It’s a tough and punishing game where 100 hours of grind means MAYBE the latest boss won’t KO you in a single hit.

It has 18 different weapons that each require a 20 minute tutorial from some guy on YouTube, and each requiring 20 hours to master. It’s a “the wand chooses the wizard Harry” and everyone is going to have their own favorite weapon. I myself ended up being a Charge Blade user, which is the most technical weapon in the game. Using it is like performing a Japanese Tea Ceremony whilst battling a 15 foot long alligator in a small room.

Melee weapons need sharpening mid battle, range weapons need ammo you have to craft before entering battle else you are SOL. Your stamina requires that you eat a large steak every 5 minutes or you will be constantly exhausted.

There is no twitch. Every action needs to be deliberate. A monster takes minutes of constant fire to stun or paralyze, during which time someone with a large weapon administers the tea he has been brewing. It’s called a Super Amped Elemental Discharge.

Loot is random but the part you want can only spawn when you damage the proper parts with the proper weapon.

So what makes me like this game? This kinda gameplay loop means Losing is par for the course. No “git gud” or “skills issue” kids are ever going to play this game. A skilled healer/buffer is treated as a god among men, unlike Overwatch where it’s your fault the team that spread itself all over the map got wiped out.

Tldr. Playing 100 hours of monster hunter filters the player base down to a group of Zen Monk Masochists that enjoy 2 things.

1. Spending 40 minutes taking down a 4 winged dragon that farts lightning every 10 seconds.

2. Each other’s company.

I hope this makes sense.

I found this place on vacation.

Hugh Jass.

Not my idea tho. I saw that name on the credits of a video game. Never found out if it was a joke or truly the name of some unfortunate soul.

Arthur Dent!? THE Arthur Dent!?

YEAH!!!

I’m not so sure about food, but for many mass market products it is indeed true that the same manufacturer can be engaged to make the same product under different branding. The difference then comes down to the corners cut to meet the client’s pricing. Crappier boxes, thinner bags, packing material, and quality inspection. Assuming the core ingredients are not compromised in some way.

I learned what without hired help and a mother that got incapacitated, a house can turn into a sloppy mess real quick.

Learned to cook real meals, do laundry, and give the house a good vacuum and mop.

Went from a 105kg manchild to a 93kg still-a-manchild. Who knew that controlling your own food and regular physical activity would make a potbelly shrink.

Best to end it while you are still “Master of your Domain”.

The word “Onomatopoeia” sound more complicated than what it means.

AND MY AXE!

Nothing sticks in my mind anymore. I tried to reinstall CP2077 and do a replay, but ultimately each time i exit it gets harder to start up and resume. I struggle to bother remembering which part of the story im am at. 20 years ago i would get “tetris effect” from pretty much any game I play; daydreaming about an RPG im playing, see tetris blocks falling into place, etc. Nowadays I don’t even get that with literal Tetris Effect.

It may be work life, stress etc. But part of myself just feels gaming is missing that old multiplayer feel where a whole bunch of us are in the Computer Science Lab, installing Doom 3 on the lab machines and playing til they kick us out at midnight. I’m also missing that feel of a whole bunch of us huddled in a McDonalds playing Mario Kart DS multiplayer, screaming so loud when someone triggers a lighting bolt, that the store manager essentially banned us from playing there ever again.

As for games like 2077, the sad realization is that the denouement leaves the me kinda confused more than anything. so many games I finish now leave me checking online to ask “What was that?”

I feel old now.

I used to call it ActiBlizz. What am I supposed to do now?