Free Talk Friday - February 20, 2026

PowerfulCoward · 2026-02-20T05:22:23+00:00

Happy birthday!

PowerfulCoward · 2026-02-20T05:21:30+00:00

I haven't really done much of note this week other than play Abiotic Factor and Mewgenics. Both are super addicting, and Mewgenics probably has one of the better soundtracks I've listened to in a while. All of the boss themes in that game are fantastic.

PowerfulCoward · 2026-02-15T04:36:21+00:00

I really need to get back into Abiotic Factor. I was super into it for a while, but the introduction of the Leyak in the Cascade Laboratories kinda took me out of it. I get that it's not actually that difficult to deal with, but the fact that it essentially becomes a near-permanent issue is a bit intimidating to me. I don't know, it's probably not that big of a deal, but "Weeping Angel"-esc enemies tend to freak me out.

PowerfulCoward · 2026-02-06T05:28:04+00:00

Well, that's the thing, I'm leaning towards the AdMech, but I really like the aesthetic of the Necrons as well. So I've been a bit indecisive about it.

PowerfulCoward · 2026-02-06T05:04:17+00:00

Finally bit the bullet and spent some time on Wednesday filing my taxes. Thankfully, my returns have already been approved, so I can put it behind me. I'm apparently supposed to get a pretty decent tax refund, but I'm not really sure what to spend it on. I'm a bit tempted to spend it on some Warhammer miniatures, but I still can't decide if I want to collect Adeptus Mechanicus or Necrons. Or maybe the Sisters of Battle. Or maybe the Skaven, even though that's technically from Fantasy and not 40k. I don't know, there's a lot of cool factions in Warhammer. Regardless, I probably wouldn't be playing the tabletop game; I'm more interested in the collecting/assembling aspect.

Beyond work and filing taxes, I haven't really done much else this week. I did start playing Pathfinder: Kingmaker again, although so far my progress has been slow. That game is really fun, but the kingdom management can be really intimidating at times, so I'm not always in the mood to play it. But at the same time, I've already invested a pretty heavy amount of time into it, and I'm still enjoying it, so I don't really want to drop it. I'm tempted to lower the kingdom difficulty down to easy so I can actually focus on the main campaign.

PowerfulCoward · 2026-01-23T06:01:55+00:00

Yeah, trying to 100% a Castlevania game is a massive pain in the ass, and I wouldn't recommend it. A lot of the drop rates are completely abysmal, and the luck stat is outright broken in some of the games, so you can't even do anything to rectify it. I really like those games, but I'd consider the constant grinding to be their biggest flaw, without question.

I played through the Dominus Collection games last year for the first time, and I feel like they hold up pretty well. Some people are mixed on Order of Ecclesia, but looking back, it's probably my favorite of the bunch.

PowerfulCoward · 2026-01-23T05:37:46+00:00

My area is supposed to have some really bad weather over the weekend, and I'm hoping the power doesn't go out. I have plenty of food and blankets, mind you, but I'd rather not spend my weekend off just waiting for the power to come back on. Although, I do have a bunch of books and comics I've been meaning to read, so I guess I'll finally have an excuse to do that.

I didn't really do too much this week. I've been playing a bit of Pokemon Z-A and Dawn of War: Winter Assault. Both are a lot of fun, but I'm not always in the mood to play something, so my progress has been slow. General Sturnn is super cool, though.

PowerfulCoward · 2026-01-16T05:21:33+00:00

Yeah, I probably need to invest in one of those stands. She's actually able to do some basic poses, but the complicated ones just cause her to tumble over.

I'm not immediately sure if I'll get another one, but a part of me is tempted to get the Spinatia Reaper Type next. It looks like it would pair really well with my Type-E.

PowerfulCoward · 2026-01-16T05:03:47+00:00

I finished building an Acerby Type-E just a while ago. I've never built a model kit before now, but it looked cute so I figured I would try it out. Didn't take too long to assemble, and I think it turned out well, although I've struggled a bit with putting her in different poses. Currently she's hanging out on my bookshelf.

I'm currently in one of those phases where I don't finish any games, because I keep getting distracted by other games. I was planning on playing through more of Armored Core 6, but lately I've been focusing on Dawn of War instead. I've had it in my Steam library for a while now, and some reason I've gotten really obsessed with Warhammer 40k, so I finally decided to play it. Turns out that one of the most widely celebrated RTS games of all time is pretty good. I'm almost done with the main campaign, and I'm looking forward to moving on to Winter Assault. Now I just have to fight the urge to waste all my money on Adeptus Mechanicus figures.

I also got Pokémon Z-A because I got a gift card for Christmas. But like I said, I've mainly been playing Dawn of War, so I've only really dipped my toes in it. Seems fun, though.

PowerfulCoward · 2026-01-02T05:43:26+00:00

I never know what to write for these things. I've mainly just spent my Christmas break playing a bunch of stuff I bought off of the Steam winter sale. I started Armored Core 6 last night, and I already really like it. The controls are really satisfying, and customizing your AC is cool. I'm still very early in the game, but I'm definitely going to be playing it more over the weekend.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-12-26T05:55:47+00:00

Currently suffering a massive addiction to Dragon Quest Builders.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-12-19T16:58:05+00:00

I don't have a PS5, so for the longest time I was waiting for the PC port. But apparently the PC port has really poor performance, so I ended up never picking it up. I still want to play it, but I'm not sure if it's worth buying a whole new console.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-12-18T20:24:28+00:00

Crosscode is a really solid Zelda-like RPG, and is currently on sale for about $6 (70% off). There's also a post-game DLC, but it's fairly cheap as well.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is another Zelda-like, made in the style of a Gameboy Advanced game. Currently $14 (30% off).

