Hi everyone!!
We’re already at the halfway point of the year! Time really flies. Hope you are all enduring the summer heat (or the Australian winter?) wherever you are.
TL;DR
- Finished: LIS2 Ep 3, Dishonored base game, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Observation, Draugen, Katana Zero
- Ongoing: Witcher 3, Outer Wilds
- Upcoming: Wolfenstein The Old Blood, some undecided things…
Games Finished Since Last Update
May was a really good month for high-quality small to medium length narrative games. Since the last update, I’ve finished:
- Life is Strange 2 Ep 3 (5 parts): Probably the best episode of the season to date, touching on some topics of growing up I didn’t think a LIS game would go to. But seeing as how the season won’t finish until December, if you aren’t already following it I would probably recommend waiting until then.
- Dishonored base game (winner of last Patreon vote; 31 parts): No need to dive deep into this one I imagine! It’s been a while since I’ve played an immersive sim proper and wooow I forgot how lovely these are. I do plan on getting back into the DLC (and then the sequel) when time allows.
- A Plague Tale: Innocence (15 parts): A tale of a brother and sister surviving the times of plague in 1340s France. Mainly a stealth game with some combat options. AA production values are very reminiscent of Hellblade – some aspects are kind of janky but there’s quality and polish where it matters.
- Observation (8 parts): From the Stories Untold devs, a psychological thriller set on a space station. Basically 2001: A Space Odyssey the game. Gameplay is mostly mini-games that can be obtuse but nervous tension built in the atmosphere is top-notch.
- Draugen (5 parts): From the Dreamfall Chapters devs, a story of an American man searching for his missing sister in Norway. Gameplay is light (mainly walking, no puzzles) but gorgeous scenery + excellent voice acting and characters. Very short and many would consider the ending unsatisfying – I personally enjoyed it enough though.
- Katana Zero (6 parts): A cyberpunk action platformer of an amnesiac contract killer tracing down his roots. Very action-based, akin to a sidescrolling version of Hotline Miami. Story is told rather haphazardously but is still quite engaging throughout – story is not fully complete by the end of the game and appears to be awaiting DLC/sequel though.
Current Stuff
- Witcher 3: I think I’m nearing the end of the first DLC. Will probably take a short (1-2 weeks) break after that and jump back into Blood & Wine.!
- Outer Wilds: This is more open world and sandboxy than the usual super narrative-focused stuff I play, but has been really amazing mystery adventure so far – I’ve never played another game that captures the wonders and mysteries of space exploration so well.
Upcoming Stuff
The new Wolfenstein game will be out in July so I’ll be getting back in the series with The Old Blood very shortly! In terms of new releases, there aren’t very many I’m interested in this month:
If you're not already aware, Judgment is by RGG Studio, the devs of the Yakuza series. I’m quuuuite interested in it but I know it’s going to be a lengthy title... Not sure if that’s the kind of commitment I want to make especially after W3 + RDR2 left me half-alive lol. Will see what when the date rolls around!
Other than that, you can also expect to see a few First Looks of more niche things pop up here and there.
Feel free to leave any questions/comments/whatever else, and have a great rest of June!
Welonz
2019-06-11 17:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone,
Hope you're doing well! April flew by, and big apologies for missing the update. I had a bunch of stuff going on by the end of the month and didn’t hammer one out in time :( But that means this one'll be even more content-packed!
TL;DR
- Finished: Unheard, Read Dead Redemption 2, Downfall, Lorelai
- First looks: Escaped Chasm, Whispers of a Machine
- Ongoing: Witcher 3, Dishonored 1
- Upcoming: Until Dishonored 1 is done, some combination of indie games
Games Finished Since Last Update
Since the last update, I’ve finished:
Unheard (5 parts): An audio-based detective game where you must listen to the sounds at a crime scene figure out who the perpetrators are. Innovative concept and a fun brain teaser, although I think the lack of subtitles (by design) could make this difficult for people without native-level English fluency to enjoy.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (100 parts): Don’t think I need to elaborate too much on this one! From a story-telling POV its critical acclaim is definitely deserved. In hindsight I don’t know WHAT I was thinking to do this while playing Witcher too lol but I’m really glad I did!
Downfall (7 parts): A horror adventure side-scroller; second game of the Cat Lady trilogy with that same grungy artstyle – fans of the first will probably also enjoy this. (FYI – this was in the previous poll but didn’t win; I ended up playing it anyway since the next game was due soon and I had some extra time while doing the poll winner Dishonored.)
Lorelai (8 parts): Same as above – if you enjoyed The Cat Lady (and Downfall), you will likely want to see through to the conclusion of the trilogy.
Also had a quick look at:
Escaped Chasm - short prototype/demo RPGmaker game by Temmie Chang (artist of Undertale/Deltarune) – don’t have too big of an opinion on it since there’s not much in the way of actual story yet.
Whispers of a Machine – Traditional point & click, but with unique forensic and personality trait systems that determine different puzzle solutions. Didn't get far enough fully see all the systems in action, but it seemed promising.
Current Stuff
I’ve just finished the base game of Witcher 3 and will be heading into the DLCs next week (!) Newer patrons might not know that The Witcher is the first series I started playing based off a Patreon vote, so this series is a perpetual reminder of how fortunate I am to have your support – thank you all once again.
I’m also over half done with Dishonored 1 and will likely finish before the month ends. I’ll do the DLCs too but not sure if it’ll be straight after - I forgot to take them into consideration when estimating playtime hours in the previous poll, oops.
Upcoming Stuff
I’ll start another medium-length AAA title when Dishonored finishes so until then it'll be some shorter indie titles. I’m paying attention to these new releases in May:
As always, feel free to comment/suggest/ask questions about anything here, and I hope you have a great rest-of-May!
Welonz
2019-05-06 17:49:03 +0000 UTC
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The winner of the poll is Dishonored 1. I'll be preparing this over the weekend so hopefully the series will start sometime next week!
