Mr Party Hat

WoW Forever.

The RP servers are just generally a bit nicer. I'd say about 5 percent of people fully roleplay. I was sat at a campfire earlier and someone started asking me, fully in character, about the local situation in Elwynn Forest. I played along to be polite, even had a chat about the weather. (The weather effects in this are beautiful, I keep hoping for rain.)

But 9 times out of 10, you'll just encounter slightly older players who don't want a server filled with streamers and their fans.

My only disappointment so far is that I wasn't allowed to name my paladin Uther Vandross. Apparently you can't mention lore-critical characters.

Oh, and I think I'm going to go back into WoW Forever. It consumed me at one point in my life. I think a couple of months of pure nostalgia must surely be worth a sub.

IT'S ALIIIIIVE.

And that's on the RP server; the normal server was absolute madness so I immediately retreated here instead. 6.30am and I was battling people for wolf pelts, it's like the last 20 years never happened. The new lighting system is beautiful too, it really does add so much to the world.

If you do jump on, they're mega servers now, not little ones. So if you pick RP, I'll be around… (feltmonkey was the one who introduced me to classic WoW back in the noughties, need him back next…)

Oh, and I picked up the humble puzzler bundle for 13 quid, which I’d heartily recommend. It’s perfect Steam Deck (equivalent) fodder, and contains a couple of Eurogamer essentials. I’m especially loving A Monster’s Expedition, which is another Sokoban puzzler like Jonathan Blow’s latest, except this one hasn’t disappeared up its own bottom. And the 7th Guest remake promises to be wonderfully naff in all the right ways. It even comes with Dungeons of Hinterburg, that indie Zelda and Persona mashup that I’ve bounced off a couple times. Hopefully a handheld will make it stick this time.

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/puzzlers-to-puzzle-you?srsltid=AYCX9vJVn8TTnHcy_oaImLmjhsx4YQpndwwTZr5KliJ5GzjX-NtIwV4c

Play.

Star Wars Galactic Racer is great, with a couple of caveats. The racing itself is great, and you can feel all that Burnout heritage when you kick your pod into a long, satisfying drift. The rogue-like structure is a great idea, and racing games feel perfectly suited to it, because you're always replaying old tracks anyway. But I've always disliked the genre, and I can't quite convince myself to give it a fair shake here. I worked my way up to Sebulba on my first run, lost the race, and now I have zero desire or motivation to start another run. I'm aware this is a me problem.

Also, tiny point, but the ramjets are disappointing. They don't feel much faster than the other type of boost, and it's fairly easy to control. I basically always activate ramjets the moment they're charged, and I'd have preferred a risk/reward mechanic where the boost is incredibly fast and very difficult to control without crashing.

They're little niggles. They only stand out because the game is, on the whole, so well made.

Also playing Cyberpunk for the 3rd time. Hopefully this time I'll finish it. I picked up the expansion on PS5 and PC, and I'm using cross save to work my way through a new save file. This has to be the most surprisingly cosy game I've ever played. You can take your Stardew Valleys and your Animal Crossings. Nothing beats the neon-soaked cosiness of sitting in a diner, or on the 70th floor of a mega-building, and watching the rain fall outside the window. Also apparently there are some shooty bits, but I'm rubbish at those.

Want World of Warcraft Forever. Only a few days to go. Still haven't decided on my forename-surname combination. Haven't wracked my head like this since I named my children.