Chamberlain and Chance

Dead Island 2 came out and it's good? No really, Chamberlain and Chance agree that Dead Island 2 is a silly, gory, albeit shallow experience that is far better than either expected from a game that spent more time in development than most Fornite players have spend being alive. Chamberlain is also very late to the party with Roguebook, the sequel to Slay the Spire that never actually happened. Alex still loves Octopath Traveler 2 and refuses to remove the cat girl from his party. And Chance finally admits that he might be okay at Overwatch. That is what daily playing since the first game's release will get you.

Some people play games because they are enjoying them. Octopath Traveler II is what Alex has been looking for from Square Enix for many years. He has only scratched the surface of its content and is looking forward to the long haul. Some people play games as an almost meditative experience. Chance has returned to Red Dead Redemption 2 just for the hunting and experiences profound tranquility while landing head shots on supports in Overwatch 2. And some people, some lonely, angry people, are motivated by hate and spite. Chamberlain is angry with Chained Echoes. So angry that he is going to finish it just so he can be angry with the rest of it.

Welcome to the space between releases, during which we fill time in just about any way we can. Chamberlain did something very strange: he returned to a game that he felt he did not give a fair chance the first time around. Chained Echoes was abandoned after a scant twenty minutes several months ago. This time he has made it much further, though Alex does promise that in becomes far too pleased with itself eventually. Alex himself is playing Octopath Traveler 2, skipping all of the dialogue and cut scenes, happily subsisting on the turn based combat alone. And Chance tried Dredge, found it boring, still played most of in, then retired to Overwatch 2, finding the new support character very enjoyable. To shoot. In the head.

Why submit yourself to the horrors of fishing or being near water when Dredge is happy to give you the same feelings of existential dread in digital form? Alex has braved this angling nightmare and lived to tell the tale. Chamberlain is still not done with the Resident Evil 4 remake, but he has seen more than enough to complain about. And Chance thought about playing many different things. He thought about it. He actually played Elden Ring and Overwatch, but he is NOT buying the next battle pass, but only because the Tracer Akira slide is not in it.

Only two games to talk about this week: Resident Evil 4 Remake and the Diablo IV open beta. Alex made good on his promise to not play it, leaving that duty to Chamberlain and Chance. They liked and disliked it for the same reason: it feels more accusable but shallower, perfect for Chamberlain's drive by gaming style but not the long term relationship that Chance was looking for. Alex loved the RE4 remake, having already finished it and and made it half way through a second time. Chamberlain and Chance are a little more lukewarm, complaining of its general (intentional) clunkiness. Oh well, there will always be more games.

Chance's Stormveil angel is still on the loose, doing strange things like 'good deeds' and 'helping people.' His only foils are the ravenous PvP players, terrible people who do nothing but terrible things and were (and are) terribly disrespectful to their parents. He doesn't like them very much. Alex bounced around trying to avoid pre-ordering Diablo IV, and was successful, until Chance reminded him of the free beta this weekend. And Chamberlain continues his run of enjoying games that are just fine. This time it was Scars Above, a budget title by a small developer that no one has heard of. Calling a game AA is not an insult. It never was.

Have you heard of Grime? Grime is hard. Grime is mean. Grime is seriously disempowering. Somehow, some way, Chamberlain finished it, and now he is going to complain about it. Alex is almost done with his Mass Effect run (and yes, there is a debate over Liara, Tali and Garrus as the perfect romance option) and Chance is still waiting for the Resident Evil 4 remake, passing the time by ruining people's days with Tracer.

The Resident Evil 4 remake clock is at about two weeks. Everyone copes differently. Chamberlain bounces off of games that he knew he wouldn't like, the settles directly into Stockholm Syndrome with Grime, a Metroidvania that is far, far more difficult that it needs to be. Alex plays Mass Effect, again, and still believes that Mass Effect 2 is on the short list of all time great games. And Chance pulls out the Stormveil angel, once again doing good deeds in harsh world of Elden Ring.

And of course Betty White is a white mage. You need to listen to the end for the rest of class assignments.  

We try new things this week! Chamberlain leaves the house and watches a movie. Granted, the movie was Cocaine Bear, a title almost comically focused on his need for a short run time and frenetic pacing, but it was still an enjoyable evening. A much better time than Atomic Heart was, and it didn't sell any personal information to foreign regimes. Alex read a book! A real life, physical book that exists! He also started another play through of Dark Souls 3, his skills freshly sharpened by Hi-Fi Rush. And Chance played more Breath of the Wild, which isn't new, but he did finish every single temple, even the bad ones, which is definitely a first.

Chance is in search of mellow gaming experiences, or at least a counterpoint to the constant raging dumpster fire that is Overwatch matchmaking. This week the Breath of the Wild replay continues, in which he completes tasks that Chamberlain didn't even know existed. Add to that Sable, or Breath of the Wild with 100% less combat and 100% more hover bikes. Alex finds his chill at the end of Hi-Fi Rush and in his once every four years or so replay of DMC - Devil May Cry. And Chamberlain has no chill whatsoever, finishing up the Dead Space remake and moving on to Shadow Warrior 3, because he simply did not have enough dick jokes in his life.