kfwyre's recent activity
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
kfwyre LinkPosting my base bingo card here. I'll update it as I play games this week. kfwyre's Bingo Card (Standard/Flow, 1/25) Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 1/25 Wonder Organization Duality Perspective...Posting my base bingo card here. I'll update it as I play games this week.
kfwyre's Bingo Card (Standard/Flow, 1/25)
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 1/25 Wonder Organization Duality Perspective Conflict Courage Symmetry Adaptation Open Progress Isolation Endurance ā Wildcard Trust Creativity Synthesis Empathy Deception Change Freedom Fear Truth Restoration Fleeting
ā WindwardCausality -
Comment on Vienna Teng - We've Got You (i - Spark, ii - Comfort, ā - Two Truths) (2024) in ~music
kfwyre LinkThis one requires a bit of explanation. It's actually 3 songs. I recommend listening to all 3, in order: We've Got You (i - Spark) We've Got You (ii - Comfort) We've Got You (ā - Two Truths)...This one requires a bit of explanation.
It's actually 3 songs. I recommend listening to all 3, in order:
- We've Got You (i - Spark)
- We've Got You (ii - Comfort)
- We've Got You (ā - Two Truths)
Vienna Teng wrote the first two songs to each be one half of a mashup. The third song is the two put together.
I am lucky enough to have been able to see her perform this live, and it's incredible. She plays the first one. Then, she plays the second one live while recording it. Finally, she plays the first song live again while the recorded second track plays alongside. It's genuinely magical. Plus she's an expert with a looper, so it's not just her and her piano. She's got all sorts of different effects and accompaniments that she's able to build into the songs live.
In addition to just being a cool musical experiment, the music is genuinely resonant. As she explained to us at her concert, she wrote these two songs to represent two different sides of the same concept: "We've Got You"
One side is "we're safe -- we've got you" -- the perspective of people who need help and have the relief of knowing there are people there to support them. The other side is the mirror image: "you're safe -- we've got you" -- the perspective of someone providing the support.
She, naturally, wrote this during the pandemic.
She then explained that these aren't necessarily different perspectives. They are often concurrent in us, as we are people who both need support and also provide it. The mashup unifies those separate perspectives into one coherent, complete whole.
I think it's genuinely incredible that each individual song is a great song in its own right -- and the two of them together is just sublime. This kind of thing is exactly why she is my absolute favorite musician. She's simply brilliant.
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Vienna Teng - We've Got You (i - Spark, ii - Comfort, ā - Two Truths) (2024)
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
kfwyre Link ParentAlso, general announcement: as we go through the Backlog Burner, if you think of any categories you would like to see in Flux or Flow, please let me know! Iād love to incorporate some of those for...Also, general announcement: as we go through the Backlog Burner, if you think of any categories you would like to see in Flux or Flow, please let me know! Iād love to incorporate some of those for the next event.
Iāve already started a list myself because new Flow ideas keep popping up for me as I browse my library.
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Comment on Timasomo 2024: Final Updates in ~creative.timasomo
kfwyre Link ParentI wouldnāt call it a failure! You made multiple good attempts, and I enjoyed following your baking endeavors. Even if it didnāt end up where you wanted it to, Iām still glad you participated.I wouldnāt call it a failure! You made multiple good attempts, and I enjoyed following your baking endeavors. Even if it didnāt end up where you wanted it to, Iām still glad you participated.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
kfwyre (edited )LinkPinging all Backlog Burner participants/conversationalists: the event has begun! Notification List @Cannonball @CrazyProfessor02 @Durinthal @Eidolon @Evie @hamstergeddon @J-Chiptunator @JCPhoenix...Pinging all Backlog Burner participants/conversationalists: the event has begun!
Notification List
@Cannonball
@CrazyProfessor02
@Durinthal
@Eidolon
@Evie
@hamstergeddon
@J-Chiptunator
@JCPhoenix
@SingedFrostLantern
@Wafik
@Weldawadyathink
@Wes
@WiseassWolfOfYoitsuIf you would like to be removed from/added to the list, let me know either here or by PM.
