#no two playthroughs are the same even if you think you're making the same choices

[novelconcepts]

PLEASE elaborate on the yj videogame idea (if u want)

I dunno where it actually came from, but periodically @owltrifecta and I just spitball what an open-world game adaptation of the show would look like. The crash takes place, and then the player would just make an endless series of decisions that affect the outcome of the story. You can play it true to canon, or you can make changes, but every change would then mess with the story more. Like, yeah, you saved Laura Lee from the plane, but later on, she's trying to sabotage the rituals. Or you rescue Jackie, but then a bunch more characters die of starvation. Taissa stays awake and the wolves don't eat Van, but they press on too far, and find some other horror waiting in the dark. Just a delightful terrifying Choose Your Adventure in the wild.

It would just turn into this Reddit thread environment of people being like "I am trying to make Shauna the antler queen, does anyone know what series of events have to happen???" or "I accidentally got LOTTIE to the take the plane, and she blew up, now what?" You'd get players who try to speedrun their way out of the woods, caring only about getting their favorite out alive, and you'd get the ones who would not REST until they save everyone (spoilers: you cannot save everyone, no matter what you do). Some are only invested in coaxing their ship together. Some want so badly to kill Misty. Travis only makes it out in like a third of the playthroughs, but his death seriously fucks up your chances of getting Natalie out safely.

And, in the middle of it all, you've got Van the unkillable goalie. It becomes a Thing for a subset of players, trying to take her out, but she just. won't. die. Players try to lure her into the frozen lake, thinking they've done it, but when spring rolls back around she's just loitering on the shore. She goes over the cliff? Just rolls to the bottom, unscathed. Set her on fire, the game glitches spasmodically, and then she's just standing there with a few burns and a shrug. My favorite idea in this was Owl positing that Van is the only character who can--and will, if you try to deliberately kill her enough times--break the fourth wall. The only one who understands she's in a story. "Oh, did you think you were in charge here? Joke's on you, dude. It chooses. You don't."

#ask #yellowjackets #it would be fucking delightful and so so upsetting to play #no two playthroughs are the same even if you think you're making the same choices #there are always tiiiiiny little ramifications #and the glitches are just bonkers #after doomcoming someone just gets stuck tripping out for the rest of the game #jackie dies but her voice keeps echoing whenever shauna's onscreen and none of the other characters react #taissa glitches out and there are suddenly two of her in any given scene. one does what the player wills. the other does not. #there's a whole weird DLC where you play as nugget #the opportunities are just boundless

[lilundertale-asatreat]

So I'm making this post because I saw a YouTube video the other day where the YouTuber made an offhand comment poking fun at people who don't think Chara is evil, and that was enough to annoy me, but also, it inadvertently brought up a good point for me personally.

I was originally firmly in the camp that Chara was maybe not the best person, but they weren't evil, and the Genocide route is an outlier, and I was upset because I didn't feel like they were considering any of the other routes at all (which they weren't), but it made me realize I was also completely discounting the Genocide route, and I can't just do that for the sake of an easier analysis because it's there for a reason. And I certainly can't get mad at this person for doing the exact same thing I was doing. So here is a hopefully as objective of an analysis of Chara as whole as I can get.

At first I tried marrying the two versions of Chara that we see in the game: the traumatized and suicidal child who wanted to sacrifice themself for the sake of freeing monsterkind and getting revenge on humanity which left them hurt on a fundamental level and wasn't really the best to Asriel, probably because they still hadn't unlearned mimicking the way they were treated and then never got the chance to, with the kid who actively encouraged the slaughter of all of the monsters in the Underground and then destroyed the world after killing Frisk themself and seeing what the connection was. And to be honest, I didn't really find anything.

Then I started thinking about Frisk instead because it was late and I couldn't keep my focus, but that turned out to be really helpful because, while Frisk is a player stand in most of the time despite being revealed to be their own person, there are things that they do by themself, either implicitly or explicitly, and if you try to analyze them to figure out what kind of person they are, you also get two wildly contradicting versions of them. And which version you get is entirely dependent on how you choose to play the game.

Because your choices have a lot of weight to determining what happens in the game, not only does it affect which ending you get, but it also effects how you get there and how you choose to tell the story. You get to choose what kind of story you want, and with that choice comes whatever characterization of Frisk would fit the most for whatever you are doing.

If you play pacifist or neutral without starting off with a genocide, when you first encounter Sans, it's implied Frisk laughs or at least has some sort of reaction, no matter how many neutral runs you have done without true resetting beforehand. Frisk sits through and humors Papyrus in all of his puzzles and japes even if they've heard the same joke or solved the same puzzle a thousand times beforehand. Mettaton comments on them looking bored at the beginning of the musical if it's not your first playthrough after true resetting, and he gives you the option to skip it, but he doesn't say Frisk looks hostile or anything, and in the fight against him, you have the option of just calmly flipping his switch to just get the fight over with. Sans implies either Frisk looks like they're really thinking about what they did on a first neutral run or they look bored and not particularly bothered in subsequent runs after that unless you do pacifist which he then comments on the fact that they were exceptionally kind to everyone and even when they ran away, they were smiling the whole time.

But if you do a genocide run or start off with a genocide run, Frisk doesn't react at all to Sans' handshake joke, they don't sit through any of the puzzles Papyrus has and they don't acknowledge him at all, they give you the option to just keep taking and taking snowman pieces until the snowman is dead, and they move on their own to walk toward whichever area boss you're up to at the time in a threatening manner and even move toward Monster Kid on their own to intimidate them. They're really into the killing people thing in these routes while in the other routes, they're a lot more into engaging with people or at least giving you a better prompt of being willing to spare them.

So if it's true that Frisk has wildly different personalities and goals depending on how you play the game, it must be true with Chara too. For the majority of the time, Chara was just a kid who loved monsters and loved their family and felt extremely guilty for accidentally poisoning their dad and didn't know how to handle it and probably guilty and unworthy of their love because they were human and weren't used to receiving that kind of care in the first place. But if you choose to play the game where another human who falls down and decides to kill as many monsters as possible, Chara will be another human who hates monsters, or at least, grew to hate monsters and was only concerned with getting more and more power as they woke up because that's the thematically appropriate characterization of them for that route and way of playing.

So they're both not evil and evil, but which one you get is entirely dependent on you.

#undertale #utdr #chara dreemurr #frisk undertale #undertale analysis #honestly though; it's a lot more fun to play around with the version of Chara that isn't evil in my opinion #I really love the narrator Chara theory; but I had to put that aside for a moment because it's not confirmed canon lol #suicide tw #chara #frisk

[thekingofwinterblog]

What do you think of the people you can romance in DAI? Who is the best in your opinion?

I honestly don't have a good answer. For all my time playing Dragon Age Inquisition, for good or bad, it's romances are something I've mostly left untouched simply because unlike Origins, and even DA2, Inquisition doesn't lend itself all that well to replaying the game with a different origins.

A Kossith Mage Herald is unfortunately not nearly as different compared to playing as anything else as it should be. The only exception is playing as an elf, and unlike Origins, that only opens up all the cracks and flaws to the Inquisitor as a character.

The end result is that i effectively only have two Inquisitors I use, and as a result, i have only two romances i've gone through.

With that in mind, i can only comment on those, and what i've seen in other's playthroughs.

