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Malus – The Sixteenth Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus.
Author: CtrlAltNoob
Malus – The Sixteenth Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus.
Patch Notes – September 2026
Noob.exe 2.0.10.01
Hi all! September has been an unusual month and possibly the shake up that I needed to stop doom scrolling and being stuck in my head, and start taking action towards all of the wonderful ideas ideas that I have, games I want to play and set things in motion.
I am currently cat sitting which has been a nice change of pace, and I am on my second attempt of ADHD medication, as the first try did NOT go well. Thankfully this one is going much better and I have managed to get absorbed into my projects, including finishing one that I started years ago – more on that below.
Video Games
Games played
Valheim [ongoing]: While our food hall dreams have not yet been realised, we did get the 1.0 release of Valheim this month and we have only had chance to play once since then, so we are still figuring out what is new. With regards to our progress, we did an exploration trek to locate our next boss – who is now ready to rumble whenever we are, we built some lovely kennels for our wolf pack, and we did our first sealed tower which was something a little different.
Baldurs Gate 3 [ongoing]: I only had one session of BG3 this month as I have been working on other things. I hate to say it but I once again seem to have dropped off during a Shadowheart quest. This time from a TPK, which wouldn’t be so bad if combat wasn’t sometimes an hours long experience. I will get back to it eventually but I am definitely feeling the fatigue and feel ready for it to be done. I am not confident that I will actually get this one finished this year, but we will see.
Proverbs [started/finished]: When I saw Proverbs on sale for a couple of quid I knew I had to give it a go. I felt in the market for something relatively mindless and I like words. The proverbs themselves turned out to be less than interesting for me. What absolutely hooked me though, was the gameplay and progress. I was never a minesweeper fan, but when it is contained within strange shapes, all of which look doable and are constantly accessible, I couldn’t seem to stop. Proverbs ended up being the perfect game to bury my head to while finishing up listening to Campaign 2 of Critical Role (more on that later).
Balatro [finished]: Balatro is a much bigger game than just one win. It is a poker roguelike with infinite runs, multiple decks to alter your stats, and many many jokers and other cards to unlock to modify your deck. But I have decided one win is enough for me to consider Balatro finished, at least as far as the Backlog Resolutions 2026 challenge is concerned. It will still be there if I want to play more but there are so many more games, I would rather move on now that I have got the jist. It was fun enough but didn’t get its hooks in the way it did for some. I could see it as a fun travel game for long journeys to make the time melt away. Little did I know that only two more runs since I last played and I would be able to mark off that sweet sweet tick ☑️.
Shadow of the Colossus [finished]: This one is a big one for me. When I originally tried Shadow of the Colossus I felt so horrific in what I was doing – killing these mysterious marvels that I knew nothing about, made up of the environment around them and minding their own business in their desolate lands – that I stopped playing. The thing is, the game planted a seed or morbid curiosity, and the stunning audio-visual experience drew me back in despite the knot in my stomach, but this time with a plan. Rather than take any pleasure out of the massacre of these beasts, I would document each of them through photo mode. This was 6 years ago. Over the years I have dipped back in, a couple at a time, until finally, this month I have finished the game. And despite the way that I was playing, the emotions didn’t let up for the entire duration. This game is truly a masterpiece on vibes and I admire it so much for that, even if I hate what it made me do. I see why the legacy of this one lives on, despite the janky controls. It is bold, it does exactly what it sets out to do and it stands the test of time in it’s own unique way.
Crow Country [started]: I am playing Crow Country on explorer mode and so far, it is everything I wanted it to be. I love the setting, the sense of progression, the freedom, and the fact that I am allowed to be in a spooky setting without having any of the anxiety of resource management or loosing progress thanks to explorer mode. Everytime I find something that I was looking for, I find something else before I manage to use it, leaving me with a big trail of leads that I am excited to follow. I am a fan of the idea of the dark cozy genre and this is exactly what I want from that. A serious story, a gnarly mystery, a spooky atmosphere, but without making me feel tense, sweaty or dreading what might be in the next room. Also.. it is surprisingly funny, I have laughed out loud at least once so far. I am looking forward to seeing whether the momentum continues through the rest of the game, and then watching a survival playthrough to see the differences!
