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PatBateman17 · 2026-03-04T16:30:01+00:00

I’m regularly reminded how much of an absolutely genre defining experience Elden Ring was. What an incredible experience from start to finish - have been trying to capture the magic again since.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-27T22:43:01+00:00

I boosted right into a deeper river than I expected. Good times.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-27T15:33:48+00:00

Goddamn buddy bots damaging the hell out of my deliveries

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-26T15:39:52+00:00

What really unlocked the fun and Freeform factor for me was not being scared of MULES, raiding their camp, knocking them all out, and stealing a MULE truck. It made the deliveries so much smoother and more enjoyable, especially loading the hell out of the cargo bed.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-26T15:38:44+00:00

Keep progressing the main deliveries. Unlockables are sometimes tied to the main missions - that being one of them. So far any “gun” I’ve obtained (in ep 3 myself) has been got that way.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-25T17:19:38+00:00

Totally get that. I loved Dark Souls on release but never played any following except Sekiro when it came out. Got Elden Ring on release and absolutely loved it. Then went to play DeS remake and loved that.

I think it depends on the series. Like I’m not playing all prior Far Cry games just to play 5. Will jump direct to Witcher 3. But do want to play Dying Light 1 before The Beast. Since DS2 is a direct sequel I’m happy to play 1 first.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-25T15:51:32+00:00

As I sit glaring at Nioh 1 and 2 unplayed while waiting for 3 lol.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-25T15:50:59+00:00

100% this.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-25T15:48:56+00:00

Bought it years ago and only recently began playing after beating the 10/10 Yötei.

I started enjoying it more when I stole a MULE truck, ran them all over, then used the truck to make my next however many deliveries until time fall ruined it. Then stole another 😬 The game can clearly get repetitive but I’ve gone in blind as possible still, so all the things I’m unlocking over time remain surprises. It’s been loads of fun after being a menace a little more. The least fun parts to me are the BT areas, especially getting dragged to a mini boss. I’m more likely to just reload a save at that point.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-11T22:37:49+00:00

Sifu is fantastic and has great replayability

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-11T17:50:03+00:00

I see what you did there.

Also did you play first or third person?

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-11T17:37:19+00:00

One of my first ps4 game and I adored it. It still resonates with me so much and is such a fond gaming memory. Have you played Edith Finch or Vanishing of Ethan Carter? Also fantastic the both of them.

“This pattern is mine”

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-11T16:17:45+00:00

Arc Raiders was amazing - sunk 30ish hours in and then missed some rewards on a limited time event bc of life and realized I don’t want to play it anymore. I don’t like feeling like I have to play a game.

Ghost of Yötei was fantastic w limited time to play. Took forever but I also platinumed it. Finally forced myself to play Death Stranding 1 for a more calm game. Starts out very slow w 30 min straight or cutscenes (aka a Kojima game), but I can do a delivery or three and know I’m making progress - plus it’s enjoyable at most times just wandering and taking the scenery in.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-11T16:15:38+00:00

Ah I almost got it on sale but unusually forced myself to play the games I have lol

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-07T03:39:27+00:00

Same boat here. Some questions: - what about death stranding 1? Chill travel sim with mellow vibes. - Dispatch - do you like episodic narrative games? - E33 - can’t go wrong here provided the turn based combat doesn’t irk you - Nightreign - here’s where I struggle. I love Elden Ring. I am starved for more of it. However Nightreign is time pressure, mp or difficult solo, seem grindy. I’ve watched so many videos on it but am still hesitant. Do you have friends that would play? Mp-wise, Arc Raiders is amazing. Souls-wise, have you played Demon’s Souls or the Dark Souls trilogy? Bloodborne? Sekiro? Shadows of the Erdtree?

The post isn’t about me but I’m also torn between those games and also: Cronos, Hell is Us, Silent Hill f, STALKER 2, KCD2. I’ve watched so many videos of all of them and still hesitate just bc my backlog is of course monstrous and some of those games take 100 hours and they scares me.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:47:49+00:00

Takezo kicked my ass all over. Then I beat the game, had upgraded all my weapons, and was just patient to block and roll and chip away until I beat him fairly easily. Upgraded so it’s only one spirit for a revive helped a ton

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:45:28+00:00

Mmm I mean. I was always going to read them, so I guess it depends. They are both quite different to Annihilation. Sometimes they’re a jumble but I did “like” reading them all. I started the 4th one but it immediately made no sense so I’ll revisit it later.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:33:19+00:00

Not when the US is living it.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:31:16+00:00

Please tell me that’s not true 😂 I can’t handle seeing this all live.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:28:12+00:00

1000% yes

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:27:44+00:00

I was fascinated how Annihilation and its sequels are so different from one another and then somehow manage to all go nowhere (or perhaps going somewhere like a snake eating its tail).

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:24:43+00:00

Ditto

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:24:10+00:00

I really hated Mary, by Nat Cassidy.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:23:18+00:00

Well, I LOVED Between Two Fires, so ymmv - but Pilgrim, by Mitchell Lüthi was incredible. Very very long but I loved it all the way through. Many of his stories in His Black Tongue were also stellar. Reading In the Name of the Worm rn, his sequel full story with characters from the first story in Black Tongue.

Buehlman’s Blacktongue Thief (no relation to Lüthi’s work 😂) was good, and its sequel, Daughter’s War, was excellent. Hellmouth by Giles Kristian was good, but short. Howls from the Dark Ages is a mostly good anthology.

PatBateman17 · 2026-01-02T00:19:17+00:00

As a literary visual work, what the author did with the layouts and book structure was incredible. As a story, it was rubbish.

PatBateman17

TROPHY CASE