#I have been in a hole playing Baldurs Gate 3 and this was very fun to come back to tho :D

[nocturnalghoul]

URL song tag game

RULES: Spell your url with song titles and then tag as many people as there are letters in your url

was tagged by @ghouletteanon and @swissndewdrop thank you both so much :D

I just did the first song that popped to mind for that letter :)

Nova Baby- the Black Keys

Oceanside- the Decemberists

Cirice- Ghost

Trouble- Cage the Elephant

Unknown/Nth - Hozier

Rabid Animal- Lake Street Dive

Next Door Neighbor Blues- Gary Clark Jr

Alrighty Aphrodite- Peach Pit

Losing my Religion- R.E.M.

Granite- Sleep Token

Hollow Moon- the Crane Wives

Our for Blood- Heart Attack Man

Up the wolves- the Mountain Goats

Last Nite- the Strokes

If anybody wants to do this please consider this me tagging you because I CANNOT think of that many people in general, but also cannot think of somebody who hasnt been tagged

[scaredyspooks]

BG3 Kinktober 2024

Because I'm a perverted conduit that the void speaks through, I'm doing a Baldur's Gate 3 themed kinktober this year on here and AO3. As I publish the fics I'll be updating this list with links to them, and so y'all can gauge your interest here's the list!

Astarion (spawn) - roleplay - what's an innocent magistrate to do when his assistant propositions him when they're staying late at work?

Gale - pegging - growing bored of the wizard's endless accounts of how he and his goddess' bodies once intertwined, you notice there's one pleasure she never showed him.

Shadowheart - sensory depravation - life's greatest pleasures can be found in loss and darkness.

Lae'Zel - leather - peeling the leathers from your lover's body are one of the greatest rewards of battle.

Wyll - chastity - just because he wants to take things slow, doesn't mean you can't torment him a little.

Karlach - temperature play - attempts to cool her down end up having an interesting result.

Minthara - bondage - an interrogation goes south as you try to get to the bottom of the Absolute's cult.

Halsin - olfactophilia - after almost a tenday of not having time to bathe you head to the river, only be blocked off by a large elf.

Mizora - public - shrouded in the cloak of the hells atop a secluded pedestal, only to find it is in fact a stage.

Rolan - electro - someone's ego boost at getting a new tower has him coming out of his shell.

Zevlor - glory hole - the commander and the cleric need a release, things get interesting when the stranger behind the wall ends up being far too familiar.

Ikaron - semi-public - tensions are high in The Hollow, but you think you can help.

Raphael - naked platter - the devil has made a patisserie of you for his guests, though they seem to fade from existence as he grows distracted by the meal he's making of you.

Haarlep - size difference - the succubus is shocked that you want to see their true form, turns out they're a lot bigger than their master.

Rugan - impact play - the Zhentarim seeks to punish you for trying to skip out on your deal, he doesn't get very far.

Gortash - power play - your relationship has always been somewhat of a dance, one that you're determined to lead.

Dammon - edging - the forge's flames illuminate more than the smith realises, but you're happy to "help" once things quieten down.

The Emperor - hypnosis - the ilithid believes he can still get through to you, with one last attempt.

Aradin - hate fuck - your competitor, the thorn in your side, but damn if he doesn't have good stamina.

Abdirak - sado-masochism - two priests of Loviatar aid in each other's prayer.

He Who Was - free use - his ability to travel the shadowcursed lands unhindered has him popping up everywhere, making you pay for his insatiable desires.

Lia - wax play - after the first few drops, it's hard to tell what's blush and what's burn among the giggles in the Elfsong.

Cal - play fighting - a little extra training won't do any harm, though the proximity may prove... challenging.

Gale - findom - what starts as a simple shopping trip to Sorcerous Sundries takes a turn as you drag the wizard to more and more shops.

Astarion (ascended) - biting/marking - your last night as a mortal will be one to remember.

Shadowheart - human furniture - god's favourite princess needs a throne.

Wyll - roleplay - the son of a duke has a duty to mingle at these important events, though it usually shouldn't lead him to a cupboard with a handsome stranger.

Lae'Zel - predator/prey - your heart races, your breathing to quick to catch, and you know the more you sweat the easier it'll be for her to catch you.

Karlach - human ashtray - she's been making fun of you all evening for your drunken confession about her cigars, but once the other's go to bed she's happy to indulge you on the Elfsong's roof garden.

Halsin - breeding - ever the beast of nature, with your perils finally at an end he lets himself run loose with you and you realise it’s going to be a long night until he’s done filling you.

Minthara - body worship - the drow isn't keen onbeing nursed after but with injuries so severe you need to make sure she's alright.

[zhemariart]

More Tav for @tav-dex?? More Tav for tav-dex uvu

Cascius is my... experiment child, so to say. The fun about making ocs and playing around with stories for oneself, is being able to change certain aspects of canon if wanting to explore something different C:

Full ramblings and ref under the cut~

Cascius is the older brother of Therai and Alaine, and while all 3 are adopted from different families, then they all came from the same village and share the same history.

Most of his childhood was happy and largely uneventful. Looked up to one of the bigger kids, flipped back and forth between looking after and teasing the smaller kids.

Shit went to hell one night, when he woke up to the village aflame and people getting murdered, including his own parents. He is the one with more vivid memories of that night -screams, flames, smoke... that one kid he looked up to hauling him into a hole for hiding and demanding he stayed hidden, then he never saw that older kid again as he vanished in the flames.

He was adopted and raised by the couple Zailar and Adroushan, alongside Therai and Alaine.

His teen years were full of turmoil as he struggled with finding his path following what had happened, even moreso because there were no answers to who had taken everything away and why. As he grew up and tried to find his path in life, he was this ).( close to take the Oath of Vengeance after all that happened, but having gained a new supporting family that had countless and countless talks to help him find his way and figure out how he wanted his life to be, he instead took the Oath of Devotion.

Random trivia before we challenge canon hours:

Cascius is the calmest among the siblings, and tried to reel in the other two... they just tag-teamed on him instead :B

Rather temperamental during a fight, it's easy to see a lot of his training was done with his Barbarian dad... and if his path had gone just a bit differently, he'd likely have taken the Barbarian path instead.

He ran into Wyll out in the wild shortly after Wyll's banishment from Baldur's Gate. Despite not getting to know the circumstances of why Wyll was banished (due to Wyll not being permitted to say), Cascius was still furious with it as he could feel Wyll was a good kid. He opted to travel with Wyll for some time to make sure Wyll would be good on his own afterwards.

May or may not have silently sworn to be a spiteful thorn in Ulder Ravengard's side if he ever gets the chance. Always gotta follow family tradition of being spiteful to nobles and other title-bearers.

The entire Delmirev family are not religious. All have been through enough shit without ever getting help from the gods, so there's a general "no thanks" attitude among them. Because of this, Cascius has a very complicated relationship with Ilmater, the god that for whatever reason decided to add some extra divine power to Cascius.

