the one where I try to remember what I did for the last three weeks
Check out what I wrote!
Following through with my pledge to tone down the perfectionism a tad to be able to write (and publish) more here on this blog, I want to spotlight what's been released since!
In chronological order...
- A thought piece about using time for hobbies, with Steam's time tracking as a case study and a few quasi-resolutions for the new year
- A recommendation of relaxing creature-collector Chillquarium, spurred by the huge QoL improvements that came with its very-recent 1.3 update
- A chat about Atelier Resleriana, collecting my thoughts after two weeks of heavy play and a tentative verdict on whether I'd want to extend my time by jumping over to JP servers
- A gratuitous piece about all the fun I've had with DUSK,, a game I didn't enjoy years ago but absolutely love now
I worry (probably too much) about ensuring a good balance of the kinds of posts I put here on the blog, and hope that no matter what you're looking for, there's something here that interests you.
Resleriana, eater of time
I laughed when I checked the date of the last Letely post, dated January 24th, and compared it to the day I heard the Atelier Resleriana end-of-service announcement that prompted my delving deep into the game--January 27th.
I had three days of clear air before my next spontaneous jump into the trenches. why am i like this dot jpeg
Atelier Resleriana has been a solidly good time, primarily thanks to the story and the rather generous pre-EOS event boosts that make the start-dash of a new mobile game feel even easier. With my character rocking level X Boards, their levels pushing mid-40s, and some of the harder daily quests cleared with 3 stars, I hope I'm safe in saying that I'm sort of midgame in terms of progression (if only barely so).
Outside of the story, of which I am currently in the middle of Chapter 4, Resleriana is a satisfactory time-killer. I'm playing it right now as I write, even. Having more time to understand the quirks of the RNG and how everything in battle is calculated, as well as how to accommodate for manual versus auto-battle play, is a familiar-enough practice even if the specifics of Resleriana differ in the subtleties. I have enough gem leeway to start rolling the gacha for fun if I wish, but I'll probably hold off until the final couple weeks for a final bonanza.
Although I'm still set in my decision to not migrate over and restart on JP servers once Global's time comes to an end, I am content to see this game to see this iteration of the game to its final days in late March.
Officially done with WRC 4
This happened around a month ago, which feels like ancient history to me: I completed the last currently-achievable Steam Achievement for 2013's WRC 4. My full review of this game is here, so give it a read! If I've put in the time and effort to achievement-hunt, the game has to be at least some level of good-ish, right?
It's a real shame that there are a few online-only achievements that, upon the shutdown of the multiplayer and stat-tracking servers, are now unobtainable through legitimate means. I will forever be at 44 out of 50 achievements for this game as a stuck-on-offline-mode latecomer to the game.
My cumulative time ended up being a little over 20 hours of leisurely play, including a full-bodied campaign experience that saw me play a full season in every category featured in-game: Junior WRC, WRC 3, WRC 2, and WRC. Add in around an hour or two to tie up loose ends for achievements I didn't get during the course of the main career mode and I can now look back at my time with WRC 4 with no regrets. It was a good time, and I am ready to move on to other things.
Maybe that GRID 2 savefile I have sitting around...
Round-up!
Roll it all up like a katamari! Here's some more tidbits in brief.
Chop Goblins
I recently bought David Szymanski's Chop Goblins and when I found out the experience was so short, I was happy to drop in and give it a clear. And then two. And then some more achievement hunting. Bit of lore here, my couple hours of Chop Goblins, meant to be a small refresher in between games, left me wanting more. So I booted up DUSK and now here we are!
natsuno-kanata
Kazuhide Oka's natsuno-kanata is a (currently) Japanese-only text adventure visual novel with some roguelike elements. I'm just a couple hours in, but the writing is smart and intentional, and the atmosphere and pacing are excellent. I'm excited to give this one more time when I'm in the mood for some reading.
SEGA 60th Delisted Games
Right before the Atelier Resleriana EOS announcement, I had a marathon night where I played the majority of the now-delisted games released to celebrate SEGA's 60th anniversary. I tried out the Fantasy Zone-inspired ENDLESS Zone, top-down multiplayer tank party game Armor of Heroes, and Yakuza-flavored Streets of Rage-style beat-em-up Streets of Kamurocho. All that's left for me is Golden Axed, which I had planned on visiting a little later, only for Resleriana to dramatically shift my plans...
What's next?
I'm polishing up a fun little thought piece on Forza, Supras, and playing those "slow car games" known as simcade racers as a kid. Expect that very soon. I promise it's not just about cars.
I'm still watching anime, making some more progress in Initial D and Slayers. Please don't confiscate my anime card for inactivity, I'm trying!
In the background, I'm been gradually (see: very slowly) wrapping up my time with Blue Reflection Second Light. I'm about due for my next obsession anytime soon, so who knows where that'll take me. I'm feeling reckless. I'm going to uninstall some old games and boot up something brand-new. Let's see what that will do...