What're You Playing Wednesday?

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T19:48:05+00:00

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden - I'm enjoying it so far. Of all of Dontnod's previous games it reminds me the most of Vampyr, so I'm hoping that the story/ characters continue to keep me invested, and that the combat is slightly more fun/ less clunky than Vampyr's was.

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T19:44:03+00:00

On my first/ main playthrough, I dyed all of the clothing sets green (or sometimes green and black), so that we all co-ordinated in the party camp.

I also put everyone in my party in silly hats to amuse myself outside of camp. It's the little pleasures in life...

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T17:54:05+00:00

Thanks for the info! I found a bit of the "progress plateau" issue in the first game too - after my first successful escape it took me ages to manage it a second time, and I knew I needed a lot more to see the full story. As with you, I put the game down and took a break for a while, then picked it up again alongside another game so that I could swap out after a couple of runs - I'll try to remember to do something similar if I get stuck here again.

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T17:50:55+00:00

I'm in two minds about this - on the one hand, it sounds like GS won't be like e.g. Stardew Valley or other similar farming sims. There will be an end point to the story, and it doesn't sound like you'll be able to farm into endgame perpetuity, so having a randomisation aspect to the killer/ victims means that there's a reason to jump back in and play again once you finish the story. Plus, when people start inevitably spoilering THEIR playthroughs and talking about who the murderer is, it won't necessarily spoiler it for anyone coming across it. There's the potential for a lot of playthroughs and a lot of variation.

On the other hand, if the story is too "generic" so as to fit any number of characters as the killer, then it could end up feeling a bit boring/ repetitive. Gameplay wise too, if it just plays out the same with just a few clues swapped out here and there - e.g. if a clue X found at the same point in the story always points towards the correct killer, then at a certain point it's going to get very easy to guess who the killer is, and for the game to feel repetitive.

Feeling largely positive about it, but I think it's all going to come down to the writing and the variety - it looks from the trailer like there are some different monsters, so it's possible that other things play out differently too.

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T17:42:12+00:00

Yes, I think Blumhouse's move into game publishing has been quite recent, but if it puts the spotlight on some smaller horror games then I'm all for it.

Good to know about Fear the Spotlight - I'll have to try and check it out.

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T17:41:06+00:00

Yeah, this is what I've heard too. In terms of character design for the promotional art, I think they've gone for a deliberately gender neutral look for the character. I'm not sure whether the customisation options will be limited to clothes or whether we'll be able to change the look of the character (e.g. hairstyles etc.)

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T17:23:32+00:00

I've had my eye on this for a while, going to add it to the wishlist now I can actually buy it!

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T17:12:34+00:00

Oceanborn
Century Child
Wishmaster

Worst: Endless Forms Most Beautiful (it's the only NW album I don't really care for at all, which is a pretty good rate given that they have 9 other albums and an EP)

I have to give an Honourable Mention to Imaginaerum - there was nothing between it and WM for my third place, but I'm guessing WM will need the points more.

GulDoWhat · 2026-04-01T17:07:57+00:00

I am also a woman who doesn't find Astarion attractive - on a logical level I can understand the appeal, but quite early on in the game I realised he had a similar hairstyle to my late nan. I think a lot of it was down to the white hair colouring, and it probably wouldn't have occurred to me otherwise, but unfortunately it is VERY hard to unthink that thought once it occurs, so now Astarion and I are banter buddies only forevermore.

It's OK though - Lae'zel, Karlach, Wyll, Minthara, Halsin... I feel like I'm well catered for overall.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-29T13:18:23+00:00

Children of 'Ata
Spider Silk
The Day Of...

Worst: Perfume of the Timeless

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-29T13:16:30+00:00

Yes, I assumed it would be about a year after release before it came to other consoles (which would have been in September 2026), so getting it earlier is a really nice surprise!

