I need a new game. Again. I say this every time I finish a game, but it’s true. I’ve given up on the Imposter Mode in Going Under (Aggro Crab) because it’s not fun at all. I tried it a few times in the past week and it just aggravated me every time. I’m not quite at the point of uninstalling it, but I’m close. I really want to plat it, but I haven’t even made it to the third boss yet. I will admit that not being able to win at the Imposter Mode has dampened my enthusiasm for the game in general. That’s not entirely fair, but it’s my honest feeling. I know I don’t have to do the plat and I got a good forty hours out of it, but the grind for plat, the one-off bosses, and the Imposter Mode have really left a bad taste in my mouth.
I decided to try Nuclear Throne by Vlambeer again to see if I was any better at it. It was the first roguelike I had played, which was diving into the deep end. It took me hundreds of hours just to make it to The Throne, let’s not talk about how long it took to actually beat The Throne. This time, I reached The Throne in less than ten runs and then promptly died when it barfed its rads all over me. I knew it was going to do it, but then it didn’t, but then it did. It was instantly deflating. I haven’t made it back yet and I’ve played probably thirty-plus more runs.
Robot is my main with Crystal my backup. The rest of them I could take or leave with Horror being more on the leave side. I think my mouse setup is not helping, but I’m still not good at this game. I had an amazing build the time I got to The Throne, but I haven’t been able to replicate it since. This game really depends on twitch reactions, which I do not have, and heavy RNG. If I get dropped into a mob, there is no chance I’m going to survive.
I think the game is really good, but the ramp-up is too high. I doubt I’ll be playing much more of it because the ceiling is still there.
I also decided to try Control by Remedy again. I so wanted to like this game. It has a strong female protag, paranormal activity, and good graphics. Most people seemed to like it and I jumped in with a positive frame of mind. I was immediately put on my back foot by the sheer amount of cutscenes in the intro. Plus, the gameplay felt floaty and for some weird reason, it was giving me mild nausea even though it was third-person and not first. In addition, the protag’s voiced anxiety was sparking my own, which was not what I want in my gaming.
I fiddled with the controls and got the nausea thing to subside, but I still didn’t care much for the gameplay. I got to like Jesse better and I liked the power-ups I got. However, there are two things I can’t abide. One, the map is shitty. This is a big thing for me and it’s partly because I have a terrible sense of direction and would prefer no map to a bad map. I spent half an hour twice looking for the next place to go, which frustrated the hell out of me.
Two, the gameplay is just not intuitive. I freely admit that it might be me. I know one way to fight–Dark Souls. In addition, my brain just does not work the way other people’s brains work, which means that if I cannot remap the controls, I’m toast.
In addition, I got the telekinetic power right before the boss. Super cool! I can throw things around. That means I should probably do that to the boss, right? Wrong. This boss flew around and was able to throw things as well. Any time I threw something at him, he simply moved at the last moment and it missed him. Then, he summoned adds during the fight, which is annoying. It’s so I can regen my health (energy bits that you can only get after killing enemies), but it’s frustrating. I also hate that he could kill me by hitting me four times.
How did I beat this boss? In the most boring, prosaic way possible. I hid behind the pillars when he was doing his attacks, then I peeked out to shoot him once or twice, rinse, lather, and repeat. Kill the adds, then go back to camping and sniping. Did it work? Yes. Was it fun? No. Did I feel accomplished afterwards? Also no. Am I going to play more of it? Probably not.
I’ve gone back to Binding of Isaac: Repentance (Edmund McMillen) just because it’s there and because I only need the keyboard to play it. I want to be able to give it up, but I need something to replace it.
ELDEN RING IN SIX MONTHS!
Just your periodic reminder that I will disappear from the face of the planet in six months. I am preemptively naming it as my GOTY 2022. In other words, any game I play now is just filler. Yes, I’m still playing Cozy Grove (Spry Fox), which I mosey around in every day and will still probably do so in January, but there’s nothing else that has held my interest in the last few months.
I have two new games that might tide me over until then. One is Death’s Door by Acid Nerve, which is about a crow with a sword. I mean, that’s really all I needed to know, but it also has gorgeous graphics and is about death and souls. It’s more about exploration than combat and from the few reviews I’ve read, it’s about the feelings.
Everybody and their brother is streaming the game right now, which means I can’t watch. I hate being spoiled on a game before I play it. Speaking of Elden Ring, I’m torn between watching/reading anything else that comes out about it and studiously avoiding it because of course I want to know more about it, but I also like to go into a game without any preconceived notions.
The second game, Raji: An Ancient Epic by Nodding Heads Games was one I was following on Steam, but forgot existed. One of my Twitter followers tweeted that it was on Xbox Game Pass and I was thrilled. It’s a hand-drawn game set in ancient India. A young girl, Raji, is chosen to fight demons. Also, rescue her younger brother. It looks gorgeous and has shadow puppets. I’m assuming they bring in Indian traditions, which is fascinating to me. I am hyped about this and cannot wait to try it out.
Bottom line: Elden Ring. That is all.