#this post is technically a joke because truly all (or at least most) music opinions are valid

[shawoluvs]

Listen, all music related opinions are valid except any opinion that doesn’t consider ‘Bad Love’ by SHINee’s Kim Kibum (and the album of the same name) to be the greatest song of our time.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #315

“can’t breathe to scream  /  suffocating in this dream  /  long way down”

Who was your first big crush? I would probably say this guy in high school named Sebastian. We sat beside each other in Art, and I definitely liked him a lot. Man, my freshman-sophomore years honestly involved a handful of crushes before Jason popped into the picture and I lost all romantic interest in everyone else. Where was the first place you drove after you got your license? N/A Is it a blue sky outside right now? No. All North Carolina has known for weeks on end now is rain. We've had very rare sunny days, but for the most part, it's just gray and gross. Was your last breakup a bad one? Nah, I'd say it ended maturely and with a mutual understanding of "why." When was the last time you were surprised, in a pleasant way? Hell if I know. Is there an ice-cream flavor that you strongly dislike? Which one? Yeah, like strawberry. What was the last sitcom you watched? No clue. ^ Do you have a favorite character in that sitcom? Why is that character your favorite? N/A What does the last group you joined on Facebook concern? I am 90% sure it was this group I joined that is literally just about cute yet dangerous animals lmao, mostly reptiles and invertebrates. "Misunderstood biteybois and where to befriemd them" or some stupid shit like that. Has there been a spider in your house at any time recently? Not that I've seen, no. Do you like wearing make-up? Not at all. I only like wearing it for pictures and then taking that shit off. ^ If so, how old were you when you first started to wear it? I started consistently wearing it my freshman year of high school. Then some time later I just showed up one day without any, shocked all my friends, and then only wore it when I felt like it. What foods are you craving lately, if any? Nothing, really. What were some of your favorite foods as a child? Chicken nuggets of course, as well as spaghetti, peanut butter sandwiches, just the typical stuff that kids tend to enjoy. When you were younger, did you ever have a friend that your parents hated? No. Have you ever talked in your sleep before? That's very normal for me, especially now that I have nightmares like every goddamn night. What was the last song you heard, that reminded you of someone? Well, not a real someone, but "The Ordinary World" by the Hit House is 110% one of Fetch's soon-to-be themes. What has brought you joy today? Nothing brought me "joy," really. When was the last time you won a prize in a raffle? What was it? I actually recently won an art rafle on deviantART hosted by a truly amazing artist, like I thought I had no chance, and she's going to be drawing Moondust!!!! :'''') What is the next non-essential item that you intend to buy for yourself? I'm still paying the bulk of my tattoo in May. Is there anywhere in your town/city that's rumored to be haunted? Oh, I'm sure. When you were younger, did you ever think that a certain place was haunted? Bitch I still do lmao. What were your school meals like? Did you enjoy them? This really depended on the menu for the day. My school lunches were nowhere near as bad as some people make theirs sound, but most things still weren't great. I think school pizzas are the most notoriously bad. What kind of granola bar did you eat most recently? I had a cashew bar earlier today. Do you have any books on your shelf that you've read multiple times? I never reread books. What did your last post on social media concern? That I personally wrote, something regarding subtle racism still being racism, pretty much. How do you feel about people using graphic images as a scare tactic to promote their beliefs? (i.e.: PETA, abortion…) I have mixed feelings on this. Like sometimes seeing the brutal side of certain things is definitely useful in opening someone's mind to things they don't want to see/think about, but then there's that, too: it can just be so invasive and unexpected, and thus very upsetting and even scarring. I'd say I'm most for the "appropriate" social media route: using censorship that the viewer can decide whether or not to remove. But you obviously can't do that in like, a public protest with a sign, so idk. Which is harder for you: writing creatively or academically? Honestly, both are pretty easy for me. I enjoy writing creatively far more, though. Do you think gender neutral bathrooms are a good idea? I think it's fine to have them as an option. When was the last time you voluntarily went outside of your comfort zone? Just talking about stuff in group therapy recently. Would you ever use a dating site that costs money, like Match.com or eHarmony? Have you known anyone who had good experience with such sites? No, and yes. Do you think it’s fair that people are able to make a reasonable salary and live comfortable lives just by making YouTube videos? Yes? It takes charisma and talent in some area (humor, education, etc.) as well as consistency for it to be a reliable career, and just consider how often you hear about creators burning out. That happens for a reason. Entertainment is a valid job category and should not be seen as an unfair joke. Whether you’re in college or not, do you become fearful about whether or not you’ll find a good job? Story of my life. What is something you can only understand if you've experienced it first hand? Deep heartbreak. Do you think it's a double standard that a woman can hit a man and expect to get away with it, but if a man hits a woman it's assault? Obviously. Abuse knows no gender, and hitting another person is just that. I do, however, believe in self-defense, also regardless of gender. In terms of a wedding, put these things in order from what would be MOST important to be perfect, to LEAST important... Engagement ring, dress, hair, venue, ceremony, food, pictures, decorations, honeymoon. This requires too much thinking, haha... but I do know the quality of my honeymoon would be most important to me, given that that's personal time with my new spouse and not a public celebration. I feel like what goes on behind closed doors is more important and heartfelt than how you act publicly. Do you have a go-to small talk conversation topic? Probably video games or music, idk. Define "small talk." Does anyone owe you money? Do you owe anyone money? (Besides credit cards) Mom does. She just a few days ago had to borrow $100 for rent. If someone was going to buy you any practical gift (anything except a house or car), what would you choose? It'd be dope as fuck if someone could pay for Venus' next terrarium, but that's a big purchase that I'd have a hard time accepting. How many people do you know with the same first name as you? At least one, but her name is spelled differently. What in your opinion is the best love song ever written? I'm not sure, but I can tell you that "When It's Love" by Van Halen has always been high on the list for me. Was your mother married when she had you? No, actually. I thought she was until my most recent bday, I think. It was just part of a conversation. How old was the first person you kissed? He was a few months into 18. The first person you were in a relationship with, do you still care about them? Of course, he's a sweet guy. We don't talk or anything, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him. Has anyone ever sang to you? Yes. So, what if you married the last person you kissed? That'd be pretty rad. What are you listening to at the moment? "Long Way Down" from the The Evil Within soundtrack. It's funny, like I've loved the game for many years, but I'm now in a serious semi-obsession phase after watching another let's play of it. Have you read the The Hunger Games trilogy? I only read the first book. I loved it, but just never continued. What is your boss’ (or school prinicpal’s) name? N/A Who is the person you dislike the most? That I personally know, probably a former best friend, oddly enough. Do you text your parents often? If Mom's not home, it's not unusual for us to text. I don't text my dad much because he's not a fan of texting. Do you watch YouTube videos often? Pretty much always. Do you know anyone with celiac disease? Sara, my aunt, and my cousin. Those are the ones I know of, anyway. Do you currently have any alarms set? No. How many cars can fit in your driveway? Barely even two. If someone else is here, they usually just park where the road meets the sidewalk of the cul-de-sac. Do you have the ashes of a family member or a pet? Of my dog Teddy, yes. Have you ever been involved in a car crash? Yes, as a kid. Do you prefer flash or no flash on a camera? Definitely no flash. It's more natural, and especially with people, it obviously prevents red eye. How often do you use hashtags? Just about never. Have you ever had whiplash before? No. Have you ever given another person or an animal a bath before? Pets, yes. I could never bathe another human. Is there a birdbath in your yard? No. Weirdest place you’ve ever had a cramp? Nowhere weird, I think... How many lamps are in the room you’re in? How many are actually turned on? Technically three, if you count my snake's heat lamp. Right now that's the only light that's on. Are there any activities you enjoy doing, but can only do for a short amount of time before you get bored or tired of them? Yeah, reading comes to mind first. Is there anything coming out soon (books, albums, movies, video games) that you're looking forward to? I'm not up-to-date on this stuff at all, not even video games. What is something someone recommended to you that you disliked/hated? I know Girt's recommended me music I haven't been a fan of. We like the same general stuff, but there are specific sub-genres we differ in opinion about. Can you unwrap a Starburst in your mouth? ... There are people who do this to even know in the first place??? What is the last thing you ate? Popcorn. Who is your favorite person to spend time with? Sara. Do you know how to grill a steak? I don't know how to cook, period. Do you have a large dog? We don't have a dog currently, but Mom is looking for one pretty intently. We don't know the size it'll end up being. Do you like walking places? Absolutely not. I can't walk far at all without my legs starting to scream at me because leading such a sedentary lifestyle led to muscle atrophy in my legs. It's incredibly embarrassing. Are you a fan of bands most people don’t know of? That's not uncommon for me. Have you ever sent an X-Rated picture to someone? No. Do you think your voice is higher or lower than average? It's deeper than the average woman's. Do you have a pool? No, but I really, really want one... Given how easily I sweat, I would love to use swimming to strengthen my legs. I could also stop the very moment I feel I need to; it in general sounds like something I could quite easily do. How many times have you been on a plane? Ummm including the trips going back, at least six times. Favorite ice cream flavor? Oh my gooooood, if you haven't tried Ben & Jerry's "phish food"... fucking try that shit. It is innnnnncredible. Do you have a TikTok? Nope. Do you enjoy driving? Fuck no I don't. Your favorite store as a teen? Hot Topic was and still is my fave, ha. Favorite YouTuber? There's this one called Markiplier that I think's pretty cool. How many online accounts do you have? A LOT. My whole life is essentially on the computer, so... .-. Do you tend to always be in some sort of drama? Quite the opposite. Do you collect quarters from every state? No. When was the last time your living room furniture was rearranged? Not since we moved into this place. When you were little did you like watching Cartoon Network, Disney or Nickelodeon more? Disney probably topped Nickelodeon. I didn't watch much CN. Who was the last person to kiss you on the cheek? Either my niece or nephew when saying bye. Have you ever seen a magic show? Yes, as a kid. I even had a magician for my bday once. When was the last time you vomited and why? It's been a year or so. It would've been a side effect of starting a certain med that I didn't stay on because it so consistently made me sick. Where do you usually sit when you eat dinner? Either in my bed (I know) or at the dinner table if Nicole is here to eat with us. What time do you usually go to sleep at night? It's typically around 7:30-8:30, occasionally a bit later. I can't believe as a teen, it was my "rule" that I couldn't go to sleep before 10:30 because it was "too early." Nowadays, I can barely imagine regularly staying up that late. Do you avoid using public restrooms? As best as I can. I've seen some nasty shit. What’s your favorite type of cookie? Chocolate chip. How basic.

