Not anymore no, the initial reaction was justified. But yeah after nearly 8 years of free content updates they have certainly redeemed themselves

Not everyone can resist the temptation of the brussy

The infuriating part here is that there are still people the think climate change is a hoax, even though we see the first effects right here, right now. Last year was similar. I remember it being like 16 degrees on New Year's Eve. Fucking madness...

Talking about being swamped with work

In other news, Olympic swimming champion outraged when they found out that water is wet

Non-Dutchies see this as making fun of our language. Dutchies see this as making fun of a far rightwing politician. It's gold either way.

While it does indeed kind of smell like an ad, keep in mind this is not some triple-A bullshit. It's made by a single dev and has a heavily involved community on reddit and discord where competitions are hosted and suggestions are made. Regardless of tankies reputation, that kind of behaviour is not tolerated in either of those communities. I've been playing it on and off and have over 500 hours into it by now. It is a very niche game, but for those that like tanks and military games in general, it is a real gem.

2020/2021/2022 were so bad we all forgot about 2016. The clowns, trump being elected, Harambe. It was considered a wild year back then.

I bet you make images of stuff too then?

I hate to admit it but it seems that way. Our social systems, transport, healthcare, etc. were severely degraded by rightwing policies, and now many people voted for an even more rightwing party, as if they are gonna clean up the mess. Fucking idiots.

that is easily the cutest tank I've ever seen!

This is Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. L "Luchs" erasure

I have seen it recommended somewhere in the comments but I want to shed some more light on this game: What Remains of Edith Finch. It is a walking simulator that should take about 2 hours and is best played in a single session.

As Edith Finch, you go back to the house where you grew up in your younger years to explore it. The Finch family has an almost genetic trait of bad luck; many of them have died before their time. You explore the house room by room and explore that person's last moments.

There is no gore or horror of any kind, but there are children that die, so if that is a trigger I would sit this one out. If not, it is currently on sale for less than €5. It is worth it.

Fascinating! And gross, of course.

Lemmy eats the beans to clear space on the plate for future additions

So juicy sweet

Trafficking humans, putting them in tiny 1x1m cages where they cannot sit, force them to do cheap labour, separate their children at birth, and kill them if they are too expensive...

Fuck I love Minecraft!

As a non-native English speaker I fully understand what it means and will happily correct it to football for you :P

For what it's worth, it's incredibly frustrating as a European with a functioning brain too.

Absolute favourite game soundtrack? Frostpunk's OST. The soundtrack really brings home the desperation and harshness of survival in the cold. When the storm is coming and the music swells up... goosebumps. Every single time.

Divinity 2: Original Sin has a great soundtrack too. Kinda surprised I couldn't find it in the comments. Minecraft as well. It's very soothing and calming.

Aside from that, some smaller titles with great music: GRIS, What Remains of Edith Finch, and FAR: Lone Sails.

Those people are often where most of the money comes from in f2p games. They are referred to as "whales" by the gaming industry.

Not all heroes wear capes

Also the "I think A"

"Oh so you think B?"

...no?

Had a whole argument once about capitalism v/s socialism only because I stated that, while neither is desireable, if I HAD to choose, I would rather live in the States than in Russia. Somehow that must have meant that I love the US and it is doing nothing wrong in my view but they are wrong because capitalism etc etc and I was just standing there like "...I literally did NOT say anything to do with that." And then they had the gall to claim that I am the one blowing up arguments. Yeah right.

My first time at what is more or less a Renaissance Fair. There were several knives and swords on display. I thought they were plastic. Found out the hard way they were not.

I should add that this is in a country with gun control, i.e. weapons for sale is very much out of the order. I really was not expecting them to sell actual daggers!

The annoying thing is that this was already an issue in Divinity II... Probably something to do with the engine as they made that themselves as well. I love both games a tonne, but this is definitely an issue that they seem to be repeating...

The ending of How I Met Your Mother. Like, it was certainly no cinematic masterpiece, but I felt like it was a very logical build-up and delivery. I don't get the impression that they really stretched the story for more seasons either (yes I know they did add more things to stretch it, I just mean I think it doesn't show story-wise). But even a few days ago I saw people complaining about how bad the ending was, and it's a rhetoric I see almost every time the show is mentioned. And, again, it is not a cinematic masterpiece by any stretch, but I wouldn't expect that from a sitcom anyway.

