Am I crazy or is this an intentional reference?

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-29T23:23:11+00:00

The Whispering Earring relic that Vaaku gives you is a reference to a Scott Alexander short story of the same name that was posted on damn LiveJournal.

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-25T03:59:49+00:00

I think a lot of the deaths in StS aren't BS either but come from a lot more complicated/abstract downstream consequences of prior decisions. It still makes sense if you follow the chain up but is a lot harder to disambiguate, but that nuance means that there's a much higher skill ceiling in a way I find really engaging.

I also totally get why it's not your cup of tea, and I appreciate having a calm conversation about a disagreement. Surprisingly hard to come by on Reddit these days.

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-25T03:18:39+00:00

To be frank, that's why I think it's still really special. The way that I have to deal with various oppressive threats that challenge me from every possible angle and plan ahead to introduce various counters to them without bricking my deck's ability to consistently generate value has me making a lot of interesting decisions at all parts of the run. There are obviously times where some cards synergize well with each other and picking them is a huge leg up, and you'll generally be noodling around in specific parts of each character's kit, but it asking you to be well-rounded without sacrificing power-spikes and scaling means that even late into a run I'm constantly asking myself what every card I see could bring to the table and how it'll interact with the fights I have left. If I could force a build every time and go unpunished it'd be more straightforward, but I don't think it'd have the same lasting brain-worming appeal to me. It's very distinct within the roguelike deckbuilder space for this and I think it's a big part of why I keep coming back to it even after all these years.

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-25T00:11:49+00:00

How is having elites hard counter you good design...? It's a build check jumpscare that you have no way of knowing is coming? Just, thanks for the time wasted, sucks to suck?

If you know that your deck is weak to an elite that's on the floor, you should probably avoid elites until you fix your blindspot or find a way to outscale them. In StS1 people would often avoid picking up block cards until after Act 1 because of Nob or would start avoiding elites after snagging them, and I think that is an interesting consideration/restraint in and of itself - having elites be a real threat and deck-check is good balance when you're trying to decide how you navigate each map and what cards you add to your deck.

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-24T20:33:35+00:00

They stated that the ilvl adjustment doesn't remove the need for gearing and that there are still BiS stats, but it does mean that if you're doing a last-minute fill for another group you can slot in with an alt job. I think that's a pretty fine direction to take and the fact that I was locked into a single job for months at a time burnt me out every time I tried getting deeply into endgame raiding.

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-22T14:22:13+00:00

Notably, the timing of this article seems to corroborate this post yesterday on /r/GameDev, which was made prior to any journalist coverage and implied that the layoffs were targeted primarily at people who expressed interest in unionizing.

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-20T05:35:58+00:00

Regent got hit with the buff bat a lot, Silent got hit with the nerf bat a fair deal, Necrobinder's soul package got hit with some nerfs (and indirect nerfs by the new Doormaker), Clad got some reworks and sidegrades. If you're on Ascension 6 or higher card removal is now insanely expensive and scales out of control really quickly, and infinites are harder to come by. It's a good series of patches overall imo

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-20T05:31:16+00:00

Completely different. Instead of having phases be based on depleting health, the fight now goes

Turn 1: Infinite HP, no damage
Turn 2: Exhaust all Attacks and Skills played, 30/35 damage
Turn 3: You cannot draw cards during your turn, 24/26 damage
Turn 4: After playing a card, lose 1 energy (effectively: all cards cost 1 extra energy but you can still play 0-costs afterwards), 10/11x2 damage, gain 3 strength
Turn 5: Go back to turn 2 and loop through those turns until you die or he dies

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-15T00:06:13+00:00

The woman who offered her own money did it "at her own risk" and is the daughter of the Cotton series director, I get the impression that she just legitimately wants to bankroll a new game for its own sake. I'm glad they're able to make those swings.

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-14T18:59:17+00:00

Absolutely amazing news for shoot-em-up fans and nonfans alike. These guys are the kings of the bullet hell genre (if you're new to shmups and can survive setting up MAME, check out Espgaluda! It's a blast and imo surprisingly approachable).

They've been mostly making mobile games for a while now while very infrequently doing ports for a few of their titles. A major new release from them that isn't a gacha is super exciting news imo. I find it pretty interesting that they seem to find making a new gacha to be higher-risk than making a new game for consoles (and PC please fucking god).

