#unknown secrets of the biomes i traverse.

[overseersplyte]

╎ᒲ ᑑ⚍╎ℸ ̣ ᒷ ᔑ ꖎ𝙹リ⊣ ∴ᔑ|| ᔑ∴ᔑ|| ⎓∷𝙹ᒲ ᒲ|| ᓵ𝙹ꖎꖎᒷᓵℸ ̣ ╎𝙹リ 𝙹⎓ ʖ𝙹𝙹ꖌᓭ, ᓭ𝙹 ╎ꖎꖎ ʖᒷ ∴∷╎ℸ ̣ ╎リ⊣ ᒲ|| ⎓╎リ↸╎リ⊣ᓭ ᔑリ↸ ℸ ̣ ⍑𝙹⚍⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ᓭ ⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ᒲ𝙹∷ᒷ 𝙹⎓ℸ ̣ ᒷリ. ꖎ⚍ᓵꖌ╎ꖎ||!

ᔑ ⍊╎ꖎꖎᔑ⊣ᒷ ⍑ᔑᓭ ⊣╎⍊ᒷリ ᒲᒷ ᔑ ꖎ𝙹𝙹ꖌ ᔑℸ ̣ ᔑ ᓵ𝙹⚍!¡ꖎᒷ 𝙹⎓ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ╎∷ ᓭꖎ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ꖎ|| 𝙹⚍ℸ ̣ ↸ᔑℸ ̣ ᒷ↸ ʖ𝙹𝙹ꖌᓭ... ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ|| ᓵ𝙹リℸ ̣ ᔑ╎リ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭᔑᒲᒷ ꖎᔑリ⊣⚍ᔑ⊣ᒷ ᔑᓭ ᒲ|| ᓵ𝙹ᒲᒲ⚍リ╎ᓵᔑℸ ̣ 𝙹∷ ∴∷╎ℸ ̣ ᒷᓭ ╎リ. ╎⍊ᒷ ʖᒷᒷリ ℸ ̣ ∷||╎リ⊣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ↸ᒷᓵ╎!¡⍑ᒷ∷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᒲ. ᒲ𝙹ᓭℸ ̣ ꖎ|| ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ|| ᓵ𝙹リℸ ̣ ᔑ╎リ ⚍ᓭᒷꖎᒷᓭᓭ ╎リ⎓𝙹∷ᒲᔑℸ ̣ ╎𝙹リ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ꖎ╎ꖌᒷᓭ 𝙹⎓ ᒲᒷ, ⋮⚍ᓭℸ ̣ ⎓ᔑ∷ᒲ╎リ⊣ ℸ ̣ ᒷᓵ⍑リ╎ᑑ⚍ᒷᓭ ᔑリ↸ ⚍リꖌリ𝙹∴リ ᓭᒷᓵ∷ᒷℸ ̣ ᓭ 𝙹⎓ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ʖ╎𝙹ᒲᒷᓭ ╎ ℸ ̣ ∷ᔑ⍊ᒷ∷ᓭᒷ.

𝙹⍑! ᔑリ↸ ╎ ᒲ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ∷|| ᒲ|| ⍑ᔑリ↸ ᔑℸ ̣ ᒷリ↸ᒷ∷╎ᔑリ (ᒷリ↸ᒷ∷ᒲᔑリ?), ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ꖎᔑリ⊣⚍ᔑ⊣ᒷ ᔑᒲᔑꖎℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᔑ ᒲᔑ╎リꖎ|| ᓭ!¡ᒷᔑꖌᓭ. ╎ ⚍リ↸ᒷ∷ᓭℸ ̣ ᔑリ↸ ⍑ᒷ∷, ʖ⚍ℸ ̣ ╎ᒲ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ⊣𝙹𝙹↸ ᔑℸ ̣ ᓭ!¡ᒷᔑꖌ╎リ⊣ ╎ℸ ̣ ᒲ||ᓭᒷꖎ⎓. ᓭ⍑ᒷ ⍑ᔑᓭ ʖᒷᒷリ ⊣╎⍊╎リ⊣ ᒲᒷ ꖎᒷᓭᓭ𝙹リᓭ ℸ ̣ ⍑𝙹⚍⊣⍑!

