Neuromancer

Neuromancer, a cyberpunk novel written by William Gibson, is one of those classics that had lost its novelty over the years. I didn't find it special, having already been exposed to all the works that were influenced by it; it was just more stuff I was already familiar with. I think I was kind of blind to all the words and concepts Gibson may have invented too. I have to trust the word of others that this fabled, the sole Nebula, Philip K. Dick, and Hugo Award triple winner was that remarkable at the time of its publishing.

Lords of the Fallen

I was reminded of Lords of the Fallen's existence once again when it was included in a Polish Games sale on GOG few months back. I thought that was a bit odd: isn't Deck13 Interactive German? Was the game published by a Polish company or something? Yes, as it turned out. The publisher CI Games were also a co-developer of this Dark Souls style third person action roleplaying game and have also founded a new subsidiary Defiant Studios for its sequel.

GreedFall

I guess it was for the better that EA Play being included on the PC Game Pass was postponed (on the supposed launch day of all days) because I wouldn't have had the time to play STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order after all. DOOM Eternal took longer than expected and then GreedFall was a proper-length RPG. I managed to beat the latter on the day before I would've needed to renew the subscription at a 15 times higher price.

Dune, Book 1: Dune

I don't know why I tend to be surprised when a classic novel turns out to be good. I guess I expect that the novelty that made it good has been lost over the years: having already been exposed to other works that were inspired by the classic. It won't feel special anymore.

Games I Finished in 2020

2020 seemed such a promising year for games but now looking back, there was barely anything among new releases that truly got me excited. 2020 was colored by worrying news and delays. And Cyberpunk 2077 then crowned the year by getting released too early and on the now-last-generation consoles, on which the game clearly shouldn't be.

DOOM Eternal

DOOM (2016) was a fun game for one playthrough. I tried replaying it later on but the game felt samey and I quickly uninstalled it. With DOOM Eternal I didn't even get to the end of my first run before I felt I had had enough. It's not that the game is just more Doom; there is enough new stuff to make it feel fresh. The problem I feel is that Eternal has higher skill ceiling and even on mere Hurt Me Plenty difficulty I had to reload a myriad number of times. That tends to be annoying.

Assassin's Quest

In an unexpected turn of events, The Farseer Trilogy improved in its final volume. I wouldn't say Assassin's Quest was good though, just better. And the book definitely doesn't begin as such: I would compare the misery of the experience to watching Logan which I truly hated.

Darksiders Genesis

Fans of the Darksiders series have been speculating how the final Horseman's game would work since his signature weapons are dual pistols. Would the fourth Darksiders title be more of a third-person shooter than a hack and slash game? Or will Strife even get his own game? Not necessarily answering either question, Strife is instead introduced as a playable character in a spin-off prequel Darksiders Genesis.

Wizard's First Rule

Probably because I've watched so much of Brandon Sanderson's stuff, YouTube started recommending me videos by one Daniel Greene who does fantasy book reviews and such. One of Mr. Greene's videos is a "blistering review" of Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. He also has another discussing why the author is so controversial. Or was -- Terry Goodkind passed away in September.

Deliver Us The Moon

Deliver Us The Moon is a first/third person puzzle adventure game developed by KeokeN Interactive. I would like to call it a walking simulator for the simplicity of its puzzles but that would misrepresent the game since there are action sequences that offer plenty of opportunities to actually fail.