#combined we went through the tutorial without dying

[science-lings]

Introducing my Gamer mother to BotW but every time an enemy appears she gives me the controller and every time she has to climb something she hands me the controller and when she wants to go faster through the story because she has a time limit she hands me the controller

[jacethebeltsculptor]

Outer Wilds Expedition Log #3

Since I've discovered people find these tremendously entertaining, I figured I'd continue journaling my expedition into the Outer Wilds here on Tumblr. Where we last left off, I'd just made my first few runs to Space Florida (Giant's Deep), gave Frog NASA's resident slacker a scathing peer review, found some hints on how quantum objects work and how I might go about locating that ghost moon that allegedly exists. I also had some theories about what happened to the Nomai which didn't pan out that I'll get into in a moment. After my first few runs to Giant's Deep, I discovered that both my spaceship and space suit function as a submersible and diving suit as well. I'm not well-educated enough to know if the physics of that check out or not, but either way, I think I might've not given Outer Wilds engineering team enough credit. This was a game-changer to me, since basically the first thing I did when I booted up the tutorial was throw myself down a geyser in the name of scientific interest. Despite allegedly being aquatic, I drowned pretty quickly, but I noticed evidence of a camp being down there. This, combined with the dude on the moon mentioning that Feldspar's signal was broadcasting from Timber Heath, really piqued my interest. I spent a loop just exploring the geysers as best I could, but the caves didn't seem to lead down to the core of the planet or anything, and once I was down there, I realized Feldspar's signal was coming from somewhere on the surface. I did, however, find old Nomai writing which remarks on observing a nascent aquatic species, which dashes my theories that the Forerunners Nomai evolved into the player's species over millions of years, explaining their disappearance. I managed to do this without drowning, which is a rare show of competence from me. After that, I made me way up to the surface to look into that seed from DARBIS (Darkness and Relative Bramble In Space) that coincidentally seemed to have Feldspar's signal coming from it. Shockingly, it's bigger on the inside. So, gonna have to visit Dark Bramble at some point to figure that one out. Then, I took a nice cozy position on the observation deck to watch the supernova in peace- a lovely, sentimental gesture that I utterly screwed the pooch on due to the planet turning to face the other way. Despite having active investigations going on 2.5 different planets, I decided that I was done being afraid of the sun and decided to check out those two paired planets orbiting it. Once I was there, I noticed something closely orbiting the sun itself, so I decided to be a badass and land on that instead. I failed and got burned to a crisp. On my next loop, I went to visit the Twins. I originally landed on Ash Twin, but after finding nothing of note, I- in my endless foresight and wisdom- decided to just jump to Ember Twin. This led to me to breaking both of my shins and storing my femurs in my lungs, but did not kill me. Immediately, anyway. I started by finding the crashed escape pod below and working my way through the caves, before dying at the entrance to the safe zone by jetpacking my way straight into a cactus and losing the last of my blood. Now, I'm only about halfway through my last play session- you know, the part where nothing gets accomplished- but I'm apparently reaching Tumblr's character limit, so I'm going to have to split this into a whole separate post. Which is probably good, because there should and ought to be a legal limit to how much stupidity should be allowed in one post. Until next time, Tumblrites!

[sunqyu]

~ Treasure realizing they love you and the first time they say it pt 1.

Request 1: “ hmm im all in cute feelings, so FIRST I LOVE YOUS with treasure reaction thingy, would be super sweet 🙊💗🌼🌼 “ - anon

Request 2: “ i love your writing! treasure realizing theyre in love with their s/o�� “ - anon

These requests are both so adorable and fitting so I decided to combine them. Hope you enjoooy. Also, buckle up ‘cause ITS A LONG ONE AGAIN. Got carried away as usual so it’ll be in two parts. K BYE <3 - Nova

Hyunsuk

realizing it

it doesn’t take much to make Hyunsuk like you

but to actually fall in love with you

that’s a different story

he’s alone at the studio, trying to get his verse right

every time he fixes something he didn’t like, he notices something else

he’s sat at his desk, elbows next to the keyboard

head hanging down with his fingers tangled in his hair

a sharp inhale

a shaky exhale

then his phone lights up, a message from you, asking if he’s home yet and how his day went

2.30am, he reads

he starts typing, frantically, on and on as the chaos in his head makes it’s way onto his phonescreen

only for him to stop and delete it all because he knows what he really wants to send you

but it’s too late and he doesn’t want to be a burden, you need your sleep too

when he looks up and sees his own reflection in the, now dimly lit, screen of his computer

another sharp inhale

‘Not so great to be honest, can I come to your place?’ sent.

on the way to your house he’s still thinking about turning back

but all those thoughts are long gone the moment you open the door

your eyes beaming at him, messy bun wiggling side to side and you’re wrapped up in a blanket

his heart melts as he feels the tightness in his temples and neck from the stress subside

‘Hi- I missed you.’

you probably didn’t notice but he almost said something else

he snickers to himself, that would’ve been a bit early

saying it

definitely the type to say it without realizing what he’s saying

you two are getting groceries

which, even though it’s not a special thing, is always so much fun

this time you ended up playing hide and seek

it wasn’t really discussed, you just lost Hyunsuk at one point and decided to turn it into a game instead of calling him

which means it’s your turn now

it had been over 20 minutes and he was getting worried

very impressed with your skills

but worried

in the end he decided to call you

to his surprise he hears your ringtone behind him

he turns around

the ringtone is still behind him

he turns around

what the-

he turns around but really fast this time

his eyes meet yours a second before you start dying from laughter

‘How long where you doing that for-?’ he laughed in self-pity and disbelieve

when he finds out you never left he sighs

‘Ugh- I love you.’ he mutters inbetween chuckling

for a second he freezes, a thousand things running through his mind

but y’know what? fuck it.

