#Vaults of Terra

[themeparkyaoi]

is this anything

[blueeyedrat]

Games I played in 2023.

Last year was stable. This year has been... less so. I've bounced between getting out more and shutting myself in more, and between trying to take better care of myself and letting small issues and stressors start to pile up. My steady job got a lot less steady, and I'm now out of work and finding ways to pass the time. Like video games, for instance. Shall we?

(2022 ⇐ 2023)

Moncage

This was another decent year for getting caught up on games I've tried out and expressed an interest in before. Moncage, INSIGHT, Railbound, URBO, and a few other games you'll see further down the list. I also followed up on some games I've played in the past like Train Valley 2, and even dipped back into some old mainstays like Eternal. One of these days I'll find time for Minecraft or Dwarf Fortress again.

I more or less broke even on my backlog this year, chipping away at smaller games from assorted bundles I've picked up over the years, but also picking up some new bundles to add to the pile. So many games, so little time.

Before We Leave

While we're talking about the backlog, here's a game I've been interested in for a while. A settlement builder in a solar system of small planets, with a quaint aesthetic of wooden ships and massive space whales. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this one. The automation and logistics aspect is an interesting spin on the genre, even it gets a bit complex at times. Never too challenging, though, and there's enough depth and nuance to hold my interest all the way to the final stages and on towards the stars. I'm looking forward to the upcoming sequel.

The Legend of Zelda (series)

It's hard to go wrong with Zelda. I have fond memories of Skyward Sword, Wind Waker HD, and Breath of the Wild, and with a new one on the way, it seemed like as good a time as any to catch up on my library. In order: Link's Awakening DX, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Minish Cap, and the DLC quests from Breath of the Wild I never got around to. Our Wii U saw more activity than it's gotten in years.

Opinions on each: Awakening was a fun, solid 2D adventure that never overstayed its welcome, though the game shows its age at a few points. Likewise, Ocarina was an interesting look at the series' jump to 3D, but was also somewhat janky at times and it took a while for me to really get into a groove with it. (I think the turning point might've been the Water Temple. I actually liked the Water Temple. Ye gods.) Majora was a sizeable improvement gameplay-wise and played with the format in neat ways, though I'll admit that I butted heads with the time loop mechanic more than once.

I have a particular nostalgia for Minish Cap; some of my earliest memories of Nintendo games are watching my friend's GBA over his shoulder on the bus ride to elementary school. After so long, this was the one I was most curious to see if it held up. Answer: yes. Minish Cap is officially my favorite 2D Zelda, and the highlight of this little retro binge. There's a lot of charm to it, and it just feels good to play.

It may be a bit too recent for nostalgia, but I almost forgot how much I loved Breath of the Wild. My old file was exactly how I left it, and playing through the extra content was a good way to re-acquaint myself with the "new" Zelda style before…

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

This was a daunting one. If I had to sum up Tears in one sentence, it would be this: There is so much game in this game. Even compared to its predecessor, there's so much to do and so many more layers of exploration and interaction, with a wide array of smaller improvements that make it a smoother experience overall.

I wish I could say I put as much time into this game as I did into Breath of the Wild, and I did put a lot of time into it, but… some other things got in the way. Summer is when my work got a lot busier and a good amount more stressful, and this was a game I slowly chipped away at whenever I found time for it. I got pretty much everything I wanted out of it, and after the credits rolled, I put it away and haven't touched it since. I should change that. I'm sure there are more good times to be had.

Mutazione

The word that comes to mind to describe Mutazione is fascinating. It's a point-and-click narrative, light on gameplay, heavy on story and character. Of the other games I've played recently, the vibes remind me the most of Sable – quiet and contemplative, where all you want to do is observe and take in the world and characters that are being presented to you. It dovetails nicely with the story itself, which largely consists of a curious little soap opera playing out around characters who are along for the ride. The writing is some of the best I've seen this year, and gets real fuckin' raw in ways I wasn't expecting. This one will stick with me for a while.

Pikmin 3 / The Wild at Heart

I've never had the focus or dexterity for a really complex RTS, but Pikmin's always been a little more approachable. Played the second game in the series a while back, picked up a used copy of Pikmin 3 at a local convention this year, and with another one coming out, it seemed as good an excuse as any to make it a double feature.

