#(hellblade thoughts)

[metalheadmlm]

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

This game will stick with me forever…

The game company that made this game got mental health professionals to help them make the game realistic to psychosis and show how it could look like from the persons point of view. Which is why I like it so much. They killed it with making it realistic and dramatic which most company’s don’t give a shit about. PREACH TO NINJA THEORY! Plus, the combat is easy and I’m not much of a hard combat in games person. Which is great because I only cared about the story

There’s a button on the main screen of the game that shows how they implemented psychosis elements into it if you didn’t know that and are curious about it or google it I guess but i don’t know what will pop up. <3

(it’s also in my blog header image thingy bc I got problems)

[stuff-of-legends]

Metaphor: Refantazio prologue demo thoughts

Metaphor Refantiazio's demo is great and ill pick up the main game after i beat my current load- mgsv, jedi survivor and hellblade.

However it does give deja vu to Persona in the archetypes system and how its awakened.

I do like the scholar More and Academia over the velvet room attendants. They fill the same role but More feels more tied to the main story than the velvet room often does in the recent games (P3-P5).

[locus-v]

18+ Community Discord Server's back.

Fairly small atm, come and check us out, or don't, nobody lasts either way :^)

[stankycowboy]

“were you watching me?”

Oh yes, he had been watching vigilantly. Her every motion captivating his sense. It was not often he was allowed to be around the more ritualistic practices of herself or her kin, but he found them truly fascinating as an outsider. Whether it was the turbid, heady herbal smoke getting to him, or the summoned magicks he could feel crackling like fireworks in the air surrounding; Severen felt nearly hypnotized. His vision felt divided, in one sight he could see her, pale skin bearing runic markings in ash and blood, in the other she was wolven, teeth bared, fur on end. An electric tingle hummed off his skin, he felt like he could step completely out of himself, out of this mortal trapping--- and wanted to desperately. He wanted to meet her there, where she was, wherever that may be. Whether under his own power, or simply having been drawn together by intangible force, he finds himself before the goddess. Mixed within the scents of the forest---more than trees---is her. He can sense the interweaving of the two; her connection to the world itself. His hand lifts to hover over a bare shoulder, there is a pressure, a power radiating off her pallid skin, it threatens to decimate him--could do so with ease. She raises her own to press his hand down to touch her. A jolt of energy cripples his arm, making him grunt reflexively. It is not pain, not quite, but he struggles to define it as anything but overwhelming force.

He is rooted to the spot. Unable to move away, not wanting to either, he tries to focus on her face, on her eyes, the only part of her that remains stable in view, but it feels like staring into the sun, so bright, so vibrant is the gold incandescence radiating around her pupil. Severen feels one of her fingers press into his forehead, dragging into a pattern he cannot picture based on the movement, nor is he mentally capable of keeping it in mind, far too distracted by the whole of her. Pine, ash, blood, his lips part, audibly inhaling through his mouth in pants, the only way he is able to get enough air to breath. The tastes are so keen on his tongue it is like he is consuming the wild itself. Her fingers scrape along the back of his skull, the sensation makes him weak, as if she had bludgeoned him. Binding his hair betwixt her knuckles, she presses his forehead to hers, their breath shared, his mouth thirsting for hers. Against his chest he can feel hers heave into him, the press of her skin unsatisfactory unless there is no space between them at all.

