#the vibes like atmosphere of all the dlcs is really good

[asleepinawell]

one of the biggest things I've gotten out of this replay of dark souls 1 is that not being able to warp between bonfires in early game and only being able to warp between a few specific ones later is one of the game mechanics that really helped define the mood and atmosphere of the game for me. yes i absolutely complain about this when I'm stuck somewhere, but the feeling of being this tiny person lost and a million miles from home and cut off from the safety of firelink shrine is so vital to the game

being near the start of tomb of giants and wanting to go back for something but knowing I'd have to go through a chunk of the catacombs again made me feel like just a little guy stuck in the dark with monstrous enemies and that is exactly the feeling that makes me love the game

i want to be a nobody stranded and alone in the land of ancient gods who don't want me there. the fact I'm a pawn being set up to relink the fire and perpetuate this dying age, fated to never have my name remembered, is the point to me. I'm walking through someone else's story and have so little control over my path and that's perfect

[themattress]

Birth by Sleep was the point the KH series began going downhill. It was hyped up as a prequel that would answer a lot of questions, which it did...but it also had somehow mutated in development into something that went beyond that into recontextualizing the entire series rather than helping to logically progress it, which included heaps of blatant retcons that contradicted the previous games. All the new Keyblade lore in this game never went away and gradually consumed the series, as did its main villain for a long period of time. The anticipated fall-out of "save Terra, Aqua and Ven from their tragic fates" transformed into "save everyone from their tragic fates", undermining any dramatic weight the series had.

Yet despite that, it was on the whole executed quite well. I love the graphics, the music, the gameplay, the Disney worlds, the overall atmosphere, the new characters and their superb designs, the mini-games including the Command Board, and even the story on its most basic level plus clever writing/pacing by Daisuke Watanabe that shines through even Nomura and Oka's clunker of a script. It may not have lived up to expectations and was when the series jumped the shark, but there is so much good in it that keeps me coming back all the same.

I cannot stand Xehanort the Keyblade wielder as a character, for a multitude of reasons I don't want to relitigate here (I feel everyone ought to know them by now anyway). But despite that, there are three places where I actually enjoy him a lot - in Birth by Sleep where he's written as just the delicious wicked, unsympathetic villain of that story and origin behind Terra-Xehanort plus is voiced wonderfully by Leonard Nimoy; in Kingdom Hearts III's Re:Mind DLC where he's just treated as an enemy you can enjoy hating and beating up without thinking about him all that much plus is voiced wonderfully by Christopher Lloyd, and in the KH3 manga adaptation where most of the problems he suffered from in the game have been excised, from having his plan depicted as a new comeback rather than "the pre-destined master plan all along" to having the unearned pathos and dignity in his send-off removed.

358/2 Days is a mess, but it's.....how do I put it....a sincere mess. It's got the same dumb shonen anime vibe as KH2 did, but dumb shonen anime that are genuine and comfortable in being dumb shonen anime are charming to me, moreso that dumb shonen anime that overreach and try to pretend they're some avant-garde work in the way the KH series grew into from Dream Drop Distance and onward. I consider Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, the special editions of all three, the original Coded (the mobile game that doesn't exist anymore), 358/2 Days and Birth by Sleep to be the Golden Age of the franchise.

Xion kicked off many unfortunate trends that would contribute to the degradation of the KH series and as a character she's very shallow in how plot is put ahead of any form of distinct personality, but that plot wasn't half-bad all things considered (it should have been a disaster, yet it shockingly wasn't), and while her personality may be tepid her personal struggle is effectively portrayed and I can't blame people for getting invested and choked up over it.

Of course, I straight-up love the manga version of Xion. She doesn't qualify for this meme.

Kingdom Hearts III is an abomination of a story, just one shade removed from its direct predecessor Dream Drop Distance. It officially killed any interest I have in the franchise going forward. But much like Birth by Sleep, it's a damn well-executed game! The gameplay, while shallow, is really fun, and by God the Disney worlds are superb - they may be the most filler they're ever been plot-wise, but they've also never been better designed, successfully combining the best of KH1 and KH2 style design in a way BBS and DDD failed at while also cleverly incorporating different genres of gameplay that match the world's aesthetics. The Gummi Ship is a similar "best of both worlds" situation, I adore minigames like the Bistro, Classic Kingdom, and the Flan Heartless, and all the stuff brought about in the Re:Mind DLC (except for fucking Yozora) is fantastic (Data Greeting, my beloved!) So while KH3 being my final big experience in the KH series could have been better, it could have been worse too.

Under better circumstances many characters from the X sub-series and overlapping Lost Masters Saga could have had potential, but the writing is so bad that I just end up turned off of the characters altogether. Except Strelitzia. Despite (or maybe even because) her having some of the worst treatments of a female character even by this series' standards (which is saying something), I can't help but appreciate her. While I hate the "Keyblade wielder in ancient times" angle for all of them, something about the dynamic between Strelitzia, Lauriam and Elrena is endearing and adds a lot to the bond between Marluxia and Larxene that beforehand was just a shallow one rooted in mutual power-hungry aspirations. So even if I disregard literally everything else involved, I'd still want to headcanon Strelitzia as existing.

[rangerzath]

I've finally played the Lake House and now I'm going to talk about it for awhile. Spoilers below the break.

I will start off by saying this is one of the BEST DLCs I have ever played in any game.

I have always loved Kiran as a character since we first saw her, but The Lake House really highlighted just how fantastically rounded and detailed this character is given the short amount of time we spend with her. Her humor, the fear she experiences, but above all the determination she has to do her job makes a great character.

I appreciated how much we see of the everyman FBC agent. Not everyone at the FBC is a parautilitarian, a lovable scientist dork, or the Director. There are normal people working there believing in what they do. This is a very important part of the overall story of this organization to me. Often I see the Bureau demonized as a whole by the fandom and that really upsets me. Bad apples are everywhere, as we see in this DLC. But we also see how a good person like Kiran stands up against it. Even through the emails and documents we find in game you see good people trying their best against that evil. I am again thankful for Remedy's writing team that they really highlighted that. Even going as far as showing Darling denying a request to capture live test subjects, which means he learned after Dylan. You even see that Trench denied outlandish requests despite being being in the late stages of a galactic war raging in his mind.

You know I had to talk about Trench and Darling, but it was nice to see them again in this way. They still felt a part of this world in a way that made sense. Document storytelling has been one of my favorite things about Control. They present us with just enough framework to use on our own canvas to try and piece together details of those blank pages.

Did I get emotional over signatures? Yes, yes I did.

The atmosphere of this DLC hit all the right horror points. From the moment you walk into The Lake House it captures all the scariest horror vibes from the main game. The paint spattered on the walls like blood, but somehow even creepier because of how it wouldn't make sense to see paint like that (until you figure out just what is happening). Being helpless to the painted because again you are just an FBC Agent not a parautilitarian emphasized this feeling.

Using a picture frame set up with Kiran telling Saga what happened at The Lake House made sense and gives us the point in time Kiran would be providing this information. She left us clues in the main game with her dialogue of something horrible that went down at the Lake House, so it feels very appropriate that we get to see that in detail.

The question that resounded throughout this DLC of what is art was very appropriate given the struggles we face today with AI and plagiarism. How is art perceived and how does its emotional impact play on its viewer? Again the writing team really shines here with all the little details. The room with the ATDs was truly horrifying. I don't think they have ever made a room with no one feel so ominous.

Obviously there was a lot in the DLC for Control fans. We will be speculating on every detail for the next couple of years. I always hoped this last DLC of Alan Wake would lead into Control 2, so I couldn't be happier to see just that happen.

Unlike some DLCs that feel as though they were an afterthought, the story feels like the natural ending of Alan Wake 2's story. It felt like the only goodbye we would have with this game and its characters.

The ending song was a beautiful final note to capstone a game that Remedy struggled for so long to make, and I imagine at times doubted that it would ever be made.

I often struggle to put my feelings into written words, but I wanted to try and get them out. Remedy's future looks bright with multiple games on the horizon, but we see how quickly companies can run into issues and nothing is set in stone. Anything could happen in these uncertain times. We may never see these characters again, and most certainly not in the form they are now. It makes me really sad to think we may never see Saga and FBI Casey or Kiran ever again. Maybe there won't ever be an Alan Wake 3. Maybe we won't see Alan battle the Dark Presence again. Maybe we won't ever see Dark Place Casey's echos pave a path for Alan. Maybe we won't see Alice show us just how much a character can grown into her own. Maybe we don't even get to see more of Jesse, or Emily, or Arish. I already know with the passing of James McCaffrey some of these things are impossible. But its not only death that separates seeing a character again. The song End of an Era highlights this goodbye. This end scene. The curtains close. It is an end.

