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My Very Brief Bio

Male, 31 years old. (So I'm practically dead, as we speak.)

Likes (other than writing and roleplaying): I'm into all genres of music. I love to cook. I love the outdoors, and walking through the park near my house. (Yes, really.) I read a lot of thriller/mystery novels. And I usually watch seasonal anime. (Or cooking shows. Because Western Media provides even fewer things that are worth watching.)

But as for my many other neglected hobbies, I've played basically every sport. (Soccer and Bowling being my favorite of the bunch.) And I'm trying to play more video games. (Going through my never-ending Steam library.) Plus, I've dabbled in making electronic & metal music, and I used to play a number of instruments. (Guitar, French Horn, etc.)

My 1X1 Interest Check: SleepingSilence's Tavern (Want 1x1 RP's? Please come in.)


Hope you have a wonderful day!

Most Recent Posts

@Dark Cloud Noble got a 2nd merchant on his own. Mine supposedly used to be heal after a counterattack/rally system via bloodborne. Which made the class OP. Now its heal a tiny itty bit after I counter using an ability. (But I never have skill points.) So I don't think I've ever seen it work. ^-^' (But I don't think class bonuses were ever stated in the tutorial. I just wanted to do anything beside a mage. Because I figured it be easy mode.)

I've seen more positive reviews on the game (Salt&Sanctuary) than negative ones, to be fair. (Then again, I did for Ender Lillies too.) But I'll keep your recommendation in mind. If you think I'd enjoy it, based on all the reviews I post here when I'm bored. :P

Though I have a metric ton of games to go through first.
That's more a skill issue bro, it takes experimentation. I settled on Noble and was fine, didn't use a guide or follow the meta. - @Dark Cloud

The Noble wasn't nerfed through later patches. The Bloodknight was.

Pointing out that my nerfed class hasn't received any new weapons, and only has three weapon abilities that I've unlocked in ten hours of gameplay, isn't a skill issue. It's a literal fact.

I've used the starting axe for my class. And I've received every other type of upgraded and special weapon. So it really feels like I drew the short straw here. (In terms of gameplay variety.) I have less options than if I picked any other class in the game. (And weapon switching is a crapshoot, when I only have axe skills to start with. And it's a huge grind to buy/replace skills.)

Maybe the game's tutorial shouldn't have made it the one melee weapon that stood out & had a different description.

I think learning their attacks is pretty important. As well as y'know playing it safe. Me personally only died to the big giraffe boss, and the stone giant due to Ione's bullshitery. - @Dark Cloud


My only boss death comes from the giraffe boss as well. (AFTER I ALREADY KILLED THE F*CKER. HE KILLED ME AFTER I MADE HIM A CORPSE! But I digress.)

I learned the opposite. Beating everything on the first try, before you can memorize and learn said attack patterns, doesn't really bode well for the importance of attack patterns. I killed the 'makes everything dark boss' with a bunch lightning bombs. Because if the game is going to cheese and obscure his damn attack patterns. I'm going to cheese him right back.

Most enemies in souls games have basic repetitive attacks. -@Dark Cloud


I meant that the enemies are spammed (as in numbers on screen.) Because their not smart or tough enough to beat on their own. So the game forces DS2/HAAK spambush tactics. And their obnoxious (not enjoyable to encounter) in ways that are cheap. Like the enemies mobs that appear and swarm in from off-screen. Or the purple enemies that only take damage from abilities. But they're almost always by themselves, and you have no skill points. (Since you need to attack things first.)

My favorite death thus far, was the game failing to dash me past two purple guys and instead putting me in-between two of them, where I was somehow insta-killed with full health.

Are you saying items to unlock other areas or add new mobility mechanics? Cause Death's Gambit is technically a roguelike so this kind of thing is pretty par for the course. - @Dark Cloud


I'm referring to two particular instances at the moment. One is in the special end game puzzles that you find above the main city. Where one requires you to have a special mage book that you get from a rare encounter. But since ONE class uses high INT, you're going to scrap it for upgrade material. (And if you defend that. Note this is completely arbitrary design. That there's no reason the player would keep it, and that the mechanics outright encourage you to scrap stuff you don't need. Since every upgrade requires a lot more materials.)

The second is that pointless elemental roadblock, where it stops you from going into several levels, until you have access to fire, lightning and dark damage. A genuine waste of time, that isn't even a challenge for the mage or other more skill-varied classes. Is something I only realized I had after I looked it up. Since elements of weapons aren't stated anywhere. (And I fortunately hadn't gotten rid of every weapon I didn't need.)

And no game in this genre that I've played thus far has done something as pointless as this.