[purplesurveys]

740

‘Does your best friend bother you more than anyone else? This is so weird. Someone wouldn’t be my best friend if all they did was annoy me. If one of my best friends did start to bother me with anything they’re doing, we’re close enough for me to comfortably call them out on it. Who is your best friend? Angela and Gab. Do you like someone right now? A lot more than that at this point. Do you even think you stand a chance with this person? I’ve been with them a handful of years now, so yes. Do you consider yourself truly happy? Not truly. I can generally keep myself happy but I’ll sometimes have days where I’m anxious, angry, hurt, confused, lost, or all of the above. It’s a work in progress.

How often do you cry? I want to say at least once a week; that's pretty accurate. Are you emotional? Yes. What is the worst thing you would do for 10 million dollars? I find these questions so stressful to think about lol. Just give me scenarios to do for $10 million and I’ll tell you if I’m willing to do it. Have you ever had/do you have an eating disorder? [trigger warning] No. But when my depression was at its roughest a part of me wanted to try adding self-starvation to the other methods I was already using to harm myself at the time. Didn’t really work out. Have you ever cut/burned yourself intentionally? Cut, yes. Burned, technically yes, but I didn’t know it would hurt me. When I was 7 I thought I had some sort of invincibility so I placed a finger on a clothes iron that was plugged in at the time. So I kinda did it on purpose, but not because I wanted to burn myself lol? If that makes sense? What do you think of people that do? Hope that they have people around them who care for them and can help them pull themselves out of that hole. What's your opinion on drugs? Have you ever done any? Scary, especially the hard drugs. I’ve seen Breaking Bad, Trainspotting, and Requiem for a Dream to know not to try them lol. I’ve only had milder ones like caffeine, nicotine, and painkillers. Have you ever noticed the hidden adut jokes inside of kid shows/movies? When I encounter the episodes these days, yeah I would notice them. When I was a kid they used to be just sentences that didn’t make sense to me. Do you want to be famous? Why? I’m not opposed to it. I wanna be able to travel places, get freebies, and afford a lot of nice clothes, but I’m also not willing to do absolutely anything or lose who I am just to get famous.

Do you sin often? I don’t really think of that anymore. What are your views on God? Nope. What do you think happens after you die? I go to sleep permanently, which for me is the most peaceful way to think of death. Sometimes if I’m feeling a little alone or helpless, it’s just as comforting to also think of the possibility of reuniting with my lost loved ones when I die, like my lolo or the great-grandparents I never met. Are you afraid to die? I’m afraid of dying painfully, if anything. Like I don’t want to be stuck in a burning room or have a ceiling collapse on me, you know? If you had the chance, would you want to know the date of your death? Yes. Have you ever felt that you weren't good enough? Of course. Do you have any siblings? If so, are you jealous of them? Yes. I’m not jealous/envious of Nina, but I do sometimes wish I had a talent that was as tangible and recognizable as hers – she’s an artist and an editor, and very good ones. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Why or why not? I mean we don’t hate each other, but I wouldn’t go running to their arms if I had a problem. We have a more buddy-type relationship.

Are you always wanting more? Yep, I’m quite materialistic. Do you make good first impressions? You’d have to ask the people I’ve ever met. I hope I do, though. Do you feel bad for obese people, or do you just laugh? I am so unimpressed with this question.  What would you do if you were obese? Idk, it would depend on the mindset I have once I’m at that point. Are you ashamed of your past? Not ashamed. I just wish it had a lot more happier days. Do you miss your past? No. Do you have a song lyric that describes where you are in life right now? Ain’t it fuuuuun living in the real wooooorld ain’t it goooood being all alooooone Who are you closest to in your family? In my immediate family, it’s probably my sister. But generally speaking, it’s my eldest first cousin on my mom’s side. Do you ever open up to people? Yes, but I’m also private. Like I wouldn’t just share my life story with anyone - you have to ask about it and know which questions to ask. Do you consider yourself guarded? Why or why not? Sure. I’ve had shitty people come in and go out of my life throughout the years. Are you an honest person? I guess. Do you like animals? Love them, except cockroaches and flying cockroaches.

Do you think doctors prescribe medicine too often? I...don’t really have an opinion lol and I don’t know if I should. I don’t know the first thing about medical ethics. Are you a control freak? In a group setting, mostly yep. Do you enjoy getting drunk, or do you feel like you're losing all control? I like getting drunk but only until a certain point, i.e. when I feel giddy enough to socialize with strangers or start dancing. I’ve had a couple of bad experiences from drinking too much and it’s always so embarrassing the day after. What do you think happens when you go into a coma? I’ve read accounts on Reddit from people who used to be in one and the stories vary. Some stayed passed out through the whole thing, others dreamt in a lot of vibrant colors, others had dreams that they considered metaphors for dying, others were a little aware of what was happening or being said around them. Do you think the internet is dangerous? I know it is, lmao.

Name all the social networking sites you use: Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin. I re-installed Snapchat recently but I don’t use it for social media. Do you think anyone truly knows who you really are? My best friends do, in different ways. Have you ever given anyone the chance to really get to know you? Yes. Do you block people out of your life when they start to get too close? No. It’s very rare that that gets to happen so when it does, I keep them around. Who do you think has the most pressure to be good-looking; guys or girls? I think both experience a lot of pressure in very different ways. It’s not a contest. Do you care what impression you make on people? Kinda, especially if they make the wrong one lmao. Do you think TV is too much of an influence on today’s youth? If anything today’s TV has a lot of responsible representation from sexual consent and coming out and mental health to POCs, which gives off a suuuuper positive influence to kids and young teens these days who now feel like they can see themselves in the characters they meet and scenarios they see. Racism, sexism, homophobia, and all the other -isms and -phobias never get to fly by in this age anymore and that’s a great thing too. Just look at Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Sex Education, Itaewon Class, and I wanna say The Good Place? but I’ve never seen it. What do you think people would do if all the computers crashed? I honestly think that would be the last straw that would break the camel’s back for people to start chaotically freaking out lol. There’s too much happening as it is. Honestly, do you say racist things? Filipinos in general are resentful towards mainland Chinese but that’s because they have bullied us for so long, they’ve literally shit on our historical parks, they keep buying our lands, they claim our seas, and they belittle and mistreat Filipinos, especially the ones who work as OFWs in China. We wouldn’t be as racist if most of them didn’t act like such assholes to begin with. Personally, I don’t verbally say racist stuff but I will judge mainland Chinese in my head if I come across them or hear another incident of them misbehaving. Do your parents put way too much pressure on you? No, which I’m quite grateful for. They just let me do my thing, they ask me what jobs I want without hinting what they want for me, they let me fantasize about my dream purchases once I have a salary without guilt-tripping me over letting them have a share of my money, that kind of stuff. Has anyone you loved ever died? Two big people in my life. Do you think people overreact when their pets die? Not at all. Pets are family, and everyone’s reactions are valid. I remember when Lorde’s dog died and people were either 1) making fun of her and called her overreacting when she said she was gonna be unable to release new music for the meantime, or 2) stoked that her new music is probably gonna be sad and emotional because of her dog’s death, and I thought both were terrible. Do you know who you are, or what you want to become? I’m getting there, don’t pressure me lmfao. Do you have your future mapped out? Or are you just taking it day by day? Day by day. I have a good big picture planned out, but I also like living in the now. What are you going to do now? I dunno if I want to take another survey or watch YouTube videos now. But directly after hitting post on this I’ll definitely take another sip of my coffee and give my dog cuddles for a few minutes since he just woke up from his nap.

[mainstreettalk]

My Top 5 Disneyland Attractions

Disneyland is home to many fun attractions and rides for guests of all walks of life. When you go to Disneyland, one of the hardest decisions to make during your trip is choosing which attractions to visit first and which attractions you’ll have to skip on. So, here are the attractions that I personally deem are the top 5 attractions that every guest should experience at least once during their trip.