What I appreciated in this song was that it highlighted the struggle of getting to that ending. No matter what goal you are trying to reach, whether it's Alan trying to escape the Dark Place, Jesse finding out what happened to her brother, any one of us creating things that make us happy, that path always has its ups and downs. And that end will always be bittersweet. It will change us. It is a goodbye.

Whatever Remedy creates in the future it could be something we may like or something we may end up disliking. They could ruin characters or make brand new ones for us to fall in love with all over again. We can take that or leave it. Whatever they decide to do. Maybe we like Firebreak and their new type of Remedy game, maybe we don't. But none of that will change how we felt about these prior games and how these characters made us feel at this moment in time. We can look back and remember how it made us feel. When we laughed, when we cried. The journey they took us on.

I will always be grateful that I was able to experience these games. They moved me in ways I cannot find the words to fully describe. I will carry these feelings forward and cherish this memory.

“There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part, So just give me a happy middle And a very happy start.” - Shel Silverstein

[dermyartsz]

Who are your favorite ln characters

Yesss, thank you for asking, the vampire in me is so excited (I can't divulge into things I'm utterly mad about without prior invitation).

So here they are (in no particular order): Six Mono Thin man The lady Cici? The twin chefs The hanging man Otto Noone Raincoat girl The pretender The supervisor

Six is, and likely will always be, my all-time favourite character because of the atmosphere inherent in her. (So, for the vibes, essentially.) She's the only one I can properly rank in that she takes first place for me - the others aren't really arrangable.

Otto is my 'current favourite' if that makes sense; the one who's giving my brain worms at this very moment. Unsure I am though, as to where I'd place him long-term after the waves in my mind have settled. And him because I cannot help but fall attached to the 'morally dubious younger sibling who grows insane after being 'abandoned' by the eldest (and suffers from some sort of childhood trauma in general).' They also usually happen to be inventor-esque in nature too, which is a weird commonality. I swear I've seen this archetype at least 3 other times before, now and I haven't gotten bored of it. (That doesn't say anything about me - shut up.)

I'm not going to explain the common/more understandable ones because, well, they don't need it.

The twin chefs I love because they were the first thing I ever saw relating to the games at all. It was one of their twisted faces that made me click on that demo playthrough some 8 years ago, now. And the kitchen area remains my favourite of the first game. (Oh and if I were to rank the games off on personal taste it's LN, VLN, LN2 and then the DLC.)

The supervisor has multiple arms and I think that's cool. :] (I love creature designs with a greater-than-average number of limbs.)

Cici. We know next to nothing about her but as I've mentioned before the doomed sibling pair is a character dynamic held dear - and it takes two to make it work. For Cici, as well, I put the question mark as I've grown fond of this one theory in regards to her but due to its nature as 'a theory', I can't in good conscience believe it fully or treat it as if legitimate.

The hanging man... this guy. This fucking guy. I think I'm probably the biggest hanging man fan out there (the only one too, by the looks of it) if there are none then I am dead. Despite him having barely any physical presence, he's practically just a prop - set dressing, really, I could write pages and pages of thoughts and speculation surrounding him. And maybe it'd be better to just let it go: some things are better off left unexplained, kept vague etcetera, etcetera... If it weren't for that portrait in the nest. They planted it there for a reason, okay? They didn't have to do that but they did, there's more to this man and I need to know. (Dying.) What pains me more is the fact that literally no one else even gives a shit about him. I am desolate in my insanity, here.

Uhh, anyway, if anyone wants to hear me ramble about characters whose stories are hinted at for like 2 seconds (Cici, hanging man), let me know.

I'll probably talk about them at some point, regardless, though.

[contentloadingandstuff]

Fluff Headcanons - Spooky gaming with the genshin characters!

A/N: The fluff version of the Halloween special, and a bit of a new format. I hope you enjoy!

C/W: Modern AU, swearing, game-typical violence.

Alhaitham

This year, Alhaitham wanted something less conventional. Something that would really engage his mind with interesting commentary about society and the world at large, but still retain some of that spooky vibe. 

Cruelty Squad easily caught his attention with its assaulting graphics and interesting premise. It clearly begged for attention, and he was willing to humor it. 

It was precisely what he was looking for, and what an answer it was. Alhaitham had no trouble adjusting to a more corporate mindset.

Alhaitham: The super AI emerges from an extremely pornographic ultra hyper suck and fuck…

Kaveh: Um… What? What are you talking about?

Alhaitham: You don't understand, Kaveh. Everything that surrounds us? It's Gorbino's Quest. The Gorbino's Quest... of life.

Ganyu

The poor little cinnamon roll isn't that much of a horror fan. Violence and death generally unsettles her, but Ganyu still wants to feel some of that holiday spirit. 

After a lengthy deliberation, Ganyu chose Little Nightmares. The graphics are quite pleasing to the eye, it is horror, but not so horrible and violent. At least that's what she heard.

Ganyu: Oh, look! It's a Nome, right? And it's offering me food… How nice of it! Um… Oh n-no! Why would you d-do that?!

Amber

The great outdoors with a horror theme? Count her in!

Amber made sure to avoid spoilers to have the full, unprecedented The Forest experience. The landscape is so serene and peaceful… The freedom of movement, the sounds of nature and the survival elements are so fun and relaxing!

True, there are some hostile people on the island, but they seem harmless enough.

Until the night falls…

Amber: Wait… What's that? That doesn't look human… Did it just birth out… Ew… Yikes! It's coming at me! 

Suffice to say, Amber stuck around until more or less the moment when you have to chop up bodies and make effigies out of the parts.

Beidou

Alcohol, hard rock and murdering demons with big guns is how Beidou plays on Halloween, so she'll gladly hop on Doom Eternal.

There's nothing better than impaling a snake demon's head with its own broken arm, right as the beat drops. 

Beidou: Life has enough undefeatable horrors. Let's just have some fun tonight!

Ningguang

The old ones are the good ones! Ningguang doesn't play a lot of video games, but she did like a few titles back in her younger days. 

On this special occasion, Ningguang got a box of her old possessions to dig through, and found the original Dungeon Keeper on CD. 

Everything is just as she remembered it was. 

Ningguang: Oh, these imps… They are the perfect workers, aren't they? They don't eat, sleep, need vacation, have a social life, and they work harder when you slap them. Ah, if only I had them as my subordinates…

Keqing: *narrows eyes*

Kokomi

Another fan of the retro side of games, Kokomi enjoys a good tactical challenge - developing the ability to conjure small scale plans is as important as improving the grand ones.

Her pick is Myth II: Soulblighter. It’s a brutal, unforgiving RTS with a distinctively dark atmosphere - just perfect for the season at hand.

Even when Halloween comes to a close, Kokomi will find it hard to drop the game. The insanity that is Legendary is quite addictive indeed…

Kokomi: You here… You here… And now the crescendo!

Game: “Move here move there…”

Game: “Catch!”

Game: *explosion*

Game: “Casualty.”

Kokomi: Oh. Change of plans, I guess…

Yae Miko

Upon hearing of the wonderful possibilities for tormenting the other party, Miko didn't hesitate to bring out the Mora for Dead By Daylight and all of its DLC. 

Though it was quite fun at first, the ugly nature of the game soon surfaced. As none of her friends were brave enough to delve into this swamp, she was forced to join up with random people, who frequently threw the games. 

Such a combination was enough to make even such an ancient and wise kitsune lose her absolute cool.

Ei: Why are you crouching behind that tree, Miko?

Miko: The killer has caught one of my teammates, and I will release them by ambushing them with a flashlight! 

Miko: Come on… Now! You didn't expect that, did y- What?? Lightborn?! Again?! Who even plays it nowadays?! Oh, you daft, blind motherf-

Ei: Miko!

Miko: Oh… Hm. Sorry. I got a little carried away. But that's sooo unfair, isn't it? Why would they add a perk that cancels a whole mechanic? I can't believeitthegameissokillersided…

Xiangling

Xiangling absolutely didn't look forward to Halloween, especially with Hu Tao around. She just can't take horror, at all, of any kind, ever. Especially jumpscares.

She still couldn't believe that she agreed to play a horror game, let alone one suggested by the director. The one and only Five Nights At Freddy's at that.

Much to Hu Tao's amusement, she didn't even make it past Night 1. Xiangling was thoroughly spooked, and after being jumpscared once she completely refused to keep playing. 

Seeing Xiangling so terrified made Guoba very upset, and Hu Tao quickly apologized to avoid being roasted by the angry god. 

Hu Tao: So he killed the kids, but then! Their souls escaped their robot prisons and made an old spring lock suit crush him to death! WoOoo~

Xiangling: Ah! Hu Tao! No more! 

Guoba: Nane na! Grr…

Hu Tao: Oh, don't fret little Guoba! I'm just joking!

