deleted by creator

Kinda funny how easy it is for me to lose complete interest in something and also just how freeing that can be.

It’s nice.

I’ve been waiting to see how they’re going to fuck up NSFW subs and I’m willing to bet that’s where this is going.

I can only hope it affects the ones that focus on self-promotion, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they just decide to charge users directly for access to NSFW subs entirely, since they already removed it entirely from the free API, which apps like RedReader use.(*)

I know I’m not the only one who basically only has an account for that stuff, although a lot of those subs have turned to shit over the last year or so, anyway. AI generated nonsense, self-promotion even when it’s discouraged, bad moderation, some disappearing entirely because they were abandoned back last year…

(*) Technically, you can still view that content without an account via Old Reddit (or at least you could a few months ago, haven’t checked recently), but that’s inevitably going to be killed as well, it’s just a matter of “when”.

Maybe “very” was too strong a word, but I mainly meant the melee combat.

Although to be honest, other than the blackjack, people shouldn’t really be using melee much, so it’s not that much of a problem.

It’s mostly when the zombie dudes come into play that the sword combat can feel dated if you take them on directly.

No prob. The first game actually has some fantastic mods and also a ton of incredibly well-crafted fan-made levels.

You might want a few tiny mods for Deus Ex as well, though it doesn’t really require much.

Kind of funny that it was “too violent” because you can go through most of the game without even killing anyone. It’s my preferred playstyle, just sleep darts and stealth stuff.

Actually, you’ll have a bit of a rough time if you go in guns ablaze. A lot of people used to shooters end up being obliterated on the first level when they initially play it, which is what happened to me when I first played it on release. Came back to it years later after I’d discovered Thief and suddenly felt right at home.

Edit: Oh, and it’s also available on GOG. Most of the earlier immersive sims (Thief, Deus Ex, System Shock, Ultima, Arx Fatalis, etc.) are.

Do note that in your post you mentioned things that have aged well, and while I think it’s fine, they can feel a bit clunky, especially in comparison to some of the games heavily influenced by them (e.g. Dishonored, among others).

Edit: I’m mostly referring to direct melee combat here, and not the rest of the game. Truth is, you probably won’t find yourself using it much against humans, but the sword can feel a bit dated against some of the nonhuman creatures. And now that I think about it, Dishonored’s swordplay isn’t exactly super fluid either unless you’re countering and parrying.

You might want to add some mods just to touch some things up.

Also, while the second game is my favourite, don’t sleep on the third, especially if you like horror because one of the later levels is fucking incredible. I say all of this as someone who ordinarily hates supernatural-type horror.

And the third game also expands on the lore, which I like.

All of them are available on GOG and Steam.

Similar to Thief, the original Deus Ex is a great game which might also show its age a bit, but I think stands the test of time for the most part.

Thief 2023

I think you meant 2014, unless there’s something I missed from last year.

Played the three games developed Accidental Queens because I’ve been in an interactive fiction/detective mood.

Started off with A Normal Lost Phone and Another Lost Phone, then headed into their gem of a game they later developed called Alt-Frequencies. Super fun narrative-focused game with a cool time loop premise. Great voice acting as well.

It’s been nice playing these short little games lately. Enjoying them quite a bit.

It was confirmed Sublinks a little while ago:

https://beehaw.org/comment/3686715

There’s a jazz/soul radio station in the first game that has some real bangers as well if you’re into that.

Song of Farca.

A fun little hacky detective puzzle game reminiscent of games like Orwell and its sequel, but with a more engaging cast of characters.

Thanks very much, I appreciate that.

I hope the same thing but in the meantime, just gonna try to practice some mindfulness and let it flow.

Thanks for the kind words!

Unfortunately, it’s a little too complicated and I think I just need a break from most stuff, including the ranting, lol.

Thanks for asking, though. Really appreciate it.

Not great.

To be honest, I feel quite hopeless.

Just a lot of bullshit not in my control that’s taking its toll.

After taking a couple of days to digest the ending I got in Not for Broadcast, I’m hoping to go back and replay it differently sometime soon. One moment in particular, I need to approach differently.

Man, that game is equal parts hilarious and fucked up. Not much I can say without spoiling it, but it’s really worth a shot if you like dystopian fiction (especially the kind that starts just before everything slowly goes to shit), dark humour, satirical takes on news media, or just narrative-focused games in general with a fair amount of choices and consequences which gradually play out over time.

Like, there are 14 main endings and within all of those there are also “mini news stories” which play out over the game that have a wealth of different outcomes themselves. The amount of variables is pretty impressive, honestly.

Anyway, now I’m playing Do Not Feed The Monkeys for a similar darkly humourous experience of “fuck with the people on the other side of the camera”.

Yeah, that definitely sounds like something that I’d love to sink a bunch of time into. On to the wishlist it goes!

Oh, now that looks interesting! Immediately wishlisted.

Thanks for letting me know about that!

That’s that procedurally generated detective game, right?

I really need to try it because it seems right up my alley. From what I understand, it can get pretty intricate when it comes to the detective work which seems really interesting.

Got some stuff in my cart, but need to play some demos first before I hit the “buy” button. Surprisingly quite a few games I’m interested in have one available, which is nice.

In the meantime, I’ve started Case of the Golden Idol because I loved Return of the Obra Dinn and I know it’s highly recommended for fans of that.

Don’t know if I’m really feeling this as much, though. I’ll carry on, of course, because I still enjoy the detective puzzle aspect. But it isn’t drawing me in the way Obra Dinn did for some reason.

I remember first trying the original when I was like 11 or something.

At the time, I didn’t really understand much beyond “shooty shooty” when it came to games with guns (it would be shortly after this that I’d find stealth games and have that passion ignited), so I was given guns, used them how I usually did at the time and proceeded to get obliterated in the first level and gave up.

A few years later, after I’d gotten into stealth games, my love affair with immersive sims began.

Along with playing the Thief series, I went back to give Deus Ex a try and it all just clicked. I think it and Thief II were instrumental in cementing my love for the genre.

After playing and enjoying the first one, I played them all over the next few years and Mankind Divided is probably my second favourite after the original. Loved every moment.

Then fucking Square Enix does their bullshit, and then fucking Embracer ruined it for good.

All in all, I love Deus Ex and I’m super glad I found myself getting into stealth games and immersive sims, otherwise I would have missed out on it so many other of my favourite gaming experiences, Deus Ex being one of them.

What’s weird is that it’s like the only Looking Glass/Ion Storm/Eidos Montréal immersive sim franchise that doesn’t have a clear spiritual successor. For System Shock we got not only BioShock, but Prey (2017) as well. For Thief, we got Dishonored. For Ultima, we got Arx Fatalis/Libertatis (and early Elder Scrolls to a very lesser extent).

But for Deus Ex, we’ve got… I don’t know, Cyberpunk 2077, maybe? But the whole open world thing doesn’t really fit in with the usual gameplay loop of Deus Ex. There are a fair amount of great cyberpunk games, but none seem to really scratch that immersive sim itch. I guess Prey is pretty close as well (in addition to its System Shock influences), if you consider some of the body/power upgrades, but it’s not all that similar thematically.

I’d love for someone to come around and pull a Thanos by just going, “fine, I’ll do it myself”. If the franchise is dead, maybe now there’s more motivation for that, since, before a few months ago, we were still clinging to what little hope remained for the third Adam Jensen game. Or maybe someone already has and I’ve missed it.