u/Independent_Plum2166

I’m thinking of finally playing the Restored Content Mod (I’ve played vanilla on Switch), and I was about to play it when I heard of the PartySwap mod. I really liked the Handmaiden and I felt it would be a shame to miss out on potential extra content with her just for the sake of learning about who the Disciple is.

I’ve looked up how to download it but I am VERY computer illiterate, lots of big words, it’s why I haven’t played it before and had to settle with vanilla (which is still good, don’t get me wrong).

To my understanding, since I’ve already downloaded the game and the TSLRCM mod off Steam, it’ll be more difficult to add PartySwap? But honestly I’m not even sure of that, is it even worth it at this point?

I’ve never experience 40K before nor an Owlcat game, so I wasn’t going to shell out for the DLC until I knew if I liked the base game.

After 8 hours into the game, just recruited Pasqal, I figured “yeah, I’ll add the DLC”, not knowing it’s a concurrent thing and not a bonus side part, like an NPC in the corner going “I need to talk to you about [insert DLC] when you have the time”.

So a couple things.

1. Will downloading the DLC into a campaign already in progress mess up the game?
2. Am I locked out of the DLC?
3. Do I have to go all the way back to the beginning?

So, I’ve replayed BG3 too many times and needed an alternative and found War of the Righteous and digging into that and Owlcat as a whole, I also discover it has a well received Warhammer game, Rogue Trader.

I don’t know much about Pathfinder and I know even less about Warhammer, but if it means finding new games to play, what are the pros and cons of each, which do people recommend first? How confusing are they to complete newbies to the respective universes?

So, I just started watching for the first time (started Campaign 2) and having fun. However, I’m the sort of person who struggles to visualise things whilst looking at other stimuli. Like, with my eyes closed, I can visualise Caleb and Nott talking, but watching the campaign, all I see is Liam and Sam.

It’s most definitely a me thing, but I feel it’s worth asking. With already knowing what everyone looks like (having seen the show) a part of me just wants to listen to it like an audiobook when I’m doing chores or exercising, etc.

I know I’ll miss some of the physical comedy and facial reactions to stuff, but also time. 140+, four hour episodes.

I wrote a post about my thoughts on the two Amazon shows yesterday and how much I enjoyed TMN in particular (thank you to the people who replied), but something that got lost in the shuffle.

Should I just go and watch Campaign 2 or wait for the show? Like, I know there are some changes, moving around events (including big reveals) and obviously condensing. But will watching one ruin the other in terms of enjoyment?

How was Season 1 as an adaptation, did it ruin the plot twists? How is campaign 2 for someone who basically never watched Critical Role (outside the occasional funny clip)?

Am I wasting my time instead of just watching the campaign?

(Warning, I ramble a lot, prepare for several paragraphs)

Yes, shows, multiple, as in both, I didn’t know which spoiler tag to use, so I just went with The Mighty Nein since it’s the show that prompted this. But I have thoughts on Vox as well.

First off, just so you know where I’m coming from. Very, very casual fan, as in I know a lot of CR from cultural osmosis, shorts on YouTube and just knowing most of the cast beforehand. I’ve never watched or listened to any of the campaigns, only the first season of Vox Machina when it first came out and I recently finished The Mighty Nein.

And honestly, I’m now really wanting to watch the campaign, because damn did TMN impress me. Which was very unexpected, I remembered watching Vox when it first came out, liked it well enough but didn’t bother with S2 or 3. Then I saw the trailer of TMN, learned what it was (campaign 2) and just let it be, assuming it be more of the same. DnD antiques with crass humour and a few decent emotional moments.

Now, again, I liked Vox and there are some things it does better, but overall I didn’t love it, I even went back to rewatch season 1, after Nein, to make sure my memory wasn’t playing tricks on me and I still thought it was just okay. Decent humour, decent story, decent animation, but the actors really carried the show. I can definitely see the appeal, but I remembered why it didn’t grab me enough to make me want to check out the actual CR campaigns.