Zhongli

Morax always had trouble catching up with the latest cultural and technological trends of the humans. Sure, he can use a computer more than well enough, but he finds third and first person video games confusing. The gameplay is most often too fast and rapidly changing for him to be up to speed with it, let alone enjoy it. 

Throughout all of his exponentially long life, nobody was as persistent in including him in the festivities as Hu Tao. She tried to convince Zhongli to play something horror-related, but he was assertive. So, the director decided to find a game that would suit his liking - an indie title. 

Her pick fell on Water Womb World - it's simple mechanically, is quite disturbing and has an interesting concept. 

Much to her surprise, Zhongli thoroughly enjoyed his fifteen minutes with the game, even if he didn't find it very scary.

Zhongli: Ah, I agree with the message of this title. The blind belief in deities can lead to fanaticism, which breeds regress rather than progress. I do think that a more healthy and critical approach to Rex Lapis' rule would be beneficial to our current day society. Especially that the age of gods draws to an end…

Hu Tao: Aiya! Do you have to turn everything into a lecture, Zhongli? You're not my grandpa, are you?

Hu Tao

An avid enjoyer of the spookfest, Hu Tao decided to pick something hitting closer to home this year - Mortuary Assistant.

The gameplay loop feels great! Just like in her line of work, just without the smell. She's having the time of her life preparing the corpse for burial. And hunting the demon. That's also quite cool!

Hu Tao: *hums while wheeling the corpse into the crematory* 

Game: "Are you sure?"

Hu Tao: Yup! I know your tricks more than well. Aiyaya, you could try something more interesting next round! Furnace time~

Game: *sounds of fire and demonic screaming*

Hu Tao: Toodle-oo~

Bennet, Noelle, Fischl, Razor

A few weeks before Halloween, Bennett mentioned a game night, since he couldn't be there in person. Noelle, diligent as ever, picked this up as a cue to start looking for something. 

Luckily for her, Phasmophobia was on a large and affordable discount, so after proposing the idea and organizing a money pool, they all got to proving the existence of ghosts.

Lisa lent Razor her personal computer for the night, on condition that she could take a little peek every now and then at their session without interrupting - and what an amusement it was, as none of them are especially acquainted with horror.

Noelle: "The ghost responds only to people who are alone." Somebody has to go in to talk to it… 

Razor: Razor won't go! Ghost scary!

Bennett: I would go, but with my luck, the ghost will eat me right away…

Fischl: Hmph! Although yes, I, Fischl, The Prinzessin Der Verurteilung and the founder of The Immernatchreich possess the courage to face demons and spawns of darkness alike, I…

Everyone: So you'll go then?

Amy: Um… N-no! You m-misunderstood!

Furina

The Great-And-Grand Archon of Fontaine played and saw every horror game and movie, and never once got scared. Or that's what she claims, at least.

That's why Focalors decided to prove her excellence with a true, dark challenge she could easily overcome, thus proving her gaming capabilities for all to see!

In hindsight, Darkest Dungeon wasn't the best of choices she could have made… It did amuse Monsieur Neuvilette, however. 

Neuvillette: I think you should retreat. Your heroes are close to dying. 

Furina: I appreciate your advice, my dear Iudex, but your worries are misplaced! My Crusader will deal a critical hit, thus ending the pig-man's miserable opposition, and granting us treasure galore! Watch and marvel at my skill!

Game: "A singular strike!"

Furina: Ahaha, see? I told you it would be fine~ Wait… It's not dead yet…?

Game: "Mortality - clarified in a single strike!"

Furina: Um…

Game: "There can be no hope in this hell, no hope at all…"

Game: "And now the true test - hold fast, or expire."

Game: "Those who cover injury find it in no short supply."

Game: "As life ebbs, terrible vistas of emptiness reveal themselves."

Furina: Ret- T-tactical withdrawal! 

Game: "Cornered, trapped, forced to fight on!"

Game: "This is no place for the weak, or the foolhardy."

Game: "More blood soaks the soil, feeding the evil therein."

Game: "Perched at the very precipice of oblivion."

Game: "More dust, more ashes, more disappointment."

Game: "Another life wasted in the pursuit of glory and gold."

Game: "Wounds to be tended. Lessons to be learned."

Neuvillette: Lady Furina, if only you had-

Furina: Silence.

Shenhe

Shenhe never gets scared. The most terrible of monsters or existential terrors are no match for her training and resolve, no matter how unexpected they might be. She might not get scared, but she can get startled, right?

Who else would pose that question but Hu Tao, the mistress of horrors herself? It was always her objective to get some sort of reaction out of the adepti disciple, no matter how insignificant and small it might be. Many things were attempted - scary movies, troubling situations, body horror, cosmic horror, existential horror… But none of them ever worked. Shenhe remained stalwart.

Out of desperation, Hu Tao was forced to reach for the ultimate weapon. The bane of those unprepared. The myth. The legend. The game.

The Scary Maze Game. 

After plugging in an old spare monitor, she invited Shenhe to “test her precision”, and stepped a few safe meters back. 

The monitor ended up skewered with her polearm, but Shenhe did yelp - much to her delight. 

Not all was fun and games though, as Hu Tao got the mother of all lectures from Cloud Retainer. Something about Shenhe’s red ropes breaking, but the director didn’t pay much attention, and just nodded along.

Hu Tao: Heya, Shenhe… You don’t mind the little scare I gave you back on Halloween night, do you…?

Shenhe: Oh? Well, as much as I was upset during the moment, I must admit it was quite… cathartic. I never experienced anything like that. I do not hold any grudge towards you. Actually… Thank you for that, director Hu Tao.

Hu Tao: Phew! And I was here thinking I’ll share the fate of that display!

🎃Happy Halloween!🎃

[masseffect-changes]

The Leviathan DLC was so good right up until the point it wasn’t (true of most parts of the Mass Effect Trilogy tbh lol). The atmosphere and lovecraftian horror vibes were immaculate and the mystery it was building up the entire time was engaging. However the problem lies in the answer to that mystery, mainly that explaining where the reapers come from made them both so much less interesting and less scary. Especially because it made them essentially just Rogue AI‘s , which is already the geth’s thing, and thus makes all the interesting dialogue from the reapers basically void. The Reapers should have as little explained about their motivations and origins as possible outside the cryptic answers they themselves give you. So, to keep the Reapers otherworldly mysteries the Leviathan shouldn’t be their creators. Instead they could be their creations.

Think about it, the Leviathans mind control ability is significantly worse than the Reapers textually (takes far longer to develop and their indoctrinated are absolutely terrible at hiding the fact that they’re indoctrinated) which makes much more sense if the Reapers created them in their image rather then the other way around. Furthermore we know that the Reapers can make at least semi-organic beings like the Human Reaper, so having them create their own organic race could be feasible. It‘d also make sense more then just logistically, as even ignoring the DLC information, we know the Reapers are trying to bring some sort of „Order“ vis the harvest. What if, while trying to create a solution for the order problem, they attempted to make an organic race in their own image. A race that had their same thought process with weaker versions of their own powers to guide the naturally occurring organics down whatever path would fulfill that need for order, but this new race failed in some way. Maybe they just couldn’t complete the task because of the inherent chaos that being organic brings, maybe they found themselves in league with the other organics and tried to stage some sort of coup, or maybe something entirely different, but for whatever reason the Reapers decided they were failures. Honestly I’d prefer if we didn’t know why the were declared failures (though individual characters speculating why is definitely on the table), use the fact that the Leviathan we see is the descendant of the ones that first escaped the Reapers as a reason for why they don’t know, the answer was lost to time. But what we do know is that the Reapers are confirmed to be fallible (a big part of the reason the Leviathan species are so important in game already is because they are living confirmation of this) while simultaneously still keeping their mystique and also balancing out the reveal of past mistakes by the Reapers with the fact that they are now also known to be able to literally create flesh and blood species and that even those literally made in their still couldn’t do better then a few surviving the harvest (which makes it so the “they are fallible” reveal doesn’t knock their scare factor down nearly as much as it does in game). This would also make the fact that the Leviathan aren’t really brought up again make more sense as while the Leviathan are still significant they aren’t ‘literally created the Reapers ‚ significant. Anyways i‘m way too tired to know if this was coherent but thx for reading it all!!

[linuxgamenews]

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog Blends Nostalgia and Innovation

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog the sci-fi visual novel launches on Steam Deck, Linux, and Windows PC. All thanks to the brilliant minds at Space Colony Studios. Which you can find on Steam with 100% Very Positive reviews. If you’re into retro sci-fi adventures, buckle up because Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is officially out now! Publisher Astrolabe and Wales-based devs Space Colony Studios are bringing a fresh take on classic visual novels, blending deep storytelling with an old-school aesthetic that screams PC-9800 vibes. And yes, it's on Linux via Steam, so everyone can join in on the adventure.

