#much ado about co ops

[idiopath-fic-smile]

so literally eight years ago i posted a snippet of a modern retelling of Much Ado About Nothing set in a student co-op and for no particular reason, the concept is tickling my brain right now. so uh here, have this? i guess?

“So, Ursula, my dear,” said Lee, taking the seat across from her at the dinner table. “My fluffy little crumpet. My buttery brioche bun. My tangy slice of pumpernickel—”

Ursula squinted up from her Anthro reading. “Uh-oh,” she said. “You only call me bread when I’m in trouble.”

“Happened to glance at the meeting notes this morning,” Lee continued, her voice rising. “You’ve got anything you wanna explain or defend?”

Ursula flicked her highlighter from one finger to the other, determined to play it cool. “I think it’s all pretty self-explanatory. Which meeting notes, exactly, were you glancing at?” She peeked out of the corner of her eye to check how this was going down. 

Poorly. 

Lee stared at her, apparently at a loss for words, which was not a great look for the house president.

“You did this more than once.”

“I take notes every meeting, Lee,” she said, as levelly as possible given how Lee’s ‘I’m not angry, just disappointed’ Mom vibes were oozing from every pore. “It’s my job, as house secretary.”

“Is it?” said Lee tightly. “Is it your job?” She whisked opened her laptop and read aloud: 

“Benedick’s eyes blazed with passionate fury. His nostrils quivered. ‘Well,’ he said in a low growl, hair resplendent under the environmentally friendly fluorescent lights, ‘personally, I think if anything, there's not ENOUGH lentils—’ Beatrice gasped. It was so wrong, and yet…”

Ursula winced. “‘Said in a low growl’ is wordy. I should’ve just put ‘growled’.”

Lee pinched the bridge of her nose. “Ursula,” she began, “just how much of our official co-op house notes, which by the way are formally submitted each month to the Co-op Board, are written as if Benedick and Beatrice’s stupid arguments are some kind of torrid Harlequin paperback?”

“That depends.” Ursula steepled her fingers, dropping the highlighter in the process. “How much of my notes do you have access to?”

“All of them,” Lee gritted out. “Because they’re public. That’s what I’m saying.”

 “Look,” said Ursula. “I don’t think I said this when I ran, but I wanted to be house secretary in the first place because a lot of the time, taking notes is the only way I can make myself concentrate. I would literally be taking notes during the meeting anyway. It’s an ADHD thing.” 

Ursula sighed. “And pretty early on, it became clear that meetings in Messina House are basically just a Sexual Tension Thunderdome for Benedick and Beatrice. They go back and forth for pages sometimes. I can feel every electrical connection in my brain fighting to zone out. So yeah. For a while I rewrote their fights as rhymed couplets, for a very short bit of time I had Balthazar set them to sea shanties, and since last December, I’ve been transcribing very close to their actual words, with very close to their actual intentions, plus just a tiny bit of genre trimmings. If they’re gonna waste my Saturday and test my focus, I’m doing what I can to stay awake and keep my typing fingers limber. I’m up to 75 WPM, by the way.”

“December?” Lee repeated. “Ursula, it’s October. You’ve been doing this for over a semester?” A terrible wave of realization seemed to sweep over her just then, regarding the general pacing and content of a standard Harlequin. “Please tell me,” she whispered, “there is no sex in the meeting notes—”

“There’s no sex in the meeting notes,” Ursula interrupted. “Per se,” she added under her breath.

Lee’s lips were pressed together into a thin line. “One year,” she said. “I want one year where nobody drives a motorcycle down the hallway or accidentally mixes up chlorine gas during their bathroom clean, or spends almost a full calendar year slipping smut into the public record—!”

“Excuse you,” said Ursula. “Smut’s a different genre altogether. This is romance. Slow-burn, enemies to lovers.”

Lee threw up her hands, nearly knocking over her laptop. “What are you gonna do if Benedick or Beatrice sees this?” “Oh.” Ursula froze. “Uh-oh.”

“Yeah, uh-oh,” she said. “Look, clearly there’s only one thing to do.”

Ursula nodded. “Right, we have to execute a series of far-fetched shenanigans designed to turn those two fighting fish into a pair of cooing lovebirds, stat.”

“No,” said Lee. “What? No, you need to go back and rewrite all of—”

Pedro slid into the room in his socks. “Oh sweet, are we hooking up Benedick with Beatrice?”

“Hell yeah,” said Ursula. They high-fived.

Lee closed her laptop with a snap. “Ursula, what are the odds,” she said, “that you actually buckle down and rewrite all of the meeting notes to read like they were written in the genre of meeting notes?”

“Oh, like, zero,” said Ursula, as Pedro chimed in, 

“Yeah, that will not happen.”

Lee looked despairingly back and forth between Ursula and Pedro. “What do you think is the likelihood that playing love gods will like, actually, genuinely work?”

“Twenty percent,” said Ursula.

Margaret glanced up from the other end of the table, where she was gluing together a collage of every restaurant on campus that had ever given her food poisoning. It was for class, was the thing.

Art school kids, man.

“We’re tricking Benedick and Beatrice into giving themselves over to their intense chemistry?” asked Margaret.

“Thirty percent,” said Ursula, because Margaret was inscrutable much of the time but surely they would have a fighting chance with more of the Humanities on their side.

At “intense chemistry,” Lee shuddered. “That reminds me,” she said, standing and scooping up her laptop, “I need to post a sign in the basement bathroom warning people not to mix bleach with acid.”

“Are you in?” said Pedro as Lee attempted to slip out the door. “Love Gods?”

“Jesus Christ,” said Lee.

“Not a love god,” Margaret announced. She had found the sequins, and was applying them with enthusiasm. “Except in the general Peace on Earth sense, I guess.”

“I’m texting Hero,” said Ursula, digging for her phone. “She knows Beatrice better than anyone. She’ll have tips. That puts our potential success rate at 45%, easy.”

“If we’ve got Hero, we’ve got Claudia,” Pedro added. “And she’s been BFF with Benedick since freshman year.”

“This is a terrible plan,” Lee muttered. “Yeah,” said Ursula, “but you implied it yourself. If, uh, certain parties see my meeting notes, they will murder me. Do you really want a fellow co-oper’s blood on your hands?”

Just then, Benedick burst into the room, Beatrice on his heels.

“I’m sorry,” Beatrice shouted, “are you genuinely trying to argue that soybeans are the superior legume? Soybeans? Over chickpeas? Over kidney beans? Hell, over peas?”

“Soy milk,” said Benedick, counting on his fingers, “silken tofu, miso, tempeh, firm tofu—”

Beatrice took a step closer to him, eyes flashing, “I have never in my life had tempeh that tasted like anything other than an evil Cliff Bar.”

“It’s not my fault your tastebuds were installed backwards,” said Benedick. “This from the woman who still, in the year of some people’s lord 2024, thinks lattes are ‘too trendy’—”

“Espresso is a waste of coffee grounds,” said Beatrice in a low, dangerous voice.

Benedick gasped. “You take that back.”

Beatrice took a step closer. “Coldbrew has more flavor and more caffeine.”

“Coldbrew,” Benedick echoed, stepping even closer. “You’re defending that swill over a nice mocha? Get latte’s name out of your mouth.”

Benedick and Beatrice were standing almost nose to nose, breathing hard.

“You know what?” said Lee from the door. “Ursula? Fuck it, I’m in.”

Ursula whooped. Margaret reached for the glitter glue. Benedick and Beatrice visibly both ran through their mental rolodexes of coffee-related insults. 

From the entryway came the distant revving of a motorcycle engine. Borachio was no doubt doing wheelies in the foyer again, but that was a problem for house presidents, not innocent house secretaries who had done no wrong, thought Ursula as she returned to her reading and her growing mental to-do list.

[rimeiii]

Random WHB tier lists based on games/franchises I've recently had brainrot of

I may not play WHB regularly now (no, seriously, last time I played was during the Tortured Leviathan Nightmare Pass, then Girls Frontline 2: Exilium and especially my Puyo Puyo + Trauma Center obsessions resurfacing from high school happened) but I still love some characters a bit too much to truly let go of them aha...Marbas, Lucifer, Minhyeok, Belial, Gusion, and Naberius, my beloveds-

But more than that I guess it's more of like...my old obsessions being annoying brainworms again, which leads to brainrot, essentially. That, and watching an unhealthy amount of League of Legends esports content.

Fair warning that most of these are purely based off vibes!

So, without further ado...

1.WHB as MOBA players when facing an OP character

Yes, this is the MOBA brainrot speaking.

As for tier explanations:

Tier 1: Some people just want to watch the world burn.

Tier 2: When Mewtwo X and Zacian were first released in Pokemon Unite, many players were so disgusted by how utterly overpowered they were (these two Mons can easily 1v5 coordinated efforts to kill them, even in the hands of not-so-skilled players). It got to a point a subset of these disgusted players actively griefed and trolled those who played them.

Tier 3: Doublelift had this to say about Yuumi, who was a notoriously overpowered Support in League of Legends:

"I am not kidding when I say that if they removed Yuumi from [League of Legends], it would be a better game."

Tier 4: Heo "ShowMaker" Su, professional League of Legends player, had this to say about the then-OP Champion known as K'Sante...keep in mind this is just the K'sante rant, which has become a meme, and the original stream highlight as uploaded by his esports team (Dplus KIA) was simply titled "NERF THIS".

Tier 5: Comfey is essentially Yuumi in Pokemon Unite, which is why people said it's overpowered in coordinated play. Notably, spragels has an entire video going in-depth about how Comfey breaks the game and how to, essentially, mitigate the sheer brokenness of the Mon.

Tiers 6 and 7: self-explanatory

2. WHB as Arknights Icebreaker Games players

A bit of context - Icebreaker Games was a multiplayer co-op game mode where players deploy their own squad of units on the same map (this was different from the R6S collaboration event's co-op game mode, where both players are on different but connected maps).

Wis'adel is an absolutely BROKEN Operator whose usage was criticized in Icebreaker Games for being such an insane DPS she essentially ignores stage mechanics and having her Revenants taking up three extra deployment tiles that your teammate might want to use. She absolutely can easily win stages (tier 1) but her Revenants is how most people who want to troll use her (tier 2).

Seeing this, many players attempt to try and limit Wis'adel from ever being used. Some do it in a more violent way using Aak (tier 3) - who inflicts damage on an Operator in his range before buffing them. He's most commonly to buff Operators with high Defense...a stat Wis'adel lacks, so she just Dies.

More peaceful players would put Wis'adel in their subs and simply Not Pick Her whenever she shows up in their randomly-generated picks (tier 4). Not the most foolproof strategy, but it helps.

Last two tiers are, again, self-explanatory.

3. WHB as Puyo-Puyo AI levels

Puyo Puyo is a competitive puzzle game where your main goal is to make your opponent's board fill up to the 'X' of their field. You do this by sending what is known as Nuisance Puyo to your opponents, generated by popping the regular Puyo you drop into your field.

Regular Puyo, which are the colored blobs, are cleared by matching four of the same color together. Nuisance Puyo, the grey blobs seen in Lemres (COM1) and Yellow Satan's (COM3) fields, can only be cleared by clearing regular Puyo touching them. You are expected to create chains in order to generate more Nuisance Puyo by arranging your regular Puyos in a way that when one regular Puyo set is cleared, it'll cause another regular Puyo set to be cleared - like what Ecolo (COM2) is doing to the red Puyo set by clearing the yellow Puyos below it. The row on top of your board gives a visual indicator of how many Nuisance Puyo are about to be dropped onto your field (the limit is six rows at once), and you can chip away at it by clearing Puyo chains of your own (otherwise known as offsetting).

The general difficulties are as follows, starting from the ones at the bottom (i.e. easiest difficulty):

Beginner difficulty: allows gravity to drop the Puyo, doesn't really try to form a chain higher than 2. Rotates their Puyo minimally.

Joke AI: uses fast drop to build their joke build before actually playing, prioritizing clearing Puyos in their joke build. Their joke builds may include stacking all Puyos to the sides (Yu and Rei, Dongurigaeru), or stacking Puyo evenly up to a certain height (Suketoudara).

Normal difficulty: will actively attempt to make chains (a 3-chain is the average), but will still let gravity drop their Puyo - until around halfway down the field, where they will then fast drop the Puyo.

Tough, but fair: will bunch Puyos up in threes for ease in chaining, it's not uncommon for them to suddenly pull out 3+ chains. Will fast-drop their Puyo. Starting here, the AI will rush to start a chain to offset any incoming attacks. In 20th Anniversary, in game modes where rotate-stalling is a legitimate strategy to win, they'll do it.

Very tough: the previous tier, cranked up to 11.

Rubber band AI: the AI plays better when you play better...but the issue is that Strange Klug is essentially the final boss of Fever 2, so his base difficulty is already hard.

Unfair: can and will counter your measly 3-chain with a 7-chain, essentially generating enough Nuisance Puyo to fill your board completely unless you offset it. Plays optimally and shows no mercy, including stalling and fast/hard-dropping Puyo in modes that allow them (instantly teleports Puyo to the bottom of the field).

4. WHB in Trauma Team game modes

Disclaimer: This tier list is made while ignoring the fact that all of them, save for the Paradise Lost demons, absolutely cannot function in an actual hospital scenario.

Trauma Team, released in 2010, is the final instalment in the Trauma Center franchise, a series of medical malpractice- I mean anime surgery simulator games by Atlus (famously known for the Shin Megami Tensei games). We use the term 'surgery simulator' very lightly because, well, it's very anime at times (you fight bioweapons in all previous instalments) and there are still some medical inaccuracies (like operating on a still-beating heart).