As with the previous polls, there were some close matches this time too. Poor The Longest Journey, I think it has missed the mark by 1 or 2 votes for at least the second time now... If your favoured game didn't win, don't fret - my primary efforts are focused on the poll winner, but I'll get to the other titles when time allows too (esp. if there is a new title in the series coming soon).
Thanks to those who participated in the poll!
You can see the full results below:
2019-04-03 23:15:54 +0000 UTC
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Feel free to pick up to 19 (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 - more for my own reference but you may find it helpful to know too.
Have fun voting!!
PS. Apologies for the poll re-do!! About 3 minutes after I published the first poll I realized I made mistakes and omitted options I intended to include.
2019-03-27 22:31:14 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone,
I’ve got something exciting that starts with a “p” and ends in “oll” today!!
TL;DR
- Finished: Devotion, The Cat Lady
- First looks: The Occupation
- Ongoing: Witcher 3, RDR2
- Upcoming: POLL
PayPal Option
This is likely tangential to those of you on Patreon (=everyone reading this), but I’ve recently opened up a PayPal option for supporting the channel here: https://paypal.me/materwelonz
PayPal is different from Patreon in that it:
1) Allows one-time contributions
2) Is only a payment platform so I’m unable to provide updates on it like I do now on Patreon
Patreon hasn’t been the most stable of platforms (remember the fee changes thing last year), and several of you had asked for a non-Patreon way to support the channel. This is simply an alternative option – there’s no need to do anything if you are happy with Patreon.
Games Finished Since Last Update
Since the last update, I’ve finished:
1. Devotion (6 parts): A first-person horror centered around a Taiwanese household in 1980s. The horror is really a vehicle to tell a very personal tale of a family of father, mother, and daughter. Really enjoyed this and it’s probably my GOTY to date.
2. The Cat Lady (14 parts): A horror side-scroller adventure of Susan Ashworth, a middle aged lady struggling with depression. Many of you had brought up this game so I trust it doesn’t need much introduction. Bizarre at times, unintentionally hilarious at others, but ultimately a wonderful experience.
3. First look of The Occupation: it seemed to have an interesting premise, but according to reviews unfortunately gets more frustrating in later hours with some bugs and design choices.
I didn’t think there would ever be a day where this channel saw 2 horror-themed playthroughs in a row.... it's almost as if ScaredyCatWelonz is growing up!! :')
Current Stuff
- Witcher 3
- Red Dead Redemption 2
No surprises here. I think I’m reaching the tail end of RDR2 (currently on Chapter 6). I wonder if I’ll be able to finish it by the end of April?
Upcoming Stuff - POLL
There are a few things I’m paying attention to in April (Ace Attorney trilogy on the 9th, Days Gone on the 26th) but I figure this is a good time to have a poll since it’s been 500000 years since the last one. Here’s a tentative list of poll options:
I’m in the middle of two long games so for this poll I’m considering short to medium length titles (under 20 hours-ish according to HowLongToBeat.com’s Main + Extra option). Some of you may recall Yakuza 0, Hollow Knight, etc, in previous poll draft lists - I'm still interested in these but they just won't be in this particular poll because of their length.
I’ve tried to balance indie vs AAA options, but it almost seems as if there's an indie slant because of the playtime restriction. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to leave a comment! Patreon polls allow for up to 20 options and we haven’t hit the limit yet.
I will likely open the poll tomorrow and have it run for a week.
Feel free to leave any questions/comments/whatever else, and have a great end of March!!
Welonz
2019-03-26 22:49:49 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone!
This update is rather late for the month! I wanted to wait until I had concrete stuff to write about first, but completely forgot that February only has 28 days.... (lol)
TL;DR
- Finished since last update: Life is Strange 2 Ep 2, Wolfenstein
- First looks: Vane, Degrees of Separation, Wandersong, Eastshade
- Ongoing: Witcher 3, RDR2, Devotion
- Upcoming: mostly indies, hopefully Metro Exodus after a break
Delays in January sliding into February
I mentioned here a few months ago that my grandmother had not been in the greatest health, and some of you may have read on Twitter that she passed away around mid-January. This unfortunately led to the channel staying at a complete standstill for about 1-2 weeks...
Since then, I've had some time to adjust my feelings, finish up logistics, etc, so I think things should get back on track. (My family and I are doing okay! Thank you again for all the kind words.)
Games Finished Since Last Update
Since the beginning of January, I’ve finished:
1. Life is Strange 2 Episode 2 (7 parts): Second episode of the choose-your-own-adventure of two brothers on their journey away from home. I enjoyed the episode, but I feel like LIS2 has lost a lot of steam from the 4-month wait since Ep 1. If you aren’t already following LIS2, you might want to wait until the entire season is finished first. (I’m also looking to do a second playthrough of this episode sometime.)
2. Wolfenstein: The New Order (20 parts): Alternate history FPS where the Nazis won World War II. Obviously action-packed, but has a really engrossing and character-driven narrative as well. Can't overstate how much I enjoyed this - thanks again to everyone who voted for it!
3. One-parters/first looks of:
Of these, I particularly enjoyed Wandersong and Eastshade – both very wholesome and relaxing titles.
Current Stuff
Some of you have mentioned feeling like the channel has been in this twilight zone where we are perpetually playing the first two games lol. I agree with this, so this week I’ve made some adjustments to RDR2’s posting schedule to speed it along. Juggling two long games isn’t a problem in terms of interest/burnout personally, but my ability to cover other games on top of them does get restricted. I think the schedule changes will be in everyone's interests.
Wolfenstein finishing has freed up a spot for Devotion (a HORROR GAME by the way). That’ll likely be a shorter (5-10 part) series.
