[blog] Skyhler's Backlog Adventure

WEEKLY UPDATE

Bum bum bummmm... another week bites the dust. Yeah I'm slightly late for this update. Sue me. What great week this has been! Week 2 of Zero Caffeine completed! And I'm feeling really good! I'm even planning future diets for my Gym Cut too. I'm slowly transitioning over to it, but man oh man, is it exciting to figure out what I'm going to have for dinner every single night. It will be literally the same every single night once it does take place BUT, maybe a slight change in spices. It's nice, it does the job, and takes away the guess-work of what I have to cook every night. The answer is simple, it's somewhat tasty and yeah, I'm looking forward to that simple part of my life taking place.

Reading and gaming is going well! I'm really enjoying myself. No completions, but I actually have made some solid progress on quite a few games which I found to be super rare but enjoyable nonetheless! I'd say I've been solidly entertained and I have a feeling that some game completions are on the Horizon. Maybe not by the end of June, but definitely within July!



DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE

114/528 (21%)

I'm actually really enjoying this book! I feel like I've only scraped the beginning, but I'm already heavily impressed with how well written it is. Due to it being an older book, I was anticipating it to be very challenging to read, but when I have a quiet moment and tell myself "I am reading this", I'm pleasantly surprised with how easy it is for me to keep turning those pages.

Some bandits attacked and initially stole their less worthy food products, but Mara managed to outwit them, to not only have them surrender, but also appeal to their honour to the point that they are now part of her and the Acoma army! Mara is really shaping up to be not only an interesting protagonist, but an awesome leader. I'm definitely really excited to continue this book to see what else is going to happen.



BACKLOG

A HAT IN TIME
I have made some progress! I've completed 3 stages which in turn allowed me to complete an area. I completely forgot how charming this game is, and it was quite a refreshing surprise to jump back into this game. I helped the Owls and Penguin in their aim to win the film award, supporting the Penguin significantly more. Then I had to fight him to get an ADDITIONAL hourglass because he thought they were pretty. I got news for you buster! It's mine! I enjoyed myself with this game and see myself picking it up again in the future. Nothing like a refreshed appreciation for something!



COOK, SERVE, DELICIOUS! 2!!
No progress



DISGAEA 2
We are now in Episode 12! I'm approaching this games finale and enjoying every moment with it. For context we had to fight Laharl as he tried to steal Etna back, but of course he's extremely OP atm. At the very end of that fight in which I lost, Rozalin's seal is broken by Laharl and she suddenly becomes superpowerful, overpowering him with ease. That was a refreshing moment that added a bit of nuance for that character. Then there was a sweet moment between Adele and Rozalin which kinda points to them being a romantic option which was quite lovely. Yes, things are slowly building up to the finale, and I'm enjoying it.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN
No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT
No progress



PERSONA 3 RELOAD
No surprise, this game ate up a LOT of my time this long weekend I just had. Absolutely shock to no one haha. But I maxed out the Social Link for the Magician Arcana! I actually felt so sorry for that student. Unrequited love is always brutal, and to think he thought his teacher loved him that way... yikes. But I'm also quite impressed with the unraveling of the story and the reveals that are taking place, making the overall narrative quite interesting! Especially when TRIGGER WARNING it was revealed that Chidori self-harms and Junpei is trying to get her to stop as he cares for her. She is also beginning to show signs of caring for him in which I hope is genuine because I'm a sucker for romance. I ship them two!

I looked it up (without spoiling myself) and I'm about 80% through the game. I now see why people clock crazy hours into this game. I feel like I'm only half-done as there's so much to do, but apparently there's many more exciting things to come. For context, I'm at 70 hours of my playthrough. That's ridiculous, but I'm enjoying every moment with this game. It's definitely impressed me and is likely to stick with me for quite some time.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

A few strong contenders this time around. The enjoyment of A Hat in Time really took me for a pleasant surprise and I found myself smiling at their unique charm. In saying that though, the crown returns to Persona 3 Reload.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Bum bum bummm. Another week bites the dust! Man... time is flying. But I'm enjoying every moment. Oh yes! I'm also going to be applying for a new job! Same company, just bigger salary. If successful, I can sustain the mortgage all by myself, so here's hoping I get it! If not, definitely will be a moving goal-post that's for sure. Until then, see you all next week!

Entertainment Budget: $251

Currently Playing
A Hat In Time
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!
Disgaea 2
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Persona 3 Reload
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

JRPG Backlog
Games: 26
Hours: 1311

Overall Backlog
Games: 346
Hours: 8156

WEEKLY UPDATE

Welp, another week bites the dust! This week has actually been an interestingly successful week! Well partially. I also had a bit of an emotional part of the week, I won't go into too much detail, but it was definitely one where I felt a bit hopeless/useless etc. But generally speaking, what happens outside of that, is that I come out of that rut feeling more motivated than ever which I guess is a really good thing!

I actually have a few things to celebrate for the week. This is the first week in a while I've attended the gym 5 days out of 7, I've finished a video game, and I've done my housework! Usually I leave one job for me to do throughout the week, but not this time around! I've been very deliberate in how I've done things this week. I've also completed Week 3 of 6 for my Zero Caffeine challenge! What does that mean!? Welp, it means that I am now halfway there, and I'm actually feeling great. I think I've shown myself what I'm actually able to do when I have a solid ounce of willpower and the fact that I just need to harness it. So yup, had an upset moment when I was in a rut, but I've come back swinging, more determined, and damn it... it's time to get myself into gear! It was the worst I felt in a long time, but maybe sometimes I just need to break a bit in order to grow even more!



DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE

156/528 (29%)

Man, I heard through the grapevine that this series is soon going to be a TV show, and the more I read this book, I can now understand why. This book is truly one of the better books I've read this year. I LOVE political intrigue in my fantasy books, and this book delivers that in spades. Now, it's not your typical fantasy where there's lots of magic going on etc. This is a fantasy setting, but deep-down, a political drama, and I'm living for it.

Right now, Mara had managed to convince a man of a greater house, to marry off his son in order to "rule" this land, but it has become obvious that she's looking for someone that she can control. She picked the dumbest, yet strongest warrior-based son out of them all, which of course she will manipulate to further her own personal endeavours. She had recently recruited a Spymaster to also find out what's going in other areas, and remember, information is power. I want to keep reading and finding out what happens next, as right now, the chapters hit every single time. Colour me impressed so far.



BACKLOG

A HAT IN TIME
No progress



COOK, SERVE, DELICIOUS! 2!!
No progress



DISGAEA 2
I spent a heck of a lot of time playing this game, making sure that it wouldn't be there by the time June comes to a close, and I have succeeded. This game was definitely an enjoyable experience from start to finish, and if it wasn't for my exhaustion of the JRPG genre in general, I think I wouldn't have been in as much of a hurry to complete it. But I've got so many games, that I couldn't afford to dilly dally as much as I have been.

This game was an impressive sequel to a game that had charmed many players and this game definitely built upon that. I will say that on an overall note, this game is slightly weaker in the overall enjoyment factor compared to the first, but only slightly. The characters are still charming, the humour still slaps, and the abilities, stats and levels are just as insane, if not more-so than the first.

Episode 13 is definitely one of the stronger moments in this game. Sure, the difficulty of the game spiked, but that's to be expected in any JRPG as you're nearing the end right? I particularly enjoyed the reveal, when you are taking down the fake Zenon that instead, it's Rozalin that was Overlord Zenon all this time, just with her memories sealed. I found that to be an exceptionally clever moment that made so many things that occurred in the story make a lot more sense. Not just that, but I also found it incredibly charming when Adell had powered through Rozalin's assault and kissed her, to break her from her overpowered doom and gloom mentality.

All in all, Disgaea 2 had definitely impressed me, and got a few chuckles out of me, whilst also showing that the story can show some heart when it wants to. Although slightly weaker than it's predecessor, this game only gives a few nods to it, and proceeds to have its own identity in which I think it did a really good job. It definitely shows its age though as these were much older games, and despite enjoying it... I do think it could really do with a solid revamp just to spruce things up a bit to make it more modernly enjoyable. Strong game, great moments. 7/10



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN
No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT
No progress



PERSONA 3 RELOAD

I believe that I'm nearing the closing act in this game as ooooh boy are things beginning to really rev up. So far I have maxed four Social Links which will really help me boost my Persona's power and give me the chance to focus on other Social Links also. However, things are going to be really tight due to having defeated the Fortune and Strength Arcana Shadows. So I feel like I only have limited time to complete these. Of course, grinding is definitely an option to counter-balance that, but of course, that comes with its own cost.

MAN. There was an INTENSE scene that occurred in the game after TRIGGER WARNING defeating the Shadows I mentioned earlier. Aragaki being part of the reason why Ken's mother had died, and Ken seeking out revenge. Not only that, but after that intense dialogue with Ken wanting to kill himself, BLOODY Takaya appears to bring "salvation" to them. This was an already intense moment as you understand the true potential repercussions of this. Then when Takaya first shoots Aragaki to weaken him, he revealed that Ken was going to kill himself after killing Aragaki anyways, (this scene had my eyes glued to the screen by the way) then Ken, the young lad, trying to PROTECT Aragaki as he feels he has no further reason to live. BUT THEN Aragaki jumps to shelter him from the gunshot. I was INVESTED in this scene. Holy moly. THEN of course the party come in, to save the day, but Aragaki perished from the gunshot wound. MAN, the intensity, the danger, the emotion, and everything else portrayed was EXCELLENT.

