The reason for the season

It may not feel much like the dead of winter right now, let alone the holiday season, at least where I am. Normally, around this time of year, we’d have at least a foot of snow on the ground, that would have been there for weeks, already. In 2023? We’ve got maybe an inch, and it’s supposed to be above freezing this weekend, with rain in the forecast, most of the week of Christmas. This is not a good thing, despite how “wonderful” most of the geriatrics who show up at my job proclaim it to be; just because you’ll be dead before the planet fully goes to shit doesn’t make rain in December, north of the 45th parallel anything other than a horrible warning sign of things to come. You might even say we’ve got dark days ahead, which in a roundabout and not at all existentially horrific way, brings us to today’s word.

solstice, noun - the day in the winter or summer with the fewest or most hours of daylight, respectively

Learned from: Solstice (NES)

Developed by Software Creations

Published by CSG Imagesoft (1990)

I never owned an NES growing up, but I do remember seeing ads for this fantasy adventure game released late in the console’s life cycle. At first glance, it looks a bit like The Immortal, or the underrated Genesis game, Landstalker, with its isometric cameras angle, and fantasy setting, but upon looking up gameplay, I don’t think there’s any combat. Instead, it’s more of a puzzle game, akin to Airball, or the much-later Lumo, where you’re trying to navigate your character through a series of traps and monsters, without directly fighting them. It was, I hope, an understandable mistake to make, because the wizard on the cover was buff as hell.

These sorts of games can be fun, but watching a playthrough of it, it looks like it does share something in common with Landstalker, in that your character doesn’t have a shadow…which has to make it incredibly frustrating to line up jumps.

Touching on the subject that I originally began this post with, I’m sorry to be a downer around what’s supposed to be a happy time of year. I hope that wherever you are, things look more seasonal, and you find yourself in more of the holiday spirit. Whatever you celebrate, even if it’s just the fact that days will be getting longer, I wish you nothing but the best. Now, have a stupidly ripped wizard, to cheer you up.

The cat’s pajamas

Today I got up early to help my wife wrangle our cat, Anji, into the carrier for her annual vet visit. Historically, our cats have been quite a handful on car trips, but Anji surprised us, by hopping right into the carrier when we tossed in a treat. Things were going great, until we got to the vet, and discovered her appointment was actually next Tuesday. I have no idea if Anji will be as cooperative when we try this again in seven days, but the whole experience did bring a word to mind.

clowder, noun – a group of cats

Learned from: Akiba’s Beat (Playstation Vita, Playstation 4)

Developed by Acquire

Published by Xseed Games (2017)

Akiba’s Beat is a game that centers around a time loop, which I like. It also centers around fairly mindless, button-mashy combat, which I don’t like. The plot casts you as a “NEET,” which is a Japanese term meaning “not in education, employment, or training.” Basically, a lazy layabout who contributes nothing to society. And the biggest problem with the game (aside from the combat) is that the protagonist, Asahi, is just so damn proud of this. He’s so lazy and self-centered, that he regularly flakes out on appointments to meet up with the few friends he somehow has, and doesn’t even care. Thankfully, Asahi does start to come to terms with this part of himself once he starts repeating the same day over and over again.

See, Asahi lives in Akihabara, a sort of geek’s paradise. Gaming, idol singers, fashion, collectibles, regardless of what geeky hobbies you’re into, Akihabara is a nexus to find what you’re looking for. But for some reason, these fandoms are beginning to distort the flow of time, corrupting the world around them, and only Asahi (and a few others) are aware of the loop that keeps happening. To try and stop it, this motley crew has to identify the people whose delusions are warping reality, and fight their way through cognitive dungeons to destroy the root of the distortions. If this sounds a little familiar, it’s because Akiba’s Beat really is kinda like Persona, but with real-time combat. It’s not as polished, and it’s certainly lower-budget, but some of the characters are surprisingly likable. Like the catgirl maid.