Challenge canon hours:

So what if... the Guardian and the Emperor were two separate people?

I never joined Early Access, but I have read a bit about Daisy from it. Read some of people's comments about Daisy compared to the Emperor have forgotten most of it and generally some ideas and wants other people would have liked to see, including some talking about both should have been in the game. Found it intriguing, then I started playing with the idea of "What if the guardian was a separate entity from the Emperor". From there... Cascius story slowly formed.

I will also preface this with I don't see the Emperor as a villain... though I do see them as a dumbass, kthnxbai xD

A series of events tied to that older kid that disappeared in his childhood, resulted in him landing on the nautiloid alongside the others. He does not run into any of them, he is in a different section of it.

During the series of events, he gets a head injury and forgets a chunk of his memories, but far from all.

It's not stated exactly when the Emperor jumps into the prism and opts to stay there. Personally I read it as happening right before/during the crash itself

Prior to the crash, Cascius is among those making it out of his pod. He reaches a point on the nautiloid where he needs to fight mindflayers, does it... the Emperor is the only one where he stops and hesitates, long enough for ~things to happen~. Truce time, the Emperor drags Cascius with him into the prism. An extra hand to fight the honour guard, and a friendly face to talk to the peeps instead of the Emperor needing to conjure something up... can definitely be helpful.

Because of the holes in Cascius' memory, he does recognize his uncle, his siblings, and Wyll, but he don't know why or how exactly he relates to them. Because, funny enough, he don't look like any of them for shit, he does not consider he actually has familial bonds with them. Whenever he appears to the people he knows, he tries to keep the conversations short and not offer them much chance to actually talk.

He agrees the tadpoles need to be wielded, don't agree with consuming more of them

The Emperor has assumed Cascius form in an attempt to encourage the others to consume tadpoles. Cascius has threatened with beating their squishy skull in if they ever do that again.

Xarmir manages to finally confront and reveal their relationship to Cascius when Vlaakith basically gives them the opportunity to enter the prism. This results in Cascius leaving the prism to go help the others outside of it. From here he spends most of his time outside of it, but flipflops a bit back and forth to still help the Emperor inside of it.

After Cascius active exit, the Emperor finds another form to show to the rest of the party, and actively still refuses to admit what they are. Cascius is not amused.

He actively tries to get the Emperor to admit what they are, arguing they would get a lot more trust from the party by telling it on their own, rather than waiting for a moment to get forced to it. He amps up his attempts after the meeting with Omeluum. The Emperor actively refuses. Cascius is still not amused.

Cascius keeps the Emperor's secret because he believes it's for the Emperor to tell, and it'd leave in better standing for the Emperor to tell... of course this then backfires when everything is revealed, and now Cascius also needs to answer for not telling shit. Especially to Lae'zel, because he did well know about Orpheus.

[optiwashere]

Is there any part of baldur's gate 3 that you dislike? I know you enjoy the game, but most fans of the old games I see are very critical and you're one of the few that I've seen that seems to love it.

First of all, this is a very fun question, anon! Thanks 💜

Secondly, you're experiencing illusory correlation when you connect "previous BG fans" to "those that dislike BG3." It's further compounded by the fact that most people only get really loud when they're disappointed/upset, and the people that are happy tend not to post as virulently or constantly about said topic. Millions of people have played BG1/2 and then a good chunk of those folks went on to play BG3, so think about all the people you aren't seeing when you see a post like that.

Anyways, there are things I'm either bleh on, annoyed with, or dislike about BG3. I'm too old to expect perfection.

Some of the things I don't like:

Callbacks to BG1/2 like Sarevok and Viconia, though that is more WotC's fault than Larian's, and this goes double for Abdel Adrian being referenced at all in the game. Those books should have been memory holed.

The uneven nature of all the companions' stories. Some have tons of dialogue, reactivity, and the ability to let the player choose to give the companion the choice of how they handle things, with the player's own choices affecting the companion's decision. Others are in a semi-broken state (Minthara) or feel lacking despite being great characters (Wyll) that deserve those choices.

5E D&D is a bad system down to its bones. Its flaws are openly on display in the game; the only reason that the tactical gameplay feels any good is because Larian is very skilled at crafting memorable, enjoyable encounters and they hacked in a dozen different homebrews and house rules to make the damn thing feel any good. BTW, 2E AD&D was a mess for wildly different reasons and the old real-time w/ pause system is conducive to spamming filler encounters, so it's not as easy as saying "old game better" for me.

The lack of companion banter in Act 3 when compared to the previous acts. Hell, even Act 2 has a fair bit less than Act 1.

The way that some companions feel kinda hollow when you're not actively engaged in their romance. More platonic connection! One of my favorite scenes in the game is the platonic stargazing with Gale. Let me dance with Wyll without it being romantic, let me go on a friendly night on the town with Karlach, let me experience some of these scenes through the lens of friendship. I know that this is probably one of the more time-consuming tasks for the team at large, but it's one that I would love to see some day.

The character creator is lacking in body types, facial structure for various ethnicities, and a truly broad scope of what trans/non-binary bodies can look like. However, I'm incredibly grateful for what we did get and I will take one small step if that means it becomes more and more common in RPGs. I'll fight for more, but I will be happy with what we have in this game.

Is BG3 the bestest, most greatest CRPG of all time? No. Do I love BG3? Yes. Is it my favorite BG game? Ask me that question in ten years.

[milesandmorales]

I'm kind of disappointed about the direction they are going with the new DA game. I guess I just love the old lore of Origins too much - I sort of wish they were implementing some of the old features in there that made it so magical for me.

** I still think having several opening beginnings (whether they be just 20 minutes long or less) was GENIUS and still hasn't been done again. It just makes the replay factor of the game SO good. Especially when that very specific background comes into play at the tail end of the game. It just brings it to a satisfying full circle and ensures you replay the game several times to its completion to see how that other character's story shall end.

Second - I'm not particularly interested in the fade/tearing the veil conflict. It feels very Marvel - there is a big hole in the sky and an outside threat that we don't feel particularly attached to. Given we did make friends with a couple of spirits in Inquisition - but it still feels a little alien.

It lacks that more internal - base conflict like the conflict of Darkspawn - people can turn into one from being tainted. They are a constant threat banging on the doors of Dwarves. The contaminate old Gods - one began to speak in Awakening. It is a disease that affects EVERYONE even if they'd rather ignore it.

I also really enjoyed the politics of the mages and templars - that was very well done as each side has pros and cons. And finding a solution is neither simple or easy.

Third - protagonist - I loved the Grey Wardens as a protagonist because they are essentially the anti-hero - come from any background but their cause is noble. And yet they are also tainted as well - a great twist.

Hawke was an interesting experiment as it was very interesting to live as someone caught in the turmoil going on around them, but not necessarily they center piece. I also really enjoyed the time progressing feature that they introduced - seeing all the characters grow and change through the years.