Demos played
This month I played no demos at all.. what?! That was not intentional, and should be remedied in October with LudoNarraCon 2026 right around the corner.
Content corner
- September on the blog..
- September on the socials..
- Valheim posts – I have been sharing photos of our Valheim builds. These are now up to date so any further posts will be alongside our playthrough!
- Instagram glow-up – I have decided I am going to try to make my Instagram a much nicer place to be, with Insta specific posts for my blog posts, game completion posts, journaling etc. It is taking some time to actually design how it looks but by the next Patch Notes post, the page should be looking a little different!
FOMO corner
I really really really need to play Dressmaker. This is the game I have wanted since I was a little girl.
New to the Backlog
Purchases
- Steam
- Proverbs
Game Services
- Ps Plus
- Dungeons of Hinterburg [extra]
Backlog Progress
This month: Balatro and Shadow of the Colossus complete! I removed Scarlet Hollow [it is not fully releasing this year and I thought it was] and Elden Ring: Nightrein [a game to play with friends, doesn’t really have an end in that sense, really not sure why I put it on there].
Total: 7 of 29 complete ✅
Noob life
Other media | playing | watching | listening
Tabletop
Obsession [first game since learning]: We had another go at Obsession but with four players this time and while I still did horribly (what can I say, I don’t get involved in this reputation business, why would I need that when I have a lovely investment cooking by the day), it was good fun and flowed nicely for a joyful afternoon of minor scandal.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game [new]: This one wasn’t even really on the cards (this pun was 100% accidental) but one day it just happened. It was my first game of this type. I chose it because I thought it would be quick and easy. Lol. It turns out, living card games have a lot of reading to understand how to play and a lot to remember! I did enjoy playing through the first scenario, it got a bit sketchy but we survived to the end, and had some laughs fitting our cards into the narrative along the way. I am curious how the pace will change with a better understanding of the game.
Hostage Negotiator [new]: Hostage Negotiator was my first solo board game experience. It was tricky. I believe it is tough by design, but it mostly relies on dice rolls. Fortunately for me, I was rolling like a god and managed to win my session, with only one hostage suffering an unfortunate fate. This was an interesting experience for me. The entire scenareo went in what is likely the most entertaining way that it possibly could. It was going well until everything suddenly got wrecked by a bad card. A last ditch play succeeded against all odds and saved the day. There was a slight thrill to the success, but those feelings – and as an extension the enjoyment – were heavily muted by the fact that no one was there to witness the victory, see the wild turn of events, or laugh with me at the end of it all. It got me reflecting a lot on why I would prefer to play a video game when I am solo, and even recognise that some of these feelings are what lead me to content creation in the first place. Sharing is just more fun.
DnD [ongoing]: Against even more odds, our party survived the encounter that I thought surely would kill us! We are having a slight unplanned hiatus due to schedules, but we lived to fight another day, even if it did take the entire session to do so. I am looking forward to regrouping and seeing what is next, as my gut is telling me that this isn’t quite over.
Mothership [new]: We did a Mothership one shot and it was fun! I wasn’t sure how well survival horror would work on me in a TTRPG format, as someone who cannot play horror games, does not watch horror movies, but absolutely loves a good in-person scare event. I am glad to report, it didn’t take long for me to feel the fear. All I really knew about Mothership going in is that it is carnage and we would likely die. There is a theme here.. against even more of all of the odds, we managed to survive. I was once again rolling like a god for the first half, right up until it mattered. All it took was one failed panic roll (triggered by my irl panic babbling) and the dominos started falling. My guy Jeremy and his cat Ripley live to see another day with only a clean through gunshot to the appendix and a sprained ankle. Or we at least lived long enough to be killed on our ship out of there. It would probably have been preferable for the rest of the universe if we hadn’t escaped considering the circumstances, but what is an engineer to do.
