I’m not one to buy a video game the weekend it releases. However, I made an exception for Marvel Spider-Man 2 by Insomniac Games. I played Marvel’s Spider-Man back in 2018 shortly after my trip to New York City. Part of the fun was playing the game and slinging around New York City. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has been on my radar and I feel like I waited so long for this game to come out. I have been playing this game non-stop and I wanted to share some first thoughts that I had about the game.

I won’t be sharing direct spoilers, but I will talk about events in the game. If this is something you want to avoid, I wouldn’t read the rest of this post.

The first thing that I noticed was how cinematic this game is. Watching the cutscenes, it feels like I’m watching a movie. I forget at times that I’m supposed to be playing the game.

Shifting into the story, I am enjoying Kraven being introduced as one of the main villains in the game. I like how they designed Kraven with the fur vest and the shark tooth necklace that he’s wearing. Kraven is seriously jacked which I think helps to make him menacing. While Peter and Miles have their powers, Kraven carries his strength which is something that I don’t think the Spider-Men are prepared for. I’m looking forward to the final confrontation between them.

In between the story missions, there is so much to explore in NYC. The map is larger than the first game. I’m only a fifth of the way through the game because I keep getting distracted by all the side content. There are side missions and collectibles throughout each area of the city. I like completing the side quests in between the main story because it helps level up Peter and Miles. Once they level up, they can unlock skills to aid them in the story. I’m sure some gamers will complete the story first, but I like being able to alternate between the story and the collectibles.

One thing that I think is interesting is how there isn’t a New Game Plus mode in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. For those who didn’t play the first game, New Game Plus was unlocked after completing the game for the first time. In this game mode, players can take their leveled-up Spider-Man with all the gadgets, however, the villains and enemies are also tougher. This game doesn’t have New Game Plus as an option and I’m curious if Insomniac is going to respond to that critique and add it in later.

I’m absolutely loving Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and I try to play every chance I get as I don’t want to get spoiled to the main story on accident. I can safely say that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was worth the five-year wait.

Ginny Di is one of my favorite TTRPG (tabletop roleplaying game) content creators. I find her videos easy to follow and I like that she has tips for both players and DMs (Dungeon Masters) to improve the gameplay experience. I saw a video she recently posted titled Fixing Curse of Strahd’s Ending and I was immediately intrigued. My group completed Curse of Strahd earlier this year and I had a blast. I was curious what was wrong with the ending of the campaign.

Slight Curse of Strahd Spoilers down below and Ginny Di’s video

Some players had stated that they felt the Curse of Strahd ending was underwhelming. Some players found that depending on what level they were, they could take down Strahd in two or three rounds. In our game, Strahd put up a fight and that’s partially because our group didn’t have a plan on how we were going to face Strahd, we just wanted to take him down and we would figure it out as we went. Ginny Di reviewed a guidebook titled Curse of Strahd: The Wedding at Ravenloft by Wyatt Trull. The guidebook provides a potential way for players to face Strahd that would feel impactful.

In The Wedding at Ravenloft, players are invited to Strahd’s wedding to Ireena, an NPC (non-playable character, typically voiced by the DM) that the players met early on in the game. Players can either attack Strahd right away before the wedding begins or let the wedding proceed. If players let the wedding continue, they can object to the marriage or yell obscenities throughout the ceremony. After the wedding, Strahd takes Ireena, locks the players inside, and forces them to fight their way to him.

I like the idea of The Wedding at Ravenloft because it sounds like a video game boss battle of sorts. The wedding serves as the cut scene to battle with Strahd. There’s Ireena who serves as the motivation for the players because if they don’t save her, she will forcibly be bound to Strahd for the rest of her days including being turned into a vampire. I could see this being useful for a DM who wants to put their players in a position where any decision they make will have consequences.

This video was interesting to watch and put a new perspective on Curse of Strahd that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. For those who are looking for more TTRPG content, I would highly recommend watching Ginny Di’s videos.

Now that I’m getting back to my routine, I have been getting back into gaming regularly. I have a lot of options as far as what to play next. With the weather slowly getting cooler, I’m ready to get cozy under a blanket and play a game. I wanted to share where I’m at and what I plan on playing next.

