Yet here’s the paradox: Charlie Brown is still happy. He still has friends. He still gets excited about all the projects that are destined to fail. Very often, young Americans are simultaneously pessimistic about the world and optimistic about themselves—they assume everyone’s future is bleak, except for their own. Charlie is the opposite. He knows he’s doomed, but that doesn’t stop him from trying anything and everything. He believes existence is amazing, despite his own personal experience. It’s the quality that makes him so infinitely likable: He does not see the world as cruel. He believes the world is good, even if everything that’s ever happened to him suggests otherwise. All he wants are the things everyone else seems to get without trying. He aspires to be average, which—for him—is an impossible dream.
From Across the Net – “Star Wars: Squadrons – Official Reveal Trailer”
While the cinematics are pretty, I would have loved to have seen some actual gameplay.
Infected with the Plague
I started feeling sick last week.
- Chest pressure
- Weakness
- Almost losing my voice by the end of the day
I found myself googling the symptoms of the Coronavirus as I anxiously waited for a fever to pop. Thankfully, my body’s temperature did not go along with the horror story playing out in my head.
Tabitha reassured me, as we tried to figure out what was going on. She told me that I sounded just like I do when I get a cold… my yearly man cold.
By Friday, I was miserable. I was tired of not having energy and coming home and crashing in the evening. A couple hours after being home though, I felt okay. It was then that Tab and I realized something, my workplace has been making me sick.
At certain times of the year, my workplace zaps my body. I have googled sick building syndrome, etc., but have never figured out why. Until last year, when we discovered that there were no air filters in the building’s air conditioning units. Once we installed filters, I felt fine. All of my bad allergy symptoms, including the daily almost losing of my voice, vanished. Nothing like putting one’s detective skills to use.
It’s funny–not really–how we can jump to the worst case scenario. Thinking we are:
- Infected with the plague
- About to lose our jobs
- Going to die thanks to Google and WebMD
When our typical life outcomes are far more chill and often as simple as changing an air filter at work (which I did this morning).
Where we spend our time (social media, articles, comics, video games, blogs, etc.) affects us; What we breathe in, literally, affects us too.
Review: Mutazione
I have trouble writing about games I actually like. My excuse–yes, it is an excuse–is not wanting to spoil the experience by too much thought. Mutazione is one of those games for me, a game where I’m like, “Yeah, that was good.”
Mutazione‘s Steam page describes developers Die Gute Fabrik’s game as:
A mutant soap opera where small-town gossip meets the supernatural. Explore the Mutazione community as Kai as she cares for her ailing grandfather. Discover magical gardens, new friends & old secrets. They can survive an apocalyptic meteor strike, but can they survive their small-town drama?
Mutazione is a chill adventure whose story ruminates on loss, love, and finding a way forward from past tragedy.
I enjoyed running around the island, listening to the subtle wind chimed soundtrack.
I loved seeing Kai’s relationship with her grandfather blossom over time.
Sure there are some soap opera-like elements that I did not like, or at least, I did not feel rang true for me. But beyond those drama bits, the story’s supernatural and mysterious threads propelled me forward–much like Oxenfree did… but this is totally different than Oxenfree–.
Mutazione captures those slow summer days. Days spent with family, friends, and magical gardens? More so days spent:
- Collecting seeds / gardening
- Enjoying conversations, with friends, that last late into the night
Mutazione is a game about healing; a game about moving on from the past. Moving forward with new hopes, dreams, and most importantly, new friends.
5/5 – I loved my experience with Mutazione via Apple Arcade.
Title: Mutazione
Developer: Die Gute Fabrik
Platform: PlayStation 4, Windows, Linux, macOS
Reviewed On: iPad / Apple Arcade
MSRP: $19.99
Review by Bryan Hall
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
God seems to be reminding me of this verse quite a bit lately.
JohnnyBGamer 