Prole

I know that PS5 does not seem to be the hardware of choice for most people here, but is anyone playing Big Walk?

I've played about 4 hours of it and it might already be my pick for GOTY 2026. I've spoken to a couple of friends who disagree strongly with this. I'm curious what the Society groupmind makes of it.

One thing that I was told about 19th century literature is that it was often serialised before being published in book form. This is especially true for Dickens, as I understand it. Basically, it was written with a view to be presented to the reader as smaller chapters, each with a cliffhanger to keep customers returning. It definitely would explain why a lot of classics from that period fairly zip along when they are being read.

… I've been surprised how enjoyable, and even page-turny, some of them are. Great Expectations has more in common with modern genre fiction than modern literary fiction. It's heavy on plot and vibe, light on naval gazing.

Cranford next.

If you haven't already read it, I recommend Wuthering Heights. Very page-turny, much better than Jane Eyre (which I suffered through at school as it was on the curriculum for English Literature and have bever been able to return to). I also recommend almost anything by Jane Austen.

Most classics are classics because they are very readable. I believe that we do a terrible job of introducing them to people, though. Either foisting them on kids who have no interest / aren't ready to receive them, or treating them like some sort of sacred text that can only be read a certain way / gatekeeping generally. Discovering them independently can be a bit of a revelation.

Drifting in arcade racers is my favourite thing in all of gaming. Drifting in realistic games is one of my least.

Where the hell is the 'Like' button??

I will very much be playing Alan Wake 2 with the jumpscares off.

IMO, there aren't that many. I think it does a really good job of gradually ratcheting up the tension, dread and anxiety over time though. I found myself breathing huge sighs of relief when reaching a safe room in the late stages of the game - sometimes even after absolutely nothing had happened at all.