In his ears rings a faint chanting. Words spoken in inhuman voices. There is no central origin, it is from all places, it disrupts any cohesive thought he could have. Severen is no longer inside his own mind. He is outside of the world, or rather, so integrated a part of it he is inseparate. The press of her teeth into his bottom lip is a luxurious pain, his tongue seeks her upper lip, tasting a hint of his own blood as he pleads for her kiss. She grants his request, passing his inadequate taste into his own mouth. Severen moans regardless, at the feel of her, despite being teased by a flavor so disinteresting. Lira spears her tongue against one of his sharpened teeth (had he filed them, he couldn't recall), and a blossom of ambrosia ignites in his mouth like liquid fire. The hand once woven to her shoulder comes away---a ripping sound like roots being torn from the earth---to wrap around the small of her back, shoving her tight to his body. They clasp each other's faces close, mouths moving greedily, the flavors of the two mixed within their hungry kisses. There is more here than consumption, this passion one the blood drinker has known only for her. It is nothing of hunger, that is a drive he knows all too well; this is a unique lust, of her, for her. There is no proximity besides this, bound together, that is close enough. Her nails dig into his scalp, he delights in her possessiveness, truly desiring to be claimed by her, having his feelings reciprocated in violent delight. He braces the back of her neck, hand smudged grey, sticking in the still wet symbols, though somehow unable to mar their shape. Lira's left hand scrapes at his chin, dragging down the length of his neck leaving welted marks that make him snarl and buck against her, daring to ask for more; even if that may tear him apart. Anything to be ensnared by the eternal one. Between them she braces her palm against his heart, pressing upon his chest. There is a feeling of heat, a sear, like she is melting away his flesh, he can feel her lithe fingers curling around his now pounding organ, warming it, making him gasp, splutter at suddenly feeling a burning vivacity in a place he had not felt it kindled in decades, a century.

Severen gasps to full attention with a jolt. His blue eyes roll madly as he tries to place where he is, what is happening around him. All is calm, all is peaceful. He sits, legs crossed, stripped down to simple leather trousers in a dark clearing of the brooding woods he has come to think of as the heart of the earth. His breath comes in heaving swells, as if he had been holding it for some time. He cannot quite remember the precursory events that led to him being here, but gradually stills when he settles on the familiar shape of Lira before him. There is a smile on her face that is hard to read. It seems almost teasing, as if there is a joke she knows and has not told him. It settles his rapid pulse, brings him back into himself, allowing him the presence of mind to wonder: had he been dreaming? The scent on the wind is of smoke, but it is wood fire and since extinguished. Nothing there of spice, only pleasant, residual odor. There is no sound present other than bird call, the rustle of small woodland creatures carrying about their ways.

Severen looks a question at the mysterious woman across from him, but she simply closes her eyes, retreating back into whatever meditation he had disturbed her from. With a grin of his own, he crawls over on hands and knees and plants a kiss upon her high cheekbone, sitting back down beside her. Without looking she reaches out and the two interlace their fingers, disappearing once more into the true depths of the forest; to what lingered there in the long shadows of the trees.

[metalheadmlm]

My favorite game ever

I know much wisdom, I see deep in the future, all the way to Ragnarök, a dark day for the gods…

[can-of-pringles]

Hellblade 2 came out yesterday?! And it's already on Gamepass??

[demekii]

A bunch of Hellblade sketches because I’ve thought of nothing else for the past few weeks

[juniusgirl]

I am, as a rule, Very Bad at video games. Didn't play them much growing up, game logic is something that does not come naturally to me, i often have a hard time remembering buttons and controlling both movement and camera simultaneously.

But i like games as like, an art form. I especially love watching essays about them, because then i can get all the sweet art analysis without having to frustrate myself. So of course i watch a lot of Jacob Geller videos. And a lot of the time i get just that out of them; all the analysis without having to deal with the frustration (i would not, for instance, be able to play returnal for a multitude of reasons, but i love the concept). Sometimes, however, he will talk about a game and i'll say "that actually sounds very interesting and doable to me", and given my forgetfulness, i will write down the name of the game or tell it to my husband and eventually i might play it, and given my forgetfulness, i won't usually remember any spoilers.

So i was excited, as usual, to watch the most recent Jacob Geller video. But quite quickly, it brought up a game i was actually planning on playing--Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. I saw a trailer for it years ago, perhaps my husband even showed it to me to say "looks like your kinda thing" and i was like "it really does", and my husband bookmarked it and bought it when it was on sale, and it's been waiting for me. But i was scared to play it, because i am Very Bad at video games, and it looked so interesting, and i was worried i was going to ruin it for myself by being so disasterously bad at such basic tasks as walking and looking where i was going and getting frustrated and giving up and feeling like an idiot and a failure for letting something that's supposed to be fun defeat me because i'm stupid and and and.