5. Mickey and the Magical Map

Image by D23

It’s important to note that though many guests go to Disneyland to enjoy the rides and food, the live shows really should not be skipped out on. Mickey and the Magical Map is a musical live theatre show located at Fantasyland Theatre near the back of Disneyland park. This show features the titular icon of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey Mouse, but also incorporates some of Disney’s most popular characters, including Rapunzel, Mulan, Stitch, and many others. I could go on and on about how much I love this show, but there are a few distinct characteristics that make this one stand out above the rest. The fact that so many of Disney’s most recognized ballads and anthems are performed by live actors and singers really makes you feel like you’re immersed in Disney canon. The dancers have incredibly creative routines and perform them flawlessly. The show uses a visually stunning blend of live characters and set pieces as well as a digital background that’s really able to capture the magic that Walt Disney had originally intended for all guests of his park to experience. This show runs only about 20 minutes long and it’s a great place to just sit down, relax, and keep yourself entertained. Personally, I think this is the best live show at the park, even topping the live Frozen show at the Hyperion Theater in DCA. Mickey and the Magical Map is definitely worth your short amount of time to go visit and watch and it will really help round out your whole Disney experience.

4. Storybook Land Canal Boats

Image by Disney

The next attraction on this list is one of the original 13 attractions that debuted on July 17, 1955 when Walt Disney first opened the gates to Disneyland park. The Storybook Land Canal Boats take the guests through a calm, narrated boat ride on a river that winds through various detailed dioramas of iconic buildings, scenes, and sets from Disney films. Some of my personal favorites are Pinnochio’s village, the sultan’s palace from Aladdin, and a London-set park from Peter Pan. Though the ride starts with the boats entering Monstro the whale’s mouth, it’s all smooth sailing from then on. It’s sad to see that many of the original 13 rides that Walt himself had a hand in creating- including these canal boats- have lost their popularity to the newer, flashier rides at the park. However, this is a ride that guests shouldn’t sweep under the rug just because it isn’t thrilling; the lines are usually short and move fast and the ride itself is a substantial length, so there’s no worries about you or your children getting antsy waiting in line. This attraction is especially a must-ride for couples- there is a beautiful fairy-light adorned overhang that the boats pass through that is notably stunning when it gets darker outside, and the overall ambiance of the ride itself is very romantic. The Storybook Land Canal Boats is honestly my favorite ride when I just want to sit, rest my feet, and enjoy that nostalgic old-timey Disney feeling you get when you ride classics like these.

3. The Haunted Mansion

Image by Disney

Now we’re finally getting to the E-Ticket attractions. The Haunted Mansion is a celebrated fan favorite attraction at Disneyland, and this is reflected by its often extensive wait times. The thing that makes this attraction- and the next 2 picks- so fun to ride is the level of in-depth immersiveness that the theming of the ride gives to the guests. The exterior facade of this ride is quite possibly the best themed facade in the entire park. It just fits perfectly in the land that it’s in (New Orleans Square) and the antebellum-style of the mansion accurately emulates the large manors of the old South. When guests are taken in, they are immediately thrown into the story of the Mansion before the ride even begins. The guests are placed into what is known as the “stretch room,” where the walls of the room, by an optical illusion (I’ll talk about this in a future post), look to stretch up vertically to show the morbid demises of the portraits hung up on the walls. While this is happening, the prologue of the story is presented by the Ghost Host, who reveals that he himself is the spirit of a corpse that is hanging from the ceiling of the room. It should be noted that the Ghost Host’s voice is done by Paul Frees, a voice actor that is legendary for lending his voice to other Disney attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, and Adventure Thru Inner Space. After the stretch room, guests are ushered down the hallway that has portraits hung up on the walls that look to be changing or following them. The ride itself includes some of the best of Disney Imagineering, and each scene makes great use of Disney’s animatronics system as well as hybrid-projections. One of the most famous Disneyland characters, the Hat Box Ghost, is from this ride. The Haunted Mansion is a prime example of how perfect theming, memorable characters, and an invigorating story can truly immerse the guests in the fantasy world that it has created. This attraction would be higher up on this list if not for the fact the next two rides are not just my favorite attractions at Disneyland, but are likely my two favorite rides ever.

2. Splash Mountain

Image by Disney

Ever since it debuted in 1989, Splash Mountain has been one of the most popular E-Ticket attractions at the park. Splash Mountain takes the guests on a log-flume ride through “The Laughing Place” and the woods where the Br‘er animals live. The story is based off of the controversial live action Disney film Song of the South (again, I’ll go over the controversy in a future article), and the charming woodland creatures are some of the most entertaining animatronics at the park. The joke, they dance, they sing, and the light-hearted tone of the characters really balances with the scarier, darker part of the ride (The Laughing Place), as well as the large drop down the waterfall. Speaking of the drop, I believe this drop is the biggest drop at Disneyland (not counting DCA) at a height of 52.5 feet, a 45-47 degree angle, and up to 40 miles per hour. Personally, Splash Mountain is far and away my favorite “mountain” at the park, beating out Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Matterhorn. This is objectively the most physically thrilling attraction at Disneyland. Funny personal story about the Splash Mountain ride- I hadn’t ridden this attraction until about a year or two ago since, before that, I was too young/scared to get in line. However, I unknowingly already cherished a part of the ride from a young age- the “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” scene during the Disneyland Railroad was my favorite scene during the train ride and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually a scene from Splash Mountain. Disclaimer- this ride will get you wet. I tend to enjoy this attraction the most in the middle of a particularly hot day, and I try to avoid it at night or on colder mornings.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean

Image by Disney

For my number one, absolute top favorite pick of the attractions at Disneyland, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was a no-brainer for me. Pirates of the Caribbean is often the first ride I’ll run to as soon as I enter the park, and the last one I’ll visit before I leave. There are not enough words to say all the good things that I want to say about this attraction. Aside from being an iconic, classic attraction at Disneyland, PotC features some of the most impressive and quality animatronics to ever come out of Disney Imagineers. It has one of the largest collections of advanced animatronics at any given theme park and has beautifully designed set pieces. The guests are taken on a boat ride through a Louisiana bayou, passing by an old man on his banjo, before being dropped down a waterfall and transported back in time to an era where pirates openly ruled the high seas. The attention to detail in every single scene of this attraction is what truly makes it, in my opinion, the most immersive ride at Disneyland. The guest is truly made to feel as if they are experiencing the battles of the pirates on Isla Tesoro. From the moment you step foot onto the cobblestone pathways of the queue, you instantly feel the connection to the adventure that you’re about to embark on with the characters. The song “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)” plays every now and then during the attraction and, like “It’s a Small World,” it’s a catchy tune that guests will find themselves whistling as they spend the rest of their day at the park. Another thing to note about this attraction is the immediate wave of smell the guests notice when they walk into the building. The famously dubbed “pirate water” scent is one that was so popular that it is one of the things that guests remember about the ride, if nothing else. It truly makes the guest feel as if they are sailing the seas with the crew (although technically, the smell of the pirate water is actually the cleansing chemical Disney puts in their water attractions called bromine). A great thing about the PotC ride is that the ride vehicles are constantly moving and seat approximately 20 guests (5 rows of 4) and sends through about 3,400 guests per hour. This means that the line is consistently moving so you and your young ones will never get too antsy. Though it seems as if I’ve exhausted this attraction of all it could offer, there’s actually one more notable feature about this attraction that makes it stand out from the rest- built right into the attraction is the Blue Bayou restaurant, which is one of the best dining options at the park (and very expensive at that). Though this isn’t a necessity by any means, it is just another unique characteristic of this attraction that makes me love it so much. Though I’m always sad when my day ends at the park, I’m comforted by the fact that I can end the day right by riding Pirates one more time and then, if it’s early enough, grab a snack from the Mint Julep Bar right beside it.

So there you go guys, my top 5 Disneyland attractions of all time. Let me know if you agree, disagree, or if you just want to talk about anything Disney parks related with me!

*Revised 2 Oct 2019

[symphonyinsea]

It’s been a while since I last posted here, and for good reason. Musical took up most of my free time over the last couple of months, and then we had four fantastic shows - so many people have told us it was the best show in years. That was two weeks ago now. I’m only just about coming out from the post-show blues - it was worst the week after when I still had some medicine to do, but now I’ve had a week off uni (plus a spontaneous adventure on a Scottish island), I’ve been able to process all that’s happened.

My last long post was after weekend away in February. Since then, the intensity ramped up significantly. As well as having all-day rehearsals every Sunday, we had more arranging to do (I had to learn how to write drum and guitar parts, as well as doing scene-change music), as well as band rehearsals starting on top of everything else. It was hectic and stressful for a while, but it was honestly so, so worth it. We managed to make a great show, and we definitely pulled off what we were trying to achieve.

One of the most special moments was collaborating on the overture with MD. We decided to use music from the film of our show rather than a classic overture which would spoil all our tunes. I wrote the first part, which was a ‘straighter’, more classical version, and MD wrote the second part which was a jazz version of the same themes. It was a lot of work, but incredibly satisfying when it came together. We’re both so proud of it - it was a true collaboration and each of us had creative input into the other’s work: he gave me advice about the style of my parts while I helped him with the strings and some harmonies in his part. I’ll always cherish that score, with both our names side by side as the composers/arrangers. 

MD and I got really close over the past few weeks. In the run-up to the show, we were seeing each other 3-4 times per week, and then every day in the last two weeks. We relied on each other, and we made such a brilliant team. I feel truly lucky to have worked with him. It’s rare that a creative partnership works so well - none of the previous MD teams in the time since we’ve been here has functioned quite as well as we did. Our strengths and weaknesses balance each other out, and we’re able to communicate so well, and give and receive constructive criticism and encouragement in a way the other person can hear. It’s been pretty special.