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November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion
The blaze has officially ignited! The November 2024 Backlog Burner is officially live. Use this topic to post about the games that you play. Quicklink: Backlog Bingo Etiquette: It is fine to make...
The blaze has officially ignited!
The November 2024 Backlog Burner is officially live. Use this topic to post about the games that you play.
Quicklink: Backlog Bingo
Etiquette:
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It is fine to make multiple top-level posts throughout the week.
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It is also fine to respond to your own posts.
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If you are playing Backlog Bingo, you can share your table either by markdown or through screenshots.
Gameplay guidelines:
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Goals for this event (if any) are entirely individual and self-determined.
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Playing Bingo is optional and not required.
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You do NOT need to finish games unless you want to. The point is to try out games and have fun, not force ourselves to play things we're not interested in.
Backlog Burner FAQ
What exactly is the Backlog Burner?
Your "backlog" is all those games you've been meaning to play or get around to, but never have yet. This event is an attempt to get us to collectively dig into that treasure trove of experiences, scratch some long-standing itches, and knock a few titles off our to-play lists.
It runs every May and November. New discussion topics will go up once a week during those months.
You do not need to sign up in advance -- the topics are open to all. If you would like to be included in the notification list, comment in this topic to be added.
How do I participate?
- Choose some games from your backlog and play them.
- Then tell us about your experiences in the discussion thread for the week.
That's it!
Optionally: you can play Backlog Bingo which is a fun way of cutting down the choices you have to make and playing games you might not have normally selected on your own.
Do I need to finish the games that I play?
Nope! Not at all.
There aren't really any requirements for the event so much as this is an incentive to get us to play games we've been avoiding starting up, for whatever reason. Play as much or as little as you like of a given game.
Try out dozens for ten minutes each or dive into one for 40 hours. There's no wrong way to participate!
Can I make multiple posts in the same topic?
Yes! Each discussion thread stays live for a full week, so feel free to make multiple comments in the topic as you play different games. This isn't considered
noise-- it's considered valuable participation in the event!
Backlog Bingo FAQ
Important: All data for your Backlog Bingo card is stored on your device, not the server. Clearing your browser data will irrecoverably delete your card.
I'm a returning player. How do I reset my previous card?
If you've already created a card and wish to start over, click the
Edit Rulesbutton in the header to access your card settings. Then click theResetbutton, and confirm the prompt. This will irrevocably delete your present card, allowing you to start fresh.Where is my data stored?
All data is stored by your browser in local storage. There are no accounts, and nothing is sent to the server, so it's privacy-friendly by design. This does mean that you are responsible for not deleting any browser data on
wescook.ca, either manually or through automatic cleanups performed on browser close.Backlog Bingo is open-source, and licensed permissively under MIT.
What is the difference between the "Standard" and "Golf" modes?
In Standard Mode, each square on the bingo card corresponds with one single game. Duplicate games cannot be entered into different squares. A winning card would have a row of five different games that each filled in one square.
In Golf Mode, duplicates are not only allowed -- they are encouraged! The purpose of Golf mode is to try to find a single game that will fill multiple categories at the same time. For example: Stardew Valley might fulfill
You got it on sale,A solo-dev project, andHas romanceable charactersall at the same time. A winning card would have all twenty five squares filled, but possibly only six or seven different games.What is the star space in the middle?
That is the "wildcard" or "free space."
In Standard Mode, there are no requirements to fill it. You can choose any game you want! Anything goes!
In Golf Mode, it does not need to be filled. Because Golf is all about stacking up categories on a single game, any game used in Golf would fill it automatically, meaning it has no real function. As such, the square will be pre-filled for you if you play in Golf mode.
Can I create custom bingo categories for this, or other events?