But i started the Geller video, and the game was almost immediately mentioned, and i thought "actually i can't get spoiled for this one. I will actually remember this time because this one has actually been on my mind and i have actually wanted to play it for so long that i have to experience it in my own way before i have someone else's interpretation."

So i told my husband that i have to play it soon. And he waited a day or two for me to say i was ready. Then he decided i needed a nudge (i did), and set it up for me, sat me down, handed me the controller, and said good luck.

I made my way through the first bit. I handled everything better than i thought i would, only died three or four times (only one of those a non-combat idiocy issue) before he wandered back in to check up on me.

He sat and watched as i got to my first boss fight, and while i struggled a few times, i beat it around my fourth try, and he seemed genuinely impressed. Said by that fourth try he actually saw skill and timing instead of my usual panicked button-mashing.

I dunno how much of that was just hype-up or sincere pride, but either way it made me feel good. I have always been so bad at games, and most people i've tried to play with were merciless about my ineptitude, it's just so nice to have that encouragement for something challenging instead of being shamed. I think that might have been the first time i ever felt good about accomplishing something; the first time i ever did something i found really difficult and then was excited to keep going instead of just being relieved it was over. All because of a few positive words.

Idk what the point of this little anecdote was. Maybe i just wanted to document something positive that happened because life's been really, really shitty lately. But there might be a lesson in there somewhere.

[brynnmclean]

May 30 past!me would not believe that I have 22k in a fic WIP, but some of these thoughts have absolutely made it in here and that's fun to see

saw a post questioning shipping Senua and Thórgestr and started to reblog it with a tag novel-- felt weird about doing that since this is lengthy and potentially derailing, so making my own post instead. Spitballing under the cut:

First off, any time someone is like, "the real reason people ship this is because they find the dude attractive," this is SO funny to me as someone who doesn't find men attractive IRL and has fiercely loved Senua since I played the first game, like-- actually I find the dynamic between those two characters to be compelling and interesting precisely because of all the baggage between them re: their backgrounds, the rough (put mildly!) beginning of their relationship, all the things they don't talk about, and them finding a common enemy/common ground to work with. The explicit parallels between them stated in-game scratched an itch in my brain. The minute they pointed out the dark rot on his arm, it was like, "oh! hello there! NOW I'm interested in whatever your whole deal is" for me. Also, idk man, I too would follow Senua around after she knocked me into the dirt and then showed me a way to fight the giants that I very much wanted to fight instead of appease.

The idea that Thórgestr was part of the Orkney Raid that killed and mutilated Dillion is VERY interesting food for thought, even if I don't personally have that headcanon (surely there are more viking raiding groups than just the Bjorg). I think the Furies or the Shadow said something similar about Fargrimr (his kin murdered yours, you shouldn't save him, etc.) so I completely get that line of thought, but I think the game left it ambiguous enough that it's up for interpretation. Would I read fic with that premise? Yeah, I'd check that out. Could Senua forgive Thorgestr if his people were involved? Sounds fun to explore.

If (ha, when?) I write fic, I'd have to think more about it especially wrt timelines, like when did the Bjorg start specifically raiding for slaves for giant food sacrifices vs. killing people for resources and wealth? How far off are we from the old gods "dying" and the volcano erupting? Was it indeed a different group of raiders who made a deal with Zynbel, attacked Senua's home, and made the sacrifice at that time to Hela?

At the very least, I think there's a time jump between the end of Hellblade I and the beginning of Hellblade II since Senua wasn't alone on that slave ship and at least one of the (brief) survivors knew her by name. I wouldn't mind exploring that gap of time, too.

In any case I do agree that it would take a VERY long time for Senua to consciously catch feelings for anyone let alone Thorgestr with all their collective baggage. The idea of them having a relationship beyond friendship in the far off future of an AU where he survives is the only one that can make sense in my brain, personally. It would take time! Time they didn't get in the game! But I think there are a lot of different roads that could take, and some of them might be healthier than others. Shipping them certainly isn't forgetting or excusing what happened to Dillion-- or even mutually exclusive from still shipping Senua and Dillion. Or, frankly, also shipping Senua and Astridr, because I can see that ship too.

