It was another successful day of spring cleaning. Dusted another area, and got my cups and bowls sorted. Now I can access them with ease AND they’re all in a more elegant spot. Then as it got dark I got a little more comfortable with Kena, some cherry blossom tea, and a candle to match. This time I decided to return to The Forgotten Forest to find what I missed during my first visit. So far I’ve managed to find a hat, a meditation spot and a few Rot. Already left a future note for myself in case another game distracts me… with my library you never know! 😛
Indie Gaming
Toren: A Game That Aged Like Fine Wine
For a game that came out in 2015, the graphics are still lovely even in 4K! Plus the refresh rate makes it feel like this game has matured like a fine wine. I decided to play a bit of Toren during lunch today, and ended up picking up where I left off for my one hour of gaming. Toren supports cloud saves, so I’m hoping it’ll help me finish it. As beautiful as the game is I am reminded of why I took a long break from it; some of the controls feel a little clunky. Although I am doing better platforming certain areas that I kept fucking up on the last time I played.
If you’re not familiar with Toren, it’s a game where you play as a young girl. You’re alone in a tower, that is frequently harassed by a dragon with a petrifying shriek. So far I’ve only been petrified twice. Both times it was part of the plot though…
You end up dying and being reborn numerous times. The last time I played I only got to her teenage phase before calling it quits. Now I aim to finish this one once and for all. I was impressed with how well it ran on Deck earlier. I played for about half an hour, and it only used about 9 percent of the battery, the fans barely even kicked on. It certainly fits the bill for lunch time/evening distraction!
Saturday In The Shadows
Had a very zen evening tonight. Made a large pot of Japanese Curry and some rice, drank some green tea and played Aragami in the living room while getting intoxicated on the epic aromas wafting from my cauldron. Made it through Chapters 8 and 9, survived a boss battle and earned four achievements!
It took me awhile, but I did nail the captain after about 100 retries. In order to defeat him you need to destroy a light barrier switch that protects the Captain, then you have to backstab him and repeat the procedure two more times. You are then treated to an epic battle cutscene. I went from gritting my teeth to being proud af to just get through the damned boss fight. It was so intense that I almost thought I would beat the game tonight! But alas, three more chapters will have to wait for another time. My eyes feel waaaay too shot for me to continue. Time to finish off the rest of my tea and call it a night.
Another Day, Another Achievement
Finally beat my personal record! Also made it to Level 20, apparently only 8% of other players have that achievement – So that makes me a rare falcon I guess. I earned a triple jump power up, allowing me to save up to three jump upgrades for when I REALLY need to get high.
It was fun! Fun enough that I can move along to something else tomorrow… perhaps something a little more hellish.
Unbound By Friendship
Alright! First game of the year finished! It took me a good few years to get around to finishing it, but I did it! All that’s left is to mine the achievements and secrets, but I definitely got more than my money’s worth out of it – especially since this was being given away for free. 😛 I’ve left my glowing review for it over at Steam.
Guess I’ll have to check out Trine 2 now! Well… not now, it’s late.
Soaring Along
Went on a semi-peaceful flight this evening, semi-peaceful because of the chance of crashing into shit. When I wasn’t running into objects and fixtures at high speeds I did better on each flight, and even earned a couple achievements for it!
I’ve been feeling kinda out of it this evening. Something tells me this weekend will need to be a chill one for me, feeling a bit under the weather and only one day of work left. I foresee a long winter nap in my weekend future.
Kiss My Asgard
Channeled a bit of my inner Gun-Toting Valkyrie in BPM: Bullets Per Minute tonight! I haven’t played it in almost half a year, and surprisingly I had my longest run yet!
In case you never heard of it before; BPM: Bullets Per Minute is an FPS Roguelike where you battle your way through randomly generated paths on each run to the rhythm of music, obtaining coin, health and power-ups along the way with the occasional boss battle and challenge at the end of each level. Tonight was the furthest I made it tonight! Not bad for not playing for almost half a year. I passed Asgard, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim and eventually getting beaten to death in Helheim. That said, it did get me some new achievements!
Normally I can only seem to get out of Asgard II before inevitably dying, but tonight I managed to get a good selection of stats. I’ll have to see if I can beat the game sometime between now and six months into the future!
Fox On The Run
During the holidays I accumulated quite a few games, as is tradition! Some gifted, some bought. I saw a couple friends purchase Spirit of the North, a calm game where you play as a Fox wandering the landscapes of Iceland. You follow the spirit of the northern lights, and eventually become intertwined with her magic and energy. The visual quality is just as breathtaking as the calming musical score that follows you throughout your journey.
By using her powers you can open up new areas, and eventually gain more abilities from gaining a howl that can purify evil ragweed tendrils, and spiritual power that allows you to leave your body to explore places you normally couldn’t traverse.
I’ve decided to leave off on Chapter 4 for now. There wasn’t much to the game itself, but if you like to wander and take in beautiful scenery it’s definitely worth a play, if only to unwind. My only complaints so far are the inability to cloud save, and sometimes the controls show their clunkiness. But I’m already a couple hours again, and I know that I’ll be returning to it again sometime soon. 🙂
And So It Ends… For Now.
Decided to end tonight by completing The Black Labyrinth! Truly a stunning DLC from start to finish, just as beautiful and crazy as the base game. It was so much fun to come back and play AMID EVIL again! I’ll need to return to it someday to obtain one more achievement to once again 100% the game. It gives me an excuse to go back and find the secrets I missed the first time. 🙂
If they made another DLC campaign for this, or even a sequel I’d happily look forward to it. The amount of imagination that went into crafting these levels is far beyond stunning. It’s always a mix of joy and sadness when I finally finish a game with an actual ending.
Lucky for me I have plenty of other ones to try and finish! 😛 What will the weekend bring me? Only a goodnight’s rest and one more day of hell will get me there.
The Final Challenge Awaits… Next Time
Ventured deeper into AMID EVIL’s Black Labyrinth this evening. Made it a couple levels further, and even scored an achievement for reaping 10 souls with the scythe, I’m getting really close to 100% again on achievements! I’m also well poised for next time:
On the otherside of that open door a challenge awaits me. I was hoping to get this wrapped up tonight but juuuuuuust ran out of time. I might consider wrapping up the challenge tomorrow night.
Assuming I don’t get lost looking in the level for secrets. 😛