She’s not an actual catgirl, just an employee at a cat-themed maid cafe, and she isn’t one of the folks who’s aware of what’s going on. But she’s always there to greet you outside of her establishment, with cat puns (“Welcome, meowster!”), and invitations to join her clowder. Realistically, it’s probably a bit cringe, but she helps add to the wacky, surreal atmosphere of the story.

And really, if you can deal with the bland combat, and initially irritating protagonist, *Akiba’s Beat* might be a purrfect example of a diamond in the rough.

Can you hear me now?

I had the day off today, and decided to use part of it to start one of the many, many Game of the Year contenders for 2023: Alan Wake II. And I didn’t even get into the game, proper, before it taught me a new word.

hyperacusis, noun – elevated sensitivity to sound, particularly environmental or background noise

Learned from: Alan Wake II (PC, Playstation 5, XBox Series X/S)

Developed by Remedy Entertainment

Published by Epic Games Publishing (2023)

I’d heard some cautionary tales about this games PC performance before picking it up, and it turns out there is some validity to those claims. It doesn’t run terribly, by any means, but I had to do more tweaking to get it at a decent, stable framerate than I did for other demanding games like, say, Returnal. But it was in poking around the options, that I stumbled across a toggle for a hyperacusis filter.

In the game, it seems primarily focused on reducing the amount of high-frequency background noises, like birdsong, that occur while you’re playing. So, in this instance, it seems like it’s less about reducing the amount of environmental noise as a whole, and more focused on high-pitched sounds. Either way, it’s nice to see this kind of accessibility option included, because I fully understand what it’s like to be bothered by certain types of sounds (in my case, it’s chewing noises).

I suppose I should talk a bit about the game, itself, even though I’m not terribly far yet. First things first, it would probably be a good idea to play the original Alan Wake before diving into this one. It might not hurt your experience too much, but the opening sequence involves a returning side character from the previous game, and you’d be missing a layer of the narrative by not having that past experience. Similarly, having a reference point to the town of Bright Falls, WA as it was, versus how it currently is in Alan Wake II will give you some insight that a new player might not have.

To explain, in the first game, Bright Falls was a less menacing version of Twin Peaks–there was something sinister going on in the background, sure, but the townsfolk, themselves, all seemed like genuinely okay people. If a bit odd. But in Alan Wake II? Something just feels…wrong in the town. It goes beyond some characters not fully recovering from what happened to them in the previous game, though that’s a factor too. But even in this early stage, walking through the town (as a new character, I might add: an FBI agent named Saga Anderson), I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a rot spreading just below the surface, and these people might not be the weird-but-trustworthy folks they once were. It’s a good start, and I look forward to seeing where it goes. High-pitched noises and all.

You can go in blind, but honestly the first game is still worth playing today, too.

Rwise fwom your gwave!

I really need to stop drifting away from this blog every so often. But, since this is the season associated with things coming back from the dead, I thought this was as good a time as any to get back to it. Happy Halloween, everyone!

necrolatry, noun – the worship of the dead

Learned from: Xenosaga: Episode 1 (Playstation 2, mobile, Nintendo DS, Wii)

Developed by Monolith Soft

Published by Namco Bandai (2002)

This is a strange name for a strange skill. I think only one type of enemy in the entire game uses it against you, and then only in tandem with another specific type of enemy. Necrolatry reverses how healing and damage work, on whichever character it targets, so healing skills hurt them, and attacks heal them. At first, this may seem rather pointless, until you realize the cleric-type enemies have no problem targeting your party with their healing skills, but it’s pretty hard for you to do damage to your own people, or try to cast healing on the enemy. It’s a neat trick–most certainly not a treat–and one I don’t think I’ve seen used in another RPG since.

Even KOS-MOS agrees that the fact that this series hasn’t gotten a remaster is the cruelest trick of all.

