dannydotcafe's recent activity
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentThanks! Watching a letsplay is probably what I'll do at this point, since in the few days since I played Grim Fandango, any desire to go back and engage with it's puzzles has completely...Thanks! Watching a letsplay is probably what I'll do at this point, since in the few days since I played Grim Fandango, any desire to go back and engage with it's puzzles has completely evaporated.
The puzzles of Baba however, keep growing on me! I'm sure the difficulty will scale as I continue playing, but I suspect in this case mental exhaustion could be mitigated by a willingness to back off (and arrive at the solution a little bit later when folding laundry).
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkTwo more games gives me a 5-in-a-row! I'll definitely continue filling out the board, though there's zero chance for a blackout. Unless maybe I get kidnapped and held in a room with nothing but my...Two more games gives me a 5-in-a-row! I'll definitely continue filling out the board, though there's zero chance for a blackout. Unless maybe I get kidnapped and held in a room with nothing but my steam deck and browser running tildes. If you see me complete the full board send help! (no rush though)
Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 7/25 Has both combat and puzzles Has a lives system
✅ Darkenstein 3DHas multiple playable characters Is mostly text-based Is one of the oldest games you own
✅ WizorbOwned for more than 5 years
✅ Victor VranA solo-dev project
✅ GunpointAn updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game
✅ Grim FandangoFrom a different culture or country
✅ Call of the SeaHas a review score above 92
✅ Baba is YouUses a unique control scheme Focuses on relationships ★ Wildcard Chosen for you by someone else A romhack or total conversion mod Randomness determines your fate Considered a classic Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie) Has creatures Recommended by someone on Tildes Known for its replay value A modded game Set underwater From a studio you haven't heard of before Has great reviews, but not your usual type An updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game - Grim Fandango
Only a few weeks late for Dia de Los Muertos, I gave Grim Fandango a try. Since playing Monkey Island and Sam and Max long long ago, I've declared myself a fan of Lucasarts adventure games, although I haven't touched one in years now. Even from a quick glance, you can see that Grim Fandango is a wonderfully unique game, and I've wanted to play it for about as long as I can remember. When the remaster came out I grabbed it right away. And checking the calendar, I realize that was 10 years ago, of course.
Finally starting this long-awaited game, I immediately fell in love with the presentation. The graphics are simple 3D models against pre-rendered backgrounds, but with a really great sense of style. The voice acting is good and the dialogue is very funny. I don't know how they came up with the idea to make a Film Noire game about Day of the Dead, but I love the setting.
The remaster is also well done, mostly because it actually changes very little. There are updated, smoother models, though they're quite faithful to the originals, and there is new lighting and shadows that complements it well. I can make a direct comparison between old and new because swapping between them is just a button in the game, something I'm always happy to see in a remaster.
As far as actually playing it, the game's first few tasks were straightforward, clearly directing me to whatever was next. This signposting lasted for a half hour or so, and then abruptly ended.
A couple early-game spoilers in the next paragraph!
I had deduced that I needed to plug up the pneumatic message tube system to advance the story. I knew the what, but didn't have the how. But I was open to a bit of trial and error. I had a loaf of bread which could be sent through the tubes, though nothing happened. Then I realized I could fill a balloon with packing foam and send it through the tubes, which I tried. But still nothing happened.
Finally I checked hints online, which told me I had done the correct thing, but I needed to do it 3 more times to trigger the event! What value did this add to the puzzle, or the experience? At the very least there could have been some hint that repeating the action was the way to go.
"Seriously? This isn't like the Lucasarts adventures I remember," I say to myself. And then I think a little bit more, I remember that this is EXACTLY like those other games. Retreading every room for the 100th time, clicking on every object I see, trying to figure out how to trigger something, anything! I had youthful resilience and a lot more free time, and was willing to chip away aimlessly until I stumbled on a solution. These days I don't consider that especially fun.
I'm not sure how much longer I'll play Grim Fandango. I like the setting and writing enough that I might continue, but I'll certainly be using hints or maybe even just a all out walkthrough to keep things moving.