Josephine

Josephine is a good character, and if you go her romance, it does feel like you forge a connection... But the game unfortunately does not let you delve into her deepest secrets on such a route the way it should.

One common thing I've seen is a big problem with all the romances is that because Bioware didn't want to touch any of the inquisitors pasts in any meaningful way, it's impossible to open up to anyone about one's past, and get their take on it all.

Josephine tells you of her past, her family, siblings, etc. But you cannot really do the same.

Do the inquisitor have siblings? How do they feel about their parents? Have you had previous relationships? I have no idea.

If the Inquisitor was written as an actual in game person, defined by their background like hawke and the Warden, then the game's way of handling romance would have hit way harder and better. Because there is good stuff here, as I know just going through two romances.

The best highlight of Josephine's romance of course is her personal romance quest where you decide to engage in a duel for her hand, a very, very antivan thing to do, and a display that goes more to flesh out the actual Antivan culture than almost anything else in the games.

This kind of open, grand, romantic displays is what actual antivan society is all about, far, far more than it ever is about the tiny minority of assassins that are their most famous part to the world ever was...

And subsequently, it's excellent to showcase how Josephine differs greatly from other Antivan noblewomen. Rather than be taken in by it all, or swept of the feet, she is angry, and terrified, a results of her own history as a failed bard in the monstrosity that is the great game.

But if the Inquisitor choses to just anounce their love then and there for all to hear(also a very antivan thing to do), she is ultimately swept off her feet, and the lord you're fighting also choses to back down as he realises it's an actual duel for love, while he merely wanted a challnge and the honor of having dueled the inquisitor.

Again, this is a very great way of showcasing actual Antivan culture.

Overall i would say that though there is nothing wrong with Josephine's romance, and i do like the way it's a departure from previous ones by being all about courtly love, it didn't exactly wow me by being outstanding the way Morrigan's and Alistair's did in Origins.

Cassandra

Cassandra's romance meanwhile is both better, and worse than Josephine's.

Better in that you have a much, much more defined and in many ways more nuanced relationship with her, which can actually have some real weight depending on your choices. Like if you decide to actually make her divine... And she no longer feels she can have a relationship with you, despite how much she wants to, because she feels it would not be proper.

I would also say i greatly do like how the game handles the fact that Cassandra's an older woman, who is also a romantic at heart, but not very experienced in such matters... Which leads to an intentionally corny, but very enjoyable wooing scene after setting up a romantic date.

Subsequently, if you are a woman, i do like how she actually does go through a moment where she intentionally turns you down due to incompatible orientations. It's a small moment that shows her awkwardly fumbling as she usually does, but showcases that she is a good girl at heart, as she tries to let you down gently.

Now to the bad stuff.

Namely if you woo her off her feet as an elf... Like I did.

Now there is the core of something good here... But it's not fleshed out at all.

As i've said before, cassandra's biggest issue as a character is that like most of the companions, there are aspects of her personality you are not even allowed to change, and in this case, it's her less than flattering opinions on Elven religion(which even if completely true in the end, it doesn't exactly paint her in the best light).

There is a moment where she questions a dalish inquistor about possible Synchronization between creator worship and Andrastian, but you are not allowed to go any deeper on the subject, either positively, or negatively.

Which sucks, because if it had been, this could have added some much needed peraonal growth for her on the subject, either if you affirm the idea that there is room for such(as we know from lore, you would not be the first dalish to think so) and through that maybe Cassandra might actually learn that Creator worship isn't quite as scary as she has been led to believe, or reject it, and she eventually grows to love you anyway.

Because that is one of the strengths of this romance playing as a dalish. For all the way she talks shit about the creator religion, she comes to both love the inquisitor, and respect them like absolutely no other, felling that they are force of nature, that can do anything. And she does that regardless of whether you convert, is an atheist, or remain steadfast creators worshipper, all the way to tresspasser.

Now, we could debate whether he actually does, but the important thing here is that she believes it.

There was room here to really make something really special by delving into this, as cassandra has a moment where she notes that in the future, she will either be recognized as the lover of a saint, or an elven madman.

It's a poignant moment, which is echoed by what happened with other historical elven related figures in the game, but unfortunately you aren't allowed to ask her the simple, yet extremely important question "Do you care what they think?", instead the closest being "I don't care what they think, what do you believe?" Which ultimately is there to affirm Cassandra's belief in the maker, and that she does fully believe you were chosen by god, rather than allow her to express that regardless of what other people might think, she does love you, and will stick by you to the very end.

That kind of thinking is obviously still there... But it's subtext, when it should have been the main thesis around which her character arc was built.

All in all, Cassandra's romance arc is good... But if you're playing as Dalish, there is a lot of jank that mirrors the way the game handles so much about a dalish inquisitor.

Sera

From here on I haven't actually played any of these, so this is more observation more than anything else.

Sera seems to be okay enough, if you like her brand of humor, and personality, but i've seen a lot of people who greatly dislike the fact that if youre dalish and you refuse to abandon the elvhen gods, she breaks up with you, and is another reason Sera is a terrible character.

I disagree heavily on that front. The fact that Sera refuses to compromise on her beliefs and accept a "pagan" partner is a character flaw... But it's a very human one, and unlike so much else, I would say it's a character aspect you should not be able to change.

Its something that makes her a fundamentally different person than Cassandra, and that is good... But if you hate her as a character already, this really doesn't help much with that.

Blackwall

From what I can tell, this romance doesn't really add much to his character... Though it does add much to the Inquisitor, by showing how badly she wants it, and is willing to play the part of the sub for some love.

Solas

Ah, the Solavellan Hell.

Cullen

I don't really have any bigger thoughts on this one, other than to note it seems to be a better told version of the blackwall romance. Also it tells us that Cullen is not into women who are either taller than him, or way shorter.

Dorian

The most interesting thing about this romance from a character perspective is how the romance quest brings out Dorian's Tsundere side, something not seen much elsewhere in the game.

You only briefly see it in his personal quest depending on your choice of words, and far more in his banter and relationship with The Iron Bull.

Other than that it seems a perfectly decent romance quest.

The Iron Bull

Now this one is interesting for a number of reasons... But by far the most facinating thing about it, is that while Bull is not being disgenious, tresspasser shows us two things.

1. That regardless of how he feels about you, you ARE second to the Qun in his eyes, and 2. The thing he truly, truly cares about more than both the Qun and You if you romance him, is his mercenary crew.

They are his true family, his home, his soul.

That adds a lot of interesting hidden subtext for his romance as far as I'm concerned.

Bull is facinating, because as Cole reveals if he betrays you, there is no malice, no hatred, nothing. This really was not anything personal. He really did like you... But you were essentially just a bond girl of the week to him, and him the great spy, the glamorous Bond, moving on from yet another conquest.

Of course bond doesn't tend to get brutually murdered by said Bond girl(or guy, Bull ain't picky) after the fling, so there is that.

