Essence_of_Meh

It’s not as dramatic of a departure as Fallout but the change in style and scope is obvious.

• Witcher 1 was built on a modified Neverwinter Nights engine, so it feels and looks somewhat “classic”. It has rhythm based combat with clear focus on preparations and knowing how to approach each enemy (though not to a hardcore degree). UI is clearly PC focused and should look very intuitive if you’re familiar with old RPGs. It’s also map based, with loading screens between locations and access to certain maps dependant on which chapter of the game you’re at.
• Witcher 2 is more action orientated but still keeps some of the importance of prep. It’s presentation is slicker and graphically looks much better but some of the design decisions (especially UI ones) shifted somewhat in a more gamepad friendly direction. It has similar structure to W1 except instead of bunch of smaller maps you have big open areas you move between with each chapter.
• Witcher 3 is a modern action RPG with open world, gamepad friendly design etc. Combat is much closer to what you’d expect based on other similar titles (though with more weighty movement), prep is mostly optional (unless you spec into it and/or play on higher difficulty) and it’s generally the most accessible title for those who don’t vibe with more classic RPG gameplay.

While things like combat evolved towards more mainstream appeal, others (like conversations, writing in general) improved without changing the core feel/design of the experience - only modernised them and put some additional polish made possible by increased budget.
There are also some things (the main being choices with long term consequences) which didn’t relay as much on technology and stayed pretty much the same throughout the whole series.

Last but not least, Unlike the Fallout titles, Witcher games are a continuous story. While you can start with 3, there will be some moments that won’t work as well as they would if you played the previous titles. Still, plenty of people started with 3 and enjoyed it quite a bit so missing this additional context won’t destroy your experience - it’s more of a bonus.

TL;DR: Yes but to a lesser extent.

(S)He was literally born for this.

Hey kids, wanna read some trash? I got you covered!

I recently stumbled upon a manga called TS-Reincarnated Beauty Netora Reiko Wants to Be NTR’d and it’s… it’s something, alright.
It’s a story about a dude obsessed with NTR, to the point he actively hunts pairs to steal the girlfriend and break their partners (man, women - doesn’t matter). He does it until one day he ends up slapped by truck-kun and reincarnates as a newborn girl. What’s his reaction? “Oh yeah! I can finally set up a perfect NTR scenario with me as a stolen girlfriend - just as I always dreamed of!” He then works towards doing just that, starting with making friends with a boy in kindergarten and building from there. Dude is an absolute scumbag but boy does he know what he wants and works towards it.

It’s an unhinged comedy series with no real nudity or eroticism so if you need some funny trash to kill some time it’s not a terrible choice. Just know what you’re getting into. Regardless of that, English scans use censored version of the manga for some reason (as in, with black squares over bottom half of a swim suit kind of censorship). Might be because the only other version available is the Vietnamese one but it’s still a bit ridiculous considering the topic.

It’s not a greatness in the making kind of thing but if you want unhinged trash, this definitely hits the mark.

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What else would it be?

I love Croc. I played it multiple times throughout the years and yet I never had a legit copy of the game until now. Seeing its Platinum Edition (remaster) on sale finally made me pull the trigger. It runs great, it plays great and the trove of bonus content is wonderful, even if it has a few minor issues that quickly caught my attention. These being:

• Remastered soundtrack reminds me of The Sims 2 - it’s not bad but it’s something I never thought while playing the original.
• There’s no option to switch between different versions of the soundtrack - Croc64 (an unofficial patch bringing modern features to the original version) has PC, PC demo and PS1 to choose from.
• There’s no option to rebind controls (something that already exists in the classic version).
• Updated graphics look weird. I know they said they didn’t use any AI for the new assets but some of the textures definitely feel that way. It’s fine though, I’m playing with the old assets anyway.

I’ll be sticking with Croc64 for my Steam Deck setup as it requires less disk space and I already have it set up but I am playing the remastered version on my desktop. I’ve been going back and forth between the two to compare them and playing on Deck made me realise it’s one of the few platformers I prefer to play with a keyboard - tank controls just key binds make more sense for me this way.

Anyway, I’m glad to finally buy the game that game me so much fun. Another one off the list!

Manhwa version of The Ramparts of Ice ended last weeks. It was a fun read but boy did the last two chapters felt like the team was told to wrap it up as soon as possible - time skip after time skip just to reach the end of the source material (I presume). I don’t know if it was the same in the original but it definitely caught me by surprise.

Felt a bit rushed, but it wasn’t terrible. Especially as a whole.

Since I have trouble playing things I was planning to play I decided to go with something outside of my usual ball park: Syberia.

It’s my second or third attempt at the game and this time I was be able to actually finish it. I completely forgot that the main character is a lawyer trying to buy a small local company for a huge corporation so hearing it again made me want to stop playing right away to make sure she fails at her job.
Seriously though, game is good. It’s also not for me. While I can appreciate its quality, the whole thing failed to grab me on a fundamental level, leading to an enjoyable but somehow hollow experience.