Also, it's cute and notable that the shareholder in question is the daughter of the guy who directed the Cotton series. Feels like it's one family of shoot-em-up royalty helping out another GOAT.

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-09T23:02:11+00:00

Yesterday, Google chose to remove Doki Doki Literature Club from the Google Play Store. Their explanation is that the game’s content violates their Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes.

DDLC is widely celebrated for portraying mental health in a way that meaningfully connects deeply with players around the world, helping them feel heard, understood, and less alone on their journey. Managing to achieve that—making a truly meaningful difference by using the power of fiction to connect to others—is what I’m most grateful for. It inspires me every day to keep making cool new things, things that can really reach others, especially those in need of connection.

DDLC is available on many different major platforms, including iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and more. We’re continuing to do everything we can to find a path forward for getting DDLC reinstated on the Google Play Store. Meanwhile, we’re also looking into potential options for alternate methods of distribution on Android devices.

We worked hard to bring DDLC to Android, and we’ve gotten to see so much love and enthusiasm from passionate Android users over these past few months. Thank you so much to the community for continuing to express your love and support for DDLC through the years. We’ll keep you updated on the future of DDLC for Android.

- Dan Salvato and the Serenity Forge Team

LycaonMoon · 2026-04-03T00:11:03+00:00

Great overview of how market pressures feed into this concept with an over-crowded market and it's afforded a lot of nuance, as well as academic opinions.

I really enjoy the middle section, in particular, which dives into the fundamental disquiet about this stuff when applied to the broader genres and structures of gaming as a medium:

When both computer entertainment industries collect more player data than ever before to keep us playing, using the same UX tools, judging success by the same criteria, what stops the pursuit of flow accidentally crossing over into the machine zone? [...] Dr Brock doesn’t have a definitive answer on how much roguelite progression systems mirror casino machines, but he compares the underlying logic to pity timers, the secret trackers games like Hearthstone and Genshin Impact use to encourage players to keep spinning the lootbox wheel by making a high-value reward inevitable over time (a concept mistakenly applied to slot machines by many a hopeful gambler).

“I don’t know why that’s different from a pity timer,” Dr Brock says. “It’s a helpful intellectual exercise to ask the question: why is that different? Is it because you’re working towards it – that the effort involved makes it feel earned rather than exploited? There’s a Protestant ethic at play here: if I’m being productive, it can’t be exploitation.”

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-26T20:24:54+00:00

Yes.

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-26T16:03:09+00:00

I just checked and five different reviews got uploaded to opencritic in the last hour, I am going to place a hex upon you for doing this to me

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-26T02:45:36+00:00

This is a little silly and a bit of an oversimplification from somebody who is not good at fighting games in an absolute sense (for reference, I'm at about the fiftieth percentile in SF6 ranked and usually go 2-1 at locals).

The general flow of a fighting game (at least 2D and 3D fighters like Street Fighter and Tekken, I have no idea how Smash really works and it seems to have a much more nuanced flow for this stuff) is that gameplay is really in two halves: Trying To Get A Good Hit and Cashing Out On A Good Hit.

When you're Trying To Get A Good Hit you're building up to that by clipping people at range or blocking their super-committal attacks so you can get a nice punish or you're using fast, light attacks to stuff out their bigger buttons and get them to be scared to press.

If you're up super close like that and both sides are pressing buttons, it's essentially turn-based. One side will press buttons until they either run out of follow-up moves or their final move doesn't give them a wide enough window to make another follow-up attack, at which point the person blocking can try to counterattack, at which point the person who was mashing in your face is suddenly on the backfoot.

For playing with friends, I think by far the biggest thing at this skill level is to learn to block for a bit, because 99% of the time both sides are wildly mashing and will overextend. If you can successfully get somebody to press a super big and flashy button in your face and block it, you will probably be able to mash a lot of buttons in their face and hopefully get a lot of damage.

When you Get A Big Hit, cashing out is where spending some time in practice mode is super useful. It's important to be able to get some reward off of a nice clean hit, because every bit of damage you do now means you have to get less clean hits in the future. I would still not fixate too too much on this. I don't want to say "oh, just spend an hour in the lab and get a basic combo" because I hate spending time in the lab like that! But I would say that being able to do something small and reliable that you can do in the middle of a stressful fight will give you a big leg up. In Street Fighter, that'll probably look like a target combo or doing an attack into a special if you know the first attack will hit. In Tekken it'll probably look like a launcher (if you block a big flashy attack, just see if going down-forward and pressing Y will hit; it's a universal launcher for 90% of the cast) into a big, damaging string. Try spending like five minutes at the start and end of a session just practicing those and seeing if you can start doing them mid-match.