Consoles

The game that I have been playing is Marvel Spider-Man as the second game comes out this month. I am playing on New Game Plus which carries over the previously leveled-up Spider-Man from a previous game. The enemies aren’t that tough, if anything, Spider-Man’s health drops more after every hit, so I have to be more strategic during boss battles. Once I finish the first Spider-Man game, I plan on playing the sequel. I’m looking forward to battling Venom and playing as Miles.

After playing through both Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, I want to play Jedi: Survivor. I finished Jedi: Fallen Order this year and I loved it I heard the sequel was equally as fun.

Regarding my Switch, I don’t have a specific game that I’m working through, however, I do have some pre-purchased games that I want to get to eventually

PC

I haven’t played a game on PC in a long time. I had to pull up Steam to see what I had in my library. I have three games that I haven’t finished yet and when I look at them, I’m not sure if I’m in the mood to play them. I could see a fresh Steam haul in the future, but since I spent a lot of money to travel to Europe, I need to focus on saving.

Board Games

I have so many new board games thanks to Gen Con. I have Queen By Midnight which is a game from Critical Role’s game company, Darrington Press. I have another game that I want to play called Vagrant Song Me and my brother have been trying to do regular board game days, so I’m hoping that I can play these soon.

Roleplaying

As a nice change of pace, I’m in a new campaign at Bad Wolf Adventure Studios. Instead of playing on Thursday, I’m playing on Mondays. I prefer playing on Mondays versus Thursdays. Playing DnD on Mondays gives me something to look forward to. By the time Thursday comes around, I’m usually tired from the work week, so I found it difficult at times to fully be invested in the campaign. I’m playing a human sorcerer in this campaign which has been interesting to manage since my character is more focused on spell casting versus being in physical combat.

Miscellaneous

I have been playing more Magic: The Gathering than I have in the past. Part of this has to do with the release of Wilds of Eldraine which is the fairy tale-themed set. I loved Throne of Eldraine, so I was happy to see that Magic was willing to go back to that set. I have six boosters waiting for me to open on Arena, so I could see myself trying to build a standard deck and playing on Arena, so I can fully enjoy the set.

It feels so nice to be able to unwind and play video games. I have a good plan in front of me and I cannot wait to play Spider-Man 2. I have been looking forward to this game for five years.

The most recent time that I talked about Magic: The Gathering was when I talked about playing Magic at Gen Con. I don’t typically play Magic much anymore. Part of it has to do with not having enough time to play. Another reason is because of not having a lot of friends who play Magic. The other reason I don’t play Magic much is that it’s really difficult to keep up with the sets. Magic releases new sets all the time and if I find I’m interested in a set, in a month or two, the set is old and no one wants to play it. With all of that being said, Magic’s most recent set is Wilds of Eldraine which is a sequel to Throne of Eldraine, a set that was released in 2019. I played Throne of Eldraine a lot and it’s a set that I really enjoy. I ended up buying two pre-release kits and playing them with my brother and I had a blast! Wilds of Eldraine is going to be a really neat set.

Pre-releases are Magic events where you can play a set early. Each pre-release kit has a promo card, a d20 dice, and several booster packs. From there, the goal is to build a forty-card deck and play your opponent. I have played in pre-releases at game stores before and honestly, I don’t think I’m going to do this again. The events are timed, and I like being able to read each card and take my time putting together a deck. As a casual player, I like to ask questions and have a friend review my deck as I’m not that great at deck building. I don’t want to be rushed for time. Additionally, I have had negative experiences at game stores whether it be the people that I’m playing or feeling guilty for not winning a game or a match. I like to play the game for fun and see how each card works together, but I feel punished in a way because it’s recorded how each player does in each game.

Playing with my brother was way more fun than playing in a pre-release. We would show off which cards we got and trade if needed. I had my brother review my deck where he would offer suggestions of last-minute card switches. Finally, we would disregard the mulligan rules and let each person have the perfect opening hand. Mulligans are where you can discard your hand if you don’t like it, but if you do, you draw one less card. It feels bad when you have to mulligan a lot and then you have fewer cards in hand.

While I did not win a single game, I liked the deck that I built! I built a red/black rats deck. I pulled a few cards including Totentanz, Swarm Piper. Totentanz‘s ability is whenever a creature dies, you create a rat. By paying one and a black, you can create deathtouch for all your rats which is awesome. I also pulled Ratcatcher Trainee which has first strike as long as it was your turn. I had my army of rats to try and take on my brother. Each game that we played was so close! I had my brother in the single digits as far as his life total, although my brother squeaked out every time.

