Isn’t that just in the new difficulty?

Wasn’t that like, 2 years ago? Isn’t it possible that his health situation has changed since then?

Anyone else grow up hearing about that one crazy, estranged aunt/uncle who cut ties with the family years prior, only to eventually understand, then become them?

https://youtu.be/KCzwyFHSMdY?si=m4j93JsM1SqEHx5X

I think this one speaks for itself.

And you are young and life is long

And there is time to kill today

And then one day you find

Ten years have got behind you

No one told you when to run

You missed the starting gun

Pink Floyd, Time

I’ll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan is one of my go-tos. Just over 3 minutes, basically all singing, and it’s just verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus

Breaking the “show, don’t tell” rule. In a similar vein, exposition dumps bug me.

I think it comes down to different approaches to writing. One is to only keep what’s absolutely necessary to the plot. Done well, this can result in a tight narrative, but done poorly it can be way too predictable.

Another is to add little details that, while not necessary to the plot, may make the world/characters feel more real. Done well you can get some believably human characters, but done poorly it just feels bloated.

Somewhat related: kids that are clearly written by someone who has never spoken to a child in their life

I think it’s more the miscommunication trope, which is kind of a sub-trope of the idiot plot

So many great ones in this trilogy.

Ride out with me.

and

a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!

get me every time.

Thanks, this info is super useful. Story progression not carrying over isn’t a huge issue to me, so long as you’re allowed to keep playing with the host past where your own game world is. I never liked how dark souls required you to play levels multiple times in a row if you want to keep playing with friends.

These two bits are really nice to see too

When playing online, the host’s game world will reflect their progress in the storyline. As an accompanying player, you won’t advance your own story, but you’ll keep any items, levels, achievements, and currencies you earn during the online session. These will carry over when you return to your own game world.

As a joining player, you have only one life. If you lose it, your body will fall to the ground and you’ll switch to spectator mode. The host has two options for resurrecting you: they can either interact with your fallen body on the spot, risking exposure to enemies as it’s not a quick ritual, or they can do so via a nearby Vestige.

Any idea what the co-op system is like? I don’t mind the invasions so much but I despise FromSoft’s multiplayer systems for co-oping with friends.

I started helping a friend with his first playthrough of Elden Ring and I’ve been completely sucked back in. I’ve got a couple new characters going now

My partner and I got an espresso machine earlier this year. It’s great, I haven’t gone out for a cup of coffee in months now

Don’t forget, the HD version will:

1. Look worse than the game with graphical mods
2. Break all existing mods

But fear not! They’ll just remove the original version from the store.

This + the occasional LAN party with the boys has gotten me through just about anything

My local library growing up had weekly children’s book readings. Basically, a volunteer comes in and reads a couple books to a roomful of kids.

If anyone resonates with this green text, it could be worth checking if your local library has a similar program. Or even ask about starting your own

Sometimes it’s just about ease of access. I’m happy to pay for games but it’s often harder to track down legal copies of retro or delisted games than it is to find a torrent.

And a number of the files you find on torrent sites were uploaded by someone who bought the content legally. Torrenting is just peer-to-peer file sharing, someone has to acquire the first copy somehow

that patrol special zones of the map. They’re invulnerable to everything except for a specific, single use power-up in their zone. Until you find the power-up in that EMMI’s zone, you have to sneak around or evade the EMMI