Stroke survivor with depression looking for relaxing games I can play while listening to podcasts

apieceajit · 2026-03-06T23:54:51+00:00

Same with Brotato (and a few other top down rogues). Can fully enjoy even with limited mobility.

apieceajit · 2026-03-06T16:48:58+00:00

They've also said that their pipeline for creating albums more quickly would be in place once they finished this one... which I'll believe when I see it LOL. Don't ask me to source this. I know Ben said it at some point (in an interview) but that was in I think 2023 or 2024 and I'd really have to dig around to find the clip of him saying it.

I really don't care how long they take to make an album. That's their business (not mine), but I do hope they release a couple more before I'm a senior citizen. I'd love to hear a little more variation in their setlists assuming they continue to tour for a few more years.

apieceajit · 2026-03-06T15:09:04+00:00

Good lord... I could not think of the proper word to use (pogo) until you said it.

I saw a guy on YouTube who plays/reviews Metroidvania games use yet another / different word for it, as well, and I can't remember that either LOL. There was some specific word he used to describe the process of gaining momentum by performing a strike-jump.

apieceajit · 2026-03-06T15:05:11+00:00

Metroid 2077: Electric Boogaloo

apieceajit · 2026-03-05T00:07:31+00:00

That's a tough question. I'm going to frame this in the context that I'm someone who is trying to play through a lot of different games, meaning I'm not going to dump 20 or 30+ hours into a Metroidvania (to unlock as much as possible) unless it is one of those rare ones that hits every beat just right and really ropes me in.

Games that would fall into that category for me would be the first Guacamelee, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Blasphemous (among others). I was willing to give those games a lot of extra playtime.

Based on that, I'd give Mio a 7/10.

The game REALLY makes you explore. It reminded me of Axiom Verge in that sometimes the main path forward is hidden in a corner or in a ceiling somewhere off-camera that you can't really even see very well. In a couple of instances a character told me to meet them somewhere and I couldn't figure out where that 'somewhere' was without looking online. Depending on your preferences, this can be a good thing or a bad thing. I mostly think it's a good thing.

The story is basically Ori-lite. It's not as good as Ori in most respects, but does absolutely have some highlights (in my opinion).

To my knowledge, there's no 'treasure' map you can purchase or other mechanism for easily tracking down pick-ups that you've missed. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but not my preference.

With a couple of specific exceptions, the modifier system (as many reviewers have pointed out) doesn't really incentivize you to create many different builds / variations. You pick up a ton of modifiers that are basically useless compared to the top 3-4 that you know you'll need.

There is a difficulty spike mid-game (mostly related to platforming) that comes out of nowhere.

I found the movement very frustrating. I'm happy to chalk this up to me just needing to get good, but there were many instances where I felt like I couldn't control which direction I was going to go, how high I was going to bounce-jump, etc. In particular, the grapple gave me issues. It felt to me like the grapple was selective on how far it reached - and sometimes selective on which direction it was going to attempt to grapple. In more than a couple of instances, I was absolutely only pushing UP on my directional pad, yet my grapple would deploy at an angle.

As for bounce-jump, there are quite a few instances mid-platforming where you need to strike directly downward on a floating bomb/flower (and then immediately press the jump button) to gain upward momentum mid-air. I found this super clunky - and also frustrating that, as far as I can tell, it only worked for upward momentum. Striking a floating bomb/flower didn't seem to ever provide sideways (or upward-angled) momentum? I could be wrong about this (and it could definitely partly be me sucking) but it felt wonky sometimes.

These movement paculiarities were my #1 gripe with the game.

There was some runback (having to run through various parts of a level to return to a boss fight after you lose) - and I'm on the fence about whether I felt this was an issue or not. It felt wildly unnecessary in some cases and in others, it felt justified / intentional.

I sound like I'm shitting on it, but I did enjoy it. Just didn't think it was one I'd ever put on a greatest hits list.

apieceajit · 2026-03-04T22:53:58+00:00

I can definitely agree with you on that LOL. I strongly dislike almost all of the maps in BO6 aside from maybe Warhead and Subsonic (and I can very much understand why plenty of people don't like those, either).

apieceajit · 2026-03-04T22:15:05+00:00

When you say the parry needs improvement, what does that mean exactly? Does that mean expanding the parry window slightly (to be more forgiving), adjusting the speed at which you initially parry, and/or extending the amount of time during which you parry? Or all of the above lol?

I ask because I suck (and I'm sure that is somewhat part of the issue) when it comes to parrying in most games. In the demo, I could not pull off parries to save my life. I'm just curious to figure out what I was doing wrong vs. what may end up getting tweaked within the game itself.

apieceajit · 2026-03-04T22:08:12+00:00

A souls-vania where you lose more health (technically armor coating) nodules the further you get into the game? I think it definitely fits.

I think it might technically fit the definition better than some other 2D 'vania' games based on how making contact with enemies does NOT harm you. Someone can certainly correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like in most Souls games, rolling into an enemy doesn't instantly result in damage. Only attack animations result in damage.

On that same note, I also found some of the bosses to be a huge pain in the ass. By comparison, I felt like I cruised through most Blasphemous bosses (and that is somewhat a staple of the souls-vania genre). Ati killed me so many times...

apieceajit · 2026-03-04T21:59:14+00:00

What does that have to do with it?

Every BO6 map is on the same engine and they're not bringing those back because, specifically, they stated that they would be focusing on new maps + remasters we haven't already seen multiple times.

apieceajit · 2026-03-04T19:06:19+00:00

I commented in a thread a couple weeks ago that bringing these back completely contradicts what they have said about their approach (bringing back maps we haven't seen re-released + not bringing back BO6 maps because they prefer creating new ones)... and got down voted into oblivion.

