u/ImperialMajestyX02

When we carpet bombed a very good Paraguay team 4-1, they said Paraguay sucks and it was a fluke. The same Paraguay team went on to beat Germany in the knockout stage and nearly beat the favorite France in the round of 16. Mind you no one batted an eye when France was given a ps penalty and free goal by the refs when it became obvious France was about to end up eliminated just like Germany.

When we shut down a solid Australian team 2-0 they said Australia sucks. Australia went on to beat Turkey who was everyone's darling from our Group.

When Turkey's A squad (one of the favorites to win the World Cup) barely beat our B squad 3-2 they said we were exposed never mind the fact that it took Turkey a miracle 2 minutes after the game was supposed to end AFTER extra time to beat a squad without a single starter in it.

When we beat Bosnia 2-0 with only 10 players after a BS red flag they said the refs helped the us after and that Bosnia wasn't that good to begin with despite finishing 2nd in their group and eliminating Italy from qualifying.

Now that a BS red card was overturned they're all saying that if we beat Belgium and continue making our run it'll be fraudulent and we have rigged the World Cup in our favor.

Conveniently they all turn a blind eye to far more egregious penalties by their own best players for not being punished. The moment FIFA does for the US something that has been done dozens of times before in multiple other soccer tournaments it's the end of the world.

No matter what they're going to move the goal posts and hate on us. So we might as well embrace being the villain, continue to prove them all wrong, and go on a run and try to win the whole damn thing. As the last few matches have shown us, none of these teams are invincible and the US is capable of beating them all.

Anyways give me US 4 Belgium 2.

To me it feels like KCD2 really knows what it wants to be and executes that perfectly. The writing is amazing, maybe the best I've ever seen in a video game and the immersion is unparalleled. It commits to substance over style. It might in the surface, it might seem like a fairly grounded open world and not necessarily the most epic story ever told, but once you actually play it, it feels incredible because of how much depth there is beneath everything and every single quest.

You genuinely grow to care about the characters because they feel like real people rather than video game NPCs. Their motivations, personalities, and relationships all evolve naturally, making every interaction meaningful. The world itself feels alive in a way that very few games manage. Villages have routines, people react to your actions, and every place has its own history and personality. Instead of feeling like a playground built for the player, it feels like a living medieval world that simply exists, and you as Henry are just one person within it.

Whereas Expedition 33, in my opinion, commits to style over substance to its detriment. The visuals, soundtrack (maybe the best ever in a game), and overall presentation are undeniably stunning, but I never felt the same emotional connection to the world or its characters. The game constantly strives to amaze you with spectacle and plot twists, yet I found myself wanting more grounded character development and a world that felt genuinely lived in.

The MAIN plot twist, in particular, was extremely jarring and, for me personally, undermined much of what had come before. Rather than deepening the story, it made many of the emotional moments feel less meaningful in retrospect. I know many people loved it, but I walked away feeling like the game prioritized being clever and shocking over telling a cohesive, human story.

That's ultimately why Kingdom Come: Deliverance II resonated with me so much more. One game earns your investment through believable people, subtle storytelling, and a world that feels authentic. The other tries to overwhelm you with style, mystery, and spectacle. Both have their strengths, but only one left me feeling like I'd truly lived another life.

E33 might've won the overwhelming majority of the Game of the Year Awards and the hype news cycle but KCD2 I think is the game that we will still be talking about decades from now. And I feel like playing these two games after the hype cycle has died down (as pretty much everyone in this sub has) really showcases that imo.

What we are seeing is what happens when an incredibly tech savvy population with boundless imagination starts making AAA video games. It's very similar to what Eastern Europe went through in the 2010s. Back then a lot of people underestimated those studios too, and now companies like CD Projekt Red and Warhorse Studios have become some of the gold standard names in RPG gaming.

It's honestly incredibly exciting to watch happen in real time.

Stellar Blade, Lies of P, and Crimson Desert represent the big 3 so far. They might not be everybody's cup of tea, but all three are extremely ambitious and surprisingly refined projects. More importantly, these studios are only going to learn from them. None of these games feel like safe corporate products designed by committee. They feel like developers swinging for the fences and actually trying to make something memorable.

If this is where the Korean industry is now, I can't even imagine what their studios are going to be putting out 5 or 10 years from now.

I'm an American male in my mid 20s and this part of the trip in mid August I will be solo. I currently have bookings at both Lub D in Koh Samui and Savage Hostel in Koh Tao. Obviously both islands have their pros and cons. I do think Koh Samui has more to offer as an island itself and is more practical (tho a lot more expensive especially Lub D) but I've heard it can be 50/50 for a solo traveler (the internet says hostels seem to be filled with couples or pre-formed cliques) whereas many solo travelers my age seem to have the time of their life in Koh Tao.

I would appreciate any anecdotal experiences and advice on what to do. What place will I look on years from now and say I'm so glad I decided to stay there?

Can't scroll through watch content for five minutes without a creator subtly pushing how underrated Tudor is, how it beats Omega or even Rolex, how they'd take a Black Bay over a Sub any day. It never feels organic. Tudor is basically running a less egregious version of the Valusis playbook. Instead of a direct campaign, they've got an army of creators all independently arriving at the same conclusion like give me a break. Maybe when Tudor was charging just slightly above Longines and Tag I would've agreed but now Tudor has become absurdly expensive for what it's offering.

Obviously they are objectively top tier horology and while their style might be polarizing I think it is super unique, cool, and far more chic and versatile than Richard Mille. I know that 20+ years ago Franck Muller was the polarizing pop culture phenom bran that RM is now but I just don't understand why they are not that popular anymore. I mean their designs truly are one of a kind and full of character and I'm very closing to drop a couple thousand on getting one.