08/07/2017 • 20

Status Report: Week Thirty-Two (Sweet, Sweet Victory!)

Woo hoo, friends! For the first time since January, I have real success to report! Wheeeeeeeee!!!

Over the weekend, my Dark Souls 3 co-op partner and I beat the main game (well, it was like his dozenth time beating it, but my first)! Not only was this my first Dark Souls series victory, but it was the first game I’ve beat since January when I completed The Last Guardian.

Bonkers on both accounts.

I suppose that’s what being sick for all of 2017 (so far) will do to your efficiency.

As I’ve said before, I had no idea I’d wind up enjoying Dark Souls 3 so much, yet I somehow fell in love with it. The environments are beautiful, the enemies bizarre, and the gameplay forced me out of my comfort zone (I enjoy when that happens). I didn’t think I’d ever see credits roll on a Souls game with a controller in my hand.

And none of that would have happened were it not for my co-op partner.

Both highly-skilled and highly-knowledgeable, I couldn’t have asked for a better guide.

So, to my co-op partner who we will call “Brad” ( because his name is Brad), I say the sincerest of thank yous. It’s been a magical journey. I can’t wait to go through the rest of the DLC together.

JOLLY COOPERATION, HO!

I thought I’d include a handful of screenshots from our time together, so here we go!


The FLOP emote made everything worth it. The FLOP is always in style.


Because sometimes you will have wax on your head. I mean, why wouldn’t you?


I loathe killing animals in games, and the wolves in the expansion are no exception. But these two look like I caught them laughing hysterically. This game is strange.

I managed to get in a wee bit of Ghost Recon: Wildlands over the week, though not as much as I’d have liked. The game is so huge and I’ve only unlocked around 35% of the map so far. I’d really like to make a hard push on it this week. I’m looking to play catch up now that I’m starting to feel a teensy bit better.

As much as I’m enjoying Wildlands, and I really am, it’s far from a perfect game. Reinforcements are summoned far too quickly (even if the alarms are taken out prior), the Unidad is relentless in their pursuit even if you’ve taken out all initial Unidad quickly, the vehicles handle poorly (and don’t even get me started on the camera when you try to reverse and then move forward again), and the respawn locations are unpredictable at best. Sometimes I will spawn in 200 meters from my teammates; sometimes I will spawn in in the middle of the current enemies they are fighting. I wasn’t enjoying being seen immediately even when employing stealth tactics, so I don’t feel bad in the slightest for changing the difficulty. In this case, it made the game more enjoyable. At first I felt like a weiner for the alteration, but then I realized that was silly. I wouldn’t judge anyone else for lowering the difficulty if they weren’t enjoying a game, so why should I berate myself?

I consider that thought process a victory in and of itself! I’m not always the nicest person to myself.

One thing that strikes me again and again while I’m playing Wildlands is the game world. The environments are so beautiful. Running through the countryside is often lovely. I’ve tried to capture it in screenshots, but none seem to do it justice. Still, here are a handful of images from my time with the game so far.


Choosing the option to congratulate my teammates is never not amusing.


The dynamic lighting effects are beautiful.


My partner is hard on his vehicles. He parked this boat on the shore and unintentionally blocked the stairs I was trying to use. Oops.


I’m a sucker for caves with water access.


So many areas are just beautiful to look at. I really do love the environments.


I am not careful with vehicles. I often end up like this.

This week I’m hoping to power through the rest of Wolfenstein: The New Order, and I’m looking forward to the release of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. I’m also excited for Undertale to finally release later this month on console!

And I can’t believe we are now officially less than a month away from the release of Destiny 2.

My focus for the coming weeks will be to play a massive game of catch up. That means all 2017 releases I have will be on deck: Resident Evil 7, Yakuza 0, Persona 5, Prey, Rime, Horizon, Night in the Woods, Breath of the Wild, What Remains of Edith Finch, Little Nightmares, and Get Even. I’m sure I’m missing some in there, but those are the highlights.

So, if anyone wants to reach me this week, I will surely be found at the system, playing a mammoth amount of games.

What will you be playing this week?