Movies
Spider-Man: Brand New Day [cinema]: You know.. I had low expectations, for my own reasons, and still felt dissapointed. I don’t know if I have just grown out of my Marvel phase completely or succumbed to that superhero fatigue that used to drive me crazy when folk would bring it up. But unfortunately, the movie just didn’t do anything for me. I didn’t find the banter charming or funny, I didn’t feel any emotions, and where I used to enjoy crossovers, I found myself rolling my eyes for every cameo or broader reference. I found myself yelling internally at stupid plans, and predicting much of what was going to happen. I think I will give Doomsday a shot and then depending how that goes, tap out of the Marvel eco system.
Books
The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams [paperback/ongoing]: I only have 40 pages left of this one and intend to finish it this week. It is a relief to be learning the actual wording and purpose behind some of the concepts of graphic design that I have picked up in passing without knowing it. It is also nice to be able to start identifying why certain designs aren’t working for me the way that I would like. I am still finding design as challenging as ever, but at least I feel like the book is allowing me to learn more as I go than I was before.
Podcasts
Critical Role C2 [finished]: Well this is a big one. I believe I started watching Critical Role campaign 2 near the start of the year. I had never watch a DnD show before and decided to start here. 140 3-6 hour long episodes later, multiple years of the casts lives and world events gone by, and I finally reached the end. I transferred to audio format quite early and this allowed the campaign to keep me company through countless hours of work and travel. It was very fun getting to see how the professionals manage to embody their characters, improvise, and coincidently, their characters seemed to level up at around the same pace as my Baldur’s Gate 3 characters so it was a fun way to learn about new spells. I did loose interest quite a few times and was ready for the end, but I am now interested to see the same people playing different characters and how that looks.
Other hobbies | achievements
Snowdon: I climbed a mountain y’all! It was as stunning as I hoped (except the queue at the top to touch a stone and take a photo with that classic grey view of nothingness). Every corner revealed a new gloriously rugged scene of various levels of rocks, lakes, sun and clouds, and I couldn’t help but feel like I had stepped into The Forbidden Lands themselves, expecting a Colossus to burst out at any moment.
What’s Next?
I have got to admit, despite still not having finished Baldur’s Gate 3, I am ready for some pallet cleansing. Crow Country has given me a taste, so between playing some shorter games and covering as many LudoNarraCon 2026 titles as I can, I think I will enjoy some variety this month.
LudoNarraCon 2026 and my Instagram revamp are my two projects for October that I am really wanting to hone in on. And the timing has it that LudoNarraCon can be the perfect platform for me to test out some new content ideas!
Part of me wants to set expectations but I don’t really know how this looks. I am going to gradually create post formats that I am happy with for all different types of content that I make, starting with my Patch Notes post. Then, as I create more, I may bulk post to catch things up. For example, I want to post on Instagram whenever I complete a game. Once I have a format for that that I like, I may post all of the games I have played this year, just to keep things feeling up to date. From then on it will just be as and when. This goes for any posts that may have a back catalogue.
I also have a podcast recording booked in and I can’t wait to share more!
Patch Notes Archive
Argus – The Fifteenth Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus.
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Cenobia – The Fourteenth Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus.
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There Are No Ghosts at the Grand – Demo Impressions
An absolute fever dream.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand
I often like to start these posts by explaining a little bit about what the game is that I am writing about. What actually is There Are No Ghosts at the Grand…? It is a British renovation, mystery, drama, comedy, light acid trip of a musical, where you have inherited a hotel in a dying town where there are definitely no ghosts. I don’t know how else to describe it really…
During my time with the demo, it didn’t take long for the dialogue to endear me as our trusty tool gun won me over, guiding us through the quick tutorial of renovating one of the rooms of The Grand. As you are getting close being done, you are whisked away into other segments of gameplay, meeting characters, driving around a strikingly British town, a musical number and an amusing situation, all the while getting to use your renovation tools in so many pleasing and unexpected ways. Some segments gave the cadence of a puzzle game but every solution was very clearly signposted, making the experience feel more akin to a walking sim to me than anything else.
