August Update
Another month went by way too quickly! I've added more games to my playing tab, but I really need to get to those. At least I also completed a game this month.
And Dragon Age: The Veilguard finally has a release date! I could honestly cry from happiness, I've been waiting so long for this game :,D

Games Played

Honkai: Star Rail
Genshin Impact
Wuthering Waves
World of Warcraft

(Playing) Granblue Fantasy: Relink
(Playing) Lil' Guardsman
(Playing) Inscryption
(Playing) Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
(Playing) BUSTAFELLOWS

(Completed) Wall World

(Retired) Loop Hero

Currently Playing

Honkai: Star Rail

The new Apocalyptic Shadow was pretty easy this time, cleared it first try with my two current standard teams.

I wrapped up the new storyline (finally), but I have to say I didn't like the second part as much (prison) as the first. But Dan Heng was awesome :D. It definitely ended too soon. I can't wait for more.

I've also completed the Operation Memoria Snapshot event. This was basically Pokemon Snap. It wasn't bad, but not really interesting either. It would have been nice if there had been more easter eggs of existing characters in the background, I guess.

Next I did the other trashcan event that came after the one above (Trailblaze: Friendship is Magic)... the joke is getting a little old at this point, but whatever. Other than that I really liked the summon mechanic and I can't wait to have a character with such a mechanic.

Genshin Impact

I've decided to get back into it with the new update! I still haven't finished chapter 3 (Sumeru), or even started on 4 (Fontaine), but I've decided to simply jump into chapter 5 (Natlan) now anyway. Since they give you that possibility it should be fine. Though it sure was a bit of a trek to get to the questlines starting point xD. I've only done the very beginning so far. Other than that I'm also trying to level up a new team, but damn, it's really hard... I do have Alhaitham at level 60 now and he's finally somewhat usable. I've decided to replace my team one by one. Since I got Nahida and her weapon in a lucky pull a long while ago I want to use her, too. And Furina, because I really like her style. But for now I'll build Alhaitham and then go from there.
This game has gotten so huge in the time I haven't played, it's crazy!

Wuthering Waves

I've finally increased my Union Level to 50 (Mostly by doing a bunch of Exploration and Side Quests)! This time I made sure to pre-farm a little for the character level increase so that I can at least upgrade my main team. But then I realized I forgot Yinlin's Ascension Items, whoops :,D.

1.2 came around! I got lucky and pulled Zhezhi in only 30 pulls. Unfortunately her weapon took me almost the full 80 pulls, so now I gotta save up again for the next character. At least I can now replace Yinlin on my team. I did get a bit tired of her animations, so that's fortunate.

Now that the Pioneer Potcast has reset I'm also more keen on doing my dailies again. I have to admit I did take a bit of a week-long break between reaching Union Level 50 and the release of 1.2, but now I'm back.

I've started doing the Moon-Chasing Festival event, though I'm not too far into it yet. The initial quest sure was a bit depressing, though! But I really like Xiangli Yao. Can't believe he'll really be given out for free :D.

World of Warcraft

Ended up playing a lot of Pandaria: Remix after all. I've gotten all of the (not random drop) rewards, except for four of the Garrosh weapons. I've also ended up leveling somewhere around 20 new characters and finally got one of each allied race to 70. Honestly, it was fun. I just wish I'd gotten into it sooner and not just during the last week.

Aside from that I did the pre-event for War Within on basically the last two days. I think it was alright for a pre-event. Fun with good rewards and fast and easy to do.

And then it was time for The War Within! As always I was very excited for the start of a new expansion. So far I've quested through the first two areas and I have to say, the quality of the quests has increased so much, I'm really happy! I'm taking my time, though. I don't feel like rushing through this content.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Didn't play it, but still plan on getting back to it!

Lil' Guardsman

Same as the above.

Inscryption

I finished act 1! I think the gameplay was pretty fun and the puzzles weren't too hard to figure out. I think act 2 is going to be a lot different gameplay-wise and I'm really intrigued to get into it soon.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team

I'm not too far into it yet, I've beaten Team Meanies so far. I've always liked the Mystery Dungeon games and I have previously completed two (Darkness and Gates to Infinity). I'm happy this was added to NSO! And it's a game I can comfortably play in handheld mode, which I really like.

BUSTAFELLOWS

I only played one tiny session, so I'm not too far into it yet, but I definitely want to play it soon.

Completed Games

Wall World Completion Time: 10:34h

Amazon Prime provided some great games again, among them this!
Wall World is your average roguelite where you complete a run, get currency for overall upgrades and then start the next run, getting slightly further due to said upgrades. The game is essentially split into two parts: You dig into the wall and collect resources for upgrades and after a while a wave of enemies spawns so you need to return to your ship (the spider) to defeat them.
It feels repetitive, but my first session was about 3 hours long and I was definitely hooked. I managed to beat the first boss the second time I saw it and I've gotten a key of which I apparently need 5.
Up to this point I've only tried the first weapon, but for my next run I'll try one of the other weapons as I suspect that they are better.

Honestly, easier said than done... after that it took me ages to find another weapon again, but now I'm finally getting the hang of swapping them at least. I've reached the second boss twice now, but couldn't defeat it yet. Then I had a pretty good run where I found five or six blueprints (upgrades for future runs) and the second key.

I got a laser gun! This is the best weapon of them all in my opinion :D. I also found the third key. And what appears to be the final boss, but it killed me instantly, so I probably need all of the keys first. The gameplay loop (the mining specifically) is starting to get a bit boring, so hopefully I can find those keys soon.

I finally found the last two keys. I didn't know that the third boss that appears is also the final boss from the top of the map and if the timer runs out it instantly kills you. Oh well, one more run. I fully upgraded the laser gun and drone to prepare for the final boss fight... turns out that there's no fight, the game is simply over once you reach the top with all five keys, oh well. Despite its anticlimactic ending, it was a fun game!

Retired Games

Loop Hero Play Time: 2:20h

I've played this game before through Game Pass, but decided to try playing it again now that I got it through Amazon Prime. Honestly, I thought it was fun. I beat the first boss on my first try. But overall I felt it started to get a bit boring. It seems too grindy. I was already tabbing out of the game a lot, so it wasn't really holding my interest. Which is why I've decided to just drop it.

July Update
What's this? A monthly update? Honestly, I'm still not playing very much, but at least I've gotten back into gaming after my extensive break. Which is why I've decided to at least post monthly updates again.
Most of the stuff I played in July were gatcha games and games I tried and retired, as you'll see below.

Games Played

Honkai: Star Rail
Wuthering Waves
World of Warcraft

(Playing) Granblue Fantasy: Relink
(Playing) Lil' Guardsman

(Completed) The Witch's Cauldron (2024)

(Retired) Zenless Zone Zero
(Retired) Coffee Talk
(Retired) Cobalt Core
(Retired) Freshly Frosted
(Retired) A Little Golf Journey
(Retired) Link Twin

Currently Playing

Honkai: Star Rail

Aside from the obvious dailies and weeklies...
I struggled a bit with the last phase of the new Apocalyptic Shadow, I tried with teams recommended by guides, but continued to fail to beat the first phase, until I decided to think on what team to use by myself and finally managed to do it. I think I currently have two teams I'm really liking and I hope they'll stay feasible for a long time (It's the IPC-Robin team and Firefly... I haven't fully built the later yet, but it's still really good already.). With that I've completed all of the boss endgame stuff (Forgotten Hall, Pure Fiction and Apocalyptic Shadow) with full stars. Nice :D.

As for events, Stellar Shimmer was just another battle simulation event. But it provided a good opportunity to test a variety of team compositions and I really enjoyed that.
I liked the Origami Bird Clash, which was essentially Candy Crush, but still fun.

The 2.4 update dropped right before the end of the month. I've only played the first hour or so of the new story and I really like being back on the Luofu! More Ying Juan and Dan Heng is finally joining us again, too!
I'm neutral on Yunli so far, she seems interesting, but I'm more interested in the other new characters to be honest.

Wuthering Waves

I tried to at least stay on top of doing the daily/weekly stuff. I like this game. The gameplay is fun and I like most of the characters, too. I managed to get Jinhsi and her weapon, which is great! She's so cute. And fun to play as.
While doing dailies I've tried to do at least a bit of exploration every day. There are so many mini games and chests, I really wonder how people can clear a game like this so fast, it takes me ages to collect everything xD.

I completed the 1.1 storyline (Act 7 of chapter 1) that mostly revolves around Changli and Jinhsi and I really liked it! The new area (Mt. Firmament) is great! And some of the new mini games are really awesome (I love the Clang Bang Echo Challenges for some reason and Skiing is also fun).

World of Warcraft

I played some of Pandaria Remix. I'm currently leveling up my third character. I thought it was a great chance to finally level up some allied races, but it's just soo boring. I don't think I'll even collect enough bronze to get all of the rewards from this event before it is over, but oh well.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Honestly, I only played one session of this game at the beginning of the month. I liked it, but then didn't really get back to it. Hopefully I can remedy that in August.