It was fun to play a pre-release kit since it’s been a long time. I think my brother had fun since he texted me asking if he should pay me back for the next kit, so maybe this will be my re-entry into Magic.

The first time I played Jedi: Fallen Order was in 2020 during lockdown. I only played through a small portion of the game before moving on to something else. Whenever I wanted to pick up where I left off, I felt like I couldn’t. I kept being reminded of 2020 and I thought more time needed to pass before I could restart Jedi: Fallen Order. It’s interesting how strong memories can tie us to periods of our lives. This year, I was determined to play Jedi: Fallen Order from start to finish as I felt enough time had passed since 2020. I’m so glad that I gave Jedi: Fallen Order another chance. Jedi: Fallen Order is an essential game to Star Wars lore.

Jedi: Fallen Order takes place five years after Order 66 when the Republic turned into the Empire. Former Padawan, Cal Kestis, is in hiding as he knows if he reveals his connection to The Force, he will be hunted. On a job site, Cal saves his friend Prauf by using the force. Inquisitors show up, and kill Prauf, forcing Cal to retreat. Cal is saved by former Jedi Knight, Cere Junda and pilot Greez Dritus and stows away on their ship. Cal learns that there is a Holocron that entails all the children who are force-sensitive. It becomes a race against time to find the list before the Inquisitors do.

Slight Spoilers Below:

I love the time period that Jedi: Fallen Order takes place in. The Inquisitors are a force to be reckoned with. I finished Clone Wars before playing Fallen Order and that helped me love the game even more. I liked seeing Cal go to Dathomir and meet Merrin, one of the only remaining Nightsisters. I love that Merrin became a part of their crew. Additionally, I loved the final battle with Cal and Cere going after the list. I wasn’t expecting Darth Vader to make an appearance as that wasn’t spoiled for me before playing.

I loved the mechanics of the game. I liked how as Cal gained skills, he did get stronger. I would return to some of the previous planets to collect items and some of the enemies I used to fight, now were a lot easier. It was rewarding to see Cal become more skilled and how those skills benefitted him. Also, it’s worth going back to the planets and gathering the collectibles before doing some of the final story sequences. Some of the planets carry additional stims or health packs for BD1 to carry along with “secrets” which can increase Cal’s force meter and health meter. It’s worth it to spend time going back to previous planets to gather these items before proceeding through the story.

One thing about Jedi: Fallen Order that threw me for a loop the first time I played was the difficulty. In my opinion, Jedi: Fallen Order is a difficult game. I played on the “Jedi Knight” difficulty and I found that was challenging. I ended up dropping the difficulty of certain boss fights. I normally avoid games like Dark Souls as I want to enjoy playing video games, not hate them. For those who do like Dark Souls, Jedi: Fallen Order is probably up your alley.

Another challenging portion of the game is traveling around the planets. There were times when I found it difficult to make it back to the Mantis, or the ship that Cal was traveling on. It’s almost like I had to memorize where I had gone in order to make it back. There were times when I felt I was traveling in circles before I was able to make my way back. In one instance, I ended up using a walkthrough simply to navigate back to the Mantis which was a little aggravating.

I’m glad that I gave Jedi: Fallen Order another shot. While it’s a challenging game experience, it’s satisfying to have finished the game. I can’t wait to play Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order which was released this year. Jedi: Fallen Order can be played on Xbox Game Pass, Playstation 4 & Playstation 5, and Windows.

I had been avoiding playing Stray, the game that centers around an orange tabby, for a while. As a cat lover, I don’t do well with animal death and I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get through the game. My husband didn’t know that and ended up buying me a copy of Stray with my new PS5. Since my husband bought it, I wanted to at least give the game a chance. Stray was one of the best video games I have ever played and I’m glad that I played it.

As a side note, I did want to bring up a slight spoiler right away. The cat does not die in the story. Yes, there might be a time when the cat dies during an action sequence, but in the actual story, the cat lives. There are two moments where the cat is seen limping due to an injury. I’m not going to lie, I did start tearing up at the first one. However, these moments are short-lived. I would recommend looking up the story before playing Stray to make sure the game is for you, but that was my experience playing Stray.

