'What Is Wrong With Us?' 'Nothing. We're Fine.'

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, I should probably mention: as you may or may not remember, six years ago, I posted an entry containing mini-reviews of more or less every game I'd ever played. I've continued to update it as I've played new things over the years, but I've never actually mentioned the fact that I was updating it anywhere!

Take a look if you'd like to know my brief thoughts on a specific game, or if you're wondering whether I've played something in particular. (Or if, for some reason, you actually want to read my thoughts on all 240-odd videogames I have played over my lifetime, you can do that as well.)


Speaking of my videogame opinions, a conversation I had with my sister-in-law over the weekend:

Sister-in-law: What have you been playing lately?
Riona: I've just finished The Coffin of Andy and Leyley! It's about the relationship between two siblings.
Sister-in-law: Oh, cute!
Riona: It's not very cute. They're locked in their home together and starving. They're incredibly codependent. They go on a bit of a murder-and-cannibalism spree. They're weirdly incestuous. I really enjoyed it.
Sister-in-law: (laughs) Of course you did.
Riona: You know, when I posted about it online, multiple people said the same thing. 'Oh, of course you'd enjoy the cannibalism and incest game. I should have recommended you the cannibalism and incest game.'
Sister-in-law: You've got a brand, and I'm afraid this might be it.

It's nice to know I have exactly the same reputation offline that I do on here. Strongly reminded of the time I was having a meal with friends, and they were all talking about how terrible Reylo was. 'I like Reylo,' I announced, and Ginger buried their head in their hands and said, 'Oh, God, of course you do.'

Comments

[necrophilia]

I was actually looking at that entry just the other day, embarrassingly enough. Although glancing at it again and seeing Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice near the top made me wonder— what is your general video game pacing like? From the outside, it seems like you jump around a fair bit (unless you're rampaging through Persona!). I have no idea if you finished The Great Ace Attorney, for example.

[rionaleonhart]

Not embarrassing at all! I'm glad to know I haven't just been talking into the void.

My videogame pacing can vary a lot, depending on assorted factors! Basically:

- Am I playing it with Tem? We usually have two or three different games on the go, often one we play on weekday mornings, one we play on weekend mornings and one we play in the afternoon/evening (although right now we're just playing Metaphor: ReFantazio at every opportunity). The Great Ace Attorney is our afternoon/evening game, which means we're progressing through it very slowly; we play in the morning pretty much every day, but it's a lot rarer for us to play in the afternoon.

- If I'm playing it on my own, has the game really 'play it whenever I can' grabbed me (e.g. The Coffin of Andy and Leyley), or is it something I might occasionally play if I can't think of anything else to do (e.g. Tales of Berseria)?

- If I'm playing it on my own, how much access do I have to the console? I can play DS/3DS games whenever. In theory, I can play PC games whenever (assuming their requirements are low enough for them to work on my PC), but I don't enjoy playing games on the PC, so I tend to drag my feet on those unless they really grab me. My other consoles are in the sitting room, so sometimes my housemates will need the room to, just as a hypothetical example, watch a different BABYMETAL concert recording every evening for six weeks straight. (Access to the console is less of a concern when playing with Tem because, as the early risers of the household, we tend to play games before anyone else is up and about!)

I hope you've enjoyed this exciting insight into my gaming schedule.

[magistrate]

I've recently played through I Was A Teenage Exocolonist (er, three or four... or five... times), and I'm kinda tempted to recommend it to you and also kinda worried that it's not fucked-up enough for your tastes. XD It's got a bunch of teenagers with various inabilities to cope in a weird and dire situation, and it does deal with a lot of serious topics, and there's definitely opportunity for things ranging from major character death to actual genocide, but for all that it's a surprisingly gentle touch and a fairly cozy game. (I think I've just needed some relatively cozy escapism this month. Even if that relative coziness still ships with a page of content warnings you can access from the main menu.)

But, you know, a single playthrough goes fairly quickly because it's designed for replayability – there's not enough in-game time to explore all the various side branches and ways in which the story can develop, and there's some New Game+ stuff that unlocks more narrative branches and paints stuff in new light – so it might be worth glancing at?

[rionaleonhart]

Thank you for the semi-recommendation! I heard of this game before, investigated and concluded it probably wasn't for me; I tend to find cosy games dull and games with a lot of potential story variation stressful, and I was concerned that, rather than balancing out to 'a good level of tension', I'd end up just finding it simultaneously dull and stressful. I do love teenagers in dire situations, though! Maybe I should glance at a Let's Play or something.

[magistrate]

That is fair! It is a very low-tension gameplay experience, or at least it was for me. It might be the sort of thing that would be more interesting to you as a fic than a game. To be honest, I don't usually get as engaged with cozier games as I did with this one, but this one happened to snag my obsessive hyperfocus this week.

[moon_hotel]

👀 cannibalism incest game you say. I may have to check this one out...

