danielpholt

Ditched Hotwheels. As I mentioned before, it wasn't scratching the itch that I want a FH game to scratch, so rather than continue to push against it I've jumped off entirely. Not really playing anything at the moment, however I did get a chance to load up Multiverses and I got as far as the games opening menu before I was told I HAD to have a WBgames account to progress further. At that point I closed the game and I'm not sure I'll be going back. I don't remember being forced to sign up for an account in any other game before. IIRC even Rocket League only forces you into an Epic account because of the cross-play, and even that allows you to play without an account.

Still working my way through The Presidents. I'm upto FDR now. I've been reading each chapter (essay?) during my lunch break at work, although given the length and scope of FDR's run, I'm not sure that'll be possible in 25 minutes. The book isn't really teaching me anything I don't already know, but it's a good primer if you're starting out. In my free time, I've just started The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. His second novel after the previously mentioned Seven (and a half) Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I'm roughly 30% of the way through the book and I'm absolutely hooked; even more so than I was with Seven Deaths. The setting is more interesting to me, the characters are more to my liking and I'm finding it a little more easy to follow without the ....hook that Seven Deaths relies on to tell it's story.

Got this for Mila as a christmas present. She's been playing the demo since it was released a while back and loves it. Also the guys from The Besties absolutely rave about it as a game you can play with your kids so...fingers crossed.

I'm very slowly working my way through the Forza Horizon 5 Hotwheels DLC. It hasn't grabbed me as much as I thought it might, and I think that's largely down to how track-based everything seems to be so far. One of the things I like about these games is that for the most part, you're not restricted to driving on tracks, that's not the case here. I'll keep at it. I'm hoping as I unlock more cars it'll start to open up a little.

Nah there's no rougeish elements to it really. You complete the sequence over the course of 10-20 minutes and based on your choices you'll earn certain tidbits of information that goes towards solving the crime. Issue is that it's pretty hard to nail down the combination required to get some of the tougher items of information, especially with two specific characters.

Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus It's an FMV game where you have to try and solve the murder of your Uncle Marcus (played by the same dude who played David Wallace in The Office). It took me about 5 hours from start to finish; unlocking all 6 endings along the way. The core gameplay is pretty simple. You'll watch the characters interact and then choose which way you want the conversation to go. Each time you complete a 'run' the story resets and you start it over again, maintaining the knowledge you've previously gained. Eventually you'll figure out enough clues to accuse someone of the act. Like I said, there's 6-7 endings, although only one of them is the true ending. Unfortunately I did end up googling how to finish the game, because the game can be a bit confusing with regards to signposting how to access those clues (it can be a bit hit-and-miss and there's no visible way to tell if you're going along the right path). So in conclusion, pretty enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

As Dusk Falls I finished it (for real) this morning and I stand by the idea that it's one of my favourite games of the year.

I actually thought i'd finished it last night; hit credits and everything......turns out the game is split into two 'books'. I'm going to start my second book tonight. The stories are (I think) entirely connected, but I think you play as different characters or something? Either way, sign me up for more of that please. Easy top 5 of the year potential here.

I've ditched Escape Academy, but I agree with your take on playing as a duo. I think you need that back and forth in order to make the games puzzles more interesting. And for what it's worth, I think you might have just sold a copy of the Forza Hotwheels DLC to me. I started As Dusk Falls last night. I've heard mixed things about it but 90 or so minutes in and I'm definately a fan. Story is interesting, the art design is something truly unique and I'm enjoying the somewhat laid back nature of the gameplay works perfectly for some end-of-day gaming. I'm also playing it using my phone as the controller. The game is mainly just decision points, with some very (very) light QTE moments, so it's working fairly well so far.

I agree with this. The first dozen levels felt fun and intriguing but as I inched towards the end they got repetitive and a little too ambiguous for my liking; often I'd find myself almost unable to see what I was doing too. I'm assuming that's a downside of the games use of lighting?

Issues was the wrong word. The game is just not for me at the end of the day.

I've been plugging away at Dark Souls Remastered on the Switch. Firstly, it's a really solid port, and plays pretty well on the Switch. The issue I'm having is that whilst I loved Elden Ring, Dark Souls Remastered is, at its core a 10 year old game with a lick of paint thrown on top. That's not to say it's bad, far from it. I can certainly see the attraction, but I think it's all just a bit too raw for me. I loved Elden Ring, and whilst I didn't expect that from DSR, I also wasn't expecting everything to be as ....(word here?) as it is. This hasn't put me off from trying Bloodborne or Sekiro however. And with both of those games being more modern, I think a few of the issues I've had with DSR might be ironed out. Maybe.

