Saturday Night Live UK
1x01 Tina Fey
Didn't expect much of this, but I mostly enjoyed it. It's a sketch show, so of course it could be hit and miss, but the gags landed more often than they failed.
The Wheel
6x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Saturday, 21 March 2026
Video Games
Upstairs
Short (I completed it in 1¾ hours, and I look at everything and explore every dialogue tree; though somehow I didn't collect two achievements, so there must be options I missed) point-and-click adventure game that was just released by an independent dev. It's a lot of fun, with good puzzles (logical but you don't feel like everything's just handed to you) and a number of gags that made me laugh. Technically the story is horror, and rather dark at that, but the pixel art and humorous tone nonetheless make it feel close to the style of classic LucasArts games... though they'd surely never have done anything this bloody. Definitely worth a look on Steam or Itch.io if it seems your kind of thing.
Short (I completed it in 1¾ hours, and I look at everything and explore every dialogue tree; though somehow I didn't collect two achievements, so there must be options I missed) point-and-click adventure game that was just released by an independent dev. It's a lot of fun, with good puzzles (logical but you don't feel like everything's just handed to you) and a number of gags that made me laugh. Technically the story is horror, and rather dark at that, but the pixel art and humorous tone nonetheless make it feel close to the style of classic LucasArts games... though they'd surely never have done anything this bloody. Definitely worth a look on Steam or Itch.io if it seems your kind of thing.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Six new additions this week, and all nice straightforward ones that just make numbers go up.
Number of titles in collection: 3,673 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 966 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,707 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 515 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,818 [up 8]
Number of films: 4,720 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 487 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,132 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,293 [up 9]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Six new additions this week, and all nice straightforward ones that just make numbers go up.
Number of titles in collection: 3,673 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 966 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,707 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 515 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,818 [up 8]
Number of films: 4,720 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 487 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,132 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,293 [up 9]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 20 March 2026
Fiction
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Book Three, Chapters 1–3
Had a couple of days' interruption and all told it's taken me over a week to get back into it, having been progressing pretty consistently before (I read it on 8 of the 9 days before said interruption). Kinda ridiculous that my ability to read books is so dependent on habit and momentum, but there it is. Actually, I think I'm the same with TV and games and probably everything else. Not sure what that might say about me...
Book Three, Chapters 1–3
Had a couple of days' interruption and all told it's taken me over a week to get back into it, having been progressing pretty consistently before (I read it on 8 of the 9 days before said interruption). Kinda ridiculous that my ability to read books is so dependent on habit and momentum, but there it is. Actually, I think I'm the same with TV and games and probably everything else. Not sure what that might say about me...
Thursday, 19 March 2026
TV
Peaky Blinders
6x01 Black Day
So, I only got round to series 5 because series 6 was imminent and now, four years later, I'm only getting round to series 6 because the followup movie is imminent (well, it's already in cinemas, but it's on Netflix from tomorrow). What will make me watch the movie?! Hopefully that it's a new release and so counts towards my 100 Films Challenge (I had kind of intended to watch series 6 this week and finish with the movie at the weekend. Obviously, that didn't happen). For now, though, I shall focus fully on the final season — which, as it happens, picks up four years after the last series. Neat.
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer or Netflix.]
6x01 Black Day
So, I only got round to series 5 because series 6 was imminent and now, four years later, I'm only getting round to series 6 because the followup movie is imminent (well, it's already in cinemas, but it's on Netflix from tomorrow). What will make me watch the movie?! Hopefully that it's a new release and so counts towards my 100 Films Challenge (I had kind of intended to watch series 6 this week and finish with the movie at the weekend. Obviously, that didn't happen). For now, though, I shall focus fully on the final season — which, as it happens, picks up four years after the last series. Neat.
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer or Netflix.]
