Weekly Journal (December 19th) (Patreon)

Blooper day! Not a ton of them for this video, but my lovely wife made this one particularly shenanigan-y 😂 I promise we're nice to each other in reality lmao, but 10 years of knowing each other sometimes equates to playful sass haha.

I finished Nier Replicant. Man oh man do I have conflicting thoughts. This should be a masterpiece, but it essentially forces you to play the second act of the game (THAT IS ALREADY REPETITIVE BY NATURE) three full ass times to see all of the content. Bonus scenes, bonus context, true endings. All that is locked behind doing the SAME story arc on repeat. Nier Automata at least had the decency to skip you through a lot you've already done and let you play as a different character with a different perspective for it's second run. Replicant could have gotten away with only a second run because there is info that completely re-contextualizes what is happening. That aspect was was brilliant.

But a THIRD time? With all of the errand running collect-athon stuff tied in to unlock arguably the coolest part of the game? Why would you step on your own dick like this man... If you cut out that 3rd run and the errands, if you can just completely eviscerate that from the game, it becomes one of the most beautiful gaming narratives I've ever played. And heck, it still is even with the clutter. But I can't say the clutter didn't almost ruin it for me haha. 

I hate to get stuck on that, and I wouldn't if the game wasn't tremendously remarkable otherwise. I wouldn't be this mad over spilled cereal. But this feels like someone dropped my filet mignon on the floor.

The combat blew me away, it's smooth as silk and stupidly satisfying. You already know the soundtrack was sex. The story and the characters were so beautifully done, so wonderfully fleshed out. Ending C hurt me. Ending D and E collectively was nothing short of breathtaking. Happy I played. Loved it, but wanted to be obsessed. The game's structure keeps me from EVER wanting to pick it up again.

Then I started Alan Wake! The first one, the remaster because I hear the sequel is heat. Lemme tell you something, THIS ONE is heat. Combat works, the town itself feels like a character, it's spooky, it's surreal. It's taking me back to my Control days; I think I might be a Remedy head.

Regarding 2024, I've realized based on my notes that I actually have quite a few video ideas for next year. Usually when a year finishes I'm scratching and clawing for something in January, but I have so much I can pull from at this point. I also have some stylistic ideas for how I might be editing videos down the line? I need a better camera as well as a couple of other things so don't expect immediate changes, but... there are some ideas brewing in the presentation department as well. So look forward to things getting weird next year.

Oh also maaaaybe I'll get back to regular Twitch streaming next year? The motivation left me in the past, but the motivation and the urge to stream more is definitely back now. It's just a matter of finding a good time slot for each week. If I did get back to it, what kind of stuff would you like to see me play?

All that to say, thank you for an extremely memorable year. I'll be off the grid for a few weeks since we're traveling for the holidays and I'm taking some proper time off work, but I'll back around New Years :)

Take care everyone! Happy Holidays, Happy New Year! Enjoy your time with your loved ones and I'll see you soon!