That is a fascinating dynamic, and great and interesting way to handle a romance with a spy.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #josephine #cassandra pentaghast #solas #sera #blackwall #cullen #dorian #the iron bull #romance #meta #shipping #the inquisitor #the herald of andraste

[hollowknighthelp]

Hey I'm here to gove an updt on my HK playthrough :)

Got Voidheart

Fought Hollow

Beat Hollow

Fought Radiance

Haven't beat Radiance

Beat The Collector

Got Hiveblood

Got Grubberfly's elegy

Haven't beaten Grimm but got him to phase 2

Ayyy, nice!! Congrats on your progress!! And yeah, I'd recommend saving the Radiance for later. Might as well be as powered up as you possibly can be before taking her on! (But still, for the future, Abyss Shriek is THE Radiance Killer)

Since you've gotten (at least what I consider to be) the most annoying Pale Ore to get ((the Grubfather reward)), I assume you've got the Pure Nail now too?

Anyway, Troupe Master Grimm!

I'll put it under a cut, since the post is fairly long.

So. The funny thing about Grimm is that I've actually gotten so used to fighting Nightmare King Grimm and his attack patterns that when I fight regular Grimm, it. Looks pretty pathetic lmao

Still, I'll offer what tips I can!

Back when I first started fighting NKG, I used a pretty much exclusively nail-based playstyle for him. Normally I'm a very big advocate for using spells because they're Great, but for him? SOUL was used pretty much exclusively for healing during his staggers. Nowadays I do use spells during his fight, but since you're trying to win for the first time and it's for his sidequest? A nail-based build might be worth considering!

Mind you, that's Nightmare King Grimm. Because Troupe Master Grimm is a lot slower, there are probably more opportunities to sneak in some spell attacks. But, even so, your Charm Notches are limited! Especially due to Grimmchild completely wasting two of them. So, this is a very rare occurrence where I'd say Shaman Stone might not be worth equipping!

Instead, focus on Nail-based Charms! Quickslash is probably the one I'd recommend the most (and thus Steady Body would be a good choice as well, since those two pair great together). Fragile/Unbreakable Strength is, of course, amazing, but if you haven't been able to make it Unbreakable yet, then I totally understand not wanting to use it.

Grimm staggers after you've done 14 hits! And while he's staggered is the best time to heal. Assuming you have the SOUL for it, I believe you should be able to get at least two masks healed during his stagger, maybe even three. I honestly wouldn't even bother attacking him while he's staggered unless you don't need to heal (or don't have the SOUL for it), since you can only deal a maximum of 50 damage to him while he's in that state. And, sidenote, at least for NKG, I find that his first stagger and his first Pufferfish attack normally happen at around the same time! Not sure if the same is true for Troupe Master Grimm though.

Speaking of the Pufferfish, that happens a total of three times, specifically at each time he loses a quarter of his max health (i.e., 75% left, 50%, and 25%). You can use that knowledge to track how far you are in the fight!

As for evading that attack, it's... Mostly a matter of practice, I think. Stick to the far side of the battlefield, and avoid using the Monarch Wings as much as possible. You can use the Shade Cloak to dodge through the fireballs if you're really in a bad spot, but it's risky and might just make you collide with the next ball. I think avoiding damage using Descending Dark's invincibility frames should be a viable option, though? At least for Troupe Master Grimm anyway.

For Troupe Master Grimm, I think his floor spikes attack might be slow enough for you to safely get one heal in? But I'm not 100% certain. That said, if he happens to be close to you when he uses that attack, it's also the prime time to get a ton of damage in on him.

His lunge attack from the ceiling to the floor: thanks to Nightmare King Grimm, my default response to this attack is to use Descending Dark and its iframes. It's not as necessary to do that for Troupe Master Grimm, but it does still work!

His uppercut attack from the floor to the ceiling, with the falling fireballs afterward: dash through him with Shade Cloak when he dashes forward, then walk toward Grimm. You don't want to get under him, since a fireball drops there, but right next to him is a safe spot. ...At least, again, that's what I do for NKG, but I believe Troupe Master Grimm works the same way.

Fire bats: ...This is the attack I constantly take unnecessary damage on now because I'm used to NKG's version of it lmao. I no longer remember what I used to do to avoid it, but it might have been Jump, Double Jump, Shade Cloak? But I'm not certain.

If you're good at dodging the Pufferfish attack, then it might be worth getting that extra damage in at the start of the fight by hitting him while he bows to you (especially if you have Quickslash). Of course, this also comes at the cost of being a Horrible, Rude, Disrespectful opponent, but! Hey, whatever it takes to win, right? Alternatively, I think you should also have enough time to Dream Nail him while he bows (which doesn't bother him) and allow you to start the fight with a bit of extra SOUL

#ask #chaos-ace #gameplay ask #boss fight ask #troupe master grimm #. yeah sure i'll put this one in the main tag #hollow knight

[sleepyjuniper]

There's quite a few theories floating around that, that wasn't Gregory towards the end of the elevator speech. One is there's an audio noise that's the noise the mimic makes when it talks previously and it happens right after Gregory apologizes but before he goes into that almost emotionless tone saying they can't risk being followed. There's also a few who have pointed out that Gregory shouldn't or couldn't have access to dropping the elevator as he's not even in the plex. There's also the fact that during that same section of speech Gregory's speech box pops up twice as if there's two people speaking, not one.

Admittedly it could be coincidences. The speech box could be a glitch, I noticed watching playthroughs some of the speech boxes have a delay. The audio que could be nothing more then just a recycled noise for talking through a speaker.

But while Gregory was certainly destructive in the first game, it was primarily in self defense. Yes he didn't have much remorse then but most people wouldn't if they were chased half the damn night and nearly killed several times. So I think calling him heartless is a bit of a stretch.

So it's vague and I certainly think there's enough doubt there to say that no, Gregory didn't kill or attempt to kill Cassie and that the mimic interrupted and dropped the elevator. Having read the wiki on the mimic the books say it affects power of lights and things it's near. So the idea that IT caused power to the elevator to fail and for it to drop isn't so far fetched in my mind either.

Oh yeah, it's not far-fetched at all. Since we know the mimic was using Gregory's voice for the entire game, it's easily possible that it was mimicking his voice at the end of that cutscene, too. That's my acknowledgement of that possiblity.

HOWEVER. The mimic was also specifically telling Cassie that it was trapped, while imitating Gregory. Part of that worked as a motivator for Cassie to keep searching, but it also felt like the Mimic wanted to be freed and knew it needed her help to do so.

So, assuming it did want to get out of its underground prison, why, after chasing Cassie to the elevator, would it break the elevator? Why lure one child to yourself, just to destroy your only chance of escape? If the elevator's broken, it can't get out, and no one else can get in.

I really believe the developers wanted to show that Gregory is betraying Cassie because that's how much of a monumental threat the mimic is. He's finally gotten his safe, happy ending outside of the Pizzaplex, and he apologizes to Cassie because it's still a hard choice to make. It's a dramatic twist that made me feel something, and that feeling is diminished when you try to logic it out and say it wasn't really Gregory.

And for the logic of how Gregory would have access to the elevator controls if he wasn't there? Well, how would he have access to the intercoms in that case? It's a matter of suspension of disbelief. If the mimic broke the elevator, the mimic was also ALL of the Gregory dialogue.

Just because I think it's likely that that ending really was Gregory betraying Cassie, doesn't mean I think he's a villain now. I don't think I see that ending as canon. I just liked the twist. One final betrayal to kick you in the gut, after learning that you'd been tricked by the mimic the entire time. You finally think you're talking to a helpful friend, and they betray you.

That's just my piece on it. I'm still piecing together what I think it all means, but for now, that's where I stand. Shock value twist for the bad ending. It wouldn't be the first time a game has done that.

