September 2021 Channel Update – Everything All At Once

Hey!

It’s been (and still is) a very, very busy month...... apologies that this one is on the later end. There’s a lot to cover so let’s jump right in!!

TL;DR

• Finished: Subnautica BZ, Twelve Minutes, ME2, Psychonauts 2
• Ongoing: LIS True Colors, Deltarune Ch 2
• Upcoming: ME3,Outer Wilds DLC, Impostor Factory

Games Finished Since Last Update

Subnautica Below Zero (23 parts):  Oceanic exploration experience, Arctic edition. The base Subnautica experience is great: exploring the immersive depths, prettying up the base, etc. But I found Below Zero to be a significant step down from the original narratively: many elements feel incohesive, perhaps due to being worked on and reworked on throughout early access. It’s still good for the aforementioned but I would hesitate to recommend for story lovers.

Twelve Minutes (5 parts): Top-down point and click interactive thriller of a man trying to escape a time loop. The initial 1-2 hours are very engaging when everything is new, but because there's no quick way to experiment with all your ideas it gets repetitive to start from the top every time. It’s hard to talk about the story without spoilers but I think it’s best to treat the whole thing as a “what happens if I try doing this” interactive sandbox.

Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition (68 parts): Not as big of a focus on the lore as ME1 but the stakes are higher than ever as we get more attached to our squadmates, old and new. In an age where new games come out everyday, ME2 is a welcome, classic, constant. I’ll be continuing with ME3 shortly!

Psychonauts 2 (29 parts): Third-person platformer exploring the minds and mental states of other people. As with the first game, every single level (= somebody’s mind) has unique, creative worldbuilding. There are things to nitpicks but overall it’s a super fun experience with some jaw-dropping plot developments. Also terrible for people with collectathon issues because you will be compelled to collect EVERYTHING :)))))))))

Progress on Current Stuff

Life is Strange: True Colors: (I’ve finished the game but haven’t finished uploading yet.) A girl with the “psychic power of empathy” seeks the truth behind a mining accident. True Colors shines so, so brightly during the small intimate moments especially with the new mocap facial animations. The driving plot is comparatively weaker though, and I think if this game had come out episodically it wouldn’t hold up as well – the individual chapters aren’t really meaty enough on the plot side. At the end of the day it’s LIS and I love the LIS format, so I still enjoyed it very, very much.

Deltarune Chapter 2: A surprise game launch, as if September wasn’t busy enough!! I haven’t made it too far in but it’s the good ol’ Toby Fox-style humour again.

Upcoming Stuff

Five days left in the month and there’s STILL two games I’m interested in coming out, the Outer Wilds DLC and Impostor Factory. We’ll return to Mass Effect 3, and I want to at least take a first look at Kena: A Bridge of Spirits too……… yeah I think I’ve got October cut out  already. It’s October though so I wanna play something horror-ish too, but my priority will likely be finishing up all that stuff first. If I don't get to it in October, then definitely before year end!

I can’t believe how many amazing games have come out this month. I feel like I'm drowning, but in like sweets or desserts or something lol. I hope you’ve been enjoying some of them yourself as well! Take care, and I’ll see you in October!

Welonz

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