Yeah that’s probably the key. While I’m blessed in that I have friends in my life, I don’t really have any gamer friends so it’s also just me vs randoms in these scenarios

I will just never understand why adults who have seen hundreds of dogs in their life will act like they’ve never seen a dog before anytime they encounter a new dog.

Honestly it’s weird as fuck.

I’m excited to see if they turn it into a FPS or a Sokoban-type game, since we learned from FF7R that apparently you can radically change the core gameplay mechanic but still call your game a “remake” somehow

I know I’m an old head, but I fall all of these games (Deadlock, Apex Legends, Overwatch, whatever) to be fun for about two hours and then I’m sated.

I genuinely wish I understood the appeal because so many people seem to get so much joy from them.

Good for them, but until EGS starts being more pro- consumer, I’m not spending a cent there

I can’t recommend Celeste enough, personally.

I will warn you that the platforming can be challenging, but if it’s too stressful Celeste offers almost unparalleled accessibility options that will allow you fine control over the difficulty so no matter your skill level you’ll be able to progress.

Great story, cozy atmosphere but still emotional impact, and the only “fighting” you do is against yourself.

Amazing game, highly recommend Celeste

Removed by mod

Removed by mod

I mean…

The unfortunate reality is that both parties, the customer and the game company, are culpable and both share blame

Personally I don’t play any game with microtransactions.

I’m only interested in games I can purchase outright and then own*. If there’s large scale DLC that’s fine, great even, but if there’s some in-game way to spend money that isn’t restricted to a DLC button/section, then I’m not interested.

I want to play games, not be inundated by constant sales opportunities.

*I’m aware I don’t “own” most game due to the stupidity of licensing, and while I don’t love that, I can acknowledge it’s still a different and better thing that games that constantly push microtransactions

First off, I’m American, but I understand your decision. Elbows up!

Beyond that, gotta be honest I’m not a huge classic rock guy, so I don’t even recognize about half those names. But that’s cool; I like stumbling into stuff I haven’t before.

I know Harvest of course (it’s great but I agree on Neil’s voice). And the Guess Who are one of those bands I know the singles from, but haven’t really explored deeper than that. Likewise I have never really dove into Gordon Lightfoot but I like what I know of his a lot; I absolutely adore Sundown. Rush I’ve listened to a bit but I’m more a Yes guy when it comes to classic prog rock.

Beyond that I’ve heard of but haven’t heard anything by Tragically Hip and Great Big Sea, but the rest are new names to me.

I’d say if I were to try to find something at the intersection of our interests and you say you like classic rock and Iron Maiden, the most recent Pentagram album ‘Lightning in a Bottle,’ which is technically a traditional doom metal/stoner rock album, but to my ears I think sounds a lot like Maiden mixed with a real classic rock sound and just a touch of doom on top (and obviously Bobby Liebling is no Bruce Dickinson) would probably be my first thought… but they’re American (from my neck of the woods, actually) and I don’t want suggest crossing the metaphorical picket line, so maybe bank the suggestion as something to check out if we’re ever freed from the insanity of our current situation. ✌

Oh god, I listen to a lot of music, so get ready, and fair warning I’m kind of a metalhead (but I genuinely do listen to everything), lol. Here’s a quick rundown of my recent listening, with minimal notes:

Sear Bliss - Heavenly Down. melodic black metal with a trombone!

Within Destruction - Animetal. deathcore goes pop sensibilities; I really think between this album and Left to Suffer’s ‘Leap of Death’ we’re on the precipice of the birth of a new microgenre that does to deathcore what easycore did to melodic hardcore and metalcore.

The Weeknd - Hurry Up Tomorrow. I’ve been a Weeknd fan since his original three mixtapes dropped, and finally got around to listening to his latest.

Dayseeker - Dark Sun. metalcore-tinged synthpop.

Watsky - Intention. kinda hippie-drenched indie hip-hop?

Rioghan - Kept. melodic and slightly djenty alt-metal; I was really hyped for Jinjer’s new album before it came out but honestly Rioghan’s Kept kind of sounds like what I wanted but didn’t fully get from Jinjer.

and I also recently caught up on some classics that somehow flew under my radar:

The Devil Wears Prada - With Roots Above and Branches Below.

Whitechapel - This is Exile

Emmure - Goodbye to the Gallows

As I Lay Dying - An Ocean Between Us

and today I’ve been obsessively listening to:

Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power. just absolutely insanely incredible blackgaze post-metal.

If you’ve been listening to anything, I’d love to hear about it as well!

I’ve been so focused on active album listening lately that I haven’t been playing much, so I’m still chugging my way through Cyberpunk and Moonlighter currently, and enjoying both of them thus far.

Although I did pick up Furi while it’s 80% on steam, but honestly I only played it for a little bit so far so I don’t really have any opinions about it yet

This I agree with, and I think your call for a “suggestive” tag is a great way to fill in a lot that missing depth.

I think tagging is a wonderful system and a great kindness posts can perform for the sake of others, but that kind is a choice and lack thereof is not inherently problematic. The absence of kindness is not meanness, it’s neutrality.

Having empathy does not mean we have to work under the assumption that everything should cater to the most delicate of sensibilities (even if the reason for said delicate sensibility are well-justified). I am empathetic and I am sorry for the additional challenges navigating experiences like this can cause you.

I still stand by my point.

And to your point, yes tagging is a wonderful system and it does help those like yourself in your navigation. I support tagging and like OP mentioned, love systems that allow for robust tagging.

But let’s be clear, that kind of tag is a very kind and wonderful courtesy, the absence of which is not malicious, it is neutral.

Imo the Internet was a vastly better place when everyone practiced personal responsibility and assumed that everywhere online was inherently wild and potentially unsafe unless specifically deemed otherwise, not the other way around

Honestly the difference between 1942 and 1943 on NES is enormous. 1942 was okay, but 1943 was so much better in every way, especially sound (the audio in 1942 is awful).

If you enjoyed 1942, I recommend loading 1943 on an emulator for a spin.

I’ve never played any of the Battlefield games at all, tbh. I don’t even know what they’re about, really. Somebody convince me to try them!

But you know what game I do miss regularly? 1943. I just played the absolute hell out of 1943 as a kid, probably one of my most played NES games.

Hahaha yeah it took awhile for her to grow on me but I ended up pretty fond of her by the end of it.

And yes, I liked it more than any Pokemon game, but tbh I think it’s such a different thing that it doesn’t even feel entirely accurate to directly compare them in that way