#The Expanse Reviews

[sparta369]

I bought slay the princess but haven’t started it ‘cause it kinda intimidates me, can you convince me to play it?

Ok now I know you just asked me to convince you to play it but hear me out

Don't play it yet

There's a huge, Free Content expansion coming out on the 24th of this month, in just 8 days called The Pristine Cut, which is going to expand the game by about 35%. The Devs themselves have said to wait for the expansion release if you haven't played it already lol

That being said, I'd never pass up an opportunity to gush about one of my favorite games ever created

I realized far too late that I'd accidentally written far more than either of us probably wanted. So I'll try to sparknotes it, and leave the full thing below the cut.

The less you know going in, the better. However, it is still a horror game. You can find a list of content warnings here. It's just a list, so it doesn't really reveal very much.

A single playthrough lasts about 3-4 hours on average, though I can guarantee you'll want to do more than one. The game is positively dense with choices. It's impossible to see everything in one playthrough, and one would be hard-pressed to have the exact same playthrough twice.

Words cannot really capture how much I love this game. It's story masterfully crafted with a vast ocean of choices for the player to make, all of which make a true and profound impact on the narrative. If you enjoyed Disco Elysium or The Stanley Parable, You'll like Slay the Princess. The game was lovingly hand-drawn, pencil on paper, and the music was beautifully composed. The voice acting, featuring the talents of Nichole Goodnight and Jonathan Sims, are also, in my opinion, phenomenal.

I truly cannot express the emotional impact this game has left me with. It's a game I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.

Whether you intend to stop here or read on, I'll leave you with this one screenshot. It's only text, and it's literally the second thing you see upon booting up the game, so don't worry about spoilers lmao

"Whatever horrors you may find in these dark spaces, have heart and see them through."

"There are no premature endings. There are no wrong decisions."

"There are only fresh perspectives and new beginnings."

"This is a love story."

Oh boy you clicked the "keep reading" button :o) I wrote this over the course of most of my day today before I realized exactly how long it was. Besides a small change to the end, I'm going to leave most of it un-touched, just for the sake of preserving whatever the hell was going on in my head at the time :o)

Slay the Princess is one of those games where, the less you know going in, the better, So I'll do my best to convince you without revealing anything.

Still, though, It is a horror game. If you would like to look through it just in case, you can find a list of content warnings on their website here. It gives a list of many things you may encounter, but there is a 0% chance that you will encounter all, or likely even half, of the things described in there. In addition, they present these things in a way that reveals as little as possible. Still, I would personally recommend against reading through them, but there's no shame or judgement if you go dig through it. You know yourself better than anybody, if you think ya need it that's fine.

There's also some flickering image effects & a parallax effect that has caused motion sickness for some players, but both of these can be disabled in the settings.

With all that out of the way...

Words truly cannot explain how much I love this game.

It is an absolute masterwork of interactive narrative storytelling. No other game I've played or heard of in my life gives as much weight to every single choice you make, every little thing you do. There are so many choices and possibilities, and not once does the game ever make you feel like you've chosen "wrong." It's impossible to see everything in one playthrough, and you would be hard-pressed to get the exact same playthrough twice. Quite literally, every time I've watched somebody else play the game, they happened upon something I'd never seen before, despite me having 100% of the achievements.

One playthrough usually takes around 3-4 hours, but you will almost certainly want to do more than one.

There are also a number of places where you can safely and logically pause and come back later, should you need to.

The narrative itself is expertly woven. The storytelling is phenomenal, interweaving paralyzing fear with heart-aching beauty, while also carrying a healthy amount of comedy at carefully chosen places. The themes carry through beautifully. I've cried actual tears on more than one occasion, and it's not easy to get that out of me. Slay The Princess is a story that will be a part of my heart for as long as I live.

If you've played and enjoyed Disco Elysium, you'll enjoy Slay The Princess.

If you've played and enjoyed The Stanley parable, you'll enjoy Slay The Princess.

I know that I often struggle with games that require a lot of reading, and that includes a lot of visual novel type games.

