20 years ago today in Japan, Ar tonelico was released. As a series, it's definitely one of the most underappreciated JRPG ones of all time.

m10s down (again with PF) This fight is weird. It starts out really annoying and dull, but the further I got the more I warmed up to it. So much to optimise! However, PF made it a pretty painful experience. Not as big of a PF blocker as m6s was, but Snaking gives me more difficulty dissonance.

m9s down with PF With the usual timezone troubles, it took a bit longer than I hoped, but should still leave me plenty of time for m10s over the weekend so I can hopefully at least knock out the first two (three, technically😉) in week 1.

Happy new year (derogative)! 🎉

commission for @kuromaboroshi.bsky.social. Thank you. #FFXIV #art

A friend gave me a code for #Soulframe pre-alpha release 12. Seems a decent framework to build upon, but needs to pick a lane how combat should feel. Overworld combat is boring, some boss fights already pretty good. It was decent... until I hit the incredibly strict and archaic inventory limit.🙄

I was challenged to draw* a bird, so I recreated a classic. *=Used a real photograph as reference and for tracing the outside shape, cause it turns out I have no idea how to actually owl.

【 #第89回PLL 】 ‍＼\武具投影アップデート！ /／ より自由な投影が可能に！👗✨ お気に入りの装いで冒険に出かけよう💨 🌐 sqex.to/sWCFC #FF14 #XIVLive #霧の中の理想郷

Finished Vampire: The Masquerade - #Bloodlines2, a messy and and bland game. Disregarding any comparison to the previous one (anyone who still expected anything there was being delusional), there is just very little here. To use the obvious joke, it feels anemic.

Started playing the new Pathologic 3 demo, and... Damn it, Daniil, will you stop ogling the extras already?! We're trying to put on a taster for a serious theater production here! 🤣 #Pathologic #Pathologic3 #Pathologic3Demo

Finished #SilentHillf. I've more to say on it than fits in a readable post chain, so tl;dr until I figure out the format for that: f was what Silent Hill needed, going back to its roots while rejuvenating. As a spin off it fits well, and though it has some problems, I had a great time. 👍

Finished my 1st playthrough of #SilentHillf. Will have plenty to say on it once I've completed it and seen if it sticks the landing. So for now, all I shall mention is my skill issue playing it, wherein me being unwilling to throw items away lead to constant backtracking to enshrine items. 😅

If ever there was a game to not pre-order, this is it. ☑️Famously troubled development ☑️Misaimed marketing And now ☑️The usual scummy tiered version preorder nonsense (incl. Day 1 DLC) I still hope it'll be a good game "in its own right" (very little hope on "as a sequel"), but COME ON.

The new jumping puzzle at the #FFXIV #MoonfireFaire event is such a disappointment. It's barely on the level of Kugane Tower. It wouldn't be so bad if the old tower also had made an appearance, but in its absence, what's usually best seasonal event of the year... isn't.

mugengaming.com/blogs/news/m... Even though the news did leak a few days prior, since it's a formal announcement now, I'll finally yell about this from the rooftops. So excited! 🤩 Crowdfunding makes me a bit worried though, hopefully it won't be Kickstarter-only with their chronic Paypal allergy.

The long wait has finally ended, everyone! We're pleased to announce that the Ciel nosurge Offline translation patch has been released for you all to enjoy! t.co/YovWYDzEht

Finished #LiesofPOverture. It's good, but a bit all over the place. Level design is markedly improved in at least one zone, but still very average and safe elsewhere. Storytelling and quest design is still miles ahead of FromSoftware. Combat, polish, and graphics remain strong.

With how bad my pulls have been today, the Uesugi Kenshin banner this autumn better give me at least NP2 to make up for it.

Imagine including a "Device for On-Screen Prompts" option in your game, but then failing to provide an option for Playstation controler button prompts, instead only offering "Keyboard and Mouse" or "Gamepad" (which of course are the wrong- I mean XBox ones). #EldenRingNightreign

Finished #UrbanMythDissolutionCenter, a game that I can only describe as the most Ace Attorney thing since Ace Attorney, in both its good and its bad parts. This, however, is not a problem. I like Ace Attorney in spite of its faults, and I like this in spite of them, too.