The demo is very on the rails and while there is a whirlwind of mechanics during the short runtime, and I am unsure whether the game will ever open up to give the players more freedom, or whether it is a strictly linear experience. Either way, there are ways to make your own mark on the game, decisions to make and I feel like there is no way you won’t have some amount of fun with it. My PC did struggle a little with running the game smoothly but I am reluctant to talk too much about performance as my set up is ageing and due for some upgrades.
Ultimately, the whole package made me smile throughout, sometimes through the humour and sometimes through the potential of the rest of the game to come. I have no idea whether we will be renovating the whole hotel, the whole town, the proportion of mystery solving to other tasks, the freedom we may or may not be awarded or the impact of our decisions, but I am keen enough to find out. I can’t say I have played another demo like it, fearless in its design and unapologetic about what it is.
More from summer game fest 2026
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Patch Notes – August 2026
Noob.exe 2.0.09.01
Hi all! Unfortunately this month was a heavy month with the loss of my rabbit, Bonny. Those in the community may have known her singular radar ear and sassy attitude, as she had been with me since long before I started streaming. I have never lived without pets, so the adjustment has been understandably difficult. I miss her so much, her one-of-a-kind and comforting presence, and the support, structure and purpose that she couldn’t even possibly know she gave me.
What is wonderful about video games is that there is something suitable for every different mood, occasion and era. I have played numerous games about grief in the past, and I have those experiences with me through these times when I know I am currently too delicate to actively seek out the theme. Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice and Spiritfarer are two that stand out to me a lot right now. Equally, I have my own personal grief games regularly cropping up in my mind that helped me through previous losses. Games like House Flipper, Powerwash Sim and My Time at Portia.
I have once again escaped into the digital realm for respite as often as I can, but this time, rather than the ‘keeping your hands busy’ kind of games, the gargantuan task of Baldurs Gate 3 is what is getting my by. Don’t get me wrong, there is so much more to dealing with grief than playing video games, and I don’t recommend it as a singular coping mechanism, but I do think if there is any time that you can allow yourself a break, it is during times like these.
So, with the sad news out of the way, onto the round up. This month was lighter on the extra activities, but the extra time at home allowed for some quality demo time, as I am still making my way through those Summer Game Fest demos (and a few others too).
Video Games
Games played
Valheim [playing]: We have done so much in just a month, expanding Ravenhall at the start of the month feels like child’s play comparatively. We upgraded Pigtown, mapped a couple of continents, killed two more bosses and discovered 2 more, tamed some Lox and welcomed a baby (love you Turnip), who grew up and welcomed another baby, trapped some wolves for taming, found a food vendor, built the Forge of Souls, the start of a leisure complex in a new location including a harbour, theatre and fight pit, unlocked iron and most recently entered the Silver Age. We have explored the mountains, gathered lots of things we have no idea what to do with, and have our sights set on building a food hall.
Baldurs Gate 3 [playing]: I have been exploring Act 3 and feel like I have made pretty good progress! Apparently I have put in 50 hours in this save file just this month… I do know I have left the game running a bit a few times but wow. I have explored the suburbs and the Lower City, with a bunch of quests to follow up on and the sewers still to explore. I have finished Astarians questline and think I am going to make special focus to finish character quests next. We aren’t quite level 12 yet but level 11 was nice to unlock the final spell level. I would love to get this finished this month but who knows really, the game just keeps going!
Demos played
This month I played 10 demos, of which I wrote 3 impressions posts.
- The Message from Deep Space
- Rivage
- Shelve the Potions!