Trauma Team, for the most part, is tamer compared to all of its previous instalments. Very standard hospital procedures - until the Rosalia chapter, where you deal with the Rosalia Virus epidemic (which becomes harsher in hindsight when you realize Trauma Team's events happened in 2020 of their canon and the Rosalia Virus is an Ebola-type virus). It has more game modes compared to the previous games, and this tier list would pretty much fit them into the 'vibes' of the Trauma Team game modes...save for the last two tiers.

Surgery: What we often call the 'standard Trauma Center game mode'. Surgery deals with most standard surgical procedures, and in Trauma Team especially a lot of them are very detailed. Most of the time you're only dealing with one patient in each level - in previous games, there were times when you had to deal with multiple patients in one level.

First Response: Always at the scene of an accident or disaster, this game mode focuses on giving first aid and stabilizing victims before transporting them to the hospital for further treatment. The gameplay is frantic, and you're expected to juggle multiple patients at the same time while keeping them alive.

Endoscopy: One of the harder game modes for most, Endoscopy has you, well, operate an endoscope to treat internal wounds - usually conditions within either the digestive or respiratory tracts. Gameplay consists of moving the endoscope around and treating symptoms as they appear.

Orthopedics: Bone surgery, essentially. Along with Endoscopy, it's a game mode that requires delicate control of the Wii remote's motion controls. As such, the amount of precision needed is insanely high, and it rewards careful gameplay. Chip and drill away at bone, affix synthetic bone, treat bone cancer - this game mode has it all.

Diagnosis: Your standard consultation. One of the two more chill game modes, you're really only taking note of symptoms based on patient interview and observations, as well as comparing chart results with potential diagnosis. Requires some creative thinking to get the symptoms you need, for example asking your patient to lift his shirt after he coughed to reveal the fact he has bloody sputum as his clothes came out stained afterwards.

Forensics: The only game mode that doesn't involve medical treatment, and is the other chill game mode. You're solving mysterious deaths, piecing together evidence to deduce and determine how they happened. As an aside, wondering why this game mode is in Trauma Team? Because Naomi Kimishima, the character you play as in Forensics, was a surgeon previously known as Nozomi Weaver, who was playable back in Trauma Center: Second Opinion.

The nurses: Staples in all of the previous instalments, they're your surgical assistants who often remind you of procedures - yes, this includes reminding you to be careful while extracting objects or what tools you're supposed to use. Their role is mostly replaced in Trauma Team by the other doctors or the chairman of their hospital (Esha Patel), except for Diagnosis and Forensics. In Diagnosis, you have RONI, a state-of-the-art computer that eases Gabriel Cunningham (the doctor for Diagnosis) with his job. In Forensics, Naomi is assisted by her previous coworker, Navel (aka Little Guy).

The patients: Self-explanatory, for one reason or another.

[meetinginsamarra]

My fave Sherlock BBC AUs - Artists

Around mid-month I’ll do a fic rec list with my fave AU genres or tropes. Summaries are taken from OP on AO3.

ACTORS

“Performance in a Leading Role” (-series, +7 sequels) by Mad_Lori @madlori

Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?

“Lifetime Achievement” (part 9 of Performance-sereis) by Mad_Lori

John Watson has just won an Oscar and gotten engaged in the same day. Now what? (Sequel to "Performance in a Leading Role")

“To the Sticking Place” by blueink3 @blueink3

Renowned Shakespearean actor Sherlock Holmes has finally burned all of his bridges in the theatre industry save for his constant director, Greg Lestrade. John Watson has made a name for himself in the musical theatre circuit, but age and injury are working against him. Can they reinvent themselves for an all-male Macbeth without killing one another?

“Much Ado about a Whole Bloody Lot” (sequel to Sticking Place) by blueink3

"What do you mean John has to kiss her?"  "Sherlock, that's generally what happens when one is starring in a romantic comedy." Or, Sherlock goes to see John in his first role post-Macbeth and he's really not all that happy about it.

“Floating through a dark blue sky” by Lediona

Of course, I’d seen his films and always thought he was, well, brilliant -- but, you know, a million miles from the world I live in. Or, when John is the owner of a travel book shop and the famous Sherlock Holmes stops in one day.

“Fading Stars and Black Holes” by lurikko

Sherlock Holmes, known from movies A Scandal in Belgravia and Don’t Make Me Choose, comes back to acting after two years. He’s starring in a romantic comedy about two men who move in together for practical reasons and stumble into a surprising friendship. The only problem is that his co-star is John Watson, a man whom he hasn’t seen since he left their shared flat two years ago, leaving John only a note. During the time they have been apart, John Watson has gotten to himself a wife, a child, and a divorce.

“The Short and Tragic Death of John Watson” by Calais_Reno @calaisreno

Thirteen years ago, Sherlock starred in a television series about an alien boy stranded on Earth. Now Molly has written a reunion episode and he's expected to join his old costars and recreate the role of Alex Tribble, now an adult returning to rescue his old friends from an alien threat. Having had some success since playing a teenage alien, Sherlock is reluctant to reprise the role. And there's another problem no one wants to discuss: John Watson, who played his best friend, is dead.

Warning: Nobody dies. John isn't dead. If you came here for angst and MCD, you won't find it. If you came here to find a cheesy, self-indulgent story with a ridiculous, contrived happy ending that I had way too much fun writing, here you go.

“Take Two” by Raina_at @raina-at

Six years ago, Sherlock Holmes, then a promising young actor, broke John Watson's heart. When the production John is working on needs a new lead actor two weeks before press night, they turn to Sherlock to save the production. Working together after six years won't be a problem. After all, both of them are professionals. And both of them have moved on. Or at least they think they have.

WRITERS

“How Novel-series” (14 fics) by StarlicghtAndFireflies

starting with A Novel Meeting

“Who should I sign it to?” The familiar question rolls off his lips easily, but somehow it feels more meaningful this time. He’s never met a fan quite so dedicated, quite so willing to lug an entire armful of books to get them all signed, quite so handsome even when he blushes. “Er… Sherlock,” the man replies. AU in which John is an author, and Sherlock is a fan who comes to his book signing.

“Poetry and Prose” by Jberry

John is a crime series writer. Sherlock writes serious poetry. Sherlock takes time on his writing blog to give John Watson a hard time about his writing, though he's secretly read all his books and in love with the author. Mistaken identity, new love, a little angst, fluff that progresses into... Well. You'll just have to read it, now won't you?

“Writer’s Block” by lookupkate

John has been writing detective novels for years, shitty, romance filled detective novels. That is until his last. Now he can't write a single chapter. When Greg seats him next to an asshole genius he doesn't have the slightest idea that it is exactly what he needs.

“Fortune Favours” by simplyclockwork @simplyclockwork​

On military leave, John Watson discovers that his sister has signed him up for a blind date book event. The set-up is simple: one person brings a book and ends up on a blind date with whoever chooses their contribution. To say that John is reluctant to attend is an understatement. Luckily, sparks fly between him and a stunning new author when he makes an unorthodox selection from the book choices.

PAINTERS

“Oxidation” by abbykate

as oil paintings dry, the process is not evaporation as there is no water in the paint to disappear; instead, the oils in the paint are oxidised causing them to harden over years in a process that never really stops.

“Bloody Brushes” and by jawbonesandjumpers

Sherlock Holmes is a world-renowned art critic and collector who rarely finishes any of his own work. He is brutal and ends more artists’ careers than starts them, and he abhors the state of the art world today. John Watson is a recluse who was invalided out of the army and paints the horrifying scenes of his nightmares. When Sherlock stumbles across one of his works, he becomes obsessed with his paintings and wants nothing more than to meet the man behind the canvas.

“Pastel Paints” by jawbonesandjumpers

Sherlock finds his muse and John paints an angel.

“Art of the Reasoner” by Tellytubby101

A world in which Sherlock is an artist, not a detective. Though that doesn’t mean he can’t help solve crimes. AU.

[instantpansies]

In 1964, arguably the height of their career, the Beatles performed "Pyramus and Thisbe", the play-within-a-play from A Midsummer Night's Dream, for a television appearance. Having been obsessed with the Beatles for my entire life, I was ecstatic when at age 12 the recording appeared in my YouTube recommendations.

Around the same time, I was becoming obsessed with Shakespeare as well. Starting with Much Ado about Nothing, I had read most of the comedies and a good number of tragedies by the time I stumbled across "The Beatles Perform Shakespeare, in colour". Naturally, it immediately became my dream to perform in that play. I wasn't an actor yet, and while I was an okay public speaker I hadn't yet gone through the debate classes and persuasive essay presentations that would force me to get comfortable in front of a crowd. I watched the blurry footage of John and Paul mumbling through archaic lines in yarn wigs, and set my sights on memorizing the monologues.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pyramus and Thisbe is a play put on by the group of fools, who spend most of the story rehearsing before performing it in the final scenes of Midsummer's. It's poorly written, intentionally so, with the actors flubbing lines, speaking out of turn, and generally doing a bad job of presenting the story. Shakespeare means it to be a moment of comedy to wrap up the romantic drama of the rest of the story. Pyramus and Thisbe is also the myth that inspired Romeo and Juliet, with the plot following very similar beats.

I started acting in high school and it quickly became part of my identity. This isn't a unique experience by any means, but the freedom of being someone else was pretty meaningful for a queer kid who'd grown up in the only liberal family in our conservative christian homeschool co-op. I'd only acted for two years when the de facto leader of our troupe, my best friend, graduated, leaving me to fill the gap. Suddenly I'd become one of the most experienced actors in a group of freshman homeschoolers, most of whom had never stepped onstage.

Our director also ran a co-op of sorts of her own - not the one where I'd spent most of my primary educational career, but a sort of conglomerate of teachers and classes - and she wanted us to present a short play for the elementary classes' fall celebration. She asked for recommendations and I saw my chance, practically shining in the air before me.

Obviously I shouted out "Pyramus and Thisbe!" I gave my elevator pitch. Killed it. We got scripts the next week. Me and that little group of freshmen pulled ourselves together in about a month, and managed to present the archaic language comedically. If I do say so myself. We practiced just once a week, and my actors weren't quite sure what to do with their rather eccentric characters, and our lines weren't fully memorized until the week before, but we made it. We made it, and it was great.

I played Pyramus. I got to die dramatically in front of fifty kids I'd been working with for over a year, flounce around onstage with a plastic sword, and immerse myself in a scene I'd loved for years. It was, honestly, a high point of my high school career. I still have those lines memorized, I still go back to the photos and videos from that fall evening. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I don't really know what the point of this story is. I think it's funny, I guess, how Pyramus and Thisbe keeps popping up in my life. It connects to acting and classic literature and the Beatles and the summers of staying with my grandparents, holed up in their extra room, writing research papers and surfing the Internet. I don't know what it is about Pyramus and Thisbe, but it's important for one reason or another. I hope it shows up in my life again someday, but in the meantime, I'm done. And being done, thus Wall away doth go.

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

June Picks!

And just like that we’re at the end of yet another month. I seriously do not know where these months are going. I think they’re going by faster now since we’ve been socially distant. I hope everyone is staying safe out there and can enjoy the start of summer while also being smart. It’s good to know we can always escape into TV and movies at home. Without further ado, here’s my monthly wrap up. 

You know spoilers are coming....

DC’s STARGIRL

I gave some quick thoughts a few weeks back when the first episode of the latest DC TV show premiered on the CW. I really liked this episode and it got me pumped for the series, but since then I feel most of the episodes have dragged for me. Because this show has the DC streaming service feel, it makes you want to binge all the episodes, which is something you can’t do when CW airs it on a weekly basis. Most of the action occurs at the beginning or end of the episode, which serves as a great cliffhanger, which works well in this streaming format. Due to this format, the middle can drag...a lot. Going in I didn’t know much about Stargirl or the JSA. (My main knowledge comes from that special the Justice Society had in that one Smallville special all those years ago. There it was a bit of an overload of heroes, unlike here.) I love Pat and Courtney’s relationship. Every episode they bond more and I especially liked when she was complaining to him about how the other teammates don’t listen to her. He understood that really well. I am also just loving Luke Wilson as Pat. I think he works well for the role. Feels believable. I’m ALWAYS a fan of a new generation of heroes. While it was slower getting the team together, now that we have the core group I am especially excited. The latest episode (6) was one of the strongest for me and I am very excited to see this up and coming team train and get stronger. I’m also interested in learning more about the villains. I think it’s interesting how we are also meeting a lot of the villain’s kids who seem to not know their parents’ true identities. I wonder if we’ll be able to turn any of them. (Feeling it for Icicle Jr.) For our team, I’m really loving how it’s three girls and one boy. I think that’s a dynamic we don’t often see, especially in a group of superheroes. I’m still working out who to ship, but I’m really loving Rick. Can’t wait to continue watching. I hope we get more of these epic stance moments.

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

Let’s continue on this superhero thread with another one of my favorites, which wrapped up its 5th season (crazy it’s already the 5th!) at the start of the month. I’ve said this before and I will continue to do so, Legends is THE BEST SHOW IN THE ARROWVERSE. It has been the most consistent and that’s not only because of a strong cast, the freedom to do basically anything they want with the plot and also being a mid-season show. I think where the Flash and Arrow often get tripped up is having too many episodes to fill, which forces story lines to be dragged out and filler episodes. With a 13 episode season you don’t get that.  WARNING I’m going to jump into season 5 spoilers now!!

So, some of my overall thoughts for this season: 

The Wave-rider has always been a revolving door for characters. This show probably has the most turn-over than any other show I watch. And it works, but for this season especially it felt like a lot of coming and going as I look back. 

It was sad to see Ray leave. Not only is he one of my favorites, but he was one of the core crew that was left. He brought great humor and heart to the show. I loved his bromance with Nate over the seasons. I wish he could have come back for the finale. While I like that he left with Nora (because they are adorable) it just felt too fast (and that was with me knowing how many episodes he had left). 