Has a review score above 92 - Baba is You
Honestly I can't think of a lot to say about this game. It might be flawless, a pure puzzle game, deceptively simple. Solutions range from straightforward to something that feels like I've hacked the game and broken the fabric of its reality.Puzzles are small, and I think almost always optional. Advancing to a new stage just requires solving a certain number in an area, so the one time I got stuck was more a function of my own compulsion rather than a gate put in place by the game.
Despite all this, its probably not a game I'll play all that often. I'm generally more inclined towards narratives, cohesive worlds I can explore and spending time in. Still, Baba is You will probably live on all my computers, maybe forever. 100mb of storage devoted to the occasion when the mood strikes.
Errata: Some fact-checkers might point out that it Baba is You has a Metacritic score of 87, which I just discovered as I was about to hit post. In my defense, I had picked it by sorting my library by Steam review score, which doesn't provide a numerical value, although steamdb says that translates to a 95. And since we all know Metacritic is meaningless anyway, I'm going to stand by my choice.
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI totally get what you're saying about Pacific Drive. I really like the loop of setting up a run to go perfectly, only to have it all fall apart because of random conditions, barely escaping and...I totally get what you're saying about Pacific Drive. I really like the loop of setting up a run to go perfectly, only to have it all fall apart because of random conditions, barely escaping and limping home to repair what I could. For me, the randomness balances that repetition a bit. I think their goal was to make runs continue to feel dangerous, balanced with upgrades making them easier. And I can definitely admit that doesn't always land! Its all worth it for me since I think their vision was unique and ambitious, but I can definitely see how that would cross over into annoyance for a lot of people!
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkThis was a tough week with not a lot of free time, only a single game added to the board. Fortuntately it was one I liked! Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 5/25 Has both combat and puzzles ✅...This was a tough week with not a lot of free time, only a single game added to the board. Fortuntately it was one I liked!
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 5/25 Has both combat and puzzles Has a lives system
✅ Darkenstein 3DHas multiple playable characters Is mostly text-based Is one of the oldest games you own
✅ WizorbOwned for more than 5 years
✅ Victor VranA solo-dev project
✅ GunpointAn updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game From a different culture or country
✅ Call of the SeaHas a review score above 92 Uses a unique control scheme Focuses on relationships ★ Wildcard Chosen for you by someone else A romhack or total conversion mod Randomness determines your fate Considered a classic Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie) Has creatures Recommended by someone on Tildes Known for its replay value A modded game Set underwater From a studio you haven't heard of before Has great reviews, but not your usual type From a different culture or country - Call of the Sea
There's a game genre (or maybe its really a mechanic) where you search through abandoned places, piecing together what has happened through notes and environmental storytelling. And I love this. It just works for me, despite the hand-wave in logic whereby everyone leaves out their handwritten summaries of the day's events, or happen to be speaking into a tape recorder just at the moment of a big event. I call these notes & audiologs (tm) games.Call of the Sea is mostly a notes & audiologs game, with a couple Myst-light puzzles thrown in. The player is a woman exploring a mysterious island, trying to figure out what happened to a previous expedition which included her missing husband, all the while talking to herself in a surprisingly cheerful voice. Its a nicely slow paced game, which is probably what I needed this week!
I think it looks really nice in a stylized way. Each successive level somehow seems to look even better than the previous, though of course that's subjective. The art style, combined with it being a narrative game is probably why I've seen the comparison with Firewatch. I loved Firewatch when I played it earlier this year, and I think one of its strengths is that its main storytelling device, ongoing radio conversations, feels natural ()not to mention well-written). Call of the Sea doesn't quite hit that, as it trades conversation for the main character's stream of consciousness. The comparison is probably reinforced by the main character's voice actor, who also played the voice on the radio in Firewatch. I think she's very good in both roles, though in Call of the Sea she seems just a bit too cheerful at times. While it fits the theme of lighthearted exploration, there are moments where she has a serious discovery ("is the whole crew of this ship dead? What terrible fate befell them and possibly my husband") followed shortly after by the worry-free remarks of someone out for a nature walk ("look at these fascinating carved wood statues!"). I don't think darkening the tone of the game is the answer, but I suspect there could have been some more consistency in the direction of the dialogue.
