Vigil: The Longest Night

posted on 2 Jan 2021

Fallen Eyeball

One listen to the main menu theme song was a prognostication that this was going to be good. I remember seeing this game back when there was a demo available, and I knew I’d buy it as soon as it came out.

I won’t repeat the obvious information that you’ve seen in the description and tags, but I want to say that this game, rather than being a “souls-like,” is more of a “bloodborne-like.” It takes a lot of inspiration from Bloodborne, ranging from the blood vial system to the names of certain areas and the overall dark gothic, cosmic horror aesthetic. Rather than copying directly off of Bloodborne, however, it sort of deviates by doing its own thing with the setting, most notably with the main character and her role.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

posted on 9 Nov 2020

“Мы будем делать Добро из Зла, потому что его больше не из чего делать.” - Аркадий Стругацкий

Chernobyl, nuclear disasters, radiation, and post apocalyptic wastelands containing a severely dwindled human population have always interested me. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. encapsulates all of those things. The dark, ominous, overcast sky that looks like the curse of a deity upon this wicked world, the ravaged trees and wildlife that beget eerie silence, the sense of emptiness and peace that comes attached to the ambience of walking alone among ruins, the fear of an environment and alien lifeforms that are hostile to your existence. It’s all right here.

Dark Souls III

posted on 3 May 2020

From Odium to Love

It’s hard to capture what makes this game so special to me and many other people. How something so bleak and frustrating can be so therapeutic and comforting. A contradiction? Of course not - we’re human beings. I will tell you a tale of my first experience with this game. I played for a total of about 10 minutes before quitting and deeming it a waste of my time. I’d not played anything like it before, and I’d much rather be spoon fed easy hits of dopamine in my downtime. Wasn’t life already stressful enough?