Quest Log: December '21

Hello everyone! December has been a wild month for us all. We've been recording podcasts, making videos, putting together a weekend long charity stream... all while preparing for the holidays. During all that, plus our regular 9-5s, we somehow managed to play some games. Here's what we have been up to!

Brodie:

Final Fantasy XIV: The gift that keeps on giving. As I'm working through Endwalker (which has been great so far) I'm still stopping to gather (level cap fisher before anything else!!) Also, been getting into crafting - used to hate it, now kinda love it. Crafting collectables in the Firmament has been a really good tutorial. Speaking of which, if you need yarn or anything, let me know!

Solar Ash: Picked this up after hearing it was kinda like the team behind Hyper Light Drifter's take on The Pathless, which was a beautiful indie game from last year that focused on exploration and environmental puzzle solving. Just spent a few minutes in the world and it seems very slick and stylish. The concept is wild too, your character is part of a special group that closes black holes! Nuts! Once I start to hit the wall on Final Fantasy, this is next in line.

...your character is part of a special group that closes black holes! Nuts!

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon: I loooove a good puzzle game, and there are few IPs more beloved than Shovel Knight so this seemed like a no-brainer. Much like Solar Ash, I only played a little bit. It does seem quite intense - the board is always filling up and you have to fight enemies, collect potions, and unlock chests/doors without dying! Really need to put some more time in here to feel comfortable with seeing the board/combos so I can decide how to move more quickly.

Dinosaur Island Rawr 'n Write: I know this is a tabletop game, but I picked this up recently (my wife and I are going through a big roll and write phase) and boy was it a surprise. It's a full on complex worker placement/resource management game that uses writing as a clever workaround instead of having a million components. Luckily, it also appears to be quite a good game. Very much looking forward to playing more.

Mel:

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition: I started this game at the beginning of the month and I've sort of been going through video game ADD where I start something, and I cannot finish it. However, this is a game I want to complete. The whole theme of it being about Mexico and luchadores is incredible and fun. The color palette is bright and cheery. I cannot help but smile playing this game.

Rain on Your Parade: I LOVE THIS GAME. You play as a cloud and you literally rain on people. I swear, this is bringing out evil Mel and I can’t help but laugh maniacally. There is so much chaos that I don’t even want to talk about it. It’s a true gem if you enjoy being a jerk and solving puzzles.

I swear, this is bringing out evil Mel and I can’t help but laugh maniacally.

Dorfromantik: Out of all of the games I have played this month, this is the game I spent the most time with. You create a city using hexagon pieces with different landscapes on each side. The purpose is to rack up as many points as possible by matching the hexagon sides together and completing quests. It’s very casual and very relaxing.

Placing tiles has never been so relaxing

Cookie Clicker: Because cookies are delicious.

Clay:

Sp!ng: Apple Arcade truly is the gift that keeps on giving. This lovely little gem is all about flinging a little ball around in a tightly-implemented physics engine, with some of the most lovely art and particle effects around. If you need a bite-sized game of mini level goodness, look no further than this one. It's super fun, gets really, really challenging (I DARE you to beat The Lab levels all the way through), and even has daily challenges with leaderboards (my current claim to fame being my 36th best score out of 18,000 entries). Just go play it!

Galaxy Trucker: My iPad has seen some use this last few weeks, and this game is a massive reason why. The digital adaptation of the equally wonderful physical board game, it is chaotic and ridiculous and unfair and amazing. Build your shitty ship out of bullshit pieces. Go flying, and hope a laser blast or comet doesn't ruin your afternoon. It's wonderful if you don't mind playing it "in the spirit" of the game.

Build your shitty ship out of bullshit pieces.

Final Fantasy XIV: Beat Endwalker. Liked it but didn't love it, unfortunately. It had some amazing highs with some middling moments that were just a bit too common for me. The method delivering the story is starting to crack for me (talk to person A, talk to them a second time, go to location B, talk to person A again and learn nothing new, kill a single mob, talk to person A, fly back to origin point, talk to person A....and then fucking talk to them literally one last time) and the direction they decided to talk felt a bit too random for me. But the new classes are amazing, and I adore the new zones, dungeons and Trials. Overall it's a solid package, but is ultimately overshadowed by Shadowbringers.

Gannon:

Final Fantasy XIV: Absolutely loving the Sage and Summoner changes. I'm also excited to attempt the new raids soon. This is my first time playing new content that doesn't have well defined guides and I am absolutely enthralled by it. I am hoping by being caught up now I'll have time for more in my backlog but we all know that's not true.

... I am absolutely enthralled by it.

Storybook Brawl: The blessing of the FF14 queue times is I have been spending a lot of time playing! Climbing back up after losing a ton of rank due to the last patch. Maybe it's a lost cause but I can't break away.

Final Fantasy IX: One day I will finish this game.

Dale:

Storybook Brawl: Holy crap is this game good. They just released a patch that changes the balance of the game, and released some new heroes, and I've been having a blast tinkering in the new meta. If you like drafting, you should be playing this.

Rocket League Side Swipe: This was a surprise drop during the game awards, and it takes everything I loved about Rocket League and made it bite sized. Since matches are only 3 minutes long, it may be the perfect mobile game. While it's free to play, it's cosmetics only, and the various challenges to earn the in-game currency are pretty generous so far.

...it takes everything I loved about Rocket League and made it bite sized

It Takes Two: Ang and I started this on stream the other day, and it was a real blast to play together. We're only about 3 hours in, but I'm excited to get back into it.

Yes, let's suck the eyeballs out of a vacuum

From all of us at SuperOK, we wish you and yours a very safe, healthy, and happy holiday. We are looking forward to seeing you all next year!