Charlie’s exit. I know she had a large part of the plot with her sisters, especially in the second half of the season, which means she’ll be missed even more next season. When she said she was staying in the finale I was like WHAT! It just felt so sudden and I didn’t see it coming. 

The lack of Sara on the ship this season made me feel like she had other projects in the works. When she became blind I was like op this is it for her character. Now of course, I see how that worked into the overall story line, but with her abduction at the end of the season (meaning another absence) I’m curious if she is working on other things. I do love seeing Ava at the helm though. She makes a great captain. I just wish the two could be co-captains on the screen more often in future seasons to come. It hurt me too much to see Ava’s reaction to when she knew she was going to lose Sara. 

At first I REALLY missed the original Zari. She’s the one we knew for a few seasons and now she was gone. That’s the main reason why I had difficulty liking Behrad right away. I do appreciate that they didn’t drag out the plot of discovering something in the timeline had changed. I liked how Nate had some memory and got that message from Zari. When Zari 2.0 showed up I missed our original Zari even more, but the more episodes she was a part of, she grew on me and I suddenly was worried to lose her. I was completely fine with having both Zaris on the Waverider (ha, ha, ha, but seriously). I think Tala did a great job of bringing two different incarnations to the character and seeing how Zari would have grown up if she didn’t have such a tragic backstory. 

I can seriously go on and on about this season, but I think it’s best to leave for another post. 

THE 100

If you follow me or have read other posts on my page you know I’m a 100 fan. If I’ve had strong feelings about an episode (positive or negative) you will probably see a reaction post. I haven’t watched this past week’s episode yet, so this will mainly relate to the first five episodes of season 7. I’m having a love/hate relationship so far, which honestly I’m not shocked about. The first few seasons of this show were definitely the strongest, but I’ve remained a loyal fan and supported it throughout. When the first episode of season 7 aired a few weeks ago, I instantly felt it wasn’t going to be a strong ending. I kept saying that the true ending happened when our characters went on the ship to look for a new planet and “ended book 1.” Since then the feel of the show has shifted and that’s especially true with this final season. It’s always been a sci-fi show, but now with the anomaly and this jumping multiple portals and planets it feels VERY SCI-FI. Like at times I don’t 100% understand how what they’re doing is possible. But I’m okay with that. I’ve watched Doctor Who and felt the same way and still had a good time. Going into this season, I thought the anomaly plot was going to be the one I disliked the most. But for me now it’s what’s saving this season. I am loving that story line over the one we’re having at Sanctum (where they are FAR too many new characters that I don’t care about). I absolutely LOVED the Octavia/Dioyza/Hope backstory episode. There were so many great parallels to Octavia’s own childhood and I was able to appreciate how much her character has developed. After seeing this episode, I instantly grew to really like ‘adult’ Hope as well as her dynamic with Gabriel and Hope. (It hurt me so much when Echo killed the man who was helping them get back.) I can’t wait for Hope to find her mom. (I saw pictures of the three of them together again, so I know it’s going to happen.) Speaking of not liking new characters, I DO like Levitt so far. That could be mainly for the fact that he’s also a fan of watching the 100. I was NOT expecting to see Bellamy at the end of episode 5. It brought me so much joy. I hope we don’t have to wait so long for the next time. (Because, come on-we know he’s not really dead.) I am upset that Bob is barely in this season. It’s not fair to him or the character. Even thought the Sanctum plot is bothering me I am loving the scenes Murphy is in. Talk about character development. He better make it out of all this at the end. I also enjoyed Raven’s story line with the radiation. I agree with a few people’s posts I saw about her not having a large plot last season and not being the Raven we know. I’m happy to see her being one of the main characters again. We might not get the ending we deserve, but I hope it’s one that isn’t horrible.  

MARVEL RE-WATCH

What’s one way to spend your quarantine/social distancing? Why ranking all 22 movies in the MCU and then re-watching all of them (one a day) and re-ranking them with your new thoughts. With seasons ending early and less being on TV now was a fantastic time to do this. (Plus, I knew a few other people doing it so I felt inspired.) For some of these films, I think I had only seen them a few times and it was hard to remember what happened in certain ones over others. (I kept thinking stuff that happened in Captain America Civil War was actually in Captain America Winter Soldier.) I really enjoyed the experience and highly recommend it, whether you’ve watched these movies a countless amount of times or only once. Watching them in order of their release really made me appreciate all the Easter Eggs and planning that went into it. I longed for some movies and was not excited for others (I’m looking at you Guardians Vol. 2). It also made me feel a deeper connection to Iron Man (which made the ending even tougher-and I knew what was coming). The nostalgia was strong and I’m so happy to be a part of this fandom. 

Sneak peak at my re-ranking that is still in the process:

Top 3)

Avengers Infinity Wars

Avengers Endgame

Spiderman Far From Home

Bottom)

Guardians Vol. 2

Thor the Dark World

Iron Man 2

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER

Avatar was released on Netflix this month and something in me said now was the time to watch it. (That’s right, I haven’t watched it before). The hype for this series is crazy! I remember it being on Nickelodeon as a kid, but I had never watched it. I didn’t know much about it other than the main character had an arrow on his head and was the last airbender. (Yep, so not a lot.) Currently, I’m still very early in-I think about episode 9-but I already feel very invested. I like that the episodes are only about 25 minutes long. They’re quick watches, which allows me to watch a bunch without feeling guilty. After watching the first two I already felt like I wanted to learn more about this world and its characters. I think it’s really interesting how the elemental bending is used and how some characters can do it while others can’t. I also like how the avatar gets rotated within each bender and how the one before Aang was a fire bender seeing as how that is our main opponent in this first season. Coming into the show I was told by a friend that this is some of the strongest character development he has seen. That was such high praise and I cannot wait to witness it for myself. One of the reasons I love watching TV/movies and reading is because of the characters. I love bonding with them and feeling like I know them. I can already hypothesize who will change the most (my mind automatically goes to Prince Zuko), but I’ve been really good about spoilers, so that way I can witness it myself. Because I’m still so early on I can’t say much, expect that I’m enjoying it and will keep you posted on how my journey with Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko go. 

VIOLETTA SEASON 2

I was ECSTATIC when I found out that season 2 of Violetta had FINALLY come to Disney Plus. It had felt like FOREVER since I had finished the first season (of 80 episodes. You know a show is good if after 80 episodes you’re like where is the next season of 80 more episodes!), but it was really only a few months. It feels great to be back at the Studio with Violetta and the crew. There’s a few new faces this season both with the students and the faculty. It always takes adjusting with new seasons/characters, but some of these characters I really don’t like. I know that’s good because you’re not necessarily supposed to like them, but I really want some of them gone. (I’m looking at you Jackie.) But with a show that has so many episodes, a lot of the story lines often get dragged out, so I don’t know when that will be. Again, Violetta has found herself in a love triangle (just like every other teenage girl, lol). This time Diego opposes Leon and is much different than Tomas in season 1. Where Tomas was passive and always wore a face of uncertainty/confusion, Diego is bold and won’t take no for an answer. At times I feel he borders stalker territory. 

So far, I’m up to episode 20 and am getting more into it. I was missing out on the performances/ songs and now there’s starting to be more, which has me excited. I’m hoping not to watch this one as fast because I know most people say it is the best one, plus who knows when season 3 would appear on Disney Plus. For anyone unfamiliar with my first post about Violetta earlier in the year should check it out if they’re looking for a telenovela full of drama, misunderstandings love triangles, angst and music that will get stuck in your head. Definitely worth the watch! 

WORLD OF DANCE

My favorite dance competition TV show is back and I could not be more excited!! There’s just something about World of Dance that puts me in such a good mood and I can’t wait for Tuesday nights. I’m just upset at myself that I watch the latest episode too soon and then have to wait another week. This season the judges switched it up by coming to the contestants last audition with the producers...or so they thought. I loved seeing their reactions when they walked into the room and Ne-Yo, Jennifer Lopez and Derek Hough were there. It was priceless. While I don’t have a dancing bone in my body, I still am able to appreciate this talent and love watching the contestants perform. What I really like about this show is the range of ages and types of dancers from soloists, duos, trios and groups. I like how each competes within their group until the final episode when they have won their category. The talent is already so strong as they finished the call backs (which was a new feature this season too). Some of my favorites are below. I can’t wait to see what happens for the rest of the season. I just hope the pandemic didn’t interrupt the filming. You can catch up on all episodes by watching NBC on demand!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST....

BEECHAM HOUSE

Ending strong with yet another Masterpiece Classic, Beecham House. This series, which aired earlier in the UK, premiered about two weeks ago here in the states on PBS. While I’ve heard that there will not be a second season and the outrage of that makes me worried for how this season will end. (After watching Sanditon earlier this year you really don’t know what to expect.) Despite knowing this already, I will continue to watch the show and enjoy what we have. Which I am so far. While only the first two episodes have aired, I already feel very invested. The first episode, specifically, leaves a lot of questions unanswered, which is understandable because they want to draw you in to watch the show. I was making a lot of speculations, but refrained from going into too much spoiler territory. (Surprisingly, I’ve been good! That’s impressive for me!) Some of my questions have already been answered in the second episode (but of course, there are more to go) and I was happy how I guessed. There’s so many characters and it feels like we’re gaining more with each episode. Despite, there being so many, I am able to keep up and like seeing new characters interact with one another. I also enjoy seeing a lot of familiar faces from Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) in a very different kind of role compared to Downton and Leo Suter who has been in a lot of my recent Masterpiece watches (Victoria, Sanditon). I love how he plays such a different character in each project he’s in. Really shows his range. With four more episodes to go I can’t wait to continue learning more about what’s going on in Beecham House and what their futures will be. I don’t know if the US numbers will help a chance for a second season, but I hope so! 

Speaking of my previous Masterpiece watches: I really enjoyed World on Fire overall. It ended with some big cliffhangers and I am very excited it got a second season!! 

What are you watching? Any requests of what I should tune into next? 

[bearpillowmonster]

KH: MOM Review (Gameplay)

Every Kingdom Hearts game feels different. It's always innovating and always adding new types of gameplay. This is no exception. Rhythm minigames are no stranger to the Kingdom Hearts series but a whole game based on it is new.

I don't play a lot of rhythm games but I have played the infamous Atlantica section in Kingdom Hearts 2 as well as the Symphony of Sorcery in Dream Drop Distance and the Ice Cream Beat of Birth By Sleep, Guitar Hero and I'll even throw in the Honeybee Inn rhythm game in FFVII Remake. Out of all of those, Atlantica has been my favorite, that's right, I actually didn't mind it.

Now this system is entirely different than any of those, at least to me. It's definitely the most complex though but just hold on because I know how the word 'complex' can be triggering for a game, I just mean in comparison to the others is all. It's not a DDR right, left, up or down. So without further ado...(Nonspoiler for this part, it’s just gameplay)

This game begins with a stage. You're thrown into it without any notice, there were things that I didn't grasp until near the end of the stage, luckily it doesn't count towards a score yet, and after it is the tutorial but that's just the opening so if you're clueless and want to be prepared, I would say to try out the demo, I didn't even realize how much it helped me until I played the actual game. 

I wanted to say at just how friendly this game is to newcomers, it's literally all laid out for you. Nomura came out with HD remasters and collections of the previous games then a recap of the franchise on YouTube then put it IN Kingdom Hearts 3 and people still complained because they don't know the story and are too lazy to play the other games. Now Nomura's packed it all into one whole game to sum it up, explained from the perspective of Kairi herself so that you're still entertained while catching up. If there was ever an easy path to get into Kingdom Hearts, this is the answer. If I hear complaining about it from this point forward, I will be pissed. Now, as you can see, I didn't make it to story yet but that's not entirely what I'm talking about. All the buttons and functions are the same as a regular game, you basically have it all but the different keyblades (well you can collect them but not use them because they're cards). You can play as casually as you want, a song here and there. There are even options for a shuffle and sort function if you want to just jump to track selection but you'll need to unlock them individually in World Tour first. This may sound complicated but that's where the clean and accessible the menu comes in, I have to give props for that.

You're on a set track, it runs on its own, does its own thing except when you're gliding which is just moving left and right to collect notes. You use the normal KH abilities to your advantage because some enemies will be high in the air so you need to jump and slash at the same time but you can't just button mash any more, there's timing involved now. Once you get used to the gameplay, it's quite enjoyable, you may even get a song that you hit every note, my first one was 'Another Side', the first try too, I didn't hit all excellent though.

How do party members work? Well let's say you have Sora, Donald, and Goofy in a party. You have 3 buttons you can press to attack, Sora's the only one that can jump and the only one that can use the reaction commands so you need to pay attention to all three because there could be enemies on the floor and in the sky at the same time. The one thing I will say is a little bit of a complaint and that's that it doesn't tell you which buttons to press except on specific stages, it just has the symbols, I guess that's what makes it more combat oriented but it's definitely different and a little bit harder. But I guess it gets to be muscle memory, after a while. If you already know the themes, it gets easier for you to manage because you focus more on what you hear and less on what you see, that's how I started getting better with timing. I experimented with pretty much everything I could think of so I tried it with low volume and found that I missed a whole lot more because I couldn't hear it, which might be obvious because it's a rhythm game, but it just goes to show how important sound is. I even tried using headphones, I suppose that's up to you, it definitely made the music clearer but my performance was about the same. 

