The Jabberer

Despite being an avid fan of horror films and books, I am not particularly good with horror games, though I'm not sure why. Is it the loss of offensive and defensive options that the player possesses? Is it the slow movement? is it the fact that haunted houses absolutely terrify me? Perhaps it's all three, but I worked on it during the summer I spent largely shut-in, and I'm sort of proud to say that perhaps they aren't so bad, maybe not really to my taste, but they're no longer the kind of thing I'll quit and uninstall the minute scary stuff starts happening. This one is a bit more of a loose topic, but in all four games there's a decent amount of spooky and scary happenings. - - - Resident Evil VII: Biohazard (and Not a Hero ) Just when I thought I couldn't possibly visit another escape room, I ran into yet another...Though to be honest this one is pretty fun. Starting off pretty strong, this was the first horror game I played since I got scared out o

It's sort of unfortunate in a way that Smaug was done so well in the films, since now he is the standard for a dragon in film and television. Everything about him just screams terror, from his sheer size to his very voice. JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit was probably my favorite book as a kid, though it left the largest impression on me to be sure of the many books I read throughout my childhood. Cue fourteen-year-old-me's excitement when I found out that the book that I had read end to end was going to be turned into a movie, no wait, three movies. And then I saw the first film. To say that I was disappointed was an understatement, and afterward I didn't have a strong desire to see the second and third installments (though part of this might have been the fact that I might have been living in the rougher parts of Eastern Europe at the time of the release of the second film). However, while my sister was staying over and I was painting/assembling miniatures, I found a singula

It took me a while to come around to cyberpunk, and beyond cool robot appendages I didn't really get the hype behind it. It seemed very pessimistic and cynical to me, and as someone who generally veers on the optimistic and practical it didn't really appeal to me entirely. However, as a fan of science fiction, it's not beyond all hope of enjoyment for me, and over the summer I managed to get through a decent amount of cyberpunk-y media, from the arguable origin ( Blade Runner ) in the far future, to a newer example from perhaps within the next five years ( Watch_Dogs 2 ). - - - Blade Runner (Final Cut) Sure things suck in the future, but at least we finally got those flying cars we've been dreaming about. I do wonder how traffic works with them, congestion is probably a nightmare This was on my list for a really long time, and I actually saw Blade Runner 2049 before setting my eyes on its prequel. I also don't know the plethora of other cuts of this film, so I'

Science fiction isn't my favorite genre of fiction, that would have to go to fantasy, yet it still occupies a special place in my heart. Over the course of the first half-year of this pandemic I consumed a good deal of sci-fi, maybe because I needed escapism, or maybe because I had a hankering for it. Each of these three bits of science fiction are similar in that each were in some way shape or form a while coming. For Halo Reach , the Halo franchise was something I always wanted to play as a kid entering my teens, but never could before now due to its former X-Box exclusivity. System Shock 2 I had owned for a long time, yet until recently it was unable to hold my attention. Finally Forges of Mars remained unopened almost a year since I had bought it, which I thought should change. - - - Halo Reach   Real pandemic vibes, even without a pandemic. The fourth main title in the Halo franchise but the chronological prequel, Halo Reach was the first title in the Master Chief Colle

In the past couple years, I've heard a pretty large helping of scorn directed towards Netflix Originals, and this has frequently perplexed me. Don't get me wrong, there's a respectable amount of low-quality content the Netflix has produced since they began creating Originals, yet in my opinion, Netflix Originals has some of the most compelling and unique television out today. While I spent three weeks in my home state of California, I managed to get my way through three shows which (bar one) were absolutely incredible and most likely have gone unnoticed by American audiences. - - - Kingdom (Seasons 1&2) The physical performances on display throughout Kingdom are really quite incredible, with the zombies and 'The Hunter' showing some amazing feats of acrobatics and athleticism. These guys can run like nobody's business! A South Korean production, Kingdom managed to do something I haven't seen in a long time: it made zombies actually scary. These aren'

Due to a small case of burn-out with this project of mine I took an unplanned months-long vacation fro this blog, but I'm back now. For the next couple posts I'll be doing these smaller catch-up pieces where I give short reviews for up to three bits of media I've had strong feelings about since this pandemic began and I dropped off with the reviews. This is a bit experimental for me so bear with me and as usual I welcome feedback. - - - A favorite change of mine to Eternal 's gameplay is how the minor demons of 2016 now are just pinatas for resources, and it ultimately amplifies the badass feeling the game is supposed to create. DOOM Eternal : Not going to mince words, I absolutely loved the 2016 reboot of DOOM , and I was pretty anxious and excited to find out that there was going to be a sequel. In truth, I still had a lot of fun with it, and it made marked improvements to the gameplay, but on the other hand Eternal felt less like a power fantasy and closer to a chal

Apparently the realm of the dead can be accessed by ringing a bell, why not? It's rare when a piece of media attempts to explore the mindset of a different time, as it's pretty difficult to do without becoming lost in this fantasy of a bygone era, and on top of this there is always the risk of the intent being misunderstood. Betrayer as a game stood out to me, for while it admittedly was not terribly good, it stood out to me for being able to effectively tap into the fear that likely filled the English colonists on the East coast at the beginning of England's colonization of the new world.  Betrayer starts mysteriously as you wake up on a secluded beach with a merchant ship retreating into the distance. As you head inland, you encounter a mysterious girl in a red cloak, as well as a few English settlements that are completely deserted, only being inhabited by former townsfolk who are now either ghosts or stone/ash statues. The whole story is a mystery, and to tell the t

Whether the events of Dark Souls II are a dream, or not, the message still rings true: only you can see your future. Dark Souls II struck me quite unexpectedly, for while it is on its surface more or less the same game as the third entry, I found the themes and motifs of two to be more resonant, especially now. In particular these motifs are that of escapism and aging. Obviously, the themes of persistence, perseverance, and hope are present, but I'm going to forgo discussing that aspect because I will only end up repeating what was already discussed in my review of Dark Souls III . The first is probably the most timely, as a tale of escapism. In order to find a cure from a disease/curse that has turned you undead, your character (perhaps metaphorically) enters a dream-like land (Drangleic) that legends say holds the promise of a cure. Eventually however, you find that there is no cure, but like so many other things in your journey, your original purpose is forgotten and replac

I like dungeons, but this one might be too much for me. Whatever happened to the plan to find a way to the surface? As a general rule, I don't think that it's necessarily fair to review a game before it is completed, there's too many variables to account for, including the development of the systems/gameplay/story. However, I feel fully confident that Exanima is at a point where I can give my opinion on its measure as a game. It's something of an oddity, for while it is indeed "A game unlike any other" (from its description on Steam), Exanima is also baffling because at the end of the day it's merely a tech demo/prequel to Bare Mettle's upcoming Sui Generis . I know that raises some eyebrows, but even in its unfinished state there's still plenty that Exanima excels at or is otherwise noteworthy both as an actual game and a teaser for what's to come. I never thought I'd be so unhappy to see non-undead in the dark reaches. Fantastic, what