Steam says I spent a little over 36 hours in Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga. The game had a lot to recommend it, and I enjoyed my time with it. A touching moment between two bonded A tactical strategy lives or dies on its tactical combat. A great story or memorable characters are definitely important, but if the battles aren’t fun, there’s really no point to playing. Symphony of War executes the battles extremely well. It gives tools and character upgrades at a pace good enough to not overwhelm, but also to allow you to shape your squads for their roles. My main character’s squad, and that of the paladin Diana’s, both were meant to tank. They would use the Nephilim power that taunts nearby enemy units and buffs their defense to take out enemy groups. ...

I wrote that this game was competently developed, but the plot was entirely vanilla. Then I played through more of the game. There are some spoilers below the fold. I’m about thirty hours into the game and I believe I am heading toward the endgame. The game has managed to surprise me a couple of times so far. The broad outlines are normal enough – five avatars of ancient heroes and gods, one of whom is evil, come together to recreate an ancient conflict. A plot so normal, even the Power Rangers used it. ...

Ever want to play a vampire who hides from the sun in the castle they have built to protect their riches from other vampires? Then this is literally the game for you. If you’re more in the mood for a PvE survival game, though… have you heard the good news about Valheim? Team Spode has been playing V Rising for a couple of months and I have not written about it until now. I’m not even sure if I’ve mentioned it on social media. I’ve been trying to answer the question for myself of why I am not enthusiastic about this game? ...

It’s a tactical RPG where you control an army on the battlefield made of several squads. It’s a callout to one of the most unusual tactics battlers of all time – Ogre Battle. In Symphony of War, as with Ogre Battle, you form squads of units and take them across a map, seizing towns and castles until finally meeting with the boss of the level. Each encounter takes you to a separate screen where the fight progresses. ...

I’ve finished the main plot to Elden Ring, and gotten one of the six endings. Now it’s time to go back and get my revenge on all the things I didn’t get to along the way. Oh yeah, Millicent is back! Non-Elden Ringers won’t know Millicent. Hers is one of the longest quests in the game. It begins with you finding her suffering from the Scarlet Rot and missing an arm. A nearby sorcerer (who might be a bug in disguise, who knows) calls her his daughter, the last of many, and tells of something that can stall the spread of the disease. You then meet her now and again as you help her discover who she really is, and her connection to the demigod Melania. ...

About three weeks ago, I finished the required fights up to the final fight. I then spent the time between then and now leveling and exploring all the parts I’d missed to that point, always trying to tune my build enough to push it over the edge. That plan was doomed to fail. I was about to quit this game. I told my partner today that I would finish Elden Ring this weekend, or put it away. I have other games I want to play. And then against all odds, I finished. ...

I am on the final boss fight for Elden Ring, learning how to get good enough against Radagon to still have enough resources left over for the Elden Beast. I think it’s one of the best games I’ve played in quite awhile, but I do have some issues with it. Spoilers below. Watching my boyfriend play Elden Ring, I was so very excited to get a chance to play it for myself, once he was done with it. I play a lot of action RPGs – Scarlet Nexus, Horizon Forbidden West, and so on. These aren’t “Souls”-like games that string together elaborate and punishing boss fights with a thin plot, but they do require being generally aware of what’s going on. ...

Those “in the know” remember how much I’m struggling in Bloodborne and Elden Ring, even as I finish up the last of the main campaigns in Wildermyth. Those, though, are all primarily solo games. When I want to hang with friends, though, there’s only two choices: DCUO, and Valheim. And Team Spode mate Calrain made a whole new world and invited me in to go through the game a second time as we wait for Mistlands to re-appear. ...

You aren’t going to enjoy the RECUR/Paramount.xyz experience – and you won’t be able to afford it, either. I went through the process to make a Star Trek NFT profile picture, one recognized by Twitter, and I did it for a fraction of the price and I got exactly what I wanted. Here’s how you can do the same. There may be some folks out there who haven’t yet heard about the Star Trek NFTs, so briefly: ...

It’s a story, or maybe a comic. Some friends gather together to save their town. Well, a couple of them don’t really get along. A couple get along really well – REALLY well. And then bad stuff happens, but some good stuff, too. Time passes and people get old, but there’s always a new danger and new people to step up to face it. It’s… everything I ever wanted in an RPG. ...