A bit of an obscure one is Roadwarden. If I remember correctly, it was made by a single person. The grafics are pixelated style, which is usually a bit of a turn off for me (I don't need hyperrealistic, just don't like big pixels), but the gameplay is amazing. It is a combination of a graphical novel and an RPG where choices matter. It does not have spicy real-time combat or a leveling system, but your choices in the story and of your class matter.

To give a quick introduction to the story: You start as a roadwarden, someone tasked with keeping the roads safe. You are tasked by the elite in a rich city to assess the trading prospects with a poor province up north; assess its people, infrastructure, and resources that they offer. You have a limited time to complete your task, as autumn and winter are closing in, and the nights are too dangerous to venture on the roads.

In this game, you cannot help everyone. Helping one group can condemn another, and actions that may be noble in spirit may fail spectacularly. I've had a lot of fun playing through this, and it is my recommendation if you don't really care for real-time combat.

Don't forget the coconut!

Yeah I prefer 6 over 5 any day, but there are a few small things that 5 does do better imo. I do prefer the more serious art style of 5, and I noticed that there is a lot less actual dialogue in a civs respective language compared to 5. While I do like automatic road creation, I do also miss being able to build it manually to have more control over where units can go. Finally, I think the happiness system in Civ 6 is a bit too easy, as it can be mostly ignored and very easily fixed compared to 5. Keeping your citizens happy was much more of a challenge there.

Live fast - die young - leave a good-looking corpse

Ranking is tough but I'll give it a go. The ranking is based on the impact and enjoyment I got out of them regardless of playtime.

1. What Remains of Edith Finch & Kentucky Route Zero (shared 1st place)

2. Life is Strange

3. Stray

4. GRIS

5. Cyberpunk 2077

6. SOMA

7. Heaven's Vault

8. The Town of Light

9. FAR: Lone Sails

10. Portal 2

That last one is a bit of an outlier but I have laughed so much while playing it, it deserves a place at the table.

What Remains of Edith Finch

Kentucky Route Zero

Life is Strange

These are not the games I play the most. In terms of hours it would be Minecraft, Civilization VI, Divinity II: Original Sin, and Sprocket. And I love those games a lot, but they don't bring me the same experience as a well made story-driven game.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a "walking simulator" in terms of gameplay, but it should really be seen as an interactive movie. As Edith Finch, you go back to the house you grew up in as a kid, and where the whole Finch family lived once. The Finch family are generally quite unfortunate and usually meet an untimely end to their lives. As you go through the house room by room, you explore Edith's memories and the last moments of the person who died. It is only two hours long and should be played in a single sitting for the best experience. It is so far the only game where, when it was finished, I couldn't do anything besides sitting behind the screen, staring at the credits that were rolling, feeling bittersweet awe and sadness. It is an experience that I cannot recommend enough.

Kentucky Route Zero, on the other hand, is a bit harder to recommend, because I feel it's much more niche. It is another story driven game that takes a point and click approach to moving around. What makes it tick, though, is the sense of mystery. The game starts with a man named Conway. He is delivering a shipment of antiques - the last one before the shop will close down. He is rather lost, but gets the directions that he must go over highway zero. As you go through the game, you explore the mysterious underground highway and river of Kentucky and meet interesting people along the way - all of them with their own issues. Debt, guilt, addiction, and loss are all handled in this game. It's tricky to recommend, as there is nothing in terms of "actual gameplay." But for those that enjoy an interactive and unique story, it should be on your radar.

And lastly, the most famous one on my list: Life is Strange. I don't think it needs much introduction, but for those who don't know it: It is a game about Max, who discovers she can rewind time to a certain extent, and Chloe, her childhood friend with whom she reconnects. Don't worry about the superpower part too much; it's not a wacky Marvel thing, but rather a tool that is used to influence your environment and the people around you in more subtle ways. You explore Arcadia Bay and its inhabitants and learn more about Chloe as well. The game also presents you with various story choices that influence how people feel about you and react to you. Don't expect Detroit: Become Human levels of choices matter, though.

For me, I had the pleasure of going in completely blind and playing the prequel first. While I can understand that playing the prequel after the original can make the prequel feel underwhelming, it worked out for me. In the prequel, you play as Chloe before Max returns to Arcadia Bay and get to know her and her story. Then you go into Life is Strange already caring about Chloe, which elevated the experience significantly for me. So, to those that played it too, you know the choice I made at the end ;)

You know you can turn off nudity and such, right? You know you can choose not to flirt with the origin characters, right?

