Finally got a reasonably-priced, sort-of-locally-available keyboard that comes with Cherry MX Clear switches! It's only 87%, but I can add a numpad later. The included double-shot PBT keycaps are fine so far, and now I can just replace them instead of having to assemble the whole damned thing. Also, no RGB :) Was on a 100% with Outemu browns that I got for free, and I liked it fine - but no more loudly bottoming-out!
Wrapped-up Resident Evil: Village - stunning game, especially in HDR; visceral and dynamic gameplay; decent story with a tenuous connection to the series (this event that started 100 years before this game is the impetus for the rest of the series up to this point and nobody mentioned it until now and also it's over now); solid vocal performances; ridiculous dialogue; horrible nomenclature. I still hate surrendering to the performance-based combat and supplies systems, but it's all worth it here. Lots of optional stuff to hunt for, The Mercenaries is fine and a good way to unlock bonuses for multiple story playthroughs (which can really differ from each other), and don't skip Shadows of Rose - House Beneviento is a real highlight in both the main game and the DLC.
Moved-on to The Evil Within, and it's everything I hated about Resident Evil 4: now with more bulllshit! ...And people seemed to just lap it up upon release 🙄 I'm about a third of the way through now, and the stealth aspects are too powerful to not simply rely on, too many traps to maintain balance with other gameplay options, and every aspect of the randomisation is so random that it starts to feel rogue-like. I get that it's its own thing insofar as we're given a playground to learn and then leverage as we see fit, but being so unforgiving that you are expected to die is just... So it's effectively a Soulsborn roguelike? Great. One reviewer said they died hundreds of times and still appreciated it, but I would've preferred a game that offered some challenge with opportunities to get creative, not a choice between 200 deaths and a casual mode. The story's still coalescing, so I'm reserving judgement on that for now, but it's all losing me... Also, having to launch the Epic Game Store through Steam to get my DualSense to work in-game as well as setting my 240Hz display to 60Hz just to make things playable isn't awesome, but understandable for a ten-year-old game.
Anyway, finally finished Beyond Oasis after 30 years... Lots of vague memories bubbling-up to the surface, but I don't think I ever finished it before. Regardless, still looks great, especially considering the hardware; controls are deep albeit stiff; hit detection and jumping puzzles are as frustrating as ever; music and sound design is delightfully weird while still being suitably epic; a few screens are particularly annoying, but overall still worth your time. I know for sure that I never finished Legend of Oasis though, so that's next.
Vampire: Master of Darkness was brutal at times, but overall a solid clone.
The Makai Toushi SaGa remake was everything I wanted as a big fan of the original.
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru didn't disappoint.
Still working on EverOasis, but nearing the end and having fun despite things dragging every now and again.
