Yeah, it’s looking a little dusty around here. Decrepit, even. Oops. I haven’t posted anything in a hot minute, and I do feel bad about leaving my blog to rot. I did want to start posting/updating more often, but life often gets in the way, and though it’s still my intention to maintain the blog this year, we’ll see how it goes. I am in shambles, but so is the rest of the world. Anyway, what have I been up to?
Gaming (sort of)
Not as much gaming as I would like though. Last year, I wanted to put a bit more focus into single-player games, and unfortunately, that didn’t quite happen. Dead by Daylight and Fortnite still make up the bulk of my time spent online; though I am once again (in Bernie Sanders) making it a personal goal this year to get back into RPGs, indies, etc. But you know what I have been “playing?” Music League.
If you’re not familiar, Music League is an app/platform through which you can either create a league yourself, or join as a participant, in a friendly music-based competition. The general idea is that the league admin creates a series of themed rounds, while participants submit songs to match said theme. After the submission period, a playlist of all the songs is generated on Spotify. Once you’ve listened to the playlist, you’ll get to vote on which songs are your favourites (as will everyone else) – the number of votes is chosen by the admin. At the end of the round, you’ll be able to see the standings, and how your song did! Each round has a winner, which contributes to the overall standings and final league victor once every round is completed.
While the competition aspect is, I suppose, the main “point” of the league, I personally enjoy sharing music with friends, and having a new playlist to listen to every week or so. If the song I chose happens to do well, that’s great, but it’s not the primary appeal for me. I’m currently in two separate leagues, and it’s a fun little thing that I always look forward to.
Gaming (actual)
I’ve been playing Undertale (I know, I’m a few years late) for a video game book club, and it’s been interesting so far. I kind of hate the “battle” mechanic of having to dodge projectiles and other assorted nonsense using your little heart cursor. It’s probably Baby’s First Bullet Hell for most people, but I’m old, and I suck, and have been struggling a bit (and by a bit, I mean a lot). The story, however, is very intriguing, and I love the sense of humour and personality of all the characters I’ve met. I did actually manage to complete the game (a true miracle) and I kind of want to go back for a second playthrough, honestly. Playing Undertale on the Switch, with its signature pixel-art style, has also been making me super nostalgic for the old days of handheld gaming. Sigh.
My partner and I also recently finished Ogu and the Secret Forest, which is probably the cutest game I’ve played in years. In the same vein as a Zelda game, Ogu has temples, puzzles, bosses, and a surprisingly vast world to explore. The overarching story features baby Ogu – who has been dropped into this world from a different dimension – reuniting the scattered sigils to repair the Heart of the World. More importantly though, it has hats. Lots of hats. You can also collect recipes (and ingredients for said recipes), fish, bugs, gems, and more in case the hats weren’t enough of a selling point. If you’re the type of gamer to obsess over collectibles and achievements, this game is a dream come true. There’s a ton of side content and adorable NPCs to befriend as well. I’m debating writing a bigger post on Ogu and the Secret Forest because it deserves it, but baby steps.
Hobbies
So I actually had a full article ready to go on my new-fangled hobby and just… never posted it. I should do that. But, briefly, I have gotten super into crochet over the last year and a half, and it’s become my main hobby outside of gaming. I won’t ramble too much about it because of the above mentioned, now definitely forthcoming post, but crochet is something I’ve really come to enjoy. Though it can be expensive, my wallet and I are preparing to try some more involved/complex projects this year. I feel like I’ve learned a lot, and made good progress in a fairly short time span, so I’m pretty proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. I’ve also gotten the itch to get back into glass painting as well – which I’ve taken a pretty long break from – so we’ll see how that goes.
Reading
I’ve found that lately, my attention span and ability to focus have been pretty awful. I have no doubt this is due to spending way too much time on my phone and social media apps. I can actually feel how cooked my brain is. I’ve made an attempt to replace a lot of my scrolling time with reading time, which I’ve done too little of the last few years. I recently finished Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, and had mixed feelings about it. It was fun enough junk food for my brain, but the writing is objectively bad. And I guess I sound like a pretentious kumquat, but I’m honestly baffled that so many people love this novel and hold it in such high regard. I posted a full review on Goodreads – should I post it here? I don’t know. Now, I’m about halfway through The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean and enjoying that a lot more. It’s a cozy fantasy centered on a magical zoo, and as I’m reading, I find myself picturing the setting and characters in a Ghibli art style. I love the main character, Aila, and find her extremely relatable (its a bit scary actually). I’ll probably read the sequel to Fourth Wing next, because I hate myself.
I’ll leave it there for now – that’s all the excitement going on in my life! I hope everyone is doing well despite this being the longest month in the history of ever, and all the… interesting things happening in the world right now. It sure is a good time for premium gaming escapism. Until next time~
Meghan Plays Games 