I'm Back + Most Anticipated Releases of 2024

It’s been a minute, but I’m returning from my annual break from the blog. Once again, Happy New Year!

So, what have I been up to?

I always tell myself I’m going to read a lot more during my breaks than I ever do, but during the holidays, I inevitably end up preoccupied by other things. Whether that’s with a TV series, movies, some form of arts and crafts, or video games. This time, I got into making miniatures. They were supposed to be for small unfinished snow globes, but I got overly ambitious and overestimated what I could do with the size constraints. I had maybe too much fun with that, since the project is ongoing and has followed me right into the New Year.

As for video games, I’m working my way through the last dungeon in Fae Farm as well as the remainder of its central story. This is a game I’ve really taken my time with, and I don’t have any plans to change the pace with how I engage with it. I’m also still playing Tears of the Kingdom. There’s just so much to explore, but I’m genuinely enjoying it.

So, what are my 2024 blog goals?

I don’t have any other goals this year, except to finish a couple of book series (especially the two that I already have the books for).

What upcoming books am I looking forward to?

I always try to keep my anticipated books list kind of short, because I know I’ll come across plenty of novels as the year progresses. What I am looking forward to is: The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden, The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo, Lies on the Serpent’s Tongue by Kate Pearsall, and Holly Horror: The Longest Night by Michelle Jabes Corpora.

What upcoming albums am I anticipating?

Like books, I know I’ll come across my albums later in the year. For now my list includes: Lana by SZA (sometime in 2024; deluxe version of SZA's 2022 album, SOS) Savior by Green Day (January 19), Girl with No Face by Allie X (February 23), Funk Generation by Anitta (Unscheduled), Into the Unknown by Nero (Unscheduled), and ORQUIDEAS by Kali Uchis (Already released; January 12, 2024).

What upcoming video games am I looking forward to?

Last, and certainly not least, I want to go over the video games coming out in 2024 that I’m most excited for. I primarily play on my Nintendo Switch Lite, so the games I’m going to mention consists of releases that will be available on that console.

Luigi’s Mansion HD (Luigi’s 2: This Dark Moon Nintendo Switch Port) is at the top of my list for 2024 video game releases. Even though I always wanted to play the original, I never did. So I’m very excited that it’s coming to the Switch. Another one is Princess Peach: Showtime! How many years has it been since Peach had her own game? And from the look of the trailer, it seems like it’s going to be an exciting game. As for indies, the two I’m watching for potential Switch releases is Moonlights Peaks, a vampire life-sim, and Camper Van: Make It Home, a decorating game.

So yeah, I’m looking forward to the year ahead. Happy reading!

So I Played Ooblets

So, last month I talked about my experience with Going Under (you can read about that HERE). Another one of the other games I was playing at the time was Ooblets, a life sim with a cute design—which was one of the three Indie titles I purchased in December of 2022.

I liked this game a whole lot. It was similar to Animal Crossing New Horizons with fishing, character customization, decorating, farming, and seasonal events. It was low stakes, but, as an aside, there was a narrative surrounding strange happenings to pay attention to. It was a source of trouble for Badgetown, and particularly for the character you play as (who is new) is tasked with errands to help improve the town and the nearby Wildlands. Completing one unlocks more, and I’d recommend doing the Wildlands tasks—mainly because it eventually unlocks a wealth of one of the crucial materials for Oobcoop upgrades (little houses for the Ooblets that aid with farming) and the 3D printer.

There were other places to travel to as well—like Port Forward, Nullwhere, and Mamoonia—and they each had their own unique biomes. There were specific tasks that needed to be done, but these other locations also expanded the type of collectable ingredients that could be picked up just by finding them while exploring the area (or purchased with in-game currency).

Ooblets also has a creature collecting aspect that was connected to the dance battle function. The battles were also pretty easy after getting the hang of them. But, the real draw for me was how fun it was to build my team of Ooblets. Each one had unique moves that could add an advantage to the randomized deck—for example extra beats and a card to clear flusters and trepidations, both of which could be a big help in a dance battle with a slightly higher difficulty.