Things are really building up, and I find that the more I play, the more invested I get. This is such a good time.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Yet again, Persona 3 Reload takes the cake with this. I'd say there were some good contenders, but that certain story beat that I just witnessed was *chef kiss* BEAUTIFUL. I'm not even going to say anymore, except that it's the clear winner this week.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Another week bites the dust. Sure I had a tender moment emotionally, but I always think it's how you bounce back from that as opposed to be dwelling on a weaker moment. We all have moments where we are a bit doubtful, and think we could be doing something better. But truly it's how you bounce back in my opinion that shows your true character.

Had some amazing story moments, finished a game, still achieving my zero caffeine challenge goal, AND slowly getting back up to 6 days at the gym per week. I'm almost there! See you next week.

Entertainment Budget: $251 + 51 (Disgaea 2) =$302

Currently Playing (YES, see this list getting smaller!!!)
A Hat In Time
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Persona 3 Reload
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Game Finished
Disgaea 2

JRPG Backlog
Games: 25
Hours: 1246

Overall Backlog
Games: 345
Hours: 8092

Congrats on the finish! My only experience with Disgaea is playing... one of them with my dad many years ago on the PS2. I guess it was just the first one.

Hopefully you have some smooth sailing coming your way!

Congrats on the finish! My only experience with Disgaea is playing... one of them with my dad many years ago on the PS2. I guess it was just the first one.

Hopefully you have some smooth sailing coming your way!

Thank you! Yeah, it's a fun yet absurd kinda game. I can fully understand why so many people lose hours to it's crazy amount of grinding. Not my sorta thing, but I see the appeal.

WEEKLY UPDATE

I swear that as soon as I blink my weekend is gone and I'm already halfway through the week. Holy moly, has it been a crazy ride but in all the fun ways. Lots of promotions and job opportunities showing up at my work! I'm trying to put my best foot forward to make myself look like the best candidate for the role. I hear that the hiring process has begun, but we are also right in the beginning of a new restructure as well, so I'm now just anxiously waiting in the wings to see if I'm going to get an interview for the role. I guess I just have to prepare as much as I can so I can ace that interview.

Entertainment front, lots of good things, yet another game completion! I think this month is going to consist of 2 or 3 completions which is really exciting to see. It's quite bizarre thinking that before I had 6 or 7 games in my Currently Playing list and now that's reduced to 4, with a reduction to 3 within my sights. Not much more to say really except that it's been a pretty productive week! Just... a real quick one. Now on with the update!



DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE

156/528 (29%)

No Progress



BACKLOG

A HAT IN TIME
This is the game I completed! I completely forgot how cute this charming game is. There is a little bit of wonkiness when it comes to the camera, but all in all, I remember this game being an absolute delight from start to finish. I remember smiling at all of the characters and the way they talk the entire way through even getting a chuckle or two.

In particular with this game, my favourite areas are a tie between Mafia Town and Alpine Trails. Mafia Town, because it has some of the best lines I've heard for quite some time. "Mafia punch children for fun!" and "Seagull eat fish. But fish belong to Mafia. Mafia punch seagull for not respecting Mafia. Seagull say "No, please! I have child!" Mafia punch seagull with child." That last line in particular had me in fits of laughter. Alpine Trails honestly has some of the best level and artistic design I've seen in quite some time. It was just a pleasure to look at as I was playing through the entire thing. Especially with the cute cherubs guiding you towards your destination. The boss fights in general are also very creative, and challenged me in all the right ways. It was the right dose of frustrating, but also a smooth difficulty curve.

All in all, this game was an absolute delight from start to finish. It is such a nod to much older games, but carries itself in its own identity. Very good game, can highly recommend. 8/10



COOK, SERVE, DELICIOUS! 2!!
I've played some of it this week but not last week. Will provide updates in the next Weekly Update.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN
No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT
No progress



PERSONA 3 RELOAD

I think I'm beginning to reach the end of my outright enjoyment of this game. I've been grinding for a really long time, and strangely not too many narrative beats happened since the previous Weekly Update. I supposed I had to temper my expectations within the narrative right, considering last week, that big story event happened that blew my mind.

There are indications that things are going to build up soon, so I'm just eagerly waiting in anticipation for that to occur. But in the meantime, I'm just grinding and we (the party) have just finished the exams before the final shadow, in which... of course, I got the top of the class... hehe. Not saying playing this game was a disappointing time or anything, I think it was just not the usual high that I am riding, and I just need to understand and accept that. The combat, Persona's etc. are always such a delight so maybe I just need to count my blessings before progressing further. I'm definitely looking forward to the next session, albeit I think this week is also going to be a bit quieter on the Persona front.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

A Hat in Time is going to be taking the cake this time around. I forgot how charming that game is, and honestly, it's such a delight. Lines making me chuckle, the gameplay, the vibe. It truly is just a fun time from start to finish. Yes it did take a side-seat for quite some time, but that's not a reflection on the quality of the game, I just happened to pick things up that caught my interest more in that period. Great game.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Jeez... honestly... I don't know where all this time is going. It's super bizarre. I'd like to say I love it, but really it feels like I'm getting lost in the sauce a little bit. I don't think I need a reset or anything, just for things to slow down a touch. But I guess that will just happen over time as life likes to find times to be hectic, and I guess I just need to accept that.

Otherwise though, things are going GREAT. Zero caffeine challenge was slightly tested yesterday at work, in which I indulged... but the chocolate I consumed made me tired more than anything, so I think I can move into Week 6 which is next week with no caffeine consumption easily now, as I don't really feel the desire to consume much if any caffeine. I'm looking forward to the limitation in options diminishing, but soon I got a big diet challenge to follow up after that, so that reprieve will indeed be very short lived. See you next week!

Entertainment Budget: $302 + 10 (Hat in Time) = $312 <--- I'm now having the opposite problem. The budget is getting big!

Currently Playing (Yes, soon it shall get very small... yes...)
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Persona 3 Reload
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Game Finished
A Hat In Time

JRPG Backlog
Games: 25
Hours: 1246

Overall Backlog
Games: 344
Hours: 8074

WEEKLY UPDATE

I love rainy days. I normally shock people when I express that my favourite weather is rainy days, only to also tell them that my favourite season is spring, but there's just something snug about having gloomy weather outside whilst you're working inside, gymming inside, or even nodding off to sleep as you hear the raindrops pelt the ground below. Then waking up to a cool, brisk sunny morning is just something I could never explain. Why am I talking about this? Well, it's raining outside... it has been raining the last few days... and I've been enjoying every minute of it. It has also been a hectic week where things have come out of left-field, I had to panickily get things ready for things, and now I'm here... typing to you all. So very stormy week in a sense, but now a crisp sunny day (hopefully) awaits.

I am slowly approaching my cut at the gym, which means I will be eating SIGNIFICANTLY less than I have been to shed those kilos. My exercises as a result are shorter, but far more intense than they ever have been. I now have a flatmate which has started really promising. Then last, but definitely not least. I had an interview this week. This interview had literally been informed Wednesday morning telling me I had one Thursday afternoon. Little time to prep beforehand. I really really want this role too, but I find out the end of next week. I'm not as confident as I'd like to be, but I can't dwell on it. It's done, I just need to focus on whatever may come ahead and keep putting my best foot forward.

On the entertainment front, lots of scattered progress has been made. No completions like I have been barraging the last couple of updates haha, but definitely some significant progress towards some games I had initially thought I won't be making much progress on. This has been probably the most widespread progress I made regarding my entertainment, but maybe not the most progress outright if that makes sense. Oh well, let's move on to the update!



DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE

220/528 (42%)

This book is turning out to be really good! I again am surprised with how well made this political story is, but the fantasy aspect is also really interesting and really carry out this political drama in a fantasy setting. I find Mara the main character really interesting and find myself rooting for her. Not the perfect character, but of course, only the really interesting characters are flawed. She is a really interesting character that I'm enjoying reading the perspective of.

So far she has managed to get the insect-like creatures on her side within Acoma. She is also marrying a man within a larger reason who now has taken ownership of her House. That was the long and short of it. It's crazy how engaging this read is. It is slow-paced, but it doesn't feel slow-paced. I'm just simply invested in Mara and seeing how she is going to deal with her next situation.



BACKLOG

COOK, SERVE, DELICIOUS! 2!!
I'm just trying to play a couple of days within this game every session I have. I'm just trying to get through the main story now. Before I was working through every single restaurant. Now I'm thinking heck to the no! That's too long. Just going through the main part. So right now I've played through about 6 days? Yeah 6 days. I might just do that on the regular. It's fun, it's quick it's snappy, and I'm sure it will be finished before long.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN
No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT
Made a little progress. Mostly just helped Triss deal with a guy that ratted both her and Geralt out to a bunch of thugs. Only a small quest and I just might give it similar treatment to Cook, Serve, Delicious 2.



PERSONA 3 RELOAD

Much and muchness. Did a bit of grinding, but no big story moments. Very mundane week for this game sadly. But I did max some Social Links, so that was fun.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Slightly weaker week this week in terms of overall entertainment, but if I'm going to give this award away this week, it has to be Daughter of the Empire as it had a strong showing. This book hits well, and I'm intrigued to see what's going to happen next week.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Welp... this week has definitely been an eventful week. I have been busy, but at least it feels like I had a proper weekend this time! I will also find out by the end of this coming week if I get the role I've been applying for. I remain ever so hopeful, but right now, doubt is really creeping in, and I'm telling myself that I didn't get it. Either which way, not much I can do except wait for the result and cross everything. But on the entertainment front, I'm really hoping things start shaping up this week in terms of how much I get through. I think it will, but only time will tell.

