Hawke64

Thank you, yes. I've looked it up, and there are 2 games (and a turn-based tactical prequel) with Very Positive ratings on Steam.

If I'm not mistaken, there was a stealth game about a goblin assassin in an orc fortress? I've seen it several times on Steam front page, but haven't played. Probably, not quite like Gollum in terms of story, though. Also, a Stardew Valley-like game in the Shire or a competitive fighting game about the Mordor orcs would be curious to see. I think, there were several action-adventure and RTS games in the setting and an MMO RPG.

Stylised graphics, including pixel art, is significantly easier to read, it looks good longer, and provides lower system requirements. On the other hand, highly detailed, including "realistic", styles age rather quickly and are much harder to process. The mitigation usually includes various forms of "eagle vision" (Assassin's Creed) or "Witcher's senses" (The Witcher 3). I think, one of the Tomb Raider reboot games (haven't finished any of them) had the option to disable the paint on climbable walls. Curious how it mixed when the initial design was based on the not-subtle "hints". I suppose, if it was possible to completely disable visual junk (grass, foliage, non-interactive items that look similar to interactive ones), it would be preferable. The closest I can think of (again, haven't played) is The Last of Us 2.

Stealth (non-lethal KO) is mostly viable. Then a boss battle happens and suddenly it is not. If I'm not mistaken, the dialogue skill checks are static and the options unavailable are not shown, so it might be considered to use a guide for them and to avoid investing skill points unless necessary (e.g. important dialogue or boss battle). Playing Weird West - Bounty Hunter's Journey (demo). It seems to be a stealth-action. Fine so far, but feels somehow restrictive. The controls are rebindable and the saving possible almost at any time. The opening with the Data Policy was interesting to see. I also managed to set myself on fire within the first 2 minutes of gameplay.

The Talos Principle 2. Not sure how it is going to work, considering the ending of the first game, but it looks interesting.

Looks very good. The first game was an excellent port - it ran very well and supported the native PC input devices, including 5-button mice, from the start. Though, I would love to see an adequate saving system implemented (not copying and pasting files via Windows Explorer) and the ability to create the whole party without additional Steam accounts.

Encased. Replayed the last act for the mayoral elections. The elections themselves, gaining backing of the Wings within one long dialogue while decreasing their support for the other two candidates*, were reasonably interesting, though there was not much to do afterwards nor it was clear how to complete the quest after it was marked as "Completed" in the Journal. The terminal for City Projects was hidden in the corner of the area and it did not seem to be possible to utilise the PC's funds for them, while the projects themselves provided only Reputation bonuses for one of the Wings. On the positive note, the ending slides included one more for Junktown. On an unrelated note, it is possible to increase the reputation with the companions by bribing them when they are out of the active party. *I greatly appreciate the ability to save mid-dialogue, especially if it is long. Tried to continue my playthrough of Expeditions: Rome. I was able to gain the second rhetoric skill successfully** and reach Africa. Somehow the only positive thing I can say about the game is combat. The inventory management and crafting, the legion management, the timers for everything, the voiced dialogues feel like pointless bloat. **there was 1 line from 1 NPC at 1 point suggesting to do so within a very limited time frame (after the first time-skip but before leaving Rome).

The first run was probably 40+ hours - played the GOG version without Galaxy and there are no in-game indicators. The second, critical path only, playthrough took a day*. There is quite a lot of replayability, though it might also be possible to see almost everything in terms of story in 2 playthroughs (different quest outcomes, stat/reputation-dependant random events, etc.). I don't think that there is an option to respec mid-game (only to edit the appearance), so there should be some variety in combat builds as well. For the party compositions, the limit is the PC + 2 NPCs and the companions auto-level up. *

Completed Encased. The density of the locations decreased by the second half, though I also looted more consciously (only every second container) and interacted with fewer NPCs. Overall, the ending(s) reflected what I achieved, while the reactivity in general was very high. On the other hand, the other gameplay systems seemed to mix rather oddly. Going to attempt anther critical path-only playthrough, which should be significantly shorter. Hob. Ran in circles for 15 minutes. The map was not as helpful as I hoped - the walls, untraversable bushes, and paths were not clear. I also discovered that the controls can be reconfigured by editing a text file in the game's folder.