But when I finally heard (several months after the fact) that TMN was apparently taking itself more seriously and that some people were calling it better, I decided to watch it and well…

Have you ever watched the first episode of a show and instantly know it’s going in your Top 10 favourites? Like that first episode hit me hard and all it took was a depressed German dude, voiced by Liam, summoning his cat back to life, whilst a drunk goblin girl, voiced by Sam, watched as it fizzled away, to make me almost weep (probably helped that I’m a cat person) and it only got better from there.

I think I definitely prefer fantasy stories that take themselves more seriously. I don’t mind fantasy comedies, Discworld, Monty Python, etc. do those well. But something about Vox didn’t make me laugh that much.

I’m not against humour, not in the slightest, even in my own DnD group we have a ton of laughs, but something just didn’t click. I think I like my fantasy shows more focused on the characters, the story and the world. Not that Vox didn’t do that, nor did Nein not have laughs, just that I prefer when the scales lean towards the serious storytelling of a fantasy world. If that makes sense.

I also think it helped that it actually started at the beginning. I loved seeing the individual characters coming together, becoming a group. Seeing what their lives were beforehand. I also love that they all seemed to be relatively equals in terms of story.

Yes, Caleb and Beau definitely had the lion’s share with the whole Beacon stuff, but the mystery of Fjord’s eldritch patron, Jester’s Traveller, Molly’s whole Lucien mystery, Nott clearly having had a past as a mother/mother figure and Yasha’s whole deal (even if she’s only had 5 minutes of screentime, did Ashley have scheduling conflicts during the campaigns, I noticed Pike disappeared from the main group in Vox). I love how interesting each one is, honestly, each one has main character potential.

Just a solid show all around and I’m desperate to see more.

So now I’m at a crossroads, do I wait for season 2 so I can experience the story the way I’ve come to love it or do I dive into campaign 2? And whilst I am thinking on finally watching the rest of Vox, how different from S1 are the later seasons?

I hope this doesn’t ramble on too much.

I’ve been out of the loop on DC for a while now, the only thing I knew was that a few years ago, yet another dark and gritty universe had been made, where Batman is Jacked and the colour blue seemed illegal.

Cut to about a week ago when I watched a video discussing Absolute Wonder Woman and when I heard “She’s raised by the witch Circe in Hell and rides a skeleton Pegasus” my curiosity was peaked, then I learned what the Absolute Universe was (Darkseid creating his own universe, with blackjack and hookers…kind of literally, since evil was the default in this world) and I had to see what this was about.

And so I’ve now read the first arcs for Diana, Bruce and Clark Kal-El. And it’s been great, finally doing the “dark” world right and whilst I’m thinking of reading more Absolute stuff, I then discovered what this all was, the larger part of DC’s current status quo.

To my knowledge, “All-In” is the initiative that DC has been doing for a few years. Kind of jumping on points with dozens of new books? Cool, easy places to jump in.

No clue which are good or not, nor if they’re truly pick up and read or if there is background I need.

Any recommendations? I’m kind of okay with anyone. Any books I should just ignore?

Lots of unnecessary negativity to Chapter 5’s story imo. Constantly talking about lore this and lore that (most of which is not from the game itself, but outside sources, which is a completely different topic). Compare the story structure from Undertale.

People forget just how little you learn about the main plot in Undertale. You get that monsters are underground and Asgore wants human SOULs. It’s only at the very end in New Home that you get any direct mention of Asriel, of the death of the first human, etc. and it’s not until post-game pacifist route where you reach the True Lab to learn all the secrets and finally the Asriel boss fight, where it all comes together.

It might not be to everyone’s cup of tea, but Toby definitely focuses more on the wacky fun adventures, with sprinkling of a greater story, before hitting you with a truck.

DELTARUNE is actually a marked improvement, with several expositions and an investigative angle to the light world, hell we had an entire chapter in the middle of the game describing lore.

People really just labelling chapter 5 as bad because Toby writes like he does. Character first, lore later.

THE FUCKING HAIR PIN BLOCKED THE BULLET!!!

Okay, now that that’s over with I must say the show was both better and partially worse than I expected. So, I’m not gonna lie, I put off watching the show for ages because I didn’t think it be my thing. It wasn’t until I learned it was a mystery series that it piqued my interest. I watched the dub, for those wondering.