Video Games
Monument Valley
Forgotten Shores
Stopped parcelling it out and just finished the last four levels. While the base game was neat, it got repetitive. After that experience, I expected Forgotten Shores to just add more levels — but no, it does clever stuff with the mechanics, becoming more surprising and often more challenging in the process. In other words, it finally delivered what I'd hoped for from the original game. Hurrah!
Forgotten Shores
Stopped parcelling it out and just finished the last four levels. While the base game was neat, it got repetitive. After that experience, I expected Forgotten Shores to just add more levels — but no, it does clever stuff with the mechanics, becoming more surprising and often more challenging in the process. In other words, it finally delivered what I'd hoped for from the original game. Hurrah!
Wednesday, 18 March 2026
TV
Critical Role
Leveling Up The Soldier Table | Lvl 3 to Lvl 4
I missed that this video was released before episode 10 (I assumed it was after episode 11, when the Soldiers table wrapped up their arc). Well, I can't go back in time and watch it at the appropriate point, so here will have to do.
[Watch it free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon.]
Leveling Up The Soldier Table | Lvl 3 to Lvl 4
I missed that this video was released before episode 10 (I assumed it was after episode 11, when the Soldiers table wrapped up their arc). Well, I can't go back in time and watch it at the appropriate point, so here will have to do.
[Watch it free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
I acquired my second plot of land to build a house yesterday, and today set about building and decorating it... and did just that (which also includes pinging around the map to pick up and buy supplies — it takes a lot of raw materials to build these places) for an hour and three-quarters!
I've avoided games like Stardew Valley because I didn't see the appeal of farming and crafting and all that in a game, but look at me in Skyrim! Though it's less that I enjoy it, more that I want the end result. It does feel kinda like a waste of time to have spent one long play session on it. Same when I finish construction or buy a vacant house and then have to think about filling it with 'trophies' (i.e. weapons and armour I've looted/crafted that look good). If there was a way you could dump stuff in a location and auto-decorate, I'd definitely prefer that.
I acquired my second plot of land to build a house yesterday, and today set about building and decorating it... and did just that (which also includes pinging around the map to pick up and buy supplies — it takes a lot of raw materials to build these places) for an hour and three-quarters!
I've avoided games like Stardew Valley because I didn't see the appeal of farming and crafting and all that in a game, but look at me in Skyrim! Though it's less that I enjoy it, more that I want the end result. It does feel kinda like a waste of time to have spent one long play session on it. Same when I finish construction or buy a vacant house and then have to think about filling it with 'trophies' (i.e. weapons and armour I've looted/crafted that look good). If there was a way you could dump stuff in a location and auto-decorate, I'd definitely prefer that.
Articles
Crimson Desert review: The Forza Horizon of action RPGs
by Mollie Taylor (from PC Gamer)
Even though I'm 'back into' gaming now, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to new releases — I've got a couple of decades of stuff to catch up on, and a 600-game backlog (and several hundred more wishlisted) because of it — but there's so much hype around this one, I had to at least get some idea of whether it's going to live up to expectations or not.
Based on this, I think the jury's out — and might be for some time: the game's so huge and packed with variety, it's going to be a while before people see enough of it to form final opinions, I think. Which is fine by me — if it's good, maybe I'll buy it on sale in three or four or five years.
by Mollie Taylor (from PC Gamer)
Even though I'm 'back into' gaming now, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to new releases — I've got a couple of decades of stuff to catch up on, and a 600-game backlog (and several hundred more wishlisted) because of it — but there's so much hype around this one, I had to at least get some idea of whether it's going to live up to expectations or not.
Based on this, I think the jury's out — and might be for some time: the game's so huge and packed with variety, it's going to be a while before people see enough of it to form final opinions, I think. Which is fine by me — if it's good, maybe I'll buy it on sale in three or four or five years.
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
I didn't exactly intend to take a week and a day off from Skyrim, but life got in the way. It was probably good to have a bit of a pause, though. That said, I almost didn't even load it because I still wasn't totally sure what I wanted to do; but then I made some decisions, did a quest (one that I found particularly enjoyable, to boot), and made some good progress. The hour-and-a-half I played for flew by! Well, when doesn't it?