There's only a couple puzzles per level, and so far none have been especially challenging. Rather they're just an enjoyable bit of friction in the exploration of the island. I have gotten stuck a few times, and when I finally figured it out I kicked myself for not seeing the obvious solution.
The most challenging puzzle of all though - where to slot this game on my bingo board! Of course I could put it as a wildcard. The developers, Out of the Blue, I had never heard of (this their first game). Also they're from Spain, so could count as a game from a different country. And then there's the longshot option: when looking this game up on Wikipedia, I discovered that it shares a name with a movie from 1930, which has a familiar sounding story.
Lt. Cmdr. Good (Edwards) is a naval officer who goes on an extensive search for his long-lost friend who mysteriously disappeared on a tropical island
While I find no evidence that anybody at all has watched this movie in the past 95 years (it might be lost media, or maybe no one has cared enough to find out), I could happily ignore that that and slot the game as an adaptation. The chaos makes it tempting, but different country gets me much closer to 5 in a row, so I'm taking that.
While we're on the topic of "Island Explorer" media, one thing this game may have unfortunately inherited from those roots is some aspect of colonialism. I won't say much about it since I don't know a lot about the cultures involved, but phrases like "Polynesians don't build doors" (considered significant enough to both say out loud and have as an entry in the in-game journal) does give me pause. However I haven't seen anything worse than that, and its more respectful and sensitive than the islander stereotypes that this type of setting would have featured even fairly recently.
Overall I have been really enjoying this game, and plan to continue. Compared with the 4 from last week that I ended early, this is a winner!
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Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI'm so glad there's at least a few other people who loved the original steam controller! Mine is still in constant rotation, and fortunately it still works after almost 10 years. The virtual...I'm so glad there's at least a few other people who loved the original steam controller! Mine is still in constant rotation, and fortunately it still works after almost 10 years. The virtual trackball right pad combined with gyro can be amazing for mouselook. I'll admit does sometimes require messing with configurations, but once it clicks its just perfect. Last year I (re)played Max Payne 1 and 2, which have no controller support, and had a wonderful time with the steam controller. Except for the platforming sections of the first game, but those were always horrible anyway!
All that's to say I'll be buying the new controller as soon as they let me!
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentThank you! I'll see what I do with Bingo board, maybe doing the second week equally random and then going for a combo afterward. I appreciate the openness of it all, but its also fun to have a bit...Thank you! I'll see what I do with Bingo board, maybe doing the second week equally random and then going for a combo afterward. I appreciate the openness of it all, but its also fun to have a bit of guidance in the form of a meta-game.
I just saw that you played Prodeus this week, which is actually one of my favorites! I played it a bunch back when it was still early access. One thing I remember was discovering that someone had ported the original Doom maps, which definitely made me realize how much Prodeus is Doom. I never did multiplayer, but if it only allows custom maps, you can never go wrong with Doom!
And even though I didn't really like it, you should definitely give Darkenstein a try!
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentHere's the list of games in my Steam library that I've marked as interesting, just for reference (mostly my own). Potential Games A Plague Tale: Innocence A Story About my Uncle Analogue: A Hate...Here's the list of games in my Steam library that I've marked as interesting, just for reference (mostly my own).
