Friends
10x15 The One Where Estelle Dies [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x65 Week 13: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Sunday, 30 November 2025
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
I was intending to finally finish Critical Role Campaign 4 Episode 6 tonight... but hey, why do anything else when you can play another three hours of Skyrim?
I was intending to finally finish Critical Role Campaign 4 Episode 6 tonight... but hey, why do anything else when you can play another three hours of Skyrim?
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Five new additions this week, including Arrow's first title in their very exciting deal to release Golden Princess films — later, this is going to bring us the likes of Peking Opera Blues, Hard Boiled, and A Better Tomorrow in 4K.
Number of titles in collection: 3,642 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 979 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,663 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 486 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 8,751 [up 5]
Number of films: 4,667 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 476 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,278 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Five new additions this week, including Arrow's first title in their very exciting deal to release Golden Princess films — later, this is going to bring us the likes of Peking Opera Blues, Hard Boiled, and A Better Tomorrow in 4K.
Number of titles in collection: 3,642 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 979 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,663 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 486 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 8,751 [up 5]
Number of films: 4,667 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 476 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,278 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Saturday, 29 November 2025
TV
Friends
10x14 The One with Princess Consuela [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x63 Week 13: Wednesday
8x64 Week 13: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Watson
1x09 Take a Family History
10x14 The One with Princess Consuela [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x63 Week 13: Wednesday
8x64 Week 13: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Watson
1x09 Take a Family History
Tabletop Games
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
Game 7 (of 7)
Just played the final game again. I have now bought one of the expansions, but we decided to save it to begin an entire new playthrough over Christmas.
Game 7 (of 7)
Just played the final game again. I have now bought one of the expansions, but we decided to save it to begin an entire new playthrough over Christmas.
Friday, 28 November 2025
TV
Friends
10x12 The One with Phoebe's Wedding [6th or so watch]
10x13 The One Where Joey Speaks French [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x61 Week 13: Monday
8x62 Week 13: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
10x12 The One with Phoebe's Wedding [6th or so watch]
10x13 The One Where Joey Speaks French [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x61 Week 13: Monday
8x62 Week 13: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Thursday, 27 November 2025
Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Tabletop Games
Daggerheart: Curse of Strahd
My second game has begun! Strahd is, of course, one of the more famous Dungeons & Dragons adventures, which is probably why I've seen plenty of people adapting it into Daggerheart — and now I'm in one of those games.
My second game has begun! Strahd is, of course, one of the more famous Dungeons & Dragons adventures, which is probably why I've seen plenty of people adapting it into Daggerheart — and now I'm in one of those games.
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
I'm not sure I should really log this — literally all I did was boot it up, see what quests I currently had in my journal, realise I wasn't sure which I wanted to pursue next, and quit — but, hey, that took long enough for Steam to register it as 4 minutes of playtime, so... technically I did play it today, I guess... technically.
I'm not sure I should really log this — literally all I did was boot it up, see what quests I currently had in my journal, realise I wasn't sure which I wanted to pursue next, and quit — but, hey, that took long enough for Steam to register it as 4 minutes of playtime, so... technically I did play it today, I guess... technically.
Tuesday, 25 November 2025
Monday, 24 November 2025
TV
The Mighty Nein
1x01 Mote of Possibility [2nd watch]
1x02 Who Will You Be?
1x01 Mote of Possibility [2nd watch]
1x02 Who Will You Be?
Can't believe it's well over a week since I watched the first episode on its YouTube preview — feels like it's been just a few days. Time, eh? Anyway, it's probably for the best I've wound up spreading out the other opening episodes (they released the first three all at once, excepting that preview) because from here on out it's one per week. And it's so good, I want to savour it — hence why I rewatched episode one in better quality and didn't go straight on to episode three.
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]Tabletop Games
Daggerheart: Dragon Heist in the City of Splendors
Week 7 begins.
The second game I mentioned last week is about to begin... but hasn't yet, so I guess I'll be properly listing it next week.
Week 7 begins.
The second game I mentioned last week is about to begin... but hasn't yet, so I guess I'll be properly listing it next week.
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Sailed past the 50-hour mark today. Still haven't been to eight out of the ten cities; still haven't started the main quest; still haven't started the... secondary main quest, I guess it is?*
Part of me feels like I should dive in to some of those sometime soon — either actually continue the plot(s), or head off to sightsee. But knowing how much stuff was unlocked when I ended up in one major city (and I need to go back and finish off a bunch of things I started there), I feel like even hitting a single new city will kick off who-knows-how-many more hours of Things To Do, never mind eight of them** (though only three others are classed as "major", plus five smaller ones... but if we're doing that, I need to start thinking about the eight towns, nineteen settlements, four orc strongholds, and dozens of farms, mills, caves, mines, ruins, forts, towers, camps... Yeah, it's a big game.)
This is not a complaint, by-the-way. If I was bored of what I was doing, I could absolutely ditch it and go to those areas. I could do it anyway and just end up with a massive list of active quests. Maybe I will.
Amazing game.
* It seems to me that the civil war is Skyrim's secondary major storyline. It kicks off in the opening/tutorial sequence, just the same as the main quest does, and from what I've read (while finding info but also trying to avoid too many spoilers), it eventually leads to significant world-changing set pieces and intersects majorly with the main storyline in several ways. But my go-to resource, the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages wiki, list it as 2 of 6 possible Faction Quests (though it does also have a dedicated Quest page), so I dunno.
** And if we do count the civil war as one of a list of 'secondary major quests', there are three more of those I haven't started (and one other I'm in the middle of) and could/would kick off if I explored certain places.
Sailed past the 50-hour mark today. Still haven't been to eight out of the ten cities; still haven't started the main quest; still haven't started the... secondary main quest, I guess it is?*
Part of me feels like I should dive in to some of those sometime soon — either actually continue the plot(s), or head off to sightsee. But knowing how much stuff was unlocked when I ended up in one major city (and I need to go back and finish off a bunch of things I started there), I feel like even hitting a single new city will kick off who-knows-how-many more hours of Things To Do, never mind eight of them** (though only three others are classed as "major", plus five smaller ones... but if we're doing that, I need to start thinking about the eight towns, nineteen settlements, four orc strongholds, and dozens of farms, mills, caves, mines, ruins, forts, towers, camps... Yeah, it's a big game.)
This is not a complaint, by-the-way. If I was bored of what I was doing, I could absolutely ditch it and go to those areas. I could do it anyway and just end up with a massive list of active quests. Maybe I will.
Amazing game.
* It seems to me that the civil war is Skyrim's secondary major storyline. It kicks off in the opening/tutorial sequence, just the same as the main quest does, and from what I've read (while finding info but also trying to avoid too many spoilers), it eventually leads to significant world-changing set pieces and intersects majorly with the main storyline in several ways. But my go-to resource, the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages wiki, list it as 2 of 6 possible Faction Quests (though it does also have a dedicated Quest page), so I dunno.
** And if we do count the civil war as one of a list of 'secondary major quests', there are three more of those I haven't started (and one other I'm in the middle of) and could/would kick off if I explored certain places.
Sunday, 23 November 2025
Films
Le Samouraï (1967)
[#93 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2025 #11
[#93 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2025 #11
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
According to HowLongToBeat, a "leisurely" playthrough of Skyrim's main story takes just over 44½ hours. Well, today I passed that mark (I'm actually at 48½ hours, with over 2 hours of the time today being "oh, I'll just pop on and quickly do that... oops") and have barely even started said main story. But that's been a deliberate choice on my part, spending my time on all kinds of other quests... and, frankly, an awful lot of travelling, crafting, and trading. It's easy to see how the "All Play Styles" average is almost 130 hours, while Completionist times average well over 200 hours. Will I hit those kinds of numbers, or will I finish / move on before then? Time will tell...
According to HowLongToBeat, a "leisurely" playthrough of Skyrim's main story takes just over 44½ hours. Well, today I passed that mark (I'm actually at 48½ hours, with over 2 hours of the time today being "oh, I'll just pop on and quickly do that... oops") and have barely even started said main story. But that's been a deliberate choice on my part, spending my time on all kinds of other quests... and, frankly, an awful lot of travelling, crafting, and trading. It's easy to see how the "All Play Styles" average is almost 130 hours, while Completionist times average well over 200 hours. Will I hit those kinds of numbers, or will I finish / move on before then? Time will tell...