One of the nice things about all the details Ninja Theory didn't expand upon and that they left that ending so open is that the sky's the limit. I'm VERY interested in seeing fandom tackle this game as we get farther from the initial release.

[culttonotfollow]

Why I love “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice” so much

So as I stated, I'm writing a post about my experience with this game and why I think it's as good as it is, including my favourite aspects of it. To this day it's my favourite game and one of the few I've managed to 100% complete.

This post is going to include spoilers. Do not read if you do not want spoilers.

Disclaimer out of the way, I actually want to start by saying that before this game was recommended to me by a friend (thank you, Markus- shout out to you), I had no idea what it was about other than the fact that it dealt in some way with mental health. I mostly forgot about it until I saw it on sale sometime in October (it might have been the Halloween sale), at which point I made the decision to purchase it.

To begin with, the visuals are stunning—beautiful and terrifying at the same time. And just to get mechanics out of the way so I can ramble about the story and the way it made me feel—some of the puzzles are challenging at first, but they are so rewarding after you figure them out that I almost didn't mind the difficulty. The fighting feels almost perfect, particularly with the autobalancing option.

The premise of the game is that Senua, a Celtic warrior with severe mental illness, sets out on a journey to the homeland of the Northmen after discovering what had happened to her lover, planning to enter Helheilm, the mythological land of the dead, or what would be considered hell, and retrieving his soul through bargaining with Hela (or Hel, as she's more commonly known). Throughout the entire game- with the exception of a segment in the story- she wears his skull on her belt, wrapped in a cloth.

The Game uses sound to mess with you??

The game throws you right in with whispers bouncing all around your head (even during the menu when you first open the game)- I will never not applaud Ninja Theory for their choice of using binaural sound (here is an article by Splice on what it is), otherwise it wouldn't be what it is. This is one of the few experiences where the classic "Best experienced with headphones" recommendation should be taken seriously.

As you paddle past, well, burnt, staked and hung corpses that don't make it less tense either, the voices get progressively louder and more erratic until you don't know how many there are anymore or where they're coming from, urging Senua to turn back or calling her a coward in many different ways- with the exception of a few, who actually argue with the others and encourage Senua to push on.

There have been moments when the voices stopped for a little while, but by the time I realized there was nothing in the background anymore except for my own racing thoughts, I was already somewhat uneasy.

To add on to that, one of the trials Senua goes through relies solely on intuition an hearing to get throught the darkness safely, with an extremely limited field of view. I can safely say that was when I was most terrified and hyperfocused in my 12 hours of gameplay. I have to admit after my first run I went to bed and the whispers were still there because of how much I was hearing them the past several hours.

Mindfuckery taken to the next level

I spent the majority of the game in awe, watching the story unfold in front of my eyes. A lot of games or franchises, in my opinion, struggle to make their characters feel human, but Hellblade managed to do it. Even equipped with a sword, I felt vurnelable at all times, the game does a great job at causing anxiety even during the most mundane moments.

There isn't a combat tutorial of any kind; you have to either figure out the "guide" is in the menu, or keep failing the first battle until you figure it out. The game actually only gives you a single prompt in regards to combat: Each time you fail (die), the rot on Senua's arm spreads, and when it reaches her head all progress is lost. This alone made me so much more conscious of every move I was making for over half the game, until I learned the truth.

It's not an actual mechanic, it's only put in place as a warning to add another thick layer of tension to every other already existing, anxiety inducing element of the game, and further enforce the game's primary goal of distorting your perception: what's real and what's not, what/who can you actually trust, what is the truth? It brought me anxiety to the point where it was borderline uncomfortable, and that's exactly why I loved it so much.

I spent the majority of this game in awe, just watching the story unfold. Every twist or reveal felt like a gut punch (in the best way I could mean this), and it made Senua (the girl you play as) feel human, something not a lot of games can do properly in my opinion. This game uses everything in its arsenal to create a truly dreadful experience: visuals, audio, light, combat, etc. without abusing jumpscares or scary monsters (although fighting Fenrir scared the ever loving hell out of me, but so did dealing with him in general). Rather, it capitalizes on its strongest suit: the childlike fear of what lies in the dark- what might occur if the dark really does take control.

