PLAY SLAY THE PRINCESS

As October came to fullness this year, oozing with spooky things like an impending election, I picked up Black Tabby Games' Slay The Princess (a recommendation of my wife) as an escape. I didn't know much about the game, but knew it was a visual novel with a new spin on the "rescue the princess" trope. On a dark and stormy night, I fired it up on my PlayStation and completed it in a sitting. It was a treat. Also full of tricks, to be fair, but certainly a treat.

PLAY SAYONARA WILD HEARTS

Sayonara Wild Hearts is a difficult game to describe, but I'll do my best: 

Imagine your worst breakup - the sort of thing that rocks your sense of self. Emotionally turbulent, you get on your motorcycle, you turn up your music, and you let yourself feel. You aren't sure where you need to go - your destination isn't the point - the ride is the point - wherever you are, you need to be somewhere else, to process your feelings. It's raining, the rhythmic drops breaking across your cheekbones and mixing with your tears. You're angry, you're heartbroken, and you aren't sure what to do about either. Why did she leave you? What did you do wrong? How could you be so stupid - again? You aren't paying attention to a wet curve in the road, your motorcycle goes sideways and your unprotected skull strikes something that turns the world black. The coma-induced fever-dream you experience on life support is Sayonara Wild Hearts at its wild heart.

ANNIHILATION ADJACENT - EPISODE IV: EBLIS WHICH WAY

 This is the fourth recap episode for ANNIHILATION ADJACENT, covering the events of a game that took place on May 11, 2024. It takes place directly after EPISODE III.

(This was a shorter game and mostly combat, and therefore a shorter recap)

ANNIHILATION ADJACENT - EPISODE III: WELCOME TO NYANZARU

This is the third recap episode for ANNIHILATION ADJACENT, covering the events of a game that took place on April 20, 2024. It takes place directly after EPISODE II.

CHEESY LEEK, ONION, AND MUSHROOM PIE

I based this recipe on one that Nigel Slater wrote up last November, but I wanted to add more vegetables, and I didn't have any crème fraiche. As such, the filling in my take on his recipe has little in common with Nigel's original. Despite being vegetarian, this is definitely more of a "comfort food" than it is "healthy."

INTERLUDE II - WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

This narrative interlude focuses on Trixie's background, and takes place between ANNIHILATION ADJACENT EPISODE II and EPISODE III.

PLAY NEON WHITE

Neon White was much more fun than it had any right to be. It was developed by Angel Matrix, a collaborative group of independent developers, and published by  Annapurna Interactive.

Annapurna has published some good stuff - they have an impressive catalog of games in their past; some that I recognize like What Remains of Edith Finch, Outer Wilds, and Sayonara Wild Hearts. Annapurna also published a few titles in my own backlog, like The Artful Escape and Stray.

ANNIHILATION ADJACENT - EPISODE II: OF PIRATES AND DRAGON TURTLES

This is the second recap episode for ANNIHILATION ADJACENT, covering the events of a game that took place on April 13, 2024. It takes place directly after EPISODE I.

INTERLUDE I - A CARVED DOLPHIN

This narrative interlude focuses on Buddy's background, and takes place between ANNIHILATION ADJACENT EPISODE I and EPISODE II.

ANNIHILATION ADJACENT - EPISODE I: TROUBLED WATERS

This is the first recap episode for ANNIHILATION ADJACENT, covering the events of a game that took place on March 30, 2024.|

AN ODE TO COSTCO ROTISSERIE CHICKEN

A roast chicken at my local Costco costs 5 dollars. Let's be clear - this product is not an ethical way to consume chicken. There have been numerous articles by qualified investigative journalists involving hidden cameras, lawsuits, and unhealthy treatment of their birds over the years. I in no way want to undermine their important work. I struggle with the idea of ethical consumption daily, and this post is my approach to consuming chicken.

PLAY PLANET ALPHA

I found Planet Alpha to be a fun, short little game that was well worth the 4 dollars I paid for it. The game has no dialogue, but does a great job of showing rather than telling. You play as an alien explorer on a hostile planet. You can move, jump, time-manipulate, and crouch-walk your way through various threats in your consistent effort to reach the right edge of the screen.

CHEESY LENTIL AND MUSHROOM QUICHE

Quiche is probably my favorite breakfast construct. You can put almost anything into a quiche, which makes them super flexible and useful as a way to eat up leftovers. They also work double-duty as a solid option for either breakfast or dinner! I use this basic blueprint for most any quiche, swapping out approximate ingredients for whatever I have on hand.

It's worth noting that with all the cheese and heavy cream in here, this is not really a "healthy" meal. It's still kinda-healthy-ish though. Let's get cooking!

SUSHI WITH MY DAD

I grew up (in the 1990s/2000s) in a small town called Carnation, which is about an hour outside of Seattle, Washington. There were no sushi restaurants in the area, and my mom wasn't really into the idea of raw fish anyway, so the first time I had sushi was with my dad, on "Take Your Child to Work" day.

PLAY KENA: BRIDGE OF SPIRITS

It took me too damn long to get around to finishing Kena. I just kept getting torn between the core story, the various collectibles, and other games competing for my time. A full year (and about 28 hours of gameplay) after I initially picked it up though, it's finally time to write something up about it.

A RANT ABOUT THE NEWS

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”

― H.P. Lovecraft

KIWI, TOMATO, AND AVOCADO PANCAKE SALSA

I'll admit it - this is barely a recipe. It's really mostly just a tasty way to use up extra kiwis and to salvage half of an old avocado. Sue me. Or better - don't.

PLAY TURNIP BOY COMMITS TAX EVASION

I ignored this game when it released in 2021 - which was probably a mistake. It would have been a cheerful diversion from Covid lockdown. As it is, I picked it up on a PS5 sale recently, and finished it over the course of a couple evenings. According to my console, it took me 4 hours to hit 100% completion - at least the last hour of that was spent picking up the last couple trophies/achievements.

HOW I (ENDEAVOR TO) EAT

My aim here is to codify my own approach to healthy(ish) eating here. It's also a sort of how-to guide for anyone who wants some ideas about improving their diet. If that's the sort of thing you'd like to read about, read on!

PLAY ASSASSIN'S CREED: MIRAGE

I've played nearly every major Assassin's Creed game to date - I missed Unity since I didn't own the appropriate console at the time it released, and later (after reading their stance on female characters at the time), I never felt particularly motivated to pick it up later on. I've had a somewhat complicated opinion of the franchise over the years, but generally enjoyed them all. What follows is a brief history, devoid of spoilers, of the AC games as I see them.

READ YUMI AND THE NIGHTMARE PAINTER

About 90 hours ago, my wife finished reading Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. I'd lost all contact with her late the day before.

She was definitely breathing, had a strong pulse, and responded (with monosyllabic noises) to prompts regarding food. She even gave our cats an answering pet or scritch when they inquisitively approached her with their demands for attention. But her focus was entirely sunk into the regular turning of the book's (admittedly gorgeous) pages.

GARLICKY BALSAMIC SQUASH BAKE

This recipe grew out of a need for an easy, quick-prep vegetable dish I could throw together while gaming. I've always hated long recipe intros, so I won't put one here.

PLAY DREDGE

Dredge is a game that I'm late to the table for; it's a Lovecraftian Horror game disguised as a fishing game and it's caught my attention with a hook that won't let go. Your character is a faceless, nameless fisherperson, recently arrived in a region plagued by dismal attitudes and bizarre activities.