Souls Like Strings

I shudder to think how much planning this took

Why

• Genuinely creative, M.C. Escher-esque puzzles
• Intuitive without being hand-holdy
• 'Ah, that was it!' moments abound
• There's probably a story to piece together if you tear yourself away from puzzling

Why Not

• You strongly dislike puzzle games

Impressions

Gorogoa is a concentrated shot of puzzle design with a simple concept, brilliantly executed. Gameplay takes place in a 4-square grid and consists of clicking to move or focus within a square or dragging squares to a new position. Sounds simple, but exploring for ways to line...

Like this but Funnier by Hallie Cantor.

Compound interest works on mistakes too

Quite a fun read, I never expected to relate so much to someone who stalks their husband's therapy patient and uses their murder dreams to pitch a shitty TV comedy but here we are. I can definitely believe Hollywood works as portrayed and even if it doesn't the main thing is it's an entertaining backdrop to Caroline eternally spiralling from the small mistake of accidentally glimpsing her husband's patient notes. Probably won't leave a mark on me like Infinite Jest for example, but...

• Even if a helper function isn't an observer itself, if it's used in an observer it re-runs in response to changes
  • So you need to convert it to a hook with useState to ensure a stable value if that's what you want
• You also can't just set it as the initial value of a useState or useRef if you don't want the logic to run
  • Since those still run on each render despite being discarded
• State in a hook is not kept when the component rendering that hook unmounts (duh)
  • But if...

Freeman's Bizarre Adventure

Why

• The no cutscenes/environmental storytelling very much holds up
• Weapons all have their niches and feel good to use
• Fun sorta-puzzles to break up the shooting, exploration rewarded
• Half Life's Xen may not be great but Black Mesa's is fantastic
• Feels very 'designed'; if you can't decide what to do just look carefully

Why Not

• You don't want compulsory breaks every hour or so when it crashes
• You hate shooters with a passion

Impressions

I never played the original Half-Life, but if the only differences to Black Mesa are a shorter...

I can see why they recommend playing this one first

Why

• The first iteration of the Persona we know & love, but shinier
• Some standout character moments & solid overall plot
• Shadow variety/designs are pretty good
• Theurgies are a cool gimmick; especially for the protagonist
• No mascot!

Why Not

• I felt much less connected to the team/social links than Royal
• Less personal stakes
• Very ambiguous ending; explanation locked behind a DLC only purchasable in a bundle
• Mostly Persona 5 Royal exists & I played it first

Impressions

Reload is a great game in a...