It’s been a cozy weekend. Woke up to a fog that matched the fog in my head from a weeks worth of physical and mental fatigue. Certain thoughts keep returning to me, and I’ve been trying to aid them with distraction. I’m sure you can guess what some of those distractions might be. Either way, Aloy is now a proud member of the Hunting Lodge after helping to take down Redmaw. Called it a night when I found a new corrupted zone. I’ll probably pick back up on it tomorrow after taking care of some stuff.
HZD
Praise The Sun(day) King
Today was a cozy Sunday filled with plenty of healthy brunch, and a full day of HZD! Finished a couple of quests in the Frozen Wilds. Now I’m back on the main path after a bunch of flower hunting, corrupt machine zone cleansing, and a tallneck was there somewhere.
Haven’t decided if I’ll continue the journey tomorrow, or to move onto something else. I basically put in a full shift of HZD today, a little more than I planned to. Can’t be helped though, it’s like watching a really interesting movie, with the thrill of the hunt! It’s no different than binge watching movies on a rainy day, this one is just interactive… and moddable. :v
To The Frozen Wilds!
Made it to The Frozen Wilds DLC! Really beautiful mountain area, and plenty more time for me to waste enjoy here! I’ve already gained a few quests that will be keeping me busy for a bit.
The Frozen Wilds are home to The Banuk; one of the many tribes you find throughout HZD. They are a people that treat the machines as if they have their own spirits, and the lands are plagued by a an evil daemon. I have to find a Shaman by walking The Shaman’s Path, but not before completing a couple other side-quests that happen to be in easy reach.
I left off entering an old building, with a puzzle awaiting me when I’m slightly less tired. Tonight I put in a good few hours after a bit of animation. It’s supposed to be raining tomorrow, might play this some more to keep warm. 😛
Level 30 Came So Fast
Another successful evening of HZD, this time on the couch! Destroyed a couple of bandit camps, made my own Robot Wars and left off during a hot hunt. I’ve leveled up to 30, and decided to unlock the skill that lets me quietly assassinate the heavier baddies. I’ve racked up quite a few side-quests now that I’m further into the plotline, looking forward to seeing what else unfolds!
I Found Wikipedia
Still uncovering the main plot in HZD. The more I discover, the more incredibly insane it is. Had to destroy another Deathbringer tonight, this time with working legs. Felt like I was fighting a Metal Gear, but in a Tomb Raider game. You can tell this game is very Playstation.
Good Huntin’
The hunt is still going well! Mostly spent tonight looking for metal flowers and ancient vessels. Also hunted machines and animals, found a couple of vantage points/audio logs. Fun game is fun. 🙂
More Answers Than Questions
The more I play of this, the more questions I find needing an answer. Last night I uncovered a good chunk of why the world has been thrown back to tribalism, and as I expected it goes all the way back to corporations fucking things over. FARO in this universe is basically Tesla if Elon went too fucking far. They manufactured “Peace keeping machines” that were used for war, and were able too replicate themselves using organic organisms. The amount of lawsuits and problems I’ve found strewn throughout the data logs pokes fun at how a big corp fucked things up for the whole world.
Then I’m also left wondering… who is this woman who looks like Aloy? Is she a mother? Or is she an ancestor from what they refer to as “The Old World”? The holograms and data are from centuries ago in this universe, and it makes it all the more interesting. Each time I come back to this game I gain about ten questions for every one or two answers I find. It’s almost like having my own interactive soap opera to play!
Next time I play I’m poised to solve another cauldron. I came close to doing it tonight, but I reached the final chamber right as it was time to call it quits.
To be continued, I guess. 😛
The Hunt Continues
See… I had plans to wrap up my animation project, but there was an empty couch in need of a tired body after a long work week, and an imagination in dire need of a cinematic fix with a side of tea. I only meant to play for a couple hours, but it ended up being the rest of the evening… this game is just too good. Found some new machines to study… and kill. I also saved the city of Meridian from a very punchable protagonist (not the guy in the above picture) and did tons of exploration.
I may or may not continue this tomorrow… or maybe a little more tonight! 😛
Palace and Chill
Took on some Glinthawks tonight and advanced the plot a little in Horizon Zero Dawn. Instead of fast traveling I’ve been walking all over the place looking for treasures and settlements, and maybe the occasional Machine skirmish. I wish I knew more people to talk about this game with. Other than a couple friends between work and online, everyone else I know either thinks it’s too boring, or they find Aloy to be too “woke” *aka* she’s not fuckable enough. Though to me she’s probably one of the best female protagonists since Lara Croft. In fact, Aloy seems more like classic Lara than the current spin of Lara ala Crystal Dynamics. Aloy explores, learns from her environment and adapts, she crafts arrows and other items like modern Lara but without the annoying whining.
Wish I could have played more tonight, but at least I moved the main quest along, and I’m in position for next time.
Knock Knock, Open Thread
Think after tonight I’ll give HZD a little break. I’ve already put in over 40 hours into it! Tonight I completed a couple quests, but spent most of it stealthily exploring the environment. Played a little extra tonight to celebrate finishing another SFM render, will probably do more animating tomorrow night, and pick a different game to chill with… possibly something more demonic. Tomorrow’s my Friday, so the sky’s the limit!
Open Thread!