ShaggE

Sony's customer support is why I really hemmed and hawed about going with a Series X this gen. I ultimately went with the PS5 since I want to carry my PS4 games over, but I pray that it works flawlessly throughout the gen, because I *reaaaally* don't want to deal with their CS and its "only help the customer if there's no possible way to blame them for the problem" stance.

I'm just glad that the PS3 emulation nut is being cracked quite well, should help preserve at least most of the stuff that may be lost. I don't know about y'all, but a world where Trash Panic is a piece of lost media is a world that I want nothing to do with.

I buy digital, but in games old enough to actually have the final product on the disc (give or take some optional patches) I greatly prefer physical.

Nothing like an oldschool or oldschool inspired shooter to settle the nerves for me. Even high adrenaline ones like the recent DOOM games... as long as I turn the sound off and put a podcast or Youtube on, it's as chill as I could want. (I know this is all heresy, but rest assured that my first and second playthroughs were heavy on the loud chugga-chigga-wuggas and boomings)

Doing towers in MK11 is also relaxing under similar settings. On medium/hard AI, it puts up a fight while still being a punching bag (save for those matches where the game randomly hits the "fuck you" button and starts playing like MK3 AI), which feels just right for a low-impact session.

Funny how I gravitate to ultraviolent games to relax with, lol. I'd include Gorn in my list, but that game is a physical workout, which sorta disqualifies it. Hell of a stress reliever, though.

All of my various interests have their #1s in their niche (gaming: LGR. Movies: Red Letter Media. Etc., etc.), but all-time favorite? Fuck, that's tough. I might have to give it to Fredrik Knudsen. The guy can make any topic utterly fascinating, everything he uploads is high quality, and most importantly, he actually uses a mic well. So many otherwise quality Youtubers that I can't bear to listen to through the unfiltered mouth noises and bad narration.

As I find myself spending less time on games, roguelites have become my genre of choice. I love the relatively bite-sized runs and the process of finding your favorite builds and optimizing them (or just saying "fuck it" and letting fate take you where it may, which is fun in its own right).

Lately I've been hooked on Fights In Tight Spaces, which I'd highly recommend if you like card-based gameplay or board games. It addresses a couple of your issues with the genre, like having the ability to jump to any unlocked chapter when you start a run (although I'd imagine it'd be a hell of a challenge playing the later levels with a fresh default deck). I also like that there's nothing stopping you from your first run being The Run as long as your strategies (and a bit of luck) are strong, although admittedly the game can and will fuck you over on occasion by putting you in spots that you're just not equipped to get out of and that can suck pretty hard. Still, it's a ton of fun and a better John Wick game than the John Wick game, haha.

It really is a shame that Stadia's days are numbered already. I only ever took part in the pre-launch beta test with Ass Creed, but I was legitimately taken aback by how smooth and playable it was over WiFi. It's awesome tech, and it could have been a contendah in more experienced hands.

I knew their naming conventions were a lost cause when they refused to call MS Points "Xbux" like nature intended.

Either way, I look forward to the first revision, the Xbox Series X 2.11/3.2>998 Dream Drop Distance Unleashed Unchained ReMarsTered Xtreme (not to be confused with the Xbox Series S 7.32=8675309 Platinum Console of the Year Edition HD ReMIXXX Presented By Travis Scott)

I mean, the solution is staring them right in the face: What if Shadow the Hedgehog? Now, hear me out: I'm not suggesting bringing back Shadow, no no no, I say bring back Shadow but now he's edgier than ever! He listens to The Korns, scoffs at teachers to their faces, and has an older brother who totally has a weed stash you guys! Oh, and now Sonic raps or something.

Boom, Sonic franchise saved, bigger than Mario in 5-10 years.

I love the subgenre, but the vast majority lose their potency the first time you die. (not all of them, mind) Once you've seen the extent of the capabilities of what you're hiding from, the fear tends to go away and "how do I take advantage of the AI?" kicks in. Outlast is my goto example: Once I realized that the beefy-boi zombie guy (it's been a while, I don't remember anyone's names) can't kill you fast enough to present a danger and that you can just run past him whenever he's around, the game stopped being An Experience and became A Video Game, if that makes sense.

It's also hard to shake the knowledge that the AI "knows" where you are at all times and is basically making a big show out of pretending not to. (extremely simplified, but still) Not a big deal in a normal stealth game, but when you're supposed to be afraid... kinda kills the vibe.

Making a horror game that stays fun and scary time and time again has to be a monumental effort, and I can't even begin to imagine going about it. The obvious tact that comes to mind is randomization a la Phasmaphobia, but even then, routine eventually sets in and you know that the worst the ghosts can do to you is put their hands over your eyes until you ragdoll. Alien: Isolation does a good job of staying scary due to the good AI and the design making every move as tense as possible, but even that becomes routine.

It's a tough nut to crack, but I think we're overdue for a gamechanging horror title with a truly fresh idea that takes the genre by storm the way Amnesia did.