Lil' Guardsman

So fun! I really like this game and the voice acting is awesome. I'm about 3,6 hours in. Honestly, I'm currently very slow on single player games, but I hope I can wrap this up in August.

Completed Games

The Witch's Cauldron (2024) Completion Time: 0:48h

It looked so interesting, but it was so, so boring. At some point I just forced an ending to be done with it.

Retired Games

Zenless Zone Zero Play Time: 2:00h

I knew this game wasn't my style at all, but I wanted to give it a chance because it's from Mihoyo. But nope. I just don't like it. I played for around two hours, but decided to drop it again. Which isn't the worst decision, since I don't really have time for any more "endless" games anyway xD.

Coffee Talk Play Time: ~ 4:00h

I decided to give this a go because Coffee Talk 2 is leaving Game Pass. Unfortunately it wasn't really for me. After a while I found it boring and started skipping the dialogue and the dialogue is really everything there is to the game. I did, however, definitely like the themes it talks about. Needless to say, I wont be playing the second game now, either (but that's okay).

Cobalt Core Play Time: ~ 5:43h

Fun at first, but overstays its welcome, or more like, every run was very same-ish. Nonetheless, I had a great time with this game and a few enjoyable runs. And I believe I might even get back to it at some point.

Freshly Frosted Play Time: 0:14h

I played it, because it was "free" on Amazon Luna. Not a bad puzzle game per se, but I don't see myself playing 8 hours of this and it was also a bit too blurry to be comfortable to play.

A Little Golf Journey Play Time: 0:02h

Another game from Amazon Luna. I didn't like the controls at all.

Link Twin Play Time: 0:11h

Had this really annoying sound when moving the characters, got on my nerves too quickly. This was also the first time I tried playing a game through Netflix on the browser. It worked surprisingly well, but the resolution was crap.

I miss reading your blog and which games you have tackled. Hopefully you are doing fine.

Thank you for your concern! I'm actually doing alright, I've just been busy and I just haven't been playing any games lately aside from Star Rail and most recently Wuthering Waves (and a bit of Genshin Impact and WoW here and there). I felt like it would be too boring to just write about those games every week and nothing else, which is why the blog is basically on hiatus.

Update 14.04.-20.04.2024

Another slow week. I focused on WoW and Star Rail and played nothing else.

Watching

(Anime) A Sign of Affection 12/12 episodes | + 3

Such a cute anime! I really liked it.

(Anime) To Your Eternity 20/20 episodes | new

I liked the concept of this anime, the sad themes and everything were actually pretty good. However, and I can't really put my finger on why, I don't feel like watching the second season? It wasn't bad, but somehow just not good enough, I guess.

Current Games: 5 (no change)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 2:36 | no progress
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 44:54 | no progress
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 358:54 | no progress
Unicorn Overlord Demo (Nintendo Switch | Direct Download) ~ 1:15 | no progress
Dordogne (PC | Game Pass) ~ 1:34 | no progress

Nothing played, no changes here.

Progress Update

Sunday - Nothing
Monday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail
Tuesday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail
Wednesday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail
Thursday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail
Friday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail
Saturday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail

This looks sad, but I guess my focus was on these two games the entire week.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

We've basically only played Plunderstorm. By now we've reached level 18 and I'm confident we'll get to level 40 next week. We're lucky they doubled the rewards for the end of the event, though, I don't think we would be able to do it otherwise xD.

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

I've cleared MoC (except for the last stage), done the character trials (the Acheron ones) and SU. I've also cleared the Tides of War event.

I've even been doing a few SU Gold & Gears runs and with Aventurine I'm finally having fun in that stupid game mode, he's just such a comfortable sustain unit.

I've also been thinking about what teams to build from here on out, especially in terms of relic farming.
Aventurine, Ratio, Topaz and RM is kinda obvious since I've wanted that one ever since Aventurine was announced. And my build works pretty well, so while my relics for them aren't perfect I think I'll leave them alone for now.

The other team I'd definitely like to focus on right now would be Jingliu-Blade with Luocha and Bronya.

Aside from that, I don't want to bench Imbibitor Lunae, so I might get a team together for him as well :D but since he's also Imaginary I think building Acheron would be a lot better. For now I'm focusing on the Jingliu team, though. If I can clear MoC comfortably I'll be satisfied for now, heh.
(Honestly, I would build Acheron with Kafka and Black Swan + Fu Xuan, but that would just take too much time at the moment since I've barely put any time into any of these units aside from Fu Xuan).

I finally cleared the last MoC stage with 3 stars and all it took was... Clara! Haha. I got the idea from a post on reddit, but didn't really think she'd be good enough to actually clear it.

I also cleared Pure Fiction (at least aside from the last star on the 4th stage, but I don't want to try anymore xD). I feel like I've put so much time into MoC and Pure Fiction this week, just because I was too stuborn to not clear them completely. That last missing star irks me, but I've tried everything and I can't do it. There's still time though, so I'll probably try again in a few days, I suppose.

Conclusion and Thoughts

Hopefully next week I can finally play something else again, but again, this week I didn't really feel like it. Sorry for the sad updates every week :,D.

Update 07.04.-13.04.2024

Another slow week when it comes to gaming, plus this update is a day late because I didn't feel like writing it yesterday. My mood has been kinda meh.
Anyway, I bought the new deckbuilder bundle on HumbleBundle, I was able to buy it. Claim it, but then it wants me to log in again to get the steam keys and they just wont send me the freaking confirmation e-mail in time, so I couldn't actually play anything yet, which pisses me off >.>. I got the mails from my log in attemps a day later, by then the code doesn't work anymore, of course.

Also, I didn't read anything either. But I watched a lot of anime and actually finished two season.

Watching

(Anime) Frieren - Beyond Journeys End (Season 1) 28/28 episodes | + 14

I liked it when more characters appeared, the episodes revolving around the exam were good! I'd definitely watch a second season. It was a bit slow, but perfect to watch while also doing other stuff.

(Anime) The Apothecary Diaries (Season 1) 24/24 episodes | new

This one was such a good and fun watch! I enjoyed it a lot and actually rushed through it in just three days, haha.

Current Games: 5 (+ 1)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 2:36 | no progress
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 44:54 | no progress
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 358:54 | + 8:01
Unicorn Overlord Demo (Nintendo Switch | Direct Download) ~ 1:15 | no progress
Dordogne (PC | Game Pass) ~ 1:34 | new

Started a game I should have also completed this week, but somehow never got around to it.

Progress Update

Sunday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail, Dordogne, TBoI: Rebirth
Monday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail
Tuesday - World of Warcraft, TBoI: Rebirth
Wednesday - World of Warcraft
Thursday - World of Warcraft, TBoI: Rebirth
Friday - Nothing
Saturday - World of Warcraft

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 358:54 | + 8:01

I'm now at 393/637 achievements (+ 9 from last time). I had a pretty successful run with Jacob & Esau (I hate them xD) were I defeated Mega Satan, unfortunately no Delirium portal spawned. And other than that I did the Corpse with Cain. It's been a while since I've done that path and as always, I got confused by the steps and almost messed it up. >.>

Dordogne (PC | Game Pass) ~ 1:34 | new

Oh yeah, I almost forgot I actually started playing this last Sunday. I think this game looks really gorgeous, but the story didn't really catch me yet. Hopefully I'll wrap it up this week, though.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

Plunderstorm! We've played a few rounds every day. It's fun. Sometimes, at least. But we suck at it. PVP isn't for me. At least I'm not as nervous when we encouter other players anymore. My heart would beat like crazy the first few rounds, heh. We've reached level 12/40 so far, trying to do at least two levels every day (which only takes maybe half an hour).

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

I've made it to Jarilo-VI on my second account (Not too far into it yet, though, we've just arrived at Belobog for the first time). I also got Bronya after 20 pulls on Acheron's Banner on that account which is hilariously lucky. I probably wont get Acheron, though, since I didn't play enough to get enough pulls, but it's not that important.
Other than that I haven't really been doing much, aside from dailies and weeklies. I still need to complete the current events, too. But I'm mostly excited for Aventurine who releases next week! For the first time since starting this game I've actually prefarmed all the stuff for a character, haha. I hope my pulls are going to be lucky!

Conclusion and Thoughts

I have three days left for my current crunchyroll premium, so I'll probably watch more Anime for these three days. I plan on completing Signs of Affection and at least start To Your Eternity.
There'll be more Plunderstorm, the next update for Star Rail and hopefully I'll wrap up Dordogne and get a few Isaac runs in. Everything else? Yeah, I'm not sure.