- Cat Mail Co. – Read full impressions here..
- TOEM 2
- Am I Nima – Read full impressions here..
- Shroom and Gloom
- Ascenders: Beyond the Peak
- There Are No Ghosts at the Grand – Read more soon!
- The bird of the North
Follow my Instagram account or Bluesky thread to see which I recommend in my Demo Highlights!
Content corner
FOMO corner
I completely missed the Gamescom opening show as well as the GTA 6 showcase. I will likely watch them sometime soon but I am definitely starting to feel the GTA 6 fomo and it is not even out yet!
New to the Backlog
Game Services
- Ps Plus
- Big Walk
- Two Point Museum
- Epic Games
- Caravan Sandwitch
Backlog Progress
This month: ❌
Total: 5 of 31 complete ✅
It is crazy to think how many other games I could have completed in nearly 150 hours of BG3. 59 hours of Valheim was also utterly unprecedented.
Noob life
Other media | playing | watching | listening
Tabletop
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion [ongoing]: We graduated from the intro book and have been released into the freedom of decision making. We have done a few more scenarios including 2 bosses, with both butt-clenching and smooth moments allowing us to feel the tension, the heroism and even the narrative satisfaction that we hoped for. We are now level 2 and are slowly kitting ourselves out with my friends helmet (negating crits) coming in clutch more than a few times in one session.
Sky Team [ongoing]: I haven’t talked about Sky Team yet here, but it is not my first time playing. It is a co-op dice rolling strategy game where you attempt to land a plane safely, taking into account all of the variables of the scenareo. It plays very quickly and can get quite stressful, but we played the fourth scenareo and it turned out to be our smoothest flight yet.
DnD [new/ongoing]: We are still in the dungeon and remember when I introduced Ulrich, explaining that he can hopefully make, and take, a hit? Well.. one thing he is definitely good at is exchanging misses with enemies and keeping them busy while we deal with the rest. We made.. friends?.. with a wraith and a guard monster robot guy, and last session we walked into a boss room that looks 100% more deadly than anything we are prepared for (especially without all of our spell slots). I predict TPK next session.
Movies
The Odyssey [cinema]: Horrific, grim, all my favourite things. Appropriately epic, surprisingly resonant. Not knowing the original story was a bonus in the thrilling journey of wondering what was going to happen next, and knowing there would be reading to do after. And read I did. I am so relieved that I’ve now had two movies in a row give me that feeling of awe in a way that I thought I had grown out of. There are nitpicks but I am choosing to ignore them in favour of the immediate enjoyment I had.
Birdbox [netflix]: Birdbox wasn’t quite what I thought it would be. I didn’t know what to expect other than Sandra Bullock in a blindfold. I thought the overarching premise is horrifying and a rich theme to explore, but in the end it did just feel like a B movie to eat popcorn to. It was 100% more fun to watch with a friend and trade theories along the way than it would have been to watch alone.
Podcasts
Critical Role [ongoing]: I have listened to so much of this this month that I have to shout it out here. I have neglected all of my regular listening as my push to finish listening to Campaign 2 has been ongoing. I am currently at episode 117 and it remains good background listening for me. I miss loads of the macro plot but get really engaged in micro moments and particular situations or battles. I don’t imagine that I will get it finished next month either, especially if I take a break to catch up with other pods, but I do feel locked in for now and ready to see the end.
Other hobbies | achievements
Sunflowers: It has been on my bucket list to go to a sunflower field for a while. Last year they didn’t manage to open due to the weather, but this year they had a good yield! Unfortunately it wasn’t the magical experience that I hoped as there were a million children all with no concept of personal space. But it was incredible to be within an ocean of flowers in bloom, some of them over my head in height.
Crochet: I finally finished the bag that I was making! I am super happy with how it turned out. It is not perfect by any means but I managed to work around mistakes and complete my first bigger project to make a functional item.