And, musically, we complemented each other so well. With him coming from a jazz background and me from a more classical one, we managed to get a great balance of tunes in the show: he was great at writing the jazzy tunes, and I made a decent effort at the more musical-y ones and the bits of film music we used for scene changes. We can confidently say that all instruments had their chance to shine and play interesting parts. Plus, with our contacts from both jazz and classical circles, we managed to assemble an epic set of people for our band. All our brass and rhythm played in the uni jazz band, and most of our string players played in the uni orchestras. We sounded so freaking good.

I know I mostly talk about music here (because that’s where I was involved), but I’ve got to give full credit to our directors, choreographers, writers, editors, stage managers, tech managers, producers, set design, and amazing cast for all their work. It was truly a team effort, and everyone brought their best to the project. I am so in awe of how talented my year is. Just the fact that we have so many strong singers - we had a great ensemble cast - blows my mind, and I don’t think there’s been a year while I’ve been here with so many great voices. Our script was also spot on and hilarious - our editors were ruthless, and it meant that each scene was paced right, and each joke landed. Our plot actually made sense. And, the dances were incredible. MD and I worked closest with the choreographers during rehearsals, and we saw how much effort they put into teaching and drilling chorus with their moves. But it looked so professional and fun by the end - hats off to them.

And now we have to return to real life. My next rotation is Urology. But we have a screening of the show next week to look forward to, at least. I think the thing I’ll miss most is regularly seeing all these wonderful people from my year, who I wouldn’t necessarily interact with otherwise. The musical really brought us all together.

As for MD and I, it’s been interesting, and I’m not quite sure what to think at this stage. We’ve built up a lot of mutual trust and respect over the past few weeks and months. He’s more open and vulnerable with me than he used to be, and I feel safe being myself with him. He encouraged and complimented my work regularly, and said how much he admired and appreciated me. I was able to be his rock and provide the support he needed over the last few weeks, picking up his slack and letting him do his thing. So, there’s definitely a deep friendship there and I hope that, at least, continues. 

Is there anything more? It’s so hard to tell. There are certain things he’s said and done which gave me hope, but still nothing is concrete - he hasn’t explicitly asked me out yet.

- We’ve had lots of coffee together, and often had lunch together during rehearsals. Sometimes he would ask me to join him, sometimes I would ask him. Sometimes he would pay for me when I didn’t have cash and sometimes I paid for him (although he was always a bit uncomfortable with that, and said he would pay me back).

- One time when we went to get lunch together, a friend invited himself along. He had bought food at a different place, and so when MD and I went to pay, when the cashier asked if it was together or separately and I said separately, the other friend said ‘Oooh, is this the first date or second date?’ jokingly - and MD said ‘more like 500′.

- He always checked my opinion about things, whether it was on his song arrangements, or his conducting, or how best to plan rehearsals. Even during the shows, he would sometimes look at me to confirm that we weren’t supposed to play that song yet, or if he was going too slow etc. During the intervals, he would ask me for my comments on how it was going, or if there was anything he could do better.

- On the second night, his parents were there, and his mum came up to me and told me well done for all my work - when he saw me talking to his mother, he introduced me to both his mum and dad, saying that I wrote more of the music than he did, and anything beautiful/technically difficult was written by me. 

- He started hugging me a lot. In all our time working together, the only time he hugged me was after he was on a high from his final jazz concert of the year. But, from the second show night onwards, he’s hugged me every time I saw him. Most of those were understandable in context - after our fabulous second show, after hugging his other (guy) friend to say goodbye when he was leaving, after the last show, after get-out when our time as an MD team had ended. But our final hug is what makes me feel like something changed - it was just after a casual lunch (I’ll elaborate later) and it was on a street corner where we had parted ways many times previously without hugging. Although maybe it was because we wouldn’t see each other for a couple weeks. But still - I had more hugs from him in the last week or so than in the entire previous year.

- One of my best friends (the only one who knows I like him) saw us interact together after the third show and texted me later ‘He definitely likes you! I can tell’.

- He always introduces me by my name and ‘position’, as in this is [symphony] who co-MD’d the musical. He’s never explicitly referred to me as just his ‘friend’. I think that’s a good thing?

- But perhaps the thing that gives me the most hope/is the most confusing is the gift he gave me on the last night. For context, my instrument case has slowly been falling apart over the last few months, but I didn’t have time to replace it. Now, at the final show, we were in a bit of a rush to get ready because we had a band meal beforehand. I went to get changed after warm-up and when I got back, my case had disappeared - one of the band members said MD had put it away backstage. Bit strange, because cases usually went in the cupboard under the seats in the auditorium, but I didn’t think too much of it. At the end of the final show, I had to put my instrument away. After saying bye to my family who had come, I went to find MD and asked where he had put my case. He said he would take me there. It took a while because we both kept being waylaid by cast/friends who wanted to say congratulations and how much they had enjoyed the show. All the while I was awkwardly holding my instrument, but praise is always nice and we were all on such a high so it was okay. Eventually MD and I reached the place where my case was. It was on some chairs, and I was about to grab it and put my instrument in, when he stopped me. Then, he reached under the chairs and pulled out a brand new case, much nicer than my old one. He told me, ‘someone as good as you shouldn’t have to carry that old thing’. I didn’t know how to react, and there was this odd look in his eyes. He was so serious, and it felt like a goodbye. I thought it was over at that point. I shoved down the feels for a while, and took the cases downstairs, but when I was putting my instrument away, I just had waves of emotion coming over me, thinking, ‘it’s over, it’s really over’. My feelings about the musical and MD were so intermingled, and I was overwhelmed. Some people from the cast/crew spotted me, and I told them that MD had just given me a new case. I don’t think they quite understood what it meant - they said he was very kind, but I deserved it after all the work I’d put in. But I was still processing it. I opened the case and it was so beautiful inside - I was still staring at it in a state of shock when MD returned. He asked if I liked it, and I said yeah, it was so much better than my old one. He could see the look on my face, and said ‘Come here...’ - I rather unceremoniously dumped the case on the ground and stood up, and he gave me a big hug. It just felt so final. From the way he was looking at me, he seemed to feel the same. I sat back down, slowly putting my instrument away, still overwhelmed, and he left me alone, to go talk to his family, and so I could gather myself. Later, I looked up the cost of the case, to see if I could get him a present (I hadn’t got him anything, to my embarrassment - it just didn’t cross my mind, with everything else going on). The case cost him £60, and this from a guy who chooses the cheaper lunch to save money. It is the most expensive present anyone who’s not family has ever given me. And, it was so thoughtful - it’s exactly what I needed, and so practical - he knows what I would appreciate. And now every time I play my violin it will remind me of him.

But, it did feel so final. It felt like a goodbye. Even at the afterparty, we didn’t spend much time talking one-on-one. There was sadness in his eyes when he looked at me, whenever we were on the brink of talking, but there were so many other people there, and music for dancing, and a mood of celebration with everyone else. Plus, his ex was there. And, one of the choreos who had a crush on him was always there when I was near him, so I didn’t get a chance to say much. But it did feel like he was more closed off than previously. I saw him glance at me a few times while I was dancing and he was talking to his best female friend (who’s good friends with his ex, so nothing can happen there). He looked kinda sad, and she was comforting him. But still, when I left the afterparty at 6am, it was with a heavy heart, feeling like it was over - both the musical, and my hopes with MD.

At get-out the next day, I tried to stay light. I was with my other friends - MD didn’t arrive until fairly late. When he did arrive, we finally got a chance to chat, briefly. We divided the scores - he had printed 2 copies of the overture we had collaborated on, then we each took the songs we had arranged. We had a little time to reflect on our time as the MD team, but his friends arrived too soon and it was over. He helped me put some of the lighting equipment into my car. There were a lot of emotions bubbling under the surface. But, his friends were there, so we couldn’t be as open as we had been. Finally, it was time to say goodbye. His best friend was standing by us at the time - we had a quick hug, and his friend commented that goodbyes were always a bit underwhelming. We were both feeling down and weary - I could see the sadness in his eyes again. But we were already a bit distant. I got into my car and left.

That evening, I had serious post-show blues, and I spent about an hour bed, crying. Emotional messages were flooding my phone from the production/rehearsal team and cast. I contributed one of my own. Eventually, I got up, and decided to give MD a proper thanks and goodbye, if only to give myself some closure. I sent him a very long message, saying how much I enjoyed working with him, how great a job we had done, how much fun I’d had, how great a team we were, and how much I’d miss it, and him specifically. He replied later that night, saying he agreed, and he didn’t know how to express how much he admired and appreciated me, commenting on my musicianship, commitment and enthusiasm. But it still felt weirdly formal. The one thing which kept a spark of hope for me was the last line - he said that we should make sure to keep in touch, beyond the screening and rehearsal team reunion dinner - he said we both liked coffee and talking about music so we should do that too. I still don’t quite know what to make of that. He clearly still wants to stay friends, at least, beyond the friendships formed with the other people on the team, which is something.

But he was about to leave to stay with his family, and then on a holiday abroad for a week, so I didn’t expect to see him for almost 3 weeks - a big shift from seeing each other almost every day previously. I was prepared to shut myself down again. Back at class with other people from the show, we all reminisced about how great it was, all processing together. When my friend asked ‘There wasn’t anything between you and MD, was there?’, I replied, ‘I don’t think so...’, and he said ‘...Just ‘cause you spent a lot of time together’. I think I was honest at the moment. There was what I was hoping, but also what I feared I was projecting. I’ve always been wrong about this sort of stuff in the past, so it’s safer for me to always assume there’s nothing there. But I couldn’t help but hold onto a tiny shred of hope. There was a photo of us as the MD team uploaded to Facebook, and it got more likes than any of the other photos of MD with other people, and it felt as though it validated who MD and I were with each other - someone commented ‘#dreamteam’. And that we certainly were. We always have that. And we’ll aways have those memories. Even if nothing more comes of it.