As of the writing of this, the spring time event is still going (it ends at the end of May). So even after playing through the story, there are still aspects to Ooblets that act as an incentive to return to it. By the end of the story, I still have a lot left to complete, but those require growing crops, fishing, and etc.

So, Ooblets is a fun game.

 
Check out the launch trailer!

So...I Played Aggro Crab's Going Under (2020)

If you read my “I’m Back” blog post at the beginning of the year, you’ll know that during my annual break from Our Thoughts Precisely I didn’t do as much reading as I thought I would. The reason for that was simple! Nintendo was having a sale on indie games, and some of the titles I’d had my eye on for a while were marked down to ridiculously good prices. One of the games that kept me preoccupied was Going Under. At the time of the “I’m Back” post, I hadn’t made much progress in the game. However, fast forward to March + a reading slump, I finally beat the main story for Going Under. I had so much fun playing this game!

I liked it, especially for how unusual of a setting it was for a dungeon crawler Roguelike. It was bright, colorful, and the visual design style was very distinct. And the office/ failed startup setting provided the perfect opportunity for plenty of witty/ironic dialogue and commentary. That was combined with the principle storyline. It was a relatively simple straightforward narrative, but with a few surprising (and excellent) twists.

Basically, you play as Jackie, an intern for a drink company (Fizzle), which was acquired by a tech giant. There are three main failed startups to play through—Winkydink, Styxcoin, and Joblin—and each one had its own unique and appropriately business themed environments.

The game drops you right into the first battle then subsequently the first of the dungeons almost immediately, which was a crash course in the game’s battle mechanic. Win or lose the first go around, it was a challenging but fun experience. Weapons don’t last forever, and what you get per room was randomized. There was also the unpredictability of what “Skills” can be applied to the character—only one endorsed skill can be equipped, all others have to be found—which kept a level of interest (and required some strategizing) to the dungeons even after multiple runs. There was also “Business Cards”—which have information about the different monsters and NPCs—and mentors who added extra and helpful perks for navigating the dungeons.

**(Note: there is an assist mode that can be applied to each save profile before logging into the game. You can adjust stats like the amount of hearts you start each dungeon run with, weapon durability, enemy health, and etc..)**

There’s still one other mode to the game, but I can’t speak about that yet since I haven’t delved into it. That being said, overall, I really enjoyed Going Under.

 Check out Going Under's trailer!

Hello, I'm Back + Some 2023 Stuff I'm Looking Forward To...

Hello, I’m back from my annual break from blogging. As usual, some posts—like Short Stories—will return to a more regular schedule in February as I get back into the swing of things. To start out this new blogging year, I wanted to do a brief recap of the stuff that kept me entertained through December and early January, as well as the books and albums I’m waiting for in 2023.

On my break, I didn’t read as much or watch as many movies and TV shows as I thought I would. The main series I watched was Harry & Megan on Netflix. As for books, I won’t mention them here, since I have upcoming reviews for them.

What preoccupied much of my attention was: I got into a couple of indie games. Nintendo was having a great sale on some of the titles I’ve had my eye on, and I couldn’t pass them up. The first was Ooblets. It’s a cozy life-simulation with a cute style, which had the creature collecting aspect of Pokemon with the farming and decorating features comparable to games like Animal Crossing. But, it also has mini games as well as fun dance battles, which you conduct with your Ooblets and their special dance moves. Jokes aside, that aspect is basically a strategy card game. It’s not very hard to get the hang of it and start leveling up, but the deck had a measure of unpredictability to the moves that are dealt each turn. And, it kept it interesting. The other titles I picked up were Going Under, an action-rpg set in an office building, and Lost In Random, an action adventure game with a card/chance aspect to part of the battle mechanic—which reminded me of the dance battles from Ooblets (just a little more complicated and with a focus on defeating enemies to progress in game). I’m still in the early stages of those games, and I like them so far. The only drawback for Lost In Random that I’ve come across, is that it lacks a manual save function. I have to pay especially close attention to when the game is auto saving, before I go back to the main menu. Other than that, I like the style of the graphics, as well as the story (at least to the point where I’m at).

