I Waited too Long

One of the semi-serious decisions that must be made in games with DLC is when to start the additional content.  I generally like to play it after I've finished the main story but, unfortunately, that isn't always an option.  I'm probably 99% through the main story line in Horizon Zero Dawn but wisely decided that I should Google whether or not you could start the DLC after completing the main story--you can't, so rather than finishing it off (which I was very much invested in--the main story is great), I've now taken a jaunt away from impending world destruction to traverse the snowy far reaches of the Banuk homeland.

I have to admit, I've been feeling a bit ready to be done with HZD--I've been enjoying it, but it's just time.  Being a completionist though, I just couldn't leave any stone unturned.  It's a bit of an issue with larger, open world games (and one that I wish someone could find the gooey, sweet center that represents having just enough content that you don't hit a weird lull while trying to complete the plethora of side tasks in the game)--there's a lot and trying to figure out how to parcel it out can be difficult.

The Nora homeland isn't quite as snowy

The premise for the Frozen Wilds DLC seems to be somewhat similar to the main story--the normally docile machines have started to act aggressively and no one understands why.  Members of the Banuk have disappeared (or been killed) trying to solve the mystery.  Enter our hero, Aloy (who, is now level 50, and pretty decked out), who is prepared to help solve the myriad of missing people/machine oriented issues. There's also a link between the Banuk and Sylens, Aloy's mysterious helper.  Like other Banuk shaman, Sylens has threaded bright blue machine parts into his own skin--is it possible that he was a Banuk shaman at one time?

The machines in Frozen Wilds are no joke--the machine craziness has granted them a higher level of elemental resistance.  There are also a few new varieties that seem to skew toward elemental damage--I've encountered several Scorchers that are equipped with a mine launcher and that can spew a ball of fire or emit a fiery blast if you stray into melee range.  I predict that I will die a lot.

Frozen Wilds promises to add more--there are new collectibles to find, a new currency that can be used to unlock more powerful weapons, more map locations to scout out, more bandit bases to assault...you get it.  That's where I will be spending my gaming time this weekend, slogging through the snow and stabbing some metal demons.

Console Crossover

I'm a member of several gaming related groups on social media and many of them skew toward consoles.  There are always games that get much praise, but that I know will remain console exclusives--I would love to play God of War or The Last of Us, but alas, it's not going to happen.  One game that kept popping up in discussions as a favorite was Horizon Zero Dawn.  People seemed to love it, so I was pleasantly surprised when a PC version popped up on Steam.  However, I didn't immediately grab it, which was probably a good thing--like many console crossovers, the early days of the PC version seemed a bit rocky.  Reviews cited crashes and graphics issues, so I decided to pop it on the ol' wishlist and wait for positive reports on the state of the game.  It stayed camped out on my wishlist for a very long time (plus, I was waiting for it to go on sale--it's one of those games that doesn't go on sale very frequently) but finally went on sale, so I decided to grab it.  I've been happily roaming Aloy through the strange world of the tribal, post-apocalyptic earth for the last couple of weeks.

So many post-apocalyptic games present a very dire, devastated version of life on earth.  Horizon Zero Dawn doesn't have that scorched, depressing post-apocalyptic vibe and instead centers on human civilization that has managed to cling to life despite it almost being wiped out.  Humans live in tribal societies whose beliefs and aesthetics vary widely.  They co-exist with dangerous machines--the remnants of the robotic apocalypse that nearly wiped out life on earth.  The juxtaposition of tribal societies with advanced technology is novel and I'm enjoying the freshness of it.  NPC's are decked out in garments that blend tribal related items and pieces of machines that they hunt.

The world offers a variety of environments with unique
weather effects.

The game takes place in a huge, open world.  It's not quite Assassin's Creed level huge, but it's big enough that you'll be busy just trying to explore the various nooks and crannies.  The best part about the world is that it's teeming with life--animals to hunt and machines that range in threat level from vaguely threatening to downright dangerous.  Like any modern, open world RPG there are plenty of side tasks to occupy your time--collectibles to gather, bandit bases to clear, hunting challenges to complete...you know how it goes.