My backlog of 600+ games thinks I should find more time to play other stuff as well, though.
I didn't exactly intend to take a week and a day off from Skyrim, but life got in the way. It was probably good to have a bit of a pause, though. That said, I almost didn't even load it because I still wasn't totally sure what I wanted to do; but then I made some decisions, did a quest (one that I found particularly enjoyable, to boot), and made some good progress. The hour-and-a-half I played for flew by! Well, when doesn't it?
My backlog of 600+ games thinks I should find more time to play other stuff as well, though.
Monday, 16 March 2026
TV
The 98th Annual Academy Awards
aka the Oscars... the remainder of them, anyway. It was an above-average (but maybe not exceptional) ceremony this year. Some of the gags and skits landed; others really didn't. Winners felt well-deserved, although there were no big surprises. Same with the speeches, which were generally good but I don't know if many really stood out. In terms of truly memorable moments, perhaps the first female Best Cinematography winner, and the tribute to Rob Reiner.
[Watch a selection of Oscars-related programmes and films on ITVX.]
Black Doves
1x05 The Cost of It All
1x06 In the Bleak Midwinter [season finale]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x74 Week 15: Thursday
9x75 Week 15: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x08 Wildfire
7x09 The Kiss
aka the Oscars... the remainder of them, anyway. It was an above-average (but maybe not exceptional) ceremony this year. Some of the gags and skits landed; others really didn't. Winners felt well-deserved, although there were no big surprises. Same with the speeches, which were generally good but I don't know if many really stood out. In terms of truly memorable moments, perhaps the first female Best Cinematography winner, and the tribute to Rob Reiner.
[Watch a selection of Oscars-related programmes and films on ITVX.]
Black Doves
1x05 The Cost of It All
1x06 In the Bleak Midwinter [season finale]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x74 Week 15: Thursday
9x75 Week 15: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x08 Wildfire
7x09 The Kiss
Sunday, 15 March 2026
TV
The 98th Annual Academy Awards
aka the Oscars... well, the build-up and the start of them, because the ceremony will continue well into the early hours of tomorrow UK-time.
[Watch a selection of Oscars-related programmes and films on ITVX.]
Black Doves
1x04 Go Bang Time
aka the Oscars... well, the build-up and the start of them, because the ceremony will continue well into the early hours of tomorrow UK-time.
[Watch a selection of Oscars-related programmes and films on ITVX.]
Black Doves
1x04 Go Bang Time
Saturday, 14 March 2026
TV
Black Doves
1x01 To Love Then
1x02 A Little Black Dove
1x03 The Coming Night
How I Met Your Mother
1x16 Cupcake [2nd watch]
Poker Face
2x05 Hometown Hero
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x71 Week 15: Monday
9x72 Week 15: Tuesday
9x73 Week 15: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x01 To Love Then
1x02 A Little Black Dove
1x03 The Coming Night
How I Met Your Mother
1x16 Cupcake [2nd watch]
Poker Face
2x05 Hometown Hero
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x71 Week 15: Monday
9x72 Week 15: Tuesday
9x73 Week 15: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Most of the stuff from Rarewaves I mentioned last week turned up this week (though only towards the end). It included a couple of DVD-to-BD upgrades and a couple of BD-to-4K upgrades, which would have slightly masked the total of new acquisitions anyway... but then the Doctor Who Season 21 Blu-ray turned up and threw the whole thing for a loop.
I've mentioned before that The Collection (as the classic Doctor Who Blu-ray range is called) had passed a tipping point in terms of upgrading DVDs. Early titles didn't necessarily replace all DVDs they 'should' have, due to moved special features or stories being in cross-era box sets. But as the range pushes well into its second half, more and more of those are finally being ticked off too. In the end, this single set replaces six previous ones, including two of those chunky mutli-era box sets. Plus, I noticed one story that had been upgraded by a previous season but I'd not removed.
