Mister Jack

Oh yeah, I know the one you mean. That thing was so ridiculous I ended up having to just cheap it with one hit at a time over the course of probably 30 minutes. Defiled Chalice is bullshit.

Got the platinum for Trover Saves the Universe, but this is definitely a game that does not respect you for doing so because several of the trophies mock you for wasting time to get them.

I think they've actually changed it now to where you have to do it on the console itself. When I try to claim this month's PS5 game on the website it only gives me the option to buy it.

It's been a while so I don't remember the exact order, but I think there's three bosses you gotta fight with that HP decrease. If you already did all three then you've actually finished the worst of it.

You're gonna fucking hate that last chalice dungeon.

Trover Saves the Universe This game is an absolute riot. It's a sci-fi adventure where you play an alien called a Chairopean who never gets out of his recliner while controlling a purple eye hole monster named Trover who is sent on a mission to stop an alien overlord with dogs in his eye sockets from destroying the universe. Yeah, it's that kind of game. The gameplay is just basic platforming and button mashing combat, nothing to get that excited about, but the real reason to play is for the comedy. This is a Justin Roiland game, so the plot is absolutely nonsensical and it feels like they were just making up shit as they go, but that's what's so funny about it because they don't even try to hide it. Trover frequently breaks the fourth wall to complain about gameplay mechanics or how you're a shitty player who keeps getting him killed. The NPCs that you meet are all a bunch of obnoxious assholes who ramble on and give you way too much information about their sexual turn-ons or their gross habits or any other number of inappropriate topics with no self-awareness. The enemy mobs will hold absolutely ridiculous conversations with each other while they're not aware of your presence. This game made me laugh out loud frequently and there were many occasions where I would actually put the controller down for a while just so I could hear all of the dialogue. Every now and then you will also be asked a yes or no question which you answer by nodding or shaking your head, with characters having different reactions and sometimes even treating you differently based on your responses. There is some amount of replay value here since you sometimes need to make moral choices. These choices don't affect the ending in any way but they do affect how characters relate to you so it's probably worth going through at least twice. I beat it in roughly five hours, give or take. The full price of $30 is probably too much, but I paid around 16 on sale and that feels just about right. If you like Roiland's comedy you'll definitely like this. Just don't play it around your kids because it'll teach them about a hundred new curse words.

It's also worth mentioning that if you haven't played all the big PS4 releases, getting plus on the PS5 also gets you a big collection of the PS4's greatest hits to play with some pretty solid titles on the list.

Pleasantville Watching the first couple of episodes of WandaVision gave me the strange urge to go back and check out this movie from 1998. I quite enjoyed it. The message isn't subtle at all, but it's a good message and lately I'm feeling like maybe subtlety is getting lost on too many people. The real star of the show are the effects, though. I love how the movie looks visually and watching the black and white town slowly change through patches of bright, vibrant technicolor that often looks better than the real world is a treat for the eyes. The story is mostly there as an excuse and they never really explain just how the kids get zapped into the show other than "magic remote," but this is one of those movies where you're just supposed to enjoy the ride and not overthink everything. As a side note, my favorite character was probably the soda shop owner, who goes through an existential crisis simply because his daily routine was mildly disrupted for the first time ever due to Tobey Maguire's character showing up late for his part-time job. Watching him develop was the best part of the movie for me.

I don't wear glasses. I should mention that I use the original, launch version of the PSVR and I have heard that later versions have some slight design improvements. I don't know if the light shield was modified at all.

