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Friday Fun Thread for September 12, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Games.

Almost finished Blood West. Shooter with soulslike characteristics, with decently sized map open to exploration per chapter, emphasis on stealth and looting, very retro feel. The setting is cool and well executed - wild west under a curse, roamed near exclusively by various monstrosities. Narration is minimal but compelling (intro features a native american blaming the white man for the curse, but that angle never comes up again), voice acting surprisingly nice. Quests amount to pointing you in the general direction of the next thing to find, but any order works, so you can explore freely.

The oppressive atmosphere is a highlight, both aesthetics and gameplay. Enemies are fast and hit damn hard, combat is bursty - you either get those headshots in (supposedly 5x damage, but not stated in-game afaik; feels like 5x) as you methodically clear an area, or you're in a desperate fight for survival. Highly satisfying gunplay, great feedback on the shotguns. A lot of weapons/consumables to pick up, inventory tetris abound unless you can resist the temptation to hoard.

Only minor complaints. Could use some "elite" enemies scattered around. Some balance issues. Too few artifact slots to permit more elaborate builds, and one slot is all but reserved for the pocket watch that stops time when you open inventory.

Random hallucinated connection: the "barn + house + tiny field + ghouls + nothing around" locations could well be lifted directly from Western Plaguelands.

Highly recommended. Put the first points into +experience perk. You can toss rocks on X, took me half the game to realize.

Sounds like my cup of tea, wishlisted.

Last night I gave Prey from 2017 a try, playing it for a few hours. It wasn't bad, but I agree with some people who argued it's so beholden to its immediate influences (System Shock 2 and BioShock) that it maybe doesn't really have much of an identity of its own. I like immersive sims, but the very fact of their relative open-endedness sometimes makes me feel a bit overwhelmed: I feel anxious that I'm playing them "wrong" unless I meticulously search every single drawer and container.

Prey from 2017

I had it in my backlog for a while, but I am a little shocked it's that old. Time flies.

I feel anxious that I'm playing them "wrong" unless I meticulously search every single drawer and container.

Tell me about it. It's embarrassing, I can't be assed to grab pencil & paper and go after the proper secrets in these games, but will obsessively, tediously loot every nook, and will get nervous about accidentally progressing. And it's rare that these games push you to use everything you find (can't expect everyone to play that way).