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Break!
While this is coming in ahead of my (evidently?) annual end-of-the-year video game post, I’ll spoil part of it here. It’s Nier: Automata.
Automata didn’t have the best gameplay or variety. The sound design had some truly high highs, but some lows that drug it down. I’ve certainly seen better stories with more surprising twists (but Deadly Premonition alone set a possibly insurmountable bar). The characters and their progression were good, but not great. The difficulty was fair overall, but there were some hurdles placed a little too high if you accidentally broke sequence. It had a new game-ish mechanic, but there was nothing for a max level character to do (maybe the DLC changed that). The post-game was welcome, but that 95% bestiary objective was needlessly frustrating. And while it had some exceptional spectacle, this last decade or so there has been a ton of games that live off of spectacle.
But (and while there will never be a perfect game), if someone were to try and make a perfect game, more so than any other I have ever played, Nier: Automata would be the model to follow. It may have done very little truly great, but it hit a solid B+ minimum in every applicable category.
Perhaps the most noteworthy accolade this game carries, is that as long as you have a passing skill-level in space shooters like Asteroids or Galaga, you can beat this game using easy mode and auto-mods. And I don’t mean just coasting through the main story; you can do everything. And while I have some reservations about allowing a player to get all the achievements I spent twenty extra hours on by just accepting them from a menu inside of two minutes (completely separate mechanic), there’s really no downside to making your game more accessible. And without compromising gameplay.
Now, all that said I haven’t played Horizon: Zero Dawn. It may be the superior game- I don’t know. But based on what I did play (and I played Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey), yes. Nier: Automata game of the year. Nothing else even came close.
Double Overtime! What a great game! What a great comeback!
@allgreymatters sent me a holiday package with a handwritten letter! I was very surprised because there’s a fair deal more here than there was last time (which was already a lot)! I got some radical Robot stickers and some dynamo Dinosaurs!
I also got a Vanilla Visa gift card! Thanks Grey! This all means a lot!
I also also got a digital copy of Night in the Woods from @mikedaws0n that I already have installed and hope to play soon! Thanks again!
What gets me is that everyone eats fish, but no one eats bugs.I wondered that too. Also why is it all fruit and no vegetables? There was technically fungus in new leaf because you could eat mushrooms.
But there is ice cream in pocket camp because sometimes I see them eating it in the camp. WHERE. Where did you get the ice cream from. Why are you eating ice cream outside in the snow.
I kinda thought the garden was going to let you grow vegetables, then it just wound up being flowers.
I can’t talk though, because I eat ice cream outside in the snow. I just want to know where they’re getting it because I want some.
[video]
[video]
Rover is an interesting choice. He’s pretty funny, but I never really thought of him as “hot”.
I feel like it’s cheating for me to pick an equine character… but the answer is Roscoe.
His mouth says “nay”, but his eyes say “I will ride through hellfire and punch a demon in the mouth for you! Or at the very least, maybe write some poety about it.“
I also have to be boring and say KK Slider, because who doesn’t love a free spirit? But also Cyrus, because there’s something very attractive about a sensible, dependable husband.
suggested by Lyra
Before running back outside, you ask Furia Storm if she can use magic to divert attention from herself.
Furia Storm: “Way ahead of you.”
On the way up the ramp to the underbridge, the dim sunlight reveals that your new companion now appears to be a beautiful earth pony mare. Despite the siren’s efforts, her new form still distracts you, though you only now notice how weary she looks.
You make it back to the beach, ready for action, but what soon comes into sight stops you in your tracks. A colossal creature, the likes of which you’ve never seen before, towers threateningly from the waters nearby.
You see a small squad of coast guards flying helplessly around the creature. In front of it, an armoured griffon that you recognize as Gerwalta is trying to fight it head-on, but none of her attacks seem to have any effect.
Furia Storm: “Right. So I could help… but this is far more entertaining—”
Over the continuous clanging of the lighthouse’s alarm bell, you hear a commanding voice calling out to you from behind.
Coast guard: “Hey! You there! Get inside the city walls immediately!”
It has never been this much nope.
(Source: d20pony)
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I watched this video completely straight faced until it got to “We’re putting it down. Uhwe~h-ugh!“ completely desynchronized to the visual action taking place.
Then I completely lost my [omitted].
I do not remember that from when I watched one of the Shenmue 2 “movie” videos a few years ago.
[video]
Video games, yes. But I also like thinking of ways I could make a game better. Rebalancing, new mechanics or systems, alternative ways of playing. Call them thought experiments. Includes this.
Music playing, duh. I also like listening to music. Also duh, but somehow I didn’t mentioned it. I also like watching musicians perform, especially off-stage where the spectacle is the artist themselves, not on a bunch of lights or a booming bass. Basically, this. I wish I hadn’t been so selective about reblogging things with this tag early off. There were some good ones I remember on my dash I let slip away.
Writing, yes. In fact I’ve been doing a bit more technical writing on Reddit lately (Warning: Explicit Language). Reviews, specialized retrospectives, and this one style-emulating/spoofing a professional news columnist. Some strict, but self-imposed, timetables to be relevant has forced me to work more consistently. I think it’s been good for me.
Family, of course. I love to hang out with Bon-Bon and I do what I can to help her. And while I might not have much to impart to Liza these days, it’s nice to hear her talk. Simple loves his scratchers and face lick’ems (but not in the nose).
I love to see people being happy. My favorite thing on tumblr is to see other people enjoying themselves (without any level of vindictiveness or spite).
I love seeing people’s drawings (that aren’t violent or sexualized), or talk about something happy, or share a photo. To me, this is what the Like button is for. If you put in your own effort to make some original content (rather than reblog someone else’s) then I want to let you know I appreciate it. Even if it’s just talking about a good day. And if I don’t like your original works, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you. Not all content is made to be consumed by everyone.
I love memes. Off-model Knuckles singing the theme song to M.A.S.H. (which was originally designed to be the stupidest song ever written)? So ridiculous it’s hilarious. Tuesday again? No problem! Wednesday my dudes? aaaaAAAAAAGGGHHHHH (Volume Warning)!
I like to drink sodas. I like food with cheese on it or in it (and Vanilla Strawberry pasties/ice cream). And I like candy corn! In fact I’ve eaten half a bag in less than 24 hours and I need to stop because I’m starting to feel sick.
There are a lot of things that make me feel happy. And things that make me happy are my favorite things!
Note to self: redo last post. Focus on lots of things. Do not dwell on single things.