Escape Academy Great premise, middling execution. Maybe that's a little harsh? I dunno. This game feels like it would be better as a 2d adventure game, instead of this slightly janky 3d thing. I'm about half way through and I'm not sure if I'm going to finish it.

It's not that hard when you admit you're not going to commit to a game you're no longer enjoying. Neon White, Stanley Parable, Bugsnax and Disk Room have all been brushed aside in the last month alone. I just don't have the time to persist with games I'm not getting anything out of. Embrace the cull!

Dark Souls Remastered I've cleared my backlog and so it's finally time to jump into this. My only other experience with this sort of game is Elden Ring, and whilst I know the two games are likely to be significantly different, I think I enjoy that core experience, so I should be fine with it. I'm playing on Switch, which is probably not the ideal way to experience it, but you know...portability.

Cuphead's Delicious Last Course It's more Cuphead. It's excellent. 'Nuff said.

To be fair I very nearly made that mistake when searching for this book.

Honestly, its mainly pattern recognition. Once you get the moves down it's just a case of executing on it. If I can beat it, you should be fine.

The Quarry Solid entry into Supermassives catalogue. It makes some nice changes to the overall structure but certainly doesn't reinvent the wheel. The plot is solid enough, and the game looks fantastic but...........man the game just ends. Which I guess is a product of the choices I made along the way but holy fuck talk about an underwhelming conclusion.

The Quarry The folks who made Until Dawn are back with what is largely their first 'traditional' offering in years. No weird multi-screen gaming experiences, or 6-monthly released anthology's here, just a bunch of dumb-but-sexy-teens making typical dumb-but-sexy-teen like errors in judgement, only this time we're away at summer camp. I'm only a few hours in, but what I've played so far has been a welcome return to a formula I really enjoy, with a tiny bit more work thrown into the overall look and feel of the game; the teens have emotions and the camp has god-rays and soft lighting. To be fair, they've clearly been working on their facial tech. The Quarry is a noticeable improvement on their previous offerings. They've still not got the eyes or the teeth quite right, but everything else looks absolutely incredible.

I've hit a bit of a wall in it myself. I just don't have the skill to get passed the level I'm stuck on, and because it allows almost no room to fudge it, it's basically over for me. I may still return to it after I've finished The Quarry, but I'm a little disappointed in how rigid it feels, especially in those latter levels.

Yeah I'm not sure if maybe there's another book in the US that sounds similar to Seven deaths, so they threw in the added half to try and make the name less likely to confuse?

Been on something of a reading blitz since the turn of the year. I've read: Leadership: In Turbulant Times - Doris Kearns Goodwin The book tells the stories of four presidents, Lincoln, TDR, FDR and LBJ from their first political awakenings to their greatest moments. For a book about 4 dead guys, I found it pretty interesting, and I learned some new stuff. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Harcastle - Stuart Turton Recommended to me by a friend, and Christopher Plante of Polygon/Vox/Besties fame. It's a novel about a man who relives the same day over and over again until he can figure out what's going on inside this super turn of the centuryesque manor house. It reads like a video game. Highly recommended. The Stranger Times - C.K. McDonnell I'm a big fan of Douglas Addams, and whilst this isn't that....it's trying to be. For the most part it's pretty funny. There's some fun characters to be around and the plot is ..........fine I guess. If you've got nothing else to read and you don't mind throwing a few hours on a book you'll likely forget about after the fact, then this might be worth your time. Erubus: The Story of a Ship - Michael Palin Erubus was one of the two ships lost during arguably the greatest maritime mystery of all time; the Franklin Expedition. The book tells the tale of the ship from the moment of its construction to the moment it was rediscovered a few years ago, laying at the bottom of the arctic ocean. Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class - Owen Jones I don't *always* agree with Owen on everything, but his critique of the way our country looks on the working class is as relevant today as it was when this book was published during the opening years of the David Cameron years. This book made me angry, as it should anybody who considers themselves on the lower end of the british class spectrum. The Shrinking Man - Robert Matheson I consider I Am Legend to be my favourite book, so I went into The Shrinking Man with some pretty lofty expectations, and whilst it didn't quite hit the highs I'd built up in my mind, It's still a pretty good read. Lots of interesting ideas and some light social commentary thrown in for good measure. It gets a bit bogged down in the middle, but towards the final third it really picks up again I could barely put it down for the final 200 pages.