All in all, despite having added 8 titles to my collection this week, the numbers go like this...
Number of titles in collection: 3,667 [down 2]
Of which DVDs: 966 [down 8]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,701 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 513 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 8,810 [down 1]
Number of films: 4,714 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 487 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,132 [down 31]
Number of short films: 1,284 [up 2]
A rare week where every stat changes, too!
See you for something more normal next week, faithful reader.
Most of the stuff from Rarewaves I mentioned last week turned up this week (though only towards the end). It included a couple of DVD-to-BD upgrades and a couple of BD-to-4K upgrades, which would have slightly masked the total of new acquisitions anyway... but then the Doctor Who Season 21 Blu-ray turned up and threw the whole thing for a loop.
I've mentioned before that The Collection (as the classic Doctor Who Blu-ray range is called) had passed a tipping point in terms of upgrading DVDs. Early titles didn't necessarily replace all DVDs they 'should' have, due to moved special features or stories being in cross-era box sets. But as the range pushes well into its second half, more and more of those are finally being ticked off too. In the end, this single set replaces six previous ones, including two of those chunky mutli-era box sets. Plus, I noticed one story that had been upgraded by a previous season but I'd not removed.
All in all, despite having added 8 titles to my collection this week, the numbers go like this...
Number of titles in collection: 3,667 [down 2]
Of which DVDs: 966 [down 8]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,701 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 513 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 8,810 [down 1]
Number of films: 4,714 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 487 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,132 [down 31]
Number of short films: 1,284 [up 2]
A rare week where every stat changes, too!
See you for something more normal next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 13 March 2026
TV
Critical Role
4x10 Blood for Blood [remainder]
I mean, I say "remainder" — this session was split in two across this episode and the next (I don't think it was officially confirmed that it was one session, but it seems pretty clear based on edited inserts for the break and ending, and the fact there was no Cooldown for this episode).
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x68 Week 14: Wednesday
9x69 Week 14: Thursday
9x70 Week 14: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
4x10 Blood for Blood [remainder]
I mean, I say "remainder" — this session was split in two across this episode and the next (I don't think it was officially confirmed that it was one session, but it seems pretty clear based on edited inserts for the break and ending, and the fact there was no Cooldown for this episode).
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x68 Week 14: Wednesday
9x69 Week 14: Thursday
9x70 Week 14: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Thursday, 12 March 2026
TV
Critical Role
4x10 Blood for Blood [1st hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
4x10 Blood for Blood [1st hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Video Games
Monument Valley
Forgotten Shores
This expansion introduces so many new ideas, mechanics, and variations, it really delivers what I wanted the base game to evolve into. Thank goodness it was bundled with the version Epic gave away, because I doubt I would've bothered to buy it on the strength of just the original levels.
Forgotten Shores
This expansion introduces so many new ideas, mechanics, and variations, it really delivers what I wanted the base game to evolve into. Thank goodness it was bundled with the version Epic gave away, because I doubt I would've bothered to buy it on the strength of just the original levels.
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
TV
Critical Role
4x09 To the Hounds! [4th hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Critical Role Cooldown
Campaign 4, Episode 9
[Watch it (again) on Beacon.]
4x09 To the Hounds! [4th hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Critical Role Cooldown
Campaign 4, Episode 9
[Watch it (again) on Beacon.]
Monday, 9 March 2026
TV
Critical Role
4x09 To the Hounds! [2nd & 3rd hours]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
4x09 To the Hounds! [2nd & 3rd hours]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Video Games
DOOM Eternal
So, I was checking out GeForce NOW on my Steam Deck when I was surprised to see I supposedly owned this game. It's via Xbox for PC and, after some investigating, turns out I must have redeemed it when it was free from Prime Gaming in October 2024 and then completely forgotten about it. Anyway, I was there to see how well GFN worked, so this seemed as good a game to try as any because I was curious if it would even run (because I didn't remember owning it, I thought it must be some mistake — I did my investigating after that, obv).