The Inquisitor is where it starts to decline - none of your original background matter at all. Your race - maybe - but who or what you were before does not matter. Shit - if you believe you're the Herald or not really doesn't matter that much either. It is your character accidentally being the most useful tool. While the growing of your power is cool cinematically - you do not earn it - therefore it does not feel rewarding.

I just hope the new protagonist isn't another character that just happens to be there at the right time - where their backstory has no options and ultimately means nothing. It just feels stale.

Fourth - dialogue - the simplification of it is so unnecessary/annoying. Baldur's Gate 3 showed that people were perfectly fine/content reading lines of dialogue to decide exactly how they wanted to react. Why do we need a vague wheel?

Lastly - The graphics - I'm not terribly upset about. I would play it regardless of how it looked - although I do enjoy the gritty - old look. I do prefer the old combat - it was a lot more fun to experiment with different builds as a mage or as a rogue/thief. As well as controlling your party. Though - I could see past the combat if the story is more compelling.

ALTHOUGH - if the new game does look like your bag of tea - I truly hope that you enjoy it thoroughly. These are just my thoughts and opinions - nothing more.

[deadmomjokes]

Betwixt Christmas gift cash and Steam Family Sharing workaround shenanigans, the husband and I have finally started Baldur's Gate 3.

Went in basically blind except for knowing the names of the companions and the fact that Astarion is a vampire (couldn't miss that cultural osmosis).

We also came in on two different meta-levels as players.

He is very familiar with D&D, D&D-based games, computer games in general, and these sorts of games specifically. He's also that kind of person that plays things on Extreme Difficulty Mode for fun. He quits when something isn't challenging enough. His idea of relaxing, rewarding gameplay is ultra-hard-mode Elden Ring and Dark Souls.

I, on the other hand, am bad at games. Full stop. I have lost Wii Mario Kart to a 6 year old, repeatedly. I get hopelessly lost even when there's detailed maps, trackers, compasses, and flagged waypoints. I also panic in combat situations and have no strategic ability aside from "stand there, hit it, and hope it doesn't move." I'm more of a low-stakes visual novel sort of gamer. Stardew Valley is as intense as I get.

He is playing a Seldarine Drow warlock in a pact with an archfey. She's a noble with a ridiculously high Charisma score, a perfectly balanced spell loadout, and an even more balanced overall stat build. She's DPS without being totally squishy and helpless, and has advantage to almost everything. She also has an impeccable fashion sense and always looks put together, even when on death's door to a brain worm. Or, to put it in a way my husband would loathe, she got that drip.

I am playing a ginger himbo of a high elf fighter with -1 to Charisma and a -1000 to common sense. He's an impulsive maniac with, somehow, a +3 to intimidation despite being a truly gentle soul that believes every sob story he comes across. He's a sweaty, dusty, grubby little feral child (outlander background) with the world's messiest ponytail and greasepaint-turned-eyeliner that a 90s ex emo kid would be proud of. And that's him trying to look presentable. Despite having an impressive dexterity score, my natural disadvantage to dexterity (and Wisdom and Intelligence) as the player makes it so that this man bumbles his way into everything and only gets out by making horrifying threats he has absolutely no intention of following up on, or by being forced to stand his ground and take it on the jaw.

So this was going to be An Experience no matter what. And boy, it sure has been.

Thus far, we have:

Accidentally pacifism'd our way into every Goblin/Absolute aligned settlement we've encountered on the pure luck of husband's choice to play a Drow because he thought it would add an interesting dynamic. That interesting dynamic, he thought, would be difficulty. He thought being a Drow would make it harder because of the general hatred toward them. He's technically good-aligned, but, y'know, planet-of-hats racism means he was expecting it to work against him, which he likes because he likes when things are hard. Only now it's basically a free pass into all the areas we'd normally have to fight or sneak into. Great for our shared pacifist tendencies, but LOL

Lost a full hour of progress because my computer screen is tiny and bad at graphics and I hadn't learned all the controls yet, so while trying to investigate a hole in the floor of an abandoned church I tripped in face-first and got us into an unescapable, imminent-TPK situation, whereupon the game immediately autosaved for the first time since waking up on the beach. We have since learned to spam the quicksave button liberally.

Accepted a ton of mutually exclusive quests, half of which we have no intention of doing, just to try and get out of situations without combat, so now the mini map now looks like a cubist rendition of a simple sun drawing and I'm SO worried it's going to come crashing down and get us shanked in our sleep.

MET BEST BOY DOGGO I WILL DIE FOR SCRATCH 😭

Discovered husband's character is, build wise, a carbon-copy of Wyll. This was 100% unintentional and he's BIG mad about it LOL RIP

Impulsively pushed a button in a crypt without saving and woke up a bunch of skellies we weren't prepared for, but were somehow also saved by that same impulsivity because I had previously run around the entire area and looted every single skeleton no matter how useless it was to my character, so they all woke up without their weapons so HAH take that I TOLD YOU being a klepto would pay off

Immediately after this fortuitous stroke of fate, having learned exactly nothing, my impulsive maniac opened the shiny sarcophagus before consulting anyone or healing. Luckily it wasn't cursed or trapped or full of enemies (it was Withers, and I'm love), but I'm now not allowed to open or interact with anything bigger than a crate without announcing it first so husband has the chance to go NO WAIT LET ME SAVE FIRST

Sneaked into a secret underground passage, whereupon my husband sent his invisible'd familiar around to carefully scout the area, discovering the button that would turn off the overpowered guardian statue. My character then readied a crossbow shot to hit said button, but in trying to move out of the way of the other party members, stepped right into the statue's attack circle. I panicked, tried to move, but couldn't figure out how to unselect the attack I could no longer use, and tried to fix it by pausing. But all of that just resulted in me standing there, doing nothing, until I finally dropped dead. Luckily I passed my saving throws, and more luckily still, my husband managed to stop laughing long enough to eldritch blast the statue to pieces and come get me.

So anyway, we're having the best time. I know we're late to the party, but it really is so good. I may have even teared up a little during the dream sequence with the psychedelic neon light guardian warriors. This is going to consume my brain for the next few months, and I'm happy to have paid for the privilege. 10/10, absolutely deserves that GOTY and the $60 price tag both.

No spoilers please, we're only level 3 and just encountering the Goblin Camp. (We've met everyone but Karlach, I believe.) But rest assured, as we learn and discover more I will come yelling and seeking those who will screech with me. Probably mostly about my new sons that I've acquired, namely the lying purple sadsack trash wizard with some horrifying kind of chronic illness and/or addiction, and the prettiest most specialist murder machine who definitely won't admit it but is definitely gonna need a hug when I finish breaking down those obviously performative emotional walls.

Also, Lae'zel scares me. Please stop yelling at me, you cranky fish woman, I'm trying my best here 😭

[mybg3notebook]

Just wanted to let you know that Gale has several radically different endings depending on the choices you make. The power-mad wizard stereotype that you're concerned about is indeed one possible ending, but it's considered one of the "bad" endings. There are other possible endings that I think you would be happy with. I hope that assuages your concerns enough that you will eventually play the full game and pick up your Gale character analysis series again.