Next up I would like to make the same bag but smaller, in reverse colours. I also have a smaller project that I am beginning but it is a secret until October.
What’s Next?
Other than the grief I mentioned earlier, I have quite a few things going on, including ADHD titration and a busy calender, that are requiring my attention. I am going to try to use the gaps in the chaos to take some time for myself to escape with games, in whatever form that might take. Cracking on with BG3 and CR c2 are my highest focus at the moment, I would love to be able to write about the end of either or both of these things in the next monthly log, so that I can start looking to what is next! I know better than to plan too far ahead but I am pretty sure some shorter backlog games will be in order.
I may have some time for a project later in the month but I haven’t decided where my focus is going to go just yet, so I am not going to announce anything. I have a few gaming/content related options, but they may end up being trumped by IRL necessities. We will see!
I did not end up listening to The Prestige audiobook like I mentioned last month as got too deep into CR, or seeing Spider-Man as I decided to wait until the schools were back. I am hoping I don’t miss its theatre run!
Happy gaming everyone, have a cozy September ✌🏻
Patch Notes Archive
Am I Nima – Demo Impressions
A unique form of narrative puzzle in an uneasy package.
Am I Nima
In the Am I Nima demo, you wake up tied to a chair with a stranger looming over you and no idea what is going on. The lingering discomfort of the unknown and well executed creepiness of the environment and interactions keep you consistantly uneasy through the entire duration, with the mystery unravelling – or deepening? – as you discover new thoughts.
This game feels like a fantastic innovation of Doodle God/Alchemy style games, where you combine elements to create new elements, and combine those with the new and old elements to create more. While those games are all about finding the next thing for discoveries sake, Am I Nima has a narrative reason for doing so. The screen is split and the top right corner is dedicated to Nimas brain. In there, you will receive words. These are thoughts based on the conversation taking place, or findings as you explore the room. Within the brain, you can combine words to create different words. This, in my opinion, is such cool way of delivering a story.
The words that you combine are telling, when you take the time remember that they are thoughts. Combining Nima and Dad results in grief, which must be the feeling that Nima gets when she thinks about her dad. Due to this, I know something happened. I have contextless pieces of information that allow my imagination to fill in the gaps, and the curiosity to fuel my incessant pairing of words. I can continue combining to find more contextless clues, knowing that at least some of the context will be revealed by the rest of the game as we go. It feels like the equivalent of environmental storytelling but baked directly into the gameplay and mechanics. I feel rewarded for being observant, even though it hasn’t really got me anywhere yet.
Then there is the other half of the game. You are conversing with a woman who appears to be your Mom. As she talks, asks you questions and allows you to ask questions, you can reply using the words that you have stored in your brain by dragging them down to the active conversation. I am unsure how far you can go with using any word at any time (I did unlock a lot of words but I only played the demo once so I only got to see what I chose in the first instance), but it certainly feels like you need to be careful with your choices, to get the information that you need without putting yourself in danger.
The demo allowed for a lot of word gathering but I don’t feel like I have a good grasp on how the rest of the game will go/present itself, and how I will get to use the words that I have conjured. But it did feel like a promise of an interesting experience that I would be keen to continue, especially given the intrigue of story hook we are left on.
More from summer game fest 2026
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Cat Mail Co. – Demo Impressions
Cat Mail Co. gets a Noob stamp of approval.
Cat Mail Co.
I had a weirdly specific revelation with the Cat Mail Co. demo. It turns out that this game is exactly what I wanted Wilmots Warehouse warehouse to be. Empty shelves with parcels of all shapes and sizes and unlimited time to sort them is the personal heaven that I stumbled across when I booted this one up, and spent way more time than necessary optimising, just because it felt nice.
In Cat Mail Co. you are running a post office desk, retrieving parcels from customers, processing them ready to arrive at their destination safely, sorting them exactly how you want to, and retrieving customers parcels from the shelves, which may be simple or trickier depending on how organised you are. Between desk shifts you load and unload the boat, sending the packages on their way and adding more post to your precious piles of cargo. It is a little bit like if laundry was a gameplay loop, and I mean that in the least damning, most soothing sense possible. It is a systematic task that is never really done.
