Roundup

[jaggedwolf]

Life is video games, video games is life.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Liked this game way more than I expected. At a certain point the main story becomes gripping, where you want to find out more at every turn, and the way both Aloy's story and the main questline go hand-in-hand is well-done. Aloy is also a great protagonist - curious, sometimes impetuous, often compassionate, with an inherent skepticism in the face of tradition over knowledge or practicality.

Gameplay wasn't too bad of a learning curve. Only one fight where I dropped the difficulty, and in retrospect, I should have just used that one weapon I forgot I had. Game makes sneaking up on enemies very rewarding.

Fuck Ted Faro y'all, I can't believe the biggest villain in this game is a guy from the 21st century. Is he alive somewhere via weird cryogenics? Will Aloy get to punch him in the next game? I sure fucking hope so. Also, what the fuck Sylens, why you gotta be like this man.

In a very different mood, Elisabet Sobeck is a great not-mom. I love that the ending is Aloy alone, listening to a log of Elisabet describing her mother's words and her own hopes for a daughter, arriving at Elisabet's final resting place, where flowers bloom around an old environment suit. As far as final words in a game go, this one's going to stick with me a long time.

I still need to come back to this game sometime to finish the DLC and side quests. After a certain point, I focused solely on the main story so that I'd finish it before...

The Last Of Us 2

It's here! 10 hours in and I'm still terrible at combat! Melee combat as Ellie has its pros and cons. Pro: Unlike Joel, Ellie has discovered the concept of a knife and doesn't need to constantly craft shivs to kill clickers. Con: Unlike Joel, Ellie does not simply punch her enemies, defaulting to her knife when there's no melee weapon equipped.

Leaving the chapters numbered below in case their titles are spoilers.

Chapter 1

Or: Jackson

What an opener. Joel's death is cruel and brutal, Ellie has to watch, and so begins a classic revenge story. I hate Abby as much as Ellie does, and hate that I played her even for a little bit, and I suspect that is what ND wanted from me, so good job.

The prologue also quickly establishes that the barn dance in the E3 trailer took place the night before, and that Joel and Ellie argued there. We see Ellie and Dina patrol and start their relationship (after finding a weed stash), and them decide to leave Jackson on said revenge mission.

I hope Tommy and Dina don't die, gahhh.

Chapter 2

Or: Seattle Day 1

The longest fucking day, for Ellie and Dina and the player.

• The museum scene <3 I knew there were going to be flashbacks! And the sheer joy of 15-year-old Ellie getting to see dinosaur and space exhibits is too cute, as is how happy Joel is that he got this birthday gift right. I think making these be flashbacks and not going in strict chronological order was the smart play. You get the feeling Ellie is remembering these moments, and for both her and the player they have far more resonance for being post-Joel's death
• The Take On Me guitar scene was sweet and unexpected, especially for an optional building exploration
• I! Don't! Like! Shamblers! Shamble the fuck away from me, thanks
• The idle chatter between Ellie and Dina is so defined by them being people born in a post-outbreak world, and I kinda love it, from trading stories of how old they were the first time they killed a normal human to what they would buy with lots of money in the normal world.
• This cult is fucking creepy.
• Ellie does not feel any less ruthless to play than Joel did, and I appreciate that.
• RIP Shimmers.
• The pregnancy reveal is a twist I bet no one sees coming. Holding judgement till I see how this plays out but I do see positives in 1. Giving Dina her own bomb to drop, after she's been super supportive to Ellie throughout all this 2. Making her death more unlikely, because her dying while pregnant is unlikely to be extra sad for Ellie in any way