How things are actually going: Update

Winter break was… well, quite unsatisfying. I couldn’t (or more like I didn’t) do as much testing practice/Unity learning/blogging as I hoped to do. I couldn’t meet up with my friend, which basically drove up my anxiety levels to very high levels. I blame my inactivity partially to my friend’s busy schedule, since he was here for around 10 days and couldn’t meet for a single day. My anxiety became quite insane even though I started therapy (they do help with my school issues, but my personal ones… not so much). I became too anxious to work; three weeks went and passed by, and although there was little to no school homework, I felt quite unsatisfied with the amount of work that I put in during break.

Three weeks was way shorter than I have imagined it to be, though. 1/2 of that was spent with my family, and the other half… I did some SAT practice and the rest was League.

Right now, I have 25 published posts (counting this one) and it has been 5 months since I started this blog. Even though I want to say that “I will try my best to write something every day“, it would be a horrendous lie to say so. I am only human, and a tired IB student at that. Even though part of my blog is used for CAS (which is a graduation requirement so I must do it), I only make weekly updates on my Unity Journal, with actual posts stuck in between.

I think 5-6 posts a month is enough. 3-4 of those will be Unity Journals (I have learned that I can use spare time in school to work on Unity), posted every Saturday/Sunday depending on my schedule at that moment. There will be 1-2 “actual” posts a month. My Soldier: 76 post gained some traction (not enough for me though) but not as much attention as my most successful post to date, my Rise of the Tomb Raider review. Both of those were over 2000 words in length, with S:76 one being almost 3000 words plus images. I think I’ve learned a lot while writing that piece, and I hope to transfer some of those skills that I’ve learned to my more regular posts, like my reviews.

That said: I think I would have to work on my SteamWorld Dig review for a bit longer. I originally planned it to be an overall analysis on Metroidvania genre and how Dig 1 and 2 (yes, an analysis of both games) compares to Metroid and Super Metroid. Turns out, Dig is a bit too shallow for me to dive deep into a conversation about Metroidvanias. So, I am going to rewrite the piece and post the reviews separately to fit the normal review aesthetic. I can’t make any promises, but I will try my best to complete them before the end of the month.

My post on Hue will probably be largely based on a Lang Art assignment that I did on disabled access on video games. Hue was a great game, yes, but I want to outline my thought about disability access in games as a whole using Hue as a stepping stone. I am conflicted whether or not I should make that post a separate one or not: only time will tell, for now.

I recently finished Doom (the 2016 reboot) and oh god, it was fantastic. I loved the campaign. It was an emotional catharsis for me to play the most metal game of all existence (note: I haven’t played Brutal Legend yet. I have it though. It can wait). Review for it will come soon; I do have topics that I want to talk about, such as the glory kill system, guided path, and use of visuals and color. This will probably come next month.

I also finished Orwell. Very interesting game, I must say: the ending really creeped me out and now I’m nervous that a mysterious eye is watching me online…
Jokes aside (or are they?), Orwell was a great twist on the point-and-click adventure and visual novel genre. Guised as a simulation, this game tells a horrifying tale of government surveillance and illustrates the true horrors of an actual Orwellian nightmare. Review of it will be shorter than other reviews, but there are points that I want to talk about. Probably next month.

I am currently playing Hollow Knight. Just upgraded my nail for the first time and reached the City of Tears. I am around 4 hours in, and so far, my journey through Hollownest has been fantastic. I savored every second of it. It was challenging at first, or course, but when I cleared the first area and got the hang of the game, it took me in a flash. It will require 15-20 more hours of playtime, and I expect that the review should come at least before spring break.

Next up on my backlog:

•  Okami (it’s way too long though)
• To the Moon and Finding Paradise (per friend’s recommendation; shouldn’t take that long [as each game is 3 hours long] but I want to finish Hollow Knight first before touching anything else)
• Celeste (heard only good things about this one. I really want to look at how it deals with anxiety, probably a lot to learn from there)
• Hyper Light Drifter (its combat system, I heard, is definitely worth checking out)
• Guacamelee! (another Metroidvania classic; gotta play Hollow Knight, Super Metroid, and Symphony of the Night first before touching another Metroidvania. Will be quite a while before I start this one)
• Other Twitch Prime games: Broforce, Brutal Legend, Gone Home, Psychonauts, Civ IV, System Shock 2. Yikes. Soon…
• Epic Free Goodies (Epic store is AWESOME! Please release Journey for free, I will kill for that damn game): Super Meat Boy, What Remains of Edith Finch, Subnautica (might bundle that up with other multiplayer games for a thoughts post)

Upcoming reviews, besides the ones mentioned in the body:

• Superhot (the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years. No joke.)
• Overcooked! (I need a friend, dammit. Seriously though, it’s quite hard to do the main story alone)
• Super Smash Brothers Ultimate: might do a general dissection of fighting games in the future with this one and Tekken 7, among other fighting games; soon.
• Shorter games/Demos: RE: 2 Remake Demo, HITMAN 2, A Bird Story, etc.
• Other freebies: Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Geneshift, DISTRAINT, Murderous Pursuits, etc.

In conclusion: I have a lot of games to play over the next few months. I will try my best to keep posting 4-5 posts a month (including the regular weekly posting of Unity Journals), but I am a busy student, so no guarantees.