#sci fi review

[mysharona1987]

[yotsubafan420]

Mars Express (2023)

Probably one of my favourite new releases I’ve seen this year. Some really dynamic shots were done with this animation style. I found the world building so fun, like the way the futuristic technology was designed felt applicable to real world scenarios. Reminded me of Bladerunner and Ghost in the Shell movies but it also very much felt like its own story.

This movies from the same guy who did DYE Fantasy and like yeah you go man, keep em coming this was awesome.

[monstermag]

Review: Electric Bones (2019-present)

by Hazel + Bell

Audience: Adult (18+) Genre: Sci-Fi Monsters: Robots Main Pairing: Human x Robot (m/m) Content Warnings: sex, violence

Summary: Enter a world of rogue robots and bratty rich kids, Electric Bones. Aboard a deep space cruise ship, Lucian encounters the last face he ever wanted to see: the robot who lost him dream job, Ezra. Except, Ezra doesn't recognize him at all. For now.

Review:  Electric Bones is a solid slow burn and is chock full of gorgeous artwork, charming characters, and an intriguing plot. Our protagonists won't be romantic partners anytime soon, but the chemistry between Ezra and Lucian is already tangible (mostly in the form of Lucian really wanting to sleep with Ezra).

I have already sent Ezra's many cute outfits to a friend of mine because he is always dressed to impress, and his intelligence is equally tangible. Despite Lucian ending up in an endless loop of misfortune by his own hands, it's clear that he has his own skills and resources in hand to get the job done. The central mysteries - Ezra's past, who blew up Echo Station, what Lucian intends to do with his life, and more - really help maintain interest and the way they intersect is endlessly engaging.

Recommended?: Definitely. The world is interesting, the characters have ever-evolving depth, and how often can I say the artwork is gorgeous!

Note: Electric Bones is an on-going series, and this reviewer last read Page 130. There are many way to read Electric Bones, but we recommend their Patreon first and foremost!! But you can also check it out on their website, Webtoon, and Tapas. We wouldn't typically point out sources, but independent artists have got to support fellow independent artists.

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[sombredancer]

Dark (2017-2020, Netflix)

Just rewatched Dark and I`m in love and in pain, pain, PAIN...

Beware of being heavily spoiled ahead.

The first painful question: would you save your father from sufferings, if it would mean for you to be erased from existence for good? (From this question on started my love for this show).

The second question: is it really wrong, to love someone you shouldn`t love? Will it cause the end of the world?

The desperate abduction. Oh, it was so beautiful!

The third question: will you really be happy with the truth about a time loop that you helped to build with your own hands, when you are able to see the whole picture?

At the end I felt sorry even for him. The fourth question: how does it feel, to try so hard to change your doom and save your loved ones, only to find out that you are the source of their most unbearable pain?

"You are a too good man. Always was. This world didn't deserve you." It's a story about an infinite pain of each and every character: Katharina, Ulrich, Claudia and H.G. Tannhaus, who loved their relatives too much; Hannah, who loved herself too much; Jonas, Mikkel, Martha, Hanno, Charlotte, Elisabeth, Peter, Egon and Helge, who fell victims of the time-travel paradox. It's funny that an insane love for a child launched this glitch in a matrix and another insane love for a child put it all to the end. A circle closed. Poetic.

The fifth question: would you fix the error in a matrix by self-sacrifice, if it would delete you and half of your nearest and dearest from existence but ends the never-ending circle of pain for others?

"We match perfectly. Never believe in anything else."

"The light glitched, there was a loud crack and then everything went dark. And somehow the world came to an end. There was dark and the light never came again. I had such a peculiar feeling like it was for the best. Like it was finally over. Like one was finally free from everything. Nothing to wish. Nothing to be obliged to do. An eternal dark. No yesterday. No now. No tomorrow. Nothing."

Finally, I should say that I'm very grateful to Germans for this series. I watched it in original in order to train my German AND because it was a very-very interesting show. Even when I watched it for the second time. One time is surely not enough for understanding of the plot, trust me.

[platypusinplaid]

Who else got their mind consumed by god-killing homosexual war criminals this year?

[simonbreeze]

My quest to watch 80 x 80s movies continues with the Sci-Fi classic, Blade Runner.

Blade Runner, this movie needs to be on everybody's movie bucket list. From the movies breath taking opening scene to when the credits roll, Blade Runner is hands down one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies of all time.

I'm a huge fan of Blade Runner and the novel it is based on, Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep. I've seen almost all versions and cuts of the movie, and my favourite one is the original cinema edit.

