#go play the first and all its wonderful wonderful free dlcs

[saintadeline]

I FINISHED BLASPHEMOUS 2 BTW... game of the year game of the everything to me. Game of my heart. Smiles so wide

[front-facing-pokemon]

[shiny-kaibernyte]

I immediately gave you a follow since you wrote Drayton content. Toothpaste man!!!

Anyways, I love drama. I like the idea of Drayton pining after the reader while also making Kieran jealous 😭😭 could you write something like that??

Please take care of yourself btw! You write wonderful content!

We love our toothpaste man! And I'm so glad you like my stuff. This is so sweet of you and such an amazing request as well I would love to do this for you! I really do hope you like this 💜💜

Side note: I got a shiny Popplio when I read your request so I named it Cloudy as a little nod to you whenever I play.

Pokémon Scarlett and Violet Indigo Disk DLC Spoilers ahead!

A rivalry between the Dragon Elite four members and the Champion of the BB League turns into much more than just a race for Pokémon battles. When Drayton just wants to take you out on a date, Kieran's jealousy comes out to play, only pushing Drayton's goal to win your heart more.

SPOILER WARNING AHEAD (Indigo Disk Main Story and a little bit of The Teal Mask)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Dragon’s Heart | Drayton x Reader

“Awe, come on~ just one date!” Drayton innocently pleaded, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His eyes staring down at you whilst you scribbled down notes from your previous shiny hunt. 

You shook your head with a cheeky smile on your face, as you continued to scribble, “And my response will remain the same Drayton, a cafeteria chat is not a date! Maybe I'll say yes when you think of something creative, hm?”

“I’m creative! The cafeteria is just easy, it's not too noisy since everyone eats out in the terrarium! Plus free food!” He joked, attempting to make it sound appealing, even though he knows it's not good. Unfortunately, his brain can’t think of anything good enough, at least for him. Everything he’s thought of, he doesn’t think is good enough for you. And he’s thought of a lot. “I can help you out with your shiny notes, you know~ maybe even join you on a hunt!”

“Drayton, you don’t know the first thing about shiny hunting, let alone actually joining me on one.” You sighed jokingly, looking up at him as you closed your notebook, “If I remember correctly, didn’t you fail a shiny Pokémon?”

His face turned slightly red, embarrassment washing over him for a moment as he grumbled to himself, “Hey I thought the Axew was sick… It’s not my fault I didn't know the Axew was going to run from me!”

“You threw a berry at its head!” You exclaimed, lightly chuckling when you saw his embarrassed face. “And you call yourself the Dragon expert” 

His embarrassment turned into laughter as he thought about how stupid that was, the pair of you laughing together with bright smiles on your faces.

Your laughter didn’t go unnoticed however, from across the room, Kieran's eyes glared into Drayton. The sound of you laughing along with him only fuels Kieran's desire to be the best. But the jealousy was too strong for him to focus with the two of you laughing. “If you two are finished chirping like Starly’s over there, Drayton, you have a battle in five minutes. I suggest you get going.”

“Relax Kieran, I got plenty of time bud! Besides, it's unlikely they will be on time, it takes a while to prepare for a battle against one of us. So my opponent can take as long as he needs to!” Drayton argued with a hint of playfulness in his voice as Kieran gritted his teeth. A small smile crept on your face when you heard Drayton’s response, that was something you always admired about him. His patients was contagious, never rushing anyone into anything, always trying to make someone smile. Sure he has his moments of cockiness but that just adds to his character, every Dragon has a bite after all.

“Spoken like a true Elite, Drayton!” You chimed, standing up from the sofa. Drayton’s face turned a light pink, his heart lightly thumping. Surprised at himself that something so simple made him blush. His dragon heart only making more room for you.

Kieran's heart pounded in rage at your words, annoyed over the fact you were saying those words to Colgate and not him. Eventually, he puts on his no fudges given face and turns towards you both fully. “If you want to remain as the top Elite four members, Drayton, I'd get to your battle. I still have the power to remove you from this club.”

“Alright Alright! I’m going!” Drayton sighs, raising his hands in defeat. Kieran shook his head displeased as Drayton stretched his arms up, a sigh leaving his mouth before turning back to you. “So about that date… How about instead, as a warm-up, you come watch my battle as my special guest? That way, it’s not our official first date and I still get to spend time with you.”

You raise an eyebrow at him, trying to see where he’s going with this and what extra little plan he has going on inside that head of his. Until he raises a hand up for you to take, a genuine smile on his face as he patiently waits for your decision. With a bright smile, you take his hand, “I think that is a fair deal.”

“Have fun moping, Kieran!” Drayton yells as he gently pulls you along with him towards the door. Kieran had steam coming off his body as he watched the pair of you leave, and not just from Drayton’s response. A smirk appeared on Drayton’s face when he saw the jealousy in Kieran’s eyes. 

Soon his focus returned to the matter at hand, and he smiled at you, pushing and holding the door open for you as he guided you through it, “After you sweetheart~”

[vounoura]

ok as promised. I had one of these years ago but it was unfortunately lost in a blog purge, but it's actually really important information ESO goes out of its way to hide at every turn, so dear new players:

despite what the game tells you, you should NOT start with any DLC zone, or at least not any DLC zone that was released before Murkmire. As far as I'm aware (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), every story DLC after that is fairly self-contained to its own series of chapters, but everything before that was part of a linear plot that spanned multiple years.

Furthermore, ESOs design has for some backwards reason made it so that you are not required to play through base game MSQ first and also skips the initial Coldharbour sequence, both of which are literally the entire setup for the game's plot and why your character is the way they are. This makes things incredibly confusing and everyone I know hates it with a passion.

Therefore, to clear things up a bit:

In all circumstances, you need to do the base game intro, which can be started from the Hooded Figure found in your alliance's starting city (Vukhel Guard -> AD, Daggerfall -> DC, Davon's Watch -> EP). This will have you go through the original tutorial meant for the base game, and will set up the main plot and explain why your character is the way that they are.

iirc, this should immediately plant you in your alliance's initial starting zone, which is where you'll find the start of your alliance's MSQ which will take you through 5 zones. You need to do one from start to finish to start the end Coldharbour sequence. In addition, you need to also do the Harborage quests which is also necessary to enter Coldharbour.

Coldharbour is the end zone for MSQ content, and is the base game's conclusion. You also need to do this entire zone from start to finish, trust me it's good.

It's not necessary but recommended that you play through the Ebonheart Pact MSQ, either as your first or through Cadwell's Silver / Gold (which basically allow you to play through the other Alliance's MSQs as if you started them). You do not need to, but there is a character introduced in EP who will become critically important later and she will recognize if you've met before, and knowing her beforehand helps. If you're wondering, that character is Naryu Virian.

iirc Imperial City is canonically right after Coldharbour, but as it's a DLC centred in Cyrodiil (a strict PvP zone) I never actually did it. If you're okay with missing some things you can skip it - I did, and was perfectly fine.

Orsinium needs to be done first after Coldharbour or Imperial City. It's plot directly sets up the Daedric War storyline, which is the main plot that runs for a while after base game MSQ. Do not play anything else until you've finished Orsinium.

Thieves Guild is for the most part inconsequential and can be played any time or skipped if you want. You cannot skip Dark Brotherhood - you need to play through enough of it to see the Sweet Roll Killer series of quests involving Naryu Virian and Razum-Dar, because this will directly foreshadow the plot going forward.

Morrowind comes after DBH. You need to do BOTH the MSQ AND the Balmora sidequests, which involve Naryu Virian and a character named Veya Releth. Balmora is CRITICALLY important for Summerset, you CANNOT skip it.

Clockwork City follows Morrowind, you need to do its MSQ. CwC sets up Summerset's plot, and leads directly into it.

Summerset is the Daedric War plot's conclusion, and you need to do its MSQ. If you have not done everything I have just told you IN THIS ORDER, you will be missing context. You will not know who the main villain is and why them being there is critically tragic. You will not know the threads that lead to this point. You will not know Summerset was the conclusion to literal years worth of storyline.