Saturday, 22 November 2025
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
When I casually accepted a drinking contest, I didn't expect it to kickstart a quest that I wouldn't complete for another 13 or 14 hours of playtime. Heck, I assumed it would be a couple of minutes of a stamina test or something! Even when it turned out to be A Quest, I assumed it would be a fairly swift and minor one. But no! It's been 'what I'm trying to complete' for almost a third of my total playtime so far.
I've got other quests that have been sat there since, well, the start (so almost 45 hours at this point), but some of those I've been actively putting off and others just ignoring. This was one I was focused on — or trying to focus on! Obviously a good amount of that time came from distractions. Also from my insistance on actually traversing the world rather than teleporting around with fast travel.* But, all in, it feels like it was an epic undertaking. What I assumed was one of the game's many, many minor optional asides (and, I guess, it is) feels, at this point, like the most major storyline I've fully participated in (so far).
* I do allow myself to use it to whoosh to & from storage locations, for the sake of collecting as much loot as possible, and sometimes for trading in that loot; but when progressing 'the story', trekking around it is!
When I casually accepted a drinking contest, I didn't expect it to kickstart a quest that I wouldn't complete for another 13 or 14 hours of playtime. Heck, I assumed it would be a couple of minutes of a stamina test or something! Even when it turned out to be A Quest, I assumed it would be a fairly swift and minor one. But no! It's been 'what I'm trying to complete' for almost a third of my total playtime so far.
I've got other quests that have been sat there since, well, the start (so almost 45 hours at this point), but some of those I've been actively putting off and others just ignoring. This was one I was focused on — or trying to focus on! Obviously a good amount of that time came from distractions. Also from my insistance on actually traversing the world rather than teleporting around with fast travel.* But, all in, it feels like it was an epic undertaking. What I assumed was one of the game's many, many minor optional asides (and, I guess, it is) feels, at this point, like the most major storyline I've fully participated in (so far).
* I do allow myself to use it to whoosh to & from storage locations, for the sake of collecting as much loot as possible, and sometimes for trading in that loot; but when progressing 'the story', trekking around it is!
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Despite Black Friday sales being in motion, everything this week is a new release, some of them turning up a week or two early. (Of course, I have ordered Black Friday stuff, and that should be here next week.) The tally includes two additions to the Masters of Cinema range, one in 4K; a new 4K from Hammer; a BD-to-4K upgrade from Arrow; and, also from Arrow, their latest Shawscope box set — hence why the discs and films count jumps up so much from just five new purchases.
Number of titles in collection: 3,638 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 980 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,658 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 483 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 8,746 [up 15]
Number of films: 4,661 [up 20]
Number of additional cuts: 476 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,278 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Despite Black Friday sales being in motion, everything this week is a new release, some of them turning up a week or two early. (Of course, I have ordered Black Friday stuff, and that should be here next week.) The tally includes two additions to the Masters of Cinema range, one in 4K; a new 4K from Hammer; a BD-to-4K upgrade from Arrow; and, also from Arrow, their latest Shawscope box set — hence why the discs and films count jumps up so much from just five new purchases.
Number of titles in collection: 3,638 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 980 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,658 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 483 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 8,746 [up 15]
Number of films: 4,661 [up 20]
Number of additional cuts: 476 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,278 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 21 November 2025
TV
Critical Role
4x06 Knives and Thorns [2nd hour]
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
4x06 Knives and Thorns [2nd hour]
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Thursday, 20 November 2025
TV
Critical Role
4x06 Knives and Thorns [1st hour]
Almost a whole hour longer than the last episode. I suspect I'll end up breaking this down into smaller bites than "halves", then — gotta make sure I'm setting aside loads of time for Skyrim, after all.
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
4x06 Knives and Thorns [1st hour]
Almost a whole hour longer than the last episode. I suspect I'll end up breaking this down into smaller bites than "halves", then — gotta make sure I'm setting aside loads of time for Skyrim, after all.
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Started today's session finding out the next point I needed to hit on my current 'main' quest, so headed straight there. 2¼ hours later, I finally reached that destination and decided it was a good point to put the game down for the day. As ever: so many distractions! But they're a bit part of the fun. I've just crossed the 40-hour mark, meaning it's 10 hours — a quater of my playtime — since I started this specific quest, but it doesn't feel like that at all. Great game.
Started today's session finding out the next point I needed to hit on my current 'main' quest, so headed straight there. 2¼ hours later, I finally reached that destination and decided it was a good point to put the game down for the day. As ever: so many distractions! But they're a bit part of the fun. I've just crossed the 40-hour mark, meaning it's 10 hours — a quater of my playtime — since I started this specific quest, but it doesn't feel like that at all. Great game.
Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Comics
2000 AD
Prog 2450
As I mentioned, a whole new slate of strips start this issue; and it's a bumper-length one, so there are six!
...except one's a text story, which is fine, but, I dunno, I never really feel these 'are' 2000 AD. And one's the first half of a story that concludes in the Megazine, which I don't buy, so I'm not going to read that. And one of them is a new series of Void Runners, which I seem to remember thinking was pretty shit last time (whether I stuck with it or it's one of those rarities that I abandoned partway, I can't remember). So that's... underwhelming.
Prog 2450
As I mentioned, a whole new slate of strips start this issue; and it's a bumper-length one, so there are six!
...except one's a text story, which is fine, but, I dunno, I never really feel these 'are' 2000 AD. And one's the first half of a story that concludes in the Megazine, which I don't buy, so I'm not going to read that. And one of them is a new series of Void Runners, which I seem to remember thinking was pretty shit last time (whether I stuck with it or it's one of those rarities that I abandoned partway, I can't remember). So that's... underwhelming.
Monday, 17 November 2025
TV
Critical Role
4x05 Branching Paths [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
4x05 Branching Paths [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Tabletop Games
Daggerheart: Dragon Heist in the City of Splendors
Heading into Week 6.
Last week I mentioned I was considering signing up for a second game. I now have. It hasn't properly started yet (there's a full complement of players, but we're creating characters still), but I guess I'll start mentioning that once per week too.
Heading into Week 6.
Last week I mentioned I was considering signing up for a second game. I now have. It hasn't properly started yet (there's a full complement of players, but we're creating characters still), but I guess I'll start mentioning that once per week too.
Sunday, 16 November 2025
Video Games
Dispatch
Episode 1 Pivot
Yep, I finally started it! And it's really good... as a TV show. It's funny, it's emotional, it's exciting; the characters are likeable, the performances are great; it's all really well made — it feels like watching a 'proper' animation, not a video game approximation of one. But as a game...
Well, being able to choose dialogue options is fun, though I don't think they have any meaningful impact. This is no Bandersnatch, where I actually felt like my choices were changing things. Here, it's just some divergent dialogue before things slot back on their preordained path. I get why that is (it seems nightmarish enough having to create all the different eventualities for a finite film, something designed to run about two hours, so imagine having to do it for an eight-episode TV series), but consequently there's an element of "why?" about it. Even if it affected dialogue later on, that would be something, but (based on replaying some parts) I think once you get past the initial variant, it just clicks back to the same path.
Even worse are the QTEs — I see now why there's an option to just have them be 'cinematic' (i.e. no interaction), because I don't think whether I managed to hit a button in time or not actually changed a single thing. Why rush to participate if the fight's going to play out the same way anyway? Eventually there's some actual gameplay in the dispatching minigame... though, again, I'm not sure if your performance actually changes anything (maybe in future episodes? Though I have heard complaints that what you do doesn't affect the story, so...) Also, to be honest, that dispatching is not my kind of game. I muddled through it, and I did ok, but if Dispatch was 100% that, I'm not sure I'd choose to play it.
I'll definitely be continuing though, because — like I said — this is a really good slightly-interactive TV show... even if, on the evidence of the first episode, it wouldn't have lost much by being just a TV show.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
When I started up Skyrim today, I had a specific plan: head straight out of the city to investigate the missing 24 hours. On the way, stuff happened... and then more stuff... and then other distractions... Two hours of playtime later, I still hadn't left the city, but I had completed a couple of minor quests, had several instances of combat, and was midway through various other storylines. Whoopsie!