Entertainment Budget: $312

Currently Playing
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Persona 3 Reload
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

JRPG Backlog
Games: 25
Hours: 1246

Overall Backlog
Games: 344
Hours: 8077

WEEKLY UPDATE

A little bit late with the update, apologies. Initially the week just gone has been a hectic week. Lots of changes and learnings taking place which is both a boon, but also a bane. A lot of it was upskilling at work, playing some games on the side and actually getting some reading done. Sadly, I was not successful in the role I applied for. Initially I was a bit dark about it, but I decided to treat the no as a "not yet". I've actually taken the chance to get in touch with one of the people that told me no and they advised me where my shortcomings were. It was very much a "you're on the right track, but you're not there yet" which of course is always an encouraging sign.

Other than that, I've just been very tired. Some good progress made here and there, but just really tired. I wish I could say more, but really that's the vibe of the week. I guess you're here for the fun stuff (fair enough). So without further ado... on with the update!



DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE

308/528 (58%)

Just a real solid read. The more I read this book, the more I enjoy it. Mara had given birth and her abusive husband gave her administrative powers over the entire House. It seems like a real slow read, but I truly didn't anticipate that I'd read 80+ pages in a week! I keep underestimating how much I love Political Fantasy reads, but this book is definitely a solid read. Looking forward to reading more!



BACKLOG

COOK, SERVE, DELICIOUS! 2!!
I played a few more days, but have decided to retire it for good now. It is enjoyable, but I'm under the understanding that this will be an endless game and I really don't have the appetite for that. If I had to give it a rating, it'd be 7/10, but I just don't have the time to do all the shenaniganry. Retired.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN
No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT
A little progress here and there. Helped clear a house of a creature, and am now hunting down Dandelion by talking to the ladies he wooed. Making very miniscule progress, but hey, it's progress.



PERSONA 3 RELOAD

Did a big grind and maxed out another Social Link. This time it was the Athlete - Star Arcana (kinda have a schoolboy crush on that character). Oh! A big story moment had happened which made me yell out "I KNEW IT!" It was when the President of the Hostel turned out to be a pretty significant villain wanting all the Shadows to be destroyed to further his horrendous goal. Ended up being very maniacal which was to be expected and as a result Mitsuru's father died. Very touching scene for her which of course allowed her Persona to evolve. But ALSO, there was a very well-done scene when Strega returns to cause havoc.

Sure, a fight occurred, but it was the repercussions from the fight that really hit home for me. Takaya from Strega shooting and killing Junpei made me do a double-blink in surprise. Then of course I was doubly surprised to find that Chidori from Strega who had fallen in love with Junpei revived him using her abilities. Of course, unfortunately that needed to take a toll which was her own life. A very bittersweet moment, but not before she told him she loved him and for him to reciprocate that. It was a very touching scene, very sad, and when Junpei's Persona COMBINED itself with Chidoris, it was an epic moment. Especially when it was powerful enough to overpower a member of Strega alone.

Some very cool moments had taken place and it feels like we are really heating up in terms of the main story. I am ready to move on to something different. My enjoyment of the game is coming to a close, but I will say that the beginning of the closing arc has really impressed me.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Daughter of the Empire had a very strong showing this week when I've been reading through the book, but I have to give it to Persona 3 Reload. Man, those story beats actually hit really well and was actually a really good watch/part to play out. Very emotionally gripping. It is definitely shaping up to be a really good finale.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Sorry for the lower vibe this week. Definitely still making progress, but it's definitely a much of a muchness week if you get my drift. I do presume that there will be at least one completion by the end of July. Be it the JRPG, or the novel that I'm reading. Heh... or if I'm lucky, both.

It's actually really good to get my Currently Playing List down to 3 games instead of the crazy 6 or 7 that it had been at one point. I still got a little ways to go, but it's nice to look at the list of what I'm playing and actually make a selection instead of having 7 different internal debates with myself. See you all next week! Well... by that I mean Sunday, but you know the deal.

Entertainment Budget: $312

Currently Playing
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Persona 3 Reload
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Retired
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!

JRPG Backlog
Games: 25
Hours: 1246

Overall Backlog
Games: 341 (Purged some games from this list. Some were completed, some were "why the heck did I add this?"
Hours: 7940

Aw I'm sorry you didn't get the role. Hopefully it'll work out in the future or something better will come along.

Every time I scroll by Daughter of the Empire I'm struck all over again by how very 80s the cover is. There was a definite style then at least for fantasy. I kind of miss it

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get the role. With the tips you've received I'm sure you'll get much better news next time. May I ask in what field you work?

I really don't have the appetite for that

I see what you did there.

Love to see you playing two games I'd consider to be in my Top 5 all time in The Witcher 3 and Persona 3. That Chidori-Junpei scene was truly sad. You got a lot more memorable scenes waiting for you, hope you enjoy the rest of the game and don't let Tartarus beat you down in the meantime. :)

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get the role. With the tips you've received I'm sure you'll get much better news next time. May I ask in what field you work?

I really don't have the appetite for that

I see what you did there.

Love to see you playing two games I'd consider to be in my Top 5 all time in The Witcher 3 and Persona 3. That Chidori-Junpei scene was truly sad. You got a lot more memorable scenes waiting for you, hope you enjoy the rest of the game and don't let Tartarus beat you down in the meantime. :)

Workforce Management. Just an Analyst at the moment but want to work my way up. Yeah looking forward to more P3R!

Cool, best of luck!

WEEKLY UPDATE

Funny how time again flys. I swear I blinked and the weekend disappeared on me. It seems to be a running theme this month which is crazy to think. Well it's been a busy week. Stepping up for the role I didn't get which was very interesting. So far nothing has broken and are going semi-reasonably. Entertainment wise... not as much positive stuff to say this time around. Reading quite a bit, but didn't quite finish my goal towards finishing one of the games. Actually now thinking about it. I kinda did meet it, however, it was not exactly the desired result. Otherwise... not much more to go off... so let's get this update underway!



DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE

350/528 (66%)

Making solid progress, but not amazing progress. Finally Buntokapi is dead, that evil bastard, so now another interesting plot-point can start taking place. It's funny. I read 50 pages, and despite a lot happening, not a lot has happened haha. I am still finding it an enjoyable read, but I think there's a bit of time before certain happenings actually occur within the book. I look forward to reading more.



BACKLOG

MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN
No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT
No progress



PERSONA 3 RELOAD

Okie dokie. Lots to talk about this game. I swear this game is neverending! First of all, I was completely right about Ryoji. Everything about him sang out to me about Pharos, especially considering how similar they looked. Whilst that was semi-obvious, the reveal of Aigis actually sealing him into the Main Characters body was crazy! Let alone the awesome anime cutscene that had taken place when both Aigis and Ryoji fought. Of course, Ryoji was far too powerful and Aigis didn't stand a chance, however watching it was a solid treat.

Now everything is revealed and sure I got ONE of the endings, but it was actually super easy to get and wasn't the ending I initially chose. It was an alright ending, but now I am finally preparing towards the ending I think is my canon one. It'll be interesting to see, and I guess some colourful words will be thrown at the game until I get another credit roll.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Again, Persona 3 Reload takes the cake here. All the reveals that had taken place were greatly shocking and answered all the questions I had as I played it. It was great, full of great moments and now I'm looking forward to what I think is the finale. Normally I'd say 'I'm going to finish it!' but it seems the game is out to prove me wrong every single time.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Not much happened this week... I'm cautiously optimistic about finishing a certain game... but if we are following trends... I might be proven wrong... again. So we shall see.

Entertainment Budget: $312

Currently Playing
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Persona 3 Reload
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

JRPG Backlog
Games: 25
Hours: 1246

Overall Backlog
Games: 341
Hours: 7947

WEEKLY UPDATE

Another week has gone by and for some reason I seem to have adopted a theme of doing this on Tuesday or Wednesday. This is not intentional, I think time just frequently slips through my mind and by the time I realise that "hold on, I should post in my blog" some time has already passed. Wednesday was last week, Tuesday is this week... so... following this trajectory perhaps I'm looking to next weeks on Monday instead?

On a separate note, I've officially completed something! So it's time to explore August with another game in tow which I'll provide context to later on in the update. Overall it was a strong week on the entertainment front albeit somewhat limited. Of course the completion is a highlight which probably added to the excitement, but we still take those!

Work had been busy with me stepping up for a role that I applied for and didn't get. This was of course on top of my normal duties. I've received praise from everyone saying that I carried myself well which really makes me hopeful that in the future I'll be hired for that very role meaning a very nice pay increase. It's nice to challenge myself, but I am looking at burnout quite quickly. I do have a break coming up, but it's very much a light at the end of a very long tunnel. I'll persevere... but man... am I feeling it...



DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE

350/528 (66%)

No progress, but I have read more this week.



BACKLOG

MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN
No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT
Some slight progress, but nothing overly crazy. We have just been informed about Dandelions whereabouts and now Geralt is searching for him. Nothing crazy, just slight little bites here and there.



PERSONA 3 RELOAD

This was my completion for the week and boy oh boy am I glad that I finally get to have the desired break from JRPGs that I've been waiting for, for quite some time! In saying that though, this game was a pleasure to play through before I took that break. I was initally planning to take a break of about 3-4 games, but this game reduced it to 1-2 games instead.

The overall story of this game is very good. It has a very solid introduction with the starting cast and how it introduces the going on's within that setting. This game does NOT hold its punches when it wants you to feel something. Holy moly. If they want to put those feels out, they look for your heart and send a solid punch right through to it.

This game also has a really awesome sense of style. I remember starting this game going "wow this feels so cool!" and was looking forward to picking it up every single weekend, just to fight monsters, grind and enjoy the style points this game provides. The pops of colour, the One More mechanic, the Personas themselves actually made a really interesting experience and I found myself wanting so much more.

In saying that it had an awesome style, I will say that the pace could have been tightened up a little bit more. I spent a lot of hours in this game, which although enjoyable, felt like it could have been more concise just to make the awesome story beats have an excellent flow. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed my experience, but there were parts of it that did feel like they dragged for far too long (especially towards the end). Getting to the point of me groaning a little bit going "okay, I get it already!"