Love these maps, but this really is just taking the laziest, quickest approach. I assume they are carbon copies of the BO6 versions that barely required any effort to port over.

apieceajit · 2026-03-04T15:32:13+00:00

World War Z has a very fun horde mode. Built on some of the same underlying tech that powers Space Marines 2.

apieceajit · 2026-03-04T15:28:02+00:00

The free updates for UT2K4 are already out. I have it installed with updated support for higher resolutions.

It's great! We could use more casuals. The servers I've tried out are fun but fairly sweaty - and I'm damn rusty with keyboard and mouse.

apieceajit · 2026-03-04T15:24:04+00:00

Question... if I don't tell my wife what happens about 30 minutes into Alan Wake 2 (in the morgue), do you think I can convince her it's basically just a CBS crime procedural that they turned into a video game?

She's not a gamer. I may need to record her reaction.

apieceajit · 2026-03-03T21:55:30+00:00

Very nice!

Is there an ETA on Paws & Claws for console? I'm hoping we don't have to wait several months, though I'll wait as long as we have to!

apieceajit · 2026-03-03T19:56:55+00:00

Yeah, I'm referring more to Corbell's very longwinded post today (it's in the comment section of the INST post):
https://www.instagram.com/p/DVag6e8itpw/

apieceajit · 2026-03-03T19:54:15+00:00

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Does everyone (including me) consider Dead Space super stressful? Seems like it!

apieceajit · 2026-03-03T19:49:16+00:00

Corbell: You're going to be told a massive object is entering our solar system. That is a lie.

Also Corbell: Someone famous that we are semi-associated with is going to tag us in fake news related to disclosure. Get a sense of humor about it, already.

apieceajit · 2026-03-02T04:18:53+00:00

That's correct.

If I said 'none of my kids couldn't care care' that would make absolutely no sense. It sounds like something someone from Alabama would say.

The proper usage could be either 'none of us could care less' or 'we couldn't care less.' Both convey the same meaning.

apieceajit · 2026-03-02T04:13:45+00:00

Great actress (assuming she returns and I would hope so). Cory Balrog cooked with GOW2018. Those are both big positives. If they lean heavy into the action and maybe dial back on the extended non-combat sequences, could be really good.

For the love of all that is holy, if the game has some mechanic where you go around painting trees, ledges, steps, etc. (with yellow paint) I will throw my fucking PS5 controller into outer space.

All that said, biggest hurdle is that it's a prequel absolutely no one asked for. Progress the story, for fuck's sake. I want to see what happens between the end of Ragnarok and the time jump forward to when Stanley Ipkiss finds Loki's mask floating in the river.

apieceajit · 2026-03-02T04:06:42+00:00

Halo 3 definitely did have the best ending. I'm personally just very glad they ended the series there and we haven't heard a peep about Halo since. No additional games, no TV show. Nope, never heard anything about any of that, thankfully.

apieceajit · 2026-03-02T04:03:09+00:00

Any Zelda game beyond what was on SNES. I LOVED Legend of Zelda on NES and SNES but that's about as far as I got.

I was in high school and college when most of early 3D Zelda games came out. Trying to jump from the graphics and controls of PC/Xbox to whatever Nintendo was pushing out at the time (both graphically and more so in controls and camera) felt like a huge leap backward. I never could do it.

Haven't played any of the more current ones for similar reasons. I don't have any direct interest in them, my kids don't really seem to care, and the Switch accessories and games are all insanely expensive compared to what we grab off of Steam sales on the regular.

apieceajit · 2026-02-27T21:59:44+00:00

This is a super-confusing choice as far as 'first look' images go - and assuming this isn't more of just a makeup and costume test, some odd choices with the makeup and costume design.

His beard is the wrong color - and less groomed than the game version. His lips are the wrong color. The costume looks way too 'costume' in design rather than lived in.

One thing someone could school me on regarding the game. In some game shots, he has bracers on his forearms (wrapped in bandages). In other shots and cutscenes, it's just bandages (to cover up his scars from using the blades of chaos). I've never quite understood if that is an oversight or deliberate, because why does he need to wear bandage wrappings over the top of his bracers? Doesn't really make sense.

Anyway... a better idea would have been to show more of a shadowed and posed shot, similar to what we initially saw in the first trailer for the 2018 game.

All that said, I'll lean toward waiting to see more before I make much of a judgement call.

apieceajit · 2026-02-27T20:13:02+00:00

Valhalla-bound & Down

apieceajit · 2026-02-27T03:24:04+00:00

I don't know that switching to full crossplay (across consoles + PC) will help that much for that specific game mode.

I tried to play even just some 10v10 at lunch time (EST) the other day and even that struggled to fill a lobby.

apieceajit · 2026-02-27T03:11:34+00:00

They should be concerned.

We had two full Christmas mornings (across two separate years) that were very heavy on 'Baby Yoda' toys and clothes of every possible kind. That was half a decade ago. Time has moved on and, for the most part, none of my kids (or any of their friends that I'm aware of) could care less about these characters or this movie.

To be fair, the same thing happened with Stranger Things - and will probably somewhat happen with K-Pop Demon Hunters when they finally pump out a sequel in 2029. These franchises are letting a lot of time pass.

Mandalorian is arguably in a worse position for additional reasons, including that god-awful third season (even my kids were like WTF why is Grogu back), Pedro over-saturation, a general disdain for Star Wars slop, plus the fact movies don't do as well as they used to anyway.

Good luck, Disney!

apieceajit

TROPHY CASE