Upcoming Stuff
For new releases next month, I’m paying attention to:
I’d really like to fit in Metro Exodus somewhere amidst this, but the Witcher 3/RDR2/Wolf triple AAA (triple triple A?) combo did leave me feeling fatigued and craving indie games. A shame that I'll be missing the release window but I feel the fatigue wouldn't let me make the highest quality content I can for Exodus right now anyway. The plan is to pivot back to some indies for a few weeks and I'll hopefully make my way back to the Metro series then.
Feel free to leave any questions/comments, and have a great one-day-before-end-of-February and beginning of March!!
Welonz
2019-02-27 23:46:19 +0000 UTC
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Hey all,
Happy belated New Year! I hope you all had a great December and an even better start to your 2019. Mine’s been pretty chill and relaxing with some time away from work. Except for the part where, you know, the holidays eventually finish and you gotta get back to the grind :|...
Anyway! I forwent an update last month since Obra Dinn/Wolfenstein were still cooking and there wasn’t much else, but with the coming of new year, both are ready and I can start looking beyond again.
TL;DR
- Finished since last update: Spider-Man Silver Lining DLC, GRIS, Obra Dinn
- Ongoing: Witcher 3, RDR2, Wolfenstein: TNO
Games Finished Since Last Update
By request, from this update onwards I’ll briefly give my spoiler-free thoughts on series I’ve finished since the last update. I probably make more videos than most of you have time for so I hope this will aid in finding games/videos that interest you the most.
1. Marvel's Spider-Man Silver Lining DLC (4 parts): The last of the Spider-Man DLC focusing on the Hammerhead threat. The base game was very good, and the DLCs have moments where they shine too but they’re also obviously on a smaller budget. Nothing mind-blowing but cool enough if you're into seeing more of Spider-Man.
2. GRIS (5 parts): A journey of a girl mentally dealing with a painful experience. Wordless 2D platformer in the same vein of atmosphere as Journey, ABZU, or RIME. Gorgeous watercolour aesthetics and amazing soundtrack, very nice to relax to. The story is ambiguous enough to theorize on too.
3. Return of the Obra Dinn (13 parts): A detective investigation game on discovering the identities and fates of a ship crew. I enjoyed playing it, but I don't know if I'd recommend watching my playthrough of it lol. I think it's the first time I've done a series on such a puzzle-centric game, and those can get pretty frustrating to watch when viewers spot or realize something that the player doesn't (understandable!) Unless you have the patience to watch an entire series of someone stumbling through a puzzle game, I'd probably recommend playing this yourself instead!
Current Stuff
- Witcher 3
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (F I N A L L Y)
No surprises here! All three of these will no doubt run through the rest of January.
Upcoming Stuff
The year's just begun so I don't think there's that many releases yet. For January, I'm keeping an eye on:
I suspect all of the above combined will be enough to keep me occupied for a good while.
Aaaand that's about it for January. As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions/comments. Otherwise, have a great beginning of the year and see you next month!!
Welonz
2019-01-09 20:48:20 +0000 UTC
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Hey all,
Hope all is going well with your November! Apologies for the late-ish mid month update; I've been working out a few things in the background before I could write out the details.
TL;DR
- Witcher 3 and RDR2 will be here for next bit
- Started prepping Wolfenstein: TNO, but thinking of best way to release it & and not have channel seem AAA-only
- Return of the Obra Dinn somewhere in here
- Smaller/indie things from now to the end of the year
November Channel Plans
For the next bit, we'll have:
- Witcher 3
- Red Dead Redemption 2
I'm pretty hyperaware that these two are long and in some ways samey (and that I may have dug myself into a hole lol), but I'm confident I can also have smaller, more diverse indie games running alongside.
Before I can get to those though, I need to address the poll winner from far too many months ago: Wolfenstein: The New Order. I've gotten a good few hours into it and it's really awesome so far!
I'd like to upload it ASAP, but I have a small worry that it'll make the channel feel too "AAA games only" so I'm brainstorming for ways to minimize that feeling. Currently my thinking is to concurrently play Return of the Obra Dinn (indie game released last month). This however would require me to record more in advance since I'd have trouble with 4 games simultaneously, which would overall mean that it'll be a bit more before I can release either Wolfenstein/Obra Dinn.
If you have ideas on other ways to go about this, feel free to let me know. Whatever happens I do expect to see both Wolfenstein and Obra Dinn on the channel soon!
From Now Until Year End
I don't see many new releases for the rest of the year aside from episodes/sequels/DLC/continuations:
- The Council Episode 5
- the three Spider-Man DLCs
- Life is Strange 2 Episode 2?
- (Kentucky Route Zero Act 5????)
I've also been keeping an eye on Outer Wilds, which will supposedly will release within 2018.
In late December, I'll have a bit more time than usual (unused vacation time at work that has to go hahah) so I'm hoping to get around to more than just what's listed here too.
That's about it for the next bit - do feel free to share any thoughts/suggestions whatever else in the comments. Thanks for your support as always and have a wonderful wintery (or summery for Australians?) season!
Welonz
2018-11-15 20:12:21 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone,
Hope you're having a banging October! After a hectic September topped off with a nasty cold, I’m getting back on track to a normal routine again...!
TL;DR
- Spider-Man & Tomb Raider will be done in ~ two weeks
- To be followed by Red Dead Redemption 2 and Wolfenstein: TNO
- Smaller (Halloween?) games interspersed in the gaps
- Question for you – what sorts of games do you want to see (indie/AAA)?
October Channel Plans
This month is mostly a "continue ongoing stuff" month:
- Witcher 3
- Spider-Man
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Life is Strange 2 Ep 1 second playthrough
Spider-Man and SOTTR will likely finish in the next two weeks. That seems to line up nicely with the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, and I'll fill the other slot with Wolfenstein: The New Order. I really should've gotten around to Wolfenstein muuuch sooner - huge apologies - but I'm also excited that it’s finally around the corner! After this, I’m hoping to hammer out a much more timely poll system as well.