You need to play through everything in this order. Do not deviate. Every DLC after this (Murkmire to, as of the time of writing, Necrom) is as far as I'm aware it's own self-contained thing, but this isn't.

TOO LONG, DIDN'T READ: base game tutorial -> alliance MSQ/Harborage -> Coldharbour -> Imperial City if you want -> Orsinium -> Dark Brotherhood + The Sweet Roll Killer sidequests -> Morrowind + Balmora sidequests -> Clockwork City -> Summerset

DO NOT DEVIATE FROM THIS ORDER FOR ANY REASON!

[hawktalonflame]

Assorted impressions of Monster Sanctuary Nuzlocking so far:

I’m doing Hero Mode (one monster per area, handled for you by giving you a random egg) and Permadeath, as well as Relics of Chaos (find rare- but not overpowered - equipment).

I’ve just fought the alchemist in the Sun Palace; my playthrough is still in progress. At this point I’ve obtained 10 monsters with 2 deaths. Current team is Spectral Lion (Leah), dark Dracozul (Weyr), Frosty (Lumos), Asura (rename pending), Amberlnga (Dewy) and Koi (Kori).

Team related

You start with a spectral familiar and 2 other random monsters

Comic/art-wise, fights move more quickly than Pokemon battles (meaning a lot more happens in a turn, it can still be a marathon at times), but the team each playing vital roles in battle and supporting each other is a good character focus. I like the shielders! such lifesavers

The eggs can hatch into DLC monsters, champions and evolved species– I hatched my G’rulu and Dracozul already evolved. You also don't need to have encountered a monster or be anywhere near its route to get its egg. Abilities seem to work immediately, too, unlike New Game+.

You still get given a free Koi egg! this is not random or area-based as it's necessary for progression.

When a monster dies, its equipment goes back into your inventory.

You can still use dead monsters’ travel abilities, so you can't get stuck. They just look normal in-game but imagine riding a ghostly mount...

What happens if your spectral familiar dies? they have speaking lines!

Losing a monster feels unsettling as it can leave a hole in your team. For example, I just lost my G'rulu healer/restorer (RIP Zoidberg) and I have two monsters in reserve capable of healing but... my team was set up to work together with his passives and multi-debuffs....

Difficulty

According to my spectral familiar: 'The level of enemy monsters is directly based on the number of rooms you have entered that have Monster encounters inside of them'. If I understand correctly, skipping wild fights eventually makes your level fall behind, while fighting everything new puts you maybe a little ahead.

Also: oh hmm I just found the difficulty option in Settings haha... I'm doing Normal. Looks like you get to change that after you start playing rather than when you're setting the mode.

You have your first keeper ('trainer') battle with up to 5 monsters vs Will's 6.

Keeper battles are few but much more serious than wild battles, which become pretty routine once you’ve got a good team going. It’s easy to think you’re ready for a keeper battle but then you lose a monster (painfully aware of a couple moments where I could’ve lost two or three in one turn, if I hadn’t remembered oh yeah, MASS HEALING ITEMS) (I wonder how likely it is to end up with less than 3 monsters... that sounds like a game over scenario)

You can trade a set of rare items for an extra monster; it seems like a late game option. I just got one of those items and used it immediately to power up my Dracozul instead! so.... priorities...

According to the new game/mode screen, if all your monsters die, the save file unlocks all your monsters and permadeath is turned off. that's kinda nice for people who want that

[lanaevyssmoved]

do u have any game recommendations that have character creation? besides bg3 ofc

gonna be real i wouldnt recommend bg3 for a character creation game because you can only use preset faces ...... bro but if you mean it in an oc way......

i would recommend.............

heavily modded skyrim, if you don't wanna do it yourself use wabbajack, some of the modlists on there are designed for graphics or high end systems and have very pretty characters. there's also ones not like that with rougher characters or more vanilla characters. lots of choice! do not get into the community though, this is a warning

following on from that, any elder scrolls game - morrowind is the best and one of my all time favourite games

you can follow on from that with fallout if you like the setting. i recommend fallout 1 and 2 the most as i'm not the hugest fan of bethesdas fallout but that is not a common opinion that be a hot take

heavily modded final fantasy xiv, you can fully mod on the free trial version as far as i know - be warned this is an extremely slippery slope because it has a modding community to rival skyrim and many customisation mods are paid for however there are ways around that. anyway you can get mods from here, here and here as well as the nexus

elden ring, dark souls 3 - the other dark souls but those character creations look like dogshit ass but still fun to make ocs in imo.. demon souls if you own a ps5....... i do not

pillars of eternity, tyranny, while visually quite limiting the character creators are still very neat from a roleplay pov - tyrannys has a lil "post character creation" game you get to play where you make "post game" choices and i uh, used to play that all the time for fun without intent to keep playing.....

a good follow up to that would be dragon age, all three of them but specially origins, i used to play the origins and not continue the rest of the game for fun! now be warned all of these games suck terrible dick in terms of modding because it's awkward and annoying and easily broken! i recently replayed dao and dai and so much of that time was spent troubleshooting...... joyous

have to kind of mention mass effect after? but ur kind of always making the same character..... ive always struggled with mass effect personally. maybe its the setting?

you can also look at starfield since that's got actually a pretty decent cc but i did find it quite limiting. but i've not really played it for more than an hour cuz bg3 exists so i can't say much

back to crpgs, the two pathfinder games! again limiting on the character side but roleplay side very very strong. i've not played wotr but i have mutuals who act like it is gods gift to gaming and i believe them. i really liked the first!

the outer worlds could be a good choice, i really like that games aesthetic but it's another space game and i think we're seeing a pattern that i'm just not that into those. hm. it was bethesda style gaming in space before starfield exists with the personality of fallout, kind of ?

this ones going far out there but crusader kings iii has an insane character creation and my favourite ruler ever was this old witch woman cannibal who slowly but surely turned her whole corner of the globe into a witch worshipping cannibal cult. i miss her

age of wonders 4 has a really cool cc, you can even make dragons with the dlc like Actual dragons.... i have made so many characters in there and gave them their funny little lores.. age of wonders has real cool lore and it is Completely ignored by tumblr afaik and that sucks

encased is a really cool rpg it's another sci-fi-y one.. it isn't as polished as you might expect cuz it's a very ambitious game but a small indie studio but i would say if you enjoy fallout 1 + 2 you will enjoy encased

dragons dogma! you get to make two people in this just like in bg3! i made a lil girl and her big brother and i was so fucking emotional over them that i was crying constantly even when nothing was going on. i played dragons dogma to fucking death on the ps3 and i think its interesting and rich enough to sink ur teeth into

i have to mention greedfall as the owner of the greedfall url.... greedfall is very interesting as its a double A title akin to a dragon age game.. it might make one feel a tad uncomfortable because it comes across as colonialism the rpg but it does get very interesting and it has neat as hell characters and magic and big monsters who fuck hard

wasteland 3! kinda again has the fallout type of vibe it is violent and full of dark themes and twisted themes but its also extremely comical its true black humour at times and you get to make two characters again and you can even make TWO MORE CHARACTERS so i had a bunch of custom characters.. u can get really wild in the cc as well and builds are SUPER fun....... v good game

spellforce 3!!!!! i love this game, the cc is again like another crpg one but spellforce 3 has very deep lore spanning many games .. its not typical crpg in that its also like a strategy war game too but i think it does the mixture very well and i LOVEEEEEEEE the lore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

uh i forgot to mention divinity original sin 1/2 because .. bg3 should lead you right there but uh. play them both! the first is so good in coop i feel cuz of the natural banter between the protagonists. if you don't have friend the second is very good single player just. be warned i don't think it has good endings but the ride is worth it!! and divinity lore fucks hard. i also recommend divinity dragon commander because its so much fun

can i say stardew valley? mayhaps sun haven too? if ur crazy like me you can turn these into prime oc generators. also mods

oh, monster hunter world and by extension wild hearts. monster hunter world lets you make a cat and while ur character themselves doesn't get to do much story wise i did get very obsessed with my character and wanting them fight cool monsters. wild hearts is similar though your character does feel a bit more special- be warned this game is known for running like ass on most systems, its pretty good for me but be warned all the same