Absolutely! The Backlog Bingo app reads in simple JSON files which define the available categories. We've created a couple prebuilt lists for this event, but you're free to tweak our categories, or create completely new ones. You could even use them for books, anime, movies, recipes -- anything!
If you are interested in learning more, you can find documentation on the wiki, and use an example JSON category file. You can also ask for help in the topic!
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Comment on Announcing the Tildes Backlog Burner event for November 2024: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month! in ~games
kfwyre LinkI was originally intending to do a Golf card with the Flux list this time around, but Iām really feeling the Flow list. I donāt want to do Golf with it either, because I know Iāll just āoverfitā...I was originally intending to do a Golf card with the Flux list this time around, but Iām really feeling the Flow list. I donāt want to do Golf with it either, because I know Iāll just āoverfitā games and force them to fill categories they just barely or only tangentially meet.
Iād rather do my Flow in earnest, game by game and square by square.
kfwyreās Bingo Card (Standard/Flow)
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 0/25 Wonder Organization Duality Perspective Conflict Courage Symmetry Adaptation Open Progress Isolation Endurance ā Wildcard Trust Creativity Synthesis Empathy Deception Change Freedom Fear Truth Restoration Fleeting Causality Iām excited to get started! I also have even more games available to me than last time because Iām now in a Steam Family share with my gaming group.
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Comment on Announcing the Tildes Backlog Burner event for November 2024: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month! in ~games
kfwyre Link ParentSilly me! All this talk of Flow and Flux, but I completely forgot to talk about our Focus category list for this Backlog Burner! Here's a sample bingo card with it so you can grok the vibe. It's...Silly me! All this talk of Flow and Flux, but I completely forgot to talk about our Focus category list for this Backlog Burner! Here's a sample bingo card with it so you can grok the vibe. It's perfect for a Blackout! š
All joking aside, you and @Weldawadyathink did inspire me to make a custom category JSON file of the achievements for the DLC, in case anyone wants to play a parallel game of Achievement Bingo while they're stuck in Factorio for the month!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
kfwyre Link ParentI get really bad motion sickness in first-person games with low FOVs. I looked it up, and apparently the game defaults to an FOV of 75. I play most games at 105, with 95 being about as low as I...I get really bad motion sickness in first-person games with low FOVs. I looked it up, and apparently the game defaults to an FOV of 75.
I play most games at 105, with 95 being about as low as I can go before I start getting issues. Might be worth trying to adjust the FOV and seeing if itās better for you.
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Comment on Timasomo 2024: Final Updates in ~creative.timasomo
kfwyre Link ParentLove the feet pic! (Not like that though) Itās so cool to see you lounging on your own handiwork. Hope your first night on it went well!Love the feet pic! (Not like that though)
Itās so cool to see you lounging on your own handiwork. Hope your first night on it went well!
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Comment on Tildes Book Club - Voting thread winter spring 2024-2025 in ~books
kfwyre Link ParentAh, I didnāt even think about the vote loss aspect. Since youāre tallying them up, you can always just manually add in your votes to the tally, even if it doesnāt show up on-site. I definitely...Ah, I didnāt even think about the vote loss aspect.
Since youāre tallying them up, you can always just manually add in your votes to the tally, even if it doesnāt show up on-site. I definitely think you should have a say in what we read ā youāre the backbone of this whole club!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
kfwyre LinkHalls of Torment Iāve been keeping up with regular exercising, and one of the ways Iāve been doing that has been by playing games on my TV while stepping up and down off of an aerobic step in...Halls of Torment
Iāve been keeping up with regular exercising, and one of the ways Iāve been doing that has been by playing games on my TV while stepping up and down off of an aerobic step in front of it. Itās not high intensity or anything, but I figure itās better than sitting on the couch.
Iāve found that survivors-likes/bullet heaven games draw me in while Iām doing this, to the point that I forget that Iām stepping and can easily pass an hour or two exercising without really thinking about it.
