Cashing in on those Sweet Holiday Deals

I managed to mostly contain my unhealthy impulse to buy all the things during the crush of Holiday themed sales.  (**Some of those "hot deals" aren't really that great anyway) It was stupidly surprising when I got a notification that almost everything on my Steam wishlist was on sale.  I decided to snatch Paradise Killer (by Fellow Traveler--who made Citizen Sleeper that I very much enjoyed) because it was only $7.99 and it has good reviews.  I haven't given it a whirl quite yet, but I plan to spend some quality time detecting in the near future.

What have I been doing with my holiday free time?  I finally finished up a monster playthrough of Assassin's Creed: Origins (base game + both DLC's) and realized that every time I finish an AC game I feel nothing but a huge sense of relief to be done with it.  I think I need a healthier way to play (I always have to do all the location goals and it makes things feel way more repetitive than they should) those games.  They're just too huge to try to do everything!  One of my favorite parts of the games are the afterlife/mythology themed content (which usually gets tacked on as DLC, but Valhalla has some in the base game).  It's always fun to see the creativity and beauty in those areas.

I've spent more time than I care to admit puttering around with Car Mechanic Simulator 2018.  There's something I find highly enjoyable about fixing up fake broken vehicles.  Just find a good podcast (I could definitely recommend a few) and enjoy the experience of making a rust bucket into a shiny, functioning vehicle.

Free is the best price.

There's one part of the holiday deals that isn't so bad--the free games!  If you haven't already (and it's up your alley), grab Star Wars: Squadrons free from the Epic Games store until December 1st.  As a kid, my brother and I consumed a great many of the classic Star Wars games including X-Wing and Tie Fighter, so Squadrons is the perfect opportunity to relive a modern version of those experiences.  I haven't spent a ton of time with it yet, but I did play a couple of missions and plan on playing through the story missions.  I don't know if I'll touch the multiplayer, but even if you just want to play the story, you can't beat free!  The major downside is one of my pet peeves--the Russian nesting doll-like system of launchers that is required.  Yes, you have to install and run it through Origin...and have the Epic store open too.

I hope everyone has had a happy and relaxing start to the holiday season!

There's Nothing Like a Nice, Comfy Simulator Game

I wrapped up the main story in Assassin's Creed: Origins and decided to take a glance at my Epic Games library.  I have a tendency to readily grab up any freebie games that I'm semi-interested in and then promptly forget about them.  After taking a gander, I decided to take a chance on Car Mechanic Simulator 2018.

Simulator games aren't everyone's cup o' tea--why play a game about boring real-life tasks?  Maybe I'm just weird and boring, but I find them oddly enjoyable.  I have no special interest in cars and most of my knowledge about them extends to detailed subjects like when to get the oil changed.  In Car Mechanic Simulator you are the proprietor of a tiny garage who is just trying to make a buck.  Clients call into your garage with a variety of automobile related issues.  Your job is to diagnose the problems and then fix them.  It's a pretty simple point-and-click affair and the main challenge comes from trying to be more efficient--as you gain experience you gain knowledge about what might be causing the problems and can address them more quickly (and without potentially dismantling way more stuff that you need to).  As you gain experience you also earn experience points that can be used to unlock improved diagnostic and repair abilities--you can install parts more quickly or unlock special tools that can help diagnose specific systems.  At certain points you can also unlock expansions to your garage that provide more space or improved facilities.

Periodically, special story cars will appear in your potential job queue.  Taking story jobs seems to serve to orient players with specific systems in the vehicle.  As you progress, more complex jobs appear that require you to work on the body of the car or the interior.  Each job also has a chance to provide a barn map or a crate of parts.  Barn maps unlock special locations where you can salvage parts and also choose to buy fixer-upper types of cars that require a lot of work, but have a potentially much higher resale value.

There have been a few minorly irritating factors--the tutorial at the beginning of the game is pretty useless--all it does is teach you about the tools in your garage and not anything about the vehicles or tasks you will be performing.  The in-game music is a bit much (you can choose from several different radio stations) and I would recommend turning it off.

Overall, for a game that I received for free, I'm having a pleasant time dismantling vehicles.  I haven't quite unlocked all the features and I would like to try to fully restore a car.  I feel like I've gained some minor knowledge about cars and how they work (I'm not going to be trying to take my own car apart any time soon!) and it's just nice to throw on a relaxing podcast.