Update 01.04.-06.04.2024

This is going to be a bit of a sad update, sorry! I haven't been feeling well this week and only started getting better on Saturday. I'm also posting early because there just isn't much to write about. I read nothing, watched nothing and played... almost nothing, haha.
Anyway, I've decided to shorten these posts from now on by removing the whole stuff that has no progress (except for the game overview). That should make the updates more clean (and even more sad for this week, whoops.).

Current Games: 4 (no change)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 2:36 | no progress
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 44:54 | no progress
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 350:53 | no progress
Unicorn Overlord Demo (Nintendo Switch | Direct Download) ~ 1:15 | no progress

Progress Update

Sunday - Nothing
Monday - Nothing
Tuesday - Nothing
Wednesday - Nothing
Thursday - Nothing
Friday - Nothing
Saturday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail

Yeah, nothing to post about here.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

Finally decided to try out Plunderstorm and it's alright? Not my sort of game type thing, but fun enough as it's something new. Not sure if I'll play it enough to get all of the rewards. Right now I'm only at level 2 and I'm not sure for how long the gamemode will be there to be honest as it's temporary.

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

Did my dailies and stuff. I've created a second account to play through the story once more. Slowly. There's so much I've missed the first time around. And so many more references I only understand now. I'm currently at the point right after joining the Express.

Conclusion and Thoughts

Again, this week kinda sucked, but hopefully I can back on track now!

We're watching similar anime at the moment.

I'm also watching Frieren, which I still have to get into to be honest (I'm only at episode 4 though). I finished Solo Leveling which I thought was excellent. A Sign of Affection is so far so good. Did you watch Apothecary's Diary by any chance? I absolutely adored that one!

You're playthrough of Star Rail is making me quite curious to return to it... I've not played since pulling Blade and I'm curious about the new characters. You've made so much progress all this time. I might go and check it out again...

I kinda like how Frieren is a bit slower, but I've mostly been watching it while doing other things. I'm still waiting for the full dub release before I continue watching it, but I have previously read the whole Manhwa, so I know it's going to be good!
I just really like how cute and wholesome A Sign of Affection is :)... and I haven't watched The Apothecary Diaries yet, but it is on my watchlist, so I'll probably get to it at some point!

I just love the current storyline of Star Rail. It's definitely the best so far! Plus, if you haven't already gotten him, you should at least log in to get your free copy of Dr. Ratio. I think this is the last update that has it available (not 100% sure on that, though, might be longer).

I know I've mentioned this a lot, but seeing you play Binding of Isaac always piques my interest! I'm always trying to finish Slay the Spire so it's gone from my life for good hahaha. But then of course, I'd need to replace it with another Roguelike... and Binding of Isaac always seems interesting. One Step From Eden is another I'm curious about.

One Step From Eden is also one I'm interested in! But yeah, I like Roguelikes, they are easy to get into even if you only have a little time for gaming.

Here's my update for March. Only two new completions, oh well!

Legend
🔆 Planned
🆕 New Completion
✅️ Completed

Game Challenge 2024
01. A new game (released within the past year)
2. An old game (released 10+ years ago)
3. A really old game (released 20+ years ago)
4. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago)
5. A time sink (50+ hours)
✅️ 6. A quick completion (less than an hour) - One Night Stand
🔆 7. A game you got for free - Adios through Epic
8. A game you've been wishing and waiting for
🔆 09-1. A remake or remaster of a game - Warcraft III: Reforged, Super Mario RPG
🔆 09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
✅️ 10. A game with 6+ endings - Please, Don't Touch Anything
🔆 11. A collection of games - Another Code: Recollection
🆕✅️ 12. A game recommended to you by someone else - Minami Lane
🔆 13. A game whose title could describe your life - Cocoon
14-1. A game with an alliterative title
🔆 14-2. A game whose title contains the name of a color - Pokémon Violet
🔆 14-3. A game whose title starts with a number - 112th Seed
🔆 15. A game that heavily focuses on flight - AER: Memories of Old
✅️ 16. A game from a genre you don't usually play - Home Is Where One Starts (Walking Simulators, or first-person Adventures)
✅️ 17. A game that is themed around dogs or cats - Purrfect Date
🔆 18-1. A game that features multiple genres, or is a mashup of different genres - SuperMash
🔆 18-2. A visual novel or text-based game - Harmony: The Fall of Reverie
✅️ 19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate
20-1. A game set in a historical time period
🔆 20-2. A game set in the far future - Horizon Forbidden West
21. A game with a female protagonist
✅️ 22. A game without any humans - Backpack Hero
23. A game where you play as a robot or an alien
🔆 24. An arcade-style high score game - Persha and the Magic Labyrinth - Arabian Nyaights
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with
26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature
🔆 27. A game that was adapted from another medium (book, movie, etc.) or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Game of Thrones Telltale
28. A game you watched someone else play first (partially or in full)
29. Another person’s favorite game
30. A game with a diverse cast
✅️ 31. A cornerstone to gaming culture - Final Fantasy VII
✅️ 32. A game that starts with the same first letter as in your username - Assemble With Care
🔆 33-1. A “threequel” (third part of a series) - Final Fantasy III, Dragon Quest III
🔆 33-2. A spin-off game - Persona 5 Tactica
34. A bright and cheerful game
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion
36. A game that heavily features either fire or ice
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics
✅️ 38. A game with a subtitle - Lost Words: Beyond the Page
🆕✅️ 39. A game that surprised you - Froggy's Battle
40. A post-apocalyptic game
🔆 41. A game with a short title (4 letters or less) - GRIS
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher)
🔆 43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on (artist, developer, musician, voice actor/actress, etc.) - Xenoblade Chronicles
🔆 44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Persona 5 Royal, Pokémon Trading Card Game
🔆 44-2. A game that you have beaten before and are replaying - Baldur's Gate 3, Mario Wonder
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List
46-1. A studio's very first game
✅️ 46-2. A studio's most recent game - Brotato most recent game (2023) made by Blobfish
✅️ 47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it - Ratropolis
🔆 48. A game that has been a HLTB Game of the Month - Pony Island
49. A game listed on the HLTB stats page, or the stats page filtered for a single platform
🔆 50. A game chosen by the HLTB randomizer - Gemini Rue

Bonuses:
- Four games, released in the four quarters of a given year of your choice (2023)
🔆 (Q1: January – March) Hi-Fi Rush (January 25, 2023)
🔆 (Q2: April – June) Dordogne (June 13, 2023)
🔆 (Q3: July – September) Sea of Stars (August 29, 2023)
🔆 (Q4: October – December) Silent Hope (October 03, 2023)

- A single game released in the same year as the previous four, but during the same month as your birthday, if you are up to the challenge, try to be as close to the day itself as you can
🔆 Scary Turnaround (January 28, 2023)

Update 24.03.-30.03.2024

Since it's the last day of March, let's see how the month was...
In March I bought three games. "In Stars And Time", which I've unfortunately not started yet. And "Froggy's Battle" and "Minami Lane", both games I've already finished, yay :D.

I did not finish reading "A Clash of Kings" in March, which kinda sucks. I just haven't been feeling like reading much.
I watched two movies in March, "Before I Fall" and "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore", which were both great!
I've also finished the first season of "The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash" and really liked it!

I've only completed two games in March, though. Which were the aforementioned "Froggy's Battle" and "Minami Lane". Unfortunately I feel like my gaming in March was rather unfocused.

Anyway, on to the update :).

Reading

(Manga) One Piece Chapter 1094 | no progress

No progress.

(Book) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) 755 / 1031 pages | no progress

No progress.

Watching

(Anime) The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Season 1) 12/12 episodes | + 2 rating: 9/10

I really enjoyed this! I liked the art style a lot and the MC and her slime were so cute! The story was very wholesome and had a good ending that makes me hope for another season.

(Anime) Solo Leveling (Season 1) 3/12 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) Frieren - Beyond Journeys End (Season 1) 14/28 episodes | + 8

Finally watched a few episodes again. It's still really good. Deals with some really melancholic topics, too. The party finally got another member. I can't wait to see where this is going :).
Just the characters names, they really crack me up.

(Anime) A Sign of Affection 9/12 episodes | + 1

Still very cute, hopefully I can finish watching his next week.

Tried & Retired Games

None

Games put on Hold

None

Games Completed

None

Current Games: 4 (no change)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 2:36 | no progress
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 44:54 | + 7:30
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 350:53 | + 1:02
Unicorn Overlord Demo (Nintendo Switch | Direct Download) ~ 1:15 | no progress

Nothing much happened here.

Progress Update

Sunday - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Monday - Dragon Age: Inquisition, Honkai: Star Rail
Tuesday - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Wednesday - Honkai: Star Rail
Thursday - Nothing
Friday - World of Warcraft, Honkai: Star Rail
Saturday - Nothing

Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 44:54 | + 7:30

I've finally reached Skyhold! Went around and talked to everyone there for the first time. I've also had that first talk with Hawke, I forgot that in this world state I'm playing in the Warden is going to be Alistair, I think I already can't do this :(. And Hawke's with Anders. That just makes it worse. I'll sit on that decision for a long time when it comes up. >.<..
Anyway, five hours of this and now I need to decide where I want to go next... I'll do Dorian's quest first, since it popped up (The first one always breaks my heart a little) and then probably head to the next area.
The game actually threw all of Dorian's quests at me one after another so that's dealt with now I suppose xD. Next up I'll hopefully go and clear the next area...

