danielpholt

How is it on the nudity front? That's a big one for me. I refuse to play games that don't offer me at least a bit of underboob.

Destiny 2 - All the Expansions (I think?), and the season pass and the Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack. So I never got into D2 in the same way I did with OG Destiny. Much of that was a timing issue (IIRC it came out a few months before the birth of my first child, playing a highly addictive game that demands the player spend hours playing in order to get the most out of it wasn't top of my mind. A few years later though and I think it's accidentally become the perfect game for a tired Dad who works too many hours and doesn't have enough free time; I can play it for an hour or two each evening and not have to think too hard about what I'm doing. And that's exactly what I need right now. Apex had been filling that void for a while, but that game has its share of issues, and the competitive nature of it takes a little more out of me than I'm willing to give right now. That isn't an issue for the most part with Destiny. I get to log in, earn some cool loot, shoot some cool looking bad-guys and don't have to think too much about it whilst doing so.

Treated myself to a new watch. This time it's the Orient Kamasu. Got it for £300 and it's absolutely gorgeous. I may end up switching the band out as I'm not a massive fan of metal bracelets, but aside from that I think it might be my favourite watch in my collection.

I'll take another look at some point. I just wish it wasn't so in your face. Maybe let me experience the game before you make me sign up and hand over my email address.

I actually have no idea what, if anything, he said about the game. I do remember that during Indie Game: The Movie he came across almost offended that people were playing, and having a lot of fun with Braid in a manner he maybe didn't love.

Saw a quick look of this a few weeks ago and it looks really interesting. What's more interesting is the reaction that Jonathan Blow had to this games release. I can't imagine he's the sort of person to take that sort of thing too well. (I get the impression he's a bit pompous?)

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.