I had maximised a solid amount of Social Links, yet not all of them. There was also a bit of stuff to get through when it came to what I'd call the final "act" to defeat Nyx. However once that story beat finally arrived, boy did it deliver! With defeating Jin and when the party spared him, he stayed behind, and blew himself up alongside a bunch of shadows. That IRRITATING fight with Takaya can go suck a big fat one. I won, but it was still annoying. Then of course the final fight with the avatar of Nyx (good ol' Ryoji). This was an interesting fight with having to fight all the Arcana leading up to his Arcana being Death itself. It was an interesting fight, and my goodness... Koromaru's theurgy popped up and he did more than 3k damage (when the rest of the team was averaging 1.5-2k damage) to end the final fight.

It was a very touching scene though when everything had finished and the casts memories started returning. Of course, the ending was quite emotional as Makoto became the seal of peoples desire for death to take them all, in which led to his own passing. I personally thought that he finally let go when the entire party made it to the school roof. Very beautiful yet very sad.

This game was a really fun experience and I'm very glad that I got to play this before my break from JRPG's. It's stylish, feels like it's constantly popping and has some story moments that sit with you for a good while. Whilst the game is a tad on the too long side, and needs some tighter pacing to get the story-beats across, it was an overall great experience that stays with you for a long time. I now understand why people love Persona so much and I'm sure this game will be added to that love. This game is a 9/10.



MARVEL'S MIDNIGHT SUNS

This is the game that will be replacing Persona 3 Reload. I initially had played it on Sunday and despite my progress being minimal, I'm already getting a wonderful sense of fresh air as I dive into this game. I absolutely love the card game mechanics alongside the XCOM feel and it's an interesting experience understanding the nuances behind each character it introduces. The start of the game was well done as it introduces your starting cast as well as the main character (you). I won't go into too much detail about the story except for the fact that we are up against Hydra. So far, I'm quite enjoying it.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

For the final time, Persona 3 Reload takes the cake with this one. It had a wonderful ending and even just looking back at my experience I enjoyed my time with it as a whole. It's definitely a game that will be sticking in my mind for quite a while as I work through these other experiences.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Another completion! I feel like this year I've done a solid number of finishing games and I definitely aim to keep that momentum up. Lots of big titles in my Currently Playing list though so whilst I'll be chipping away at these for quite some time, something tells me it will be a little while before I finish another.

Here's hoping you come along this journey still with me as I take a slight breather from JRPG's for a while and find out what other games have to offer. Remember it's only a small break, before you know it, I'll be singing about JRPG's again soon! Meanwhile after that completion, I'm definitely glad to be seeing both backlogs shrink in games and hours!

Entertainment Budget: $312 + 116 (P3R) = $428

Currently Playing
Marvel's Midnight Suns
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Game Completed
Persona 3 Reload

JRPG Backlog
Games: 24
Hours: 1162

Overall Backlog
Games: 340
Hours: 7862

Congrats on Persona! Those are a long haul. I've only done P4G, but I still have P5R waiting for me...

WEEKLY UPDATE

Just kidding! You know how I said will my next update be on time? Only kidding! You see, I fooled you. I totally meant the following week. Yeah that's right. I TOTALLY didn't play with my words and just miss the previous update. Noperino! Not at all! ... Stop looking at me like that.

Jeez, what a horror of a fortnight it has been! I've been stepping up for the role I didn't get, I've been training someone else how to do my job, I'm on the cusp of burnout. As in to the point where my energy levels both physically and emotionally are close to flatlining... yeah. I'm okay though. I've actually reorganised my life schedule a little bit, and turns out I ended up with a bit of a weekend for once! I used to stream throughout the day on my weekends, and next thing I knew my time just disappeared before me. But now that I stream on both Friday and Saturday night, I get ALL of Sunday to myself. So yes! Week before last, I was a bit of a humdrum sack, week just gone, even more so. This week though... I think I'm beginning to get a bit of life back!

I completed something, I'm enjoying some games... and I received a very nasty rates bill by my local government. Jeez... I'm SORRY I'm trying to buy a house and make the RIGHT CHOICES! Yeah that's right! You over there! Counting MY pennies going towards things that I don't even USE! Hope you're ENJOYING it you utter **** stain.

Sorry! Got off on a bit of a tangent. Yeah, in case you can't tell I got some more energy in me, and for SOME reason... I forgot how therapeutic this stuff is. Unload my life, my entertainment and just be a bit loopy. Oh well... I guess it's time to get to the good stuff! Oh yeah! My holiday is less than 5 weeks away... SO CLOSE!!!



DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE

528/528 (100%)

Done diddly un' done! What a great book! This book held my interest from the first page. Give me political drama in a fantasy setting, and oooh boy have you caught yourself a happy Skyhler! I was intrigued from page dot. Things were happening right off the bat, leaving me wondering what was going to happen next to the main character and it had a great amount of tension with little action!

This book has really good pacing. Right from the get-go you are thrown in the thick of it, but it's not overwhelming at all. You also get thrust in the world, but the authors take the time explaining to you what is going on in the world, how the politics work and how it effects Mara. It has a solid cast of characters to the point where I didn't necessarily LOVE all of them, but they all played a strong part within the main story that kept me intrigued, invested and understanding that everyone had a role to play.

It does not shy away from certain darker scenes, so if you're a bit sensitive to some harsh things, just take a moment of caution before you read this book. It's not completely filled with it, but there are moments where you go "oooh okay, damn". In saying that though, I find that those darker moments in the story REALLY help shape the stakes that the main character is facing and giving us the understanding that no one is really safe.

The main characters journey was quite an enjoyable one to follow. I won't go into any detail, except just understand that the political struggle was real all the way from day dot for Mara. Not to mention, her adversaries were completely understandable towards everything they were trying to do. At the end of the day, it was all politics, and that definitely had a major part to play in the overall narrative. Very well done. I gotta admit, I LOVED how the entire last chapter played out. Lots of payoff that hit all the good nerd spots, in saying that though, there were still some moments that made me grimace a touch.

Overall, this was an excellent book. I'd say it is up there with the greats. It's not by any means the best book I've ever read, but it's definitely punching at the weight of some really damn good books out there. The characters were believable, the stakes felt real and it was exciting to see how certain characters maneuvered themselves around tight political situations. The chapters could have been shortened... I normally like to read a chapter a night, but man those chapters are LENGTHY! I never succeeded in reading a chapter a night with this book. But it was still a strong overall experience that I could easily recommend to anyone that wants a headstrong female main character in an overall dire situation. 8/10



BACKLOG

MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN
No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT
No progress



MARVEL'S MIDNIGHT SUNS

I am still really enjoying this game, however my interest in it is beginning to wane a little. Don't get me wrong, it is a lot of fun to play these Marvel Superheroes, but the card-game tactical mechanics is only really fun up to a point until it starts feeling repetitive. I often get the feeling of Hogwarts whenever I am in the Abbey. That's not a terrible thing, if anything it felt like a fun little quirk as I was playing the game.

This game however, definitely delivers on the story-front. I am spending time building all the characters repertoire, and man does this game know how to do the cutscenes. So far I got Spiderman and Captain America. Of course I also just recently met Wolverine too. Omgsh... don't get me started on the AMAZING plot-twist when it came to Lilith corrupting Bruce Banner. SHE HAS A FREAKING HULK!? Made me realise that the stakes are getting higher and higher. I'm excited towards seeing what happens next. Even if the game feels a bit on the repetitive side.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Two to give huh? Well first week goes to Marvel's Midnight Suns. It was just a nice refreshing break from the JRPGs that I have been playing. This was before it started to stale a touch in terms of gameplay, but the overall narrative beats still hit well.

Second one... is a VERY tight race between Daughter of the Empire and Marvel's Midnight Suns. I'd say with how the end started to play out, Daughter of the Empire wins this one despite the very strong cliffhanger Midnight Suns provided. It was just so well done and well paced that made me not put the book down until everything panned out.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Two weeks down. Many more to go. My goodness... I know burnout is almost imminent with me, but I am hanging by a thread. Changing my life schedule a little bit to the point of having Sundays off outright was more wonderful than I anticipated. It might just be the boost I need to get through it all. I don't anticipate any completions in the near future, but stay tuned! I might cheer or moan about what I'm currently playing/reading through!

Entertainment Budget: $428

Currently Playing
Marvel's Midnight Suns
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Overall Backlog
Games: 340
Hours: 7866

WEEKLY UPDATE

Another week has gone by in a blink of an eye and my oh my has time sped past. Took a 4-day weekend by calling in sick at work, I was just too exhausted and whilst those 4 days off were pleasant, it's a clear indicator to me that I am needing my time off come late September. It is now about 3 and a half weeks away, so I'm almost there. Taking the 4 day weekend however I think did a bit more harm than good. Because as soon as my brain thought it was getting a break it unwound, meaning that getting back into the swing of work etc. was more difficult than I'd like to admit. I guess it means that I have a great break to look forward to, but jeez... do I need it haha.

On the entertainment front made some solid progress in which I'll keep you all in the loop about. Sadly no completions, but you can't have completions EVERY week right!? In saying that though, I've made some significant progress already which means that September is looking to be a great month for completions, whereas August is essentially the build-up. I have actually been enjoying myself a bit on the entertainment front recently. Despite navigating through some burnout, I discovered that there is a shred of joy still found in gaming and gymming. So whilst I'm really tired, it's nice to have these to fill that cup so-to-speak.

Time to move onto the fun-stuff!



SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE

70/827 (8%)

This is a much bigger book. Holy moly. 300 more pages than the previous book, I guess I need to strap myself into the ride that this book provides. So far a really solid start to the continuation of the Empire trilogy. This follows on the events of the first book almost immediately afterward, dealing with and preparing for the political consequences of what happened in the first book.

Mara has paid for Midkemian slaves and is troubled to notice that they have a vastly different cultural understanding compared to the denizens of Kelewan. She is beginning to discover certain aspects of their culture as she's also trying to lead the Acoma. I'm looking forward to seeing what is going to fruit from this relationship, especially as I find there is a lot of other happenings throughout the story. I guess it's a wait-and-see game.



BACKLOG

MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN

No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT

Lots of progress with this game! I'm under the sneaky suspicion that I am under the last major arc of the overall main story. I know a lot of people say that this game is at its absolute peak with the level of side-content, but unfortunately for a gamer such as I, I don't really have the mental capacity to undertake those. For those side-quest hunters, this game is a complete and utter gem, but I've noticed that with this game in particular, I find that I go through the main story, and if something just HAPPENS to show-up when I'm needing something (ie. repairing/buying a new sword), then I'll follow any side-quest line assuming this is something that needs to be done in order to get whatever it is I want.

Anyways, with that side tangent out of the way, I'm LOVING the main story of this game. I am already noticing the level of lore this game brings in terms of the politics, and magic when dealing with specific situations. What I also love though, is that this game doesn't shove it down your throat if you're not partaking in it. For example, I think I saw a King trying to scheme something or rather to either better position his defence in case a political situation falls out, but as that wasn't really my core focus, the game essentially just put it there as a side piece. LOVE IT. It's enough that if I was curious about it, I'm sure there's a heap more detail to work through, but because in that moment of time I wasn't interested, the game left it at that.

In saying that though, I'm now understanding why people really love the Witcher world. So vast, so interesting to see and in a different time and place, I think I'd be joining the immense love for the Witcher series. I still really enjoy it. But I just don't see the personal benefit to playing through all the side-quests. Overall, still really enjoying myself, especially as it looks to me that I may be finishing this soon.



MARVEL'S MIDNIGHT SUNS

Solid progress with this also. I've now completed Act 1 and I'm stepping into Act 2 of the overall story. Gameplay-wise, my interest is still waning. I think I found my core problems with the game despite it still being overall pretty good. It's the weird finish a mission, hang out with people, sleep, wake up, upgrade, talk to people, other stuff, then the main mission. Too disjointed for my taste. Why don't we just finish a mission, sleep, wake up and do all the social aspects before you prepare for the next mission. I'm a BIG advocate for the feeling of flow, and I can tell you right now, this flow still feels out of kilter.

In saying that though, I'm actually quite enjoying the main narrative of the story. I think it's a typical superhero story with tensions building, the enemy are making movements and all of a sudden the stakes are raised. Lilith has unlocked Chthon and now Chthon seems to be the main big adversary. It's very much a typical set-up for Act 2 which I'm quite enjoying, I guess it's just a matter of time to see how the main story plays out.

I also feel like that the characters are done... semi-mediocrely? How can I put this, it feels like the character had been given a stereotypical role as opposed to fleshed out personalities. For example Iron Man seems to be a bit of a tech genius who is out of his depth with the magical stuff so is often making weird jokes to compensate. Instead of that, why not dig into the fact that Iron Man is an incredibly rich tech genius, working with what he has in competition with magic itself. He's a smarmy prick who knows what he's doing, why not fully dive into that? Instead of making those weird cringe jokes. I don't know, maybe I'm just too critical. But again, it feels like he's filling some weird stereotypical role, instead of actually being a nuanced and fleshed out character.

Overall, still going well, but I do have my problems with it.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

I'm going to give the Entertainment Highlight to Witcher 3 this week. It's not often that I play a game that actually respects whatever your appetite might be at the time. My current appetite? Play through the main story and maybe a side-quest of two along the way if I trip over them. The game doesn't hold any expectations in any way shape or form of me to do these side-quests and I feel like it doesn't take away anything from the story that I'm currently playing through. That's a very difficult yet respectful balance to find and I find this game has achieved it. It feels nice to have my time respected as a gamer. I appreciate that in a game.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Weeks are passing by even quicker, and despite me enjoying myself to a certain level, it is getting to the point that it feels like I barely get the opportunity to relax. But that's fine as R+R is coming! It's so close now! I'm hanging out for it haha. All in all though, I think I just need to take care of myself. This does involve going to bed at weird times which I'll cover in the next update, but right now... that's working for me and it's something I should take advantage of whilst I can.

I'm looking forward to what the next few weeks will bring, I'll still do the Weekly Update as per usual and TRY to be a bit more punctual (haha). But I have a feeling that I'm now slowly rebuilding my enjoyment factor and this is something that has been slightly missing for quite some time. See you next week!

Entertainment Budget: $428

Currently Playing
Marvel's Midnight Suns
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Overall Backlog
Games: 340
Hours: 7866

WEEKLY UPDATE

I feel like I keep saying another week has gone by but this is indeed a repeat haha. Just under 3 weeks to go before my big 3 week break from work AND it seems like I'm finally giving an update ALMOST ON TIME! Who am I and what did I do with Skyhler? Haha.

A few things to discuss. A game retirement! Yes, I decided to say goodbye to a game as it just didn't cut the mustard as much as I had liked and will discuss that more later. I've made some solid progress in terms of book, other games being played and I guess some interesting things to discuss. But that's fine, it's just been an interesting time!

Oh! Not to mention! I've finally started watching anime again! It is only a single anime, but I think it's awesome to see that I'm beginning to get that appetite again. I think playing multiple JRPGs, Visual Novels with Japanese aesthetics etc just oversaturated that taste for me. But the fact that I'm picking anime up in the background again is a good sign that the palette is getting cleansed which was my goal when I decided to start taking a break from JRPG's for the time being.

Well that's all about my life so far. I'd say it isn't great, but lovely prospects in the horizon. So that in itself is quite exciting.



SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE

117/827 (14%)

Things are slowly developing, but nothing too crazy yet to report. Still an enjoyable read, I just imagine this book will involve a bit more build-up which I'm enjoying. Quite excited to see how this goes.



ONE PIECE

1016/1141 (89%)

Feels good to be watching this! Feels like I'm in the latter half of the Wano arc which seems to be the more combative part. Really looking forward towards seeing where this will go! Don't have much to update on yet, but I figured me providing the Episodes and how close I am towards being up to date will give you some inclination of where I'm at :)



BACKLOG

MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN

No progress



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT

No progress



MARVEL'S MIDNIGHT SUNS

Retired

I'm sorry everyone, I gave it a damn good go, and I just can't play this game any more. It started off strong, and has some solid promise, however there's just too many things that I didn't like that overwhelmed the positives making me retire this game.

The combat in this game is excellent. I always look forward to partaking in missions where you get to use your heroes and the various cards they have in the deck to action some cool superhero stuff. It's great, uniquely strategic and challenging, as well as giving you that cool superhero feeling.

Sadly, that's where the positives end for me personally. It felt like there were ENDLESS pieces of character dialogue outside of the actual fun part of the game which is the combat. You're constantly building relationships with the cast, in which if you're a Marvel lore buff, this game would be AMAZING, but to be honest, give me the bloody broad strokes and move on. If I want to interact more with Iron Man, Strange, Magik, Spiderman etc. I will take the time to do so. But it just felt like the game was forcing me to interact with them as part of the core mechanic. I didn't like this at all.

Even the outside of mission stuff was janky as heck. Finish mission, hang out with people, go to sleep, wake up, upgrade and talk to more people, help them solve their problems oh and mission again yay! Oh... back to the weird outside of mission stuff... Just painful and started to feel like a chore.

I was prepared to overlook this as the combat was still very much a significant highlight, but then the final nail in the coffin, was that the characters were in dialogue talking about the villain and how everything now is a battle against demons and gods. I stopped... paused a moment and went "aren't I playing a superhero game? This feels like a fantasy video game with superhero paint" and it was that point that I decided to go "no more" and retire the game.

It's a shame, in some ways the game has so much potential, but the characters felt a bit shallow at times, and the outside of missions seem to plague your screen-time instead of the enjoyable aspect of the game which is the turn-based combat. Then once it felt like the game lost its identity... yeah. I was checked out and my interest couldn't be clawed back. It's a shame. The game had a lot of potential, but the more I played, the more bland it felt... I feel like I want to give it a 6/10... but I think that's a bit too generous. Too much bloat. Feels gross, but I can't justify anything higher than a 5/10.



METRO 2033 REDUX

I gave this game a good damn go and I made it through some aspects of the story, but from what I've heard the game is quite poorly optimised and sadly my PC gave up the ghost when playing it. It was so bizarre. I was streaming, and the game made my PC essentially turn into a radiator and turn off everything, only putting out insane heat. I don't know if I ever want to do that again. The game is interesting enough, but if it's going to destroy my PC playing it, I might have to retire that entire series too. I'll have another think before I make that decision as the game is engaging, just not worth my PC's life to play through it haha.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

VERY mellow week on the entertainment front. Normally I'm excited for this section as there are some solid hitters throughout, but feels like I've just been tapped with some entertainment this week instead of HIT with it if you get my drift. I'm giving it to One Piece. It's the most engaged I've been this week... but this week was definitely more mellow than normal.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Much more mellow this week and even some retirements haha. Feels kinda weird to get rid of games that I no longer wish to play. But in a way it feels like I'm peeling back control from the overwhelming backlog guilt I used to feel. I used to feel like I OWED it to the game to play them. Now I'm in the mindset of "it's the games job to entertain me, if it fails, it's on them, not on me" then I uninstall the game haha. Maybe I've just become more brutal as I've become older. But I'm now looking for experiences that respect my time. If it's not going to give me that... then I won't be afraid to kick it to the curb.