But I set those storylines aside for the time being (partly because I became aware that finishing one would lead to a whole other one that I'd have to play immediately) and set off out of the city for the next location in the aforementioned investigation... and, of course, immediately encounted more stuff. Another 2¼ hours later, I put the game down again, this time outside a dungeon I'll tackle next time — but I'm still not close to the next stop in my search! Maybe I will get there next time I play. Maybe there'll be more distractions.
In short: damn, there's a lot of content in this game! I am going to have to seriously think about consciously making time to play other stuff alongside it, otherwise it'll be nothing but Skyrim, Skyrim, Skyrim for... months? Years? The rest of my life?
Episode 1 Pivot
Yep, I finally started it! And it's really good... as a TV show. It's funny, it's emotional, it's exciting; the characters are likeable, the performances are great; it's all really well made — it feels like watching a 'proper' animation, not a video game approximation of one. But as a game...
Well, being able to choose dialogue options is fun, though I don't think they have any meaningful impact. This is no Bandersnatch, where I actually felt like my choices were changing things. Here, it's just some divergent dialogue before things slot back on their preordained path. I get why that is (it seems nightmarish enough having to create all the different eventualities for a finite film, something designed to run about two hours, so imagine having to do it for an eight-episode TV series), but consequently there's an element of "why?" about it. Even if it affected dialogue later on, that would be something, but (based on replaying some parts) I think once you get past the initial variant, it just clicks back to the same path.
Even worse are the QTEs — I see now why there's an option to just have them be 'cinematic' (i.e. no interaction), because I don't think whether I managed to hit a button in time or not actually changed a single thing. Why rush to participate if the fight's going to play out the same way anyway? Eventually there's some actual gameplay in the dispatching minigame... though, again, I'm not sure if your performance actually changes anything (maybe in future episodes? Though I have heard complaints that what you do doesn't affect the story, so...) Also, to be honest, that dispatching is not my kind of game. I muddled through it, and I did ok, but if Dispatch was 100% that, I'm not sure I'd choose to play it.
I'll definitely be continuing though, because — like I said — this is a really good slightly-interactive TV show... even if, on the evidence of the first episode, it wouldn't have lost much by being just a TV show.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
When I started up Skyrim today, I had a specific plan: head straight out of the city to investigate the missing 24 hours. On the way, stuff happened... and then more stuff... and then other distractions... Two hours of playtime later, I still hadn't left the city, but I had completed a couple of minor quests, had several instances of combat, and was midway through various other storylines. Whoopsie!
But I set those storylines aside for the time being (partly because I became aware that finishing one would lead to a whole other one that I'd have to play immediately) and set off out of the city for the next location in the aforementioned investigation... and, of course, immediately encounted more stuff. Another 2¼ hours later, I put the game down again, this time outside a dungeon I'll tackle next time — but I'm still not close to the next stop in my search! Maybe I will get there next time I play. Maybe there'll be more distractions.
In short: damn, there's a lot of content in this game! I am going to have to seriously think about consciously making time to play other stuff alongside it, otherwise it'll be nothing but Skyrim, Skyrim, Skyrim for... months? Years? The rest of my life?
Saturday, 15 November 2025
Films
Street Law (1974)
[#91 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
I was considering watching How to Train Your Dragon 2 this evening (as I’ve been intending to since May), but after playing four hours of Skyrim and reading a Fafhrd-focused Lankhmar story, I decided it was probably a good idea to get some variety from viking-themed fantasy.
[#91 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
I was considering watching How to Train Your Dragon 2 this evening (as I’ve been intending to since May), but after playing four hours of Skyrim and reading a Fafhrd-focused Lankhmar story, I decided it was probably a good idea to get some variety from viking-themed fantasy.
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Inevitably.
I sat down this afternoon intending to finally start Dispatch. If you don't know, it's structured like a TV series with eight episodes, so my plan is to treat it like one: play a whole episode, then either do the whole next one or aim to spread them out, paced like how I watch TV TV. But instead of finally diving into episode one, I 'accidentally' loaded Skyrim instead. Oopsie.
Today was good, though. I've spent my 30 hours so far all in the same locale: the first town and city the game leads you to, and their surrounding environs. I keep meaning to venture out (there's a lot more world to see) but get distracted by local quests (or other business like looting, crafting, potion making...) Well, today I got into a drinking contest in the tavern... and woke up a whole 24 hours later in an unfamiliar temple, which turned out to be in a city on the other side of the continent. That's one way to do it!
In terms of how the game is programmed, this is a quest that can trigger in any tavern anywhere after you reach a certain level — I could have explored every single place on the map before starting it. But I think the way it's happened for me is the best, frankly. Walking out of the temple into, not only an unfamiliar city, but one that looks completely different to anywhere else I've seen so far, was a fantastic experience. It made what has happened narratively hit home in a way I don't think it would have if this were somewhere familiar — it feels like I've been on a black-out-drunk adventure and have no idea how I got here or why, rather than just "oh, I'm in this place again". And now I have to not only work out what happened, but also make my way 'home' across half the world that I've not seen before.
Yep, I'm certainly not stopping sinking time into Skyrim now!
Inevitably.
I sat down this afternoon intending to finally start Dispatch. If you don't know, it's structured like a TV series with eight episodes, so my plan is to treat it like one: play a whole episode, then either do the whole next one or aim to spread them out, paced like how I watch TV TV. But instead of finally diving into episode one, I 'accidentally' loaded Skyrim instead. Oopsie.
Today was good, though. I've spent my 30 hours so far all in the same locale: the first town and city the game leads you to, and their surrounding environs. I keep meaning to venture out (there's a lot more world to see) but get distracted by local quests (or other business like looting, crafting, potion making...) Well, today I got into a drinking contest in the tavern... and woke up a whole 24 hours later in an unfamiliar temple, which turned out to be in a city on the other side of the continent. That's one way to do it!
In terms of how the game is programmed, this is a quest that can trigger in any tavern anywhere after you reach a certain level — I could have explored every single place on the map before starting it. But I think the way it's happened for me is the best, frankly. Walking out of the temple into, not only an unfamiliar city, but one that looks completely different to anywhere else I've seen so far, was a fantastic experience. It made what has happened narratively hit home in a way I don't think it would have if this were somewhere familiar — it feels like I've been on a black-out-drunk adventure and have no idea how I got here or why, rather than just "oh, I'm in this place again". And now I have to not only work out what happened, but also make my way 'home' across half the world that I've not seen before.
Yep, I'm certainly not stopping sinking time into Skyrim now!
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
This week, a bunch more pickups from recent offers (a couple of Criterions from the ongoing UK sale, for example), and a couple of new releases — including a DVD-to-BD upgrade, continuing to gradually chip away at that old format's tally. I certainly don't think it will ever get to 0 (not even close), but... well, it is what it is.
Number of titles in collection: 3,634 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 980 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,654 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 480 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,731 [up 9]
Number of films: 4,641 [up 8]
Number of additional cuts: 473 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,278 [up 7]
See you next week, faithful reader.
This week, a bunch more pickups from recent offers (a couple of Criterions from the ongoing UK sale, for example), and a couple of new releases — including a DVD-to-BD upgrade, continuing to gradually chip away at that old format's tally. I certainly don't think it will ever get to 0 (not even close), but... well, it is what it is.
Number of titles in collection: 3,634 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 980 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,654 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 480 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,731 [up 9]
Number of films: 4,641 [up 8]
Number of additional cuts: 473 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,278 [up 7]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 14 November 2025
TV
The Mighty Nein
1x01 Mote of Possibility
Surprise! Episode 1 is streaming free on YouTube this weekend only, ahead of episodes 1–3 releasing on Prime Video (as originally announced) from Wednesday 19th. And it's really good! Phew.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube.]
1x01 Mote of Possibility
Surprise! Episode 1 is streaming free on YouTube this weekend only, ahead of episodes 1–3 releasing on Prime Video (as originally announced) from Wednesday 19th. And it's really good! Phew.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Over two hours today, but almost all of it admin — collecting stuff, selling stuff, going back to collect more stuff, selling more stuff...