TEEHEES.... KENSHI!!!!!!!!!!!! i was holding back on mentioning kenshi but i can't. you can make a whole fucked up lil squad if u want. u got weird alien races. u got a billion fucking mods. u can have ur buddies limps removed and give them robot ones. u can make an army of weirdos. bro i got so invested in my kenshi squad i was writing FANFIC. i was dreaming of them. i was unable to sleep about them. i miss them so fucking much dude!! kenshi doesnt really have a story beyond what u make it. that shit is a SANDBOX.. and i love it so much. everyone should play kenshi. its kinda like rimworld if u want a comparison. i think its Perfect. the best game to exist ever (lie) its so wonderful....... man........its also broken as shit cuz its the most ambitious game to exist ever and it was made by 1 dude so

oh if u like anime games i have to mention code vein (souls like) and god eater (monster hunter like ?) they have very good ccs and i know people super into the lore and stuff. i only played code vein and i liked it a lot honestly

uhhh i mentioned 1 mmo so i should probably mention guild wars 2, the cc is very good, the whole games end game is about fashion and looking amazing. the lore is also super duper neat! i haven't played it for a long time now but i did play it on launch and i had a blast for a few years

if you like d&d i would recommend solasta! it has a very good cc i think honestly and it feels the most like this is d&d in a video game out of every game i've ever played, and it translates the system very and faithfully (as opposed to say bg3 who changed things for game reasons). solasta is also best with friends because its so in that vibe of this is a silly lil d&d party. its much fun

lol i got the block text limit popup

kotor 1 and 2, it might be hard to get into the lore and characters if you're not into star wars but i found it pretty ok to as not a huge star wars fan. i also think they deserve to be played despite that as well because they are fantastic rpgs and some of the best bioware ever made

vampire the masquerade bloodlines!!! i am not a vampire fan really, a small one, but this game captivated me.... very easy to get into making a character i feel and ur given enough to make characters that align different ways easily. the combat did not age well..... but the story and roleplay absolutely did

ok.. im gonna stop here.. but i will say give games like icewind dale and arcanum a chance.. look at old as hell crpgs and try them. this includes bg1+2 which i still need to play myself but will be soon! they are classics because their stories are fantastic, and shouldn't be missed out on!!!!!

[lulu2992]

Hey ! First thanks for this blog, it's full of really great posts :) And second, I saw you gave advices to fanfics writers for John and Jacob but I didn't see anything about Joseph, I believe I'm not the only one to think The Father is the hardest to write ! Any tips, advices or anything else ? Thanks a lot and continue this wonderful work !

Hi! And thank you :D

I suppose you’ve played the game and already know Joseph’s story, but as I did in my previous posts, I’m going to give you (and anyone reading this who might not be familiar with the Far Cry 5 universe) a few links and resources:

The Book of Joseph: an official but rare book that seems mostly canonical. Its real-life author is unknown, but it’s written from the Father’s point of view and provides details about his life before Hope County. Contrary to popular belief, though, this is not Eden’s Gate’s sacred book; that’s The Word of Joseph and we can’t read it (except one page; see below).

Joseph’s sermons: the “first” one, “Soul Search”, the one about “the elite”, and “The Truth”. The latter is him reading the only page from The Word of Joseph we can find in the game. There’s also this one for Jacob’s Armory, and this, supposed to be broadcasted in the Heralds’ bunkers when the Collapse has arrived.

His only radio call.

The message he left for John at Seed Ranch.

His lines during the final fight against him.

His Arcade lines: Part 1 & Part 2.

His scars and tattoos.

I wrote a summary of what other characters say about him (masterpost here), but the cultists and Resistance/civilians’ comments can be listened to here and here. And chances are they’re not relevant anymore, but you can listen to his deleted lines here and read even more here.

The Far Cry 5 lore is all over the place if you want to take all the content they’ve ever released into account, but there’s also:

The song “Now He’s Our Father” (choir version here and reinterpretation here)

The two live-action trailers, The Sermon & The Baptism

The novel Far Cry: Absolution (not legally available for free)

The short film Inside Eden’s Gate (and, as a bonus, the long version of one of the scenes)

The comic Far Cry: Rite of Passage #3 (not legally available for free)

The game has an official sequel, Far Cry New Dawn... but it’s not really canon to me because of the retcons. And I have to talk about it because it exists, but there’s also the Far Cry 6 DLC, Collapse. It takes place in Joseph’s mind, and you would think that would make it the most reliable source of information regarding his psyche, but it was developed by a new team and there are many discrepancies between it and Far Cry 5, so I would personally advise against using it as a reference... Finally, this isn’t only true for Joseph, but take everything you see on the Far Cry Wiki with a grain of salt, especially unsourced information that makes you go, “oh, I didn’t know that”; that’s very suspicious :’)

In the Far Cry 5: Official Collector’s Edition Guide by Prima Games, the game’s Lead Writer, Drew Holmes, said the following about Joseph:

What we really focused on was creating an enemy that truly believed in his mission—that only he could protect humanity during the end of days. We wanted to create a villain who had pure intentions but who was so consumed by his own madness that he could not see his own evil. He views himself as Noah—but everyone else sees him as a madman. (...) Joseph Seed is a villain we haven’t seen before in Far Cry. Yes, he’s magnetic and crazy...but there’s also an honesty to him that makes him compelling. He believes he has purpose. He’s not crazy for crazy’s sake—he has a very clear message that he’s trying to impart on the Player—and hopefully makes you stop and think whether or not he’s actually right.

He talked about him in other interviews, such as this one.

Joseph was co-created and has always been played by the same actor (except once), Greg Bryk, whose opinion on the character is always worth reading/listening to. Here’s a selection of videos, some of them also featuring Drew Holmes and Dan Hay (Executive Producer/Creative Director/Writer):

Cult of Personality (UbiBlog)

Meet Greg Bryk Joseph Seed Actor

Interview - Greg Bryk and Drew Holmes (Gaming Trend)

Greg Bryk (Joseph "The Father" Seed in Far Cry 5) - Game On Expo 2018

FORGED ep10 - W/ Guest Greg Bryk

SacAnime Summer 2018 Greg Bryk Far Cry 5 Panel

Joseph Seed "The Father" aka Greg Bryk talks FAR CRY 5 & FAR CRY NEW DAWN

How Far Cry’s Iconic Villains Were Created (IGN Inside Stories)

Fans also asked him questions on Instagram and I compiled his answers here (and here). In the latest live stream, he said Far Cry 5 had been “an amazing chapter in [his] life” but that Joseph’s story was “finished”, implying he didn’t feel like playing him anymore...

Finally, it’s not really informative, just fun, but there’s this.

Now, my analysis and interpretation! Despite the fact Joseph is an antagonist in Far Cry 5, I wouldn’t really call him “evil” or describe him as a villain because he’s (weirdly) well-intentioned. His followers undeniably do awful things for him and his siblings, but even though he’s a cult leader, he’s neither hypocritical nor a liar, and his primary goal isn’t to take advantage of people. Joseph heard a Voice he believes is God’s and It entrusted him with a mission. Although who that Voice belongs to is up to interpretation, it’s clear to me It’s not a figment of his imagination; It’s real, and It’s powerful. Joseph has unwavering faith in It and will obey It, whatever It asks him to do, even the worst, because he’s extremely devoted and convinced he’s only doing what’s right. He genuinely believes the Collapse is coming and that he’s the prophet chosen to save as many “souls” as he can (at least 3,000) from it to march them to Eden’s Gate, which is why he started his Project.

I said he was well-intentioned but, as the saying goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, and I think Joseph embodies this proverb perfectly. The fact he’s convinced his actions are righteous is precisely what makes him dangerous and almost unstoppable. He won’t let anything or anyone prevent him from fulfilling his destiny and get in the way of his divine purpose, even if it means people have to die. To Joseph, this is “God’s will” and those non-believers will perish when the Collapse comes anyway... The people his Family saves might fight or not want to join them now, but he thinks that in the end, when they finally understand he was right, they will be grateful. As the Father, he feels he knows what’s best for his Children.

