#Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs Shadow's Reach

I keep getting up before my alarm goes off. It'd be more irritating if I didn't use it as "coffee and Forbidden West" time.

Right. Shadow's Reach doesn't look too daunting. So over I sneak.

...What is it with you jagoffs and slaves, hmm? How did we manage to still keep slavery? Blegh.

Right. And ... headshot ... headshot ... headshot ... two shots to the radar arrays on the Scroungers... Wait. That's it? Well. I guess I'll ... just ... find a way into the main base, then.

Hi, Yen. No, look, I get it, you want revenge - so would I, in your ... I guess those are shoes. But unlike everyone else I turn down for this, you've been starved and beaten and overworked and really, just ... no. You let me find a way in. That's enough.

Oh dear gods, will you shut up, Vezrah? ...Actually, no, your ranting is great cover for my stealthing around.

Headshot ... headshot... Eeeeeeeh ... I'll aim for the body on that one... Headshot ... and you have a Longleg in a pit and it's not doing anything. Fuckit; right to the concussion sac. BOOM.

Right. That was easy. Need to find a way in. Maybe through that door-- Oh. The rest of the prisoners. Okay, there's been data points that talked about a big bomb so please, please just listen to me when I say get the hell out of here. THANK you.

Right. This door now--

Oh. Wow. We get to listen to this one monologuing. Why can't I interrupt him with an arrow to the face when I have him monologuing?

I would much prefer start these things from stealth without him monologuing...

Fine! FINE I WILL DO MELEE COMBAT IF YOU MAKE ME! Ugh.

Right. Now you. Smoke bomb. Corner. Ooh, I seem to have aimed well for the face--

Oh you absolute shithead runningrunningrunningyaycutscene!

Well. There goes the story of you.

See, Yen? THIS is why I didn't want you to come with me. And look, if you want to help, maybe spread the story of how I helped you around Plainsong? I have a thing I need to talk to the Chorus about and every little helps.

Right. EXPLORATION.

Glinthawks! Proper ones! And I still have the knack of aiming for the belly and sending them down in a frozen shattered heap! WOO!

GREEN SHINY.

Right. I will go see what's down that bit of water...

Okay, maybe I won't just now. Maybe I'll grab the drone in Plainsong instead.

Ugh. I hate this blight shit...

Ooh, there's a Scrounger in there. Bye, Scrounger!

Right. Drone.

No, wait. Drone is supposed to stop.

Drone, WHY ARE YOU GOING SO FAST?!?

*Googles* Oh. Known bug. Greeeeeeeeeat. I'll go, save at a campfire, quit for the time being and try this later tonight. Hopefully the return to campfire will reset this shit like some people says it does and I won't have to do this ten or fifteen times.

Please Nixxes patch this bullshit soon anyway...

And now it's worktime. Yaaaaaay.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Proving Lab

Welp. That happened.

And here we are - what's left of HADES. I mean, I'm surprised there's anything left of HADES at all, honestly. But I guess Sylens doesn't have so much a concept of mercy.

HADES, you are a shitheel. I mean, the Derangement and the Mysterious Signal probably contributed to that, but I don't think getting mucked with by Travis Tate et al helped all that much.

So ... wait ... Sylens, are you seriously telling me you left HADES alive (insomuch as an AI is alive) specifically so you could keep your word way back when you said you'd give me the means to destroy it? ...Well, if I'm running around settlements that look like Dreamer's Terrace, I guess it's fitting that I've got Fae-wording bargains coming from this dipshit.

And now you give me a schematic to let me ignite firegleam. Only when it suits you. Ugh, fine, I'll go hunt Leaplashers. (I hate Leaplashers.)

Best way to deal with Leaplashers - from the next post code over.

"Story and Easy Mode: you do not have to shoot off the power cores--" Can I ... do it anyway?

Right. Firegleam ignited. In we go!

So ... there was no mechanic for just ... letting me swim there? Really?

We're really hammering home the parallels between Sobek and Aloy, aren't we. Also ... why can I not punch Travis Tate in the face? I mean, really, I want to punch him in his face.

.........Well, this wasn't what I was expecting the "We still have dozens of hours of gameplay to give you so we'll contrive a problem" to be, but I'll take it. This game really enjoys kicking one in the metaphorical balls.

Sylens ... these are unknown quantities trying to come through the door, and you're not tellng me nearly enough, but I've done enough reading to know that the little you say you know? Is complete bullshit.

Yeah, see? Though now I'm almost regretting having crunched that particular Focus because I want a very good, very solid, "I TOLD YOU SO" right now.

(Also, if she was carrying around a spare Focus - or several, given what she told Varl at the beginning - why did she not do that six months ago? Or even when she discovered what he did to HADES? She knew Sylens had spyware! If she wanted to keep getting answers from him, she shouldn't have destroyed the spyware-filled Focus; she should have shoved it in a belt pouch and used a different one - at least until she wanted to pry answers out of Sylens again.)

...What the fuck are you people wearing? Did you get all your ideas on future fashion from Star Trek: TOS? That's tacky as fuck, guys.

Except you, Mini-Me. ...I have a Mini-Me. Great. And someone really needs to give you some actual shoes. Your feet must be cold.

(Yes, I notice this shit.)

Okay, these are not the machines I know, and ... yeah, I read a review at some point that talked about the "new machines" and how disappointing their designs were, and ... I get what they mean now. Robots should not ooze.

"One is trouble enough". Oooooh, Sylens, I wish I'd left you eavesdropping. Just because of how much you fucking hate being wrong.

Oh, so your horrible blingy jumpsuit has a forcefield on it. So this is going to be the most annoying fight ever.

...I get Aloy wanted information, but why was there no option to just jump in the damn water and swim?!? Why did she have to play some demented version of Tag to crash an entire ... whatever that fucking thing was when it wasn't even going to hurt him?!?

So jumping puzzle plus oxygen management plus stealth out the ass. This has been the most annoying fucking thing ever and I hate it. Good thing I'm way better at stealth.

...Crippling by Cutscene. THANKS FOR THAT.

Ah. Hi, Varl. Guess you're feeling better. I personally feel like shit. But I'm going to Do The Thing anyway--

Okay, that's fucking clever. The Utaru name their settlements for music because they remembered the old "do-re-mi" scale-singing from their ancestors' Cradle teachings, and let it live on in the name of their "land-gods". And this is the first civilisation that actually acknowledges what the machines were supposed to do. Everyone else treats them as a hazard at best; the Utaru worked in concert with them. So ... basically it's the Utaru that have it right. Neat.

Yeah, go be with your girlfriend, Varl. I will stay put, I promise. If only because a) the cutscene wants me to and b) I don't want to be that much of a hypocrite given everything I've said to you and Erend over the last little while. Also, c) someone ought to have a romance option that isn't one throwaway bit in the DLC.

(YES I KIND OF WANT TO ROMANCE EREND SHUT UP.)

Aaaaaaaand my ribs are better. And little green exclamation mark. Hi, Xenophobe Lady.

...Aloy? Why could you not just explain to the Xenophobe Lady what a 'thrush' is?!? Maybe she'd stop being such a bitch!

Right. I know there's all this saving-the-world stuff (though I have to admit I'm a lot less jazzed about that when I'm fighting Futuristic Techno-Gods or whatever), but I'm going to take a break and then I am going to go and ignite every bit of Firegleam I have passed so far. It has been taunting me.

(No, seriously, Futuristic Techno-Gods who bring all of the mindsets of the Old World with them? I don't want this. I am in this game for seeing how civilisations might shape themselves outside of the influence of the Old Gods - this is speculative fiction at its finest! And now you're giving me Futuristic Techno-Gods who are, in point of fact, generations old? And where were they all this time?)