I won't be able to commit to more big titles like A.C. Odyssey in the short term, but I'll squeeze in smaller stuff (short indie games, first looks of bigger games) whenever I can. Some potentials:
- 16th: The Hex (by creator of Pony Island)
- 23th: Thronebreaker
- 30th: Call of Cthulu
- The Cat Lady, which I received quite a few recommendations for & would be awesome for Halloween
(The Occupation, mentioned in last update, was delayed to February 2019.)
Stuff I'm Interested in for November:
I don't have any big releases jotted down for November! Probably won’t be a bad thing as I suspect RDR2 will be a long one anyway. It might be a good time to check out some older stuff – will have to see when the time gets closer.
A Question for You
I’ve been thinking about the types of games on the channel lately. There’s been some months where I mostly did indie games, and other months where I’ve focused on AAA. I'm curious: do you have a preference on what types of games you want to see?
To me, AAA games are a sure baseline of production values and quality, whereas indie titles are where some of the most experimental and creative things can be found. I like both so I try to mix it up, but right now I usually just let release schedules dictate my priorities. I think your preferences will be more clear when I do another poll, but I’d love to hear anything you’d like to share regarding this.
That about sums it up for October. As always, thanks for your support, and Happy Halloween in advance 🎃
Welonz
2018-10-11 21:39:05 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone,
Here's a late-ish mid-month update!! Apologies for the slight delay.
TL;DR
- Schedule disruptions in late Aug/early Sep should be resolved
- Witcher 3, Spider-Man, Shadow of the Tomb Raider right now
- Life is Strange Season 2 in 2 weeks
- Even more new releases on the horizon in October
Disruptions to Video Schedule
I like to be consistent with video upload timings and all that so you know what to expect from me, but recently two things were making that difficult:
1) Some of you may know I was struggling with PC crashing issues that really put a block to playing/recording. I'm happy to report that this has since been resolved after replacing some PC parts! If you ever wondered if your Patreon contribution ever went towards anything useful, know that you are the reason I don't have to go on a six-month cup noodle diet lol. Thanks again for making all this possible!
2) Last week, my grandmother was hospitalized for a heart attack. It's looking better now thankfully so my family is trying to get back to our daily lives again. (I find that it helps to continue routines in stressful situations to have some sense of normalcy, so no need to wonder if I might go crazy by uploading even at a time like this). Her health concerns are likely to be an ongoing variable for my consistency in the future, but if her current path to recovery continues, this shouldn't cause big disruptions in the short-term.
In a nutshell: had some external issues coming into September, but it should mostly be alright from this point on.
September Channel Plans
On top of the ongoing Witcher 3, this month is already loaded just looking at new releases:
- Spider-Man
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Life is Strange Season 2 Episode 1 (Sep 27)
August didn't quite go as planned as I didn't get to start Shenmue or Wolfenstein :( I am hoping to fit in Wolfenstein after something above lets up (before the October release wave starts again?) I'd also still really love to get to Shenmue, but apparently the ports are buggy at the moment so I'll likely defer this until it's properly patched.
Stuff I'm interested in for October
5th: Assassin's Creed Odyssey
9th: The Occupation
26th: Red Dead Redemption 2
30th: Call of Cthulhu
These are things I'm keeping a tab on but realistically I don't think I will be able to get to all of them. It'll likely depend on how free I am during each of these games' releases.
As always, thanks for all your support and feel free to let me know your thoughts and/or suggestions on anything in the comments. Have a wonderful September!
Welonz
2018-09-13 16:49:01 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone,
Time for a August update! Releases are picking up again so I think this month is pretty well-cut out for me in terms of content. This is going to be a lengthier post though because I'm trying to prepare for the next poll - be sure to check out the very last section if that's something you're interested in.
TL;DR
- Metro series is done. After a break, Wolfenstein will be next.
- State of Mind, Unavowed, Shenmue 1 for the rest of this month
- WITCHER 3 ON MONDAY
- Feel free to suggest games for the next poll after Wolfenstein is done
Currently on the channel:
- Metro: Last Light just ended today. I may return to the small DLC levels closer to Metro Exodus's release but this'll be it for now. This was the second of the three winners in the previous poll and I'll be tackling the last winner, Wolfenstein: The New Order, next. The Metro and Wolfenstein series have some similarities though (shooting and... nazis???) so I think I will take a slight break to focus on a few smaller things first.
- I've finished the preview version of State of Mind and will be continuing after its full release on Aug 15. This game seems to have gone under most people's radar so far but is a high quality sci-fi adventure game from what I've seen. I hope it picks up some well-deserved steam by the full release!
Coming up shortly:
- WITCHER 3. Monday, August 13, 2018. That is all.
- Have been hearing many good things about Unavowed (released: Aug 8) already. Can't wait to dig into it very very soon!
- Shenmue 1 (release: Aug 22). Really excited about this as well, although a little cautious of how it'll fare in comparison to more "modern" games.
And that's probably enough of keep me occupied for the whole of August!
On the topic of polls
After some thought in the past few months, I'm going to go about the polls slightly differently next time: up until now I've considered factors like genre, game length, etc, but it may be easier to forgo all that and simply play the (one) top winner from each poll and then cycle onto the next poll. (If there are ties, I'll simply hold a tiebreaker poll.) As much as I've been enjoying the L.A. Noire → Metro series → Wolfenstein series three-way-poll-winner-tie marathon, I think doing it this way will allow quicker poll turnaround time and newer patrons can have their vote count sooner too.
Here's a preliminary list of what I've got jotted down for the poll AFTER I finish Wolfenstein: The New Order:
- Banner Saga 1
- Cat Lady
- Child of Light
- Deus Ex (2000)
- Dishonored 1
- Grim Fandango Remastered
- Hollow Knight
- Longest Journey
- Prey: Mooncrash
- Quantum Break
- System Shock 2
- Talos Principle
- VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
- Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (I haven't played The New Order yet but I imagine we should save a slot for it anyway lol)
- Yakuza 0
If there's anything not in the list that you'd love to see, feel free to suggest it in the comments below and I'll consider it for the next poll! Patreon polls allow up for up to 20 options so there's no reason to not go nuts and fill it all out.
