aRPG – Ms. Bella's World

6–9 minutes

Have you ever had one of those weeks where, despite things moving along in a perfectly normal manner, you just feel like something is off? You can’t put your finger on it, but it’s there. It hovers over everything like a giant rain cloud that won’t go away.

That’s rather how I’ve been feeling lately. Just that little bit off. It certainly doesn’t help that the weather keeps waffling between spring and something more resembling winter. It doesn’t help that I suffer from clinical depression which rears its head every so often. And I’m no doctor but I’ll almost guarantee that I need to start taking vitamin B again.

You’ve probably even noticed in my last few videos that I’m more low-key than usual. Not that I’m ever super bouncy cheery, loud and boisterous. LOL, perhaps I should be. I’m often told I’m too loud and boisterous in real life! There’s a fun fact for you.

My biggest issue with the channel right now, however, stares at me each time I open my weekly planner and look at the schedule. I have entirely too many games to juggle right now! Eleven games I’m juggling, none of which I get to play for much longer than the time I have allotted to record for each of them.

I tried to ignore the fact that I’m feeling stressed. Perhaps even a little overwhelmed. But there is no longer any ignoring it. I don’t know how I’m going to rearrange things. I don’t know what I should keep or get rid of.

I do know that I won’t be dumping LOTRO.

I don’t want to stop playing Grim Dawn.

I’m really enjoying Enshrouded.

And I’m finally having fun in Skyrim, now that I’ve stopped trying to chase the main quests and have just gone off adventuring.

Against the Storm is a Let’s Play and I’ve no problems with that, knowing that in Q3 of 2024 it’ll be replaced by the next game.

Now, for the rest …

Valheim – Gus and I have taken a break to enjoy LOTRO again while we wait for Ashlands to release and the subsequent need for mods to all be updated and fixed. And honestly, I think Gus is a tiny bit bored with the current biomes, considering he’s already beat every boss to date!

On a side note, I’m also thinking Gus would love Enshrouded, and he’s looked at the game and agrees, however we’re not certain he can even run it.

Broken Ranks returned, both because I had an idea for the series and because someone requested it. However, it’s not been well-received and I’ve not gotten any feedback as to why. I’ll finish out the current subscription for the game, playing it and seeing how I fared vs. being F2P, but if people still aren’t responding well I may retire the series completely.

Subnautica has also returned by request and, while I’m enjoying it again, I’m not getting enough time to explore in the game as I’d like. Hence, I’m feeling like I’m not progressing very fast and I’m frustrated.

Guild Wars 2. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the game still, even if I only get to play a little each week. I’m especially liking the Asura right now. But I’m not loving the game and, if I were honest, I don’t think I ever will /love/ the game. I like it well enough, certainly enjoy exploring the world and doing the story quests. Not much else to say here.

Last Epoch is one of those games that, while I love it, I’m going to be slow AF playing it. While I don’t mind, I’m not certain it makes for the most exciting videos. Well, maybe watching me die is exciting. I could do that more.

And of course there’s Dragon’s Dogma 2, though I guess in all fairness I don’t do videos for it. I mainly livestream it. However, it is a pretty slow moving RPG and I frequently find myself having to backtrack multiple times to find something. I know I’ve died plenty of times though and I imagine that’s entertainment enough. I know I find them funny, even the deaths caused by me being stupid.

That’s the whole list. It was a lot longer than I thought it’d be. I’ll have to figure out how to rearrange things, what to retire, what to keep.

And of course, games don’t stop getting released and I’ve always got my eye out for new and interesting ones!

With all of that out of the way, there have been little bits and bobs of gaming news that has interested me. Things like –

Stellar Blade released on April 26th, 2024 and was almost immediately patched, censoring some of Eve’s outfits. Who’s to blame for this? Did Shift Up straight up lie about not censoring the game? Did Sony force them to censor it? Whatever the reason, it’s stupid. And it’s even more stupid to see games journalists cheer about censorship. The same journalists, mind you that would cheer about jiggle physics in male characters in Baldur’s Gate 3. I’d love it if they’d stop with the hypocrisy, but I won’t hold my breath for that to happen.
Manor Lords, by Slavic Magic, also released on April 26th 2024 in early access. The medieval strategy simulation is created by a solo developer and, while I’ve not had a chance to delve deeply into the game yet, I’ve tinkered with it a bit. Once I’ve gotten some hours in we’ll look at it. The Steam reviews are mostly positive and the reviews on GOG (yes, it’s on GOG, where I got my copy) it’s holding a respectible 4.3/5 stars. However reviews at both platforms suggest it’s got a lot of room to grow still, so keep that in mind if you’re looking to buy it. It’s not cheap for an EA game, $40 USD, but until May 10th it’ll be on sale for 25% off at both GOG and Steam.
There seem to be some life simulation games on the horizon for people who’ve been long time Sims fans. And yes, I have played The Sims. I’ve owned every version from the original up to Sims 4, and various expansions & DLC for 2, 3 and 4. I love building stuff in the game mainly. However, games like Life by You (Early Access – June 04th, 2024), Vivaland (? 2024), Paralives (? 2025), and InZOI (? 202?) are set to try to dethrone the long running franchise. EA seems to be doing everything in its power to help them along, with lackluster packs and expansions for the Sims 4 that add very little for their price points except game breaking bugs. I, for one, have uninstalled Sim 4 and returned to played Sims 3 because even with the bugs in that version, it’s still a far more open and fun experience. We’ll see how Life by You, the first of the new batch, shapes up.
Little Kitty, Big City, an absolutely adorable looking game by Double Dagger Studio is set to release on May 9th, 2024. In the game, you play a cute little cat who needs to find his way home. It features colorful graphics and a cute protagonist who may just cause a little mayhem as he navigates the world. Definitely on my wishlist!
And speaking of cute games, Tales of the Shire by Wētā Workshop takes the concept of cozy games to Middle Earth. While I enjoy the occassional farming sim or other cozy games, I’ll admit I don’t tend to stick with them for long. Perhaps Tales of the Shire could be that special something to keep me engaged, but with no release date and not a whole lot of information to go on, it’s a wait and see. Still, it’s certainly on my wishlist.