Firstly, my negatives, some of these are a me problem but I should get them out the way. Lots of names, lots of Chinese names and whilst I definitely picked up on the main ones, I really hated how many “L” and “S” names there were. “Lihua” “Lishu” and “Lolan” kind of jumbled for a while and don’t get me started on the Shi clan, haven’t a clue who’s name belonged to who.

Also, I think some of the pacing was rushed I can only imagine this was because it’s an adaptation of a Light Novel, which can take its time with things. For instance, we’re just introduced to Lokan and the nonchalant twist about him, like it felt really weird when they revealed who he was, as if they skipped the build up. Same when they randomly brought up the fact he had an adopted son out of the blue. Conversely, drawing out the Jinshi reveal for 30+ episodes despite already being told his identity still bugs me.

Okay, negatives out of the way, here’s the good. The animation is good, very colourful and I’m really impressed how they can go from chibi cat Maomao getting excited over a bezoar to a haunting look when she gets serious. That said I love the balance between comedy and drama, it’s a very thin line to cross and they do it extremely well.

I know it’s probably not the most flattering comparison, but it’s the most obvious. Very early Game of Thrones royal court drama, heirs, assassinations, conspiracy goodness. Learning more about the Imperial family was both intriguing and god damn disturbing. And a (I assume) much more respectful depiction of ancient courtesan and prostitute culture. Not gonna lie I had a major adjustment when I realised where Maomao lived in episode 1, but then learning of her reverence for granny and her “big sisters” was surprisingly wholesome.

I also like how slowly they’re building this faux china society and a (I presume) some sort of rivalry or tension with the west.

Now the characters. Maomao is really fun, for the longest time I didn’t really get what her character arc was. She was the smart Apothecary with a pension for poisons and mystery solving. It was only later that it clicked, her being very introverted and being reserved when it comes to actually helping people, always making excuses unless things boil over. Now, whilst I don’t doubt Aoi Yūki is a delight to hear in Japanese, as a dub watcher l’ll sing Emi Lo’s praises, who upon research I have discovered is agender, cool. They can go from monotone Maomao to poison gremlin cat on a dime and they sound absolutely perfect.

Jinshi is a fine character, but after learning his identity early on, his constant doubts on whether to tell Maomao did kind of get old. I did appreciate the explanation in the latter half of Season 2, however, how due to looking little to the Late Emperor many doubted his lineage and he became the eunuch to escape that political sphere and pretend to be someone else. Him finally dropping the charade to save her in the end was at least good pay off and I hope we can finally move on. Kaiji Tang was really solid as Jinshi, definitely appreciated getting a Chinese-American to dub him, great choice he’s been in a lot of good things.

Everyone else (there’s a lot of people) are all really good too, I’d go into detail but I’d literally be here forever. I will go into detail about one other, and that’s “Lolan”.

I was of course intrigued as hell at what her deal was when introduced. Quiet and uncaring, but then she barely did anything in Season 1, all I knew was that her dad was power hungry. Then we get this super cheerful and upbeat bug loving maid in season 2, a little random, but I thought she was fun. Then the ghost story episode happened and Maomao noted she looked familiar and I instantly thought “no, it can’t be, I’ll check the eye colour” and indeed Shisui and Lolan both had yellow eyes and purple hair. Throughout the rest of the show I kept waiting to see if I was right or maybe she had a secret sister or something (which I was correct on, just not in the way I thought). I don’t know what it was about her, maybe it was her voice (Suzie Yeung is fantastic as “Shisui” and really great as “Lolan”) maybe it was her story, even if perhaps a tad confusing given how many mothers and grandmothers and emperors are involved, but by the time she got shot I was desperate to see if she lived. And like I mentioned “THAT FUCKING HAIR PIN!!!”.

So yeah, immediate thoughts on the show, looking forward to season 3, though I’m honest to god thinking of picking up the light novels.

I love Maomao, but damn is her memory very poor, at least when it comes to this specific plot point.

Okay, so I’m in the middle of Season 2, just after the Shrine and once again Maomao has questioned the identity of Jinshi, something she also did in the latter half of season 1.

My problem is, she already figured it out in the first half of season 1.