So far, Cat Mail Co. is providing exactly the type of cozy logistics that I love to unwind. I was dissapointed when the demo ended simply because I would have enjoyed another shift, putting my freshly organised shelves to good use. I am curious how added complexity will affect the gameplay, like adding in more destinations and potential restrictions on the packages that are sure to present in the full game. My hope is that it will enhance the experience, ensuring you have to pay a little bit closer attention before things get too samey. Either way, the demo was a pleasure and I would certainly spend some more time manning (catting?) this postal office in the future.
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Patch Notes – July 2026
Noob.exe 2.0.08.02
Happy August everyone! As July has come to a close I am taking a moment to reflect on the games – and the other things – that filled up my time and mind during this hot, hot summer month.
Video Games
Games played
Chants of Sennaar [finished]: I love this game. Chants of Sennaar is complete and I enjoyed the entire process – playing a game that felt so especially made for my brain, and recording it too. I didn’t expect to almost shed a tear at the end but it managed to come together nicely. It took a rare spot in my favourite games of all time list, and I am trying to be grateful for the experience rather than sad it is over, because I feel like I could have climbed another 100 levels of that tower if they were available to me.
Valheim [playing]: We spent this month expanding our operations. After successfully setting up a mining production line and securing our pigs with only a minor mishap (the great boar escape of 2026), we have ventured beyond the homely Midsummer and trekked over swamp, ocean and plains to settle into an abandoned village. Upcycling complete in the settlement dubbed Ravenhall, we now are neighbours with some merchants and are in the process of taming some Lox. After mistaking a tar pit for a hot spring, I aquired some new building materials and we have a few leads on what we would like to do next.
Baba is You [playing]: I solved one puzzle this month. I am stuck on around four more. I am very tempted to drop this one as I feel the only way I will progress is with a guide, and that isn’t really the vibe that I wanted for the game. I hoped it would be the type of game that would give me that hit of dopamine upon puzzle revelations, but more often it makes me feel dumb for not understanding why what feels like my perfectly reasonable logic is denied. I will give it one more shot and see how I feel.
Baldur’s Gate 3 [playing]: I have reached Act 3! I have 97 hours on my save file and I have heard that Act 3 is as big as the other two acts combined 😅. This remains probably the biggest game I have ever played. I hit an enjoyment wall near the end of Act 2 but now that is out of the way and I have made it to the outskirts of the city, I am eager to see wat Act 3 is all about. I just need a chunk of time with enough energy to completely immerse into the new, denser area now that I have a clearer understanding of what we are working towards.
Demos played
This month I only played 1 demo.
- Sovereign Tower
Content corner
FOMO corner
Six One Indie Demo Days happened on 31 July and I have yet to have a chance to take a look. Considering I still have so many demos from Summer Game Fest season to check out and beyond, I still have a hard time accepting that I can’t cover everything the way I wish I could.
New to the Backlog
Game Services
- Ps Plus
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
- Steam Giveaway
- The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante
Backlog 2026 Progress
This month: ❌
Total: 5 of 31 complete ✅
Noob life
Other media | playing | watching | listening
Tabletop
Obsession [new]: I haven’t played many 4 player board games but Obsession is the latest. It is complex enough that we had a session specifically for learning the game, and during that session with only 3 playing and one teaching, we only made it half way through the game. You play as a stately family balancing your finances, reputation and staff to be the most enviable in Derbyshire. Unfortunately, I was playing the long game and got absolutely thrashed on points, but I like to think I could have made a comeback… This feels like the perfect game for a summers day, with breaks to step outside for a BBQ and a spot of Pimm’s.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion [ongoing]: We have reached scenario 5 of Gloomhaven with a success by the absolute skin of our teeth. It was clutch session and I believe it graduates us from the tutorial book of the campaign. I am playing the demolitionist and I named her Atom. I am still finding the game thoroughly enjoyable, deck building has just been introduced, and I really look forward to playing more.