Thankfully, the game is, for the most part, fully voice-acted :) The very few bits that aren't voiced are that way for narrative reasons hee hoo

The voice acting itself is, in my opinion, phenomenal. Both actors put their heart and souls into their roles, and their care shows in their performances. The Princess is voiced by Nichole Goodnight & the Narrator is voiced by Jonathan Sims (Who you may recognize from The Magnus Archives, if you were ever into that).

The art of the game is beautiful. It is all lovingly hand-drawn, pencil on paper. Thousands of images, and even a few animations, all coming together to form a wonderfully unique visual style that lends itself well to the game itself.

The soundtrack of this game, composed by Brandon Boone & with vocal performances by Amelia Jones, is absolutely breathtaking. It does a phenomenal job setting and supporting the tone of the game, whether it be tension, fear, hope, joy, or anything between and beyond. I can't put it's beauty into words.

Brandon Boone actually just recently won the "Game Music Award" at the World Soundtrack Awards for his work on Slay The Princess, and I deeply believe that it was 100% deserved.

This is... probably far more than you ever asked for. But I mean it when I say that Slay the Princess is one of my favorite games of all time. I mean it when I say that Slay The Princess is a story that will be a part of my heart for as long as I live. I'll take any opportunity to make more people play it, in hopes that it might impact them even a fraction as much as it has impacted me. I've bought a total of 11 copies of this game (1 for myself, 9 which were distributed to friends, and one that's coming with the Collector's Edition)

As my final word, I'll once again remind you:

"Whatever horrors you may find in these dark spaces, have heart and see them through."

"There are no premature endings. There are no wrong decisions."

"There are only fresh perspectives and new beginnings."

"This is a love story."

[cursezoroark]

wanted to make a mannerism sheet for my rebornverse ocs and got carried away yippeeeee

[maxicorp]

Maxiverse Product Reviews #3

Date Reviewed: 6/4/20

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

And rip through that top I did! If I could give this stuff more stars than 5 I totally would! Biggest piece of advice, if you have a favorite bra or top you WILL tear through it so you should totally grow in something old. Trust me, you'll love the feeling of ripping through a bra as you grow 😘

[captainbasch]

Me venting about 14 because I have to somewhere

Lmao so we're 4 quests away from the end of the game and I'm seeing ppl who are afraid of spoilers and i'm like, Girl, I regret to inform you-there are none. They literally gave everything away in the trailer and promo stuff. I half expected "the eliminator" to be the final boss. There are TWO, 2, character points that can be considered spoilers. Otherwise, they had nothing good to reveal or hide. I suppose that's why they showed us so much of Sol9. You could cut the story of the entire expansion, hand us the "plot device that sets up the future of the mmorpg" in a side quest, and you would lose nothing of value. (Expect for Kirle and Erenville lore. That was good!)

im so sad LOL I love the art direction and music but damn everything else is so blah, meh, or downright awful. (Even the supposedly harder or more challenging dungeons/trials are way easier to understand. You die once - if even - and then you have the mech. memorized. It just feels like everything has a bloated HP bar. Guess it's finally time for me to graduate to Ex... oh haven't done the end dungeons yet so maybe they'll be what ppl are excited about!) The gear sucks. I haven't seen a single piece of glam worth farming for. I was not expecting recolored gear for dungeons when Yoshi P said they have enchanced the amount of rewards by 1.5. I guess he just meant....dye? food? help. The duel dye system is a joke. Havent tried picto or viper yet so i hope i like at least one of them.

anyway, i have one word document of bulleted points of things that baffle me and one rewrite that makes everything bearable but keeps the same plot points / ideas. ITS RIGHT THERE GUYS. I barely added/switched stuff around/took stuff away and made it instantly passable. I compared this to my fondness/hatred for RWBY which make me die. How did ff14 pick up the bad habits of THAT writing staff??

Happy for ppl who are enjoying it. I wish that were me. Once I finish MSQ i'll be able to enjoy the world more at my own pace so maybe it'll change my mind a bit... I hate being so negative about a game I love so much but man. The hype from "Going on a Vacation with my WoL" to "Actually I want to go home :(" sucked so bad.