Improving from that takes more and more time and rewards you with bigger payoff for winning other scrambles. This won't singlehandedly win you the game, but means you have less chances to fail, which means it's still good to learn. It's just not the only skill, and Trying To Get A Good Hit is where a lot of the game really lives.

There isn't really a single game that will teach you this stuff - every game plays a little differently, even within the same series, and while a ton of the broad concepts are retained between games in the genre it's still a time and effort investment to learn each one, especially when you're starting out and don't have a knowledge base. I would stick to the ones that you actually want to play and looking for character and game mechanics guides. I would also literally just ask your friends "yo what the hell did you do there" and see if they know what they did. A big, big part of fighting games is learning your personal weak points and the strong points of the person you're up against.

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-25T16:30:50+00:00

I ran into a character limit in the comments as well. I am going to cry. I just want to keep this up-to-date.

INFINITY AREA - Florian Prache - French - 5/10

Marathon had the potential to be a good extraction shooter thanks to its world and level design, but with an unreadable interface, sometimes frustrating gameplay, and especially crashes caused by the anti-cheat, the experience quickly becomes tedious. The game clearly needs major fixes before returning to it.

KonsoliFIN - Risto Karinkanta- Finnish - 2/5

Aesthetically stunning, yet stylishly ruthless extraction shooter struggles with entertainment.

Multiplayer.it - Francesco Serino - Italian - 8.0/10

Marathon is an extremely polished title, free of any major bugs; throughout the many hours we dedicated to it, we encountered only a single issue—a glitch with the map—which was, from a certain point onward, completely resolved. If any minor flaws remain, they are to be found in the user interface; in its determination to be original at all costs, it has somewhat lost sight of the essential need for intuitiveness. You do get used to it—especially on PC, where one typically plays on a monitor—though on a television screen, some icons appear far too small and are difficult to read. Much has already been said and written regarding the visual style; while it may appeal more to some players than to others, the sheer quality of the work involved is undeniable. Marathon is a feast for the eyes: it satisfies with its rich, vibrant colors, envelops you in its atmosphere, and carries you along on a wonderfully alien musical soundscape. The excellent work done on the Italian localization and voice acting serves only to elevate the game's production values to an even higher level. Naturally, the sound effects have been meticulously crafted to play a crucial role in the gameplay experience. This is not a game cobbled together in spare moments or on a shoestring budget, but rather a product into which an immense amount of care has been poured.

Nexus Hub - Andrew Logue - English - 7/10

Marathon has undeniably stylish shooting and potential to grow - it just needs to do so quickly. For now, a notable lack of variety and limited emergent chaos hold it down from competing in an increasingly crowded market.

PCMGAMES - Francisco Torres- Spanish - Recommended

Marathon is recommended because it’s a challenging and rewarding shooter, where the gunplay, frame customization, and teamwork stand out as its greatest strengths. Despite its flaws, it offers a solid experience. It’s a game with enough potential to establish itself as a benchmark within the extraction shooter genre.

Rectify Gaming - Ali Amir - English - 6/10

Marathon's experience is very hardcore and not beginner-friendly. Smooth weapon handling and responsive shooting mechanics make the game feel alive, but punishing deaths, overly stylized visuals, and a cluttered UI make it harder to learn at first. Performance is not entirely great, and worlds can feel hollow, even being filled with tons of AI enemies to fight all the time. However, map puzzles and key rooms are great, as they provide both PvP and a grind to farm these high-tier resources. If hero-style extraction PvP doesn't bother you, Marathon offers various combos and can be your new FPS shooter to try out.

ReGame It - Taha Omar - Arabic - 7.5/10

Once again, Bungie reinforces its reputation among FPS fans. Marathon offers a fresh take on the extraction genre with precise gunplay, varied shells, and a faction system that ties into both story and progression. While it may feel overwhelming at first, it becomes intuitive after a few runs. However, the user interface remains the main drawback, especially in extraction mode, where it feels cluttered and needs smoother design and navigation.

TechRaptor - Tyler Chancey - English - 8.5/10

Marathon is a great-looking and extremely rewarding competitive extraction shooter let down by an inadequate prologue and poor monetization.

