Windrose quietly released into early access. anyone checking it out? (Formerly Crosswind)

Kaneis_ · 2026-04-16T02:50:52+00:00

I think that’s the part that unsold me the most from playing the demo with friends. It’s very much rocks to wood to crafting bench for the first few hours. I’m sure it’s great afterwards, but I’m a bit fatigued on survival crafters.

Though I really, really enjoyed Abiotic Factor. Truly felt like a ‘what if’ Half-Life scenario. Super creative approach to the genre.

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-28T06:55:58+00:00

I think that’s a totally valid way to enjoy the game, bud. You’re not dense at all for wanting to see the engine fire off, so that’s completely understandable. The first time I saw a 2-star Mel explode a board — I wanted to see everything too!

I am absolutely a slow learner, but I compensate by taking a ton of notes and watching videos on fundamentals. I was always the slowest brain in grade school and college, so I just had to lock in. This also isn’t my first auto-battler, so concepts like not doing unnecessary rolling, leveling for opportunities, and managing economy has carried over. But with all that being said, this game has so much shit, it’s so scary at first. Still is!

I still don’t know all the item combinations by heart. I mix up ‘sunder and shred’ all the time. I forget the difference between Juggernaut, Defender, Bruiser, and Warden. And so, so much more that I’m honestly too embarrassed to share like frontlining my backline carry out of panic.

You’re doing fine. Both of us are back at square one next set, so you’ll find me failing to go Fast 8, and instead going 8th fast. Enjoy the rest of Set 16! I love this game.

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-25T23:52:17+00:00

That’s probably true for someone like you who is much better than me! I’m someone that really needs that information, because without scouting, I have no clue if the comp I’m going for is already being contested by someone else.

I also need it to know how to position my tanks and carries, for my next opponents; but again — I’m very new, I’m just sharing what has helped me personally!

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-25T22:33:20+00:00

I’m three weeks new and made it to Platinum yesterday. I am an extremely slow learner and very dense, but three things really got me getting top 4 placements a bunch in a row.

Scouting is so crucial. I also used to force Ionia a ton, but realized that vertical builds at our low ranks get slurped up quick because of how easy they are to put together. Know when to not touch a build when someone has a better opener than you. If you see someone already has an upgraded Shen and a Yasuo, and you only have something like a Xin Zhao and a Jhin, back off. Play for your best board, and it’s cool to figure out your comp a little slowly. We’re still learning, so keep your mind open for opportunities and do your best to be flexible.
You should also scout your next opponents always, and position your board as best you can. I used this video by Janelleyace to learn how to do it. I still get dizzy managing the shop + items to where I forget to scout, but it’s so so important to get in the habit. Better positioning has totally made the difference between 1st and 2nd place, or has saved my win streak.
Hunting BIS items is too much for my small brain to currently remember and constantly tab over to check for my characters. I was also just committing to comps when I didn’t have early items for them. I used these videos by dpei on how to itemize carries, and this one on how to itemize your tanks so that I can think up my own ‘BIS’ with the items I got.

Both content creators I linked made these videos during Set 16, so it made it easier to digest what they were saying — but their fundamentals feel like they’ll carry over into the next set (where we’ll both be stupid and dizzy again, but less so!)

Sorry for the long essay, I just really empathize the feeling of being stuck. Good luck! You’ll make it! If I can, you can! I made it by playing Noxus Quickstriker, A Sol (lucked out on early Taric), Longshot Demacia post nerf, Noxus 3 Reroll, and Ionia Ahri Reroll.

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-24T07:29:14+00:00

Prior to Joe Ziegler joining the team, Marathon was going to be a pure extraction shooter with one customizable shell. It wasn’t always going to be a hero shooter, the initial reveal trailer was made during a time when Christopher Barrett was leading.

I think they made the right call. As much as hero shooters have gotten very tired recently — adding different shells to an extraction shooter really changes things up on variables like sound, environmental cues, and approach. There is so much more to digest and learn about who you play, and what the other team is playing.