Hello. Thank you for letting me know. Unfortunately, I have a massive disappointment with the game (I finished it already a couple of months ago, but I only felt disdain and playing it to the end was a chore more than fun), specially with act 3, and the several plot holes, lore inconsistencies, and even inconsistencies within the same game (you are told things in Act1 that never are reflected in Act3).

Many of these things removed my intentions in continuing this blog with analysis of lore and characters:

The rush in most quests, specially in Act3

The abandonment of the development of chars except for only one, the favourite of Larian that was never favourite in the community according Larian statistics (during EA and release, it's obvious in the infographics they shared even though they concealed it, lol),

The dumbing down of many quests and stories,

The rewriting of chars in the last moment that, although it makes them better than in EA, they clearly were abandoned mid-way (aka Wyll),

The rewriting of chars and stories that makes them immensely stupid or without sense, like Cazador's (the data mining content around him during EA was several times more interesting and complex than the cartoonish, silly, evil character we had in the final product)

Karlach (amazing char that can't be more rushed in its current state). She also suffers from this “stupidity” oversimplification because having archdruids among our companions (or wizards that may know archwizards) would allow us to deal with her problem in many other ways (but who cares about lore? Larian clearly doesn't),

Halsin, added in the last moment, made resources get split in a char that was not fully developed and feels wasted potential while also taking the place of another that had some kind of work done during EA (Helia) but clearly had to be thrown to the rubbish entirely in order to put Halsin in her place,

The useless and nonsense creation of concepts that were never part of the vast lore of Forgotten Realms and they had no real needs to create them for this plot (aka, the ridiculous crown or the wtf "Karsite" weave),

Mystra herself, presented as a god that can't see the future (who due to her rank she can), so it's very stupid to show her as whimsical as Lolth and command the destruction of one of her Chosen just like that (premature explosion), when she values her Chosen and their utility; after all, her chosen ones have a divine part of herself. She is still a Goddess who sees mortal life in a different lens, but I felt she was presented in the oversimplification of "she is a bitch". All her complexity just thrown to the rubbish, like so many other concepts in this game.

The ridiculous lack of consistency of the character the Emperor with himself by the end of the game in some paths,

The bizarre and unnecessary creation of a lot of lore about Orpheus and a "githyanki resistance" when you always had in the lore the Githzerai,

The lack of any consequences of your character in act 3. For example, drows can be absolutely fine walking around Baldur's Gate, treated as if they were humans, when everyone knows that drows are part of the Absolute lines (even Larian created that piece of lore in Ketheric's room explaining how they were recruiting Drow warriors tired of Lolth). The privileged power that a drow Tav had in the goblin camp in act 1 should have been contrasted with a difficulty to walk through Baldur's Gate. This was even a promised consequence told by Sven in an interview that, clearly, was not implemented.

The general lack of reactivity of the companions to the events in act 3, except for the favourite one.

The cut content (which is immensely richer and more interesting than the oversimplified version of what they left)

The list goes on and on, but you can read the official forums for more details and discussions.

I don't know. Maybe the game should have been "The Dark Urge and The Vampire in Baldur's Gate" alone, and leave it at that, so people who were not interested in those things could buy another game. Honestly, I'm deeply disappointed with the game to the point I decided not to play it again until they do a Definitive Edition, like they had to do with DOS2 (which ALSO had a terrible last act with numberless lose-ends and quests without resolution), and make a decent coherent act3 (hoping they will do it, since in Definitive Edition DOS2 was an improvement but not a fix, truly). Compare Act 1 quality with Act 3, and, at least in my case, I feel a bit scammed.

So far, this blog will remain here, but it will be mostly inactive, since I lost any interest in this game, and now I am playing other things. I feel this game would have been a gem but ended up being too messy for whimsical decisions. The excuse of time and resources are not valid for Larian in this case: after all we were always told that the game was going to be released when it was going to be ready, and we ended up with an EA of a full game, with a lot of valuable cut content, inconsistency lore, inconsistency in characters, and 60% of the act 3 bugged.

I'm sorry for the negativity of this post, I truly wanted to love this game, but felt a deep disappointment that, I hope, a definitive edition of it may fix in the future, eventually.

Thank you again for reading what was done during EA.

@dragonagitator, believe me, part of my disappointment also comes from Larian's deaf ears when it comes to feedback. During EA I sent them a lot of feedback, and it was barely addressed. The only one that I saw was the incorporation of lgbt npcs in the world to see them integrated in Faerun, and not just the isolated (and potential) queer!Tav. Check the official forums and you will see a lot of these feedbacks that were made even in EA, and were not taken care of.

A lot of people warned Larian since EA about making the same mistakes they did in DOS2, of making companions like "beast" (with almost no content), of unbalancing content between Larian's faves and the other companions, and did they care? No. A lot of feedback about Karlach's writing and ending was sent, and what was the solution? None. Karlach stays in her precarious story as usual. The lack of reactivity of companions in act 3 is also a well known feedback. So far, no solutions on that topic either. The list is too long, honestly, and when it comes to lore it's even worse. They sold a game, promoting it to be a thing that is not.

[revoleotion]

Baldurs Gate 3 headcanons?

SO SO MANY

Most of which will be revealed in my newest chapter of "alliance", so [eye emoji] look forward to this!

But here are a few more:

Gale is aroace. He doesn't realize it until he is asked to do "classic" romance activities and wishes he could just disappear

The others once (led by Wyll) plotted to secretly cook so that Gale doesn't have to do it. Gale took it very personally ("it seems like I am not needed here, then"), so they apologized and instead offer to help now

The crew unanimously decided to try and find an artist to commission a portrait of Astarion. The problem is that they all don't talk about it, so Astarion received a never-ending supply of portraits with varying styles (and of various quality)

Wyll has his nipples pierced. He did it to spite his father but now he actually likes them?

Omeluum's special brain wiring that caused it to be independent? Autism.

Balduran used to wear skirts on a regular basis

Shadowheart will get into the hair dye business again post game but this time it will be so many fun colors. I think she will also reunite with her friend (hint hint) and they might even date (if she's not dating anyone else at this point)

Ansur had a human kink and I will not elaborate on this one

Barcus had a crush on Wulbren (ok this is canon, I guess) and he asked him out once. Wulbren pretended not to get it – he's always thought of Barcus of someone lesser than him so it can't possibly have been serious, right?

Funnily enough, once Barcus finally puts his foot down, this might be the first time Wulbren was actually attracted to him. Too bad he had to keep up the facade and threaten him

I will talk more about this in my fanfic but Omeluum and Blurg have a support system that might inspire any other mind flayers who have broken free

Once the heroes leave the city, the dye business is in real danger because they were pretty much the only ones bulk buying that stuff

Balduran played a few instruments as a child but only kept those he could take with him

He once played a song on the piano together with Ansur (four-handedly? Is that the term?). The theme switched back and forth between both of their parts, and every time it happened, Ansur shot him a look and smiled. Balduran only missed a key once.