What do songs net you other than progress? Well you get materials. Also similar to KHUX, you get crafting materials except these ones you can use for potions and stuff, I did a potionless run because I didn’t feel the need (but I also didn’t do it all proud either) but I used a few summons and item boosts just for fun. You can also craft cards, which are really just for looks to see in the Museum after you finish one of the memory dives (which I'll get into) but the way you get the cards, grinds my gears because it's gacha, you craft them and it's a surprise what you're going to get...so it's essentially a loot box that you don't pay money for?? What the-

(notice how it says KH2 or Days at the bottom, you don’t even know. Of course I have Writhing Shards rn but that’s because I beat the game and didn’t open a whole lot of keyblade cards but the memory and scene ones are the annoying ones for me)

You don't even have to "finish" the song, just get it most of the way before you die then you'll still get credit and still get a ranking, just no exp. Now, there are also stars, stars are from 'missions' for each stage, if you play KHUX, it’s kind of like how it says “get this amount of Lux” or “use this type of medal” or “don’t use continue” so most stars are just “get this many points” and you need to collect enough stars to get to the next area. With that, so long as you have enough stars, you don’t “have” to play every stage, just like regular Kingdom Hearts and skipping worlds, I did though, just for sport, except Let it Go, just for spite. I could see plenty of fans going after those A+++ Proud Performer 3-Star rankings, I can't wait to see the hype it generates, same with the co-op.  

They went all out when they didn't have to. The Museum is where everything is collected, so all the cards you collect and craft. You can also just play the song on its own without gameplay through the Museum, so if you want headphones to just chill, it's really nice. You can also play the cutscenes and memory dives on their own without the gameplay. There are "feats" or missions such as finishing a certain number of songs, like Nook Miles or the ones they had in Re:Mind. You can collect profile pictures for your co-op or versus account, mine is Simba (even though I don’t really use it). But the co-op can get pretty intense as you can “sabotage” each other, which seems similar to a Smash or Mario Kart match, adding that much more to the gameplay.

A few more complaints, one is that certain enemies from a stage, (say, the Wyverns) won't have the same attacks as the other stages, sometimes they'll have it so that you jump to hit them and sometimes they'll just have them take a normal hit without the jump so you can't memorize what each enemy requires (there are too many to really do that anyway). The other thing is more just opinion based, particular enemies such as Large Bodies tend to carry a weight so you need to hit them more than once even if its just one enemy. How it does this is that you hit it and then the enemy gets knocked back as your next note so you hit them again. There were definitely times where I struggled because I knew I was hitting the buttons but nothing was happening, I would guess timing was the problem in some of those cases but the indicators can be difficult to keep track of because it has to be “just right”. I think even just a line on the floor to tell when you’re supposed to hit would be a major help but in a way, I feel like that’s on purpose. Also, in the Museum, you can view all the cards EXCEPT the Keyblades which is pretty shotty if you ask me, what's the point in grinding to get my favorite Rumbling Rose, if I can't even look at it properly?

(also new names for some keyblades (this is a zoom-in))

There will be a lot of things happening at once which can be daunting, I do appreciate that they included the easy, standard, and proud modes though. Keep in mind, each of those are used for individual songs, not playthroughs so if you want to change, go ahead, at least as far as World Tour goes. On top of that, there are different modes that also gauge at how good you are (to use on the track selection). There's the basic mode which I already explained, then there's the one button mode which should be self explanatory, and then there's the performer mode which is quite a lot to put on your plate all at once because on top of normal gameplay, you're adding new buttons and things in the middle of your attacks, I would probably only recommend that after you've got a decent amount of experience because I tried it day 1 and it seems like you would need a good understanding of the game and to be on the same wavelength before even attempting it. You can view a playthrough of each stage called a "demo" which is the little play symbol button next to the "play" button, it shows you how you should be playing to get an A+++ rank and giving you a heads up of what's to come, all excellent all the time. On top of that, when I was playing Xenoblade, one thing I proposed was flicking the analog stick in a certain direction for each move, that’s present here in the form of bosses and memory dives but if you want it to, you can go into the menu to enable it for regular gameplay. You'll find out if you want it on the very first stage, again, I would only recommend it after a lot of experience.

Your characters level up but it mainly just has to do with HP so you don’t die so easily but at the same time, you have potions so I don’t see much of a point for normal gameplay. All three of the party members only have one health bar, so leveling does come in handy for the bosses. However, I don't understand how each party member has a different level, maybe it's just based on the amount of notes you hit with that character but it's kind of weird because I don't think it matters. Even on the team selection part of the play screen, it has one compilitive level so why would they be different on the menu?

For bosses, you only encounter a few. If it were me, I would've made one per game but it is what it is. You don't worry about jumping anymore, it's just holding the attack button down instead and the amount of "dodge" notes that you hit will work in your defense whenever the boss attacks. Once the dodge section is over, it actually tells you how you did with the dodging section. The first time I ever did it, it said "Oh No." it has a sense of humor, it took me a while to nail those ones you hold down which is odd because I rock the gliding sections most of the time. 

There's only one more type of gameplay type I can think of, memory dives. It's similar to a boss but you're flying and there's a scene playing in the background, also some of the directional notes will have doubles, so you need to point the analog stick in different directions which is as difficult as can be because you have to use BOTH analog sticks (took me forever just to figure that out). You 'mainly' gain the memory dives from crafting which is a bit odd but you unlock the recipes and items as you go through World Tour and then play them separately in Track Selection, until you get to KH3 at least. 

Keep in mind that I played the demo on both PS4 and Switch and compared the two, my performance was about the same, though I will say this. With Switch, you can take it on the go and just do a few levels here and there as well as remove the joy-cons. The thing about that is that I feel the need to shake the joy-cons but there's no function that uses that in the game, I really wish there was though. And those directional ‘slide’ notes have to be way easier on PlayStation because the analog sticks are right next to each other.

[xb-squaredx]

B-Squared’s Top 10 Games of 2019!

2019 was a year full to the brim of GREAT games, and as is the custom at the end of the year, people love to rank their favorites, so…I’d like to do the same! Of course my own tastes might be different from yours so if you don’t see a thing on here that you liked, chances are I didn’t like it…or more likely, there’s just too many great games out this year, and I couldn’t get to everything. I’d like to stress to that the rankings don’t really matter all that much, especially the farther down we go. Everything on here is an easy recommendation. Without any further ado…let’s take a look at my Top 10 Games of 2019~

#10 - River City Girls

I love action games, but 2D beat-em-ups never really clicked for me. They were largely before my time and I was thinking that it’d be impossible to get me into one in the current era of gaming. And then I saw Marian’s redesign for River City Girls and bought the game. What can I say? Abs are a great sales pitch. But seriously, getting Wayforward on the helm of a beloved classic franchise is already a great way to pique my interest, and while there’s SOME aspects of this game that I don’t quite gel with, it’s a fun, colorful romp through a ridiculous universe that I’d LOVE to see more of down the line. Featuring a role-reversal, with the girlfriends saving the boyfriends this time, River City Girls has gorgeous pixel art, an AMAZING pop-synth soundtrack that’s worth the price alone, and it’s a game that clearly had fun with the concept and that fun rubs off on you. From the stylish animated boss intros, to the co-op fun that can be had with a friend, everything in this game is brimming with charm. Basic NPCs have great designs in their own right, being able to recruit enemies as assists is a neat idea, and it all adds up to a fun, bite-sized adventure with a bit of depth under the hood if you’re willing to give it a look. Can the character designers get a raise for this game, please? And let Megan McDuffie just do all the songs from now on. ALL OF THEM.

#9 - Astral Chain

Most people assumed if we were going to get a Switch exclusive game by Platinum this year, it’d be Bayonetta 3 but instead Nintendo surprised us with Astral Chain, the anime cop action game we didn’t know we wanted. The game boasts great visuals and is probably the most content-rich Platinum game ever made for starters, but for me the true draw is in the combat. Playing as your police officer in tandem with an alien creature known as a Legion, this tag-team action game is unlike pretty much anything else on the market. While the game starts off very simplistic, the Legion itself moving and attacking with no input from the player, over time more and more options unlock and things get considerably more complicated. By game’s end, you’re drowning in options, and once things clicked, combat was always a treat. With plenty of enemies to practice with, Legions to master and a gigantic post-game filled with challenging encounters, I had more fun with the combat in this game than I did with a lot of other games this year. That said, I do feel that Astral Chain could have benefitted from trimming some fat or rethinking its overall structure. For being a new IP with some bold ideas, I’m willing to accept these as kinks that can hopefully be ironed out in a sequel. Oh, and add Lappy to Smash already. You know you want to, Sakurai.

#8 - BABA IS YOU

Puzzle games are hard sells for me, since I don’t like the frustration that often comes from being stuck. You feel dumb, you get embarrassed and turn the game off in shame, or at least that’s my experience. But then sometimes you get a game so clever, so…weird, that you can’t help but be sucked into it. BABA IS YOU is a block-pushing puzzle game, with the twist being that the “rules” of a particular stage are often physically present in levels and are in fact blocks that can be pushed and manipulated by the player. ROCK is PUSH, WALL is STOP, FLAG is WIN and BABA is YOU. But what if you can’t touch the flag because the wall is in the way? Well, make it so WALL is PUSH to move it aside, or maybe make it so that BABA is WIN and you become the win condition itself. As the game goes on, more modifiers and rules are slowly introduced and absorbed into your own internal logic of the game, logic that increasingly has to be broken and remade to suit your needs. It’s a very empowering experience when the solution clicks and the results can often be hilarious and surprising. This game also GOES PLACES the further you go in, and I’d rather not ruin that surprise for anyone who might be looking into the game. Definitely one of the most innovated titles I’ve played in a LONG time. BABA is GOOD.

#7 - Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid

OK, so…hear me out. Power Rangers was a franchise I was obsessed with as a kid, and while I don’t follow it anymore, there’s still some love for it flowing in my veins. So when a small, no-name studio puts out a Power Ranger fighting game that takes the simplified controls of Smash Bros. and the tag-team craziness of Marvel vs. Capcom and slaps it all together for a cool twenty bucks or so? Well you got yourself a purchase and it ended up being WAY more fun than I expected. Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is far from the best looking fighter on the market, it’s single-player content is lacking, and it’s roster, while interesting, isn’t as big as a lot of the competition, but damn if it isn’t fun to play. With characters taken from across the franchise’s long history, from the live-action movie reboot to the comic books, each choice has been inspired and resulted in an incredibly varied cast. With no crazy inputs for special moves, combined with a tagging system that lets you cycle through your three-Ranger team quickly, the game is the best kind of chaotic fun, but true masters can command that chaos and channel it into cool combos that make you want to say “Morphinominal!” Considering it’s a budget title, it’s also received a fair amount of updates throughout the year to pad out the roster with both free and paid DLC fighters, a full story mode and improvements to the netcode and overall presentation., so if you passed on it at launch, it’s much improved now. It’s not gonna be a fighting game on everyone’s radar, but I’d rather support it than the grind-heavy slog Mortal Kombat has become…Now just hurry up and add that monster that baked the Rangers into a pizza!

#6 - New Super Lucky’s Tale

If your name isn’t Mario or Sonic, 3D platformers are effectively dead. That said, there’s been a few up-and-comers in recent years that are trying to revive the genre. Hat Kid from A Hat in Time, the duo of Yooka-Laylee, and now Lucky from the folks at Playful Studios. The cute fox has quite the history, starting from the Oculus Rift title, Lucky’s Tale, to a full-fledged platformer on the Xbox One X, Super Lucky’s Tale and now the enhanced port/reimagining New Super Lucky’s Tale on Switch. Halfway between a full-blown sequel, and enhanced edition, the game takes assets from the Xbox original game, tweaking and refining everything from visuals to controls to level layouts. The result is a game that is incredibly well-polished. It looks great, Lucky is a treat to control as he moves from jumping, burrowing and sliding around fluidly, and the variety on display keeps things interesting. We’ve got full 3D levels, 2D levels, auto-runners, and even some marble maze levels and puzzles thrown in for good measure. It’s not a hard game, but it IS incredibly fun, and well made. We don’t get many 3D platformers these days, so cherish what little comes of the genre. I hope Playful and Nintendo continue to collaborate, as they really seem more at home here. Just…maybe don’t add more words to the title of the next game, guys.

#5 - Katana Zero

There’s no nice way to say it: there’s too many pixel-based, side-scrolling indie games out there, so the ones that DO stand out deserve to be celebrated. Katana Zero has a real ‘80s flair for starters, using bright neon, TV and VCR visual effects, and a synth soundtrack to give it some real style. When a game kicks off with you slowing down time and reflecting a bullet back at an enemy with your katana, you make a good first impression! Add in the trial-and-error that is planning the perfect route through a stage, the satisfying slicing and dicing of enemies, the unique, challenging boss encounters, and you have a game that was on my radar for a while, before I finally got into it at the end of the year. Its storyline is pretty interesting too, with some slight variances in how events unfold depending on your words and actions, though it ending on a bit of a cliffhanger is a bummer. That said, when a game leaves you wanting more, there’s worse problems to have. At the very least, there’s some DLC hinted at that might be interesting, as well as the implications that this is the merely the first in a trilogy, and at this point I’m game for whatever developer Askiisoft has in store.