That’s it. Well, except for one more thing. I’d like to shout out Kabrutus and his new website – DEI Detected. I look forward to seeing where he takes it in the future as people push back against the DEI that’s caused such a divide in various communities.

Like many gamers, I believe there’s a difference between organic diversity in games and the forced diversity and inclusion that is the hallmark of much of this DEI push.

Done organically and with thought and care, diversity can enhance a game’s world, its characters, and the story. But shoehorned in, with established characters race or gender bent, hyperfocus on immutable traits or preferences to the exclusion of everything else, creates unlikable characters, stale worlds, and boring stories.

And that, for the moment, shall conclude my rant.

Until next time, bye for now.

4–6 minutes

I recently received a copy of the highly anticipated Dragon’s Dogma II as a gift. After having heard so much about it, seen videos of it on YouTube, and even checked out the first Dragon’s Dogma, I was excited to try it out. Heroes? Check. Evil dragon? Check. A quest to recover something of great importance? Check. An open world to explore? Check. Great character customization? Check.

In summary, the game ticked all the boxes for me. Despite concerns about whether my system could handle it, I eagerly awaited its download. It took what felt like ages, giving me time to tackle more mundane tasks of life. But, when it was done, I loaded the game up knowing my character was already premade, patterned after my high elf Medrielle in LOTRO. And off I went to start my adventure.

So far the game hasn’t disappointed me in this aspect. I died early on, as I expected I would. I also succeeded. I found myself in a new world with people who questioned who I was and with strange, humanlike people known as pawns swearing fealty to me at every turn. I was Arisen, alive despite my heart having been ripped away from me by a dragon.

Yet, amidst the enjoyment I’ve experienced with the game, I can’t overlook the numerous negative reviews it has garnered since its launch. These criticisms fall into three distinct categories, one of which particularly baffles me. Let’s delve into why players are expressing frustration with Capcom.

Performance Issues –

While it’s not uncommon for games to launch with performance issues, the trend seems to be worsening in recent years, and Dragon’s Dogma II is no exception. Players have reported severe FPS drops in cities, critical crashes, and freezing within the game.

It’s evident that the game was made for high-end machines, which many players do not possess. Some may opt not to upgrade their systems, while others may have more pressing financial obligations such as rent, food, or medical expenses.

However, even players with high-spec computers are experiencing issues, indicating that the problem lies not only with hardware but also with optimization.

Paid MTX in a Single-player Game –

This aspect has sparked considerable outrage and likely contributes significantly to the negative reviews. Despite its $69.99 price tag (or $79.99 for the deluxe version), the game offers a range of microtransactions (MTX) for sale. These include items like the Explorer’s Camping Kit for $2.99 and the Makeshift Gaol key for $0.99, among others. The total cost of these MTX, should a player purchase them all after buying the standard edition of the game, amounts to $42, on top of the initial $69.99. It’s worth noting that these items appear to be included in the deluxe edition, which was the version gifted to me.

While I’ve heard that almost all of these items can be acquired easily within the game, it raises the question: Why introduce this additional layer of monetization? Was it a response to Capcom’s CEO suggesting that games should cost $100? If so, it seems that the negative reviews suggest this strategy may not be as profitable as anticipated.

No New Game Button?! –

This design choice is perhaps the most perplexing. In a single-player RPG, players expect the ability to start a new game easily. However, Dragon’s Dogma II lacks this feature. If a player encounters a glitch that renders them stuck or experiences a critical crash, there’s no straightforward way to start over.

A workaround has been discovered, involving multiple steps that look something like this –

1) Turn off Steam's Cloud save for the game
2) Navigate to the game's folder (typically under Program Files            
    (x86)\Steam\userdata\ (your user id) \2054970\remote\win64_save)
3) Delete data000.bin and data00-1.bin
4) Restart the game and make your character.
5) Close the game and reenable Steam Cloud save for the game
6) Steam will inform you of a Cloud conflict with the game at 
    this point and here you choose the save version to keep 
    before starting the game again. In this case you want to 
    choose Local Save, overwriting what's in the cloud.

However, people have reported issues doing this and it seems that Capcom keeps your save files on its own server as well, so can overwrite the save on your computer and in Steam’s cloud with its own version. Others have reported being temporarily banned from playing by Denuvo, the anti-tampering feature used by Capcom for most of its games. I’d use this with a buyer beware caveat.

Capcom has since come out with a statement, including looking into adding an feature for the Steam version that allows players to restart the game. Just add a new game button. The first Dragon’s Dogma had one! I don’t even care if it means the new game wipes the previous game, although I’m sure I’m in the minority on that sentiment.

In conclusion, while Dragon’s Dogma II offers a captivating experience in a beautifully crafted world, these issues detract from an otherwise great game. I look foward to playing many hours of it and dying a lot, but I can’t in good conscience recommend it until Capcom addresses the concerns raised in the negative reviews.

What are your thoughts on Dragon’s Dogma II? Are you excited to try it, or have the negative reviews given you pause? Share your opinions in the comments below.

Until next time, bye for now!