Categories: games

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20 replies »

  1. Rebekah, Im thrilled to hwar about tour recent accomplishment. Happy to hear that FINALLY you had the opportunity to complete a game. 😆😍 Happy for you! Just playing Sniper Elite 4 here as time allows. I start back to work tomorrow; my time will be limited. I’m more than 50% thru the game. Hoping to finish before Uncharted releases; that’s looking highly unlikely. Interested in hearing more about your continued successes.

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    • Thank you! It was glorious due to the game being so good, but it was also glorious to break my dry spell of not completing anything for MONTHS. WHEEE!!

      I hope you get to keep chipping away at SE4!

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  2. Dark Souls may well be my favorite game series of all time.

    I’m glad I was able to share a small piece of my love of it with you, and I’m glad you didn’t hate every minute! :-)

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    • I can see why you love it so much. I love it now, too! It’s making me seriously consider going back to Bloodborne.

      I’m glad, too! THANK YOUUUUUUUUU!! I can’t wait to play more of it. Also: FASHION SOULS.

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  5. CONGRATS for finishing Dark Souls 3!! I traded in that game within days of buying it, it horribly out-gamed me. Completing the game is more definitely worthy of celebration! HOORAY! Unfortunately, I will have very little gaming time until this weekend. Last weekend I spent quality time with Mass Effect Andromeda. While the game makes me fight with the UI (mini-map, weapon load outs, active quests, etc…), when it’s “Mass Effect” with immersive stories in space it’s a ton of fun. We’ll see this week if I can add-in some time with Uncharted 4 or The Last Of Us.

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    • Thank you! And believe me, had I not had the co-op partner I did, it would have taken me infinitely longer. I’m grateful for the jolly cooperation and the completion!

      Aww, I’m sorry to hear your gaming time will be limited until the weekend. Do you think you are close to completing Andromeda? Are you excited for Lost Legacy?

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  6. Congratulations on finishing Dark Souls 3! I’ve heard it said that your first From Software game is the hardest; I’m glad you enjoyed your time with it. It sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate for gaming this week. I’m looking forward to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice too as well as Agents of MAYHEM, it seems the fall releases are starting early.

    I’m currently playing Cosmic Star Heroine and loving it as well as Hollow Knight and having mixed feelings about it. Happy gaming!

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    • Thank you! I believe that! Had I not had the co-op partner I did, it would have taken me infinitely longer to finish it, and it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun. Yay for JOLLY COOPERATION!!

      Have you started Hellblade? If so, what do you think of it so far? I’m hoping to play through it this weekend.

      I’m glad you’re enjoying Cosmic Star Heroine and sorry you are having mixed feelings on Hollow Knight. Happy gaming to you, as well!

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  7. Congratulations! Beating any Dark Souls game is a major achievement. I should know, since I have yet to do so myself.

    Looks like you still have quite a nice list of games ahead of you. Good luck with all of them. I need to get cracking on Yakuza 0 as well. That together with Layton’s Mystery Journey, Dragonball Xenoverse 2, and Hollow Knight should keep me busy for a while. Really looking forward to trying out Absolver.

    I really hope you feel better soon. Not sure what ails you, but it really sounds like a tough sickness. Best of luck. Looking forward to week 33.

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    • Thank you! My co-op partner made it all possible. If I had played it solo, it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun, and it would have taken me considerably longer.

      Oh man, I’m so excited to start making some headway on my 2017 backlog. So many amazing titles have released this year.

      Yakuza 0 looks like such a good time. I love everything I’ve seen about it. And Absolver looks intriguing. The art style is so beautiful.

      And thank you. My doctor has tried (and tested) so many things, yet this yuck has prevailed. I really do think I’m starting to see the light at the end of this seven month long tunnel. Thank you!

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  8. Congratulations! You can finally say you’ve beaten a Dark Souls game! That is no small feat.

    I’ll be playing Breath of the Wild, if I don’t finish this week, I might do it next week. I’ve also started playing Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers. Best of luck in everything you do.

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    • Thank you! I credit my co-op partner with so much. He not only made the game more enjoyable, but if I had been playing solo, it might have taken me a year to finish the game. I loved it!

      I wish you much good progress with Breath of the Wild and SMT: Soul Hackers! And thank you! I wish that for you as well! :)

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