After sitting through GFN's ads and navigating the confusing menus once in the game, I started the tutorial... and got bored with it before that was even over. I want to run around and shoot stuff in a DOOM game, not have to learn various systems for jumping and climbing and how to kill enemies in super special ways to replenish health and blah blah blah blah blah.
GFN tells me I lasted 12 minutes. I doubt I'll be back.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Popped on to just do a couple of quick things... of course, I ended up playing for 45 minutes (short by my standards), but I did achieve what I set out to do and witnessed a rare event and semi-randomly had a crack at an encounter I've failed two or three times at lower levels, and this time beat it. Hurrah!
So, I was checking out GeForce NOW on my Steam Deck when I was surprised to see I supposedly owned this game. It's via Xbox for PC and, after some investigating, turns out I must have redeemed it when it was free from Prime Gaming in October 2024 and then completely forgotten about it. Anyway, I was there to see how well GFN worked, so this seemed as good a game to try as any because I was curious if it would even run (because I didn't remember owning it, I thought it must be some mistake — I did my investigating after that, obv).
After sitting through GFN's ads and navigating the confusing menus once in the game, I started the tutorial... and got bored with it before that was even over. I want to run around and shoot stuff in a DOOM game, not have to learn various systems for jumping and climbing and how to kill enemies in super special ways to replenish health and blah blah blah blah blah.
GFN tells me I lasted 12 minutes. I doubt I'll be back.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Popped on to just do a couple of quick things... of course, I ended up playing for 45 minutes (short by my standards), but I did achieve what I set out to do and witnessed a rare event and semi-randomly had a crack at an encounter I've failed two or three times at lower levels, and this time beat it. Hurrah!
Sunday, 8 March 2026
TV
Critical Role
4x09 To the Hounds! [1st hour]
Having not watched any Critical Role since mid-December (January was my first CR-free month since February 2024) due to personal time constraints, I'm now terribly behind (the most recent episode is 17, which means I have 32½ hours of viewing to catch up — even before you count Cooldown and the first episode of their new periodic talk show, Tale Gate, which together add another 4 hours and change). Even worse than that was the memory challenge to get my bearings on what was going on. Thankfully they still do recaps at the start of the episode proper, but the cold open was borderline baffling!
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]
Video Games
Monument Valley
Forgotten Shores
Placid Plastic Duck Simulator
This is a strange... game? It's not really a game. I feel like I'm missing something. Possibly "the joke". Though, from what I can tell from a quick bit of interneting, there really is nothing to it. Except naming the different ducks. That's kinda fun, coming up with good names.
Forgotten Shores
Placid Plastic Duck Simulator
This is a strange... game? It's not really a game. I feel like I'm missing something. Possibly "the joke". Though, from what I can tell from a quick bit of interneting, there really is nothing to it. Except naming the different ducks. That's kinda fun, coming up with good names.
this week on 100Films.co.uk
With the start of the month falling in the middle of last weekend, my regular monthly posts on 100Films.co.uk have been split in two (again). But hey, at least that means I'm currently doing two of these 'weekly' posts each month!
Anyway, this week's one and only post was my 'failures' from February...
More next Sunday? Anything's possible.
Anyway, this week's one and only post was my 'failures' from February...
More next Sunday? Anything's possible.
Saturday, 7 March 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Monument Valley
Having raced through the first nine levels, the tenth and final one put up more of a challenge — actually thanks to the puzzle design, rather than just battling the still-awkward controller controls. (I don't know what they could do to make them better, to be fair. This was clearly designed to be played with a touchscreen, but I try to avoid smearing my fingers all over my Steam Deck's screen.)
Also made a start on the first expansion, Forgotten Shores. It adds another 8 levels, but based on the length of the first of those vs the length of early levels in the main game, I think it might take as long as the original. Not bad for something one might ignore as mere "extra content".
