Pathologic 2 is now in alpha, and cool people like me who backed it at the right level can download and play. Except I'm not cool because I have no idea what my Kickstarter backer code is. Woe.

I know... there's something wrong with me. If only we knew what it was! I bet there's a pill for it.

Tappers!  Wassup!  Haven't visited my favorite site in a while.  I finished God of War recently.  Let me just say this: I platinum'd this game.  I never platinum games.  I have a vague contempt for trophies/achievements.  Not in this case.  Barlog and team smashed it out of the park and ripped the cover off the ball in my humble estimation.  For all the people who just wanted more Kratos (the old kind) I can only shake my head and wonder at where else you could take that guy.  Here, to Midgard, that's where you knuckleheads, to grow beards and hug trees and sire sons (well, son).  The gameplay and the story and all that are great, but the best I can say is that they nailed the ending.  It has the mark of confidence.
The obvious counter-example, for me, is Bioshock with its stupid final boss ending which made it obvious Levin had no idea how to wrap that baby up.  Anyway, play God of War you'll thank me.

I also finished Rise of the Tomb Raider recently.  I've gushed in these forums about the reboot: Tomb Raider.  This game is functionally sound (maybe even better than the previous one, I'd have to go back and compare) but it's just not as good.  I guess it's mainly the story, but I also remember enjoying the stealthy combat in the first game more.  I see the broader arc they're taking the character in and I think it's appropriate.  I just don't think the execution was there.  Still, it's clear that the developers care about this series, and I am interested in trying out the latest one.

I've tried a few times to get into Valkyria Chronicles, but to little success.  It just doesn't scratch that turn-based squad combat itch quite right.  More to the left...no more...no the other le...ok nevermind thanks anyway.  I really want to like it though.

Also, I finally played New Vegas after only dabbling in it previously.  Oh my, this here is the proper sequel to Fallout 2.  I've heard people praise this game but until I experienced a significant part of it myself I had no idea.  Fallout 3 is hot garbage compared to this game.  It does so many things well it's a shame it's hampered by Bethesda's crap engine.  There's not much I enjoy more than trashing Bethesda, but since I've only played Fallout 3 I suppose it's not really fair.  Fallout 3 is basically crappy fan fiction.  They toss in a mish-mash of Fallout-y junk in there because Fallout, bro!  Ok I'll stop there.

One final thought, on Nier Automata.  I think I stated here that the game has kinda fallen in my opinion over the past year.  I was listening to some of the OST recently (which is so good) and I remember why I loved that game.  The gameplay is fine (it is Platinum after all), not great but fine.  The visuals are in many ways sub-par compared to other recent titles (see Horizon Zero Dawn).  But this game is a perfect example of being more than the sum of its parts.  The combination of gameplay, music, and overall mood or tone is what sets this gem apart.  You owe it to yourself to see it through.

P.S.  Steerpike.  Bloodborne.  You promised, remember?

Gregg I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed and finished Nier Automata (bold-ing game titles.  Capital idea).  I also have criticisms of course.  I'm going to go out on a limb and state that Square Enix will produce a sequel.  My hope for that sequel is that it be more in the "spiritual" style (different characters, setting, etc).  I would also ask that they avoid the more tedious aspects (i.e. many of the side-quests) of the game.  And less chatting please.  I don't have much patience for tons of dialogue (see Dark Souls).  Yeah I know, what are you doing on FFC then?

I was watching a Let's Play of Nier (the old one) and was struck by how similar the two titles are.  Nier Automata is essentially Nier with better combat and a little less tedium (N:A is, in fact, a sequel itself, and a good example of the spiritual variety).  Multiple endings.  Multiple playthroughs with different events and story revelations each time.  Similar mechanics and structure.  And probably more I'm forgetting.

Subnautica intriques me.  Who was it that stated it's No Man's Sky, but actually good?  Oh, Steerpike, put down that game.  Shooting rocks is not fun.  Down!  Where was I?  Oh yeah.  Is there an actual end-game in Subnautica?  I've found that the never-ending, restart from scratch upon death games (see Don't Starve) don't really appeal to me.

Subnautica's definitely a great game with a great story and arc and structure and beginning and middle and end. I'd overlooked it for some reason until RPS lavished praised on the final release, and believe me, there's nothing to regret. The upcoming DLC is a separate story, so you have no reason to wait until it comes out. It's great. 

I have, thankfully, gotten over my NMS problem, by replacing it with Rimworld (again). According to Steam I've logged 368 hours in Rimworld. Honestly, I think if I could get off that fucking planet just one time it'd be enough, I'd be able to hang up my Rimworld hat and call it a day. But until then I must persevere.

I've also eased back into Mass Effect: Andromeda, which is a better game since that gigantic patch they issued -- I'd already uninstalled it by the time the patch came out around release, besides, Persona 5 had me by the balls -- a better game, though not necessarily a good one... at least not in Mass Effect terms. But it's nice to play a conversation-y RPG again, even if it's not the best representative of the genre by a long shot. What I really should do is just play Mass Effect 2 and 3 again. Maybe see what all this Femshep fuss is about.

Botch: I did promise. I can't even deny that I promised because I absolutely promised. But... Cainhurst! It's the Cain-worst! I can't even get into the building half the time... why is everything so mean there?

EDIT: back to Subnautica... in addition to everything Gregg mentions about its handcrafted world and clever narrative breadcrumbing, I'll add that it's a suitable game to play with reasonably young children. Some of the sea monsters are a little scary, but there's essentially no overt violence and it's a game of exploration, building, and solving mysteries. You should read Harbour Master's series on it over at Electron Dance -- Part 1 and Part 2, so far.

I keep seeing these movie trailers for Bohemian Rhapsody and thinking "where have I seen this actor who plays Freddie Mercury before?"  And it hit me: he's one of the "teens" in Until Dawn, an excellent take on the interactive movie genre.  In fact, now that I think of it, this game is a perfect fit for FFC'ers.