#streamed this one in Ash's server and it was a lot of fun

[halfahelix]

🐈🐉🦚

[heynowisavedyouright]

FELIX FELIX, who would you recommend for a new lifesteal viewer to watch other than clownpierce and branzy?

ohohohoho. this is gonna be quite a few people so if you only want a couple recs and/or to know where to start you can just pick a couple of the first ones. here you go:

for a long watch (well. 10/15 videos of 20 mins average) i'd go with any of these guys (links to playlists of their lifesteal videos):

rekrap2! trap escapist and skilled pvper like the best of them. i mean 90% of them. them being lifesteal members. he's has been part of seasons 2 and 3, in s3 often teams with branzy and clown

vitalasy! sure is a guy who gets betrayed by branzy and clown and then goes for it again. likes to make some very fun traps

here's s3 of parrotx2! shorter cause the playlists are divided by seasons. big fan of mind games and trapping untrappable players (rekrap2). here are his other two seasons if you'd be down to watch s1 s2

spokeishere! a good watch being Always on opposite sides with clown (except that one time he broke the streak in tubbo's stream. how could he). well known for his 'i collected materials for up to 1000 mobs and threw them on the heads of lifesteal players. you're welcome' challenge videos

princezam! there are no thoughts in his eyes. if he can trap you he will because "It's Funny". will suffer the consequences. jokester on his own level

roshambogames! second deadliest player on the deadliest minecraft smp (<- lifesteal) as people like to joke. he doesn't have a lot of season 3 videos but if you want to have a fun watch of s1/s2 events he's your guy

for a. shorter amount of videos (~3-5 vids in total, s3 players only)

if you prefer your guys insane:

ashswag. ash is if a guy were a god were a messed up in the head rabbit or something. rabies. also communism.

reddoons! sometimes it just happens: you see a death server and decide, you know what? prime place to take over with capitalism. he's the richest guy you'll find simply because everyone else is too busy killing others while he multitasks

if you prefer your guys struggling to live in a world of protagonists:

planetlord and yeah_jaron. the poor souls.

if redstone: redstone. i mean- i mean mrcube6

[earthtooz]

this was so funny when i read it would you possibly be willing to share your experience on vc with mitsies limitless six + any others (if it happened already)

omg yes i will provide u first hand insight into vc experiences with @mitsies, @limitlesshq, @sixosix, @kruinka, @windshieldwiper, and ME >:3

our server is pretty diverse so we all have different accents and varying timezones lol, we make fun of each other sometimes for it (only me, art, and mitzi partake in this accent mocking lMFAO we mock each others.)

A LOT OF BULLYING. A LOT. (all for good fun dw we don't mean it (yes we do))

art, mitzi, six and i have matching statuses and it's been this way for like EVER lol + i have matching profiles with another one of our friends who used to be active on tumblr (kruin + ash if you're reading this, join our club... smh...).

us shouting at ONE member for her very terrible sleep schedule.

on the other hand, mitzi HAS a bed time.

intermittent language swaps from EVERYONE in the server - we can all speak two or more languages.

art and i complaining about our homework and uni, the two of us are really trying to fight thru it. oh and mitzi complains abt chemistry here and there. relatable.

weekly blue lock viewings. mitzi, art and i (joined by ashley sometimes) plan to watch all the new eps together.

us making fun of six (and kruin) for playing genshin.

ashley explaining some latest gossip going on in her life.

ashley going 'YEAHHHHHH' in encouragement anytime any of us start a sentence with 'should i...', regardless of how terrible our statements will be. i could be like 'should i drop out of uni' and ashley would be like 'YEAHHHHHHHH'. art would also be like 'YEAHHHHHH' because art has said multiple times that they'd like to drop out.

family rp from six and i bc it's funny and ever since it started, we have not gone back. six if you're reading this... *pinch*

oh LOUD ASS TYPING from me. it's like gabbie hanna typing AND IT'S SO LOUD idk how the others are okay with it because i am a FURIOUS TYPER and FAST with it too. kruin said it's like asmr and art says they're okay with it but i don't really believe them.

genshin streams from six bc as much as we make fun of her for being a genshiner, we make fun of her even more whilst she's actually playing it.

