Video Games

Bear With Me: The Lost Robots

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 1 Comment
More video game reviews and analyses can be found here.

Title: Bear With Me: The Lost Robots
Series: Bear With Me
Genre: Point-and-Click, Puzzle, Mystery
Developer: Exordium Games

System: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: August 8, 2016

Bear With Me is a point-and-click adventure developed by Exordium Games, an Croatian indie studio founded in 2014.  The original was released in three episodes in August 2016 with this particular part, a prequel, The Lost Robots dropping in July of 2016.  All of the iterations are best described as “episodic noir adventure games,” drawing obvious inspiration from the genre of film noir (per Wikipedia).

This was one of those games where I absolutely loved the demo, immediately bought it, and then instantly forgot about it.  Since I’m nearly always in the middle of playing something (often more than one something), I won’t start another game right away, but I want to be able to as soon as a “slot” opens up.  The main issue is I only have so much energy, including emotional energy, to dedicate to something, and once I’m in I’m all in.  Granted Bear With Me was more relaxing than taxing, but you don’t necessarily know that beforehand.

The aesthetic of the game is perfect for the film noir mien with everything in black and white,

and the voice acting is excellent.  Ted, or Ted E. Bear, the one referenced in the title, has the hardboiled detective persona down pat.  His voice has a bit of a flat effect, but it fits the character of the jaded PI.

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The State of the Gamer: 3/9/23

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<–The State of the Gamer: 12/15/22           The State of the Gamer: 3/23/23–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

Games Demoed: 1

  • Octopath Traveler II – I knew I was going to buy it, but I wanted to demo it first anyway.  I wound up finding a $50 Nintendo eShop during the move so I paid a lot less for it than I would’ve.  I figured it would be good to have an another game to play when I wasn’t in the mind frame for Harvestella, especially in the seasonal farm planning phases for that game, which is what I’m in now.

Games Purchased: 6

  • Astronomical Club for Queers $1.99 ($0.00) @ Nintendo eShop – I will pretty much buy anything that’s queer/gay lol.  Especially when it’s this inexpensive.  Even if I don’t like the game putting money into the hands of queer (or at least queer friendly) indie devs is one of my top priorities.
  • Mozart Requiem $7.49 ($5.19) @ Nintendo eShop – I almost didn’t buy this because I’m not 100% certain about it.  There’s something in the description about a time limit and TSN doesn’t roll like that lol.  But it was on sale and I had points so if I don’t like it, it’s only $5 lost, and there’s a good chance I’ll like it since I’m a music fan.
  • Japanese Escape Games: The Retro House $6.99 @ Nintendo eShop – I’m really glad this was super cheap because I haven’t been that into it.  The puzzles aren’t that intuitive and the help isn’t that helpful.
  • Japanese Escape Games: The Mansion of Tricks $6.99 @ Nintendo eShop – Same issue as the other JEG.  I’m not going to give up on them entirely since I do love point-and-click puzzle escape games, but if I find better ones on my iPhone I tend to go back to them.
  • Nancy Drew: The Captive Curse $3.49 @ Nintendo eShop
  • Octopath Traveler II $59.99 ($13.59) @ Nintendo eShop – I love finding gift cards.
Total: $86.94 ($36.25)

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The State of the Gamer: 12/15/22

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<–The State of the Gamer: 12/1/22           The State of the Gamer: 3/9/23–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

Games Demoed: 0

Games Purchased: 2

  • Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion – $69.99 @ Nintendo eShop
  • Sotano – $3.99 @ Nintendo eShop
Total: $73.98

Games Finished: 0

Games On Hold: 0

Games DNF: 0

Currently Playing: 1

Title: Harvestella
System: Nintendo Switch

Harvestella cover

Date Started: November 20, 2022

I continue to love and worship this game above all others I haven’t even touched the Crisis Core remaster yet lol.  I’m currently halfway through winter and I’m hoping I can finish the latest dungeon before spring because that will open up the cave biome and I’ll be able to plant more seeds and stuff.  Again I hope Squeenix decides to give this game some love and DLCs because they could do so much with it.

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The State of the Gamer: 12/1/22

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<–The State of the Gamer: 11/17/22           The State of the Gamer: 12/15/22–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

Games Demoed: 0

Games Purchased: 0

Games Finished: 1

Title: The Journey Down: Chapter Three
Series: The Journey Down
System: Nintendo Switch

Cover of The Journey Down: Chapter ThreeDate Started: November 13, 2022
Date Finished: November 19, 2022

This game was just delightful.  All three of them were.  I’m always here for a “take down the corrupt power company that’s trying to destroy the world for their own gain” stories so hooray!  Hopefully, I’ll be able to review this soon and quickly.  I’m going to do them separately even though it’s one overarching narrative.

Games On Hold: 0

Games DNF: 0

Currently Playing: 1

Title: Harvestella
System: Nintendo Switch

Harvestella coverDate Started: November 20, 2022

Soooo I’m obsessed with this game lol.  I’ve never gotten into farm sims before, though I’ve been curious about games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley.  I love seeing my friends’ updates and enjoyment of them, but I was always in the midst of something else and wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy them.  I think I mentioned when I demoed this that I was on the fence about it, but was fairly quickly hooked.  I don’t usually like games that give you a time limit, and there are only so many hours in your day so you have to make the most of them, but I’m getting into the swing of things.  I even found a subreddit for it and everyone there is really nice!  Many of them are “chart” gamers like I am and have their spreadsheets shared on Google Docs with invaluable information.

I really hope Squeenix releases some DLCs for this because it’s apparently only five chapters and I’m in Chapter 3 now (which admittedly has three parts), but there’s a lot they could do with this.

