materwelonz
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March 2024 Channel Update – Rebirth Under Way
🕑 Added 2024-03-23 18:31:18 +0000 UTCHey all,
Hope you are well and enjoying life, video games, and whatever else you have going on! I’ve finally reached a bit of a slowdown period at my day job so things are Alright and Manageable… probably only lasting for 2 weeks or so lool. (FYI despite the complaining I actually like my job 😭 lol )
For the channel: after wrapping up the February series I’ve been focusing on just FF7R. It feels nice to hyperfocus on one thing as it makes the whole content creation preparation, scheduling, etc etc nice and simple. I have it well underway though so I think I’m ready to add in other stuff soon too.
(Quick side note - apologies if the formatting of this post is off, Patreon has been doing lots of weird stuff in the back and if you've heard anything about creators not being happy, I'm pretty sure it's still ongoing...)
TL;DR
Finished: Lies of P, Pacific Drive
Ongoing: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Upcoming: Open Roads, “Stuff”
Finished Stuff
Lies of P (28 videos): My first “real” Soulslike - this was fun! I enjoyed learning the intricacies of the combat with a puppet uprising story on the side. The downside was that this was pretty time and effort-intensive from a content creation POV - lots of footage (ie. boss attempts) just never made it to see light of day, but looking at it purely as a video game experience I enjoyed it lots.
To answer what I think people are gonna ask: I’m not opposed to more Souls or Soulslike games in the future, but it would have to be when I’m in The Mood (+ not when other big games are releasing 💦).
Pacific Drive (12 videos 1-2 hours long): My thoughts are mixed by the end... Despite loving the spooky SCP stuff, ultimately the grind was a bit much. Reaching every new zone feels mysterious and cool but the sheen wears off when we revisit them again and again – for resource collection, and also just because of how the game is designed. E.g. To reach map A3, you must go through A1 and A2, return to the hub, and then go through A1, A2 again to get to A3. The maps and encounters being procedurally generated gives room for emergent gameplay experiences, but the trade off is that there’s little narrative intention behind these variations. Overall I think it's a nice game as an atmospheric driving/car maintenance simulator, but not one to get into for a story focus.
We also had a first look of:
The Thaumaturge: An isometric RPG set in 20th century Warsaw + some magic shenanigans, with focus on a story with morally ambiguous choices. The setting (both historical + magic stuff) seemed a tad confusing at least in the beginning part – maybe it’s better explained the more you get into it. I did see hints of interesting story elements with moral dilemmas - e.g. we were able to use magic to get another character to give up an argument. Everything about the setting and the dialogue feels very European/Polish!
Current Stuff
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Really great to see the gang again. Story pacing so far I feel like is suffering from the open world stuff and also “second game in a trilogy” syndrome – kinda makes me miss how focused and linear Remake was. Still a good time overall so far! I’m about 5 chapters into 14 atm.
Upcoming Stuff
I’ll probably continue to be preoccupied with FF7R for the next bit It’s a long game so I’ve been trying my best to play & post faster than usual.
Next week we’ll check out Open Roads - a lot’s happened with this one but TL;DR my understanding is many people who were on the Gone Home/Tacoma team is working on this. Hoping it’ll be a nice short narrative experience just like its predecessors!
Other than that, there’s not much on my new releases horizon until Hellblade 2 in May, so I’ve been looking into some stuff for a medium-length (<20 hours?) series. I’m not quite ready to talk about it yet though - I’ll post a doodle on Twitter/Discord when I am. (FYI I did also see Dragon’s Dogma 2 getting a lot of hype the past few days. I’ll probably sit this one out b/c I haven’t played the first + I heard the PC performance isn’t great, but maybe something to keep in mind for the future?)
If there’s anything else you think should be on my radar feel free to pipe up - there are soo many things coming out these days it's easy to miss!
Thanks as always, let me know any other comments you have, and enjoy the rest of your March ☀️
Cheers,
Welonz
Comments
Dylan Hearts
Purrgatory (2021): It's basically made by one person [Darvin Heo aka Niv], is free to get on Steam, and has extremely basic [in a good way] design, but eventually became a cult game. It's a short game, though, only 5 hours maximum to fully complete. Maybe, it's not usual AAA or polished indie game we used to see on your channel, but it will make everyone to feel the characters, the story, the great message behind one unique artist's passion for sharing the emotions with the world. It's up for consideration, but no pressure, I understand that new releases obviously have a higher priority for the channel.