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Your fic reca are what’s literally keeping me alive right now! Thank you 🙏 Do u have any new Virgin Sherlock, Sensitive Sherlock or first time Johnlock fic recs? I would be forever grateful

Hi Nonny!!! *HUGS*

Aww, I’m happy my blog is making you happy! I’ve actually recently released a part 2 list for Virgin Sherlock last month so you can check these out:

Virgin Sherlock

Virgin Sherlock Pt. 2

As for First Time / Sensitive Sherlock, ahhhh, I’m gonna use this opportunity actually to update my First Times List, if that’s okay? Only because I have a list already started, and I’m currently compiling a “sensuality” list that I think will meet your needs for sensitive Sherlock when I post it (another ask from another Nonny) so I’ll save it for that time :P Though you might like Shy Sherlock  and Sherlock Soft With Children for that one!

Anyway.... Here we go! :D

FIRST TIMES Pt. 2

See also: First Time || [MOBILE]

Bathroom Accessories by Evenlodes_Friend (E, 3,324 w., 1 Ch. || Sex Toys, Butt Plug, First Kiss / Time, Romance, Horny Sherlock, John’s Patience Wears Thin, Humour, Bottomlock) – John discovers that Sherlock has been playing with some very adult toys in the bath.

Nothing So Sweet by alexxphoenix42 (E, 5,275 w., 1 Ch. || Shopkeeper AU || Beekeeping, Sussex, Alternate First Meeting, Awkward First Time Sex, Self-Consciousness / Body Insecurity, Fluff, Hand Jobs) – In an alternate universe, Sherlock is busy keeping to himself, tending his bees, and selling lovely jars of honey when a soldier limps into his life quite unexpectedly. Part 1 of The Sweetest Things

My First, My Only, and My Forever by vintagelilacs (E, 6,220 w., 1 Ch. || Post-ASiB, Virgin Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock’s Bum, John’s Scar, Sherlock POV, Body Worship, Fingering, Bottomlock, Promise of Forever / Proposals, Misunderstanding, First Kiss/Time, Loss of Virginity, Virginity Kink, Seduction) – Sherlock narrowed his eyes. He was missing a vital piece of data, he was sure. John had been looking at him oddly ever since they left Buckingham Palace, and the ensuing incident with Irene Adler had only exacerbated his erratic behaviour. What was it? Why would he care that Sherlock was a virgin? There was nothing reminiscent of mockery or pity in his gaze. And then it hit him. John Watson was aroused.

Bridges by sussexbound (M, 6,602 w., 1 Ch || Post-TLD / S4 Fix It, Love Confessions, Mending Relationships, Moving Back In, Pining Sherlock, POV Sherlock, Past Abuse, Shaving) – The silence between them is deafening, interrupted only by the hum of the traffic outside, and the soft click-clunk of the plastic cups Rosie is playing with on the floor beside them. It is the first time they have been alone together, since Sherlock’s birthday. It’s only been two days, but it feels huge, important, like there is a precarious bridge stretched out before them both that they need to at least attempt to traverse.

An Interpretation of Viewing Habits by akitsuko (E, 6,653 w., 1 Ch. || Porn Watching, Masturbation, Anal, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss / Time, Declarations of Love, Jealous Sherlock, Fantasizing, John in Denial / Internalized Homophobia, Bottomlock, Pining Idiots, Sherlock Has No Boundaries, Cockblocking Sherlock) – John watches porn. It's a perfectly normal thing to do. If every video he watches happens to feature actors with remarkable physical similarities to his flatmate, well, that's no one's business but his own. Or: John is in denial, until his infatuation with Sherlock is impossible to deny anymore.

Time on my hands by Mildredandbobbin (M, 7,179 w., 1 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-S3, One Night Stands, Mutual Pining, Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Sexual Exploration / Discovery, Desperation, Body Worship) – Virginity’s a construct, a concept—what does losing one’s virginity entail for a gay man anyway? Sherlock wants to fill that particular gap in his knowledge but John won’t, can’t, never will assist and there’s only so much desperately unspoken pining even Sherlock can take.