I believe the Voice showed him several versions of the future and that Joseph isn’t sure which one(s) will come to pass. He may know his siblings are likely to die and not see the New Eden, but he hopes they will live because he truly loves them. As for the Deputy, they’re the person destined to trigger the Collapse, so they’re special to him and he doesn’t want his followers to kill them. That said, he also hopes he can make them join his Family so everyone can be safe in “The Garden” the Voice promised.

I think Joseph hasn’t really moved on from the loss of his wife and is still, in some way, in love with her. That doesn’t mean he could never love someone else, but in the game, he’s not quite there yet. That may seem paradoxical, and he’s still convinced he did the right thing, but I also believe his daughter’s death was a tragedy to him because evidence suggests he loved her more than he loved himself. Joseph is a man of strong convictions… and contradictions.

He’s usually calm and collected but can still feel and express extreme emotions in some cases. When he speaks, it’s like he’s naturally solemn and charismatic, which is probably why so many people follow him. Again, the fact he doesn’t lie to them and sincerely believes in his message is probably the reason others started to believe in him in return.

Because of what he went through in his life, it appears Joseph is always desperately trying to build a family and surround himself with loved ones. Sadly, he also seems doomed to always lose them, one way or another… His commitment to the Voice is absolute, and serving God is what keeps him going. In the end, he’s certain everything he’s endured and sacrificed will be worth it. Unfortunately, while he always aims to do “what’s right”, the tragedy of Joseph is that he usually ends up inadvertently making things worse, for him or the people he loves. His faith is his reason for living, but it’s also, too often, the main reason for his suffering.

[loquaciousquark]

Got spoiled twice in casual browsing this afternoon, so decided to go ahead and play through the epilogue on my original Tavish save set so I'd at least get the comfort of seeing the big stuff for the first time on my own. (Thanks to @eponymous-rose for keeping me company despite spoilers!)

I am honestly SO HAPPY with 99% of the epilogue! Everything with Wyll, Karlach, Jaheira, Halsin....if I keep going I'm just going to name all the characters but ESPECIALLY WYLL AND KARLACH. Oh my gosh, the hints towards finding a forge in the Hells! Wyll's eye! His armor looks so unbelievably dumb but I guess when you're living hand to mouth in Avernus you make what you can get. I bet it's not as good as that Helldusk armor I had him in, but oh well.

Tara was there! We got to talk to Tara! And tell everyone Astarion & Tavish were dating! And so many people wanted to talk about what we were doing and what we were up to--ahh, I loved it. I will say I cackled like a loon at the idea of Tav giving a lecture at Blackstar Academy or whatever it is and Astarion sitting at Gale's desk kicking up his feet and knocking over all his desk decorations.

Scratch got new animations! Throwing the astral prism as a fetch object was absolutely inspired, and the little animation set where he just sits down and gnaws on it and throw it around--so unbelievably cute. And he sleeps! He sleeps on its side and it's so STINKIN cute! And the owlbear going to live with Shadowheart--I'm cryyyyying, I'm so happy for her and her cottage and her hoard of animals and her million flowers I'm sure are there.

And even the little QoL things like having a chest full of clothes and dye! So thoughtful and nice! I would have killed that halfling for a potion of animal speaking, though - I'll drink one before the Netherbrain next time to make sure it carries over.

The only teensy weensy tiny itty bitty complaint I have is that I wanted to be able to kiss Astarion at this party. Just once! And I wanted him to go out and be merry with everybody! I'll accept that he's feeling skulky and be satisfied immensely with my hugs, but Tavish on the new run hasn't gotten to Moonrise yet, so I'm starving for a lack of kisses here, augh.

I loved every word Withers said. I loved every second/third/fourth round of dialogue for all the companions. Jergal is such a dang bro and he seemed so enthusiastic to get to hang with the fam. Bless!

I do wonder if it's possible to try to kill people at this party - there were certainly enough death-causing implements and scrolls floating around!

And then the END CREDITS?????????????? Raphael ranting about THE CROWN OF KARSUS?????????????? This does explain why Gale made a point of saying it had gone back to Mystra when we most deffo left that sucker in the river, but HELLS-RELATED DLC???? I THOUGHT KARLACH AND WYLL WERE JUST LEAVING THEIR FATES OPEN-ENDED AND THEN ACTUALLY JK WE MIGHT BE GOING THERE??????????????????

Surely this is a promise of upcoming DLC, surely. I have no idea if they intend this to be paid or free (honestly I think it should be paid) but either way I'll throw every dollar I have at them if and when it comes out. How is Raphael alive. How is Mystra going to keep the crown from him. How are we going to get the gang back together. What does Zariel's area look like!! Will we get to go past level 12!! How is Raphael ALIVE!!

I honestly just had the biggest grin on my face the entire time. Every conversation, every hug, every gesture. What a complete delight, and I can't believe we get it for free.

(Sidenote: I was also beyond overjoyed that this patch also fixed the Astarion epilogue, the broken scars cutscene, and apparently the kisses. Again, Tavish hasn't gotten to at-will kisses yet, and I'm DYING.)

(Sidesidenote: I couldn't get any of my first game saves to load after a certain point [turned out to be due to an old mod I'd uninstalled] and troubleshooting that to get the saves to work again was honestly really fun, ahh.)

[azurdlywisterious]

Tell me your fave vaults

Okay, I somehow narrowed it down to a top five (honorable mentions are basically every single other vault) (except Vault 81) ( i wish the experiment actually happened and the overseer didnt shut it down i wanted the psychological horror :/ )

Vault 77- This is the crate of puppets vault, featuring the crate of puppets guy. This Vault wasn't a part of any game, rather it is from a comic that was promo material for fallout 3. and like, penny arcade understood the assignment on demonstrating how fucked up vault-tec is in thirty six panels. Like my one critique is that it's so short, but with the direction they went with the plot and the topics they tackled and it being 2008, it was probably for the best. Anyways the whole comic is free on the Internet Archive and its a nice snappy read (almost to its detriment like straight up plz someone get ari aster on the phone he'd make a fantastic adaptation of one man and a crate of puppets legit)

Vault 112- ooh hoo hoo unlike most vaults that I just remember from reading the wiki blurbs back in high school, this one was fully brought to my attention in a game of magic where i exiled a ridiculous amount of my library to get a winning card and also my missing dad (shout out to adventure costs!!!) and in that game i vowed to find it. I didnt know that it was a part of the main plot of fo3 yet but that didn't take long to find out. This is the creepy simulation one that i see as almost a proof of concept for the evil within vibes-wise (i fucking love the evil within series but thats besides the point). Legit terrified me in a way that should not have been possible (maybe im the one with unchecked issues that people being saccharinely nice to me sets off alarm bells in my head but it could also be that i had to get into a vr pod first) (who knows?) Anyways I proceeded to ignore like half of it and I'm looking forward to the next time i play and actually interacting with it a bit more (also one of my twelve fallout ocs is from this vault i made it work given this vault's canon ending)

Vault 11- Oughhhhhhh epistolary enviromental just altogether wonderful storytelling. the posters. The Posters! The ones that read "I Hate Nate" but the deeper down you go the more you find that have been graffitied to read "I Hate Kate" perfect wonderful amazing. Not to mention granting us with "Don't Vote Glover He Has A Family" which idk I love that out of context but I do. In context it's downright horrifying and the absurdity of it actually adds to the horror. Love love love Vault 11.

Vault 108- Gary. Gary Gary? Gary! Okay in all seriousness the story of this one is bonkers and also I'm a sucker for cloning (I had a cloning phase in third grade). Like, they found a guy that was going to die in a few months to be overseer so that there would be a power vacuum. Okay, normal social experiment for vault-tec. This eventually leads to them cloning a guy named Gary and then all the Gary clones killing the rest of the dwellers so now the only people in the vault are Gary clones. For the life of me I do not remember the chain of events that led to it and no i will not look it up it's funnier this way.