#4 - Luigi’s Mansion 3

The GameCube was an odd era for Nintendo, as they attempted to innovate and try new ideas rather than rely purely on their old standbys. Case-in-point, rather than launch the console with a new Mario platformer, his second-banana brother Luigi got his first starring role in what would become the Luigi’s Mansion series. While not making QUITE as big of a splash as maybe Nintendo hoped, it’s garnered a decent fanbase, and when a sequel was announced for 3DS, people ate it up. Considering the gap between the first and second games, I think many people were surprised at the relatively quick turn-around for the third installment. I was also surprised at the overall quality and how much I enjoyed digging into it. For starters, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is easily one of the better-looking Switch titles, boasting some great lighting and particle effects, with some fun physics implemented for just about everything in the massive mansion. Luigi and company are animated with a lot of expressiveness that never gets old, and the music sets the tone perfectly too. From a gameplay standpoint, the toolset Luigi gains gives him ample options to poke at every nook and cranny, with the slimy doppelganger Gooigi being the clear stand-out. Some of the floors of the Last Resort hotel that Luigi must ascend are particularly massive and intricate too, some floors feeling like Legend of Zelda-style dungeons. While not a particularly challenging game, it’s still really satisfying to poke and prod at everything in sight, sucking in all the coins, gold bars and stacks of paper bills you can handle, not to mention slamming the ghosts around like the Hulk does to Loki. There’s also multiplayer! That I…haven’t really touched but…hey! More bang for your buck, surely!

#3 – Dragon Quest XI S

I don’t consider myself a huge fan of JRPGs. Or at least that’s what I thought before I tried out the Dragon Quest XI demo on Switch. I ended up falling for the game hard and bought the full release, carrying my demo data over and not stopping until I hit credits. Despite having never touched a Dragon Quest game before, outside of an hour or so of VIII, I was overcome with this feeling of nostalgia when it came to this game. That’s because Dragon Quest is THE quintessential JRPG game, the originator of all that we take for granted today. It was nice to feel right at home with a simple, effective combat system, rather than having to watch games re-invent the wheel in an attempt to stand out from the pack (sorry Xenoblade), and the story itself, while predictable and a little basic at times, was told well and told earnestly. It really nailed the feeling of going on a grand adventure, with enough twists on the formula to keep things interesting. The turn-based combat was elementary, but always presented me with fair challenges and lots of ways to solve the encounters laid before me, with enough quality-of-life features added in to minimize grind and make things more convenient. The Switch version of Dragon Quest XI featured a bunch of new content on top of a game that had more than enough going for it, and it’s clear a lot of work was done to make this port as faithful as could be, and it stands out not just as a great port on a system known for some shoddy ones, but as a title that’s brimming with as much polish and quality to rival first-party Switch titles. Don’t ban Hero in Smash and don’t miss out on this game if you haven’t taken the plunge already!

#2 – Devil May Cry 5

The Devil May Cry franchise has had its share of ups and downs over the years. For every game that’s considered a success, you have another game that doesn’t quite measure up. For years many thought the franchise was dead in the water after the attempted reboot, DMC: Devil May Cry failed to grow its audience, but when Microsoft’s E3 2018 show revealed to us a new installment, fans were ecstatic. Devil May Cry 5 boasts crisp visuals, deep combat and trims the fat, removing the wonky platforming and puzzles of earlier games to create a high-octane action experience that ultimately exceeded fan expectations. Its storyline firmly plants Devil May Cry 4’s Nero as a main character in his own right, wraps up the story of the Sparda brothers neatly, and if this ended up being the last title in the series, I think it’s that rare ending that ends up being totally satisfying. Combat is the real draw here though, the game giving players three distinct characters to learn and master. Nero’s robotic Devil Breaker arms allow him a decent amount of variety, while having a balanced, beginner-friendly combat style for new players. Dante remains the king of variety, having more weapons than ever before combined with his signature style switching, though the game is actually designed with all these options in mind so he doesn’t end up breaking the game like he did in 4. Newcomer V ends up being a breath of fresh air, controlling up to three demonic summons at once, forcing players to really think more strategically. The music is incredible too; Nero’s own theme, Devil Trigger, has been stuck in my head since last year and I don’t see it leaving any time soon. All things considered, Devil May Cry 5 might be the best game in the franchise, and a worthy contender for game of the year personally. Now if only we had a special edition with Vergil and the ladies playable…

#1 - Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I got into the Fire Emblem series with Awakening and really liked it a lot, however Fates, the next installment, left a bad taste in my mouth. I couldn’t really get into Echoes, itself a remake of the second game in the series, and I began to wonder if this franchise was really for me. I was willing to give Three Houses a shot, but I was not prepared for the game to blow past all my expectations. Fire Emblem: Three Houses isn’t just a good game, it’s a game that’s redeemed a franchise that’s stumbled a bit in recent years, and it likely cements Fire Emblem as a core Nintendo franchise for years to come. It has class, depth and real heart...with only minor creepy or pervy elements! Making a grand return to home consoles after more than a decade on handhelds, it goes big and it ultimately paid off, on track to become the best-selling entry in the series. The school setting might seem weird at first, and I wondered how well I’d adjust to it, but being able to instruct your units and influence their growth in battle was worth the learning curve. Things are introduced slowly enough that the flow of the game becomes relatively easy to manage, if a bit time-consuming overall. With four distinct storylines you can explore, TONS of character interactions and some interesting tweaks to the strategic gameplay the series is known for, I’m confident in saying that Three Houses is well-worth a purchase for newcomers to the franchise. Divine Pulse is a great quality-of-life addition that lets you undo mistakes, rather than force you to start over from scratch, and overall the UI and layout of the game gives you enough information to make informed decisions without overwhelming you. Makes me wonder how we survived before the games showed us who enemies would target on their turns before now. Admittedly, some aspects of the progression have some issues, especially at endgame, and visually the game really is not up to par most of the time, but these end up being tiny blemishes in the long run for me. They certainly weren’t bad enough to prevent me from starting a new path the instant I finished my first route. If I have one request…just make Claude a gay option. Give the people what they want, Nintendo!

Honorable Mentions

I’d like to add on some honorable mentions here before we close things out, though most of these are things I didn’t even get a chance to play, but they certainly might have made this list. For one, Resident Evil 2 Remake seems like a high-quality reinterpretation of the survival-horror classic, but I can’t do horror so I’ll likely pass it up. It’s also for that reason that I might not get to Control but I might try jumping out of my comfort zone for that one. The confusion surrounding both The Other Worlds AND The Outer Wilds is funny, but they’re both space-based games I’d be keen on getting to at some point down the line; the former is a great Western RPG by the folks who made the GOOD Fallout games, while the latter is an interesting space-faring puzzler with some interesting mechanics I’d rather not spoil for those not more in-the-know. Indie titles Sayonara Wild Hearts and GRIS definitely caught my attention with their great visuals, and in the case of the former, its soundtrack, even if the gameplay wasn’t quite there for me, and the weird fighting-game-but-kinda-RPG that is Indivisible demands my attention sooner or later. Bloodstained is the Castlevania follow-up I keep forgetting is out, and I hear great things about Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. The team behind the Yakuza series recently made a spin-off of sorts, Judgment that hit the West this year and while I like the Yakuza series for its quirky tone and fun combat, there’s still six other games I’d have to sift through, so going with Judgment, which is set to possibly begin a new franchise, seems like a good alternative. And how could I forget the likes of Shovel Knight as we finally receive the last expansion that’s been years in the making? I haven’t touched the King of Cards expansion yet, but I have the upmost faith in anything Yacht Club makes, so that’s surely a game of the year contender. 2019 was crazy good! Glad to close the year out with so much quality, and tons of great stuff to add to the ever-growing backlog.

Hope you had some good gaming memories made this year!

-B

[nvgotd]

The Non-Violent Games of E3 2019

Following requests on Twitter, I’ve compiled a roundup of all the non-violent games announced and showcased at E3 2019. Hoping this can become an annual thing.

There are 41 games here across a variety of platforms, so without further ado...

Afterparty

Developer: Night School Studios Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox One Release Date: 2019

Milo and Lola are best buds who recently died and find themselves in Hell. There is only one way to escape: outdrink Satan and he'll let them return to Earth. This point and click adventure sees you on the bender of your afterlife where you'll play beer pong, flirt with Satan and change the very structure of Hell.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Developer: Nintendo Platforms: Switch Release Date: March 20, 2020

The latest entry in Nintendo's charming life sim series starts on a deserted island. Players begin with nothing more than a tent, but must craft enough materials and cultivate the land until they can build an entire village -- all while repaying their debt to the insidious Tom Nook, of course.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Discovery Tour

Developer: Ubisoft Quebec Platforms: PC Release Date: Autumn 2019

Following on from the Assassin's Creed Origins version presents players with a combat-free version of Odyssy's Ancient Greece. They'll be able to explore it at will, or follow tours and suggested paths that will teach them about various aspects of life and culture at the time. This time around, there are also quizzes to see how much you have learned. It will be released for free, with a standalone version for people who don't own the game.

Catan

Developer: Asmodee Digital Platforms: Switch Release Date: June 2019

The digital adaptation of this classic board game is coming to Nintendo Switch. For those who haven't played, a landscape is randomly generated, its terrain and the produce gained from it is split between players, and your task is to build the biggest settlement. Trade with players to get the resources you need to build towns and roads, but be wary of whether the items you give them are helping their own progress.

Circuit Superstars

Developer: Original Fire Games Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch Release Date: 2020

In the absence of a new Micro Machines, Square Enix Collective is publishing this toy-like top down racer. Players control stylised cars in a series of circuit races where they need to consider their pit stop strategy rather than just floor it and hope to reach the finish first. Vehicles will range from classic cars to rally and trucks.

eFootball PES 2020

Developer: PES Team Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One Release Date: September 10, 2019

The long-running Pro Evolution Soccer gets a slight esports-driven name change this year, but still aims to deliver the most realistic football available. The Master League mode is being revamped, and a new mode Matchday appears to tie in with real-world matches, calling on players to choose a side and hope that their team's victories help them in-game.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Developer: Mediatonic Platforms: PC, PS4 Release Date: 2020

Published by Devolver Digital, this colourful outing is essentially a Battle Royale game... but without combat. Players control one of 100 little blob people and strive to survive a series of obstacle courses like climbing a hill with boulders falling towards them or crashing through bricks walls that may or may not be solid. If you've ever watched Takeshi's Castle, you get this idea.

Forza Horizon 4: Lego Speed Champions

Developer: Playground Games Platforms: Xbox One, PC Release Date: June 13, 2019

The Lego Speed Champions expansion adds a whole new region to the best-selling racer where everything is made of (you guessed it) Lego. Players will also be able to hop into Lego vehicles, race around Lego tracks and smash through Lego walls and trees. Because Lego means everything is awesome (And now that song's stuck in your head. Sorrynotsorry).

FIFA 20

Developer: Electronic Arts Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch Release Date: September 27, 2019

This year's FIFA revamps key systems like shooting and AI defending but also adds a brand new FIFA Street-style mode, Volta. This veers away from the realistic, straightforward football we're used to and invites players to be more creative in matches where teams have between three and five players rather than the usual eleven.

Flight Simulator

Developer: Microsoft Platforms: PC Release Date: TBA

Microsoft's hyper-realistic aviation simulation returns after more than a decade, this time rendered in impressive 4K visuals. Sit in the cockpit of faithfully recreated vehicles and fly around the world.

Fujii

Developer: Funktronic Labs Platforms: Valve Index Release Date: June 27, 2019

This virtual reality title allows you to explore three of vibrant and serene landscapes. As they wander through them, each with their own distinct environments, they can help bring each one to life by watering plants, touching certain objects and interacting with creatures. They can also collect seeds on their adventure and use them to grow an exotic garden of their own.

Garden of the Sea

Developer: Neat Corporation Platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive Release Date: June 10, 2019 (Early Access)

In a game described as a mix between Harvest Moon and Pokémon, players are given a cottage on a small island and are free to live out their life how they see fit. They can grow plants and crops in their garden, or explore the island and meet the native creatures. Unlike Pokémon, interacting with them doesn't require you to battle them in any way -- simply stroke them, feed them and generally befriend them.

Genesis Noir

Developer: Feral Cat Den Platforms: PC, Mac Release Date: TBA

Technically, this game depicts the Big Bang that started our universe as a gunshot from a cosmic being, one that kills the protagonist's love interest... but since the gameplay does not involve violence and the goal is to prevent her death, I'm going to give it a pass. This stylish adventure sees you exploring Earth from the eyes of someone who exists outside of the universe. The emphasis is on exploration, interacting with the world and generating art as you do so.

Harvest Moon: Mad Dash

Developer: Natsume Platforms: PS4, Switch Release Date: Autumn 2019

An even more casual spin-off of the already laid back Harvest Moon series, Mad Dash is a colour matching puzzle game at its heart. Players are presented with a field seeded with blocks of different coloured crops. Combining those blocks to form larger squares helps the crops grow larger for more points -- for example, combine four cabbages to make one big cabbage, then four big cabbages to make a giant one. Rack up as high a score as possible before the time runs out, and you can call in a friend with co-op mode to help you.

Heave Ho

Developer: LeCartel Studios Platforms: PC, Switch Release Date: Summer 2019

Published by Devolver Digital, this wacky physics-based platformer gives you control of a strange looking creature with two exceedingly long arms. Use the simulated physics to build momentum and swing or flip across the screen to grab hold of the terrain. Only by mastering the mechanics will you complete each course. You can also have up to three friends join in, but coordination will be key to reaching your goal.

Hyperdot

Developer: Tribe Games Platforms: PC, Xbox Release Date: 2019

This minimalist action arcade game is all about dodging. You control a single dot (a HyperDot, if you will) trapped in a circular arena with enemies, projectiles and other hazards. Simply guide your dot around the empty space to avoid any collisions and survive as long as you can. The campaign will have over 100 different levels, each with their own dangers, and a multiplayer mode will challenge you to outlast your friends.

Just Dance 2020

Developer: Ubisoft Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Wii (no, really) Release Date: November 5, 2019

If you haven't heard of Just Dance before, it's a Rayman Raving Rabbids minigame that's got out of hand (true story). In the minigame, players copied the choreography on an on-screen characters in time with the music. Ten years, 28 games and spin-offs, and countless music licensing deals later, you have Just Dance 2020.

