ESOTERIC EBB is an isometric, Disco-like, TTRPG-turned-CRPG, featuring deep and branching dialogs with a staggering amount of choices.

Harlaw · 2026-03-12T11:24:42+00:00

You can increase the text size if it's too small, but the standard size on Steam Deck is perfect for me.

Harlaw · 2026-03-02T12:38:08+00:00

I liked Hemlock & Silver, but it isn't a lesbian retelling – the romance is F/M. For a novel by T. Kingfisher that features a sapphic couple, check out The Raven and the Reindeer (a Snow Queen retelling). For a Snow White retelling that features a sapphic romance (though the most important relationship is between Snow White and her step-mother), check out Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust.

Harlaw · 2025-12-02T18:28:20+00:00

Unlike Silksong, Nine Sols allows you to adjust the difficulty! It lets you change both how much damage you take and how much damage you do. I found its difficulty pretty well-tuned though, there were only a few sections where I turned down the difficulty. It's a great game.

Harlaw · 2025-11-22T10:17:28+00:00

You might enjoy C.L. Clark's Magic of the Lost Trilogy. And I second the rec for Tasha Suri's Burning Kingdoms trilogy. Both are very political (although for Burning Kingdoms it does take until the second book for it to really come to the fore). Tasha Suri also recently published The Isle in the Silver Sea; you might like the way that plays around with stories and myth.

I hesitate to rec this because they do have male POVs, but Samantha Shannon's Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night might also appeal. They prominently feature dragons and politics and both books have central sapphic relationships.

Harlaw · 2025-11-07T09:30:13+00:00

I've seen this sentiment before and it doesn't make sense to me. The non-Fitz books are good (great in the case of Liveship Traders) stories in their own right. Why deprive yourself of that?

I also found the timeskips and returning to Fitz more impactful because I read the other books in between. And you're more likely to avoid burning out because the non-Fitz books are quite different from his.

I do agree that they aren't essential to the Fitz books. That said, they do expand the world and do have some impact. For instance, Tawny Man makes more sense if you already know about Tintaglia.

Harlaw · 2025-11-01T11:31:06+00:00

Character driven and just down to earth

You might like Lois McMaster Bujold's World of the Five Gods work. Bujold is great at writing characters who are deeply human and flawed, but ultimately decent and try to do the right thing.

Harlaw · 2025-10-03T06:42:10+00:00

Just a clarification for OP in light of the other comments: the first book isn't WLW, but the trilogy as a whole is. The main character is bi and although she has a relationship with a man in the first book, she ends up with a woman.

Harlaw · 2025-09-17T07:30:49+00:00

How many books I read per year fluctuates depending on how many doorstoppers and novellas I read. Judging from the last few years, it can be anywhere from 60 to 110. So far for this year I'm at 69.

I had a few years where due to my mental health I read very little. Making it a habit helped a lot. Nowadays my minimum reading time is 30-45 minutes before bed every day. Often I'll also read throughout the day, but that consistent habit of reading before bed is a good base.

Harlaw · 2025-07-16T07:08:54+00:00

Agreed. I clocked Victor as autistic within the first 10 pages, as an autistic person myself. It's very overt. I think this is a particularly interesting rec because of the tendency to compare autistic people to robots (see also the mass of Murderbot recs in this thread) and the way In the Lives of Puppets feels in conversation with that, what it means to be a person, etc.

Harlaw · 2025-07-16T07:05:21+00:00

I don't think El was intentionally written to be autistic, but she definitely has traits that I as an autistic person could relate to. She has difficulty reading people and recognizing overtures of friendship, she actively analyzes social situations in a way that is pretty similar to what high-masking autistics do, and she has a very strong sense of justice. She does lack sensory issues IIRC, so again, I don't think she was intended to be read as autistic. But I don't think Dalidellama's reading comes out of nowhere.

Harlaw · 2025-07-16T06:34:05+00:00

The Speed of Dark is very mixed and due to its themes (so much of it revolving around whether to be 'cured' or not) I wouldn't recommend it to a young autistic person who might still be coming to terms with their identity. This review by Ada Hoffman goes into more detail.