SIX DOING A SCOTTISH ACCENT AND ART DOING A COUNTRY ACCENT. THIS WHOLE BIT WAS SO FUNNY FOR SO LONG AND IT STILL IS.

oh us going 'your little japanese sightseeing trip is going to turn traumAAAtic' bc rin speaking english is just too cute to not imitate from time to time (he instantly becomes less intimidating, i love it).

six is a master of accents.

again, us making fun of six for playing genshin. i've had kruin and six explain genshin lore to me multiple times- why is it not ending.

oh we give each other hauls whenever we buy things. i gave one today lol + i ask for opinions on instagram pictures and how i should order them lol.

a lot of groaning and screaming and crying from all of us over our fav characters. it's a hellhole in there.

thanks for asking, soup! it's so cute that u were curious :< i hope u enjoyed whatever ramble i just went on!

[zylian]

Zy is annoyed so quick summary on Planet in Vitalasy stream

Planet and vitalasy talk and they disagree on a lot of stuff

Vitalasy leaves the call annoyed and decides Panet is a problem and says he never wants to be put on a team with Planet ever

vitalasy than proceeds to test out the prison

he put planet in the unfinished prison and kept one tapping him until he almost got banned so he would stop talking since they disagree on stuff

Planet said "not again" and said he would do anything to make him stop

Planet gets out and Vitalasy tells Planet to stop interfering and blames him for his team break up

Planet see's the zam book which says "I never had teammates I could trust til now :)" (the one with the trust apple book) and Planet laughs saying "you kept more than Mapicc and Ro ever did" than vitalasy gets upset.

Planet says let's agree to disagree and Vitalasy gets super upset, leaves call, and than vitalasy talks about the past and says 3 players ruined it all.

————— Zy opinion —————

“3 players” well that's probably Mapicc, Ro & Zam so good thing those three don't hate each other currently

Vitalasy who is the closest to Spoke & Ash not bothering to see what their doing is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. Spoke tormenting ppl and makes Vitalasy leader while Vitalasy wants hear nothing from anyone.

No one chooses their labels yet every person with a different opinion (who is mortal) is apparently his worse enemy (omg!)

He called himself the servers punching bag… I want him to name the people who hate him and the ppl who don’t cause from whatever I hear ppl blame him for trying to be a hero after the damage is done

The end portals? Yah they called him a tyrant so? Bro loves to contradict himself sometimes

Kinda glad Planet was the one to talk to him cause if it was anyone else Vitalasy wouldn’t have stopped. Why does it have to be Planet almost getting banned for him to stop raging smhhhhhhh

He keeps bringing up the past and I wanna bash my head into the wall like everyone heard u ok, yes you never wanted this to happen but what matters is the present and apparently running away is the answer. Than RUN AWAY, omg stop lingering in between, u can’t explain ur side (glitch wise) and than stick around other players

If u want to mind ur business alone than dont give ppl reasons too ??? ur already stuck being blamed for the exploits you can’t just run now

It makes sense why Subz just sat there and agreed during vitalasys rage/ rant cause wtf Planet isn’t a good but having his own opinion shouldn’t make u that upset

Subz who was ACTIVELY HUNTED chose to not learn the powers and that says something. Vitalasy who can’t log in to save his team and chooses to run away instead ? Ppl with less hearts and no gear still managed to save themselves. 3 heart trio got tormented A LOT yet fight with what they have, Zam got tormented SO much, they both probably have worse scars then Vitalasy in this season and Vitalasy choses to be left alone now. Did he not learn from Subz’s pacifism arc????

“Once the plan is in action you won’t be able to hit me anymore” ?????????? He hates the purpose of the server so badddddd

he becomes a god to be left alone, wasn’t Ashswag already considered a god and didn’t he still get people bothering him? Despite them knowing he would fight back. People want to fight eachother and especially a fair/ challenging one cause thats fun!!! The whole point Mapicc tries pulling Subz out of his pacifism was to fight cause when he fights Subz it’s fun, it’s challenging, he has to focus.

Vitalasy pls open ur eyes I swear it’s not that hard pls there are already ppl on the server who are in similar boats as you and ppl who have already run away

Also he keeps bringing up how he gave 8 hearts to Mapicc & Ro and they betrayed him. HE BETRAYED HIS OWN TEAM IN THE END FIGHT. He’s blind and even after his own team forgave him (Red & Pangi specifically) Vitalasy still treats it like he’s alone. I’m starting to think Pangi dragging him into fights was what a normal teammate would have done. Bro can never ask for help I swear

GAH I’m upset

[fuckyouquiznak]

Jschlatt's Return

= Future developments in the Dream SMP plot (theories)

How does resurrection work?