Sometimes When We Touch by kedgeree (M, 7,755 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF, First Kiss/Time, Inappropriate Giggling, Romance, Friends to Lovers, Virgin Sherlock, John Whump, Touching) – John might be touching Sherlock a little more often than is strictly necessary. Sherlock probably hasn't even noticed. Right...?

Just Like That by sussexbound (E, 8,442 w., 1 Ch. || First Time/Kiss, Frottage, Virgin Sherlock, French Kissing, Anal, Emotional Lovemaking, Enthusiastic Consent, Tenderness, Crying John, Bathing/Washing, Insecure John, Toplock) – John doesn’t want to talk anymore. He wants. Oh dear god, how he wants. For the first time in what feels like years he WANTS.

London Gods by a_different_equation (E, 11,092 w., 5 Ch. || American Gods Fusion || Magical Realism, Sex Magic, True Love, PTSD John, First Kiss/Time, Marathon Sex, Sensuality, Genie Sherlock, Human John, Internalized Homophobia, Star-Crossed Lovers, Soul Mates) – Sherlock Holmes is a jinn who does not grant wishes. However, when Dr. John H. Watson, recently returned from the war in Afghanistan, gets into his cab by "accident", it might not even need magic to grant both men their deepest wish: love.

The shape of the world around us by Salambo06 (E, 15,058 w., 5 Ch. || Lumberjack John / Botanist Sherlock, Different First Meeting, John Has a Beard, Light Case Fic, Flirting, First Kiss / Time, Masturbation, Love at First Sight, Horny Sherlock, John’s Bum, Bottomlock, Tenderness, Virgin Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Shy Sherlock, Sexual Fantasies) – Looking through the bush, Sherlock felt his heartbeat quicken as a man passed in front of him. Sherlock frowned, trying to get a closer look despite the bush. The man was wearing a red plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows, and Sherlock couldn't take his eyes off the man’s arms. Muscular, slightly tanned with golden hairs along his forearms. For some unknown reason, Sherlock found himself imagining them around his waist, holding him tightly. Closing his eyes for the briefest second, Sherlock shook his head. Opening his eyes and looking back to where the man stood only a moment prior, he found himself alone. Great, now his only chance to find his way back to town was gone. “Why are you wearing a suit?”

Permanent Fixture by vitruvianwatson (E, 18,836 w., 9 Ch || Post-S4, Parentlock, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, They’re Good Parents, Blushing Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Explicit Consent, Sexual Content, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Big Feelings, Crying, First Kiss, Fluff, Anxious Sherlock, Inexperienced Sherlock, Emotional Communication, Love Confessions) – Now, as Rosie sat curled up against Sherlock’s side, John watched and wondered exactly how he had ended up here. Domesticity had never suited him before, not at any point in his life. His disastrous marriage had been proof of that. But somehow, here in the warmth and safety of 221B Baker Street, here with Sherlock Holmes reading medical jargon to his daughter, Sherlock’s bony feet nudging against his leg, John couldn’t imagine anyplace that would make him happier.

The Wisteria Tree by SilentAuror (E, 29,773 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3, Emotional Love Making, Amnesia/Memory Loss, Sherlock Loves John So Much, Sherlock POV, Romance, Angst with Happy Ending, First Times, Hurt/Comfort, Est. Rel., Retirement) – Sherlock wakes up from a month-long coma only to discover that he has no memory of the previous six years to his own shock as well as John's...

