Hi,
Spider-Man 2 and Alan Wake 2 are releasing a week apart from each other, starting with the former on the 20th. I expect to pick one of these up after I am done with Phantom Liberty. I will for sure get to both, but let me know if you have a preference for which you'd like to see prioritized!
Thanks,
Welonz
Hey everyone,
Hope you’ve been well!!
We’re starting to get into the crazy busy times, so tbh I’m very much sitting here thinking UGHHH let’s hurry up and write this out so I can get back to other work lol. I’ll try to keep this one to the point!
TL;DR
Finished Stuff
The Expanse: A Telltale Series (5 parts): New Telltale’s first game set in the The Expanse sci-fi universe. What’s here is good, but it’s a short story further fractured by the episode-released-every-other-week structure. The whole thing is fine as a bingeable 6-hour thing, but could do with far more character detail and meaningful choices.
We had some first looks as well (maybe a few more than usual b/c I was afraid of overcommitting before Sep/Oct):
Sea of Stars: Inspired by the classics, a 2D JRPG of two children who inherit powers of the sun and moon, destined to destroy the evil forces of the world. It looks gorgeous and there are some fun parry mechanics within the turn-based combat system, but the first hour of character introductions was a little thin for me to feel out how the rest will go. The game seems to be very well-regarded by those with experience of and nostalgia for JRPGs back in the 90s though.
Starfield: It’s clear there are many intermingling gameplay systems at play, but the plot & characters in the first 2 hours is standard and didn’t really provide a mega compelling hook. With shorter games I might be more “lenient”, but if a game is going to be 100+ hours long, I think I really need something more on the narrative front to sustain my interest. (I’ve never finished Skyrim and Fallout 3 either - now with Starfield, I get the sense the Bethesda RPG formula might just not mesh well with me.)
Chants of Senaar: A puzzle game inspired by the Tower of Babel myth where we decipher languages based off visual & contextual clues to communicate with the local peoples. Similar to 7 Days To End With You, another game I checked out earlier on this year, except it has a puzzle solution verification system a la Return to Obra Dinn to give player feedback & assurance. I think this is a fun one for puzzle lovers!
Witchfire (early access): A roguelite FPS set in a dark fantasy witch-hunting world. Not normally my genre but I checked it out on the basis of it being from The Astronauts, the team behind The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. The focus here is absolutely on the gameplay, and I could tell there’s tons of little combat nuances that just a first look wasn’t able to fully dig out. It’s hard to tell what the difficulty curve is like but I did get the sense that it’s not easy. Enjoyed my time with it!
Current Stuff
Dragon Age: Inquisition: It’s a little difficult to tell how far along I am but I am in Act 2 of 3 right now. Despite the filler collectathon stuff, I’ve still been continuing to enjoy the main story lots.
Schedule-wise: I mentioned that I’ve been trying to make DAI videos longer (~1 hour vs ~40 min with DAO/DA2) so we can get through it faster, but it does make fitting in a second video for the day noticeably more difficult. I expect this to be an ongoing challenge especially with the heavy hitters coming out soon…
Resident Evil 4 Remake Separate Ways DLC: The RE4R story from the perspective of Ada. Thanks Capcom for adding to the craziness of September and October by announcing this one week before release 🙃 That aside, it’s been great fun to return to RE4 shooty shooty zombie gameplay. It’s 7 chapters long, and I’m on the 3rd atm – it shouldn’t be a big long thing.
Upcoming Stuff
After Separate Ways I think I’ll likely move straight into Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - I have to spend a little bit of time to reacclimate myself with the 2.0 Update too. (I know there are some discussions online around starting a brand new playthrough to weave the DLC in, but considering how slow of a player I am I don’t think that’s realistically feasible.) I’ll see what it looks like after that, but it’ll likely be Spider-Man 2 and Alan Wake 2 next on my radar.
It’s a crazy period and I’d love to get to everything right at release, but I’m trying my best to be mindful about taking on too much too. Videos are eternal, and I want to avoid firing out a bunch of subpar ones just to meet an imaginary deadline (who's even here because I’m a fast video game player.... 🗿). If it's good, I will get to All The Games, eventually...!
Hoping your schedule looks a little less chaotic than mine! Thanks for your support as always, stay safe and healthy, and I’ll see you in thick of the September/October release onslaught! (Feel free to let me know any questions/comments/suggestions below – I check back throughout the month regularly so no worries even if it’s “late”.)
Cheers,
Welonz
Hi all,
Apologies for the late-ish post! It’s been A Month and I am just. Wow. Okay. And the big gaming block in September/October hasn’t even rolled around yet. 💀 Let’s get started!!
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
OXENFREE II: Lost Signals (7 parts): It retains the very fluid and life-like conversations from the first game, but I think the happenings and cast were not as memorable. Still enjoyable - I liked that it felt tonally more mature than the first, which may be a reflection of the writers themselves maturing over the years too, with the first game having been seven years ago.
Viewfinder (6 parts): Fun puzzle game that plays with optical illusion-like concepts! I think it’s worth experiencing alone for the whole take-a-pic-and-superimpose-it-onto-the-world mechanic. The narrative not a huge thing to write home about but getting to see the different ways to play with the mechanic kept me wowed throughout. It’s short and sweet if not a little on the easy side.
Final Fantasy XVI (53 parts): The initial world setting and characters are interesting and there’s cool cinematics, but there are some critical, experience-affecting issues with the rest of the game. It feels like the flashy main missions were done by one team and the rest was cobbled together by another with a far smaller budget. Even as a completionist I would have to recommend new players to stick to main missions and forgo the rest. (I go in-depth about why I feel this way in the last part of the let’s play, but there are spoilers of course.)
Spider-Man: Miles Morales (17 parts): Skipped out on this at launch but now using it to get ready for Spider-Man 2 in October! Fantastic and lovingly made from gameplay to narrative. There’s a few story contrivances (why won’t anyone just slow down and communicaaaate) but nothing big enough to bother me. Just the right amount of collectibles and optional challenges to make use of the extremely fun swinging around. I wish every AAA game was like this!
Stray Gods: A Roleplaying Musical (7 parts): A Telltale-style choose-your-own-adventure game with a musical twist: your choices influence the songs that play throughout. I’m a sucker for musical stuff so this was an immediate sell, the Greek God characters + murder mystery + well-known voice actors were just the icing. It’s written by David Gaider, one of the lead writers on Dragon Age, and it shows: there’s a lot of thought into small worldbuilding details, and the romance options are fantastic as well.
And a first look:
Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood: By Deconstructeam (whose Red Strings Club I previously played) – it’s a 2D pixel art game telling the story of an exiled fortune-telling witch looking to make a comeback with the help of a demonic (??) pact. Its very cosmic witchy aesthetic will really vibe with certain people I think. The main gameplay looks to be about getting to know the characters on a deeper level via tarot cards and fortune telling, and some choices made in the beginning make me curious about what’ll happen later on too. I liked what I saw, but tbh all the text reading even just in this first hour took a lot out of me 😭
Current Stuff
The Expanse: A Telltale Series: By Deck Nine, the people who made Life is Strange: Before the storm/True Colors. Five-episode sci-fi adventure based on the The Expanse TV show (which is based on the book series). I was already a fan of the TV show but I think it’s easy enough to pick up for people unfamiliar with the setting too. Currently three of the five episodes are out - they’ve been engaging but quite short (~ 1-1.5 hrs/episode).
Dragon Age: Inquisition: Finally getting to the last of the trilogy! It’s a rocky start technically with the EA App + modding + the DA:I application itself being all sorts of incompatible (by which I mean I’ve spent close to 10 hours just getting all the settings right), but I’m reasonably confident I’ll still have fun with the narrative. I’m unsure how long of a series this is gonna be though HLTB.com tells me this is the longest DA game yet. (You might’ve noticed the DAI videos are little longer on average than the DA1 and DA2 ones – my small way of trying to make the series go a little faster!)
Upcoming Stuff
My main priority atm is in making sure the DAI series runs smoothly. After that though, not much else is set in stone. It’s always improv central around here 🤷💀
Baldur’s Gate 3 has been making a huge splash and lots of you asked me about it. I’d love to do a series, but I don’t think now is the right time with DAI around (both are long + with the similar medieval-ish vibes). I’d like to do a first look to confirm if it’s something I’m interested in though. I hear the hype and all, but I don’t have ANY experience with D&D nor CRPGs to really know for sure.
Some other loose thoughts on where I’m at mentally with the upcoming releases (subject to change):
…. Yeah, looking at this really just tells me I should be trying to expedite DAI ASAP to get ready for the rest!!!!
If you’d like, feel free to share what you’d be most interested in seeing out of all these – or even anything else I haven’t listed here. (There’s a few indie things I’ve been eyeing too.) I will loosely take it into account when shifting around priorities.
Unrelated to Everything Else
With Twitter (excuse me, X) dying and all, I've gotten some asks with any plans I have with being on other social media platforms. At the moment I'm still mainly going to be at Twitter, but I did make a repository for all my links and will jump ship to whichever one of these ends up being the "winner": https://linktr.ee/welonz
That’s it for now! Hope your summer’s been good, and let us all survive the incoming onslaught of Good-Ass Video Games 🤝
Cheers,
Welonz
Hi all!
Hope you’re doing well in these summery months. I’m hanging in there although there are some days where it’s Really. Hot. and I literally record with sweat rolling off my forehead 😭(I tend to close my windows/turn off fans to avoid distractions & noise which probably doesn’t help lol)
Anyway! This past month I’ve been struggling a bit - my output’s not where I imagined it to be. In the back I tested various approaches to recording/video publishing workflows, ie. focusing just on FF16 so I can move on to other things earlier, juggling multiple series, some long, some short etcetc, and I feel like by the end of it I still don’t have a good answer to what works the best for me and it’s a work in progress... You’d think I’d have this figured out by now but I’m just winging everything one day at a time 💀
TL;DR
Small Name Change
For those who missed it: we made a slight change to the channel name going from Materwelonz to Welonz! Here was the announcement & explanation: youtu.be/v5gxAySqo1c. Sorry for making it seem like channel-ending drama but I was def cackling all day that day 😂
Nothing else is changing – the channel’s the same as always!
Finished Stuff Since Last Update
DREDGE (14 parts): Enjoyed this Lovecraftian adventure a whole ton! I mentioned before I thought it might get monotonous but honestly the little fishing/inventory minigame gameplay loop was great and I felt like I could do it forever hahah.Very immersive atmosphere – I’m keeping a look out on the story DLC later in the year.
Killer Frequency (7 parts): We are a radio DJ and because of Reasons, we are in charge of the 911 hotline tonight and must direct people over the phone so the resident serial killer doesn’t get to them. This game’s a great example of creative people going “what if we just wrote a story and ignored believability” lol - the whole 911 thing is not exactly logical but the end result is fantastic and hilarious. Great mix of advancing the story via the audio (people calling into the hotline) vs us physically exploring the radio building.
And some first looks:
ETERNIGHTS demo: An anime-style action game/visual novel blend where we save the world and go on dates, supposedly inspired by the Persona series. The presentation (script quality, graphics) is kind of rough but I think it’s entertaining if you look at it as a B-movie kinda thing.
