Now Playing

 Alright, here’s my first casual, miscellaneous, personal update post. Yippee, I don’t have to use my precious limited brain juices to form pretty sentences! I decided to do something like this because I thought it’d be good to have more content on the site in general and this would be a quick and easy way to achieve that. Also having something a bit more chill and less serious to write would help me fight back against any burnout or just have me be more active with this in general. So only good things! Also if all I write are my more serious and critical posts then this site would lose any semblance of my personality and that would kinda suckkkk. 

So I’ll be doing a few of these at the start of each month. This “Now Playing” moniker is for the posts that updates y’all on what I’m currently playing. So, without further ado, let’s begin the first monthly update post!

1. Mass Effect

Here’s the big one, folks! I’m starting the Mass Effect series! I recently got the Legendary Edition and Andromeda, and I thought this would be the perfect time to start BioWare’s other baby. While I have genuine interest in this series and have always wanted to play it, part of why I chose to get into it now is because I wanted to compare it to Veilguard. Why? Well because I often see comparisons being made between Veilguard and Mass Effect, more specifically Mass Effect 2. So, I thought I’d play them so I could get an idea of what people meant and that would hopefully help me make a more informed opinion on Veilguard (the write-up is still in the works!). I wanna know if Veilguard really is trying to emulate Mass Effect and if it’s doing it well. And since I wanted to play these games anyways, it’s a win-win, two birds scenario. 

So far I’m only in the early section of the game. I’ve met all my crew except Liara. I’ve done every side quest I could do on the Citadel and am now ready to depart on the Normandy as its new captain. So what do I think of the game so far?

Well aside from how dated it feels—and holy shit this game feels so dated—I think it’s pretty damn cool. It’s got great world-building right out the gate and while a lot of the dialogue is very expository, I admit its necessary to get us acquainted with this new world. The alien races and their histories and cultures are all really cool. I think the characters we’ve met so far are charismatic and charming and I’m excited to know more about them since the Mass Effect characters clearly have had a huge impact on gamers. I think the gameplay is okay? It’s a decent cover shooter with surface level companion controls. My opinion on this might change as I get deeper into the game though. The main plot is really interesting, too, with all the Reapers and Protheans and the Saren stuff. I think Mass Effect introduced me to this super cool and is just bombarding me with as much cool shit as it can right off the bat so it can hook me quickly and damn is it working. The intro to the Citadel was super cool. Though I think the equipment and inventory system kinda sucks. Again, it feels very dated. It feels more dated than Dragon Age Origins which makes sense since Mass Effect came first. But yeah. Cool game so far. Can’t wait to get more into it.

I like that for the most part so far, the side quests are narrative-based and they’re pretty good. They’re either interesting or have an emotional aspect to them. I do think the voice acting is kinda mid so far? I don’t know, everyone just sounds like they’re reading lines. They are not emotive and Shepherd is the worst offender. Shepherd straight up sucks. He isn’t blank enough to be a good self-insert like the Hero of Ferelden, and isn’t defined enough and acted well enough to be a good character like Hawke, so he just sucks. He’s so boring and bland no matter what dialogue choice you make. Also, the wheel without the symbols to tell me what Shepherd is trying to convey sucks. It lacks the freedom of Origins’ dialogue system, and too vague to be readable like DA2. A lot of Mass Effect feels like…prototype BioWare? The RPG narrative elements just feel like it hasn’t matured, like Mass Effect walked so Dragon Age could run. It does make sense though considering Mass Effect did come out first. I think I’m willing to cut it some slack because of that. Although BioWare does have a strong legacy even prior to Mass Effect so now I don’t know, I guess. Also, um, exploration with the mako kinda goofy.

2. Dragon Age: The Veilguard (again)

So yes, I started a 2nd playthrough of Veilguard. Haven’t really gotten far into it though. I just got done recruiting Lucanis. I’m doing this to test the different choices in the game to see how much you can influence the different flavours of the game. I’m aware from a lot of the online discussions that I won’t really change how the story actually goes down; I know that it’s all just flavour. But I love flavour so I don’t really care. I just wanted to see if it’s good flavour. I like most of the game so this should really test just how much I actually like it. This early in the game, different choices haven’t really changed much of the flavour, I think? Aside from my background and that this time, it was Harding who got hurt, it’s going pretty much the same. A little dialogue variance with Solas too, I should add.

I’m also playing on Nightmare to see just how tough the game can get and to test how good the combat system actually is. I’m playing a warrior now as opposed to a rogue, and the difference in combat was quite surprising. It took some playstyle adjustments which I found quite nice. I’ll try to do different builds this time around since last time, I just stuck to one build because respeccing is a pain in this game. I do appreciate that I can do it though. Last time, I played on the hard difficulty and while it was somewhat tough, my archer build made it such a breeze. Hoping this playthrough kicks my ass a bit. But yeah, the game is still fun but replaying this soon from when I finished meant seeing a lot of the same thing and that is kinda boring. I wouldn’t say that’s a slight against the game though, I just don’t replay games in general. Also, this time I’m gonna try to make my Rook a full-on stoic character to see how much I can influence her personality. All in all, excited to go through the game again. I’ve already set in my mind what decisions I’ll be making this time around. 