#ruin spoilers #asks

[damnation-if]

Hi so... I already have some questions now that I've gushed about the game in another ask.

First one is about the lion MC.

Descriptions say they have round lion ears replacing their human ears. But does that mean the lion ears are situated at the sides of the head in the same place as the human ears were, or are the ears situated more atop of the head like the ears on an actual lion's head?

Also, since they have both "regular hair" and the mane, just how is the distribution between the two? And does the mane descend a bit over the shoulders and the back?

Yeah, I know, these are very specific questions, but I want to draw my MC so I need to know haha.

Also, I wanted to ask something else, about how the whole being a lust demon works.

So, the MC needs to be sexually active on a daily basis. But we can also have MCs who are exclusive with their partners AND monogamous... Does that mean on some days such a MC would have to deal with their needs on their own cause their partner wouldn't necessarily be into doing that everyday (and our fellow lust demon may simply be busy with a different partner since she's not exclusive), or all ALL the possible partners up to uh... "daily activity"?

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for indulging into my very specific questions!

I also want to add I really like your unique take on the possible appeareances for the MC. The skin tones that depend on the MC's sin in particular are very interesting. I didn't even realize I was making a sinless MC (and making it very visible with the skin color) before I read your guide about that once I was done with my playthrough!

don't worry about sending questions, i'm happy to answer the ones i can!

first, re: the lion mc - the ears are positioned like a lion's ears would be, towards the top of the head. this also goes for other forms with replaced ears like the bat, bear and raccoon. as for the hair/mane mixture, i thought a lot about it when i was first writing the descriptions - a lot of things with cat/lion people in them just have All the person's hair be the mane but. i didn't want to override peoples' choices to have very curly or coily hair since a lion's mane is not like that.

basically when you're looking at a pic of a lion you can see that they have that very outer layer of more golden hair which is quite short and tufty in the parts on the top of their head but longer around the rest of the face... that part is the chief manifestation of lion mc's mane, and behind that on mc's scalp is the normal hair follicles. (this lion below has a very Distinct colour difference to make it easy to see)

i hadn't planned for the mane to explicitly go down onto the back and shoulders because even adult lions have such a huge variation of mane size/volume and also. the humanoid shape made it hard for me to imagine that. however... i am not an artist haha. if while drawing your mc you think it would look better that way, you're probably more correct than i would be XD

as for your second question, this is something that's going to have kind of a divergent answer in watsonian/doylist interpretations lmfao. in the universe of the game, if your mc is only interested in one partner then there will inevitably be situations where they have to provide for themselves so to speak (whether that's because the RO is not in the mood or busy or Away or injured or what have you).

but within the scope of the Game, it's not going to be taking place over a super long period of time, and most of what time passage there is will be skipped over. i think it'll Probably be possible (don't quote me on this before i've written it all lmfao) for people to spend every single intimate scene of each day within the game's focus with the same RO for all of the ROs except for if you want to specifically Romance Malkorath... and maybe Twilit (though that one's still up in the air).

there will probably also be options down the line for mc to get into big arguments with ROs and in that case they might be too annoyed to sleep with you that day but. those will obviously be Conditional on you choosing the specific dialogue choices that start the fight XD either way, there's always going to be an option available for mc to take care of themself... the game isn't going to force you to choose an RO to explicitly sleep with every single time if you don't want to or can't get the one you want. i hope that makes sense as an explanation sdjbgdfg

lastly, thank you very much for your kind words! i'm glad you're enjoying the game!

#what does the chaos mirror see #konoi-and-noir #long post. #thank you again! and don't worry i like answering questions lmao #i do also enjoy the different skin colours... silver and gold my beloveds #it took me so long to write the descriptions of the mc's demons forms in the game XD each of those passages is like 3k words sjdfg

[timegears-moved]

totk rant anon again! elated to be getting a good grade in infodumping about my fave, something that is both normal to want and possible to achieve.

revali's part in the true ending credits is absolutely another of my many favorite revali moments! one detail i really like is that he actually watches terrako the entire time it's climbing up to where he is (his head tilts very subtly to follow its movements) but he turns his back as soon as it gets close. is he being tsundere? playing along and letting it boop him first? hard to say, but it feels like a very revali thing to do regardless.

(in part just because he tends to turn his back on people a lot for... varying reasons! i have an entire analysis about it in my head that i've never gotten around to writing out. but it's a lot.)

fun aoc revali fact: he's the only champion who's 100% guaranteed a rematch with his blight! with most other blight battles in later missions it really depends on who you put in your party, but since windblight flees at the end of its initial fight (incidentally proving botw revali right when he says that it plays dirty) and revali (+ teba) have to fight it off in the vah medoh battle immediately afterward, there's no way to continue the story without letting revali have a victory of his own against windblight. just goes to show that he CAN win against it under the right circumstances! (the right circumstances being in daylight. though being armed with a huge laser cannon probably helps too.)

and one other thing about the sidequests that i think is interesting: most characters' sidequests for getting extra hearts involve something happening around them that makes them happy. the one notable exception is link, who gets his through goddess statues, same as in botw/totk. however, not counting the quests that boost all characters' hearts (which also involve statues), there are two and only two characters other than link who get hearts from a goddess statue-related sidequest: mipha and revali. mipha gets one extra hp and revali gets two.

there are two possible explanations i can think of for this. the first is that link goes up to the goddess statue the same way he would in botw and is like 'okay so i want some more hp. but not for me, for my friend.' but he only does this for mipha and revali. the other possibility is that the Goddess Hylia Herself (or whatever other force might be powering the statues) personally concludes that those two specifically are worthy of being granted heart containers despite not being link. either way, the implications are interesting!

also, the rito village goddess statue is the only one that gets two sidequests based around it (one is for link himself), validating my personal gameplay choice to use that particular statue most of the time when i'm playing the other games. link really does seem to like it!

WHWHWHWHHW i haven't actually gotten to the true ending on my own playthrough but you can bet i'm gonna be keeping a watchful eye on that when i get there. i need to study him under a microscope.

ALSO VERY TRUE that's something i've taken note of as well!! he really does it a lot (most notably at the end of revali's flap, in his champion's ballad memory and when he's thanking link for aiding in defeating windblight). his body language is so interesting here as he's hiding his face and doesn't want to look at who he's talking to, and all three of these examples show him being vulnerable to an extent, even though he tries to hide it.

NOTICED THAT AS WELL!! i know you do get to fight the other blights again in optional missions, the fort hateno mission and the siege on hyrule castle but you're not forced to use the champions in any of those fights, unlike this vah medoh battle. there's even the option to do a second medoh fight with windblight appearing after the credits. glad he gets to tear the bitch apart like he deserves.

WAUGHGGHGGGGHH i. gotta admit i've only really been reading the text for revali's missions but i went back and looked at all of the link and mipha missions as well and omg. i like also that revali gets two specifically while link and mipha only get one. there's probably something to analyze there too but honestly i'm just comparing it to how my brain works whenever i get a botw kick. like yes i adore link and mipha but my love for that stupid bird is on another level. also true i've always found the garland for her rito village statue to be really adorable. and i think with totk implying that farore, din and nayru are in the spring statues then it's safe to say that you can communicate with hylia directly with the statues.