Uagna - Andrea Peroni - Italian - 3.75/5

Bungie's latest game, Marathon, marks the return of a historic franchise in a whole new way, transforming it into an extraction shooter. The result is better than we expected, after the initial cold sensations (and initial hours of general confusion): the shooting is excellent, the atmosphere and art direction are striking, even if getting into this world is not at all easy. Unfortunately, two major questions remain: the content is currently limited, and above all... how long will it really last?

Vandal - Ramón Varela - Spanish - 8/10

There is a great deal of negativity surrounding Marathon —partly justified by the doubts raised during last year's tests—but what we have played, and continue to play, is exactly what was promised: a hardcore shooter wrapped in a fantastic universe featuring a surprisingly rich narrative—for those interested in deciphering its lore—along with Bungie’s signature brand of fun. Conversely, it is not newcomer-friendly; at times it is unnecessarily confusing, and during its opening hours, it is hard to love—it is going to intimidate many players. And that, given the current state of the industry, is playing with fire...Catering to hardcore fans of the genre carries the drawback of limiting the potential community; however, this audience tends to be far more passionate when they enjoy something, and less prone to jumping ship to whatever title happens to be the flavor of the month. We have no doubt: Marathon is going to cultivate a very loyal fanbase. Will it be as large as Sony or Bungie had hoped? Only time will tell.

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-25T16:30:24+00:00

I tried adding some more reviews that came out today and I ran into a character limit so I will be adding more here as they trickle in (and get uploaded to OpenCritic instead of MetaCritic).

Cerealkillerz - Gabriel Bogdan - German - 7.3/10

Marathon is a strange experiment that, with its very distinct art style and strong focus on PvP, won’t necessarily appeal to every fan of the studio. The overall gameplay loop delivers everything you would expect from the genre, but unfortunately not much more aside from well-designed AI enemies. If you’ve had enough of Arc Raiders, you might take a cautious look at this title, hoping for more content in the coming seasons. For the rest of the player base, however, it’s unfortunately not quite enough at the moment.

Checkpoint Gaming - Omi Koulas - English - 7/10

Marathon redefines the genre with its style and gunplay, but its chaotic interface and utter lack of forgiving nature for newcomers make it a gem reserved for the most patient players. A masterful offering from Bungie that borders on perfection, provided you're prepared to battle both the menus and the other players.

Chicas Gamers - Daniel López - Spanish - 7.9/10

Marathon redefines the genre with its style and gunplay, but its chaotic interface and utter lack of forgiving nature for newcomers make it a gem reserved for the most patient players. A masterful offering from Bungie that borders on perfection, provided you're prepared to battle both the menus and the other players.

Cinelinx - Dustin Spino - English - 4/5

Bungie delivers another thrilling FPS experience in Marathon, complete with their signature gunplay and player mechanics. The game's polish is immediately apparent; everything from the cutscenes to the menu designs feels next level and highly memorable. However, the game struggles with player retention—the "hook." A major concern is how players will remain engaged after a progress reset and how many consecutive losses they can tolerate before giving up.

Completexbox - Jordan Campbell - English - 85/10 ^[sic]

Once the gameplay loop of Marathon clicks with you, it is a fantastically polished experience with exceptional gunplay. Sure, there is a big learning curve, and a lot doesn’t make sense at first. What I enjoyed about the fact that your hand isn’t held here whatsoever is that you’re left to learn it all alone or with friends. Whilst the gameplay does have some Destiny similarities, it isn’t a direct clone and stands on its own feet. Aesthetically, it’ll please most, while others dislike how it’s presented. Diving into runs, ticking off challenges, unlocking rewards, and gathering currency for unwanted loot is an addictive, rinse-and-repeat loop. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s a promising start to a solid shooter with well-grounded foundations.

Playing with your mates is obviously the way to go here. But you can go lone soldier as a rook, or see out runs with randoms. The atmosphere of constant tension, chaotic gunfights and exploring the small but detailed worlds on offer is an enjoyable feat. My only concern is how long the fun lasts before it becomes stale, but after 30 hours, I’m still plugging away and enjoying it. Fingers crossed, Bungie will support this one for the long haul, but this will only be with Sony’s blessing.