The Real Great Perfumers by shelleysprometheus (E, 45,355 w., 68 Ch. || Case Fic, Alternating POV, Gay Sherlock / Bi John, Canon Compliant with Divergence at TRF, Friends to Lovers, Oral / Anal, Pining, First Kiss / Time, Dev. Rel., Drugging, Body Worship, Bathing, Love Confessions, Travelling, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock, BJ’s, Alternating POV, Jealous John) – The case, this case. This extraordinary, fascinating, scintillating case. A house. Designed entirely by its eccentric owner, built by no less than five hundred expert tradesmen in the heart of Marrakesh. A house that had, seemingly not only driven its owner out, but also to his quite unpleasant death. And a perfumer, a chemist no less, the very thought of the secrets that house could reveal, would reveal was irresistible. Sherlock had to have this case ... and it seems, he also had to have John! Part 1 of the Forethought and Fire series

Points by lifeonmars (E, 53,791 w., 42 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || HLV Rewrite / Canon Divergence, Married Life, Pregnancy / Baby Watson, Drinking to Cope, Boxing / Fisticuffs, Clueless John, Angst, Minor Medical Drama, Tattoos, Christmas, First Kiss/Time, Eventual Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Doctor John, Sexuality Crisis, Slow Burn, Case Fic, Drugging, Blow/Hand Job, Emotional Love Making, Parenthood, Passage of Time) – What if His Last Vow never happened? This fic picks up a few months after John and Mary's wedding, in an alternate universe where Magnussen doesn't exist, but Mary is still pregnant. Life continues -- just in a different direction. And slowly, Sherlock and John find their way to each other.

A Hundred Crimson Sols by elldotsee (E, 55,536 w., 16 Ch. || Astronauts AU || Mars Exploration / Space Travel, Slow Burn, Shy Sherlock, Scientist Sherlock / Biomed Engineer John, Alternating POV, Mutual Pining, UST, Angst with Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injuries, Suicidal Ideation, Zero-G Sex) – Will Holmes is a chemical researcher recognized widely for his contributions to the new Mars exploration program. Thanks to his ground-breaking developments, the IMMC (International Mars Mission Corporation) is one step closer to Martian colonization. Will and his team of scientists are headed out on the first of three manned missions before the first group of settlers arrive. Three days before launch, one of the crew has to be replaced. Will panics because...new people. The replacement is of course one John Watson, biomedical engineer and space hottie who was pretty sure he had retired from actual space exploration and was now content to work in the nice, quiet research lab. Can the crew survive this TOTALLY ROUTINE trip? Will they be able to endure each other for the looooooong trip in close quarters? Gonna be a wild ride... prepare for blast off. Part 1 of SpaceBois go to Space

Being John Watson-ish by elwinglyre (E, 69,902 w., 17 Ch. || Bodysnatcher AU || Author John, Cranky Sherlock, Angst, Sexual Tension, First Kiss / Time, Falling in Love, BAMF John, Past Soldier John, Feelings, Inside Someone’s Brain, Shy Sherlock, Sherlock Loves John, POV Sherlock, Switchlock, Slow Burn, Internal Dialogue, Mental Turmoil) – When consulting detective Sherlock Holmes steps on one toe too many at a crime scene, he's consigned to a desk job in an archaic office on the seventh-and-a-half floor of the New Scotland Yard. It’s in this bleak office that Sherlock discovers a portal into the mind of renowned author John Watson. Grander than his mind palace, this new wonderland affords Sherlock new vistas of experimentation. To learn more about the mystery behind the portal, Sherlock seeks out and befriends Watson. But then it all goes wrong when others find the secret portal door—including the man whose brain he visits.

Just To Hold You Close by sussexbound (E, 70,841 w., 18 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting, Sherlock POV, ASD Sherlock, PTSD John, Demisexual Sherlock, Bisexual John, Cuddling/Snuggling, Platonic Cuddling, Enthusiastic Consent, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, First Kiss/Time, Sexual Tension, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Cuddle Negotiations, For a Case Until It Isn’t, Hair Petting, Sexual Negotiation, Anxiety, Trust Issues, Slow Burn, Panic Attacks, Frottage, Hand/Blow Jobs, Referenced Self Harm / Abuse / Suicidal Ideation, First Kiss/Time, Anal, Autistic Sherlock) – When a woman is murdered and the last person to see her alive is recently invalided army vet turned reluctant (and prickly) professional cuddler, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes is pulled into a world of intimacy and intrigue he never could have imagined. John is a conundrum and mystery: frank yet reserved, tender yet angry, open yet afraid. Sherlock is instantly drawn into his orbit, and begins to feel and desire things he never has before.

