The creepy/dark atmosphere is actually the thing that appeals to me about them! It’s the platforming and puzzles I am worried about.

Both look really cool, but I am really not a big platformer guy so I’m unsure. Inside is 90% off on GOG though so might pick it up for a dollar and a half. Limbo is full price and even though it’s just $10 I don’t know that I’d like it enough. How hard is the platforming and the puzzles?

How good are these games? Are they worth buying before the delisting just to have them?

Bill Hicks evergreen marketing bit is as relevant now as it was in the 80s.

On a related note I wish we had a c/madlads around these parts.

I’ll see if I can hold out for a sale. I’m interested in the Mask of the Betrayer expansion but not as much in the main game.

Love your work as always! I hope your health improves soon ♥️

Nice! I gravitate to DEX builds too as it’s just so nice to have bow access. My favourite stylish build is probably dual wielding the Tracers, but that’s basically NG+ only.

Finishing up Pentiment probably later today, and it will be nice to have it over and done with. I will appreciate having played it, but I can’t say actually playing it was all that fun. It’s beautiful, it’s well-researched and it has some interesting plots and characters in it but… god damn is it ever slow. Between the laboriously slow and often banal and uninteresting conversations and the lack of fast travel leading to half your playing time being watching your character slowly waddling across Tassing the game feels like an absolute slog to play.

I’ve been breaking up the tedium with Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree. I’ve had my eye on it as it’s written by Bloodlines-writer Brian Mitsoda, and at 25% off on the summer sale I thought why not.

It’s a Metroidvania Soulslike with a skill tree inspired by Path of Exile, and I’m really liking what I’m seeing so far. The combat has been solid, the build diversity seems great and the bosses have been good. The game is beautiful with a lovely art style and the level design is really good too.

From what I’ve seen so far I recommend checking it out if you like these types of games!

What’s your favourite build?

Sure did. I think it was some sort of cryptobro group focused on “growth and monetisation” if I remember right. Named “Chosen” I believe?

I’m not sure I trust Nexus with a picture of my ID, you know. What a fucking mess.

That’s fair. As far as I know the same was true for Chris Roberts. Well, it wasn’t so much that he had a publisher that would edit him as it was that he was fired and Microsoft came in and cobbled together what was there into an actual game (Freelancer).

At least Molyneux has put out some good games. Yeah, they don’t have all the earth shattering features he’s promised, but there’s some good titles in his portfolio. I’m not convinced Star Citizen is a good game.

I have a lifelong friend with Addison’s and it always seemed horrible to have to constantly manage and worry about. And he was fortunate enough to not also have Diabetes!

I adore your posts and will miss them dearly, but please take care of yourself and focus on your health. Don’t push yourself, if I understand right extra stress is particularly bad.

Much love ♥️

Doesn’t RDR2 do the same thing if you die repeatedly in a mission?

I feel like I’m way more critical of Deus Ex than some, but I’m not sure I agree that it doesn’t need mechanical refinements. From gunplay to AI to stealth there is a ton of jank there and I’d hesitate to call any of it modern feeling. Even Warren Spector was aware of this at the time, with that quote about how it’s basically a 7.5/10 FPS, a 7.5/10 stealth game and a 7.5/10 RPG, but its unique selling point is that it’s all those things at once. Personally I think the story, world, atmosphere and concept still hold up incredibly well. The rest could do with modernizing. Not least the voice acting. But I guess with the Mankind Divided sequel being canned I should have limited hopes about a Deus Ex remake getting funding.

The funding bit makes sense, I thought you were referring to something Nightdive-specific, but the post-COVID slump is something we’ve been reading about for some time now. I had hoped SS1 Remake sold enough to merit funding for a full SS2 remake as well, but maybe I need to temper my expectations.

Classic corridor shooters fill this niche pretty well for me, if that kind of on-rails experience is what you’re looking for. I recently played F.E.A.R. and it’s first expansion Extraction Point (don’t play any later expansions or games in the franchise though) and they’re some of the best, tightest and most satisfying FPSes out there. Metro 2033 is also good for this.

If you want a no-nonsense RPG I want to put in a good word for Skald: Against the Black Priory which is very tight and linear with minimal fluff, focused on telling its story and doing a few things well rather than spreading too thin.

I mean, I love Deus Ex but that game could also use a remake if we’re being honest.

That combined with the endless funding faucet shutting off

Oh? I hadn’t heard about this.

Nightdive have said something along the lines of “just because we made a remaster doesn’t mean we won’t also make a remake”. I’m still holding out hope they will.