![]() ![]() The other bright side to Etrian Odyssey is that there’s a lot of it to go around - at least for me. I’m laughing maniacally as I type this, just thinking about how my Imperial does 1296 damage per Drive Attack now. Who’s laughing now, you huge goddamn bats? It’s me. That is until I get so overpowered that I eventually extinct-ify those huge goddamn bats that chased me up and down reality. It’s natural to overextend yourself and your supplies while juking through labyrinths. Mana and healing items don’t come easy or cheap in this series. Its signature F.O.E.s - ultra-powerful enemies that patrol dungeons in unique, but predetermined routes - turn the very act of moving through space into endless new puzzles that must be solved before you even get to the fighting, and the grinding, and the bosses. Nope! It’s a new year, but the same old me.Įtrian Odyssey fulfills that role wonderfully. It’s something I thought might change when I jumped from freelance to full-time work. That’s especially crucial for me in the winter months, when I feel cooped up and aimless. I love being repeatedly de-powered and given the tools to build myself back up however I see fit, rather than play the superhero or legendary savior. This kind of fantasy is something I’ve only come to truly appreciate later in life. They impose obvious challenges with obvious solutions, and make them difficult enough to solve that I’m encouraged to spend time creating optimal routes. ![]() More specifically, though, these “tough but fair” video games give me direction. It’s small! Now is the winter of my old-ass content - 80-hour JRPGs from 2012 that I can finally play till my organs give out from a lack of Vitamin D. Have you looked at the new games release list for this month? I have. You know when I still have that level of “summertime in elementary school” eternity on my hands? Motherfucking January. This is how I win (and by winning, I mean spending way too much time repeating the same tasks). I am an annoying fly who is too quick for the swatter and too stupid to stop landing on your leg. I am not the chosen one, or the savior of humanity in these sorts of games. It takes trial, error, luck, and the dedication to keep poking big, spiky monsters with a stick until they lie down in a ditch and die out of sheer exasperation. My little edgelord Nightseeker - a class built around ailments like poison, blindness, and yes, a minuscule chance to one-hit-kill with the “death” status” - completely turned the game on its head for me in that moment.īut what about that has anything to do with being a good game for the winter? Well, just as in Dark Souls, any good pattern is meant to be exploited. I just didn’t appreciate the little design decision that led to it until it actually happened. Well, just this morning, I one-shotted a boss in Etrian Odyssey 4. My New Year’s Resolution is to Let Fewer Games Waste My Time. ![]() ‘The Case Files of Jeweler Richard’ Could Be Winter’s Feel-Good Anime.For Better and for Worse, Void Bastards Is a Perfect Game Pass Game.Why would I ever specialize in one-hit-kill attacks, for instance, if I know bosses will just be magically immune to them? Wouldn’t it be better to focus on the bog-standard mix of spells, healing, and frontline attackers that every other JRPG - from Dragon Quest to Chrono Trigger - funnels you toward? Instead they impose special rules (see: bullshit) that make certain character builds pointless. Much as ardent Dark Souls fans describe those sorts of games as “tough but fair,” franchises like EO and Shin Megami Tensei have deeply ingrained rules that must be obeyed - both by players and their enemies. I also chose it because Atlus RPGs sum up a lot of what makes a good “winter game” to me. This is partly because I’m a broken individual who refuses to play more Etrian Odyssey Nexus (the series’ newest and a genuinely great release from 2019) until I get through every other 3DS game in the franchise. ![]() And as usual, I can’t stop searching for the perfect one to get me through the dry spell of new releases.įor the time being, I’ve settled on Etrian Odyssey 4. I need an old video game to play indoors. I know because they won’t stop screaming at the sliding glass door, no matter how many times I open it to reveal the frozen hellscape that is January in North Dakota. The holidays have come and gone, but I’m still stuck here with a freezing cold apartment and two cats that desperately miss lounging on my third-floor balcony. ![]()
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