Repairing the Broken Things by BakerTumblings (M, 75,252 w., 15 Ch. || S4 Compliant, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Trauma, Hospitals, Big Brother Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Realizations, Severe Accident, John Whump, Pneumonia, Medical Procedures, Bed Sharing, First Time, Healing, Happy Ending) – "I'm calling today to notify you that there's been an accident."

Northwest Passage by Kryptaria (E, 95,157 w., 27 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Canadian AU ||  BAMF!John, Canadian John, PTSD, Anal / Oral Sex, Rimming, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Drug Rehab, Falling in Love, Pining Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Violin, Panic Attacks, Switching, Anxious / Protective Sherlock, Hugs for Comfort, Suicide Mentions, Healing Each Other) – Seven years ago, Captain John Watson of the Canadian Forces Medical Service withdrew from society, seeking a simple, isolated life in the distant northern wilderness of Canada. Though he survives from one day to the next, he doesn't truly live until someone from his dark past calls in a favor and turns his world upside-down with the introduction of Sherlock Holmes." Part 1 of Tales from the Northwest

Given In Evidence by verityburns (M, 97,884 w., 19 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Angst, Drama, Case Fic, Romance, BAMF!John, Submissive Sherlock, First Kiss, Humour) – Coming back from the dead can be a complicated business. With a new case on the horizon, rebuilding a life is one thing... rebuilding a friendship quite another. For Sherlock and John, things may never be just the same...

[noblecrumpet-dorkvision]

Worldbuilding: Mapping

image source: Pinterest

Creating the World Map

I create a world map through several passes where I further the map's specificity each time, starting out randomly and then slowly tweaking things with logic. Settlements and other man-made features are usually added last. Man reacts to the world, not the other way around.

Pass 1: Random Generation 

The use of randomizers and world-generators is a valid tool for creating a world map. Randomness helps to inspire you to create your world. Perhaps you never thought to place a mountain there, or a river there, but once it showed up on the randomly generated map, it just made sense! Not to mention that kingdoms and their people don't have terrain built around them; they work around the land. The land isn't always in their favor, either. Randomness helps add difficulties to your setting like forcing roads through mountain passes or around swamps. Here are some of my favorite tools for randomizing terrain:

Fantasy World Generator: There are many out there but the one linked here is free and works nicely for most needs. It takes a while to load but generates a nice spread complete with labeled hexes and names.

Drop Map: tossing dice to create a world map, as shown in the above image. You can simply outline the D&Da-Da art, or you can also look at the dice colors, die types, or values. Click the link to find a sample process.

Ink Blot: Just go all Jackson Pollack on a nice thick paper, then either trace it in photoshop or transfer it using tracing paper.

Trace: Tracing over real-world or existing map sections and connecting them into one greater land mass can help you create continents. The only downside is if people recognize places like Italy or Florida on your map.

Pass 2: Scale

Once you have generated a generic map, you need to decide on the scale. The easiest way to think about it is having each space equal one day's worth of travel, or about 20 square miles. If the space has no roads or is otherwise difficult to traverse, each space takes two days to travel instead. Once you have your scale in mind, placing the rest of the world will become much easier. You can more easily imagine how long it will take for the adventuring party to travel from town to town.

Pass 3: Story Justification 

Sometimes, you have elements of your story that must be placed in your world map. Maybe it's a great magical rift in the mountains, or a vast uninhabitable desert corrupted by an ancient undeath, or rough highlands created by two sparring colossal dragons now long gone. Story justifications for map features can lead to awesome-sounding names, too. Like calling those mountains the "Planar Stairway," or that desert the "Scablands," or those highlands "Dragon-Fall." Always consider how your story will shape your setting. If your randomizer or generator used before has strange locations for geographic features or towns (if included) try to let that inspire a story.

Pass 4: Geography Justification

Though it may seem a bit overboard, I think it's helpful to imagine certain things when making a map so that it looks more natural. Nothing irks me more when a world map has a tundra next to a desert or a mountain range with a vastly irregular shape. Consider the following to help nudge your map towards a more sensible geography:

Plate Tectonics: Whether or not your world takes place on a planet with a molten core and lend-bergs floating over its mantle, your map will look more sensible if you consider tectonic plates. Mountain ranges and canyons tend to form at the edges and seams of such plates, which is why they tend to form in lines. Try to imagine where such plates are beneath your world map as you place mountains and canyons.