3. Rainbow Six Siege 

I have returned to Rainbow Six Siege after having left it for about a year. This would mark my 3rd time returning to the game after a long hiatus since I got it on release. There’s something about this game that keeps me coming back. A quick recap on my history with Siege; I got it on PS4 when it came out. Stopped playing after a while and when I got my gaming PC, a friend of mine bought it on Steam for me and I’d play it a bit before ultimately dropping it. Some years later, I got back into it and played it pretty religiously for a while. Some time after that, I got a friend of mine into and when he got really into it, I stopped playing again. Cut to now, and I’m strapped back in and I’m enjoying it as much as I did since I first played. It’s a fun, tactical, gameplay loop. Sorry that I can’t give specific time frames, I don’t really remember that well.Anyways, since I’ve gotten better at it (turns out, sitting in the corner the entire game is a terrible strategy) I’ve been having a much better time. Still not good by any means but I can hold my own down in iron lol. Now if only the PC servers would get back online so I can actually play it…

4. The Finals

The Finals! A relatively new game (if you wanna consider a game in its 4th season “new” lol) in the competitive multiplayer shooter landscape. Developed by some ex-Dice employees, I think The Finals is a really unique game that stands out in a sea of samey shooters. From its game show aesthetics to the destructible environments to the fast-paced and frenetic gameplay, The Finals has carved out a successful niche in the genre. It’s a ton of fun and pretty easy to pick up. Games are short and quick, making this a good game to play if you don’t have too much time to spare. It’s got an active enough playerbase that you’d find games in about a minute or two. I initially got this game when it got out of beta and while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t compelled to stick around although I kept it in my library this whole time. I would always just play Siege instead. But with Siege barely working for me, The Finals is a nice alternative. Since I’ve gotten pretty decent at this one too, I’m starting to enjoy it more as well. It’s either this or Valorant and Valorant takes way too much time per game so I’ve found myself playing this one more.

5. Valorant

I do play this one from time to time so I thought it should be here. It’s fun I guess? This one sucks the soul out of me. But the game itself is actually good. 

6. Honkai Star Rail

The last game I want to include in this one is Honkai Star Rail! Yes, I’m a gacha enjoyer. I know a lot of people will immediately dismiss me and any opinion I may have because I play a filthy gacha game. But hey, a lot of gacha games are actually pretty solid. I understand if the gacha elements are a turn off, but its not for me. The turn-based gameplay here is pretty good. It’s got a decent amount of depth and complexity in its systems, and the developers are constantly making big changes to the meta that keeps the combat interesting. The story and world is pretty cool. It’s a fun and worthy live-service to invest your time into if you’re willing to give it a shot. 

7. Marvel Rivals

I felt like I should tack this onto the end of my Now Playing list since it is dropping this month and I do plan on playing it. I already have it preloaded on my Steam account. I was a huge Overwatch guy back before Overwatch 2 went live. Ever since then though, I haven’t touched Overwatch much. I don’t enjoy the game in its current state; I think 5v5 is bad or at least it changes the gameplay into something I don’t enjoy as much as 6v6, and locking new characters behind a paywall is stupid for a game like Overwatch. I know a lot of dedicated players now are saying that counter-picking isn’t everything but switching characters on the fly is integral to Overwatch’s strategic gameplay and its appeal as a strategic hero shooter (at least it was to me). I stopped enjoying the game and I didn’t have any friends who were into it like I was. Hence, my retirement from Overwatch. Sad music. So with Marvel Rivals coming into the fray to become Overwatch’s next direct competitor, I am very interested. The response to the game has been very positive so far, and it looks cool. We all like Marvel (we do, right? RIGHT?) and at the very least, I want to see what it brings to the hero shooter genre. Every game that has tried in the past never made a dent in Overwatch’s reign over the genre. With how popular Marvel Rivals already seems to be, it will be interesting to see how it affects the landscape of hero shooters. While dethroning Overwatch is gonna be hard (Overwatch has had years to perfect its formula), I think it would at least be on the board and have a fighting chance. Can’t wait to try it out, honestly. 