(...They were in space, weren't they. IF THIS GAME SENDS ME TO SPACE I AM GOING TO THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW. METAPHORICALLY.)

Right. Yes. Break. Then, Firegleam and hunting. I ... am weirdly less jazzed about this game now that we're bringing the Old World this far into it. There's still enough for me to love, but none of it's the main plot. It's getting space-opera convoluted here - more clones, advanced technology, people treating the civilisations that formed without APOLLO as lesser--

...Wait. If we have APOLLO and DEMETER and HADES and HEPHAESTUS ... why do we have MINERVA? Every single one of the subordinate functions, and even the rogue AI Nemesis, were named for Greek gods, so why didn't they go with ATHENA?

Anyway, we're going into a vaguely colonialist direction far beyond shit like the Carja being stuck-up about everything and I am not sure I like it. Also I want to punch Sylens in the face for effectively arming the rebel Tenakth. What does he gain from destabilising the region? More to the point, what do these Techno-God dipshits gain from it? They have to be helping with that shit somehow.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Morning Hunt

I keep forgetting the good stuff so I will make a couple of Forbidden West bullet points before I start work.

Right. Across the map for Scorchers. ...Ooh. Bellowbacks.

A veritable bounty of Bellowbacks. Now. Blowing up the big sac seems to lose me the webbing I need. But what if I hit that smaller bunch of hoses that connect to the proboscis? Would proximity to the boom blow up the big sac too--?

NOPE! ...Also OSHITITISNOTDEADYET.

Right. There we go-- Oop. That doesn't look like a Burrower-- Watchers?!? We get good old-fashined Watchers back? I missed these! ...Mostly because I liked putting an arrow straight through their 'eye', but still.

...DEFINITELY a bounty of Bellowbacks. Score!

Ooh, settlement! I'll check in here before I go hunting up Scorchers.

Anything good, Hunter-trader? ...Nah, but you're a good spot to dump some vendor trash, so thanks.

Right. ...ONE Scorcher. Boo. Ah well. I can see it from here and... POONK

...And that's another one-shot. Huh.

Ooh, Firegleam. And some greenshine in there. Might as well get that while I'm exploring--

Oop. That alerted the Clawstriders on top of the cliff. Quieeeeeet...

Fuckit I'll just go up and kill them.

...Oh.

Oh, okay.

Oh, you are a deeply stupid machine.

Not that I'm complaining.

...See, turns out that I shoot things from so far away that even without stealth grass, in the time it takes for them to, say, get up when I knock them over? They forget they got shot because they don't detect a foe in the vicinity.

I fucking rule.

Right. No time for much else; I have a workday to get through.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs Pouch Upgrades

Because that is effectively how I spent my morning. I had the best of intentions, I swear!

Right. First thing to do is clear those Clawstriders out of the way, then see if I can get a few campfires down the coast to prep for doing AETHER later tonight or--

Ooh, lobster. Right. Got the lobster tail I need, for now. Lemme just-- Oop. Snapmaws.

Acid Snapmaws.

APEX Acid Snapmaws.

Which means if I hit that---

BOOM. Stealth Kill, Weak Spot Kill, Corroding Kill. WOO!

Right. This close to the water, I could swim a bit and-- That's a moonfish. I don't even need to scan it; I KNOW WHAT A MOONFISH LOOKS LIKE I NEED THOSE.

Oof. I can apparently only fight the current for so long. Interesting way of doing the invisible wall. Guess I'll have to stick closer to shore, but--

Wait. The area near the building where I can find DEMETER has a little cove and that's bound to be protected from the worst of the currents. Let's go!

Much bett-- THERE ARE BASS HERE TOO! SCOOOOOOORE!

Oh for-- WILL YOU HOLD STILL, YOU FINNED GREMLIN?!?

Okay, you'll have to turn back to-- Wait. Where'd it go? It just ... disappeared. Despawned when it got too close to the shoreline. ...That is not fair.

You know, of all the games that cram in a fishing mini-game, this one is at least useful. But I still miss shooting the fish. I guess you'd have a problem doing that when the water's that deep.

Right. I should get moving in a shelter-ward direction as work-time is approaching but I wanna see what fifteen minutes of swimming after fish got me.

...Aaaaaaand that's a fully upgraded Precision Arrow pouch! That makes this morning entirely worth it. Later, I have to swim after more bass and shoot more lobsters. But it's not urgent because FULLY UPGRADED PRECISION ARROW POUCH YAY!

So that was my morning. Now, work. Boo. But later, main quest stuff!

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs Regalla

Well, first there was the Stuff at Base to deal with.

Poor Erend. He tries to brush off the squishy stuff but he is just this ... big dumb loyal marshmallow wrapped in steel and I just want to hug him.

I do love the viewpoints and moods we get from this group. Zo is ... I have a suspicion about a thing, but overall she's ... maintaining. Alva ... is probably not used to this level of setback, just because of how setbacks are dealt with among the Quen, so obviously she's entirely at sea about how to bounce back. Kotallo is moving on to the next battle because he can't mourn the dead until all the battles are done, just so he knows how many of the dead to mourn - and besides, that's his people. And Erend ... see above re: big dumb loyal marshmallow.

Zo wants to speak to me before I can do anything else? Okay. So now I get to confirm why she's so relatively calm, because that kind of thing is generally--

...okay, first? There is so much beauty in this game, even in its saddest moments, and I will bask in this until--

Yep. Relatively calm because she carries a piece of him, literally. It'll be interesting to see how that little one is raised. (And as a friend of mine pointed out, Sona's lost both of her children now. Though I guess she probably accepted that she lost Varl when he left the Sacred Lands. That's still kind of a Nora thing.)

Also like I was telling this friend of mine? It did have to be Varl, not only for thematic reasons, but for narrative ones. We needed Kotallo, Zo, and Alva as anchors to the current part of the world we're in. We still need Kotallo because we still have things to deal with as regards the Tenakth. Alva will not only be needed in terms of information about the Ancestors, but may also serve as a link to follow in the next game (assuming there will be one, but this doesn't feel like it's going to be over when we punt the Zeniths off our planet; nothing's that simple in this series). Zo ... well, narrative aftercare at minimum, since she's carrying Varl's child. And Erend? Well, he was a possibility, but he was too obvious a possibility, to start with. I mean, come on; he's a beatstick who deals with problems by charging headfirst into them. He's learning a bit of strategy now, but his death wouldn't have the same narrative weight because it's kind of expected from someone who goes into melee with Bristlebacks and who you know would die for you without a second's hesitation. Varl? He's been with Aloy since nearly the beginning. He taught her so much. He wasn't just a Rost for Beta - he was what Rost should have been for Aloy; Rost just didn't know how to be that. He tried to get Aloy to embrace life with the tribe, but he thought the only way was to separate himself from her entirely. Varl spent the last two games walking the line between "what tradition demands" and "what my friend needs", and choosing the latter every time. His world became so vast when he left the Sacred Lands. There were few enough places with narrative weight left for him to go. I've read at least one review that said they wanted to see more of Varl's character arc and that only annoys me because a) we saw a lot of it anyway and b) the only way we could have seen more of it was if it had been him as the main character and not Aloy.

(Yeah, it felt like half the reviewers at minimum would have very much preferred that Aloy be male. They don't like how bossy she is, they think she isn't likeable ... all these things that just get a pass when it's male characters being like that. I hate it.)

Okay. Let's see if flying on a Sunwing will ease my pain.

..................................WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(I mean ... it really kinda does.)

I FINALLY GET THAT TALLNECK WOO!