‘Yea- it’s true. I love you.’

Jihoon

realizing it

also seems like someone who does not fall in love quickly

mostly because he’s not looking for it, he doesn’t feel the need to be in love to be happy

but once he does

oh boy

so when you came in his life he wasn’t thinking about a potential relationship

or wondering if you two would be compatible

he simply enjoyed your presence and you two got closer as friends

because of this the moment he realizes he has feelings for you will be overwhelming for him

wasn’t ready

you weren’t even doing anything different than usual

just eating in the yg cafetaria, both rambling about things

subjects that made people walking by look up because they didn’t get the full story

out of nowhere he fell hard

the mechanism that’s supposed to be his brain malfunctioning

croissant in mid-air

it all just made sense

the reason why he could never be sad around you

the reason that made your eyes twinkle more than anyone elses

the reason you saying his name sounds different than when anyone else says it

the reason he’s now sitting with his mouth wide open staring at you without really looking at you

‘Y-yea, I was listening. Ofcourse I was.’

saying it

probably says it on a special occasion

not planned or anything

it just seemed fitting in that moment

he realized before you two were even dating so it’s not like there’s any doubt left

still, expressing it feels like a very big step

it was quite a warm autumn evening

you were sitting on the floor at the salon table

filled with food from different places

‘I’m so proud of us.’ he beamed

you had just finished a very important essay which is going to be a great advantage when looking for an internship

he had just ended filming their third music video

‘I wish I could show you, you’re gonna love it.’ he mumbled before grabbing another bite

it looked like a feast but takeout-style

you continue eating, enjoying each others company

all the windows were open because of the nice weather

a soft breeze would ruffle the curtains

the subtle sound mixing well with the music

Jihoon had looked for just the right playlist for almost half an hour

and it couldn’t have been more perfect

the warm light of the candles was accompanied by a desklight

you got it out of your room because the ceiling light wasn’t cozy but the candles weren’t enough to see each other’s face (or the food)

the topic slowly drifts to more nostalgic memories

dates to the beach, your weekend in Japan, meeting his friends

‘You know what’s funny? out of all of those memories the one that is most special to me was a really simple one.’ something in his expression changed and you sat calmly, waiting for him to continue

‘It was a few days before I asked you out on our first date. We were at yg, eating something.’ he grabbed another bite of food, chuckling at your impatient response

‘I don’t know what it was but out of nowhere I realized I was in love with you.’ the words came out while he looked at his plate, looking up only a second before he continued

‘I still do. I love you-, even more each day.’

Yoshi

realizing it

there’s not really a specific moment where it hit him

his love for you grew gradually

which is exactly how he liked it

from the moment he met you he was never nervous around you

he never felt like he wasn’t good enough or like he had to try harder

everything made sense from day one

there would be moments where is heart could burst from it

like the time you tried to fix his broken jeans with a youtube tutorial

or when you first fell asleep on his chest

the worst was when he couldn’t see you for a few days

as if the love in him grew and grew but he couldn’t give it to you

he just felt like he was going to explode sometimes

the other boys would notice very easily

‘I know it’s only a few days, you guys are right.’

his mind didn’t listen to his own words

‘I’m fine- I promise.’

but if it’s a few more hours he might not be

he would go to bed quite early these days

after he noticed that trying to distract himself wasn’t working

he’d scroll through photo’s you took together

and photo’s he took of you

he’d sent you another text, hoping your phone was off so he wouldn’t wake you up

a strange mix of happiness and sadness

luckily once he realizes his sadness is temporary and it only shows how special you are to him he’ll be able to focus on the happiness

thinking about all the memories you’ve made and will make in the future as he slowly drifts to sleep

saying it

finally

finally he was going to see you again

it was only like three days but boy was he DEPRIVED

he was the first done packing

the first in the car

the first to run into the dorm and put his bag away

aaaand the first to run out the door again

you two had been texting all day about movies to watch and all the stories he wanted to tell

his knee bumped up and down in the bus

he couldn’t remember the last time he was this hyped

only three more stops

he gazed out the window chuckling at himself

who would’ve thought someone could make him feel like this?

his hand clutched on to the souvenir he got you

two more stops

an old couple got in

yoshi always had a weakness for happy old couple

but now especially

he smiled politely at them

admiring how in love they looked

that would be you in the future, he thought to himself

one more stop

his smile was still on his face

recognizing restaurants you two went to

clothing stores where you complimented his style

and then

the bus stop

it’s the one where you two met

he still can’t believe he managed to strike up a conversation with you that day

but it must’ve been meant to be

he looked around frantically as soon as his foot hit the sidewalk

the sound of your shoes on the floor came closer

he turned to face the sound and before he could even see your face he was holding you in his arms again

tightly as if to tell the world you were his

a deep sigh left his mouth before he mumbled into your hair

‘I love you- I missed you so much. I’m so happy to see you.’

