best adventure games (which is what this is, at heart), you have everything you need right from the beginning. All you have to do is gather the knowledge to understand it and put it into action.

And beyond those moments of logical and graphical discovery, there’s real emotion and pathos, too. As you explore the remnants of the lost civilization that preceded yours, your only method of communication is reading their writing. And as you do, you start to get a picture of them not just as individuals (who fight, flirt, and work together to help each other), but as a species whose boundless thirst for discovery was their greatest asset, highest priority, undoing, and salvation, all at once.

I don’t think I can say much more without delving into spoilers, or retreading ground others have covered. (Go read Austin Walker’s beautiful and insightful review for more.) It’s an incredible game, and one everyone with even a passing interest in the medium should try.

(Last thing: Yes, I manually flew to the Sun Station and got inside. No, I don’t recommend it.)

1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

If I hadn’t just started a replay of this game, I don’t think I’d be listing it in the number one slot. I started a replay because I showed it to my brother when we visited him in Florida last month, and immediately, all the old feelings came flooding back. I needed another hit.

No game this year has been as compelling for me. That’s an overused word in entertainment criticism, but I mean it literally: There have been nights where I absolutely HAVE to keep playing (much to Aubrey’s dismay). One more week of in-game time. One more study session to raise a skill rank. One more meal together so I can recruit another student. One more battle. Just a little longer.

I’m not sure I can put my finger on the source of that compulsion. Part of it is the excellence of craftsmanship on display; if any technical or creative aspect of Three Houses was less polished than it is, I probably wouldn’t feel so drawn to it. But the two big answers, I think, are the characters and their growth, both mechanically and narratively.

At the start of the game, you pick one of the titular three houses to oversee as professor. While this choice defines who you’ll have in your starting party, that can be mitigated later, as almost every other student from the other two houses can be recruited to join yours. What you’re really choosing is which perspective you’ll see the events of the story from, and through whose eyes: Edelgard of the Black Eagles, Dimitri of the Blue Lions, or Claude of the Golden Deer. (This is also why the game almost demands at least three playthroughs.)

These three narratives are deftly written so you simultaneously feel like you made the only possible canonical choice, while also sowing questions into your decision-making. Edelgard’s furious desire for change is just but perhaps not justifiable; Dimitri hides an obsession with revenge behind a façade of noblesse oblige; Claude is more conniving and pragmatic than he lets on. No matter who you side with, you’ll eventually have to face the others. And everyone can make a case that they, not you, are on the right side.

This is especially effective because almost every character in Three Houses is dealing with a legacy of war and violence. A big theme of the game’s story is how those experiences inform and influence the actions of the victims. What steps are justified to counteract such suffering? How do you break the cycle if you can’t break the power structures that perpetuate it? How do good people end up fighting for bad causes?

While you and your child soldiers (yeah, you do kind of have to just skip over that part; they’re in their late teens, at least? Still not good enough, but could be worse?) are grappling with these questions, they’re also growing in combat strength, at your direction. This is the part that really grabbed me and my lizard brain — watching those numbers get bigger was unbelievably gratifying. Each character class has certain skill requirement prerequisites, and as professor, you get to define how your students meet those requirements, and which they focus on. Each student has certain innate skills, but they also have hidden interests that only come to the surface with guidance. A character who seems a shoo-in to serve as a white mage might secretly make an incredibly effective knight; someone who seems destined for a life as a swordsman suddenly shows a talent for black magic. You can lean into their predilections, or go against them, with almost equal efficacy.

For me, this was the best part of Three Houses, and the part that kept me up long after my wife had gone to bed. Planning a student’s final battle role takes far-seeing planning and preparation, and each step along the way felt thrilling. How can you not forge a connection with characters you’ve taken such pains to help along the way? How can you not explode with joy when they reach their goals?

That’s the real draw of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I think: the joy of seeing people you care about grow, while simultaneously confronting those you once cared about, but who followed another path. No wonder I wanted to start another playthrough. I think I’ll be starting them all over again for a long time.