mellotronrules

[insert joke about knives, 3s, hats, paid mods, VR, ill-fated hardware and dota-tie-ins]

this actually makes a lot of sense to me. campo santo is a small team doing interesting games, and seeing as valve has shed a lot of their narrative/writing talent (and campo games are almost exclusively that)- it seems like it could be a fruitful arrangement!

excited to see what comes from it!

i think the concept of 'next-gen' (at least for the moment) is somewhat anachronistic...next-gen seems to imply there's a substantial technological leap being made. and whatever the ps5 ends up being, i'm not really confident that leap will be there.

but that's sorta the state of cpu/gpu architecture right now (if i understand correctly). mobile, power efficiency and shifting to ARM seems to be where the mindshare is at- and none of those competencies seem like they will impact the console-space anytime soon.

that said i'd totally buy a ps5 were it backward compatible...but that's mostly because i'm that chucklehead with a PC and a switch that has been waiting for a prime time to buy a ps4 and never found one.

i started Stardew Valley on PC and eventually fizzled out on it after 1 'season.' just didn't click.

then i picked it up on the switch and it's become the perfect 'backburner' game for trips to the laundromat, bus/plane rides, unwinding after work etc.

@banicabolnica: counterpoint- ANNIHILATION is the best movie i've seen in years.

i feel like it's the only thing i've seen in theatres in a decade that necessitated a cinema (as opposed to just watching at home).

easily one of the more facinating audio designs in a long stretch as well.

in a word? yes. it is an ignorant opinion because they're knowingly generalizing.

but then again it sounds like they bought a switch to play multi plat. AAA games, so maybe they truly are clueless.

@statiknights: fair enough, although that site has a little bit of everything on it. especially if you're looking for a leather messenger, they showcase a ton. but they do tend to highlight smaller-scale businesses so you won't find any savings from scale there (but the flipside being they have a lot of mom & pop operations, which can be neat).

oh man. bags.

this is a deep, deep, rabbit hole to tumble down into. and a personal obsession of mine. if you're looking to get a view of the landscape, carryology is great for window-shopping and highlighting lesser-known brands (but sometimes i wonder about their advertorial practices).

in terms of bags i own and will vouch for:

mission workshop rambler - this is my daily bag (i use for bike commuting, work, gym, shopping and light travel). not perfect and pretty damn expensive, but it's american-made with really high quality, waterproof materials and has held up it's end of the bargain.

topo designs travel bag - this is my carry-on. i needed something with back straps (i can't stand rollers), wanted to buy american, and liked the frame-less design. again not perfect, but a big fan.

chrome industries kadet - i have this bag but in truck-tarp material. i go to a lot of concerts (again, commuting via bike) so i wanted something smaller to get through security faster, but still waterproof and big enough to carry bike locks, a wallet, maybe a jacket and tablet. plus that seatbelt buckle is pretty fly!

skyrim is 1000% more recognizable than 'the elder scrolls,' not to mention it's just a better name. but that's always been the case, hasn't it? morrowind, oblivion, skyrim- these all are leagues better than the overarching series name.

they don't need to crowbar 'skyrim' into their next title- they just need something equally remarkable. just slap a 'FROM THE MAKERS OF SKYRIM' on the box and yer good.

might i suggest: The Elder Scrolls VI- Howarrowtodd's Fallwind Rim-ion.

shoutout to the duder that introduced me to this track in a thread that time has forgotten-

but this track from batman and robin on genesis kinda makes my eyes involuntarily roll back in my head. that fm synth goes HARD.

of course- everyone's mileage will vary with this stuff. my larger point is (and i'm relatively sure you'd agree)- if you invoke certain references, there will always be those who essentially don't-find-the-joke-funny. those people are not wrong for thinking 'this is superficial and puerile,' just like others might say 'lighten up it's video games.' hence the disparity in review scores. so go with what's important to you, i guess.