Vault 88- Look this one is boring to most people. Its a mix reviewed Fallout 4 DLC but dammit, I like getting to design my own Vault. As someone who got into Fallout because of the Vaults it was incredibly appealing to get to be the villain for once. And then I saw that my victim was this sweet guy named Clem (and also I was playing a goody two shoes but thats besides the point). Like I can tell they wanted to write Clem to be annoying so that you felt less bad basically torturing him but I found him so sweet and earnest I just couldnt. I fucking love Clem I would die for Clem hes like if a golden retriever was a person that I wanted to make sure kept his agency and autonomy. Plus it was really fun getting to piss the overseer off with some actually decent written dialogue. Like bonus points for that. And I still havent finished building the vault! amazing. absolutely wacky but also amazing.

[foxingpeculiar]

FF7: R&R

It's been a minute since I've posted about it, but I have been playing Rebirth. About 28 hours in--the party is about to depart Costa del Sol at (what I assume is) the end of Chapter 6. Spoilers up to that point (and for the original, I suppose).

First, just off the bat, I'm curious how much this game is going to cover. It seems like it will probably end at what was the end of disc 1 in the original--at Aerith's death. I still think that's inevitable--the story would be fundamentally different if that didn't happen, and there's so much in both these games that seems to be reminding us of that. Take, for example, the white materia becoming clear. Because I know the story, I understand the implications of that--for like, the whole planet. It has to happen, and the fact that the game is leaning so hard into the love-triangle story makes me feel like... that's what it's doing? It's making you FEEL it as much as possible when it necessarily happens? I dunno. I'm very curious.

That idea kind of justifies the whole "whispers" plot in the first one for me. That was a new part of the story, and felt weird and tacked on, but this game kind of retroactively seems to be making a point with it--it was going somewhere. Remake was good, Rebirth is great (at least, so far) and makes Remake better. That feels like a helluvan achievement.

Okay. I'm looking at my notes for the last few sessions and there's a lot going on. So this might be kind of scattershot. Bear with me.

I never really considered the idea of voice-acted moogles. Did they do that in like... 13-16? I don't even remember. But I'm vaguely disappointed the moogles just have like... normal voices. It doesn't seem like that should be. They're whole different animals.

On that note, I'm interested by how Nanaki speaks differently when it's just him and Aerith. They've done that twice now--once in the hotel in Junon and once in Johnny's place in CdS. If you don't know his backstory, I could see that being an interesting little mystery, but because I do, it's very endearing and in-character for him. And I do kind of wonder how Bugenhagen is going to be represented in this game, cos that dude is weird, so how are you going to sell that?

The chocobo costumes just make me think of "horse armor," which makes me laugh. IYKYK.

I have done 100% intel on both the Grasslands and Junon regions at this point. Haven't gotten out into the Corel region yet. I'm not bothering to do EVERYTHING, though. There's SO MUCH stuff in this game. In some of the rare fiend battles, I have not met all the objectives (I can kill enemies easier than I can stagger them, it turns out). Same with all the various minigames (turns out I'm no better at this piano than I am at real piano). Like, i could spend time getting good at these things for trophies or whatever, but I've got things to do. But I am trying to at least dip my toes into everything. And there've been a couple of fights that have tested my mettle a little--Quetzalcoatl, Mindflayer. Both battles weren't that hard, but were nonetheless very satisfying. Am curious what future regions will hold in that regard.

Chadley is a fun addition. He's very endearing. And the tension between him and MAI is kind of interesting too--I wonder where they're going with that. How did he get free of Hojo though? It's implied someone set him free--who was that, and why?

Ok, so the whole Fort Condor thing. I was prepped for that, because I played the Intergrade DLC. But there's some stuff going on there. First of all, what the fuck is Gilgamesh's deal? It's obviously him, but he's a weird presence in this one. I'm actually kind of impressed by the way they worked the tower-defense minigame into this, AND how we still have the actual condor, so if/when we need to get something from its nest later (I forget what, exactly--it's been a while--but I know that happens), it's there. Also, that last required battle? Fuck, that took forever. I could get to the point where it was obvious/inevitable I would win, but time would run out before that could actually happen (so many times, I was like "No! If I had 30 more seconds, I'd HAVE this!"). It took like 15 tries to beat, but I did it. (Also LMAO at "Why do we look like this?" when it's the original polygon models.)

The Midgarsormr moment was okay. It didn't hit me as hard as the original did when I was 13, but nothing was going to, and I do feel like it was a suitable display of Sephiroth's power.

Queensblood. Fuck, it's a good one. It might be my favorite of the FF card games, actually. I am owning that shit. Have all the cards, have beaten every player I've come across so far. The tournament was a pleasure, including seeing Nanaki in people-clothes, which I kind of missed during the Junon parade sequence (more on that in a minute). And the card puzzles in Costa del Sol? *chef's kiss* My brain had a LOT of fun with that.

So, the Junon sequence was great. Exactly what I wanted it to be. The parade went okay--I fucked a couple bits up and lost the first award to Roche's mobile unit, but whatever. (I love that he's back too, and I love Barrett's comment in Under Junon: "You've got some weird friends.") The whole bit with the Seventh Infantry was kind of fascinating--seeing Cloud as the hesitant leader, Aerith as the quick thinker. And I love how they wove Yuffie into the plot--cos she was missable in the original.

The whole dolphin thing was... still silly, but handled well, I felt. And I like the expansion of that section--the bit with the Crows and Rhonda and her son. That all feels... right.

Seeing the Highwind was kind of a moment. Curious if/how that'll work.

Glenn Lodbrook. I know he's from Ever Crisis and there's something going on there, but I don't really know that backstory. Rufus playing both sides--defying the ceasefire because he's secretly in league with the provisional Wutai government--is interesting. He's not a part of the story I remember super well, I'm not sure what his interests are, exactly.

I do like how they're following through on some of the characters and ideas from Remake. Kyrie, Madame M/Andrea, the Shinra Middle-Manager, but especially Johnny. Are we going to watch this doofus mature across this trilogy? Is that what's happening there? And he's not totally ancillary--they're weaving him into the main plot with what happens with Hojo in CdS (a bit of the original I forgot about, but yeah, that did happen--and it's even more jarring how out of place and creepy he feels in that environment in this one).

Regina is a fun addition. Are they gonna do anything with her, or is she one of those characters who's just kind of there? I wonder.

Oh man, okay. The Cloud/Aerith/Tifa dynamic. Rebirth is leaning HARD into that. I think I have them on about even footing at this point, but I'm not sure. Tifa is kind of my OG, the one 13 y/o me was into, but I dunno. But yeah. Aerith has to die. That has to happen, I'm convinced of that at this point.

Haven't dipped into the Zack timeline in a while. When will we get to that again?

Also, is Demon Wall going to be a thing in this game? Cos like... I love what they did to Jenova on the Shinra boat, but how are they going to design that? Am very curious.

[inktheory3]

My thoughts on the Fresh Season 2023 update!

Hey all, this is a different kind of post, where I'll be going over every new addition to the game, serving as an update post and my thoughts on the new content!

So lets just jump right into it!

Splatoon Fresh Season 2023: 3.0.0

Inkopolis DLC:

This update introduced the first wave of paid DLC! DLC owners can now travel to Inkopolis, essentially serving as a new hub world skin. (note the wording used, "Travel to this city?" perhaps more hub worlds are coming?)

Inkopolis is functionally identical to Splatsville, which is disappointing but understandable. There's no Squid Jump, the former arcade machine is now a terminal to order items from Hotlantis, and all shop owners share the same stock as the Splatsville shops. Some people hate these choices, but they make sense as parity decisions between the 2 hub worlds. What I am disappointed about is the Grizzco and pvp lobbies being identical to Splatsville's. Even the graffiti is identical!

The new and returning characters and settings have phenomenal designs, as expected for the series, and I appreciate the compact and sleek hub design as opposed to how spread out and chaotic Splatsville is. I will forever cherish Shelly & Donny's designs and mannerisms (Donny calls the lobby the WOBBY!) and Fred Crumbs is a new favourite character of mine.

Overall, Wave 1 of the DLC is great, it's essentially an entrée. You don't pay for reservations at a restaurant to eat breadsticks, but its important to serve them to keep us busy while the real meat and potatoes of the DLC, Side Order, is in production.