I saw a passing comment wondering why this game was getting a ton of press coverage and I have to wonder the same lol – in my case I played it because their PR folks reached out to me very early on (a whole month beforehand) before the big wave of new releases & demos hit around mid-June.
DAVE THE DIVER: A(nother) fishing adventure, this time we shoot nautical creatures with harpoons and guns by day and do sushi restaurant management by night. It seems to be a cute fun time, but my impression is the various gameplay loops and addictive upgrade gathering is the focus more so than the storyline.
Current Stuff
Final Fantasy XVI: The newest mainline FF game in a Game of Thrones-esque setting. The demo was an exhilarating intro to the world and they clearly spent a pretty penny on the flashy presentation. After a few dozen hours in I do think it has noticeable foundational issues, but I’d like to finish the game before commenting more. The main storyline asks to destroy five landmark objects, and I’ve been through three so I think I am loosely 60% of the way through?
OXENFREE II: Lost Signals: Sequel to the first that came out seven (!) years ago – plays similarly to before in that it’s primarily about engaging in very fluid conversations between the cast while facing ghostly phenomena. I am in the very last stretches so this should end in just about 1-2 more parts as of this post.
Upcoming Stuff
I mentioned last time I was gonna start Miles Morales but still haven’t yet – big apologies! I got distracted by Killer Frequency and then next thing I knew Oxenfree II was around the corner so I opted for the latter first as it’s shorter. I’ve begun prepping for Miles and expect it to directly follow Oxenfree II pretty much.
As alluded to in the start of the post, I've been thinking about speeding up FF16 a tad. It means the channel will be more one-note for a bit, but viewers interested in this series will get to know what happens faster while it's still fresh-ish, and we can also move our full attention to other bigger series (*cough* Dragon Age Inquisition *cough*) earlier too. Realistically though I feel like I always get distracted by some indie game coming out of left field 🗿 so we’ll see what happens.
Hope you’re enjoying your summer months whether it be hot or cold! Thank you for your kind support as always and feel free to let me know any suggestions/comments below.
Cheers,
Welonz
Hi everyoneeee,
I’m back from vacation! I hope you’ve been well!!
I had a nice 2 weeks away from the PC and whew did I need that “detox” lol. In doing the whole channel thing, it’s so easy to fall into the hamster wheel routine and lose sight of all else. However I did find myself constantly thinking about what to play next lol, so I’m glad to get back into it again!
There’ve been about 5 million finished series & first looks since the last update post so this’ll be a long one!
TL;DR
Finished Stuff Since Last Update
Resident Evil 4 Remake (26 parts): Fantastic beginning to end! The older game design threw me in for a loop at first but by the end it was really fun. One thing I found interesting was how RE4R has some extremely gamey aspects (e.g. stick gems into decorations to sell for money) in a era where we generally hold realism & immersion in high regard, but it didn’t detract from the experience. I’ll be keeping tabs on future RE remakes & older REs I haven’t played for sure. (I think I def enjoyed this because outside of one area it wasn’t really that scary though lol, don’t come asking me about RE7 😂)
Dragon Age 2 (70 parts): Yes it’s obvious many corners have been cut in production, but overall I still found Hawke’s story plenty engaging. TBH it’s a miracle how this game was made in 18 months. More on the timing for Dragon Age Inquisition below!
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC (16 parts): Graphically fantastic as always & it’s a nice chance to get to use more endgame abilities from the base game. Story-wise it was also enjoyable if not a bit by the book. There are some interesting (spoilery) implications for both Aloy’s growth and the overall narrative that probably make this a must-play before Horizon 3.
We also had first looks of:
The Last Case of Benedict Fox: A side-scrolling platformer metroidvania of a detective solving one last murder case. The Tim Burton-esque art style looks great but I think the narrative needs some work. I don’t think the story setup is well conveyed without having read the Steam store blurb beforehand.
The Invincible (demo): A (loose?) adaptation of the novel of the same name by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. We play as an amnesiac astrobiologist, awaking on an alien planet and Really Weird Things are happening with the others in her crew. Kind of like a sci-fi Firewatch! Intriguing although it could use some optimization (the game felt very “heavy” and just not nice to control).
Redfall: A first-person, vampire-themed looter shooter with immersive sim elements. I checked out this to see what all the reviews were on about and yeah it’s unfortunately not very memorable. It feels like an attempt at mass appeal while Arkane’s strengths and talents lie elsewhere. But I also get their signature stuff (Prey, Dishonored) haven’t been commercial hits, and that’s maybe why they needed to change things up. It’s a tough spot to be in and I can only hope they find their footing.
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie: DON’T NOD’s newest visual novel-esque title with a woman with the ability to peek into the future, caught between her own world and a dream world called Reverie. This has an interesting branching storyline system that takes a while to get the hang of (and wasn’t shown off completely in my first look) – basically you can see far into the story branches to see what the possible end outcomes of your actions are, but in getting there, you may end up 1) having to take less preferred options for more immediate choices and 2) misunderstanding what you REALLY needed to do to get to where you want to be, and end up down another path entirely.
I’m not 100% sold on this system – I think it’s supposed to convey that despite knowing the possible futures we still can’t predict what’ll really happen. In order to get this effect though, you need to consciously strategize out and commit to your future outcomes, whereas I’m more inclined to just pick my favourite immediate option and take whatever consequences that entails.
System Shock (2023): An odd remake of the 1994 original immersive sim. To be blunt: it’s just come out, but the dated mechanics make it immediately feel old. I’m somewhat interested in continuing this to experience a classic, but the (intentional?) lack of QOL upgrades seems like it’ll get tedious - some have mentioned System Shock not being handholdy with mission objectives, which I’m ok with if it’s part of the experience, but pure mechanical tedium like having to manually sort inventory/vaporize junk seems like it would get frustrating quick.
Shadows of Doubt: A procedurally generated sandbox detective sim. There are A LOT of gameplay mechanics linking together into what is essentially a logic puzzle where we search through surveillance camera footage, emails, fingerprints, shoe sizes, blood types, to fully implicate culprits. AFAIK you really can enter every room in every building on the map which is super impressive. There are some optimization issues in early access right now but the proof of concept is very promising – will be keeping tabs on this!
Amnesia: The Bunker: it’s scary ok byeeeee! (For real though: this time there’s a timed resource management layer which makes the whole thing sooo damn stressful even just playing for an hour 😭)
Current Stuff
DREDGE: A wholesome fishing adventure where absolutely nothing goes wrong 🤡 I can see the gameplay loop getting monotonous because the limited ship space means trips to & from ports need to be veeery frequent, but so far it’s been a fun time with eerie Lovecraftian under (over?) tones.
Upcoming Stuff
I know a lot of people’s first question is gonna be Dragon Age Inquisition. I’m eager to get to it too, but it’s definitely gonna be a 100+ parter so I want to fit in shorter things first. Aside from DREDGE I was thinking of Miles Morales since I’d really like to get to that before Spider-Man 2 in autumn. (I do expect to start DAI sometime this summer, so it won’t be a multiyear wait or anything.)
Other stuff I’m paying attention to in the next bit:
June:
July:
Autumn onward is even more crazy packed – just off the top of my head there’s Alan Wake 2, MGS Master Collection, Spider-Man 2… exciting times, but also wondering when cloning technology is going to catch up so I can play all of these for sure!!!
Feel free to let me know any questions/suggestions/comments/what you’re up to lately (in games, or just real life)!! Thanks for sticking around, and have a great start to your summer ☀️
Welonz
2023-06-08 17:55:26 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi everyone,
I hope you’re doing good! This is going to be an abnormal update: I am Trying My Best to figure everything out but it very much feels like the "this is fine" meme except the chair the table and even the cup are also on fire……..………… bear with me!!! 🥹
TL;DR
Unexpected April Break
Earlier this month I joined the ‘rona club 😔 That was a Very Not So Good few days…. I don’t think I’ve ever been that sick as an adult before. I’m doing much better now although with a bit of a persisting cough (if I suddenly stop talking in videos for an extended time it’s probably an edited out cough lol).
This put a halt to the channel for a good 10 days. Things look like they’re back underway now, but as briefly mentioned before I’ll be away on vacation for 2 weeks in May (~6th-21st)!! To be frank with the unintended break I don't have things hammered out for how this period'll look yet :(
What Things Look Like Right Now
Resident Evil 4 Remake should wrap up over the next few days – as of today we’re currently on Chapter 14 of 16.
We're on the tail end of Dragon Age 2 as well, but I’m unsure how many more hours it is since I still have one more full DLC. I’m really hoping we can get to the end without another interruption, so getting the rest of this series prepped is my #1 priority.
Upcoming Stuff
My #2 priority is trying to make sure I have Some stuff for the rest of the days I'm away for. What's that going to to look like? I don't know yet........!
However I will be checking out a preview of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie (by DON’T NOD, creators of Life is Strange 1 and 2) sometime next week. That'll be exciting as it felt like DON'T NOD had been laying low for a while.
I'm still very much interested in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC. I can probably start it before I leave but I’m not sure if I’d want to do that and leave a blank period vs. starting & finishing it continuously when I return from my trip. Will keep thinking about this more!
Anyway I’m gonna be real, I don’t have much capacity to think that far ahead with how crazy things are atm LOL. Forgive me for the vagueness of everything! I will likely make an update video closer to May to let all viewers know I'll be away, so I'm hoping to have more details then. (This is a combined April/May update post since I don't think I'll have much more to say in May immediately after I come back.)
Thanks for your support as always, and I hope you have a great next bit with your Jedi Survivors and Tears of the Kingdom!!
Welonz
PS. I communicated the being sick thing on
1) Twitter
2) YouTube community post
3) Pinned comments on the latest videos on both of the ongoing series
since I figured this should cover the vast majority of viewers. Generally I don’t post about unexpected/irregular happenings on Patreon since I think of it as a place for bigger updates & I didn’t want to make a 1 line “hey I’m sick lol” post and have that pushed out to everyone’s inboxes. But I don’t want anyone feeling left out of important info though- let me know if you have any concerns about this arrangement.
2023-04-26 20:11:44 +0000 UTC View PostHey hey,
Hope you are well!
It’s ramping up to be one of Those Months (when is it ever not lol)!! I took the last bit a little easier, did a bunch of first looks cause I didn’t want to commit to big stuff before RE4, which inevitably led me to the “now I know this game is good & I wanna continue but I feel this way about 50 games simultaneously” pipeline and I’m just 🥲...
well I will leave all that for FutureWelonz to think about…!!
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
Hi-Fi RUSH (9 longer parts): A music action game where we murderize the bad guys… on beat!
Normally music & rhythm games are pretty out of my wheelhouse, but the comedy and on-point banter + voice acting kept me coming back for more. It’s just pure, unadulterated fun. As much as I want you to watch the videos & all I think this is definitely one to pick up for yourself! It’s super accessible to players of any level of music experience/rhythm skill.
We had first looks of:
Returnal: A roguelite with what seems to be a compelling mystery of a woman being brought back time and time again to an eerie foreign planet. I initially skipped out on this since I didn’t get a PS5 at launch but the PC version seems quite polished in all aspects. I’m reaaally tempted to continue this - I think the only thing stopping me is the unpredictable-ish, skill level-dependent amount of playtime hours tbh.