I should take a break but ... no. No, I am going to finish off those rebels. I'm done.

YOINK.

Ooooooooooooohohohoho this is awesome.

Okay, what now?

Melee combat with minimal space, that's what. Oh, get fucked.

Right. A little more space. Not much, but...

...You know what? You don't deserve precision or clean shots. For you, Regalla? I'm bringing out the very well upgraded legendary hunter bow. And the fire arrows. BURN!

It is so satisfying watching her be on fire.

Soooooooooo ... I get to throw her at the Zeniths? Really? Yes. Okay. I will do that. Kotallo can keep her honest, and that's what she wanted to do anyway, thanks to Sylens--

Oh. Speaking of. Message from these Prometheus people, which meeeeeeans...

Hi, Sylens. How's the everything? Your plans went tits-up? Yeah, good, because yours were made of dickhead. AGAIN. You want APOLLO? You follow my plans. Because I have them, yes. And I finally, finally know more than you do.

So I am going to get everybody - friends, foes, annoyances - into my base and we're going to do this shit. But to give everybody time to get there ... I have a couple of flight-related side quests to deal with.

Ah, there are those assholes who attacked Tide's Reach. One just wants to ... die on a tiny spit of rock, okay.

Okay, raider rebel jackasses, what building did you climb--?

Oh, this is going to suck for my usual methods of combat...

Melee combat, on a very tiny ledge, with a very long drop I HATE THIS SO MUCH.

Well, I got through it anyway. Now to that one last shelter I couldn't get because I needed flight--

GREENSHINE SLAB YAY!

Now is a good time to take a proper break. I have one more side quest and then I think endgame. I can wait for NG+ for anything really to do with the arena etc.

Yeah, I require an actual meal, and bath, and all that good stuff. But ... lots of thoughts, lots of feels, and holy fuck I forgot how much I love flying mounts.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs Filling Gaps

For those who have been following my Horizon Forbidden West bullet-pointed liveposting ... that is still actually happening. I know it's been awhile, but honestly, because the next thing I have to do is Big Main Story Quest Thing that involves crawling around a Cauldron (and probably some very unpleasant kick in the metaphorical balls, because this game Be Like That), I have been waiting for a moment where I have the spoons. After work - especially when we're still one typist short, and have been told that we should somehow be able to clear the backlog when we have more doctors reporting than ever and some come in on the weekends - is not a spoon-heavy time. And today is break day, so I can have spoons to run some stuff for my Saturday group later tonight. So I'll probably be hitting GEMINI tomorrow.

What have I been doing for the past week or so, you might ask? Mostly hunting Stormbirds. I decided to try upgrading my legendary-level blastsling - not because I intend to use it, but because a machine hunt is actually a pretty good way to start the day. So there was a lot of hunting up Stormbirds because I needed three fucking cannons. And today I needed Fireclaws and an Apex Tremortusk. The Tremortusk was easy. The Fireclaws ... not so much. Debating whether I really want to upgrade the blastsling all the way because that last tier involves Slaughterspines and can I really be arsed?

I couldn't today, mind you. After finishing off that Tremortusk, I decided to spend a little time figuring out exactly how many datapoints I've missed throughout my time playing this game. Turns out, not that many, and they were all in some pretty tense situations where I guess I can be forgiven for having missed them. Especially in the one I missed in LATOPOLIS, where you literally had to look up, drag a crate down with the pullcaster, climb the crate, go into a room that you have literally no reason to be in and scan the thing. I get wanting to encourage exploration, but seriously, in main quest areas? Where we're already tense and have every bit of dialogue screaming at us to get on with it? C'mon. So, yeah, it was LATOPOLIS, Dunehollow, and the Spinebreak for out-of-the-way datapoints so those gaps in the list don't nag at me. Because they have been annoying the piss out of me for weeks.

(Is that an ADHD thing? Because given my being largely fine with untidy and such, I seriously doubt it's an OCD thing. I just ... have moments where I need to ORGANISE EVERYTHING and I don't get it. I just use it to improve my quality of life where I can.)

And now I am going to actually have food, in my ongoing attempt to eat more than one meal a day (it has not been going very well, I have to say), and figure out what I want to do with the rest of the afternoon. I don't have the spoons for GEMINI yet, and I don't want to hunt Slaughterspines. Maybe I'll do one of my farming sims. I seem to recall Wylde Flowers got an update where there is a hairstylist. And I got that whole big bunch of farm sims from a recent Humble Bundle. Alternatively, I've been told that Civ VII is coming out next year and I haven't even played Civ VI yet (picked it up on massive Steam sale awhile back).

...I'll figure something out. Damnit, executive dysfunction, stop messing with me!

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West #(sort of)

[thessalian]

Thess vs Morning Inconveniences

So my stepfather called at half past eleven last night to ask me if the electrician who came by some months ago could come back, because apparently he had to sign off on what he'd already done to do an invoice? Or something? I have no idea but the electrician is apparently a bit of a dipshit, and pretty obviously thinks that his schedule matters more than anyone else's. Apparently my stepfather found out yesterday afternoon that the electrician wanted to come by today - the very next day, when he apparently arranged this at close to close of play the day before - and apparently decided to say it was probably okay instead of checking with me first. (He would have called sooner but apparently he had himself a bit of a nap and didn't actually wake up until half past eleven, hence the late call.) I tried not to be grumpy, but we're two typists down and if the fucking electrician has to switch off the power for any length of time to check his work, I'm going to be very cross.

Honestly don't get this. Why the everloving fuck does an electrician need to be chased for an invoice? And why doesn't he have a note of what he did and how much that would cost? This doesn't feel normal. It feels stupid and weird. Surely the electrician wants his money for his work and kept track of what he was doing.

Anyway, got up early - not because pain this time; just because a) I went to bed a bit early and b) I guess it seemed better to get up if I wasn't sure exactly when I'd be getting visits from the Fuse Box Fairy or whatever. So I spent an hour or so playing Horizon Forbidden West. Not all that much to bullet-point about, honestly - tracked down a Quen's little brother (or rather, his corpse, but hey), picked up a Vista and some datapoints, shot down a Slaughterspine just because it was there and in my way... You know. Normal stuff.

I'm still tired and in pain, mind you, and not looking forward to today overall. But I guess we work with what we have.

#Thess gets aerated #Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West #(sort of)

[thessalian]

Thess vs Faro's Tomb

Yesterday I just did some prepwork insofar as the getting to Horizonverse San Francisco was involved. This morning, however ... I woke up waaaaaaaay too early with the whole "pain-spasm in the legs" thing and could not get back to sleep so I thought ... fuck it. Main quest time.

YESTERDAY

Okay. Totem. Up the mountain we go!

...Too far up the mountain. This is a Sunken Cavern and I don't need greenshine that badly. I suppose it's in that cabin down there. But there's Sunwings and--

Oop. That's a Stalker. Lemme clear the field a bit.

Right. Totem of War iiiiiiiiiiiis ... Kratos. I guess this is what they mean by Easter eggs.

Moving on - gotta get to San Francisco. Minus the flowers in the hair.

Of course I had to do this shit at night. I guess it makes sense story-wise, though. Off I go!

Right. What've we got in this area? ...TALLNECK!

Tallneck ... in the water. And ... damaged. Okay, what stole the parts this time?

Glinthawks. Great. A-swimming we will go-- FUCK THERE'S SNAPMAWS.

Can I lure the Snapmaws up to the surface so I can poonk them? *tosses rock* Nope. But they're over there for now and I will just ... play with crates.

Okay. Sneak-swim and...

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKNOTENOUGHSTEALTHKELP!

Phew! In the building. They can't bother me in here. And up I go.

Aha! Part! And ... fuck, that nest I looted over there wasn't the one I needed so I have to go back!

...Oh thank the gods there's a zipline. Bye, Snapmaws!

Second part. Now, where do I need to put these?

Ah. Thank the gods for the rebreather. Aaaaaaand--

Oh fuck I'm going to have to swim some more.

Okay, I can jump on from here. That'll work. YEET.

For once I get to climb the moving Tallneck! I missed this!

Override and SPLOOSH back into the water for that shelter I saw over there. Now that I'm more or less established, I can quit here and do the rest when I have a few more spoons.

THIS MORNING

Okay, over to Legacy's Landfall-- Ooh, drone!

I admit I am getting better at finding the ways to climb things to get drones and the like. Plus it's a good distraction from the OW.

Got that ... now, Legacy's Landfall.

OHAI QUENFOLK. Um ... wut.

They call their leaders Ceo? As in CEO? Oh gods. Not sure if hilarious or creepy, so I'm going for both.

Bohai, you are ... untrusting and a bit grumpy. Which I get. Ceo, you are ... friendly in that creepy "I do not and will not trust you" way. I have a feeling this is going to be shitty.

Alva and the rest are pinned down by a Thunderjaw? You have, like, an army; can't you--? No, of fucking course you can't. I'm on it.

Quick stop for datapoints, and then Thebes. ...I didn't even know there was a Thebes in Egypt, but turns out it's around Luxor. Huh.

YES I KNOW THERE'S A THUNDERJAW; THAT'S WHY I'M STICKING TO THE RED GRASS-- Fuck.

Okay, that wasn't so bad. Hi, Alva-- Oh. You fuckwads followed me. Great. So down we go.

Ah. Gene-locked to Faro. I got this.

Swimswimswim... Aha, here we go. Aaaaaaand ... okay, the audio logs from this Kayla are already freaking me out and I've only seen one of them. This is going to get ugly, isn't it.

Ceo ... what the fuck are you wearing? You-- You consider yourself the reincarnation of Ted Faro; that explains the Fucking Creepy. Fine, you want to be a weirdo, go ahead, but-- YOU WANT ME TO WEAR WHAT?!?

So here I am in an approximation of Sobeck's favourite outfit, which they would have killed Alva if I hadn't worn it, going down into Thebes and getting ever so much creepier audio logs. I ... have a concern about this whole situation.

I'm sorry - Faro installed WHAT in people's heads?!? Oh, this is just gross.

So he was working on the same "eternal life" tech that the Zeniths have and ... it ... sounds like it didn't work so well? That's ... as far as this goes, right? He gave himself cancer or something. Right?

.........Right?!?

.....................wrong. Hooooooooboy. That is fucked up.

Yeah, no, guys, you really don't want to see that--

No, guys, you really don't want to do that--

Guys, what the fuck is your problem?!?

Fuck it; you want to get burned alive by trying to kill us while we run? Go ahead.

Please let the stupid Faro statue collapse with Ceo on it--

YES! VINDICATION!

Hi, Bohai-- Yeah, no, Alva, Bohai knows Ceo's a fuckwit. Let's just tell him that Ceo was a fuckwit and get on with our lives.

Okay. Quick stop for a black box, turn all those in for parts I really don't need to buy just to finish the quest, aaaaaaaand ... I guess it's time for work.

Oh, today's going to suck. I'm in less pain (the paracetamol has kicked in a bit) but I am exhausted.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs The West Coast

I swore I was going to figure that stupid relic ruin out, and I did. With the usual bullshit I generally get with the jumping puzzles.

Right. Relic Ruin on the Long Coast. I at least got the lift powered up. Now I just need to get to crates for, like, stepping stones. Same as the Cauldrons.

Oh. I seem to have approached from a different direction this time. And ... I can climb the tower but of course I can't, just, pry some debris loose and get the gizmo. But ... I can jump to those?

...Barely, and after two attempts, I figure out it's easier to just glide there.

Crate plus Firegleam equals ... yeah, I know how this goes.

And of course I can't just get it straight into the lift. Fine. Down to the ground floor it goes and I'll do that whole fox / hen / grain puzzle. ...At least, once I get the first crate.

Okay, I know I'm supposed to be able to get to those handholds, but I can't see how from here.

Fine. I will unbend enough to watch a vid on it. Because there's an approach I am not seeing.

Aha. Directly behind everything else. Okay.Just have to hang a tighter left when I approach from the campfire.

And once again it WILL NOT LET ME JUMP.

Lemme try restarting from save.

Nope. Lemme try rebooting the game completely.

NOPE. Lemme see what this person in the video does from camera angle.

Not quite, buuuuuut ... there seems to be an order in which you press spacebar and D to move that way? I got it, anyway.

Yeah, thanks for arranging this in such a way that I literally cannot avoid taking damage from the boom.

Okay, just have to move the lights and get up there before they zip back. Now, this is precision timing, so lemme orientate myself properly before I even start.

And I can't use the Pullcaster on the lever if I orientate myself properly, so I'll get as close as I can and trust my ability to press buttons really fast to do the trick.

First attempt ... failure. I caught it just before it zipped back, with me clinging to the whole mess.

Second attempt ... success! Now, I probably don't have to running jump this gap but I'm going to do it anyway because like hell am I falling before I get this crate where I need it.

Aaaaaaaaand crate! I'm sure I did this completely backwards but fuck it. I have two crates, and two crates is all I need.

Crates in lift... Eh, I should probably pull that vent open now to save frustration later

First floor (second floor to you Americans), off with one crate.

Lift goes down... I go up.

Crate on first floor goes on lift roof. I go back down.

And UP I go.

And now I have to move the crate on the lift roof because it's too far from the handholds. But if I'd pushed it that far in, I wouldn't have had the space to climb up. MAKE UP YOUR MINDS.

Aaaaaaaand ... Valentine's Day! Over to Stemmur.

Hrm ... while I'm curious about what he makes of Valentine's Day, I want to see what he makes of Christmas.

"Those look almost like Fanghorns--" I'm not sure whether that's adorable or sad. I'm also not sure whether I want to explain to him that Fanghorns were designed to look rather a lot like reindeer (or, well, deer in general, but still).

Right. Gonna get a few more campfires up the coast before I start thinking main quest.

Acid Bellowback site still listed as "Unknown". I will have it be Known, and also kill me some Bristlebacks because why not?

...CLAMBERJAWS OUT OF NOWHERE THAT'S WHY NOT!

I didn't even see where they came from! It's like Glinthawks descending on scrap in Zero Dawn, but worse! Clamberjaws are quieter!

Right. Moving on ... campfires--

Wait. There's something glowy in my path, visible in the pre-dawn light. Focus on and...

Behemoth. Huh. Doesn't say anything about a site or a convoy. Well, except for the Shell-Walker convoy going up the path a bit further north. Better get it out of my way--

Clamberjaws AGAIN?!? Do they just materialise whenever I scrap something? What?!?

Right. That's done with, and ... Huh. Widemaws. And there's some greenshine down there, why not?

How far away can I be and still kill them?

Almost all the way up a mountain. AWESOME.

Oop. Didn't hit that third one so well. Watching it lumber trying to find a path to get to me is kind of hilarious. Buuuut I should put it out of its ... confusion, if not misery. POONK.

Why are Bellowbacks guarding this building? *checks map* Because it's going to be hella important later. Right. Okay. Might as well clear them out now to make it easier for me later.

Tideripper site. ...Now I know I don't have to upgrade any more armour because I have my Legendary Armour of Perfection, buuuut ... fuck it, Tideripper fins are a good thing, and upgrading armour is as good a reason as any to kill a thing.

