I am most concerned about the logistics of mouse and key slouched over a table sitting on the couch. Maybe some sort of desk setup in front of the TV? 1080p monitors are very cheap second hand. Sometimes thrift stores have them even.
Maybe it’s the fact I downloaded it exactly when I decided to and not when a sale happened or it was in a bundle.
I don’t get this argument. You don’t have to download a game when it’s on sale or in a bundle. Buy it when it makes the most economical sense, download and play whenever you feel like it.
Agree. I changed the way that I purchase games by setting myself a rule:
Buy it only if you are going to play it TODAY
Previously I had a library of games I had never played because I bought them on sale and they just sat there, unplayed, making me feel sad and stressed.
Purchasing only when I want to play now is both less stressful, and less expensive!
Oh well, I should’ve said “acquired” there. I mean I bought it on sale, then forgot about it because I wasn’t jazzed to play it right then and there. With pirated games, the act of acquisition is the download, so they are generally available when I’m thinking about them.
Malicious files can still be uploaded to trusted sites, but in general apks are well sendboxed so it’s difficult to get a trojan on a non-rooted, up to date Android phone.
It’s a mod apk file for the game sproggiwood 1.3.2. The file seems to be modded by the site itself though, so if it’s malicious I guess the site is not trustable.
For broad compatibility and good quality+compression, h265. I use Handbrake’s Nvidia encoder and it works great. I’m not sure about the differences between AAC and AC3.
AAC is generally more modern and better for lower bitrates, but AC3 (also known as Dolby Digital) has the advantage of being able to be transmitted in 5.1 over SPIDF optical connections, so it can allow for surround sound in older setups that may not otherwise be able to recieve digital surround sound.
Opus is slightly better than AAC at matched bitrates, slightly less commonly supported, and totally open-source. It’s a fine choice as well.
Also of note because of its use for anime encodes is FLAC, which is lossless and therefore results in much larger files, but will always have the exact same quality as the original audio it encoded, so it’s excellent for archival quality.
Baldur’s Gate 3 on my partner’s days off when he wants to play games, that game is That Game, so freaking good, I think about it all the time. Because I don’t want to progress the game past our co-op session’s progress, and I’ve replayed Act 1 solo a few times over by now, I am back with good ol’ Skyrim otherwise.
I know it is a meme, but I genuinely have the thing of only modding and not playing Skyrim. I am proud to say I am at a point where I just play, instead of finding more mods. I feel like I have a pretty stable modlist, seldom crash, and this is because last winter I spent a lot of time with the crashlogger thing weeding out problematic mods. It is really hard not to go to nexus, I actually don’t visit it anymore at all, it is intense FOMO when I see others’ screenshots. My main achievement is that upon returning to Skyrim after a break, I even picked up my same character instead of starting over with fresh mods–it was like, not giving up progress.
I’m shelving Baldur’s Gate 3 for now after a full run plus more. Had a great time with it, but I think I’d rather wait for more polish first before I tinker with it any more or check out the story branches/side quests in Act 3 I didn’t see.
I started playing Hardspace: Shipbreaker and I was surprised at how quickly it grabbed me. The story has a very similar vibe to Papers, Please and something about the UI and the artistic design is reminding me a lot of old space sims. Surprisingly cozy game, though I might look into seeing if I can swap out the music. Don’t know if I like what it says about me that I really like games that are work simulators, though.
I have Hard space Shipbreaker on my list. I’m hoping it’s the type of game you can pick up and play I short, relaxed bursts. Is that how you’d describe it?
I use this exact setup, heavily. I’ve used both XBox controlllers and Switch Pro Controllers (the pros unfortunately have a weird driver issue, where you don’t get full analog range out of the sticks). The controller connects directly to the Shield via Bluetooth, and the Steam Link app recognizes them, no problem.
The Steam Link app is occasionally quirky, but overall, I’m very happy with the setup. Have played Elden Ring, Hollow Knight, Celeste, Armored Core 6, Mass Effect, all this way. My wife has done a bunch as well. We’ve even done multiplayer with Tales of Symphonia and Plate Up, and I’ve done emulated games with Dolphin, although that was a fair bit trickier to setup.
Been playing Spirit of the North this week. I’ve actually finished it, including 100% achievement completion, because it’s not a huge game. What is really sticking out to me right now, though, is that I adore this game. I like a lot of games, but it’s pretty rare for me to absolutely love one.
I’ve also just finished a run through Baldur’s Gate 2, playing a bard for the first time ever. I enjoyed the class more than I thought I would. Onwards to Throne of Bhaal next week!
What did you like about Spirit of the North? I got it with PS Plus but haven’t bothered with it because it got pretty middling review scores. Looks beautiful though.
So, yeah, the fact that it’s a beautiful game is definitely part of it! Visually it’s stunning, and the music is also really beautiful. I also think it’s superbly written: there’s absolutely no dialogue, but there is still a narrative as you play through each area, and I think that’s genuinely very hard to do well, but Spirit of the North does. I really got invested in the relationship between the two characters. There’s also no combat or fighting in the game, so it’s all focused around the platforming and puzzle elements.
I can definitely see why it’s not to everyone’s tastes. It got “very positive” on Steam, so it’s rated more highly on PC than on the PS, and the negative reviews it did get are complaining about either the controls or the game not telling you what you need to do. So the former is fair, I think: the devs focused on making a beautiful game, so it’s about the experience, not the mechanics. The controls aren’t bad as such, but they’re not as smooth as you’d expect for a platformer, I guess? You get the occasional moment of “why didn’t I make that jump?” But there’s no “miss the jump, die, restart the level” mechanics, so it’s normally 1-3 jumps that you need to repeat if you fall. I found the platforming elements really forgiving in terms of not punishing you for screwing up.
The second criticism, that the game doesn’t tell you what you need to do, I think is unfair. The direction you need to go in is always the way that feels most intuitive, either because of a path, wall, or just the shape of the terrain. Some of the puzzles need you to stop and think about them, and the game doesn’t hold your hand by going “and do this here, and that there, and then that”.
The game I’d most compare it to is Abzu, but with more Nordic and less ocean vibes. If you’ve played Abzu and enjoyed it, then you’ll probably enjoy Spirit of the North too.
Nice, thanks for the write-up! I will definitely bump this up the list then. Honestly it looks so appealing I think I’ve just been looking for an excuse to give it a shot that outweighed my wariness from the reviews.
It’s definitely worth a shot. It’s actually a pretty small game: I didn’t rush, and spent 6 hours on it the first time I played (and 16 hours for 100% achievements). So even if you find it’s not for you, it’s a pretty small time investment to find out. :)
Eh, for me, it has story and apparently I can romance people and shoot stuff. So it’s already up there for me. But can totally see how people will feel different. Especially if you felt any hype for this. Me however has had no hype for Bethesda games after fallout 76
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