Enough to make you sick

The weather here has been…weird, lately. It’s the middle of June, and temperatures have been in the 50s (Fahrenheit)…except when they’re in the 80s or 90s. Sometimes back and forth within the span of a few days. Those kinds of swings are a shock to the system, and prime conditions for people to fall ill…which makes today’s word fitting on a variety of levels.

emesis, noun – the act of vomiting

Learned from: System Shock (PC, Mac, Playstation 5, XBox Series X/S)

Developed by LookingGlass Technologies (original), Nightdive Studios (remake)

Published by Origin Systems (original, 1994), Prime Matter (remake, 2023)

The original System Shock is a game I never got the chance to play, growing up, but over the years I’d heard nothing but acclaim for it. Being the inspiration for everything from the Bioshock games, to Prey, to Dead Space (or so I’ve heard), it sounded like a hugely influential piece of gaming history that I’d missed out on. So when I heard there was a remake in the works, I was very intrigued, to say the least.

I’m not very far into it yet, but I’m already enjoying the heck out of this cyberpunk nightmare scenario, odd visual style aside. You’re cast in the role of a hacker who gets busted for stealing the schematics for a military-grade implant. A representative of the company you burgled recognizes your skill, and offers to cut you a deal: he’ll give you the implant, your freedom, and scrub your record clean. And all you have to do is head up to a company space station, and disable the ethical safeguards on SHODAN, the AI that’s running the place. What could go wrong?*

To his credit, the company rep does keep his end of the bargain. But you wake up from your surgery sometime later, to find the station…well, let’s just say in a very, very bad state. And initially, after scrounging around the various stethoscopes and emesis basins scattered around the medbay, you find a lead pipe to defend yourself with, as you venture into the bowels of the station to try and figure out how to fix the horrible thing you’ve done–or at least, survive.

As I said, I’m only near the beginning so far, but the setup is fantastic, and the gameplay, while more complex than your average shooter, is fun. I can see why it’s regarded as a classic.

*You could end up creating GLaDOS’s meaner, crazier ancestor, that’s what.

You should know this; you’ve been to court

The meetings we have at work are almost universally useless. This wouldn’t be so bad, if they didn’t occur first thing in the morning, before we even open for business. But every so often, something catches my ear, such as today, when one of my bosses didn’t know what the word “litigious” meant.

I work for very stable geniuses. But it does bring us to today’s word.

litigation, noun – the process of bringing legal action against an entity

Learned from: Descent II (PC, Mac, Playstation)

Developed by Parallax Software

Published by Interplay Productions (1996)

I played a bit of Doom and Quake, back in the day, but I was primarily a Descent guy. Sure, it pretty much required a joystick, and multiplayer was a pain and a half to set up, but not being bound by gravity was such a novel experience. And when you did get a multiplayer match going, it allowed for a ton of strategic gameplay, especially when you factored in the impressive variety of weapons at your disposal.

Descent II was the best entry in the series, by far, even if it had the weakest story. Not that “there are berserk robots in this mining colony; go destroy them” was Pulitzer material in the first game, mind you. But the sequel starts with your employer saying essentially, “Hey, you’re still under contract. Go kill these other murderous robots, or we’ll sue you.” At the time, I had no idea what litigation was, but when I looked it up, I realized that these games are really set in a pretty dystopian future–yeah, you just saved company property, but get your nose back to the grindstone and keep risking your life if you don’t want to be penniless and/or in jail. I didn’t dwell on it too much, because the gameplay was so fun, but a part of my 13-year-old brain still realized this was a pretty crappy situation for your character to be in.

My copy didn’t come bundled with 100 free hours of AOL. That would’ve saved my parents like, $50, probably. The early Internet was a a nightmare, kids.

Put some spring in your step

It’s April, which means for most places in the northern hemisphere, it’s springtime. And while that’s technically true where I live as well, you’d never know it. The snow is starting to melt, but it’s still easily a foot deep in a lot of places, and it’ll be some time before we start seeing flowers come up. Which brings us to today’s word.

hippeastrum, noun – a genus of evergreen plants with large, red flowers, native to tropical and subtropical regions

Learned from: The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow (PC, Mac)

Developed by Cloak and Dagger Games

Published by Wadjet Eye Games (2022)

The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow is a slow-burn horror adventure game, where you play archaeologist, Thomasina Bateman as she arrives in the remote English town of Bewlay, hoping to excavate the titular barrow. Things quickly go wrong, but in ways that are only subtly insidious at first: the person you’re supposed to meet is nowhere to be found, your partner never arrives with your supplies…or the money you need to even pay for lodging, and everyone in town seems just a little…off. But maybe they’re just not used to strangers; yeah, that’s probably it.