A Space for the Unbound: A point & click pixel adventure set in the rural Indonesia in the late 90s about a pair of high school sweethearts just about to graduate. There are some magical shenanigans going on although it’s not entirely clearly what just yet!
This is more of a personal aside but I really enjoy checking out games about/created by people from cultures not usually featured in popular mainstream titles. Seeing Indonesian viewers get excited about this must be like how I feel about games set in Hong Kong hahaha. It’s really great to see gamedev-ing get more and more global too!
Road 96: Mile 0: Prequel to Road 96 which I did a first look on before: a choose-your-own-adventure laced with bizarre/hilarious minigames and music levels, all set against a backdrop an oppressed nation. Cool vibes just like Road 96, although unfortunately I ran into unexpected copyright problems with the music in this one, making continuing extremely difficult ☹
TCHIA Full Release: We checked out the preview a few months ago so this time I focused on the story that gave context on how Tchia’s journey started. Still as wholesome and cute as ever, although I think honing in on story bits doesn’t show off the exploration freedom as well as in the preview video.
I feel like this is a great one for general chilling & relaxation which would be a great contrast to the Serious Games on the channel. Would like to continue but it’s getting Busy and I don’t want this cute game to feel like a chore – I’ll look more into if this is possible… 🥺(Their PR team also sent me a whole ass ukulele which definitely is Not influencing my decision, I definitely haven’t been completely obsessed with it for the past few days 🗿 🗿 🗿)
(We also looked at the RE4 Remake Demo, which we’ll play in full very soon!)
Progress on Current Stuff
Dragon Age 2: We’re squarely in Act 2 of 3 now! There are some seams and cracks that wear on me now that I’ve been playing for a bit (no more endless waves of enemy mobs pls) but I think overall there’s still much to enjoy in the characters & story.
Storyteller: A puzzle game involving placing scenes & characters to create your own stories. Published by Annapurna so you know I couldn’t resist lol. It’s super cute and sometimes unintentionally hilarious – all the shifting stuff around reminds me a tad of Gorogoa (also from Annapurna). This’ll be a short 3-part series!
Upcoming Stuff
As mentioned before, my next big thing should be Resident Evil 4 Remake!
I haven’t uploaded it yet but I’ve also tried a few hours of Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order – been enjoying it despite knowing not much of SW in general. (I’ve seen 8 of 9 movies actually, but it was long ago & I watched kinda passively so I forgot most things lol.) I’d like to start/continue this as a series, but timing-wise it’s difficult – I didn’t want to start it before RE4 and end up with too much on my plate, then if I do manage to fit the whole thing in before the sequel coming out on Apr 28 I’ll also be away for 2 weeks in May. Not to mention the Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores DLC comes out on Apr 19 as well…!
I’m not sure how to make this work – atm thinking it’s best to focus on RE4 first and see where that leaves me in terms of dates & timings.
Whew, writing all this out puts into perspective how crazy game release schedules can be. I’m sure there’s even more cool & exciting stuff I missed somewhere too… feel free to let me know any thoughts/questions you have in the comments! Otherwise, I’ll see you in the (new video games) trenches 🫡
Welonz
2023-03-23 20:44:57 +0000 UTC View PostHi!
Bit of a later update again, apologies!! I forgot February is a short month 🗿…
Hope you’ve been well! January over here felt like there was So Much happening, but it’s calmed down a bit (my bathtub faucet is fixed thank goodness) so I am now a sane person again, for now 🙃
I checked & it looks like I did everything I said I was gonna do from the January update post! I know video games are entertainment to be enjoyed and all, but when you make a list, stick to it, and knock items out one after the other it feels really good hahah.
Let’s get started!!
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
SIGNALIS (11 parts): Anime-style survival horror game with a hugely cryptic and surreal story. It’s atmospheric and oozes sooo much identity & quality. There were some annoyances with finnicky interaction points but nothing that hugely detracted from the experience. I found the style of this whole game (despite the freaky spooky stuff) really up my alley. I think anyone who enjoys chewing on a story long after the game’s done would enjoy this tons too!!
Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion (18 parts): Intentional or not this is a funny game lol. There are parts of the story I enjoyed, but overall I think it's a difficult recommend for anyone not 1) already engaged in the FF7 world and 2) familiar with the “weebiness” of JRPGs. The updated graphics are nice, but the narrative, script, voice acting direction, localization are very mid-2000s-Japanese-game style. People familiar with anime stuff will be fine but I imagine those who aren’t will find this jarring, esp. with it being tonally quite different even compared to FF7R. It did get me excited again for FF7R Part 2 though - really looking forward to that!
Deliver Us Mars (6 parts): A story of space exploration & sequel to Deliver Us the Moon. Aside from the puzzles that can be monotonous and/or frustrating (heard complaints about the rock climbing although I didn’t mind it too much), it’s far more ambitious than its predecessor narratively. Back in Moon, a lot of characters were just disembodied voices in the headset, but this time they have much more depth and nuance. Superb voice acting too. Hope they get to a third game to round out the trilogy!
Dead Space Remake (21 parts): Mom, I’ve finally finished a Dead Space game in its entirety…!
TBH after playing the whole thing I feel like Dead Space is more a shooter with creepy elements rather than a full on horror thing. Maybe it's because they don't do BIG ASS CREEPY FACE IN YOUR SCREEN kind of jumpscares? I'm thankful cause I don't think I’d be able to handle that lol.
I’ve mentioned both in the playthrough and on Twitter already but the lighting design is really outstanding: the ship is often dark and unlit, but never to a point where it feels like I have to blindly feel my way around. Really great stuff.
I also took a first look at:
SEASONS: A letter to the future: A traveler attempts to document & preserve their soon-to-be-destroyed world by taking photos, recording sounds, and writing journals. There are some magical components in this world too where memories can tangibly saved or erased, or people having dream-related illnesses. Definitely a slower-paced game for a calm & relaxing time.
Progress on Current Stuff
Dragon Age 2: Back in Thedas with the second DA game! A million people have tried to warn me about how this is not a good game, rushed & short development cycle, blah blah. I agree it shows in places but so far I’ve had zero problems enjoying it, though I do think I am an easy-to-please gamer in general lol.
To my knowledge DA2 is a lot shorter than DAO so I don’t think this’ll end up being a 100+ part series 😂 It looks like the story is divided into 3 Acts. I’m pretty squarely in the beginning Act 1 right now!
Upcoming Stuff
The next big thing I’m interested in is Resident Evil 4 Remake in late March – yet another horror game!!! Are we really horror game channel now…?
Other than that though, I don’t see much coming out in the next month so I might spend some time checking out all sorts of random stuff. There should be a Returnal (PC version) first look soon, and I was thinking of getting into Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order to see If I’m interested for the sequel in April too. (Not sure how I’ll find it yet though so no promises on that front!)
I’ll be away for about 2 weeks in May, so I’ve also been trying to preparing some smaller non-release-time-sensitive series to fill the gap. Currently thinking of one of the Dark Pictures Anthology titles - I’ve somehow missed them all so far since they keep coming out when I’m busy with other stuff. If there’s anything small (<5 hours or so) you’d like to see during this time, feel free to let me know!
All I’ve got for now! As always thanks for sticking around, feel free to let me know your thoughts, and all the best to your end of February & incoming March 😊
Welonz
2023-02-25 19:33:40 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
Sorry for the late-ish update! Everything has been A Lot this few days: my day job has been at DEFCON 1, my bathtub faucet has been leaking, and it's getting into busy game release period too!!! It’s one of those times where I just wanna go to a cliff and scream AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA….!!!
... I’m actually still sane so don’t worry – I just need to Get Stuff (= this update post) Done!! Let’s goo!
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
God of War: Ragnarok (54 videos): Whew – this was a journey for sure! No need to say that this is a game with some of the highest production values ever with quality all around. Enjoyed the story (and even the optional end-game bosses) lots, although I do think overall Ragnarok plays things very safely. Would love to see a bit more risk-taking and innovation with Sony’s first-party titles in the future, but that might be difficult when the monetary investment is that big...
Dragon Age: Origins (119 videos): With the base game/warden origins/DLCs done, I think this is pretty dang close to a completionist playthrough if I say so myself! It’s an older game with finnicky things here and there, but it’s such an immersively fun time I could overlook everything.
This was a Patreon-voted game if you recall, so thank you again for giving me a chance to dig into this one! I honestly didn’t realize I was getting into a 100+ part series when the vote happened but I don’t regret it in any way. Despite mixed opinions I’ve heard, I’m really looking forward to getting to Dragon Age 2 soon (more on the timing of that below).
Babbdi (1 video): This one is an oddball for those who like Weird games – a short & free first-person parkour/exploration game set in a city with Brutalist architecture. It sort of looks like it was made in Source engine circa 2004 🤣 kept me thoroughly amused for the hour though. The freeform exploration elements are quite nice!
I also did first looks of:
The Callisto Protocol: Third person survival horror shooter clearly inspired by Dead Space. It unfortunately feels average in many ways: nothing is outright horrible, but nothing stands out either (which IMO may be even more fatal than being bad). I do think their facial animations are industry-leading tier, though personally that ranks low on my list of reasons to play a game.
TCHIA preview: An open-world adventure set on a tropical island inspired by New Caledonia. Really wholesome with some magical morphing abilities, amazing scenery and local music. Their map system interestingly forces you to pay attention to the landscapes and not markers and minimaps. Great if you’re looking for something chill!
7 Days to End with You: An indie visual novel-esque puzzle game where we awake in a strange household with a person speaking an unknown language, so we must decipher the language, the story, and what the heck is going on in the time we have. It’s really interesting so far although there’s a very pervasive sense of “am I doing this right??? Am I doing ANYTHING right at all!?” which might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Progress on Current Stuff
SIGNALIS: A third-person survival horror game inspired by Resident Evil & Silent Hill. I did a first look of this a few months ago, and even just from the first 40 min, felt strongly I had to return to it because it oozed so much style and quality. I want to give you a proper story synopsis but so far it’s been very surreal and cryptic…! It’s Good though, trust me!! 🥹 (to the point that ScaredyWelonz is willing to push past the horror stuff)
Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion: I think we’ve discussed this one enough and don’t need more context lol. I had a moment of hesitation last week did an impromptu poll with voting patrons last week on what my play path through the FF7R trilogy should look like, and the majority did agree I should play CCR now. So there's that!
It’s great to be back with more FF7 stuff. Enjoying it so far, although I am a little taken back by the, uh, difference in dialogue/story writing style between FF7R and CCR. For better or worse, it's clearly a game that’s a product of its times.
Upcoming Stuff
I think I am coming up on the tail-end of SIGNALIS, after which I’m probably looking into Dead Space Remake. This must be the first time I’ve done two survival horror games back-to-back…! Some of you might remember the really old Dead Space video on the channel (don’t look it up if you don’t know it, it’s super cringey 🗿). Now’s my time to take revenge on the necromorphs…!?
Other than that, there’s also some smaller stuff I’m paying attention to:
As for Dragon Age 2: I am currently guestimating it’ll return after either CCR or Dead Space wraps up. Neither of those are massively long, so I’m hoping the wait won’t be for much longer!