It's my own fault — the game isn't making me do that — but it feels wasteful to leave all that coin-generating loot behind when I could get, y'know, the coin. But it also means I'm spending way too much time on, as I say, admin. Need to break the habit, I think — advance some storylines; fight through some more dungeons. Of course, that will just generate more loot...
Over two hours today, but almost all of it admin — collecting stuff, selling stuff, going back to collect more stuff, selling more stuff...
It's my own fault — the game isn't making me do that — but it feels wasteful to leave all that coin-generating loot behind when I could get, y'know, the coin. But it also means I'm spending way too much time on, as I say, admin. Need to break the habit, I think — advance some storylines; fight through some more dungeons. Of course, that will just generate more loot...
Thursday, 13 November 2025
TV
Critical Role
4x05 Branching Paths [1st half]
Probably would've watched this by now if it wasn't for Skyrim. New episode's out tonight, which made me realise I really did need to crack on lest I fall too far behind.
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
4x05 Branching Paths [1st half]
Probably would've watched this by now if it wasn't for Skyrim. New episode's out tonight, which made me realise I really did need to crack on lest I fall too far behind.
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Of course.
Today is my seventh day playing — i.e. a whole week — and I've clocked up over 24½ hours in-game (not to mention even more hours reading up on tactics, etc). That's... a lot. It's an average of 3½ hours a day, every day. I rarely manage "every day" with films, and most films are shorter than that, and I'm supposed to be a "film guy". And, for even more perspective, most of the other games I've played in the past couple of decades would've been completed three or four times over in that time (or I'd've played three or four of them).
Maybe I'll slow down now. Or maybe I won't. There are other things I should also be playing, though! In particular, the Dispatch finale came out yesterday, so the whole game is waiting for me now. I should probably get to that before I see any spoilers, which are more likely considering it's been incredibly popular.
Of course.
Today is my seventh day playing — i.e. a whole week — and I've clocked up over 24½ hours in-game (not to mention even more hours reading up on tactics, etc). That's... a lot. It's an average of 3½ hours a day, every day. I rarely manage "every day" with films, and most films are shorter than that, and I'm supposed to be a "film guy". And, for even more perspective, most of the other games I've played in the past couple of decades would've been completed three or four times over in that time (or I'd've played three or four of them).
Maybe I'll slow down now. Or maybe I won't. There are other things I should also be playing, though! In particular, the Dispatch finale came out yesterday, so the whole game is waiting for me now. I should probably get to that before I see any spoilers, which are more likely considering it's been incredibly popular.
Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Played for exactly 2 hours today, the vast majority of which was spent finally using up the ingredients I'd been collecting constantly over the past 18 hours of play, turning them into so many potions that I could only sell a small fraction of them, and had to go store the rest. But, as I surmised yesterday, this reduced the burden of my inventory massively. I had actually intended to play through a dungeon, but it was realising that there was no way I could carry the loot out of there that finally spurred me to act. I increased a couple of levels in the process, too, so that was nice.
It does mean it feels less like I played the game and more like I did a couple of hours of admin, though. Oh well, it's done now, and I can have some actual fun tomorrow. And also maybe pick up fewer ingredients going forward...
Played for exactly 2 hours today, the vast majority of which was spent finally using up the ingredients I'd been collecting constantly over the past 18 hours of play, turning them into so many potions that I could only sell a small fraction of them, and had to go store the rest. But, as I surmised yesterday, this reduced the burden of my inventory massively. I had actually intended to play through a dungeon, but it was realising that there was no way I could carry the loot out of there that finally spurred me to act. I increased a couple of levels in the process, too, so that was nice.
It does mean it feels less like I played the game and more like I did a couple of hours of admin, though. Oh well, it's done now, and I can have some actual fun tomorrow. And also maybe pick up fewer ingredients going forward...
Articles
Valve announces three new products: the Steam Frame, Steam Machine and Steam Controller
by Jacob Ridley (from PC Gamer)
Regular readers* will know how much I've been loving my Steam Deck, so the semi-surprise news** today from Valve about a whole suite of additional related products was very exciting. Just a few months ago, I might not have really cared, but I feel like I'm big back into gaming now, and so I instantly want all of these. Of course, whether they'll be friendly to my budget is another matter...
Would they negate my Deck, though? No, I don't think so. I have enjoyed playing it docked to the TV, but I've mostly played it handheld in other places around the house. I really like being able to do that — indeed, I could just go sit in front of my TV with it if I wanted to, because I bought a dock — so I think I'd keep doing that even if I get the Steam Machine. But then what's the benefit of the Machine? It's a lot more powerful, primarily, meaning I could run more demanding games; and I could also use it to stream them to my Deck, if I didn't just want to play those games on my TV. So, to me, it does seem like there's a definite use case for having both. The only money wasted is on the aforementioned dock — why would I dock my Deck and play that when I could use the Machine? Maybe I'll think of some other use for it. Maybe I could sell it.
The same goes for a controller I bought for when I use my Deck with the TV. It looks like the Steam Controller will be superior to the one I chose, so it remains a tempting buy, but I don't have friends round to play or anything, so I don't need mulitple controllers. I'll have to see about the price and reviews of the Controller and decide if it's worth the upgrade. I imagine selling the one I've already got would be even easier than selling the dock.
Of course, the Steam Frame is an entirely different proposition that doesn't trample on either the Deck or Machine. I'd actually already been toying with getting a VR headset — indeed, if the Xbox limited edition Meta Quest 3S hadn't sold out so quickly, I might well have bought one. I was mulling it for a while, and damn near decided I'd cave and get it, but then they were gone. Well, that's turned out to be a boon: one of the selling points was it came bundled with several months of Game Pass, which used to be good but has recently gone to shit, and other things I liked included the colour scheme and exclusive Xbox controller, both of which the Frame either equals (colour) or negates (Steam Controller). (I wasn't just interested in the aesthetics: one of the things that gave me pause was reading how much better the Quest 3 (no S) was). Now, maybe a Quest or something will still be a better device — I'll have to see what the price and reviews are like — but I'm pretty ensconced in the Steam ecosystem at this point (but, happily, with knowledge of effective ways to add games from other sources, so I'm not too tied-in), so the Frame might generally be a better choice of device for me.
The big disadvantage to possibly jumping on all of these "day one" is one of expectations. I got the Deck after it had been out for years; the Meta Quest has been around a fair while — that means there's a user base who've worked out the best ways to use them; some kinks have been ironed out, or workarounds found. I've benefitted from all of that with the Deck, and it was informing my VR purchase. Do I just trust to Valve, and that the existing community will continue to find tips and tricks that I can piggyback onto over time, or do I wait and see? Something to think about.
* Don't worry, I know there aren't any.
** There were whisperings and rumours, especially over the last 24 hours, but nothing concrete before the actual announcement.
by Jacob Ridley (from PC Gamer)
Regular readers* will know how much I've been loving my Steam Deck, so the semi-surprise news** today from Valve about a whole suite of additional related products was very exciting. Just a few months ago, I might not have really cared, but I feel like I'm big back into gaming now, and so I instantly want all of these. Of course, whether they'll be friendly to my budget is another matter...
Would they negate my Deck, though? No, I don't think so. I have enjoyed playing it docked to the TV, but I've mostly played it handheld in other places around the house. I really like being able to do that — indeed, I could just go sit in front of my TV with it if I wanted to, because I bought a dock — so I think I'd keep doing that even if I get the Steam Machine. But then what's the benefit of the Machine? It's a lot more powerful, primarily, meaning I could run more demanding games; and I could also use it to stream them to my Deck, if I didn't just want to play those games on my TV. So, to me, it does seem like there's a definite use case for having both. The only money wasted is on the aforementioned dock — why would I dock my Deck and play that when I could use the Machine? Maybe I'll think of some other use for it. Maybe I could sell it.
The same goes for a controller I bought for when I use my Deck with the TV. It looks like the Steam Controller will be superior to the one I chose, so it remains a tempting buy, but I don't have friends round to play or anything, so I don't need mulitple controllers. I'll have to see about the price and reviews of the Controller and decide if it's worth the upgrade. I imagine selling the one I've already got would be even easier than selling the dock.