Potential Games
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- A Story About my Uncle
- Analogue: A Hate Story
- Baba Is You
- Back to the Future: The Game
- Beyond Blue
- Black Mesa
- Breathedge
- Brigand: Oaxaca
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
- Bury Me My Love
- Call of the Sea
- Caves of Qud
- Celeste
- Cloudpunk
- CrossCode
- Cult of the Lamb
- Darkest Dungeon
- Dead Rising
- Deponia: The Complete Journey
- Deus Ex Human Revolution
- Disco Elysium
- Dishonored
- Dragon Age Origins
- Dreamscaper
- Eiyuden Chronicle Rising
- Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
- Else Heart.Break()
- Epistory - Typing Chronicles
- Evoland Legendary Editionn
- Exit the Gungeon
- Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered
- Final Fantasy IX
- FINAL FANTASY XIII
- FRAMED
- Fury Unleashed
- Go! Go! Nippon! My First Trip to Japan
- Gods Will be Watching
- Grim Fandango Remastered
- Hyper Light Drifter
- I Am Alive
- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
- INMOST
- Into the Breach
- Ironclad Tactics
- Jotun
- Kingdom Two Crowns
- Last Call BBS
- Life is Strange
- Mark of the Ninja
- Mass Effect: Andromeda
- Metro 2033 Redux
- Mirror's Edge
- Moonring
- My Memory of Us
- Myst
- Neverout
- Observer
- Orwell
- Outland
- Overgrowth
- Pawnbarian
- Pentiment
- Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney
- Pillars of Eternity
- Praey for the Gods
- Pseudoregalia
- Psychonauts
- Q.U.B.E: Director's Cut
- Quadrilateral Cowboy
- Rayman Origins
- Return to Monkey Island
- Riven
- Rustler
- Sable
- Sam & Max Save the World
- Satisfactory
- Scars Above
- SHENZHEN I/O
- Sir, You Are Being Hunted
- Slay the Spire
- SpaceChem
- STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic II
- Starbound
- STEINS;GATE
- Strange Horticulture
- Subnautica: Below Zero
- Summer in Mara
- SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE
- Supraland
- Tails of Iron
- The Ball
- The Inner World
- The Messenger
- The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
- The Novelist
- The Talos Principle
- The Walking Dead
- The Witness
- They Are Billions
- This War of Mine
- This Way Madness Lies
- Tiny & Big: Grandpa's Leftovers
- Tooth and Tail
- Transistor
- UFO 50
- Unleashed
- Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
- VVVVVV
- Wanted: Dead
- Wasteland 2
- Windforge
- Yoku's Island Express
- Yooka-Laylee
- ZERO Sievert
I'm most immediately thinking about what might fit in the "both combat and puzzles" box, but also open to recommendations in general!
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkJumping into this with a strong first week! Since I've rarely posted on Tildes and never done a backlog burner, let me give a bit of introduction. How I'm planning to approach this (with a lot of...Jumping into this with a strong first week! Since I've rarely posted on Tildes and never done a backlog burner, let me give a bit of introduction.
How I'm planning to approach this (with a lot of context)
I'm approaching this month as an opportunity to try games I haven't played before, and to write about them. Name of the event notwithstanding, I generally avoid the use of the word backlog, since I think it reinforces unplayed or unfinished games as an obligation. This comes from the experience of my own evolving relationship with, (and definitely far too much thought invested in) the backlog.
My Steam library is kind of excessive. For years I bought any bundle that looked good and went all-out on sales. To make matters worse, I had a compulsion to play each game until credits rolled, and fell into a pattern of playing long past any point of enjoyment so I could check a game off the list and move to the next one. I still shudder when I think about Xenoblade Chronicles, and how little I enjoyed the last two thirds of the game, but pushed on through stupid determination just for the sake of having "finished" it. And now, years later, I can barely remember it. You'll never find me among the crowd that says all games are a waste of time, but that particular game, for me, definitely was.
Experience is a great teacher of course. And as I've gotten just a tiny bit older, I've been able to reflect on what I actually do and don't like. With a significantly decreased amount of free time, its all the more important that I truly enjoy what I'm doing. I genuinely love trying new games or following up on old ones that caught my attention long ago in a virtual sifting through of the bargain box. But now realize I won't, and don't have to enjoy every one, even when somebody on the internet stildesaid it was great.
The key was a sort of mindfulness to recognize when I wasn't enjoying something, and drop it fast. This has allowed me to try a LOT of games, some of which I loved and treasured, while other I played for an hour or two (or sometimes 20 minutes), and summarily decided there was not enough fun to be had in continuing. I call this reaching the DannyDotCafe ending, as in this model all games have Nier-esque multiple endings, one of which I can declare arbitrarily whenever I want. As you'll see below, I've made extensive use of this option this week.