Monument Valley
Having raced through the first nine levels, the tenth and final one put up more of a challenge — actually thanks to the puzzle design, rather than just battling the still-awkward controller controls. (I don't know what they could do to make them better, to be fair. This was clearly designed to be played with a touchscreen, but I try to avoid smearing my fingers all over my Steam Deck's screen.)
Also made a start on the first expansion, Forgotten Shores. It adds another 8 levels, but based on the length of the first of those vs the length of early levels in the main game, I think it might take as long as the original. Not bad for something one might ignore as mere "extra content".
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Bought a bunch of stuff during Rarewaves latest end-of-month 10% discount period, but only one arrived. I guess they're just slow.
Number of titles in collection: 3,669 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 974 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,695 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 509 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 8,811 [up 2]
Number of films: 4,712 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 485 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 10,163 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,282 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Bought a bunch of stuff during Rarewaves latest end-of-month 10% discount period, but only one arrived. I guess they're just slow.
Number of titles in collection: 3,669 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 974 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,695 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 509 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 8,811 [up 2]
Number of films: 4,712 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 485 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 10,163 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,282 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 6 March 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Made it to city #6 today — four to go! And one of those is from a DLC, so slightly feel like I should leave it until after I've done the main quest. But we'll see.
Made it to city #6 today — four to go! And one of those is from a DLC, so slightly feel like I should leave it until after I've done the main quest. But we'll see.
Thursday, 5 March 2026
Fiction
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Book One, Chapters 11–20
Reached the end of 'Book One' (of three). Expected it to mark a break or change in the story for that reason, but no, it's in the middle of a battle! That feels like it should be the climax, even though there's 70% of the book to go. Interesting structural choice...
Book One, Chapters 11–20
Reached the end of 'Book One' (of three). Expected it to mark a break or change in the story for that reason, but no, it's in the middle of a battle! That feels like it should be the climax, even though there's 70% of the book to go. Interesting structural choice...
Articles
Esoteric Ebb isn't just the best Disco since Disco, it's the closest anyone's come to the magic of tabletop D&D in a videogame
by Ted Litchfield (from PC Gamer)
I was very interested in Esoteric Ebb before I read this review, but now I'm positively excited for it. Might even buy it right away.
...but will I play it right away? I mean, I'd have to cut into Skyrim (gasp!) And as I've not played the likes of Disco Elysium or Baldur's Gate 3, but do own both and very much want to play them, should this really be jumping ahead? There's always the chance it'll get patches and improvements down the line, as so many games do nowadays. Maybe I should just play the literally hundreds of games already in my backlog and wait a year or two.
...but it sounds so fun!
by Ted Litchfield (from PC Gamer)
I was very interested in Esoteric Ebb before I read this review, but now I'm positively excited for it. Might even buy it right away.
...but will I play it right away? I mean, I'd have to cut into Skyrim (gasp!) And as I've not played the likes of Disco Elysium or Baldur's Gate 3, but do own both and very much want to play them, should this really be jumping ahead? There's always the chance it'll get patches and improvements down the line, as so many games do nowadays. Maybe I should just play the literally hundreds of games already in my backlog and wait a year or two.
...but it sounds so fun!
Wednesday, 4 March 2026
Films
PK (2014)
[#9 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2026 #1
[#9 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2026 #1
Fiction
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Book One, Chapters 1–10
So, the new Daggerheart game I mentioned joining takes place in a world inspired by the Redwall series. I was aware of those books as a child but never read them, for whatever reason, and in recent-ish years have considered trying them. Well, joining a game inspired by them was the push I needed!
Book One, Chapters 1–10
So, the new Daggerheart game I mentioned joining takes place in a world inspired by the Redwall series. I was aware of those books as a child but never read them, for whatever reason, and in recent-ish years have considered trying them. Well, joining a game inspired by them was the push I needed!