The story is thought provoking and with each watch of the movie, regardless of version, you always come away with a different viewing experience. Ridley Scott's direction is fantastic, the acting from the whole cast is incredible and the sets, wardrobe and visual effects are a wonder and shame a lot of modern Sci-Fi movies. Let's also not forget the beautiful and haunting score by the great Vangelis. All these elements come together to make a timeless classic that never tires regardless of how many viewings.

Tippy-top marks all round.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[puhpandas]

when u think about it SB catered to the fandom fun silly character oriented side of fnaf and SOTM is catering to the og lore oriented checking cameras finding secrets side of fnaf

[doccywhomst]

cut paper version of the library book i’m reading - original cover art by jim tierney! 🪐🏜️📚

[andreai04]

“Every life changes the universe. Whether or not that life is yours.”

[azure-clockwork]

How Does it Feel to Read Classic Sci-Fi?

Orson Scott Card: Two of the most interesting books you’ll ever read if you’re willing to look past a handful of things. And then you find the planet of Chinese people who worship having debilitating OCD. And the Mormonism. And the fact that the author is wildly homophobic and ought to read his own books.

Robert Heinlein (or at least the Wikipedia Summaries): I guess that’s a neat concept—oh, it’s a sex thing. Um. Gotcha.

Ray Bradbury: Man, I gotta read this thing for class huh. Well here’s hoping it’s good! *three hours later* oh. that’s why he’s famous. this will stick with me forever and I will never look at the phrase ‘soft rain’ the same again. christ. And then repeat 3x.

Isaac Asimov: Wow, this is such an interesting concept! I wonder how the exploration of it will influence the plot! Wait, hey, are you going to add any characters? Any of em? No like, with character traits other than ‘robot psychologist’ and ‘autistic’ and ‘woman’? None of em? No, ‘detective’ isn’t a character trait. Those are all just facts. Aaaand now I’m bored.

Ursula K. Le Guin: Hah, get a load of this guy! He’s never heard of nonbinary people before. Lol, what a riot; how dumb do you have to be to comprehend that these people aren’t men *or* women actually? Oh, wait, what’s happening. Oh shit, it was about society and love and learning to understand each other? And now I’m crying? And perhaps a better human being for it??

Andy Weir: Alright, this guy’s a really good writer. Funny, creative, knows so much engineering stuff…ooh, a new book! …I guess he can’t write women. Well, he wouldn’t be the first sci-fi writer…ooh another new book! And it’s more engineering problem solving and—wow. It’s not just women he can’t write. Please stop letting your characters talk to each other.

Lois Lowry: Oh, I remember this being fun when I was a kid! Wouldn’t it be fucked up to not see color? …upon reread, it would be fucked up to have your humanity stripped away, replaced with a tepid, beige ‘happiness’ for all time. Yeah.

Tamsyn Muir (let me have this ok): Haha, “lesbian necromancers in space” sounds fun. Lemme read this. Oh wow, yeah, this is right up my alley. OH GOD WHAT. NO. FUCK. OH SHIT WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING AND WHY IS IT REFERENCING THE BOOK OF RUTH AND HOMESTUCK BACK TO BACK!!! AHHHHHHHHH!! Now give me more please.

[crackerjackalopegames]

In this dispatch of Jackalope Mail I finally played The Lost Universe, the TTRPG adventure written by NASA! It's got a lot of cool ideas that have really inspired me, but the book as a whole is flawed and a little difficult to use. Check out the full review through the link!

[thepalerimitation]

Sci Fi/Noir/Indie Recs:

Sugar: A private eye must track down the daughter of a wealthy filmmaker, narrated through his wry, noir-obsessed, and truly romantic perspective.

Ohhhhhh myyyy gosh. I loved every moment and it felt like my brain was melting out of my ears. When will Apple make a bad sci fi show? It showed a beautiful balance of noir and modern, it was truly stunning to watch, and it made me bawl at the end. Colin Farrell is a gem and varied between the most darling man and the worst enemy to make.

Fast Color: In a world left in drought, the government pursues a woman whose seizures can cause earthquakes, while she flees from a power far stronger.

Gorgeous movie with excellent themes, it’s very emotional but I always love watching it. It’s one of those movies you can be really annoying about to all your friends who haven’t watched it.

After Yang: After a family’s robot shuts down, the father goes on a journey to repair it and discovers much more than he thought.