Both games have their charms. Pikmin has a distinct style and sense of scale that's hard to replicate, and a good variety of environments and encounters and puzzles. The Wild at Heart is smaller in scope as a Pikmin-like, and hits some familiar beats while remixing some of the core ideas in interesting ways. The latter also put more of an emphasis on character and narrative, something I'd like to see fleshed out more, but what we got was still satisfying. Both games were fun, and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on Pikmin 4 soon.

Chants of Sennaar / Heaven's Vault

Another double feature – one game that caught my eye immediately, and another I've been curious about for a while. For a long time I've had a fondness for constructed languages, with scripts and writing systems of particular interest. The idea of decoding such a language lends itself well to a puzzle game, and these two approach it in different ways: Chants of Sennaar features multiple cultures in a Tower of Babel-esque setting, each with their own quirks and traits to learn and translate between, and their own puzzles to solve. Heaven's Vault opts for depth, with a single language and a vast history that you slowly unravel through exploration.

My verdict for both games is the same. The language puzzles are really cool and interesting! I want more of them! …Everything else in between gets sort of meandering at times. Not enough to drag down the overall experience, but perhaps enough to overstay its welcome. Sennaar filled the space with a mish-mash of puzzles and stealth, which felt oddly paced at times. Heaven's Vault's pacing was hit even harder with slow exploration and visual novel-esque story segments – fine enough for one playthrough, but the amount of wandering and backtracking involved makes me hesitant to go back and play NG+ to see the rest of the content. I don't have the patience to play a visual novel multiple times to see what all of the dialogue options do. The story's fine as is, and I got what I wanted out of it.

Even with their faults, these are still probably the games that influenced me the most in 2023. If anyone asks me, as a game dev, what I would make given unlimited time, resources, and creative freedom, from now on I'm going to point to Chants of Sennaar and say "something like that". I want more games like this to exist. I will make them myself, if I have to.

F-Zero 99

This wasn't the only racing game I played this year – a bunch of new content was added to Mario Kart 8, and I also pulled Horizon Chase Turbo from my backlog and spent a bit of time on that – but this is definitely the one that made the biggest splash. I've never played an F-Zero game, and it controls differently enough from other racers I've played that I had to unlearn a lot of muscle memory, but I got the hang of it after a while. The 99-player model is frantic in an enjoyable way, and races are quick enough that it's easy to pick up and play in short bursts… which is good, because short bursts are all my nerves can take with this one. Seriously this game is stressful. Fun, but stressful. Maybe one of these days I'll actually win a 99-player race.

Cobalt Core

I've been playing... a lot of Cobalt Core these past couple months. I don't jump on every roguelite or deckbuilder that comes out, but when one does get its hooks in me, they get in deep. This is another one of those games where everything just works. Great music and pixel art, fun characters (all traits shared with its predecessor, Sunshine Heavy Industries, which I also liked this year), a simple but engaging narrative, and an addicting gameplay loop that I can easily sink an hour into whenever the mood strikes me. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it doesn't need to – it takes a lot of ideas from games that have come before it, and builds on them to create something really enjoyable. One of my favorite games of the year, without question.

Terra Nil

As we build up, so too must we tear down. This is another one I wanted to get to sooner or later, and managed to slip it in during the last couple weeks of the year. It's also a type of game I want to play more often; a lot of the time when I play sim and builder games all I really want in the end is to build nice-looking homes and environments, and Terra Nil spins that into a puzzle game where those things are the only goal. It was a nice time, but left me wanting more – either more content in Terra Nil, or more games like it.

Eastward

This game is… a curiosity. A solid action-adventure game with a memorable cast of characters and impeccably detailed pixel art. Gameplay flips back and forth between slow-paced story segments and fun setpiece levels with a decent variety of tools for combat and puzzle-solving. The biggest sticking point is the narrative: the pacing and worldbuilding felt odd and disjointed in places, particularly in the back half, sometimes feeling like it's saying too much and often like it's said too little. Yet throughout all that, it never failed to be compelling, and I was hooked all the way 'til the end. What's more, the idea of the upcoming Octopia DLC flipping the entire game and setting on its head has my interest thoroughly piqued – something to look forward to in the coming year.

-

Here's to 2024, and here's hoping things turn around sooner or later.