The ending made me question my entire purpose (sort of)

It's going to sound weird, or insane, but the ending changed me as a person I think. It made me seriously reconsider some major things in my life, and take a moment to appreciate some others. It's both some sort of psychological torture or terror and an enlightening experience. It brought me to tears and left me completely speechless for what felt- and actually was- hours.

In its own very special and well done way, it's not strictly a game about a girl that's gone mad, or a quest about retrieving a soul, but it sucessfully and sensibly touches upon themes of grief, loss, and folklore. I can safely say I've never been more immersed or touched by a game on every single level. There are tens of memorable moments that I think back on, and I can't believe I got through every single one of these.

The ending took a twist for me. It was far from what I expected, but I think that's what made me as satisfied as it did- and yet it left me wanting even more. Which is why I'm so incredibly pumped for when the sequel comes out. Despite warning about spoilers, I won't actually say how it ended. I'll let whoever reads this discover for themselves one way or another.

Conclusion?

I recommend this game with my whole heart to whoever can handle these kinds of topics. It's beautiful, the story is heartbreaking, the gameplay is fun, and the visuals are beyond gorgerous.

[hrodvitnon]

Out of curiousity, did the events of Legacy of Monsters happen in some form in the AbraxasVerse?

Hoping you're doing OK, Hrod!

Honestly haven't given too much thought to it, but for now I'll say, "to some extent." That aside, doing okay! Just beat Hellblade 2, creative juices are flourishing in other ways, and in time maybe I'll be able to whip up something regarding AbraxasVerse! Just need to give that section of the brain a good coma till it's good and ready to wake back up. and fulfill a promise. damn it, brainrot.

[darkfictionjude]

Jude, there's a game called Hellblade in which the main character has a type of schizophrenia and has psychotic episodes, where she ends up hearing voices that tell her what she should do or even talk to her. Could this also be based on Mc having The Voice in his head?

No I've never heard of it but I searched it up and it sounds very good

MC's hallucinations and psychosis is based more on my love of psychological horror and my need to have an MC who is icredibly mentally ill as I feel if you take away the fits of rage they have, the would still have anxiety attacks and hallucinations

I noticed in 80s-90s slasher films that the MC seems to have very little explored trauma and I found it unbelievable so I thought "hey why not make a protagonist who's already fucked up before the murder even starts?"

[joannes-journal]

2 Corinthians 11:14 - Entry #4

CW: Bible Quote, Paranoia, Sleep Deprived MOD w/ Grammarly as Beta Reader

=+=+=+=+=

"And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."

.

.

.

There's an unresponsive pseudo-god sitting in a blanket nest in the living room. That's not a sentence I ever thought I'd write. Observer overexerted himself last night to banish Smoke from the premises. Jester, who I forgot had turned into a rabbit, pulled himself from under the couch and was covered in sentient dust bunnies.

Fritz, someone I hadn't seen in a couple of days, teleported into the room, wondering what happened to the door. Right, I may or may not have blasted it off its hinges with my shot gun. Within minutes he disappeared and came back with a stolen door. Xia piped up, wanting to paint it. I remember when Dakota snuck into a scrap yard and came back with an old box TV for Trinity to paint (she painted eyeballs on them).

Xia immediately wanted to paint the door, but, according to Evan, there was no paint in the house. I looked away for a second (a second!), and Xia had manifested paint cans. Right, she's a god. Evan complained about painting over top of his hardwood floors (fair enough), and Xia manifested a tarp. The entire time, Evan was having a conniption.

"We don't have paint, Z," Evan explained he could get some for her, but before he could finish the sentence, paint cans manifested on the floor. When Evan complained about his hardwood floors, a tarp showed up. He was speechless as Xia and Frost gaslit him into thinking the paint and tarp had always been there. I got a chuckle out of it, but I was still hurting. She wanted to drink the paint, but Evan wouldn't let her.

We all started to get settled, trying to forget everything that happened. Jester mentioned something about being able to turn others into animals. I perked up.