These are basically games that:
1) have been requested multiple times
2) are considered "timeless classics"
3) have been in previous polls already because of 1) or 2)
For series with presquels/sequels/spin-offs, I am explicitly considering just the first game. If I liked the first game, the next game from that series will be put in the poll after.
I'll be playing the top winner from each poll for sure, but because these are basically from my own pool of stuff to get around to anyway, I might also pick up some "non poll winners" from time to time (e.g. Cat Lady in October for Halloween seems like a no brainer). This type of poll also only considers older games for now but I imagine we might have alternate polls in busier months to decide what new releases to prioritize.
I feel like this may be kinda confusing but it makes sense in my head... I think!! Anyway, it will still be likely over a month before I finish Wolfenstein so nothing's set in stone yet. Let's go with this thought and see how it works out. Suggestions to improve this process are welcome as well.
Have a great August!
Welonz
2018-08-11 20:06:19 +0000 UTC
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TL;DR
- Witcher 2 and Metro 2033 Redux will finish this month.
- No big releases in the next two months - likely going to spend some time with the indie titles
- Witcher 3 will start soon! (est. mid to late August)
Hi everyone,
Hope you're enjoying the sunshine in July (or a more wintery season if you're around Australia)! The weather's been really nice in Canada - not too hot, but not too cold. I hope it's nice and comfy where you are too.
May/June was quite hectic with all the lengthy new games, but I had a more restful pace in the past 2 weeks and I'm feeling ready to pick it up again.
I'm now at the very end bit of Witcher 2! I'm also ~40% through reading the last book (which everyone tells me I should finish before starting 3). If all goes well, I'm hoping to start Witcher 3 in mid to late August.
Metro 2033 is also coming to a finish. The plan is definitely to continue on with Last Light, but since Exodus isn't until next year, I haven't decided if it will be immediately yet. I also have Wolfenstein: The New Order in the queue from the winners of the previous poll, so whatever comes after 2033 will likely be one of these two. (New polls will probably start up again once these are cleared up!)
Overall, July is pretty quiet for big releases but there's a few smaller titles I'm paying attention to:
I haven't seen very much attention around these titles but all of them look promising from the promotional footage.
Looking ahead into August, there's also:
Unavowed is the new point-and-click adventure game from Wadjet Eye Games (whose games I haven't really played on the channel before but I'm a fan of), and as for Shenmue, some of you may know that I have been really itching to play a game set in Hong Kong for a loooong time now. I'm really quite looking forward to both these games in August.
That's what I've got jotted down for now although I'm always on the look out for more. If there's anything I'm missing that you think I'd be interested in, do feel free to let me know!
Thanks as always for your support, and have a wonderful July!
Welonz
2018-07-06 22:33:06 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone, just wanted to give a heads up: this campaign will change to the charge up front payment model on July 1.
This does not affect any pre-existing patrons (as of before July 1) and no action is required on your part. This change is mainly being made to ensure fairness in voting in polls.
As you may already be aware, the majority of Patreon campaigns had been operating on an uncommon model of collecting pledges at the end of the month rather than the moment you decide to pledge. This has historically allowed a loophole where people are able to pledge to a campaign, receive all rewards, unpledge before the month ends, essentially receiving all benefits of the rewards for free.
Patreon has recently made the "charge up front" option available to everybody. Although I haven't been hugely impacted by the above problem as I use Patreon as more of an optional tip jar (thank you all again for being here!!), a switch to charge up front will close out ambiguity in regards to voting in polls: up until now it would have been possible to vote, lower a pledge to below the voting tier/unpledge, and still have the vote count in the finalized poll.
Using June as an example:
The current situation
- You can make a pledge any time from June 1 to June 30. You will be charged on July 1 to being a June patron.
The new situation
- Existing patrons: Nothing changes. Pledges continue to be collected on the 1st of each month. You will be charged on July 1 for being a patron in July. (Technically, this means patronage in June will be free!)
- New patrons: You can pledge any time within the month, e.g. June 15, and be charged on that day for being a patron for that month. On the first of the following month, e.g. July 1, you will return to being charged for the month after.
For more detailed information (esp. in regards to changing pledge tiers in the middle of a month), see this official article from Patreon here.
I've had a long read at all the documentation and overall I think this will be a positive change to ensure poll fairness especially considering how often we get close results, but if you have any concerns, please feel free to let me know (before July 1!)
Have a great end of June,
Welonz
2018-06-24 18:36:07 +0000 UTC
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TL;DR
- Everything I'm playing right now will finish soon
- Metro 2033 (and maybe more Vampyr) after that
- Witcher 3 on the horizon...!
Hi all,
May was a super busy month! I said I was going to take it easy but it didn't turn out that way at all... oops. So many games, so little time. Anyways, here's a quick update on the channel for the rest of June or so.
I'll be wrapping up all that I'm currently playing in the next 1-2 weeks:
- God of War
- Detroit: Become Human
- The Magic Circle (you may have missed that I started Part 1 in late May but paused it in favour of finishing other stuff first - really neat little indie game)
I've also finished Witcher 2 although I'll be checking out the alternate path soon. I think this will finish "for real" sometime in July.
There aren't many releases I'm interested in July or August, so after all the above wraps up, I think this will be a good time to start Metro 2033 (finally). I also took a quick look at Vampyr a few days ago that I may go back to. That'll probably keep me occupied until the end of June and I'll leave the rest for future me to think about!
To actually plan ahead a bit: Witcher 2 coming to a finish brings up the logical next step of Witcher 3. I'm super excited about this but also a bit hesitant from a time commitment point of view - this will no doubt be the longest game I will play on the channel (ever??), which means I will be forgoing dozens of other games in the meantime. Recalling the previous polls where Dishonored, The Longest Journey, and the Witcher series all had a high number of votes, I feel like I should also slot in those games when I get a chance to. I will update more on this when I figure out something more concrete.