Junkyu

realizing it

‘stop being weird-’ ‘says who?’

you and Junkyu were laying on his bed

both with your limbs spread out, staring at the ceiling

you weren’t sure how long you’d been there

he hummed along to the song you just put on

before being interrupted by the sound of his own stomach

‘Oh wow- sounds like it’s time for lunch.’ 

you nodded in agreement as you grabbed your phone

he started thinking about what to get, watching you tap away on your phone

your hair was laying in a circle around your head

a shadow from the ceilinglight behind your phone over your eyes

he noticed how you pupils dilated as they adjusted to the light everytime your moved your phone a bit

your eyes are cool af, woah

he turned to his side, still looking at your features while you scrolled on your phone

the song changed and this time it was you humming along

your voice is so nice, he thought to himself

his dreamy moment was interrupted by you looking at him

oh right- food

‘Uh- I want uh-..’

to his surprise you tell him you already ordered

‘What- what about me?’

you listed the things you ordered for him, saying how you definitely knew what he wanted by now

he was shocked

if you aren’t the SWEETEST MOST THOUGHTFUL HUMAN BEING

then he wouldn’t know who is

his dreamy moment continued, even though you were staring right back this time, confused

he never felt like this before

like he wants to fast-forward and sit in a rocking chair with you, grumbling about youth

wait

fuck

this is love isn’t it?

saying it

he promised

he promised he wasn’t going to fall asleep during the movie

but look at him now

soft deep breathing, lips slightly parted as he was laying against you

even though you didn’t want to wake him up you had already seen this movie with friends and the remote was all the way on the table

you reached forward in slow motion

slowly

sloooooowly

Junkyu moved, rubbing his cheek against your shoulder before mumbling under his breath and laying still again

that was close

the journey continues

slooooooooooowly

you were only 10cm away from reaching the remote

‘N-no hh.. stay h- ple ase.’

a dilemma

lean forward a bit more or sit back and just let the man sleep?

bit more

sloooooooooooooooowly

your fingertips grazed the remote and it wobble side to side

‘Babe?-’ that definitely sounded more awake then earlier

but when you look at him you see he’s definitely not fully awake yet

‘Come back to beeed-’ he whined

bed? boy, we’re on the couch

you didn’t mention it and instead quickly grabbed the remote before you sat back down a little faster

‘Th-nk yo-’ he held you tighter

‘Love you-’

wait what?

Mashiho

realizing it

seems like a hopeless romantic to me

so might realize quite fast

this man has been fantasizing and imagining his future love life for so long

not to the point where he’s yanking flowers apart to find out if you love him or not

but he sees the beauty in so many things

enjoys the warmth of the sun on his skin

likes to watch people going about their day and thinking what their life is like

leaves sweet notes on receipts for hardworking employees to find when they come clean his table

little things but a lot of things

he has an eye for beauty and knows exactly how to use it for his own happiness

so he quickly noticed how happy you made him

it was again, the little things

but so so many

how your pinky finger was always a little higher than the rest when your hands were relaxed

how the cute baby hairs on the back of your neck would always leave your ponytail within minutes of putting your hair up

how your foot would bounce up and down when you sat with your legs crossed, even if there was no music

how every time you called him cute he had to keep himself from calling you cute because he knew you’d hide your face in your hands right after

the way you sat against the mirror when you came to watch him practice

sleeves of his sweater to long for your arms as you clapped after each song

loving you wasn’t something that happens at one point

it’s built within him since the moment you met

it just grows and grows as you take care of it with your cuteness and love

saying it

so much snow

everywhere

the snowflakes were most visible under the light of the streetlanterns

appearing and disappearing as they went back into the dark nightsky

the crisp sound from under your shoes was relaxing

you and Mashiho had a snowballfight after finishing about 20 snowangels each

it had gotten dark before you knew it so now you were walking home

his arm around your shoulder, rubbing softly to keep you warm

you felt the cold water through your gloves but sharing bodyheat was all you needed

both of you had soft smiles on your faces, walking in content silence

and you were also just EXHAUSTED so the quiet evening was a nice change

in some of the houses you walked by you could already see christmaslights and trees

he noticed you looking

‘Lets get our own decorations soon.’ 

you nodded happily, leaning against him a little more

this was going to be your first christmas together

you never expected to celebrate it with someone this year

the idea of setting up a tree together and the coziness it would bring made him feel warm inside

you discussed fun things you could do for christmas

ways to surprise the boys or what you wanted to eat

he listened to you talk about memories and future plans

when he noticed how clearly he was already involved in those future plans he couldn’t help himself

‘Hey-’ he gave your shoulder a squeeze to make you look at him

‘I love you, so so much-‘

Jaehyuk

realising it

it was the first time you were going to meet the rest of Jaehyuk’s group

a little nervous but mostly excited you walked to the front door

he told you to text him when you got there so he could see you before the rest did

a few second after you saw he read your message the door opens

you get a kiss on the lips, a tight hug and a kiss on your forehead all after each other

he wanted to show you love but also wanted to mentally prepare you for what was about to him

don’t get him wrong, he loves the other members with all his heart but he could imagine them being a little.... overwhelming.

before he could even ask you if you were nervous the yells from the living room began

curious heads peeking out from behind his back, 11 hands reaching out to you as they all wanted to introduce themselves first

you could make out some teasing to Jae followed by someone’s voice trying to keep the peace

he looked at you with slight worry in his face, only to be greeted by a cheerful smile

before he knew it you were bashing out jokes left and right

even standing up for him a few times in the funniest ways

he couldn’t be happier

so many people he loved in one room

one in particular though

he took a moment to sit back against the couch and look around in awe

so happy

after a few hours and some good food it was time for you to go home

he watched you end your conversation with Asahi

who, to his surprise, seemed like he didn’t want the conversation to end

you waved goodbye to everyone and got loads of no’s and why’s in return

‘It’s late guys, she still has to go home.’