But.

But. On Friday, the last day before the holidays, MD put up a post saying that he was in the library for people to collect band shirts, if they were around. He had returned from his few days at home, and was in town just for the day before heading off on his holiday. Now, I happened to be on placement 5 minutes walk from the library, and it was on the way to my bus stop. We finished before lunch, and I found myself walking to the library. I needed an excuse to go in - then suddenly I remembered, of course, I need holiday reading! That’s something I had not done for a while because of musical - just reading books for fun. So I decided to grab some books, and it also gave me an excuse to go into the library. I gathered the courage (after 15 minutes of arguing with myself) to ask if he was still there, and he replied and said which floor he was on. So, I went and found him, and asked him if he wanted to come for lunch. I was weirdly nervous, and fumbled my words a bit, but he was gracious enough to let me recover my pride and explain my excuse for why I was in the library. Once we were outside, he asked where I wanted to go, and I realised I hadn’t thought that far ahead. But he was quick to suggest a place, and I let him take it from there. 

And the funny thing is, we were so chill. After the first couple minutes, I relaxed. Conversation flowed easily between us, and he spoke openly to me again. He spoke about the work he was doing, about his relaxing time back home, and about what he wanted to do musically in the future. We did indeed have that music chat. (Now all we need is coffee...). And we barely even spoke about the musical. It did inevitably come up, but I think both of us were still a bit raw. But it was a relief that we still had stuff to talk about even when we weren’t talking about the musical. We spent about 45 minutes together, and it was relaxed. It settled my heart again. We felt open with each other again, which was what I was most worried about - in the past, people have cut me off suddenly. I was worried that once we didn’t have musical in common, our friendship/whatever this is would dissolve. But now, it looks like it won’t have to. I guess we’ll see, and that lunch replenished my hope. I could feel the undercurrent of caring had returned - we are two people who’ve gone through a lot together and built something great, and that’s a bond that’s not easily broken, wherever this thing goes. And I could feel that had returned. Perhaps it was the time he had spent at home, or perhaps he had made a decision about where he wants us to go, but whatever it is, we felt more settled. The sadness in his eyes had gone.

So, when we parted for a final time before the holiday week, it was with a sense of hope and new beginnings. We wished each other a good break, and knew we would see each other in 2 weeks. It didn’t have the sense of finality and loss of our last departure. It was more ‘til we meet again. There was a moment when we looked at each other before parting, unsure whether to hug, but then he stepped closer and went for it. Seems like we’re huggers now. Which I’m fine with. I hug like I mean it. 

And then we parted.

And he looked back over his shoulder as he was walking away. He smiled at me, and I waved at him. It’s funny how the smallest of things keep the candle of hope burning. 

I’ll see if he follows through on that coffee.

I hope he does.

[asusirwritesalot-blog]

First post- Why The Witcher 3 is my favorite game.

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS FOR THE WITCHER 3. IF YOU HAVEN’T YET PLAYED THIS AMAZING GAME, GO PLAY IT! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

As I rode Roach along the scattered path leading into Velen, the string ensemble in the background immediately created an ominous, uneasy feeling. The murky swamps stared at me from the background of the picture, almost like I was watching a film. The camera was placed at the bottom of the hillside, granting me, the player, a view of my character in his new surroundings. The foreground of the picture contained a huge oak tree with sprawling branches, surrounded by tall, untamed grass. The first thing I noticed was the dark group of bodies that hung from the many branches of the tree. I had only been playing for an hour or two, and already I had my own opinion on the poor souls who hung in the swamp, as well as the men who hung them. The Witcher had somehow taught me how to fight, how to interact with the world, how to explore, how my choices affect the game, and who my character was while still feeding me tidbits of a story that gripped my mind like a classic movie or novel.

That’s something I can’t say for a lot of games.

Many of you may be familiar with film critic Roger Ebert. While his scholarly articles on film are unquestionably a great resource, and the man knows what he is talking about, I won’t lie when I say that much of my respect for him was lost when he claimed that ‘Video games can never be art”.

See: http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/video-games-can-never-be-art

While I could spend all day disputing Mr. Ebert’s arguments, and why I believe that almost everything is a form of art, I think it is clear that, at the very least, SOME video games are artistic in nature, and therefore, are art. While I personally believe that even the crudest, silliest games are art, I will only argue for The Witcher 3 in this particular case.

I have a background in theater- technical, non-musical, and musical. The thing that first drew me to theater was the way that it combined many other forms of art, such as music, dance, visual art, and acting. Now, I don’t know Mr. Roger Ebert personally, but I would have a hard time believing that he would ever argue against the artistic merit of theater. After all, cinema is a byproduct of drama, which has been around much, much longer. Without thespians, cinema wouldn’t exist.

However, given that theater is most certainly artistic in nature, and given the list of other art forms in it incorporates, we can see that ALL of them are present in The Witcher 3. The game contains an amazing soundtrack by Marcin Przybytowicz and Mikolai Stroinski. The choreography that exists in the game’s combat is more impressive than most dance I have seen. The visuals of the game are, of course, astounding, despite not being over the top in terms of color or design. Simply looking at my blog’s header image will show you how visually pleasing this game is. And, of course, the acting, specifically the 300 hours of voice recording, is top notch. These 300 hours of recordings equates to roughly 450,000 words, or about 4 novels. Far longer than almost any movie script. The main character, Geralt, who was voice acted by Doug Cockle, has almost 70,000 lines of dialogue in the game.

Now, I would never argue that quantity = quality in terms of voice acting, but I think anyone who has played the game would concede that the voice acting is top notch. Of course, my above arguments do not even mention the countless other aspects of the game that are artistic, and amazingly done. I particularly enjoy the facial animation in The Witcher 3. There were many instances of it that were truly hilarious or emotionally moving.

That’s enough on the artistic merit of this game. If I haven’t convinced you yet, you probably won’t be convinced. Now I just want to talk about why it is my FAVORITE game.

I’ve been playing games since I was very young. My accreditation for writing about this topic is up to you, so I will leave it here. I have not played the first two Witcher games, but I certainly plan on it. I have extensive playtime in other popular RPG series, such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Pillars of Eternity, and Final Fantasy. I have also played my fair share of action games including many shooters, the Diablo series (which I will most certainly write about in the future), Path of Exile, Overwatch, several MOBA games, and the Batman series by Rocksteady studios. Of course, the games mentioned here are only a snippet of my gaming experience. My current playtime in The Witcher 3 is 287 hours, which included 2 playthroughs of the main story and 1 of each expansion (which are also top notch in nearly every way).

Without further ado, here is why The Witcher 3 is my favorite game: It is one of the only times in my life that I have admitted I was completely wrong. I am a damn stubborn person. My parents got on me a good bit for it growing up. I always had trouble admitting when I was wrong, and I still do sometimes. I had a friend named Sam in high school, who was just another guy in my group of nerdy stoner friends. Personally, I had often found Sam quite annoying (Sorry if you’re reading this, Sam, I still like you). If there was something that Sam liked, I kind of intrinsically wanted to not like it. I remember that I really enjoyed the song “Clint Eastwood” by the Gorillaz when I first heard it. However, I soon learned that it was one of Sam’s favorite songs and promptly stopped listening to it. Was that douchey of me? Probably, but it is what it is.

Naturally, when The Witcher 3 was released and Sam constantly ranted about how good it was, I refused to believe him. “Is it as good as Skyrim”, “I’ve never even heard of it” and “Graphics don’t make a game good” were a few of the arguments I used against him. It wasn’t until the game had been out for 3 years and I hadn’t seen Sam in a good long while, that I finally ended up buying the game on sale.

Good god, I was so, so wrong. I will preach for this game like it’s the bible and I’m a crazy redneck from Alabama who never quite figured out what they wanted to do with their life. Seriously, just listening to the soundtrack sometimes gives me chills. The creators of this game have said that The Witcher 4 is NOT coming. Why? Because, as they say, they currently don’t think it’s possible to make a successful sequel to The Witcher 3. And I agree.

It is possible to find many errors in the game, or little things that could have been done better. But that is true for everything in life. The reason that The Witcher 3 is so damn good is because it does everything, every little thing, extremely well. The story is engaging, as are the characters. The soundtrack fits in perfectly thematically and is not distracting. The visuals are stunning. The UI is clean, simple, and polished. The game has very few bugs. The amount of content is ridiculous. Your choices in the game actually have meaningful results. The game even includes Gwent, which is a minigame that was so good that many players joke that the actual gameplay was the minigame. I could go on for days and days about why The Witcher 3 is so good, and I’m sure I will return to it several times in future posts.

I hope that I am able to convince at least one person to give this game a try with my short little article. I promise you, it is worth every penny.

Please feel free to share, and comment on my writing, whether it be a stylistic choice you liked or disliked, or something I said that you agree or disagree with. I would love to discuss this topic further.

[thetaleofthecedartree]

24, 40 and 46 for both Godfried and Grimm please :33

Thank you for the questions @thefangirllifeisgonnakillyou!

