Not OP, but the Lodge seasoning guide is a pretty good starting point. Cast iron being used forever is proof of how resilient it can be, there’s not too many things you can do that are irreparable.

Also, you don’t really need to baby it as much as most people say. Just keep using it and it’ll keep getting better.

I mean, this plan is the best plan. Ubisoft games go on sale almost instantly and the ultimate editions are sub $50 within 3-6 months. I’ll just go back to my Balatro trance and check this out in 2025.

banging parties

GIGGITY

I know there’s maybe a 5% chance of it happening soon, but I’d kill for this to hit before I go on vacation in July. Balatro would be outstanding to play on my iPad during a long flight.

Think of it on a scale of 1-10. High floor means it’s not a stinker, so worst ranking would be in the 4/10 - 5.5/10 range. Low ceiling means it’s not going to be an all-timer, so the best ranking would be in the 6/10 - 7.5/10 range. Basically you’ll never HATE it, but you’re also never going to LOVE it.

Dean Koontz is kind of like the RC Cola of horror/suspense novelists:

• See RC Cola in the store
• “Hmmmm, it’s been a while, but I THINK I liked RC the last time I got it”
• Purchase and consume RC Cola
• “I kind of wish this was a Coke, but it’s not that bad, might as well finish”
• Several years pass, go back to step 1

As a side note, I LOVED Dean Koontz books back in the 80’s/90’s. They were fun and quick reads that are in the “high floor, low ceiling” realm of books.

Just got to Act III in Baldur’s Gate 3, and god damnit is it good. I played and loved the original 2 games when they came out, but I didn’t have the time to devote time to it when it came out on consoles in the summer. Glad I waited, and even more pleased that it lived up to the hype (and then some)!

I also started the Valhalla DLC for God of War Ragnarok, and it’s OUTSTANDING. it’s a great palette cleanser in between BG3 or if I just want a short play session since the runs are only 20 minutes or so. The Roguelite formula is perfect for GoW, and I’m really hoping more AAA games try something similar to extend their lifespan. I highly recommend checking it out.

I actually really liked it, but I stopped playing a month or so ago because it was buggy as hell and had several instances of crashes that would cause you to lose an entire mission’s progress (sometimes up to an hour’s worth of investment). Also, the framerate is insanely bad, and for no discernible reason since the graphics don’t seem to be that intense. There is a good game hidden in it, and I’m hoping the patch helps, but I’m not holding my breath.

It may not be my top game, but it’s up there! I really glad to hear you liked it that much though, I can’t wait to see what the DLCs will look like. There’s already a lot of variety, but more stuff to do is always great.

I will agree with the other poster that already replied and say it’s MUCH better in Remnant 2. Variety in stages, story, and enemies are all much better, and the bosses/mini-bosses are more fun than the first. I loved the first game as it was a really great small party game to play online, but the second is better in almost all aspects. If you have Xbox, it just went on gamepass, and I think it’s worth your time to check it out.

As a side note, I will say that the final bosses in both games are absolute bullshit. It’s the one thing that they didn’t seem to listen to as far as criticisms from the first game. If you have a party you’ll be fine, but soloing can be tough.

I really loved:

• Sea of Stars
• Roboquest
• Spider-Man 2
• Dredge
• Lies of P
• Remnant 2

I really DIDN’T love:

• Rollerdrome
• Starfield
• Hogwarts Legacy

I think there were some middling games and some really great games this year, and even the ones I didn’t enjoy were just not for me, as opposed to actively being bad games. I’m not going to board the hyperbole train and say it’s the best year for games ever, but I think it was very strong and had a lot of variety which is good for everyone. Looking forward to 2024 when I get to play everyone else’s favorites in this thread :)

This is the most precise presentation about what I hated about Starfield. I gave up about 5ish hours in when the 3rd planet I landed on to explore was literally the same as the first two. Maybe it was just me, maybe it was unlucky lottery, but the fast travel to multiple boxes with the same ingredients shaken up slightly was enough to make me walk away.

If people liked it, I’m very happy for them, it just didn’t do it for me and I feel like it’s starting to be diminishing returns with Bethesda after Fallout 3/Skyrim (though I’m sure someone will correct me with an older drop off point).

It really depends on which version of the report got delivered.

Fair enough. There’s a ton of other good suggestions in this thread, I hope you both find something that you can enjoy together!

As an outside the box option, have you thought about a single player turn based RPG as an option?something like Persona 5 for instance would have a good story, cute cat, and you could trade off on the battles while your partner would have input on the story beats and battle selections. I know it’s not 2-player really, but it might give you both a chance to steer the narrative and the choices together and you wouldn’t need to worry about them being overwhelm with complicated actions and inputs.

At a local Italian place called Ozzie’s, they used to have a crab pasta that is easily my favorite dish from any restaurant I’ve ever been to (like lick the plate good). They took it off the menu about 15 years ago, and I was so devastated that I think I actually felt my soul leave my body when the waiter told me. He had to give me a few minutes to mourn, and to this day I still feel sad/hopeful when I go back in and look at the menu. Fuck. Now I’m sad again.

Intellivision (Intelligang REPRESENT):

• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: cloudy Mountain
• Lock ‘N Chase
• Astrosmash

NES:

• Megaman 2
• Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo, BRING BACK WART YOU COWARDS)
• Castlevania 3

There are dozens of us!

I don’t know if it’s the same stat buffs/debuffs across all the Elder Scrolls games, but the one OP was likely talking about was the Redguard race in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (stat sheet here). And yes, it was pretty messed up.

An actual faithful adaptation of I Am Legend. It’s a short as hell book and could easily be adapted almost word for word and still be a reasonably short movie. Hollywood had multiple swings at it without even bothering to try and get the main story arc or the ending right (and no, I don’t think the Will Smith alternate ending was good).