Ansur is a big fan of forehead kisses. Both giving and receiving them

Wyll sucked at fencing lessons as a kid. It was only when he realized why they were important that he improved... but he got his ass kicked in his early lessons and tournaments

(If he decides to break the pact), Wyll is together with Karlach when it finally happens. He wakes up, an empty hole in his chest where his powers used to be. Karlach knocks against her mechanical heart, just once, and says, "find something to fill it with, then". Wyll smiles a sad little smile. "I think I did. If you want to have me, that is"

[baldursgatethoughts]

Since my first play through of Baldur's Gate 3 I have been reading reddit threads, forum posts, facebook and twitter posts and discussions on the ending of the game.

My thoughts also went to Mass Effect 3 when the absolute lack of closure and meaningful companion ending made me spiral into a dark hole. The choices are broader here, but the emptiness much the same, especially if you didn't go an evil route or did it for the memes. If you cared about your companions and your romance you will get close to nothing at the end. This isn't about not liking the impact of your own choices (even if I see many people affected by the lack of understanding that their choices would have impact on the ending and that you can't both betray everyone, not do sidequests, nor read or listen to dialogues and have happy endings for characters) it's about the game not even showing you those impacts a lot of the time.

We need

Extended dialogues with our companions after the final battle.

If we opt for that celebration they talk about we need to see it, and we need to be able to talk to those who survived.

Your companions shouldn't comment that we'll never see Astarion again if he burns in the sun, especially if he's romanced, wtf.

You should get a final romance scene with your romance worthy of its name, not just three lines and "that'll be fun".

Gale shouldn't show up if dead.

The scene before the final fight is also very strange and doesn't at all convey the gravity in that they seem to have created it as the last time to talk to your companions. The room is overcrowded and the conversations extremely lackluster. We need to make this kiss count because it might be out last, let's give each other a peck on the cheek. Goddamnit Larian!

You need to see the impact of your choices, know how the people who's lives you've changed were affected, and most important of all, get emotional closure with a group of characters you've spent 100-400 hours with.

What do you think?

Did you go a non-evil route and care for the NPC:s of the world and what was your experience of the cutscenes after the final battle?

[soartfullydone]

I finished my first bg3 playthrough and just need to ramble about act 3 things specifically (spoiler-heavy, don't read this)

There's so much about this game that's great. But so much of act 3 made me go from :D to :/ like people were not kidding about how unpolished it feels. There's some positive thoughts here, but there's also a LOT of critique sooo don't read this probably fr fr.

The amount of bugs are egregious in act 3. I normally have a high threshold for bugs in games. They happen. So long as I don't lose gameplay hours over them, I'm pretty fine. But omg, I finally found my threshold. Just so much that distracted and detracted from cutscenes, from character moments, from the immersion of it all. It's hard to praise Larian for showing up the AAA studios when they turn around and actually do much the same as them: rush an unfinished product to launch. BG3 should've been worked on another year at least so the poor devs wouldn't have to go through the crunch time they are as I type this.

Acts 1 and 2 feel very tight and cohesive, act 1 especially (and I swear, act 2 was the shortest, easy, and yes, I did everything), but in act 3, you start to see so many holes, so many quest lines abandoned, rewritten, and unfinished. Quick question: why was Cazador's palace attached to a random guard wall in the Lower City when he's as upper echelon as they come? Oh, because we cut all of the Upper City from the game but still needed to resolve Astarion's storyline? Got it. What was the point of me tracking down the bomb factory in the fireworks shop if there are no repercussions for either destroying it or leaving it alone? Oh, just a reason to connect Rivington to Baldur's Gate, same as the Dribbles quest? Cool.

Speaking of Dribbles, I almost couldn't even finish the damn quest because I stole the clown's hand from the kobald and the game didn't acknowledge it because a cutscene didn't trigger. I had to do the most roundabout series of tests and finally figured out I had to put the hand in a pouch marked as wares, sell the wares to the kobald, steal the pouch back, drop the hand in front of him, and ensure he caught me stealing it.

That being said, there is nothing about the Circus segment itself I would change. Pure confetti all the way down. Enjoyed being turned into a stinky wheel of cheese.

I love love love the Auntie Ethel quest line. The only thing I could've asked for in relation to it is even more fae shit.

On that note, loved Valeria. Loved how Normal a miniature flying elephant detective was.

The Emperor's sex scene? Delightful. So glad I got to experience that through a friend. Can't wait to be a freak like that someday.

The House of Hope was Hot AF. I died at the Haarlep part; it was everything I wanted: a Raphael """romance""", a terrible deal, exhibitionism, companion-wide disapproval, body and mind violation. Honestly, Larian DOES get full points for that. (Now, make it a true possibility with Raphael, cowards. Let me ride that pillow princess.) Can't WAIT to fully go through with this deal someday with a different character because Riven wasn't the one.

The Raphael fight was honestly incredibly fun (the soundtrack lol A+++) and I didn't find it that challenging in Balanced mode. Like, I thought it was going to wreck my shit, but it was easily one of my most favorite parts of the game. Getting to the room to go through with it, however, was a trial and a half.

Act 3 also had two, if not three, of my least favorite quests of the whole game, tbh. And when I say least favorite, I mean they were just plain not fun to play. At all. Top of mind is the Free the Artist quest with the haunted house, which should've been fun but was just an incredible pain in the ass the whole time, and the Iron Throne quest, which I had to do no less than 8 times to get the exact results I wanted because bugs would thwart me at every turn. NPCs not dashing because their pathways were somehow blocked. Characters getting stuck up the ladder, not allowing anyone else to climb it. Having a character physically move to pull a switch to lock a door behind them only to get them permanently stuck on the wrong side of the door. Did I mention this quest was also a timed trial? lol lol

Kept expecting for my betrayal of the Zhentarim in act 1 to have Repercussions when I reached the city, their stomping ground, in act 3. lol lol

With the flood of companion interactions and cutscenes I got in act 1, it's a shame how much those dried up in act 2 and were practically non-existent in act 3. Their personal quest lines are all you have, and once they're over, you'll maybe get one final cutscene and maybe a romantic one and that's it.

Karlach barely feels like she had a real arc. You do a few things to keep her infernal engine from exploding, but then there's nothing more you can do and she resigns herself to death, refusing to go to Avernus. She and Dammon stop interacting, and the game gives you no other avenues to explore besides a confrontation with Gortash that went about as well as I expected. Just dissatisfaction after dissatisfaction with her. Which is a shame because her VA killed it the entire time! The best I could do for her was take her to the House of Hope for a few hours of relief, but not even an archdevil's home has anything more to offer her.

