#i cannot believe that the three last ones are all bloodborne weapons

[coolbossweapons]

[vicegrips-fr]

As I’ve mentioned before I plan on re-writing lore and with that, there have been a few changes. So, because of this and because it’s high time that both myself and @majestyrising got on with the next stages of our lore, I’ve decided to write up a brief summary of what takes place between the time of Arduin's arrival and his older brother Bastion escaping with Rho. There are quite a few details that are missing from this in order to get to the point, so I’ll be going over those (and all of the changes that have been made) in another post. Warning: mentions of blood, abuse, torture, lots of unpleasantness, etc.

@jollyroger-fr @majestyrising @fusefr @archaic-fr @jadedragons @kattafr @clockworktophat-fr @almaren-fr @webwing-alpha @unicorndust-fr @froststrix-fr _____________________________________

Arduin, fresh-faced and setting out on his own from the Bloodborn for the first time, stumbles into the Undermurk (the swamp and bog lands that rest in Mordecai’s territory) and is captured by his men. He’s taken straight to Mordecai where he boldly informs their violent leader that he is, in fact, a prince. Surprised but not at all put off by the news, Mordecai orders that he be held in the cells until he can ‘figure out what to do with him’. Up to this point, Mordecai and his warriors had mostly kept to raiding and looting small-time towns and villages, little dots on a map that no one gave a shit about. Sometimes they would take people back with them by force if the mood struck, but most of the time those who were brought back to the Wormwood Gorge had chosen to follow after seeing what Mordecai could do. They’d clearly heard the rumors and now they believed them. Eldawrath, Mordecai’s right-hand man, and deputy, as it were, is hesitant to keep him around. He fears that if the boy is telling the truth they’ll have an army at their door before they know it. ‘All that boy is gonna do is bring us trouble, Mordecai, and you know it.’ When the time comes, Arduin is brought before the Blight Touched people to be sacrificed to the pit. Just as Mordecai had done when his father ‘tested’ him, Arduin survives and walks away with a very interesting mutation. It would turn out that his ‘gift’ is more of a curse, transforming him into a large, feral bogsneak-creature that Mordecai abuses, and later, uses as an attack dog. There is a silver-lining, or as much of one that someone could hope for considering his circumstances; he does not remain in this form forever but changes back and forth. What triggers these transformations are currently unknown, but he certainly doesn’t have control of them. About a month passes and Arduin is still at the mercy of Mordecai, kept beneath his house in a cellar referred to as ‘the workshop’. Here he is tortured and abused, mostly for Mordecai’s amusement, and slowly grows detached from his former self and life. He is given the nickname Vile. Around this time another prince wanders into the Undermurk and he too is captured and brought before the leader of the gorge. His name is Bastion and it’s quickly discovered that not only is he a prince as well, but the brother of the prince he’d captured a month before. Again Mordecai shows no signs of being perturbed (why should he? nothing happened before. this is the middle of nowhere) and has him brought to the workshop for a little family reunion. Eldawrath voices his concerns like before, and this time their argument ends with both men walking away with busted lips. In the workshop, Bastion is forced to get a taste of the abuse and torture his little brother has endured. The tension building among Mordecai, Eldawrath, and now his people (as well as the timely visit from a certain ridgeback stranger) has the Blight Touched leader on edge; naturally, this is taken out on the brothers. He even goes so far as forcing Arduin to tear out his own brother's left eye. Two weeks pass and another stranger arrives, this one with a snowstorm at his heels and claiming to be a king; his name is Rho. After a scuffle between him and a witch living in the swamp that goes by Wurdalak, Mordecai arrives and the two exchange barbs before Rho is knocked out by Mordecai and carried back to the cells.  Eldawrath, finding out about the newest addition to the ever-growing herd of runaway royals, goes to confront Mordecai. This is the final straw and he’s not about to let Mordecai ruin the good thing they all got going. So what if people believe that Mordecai is blessed? He believed that too but now he’s starting to wonder. Hell! Mordecai doesn’t even know if that’s true! What Eldawrath doesn’t know, however, is that Mordecai is also growing a little worried. After all, three is a curse. Seeking answers Mordecai tries questioning Rho who, not surprisingly, keeps his lips sealed save for insults. Annoyed and frustrated, Mordecai dumps a pale of Wyrmwound ooze on Rho is hopes that that’ll get him to talk and is disappointed to find out that it doesn’t. At least he got to enjoy the show. After, Mordecai made his way over to see Dirge hoping that the blood mage could teach him a thing or two. He did put a roof over his head and food in his belly, the Ridgeback owes him for that. Dirge agrees but Mordecai doesn’t walk away feeling any better. On his way home Mordecai notices that the streets are relatively empty and the lights in many of the ramshackle houses out. There are voices, however, up ahead in the town square. With Baphomet and Azazel in tow, Mordecai picks up his pace and when he reaches the center of town finds none other than Eldawrath waiting for him with a mob of people behind him. He should have spoken with Dirge sooner. The town is divided; some standing with Eldawrath and the rest remaining loyal to their ‘blessed’ leader. The two exchange words and to no one’s surprise, they are at an impasse- meaning they’ll settle this in blood. A civil war breaks out among the clan with Mordecai and Eldawrath at its center. All around them is chaos; prisoners being freed, kin killing kin, and the sounds of weapons- weapons ranging from swords to kitchen forks and rusty spoons- clanging and gouging and slicing into flesh and bone. In the cellar beneath Mordecai’s floorboards, the brothers hear the battle raging above them and Arduin dares to hope that his mother has found them. Someone has, but not the Bloodborn Queen. The cellar door rattles violently on its hinges and Arduin shrinks back into the shadows- someone is trying to yank it open from the outside. The wood eventually gives way and the already cold, damp workshop’s temperature drops severely, enough that he can see his breath coming out in plumes. Next is the sound of footsteps on the stairs; pained, measured steps that move with determination regardless. Arduin blinks into the dark as the man finally appears at the bottom of the stairs. He doesn’t recognize this man with white-blue eyes, but Rho has found them. (We’re leaving.) With those two simple words, Rho strides over and bends to sling Bastion up over his shoulder. It’s a strain, the effort required to manage the task a lot to ask given his drained state; but by miracle or pure adrenaline, he manages.  Arduin takes a single step to follow and stops, paralyzed by the fear that grips his heart when he thinks about walking up those stairs. He can hear its irregular rhythm beating in his eardrums and his throat closes up- He’s changing into that thing again. ‘Not now! Not now!’

