Tag: hmu

Thoughts on Unwording

~ Kapodaco ~ Leave a comment

During my tenure with KeenGamer, I played a fair number of games from indie developers. Interestingly, many developers ended up being one-and-done, that is to say that someone created one game and didn’t do anything else afterwards. One of the few times where this didn’t occur was with Armaan Sandhu of Frostwood Interactive, whose second game Forgotten Fields ended up being a rare follow-up title from a developer I had experience with. Now, third time’s the charm.

Unwording is the latest attempt at harnessing an energy of positivity and hope often nestled at the core within Sandhu’s games. Specifically, it is bringing awareness to a concept known as cognitive distortions, or more simply “negative self-talk.” Through a combination of puzzle gameplay and a short, sentimental story, the intent is to make something both engaging and fun.

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Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata + ♭ (Re-Watch) (Merry Days of Anime 2022)

~ Kapodaco ~ 1 Comment

For those unaware, I do actually have posts on both seasons of Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata (or SaeKano), as well as its movie finale. This is why I marked this as a “re-watch” in the title and didn’t for Sakurasou before this.

This is a series I remember being rather fond of. The way it played with the tropes of its genre and the spirit of its character roster were a cut above the rest upon first viewing. My younger mind was impressed by the self-awareness of the script and how it seemed to poke fun at itself with most situations, even if it was also heavily indulging in sexual fan service all the while.

I am no longer a “noob” with anime. I’ve seen close to 500 series at this point in my life. Plus, I’m no longer as cynical (I hope?). If anything, the expectation would be that I can appreciate the series all the more upon re-watch, right? …Right?

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Thoughts on Demonheart: The Ice Demon (Steam Next Fest 2022 Demo)

~ Kapodaco ~ Leave a comment

I really do try to get myself into the visual novel genre. Plenty of times I’ve found myself enamored with a particular art style or plot scenario that has convinced me to break out the reading glasses. Yet there’s always a part of me that goes, “Yeah, but a lot of what I gravitate to feels so… catered to me.” So today we have Demonheart: The Ice Demon, an otome game not catered to my straight man demographic! It was also one of the only visual novels to feature a demo during Next Fest…

Quick structure disclaimer: Given this (and all the others) is only a demo, I won’t be too in-depth with my coverage, and will only reflect on the good and the bad. No overly long personal history or filibuster. No nonsense. That said, I will provide a synopsis for the game below.

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Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Series Review – Episode 6

~ Kapodaco ~ Leave a comment

As an apology for being so late last time, this week’s review will be out pretty early… relatively speaking. The episode released yesterday, so while I could have written on it then, I wanted to have my last post settle to give readers a chance to look at it. Two days is long enough, though.

We’re… well, I’m going to assume we’re at the halfway point of Aharen-san‘s anime adaptation. This doesn’t seem like something that would be two-cour, but an official episode count hasn’t been confirmed yet. Currently, it’s been rather disappointing. One of five episodes have shown any potential of living up to its fast-paced, chaotic manga source. Does the sixth episode fare any better? Uhhh… mildly?

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Day Eighteen: West Side Story (2021) (March of the Movies 2022)

~ Kapodaco ~ 1 Comment

Back in middle school, I watched the original West Side Story in music class. At the time, I remember liking it, though I was barely a teenager at that point. Various songs from the film still stick with me today, such as “I Feel Pretty” and “Tonight, Tonight,” as well as some cheeky references to “Stay Cool, Boy.”

When I learned early last year that the film was getting remade, the initial reaction was skepticism. After further thought, I let it go—it had been sixty years since the original. Hollywood has waited far less time for other things. Its trailer, nonetheless, didn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence. Fast forward to now, it has stellar reviews and is nominated for Best Picture. Huh? My curiosity has enticed me to see how it fares for myself.

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Thoughts on Grapple Dog

~ Kapodaco ~ 1 Comment

Look at this good boy. Look at the color; the pristine boldness of its make-up and the promise of well-tuned platforming goodness. Since playing the demo of this game back late last year, I was ecstatic to finally get my paws on Grapple Dog, the latest game by indie developer Joseph Gribbin. After going through the whole thing and collecting every shiny rock I could, my thoughts have become resolute. Let’s get ruff!

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Twitch Streamer Shoutout: An Ode to verydarian

~ Kapodaco ~ Leave a comment

Disclaimer: Hair color is subject to change roughly every couple months. It is currently pink. The image within the cover may change by the time this releases. The Twitch icon has changed three times since April.

For whatever reason, Mario games tend to introduce me to a lot of streamers. In this case, it ended up being Super Mario Galaxy. You just can’t go wrong with any mainline 3D Mario game, y’know? Going through the category at random (another recurring theme), I came across a sea of lovely blue… hair. It caught me off guard—people generally don’t have blue hair. Curious, I clicked.

Something was immediately off. The vibe, the mood; whatever it was, there was an obscure aura about it. Wasn’t bad, only different. An energy subdued, but wittiness in place. Quietly bizarre and just a tad funny, complete with an unreadable host. I was intrigued, so I gave this blue-haired bozo a tentative follow. It’s no longer tentative.

Introducing verydarian. (← Link to her Twitch channel.)

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Twitch Streamer Shoutout: An Ode to CornyEars

~ Kapodaco ~ Leave a comment

The spooky month of October had ended, and November’s pre-Christmas vibes had taken hold. I, meanwhile, continued to venture off into random places on Twitch in an effort to find people of interest and “venues” of entertainment. My “Following” list continued to grow (I likely had 10+ by this point), yet my hunger still remained. On a whim, I decided to venture into a category I very rarely check at all: Music.

Even now, my primary motivation to browse Twitch is to watch people play games. The decision to browse Music at that point was almost out of an innate curiosity; what treasures could be lying in wait? A thorough skim resulted in one particular channel standing out, motivated by the bold, bright yellow icon that adorned their stream thumbnail.

Introducing CornyEars. (← Link to her Twitch channel.)

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Commencing the 2021 March of the Movies

~ Kapodaco ~ 1 Comment

For those unaware, four years ago I started an annual tradition called March of the Movies, where I watch a film every day for the month of March and write reviews for them on the blog for people to peruse. The premise will be the same as it was last year (and most other years): I watch a film at any part of a particular day and will release some sort of review, whether fully detailed or comically short, in that same specific day.

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