[theartistaslisalee]

Khaos Reigns Story

So I went ahead and watched the story (despite promising myself I wouldn't spoil it, but kuriosity killed the cats LOL) and all I can say is, it's a bit underwhelming, especially the end. (I won't say anything here of course if you haven't seen it yet). I'm still gonna play it when the update finishes and dabble in the new kontent, but I feel like there could have been more and apparently it was a lot shorter than the MK11's Aftermath expansion. But the silver lining here is that Ed Boon had mentioned there is still more story to tell and more new kontent to bring, since they really plan to keep this game on support for as long as possible. So, it's possible we can get another story expansion and see other characters who didn't get their chapters this time their chance to shine. Who knows, we can only wait and see, but it will have to be another year wait at least. 😌😌😌 For now let's try to enjoy the present and make the most of it.

But I will just say ONE thing...NOBODY dies. So we can at least rest in that. 😉😉😉

[dylanobrienisbatman]

For fans of The Expanse, I highly recommend The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis.

It has a similar world building of a near-future space opera where humans have colonized space (including venus and mercury), where we follow three primary political factions (the geans of earth and mars, the icarii of venus and mercury, and the asters of the asteroid belt) in a political thriller in the midst of an ongoing war and inter-factional conflict. Gripping plot, entrancing characters, and stellar plot twists, I can't recommend this book enough and I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

[aaajaxolotl]

Feast Your Eyes: Fandom Cookbook Recipe Review #1

Are These Smuggled Goods? - Star Wars: The Ultimate Cookbook

Suddenly finding themself employed on a high-class spaceship, our intrepid multiverse-traveling chef Aurum Leuci prepares a traditional dish from the fungal forest planet of Narqui— along with some questionably-sourced side dishes.

Tonight’s menu: sourced from the Star Wars Ultimate Cookbook

Appetizer: Cantonican Cactus Bites, pg 163

Main Course: Narquois Rolls, pg 45

Dessert: Kullgroon Drops, pg 95

Full review under the cut!

Aurum Leuci’s Log:

[Begin recording.] Hey, uh, Chef Aurum here. Sorry I’m late. I think I must have miscalibrated my dimensional portal generator, because I absolutely did NOT intend to wind up on a Neimoidian ship orbiting some random colony world— Narq, I think?— much less in a kitchen full of apparently-smuggled Kullgroon fruit and Cantonican vegetation. Luckily, I can handle myself in a kitchen— so let’s hope for my sake the politicians on this ship don’t know their kitchen staff by name. I can at least make some kind of fancy dinner for them before I find a safe place to reactivate the portal. And besides— I want to try that smuggled produce.

I’ll check in with you after the next jump, once it’s safe. Aurum Leuci out. [End log.]

The Feast Your Eyes Recipe Rating Scale

In this series, I’ll be rating each recipe based on five factors, each of which can receive up to five points. These reviews will be written out-of-character, detailing my (AJ) opinions and experiences with the recipes detailed in the post. I eat almost entirely plant-based, so any substitutions related to animal products will be denoted in the descriptions of dishes. The rating scale is as follows:

Difficulty: How easy or hard was this recipe to follow? Harder recipes will score lower in this category, while easier recipes will score higher.

Ingredients: How easy or hard were ingredients to source? This category will be scored similarly to Difficulty, and any substitutions made will be denoted in the recipe’s section.

Immersion: How well does this recipe fit the universe or world that it’s from? High scores in this category mean high immersion, while low scores mean that it’s not particularly immersive.

Time: How much time did this take? Recipes that take less time will score higher in this category.

End Result: With the recipe followed as closely as possible (according to my dietary restrictions/ingredient sourcing capability), how did the final dish turn out? Higher scores in this category denote a better final dish.

Side Dish: Cantonican Cactus Bites

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Immersion: 3/5

Time: 3/5

End Result: 3/5

TOTAL RATING: 19/25

I came into this recipe REALLY wanting to give it a perfect rating. I love roasted brussels sprouts, and really, really wanted to like this recipe. It was straightforward to prepare, you could buy the ingredients at any grocery store, and it seemed like it would turn out really tasty. I was willing to put aside the fact that it’s just roasted brussels sprouts (not a terribly Star Wars-y dish) and was really hoping the taste would blow me away. Unfortunately, these turned out somewhat underwhelming. Despite following the recipe exactly, as you can see in the photo, these sprouts (and all of the tasty vegetables cooked with them, including fresh shallots and garlic) burned a little in the oven. This recipe definitely has potential- but as written in the cookbook, it’s somewhat middling.