"Can you turn me into a mantis shrimp? I wanna see more colors!" I started shaking with excitement, pulling up a picture and showing him. After some back-and-forth banter, I felt a woosh of air and was in a fish tank. I couldn't describe the new colors I was seeing, but I learned something. As a mantis shrimp, I think I was able to see possession. Evan had a purple aura around him, while Xia had a greyish/black aura...didn't we banish Smoke?

Static filled my vision. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something outside the window. I didn't know what it was, but it frightened me bad enough to want to not be a shrimp anymore. I called to Jester, demanding he turn me back into a human. And he did. I sat on the couch and glanced at the window. My head started hurting, and my nub started throbbing. What the fuck?

Then everyone got loud.

It was too much for Xia; she had teleported herself and the materials outside. I figured I'd join her; maybe all I needed was fresh air. But in the couple of minutes it took for me to join her-

"SHE'S GONE!" I rushed back into the house, grabbing my grimoire and the hellblade. "HABIT! GET SNIFFING!" He freaked out; everyone sprang into action, following me into the woods. At some point, Jester transformed into a dog. God, that's so cool. I flipped through the grimoire, knowing I had a locator spell somewhere. There it was! The "Quick Locator" spell took more energy due to not needing herbs or spices. Taking a breath, I said the words.

Whispy-gold streams appeared, creating a path into Hollow Grove. I fucking knew it.

We followed the path to the tower, where I knocked until Raven got to us. She was limping and surprised to see me.

"XIA'S MISSING! We need help! You're the one who knows the park the best!" My eyes caught a glimpse of something large, white, and furry behind them. "Is that...DISC0RD? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY RABBIT?"

Raven shifted awkwardly, "Xia?... The little child I'm connected to? Sure...oh yeah. I found it unconscious, so I brought it up to a safer area. Hasn't woken up since."

I heard something in the distance; I must've got here before the others. Frosts' familiar voice echoed amongst the trees, "In my defense, I even told him I wasn't gonna kill him!"

Raven panicked, "Oh no.. No no no no! You are banned from Hollow Grove get the fuck out before I call the police!" Right, Frost and Jester attacked them. I felt a presence behind me.

"LOOK- RAVEN, RIGHT?" It was HABIT. "SOMETHING HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER...FROST IS STAYING. DON'T MAKE ME GET MEAN." The others would be catching up soon. I wondered if Jester was going to stay as a dog or turn back into a human.

Raven knew who HABIT was. I learned that she and Xia were linked in more ways than being able to feel each other's pain. I turned and watched the locator spell dissipate into the air.

"SHIT! The spell wore off. Guys, we're gonna have to stick to HABIT's nose or something until we find her." Raven said something about her coworker doing a check around the park, not knowing if she'd be here. Frost chimed in, assuring Raven that she was with me this time.

I stepped past Raven to get to DISC0RD. My hands went for my necklace, taking it off and placing it around their neck. The wedding rings bounced together, reminding me of when Abaddon and I got married. This was a promise to DISC0RD. A promise that I'd be back for them.

I think this is where I'll end this entry. I'll explain what happens next in the following entry, but I feel I've written en

=+=+=+=+=

[jormofyore]

Mental Illness and TTRPG's

Today's post is a little more serious, and it's something I've wanted to touch upon for years, and that is the inclusion of mental illnesses in TTRPG's. For reference, I have schizoaffective disorder, which is a weird combination of schizophrenia and bipolar type 1, along with ADHD, added onto having a minor in psychology and a lifetime of experienced with this damnable illness.

Last year, I presented at NEPCA, an international pop culture conference, on the representation of schizophrenia in the video game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Might have even got a couple of awards from it, which is pretty cool. That said, I gave some rather strong critiques of the game, and it isn't the first time I have encountered mental illness in media and games; don't get me started on crime shows. The point I want to make is how clumsy games often are when representing mental illness in their medium, especially TTRPG's. Mental illness is too often treated as a blunt weapon when utilized in games, and I'm not entirely sure of why. Maybe it's because of a lack of a understanding, or maybe it's because it's an edgy inclusion, but too often, these illnesses are meant to create a tragic character of some kind or give their purpose meaning. Give wikipedia a glance when listing fictional characters with schizophrenia, and you'll notice quickly how many of them are villains or used as a kind of comic relief. It's a tiresome trope, I assure you.