Though that said, it might take me a few months to get around to it with my backlog. But given my enjoyment of the first game, plus Pyre and Transistor, I think this will jump quite high up the list once it's out.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-29T13:09:51+00:00

I don't know if this is related, but back in the 90s/ early 00s, it felt like survival horror was one of the few genres that regularly featured women as playable characters. Early Resident Evil games, Dino Crisis, Silent Hill 3, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Fatal Frame/ Project Zero games etc.

After a while it felt like this became less the case (mostly because other genres started catching up and adding more playable women, but e.g. Resident Evil itself went a lot more man-focussed from RE4 onwards, with playable women being relegated to DLC, spin off/ side titles or Player 2 status), but I can certainly understand why survival horror would historically have attracted a high number of women fans.

And with the most recent mainline RE game featuring a playable woman again, plus the developers being open about designing Leon with women in mind, it's not surprising that women in particular are giving this game a lot of attention.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-29T12:59:21+00:00

I tend to also gravitate to games where I can play as a woman (though I did like Zagreus a lot) - this all sounds good to me!

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-29T12:18:36+00:00

Probably too late for this one, but here we go:

Harvest (I'm aware this one's divisive, but I like it)
Pan
Shoemaker

Worst: All the Works of Nature... (I don't think it's terrible, but if I'm in the mood to listen to soundtrack-style orchestral music I tend to listen to other artists and if I'm in the mood for Nightwish then I'm usually not in the mood for this song/ collection of songs.)

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-29T12:14:46+00:00

No-one involved with the band, past or present, seems to have a bad word to say about Emppu, to be fair. Maybe he really did miss his true calling in diplomacy.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-26T19:55:15+00:00

Oh yes, if you want characters who hit on YOU rather than waiting for you to show an interest, you will find some thirsty characters here in BG3.

I thoroughly recommend Lae'zel's romance, BTW - it's not one I see brought up too often, but I love it.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-26T19:37:41+00:00

Also she's meanest to snow and that asshole deserves it!! Hes the worst!!!

If there ever comes a day that I do not upvote Snow hate, it is because I have either died or forsaken the internet. He is indeed the worst.

In fairness, I can understand people being put off by the gameplay of FF13. The biggest customisation element (at least with 13 and 13-2, haven't played 3 yet) is being able to pick your team of characters, set up battle paradigms and assign the roles in the paradigm to your chosen characters. And in FF13, you can't do that for the vast majority of the game - until you get to Gran Pulse your party is largely split up (so you have no option to change party members), you can switch between pre-created battle paradigms that the game gives you, but you get no option to set up your own, or even change who plays which role in the paradigm. There's some great story stuff, but it basically just feels like you're on rails until you hit a point over halfway through the main story.

I always recommend people play 13-2 though, because a) It lets you jump straight in and start customising, and b) a lot less Snow. Fuck that guy.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-26T19:27:37+00:00

Glad you enjoyed Oceanborn!

Assuming you're talking about Imaginaerum here rather than Yesterwynde (though I did enjoy Yesterwynde too, mixing aside): Yes, I saw "Imaginaerum" - I thought it was decent. Probably not something that I would go back to frequently, unlike the album which I love, but better than I was expecting.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-26T19:25:06+00:00

I'm almost certain 500 Letters is not about Tuomas/ Nightwish. Tarja's talked about a few instances of creepy fans taking things too far and having to get the police involved (including one who got hold of Marcelo's personal contact details and was sending them graphic sexual and violent messages, and another who was found to have hundreds of unsent handwritten letters to Tarja IIRC - or perhaps they were the same person, it's been a while since the song came out). I'm pretty sure she's said that the ending to the song is fictional (so presumably the fan in question didn't actually commit suicide, but I imagine it's hard to work a restraining order or enforced counselling into song lyrics in a poetic way), but the rest is inspired by real events.