[rionaleonhart]

There are only two chapters out so far, but I can promise it delivers if 'cannibalism incest game' is a promising phrase for you!

[pauraque]

So, funny story - after stumbling upon that entry earlier this year, I tried making a list of every game I could remember playing, and then went completely insane and thought it would be fun not just to write one-sentence reviews but an entire post for each one. Of course, this also involves tracking them down, getting them working, and replaying them. This year I think eight or nine of my game posts have been pulled from that list, so at this rate I should be done in what, twenty years?

[rionaleonhart]

I am both impressed and delighted by this insane project, and I'm trying very hard not to contemplate it too much in case I find myself tempted to do the same. Good luck!

[larissa]

Ha, I do the same thing (write mini-reviews of games) but for me they've all been on backloggery for the past 15 years. Recently the site got revamped and now it's a little harder to view everything, which I dislike, but it still serves its purpose for me. Sometimes I look at it just to remember what games I've played, haha.

It's also a reminder that I need to stop playing FF14 so much and actually branch out and play something else. Still working on that...

[rionaleonhart]

I just took a quick look through some of your backloggery reviews and had a great time! My favourite parts: your comment on Final Fantasy VII Remake just being 'i have literally no idea how to rate this game', and my moment of confusion when I read 'too many fights against humans' in your Horizon Zero Dawn review, pictured the giant monsters that are referred to as 'humans' in Metaphor: ReFantazio, and then remembered that that's not... that's not what humans are.

Can't believe you only gave two stars to Pokémon Pinball, the best pinball game ever made. My brothers, my dad and I all used to fight over who got to play it.

[larissa]

LMAO. No that is definitely not what humans are.

Counterpoint: Pokémon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire is the best pinball game ever made, and the original pales significantly in comparison!

[apiphile]

Sister-in-law: (laughs) Of course you did.

I love that you're so charmingly adored for your cannibalism and incest foibles. But REYLO? REALLY?

[rionaleonhart]

LOOK, THEY HAD A PSYCHIC LINK THAT FORCED THEM TO SPEND TIME AROUND EACH OTHER AND START TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER A LITTLE WHILE STILL BEING ENEMIES, I'M NOT MADE OF STONE

[apiphile]

Oh okay actually yeah that is basically designed to entice you

[wolfy_writing]

Aw, we all love your weird dark taste in fiction!

[rionaleonhart]

It always amuses me when people try to argue dark fiction is somehow immoral by going 'obviously your friends and family would shun you if they knew about the things you write/read'. They already know, and the worst consequence is 'they occasionally laugh affectionately at me'. It turns out that 'what themes do you find interesting in fiction?' is not, in fact, what most people will base their assessment of your character on.

[wolfy_writing]

I remember there was some weird "Go ahead, tell your friends and family that you like fiction that portrays rape, incest, and child abuse, but you would never, ever do it in real life. See if they're still comfortable around you."

My dad had just gotten into Game of Thrones.

[halfcactus]

Ooooh I'm so glad you linked to that entry! The short format is so perfect for me haha. I guess I'll add Bravely Default to my list...

[rionaleonhart]

I'm glad you like the entry! And I hope you enjoy Bravely Default, if you do check it out; I had a great time with it.

[dancesontrains]

I also hugely dislike Reylo, but you do get a small ton of people who also like the ship and have published thinly veiled versions? E.g. Ali Hazelwood's 'The Love Hypothesis'. Think the list of published Reylo is at thirty or so by this point.

[rionaleonhart]

I hadn't realised there was such a big Reylo novel industry! Alas, 'two enemies forced to spend time talking to each other through an unwanted psychic bond' is the main thing that makes them interesting to me, and I suspect that's going to be absent in most 'Definitely Not Reylo' AU novels.

[doreyg]

I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the games you've played! I'm glad your thoughts on Sun & Moon remained positive, and glad you loved Gladion (<33). They're flawed games, but I enjoy them a lot.

It does not surprise me that you liked Reylo. I didn't ship them that much, but psychic soulbonds between enemies (especially when one is kind of a dick) is an excellent dynamic that should be encouraged.

[rionaleonhart]

I'm still playing Sun, actually! I'll probably end up making a post about it once I've finished. Gladion is delightful (and would probably not appreciate being described as delightful).

psychic soulbonds between enemies (especially when one is kind of a dick) is an excellent dynamic that should be encouraged.

Absolutely! What a great concept! Light and L should have a psychic soulbond.

[doreyg]

I'm still playing Sun, actually! I'll probably end up making a post about it once I've finished. Gladion is delightful (and would probably not appreciate being described as delightful).

Oooh, I look forward to that! And I think the fact that he would be very insulted at being described as delightful is a major reason why I enjoy him so much. XD

Light and L should have a psychic soulbond.

THEY SHOULD. It would go so badly! It would be glorious to witness. :D