What develops is a rather impressive bit of folk horror that’s heavy on atmosphere and light on any straight-up scares for most of it. Instead, you quickly find yourself wondering just who you can trust, what’s going on behind the scenes, and how far you’re willing to go to achieve your goals. And of course, there are some convoluted puzzles to solve as you go–if you’ve played The Secret of Monkey Island, or King’s Quest, you’ve got an idea of what you’re in store for.

For instance, you need to get your hands on some hippeastrum flowers, so you can convince an old lady to bake puddings for a stuck-up aristocrat. But before you can do that, you need to track down a missing milk man, so that the maid who’s in love with him might look the other way when you go to procure them, and…you know, standard adventure game stuff.

Still, despite how absurd some of the puzzles can get, there’s a solid Gothic mystery to enjoy here, with elements of isolation and creeping dread that seep in from the get-go, and never really leave. Plus, it’s all voice acted (and competently at that), so if you like old-school adventure games with an aesthetic to match, there’s a lot to enjoy here.

The pixel art really doesn’t do these flowers justice.

Trundling through life

So, there’s a little game called Dredge, that’s coming out in just a few days. It’s kind of like if H.P. Lovecraft wrote Animal Crossing: You find yourself on an island, and your boat is wrecked. The townsfolk there are willing to loan you another vessel, on the condition that you pay for it by fishing…totally normal fishing, and not trawling the seas for unnamable horrors that might drive you mad before your debt is squared away. It sounds like fun. And to try and get in the best mindset for it, I’ve spent the past week or so reading classics like “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” watching movies like The Lighthouse, and digging through my Steam library for nautical-themed horror games. Which brings us to today’s word.

lollop, verb – to move in an unsteady, clumsy fashion

Learned from: Hunter’s Journals: Pale Harbour (PC)

Developed by Grindwheel Games

Published by Grindwheel Games (2019)

The Hunter’s Journals series apparently comprises five games, casting you as a monster hunter in a variety of different settings–a monster hunter who, despite the game’s assurances of your skill and renown, seems quite likely to die at the slightest misstep or lapse in judgment. At least, if Pale Harbour is any indication. This one tasks you with discovering the source of the abominations from the sea that have driven the inhabitants of a small fishing village from their homes. One such encounter with one of these beasts has it lolloping out of a house in pursuit of you, after you’ve wounded it.

I know this is the exact thing that it does, because this game (and series, I’d imagine), is more or less a digital Choose Your Own Adventure-style book, with some light RPG mechanics thrown in to give it some replayability. Aside from Stamina, your character really only has one stat: Skill. On most difficulties, these are determined randomly at the start of the game. Stamina is health, and Skill is your base competency at most things, which you roll two six-sided dice and add them to this value for your result. Both of these attributes will diminish as you play, but neither of them will save you from the instant-death dead ends you’ll find yourself at before you die in combat, most of the time. The story’s interesting enough, and it’s all narrated…though the voice actor’s delivery sometimes leaves a little to be desired.

The sudden deaths may be off-putting to some, but if you grew up with these kinds of books, there’s a lot to like here.

The art is also a bit…YA graphic novel-y, but there are worse ways to spend six bucks.