If it respects my time and ends up being awesome. Of course, I'll take the time to praise it and give it the attention it deserves. Hmm. I quite like this new version of me. I'm standing up for my own time damn it. It's precious. Why feel meh when you can have a good time. Anyways, that's all from me. See you in the next update!

Entertainment Budget: $428

Currently Playing
Metro 2033 Redux
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Retired
Marvels Midnight Suns

Overall Backlog
Games: 339
Hours: 7803

UPDATE

AT LONG LAST! Another bloody update! Sorry for my absence. I've been definitely burnt out from work, and I'm now sitting comfortably on my break now feeling refreshed and ready to go! What does this mean? Well... I still have 2 weeks from my work-break and I'm already feeling primed and ready to go. So if anything I'm REALLY looking forward to how I'm going to feel afterwards!

Why am I doing an update? Well, I FINALLY have done a completion and despite my burnout I was DEDICATED towards finishing something. I've finally managed to achieve it, I feel bloody good about it (literally completed it just now) and if anything, opens the flood-gates up for more completions in the horizon. Why? Because I think it's one of, if not, the longest game in my backlog list. So it'd likely mean that more completions will occur at a faster pace.

Personal stuff... I had a bloody tooth break. Had to go to a dentist to get it repaired. I was warned that it was super close to the nerve, but she managed to save it. She also mentioned that I'm cavity-prone due to crowding (yay), so I might have to book another time with the dentist to get a full check-up to start really looking after them. Yeah... I could've done a much better job in looking after them, but hearing that I'm cavity-prone anyways... yeah. Not demotivating, but just another "fun" thing to deal with. As long as there's no dental pain. My goodness... it's agony.

Otherwise... things are going pretty smoothly. I'm just doing a lot of relaxing. So yes... more fun things to talk about as time progresses! Now to the fun stuff.



SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE

287/827 (34%)

Lots of things going on! It's definitely a really slow build-up as there are things going on, but I'm really appreciating the build-up. I often find that in build-up, I read the book a lot slower because it's not as "exciting" but I still am really engaged if that makes sense.

Tesaio is quite a crafty bastard working alongside his cousin (and ruler) Desio of the Minwanabi. I'm not quite sure if this is say the first level of conflict Mara will have to face. It almost feels like these 2 are either the Mid-Boss in a game. I'm not quite sure. It feels like something more ominous is on the horizon, but who knows. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Right now though, Mara is having to join the higher house in their war because her political opponents outdid her politically. I think it's going to be really exciting... I'm just intrigued to see how this plays out. Again... feels mid-boss-y as opposed to the main core part... but perhaps this will grow. Still enjoying it!



ONE PIECE

1064/1144 (93%)

Man oh man! Is this arc hitting its PEAK! Lots of freaking animation taking place to surround the awesome fights that are taking place. Admittedly, Wano had a LOT of build-up taking place, but now that stuff is going down... boy... is it going DOWN!

This is definitely one of the strongest arcs, but still doesn't compare to Water 7/Enies Lobby and Dressrosa. Not a bad thing, this arc still slaps but yes. Good times. The FREAKING animation behind my favourite character Sanji and Queen as well as Zoro and King... beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. If this is One Piece at it's best, or if there's some awesome moments to still come, I'm looking forward to it.

I REALLY have a soft-spot for Sanji. Don't get me wrong. Absolutely love Luffy and Zoro too, but in my opinion both Sanji and Robin have THE best character-writing I've seen when it comes to any medium. No this isn't a spoiler, as I'm talking about the overall story. Still lots going on, still really enjoying it. I guess I just have to wait and see what's happening next.



BACKLOG

METRO 2033 REDUX

No progress.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN

No progress. But look forward to some soon!



PATHFINDER: KINGMAKER

This game... started off really strong. I was in a strong mood to play a CRPG and this game definitely delivered on that scale. To begin with, it just felt like I was playing something as I would have done many years ago. The intro quests were quite good and actually has given me some Gamemastering ideas, but does this game make me roll REALLY bad! Holy moly. The amount of Nat 1's I freaking rolled with the enemy rolling Nat 20's o.O.

Once you get past that and go into the core crux of the game... I'm... not so sure. I think this game I will occasionally pepper back in here and there... but otherwise I don't think I'm AS excited to keep playing this. I'll keep it in the Currently Playing list for now... it's just not without its issues.



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT

No progre- AHHH just kidding. This is the bloody game that I have FINALLY finished at long blimmin' last. I must admit, I thought the final fight was going to be at Kaer Morhen and to be honest, that's where I wanted the final fight to take place. In saying that though, it really is only a minor gripe. This game still does a really good job in only giving you side-quests if you WANT to, which PERFECTLY fits my play-style. I personally don't care about any side-quests unless I happen to stumble across it and feel that the character I'm playing would actually oblige.

I completely understand why a lot of people consider this the best game ever created. I do rate it very highly. It is very much one of the stronger games I've played and I did really enjoy it. But my goodness... does it feel needlessly long in parts. I try not to skip any dialogue either because I'm invested in the story, but this game almost brought me close to doing so. The main-story is actually really well-told and you can FEEL the tension in the politics as Geralt has to navigate through many things in order to both find Ciri and save her.

The combat and customisability of the gear is truly a highlight. For someone like me, who LOVES to loot, the game definitely made me think of whether I'd like to be overencumbered or not. But not to the point where it really impacted the way I play. Going from memory, I think I only got annoyed once or twice and of course, that's due to my own decisions.

Overall, this game is a REALLY solid game. There's just something about it. It really sticks with you, the decisions you make actually impact the overall story and even if you just want a breather and take in the scenery... you can do this too. It is a really good game. I just think it takes a little too much time for certain things to take place. Overall though, quite excellent. I understand why this game is so revered now. 8/10.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Yikes, 3 weeks to get through... Okay I have to have a small think on this... but I think I've got them down-packed. 1st week goes to One Piece, 2nd week Witcher 3, then last week... yeah One Piece yet again.

One Piece has just really taken off and is doing a really stellar job in keeping me engaged and entertained.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Yikes, lots to talk about haha, but that is indeed the end of the update! I got another one coming up in 2 days. What topics will I cover within these 2 days? Well perhaps the relief of yours truly that he tackled one of the biggest games in his backlog in terms of hours. Maybe some other shenaniganry haha, but I guess we'll just have to see once Sunday comes by.

Overall, still really enjoying things. Oh yeah! I bought 2 new games! :O I got given some Birthday money... and I bought some games with half of it... and then the rest I put on the Dental bill. My tooth broke the day before my Birthday. So. Bloody. Rude. Anyways, I'll make sure to update that too. These are ones that would make sense too! So don't get in my biz alright haha. Look at my Entertainment Budget! It's continuing to grow thanks to the game completions! Need to whittle it down somehow :P. They are Pixel Remastered too!

See you in a couple of days!

Entertainment Budget: $428 - 37 (Final Fantasy V and VI) - 4 (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) = $387 + 54 (Witcher 3) = $441

^ After all that... I still ended with more...

Currently Playing
Metro 2033 Redux
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Completed
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Overall Backlog
Games: 341
Hours: 7809

UPDATE

AT LONG LAST! Another bloody update! Sorry for my absence. I've been definitely burnt out from work, and I'm now sitting comfortably on my break now feeling refreshed and ready to go! What does this mean? Well... I still have 2 weeks from my work-break and I'm already feeling primed and ready to go. So if anything I'm REALLY looking forward to how I'm going to feel afterwards!

Why am I doing an update? Well, I FINALLY have done a completion and despite my burnout I was DEDICATED towards finishing something. I've finally managed to achieve it, I feel bloody good about it (literally completed it just now) and if anything, opens the flood-gates up for more completions in the horizon. Why? Because I think it's one of, if not, the longest game in my backlog list. So it'd likely mean that more completions will occur at a faster pace.

Personal stuff... I had a bloody tooth break. Had to go to a dentist to get it repaired. I was warned that it was super close to the nerve, but she managed to save it. She also mentioned that I'm cavity-prone due to crowding (yay), so I might have to book another time with the dentist to get a full check-up to start really looking after them. Yeah... I could've done a much better job in looking after them, but hearing that I'm cavity-prone anyways... yeah. Not demotivating, but just another "fun" thing to deal with. As long as there's no dental pain. My goodness... it's agony.

Otherwise... things are going pretty smoothly. I'm just doing a lot of relaxing. So yes... more fun things to talk about as time progresses! Now to the fun stuff.



SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE

287/827 (34%)

Lots of things going on! It's definitely a really slow build-up as there are things going on, but I'm really appreciating the build-up. I often find that in build-up, I read the book a lot slower because it's not as "exciting" but I still am really engaged if that makes sense.

Tesaio is quite a crafty bastard working alongside his cousin (and ruler) Desio of the Minwanabi. I'm not quite sure if this is say the first level of conflict Mara will have to face. It almost feels like these 2 are either the Mid-Boss in a game. I'm not quite sure. It feels like something more ominous is on the horizon, but who knows. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Right now though, Mara is having to join the higher house in their war because her political opponents outdid her politically. I think it's going to be really exciting... I'm just intrigued to see how this plays out. Again... feels mid-boss-y as opposed to the main core part... but perhaps this will grow. Still enjoying it!



ONE PIECE

1064/1144 (93%)

Man oh man! Is this arc hitting its PEAK! Lots of freaking animation taking place to surround the awesome fights that are taking place. Admittedly, Wano had a LOT of build-up taking place, but now that stuff is going down... boy... is it going DOWN!