A Retro Sci-Fi Journey Like No Other

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is all about capturing that nostalgic 80s feel. While offering pixel-perfect visuals, green screen options for those who really want to go old-school, and a story that could be straight from a classic sci-fi novel. The title packs in over 300,000 words of story, meaning you’re in for one heck of an immersive journey. You play as part of a Jovian patrol ship’s crew, venturing deep into space and uncovering a gripping mystery. Expect twists, tough choices, and a story that branches out depending on what you do. The characters? Vibrant and full of personality. The pacing? Tight and engaging. The overall vibe? Like stepping into a lost classic, but with all the modern conveniences.

The Final Trailer Brings the Hype

To mark the full release, there’s a brand-new launch trailer, and it’s full of everything you’d want. Intense space battles, deep crew interactions, and also gorgeous pixel art animations. The soundtrack? A total banger, adding to the game’s interstellar atmosphere. If you weren’t already hyped, this trailer will do the trick.

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog :: Launch Trailer

Optimized for PC, Consoles, and Steam Deck

Good news for Steam Deck owners — Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is Steam Deck Verified, meaning you can take this sci-fi journey wherever you go. The game runs on a highly customized Ren’Py 8.X engine, ensuring a smooth experience whether you're playing on Linux or Windows PC. Cloud Saves are enabled too, so you won’t lose progress when switching between devices.

More Ways to Experience the Universe

The devs didn’t stop at just the game itself. They’ve made sure Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog reaches a global audience with full multilingual support, including English, French, German, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese. Want even more? There are optional DLCs featuring a 22-track original soundtrack and a 15-page digital art book—perfect for those who want to dive deeper into this universe.

Play Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog Now

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is out now on Steam for Linux and Windows PC. Whether you’re a die-hard visual novel fan or just looking for a gripping sci-fi story with retro charm, this title is ready to take you on an unforgettable ride through space.

[syrupspinner]

top 10 most anticipated indie games!

in no particular order, not affiliated with any of em, etc etc

of the Devil

so, funny story. i had some fanart of this game set as my phone background when i went to get a new phone. check it out here! anyway, the cleric who only really plays ff14 looked at it and went "woah, what's that? it looks like danganronpa." and i was like. yeah buddy! sure does! then, of course, i began proselytizing, about how the game's demo did an amazing job at establishing not only the game's wonderfully directed art style, with the ui and the music and everything else working together to make a perfectly opressive cyberpunk atmosphere, but how the writing of the mystery and morgans character is so intriguing and compelling and auuuugh i wanna play this fucking game dude. i love morgans smile i hope she makes me eat a bomb

2. UNBEATABLE

so imagine muse dash, but instead of high-contrast anime girls and dubious dlc practices, it's just punk as fuck. theres nothing i can say about the game other than linking the side-story/demo and telling you to just go with the flow and dig the vibes. the soundtrack rocks hard, and the visuals are so well done. everything looks like a poster collage for a garage band youve never heard of. also the trailer for the full game showed off a graffiti mechanic and thats all i need

3. Demonschool

i talked about demonschool a lot back in my nextfest post, and my thoughts havent changed at all. im a slut for strategy rpgs, and a big reason for that is i like planning my moves in advance and seeing what the best use of all my ally's abilities are. so the game's mechanic of the shared ability meter that you use for multiple moves over one turn, plus the ability to rewind moves before committing to them, AND the high level of combo potential in everything's interactivity? pumped as hell. there was recently a dev update about how you can light yourself on fire and spread that damage to the environment with every attack if that helps sell you

4. Roman Sands RE:Build

i dont need to say shit. just look at it. LOOK at it. this is so ridiculously catered to my tastes on presentation alone that i cant even come up with a hyperbolic simile. its y2k dreamcast beach artstyle, its time loop with routing optimization, its arbitrary celestial puzzle with unexplained mechanics, its stupid gomotion noodle people, its abstract nonsense that is actively and literally hostile towards the player for trying to understand it. im gonna CUM dude

5. Sorry We're Closed

how often do you see a fixed-camera shooter about a woman with three eyes? the fucking atmosphere, man. even from the demo i can tell that a la mode knows what theyre doing. i love how there isnt like, a limit or meter on your third eye, thats something i can easily see another game doing. but the downsides of only being able to hurt enemies in range AND having to aim at their weak spots is already a good balance to encourage you to switch it up. its so deliciously frictional that you have to go in first person to attack anything, and theres a delay when you do it so youve gotta be really cautious and defensive. and oh man, the cleaver enemy! that was so tense, and so much of that was from the expert audio design that made it so unclear how close he is or where exactly he is, just that hes getting closer. im gonna lose my shit about this game when the full thing drops. fun fact: this releases tomorrow, so this is literally the last day that i can post this. oops!

6. .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND

how often do you see a fixed-camera shooter about a woman with three eyes? ive never played parasite eve, which this is purported to be a spiritual successor to, but the action seems really interesting. sukeban's website explains it like this: "you move and dodge in real time while you wait for an Action bar to fill at a speed determined by character and weapon stats. Once that’s done you can then stop time and plan your offensive". that sounds stupidly fun. judging by the trailers and shit, theres gonna be a big focus on combo chains and your character having multiple attacks she can switch between, but theres not much i can really say about that until theres a demo or something.

7. YIIK: A Postmodern RPG (Update I.V)

i know an update is cheating a bit, but ackk studios considers it to be a thorough enough reimagining that it almost constitutes a sequel. if you havent played the demo then you should give it a shot. my only experience with yiik before it was secondary, through discussions and lets play compilations, and i was totally blown away. the combat was totally reworked, so instead of those repetitive and drawn-out minigames its a way more engaging system where you can use "karta" as defensive shields with passive buffs or sacrifice them for spells. its one of those things that sounds weird and complicated when you explain it, but in gameplay it just kinda clicks. it also seemed to double down on he surrealism and abstract psychological themes, which is my fucking jam. i think missed potential is the worst flaw something can have, so hearing that yiik is growing into its most flawless form is exciting as hell

8. FreeJack Online

unfortunately, i found out about this game about a month after its last online playtest. the dev's discord says they wont reopen unless they find a publisher, and theyre not sure if thats gonna happen reasonably soon. but secondhand, this game looks like a killer time. you guys know im super into this hip hop skatepunk urban style, so even if the gameplay is total shit ill still be all over the ost and character design. but this gameplay doesnt look like shit! you build up trick combos and that contributes to your speed as you parkour around and try to win races. its been a while since ive sunk myself in a competitive online game and i think thisll be what gets me back into it, someday

9. Hyper Light Breaker

yknow im kinda surprised this list hasnt been more roguelikes considering how much i play em. hlb looks like its aiming for an interesting combo of roguelike and open-world, and im really interested in how that shakes out. the combat looks like a really good transition of the speedy high-stakes fighting from hld into 3d. im really hopeful for this game, especially everything heart machine is going through with gearbox and the fanbase backlash for the delays.

10. The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-

im saying this counts as indie because im in denial. so, i mentioned how the phone clerk guy was a danganronpa fan, right? he played all the mainline games, and even got into zero escape looking for more (he played VLR before 999? lmao) but he had no idea what too kyo games was. never heard of Death Come True, or Akudama Drive, or World's End Club, or Rain Code, or Tribe Nine. really goes to show how much publicity matters, huh? anyway, in case you couldnt tell, i am a 'fan' of danganronpa. theres a lot you could say about it, like how the writing is juvenile and contrarian and how it consistently struggles to write unpredictable mysteries despite this and also how kodaka just fundamentally fails at writing minorities and the pacing issues and flat characters and... you get it. but its never boring. and considering they officially hired the guy who wrote the spin-off novel where kirigiri gets cloned into a houseplant, i feel like its just gonna get less boring from here

look at this shit. im along for the ride at this point

[corelas-veyari]

It’s been 2-3 years since I’ve read Tevinter Nights but seeing Lucanis Dellamorte???

Dragon Age obsession has dragged its way back into my brain rot and I am here for it.

More brain rot opinions below (I’m so sorry)

I found I actually like the vibe the trailer had - but that might just be the fact I played all three DA games w/o seeing the trailers. (I’m also big into Elder Scrolls: Online and trailers seem to always lead to unrealistic expectations so I just see them as introductions to characters/imagination)

I loved the way they introduced everyone as, while it doesn’t have the same grim dark atmosphere, it feels like Varric’s narrative. I kinda see this as his way of introducing everyone, similar to how he’d introduce the DAII companions. This is giving us the preview of who we’re playing with/who’d we want to romance.

Also, this trailer wasn’t about gameplay or even anything about the story, so I don’t see this as setting up the mood or anything. I am wholly naive and optimistic that because of BG3 and the DA games previous, there is pressure and expectations that BioWare hopefully will be able to succeed at.