Like she legitimately goes “who is this man?” Several times, despite having theorised the truth. She clearly noticed the similarities between him and Ah-Duo and deduced that she could have switched her son with the Emperor’s brother to give him a better chance at life.

How does she not suspect Jinshi is the Emperor’s “brother” and therefore his son? Was that scene between Ah-Duo and Jinshi something the anime added? Meaning she was actually meant to be oblivious all this time? Or is this an oversight in the writing?

Like I would have been fine if she left it as “was my theory correct about Master Jinshi?” But no, she’s got the memory of a goldfish it seems.

Sorry for the rant and sorry if they go on to mention it later in Season 2, but it’s bugging me to no end I had to vent.

Not in a “who is best” sense (though if you want to say, feel free), but in a “what I like/dislike about each of them, their stories and arc” etc.

I have recency bias with Melinoë and haven’t played Hades 1 since 2020, so I’m not in a position to share my own thoughts.

Major spoilers for the Epilogue, leave now or forever be plagued with knowledge! This will be more a ramble of things that pop into my head.

Defeated Chronos? Check. Defeated Typhon? Check. Reached the credits? Check. Found the Fates? Check. Learn the final truth? Check.

That was a very great (if extremely long) game, I definitely preferred it over Hades 1 (not that that was bad, but i basically stopped after escaping the Underworld once). There are a couple of things I haven’t done, but at this point I’m pretty sure I can just stop and maybe look them up.

The game is good, but I can’t keep going back and forth trying to tie up Narcissus/Echo, Dionysus, Zagreus, the other gods and Circe. Goddamn Circe not letting me advance despite having all arcana and grasp (I had to look up what I was doing wrong).

Anyway, the game itself.

Gameplay is excellent, much more manageable and fun than Hades 1, I could barely reach the surface without the shield and that wasn’t even consistent. Here, nearly every weapon saw its time in the spotlight (couldn’t stand the wings, meh), the Skull being my go to. Though like I said, it did get a bit too repetitive by the epilogue.

Visuals were always a strong suit and I love the more advanced lighting and shading on everyone, especially the Shades like Odysseus. I loved how they actually got every god in, finally letting every Olympian a time to shine.

I loved how the game is essentially doubled in size, with two ways to play, surface and underworld, finally getting to see Olympus. All 8 main boss fights were really good (though Eris and Prometheus are still a tad too strong imo). And whilst I haven’t defeated Chronos or Typhon’s Vow of Rivals fights, I do like how the concept gives each boss an appropriate (sometimes lore adding) additions (Chronos being Scylla’s sponsor or Heracles kinda sorta playing both sides).

Love the music, lots of really good tracks I’ll have to listen to. All of the Siren songs, the boss themes, Icarus’ theme, etc. and I loved the credits song as well, Selene riding across the sky as the twins singing and Hecate constantly losing her hat was great.

Characters were fantastic, Mel is a great protagonist and all the members of the Crossroaods had their moments. I also loved the smaller things, like how some characters are connected, like obviously you have the Olympians, but you also have the Children of Nyx all at the Crossroads due to a pact between her and Hecate. The concept of the Silver Sisters, with Artemis (who is often connected with the moon) and various mythical witches like Medea and Circe, all being part of a tight nit group. Prometheus teaming up with Chronos due to his past with the Olympians. Odysseus having several iconic members of his Odyssey days play significant roles and so on.

I really like the story, at first it seemed a tad generic, with the whole “Kronos is back and is wanting revenge”, but the fact they combined him with Chronos the embodiment of time (and the fact Hades 1 had a pretty good story, even if I had to look most of it up), I was thoroughly surprised when I realised certain themes were coming about.

Chronos being time, him getting rid of the Fates, Prometheus having his psychic powers, travelling through time to speak with Zagreus, I figured there’d be something big and yeah there was. I love how they dealt with Chronos, using Zagreus to basically create a parallel timeline or the potential for one and letting everyone remember both events. Chronos realising he was wrong and that he could have had the family he wanted, just not with the world domination.