saying it

you still heard the whining when you and Jae reached the front door

you talked a few more minutes about how much you enjoyed yourself and the funny and awkward moments you two noticed

‘Apparently you don’t only make me happy but my friends too.’

you beamed at the compliment

even though you enjoyed the night as well, the validation that they did too meant a lot to you

‘So I’ve been approved?’ ‘Clearly.’

he insisted on walking you home 

you discussed the evening even more

he explained more about their personalities and memories he has with them which now made so much sense to you

your fingers were intertwined, arms swinging back and forth playfully

for some reason he felt a lump in his throat

but he couldn’t quite figure out why

it even distracted him from your conversation a few times

which is very unlike him so you noticed quickly

when you stopped walking to ask him what was wrong

looking him in the eye to show you you were not taking nothing for an answer

the determined look in your eyes made him realize what it was

what he had been holding back

but he didn’t say it

not yet

after a few minutes you reached your frontdoor

‘Thank you for the great evening, I’m sure they’ll want you back as soon as possible.’

he leaned in for a goodnight’s kiss, holding you close a little tighter than usual

for a second he pulled back

‘I love you-’

before connecting your lips again

[sometipsygnostalgic]

tipsy reviews: breath of the wild

So last month, early november, I went and got myself a Nintendo Switch. And for my new console I bought 3 games: MarioKart Deluxe, Super Mario: Odyssey, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

What I used it for mostly during this time period was.... Mariokart. It’s a fun and addictive little game while the two openworld games required a lot of effort with no linear path, so I wasn’t looking forward to a lot of busywork.

To my pleasant surprise, when I finally sat down to complete Odyssey, I discovered that the game was filled with many little secrets. It would reward you for experimenting, for putting objects in funny places, and solving its puzzles. The addictive gameplay helped me steamroll through the game to its logical conclusion, and then beyond.

Breath of the Wild, fortunately, follows a similar path. Gone are the many hours of tutorials, talking swords, and narrow Hyrule paths. Now we find the world not only open, where you’re free to move in any direction  and climb any mountain, but filled with many secrets and challenges to spend your days working through!  It’s not fair to say that Breath of the Wild is without its challenges though; the open-world formula starts out with many, and though Zelda subverts the issues plagueing more well-known users like Assassin’s Creed, it does fall into some unique pitfalls. 

In this post I will discuss the different areas of this game - story, gameplay, puzzle elements - and see how they compare.

Environment: I felt like it was most important to talk about this aspect first, because the world of Hyrule is so significant to the potential and failures of every other part of the game. Everything to do with story, puzzles, difficulty, it’s all related to the open world, what’s in it, and how you navigate.   Breath of the Wild kinda looks like a barren, empty game when you look at its open world face-value. There’s very few cities, most of the place is ruins littered with some enemy camps and lots of caves. Not a lot of history at all! It reminds me of the empty Hyrule Fields in Ocarina of Time. And there are no sprawling dungeons like in its predecessors. The closest to this is the shrines, short mini-dungeons which were created by the Sheikah predecessors to help the Hero destroy Ganon.  But what Breath of the Wild does RIGHT is utilize this seemingly empty open world to its full advantage. It’s filled with a variety of animals and critters to use for cooking, challenging opponents who you can loot, korok seeds which you need to solve a riddle to collect (but which are far less irritating than riddler trophies), hidden treasure for you to discover... And perhaps the most immersive tactic is how we are able to take damage from the environment - you can freeze to death on a mountain, or dehydrate in the desert, or roast in the Goron mine. All of this, combined with the many, MANY shrines and seeds and their corresponding puzzles, makes this world feel... alive. Like people and animals actually live here.   And the most adrenaline-bursting part of all is entering a Divine Beast for the first time and realising you can manipulate the environment using the map. THIS is what makes a great adventure game. Now, it’s still a fair departure from the classic dungeon crawlers or the previous three entries, but I think Breath of the Wild pulled off its world very impressively. Much more fun to explore than London or North America. It is only for an issue I’ll discuss later on that I have to rank it as low as 8/10. 