#which sorta makes her seemingly ignoring zelda really sad but let's not worry about that rn #asks #anonymous

[kokomiin]

I finished New Tales from the Borderlands last night, so i wanted to write a quick thoughts/review post like I do (sometimes). It's pretty much spoiler free but at the very end I mention whether or not a certain character from the first game returns so fair warning

Overall I really enjoyed it, I wasn't super sure about it one way or the other before it came out but if you don't go into it expecting the same kind of story as TFTBL1 or just looking for Rhys, Fiona, Sasha etc you'll get into it much quicker.

It was a bit obvious to me that they hadn't made this kind of game before in terms of the story at large, I think the story of 1 was much tighter (not that i dont have my own issues with certain things in 1 but I don't talk about it here) but what NTFTBL does best is in the main characters themselves, their arcs and the relationship between them. I went into the game prepared to make fucked up chaotic choices but I found myself actually caring about making them get along with each other and grow as people. I went for the good ending and was pretty satisfied, but I definitely want to do a second playthrough sometimes soon to see how bad I can make things.

In that way and many others NTFTBL is a lot more like a game by the Until Dawn devs rather than Telltale, there is no "X will remember that" except for one time as a joke, you have to assume that how you make the characters talk to each other is actually going to affect how they view each other and what decisions they'll make when you're not controlling one of them.

There were a lot of moments that made me laugh out loud, as well as some parts that I felt could have been paced better, but overall I was always excited to see what the other two characters were up to when I was playing as one. As I played I found it actually hard to choose which of the protags was my favourite, for a while it was Anu but in the end I think it has to be Fran because she has some of the best moments in the game.

My main criticism of the game would be that in the first episode they introduce a lot of cool and interesting side characters but they barely show up or have an impact on the story after that, even L0U13 who is more of a main character than a side one. Though even if I felt like he didn't show up enough, whenever I was thinking that while playing they would suddenly feed him to me in spades so I guess I can't complain too much. I also really loved the Tediore soldiers and ended up feeling bad if I had to kill one. or did it by accident.

Something the game does well as 1 did is putting you in the Borderlands universe as characters who are not capable of shooting their way out of any situation, they are even more pathetic than Rhys and Fiona so it makes for some interesting circumstances.

And speaking of Fiona, she is revealed to be the one Marcus is narrating the story to at the end of the game. The way she was talking to him, and the words "time heals all wounds" being written in the stars on that page implied to me that she's a treasure/vaulthunter and may also be looking for Rhys? or something. Either way I figure she'll actually BE in BL4, I was really surprised that they even got Laura Bailey back for this cameo. That does make it a little extra sad though that the VA for Rhys is changed, i don't dislike Ray Chase for him at all and think he does a great job but Laura and Troy work so well together.

#dess #rambling moment

[mrsbsmooth]

BRO life has been so damn (aggravating) crazy this past month, anyway tell me your thoughts about 'ex in the villa' before i update the app and go play it 🥺🥺❤🙏

Hi beautiful! It's not a full season like S1/2/3 were. It's a mini-season which gives us a different scenario to play. If you play it with this in mind... it's actually not bad, so far at least.

Side Characters:

💎Alfie's a sweetheart, and I think it's actually nice that he's a little unsure. @amalasofmonterisso did a great post about this, but the more 'unsure' he is, the more I like him. It makes him seem like a real person, with real doubts about his feelings. I'm looking forward to seeing where things go with him.

💎Kat is a walking tantrum, and I love her for it. She's got some of the best one-liners, and is quite upfront about what she wants, so I'm interested to see if they boot her early or not.

💎Dana is a LI, and is pretty clearly on MC's side early on, and I like how she seems like she's a little more chill. I hope they give her a bit more depth though, especially if you're not on her route. I don't want her to fade in to the background like Najuma if you're not romancing her. She's also quite honest and seems like she'll be a good friend if you're not pursuing her. Angie vibes.

💎Suresh is.... eh. I'm not vibing with his writing yet, mostly because he doesn't seem to be very good at arguing for someone who's supposedly a corporate lawyer. Although, I'm not a lawyer, and that could just be my perception of him haha. I'll be going into this a bit more if/when I write a fic for him. However, I love his story arc and I'm looking forward to it.

💩Eddie is... also present? Even in the spoilers up to Episode 13, I haven't seen much in way of a personality for him yet. We'll see.

MC Design:

💎The outfits are cute compared to the ones we got at the start of S4, especially the sleepwear.

💎There are a lot more character design options, including more hairstyles and a bigger body type.

💩This might just be me, but I cannot for the life of me make my MC look the way I want her to. I miss the characters from S2/S3, where it was almost impossible for her to not look cute as fuuuuuck.

💩There are a distinct lack of features for non-white players. I've heard a lot of concerns about the eyes, noses, and hair, and I hope they rectify them. Hopefully we get more customisation options in future updates.

💩 We have almost zero choice over our backstory. We don't even get to decide our own secret! We don't get to decide our own ex, either, so WLW players... yeah, no.

Gameplay:

💎Drama central. I'm currently icing Suresh out - playing it cool and turning him down at every opportunity, but there are options for both a 'fuck you' playthrough and a ' please fuck me' playthrough, which will be cool.

💎With all the characters, they started off very sunshiney and shallow, and then started showing negative traits. I love this. I love my characters to have a little complexity. I hope they continue this and make the characters really deep!

💩It's really hard to earn gems.

💩There's a long, interactive ad after every episode and it's really annoying.

💩They recently moved from three episodes each week to having mostly two

💩 They're ending episodes MID-CONVERSATION to simulate drama. Which I hate.

Overall

As a standalone game? 5/10? 6/10 if I'm being really generous?

Compared to earlier seasons? I don't know... a 3/10? It's really not the same game.

If it wasn't for the fandom/community, I would've given up already. I'm personally not that engaged by any of the LI's so far, but I'm sure that will change. God, look what happened to me when they introduced Bruno omg.

But I love the community and I'm looking forward to reading the fics that come out about the season. So I'd encourage you to play it anyway, even if it's just so you can do fix-its with us :)

Thank you for the ask!

#litg s5 #litg eitv

[thatrandombystander]

Okay so I’m kind of curious! I know nothing about Dragon Age other than a bit of what I’ve seen from you, but it looks like Inquisition is on sale on steam right now. Is it a game you’d recommend playing yourself vs watching the cutscenes? And is it like part of a continuity or mostly standalone? :D

Dang all THREE Dragon Ages (Origins, DA2, Inquisition) are on sale on Steam right now. 10AUD each. Those are good prices. Wish I only paid that much for them.

Disclaimer that I have not played any Dragon age since 2015 and may misremember some stuff or my opinions may not hold up once I get around to replaying them.

I'm incapable of being brief sorry. This is almost 1000 words. 😔 TL;DR you can play the games stand alone, and I personally would recommend playing yourself.

Are they stand alone?

So each Dragon Age game's core plots and major characters are generally independent of each other. The protagonist is also a completely different person in each of the three game. You don't need to play any of the other games but they are all in the same world occurring sequentially one after, so you do get more out of it from playing previous games.

Characters from previous games will appear (or be referenced) in subsequent games, but usually it's major characters getting a cameo, or minor characters playing a larger role. There's a few exceptions - e.g. Varric is a party member in both DA2 and Inquisition - but it shouldn't leave you too confused. Events from previous games also build into newer ones, but anything important should be covered within the game you're playing. They're designed for both returning and new fans to enjoy.