Right. Not seeing it. Guess I better glide down there and-- INSTANT alert holy fuck.

Thankfully it's fairly far out to sea still so lemme set up this shock trap just in case.

Right. Safe enough, now I have time to scan and-- BOOM.

Oh. That's a good 3/4 of your health gone. Other reservoir on the neck and--

You didn't even attack me once, Mr Tideripper! ...Well, you weren't Apex, so I guess I should've expected you to go down fairly easy.

...Y'know what? I'm going to go back and investigate that building. Just to see what I can clear up before Quest Shit takes me there.

...............How the fuck did the Bellowbacks come back so fast?!? I POP YOU LIKE TICKS, YOU LUMBERING SHITHEELS! *POONK*

No datapoints yet, but a metal flower and some climbing.

Ah. 98% vendor trash by volume. What's downstairs?

Something I will have to engage with later, apparently, but cannot engage with now.

Okay, I'm done for now. Need a break, maybe some more coffee... And when I come back ... main quest?

Oof. No. I'm still missing a totem on the mainland. Should grab that first.

So, yeah, this early-afternoon was by and large finishing up some loose ends on the mainland. I admit, I love this interactive map.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Valley of the Fallen

I've still been running through Stuff in Horizon Forbidden West in the mornings, but the last day or so it was mostly "Attempt to hunt up THINGS for armour, be disappointed when the Slaughterspine I was hunting didn't turn out to be the really dangerous one, sigh and decide to try again later". But I did trip over a quest, and ... yeah.

So yesterday I tripped over a quest from Nakka in Fall's Edge, when I was trying to tick the "Visit Fall's Edge" box on the main questline. But I can't find the person I need to talk to here and the quest isn't ticking. Lemme check Reddit.

Sooooooooo it just ... stays there until I do the main part of the quest? Really? Couldn't we have at least had it turn off when I actually visit the place? What the--? Oh. Hi, Nakko.

Okay, so, dude's worried about his brother. Who has disregarded orders to avoid the Really Weird Valley with the Really Weird Lights. Kids are stupid. Buuuuut they probably don't deserve to die for it. I mean, there are limits to how Darwinian we want to get here, right?

But first I wanna get that data point I keep missing, or I will forget it again.

I mean, it seems useless, but it honestly doesn't seem to be. There have been at least two data points that I can remember that talked about people struggling to find jobs. That's ... a mood.

Right. Valley of the Fallen.

Hi, Ivvira. Yeah, I feel for you, getting sent out to rescue kids from their own overconfidence. Park rangers used to get that all the time, and there were fewer killer machines back then.

Oh dear. Poor Daxx. Wonder if I can get Ivvira to tell this dude's brother about this.

Huh. That's not too bad a gathering. I expected more in the way of Clamberjaws, since map tells me this is a Clamberjaw site. Maybe it's only a Clamberjaw site after I take out the lures--

Oh. Zenith lures. Well, yeah, protecting their private island, right.

Override you and--

Did ... did you just say "Local vermin"?!?

Did you just add "Yay!" after your fucking kill count, you asshole AI?

Zenith genocidal fuckwits GO DIE IN A FIRE.

Right. Site the second aaaaaaaand ... ah. Spikesnouts. At least I know how to deal with those.

Yep, lemme just loot first-- There was a Skydrifter there? I ... guess I killed it without noticing?

Sorry, Yivekka-- Oh. Hi again, Ivvira--

There ... are Spectres now?!?

Why do I suddenly feel like I did this backwards?!? Oh fuck it; poonk-time is now!

Okay. Yes, Ivvira, you stay here with Yivekka; I will go deal with that last lure.

And this lure-- OH SHUT UP, YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE AI! YOU'RE LIKE CLAPTRAP FOR GENOCIDAL MANIACS!

Thunderjaw and Tremortusk? Oof. Okay. Lemme see how much damage I can do without getting close.

...Quite a lot, apparently. Right. Lure the third.

And now the AI has a voice. And ... it really is Claptrap for genocidal maniacs.

Oh. Hi, Erik. Genocidal fuckwit.

Yeah, I definitely did this backwards because now it's telling me to go to the third lure. Gods, I hope I didn't bug this out completely...

I did not. Good. And I have ... another weapon I will never ever use. But thank you anyway.

Right. It's night. If I hurry, I might be able to get myself an Apex Slaughterspine. I'll blow a fast travel pack, just to be on the safe side.

And up the mountain I gooooooooooooo...

Scanning ... it's taking a second--YES! Just want to get the Leaplashers first.

Bye, Leaplashers! Now-- oop I alerted the Slaughterspine AND I HAVE NO COVER SHIT.

Smoke bomb; dodge roll-- AGH!

Fuckthisthingfuckthisthingfuckthisthiiiiiiiiiiiiing...

YES! With my last arrow, too.

Now, lemme just find a workbench-- Oh. I missed a Leaplasher. Now, how far away can I be and still hit?

...Never mind next post code; that was across state lines. Best way to deal with a Leaplasher, in my opinion.

I could fast travel, but I want to get that Redeye Watcher site.

Quietly tracking aaaaaaand--waitwut.

Why are there Bellowbacks THIS IS NOT A BELLOWBACK SITE ON MY MAP WHY ARE THERE BELLOWBACKS?!?

Okay, I don't really need to hunt the Bellowbacks so I'mma just sneak through in the river, thanks.

Redeye Watchers. I don't really need to hunt them either, but what the hell. It'll get me close enough to register the site properly on my map.

And over I go to Lowland's Path. And workbench aaaaaaaaaand...

FULLY. UPGRADED. LEGENDARY. UTARU. WINTERWEAVE. ARMOUR. I AM INVISIBLE!

Right. I was going to be better about food. So I should do that.

Well, I mean, as well as food, I have a D&D thing to do today. At least I'm a little better on the pain scale. Yesterday wasn't great. Had to take a dose of mallet meds to leave the house. Did I mention I hate fibromyalgia? Because I hate fibromyalgia.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs Slitherfangs

Slightly different deal than I was expecting this morning...

Over to Tide's Reach I go--

Ah. So apparently I can't even do this one yet. Because Reasons. I must pick something up in the next few bits of main quest that'll let me.

...is it wrong that I want to chase these guys by overriding a Tideripper?

Anyway. I guess I should head over in the direction of Fall's Edge for main quest--

Wait. There's that new mention of Tremortusk site on the map over in the desert area. I should double-check a thing...

That says Slitherfang Site.

THAT SAYS SLITHERFANG SITE I GO.

Okay. Carefullyyyyyyyyyyy ... I have so many problems with these things... Set up a blast trap just in case aaaaaaaaaand... POONK.

...Sooooooooooo maybe I don't have so many problems with these things when I have prep time. Huh.

AND I'M SHORT ONE SLITHERFANG EARTHGRINDER. Fuck you.

...Maybe I should see if that other site is spitting out Slitherfangs.

IT IS! HUZZAH! I GO!

That one went down even easier. Nice. Now. Directly to a workbench. No dawdling.

NEW UPGRADE ON MY SPIFFY STEALTH ARMOUR! Now, what do I need next?

...Apex Slitherfang heart. Riiiiiiiiiiight. Can I set the clock to night here?

What do you mean, "Unavailable"? The one time I want to use that mechanic, you won't let me?!?

Fine. I'll just wait for night to happen on its own and fast travel. Meantime, I should head to Fall's Edge. Buuuuuut I should also get that one campfire between desert and jungle. I can start from ... this campfire here.

Aaaaaaaaand I tripped right into an errand. Huh. Tenakth lady wants word of her old crush and a flower delivery. I could use something low-stakes, sure.

