u/palaire

The game is on PS Plus so I just got it and played through it. In short, cool game, but not one I'd replay or buy. It seems like a game made by those modern edgelord Russian hipsters of which there are many who flooded into the Balkans after the Ukraine war lol. It could have been an Indie masterpiece, but instead fell flat for me and tried to explore too many concepts at the time, culminating in a very obvious anti-religion stance.

Things I liked:

• I really loved the aesthetics which are beautiful. Finally, a game that is produced by Russians in a Russian context. We don’t get many games set in Russia!
• They tried to be different. The pixel mini games, 'useless' upgrades etc. There was an attempt to do something interesting. Not sure it sat well with me, but still fairly unique.
• I loved collecting the icons, relics and books. I wish there was more of that. Because the points system does not mean anything, it's kind of pointless to go exploring for them.
• I loved praying to cut off the inner noise and diminish the red atmosphere created by the Devil and demons. Cool concept! There should have been much more of this - this was barely explored.
• I would have loved to explore inside a church at one moment because it looked stunning.
• I see the symbolism. Don't get me wrong, there are several clever symbols and underlying messages at play. The reverse Bulgakov narrative on the dog is an interesting idea. Russian ideas and philosophies are present within the game, but only if you are well-read.
• I loved the jingle on obtaining points lol

Things I did not like:

• Immediately on starting the game, the rudeness of the nuns to Indika was over the top and unnecessary. Having been to actual monastery and churches, Christ - love - is at the core of Orthodox Christian teachings and behaviour. Nuns do not act like this in real life. The very start of the game is an obvious jab at Christianity and dogma. One may argue it is the psychological delusion of our Indika, going through demonic attacks and self-consciousness as a result, but I think it could have been better handled as every experience she has in the church and with the clergy is super negative. Why?
• Not enough interesting dialogue about God and faith amongst the characters. This is big and the reason why this is far from a ‘deeper’ indie game which could have been a masterpiece. Indika and Ilya’s conversations are so elementary and I had myself rolling my eyes. It was actually quite boring to listen to them - I did not learn anything new, or question anything. Bland, useless sentences.
• On the point above, inaccuracy of aspects of the faith. A shocking amount of incorrect information. Searching for a 'worldly item' (Kudets) that would solve all their issues. The way that Indika speaks on the topic, the pressure from the church, swearing, threats and others around her act, is all very alien and does not present real Orthodoxy well. Sounds like a trauma of the developer. The anti-Christian sentiment was simply too obvious, and distasteful ('Marx icon' - come on). I get it... but it is already so widespread and basic to be Athiest and anti-religion these days - can we get something a bit more nuanced and deep?
• The game is fairly gruesome and psychologically difficult which misrepresents the mysticism and how absolutely far away from rules and legalism Orthodoxy is (when compared to Catholicism for instance). Monastic vows are voluntary and Orthodoxy is not a religion that would force you to stay etc.
• More chanting in the soundtrack could have been more powerful. I wanted a goosebumps moment. Some of the music is so-so for me.

I feel like this is one of those things that isn't spoken about often. I have been reading into uncontrollable laughter - and loud laughter - to see that it is cautioned in the Orthodox Church.

I have, for a long time, since I was young, experienced moments when I find serious situations extremely funny and cannot stop laughing. It does not really look or feel like the pseudobulbar affect in the movie the Joker (2019) movie but then again maybe I should go to the doctor to get that checked just in case.

From a very young age, I remember that my (Athiest) mum would joke a lot and laugh her way in serious situations. It was particularly when she was receiving criticism. She would not genuinely listen to the concerns of me and my sister as everything would be a joke to her, if that makes sense? I realised later that it was her expressing discomfort with being 'told off' from her loveless household growing up. She is still the same way today. I have accepted her but also laugh with her when she starts laughing, every time.

I always used to think that was linked to my behaviour.

When there is a serious situation going on, I sometimes tend to picture all these funny visual scenarios in my head about the person or story involved and then end up finding it super funny and have to focus on breathing so that I do not burst out in laughter. It comes and goes in waves. Very hard to get out of when you are in it, and I end up just wanting to laugh more when trying to stop it! Which is clearly terrible when someone is sharing sad news or something.

I also used to assume that I laughed at others' jokes maybe in a bit more exaggerated manner to make them feel good, as I am a sensitive soul.