Other than that I'd love to hear your opinion on a game like Salt and Sanctuary. -@Dark Cloud


I saw the boss fights and art design. And I sort of chalked it up to an 'Ender Lillies' experience. And concluded that I probably wouldn't like it. (That, and it apparently having both fall damage and no map.) But I can't say anything for certain, since I haven't played it myself. (And don't know anyone firsthand who has.)

Also, pardon the heat. I wrote this while I was hangry.

But yeah. This one is easier to play. (Versus something like Haak or Ender Lillies.) Both in having less challenge and less frustrating exploration. But it's not had any particular highlights or stand outs either. So I'd probably rate this game average at best.

But I am getting to a few late bosses, with slightly more interesting gimmicks. And the ending tends to make/break games for me. So we'll see how it sticks the landing...
I might only be halfway into this. (Since the updated version added a lot more end-game content.) But I don't think my opinion is going to waver too strongly in either direction. So I'm just going to give my thoughts so far on, Death's Gambit Afterlife.

Positives
  • It's level design is competent. (Has enough shortcuts and an underutilized fast-travel horse to cut down on backtracking time.)
  • The exploration and world is done well enough. (Has a decent amount of freedom in what bosses you fight first, and useful secrets to find.) Probably what's kept me engaged thus far.
  • The pixel art and different environments of the areas are nice enough to look at.
  • The game has a sense of humor. (and that's appreciated.)


Neutral/Personal Issues
  • The UI is cluttered. (For various reasons.) Even in its "improved" state.
  • Movement is floaty and not precise. I swear the jump/hover mechanic just doesn't work consistently.
  • I picked the nerfed class that apparently isn't allowed to have any new weapons/skills whatsoever. So I've gotten new and improved items for every single class aside from the one I picked. Gee thanks. And an anon redditor's advice to someone else acknowledging this was, "idk, you can restart the whole game maybe." Fuck. You.
  • The only reoccurring hitch that I've noticed, is the seconds-long pause that it does when I first load my game.


Negative/core elements that make or break most Metroidvanias&Soul-likes.
  • These boss fights suck. Their attacks are poorly telegraphed. Their hitboxes are huge. Each of their attacks do so much damage to your character. And most of them have numerous time-wasting gimmicks on top of that. (Becoming invulnerable and/or invisible, summoning distraction monsters, healing themselves, making the screen dark, etc.) Now onto the cherry on top; I still beat every single one of them on my first try. (Nine bosses total thus far.) Because the game gives you seven improvable health potions right off the bat, and it doesn't feel like I'm outsmarting/outplaying an artificial intelligence. It feels like I'm always tanking hits against these cheating bastards, and killing them with the same hit & run tactics. (Doesn't help that my class only has three abilities.) So the idea that I'm only halfway through, and it forces you to rematch five bosses to get the "true ending", doesn't make me excited.
  • The RPG stats and skill tree are very limited. (Don't get many skill points and don't grind EXP fast.)
  • Enemies are obnoxious and spam-reliant.
  • Stupid design choices (Makes end-game content and road blocks that require you to have certain items that you've likely already scrapped for upgrades. Meaning, have fun grinding.)


So, I won't stop playing yet. But my next session will almost certainly be me wasting my time. (With the only interesting thing is that my friend decided to buy and play it with me. So it might compel me to see it to the end.)

Play Blasphemous instead.



Figured I'd share this too. Would be interested to see others, if they have them.


If there was any 2022 album that I listened to, in such desperate need of a guitar to add a bit of life to their album. It was this group. Almost exactly like this cover does.
I did pretty well this Christmas. Lots of new kitchen stuff, and even more games that I need to play.

Brok The InvestiGator was a mixed bag of entertainment. Worth playing once. (If only it wasn't a game with tons of branching paths and endings...) Its shtick is that it combines a point and click adventure and an old school brawler. But it doesn't do those elements particularly well. In that the combat is fairly simple and a bit clunky. And some of its puzzles are borderline moon logic. (So it spent a lot of time rewarding you with hints. Of varying usefulness.) The best part is probably some of its amusing dialogue and the interrogation segments. But the story has a lot of "mystery box intrigue" and quite a handful of loose ends once you finish.

So when it recommended to find "the canon ending" by "letting the two children remain kidnapped by murderous thugs". I couldn't help but question the decision to punish me after succeeding in a section.

Next game on the list is something I already downloaded, Death's Gambit Afterlife. Also going into this one pretty blind. So we'll see where it ranks...
Merry Christmas everyone.
*checks mirror*

If I say yes, I'm just begging for the winter storm that's supposed to happen tonight. So I'll go with I'm indifferent.

What do you want most (and expect to get) for Christmas?
My Christmas presents always seem to come down to last minute purchases. No matter how early I attempt to get on the ball. But at least I did the majority of it yesterday.

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