• According to Philza and Eret to revive someone his ghost must be killed in the same way he lost his last canon life (that would also explain why Glatt and Ghostbur came back online recently).

• We also know they may need a totem and the knowledge of the resurrection book, which is now kept somewhere out there in the server, considering Dream said he didn't have it physically in prison with him. (He also said he destroyed it, but do we trust him? Absolutely not)

• We didn't see Tommy's revival from Dream's point of view, so it could be that Phantommy actually appeared and Dream easily killed him on the same spot of Tommy (maybe using the clock or his mask as a totem idk), but we still don't know what kind of information the book provides and how resurrection really works.

What is going to happen?

1. Quackity and Sam

• Quackity's last stream made pretty clear Big Q's intention of taking the book from Dream using all the means possible.

• However, despite the torture, Dream won't give any information. First of all he doesn't like Jschlatt, because he finds him annoying and boring (not like Wilbur) and second, of course, he knows the book's knowledge is the only thing that prevents other people from killing him. And then again, why should he give away the same power that made him a god? Quackity won't kill him without the book, and he is used to pain. Moreover he'll have some company at least.

• Quackity won't give up. He will keep visiting Dream everyday and will eventually start to like making him suffer.

• Sam instead will feel more and more guilty for what he made possible and for the person he became. He has changed since Tommy's death. He had promise to protect him and then he failed him. And then everything went wrong. He likes to believe that Dream deserves this for what he did to Tommy, but he is not sure that's the right way. Sometimes he even feels sorry for him, especially after Quackity's visits. After all Dream is just a broken person. Isn't he?

2. Tommy and the boys

• Meanwhile Tommy goes to Puffy's therapy sessions and opens up about his traumas and fears. It's hard, but it really helps having someone to talk to. Especially now.

• Since he returned to the server he has felt so lonely.

• Everyone treats him differently. Some people see him as miracle and keep asking inappropriate questions. Some others pretend nothing happened. For few of them the server just moved on; for others he is still dead.

• Even so he can't focus too much on himself right now. Stopping Dream is much more important. If Wilbur comes back... he doesn't even want to think about what he is capable of.

• They need to kill Dream, but Tommy is still too scared to come back to prison or to even touch a sword. Every time he suffers a damage he can't breathe: it's like it's happening all over again.

• He can't stay at his house anymore, on the ashes of L'Manburg, nor at his hotel, which is in Jack's hands, and he doesn't want to be alone (it reminds him of exile).

• He'll pass the time at Ranboo and Tubbo's, meeting Michael and working out a plan to kill Dream.

• In Tommy's stream Tubbo showed him his investigation report, pointing out that both Foolish and Ranboo were online when someone damaged the prison (before Tommy's dead).

• Tubbo obviously blames Foolish, nonetheless Tommy understands that something in Ranboo is corrupted.

• He tries to warn Tubbo, who underestimates his friend's words, thinking he might just be jealous of their relationship. They fight. It's a huge argument.

• "It's like you don't want me to be happy" Tubbo screams, shaking his head.

• "I don't want you to be happy without me" as soon as these words leave Tommy's mouth he immediately regrets it.

• Tubbo stays silent for a while. He seems disappointed: "You've changed".

• Tommy tighten a fist. "That's what death does to people, Tubbo, it changes them".

3. Kinoko Kingdom

• At the end Tommy will leave Snowchester and will move into Kinoko Kingdom (he liked the sign of the "free stuff", so why not?). Tommy there is welcome.

• He explains the Wilbur situation to the others, but then something bad happens.

• Hanging out with Sapnap, they talk about Ranboo and Dream's friendship and about how he acted when he received the ":)" message.

• It turns out Ranboo is guilty for the explosions in the prison that kept Sam busy during Tommy's visit to Dream.

• Tommy shows Tubbo the evidences.

4. Platonic Divorce

• After that, the platonic husbands will go through a "divorce arc".

• "How could you?" Tubbo can't help crying and screaming. "I trusted you".