Main Course: Narquois Rolls

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 3/5

Immersion: 5/5

Time: 5/5

End Result: 5/5

TOTAL RATING: 23/25

This recipe was AWESOME, and a hit with my family. It only loses points on the sad fact that I wasn’t able to source enoki mushrooms (the main ingredient of the dish) and had to substitute in a mix of other mushrooms. Having done some research on the planet of Narq (also known as Narqui?), I don’t think this was terribly immersion breaking, since it’s a foresty, swampy planet with… large fungal forests! I would love to make it again with actual enoki mushrooms to see how those would have affected the taste and texture— these were delicious.

Dessert: Kullgroon Drops

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Immersion: 5/5

Time: 5/5

End Result: 5/5

TOTAL RATING: A perfect 25/25!

I was really skeptical about this recipe— it’s literally just frozen grapes and Jell-O dust. Surprisingly, this is my highest-rated dish from this review! Super easy, super quick (the only time sink is letting them freeze) and they come out delicious, chilly, and beautifully alien! They’d be a believable find in a snow-covered environment like Kullgroon, and they were absolutely delicious.

Tune in this Friday (6/7/24) for another fandom cookbook review!

[consuetudinari0]

The Legacy of Manifest Destiny in American History

Manifest Destiny: The Birth of American Expansionism The term Manifest Destiny first appeared in the July-August 1845 issue of the Democratic Review, in an article titled Annexation by journalist John L. O’Sullivan. It was a concept that came to define a crucial moment in American history, encapsulating the nation’s drive for expansion. O’Sullivan argued that it was the United States’ “manifest…

[metamatar]

the baru cormorant books genuinely understand the joy of solving puzzles. i can understand becoming an imperial cog in the machine so you can solve more and better puzzles.

[yumyumpod]

Drummer and Ashford are trapped! "Fallen World" is the episode of The Expanse we're discussing on the podcast this week and you can hear our thoughts on this one right now. Listen Here

[undisciplinedcreativity]

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth is a cooperative board game for one to five players. It's set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and allows players to embark on perilous adventures as heroes of the Free Peoples. Players can choose from a variety of iconic characters, each with their own unique abilities and skills. The game features a campaign system that allows players to progress through a series of interconnected adventures, making their own choices and forging their own paths in Middle-earth.

Played for the first time yesterday. Bought the expansions today. So, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[cassandra-sims]

TS4 DLCs I Regret Buying

Currently I have 22 DLCs installed in my game, which you can review in my WCIF page.

The following list contains 5 packs I actually regret buying (GP & EP only), ordered by the one I mostly regret to the one I least regret:

Get Famous (EP) - The acting career is fine, but the fame system is pretty annoying. There's not enough gameplay to justify this being an Expansion Pack. The build items are too fancy and bright so it's hard to use them in regular builds. Additionally, the world that comes with this pack is not very pretty.

Get Together (EP) - Yeah, the world is outstanding, the clubbing system could be useful... but I feel like they made the world so pretty just to make up the lack of gameplay - because it's BORING.

Jungle Adventure (GP) - Speaking as a fan of The Sims 3 World Adventures, Jungle Adventure is very disappointing. The gameplay is repetitive and not challenging at all. The world itself (Selvadorada) is pretty but its colors are too bright that it's hard to look at it when you're looking for digging piles. The build items are beautiful BTW.

City Living (EP) - Unpopular opinion: San Myshuno is UGLY. Whoever played with the city in The Sims 3 Late Night probably knows how this city should look like. In The Sims 4 we got a very simplified and unrealistic version of it. Also, it doesn't have a lot of unique gameplay. In the bottom line - I love the idea of living in the city, but I hate this spesific city, so it makes me avoid living in it.

Cats & Dogs (EP) - First of all, I LOVE animals. However, the Cats & Dogs pack is poorly implemented. I feel like besides the Vet Career, there's not enough to do with this pack. I always get bored playing with a pet in The Sims 4. The build items are nice, and the world is fine. I don't like Brindleton Bay that much. I never put my sims there.