Rho has already turned and is heading for the stairs, there’s no telling how long this battle will last and he can make use of the chaos in order to get Bastion to safety unnoticed- but they have to go now. He cannot wait for Bastion’s brother to follow and he isn’t strong enough right now to carry the both of them. He makes a decision and heads up the stairs, trying his damnedest to block out Bastion’s mournful screams of protest. It isn’t until minutes later that Arduin manages to crawl up the stairs, his body twisting and twitching, morphing into the vile beast. Across the floor he drags himself on one arm towards the door- still open! He glimpses the carnage outside and stops, staggering and swaying to his feet. Ramshackle homes that have been set ablaze light the streets and shine a light on bodies laying in muddy, bloody puddles. Most with terrified or angry expressions frozen on their cold dead faces. Others are missing body parts and the truly unlucky lay gutted and bloated with swarms of flies laying eggs inside their corpses. ‘Bastion!’ Arduin moans in a distorted- disturbing- voice. ‘Wait! Don’t go! Don’t leave me here-’ But it’s too late, they’re gone and he’s run out of time. CRACK! Arduin’s spine grows and snaps, arching up and out, the notches of his vertebrae visible and moving beneath his skin. He goes to his knees, mouth agape in a silent scream of agony. There is fighting all around and the sounds of it ring in his ears- too loud! too loud! The pain eventually ceases and a long forked tongue slides out from between his wet lips, tasting the air. His large head swivels in the direction he smells the most blood and his thick body follows.

[guitarpornography]

Versus Steam: Game of the Year Awards: Runner-Ups

Rather than do this after the list or right before the number one game as I originally planned, I found myself thinking this placement would make the most sense. Honestly, the top three for me were difficult to order, as I could easily pick each as my favorite game of the year based on how I was feeling at any given moment. Though I’ve finalized a proper ordering, you could easily just consider them my Triforce of Game of the Year as each offered something amazing that I really want to talk about. However, I did play plenty of other games this year, though I’m sure I missed more than a few. So if you don’t see a game you loved in this post or the three that follow it, send me a message to let me know. I’ve also decided to categorize this with some silly award titles, befitting just why they deserve mention. Without further ado…

Versus Steam’s “The Last Game I Cut Out of the Top Ten” Award

Developed by: Stoic

Published by: Versus Evil (PC, PS4, XBox One)

Oh, I feel so bad about leaving this one off the list proper. When The Banner Saga won my Game of the Year Award back in 2014, I was immediately excited for the sequel and Stoic did not disappoint. Picking up immediately where the last one left off, the player continues the rocky road of managing life versus managing strength, resulting in a tumultuous trip in which every decision feels weighty. The art style continues to be gorgeous and the consequences the first game have a real impact on characterization, adding layers of depth to characters that were already pretty complex. Where it fails is in what we might call Trilogy Syndrome, as the second part of any trilogy has to shoulder a lot of weight in setup, without giving any sense of finality. While The Banner Saga 2 has an exciting climax, it’s hard to piece together what it will all ultimately mean for the series as a whole and it makes it very hard to say that that is satisfying. Still, the epic journey is on display and with characters starting more powered up, the layers of strategy have increased in building a team for the field. And as always, the aesthetics of the game are top notch to a degree I cannot express with a mere picture or sound clip. They must be seen in motion.