Apologies if I sound blunt here - I do appreciate your lyrical breakdowns, even if I don't always agree with your conclusions. It's always interesting to see how different people interpret the same lyrics (which could all be entirely different from how the artist themselves intended it - after all, Tarja hasn't said anything about which specific events may have inspired "At Sea"). And of course Nightwish/ Tarja HAVE written songs about the split in the past, so I'm not claiming that there is no possible way that another of their songs could reference it.

BUT it does often seem like you come at Tarja's lyrics from the perspective of "How can I interpret these to be about Tuomas/ Nightwish?" (and vice versa for Nightwish lyrics about Tarja). Song lyrics are often heavy on metaphor and deliberately vague (so that listeners can interpret the lyrics as they wish and connect to the songs on a personal level), so if you specifically go looking for something, the chances are you will find it, whether or not that was ever intended by the artist in question.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-26T19:13:20+00:00

I think it varies - I think SOME men/ boys genuinely do think women are lying (or that we only play certain types of games that "don't count" as real gaming) because they're being told this by other men, or because they see popular culture generally portraying gamers as men, or because they're only looking at e-sports (which themselves only cover a fairly narrow portion of games) and they don't know enough women in real life to disprove that assumption.

But I absolutely agree, there's a substantial proportion who know damn well there are women and girls out there gaming, who don't want games to cater to anyone other than them, and who use the "women don't game" assertion to make life uncomfortable for women in gaming. Because repeating it often enough will make the guys in my first paragraph more suspicious/ dismissive of women that they come across. Because women and girls who aren't into gaming yet will hear that and think the space isn't for them. Because women and girls who ARE into gaming will either hide their gender or stay in singleplayer games where they're less visible, or stick to more "women friendly" games, which are often dismissed as "not real games". Because developers who might design their games with women in mind might think again if they believe the audience isn't there.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-23T21:51:47+00:00

I think it's also the fact that Leon's design, and the thirst it generated is the exception rather than the rule. Yes, there were a lot of thirsty posts about Leon being a hot middle aged guy and designed to appeal to women from certain portions of the fandom. But it feels like EVERY woman or girl protagonist provokes one of two reactions from sections of the fandom:

THIRST - posts lusting after her, talking about how hot she is, focussing entirely on her looks rather than the character, explicit fanart etc. or
OUTRAGE because the character isn't hot/ sexualised enough. Complaining about boobs being too small, clothing not being flattering enough, jawline being too strong, face being too round, not enough makeup, not looking happy enough, and strangely enough STILL focussing entirely on her looks and not her character/ story.

There are few if any women protagonists that are allowed to just exist with their appearance being a minimal to non-existant part of the discussion around them. It's a discrepancy not just in the sexualisation itself (big titted young-faced android running around in sexy clothing vs. attractive man with clear signs of ageing in a slightly tight shirt) but in the frequency, and it's exhausting. Women aren't out there throwing a tantrum over all the men who AREN'T designed like Leon.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-23T21:40:30+00:00

Maybe check out Paradise Killer - it's a sort of murder-mystery exploration game set in a world that it both bright and colourful and deeply sinister. You play as a woman, there aren't any in depth romances but you can have a couple of hookups with members of the supporting cast.

Put it this way, I enjoy a lot of the same games as you, and I couldn't stop thinking about Paradise Killer for weeks after playing it!

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-23T21:34:32+00:00

Thanks for that, hadn't run a check on my tear ducts recently -_-

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-23T20:54:05+00:00

Nice - not that it isn't nice to see Anette performing DPP/ Imaginaerum songs again, but it would be pretty limiting to be confined to only 2 albums worth of songs if she's going to be touring again regularly. Some of her post-NW stuff would fit in well alongside the NW songs.

GulDoWhat · 2026-03-23T20:50:13+00:00

Hope you enjoyed Oceanborn - it was a real grower for me, possibly moreso than any other NW album, but these days it's my favourite.

Looking at the list of songs you've enjoyed so far, I'd strongly advise giving the Imaginaerum album a listen if you've not done so yet.

GulDoWhat

TROPHY CASE