• Ranboo wishes he could do something. But he is scared. He doesn't remember any of that. Did he really help Dream? Why? He doesn't...

• "I kicked out Tommy, my best friend, when he most needed me because of you! I think you should leave".

• Tubbo goes back to Tommy, apologizing. "You were right". And as much as he hates Ranboo, Tommy is broken-hearted seeing his best friend that hurt.

• However he can't help smiling when Tubbo says: "Guess it's just you and me against Dream like it has always been". It's selfish, but he really missed his best friend.

5. Connor's betrayal

• Sam talks with Connor about his doubts related to the all 'torture thing'.

• Connor tries to comfort him and decides to visit Dream with Quackity.

• Dream is relentless: "That villain arc you sewed for yourself is nice. But I won't tell you anything. And the book doesn't exist anymore, now. You can control every book in the server. It will not bring it back" saying these words Dream keeps his eyes on Connor. "The only way to find it should be... be able to travel in time"

• Connor freezes.

6. Karl's arrest

• Karl finds the resurrection book during one of his travels.

• He immediately plans to give it to Tommy, but when he comes back, someone is waiting for him in the library.

• "Well, look what the cat dragged in" Quackity stays still, his arms crossed, next to Connor and Sam. They all wear armours. "So it is true. That's a huge secret you have, Karl"

• The library behind them is destroyed. Books lie on floor ripped. They were looking for it.

• Karl puts the book of Necromancy back, his voice shaking as he realises Sapnap and George aren't there. "What are you doing here?" He asks, making eye contact with Connor, who quickly looks away, ashamed.

• "I'm sorry, Karl" he whispers "But Jschlatt is my friend"

• Quackity walks slowly towards him. "Give me the book, Karl". He has a creepy smile on his face. Is that even the same Quackity? This one looks different.

• "Quackity, you don't have to-"

• "Don't tell what I have to do. If you refuse, I might have to declare you under arrest"

• Karl holds the book tighter. If he gave him the book... no, he can't do that. For Tommy's sake, and for the rest of the server. If the book has the power to revive Wilbur... it must be destroyed. He grabs his sword, ready to fight.

• Quackity looks disappointed "You didn't give me another choice, man" he says, before killing him and taking the book from his inventory.

7. Dream and Karl

• Karl is later taken to the prison and put in Dream's cell.

• "Well, green boy, seems like you service is no longer required. However, I want to keep having fun with you. I'll revive Jschlatt, and then I'll execute you publicly. Enjoy your last hours: I got you company" Quackity leaves with a victory smile on his face.

• Dream looks horrible. He is covered in blood, his body painted by new scars. Karl has never seen him like this. His hearts are low and he hasn't eaten in days.

• Dream is the first one who speaks: "You found it".

• Karl freezes. What does that mean? "I though I had hidden it too well" he keeps saying, washing his blood away. "Maybe I should have really destroyed it"

• How cool would it be if Dream actually hid the book in the timeline? He couldn't burn it. Otherwise if he died no one would have revived him. So he just hid it where only Karl could find it.

• So yes, Dream knows Karl's power because he has a similar one. And yes, the prison was actually built for Karl (that's the only theory I care about).

• "We are not that different, Karl. Forgetting the people you love.. I know what it feels. I can help you controlling it. Have you reached the In between yet?"

• What if Dream is the one leaving Karl books and suggestions about his travels?

• They spend some time together and they surprisingly get along well. It's like someone finally understands.

8. Sapnap's lore

• Sapnap finds out Karl has been arrested, but he doesn't know why. He is angry.

• He faces Quackity who giggles. "Apparently there are a lot of things we don't know about Karl" but he doesn't tell him Karl's secret.

• Quackity and Sapnap break up (I won't ever be over Quackity's stream with El Rapid)

• Sapnap joins the children group. They are breaking into prison, right? He needs to save Karl.

9. Escape from Pandora's Vault

• Tommy, Tubbo, Ghostbur and Sapnap manage to break into Pandora's Vault when Sam and Quackity aren't online.

• When they arrive in Dream's cell, he is talking with Karl.

• Sapnap, horrified, takes Karl away from him. He doesn't trust Dream anymore, not after what he did to Tommy. He is sure it's his fault if Karl is here now.

• Dream can't help smiling when he sees the little party there. Especially when he sees his best friend Tommy. He tries to get closer.

