The most recent time 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. The other reason I don’t play Magic much is that it has been 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 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 neat set.

Pre-releases are Magic events where you can play a set early. Each pre-release kit has a promo card, a d20 die, and several booster packs. From there, the goal is to build a forty-card deck and play against your opponent. I have played in pre-releases at game stores before, and honestly, I don’t think I will play in them 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 great at deck building. Additionally, I have had negative experiences at game stores, whether it be the people I’m playing with or feeling guilty for not winning a game or a match. I like to play the game for fun, not to win, so I’d rather play in a similar environment.

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 for 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 I built! I built a red/black rats deck. I pulled a few cards, including Totentanz and Swarm Piper. Totentanz‘s ability is that whenever a creature dies, you create a rat. By paying one and a black, you can create death touch 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 to 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 the win every time.

It was fun to play with a pre-release kit since it’s been a while. 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. I’m so glad that I gave Jedi: Fallen Order another chance. Jedi: Fallen Order is an essential game for 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, knowing that 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 shows all the force-sensitive children. It becomes a race against time to find the list before the Inquisitors do.

Slight Spoilers Below:

I love the time period 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 were a lot easier. It was rewarding to see Cal become more skilled and how those skills benefited him. Also, it’s worth going back to the planets and gathering the collectibles before completing 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 it 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 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, the ship that Cal was traveling on. It’s almost like I had to memorize where I had gone 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 struggle 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 give the game a chance at least. Stray was one of the best video games I have ever played, and I’m glad I played it.

As a side note, I wanted 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 the game.

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 forced 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 prompting the kitty to 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 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 bookmarked 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 time around family and went golfing with a friend. Throughout the week leading up to my birthday, my husband was hyping up the present 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 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 would 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 Badwolf 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 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 more evil 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 Dungeons & Dragons 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”. Rocs are massive birds in Dungeons & Dragons 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 turned 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 we brought with us, Rudolph Van Richton, had 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 enamored 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 Dungeons & Dragons, which I think was needed. It helped solidify the memories of the final battle and allowed 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 Badwolf Adventure Studios, and I’m looking forward to playing more Dungeons & Dragons in the future.

I don’t normally follow 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 the Xbox Games Showcase this year. I watched the trailer, and honestly, I’m excited. I’m curious how this game will be and when it will be released.

Star Wars Outlaws takes place 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, an 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.

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. There was some backlash I read around male gamers not wanting to play as a female character. This doesn’t surprise me, although it’s such an odd 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 The Last of Us), so 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!

Insomniac Games, the game studio that made Marvel’s Spider-Man, finally announced on Twitter the release date for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The game is set to release on Friday, October 20th. I first played Marvel’s Spider-Man back in 2018. I recently visited New York City for the first time that summer, so playing through Marvel’s Spider-Man felt like I was reliving my trip. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is exclusively being released on the PS5, which I don’t have yet. I’m holding out for a Spider-Man PS5 bundle to be announced sometime soon. This is a game I have been looking forward to, so I wanted to share a little bit of what I’m most excited about.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is going to introduce Venom to the franchise. At the end of Marvel’s Spider-Man, Norman Osborn enters a laboratory where, in a test vial, Harry is wrapped in a black webbed substance, which is obviously the Symbiote. When I watched the end credits scene, I was pumped. How cool would it be to swing around New York City as a Symbiote?? Insomniac released gameplay of Venom, and it looks really cool.

If that wasn’t worth the hype, there are also going to be new villains for Spider-Man to go up against. There are some hints that Kraven the Hunter will make an appearance. Besides Kraven, I’d like to see Black Cat appear in the main story, as she was mostly seen through the DLC released after the first game. There is a part of me that wants to use some PTO during this time, so I can sit and play this game undisturbed.

I cannot wait for October. My goal is to play Marvel’s Spider-Man right before the sequel releases, so I will be fresh on all the Spider-Man lore.

I have been looking forward to Gotham Knights since the game was originally announced. I loved the idea of being able to play as members of the Bat Family, especially Batgirl. I was hoping for Gotham Knights to be Batman: Arkham Knight 2.0. I think many other gamers were thinking the same thing based on the comments I had been reading online. As of right now, Gotham Knights is rated 6/10 on Steam, and 73% of gamers liked the game. I can only speak for myself in saying that I enjoyed playing through Gotham Knights, but I don’t think the game is as good as I wanted it to be.

Gotham Knights has an incredible opening sequence featuring Batman fighting against Ra’s al Ghul. During the fight, Batman is mortally wounded. With no way out, he sets off the Batcave’s self-destruction sequence, trapping himself and Ra’s in the rubble. The Bat Family (Red Hood, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin) comes together to become the Gotham Knights with the intent of continuing what Batman started. While following up on one of Batman’s leads, they discover a scientist, Kirk Langstrom, has been murdered. This sets the Knights on a path of lies and treachery in uncovering the Court of Owls, an elite group operating in Gotham. If that wasn’t enough, Talia al Ghul and the League have also been making an appearance. Can the Knights prevent an all-out war that could leave Gotham in ruins?

I already know that this review is going to be biased. I loved playing as Batgirl. She was easily my favorite. If I weren’t playing as Batgirl, I would alternate between her and Nightwing. I did try to give the other heroes a chance, but Batgirl always remained supreme. I think being able to interchange between each of the Bat Family members helped, as each of their powers was better equipped for certain combat scenarios. I think one of my favorite powers to unlock later was Batgirl being able to pull up her own drones that would fire on enemies. It was very powerful, and I activated that ability a lot.

The combat in Gotham Knights didn’t feel as smooth as it was in Batman: Arkham Knight. There were times when the game would glitch during an intense fight scene, which was annoying. I would have to grapple away until the game would be better, and then try to start over in the fight. I feel that the characters in Gotham Knights could handle firepower better than Batman: Arkham Knight. There was more stealth in the Batman games, whereas in Gotham Knights, I could enter a combat scenario even if the enemies were carrying assault weapons. As someone who isn’t a stealthy type of gamer, this worked well for me.

I think the biggest gripe I would have about Gotham Knights is the leveling system. For the Bat Family to gain more equipment or powers, there was a need to level up in the game. This got old really quickly. There were times when certain missions, the Bat Family would have to be at a certain level. I would try to play through the level even if I was a little bit below the suggested level, and it made a difference. It was much more difficult and intense. I was playing through the game on medium, as I like the challenge without it being too much. The leveling system was grueling in my opinion, and I felt I had to do side quests to level up quicker when really I would have preferred to finish the main story first without interruption. I wish Gotham Knights weren’t made as an RPG and instead, a story that gets increasingly more difficult as the levels progress.

At this point, I haven’t actually finished the full campaign. I have the last bit with the Man-Bats attacking Gotham. I tried to get past them, and it was brutal. The Man-Bats are difficult, and there are three of them. Additionally, if the Bat Family uses all their health packs, they don’t get any more unless they go back to their hideout, which may reset the progress made, but I’m not 100% sure on that. It was enough that I needed to take a break from the game. I honestly may drop the difficulty mode to get past this section.

I had a fun time playing through Gotham Knights. It wasn’t the Batman: Arkham Knight sequel I was looking forward to, but I’m still glad it exists, and I enjoyed playing through the game.