Characters work well as, well, “characters” though I can’t say they are enjoyable as people. I especially couldn’t care less for Kate’s personal and professional drama. Story chapters felt less like a cohesive whole and more like a bunch of ideas devs thought would be cool. Not to mention the ending which came pretty much out of nowhere. It wasn’t terrible, no by a long shot but it never managed to get to a point where I cared about what’s going on in the story.

On a more positive note, both puzzles (for the most part) and graphics hold up really well. I was a bit worried about the former since I’m not too experienced with point and clicks but I managed to finish the whole thing with very few issues. On the other hand, Syberia’s graphical prowess wasn’t too surprising - both the beautifully animated backgrounds and pre-rendered cutscenes survived the test of time, resulting in a game that looks fantastic to this day.

As mentioned before, it might not rank among my favourites but it was an interesting experience nonetheless. That said, I don’t think I’ll be playing the sequel any time soon. I’ll get to it eventually, I already have it after all, but I’ll have to wait until I’m in a mood for another point and click adventure. I might even try something else before that happens, we’ll see how it goes.

Grid 2 - I played the first game a few months ago and came out of the experience happy but a little unsatisfied due to limited content. Decided to give this one ago as, like with Syberia games, I already have it in my library.

Long story short: I’m way more mixed on this one than I ever felt about the original. Probably won’t be staying with it for too long. Here are some initial thoughts:

• No access to option on launch ain’t great. For some reason one has to wait until the first race before being able to access them.
• No interior camera is also a big negative - it’s how I played vast majority of the original.
• Driving feels a bit weird, more… floaty?
• Why did we replace car purchases with gifts and unlocks?
• On the same note: why did I get a bunch of free cars in the first place?! I had 8 after finishing 2 races.
• Why do you get access to sponsors right away?
• Car customisation is also not great. Camera is stuck pointing at the front at lights level and to see anything else you have to switch to the automatic display mode which blocks you from doing anything other than watching a set of slowly changing camera angles.
• I like that damage has noticeable effect on driving.
• There are no female names when creating your characters. It’s a much smaller issue than everything else but it’s a weird omission considering they were present in the first game.

As mentioned at the start, game didn’t leave too great of an impression on me so far. I’ll play a bit more to farm some steam cards to sell (and to give it another chance, I guess) but I won’t be playing it to completion like the first game.

Things didn’t really improve on my side so a focused playthrough of anything in particular is still a no-go, I did however manage to fix my issue with Division 2.

For some reason, installing Ubisoft Connect through Lutris makes it only work with specific setup and specific version of Proton (GE-Proton 9.27) - that however no longer works correctly with TD2. The app itself launched fine but the game wouldn’t run due to issue with Easy Anti-Cheat not booting. At the same time, changing WINE version failed to launch UC in the first place so I couldn’t even check if it would help with the game.

What was the solution then? Just install UC through the Heroic Launcher, that’s it.

I’m now using GE-Proton 11.1 and the game runs without any issues. I spent so much time trying to make things work as usual and it turned out the solution was this simple. Ehh… At least it works. Mindless slaughter it is (for now)!

I mentioned last week I’ll be taking a break from reading but I stumbled upon an interesting manhwa during one of my random searches so I’d like to write about it a little bit.

My Possession Became a Ghost Story is a pretty unique story with a villainess theme thanks to a very specific twist.

MC is completely oblivious to what’s going on around her and just tries to live out her transmigration fantasies based on stories she read in her original life. She literally filters out all the incoming information and interprets them in the usual tropey way you’d find in titles like this. Doing so leads to things like her thinking everyone hated the original character because she was a villainess (she was a great person everyone loved) or meeting a knight who suspects her of a crime and thinking he’s a love interest (dude has a difficult time trying to act normal in front of her because of how she sees her).

On the other hand, everyone else from the estate knows she’s not the original person (MC literally took over a dead body in the middle of a funeral) and think she’s some kind of demon or other cosmic horror possessing the corpse. Pretty much everyone sees her as a creepy dreamlike/ghostly “creature” which gives ominous vibes (like the already mentioned knight).

It’s a pretty engaging read which feels like you’re going through two separate stories at the same time. Horror elements are well done and feel quite creepy whenever we get a look other people’s perspectives (the art in these segments is fantastic!). MC’s misunderstanding is understandable since no one treats her like a person and explains what’s going on to fix her misconceptions. Her perspective on the other hand can be a bit hit or miss, especially since she feels extremely dense at times, as if she was completely unable to look past her delusions about how things should play out and actually engage with what’s happening around her. Thankfully, that part isn’t egregious enough to harm the experience.

TL;DR: MC tries to live out a tropey transmigration comedy while everyone else exists in a cosmic horror story.

I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with a more detailed list once I play a bit more but here are some things off the top of my head.

TD2 -> GRW:

• Smoother climbing/mantling system.
• Slightly slower movement speed.
• Armour pieces which serve purpose beyond looks (even if how it works is pretty gamey in TD).
• Navigation system (route line visible directly in the environment rather than on the mini-map).
• Camera which doesn’t change shoulder offset on its own.
• Weather reactions (different animation sets for different weather conditions).
• Slightly better character customisation (body).
• Some of the (less crazy) cosmetic items.