I have to say that it's pretty surreal to finally get close to Witcher 3. The three games combined have always seemed incredibly daunting to take on for various reasons (1 is quite dated, 3 is massively lengthy, need to read the books for best experience etc etc). This is the first series that directly came about as something you guys voted as wanting to see, and I might still be hesitating to start it today if it weren't for that, so really, thanks for supporting me in experiencing this series!
Grateful for your support, and I hope you have a wonderful sunny June!
Welonz
2018-06-07 22:46:00 +0000 UTC
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Quick May update!
TL;DR
- Witcher 2 continues
- Forgotton Anne, Omensight, The Council Episode 2 on the 15th
- Detroit: Become Human on the 25th
Full details:
The Witcher 2 - I'm currently in Chapter 2 (of 3), but apparently this is the longest chapter so I don't think the end is anywhere in sight!
After the end of L.A. Noire, I'm looking at these new titles for the short game slot:
Somehow all three of these games come out on the same day (15th)... I want to try them all out but will probably prioritize The Council and Forgotton Anne if I can't get around to all three. (P.S. I still haven't forgotten about the Metro series/Wolfenstein but am pushing up new releases first.)
Finally, David Cage the Golden God's latest masterpiece Detroit: Become Human wraps up the month on the 25th. Really looking forward to all sorts of entertainment this one will bring (lol)
On a more personal note:
I found April's Witcher/L.A. Noire/God of War schedule to be a little stressful, so I'm hoping to wind down a little this month. No worries about stuff like "burning out" - I get stressed about not being able to play all the games but never feel like I don't want to play them!
I've also been dealing with some family health issues at home which has been emotionally draining and quite hectic. It's not at the point where it'll affect the channel but I guess I want to give a heads up as it's something that could change rapidly. I feel alright on all fronts as I'm writing this now, so hopefully that's something that continues!!
Have a great May, and thanks as always for the support,
Welonz
2018-05-11 17:13:09 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone, quick update on what's been going on/will go on for the rest of this month!
TL;DR:
- L.A. Noire and Witcher 2 will continue through April and beyond
- God of War on the horizon (April 20)
Full details:
The Witcher 2 - I think I'm nearing the end of the first chapter (of three) so Witcher 2 will probably be around for a few more months.
L.A. Noire - At the current pace of 1 case 1 video, this series will probably end in early May.
For the "short slot" this month, I got sidetracked by Doki Doki Literature Club which I randomly decided to do for April Fool's. (It actually turned out to be a neat game despite the "memey" reputation!) Metro (and Wolfenstein) haven't been forgotten and I expect to get around to them at the next available free slot.
Last but not least God of War comes out on the 20th. I wasn't keen on it initially as I haven't played the first 3, but those incredibly high review scores have me sold and I'm looking forward to what might be the first "heavyweight" AAA title of 2018.
In May, I'm looking at:
Not too sure about Dark Souls but Soulsborne titles are requested pretty often so I'm at least on the lookout for it. Detroit comes out on the same day though, so even if I go for it it probably won't be right at launch.
Feel free to let me know about any other upcoming releases you're interested in seeing me play, and as always, thanks for supporting the channel! Have a great rest-of-April.
Welonz
2018-04-16 17:01:27 +0000 UTC
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It looks like the majority of people are interested in me continuing on with the Witcher 2 so that'll be happening very very soon!
Again: I do plan on getting around to the other choices as well (actually get asked about Dishonored quite a bit), so for those who'd like to see one of those choices, I'm hoping I can fit those in somewhere down the line as well.
Have a great rest-of-March!
Welonz
2018-03-20 16:58:59 +0000 UTC
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Witcher 1 is finishing up and I'd like to re-check opinions on these other games first! (See the March channel update for full details.)
I'm going to limit it to 1 poll response per person to make the winner more clear-cut. As always, I'm interested in all these titles so even if it doesn't win right now, I still intend on getting around to them eventually - just not immediately!
2018-03-13 17:12:10 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone, quick March update! Apologies that it's almost halfway through already, it's been busy times all around.
TL;DR:
- Witcher 1 slot → Patreon vote for next game
- SoTC slot → L.A. Noire
- Short game slot → The Council, #WarGames, Metro 2033 Redux
- Discord server is up and running!
The full details:
Many things are coming to an end this month on the channel:
- Long/"older but classic games" slot: The Witcher 1 is finishing
- Medium slot: Shadow of the Colossus is finishing
- Short slot: Orwell Season 2 will finish on March 22
To take the medium slot: In regards to the three way tie in the poll we had - I'm gonna first start with L.A. Noire. There aren't many things going on with the short slot this & next month, so once L.A. Noire is comfortably underway, I plan to also move into Metro 2033 Redux. Wolfenstein hasn't been forgotten - I took into consideration that both Metro and Wolf are FPSes and Metro Exodus is out later this year, so I'd simply like to prioritize that first!
To take the long slot: the obvious choice is to move into Witcher 2, but before deciding right off the bat I'd like to throw it back to a Patreon vote. Back in October when the vote where W1 won happened, The Longest Journey and Dishonored tailed 1 and 2 votes behind it respectively. AFAIK they're both shorter than Witcher 2 so I'd like to see if opinions have changed before I commit to something that lengthy again first. You should see a poll for this by the time this post is published!
Other stuff I'm casually keeping an eye that I might get around to:
- Mar 13: The Council (I mentioned in the Feb update that I thought it came out then but I was mistaken)
- Mar 14: #WarGames (new interactive story from Sam Barlow, creator of Her Story)
The Discord Server
I've added the Discord role integration to Patreon! I think I set up correctly but please let me know if anything is off. It's currently only open to all of you on Patreon, so I anticipate it to be small but chill and peaceful. Feel free to pop in and hang out any time!
As always, thanks for the support, and cheers to a great rest-of-March.
