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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 8h

I need to say more

Tool/APC
Modest Mouse
New Found Glory
Uchu Conbini
Spiritbox
Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree
Haken (and their members' side projects)
The Avalanches
Anthony Green
August Burns Red
Babymetal
James Mercer (The Shins/Broken Bells)
Caligula's Horse
Hot Mulligan

And even more...

Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 1d

Only 8? Hmm… in no particular order

The Beatles
Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service)
Dance Gavin Dance
Knocked Loose
Damon Albarn
Gojira
Reel Big Fish
Chino Moreno (particularly Deftones and Crosses)

Aside from country and pop there’s not really a lot I don’t like. 😁

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 10h

Looking forward to celebrating and experiencing this album live in just a few days.

I won't pretend to be a day-one fan of the group, but I was on board not long after this album's release and I still can't believe 20 years have already passed since then...

Album artwork for the album "Menos el Oso" from the band Minus the Bear.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 11h

Really good review! I had a similar conflicted feeling between this and the first game. I think I am a bit more positive on it than you, though I definitely also miss that extra friction from the first game.

Hope the personal stuff you mentioned is still going in the right direction. ☺️

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 12h

Closing in on the end of Ghost of Yōtei already. So much goodness, but I have to ask... does anyone actually enjoy the climbing sections?

No test of skill, no freedom, no puzzle to find the correct path; IMO it's just a scripted bore. Hasn't changed since Uncharted, which was boring even then.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 1d

Only 8? Hmm… in no particular order

The Beatles
Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service)
Dance Gavin Dance
Knocked Loose
Damon Albarn
Gojira
Reel Big Fish
Chino Moreno (particularly Deftones and Crosses)

Aside from country and pop there’s not really a lot I don’t like. 😁

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 1d

After a couple of almost completely sleepless nights, getting a solid 12-hour sleep last night was glorious. Finally feeling almost normal again.

Wish I could figure out where this seemingly random insomnia is coming from…

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 2d

Ugh, just noticed I typed jive instead of jibe. (Probably autocorrect.)

I’ll blame that I’m running on like 3 hours of sleep the last couple of nights. 🙃

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 2d

I should have known better and dropped it when I was soft-locked out of progressing the story because I needed one more flower for crafting that is only available in Spring… when I was one week into Summer.

Nope, I pushed through and cycled the whole year to get that flower. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 2d

doesn’t work well on a mechanical level. Then the writing and gameplay oscillates between targeting 5 year olds and “lol so random”-enjoying teens.

That game has been living rent free in my mind for years now.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 2d

I don’t usually finish games I don’t jive with, but a few come to mind. Crackdown 3 is probably the actual worst, but I think from the immense disappointment I felt I’d have to say Mineko’s Night Market.

There are glimmers of good ideas in there, but it is so poorly balanced and paced that it…

lex luddy (ichiban appreciator) @lexluddy.xyz · 4d

What's the worst game you finished/rolled credits on?

(games media folks, it can't be something you were assigned to review; this has to be something you subjected yourself to of your own free will)

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 2d

It’s Pokémon Red. 😁

If the screenshot was the original greyscale I probably wouldn’t have gotten it right away, but the red tint of playing on GBC was a major clue.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 3d

Actually kind of proud of deducing this in one shot. Curious if anyone else can pick it out as quickly as I did.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

Also, shoutout to "The Good the Bad and the Queen" he made with Paul Simonon, Tony Allen, and Simon Tong. Still one of my all-time favorite disks to play front to back.

("Merrie Land" didn't hit nearly as hard, but their first album's quality is undeniable; will give ML another shot soon.)

Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

I certainly don't dislike what Damon Albarn made after that point, but there's something special in Gorillaz' first couple of albums (self-titled and "Demon Days") that I will probably never get tired of.

I will also stan for early Blur's pre self-titled/Song 2 era; "Parklife" is peak Britpop IMO.

Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

Ugh... I don't want to support either Nvidia's AI fake frame generation or AMD's higher-than-MSRP pricing, but my 3060ti just gave me a bit of a scare with some weird artifacting...

Please let me get a 9070 XT at or below MSRP soon if it is actually dying...

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

The rhythmic combat really worked for me, even despite the other mechanical chicanery that was going on and the weirdly circular level design for most areas.

But playing the whole series front to back like I did in 2020 is special to me, and that first game still sticks out the most.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

I certainly don't dislike what Damon Albarn made after that point, but there's something special in Gorillaz' first couple of albums (self-titled and "Demon Days") that I will probably never get tired of.

I will also stan for early Blur's pre self-titled/Song 2 era; "Parklife" is peak Britpop IMO.

Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

For additional context, I first tried 3 twice over a few months when it first hit Game Pass. Didn't click with me but I saw something.

In a Hail Mary I bought the whole series for like $15 during Covid and started from the beginning. It absolutely absorbed me and ended up my "lockdown series."

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

🤞

I finally realized that I enjoyed the writing and disliked the combat, so turning it down to easy mode made the game hit for me; if the Bloody Baron's storyline doesn't get to you, the game probably just isn't for you.

I'm probably in the minority that the first game's combat is my favorite. 😬

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

I'm not an achievement hunter, but I will go for it in games that I truly enjoy *and* don't have ridiculous requirements. (If I ever pop the 100% Steel Soul achievements in Hollow Knight/Silksong, please check on me.)

But I also always feel a bit disappointed when a game doesn't have them. 🤷‍♂️

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

I have Returnal, Sekiro, and Red Dead in common. The first two are very much a skill issue on my part, and I find Red Dead just kind of overwhelming even though I like the characters and setting.

It took me 3 tries to “get” Witcher 3 (ha), once it clicked I couldn’t put it down.

No anger here. 😁

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

I have never done that in all my decades of playing Pokemon, but my wife always does.

She’s also in charge of naming our animals in our shared Stardew Valley farm since I don’t have that tendency.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

I realize this is almost entirely self-inflicted, but I’m actually looking forward to not feeling this sense of obligation to play Game Pass so much to maximize the rewards back.

Expires next June and I have zero plans or even desire to resubscribe any time soon. Thankfully the points don’t expire.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 4d

What a fantastic game and experience.

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 5d

YMMV, but I saw an extra $4ish coupon on the page bringing it to barely over $10.

I paid about $17 for mine and it's a lovely book in its own right, so an easy recommend from me if you like BOTW and want something nice to put on your shelf.

Wario64 @wario64.bsky.social · 5d

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: The Complete Official Guide - Expanded Edition hardcover book is $14.61 on Amazon (512 pages) buff.ly/Igkfrv4 #ad

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Devin (AKA Ryuuga Hideki) @ryuugahideki.bsky.social · 5d

If they can pull it off for their next console - and that's a *huge* if - the direction MS seems to be heading with making a "simplified" PC that also has access to other stores like Steam could be huge. (Even if I'd personally rather have a SteamOS machine under my TV.)

No idea where Sony will go.

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