Metro: Last Light Complete Edition is free on Steam (until 25 May). https://store.steampowered.com/app/43160/Metro_Last_Light_Complete_Edition/ DEATH STRANDING is free on EGS (same). https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/death-stranding

It certainly will be released. Eventually. Encased. Unlocked the best vehicle in the game. Though, the puzzle to acquire it was rather odd - it was a text-based (like a dialogue) puzzle and it was necessary to check a certain parameter by choosing a specific dialogue option repeatedly, which was not obvious. Also, it is nice that some of the quest items are possible to loot before taking the respective quest.

Encased. After reaching Act 2 I have realised that the Fatigue system seems to be meant to counter the non-lethal stealth play style - lock-picking/brute-forcing containers and non-lethal attacks increase fatigue, while normal attacks and searching containers/disarming mines/hacking terminals/crafting do not. Somehow unpleasant, though both non-lethal attacks and stealth are rather OP - the former does not depend on normal damage output or most resistances (can be dodged; one of the companions can KO anything in 1 turn), while the NPCs' mystical perception auras make the latter mostly easy. On the other hand, non-lethal takedowns do not give XP and the bodies cannot be looted. Edit. I find it very impressive that there are unique images for random events that are not used anywhere else.

Started New Game+ in The Tarnishing of Juxtia. While the experience points (specks) gained were appropriate for NG+, for some reason, the only foes that had their damage increased were the tutorial undead which occasionally appeared throughout the game. Thus, I was able to get to the early-game boss, losing to whom did not return to the checkpoint but progressed the story, and discover what would happen if I won. Replayed The Count Lucanor. The adventure game is still quite enjoyable. Started Hob. It looks like a Metroidvania with simple combat and platforming. The lack of rebindable controls is most unpleasant, the graphics and story seem nice.

Completed The Tarnishing of Juxtia after binge-playing it for 2 days. The final boss was quite challenging and had rather unpleasant attacks, while the battle itself was slightly too heavy on bullet-hell elements, when it was completely impossible to attack the boss. Considering that most of the other bosses were more typical for the genre, I did not expect it. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. Review:

The Tarnishing of Juxtia. The map is opening up and now there are several areas to explore in order to gather the pieces of a magical seal. The combat is satisfying, especially the Energy Rush system (after enough landed hits, they don't consume stamina for a few seconds).

The Tarnishing of Juxtia. The game is gorgeous. Juxtia. The first boss, Tralium of the Valley, defeated. I think, the statues might be trying to say something.

https://www.pcgamer.com/modder-wires-chatgpt-into-skyrim-vr-so-npcs-can-roleplay-and-remember-past-conversations/ While it has limitations, an AI model trained on controlled and contained data might provide a higher variety of appropriate responses and make the social interactions with NPC feel more immersive. On the other hand, there is Square Enix. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2280000/SQUARE_ENIX_AI_Tech_Preview_THE_PORTOPIA_SERIAL_MURDER_CASE/

The Tarnishing of Juxtia. It is a Souls-like. The MC is something (a glowing red ball) put into a pile of bandages and told to go and kill a god on the other side of the kingdom. The controls are rebindable, the map is helpful, and the game saves the position on exit. The issue is that I cannot find the list of weapons and their stats. The starting sword seems like a decent and reliable option - average damage and nice moveset, so I spent the limited upgrade materials on it. Also, the game looks gorgeous - clear stylish pixel art and smooth animations.

Yes, though I played most of the game in co-op (built a magnificent tower solo*). I really liked the climbing mechanic - almost every surface outside dungeons could be climbed freely. Also the exploration and base-building were very nice.

