I have been loving this game. The game play is exactly what I want out of a shooter. It’s fast, methodical, snappy, and tense. I had grown tired of the over the top, fast paced non-stop action of shooters like Battlefield or Call of Duty. I remember playing Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and wanted a game that would hit that same spot. Ready or Not has done exactly that. The guns and gear feel amazing to use and look great. The customization isn’t the most in depth but it works great and is enjoyable. I especially love unlocking new watches and tattoos. The levels are gorgeous, fun, and challenging. Some of the story is quite over the top and heavy handed, I would have preferred it to be more subtle and nuanced. It tends to give off copaganda vibes. Which is a bit icky but I get over it because I enjoy the game so much. The AI in the game isn’t the best but it’s certainly good enough to have a lot of fun with, at least while I’ve been playing. It seems to have been a pretty tough spot in the game’s development, which is a big part of why I put off this game for so long. Hopefully it continues to improve as they work on the game more. I played through the campaign once, and really enjoyed it. The pacing of the levels felt great, levels got larger, more difficult, and more complicated as they go on, ending with a massive shipping yard in a rainstorm, uncovering secrets of a massive, horrifying operation. I have yet to complete the game in ironman mode, despite attempting it many times. It’s simply far too easy to make a small mistake that ends the entire run. I’m quite determined to complete, and hopefully I’ll be able to write another post once I do. There are two DLCs out for the game which I don’t own, but I’m planning to get and play them eventually and I will be making more blog posts for those as well. There’s even modded maps which I haven’t even tried yet. I think I’ll be playing this game for a while. I’m really loving it.
My typical loadout
Subnautica (2018)
Posted
Subnautica is one of those games that I wanted to play ever since I first heard of it but for some reason never played it, whether that’s because it seemed too scary, too hard, or just not my type of game. In this case, it seemed too scary, far too scary. I have a bit of a fear of water, and I’m sure you know this game takes place almost entirely underwater. The first time I played Subnautica, I did it in VR, and boy that sure was a mistake. Being underwater in virtual reality is just a bit too real for me and stressed me out too much. I only managed one play session like that and thought I was going to give up on the game. I had given up so much that I actually watched my favorite youtuber do a full playthough of the game and had every part of the story spoiled for me. Watching that series was amazing and actually made me want to play the game. It reignited that desire I had to play it, despite that fact that I already knew everything about the story. I am so glad that I did play it for myself. The experience of playing it for myself was completely different that watching someone else play it. Every story beat still had impact and the world was just as immersive. Subnautica is honestly a masterpiece of open world exploration. Making my way around the world without a map makes it such a personal experience. Being responsible for mapping it out yourself makes it feel like such a personal experience. The waypoints you guide yourself with are ones you place yourself. I took notes in my notebook to remember where certain resources were. I simultaneously felt completely lost and like I knew exactly where I was. I discovered and mapped routes through dangerous locations which I could travel through with ease, but if I strayed to far the world became just as alien as it was when I first landed in my escape pod. Beating the game and escaping on the Neptune rocket felt like I was leaving home. A game hasn’t made me feel that way in a long time. Subnautica has reignited may passion for videogames and I can’t thank it enough for that.
My beautiful yellow submarine "The Swan"
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001)
Posted
I played Jak and Daxter as a kid but I never finished it because I sucked at videogames. I vividly remember one particular mission that I spent forever trying to beat but never could. There was a field of purple, infested plants that you had to chop down with a hover bike. I tried over and over to do it but they just kept growing back before I could chop them all down. I gave up and never picked the game back up. But now that I’m an adult and suck a lot less I literally beat it on my second try. It was so easy. I was shockingly bad at games back then. As a kid the world of Jak and Daxter captivated me. I wanted to know more about it. The aesthetics of it were so cool to me, and I still find them rather charming. The gameplay was simple, but enjoyable. Basically what you would expect from a platformer. I was able to 100% the game in around 9 hours. There were a few platforming challenges that were tedious and frustrating, but thankfully save states on emulators are very helpful for stuff like that. It was a pretty short and fun game. I’m glad I was able to finally beat it and I’m looking forward to Jak II!