Not especially relevant, but I'm duty-bound to mention: I play exclusively on Linux. Though I've had consoles over the years, and very occasionally used Windows for a game or two, I've been a dedicated (and probably annoying) Linux user for decades at this point. Now, with a Steam Deck and an upgraded desktop/server, I can really go all in! Some day I'll write about my tech setup, as I'm really very proud of it!
tl;dr: 1) I'll be pulling from my vast unplayed game collection on steam, and 2) I may only play a little bit. If I detect a lack of fun-to-be-had, I'll stop and move on
Here is my bingo board. I temporarily forgot the goal of Bingo, and started out first picking games and then figuring out which category I could put them in. At least I'm set up to potentially go for a 5-in-a-row in a few directions.
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 4/25 Has both combat and puzzles Has a lives system
✅ Darkenstein 3DHas multiple playable characters Is mostly text-based Is one of the oldest games you own
✅ WizorbOwned for more than 5 years
✅ Victor VranA solo-dev project
✅ GunpointAn updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game From a different culture or country Has a review score above 92 Uses a unique control scheme Focuses on relationships ★ Wildcard Chosen for you by someone else A romhack or total conversion mod Randomness determines your fate Considered a classic Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie) Has creatures Recommended by someone on Tildes Known for its replay value A modded game Set underwater From a studio you haven't heard of before Has great reviews, but not your usual type Has a lives system - Darkenstein 3D
Despite all the games that have been in my library for ages, I threw a wildcard and trying a new game. Darkenstein is free, though I guess they're planning on releasing paid DLC later. I don't know if that makes it free-to-play, though at the very least the parts of the base game I played didn't have f2p vibes.
When playing, my first reaction was that instead of Darkenstein 3D, they should have called this game Return to Castle Darkenstein, though I would consider that a complement. Its obviously not hiding that this game is 90% Wolfenstein, though it seems much more 2001 than 1992. Beyond that, there's also the modern wave of pixel-heavy shooters, a genre of which I won't mention the common name, but say that I am a big fan of games like Dusk and Proteus.
Unfortunately, I don't think this game stands up well in any of the comparisons. To begin with, the crosshair is black, and the game itself seems to be very dark (its right in the name!), so often it felt like I had no crosshair at all. With no iron sights or some other concession to aiming, there was some instant frustration. There's also a ton of information on the screen, including 2 bars in the corner (neither of which is health) and several numbers along the bottom (one of which is). Its really overcomplicating what isn't that complicated a game.
I do wonder if UI is some oblique reference to Wolfenstein 3D's HUD. That game goes overboard with 5 numbers: Floor, Score, Lives, Health, and Ammo. The latter 2 are obviously necessary, though there's no reason I should need to constantly know what floor I'm on, and score seems like a relic of arcade days not something most players actually paid any attention to. Why Darkenstein thought this was one of the important pieces to bring back, I have no idea. And as for the count of lives, that actually brings me to my next point!
This game has a lives system. Well obviously it does, that's the bingo category. But I'm not a fan of limited lives. I'm sure there are many that are very happy having this mechanic add challenge to the game, but I personally don't see any purpose other than the fidelity to old-school difficulty, and getting thrown back to the beginning of the level was frustrating enough to stop playing.
And that is exactly where I stopped playing.
Is one of the oldest games you own - Wizorb
Dates all the way back to October 2012, this came from the first Humble Bundle I ever bought. Before this, the only things I had on Steam were Valve games and Geometry Wars! Steam for Linux didn't actually come out until a few months later, and I remember originally activating games from this bundle via the Ubuntu Software Center (which itself sold games for a time, a fascinating moment in history). The fact that this was kind of a hassle, and I had other games to play by the time Steam arrived to make it all easier is probably why I never got around to playing this .
The concept of Wizorb always intrigued me though. At first glance it appears to be a classic JRPG with breakout as its combat system, which sounds wonderful. Though on closer inspection, the RPG aspect is quite minimal - it actually seemed to have more in common with Super Mario 3 world map movement than Final Fantasy. At least the breakout component is exactly what you would expect.
