materwelonz
patreon
January 2022 Channel Update – A Slower Start
🕑 Added 2022-01-25 06:50:40 +0000 UTCHi all,
Blink and it’s a new year already! Hope you’re having a great start to yours 🎊
Over here, I’ve been having a bit of a “break” (mostly focusing on just 1 video series) in the last few weeks. It’s slower than I would like, but I think there’s something here about the myths of 100% productivity and dangers of burning out… Learning to have realistic expectations of myself…! 💦
Anyway, now that February is around the corner things will really start to pick up. Perfect after a bit of rest!
TL;DR
- Finished: One Hand Clapping, LIS: True Colors Alt Playthrough
- Ongoing: Hollow Knight, Not For Broadcast 1.0
- Upcoming: SIFU, Horizon Forbidden West
- An idea: voting for first looks
Games Finished Since Last Update
One Hand Clapping (5 parts): A side-scrolling platforming adventure controlled by your mic input (e.g. a voice or an instrument). Can’t say the story is groundbreaking lol but it’s a great bit of relaxing fun for the holidays.
Life is Strange: True Colors Alternate Playthrough (2 parts): A second True Colors playthrough exploring some different choices I didn’t make in my first playthrough. There are interesting scenes and new information, although playing this again after some months does make me wish True Colors took more risks in changing up the LIS formula. A really enjoyable game still, and I’m looking forward to new entries in the series up ahead.
Progress on Current Stuff
Hollow Knight: The latest poll winner! A 2D metroidvania of a bug exploring and learning the truths behind a fallen kingdom. I’m not sure I get a big endorphin rush out of defeating hard bosses like others might but I’m finding the cryptic lore fun to unravel lol. There isn’t a good in-game indicator on my progress but I’m guessing I’m somewhere between 50-70% completion at the moment.
Somewhat related thoughts on the more YouTubey side of things: Hollow Knight is one of those games that have an enduring, passionate community… a blunter way to put this is that it’s pretty prone to endless “advice”, well-meaning or not in the comments lol. I think I have an aversion towards these games just because I do enjoy reading your thoughts but backseating can make the whole thing really unfun, but this time it’s not bothered me as much as I thought it would TBH. Maybe I’ve been doing this long enough to find a balance between getting feedback but not letting the negatives get to me…!
Not For Broadcast 1.0: A hectic propaganda simulator where we work in a newsroom and decide what the nation gets to see. I played a bit of this back in 2020 in Early Access, found it really fun, and am now returning for the full thing. It’s fun enough for the chaos and comedy, but there’s good food for thought as well (mainly because so much of this fictional nation feels depressingly close to real life lol). This is a shorter game about 9 levels long and I’m 5ish in.
Upcoming Stuff
Hollow Knight will continue and I’m expecting my next two big things to be SIFU and Horizon Forbidden West next month.
I don’t think I’ll have the capacity for this (at least at launch) but I’m also paying attention to Dying Light 2 (have not played 1 FYI!) I’m also interested in a first look of Hidden Deep, a horror-ish game that came out in early access today.
Voting for First Looks
Some of you brought up the idea of holding votes for first looks, which I think sounds like an interesting idea! But I need some time to work through how the specifics would work first:
Right now, I mainly do first looks on whatever new releases catch my eye; they’re quite spontaneous and not planned far in advance, which makes giving a list of poll options hard. Would you be interested in first looks of older titles at all? That would make it easier for me to have an actual list, but I also sorta worry about stuff like 1) a first look making me want to continue the game despite not having the time for it and eventually overloading myself to oblivion, and/or 2) NOT continuing a first look and disappointing everyone 💀 Anyway, I’m just throwing out some thoughts here. Feel free to share any ideas you have on this too.
That’s all I’ve got for now! Hope you’ve been having a good January. Prepare for a great February 😎
Welonz
Comments
Captain Kashup
That's why I prefer her current way of doing First Looks. It comes out of nowhere and it may or may not be followed up on. You can still be disappointed if she doesn't continue it but not to the extent that it would be if you have had to vote and make it win an entire pole beforehand. Do you see my perspective ?
Materwelonz
I feel like I'm okay if the video is recent, as soon as it's been a while (even a few months) I don't want to watch it anymore lol
Mads
Better than nothing, right? Besides, you wouldn't want her to brute force an LP if she doesn't like the game. I suppose it really depends on each individual's POV.
Mads
I think older first looks are a great idea; another way to bear witness to so many great games. I pretty much agree with everything OP said about framing the thoughts ^ . I think people would find your first look feedback very satisfying.
Blue72
Hehe, I can totally relate to not wanting to watch/listen to yourself, especially when it's older stuff. You've been editing your own work for many years now. Does it ever get any easier? And objectively speaking I can say your HZD Let's Play is excellent. 😊
Jonathan B.