The Catalog:

As per usual, a new Catalog is coming. There really aren't critiques to be said. Flipping through it, all the new clothing, decorations, stickers, splashtag title parts, banners and emotes look wonderful.

Thanks to datamining, I've already seen all the new emotes. Every season the emotes get more and more expressive! Rootin' Tootin' is going to be permanently equipped as soon as I hit level 73. Again, there is 1 disappointment for me. The Reppin' Inkopolis emote (which is completely free, you don't need the DLC for, which I appreciate incredibly) doesn't have new Splatoon 1 style animations for the 6 weapon classes introduced since then. (Dualies, Brellas, Stringers and Splatanas; including Brushes and Blasters which were distinguished from Rollers and Shooters respectively in Splatoon 3) The emote is a nostalgia trip for me but having it play the default win animation for new weapon classes is really disappointing.

Related to the catalog, we have a new gear brand, Z+F. It's a collaboration between Zekko and Firefin and the name is a real mouthful. I don't like it at all. There were so many good ideas for mashups of Zekko and Firefin; Zekkofin, Finko, Z-Fire and so on! Z+F isn't a bad name per say, but it is disappointing to be included among all the other amazing brand names.

There are 2 more incredibly welcome changes to the catalog system though! From now on, in mystery boxes and shell-out capsules, you have a small chance of receiving catalog exclusive items. Previously, if you didn't get a catalog exclusive item during the season it introduced, it would never appear in your shops, and the exclusive emotes, banners and title parts were gone forever. Now you still have a chance, which is really great!

Finally, in the last week of every season, you'll get a 1.2x closeout bonus for catalog points, helping you finish out your catalog before the new season starts. These are 2 amazing changes to help players with less time on their hands to get their hands on content without making players who earned it the old way feel cheapened.

New Stages:

Um'ami Ruins and Manta Maria have been added to the game! As of now I can't speak on them, as they aren't playable, but from datamined screenshots they seem to follow the unfortunate Splatoon 3 trend of reworking older maps to be cramped and creating 1 dimensional new maps.

New Special Weapons:

2 new special weapons have been released!

The Kraken Royale is a transformation, turning you into a Kraken for 8 seconds. (up to 10 with special power up) You can squid roll and surge during it, and colliding with an enemy deals 60 damage, while a charged attack deals 100 piercing damage.

This weapon is a complete counter to Crab Tank, it oneshots the Crab Tank user with a single charge attack. Other than that, I'm a bit concerned about the invincibility of the special weapon, despite the start and end vulnerability, invincibility was a problematic part of Splatoon 1 and 2's special design.

It also steps on Ultra Stamp and Reefsliders toes a little too much for my liking. These other 2 specials are simply outclassed by Kraken! In addition to being buggy and under-tuned, Krakens invincibility and mobility outclasses them both on a mechanical level, which is a shame.

A new special weapon, the Super Chump, was introduced. Horrible name aside, this weapon allows you to pick a spot on the map to deploy a barrage of bombs! Once you pick a location, a dozen Super Chumps create fake super jump landings and stick to the ground, exploding 4 seconds later. Enemies won't die to a single Super Chump, as they only deal 30-60 damage on their lonesome, but they are excellent displacement tools.

Similar to Kraken Royale, this weapon steps on a lot of toes. It is essentially another variation of "random bullshit go!" where you pick a spot to throw a bomb(s) to force enemies to move. It didn't need to be this similar to Booyah Bomb, Triple Inkstrike AND Tenta Missiles! In fact it is essentially a replacement for Tenta Missiles, seeing that the 2 weapons that have it also have identical sub weapons to their Splatoon 2 kits, without the Missiles!

There really was an obvious way to make Super Chump unique. The super jump landings are an interesting idea, but they're very useless. They don't function any differently to other special indicators, as no one will believe 12 super jumps at once all in their own ink. Rather, Super Chump could have been a unique engagement special, where you are also shot forwards alongside the Super Chumps, forcing the enemy to either run and and concede the space to you, or try to guess which super jump landing is the real one and try to splat you.

Overall, these specials are cool and well designed, but their similarities to existing specials puts a sour taste in my mouth.

New Main Weapons:

Of course we can't have new specials without new main weapons.

Here they are:

Neo Sploosh-o-matic: Squid Beakon/ Killer Wail 5.1

Neo Splash-o-matic: Suction Bomb/ Triple Inkstrike

N-ZAP '89: Autobomb/ Super Chump

.96 Gal Deco: Splash Wall/ Kraken Royale

Custom Jet Squelcher: Toxic Mist/ Ink Storm

L-3 Nozzlenose D: Burst Bomb/ Ultra Stamp

Rapid Blaster Deco: Torpedo/ Inkjet

Clash Blaster Neo: Curling Bomb/ Super Chump

Krak-On Splat Roller: Squid Beakon/Kraken Royale

Z+F Splat Charger/ Splatterscope: Splash Wall/ Triple Inkstrike

Tri-Slosher Nouveau: Fizzy Bomb/ Tacticooler

Now all of these kits are phenomenal. Ignoring the viability of certain subs and specials, all of these kits work and look fun. In the last season we got a couple of stinkers like Snipewriter 5H with Sprinkler/ Tacticooler. This time every kit makes sense. There's a valid playstyle and a weapon for everyone here which I really respect. In a perfect world where all of these main, sub and special weapons are balanced well, all of these kits would have their time in the spotlight.

My only issue is the obvious preferences the Splatoon Devs have for kits. Only FOUR shooters are yet to get a second kit, while Brellas, Stringers and Splatanas remain completely unrepresented. Every other class has only 1 or 2 secondary kits! This is a shame because Splatoon promotes inclusivity and that needs to be apparent in the game and its updates. The new kits need to give something new to play with for every type of player, and they simply aren't.

Online Functions:

Pools have been added! They're essentially the same as Mario Kart 8 lobbies, or arenas in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. You can create a pool, choose whether its open or password protected, and people can join and play! This is amazing. It allows for so much versatility in playing with friends, playing with chatters on stream, new people on discord or with people in tournaments and LAN meetups! Really, a phenomenal addition.

Tableturf Battle can now be played online! You can even spectate regular battles, not just in private lobbies. This also comes with 23 new cards! This is a welcome addition, and I understand why it wasn't packaged in the base game, but I'm happy it's here either way.

Salmon Run:

A new King Salmonid has been added! Horrorboros, the flying serpent, charges and shoots Booyah Bombs at workers. A new Big Run event is also happening right away which is really promising for the future of events in Splatoon.

New Scale rewards have been added! Splatoon 2 Grizzco gear has been added in a new tab of the Scale Shop, and Splatoon 2's "Gloopsuits" have been added, as a counterpart to the Slopsuits, if you'd like a different work look. All good additions!

In addition, Eggstra Work has been added, making use of the Salmon Run scenario feature. In this 2 day event, you must assemble a team with your friends and run through 5 preset waves to get as many eggs as possible, getting rewards for what percentile of eggs you collected in 1 shift. This is also a welcome addition, more modes are always great, but it's a bit troublesome.

First of all, it steps on Big Runs toes. The addition of Big Run already lowered how many Splatfests we get, and now theres a 3rd weekend event! They could of course have every event happen 2-3 times a season, but I'm concerned about the Devs tuning down the amount of events every month.

Secondly, it doesn't feel like a weekend event in the same way Big Run and Splatfests are. There are elements of surprise in the former 2 events, but in Eggstra Work, once you've played it once, you've played it a million times. Unlike Big Run there is a maximum amount of eggs you can get. It will get boring over the course of 2 days, and you need friends to play it, it can't be played in freelance.

I really wish they didn't make Eggstra Work a limited event. It would've been great as a permanent game mode that rotates monthly! A sort of counterpart to freelance the same way that League Battles were a counterpart to X Battles. at the turn of every month a new map, weapons and scenarios are selected for the Eggstra Work shift, and teams of 4 compete for top leaderboard spots throughout the month.

People tend to grind out weekend events, and I feel that Eggstra Works repetitiveness will lead to burnout if it gets condensed to a 2 day period.

