In “Week in Gaming”, I will be talking about the various snippets of gaming media I have encountered and share any stories or games I have come across in that week. I won’t add everything to keep it a short-ish post, but I will include what I was playing and something that was maybe something bigger in my world.
Which exact day I will post these will likely vary but probably on a Sunday. Let me know what you think. I am trying a way to write and share that feels less pressured than it currently feels to me.
Duskbloods Network test
The main thing that happened to me was that I was selected to play in the Switch 2 Duskbloods Network test. I have never done anything like this before, let alone for a multiplayer game. But I used to be a games tester and loved Elden Ring. What could go wrong? As is often the case with these things From Software’s servers were not working so I aborted the first play session after waiting for 90 mins and did something else. Turns out they aborted the play test window entirely only a few minutes later.
Prior to trying to play the game I did watch some of the influencer videos that got to play it first. I love how the traversal looks. I hope it feels good too. My go to’s for gameplay tips and Elden Ring type lore are these two; Fighting Cowboy and VaatiVidya.
The next day I saw that the second window was successful so I decided to give it a go. It was pretty exciting to finally log in and see the world. I’ve only played Elden Ring in terms of From Software games and their signature is visible despite the setting being quite a bit different. It felt more gothic leaning with the vampiric angles.
The movement and traversal set did not disappoint and I’d love a future Elden ring 2 type character that can triple jump and dash. Did it make me think of like hollow knight and silksong traversal? Maybe a little bit. I enjoy getting those things right. I think I feel more awesome when I can platform and move around well not necessarily when I can fight well. haha.
My favourite bit was exploring and fighting the different enemies, that were not other players. The network sign up page has some game guides if you want to know more details, but in essence there are 4 rounds with 8 players trying to get virtue (points), and level up. Round 1 tends to be more chill and everyone explores, gets some virtue and levels up. Round 2 is where the 2 players with least amount of virtue get culled, Round 3 is where only the top 3 players get through to the final PvP battle.
There are nuances here that I won’t go in to. I mostly got culled at round 2. I did not really understand the virtue system in the first couple of hours and also from Round 2 players want to get virtue by killing other players, and I was a target a lot which means I lost time trying to explore and I encountered bugs where I would not be able to respawn. There are some co-op battle mechanics as part of collecting virtue too which could be fun.
At first I enjoyed these co-op battles but quickly everyone seemed to turn on each other and take me out. 😅😂 so the PvP aspect is actually pretty annoying. Once the tutorials were done I never made it past the second out of 4 rounds. Understanding of the game and how to get these virtue points quickly would help as just killing enemies was not how to do it.
In one round I suddenly had 16 virtue points but everyone else had 30-40 😅😂 I’m clearly not made for this game without grinding and learning a lot more.
I would love a single player mode of sorts for it and then I’d love to explore the maps. The jumps and dashes are really smooth and fun. I am hopeful that maybe there will be a story mode of some sorts, because with it being a Switch 2 exclusive it needs the switch online subscription as well to be able to play the game essentially which feels wrong to me. Ah well we shall see.
What have I been playing?
Any game I dipped into during the week - sometimes less sometimes more.
Side note: how did I fit in so much gaming? We had several visitors for whom we took time off this past week, meaning I could game in between us doing something or once they had left and I still had a day to myself :) this won’t be normal.
Big Walk
This week has been a bit sporadic in terms of gaming. In the Sey discord we started Big Walk for our monthly gaming club so I have played a bit of this with friends from the discord, which has been fun. I am really shy and maybe even more so speaking online, but we are a nice bunch so it has been really fun. Luna and I started a file together and it has been nice to see the difference playing in a big group and smaller group.
Crimson Desert
I also continued Crimson Desert - and I am making slow progress but I got my first non horse mount - a bear! So that’s exciting for me. I still would love to find the Wyvern but haven’t gotten to that part of the map yet. I see myself dipping in and out of this for many years to come, so it will appear more often haha.
Kynseed
Over the last couple of weeks I also discovered this pixel art game that recently was released on the Switch 2 called Kynseed. It is by some of the original Fable developers, so has moral and friendship systems, and goes beyond being a farming sim. There is lots of mythology and folklore and the whole game is also about legacy as far as I understand. I am yet to get really into it beyond the tutorial but loving it so far.
Two Point Museum - Cult of the lamb collab
And finally I started to dip my toes into Two Point Museum thanks to Luna making me aware of a collab with Cult of the Lamb. The game has been on my radar for ages but I never bought it because I knew it would take over my life. :D Do you have games like that, that you just know will derail any sort of gaming plan? Anyway it consumed me last night and now that I know the controls I want to start again and build the coolest museums ever. It is also very funny.
Pokopia - DLC Bubbly Basin
The under water DLC for Pokopia released a little while back prompting me to dive back in. (Yep I said that). I really like how they created the underwater aspects, the fact that items can float and how the new habitats work. I thought it was well executed and extremely cute. I had also forgotten how sassy the Pokemon are when they speak to you. A few hours cozy gaming was had.
New discoveries
New to me games or gaming related things
DeadRoot
DeadRoot is a new to me game that I wishlisted this week. It has Tunic and Death’s Door vibes in terms of the art style and I just love that you are a snail. Will snails be the new frogs of gaming? What do you think?
DeadRoot is a barbaric medieval action-adventure set in a bug-sized world of underground dungeons and towering ruins. Splatter bug guts and slay colossal bosses as Kitt, a lone snail warrior, who must draw his sword against overwhelming odds.
How was your week in gaming? Do you have any favourite stories or games to share?
Your comment about snails as the new frogs reminded me all in a flash of another invertebrate protagonist - Earthworm Jim, from the Sega Megadrive. I don’t remember ever finishing that game but I remember it being a lot of fun!
Ooh, I've never heard of Kynseed before! That sounds really interesting, and I'll be taking a look at that on the Switch!
Awesome write-up Margot! Thanks for sharing!