A predictable combination of dim winter skies, early sunsets, nightshift sleeping patterns, and haphazardly not taking my multivitamin has resulted in a very sleepy me. I spent a good chunk of this (and last) week languishing in bed, eyelids too heavy to even lunge for the Steam Deck. Fear not, my reckless behaviour has been rectified, as vitamin D surges through my system and the past few days have been spent productively, in the sense playing video games is productive. Which in my book, it’s probably the most productive one can ever be.

Perhaps a result of my earlier lethargy, I spent more time than expected this week back on Just Cause 2, feeling too drained for anything requiring more thought than dropping grenades on bright red gas containers. I even completed the main story, though I don’t think that serves as an accurate gauge of playtime since it perceptually seemed to last no longer than a couple of hours. Indeed there are in fact only a handful of story missions (7 to be precise), with the bulk of my time spent doing superfluous activities like stealing a sports car for the Ular Boys, scouring for lost drug caches for the Roaches, igniting the flame of revolution for the Reapers, and, of course, exploding a bunch of bright red gas canisters for my own pleasure.

To the game’s credit, I was content soaring to and fro on the island completing these inconsequential and repetitive tasks for quite a few hours, although I think that says more about my state of mind than it does the game. In truth, Just Cause 2 is painfully one dimensional, even compared to the dime a dozen open world games of the time. Some side missions for the various gang leaders can be completed literally within a minute, and none of them build towards some greater purpose. If there is a message Just Cause 2 wants to convey, it’s a muddy, half-hearted satire on American imperialism and the state’s propensity to engage in regime change at the sniff of an oil drop. At its core, Just Cause 2 seems to want to be a silly and explosive fuck around type game a la later Saints Row releases, but falls short in capturing a consistently biting tone and simply lacks the juice to warrant spending a lot of time with. In short, what a waste of a good grappling hook.

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The second half of the week was more exciting, though in truth I’ve only really dabbled in a handful of games than given them the proper time they deserved so far. First up is Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, which I’ve put off for years now, always opting for a replay of DS1. But now it all changes. I’m only 3 hours in so it’s hard to get a gauge of its overall quality, but thus far it’s going well. Not great, since the palpably soul-crushing atmosphere of the first game has been replaced with a sort of nothingness so far. I’ve only really dipped my toes into a few areas like the Forest of Fallen Giants and Heide’s Tower of Flame but none of it really stands out as particularly flavourful or congruous in the way Lordran is. It also seemed weird to me that it took close to three hours to even see my first boss, Dragonrider, which I (and I imagine everyone) beat on the first attempt. Weapon durability was almost entirely ignorable in DS1 which despite my general appreciation for such mechanics I found a relief. Here, spotting its seeming uselessness, they chose to make it a much more prominent mechanic, to the point of irritation. My Old Knight Ultra Greatsword makes twigs in Breath of the Wild feel like they’re made of obsidian. Weird choice, do not like.

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Elsewhere, I’ve started The Room 3 and dabbled with Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel. Neither game I’ve put enough time in to make any firm judgements, though first impressions for both are positive.

With Fireproof Games’ third instalment in The Room series, it’s shaping up to be it’s best. The first game is best described as intricate, a focused exploration of puzzle boxes, mostly isolated from one another. The second game took it’s namesake more seriously, having you sweep an entire room to solve the labyrinthine puzzles. The third seemingly combines the two more starkly, with the new eyepiece allowing us the mystical ability to zoom our perspective deeper into smaller objects, while retaining the larger scope of the second game. It’s atmospheric and fun.

I believe Jotunnslayer falls into the “Survivor-like” genre, though I’m not sure if a fancier name has been widely circulated. I’ve played a handful of these types of games, but the only one to stick was the OG itself. Jotunnslayer may crack the code though with its Norse imagery, snappy controls, and satisfying upgrade paths. Early impressions of the bosses reveals my only hurdle thus far, with the 3rd and 4th bosses particularly exhibiting MMO-adjacent levels of HP bloat.