Alix
If you’re ever looking for a super chill little 2-3 hour game to fill one of those mini “slots”, Unpacking is pretty cute! It’s a little more puzzle-game-esque than your usual stuff, so idk if it’d be up your alley, but it’s mostly about discovering the protagonist’s life story as you go. I feel like you might enjoy it! :)
KitiRama
Hi Welonz, hope you are doing well. I am currently watching someone play the Alone in the Dark remake and enjoying it enough to recommend maybe giving it a look if you're in the mood for what might be the original survival horror. The original, I think, came out about 3-4 years before Resident Evil.
Reiemye
I definitely will, I feel like I'm always there championing The Longest Journey because I'd really love to see you play it. And most of them are usually short to medium length, which is good for shorter series :P
barry mate
Perfectly understandable and while I will keep a lookout for such a JRPG, I might leave it to others who are far more familiar with the genre than I to make recommendations in the future. While I can, I just want to say that I watched your playthrough of the Somnium Files games recently and loved them both. Again, so enjoyed the Japanese voice acting which might be strange for someone who is incapable of speaking or understanding a single syllable, but the emotion, expressiveness and inflection is just brilliant. And the fact that you seemed to be having a great time playing both games made it that much better to watch, so thank you. Oh and sorry for, once again, being so wordy. I'll do my best to try calm it down. Sadly though, no promises.
Materwelonz
Hi barry, no worries, any suggestion is welcome, thanks for the taking the time to even suggest it! You highlighted the big difficult thing I find about getting into more JRPGs - a lot of them tend to be *really* long, and I just don't know if that's sort of the commitment I'd like to make to a genre I'm not too familiar with. One of these days if there will be a short & sweet JRPG for me to dip into...
Materwelonz
I wanted to first look the second game when it came out, but held off cause apparently it could spoil the first :(
Materwelonz
These are usually a little harder to justify playing over newer stuff, but they're such classics and I've heard so much about them. Remind me for the next poll!! 😭
Materwelonz
Aw thanks, I really appreciate that. Usually I only put in polls things I could see myself enjoying, so no worries on that end <3
Materwelonz
I know myself, this would definitely take me closer to 20 hours with a lot of bumbling around loool. Thanks for the reminder though, I'm not sure if it'll be right now but this is one of those ones I'd like to get to!
Xavier Cho
I already recommended West of Loathing above, but I got reminded of another title that Welonz hasn't played on her channel yet which I believe to be right up her alley. Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth is an adventure game based on a best-selling novel of the same title. Thanks to its origin, it has a great story and many memorable characters. I especially liked one of the main characters, Aliena whom I think shows that one doesn't have to fight like Lara Croft or Aloy to be an independent, strongly-willed female protagonist of a video game. I'm pretty positive that Welonz would enjoy playing it if she tries, since she loves non-AAA games with a quality narrative and unique settings as I do. It's from the same studio that made State of Mind, which Welonz covered when it was released. I feel the game had an intriguing premise marred by flawed execution. I think Pillars of The Earth has a much more coherent narrative and presentation quality which may appeal to her better than State of Mind did. It's also a relatively short game, so it wouldn't be as much of a burden to the schedule as some other series may. And here's the release trailer of the game: https://youtu.be/CewTYloQSt0?si=2opPv2imYcB0Chu_
morealike
Ah, I was going based off comments made by people in a thread discussing the dlc! Perhaps it's a playstyle difference too Lol like how much time one spends on fish tetris
Materwelonz
Huh I've actually been under the impression it's more like a 1 hour thing (that's what it says on HowLongToBeat) - maybe it's a little longer when interweaved with the main game!
barry mate
This is my first suggestion for a game since joining, so please forgive me if it isn't in the ballpark of relevancy, practicality or general interest so far as a Let's Play series goes. I played Tales of Arise some time back and genuinely had a wonderful time with it. I only ever really play 1st and 3rd person shooters so jumping into a JRPG was pretty different, but it didn't take long to really appreciate and enjoy the party/combo combat system and get caught up in the evolving storyline. The Japanese voice acting was, in my opinion, amazing. Loved it even though I didn't understand a word. Should add that it is a long game, most likely too long to seriously consider in the near term, but thought I might mention it just in case a very large block of free time ever appeared in your busy schedule. Highly unlikely I know.
Paulo Victor De Aguiar
Just FYI, you don't have to play the first Dragon's Dogma. The Dragon's Dogma 2 is a totally different story with the improved mechanics of the previous game.
Lu A
I think you would love corru.observer! itsa browser game where you explore an aliens computer.