Whew, this was a long one today!! There’s lots of new games & videos on the horizon so I hope there’s something you’re excited about too. Feel free to leave any comments/questions in the comments, and I’ll see you next time!
Welonz
2023-01-28 00:35:06 +0000 UTC View PostJan 21 edit after poll end: Thanks everyone for your help & the food for thought in the comments! I'm actually a little surprised by the poll results, but I absolutely do feel better now that I can see what majority opinion looks like. I'll be continuing with CCR & will make a proper update post in the next few days.
Hi all,
It's been about a day after I uploaded my first Crisis Core Reunion video and surprise surprise, once I started actually putting The Plan into action I am having some second thoughts lol.
I do this to have fun but I also want everyone watching to be happy too, except literally every choice I can think of there are downsides to and it's really tearing me apart. It's mentally draining to have a (not large, but constant) stream of people trying to sway my decision, especially the ones going "you're doing the wrong thing, this is the wrong move". TBH when I look at the CCR video comments I think this is a vocal minority that I don't need to pay that much mind to, but I do, probably because a part of me agrees: no matter how much I try to reason it out there's no getting around spoiling at least OG FF7 by playing Crisis Core.
I looked back at the previous update posts & comments, and a lot of my decision logic back then was driven by a "oh god I gotta get to CCR as soon as it releases because that's when the most people will be interested" blah blah, but at this point I've already overshot the release date by a month so that doesn't really matter so much anymore. (There's also another portion about how SE sent me the game so I felt I needed to put it to use, but with at least 1 video done I also feel like I've fulfilled my bare minimum of obligations here.) Basically: now with the changed timing circumstances, I find myself wondering if I should rethink my choice.
I am rambling so to keep it simple: So far I've just played the first chapter of CCR - still enough time to change my mind, or reaffirm my decision. I think I'll continue to have doubts no matter what choice I unilaterally make, so I'd like to see what you guys think as a majority.
The facts:
The choices and some pros & cons for you to consider:
1) Continue as-is with CCR, then Rebirth
+ will be prepared for whatever they want to do in Rebirth requiring Crisis Core context
+ keeping new player perspective for Rebirth & forward
- will be spoiled for OG FF7
2) Put CCR on pause, play OG FF7, return to CCR, then Rebirth
+ will be prepared for whatever they want to do in Rebirth requiring Crisis Core context
+ will not be spoiled for OG FF7
+ will be caught up to the fanbase at large in terms of knowing what's old/what's changed
- lose new player perspective for Rebirth & forward
- channel impact: (temporarily) disappoint people who have already geared up for a CCR let's play, unexpectedly slotting in a longer series means taking time away from other titles
3) Put CCR on pause, go straight from Remake to Rebirth
+ will not be spoiled for OG FF7
+ keeping new player perspective for Rebirth & forward
- no context for whatever they want to do in Rebirth with Crisis Core
- if I wait until Part 3 is out, it will be like 5 years before I get back to CCR
- channel impact: disappoint people who have already geared up for a CCR let's play
(Personally I never saw this as a viable option after the devs's rec to play CCR before Rebirth, but I'll leave the choice here in case if I'm alone in this thinking)
4) No opinion - not interested in FF7
Some of you might not be interested in FF7 which is totally okay, but you might be tempted to to pick an option above that leads to me spending the least amount of time on this series. If so, pick this option instead so I can tell the difference!
This is really something I should've done before December but hindsight is 20/20. Please pick what you want to see happen on the channel, what perspective you'd like to see me going into Rebirth with, etc, without much other considerations. I know some of you are really nice and might worry about stuff like making me do something I don't actually want to do, but there really is no perfect solution here - whatever you choose, I can at least say this is something a portion of my most engaged audience actually wants to see, and I think that's what I'm really looking for.
Sorry this is a bit of a serious post! I am about to lose sleep and metaphorically tear my hair out from this whole thing tbh, I blame Square Enix for everything lol
(I'm probably looking for a very quick turn-around on this poll - probably over just the next 2-3 days.)
2023-01-19 23:41:47 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
It’s the last update of the year!! Hope you are already in relaxation mode, spending time with friends & family. It’s gotten massively chilly + snowy in Western Canada the past few days so I’ve been stuck at home (implying that I would not be at home otherwise right, ha ha ha 🤡)
I won’t keep you for long - let’s get started!
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
Burnhouse Lane (8 long parts): Story of a nurse with terminal lung cancer completing various gruesome tasks for another chance at life. The latest point and click horror adventure game by Harvester Games, the devs of The Cat Lady, Downfall, and Lorelai. They have a very distinctive style so I think anyone who enjoyed their previous stuff will like this. The most graphically polished game they’ve released to date!
Progress on Current Stuff
Dragon Age: Origins: I’ve finished the base game, the different warden origin stories, Leliana’s Song DLC, now moving onto the Awakening DLC. I believe that’s around 15-20 hours, and then there’s a few smaller 1-2 hour DLC after that and we’ll be wrapping up Origins for good! It’s still continued to be great fun so far.
God of War: Ragnarok: I think I’m very close to the end of the main story, but might spend a little more time here with the optional bosses (obviously because I hate and want to torture myself 🤡)
Upcoming Stuff
I am hoping Ragnarok will wrap up before the year ends, then my next bigger thing after that should be Crisis Core Reunion. I’m still looking to slip SIGNALIS in here but I have to slow down first – some of you might’ve noticed that 1-2 weeks ago with the 3 above games were REALLY hectic, esp. since the videos were far longer than what I usually do. I think it’s the busiest I’ve ever been for the channel and while I am proud of myself for being able to put in the work blah blah blah, I think it was on the verge of affecting gameplay/commentary quality. Something something a delayed video game (video) is forever bad, so I’m gonna try to learn to take it easy...
... and what better way to relax by actually WORKING ON THE Q&A from…. AUGUST!?!?!?! OMG 💀
Today’s my last day in the office (my actual one not the YouTube one 🤣) so I still have faith I can get this out before the year ends/as soon as the year starts. (If you have any last minute questions and don’t mind not being anonymous, feel free to put it in the comments here – I realized I’ve delayed this too much for it to be at all acceptable 😬)
ANYWAY - happy holidays!! Thanks for your support this past year, and I look forward to more upcoming video games with you in 2023 🥂
Welonz
2022-12-23 23:21:38 +0000 UTC View PostHi, hope you are well!
Where does the time fly? It’s almost the end of the year already, yet I feel like I got nothing done 🥲 I’ve got a bit of a long one today so let’s goo!
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
A Plague Tale: Requiem (22 parts): Some performance issues (stuttering) aside, I think anyone who enjoyed Innocence will reasonably enjoy Requiem as well – it’s the same gameplay loop + a continuation of Amicia and Hugo’s story. This is a difficult one to say too much about without spoilers 🤡 but the facial mocap they did for Requiem is great and the actors’ performances really sold the tale.
I did a whole bunch of first looks this time:
The Entropy Centre: A Portal-like of a test subject trapped inside a facility where they must solve puzzles to save the earth (?) The story in the first hour I think draws far too much off Portal, but the puzzle mechanics are solidly unique and were fun brain teasers.
New Tales from the Borderlands: Review scores on the first day didn’t look mega bad but oh boy, after playing myself I think this is a tough sell. This series heavily relies on comedy but this new one just didn’t seem to have all the right ingredients for the humour to hit. There were things that I liked about it (animation is good), but in a busy release period with so many other choices, it’s tough to give it more of a chance.
SIGNALIS: A 2D survival horror game drawing on Silent Hill and Resident Evil for inspiration. Even just from the first hour it is very polished & I am seriously impressed by what I saw already. The only reason I haven’t continued it is really just a time issue (also b/c I’m scared but that’s irrelevant l o l) – I will def go back to this!!!
Deliver Us Mars: Some of you might remember I played an indie game called Deliver Us The Moon a few years back – it had a solid story I really enjoyed, and Mars is the upcoming sequel!
This is a more edited & shortened video not in a style I usually do because I got to try it out as part of an event. I want to share a bit more on this experience since I’ve never done anything like it - it’s kinda long so I moved it to the bottom of this post!
Progress on Current Stuff
Dragon Age: Origins: I am at the final portion of the base game now, but my understanding is I’ve still got a lengthy DLC campaign + people were interested in me checking out the various character origins which I think are about 1-2 hours each. I’m stilling enjoying DAO lots, but I also can’t wait to finish this and move my monitor back into its original spot LOL (I had to move it closer so I could actually read the text for ants 💀).
God of War: Ragnarok: It’s a well-polished AAA experience so far just like GOW 2018! I feel like I have some developing (mixed) thoughts on Sony seemingly perfecting a formula for their signature cinematic single-player games, but I want to get to the end first before I say more. Fingers crossed there aren’t any crazy Sigrun-level boss battles in late optional game, but somehow I doubt it lol.
Upcoming Stuff
I’m a little unhappy with the AAA overload/lack of indie so I really want to slot some in asap – SIGNALIS is an obvious candidate, as is stuff like IMMORTALITY (new Sam Barlow FMV game) and Burnhouse Lane (new game from The Cat Lady dev) which multiple people have brought up to me. Some of these are short enough that I’m considering slowly playing whenever I find time and only posting it when I’m done so I can ensure upload consistency. This’ll mean that I’ll be quiet until I’m 100% ready though, which might be a while more.
Other than that I imagine things will continue to coast as is. Hopefully Dragon Age will finish in time for stuff in December (The Callisto Protocol???? Crisis Core Reunion???? IDK there’s so much happening 😭😭)
Experience with Early Previewing A New Game
Usually when I get to check out a game early I'm given a game code to do it on my own time, but this time was different: it was a digital event where I had to book for a gameplay session with multiple people present. We remoted into separate game PCs, and hosting staff watched our progress over screensharing to help us out if we got stuck.
Because of multiple people in the same (digital) room & crossing conversations, time constraints, and the inherent input latency of controlling a game remotely, to be honest it was kind of difficult to check out a new game under these conditions!
I don’t think I have to clarify with you guys but I am definitely not shit-talking this event – it was a cool opportunity & I’m really grateful! But having had this experience I felt like I gained understanding of how videos of e.g. Journalists Sucking At Video Games Like It’s Their First Time Ever Playing One come about. Especially at big physical trade shows like E3, I can imagine people running on fumes trying dozens of games, all compounded by a billion external distractions. It’s tough work.
Anyway, just wanted to share a bit of my experience. I don't think I said anything I'm not supposed to (confidentiality-wise), but just in case it would be awesome if you could refrain from sharing what I mentioned here in more public spaces.
In other news: so sorry the Q&A still isn’t out yet – I’m doing the thing where I’m working on literally everything else besides it again 💀..... I am aiming for end of year at the latest....!!
Hope you are enjoying your upcoming winter (holi)days! As always, feel free to share any thoughts/suggestions/comments below, and I’ll catch you again next month!
Welonz
2022-11-23 21:50:39 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
Hope you are well!
It felt like we were in a bit of a drought but with October rolling around the release schedule is getting packed again! It’s weird but I think I actually feel more reinvigorated with being busier lol. That, or maybe it’s because my IRL work has been letting up a little too, finally…!