Even if you start with the first game (Origins) you're gonna feel a bit lost with the world at first, because they did a fair amount of worldbuilding during development so even in Origins they'll reference characters and events as if your character already knows about them. Ya sort of just figure it out, although I think Origins does the best job of introducing the various factions and groups in the world and how they interact with each other.

That being said, I've only ever played the games in order so I can't really comment on how well they work for new players. But at the same time I never played the DLC for Origins and DA2 either, which I later found out had relevance in later games. (I believe current Steam versions of the games come with all DLC)

Watch cutscenes or play yourself?

Each of the Dragon Age games has some gameplay problems. Origins and Inquisition are both pretty long games with some slow or annoying bits, especially if you're doing sidequests and such. Fandom jokes include complaining about pretty much every main quest in Origins (there's a even a mod to skip one section) and especially complaining about The Hinterlands in Inquisition. DA2 is shorter but also... that game was very clearly rushed out and needed more development time. Lot's of location repetition.

Personally, since I'm a character-driven person and I like fantasy, I'm happy to push through the boring bits since I like a lot of the characters in the game and I want to romance people uwu. Frankly I don't even remember that much of the gameplay or actual plot details. I remember characters and vibes.

Speaking of romance; Dragon Age is a franchise that gives you choices that effect the world and characters around you. Choices vary in the significance of their consequences, but some of those choices can carry over and effect the worldstates into the next games.

This is why I personally would not watch a playthrough of the games. I have some strong feeling about the choices I make and would be annoyed to watch a playthrough that does things differently. (Tabris is best HoF option I shall not be swayed. King Alistair players DNI, this is a Queen Anora household. Templar supporters also DNI.) It's also why I'd need to replay the other two games before I get to Inquisition, because I don't like the default worldstate.

As a new player you wouldn't have that same issue, but you do lose out being able to make those choices as a playthrough watcher. If you don't want to play the previous games and want to go straight to Inquisition I don't think it would bother you either, since you wouldn't know which choices the game has defaulted for you. But again, they're decently long games so if you're rather just watch a playthrough, that's an fair option.

Side note + conclusion

If you're interested in the Dragon Age posts I reblog, warning that they're proportionally most likely to be from DA2, although I do like and share posts about all the games. It's a love or hate game for pretty good reason (some people will just recommend skipping it) but I fall into the love camp, I think because I like the characters and the plot is on a smaller scale.

Choosing to start with Origins and play all three is valid, only playing Inquisition is valid, playing Inquisition and then maybe feeling like playing the previous games is also valid. I only wouldn't recommend starting with DA2.

Ah, also the games have mature ratings. You can look up/ask about the details on that. From memory the most distressing would be implications/suggestion/aftermath of sexual assault (I think mostly in the first two games?) and slavery being a sort of thriving institute in parts of the Dragon Age universe.

If you have any other questions or confusions about the games/characters/world at any point, you're welcome to ask me. Even if I don't quite remember the details I can check the wiki to help block you from any unwanted spoilers. ✌

#ramblings of a bystander #dragon age #ask #answer #lotus-mirage

[lollich0p]

Lollichops Mile Long Video Game Rec's

Nobody asked but I've decided to make a list of games I personally belive everyone should play because they fuck (mostly shooters sorry not sorry)

there should be a cut here if there isnt send a pipe bomb to my email address

Half-Life 1&2 +the episodes All of half-life is good and is in my opinion the grandfather of every modern shooter ever and for how old and mildly janky it is it still holds up with a gripping 'story' and excellent gunplay, hl2 is similar to that but just feels slightly different overall the hl series is a must play.

Portal 1&2 Another valve classic it's just sits in my mind as a staple of gaming. Its an amazing puzzle platformer where you get this use portals. You HAVE to play portal it's an impotent part of gaming history.

Tf2 Okay last valve game I prommy tf2 is a great ftp game that is fairly easy to get the hang of if you're familiar with multiplayer fps its great fun with friends and just feels good to play (its also a gaming classique).

Postal (I prefer the original over redux but both are good) I am holding you at gunpoint go play classic postal right now or else its a top down edgy late nineties shooter that if played correctly will bewitch your brain and make a wholly different person also it's genuinely fun and on normal difficulties almost feels arcadey.

Postal 2 Is literally nothing like postal apart from having the same main character, it a charming fps that has fun mechanics and some of the most bizzare player/ai interactions I've ever seen you should play postal 2 please play postal 2.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of Chernobyl I've already made a post about this one so here's the short version. Stalker is an open world post-apoc shoot that takes place in and around chernobyl. It really enjoy it's inventory management and gunplay. I also think it has excellent voice acting and it holds a special place in my heart.

Zoo Tycoon 2 I was an animal kid and love classic zoo tycoon so this was greatest birthday present when I was like nine, it's a free download on archive.org

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 or RCT classic It's the first 'tycoon' themed game ever I believe and the two versions I've recommended are the best, you build custom theme parks and then stare at them in wonder. There's challenges but you don't get punished for not completing them so you can do basically whatever you want.

Dishonored 1&2 Stealth games with an incredibly gripping story and excellent gameplay dishonored is great if you hate rich people and want to kill them with swords.

FATE: The Traitor Soul This is a combo pack of every FATE game in one, this is not really a must play but it holds a special place in my heart as one of the few games i physically bought and owned on my family's PC. It's a topdown dungeon crawler with a completely randomized dungeon that you try to reach the bottom of. it has a charming story and a very interesting artstyle that feels very world of warcraft but with less boobies.

Bioshock 1&2 Do I even need to say anything? Bioshock 1&2 have a mild amount of jank and may look a little rough around the edges but are overall excellent games. Both have an amazing plot that holds up even after multiple playthroughs, both have actually fun gameplay where it's challenging in the beginning and is almost like a light horror game (more for bio 1 than 2) but by then end it becomes more of run and gun action game.

Disco Elysium An insane rpg/visual novel with an amazing amount of choices that actually effect the world around you. has an intensely gripping story in an incredibly interesting world. Please play disco elysium.

Borderlands 2 It may not have the best dialogue or gameplay and has an objectively weird default control scheme but it makes up for it with raw charm other games can kinda feel like borderlands but nothing really comes close to how it feels exactly. I consider it a slice of early 2010s everything. (this means it's very painful to hear the funny internet references somtimes)

#radio chatter #most of these games are like twenty bucks or less so please consider playing them #i would look up any sort of content warning for these before you play tho especially with like postal dishonored and bioshock #and maybe S.T.A.L.K.E.R #I might rb this later with more games

[miss-mania]

I know it paved the way for the rest of the series or fuckin whatever but the first Fallout game is not very good. It's wild that people thought the second one was a bit of a mess at the time given how much more balanced and polished it feels overall. Replaying the first two it's kind of apparent that a lot of the gameplay problems in the entire series were there from the start.

This ended up being kind of long so I'll elaborate below. It's all a bit messy as it's like 4 AM but whatever.

Replaying it, 90% of the perks are more or less useless and have limited roleplaying potential (unless you're fine with your roleplaying just being like...a box you tick on your character that provides flavortext). An example is the rad resistance perk; there is exactly one location in the game where radiation is a problem and a single enemy that deals radiation damage.