• "I'm gonna kill you man. What the hell-" Sapnap punches Dream away. The anger and the resentment spread all over his body. They didn't deserve so much pain. Maybe the server will be a peaceful place without him. "You killed Tommy and then you gave Quackity the book- you"

• Karl stops him, defending Dream. "Sapnap, please. He didn't give them the book. I was the one who did".

• Everyone hold their breathe. What? Why? Wasn't it burned? How did you...

• "We need to get him out"

• Tommy grifts his teeth: "No way he is coming with us". He tries to grab his sword trembling and gagging, but it's too much. He can't... that place...

• Dream steps away. "Oh, you came to kill me" he whispers. "Do it. I'll be dead by tomorrow anyway"

• "You can't die yet!" Karl screams.

• "C'mon, Karl-"

• Dream smiles. "Don't forget who you are, Karl. And don't stray from the path. The SMP needs you more than you know" (= Dream is the one who leaves Karl notes about time travelling in the In Between :])

• "We don't have much time, guys"

• "Yeah, Tommy you don't have much time. Are you going to kill me? Or are you too afraid?" Dream starts teasing Tommy. "I bet you can't do it, right? You're too weak. And down deep you know you love me. We are best friends after all, aren't we?"

• Tommy doesn't react. He is as pale as a ghost, his eyes wide open.

• Tubbo steps in. He can't look at Tommy like this. He hates Dream so much. "Stay away from him". Looking back at his life, Dream has always been responsible for the bad things happened to him. The discs, L'Manburg, Tommy's exile, his death...

• Dream raises his eyebrows. "Tubbo, how's Ranboo?"

• It happens in a moment. Tubbo just loses control and kills Dream. Don't worry Dream's stans he'll come back one day. Bigger plans for that greenboy.

10. Resurrection

• They all run away.

• That same night Jschlatt is publicly revived. "¿Por dónde empezamos?"

• Quackity, Sam and Connor stay behind him.

• "Tonight our country has faced a loss. Four intruders entered the Pandora's Vault, killed Dream and helped the prisoner Karl Jacobs escape. Sapnap, Tubbo, Tommy and Ghostbur are now officially wanted. Dead or alive."

End of the season? Maybe?

How does the server react?

• Tommy, Tubbo, Sapnap, Ghostbur and Karl are criminals. They become nomads for a while. Samnook gives them an hand.

• Tommy keeps thinking about what Tubbo did. They really didn't talk about it after the break-out. Tubbo just pretends nothing happened.

• Karl and Sapnap aren't talking neither. And when they do they fight.

• The only happy one seems to be Ghostbur, who is excited to be on a vacation with the boys.

• Dream's ghost (Specdream? Nightmare?) appears to Ranboo, who is alone in a self-exile because he doesn't want to hurt anyone. Dream's ghost would be much more like Clay, so he won't be that dangerous like c/Dream (cfr. Ghostbur and Wilbur). But still it would be insane to see those two hanging out.

• Jschlatt and Quackity open their Casino, helped by Jack, who sells the hotel.

• After Dream's death and the destruction of Kinoko Kingdom, George takes Quackity's side. He is sure Sapnap killed Dream and he doesn't know how to feel about it...

• Philza, Techno, Eret and Niki, wanting Wilbur's return, will do the same (they need Ghostbur btw). Techno in particular will hunt the fugitives.

• Puffy and Fundy, contrary to them, will try to find Ranboo and the others in order to stop Jschlatt and Quackity.

• Wilbur and Dream meanwhile are having so much fun in the afterlife.

Even if solitaire is not chess

[defunctblogtobedeleted]

10/10/19 12:51am - Andi 1/?

I think the only place to start with Andi is by clarifying that when we met, neither of us were really interested in looking for a relationship.

Andi had just gotten out of a 3(?) year relationship, and had had to deal with some funkiness with him over the course of the breakup. I was finally satisfied doing me, and was over the whole post-kailey-breakup self-image-crisis.

So when Andi and I texted after our hookup (not that I’ve re-read those yet), one of the biggest reiterations she’d always state was that she wasn’t really trying to get into a relationship again and that she was trying to explore and whatnot.