Wind Patterns: Wind plays a large role in the ecosystem, whether it's blowing seeds or wearing down mountains or uprooting plants, it affects your world. Consider too that mountains will block wind, creating a windward and leeward side. More plantlife tends to grow nestled on leeward sides of a mountain, while only smaller, more resilient plants will grow on a windward side. There is more wind in open fields and plains, further restricting taller trees from growing. Settlements will try to be upwind of a swamp or sulfurous area, and won't build in particularly windy areas where taller buildings will be more difficult to construct and thatched roofs will blow apart during storms.

Climate: Heat, cold, moisture, and precipitation tend to affect the world map greatly. Mountains or large forests will hold in or keep out warmth, so mountains and forests are a good way to create dramatic temperature changes if needed. Different types of plants will grow in a place of high moisture than a dry region. Mountains will also collect moisture in the clouds passing over it, causing precipitation on the leeward side of the mountain. Different biomes, otherwise, tend to flow into each other more subtly. If your setting is a planet, there will likely be a point where the sun is the closest, creating an equator. Climates will tend to be warmer towards the equator and colder as you go away. In practice, if my campaign map is mostly just one continent, I just designate one direction as warmer and one as colder.

Topography: Higher areas will have colder temperatures and more wind as they get further away from sea level. Lower areas will have higher amounts of moisture, and warmer temperatures. Dramatic rises and falls in topography will also

Pass 5: Feature Population

Populate the map with your landmarks, dungeon locations, roads, and settlements. Ideally, there should usually be something around which the players can orient themselves unless they are in a region where you want them to possibly get lost, like a desert or dense woodland.

Cities/Towns: As a general rule, populations gather near water. Place your larger cities as close as you can near water or else put ample spellcasters there to cast "Create Food/Water" because they will need it if they can't create enough working wells. Towns tend to pop up around cities, or else in remote locations where enough traffic allows for at least a small community to thrive. Be sure to use different markers to distinguish cities and towns. I usually use simple dots for towns and then a castle symbol for cities.

Routes: Most trails and roads tend to be as flat as possible to accommodate caravans of all shapes and sizes. They will wind around hills and mountains and forests in a lazy curve. The only times roads go over hills or through difficult terrain is near cities (where they can spare the expense to clear the road) or when they absolutely must, which can be dangerous to travel. When drawing the map, I use solid lines for worked or well-traveled roads and dashed lines for trails or less-traveled roads that are more difficult to follow. Keep in mind that cities will trade with one another along the main routes. Remember as well to denote overseas trade routes along notable currents.

Territories: Keep in mind that kingdoms tend to encompass more than just a city. you can use colors or a unique outline to define notable territories. Sometimes a physical wall might do the job. Other times you can use notable rivers or mountain ranges to define a territory, which is what most kingdoms would use anyway. Territories will also help orient your player in an unfamiliar area and add drama when they aren't in any given territory in the middle of the wilderness.

Secret Features: Some features might be unknown to the players when the map is created. Have your own copy of the map handy but fill in where ancient temples, marauder camps, and secret wizard towers are on your copy so they remain hidden from the players. If you'd like, you can let the players fill in the map when they learn about or stumble upon a new feature.

[operationrainfall]

Title MO:Astray Developer Archpray Inc. Publisher Rayark Release Date October 25, 2019 (Steam), September 10th, 2020 (Switch) Genre Action Platformer, Metroidvania, Puzzle, Story Driven Platform Switch, Steam Age Rating Teen Official Website

MO:Astray is a game about a blob and its quest through an unknown place, on an unknown planet. The hook itself sounds promising. Traverse through numerous biomes wondering why your blob has gone astray, while trying to solve what happened along the way. When I was offered the opportunity to review MO:Astray, I had to hook my claws into it and was unprepared from the beginning how much it would wrench my heart. As always, I like to start my reviews off with this one question for the readers: Is this game fun?

