Today's game is Minecraft. I got a bunch of friends together for a modded Server and we've been playing on it all day. It's fun to have something so lively to play on. I set it up on a little mini PC i shoved in the corner. It runs surprisingly well. On top of that keeps the power bill down.

I added Tinker's construct too it for myself just because i adore the tool system. As such it was the first thing i did before even a house. It's really handy to have access too the advanced tools it gives you so i wanted those ASAP.

I set up a smelter first, then sprinted off to a Mesa too get clay. I like to melt it in the smelter and pour it on bricks to get my blocks for the Forge. From there it's easy.

Due to the lack of a house, i frequently got into fights with the local population. One of the mods i have added bosses that spawn every once and a while. I have mixed feelings, because they're cool, but way too OP. I want to see if i can tone them down in the settings.

Speaking of way too OP, Ice and Fire. It was added at the request of a friend and god do i get frustrated by this mod. It feels like it's sole purpose is to fuck me over in as many ways as possible. it's like "Here's 8 fire dragons, and then here's some Sea Serpents too kill you while you try to get your stuff back. And then here's some sirens, then a pixie steals your sword". I ended up messing with the config to make things more tolerable so there's at least that, but damn, the dragons are OP as fuck.

I also added a shader pack for myself. I'm not usually big on these as i feel like they make the game kind of fuzzy and crank up the bloom, but this one i kind of like just for the way it makes the ores glow.

I ended off for the night by helping a friend get acquainted, before hopping off to start prototyping a machine too make train tracks for Create Steam and Rails. I automated it pretty well so i'm excited to show that off next time i play.

Today's game is Undertale. Last time i played i mentioned not really being motivated to play this due to seeing it when i was younger. Now that i've been going through it though i'm picking up on a lot of humor i missed when i was younger. Like a joke in the bar about wearing a collar, or a reference to leaving a line (he left a literal Line with his number on a rod), before saying he wanted to make out with a fish. Anyways, so i admit there's still more this game has to offer me.

Speaking of the game's offering, there's the combat. I keep feeling as if i keep getting stuck quite a bit. It's honestly a good marker to take a break, but i can't help but feel it's dragging the game out a little because ever 2 hours i'll hit a room that's roadblocking me from getting out.

For example, the Papyrus "fight". besides it taking me a while to actually figure out to spare him, i also was struggling too keep up with the second half where it gets serious. It was a genuine struggle, and reminded me way too much of flappy bird for it's own good. After a few attempts though i managed to make it.

The health is a challenge too sometimes. I need to be stocking up more, because with how little healing objects i have i'm being reminded of my Fallout New Vegas run, fun times were had all because i couldn't manage my stimpaks for shit.

The latest roadblock i've hit is right after having a meal with Sans. I snuck past Undyne and i'm stuck on a group of enemies that always seem to be able to kick my ass. It's a challenge. I'm going to attempt to try and get past them tomorrow though if i get the chance.

Today's game is Starbound. I guess we're on a Indie Pixelgame binge now. First OneShot, then Undertale, and now this today. And not only did i play this today, i bought a friend a copy of OneShot and sat in call with him while he played it. So i guess this is just the kind of mood i'm in. I should play Stardew to round it out.

We played this too just relax. as i had been up all day helping move heavy stuff and wasn't in the mood for anything too complex. So i just booted up a save with whatever workshop stuff was leftover.

I ended up making a Lamia (from a mod i assume is from my friend) named Rima. I actually kind of like her design. Something about the green of her scales and hair I'm a fan of. I kind of want to try writing Lore for her but can't come up with anything.

I took her down to the planet to explore while waiting on my friend, and i don't know if it's a mod or what, but there's these winged dragon things that kept killing me. By the 5th death i just went and did the tutorial, which i avoid like the plague due to being drained by it.

After doing the crystal boss fight, which thankfully wasn't too long, we went and fixed up the ship. The entire fight honestly was more of a social hour. I like the mechanic of climbing up and down the rungs to hit the switches, but me and my friend had did this so many times by now it was second nature. We were talking about Sci-fi during it.

After this my friend had to go to bed, and i probably should too (is this what getting old feels like?). We took a group photo together at the outpost though to commemorate this save, just in case we never touch it again.

Today's game is Undertale. I'm sure everyone and their mother knows this game so i'm not going to go too in depth about it. I had originally picked up and dropped this game so many times though. Growing up i watched a playthrough and kind of spoiled it for myself, so i figured "Hey, i know like everything about this game. I don't really need to play it". So i never did. I did pick it up though for 2 dollars, just in case. After playing OneShot though, it made me really want to give this another try, so i did.