I am particularly enjoying the variety of machine enemies in the game and the combat system (which I am admittedly horrible at).  Each type of machine is covered in armor plating that can be stripped off by attacking it (or by using special weapons designed to strip armor) and has numerous weak spots that can be exploited to stun, or do extra damage.  Some machines have exposed fuel tanks which can be shot with fire arrows to produce an enormous explosion that will disable the machine and also cause splash damage to any other machines in the area; others have exposed power coils that can be shot with special electric arrows which will create a huge electrical storm that will disable any machines caught in the blast.  Part of the challenge of combat is figuring out how to best disable a machine to make it easier to take down.  The real combat mastery is strategizing how to use traps, tripwires, and your entire machine-slaying arsenal--setting up masterful ambushes is something that I haven't gotten the hang of.

Longnecks are massive, peaceful robots that roam around
the map and can be hacked to reveal locations.

There are multiple skill paths that you can choose from--stealth, combat, and crafting/gathering.  I enjoy a stealthy kind of gameplay, but it is a bit challenging in Zero Dawn--enemies will all automatically come running at any sign of trouble, so it's very easy to get completely overrun and for your stealthy tactics to get derailed.  It took me quite awhile to get the hang of it, but it does require patience.

Being the completionist that I am, I haven't delved too deep into the main story, but it has managed to be interesting.  Aloy is trying to figure out her own heritage and also to unravel the true story of the machine apocalypse--two things that seem to be related.  I am looking forward to spending some time this weekend jabbing some more machines (and getting whomped on) and taking in the stunning scenery of Horizon Zero Dawn.

Back to the Future in the "A Stitch in Time" DLC

I'm a big Two Point Hospital fan so you can guarantee that when/if a new DLC drops that I will be snatching it up.  The most recent addition is the time travel themed "A Stitch in Time."  Three new hospitals challenge you to travel through time to cure a variety of diseases while coping with the general weirdness of traversing the space-time continuum.

Pros:

+ Three new hospitals to manage with each having its own distinct time period and set of illnesses.  The first map is medieval themed with patients strolling through in a variety of hose and silly medieval outfits.  The next map takes you way, way back to prehistoric times and all patients are cavepeople with appropriate prehistoric diseases.  The last map thrusts you into the future and has its own unique twist--you have to build a new room with a special machine to send patients back to their appropriate time period.

+ Time portal mechanic is interesting.  Patients don't arrive by conventional means and instead pop into the level through portals in the floor.  One of the new damage/disaster sequences is a "time storm" where a whole bunch of patients will come popping out of the portal, the ground shakes and lighting strikes throughout the hospital causing damage.  This presents a dual challenge of an influx of patients and the need for your janitorial staff to repair and clean.  Eventually you can unlock and place more time portals.

+ New items to make your hospital appropriately themed for the time period.  A variety of medieval, prehistoric, and futuristic items can be purchased with kudosh and added to the decor of your hospital.

+/- No new treatment rooms (other than the Yesterizer which sends patients to the appropriate time period--which is staffed by an assistant).  This might be a downer for anyone who was hoping to build another treatment room and do the requisite research to upgrade said machine.  I am actually glad that they didn't add in any new treatment rooms because scrolling through the huge list from all the DLC's has gotten a bit crazy.

+ New diseases.  My favorite is reptile dysfunction, but there are plenty of others with goofy descriptions.  Most of the diseases are basically a time themed re-skin of the core diseases--for example, rather than jest infection, patients now have jester infection and are dressed like medieval jesters.  It's a clever way to reuse treatment rooms.   

Cons:

- I wish they had come up with something a bit more unique using the time portal mechanic.  There's only one map that requires you to build more portals.  The number of portals you have seems to influence the number of patients that will appear and, of course, during time storms you'll face even more of a challenge as patients pop out of every portal.

- An abundance of psychiatric illnesses.  My poor psychiatrists were completely bogged down on almost every map.  You will probably want to build multiple psychiatry offices on each map.