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
SCORN (6 parts): A dialogue-less, textless first-person adventure with grotesque yet intriguing imagery. I really liked that it’s the type of horror that makes me uncomfortable but doesn’t rely on loud sounds or jumpscares. The visuals & atmosphere already made it worth it for me but more gameplay-oriented gamers could be put off by the rudimentary shooting mechanics and puzzles.
Progress on Current Stuff
Dragon Age: Origins: We’re inching closer to the end, slowly! I am guestimating I’m about 60-70% in!?
A Plague Tale: Requiem: A story of a brother and sister in times of the rat plague. The first game was a pleasant surprise, and as far as I can see the sequel only expands on that feeling. Really enjoying the continuation to Amicia & Hugo’s story, although there are some noticeable performance issues (stutters) on PC. At the moment I’m at Chapter 4 of 15.
Upcoming Stuff
I’m gonna see if I can squeeze in New Tales From the Borderlands sometime before God of War - haven’t heard much hype on it but the reviews don’t seem bad. I really liked the first one and I hope the new one can capture some of what made the first so memorable!
I know it’s spooky October and there hasn’t been too much scary stuff on the channel aside from SCORN 😔 the releases in the coming months will more than make up for it though, I think! I don’t mind saying now that I’ve been paying attention to all of these:
Of course there’s always the logistics part of it (“how many games can I play while also doing 2 big games”) but I will try my best to Figure It Out…! (PS. Somebody for the Q&A asked if I have plans for Halloween, I am sorry the video is taking forever but here’s your answer lol.)
Regarding the FF7 conundrum last post: I’m still not 100% set on what to do, but some of you have brought up that I’d likely be overextending (as usual) by trying to take on 50000 things and I can’t disagree lol. For now I’ll shelve this idea & revisit closer to when I finish Dragon Age, but squeezing in OG FF7 before mid-December just doesn't seem realistically possible. I did find a clip of director Yoshinori Kitase talking about how CCR was greenlit in the middle of development for the first FF7R (Jpn audio w/ Chi subtitles) so this release order could just all be part of The Plan and I am needlessly worrying about nothing 🤷
(This doesn’t mean I won’t ever play OG FF7 – I know many have expressed interest in it! But currently I’m wondering about it specifically in the context of before CCR coming out. If it’s something people reeally want to see I wouldn’t mind going back to it after the whole remake series is done.)
I wish there was time for more - even with all the stuff mentioned here there are still so many things I'm interested in slipping through the cracks. Here's hoping some extra time magically appears for me 😭
Thanks for the support as always! Feel free to share any thoughts/suggestions/what you had for dinner last night in the comments, and I’ll see you soon!
Welonz
2022-10-22 19:24:12 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
It’s been a rough few weeks with my IRL work being nuts – I hope you’re all doing better than me over here!!
Today’s is not the most groundbreaking of updates but I do have a conundrum with Final Fantasy 7 towards the end – please let me know if you have any thoughts on it!
TL;DR
Finished: As Dusk Falls, Cult of the Lamb
Ongoing: Dragon Age: Origins
Upcoming: SCORN preview, FF7?
Finished Since Last Update
As Dusk Falls (6 parts): A picture book style choose your own adventure following the lives of two families. The stop-motion animation seems divisive but I got used to it in like five minutes. Engaging, short & sweet, it doesn’t overstay its welcome and I’d gladly welcome a sequel (which seems imminent!) One thing that’s hard for me to see in one playthrough but I’ve heard is done well is that the story can branch off in tons of different ways.
Cult of the Lamb (14 parts): An interesting mix between god-sim management and roguelike with a cute art aesthetic. It has a really addicting “just one more day” gameplay loop, but overall I don’t think it’s too replayable after the main story ends – there isn’t quite enough depth in the mechanics to support prolonged playing. Enjoyed making my followers eat poop though!
I also did “first” looks of:
There are already old, complete playthroughs of both these games on the channel and going through it again really brought back memories. I wouldn’t mind continuing either TBH (esp. Sleeping Dogs because that LP is O L D), but since a LP does exist already it probably would be better to cover “new ground” so to say. Still awaiting a Sleeping Dogs sequel in the year 2022 😭…
Progress on Current Stuff
Dragon Age: Origins: The poll winner! The world is fascinating with what seems to be like 50000 different deep lore concepts, which is always mega fun to learn from scratch. Enjoying it lots so far although it’s taking me a while to get familiar with the gameplay - I don’t think I’ve played anything with this type of micromanagey squad combat (???) before, and I feel like I’d also rather not have to think about all the various skills/talents/attribute upgrades/blahblah lol. None of it is really affecting my enjoyment of DAO though – I am sure we’ll get there eventually!
Upcoming Stuff
This coming week we’ll have a preview of SCORN, a horror game coming out in October. I hadn’t heard of this one before but it looks pretty highly anticipated as it’s been in development for like a decade. If I can handle it I will consider playing the full game... I haven’t played a “real” horror thingy in a while 🤡......
As with before I think my next big thing likely God of War: Ragnarok in November, but something time-sensitive did come up on my radar: Crisis Core Reunion’s been announced for a December 13 release this year.
I know the play order for the original games goes:
Final Fantasy 7 ► Crisis Core
with Crisis Core being a prequel & having content that reveals critical plot points in FF7. However, the new remakes are split into three parts with Crisis Core Reunion sandwiched in between:
FF7R Part 1 ► Crisis Core Reunion ► FF7R Part 2 ► …
As someone who’s only played & knows FF7’s story as far as FF7R Part 1 goes, I feel like I’ve been put in an awkward position where if I want to play CCR on release, I have to consider the impacts of how that will affect my story experience. I did some research & the devs have said this is intentional because they think CCR will just want to make you want to learn more, and fans seem to agree it should be played before FF7R Part 2 because why else would they release it that way. However, I think both statements are more of a “knowledge of Crisis Core won’t affect your enjoyment of FF7(R)”, not “Crisis Core will not spoil plot points to FF7(R)”.
Anyway, bottom line is I think I have two options:
1. Do nothing now, play CCR in December
2. Play OG FF7 now, play CCR in December
Currently I lean towards the second since it’s the option that’ll preserve my reactions for at least one form of FF7 + the release schedule is not super busy right now (though DAO + FF7 + GOW later seems a bit… 💩)
Curious to hear if anyone has any thoughts on this. If I proceed with my plan, I think I’ll have to start very very soon to make the Dec 13 “deadline”!
This is all I’ve got for now! I hope to be able to slot in more games here and there but realistically I feel like I’m burning a candle at both ends with my IRL work being very blah lately. Appreciate your understanding and patience in the meantime...!
Welonz
PS. Haven’t forgotten the Q&A – I’m making progress! There are quite a bit of repeat questions so you may want to look at previous Q&As in the meantime if you had any burning inquiries. I’ll probably not go over those ones too much so this can actually come out sometime in our lifetimes… 😬
2022-09-18 22:28:44 +0000 UTC View Post
I say this every time already but with the polls you really can't guess who the winner is until the last second! Congrats to Dragon Age, but no fret to all the other options - I'll get to you eventually...
I feel like it goes unspoken (which I'm changing now lol) that if I end up liking Origins, this will end up being a multi-game commitment leading to the next games. That's a bit scary, but it's also really exciting to get to learn about a vast world from scratch!
Origins was released in 2009 so AFAIK it's somewhat dated by now. I think I'll have to look into mods on PC to get it up to modern speed. For now I know about:
If you know of any necessary configs/mods, please do feel free to pipe up. I'll continue looking into this and hopefully we'll get something going by next week.
Thanks to everyone for participating!
Full Poll Results
Sorry for the double post - I forgot to set the poll to allow multiple votes 💀
------
Feel free to pick up to 14 (total # of options - 1) games in the poll that you'd like to see on the channel!
The number in brackets is the estimated playtime hours (me eyeballing a time between the Main + Extra and Completionist option at HowLongToBeat.com).
The poll will be open until August 22 11:59 PM PST.
2022-08-16 01:09:58 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
Hope you’re staying out of the summer heat! (Or if you’re down south, the cold!)
Here in Western Canada it’s been REALLY hot… that and the lull in release schedule I think has been making me feel kinda off in the past few weeks, like I can’t muster up the energy to do anything. This happens every now and then though so I think it’s a summer thing. A sign from the Gods telling me to go touch grass?! 💀
Anyway, we’ve got a big update today with polls and Q&As and all that. Keep reading on!
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong (30 parts): Aside from the bugs and stuff it very much did stick the landing! The ending segments are some of the most thrilling scenes I’ve played recently. I really think the devs (Big Bad Wolf) are doing interesting things in the choose-your-own-adventure genre with the character builds and wide storyline branching. Excitedly looking forward to their next work!
The Quarry (14 parts): B movie-type horror with dumb teenagers – good fun! I wish there was a bit more resolution towards the end but I’m happy enough with what’s here. It makes me wanna go back to try out the Dark Pictures Anthology games too if time allows, but I heard those ones aren’t quite as good.
Stray (11 parts): Cat game needs no introduction. Super atmospheric, great sound design, but ultimately I think the focus is more on getting to walk around as a kitty with realistic movement and less so a groundbreaking narrative or anything like that.
I went 2 parts a day for this shorter series and liked how that pacing turned out. Will keep this type of schedule in mind for the future!
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative (48 parts): A murder mystery visual novel fully embracing Japanese weirdness. Just like the first game it’s a massively enjoyable ride with endearing characters, but does stumble towards the end. Hard to say much without spoilers but I think if you enjoyed the first you should reasonably enjoy this one as well.
Some side thoughts on Japanese vs English dub again: I am always so torn on this topic with accessibility concerns and all, but in hindsight I think Japanese dub was the right call for this one: there were a number of errors in the localization that the Japanese VA made possible to catch, and I felt like I was able to add way more value to this series with getting to talk about the original puns or just sharing random cultural tidbits too. (I hope those who tuned in don’t forget about the chouchin kowai/scary lanterns thing 🤣)
Progress on Current Stuff
I just wrapped up AINI so there’s not too much here right this moment. We’ve got As Dusk Falls, an interactive visual novel-ish adventure game with a stop motion storybook aesthetic and branching storylines. This’ll be a short, 6-video series – trying not to overcommit with the poll coming up!
Upcoming Stuff
Nobody asked for this lol but August 14 is the 10th release anniversary of Sleeping Dogs, which some of you might know is one of first LPs I’ve done the channel. I think I’m gonna do a first look (technically a 50000th look) just to reminisce and maybe get some new eyes on the game.
I don’t think anyone clarified who has the rights now but if Sleeping Dogs was one of the IPS sold by Square Enix to Embracer Group a few months back, I hope it means we can see something (anything!!!) from this series in the future 🥲
I’m also looking into a Cult of the Lamb first look soon – it’s got quite a bit of a buzz around it atm!
Q&A
Something Something Creators Should Connect With Viewers From Time To Time, so here we go! Submit your questions here: https://bit.ly/WelonzQnA2022
Some of you might remember the last time I did this it took mooonths…. part because I prioritized gameplay videos 100% of the time, and the other part because I found the amount of questions too daunting to even start answering lol. So this time I’ll limit it to patrons/YouTube members, keep this open for just a week or so and pick out the most interesting ones I haven’t answered 500 times already. Fingers crossed this video will actually get made in a reasonable amount of time 🤣
Poll
I haven’t finalized the list yet but I’m going to draw mainly from stuff in previous polls, e.g.