At the same time, DAV shouldn’t be compared to BG3 with only this trailer as I would have probably loved a trailer like DAV for the BG3 companions, in a similar style too probably. (It reminds me a bit like Arcane)

Dragon Age isn’t in forgotten realms/D&D so the game itself should try to imitate it. DAII was my favorite out of the DA games so far because of the character and that was the same case for BG3. The graphics are nice and so is the gameplay, but if the companions were 2D and had shit/lower than mid writing, it would have probably been on the same tier as Skyrim and ESO.

I hope the gameplay is good. I hope the graphics are good. I hope they don’t try to be a BG3 copy but honestly, that could go pretty good too so I wouldn’t really complain. (I need something to fill that finished game void)

Most importantly, I hope the characters and companions are written well because, at least for me, that is why I played the Dragon Age games. I got sick of semi-3 dimensional characters in games like ESO and craved more. Did I stop playing ESO? Nope! I learned to appreciate the games for what their strengths are and what I stories I could tell with them.

Do I hope to see my inquisitor? Absolutely. Do I expect it to happen? Probably not.

Sorry this is a long post, I’ve just been thinking about this and how I have a tiny bit of faith in BioWare solely because of BG3 (which I know is from a smaller studio that cared but still, hope is a dangerously stubborn thing) and how ESO’s quests and stories haven’t gone to complete shit just yet. (Have to play the new DLC soon)

[celticbotanart]

You guys really liked the "Ecclectic Halloween" post I did a while ago, so I want to go for another round!!

For those who didn't see the previous post - music is my biggest hyperfixation, and I love making thematic playlists and play with them by adding little rules and such. My "Ecclectic Halloween" playlist currently has over 150 tracks, and all of them are there according to the following little rules I've stablished:

The song MUST include anything supernatural, spooky, bizarre, "murder/serial killer", classic creature and so on - if it's instrumental, which is the case of many tracks in this list, it has to have all of these but in VibesTM

The song can be of ANY genre; is it metal? Prog? Disco? Electronic? Soundtrack? COOL, ALL ARE WELCOME!

I'm still including less widely known / "cliche Halloween songs", and this time I decided to feature songs that are soundtracks (from movies, games, animes, books even!); most of them are instrumental, or feature a heavy use of choir, and/or vocals that are prevalent but doesn't really mean anything (bear with me, you'll see what I mean, lol)

LET'S GET STARTED, part deux!!

1- Only Murders In The Building - Creatures of the Night

Starting off with this banger from the latest season of "Only Murders in the Building"! The original context is that Oliver Putnam, one of the main characters who's a theater producer/director, decides to put on a musical play as one of the main subplots of this season; the show actually presented a couple of full, real songs, and they are all REALLY Broadway-like, campy, and epic (fucking Meryl Streep sings two of them???? It's REALLY good!). The musical's plot is that this woman was murdered in a mysterious lighthouse, and a private Investigator and a Constable comes in to investigate it. The main suspects are the Nanny and... the baby triplets of the deceased woman??? Lol This song is SUPER fun, weird and extra, with that little touch of mystery - it's the "opening act" of the show, and it's the Investigator arriving at the lighthouse, singing with the whole ensemble cast, it's SO cool! I'm including here the actual scene where they perform it, so you can see it! (Spoilers for the last episode of s3, I guess?)

In this eerie old lighthousе thrashed by the tide Live triplets whose mother suspiciously died And suspects uncanny, a constable, a nanny Do they all have secrets to hide?

2- Genshin Impact - Die Mittsommernacht-Fantasie

This one is VERY "mischievous trick or treat" vibes! Very, very fun and colorful, with that little touch of mystery, too! This was definitely one of the best battle themes in Genshin Impact, and it was featured exclusively in a time-limited event last year?? Such a tragedy this good of a song was used only then!

The domain this song appears is themed after the character Amy "Fischl", who roleplays all the time as "Fischl, the Prinzessin der Verteilung"; the domain itself was a huge castle, with big fairytale vibes going on. Fischl is a very dramatic, mischievous character, and this theme really reflects that, in the most fun way! The song has INTENSE baroque influences with the harpsichord as main instrument, and even features a classic/ spanish guitar!

3- Cuphead, The Delicious Last Course - The Finishing Touch

To those unfamiliar, Cuphead is a game that mimics the entire aesthetics, artstyle and music from 1920's cartoons. It's honestly one of the best ideas I've seen, and this one is a song from the DLC released a while ago. It's very spooky, and of course in that 20s cartoon sort of way.

I personally love the super eerie atmosphere, the flute, piano and the strings combo creating all the tension!

4- Young Sherlock Holmes - The Ceremony / Waxing of Elizabeth ("Rametep Theme")

These are technically two songs, but some good soul mashed them together into one cohesive piece, because they both really, REALLY slap hard with the dramatic chorus and Carmina Burana-esque energy! This was featured in the movie "Young Sherlock Holmes", in a scene where a crazy-ass cult is having their gathering, and preparing to mummify this girl.

I have to say the soundtrack is actually better than the scene itself, lol. It has a really impressive crescendo and use of orchestral metals, I have goosebumps every time I listen to it, hnnng <3

5- Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Mora, the Spider

Easily one of the most intense boss fights I've ever played - and the theme really reflects that fear and tension. Mora is a giant spider hidden in the deep, buried shadows of the forest that you, as Ori (a light/forest spirit) has to defeat. It really is a "dark vs light" sort of fight, and the this theme really goes fucking hard. It also has strong horror music elements used in movies of the genre - like the violin pizzicato at the beginning, and its use throughout the piece, giving that "classic horror" feeling to it.

Note how when the choir kicks in around the minute 2:15 - they are chanting "MO-RA! MO-RA!" in such a terrifying way! And then, around 4:50, it really shows how Ori's determination and hope prevails, when their leitmotif starts playing!

6- Yuki Kajiura - Ship of Fools

If you follow me for a while, you know already that Yuki is literally one of my all-time favorite composers ever, so OF COURSE I had to include her here!! She is an OST composer for animes and games, and this was the first song of her I've ever heard - it plays on the very first scene of the "Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles" anime. Yuki is well-known for her dreamy, haunting style and this piece is a huge example of it!

She mixes in electronic, rock/metal, classic and folk genres, and layered vocals (mostly done by singers hired for her projects). This one is also an example of her using the "kajiurago", or "kajiura language" - it doesn't mean anything, it's just vocalizing that sounds like words. They are one of her trademarks, and one of her elements that really gives the etheral, haunting atmosphere in her works!

This song really goes hard into the "mysterious, dangerous witch" territory, and I fucking love it! <3

7- Yuki Kajiura - The Main Theme of Petit Cossette

Another one from my favorite girl - this one is soundtrack to a very obscure anime called "Le Portrait de Petit Cossette" - it's essentially the story of a girl's ghost (Cossette) trapped in an artifact (I think it's a goblet?? It's been over 15 years since I saw it, lol), and this guy who falls in love with her. It's a very weird, dark and atmospheric animation.

This one track here really translates that energy, and I honestly HIGHLY recommend the rest of this OST - it's VERY VERY GOOD, and mostly all tracks have that dark, eerie, gothic vibe too.

Here we can see once more the use of "kajiurago", and another trait of Yuki's work that I fucking love - the intricate solos!! In this case, a violin solo, which is also very prevalent in most of her work.

8- Mary Fahl - Exiles (The Wolves of Midwinter)

Another Anne Rice-inspired! "Exiles" was composed by Mary Fahl as an actual official song for the audiobook version of "The Wolves of Midwinter". I don't know about the book's plot because I haven't read it, but this song is SO atmospheric, and it's very werewolf-y. I personally LOVE Mary's deep voice, and how I can almost see the wolves running in the wintery forest.

When the hunger comes and I lose control Hold me in the darkness, bless my tarnished soul I will run beside you, we'll leave the past behind We'll hide inside the ages beneath the sands of time

9- Karliene - Become the Beast

Technically, the only one of the playlist that isn't a soundtrack - not offcially, anyway, hehe. This is a song that Karliene wrote inspired by Hannibal, the tv show; I haven't seen Hannibal, but I'm OBSESSED about this one, because yeah, it can be about Hannibal, but I like how she's a bit vague about it, so it can also be about werewolves, or any other dark supernatural creature, like vampires.

Her voice is incredible, and I love how "minimalistic" this song is, featuring pretty much only a violin, piano and cello as insstruments. The pizzicato sound comes in again to give that unsettling, classic horror vibe, at the same time her layered vocals + the piano and cello really softens the whole thing, which in my opinion, makes the song so eerie and menacing - even more with the lyrics!