Lost Words: Beyond The Page

Developer: Sketchbook Games Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch Release Date: December 2019

A 2D platformer set entirely in a little girl’s diary. Players use the words on the page as both platforms and tools to solve the various puzzles that block her progress. The game also has a beautiful story written by Rhianna Pratchett.

Madden NFL 20

Developer: Electronic Arts Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One Release Date: August 2, 2019

New to this year's Madden is Face of the Franchise: QB1, a "personalised career campaign" that allows players to create their own college quarterback and lead him to NFL glory. There are ten licensed college teams, along with all the most popular teams in the league.

Mind Labyrinth VR Dreams

Developer: Frost Earth Studio Platforms: PSVR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift Release Date: Out Now

Another virtual reality exploration title set in a variety of imaginary landscapes. Mind Labyrinth VR Dreams is designed to be a meditative experience, where each world is inspired by a different mental state to help players "find their emotional balance". Environments range from a calm and lush forest to a perilous world of flames and tornados.

Mosaic

Developer: Krillbite Studio Platforms: PC Release Date: 2019

This dark and brooding adventure centres around a lonely man living a repetitive life in an overpopulated but ever-expanding city. Players experience his life, from the daily commute to working at a faceless megacorporation. All seems meaningless, until one day strange things begin to happen and the man's life changes dramatically.

Night Call

Developer: Black Muffin, MonkeyMoon Platforms: PC, Mac, PS4, Switch Release Date: 2019

A murder mystery noire game where you play a Paris taxi driver. Players must assist with the police investigation by getting their passengers, including potential suspects, to talk during their journey with you. But try not to scare them off, as you still need to earn enough money to pay your bills.

Per Aspera

Developer: Tlön Industries Platforms: PC Release Date: 2020

Another title about colonisation, but this one is set a little closer to home. Per Aspera tells the tale of a mission to colonise Mars, but in addition to the management side of things there is a strong narrative about the hardships of leaving your world to build a new one. Players must explore the Red Planet to find the resources they need to terraform the environment and survive, and make decisions carefully and strategically if they want the colony to prosper.

Planet Zoo

Developer: Frontier Developments Platforms: PC Release Date: November 5

From the makers of Planet Coaster and Jurassic World Evolution comes a management title that, perhaps quite obviously, puts you in charge of a zoo. Care for your animals, customers and staff as you try to run an efficient zoo, unlocking more and more exotic creatures as you progress.

Read Only Memories: Neurodiver

Developer: MidBoss Platforms: PC, Mac Release Date: 2020

Announced this week, this is the sequel to the acclaimed cyberpunk point-and-click adventure 2064: Read Only Memories. Players will search people's memories as a telepathic detective aided by the titular Neurodiver as the pair search Neo-San Francisco for a rogue psychic who is breaking people's minds.

Roller Champions

Developer: Ubisoft Platforms: PC Release Date: Early 2020

Set in 2029, this colourful game imagines a world where the most popular sport is the titular Roller Champions. Players compete in teams of three as they race around oval tracks trying to score as many goals as they can, while racking up as many laps as possible. There is the ability to tackle, but also the ability to dodge in stylish fashion.

Skatebird

Developer: Glass Bottom Games Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux Release Date: TBA

Since we're unlikely to ever be getting a new Skate, one indie is working on the next best thing: Skatebird. This skateboarding game features all the tricks, flips and kicks you expect, but the rider is a little bird and everything he's skating on has been made from household objects. The Kickstarter for this was announced earlier this week and already passed its goal of $15,000 (currently near $24,000).

Spiritfarer

Developer: Thunder Lotus Games Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch Release Date: 2020

In this cartoonish but touching adventure, players take on the role as the ferryman carrying recently departed souls on to the next world. While the souls are of human beings, they appear as animals that represent their personalities. Players can befriend them, develop relationships, and expand and improve the houseboat carrying them to the other side in a story that drives a message of acceptance.

Spaceteam VR

Developer: Cooperative Innovations Platforms: TBC Release Date: TBC

A virtual reality adaptation of a mobile game previously covered on NVGOTD. The concept is much the same: a group of players are aboard a spaceship, each in charge of certain controls labelled in made up space jargon. Each player is given a set of instructions that relates to another players' controls, but they don't know who. The only way out to find out is to shout out "Soak the Ferrous Holospecturm" or "Set the Sigmaclapper to 0" (for example) and hope everyone else is paying attention. If the team fails to follow instructions, the ship crashes.

Starmancer

Developer: Ominux Games Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux Release Date: Q1 2020

Starmancer is a building and management game that sees you constructing and maintaining a space station, but rather than playing some invisible God-like being (i.e. yourself) like you do in The Sims, this time you have a role to play. The game casts you as the station's AI and tasks you with sustaining a crew of colonists as they attempt to reach a new world on which they can build their home. Once the colony is complete, players can send out their humans to mine asteroids, trade with other factions and even explore ancient alien ruins.

Steep

Developer: Ubisoft Annecy Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One Release Date: Out Now

Another previous NVGOTD recommendation, this extreme winter sports title from Ubisoft is still going strong. This week the publisher announced a free new map set in Japan, giving players a whole new course to master.

Supermarket Shriek

Developer: Billy Goat Entertainment Platforms: PC, Xbox One Release Date: July 9, 2019

Don't worry, that's not blood -- it's paint. I was confused too. Supermarket Shriek is a kart racer (of sorts) where you control a man and a goat in a shopping trolley. Designed to ideally be played by two people (one as the goat, one as the man), each person has a microphone and must scream into it to turn in their direction to steer around a variety of complicated courses, all set in unsuspecting and previously tidy shops. There is, of course, a two-button control scheme for players who want to try it themselves.

Telling Lies

Developer: Sam Barlow Platforms: PC, Mac Release Date: 2019

From the creator of the superb Her Story comes a fresh live-action narrative adventure with far grander ambitions. Players explore videos stored on a hard drive stolen from the National Security Agency as they try to understand why the four characters have been played under electronic surveillance. As with Her Story, they can search for keywords to access new videos but this time they need to piece together timelines and events to interpret what they have seen.

The Curious Tale of Stolen Pets

Developer: Fast Travel Games Platforms: PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality Release Date: 2019

This single player adventure game is a puzzle-centric affair set on tiny floating worlds that come from the imagination of a child and their grandfather. Players grab, push, drop and spin objects found in each world searching for clues that will reveal what happened to the missing pets.

The Elder Scolls Legends

Developer: Bethesda Platforms: PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS, Android Release Date: Out Now

This digital card battler sees you pitting monsters and creatures from the world of Bethesda's hit RPG series against each other. The big E3 news for this game is a new expansion, Moons of Elsweyr, introducing new cards and a storyline themed around the home of the cat-like Khajiit people.

The Good Life

Developer: White Owls Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One Release Date: Autumn 2019

Positioned as a "debt management life RPG", The Good Life puts players in the role of New York journalist Naomi, who has to move to a small British town to pay off her debts. The only way to do so is ben taking pictures of what happens in the town and reporting on them, but the closer she watches the local inhabitants, the quicker she realises that all is not as it seems.

The Lord of the Rings: Living Card Games

Developer: Fantasy Flight Interactive, Asmodee Digital Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch Release Date: August 8, 2019

Another digital card battler, but one based on the timeless works of JRRTolkien. Inspired by the real card game, this uses the animation and interactivity of video games to liven matches up. Players collect a deck of heroes from across Middle-Earth as they battle the forces of Sauron in card form.

The Sims 4: Island Living

Developer: The Sims Studio, Maxis Platforms: PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One Release Date: June 21 (Desktop), July 16 (Consoles)

The newest expansion for The Sims 4 gives players the chance to build their dream island palace, as well as watch their Sims take part in more tropical activities. They'll be able to kit out their characters in local island clothing, instruct them to lounge on the beach, or encourage them to befriend the native dolphins. There are also water sports, like canoeing, swimming and surfing, plus occupations to train up for, like the beach-cleaning conservationist.

The Wardrobe - Even Better Edition

Developer: CINIC Games Platforms: PC Release Date: June 7, 2019

The Wardrobe is a point-and-click adventure inspired by the classic LucasArts titles like Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle. It tells the story of Skinny, a boy died from an allergy to plums (that he didn't know about) and became a skeleton that lives in his friend Ronald's wardrobe. Skinny secretly watches over Ronald and helps him in life, but events force him to reveal himself. Even Better Edition adds joypad support, more achievements, a new save system and other improvements.

Totem Teller

Developer: Grinning Pickle Platforms: Xbox One, PC Release Date: 2020

Described by the developer as an "antinarrative video game", Totem Teller puts you in the role of a muse seeking inspiration. They roam the land in search of lost folklore, investigating strange distortions and retelling stories to any listeners they gather around them -- or allowing the stories to be forgotten forever. The surreal painted visual style gives it a storybook feel.

Way to the Woods

Developer: Anthony Tan Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch Release Date: 2020

This beautiful game sees players controlling one of two deer wandering through a post-apocalyptic landscape in search of safety. As they explore the ruins of civilisation, they'll encounter other friendly creatures such as racoons and cats, but a black goo that corrupts everything it touches continues to spread around them. Only by solving puzzles and finding new ways forward can they hope to escape.

Yoga Master

Developer: Oxygene Media Platforms: PS4 Release Date: Summer 2019

Developed in collaboration with professional yoga coaches, this game features more than 150 different poses for players to master and a variety of serene environments to practice in. There are over yoga programs to follow or you can create your own, and the game will be regularly updated with new content.

[breadknight-likes-things]

Gaming's Biggest Disappointments of 2018,  And Their Silver Linings.

Video games were absolutely incredible in 2018, from bombastic AAA games like God of War to smaller, intimate looks serious subjects like Night In The Woods.  We’ve had an incredible year of games, but with all incredible years come some downsides, and even though this post is about the biggest foibles of the year overall, I think most of them are also indications of improvements big and small that we can look forward to.  So these posts are going to be fairly negative, a thing I try not to do on this blog, but hopefully I can interlace enough positive information in there to keep my usual tone up, so without further ado here they are.

The Telltale Closure: 

So I’m going to open with an event from this year that, frankly despite my title, has no silver lining.  The closure of Telltale games was a gigantic bummer in all respects, hundreds of people lost their jobs suddenly, were given no severance and told their health insurance was only going to last to the end of the month.  All future projects were cancelled and the even their currently running Walking Dead season was left half finished in limbo.  Some employees reported having moved across the country for a job at this well known dev less than a week before, only to more or less immediately lose it.  The higher ups running Telltale kept all of their financial issues so close to the chest that nobody below even knew anything was wrong, so when a new round of funding didn’t pull through at the last minute the only thing they could do was fire nearly every worker. In the end this left only a skeleton crew to finish the contract on Netflix Minecraft, and even they got laid off a couple weeks later!  Telltales death is a cautionary tale, and though we now see that The Walking Dead The Final season will be finished that isn’t what we should be concerned about, if it’s this easy for people in the gaming industry to be mislead about how their company is doing, something is seriously wrong.

Fallout 76, Like, In General:

Alright, Fallout 76 is a mess, and I’ve written before about how I can still enjoy it despite it’s innumerable problems, but almost all events surrounding this games release and it’s bizarre descent from “Buggy but fun” to “just not fun” after it’s patches is something that still needs to be talked about.  I think the most obvious thing to be said about Fallout 76 is that this game simply wasn’t done, I have a feeling it was rushed out to give Bethesda a product for this fall and to match up with the release of the masses of tie-in merchandise, but even so the game just isn’t finished.  As a release, the game is chock full of bugs, some visual like your characters power armor not loading right and you just being rendered spindly and nude and some gameplay affecting like enemies re-spawning in a location seemingly at random, leaving you immediately overwhelmed and dead within seconds. 

Thing is though, that isn’t where it stops, outside the game Bethesda Game Studios has shown an alarmingly tone deaf reaction to the player bases complaints.  I’m not talking about the nylon bag thing(never buy $200 collectors editions everyone, it’s never worth it), I’m talking about leaking peoples personal info and acting like it’s not a big deal or trying to placate anger by giving away paltry amounts of in game currency or collections of old games they didn’t even make.  Despite all this however, if you were to ask me my positive feelings on the thing, at the very least I’d tell you Fallout 76 is a promising blueprint for parts of the franchises future.  Even if this game is deeply flawed, imagine this being reworked more as a co-op mode in a more traditional Fallout or even Elder Scrolls game.  We could be looking at a wonderful future of exploring these big Bethesda worlds with our friends and even if the first attempt is rough as hell, it is ultimately still a first attempt, and hopefully one that portends a potentially great future. 

Metal Gear Survive:

Okay honestly, I don’t have a lot to say about Metal Gear Survive because I didn’t actually play it.  Why I’m bringing it up though is my general feeling that Konami is getting more hatred than even they deserve, based mostly around the ugly mysterious breakup between them and Kojima(though reports of how their employees are mistreated are pretty grim).  Survive is an awful game, and a cynical attempt to cash in on both the Metal Gear name and the boost in notoriety Survival Games have been having in recent times.  What the silver lining in this is however, is that Konami is very clearly not afraid to use their IP’s as some feared after that Kojima breakup.  Castlevania is enjoying success as a much loved Netflix show, two Belmonts and Snake both showed up and were well received in Smash Bros and even Zone of the Enders, which even the biggest Kojima fans seem to forget existed, got a full re-release for PS4.  Though we may need to worry about new attempts at these franchises if Survive is any indication, the scary idea that all those IP’s would just vanish seems to have just been conjecture, so instead of those video game things we all love, lets just watch TV!...Hey at least it’s a good show okay! 