If you were lucky enough to grab Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 for free, give it a whirl, it's an enjoyable simulator that's good for relaxing.  It's super cheap on Steam, only $4.59 right now (it's on sale!).

Adios Australia and Hello Ancient Egypt

Sadly, I've given up on Dinkum.  I was briefly excited when a new villager FINALLY decided to move to my town.  Things seemed to be moving in a positive direction as I was also able to unlock the plans for the repair bench...only to then realize that just having the bench is basically useless--you still need repair kits (something that I thought were sold at the general store...but are a specialty item sold by the same illusive character who I couldn't track down for the repair bench).  Even then, the repair mechanics for tools kind of suck.  One repair kit is fairly expensive--25,000 dinks.  Yeah, they do repair all the tools in your inventory...but why?  Why can't it just be simple and you can use readily available materials to repair the tools you use most frequently?  Ugh, I give up.  Weirdly, I found myself gravitating toward Assassin's Creed: Origins.  I've been in an AC friendly mood here lately for some reason--and I love Origins; in my opinion, it's the best of the RPG-style AC games.  Here's why:

1.) The Order

Every AC game has its giant conspiracy of very murderable baddies.  The baddies in Origins are sooo much badder than in Odyssey or Valhalla.  Sure, there are fewer of them, but at least each of them gets a bit of backstory that makes you understand why you should feel nothing but a sense of glee as you guide Bayek to stealthily stab them.  They kill kids, are corrupt, evil and all played a role in the death of Bayek's son.  I like the fact that Bayek gets a chance for a final confrontation in the Duat and you get the satisfaction of watching them all get dragged to their ultimate judgment.  Origins does revenge the best.

I love a good ancient Egyptian temple.

2.) Size isn't everything

I find Origins to be juuuust the right size--it's not as overwhelmingly huge as Odyssey or Valhalla.  Maybe part of it is the setting--personally, I think ancient Egypt offers up a variety in landscapes and biomes to be more engaging than the other games.  It just doesn't feel like it's overstuffed with too many map symbols and as a completionist I don't find myself wanting to do self-harm because I'm sneaking through my 5 millionth military outpost.

3.) Not too much modern mumbo-jumbo

There are some divided opinions in the AC world about how much of the modern story should appear in the games--some people like having the Layla/Abstergo/apocalypse/Isu/who the frak actually knows storyline.  I am not one of those people and feel like the modern stuff distracts from the story and I would rather have fewer interludes that pull you out of the ancient world.  Origins has a few moments, but it's minimally distracting.

If you're someone who hasn't checked out the Assassin's Creed franchise, I would encourage you to start with Origins.  It can be found relatively cheaply (and is totally worth the $12) and offers up, in my opinion, the best RPG-style AC experience.  Hours and hours of highly enjoyable stabbing right at your fingertips...what could be better?

Finally! A New Villager!

Even though I was on the fence about continuing with Dinkum, I decided that I would try to play it in shorter bouts and see if my experience improved.  It did!  A new villager (and fortunately one who sells something useful) finally decided to move to my island.  Rayne, the farm goods merchant, joined my town...now, population 3!  Now I finally have a source of seeds and can spend more time farming.

Finally!

I think I'm going to pop in and out with Dinkum and see if I can't attract some more residents--it feels like I'm finally making some headway.  I still think some systems could use some work--I'd like to be able to repair my tools (still can't!) and I wish visitors would stay for slightly more time.  I also built two houses that seem pretty pointless.

In between Dinkum sessions I've been replaying Assassin's Creed: Origins.  Origins is my favorite of the RPG-style AC games and I still think it's the best of them.  There's just something about Egypt that makes it so much more interesting than some of the other settings (namely dark ages England in Valhalla).  Plus, Bayek is a great character.

Aussie Pondering

Last week I wrote about how I decided to check out the early access Animal Crossing/Stardew Valley-esque mashup that is Dinkum.  I've spent a bit more time playing and I've found myself feeling pretty torn about it.  Sure, it's cute, but I think it has some pacing issues that need to be addressed in the full release.

My character and my sparsely decorated house.

Pros:

+ It's very cute.  The villagers, the animals, the ability to decorate and personalize your town--it all has a pleasant vibe that is a nice break from more serious, demanding titles.  The Australian setting is novel and adds a fun element.