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Over an hour of play and, to be honest, I felt like it was all admin: selling loot, enchanting a few things, moving stuff around, decorating a couple of my houses... I don't pay too much attention to in-game time (because it doesn't actually matter how many days pass), but I teleported all around the map to do that, so my hour of doing a few bits probably took the 'characters' half a week or more!
I think this also demonstrates how you can sink so much time into this game. I mean, I didn't feel like what I did took over an hour, or that I was wasting my time, per se. But you couple that with things like spending two hours just making potions (and I've done that more than once, which I'd forgotten 'til I looked up those posts!) and, yeah, you see how I've played 182 hours without advancing many storylines or even visiting half the map.
Over an hour of play and, to be honest, I felt like it was all admin: selling loot, enchanting a few things, moving stuff around, decorating a couple of my houses... I don't pay too much attention to in-game time (because it doesn't actually matter how many days pass), but I teleported all around the map to do that, so my hour of doing a few bits probably took the 'characters' half a week or more!
I think this also demonstrates how you can sink so much time into this game. I mean, I didn't feel like what I did took over an hour, or that I was wasting my time, per se. But you couple that with things like spending two hours just making potions (and I've done that more than once, which I'd forgotten 'til I looked up those posts!) and, yeah, you see how I've played 182 hours without advancing many storylines or even visiting half the map.
Tuesday, 3 March 2026
Fiction
Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber
VI. Adept's Gambit Chapters 6–9 [the end]
These are so great, I'd probably happily move right on to the next book again; but I have something else I want to interrupt with first.
VI. Adept's Gambit Chapters 6–9 [the end]
These are so great, I'd probably happily move right on to the next book again; but I have something else I want to interrupt with first.
Monday, 2 March 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
I had plans to read a book, watch a film, do all sorts of stuff today. Instead... I played 4½ hours of Skyrim. Oh well.
Towards the end of that time I hit 180 hours. Even more importantly, today I hit level 50, at which point you get the "Master" achievement on Steam. I believe the game's original level cap was 80 (I think the DLC made it unlimited), so in theory I'm a significant way through what's possible. Maybe I should actually start the main story soon... or maybe I'll just continue my way doing side quests (also earned the side quest-related achievement today) and exploring the world (I've still not visited half of the cities! And I'm not even close to completing the quests in all the ones I have been to).
I had plans to read a book, watch a film, do all sorts of stuff today. Instead... I played 4½ hours of Skyrim. Oh well.
Towards the end of that time I hit 180 hours. Even more importantly, today I hit level 50, at which point you get the "Master" achievement on Steam. I believe the game's original level cap was 80 (I think the DLC made it unlimited), so in theory I'm a significant way through what's possible. Maybe I should actually start the main story soon... or maybe I'll just continue my way doing side quests (also earned the side quest-related achievement today) and exploring the world (I've still not visited half of the cities! And I'm not even close to completing the quests in all the ones I have been to).
Tabletop Games
Daggerheart
This past week I added a third PBP Daggerheart game to my schedule, so a slight shift in how I'm listing them here: I've decided to ditch the 'titles' and just stick with a comment along the lines of "all 3 games continuing". Something like that, anyway.
This past week I added a third PBP Daggerheart game to my schedule, so a slight shift in how I'm listing them here: I've decided to ditch the 'titles' and just stick with a comment along the lines of "all 3 games continuing". Something like that, anyway.
Sunday, 1 March 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Monument Valley
This isn't a long game, but I'm playing it in relatively short bursts because I think it's better that way — a quick level or two at a time, rather than burning through the whole game in a single hour-or-two sitting.
Monument Valley
This isn't a long game, but I'm playing it in relatively short bursts because I think it's better that way — a quick level or two at a time, rather than burning through the whole game in a single hour-or-two sitting.
this week on 100Films.co.uk
Just sneaking in to this week (because it was posted this morning) is my review of January on 100Films.co.uk...
Failures next Sunday (or tomorrow on the blog itself).
Failures next Sunday (or tomorrow on the blog itself).
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