So look in the mirror and tell me, who do you see? Is it still you? Or is it me? Become the beast, we don't have to hide Do I terrify you or do you feel alive? Do you feel the hunger? Does it howl inside? Does it terrify you? Or do you feel alive?

10- Wolfwalkers - Howls the Wolf (Moll's Song - Wolf Run Free)

And closing the "werewolf trilogy" here at the end of the playlist with another favorite of mine - and ending with wholesome vibes! This is a song that plays in the credits of the animated movie "Wolfwalkers" - IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THAT MOVIE YET, AND YOU LOVE ANIMATION, YOU MUST. LIKE FOR REAL. ITS SO GOOD. And the entire soundtrack, written by Kíla and Bruno Coulais, fucking slaps - it's mostly all traditional folk Irish music and instruments, and so full of life!

Wolfwalkers here are people who turn into wolves when they fall asleep - their sleeping body remains behind, as their soul takes a tangible form of a wolf. It's pretty rad!!

And this song, it's Moll, the wolfwalker mother, probably singing this "lullaby" to her daughter, the wolfwalker Mébh (and one of the main protagonists, the red haired little girl in the art above!).

Maria Doyle Kennedy is the one voicing Moll and singing this song, she has such a pretty, soothing voice! I love this song so much, and with the context of the movie, it makes me teary-eyed almost every time I listen to it kjdfhkjdf, ahhhh <3

The wolf will leap from child asleep The wolf will run 'til rising sun The wolf will guide you in your dreams Run free! Wolf, wolf, howls the wolf Wolf, wolf, run free!

Hope you also like this second part!! And it's really cool to see your suggestions in the tags, too <3

[robotmetal]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag

tagging my pookies @nowandthane @xoshepard :3

I am a fan since: I guess since early highschool era so 2013? i had played a bit before then tho

Favourite game of the series?: ahhh i rly like all of them, i guess me2 bc i like the vibe and updates to the game, but i do rly appreciate me1!!

MShep or FShep?: I love both of em but i've played femshep more.

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?: Colonist baybee. love that added trauma

Biotics or Tech: biotics are so fun but i play tech more?

Paragon or Renegade: Renegade voice lines can be extremely hilarious and badass, but I cannot be mean to video game characters so paragon ^^;

Favourite Class: i've been playing engineer recently and thats fun, but I do like vanguard and sentinel

Favourite Companion: you know its Legion

Least favourite Companion: Don't really have any bc I love them all, might have to say Jacob just bc of how bioware wrote him, and hes mean to tali, garrus and thane... and the fact he can cheat on you??? But its not fair, its not his fault they made his character like that. He deserved better. :/ (and also Liara SORRY just mainly bc of how much she is shoved into everything)

My squad selection: I have a soft spot of garrus & tali since you can have them in every game! but otherwise I mostly pick whoever would be good on the mission...

Favourite In-game romance: Garrus is what got me into Mass Effect but I dunno, I enjoy a lot of them. Jack and Thane's are very sweet, i'm a bit partial to Miranda bc she's my fav girl. Oh of course how can I forget Samantha, i love hers a lot!! Probably between her and Garrus!

Other pairings I like: Oh geez we will be here forever if i list them. But also I like almost everyone together lol. some top picks are Joker x Edi, Miranda x Jack, Shepard x Wrex, and Shepard x Legion of course lol

Favourite NPC: Kirrahe, Aethyta, Shiala, that smoking salarian lol

Favourite Antagonist: hmm... Bioware really got em right out of the park with Saren and Sovereign

Favourite Mission: I dunno they can be fun but then some parts can be annoying, i was literally gonna say the below answers but they're loyalty specific lol

Favourite Loyalty Mission: Kasumi, Thane and Samara, I love undercover mystery spy stuff. Legion bc well I like to spend more time with them even though the result in that is painful

Favourite DLC: Citadel obviously lol, lair of the shadow broker is also pretty good

Control, Synthesis or Destroy: you're not bioware you can't make me choose. (I do like synthesis personally only bc I wish I were a robot.)

Favourite Weapon: assault rifles, kassa locust and carnifex my beloveds

Favourite Place: wahhh everywhere, I wish I could actually go and live on the Citadel DESPERATELY, Illium is pretty, Ilos is gorgeous and I love the atmosphere

A quote I like: "Show me yours tough guy, I bet mine's bigger" Hot and badass femshep line. Of course anything from Legion, especially "Do these units have a soul" (not does this unit have a soul.)

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Rpg Anon: Strap in, mod. Cuz I gotta give my two cents on you being interested in Disgaea now.

First of all, I don't anything about what happens in disgaea 6 or 7. Kinda didn't care anymore after the older characters didn't feel like work was done to make their moves modern anymore.

Ok now, if you're that interested just of the hinazumi bit, you can ignore Disgaea 1 and 3. I didn't play them either but they didn't seem too interesting to me. Just know Laharl, Etna, and Flonne are old characters from the first game.

I recommend playing Disgaea 2, 4, and 5. Mostly cuz I biased like these ones. You can play 2 on a psp emulator like I did. 4 is the first game I saw and how I got into the series tho and 5 was pretty fun to watch and had a great story.

Before I gush over the hinazumi-ish details of Adell and Rozalin, important tips for Disgaea 2 tho. 1. DO NOT kill your friends. Friendly fire is always on and it's always a bad idea to accidentally do this in all the games but 2 actually punishes you HARD if you do it way too much. *shivers in fear remembering the Worse Ending* 2. Adell hits REALLY hard if the opponent is stronger than him. Prepare yourself to see him level up like crazy for being a level 100 fighting level 500's. 3. Adell's cowardly scaredycat little brother is the best unit in the game bar none. His aoe attack where desperately flails all around himself does more damage than anything in this game.

Now for the stupid gushiness. Spoilers tho. Adell and Rozalin start off really not wanting to be around each other. They really don't like having to drag or be dragged everywhere. Character Development happens tho and by the end of the game, well, Adell fucking kisses the insanity out of her. 👍. Funny as the credits show her trying to shoot him for doing that. Here comes the reall Hinazumi levels of tsundere lovey dovey shit. Come Disgaea 4, you can recruit them separately as dlc. The thing is, well, they both seem to have secret motives for why they want the job and need the money when you first try to recruit. Turns out they secretly wanted to buy something valuable for the other. (Adell wanted to buy a fancy necklace for Rozalin and Rozalin wanted to buy a new fancy house for Adell) How sweet. However, whoever you recruited first suddenly arrives after the second is beaten and admits their reasons and they feel moved. Cue the lovey dovey atmosphere of "You did all of this for me?" "You were doing all of this for me, too?" "I... um... uh..." *long silence and then the atmosphere burst into colorful hearts and rainbows as they're both lost in their own world, staring at each other in silence* What happens next can only be described as:

Ibuki coming out of nowhere screaming out "OH. MAH. GAWD. These two. Are. MARRIED!!!"

(Cue the tsundere.)

Hinazumi finally realizing everyone was watching: WE'RE NOT MARRIED!!!

Hajime: yeah um um um she's just a freeloader living together with me under the same house!

Mahiru: Hajime, you idiot! You're only giving them more of the wrong idea! Also who are you calling a freeloader?!

Ibuki: You two are definitely married!

Fuyuhiko: Okay okay! That's enough. You're both fucking hired. Work together as husband and wife to make money for the business, you two.

Hinazumi: We're not married!

(This was fun to go thru again.)

From then on, it gets more and more intimate and hilarious. Honestly, I wish I could gush over it more but I don't have time.

//Ok, so I checked out a video on what you were talking about, and I'll link it here.

//So there's two possible outcomes, as RPG said, and they both give off this absolutely perfect tsundere romance vibe. This is the most Hinazumi thing I have ever fucking seen, and I adore it.

//Kaguya-sama wishes it could be this good.

//And what's funny is I imagine this being a potential story interaction for the Survivor RPG we brainstormed a while ago. Except maybe instead, it's just Ibuki and the other Remnants teasing Hinazumi that they are stupid in love and married.

-Mod

[shmowder]

SO I was about to say that we never spoke on your BG3 blog, but I actually found one question by me, asking if you were playing the original Pathologic or P2 😂 By the time I found that blog you'd already pretty much moved on to this one (which is fine!). But I rb'd a couple fics to my sideblog. Certainly never imagined myself reading about a giant half-spider woman but here we are ♡ The thing about Minthara is that I adore her but I don't know anything about the rest of the game and it's too expensive for me to commit to right now - and I'm always hearing about her romance being bugged anyway.

