All my devices are telling me that it’s now June (well, June 5th), and I can’t help but feel like they’ve all got together to play some prank on me. Is it seriously halfway through the year already? Well I’ve been thinking about a lot of things that I want to write about, but I thought that maybe before I do any of that, I could write up a general update.
Life continues to be as strange and surreal as ever. I do my best to keep up with the news each day just the right amount – enough to be informed, not so much that I get dragged down with the sorry state of affairs. I think in the current climate, it would be all too easy to be dragged down – and my policy is that positivity is always best! It is my genuine hope that you are all keeping safe and looking out for others, and hopefully others are looking out for you too.
Gaming
So what have I been up to in the games department? Well the main feature has to be Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I have already put so much time into this playthrough, and I believe I am nearing the end. My previous save didn’t even reach halfway through the game before I got distracted by other things, and it eventually got buried. So it was a real joy to start afresh, catch up with the story that I had completely forgotten, and once I passed the point that I had reached previously, it became so clear to me how much of a mistake it was to have got distracted before. I already knew that Odyssey was a great game, but I didn’t put enough time in to see that it is a fantastic game. I am absolutely gripped by the story, I’ve been shocked by the things that have happened, and can’t wait to see how it will conclude!
I have also purchased the DLC Season Pass as the PS Store had it on sale, so no doubt once I have finished the main story, I will have a look into that.
But I have also been playing other games here and there. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still a regular part of my daily ritual. I feel like I’ve gotten to a part where playing has become a gentle unwind. I have villagers that I like, so no need to try and get anyone replaced. I have pretty much finished decorating my island to exactly how I want it. All I’m missing is a few hybrid flowers, and that will come with time. I have completed the museum’s fossil collection, as well as having donated all the available bugs so far. The only thing I’m a bit short on is fish. June brought us plenty more species to catch, but on the plus side I have already caught all the shark species that were introduced this month. My house is fully upgraded and the mortgage is almost totally paid off. Once it is, I guess I’ll just have to spend all my bells on clothes … actually, I do that anyway. My main goal at this point is to befriend my lovely villagers and get their precious pictures. I talk to them every day, give them gifts, do their favours, and also my friends who have the game as well come over and I go to their islands too.
There has been the other odd game here and there that I’ve been occupying my time with. Prison Architect, Long Live The Queen, and Graveyard Keeper are all games that I have been playing here and there for a bit at a time.
Prison Architect is an old favourite that I just got the urge to go back to, but the other two are fairly new entries to my Steam library. Long Live The Queen is … an interesting one. It’s a sort of fantasy political simulator I suppose you could say, The premise is that you are a princess, and the Queen has died. As a 14 year old, you are too young for a coronation and will have to wait for your 15th birthday. So you have to survive until then. And trust me, that is not easy. As for Graveyard Keeper, think Stardew Valley, but instead of a farm, you have a graveyard. And it’s a lot kookier. And darker. I’ve only put 4 hours into it so far, and I wouldn’t say that’s enough for me to have a solid opinion yet. Seems good though, so I look forward to diving deeper into that.
I’m also looking ahead to what games I will tackle once my largest time-sink (AC: Odyssey) is out of the way. The most likely option is Assassin’s Creed: Origins, which I bought for a very decent price in the PS Store sale, and if it is anything like Odyssey at all, then that will be a real treat. Plus I find Egypt and their Gods and mythology incredibly interesting, so that will be a real treat. I also need to return to Luigi’s Mansion 3 – I have put so much time into Animal Crossing that none of my other Switch games have been getting much of a look in.
Blogging
I’ve also been thinking about the content I want to get started on, and I have had various things in the back of my mind. I have plenty of drafts to start working on, all at differing stages of completion. I’ve got plenty of my favourite games that I want to offer my thoughts on, but also some series as well. My Nuzlocke challenge on Pokémon Shield is patiently waiting for me to return to it, and I actually started a Stardew Valley journal series – only I haven’t posted anything for that because I had PS4 troubles shortly after I got the first two posts finished. Lastly, I’ve been quietly brainstorming what other kinds of posts and series I could put together. I have really enjoyed writing the latest posts that I have produced, which have been quite different to my usual review format. It’s been very satisfying to scratch that creative itch by thinking of different writing angles. But then I guess I have been in a more creative mood than usual – writing, gaming, reading, sketching … you could say that my imagination has gone into overdrive somewhat!
So we’ll have to see what I come up with, but I definitely intend to return to the Nuzlocke series sooner rather than later. It’s about time Lockie ended her break and jumped back in to her high-stakes Pokémon career!
Hobbits Of Hyrule 