Enzo
There's also The Talos Principle 2 that came out recently and it's an amazing sequel to the first game. I know the original Talos has been a big contender in the polls for a while, so here's hoping for the next one :)
Sharrow
Yes! Grim Fandango is another I think she'd enjoy!
Teyhr
I'm going to second the 'just find something that looks interesting to you and don't worry about the viewers' option. I enjoy your playthroughs because of you, and you do pick primarily games I find interesting the best is always when you're passionate or excited (or I can't lie panicked but again you tend to only get that way for real if you like the game).
Reiemye
I just love those old point'n'click games... I also have a soft spot for Sanitarium and the Amerzone
Xavier Cho
+1 Either TLJ, Dream Fall, or Syberia would be nice. (But not DFC… I still feel sad how they ruined the whole series with it.)
Reiemye
Would you consider slotting in old games (that aren't part of series that got or are getting a new game), like from the 90s to early 2000s? Yes I'm still out there hoping for The Longest Journey... What can I say, it's one of my favorite games :')
KitiRama
Snufkin - Melody of Moominvalley is a highly rated narrative adventure game that just came out, if you want something that's a little more chill and relaxing.
Sharrow
Hey, what about adding a "whatever Welonz feels like" option in future game polls? 😁 The best playthroughs are the ones you're really into!
Sharrow
GoT is one of my favorites and I was worried RoR would be trying to hard to be like it. There are similarities, but I think that's it's mainly a) RoR taking some good learnings from GoT and not hiding it b) a western audience quick to lump samurai games together. The tone is very different and the historical backdrop more accurate. Very curious to see where this story goes. Interesting to interact with real historic figures. Very different vibe. I predict reviews will slowly get better as people learn what the game is actually about.
Danny
Maybe a bit of a random suggestion but the Resident Evil 1 remake could be a good under 20 hour series (I know it’s been on the Patreon vote poll a few times) I think a first time play though is probably 6-8 hours. Thanks for the great content as always, Welonz!
Jonathan B.
+1 West of Loathing is fantastic. Absolutely loaded with humor/wit/charm.
morealike
I think it's generally around 4-5hrs! The general consensus I've seen is that the story in it, while self contained, was quite good--even if it isn't as climactic as the main story. Waiting for the next DLC and doing two in one does make sense though :D
Materwelonz
Lol my Switch has been collecting dust for a million years but I'll keep tabs on this, thanks!!
Materwelonz
Is it the Pale Reach? I missed the launch window but I heard it's pretty brief and might not really worth coming back just for - maybe I'll check it out when the next piece of DLC comes along!
Materwelonz
I've heard about it but with Dragon's Dogma 2 coming out on the same day with a much higher critic score I didn't look too deep - sounds fun though! I wonder how it compares to Ghost of Tsushima?
Xavier Cho
I already mentioned this game on Twitter but I will do it again because I couldn’t introduce it properly because of the 150 characters limit there. I hope you could do a First Look of West of Loathing sometime, which is jokingly referred to as “Red Dead Redemption 3”. The main reason why I recommend it is because it’s a game that makes people smile and I felt you might need something that is truly enjoyable without feeling like a chore or a job, especially after having struggled to keep playing games with your hectic work schedule. It’s also a type of game that matches those you usually like; It’s an indie RPG with truly unique aesthetic and a surprisingly well-written story. The game is relatively short but it’s filled with hilarious humour to the brims. Just search up a screen shot of the game then think about the fact that it offers a colour blind mode in its options, and it will give you a good idea what kind of game it is. Of course, I don’t intend to pressure you, especially when you have so many games in your mind and so little time to play them all. It’s just something you may want to consider if you need something fun and different for a First Look sometime.
morealike
Dredge got a DLC recently that you could possibly check out briefly! I think it's overall pretty short :)
KitiRama
You might consider taking a look at Broken Roads, A tactical rpg that takes place in post-apocalyptic Australia.
Suaffle
this won't be out for a while but i think the Paper Mario Thousand Year Door is coming out in May - personally never played it but it seems lots of people seem to hold it in very high regard. Not sure if that's more for the gameplay or story though!
Sharrow
What about Rise of the Ronin? I've only started but seems very interesting so far. (Might want to wait for a graphics patch.) Notably seems like a refreshingly good balance between main and side content as well as good QoL. My time feels respected! I think gameplay could be too in-between RPG and souls-lite for some, but seems done thoughtfully. I think you'd appreciate it. Interesting period in Japanese history as well. Excited to see where they will take the story. Oh, and you can pet kitties!! 😻 Maybe I should have lead with that? 😉