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 350:53 | + 1:02

A few attempts, but I didn't finish a single run.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

I just played a little to get the monthly stuff.

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

I've always hated farming relics, but now that I've finally caved and put a tiny little bit more effort into building my Ratio and Topaz... I've finally gotten 3* on all the MoC stages like it was the easiest thing in the world xD. Imbibitor Lunae did the other stage, mostly. And even the Simulated Universe is so much more fun now that I'm doing a different team composition for once. I can't wait to add Aventurine to this team, it's going to be awesome.

I did pull for Acheron, but I got pretty lucky with her (even though I lost the 50/50 to Himeko, I got both in only a few pulls, relatively speaking). I'm not getting her Light Cone, though. I got Gallagher, too, which is all I wanted from this banner.
I did think about getting Luocha's LC this time, but even half-build he's good enough already, so I'll pass on that one, too. Now all that's left to do is to save up for Aventurine and his LC. Because I'm definitely getting those, no matter what. I could play that team during 2.1 (Aventurine, Ratio, Ruan Mei and Topaz) and it was so much fun! I'm so glad we got to test him for a longer period. That really helps with the decision <3. In contrast, I didn't really like Acheron's gameplay as much, so I'm pretty good with my decision to skip on her LC for now.

But anyway that's enough about my pulling plan for the current and upcoming update. Let's get to something more serious. The 2.1 story.
That damn story. I played through it before work and got to pretty much to before the final boss fight and then at work I felt like I couldn't concentrate at all, because I wanted to get home and play the rest xD.
I didn't have much of an opinion on Aventurine after 2.0, aside from the fact I was hoping they'd go down a certain route with his character and holy... they actually did. 2.1 was perfect. I loved every tiny bit of it, but Aventurine's parts just blew my mind. This is the first time I've actually felt this invested in the story of Honkai Star Rail.
Other stuff I liked about 2.1... March is so funny and cute, love her interactions with the MC. Welt and Acheron, very interesting interaction, too.
Ratio is the best! The note at the end. I just can't...
I dislike Sunday. I hate Gallagher. Firefly is so cute <3.

Conclusion and Thoughts

And that's it :) Nothing much to say, not sure what my plan for next week is, either.

I keep seeing good things about Unicorn Overlord. I'm intrigued!

Me, too! I hope I can play more of it this week. If I like it enough I'll definitely buy the full game right away.

I have Minami Lane on my wishlist too. It looks so cute! Good to hear it's a fun little experience. I'm also playing through FFVII Remake. It's so good 👀 after twenty hours I'm still getting used to the battle system though, but I think I have a good switch character strategy now haha.

Domido! Where have you been? I miss your blog :,(.
I really like FFVII Remake, I just need to make more time for it. The battle system isn't for me, but that's what easy mode is there for, hehe.

Wow from FF to Honkai Star Rail so many quality games you have been playing.

I guess :,).

Update 17.03.-23.03.2024

Hey! Apparently this is going to be my 1000th post on the forum, woho. :D
Nope, I don't have anything special for that. Just a good old weekly blog update. Guess it was also my anniversary here this week, to since I joined the site on the 19th of March back in 2013. It's... been a while. Okay, now I'm doing some digging. My first post was about my completions in March 2015, weird coincidence... I completed Jaws of Hakkon (DA:I DLC) and BoI: Rebirth back then and now I'm playing both games again, haha.

Anyway, on to the update.

I caved and bought the Froggy's Battle and Minami Lane Bundle on Steam, but at least I've already played through both games this week, too!

Reading

(Manga) One Piece Chapter 1094 | no progress

No progress.

(Book) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) 755 / 1031 pages | + 19

Better little progress than no progress at all!

Watching

(Anime) The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Season 1) 10/12 episodes | + 2

It's so cute, I love these characters. Can't wait for the remaining two episodes. Episode 11 is already out. I still haven't figured out on which day these release, lmao. But I'll wait for episode 12 and then watch them both.

(Anime) Solo Leveling (Season 1) 3/12 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) Frieren - Beyond Journeys End (Season 1) 6/28 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) A Sign of Affection 8/12 episodes | new

I've had a lot of shorts for this Anime recommended to me on youtube and finally caved and watched it. And o.m.g. this is pure sugar. It's so cute. SO adorable. Can't wait to watch the rest!

Tried & Retired Games

I've played the demo for Princess Peach: Showtime. I liked it, but it felt a bit clunky and laggy? I probably wont get it anytime soon, though I'll probably play it at some point. It seems like a fun game.

I've also retired the following games:

Moonstone Island (PC | Steam) ~ 13:36 | + 2:32

Played another lengthy session, but ultimately decided that I was done with this game. As with most farming sim games, they tend to hold my interest only temporarily. I play a lot in the beginning and then suddenly lose interest. I still liked it, though! Especially the unique genre mix.

Hook (PC | Steam) ~ 1:24 | new

Not a bad puzzle game. There first 40 levels are very easy, then it gets harder... a lot of completions on HLTB say it ends at 50, but since I got past level 60, I believe they've added new levels at some point. I got completely stumped at one point and I don't feel like using a guide to get through the remaining levels, which is why I've decided to retire it.

Quadrata (PC | Steam) ~ 0:38 | new

Another puzzle game. I think this one wasn't for me, I got lost on how to solve the puzzles pretty quickly.

Games put on Hold

None

Games Completed

Minami Lane (PC | Steam) ~ 1:23 | new | rating: 8/10

This is such a cute and cozy management game! It doesn't have a lot of substance to it, but since it's rather short that's okay. I still enjoyed it a lot.

Froggy's Battle (PC | Steam) ~ 1:09 | new | rating: 8/10

Interesting little roguelike. It was harder than I thought it would be and actually took me several attempts to get through it. I had a lot of fun with it, though!

Current Games: 4 (no change)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 2:36 | + 1:14
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 37:24 | + 2:08
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 349:51 | + 2:36
Unicorn Overlord Demo (Nintendo Switch | Direct Download) ~ 1:15 | new

I've added the Unicorn Overlord Demo because I'm not done with it yet. I don't know how long it is or if I'll buy it afterwards, but for now it stays on the list.

I didn't play a lot of everything this week, but at least for once I did play every single game on my playing tab, haha. And yes, the 40 minute Princess Peach Demo took me two days to play through :,D.

Progress Update

Sunday - Princess Peach: Showtime! Demo, Unicorn Overlord Demo
Monday - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Tuesday - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Princess Peach: Showtime! Demo, Honkai: Star Rail
Wednesday - Minami Lane
Thursday - Froggy's Battle, Moonstone Island
Friday - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Saturday - Final Fantasy VII Remake, Hook, Quadrata

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 2:36 | + 1:14

Tifa showed Cloud around town. I did the main story part with Johnny and now I'll do the available side stuff first before moving on.

Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 37:24 | + 2:08

I've completed the Fallow Mire region and done about everything I can do at this point. Now all that's left is to go around Haven to talk to everyone once more and upgrade my equipment before I can finally start "In Your Heart Shall Burn"!

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 349:51 | + 2:36

I completed Delirium with The Forgotten. I'm now at 384 achievements (+ 3 from last week).

Unicorn Overlord Demo (Nintendo Switch | Direct Download) ~ 1:15 | new

I like the look of the game and I like the characters and plot so far. I'm not 100% sure about the battle system yet, though. Not sure how much of the demo there's left, but it'll probably be enough to figure out if I like it or not.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

No progress.

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

I actually played a little more this week! I completed the current MoC and character trials. I even did the Simulated Universe again!
And I've completed the Dreamjolt TV Event. I was going to do some more side quests, but everything else took so long that I basically ran out of gaming time, lol.
I can't wait for the update next week. Aventurine, please come home. I changed my avatar for you, too! I even prepared Ratio for you, I farmed relics for him almost all week :3. Meh, no, I think Acheron releases first anyway. That just gives me more time to farm relics, though. I can't wait to get the IPC team, I feel like it's going to be so much fun :,D.

Conclusion and Thoughts

Next week I hope I can focus on Dragon Age and FFVII Remake. Maybe get in another completion or two of some short games. And I'd also like to get more side stuff done in Honkai Star Rail (and of course, the new update, can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!).

Hey, congrats on 1000 posts!
What, I'm right behind you? Oh. Oh?! I didn't even realize I was so close to reaching 1000 posts myself. Hehe :)
Anyway, interesting post, I do remember some of these things myself, especially the Loved Emblem thread was a really interesting one.

