elitheaceofalltrades

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Demo - Princess Peach Showtime

Guess what I demoed on my flight to Ireland last month?

I had fun with swordfighter Peach's mechanics but found the actual story to be boring. I enjoyed the decor aspect of patisserie Peach, but was disappointed by the entire section. The instructions for boss fights in both swordfight and patisserie were unclear, and I had to ask for controls.

Overall, the game did not seem like something I would enjoy and definitely did not feel worth the £50 price tag. It was not as family-friendly as other Mario games and felt more like a kid's game rather than something that anyone of any age could play for fun.

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

#ace of all trades #hobby blog #hobbies #video game #video games #games #gaming #demo #demo review #game demo #switch demos #nintendo demos #princess peach showtime

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Demo - Tools Up!

TLDR? Save your money

I genuinely got bored.

I'm not sure if my playthrough was limited due to it being a demo, but the restriction of only being able to pick up one item at a time was infuriating. This was my main issue with the game overall.

When painting, I could only pick up enough paint from the bucket for one wall, then paint that one wall, then I had to return to the bucket to repeat the process. Same thing for flooring and recycling.

This, combined with the clunky movement of the character made the gameplay feel monotonous and I honestly started feeling sleepy. The controls were also not intuitive at all and I kept pressing A instead of X (Xbox controller), which was a me problem not a dev problem but still contributed to my dislike. I have pushed through control problems before but the irritation of picking things up one at a time means that I had way less tolerance for other teething problems like messing up controls. Additionally, I know this is supposed to be a co op game but you're supposed to be able to play single player as well. I felt like the time limits on the demo was mismatched for a single player playthrough. I downloaded the demo a while ago and only played it tonight because I got an email saying it was 80% off but honestly, I personally wouldn't pay the £3.50 for it.

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

#ace of all trades #hobby blog #hobbies #video game #gaming #video games #games #demo review #game demo #demo #steam games #steam demos #tools up

[elitheaceofalltrades]

I'm Alive!

Things have been SUPER hectic and last night (15th April) was the first time I sat done and did a hobby properly for the month. I played some demos last month (reviews incoming) but then got sick and then half my project team was out so everything else was no longer a priority. Things are kinda getting back on track but today marks 4 weeks left of my Masters so it might be weekly posts until Mid May - Early June.

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

#ace of all trades #eli rambles

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Conformist thinking is self-defeating because it knows only the categories of punishment and submission, but not the potential that lies in understanding. The image of the enemy must be maintained at all costs; for this reason, the "enemy" must never be humanized. Both the conformist and the so-called revolutionary depend on the image of the enemy; they need it in order to rationalize their violence to maintain their positions.

― Arno Gruen, The Insanity of Normality

[elitheaceofalltrades]

[elitheaceofalltrades]

having short-term memory is like. this book profoundly affected me. that show bared my soul. i don’t remember a single thing about it. but it did

[elitheaceofalltrades]

“I believe that the first test of a great man is his humility. I don't mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.” - John Ruskin

#ace of all trades #hobby blog #hobbies #aoat's weekly quote #quote #quote of the week #quotation #quotations #quotes

[elitheaceofalltrades]

500 likes!

Still love these!!

#500 likes #tumblr milestone

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Aki is tired.

Tired of her mother's disgust and her father's disappointment. No matter what she does, they stay constant. A fog shrouding her vision and a weight on her shoulders.

She used to plow through the day, only to tremble and fall apart at night. Then, the trembling followed her into the daylight; leaving her constantly shaky and ill. Now, she's just...numb.

She drags through the day to day, a haze of exhaustion settled around her. She can't see a future past it, but she hasn't the energy or care to try to change it.

And then, she meets Shay.

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

#ace of all trades #hobby blog #hobbies #writing #drabble #random #just a random thing #creative writing #writer #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writers and poets #writerscommunity #writing excerpt #excerpt

[elitheaceofalltrades]

To The Person In The Newspaper - Jordan Bolton

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Hey remember when they found over 200 bodies of native children buried behind a residential school and the world cared for... what, a week?