Yuria <333 And Sister Friede but more importantly, Yuria! I love that you love her too! I confess that I never got past the Abyss Watchers but tbh I'm amazed I got that far. And at least my Ashen One got to meet Yuria (and heard her best line "And I, of course, am also thine" hehe). Good for you for getting through it! Bloodborne is the one Fromsoft game I've beaten and it was rough getting used to the Dark Souls combat, so I watched a walkthrough of the rest. And I've also watched a ~90 hour walkthrough of Elden Ring, which did put me to sleep occasionally lmao but I just don't have the willpower to play huge open world games anymore.

I almost finished a NG+ playthrough of Bloodborne recently, until I started the DLC and promptly got my ass handed to me and I was like hmmmm actually now is the perfect time to start a new SDV farm 🤔

But, I'm taking a little break because I've indeed started Patho 2 again!! It's the beginning of day 5, I'm using super easy settings again and I found my old notes of where the Dead Item Shop is every day and which items to save for upgrades etc. Despite that, I seem to be missing more than ever. I may have focused a little too much on trading and collecting herbs and caches. Forgot the bell rang on Day 3 and didn't gather the Apple Basket Gang rip :( (I noticed that Lara and Artemy both have dialogue about not being 30 yet, so there's that question out of the way) But on the bright side I have more eggs than I could ever need (maybe…) and I'm on my 3rd inventory upgrade.

Haha, based on that anecdote I'd say you know more Russian than I do. I know a lot of people listen to other things when playing games but I've never tried that except when hatching Pokemon eggs. I love hearing the in-game sounds and music. Victor and Yulia have the same theme playing in their houses!

Yes of course we can be friends! Requesting from writing blogs is what originally got me interacting with others, so, kind of like you, just the other way around 😅 Then I discovered it can be nice just to talk sometimes. It seems like you're having a good time on this blog! Chill is good. Part of me is still flabbergasted that there's a Pathologic x reader blog that exists and it's run by a great writer who obviously has so much love for the characters which is a huge plus <3 But I like the memes too :) I can't speak for other anons, but I always check my entire dash until I'm completely caught up.

Moving on… WHEN I TRANSLATED THE TITLE OF THE VICTOR X READER FIC!! Hooo boy, I'm a simple girl and the "You're good, my little dove, you're good. Despite it all, you're good" quote is one of my favorites. It's like you read my mind with the description - SOFT, TENDER, and UNSTABLE? Three of my favorite things 😇

So!! I am the human embodiment of this emoji while reading 🤭🤭🤭 Honestly so galaxy brained of you make it into a fic, I could never be upset about that. There's such an atmosphere to this from the very beginning, I don't know how to describe it but I want to bite it. Playing house with slightly off vibes, "Like handling a stray cat" OUGH. (I agree that'd he'd want to play at domesticity.) The way he notices everything, his solicitousness. Reader as sacrificial lamb imagery. "He takes and takes like you're the cure for his morose soul."

The immortality vs mortality thing! That's when I really got why this works so well as a fic instead of hcs. I love that it feels like a character study as much as a smut fic (and ofc I appreciate all the little details about time). TOP TIER SMUT ALSO. His endless patience while also being in emotional/spiritual/physical agony, him praising the reader's patience, he does seem like the type to draw it out a while - "He'll hide you from the world and everything dangerous outside" 😳

And the end!! What a beautiful, brilliant mind, what a sensitive fragile heart, what a lovely soul. My goodness. Just - [keysmash] [disintegrates]

That was AMAZING and you should be proud. Thank you for taking my request and running with it <333

If my overzealous reaction to the froggy chair birthday pic never made it through, thank you for that too! It's delightful.

Happy birthday!! 🧁🎉 I hope you enjoy the day.

🐿️ anon

You remembered my birthday! I love you!

God I was refreshing my notes waiting for your reaction over the fic. I'm so happy you liked it <33 Especially how you qouted your favourite lines and your reaction to them, that's literally the highest of praise I could receive. You understand the underlying themes, the whole playing house but something seems off, Victor's inner fits of monologue occasionally completely going off-rails and showing how lost in his head he tends to get. How his brain switches focus between topics constantly before snapping back to reality and vice versa.

Conflicted in everything. At times, he appears as if he's pleading with you, below you as loyal as a guard dog. At others he appears above you, pulling your strings with sheer authority and nothing else.

The whole turmoil of deciding to let Reader die a natural death, to be selfish and never allow them into the Kains grand scheme of immortality, to know you'll only exist by his side before your soul is lost to the cosmos forever.

I avoided bringing Nina by name but her presence is heavy in each line of the story. How much he would let you hurt him and others as much as you want like she used to do, how he lets your sins slide and sweeps your wrongs under the rug. How he clings to your mortality because part of his resents humanity for taking his wife away, for stealing his own life and future away.

The whole wings and feather symbolism. Immortality is the wings the Kains are sewing together one thread at a time, each feather plucked being a brilliant person's soul. That eventually, maybe they too will ascend past the larva stage and be able to live freely with no fear of death much like Icarus flew above the seas without regards to his father's words. They're flying straight into the sun and they mistake its blazing fire for the heavens above.

His little dove petname fitting perfectly with the Icarus symbolism, with you being a beautiful bird he wants to keep caged in the mortal real out of selfishness, out of the desire to finally call someone his own. All his life he has give for the future of humanity, both his wife and two kids turned into chess pieces to be sacrificed in times of need.

And that's fine that's okay. He can handle it. His family may belong to the future, they may belong to mankind and the utopia they're slowly shaping. He is strong and pragmatic, he can more than understand why heavy costs and live with the consequences. He will carry that burden of guilt indefinitely.

But you, oh you.... He won't allow it. You have to slip away from their clutches, from his own sharp claws. You won't belong to the future, you will belong to the present forever with him, forever to him.

I enjoyed writing it so much. I started as Headcanons but the words piled up and the sentences started weaving themselves on their own. It was so beautiful, I didn't have the heart to trim the growth and force it back into the headcanons mould, so i let it blossom into a full story even if it meant more work.

Headcanons are usually effortless, stories are not. I had several open tabs by the end of writing it searching for various idoms, symbolism and word synonyms. Looking through Victor's qoute then remembering the latin endearment term for dove.

I really wanted to paint the picture of how he makes loving you a form of self-flagellation, but I had to keep the message subtle so it shows how well he hides it. How on the surface you can easily mistake his infatuation for any adoring partner, but deep down he's completely unstable behind the calculated hardened face. I'd argue that he was as crazy as Nina if not even more. He just happened to be better at hiding it. It was an elaborate plan for him to play the role of the reliable soft-hearted self-sacrificing leader to win people's favour, to paint the Kains in an angelic light so their women may be as cruel as their hearts desire.

Again, thank you for leaving such a sweet message afterwards. People rarely do, you get accustomed to fulfilling requests then throwing your writing into the ocean after posting it. The reblogs and likes are good and all but I just want to hear another human's words at times you know? Another soul's opinion, something that proves that this exists and was read by an actual person rather than a number counter going up.

Although oh my god you read THAT Minthara fic?? A beautiful webbing?? IT'S ONE OF MY MOST PROUD WORKS! One of my most ambitious too! The descriptive scenery in that fic took a lifetime out of me, so much blood and tears poured onto the layout of the garden, of the sussur tree and blood rose. Writing it felt like my magnum opus at the time, although now I'd say Lingum Vitea holds the spot for the amount of Latin I had to research for that Burakhovsky fic.

I'm so glad you liked that fic! They're my favourite children <333 I like the rest too but sometimes I write things purely out of passion and they shine brighter than the rest in my eyes.

You've already started your P2 playthrough hell yeah! I hope it goes well and it's fun! I actually missed the apple basket gang meeting too in my playthrough- I thought it was scripted to be missed because it directly coincident with the Bachelor calling people to town hall and proclaiming quarantine so I thought oh, it must be cancelled duh! I didn't realise you could still walk to it ah-

You can never have too much eggs, trust me.

Being a trader hoarder is good! you'll eventually learn which people overpay for which items and look out for them. Usually trading is rng depent on which npc you meet on the road to your current mission because straying from the path means losing precious time.

Good for beating bloodborne and going on ng+! Hell yeah! I've never played it but it seems hard bc of the parries and no shield. I miss my shield in ds3 :( During the end of the game, my brother was watching me play and he tricked me into going to the end boss unprepared. He claimed it was just another npc for a quest and I didn't know it was the end boss bc I didn't watch anything about dark souls before playing it- I just walked to the soul of cinder all like "omfg hiii bestiee :3 " then got stabbed.

BUT I FUCKING BEAT HIM IN ONE TRY! EVEN WHEN I WAS TRICKED AND ALMOST DIED. I managed to clutch with my trustyyyy shieellldd.

But also I died to that weird balls tree 90+

I am not exaggerating, I genuinely couldn't handle that lame mini boss tree. I killee the abyss watchers in two tries and the soul of cinder in one but a fucking tree is responsible for 70% of my deaths through all of the game.