Recommendation:

If you're a Two Point fan, you'll undoubtedly want to grab this DLC.  If you're hoping for something drastically different or new mechanics/new treatment rooms...you might be disappointed.  I wish they had done a bit more with the time portals, but I'm mostly content to while away some time trying to manage my silly hospitals.

A Definite Maybe--Lair of the Clockwork God

Well, I just finished playing through the indie Lair of the Clockwork God and I'm having a bit of cognitive dissonance about how exactly to write it up.  It is a game that has reviews currently sitting at "overwhelmingly positive" and personally I am not feeling quite that glowing about it.  It's a game that's meant to blend genres--namely point-and-click style adventure games and platformers--and it's also one of those games that wants to have a META sense of humor (games that make fun of games).  I did find myself laughing at a few points, but I also had genuine moments of frustration and confusion where I just wanted to say "eff it" and move on.

Pros:

+ Some of the humor.  There are moments that are genuinely funny and I did find myself laughing.  The game is chock-a-block with gaming related jokes, jabs, and game mechanics.  I personally enjoyed the "feeling old" scenario and found it very relatable and funny.

+ Props for trying something unique.  Ben is the point-and-click character who controls the inventory and who can talk to and interact with objects.  He cannot  jump and walks at a snails pace.  If you want Ben to interact with something one of the first challenges is to figure out how to get him there (this is simplified as you progress in the game).  Dan is the platforming character who can do all the running, jumping, and the majority of the dying.  The gameplay revolves around using Dan to navigate different parts of each scenario and then switching to Ben to help craft items needed or interact to figure out solutions.  It's interesting.

+ The story is not what I expected.  It revolves around Ben and Dan (the main characters) having to upload different emotional experiences into a computer overlord in order for it to regain empathy and stop all the apocalypses that are currently destroying the world.  In order to experience the emotions, the computer sets up constructs based around each emotion.  The emotions really aren't what you'd expect either.

Cons:

- Meta-humor can be a bit much.  I get it...it's a game poking fun at games.  There are some specific parts of the gameplay that for me, were too much.  At one point in the game I found myself stuck at a certain point with no option to advance--the game then kept popping up windows to access the "store."  Me, being someone who avoids microtransactions, continually closed this window.  Then, there was dialogue pointing to the store--so I opened it up to find out that it is a jokey part of the game.  Umm, ok....  Funnily enough, I did see a review on Steam that mentioned how annoying the store window was (apparently this person didn't get the joke) and that the person stopped playing!  I don't want to give too much away, but there are other parts of the story that are also very jokey in nature and that mostly made me frustrated.  It plays a bit like being trolled by the game--some people will find that enjoyable and very clever and some people will not.

- Puzzle solutions can be quite bizarre and difficult to figure out.  This also sort of harkens back to the jokey nature of the game--the point-and-click sections want to point out the arbitrary nature of the old school games--often you would just blindly find a solution by trying literally everything.  But there are points where even after trying everything that you still can't figure it out--yes, there are ways to use dialogue to get hints about what to do, but I still found myself thoroughly stuck at several points.

- I did not enjoy the platforming and I particularly didn't enjoy the sections that utilized the gravity flipping mechanic.  Yep, I get that it's making things more challenging, but it mostly made me feel disoriented and dizzy (I get motion sick somewhat easily and this made my head feel weird).

Recommendation:

Personally, I struggled a bit with this one--toward the end, I just wanted to be done with it.  The humor got a bit obnoxious after awhile and I've always struggled with meta-game humor (I never finished the indie darling Undertale for basically that exact reason).  I think that if you're the kind of gamer who enjoys that specific type of humor that you will be over the moon about LotCG (this is evidenced by the high ratings and overwhelmingly positive reviews).  If you're not, chances are you will feel frustrated and probably a bit annoyed by it.

I don't like to say "not recommended" to almost any game unless it's pretty broken and I do think there are some redeeming qualities in LotCG.  So I guess my final verdict is a cautious "maybe."  If you're the kind of person who enjoyed a game like Undertale--by all means, check it out; you'll probably love it.  If you're someone (like me) who didn't, I would probably opt to skip it.