Since I was a kid I've loved breakout in theory. It always seems so fun in my head, but when I actually play it I land somewhere between boredom and frustration. I found it somehow both too slow while trying to actually bounce correct angles to get through bricks in a reasonable time requires twitchy precision. And not landing those shots means the ball is bouncing around for what feels like ages trying to hit the last couple bricks.
Breakout probably just isn't for me, which I can accept. Fortunately I've trained my critical sensibilities enough at this point to recognize that! The fatal flaw of this game is something else, limited lives! Now that's just my luck. After working my way slowly through a number of levels, I missed one too many bounces, and got myself bounced right back to the tutorial. And that became the DannyDotCafe ending for Wizorb.
A solo-dev project - Gunpoint
The solo dev of this game, Tom Francis, was someone I had known about before the game released, for the series he wrote in PC Gamer way back in 2012, An Illusionist in Skyrim.
Incidentally this format, playing a game in some unusual or unintended way, is a standard Youtube shtick these days, but back then it was new and I found it hilarious.
The series ended when Francis left PC Gamer to work on this game, so it was always on my list to play. Like so many others, I picked it up in a Humble Bundle and never got around to it. No time like November!
I would probably best describe this as a 2D stealth game. I'm not especially familiar with this genre, but it doesn't seem quite like anything I've seen elsewhere. The primary action is jumping, which is done with the mouse in a sort of angry birds trajectory system. You have to avoid guards who will drop you in a single shot, making the stealth itself more of a sandbox puzzle. The reload after death system is especially refreshing after the previous games. It essentially asks you how long you want to rewind (giving three increasingly far back options or the beginning of the level). Its trial and error with whatever level of perfectionism you want to strive for.
I didn't especially like the overall look of the game, though its perfectly functional. The biggest issue I had was the game space felt so far zoomed out that individual details (e.g. a lightswitch) were hard to see on a smaller screen. I suspect that distance is probably necessary for lining up some of the jumps though, so its probably a fair compromise.
This makes it a bit difficult to play on the Steam Deck though, not to mention the fact that it requires mouse control more precisely than is convenient to use the touchpads for. Its too bad, since I could see this as a fun game to play for a couple minutes at a time here and there (the Deck's specialty in my house). Beyond that, the game and the story were both fun but they didn't capture my interest enough to keep playing beyond the hour or so I tried. So I'll be ending this one here (though with a much more positive opinion than the first two games).
Owned for more than 5 years - Victor Vran
Throughout the years I’ve tried to get into Diablo and Diablo games a few times, on a few of its different iterations. When Torchlight appeared on one of the early Humble Bundles as a native Linux game I excitedly jumped. I even tried Minecraft Dungeons as a coop game. And in all these, I seem to hit a point where I’m no longer paying attention. Its like road hypnosis, or zoning out during a meeting at work. I genuinely like the way these games look, enjoy the way they control. When I start off they strike me as wonderful, well-designed, and genuinely fun games. Yet before long, they hit a point of samey-ness, and I fall off.
I didn't know going in that Victor Vran was going to be a Diablo-like. I remember it catching my attention back when it came up around 2015 because of a big writeup on GamingonLinux detailing its virtues and well-made Linux port. And I can confirm it still runs great in 2025! Its nothing especially wild graphically, but has a nice vision of a city in ruins without being purely dark and foggy. I'm a big fan of the way many slightly older games look when I crank up the settings and max out the framerate, and this is no exception.
I also liked the controls. There's actually a jump button which I think mainly is used for finding secrets in the levels, but added a little extra mobility that CRPGs tend not to have. Playing with a controller felt natural ,which was definitely not given for a Steam game 10 years ago.