I know you've moved on from your "G" games, but I think Guild of Dungeoneering is actually a really fun game! Too bad you'd rolled the other game in your "F category" there :,D.

Update 10.03.-16.03.2024

Halfway through March already and I haven't completed a single game yet, ugh!!

Anyway, I've made a game purchase this week - In Stars And Time. I wanted to allow myself one purchase during the spring sale. It's a bit silly, I know. And now I'm also thinking about buying the Minami Lane/ Froggy's Battle bundle. I only want to do it if I'm really going to play them right away, though, so I'm still deciding :,D. At least I've already tried In Stars And Time.

Reading

(Manga) One Piece Chapter 1094 | no progress

No progress.

(Book) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) 736 / 1031 pages | + 16

Meh progress. Let's get back into it, or another month without a finished book passes by...

Watching

(Anime) The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Season 1) 8/12 episodes | + 1

Only managed the one episode after all. But it was a cute one. Our MC is finally starting to trust their new friends :,).

(Anime) Solo Leveling (Season 1) 3/12 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) Frieren - Beyond Journeys End (Season 1) 6/28 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Movie) Before I Fall (rewatch) rating: 8/10

I like this movie! It's based on one of my favorite books by Lauren Oliver after all. I guess I'm just a bit of a sucker for time loop stories. (Groundhog Day did really fascinate me when I watched it as a kid xD).
Before I Fall is such a beautiful title, too. Guess what they named this book/movie in German? "When you die, your whole life passes you by, they say" Yeah. That whole sentence. In German. I hate it. Imagine recommending someone your favorite book and you have to say that whole sentence like an idiot xD. And they just blink at you like: "...". I don't think I'll ever get over how much that annoys me. Still, Before I Fall is great. And I like what they did with the movie, too. Very fun to watch and bittersweet till the end.
Before I Fall would have worked in German as well. Ugh, I just can't get over this :,D.

(Movie) Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (rewatch) rating: 8/10

I feel like I'm going on a bit of a English/German rant with my movies this week, but hear me out. I wanted to watch The Secrets of Dumbledore with my boyfriend. But he only watches movies in German and the German voice acting just isn't as good as the original. I've watched the first scene (the restaurant scene between Dumbledore and Grindelwald) in both languages and it's just not as beautiful. So I ended up re-watching the movie by myself, in English. I did suggest watching it with subtitles, but he didn't like that idea and got angry. I guess I deserved that xD. Eh, whatever.
It's still a great movie :). I like Mads Mikkelsen, but I can't help but wonder how it would have been like with Johnny Depp as Grindelwald.

Tried & Retired Games

I've played a few minutes of In Stars And Time just to check it out. I'll hopefully get to playing it more soon.

Games put on Hold

None

Games Completed

None

Current Games: 4 (no change)

Moonstone Island (PC | Steam) ~ 11:04 | no progress
Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 1:22 | no progress
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 35:16 | + 15:37
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 347:15 | + 8:27

I wont be adding this below, but I've played a bit of Hearthstone this week due to the 10 year anniversary stuff that's going on. It was fun and I got a huge amount of stuff through it, but I don't really plan on playing more of it at the moment. Other than that... I didn't really get to much aside from Isaac and Dragon Age.

Progress Update

Daily Overview
Sunday - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Monday - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Tuesday - Dragon Age: Inquisition, Hearthstone
Wednesday - Hearthstone, World of Warcraft
Thursday - Hearthstone, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Friday - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Saturday - Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 35:16 | + 15:37

I'd mostly wrapped up the Hinterlands, then decided to get The Iron Bull and finally slay that dragon. I just love taking him dragon hunting, his commentary is great :D.

Now that I've done everything I can in the Hinterlands (aside from two quests which bugged out on me /sigh) I'm moving on to the Storm Coast.

Honestly, I never really liked the Storm Coast very much. There are few Camps and not a lot to discover... I like that the game gives you a choice with the Hessarians and I guess the initial Dragon appearances are pretty epic, but aside from that... at least it doesn't take too long to complete everything there that's available at this point.

I've decided to do the Forbidden Oasis next. I actually really like the Forbidden Oasis, even if there isn't much there. The only thing I dislike about it are all of the layers and caves and how annoying it sometimes is to find the shards.

Now all that's left is The Fallow Mire. I really do like that area and I'm excited to go through it again next week :).

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 347:15 | + 8:27

I've gotten every completion mark with the first character now: Azazel. Might be because I really liked that one though. Strong, can fly... he's just one of the easier ones.

I got bored of Greedier mode and decided to do a few "normal" completions. Basically The Beast and Delirium. Took me a while to get back into how to reach the different endings, though xD. I'm now at 381 achievements, so 4 more than last time. I didn't play as much as I thought I would.

I'm currently attempting a run to reach The Beast were I skip item rooms until I get a Planetarium room, it definitely makes it more difficult, though... doesn't help that I've already defeated The Beast with most of the more easy characters. I think I'll try with The Forgotten next.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

It's the 10 year Hearthstone anniversary. Honestly, the event in WoW sucked. It was a buggy mess when I did it. They fixed it now (I think.) but I already got all the rewards. But even aside from the bugs it still wasn't really good. At least the rewards were cute. :,)

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

Yeah... just dailies again. I watched the 2.1 livestream. I can't wait for the next story update. I love Aventurine. I didn't realize he's a 5* character, I think I got him and Gallagher confused in that regard, because I definitely though Gallagher was the 5*.
Also, excuse me, but that Black Swan/Acheron dance scene?!

Genshin Impact (PC | Epic)

No progress.

Conclusion and Thoughts

Next week there are two demos I would like to check out. One the one hand that would be Princess Peach: Showdown! And on the other hand Unicorn Overlord. Depending on how much I like the later I might just get it straight away.
Other than that, well, it would be good to get back to playing FFVII Remake.
And for Dragon Age: Inquisition, I would like to finally reach Skyhold.

I've actually tried Reverse 1999, but I couldn't get into it. I really disliked the writing.

As to your question, I enjoy reading your blog. I like the different image you chose every week for the introduction, too.
But most of the time I don't really have much to reply, I guess.

Good for you to finally get back to your Adventurer's Log!

I didn't know there was a demo for Princess Peach Showtime, but I've downloaded it now and plan to check it out later. The game looks interesting from the things I've seen, but somehow I find it hard to decide what sort of game it's actually going to be, so the demo will hopefully clear that up.

Pokémon Legends Arceus was great! I loved the different direction they went with it. I still need to get back to it for Daybreak...

I keep meaning to play Binding of Isaac. But I'm just really bad at the game.

It's a great game! I got the original way back in a Humble Bundle for 1€. Best investment in a game ever for me (220 hours to 100% it for me)! And Rebirth is even better!
But I understand that it's not that easy to get into and even now I sometimes find its difficulty very frustrating at times. I think it's still worth it, even if you don't plan on 100% completing it, as long as its a rogue-like that you might like :D

Update 03.03.-09.03.2024

It hasn't been a very productive week, but as you'll see below, I have returned to an old game I've been meaning to get back to for a long time now.

Reading

(Manga) One Piece Chapter 1094 | no progress

No progress.

(Book) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) 720 / 1031 pages | no progress

No progress.

Watching

(Anime) The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Season 1) 7/12 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) Solo Leveling (Season 1) 3/12 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) Frieren - Beyond Journeys End (Season 1) 6/28 episodes | no progress

No progress.

Tried & Retired Games

None

Games put on Hold

None

Games Completed

None

Current Games: 4 (+ 1)

Moonstone Island (PC | Steam) ~ 11:04 | no progress
Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 1:22 | no progress
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 19:39 | + 6:18
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 338:48 | + 8:48

Not much happened here. I've picked TBoI back up and played a bit of DA:I. I haven't been back on the PS5, although I had actually planned to play more of FF7 Rebirth. Maybe next week, then?

Progress Update

Daily Overview
Sunday - Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Monday - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Tuesday - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Wednesday - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Thursday - Nothing
Friday - Nothing
Saturday - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 19:39 | + 6:18

I'm still mostly in the Hinterlands, just taking it slow, noticing little things I haven't seen before.
I've recruited everyone so far except for The Iron Bull, and Cole (obviously, since I've sided with the Mages).

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth + DLCs (PC | Steam) ~ 338:48 | + 8:48

It's been a long time since I've last played this, but I suddenly felt the motivation to get back into it. I've mostly been focusing on playing Greedier Mode to get back into it and yeah... I completely forgot how overwhelming the amount of items in this game has gotten with all the DLCs xD.
Anyway, previously I had already 100% completed the base game and completed some of the other stuff. Not sure if I'll aim for 100% everything, or if I'll grow bored of it again before that, though. I'm currently at 377 of 637 achievements on Steam.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

No progress.

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

Dailies and I've actually started doing the current events, even though I have not finished them yet.

Genshin Impact (PC | Epic)

No progress.