Balance Changes:

I am disappointed with the Devs fear of making big changes to Splatoon 3's meta. They only changed 1 main weapon, the Big Swig, this patch. They didn't directly nerf Crab Tank, only giving Inkjet, Trizooka and Ultra Stamp damage multipliers against the Crab Tank's armor. They buffed underused weapons by decreasing their special gauge by 10p, which really doesn't fix their problems, as for weapons like Ballpoint Splatling, Aerospray MG and N-ZAP '85, their problems aren't that their specials are too hard to get, its that their specials aren't particularly good when you get them.

Finally, they changed maps, which is promising. I don't mind small changes to maps, despite my feelings about the above small balance changes. I appreciate them understanding that they went wrong with their maps and small changes are a gateway to big changes, but as of now, the small changes they've added feel like bandaid solutions to an underlying problem with the map design.

The Jukebox:

Every song in Splatoon 3 has been given a name! The Jukebox is a great addition to Splatoon, allowing you to pick what songs play in the lobby. Again, I have a small gripe. It is annoying that you have to pay every time you want to use the Jukebox, when in Splatoon 2 you could listen to every song for free.

Badges:

There are a whole slew of new Badges and I really appreciate the direction they're going in.

Of course there are new badges for the special weapons, Horrorboros, Eggstra Work and Z+F. They also added badges for the Inkopolis shop keepers, adding another incentive to swap between hub worlds, which I really like!

Finally, they added Level and X rank badges. There are 12 Level badges, for reaching level 30/50/100/200/300/400/500/600/700/800/900/999, and X rank badges for reaching top 3000/500/10 on the leaderboards. This expands on the direction I like, but also highlights a glaring flaw.

It's impossible to 100% Splatoon 3's badge system, it's meant to a system to let you show off the way you play Splatoon! But I don't really like the design of the badges themselves.

In the case of most badges, the colors have inherent symbolism. Bronze means 3rd place, Silver means 2nd place and Gold means 1st. Once you get a gold badge variant, the rest are inferior. If you use the bronze or silver badges, its implying to other players that you aren't the best at this milestone you're showing off. Even if you dedicate all your time to Salmon Run, if you don't put thousands of hours in, your badges will always look worse than what you could have. This is especially in the Level badges, the level 999 badge is stunning, and other impressive milestone badges, like the level 100 badge, looks horrible. You have players putting in so much time and effort for badges that are a downgrade to others.

Even if you do put in a lot of time into the game, unless you specialise in a specific game mode, your badges won't look good. I have over 1k hours in Splatoon 3, but my playstyle's given me 90+ mediocre badges and 1 or 2 impressive badges. I have the 5 star Hydra Splatling badges, acquired 300 hours in, and fifteen 4 star weapon badges, a couple silver Salmon Run and Special weapon badges and so on. I put a lot of time into this game but I have nothing cool to show off, my current badge layout on my Splashtag doesn't have an identity to it, it looks just like a Splashtag someone with a couple hundred hours in Splatoon 3. It doesn't speak to my achievements, my playstyle, it conveys that my milestones aren't the peak, that my Silver Booyah Bomb badge isn't impressive because there are people with Gold Booyah Bomb badges.

1 thing I'd do to remedy this is make badges for getting badges. This would help players who don't specialise in anything and instead are good at everything. I don't know what this badge would look like, but badges for getting 10, 30 or 100 badges would be cool.

I'd also like Sheldon badges! You get badges for getting stars on your gear, why not badges of Sheldon for getting stars on weapons. I've counted, I have over 200 combined stars on my weapons, and nothing to show for it.

Finally, I'd like every badge to be more unique, and not just be recolored variations of eachother. What if the Gold Maws badge wasn't gold, and instead it was stylised art of Maws lunging at the screen. What if the N-ZAP '85's 5 star badge was pixelated. What if the Hydra Splatling's 5 star badge was on fire. What I'm saying is, instead of making the tiers of badges just recolors of the lower tiers, they should look visually different, to make them stand out more and give lower tiered badges purpose for existing and remove the negative connotations with their coloring.

Minor Changes:

There are quite a few small additions in this update! of course there's new gear. But there's a lot more coming!

Lockers can now be wiped clean with the - (minus) button if you want to start over. The amount of items on display in shops has been increased to 9 from 6. You can preview Scale reward items at Grizzco, similar to Hotlantis! Color Lock was adjusted during Tricolor Battles to accommodate for colorblind players. Winners of 10, 100 and 333x battles will be broadcast to your friends and on the Anarchy Splatcast!

Connection Errors are now dealt with player-side. Instead of the match grinding to a halt, laggy players will be notified and have their controls removed if the lag persists. Terrific!

Closing Thoughts:

Overall, despite my complaints, I really like this update. The team over at Splatoon is doing a good job and I'm excited. With these changes they're heading in the right direction and we can only hope they keep on this trend with bigger and better changes. I'll see you all on the battlefield! Stay fresh!

[fridge-reviews]

The Best Games of 2022

Welcome to the my personal list of games I enjoyed this year. That’s right it’s my list, feel free to disagree with me but it won’t change anything. Anyway here are the rules;

1. These are games that I’ve played and reviewed this year. 2. The only order to this list is the order in which I reviewed them, its not a top 10, these all feature because of how good I consider them to be. 3. The games don’t have to have been released this year.

With that all said, lets get into it.

Psychonauts 2

This was a long awaited sequel for me, I loved the original (and lacked the tech to play the VR one) and loved this one even more. Everything the first had this iterated on and improved. Great characters, wonderful humour and I love the art style.

A Hat in Time

Yet more platforming goodness. I enjoyed my time with this so much I introduced it to my nephew (and I don't usually do that because he makes any game I do that with insufferable). Bright, colourful and full of character.

Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition

I really enjoyed my time with this game and I'm waiting as patiently as I can for the sequel to finally land on PC. This game ticked boxes I didn't even know I had. Hunting mechanical dinosaurs (and other creatures) it turns out really is my jam.

Death's Door

A recursive game... I like that as a term and its a term that fits this game perfectly. This was a game that I liked the look of and loved the feel of playing. The combat is meaty but manageable as long as you don't allow yourself to be swarmed.

Iratus: Lord of the Dead

It looks and plays similiarly to Darkest Dungeon in a lot of ways, but not so much so there isn't anything unique about it. However the ability to enhance your units by adding body parts that you harvest from successful combats gives this game a unique feeling. Go on play it, be the bad guy.

Wandersong

This was such a feel good game, I believe I said this game felt like a Cartoon Holiday Special and I stand by that statement. It's saccharine sweet at time but sometimes thats exactly what you need.

The Outer Worlds

I do love a nice chunky RPG sometimes, one where you can really get your teeth into the mechanics and fiddle with numbers etc. The Outer Worlds gave me exactly what I wanted. I would suggest investing in the DLC's though, they're very unique and entertaining... perhaps more so than the base game.

Oxenfree

Play this game. PLAY IT. It's not overly long and the mystery is great. That's all I can say. So...

PLAY IT.

Dusk

Screenshots do not do this game justice. This game is frenetic and and a joy to control. It seems boomer shooters are back and are taking no prisoners.

A Plague Tale: Innocence

This game is just so damned good, its gorgeous and grotesque to look at. The story... well it's interesting. We'll see if the sequel can match what the original did. Stealth your way to victory and stay in the light!

—————————————————————————————————— I'm so glad that unions are rising within the games industry. This can only lead to good things, sure the games may take longer but the talent used to create them will now finally have some real protection from their corporate masters. With luck more and more of these unions will spring up and really affect some long lasting change for the better.

[jcmarchi]

Vampire Survivors' Contra DLC Shows One Of Gaming's Best Values Still Has Plenty Of Life

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Vampire Survivors' Contra DLC Shows One Of Gaming's Best Values Still Has Plenty Of Life

Ever since it came to Switch at the tail end of last summer, Vampire Survivors has been my plane game. Sure, other run-based indies like Balatro and Dead Cells, all-encompassing triple-A titles like Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and retro compilations like Sonic Origins and TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, have shared that title, but I always know that when I need to pass time on a flight, no game does so as effectively as Vampire Survivors. Logically, I know that each run will last, at most, 30 minutes, but for some reason, it never feels that way. And because of that, I look down for what feels like 20 minutes, and when I look up, 2 hours have passed.