But I think there's more to it as it due to the 'uncontrollable' nature.

These days, someone in my friendship group says a joke and I find it extremely funny and cannot stop laughing, meanwhile everyone else just chuckled a bit. The whole scenario just becomes something hilarious and stays in my head long after the joke has gone away. And then I may think about the scenario some more later when by myself, and laugh at it again. This happens more often than I'd like. I feel it's not social anxiety, but something else.

The thing that made me realise that I have a problem is the other day.

At church, my friend was behind me and made a joke about his confessions being the same each week, targeted at being angry at me and then went to list on funny things. I actually laughed once loudly while prayers were being read! Although no one noticed me, I felt like it was over the top and so 'uncontrolled'! I really wondered why I had to laugh that loud.

I always Googled why this happens during several instances of my life, pushing aside pseudobulbar affect or social anxiety, because it just doesn't seem correct?

Now I see that the Orthodox Church writings also mention it. I really really want to help myself about it and will be praying to God to help this situation.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Personal experiences? Readings I should focus on?

Feeling a bit lost and like my situation is so silly... it's genuinely a problem I am experiencing and need help with....

Hey guys. I live in Europe (UK at the moment but have also lived in Finland and Serbia).

I only recently joined this sub as a nostalgic 90s kid who remembered these gems in my childhood.

Throughout my life when video games have come up in conversation, I struggle to find anyone who knows about the Sly games, let alone played them??

My sister and I always discussed the games, story and lore like crazy lol.

Most people have played Crash Bandicoot and other more ‘well known’ games.

What’s your experience?

Where are the European fans of Sly 1-3?

I grew up with Sly 1-3 as a 90s kid. No better joy waking up for school the day Sly 3 came out.

As an adult now, I replay the games once a blue moon, although I don’t game much in general. Nevertheless, I find myself always coming back to the soundtrack the games always. I just love it!

Well, I chanced upon a cool video of a Easter egg prototype for a potential Monaco map that was scrapped for Sly 2. If you read the Sly comic, you’ll know more about what it was based off.

If Sly had gone to other countries, what animals would the guards be?

I can imagine him going to St. Petersburg with bear guards for sure, and can kind of envision the vibe. Imagine if we would have been able to access downtown Cairo instead of only being able to explore the museum.

Would love to hear your thoughts and also if anyone has any art, please do share!

I have been on some Orthodox Facebook groups out of curiosity to learn more about the faith and be part of it, maybe even look for a partner.

My utmost advice is to stay away from these pages. Not only are you at risk of talking to fake priests/spiritual fathers but there is also a lot of fake information on there, and not so great people.

Remember that at the heart of this faith is prayer to God. Also ask your priest or spiritual father for any kind of guidance. The right things will come in good time.

I cannot reiterate this enough. God bless you all.

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I think she is 5"5 (165cm), however, some sources say she is pretty tall and also an international model, so I am unsure how she could be so short?

Hi! I have lived in the UK for 8-9 years now and I’m considering moving to Ireland for a change of scenery.

I’ve been living in the south coast of England for the past 2 years, and while I love it, I feel drawn to Ireland.

The nature looks stunning, I love the friendliness/culture of people and more importantly, the country seems to have more jobs in the industry I would like to get into.

People talk of the housing crisis in Dublin but I feel like that’s a problem everywhere (London etc.) these days. I’m used to the weather so I don’t think Irish weather will be difficult for me to get used to.

How does it compare?
What should I bare in mind?

Hi guys. I played and finished the game in 2021 with multiple save files. I went to Ireland literally a week ago and visited the Dublinia Viking museum which was so damn cool. It got me craving the Wrath of the Druids DLC set in Ireland.

I just switched on my PlayStation (barely touched since those years), and….. the save data is corrupted. It seems to be an ongoing issue for lots of people but wtf Ubisoft. The whole list of saved files are all unusable and corrupted.

It’s annoying because I got lots of trophies in the game and it could have been cool to clean up some trophies and get the Platinum. I was pretty close to it.

After the initial frustration, I have accepted that it could just be nice to start fresh anyway as it’s been a long time. It’s gonna be nice to relive memories of Covid times.

Tomorrow I’m going to try a few more techniques to get it back like entering Safe Mode? But I don’t count on it.

How the hell do I avoid this happening again!? I don’t necessarily want Premium but I may need it if it means backing up saves…