It’s an A24 film, so take a guess. It’s a wonderful movie, definitely a little weird and maybe not for everyone, but it’s such a good movie about adoption, family dynamics, and the value of life. I watched it at a very vulnerable time and I have to say, it made life seem much more worthwhile.

Person of Interest: An all-seeing machine can predict a person about to be involved in a violent crime, but is unable to determine if they’re victim or perpetrator. The machine’s creator and a retired CIA operative must attempt to prevent the crimes from happening in advance.

HELLO? The plot alone is just ridiculously clever and it’s soooooo…it’s sooooooo great. It starts out a little slow and there’s some flaws, but the characters and the plots throughout the show were just…true perfection. Peak sci fi crime.

[this-is-cool]

We've just got our hands on a copy of the excellent The Art Of The Box from Bitmap Books. Please check out our review and preview book video - https://www.this-is-cool.co.uk/the-art-of-the-box-book-review/

[franticvampirereads]

This was such a fun read! I loved all the colors and art style so much. And the space lesbians??! Especially butch space lesbians?? It was all so good! I also really loved the whole conversation this graphic novel had around smashing the patriarchy, women’s rights, and classism. I really need to get my hands on the next volume as soon as possible to see how this all wraps up. All in all, I loved this and it’s getting a solid four out of five stars!

Reading Challenge Prompt Fills:

Alphabet Challenge: C

[stuckasmain]

Need to rescue Space odyssey from film bros*. As it’s sort of left the film with a reputation of having a bunch of guys “you have to have a high IQ to understand Rick and Morty” levels of BS around it where they 1. Are absolutely surface level analyzing 2. Got the surface level stuff wrong too

Like I cannot stress enough that yes 2001 is a bit of a artsy drag to get through sometimes but it absolutely is not what these people are trying to make it out to be. There’s so much more to the series and it takes a watch or too but once you get it - you get it.

Maybe we can shoo them away by revealing it’s always been “woke”? Idk something about having an optimistic view of the future where everyone gets a long for scientific discovery, evolution and stopping nuclear risk forever. Something about the fact the computer is explicitly not evil just mentally ill. They even spell this out there’s no excuse to keep saying this.

Something about the second book/film having a bisexual couple as main characters. Russians are good guys, Racism bad, Women smart, and that he sort of accidentally just makes a lot of character closeted gay (or bi) from trying WAY to hard to make them seem straight (between Dave’s situationship and crazzyyyy women divorcing characters for noooo reason they really wanted to stay together see it’s not their fault or anything…)

*I don’t know if film bro is the right term, or what would be the right term in this instance but it’s a good stand in

[coffeeandjournaling]

Project Ecco

A solo roleplaying game by Elliot Davis

Materials

game manual

a planner, new or used

a coin/d2 and d6

materials to destroy your planner

further into play: additional coin and die, standard deck of cards, tarot deck

Premise

A mysterious agency, an even more mysterious entity feeding on time itself and smack-dab in the middle: You. As an extension of the Agency, you are tasked with uncovering the truth about “ECCO”, the Entity of Chronological Consumption and Obfuscation. Navigating the chaos of days flying by with the aid of a simple coin, will you complete your mission to the Agency’s satisfaction straightforwardly or will you travel down a road not yet taken, peeking behind a curtain of lies? Who is really on your side? Or, perhaps more importantly, on whose side are you?

Mechanics

In Project Ecco, you progress through time and the game using a regular planner and a variety of different time travel tools. While you might be tempted to use a brand new, untouched planner for this, a used one will do just fine and might even make the game more personal and varied, since existing notes or special dates can be incorporated into play. Keep in mind that your planner will end up at least partially destroyed by the Entity, then again the level of destruction is completely up to you. Scissors are certainly an option, but a good opaque paint marker achieves the same effect with less confetti.

Your tools of choice are in essence a set of game oracles: prompts decided by dice, playing and tarot cards determine how far back or ahead in your planner you travel and which challenges you encounter along the way. Time travel can be quite random, so don’t be scared when you land on the same day more than once. At least as long as you have your trusty coin, the only thing that will keep you from slipping in-between time and experiencing some truly harrowing events. How you respond to these prompts is up to you. Write, draw, use planner stickers; the only limit is the space your planner gives you for the date you are currently on.