They've counted about 6,000-7,000 now, for those of you who do still care

[elitheaceofalltrades]

"You exist. You matter. You have value. You have every right to wear your hoodie, to play your music as loud as you want. You have every right to be you. And no one should deter you from being you. You have to be you. And you can never be afraid to be you." - Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World & Me

#ace of all trades #hobby blog #hobbies #aoat's weekly quote #quote #quote of the week #book quotations #book quotes #quotation #quotations #quotes #ta nehisi coates #between the world and me

[elitheaceofalltrades]

website

[elitheaceofalltrades]

thinking about arthur and merlin & achilles and patroclus & gilgamesh and enkidu

something about a god treated like a man, a man treated like a god. something, something, one cursed to die, one cursed to live. trying to defy fate, defy death, defy the gods to be together again. something about how we keep telling these same stories over and over again. something, something, the mortal hero immortalised in legend.

[elitheaceofalltrades]

ohh every person you connect with is a gift..

[elitheaceofalltrades]

"All Those Who Are Lost Deserve Kindness" - Cozy Grove (2021)

#ace of all trades #hobby blog #hobbies #aoat's weekly quote #quote #quote of the week #quotation #quotations #quotes #game quotes

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Botany Manor Demo Review

Continuing with reviewing games I played from Nextfest, we have Botany Manor!

Planned Release Date: 9th April, 2024

Botany manor first got on my radar after watching Kennedy play a demo of it on Youtube last year. I immediately wanted it and I grabbed the demo myself the first chance I got😂😂

Botany manor is a first person exploration-puzzle game where you play as a retired botanist. The demo is the first two puzzles and a small area of the map but even just that gave you a lot to explore. I was originally interested in this game because I like puzzles, I like flowers and I like good artstyles. Botany manor delivered on all of that and more and I'm really glad I played it and super excited for it to come out in just under 2 months!! Now to my thoughts.

Pros

The puzzles were interesting. I like that they're in the form of how to grow the particular plant and that you get a coloured drawing of the plant once you complete the puzzle.

I like that as you find clues you can log them in your journal and that it tells you how many clues each puzzle has. Sometimes in games, you forget what a particular clue said or you're not sure if you found all or not and this gives you a more organised method without making the game feel too easy

I liked that all the rooms were labelled because I am a person that gets turned around and lost quite easy in video games😆😆

I think the story is going to be amazing. Obviously in the demo, we didn't really get to see much of the storyline but there were a lot of background clues that flesh out the plot and makes Botany Manor feel like it was a real place and Arabella feel like a real person. I only saw small stuff like the letter from her sister and the family tree but even from those, I learnt a lot about Arabella already!

These next two don't pertain as much to me but...

If 1st person games make you motion sick, they have options in the settings to help with that. This isn't something I've ever experienced but I know a lot of people do

following on from the above, i found there were a lot of accessiblity options which I thought was nice. I used them to make the crosshair a bit bigger but I know they can be useful for a lot of people.

Cons

Not much if I'm being honest. I really liked the game. My only complaint, and this is me nitpicking, is that I felt like my controller was a bit janky, as in movement wasn't as smooth as I would like. However, I do want to note that I did not mess with the settings at all, so that could have 100% been a me problem.

Overall, it was a fun game and I'm excited for the full release. I'm not sure how much this game will cost or exactly how many puzzles this game will have, though from the demo I think the map will be quite large. From what I think it will have I think that with enough puzzles this game could easily be worth US$20/GBP£15. If it's released higher than that, I would honestly say to still wishlist it and wait for a sale cause I think it's a worthwhile game to have!

Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

#ace of all trades #hobby blog #hobbies #cozy k recs #cozy games #cosy games #cosy gaming #cosy gaming community #cozy gaming community #cozy game #botany manor #demo review #game demo #demo #video game #video games #games #gaming #pc games #steam games #steam next fest #puzzle games #exploration game #exploration puzzler #review