I travel a lot, so I play Vampire Survivors fairly regularly. Still, each time I turn on the game, developer Poncle has snuck more into it. New characters, new maps, new ways to customize your experience – I’m continually surprised and delighted by additional features and content the developer has added in the time since I fired up the game. Sure, Poncle puts out free updates on a regular basis, sometimes even as surprises, as was the case last week, but these paid pieces of DLC – each of which cost $2.50 or less – are the tentpole content releases. The latest, Operation Guns, crosses over with Konami’s legendary Contra IP in both expected and unexpected ways to deliver the same Vampire Survivors fun we’ve known with a distinct Contra flavor.

Operation Guns adds a significant amount of Contra content to Vampire Survivors. On top of 11 new characters, 11 base weapons, and 11 weapon evolutions, Operation Guns brings an enormous Contra-themed map called Neo Galuga, which progresses almost in lockstep with how the original Contra (and its recent remake, Operation Galuga) advances. You start out blasting, slashing, zapping, whipping, and otherwise annihilating humans and robots, but as you go further into the map, more sinister threats show that this isn’t just some standard Earth-based war. Alien eggs, structures, and enemies slowly join the fray, as do an increased number of robotic adversaries. Just like what happens in the original, the alien and cyborg presence eventually takes over the war, giving Poncle plenty of room to play with the Contra license.

Before I knew it, I went from blasting away foot soldiers to enemies on jetbikes to waves of flying Metal Aliens and snake cyborgs. I loved repeating the same process of leveling up my character and their weapons, but with myriad fun discoverables scattered throughout the Neo Galuga map. Along the way, I uncovered some fun Contra-themed power-ups – like homing missiles – that allowed me to further combat the alien horde.

However, the biggest surprise came near the end of my first successful run on Neo Galuga, as a ticker appeared on the bottom of the screen, telling me that something big was happening in a specific corner of the map. I only had a few minutes to get there, and with denser waves of enemies impeding my path, I was worried I wouldn’t get there in time. However, once I did, I was greeted by one of the coolest things I’ve seen Poncle do with Vampire Survivors. I won’t spoil it beyond saying it’s a unique encounter that pays homage to an iconic fight with one of the Contra series’ recurring enemies. 

Though I’ve only done a few runs, I’m steadily unlocking new characters and weapons. Most of the new content is clear about how to unlock the next character, which is helpful in unlocking additional weapons. You unlock Bill within the Neo Galuga map, then unlock Lance by evolving Bill’s Long Gun, and so on. It’s all in service of giving the player a clear route to experiencing all the content that Operation Guns has to offer with as minimal friction as possible. Add on top the Bonus Stage, and the Operation Guns DLC is well worth checking out for all fans of Vampire Survivors, regardless of your Contra fandom.

The wildest part about all of this, as I always tout, is the sheer value of Vampire Survivors. Though the game is often on sale, it never really needs to be; even if you buy the game and all its DLC at full price, you’re spending less than $15. It runs well on Switch, which is where I play it, but it’s also verified for Steam Deck, hammering home that this is the ultimate plane game. Though Poncle continues to release free updates a year and a half after its initial Steam release, these major tentpole releases excite me for the future of Vampire Survivors.

Will the future hold more crossover content? We’ve already received collaborations with Among Us and Contra, but words could not describe how excited I’d be for crossovers with even more prominent properties like Final Fantasy or Resident Evil; imagine slashing your way through hordes of fiends in Zanarkand as Lightning before a boss battle against Sephiroth, or exploring Raccoon City as Chris Redfield, taking down low-level zombies before a Nemesis spawns on the map. The Operation Guns DLC even has my imagination running wild with some less obvious crossovers like Street Fighter; so many of those characters have such iconic moves. Starting off with Ryu throwing a Hadoken before evolving it all the way up to a Shinku Hadoken would be a natural progression that could be applied to several of the series’ characters. And since Vampire Survivors includes music and remixes from the Contra series, that makes these crossover ideas even more enticing.

This article isn’t about speculation or creating a wishlist, though. But that’s what Vampire Survivors’ latest DLC inspires. It shows that Poncle is more than capable of giving these IPs the care they deserve while staying true to the Vampire Survivors formula that made me fall in love with the game in the first place. Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns DLC is out now on all platforms aside from PlayStation (that version arrives later this summer when the main game comes to the platform) and costs just $2.50.

For more on why Vampire Survivors is well worth your time, check out our review of the base game right here.

[botebot-10]

⚠️[ S P O I L E R S F O R R U I N ! ! ! ! ]⚠️

I played Ruin a lot last month and I really wanna talk about it, so I'm gonna do that now!

I have waited a while, but if you still havent played ruin, scroll past this thread pls!

Ok, lets start!

First of all: I LOVED IT SO MUCH!! It was a really fun adventure that was also scary! It didnt reach the peak of base Security breach for me but I loved it a lot and its awesome that this is FREE DLC somehow!

Now that thats out of the way, its time for the LOOOREEE!!

Imma start off with a hot take: BurnTrap and the Mimic dont anything like each other! I doubt that they are the same character..

I know that the books imply it a lot, but Scott said that the books arent entirely canon and I will take his word for it!

MXES was really interesting to me!

at first I thought he was glitchtrap but he definitely wasnt..

I wonder if MXES was the security system that was bothering Gregory in Security Breach as well! Freddy kept mentioning a security system that knows where he was or locked him in at some points...

I went in hoping we would save everyone, but I slowly realized that this was a horror game so it probally wasnt going to happen..

Atleast we managed to save the daycare! Thats pretty neat right??

I love how Grimic sounds super natural at first, but slowly starts to sound more AI-like! I was wondering how he would be trapped because in every ending except leave, Gregory escaped.. But when Grimic started to slip up I started to realize (waay too late) that I have been tricked..

I like the little secrets too that could lead to a better ending, someone pointed out his "costume" there was an attempt to look more like Gregory, which is pretty cool!!

Anyways, Ruin is super fun!! I prefer the base Security Breach game for the free-roam hide and seek gameplay, but Ruin is an awesome free edition to the base game! Security Breach is also an awesome deal now! 40 bucks for 2 massive fnaf/mascot horror experiences! Awesome!! :D

[thetoxicgamer]

Starfield pre-orders are already beating everything else on Steam

Starfield pre-orders are live, kicking, and available right now, after Bethesda dropped new gameplay details for its upcoming RPG game at the Xbox Games Showcase. The Fallout 4 and Skyrim maker is promising a lot with Starfield – and it seems we’re all here for it. Defeating Payday 3, Street Fighter 6, and even Valve’s beloved Steam Deck, as we head towards the Starfield release date, the space opera that Todd built is already the top-selling game on Steam, less than a day since pre-orders went up. From Starfield backgrounds to Starfield character creation, we know a lot more now about the upcoming intergalactic odyssey, with Bethesda even confirming that long-time loathe figure the Adoring Fan will be returning from The Elder Scrolls Oblivion. The new Starfield gameplay highlighted visual upgrades since the build we saw in 2022, as well as details on the first Starfield DLC. This, surely, will be the biggest game of the year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMOPoAq5vIA So big in fact, that less than 24 hours since Bethesda set loose Starfield pre-orders, it’s already jumped to the top-selling paid-for game on Steam. Cyberpunk 2077 has had a big push, too, thanks to the Phantom Liberty release date reveal and extra gameplay details. But Starfield remains at the apex, defeating other hotly anticipated upcoming games like Payday 3, and recent hits such as Street Fighter 6. Only CSGO, the mighty Valve shooter, stands higher than Starfield, but that’s free to play – Starfield is still the boss of all premium Steam games. Here’s everything you need to know from the Starfield showcase. While we wait for Bethesda’s next opus, you might be wondering about Starfield multiplayer. You can also get going with Starfield ship design, so you’re ready to rule the cosmos once the space sim touches down. Read the full article