Stray centers around an unnamed orange tabby cat. The orange cat is walking along with its friends when a pipe breaks and it drops to the street below. After crawling to safety, the cat enters a city that seems abandoned and desolate. As the cat is forced to flee from Zurks (orange, blood-sucking leeches), the cat meets a robot named B-12. The cat frees B-12 and is hooked to a harness where B-12 becomes the cat’s companion. The cat and B-12 work together to open the city up to the sunlight after a plague forces the city to quarantine.

Playing as a cat is amusing. I kept pressing the circle button to allow the kitty to meow and it was entertaining. Maneuvering the kitty throughout the game was easy. There would be an X notification that would prompt the player to have the kitty hop up on a banister, pipe, or table. I liked the trophies. One trophy included meowing 100 times, or another trophy could be unlocked by jumping onto a table and ruining a game that the robots were playing. The trophy list was chaotic which I think was fitting for playing a cat.

The aesthetic of the game is haunting. The city feels creepy and lonely. There’s an aura of darkness throughout the levels which I think added to the experience of playing Stray. I don’t normally pay attention to the music or the soundtrack in a game, but I loved the accompanying music. There were moments when a certain change in music would play and I’d be like “Uh oh… now what.”

As mentioned earlier, this game pulls at the heartstrings. Towards the end of the game, I was SOBBING. The type of crying where I just couldn’t stop. My husband came downstairs and had to ask me if I was okay and I couldn’t even get the words out. I don’t recall ever playing a video game where I was this emotional. I have no regrets because it was such a great game but be warned.

Stray was one of the best games I have ever played. The only downside is I can’t find any Stray merch. I want an orange kitty / B-12 figure to place on my desk at work, but I can’t find one anywhere. I did bookmark a few Stray magnets that I found on Redbubble to purchase for later. If anyone knows where I can find some Stray merch, let me know in the comments below.

My birthday was a few weekends ago. It was pretty low-key, I spent the time around family and went golfing with a friend. Throughout the week leading to my birthday, my husband was hyping up the present that he got for me. He kept saying how much I would love it. On my actual birthday, he encouraged me to open my present first thing in the morning. I was shocked to see that my husband bought me a Playstation 5!!!!! I was so excited because I wasn’t expecting it.

I had mentioned to my husband that eventually, I would need to upgrade to the PS5 considering that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is being released in October. I didn’t actually think that he would purchase the PS5 for me. Besides the PS5, he also bought me Stray, the game starring the orange tabby cat. I completed Stray within a few days and I was sobbing! My review for Stray will be posted shortly.

As far as other games, I do want to play Jedi Survivor along with Spider-Man 2. It was nice because I was able to transfer my saved data from my PS4 to my PS5, so I can replay Marvel’s Spider-Man on my PS5 which is convenient. I jokingly told my husband that I will be hogging the TV for a long time.

I had this post in my drafts for a while. Since January 2022, I have been playing in a semi-weekly campaign at Bad Wolf Adventure Studios. During that time, I grew attached to my character, Levenia, the half-elf Blood Hunter. While I have played TTRPGs, I feel like this was a new experience for me. I never reached a point where I felt a connection to the character that I was playing. Creating and crafting Levenia, I really liked playing as her. She’s fiercely intelligent, able to hold her own in combat, and at times, has been in peril where I genuinely wasn’t sure how she was going to survive. Last month, our group began the tumultuous battle against Strahd and I wanted to share how the battle went.

Our group began the session by defeating Rahadin, Strahd’s right-hand guard. Rahadin is an evil character, arguably eviler than Strahd since Rahadin helped Strahd slaughter the other female Dusk Elves. It was made aware to our group that Strahd may have the capability of bringing Rahadin back to life, so the situation became a “now or never” to take on Strahd once and for all.

Our group used our knowledge of Ravenloft to make a decision to travel to the top of one of the towers in Ravenloft. Sure enough, Strahd was there and our battle began. As a side note, my hands were so sweaty, I don’t think I have ever been more nervous to play a session of DnD before. Our cleric used the “Holy Symbol of Ravenkind” which is extremely powerful. The holy symbol can create sunlight for ten minutes which is a must-have for taking on a vampire. Strahd quickly became annoyed and ripped the amulet out of our cleric’s hands and threw it down the stairs. Rude. I came in with the “Sunsword” which is the closest thing to a lightsaber in Barovia. Levenia kept stabbing Strahd which worked great since the Sunsword deals extra damage to undead creatures. Strahd being super annoyed, ripped the Sunsword out of my hand as well.

