{"id":2631,"date":"2021-01-29T19:11:18","date_gmt":"2021-01-30T00:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/?p=2631"},"modified":"2021-04-13T09:02:15","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T14:02:15","slug":"a-little-something-extra-hattons-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/?p=2631","title":{"rendered":"[BLOG] A Little Something Extra, Hatton&#8217;s Gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Since PCR went and did the games he&#8217;s been playing &#8211; I decided maybe I should do the same thing.. it seems only fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So here are some of the games that have taken up a majority of my time while I&#8217;ve been sequestered to the inside world. Surprisingly, I&#8217;ve beaten a few of them, which is shocking for someone like me that gets distracted by the next bright thing that crosses my p<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>GOD OF WAR<\/strong><br>I was never a God of War guy. I had the trilogy on my Vita, but they were always passing the time sort of games. I know there are some diehards out there that are all about that Kratos life, but Sony had a sale early in 2020 and I had heard enough great things that it seemed a worthy way to waste some time in this lockdown which should obviously only last a couple months, am I right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2632\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-760x760.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-480x480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><figcaption><em>This fits TWO games!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So for nights on end, I spent hours grinding away at creating my favorite minmax set of powers and armor, and in the end &#8211; I beat every Valkyrie, which if you aren&#8217;t aware\u2026 is a feat. The game is gorgeous from top to bottom with the conversations between Kratos and Boy never feeling like redundant chores or protection quests &#8211; it is an exquisite story, and other than a bit of repetition in enemies that you only start to notice as you reach the end of your 20 hours of gameplay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SACKBOY&#8217;S BIG ADVENTURE<\/strong><br>I fall in love with every Little Big Planet game. They are cute. They have great little extra challenges that actually strain your fingers. They have a mix of weird british sense of humor and childlike wonder. I understand completely why they have a hard time finding a major audience, because they are just a little too kid-like for adults and a little too hard for kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said &#8211; this game is still on rotation as I try and squeeze out the last few gems\u2026 but the sign of a good game is going back to levels that you&#8217;ve already beaten and achieved everything and go and play them just because you love the level design. (Which is precisely what I&#8217;ve done with every single one of the half-dozen music levels)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/zombies1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2633\" width=\"204\" height=\"122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/zombies1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/zombies1-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/zombies1-480x288.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><figcaption><em>Why do crafting games feature the least crafty monsters ever?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MINECRAFT \/ DEAD BY DAYLIGHT \/ 7 DAYS TO DIE<\/strong><br>So, I&#8217;m lumping all of these into the same category. I enjoy each one for their own reason (MC because it is unendingly creative, DBD because it is this hot mix of horror and strategy, and 7DD because I haven&#8217;t played enough of it to have eked out all of its secrets) &#8212; but they all fall into &#8216;games I play to hang with friends&#8217;. I am mostly an extrovert, and I&#8217;m going to tell you that this has been a big old slice of hell to be trapped inside with little contact with the outside world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are the games that have kept me in contact with people I may not have had a chance to talk to otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CRACKING THE CRYPTIC SUDOKU<\/strong><br>I&#8217;m putting a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1316390\/Thermo_Sudoku\/\" target=\"_blank\">link to the company<\/a> that makes these games, and at first you may think.. wait, that&#8217;s a bit of money for some sudoku puzzles, doesn&#8217;t my local paper have a new game in each and every paper? The answer is yes &#8211; but those aren&#8217;t handcreated by masters of puzzles. Spend some time on the youtube channel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CrackingTheCryptic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Cracking the Cryptic<\/strong><\/a> and you&#8217;ll get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, you have to be a certain type of person to want to grind away at super difficult and altogether confusing variations of number puzzles, but &#8211; yeah &#8211; I&#8217;m 100% that guy. I get the occasional free Google money from doing surveys, and the last $20 or so I&#8217;ve earned there has paid to have every one of these apps on my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2634\" width=\"197\" height=\"111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-1130x636.jpg 1130w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-760x428.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><figcaption><em>There&#8217;s a war! I&#8217;m the King!<br>LET&#8217;S COLLECT RECIPES!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>THE REST<\/strong><br>There is a whole other slew of games that fall under the &#8216;play until distracted&#8217; that would make this article waaaay too long. So here&#8217;s the short versions and a quick few words.<br><em>FINAL FANTASY XV <\/em>&#8211; I decided to beat one of the newer generations. This one seemed as good as any\u2026 it is the most gorgeous piece of unintelligible mess I&#8217;ve ever played.<br><em>LEVELHEAD<\/em> &#8211; It&#8217;s like MarioMaker, but for PC &#8211; and has the most welcoming online community I&#8217;ve ever had the pleasure of hanging out with<br><em>DEMONCRAWL<\/em> &#8211; It&#8217;s Minesweeper, but with roleplaying elements. Perfect to lose an hour in occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WHAT&#8217;S NEXT<\/strong><br>Lastly, the games that are on my &#8216;going to try next&#8217; list\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>SPIDER-MAN: MILES <\/em>&#8211; That&#8217;s next on the list, but I loved the original, so it&#8217;s a no-brainer.<br><em>RETURN OF OBRA DINN <\/em>&#8211; Every reviewer I respect said that Obra Dinn is an amazing piece of adventure gaming that must be tried\u2026 and it was on Steam sale over Christmas, so it awaits me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you haven&#8217;t noticed &#8211; I fill the vast hole in my soul with digital enjoyment&#8230; what have <em>you<\/em> been up to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-vivid-purple-background-color has-vivid-purple-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Every week, the Somethings will be giving you a little something extra, so please check back every week for reviews, lists, cool finds, and more!