September 2024 Channel Update – Bracing for Impact

Hi,

Hope you are well! I’m doing Alright - it’s that time of the month where I’m scrambling to do an update again 😂  Let’s gooooooo!

TL;DR

• Finished: Copycat, some first looks

• Ongoing: Baldur’s Gate 3, Metal Gear Solid 3

• Next Up: Literally A Million New October Releases (casual poll for Patrons+)

• Patreon billing changes (does not apply to patrons with ongoing pledges, but just a FYI)

Finished Stuff

Copycat: A story of a shelter cat going through a rollercoaster journey beginning with being adopted by an older lady. This is the studio’s first game and the budgets/limitations/inexperience shows, but narratively it goes to places I didn’t expect it to, so I think it was worth experiencing for that alone. Short & sweet - doesn’t overstay its welcome!

We also had first looks of:

The Plucky Squire: A platform adventure of 2D storybook characters who traverse to the 3D realm. The aesthetics are super endearing and on point. However, I’ve seen from others who played further in that the puzzles and gameplay continue to be handholdy all the way through, so how much you enjoy this might depend on how much you can tolerate that.

Caravan SandWitch: We go on a caravan road trip to find our missing sister. It’s relaxing, looks beautiful, but the dialogue (of which there is a lot) is kind of awkward, lacking in finesse and proper localization.

Current Stuff

Baldur’s Gate 3:  I think I’m very close to the end of Act 1 in the mountain pass area before going to shadow-cursed lands. Still enjoying it lots, and we’ve even bumped it up to tactician difficulty as of today!

Metal Gear Solid 3: The third part of Snake’s adventures! For better or worse Kojima definitely has his own flavor lol, and I think his stuff always has an entertaining edge to it. We’ll be ending off this series with 14 parts so I’ll give more of my thoughts then. As for future MGS entries – I’m probably going to pause until Master Collection vol 2 is out.

Upcoming Stuff

After I wrap up MGS3 I’m going to hold off on anything big, because October is going to be insane:

• 8th: SILENT HILL 2 (I’m paying attention though it’ll depend on reviews – if the remake is not great I’d rather consider the original instead)

• 15th: NEVA (from creators of GRIS)

• 15th: Life is Strange: Double Exposure (first 2 eps, full game on 29th)

• 31st: Dragon Age: The Veilguard

• ?: Alan Wake II Expansion: Lake House (specific day not yet announced)

Patrons+ can share which of the above they’d like to see prioritized in this poll: https://www.patreon.com/posts/games-interest-112754775

Note: This poll’s more of a casual interest check for me to see what you as a group would like to see. I’m likely to get around to everything here eventually, but in selecting the order, I’ll be taking other factors like game length into consideration (e.g. it’s easier for me to tackle a 10-hour game before committing to a 100+ hour one).

Patreon Admin Things

Starting from Nov 4 2024, this page will be switched over from first-of-the-month billing to subscription billing as mandated by Patreon. If you are an existing patron and continue your pledge without pause, nothing will change for you. For new patrons and those who discontinue their pledge but return later, this is how the billing behavior will change:

Currently: You are billed on the date you become a patron, and then on the 1st of every month

• E.g. Join on Sep 25 =  billed on Sep 25, Oct 1, Nov 1, etc

Starting Nov 2024 for new/returning patrons: You will be billed on the date you become a patron, and then on the same day every month after that

• E.g. Join on Sep 25 = billed on Sep 25, Oct 25, Nov 25, etc

This change is happening apparently because of Apple App Store shenanigans. You can see the full details here: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/8779192853261-Subscription-Billing-FAQ

We’ve got a few more days before we enter the October craze! As a gamer I’m excited, but as a channel running person I’m also absolutely doing a thousand yard stare right now lol. I hope you’ll be enjoying some great games in October too, whether it be watching and/or playing directly!

Thanks for your support, and as always and feel free to share with me any thoughts/suggestions below.

Welonz