The Response to Diablo Immortal:

This section is not about Diablo Immortal being a bad game, because we don’t know if it is, the thing isn’t even out!  This is about the, in my eyes, stupid, childish and cynical response to the games announcement.  What’s the issue with a mobile Diablo game?  I honestly have to ask myself this question every time I see the horrible response so many people continue to have to this benign spin-off to a much beloved franchise. People tried so hard to be mad about this game they’ve never even played, acting like an innocent nervous joke, one made by a dev after being greeted by a round of disrespectful boos, killed their dog.  Making wild claims that Blizzard no longer cares about their fans or IP’s or that they’re doing this as some kind of bizarre intentional slight against players.  Gaming has a real issue with reactionary anger, and we seem to see it happen for both valid and completely invalid reasons multiple times a year.  

People being angry at being nickled and dimed to death isn’t strange, we can so easily see this in Battlefront 2 from a couple years ago, who wants to grind out 40 hours of an online shooter to unlock one character?  Stuff like that is clearly an absurdly bad choice and the anger it engenders should probably be expected, but Diablo hasn’t actually done anything yet and people are already acting like it’s the biggest affront to video games they’ve ever seen.  What’s the silver lining in this nerd fury you ask?  It’s the game itself.  To be honest even if the game is mediocre having a Diablo game on my phone is an enticing idea, and good or bad I can’t wait to find out how it’s going to play.

We can find the good, we can find the bad, but video games remain a unique medium for stories and entertainment, and I for one can’t wait to find out what 2019 has in store for us!(I mean besides hopefully getting some answers on that batshit twist at the end of Gears of War 4 I still haven’t actually written about, i’ll get to it!)

[hg-world-india]

Our Review on Heavenly Bodies (For PS5)

Dive into the world of ‘tricky physics’ with this all-new whacky game on your PS5 and PS4 today.

Puzzle games are fun. They test you, tease you and most importantly leave you with a feeling of fulfilment similar to that of having the last French fry when sharing with your siblings.

Heavenly Bodies is here to challenge you to its frustratingly fun levels as you make your way around space completing important tasks and missions.

I recently played Heavenly bodies and was quite surprised with how well-planned this game was. There is a lot going on in this game that needs to be mentioned, so without further ado let’s get right into it. And oh! Have you checked out the amazing deals on PS5 on our website? The console is now in stock and available at an unbeatable price. Click here to know more.

Heavenly Bodies – The game

Developed by 2pt Interactive, Melbourne based developers, the game is nothing short of a satisfying play. Frustrating at times (All for the right reasons), I feel Heavenly bodies is way too underrated and that needs to change.

You have a radio control and a manual booklet to aid you through your journey/adventure in space as you are all set to show the world engineering at its best. However, there is one small problem. Zero-gravity. You are expected to bull-doze your way (not literally) through this weightless environment and complete all your tasks with utmost efficiency and accuracy.

The game is 70s style graphic inspired and hits all the right visual boxes for its aesthetic graphics and designs.

Talking about the concept of heavenly bodies, I feel it is quite creative. Your level of patience along with your critical thinking is put to use as you try to cruise your way through space. The main key, however, lies in understanding the controls of the game.

The gameplay and controls

Now, this is the main point of focus in the entire game. To say the controls of the game are tricky would be an understatement. Honestly, it took me quite a while to finally understand what I was doing with my controls.

The game takes complete advantage of the absence of gravity and your cosmonaut’s weightless form in that environment. You are to independently control all your cosmonaut’s limbs along with their movement. Seems easy? Not especially when you have to complete tasks with those thumbsticks that are to move, push, pull all at the same time.

The best advice here would be to try out the controls for yourself and see how it works for you. You will go through several combinations before you feel somewhat comfortable with how you are moving in the game.

I will have to admit that there was more than just one instance when I wanted to throw away my controller in frustration just because I couldn’t successfully move through a tunnel.

These controls can be quite fun in co-op mode though as you bump into your partner (intentionally or not) as you go about completing your respective tasks.  

The story

There isn’t much to the story of Heavenly Bodies except for the basics that get you started. You are on your way to creating history. Aboard a 70s style space ship, you a cosmonaut is assigned with several tasks to ensure the smooth functioning of the mission as well as the space shuttle.

The levels

There are a total of seven playable levels in this crazy video game. The difficulty and complexity increase with every passing level. Layer after layer is added to each level and it never ceased to amaze me how much can this game frustrate and enthral me at the same time.

Before you start a particular level, a manual/guide is provided to you telling you what needs to be done. This is then stored and saved in the manual booklet that can be viewed on your screen at any time. Although the handy book tells you what to do, it doesn’t say exactly how to do it. That has to figured out on our own. There is only one variable solution to every task and trust me, figuring it out will be one of the most satisfying feelings you have experienced in a while.

Tasks may include clicking on a button, shutting something down, pulling a lever or connecting some wires together, basically anything and everything.

Solo v/s Co-op

The game supports two different modes- the single-mode and the local co-op mode. The single-mode as the name suggests is played by you on your own and the local co-op with the friend sharing the same space.

I had the opportunity to experience both and I will prefer the co-op mode over the single one any day. Let me tell you why.

In single-mode, you are alone on your own figuring things out. And not every time you get things right which is understandable having played a lot of puzzle games before. However, at times you just feel so stuck with no way out and that is quite depressing even if it is short-lived.

On the other hand, in the co-op mode, you have company and the missions are shared between the two playing cosmonauts, you and your partner. With someone there, you are re-assured in the frustrating state of the game. The mistakes, the bumping and all the ‘eureka’ moments will definitely lead to hearty laughs and playful shoves. Figuring things together is much more convenient than going through it alone. Also, as for levels that require you to take up two roles at the same time to finish the task at hand, the co-op level is way for entertaining than the solo one.

In conclusion

Overall, Heavenly bodies was a fun game to play. It took me about seven hours to finish the whole thing with approximately 30 minutes to an hour for a level. The biggest challenge was definitely the controls. I mean they were absolutely out there to annoy the hell out of me. But like the good puzzle games out there, you are in for a fun ride with all the frustrations, tries, anticipation and everything in between.

One level into the game and you will notice that the developers really put in all that work and thought in making this masterpiece.

Heavenly Bodies will tickle you in all the right places if given the chance. It’s a beautiful tragedy with equal servings of fun and satisfaction.

Follow us for more such content and Happy Reading!

Watch the PS5 video here.

[idiopath-fic-smile]

for the WIP meme: much ado about co-ops!

HELL YEAH, anon i like your style

previous parts:

Ursula's meeting notes contain no sex scenes!

Benedick and Beatrice have the classic "German vs philosophy' fight

The co-conspirators co-conspire

new part (longer than three sentences bc fuck the police):

It was a crisp November morning, and Lee was both helping Pedro set a trap for Benedick, and also assembling a mental list of situations she would’ve rather been in. 

“So,” said Pedro, “how are you at the art of deception?”

She would’ve rather been a chef, she thought, and that was after having seen most of The Bear. True, everyone in that show seemed stressed out literally all the time, but worst-case scenario, a diner experienced a less-than inspiring asparagus mousse or whatever.

“I took one acting class in undergrad,” said Lee. “Do you seriously think this will work?”

She would’ve rather been a literal moose, tromping through the forest. Were moose endangered? Perhaps it would make for a lonely life, but there were certain benefits to loneliness.

“It’s worked every time I’ve tried it,” said Pedro with the breezy confidence of a man who literally did not care he was wearing socks with sandals.

Lee stared at him. “How many times has this come up for you?”

“Once,” said Pedro. “This morning, in my head as I was brushing my teeth.”

She would’ve rather been a cowgirl, she thought, riding her noble steed across the high plains of Wyoming. And granted, Lee was extremely allergic to horses, but what was an itchy, scaly rash on the nether regions, really? Didn’t life itself carry with it a certain crawling creeping sensation that no ointment could ever truly abate?

[butter-lover]

Overwatch Game 2 - Five Things You Will Need To Understand

Overwatch two has been one of a bunch of key announcements created by Blizzard in BlizzCon this calendar year, and the sequel to what is probably among the most highly rated games of the creation, it is demonstrably an announcement that's got a lot of folks quite excited. All of us are aware that it's coming out on the PS-4, x-box One, Change, and PC, and even though we still really don't yet understand when it's going to be out, there exists a whole good deal of different details that Blizzard discussed to proceed together with all the game's announcements.

A good deal of new points are added to this Overwatch experience with the sequel, even while others are still being enlarged, and many others are being enriched, and Overall, there's already plenty to discuss. Therefore the following, we'll be going over the five biggest talking points for Overwatch 2 who've emerged in the wake of BlizzCon. Without further ado, let us get started, Overwatch’s Inspired Great Locations in Real World.

Tale MISSIONS

Overwatch was a wholly multiplayer-centric name, and nearly as good as it was, even if you are not the type of player that enjoys competitive multiplayer drama, there was not much to allure for your requirements . With overwatch deathmatch, the multi player is, naturally, planning for quite a central element yet again, however it's not all that will be available.

Overwatch two will additionally provide PvE assignments, that can arrive in 2 forms. The first of them is story missions, that form the game's campaign. These are co op missions, focusing on a variety of distinct personalities from Overwatch's huge throw while they choose on Null Sector. There isn't a ton of other details on narrative missions at the moment, however we do realize that gamers will be capable of using item pick ups during these assignments to get a variety of boosts.

HERO MISSIONS

Hero missions will be the next type of PvE assignments in Overwatch, plus they differ from tale missions in a lot of techniques. These are player assignments that you can play as any personality you want, instead of this Story assignments, which might be equipped with specific Heroes in your mind. Hero missions will enable gamers to level up heroes, and unlock new skills and customization selections to get them.

According to Blizzard, Hero missions are being designed to be"deeply replayable," while Blizzard additionally says that they will have shifting objectives. These missions are intended to inspire gamers to experimentation with each Hero in the game's roster instead of adhering with merely a few of these, and how most players do in multiplayer.

NEW MODE

Although almost all brand new material in Overwatch two is arriving from the form of PvE missions, there's going to become several new things to dip in to the multiplayer side of things rather well- it is Overwatch, after all. And one of the most fascinating brand new matters that Blizzard talked around is drive.

Push is just a new type of multiplayer manner, and can be appearing far enjoy a exact interesting spin on payload targets. Two teams go facing eachother, needless to say, and both of them will soon likely be fighting with each other to get charge of a robot. What exactly does the robot do? It pushes two hurdles back and forth across Push's symmetrical maps, and at that conclusion of the match, whichever team has ever pushed its barrier deeper to enemy territory wins. It is really a special notion, also doubles down on Overwatch's squad-focused gameplay, while its own symmetrical maps should also (ideally ) make for some excellent design that'll play matches in interesting style.

Interestingly enough, Push will also be coming into Overwatch 1 (this goes to become a recurring motif with this feature going forward).

NEW MAPS AND"SHARED MULTIPLAYER"

Obviously, using a sequel to your multiplayer game, fresh maps will be going likely to be from the equation, also it feels like Overwatch 2 will have enough to supply this front. There is going to be a few new maps included as part of drive, which we've discussed, one of which -- the only which was shown at BlizzCon -- is Toronto.

Some other maps have also been shown - namely, all these are montecarlo, Rio de Janeiro, along with Gothenburg, although information all these are rare for today (we must be studying about these in a normal clip going forward).

All manners will get fresh maps together using overwatch game 2, but strangely enough, each new map in the sequel will also be inserted into Overwatch 1. In fact, Overwatch 1 and 2 2 players will also have the ability to play together and contrary to one another in PvP matches. Any makeup you've unlocked Overwatch inch would also carry more into Overwatch 2 if you dip into the sequel.

NEW HEROES

It goes without mentioning that Blizzard will also be introducing several new personalities with Overwatch 2 (all of these will further be made accessible Overwatch 1, incidentally), but how many of them there will be unknown at this time. In fact, just a new hero was shown thus far.

And this really is Sojourn. She is a Canadian soldier with cybernetic improvements -- which include a bad-ass appearing gunarm -- also (based on the little we saw of her in gameplay -- an concentrate on injury along with some portable movement. We've seen Sojourn here and there in pieces and pieces from Overwatch inch at a few shorts, and we understand a few reasons for her thanks to the lore and back story of different personalities, but it'll be neat to finally get to play like her.

[recentanimenews]

FANS REACT: Betrayals and Un-betrayals Abound in Re:ZERO Season 2 Episode 7

  Major spoilers for Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Episode 32 ahead!

  An exciting new episode of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- is here and gosh, this show just doesn't let up, does it? It feels like every new episode has an exciting new revelation or event. You'd think these constant twists would start losing effect, but that isn't the case at all! I keep coming away from every episode so anxious to find out what's gonna happen next. All my predictions about where the story is headed seem to be turning out wrong, and I love it! Every episode is a genuine surprise for me, and from the reactions I read on Twitter, you all feel the same, as well!

  Not to get too off-topic, but I'd like to commend those who've already read the light novels for not posting a bunch of spoilers in the tag every week. It's much more fun for everyone when people get to go in dark. It's especially more fun for me, since I have to read all the posts every week. So, thanks! I'm glad we're all enjoying this journey into Ri:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu together! Now, without further ado, let's get to your reactions! And be sure to check out the reactions to last week's episode if you haven't yet!

      Why indeed... This becoming a series of uncomfortable revelations for Subaru hasn't? And 2nd episode in a row with no OP? No longer alternating at this point #rezero pic.twitter.com/D14Fd95nXa

— Iron Maw (@IronMawO) August 19, 2020

    We got bonus length again and it still feels like the ep was only 5min long.. The whole Beatrice scene was so great yet painful. Brotto though, couldn't help but to smile during the scene with Subaru, wholesome hours. And hey even an after credits scene with a Ram "heh" #rezero pic.twitter.com/39411zddRv

— Setowi (@DerSetowi) August 19, 2020

    #rezero Otto is a brooooooo, I'm used to how this kinda story goes so don't hate Garfiel either, but still the whole interaction between him and Subaru is refreshin in that its a friendship between dudes. Also Beatrice sending them tsundere vibes hard, wonder how much is fake.