+ There are tons of tasks to do during each in-game day.  Each new day includes a list of three optional "daily tasks" that can be completed and that provide a special currency that is used to buy new licenses that allow you to improve your tools, expand your inventory, or gain new abilities.  You can spend your days foraging for resources, fishing, exploring, catching bugs...or just creating materials and personalizing your town.

+ A huge variety of clothing items to personalize your character.  It's really fun to see all the new options and it's possible to find (or purchase) new items almost daily.

+ Controls are easy to learn and intuitive.  The only thing I had a problem with was the emote system--I couldn't get it to work (which meant I couldn't whistle--something that is used to call farm animals to your character).

+ It has run like a charm and I've had no issues with bugs/crashing.  It seems like the kind of game that would probably run on a potato PC too.

+ Collectibles and a milestone/goal-related system to keep you working toward accomplishments.

Cons:

- I've played for 19 hours and I've gotten bored with it.  I'll admit that creativity based games and sandbox style games aren't really my favorite, but I think the current version of the game has some big pacing issues.  Within a few days of your initial arrival on the island the store owner wants to move in--this is basically a mandatory part of the story because he sells the tools you need to be able to do all those daily tasks I mentioned above.  So, you unlock the tools you need and can start really collecting materials and that's fine for awhile.  Then, your next resident villager arrives--the museum keeper.  You spend some time gathering materials for the museum and paying off the debt.  The museum is a place to collect the bugs and fish that you find on the island--and, again, it's something fun to focus on for awhile.  After this though, there's a serious lack of villagers who want to move to the island and it's seemingly impossible to make much progress on getting them to want to move in--they visit for a day or two at most and you can slightly improve your relationship with them, but it's not enough to convince them to stay.  Then, you don't really know when they're going to visit again and someone new shows up and you go through the whole process again.

Sure, you can spend some time building your own house and extra houses for the town, but it feels very aimless.  One particular thing I've found frustrating is the fact that you need a certain villager to move in before you can learn the plan for the repair bench for your tools--you just have to repeatedly use your tools until they break and then buy new ones.  I've unlocked licenses to improve my tools, but it doesn't seem worth it if I can't repair the improved ones and have to keep crafting them over and over.  This has really stymied my progress because I need better tools to be able to mine new metals and chop hardwood.  It's possible that I've just gotten a bit unlucky because the character who grants the plan for the repair table has only visited once or twice (visitors are random).  It's also hard to farm or raise chooks (chickens) when the villagers who sell seeds or animal feed appear randomly.

I think the game could be massively improved if it was made clearer what you need to do to get villagers to move in (it mentions befriending them and spending money in their shops) and if they visited for longer periods of time.  Hitting this seemingly progress blocking wall has turned me off from wanting to play--which is a disappointment because it is a cute game.

Recommendation:

If you're the type of gamer who is perfectly content grinding out materials and having the ability to personalize environments--I think you'll enjoy Dinkum.  If you're someone who wants something with more specific quest-style tasks or a clear path of progression, there's a good chance you'll end up getting bored.  Dinkum is the years-long work of a single developer and what this person has created is amazing and deserves the praise and love that it has received from many fans.

Dinkin' Around with Dinkum

I decided to bite on a new game and have spent some time playing the Animal Crossing/Stardew Valley inspired Dinkum.  I'm still trying to work out my exact feelings but, for an early access game, it seems to be in a very playable and enjoyable state.  If you're in the mood for something nice and relaxing, Dinkum is a great fall gaming option.

My character doesn't have a permanent home...yet.

What I like (so far):

+ The controls have been very intuitive and easy to learn.  There's no need for a tutorial so players can dive right in.

+ It's set in Australia so there are lots of cute (and dangerous) Aussie creatures that populate your island.

+The map allows you to place and remove custom markers--I wish every game did this (and yeah, there are plenty that do).  It's nice to be able to easily mark the location of a resource so that you can go back later.

+ There aren't a ton of character customization options, but I still felt like I could design a unique, cute character.

+ I haven't had a single crash or bug yet. (*knock on wood)

+ There are plenty of activities to choose from--fishing, catching bugs, foraging for items in the environment, mining....I'm sure I'll unlock even more.