The game doesn't have a difficulty curve so much as it has a difficulty cliff; once you get the combat armor/power armor and a decent weapon most combat encounters are rote. This is a problem in...basically all of the fallout games. If there's one thing the first two have in common with the latter two, it's having wildly uneven difficulty and a kind of hilarious disregard-bordering-on-contempt for game balance.

A lot of the random world encounters are great and one of the things really missing from the later games with the change in format. With reasonable luck though you can stumble upon a special encounter really early that will trivialize the rest of the game. In this playthrough I got the encounter that gave me more caps than I could come even close to using until I was at the point where caps were a non-issue anyway.

The npcs have very little personality with a few exceptions; the choice of who gets a talking head portrait and voice acting is sometimes baffling. Sometimes it's someone interesting like Set or Harold, but even the best of them are involved with often just one quest before ceasing to have any relevance to any other part of the story or new information to provide you. This is mostly excusable given the time period it came out...but Baldur's Gate came out the same year and handled this aspect of the open-ended rpg experience much more deftly.

There's a lot of cut content in the way where all the bread crumbs leading up to it are left in the game, several times now I've looked up a character or plot thread on a wiki to find it's cut content. I know cut content is just kind of a fact of life in game development but it's extremely frustrating when enough is left in to imply that you can do something only for it to be a waste of time. For instance, you can find the doctor that's chopping people up for their sweet meat in Junktown, but you can't report his activity to anyone. When you get to the dude who's selling the aforementioned human bits to the unsuspecting denizens of the Hub, there's even a dialogue option saying "I'm turning you into the sheriff" but there is no dialogue with the sheriff. You can goad him into attacking you but doing so immediately turns the entire Hub against you.

The weirdest thing about replaying the first one is how much connective tissue there is between the entire series, for better and...mostly, primarily for worse. Lack of polish, insane and random peaks and valleys in difficulty, inconsistent levels of depth across the entire experience mechanically and atmospherically, the obviously unfinished quests, the unfocused and underdeveloped satire; it's all there.

Yet somehow in every one of these fucking games the atmosphere from the setting, the soundtrack, and the clunky-yet-kinda-endearing skeuomorphic UI always manages to drag me through the murky, radioactive quagmire of questionable game design and narrative decision-making to the end credits, during which I invariably think to myself "yeah that was a game. I should re-install New Vegas."

#fallout

[lordsthegames]

Lords of the Fallen Sequel: From Slow and Tactical to Fast and Furious, and the Parallel Worlds Mechanic

Lords of the Fallen, the OG one, was all about that slow and tactical Dark Souls vibe, but the upcoming sequel with the same name is flipping the script. They're going for that fast and furious feel, think Deck13's The Surge and Bloodborne. And don't even worry, even though your character can't do the whole free-jumping thing, the exploration game in Lords of the Fallen is still lit.

Lords of the Fallen is doing its own thing by bringing in this killer mechanic – it's all about the parallel worlds, Axiom and Umbral. Axiom is where most of the action goes down in its fantasy setting, but sometimes you gotta dip into Umbral, either by choice or when the game forces you. Umbral's a dark and twisted place, with freaky monsters and bones decorating what used to be trees and rocks. Luckily, the player gets this slick lantern that lets them check out Umbral without making a one-way trip there. Whenever there's an unbreakable wall or a huge gap in your way, Umbral might just have the answers to help you keep it moving.

Lords of the Fallen is all about that Umbral realm, and once you step into it, there's no turning back until you hit the next checkpoint or catch that death penalty. They're taking a page from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice with this two-life thing and trust me, Umbral ain't a walk in the park – it's often tougher than Axiom, so that second chance might end up being a total fail. The game also brings in some cool seamless online co-op action, where you and your squad can roll through most of the adventure together. According to the project leads, the world follows the host's lead to keep things synced up in Axiom/Umbral. And while you're enjoying this cooperative gameplay, don't forget to check out where to buy PS4 games to expand your gaming library for even more multiplayer fun.

Lantern's Versatile Mechanics and Character Classes Overview

One key part of the whole Axiom/Umbral thing is this lantern that lets players peek into the other realm. But it's not just for show – you can use it to Flay and Siphon Souls from enemies, which helps you rack up wither/stagger damage. Plus, you can extract Umbral parasites from tough enemies, but here's the catch – both these moves need you to wield the lantern in your offhand. So, if you're rocking a casting conduit or a shield, you'll have to switch things up. I'll be real, I didn't fully get the hang of this mechanic during the preview, except for sucking away those Umbral parasites. I'll have to dive deeper into the final build to vibe with the mechanics and appreciate what's going on. Lords of the Fallen's character creation gave us nine classes to kick things off. Eight archetypes were pretty much a match for Dark Souls' starting classes, and then there was the Condemned class, a blank slate with nines across the board in each stat. That class was all about flexibility and letting you build your character the way you wanted. And speaking of customization and choice, have you considered where to buy PS4 games to tailor your gaming experience to your preferences?

Lords of the Fallen, like, totally rocked my gaming experience, dude. So, for my playthrough, I rolled with the Inferno class. It started things off with a fireball, kinda like Pyromancy vibes, and a polearm. Now, that polearm, like, wasn't the quickest thing out there compared to what some other classes had, and my MP couldn't keep up with the whole fireball-spam thing in every fight. But when I could combine both of 'em, especially during boss battles, it was a legit build, no doubt. The RPG Site homie next to me went with an Archer-like class and wrecked the main boss in our demo with poison arrows, which was pretty lit.

Lords of the Fallen, like, totally had some limitations in the early game vibes before you hit the main hub. It was kinda, you know, not super clear how all the progression stuff meshed together, but don't worry, fam, those surprises won't keep you hanging for long when the game drops.

Gear Customization and Parry Mechanics

Collecting cool gear and customizing your look? Yeah, that wasn't a thing at the start. There were no weapons to find when you went off the usual path, and you couldn't pimp your gear 'cause the blacksmith homie wasn't chillin' in the hub. Bummer, right? But wait, there's more! One of the devs gave us a sneak peek of this sick scimitar and a light shield setup. It looked perfect for pulling off that classic parry and riposte move I'm all about, and I can't wait to flex those skills when the full game drops later this year. Oh, and speaking of parrying, it's not just about looking cool. It also builds up this gauge thing that knocks your enemies on their butts. For the basic foes, it's a quick takedown, and for the big shots like boss dudes, you can dish out some serious pain.

#Lords of the Fallen 2023

[jadedvaevic]

~My Hogwarts Legacy Review~

Combat: Fun as HELL. Would enjoy this in more games.

Customization: ...eh, they tried. Very limited character creation. That said, I do enjoy the designs and ability to keep your gear looking the way you want it to look regardless of what you wear. Very cool.

Loot: ...eh. Very typical looting experience.

Collectibles: Really sick of games using collectibles to expand play time. This game included, this game is the worst offender I've seen.

Playtime: LOTS. 40+ hours marked on my last save.

Visuals: Beautiful. A+.

Experience: Powerful, but terribly linear. In a BAD way. Very, severely unhappy with the railroading of your character's moral compass and choices, as well.

Replay value: ... None, if you're thorough in your first go.