Halls of Torment has been my most recent focus. Itās great.
If you donāt love the survivors-like formula, this game wonāt change your mind. But, if you do like it, then this game is a really smart iteration of it.
There are 500 different challenges/benchmarks to meet, each one tied to an achievement, an unlock, and persistent XP gain. The challenges are spread across different stages, characters, and in-game actions. So, each run you can set your own goals towards checking off various ones that are in reach. Getting those gives you more stuff and makes you slightly permanently better, so you can then chase down some other challenges that are now in reach. Rinse and repeat.
For someone like me who loves āchecklistingā in games, itās sublime. I canāt get enough of it. Iāve played a lot of games of this type and this oneās easily one of my favorites.
Iām in a Steam family share with my husband, and he originally started playing my copy. He very quickly bought his own copy as well because he didnāt want to have to wait for me to stop playing it, so the gameās got its hooks in him too! š
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Comment on Tildes Book Club - Voting thread winter spring 2024-2025 in ~books
kfwyre Link Parent@boxer_dogs_dance I saw that you posted all the entries yourself this time. Did you run into rate limits when doing so?I saw that you posted all the entries yourself this time. Did you run into rate limits when doing so?
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Comment on Tildes Book Club - Voting thread winter spring 2024-2025 in ~books
kfwyre Link ParentSeriously! I really had to work hard to get it down to 5. There are so many of these I would read. Great choices everyone.Seriously! I really had to work hard to get it down to 5. There are so many of these I would read.
Great choices everyone.
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Comment on Announcing the Tildes Backlog Burner event for November 2024: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month! in ~games
kfwyre LinkI'm pinging @Wes, my co-pilot for this event, to let him know that this topic is live. Feel free to leave him messages about how awesome he and his Backlog Bingo site are. He custom-made the...I'm pinging @Wes, my co-pilot for this event, to let him know that this topic is live.
Feel free to leave him messages about how awesome he and his Backlog Bingo site are. He custom-made the entire thing to be used for our Backlog Burner events!
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Announcing the Tildes Backlog Burner event for November 2024: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month!
It's almost time... ...for another Tildes Backlog Burner -- the event where you try out games you've always wanted to play (but haven't yet -- for whatever reason). The Backlog Burner for November...
It's almost time...
...for another Tildes Backlog Burner -- the event where you try out games you've always wanted to play (but haven't yet -- for whatever reason).
The Backlog Burner for November 2024 will officially begin in two days on November 1st.
If you're new to the Backlog Burner, check out our previous events to get an idea of what's going on:
Backlog Bingo returns again!
Backlog Bingo is a backbone of this event, so it's of course back and better than ever! u/Wes has made some new tweaks to his amazing site, and we've also further developed our category sets.
For this event, you can choose between two different official Bingo lists:
- Flow: A conceptually abstract list of ideas to guide you. Let your imagination flow.
- Flux: A tweaked and updated version of the May 2024 category list.
If you participated last time, clear your old card and start fresh with a new one. If you're new to the event, simply go to the Backlog Bingo site to generate your card.
Notification List
If you are interested in participating in the Backlog Burner, please comment in this topic. Anyone commenting/replying here will automatically be added to a notification list for the Backlog Burner, unless you specify otherwise.
Start Planning (or Playing)
Technically the event starts in two days, so you have time to roll your cards (if you're playing Bingo) and plan out what you'd like to play for the month. That said, if you're eager to jump right in, and start early, I certainly won't stop you!
Let's get ready to burn through these backlogs!
Backlog Burner FAQ
What exactly is the Backlog Burner?
Your "backlog" is all those games you've been meaning to play or get around to, but never have yet. This event is an attempt to get us to collectively dig into that treasure trove of experiences, scratch some long-standing itches, and knock a few titles off our to-play lists.
It runs every May and November. New discussion topics will go up once a week during those months.
You do not need to sign up in advance -- the topics are open to all. If you would like to be included in the notification list, comment in this topic to be added.