I'm having a lot more fun than i had expected with this. I think it's a combination of just age (so being able to appreciate some of the jokes) and time (so i don't remember it as clearly).

I ended up naming myself Link as a stupid joke. I saw the name picker and it was a RPG and just couldn't help myself. I wasn't really sure what to pick to begin with so i figured "why not".

The "combat" definitely lends itself to my enjoyment. I'm enjoying how diverse the Act options are. Trying to figure out which one to use is like a puzzle in itself. And reading context clues is a fun game for me (ironic considering i suck at it) so the game play has a lot to offer me despite already knowing the twists and such.

Anyways, so Undertale is my new "Currently Playing" game until i either get bored, burnt out, or suddenly hop tracks over to another game. All of which are likely for me to do. Still, i would like to stick with it.

Today’s game is some more OneShot. I binged this game all day today, and honestly i was a little sad at the end. It did a really good job of making me feel connected to the characters, and on a meta level it did its job well.

I was so attached I played through it to get all the achievements. That’s 3 whole playthroughs. One for the First Playthrough, the second for NG+, and the final in Memory Mode too get the last few.

Spoiler

I’m convinced that in a meta way, this game is about us (the player) giving a sort of humanity too the games we play, such as this one. I kind of saw Niko “taming” the World Machine (the process of basically letting a robot in more grow beyond their programming and gain free will) as a sort of reflection of us doing the same. When we start to view these characters as human (the first step in the process) do they break free from their programming and become alive.

And beyond that, in a way, the first playthrough was the player “Taming” Niko. By the end of it we’d sort of developed a bond and connection to him and almost saw him as human. By Solstice this allows him to metaphorically think beyond the capacity of the loops

Of course, this doesn’t work to people without attachment to the game, but that’s at least how I looked at it without any deeper insight.

And after doing a memory mode playthrough, I kind of find this even more reinforced as it’s a “recording” of Niko, not the real thing. Maybe it’s just me, but knowing the real Niko isn’t there made the whole thing feel soulless. This recording isn’t tamed, it basically has no free will and in lore is just destined to repeat the same actions over and over.

The artwork for NG+ was gorgeous too. I’ve honestly considered using it as my wallpaper. The only thing stopping me is a lack of 16:9, so for now I extracted the wallpapers from the built in “PC” and upscaled it instead for use

All of this, kind of points to me being in love with this game if you couldn’t tell. I just can’t bring myself to believe it’s over, and I can’t delete it. It’s hard to believe this game inspired such affection from me. Only a little bit ago I knew little to nothing about it, and now I’d say this game has earned a spot on my top games of all time.

Today's game is OneShot. I've heard praise for this game over the years for it's story, i didn't know much about it outside how good i have heard it is. And holy shit, this is amazing. I am so glad i went in blind. I have a nostalgic soft spot for games like this from the 2010s. Chiefly, The game Doki Doki Literature Club (A horror game that i doubt needs much introduction) is what got me into programming (I saw a playthrough and went "wow, that looks cool. i want to make one). So anything with meta elements are instantly going to get points from me.

I want to start with the basic foundations and praise the music, because it's bittersweet, it does an amazing job of making me feel soothed while also feeling unnerved. The entire time i felt like i was being watched. And the Artwork? Absolutely gorgeous. I'm not usually big on things that replicate pixel art (i feel like it's become the go to), but the color choice and art style is amazing. Give me glowing blues on a dark background and i'd die for you.

The particular part where you give Maize the sun i'm particularly fond of, it's really well done since you're told that the sun is super important, so of course you'd be hesitant. But also, they're dying, so you're left with the choice Do you do the human thing and grant their last request or keep the Sun safe. Ultimately you do have to give the sun up to progress, but it's not made clear.

I completed my first playthrough all in one day, but i want to go in for another. I hear theres a new game+ along with something called "Solstice" so i want to try that. I don't want to start thinking too deeply until i finish whatever solstice is, but i got the vibe the message was about how we kind of give meaning too all this and build a bond with this world that ultimately isn't real, and that act in itself is Human. We see it reflected a bit in the game. We kind of see this in a non meta way with everyone going out of there way to aid Niko on their quest and bond with them.

I'm sure this sounds like a jumbled up mess, but i'm trying to avoid thinking too deeply until i can sit down and really think after beating it. But basically, i really love this game. It's one of those games that stick with you after you beat it and kind of leave you with an empty hollow feeling that makes you ask "now what?" the last game to do that was maybe The Last of Us Part 2? I'm still mixed because i've been putting off finishing my grounded run though.

