BaneFireLord

I bought a Quest and a Link Cable to give my fancy new PC something to do after Cyberpunk was Not What I Was Looking for, so I'm working my way through the Half Life series for the first time so I can play Alyx. Black Mesa was excellent and I'm currently halfway through HL2. Also Superhot VR is one of the coolest damn things I've ever seen.

I just played Black Mesa, not having previously played any Half Life games, and was really taken aback by the platforming despite overall loving the game. I suppose it shouldn't have been much of a surprise considering what kind of game Portal is, but suddenly having to do things like pixel perfect jumping to avoid setting off a bunch of explosives was jarring and kinda momentum killing.

Black Mesa, which is my first time actually playing a Half Life thing. Pretty good so far!

I'm not diagnosed, but I definitely have some sort of anxiety complex and as a manifestation of that I cannot do random multiplayer stuff that requires team coordination at all...talking live to internet strangers is Not Great for me. That said, I've still played a lot of multiplayer games over the years, which I do by either playing with my real life friends who are pretty laidback and not hardcore about their multiplayer games, or by soloing in lone wolf modes or modes where the teams are big enough that communication isn't necessary. So I guess my suggestion is to find a group of people to play with on the regular that are explicitly not there to do high-tier, high-pressure play. Or just stick to single player, there's zero shame in that...this is supposed to be a fun hobby, after all, and you shouldn't feel obligated to push through anxiety because of some sense of FOMO.

I thought doing an unironic "The Cake Is A Lie" joke in The Year Of Our Lord 2020 was pretty heinous. Then again, I suppose awkwardly shoehorning in a bad Portal reference is rather fitting for a game that feels like it's stuck in the early 2010s in most aspects.

I will eventually get both because this is my favorite hobby and I'm an idiot. Probably won't be getting either in the particularly near future though, since I just built a new PC.

I only drink while gaming when I'm doing scheduled play sessions with friends, and whether I'm imbibing more than just for the taste depends on the game. I feel like I have a more fun time with sandbox games when I'm a bit buzzed and silly but anything that actually requires thinking or reflexes I'll usually stick to more-or-less sobriety.

There has not been sufficient praise of Bugsnax's characterizations and writing. The moment to moment gameplay is not the best, but it's easily one of my favorite games of the year on the strength of the writing alone.

Nothing coming out next year has me especially champing at the bit. I'm far more interested in Gotham Knights than I would have guessed and I'll probably get a PS5 for God of War or Horizon, but I don't know if I'm strongly anticipating any of them. If Starfield gets a 2021 release date, that'll shoot to the top of the list.

@mackdack: Are you getting any dips in the denser city areas? I'm getting 60+ in interiors and ~50s driving around but denser crowd areas are swinging between 30s and 40s, and nothing I do to my settings changes that. Even RTX on/off makes no difference.