24. In their own words, how would your character describe what their lover is like?

Grimm

 “Heh, I’m gonna say Godfried’s ambitious and… “stubborn as hell”.  Yeah, that pretty much sums him up.  And he's definitely a stickler for detail.  I can't even walk out of the house without him straightening my tie or fixing my hair. You’re kind of on the edge of your seat when you’re out in public with him, because you never know who he’s going to criticize.  For instance, going to restaurants together can be a nightmare.  There’s not a single occasion I can recall where he hasn't sent back his food.  I do feel bad for the waiters, but at least he tips rather well.  

See, he's not as bad a guy as people say.  He calls himself “a bitch in male skin” but underneath he's just a big softy with an affinity for light-hearted musicals and Disney movies. No joke.  He'd slap me for saying that.  I mean the guy even wants kids, so he can't be that bad.  This “cold-hearted” personality you see is just a shield he put up to hide the fact he was bullied as a kid, not to mention the rocky relationship he had with his father.  So he's human just like everyone else.  And like all humans he has flaws, which, in my opinion, is the best part of a person.  He’s not the stiff plastic Ken doll people often refer him to. He's just Godfried.”

Godfried

“Well, with Grimm it certainly wasn't “love at first sight”. I wasn't in the least bit attracted to the man and that is the irrefutable truth.  Anyone will tell you I prefer the rugged type, not greasy-haired, scraggly men. In fact, my first impression of Grimm was that he was some kind of drug-addicted hooligan. I even invited him into my house on the condition that he mustn’t steal anything of value… salt shakers, fine, but if he touched the duvet then he would really have it coming.  He was obviously affronted by my suspicion, but he made no fuss.  And that's partially what makes him so agreeable: he’s easygoing.  He always has been, apart from the occasional objection.

But to Grimm’s credit, he is truly something special and you’d be surprised how much potential he harbours as a human being.  It's frustrating how modest he is about it.  Behind that “punk boy” front there's so much knowledge and so many hidden talents.  I can honestly say the man is more cultured than I am, and don't ask me how that's possible.  It just is.  And despite his appearance he's actually the most genuinely sweet man you’ll meet. Truly. It's admirable.  When he says he ‘cares’…he means it.”

40. Does your OC have any guilty pleasures they enjoy? Hobbies, past times, music, etc that they wouldn’t want known by others?

Grimm

Grimm’s ultimate guilty pleasure is Napoleon cake.  As for pleasures he wouldn't want disclosed to the public…

Grimm, before he met Godfried, used to go dumpster diving, partially out of habit to survive and partially for recreation.  He found pleasure in doing it since occasionally he’d find interesting old gizmos.  It was also extremely useful because grocery stores have a tendency to throw out food in bulk.  Hence that saved him the cost of groceries on a weekly basis.

As for unfortunate hobbies, Grimm, when he has nothing better to do, will make simple but pointless Rube Goldberg machines which do nothing but clutter the house.  

And the last one I'll share, which will probably weird you out the most: Grimm enjoys the feeling you get when you sneeze, and sometimes tries to make himself sneeze on purpose.  Perhaps he likes it because it's supposedly the closest thing to death he’ll ever experience…that is until that theory about one’s heart stopping was rebutted.

Godfried

Godfried has a quite a long list of guilty pleasures, and some of them have been mentioned in previous posts, so I'll just list a few:

- Godfried watches porn, despite the bad production value (particularly gay porn featuring black men – he really has a thing for black men)- Godfried drinks daily and sometimes drinks in the morning – a horrible habit introduced by his mother.- If he has a bad day, Godfried eats ice cream straight out of the container while binge watching Netflix.  (Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is his favourite brand)- Godfried watches cheesy 50s and 60s musicals, and enjoys watching chickflicks even though he considers them a “blow to his male ego”.- When Godfried is alone, doing chores or cooking, he’ll sing and dance using any available utensils for his “imaginary” microphone.

Those are just a few I can think of at the moment.

46. What is some random affectionate thing that your character always does to their lover?

Grimm

Godfried has a habit of taking power naps throughout the day, so in order to align their sleeping patterns, Grimm will snuggle up beside him and attempt to sleep - even when he's not technically tired.  He probably also just uses it as an excuse to be closer to Godfried more often.

Godfried

Godfried deliberately restrains himself from showing too much affection.  But when Grimm comes into bed with cold feet, Godfried doesn't complain.  Instead he says “let's warm them up” and let's Grimm put his feet against his.

[thomasroach]

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages

The post The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages appeared first on Fextralife.

The following post is this author’s opinion and does not reflect the thoughts and feelings of Fextralife as a whole nor the individual content creators associated with the site. Any link that goes outside of Fextralife are owned by their respective authors.

This started out as just a Steam review but I wanted to post due to the fact I enjoyed the game so much. But after the second paragraph, just after finding out that the Devs are releasing Season 2 in the coming year after a successful kickstarter, I realized that this is a game I want as many people as I can tell to know about. Just adding another positive rating to the already existent mass of them would be as helpful as getting a windmill to spin by blowing on it. So let’s do a full review, published courtesy of Fextralife so I can waste your time tell you about a pixel styled, point and click adventure game, so you can waste spend your money on it.

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages

Genre: Adventure/Point & Click Developed by: Spooky Doorway Published by: Spooky Doorway Release Date: July 27th, 2017 Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam (Review Platform), Mac, Linux, Windows Price at the time of the review: $12.99

This is probably one of the funniest adventure games I’ve ever played and has got me back into occult fiction and fantasy. This is a mix of Ghost Busters and the X-Files, added with two thirds of the three stooges. It’s silly, spooky, laugh out loud fun and deserving of more investment, and no I am not a member of the dev team or affiliated with them in any way, but yes you should give them lots of money. If you have little to no interest in occult fantasy, buddy cop comedies, pixel graphics, or point-and-click adventure games, then I’m sorry to say you have lost approximately fifty seconds of your life reading the introduction to the review of a game you probably won’t want to get anyway. If you do, then let’s begin.

Story & Setting

The Darkside Detective tells the story, or rather many stories by Francis McQueeen, a seeker of the occult and eldritch as well as an investigator of all things paranormal and supernatural. Teamed with his goofy cop sidekick, Officer Dooley, Detective McQueen investigates multiple cases dealing with some form of ghostly apparition, crazed cultist, demonic entity, or cryptic creature. Despite its many horror themes and monsters, this game is a satire through and through, making fun of everything horror B-movies have tried to scare audiences with. It’s filled with parodies of various popular horror flicks and myths.

The satire, however, is really only a small facet of the comedic hilarity, as The Darkside Detective excels with its writing of ridiculous characters, situations, with plenty of jokes and jabs, that revolve around what is terrorizing New Yor-I mean Twin Lakes at the time being. Twin Lakes is a city rife with crazy paranormal encounters, and equally crazy (if not more so) people to deal with. Its a bevy of kooks and weirdos who range from a pyromaniac eight-year-olds, a paranoid anti-government sea monster, An occultist train engineer, a rival detective so douchy he literally takes candy from babies (then fines the baby for crying about it) and more.

It’s just…a mess, a beautiful mess of madness that makes progressing through each story a treat, with dialogue so funny that I want to interact with every possible thing just to hear it all, and everything seeming to have some kind of oddity or quirk just to make it all that much stranger. I could go into further detail on each individual story, but honestly the best experience with this game, is going in blind. Truly it’s the storytelling and writing that makes this game fantastic, as it seems to be for the most part of these classic adventure games.

If my mother had that much storage space in her closet, she’d still run out of room by the end of the month.

It’s the major selling point, and what I most loved about The Darkside Detective. I wish I could say more, but unlike thoroughly explaining gameplay, visuals, audio, and all other more technical components of a game, story and humor are some things you can’t go into full detail  without spoiling the plot, or weakening the experience compared to a first time playthrough. Again, if you enjoy buddy cop comedies, Ghostbusters, and horror movie satire, this is a sure thing, heck, even if you don’t like point-and-clicks, I would still say get a guide and play through it like that, cause the humor is top notch. Simple at times, witty at others, but splendid all around. Not every joke was equally funny, but there wasn’t a single one that didn’t at least put a smile on my face.

Audio & Visuals

Simplistic, is one word I could use to sum up the pixel art style and colorful is another. Blocky, square, and geometrically appealing are a few more. “The Darkside Detective’s pixel graphic style lends a nostalgic return to classic point and clicks of old, that is reminiscent of titles such as Monkey Island and Dark Mansion” is a pretentious sentence I could also use to describe the art style. However, when it comes to pixel art, there only three things I, and likely what most people care about.

There are no words to describe how I feel about this.

Does it look nice? Can you tell what’s going on and what’s what? And will it possibly give me an epileptic seizure? To all these questions I can pretty much answer yes, yes and you may want to consult your doctor about that. Really though, given the decades of practice game development has had in 2D pixel art, I think it should be the basic standard for any pixel game to look “nice”, decent at least, and The Darkside Detective has certainly accomplished that.

Though simplistic to the point of not having facial features for most characters outside of facial hair, and hardly any dynamic animations, the game looks vibrantly colourful, and is especially beautiful at certain points in the story. It’s…like a child’s drawing actually, made into pixel form. Lots of strong, crayon colors, simple details, and some cartoonishly designed characters. which is quite fitting given the game’s comical nature.

But this is a quite an important feature that can damn a point-and-click pixel game into the nine circles of game development hell. If a pixel game’s standard is to look attractive, then knowing what anything and everything is at a glance should be the barest minimum. This is so I can tell the difference between a baby rattle and a bomb so I don’t accidentally recreate a morbidly dark version of a loony toons skit. So, how hard is it to tell what the hell I’m looking at and clicking on? I’m happy to say, hardly difficult at all. Unlike some point-and-click titles, this is one where I can tell exactly what’s what and who’s who.