Story: BotW does make an interesting departure once again from before, though in some ways I feel this had lost potential. The story is COMPLETELY optional - as soon as you leave the great plateau, you can fight Ganon and call it a day. But if you choose to dig deeper into the memories of Link, you’ll discover that you were ALREADY the Chosen Hero, sealed deep into the Resurrection Shrine by instruction of Zelda. You were identified early because of your upbringing as the son of a Royal Knight, and that’s about it for Link’s known pre-mastersword history. It’s unknown what adventures you went on before. Now you and four Champions were chosen to prepare to fight Ganon. The backstory between you and Zelda is.... mixed, kind of depressing actually; she resented you for a long time because you were so good at your job as the Hero of the Sword while she was deeply insecure over her inability to activate her powers and how her father kept putting pressure on her to constantly pray when she just wanted to become a huge nerd, helping out in other ways.  It ends with Ganon unleashing its power across Hyrule, the Champions being killed and trapped in the Divine Beasts they were going to use against him, and Link nearly dying protecting Zelda who  saves him last second with an awesome Light that Burns the Sky.   After watching 25-ish cutscenes, I... was quite disappointed, because they kept rehashing stuff I already knew; Zelda was insecure over her lack of power, she disliked Link but grew to respect him, and the other Champions are.... well, Mipha’s the only one who has any real history with Link. Revali sees him as a rival, Urubosa looks after Zelda, and Daruk is very hardy and enthusiastic. It’s really cool meeting these characters in the Divine Beasts but you don’t learn much more, and I heard the Champion’s Ballad DLC is the same...  Ganon himself isn’t a chilling villain like before, moreso an intimidating threat. He’s not nearly as scary as the Twilight Beasts or any named Ocarina of Time boss, and he takes very little skill to defeat, even compared to some of his Blights (Thunderblight Ganon took me multiple attempts with its fast hard-hitting moves). In fact I think I’d be able to sweep him easily without saving any Champions. The worst part of all though has to be how it just CUTS YOU OFF.  You complete the game? Yeah, that’s kind of it. There isn’t a “post-game”, it just lets you load your past save. That’s what pisses me off the most. I wanted to speak to Zelda about all those memories I found! Oh yeah the game is also sneaky and won’t load the secret ending cutscene if you didn’t report to Impa and recover the hidden memory after unlocking the Hyrule Tower memory, so good luck doing what I did and getting that one last just before the final boss.  All in all, 5 out of 10. It did its job, but was nothing special whatsoever, lots of wasted potential.  

Gameplay: When you first start playing Breath o the Wild it is extremely punishing. Your weapons  are shit, your damage is shit, you WILL get oneshot many times. But when you pump more hours into it, you gain lots of momentum; since there are so many areas of gameplay, so many ways to approach a certain situation, it becomes inevitable that you’ll figure out a good solution to any fight.  This is a double-edged blade; while it’s lots of fun to kill enemies inventively, the difficulty curb at the BEGINNING of the game is so steep that you’ll find it becoming stupidly easy later on, when you’re more overpowered and you’ve mastered the enemy attack patterns. Sure, they may turn black or silver and do hella damage, but what’s a god to a player who knows how to exploit their AI?  And you’ll be swimming in so many powerful weapons that you’ll abandon them all after a certain point, cos there’s nothing worse to trade out.   The biggest victims of the difficulty scaling have to be the Ganon bosses, all of them, which DO NOT gain health or difficulty at any point. It’s like fighting Champion Wallace’s level 40 watertypes with a level 70 rayquaza, which is what I did in my Emerald playthrough...  This means that the greatest elements of Breath of the Wild’s gameplay are those moments where your tools aren’t quite enough, where you have to prepare and plan. Maybe there’s too many moblins to take on at once? Maybe you’re playing the Island Trial and you have no decent weapons? Maybe you’re trying to complete the Zora divine beast quest and you come face-to-face with the Lynel on the summit? Maybe there’s multiple Guardians aiming at your direction and you have no Ancient Arrows? In all these situations I’ve had to be inventive, sneak around and attack on the sly, or avoid combat altogether.  But what’s even more reliable is the puzzles. You’re not handheld, you’re not told how to do anything outside of the very basic controls - every single puzzle you solve is completely your own accomplishment, your own skills, and sometimes it’s not set out clearly at all so you have to be creative. Nobody TOLD you to put that one rock in the gap between all the others, but you did it, and now you have a rock! And nobody TOLD you how to make a recipe that heals all your hearts and gives you 3 to spare, but your experimentation crafted a recipe.   THIS, in my opinion, is what makes a definitive gaming experience - respect for the player. 9 out of 10 too many royal swords.

Music - No videogame review is complete without an OST ranking. Now.... BotW tried to play a certain role with its music, having it in the background colouring your experiences rather than defining them. This is quite appreciated because it would have been distracting to have booming enemy music for an opponent I knock out in 2 seconds (cough OOT cough). However, outside of its main theme, Breath of the Wild lacks almost all the signature Zelda tracks that have been defining for the series. I’d say that the absence of this booming music makes it.... not feel much like a Zelda at all. It better reflects the open and partially destroyed world, at the expense of recogition. That’s not to say it’s without gems though.. there are very few things more chilling than the music that plays in ganon-possessed guardian containing the tormented soul of your dead zora girlfriend. 7 out of 10, servicable and decent. 

Conclusion - Breath of the Wild is a smashing game, which deserves the praise it gets, not because it’s an open world Zelda but because it REDEFINES the possibilities of an open world game. Instead of littering itself with countless copy-paste fortresses, it offers puzzles and challenges that show respect for the player’s adaptability, encouraging you to explore all the different options its mechanics offer. Instead of making you choke through an insufferable and possibly frustrating campaign to unlock new areas, it gives you the options and tools to go anywhere you like as long as you prepare. It says much when even this game’s biggest weaknesses can be played for strengths. And oh man, what a solid introduction to the Nintendo Switch generation. 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: 8 out of 10. 

[theripertoire]

New Wife, New City, New Home ... And I’m Still Learning 

... Learning new things about myself everyday. 

I recently got married on December 30, 2016 (see two blog posts ago and refer to my Instagram account for photo spam), and moved to Doha to join my husband less than a month later, on January 20, 2017.

It’s been a roller-coaster ride.

No matter what people tell you, being a newlywed is life-changing – both in wonderful and shocking ways. And, as though it weren’t challenging enough, add to that moving to a new city in a new country all at once. In the past three weeks, I managed to furnish our entire home (from cutlery, crockery and linens, to all kinds of furniture, accessories and appliances).