Games Played

Uno and Picross S8 of course.

And I’m officially caught up with my State posts lol.  This has been a week.  Tomorrow I need to work on cleaning my closet (still) and packing.  We’re not moving until January but settlement is two weeks from today.

<–The State of the Gamer: 11/17/22           The State of the Gamer: 12/15/22–>

The State of the Writer: 11/27/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 6 Comments

<–The State of the Writer: 11/13/22         The State of the Writer: 12/11/22–>

A post updated every other Sunday discussing my current writing projects and any completed the prior two weeks.

Finished Projects: 0

Project: Story/Series
Working Title: The High Archon (The Truth Seeker Chronicles)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Original
Length: Novel
Current Word Count: 11,282
Status: Reorganizing & Worldbuilding
Progress: Working on surname details

Image is just one of the many I have for character ideas.  I love Pinterest as someone who uses artwork for inspiration, but I hate it for the sake of visual artists.  It’s almost entirely made up of stolen art and even if you do find the source, you can’t leave links in the comments.  I have seen more people being called out for it though.  With all visual artists are going through now with this AI generated art bullshit, I don’t blame them for mass exodus from sites like DeviantArt, which forces you to opt out of having your work used for such, and you don’t even know if that makes any difference.

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The State of the Gamer: 11/17/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Gamer: 11/3/22           The State of the Gamer: 12/1/22–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

Games Demoed: 0

Games Purchased: 1

  • The Journey Down: Chapter Three – $14.99 @ Nintendo eShop
Total: $14.99

Games Finished: 1

Title: The Journey Down: Chapter Two
Series: The Journey Down
System: Nintendo Switch

Cover of The Journey Down: Chapter Two

Date Started: November 3, 2022
Date Finished: November 10, 2022

I really love the world of this game and I think they did a good job with how they broke it into three parts (and I now have a good comparison and riposte for something else).  I did think it would end sooner than it did, but that was a nice surprise.  I’ve already started playing the third chapter as you’ll see below.

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The State of the Writer: 11/13/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Writer: 10/30/22         The State of the Writer: 11/27/22–>

A post updated every other Sunday discussing my current writing projects and any completed the prior two weeks.

Finished Projects: 2

Project: Story/Series
Working Title: The High Archon (The Truth Seeker Chronicles)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Original
Length: Novel
Current Word Count: 11,282
Status: Reorganizing & Worldbuilding
Progress: Working on surname details

I’m currently transferring the surname stuff I figured out to Scrivener, though there have been some hiccups and the need to use my Word doc scratch pad.  The surnames I’m working on now are mostly jewel or metal based with a type of hierarchy.  I’m almost done with this, especially if I keep myself on track and don’t go off on any wild tangents.  I had to stop myself from falling down a major time suck rabbit hole for something I can figure out later or even during the drafting process.  I have a section for Open Questions, which are for just such things.  They’re not pertinent to know beforehand, and I have to remind myself of that.

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My Brother Rabbit

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Title: My Brother Rabbie
Genre: Point-and-Click, Puzzle, Adventure
Developer: Artifex Mundi

Cover of My Brother RabbitSystem: Nintendo Switch
Regular Price: $14.99
Release Date: September 21, 2018

My Brother Rabbit is point-and-click search and puzzle game released by Polish game developer Artifex Mundi for a variety of platforms and consoles.  It is set in a surreal and beautifully drawn world that explores how a young child uses imagination to cope with an uncertain and frightening situation.

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The State of the Gamer: 11/3/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Gamer: 10/20/22           The State of the Gamer: 11/17/22–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

Games Demoed: 0

Games Purchased: 3

  • Harvestella – $59.99 @ Nintendo eShop
  • The Journey Down: Chapter Two – $11.24 @ Nintendo eShop
  • Bear With Me: The Complete Collection – $9.99 @ Nintendo eShop
Total: $81.22

Games Finished: 0

Games On Hold: 1

Title: Cris Tales
System: Nintendo Switch

Cover of Cris TalesDate Started: October 24, 2022

On one hand I should make my own decisions about games and not follow the comments/critiques.  On the other hand I was already meh on this game anyway.  It’s very pretty; cel shading holds up so well (see Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker), but graphics to me are like icing on the cake for other people (I…love icing; it’s better than cake for me lol).  It’s a nice addition (no one has heard me complain about FFVIIR’s aesthetic), but it won’t keep me interesting in a game.

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The State of the Gamer: 10/20/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Gamer: 10/6/22           The State of the Gamer: 11/3/22–>

A weekly post updated every other Thursday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

Games Demoed: 0

Games Purchased: 1

  • Dinogotchi – $1.99 @ Nintendo eShop
Total: $1.99

Games Finished: 2

Title: The Journey Down: Chapter One
Series: The Journey Down
Developer: Skygoblin

Cover of The Journey Down: Chapter OneDate Started: October 18, 2022
Date Finished: October 20, 2022

I finished this so quickly it didn’t even make it to a Currently Playing.  The world of this game is really interesting, and I like how it weaves in the lore without beating you over the head with it.  You get enough information to make you really curious.  Like what is the Edge?  Is it some sort of Discworld situation?  What is Underland?  What’s there that’s so dangerous and why is the Armando Power Company so interested in it?  They’re giving me Shinra Electric Company vibes tbh especially since they’re controlling everything and looking for something in this weird, off-limits place.  All the characters’ faces are more like masks, and there’s a section in the game where you can see that’s exactly what they are.  Bwana and Kito, the main characters, have faces inspired by real African masks.  More than inspired by actually.  Their faces were based off the masks.  I was afraid the game was going to end once I finished up with the airplane lol.  I’m definitely getting the next chapter.  Oh, and the music slaps.

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