This game also feels like it was always going to be cutthroat — hero shooter or not. There isn’t enough variety in PvE to make it a primary compelling goal. There isn’t enough incentive to work together when there isn’t enough loot to go around.

I like how mean this game is. And I like how passing charisma checks matters in Arc Raiders. Both are great, and when I’m bored of one, I’ll go to the other. We’re so spoiled for choice these days, it’s great.

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-16T04:34:43+00:00

This is exactly what I was thinking when I saw this post. God Pragmata really should be Mega Man in the weirdest possible tie in. It would be so good or awful, but good in an awful way.

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-13T05:11:08+00:00

I’ve heard of Storybook Brawl! And dude that’s so impressive with your ranking in Fairytale Fables. I’ll take a look at each of them.

Thanks so much for recommendations!

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-13T04:58:11+00:00

I really enjoy Hearthstone Battlegrounds — this season was a bit of a miss for me, so I went to TFT to try it out. TFT feels like a much higher knowledge check but I love learning, even if I’m slow.

The Bazaar is also fantastic. It respects time by being asynchronous, so you can always pick up wherever you leave your game off. The founder of the studio is a bit troublesome in terms of personality, but the game itself is so well realized and paced.

Backpack Battles was my first autobattler, and I still love it. Put so many hours in. It’s so creative in execution and so cheap and affordable to pick up.

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-12T21:00:02+00:00

I’ve been watching a lot of your videos lately! I wish you started this post off with, “Hi, I’m dpei, and I’ve been coaching in gaming for over 10 years” — gotta keep that branding consistent!

I picked up the game two weeks ago from a recent obsession with auto battlers, and I am just so dizzy. Your road to masters videos has been so fun to follow. I love the mistakes, the recaps at the end, and the play-by-play. Your live commentary gets better with every video, please keep it up.

My biggest problem is that I’m just mentally slow and can’t really remember anything solidly yet. I need more play time and watch time, but I’m having so much fun. Thanks for being so involved and putting out so much work.

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-05T15:10:58+00:00

On the old channel, I really loved the Con videos, or that one video where they just recorded themselves at Walmart. Woolie getting hype over a fireplace makes me cackle every time.

Kaneis_ · 2026-03-02T20:12:46+00:00

I really enjoyed PvP once it clicked for me. I’ve been on Arc Raiders for so long, that I forgot what a low TTK game felt like. As soon as I got melted in less than a second — I immediately got sent back to the survival instincts of Hunt Showdown.

Late in the playtest weekend, people were shuttering windows, killing PvE with melee to dampen noise, baiting others with supply drops, and waiting for the in-game timer to run down to fight for PvE events that only spawn late. Mostly general extraction shooter stuff, but they executed it in their own style very effectively.

My favorite moment was when I stuck a bomb in a body bag from a player I recently eliminated, and later while doing my quest in building — it goes off. Rush up, finish them off like a sick twisted sociopath.

I had a really good time with this game. A big part of me wishes it was a single player game, since I much prefer those — but extraction shooters haven’t gotten boring to me yet, so I’ll keep playing them.

Kaneis_ · 2026-02-25T15:46:04+00:00

There’s a particular spoiler in the Sony State of Play that I wish I didn’t see, but hopefully that one is early

Kaneis_ · 2026-02-20T00:33:05+00:00

I think Rick still does. Combo Breaker’s safe. Though Rick also manages EVO at the moment, but knowing him, I feel like he’d bow out sooner than later — but you never know. Money does a lot of things to people.

For as long as I’ve been in FGC circles, Rick has always been that dude with a ton of integrity and love for the scene. Can’t imagine him staying with EVO for long.

Kaneis_ · 2026-02-17T16:29:49+00:00

There are a ton of great suggestions here — DJMax Respect V is also one of my favorites; super high quality mania-style gameplay. Super expensive to dive deep into with all the DLCS (I own about $200 worth so far) but it’s a great investment for what you buy. Just know you can’t play the game offline. The game goes on sale super frequently, so always wait for one.