I thought that was wonderful. Not only does it appeal to my natural inclinations towards non-monogamy, but it also helped me fetishize her as a female-me. Of COURSE I relate to wanting to slut it up after a big breakup. That’s exactly how I’d reacted too. Unfortunately, Andi also had to deal with a bunch of depression issues, and a lot of them seemed to revolve around dissatisfaction or anxiety about work, not being able to wake up on time, a ~40 minute commute, and it all really just felt like exactly how I was feeling when I was living on smith street and trying to wake up to do the commute from chapel hill to cary. She was a cutey and I thought I could give her my support so that she could make it through better than I did with the whole starvation self image crisis thing.

But that’s a bunch of nonsense and really started cultivating over time. Initially we first met up at my place and had a lot of raucous sex. Although I mostly only remember that day from Ash’s relations to how loud I got Andi to moan, I’m pretty sure I cooked spaghetti, and we laid around in bed watching anime. I’m pretty sure because of her salacious nature I’d shown her Food Wars?

Andi started to come out with us on our Mimosa Sunday boxcar excursions, and often times it would be me her and jared hanging out playing games. We’d set out to beat one game a day like The Simpsons, or House of the Dead 2. Andi and I would play a little guitar hero together. It was nice.

I’m pretty sure the second date we went on was for me to go over to her place. I met her cute little doggo Maya. I fawned over her video game collection. Right as I walked in the door I found a larger stack of SNES games than my grandma had, and she had way better games than I’d gotten to play as a kid -  Super Mario RPG, Mega Man X, Donkey Kong Country. I fucking LOVE super nintendo so that instantly won a lot of points with me lol. Since I’d shown her some of my favorite things she showed me some of hers. We ordered italian food from her favorite place, almadinna’s, which was nothing special and fairly greasy, but she insisted on paying for dinner and it felt cute to be treated like a date. She showed me her favorite youtube/podcast creators, the McElroy brothers, and we definitely watched a lot of Monster Maker videos that first night. I remember not being able to sleep after we fucked that night and staying up all night watching those videos until I was just laughing hysterically. Part of me didn’t really get it at first, but there was something attractive there and so I kept myself watching. Maybe partially due to the sleep deprivation or maybe as I got familiar with the way they’d interact with each other, it just finally clicked and I laughed my ass off. 

So I was a fan. I was a fan of her, I was a fan of the sex, I was a fan of the way we’d laugh about things and share each other’s stuff, and like many times before I was excited to be sharing some of my favorite things with someone who was like-minded enough to have similar favorite things, but who actually had some of the nerdy background so that I didn’t have to go showing them rick and morty for the 80th time or something. I definitely burnt myself out on that lol.

But like we’d said, we weren’t really looking for something serious. In fact, Andi was hardly looking for company at all. She was more of a solitary creature, and was often at her happiest playing single player games and hanging out with her dog. I kinda related at the time, I was in the throes of streaming and occasionally she’d come towards the end of a pokemon run and hang out. I actually convinced her to get back into streaming, as she’d quit due to some feelings of low self-worth and I told her that she just needed to do it if it made her happy. I loved scratching out some emotes in MS paint and trying to develop my dinky little fanbase of oddball children and playing with my discord server and shit. It was also kind of fun imagining what it would be like to make it big and getting to quit work, but not like seriously lol. Not like I’d seriously imagined how maybe I could get good enough at league to drop out of school lmfao.

Sorry, mental detour aside, basically I saw that she was just another Chansey like Rachel. And I didn’t want to give her a chance to run away by trying to bait her or throw a ball too early. I figured the strat would be to just try to hang out with her when I could, and enjoy the time we’d spend together, and that’d be enough for me. Because that’s all I really wanted, fuck the whole monogamous let’s spend every day together kind of thing anyway.

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Remnant: From the Ashes Is A Brutal And Unforgiving Co-Op Adventure

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/remnant-from-the-ashes-is-a-brutal-and-unforgiving-co-op-adventure/

Remnant: From the Ashes Is A Brutal And Unforgiving Co-Op Adventure

Ever since the Gunfire Games’ Darksiders franchise was established, fans have been clamoring for an online co-op adventure featuring all four horsemen in the same game, and three entries later we’re all still waiting. Fortunately, Remnant: From the Ashes, a new action-adventure romp from the same developers, has a lot of what fans were looking for in its online co-op setting, including a unique take on the post-apocalypse.From what developers have told me thus far, Remnant is not connected to Darksiders in any way but you could have fooled me. The setting here is several decades after the fall of traditional civilization and you take on the role of a survivor that knows no life other than one of suffering and scraping by to stay alive. Much like its contemporaries such as The Division 2, Destiny 2, and even Diablo 3, Remnant has a heavy focus on action-packed replayable content that’s primarily built around co-op play while dishing out steady streams of new loot and gear. (Check out our new 19-minute gameplay video below!)