It’s been crazy. Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to:

-       go to as many meetings as possible to get better acquainted with the market,

-       create new content for the blog and Instagram,

-       discover what a f***ing induction stove is and how to use it,

-       decipher my dishwasher,

-       understand what a spin cycle is on a washing machine,

-       find the right pillows to sleep – those of which do not involve the stench of dying duck,

-       get over the fact that I’m now labeled “housewife” and that it’s not an insult,

-       accept that my husband and I share a bank account,

-       accept that my husband knows exactly when I’m buying shoes and how much they cost,

-       detach myself from my much loved skimpy clothing,

-       Control my nausea every time I prepare dinner and see the steak bleed on the grill,

-       accept that I look like crap on most days because I’m too busy to wash my hair,

-       accept the four kilos of Oreos and olives that I’ve gained,

And accept that for the first time in my entire life, I couldn’t be more clueless about anything.

I would like to take a minute to thank my Snapchat family and YouTube tutorials. Without you, I would have had a mental breakdown.

Jokes aside, I’m loving my new life in Doha. It’s a beautiful change of pace and I  love the feeling of security and stability I have here. Also, the food is truly on another level (four kilos, hello!), and our building and neighborhood have become my new happy place that I’m so proud to call home.

 What I love about Doha:

-       THE FOOD!! Some of my favorites include Toro Toro, Spice Market, The Market, La Spiga, Sugar and Spice, and Eggspectation. If you live in Doha or are visiting, please do go to every single one and gain some weight with me. Thank you.

-       The Qatar Airways airplanes and airport lounges – I’ve been raving about them for the past month or so, but honestly, I’m beyond impressed!!! How lavish!!

-       The Pearl. So this is basically where Toufic and I live, and if it were up to me, I’d never leave the area. I’m so in love with it and all things related.   

-       West Bay. Skyscrapers make me happy. Urban areas make me happy. Beautiful lights at night make me happy. Sometimes, I like to squint hard enough and imagine I’m back in New York. And that makes me happy.

-       The hotels. They’re more like architectural wonders. The Kempinski, St. Regis and Four Seasons top the list for me with their glorious facades and GLORIOUS architecture. So grandiose!

-       The customer service. So many people may wish to disagree with me, but let me explain: I haven’t seen one person frowning since I got here. Even if you get upset at them and shout (a little), they’re still so kind and polite, you feel ashamed of yourself for being so rude. They’re full of smiles and enthusiasm, and I applaud them for that.

-       The safety. When laws are well implemented and respected, this is the result. I could leave my purse in the mall for hours, and no one would steal it. I haven’t complained about potential rapists in weeks! I feel so safe all the time, and my stress levels are down thanks to that!

-       Our building. Toufic is going to kill me for even mentioning this. I can even hear him saying, “you sound like such pretentious showoff.” But, I don’t care. So, our building. It’s so pretty, I’m in love! I haven’t lifted a finger since I got here (except beat my pillows, move furniture around, do the dishes, make dinner, make the bed, and hoover broken glass off the floor). Jokes aside, it’s like a hotel – from the lobby to the staff. I feel like a spoilt little turd sometimes because I have people at my beck and call doing stuff for me all the time! I’m not sure I like feeling this spoilt...but I’m not complaining at all!

-       The community. Most people here are so kind, helpful, genuine, accomplished, honest, hardworking, friendly, and just absolutely lovely to be around! I haven’t felt a heavy, negative energy from anyone yet. It’s refreshing.

-       THE FOOD!! (oh yeah, I already mentioned this)

-       Our home. It truly is home, and I can’t imagine living any place else. I love everything about it, and it’s one of my proudest accomplishments so far…I made a home for us. IN FIVE DAYS. (I keep reminding Toufic of that. He’s getting so sick of me.)

-       And last but not least, my husband. I can’t imagine sharing a life with anyone else. He’s my best friend, the highlight of my day, the most annoying person ever, but the most wonderful, generous, caring, loving, and supportive soul I’ve ever come across. I wake up everyday feeling so lucky and blessed that he chose me to walk down this path with, and just the fact that he lives in Doha makes it the most beautiful city on the planet. This is home now.

(PS. as I write this, I can smell my pillows starting to stink again and I begin to feel depressed)

So, ahem, the reason I am writing this is because I’m sure tons of you have either gone through what I’m going through, or are about to embark on a similar journey, be it getting married or moving to a country – or both! So, since this stuff doesn’t come with a warning or a manual (which it SHOULD), I’m taking the liberty of writing down a few things you ought to prepare for and some other things that could be useful to you:

1.     I’m sorry I’m prioritizing this, but DO NOT purchase down pillows from IKEA. They STINK! Imagine the combination of these odors: a deadly fart; a dying, wet, filthy duck; raw, rotten fish; terribly bad breath; a badly aired chicken pen; and a rat that’s been dead for a month. So, that’s what my SIX pillows smell like. Mind you, they’re brand new, and I dedicated my ENTIRE afternoon to quench their stank – but, alas...nothing worked.

2.     Buy your cabinets and storage from IKEA (if available in your country). Those, unlike the stanky pillows, are amazing and you save tons of money. Here’s how I furnished our place. I spent the first two days jumping around from one furniture store to the next. We bought the hero items that spoke to us (couch, dining table, dining chairs, bed) then bought everything else accordingly. It was literally three days of furniture shopping and two days of setting everything up. Et voila! Tip: Mix and match from as many shops as possible. We went through over 12 places.