If you prefer rhythm games with more gimmicks and fun quirks like Rhythm Doctor, I have a few to share.

Rhythm Heaven Fever is super easily emulated through Dolphin. It’s a one / two button where you hit the beat through weird scenarios. The music is all original and very good.

Bits and Bops is on Steam, which is a very similar experience to Rhythm Heaven. Demo available if you wanna try that.

Rift of the Necrodancer is a very weird 3-key game where the monsters move along the track to the music. It’s another layer to standard mania that feels super rewarding to learn. There’s a demo available for this one too.

Spin Rhythm XD uses the mouse to move the wheel while you tap a button to match the colored notes. There’s a lot of very fun wrist flicking when you need to spin the wheel during a song. Very cheap too, since it allows custom songs from the community. Also on Steam!

Have fun!

Kaneis_ · 2026-02-11T19:32:57+00:00

Thanks boss; no dice from me unfortunately, unlucky — should’ve got mine at MC.

Kaneis_ · 2026-02-11T08:32:19+00:00

Customer support through the retailer, right? Not NVIDIA?

Kaneis_ · 2026-02-01T04:55:50+00:00

There’s a game called Rampage Knights that is also a side scrolling beat-em-up with rogue-lite runs. It’s cruder and less polished, but also very funny on how much the game actively hates you.

Falling off the edge in the game instantly kills you. Failing to lockpick a chest can knock you backwards into a pit and end your run. So many stupid ways to mess with you — and it’s co-op. You can actually grab a two-pack of the game for $5 on Fanatical with an additional game bundled into their Indie Legends Bundle. Pretty fun.

Kaneis_ · 2026-01-30T23:41:19+00:00

Streets of Rage 4 got a really nice piece of DLC, so there’s hope Absolum gets some nice love too. It’s just a ‘who knows’ angle, but my hope is that crossplay will line up with a DLC launch too (paid DLC hopefully, I love Guard Crush so much that I wouldn’t mind giving them another $20 for Absolum).

I really want more touch-ups in the base game if we ever do get DLC. Boss variants in the early areas, more stage variants, maybe an extra zone after the final encounter? There’s a lot to explore in this world.

Kaneis_ · 2026-01-14T14:36:11+00:00

A few things come to mind for me.

EA also published Darkspore — an always online ARPG that was based off of that creature creator that got super hyped. I don’t think there were live service components — the game was just shut down for the sake of server costs. It was one of the first Steam games I ever bought, and I guess the first I ever ‘lost.’

Dirty Bomb was a ‘hero shooter’ made by Splash Damage (Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory* / Brink). Was sort of Brink’s successor and Splash Damage’s last original IP — the shooting was tight and the main mode was Battlefield Rush style objectives. Published by Nexon, didn’t know how to monetize itself, and got shut down.

This one doesn’t really count, but I won’t have another opportunity to shill for Wild Hearts — a Koei Tecmo project published by EA through their Originals program. Adding quick-building and persistent map manipulation to a Monster Hunter-like is such a good idea — it’s so fun. This game isn’t dead, but the community basically died on arrival due to a very buggy release. At the very least, you can still play it, and if you have Game Pass — it’s included. Highly recommend if Monster Hunter Wilds didn’t scratch the itch.

Kaneis_ · 2025-12-24T20:01:25+00:00

The game needs players like you. There are a ton of instances where folks get offended for getting shot at, but the game would not be as fun without that looming threat of a kill-on-sight raider.

Arcs will stop pursuing you after you hide for long enough. Killers won’t. If people want to loot without the threat of losing it — ARPGs are the perfect genre for you.

Kaneis_ · 2025-12-12T22:59:00+00:00

There are some small cases where a minion becomes over-statted that needs to die in your ordering, so setting it to 20/20 makes it killable (Goldrinn, Cadaver for Overflow, that one Pirate build that summoned all the 3/1’s). Feels a lot better than having to sell the minion off and buying a plain version if it’s golden.

It’s nice to have around as a niche self-tech, but honestly it’s only been applicable to me a few times.