This is definitely one of the strongest arcs, but still doesn't compare to Water 7/Enies Lobby and Dressrosa. Not a bad thing, this arc still slaps but yes. Good times. The FREAKING animation behind my favourite character Sanji and Queen as well as Zoro and King... beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. If this is One Piece at it's best, or if there's some awesome moments to still come, I'm looking forward to it.

I REALLY have a soft-spot for Sanji. Don't get me wrong. Absolutely love Luffy and Zoro too, but in my opinion both Sanji and Robin have THE best character-writing I've seen when it comes to any medium. No this isn't a spoiler, as I'm talking about the overall story. Still lots going on, still really enjoying it. I guess I just have to wait and see what's happening next.



BACKLOG

METRO 2033 REDUX

No progress.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN

No progress. But look forward to some soon!



PATHFINDER: KINGMAKER

This game... started off really strong. I was in a strong mood to play a CRPG and this game definitely delivered on that scale. To begin with, it just felt like I was playing something as I would have done many years ago. The intro quests were quite good and actually has given me some Gamemastering ideas, but does this game make me roll REALLY bad! Holy moly. The amount of Nat 1's I freaking rolled with the enemy rolling Nat 20's o.O.

Once you get past that and go into the core crux of the game... I'm... not so sure. I think this game I will occasionally pepper back in here and there... but otherwise I don't think I'm AS excited to keep playing this. I'll keep it in the Currently Playing list for now... it's just not without its issues.



THE WITCHER 3: THE WILD HUNT

No progre- AHHH just kidding. This is the bloody game that I have FINALLY finished at long blimmin' last. I must admit, I thought the final fight was going to be at Kaer Morhen and to be honest, that's where I wanted the final fight to take place. In saying that though, it really is only a minor gripe. This game still does a really good job in only giving you side-quests if you WANT to, which PERFECTLY fits my play-style. I personally don't care about any side-quests unless I happen to stumble across it and feel that the character I'm playing would actually oblige.

I completely understand why a lot of people consider this the best game ever created. I do rate it very highly. It is very much one of the stronger games I've played and I did really enjoy it. But my goodness... does it feel needlessly long in parts. I try not to skip any dialogue either because I'm invested in the story, but this game almost brought me close to doing so. The main-story is actually really well-told and you can FEEL the tension in the politics as Geralt has to navigate through many things in order to both find Ciri and save her.

The combat and customisability of the gear is truly a highlight. For someone like me, who LOVES to loot, the game definitely made me think of whether I'd like to be overencumbered or not. But not to the point where it really impacted the way I play. Going from memory, I think I only got annoyed once or twice and of course, that's due to my own decisions.

Overall, this game is a REALLY solid game. There's just something about it. It really sticks with you, the decisions you make actually impact the overall story and even if you just want a breather and take in the scenery... you can do this too. It is a really good game. I just think it takes a little too much time for certain things to take place. Overall though, quite excellent. I understand why this game is so revered now. 8/10.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Yikes, 3 weeks to get through... Okay I have to have a small think on this... but I think I've got them down-packed. 1st week goes to One Piece, 2nd week Witcher 3, then last week... yeah One Piece yet again.

One Piece has just really taken off and is doing a really stellar job in keeping me engaged and entertained.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Yikes, lots to talk about haha, but that is indeed the end of the update! I got another one coming up in 2 days. What topics will I cover within these 2 days? Well perhaps the relief of yours truly that he tackled one of the biggest games in his backlog in terms of hours. Maybe some other shenaniganry haha, but I guess we'll just have to see once Sunday comes by.

Overall, still really enjoying things. Oh yeah! I bought 2 new games! :O I got given some Birthday money... and I bought some games with half of it... and then the rest I put on the Dental bill. My tooth broke the day before my Birthday. So. Bloody. Rude. Anyways, I'll make sure to update that too. These are ones that would make sense too! So don't get in my biz alright haha. Look at my Entertainment Budget! It's continuing to grow thanks to the game completions! Need to whittle it down somehow :P. They are Pixel Remastered too!

See you in a couple of days!

Entertainment Budget: $428 - 37 (Final Fantasy V and VI) - 4 (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) = $387 + 54 (Witcher 3) = $441

^ After all that... I still ended with more...

Currently Playing
Metro 2033 Redux
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Completed
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Overall Backlog
Games: 341
Hours: 7809

That's right around the same episode I caught up to One Piece, that part of Wano is awesome. The animation quality picks up a lot during Wano, it looks amazing. Robin is definitely my favorite character in the show. Her big "I want to live" scene in Enies Lobby is still my favorite moment in the series, absolute cinema. It's cool to see her and Sanji get some good writing and scenes in a few arcs. It's definitely a bit inconsistent though.

That's right around the same episode I caught up to One Piece, that part of Wano is awesome. The animation quality picks up a lot during Wano, it looks amazing. Robin is definitely my favorite character in the show. Her big "I want to live" scene in Enies Lobby is still my favorite moment in the series, absolute cinema. It's cool to see her and Sanji get some good writing and scenes in a few arcs. It's definitely a bit inconsistent though.

Agreed, but I must admit that they're the best written out of them all. Don't get me wrong. LOVE the Straw Hats, but I definitely have a soft-spot for ones that Oda took care of when it came to writing.

UPDATE

Doing well with some Updates... still a touch behind but I'm catching back up! Really enjoying the break from work, I feel like I'm fully rested now which is great. I'm back to going to the gym 6 days a week... and ... actually feels like that's beginning to take over my life now, but in a great way. As a gay man, when I see myself in the mirror... I kinda check myself out in the mirror both for progress but also actually appreciating how I'm looking! Very bizarre.

I'm also looking towards doing some study in the future! Really excited to do that, not going to lie. Got in touch with the University I studied through previously, had a chat with them about potential things to do in the future and... well... YEAH. We'll see how it goes. I really want to focus on my career... so I'm looking towards the Bachelor level, then in the future go for Masters. I've had enough of standing idly by for my career. Time to pull my pants up :P

Anyways, that's enough from me! Onto the good stuff!



SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE

368/827 (44%)

Yes... YES! This book is definitely picking up in terms of political shenanigans. i absolutely am enjoying this, but again, it's just a lot of build-up and for some reason I haven't been taking the time out of my day to read as much as I would like.

But boy-oh-boy did Mara alongside Kevins support make Tesaio look bad! To the point that Desio banished Tesaio to a very far outpost. Freaking loved it. Still think that the Minwanabi give out the mid-boss vibes, but I suppose that remains to be seen. More exciting times are ahead I'm sure! Definitely some cool parts occurred that are providing promises for what's to come.



ONE PIECE

1064/1144 (93%) ~ No progress



BACKLOG

METRO 2033 REDUX

No progress.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN

Made a little progress, but lost a lot of fights. I'm going to have to figure out how to make the fights work for me, but oh well. So nothing too much to report on just yet.



PATHFINDER: KINGMAKER

Making some progress, but I'm getting really stuck on the Branded Trolls that are plaguing the kingdom. Not sure if I'm going to keep playing this game for much longer... it's kinda... annoying to play. Let's be honest. Oh well, I will keep you posted!



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

1 week went by... and... I'm trying to think of what really stole the Entertainment Highlight this week. I reckon it's going to be Servant of the Empire. The bar is set low for the entertainment I consumed but that's not to take away about how good that book is. I guess this is just a slightly humdrum week on the entertainment front.

It's really good, very consistent and it definitely deserves the spot this week.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Bit of a quick update! Hopefully some more fun things occur before Sunday. I actually intend to do the proper update that very Sunday haha, so we shall see. I'm definitely in internal peace to a certain degree now. It's actually quite nice to reach this level of peace now. I'm also kinda telling myself that it's okay to be ordinary. I used to think that I was made to be something awesome. Super crazy, talented etc. But I stopped and thought about it a bit... I'm pretty average. I'm pretty ordinary. Sure I wanna get those qualifications and I love the gym etc. But I'm ordinary!

And I've learnt to accept that it's okay being ordinary. I'm at peace with it. Anyways, just thought I'd share that. Life is definitely feeling a bit better, however tight financially (good ol' mortgage). Anyways.

See you in a couple of days!

Entertainment Budget: $441

Currently Playing
Metro 2033 Redux
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Overall Backlog
Games: 341
Hours: 7810

I'm glad things are looking up for you. Hooray for breaks!

WEEKLY UPDATE

Back to the weekly updates hurray! A little slower again on the completion side, but I am making some solid progress in certain areas. In some ways this is going to be a less productive update, but it's going to be a longer update. I'm definitely in the mood towards watching more anime again as I have rekindled my anime-watching schedule (thank goodness). The reason this stopped was just because I was watching anime, playing JRPGs, discussing anime with my frieeeeeeends. It was just a bit too much. But after my clean break from JRPGs and watching some One Piece, that love towards it has rekindled and that's definitely what I spent a solid portion of my time doing this week.

I've still played some games and did some reading though, so don't think "Oh, Skyhler doesn't play games anymore." I've done my fair share of gaming. It's just that anime has taken up a more noticeable uptick atm which is super exciting! Overall I think I found the passion behind gaming again, which of course is always a positive start with hopefully more to come!

Anywho, that's enough sappy stuff. Onto the good stuff!



SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE

390/827 (47%)

Only a tiny amount of progress so far, but still enjoying it!



ANIME

Monday - Sport - Kurokos Basketball (31 / 75) +6 ~ Really enjoying it so far! Left on a bloody cliffhanger though.
Tuesday - Adult - Bungo Stray Dogs (31 / 61) +3 ~ I forgot how brutal this was. Very good!
Wednesday - Shounen - One Piece (1077 / 1145) +12 ~ Yeah a certain thing happened that turned out to be an awesome watch. Getting really close to up to date, so might need to replace "New"
Thursday - Romance - Fruits Basket (22 / 63) ~0 ~ No progress
Friday - Comedy - Zombie Land Saga (12 /24 ) ~0 ~ No progress
Saturday - Need a new genre - Was Isekai, but How Not to Summon a Demon Lord was too raunchy for me.
Sunday - New ~ Kaiju No. 8 (6 / 23) +3 ~ Forgot how cool this anime was!