GRW -> TD2

• Stance system (crouching and crawling).
• Character building (I know TD is a live service looter shooter but boy do the meta changes and all of the build or progression systems get overwhelming at times).
• Gun controls (ability to switch fire mode, change scope crosshair and holster your weapon).
• Number of customisable gun parts.
• Ability to approach action in a more stealthy way and in less linear fashion (for some missions, not everything has to be a tightly directed spectacle).
• Less bulletspongy enemies (not to the level of GRW but a little more squishy than in current TD).
• Environment affecting character look (for example: crawling in the dirt covers your character in mud).
• Better compatibility between all of the outfit elements (some combos in TD2 don’t mesh well together - as in physically, not even in terms of style).
• Ability to save outfit sets.

There are also some elements I keep going back and forth on, like whether I prefer the “hard” cover system of TD (you have to commit to entering/exiting cover) or the “soft” system of GRW (your character automatically adjusts position based on proximity to cover). Both have their good and bad sides so it’s a pretty tough choice.

Eh, it’s just my brain being weird. While it’s not great, it’s something that happens from time to time so I try not to let it get to me too much.
On a brighter side, it gives me a bit more time to work out my Stalker role-play scenario, so there’s that at least.

I mentioned last week that things aren’t great and that’s still the case, leading to a situation I can’t really focus on anything specific and been bouncing between various titles trying to find something to occupy my time. Didn’t have much luck so far but I’m still trying.

Two titles I actually managed to stuck with for now are: Ghost Recon Wildlands and D1AL-ogue.

I have some mixed feelings about GRW. Graphically it looks great (except for characters’ hands, which look like everyone is 80 year old) and the gameplay feels just as good. Gunplay is smooth and satisfying, weapon customisation is simple but does its job well. I also really enjoy its movement system, even if there are some times where it controlled more like The Division (there are also some things I’d from this game I’d love to see in TD).
One thing I wasn’t ready for was how fragile you are in this game - I like it. It forces you to approach missions more tactically instead of running in guns blazing.

Writing is… fine. It does its job but it’s not really my cup of tea. Voice acting (at least for the main character) can also be hit or miss depending on the line. I do however like the approach to in-combat callouts. They are calm, professional and feel perfect for characters who suppose to be an elite combat unit.

Despite all of those things ranging from good to decent, I have a difficult time actually clicking with this game - no idea why. Might be my brain’s fault.

All in all, it’s a decent time waster that should tide me over until I’m ready to go back to Stalker. Probably won’t be something I’ll keep returning to regularly, unlike TD, but it’s enjoyable enough.

D1AL-ogue is a cyberpunk visual novel with puzzle elements, heavily inspired by VA-11 Hall:A. You play as an android repair man instead of bartender but the vibes, gorgeous visuals and (not as great) music leave no doubt about that inspiration. Puzzle gameplay is simple but fun, and each “stage” for visiting character is followed by a dialogue segments about various topics.

Writing could use a bit more polish (studio is Korean, I think, and there are some weirdly worded parts here and there) but it looks like devs are working on an expanded version of the game and improved English localisation so we can expect that to change in the future.

Game is free on Steam so if anyone’s looking for VA-11 Hall:A vibes, this title is a good choice.

I’m not having a great time and will most likely take a break from regular reading for a while. Before that happens however I’d like to write about two series I’ve been looking into recently.

[Beijing Chronicles}(mangadex.org/title/…/beijing) is an anthology of short stories about the life in Beijing before and during the 2008 Olympic Games. Multiple authors, vastly different topics, perspectives and art styles. It’s not exactly the greatest thing ever but I found it to be an enjoyable and interesting read, showing a pretty mundane side of life in the city. It’s also pretty short, sitting at 11 chapters.

Deadlines Are Raining in the Status Window - another comedy manhwa with transmigration focus. Main character ends up in the body of a villainess, decides she wants nothing to do with the main plot and bails to the countryside to lay low, earn money and go to a famous academy for a fresh start.
I actually tried reading it before but due to an unfortunate case of “wrong place, wrong time” I couldn’t really get into and decided to leave it for later. Well, it’s now later so lets try again.

My second attempt started way better as I immediately had a lot more fun than on my first run. “Had” when reading the first arc anyway. Once I got to a point where MC started meeting and fangirling about main plot characters the story lost me completely as she’s the worst and most obnoxious kind of fan - one I really can’t stand, let alone want to read about. The moment she’s with them (especially one of them) she turns from a blunt money hungry opportunist into a total creep ready to demean herself for a bit. It’s not funny, not for me.

So yeah, as much as I enjoyed my second attempt the parts I don’t like are enough to make me stop. It’s a shame but what can you do?

Speaking of stopping - I’ve been actually quite a bit more proactive in dropping series recently, already clearing my library of about a dozen or more titles in the last week alone. I guess I’m a bit tired of reading for the sake of reading at this point. I did it mostly to occupy my mind and since it doesn’t seem to work that well any more I might as well try something else for a bit.