How do I participate?
- Choose some games from your backlog and play them.
- Then tell us about your experiences in the discussion thread for the week.
That's it!
Optionally: you can play Backlog Bingo which is a fun way of cutting down the choices you have to make and playing games you might not have normally selected on your own.
Do I need to finish the games that I play?
Nope! Not at all.
There aren't really any requirements for the event so much as this is an incentive to get us to play games we've been avoiding starting up, for whatever reason. Play as much or as little as you like of a given game.
Try out dozens for ten minutes each or dive into one for 40 hours. There's no wrong way to participate!
Can I make multiple posts in the same topic?
Yes! Each discussion thread stays live for a full week, so feel free to make multiple comments in the topic as you play different games. This isn't considered
noise-- it's considered valuable participation in the event!
Backlog Bingo FAQ
Important: All data for your Backlog Bingo card is stored on your device, not the server. Clearing your browser data will irrecoverably delete your card.
I'm a returning player. How do I reset my previous card?
If you've already created a card and wish to start over, click the
Edit Rulesbutton in the header to access your card settings. Then click theResetbutton, and confirm the prompt. This will irrevocably delete your present card, allowing you to start fresh.Where is my data stored?
All data is stored by your browser in local storage. There are no accounts, and nothing is sent to the server, so it's privacy-friendly by design. This does mean that you are responsible for not deleting any browser data on
wescook.ca, either manually or through automatic cleanups performed on browser close.Backlog Bingo is open-source, and licensed permissively under MIT.
What is the difference between the "Standard" and "Golf" modes?
In Standard Mode, each square on the bingo card corresponds with one single game. Duplicate games cannot be entered into different squares. A winning card would have a row of five different games that each filled in one square.
In Golf Mode, duplicates are not only allowed -- they are encouraged! The purpose of Golf mode is to try to find a single game that will fill multiple categories at the same time. For example: Stardew Valley might fulfill
You got it on sale,A solo-dev project, andHas romanceable charactersall at the same time. A winning card would have all twenty five squares filled, but possibly only six or seven different games.What is the star space in the middle?
That is the "wildcard" or "free space."
In Standard Mode, there are no requirements to fill it. You can choose any game you want! Anything goes!
In Golf Mode, it does not need to be filled. Because Golf is all about stacking up categories on a single game, any game used in Golf would fill it automatically, meaning it has no real function. As such, the square will be pre-filled for you if you play in Golf mode.
Can I create custom bingo categories for this, or other events?
Absolutely! The Backlog Bingo app reads in simple JSON files which define the available categories. We've created a couple prebuilt lists for this event, but you're free to tweak our categories, or create completely new ones. You could even use them for books, anime, movies, recipes -- anything!
If you are interested in learning more, you can find documentation on the wiki, and use an example JSON category file. You can also ask for help in the topic!
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of October 27 in ~games
kfwyre LinkThe Night School Complete Bundle is 96% off on Steam. It comes with: Afterparty + OST Oxenfree + OST OXENFREE II: Lost Signals Itās also a complete-the-set bundle, so if you already own some of...The Night School Complete Bundle is 96% off on Steam.
It comes with:
Itās also a complete-the-set bundle, so if you already own some of the items, you still get the full discount but only pay for the remaining ones.
I played Oxenfree for Mayās Backlog Burner and liked it. Also, shameless promotion: weāll be starting a new Backlog Burner for November in just a few days!
Anyway, Oxenfree is a solid atmospheric narrative game thatās got mild spookiness, good voice acting, and lots of dialogue choices. It took me about five hours to finish.
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Comment on Timasomo 2024: Final Updates in ~creative.timasomo
kfwyre LinkPinging all Timasomo participants/conversationalists: hereās the new topic for the week. Notification List @Akir @alp @Aran @Areldyb @arqalite @AugustusFerdinand @CannibalisticApple @Carrie...Pinging all Timasomo participants/conversationalists: hereās the new topic for the week.