Today's game is Team Fortress 2. For those who weren't here last year (in which case, welcome), or who just missed it, i play Team Fortress 2 every Christmas Eve. I used to be quite addicted to the game and it overlapped with Christmas Eve, and by year 3 i noticed i had accidentally made it a tradition, so i just keep it up.

I... have not played in a while. In fact i think the last time i played was last christmas. It's not a lack of love for this game, in fact i still do give it a special place in my heart for running on my shitty Dual Core 6GB of DDR3 RAM Laptop. But I just can't find it in me to play now, i spend a lot of my "Multiplayer" time playing with my friend group, and the bot problem also killed a lot of motivation in me (though i hear it's been resolved).

To warm up though i did a practice match with bots. To no one's surprise i'm sure i had gotten really rusty. I usually play Demoknight and could barely keep up like i used too.

Still, i wasn't going to let that stop me from having a good time, so i hopped in a public lobby and played around. Almost everyone there was pretty chill.

I say almost everyone because there was a guy there screaming about how "Race mixing is a sin", but everyone kind of clowned on him and he ended up getting pulled from matchmaking, so hopefully Valve did something.

I went into another match and this one you had to feed a Nutcracker gifts like a game of Skulltaker in Halo. It was a fun game mode. Though i felt a little lost on the map. I ended up switching to plain Demo and carpet bombing the drop point which was fun.

The final match was a game of Push the Cart. It was really close but honestly by the end i had started to get into the groove of it again. I had used the Scottish Resistance to set up traps and held the cart for like a solid minute. We ultimately lost, but damn did i feel proud.

I ultimately might go back into it for another session with my friend (who joined me last year), though i can't say the same adoration i once had is there. I think it's kind of been over taken by Halo. It's weird going back though.

While i was playing i was thinking of a quote from Ben Folds (who i had actually seen live recently). He had described Christmas being like a "Rhyme", and honestly that's the same feeling i get from this. It's like revisiting an old family home that hadn't changed much. Maybe there's a few new faces this time, some of the people from last year are gone, and the walls are a different color, but it's still the same.

Anyways, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday! It's an honor to get to celebrate a second one with the community again.

Today's game is some more Red Dead online, me and my friend setup a private lobby, which is awesome because it lets us play without Hackers (thanks to the individual that suggested this, it's really handy). It's also led me to the conclusion that all my bugs with this game are caused by hackers. The fish are all back, i'm not being disconnected every 30 minutes, and my Horse isn't randomly blowing up.

I went fishing and caught this huge ass Gar that was 16 lbs. I couldn't figure out what to do with it so i just carried it around for a bit until i swapped it for a gator pelt. I had wanted to cook it though. Sorry fish.

While i was looking at what i could do with my fish, my friend rode to catch up to me. He ended up tripping on a log though hidden in the snow. That got me thinking about how impressive this game is, that even a log hidden by snow can trip your horse. It's just a crazy level of depth to appreciate.

Me and my friend also went Gator Hunting to get supplies for our Trader. They're surprisingly easy to hunt since they lay there.

We also got attacked by a Panther of all things. I had to put it down because it was right by our camp and attacking us, but i fucked up the shot and it bled out. Man did that make me sad. I have an unreasonably large soft spot for felines.

We stole a train to end off our day and just drove around the map until one of the waterfalls. I ended up lassoing a police officer who shot at me though and dragging him behind the train. I tried to pull him up to at least make the death painless... but wasn't able too. So this random officer ended up being meat crayoned into the ground.

To end off we stopped at this waterfall which is gorgeous, before we got off to go play Halo 2 (we're working on a normal playthrough right now). I think it's a lovely and far brighter place to leave off the game.

Today's game is Baldur's Gate 3. We've spent all evening just working on gathering Exp to have a little more breathing room when it comes too the quests we're going to do. We ended up jumping the Bugbear and the Ogre to get some experience, which is where the screenshot above is from. We went and warmed ourselves by the fire before getting off.

When we started the combat i hung out on the roof and just shot arrows into them. I figured by the time they were able to make it through my party members they would already have enough arrows in them to be killed, i was right.

That's something i really like about this game, it has a lot of tiny little moving parts (such as being able to jump onto roofs and such) that all add up to make it feel like one of the best D&D games. It kind of makes me wish we got some sort of "Dungeon Master" tools to make our own campaigns, but then again, at that point just run D&D with some friends i suppose.

