Katharine Castle
@karthupial
UX writer. Former games journalist. Views are my own. DFTBA.
Aww yeah, The Incident at Galley House is full of the good stuff - and its code-breaking mystery machine is scratching my brain in exactly the same way Inkle's TR-49 did six-odd months ago. Delicious.
Encountered an honest to goodness Zelda signpost puzzle *and* a Korok circle, I kid you not (yes, that is a feather in the middle of that stump - very suspicious)
Did the National Trust's 6-mile Bath Skyline walk today and hot damn, I love this city so dang much.
SFB Games have done it again with The Mermaid Mask. A brilliant follow up to Tangle Tower, with an even more ingenious mystery at its core. It's the kind of game where you actively want to talk to everyone about every item just to savour all the great writing, animation & voice performances. Superb!
Wow, didn't expect the big twist of A Plague Tale: Requiem to be that it's all just one giant setup for Pentiment... Who knew!?
I know I should tell Google I don't want to see these garbage headlines anymore, but I just can't quit this weird little science experiment I've made for myself.
NOOOOO, THE WORST HEADLINE FORMAT'S BACK. (although let's face it, *most* BBC period dramas would make you forget The Other Bennet Sister...)
Every open world game needs a "pointless" horse behaviour section in their design document.
In all seriousness, would really recommend it as an alternate 'look at London from high up' experience. Great views of all the major landmarks, and on a sunny day like today you can see from Crystal Palace all the way to Wembley.
The organisers of the Bookstagram challenge (#readtheworld21) put so much effort into keeping it going for two years straight. I didn't join in *every* month, but when I did, I found my reading was freshly invigorated, I had more incentive to tackle my backlog, and I made loads of new discoveries.
Nectar Wrapped is getting serious with its regional stats. Makes my previous accolade of being the #1 buyer of 'big pack' Rice Krispies cereal in Bath's big Sainsbury's look like child's play...
From one human being slowly cooked by cats and blankets to another, Happy New Year, folks!
Instead of games, I spent a lot more of my time reading this year, and it shows. Last year, I read around 30 books. This year, I doubled it, and it's been so good to just unplug for a bit.
Strong sunrise giving me strength in the face of a 5 carriage (down from 9) train to London this morning 🥲
You like Assassin's Creed, do you? Well, can I interest you in... more Assassins Creed???
Have belatedly started reading Erin Morgenstern's "The Starless Sea" and I'm surprised by how much video game stuff is in it. That said, early evidence suggests it's all *very* early 2010s gaming discourse, though, which... Hmm. Feels strangely quaint somehow.
Second year in a row for @amosroddy.bsky.social. The Citizen Sleeper soundtracks are just such a constant fixture on my weekly train rides to London these days, and at the risk of pulling an Abba, thanks for all the great music!
I've been clearing out some boxes from underneath the bed recently and found all sorts of random/defunct technology I'd semi-forgotten about. Some key highlights: - half a Gtech vacuum that was sent to me by mistake - unopened Magic Leap One glasses - a 3DS NFC reader - this honking great WoW mouse:
A John Lewis velvet Bon-Bon cushion? Or a covert nod that the family you're visiting for Christmas is actually in league with Umbrella Corporation?