I Completed My First Battle Pass And I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Do This Again

Popularized by Fortnite, the battle pass as a content distribution method in video games has become a staple in gaming. When one purchases a battle pass, they can unlock a series of perks through the course of regular play. However, if you fail to unlock every perk before the allotted time, those perks are gone forever. As such, those who partake in the battle pass grind are heavily incentivized to buy early and play frequently to squeeze every last reward out of their investment.

Though I’ve played games that contained battle passes in the past, the Frigid Haul battle pass within Rogue Company is the first one I’ve ever actively worked towards completing. Do I feel better about my life having gone through the process? No.

Continue reading

Limit Break! – 1v1 Tetris Matches in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2!

The Tetris community in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is tough, but I’m not backing down! I put forth a great effort and even get some good wins! Throughout the stream, we also discuss a number of topics, such as the questionable value proposition of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, pushing past your limits in video games, and the concept of “empty calorie” video games!

Click through for the full video, highlights, and shoutouts!

Continue reading

1v1 Tetris Action in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2!

The Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 community doesn’t mess around! I play a couple of 1v1 matches and really struggle against some talented Tetris players. Along the way, we talk about my overall thoughts on Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, and close the door on a crappy 2020.

Click through for the full video!

Continue reading

Some of My Favourite Roguelike and Rogue-lite Games (So Far)

For a long time, I actively avoided the Roguelike genre. Based on my limited understanding of how these games worked, the threat of losing all of your progress upon death had no appeal to me whatsoever.

Two aspects of the genre got me to change my tune. One, the advent of Rogue-lites made punishment less severe. Instead of losing everything when you die, your hero would gain permanent upgrades during each run, making successive runs a bit easier while also providing value to failed runs. Two, the Rogue-lite format has permeated beyond the dungeons of yesteryear. From action games, to turn-based strategy tiles, and even card games have caught the Rogue-lite bug. Having Rogue-lite elements incorporated into game genres I love has gone a long way towards me appreciating Rogue-lites and Roguelikes as a whole.

Here are some of my favourites!

Continue reading

Domination!* – Rogue Company Live Stream with Switch to Decaf, playertwostart, and MacGyverisms

Clearly feeling the effects of the holidays, Switch to Decaf, PlayerTwoStart, MacGyverisms, and I get off to a very rough start in Rogue Company. Can we overcome our initial struggles and finish strong? Between matches, we discuss how our holidays went, throw many anime punches, and the curse of sweaty hands!

Click through for the full stream, highlights, and shoutouts!

Continue reading

You’re Too Buggy For Me Right Now Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is a fascinating game in its current state. On PC, it’s visually stunning (sorry console players). I’m really into the story it’s trying to tell. Also, the soundtrack is fantastic!

But it’s also incredibly buggy. In a two-hour stretch of gameplay, I had to restart the game on three separate occasions to address game-breaking glitches. Here’s what went down and here’s why I’ll come back to this game a little later when ore of its issues have been resolved.

(NOTE: I will try my best to avoid spoilers, but proceed with a smidgen of caution. And in case you’re wondering, I’m playing this on PC with an RTX 3060Ti graphics card.)

Continue reading

Breaking In My New PC with Cyberpunk 2077

Going into the December 10th release of Cyberpunk 2077, I know…very little about it. I know that it’s made by the creators behind The Witcher series. My experience with the franchise is limited, but I liked enough of The Witcher 3 to try more of their work. As I started writing this post, I finally got around to watching the gameplay trailer.

Barring anything catastrophic, such as terrible pre-release reviews, I’ll be there for launch day. Partially off the pedigree of the developer. Partially based on the smidgen of knowledge I have about the game itself. But mostly I’ll be there to break in my new PC.

Continue reading

Marvel Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5) Review

The training wheels (webs?) are off! In Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Peter Parker’s understudy gets his chance to protect New York on his own. Is Miles truly ready for this great responsibility?

Continue reading

Spider-Man: Miles Morales and the New Era of Graphics Settings on Consoles

Though customizable graphics settings have been a part of the PC gaming experience forever, they’re finally making their way to the latest generation of consoles. My first foray into the new era came with Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Continue reading

Early Thoughts on the PlayStation DualSense Controller

Despite their popularity and influence on controller design at large, PlayStation controllers have never been my cup of tea. Though I’ve grown accustomed to the symmetrical analog stick layout of the DualShock controllers, I still prefer the asymmetrical Xbox style. I hated the mushy triggers on the DualShock 3. Also ran into a slew of durability issues with both of my DualShock 4 controllers, from plastic ripping off of the analog sticks, to shoulder buttons getting jammed, to awful battery life.

Needless to say that Sony had an uphill climb to win me over with the DualSense controller that comes with the PlayStation 5. Does it make enough improvements to win me over? Here are my thoughts after having spent a few days with it!

Continue reading