The game is set in a city that's essentially falling to demon hoards, and star demon hunter Victor Vran shows up looking for his friend. From there its off to fight the hoards. I was actually suprised by the level layout. These areas were labyrinthine, and had a lot of optional stuff. I especially liked stumbling on a giant chessboard only to find a spider miniboss named "the Chessmaster" drop down. However to advance the story, I only had to enter the next door, which was usually just a single room away. I have no idea whether or not this continues throughout the full game, but it does have the nice effect of letting you play the game as fast or slow as you want.
I was most shocked right at the beginning of the game when Victor said his first lines. Double take - Geralt? Geralt of Rivia? What are you doing there? Same voice actor, speaking in exactly the same voice. It absolutely fits the character, but I've spent way to much time hearing that voice muttering "winds howling" to be able to think of anyone other than my old friend the Witcher.
After diving into a couple dungeons, upgrading a couple weapons, and repeating the process, I hit my point where I no longer felt the pull to continue, the curse of the Diablos. This game is great in so many ways and I'd wholly recommend it for anyone interested in the genre, but unfortunately have to say the terribly uninformative words, "it's just not for me"
Maybe I can sum it up with a quick catchphrase. "If you think Diablo would have been better with a shotgun, give Victor Vran a try!"
Owned for more than 5 years - Victor Vran
- Throughout the years I’ve tried to get into Diablo and Diablo games a few times, on a few of its different iterations. When Torchlight appeared on one of the early Humble Bundles as a native Linux game I excitedly jumped. I even tried Minecraft Dungeons as a coop game. And in all the -
Comment on Announcing the Backlog Burner event for November 2025: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month! in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkI'm going to give this a try! Lately I've been going through a lot of the random games I have unplayed on steam, given them at least couple hours and taking copious notes! So if anything this will...I'm going to give this a try! Lately I've been going through a lot of the random games I have unplayed on steam, given them at least couple hours and taking copious notes! So if anything this will be an opportunity to turn those notes into something coherent (and also check one of my goals of writing more too!)
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Comment on Steam Replay 2024: Discussion topic in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkI'm curious about the methodology behind the spider graph. Although it claims to show "the kinds of games you spent the most time in", I wonder if its based on discrete number of titles, not...I'm curious about the methodology behind the spider graph. Although it claims to show "the kinds of games you spent the most time in", I wonder if its based on discrete number of titles, not weighting by play time. My highest category was action roguelike, which honestly surprised me and didn't fit the games I spent the most time with at all. I did try out a lot of random demos this year though, many of which might fit that description.
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Comment on Obsolete, but not gone: The people who won't give up floppy disks in ~tech
dannydotcafe LinkI'm old enough to have used floppies extensively in childhood. It wasn't until high school that we got a CD burner at home, and USB drives weren't common until a few years after that. But I have...I'm old enough to have used floppies extensively in childhood. It wasn't until high school that we got a CD burner at home, and USB drives weren't common until a few years after that. But I have almost no nostalgia for them, because my experience was honestly terrible. I had multiple school projects get screwed up because the floppy somehow corrupted between home and school. I remember my dad once accidentally erased a floppy by putting it in his shirt pocket next to his id badge (with magnetic strip). And computer speakers were especially notorious for inadvertently wiping your data.
I do appreciate why Amiga hobbyists use them, or why its essential for some very specific pieces of equipment from the 80s. But for recording scientific results, or replicating old studies? If the medium your study's data was stored on is essential to its replication, I think that means your study isn't replicable! In these cases you should really find a more dependable format!
Of course people can and should do whatever they want. I just didn't come away from the article with a sense of there being any benefits to floppies.
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Comment on What resources are available in a modern library? in ~books
dannydotcafe Link ParentTool libraries sound amazing! I live in an apartment and only very occasionally need a specific tool. So I have an overflowing tool bag of things I've bought that I use maybe once a year, if that?...Tool libraries sound amazing! I live in an apartment and only very occasionally need a specific tool. So I have an overflowing tool bag of things I've bought that I use maybe once a year, if that? A maker space sounds great along those same lines, since I'm interested in 3d printing, but definitely don't have space or need to own one myself.