It's been some time since I played (before the Sorcery update), but different aspects of gameplay have separate difficulty settings (combat, crafting, etc.) and in single-player mode can be configured before starting the game (would recommend to disable degradation for buildings). Also, there are NPC followers* (they are random and do not have quests or personalities), which can make combat easier or be nice decorations at the base. Though, dying while they are following you might result in their loss. Overall, unless you go into the late-game dungeons and face the bosses unprepared (the preparations include decent equipment and the followers loaded with healing items or food), it should be fine. There is a main story line (to remove the bracelet and regain freedom), some environmental storytelling, and lore. *They were possible to recruit by rescuing in the Siptah expansion, but I think they had to be captured in the main game. Pets have to be kidnapped when young in both, though.

Encased. Exploring the Magellan Station. It is divided into 7+ floors and can be traversed mostly freely. Some general design decisions are becoming slightly unpleasant - XP can be gained from looting and depends on the quality of the loot, while the loot itself is random, hte action of looting does not increase fatigue, and there are a lot of containers (including flower pots and trash bins), thus if looting is skipped, so is the XP, which might make the following encounters more difficult. Also, there are some odd parts in the writing and slight mismatches with NPC descriptions (e.g. an NPC described having "sun-bleached" hair has curly black hair on the portrait). The quests are reasonably interesting so far, some are straightforward, some include light puzzles. Though the Journal updates are inconsistent - if a clue was obtained before the quest, it is not saved in the Journal and has to be repeated, which might not be possible. The party is able to knock out a group of a similar size reliably - everyone has a non-lethal combat ability.

I think I've used GOG Galaxy once to download the previous version of PoEII, then noticed that the app was using a hidden folder on the OS drive, which was rather inconvenient due to the drive's relatively small size. Are there any advantages of using the application instead of the website (which allowed to choose games' versions just a few years ago)?

Thank you. I think I found 1 bed I could sleep in, the rest were either non-interactive or I could not rest there because there were hostiles in the location. Thank you for the suggestion - those are status effects. The green one means that I am recovering from fatigue by passing out on the floor (-2 fatigue every 3 seconds in real-time), the red means that there are stat penalties from the fatigue. Encased. Got the perk which should decrease fatigue after teleportation, but I had not know that teleportation required not only the device but also the corresponding ability. The fog of war on the world map seems interesting enough - I do not think that there are large bodies of water or canyons (the thing in the middle of the map does not count), so just checking the map square by square should be possible. Explored 2 small locations and realised that I need some non-lethal reusable weapon. While stealth is viable in general, in a side quest I was asked specifically to incapacitate the foes without killing them and the consumable items I had were single-use. Edit. Found a safe bed in Junktown, an ability that deals 200-400 fatigue damage, and 3 companions. Had to knocked out one of them at the Arena and now she's got stuck in the floor KO'ed and I cannot initiate dialogue to recruit her. Edit 2. I gave Fox some coffee and was able to recruit her. Did not expect the item to work on an NPC before joining the party.

Yes and no - the detection area is a circle (technically, 2 - low attention and high attention), the detection cooldown time is quite long and unpleasant if you cannot leave the location*. Haven't tried yet, but leaving the location and waiting (skipping time via the Wait menu) should cover it. As there were no owned objects, thus no crime detection, in the Nashville facility, I did not have to wait out the increased NPC suspicion and could loot almost everything (short of 2 containers - one was surrounded by 2 NPC, another in use). *this - I could not wait because the area was "unsafe" and the NPCs were blocking the exit. I have not figured out how I am supposed to rest, except of falling asleep from high fatigue**, so been using medkits (needed only once when I could not avoid the damage from the lack of lighting) and the anti-fatigue consumable. There should be a medic companion somewhere, who might make it better. **a spoiler for the Nashville facility:

Encased. Tried a stealth-only run through the starting area successfully. In general, I am quite pleased with the game, not counting the looting (too much trash) and fatigue* systems, and was able to complete the prologue without combat. Probably could even without interactions with NPCs, if I wanted to. *the difficulty options do not seem to affect the fatigue gained per lock picked (75), so I might try to remove it with console commands.