I've recently caught up to just over 94% of One Piece now. But I'm glad to be making progress in other anime as well. Two anime stole the limelight for me and that was both Bungo Stray Dogs and One Piece for very different reasons.

Bungo Stray Dogs for having a character being held hostage, but completely uses manipulation to make the enemy boss think that he had powers affecting the mental space. He fooled him that he was in a mental space and that there was no mistake, therefore they're both going to stay in there until one starves to death, revealing he's trained himself for this. The boss trying to outdo the character, decided to (TRIGGER WARNING) hang himself to get out of that mental space, but turns out this character didn't have any mental space powers. So he manipulated him to hang himself. OOF. So bloody well done.

Then in One Piece, Luffy, the Joy Boy himself finally unlocked Gear 5 and beat the crap out of Kaido. Some people criticised the animation thinking that Zoro and Sanji's fight had the more epic animation. Whilst admittedly, they had the more "badass" of evolution, I found that I REALLY enjoyed how they portrayed Luffy in his Joy Boy state. I found myself smiling, I loved the whacky cartoon aspect of things, and really the absurdity actually just adds to the overall fun nature. People can say what they will, but that was a great climax to the story and I think out of all the Gears, this has been the best reveal.



BACKLOG

METRO 2033 REDUX

No progress.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN

No progress.



PATHFINDER: KINGMAKER

Dispatched most of the Branded Trolls! Also getting the slight hand of running the land. Beginning to pick myself up a bit better, but man this game is frustrating at times...



POKEMON EMERALD NUZLOCKE

Yup, I've been streaming this for quite some time now, as Pathfinder Kingmaker proved a little annoying to do. Admittedly, this won't impact the Entertainment Budget in any way shape or form, I promise. I can't believe I have made it so far in the game! I defeated the sixth Gym Leader so far. But one MAJOR highlight in this entire game so far is how much Sally (the Hariyama) in my team had completely WIPED the floor with Normans team. I was expecting a tough fight, a tough fight it was. But Sally just went "Hi, you're dead now" and proceeded to wipe him.

I have a feeling that I'm going to face some tough challenges ahead. I have got a "Queue" rule for my Nuzlocke run though. This rule consists of any Pokemon caught beyond the first six obtained go into the PC. All Poke'mon that go in that PC then join the "Queue". First in, first out basis. No exceptions. Two good things about this. If my entire party faints, I must pick the next six in the "queue". The issue with this though, is that I don't have a choice. I have to deal with the Poke's the RNG gods serve me. Could be trash, could be amazing. This game gave me a... hmm... average lot. But Sally treated that average adjective like a challenge. She hits and tanks like a ten tonne truck. Absolutely love her! GO SALLY!



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Another week has gone by. Man, this was a tight race for the Entertainment Highlight. The anime world has welcomed me with open arms and I'm so happy to be back. The two main highlighted animes I spoke about are essentially battling for the Entertainment Highlight of the week. Yikes, close call, but nothing compares to the Joy Boy of One Piece.

Just an overall great and amazing moment. It was awesome, fun, exciting, hilarious, and I want to see more of that too. Goodness, I kinda wanna rewatch it just for the sake of.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

This update felt a lot more anime heavy... which is interesting, because I swear I played a BUNCH of games this week. Hmm... maybe it's because I'm making slow progress in those video games. Oh well, I'm sure you will see more game-like posts soon!

See you next week!

Entertainment Budget: $441

Currently Playing
Metro 2033 Redux
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Pokemon Emerald (Nuzlocke ~ Skyhler's rules)

Overall Backlog
Games: 341
Hours: 7814

WEEKLY UPDATE

Hell yeah, a Weekly Update that was relatively consistent. Let's go! Um... wish I could say positive things. There's a mixture, I'll be completely honest haha. Back to work tomorrow! I got some really nice office attire, in which I think I'll make it a theme for my in-office days, and still wear decent shirts on my out-of-office days. I decided that if I'm serious about my career and work, it's high time I ensure my wardrobe follows it. Who knows, it might just shift my mentality towards wanting a promotion and actually earning it.

Dental troubles. Omgsh... my Dentist and I are very nervous about my teeth. I HATE my teeth. To say it's crowded... is an understatement. My mouth has seen better days and I'm currently looking at it going "omgsh... what can I do to improve this?" Lots of money needed to fix it... which is upsetting because I have a mortgage and house to manage as well. I don't know yet, but this was the most recent ticket that's ticking in my brain hole and I'm aware of it... and admittedly quite overwhelmed.

Entertainment-wise still some REALLY strong showings! Anime is going somewhat well, gaming is going well and reading is going well too! I'll have to check a few things out on top of that. So if anything, entertainment is REALLY high on the ticket again, which is good. I just wish the bloody stressors didn't exist as I think I might have to make some tough decisions. Anyways, onto the fun part of the update!



SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE

422/827 (51%)

Still read a little bit, but MAN the machinations that are taking place are awesome! Excited to read more.



ANIME

Monday - Sport - Kurokos Basketball (34 / 75) +0 ~ Eep, thought I watched, but then remembered the previous update was on Monday! Ha... haha... Looking forward to the next ep.
Tuesday - Adult - Bungo Stray Dogs (31 / 61) +3 ~ Another brutal trifecta that made my mouth drop. So good!
Wednesday - Shounen - One Piece (1077 / 1145) +12 ~ They're beginning to close out the arc, quite a nice change of pace actually.
Thursday - Romance - Fruits Basket (22 / 63) ~0 ~ No progress
Friday - Comedy - Zombie Land Saga (12 / 24 ) ~0 ~ No progress
Saturday - Isekai? - My Next Life As a Villainess (12 / 24) ~ Giving Isekai another chance, I remember really liking this one.
Sunday - New ~ Kaiju No. 8 (9 / 23) +3 ~ Yeah I'm liking this a lot. To the point I'm looking to read the manga.

I must admit... This was a REALLY enjoyable week on the anime front. Had some amazing moments despite only watching anime half the bloody week. In saying that though, what I did watch was an outright blast.

Bungo Stray Dogs was the anime highlight of the week. There was a moment that made my mouth drop in terms of the sheer brutality of what I saw. It's not often that content shocks me, but that one did without a doubt. The moment in question was when both Atsushi and Kunikida were invading a base of the mafias to glean some information. But the guy they were trying to glean information from also had a bunch of children under his care. Well, not only did the kids alongside the guy go in the sewers to escape from our two protagonists. They also wielded submachine guns and tried to kill them.

Fortunately, Kunikida brought up a tear gas grenade and disabled them a bit. But then as soon as they dashed past the kids, there was a girl who had a grenade necklace. Kunikida advised Atsushi to carry on ahead, trying to calm her down so she won't be harmed. But as soon as she saw his notebook, she recalled what the guy advised her (telling her it's a trick/weapon) so she pulled all the grenade pins trying to kill Kunikida. Fortunately, Kunikida survived... the girl on the other hand...

Very dark moment, but very powerful. Made me realise what stakes we are dealing with when it comes to the potential levels of conflict.



BACKLOG

METRO 2033 REDUX

No progress.



MUTANT YEAR ZERO: ROAD TO EDEN

No progress.



PATHFINDER: KINGMAKER

Finished with the Branded Trolls! But of course, more troubles await. Oops, sorry for the spoilers in the previous post.



POKEMON EMERALD NUZLOCKE

Oof, what a rollercoaster ride this game turned out to be. I partook in a battle far too early and paid a significant price. Unfortunately both Flutters the Dustox and Moistill (blame the chat) Azumarill died in the encounter I had with Maxie.

It was very freaking intense, but fortunately, Noot Noot the Shiftry saved the day... barely. Replaced the two dead Pokes with GaryDoesnt (blame the chat) the Magikarp and Poseidon (my name!) the Tentacool as they're the next in the queue. Who knows what the future may hold, but I'm currently going through the grind phase with these, to get them up to speed and potentially grind a bit to prevent the same tragedy from occurring again.



WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER

Man what a game! I got bored of the game above and needed something fast and action-packed to play on stream. Then someone mentioned this game! BOY, did I underestimate how good this game is. THIS is what I needed. Something action-packed, brutal and made me feel like a badass when I was playing.

At the moment we have just been taken to the prison undercover and I imagine what's going to happen is that we are going to kill Nazi's and break people out. Always a good time! The other thing I thought I'd mention is that I think the MC is an unreliable narrator in the main story of the game. We shall see! But I think there is more to come.



ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHT

Ooh another close-ish race for this week. But this time I have to give it to Bungo Stray Dogs. Boy oh boy does this anime know how to hit you hard in the feels when it wants to! I am really looking forward to seeing what's going to come next... well on all the entertainment fronts!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Feels like my Currently Playing list is swelling a little bit. I think I might need to make some retirements soon as I'm beginning to find that the games I want to play aren't scratching that itch anymore. We shall see, I shan't hold myself to any decision as of yet, but I'm looking at my list and I'm going "does it really need to be that long? Or do I need to make some choices?"

Quite similar to my dental situation too... yikes. Oh well. The joys of adult responsibility huh? Anyways, that's enough of the bleak part.

See you next week!

Entertainment Budget: $441

Currently Playing
Metro 2033 Redux
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Pokemon Emerald (Nuzlocke ~ Skyhler's rules)
Wolfenstein: The New Order

Overall Backlog
Games: 341
Hours: 7815