Gameplay mechanics: ...overall? VERY bad. 1, Lockpicking feature is redundant and boring, entirely the same despite requiring an ASS LOAD of work COLLECTING COLLECTIBLES ACROSS. THE ENTIRE. MAP. to level the skill. 2, most of the game is walking/riding/fast traveling because god damn this map is huge and full of all the same activities. 3, it's. It's literally just fetch quests. You're fetch questing to COLLECT THE SPELLS OF THE GAME to improve one of the only two good things in this game: COMBAT. There are more spells but those are just for ACCESSING MORE PARTS OF THIS MAP AND COLLECTING COLLECTIBLES.

Would I recommend buying it? Yeah. Later on, when the price drops. Not new, that's for sure.

Why? Fun time waster. Nice twist of the heartstrings for boredom a lot like a good book. Will fill your spare time decently. The combat makes it really hard to remember how annoying it is to fetch quest everything.

Detailed review: (SPOILERS, DUH.)

The game is so linear it's painful. The open world is a lie with nothing but meaningless and limited experiences outside of quests. One playthrough is enough, and then... Meh.

The first playthrough is honestly really good. The story touches you. The characters and quests are full of life. Even with what feels like a game full of forced diversity, the story explains everything well. Why is there a Ugandan woman who worked at the largest wizarding school of all moving her child to a small school like Hogwarts? ... Well. Her storyline explains enough of it. If I were running from my past, I too would likely try to live in an opposite environment.

The game touches you. It gives you STRONG connections between the main characters which, happily, start as coincidentally as irl friendships often do.

But after that first playthrough, that's it. You've pretty much experienced everything there is to offer.

There's no romance. I personally loathe that, because 15-18 year olds can have non-sexual romances in media. They are growing and experiencing shit for the first time. But the company made that choice, and I have to respect it given the current atmosphere in the world. As well, I think it compensated well by really showing non-romantic relationships in powerful ways which ought to be done more often.

Using spells and being able to learn dark magic, going through the deathly hallows, riding a hippogriff mount and more, it's the game every fucking kid wanted with this franchise. ... Though I would have loved to be able to see dementors, cast a patronus and even become an animagus, I suppose I'll hope they'll expand in another game later on.

Either way. In my opinion, the game isn't worth such a high price when it's only going to be a single playthrough. Imo game devs should be making games with replay value in mind, but that's a whole other topic not for a review.

#hogwarts legacy

[buzzcutbulldyke]

Can we talk about how the DA fandom will eat you alive if you say you had Dorian forgive his dad while the exact same people will ship Dorian with a he/him female? - ash

GOD. YES WE CAN. I mean, one, I already think some people go WAY too fucking hard on what choices you're "allowed" to make in DA. Like, some of them are objectively bad! Giving Fenris back to his slaver, for example, is a horrible thing to do! Some are more nuanced. EITHER WAY, it's a video game?!?!?!?! Like holy shit some big fandom names genuinely act like picking one of the mean options makes you a horrible person irl. I'm playing a character. Believe or not, not everyone is playing themselves as the Warden or Hawke or the Inquisitor :|

But also, yeah, the hypocrisy!! Obviously we already know these people are homophobic so it isn't a surprise, but still. As if Dorian getting with a female of any pronouns wouldn't be considered a win to his father? I genuinely don't understand how they don't get that, they must all just be pretending bc what the fuck.

Also, something interesting is that both trans canon characters in dragon age (Krem and Maevaris) are from Tevinter. I've heard Mae is explicitly homosexual, and I know Krem dates one of the women in some playthroughs and that she ran away because they tried to marry her off to a man, so... Idk just interesting that the most homophobic country in the game produced the only two trans characters 👁️👄👁️ and don't even get me STARTED on the Qunari fr. Their trans characters are somehow so realistic but also the narrative and fandom REFUSES to acknowledge it LMAO.

#my posts #asks

[itlivesproject]

Hello everyone! For people just discovering us, or for those of you who do know about us and would like a better summary of what’s to come, this is the right place! We are the It Lives Project, a fan team working in our free time to make the visual novel It Lives Within, the third and final book in the It Lives series. 

You're finally ready to leave your past behind and move on. But apparently, moving on means enrolling at a community college in a supernatural town overflowing with monsters and dark magic...

IT LIVES WITHIN fully released 🖤

Our ask box is always open, but make sure you read our FAQ first. To prevent our blog from being too cluttered and chaotic, we will delete any asks that are answered in our FAQ.

Download instructions:

For Mac | For PC | For Android

How to:

Delete Saves

Other:

Discord Fan Server Link

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Progress Tracker

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It Lives Within features:

✨A fresh MC customizable in all the ways you can think of. Customization includes appearance, gender, sexuality, and personality. Play as a diplomatic and gentle Rowan who’s kind to everyone, or a sarcastic Rowan who doesn’t take anything seriously and always has a witty quip at hand, or a hard-ass aggressive Rowan who isn’t afraid to stand up to anyone and everyone. To top it all off, you get to determine Rowan’s motivations and their attitudes regarding the book’s events.

💞 Four awesome LIs: Amalia de Leon (Rowan’s long-time best friend), Abel Flint (resident archaeology nerd), Jocelyn Wu (perpetually grumpy jock & former bully), and Lincoln McQuoid (mysterious newcomer).

👩🧑New characters and old characters coming together to create a new, exciting cast.

😱Chilling mysteries and good old fashioned horror

💫The opportunity to determine your choices from previous games—and have them affect the present. Who lived and who died matters, and who you romanced matters.

🌳Branching paths and meaningful choices. Your choices determine Rowan’s personality, motivations, relationships, romance, nerve, success in collecting artifacts and lore documents, who lives and who dies, how the climax plays out, the ending you receive… so choose wisely 😏

😳CONSEQUENCES! Want to romance two people at the same time? Do so at your own risk—because jealousy is alive and well and Abel might not like it if you declare your affection for him and hook up with Lincoln the following day…

🌶Optional mature scenes and heavy topics

🎵Original music and ambience alongside some old familiar tunes.

👻Haunting CGs and animations, around 10 total

📚 23 chapters, around 800,000 words, while individual play throughs will have closer to a third of the total projected word count.

💻Made with Ren’Py, uploaded to itch.io. Playable online or easily downloadable on the computer for best playing experience.

In-depth discussion:

When this project started, one of our main goals was to create a book where you actually feel like your choices matter and that your choices determine where the story goes. We also wanted there to not be “right” or “wrong” answers; different choices have both pros and cons. As part of that, something that was really important to me was the concept of replayability. We want It Lives Within to be the type of game that you’re excited to restart and play differently. In my experience, when I replay most Choices games I always play as the same MC and romance the same person and make the same choices. The reason is that besides choosing your LI, your choices don’t impact much. I always feel like I’m the same person in each playthrough, and so it feels weird to romance someone else. Even if your choices do impact things besides love interest, there’s generally a right or wrong answer, a good or bad ending.

#playchoices #choices #it lives #it lives anthology #ila #ilitw #ilb #ilw #it lives in the woods #it lives beneath #it lives within #lincoln mcquoid #abel flint #amalia de leon #Amalia de león #jocelyn wu #noah marshall #connor green #ilw mc #ilitw mc #ilb mc #rowan Burke #devon hunter #harper vance #ava cunningham #stacy green #Lucas Thomas #lily ortiz #dan pierce #andy kang