But in the case of Remnant, a huge chunk of what you replay will actually be different thanks to its robust procedural generation and randomization engines. Once you start up a mission the map is set in stone, but if you die or leave and come back enemy spawn points will be totally different. The developers describe to me a sort of “AI Conductor” that works behind the scenes to decide which enemies spawn where, what they do, how hard they are to kill, and which pieces of loot they drop. Not only that, but it’s dynamic. That means if the enemy holds you up at a nasty choke point or identifies your team struggling, they can crank up the heat to put even more pressure on you. If that sounds similar to the ill-fated Hellgate: London, it’s not a coincidence. One of the lead developers told me that was very specifically an inspiration.

My Remnant demo was split into two parts: offline single-player and online co-op. Even though the game is clearly being designed around the promise of playing online with other people it’s entirely playable solo as well. You don’t even need to be connected to the server at all to enjoy it as a single-player game, in fact. What struck me immediately about Remnant, which will be released for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 20 for $40, is just how deliberate and heavy the controls felt. Pressing attack without aiming triggers a melee attack, such as the tanky character’s hefty hammer, which is great for wiping up small, weak enemies without wasting ammo. As a contrast to fast-paced twitch-based gameplay that feels like a new standard across several genres, Remnant feels like it was designed to make you feel the cumbersome weight of each movement and attack. Dodge rolls take time and precision to use well, with noticeable recovery times after each movement. Even firing shots from weapons has serious punch that makes each gun feel distinct and powerful. All that’s not to say it feels clunky at all, but you certainly won’t have the illusion that you’re controlling some freak action hero that moves weightlessly through the world.

Your loadout consists of two guns that can be swapped at will and a melee weapon, as well as an assortment of other gear like a helmet, armor piece, trinkets such as rings, and other expected bits and bobs. Each weapon also gets a mod attached to it, which can have a dramatic effect on gameplay, such as spouting a healing aura or summoning a flesh-eating bug from inside the earth itself. On top of all this, you level up and spend perk points to further define your stats and abilities. It’s got a satisfying RPG layer over the top, but it’s still primarily a co-op shooter at its heart. I can imagine playing single player in a game like this will be useful for experiencing the story without having to worry about other players rushing through content, or if you want more of a challenge. Approaching a room full of enemies as a solo player is extremely dangerous. Even standard mobs can kill you in a manner of seconds if you’re not careful. Without anyone to watch your back or cover you while you flank, combat can get very intense very quickly.

Once my demo switched to cooperative play, that’s when it felt like things were really clicking. As the tanky character I used a slow and powerful hammer along with a beefy shotgun, aggro-stealing mods that kept enemies off my teammates, and a submachine gun for spraying at medium to close range. One of my teammates packed a powerful sniper rifle and our third buddy was a well-rounded assault type. The one area we explored was a sandy locale featuring small hut-style homes. Near the center of the city was a dungeon, which we were told is created procedurally once it loads up and then enemies are placed randomly each time we reload. And reload we did. It wasn’t easy by any means, but it was well-designed and fun to try without being frustrating. The unpredictability of not knowing where enemies would appear helped keep things fresh even if we were technically replaying the same content a few times over. I think it took us about four tries to finally finish the dungeon, but at the end we got an awesome set of armor that was certainly worth the effort.

Remnant: From the Ashes – July 2019 Screenshots

And that feels like a big part of what Gunfire wants to accomplish with Remnant: a game that’s truly replayable that can offer something fresh every time. All too often looter shooters and action RPGs get bogged down in offering more loot and more gear without making any of it actually valuable. Remnant seems to include fewer gear drops overall, but the quality of each piece of loot is, as a whole, usually much higher. That feels like a good balance for a game this unforgiving.

David Jangeaux is a contributor to IGN. Talk games with him on Twitter at @David_Jagneaux.

Source : IGN