Blob Time

From the very beginning of the game I knew I was going to fall in love. The intro screen, the tutorial afterwards, everything about this game so far touched my senses in a way that hasn’t been done in a very long time. The art style, the sound design, and the atmosphere behind the game screamed the following to me: this game is a passion project. So, I started a new game and selected from one of the four difficulty modes, Adventure (Hard).

During the tutorial, it starts off in a barren land. You’re a grey blob in the middle of a pool of water surrounded by various reeds and fauna. During this tutorial you learn how to move, jump, and stick to walls. To jump, you have to aim your blob first, and jumping has arcing in it, so your blob falls after a bit of time. The way the controls are designed feel good from the start, and I had no reason to swap any of my controls to different control settings. It’s a standard system, though here are your starting controls:

Move: Left Joystick or D-pad

Aim: Right Joystick

Jump: ZL

That’s it. Super simple, yet works very well for storytelling purposes in the beginning of the game. Later on, you get more abilities and upgrades that allow you to do more with your button scheme and setup.

It’s so cute!

As soon as it throws you into the first chapter, you’re greeted by a guide. However, she’s just a voice and recalls her past memories as you traverse through the game. The blob gets more physical features, some ears, a sign on its head, and a heads up display. At this point, the game actually starts.

Moving on, this game teaches you about hidden secrets from one of the earliest scenes – there’s blue blob fragments that cover specific areas. If you choose to follow these blob fragments,  you’re greeted with your first Memory Fragment. These Memory Fragments are what help support and enforce the game’s story along the way as you try to piece together what happened to this place. Memory Fragments also give you a larger health pool when you collect five. You can view these Memory Fragments at any time under the “data collection” option in the pause menu.

Travelling through this abandoned area, you learn that the game isn’t nearly as innocent as it seems. There are traps, puzzles, and a mysterious pink fauna that kills you immediately upon touching it. Further on, you start to encounter Infected – previous inhabitants of this world that have turned into plant zombies. The game promotes the idea that you’re easily killable and does it well in the first scene with one of these Infected. Remember how I said that the early controls work for telling a story? This is what I meant. When the game limits you on your options and allows you to grow, it’s usually conveying a reason or purpose behind it. In this instance, the purpose is to give you anxiety as you’re running through the world.

Thankfully, if you die in this game, you respawn immediately at the beginning of the last checkpoint you triggered. This is really nice, because you will die a lot in MO:Astray – it’s no slouch when it shows its difficulty. That isn’t to say that you’ll stay weak forever in MO:Astray – your blob DOES progressively get stronger and stronger.

Oh boy. Not ready for this heartache.

Upgrades – there are quite a bit of them in this game, though I’m not going to spoil any of them excluding the first ability you get because it’s one of my favorite additions to a game, ever. Once you’re about fifteen percent of the way through the first chapter, you get the ability to jump on enemies’ heads after a mini tutorial by accidentally jumping into a experimentation vat. Mo can read the monsters’ memories, how they lived, view flashback cutscenes depending on the monster, and who they were before whatever disaster happened.

MO:Astray, in a subtle way, reminds you that these monsters were once living beings with their own thoughts, families, and ideals. The information it gives is their last thoughts before death, what career they had, their name, age, gender, and “resurrection permits.” These resurrection permits come in handy later when solving puzzles. It also doesn’t shy away from collecting these as there’s an entire log in the pause menu, under data collection, called “Monster Memories.”

A few of these memories throughout MO:Astray sent complete chills down my spine. Furthermore, these Monster Memories help to further piece together the lore and the disaster that fell upon this land.

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Mo:Astray is difficult, but in a good way! The platforming is fun and interactive, and incredibly challenging based on what difficulty you chose to begin with. The game changes platforming sections if you play on different difficulties, with easy and normal having some traps removed. You can see how many times you’ve died by selecting a chapter and hovering over individual areas – I died a total of 341 times on Adventure (Hard) difficulty.