[blue-mint-winter]

I finished reading Leviathan Falls, the last book of The Expanse. In general, I enjoyed it. In tone and story it continued Tiamat's Wrath while at the same time putting the whole saga to an end.

I was quite surprised that the aliens that made protomolecule were finally explained... to a certain degree. That explanation caused a lot of mixed feelings in me. It was still rather vague in a very irritating way. Also, some things about these aliens don't seem to make much sense. It appears that they lost their physical bodies, but then why their middle station needed someone physical to command it? Why were they making ships, structures, drones and gates if they didn't have real bodies? The information just doesn't fit and makes them look like unintelligent animals just following their instinct and nature. It's very frustrating. Even less is explained about their enemies as they live in another plane of existence, but I can forgive that. The protomolecule aliens just seem off.

I remember criticising book 7 for time skip without bringing in new generation. This issue was fixed, as book 8 added Teresa and book 9 had Alex's son Kit and his little family. Other secondary characters from new generation appeared as well. But in the end, the rings were a problem started by the old generation and they had to finish that fight. It felt fitting. There could be even some kind of a metaphor with Tanaka, a Laconian from the first wave, and her secret affairs with younger men of lesser rank, her desire to use and exploit them, exercise her power and control over them. But then one finally had the courage to reject her and she completely lost her composure. It turns out she never had any power over them. Anyway, Tanaka was a toxic bitch, but still very interesting as a character and antagonist.

I definitely liked Miller's ghost coming back to accompany Holden to the end. All the attention given to take care of Teresa's dog in the spaceship despite the crew dealing with threats against all human life daily. The constant theme of cooperation or betrayal between the resistance and Laconian forces.

The epilogue was a real shock. It made me wish for more stories in this universe. Though without protomolecule and its bizarreness it won't be The Expanse anymore, just some regular sci-fi.

At the very least, I'd like to know what happened to Teresa after the finale. Her story was rather weak and underdeveloped in this book, unlike the previous one, in which she was one of the strongest characters. She could have used more attention here.

All in all, Leviathan Falls was a good read and a fitting end to the saga. I recommend it along with the whole Expanse series.

[maxicorp]

Maxiverse Product Reviews #4

Timeline: 4/13/23

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

If I could rate this stuff 10 stars I absolutely would! Just look at my mommy milkers! My veins are literally BULGING! Oh, and they're constantly leaking. It's actually insane, I have to sleep with a towel I produce so much! God though, do they look enormous when I wake up first thing in the morning absolutely engorged 🤤

[0xchloe]

Mercy of Gods - James S.A. Corey

Overall, 4.5/5.

Likes: Characters Narration Style Worldbuilding Queer representation Dislikes: One specific bit of motivation/characterization that fell flat to me

SPOILERS Well written, engaging introduction to a new trilogy. The world building was usually subtle enough that it didn't feel like an infodump, while still answering most of the questions I would have asked. Considering the main characters are being introduced to the Carryx and their culture at the same time as us, it provides a pretty natural flow of keeping us up to speed. The character interaction and interpersonal relationships felt well written, maybe better than the early Expanse books. The romance subplot between Else and Dafyd is mostly believable, and especially within the context of her "possession" by the Swarm. Speaking of which, the Swarm was a really interesting part of the novel. Maybe I didn't pick up on the clues (I know I missed at least one when I re-read it), but I was pretty surprised when Else was revealed to be the host of the swarm.

The conflicting motivations between the Swarm and the humans made for an interesting dynamic, even if the humans were mostly unaware. My major complaint is that it didn't really feel like the group planning a revolt had a whole lot of actual motivation. Obviously the "noble sacrifice" idea has a history and emotion behind it, but I was just too convinced that it would be a totally useless gesture. Dafyd thinks as much to himself, and it just seems like a logical conclusion.

Looking forward to the next one!

[wolfleblack]

Riven remake brings back a classic - Review

Riven is a remake of the classic 1997 puzzle game from Cyan Studios. This new version began life as a fan-made project that aimed to turn the original Riven into a full 3D game. Cyan caught wind of the idea but instead of going all Nintendo and telling Starry Expanse to shut the project down, they took over development, turning it into an official Riven remake. It was a somewhat divisive move as…