HOWEVER….. I think the Next Big Thing is a while aways (God of War in November), so I’m also considering some massive 100+ hours stuff too, in particular:
I don’t wanna get anyone’s hopes up by putting this out there prematurely LOL but I do have a lot of interest in trying out Elden Ring after all that hype early in the year, especially since I have some experience with the fight-a-boss-100-times genre now with SIFU/Hollow Knight. Then we also have BOTW2 coming out next year and I still haven’t really tried a Switch game on the channel yet…!
I’ll put up the poll over the next few days after some more thinking. Let me know you have any thoughts on the shortlist so far and/or anything else. Thanks for everything as always, and have a great August!
Welonz
2022-08-12 20:11:14 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
First off, apologies for the late update post! Towards the end of June I had been feeling really overloaded. Something had to give, and I decided a delayed update post is better than delayed videos...
(FYI when things don’t go as planned I do try to tweet out quick updates so you’re not just in the dark, which is what I did prior to this post as well!)
Let’s quickly get to the meat of things!!!
Finished Since Last Update
TUNIC (26 parts): WHEW… this started out as a cutesy foxy combat adventure and turned into something else. Not quite what I expected but it was truly a fun, unique, high-effort-begets-high-reward type of experience. My brain is tired now, it needs a vacation 🤣
This is one of those games I’d recommend anyone with even a remote passing interest in it to try for themselves first before watching videos/looking stuff up!
Horizon Forbidden West (122 parts): Finally! My original HZD playthrough was about 60-70 parts, so this took much longer than expected.
I poured out most of my thoughts in the videos already but in short: I enjoyed the HFW storyline! It’s an engaging expansion into the Horizon world with some great memorable moments. On the gameplay side of things though I felt there wasn’t enough innovation/evolution from what was already in HZD: the open world can feel quite static and there are little mechanic annoyances here and there (ie. still having to spam left/right a million times to find the one potion or item you want to use).
Don’t get me wrong: HFW is a big budget AAA title, and there’s a baseline of quality associated with that that it absolutely meets. Just for the storyline I would unconditionally play anything in this series anyway lol, but I do wish it would’ve pushed the envelope to become something more. Maybe for Horizon 3!
Progress on Current Stuff
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong: I’m moving into the final three scenes of the story now. It’s rough around the edges (had to restart levels multiple times to get around bugs etc) but I think the story is engaging, and not in a “Lol The Council Is So Bad It’s Good” kind of way either. I’m very pleasantly surprised - will have to see if this can stick the landing!
The Quarry: A spooky choose-your-own-adventure game from the makers of Until Dawn. Currently I’m at about Chapter 8 of 12. This is some good campy horror fun and I love a lot of the dumb teenager dialogue too lmao.
(Apparently you can't strike out text in Patreon so Pretend This Is Struck Out Okay) TBH I also haven’t been finding this scary………… am I evolving into NotScaredyCatWelonz…?????
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative: The sequel to the first Somnium Files which some of you might remember was a Patreon poll winner back in 2019! By the creator of the Zero Escape series, it’s a detective mystery visual novel with really weird ass Japanese things but also a ton of heart and character.
I haven’t played much (any) weeb stuff recently so this might be sort of surprising to newer viewers but here we are. The first AI was endearing and so far the second AI is shaping up to get even crazier.
I went for the Japanese voicing again for consistency’s sake (we also voted for this with the first AI), but one of these days I’d like to try the English dub too. I get the Japanese voices is a big barrier for people who like to keep videos on in the background and also for those not normally into Japanese stuff. It would be nice if we could make the experience accessible to more people...!
Upcoming Stuff
I expect VTM: Swansong and The Quarry to finish up in the next two weeks, and for July releases I think I’m just looking at Stray.
I 100% remember I said I’d like to do a poll after HFW wraps up! However, in the past few months I’ve been doing the 3-games-simultaneously thing, and with my day job getting busier I really don’t feel it’s working out that well. (Frankly: it was more okay before b/c I was using some work time on YouTube stuff hahah.)
So my preliminary thinking is I will wrap up Swansong/The Quarry, go faster on Stray, then do the poll when I’m left with AI2. Hopefully this sounds good!
(This is also supposed to be struck out, damn you Patreon) We also hit 75k subscribers recently (whoa!!) and I’ve seen some small nudges for a Q&A – maybe a small one is feasible but I don’t wanna do another big one again so soon LOL. I will go and see about this!!
Thanks for your support as always, and do feel free to let me know any suggestions/comments below!
Have a great July & summer,
Welonz
Hi hi,
It’s been a whirlwind!! Hope you are well as always. My work has been extremely, extremely busy up until this week, but my boss is on vacation for a bit now so I finally have a little time to write this update LOL :^)
TL;DR
Finished Since Last Update
The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe (11 parts): How to describe this game!? A “walking simulator” of witty dialogue, over a dozen different endings, and occasionally existential crises. I did play the original game before but it was great fun to revisit, and the new content is all an amazing addition as well. Because of the topics the game brought up, I also got to talk about some stuff I don’t usually get a chance to (e.g. related to being a creator).
I also took a first look at:
Trek to Yomi: Side-scrolling samurai combat title paying homage to Kurosawa’s film style. Looks beautiful, but the general consensus (that I agree with) seems to be that the combat mechanics are lacking. There are certain overpowered moves you’ll never want to stop using, while other moves are too weak & are just not satisfying to pull off. Of the bit I played beyond the first look, this hasn't stopped being the case.
Progress on Current Stuff
Horizon Forbidden West: I’m definitely in the last third of the story now and although things are still good, it does start feeling like running down a checklist of Stuff To Do. I’d really like to get around to some other projects so I will likely start condensing minor stuff and hopefully speed things up. (I also lost the recording lead I had before with how busy May’s been too, RIP 🥲)
TUNIC: I’m now at the back portion of the game where, without spoilers, things take a turn, and it’s become a lot more time + brain power consuming than just go-to-this-spot-kill-this-monster. TBH I feel some recording pressure from this now as there’re so many uncertainties every play session lol, but I’m doing my best!! I expect we are somewhat close to wrapping up though.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong: Like a Telltale game but in the VTM setting, by the devs of The Council. A few hours in, I predict the reception is just gonna be like with The Council: some people will have no problem overlooking the jankiness while it’s a complete dealbreaker for others. Personally I find the story engaging so far, especially with the rich VTM setting as the backdrop.
Upcoming Stuff
After some of the above wraps up, in June I am mainly looking to:
To be honest, lately I’ve been kind of frustrated with the amount of stuff I want to get to but just don't have the time for. I mean I am always mad about this lmao but even moreso recently! Maybe because most (= ALL) of the stuff I’ve been playing are medium to long length, and it just doesn’t let me to do stuff like pick up a small 3-4 hour game on a whim. I have some ideas on how to get past this (ie. hyperfocus on fewer series, finish them faster, then move onto the next) but putting them into action is surprisingly difficult...
I appreciate your patience while I get all my ducks in a row! As always, thanks very much for being here, and feel free to lemme know any comments/suggestions on your mind.
Welonz
2022-05-26 20:36:50 +0000 UTC View PostHey all,
April’s come and gone! Games aside, I feel like it’s generally a busy month with Annoying Life Things like taxes, fiscal years ending/starting, school exams, etc. Hopefully yours has been treating you okay!
I had a work break this past week and basically spent it playing games and more games lol. It’s time for me to go back in tomorrow 🥲 but nonetheless it was a relaxing time that really let me stay on top & ahead of the video schedule and all that!
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
Weird West (20 parts): There’s one last video I haven’t posted by this post, but I’ve finished the game & can form a full opinion on it. Aside from bugs (which don’t bother me), I feel like it’s missing a few more design iterations to really smooth things out. In short: it’s got lots of cool mechanics built for emergent gameplay, but not enough of actual content to go around. There are also some critical game balance issues, e.g. abilities/perks/weapons don’t make a big difference even on higher difficulties.
I think your enjoyment of Weird West will depend on what kind of video game player you are. It thrives on sandbox style experimentation, and I’ve seen some like it because you can get some really crazy unique-to-your-playthrough stuff happening with the emergent gameplay. From my story-first perspective: the setting and core narrative are interesting, but everything else (including external factors like game price & length) would make this game difficult for me to recommend as is.
There are multiple planned community events though so the devs do seem committed to patches & updates for the long term. Things may change some months down the line!
I also took a first look at:
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: I’m familiar with the Borderlands franchise via BL1/BL2/Tales of Borderlands, but fell off when 3 rolled around. This is a more fantasy/medieval take on their looter shooter formula and from what I could tell, still feels great to play as it did back in the day. I don’t know if it’s a sign of age or what but I feel I might not be in the target market for the style of humour they’re going for anymore though lol. It’s likely still a fun play with friends but a tad lonely solo on the channel!
Progress on Current Stuff
Horizon Forbidden West: I’m still enjoying this lots but I may have overestimated how far along I was… the in-game progression tracker shows I’m at about 45% now. I finished HZD in 73 videos but at 60+ videos into HFW, I really don’t get the sense I’m close to the end. There is still sooo much to see and do!
It hasn’t reflected on the channel yet but I’ve been steadily increasing my playing pace, so at some point I'm hoping the video output rate will follow as well.
TUNIC: An isometric action game about a small fox investigating the island they’re stuck on, full of mysterious happenings and even more cryptic writings. I’ve seen this compared to Fez (for puzzles), Dark Souls (for combat), and Zelda (for the exploration?). Visually it’s reminiscent of Death’s Door which I did a first look of before, but IMO the mystery elements really enhance the whole thing. Excellent so far!
Upcoming Stuff
As I said last time, there’s really not many big games releasing soon, but in May we do have:
I’m REALLY excited for Swansong b/c of how amazingly chaotic The Council was 🤣 Both of these should be about short to medium length. For something longer, I’ll wait until I get closer to wrapping up Horizon so things are not too overloaded.
Thanks for the support as always! Feel free to let me know any thoughts you have and/or any upcoming games I may have missed!
See you next month,
Welonz
2022-04-24 22:39:38 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
Hope your March has been going great!
This month has been more a breather compared February, but still full of toooons of really interesting games coming out. I only wish there were enough hours in a day to check them all out…!!
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
Hollow Knight (62 parts): Finally wrapped up this behemoth of a game! I don’t think games with a million bosses is normally my thing, but Hollow Knight made it all work with the exploration and cryptic lore drip-feed. Aside from the ending boss rush bits I had a really great time with this one. Patreon vote winners have (unsurprisingly, I suppose!) always been fantastic experiences – thanks again to everyone who voted for this! Now I also join the Silksong waiting room...
I also took a first look at:
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy of Origin: Just like its chaotic reveal trailer, it’s fun, but in a B movie, don’t-take-it-seriously sorta way. To me the gameplay is the usual FF hack-n-slash, but I’ve seen some say it’s “Soulslike” – I don’t really know what this means lol – so it seems like it’s decent enough to push the buttons for some people.
Progress on Current Stuff
Horizon Forbidden West: I think I’m roughly 30-40% through at the moment. I found a good rhythm with daily videos, although I’d still really like to push it up a bit more like I mentioned last update… it’s a work in progress!