(posting here as I don't have a Twitter account) Be aware: the Hollow Knight comment section is becoming more and more spoiler-filled, with some people spoiling within the threads of highly-rated comments. Avert thy gaze. 😞
Materwelonz
I tried watching my own Horizon videos again and all I can do is cringe 💀💀💀 I will be the bigger person and forgive the soldiers!!* *unless if they're in the sequel and do something horrible to me too
Materwelonz
TBH by default I am not a picky gamer so if I do a first look I can see myself wanting to continue literally EVERY game 😬😬 Comment modding: I have a few commenters with modding permissions but it's never been an official thing as I'm pretty lukewarm on the idea of asking people to Formally Do Stuff For Me. That might have to change if things get really out of control, but I suspect trying to manage YouTube comments is a bit o a futile task lol.
Captain Kashup
Hope you've had a great first month too, Welonz ! Current line-up might not be my cup of tea but hey, when you're watching a youtuber with such varied interests, it comes with the turf ! I'm still doing my part by giving you views on each video, for that ad revenue. The first look idea is interesting but like you said, I think it could end up breaking a lot of hearts if games that were voted stays a first look only. I know mine would be, if it happened to RE1. (I've got one last thing to DM you about for that game.) Anyway, wishing you a good February Welonz !
Materwelonz
Like I said it's not so bad so no need to worry 👌
Materwelonz
Appreciate the support Vivi, thank you!
Materwelonz
It's been many many years already don't jinx it now :@
Materwelonz
Thanks for the heads up!
Materwelonz
Yess I will for sure play the AI sequel! Thanks for the well wishes! It's been kinda weird here, lots of snow then rain (washing it all away), then snowing again @_@ but it's all gone now!
Blue72
I'm beyond excited for Forbidden West! Besides being my favorite game, Horizon Zero Dawn was the first thing I ever watched on your channel, so it has a special place in my heart. It's been 5 years and I have to wonder, are you still salty over those Carja soldiers that stole your first Thunderjaw kill? 😠
Materwelonz
ME:A - absolutely! If not immediately in the future, I think I want to get to it at least before the next ME comes out. Noo I've never compiled a list. I've been toying around with the idea of making a video of my favs of the year though - whether this comes to fruition is another thing entirely 😅
Jonathan B.
Persona 4 Golden would be incredible if it weren't for the grindy dungeon crawling / turn-based battle system. I actually dropped the game 40 hours in because I got fed up with the monotony. A shame because I absolutely loved the story and characters. Pyre is super underrated imo and perfect for Welonz' channel. I'd love to hear her thoughts with a First Look of that.
Daniel Hanley
hey Welonz, glad to hear you could rest up and avoid burnout. the HK playthrough has been fun, though I'm also looking forward to some more story-driven content. is ME:A still a possibility? I just started, and it's exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations so far. I think you'd enjoy the new dialogue system and action gameplay. of course, the most important thing is that you pick games that you can genuinely enjoy at a reasonable pace. your health and our vicarious entertainment depend on it! is there a Welonz GOTY 2021 list?
Krieger
First Looks for older games sound like a good idea to me, More community interaction is always great and people love a poll. If you’re worried about not being able to come back to a game, maybe reframe the thought like this: now you can see yourself what really peaks your interest, so when the time comes for a new series you can let people know what you likes or didn’t like. Maybe this can be done through a special poll for continuing first looks that you specifically tailor with what you really liked. Finally, a question about comment moderation. Do you have any? Having someone comb the comments for spoilers before reading them is something I’m sure you’ll have a million volunteers for, maybe it’s worth looking into? Not sure if you’ve made your opinion on mods somewhere or not
Илья Баранов
Honestly ? Still waiting for Disco Elysium full LP But other than that, I would love to see something like Persona 4 Golden or OMORI, they should be relatively cheap to be a first look. From the new stuff, Estward is really awesome. Some other games from Supergiant (creators of Hades) like Pyre or Transistor.
Hans Olav
Dying Light 1 would be a fun game, I think. Its a bit scary, but its got a very compelling world and atmosphere. Also the movement mechanics are very satisfying. All in good time though, video games are supposed to be an escape, so I hope you get to maintain that feeling as much as possible.
Vivi Cheung
You're doing so well in hollow knight! Don't let the err... "Passionate" people get you down! Me and my boyfriend look forward to every single one of your hollow knight uploads! We're really impressed with how fast you picked up the mechanics and how you're willing to play and try the different charms. And honestly, your progress is awesome! I just can't wait to see more!
Thomas Mc
Will the mouse survive to February? 🤔
Eric Holm
Fair warning: the PS4 version of Horizon FW leaked online, so there may be another Last of Us 2 situation on our hands where you'll have to work to make sure you dodge spoilers. Be careful out there.
Brad Jung
Did you have any plans on playing the AI: The Somnium Files sequel when it comes out? I believe it was slated for a Spring 2022 release, though the exact date has yet to be determined. I greatly enjoyed your playthrough of the original Somnium Files and would love to see you play the next one! Other than that, I hope all is going well. My locality was absolutely blasted by snow earlier in the month and from the looks of your Twitter you experienced the same, though thankfully the snow has melted now haha. Take care!
Jonathan B.
Sorry to hear about the more “zealous” Hollow Knight fans. The comment section has really been rough lately, and I don’t think anyone would blame you for never looking beyond the top-rated comments. I’d like to think most Hollow Knight fans understand the importance of letting others discover the world for themselves, but alas… I’m glad you’re able to have a good time in spite of the toxicity. Really appreciate the content. 👍
