Underneath my yellow skin

Tag Archives: Control

Something old, something new

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.

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Hodge, podge, and a little bit of dodge

Still on that Cozy Grove (Spry Fox)/Binding of Isaac: Repentance (Edmund McMillen) tip on the daily. Every morning, I do the loop in Cozy Grove and it goes like this. First, I gather all the resources that are available. Flowers, minerals, nuts, and fruits. Then, I feed all the animals/imps that need feeding. After that, I go to the spirits who need help and do their quests. While I’m doing their quests, I have my divining rod on hand so I can divine as I tromp across my island. I also dig up any resources that are around–onions, sweet taters, taters, etc. Once all that is done, I go to Mr. Kit (and Mr. Kat, the mouse on top of his, a fox, head) to sell my goods. If I overpacked my backpack while gathering resources, I go to him to sell off the flowers. Man, you can make a pretty penny by selling all the flowers.

Once I’m done selling, I turn to buying. First, haircuts. I remember when I first tried a new haircut and realized I couldn’t get my old one back unless it went on sale, I was crushed. Now, I switch it up on the daily and it’s so much fun.

Side Note: It’s interesting looking back on the first few weeks and recalling how stressed I got when I didn’t have enough money to buy something or ingredient to make something–specifically cocoa beans.  There was no way to get except to buy one a day from Mr. Kit and…several at a time from Pandam once a week. And the former was only after you expanded his store–which wasn’t cheap. Everything was scarce and I felt as if I would never be able to make certain items, such as the Bon Bons.

Fast-forward over a month later and now, I rarely have to worry about resources. Money is not an issue at all. Cocoa beans? I have them laying around my tent just gathering dust. I will say, it was still sticker shock when I had to buy a 50,000 old coins item for the mayor today, but I had it on hand. I dropped it like it was no big thing.

The biggest surprise is how much I’ve grown to care about the spirit  bears. They each have a story and most of them are heart-wrenching. I want to help each and every one of them, even though I know that means I’m bringing them closer to their release. They each have a distinct personality and I can find something to love about each of them. There’s Charlotte, the embittered ranger who used to be a Spirit Scout like me. There’s Allison, the pig bear and baker who likes to use, um, unusual ingredients in her creation. There’s my dear, sweet Arjun (ram bear) who has Alzheimer and only wants to be with his beloved wife, Lily. There’s Flamey, my campfire who does so many things for me. There’s Mr. Kit, the tall and silent fox merchant with Mr. Kat, the mouse, sitting on his head. There’s Pandam, the poor red panda wandering salesman who is cursed and miserable.


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