Weird West: A top-down indie immersive sim set in the Wild West but with occult stuff by the co-creators of Prey/Dishonored. Aside from the non-first-person POV, it feels very immersive simmy with the different ways to solve a problem, the world responding to your actions, etc.
TBH I’m a little hesitant about this one as a full series b/c it looks like it’s fairly lengthy and has limited general appeal, but I’m enjoying it a ton and once in a while I do just wanna play something without thinking about opportunity cost blahblahblah. Hope you enjoy it as well!
Upcoming Stuff
The two West games’ll be here for a while, but I don’t envision it being all that there’ll be: soon I hope to check out TUNIC which came out earlier this month and got favourable reviews.
Looking further ahead into the year, I don’t see any longer, 40+ hour games coming out (fill me in if you think I’m overlooking anything), so after Horizon I’m thinking it would be a great time to get back to some polls, older classics, all that good stuff. (e.g. I wanna get back to Mass Effect Andromeda to complete the set, and I’m also about to give up on waiting for Dragon Age remasters and just jump in, all those unplayed Resident Evils, OMORI………...)
So many games, so little time… A positive interpretation is that we’re probably living in some kind of golden age of gaming with how accessible and competitive games are for our attention 🍷
Feel free to let me know any comments/thoughts you have! Take care, and see you next month!
Welonz
2022-03-26 18:11:39 +0000 UTC View PostHey all,
Hope you are well!
Things are quite hectic over here both IRL and on the channel so I will try to make this quick! I thought this month was gonna be manageable until Horizon came out, but SIFU ended up being a really big time commitment 💀 Anyway, we’re over that hump now so hopefully things will smooth out.
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
Not For Broadcast 1.0 (11 parts): A hectic propaganda newsroom simulator –fascinating overall as it basically carved out its own genre with the simulator gameplay + watching video clips. The narrative goes from lighthearted and funny to serious and depressing but is engaging throughout - I enjoyed it lots and am definitely going to keep an eye on what these devs come up with next.
SIFU (9 parts): A martial arts combat game where, with the help of a mystical pendant, we pursue our father’s killers to achieve vengeance. The star of the game is the combat system but there’s still enough lore to keep you interested. It feels like the game pulled a bit of a switcharoo since the preview I tried because it’s H A R D……. but we got through the whole game in the end!! It was very satisfying to see how much I improved since the beginning.
I also took a first look at:
Hidden Deep: Currently in early access, an atmospheric side-scrolling cave explorer where we’re tasked to look for missing researchers in an underwater mining and research facility. Bit of a spooky one with monsters prowling about. The overall gameplay idea is fun although a lot still needs ironing out (e.g. art/assets/HUD are all very tiny, and the numerous controls are a handful to learn).
Tinykin demo: A Pikmin and Paper Mario-inspired collectathon platformer where we’re an alien archaeologist from outer space who somehow got shrunken down and trapped in a house on Earth. It has a really interesting artstyle blending 3D environments with 2D character, and the fun whimsical tone also reminds me of a bit of stuff like Psychonauts.
Progress on Current Stuff
Hollow Knight: I’m about 95% through the whole thing with some boss battles left…!
Horizon Forbidden West: Very excited to come back to Horizon!! I watched a recap video and starting bawling when I remembered Elisabet in the first game hahahah. I got a bit of a late start with all the SIFU stuff but this should be readily underway now!
Upcoming Stuff
I expect Hollow Knight to wrap up fairly soon, and then afterwards I feel like I want to try changing things up where I go faster on Horizon instead of handling more multiple games. Theoretically this would allow me to stay more focused & involved in the story and also finish faster (I remember when I played Horizon 1 I spent so long on side quests I had forgotten major characters midway through the story lol). Not sure how this will be in practice – will see how it goes!
I’m also keeping casual tabs on a few things in March:
This obviously goes against the whole focusing more on 1 game thing, but I’ll see if I can balance things out.
Also: this isn’t a particular update that belongs anywhere, but after playing Hollow Knight and SIFU I feel like I’m conceptually more open to the idea of Soulsborne games sometime down the line…. but maybe after I rest with some “easier” games first!!
Take care, and keep on gaming! 🎮
Welonz
2022-02-23 01:15:37 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
Blink and it’s a new year already! Hope you’re having a great start to yours 🎊
Over here, I’ve been having a bit of a “break” (mostly focusing on just 1 video series) in the last few weeks. It’s slower than I would like, but I think there’s something here about the myths of 100% productivity and dangers of burning out… Learning to have realistic expectations of myself…! 💦
Anyway, now that February is around the corner things will really start to pick up. Perfect after a bit of rest!
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
One Hand Clapping (5 parts): A side-scrolling platforming adventure controlled by your mic input (e.g. a voice or an instrument). Can’t say the story is groundbreaking lol but it’s a great bit of relaxing fun for the holidays.
Life is Strange: True Colors Alternate Playthrough (2 parts): A second True Colors playthrough exploring some different choices I didn’t make in my first playthrough. There are interesting scenes and new information, although playing this again after some months does make me wish True Colors took more risks in changing up the LIS formula. A really enjoyable game still, and I’m looking forward to new entries in the series up ahead.
Progress on Current Stuff
Hollow Knight: The latest poll winner! A 2D metroidvania of a bug exploring and learning the truths behind a fallen kingdom. I’m not sure I get a big endorphin rush out of defeating hard bosses like others might but I’m finding the cryptic lore fun to unravel lol. There isn’t a good in-game indicator on my progress but I’m guessing I’m somewhere between 50-70% completion at the moment.
Somewhat related thoughts on the more YouTubey side of things: Hollow Knight is one of those games that have an enduring, passionate community… a blunter way to put this is that it’s pretty prone to endless “advice”, well-meaning or not in the comments lol. I think I have an aversion towards these games just because I do enjoy reading your thoughts but backseating can make the whole thing really unfun, but this time it’s not bothered me as much as I thought it would TBH. Maybe I’ve been doing this long enough to find a balance between getting feedback but not letting the negatives get to me…!
Not For Broadcast 1.0: A hectic propaganda simulator where we work in a newsroom and decide what the nation gets to see. I played a bit of this back in 2020 in Early Access, found it really fun, and am now returning for the full thing. It’s fun enough for the chaos and comedy, but there’s good food for thought as well (mainly because so much of this fictional nation feels depressingly close to real life lol). This is a shorter game about 9 levels long and I’m 5ish in.
Upcoming Stuff
Hollow Knight will continue and I’m expecting my next two big things to be SIFU and Horizon Forbidden West next month.
I don’t think I’ll have the capacity for this (at least at launch) but I’m also paying attention to Dying Light 2 (have not played 1 FYI!) I’m also interested in a first look of Hidden Deep, a horror-ish game that came out in early access today.
Voting for First Looks
Some of you brought up the idea of holding votes for first looks, which I think sounds like an interesting idea! But I need some time to work through how the specifics would work first:
Right now, I mainly do first looks on whatever new releases catch my eye; they’re quite spontaneous and not planned far in advance, which makes giving a list of poll options hard. Would you be interested in first looks of older titles at all? That would make it easier for me to have an actual list, but I also sorta worry about stuff like 1) a first look making me want to continue the game despite not having the time for it and eventually overloading myself to oblivion, and/or 2) NOT continuing a first look and disappointing everyone 💀 Anyway, I’m just throwing out some thoughts here. Feel free to share any ideas you have on this too.
That’s all I’ve got for now! Hope you’ve been having a good January. Prepare for a great February 😎
Welonz
2022-01-25 06:50:40 +0000 UTC View PostHey hey,
The poll finished and the winning game is…
Hollow Knight!
I’m a little surprised by this result! I remember having HK as a poll choice maybe even multiple times and don’t remember seeing this level of support for it. Maybe everyone is dying for Silksong!?
I think this is something a little different from what I usually do (just like how Subnautica, genre-wise, was not Strictly Up My Alley) but it’s also a good chance to try out something new. Some of you may remember I did a first look* of this back in 2018 (omg…) so I’m looking forward to seeing more.
See the end of the post for the full poll results!
*you don’t have to go back to it if you didn’t see it – I’ll be starting from the beginning again!
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition (68 parts): Many will have opinions on how the ME trilogy closes out, but playing it all in a row like this was really enjoyable. As a remaster it might be a tad lazy - textures are high-res now but bugs from the original still remain lol. Anyway, this has gotten me very excited for the next Mass Effect and even rekindled my interest in checking out Andromeda sometime!
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (28 parts): I’ve sung praises about this in many places already!! Super engaging, endearing, and so, so alive. Sequel where!?!?!?!
The Forgotten City (12 parts): A time loop mystery set in Ancient Rome where everyone follows a golden rule: if one person commits a sin, everyone gets turned into a golden statue. I did a first look of this in August and I’m glad I went back! Very interesting premise, although a little buggy and definitely feels held back by technical limitations.
I also took a first look at:
Solar Ash: The last of the voidrunners must enter a black hole to find a way to save their planet. A high-speed traversal game by the creators of Hyper Light Drifter with boss encounters and a bright aesthetic. The pace is little reminiscent of The Pathless, another Annapurna game from last year.
SIFU (Preview): Martial arts combat game where a magical pendant can bring our player character back from the dead, only he ages every time it’s used. I’m not the person to look to for comment on how well-designed the combat is, but as an average player I found it smooth and enjoyable. There’s lore present but I don’t expect it to be major. (TBH my impression of the Chinese/Asian stuff is that it’s a little window dressing-y lol)
This next one isn’t a game lmao but I figure some of you may get a kick out of my 4K Remake of the Minecraft Fridge Tutorial video!! (Quick rundown for newcomers: this channel started out as a Minecraft channel 10 years ago, and the original fridge video from is the oldest surviving video of that era 🤣)
Progress on Current Stuff
At the time of this post I’ve just got One Hand Clapping, A 2D platformer controlled by the sound of your microphone input! There’s no great intriguing plot here, it’s mostly a chillaxer for the winter holidays 😄
Hollow Knight will be starting imminently!
Upcoming Stuff
I’m gonna focus on getting Hollow Knight up and running, and the rest of any time left will probably be on LIS: True Colors alt playthrough (yes I am still committed to this lmao) as well as first looks of smaller stuff I missed throughout the year.
Full Poll Results
As usual there were lots of last minute votes and changes in the final hours lol. Deathloop and Celeste came in a very close second! I’ve made note of the popular options so no worries if your favoured pick didn’t win here – I’ll likely get around to it some other time.
Aaaaand with any luck, this should be the last update post of the year! Thanks for your support in 2021, and I hope we can enjoy more cool video game experiences together in the coming year 🥂
Welonz
2021-12-20 20:40:45 +0000 UTC View PostFeel free to pick up to 21 (total # of options - 1) games in the poll that you'd like to see on the channel!
I tried to include a mix of AAA/indie options and mainly considered medium length (10-30 hours) games, but did make a few exceptions for things I'm personally interested in/have seen many people consistently bring up. I pulled options from previous polls as well as everyone's suggestions from the last post's comments - thanks so much for those!
The number in brackets is the estimated playtime hours (me eyeballing a time between the Main + Extra and Completionist option at HowLongToBeat.com).
