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YouTube Obsession

So I am not a fan of “Actual Play” TTRPG media like Critical Roll. I have enjoyed a couple podcasts like Adventure Zone and early Friends at the Table but most actual play groups become cringe and annoying. Adventure Zone is saved by the fact that no one is taking any of it seriously. Almost the opposite, Friends at the Table is taken seriously enough by the players that, with the help of Austin Walker’s excellent storytelling, they create moments of sincere drama.

What I’m saying is that I am extremely picky.

However, a week ago, YouTube recommended me an upcoming premier of Six Sides of Gaming’s new BattleTech series. And good on you YouTube, this does meet my interests not only because I love the BattleTech universe but because I know a couple of the players.

Tex and Big Red are two big BattleTech lore channels that have grown popular due to their entertaining and informative videos. Also, it’s not often that you see actual play of TT BattleTech and even rarer to see anyone play the MechWarrior RPG Destiny. I like that a few of the players are obviously just nerds and not entertainers. Brings a authentic awkwardness to the game.

This is my dream Table Top game btw: A traditional futuristic TTRPG interspersed with mech battles using the classic BattleTech game system¹ . I dream of building a campaign like this. Maybe one day!

Reading

I have mixed feelings on Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner and really, that is to it’s credit. The main character is decidedly hollow and unlikeable to the point that I found myself drawn to the world the main character was narrating. Though because they are so deplorable, I was often questioning the how true these descriptions were, leading to this weary un-trust of the narrator. A feeling hard to pull off without becoming annoying.

Ultimately, I would describe this a millennial euro-noir with some slight Gen X ennui. Put that on the dust jacket!

Playing

I wish I could tell you that Rise of the Ronin from Team Ninja is a must-play and that I’ve never played anything like it. But I really can’t recommend unless you like Ubi-style tower games. The entire game is set-up around: Find a tower and collect some shit. If you don’t have that loop in you then you’re not going to like this game.

It’s only other selling point is it’s combat and though it’s good enough for me to enjoy, it’s hardly revolutionary. I had fun experimenting with the deep weapon variety to see all the animations but the flow of combat is always the same no matter the weapon: Dodge, parry, riposte, strike.

As with all tower games, using stealth to take down camps is always my preferred method and the the stealth is adequate. Used mainly to thin out a camp before your cover is inevitably blown by a buggy AI that can see half-way across the map for some reason, stealth always leads to combat.

The story. The story is very Japanese. Yes it’s set in Japan but it has the humor sensibilities of a traditional manzai double-act. Cheesy, low-hanging-fruit jokes. Counter acted by the dramatic, high honor bound warrior tropes seen tons of Japanese media.

I would be lacking in my observational prowess if I didn’t mention that this game is extremely similar to Sucker Punch’s 2020 release Ghost Of Tsushima. Yet, where Ghost had tons of style and really leaned into the Samurai movie of it all, Rise is more of a historical epic with grounded graphics.

I know it sounds like I am bashing on Rise and in a way, I am. But I want to make it very clear that I am enjoying the hell out of this game. It’s the perfect game to play between my deep dives into to heavier more mechanic laden games like BattleTech or X-COM. And it knows it is just a collect-a-thon game and most of the mechanics revolve around that core gameplay. This game truly is the Banjo Kazooie for the modern day. Put that on the dust jacket!

Listening

I’ve been playing a bit of MechWarrior: Clans again and while I’m refitting my mechs for hours at a time I began to notice how good the OST is.

Himalayan throat chanting always adds a dash of epic-ness to an OST. Still a game worth playing and it’s music is no small part of that. Put that on the dust jacket!

Other Notables

** Modern spy media as more a reflection of disgruntled workplaces rather than geo-politics.

** What are the Democrats thinking?

** Very nerdy, but very welcome Trans affirmation from various BattleTech voice actors

1  They are using the hex-less Alpha Strike rules for this campaign.