Hot Heart

Hadn't heard of this before, but it seems it's been shown before. This isn't a trailer but it looks cool as heck.

As someone who really enjoyed what Syndicate did with the series (after being fed up with whatever Black Flag was doing) and skipped Origins, I quite liked Odyssey. I can't speak for Alexios, but Kassandra is the most charming lead since Ezio (and Haytham briefly) and it certainly isn't afraid to have a lot of fun with the quests in places. The 'main' story is 'fine' for the most part and ends rather suddenly (you get a bit more to it with the DLC, *grumble*) but I liked the more open-ended nature with the big areas, and who doesn't love Ancient Greek stuff? I still think Syndicate had the best stealth-action balance in that it was most like the Arkham games, whereas the O games have RPGified it to its detriment. I mean, I get that it now gives you three "different" approaches, but the melee and ranged mechanics are not that fulfilling. By the time the game introduced quick-switch loadouts, I had an uber powerful stealth setup to go with my melee setup because there's nothing more annoying than creeping up on someone, holding the button for a critical assassination, then seeing them react like someone had poked them with a stick and surviving with a third of their health still. It gives you some truly huge structures to conquer, which appeals to me with finding ways to "solve" them by sneaking through... but they're also incredibly easy because they're so big. The main threat is getting mercenaries on your tail, which can be quite thrilling but also quite annoying. You've also got a drone bird who can usually spot and tag everyone for you, which sounds cool but also kind of breaks the rhythm and sucks the tension out of it. Syndicate had its detective vision variant, which served the game better, I feel. That said, I still go back to it from time to time because there are lots of cool little quests to find in there (like Witcher 3 has) and I actually enjoyed both DLC stories, because of, rather than in spite of, the weirdness of the second one.

Really needs the extra "secret" phase with the killer riffs.

Some of my friends got back into Destiny 2 over the holiday break so I picked that up as well. The Beyond Light stuff is interesting and there's actually stuff happening in the story (they brought back the Exo Stranger and explained a bunch of stuff!) but I'm not as keen on the Stasis power as everyone else is. Don't get me wrong, it's powerful and all but a) there's not enough gear and such to support it (a lot of perks and exotics are designed around the "light" subclasses) so you can't do anything that interesting and b) it's no fun to fight against it, i.e. PvP. I'm also just a bit burnt out on the core gameplay loop of quests, repeating the same activities, etc. especially since they "sunset" a huuuge amount of content (seems they also ditched nearly all their Hollywood VAs to save on costs!) It needs something fresher than what we have, long-term. It's around this time there would've been "Destiny 3". This is not it. That said, I am enjoying stuff like dungeons and nightfalls with friends. There are some really funky environments and puzzles. Plus, there's a bit more depth and fun to be had with the mod system now. I also started playing GreedFall since it was the PS+ game and I was in the mood for something like it. Definitely get very strong vibes of old BioWare/Obsidian titles, in both good and bad ways, and I'm interested in the setting and mechanics.

I think I've only played three 2020 releases, so this is pretty simple. At number one, we have *dramatic musical build-up* I'd never really gone in for rogue-likes or rogue-lites before but this one grabbed me. The art design is sublime, the combat is slick and rewarding and the way that even failure feels like progress both mechanically and narratively seals it. Runner-Up While I had some initial reservations about this, and still have some issues with it, I really loved my time with this game. The character design is ace, the music is superb and I think they did a good job modernising the combat. I also think that most of the "extra" stuff was actually really well done and added a lot more to the characters and their relationships. I'm excited to see where it goes. Honorable mention A turn-based superhero strategy game using the Sentinels of the Multiverse setting sounds great. You even get to create your own superhero! However, it's not as slick as it sounds and is incredibly mechanically complex with something like 6 different types of damage (with unhelpful names like Thwok, Krak, Floomp etc.) as well as a very steep difficulty curve... so kinda like the card game, I guess.

It's so pointless if it just feels like a second GOTY award.

I beat God of War (2018). It was really good and definitely worth playing, but I don't think I enjoy the combat system enough to want to try the 'endgame' content.

Yeah, but you also need a bunch of mirror upgrades, too. I had all sorts that were super useful, like increasing damage based on how many different gods' boons you had, starting with more money, finding more money in pots, etc. I think the most essential boon, which I seek every run, is the Athena deflect dash.

Yeah, I usually don't go for stuff like Hades but it's so good once it "clicks" and especially since I completed a couple of runs then turned on god mode. God Mode makes it much easier but it means you take more risks with chaos gates and experiment more with boons while being able to actually progress the stories more.

Well, it is a rogue-lite so a big part was just luck of the build and running into fountains and shops at the right moment. I can try and provide tips that work for me but so much is dependent on your own playstyle, what boons you get, which enemies you face, etc. Plus, I'd have to spoil later bosses. I guess the main things are the obvious stuff you probably know already: heavily focus on getting keys and darkness for the mirror upgrades, use gems to get fountains installed in every area (and the one for switching keepsakes), give nectar to the gods you like boons from (Athena for deflect is great), consider beating Meg with all weapons so you can get titan blood to upgrade your favourite weapon. I have a friend who says he's on about 50 runs and can't quite get over the finish line, so it's not exactly uncommon.