We also went and did the Harpies, i made quick work of them with my arrows, i ended up being lured by the very last one though. Luckily our Barbarian threw a Shovel (i think?) at it and killed it. I've started doing this thing where I'm collecting corpses and storing them at camp. I just want to see how long it takes for my friends to comment on it. So far i got the Harpies, the Dark Druids, and some goblins and skeletons. That chest has to smell absolutely rancid.

We left off as mentioned above after fighting the Bugbear and Ogre. After all my friends got off i messed around with the photo mode a little bit to get that photo in the main screenshot, here's the "unedited" version.

Today's game is Red Dead Online. Me and my friend hopped on to play a little, as we do every winter season. We love this game a lot, but we also can only tolerate it for so long with all the Hackers in the game. It seemed to not be as bad this time at least, but still i'm hesitant. An example is this fucked up horse we found. The road into Saint Denis was just covered like this.

We found another one of these in Valentine too where it's eyeballs were flying out of its skull and back in again. Luckily this was the worst the hacking got.

We ended up going to Saint Denis like mentioned above and hanging out. I love visiting this city in the winter with all the snow because it looks gorgeous. It's a really scenic sight that i wish the story got.

We ended up fishing for a bit in the lake, but werent catching anything. We stuck around about 20 minutes before bailing.

Instead we headed over to the swamp. there still wasn't anything to catch unfortunately, but me and my friend just had a chill conversation and sat and relaxed. I bought some swamp lures to use and he bought some bait. We stayed like this until my network crashed and we decided to go play Halo together.

Today's game is some more Halo: Reach. Me and my friends did our usual PvP night. We got a 7th player so now we're one step closer to 4v4 nights. We did Odd Ball and i got this double kill of two of my friends. It reminds me of a renaissance painting of some sort, with it looking like he's holding my other friend and mourning him.

Speaking of the other players, One of our player was newer though, so i tried to go easier on him. I still wanted to have a little fun so i used the Armor Lock just to mess with him a bit. It never really occurred to him that the EMP blast was knocking out his shields though, so i kept wiping him out again... and again... and again... I ended up feeling a little bad so i told him "Hey, when i use Armor Lock don't get close".

I also mentioned that i was continuing my Reach: Legendary Solo run. It's been a hell of an experience. Exodus took me a while and i ended up having to skirt around everything.

I ended up hiding and dodging from all enemies i could to avoid combat, so the Jet pack really came in handy here because it let me platform around everything. There was that one section with all the brutes that i just went under and then jet-packed up using the scaffolding. Then the end section i stole a tank, wiped out the enemies and jet packed into the room with the final button i had to hit.

I also did Nightfall again for the Forza Firefight medal because why not. It ended up being fun to just do it on normal and sneak around, beating up enemies.

I ended up doing the forklift skip to save on time, but i forgot there was a forklift at the very end of the level so i accidentally drove a forklift from start to end. I somehow made it through all the enemies and i felt like such a bad ass by the end.

I think i want to try and wrap up my legendary run tomorrow, so i can clean it up nicely with Shadow of Mordor. Then i think i'll go back in to Silent Hill f to finish the last 2 endings. I took a breather on that because love it as i do, 5 endings is crazy, especially with the endings not seeming to be persistent, so i can't just load up a save before the ending to get another.

Today's game is some more Shadow of Mordor. I ended up beating the whole game today. I was going to go ahead and try to 100% it, but now that there's no narrative left to consume all that motivation kind of drained away.

Still though, what i got was awesome. I've been sick today while playing it but still had a blast. Rocking up with your warchiefs to fight your rival was absolutely awesome. One of mine fell in battle but he was back later, which is weird. But you wont hear me complaining.

My Nemesis i guess ended up being some poor random guy i didn't even recognize. He gave this big speech about how he'll beat me this time and then i was just trying to figure out who he is.

After the boss battle to end the game i faced off against an orc i was tracking named Luga the Friendly. Turns out his name was a big fucking lie. Dude was not friendly. I tried to go up to him and dude attacked me. I wanted to brand him and make him a war chief but i accidentally killed the guy instead.

Afterwards there wasn't much left for me there so i rode out of there on a Caragor to go do other stuff. The caragor mounts in this game are awesome and an absolute life saver. Makes getting around quicker and safer.

I ended off by starting the Bright Lord DLC, but i wasn't feeling it by the second tower. It's got some cool ideas, but i just couldnt get invested in it.

Overall, if i had to describe the game i'd go with "Short". It felt over before i expected it to be. I think i might pick up the sequel at some point if i can just too experience it, i've heard it expands on everything in a better way.