I'm celebrating my birthday today. it's not going well but at least I have a lot of cake and will buy myself flowers in an hour after the shops open. I got cheesecake! I love cheesecake! I think Yulia would like cheesecake or is she more of a dark chocolate person? I still have your request for her nsfw hc so don't worry it wasn't swallowed by tumblr.

Honestly I can't believe I'm the only pathologic x reader blog- Seems almost blasphemous tbh. I hope more pop up in the future, this fandom is surprisingly chill and nice. Especially for such a hardcore game.

I hope your day is amazing <3

Oh and I did receive your froggy chair submission! I just wasn't sure whether to reply to it publicly or not in case you wanted to stay anonymous to others on this blog. I'm glad you liked the meme I threw together and my other memes on this blog hehe. I like making them, it's like visual storytelling.

[eljackinton]

All the video games Jack played in 2023, reviewed.

Since it's a tradition of mine and I like seeing how far I've come vis-a-vis video games, here's another quick-fire round of every game I played this year.

Deathloop

Arkane's actionized spin off to Dishonored is a fine game in its own right, but after years of experimentation and refinement in their field many ImSim heads such as myself expected something more grander and complex, when Deathloop was in many ways the opposite of that.

Hitman 3

Agent 47's swan song goes to the series greatest heights possible, but the formula starts to bristle at the edges a little. About the right time to conclude the series I think. Freelance mode can go fuck itself.

Bioshock 2 and Minerva's Den

Definitely a strange beast. An attempt to simultaneously capture what made the original so iconic while also trying to put a completely different spin on it. I'm not sure it really works, but it's interesting to compare the two. The DLC on the other hand, manages to use it's limited scale to much better effect.

Alien Isolation

Finally finished this masterpiece of the franchise. The plot sort of goes nowhere in it's back second half and the DLC is for completists only. Still, the vibes and visuals look as good today as they did ten years ago.

Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2

A well designed and fun space strategy game that really gets the 40k vibe, but even so the campaign feels just a little too long to warrant multiple playthroughs. After finishing the Imperial campaign I'm in no hurry to go through the whole thing again with the other factions.

Aliens Dark Descent

After Isolation it was such a surprise to see another Alien game that just 'gets it.' While there are certain creative decisions I didn't jive with, the overall experience is a tense and genuine horror romp.

System Shock

That Nightdive managed to preserve the overall experience of the original, and also update it to modern sensibilities is nothing short of a miracle. I have some minor criticisms about the music and the ending, but otherwise an uncompromised update of a trendsetting classic.

Return of the Obra Dinn

One of those games that really tries to tell a story that only video games can. Glad I went into it blind, and I'd love to see it inspire more experimental mystery solving games.

Divinity Original Sin 2

I don't see the masterpiece in this that some do, but an impressive effort nonetheless. Too long and too sprawling, but expertly designed and deftly told.

Zeno Clash and Zeno Clash 2

I love these stupid weird games even if I still can't tell if I was playing it properly or just flailing about. They deserve far more recognition than they got.

The Walking Dead: Michonne, A New Frontier, The Final Season

As ever you can understand that Telltale put a lot of heart into their games, but ultimately they still collapse under the weight of the source materials tropes and conventions. A noble effort, but not without an eye-roll or two.

Neverwinter Nights

So far I've played just the base campaign and I can do nothing but call it a slog. Beyond a few interesting ideas here and there it's a distillation of all the worst parts of the Infinity Engine era with no improvements of it's own. No charm, no atmosphere, no character, physically and literally.

Alright then folks. That's about it. Let's see what the video games of 2024 bring.

[spearxwind]

(hey im the evnautilus anon from a while ago, dropping by to gush about dredge)

played the dredge expansion a few days ago and it's sooooo fucking good. the abberations were top tier. they nailed the colouring for the ice and water, it's so pretty. the new guy was interesting, personally i wish he posed more of a threat but it felt very good to have fish become a resource to keep it away (i passed 365 ingame days while going through it and did not need more money lol, so having motive to fish outside of completion was really nice!).

Agreed wish we got more of the big guy. Wish there was just one more main story quest too, they had so many interesting pieces in the initial story setup, would've loved to have something that made the experience feel more complete (getting to see some imagery in the journals or one of the stone clusters hinting towards why the little guy is there maybe). But still easily a worthwhile experience.

The music was baller too actually, and the sound effects near the middle of the area made my heart sink in the best way. Augh.

YESSSS the atmosphere and colors literally slapped so hard, I loved seeing the reach pull into view while sailing... like something ominous in the distance....

and yeah i liked the new guy as well but very easily avoidable (though good spooks if you needed to fish for anything in the area)

some more spoiler thoughts under the cut:

Man I wish they could have done like... a two choices kind of thing for this area as well. Like with the main story you can either wake up The Guy or be good (and get got by the Other Guy)

I would have loved if you could help complete the ice ritual thing (like the way they set it up with the three chosen ones, if you just broke the captain shard the prophecy would complete)

But yeah still the whole experience was super sick I really loved the vibes of it and I cant wait for the next dlc too thats gonna be baller as fuck as well

and youre right the music and sound effects really slap (all the music in thsi game in general slaps sm)

[autumn0689]

My Semi-Alan Wake 2 Review (featuring my crazy ramblings)

I’m having severe Alan Wake brain rot help me I just think about Alan and Zane and Scratch and Alice (ABSOLUTE GIRLBOSS) and Barry and Pat Maine and Rose (she’s delusional, just like me fr fr) and the Anderson brothers and THIS GAME I LOVE IT I NEED MORE!!!!

I feel bad for anyone who follows me for something else because let me tell you I’m going to be gushing about Alan Wake for A WHILE!!! I love Alan so much he’s my blorbo I want to squish him like a bug I want to give him a blanket I adore him!! He’s such an asshole and I love him.

I can’t wait for the DLC’s and New Game Plus I am going to play the FUCK out of it. I’ve completely abandoned playing any other games (poor Spider-Man 2 is just sitting there, waiting for me to continue) and I’ve been playing AW2 for hours on end. To me it’s such a good game. I love the characters and I’m emotionally attached to so many of them!

Saga my love my life I love her puns and how kind she is and how she cares so much about her daughter and Casey and how fucking badass she is and how powerful she is!

I adore Casey and I love the short film Yöton Yö and my gosh I adore Ahti! I feel so bad for Cynthia and she deserves better than Tom, speaking of Zane, pop off you absolute whore of a man. Scratch was just… he’s Scratch what more is there to say about him?

Gosh this game- I can’t elaborate on why I love it, it’s just so much to dive into, there is so much of it that I love.

Bright Falls is so different and also just how we remember it being! It has so many of the OG Cast (Rose, Pat, Cynthia, Anderson Bros) while also bringing in new characters (like Saga, Casey, Koskela Bros, Agent Estevez) and how Deerfest is still being celebrated. The townsfolk living there have really experienced it all.

Watery is such a cool place to explore. I love Coffee World and the atmosphere, like how the Ferris Wheel played music and how it made it sound so creepy I LOVE IT!! I love how big Coffee World feels and how abandoned it feels even though it currently isn’t. It gives Abandoned Amusement Park vibes and it’s not even abandoned I love it!

My two favorite locations are the Valhalla Nursing Home and The Oceanview Hotel. Valhalla has just a haunting vibe with it being a nursing home, and the basement section fills me with so much dread due to the environment. The Oceanview Hotel seems so grand and like a maze that I often get lost in that section. It seems so grand, especially considering we only go to three floors at most.

The map system is also cool, in my opinion, I like how you are able to see if any Collectibles are nearby and where it shows you when a certain location can’t be accessed. I love exploring and how vastly different it is from the beautiful forests of Cauldron Lake to the Noir Style New York.

The Dark Place is just a perfect mix of being frightening while also having moments of hilarity. It seems so vast, and Alan is basically trapped to a small location, and wandering too far will suck him into pure darkness. It’s such a bending world that going one way can lead you to a completely new direction. It’s such a moldable location that Alan has been trapped in, stuck in a loop (metaphorically and literally) of remembering and not remembering and basically dealing with his personal demons. The ‘We Sing’ section is such a fun one! It’s so fun to play and funny in how almost safe it makes you feel, well, until you fight enemies, of course. The graffiti gives so much to the environment, especially in the Subway section, in which it seems like it has so much history to it.

I adore the way that Alan literally rewrites scenes. I love Sagas Mind Palace and how we can solve things. I love Rose’s Zombie Apocalypse fanfic and how the Angel Lamp also changes environments, and honestly talking about the Yöton Yö short film and how amazing it is deserves a post of its own.

I just- I love the Remedy Games! I’m so excited to see what is coming up in the future! I love these characters, and I can’t wait for more content to come out in the upcoming months.

To anyone who has read all this, here, have a picture of Alan