Conclusion and Thoughts

I hope that next week I can make better progress in DA:I and also play FF7 Remake again. I'll probably play lots of Isaac, though...
We plan to watch Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore again. And since I missed watching any Anime this week I have two episodes of the Weakest Tamer Anime to look forward to :D.

Update 25.02.-02.03.2024

What a week... I don't know what's wrong with me, but I currently barely sleep more than four or five hours a night, it's exhausting... It's been a long week, too. Or at least feels that way. But anyway, I'll stop complaining now and get on with the update :,D.

Since this is the first update of March I'll write a bit about what has happened in February.
I only bought one game in February (Moonstone Island)! Which I think is pretty good, I usually buy so many games, but I've really been holding back in February, though I am still contemplating buying the IGN FanFest bundle on humblebundle. I still have three days to decide... there are some good games in there, but nothing I'd want to play right away, so I'm not sure if I should get it or not.

Unfortunately, I did not finish any books in February, though I did get close with A Clash of Kings.
I've watched 9 movies in February (re-watching all of the Harry Potter movies and The Meg), which was a great time. I've also watched the third season of The Rising of the Shield Hero and started a few more Anime. And I've finally decided to retire Digimon Ghost Game (which I had started watching in April last year! It was really time to finally accept that I just wasn't really enjoying it.).

I've completed 9 games in February, which is pretty good. The best ones were Backpack Hero and Final Fantasy VII.

Reading

(Manga) One Piece Chapter 1094 | no progress

No progress.

(Book) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) 720 / 1031 pages | no progress

I've been too tired to read, so no progress unfortunately.

Watching

(Anime) The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Season 1) 7/12 episodes | + 1

Our MC has met a party of Adventures and they are becoming friends, though they are a bit worried about her, which is really cute.

(Anime) Solo Leveling (Season 1) 3/12 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) Frieren - Beyond Journeys End (Season 1) 6/28 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Movies) Harry Potter 5-8

I've rated these at 9/10/8/10. Honestly, I was nice to re-watch the Harry Potter movies. And now I feel like re-reading the books, too... which may or may not happen. I'm not sure yet :,D.

Tried & Retired Games

Retired Tiny Dangerous Dungeons because it crashed on me and then I didn't feel like playing it anymore. It was "just" a tiny itch.io game anyway.

Games put on Hold

The Last of Us Part II (PlayStation 4 | PS Plus) ~ 2:20 | no progress
Another Code: Recollection (Nintendo Switch | Physical) ~ 1:20 | no progress
Sea of Stars (PC | GamePass) ~ 4:36 | no progress

It's been over a month since I last played The Last of Us and almost a month since I played Another Code, so I'm putting them back on hold for now. Other games have piqued my interest more in February, but I'll get back to these two. Sea of Stars hasn't been as long and while I really enjoyed it I just don't feel like playing it at the moment, but I also hope to get back to it soonish.

Games Completed

Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate (PC | Amazon Game App) ~ 0:46 | new

Fun little game, at least until the first win. Not a lot of replay value, in my opinion.

Please, Don't Touch Anything (PC | Steam) ~ 1:39 | new

Short and fun. Also somewhat satisfying. I used a guide to see some endings, but grew tired of playing it in the end.

Home Is Where One Starts (PC | Steam) ~ 0:36 | new

I actually liked this one, though it did take me a bit (and a map, lol) to actually get the ending because I was missing one of the voice overs.

One Night Stand (PC | itch.io) ~ 0:23 | new

I was actually surprised how much i liked the style and animation of this game. Unfortunately, it didn't hold my interest enough to have me explore more of its endings.

Purrfect Date (PC | Steam) ~ 0:19 | new

I didn't really like the idea of this one, so I only went for the (probably) fastest ending.

Current Games: 3 (- 2)

Moonstone Island (PC | Steam) ~ 11:04 | no progress
Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 1:22 | no progress
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 13:21 | new

Look, don't judge, but it was time to replay one of my "comfort good" games. I really, absolutely believe that Dreadwolf is coming until the end of next year, which means I can finally start on those replays I have pushed back and back, because I wanted things to be "fresh on my mind" for the next game.
I've often replayed Dragon Age II (the last time was last year), sometimes just over the span of a weekend, but Inquisition was just too big for a full replay. I mean, I tried, but I never succeeded xD As I was looking over my old save files I noticed I had one run at around 50 hours and another one at 20-ish that are obviously both unfinished. But since I no longer know what I was doing with those I can't just pick them back up? Better start from the beginning again :D. Hopefully I can also squeeze in a replay of Origins this year.

Other than that I've put games on hold because I haven't played them for a while. At least the playing tab looks all nice and cleaned up again.

This past week was essentially split into two part: the first half I played a lot of smaller games, because I didn't feel like anything I was currently playing... and the second half when I just gave up and decided to pick up something new xD.

Progress Update

Daily Overview
Sunday - Shotgun King, Please Don't Touch Anything
Monday - Tiny Dangerous Dungeons, Home Is Where One Starts
Tuesday - One Night Stand
Wednesday - Purrfect Date, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Thursday - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Friday - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Saturday - Nothing

Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC | Steam) ~ 13:21 | new

This time I've decided to play as a male, human mage character. My first full playthrough was a female elf mage, but I really wanted to see some different things. With any of the Dragon Age games, I never enjoy a class as much as playing as a mage and I like the dialogue options, too. From what I can remember I also feel like the animations look better on this human character in comparison to the smaller elf. And the difference between a Dalish elf and a circle Mage is also kinda interesting for dialogue options.

Anyway, so far I've mostly just been to the Hinterlands, though I did do the mages quest to add Dorian to my party.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

No progress.

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

Dailies... haven't even touched the new event yet. But I did pull for Sparkle and I'm currently trying to get YJ's Light Cone.

Genshin Impact (PC | Epic)

No progress.

Conclusion and Thoughts

I never do what I write here... let's see what I said last week :D. Alright, I said I would focus on Moonstone Island and FFVII Remake (I didn't) and that I would finish reading A Clash of Kings (I didn't). But hey, at least I actually played Shotgun King and watched the remaining Harry Potter movies... so it's a 50/50 lmao.

Let's see. For next week... I'll probably play more of Dragon Age Inquisition. Not sure what else. It's going to be a rather spontaneous week, I guess :D.

I did pretty well in February. I also decided to play a bunch of smaller games this week, so that definitely helped fill some categories.

Legend
🔆 Planned
🆕 New Completion
✅️ Completed

Game Challenge 2024
01. A new game (released within the past year)
2. An old game (released 10+ years ago)
3. A really old game (released 20+ years ago)
4. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago)
5. A time sink (50+ hours)
🆕✅️ 6. A quick completion (less than an hour) - One Night Stand
🔆 7. A game you got for free - Adios through Epic
8. A game you've been wishing and waiting for
🔆 09-1. A remake or remaster of a game - Warcraft III: Reforged, Super Mario RPG
🔆 09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
🆕✅️ 10. A game with 6+ endings - Please, Don't Touch Anything
🔆 11. A collection of games - Another Code: Recollection
🔆 12. A game recommended to you by someone else - The Caligula Effect: Overdose
🔆 13. A game whose title could describe your life - Cocoon
14-1. A game with an alliterative title
🔆 14-2. A game whose title contains the name of a color - Pokémon Violet
🔆 14-3. A game whose title starts with a number - 112th Seed
🔆 15. A game that heavily focuses on flight - AER: Memories of Old
🆕✅️ 16. A game from a genre you don't usually play - Home Is Where One Starts (Walking Simulators, or first-person Adventures)
🆕✅️ 17. A game that is themed around dogs or cats - Purrfect Date
🔆 18-1. A game that features multiple genres, or is a mashup of different genres - SuperMash
🔆 18-2. A visual novel or text-based game - Harmony: The Fall of Reverie
🆕✅️ 19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate
20-1. A game set in a historical time period
🔆 20-2. A game set in the far future - Horizon Forbidden West
21. A game with a female protagonist
🆕✅️ 22. A game without any humans - Backpack Hero
23. A game where you play as a robot or an alien
🔆 24. An arcade-style high score game - Persha and the Magic Labyrinth - Arabian Nyaights
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with
26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature
🔆 27. A game that was adapted from another medium (book, movie, etc.) or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Game of Thrones Telltale
28. A game you watched someone else play first (partially or in full)
29. Another person’s favorite game
30. A game with a diverse cast
🆕✅️ 31. A cornerstone to gaming culture - Final Fantasy VII
✅️ 32. A game that starts with the same first letter as in your username - Assemble With Care
🔆 33-1. A “threequel” (third part of a series) - Final Fantasy III, Dragon Quest III
🔆 33-2. A spin-off game - Persona 5 Tactica
34. A bright and cheerful game
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion
36. A game that heavily features either fire or ice
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics
🆕✅️ 38. A game with a subtitle - Lost Words: Beyond the Page
🔆 39. A game that surprised you - Palworld
40. A post-apocalyptic game
🔆 41. A game with a short title (4 letters or less) - GRIS
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher)
🔆 43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on (artist, developer, musician, voice actor/actress, etc.) - Xenoblade Chronicles
🔆 44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Persona 5 Royal, Pokémon Trading Card Game
🔆 44-2. A game that you have beaten before and are replaying - Baldur's Gate 3, Mario Wonder
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List
46-1. A studio's very first game
🆕✅️ 46-2. A studio's most recent game - Brotato most recent game (2023) made by Blobfish
✅️ 47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it - Ratropolis
🔆 48. A game that has been a HLTB Game of the Month - Pony Island
49. A game listed on the HLTB stats page, or the stats page filtered for a single platform
🔆 50. A game chosen by the HLTB randomizer - Gemini Rue