The main question you should always ask yourself before "giving" a mental illness to a villain or hero is: "why do they need it?" Sure, it may make the fallen paladin feel more authentic to have PTSD, and rightly so, it would be traumatic to make an error that you are unapologetic about that cost everything that defined you. But what is it about psychosis that draws people to give it to their villains and other characters in an effort to flesh them out? What purpose does it provide? What does it add to the character to make them see or hear things or fall into random, serious depressions? Why does it matter? These are just a smattering of questions that are important before deciding to make a character edgy. Once, a couple decades ago when I wasn't properly medicated, I was in a LARP and became afflicted with a Malkavian's Total Insanity. Lucky for me, I was already in the throes of a psychotic break that evening, and got voted for bonus experience points for what everyone thought was some of the best roleplaying they'd ever seen. Hilarious, I know. But recognize that some people's fiction is another persons real life that they often cannot escape before you include that "fiction" in a game. I'll never forget the mess of a book Hero's of Horror was for Pathfinder 1 and their inclusion of various mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, as a penalty inducing trait. A bit embarrassing to see my illness turned into a game mechanic, bro.

I'm not telling anyone not to include mental illness, because games are about exploration and agency. I want people to experiment and play about with what it means for a fictional world to have aspects of seemingly inescapable realities. It may seem funny to include a clown who is told what pranks to do by the voices he hears, thus foiling all kinds of divination magics. But what I am asking is that you just ask yourself a few questions about the purpose of including mental illness in a game before you pursue making it a theme. Be sensitive that it may cause discomfort due to how close to home it is. It's a tricky topic that is potentially going to upset or offend a person you may never expect, so all I ask is to treat the inclusion of these illnesses responsibly.

[cursedwoman1859]

hellblade 2 was good and a lot of the hate it's getting is just people not understanding that not every game has to be for everyone and in fact it's better if they aren't. the pacing could have used some work tho and it didn't feel as focused (ha) as the first also i thought heilung were v underused. but i was so happy seeing my girl senua make friends and find herself and her purpose in the world so 10/10 no notes

[nauticalmyles]

May 21-27, 2024

Pokemon Sleep

New Sleep Styles: Dodrio 1* - Lookout Sleep, Quilava 1* - Arm-Pillow Sleep, Entei 1* - Energy-Storing Sleep, Pikachu 4* - Atop-Belly Sleep, Ninetales 2* - Floaty-Tail Sleep, Magneton 3* - Unlinked Sleep, Typhlosion 1* - Arm-Pillow Sleep

New Befriend: Entei, Shiny Vulpix

New Evolve: Shiny Ninetales

3/3 for Magneton! Unfortunate that it doesn't have a 4*

Got an A for the week. -1 star on duration.

Pokemon GO

Lucky Egg Evo Spree. New Evolutions: Purified Vileplume, Kommo-o, Tangrowth, Shadow Vileplume, Bellibolt, Purified Victreebel, Magmortar, Purified Arcanine, Purified Salamence, Shadow Pidgeotto, Shadow Pidgeot, Shadow Duosion, Purified Prinplup

Stardew Valley

Adjusted a few more mods to my liking. Also basically combined parts of two different mods into one. I was going to add something else to it and release it as a separate mod but the framework I was going to use had a bug specifically with the part I wanted to use.

Started Fall Year 1 on my save.

Realized I had max hearts on like 10 people now but haven't actually seen that many events so I started making a point to open event lookup every day and try to get at least one to trigger.

There's so many that it says are available in the Saloon but never trigger when I go in there. Curious why that is.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2

This gave a nice recap for the first game. Thought it was a bit funny that I feel like I've never heard any of the names mentioned before but that may just be because it's been years since I played the first one.

Only beat the first chapter so far.

This game is great. Both this and the first are definitely not games I think everyone should play but I wish everyone could experience them. Headphones required.