And it's wild because her death scene was super emotional and touching. I was ready to burst into tears until Wyll ran up and begged her to come to Avernus with him, to live. Then, I wanted to cry for another reason! (My Wyll lost his warlock powers but saved his father and became the Blade of Avernus.) This made so much sense to me as an option for Karlach a long time ago, that I was both relieved and frustrated that this was The Solution the whole time.

I gave Karlach the option to choose what she wanted, and she chose to go with him. What has all this been for, then? So much of Karlach's narrative and the tragedy of it hangs on her absolute refusal to return to the place that tortured her so badly just to live—but that turns out to be only solution this whole time? Why couldn't we just go to Avernus and find something that actually helps her then?

Karlach and Wyll got short-changed in many respects to their arcs, which is wild considering all the touchpoints they have with each other. I'm still frustrated that I, not Wyll, had to choose between severing the pact and saving his father. Even though I achieved both, Wyll should've been given the option to make that decision based on how you interacted with him throughout the game, same as every other character gets to make. At least he gets to choose between becoming a city official and the Blade of Avernus. But it's wild that we have two characters here who were used and enslaved by devils, and that's either not really addressed or resolved (Karlach) or it's only passively handled (Wyll).

And god, I loved the final scene with Wyll and Karlach in Avernus! How Karlach accepted that she would live, how she appreciated both the horror and the opportunity that Avernus presented, and how she wasn't alone anymore. I loved how confident she gets, assuming the role of the experienced expert/hunter in this place. And then Wyll. Who has also hunted and explored Avernus before. Doesn't even get to speak. Just smiles encouragingly the whole time, silent. This scene is so clearly written for Karlach with a Tav, and it's. Frustrating. Wyll and Karlach should be straight-up talking shop together right now. If this is the resolution of both of their arcs together, then it should be written for both of them together.

I'm a Wyll fan who loves the character he is, but I also resonate with folks who are frustrated losing the EA Wyll I never got to meet. I love what I've seen of his romance arc; it's his character arc that has me scratching my head at times, just because I see where they could've done a lot more with more time. The Ansur quest was... interesting but feels very tacked on at the last minute, and the twist that occurs from it isn't even about Wyll. And it matters for all of two seconds and then is never brought up again except to remind you to never speak of it lol what?? At least the lesson Wyll learns is one I knew all along, which is he's the hero Baldur's Gate needs and deserves.

And Gale! I'm honestly not even counting his arc as resolved. That was a joke. The crown falls into the lake?? And based on how you talked to him, he decides whether he's going to fish it out or not??? And I don't even get to see it??? For me, Gale decided to leave it alone, not giving it to Mystra or using it to become a god, which is. Wild. Considering my Tav, Riven, was very much Team "Fuck Mystra" and didn't discourage him from the god path. I was expecting a whole moment like what Astarion got between completing the ritual or not, but nope! You've gotta be joking.

I think the only arcs I'm satisfied with are Lae'zel's and Shadowheart's, even though I still don't know how and why the latter dyed her hair white lol. (I mean, symbolically, I get it, but I'm half-convinced her hair's not even supposed to be white because her portrait never changed hair color and the other characters only commented on her bangs like is this a universal bug that everyone accepted and Larian doesn't want to own up to?)

I also wish that if Halsin, Jaheira, and Minsc are going to be companions that they would've given them proper arcs, too. Halsin especially since he comes along earlier. Jaheira gets more of a pass since she's older and a legacy character and I love her, but I could take or leave Minsc tbh. Haven't gotten Minthara yet, so opinion's still out on her.

I loved Jaheira's little adopted family. A shame I never saw them again or got anymore resolution! (More on resolution in general later)

I guess I'll talk about Astarion's arc. I loved so much of it, but I'll be honest; I was having the most fun with him in acts 1 and 2. The sex repulsion thing, while key to his arc, also seemed to dry up all the romantic chemistry he has between himself and your character. Part of that might be because his arc turns so hard into obsessing over the ritual. But part of it is a Huge Missed Opportunity between exploring the difference between Sex as a Means to an End and exploring with him what actual intimacy looks like. Sure, you get the hand-holding and the hug, once, which can easily turn into a Just Friends thing. But where was learning what easy sensuality and intimacy looks like with a partner who won't pressure you into making it about sex? The graveyard scene was great! Sure wish there was more where that came from!

Astarion's romantic arc became a lot more about what Astarion wanted versus what you both want, argue with the wall. Sure, he wants it to become something real and wants to take things slow, but at what point is a Tav who was used for protection through sex allowed to be sexually frustrated and not shamed for it? The only time that's even acknowledged is if Tav considers a poly relationship with Astarion and Halsin, and we're supposed to feel bad on Astarion's account and not Tav's. Well, I'm sorry, but for Riven, Astarion would've been her first sexual partner and relationship, and he knowingly turned that switch on to make her obsessed and pliant towards him. It's unrealistic to just. Expect her to not be sexually frustrated, to grin and bear it, just because he's finally acknowledging his own automony. Part of that autonomy means taking ownership for what he did as an exploitive sexual partner; I'm not saying he needs to get her off or anything, but this is where displaying actual intimacy could've helped while they were taking a break from sex. Instead, the game really does have Astarion cut her off cold turkey with no further romantic scenes outside of the odd line here and there while discussing the ritual, and p e r s o n a l l y, I take Great Issue with that as a woman with some fucking self-respect.

Considering how hard this romance goes on the front-end with sex, flirting, and banter, Astarion's romance arc feels very foreplay-heavy with a very dissatisfying finish, which I'm not impressed with, okay? (And yes, my last romantic scene with him was bugged all to hell, so I didn't get to experience it as a cutscene, just fragmented lines in a box of a room. In fact, a lot of his romance lines throughout act 3 would either get cut-off or there'd be other buggy things happening that detracted from the scene.) At least he stays an asshole and not this uwu baby that so much of the fandom wants to pretend he is lol

That said, and even though I haven't done it yet, I am so sure that it'll be Ascended Astarion >>>>>>>> Good End Astarion for me lol. Give me the dark, fucked-up ends forever, thanks.

I didn't even get one of the biggest payoffs from convincing Astarion not to Ascend. I had Shadowheart cast Daylight as an orb and not on an object, so when the other spawn got free, they took damage from the spell and ran away, disappearing forever. Cazador's staff was nowhere to be seen because it was tied to a cutscene with those spawn, so now??? The ~7,000 spawn trapped in those arcane cells are just going to be driven mad as they starve to death, which we know from Astarion being held in solitary for a year is going to take a very long time. Meaning the more humane thing to do would've been to just. Let Astarion go through with the ritual, damning himself to save them from a fate worse than death. Great storytelling, Larian, we didn't test that Daylight spell at all, did we? Good thing I made a save with Astarion post-Ascension, tbh.

(Which, the fact that you still have to convince Astarion not to go through with the ritual, despite your high approval, romance, and all the things he's seen getting there, fascinates me. So many other characters will do the right thing if you've planted the seeds and give them the chance to make the choice themselves, but Astarion is determined to see the ritual through by default unless you roll real good. It's Big Sexy of him.)