Bonuses:
- Four games, released in the four quarters of a given year of your choice (2023)
🔆 (Q1: January – March) Hi-Fi Rush (January 25, 2023)
🔆 (Q2: April – June) Dordogne (June 13, 2023)
🔆 (Q3: July – September) Sea of Stars (August 29, 2023)
🔆 (Q4: October – December) Silent Hope (October 03, 2023)

- A single game released in the same year as the previous four, but during the same month as your birthday, if you are up to the challenge, try to be as close to the day itself as you can
🔆 Scary Turnaround (January 28, 2023)

Update 18.02.-24.02.2024

The week started with good progress for everything, but then I got sick so I haven't been doing much the last few days. At least I'm starting to feel better now, which is fortunate.

Reading

(Manga) One Piece Chapter 1094 | no progress

No progress.

(Book) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) 720 / 1031 pages | + 160

Not as much progress as I'd hope. I think I need to get in a good reading session soon instead of just reading a few pages here and there every day.

Watching

(Anime) The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Season 1) 6/12 episodes | + 1

Our main character has finally made some genuin friends and their interactions were so cute. Unfortunately she left the village at the end of the episode to continue her travels.

(Anime) Solo Leveling (Season 1) 3/12 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) Frieren - Beyond Journeys End (Season 1) 6/28 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Movies) Harry Potter 1-4

I did say we planned to rewatch the Harry Potter movies! Unfortunately, Amazon Prime is removing these movies from Prime Video so it felt like the right thing to do to rewatch them at least once before they are gone. We do have the movies on blu-ray, but those aren't in UHD (honestly, we need to buy them again sometime, they are one of the few movies I like re-watching from time to time).
Anyway, the first four movies include my favorite one (Goblet of Fire, which I'd give a 10/10) and my least favorite one (Prisoner of Azkaban, which I'd give a 7/10).
Sorcerer's Stone is a good 8/10 for me and Chamber of Secrets gets a 9/10.

Tried & Retired Games

As always, more games are leaving services... Tchia is leaving PS+, I tried it for a few minutes, but I don't think it's something I want to play at the moment, though it did look nice.
I also tried Outer Wilds since it is also leaving PS+, but I'm just not for first person games.
Then I also tried playing Super Meat Boy Forever since it was free on Epic, but I didn't like the auto-running so I didn't really feel like playing that at the moment after all.
Since I've only played these games for less than probably 5-10 minutes I didn't add them to the overview below.

Games put on Hold

None

Games Completed

Lost Words: Beyond the Page (PS4 | PS Plus) ~ 4:49 | + 0:52 ~ rating: 7/10

Such a sweet and sad game, it definitely got me close to tears a few times.
The older I get I feel that games revolving around themes of death (of a loved one with this game) just start to hit home more and more.

Anyway, I liked the execution of this game. It was essentially split into two parts: one where you go through the pages of a journal and the other part where you play as a character in a story. I didn't really like the story part, as I've said a few times before. I just couldn't like the main character, her decisions, the way she acted and talked got on my nerves, too and the gameplay stayed samey and easy throughout the whole game. But it did do a good job at underlining and accompanying the journal part of the game.

Overall I'd give this game a good 7/10 and if you get a chance to play it I'd say go for it. It definitely does a few things that feel new and fresh and I did appreciate it for that.

Current Games: 5 (+ 1)

The Last of Us Part II (PS4 | PS Plus) ~ 2:20 | no progress
Another Code: Recollection (Nintendo Switch | Physical) ~ 1:20 | no progress
Sea of Stars (PC | GamePass) ~ 4:36 | no progress
Moonstone Island (PC | Steam) ~ 11:04 | new
Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 1:22 | new

I completed one game this week, but started two more. One was expected (FFVII Remake) and the other one, Moonstone Island, was started because I really wanted something slow and cozy to play.

Progress Update

Daily Overview
Sunday - Moonstone Island, Lost Words
Monday - Moonstone Island
Tuesday - Moonstone Island, FFVII Remake
Wednesday - Moonstone Island
Thursday - World of Warcraft, FFVII Remake
Friday - Nothing
Saturday - Nothing

Moonstone Island (PC | Steam) ~ 11:04 | new

Moonstone Island is a mix of a life-sim and creature-collecting game that I've gotten for myself since it looked really fun and like it would be a nice, cozy game to play :).
In this game you play as an alchemist, built your base, harvest crops and collect and level up various creatures. The battle system is card-based with a deckbuilding aspect and seems to be really interesting so far.

The game starts by your character reaching Moonstone Island where you set up your tent and then get going. You can talk to the various people around town to get to know them and do quests for them.
So far I've collected some stones for the bar-lady and some copper ore for the smith-lady. I've explored and cleared one mine and set up a basic farm with some crops.

I've also cleared the first dungeon (they are very Zelda-esque, but a bit plain and simple), which was relatively easy and then went exploring other islands.

Apparently you can't just replace spirits in your party with new ones you find, which made me a little sad, because I have a rock-thing in my party and then found a cute fox I would have liked a lot more :(.

There also seems to be a skill-based level system where you can improve stuff related to spirits, farming and so on. It doesn't really indicate how much you need to do of anything to get a skill point, though and it only appears when you sleep. Though I have found an item I could potentially craft that allows access to the system by using it.

I've also figured out that I can "remove" spirits from my team and thus made space for the cute fox-spirit the next time found one in the world... but then its level was too high and I couldn't add it to the team anyway xD. Oh well.

I've also found two more dungeons that I was too low a level to complete. I wonder if I'm missing an indication somewhere that tells me which level these dungeons are? At least I also cleared one more dungeon.

I've crafted a broom! Now traveling is going to be so much easier. I've also upgraded my first gear, choosing the hammer. Hopefully I'll soon find another mine for ores.

Okay, guess I was a bit stupid... I just found the Science Center and every spirit I sent there I can now add to my team xD so all's good after all. Turning in my research also gave me a lot of money that I used to upgrade more of my tools.

I found the Spring Temple, which requires various items to progress and there's a battle after each step. I think I've completed about three steps of it so far?

I've also built a Spirit Barn, so now I can hatch eggs and keep my Spirits there.

By now I have completed 5 of the 30 dungeons and since I did find another mine, I've also upgraded my axe and hammer one more time. Every other tool is now at least upgraded once, too.

I flew around at night for a while to gather moonstones and I can now craft myself the glider for easier transportation and the mirror to finally be able to see my skills. My first eggs hatched, as well! Unfortunately, there wasn't any interesting spirit among them.

I've upgraded my home for the first time (though there isn't really much in there yet anyway. I'm not a huge fan of decorating such spaces.) and I've also beaten the first temple (Spring Temple) and obtained the Earth Seal. It think I'm at 7 of 30 completed dungeons now, too. And I have a decent team of monsters, but I definitely need to level them up more.

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 5 | PS Plus) ~ 1:22 | new

I've blown up the first reactor. The beginning of the game is pretty similar to the original. I think it was a great decision to play them back-to-back. I feel like back when I played Final Fantasy I and then Stranger of Paradise xD.

The graphics are stunning, of course and I can't wait to explore more of the game.

The battle system is different than the original, but so far it seems alright. I'm more for turn-based combat, but I hope I'll be fine (I did play through FF16 without ever really liking the battle system, too, so whatever xD).

Cloud has met Aerith for the first time, but there were some weird things following her. Anyway, after an uneventful train ride, we've finally reached the Sector 7 slums.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

I did some world quests for the monthly points. Most notably I've also completed the Gilneas Reclamation quest (which was rather short, but gave a nice mount as a reward :D).

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

Minimum effort, so just dailies again.

Genshin Impact (PC | Epic)

No progress.

Conclusion and Thoughts

Hopefully this time I can stick with my current choice of cozy game, Moonstone Island. I have a tendency to start, get rather far into and then drop almost every farming related game I have ever played. This one doesn't have too much of a focus on the farming aspect, though. With the battle system and puzzle dungeons I might stay interested for long enough to finish it. Hopefully :D.
I think that next week I'll also focus on FFVII Remake.
After reading Skyhler's most recent blog entry I also feel like trying Shotgun King myself (I'm still craving a rogue-like/lite to play!)