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Comment on Game recommendations, specifically (round 2) in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkI've actually been holding out for another one of these topics! But when I started to write up the specifics of what I'm looking for, I found it difficult to express. That might be because its an...I've actually been holding out for another one of these topics! But when I started to write up the specifics of what I'm looking for, I found it difficult to express. That might be because its an attempt to recapture a feeling that's intrinsically tied to a place and time in my life. Nonetheless I do think there is something in the game design and presentation of what I'm drawn to, and I'll attempt to explain here.
The horribly reductive version:
I want to play 3D Fallout games modded to be very difficult. But I don't want to die so often or save scum. And I want to play on the couch with a controller.
The version with (probably too much) detail:
Around 2015 I played Fallout 3 for the second time, and fell headfirst into the modding scene. Most importantly, I discovered the Fallout Wanderer's Edition mod, which among many other changes boosts all damage making the world lethal for you and your adversaries both, while removing conveniences like fast travel to make the game's world as bleak and dangerous as it appears. And this captured me like few games have. Especially in the beginning, when all resources are scarce. I would leave town to make a run to a nearby ruin, only to be met with raiders. Ammunition and healing supplies are limited, making fights not only dangerous, but desperate. Inventory space is also reduced, so I can only bring back a small amount of loot to town to sell. And there's always a risk of another attack on the way home.
But surviving one of these missions, managing to get some high value items to sell, making it back to the safety of town barely hanging with a shred of a health bar, and being able to reinvest to make the next outing just slightly less fraught - all that made it worth it. All these factors worked together: the danger outside; the safety inside; the material scarcity; and, lets be honest, the amount free time and patience I had back then to keep going when it so frequent went wrong. All that was paired with what I already loved about the Fallout - exploring, environmental storytelling; nice songs paired with retro-futurism.
I have played New Vegas and Fallout 4 with very similar setups, and also thoroughly enjoyed them, although with diminishing return over time. Fast forward to today, and the super-difficult Fallout doesn't work for me at all. I think the reason why has to do with how difficulty, and therefore how the game's sense of danger, is manifested.
As an FPS, the challenge is in quickly and accurately shooting, along with tactically using your surroundings all in the spur of the moment. Though preparation is certainly a factor, the high-damage high-difficulty mods are all about the moment-to-moment struggle. In the real world, that translates to dexterity with the mouse.
Some of my friends are into the game Escape from Tarkov, which on some level replicates a lot of what I loved about the cycle of modded Fallout. I've spent a bit of time with it, and reached the same conclusion - its a difficult game made difficult in part via the skill of using the mouse correctly.
Maybe its because I'm now in the later half of my 30s and my reflexes aren't what they once were, or maybe its that after enough years of working all day at a desk, I can't quite handle playing a game at a desk in the evening. I want to play games on the couch with a controller. I don't want success to be determined by twitchy shooting skills. And I don't have the patience any more to die quite so constantly.
But I still want to spend time in a world that feels dangerous.
I'm sure anyone who has read this far already has a recommendation of the Dark Souls family ready to go. To which I'll say that yes - that fits my criteria. I have played a lot of Elden Ring, and I think its a spectacular game. The world is incredible and fun to explore. There is real challenge, but can be accomplished with a controller.
All I feel its missing is the level of (apologies for this particular word, but I have no other options) immersion. I attribute this mostly to the third-person perspective. I feel less like a person making my own story in that world, and more like watching another person (who I happen to control). The difference is slight, and honestly I should probably accept Elden Ring as everything I could hope for. I likely will. But this is game recommendations specifically, so I'm going to hold out for those specifics!
So please, if you can think of any games that might fit the profile of a dangerous world, safe home, immersive (so sorry to say it again!), and fun to explore but difficult, yet playable by controller, I'm dying to learn!
Edit: Platform is probably the least constraining element for me, but I have a computer, a PS5, and a Switch to work with.
Its good to know that my memories of enjoying those games weren't completely youthful ignorance. In my list of potential backlog burner games I have another classic Lucasarts point and click that I've never played - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. After Grim Fandango I wasn't planning on touching it, though your comment gives me hope, and I think I'll give it a try before the month is up!