I’m a little sad we don’t get to see the real House of Hades again, only for that one scene. But at least seeing Olympus was good, very beautiful after all the doom and gloom. I’m just remembering I forgot to talk about Typhon. He’s fine, there wasn’t really anyone else to pose an actual threat, but at the end he really was more a wall for Mel to get past.

Anyway, I like the side stories and how they all seem to share a theme, fixing broken bonds or at least coming to terms with the past, a very common theme in this series, now that I think about it. Narcissus and Echo, Odysseus and his acquaintances, Dora and Prometheus, Arachne and Athena, etc. (if there are others for, say, Icarus, Dionysus or Circe, I haven’t found them).

Now to the big thing, the epilogue.

I like the explanation how it was Chaos who aided in the capture of the Fates, being unfamiliar with the concept of deceit. I like how the Fates themselves are just chill with retirement, believing a new Age is coming, one without the need of gods, basically a “where did the Greek gods go” explanation. Felt like it really wrapped up the themes of time, going against Fate, let time flow freely forth, and so on.

And then we have Hecate. Now, I was suspicious when past Zag said how his mother didn’t have a handmaiden and then when Hecate did not have the revised memories, despite allegedly being in this other timeline (she conveniently waves it off as “well with your grandad there, they didn’t need me to be an extra pair of hands”) and then finally, the Fates outright confirming she pulled some the strings.

Now, after said meeting with the Fates, Hecate was not at the Crossroads, nor did she and Mel talk about it at the boss fight. So, as I did a run, raised a few bonds, fought a brother, etc, I got to thinking, what could the twist be and then I remembered real life myth. Melinoë and Hecate are sometimes connected and conflated, now I had long since accepted that that was simply the justification to make Mel a witch and student of Hecate. But then I remembered how Hecate also had a green eye…and we never see her left eye…she couldn’t be…could she?

And sure enough, a game about Time has a time traveller. The reveal that Hecate was a past incarnation of Mel, training her to be a better witch than her and finally defeat Chronos was kind of the perfect end to the story. Now, admittedly, this is not the first time I’ve seen this twist, in fact one of my favourite games on the DS also does this (though even mentioning the name would make it a spoiler), however, it’s just as effective here as it was there and definitely a perfect end to the game. Hecate and Mel having a moment to reflect on both their pasts and accepting their bizarre connection as both each other and surrogate family.

But yeah, overall, loved it and unless you think it’s worth doing other side quests, I think that’ll be all.

Okay, so I’ve beaten the terrible two and seen the credits (great song by the twins).

Now, the elephant in the room, I think I get why the story is controversial. Setting up the story as “Death to Chronos” and seeing the devastation he’s inflicted on the underworld and especially the surface, to the point of unleashing Typhon himself, I can see why people would be annoyed Mel “forgave” him (even though that’s not what happened, but that’s the default criticism whenever stuff like this comes about).

And whilst I do have a few hang ups, I do overall like it (Boomer grandad Chronos playing Hide and Seek with Mel is both hilarious and yet endearing). It’s all timey wimey, wibbly wobbly goodness that ends the conflict without destroying the space-time continuum and is in line with the main story of generational trauma the Hades games have been doing.

But now, what do I do? Do I just keep going to Olympus and the Underworld and try and find the Fates?

Tried to be as vague as possible. So I’m about to, I think, permanently kill Typhon, but before that, I wondered if I should focus more on side quests or if I can do those in a theoretical post-game. I’d look this up but doubtless they’d spoil something.

The only one I’ve beaten is Dora’s and I’m nearing the end of others (though I won’t lie, I’m stuck on Odysseus’, I know I’m mean to visit Poly, Scylla and Circe (several times in her case), but nothings happening, he’s still locked). And in cases like Arachne and Athena, I’m gonna assume I need to talk to the latter a LOT more, since she still hasn’t talked about the curse.

So yeah, should I hold off on defeating Typhon to do some clean up or will I have time later?

Bloody Typhon has been conquered.

Honestly, it should have only been 2 times, but freaking Dionysus messed me up with his “Boon”, so run 2 was dead and buried.

Anyway, Typhon has been slain…for now. So thats 3 on Chronos and 1 on big beastie.

Guess I best catch up with Typhon.