Strahd quickly disappeared and began climbing higher up the tower. Our group raced after him. As we did, we noticed that we were at the top of the tower. Behind Strahd was this massive bird called “The Roc of Mount Ghakis”. Roc’s are massive birds in DnD and can be a real threat especially since we are on top of a tower and could be knocked off at any point. Our cleric pulled a quick move by utilizing “Divine Intervention”. Divine Intervention is an action in which our cleric could call upon The Raven Queen (or another deity) to act in a time of need. Having a gigantic bird acting as a servant to a Vampire feels like it fits this definition. Our DM rolled for us and it worked!! The Raven Queen appeared and pulled the Roc into a portal. Our group cheered because we did not think it would work and having to fight off an additional creature would have made this battle much more difficult.

After seeing The Raven Queen help, we returned to Strahd. Strahd did throw one of our allies off the tower which sucked since she’s a Barbarian / Rogue. However, we kept picking off Strahd and Levenia got the killing blow. I couldn’t believe that I was the one to take down Strahd. It was so satisfying. With Strahd’s demise, Strahd turns into mist and flew towards his coffin. If Strahd reached his coffin before we did, Strahd could be revived. It was one of those “oh shit” moments as our group ran to try and beat Strahd to his coffin. As our group approached, we realized that one of the NPCs that we brought with us, Rudolph Van Richton, permanently sealed Strahd’s coffin. Our DM revealed that since we brought Rudolph with us, he helped ensure that Strahd couldn’t be brought back to life meaning Strahd has officially been defeated. After defeating Strahd, we did have to fight a Lich, but that’s a story for a different time.

It’s bittersweet to say that Curse of Strahd is over. I have been encompassed by the story, seeing my character evolve, and seeing our group work together. Since finishing Curse of Strahd, I have had a month off from playing DnD which I think was needed. It helped solidify the memories of the final battle and allow for some time off. I am starting a new campaign this week, so I will share more about that once I know what character I will be playing and what the world will be like. I’m thankful to have discovered Bad Wolf Adventure Studios and I’m looking forward to playing more DnD in the future.

I don’t normally follow the big video game events such as E3 or Xbox Games Showcase. I usually find out about some of the gaming news weeks after the event and that’s always worked for me. One of my favorite Star Wars content creators posted about Star Wars Outlaws and how the trailer was released at Xbox Games Showcase this year. I watched the trailer and honestly, I’m excited. I’m curious how this game will play out and when this game will be released.

Star Wars Outlaws takes place in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Kay Vess is on her own and resorts to cheating in Sabacc to make ends meet. With her companion, Nix, they end up escaping a brawl at the tavern they’re at and running from the scene. Kay is approached by Jaylen, some sort of acquaintance from Kay’s past, who offers her a way out of the situation she’s in. In the rest of the trailer, Kay is shown exploring different planets with Nix by her side.

As far as Star Wars is concerned, I think the more Star Wars stuff that exists, the better! I’m positive in that way. I think it’s neat to see a female protagonist in a Star Wars game. Without knowing much about Kay, I like her as a character. Her look feels rugged, yet functional. I couldn’t help thinking how she could be a fun character to cosplay as. I’m a sucker for a good companion and Nix is adorable. If anything happens to Nix, I’m going to be annoyed.

There were some critiques from fans towards Star Wars Outlaws. This includes having another Star Wars game without custom character creation. I feel like that critique is fair. Most Star Wars fans want to see themselves in the galaxy. I think most fans were hoping for a Knights of the Old Republic / Star Wars open-world RPG and that would be cool. Unfortunately, there was backlash around male gamers not wanting to play as a female character. This doesn’t surprise me, although it’s such a weird take. I have had to play as male characters for a long time and I didn’t mind. Plus there are so many badass female video game characters (Jill Valentine from Resident Evil, Lara Croft, Ellie from Last of Us) why is Kay Vess different from them?

I’m looking forward to Star Wars Outlaws! I think it has the potential to be a fun Star Wars game. Have you watched the newest Star Wars Outlaws trailer? Let me know what you think in the comments!