And, now for some of the stuff I’m looking forward to. My list is, of course, never concrete, and it evolves as the year goes on and more stuff finally gets announced. What I have now is very short.

Albums

Ellie Goulding’s Higher Than Heaven. This album is slated for an early February release (the third, to be exact). I’ve been an on-and-off follower of Goulding since her 2010 album, Lights. The singles released in support of Higher Than Heaven, has set a certain expectation for me, since I’ve liked everything I’ve heard so far.

Kimbra’s A Reckoning. Slated for a January 27th release, A Reckoning is one of my most anticipated albums of the year. I’ve been waiting for another full body of work by Kimbra since as far back as 2018. That was the year Primal Heart released, and, to this day, it’s one of my favorite albums.

Books

**Note: As a reminder, the Harpercollins Union is still on strike. So, no Harpercollins titles will be mentioned here today.**

The books I’m currently looking forward to include: Cinnamon Twisted by Ginger Bolton, Four Parties and a Funeral by Maria DiRico, and Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer J. Chow. I also want to get back into the Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn. And as far as classics go, I’m planning to tackle The Iliad and The Odyssey. 

So, that’s about it for today. I look forward to another year of blogging!

I Played Horizon: Forbidden West

Title: Horizon: Forbidden West
Developer/Publisher: Guerrilla Games; Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release Date: February 18 2022
Platform: PS4 / PS5
Source/ format: Purchased, Disc
Other: Played on PS4

What I Thought:

I tried my best to keep this review vague, but there may be minor spoilers since I talk about specific parts of gameplay. 

I played Horizon: Forbidden West. Some of  what I said and felt in my review for Zero Dawn applies here, but it's done even better. All of this culminated to an enjoyable and dynamic playing experience.

The main plot was a wild ride with many expected and some unexpected twists. Needless to say, I’m glad that it didn’t hesitate to go in a more fantastical direction. Plot aside, like Zero Dawn, the side missions colored and expanded on the world, environments, and the plethora of characters both new and old. Each character felt super individualistic in their personality and in the way they spoke, moved, etc. Besides Aloy's interactions with different characters, it was nice being able to hear more of her personal feelings via periodically examining objects. Also nice was seeing more self realization developments for Aloy, especially by the end. The environments were straight up gorgeous, colorful, and felt broader. Finally, I have to mention Cauldrons. I enjoyed playing through them since, in a way, they seemed darker and more menacing. It's the same ambience I loved from the Frozen Wilds DLC.

To list my favorite new additions: the weapons (especially Spike Throwers),  different ways to get collectables, the ability to climb in countless areas, face paints, and armor dyes. Then there were others like a board game (Strike), racing, Melee Pits, additional mounts, and swimming. Swimming, sadly, ended up being frustrating during one of my favorite main missions. It felt a little awkward at times, even later when it was a lot easier. I enjoyed the added complexity to some of the puzzles like the Relic Ruins that used multiple Datapoints. Or how Tallnecks take additional and varied steps before being able to override them. The custom difficulty –where players can adjust a handful of options like the damage Aloy deals to or is dealt to for a truly customized experience. Last but not least, my absolute favorite and most important on my list –that I didn’t know I wanted –is none other than the Infinite Stash! With the Workbench based crafting system, it worked out great. Though, I definitely had to get in the habit of stopping by a bench to find out what was required for said upgrades.

My less enjoyed parts were mainly the later Melee Pits and combo chaining. The earlier ones, as well as the Pit Master and Enduring, were fine. But the instructions for the advanced combos weren’t as clear. After figuring those out, I then had to face the timing.  With that being said, I appreciated the combos in that they added more variety rather than a plain heavy or light attack.

Well, I loved how vibrant it got at times. And something I forgot to mention was, after going back to Zero Dawn, the controls felt smoother. Honestly, I want to see more. Overall, I had a swell time playing.

Thanks for reading.