So I got gifted this morning (after tossing a few of my own at a few people as seen above).
@Stabbity Style decided to clean out another bit of my wishlist-
Thanks for National Park Girls, Instinct, Court of Ashes, Futanari Quest, and Getaway Island, Stabs! I'm a VN fan, so these should get good bit of playtime!
...and then @Mugsley decides they're going to combo that with the original Golden Axe! (Sidescrolling fantasy brawlers are freaking amazing, and I wish more had been made- Golden Axe, the D&D Mystara games... talk about an underserved niche of the market!)
While waiting for Disco Elysium's Final Cut, I finally got around to Detention, this indie horror title which I think got recommended in a Steam thread years ago. Basically Silent Hill crossed with Lone Survivor set in 1960's Taiwan, it's more mechanically sparse than most in the genre and succeeds largely on the strength of its narrative and presentation. In truth, I think it's genuinely both a better story and a better execution of the story than either of those games, and I'd actually liken it to Disco in terms of using its political backdrop to explore human behavior and motivations.
The opening setting is just two kids locked in a school at night, cut off by a freak storm out of nowhere. Soon one of the kids goes missing, monsters start prowling around, and reality starts to warp around you in hellish ways. There's not much to the gameplay, with no way to defend yourself and standard adventure game puzzle solving to progress. Since it's strictly a sidescrolling adventure, avoiding enemies means holding your breath and sneaking by them. This does instill some tension as it requires you to get close to these twitching, unnatural things, and typically you can hold your breath juuuuust long enough to get by. Chases are infrequent enough to get you to drop your guard for the next one.
Like I said, the story is what makes it all work. Initially just set dressing, its political context slowly takes center stage, its monsters and puzzles becoming allegory for the protagonist's state of mind. A recurring enemy looks vaguely like a menacing military officer at the school. A statue of Chiang Kai-shek goes unnamed but seems to watch you as you progress. You deposit coins in a piggy bank and return later to find it smashed open, a movie ticket amongst the debris. Taking it to the theater, a moment of escapism makes your grey surroundings go all Yellow Submarine on you. It's all impressively done despite, or perhaps because of, the sparse dialogue and mostly monochrome presentation.
All that sets the stage for the real horror, as its mundane villains don't need to chase people to terrify them. Beneath the obvious dangers of a dictatorial state, the story is ultimately about people who used that brutality as a tool for revenge, and find out the monster doesn't come with an 'off' switch. As things get surreal the game checks if you've been paying attention, the ending determined by how well you understand what's really going on. It's predictable that a protagonist going through psychological horror probably did a very bad thing, but where Detention excels is examining the why of it, singling out the very human motivations at the root of it all.
It's a fascinating setting for a horror game, its characters relatable and tragic in a time and place I confess I know little about. The atmosphere is consistently disturbing, gameplay elements are simple but effective, and it's not afraid to change up or even discard those elements once the focus of the story has shifted. The short running time keeps it from overstaying its welcome, and its closure is well earned, disquieting and thoughtful. It's not a happy story, but it's told well and feels personal in a way that a lot of the genre usually doesn't, at least for me.
Someone smarter than me once said that horrible things happen for pretty stupid reasons, and our struggle is to endure and find meaning in a universe often nightmarish, absurd, or both. Detention is a strong exploration of this idea, and a worthy pickup for anybody in the mood for something creepy and indie-sized.
Their follow-up, the super ambitious(and controversial) Devotion is even better.
The original version can still chug on newer hardware, though. Being strictly single core basically means it forfeits the last decade of advancement.
That's also why back when it came out you'd see cheap builds that could run it better than expensive gaming rigs. You could use its limitations to your advantage, provided you didnt care about performance in anything except Crisis.
The new version is still single thread limited too. They didn't fix the one thing that needed to be fixed
Seriously? I just assumed that of *course* they'd fix that on later release. They can't say "itz got such 1337 grfx doodz" like their excuse at the time was.
I'm watching F1 Drive to Survive backwards (started with Season 3). I understand why they committed an episode to each team, but it's starting to fuck with my internal timeline. Did Vettel and Ricciardo announce team changes (for 2021) midseason or early season?
Also the first episode they hinted about the design protest but then it wasn't mentioned until episode 5, which also threw me off.
I'm watching F1 Drive to Survive backwards (started with Season 3). I understand why they committed an episode to each team, but it's starting to fuck with my internal timeline. Did Vettel and Ricciardo announce team changes (for 2021) midseason or early season?
Also the first episode they hinted about the design protest but then it wasn't mentioned until episode 5, which also threw me off.
As a quick answer: Danny Ric announced his departure very early into the actual-racing season (remember a 3 month different between the canceled Australian GP and the first actual race.) Vettel was quite a few weeks later, if I'm not mistaken.
So the first things I did in the Crosscode DLC were run some of the new sidequests in Rhombus Square, and because it's Crosscode those were actually surprisingly tricky boss fights. The second thing I did was remember that I still have barely done the arena challenges that'd come out months ago, so I should go do more of those, try and get some of the good gear from them. So, basically, the first thing I did was throw myself into some pretty tough fights when I still was getting use to just playing the game again. Made it kinda rough getting back on the horse.
But now I've gotten to the new zone, and man I forgot how fun exploring those is. To be honestly lately I've kinda been like "was Crosscode really that good?" and now I'm getting reminded that yes, it really is.
+8
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Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
Finally playing Prey. Fucked up that I didn't get to it sooner considering how much I love Arkane.