Small town businesses are weird

My wife and I are members at the local food co-op, largely because you never quite know what you’re going to find there. From locally-grown produce, to fair trade baskets from Africa, to Buddha’s Hand citrus fruits from…I don’t remember where. Anyway, walking through there is always an experience. Every so often though, you don’t even have to head there to get a little taste of the unexpected. Case in point, they’re having a “Cheese Madness” event right now, with samples and brackets where their top cheeses face off against one another, until only one is left, voted in as the ultimate cheese. I’m not sure why they chose cheese for their March Madness parody, but it does bring us to today’s word.

rennet, noun – an enzyme used in the making of cheese

Learned from: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Playstation 4, mobile, PC, XBox One)

Developed by ArtPlay

Published by 505 Games, Netease (2019)

Bloodstained is Castlevania in everything but name–even to the point where it was produced by Koji Igurashi, one of the heavy-hitters behind the later Castlevania games. It’s got the atmosphere, the complex maps, the varied combat, but it also includes some subsystems that were absent from most if its inspiration: namely, crafting.

Gather up the right materials, and you can create things you’d expect, like new weapons and armor, but you can also cook food to use for healing and permanent stat boosts. If you’re particularly masochistic, you can try to recreate an increasingly complicated and vague series of recipes for an old lady who can barely remember her own name, let alone the food she used to enjoy. So she’ll say she wants to taste the “portable snack” she used to love, or something “fluffy,” or something as obtuse as a “novel idea.” She rewards you if you get it right, but some of the recipes in Bloodstained are a pain to put together. Some are simple, like using wheat to make dough, to make noodles. But say you want to make a pizza…well, you need that wheat to make the dough, but you also need tomatoes, whatever the toppings are, and milk and rennet to make cheese. But you can’t just have all the base ingredients in your possession; no, that would be too easy. Unless they’ve patched it out, you needed to make every intermediate component by hand, before you could get to the final product. The rewards were usually worth it, but getting there was an uphill battle sometimes.

It’ll soothe what ails you

I recently received Fire Emblem: Engage for my birthday. I’d played through a bit of Three Houses, the previous entry, and while it was interesting, something about the whole military academy setting never really gelled with me. While I applaud Three Houses for at least experimenting with something different, I found myself missing the classic Fire Emblem experience: a more focused story, stakes that are laid out early on, more emphasis on the combat. I know it’s a controversial choice for some, but I was happy that Engage went back to that tried & true formula. Which brings us to today’s word.

vulnerary, noun – a medicine used in the healing of injuries

Learned from: Fire Emblem (Game Boy Advance)

Developed by Intelligent Systems

Published by Nintendo (2003)

Like most people in the West, my first exposure to Fire Emblem as a franchise came through the Super Smash Bros. games: specifically SSB: Melee on the Gamecube. Back in the early 2000s, everyone knew Mario, Donkey Kong, and Princess Zelda…but who the hell were Marth and Roy? Despite having never heard of them, or the series they were from, Roy ended up being my main in that game. And after awhile, I decided I should maybe learn a bit more about this “Fire Emblem” thing.

The only problem was, I didn’t own a Game Boy Advance, and as a poor college student, I couldn’t justify buying an entirely new system, just to try one game (a decision I still regret to this day, considering how good that handheld’s catalogue of games is). So I turned to…other means, to dip my toes into the Fire Emblem waters–specifically, a fan translation of the original Japanese ROM of the first game.

It’s because of this, that I initially wasn’t even sure that “vulnerary” was a real word. It was clear what these healing items did, but I kind of expected their name to be a mistranslation of something, given the source of the game I was playing. I looked it up soon after, and found that yes, it is a real word, but it wasn’t until some time later that I discovered that it was, in fact, the official translation Nintendo decided to use in their official releases of these games, even to this day. And while the earlier games are hard to find (some still haven’t received official English translations), they’re all well worth tracking down if you can. Even if you start later in the series, most of the games aren’t connected, so you can still jump in at any point and have a fun, engaging (see what I did there?) strategy RPG experience.

Except for Fire Emblem: Fates. The games in that branch of the series actually are connected–and the third part is nigh-impossible to find, now that the 3DS eShop is closing down. Unless you decide to get into the series the way I did, I guess (though, for legal reasons, I have to state for the record that I do not condone that).