I've really been making up for lost time with my VR headset. I got Gun Club VR for roughly six bucks on a PSN sale. At its core it's pretty much just a shooting gallery with a few different modes, but the real draw is the guns themselves. There's dozens to choose from and they're all quite realistic. Reloading, cocking, and switching firing modes is done manually with your own two hands. You yourself pump your shotguns after every round. When buying gun mods, you can even physically attach and detach them yourself, although there is an auto-equip option if you want to save time. The actual shooting ranges consist of bullseyes, action courses with wood cutouts that sometimes shoot back, and a zombie mode. If you want to play a shooter with set pieces and a storyline then maybe this isn't for you, but if you want to play with the most realistic guns that VR has to offer then this is where you want to look. The sale price was more than reasonable. Aside from that I'm also playing Trover Saves the Universe and god damn, this game is funny. Possibly one of the funniest games I've ever played. Gameplay-wise it's similar to Astro Bot in that you control Trover in platforming levels while you observe as a bystander and occasionally interact with things in the environment. Astro Bot's level design is more clever but Trover makes up for it with how hilarious it is. Of course, it's a very specific kind of humor that won't appeal to everyone. This might be the most profane game I've ever played and the language would make Grand Theft Auto blush. I've lost track of how many times I heard the F-bomb in just the first two levels alone, but if you like Rick and Morty then you'll probably like this too.

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission I got this game years ago but only just now got around to finishing it. I admit I haven't played a whole lot of VR games but I think I can say pretty confidently that aside from Resident Evil VII this is probably the best game on the PSVR as of right now. Some might ask what the point is of making a 3D platformer in VR but it's just one of those things you can't understand until you see it for yourself. While you probably could make a non-VR version of this game it wouldn't be nearly as cool. Watching Astro run and jump through a world that exists all around you has a charm to it that just wouldn't be the same outside of VR, and it also makes finding secrets feel more rewarding when you actually have to check your physical surroundings. Plus, in addition to controlling Astro your controller also gets equipped with gadgets that you use to assist Astro directly, such as a grappling hook you can shoot out to give Astro something to walk on. Getting through the levels feels like a team effort between you and Astro and he's always acknowledging you while you play. Seeing the little guy wave to you while he walks past your face is just adorable beyond words. The bosses in this game are also enormous and the battles against them are a lot of fun, with the final boss in particular being a total blast. Most people probably don't get a VR helmet because they want to play platformers with it, but if you own a PSVR then Astro Bot is a mandatory purchase. Next to Half-Life: Alyx I might even say it's the best VR exclusive game that exists at the moment.

Now that I can use my PS VR without getting motion sickness or tearing it off of my head out of sheer discomfort I wanted more shit to play on it. Between this, Astro Bot, Walking Dead, Resident Evil VII, and Moss I think I've got all the big PSVR games at the moment except for Beat Saber and Star Wars: Squadrons, which are still a little pricey for my taste. Man, I hope we get Half-Life: Alyx on PSVR at some point because I refuse to buy an Oculus after they decided to implement a shitty Facebook requirement.

Yeah I actually meant you personally as opposed to playing digital downloads. The lack of hard drive space is an issue but if the games take like ten seconds to install then I might not rush out to get a new drive right away.

@TheMightyEthan Do you install PS5 games from the disc? How long does it take?

Aviary Attorney I got this a while back on a steam sale. It's a lawyering game in the spirit of Phoenix Wright, but with anthropomorphic animal characters pulled straight out of the caricatures of French artist J.J. Grandville with music by French composer Camille Saint-Saens. Would it surprise you to hear the game takes place during the French revolution? It's also full of a lot of great humor and memorable characters just like the Ace Attorney series, but there are a few key differences between this game and the series that inspired it. Firstly, there are multiple endings. You're not guaranteed to win a case every time and if you bungle a trial you don't get kicked back to the beginning to do it over. The game goes on, acknowledging your failure as an attorney, which affects the story going forward and how other characters relate to you. You also are not given unlimited time to investigate cases. You have a finite number of days to look for evidence and question witnesses and most locations you visit will take one day to travel to, although some places can be visited without eating up your free time. Regardless, it's on you to decide where you should be going and who you should be talking to. If you waste too much time you won't be ready by the trial date and are almost destined to lose. There is also sometimes more than one way to get what you need for a trial so there isn't one correct path you're required to follow in every playthrough. It is possible to scare off important witnesses if you're too hard or too soft with them, though. It's possible to win trials without every possible witness, but their information makes it easier to connect the dots and make a more convincing case. You also have to think about how much money you're carrying to buy items you'll need or pay people for assistance. There is a blackjack game available to gamble for more money as well. It would take a very long time to amass a large fortune this way, but if you ever want to try blowing through every obstacle in the game by making it rain francs then that is theoretically an option. About the only thing I can really list as a fault here is that the game is on the short side. A single playthrough will take roughly four hours and if you want to go for all the endings that might take you around eight hours unless you're following a walkthrough, which kinda defeats the point of games like this. However, the price is a pretty reasonable $14.99 for that length and it also goes on sale fairly often. I can certainly recommend picking it up during a steam sale.