I could shoot the everything while picking these flowers, but let's see how good my stealth chops really are.

...Pretty damn good, apparently. And over to Plainsong.

Plainsong is so beautiful now. Everything sings.

Lao, Ven ... you guys are adorable. Lao especially. So enthusiastic.

And ... Riverhymn, huh? Okay.

Ah. Well, at least Tenakth lady will know.

Aww. Her granddaughter is adorable too. A little tsundere, but hey. She's Tenakth.

Now. Campfire, work. And then, I will go on a night hunt for Slitherfangs.

I woke up this morning with my left outer thigh aching like someone hit it with a car. I have no idea why. But I have to work like this, sooooo...

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs Important Side Quests

Playing a little bit of catch-up.

YESTERDAY

Back to base. I guess there are worse ways to wake up than morning coffee and cutscenes.

Aww. Erend. You and Kotallo are getting along. (No, really; you are. You would know if you weren't; trust me.)

One thing I've been asking - and I don't know if I can ask GAIA about ... I mean, we have reasonable prosthetics even in our now; they must be better in this version of the future, if they can create whole machine creatures. Can we not ... get ... Kotallo a prosthetic arm, or something? If he wants one?

Varl and Zo are so cute. ...Okay, who's gonna die?

No, but seriously, Varl ... you can't just tell someone to throw out their gods and build new ones. We will fix their gods.

Hi, GAIA. Here's AETHER. How're we doing on--?

Beta. I ... kind of get why everyone's a little side-eyeing you, but I guess the person who finds the "this will not work" in every plan does help refine the plan. Still, could you please give some positives--?

Ah. Okay. Yes. Thank you. No, don't worry, I can can deal with the Quen. I made friends with the Tenakth, didn't I?

...Can we? Now? Fix the land-gods?

YES!

Ah, Kotallo already asked about prosthetics! Great! I will definitely help with that!

Side quests ahoy but with all the cutscene, I don't have a lot of time. So over to Cinnabar Sands to free a land-god.

Aaaaaaaand hunting. No big.

...Is ... is that Burrower literally hiding from me? Instead of the other way around? It will not come out from behind that rock. Oh well. Climb rock. Silent STRIKE. And done.

(Like, literally; need to get to work.)

TODAY

Right. To that little pond where I did sort of free that land-god, but before I had the reboot code--

Aaaaaaaaand there's a Snapmaw.

...You know what? Fuck it. C'MON AND FIGHT ME, YOU MECHANICAL PAIN IN MY ASS!

And ... you will ... apparently stay in the water while I POONK all your weak spots. Win!

I'm loving the little bits of lore Zo's giving about the festivals to the various land-gods. I'm a sucker for world-building.

Aaaand over to Plainsong and-- Huh. Fane. Hi. Ah, dumping seed pouches from Kel and her apprentice because they can't be allowed to grow in Plainsong again. Sucks, but I can see the necessity.

Hi, Zo. I know, finally, right? I've been waiting to do this for ages and--

...Awwwwww. This is ... actually really beautiful. And I like the whole thing where ... I guess Elizabet Sobeck insisted that GAIA (and by extension the subfunctions) be ... at least somewhat human. GAIA didn't just build machines, but machines that look like creatures, because ... c'mon, wouldn't we? We anthropomorphise everything anyway. And if the Plowhorn land-gods have to have a reboot sequence? Have it sing; why not? Utilitarianism isn't the be-all and end-all, and what's life without a little joy, even in the supposedly utilitarian things?

Right. Onward to helping Kotallo pick up prosthetics bits.

If he decides he prefers the challenge of only having the one arm, I ... will respect his choice but be a little miffed at having to fight Spectres and things for him.

...Then again, I wouldn't want him to feel obligated to keep it if he's uncomfortable with it, even if I did go to a lot of trouble.

Right. I'mma let him go back to Base and ponder. Thornmarsh or Tide's Reach? Thornmarsh or Tide's Reach?

*checks quest log*

Thornmarsh. I have hints of issues in Thornmarsh, but no actual quest. I at least want the quest active in my journal.

Hrm. Poisoned water. I have time.

Dam made of machines, and more rebels? Gods, where do they all come from? I took out so many camps!

Climbiiiiiiiing...

Hangiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing... Stupid Fireclaw.

Right. Fireclaw goes first.

Oh, pity's sake, I am standing right here, rebels. Does my hair blend into the yick in the river? What.

Theeeeeere we go.

Well. All of this is just plain gross. Rebels are assholes.

Teamwork! ...And I can boot up my work machine while I wrap stuff up!

I ... don't even have time to check what my reward for this was; I gotta get to work fast!

Right. Yes. Worktime. Ugh, they've left the long shit for me again. I hate my colleagues.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Arena

I managed lunch! Huzzah! Now I will do a quick write-up, go run some errands, and probably actually do some main quest. Maybe. Possibly. Look, there's stuff, okay?

Okay, I will get the Rollerback bullshit out of the way first, then help Dekka.

Now. I know what happens when you hit the tail. What happens if you hit that big glowing apparatus on its back?

.............................................It spits acid all over half a block, is apparently what happens. Okay. That was useful.

Right. Got sinew, got all the other stuff, now I'll go help Dekka.

...Huh. I wonder what would have happened if I'd done this quest in order, and I hadn't cleared this outpost? Eh well. If he's quest-necessary, I would bet shards I didn't kill him.

Right. Hi Natalla. Good hiding place, though maybe you should have made some kind of noise when you worked out that someone was systematically killing every rebel here.

None of this is looking very good for Kavvoh. One of the great things about this game is that there's never any real guarantee of how things are going to go. All I really have to go on is that I'm going to have to fight something big at some point. So I'll wait until I figure out which option will have me fighting something big.

Right. Off to Fall's Edge. Thankfully I know a few folks there--

Ah. And Kavvoh apparently ... either stealthed around Fall's Edge or was checking for rebels. But trusting Kavvoh is probably my best bet for having to fight something big, so. Yes, we'll go to his meeting.

...And there are rebels at the campsite. I mean ... either way, Kavvoh knew about that spot because it's where rebels go sometimes, so this could be bad luck. Like I said - most likely option is whatever has me shooting something large.

Look. Arokkeh. Dude. I know how bad this looks. Believe me, I know. However. If he's lying, it's just one more rebel, and my Focus will help me figure that out in time to give us some warning. Also, if he's lying, I have taken out multiple rebel camps with zero help, so we'll have no trouble at all. Even with a traitor next to us ... who, incidentally, will be right next to us and thus easy to deal with. If he's not, we're going to need all the help we can get. Okay? Okay. Let's go.

OMG WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP. Arokkeh, I promise, whatever this is, I WILL FIX.

Aaaaaaaaaaand that's a Behemoth. Huh. I thought it'd be something tough.

"Is that an arrow?" This she says after her Behemoth blows up. AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA, you rebels are idiots. POONK.

Kavvoh ... how did you even get that hurt? The Behemoth never went anywhere near you. Dude, whoever you took on hand-to-hand? They were tough. Anyway, I'll head back.

Well, no. I'll loot first.

Hi, Dekka. Don't worry, they'll let you out soon. And yes, Kavvoh is still alive. Unless he died of his wounds in transit.

Which he did not, because probably Arokkeh wouldn't let him. At least he gets a chance to make amends. Now please let the Chaplain out of the cage, thank you.

And now we open the arena. Which I'm largely doing for data points.

And probably a bit of shopping.

Ooh. I don't want this armour for using, but this Carja armour looks great. I just want to dye it and set it as my look. I do love that function.

