I just wrapped up my first NG+ run of Elden Ring, which also included my first playthrough of Shadow of the Erdtree. I enjoy the base game quite a bit, and while I think it loses a bit of steam during the last third or so of the game (in regards to the environments; the bosses are cool), I intend to do a second NG+ playthrough to try to get the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending as well as the legendary achievements. I'm not an achievement hunter or anything, but 100%ing Elden Ring sounds like a fun goal to have. It's a toss up if I'll revisit Shadow of the Erdtree, because I'm pretty neutral on it.

In the meantime, I've returned to my first save file of Dark Souls that I put down at Sen's Fortress a year or so ago. I just wasn't having it, but this time everything clicked, the snake dudes caused me no trouble, and I made it to Anor Londo. But now I'm dealing with the AL archers and they are a real pain. I wouldn't be surprised if I put it down again and revisit it at the end of 2026.

CIV V

I am new to it and I like it.

I have wasted so much of my time already in Europa Universalis V (cracked) just with Hungary and I'm still only in the 1450s

Carmageddon Max Damage. I used to live for the original Carmageddon, back when I was in high school. Between me and my old man, we annihilated that game and all the add on packs. This version is a pleasant return to a simpler time, but it's a nice shake up of the classic too, it's actually a bit challenging. I'm really enjoying it, about 55% done. I pick away at it here and there, and have been doing that this week. Probably going to replay Modern Warfare 2 (the 2009 version) on the weekend, as I just finished Modern Warfare 1 last weekend.

Started a new vintage story run, currently living my best life as a stone age bozo

Kingdom Come Deliverance, I decided to finish it, after playing the second game in the free weekend and also bought the DLCs on the cheap.

I am thinking of buying the KCD2 during the winter sale and finish that one too.

Guild Wars 2! It's been improved quite a bit since I last played it over 12 years ago.

Still playing Persona 3 Reload, I think I’m around 75% of the story. The game is, eh, okay-ish.

To be honest, was bored most of the entire game, so bored that I just used a Trainer to rush through the dungeons. Only now it is getting a little bit interesting.

Project Gotham Racing 4

It's a shame that the series isn't backwards compatible on the newest Xbox because they are awesome games. Driving has a really nice feel to it (not so much for the motorcycles), the circuit locations are all so well done and genuinely interesting to look at and race on. £2 well spent!

I'm at the halfway point of Alan Wake 2, picking it back up after a bit of a hiatus. I like the story a lot and how it's unfolding.. Good acting and art direction, love the vibes.... but combat is not super interesting to me. (っ- ‸ - ς) so I kinda got distracted with other stuff....

I'm almost done with Shadowrun Returns - all that's left is the grand finale. Looks like my breaks for Unbeatable didn't affect my progress as much as I thought they would.

I'm still surprised by the balance between dialogue (or non-combat gameplay in general) and combat - the former is the more interesting part of the game for me so the current state of things is right up my alley. Not that combat is bad, I actually enjoy it way more than I thought I would, but talking with characters is something I always look forward to the most. This is even more highlighted here as I also love the feeling of community in the "Seamstresses Union", the main hub of the game - there's not much to do there nor is there a huge amount of interaction with characters but what's there is enough to make the place feel like home away from home. It's great.

Writing is pretty engaging for the most part. There were a few less interesting parts but they didn't really affect my enjoyment though I can't say I'm a fan of the last minute swerve into the "gotta save the world" narrative. It's "fine" but I would simply prefer the game to stay with the small(ish) personal stakes instead. I did end up liking pretty much all of the side characters at least (and even some of the random mercs which have no character or conversations at all).

I was worried about two things when I started this playthrough:

• Complexity of the game - I haven't played Shadowrun before and I don't really play many isometric RPGs these days so I wasn't sure how well I'll handle it.
• I have a bad tendency of starting games, then taking multi month breaks because I got distracted by something else. Thankfully, I managed to power through my mind goblins and finish (well, I will tonight) the game in "one go" - it's not much but I'm proud of myself considering how big of a problem it can be.

The only issues I have with the game are the fact that some etiquette options are pretty much useless in the campaign and that for some reason game always starts on my second monitor, with a borked resolution. Both issues are a bit annoying but they not game breaking so whatever. Other than that nothing stood out in other negative ways.

All in all, I had a great time and can only hope most of my remaining backlog will be just as entertaining. Time to search for another pick.

Edit: Just finished the game. Final section was my least favourite part of the playthrough - it wasn't terrible, just kinda "meh" compared to the rest of the game. Still liked the game overall and will be happy to play the other two I have.

Twin continues to want to play together, and Stardew Valley with lots of mods continues to be the best option.

The addition of Jorts and Jean is a delight. I'm stuck on how I'm suppose to be unlocking some of the Expanded stuff though. I'll have to wiki it eventually.

Finished Skate Story and now I’m working through Hi-Fi Rush.

SpongeBob SquarePants and the Cosmic Shake. Nothing spectacular but it’s a solid kids platformer

Evil Within, didn't think it take me so long to beat...

I‘m playing Neon White and thankfully the gameplay manages to make up for the dialogue/voiceover or else I wouldn‘t have lasted long in that game lol