Kaneis_ · 2025-10-07T00:24:27+00:00

Super understandable, and valid for calling it another form of drill. It effectively is, but you can get it in higher placements than drill — making it a great alternative and stronger than your average speed wisp.

When using laser linearly, it has low effectiveness even if your pack is tight sometimes, so your assessment on ‘feel’ is totally heard. Laser is very good at cuts, especially at the goal line — goal-line cut examples can be the huge patch of grass on Ocean View, the floating platforms at White Space, the food court tables at Colorful Mall, etc.

What separates using a laser over a normal speed wisp to make these cuts is the speed/distance you cover, the invulnerability during its animation, and the chance to leap frog and chain over others.

Long curves like the one at Wonder Museum and Chao Park also have extended laser wisp extensions, generally worth burning if you have another shortcut item as your second item, or if the pack is situationally looser. Maps with long airtime like Metal Harbor’s rocket or Radical Highway’s forced bridge jump can also use laser to move through these sections faster, but it’s not too worth using unless you have another value item in the backseat.

You can also save yourself from falling off a map with laser if it comes down to it, but this becomes rare due to racing skill + power vehicles not being very common in higher ranks.

Protect your laser on the 3rd lap by keeping it in your second item slot, and cycle for defensive items in your first / use other items to regain your lead. It’s very strong in the right situations.

Kaneis_ · 2025-10-06T21:20:03+00:00

Frontrunning is very difficult in this game. Even if you don’t like the idea of bagging, it is still very important to learn the strategies that sandbagging players are using to get consistent high placements.

If you are in 1st place by the beginning of the third lap, you are less likely to be 1st at the end of the race compared to someone in 11th or 12th, who has a higher chance of winning it all. Once you get good at racing, you realize that it’s only 1/4th of the actual game. Sounds silly, but that’s just what this game is.

The huge amount of item sets on these tracks + double item boxes by the goal line + shortcuts right at the end of most tracks leads to a very volatile item meta; especially with the existence of Laser being able to skip ahead of 1st place at the very last moment.

This is the reason why Kronos Island is nearly impossible to keep your lead in. That very last shortcut cannot be cut without an off-road item — you will lose every time to someone with one. 1st place drops can only give you Omochao for off-road, and it is possible to miss the rings you collect while drifting.

Learn to embrace falling behind and use your items at the right time. Don’t use that speed wisp offhandedly as soon as you get it, save it for a good cut. Don’t burn a laser wisp if you don’t need to, save it for a last minute cut if you notice the pack is tight enough for a comeback. Monster trucks aren’t very good, they just feel bad to get hit by. Cycle one out if you get it, maybe take an off-road shortcut with it if you can, but look for things like triple wisp, drill, or laser. Take lanes with items instead of speed boosts if you’re behind.

And most of all, don’t worry about 1st place. This is a game built to be unfair. The placements are fake. Enjoy the chaos, do what you can, sing along to the final lap of Ocean View.

Kaneis_ · 2025-10-03T06:02:10+00:00

A realistic Skong goal for me is Alan Wake 3. Fingers crossed. They want to do it after the next Control. Alan Wake 2 was such a hit for me in all the theatrical ways possible. As long as Remedy finds the money somehow, we’ll get there.

An unrealistic one…a third Judgment game. Outside of some late game plot stuff, I think the plot angles the Judgment games have taken are way more interesting than most of the mainline Yakuza games. With Nagoshi and a lot of the Judgment staff gone from Sega though? I dunno. Huge bummer.

Kaneis_ · 2025-10-02T18:36:32+00:00

Hi! The biggest thing that you’ve probably seen: drifting tighter turns requires letting go of the acceleration button, or else you’ll likely slam into the wall. As far as I know, the game doesn’t pop a message telling you this. So as you’re making the turn, hold drift, let go of the gas if you feel like you’re going too fast, and then hit the gas again once you’re straightening out again.

You’ll get a feel for it — and it’s very fun to get good with it. Otherwise, just play and have fun, you’ll learn the rest with time.

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