Versus Steam’s “This Game is Soooo Long but I’m Really Enjoying What I’ve Played So Far” Award

Developed by: Square Enix Business Divison 2

Published by: Square Enix (PS4, Xbox One)

I cheated a few years back and included Dragon Age: Inquisition on a Game of the Year Award list, but I had been drawing towards what I felt was the conclusion, making me comfortable with putting it on the list. With Final Fantasy XV, I feel almost like I will never actually finish this game, since I’m always getting sidetracked from any sort of story progress. But I like what I have played so far. The world is huge and full of interesting, though not wholly fleshed out things and the mvoe towards an active battle system has encouraged me to explore more, as it gives a sense of urgency during random encounters rather than a feeling of being stopped. The visual design is stellar and while I at times feel lost for context, I become more and more drawn into the characters we have as our protagonists, making the road trip we’re playing through feel very lively and fun. My only major disappointment thus far has been the game's tendency to kind of phone in motivation for people, assuming we’ll understand why they do things based on what they do rather than adding weight to their emotional states or follow-ups. But this is the first time my beloved Final Fantasy has provided me with much of anything I’m interested in since Final Fantasy XII, so I am most thankful for that.

Versus Steam’s “You Will Not Believe This Shit” Award

Developed and Published: by DEVGRU-P (PC)

So you’ve been assigned to a tank training school in Japan, only to find out that it's really just a normal highschool run by the military and the tanks are in fact, cute girls. I cannot begin to express how novel and enjoyable the premise of this game is alone, as my head immediately tries to imagine actually using one of these girls in combat, piggybacked to them with shells being fired from their normal sized mouths. If it sounds ridiculous, its because it is, but that’s all the fun. I’ve really come to enjoy streaming visual novels and dating sims over the past year because they can be so silly and enjoyable (not to mention its fun to read the dialogue aloud in funny voices) and Panzermadels may be the most fun I had with this. The only thing that really hurts the the game is the fact that it has a short length and scenes that are constant to all scenarios, making some stretches kind of dull since you’ve seen it before. But the tank waifus are cute and FOR ODIN’S SAKE! THE PINK HAIRED TANK IS A RUSSIAN TSUNDERE! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT PEOPLE?!

Versus Steam’s “I Put Way Too Many Hours Into this Game” Award

Developed by: FromSoftware

Published by: Namco Bandai (PC, PS4, XBox One)

Seriously, the amount of hours I’ve poured into multiple playthroughs of the game proper and yet additional hours dedicated to PvP is quite robust. I didn’t include Dark Souls III on the proper list mostly from the vague feeling that I was enjoying it because it was Dark Souls more than that I was enjoying it because it was an awesome game, but all the key ingredients are there. The story is vague and obscured, referencing events of the first game but never firmly latching on to anything but glimpses and providing a lot of other fan service for us die hards. The combat is slightly faster than before, echoing a bit of Bloodborne in making sure your aggression never fully wanes. The boss’ are a mixed bag, though Dancer of the Boreal Valley, the Nameless King and Champion Gundyr are among my favorites to ever be in the series. It all works just how I want my Souls game to work and I love the addition of Weapon Arts to the game for adding a wrinkle in PvP. I know people love to Estoc spam there, but I keep managing to catch them off guard with Weapon Arts they’ve never or rarely seen, making it a very satisfying experience.

Versus Steam’s “I Didn’t Actually Play This, but the Let’s Play I Watched Made it Look Awesome” Award

Developed and Published by: Front Line Games

I don’t normally watch a lot of Let’s Plays, though Maize ended up cropping up (hahahahaha) on one ot the few channels I follow and i must say, it was one of the funniest games I’ve seen in a long while. Built as a first person puzzle game, the player guides themselves through a farm that secretly houses a science base and well… sentient corn. Along the way they pick up an angry Russian Teddy Ruxpin knockoff as a companion and things keep spiraling out of control from there. This joins a handful of games I really just want to recommend based on the crazy things I saw happen in them, but this is so much dependent on the irreverent humor. Passive aggressive post-it notes fill the lab, as the seeming madness traces its roots in all sorts of ways, most notably the thickness of the corn and the seeming lack of objective for interacting with them. While the puzzles seem on the easy side, it looks like such an enjoyable ride and I cannot wait to play it for myself.

All of the above games are ones I would recommend for you to check out, even if they’re not quite the niche you’re looking for usually, since they present a wide range of styles to experience maybe for the first time. Still, we have three more actual awards to give out and I promise, they’re gonna be good ones.