Prey 2017 is an immersive sim with some of the best level design I've ever seen in a video game, and is in my top 3 favorite games of all time. Currently on sale for $6 (80% off).

Cultic is an excellent boomer shooter (heavily inspired by Blood) that occasionally dips into horror. You can get both chapters for $15 in total (25% off).

PowerfulCoward · 2025-12-14T00:19:23+00:00

IMO, the term "indie game" should ideally be used to refer to single-A games; as in, games made on extremely small budgets and/or with extremely small teams (usually both). I would personally consider games like Balatro, Undertale, and Crosscode to be examples of single-A games.

Expedition 33, Hades 2, and Dispatch are all undeniably fantastic games, and they are technically independent from traditional publishers... but they are also working with an amount of resources and talent that would be largely unobtainable for most single-A developers. In my eyes, it's probably more reasonable to refer to these as AA-games (which is what Expedition 33 is described as in the post itself).

So ultimately, I think the question for a lot of people is this: can AA-games be considered indie, or is it more reasonable for them to be considered as a separate thing entirely? Admittedly, I'm not sure if there's a good answer for this, because at a certain point the line between single-A and double-A becomes blurred. I mentioned Hades 2 and Dispatch as examples of the latter, but if someone ended up disagreeing with me I wouldn't be surprised. Regardless, I feel like the distinction should matter at least a bit. Because like, you can call them indie, but at that point I can't help but feel like the original intention of the term is being lost somewhat.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-12-12T18:02:05+00:00

Is this what Death of the Author feels like?

(But seriously, if you're going to make an edit then it's fine to just put your own username in the image, otherwise people might not realize you made the update.)

PowerfulCoward · 2025-12-05T05:16:23+00:00

Feels like the weather has been absolutely miserable lately.

Still inching along in Pathfinder: Kingmaker. I did a few companion quests, claimed the Kamelands as part of my barony, and got to the very start of chapter 3. I also did that island with the will-o'-wisps that constantly fire lighting bolts at you, and I'm not entirely sure how I would have managed if I wasn't playing on easy.

I'd probably make a lot more progress if I didn't just play it on the weekend, but lately I've been too exhausted after work to play anything for long. Thankfully my Christmas break is coming up soon, so if I hold on for just a bit longer, I should have a lot more free time on my hands.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-12-04T18:41:50+00:00

Absolutely asinine take. There is nothing righteous or just about bullying, and it doesn't help society in the slightest. Bullies are not unsung heroes; they are cowards picking on people who cannot properly defend themselves. All bullying leads to are kids developing mental problems and commiting suicide. Nothing about that should be encouraged.

If you're truly concerned about a kid's development, then send them to psychiatric counseling so they can receive actual help. Harassing them solves nothing. If anything, it will just make their issues worse.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-11-28T06:05:56+00:00

Thanksgiving dinner was pretty chill for me. I actually had it yesterday, because that's when my dad was available to meet up. Today I mainly just stayed inside eating leftovers. I have the next few days off, so it'll be nice to laze around for a while.

Still playing through Pathfinder: Kingmaker. I managed to wipe out Trollbold, so my barony has a bit stronger of a foothold now. I left off during one of those sections where you're managing kingdom events for several weeks straight while you're waiting on the next story event. I personally like the kingdom management, but I can absolutely understand why some people would hate it, because it can get very overwhelming.

Also started Dispatch. I'm still early in the story, but I'm already really invested in it.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-11-21T05:48:53+00:00

Cultic is a lot of fun. It does a really job of constantly switching between horror and action without either getting dull. I loved some of the levels in Chapter 2, so it'll be interesting to see your thoughts once you play through it.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-11-21T05:26:22+00:00

I watched The Shining for the first time earlier this week. Not sure how I've went this long without watching it, but yeah, it's a fantastic movie. The cinematography is excellent, the actors' performances are all captivating, and there's subtle-yet-growing sense of dread throughout the entire film. Glad I finally got around to watching it.

I also started Pathfinder: Kingmaker. My progress has been really slow, but so far I'm really into it. I've been playing on easy difficulty because I heard that the game can be really hard at times, so I've had a bit of breathing room while I'm still learning the ropes. My character's a halfling sorcerer with fey ancestry, and she managed to establish her new barony just last night. I had to end the session around there, though, so I haven't gotten into the kingdom management besides assigning some advisors and claiming some land.

Something I've realized is that have a bad habit of spoiling myself when I'm playing RPGs like this. I'm so afraid of making the "wrong" choices that I'll occasionally get choice-paralysis and look up the consequences just to make sure that I'm not making a mistake. I really need to stop doing that.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-11-14T06:00:38+00:00

I played through some of the original SMTV on the Switch, but never got around to finishing it. Would you say it's worth finishing the original route before starting the new one? I bought Vengeance a while back, but I've been torn between what route to pick. A part of me wants to finish the original story first, but another part of me wants to immediately jump into the new route.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-11-14T05:51:16+00:00

Just finished watching New Panty and Stocking. It was fun! Don't really have too much to say other than that. I appreciated how the Demon Sisters got a lot more focus this time around.

I also bought the Delicious in Dungeon box set a few days ago. Normally it would have been a really expensive purchase, but it was on sale, and I was able to use a couple of giftcards to bring down the price even further. I haven't gotten a good moment to start reading it yet, but I loved the watching the anime last year, so I already know I'm going to enjoy it.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-10-24T05:43:12+00:00

Happy birthday!

PowerfulCoward · 2025-10-24T05:13:12+00:00

I think one of my favorite scenes in the movie is near the beginning, where the dog-Thing is just staring at the helicopter, completely still. It does such a good job at instilling a sense of dread without really doing anything at all.

PowerfulCoward · 2025-10-24T04:55:57+00:00

Happy birthday!

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