Y2Ken

I don't personally care for Fortnite - I'm not especially a fan of BRs as-is and, as (I believe) Austin put it, the "peak" gameplay of Fortnite isn't something that appeals to me to work towards (that is to say, I don't think I'd personally find it satisfying to be really good at Fortnite, because the particular nuances of gameplay just aren't to my tastes).

That said, I absolutely respect the hangout sandbox that Fortnite has become. It's funny having to explain to more "hardcore" players that probably a majority of the people going into a match don't really care if they win; they're there to hang out, shoot the shit, and show off their cosmetics. If they happen to pull a Victory Royale out the bag, that's a nice bonus on top.

OG Tekken remake crossed my mind but, as others have said, it makes no sense. It wouldn't play like Tekken 1 (no-one wants that), it probably couldn't just have the roster from Tekken 1 (that leaves out a vast number of fan favourites), and at that point you might as well just make something new.

Plus with the more iterative nature of Tekken I think remakes make less sense than for something like DF, where each core entry has a more distinct feel and artstyle to it. Even then, they tend to just be HD re-releases at best.

It feels like it's time for new Tekken. I'm very curious to see where the narrative goes - T7 was very much presented as "a conclusion to the Mishima story arc," so does this new game focus around Kazuya and Jin following the closing events of the last game? Can they actually let Heihachi rest? I doubt that.

For me in terms of why I enjoy it, I've been watching streamers pretty much since Twitch kicked off, and anyone who's watched GB's more extended content probably has some understanding of the appeal there. I don't really consider vtubers particularly different from any other streamer, except there's the added aspect of being impressed by the level of effort that goes into the art and animation of the rigging. It also might help that I'm pretty "anime-immune" - I can understand why the supposed "sexiness" of many designs can be off-putting, for me that kinda thing barely registers unless people note it.

There's also the aspect of "putting on an act" but that can be applied to a lot of fleshtubers (seeing as someone's already employed that phrase in here) too. Heck, I stream to half a dozen pals of mine and I wouldn't consider myself to be putting on any kind of performance but my friends still say I go "showbiz mode" when the stream starts - pretty much just being a little more "presenterly" I suppose, being a little more clear and pronounced with my voice.

If anything I feel like a lot of the bigger vtubers can sometimes feel more "real" than a lot of the bigger other streamers. Perhaps it's almost like wearing a mask, where you start to feel more comfortable letting loose because you have this half-veil of anonymity, and then the audience usually encourages that because it turns out most people like it when streamers feel more like they're being themselves and not just putting it on for the cameras.

Yeah, I'm all-in at this point.

Like a few others, Myth was the real starter - I'd seen a few clips of vtubers like Kizuna Ai and Korone previously (especially the latter), but it was the debut of Holomyth that got me on board. I think the "Westernization" of vtubers probably helped a lot because with the debut of Myth and the rise of Nijisanji-EN and VShojo there started to be an increasing trend of people being less "in character" or feeling pressured to use high-pitched voices. Some of my all time favourite moments are the likes of Ame & Calli at debut where they start in a fake voice and then quickly break into their actual normal voice. I'm willing to acknowledge also that I have a high tolerance for what some might describe as "anime bullshit" which I think makes it a lot easier to slide into the world of vtubers where some people might find it more uncomfortable.

I love vtubing as a concept primarily as a way for people to stream with reactions without having to be directly on camera (especially as someone who hates being on camera themselves), but also because I love seeing the art side of it (watching Juniper hand-animate her own models on stream is great). So I'm all for vtubers who are just themselves but with a cool avatar, though I don't have a problem with ones who affect more of a voice or personality if that's what works for them. I loved watching Snuffy's decision to switch to her more natural voice, being super nervous that people wouldn't be accepting, and the chat just popping off and telling her that her "real" voice sounded great.

I consume the vast majority of my vtuber content through clips because who has the time for full streams, but I do sometimes throw the occasional stream up in the background if I happen to catch it going live and I don't have much else going on at the time. All of Hololive English (Myth, Council, Hope) are fantastic, plus I do catch some of the other Hololive members (Marine, Ollie, Korone, Pekora, Subaru, Risu, Nene leap out at a glance).

I've branched a lot more out into the other companies of late though - at first Hololive was definitely dominant because that was where I got in. I think there's definitely questions to be had around the way that company acts from a very "idol" perspective, but I admire what the people themselves do within that system. If you're after non-Hololive recommendations, some of my other faves now are Snuffy, Buffpup, Finana, Kson, LordAethelstan, JuniperActias, Elly_VT, Vienna, Ironmouse, Nyanners, Yuzu, Froot, OniGiriEN, Yoclesh, Saruei, and Projektmelody.

Funko Pops don't contain slightly suspect but still delicious candy pieces, which is a big negative in their box.

I will always be in favour of more Tam on GB. Guy is incredibly funny, isn't afraid to be passionate about the stuff he loves but is always thoughtful enough to recognise why those things might not suit everyone else. He has lots of good points to make and does it in entertaining fashion. Definitely one of my favourite people to hear talk about the medium - or about most things, really.

I like the fight a lot, I'd say it's probably around a 7 for me perrsonally if we're ranking on a scale of just DkS1 bosses. Maybe an 8 for the SL1 run, it's one of the more demanding fights when you can't really take more than a grazing blow without dying.

Really enjoy these breakdowns. I do love that Endwalker was GOTY or nothing on the lists - makes sense, it's one of those game that if you're in, you're all the way in (and it continues to deliver), but that initial hurdle is massive and not for everyone.

As someone who tends to lean more towards longer games, either because they offer some kind of long-form investment or because they have a slow-build to their narrative and/or world, I think you're completely reasonable.

Time is precious and if you prefer something a little tighter-paced with less repetition I think that's just fine. Thankfully I think there's a wealth of games at every point along that time spectrum nowadays, and a lot of games offer up ways to get through them quickly alongside systems which support a much longer playtime should people desire it.

I mix it up to try to make something at least a little different from my past characters each time, where possible. I'm not super strict about it but I like to have some variety in there. I'd estimate I probably go about 60-70% female (probably to balance out the heavier weight of male protags in pre-set games, as other people noted).