Pretty much everything of interest is definable from the background and usually large enough and colorful enough to catch the eye. Anything that doesn’t easily stand out can be found with a little mouse waving. The point is, I never had a “What the $&%! Am I looking at?!” moment, or ever got stuck because the thing I needed to find was so obscurely hidden in a mess of visual clutter, so that it ended up being a hidden object game on top of a logic puzzle.

Finding things was fairly easy, and the game hit that sweet spot of being visually interesting and fun, but not so much so that I ever got sick and confused from looking at it. The game’s visuals are neither boring nor over stimulating, and the valuable items are easy to distinguish with a little looking at the most, giving the Darkside Detective a pass and thumbs up in its visuals department. While I do admit some more dynamic animations would have be welcomed, I can’t say there was any point in the game when I didn’t enjoy what I saw on my screen.

When it comes to audio, yeeeeah, don’t expect award winning vocal performances because as well as having no mouths, no one has voices either. Does this bring down the game? Well if you hate reading of all kinds, then yes, yes it does. However, if you do enjoy the written word as well as or even more than the spoken, then you’ll have no problems here. For me, the silence is actually preferable in this case. The lack of vocal sound leaves one in a quieter atmosphere, as well as it draws more focus on the music, which I’ll get to in a minute. Also, personally, I would bet that the voices the devs would get for the characters if they did, wouldn’t be as good as the ones imagined in my head.

Sound Effects

As for sound effects, they do their job, quite minimal and only occur during certain events such as putting out a fire but are well used as they do add to the scene or action. I can’t really complain about nor commend the sound effects, but given how little significance they have to the game as a whole, I don’t think it really matters. In a more action focused game, this would be a problem, but in an adventure title having sound only when something’s happening is probably for the best. Having constant, distracting noises would probably just get annoying over time, and like I said, when they do occur, the sound effects do add something, so they’re not a waste.

Soundtrack

Finally and most creepily, you have the music. If the voice and sound effects were largely ignored to focus on the music, then I have to say it was a smart choice. Simply put, the music for this game in fantastic, a beautifully fitting soundtrack of creepy and spooky pieces, paranormal and ghostly in tone and execution, amplifying the horror side of this horror comedy. Each song a similar yet unique brand of subtle horror, not truly scary or spine chilling in the sense of wandering around an empty house with Michael Mires walking in pace right behind with that classic Halloween music playing. It’s more on the side of what you would hear in say a supernatural mystery documentary, or a ghost story narrative such as tales from the crypt.

The Darkside Detective Soundtrack by Ben Prunty

It’s whimsical, with a good deal of creep factor, not to cause terror, but to draw one into a state of calm eeriness. It’s somewhat enchantingly haunting all at the same time, more serene than disturbing, in a way that soothes the nerves rather than putting them on edge like the aforementioned Michael Mires theme music. It also gives the feeling that something’s not quite right, that proper paranormal vibe like a specter may be looming over you.

Gameplay

As a point-and-click adventure game, the biggest thing you would want to know is this “how hard is the gameplay?” Because when it comes to games like these, difficulty can range from being fairly easy, just click the big shiny red button with “press this” in big, bold letters. To being more challenging in terms of gameplay with “you better have a detailed walkthrough on hand cause this will be like figuring out the Divinci Code, upside down, in a bad translation of J.R.Tolken Elvish speak…………and the paper’s on fire”. Thankfully, the Darkside Detective is not the latter and far from it.

The answer to this conundrum is easier than you think, though it does require extensive understanding of fourth dimensional quantum physics.

Puzzles

The puzzles are on the easier side of the scale, with the majority of puzzles giving strong hints as to what you need to do and what does what, as well as being largely involving “use this on this” style of puzzle solving. A staple of point ‘n’ clicks, with a few fun little mini games such as clear the tiles, make a pipe chain, or connect the wires without crossing them. Most of the use this on this puzzles usually took but a minute to put two and two together, after finding the needed objects. The only times I ever got stuck was because I didn’t know exactly how to use the items and on what. This was largely due to not knowing what order certain things had to be done in, but even then, that was only during a few problematic minutes.

Only once did I ever run into a situation where felt particularly stuck which I feel is worth mentioning. This happened due to an arbitrary order of operations where in this particular instance I had actually worked out what I had to do, before clicking on the hint that would lead me to the action.

Aaah, if gamers of the past could see us now. Futuristic graphical technology that can render beads of sweat dripping off of a realistic swimsuit model, and we’re still playing games you could run on a calculator.

Aside from that, the gameplay is, admittedly pretty average, though I did find the occasional mini game quite colorfully fun and a welcome exception to the standard point ‘n’ click affair. The puzzles that had logical solutions were in no way hard, and any puzzles whose sensibility and reasoning deviated from common logic were clearly explained. I never really encountered a situation where I’d solve a puzzle and then say “how the hell does that make any sense?!”, or, “how the hell was I supposed to figure that out?!”, or “how many drugs were these developers taking to think this up?!” And you know what? That’s the way I like it.

The puzzles are easy but not too easy, thus giving quite entertaining and not too frustrating obstacles between plot segments or events. The short length of each case (level as it were) makes it so that they don’t get stale before the next case, and helps change things up a bit.

Final Thoughts

The Darkside Detective isn’t revolutionary, it isn’t mind blowing and it isn’t a brain buster. However it succeeds where it matters most, it’s fun. It’s fun to look at, it’s fun to listen to, it’s fun to watch, it’s fun to read, and it’s fun to play. From start to finish, I had a great time playing this wacky little game and enjoying all the humor, mystery, and added spookiness that it had to offer. While I can definitely see room for improvement, this is still a solid experience as it is, and I wholly recommend it to anyone who wants a light-hearted adventure into the world of the supernatural and occult.

However, though the find and use puzzles are a common staple of the point-and-click genre, I do genuinely think they’re becoming too common place in gameplay in these games. I would rather see more of the kind of puzzles that diverge from the well-treaded design. In The Darkside Detective these worked well to a certain extent, but it was the puzzles that didn’t have them, that really stood out for me, even if they were ones not completely original.

I much prefer adventure games with clear, simple, logical puzzles rather than the extremely obscure moon logic puzzles the “classic” adventure games present me with, and you know why? Cause that’s not what I playto adventure games for. I come to them for enjoyable, entertaining stories as well as characters with clever dialogue, colorful plots, and interesting worlds to explore. That’s exactly what The Darkside Detective gives players.

If you enjoyed this review be sure to read more with our latest thoughts on action shinobi Sekiro Review: Shinobis Die Many Times. Or you can check out Capcom’s demon hunting title Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection.

The post The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages appeared first on Fextralife.

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

[thomasroach]

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages

The post The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages appeared first on Fextralife.

The following post is this author’s opinion and does not reflect the thoughts and feelings of Fextralife as a whole nor the individual content creators associated with the site. Any link that goes outside of Fextralife are owned by their respective authors.

This started out as just a Steam review but I wanted to post due to the fact I enjoyed the game so much. But after the second paragraph, just after finding out that the Devs are releasing Season 2 in the coming year after a successful kickstarter, I realized that this is a game I want as many people as I can tell to know about. Just adding another positive rating to the already existent mass of them would be as helpful as getting a windmill to spin by blowing on it. So let’s do a full review, published courtesy of Fextralife so I can waste your time tell you about a pixel styled, point and click adventure game, so you can waste spend your money on it.

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages

Genre: Adventure/Point & Click Developed by: Spooky Doorway Published by: Spooky Doorway Release Date: July 27th, 2017 Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam (Review Platform), Mac, Linux, Windows Price at the time of the review: $12.99

This is probably one of the funniest adventure games I’ve ever played and has got me back into occult fiction and fantasy. This is a mix of Ghost Busters and the X-Files, added with two thirds of the three stooges. It’s silly, spooky, laugh out loud fun and deserving of more investment, and no I am not a member of the dev team or affiliated with them in any way, but yes you should give them lots of money. If you have little to no interest in occult fantasy, buddy cop comedies, pixel graphics, or point-and-click adventure games, then I’m sorry to say you have lost approximately fifty seconds of your life reading the introduction to the review of a game you probably won’t want to get anyway. If you do, then let’s begin.

Story & Setting

The Darkside Detective tells the story, or rather many stories by Francis McQueeen, a seeker of the occult and eldritch as well as an investigator of all things paranormal and supernatural. Teamed with his goofy cop sidekick, Officer Dooley, Detective McQueen investigates multiple cases dealing with some form of ghostly apparition, crazed cultist, demonic entity, or cryptic creature. Despite its many horror themes and monsters, this game is a satire through and through, making fun of everything horror B-movies have tried to scare audiences with. It’s filled with parodies of various popular horror flicks and myths.

The satire, however, is really only a small facet of the comedic hilarity, as The Darkside Detective excels with its writing of ridiculous characters, situations, with plenty of jokes and jabs, that revolve around what is terrorizing New Yor-I mean Twin Lakes at the time being. Twin Lakes is a city rife with crazy paranormal encounters, and equally crazy (if not more so) people to deal with. Its a bevy of kooks and weirdos who range from a pyromaniac eight-year-olds, a paranoid anti-government sea monster, An occultist train engineer, a rival detective so douchy he literally takes candy from babies (then fines the baby for crying about it) and more.

