Chaos And Calm

Periodically I go through bouts of extreme indecisiveness where I just can't decide what I want to be playing.  Most nights I just want to come home from work and relax, so the thought of something stressful isn't very desirable.  As a result of my own weirdness, I've been bouncing back and forth between two very different games--Guacamelee! 2 and PC Building Simulator.

I recently went back and replayed the very excellent Guacamelee! and had a great time replaying it.  My decision to invest in a controller helped to make it a much more enjoyable experience than the first torturous playthrough using the not-recommended mouse/keyboard combination.  I felt so good about the experience that I even decided to attempt to complete the challenging sequence of tasks to collect the five magical orbs that unlock the "secret" ending (I would recommend that everyone does it.  The secret ending is so much better than the "real" ending.).  Three of the tasks aren't extremely difficult, but two of them are downright devious, and I spent several hours trying to master the difficulty of leaping across disappearing platforms and mastering the horrid Tule tree obstacle course.  It's not for the faint of heart, and I almost gave up, but in the end, I did manage to complete it and earn the coveted "El Savior" achievement.

Tostada, Juan, and chickens!

Feeling good about completing the orb challenges, I decided to invest in Guacamelee! 2.  Navigating the extremely challenging obstacles gave me useful insight into the controls--it was the perfect time to continue playing the next game; while the controls were fresh in my consciousness.  The main problem with this is that I don't necessarily always want to play something intense/challenging everyday.  It's arguable that it's very "intense," but I just wasn't feeling it despite the fact that the second game seems to be just as good as the first game.

So far, Guacamelee! 2 seems to have kept many of the core gameplay features of the first game--the fighting and platforming is basically identical.  The core mechanic of swapping between dimensions is still very much present (and can still be challenging).  There are a couple of notable changes though; Juan's Pollo Powers (chicken form) has been vastly improved--many platforming moves remain usable in chicken form and you can also use wrestling grabs/moves.  A new addition to the game are special "chicken dungeons" that provide challenging puzzle-like scenarios, but that can contain special powers usable in chicken form.  I'm also enjoying the fact that Juan meets special trainers throughout the game who unlock talent tree-like options that can be used to beef up Juan's stats or abilities.  I'm enjoying what I've played so far.

Building PC's is oddly relaxing.

When I'm not feeling the intensity of fighting/platforming, I'm spending time running my own PC repair shop in PC Building Simulator.  Back in January, PC Building Simulator exited early access with the promise of new features in the full release.  I decided to check it out and see the new changes.  Since my old career save was rendered invalid by the full release, I decided to start a new career.  One of the first things I noticed is that jobs have many more variables than they did in early access--jobs come with a budget that should be followed (you don't have to, but there are negative consequences) and customers can make very specific requests for things like no used parts or a preference for certain component brands. There are also secondary objectives that aren't directly shown on the job panel when you're working on a PC--closely reading customer e-mails is essential as many will request special touches like a certain color of cables or benchmarking their new components.  Now, there is a customer review system that impacts the type of jobs you can access.  Doing a good job, and following all their special requests, means you will earn a higher review and earn more reputation for your shop.  Certain jobs, like building custom PC's, unlock with higher star ratings.  There's much more attention to detail required.

PC Building Simulator has continued to add to its list of sponsored in-game components and now sports a lot of the major players in the component world.  There are new achievements and trading cards, if that is your thing.  I would highly encourage anyone who hasn't played the full release to check it out--it's much improved!