I thought there was a setting where it always kept the level progression with you. I must admit, I just enjoyed the game, in general, so didn't necessarily always follow the main story. It has lots of great sidequests that I enjoyed more than some of the main story. Glad you found a fix though.

Managed my first clear of Hades on run #20. Really pleased after feeling like I blew it on the previous run when I got the final boss to 50% health on my first encounter. Demeter was a welcome addition this run, I finally met Eurydice, and Artemis boons are awesome.

I never had a problem with levelling in AC: Odyssey and it never felt grindy. I thought it also had some sort of easy mode progression thing in the options to help otherwise.

If you feel progression is slow in Hades, have you considered God Mode? My friend has started using it after having cleared the game a couple of times but still feeling like progression was too slow . I'd have to double-check in the menu, but I think it gives you an extra 1% damage resistance after each death. I'm yet to try it because I've only done 15 runs but maybe I'll consider it if I start to get bored.

I bought Hades. Been great the couple of hours I've played so far. And even though I haven't played Bastion in years, the combat still gives me that same vibe, with a bunch of cool tweaks and variability obviously.

Shame Gina Carano is some transphobic, anti-masker (and probably anti-vaxxer) MAGA idiot.

I've watched a few things recently. The Longest Day in Chang'an This is probably not super familiar to a bunch of people given that it's a Chinese drama, but it is superb and was available on Amazon Prime. It must have had a huge budget, similar to that of a Zhang Yimou film because the production quality is incredibly high and is a painstakingly researched recreation of Tang Dynasty-era China. It's also packed with quite a bit of action and is 48 episodes long. I believe the book it's based on took some inspiration from Assassin's Creed, which makes sense because this is a like a historical drama mixed with an action film (there's also some bizarre 'Prince of Persia' character in there). The premise is very "24" since it takes place across twenty-four hours but the journey it goes on is far more profound and all-encompassing (plus it doesn't map exactly hour by hour and has some heavy doses of flashback, too). Basically, on the day of the Lantern Festival, the biggest celebration of the year, it is discovered that some sort of terrorist plot is afoot. Without going into too much detail, a former soldier, 'sleuth-hound' (sort of police/spy role) and death row convict is tasked with the job of investigating and stopping this, only to discover there is far more to it. I can't go into all the details, but it seems to represent a breadth of daily Tang-era life, with many great characters and, given the importance of this time, probably a lot of more poetic elements that went over my head. Surprisingly, the story has engrossing characters and a plot with enough twists and turns and new developments to sustain it over 48 episodes. The ending lets it down a little (given what I've read up on the real world influences) but it has stuck with me for a while since it finished. I've never seen anything quite like it. If you are giving it a watch, please let me know. I think it's fun to 'learn' about the world of the show as it goes, but I could always help if you get a little lost early on. This is a music video, which gives you a taste Cobra Kai I remember checking this out when it first arrived on YouTube Red and thinking it was incredibly good, but not £10 or whatever good, so I was glad to see it arrive on Netflix (along with the first film). I definitely recommend watching the original 1984 film first, even if you've seen it before (I'd forgotten most of the details). However, it weaves in enough of the flashbacks so it's not a requirement. The premise is so great in that vein of "the characters you knew but now older/dads" approach. It takes Johnny Lawrence, the "villain" from the first film and puts him at the centre, with William Zabka giving a great performance as an endearingly charming asshole. He is the '80s bro who never grew up, being faced with his modern perception of kids becoming "pussies" and teaching them how to be badasses. It sounds terrible from that description, but it is done with a great deal of sensitivity and doesn't punch down, figuratively speaking (for the most part). You know Johnny is a relic (a bit like Andy Sipowicz) and must also learn from his wards, redeeming himself in the process. Most importantly, it is very funny and the interplay of the relationships is great. The initial hook is an alternative take on the original Karate Kid story of the bullied kid being able to stand up for himself, except he's being taught under the mantra of "Strike first, strike hard, no mercy". From there, you have the old rivalry with Daniel LaRusso as well as all sorts of complications through family ties. In an age of so many streaming dramas having hour-long episodes that just drag on and first seasons that feel like they were just setting up the cool stuff for next season, it is incredibly refreshing how tightly written this is. Episodes are typically half an hour and the way the plots intertwine and scenes quickly get to the point feels quite old school now. It probably would've been easy to just reboot the franchise as more of a remake, but the way everything is recontextualised is so smart, too. I mean, I can't believe I'm so engrossed with the "high school drama" elements even at my age...

That was my concern after reading a few comments on it. I hoped it would be a bit more interesting than it sounds. Then again, I don't really know anything about Alan Wake, I just found the idea of a Remedy-verse intriguing. I guess I should play it at some point because I still love the overall lore.

The second AC Odyssey DLC was actually really fun. The first is okay and brings some useful abilities though. Definitely recommend taking advantage of the multiple loadouts thing (which costs in-game money for some reason), so you can quickly switch between warrior and assassin builds (as well as mandatory "outfits" at some points)

What this weather always reminds me of