[terravivos]

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[spookshow-sims]

Terra Lookbook 01 - Vacation

Outfit 1. Clothes / Shoes / Bag / Sunglasses / Hair / Necklace / Earrings / Nails Outfit 2. Bikini / Shoes / Sunglasses / Hair / Necklaces / Earrings / Nails Outfit 3. Dress / Shoes / Hair / Necklace / Earrings / Ring / Nails

( If you are desperate for help for finding this CC, ask me, but try google first.)

[kiwibirdlafayette]

tom gets sent to VH through a rift by accident and doesnt realize that hes in a different universe (he thinks he got stuck and came back a year or so into the future) and gets confused when jordan doesnt want anything to do with him (pete and xeen assume he must be an idiot)

(based on Regret by Anon but with a little multiverse spin on it for funny because i love tom bein a dumbass)

[khakilike]

This was an awesome moment to watch, but screw NBC Sports and YouTube for (apparently) disabling embeds on Olympics videos.

(It's kind of gross that Mondo did this while wearing a $50,000 watch, but it could be worse: F1 drivers put their fancy watches on after getting out of the car but before doing post-race interviews.)

[alexandrastafford]

Open in Dallas An example of a formal, open-concept, mid-sized cottage Design for a living room in terra cotta tile and orange flooring with white walls, no fireplace, and a television stand

[samblerg]

Mediterranean Entry - Mudroom An illustration of a large tuscan entryway with a medium wood front door, white walls, and a medium tone wood floor.

[nicohayes]

Open in Dallas An example of a formal, open-concept, mid-sized cottage Design for a living room in terra cotta tile and orange flooring with white walls, no fireplace, and a television stand

[notsureaboutnameyet]

Mediterranean Entry - Mudroom An illustration of a large tuscan entryway with a medium wood front door, white walls, and a medium tone wood floor.

[chairytale]

Library - Mediterranean Family Room

[savingthrcw]

Terra narrows her eyes, thinking about those flashes of memories that make her skin crawl. There are so many little things that come to mind when she focuses on the details, and there is a part of her that feels sick every single time she tries. "I feel like... I became conscious of my existence about a year or so ago. There are only little moments that I remember before then... I think they are still in my head, I know I dream of them sometimes, but then they go again... I remember there was always the same man studying me..." Kefka, with his odd clothes and too large smile. "I remember the Bad Room, that's where they took my arm and all the other parts that I can't see."

She wasn't alone though. She knows that, even if she can't remember it. She knows there were other chambers with people in them. "But I was very little. I know this because I think I was this short," she lowers a hand down to her waist, "Yes, that seems right... I don't know what happened in between. Just blood. And then I woke up at the Enclave, and I think it's a different place because there were no windows in the other place. And at the Enclave they put a helmet on my head but I don't remember what they made me see... I do remember some lessons on how to... to hurt people. I didn't like those. And lessons on how the Wasteland works, but those are all fuzzy..."

"Not even close." How does she even begin to explain where she's from? It hasn't even occurred to Echo to tell Terra, not when they've been busy trying to stay alive -- and, well, to avoid destroying groups of raiders, apparently. The former vault dweller leaves it at that, observing the other as she speaks.

Only to nearly falter in her step. Deathclaw?

"...and no, not the kind of animal you pet." Brow furrowed, the woman continues her trek with uncertainty brewing in her belly. "So you really don't remember? Not that I'm judging, just... can't imagine waking up one day with an arm from a deathclaw, is all."

[terravivos]

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[neotattooart]

Dallas Family Room Open

[krispeetersvisitingthings]

Bathroom Powder Room

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

what 40k books would you say are at least a 7 out of 10?

Twice Dead King: Ruin + Twice Dead King: Reign. Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! The Infinite and the Divine. Assassinorum: Kingmaker. The Fall of Cadia. Night Lords: The Omnibus. Word Bearers: The Omnibus. Spear of the Emperor. Gaunt's Ghosts series. Titanicus. Fire Caste. Apocalypse. The Lords of Silence. Harrowmaster. Brutal Kunnin. The Lion: Son of the Forest. Da Big Dakka. Warboss. Eisenhorn: The Omnibus. Ravenor: The Omnibus. Day of Ascension. Watchers of the Throne series. Vaults of Terra series. Fabius Bile trilogy.