Of course, the Steam Frame is an entirely different proposition that doesn't trample on either the Deck or Machine. I'd actually already been toying with getting a VR headset — indeed, if the Xbox limited edition Meta Quest 3S hadn't sold out so quickly, I might well have bought one. I was mulling it for a while, and damn near decided I'd cave and get it, but then they were gone. Well, that's turned out to be a boon: one of the selling points was it came bundled with several months of Game Pass, which used to be good but has recently gone to shit, and other things I liked included the colour scheme and exclusive Xbox controller, both of which the Frame either equals (colour) or negates (Steam Controller). (I wasn't just interested in the aesthetics: one of the things that gave me pause was reading how much better the Quest 3 (no S) was). Now, maybe a Quest or something will still be a better device — I'll have to see what the price and reviews are like — but I'm pretty ensconced in the Steam ecosystem at this point (but, happily, with knowledge of effective ways to add games from other sources, so I'm not too tied-in), so the Frame might generally be a better choice of device for me.
The big disadvantage to possibly jumping on all of these "day one" is one of expectations. I got the Deck after it had been out for years; the Meta Quest has been around a fair while — that means there's a user base who've worked out the best ways to use them; some kinks have been ironed out, or workarounds found. I've benefitted from all of that with the Deck, and it was informing my VR purchase. Do I just trust to Valve, and that the existing community will continue to find tips and tricks that I can piggyback onto over time, or do I wait and see? Something to think about.
* Don't worry, I know there aren't any.
** There were whisperings and rumours, especially over the last 24 hours, but nothing concrete before the actual announcement.
Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Obviously.
That said, I did intend to be brief with it today (well, don't I always) — I want to crack on with Foolish Mortals (though achievements are coming to GOG "soon", so maybe I should wait and start over once they're there?), and I also have an episode of Critical Role to watch (which takes a significant chunk of time, always). What scuppered my plans was... loot.
I set out to complete a specific dungeon to complete a quest. On the way, I wasted time hunting for treasure, which was tricky to find even with a map. Then, on the way to the dungeon, I got distracted by multiple other landmarks — the disadvantages of fast travel are it's immersion-breaking and you miss random encounters, but an advantage is fewer distractions of the latter kind. I made it in the end, completed the dungeon quite quickly... but then had way more loot than I could carry. And I like loot because I can sell it for gold, and having gold feels useful.
That was when I broke another rule. When I started playing, I swore never to use fast travel — as I just said, you miss stuff and it breaks immersion. I'm not a full-on "pretend this is a living world" kinda guy, but teleporting around the place was a step too far. Time does advance when you fast travel, as if you had run there, but that doesn't really do anything (except possibly change whether shops are open, etc). Anyway: I realised I could stash loot in chests by the dungeon until I was light enough to fast travel, teleport to the nearest shops, sell what I had on me, teleport back, repeat. Turned out I had so much stuff I had to do this three or four times, which also meant waiting overnight at one point so the shop was open again.
Yes, in "game time", I spent about 36 hours running back and forth between an empty bandit campsite and the nearest town. And this is why I used fast travel, because I'd be damned if I was actually going to spend my time jogging all the way! And it took long enough in real-world time even with fast travel: I played for 3¾ hours today. Sure, some of that was actually playing the game, but the most tedious part by far was all the... well, not cheating, but it does kind of feel like cheating. I think fans call it "exploiting" — using the game's systems in ways they weren't intended to gain an advantage.
Of course, I don't have to do any of that — I could abandon loot and just get on with, y'know, playing the game. Maybe I will. Maybe I don't need so much gold. (Also, I've got a tonne of stuff that weighs a tiny amount on me. Individually, insignificant, but I do wonder if the sheer volume of it is prohibiting the good stuff. Even when I'd dumped most of my armour and weapons, my carry capacity was somehow about two-thirds full. Hmm.)
Obviously.
That said, I did intend to be brief with it today (well, don't I always) — I want to crack on with Foolish Mortals (though achievements are coming to GOG "soon", so maybe I should wait and start over once they're there?), and I also have an episode of Critical Role to watch (which takes a significant chunk of time, always). What scuppered my plans was... loot.
I set out to complete a specific dungeon to complete a quest. On the way, I wasted time hunting for treasure, which was tricky to find even with a map. Then, on the way to the dungeon, I got distracted by multiple other landmarks — the disadvantages of fast travel are it's immersion-breaking and you miss random encounters, but an advantage is fewer distractions of the latter kind. I made it in the end, completed the dungeon quite quickly... but then had way more loot than I could carry. And I like loot because I can sell it for gold, and having gold feels useful.
That was when I broke another rule. When I started playing, I swore never to use fast travel — as I just said, you miss stuff and it breaks immersion. I'm not a full-on "pretend this is a living world" kinda guy, but teleporting around the place was a step too far. Time does advance when you fast travel, as if you had run there, but that doesn't really do anything (except possibly change whether shops are open, etc). Anyway: I realised I could stash loot in chests by the dungeon until I was light enough to fast travel, teleport to the nearest shops, sell what I had on me, teleport back, repeat. Turned out I had so much stuff I had to do this three or four times, which also meant waiting overnight at one point so the shop was open again.
Yes, in "game time", I spent about 36 hours running back and forth between an empty bandit campsite and the nearest town. And this is why I used fast travel, because I'd be damned if I was actually going to spend my time jogging all the way! And it took long enough in real-world time even with fast travel: I played for 3¾ hours today. Sure, some of that was actually playing the game, but the most tedious part by far was all the... well, not cheating, but it does kind of feel like cheating. I think fans call it "exploiting" — using the game's systems in ways they weren't intended to gain an advantage.
Of course, I don't have to do any of that — I could abandon loot and just get on with, y'know, playing the game. Maybe I will. Maybe I don't need so much gold. (Also, I've got a tonne of stuff that weighs a tiny amount on me. Individually, insignificant, but I do wonder if the sheer volume of it is prohibiting the good stuff. Even when I'd dumped most of my armour and weapons, my carry capacity was somehow about two-thirds full. Hmm.)
Monday, 10 November 2025
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Today, booted it up with a couple of specific goals in mind, and told myself I'd quit after I'd done them. And I did! Of course, I did all the goals I was thinking about, and I did some other menial things along the way, and so I still played for just over 2 hours. And then I thought of something else I should do, which ended up being another hour. Oops. And that's not even mentioning how much of my day I spent thinking about it and reading up on stuff online...
Today, booted it up with a couple of specific goals in mind, and told myself I'd quit after I'd done them. And I did! Of course, I did all the goals I was thinking about, and I did some other menial things along the way, and so I still played for just over 2 hours. And then I thought of something else I should do, which ended up being another hour. Oops. And that's not even mentioning how much of my day I spent thinking about it and reading up on stuff online...
Tabletop Games
Daggerheart: Dragon Heist in the City of Splendors
Still playing every day but logging once a week, as mooted. Currently toying with joining a second campaign, too. You'd think I wouldn't have time (especially with all those hours in Skyrim), but my experience so far with PBP is it only takes a few minutes here and there — plus thinking time in between, of course — so it's actually quite a lot effort way to play 'a lot' (some days hardly anything happens, so your mileage may vary on what counts as "a lot").
Still playing every day but logging once a week, as mooted. Currently toying with joining a second campaign, too. You'd think I wouldn't have time (especially with all those hours in Skyrim), but my experience so far with PBP is it only takes a few minutes here and there — plus thinking time in between, of course — so it's actually quite a lot effort way to play 'a lot' (some days hardly anything happens, so your mileage may vary on what counts as "a lot").
Sunday, 9 November 2025
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
I was desperate to keep playing, but also didn't want to sink quite so much time into this today, so managed to limit myself to just two hours. Hilarious how, just a few weeks ago, I was still considering that a "long session" on other games.
...oh, but then I loaded it up in the evening to "just do something quickly" and ended up playing for another three hours. Oops. That was partly stupidity: I messed some stuff up, tried to forge ahead, it got worse, so I had to load a save game and repeat a bunch of stuff. And then I messed up differently and had to reload again. I started saving more often at that point — I hadn't needed to before because there was enough autosaving going on, and I'd never really ballsed anything up badly enough to want to reload. Always good to learn.