Welonz
2018-03-13 17:09:39 +0000 UTC
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Results for the Feb vote are out!
We have a three way tie between L.A. Noire, Metro 2033, and Wolfenstein: TNO. That's... not what I expecting and I'm not sure how to proceed from here! Should I just go in alphabetical order? From shortest (estimated) to longest playtime? Re-poll with only these 3 options?!?
It's still going to be a bit more before I finish up SoTC so I'll have a think about it in the meantime. Your interest in all three of them has been noted though, so I'd like to get around to all three of them if time allows.
As for the topic of Discord: most of you seem interested in at least trying it out, so I'll be looking to get something going by the March update. I'll keep it Patron-only for the time being as mentioned previously to see how it works out first. I don't imagine much moderation will be required since it's a pretty small number of people here but we'll give it a go first and take it from there!
Hope you all have a great rest-of-February!
Welonz
2018-02-21 18:50:04 +0000 UTC
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I'll be starting Shadow of the Colossus soon, but I'll looking for a medium-length (~10-30 hour-ish game) for March after that. Feel free to vote up to 5 titles.
Steam links below!
2018-02-12 22:34:46 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! First month of the new year's already over - amazing how fast time flies. I hope you are all doing well. February's likely going to be a video-packed month so I'll try to be concise!
Continuing off January, as of this post I'm playing:
- The Witcher 1 (long series)
- Night in the Woods (semi-long series, almost done)
- I'll be starting The Fall very soon (short series)
I'm quite liking this pacing I've found here as it lets me take a look at a good mix of AAA and indie games, old and new.
For February releases, I'm interested in:
These will probably keep me occupied for the month. I don't see much in March aside from the Farewell episode of LIS Before the Storm, so I'll be opening up a poll in a few days to look for something to fill the "semi-long" slot then (~10-30 hours). So far, I've got these jotted down:
- Far Cry 5 (release on Mar 27)
- Hollow Knight
- L.A. Noire
- Metro 2033 Redux
- Quantum Break
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
Some thoughts on the poll choices:
- I've only ever played 3 in the Far Cry series and while I never got the impression that story is Far Cry's strongest suit, the trailers for 5 seem promising. I'll be keeping an eye on reviews to see if the narrative is engaging at all.
- Hollow Knight sticks out among the AAA choices up there as an indie metroidvania platformer, but I've seen tons of good things about it which is why it's here. A free content expansion is coming out in "early 2018" though so I might wait for that before diving in.
- I'll probably get around to Metro 2033/Last Light soon regardless of poll results to get ready for Exodus, but figured I'd check out the interest levels on it anyway.
- Feel free to throw any other similarly-lengthed suggestions in the comments!
And that's it for the video content updates this month, but I do have another question: do you have any interest in a Discord server?
I'm really not a heavy online chatter at all but I figure it could be a nice place for all of you to interact (and also it's an easy way to me for add another perk to this whole Patreon thing lol). If so, preliminarily, I think I'd open it up to Patreon supporters (all tiers) and see how it goes before expanding it. If there's interest in this, I'd also love some help setting up/running the server since I have no clue about any of that...!
As always, thanks for all your ongoing support, and feel free to ask me anything you're wondering about in the comments below!
Welonz
2018-02-05 20:45:13 +0000 UTC
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Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2018 is off to a great start so far. I had a pretty good 2 weeks-ish of holiday in December but am now back at the grind, and it feels like no holiday ever happened... Needless to say it's all going very well on my end :'))))) Something something, c'est la vie, something!
Anyway!! This is what's happening on the channel this month:
- The Witcher 1 (long series, probably 50+? total parts)
- Night in the Woods (semi-long series, 25-30?? parts)
- Stories Untold (short series, 4 parts)
The first two are probably going to keep me occupied for the rest of January. For the last short series slot though: I don't see any major releases I'm interested in this month (and the next, really), so I'm thinking this may be a good time to check out some games I've wanted to play but never got around to. I'll likely be looking at shorter games (like Stories Untold) or a first look type video for longer games.
There are a few indie titles I'm keeping an eye out for January (links go to Steam page):
There's not much information out there for Anamorphine even though it's less than a week away from release so it looks like it could be a hit or miss. On the other hand, The Red Strings Clubs is made by Deconstructeam. They've previously made Gods Will Be Watching, which I haven't played but heard good things about. I'm optimistically excited about that one!
That seems to be it for January though which I guess is to be expected as the busy December holiday season comes to an end. If there's any cool games that have flown under my radar, do feel free to drop a comment and let me know.
Have a great rest of January and thanks as always for your support,
Welonz
2018-01-10 17:43:18 +0000 UTC
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Hey all, quick overview of the channel this month (although we are half-way through now...!)
First of all - Patreon decided to halt the planned service fee changes I mentioned in the last post, meaning that everything is back to status quo. Woohoo! Thanks for sticking around even through all of that uncertainty. I do feel like I have a duty to be at least research into Patreon's competitors (Drip, Liberapay, Ko-fi) because of the whole debacle, but for the moment, I'll be staying right here.
Back to the channel. I'm currently playing:
and I'm enjoying both immensely! (although maybe one less than the other since I'm always scared, but anyway.............) The Witcher in particular I thought was going to be rather rough to play but it ended up being completely okay?? Maybe I have a much higher tolerance for old mechanics/graphics than I thought!
Today, I'll also be starting Finding Paradise, which I think will be a short series that I can hopefully finish before the last episode of LIS: Before the Storm drops next week. I don't think I've mentioned it before but I have played To The Moon before I did the whole recording thing, which is why I'm "starting" with the sequel here.
I also haven't forgotten about Night in the Woods. This one is likely going to be a longer title that I can't "squeeze in" though, so I'm planning to start it after SOMA ends.
That's probably going to keep me occupied for the rest of the year. I'm really excited even just looking at the list -- 2017 has been a really awesome for video gaming.