"Finished" #BluePrince, though given how much content there still is left to be discovered, that's a strong word to use. But I am done with it for sure. It has been a while since I played a game so insistent on wasting my time for the sake of a mechanic that ultimately amounts to just a gimmick.

The deadline was almost upon us, but in the end my family and I managed to finish our yearly easter egg puzzle treasure hunt. Big thanks as always to Oliver Rezec and Süddeutsche Zeitung for making these happen every year! The egg was broken when we found it, but still legible.

Started playing #BluePrince, but at 8 hours in, I'm starting to lose patience with it. At the core of the game sits a so far intriguing mystery, but it is trapped inside the shell of an utterly tedious exploration system whose mechanics do nothing but bore and drag out runtime.

Listen, FromSoftware, when I said I might skip Nightreign due to my problems with Elden Ring, I didn't think you'd take it personally and force me to skip your next game, too. In an era where even industry turtles like Square Enix abandon exclusivity, they'd rather repeat the Bloodborne mistake. 😔

Finished #TheRoottreesAreDead, an excellent investigation game in the vein of Obra Dinn. I really need a name for this genre, cause I desperately need more of it. The gameplay is very solid, the deductions sensible and the presentation, though simple, perfectly sercvicable.

Watched the 2004 anime Monster, and it was rough. Intriguing premise, strong main characters, and high production value, let down hard by its plot's incredibly shoddy execution. Full of lengthy intermissions and often resetting to status quo, pacing still is the smallest issue.

My favourite writing software that I've been using for years finally went "purchase once, pay for upgrades" today. Lots of features used to be locked behind a godawful subscription payment model, so I'm super excited to finally give them a try!

#FinalFantasyVIIRebirth 's PC release didn't have malware after all, which was a nice surprise after FF 16 did ship with Denuvo. Bought it right away as a result. Can't wait to play it in a few days when the download finishes. Thanks, suburban German internet.😩

Sad to report that 2025 has released in an unacceptable state. All assets and mechanics are reused from 2024. No bugs have been fixed (e.g. still no way to cleanse the stacking "Advancing Age" debuff). I recommend sticking with 2024 for at least a few patches. (HAPPY NEW YEAR!)

Finished Prey (2017), an excellent 15 hour game stretched over almost double that amount of time. Reactivity and emergent gameplay are some of the best, and only break down in the final hour. Story is fine. Main twist is very predictable, and post-credits scene feels tacked on.

Started playing Prey (2017). After being very hype early on, then souring on the core loop a bit until I found the Psyscope, I am now back to having tons of fun. Though I worry the game might have tipped its hand too soon in regards to what I suspect will be the main twist.

Ah, yes, Elden Ring Co-Op, because the main game excelled at bosses accounting for multiple targets, and balancing encounters for them. 😑 But hey, at least it's not DLC, so they might be able to shed some of the main game's problems. ...or they might double down. We'll see.

I kid you not, @itch.io has been taken down by Funko of "Funko Pop" because they use some trash "AI Powered" Brand Protection Software called Brand Shield that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain

Had a lot of fun with FRU blind prog today. The usual "tragedy of the commons" PF problem set in rather early, as the fight is (or feels) way more approachable than TOP. I wonder how far I'll be able to push in PF the coming weeks, before I start looking for a more serious pursuit of it. #FFXIV

Finally downed M4S with the static. We took a bit longer on the final phase than I would have wanted, considering DPS checks were nonexistant this entire tier, but we made it in time for FRU, so in the end it's all good. #FFXIV

The 16-bit nightmare is back with Clock Tower: Rewind! Run, hide, and evade the murderous Scissorman in this survival-horror classic, released outside of Japan for the first time, with extra content. Available now digitally on Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, & PC! wayforward.com/games/clock-...

I was told to paint something with acrylic paints, and decided to paint Lakeland from memory. Things I learned in the process: 1.) I hate how fast acrylics dry. 2.) I don't remember the Crystal Tower's shape nearly as well as I ought to, and should have used a reference after all. #FFXIV #FFXIVART