Funny: I thought I would've been playing Foolish Mortals a tonne this week, possibly even finishing it today (if not sooner), and instead I've barely started it and sunk more time into Skyrim than it likely would've taken to finish FM. You never can tell which way you're gonna go, huh?
I was desperate to keep playing, but also didn't want to sink quite so much time into this today, so managed to limit myself to just two hours. Hilarious how, just a few weeks ago, I was still considering that a "long session" on other games.
...oh, but then I loaded it up in the evening to "just do something quickly" and ended up playing for another three hours. Oops. That was partly stupidity: I messed some stuff up, tried to forge ahead, it got worse, so I had to load a save game and repeat a bunch of stuff. And then I messed up differently and had to reload again. I started saving more often at that point — I hadn't needed to before because there was enough autosaving going on, and I'd never really ballsed anything up badly enough to want to reload. Always good to learn.
Funny: I thought I would've been playing Foolish Mortals a tonne this week, possibly even finishing it today (if not sooner), and instead I've barely started it and sunk more time into Skyrim than it likely would've taken to finish FM. You never can tell which way you're gonna go, huh?
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
A slightly late update this week, because (a) I spent so much of yesterday playing Skyrim, (b) it's time for the monthly running time update, but I hadn't collected the running times for most of this month's ~28 additions, and (b) no one but me cares.
Number of titles in collection: 3,629 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 981 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,648 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 478 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 8,722 [up 12]
Number of films: 4,633 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 473 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [up 13]
Number of short films: 1,271 [no change]
Also, it's time for the latest monthly running time update...
Total running time of collection (approx.):
610 days, 15 hours, and 50 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
A slightly late update this week, because (a) I spent so much of yesterday playing Skyrim, (b) it's time for the monthly running time update, but I hadn't collected the running times for most of this month's ~28 additions, and (b) no one but me cares.
Number of titles in collection: 3,629 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 981 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,648 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 478 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 8,722 [up 12]
Number of films: 4,633 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 473 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [up 13]
Number of short films: 1,271 [no change]
Also, it's time for the latest monthly running time update...
Total running time of collection (approx.):
610 days, 15 hours, and 50 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
Saturday, 8 November 2025
Fiction / Non-Fiction / Games
Daggerheart: Core Rulebook
Skipping ahead to a different section today: in my game, we're levelling up for the first time, so I decided I ought to read all about that.
Skipping ahead to a different section today: in my game, we're levelling up for the first time, so I decided I ought to read all about that.
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Decided to play a little bit before bed last night (after midnight, hence logging it today) — ended up staying up 'til the small hours. Then, this afternoon, I popped in just to make a small change... then decided to play a bit... and, suddenly, most of the afternoon was gone and I had to force myself to stop.
Anyway, that added up to over 6 hours of play. And I still feel like I'm only just getting started. I guess the main story takes 26 hours if you actually follow the main story, which I'm not really — but I think that's most of the the game is so beloved: there's so much else to do. Indeed, a lot of advice specfically advises dodging the main story for various reasons, so that's kinda what I'm doing.
Decided to play a little bit before bed last night (after midnight, hence logging it today) — ended up staying up 'til the small hours. Then, this afternoon, I popped in just to make a small change... then decided to play a bit... and, suddenly, most of the afternoon was gone and I had to force myself to stop.
Anyway, that added up to over 6 hours of play. And I still feel like I'm only just getting started. I guess the main story takes 26 hours if you actually follow the main story, which I'm not really — but I think that's most of the the game is so beloved: there's so much else to do. Indeed, a lot of advice specfically advises dodging the main story for various reasons, so that's kinda what I'm doing.
Friday, 7 November 2025
Audio Drama
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures
1.2 The Return of the Doctor
That title... was this meant to be the first release and for some reason had to be bumped? And if not, why would you give that title to your second story? Sure, it doesn't matter, but it feels silly to me. Especially as I thought this was an all-round stronger story than the actual first release and therefore might've made a better choice to kick off the range.
1.2 The Return of the Doctor
That title... was this meant to be the first release and for some reason had to be bumped? And if not, why would you give that title to your second story? Sure, it doesn't matter, but it feels silly to me. Especially as I thought this was an all-round stronger story than the actual first release and therefore might've made a better choice to kick off the range.
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Despite everything I said the other day, and only really playing Leaving Lyndow as a precursor to starting Evershade, and also starting Foolish Mortals since then, I once again felt Skyrim calling to me (I have a feeling it might be something to do with reading more of Lankhmar — I'd be gleefully installing a Fafhrd and Grey Mouser game if there was one!) As I already had it installed from when I nearly started it before, I thought, well, why not boot it up? (I mean, other than all the other games I've already started and should be playing).
But also, I thought that maybe I'll just end up noodling around for a little bit, get this urge out of my system, and then come back to it properly another time (because I do want to play it sometime). However, after playing for an hour-and-a-half without even pushing myself (and not being forced to: unlike so many other games I've played recently, this one lets you save whenever you want — hurrah!), it feels like I've barely started, and there's so much already waiting for me (as in, specific things to do, not just the general promise of the whole game) that I kinda want to go back and play more already. Maybe I'm about to follow in the footsteps of people who've sunk 500… 600… 700… 1000+ hours into this game over the last decade-and-a-half.
Despite everything I said the other day, and only really playing Leaving Lyndow as a precursor to starting Evershade, and also starting Foolish Mortals since then, I once again felt Skyrim calling to me (I have a feeling it might be something to do with reading more of Lankhmar — I'd be gleefully installing a Fafhrd and Grey Mouser game if there was one!) As I already had it installed from when I nearly started it before, I thought, well, why not boot it up? (I mean, other than all the other games I've already started and should be playing).
But also, I thought that maybe I'll just end up noodling around for a little bit, get this urge out of my system, and then come back to it properly another time (because I do want to play it sometime). However, after playing for an hour-and-a-half without even pushing myself (and not being forced to: unlike so many other games I've played recently, this one lets you save whenever you want — hurrah!), it feels like I've barely started, and there's so much already waiting for me (as in, specific things to do, not just the general promise of the whole game) that I kinda want to go back and play more already. Maybe I'm about to follow in the footsteps of people who've sunk 500… 600… 700… 1000+ hours into this game over the last decade-and-a-half.
Thursday, 6 November 2025
Video Games
Rogue Trooper Redux
Now I've started it, I may as well continue it... though that also goes for all those other games I'm partway through. But this one's only supposed to be 6 or 7 hours long, so it seems like I may as well polish it off... though it has 13 missions and I've clocked up almost 3 hours on the first three, so maybe it's going to taking me a little longer.
Now I've started it, I may as well continue it... though that also goes for all those other games I'm partway through. But this one's only supposed to be 6 or 7 hours long, so it seems like I may as well polish it off... though it has 13 missions and I've clocked up almost 3 hours on the first three, so maybe it's going to taking me a little longer.
Wednesday, 5 November 2025
Fiction / Non-Fiction / Games
Daggerheart: Core Rulebook
It's kind of interesting to be reading through this when I've already been actively playing the game for a few weeks, because I sort of know it all (or, at least, the important bits), but am also sort of still learning stuff. At least I'm definitely gaining knowledge about parts of the game I don't personally use right now (e.g. other classes, ancestries, and communities).
It's kind of interesting to be reading through this when I've already been actively playing the game for a few weeks, because I sort of know it all (or, at least, the important bits), but am also sort of still learning stuff. At least I'm definitely gaining knowledge about parts of the game I don't personally use right now (e.g. other classes, ancestries, and communities).
Video Games
Foolish Mortals
The point-and-click game I mentioned yesterday. I really did intend to finish Gray Matter first, but then I got so hyped up for this in the past 24 hours (and I had already been massively looking forward to it, as I said) that I couldn't help but dive straight in. And if you want to do the same (which you should), you can buy it on Steam or GOG.