Variety-wise, the game does very well in showing the differences between each individual area as well as individual monsters, puzzles, and platforming traps – this variety helps keep the game fresh and alive throughout the entire experience. MO:Astray has a keen eye for game design as no one area felt unfair, even though I died literally hundreds of times throughout my playthrough. Game design in general for this game is well done, as it leads players naturally to secret areas and rewards trying different methods to progress.

Continuing on game design, let’s get to the Bosses. The way MO:Astray tackles bosses is a way I’ve never seen before. Each boss has its own puzzle mechanic to take down each bad guy. Without spoiling too much, the first boss relies on you attaching yourself to enemies so that it damages itself rather than you attacking it. These types of puzzle mechanics are used in every single boss fight and lasts until the end. Personally, the fact that MO:Astray stays consistent with the puzzle action theme throughout the entire game is incredibly impressive to me.

Plant thing of Doom

I need to mention this for any puzzle solving fiends – there’s a TON of puzzles in this game. All areas include one or more puzzles to solve to progress. One of my favorite features about this game is how it has the ability to hide secret areas with puzzles. Furthermore, there are Monster Memories, Memory Fragments, and even secret cutscenes behind expanded portions of already area progressing puzzles.

Each individual area has its own aesthetic to it. Chapter 1 is all about broken and destroyed labs, and the further you progress, the more that chapter’s biomes change. Later on you’ll have the opportunity to see gorgeous fauna filled zones, pristine labs, and corpse riddled zones as Mo blobs his way through this horrifying place.

Speaking of aesthetics, did I mention that this game is literal eye, ear, and sensory candy? Every individual scene looks like a rollercoaster joyride in a theme park of despair. Art style, sound design, and story design combine to make one of the most atmosphere rich platformer games I’ve laid my hands on. Seriously, the team did a knockout job on making you feel like you’re far away from home in an unnatural hellscape.

The game is deceptively cute, because even at points of extreme sadness, looking at Mo filled me with determination. I’ve attached an art gallery to showcase the artists’ hard work, below.

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MO:Astray’s story is a gripping tale that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I won’t go into spoiler detail, but the gist of the story is that something went horribly wrong with experiments. Mo is now traveling through the said aftermath of these experiments. Learning the mystery of what exactly happened to whatever place you’re on is absolutely delightful. Not only is the game filled with tons of hidden lore and goodies to show what happened, at the end of every chapter you’re given flashbacks. These flashbacks are in comic book form and each of them gives you crucial information. For those willing, collecting all the Memory Fragments awards you with a different ending than the normal one. The story clicks in place as you progress, offering a satisfying conclusion to an already wonderful game.

What’s great about the story is that you can completely miss out on story details in your first playthrough, so the game encourages you to run through each chapter again via chapter select. On my playthrough, I completed the story 100% of the way through. However, I missed quite a bit of Monster Memories, so I decided to go grab those as well.

Because the game supports your ability to hoard information like a sponge, reading through everything in the Data Collection is a treat in itself. I spent a good hour or two just reading every story and piece of information.

After completing the game at least once, you get “Speed Mode” and a few other secret goodies. Speed Mode is a mode specifically for speedrunning the game so you can compete with other players’ scores online.

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I went into MO:Astray expecting a fun, enjoyable platforming experience after watching the incredibly well made trailer. I wasn’t disappointed, and this game has more than driven my expectations past their limits. From the first boot up of the game, to the very end, I was filled with an exuberant joy I haven’t experienced from a platformer in ages. The only negative that I have for this game, is that I wish there was more. I didn’t want to stop playing it! To answer the question, “Is this game fun?”, I’d gesture to say that this game is incredibly fun and more than worth its current price point at $15 on Steam and Switch. I personally clocked in around 13 hours of gameplay, with a few hours of story reading.

MO:Astray is one of the best games I’ve played in the past 5 years. I mentioned this earlier, but this game truly feels like a passion project by developers that truly care about game design, as well as making the player feel the weight of the situation Mo has to go through. Personally, I’ll be recommending this game to everyone who loves story driven platformers – Archpray Inc. knows how to deliver.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″]

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

REVIEW: MO:Astray Title MO:Astray