Okay, appropriately dyed, and some Quen face paint, which looks surprisingly good with it. ...Since I'm in the area, I want to see if this became a Slitherfang spawn point yet.

It ... did not. Boo.

Right. I have a jones to fight something. Maybe I'll be able to get appropriate bits in the arena.

Why are you people not giving me high places to perch? You suck.

...Round 2 was done in literally about fifteen seconds. I rule.

Okay, still hating the Rollerback but at least I know where to hit.

You too, Spikesnouts.

Okay, now ... what do they mean, "Rematch"?

Oh. Slitherfang. Which I will not be able to salvage anything from. FUCK.

Why am I holding a cannon? WHERE IS MY SHARPSHOT BOW? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?

It's dead anyway. Right. Anything quick-ish to hunt?

Tiderippers. I need Tiderippers. There are some to the southeast.

Lemme just get some Glinthawks out of the waaaaaaay...

Right. One's lumbering around on land and one's ... in ... the water. I AM NOT SWIMMING IN THAT.

Right. Overland, get close enough to get the land-lumbering Tideripper's attention but not so close that I'll be having a problem aaaaaaand...

I am getting better at dealing with these fuckers. Now. Clear some perch space and see if I can get that one that's underwater.

Little closer.

Little closeeeeeeeer...

Okay! That got its attention! POONK.

Hey, I can just POONK it every time it surfaces and it's too busy swimming to attack me!

Neck's up enough for those purgewater sacs to be hit aaaaaaaaand...

YES! WOO-HOO!

Now I really should run errands and such. I'll probably do more shenanigans when I get back. Either main quest stuff or getting my rank in the Arena past "Amateur", haven't decided.

No, seriously, I have to Be a Motherfucking Adult for a bit. Trash day approaches, for one thing, so I should empty the bins. And quick trip to the shops. And then I can go maybe find a Slitherfang I can actually salvage.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Kulrut

I got woken up way before I wanted to by a large transit van (badly parked right outside my bedroom window) kept fucking beeping as it was driven by apparently a really shitty driver. Or something; there was beeping and now the badly-parked van is not there anymore. So I decided to just stay woken up and did the whole deal with the Kulrut. With ... the occasional detour.

I think I'm going to get those last couple of campfires before I do much else. Off I go.

Ooh, Scorcher site. Lemme just hide in this bush here aaaaaaaaand ... POONK.

Okay, something's alerted but I don't actually see any machines. What the fuck?

Maybe they were up on that cliff over there and got alerted by the boom, because there is nothing on the ground. I'll stealth over and scavenge. Quietly. Just in case.

Well. Whatever machine I spooked clearly does not give a shit about me. Okay.

And it's ... starting to get dark. Wonder if I could get me an Apex Tremortusk if I go back to that campfire I just found and fast travel back to that Tremortusk site.

.........Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.

You. Are. Definitely a little harder to kill, Mr Apex Tremortusk.

But ... not that much harder to kill. GIVE ME YOUR MECHANICAL INNARDS.

Okay. Enough messing around. Back to the Memorial Grove.

Yes, I will go and help your defenses. Lemme just pick up some data points first.

Right. Off to the north with me--

Oh, hi, Tekotteh. Showed your smug little face, huh? Yeah, yeah, are you really threatening the one who pulled a fucking mountain down around your ears? Just because she won't listen to your bullshit? Ha. No. Didn't think so. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go actually work while you lounge like an asshole.

This game reeeeeeally wants me to use a cannon, doesn't it. Alright, fine. JUST THIS ONCE.

YES DEKKA I KNOW YOU HAVE ANOTHER CANNON FOR ME BUT YOU CAN HAVE IT, THANKS.

Okay, field clear, but that is not going to be it.

ALOY YOU HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE SHUT UP.

Yeeeeeeeep. Hello, Slitherfang.

NO I WILL NOT LEAD THE SLITHERFANG INTO BALISTA RANGE I AM GOOD ON THIS SNIPER PERCH THANK YOU.

See? I've killed nastier. I'm good.

And ... you really don't want to give me earthgrinders, do you, Slitherfang asshole. Well, fine, I'll go hunt some more of you later. FINE.

Okay, over to help Hekarro and Kotallo--

LOOK I CAN SPARE TEN SECONDS TO POONK SOME OF YOUR ENEMIES IN THE FACE FUCK OFF.

Welp. It's a really impressive set piece of a cutscene, but damnit, why can I not just shoot Regalla in the face? She is right there.

...Oh, come on. Really? I have to let her get away? My draw arm isn't even tired! Also, throwing "everything you have" at us is not that much a threat when I have systematically taken down every. Single. Rebel camp in most if not all territories. And the Sons of Prometheus are basically scrapped, so ... good luck, Regalla.

So now's when Hekarro declares everyone who helped defend him to be Marshals-- yep.

HUZZAH. But you can say you'll let me go about my task all you want, Hekarro, but Regalla's going to make damn sure that it's my job to kick her ass. I know the type.

Hi, AETHER. Hop aboard! Destination: GAIA.

Oh. When I saw a holovid data point called "Unity", I didn't think it'd be ... this. There are some moments in this game, lemme tell you.

AHAHAHA THE LOOK KOTALLO GAVE TEKOTTEH IS SENDING ME OMG.

...waitwut.

Awwwwwww Kotallo OMG. "Unity" takes on a whole new meaning at this point, doesn't it. Outcast - so of all clans and none at the same time - with Nora, Oseram, Carja if you count Talanah (need to look for her in Barren Light, I think), Utaru, and Tenakth. And even Zenith, more or less, given Beta. It's a nice message. We need more of it. Just ... y'know. In general.

Hi, Dekka. What's the what?

...How did I know that we were going to have to try to talk a rebel Tenakth around eventually? Yeah, I'll see what I can do but I want to check a few things first.

So you want some bits to help you rebuild your balista. Okay, I have the tusks you need, at least, but ... y'know, if you'd all given me five seconds to loot the machines that attacked the Kulrut, you'd have your sinew--

No? Okay, fine, I will hunt a fucking Rollerback. But I hate Rollerbacks. And the idea of hunting them in your training / entertainment arena doesn't really appeal but maybe you'll have something spiffy for me later.

...Oooooooh, so that's what the tags are for. Yeah, I have plenty, and I could just give them to you-- Oh. You insist on rewarding me for them so in order to be able to get rid of the jingly tags, I need to fix your balista. Okay. Fine.

Okay, so before I solve everybody's problems, I need a break.

No, seriously. I'm trying to be better about the whole "food" thing. Just my appetite's been shit lately, so my food intake has been minimal. Even with relatively minimal activity, that shit's not good for me. So I'm going to try to eat something resembling lunch. Then I will go help Dekka's grandson and hunt a fucking Rollerback because I guess that's what we're doing now. And then it probably gets ... spicy.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs First Forge

Forbidden West-blogging returns! The last few days have mostly been using the interactive map I found to go trawling for data points. Not enough spoons to do much hunting, besides a Stormbird and Dreadwing combo up in the mountains, which was depressing because I was looking for Apex and did not find Apex. But today, I sort of multitasked my hyperfocus between a text RP scene and noodling around the Forbidden West.

Okay. I have a lot of data points. I think I can save some of the rest for whenever I'm supposed to trip over them in quests. Now. Time for hunting.

Google-fu tells me thaaaaat ... well, that you stand a better chance of getting an Apex machine during the in-game night. Well, there's supposedly a shiny new Dreadwing spawn point right at a campfire I passed when I was finding firegleam as per Sylens' bloody orders. So as it's in-game night, let's try there.

...And there it is AND IT SAYS APEX!