During your travels, you tally up the times you either make it back to the Agency or get uncomfortably close to the Entity. Entity encounters in particular are interesting because they prompt you to destroy random dates in your calendar, possibly forcing you into a timeline divergence later on. Completing six encounters either way triggers the endgame – but not necessarily the end of the journey…

Thoughts and Examples from my Playthrough

I had a lot of trouble trying to summarize the game in the above paragraphs. Project Ecco is a very meaty, complex (but not necessarily complicated) game and is more of a five-course meal than an afternoon snack. Consequently, reading the setup instructions can be a little intimidating for someone who has only started dabbling in solo play. Everything is explained thoroughly without being exhausting, however, and on top of that I found myself really interested to read about the different tools and mechanics. In fact, I had to stop myself from snooping too much so as not to spoil my first playthrough.

Your game can last you several sessions over a couple of days. Don’t worry, though, all the cool time travel tools make for a fresh and exciting experience. Special dates, timeline divergences, personal notes and Agency/Entity encounters also serve to keep you on your toes. Whenever you feel like you have seen it all, a new prompt throws you a curveball, altering your perspective on the world and its inhabitants. It’s also great for replayability purposes, as your first playthrough can influence how you go about the challenges on your second round. I usually don’t care much for replay value (my time is limited and there’s a lot of games to try out), in this case, however, it’s so on theme that it’s almost a crime not to play again.

When you have the general cycle down, the game is a breeze. Have I mentioned that I love the time travel devices? Each and every one is unique in the way it lets you progress. As soon as you pick them up during the game, you can switch freely between them. Either you are very strategic about it to avoid repeat visits to certain dates or you embrace chaos for some interesting results. In the beginning, I dreaded losing my coin and experiencing timeline divergences. The closer I got to the endgame, the more I revelled in the wild and unpredictable element they brought to the game and the story that unfolded.

At this point, it shouldn’t amaze me that much how game designers manage to achieve this impeccable level of worldbuilding with just a bit of flavour text and a handful of prompts. From the agents’ designations being real world dates to the time travel tools with clear retro vibes, Project Ecco lets you dive into an 80s sci-fi flick with you as the protagonist torn between your fragile loyalty to the Agency and the conflicting discoveries you make about the Entity. I suppose if there was one thing you wanted to knock, it could be that this is not a very character-driven game. A lot of journaling games focus on the character you create, often as a stand-in for yourself, dealing with their emotions and feelings as they react to the events thrown at them. This is more of mystery thriller focused on plot than a character exploration game. Character creation is as simple as picking your agent designation and, if you’re using a personal planner and are very meticulous in adding dates specific to your character, weaving in details during the game. That being said, I did manage to spin this into a tragic queer romance…such is the nature of solo roleplaying. Hence, others might disagree on this with me, and that’s totally fine.

My attention span has been wavering lately, so I honestly didn’t expect to stick with this. But everything about Project Ecco drew me in. I love the manual that looks like a genuine little agent handbook and the details of the understated illustrations. A solid white-black-and-red colour scheme is always a classy choice. The prompts are descriptive enough to give you guidance and bits of lore without limiting you to a specific path. It’s simply an overall round and well-thought-out experience through and through. I’m a little peeved I didn’t get the Temporal Spread – Samantha Leigh was a guest writer for this specific time travel tool and I’ve been dying to get into their other games (especially Outliers, which seems to deal with adjacent themes), so I was looking forward to get a peek at their writing here. Alas, my agent just wasn’t destined to have it…perhaps the next one will.

I wonder how well this would hold up with a digital planner. Mostly, I am an analogue player when it comes to journaling games. I like how tactile it is and that you're creating an artifact of play to keep on your shelf, something very unique and often verging on if not being outright artistry. But the analogue format does (perhaps intentionally) limit your word count and thus keeps journaling rather short and to the point. I suppose a digital format would allow for more character development, if that is your goal. It would also extend your playtime – which is already significant as is. Still, certainly an interesting option, especially when you plan on playing more than twice.

This might be your cup of coffee if...

you revel in a good time travel mystery.

you prefer to play longer games with more complex mechanics than the average journaling game.

you enjoy some solid worldbuilding and lore to add onto over time, possibly in multiple playthroughs.

you are not afraid to mess up some prime stationary. Seriously. If you love your planner? Do not use it for this. Bullet journaling queens and kings, beware!

You can get Elliot Davis’ Project Ecco HERE on itch.io or as a physical copy available at the online sources linked in the description of the game. Make sure to check out Cassi Mothwin’s flip through of the game and take in the incredible actual play episode by the My First Dungeon podcast crew that I enjoyed immensely and proves that this game supports a more light-hearted tone, as well. In case you are the creative type, Davis is currently still running a game jam for supplements for and games inspired by Project Ecco on itch.io that lasts until March 1st. Plenty of time left to get your head in the game. :)