materwelonz
patreon
April 2022 Channel Update – Thank You Easter Break
🕑 Added 2022-04-24 22:39:38 +0000 UTCHey all,
April’s come and gone! Games aside, I feel like it’s generally a busy month with Annoying Life Things like taxes, fiscal years ending/starting, school exams, etc. Hopefully yours has been treating you okay!
I had a work break this past week and basically spent it playing games and more games lol. It’s time for me to go back in tomorrow 🥲 but nonetheless it was a relaxing time that really let me stay on top & ahead of the video schedule and all that!
TL;DR
- Finished: Weird West
- Ongoing: Horizon Forbidden West, TUNIC
- Upcoming: Trek to Yomi, VTM – Swansong
Games Finished Since Last Update
Weird West (20 parts): There’s one last video I haven’t posted by this post, but I’ve finished the game & can form a full opinion on it. Aside from bugs (which don’t bother me), I feel like it’s missing a few more design iterations to really smooth things out. In short: it’s got lots of cool mechanics built for emergent gameplay, but not enough of actual content to go around. There are also some critical game balance issues, e.g. abilities/perks/weapons don’t make a big difference even on higher difficulties.
I think your enjoyment of Weird West will depend on what kind of video game player you are. It thrives on sandbox style experimentation, and I’ve seen some like it because you can get some really crazy unique-to-your-playthrough stuff happening with the emergent gameplay. From my story-first perspective: the setting and core narrative are interesting, but everything else (including external factors like game price & length) would make this game difficult for me to recommend as is.
There are multiple planned community events though so the devs do seem committed to patches & updates for the long term. Things may change some months down the line!
I also took a first look at:
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: I’m familiar with the Borderlands franchise via BL1/BL2/Tales of Borderlands, but fell off when 3 rolled around. This is a more fantasy/medieval take on their looter shooter formula and from what I could tell, still feels great to play as it did back in the day. I don’t know if it’s a sign of age or what but I feel I might not be in the target market for the style of humour they’re going for anymore though lol. It’s likely still a fun play with friends but a tad lonely solo on the channel!
Progress on Current Stuff
Horizon Forbidden West: I’m still enjoying this lots but I may have overestimated how far along I was… the in-game progression tracker shows I’m at about 45% now. I finished HZD in 73 videos but at 60+ videos into HFW, I really don’t get the sense I’m close to the end. There is still sooo much to see and do!
It hasn’t reflected on the channel yet but I’ve been steadily increasing my playing pace, so at some point I'm hoping the video output rate will follow as well.
TUNIC: An isometric action game about a small fox investigating the island they’re stuck on, full of mysterious happenings and even more cryptic writings. I’ve seen this compared to Fez (for puzzles), Dark Souls (for combat), and Zelda (for the exploration?). Visually it’s reminiscent of Death’s Door which I did a first look of before, but IMO the mystery elements really enhance the whole thing. Excellent so far!
Upcoming Stuff
As I said last time, there’s really not many big games releasing soon, but in May we do have:
- 5th: Trek to Yomi (side-scrolling samurai combat game w/ Kurosawa film cinematography style)
- 19th: Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong (Telltale-style adventure game by The Council devs)
I’m REALLY excited for Swansong b/c of how amazingly chaotic The Council was 🤣 Both of these should be about short to medium length. For something longer, I’ll wait until I get closer to wrapping up Horizon so things are not too overloaded.
Thanks for the support as always! Feel free to let me know any thoughts you have and/or any upcoming games I may have missed!
See you next month,
Welonz
Comments
FaxTM
LETS GOOOO
Materwelonz
Yes, I'm aware of the Quarry - looking into it! :)
Peachy
I absolutely love your Tunic playthrough! I didn't even plan to watch it at all, I just wanted to have something to watch while I wait for new Forbidden West episodes. Keep it up, love ya <3
Mads
Looking forward to seeing Swansong as well, especially after the legacy of Bloodlines (love that playthrough of yours too; it made me go back and play as a Ventrue for the first time). I remember that when I watched the trailer it gave me some Cyberpunk vibes somehow... Forbidden West is a beauty, don't know when or if I'll ever be able to play it myself but your playthrough made me buy and complete the first Horizon and I had a lot of fun with that. Have you heard about The Quarry? That may be worth a fist look in June, but I honestly don't know a whole lot about it. IDK about any more upcoming titles for first looks, but my endorsement of a dmc5 first look still stands ;)
Megamusic
That description of the council is pretty spot on lol .
Materwelonz
I don't remember much about the original game anymore but yes I'll be checking out a bit at least!
Eric Holm
Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe is out soon. Any interest in checking out the new endings?
Wilsham
I am really enjoying your Tunic playthrough! I havent kept up with the Aloy adventures so I have about 40 episodes of that to watch too, which is nothing to complain about. I have been playing "Teardown" which came out of early access recently. Its great fun, not sure if its something you would check out normally but i think everyone would enjoy it, as you get to break stuff with a big hammer.
Blue72
This current trio of games has been a blast to watch. They're all so different from each other in almost every way. I finished Forbidden West the other day. Well, the main quests. There's still a bit of side stuff to do and I think I'll be going back to it a lot in the future just to run around that beautiful world some more. Overall, I loved it. The world and characters were real high points. Such an interesting and diverse cast. I really like how pretty much each side quest teaches you a little bit more about the tribes and their way of life. As for the side activities, racing was fun but seemed kind of tacked on, and Machine Strike never really held my interest. I'll hold off on saying anything about the story. Honestly I'm still not quite sure what to make of the ending yet. Very much looking forward to watching it again and hearing your thoughts.
Bookwyrm
I can’t wait for Swansong, The Council was terrible, brilliant and hilarious all at the same time
Thomas Mc
I dont preorder games, but I preordered Vampire The Masquerade: Swansong 100 times