The poll will be open until December 19 11:59 PM PST.
2021-12-11 20:31:41 +0000 UTC View PostHey hey,
Blink and it’s the end of the year already! Hope you are doing well with the holiday season kicking in. On the channel we’re gearing down with the big releases and lengthy playthroughs, which means it’s time for a poll soon…!! See the bottom of the post for details!!
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
Inscryption (12 parts): Daniel Mullins’ newest oddity, this time focusing on a card game. I’m not much of a card game person but found parts of it quite addicting. Overall if you enjoy Mullins’ eccentric narrative style (Pony Island, The Hex) it’s likely you’ll enjoy this trip down the rabbit hole too.
I also took a first look at:
The Good Life: Newest game by SWERY: an American photojournalist is sent to investigate the mysteries of a quiet English town to pay off her debts. I love how bizarre and hilarious it is (maybe unintentionally so lol) but reviews do mention that later life sim mechanics end up being massive hindrances.
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One: A detective game by Frogwares featuring a young Sherlock Holmes. Graphically it looks great, but from the tutorial area it felt to me mechanically too similar to their previous game The Sinking City, which is to say there are some interesting but flawed ideas.
Moncage: A perspective puzzle game in the vein of Gorogoa or Superliminal: relaxing and enjoyable on a quiet evening. The hint system they have prevents you from getting stuck and seems quite thoughtful as it doesn’t spell puzzle solutions outright.
Progress on Current Stuff
Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition: I’m at the very tail end with the Citadel DLC before the final missions…!!
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: I’m in Chapter 13 of 17 right now so I’ll wait till finishing to say more, but so far it’s been a FANTASTIC surprise. This game has by far the most voluminous, dynamic and alive team banter I’ve seen in any game.
Upcoming Stuff
It looks like I’ll finish both ME3 and GOTG within the next week or so! The last small release I’m looking at is Annapurna’s Solar Ash, but otherwise I’d like to spend the end of the year tying up loose ends (ie. go back to Forgotten City, LIS: True Colors alternate playthrough). We have a bit of a “downtime” between now and the next busy month (February with Horizon and AI: The Somnium Files sequel), so I think this would be a good time for a poll!!
I’ll be opening up a poll soon for a medium length ( <30 hours) game – please feel free to leave any suggestions you have in the comments! I’ll look back to previous polls for ideas as well.
See you very soon again in December!
Welonz
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2021-11-26 22:49:33 +0000 UTC View PostHi!!
The September-spilling-over-to-October wave is over… mostly!!! Whew, I feel like more great games have come out in last month alone than the rest of some slower years. It’s been amazing but I am also breathing a sigh of relief to be frank 🤣
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
Life is Strange: True Colors + DLC (21 parts): I’ve given most of my closing thoughts in the last update! I’m interested in a second playthrough to check out some alternate choices (a Welonz + LIS tradition at this point lol) hopefully before year-end.
Deltarune Chapter 2 (13 parts + alternate route 2 parts): I’m never sure how to describe this game for anyone who isn’t already into it (Human Teenager And Anthropomorphic Friends Discover Alternate World?) but it’s classic Toby Fox and he never disappoints. Lots of interesting developments here but it’ll be a wait for the next chapters again.
Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye DLC (10 parts): An expansion to the story of a solar system trapped in an endless time loop. I am only sad that the DLC came out after I’ve forgotten details of the base game already, but Outer Wilds is one of the very few games I can easily call my favourite, and this DLC is a great, meaningful expansion. Easy recommend for those who liked the base game (and if you haven’t played it yet, DO PUT IT ON YOUR LIST!!)
Impostor Factory (5 parts): The third main installment in the To The Moon series about two doctors helping fulfill dying patients’ last wishes by altering their memories. This one is set up differently than the two previous main games but I think core fans will find it enjoyable. For better or worse it feels the same as the first game did when it came out a decade ago: still emotionally engaging, and still no HD option…!
I also took a first look at:
Kena: Bridge of Spirits: The first game from animation studio Ember Lab, and it really shows: animations are drop-dead gorgeous, and from the first hour I’d seen the gameplay is not too shabby either. I’d like to have continued this, time allowing.
Alan Wake Remastered: The original is a great story but the remastered is clearly intended for those who’ve never played it before (ie. Playstation players). Returning players won’t find much more than graphical upgrades and some smaller references to Control in the easter eggs. (I did a full playthrough of the original just last year here!)
Progress on Current Stuff
Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition: The last of the ME trilogy!! I think everyone knows ME3’s reputation by now :’) but so far I’m not finding it hard to look past flaws and enjoy it for what is (maybe until I get to the end lol).
I’ll also be continuing Inscryption, the new game by Daniel Mullins (Pony Island, The Hex), which I did a first look of a few days ago. The card game stuff is fun so far but I’ll bet there’s tons of weird meta stuff I haven’t seen tapped into yet.
Upcoming Stuff
I have some interest in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy coming out on the 26th (despite never having watched the movies lol). It’s single player and narrative-driven and I’ve seen some say it feels like a Mass Effect 1. Will cautiously pay attention to reviews!
Other than that I’m not expecting anything major for the rest of the year. NO I have not forgotten about Halloween! I don’t know if I’ll make the 31st date specifically, but I promise I have Something in mind...
As always, feel free to let me know any thoughts/comments/suggestions below. Have a great October & Halloween, and see you next time! 🎃
Welonz
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2021-10-24 20:05:51 +0000 UTC View PostHey!
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
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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2021-09-25 18:54:20 +0000 UTC View PostHi,
Hope you’ve been well! 😊
Summer’s ending, school'll be back in session soon, etc etc, and the release schedule looks to be kicking into gear again. It's gonna be reaaal busy soon but I definitely can’t complain about lots of cool games coming out!
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
Last Stop (5 parts): A story of how the lives of three London dwellers intersect with some spooky magic shenanigans. Much like Variable State’s last game Virginia, this game is very much on rails and light on gameplay. I found the story pretty entertaining but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
I also took first looks at:
The Forgotten City: A time loop mystery in Ancient Rome, where “if one person sins, everyone dies” due to some strange curses placed in the city, and we must investigate using time rewind powers to figure out what’s going on.
This was super interesting and I'd love to have played more, but the devs requested for content beyond a certain story point to not be shared. I don't want to disrespect the dev's wishes nor eventually have to leave the playthrough unfinished, so unfortunately this will stop at the first look.
I have 5 million thoughts on this but I’ve found it quite difficult to comment on publicly tbh – I feel like any type of objection I have will just sound like Ungrateful Let's Player Moans About Not Being Able To Use Other People’s Work lol. Anyway it’s the devs’ game, so they’re allowed to make any requests they want, and so we will honor that. If their policy changes someday, I’d love to consider revisiting it.
Road 96: A procedurally-generated road trip of a runaway teen trying to reach the border of their (presumably Awful) country and escaping beyond. You meet others along the way and keep track of various stats like health and money (kind of like Oregon Trail?) Subject matter seems to lean heavier on the politics side. All the individual scenes were pretty cool although I can’t tell how well it ties into a coherent story yet. I’d like to continue this one, time permitting!
Progress on Current Stuff
Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition: I’m at the tail-end (70-80%?) of the story now, on the crew’s loyalty missions.
Subnautica Below Zero: I’m also near the closing hours for this too! As I’ve mentioned last time there’s a lot that’s different from the original Subnautica, and I’d really like to reach the end before comment furthering.
Upcoming Stuff
This coming week I’m going to start full playthroughs of:
……… I don’t actually know how this is logistically gonna work with ME2 and Subnautica still ongoing, I just know I want this to happen! It might be a slow start but we’ll get there eventually!
Kena: Bridge of Spirits that I mentioned in the last post was delayed to next month, and speaking of which there are about 500000 releases in September too:
I think I’m locked down on LIS and Outer Wilds, but the rest I will play by ear (or clone myself, or find a hyperbolic time chamber somewhere 💦)
Just looking at the amount of games I wrote about today is freaking me out lol, but I'm also super excited to jump into these interesting stories. That's all I've got this time! Do feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Take care, and I’ll see you next month!
Welonz
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For new patrons: Patreon has a bug where comments (esp. long ones) disappear – for a fix, please see the “On Disappearing Patreon Comments” section in this previous post.
2021-08-20 20:30:50 +0000 UTC View PostHey hey,
How have you been!!! I hope you’re well!! 🙂
Over in west coast NA, we’ve recently had a historic heat wave, and big changes are happening at my IRL workplace too – the whole org moved to a new computer system and you can guess how well this went lol. I’ve been feeling a tad spent cause of all that, but working on the channel has always felt like a nice steady constant! (…for better or worse????? LOOOL don’tworryiamnotdepressedthisisjustajoke…….!!)
TL;DR
Games Finished Since Last Update
Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition (40 parts): Even over a decade later there are few games as fascinating and lore-rich like Mass Effect. Enjoyed this tons, although if I’m judging it by the remaster’s technical quality, there are probably points that can be improved (ie. stuttering in the mako sections).
Before Your Eyes (1 part): A first-person story that makes use of the player’s blinking (detected by webcam) to advance time. Probably THE most novel narrative experience I’ve had this year despite its short length. I 100% recommend playing it yourself first before looking stuff up and/or watching videos.
I also took a first look at:
Claire de Lune: A first-person puzzler (think Portal) of a father seeking out his daughter after both are stranded on a foreign planet. I can tell it’s an arduous labour of love, although story-wise it could be a hit or miss (there’s some tone dissonance with a very cheery & chatty AI all the while we’re looking for our daughter). I would’ve liked to play this one more though, time permitting.
Death’s Door: An isometric metroidvania with a grim reaper crow working to get back a stolen soul. The combat is not unbearably hard, but also not super forgiving. In the first hour-ish I spent with it, I didn’t get the impression the narrative is a strong focus, although this game reviewed very well for its dungeon crawling & combat.
Progress on Current Stuff
We’re focusing on two completely different games atm but in the end they are really both about space aliens lol. (Last Stop may be too, after I play more…???)
Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition: Directly continuing from ME1!
Channel management tidbit: For previous long games, I tended to do slower video schedules (e.g. every other day), but this time I’m consciously testing going faster. I feel like this’ll be overall better for channel health.
Subnautica Below Zero: I’m still in the early hours but already feel there are some design philosophy changes deviating from the first Subnautica. It’s still good ol’ underwater exploration, but will have to dig deeper to see how I feel about these differences.
Last Stop: A cinematic experience along the lines of Telltale (much like the devs’ first game Virginia). The QTE and walking around gameplay is not likely to be the highlight, but I am pretty intrigued to see where the story’ll go after the mysteries in the first hour.
Upcoming Stuff
My main focus will likely still be ME2 and Subnautica for the next bit, but there are still a ton of August releases I’m paying attention to:
Psychonauts 2 I’m particularly interested in a full series of (the first was one of the earliest LPs I’ve done!). Everything else I may have to play by ear seeing as how they’re all squished in the second half of the month. Lots of interesting stuff here!
I feel like I want to do a poll sometime too but I’ll have to wrap up pre-existing stuff first. Thanks for your support as always, let me know your thoughts in the comments and take care!
Welonz
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2021-07-24 22:31:04 +0000 UTC View Post