Rogue Trooper Redux
Even after everything I wrote yesterday about games I should be playing, I still went and started this and sunk 90 minutes into it. I bought it on a whim a few weeks ago because I've been enjoying the strips in 2000 AD, and the same thing today prompted me to actually fire it up. Reviews of it were mixed, but they seemed to focus on a lack of difficulty and, well, that's fine by me. I'm not expecting great things, and enjoying it enough so far. The only real issue is it's not been optimised for controllers, so every onscreen prompt is like "press ? for action". Which button do they mean? Press 'em all 'til you find out!
The point-and-click game I mentioned yesterday. I really did intend to finish Gray Matter first, but then I got so hyped up for this in the past 24 hours (and I had already been massively looking forward to it, as I said) that I couldn't help but dive straight in. And if you want to do the same (which you should), you can buy it on Steam or GOG.
Rogue Trooper Redux
Even after everything I wrote yesterday about games I should be playing, I still went and started this and sunk 90 minutes into it. I bought it on a whim a few weeks ago because I've been enjoying the strips in 2000 AD, and the same thing today prompted me to actually fire it up. Reviews of it were mixed, but they seemed to focus on a lack of difficulty and, well, that's fine by me. I'm not expecting great things, and enjoying it enough so far. The only real issue is it's not been optimised for controllers, so every onscreen prompt is like "press ? for action". Which button do they mean? Press 'em all 'til you find out!
Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Video Games
Leaving Lyndow
I'm already actively trying to play through Metroid: Zero Mission, with doses of Pullblox on the side; I started Indiana Jones and the Great Circle anyway because now it's on the free-with-Prime tier of Amazon's Luna and I'd been so excited to play it*; also thanks to Luna's recent refresh, there's now a bunch of other games available to me that I've really wanted to play and/or have heard are great, like Dave the Diver, Hogwarts Legacy, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and Dishonored 2; I should definitely go back to Forza Horizon 4, Pilotwings Resort, Doom, and Balatro; I recently bought Dispatch at full price** on release day because I'd been looking forward to it and initial reactions suggest it's as good as hoped, so I definitely want to find time for that; a point-and-click adventure I've been very excited for ever since I backed it on Kickstarter three years ago*** is finally out tomorrow, and I wanted to finish Gray Matter before then so I could dive straight in (obviously not going to happen now); and I actually drafted this post to highlight the ridiculousness of the fact I decided to have a crack at Skyrim for the first time ever — a game with an average minimum completion time of almost 30 hours, but for which the median playtime is over 100...
But, instead, I bought Leaving Lyndow for 67p this evening and immediately played that. Huh?
Okay, a bit more context. I was recently looking into open world games, because for whatever reason I've had a hankering to play one (hence Skyrim), and learnt about a game called Evershade that sounded like it might be perfect: you play an artist, there's no combat, you just explore and complete side quests and stuff like that; and it's supposed to be beautiful. Sounds right up my street! So I wishlisted it; then, yesterday, it went on sale on Steam, so I instantly bought it. I was also aware it had a prequel, Leaving Lyndow. Various games seem to have "prequels" or "prologues" nowadays, and from what I can tell they're just a glorified demo — the opening chunk of the game, available for free. I'm sure there's some algorithm-related reason why it's better to list them that way. Anyway, I ignored Lyndow on the assumption it was the same, but then something today (I've already forgotten what) led me to discover it was actually a separate-but-connected game. Well, that settled it: I had to play that first, really. Well, maybe I didn't have to, but when it's only 67p in the same sale and reportedly takes about 45 minutes, it seemed rude not to.
It actually took me an hour, because I'm me and so explored quite thoroughly. It's definitely a gentle and relaxing game, as advertised, but also with a bit of an emotional storyline about a young person leaving home for the first time. It's not long enough to really get into that and thus it doesn't hit home as much as a fully-developed narrative could, but it's serviceable.
It also looks fairly beautiful. It's made for wandering around and appreciating what you see, so it needs to look pleasant, really. There were a few bugs (a character fully clipped through a tree at one point), and it's got that thing where it looks amazing in screenshots / when you're stood still, but when you start moving around all the ways those things are achieved immediately become obvious — but then, in my (limited) experience, this is still a thing with most games. And, in fairness, it's also almost nine years old and was made by indie developers; so while it does lack graphical polish in minor areas that I supsect would lead graphics-obsessed AAA-game players to think it looked rubbish, to me — who's been out of this kind of gaming for a very long time and hasn't exactly dived in to the current high-end of graphical amazingness (yet) — it still looked pretty special. Eastshade proper was released two years later, so I hold out hope it had even greater polish, but even if it's at the same level, it has the potential to live up to its reputation for beauty.
* I nearly subscribed to Xbox Game Pass just to play this, so getting to have a go at it on a service I'm already subscribed to is awesome. (I say "have a go" because, knowing Luna, it'll get locked away behind Premium long before I get a chance to finish it (see: Dungeons of Hinterberg and Control).
** Well, I did get the 10% first-week discount; but that was the "full price" at the time, so…
*** It does not feel like it's been three whole years. Wow. That's ages to have been waiting. I mean, it's not uncommon for Kickstarters to end up taking a stupidly long time to fulfil — when I back them, I always take a "it will be here when it's here" attitude, because expecting them on time and sitting waiting for that is a recipe for madness — but I never would've guessed it had been so long.
I'm already actively trying to play through Metroid: Zero Mission, with doses of Pullblox on the side; I started Indiana Jones and the Great Circle anyway because now it's on the free-with-Prime tier of Amazon's Luna and I'd been so excited to play it*; also thanks to Luna's recent refresh, there's now a bunch of other games available to me that I've really wanted to play and/or have heard are great, like Dave the Diver, Hogwarts Legacy, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and Dishonored 2; I should definitely go back to Forza Horizon 4, Pilotwings Resort, Doom, and Balatro; I recently bought Dispatch at full price** on release day because I'd been looking forward to it and initial reactions suggest it's as good as hoped, so I definitely want to find time for that; a point-and-click adventure I've been very excited for ever since I backed it on Kickstarter three years ago*** is finally out tomorrow, and I wanted to finish Gray Matter before then so I could dive straight in (obviously not going to happen now); and I actually drafted this post to highlight the ridiculousness of the fact I decided to have a crack at Skyrim for the first time ever — a game with an average minimum completion time of almost 30 hours, but for which the median playtime is over 100...
But, instead, I bought Leaving Lyndow for 67p this evening and immediately played that. Huh?
Okay, a bit more context. I was recently looking into open world games, because for whatever reason I've had a hankering to play one (hence Skyrim), and learnt about a game called Evershade that sounded like it might be perfect: you play an artist, there's no combat, you just explore and complete side quests and stuff like that; and it's supposed to be beautiful. Sounds right up my street! So I wishlisted it; then, yesterday, it went on sale on Steam, so I instantly bought it. I was also aware it had a prequel, Leaving Lyndow. Various games seem to have "prequels" or "prologues" nowadays, and from what I can tell they're just a glorified demo — the opening chunk of the game, available for free. I'm sure there's some algorithm-related reason why it's better to list them that way. Anyway, I ignored Lyndow on the assumption it was the same, but then something today (I've already forgotten what) led me to discover it was actually a separate-but-connected game. Well, that settled it: I had to play that first, really. Well, maybe I didn't have to, but when it's only 67p in the same sale and reportedly takes about 45 minutes, it seemed rude not to.
It actually took me an hour, because I'm me and so explored quite thoroughly. It's definitely a gentle and relaxing game, as advertised, but also with a bit of an emotional storyline about a young person leaving home for the first time. It's not long enough to really get into that and thus it doesn't hit home as much as a fully-developed narrative could, but it's serviceable.
It also looks fairly beautiful. It's made for wandering around and appreciating what you see, so it needs to look pleasant, really. There were a few bugs (a character fully clipped through a tree at one point), and it's got that thing where it looks amazing in screenshots / when you're stood still, but when you start moving around all the ways those things are achieved immediately become obvious — but then, in my (limited) experience, this is still a thing with most games. And, in fairness, it's also almost nine years old and was made by indie developers; so while it does lack graphical polish in minor areas that I supsect would lead graphics-obsessed AAA-game players to think it looked rubbish, to me — who's been out of this kind of gaming for a very long time and hasn't exactly dived in to the current high-end of graphical amazingness (yet) — it still looked pretty special. Eastshade proper was released two years later, so I hold out hope it had even greater polish, but even if it's at the same level, it has the potential to live up to its reputation for beauty.