......And its scrambler field is basically right on top of the spawn point and now I am discovered. Fuuuuuuuck.

THE THINGS I DO FOR SHINY ARMOUR HOLY SHIT.

Okay. Okay. Back to campfire. Over to Thornmarsh. I have my shiny salvage and all is good.

SHINY LEGENDARY STEALTH ARMOUR WOO!

Now, lemme upgraaaaaaaaade ... and I need more Apex Dreadwing bits. Well, night isn't over and shit respawns fast.

Lemme see if I can dodge around the perimeter of that scrambler field.

...Fuck.

Huh. It ... was hanging upside down there, just like an actual bat. That's really cool. Or would be, if it wasn't trying to EAT MY FACE.

There. Okay. That should do. Back to campfire, find a shelter, upgrade.

Aaaaaaaaaand now I need Slitherfang bits. Fuck Slitherfangs right in the ear. I guess I should probably start the whole AETHER deal.

...Lemme do First Forge first. Maybe I'll get lucky. Lemme talk to Erend.

Oh, good, you found coordinates-- wait. You're coming too?!? Okay, you have very good reasons for wanting to, so sure. But if you fuck up my stealth I am going to be very disappointed in you.

Huh. I had the nearest campfire, even. Good. See, this is why I go all over the place getting campfires. Makes getting to actual spots for quests so much easier when the time comes.

Okay, Erend. They've got door guards and--

Wait. EREND wants to pull a SUBTERFUGE?!? Oh, this is going to be hilarious.

.........On one level, it's kind of nice that the door guards are smart enough not to buy that. On the other hand ... well, fuck. We're in, anyway.

Why is there nothing that's going to give me some damn cover in this cave?!? Fuck you, Asera. Right in the ear.

Yes, Erend. I am still actually really damn good at this. Get better every day, in fact. Sorry I'm not letting you get all that much use out of your hammer.

Did ... did you just hand me precision ammo? You are now my hero.

Okay, so she ran off aaaaaaaand ... there's another door.

Which ... shut ominously behind us. Hope I got everything worth getting in there.

Why do you just happen to have explodo barrels on that bridge? More to the point, why didn't you wait until we were on it to blow it up, if you want us dead so badly?

Thanks, Erend. To you and to your hammer.

Lady, if you want tripwires, try to have them be a little less obvious, okay? That kind of shit works on machines, not people.

Outside? Okay-- aaaaaaaaand that's the cave mouth blocked. What've you got for us, Asera?

...Clawstrider? That's it? Fuck off, Clawstrider. POONK.

And Asera has ... quite the health bar. But I'll just be over here. POONK. POONK. POONK.

And that's the end of you. Yeah, head on back to the Base, Erend. I have looting to do.

Huh. Asera keeps a diary. "Dear Diary, my culture is sexist and my dad's a jerk and so I want everybody to burn". Also, Sylens, you are a shitheel.

Now, there's supposed to be another data point up here. Since I'm in the area...

Got it. Now ... there's that settlement that's been outright taunting me. And it's ... way below me. I wonder...

Glidiiiiiiiiiing ... and in I go. I'm not really supposed to be in here yet, but fuck it. I want to read about the people who blew up Yosemite.

There is something WRONG with these CLIMBING POINTS.

*checks Google*

Oh. There'll be a quest here later. Hopefully I'll be able to do what I need to when the quest is active. Which it won't be until I do the quest for AETHER. Okay, okay, I go.

(I'll be given a Slitherfang to hunt anyway.)

Hi, Dekka. Look, I--

No, but--

Oh, fine, okay, I will go and talk to Hekarro. Also I will get these data points and--

Oooooooooh, this is the Ten. Joint Task Force 10. I guess that makes more sense, given that they wouldn't have had a clue about Zero Dawn, GAIA, or GAIA's subordinate functions. Still, I guess it works to an extent anyway. GAIA and her subordinate functions were what JTF-10 were fighting for. Also, coincidence to a point, but narratively speaking, even what seems like a coincidence in the story may not be a coincidence to the writer. Anyway. Sorry. I am a nerd.

Hi, Hekarro; I--

Wait. Wut.

So from being thrown into a fighting pit by the Carja, I have to protect one? Hoboy.

And you want me to play diplomat? Look, I remember Tekotteh was an asshole at your Embassy thing; why are you expecting me to--?

Look, all I want is to dig around your basement; that stuff's worth nothing to you but could help me save the world so-- waitWUT.

You ... know what's down there?

You ... don't know exactly what's down there. But at least you used what little you did see to some good use. Knowing how to fight machines is important, at least until we get HAEPHESTUS under control. So I do all this and you let me look in your basement?

...Okay, fine. I will meet your Kotallo. I will just pick up some campfires on the way--

Oh. Hi, Vetteh. You are currently on the receiving end of a Rollerback pummelling. Gotcha, fam. POONK.

Aaaand your friend Littay is in equal trouble. Off I go.

If you ran into Thunderjaw territory, lady--

Oh. No, okay. Just ... over to there somewhere. Let's go--

Spikesnouts, Burrowers, and an Apex Clawstrider. Lady, you did get yourself into a mess. Lemme see what I can do. POONK. POONK. POONK.

Okay. I have saved you and hopefully you've still got salvage worth the name. I gotta go yell at some Sky Clan, okay?

(Why can't I give these people some of my meat and plants? I am swimming in edible things! Why can't I give them to hungry people?!?)

Right. I think that's about enough of that for one day. Tomorrow, I will finish the quest for AETHER. Promise.

Honestly, I'm hoping I can go to sleep. But some of the downstairs neighbours are watching what I presume are sports of some kind because the cheering has been ... very, very loud. Ugh.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Armour Contest

There's always something in these side quests...

Okay. Finally found the stitcher in the Thornmarsh-- waitwut.

I mean, you have gorgeous armour that I must have, but you have even better armour. I just ... need to kill an Apex Dreadwing first. Okaaaay...

Upgrades for the gorgeous armour first-- Aaaaaaaaand I need to murder an Apex Dreadwing and a Slitherfang for the best upgrades. Good thing I'm pretty sure I trip over one of those in the next bit of main questline...

Right. Finally going to finish this last bit of Danur's salvage jobs. Hoping to find some campfires or something on the way. A few accessible points on the far west coast would be good to have.

None yet, buuuuuut Apex Acid Clawstriders in my way. Slow-time aaaaaaaaaand ... BOOM. I do not believe I forgot that mechanic for so long. Or that I did so well without it.

Okay, here we are. So I have to ... let the Spikesnouts reinforce the Behemoth ... and then kill it? Huh. Okay. That means ... not quite out of hiding, but hit someplace damaging but not one-shot kill. And ... here we go.

...Wow. Okay. This armour really is the best for stealth. And I got my bits. The one shot I used to take out the Behemoth even did massive damage to the Spikesnouts, so won't take much to finish them.

Right. CAMPFIRE.

...Shellwalker convoy! ...Convoy of one, but never mind.

Two campfires, two Shellwalkers, and a shelter later, I'm back over to Danur. Oh, you want me to see the competition? Cool; I can do that.

.........I have no idea what I'm going to do if they make me pick. Because something is going to go wrong--

Ah. So the problem is "Keruf is attempting to scam all of you". NOT ON MY WATCH, ASSHOLE.

So ... they all piece their designs together to make the best of all possible worlds, Keruf pays them all a portion of the winnings for the new design, and ... I get the armour as a selling point? Well. There it is. Thanks, guys. I could not have chosen.

Now, going to settle down near where I know a Dreadwing site is. I ... should get an Apex one eventually, right? Plus I need Stormbird too.

But for now, work.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West