Notification List
@Akir
@alp
@Aran
@Areldyb
@arqalite
@AugustusFerdinand
@CannibalisticApple
@Carrie
@DefinitelyNotAFae
@EarlyWords
@em-dash
@eve
@first-must-burn
@HEBV5
@honzabe
@hungariantoast
@Interesting
@irren_echo
@IsildursBane
@knocklessmonster
@mat
@NaniTheHuman
@Omnicrola
@Papavk
@patience_limited
@PelagiusSeptim
@PnkNBlck71817
@PossiblyBipedal
@RheingoldRiver
@ShroudedScribe
@shu
@SloMoMonday
@Soggy
@Tygrak
@vildravn
@Weldawadyathink
@Wes
@WiseassWolfOfYoitsuIf you would like to be removed from the list, let me know either here or by PM.
Also, if anyone would like to be added to the notification list, let me know as well!
Next week you will get your final ping from me when the Showcase Topic goes live.
Windward - Fleeting
Am I allowed to make my first entry a pun? I'm going to make my first entry a pun.
I saw
Fleetingin my card and wasn't really sure what to do with it, but as I was browsing my library, I saw this game about navigating a ship. I then wondered if my ship would be part of a group, which would make me part of a "fleet", and then I could justify cruising around with my ship buddies as "fleeting."Sure enough, I got to cruise around with my ship buddies in this game. I was fleeting! We fleeted!
Is this the kind of player freedom we wanted to allow with these abstract Flow card categories? Or am I taking the concept too far and exploiting their lack of guardrails? You decide. š
Anyway, this game has a cool concept. You procedurally generate a water map populated by islands and coastal areas (broken up into different sections -- it's unfortunately not one contiguous open world). You then choose a particular faction to sail under. Then you can go around sailing from port to port, taking on quests, making trades, buying cheap goods in one town and selling them in another, etc. There's also ship-to-ship combat between factions and with pirates.
The game has a decent number of systems and what seems like a lot to offer. For example, when you dock at a town, you can read "rumors" from the townspeople which help hint at potentially useful information, and if you complete quests for that town, your relationship increases so you get better quality rumors. You can also help towns build defenses so that they're less susceptible to pirate attacks. There's honestly a lot to love here if you want a mostly chill sailing game.
I unfortunately don't think I'm going to keep playing it though.
My main issue with it is the controls. Instead of the joystick turning the ship relative to its current location, the joystick's position is always absolute. Pushing the joystick to the right will always make your ship sail to the east; pushing it up will always make your ship sail north. As someone who enjoys smooth movement in games and was looking forward to swooping around on the seas in my schooner, this kind of makes it a non-starter for me. Even after playing for half an hour, I never got used to the movement and didn't find it enjoyable.
Additionally, the game is slooooow. Going from place to place takes a while, especially if you're sailing against the wind. It reminded me of Valheim a bit in that way.
Now, like Valheim, I think this game is actually intended to be played multiplayer, rather than single player. That would make its pacing a lot easier to stomach, because everything is more fun and goes faster when you're coordinating with friends.
But combining the game's slow movement with un-fun controls meant that I didn't really enjoy the moment-to-moment gameplay, despite conceptually liking what the game had to offer. I'm wondering if it plays different on a desktop with a mouse and keyboard, but I'm also not too interested in trying it out that way, because the game is exactly the kind of thing I want to be able to play in the comfort of my bed with my Steam Deck.
Also, if I'm being really honest, I'm thinking that I'm itching so bad to dive into the deep end of the Backlog Burner immediately that the idea of playing a more chill, relaxed, slower-paced game isn't vibing with me at the moment.
So, my verdict is that it's not a bad game by any means, but it's also not the right game for me at this moment. I'm glad I tried it nonetheless!
And I wholeheartedly apologize for sullying this good event with terrible wordplay. š