DnD [ongoing]: DnD continues and we are making our way through a dungeon, likely approaching the climax of part 1 of the campaign. We now have a Dwarf Fighter named Ulrich that has joined the crew that we share, giving us a bit of balance to our party with someone who can make, and take, a hit.
Movies
The Prestige [prime]: I simply don’t know how I got this far in life without seeing this movie. Rivalry, more ‘oh shit’ moments than I can count, low key tragedy, beautiful pacing, twists and turns, irony, lingering on my mind. Just everything that I could want from a movie. I put it off because I wasn’t sold on the concept of rival magicians, but it is so much more than that. I urge you to watch it if you haven’t already and want to be absorbed for an evening. It is one of the good ones.
Books
The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga [audiobook/finished]: I really did not enjoy this book, at all. I wanted to finish it just in case there was some lesson in there that was going to change my life, but so much about it rubbed me so much the wrong way that I would honestly find it hard to recommend to anyone.
Happy by Derren Brown [audiobook/ongoing]: I am only an hour or 2 into this one so far but it feels really promising. I already am onboard with a few of the ideas being talked about, and Derren reading the audiobook himself is the icing on the cake as his voice is so soothing and easy to listen to.
Events
Derren Brown – Only Human: Unfortunately I can’t say the same about this show as I did about the book. It was the first time I have seen Derren live on stage and my expectations were, maybe unfairly, high. He absolutely is the charismatic showman, but the tricks didn’t impress me, the theme didn’t feel cohesive and the squishy, overpriced venue didn’t compliment the experience at all. I went in expecting awe, but left feeling an unprecedented underwhelm.
Other hobbies | achievements
Farne Islands: If you are ever in the North East of England and you love nature, you absolutely must take a trip to The Farne Islands. If it is May-July (nesting season) then a landing trip to Inner Farne is an absolute must. You can see the puffins, guillemots and razorbills up close, and experience the fierce protective dive bombing of the wonderful Arctic Terns. It is a beautiful, special place.
Crochet: My bag is still ongoing.. it is taking a WHILE. But I did reach the colour change and I am hoping to get it finished next month so that I can begin making my smaller bag, so that I can finally start some other projects.
BJJ: I recieved my first stripe on my purple belt!
What’s Next?
I haven’t got anything else cooking currently, content wise, except the shorts series that I mentioned in last months post. I am going to try to prioritise that before I start recording anything else, as well as catching up on some IRL admin that I had been putting off. I wouldn’t expect anything ready to go by the time Chants of Sennaar finishes. However, I do think that my next Let’s Play could be Cocoon, provided that I can get the recording to work from the PlayStation.
Within games, I would love to make some good progress on Baldur’s Gate 3 now that I am in Act 3, which I would also like to balance with playing more demos. I am also going to aim for playing a shorter game each month, this month being Crow Country.
Finally also anticipating 2 cinema trips, for The Odyssey and Spider-Man, and have rented The Prestige audiobook from the library!
Stay safe and have a wonderful August ✌🏻
Let’s Play – Chants of Sennaar
Chants of Sennaar is a puzzle game that involves translating languages based on the interactions that you have with the world and the people in it. We play as a wanderer, exploring the tower, ascending our way through a variety of communities.
While the gameplay largely consists of learning the languages, there is also a lot of learning to be done about the way these different people live, interreact and perceive the world. Exploring the environments, taking in both the diegetic landscapes and the art direction itself tells a story beyond words.
From the moment that I played the demo I knew this needed to be a Let’s Play game, as the only thing more fun than solving these puzzles is sharing the thought process that leads us there. Whether you are playing Chants of Sennaar yourself or watching along, I hope your experience with the game is as beautiful as mine was!