3.     Set a REALISTIC routine for yourself. There are days when you will feel down, useless, strange, nostalgic, ugly, fat, stupid, and all alone…. This is normal and fleeting. Keep reminding yourself that you’re adapting to great change and starting a new, life-defining chapter. It’s important not to give up too soon. Go easy on yourself. If you pack on the pounds, it’s normal (just hit the gym as soon as you set a proper schedule for yourself). If you’re not working, don’t sweat it. You’ll be back to work soon once you’re able to take on new responsibilities and tasks. I hate the word routine, but it’s the only way you can get through this transitional phase.

4.     Remind yourself of why you’re here. And remind yourself that life owes you nothing. You need to make your life beautiful through daily efforts. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past month. Trying to make everything around me beautiful. It takes time and lots of work, but I’ll get there. And you’ll get there.

5.     ACCEPT CHANGE. If you fight it, you’ll force yourself to move in an unnatural direction. If you accept it, there’s no telling what surprises life has in store for you around the next corner. Moving countries is the reason I started blogging seven years ago. It changed my life. Moving back to Beirut and turning down a job offer in NYC is the reason I met Toufic. Something beautiful and rewarding comes out of every “bad” or challenging experience. Remember that.

6.     If you’re a newlywed, remember this: there are days you will hate your spouse. You will wonder why you ever got married and notice how much they’ve changed. You will question if you’re even compatible and romanticize your life at your parents’ home. Those who refuse to admit this are either lying to you or to themselves. But, I’m going out on a limb here and tell you that this will happen, and it’s okay. Breathe through it and remind yourself that you’re both adapting to a new reality, a new routine, and new habits you weren’t used to before. For instance, Toufic and I both have OCD, but in different things. We are trying to deal with our psychoses on a daily basis, and it’s getting much better.

7.     If it’s your first time cooking, cleaning or home tending, remember, you weren’t born with a housewife manual built into your system. I went grocery shopping last week and had a mental breakdown. It was four hours of hell. But, I know that next time, it will be easier and more clear to me. I will eventually know exactly what to buy, what not to buy, how much to buy, and spend less time doing it. I tried cooking three times since I got here. The first time was an EPIC DISASTER. The second time was okay. The third time was phenomenal. I’m getting better every time, and seeing the smile on my husband’s face is everything.

8.     There’s no “I” in “team”. I’m learning this day by day. I’m learning to start making “we” decisions instead of “me” decisions. This is the toughest part about being married. Sharing responsibilities, money, tasks, your space, your food (this is painful), and your future. Every decision you make has to go through your partner for negotiation and approval. I’m making this sound like a business proposal – but, you know what I mean….

9.     Keep things private. I’m a hypocrite for saying this since so much of my life is out there, but I’m a blogger and a big part of my life is sharing my experiences with others in order to benefit and inspire you in some way. But still, Toufic refuses being featured on my Snapchat while we’re in Doha, and I (sadly) accept that. This is not what I’m referring to though. What I mean by keeping things private is, when you fight, keep it between the two of you. Don’t make it bigger by involving others. This is something sacred (and very difficult), but essential to the survival of a marriage.

10.  You will gain weight. Try, as hard as you can, to control your newlywed or new city appetite. Almost everyone I know gained weight during the first year of marriage or a move. Make an effort to lose those extra pounds and stay in shape, or you’ll keep gaining more and more on a yearly basis.

And for the bonus round:

11.  Things and people you once found important cease to matter in comparison to the new responsibilities you have. In my case, being outside the bubble always makes me see how small and silly it is. This time, more than ever…

Today, I’m slowly finding my balance, and gradually feeling more at home in this new city everyday. Step by step, I’m regaining my confidence to go out there and show this new world who I am and what I’ve got to offer; the confidence to be myself and trust that people will like me. I know where to go if I need something, and know who to call when the Internet isn’t working. I have a new number now, and I’m memorizing it a little better everyday. I found a detergent I love and the right temperature for the AC. I have a favorite corner at home where I like to work, and a spot in bed that makes me comfortable. When I’m thirsty at night, I know my way to the kitchen without turning on the lights. These may sound like very little things, but it’s little things like these that make you feel at home.

There is no way you’ll feel at home right away. There are days where you refuse to part of a new community and a new life. There are times where you’ll feel so alone and intimidated, you’ll cry. Remind yourself that it will pass. You will eventually make new friends, discover a new list of favorite hobbies and places to hang out. You’ll find a walking route that makes you happy. You’ll finally find the right mall and supermarket for you to shop at. Days will go by and you will realize that you’re no longer a stranger; you now belong. You will realize that you haven’t missed “home” in weeks because this is your home. These are your friends. This is your new job. Your new university. Your new life. Your new gym. You will miss your old home and life, but not the way you did before. You will realize that this is not a new chapter; this is your life.

Lebanon, you may not be home for now, but I love you always. I know there are many beautiful reasons the universe brought me here, and I can’t wait to discover them all. Meanwhile, Beirut, I’ll be seeing you sooner than you think, and often, and I’m looking forward to it. For now, stay beautiful.

XX -R

[avislux]

Zelda: Breath of the Wild write up

The Wii U activity log says I’ve logged 118.5 hours in Breath of the Wild. I’m sure some of those were just leaving the game on and idle. Anyway now that I’ve beaten the game I feel like I can do a large write up of the experience.