— PZDugna (@PDugna) August 19, 2020

    Re:Zero Spoilers#rezero #Rezero2 #rezerospoilers Honestly I thought the Beatrice scene was going to be the best scene in this episode, but the Otto scene hit me in an emotional way that didn't even make sense lol Smug Ram, best Ram pic.twitter.com/zzVFLbIDxj

— Sᴀʏɴ???? (@sayn_ae) August 19, 2020

    5 mins into #ReZero S2 Episode 7 and I'm already speechless about the bomb they dropped in this episode......... Wtf man! pic.twitter.com/SLRpuSivla

— Maku-Kun (@Killswitch815) August 19, 2020

    I feel like these weren't her true feelings when she said that.#rezero pic.twitter.com/eEApe0We6Z

— nosorrynoyes (@nosorrynoyes) August 19, 2020

    This conversation is going to stick with Subaru for a while #rezero pic.twitter.com/lJNmld0oDS

— Alex! (Re:Zero S2) (@EMTenshi) August 19, 2020

    Otto goat #rezero

— Egna (@egna_light) August 19, 2020

    Otto is my new best girl. I don’t even care that he is a boy ???? I mean his faces in this episode were AMAZING. I can’t stop laughing ????????. Btw no op this time, but we did have the ed ✨. And there’s also a scene after the credits~! #rezero #anime #spoilers pic.twitter.com/2dsE9vjCEk

— Jime ヒメ⚔️ (@JimeMorales) August 19, 2020

    What a good 7th ep! really loved the start of this friendship Otto You got a Otomodachi #リゼロ #rezero pic.twitter.com/9PIHYmzDeD

— َ ؜ ؜ (@RMilos_) August 19, 2020

    That statement, that smug... I couldn't agree more. #rezero #リゼロ pic.twitter.com/MMwORoXgXF

— Henry~???? (兄版) (@HenkukuNii) August 19, 2020

    the first 5min were really well done#rezero pic.twitter.com/gocXWKjHEW

— Skyzzed (@Skyzzed) August 19, 2020

    What did you think of this week’s episode? Let us know in the comments below! And don’t forget to watch Re:Zero-Starting Life in Another World- on Crunchyroll and tweet your thoughts with the hashtag #ReZero! 

      Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[williamexchange]

The 10 Best Graphic Design Blogs to Boost Your Inspiration

As creatives, you can get stuck in your own head from time to time. And failure to expose yourself to new ways of looking at things can take a toll on your the quality of your work.

Because you need to look at things from a different perspective, here is a peek at some of the best graphic design blogs to keep you inspired.

Without further ado, let’s drum up some inspiration. While there are countless graphic design blogs out there, here are ten of our very favorite sources of design eye candy.

1. High On Design

High on Design is a blog developed by the Wix Design team that covers all ends of the visual spectrum. The blog has everything from interviews with designers to book reviews and articles that talk practice and philosophy. What’s more is, they’ve curated a monthly playlist to get those design juices flowing.

2. Design Clever

Design Clever is a curated online design space. Rather than a source of articles and op-ed pieces, Design Clever is an online gallery that showcases product design, photography, and top-shelf branding.

Additionally, readers can submit their own designs to be featured on the website. While this site isn’t necessarily a resource for designers seeking new information, it’s kind of a scaled-back version of things like Instagram–a quiet look at cool graphic designs.

3. FormFiftyFive

FormFiftyFive, or FFF, has been around since 2007 and was formed by a group of designers, coders, and illustrators, coders.

FFF is an established resource for viewing some of the best design out there, as well as for reading the latest design news. There’s even a jobs board for creatives looking for a new gig.

4. Logo Design Love

This one is for all those logo designers out there. Logo Design Love celebrates the art of simplicity, dedicating the bulk of its content to showcasing the beautiful and brilliant logos that make us identify with a brand. Additionally, you’ll get some insights into famous style guides from NASA to the Boy Scouts of America.

5. AIGA’s Eye on Design

The AIGA, The Professional Association for Design, is an institution that’s been in the design game since 1914. As the oldest organization for designers in the US, the AIGA is a wealth of resources for designers at all levels.

We have to say, Eye on Design is one of the best resources if you’re looking for an in-depth read on topics like sexuality, money, music, and more — and how they relate to the world of design.

6. Illustration Age

Illustration Age is a solid resource for illustrators. It’s a delightful combination of comic books and artwork, articles, classes and digital tools.

This design blog is unique in that it offers so much content geared at artists and designers–covering the challenges of making it in a competitive creative field.

We like Illustration Age for its ability to bring something new to the table — something more than just a showcase. That said, you’ll still get your fill of eye candy.

7. Old Brand New

Old Brand New is the brainchild of the artist, Dabito, who identifies himself as a “vintage vulture.”

Dabito’s blog isn’t exactly a traditional graphic design blog, but the colorful compilations of modern and vintage homewares are inspirational nonetheless.

We like this one for its sunny color palette — which brings together items from eBay and vintage shops and combines them with envy-inducing plant arrangements.

8. The Dieline

The Dieline is a blog developed by Andrew Gibbs, a designer known for iconic branding for Jelly Belly, Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

The blog serves as a gathering place for the best package design the world over. And users can review, critique and get inspired by their peers. Additionally, the site features articles, trends, and plenty of visual stimulation.

The site features everything from articles on the state of the industry to concepts, materials, and beyond. Plus, you’ll have the option to sort through the wealth of content by material or vertical (i.e. food packaging, beauty, etc.). While the Dieline is very niche, it’s a valuable resource for those designers seeking use cases for packaging design.

9. Canva’s Design School

Sure, Canva is known for being an affordable tool that pros and novice designers alike can use to create their own designs. But, they also have a fantastic blog. The content is diverse, ranging from help with business card design to best practices for graphic designers.

Canva’s blog is one of the best graphic design blogs for readers who wish to level up their skill set and learn more about the craft. The blog is called “Design School” because it provides so much information. We’re talking marketing and blogging tips, templates, and good old fashioned inspiration.

10. Grain Edit

Grain Edit is a modern design blog that focuses on the “classics,” great design work from the 1950s through the 1970s. They also feature contemporary designers that have a throwback feel. The blog feels pretty straightforward, and it’s a good resource for designers looking for their new favorite artist, whether it’s someone from the past or present.

The site also features interviews with designers, articles, posters and anything ephemeral.

Conclusion

Well, we certainly hope this fuels your creative spirit–from logo design and typography to getting your nostalgia on, creeping around on the internet can give you that same visual inspiration you’d get from visiting a gallery–except, well, you don’t need to go anywhere.

Finally, we’d like to add our name to the list — Designs Desk is a new blog specializing all things graphic design. Stay tuned for the latest industry news, as well as how-tos and inspiration.

If you are considering an enterprise call analytics platform, our team of Website Designers in Aurora, CO   will help you decide whether or not you need one.

[samwisestudies]

Hi all! For the past few terms I'd been an ambassador for my university faculty and I noticed that so many students (current or future post-secondary students) came to ask me about studying abroad. Many of my friends have gone abroad in some form or another, and I've recently come back from an internship abroad myself, so I thought I'd compile a list of everything I'd learned along the way in hopes that someone would find it helpful. Without further ado, here we go!

Part 1: Check yourself so you don't wreck yourself - planning and arranging your term abroad

Part 2: Leaving on a jet plane - packing and preparing for departure

Part 3: A whole new world - arrival in destination country

*Note: I'm going to be using the word "university" a lot since the post-secondary institution I attend is a university, but this could also apply to other institutions like colleges, cegep, etc!

Check yourself so you don't wreck yourself

When I first started university, I thought that anyone could go abroad and it just happens if you talk to the right people. While that may be true to an extent, that's certainly downplaying all the work that needs to go into organizing your term abroad:

Contact your academic advisor: I highly recommend speaking to your academic advisor about your school plan, because a term abroad would disturb your sequence of courses quite a bit. This is because courses are usually only offered in a specific term, and if you miss that term, you might need to play catch up to make sure you get that course credit before or after your planned term abroad.

Ask about requirements: Some schools only allow students in a certain year to go abroad, or you may only be able to get into your target school if you have a certain grade average. Also, each school has an application deadline so be sure to get that information ahead of time. While I didn't study abroad, my friend did and she had to submit her application a year and a half before her planned term abroad. This information could be online as well, but if you're already speaking to your course advisor, it would seriously help you save some time so that you don't have to sift through the sites looking for the forms and applications.

Know your budget: You will most likely be paying tuition to your host institution, but there will be added fees to accommodate for housing, travel, etc., so your tuition will be extra expensive. Figure out how much tuition is, and what the cost of  living is in your country of interest (groceries, rent, utilities, transportation). I made myself a spreadsheet of monthly spendings when I was still at home so that I could use that information as a reference for how much I’d spend abroad. Make sure to take into account currency exchanges! In the same vein, look for scholarships! My university offered a bursary you could apply for if you were going to go abroad - the application had me include a tentative budget, how much money I currently have saved up, and a small essay about why the term abroad would benefit my education positively. In the end I received quite a decent sum from the university that really helped out my budget! 

Shop around: You might not get into your first choice for various reasons, so it is worth looking at what your options are so that you can figure out what your second and third choices are. My university has a site that shows every single international university that we are connected with, what they specialize in/what courses you can take, expenses, admission requirements, and more. (If you can't find it – because let's face it, most school websites are pretty poorly organized – try searching your university's name and buzz words like "term abroad" or "international" into Google instead!)

Know your options: If you're like me and you didn't realize that the deadline to apply to study abroad was so early, you can look at different ways you can go abroad, whether that be through field courses, co-op placements, internships, or otherwise!

I hope you found this helpful :) There’s probably things in this list that I haven’t added but other people find helpful - if you have more tips please feel free to add onto my list! At the end of the day, you’re thinking of going abroad and that’s pretty freaking exciting. Good luck in your research and planning and have fun! 

[idiopath-fic-smile]

Modern retelling of Much Ado, if you're interested and still playing the WIP sentences game? :D

still interested, still playing!

continued from this, which is set after this.

Margaret was finishing her sandwich and doing some light reading when Balthazar, Ursula, Hero, and Claudia burst in. She marked her page with her thumb, still chuckling.

“I don’t think we can wait longer to unveil the plan,” Ursula was saying. “Claudia, text Lee and Pedro, tell them it’s Go Time, we need to—” She broke off, glancing down at Margaret’s book and then back at Margaret’s face. “Were you laughing at Nietzsche?”

“Only the funny parts,” Margaret explained. She straightened. “What’s up?”

“What’s Go Time?” said Hero.

Ursula tapped the side of her nose. “We’re waiting for our co-conspirators.”

Lee slipped into the room a minute later, looking harried. Pedro followed on her heels, exuding a much more put together vibe, which was saying something because he had apparently come straight from the shower and was wearing only a towel.

“Friends, students, co-opers,” Ursula began, “lend me your ears. I need you all to come together to help me save my butt, and help Beatrice and Benedick realize they’re just nuts for each other. Which they obviously are, so this plan is clearly a net good, and we don’t need to examine it further than that.”

“Aren’t they, like, locked in enmity?” Balthazar ventured. “Also, how is your butt on the line?”

Ursula threw an obvious glance at Lee, who frowned. “As your house president, I’d say don’t anwer that,” Lee told her.

Balthazar glanced between them. “Is this one of those things I’d understand if I paid more attention?”

“Oh,” said Hero. “I don’t think so. I pay attention all the time, and I’m lost. Benedick and Beatrice?”

“Think about it, though,” said Ursula. She wiggled her eyebrows.

Hero shook her head. “Gross, she’s my cousin.”

“I meant romantically, not sexually.” Ursula wiggled her eyebrows again. “See? Romantic.” Wiggle. “Sexual.” Another, identical wiggle. “There’s nuances.”

“No, there’s not,” said Pedro. “They’re the same. Wait!” He leaned in to study her face. “Do it again?”

“Wouldn’t they be cute together, though, babe?” said Claudia to Hero. “It would be like one of those unlikely animal friendships at the zoo.” 

Margaret waited for Hero’s reaction, impressed with Claudia’s line of reasoning. Hero gave off powerful waves of someone who googled “unlikely animal friendships” every morning before breakfast and again before bed.

Sure enough, Hero clapped her hands together in delight. “Oh! Like a hippo and a tortoise,” she cooed.

Nobody else in the room reacted to this, or the obvious and confusing mental images.

“Who is who,” Margaret demanded.

“Can I point out the obvious?” said Hero. Margaret patiently waited for Hero to say, like, ‘my cousin is obviously the tortoise of the pair’ or ‘Are you kidding? Beatrice is such a hippopotamus, toe to tip.’ “They’re adults,” Hero continued. “Technically. They’re not—Barbie dolls for us to toy with.”

Margaret groaned. Trust the psych major to turn a promising performance art piece about the nature of love and facades into a bunch of handwringing about ethics.

“We’re not saying full-scale mind games,” said Pedro. “Just a little nudge. Don’t you think, under all that bluster, Beatrice and Benedick might actually—”

“Huh,” said Hero thoughtfully. “...huh.”

“Huh?” said Balthazar, at last looking up from his phone.

“Are you paying attention?” asked Lee. She sounded like she’d aged about fifty years since the start of the conversation.

“No,” said Balthazar. He held up his screen, where he had Spotify open to a new playlist he was making: CO-CONSPIRATORS.