Now Watching 

1. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

New Star Wars show! I think this marks the 2nd(?) Star Wars show of 2024, the first being The Acolyte. Spoiler alert: I LIKED IT. As of writing this, Skeleton Crew had just premiered with two episodes and man, those two episodes were pretty good. I was just smiling half the time, watching it. It’s an incredibly charming show. It’s a fun kids adventure starring some very charismatic and talented young actors, with Neel being a big highlight. So far, each character is distinct and it’s easy to pin down the general idea of what kind of characters they are, while still making you understand that there might be more beneath the surface with them. Although I think Wim is kinda annoying and he frustrates me a bit but nothing too serious. I still generally like him though I wanted to smack him on more than a few occasions. However, I admit he’s acting like a kid would, so I don’t wanna call it bad writing.  The set pieces are a lot of fun, and the practical effects are such a welcome sight. One thing I have to give credit to Disney is using more practical elements in Star Wars instead of unnecessarily relying on VFX. The result is a show that looks really good. Although, the show is quite dark and I’m not talking about tone. In dimly lit scenes, I could barely see anything and I don’t know if its my tablet that wasn’t bright enough or the show just really is that dark. Aside from the surface level fun the show has, there’s also an intriguing mystery that the show serves up that has got the fanbase putting their thinking caps on, which is always a good thing. Giving the fans something to engage with in between the weekly episodes is smart and we’re loving it, if the subreddit is anything to go by. I also appreciate all the references and easter egg the show has. Really makes the fans happy and makes the Star Wars universe feel big and alive. 

So yeah. I’m happy we got this. A fun, family-friendly space adventure that made me smile and laugh like a little boy. God, Star Wars hasn’t charmed me like this in a very long time. I think this show, if it sticks the landing, is gonna be very good for the franchise and the fanbase. Something lighthearted that everyone can enjoy together instead of fighting all the goddamn time. Honestly, this feels like the kind of show that, if you’re hating on it, it just makes you look like an ass. It’s like hating on kids having fun. And that’s not cool, gang.

Now Reading 

1. Tevinter Nights

Ah, Tevinter Nights. I was ideally going to finish this before playing Veilguard. Welp. I’m nowhere near done with it because here’s something you need to know about me: I am a terribly slow reader. Like, extremely so. I’ve read two short stories so far though and they’ve both been pretty good! The first one about Strife and the Tevinter guy whose name I don’t remember was pretty cool. When I met Strife and Irellin in-game I jumped out of my seat. And then the second short story in the Grand Necropolis was really cool too with a really nice twist. Written a bit poorly though, I have to say. It doesn’t read very well. Anyways, hopefully I can get around to finishing it soon. 

2. Star Wars The High Republic: Light of the Jedi

Okay fun fact about this one, I started reading it a while ago and stopped when I got to the end of the first act. I thought I should focus on Tevinter Nights first (lol) and haven’t gone back yet. I want to though. I really liked the first act. The way it showed multiple perspectives and how all these different characters were responding to this horrible disaster that struck that star system whose name I forgot. It very successfully conveyed the tragedy of the event and the feeling of hope when seeing all these people doing whatever they can just to save lives. Like, seriously, I got really emotional because acts of sacrifice in the name of helping others just always gets me. It also successfully conveyed what kind of time The High Republic was in, at least before shit hits the fan from this book onward. It was peaceful and there was unity. The exclamation of “We are all The Republic,” being a saying that brought comfort and also inspired cooperation and compassion, was awesome. Seeing so many Jedi working together was also super cool. I get why The High Republic stuff is highly regarded by the fans. I’m excited to keep diving into it. And seeing High Republic references in the 2024 Star Wars shows was really cool too. God I love Star Wars. 

3. Serena

So here’s a Manhwa that I’m reading. It’s a recommendation from my girlfriend, she loves this one. I’m enjoying it too, surprise surprise (not really). It follows a young married couple who were forced into marrying each other because the owner of Serenity Hotel, Iansa, needed someone to manage her hotel. She believed her granddaughter, Serena, was too young and highly incapable to do it, and so enlisted the help of Eiser to manage the hotel. They needed to get married for reasons I kinda forgot because I’m stupid but the two things are related. The two main protagonists, Serena and Eiser, are fucking horrible people. And that’s a lot of fun to read. I’m also quite invested in how the story is gonna play out.

4. Void Man

I read one chapter and thought it was pretty cool. It’s God of War but kinda different. The art is nice and the concept is super dope. The apocalypse happened and a bunch of Gods descended down and they all collectively thought “Hey, this would be the perfect opportunity for each of us to enslave humanity and be absolute dicks. Hooray!”

The main protagonist hates Gods because they killed his family so now he wants to kill them all. Like I said, it’s God of War. Guy made a deal with the devil to be bestowed with Demon Powers™ and now he goes around killing Gods. Oh and uh every time he uses the demon powers he gets hurt because we gotta nerf him somehow. For all intents and purposes, I should hate this. I’m sick and tired of Evil Gods™ stories, it’s old. But the art is cool and the concept is dope, so I guess I’ll keep reading.