What I don't like:

- I've unlocked licenses for several activities but can't utilize them until I'm able to buy the correct deed and build the correct building.  (Although, it does look like you get new visitors to your island fairly frequently and can somewhat utilize their services)

- To place a new building you need to pay off the debt you incur from buying the deed.  So far it has felt like a real slog to pay off my debts.  It's likely that I haven't discovered the best ways to make money yet, but the time between building a new structure and then paying it off is sort of...weirdly un-anchored.

I'm hoping to spend some more time with Dinkum and see if I can't unlock my inner creativity and design the ultimate Aussie island paradise.

Games to be Excited For...or Not

I'm curiously monitoring the status of several games that I feel optimistic about and also cautiously side-eyeing news about some others.  I'm not really playing anything new (sadly) and due to increased costs thanks to global inflation, I'm trying to limit my non-essential purchases.  It's the perfect storm for thinking about games...while not buying them (insert sad face here).

Feelin' Optimistic

Check out the cute slimes!

1.) Slime Rancher 2.  It recently released in Early Access on Steam and the reviews have been sitting in the "overwhelmingly positive" range since day 1.  Slime Rancher is by far my favorite game about collecting virtual poop to become a millionaire so when I heard there was going to be a follow up--I was pretty stoked.  Slime Rancher is one of my favorite laid back games--it's packed full of super cute slimes, chickadoos, and repetitive activities that are weirdly satisfying.  The newest entry has introduced new, even cuter slimes (umm bunny slimes!) and promises to feature more poop ranching fun times.  I'm going to continue watching the reviews and wait until full release to start the next chapter of my slime ranching journey.

2.) Cook, Serve, Forever.  I have a soft spot for the hectic cooking simulator series and so far, everything I've seen of the upcoming game looks to build on the formula and make it even better.  The food looks amazing (like always--you don't want to play it on an empty stomach because you will find yourself painfully aware of that state) and there looks to be more of a storyline in the next game.  I'm hoping it pulls some of the elements from the original game (building up your restaurant), the second game (working shifts at other restaurant chains), and the third game (having "to-go" orders and the talent point system).  The release date currently says "early 2023," so we'll see what happens.

The Cautious Side-Eye

1.) Just this morning I had a strange urge to take a return Viking journey to Dark Ages England in Assassin's Creed:  Valhalla.  I had to take a mental moment to remind myself that after my first epic playthrough (in which I did all the things--to the tune of a playthrough that was easily over 100 hours long) that I need an AC vacation.  Recently Ubisoft announced a new spate of AC games and they appear to be making some divergent choices for the series.  Some players have lamented that the newer, more RPG-oriented games have veered too far away from the stealth-action games of the past.  It appears that they're trying to keep everyone happy--the more action-y types and the RPG-esque fans by releasing two different games.  Assassin's Creed: Mirage looks to be the "classic" AC-style game while Assassin's Creed: Red seems to be the next entry in the RPG-oriented series.  For me, the AC formula has gotten a bit bland--there are things that I enjoy, but they get drowned out by the absolute overly-gargantuan size of the open-world.

2.) CD Projekt is buuuusssyyy!  It was already widely known that a Witcher sequel was in development, but they also announced several other games set in the Witcher universe as well as a full sequel to Cyberpunk 2077.  Oh, and there's the upcoming Cyberpunk expansion that is going to be released next year.  Look, I'm a big CD Projekt Red fan, so any news from them is exciting...with that said though, I think everyone has to be a bit cautious after the Cyberpunk release debacle.  I'm really hoping that they can redeem themselves (it's worth mentioning that Cyberpunk has been seeing a big bump in activity thanks to the release of the apparently good anime series on Netflix).  Some of the Witcher titles sound a bit odd to me--one supposedly will involve multiplayer, which is something I'm a bit skeptical of.

3.) The 40-series GPU's.  Didn't they just release the 30-series?  There's so much to side-eye--the price, the ginormous size, and the need for a healthily large PSU.  Hopefully this means the prices of the 30-series cards start dropping.  Or, if you're feeling adventurous you could always buy one of the "gently used" former crypto-mining cards (you should definitely check out the video of someone spraying a rack of them down with a hose to "clean" them).  The cost of building a PC just keeps going up--also, sad face.

Have a great week dreaming of cute slimes!