thinking about it, I reckon "unprompted" is maybe one of the funniest single words in the English language.

it's only just occurred to me that the reason Samus is called a bounty hunter and is canonically not a bounty hunter is because the original designers were just ripping off Boba Fett

gotta be careful with context though. it's shown that she's a well-known legendary figure, and they do refer to her as a bounty hunter. and I'm here waiting for someone to be like "it's weird that you're legendary bounty hunter samus aran, even though you are in no way a bounty hunter"

I'm also not hating the supporting cast as much as some folk are? Like, once you accept that this game is not going all-in on the loneliness aspect of Metroid, the little set-pieces you get with the companions are all pretty fun, make the universe feel a little bigger, and give Samus some context.

I'm also pretty pleased with the map, which I put together in Dungeon Alchemist in about an hour. originally this was a much simpler thing but then I decided that instead I'd spiritually recreate the church from Wake Up Dead Man

the fuck else are you using your dining table for? grab a saw and embed a TV in there.

ten-year-old Heather making a baking soda volcano in science class, claudia at the window in a SICKOS t-shirt going "yes... ha ha ha... yes!"

me, ten seconds ago: "weird how this game has multiple puzzles about mixing fluids and biological stuff in a bucket to create destructive things."
me, six seconds ago: "ohhhh"

these guys are also not meant to be down here but i feel it is still me who is throwing off the vibes

I actually really like this section. It's pretty straightforward as Silent Hill goes but you're so far underground at this point that even before you hit the Otherworld the environment feels innately hostile and oppressive. you are not supposed to be down here. beneath these tons of stone and earth.

there's also a thing where you're going through big open corridors with a short visual range and the game occasionally plays just a random weird sound. the picture doesn't really capture it but maybe if you fullscreen it and imagine that something just went "aaoooo!". like, a weird "aaoooo" sound.

Subway/Underpass now. The main thing of this bit is "isn't it weird when a corridor is a bit longer than you'd expect". And it's very good because it *is* weird when it's that

which, I mean, you sort of expect from him at this point, literally the thing he is most famous for doing, but it's still excellent.

I loved that they waited so long to even bring Blanc in. It's really well-placed confidence because Brolin and O'Connor hold the first act together incredibly. Brolin in particular takes an antagonist who could have been all stock and stereotype and makes him hugely engaging and charismatic.