I want to second What Remains of Edith Finch. Tip: play it in a single go. It will take about 2 hours, but trust me when I say it's worth it.

Same here. Needed an image of Uncle Sam as an Air Genasi. Can't get stuff that specific without a comission (which is expensive and not worth it for a joke sidequest) or AI, so AI it is.

Let me put your mind at ease. The zombie ant phenomenon is nothing to be scared of as a human.

In nature, there are many pathogens/parasites. Some of them are able to manipulate their hosts to their own benefit. The zombie ants are not actual zombies, rather they are still alive ants that are manipulated before their death. This disease is caused by fungi of the Ophiocordyceps family. These fungi infect the ants and change their behaviour over the course of roughly one month. First, the ants social behaviour is surpressed and their biological clock disrupted. Then they start wildly walking around in nonsensical patterns. Eventually, when the infection has reached its peak, the ant climbs up some vegetation (grass, reeds, bushes, etc.). Here, it bites and clamps onto this vegetation, and that is that for the ant. It dies in this position. After a few days, a fruiting body (somewhat akin to a mushroom) sprouts from the body to release spores. If the spores manage to infect an ant, the cycle repeats.

Ophiocordyceps is not the only manipulator in nature. The Massospora fungi hijack cicadas and replace their genitals. Then, they induce mating behaviour. When another cicada tries to mate, they get infected instead. And there are many others like them. The way they manipulate their host is different between all of them, but they do have one thing in common: they are all highly specialized. For example, the Ophiocordyceps fungi species generally are only able to infect one ant species. They have co-evolved in an arms race over millions of years, where the ant develops mechanisms to defend themselves from pathogens and the pathogen develops ways around it. The chance of these highly specialized fungi to suddenly work on humans is zero. The same goes for Massospora. So, no need to worry about being forced to climb a tree or grow a fungal penis or vagina (or fungussy, if you will).

While these pathogens are no harm to us, there are, of course, pathogens that do manipulate humans. The most infamous example is the rabies virus. Luckily, there is a vaccine against it.

So, in short, no need to panic. Not about this, at least.

...by adding some croissants, as they famously go together very well with soggy beans!

It's pretty popular among my fellow students here, but I'd agree that it may be pretty niche overall.

I too love emotional games. Here are my personal favourites. Some of these have been recommended by others but idc:

What Remains of Edith Finch - as Edith Finch, you go back to the house you grew up in and explore your family's history. The Finch family have had much misfortune, and many did not grow old. As you explore the house room by room, you see that person's last moments. I cannot recommend this game enough. It's only 2 hours long and best enjoyed in a single sitting.

Life is Strange - you (Max) have recently returned to the town you grew up in for a prestigious art programme at the Blackwell Academy. One day, you discover you have suddenly gained the ability to rewind time. In this game, you explore your powers and reunite with your old childhood friend, Chloe. Don't worry too much about the superpower thing, it's without any Marvel BS.

Detroit: Become Human - in this game, you explore a world where robots are servants to humans from the POV of three robots. There are three stories that you follow that do meet each-other at some points. Not all stories are equally exciting, but two of the three are pretty great imo. It really makes you think about what it means to be human.

Kentucky Route Zero - this is an odd duck that you may enjoy as well. You start as Conway, an old man driving for an antiques shop doing his last delivery, as the shop will close down soon. As you try to find your way, a gas station attendant gives you cryptic directions to Highway Zero. As Conway and several other characters, you explore the surrealist world beneath Kentucky. It's a game filled with mystery, grief, loss, and being lost. This game is more like a strange dream rather than a videogame, and is therefore best played in the later hours of the day.

I hope there are some interesting picks here for you. Enjoy!

I had to scroll wayyyyy too far to find it. I absolutely love the soundtrack! And Baldur's Gate 3's music is also great so far. Not surprising as it's from the same artist(s) XD

It is currently singleplayer vs bots and the scenarios are admittedly limited. However, again, single dev (at the moment). Multiplayer is on the roadmap far in the future and will likely not really be pvp as that introduces challenges for balancing.

For now though, the designer is very free in what it lets you do for the most part and has a lot of options.

If you're on the fence, I would recommend looking up some videos on youtube that showcase the game's capabilities. Make sure to pick a decently recent one (ergo past half year or so).