Predictably, I'm playing World of Warcraft Classic Wrath of the Lich King

At Ravinia for Music of the Baroque. Program: Haydn’s 59th (Fire) Symphony, Mozart’s Ninth (Jenamy) Piano Concerto, Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto, and Händel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks. A program good enough that you don’t even care that they’re probably pushing the definition of Baroque to its breaking point.

Also, on the new chapter of Joe vs. Elan School, it looks like Joe decided to abruptly wrap it all up… at least until Joe’s PTSD gets triggered by a testimony from a fellow Elan survivor on an article about how the 2008’ recession seemed to spell the doom for the troubled teen industry (because it turns out that even for those parents who seemed willing to put their kids through hell for any number of reasons, it might not be affordable to do so when the economy has just crapped out.) And presumably, (as gleaned from the hints given from Joe’s podcast interview, drawings shown in Chapter 52, and an interview in documentary The Last Stop) this eventually leads to him posting this famous Reddit post that eventually catalyses elan’s shutdown.

On a somewhat lighter note, I’m also reading Indifferent Stars Above and all I have to say is page 175: That’s When the Cannibalism Started. I’m hoping some of you get that in-joke.

Returning to Hollow Knight.

Checking out the Lego Harry Potter Collection

Played some Roguebook. It's a card battler based on the lore from Faeria. I wanted to play Faeria instead, but it costs $4 and I'm low on cash. The times that I played Roguebook before, I couldn't get past the second battle, so I gave up on it. I'm having a real good run this time. I suspect the RNG plays a big role in the beginning, which is unfortunate because I like the game. The lore is great, though.

Replaying Forbidden West.

Playing the newest season of Diablo III.

This is a 10-year-old game that keeps getting tweaks that make it better. The Campaign Mode is only worth a single play-through, but the Adventure Mode is great for trying newly-adjusted gear with each 3-month season.

Not much at the moment, kind of burnt out from playing Astroneer for several hours a day for the last few weeks, so on the lookout for something new. Trains were great but at the end of the day they were only a means to an end, and that remains the biggest problem with this game - a lack of ends in the end game, hence why there are so many YouTube videos 'what to do if you're bored in Astroneer'. So yeah, while you're coming up through the game there's plenty to do - and it's thoroughly addicting as the last few weeks of replaying from scratch attest to - but once you reach the end game there's really nowhere much to go beyond whatever goals you set yourself, and they dry up pretty quick because ultimately the only gameplay loop here is resourcing for the sake of building better machines/processes/automations for resourcing.

So yeah, I'd still highly recommend the game to people, as at least a shortish term game to play over a few weeks, and maybe dip into every now and then afterwards, but as a long term game it just has some fundamental longevity issues... a lack of end game content... that hold it back.

Humble Bundle has a great deal on a bundle of major hit games by game producer 2K. $16 for Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe edition, Civ VI, PGA 2K1 & its predecessor, XCOM 2 Ultimate, Bioshock Collection, Mafia Definitive, Railroad Tycoon 2 & 3, all the prior XCOM games, and a handful of lesser titles. Sadly I already own about 90% of that, but even then, I'm tempted.

Garden Paws on PC. This seems like a real hidden gem in the Stardew-esque 'cozy' game genre... glad I stumbled upon it. It's a cute 3D farming, mining, fishing, gathering, building, and exploring game set in a beautiful lush and verdant open world. I'm totally addicted now, as it has that grindy, incremental achievement feel that I love about these sorts of games... endless fetch quests and that sense of gradually working towards multiple goals, building up your business empire, whatever it may be.

Compared to other games of this genre it has a few USPs. One is it's take on the whole 'shipping bin' concept familiar in these sorts of games... a bin in which you dump anything you want to sell and it would sell overnight... in this game there is no shipping bin but instead an actual shop... or more like a stall... where you have to lay out a limited number of items for sale, then open and close the shop and physically man the cash register, or pay by commission an assistant to do it. I appreciate this as a much more involved take on the shipping bin that makes you really have to think about what to sell to make the best use of your time and space, as well as giving you plenty to grind towards in the sense of saving up to buy a bigger shop or a more convenient hiring post for the assistant. Another USP - for me at least; I know some people like it - is that it has a lot less dialogue than most games, and no relationship mechanic which personally I always found a bit tiresome in these sorts of games, so in this one, no need to run around giving everyone gifts to improve your relationship with them.

I think this game's gonna keep me going for months, there just seems so much content. So highly recommend this if you're looking for a very relaxed and chill, go at your own pace and choose your own adventure kind of game. The cutesy graphics might be a bit offputting to some... ie your character and the NPCs are all cute animals... but beyond that there is a very rich and vibrant game as far as I can tell so far.