On the one hand, this game has SO many more companion cutscenes and reactions than past rpg games like this. But on the other, it doesn't balance them well throughout the game. It doesn't help that I played the version with approval thresholds being lower than they should've been. But it goes back to how much of act 1 was written, built out, and tested in EA, and how much the rest of the game was... not.

Also what was the point of Yenna besides being nice to an orphan kid? Why did she disappear from camp for days and days that was never acknowledged? How many more bugs with kids did I experience in this playthrough, the Mol quest also being fucked sideways?

Gortash was so hot and SO underused and for what??? Jason Isaacs, b r u h!!! Oh well, more reason to play Dark Urge at some point.

I also never got the option to Find Familiar my owlbear and he stopped moving in the camp in act 3, and I'm sad, okay? He does somehow become fully grown?? for the final battle and armored up, but you're joking if you think I'm risking my baby boy like that

That said, I did like how the final battle played out, how you could summon your allies to help fight. (Zevlor redeemed himself and survived, baby!) I liked the various stages of it. But omg... the audio problems. A whole area where background music didn't play for over 20 minutes. Where characters had dialogue but no audio track. The immersion was in tatters for me, and given all the character arc resolution problems I discussed above, yeah, no WONDER I'm fucking frustrated. All this build up, to just trip at the finish line?

It was also wild how. Abrupt. The ending is. A series of cutscenes with a few final choices here and there, with random companions interjecting their opinions/perspective, but. There's no goodbye tour. There's no talking to everyone for the last time before the FINAL scenes happen and the credits roll. No "what will you do now?" discussions besides Karlach and Wyll's abrupt leave (made even worse by Astarion's abrupt leave for Reasons). I've been traveling with most of these people since the first hour of the game, and I can't even say to them "goodbye and thank you"??? We've poked fun at Bioware throughout BG3's launch, but they beat you there, Larian. Muchly.

The ending cutscenes were also not edited together cohesively, which might be why the Astarion romance scene bugged out. It's possible it's out of order, but it either goes: Companions talking about celebrating, Astarion getting scalded by the sun and running away, Karlach's engine catching on fire, Wyll convincing her to save herself and the two running off, the narrator showing you the city and proclaiming you a hero, Astarion romance scene in a black box, Wyll and Karlach in Avernus, end credits. OR it goes: Companions talking about celebrating, Astarion being scalded and running off, Karlach's engine catching on fire, Wyll imploring her to live but you convince her to die, the narrator proclaiming you a hero, Astarion romance scene, credits. And that switch to the credits, both times, is a fast and hard switch.

Also okay FINE I'll be honest! How determined this game is to turn you illithid finally pissed me the fuck off! The whole game, I played a character who would Not Eat the Damn Tadpole for anything but who would still abuse her compulsion powers now and again. (Which, a shame that power went away in act 3, that was fun roleplaying.) The whole game, she decides and is given the option to decide that her own strength and those of her companions would be enough, and guess what? It's not lol. Someone still has to become illithid and eat Orpheus's brain. Picture it: I had Astarion, Gale, and Lae'zel with me, the latter two who still need their arcs completed, hence why they're here. And the choice I'm given is either: give the Emperor the stones and have him eat Orpheus' brain; turn myself into an illithid and eat Orpheus' brain, or free Orpheus and convince him to turn himself into an illithid (or have myself or a dying Karlach do it, and guess what? We'd still have to eat his brain). All but one of these choices will either have Lae'zel hate me forever or permanently end my Astarion romance. The only viable option, meanwhile, is depressingly anticlimactic and uninteresting. Yeah, I'll say it: BOOOOOOO!

I have so many characters I want to do different playthroughs with, but act 3 and its ending, man. The taste of it is not horrible but it's not great, either. Kinda torn between taking my time in the first two acts and giving the game a break, see if they fix the most annoying bug issues first. I don't hold out much hope that storytelling issues will be fixed, but god, I wish they would be. Gonna just hold it in and die until I can talk to any friend about it.

[jorrmungandr]

o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

Hoo boy, it sure is cold today. Got down to 15 degrees last night, glad I had my nice new flannel comforter cover on. I was nice and cozy, did that thing where I woke up and lazed in bed for a couple more hours this morning.

I kinda wanted to like... get out of the house and go do something, or at least write something for my blog, but in the end I just went goblin mode. I need a rest, y'know. Played more AC Valhalla, running around England cuttin' heads off with a greatsword, it's a lot of fun.

It seems like they're leaning more into the fantasy stuff, but to my mind these modern Assassin's Creed game exist in an awkward place between realism and fantasy, and pure stealth-action and RPG. They want that sheen of historical reality for the whole thing, which is admirable, and very impressive. But they also make a lot of concessions to not only make it work as a readable video game (bad guys all wear red, good guys wear blue!) but also make weird design decisions to fully allow for either full stealth or no stealth at all.

I feel like even in Origins, there was more real pressure to not go loud all the time. Guards that were super tough or annoying to deal with, at least. But there is zero friction in this one. I even ran into an enemy that was like "power level" 90, when I was around 30, and I had no problem killing him.

It feels like... they've lost track of what the fantasy is supposed to be in these games, y'know. It's no wonder they went back to basics after this one. It's like Eivor is a god damned protagonist of an Elder Scrolls game, you're a great warrior/assassin/spy/poet/bard/warband leader/mystic seer/sailor/settlement planner/political strategist/go-fer for every random villager in England. I ran into someone trying to invent Wocestershire sauce (ha ha) who wanted me to bring him some eel meat.

It's kind of like a dream, where you're shifting through different roles in a grand drama. You can do and be anything from scene to scene, as the plot requires. I know how we got here, all these different games cross-pollinating in the Ubisoft Open World ecosystem (Far Cry, Splinter Cell, The Crew, etc). People liked hunting animals for equipment upgrades in Far Cry, so now you do it in AC too!

The existence of these games is impressive, but they always end up feeling kind of crappy in moment-to-moment gameplay. Things are so... loose. They perfected the platforming in AC2, and have been making it works ever since. Many times I've awkwardly been hopping around a hole I want to jump down, or been hanging in front of window I want to enter, or Eivor will just stop cold wild climbing for no apparent reason. Combat feels loose and wild in a satisfying way, but way too often cinematic kills happen in bizarre and nonsensical ways, models misaligned as the camera zooms in.

And it's like "ohh these games are just too big and complicated we can't account for everything", but... in terms of combat, not really? There are not that many enemy types, and not that many weapon types. Also, I don't know, just make it turn-based. Fuck it. I would absolutely kill for a game set in this map of England and Norway that wasn't a stealth-action game. Go full Yakuza 7! Baldur's Gate 3 sold a hojillion copies, turn-based is popular right now!

[xpiester333x]

So I didn't beat every game I intended to play in 2023 but what did I play?