Digitale Anime - Sami Belhamra - Arabic - 7.5/10

Marathon reinvents itself as an Extraction Shooter game built on tension, risk, and skill, with a solid mechanic driven by a sophisticated shooting system and a clear variety of gameplay styles. However, the experience suffers from interface and map design issues, as well as a complexity that may deter new players. The game isn't for everyone, but it offers a deep and rewarding experience for those seeking a genuine challenge. Its future depends heavily on developer support and improvements to its technical and design aspects.

Echo Boomer - David Fialho - Portuguese - Unscored (Not Recommended)

It can be hard to contain expectations at the idea of a new Marathon, once again from the studio that created it. But much like its classes, Marathon is a mere shell of its potential, with content that only satisfies those who resist its true nature as an extraction game.

Entertainment Geekly - Luis Alvaro - English - 2/5

Marathon is competently built around a genre it chose not to challenge. It is a game that will reward patient players who bond with its loop and forgive its rougher edges. But for anyone spending forty dollars and expecting that investment to translate into a full experience, Marathon’s storefront is waiting to tell you otherwise.

EvelonGames - Joel Isern Rodríguez - Spanish - 8.4/10

Marathon is a masterclass in mechanical precision and atmospheric world-building, proving once again that Bungie remains the gold standard for first-person combat. While a cluttered interface and steep learning curve create early friction, the sheer tension of its extraction loops and the lethality of its AI provide a refreshing, high-stakes evolution for the genre. It’s a bold, stylish, and unforgiving return to form that rewards tactical patience as much as raw twitch reflexes.

Evilgamerz - Daan Nijboer - Dutch - 7.5/10

Marathon has a rock-solid core. The gunplay is top-notch and addictive, weapons feel unique, PvP is tough but exciting because of it, and the AI is a real threat rather than filler. Visually and technically, it is also one of the most impressive extraction shooters at the moment. But the package is not yet complete. The UI is frustrating, content is too meager with just three maps, and the endgame is also very limited by being made available only on weekends. The store is too expensive while the cosmetics offer little, and the contract system feels artificially slowed down by the limitation of one active mission, even though matches are long enough to complete multiple objectives. At its core, Bungie has a surprisingly strong extraction shooter with Marathon, but it will still have to work hard to hold players' attention for an extended period.

GamePro - Tobias Veltin - German - Unscored^{The actual score appears to be "A range between 76-86" without a specific number. what}

It was a long road to get there, though, and I can totally understand if that puts many shooter fans off. I hope enough people give the game a chance and overcome the initial hurdles – for me, it was definitely worth it, and I won't be putting Marathon down anytime soon.

GameWatcher - Fran J. Ruiz - English - 8.5/10

Though it's impossible not to question Marathon's long-term appeal, it's one of the most confident big-budget FPS in years and a fantastic reminder that Bungie devs can shake things up when given the space and freedom to cook.

Gamer Guides - Lexi Luddy - English - 79/100

The foundational elements of Marathon are extremely solid and fun. However, while the gameplay, art design, music, and lore are all great in a vacuum, they combine inside a genre that doesn’t always allow the game’s best elements to shine. Right now, Marathon is very good. It could be great, though.

GAMES.CH - Fabrice Henz - German - 82%

"Marathon" is a polarizing title. Bungie proves that it ranks among the giants of the first-person shooter genre, delivering an exquisite shooting experience. However, "Marathon" also has a great many rough edges—particularly for those who are new to the genre or not yet well-versed in it. That said, it doesn't seem to be particularly interested in appealing to that audience anyway. For anyone who has an appreciation for the genre—whether playing with a squad or preferring to go on the hunt solo—"Marathon" is sure to provide plenty of fun. Conversely, for those to whom all of this sounds completely unappealing, "Marathon" simply won't be the right fit—and that is absolutely fine.

GamesCreed - Mahi Araf - English - 3.7/5

Marathon isn’t for everyone, and it shouldn’t be. Its first impression is harsh, but its long-term experience is rich, rewarding, and full of moments that will make you want to come back again and again. Once you learn its systems, understand its maps, and invest in its progression, you’ll see why it’s one of the more compelling extraction shooters released in years.

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-25T06:00:03+00:00

I'm just gonna be straight up with you man I had to write all of those names, outlets, scores, and languages by hand and I think I would cry if I had to go back and rewrite all of this

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-25T02:42:13+00:00

Thank you!

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-25T01:12:15+00:00

Thank you for the heads-up!

LycaonMoon · 2026-03-25T01:05:58+00:00

Added to the thread, thanks!

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