* I nearly subscribed to Xbox Game Pass just to play this, so getting to have a go at it on a service I'm already subscribed to is awesome. (I say "have a go" because, knowing Luna, it'll get locked away behind Premium long before I get a chance to finish it (see: Dungeons of Hinterberg and Control).
** Well, I did get the 10% first-week discount; but that was the "full price" at the time, so…
*** It does not feel like it's been three whole years. Wow. That's ages to have been waiting. I mean, it's not uncommon for Kickstarters to end up taking a stupidly long time to fulfil — when I back them, I always take a "it will be here when it's here" attitude, because expecting them on time and sitting waiting for that is a recipe for madness — but I never would've guessed it had been so long.
Monday, 3 November 2025
Tabletop Games
Daggerheart: Dragon Heist in the City of Splendors
Funny, really, to log this as "tabletop" when I'm actually playing online, and thus exclusively on my computer or phone. But it's not a Video Game, so...
Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, this is very much ongoing — we're now entering our fourth week. I've still not settled my mind on if or how I should be regularly logging it, but possibly "every Monday" (while it continues, natch) is one answer.
Funny, really, to log this as "tabletop" when I'm actually playing online, and thus exclusively on my computer or phone. But it's not a Video Game, so...
Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, this is very much ongoing — we're now entering our fourth week. I've still not settled my mind on if or how I should be regularly logging it, but possibly "every Monday" (while it continues, natch) is one answer.
Sunday, 2 November 2025
Films
Midsommar (2019)
[#89 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
Blindspot 2025 #11
Decided to watch the two-and-a-half hour theatrical cut instead of the three-hour Director's Cut for this first viewing, on the principle that was the original version (and not in a "it's never what the director wanted and he fixed it years later" way, presumably, as the other cut followed pretty sharpish on home ent), and if I like it enough I can always revisit with the longer version (because, as we know, I revisit films often...)
[#89 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
Blindspot 2025 #11
Decided to watch the two-and-a-half hour theatrical cut instead of the three-hour Director's Cut for this first viewing, on the principle that was the original version (and not in a "it's never what the director wanted and he fixed it years later" way, presumably, as the other cut followed pretty sharpish on home ent), and if I like it enough I can always revisit with the longer version (because, as we know, I revisit films often...)
Fiction / Non-Fiction / Games
Daggerheart: Core Rulebook
Even though I'm actively playing in a game (yes, it's ongoing, despite my lack of logging), there's still plenty of the rulebook I haven't read. Today I particularly focused on the Campaign Frames, because I've been curious about those.
Even though I'm actively playing in a game (yes, it's ongoing, despite my lack of logging), there's still plenty of the rulebook I haven't read. Today I particularly focused on the Campaign Frames, because I've been curious about those.
Video Games
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Forced myself to go back to this, with a revised approach: I decided, as I didn't enjoy the stealth, to be a bit less stealthy. Turned out that was fine because I'd already slaughtered most of the enemies on the level when I got fed up last time! I still found the map frustrating and unclear on where to go (I'd rather the game was either truly true open-world or provided a clear path — it feels like it wants to imply it's the former while actually having a fairly linear route (with a couple of options along that primary path), at least for this early level), but I got through it so that pain ended.
The next part of the game opened up a lot more, becoming more exploration and investigation focused. Long story short, I enjoyed it a lot more, and ended up playing for over two hours — it wouldn't have been so long but, once again, I got shafted by being unclear about when the game had last saved for me.
At one point I accidentally got in a fight. Even though the place was swarming with enemies, I took a few of them down quickly (one advantage of playing on the easiest difficulty), ran away, hid for a bit, and then was able to carry on walking around as before. Thoroughly unrealistic, and I can see why it's led some to claim the enemy AI is awful... but also fine for me, because otherwise they would've absolutely slaughtered me and I would've had to work out how to get to an earlier save point and begin over. It's a game, therefore it's inherently unrealistic in plenty of other ways, so I can let stuff like that slide for the sake of being able to play on.
I still have niggles and complaints (even the less-linear level design doesn't feel as clear as it could, and I think the first-person view is partly to blame; normally I love going round finding every collectable and completing every side objective, but the awkwardness of doing so is putting me off even trying), but I'm enjoying it more now and intend to stick with it, at least for the time being (now, if I stop enjoying it again...)
Forced myself to go back to this, with a revised approach: I decided, as I didn't enjoy the stealth, to be a bit less stealthy. Turned out that was fine because I'd already slaughtered most of the enemies on the level when I got fed up last time! I still found the map frustrating and unclear on where to go (I'd rather the game was either truly true open-world or provided a clear path — it feels like it wants to imply it's the former while actually having a fairly linear route (with a couple of options along that primary path), at least for this early level), but I got through it so that pain ended.
The next part of the game opened up a lot more, becoming more exploration and investigation focused. Long story short, I enjoyed it a lot more, and ended up playing for over two hours — it wouldn't have been so long but, once again, I got shafted by being unclear about when the game had last saved for me.
At one point I accidentally got in a fight. Even though the place was swarming with enemies, I took a few of them down quickly (one advantage of playing on the easiest difficulty), ran away, hid for a bit, and then was able to carry on walking around as before. Thoroughly unrealistic, and I can see why it's led some to claim the enemy AI is awful... but also fine for me, because otherwise they would've absolutely slaughtered me and I would've had to work out how to get to an earlier save point and begin over. It's a game, therefore it's inherently unrealistic in plenty of other ways, so I can let stuff like that slide for the sake of being able to play on.
I still have niggles and complaints (even the less-linear level design doesn't feel as clear as it could, and I think the first-person view is partly to blame; normally I love going round finding every collectable and completing every side objective, but the awkwardness of doing so is putting me off even trying), but I'm enjoying it more now and intend to stick with it, at least for the time being (now, if I stop enjoying it again...)
this week on 100Films.co.uk
Time again for my weekly monthly update about activity on 100Films.co.uk, with the regular review of last month...
...and its usual companion, the list of (some of) my failures...
Will there, as I always promise, be more next Sunday? Stranger things have happened.
...and its usual companion, the list of (some of) my failures...
Will there, as I always promise, be more next Sunday? Stranger things have happened.
Saturday, 1 November 2025
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
The quietness of last month continues to be an anomaly as new acquisitions flooded in this week — nearly all of them ordered this week, in fact. Turns out I hadn't been keeping on top of new big-studio release dates, because I almost missed Superman and Jurassic World Rebirth hitting disc.
Then Indicator launched their 10th anniversary sale. Despite warnings about dispatch times being slower during the event, the two orders I placed were both sent out quickly... though not quickly enough to both arrive in time for this week's update. Four are included below, with four more due on Monday.
Number of titles in collection: 3,624 [up 7]
Of which DVDs: 981 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,643 [up 7]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 474 [up 5]
Number of discs in collection: 8,710 [up 8]
Number of films: 4,629 [up 7]
Number of additional cuts: 473 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,175 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,271 [no change]
With more preorders expected throughout November, I doubt the next couple of running time updates will be as tiddly as the last one's 18 hours. See you next week for the first of those, faithful reader.
The quietness of last month continues to be an anomaly as new acquisitions flooded in this week — nearly all of them ordered this week, in fact. Turns out I hadn't been keeping on top of new big-studio release dates, because I almost missed Superman and Jurassic World Rebirth hitting disc.
Then Indicator launched their 10th anniversary sale. Despite warnings about dispatch times being slower during the event, the two orders I placed were both sent out quickly... though not quickly enough to both arrive in time for this week's update. Four are included below, with four more due on Monday.
Number of titles in collection: 3,624 [up 7]
Of which DVDs: 981 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,643 [up 7]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 474 [up 5]
Number of discs in collection: 8,710 [up 8]
Number of films: 4,629 [up 7]
Number of additional cuts: 473 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,175 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,271 [no change]
With more preorders expected throughout November, I doubt the next couple of running time updates will be as tiddly as the last one's 18 hours. See you next week for the first of those, faithful reader.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)