Anyway, that's all I got! Let me know if you have any questions/ideas/comments below and I'll get back to you. Happy holidays, and as always, thank you for all your support.
Welonz
TL;DR December = Witcher 1, SOMA, Finding Paradise, LIS: BTS, Night in the Woods.
2017-12-15 17:49:30 +0000 UTC
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12/13 EDIT: Patreon has decided to suspend all announced changes. No change to status quo; the post below will be left here for posterity.
----
Hi all,
You should have received an official email from Patreon regarding their new fee structure. If you haven't read into it yet, TL;DR: new service fees will be added on top of your pledge amount. Please see this article for the full details.
I actually didn't even receive any notification of these fee changes and had to find out on social media myself, and looking around, I haven't seen a single creator nor patron happy about this. I'm hopeful that the backlash will make Patron think again, but there's no guarantee that they'll deviate from their plans.
Thanks as always for all of your patronage and I totally understand if these increased fees mess up budgeting and whatnot. Before December 31, 2017, please make sure to check and adjust your pledges to a level you're comfortable with!
I'll be keeping an eye on this situation and keep you updated on any changes.
Welonz
EDIT: 10 minutes after posting this, Patreon has come out with a more detailed post explaining their rationale here.
2017-12-07 23:39:15 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone,
Vote results are out! These are all games will be released or have a major update in December. Black Mesa's Xen update delay was announced halfway through the poll though, so I've taken it out of consideration for now. Probably not a bad thing seeing as how much is going on this month!
I'm interested in all of these titles as I mentioned previously but I will be using these poll results to guide my decision in prioritizing stuff, AKA yes, I've taken note that people really really want to see Night in the Woods and SOMA!
Unfortunately if you've seen my Twitter, you may know that I forgot to account for something pretty big: I got Invisalign (clear braces) this past week and it's been lowering my recording productivity to a near zero. The speaking difficulties I'm experiencing are lessening day by day but it may be a bit before I can ramp things back up again. I'm optimistic that I should be fine in 1-2 weeks... !
In any case, I hope you're all having a lovely beginning of December! Thanks again for all your support.
2017-12-03 19:05:45 +0000 UTC
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11/24 EDIT: Black Mesa Dev announced delay (again). I'd like to wait until Xen is out so I won't be counting it in the poll.
Hey everyone, there's a bunch of games slated to release in December that I'm interested in! I haven't decided on which ones of these I'm most excited (or scared...) about yet. Ideally, I want to get around to all of them, but I'd also like to see which ones you're most interested in seeing. Feel free to vote up to 4 of these titles. (11/24 EDIT: 3 now, not 4!)
Steam page links:
2017-11-23 18:50:10 +0000 UTC
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Hey all, quick update on November happenings on the channel! Meant to get this out a little earlier but these past few weeks have been super crazy for me IRL so apologies for that!
CURRENT STUFF
- NieR Automata: hoping to finish this up by the end of Nov/early Dec
- Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds: this DLC seems to be longer than I anticipated, but I'm also hoping to finish this up by end of Nov/early Dec
I haven't been able to consider starting anything shorter to accompany these two since it's been crazy lately but I'm hoping that will change soon.
UPCOMING STUFF
I've been getting Witcher 1 ready (thanks Black Swan for the comprehensive mods list) so I'm hoping to get that started when NieR or Horizon finishes up. I'm very excited but also a little apprehensive since many people have warned me that it's quite dated at this point. I think many voted for the Witcher series in the poll because of the Witcher 3 -- I'll definitely get around to it whatever my opinion on 1 and 2 may be, but I'd like to at least give the origins a try first.
New releases-wise, I don't see much in November, but December looks like there's a ton of cool stuff: on top of LIS BTS Ep 3, there's Black Mesa (w/ Xen update), Night in the Woods Weird Autumn Edition, OKAMI HD, and Finding Paradise. I'll have more free time in December but these are all lengthy titles so I'm sort of doubtful I can get around to all of them right at release time. I'll make a poll later on to see what you are all most interested in seeing.
Once again, thank you for all of your continued support! Feel free to leave any suggestions/questions/whatnot in the comments.
2017-11-10 07:13:46 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone,
The vote for the next long series ended and the winner is The Witcher series!
This week, I'll be aiming to finish up LIS Before the Storm Ep 2 and possibly checking out Hidden Agenda. The Horizon Zero Dawn DLC is coming out in the first week of November too, so I'm guestimating that The Witcher 1 will start around mid-November. (I made a poll on Twitter previously where the majority mentioned they would like to see me at least try starting with 1 as opposed to jumping straight to 2 or 3.)
I'm really interested in every game here so I have definitely taken note that the votes between all of them were pretty evenly distributed (esp. The Longest Journey). Maybe something like The Witcher → The Longest Journey → Dishonored 1 → etc etc.. could happen, but for now, we'll start with The Witcher 1 and figure the rest out along the way.
Thanks to those who participated in the vote, and hope you all have a lovely rest of October!
PS. I'm researching into "mandatory" mods to update The Witcher 1's playability. Feel free to throw me any suggestions!
2017-10-22 20:09:37 +0000 UTC
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I'm about to finish up Zero Time Dilemma which will free up a "longer game" slot for me to look at some lengthier series. Feel free to vote for multiple options, but preferably under 4 so we can actually have a winner!
Dishonored series: first-person action immersive-sim that casts you as a supernatural assassin driven by revenge.
The Longest Journey series: classic point-and-click adventure about April Ryan's journey between parallel universes.
The Witcher series: open-world fantasy RPGs surrounding Geralt, a monster hunter.
Yakuza 0: open-world 1980s Japan RPG revolving around the Japanese mafia.
I'm quite interested in everything in the poll here, so this is more of a decider for the order I'll be playing them in (as opposed to writing off games that don't win).
PS. I previously mentioned the Metro series, but with the new one coming out next year, I'm likely to get around to it anyway so I didn't include it in the poll.
2017-10-11 19:17:09 +0000 UTC
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