Could be, although I didn't take off the shield for a couple of hours until I couldn't stand those stupid nose flaps anymore.

Jesus Christ, I signed up for telegram notifications to let me know if the very second new PS5 stock becomes available a while back and today it finally went off. Took me maybe five seconds to tap the link on my phone and it was already sold out by the time the page loaded.

I bought a PSVR a good while ago but I had never really used it that much for two main reasons: 1) I am prone to motion sickness 2) The headset itself was pretty uncomfortable to wear I really wanted to be able to play Walking Dead when it went on sale though so I ended up trying two remedies that ended up making a huge difference. The first was wearing acupuncture bands on my wrists to control my nausea. I know that sounds like homeopathic bullcrap and 99% of the time I'd be right there with you but they really do work. Before trying them I could only play in VR for 30 to 45 minutes before I started to feel queasy. After putting them on, however, I played for three and a half hours with no issues. I did take the headset off briefly about halfway through to make some adjustments but at no point was I worried about getting sick. If you want to play VR but you get motion sick, give those bands a try. They're about 10 to 15 dollars for a pair and they're a miracle. I've heard it also helps if you have a fan on while you play. I don't know if that's true but I figured it couldn't hurt to try it. The second issue was mostly because of the silicone light shield. The headset itself isn't too heavy or tight or anything, I just really hated how that rubbery piece of garbage would rub up against my face and especially my nose. No matter what I could never adjust it to a degree where it felt comfortable so I finally just took the whole damn thing off and it made a huge difference. I'm sure you may be thinking that having light come in your peripheral vision would break your immersion, but I would argue that having your face feel uncomfortable the whole time you play is equally disruptive to your immersion. Taking it off just made sense for me and when I'm engrossed in a game I'm not really thinking about what's happening in the corner of my eyes anyway. Taking off the light shield also prevents the lenses from getting fogged up by your breathing, so there's another reason to try taking it off. Just turn the lights off if you need to. Also, you don't have to permanently damage the headset to remove the shield. It's attached with pegs that fit into holes so you can just pop it off and if you decide you want it there after all just pop it back in. Removing it made the experience MUCH more comfortable for me but maybe this is one of those things that depends on the shape of your head. I dunno. Either way, I feel like I can finally get the full use out of my headset that I wanted to get when I bought it.

I had always been wanting to try this since my VR headset needs more games but the price kept me away. PS store is having a winter sale though and this is a little over 20 bucks right now, which is just about where I needed it to be.

Death Stranding is such a strange game in that on paper a package delivery simulator sounds like the most boring thing ever but somehow it just gets its hooks in you.

I hate to argue with an actual lawyer on this but I thought they had to convict him before they could even hold the vote on whether or not to bar him from ever running again? Is that not the case?

If inciting an insurrection isn't grounds for impeachment and removal then frankly, nothing is.

Shadow of War platinum achieved. Kind of funny how I only went back to this game because Cyberpunk was a total bust and I needed to play something while waiting for the patch. Pretty cool game, though. Not the hardest platinum out there but you have to dedicate a decent amount of time to building up your armies.

I don't care what the calendar says. 2021 doesn't start until Biden is sworn in.