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since PCR went and did the games he&#8217;s been playing &#8211; I decided maybe I should do the same thing.. it seems only fair.<\/p>\n<p>So here are some of the games that have taken up a majority of my time while I&#8217;ve been sequestered to the inside world. Surprisingly, I&#8217;ve beaten a few of them, which is shocking for someone like me that gets distracted by the next bright thing that crosses my p<\/p>\n<p><strong>GOD OF WAR<\/strong><br \/>I was never a God of War guy. I had the trilogy on my Vita, but they were always passing the time sort of games. I know there are some diehards out there that are all about that Kratos life, but Sony had a sale early in 2020 and I had heard enough great things that it seemed a worthy way to waste some time in this lockdown which should obviously only last a couple months, am I right?<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2632\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-760x760.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-480x480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sackkratos1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><figcaption><em>This fits TWO games!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>So for nights on end, I spent hours grinding away at creating my favorite minmax set of powers and armor, and in the end &#8211; I beat every Valkyrie, which if you aren&#8217;t aware\u2026 is a feat. The game is gorgeous from top to bottom with the conversations between Kratos and Boy never feeling like redundant chores or protection quests &#8211; it is an exquisite story, and other than a bit of repetition in enemies that you only start to notice as you reach the end of your 20 hours of gameplay. <\/p>\n<p><strong>SACKBOY&#8217;S BIG ADVENTURE<\/strong><br \/>I fall in love with every Little Big Planet game. They are cute. They have great little extra challenges that actually strain your fingers. They have a mix of weird british sense of humor and childlike wonder. I understand completely why they have a hard time finding a major audience, because they are just a little too kid-like for adults and a little too hard for kids.<\/p>\n<p>That said &#8211; this game is still on rotation as I try and squeeze out the last few gems\u2026 but the sign of a good game is going back to levels that you&#8217;ve already beaten and achieved everything and go and play them just because you love the level design. (Which is precisely what I&#8217;ve done with every single one of the half-dozen music levels)<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/zombies1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2633\" width=\"204\" height=\"122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/zombies1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/zombies1-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/zombies1-480x288.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><figcaption><em>Why do crafting games feature the least crafty monsters ever?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>MINECRAFT \/ DEAD BY DAYLIGHT \/ 7 DAYS TO DIE<\/strong><br \/>So, I&#8217;m lumping all of these into the same category. I enjoy each one for their own reason (MC because it is unendingly creative, DBD because it is this hot mix of horror and strategy, and 7DD because I haven&#8217;t played enough of it to have eked out all of its secrets) &#8212; but they all fall into &#8216;games I play to hang with friends&#8217;. I am mostly an extrovert, and I&#8217;m going to tell you that this has been a big old slice of hell to be trapped inside with little contact with the outside world.<\/p>\n<p>These are the games that have kept me in contact with people I may not have had a chance to talk to otherwise.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CRACKING THE CRYPTIC SUDOKU<\/strong><br \/>I&#8217;m putting a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1316390\/Thermo_Sudoku\/\" target=\"_blank\">link to the company<\/a> that makes these games, and at first you may think.. wait, that&#8217;s a bit of money for some sudoku puzzles, doesn&#8217;t my local paper have a new game in each and every paper? The answer is yes &#8211; but those aren&#8217;t handcreated by masters of puzzles. Spend some time on the youtube channel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CrackingTheCryptic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Cracking the Cryptic<\/strong><\/a> and you&#8217;ll get it.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, you have to be a certain type of person to want to grind away at super difficult and altogether confusing variations of number puzzles, but &#8211; yeah &#8211; I&#8217;m 100% that guy. I get the occasional free Google money from doing surveys, and the last $20 or so I&#8217;ve earned there has paid to have every one of these apps on my phone.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2634\" width=\"197\" height=\"111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-1130x636.jpg 1130w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv-760x428.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ffxv.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><figcaption><em>There&#8217;s a war! I&#8217;m the King!<br \/>LET&#8217;S COLLECT RECIPES!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>THE REST<\/strong><br \/>There is a whole other slew of games that fall under the &#8216;play until distracted&#8217; that would make this article waaaay too long. So here&#8217;s the short versions and a quick few words.<br \/><em>FINAL FANTASY XV <\/em>&#8211; I decided to beat one of the newer generations. This one seemed as good as any\u2026 it is the most gorgeous piece of unintelligible mess I&#8217;ve ever played.<br \/><em>LEVELHEAD<\/em> &#8211; It&#8217;s like MarioMaker, but for PC &#8211; and has the most welcoming online community I&#8217;ve ever had the pleasure of hanging out with<br \/><em>DEMONCRAWL<\/em> &#8211; It&#8217;s Minesweeper, but with roleplaying elements. Perfect to lose an hour in occasionally.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WHAT&#8217;S NEXT<\/strong><br \/>Lastly, the games that are on my &#8216;going to try next&#8217; list\u2026<\/p>\n<p><em>SPIDER-MAN: MILES <\/em>&#8211; That&#8217;s next on the list, but I loved the original, so it&#8217;s a no-brainer.<br \/><em>RETURN OF OBRA DINN <\/em>&#8211; Every reviewer I respect said that Obra Dinn is an amazing piece of adventure gaming that must be tried\u2026 and it was on Steam sale over Christmas, so it awaits me.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven&#8217;t noticed &#8211; I fill the vast hole in my soul with digital enjoyment&#8230; what have <em>you<\/em> been up to?<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-vivid-purple-background-color has-vivid-purple-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n<p><em>Every week, the Somethings will be giving you a little something extra, so please check back every week for reviews, lists, cool finds, and more!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[215],"tags":[224,216,73],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2631"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2636,"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631\/revisions\/2636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.somethingcast.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}