If nothing unforeseen happens, we are also going to watch the remaining Harry Potter movies. Anime are a bit on the back burner for now, but I'll definitely at least watch the next weekly episode of The Weakest Tamer.

It would be great if I could wrap up A Clash of Kings next week, too. But it might just be a bit too much. Then again it is the last third of the book and that always motivates me to read more!

Update 11.02.-17.02.2024

It was a good, focused week. I wrapped up a game and got to a few other things, too.

Reading

(Manga) One Piece Chapter 1094 | no progress

No progress.

(Book) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) 560 / 1031 pages | + 163

Gotta say, I really like Tyrion in this book! The plot is finally picking up the pace a bit as well. I think/hope I should be able to finish this book in February.

Watching

(Anime) Digimon Ghost Game 25/67 episodes | no progress

I've decided to stop watching this show after all. I might get back to it at some point, but probably not. I loved the earlier Digimon Anime, but the newer ones just aren't as good anymore.

(Anime) The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Season 1) 5/12 episodes | + 1

Another wholesome episode. Our MC found new friends and bought a tent!

(Anime) Solo Leveling (Season 1) 3/12 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Anime) Frieren - Beyond Journeys End (Season 1) 6/28 episodes | no progress

No progress.

(Movie) The Meg rating: 7/10

I actually really like shark movies. This one was a bit dumb, but still enjoyable to watch. Lots of expected action movie tropes, but that's okay. I actually liked most of the characters, too.

Tried & Retired Games

I've tried, but retired Voidigo. I was looking for a roguelike to play, but this one I just didn't really like after trying it for one run.

Palworld (PC | GamePass) ~ 12:15 | + 4:53

I've retired Palworld as well, kinda lost interest in it for now. But I definitely thought it was fun, just needs a lot more work and polish, I guess. I'm happy that I could try this through Game Pass :).

Let's Sing 2024 (Nintendo Switch | Physical) ~ 3:15 | no progress

I haven't tried the part I'm stuck at again, but honestly, I don't feel the motivation to do it anymore either. I'll just let the story mode rest and "retire" this game.

Games put on Hold

None

Games Completed

Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation 4 | PlayStation Plus) ~ 18:22 | + 17:50 | rating: 8/10

No spoiler tags below, so don't read if you're worried about spoilers for this game!

We are on our way to the reactor in sector 5 now. We manage to blow it up, but Cloud falls into a certain church and meets Aerith again and saves her from a group of Turks. On our way back to the bar we spot Tifa in a weird circumstance and decide to follow her. And to get to Tifa, Cloud turns into a beautiful woman xD.
We learn that Shinra is going to try and wipe out sector 7, so obviously we have to do something about that. But in the end we are too late and Aerith also gets abducted :( so now we are headed to Shinra's headquarters to save her.

It wasn't easy, but we manage to save Aerith. Our next goal is to leave Midgar and go after Sephiroth . Our next destination for now is going to be the town called Kalm.

As soon as we arrive in Kalm, Cloud tells us the story of his last mission with Sephiroth.
Next we head to the Mithril Mines where we meet a bunch of Turks again, from them we learn that Sephiroth is headed for Junon Harbor.

We finally find Sephiroth aboard a ship... But he disappears after a fight. And we reach Costa del Sol on the next continent. I didn't really know where to go from here, so I just wandered around until I reached North Corel and we learn a bit about Barret's backstory.

We get to the Gold Saucer and Cait Sith joins our party. Some stuff happens and now we have to win a Chocobo race.
The race wasn't too bad... Next we apparently have to get to Gongaga.
We make it to Cosmo Canyon and apparently this was Red XIII's home.

Our next destination is Nibelheim, where everyone acts like the town never burned down in the first place. Weird... There are also some strange people walking around.
We actually meet Sephiroth, but he leaves without doing anything. Vincent also joins our party. Once again we have to follow where Sephiroth might be going... And reach a town with an old space ship. Of which the captain is none other than... Cid! Of course.
Rufus makes an appearance and he wants Cid's airplane to go after Sephiroth, as if he doesn't have any of his own xD so of course we take it for ourselves. We have to make an emergency landing on water, though. At least Cid joins the party.

It took a while, but we finally made it to the Temple of the Ancients.
Okay. This is just stupid. Something the bad guy wants is in a place the bad guy can't reach. Let's take it from there, because it's going to be sooo much safer with us *roll eyes*.

I've reached the end of part 1. Obviously I already knew what was going to happen, kinda hard not to with this game. But before that, when Cloud tries to kill Aerith... I think that was really well made. With having to press the button even though you wouldn't want to, right? Anyway, onto the next part of the game :).

So a lot has happened, aside from following Sephiroth, we learn some more interesting stuff about Cloud. And now he's gone and there's a big monster called Weapon and meteor has been summoned as well.
Tifa and Barret have been captured and are going to be executed.
But of course they escape and now we got an airship for ourselves, so now we can search for Cloud!
We find Cloud, but he's not doing so well :(

With Cid as our new leader we are now going to get some huge materia before Shinra does! Before that I also managed to recruit Yuffie.
After dealing with two of the materia we get a bit of an interlude and finally learn what really happened 5 years ago. Cloud also rejoins the party and we are off to Junon for the last huge materia.

We got ourselves a submarine! And the last materia as well.
Our next destination is Rocket Town. Who thought we'd go to outer space in this game? It was only a short trip, but still :D.
Now we still have to save the planet from meteor, though.

Lots of stuff happened, but at least Weapon is destroyed now and it seems like Shinra also took a huge hit. The barrier around the Northern Cave was destroyed, too and that's where we are headed now, but then Hojo threatens to destroy Midgar, so we return there.

After defeating Hojo, Cloud gives a big motivational speech and that concludes part 2 of the game.

Now we are finally really going to defeat Sephiroth!

The game decided to crash on me for the first time at the worst possible moment - right during the last boss fight :<. So I had to do it again... But that concludes this game :,).

With that I have now completed 9 Final Fantasy games, but only 1, 7, 10, 15 and 16 of the mainline ones.
Anyway, I do now finally feel prepared to play FF7 Remake and also the Crisis Core Remaster :D. When I'll get to those I'm not sure yet... though I don't want to wait too long to start playing the Remake.

I think it's obvious that this playthrough of FF7 was a quick on simply to finally see the story. All in preparation to finally be able to play FF7 Remake. I used the "cheat features" that are included with the PS4 version of FF7 freely to get through the game quickly. That included the x3 speed option, easier combat and playing with random encounters off most of the time. So I really didn't feel like I was playing the game as much, as just getting through the story + walking around :,). I liked a lot of other FF7 media I've experienced in the past, but the original main game just never was very interesting for me so I'm kinda glad that these options were available. I guess watching some sort of story-recap on youtube would have had a similar effect, though, but I liked seeing some of the nuanced details in character behavior and conversations. So I guess this was the best option for me anyway.
Graphics-wise this version of FF7 looks like a well polished version of the original and I actually liked them well enough.

Overall I really enjoyed the game and I'm glad I've finally played it!

Current Games: 4 (- 3)

Cleaned up the list a bit. I'll knock off Lost Words, too, next week, but I might also add more games again.
Overall, my week was pretty focused on Final Fantasy VII, but I also didn't play all that much overall. I tried one game on Sunday and played one last session of Palworlds before retiring it for now.

The Last of Us Part II (PS4 | PS Plus) ~ 2:20 | no progress
Lost Words: Beyond the Page (PS4 | PS Plus) ~ 3:57 | + 1:45
Another Code: Recollection (Nintendo Switch | Physical) ~ 1:20 | no progress
Sea of Stars (PC | GamePass) ~ 4:36 | no progress

Progress Update

Daily Overview
Sunday - Voidigo, Final Fantasy VII
Monday - Final Fantasy VII
Tuesday - Final Fantasy VII
Wednesday - Nothing
Thursday - Nothing
Friday - Final Fantasy VII, Palworld
Saturday - Lost Words

Lost Words: Beyond the Page (PS4 | PS Plus) ~ 3:57 | + 1:45

I'm almost done with the game! I was playing the last bit before work yesterday, unfortunately I was running out of time to complete it, but I'll definitely get to that today. There can't be more than half an hour or so missing at this point.

Endless Games Corner

World of Warcraft (PC | battle.net)

No progress.

Honkai: Star Rail (PC | Epic)

Just dailies.

Genshin Impact (PC | Epic)

No progress.

Conclusion and Thoughts

My plan for next week is: wrap up Lost Words, play more of Sea of Stars and probably start FFVII Remake. I might opt for some of the other games on my playing tab, though, or start something completely else, who knows :,D.
My boyfriend has also been asking if we could rewatch all of the Harry Potter movies again, so that might happen.