The misadventures of a psychic repair lady. She can fix your elevator and make you explode with her mind.
Notice that this advice has been followed by all of 1 person of the 3/4 I've gifted in this period.
In my defense I have a memory of a. Oh look a pre-order has gone up! What was I saying again? Oh yes, I have the memory capacity of an older person now with a limited amount of available space that is used for remembering to put my pants on in the morning.
Notice that this advice has been followed by all of 1 person of the 3/4 I've gifted in this period.
In my defense I have a memory of a. Oh look a pre-order has gone up! What was I saying again? Oh yes, I have the memory capacity of an older person now with a limited amount of available space that is used for remembering to put my pants on in the morning.
Notice that this advice has been followed by all of 1 person of the 3/4 I've gifted in this period.
In my defense I have a memory of a. Oh look a pre-order has gone up! What was I saying again? Oh yes, I have the memory capacity of an older person now with a limited amount of available space that is used for remembering to put my pants on in the morning.
Oh fuck I knew I forgot something.
+9
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KalnaurI See Rain . . .Centralia, WARegistered Userregular
Wait, we were supposed to reject gifts from Karoz? I knew I shouldn't have just been skimming the thread . . .
So, I've beaten a game from Steam, the Switch, and the PS4 in the past week, as previously mentioned Forager and Bowser's Fury and now AC Origins. Man, that last one is a lot of game.
I think the next Steam game will be trying to finish Knights of Pen and Paper, I'm working on World of Final Fantasy on the Switch, and God of War on PS4. I'm trying to focus on only playing one game per "system" (counting Steam as a system here) so I actually finish games.
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
Oh Gawd, Death Stranding is horrifying. The setting, not the game.
So a cosmic occurrence broke the laws of time and space, merged the afterlife to the real world, and if you die you become a void bomb and your ghost goes to prey on the living. The whole remaining sum of humanity is literally entombed, and social contact can only exist through the Chiral network.
It's so messed up and I'm only on chapter 2, I assume it gets much worse.
Notice that this advice has been followed by all of 1 person of the 3/4 I've gifted in this period.
In my defense I have a memory of a. Oh look a pre-order has gone up! What was I saying again? Oh yes, I have the memory capacity of an older person now with a limited amount of available space that is used for remembering to put my pants on in the morning.
Posts
@Stabbity Style decided to clean out another bit of my wishlist-
Thanks for National Park Girls, Instinct, Court of Ashes, Futanari Quest, and Getaway Island, Stabs! I'm a VN fan, so these should get good bit of playtime!
...and then @Mugsley decides they're going to combo that with the original Golden Axe! (Sidescrolling fantasy brawlers are freaking amazing, and I wish more had been made- Golden Axe, the D&D Mystara games... talk about an underserved niche of the market!)
Many thanks to the both of you!
I can has cheezburger, yes?
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Their follow-up, the super ambitious(and controversial) Devotion is even better.
Zork
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Space Quest or bust. The remake has cutting edge VGA graphics, so it’s perfect!
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Funny how Return to Zork isn't in there.
Want some rye? 'Course ya do.
Steam | XBL
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
But can it play crysis?
I love that these days the Switch can play Crysis.
Steam | XBL
That's also why back when it came out you'd see cheap builds that could run it better than expensive gaming rigs. You could use its limitations to your advantage, provided you didnt care about performance in anything except Crisis.
Seriously? I just assumed that of *course* they'd fix that on later release. They can't say "itz got such 1337 grfx doodz" like their excuse at the time was.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Store or library?
Also the first episode they hinted about the design protest but then it wasn't mentioned until episode 5, which also threw me off.
Library, Trying to figure out where to make the next big time investment is frustrating.
Sure, i could jusy install hl2 with the boobily cinematic mod, but......feels like low hanging fruit
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Erhm, looking for the Motorsport thread? :P
As a quick answer: Danny Ric announced his departure very early into the actual-racing season (remember a 3 month different between the canceled Australian GP and the first actual race.) Vettel was quite a few weeks later, if I'm not mistaken.
No that's the Kleiner Goes Commando mod.
My categories! ❤❤❤
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
We give Steam a lot of shit, mainly for library and UI stuff, but the application is pretty solid.
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
But now I've gotten to the new zone, and man I forgot how fun exploring those is. To be honestly lately I've kinda been like "was Crosscode really that good?" and now I'm getting reminded that yes, it really is.
The misadventures of a psychic repair lady. She can fix your elevator and make you explode with her mind.
Good news lack of video cables means I get to run my PC on the TV
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Looks neat
Reposting this because this is still in effect. Karoz is still trying to sneak in gifts to this day.
AniList
1 > 3/4 so seems like it's working.
In my defense I have a memory of a. Oh look a pre-order has gone up! What was I saying again? Oh yes, I have the memory capacity of an older person now with a limited amount of available space that is used for remembering to put my pants on in the morning.
Steam: betsuni7
Numbers updated
Dis you
Oh fuck I knew I forgot something.
So, I've beaten a game from Steam, the Switch, and the PS4 in the past week, as previously mentioned Forager and Bowser's Fury and now AC Origins. Man, that last one is a lot of game.
I think the next Steam game will be trying to finish Knights of Pen and Paper, I'm working on World of Final Fantasy on the Switch, and God of War on PS4. I'm trying to focus on only playing one game per "system" (counting Steam as a system here) so I actually finish games.
It's so messed up and I'm only on chapter 2, I assume it gets much worse.
Everyone wins regardless of outcome.
You're still bothering with pants these days?
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772