Not nearly as much as last year but I've had a great year with games so here is the list that I played this year, and my quick reviews.

1. Persona 5 Royal (x3 cause I had to 100% it): I don't think I need to elaborate on this one. This game has me in its CLUTCHES - 10000/10

2. Persona 5 Strikers: Great game, really played like a sequel and felt pretty true to the original game despite being a spin off - 8/10

3. Theatrhythm: I put an embarrassing amount of time into rhythm games this year and put an especially embarrassing amount of time into this game in just a month - 10/10

4. Persona 5 Tactica: I enjoyed this more than I expected to, lots of cute moments and I enjoyed the original characters quite a bit - 7/10

5. Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight : I put an even more embarrassing amount of time playing this game - 9/10

6. Persona 4 Dancing All Night: Of all my rhythm games I played this one the least because I liked the QoL changes to the newer games but I still played it more than I want to disclose - 9/10

7. Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight: By far the best Persona dancing game strictly because the music from all the various P3 iterations (something I wish P5 had gotten) - 10/10

8. Shin Megami Tensei 3 (not finished): Definitely one I need to come back and finish this coming year. I was having a blast playing it, I just happened to get drowned in a million other games

9. Final Fantasy XVI: In any other year, it would have been my GOTY. It was truly one of my favorites this year. I'm dying to replay it and I really need to dive into that DLC - 8.5/10

10. Borderlands: Crazy how well this game has held up over the years. The last time I played a Borderlands game (2) I didn't have the best time but I've had so much fun with this one that it's redeemed the franchise - 10/10

11. Persona Q (not finished): I got 15h into this and loved every second of it and then it exploded in my 3DS, dead forever, and I'm sad - 9/10

12. Persona Q2: Like SMT3, I need to finish this because I REALLY loved this game, but it just fell to the wayside because of other games - 10/10 so far

13. Breath of the Wild: I bought this game on a socially awkward whim (funny story) and it was pretty fun but tbh it wasn't as fantastic as people made it sound - 7/10

14. Baldur's Gate 3 (not finished but God will I ever be? I'm 60 hours into it and still in act 1): absolutely deserved GOTY. A fantastic game, incredibly in depth, given constant love and updates from its devs, a quality voice cast, just absolutely a blast so far - 10/10 so far

15. Solasta: A less good example of a DnD styled game. Playing it with a group of friends currently and its not horrible but it doesn't look good when you log off BG3 and on to this - 6/10

16. Catherine (not finished): Absolutely going to finish this either this month or early 2024. I'm about half way through and what an experience. Can't even explain it - 9/10 (loses a point for making me feel dumb)

17. Persona 3 Portable: Great game, FemC, but also it's age def shows and that Tartarus grind is not so fun in the year 2023 - 8/10

18. I'm On Observation Duty 6: My life is more complete for having this game come this year. I love the Observation Duty games (but this one is HARD) - 9/10

19. Sea of Stars (not finished): I will be finishing this one in the near future. It absolutely deserved Indie GOTY, it's very good - 8/10

20. Cult of the Lamb: I played this off and on between other games. It's a fun simple little game that tickles that cute/horror itch - 8/10

21. Gris (mostly finished): I have like one level left. This game is visually stunning, the soundtrack is very peaceful - 8/10

22. Persona 4 Golden (replay): I wanted to 100% it and failed lmao (missed ONE achievement). But that's okay, it's always worth the replay - whatever I rated it last year

23. Core Keeper: Honestly a true alternative to Terraria. Played it with my friends, enjoyed digging a hole and dying to bugs - 8/10

24. Harvestella: I honestly still gush about this game daily. It was so enjoyable and I could gush more but read one of my past gushes - 8.5/10

25. Monument Valley: Super unique and fun perspective puzzle that was very worth the $.99 I paid for it on sale - 8/10

26. Monument Valley 2: See above, but sequel - 8/10

27. Inscryption: There is truly no game like Incryption. I hate to make the pretentious statement "it's more than a game, it's an experience" but it's kind of true. It's an experience, with cool game play - 9/10

28. Penko Park: This game spoke to me with it's aesthetics and it's monsters and its collecting - 7/10

[20percentbug]

Question for the ask game for gaymers like you:

3. Favorite boss?

4. Best game soundtrack (full album or single track)?

5. Most memorable gaming moment?

14. Worst game you’ve ever played?

18. A game you started, but never finished.

19. A game that you wish you could play for the first time again.

20. A game that made you cry.

21. A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving?

23. Do you typically choose to play a male or female character (when asked to pick)?

29. Favorite childhood game?

33. Most embarrassing gaming moment.

34. Funniest gaming moment.

35. Do you own any gaming themed memorabilia? (e.g. collector’s editions, posters, prop replicas, statues, clothing, etc.)

38. An unpopular gaming opinion you have.

40. Best game cover art.

And a bonus question:

41. Favorite licensed game?

3. there are a lot of good video game bosses but by far my favorite out of em has been gabriel from ULTRAKILL recently. gay angelic man :)

4. by far, the entirety of the NieR series has absolutely gorgeous music. Bipolar Nightmare, Song of the Ancients, i could go on and on. it's very good

5. the end sequence of ending C in NieR:Automata did SO many things to me. oh my god. 9S deserves way better he did not deserve what he got throughout the game

14. i'm lucky that i'm really really picky, but unfortunately i was in the bitlife rabbit hole for a little bit. that game is fucking infested and i don't like it

18. i wanna finish patapon 2. it's. really fun :)

19. is it fair if i have multiple? ah, fuck it. NieR:Automata, Hollow Knight, Bug Fables, Rain World, Purrgatory, Celeste, Night In The Woods, and ULTRAKILL are all games i want to experience for the first time again

20. there are a few. Purrgatory is one of them

21. Titanfall 2. i was kinda expecting a mediocre experience but the movement was amazing, plotline was enjoyable, and BT stole my heart. it's a good game

23. male...? honestly tho i've been going with feminine features for games that let me customize and other than that i'm probably gonna start playing as female characters more often. call me trans or whatever i dunno lol

29. ooooh. remember metroid bounty hunters? that was a really fun game

33. whenever i do very dumb stuff that people mistake for as me flirting. there was one particular moment was while i was playing sky: children of the light

34. tf2 ragdolls in general

35. i got three pikachu plushies, hollow knight plushies, and hollow knight keychain accessories

38. i do not know which of my gaming opinions are bad but i think that modding in general, while it can be enjoyable - hilarious, even - will often subtract from the core gameplay loop, and therefore subtract from how much you can get out of the game.

there are some exceptions to this though; rimworld is a prime example of a game being kept fresh by the modding community, and tf2 is honestly just a fucking mess in general; somewhat modding it is what makes a lot of the things in the game work as intended

40. i gotta give it to Rain World for it's kickass cover art

bonus: 41. baldur's gate. i think it's licensed? wizards of the coast helped publish it