2020 Year in Review

Metamurph League in PoE: 36/40 I liked my build a lot, so many ballistos

Death Stranding: Gud

Fire Emblem Three Horses: Not Gud

Factorio Industrial Revolution Modpack: Really fun way to provide an even more prolonged series of progression, too bad it's not being updated anymore but I had a lot of fun with it

Gungeon: I tried it but didn't play too much, didn't get into it a lot but its not bad or anything

Minecraft Sevtech Ages Modpack: This was actually very, very fun. Good progression, lots of new dimensions. Pat approved (finally).

Bravely 2 Demo: When's full game

Derlirum League in PoE: 37/40 the league sucked but my build was very fun highly recommend Frost Nova Templar

One Step from Weeden: Yeah this was good. It didn't have a ton of staying value after I won, but I could definitely come back to this at some point if it gets a bit of additional contents.

Terraforming Mars: I could definitely play more of this too, especially now that they've fixed some pretty big bugs with certain cards.

Terraria Journey's End: Wow this was also a lot of fun in a big multiplayer world and super hard mode. A+

Tactics Ogre: An interesting game held back by its really slow gameplay and wack balancing decisions. Battles were so slow I ended up quitting shortly after a big plot twist because I just couldn't anymore.

Last Note of Umineko: the final bit of Umineko content. A sad farewell.

Ring Fit: I'm just beating this now. It looks like I started it in June and have been doing it 3 times a week for about 20-30 minutes. Definitely would recommend, fun way to get movin.

Civ IV: Granddaddy 4x game. Pretty fun, units more important and buildings take longer which makes it feel really different. Too bad it doesn't have hexagons though, everyone loves hexagons.

Harvest Festa League in PoE: 36/40, crafting your own gear makes this game so, SO much better. So naturally it didn't go core. I'M STILL MAD. This was a lot of fun.

Quern: Yeah it scratched the Myst Itch for sure, I wish it was a little bit longer but these games tend to be pretty short so its ok. I want more Diagetic Puzzle Games.

Underwater Ray Romano: I liked this a lot, though its funny how strong the original harem/eroge nature of the game came through even though it's a remake. Really looking forward to playing the sequels. Wish the tactics parts were a little bit more interesting but who cares that's not why we're here. We're here for READ.

Heist League in PoE: Shut the game down somehow it's awful now. I'll definitely be sitting out for the next league unless a miracle happens, this was pretty much a trainwreck from start to finish.

13 Sentinels: Nice ADV game / VN. Really leaned into the Scifi, which is kind of usual but is totally my jam. Really, really enjoyable read. Really good character work too. A few plot points were clearly dropped probably due to time constraints, but still very solid. Hemborger vs Yakisoba Pan is the battle of the ages.

Planescape Torment: Yeah this was pretty fun. Surprisingly...short? Or not really short, but I guess small? I didn't realize the game would be like 70% done when I left Sigil. Still, really good dialogue system and individual moments, even if the overall plot ultimately felt a little disappointed. A good first WRPG, definitely not the best story in a vidya game tho.

Obduction: See Quern. Both solid in their own ways, I think I liked Quern slightly more overall.

Pokemon Solar Light: Wow, definitely my favorite pokemon game since Gen 5. I play for the new Pokemon and experiences, so having a *large* *entirely new* pokedex was super good. Would recommend to any pokefans.

Iwaihime: Pretty good. Ghost story is not my favorite genre of VN, but Ryukishi manages to imbue it with some solid themework nonetheless. Definitely not a mastapiece but it was an enjoyable little read although the visuals were 2creepy4me in a few places.

Amoonguss: This is actually pretty fun we should schedule more of these. Met some new people, Pat flooded the server with his IRL friends. Good times(?). I never want to play imposter though its just not as fun.

Minecraft Astroblock Modpack: Another fun progression modpack that makes galacticraft less bad. Simple Storage Network made inventory management less nightmarish. A good ramp-up of the tools available for automation, no super broken strategies until lategame, and then the floodgates open in a fun way.

Hades: Really fun game, I wish there was a bit more variety (bosses, areas) from run-to-run but the weapons and boons help keep it fresh. Fun story and setting, too.

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Longer term thingies

WoW Classic BWL/"AQ40": The first runs were fun and then zarcanzo quit and also the guild started getting snippy and petty about everything until it broke up like 2 weeks into AQ40 because people gonna people. And then I quit because I didn't wanna get into all that again. New XIV expac pleeeease!

Randos: OoT rando was pretty fun spaced out like we did em, definitely can't binge it like alttp randos.

Slay the Spire: I think I'll probably be playin this game on and off for years. A+ card game.

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Offstream Reads/Watches

A Certain Magical Index NT/GT: Wow NT was really, really, really good. And GT is starting off strong too, even though volume 3 was a little bit too wacky in a few places. I've really enjoyed this series.

Raingun T Anime: Yeah this was good. Well, the first half was really good. The second half was dumb as nails, but I'm really just counting the first half here. Very good "other side" of the festival arc in Index.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Yes. Yes read this. I hate Isekai, but like, this is the example that genre alone isn't enough to pidgeonhole really great things. I can't wait to read more, the new arc is HEATIN UP.

The Poppy War Trilogy: The first book was pretty good until it became super grimdark / wish fufillment via genocide confusing-ness. The second book was just me scratching my head about why anyone was doing the things they were doing. The third book was a straight-up hate read because I had to know if it was actually going to have any real redeeming themes or character work. Nope not really. These books are highly recommended but I have no idea why. It's like YA characters meets shallow GRRM grimbark world meets very confusing real world metaphors and worldbuilding. No thanks.

Lord of the Rings: I had never watched these movies and I enjoyed them more than the books actually. I just can't really strand Tolkien's descriptions and plodding pace.

The Expanse: This was really good actually. I'm planning to read the books, but even so I would highly recommend the show. Season 1 isn't great but its vital setup, its nice to see a show take its time for buildup and stuff, even. But after that, it stays consistently good.

Higurashi Gou: Wow this is amazing, I never thought I'd be getting a Higurashi SEQUEL. Theorizing heaven, my brain is desperate to figure out how to explain this stuff.