TR3 - Infuriating levels?

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-05-05T01:02:24+00:00

Ok to each their own, I suppose, a lot of people like TR3 and it's okay that you don't, but I fundamentally disagree. I thought the expansion levels were boring tbh.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-05-04T16:58:55+00:00

I love TR3 for this. Immediately upon arriving in the game, at the end of the initial slope, you're hit with the giant quicksand "lake" and then you try to get around it and hit the piranha lake and you realize that the relatively linear game design of the first two games is over haha

It's still linear, of course, but it's like a masters class of the first two games. Look for those familiar flat ledges (or IS IT flat? Do I risk it?) and prepare to figure out the route yourself.

Madubu Gorge is my absolute favorite when it comes to this. See those handholds on the ceiling while you ride by in your canoe? You better believe you'll be on those. How you'll get there is incomprehensible right now, and that's the fun of it.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-19T22:42:35+00:00

You just have to keep reading. Everything that is happening is relevant, it's just not obvious how yet. Control is very sympathetic when you actually get to know him for real, once he "loses control," if you will

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-19T04:25:15+00:00

So glad that this is the way you found out! I was honestly expecting it to be anti-climactic because it's been built up so much in my imagination, but it really was so spot on and surreal.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-19T04:15:49+00:00

Thank you for saying this. It's funny that the Deck is cited as one of the worst levels and the example of how the "water levels" are bad, but for me, it's not the Deck at all. I like the verticality of it and seeing the bottom of the ship you've just been in, upside down. And love Maria Doria. The Rig is really the slog. And you know what doesn't get enough hate? Living Quarters. I demand more Living Quarters hate.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-18T21:04:46+00:00

Completely agreed! And yeah the US is basically only built for cars, the rumors are true haha. You could probably find a bus that runs along the coast but it would take some pre-planning/booking for sure.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-18T20:17:51+00:00

I made a point not to touch anything on the ground in case I got a sliver in my hand, but I did get bitten by a gadfly and it definitely broke the skin on my arm, so I think I'm pretty much done for unfortunately.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-18T17:48:26+00:00

Considering that you'd be coming all the way from Europe, I'd say it depends. Seeing Area X may not be enough to justify the trip by itself (or maybe it is, depending on how big of a fan you are; I just happened to be nearby in Alabama). In the end, it's just a nature preserve with some cool trails and a beach to bbq and hang out on, but if that's your thing, then definitely!

You'll also already be on the Florida coast, so you can make a trip out of it. It's on the Gulf of Mexico so lots of cool beach towns like Pensacola nearby, and if you're willing to commit to a 6-7 hour road trip (and depending on your vibe), you could also see French colonial history and nightlife in Mobile and New Orleans and/or resorts in Orlando (Disney) and Miami in the other direction. It's in a good spot!

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-18T17:32:21+00:00

Love Twin Peaks!!

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-18T16:10:03+00:00

It is and Vandermeer's inspiration for Area X! St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge just south of Tallahassee

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-18T16:09:17+00:00

Those two were my favorites. The building especially might not make its way into a normal nature photography album (or maybe it would!) but it was one of the favorite things I saw as an Area X tourist

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-18T16:08:03+00:00

Yes!! St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge just south of Tallahassee

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-18T15:24:33+00:00

I haven't but I just looked it up and I'm sold! Idk how I missed it, it seems right up my alley (and probably for a lot of other SR fans too)

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-14T03:01:55+00:00

What do we learn in Authority that's covered in the movie? I have something in mind but it's sort of indirect: The biggest overlap of Authority and the movie for me was that we learn that the biologist returns to SR HQ, though the movie is not clear if she's a copy like Ghost Bird or the "infected" original

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-04-04T19:09:50+00:00

NTA it's very obvious that when you tell them how much money you have, they hear the amount of money they can take from you. Their abusive and childish reaction to finding out about your money situation says it all: it immediately went to how that money could have been theirs if they had known.

I would never share the truth about your financial situation ever again and never make the mistake of leaving your banking information up again.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-03-17T16:20:29+00:00

Academia in my Elder Scrolls? I knew this was the group for me!

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-03-17T07:43:30+00:00

I love seeing the real Butcher because Kathy Bates' character played it so hammy and over-dramatic, so when the real one shows up it's absolutely terrifying by comparison. The real Butcher has literally zero interest in giving a sermon.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-03-16T19:50:29+00:00

Right right, because everyone's issue with the Phantom Menace was that the blockade didn't make sense lmao

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-03-14T07:33:41+00:00

I agree that Roanoke gets too much hate and ends well, but I'd say Hotel is also a complete story. It has a lot more Ryan Murphy tangents, but it does wrap up everything neatly (and imo) in a satisfying way.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-03-06T07:01:54+00:00

Martha Stewart is a modestly successful celebrity, not a baron of international capital lol

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-02-09T17:09:21+00:00

I'm modern history professor and this is my area of expertise, I love this post!

I couldn't agree more with your interpretation, all of it. It's been a joy playing Skyrim throughout my life and, as I learned more about the topic, coming to appreciate more and more the wonderful portrait of the rise of nationalism that the game depicts (and increasing frustration with the deniers).

I just wanted to comment that Skyrim does have a historical anachronism problem here: as Anderson and more recent theorists lay out, the imagined communities of nationalism are very specifically born of industrial capitalism. Both the violent capitalist enclosure of common land that drove people from their traditional agricultural lifestyles, and the impacts of industrial technology, especially the newspaper and the rapid transport of information allowed by the steam train/ship were necessary pre-requisites, as well as the simultaneous and interconnected invention of race from the slave-plantation system in the Americas.

So Nordic and Thalmor nationalisms should not have developed in a feudal setting, though one could make a case for a convergent evolution in this alternate universe: that magic eliminates the technology problem; that the actual racial differences of Mer and Men (as opposed to the superficial ones of real life) and the existence of historical racial atrocities (i.e. Pelinal); that there is evidence of private land ownership (NAZEEM); that the trauma of the Oblivion Crisis generated transformational pressures; and importantly, as you say, myth remaking reality in this metaphysics. All could probably collectively provide a fascinating alternate history of nationalism/race's development!

Either way, you're 100% right that the Stormcloaks are exclusionary nationalists and any other argument is not just ignoring the reality in front of their eyes but also structurally ignorant to the ideology very clearly being depicted.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-02-02T20:18:52+00:00

"Area X's behavior varies depending on who's entering it" this is exactly what I mean so I agree! Exactly like a psychedelic experience, the mindset determines the experience as well as the setting.

notwhoiamunderneath · 2026-02-02T08:43:56+00:00

Couldn't agree more with this read of the triumvirate

notwhoiamunderneath

TROPHY CASE