Spoilers

It’s been a long while since I’ve had a game really draw me in like BotW has. I played it every day since March 4th and I think I can finally stop. I’ve done every main quest and found every shrine. I’m not going for 900 Korok seeds, that’s absurd. It really captures the sense of exploration I haven’t felt since I played Link to the Past on the SNES as a kid. Well, A Link Between Worlds did too, actually. I 100%’d that in three days when I had nothing much else to do.

I’ve slacked off on a bunch of other things I wanted to do because of this game. Usually I stop to do things after playing a game for a while but BotW hadn’t fatigued me enough to stop. Of course I do get up and take breaks but when that’s done I went back.

I was very impressed with the amount of freedom the game gives you. You can pretty much go anywhere after finishing the tutorial provided you’re prepared for where you’re going. The game doesn’t restrict you and gives you lots of things to interact with.

The first twenty hours or so I died I lot more than I normally would in a Zelda game. Although after a certain point things stop one shotting you and you get used to all the mechanics. Eventually I just stopped dying. Hearts don’t drop anymore and comes in the form of various food items and cooking. And since eating takes no time at all, you can just stock up on food items and have a good stockpile of hearts to fall back on. Rupees don’t come from cutting grass anymore but are still really easy to come by in the form of ores. The enemies get harder and some regions and get stronger as you kill more of them but it never got to the point for me where it got brutally difficult. Even the strongest enemies, the Lynels, aren’t too much of a challenge once you’re prepared.

So now you pick up weapons, shields, and bows from enemies and they all have durability. Some people had problems when weapons breaking all the time but it never really bothered me. I just figured I use all weak weapons to exhaustion so that I can make room for more. I like that there are different weapon types that have different ways of attacking. Weapons breaking means you are encouraged to use all of them and not horde. Although, I never found that they break faster than I can replace them, so I always had a few weapons kept on me all the time. Also parrying is a cool mechanic. Parrying guardian lasers is probably the most satisfying thing in the game.

You are encouraged to experiment with cooking. Although once I got the patterns and basic recipes down I didn’t need much else. Mix a pepper for cold resist. Mix a cold item for heat resist, etc. Adding a bunch of basic stuff together basically combines all their heart values. You can also make cakes and rice and stuff but you have to find the ingredients and the recipe and most of the time it’s not really necessary as meat, mushroom and herbs are plentiful enough. Once the respective gear is acquired most of the food becomes obsolete. Stealth and lightning resist were the least used.

The music in this iteration goes for a more ambient feel to it, and it feels very appropriate for this game. The music changes with the time of day. The classic Zelda theme is seldom heard but it is in the horse riding music if you listen for long enough. The score has a recurring motif unique to the game, which I always like. I look forward to playing these pieces. I love the sound of the erhu.

I like that Nintendo put a lot of effort into the NPCs. One of the first things I noticed is that most NPCs are named and have some kind of story. Many of the Zora also have some kind of relationship with Link. They will often also react to what you’re doing. Talking to them while standing on their tables is fun.

The physics-based shrine puzzles are a good addition the series. Many of the puzzles have a fairly straight forward solution but some allow you cheat a little. It allows the player the freedom to solve it however they want without restricting you to a certain method. This notably comes into play with the fire puzzles, and some of the gyroscope mazes. I don’t like how many combat trials there are. Once you become really strong and figure them out they become a real annoyance.

The story is rather weak. Probably one of the weakest in the series. Since it’s established that Link has lost his memories we learn the story with him. You have the option of visiting various memory locations for the backstory. It all amounts to about 30 minutes of cutscenes which is just enough to introduce all the major characters but not enough to get invested in them. Zelda gets the most characterization of all and she comes off as this scholar trying to find her power. The four champions and their descendants get some character but the story progresses the exact same way for the four tribes. Go through some challenge in order to meet the leader. Then do some tasks for the leader and then go with them to calm the respective Divine Beast down. Hell even the champions have basically the same dialogue when they talk to you in the dungeons.

Link is established as a brave knight in the back story and I liked that. You also get some interactions with him and the NPCs. Some of his dialogue has some sass to it, which is good. However he never shows any emotion in any of the present-day cutscenes. Even towards the end after I killed the big bad guy. Absolutely no reaction when you see Zelda again.

The dungeon design vastly differs from the traditional design of dungeons. They’re smaller, and all lean towards puzzle solving rather than exploring and fighting. I suppose it’s okay but I really would like to see the traditionally designed dungeons again.

Ganon isn’t a character this time around. Literally just an evil force that sits in a sac in the castle waiting to be killed. After you’ve done everything he’s remarkably easy. Even if you haven’t the final stage is a complete joke. I wish the fight was different. Maybe they could have added some Shadow of the Colossus type thing like the Stone Taluses.

The voice acting isn’t remarkable, but not awful. Most of the deliveries lack any emotion as if the voice director had no idea what he was doing. Despite that I thought the voices matched all the characters well except for Zelda. Zelda’s VO feels like someone tried to act too much like royalty. Maybe with 50% less British it would be okay. For a game that excels in almost everything you would at least think they would get it right.

Would have liked 1080p and 60 FPS but I guess that’s too much to ask for now. Game is capped at 30 but drops down to 20 or less frequently, although they just released a patch to address it a bit.

Overall, a very good game but not without some flaws. None of the flaws are a deal breaker though. I had fun playing through this game.