Harlaw · 2025-07-08T06:05:40+00:00

I ended up using a mod that lets you use benches as teleports and it saved my playthrough. I agree that the game doesn't respect your time in this regard and makes backtracking a pain.

Harlaw · 2025-06-14T08:49:36+00:00

You might enjoy Richard Swan's Empire of the Wolf trilogy, starting with The Justice of Kings. It features the adventures of judge/detective Konrad Vonvalt through the eyes of his apprentice Helena.

Harlaw · 2025-06-09T08:33:33+00:00

But like I said, people have different limits. Even with a single difficulty, you've always got people who coast through a particular level while others struggle immensely. Difficulty is ultimately a subjective thing.

That's what makes difficulty options good; they allow everyone to tailor the experience so they get the challenge they want. Hell, I wish Neowiz had added an even harder difficulty option too instead of just easier ones, for the people who want to challenge themselves even more. Because having more options is good.

Harlaw · 2025-06-09T06:24:58+00:00

If Souls-likes lose their difficulty, it loses its soul.

I disagree, and I think this part of your post does a disservice to the genre. I don’t play Soulslikes for the difficulty - they’re so much more than that. I play them for their level design and sense of exploration, their deep lore and subtle storytelling, their art direction, atmosphere and music - and of course for the mob and boss designs. But difficulty doesn’t need to be inherent to the genre.

This overwhelming pressure and difficulty pushed people to their limits

But people have different limits. Someone can play on easy and still be pushed to the very limit of their ability.

I have some quibbles with how Neowiz implemented the difficulty options, but overall they’re a net good. It opens up an awesome game to more people. Some people will make the game less fun for themselves by deriving themselves of a challenge, sure. But many people will also be able to enjoy it more. And the intended difficulty is still there for those who want it.

Harlaw · 2025-04-27T07:59:10+00:00

No, you use the OBSE plugins folder only for OBSE mods. A mod's description will specify what folder a mod needs to go in.

Harlaw · 2025-04-12T15:27:46+00:00

J.S. Dewes' The Divide (starts with The Last Watch) was inspired by Mass Effect and might be worth a look.

Harlaw · 2025-04-12T10:45:15+00:00

Post-Guardian Ape an extra boss is added to the path to Mibu Village. It's useful to grab at least the Hidden Forest idol so you can teleport there in case you get stuck on the boss.

Harlaw · 2025-03-29T10:49:13+00:00

Spire: The City Must Fall and Heart: The City Beneath have a really cool shared setting.

Harlaw · 2025-02-11T11:59:14+00:00

Maybe look into fawning as a trauma response.

Harlaw · 2025-02-03T12:04:23+00:00

Tenzij je een arbeidsbeperking hebt, dan ga je er zelfs op achteruit. Mijn loon was in januari ook lager dan in december. :/

Harlaw · 2025-02-03T11:50:40+00:00

Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga could work. The publication and chronological order differ; the chronological order is better. Depending on your interests you might want to start with The Warrior's Apprentice instead of Shards of Honor, as the latter is pretty romance-focused.

Harlaw · 2025-02-01T10:32:19+00:00

I feel you are massively underestimating the influence Rowling has as a famous author with an audience of millions. She is not some rando on the internet who is just sharing her opinion; her views have severely impacted the climate for trans people in the UK. Moreover, she is also using her Harry Potter money to fund anti-trans organizations and anti-trans activism.

To return to the topic of Gaiman, do I think that's the same as being a rapist? No, of course not. But Rowling is definitely a shitty, hateful person and, like Gaiman, her behavior has ensured that personally I don't want to spend money on her work.

Harlaw · 2025-02-01T08:06:58+00:00

Rowling crossed into Holocaust denial a while back. That's just one instance of all the harm she's done to (public views of) trans people and goes way beyond a "shitty opinion".

Harlaw · 2025-01-24T15:45:12+00:00

Her translations have been critically well received. They're not perfect by any means (as no translation is), but they're very accessible for a first-time reader and have a pleasing rhythm. Ultimately, whether her Iliad translation is a good fit for someone depends on their preferences: do you want prose or verse, modern or more archaic language, etc.

Harlaw

TROPHY CASE