It’s just…a mess, a beautiful mess of madness that makes progressing through each story a treat, with dialogue so funny that I want to interact with every possible thing just to hear it all, and everything seeming to have some kind of oddity or quirk just to make it all that much stranger. I could go into further detail on each individual story, but honestly the best experience with this game, is going in blind. Truly it’s the storytelling and writing that makes this game fantastic, as it seems to be for the most part of these classic adventure games.

If my mother had that much storage space in her closet, she’d still run out of room by the end of the month.

It’s the major selling point, and what I most loved about The Darkside Detective. I wish I could say more, but unlike thoroughly explaining gameplay, visuals, audio, and all other more technical components of a game, story and humor are some things you can’t go into full detail  without spoiling the plot, or weakening the experience compared to a first time playthrough. Again, if you enjoy buddy cop comedies, Ghostbusters, and horror movie satire, this is a sure thing, heck, even if you don’t like point-and-clicks, I would still say get a guide and play through it like that, cause the humor is top notch. Simple at times, witty at others, but splendid all around. Not every joke was equally funny, but there wasn’t a single one that didn’t at least put a smile on my face.

Audio & Visuals

Simplistic, is one word I could use to sum up the pixel art style and colorful is another. Blocky, square, and geometrically appealing are a few more. “The Darkside Detective’s pixel graphic style lends a nostalgic return to classic point and clicks of old, that is reminiscent of titles such as Monkey Island and Dark Mansion” is a pretentious sentence I could also use to describe the art style. However, when it comes to pixel art, there only three things I, and likely what most people care about.

There are no words to describe how I feel about this.

Does it look nice? Can you tell what’s going on and what’s what? And will it possibly give me an epileptic seizure? To all these questions I can pretty much answer yes, yes and you may want to consult your doctor about that. Really though, given the decades of practice game development has had in 2D pixel art, I think it should be the basic standard for any pixel game to look “nice”, decent at least, and The Darkside Detective has certainly accomplished that.

Though simplistic to the point of not having facial features for most characters outside of facial hair, and hardly any dynamic animations, the game looks vibrantly colourful, and is especially beautiful at certain points in the story. It’s…like a child’s drawing actually, made into pixel form. Lots of strong, crayon colors, simple details, and some cartoonishly designed characters. which is quite fitting given the game’s comical nature.

But this is a quite an important feature that can damn a point-and-click pixel game into the nine circles of game development hell. If a pixel game’s standard is to look attractive, then knowing what anything and everything is at a glance should be the barest minimum. This is so I can tell the difference between a baby rattle and a bomb so I don’t accidentally recreate a morbidly dark version of a loony toons skit. So, how hard is it to tell what the hell I’m looking at and clicking on? I’m happy to say, hardly difficult at all. Unlike some point-and-click titles, this is one where I can tell exactly what’s what and who’s who.

Pretty much everything of interest is definable from the background and usually large enough and colorful enough to catch the eye. Anything that doesn’t easily stand out can be found with a little mouse waving. The point is, I never had a “What the $&%! Am I looking at?!” moment, or ever got stuck because the thing I needed to find was so obscurely hidden in a mess of visual clutter, so that it ended up being a hidden object game on top of a logic puzzle.

Finding things was fairly easy, and the game hit that sweet spot of being visually interesting and fun, but not so much so that I ever got sick and confused from looking at it. The game’s visuals are neither boring nor over stimulating, and the valuable items are easy to distinguish with a little looking at the most, giving the Darkside Detective a pass and thumbs up in its visuals department. While I do admit some more dynamic animations would have be welcomed, I can’t say there was any point in the game when I didn’t enjoy what I saw on my screen.

When it comes to audio, yeeeeah, don’t expect award winning vocal performances because as well as having no mouths, no one has voices either. Does this bring down the game? Well if you hate reading of all kinds, then yes, yes it does. However, if you do enjoy the written word as well as or even more than the spoken, then you’ll have no problems here. For me, the silence is actually preferable in this case. The lack of vocal sound leaves one in a quieter atmosphere, as well as it draws more focus on the music, which I’ll get to in a minute. Also, personally, I would bet that the voices the devs would get for the characters if they did, wouldn’t be as good as the ones imagined in my head.

Sound Effects

As for sound effects, they do their job, quite minimal and only occur during certain events such as putting out a fire but are well used as they do add to the scene or action. I can’t really complain about nor commend the sound effects, but given how little significance they have to the game as a whole, I don’t think it really matters. In a more action focused game, this would be a problem, but in an adventure title having sound only when something’s happening is probably for the best. Having constant, distracting noises would probably just get annoying over time, and like I said, when they do occur, the sound effects do add something, so they’re not a waste.

Soundtrack

Finally and most creepily, you have the music. If the voice and sound effects were largely ignored to focus on the music, then I have to say it was a smart choice. Simply put, the music for this game in fantastic, a beautifully fitting soundtrack of creepy and spooky pieces, paranormal and ghostly in tone and execution, amplifying the horror side of this horror comedy. Each song a similar yet unique brand of subtle horror, not truly scary or spine chilling in the sense of wandering around an empty house with Michael Mires walking in pace right behind with that classic Halloween music playing. It’s more on the side of what you would hear in say a supernatural mystery documentary, or a ghost story narrative such as tales from the crypt.

The Darkside Detective Soundtrack by Ben Prunty

It’s whimsical, with a good deal of creep factor, not to cause terror, but to draw one into a state of calm eeriness. It’s somewhat enchantingly haunting all at the same time, more serene than disturbing, in a way that soothes the nerves rather than putting them on edge like the aforementioned Michael Mires theme music. It also gives the feeling that something’s not quite right, that proper paranormal vibe like a specter may be looming over you.

Gameplay

As a point-and-click adventure game, the biggest thing you would want to know is this “how hard is the gameplay?” Because when it comes to games like these, difficulty can range from being fairly easy, just click the big shiny red button with “press this” in big, bold letters. To being more challenging in terms of gameplay with “you better have a detailed walkthrough on hand cause this will be like figuring out the Divinci Code, upside down, in a bad translation of J.R.Tolken Elvish speak…………and the paper’s on fire”. Thankfully, the Darkside Detective is not the latter and far from it.

The answer to this conundrum is easier than you think, though it does require extensive understanding of fourth dimensional quantum physics.

Puzzles

The puzzles are on the easier side of the scale, with the majority of puzzles giving strong hints as to what you need to do and what does what, as well as being largely involving “use this on this” style of puzzle solving. A staple of point ‘n’ clicks, with a few fun little mini games such as clear the tiles, make a pipe chain, or connect the wires without crossing them. Most of the use this on this puzzles usually took but a minute to put two and two together, after finding the needed objects. The only times I ever got stuck was because I didn’t know exactly how to use the items and on what. This was largely due to not knowing what order certain things had to be done in, but even then, that was only during a few problematic minutes.

Only once did I ever run into a situation where felt particularly stuck which I feel is worth mentioning. This happened due to an arbitrary order of operations where in this particular instance I had actually worked out what I had to do, before clicking on the hint that would lead me to the action.

Aaah, if gamers of the past could see us now. Futuristic graphical technology that can render beads of sweat dripping off of a realistic swimsuit model, and we’re still playing games you could run on a calculator.

Aside from that, the gameplay is, admittedly pretty average, though I did find the occasional mini game quite colorfully fun and a welcome exception to the standard point ‘n’ click affair. The puzzles that had logical solutions were in no way hard, and any puzzles whose sensibility and reasoning deviated from common logic were clearly explained. I never really encountered a situation where I’d solve a puzzle and then say “how the hell does that make any sense?!”, or, “how the hell was I supposed to figure that out?!”, or “how many drugs were these developers taking to think this up?!” And you know what? That’s the way I like it.

The puzzles are easy but not too easy, thus giving quite entertaining and not too frustrating obstacles between plot segments or events. The short length of each case (level as it were) makes it so that they don’t get stale before the next case, and helps change things up a bit.

Final Thoughts

The Darkside Detective isn’t revolutionary, it isn’t mind blowing and it isn’t a brain buster. However it succeeds where it matters most, it’s fun. It’s fun to look at, it’s fun to listen to, it’s fun to watch, it’s fun to read, and it’s fun to play. From start to finish, I had a great time playing this wacky little game and enjoying all the humor, mystery, and added spookiness that it had to offer. While I can definitely see room for improvement, this is still a solid experience as it is, and I wholly recommend it to anyone who wants a light-hearted adventure into the world of the supernatural and occult.

However, though the find and use puzzles are a common staple of the point-and-click genre, I do genuinely think they’re becoming too common place in gameplay in these games. I would rather see more of the kind of puzzles that diverge from the well-treaded design. In The Darkside Detective these worked well to a certain extent, but it was the puzzles that didn’t have them, that really stood out for me, even if they were ones not completely original.

I much prefer adventure games with clear, simple, logical puzzles rather than the extremely obscure moon logic puzzles the “classic” adventure games present me with, and you know why? Cause that’s not what I playto adventure games for. I come to them for enjoyable, entertaining stories as well as characters with clever dialogue, colorful plots, and interesting worlds to explore. That’s exactly what The Darkside Detective gives players.

If you enjoyed this review be sure to read more with our latest thoughts on action shinobi Sekiro Review: Shinobis Die Many Times. Or you can check out Capcom’s demon hunting title Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection.

The post The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages appeared first on Fextralife.

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/