A while back, Arc System Works set up applications for the Guilty Gear -Strive- closed beta. Though access wasn’t guaranteed, as applicants would be placed in a lottery, I figured I would sign up anyway. Guess who got access?!
video games
What Makes for a Good “Comfort Game”?
These last few weeks have been some of the hardest in modern history. Forced to retreat into our homes for the sake of social distancing, many are turning to games for some mental health relief. Ever since Animal Crossing: New Horizons released, my wife and I have poured hours into our shared island.
Part of that is because it’s the hot new game of the moment. But it’s also a fitting game for where we are from a mental standpoint. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the ultimate comfort game, considering the circumstances at hand.
This got me thinking about the greater concept of “comfort games”. Technically, any game can be comforting to someone. But what is it about a game that makes it more comfortable during times of high stress? I take a stab at defining the broadest parameters of what a “comfort game” is.
The Bunny Day, Fishing Tournament, and Cherry Blossom Events in Animal Crossing: New Horizons Kinda Sucked
One of Nintendo’s big selling points for Animal Crossing: New Horizons was that the game would get updated throughout the year with fresh events and new reasons to keep playing. For the first few weeks, the game was flying high without any major post-launch support beyond patching out exploits. But now that we’ve had a taste of multiple events in rapid succession, they’ve inadvertently made the game worse.
Belly of the Beast! – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island Live Stream – Part 3
In hindsight, it seems so obvious to push the pot. But in the moment, I oddly struggled trying to figure out how to take down this potted plant boss in Yoshi’s Island! Throughout the stream, I share an update regarding my dying Nintendo Switch, and things get really nostalgic in this edition of show and tell! Apologies for the abrupt ending due to technical difficulties!
Click through for the full stream and shoutouts!
Living Rent Free In My Head! – Jackbox Party Pack 4 Live Stream!
During these trying times, the true villain of our time reveals herself in the middle of our Jackbox Party Pack 3 live stream! We also can’t forget about Sad Boi, who really could use a friend right about now.
Click through for the full stream and shoutouts!
5 Mistakes I Made as a Twitch Streamer (And How You Can Avoid Them)
Streaming for the past few years has taught me that it’s basically impossible for one to be a natural streamer. Being good at it requires one to possess skills in a myriad of otherwise-disparate disciplines, from video production, audio production, public speaking, marketing, and more. Furthermore, there’s a bunch of weird skills that you’re not going to develop until you go live. Heck, the actual part where you play video games is but a small part of the discipline.
Because of this, making mistakes is inevitable. Lord knows I’ve made many. It might be embarrassing in the moment, but what’s important are the lessons learned from those experiences and how you recover going forward. Here’s are just a fraction of the mistakes I made and how you can address them faster than I did.
Hairy Situation
I normally get my hair cut roughly once every two months. Start with it real short, grow it out until I get tired of the spiky look, then chop it all off again.
Around the beginning of March, it was at the point where I was ready to get it cut. Then the pandemic happened.
Favourite Jackbox Party Pack Games
Trivia Murder Party 1/2
I want to play a game…of trivia? In Trivia Murder Party, all of the players are trapped in a Saw-like dungeon. The only way out is to best your friends in a challenge of trivia questions and life-or-death mini games. With the way that the game is structured, there’s no shortage of exciting and shocking moments. Also, it’s balanced in such a way that most players are in the thick of it right until the thrilling finale. As the icing on the cake, the game’s blend of horror and humour hits all of the right notes. Glad to see Jackbox Games revisit this one with Trivia Murder Party 2 on Jackbox Party Pack 6.
Tee K.O.
Unleash your inner t-shirt designer in Tee K.O.! Using a random assortment of captions and images created by your peers, it’s up to you to create the shirt that will rule them all. Every game of Tee K.O. I’ve played has been filled with laughs. Best of all, you can even order real-life versions of the shirts created in the game! My brother actually got one Tee K.O. creation as a gift for my cousin because…actually, let’s end this story here.
Fakin’ It
Fakin’ It is a clever social deduction games that forces players to find the faker in their group. While all of the non-fakers will get the same question, the faker will get a slightly different set of questions. It’s up to the faker to try and blend in, while everyone else tries to identify the faker based on their in-game answers and their IRL behaviour. It can be incredibly uncomfortable as the faker, but if everyone is okay with the possibility of being on the bot seat, this one can be a riot. This is a game that works best IRL, so maybe skip this one until the whole VOLDEMORT-27 thing is under control.
Mad Verse City
Quite possibly my all-time favourite in the series, Mad Verse City takes the concept of Mad Libs and flips it into a freestyle rap battle. Given the first and third bars in a verse, players are tasked with filling in lines two and four. As a hip-hop fan who may have taken a stab at writing rhymes in a previous life, I can’t get enough of this one.
Split the Room
Split the Room is quite the clever concept. Players are tasked with creating hypothetical questions that will divide the group. Being able to read the group is key to coming up with divisive questions. Personally, I love pineapple on pizza, but that might be a Canadian thing. Thoughts?
Buy the Jackbox Party Pack 6 Now From Amazon.com
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review
How do you revitalize Animal Crossing? Many may argue that this question is built on a false premise and that’s fine. For me, every gimmick they’ve bolted onto each subsequent release couldn’t mask the fact that I’m still catching fish, talking to villagers, and paying down a mountain of debt in the same ways that I did on the GameCube decades ago.
Much of what’s defined the franchise still persists in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, right down to how annoying it can be to cast your lure at the exact angle. Even so, I find myself completely enamoured with this Switch iteration thanks to a host of quality-of-life improvements.
Push the Pot! – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island Live Stream – Part 2
In hindsight, it seems so obvious to push the pot. But in the moment, I oddly struggled trying to figure out how to take down this potted plant boss in Yoshi’s Island! Throughout the stream, I share an update regarding my dying Nintendo Switch, and things get really nostalgic in this edition of show and tell! Apologies for the abrupt ending due to technical difficulties!
Click through for the full stream, highlights, and shoutouts!
In Third Person 