Mike Smith♠️
@thelordreylus
I enjoy gaming, 🧶 crochet and history. #1FinishAWeek Participant & #AssassinsCreed, #Xbox, #SwitchCorp, #BookSky💙📚 Community Member. My Collections and Projects
Game 45 was #KabutoPark by @seavenstudio.bsky.social on @xbox.com via #XBOXGamePass This was a fun bug collection/battle game. It's easy to learn and made for a nice afternoon cozy gaming session. I would love to see more games like this.
Game 44 was #FinalFantasyVI #PixelRemaster from @square-enix-games.com @xbox.com #XBOXGamePass A lot of fun, awesome mechanics for the unique characters and a good story. This is also the last of the Pixel Remasters and it was very enjoyable playing them all.
My most recent games, most of what I am playing currently are daily mobile titles.
Game 43.063 was @assassinscreed.ubisoft.com #AssassinsCreedBlackFlagResynced Such a good update for my favorite game of all time. The new story bits are wonderful and I enjoyed every second (minus some camera bugs). I still have some post game things to do, but it was really good to return again.
My 14th book for the year is The Conquest Bread by Peter Kropotkin. I got it from #PhatTracksBooksandRecords as they are held a discussion recently. I haven't read anarchist texts but its very insightful and an interesting read. I hope to look more into texts like this in the future. #BookSky📚💙
Game 42 was #1000XResist on @xbox.com @gamepass.xbox.com A great dystopian adventure game with a mechanic around discovering the mysteries by reliving the memories of The Allmother. The writing is phenomenal and an emotional journey around what makes a family and how far one will go for them.
#21 🧶I decided to abandon a cardigan I was attempting to make but my wife needed a cover for her side of the couch, so that's what it has become. I'm still happy with the experience gained making it, but I'm going to do something else with all the skeins I have left.
Explosive growth this month. I am very happy to see Jörmungandr doing so well as I am coming up to the second year of having this little one. #Houseplant🪴
#20 🧶 is the third cactus from the previous set but I had so many problems with the poorly written pattern that I actually ended up making the 4th cactus by accident. I will try to do the last cactus just to finish the set and hope it works the way it is supposed to.
Book 13 of 2026 #BookSky💙📚 was Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. It was my final pirate related book in my library to prep for #AssassinsCreed Black Flag Resynched and my first time reading this great adventure.
Game 41.62 was Librarian: Clean Up the Arcane Library! I finished the game in just under 34 hours with no major magic used. After I got the achievement I unlocked a few more but will have to return for the speed run and special level due to a game crashing bug at the moment. Lots of fun!
Game 40.61 was #BoxesLostFragments by #BigLoopStudios via the #EpicGameStore This was a fun and really gorgeous puzzle box game with great designs and controls on mobile. It took less than 5 hours to finish and only one puzzle gave me an issue where I needed a hint, but I'd love to play more.
Game 39.60 is Radical Dreamers from the @square-enix-games.com #ChronoCross Radical Dreamers Edition This was a fun experience for an older text based adventure/visual novel. It added such good understanding for the characters from Chrono Cross & had lots of creative endings & routes for the story.
Game 39.059 was #ChronoCross The Radical Dreamers Edition from @square-enix-games.com It's a really in depth & at times confusing JRPG that really opens up in the second half of the story bringing the large cast of characters together towards the ultimate goal of saving the world & time itself.
My 12th book for the year was The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks. A history of Captain William Kidd who was a privateer and pirate hunter who went through a rough career ending with the label of pirate. A great and very enjoyable read. #BookSky💙📚 #BookHistory
Game 38.058 was #Teacuo from @whitethorngames.bsky.social via #EpicGames Teacup is a cute little side scroller/puzzle game where you gather items for a tea party by helping your neighbors. The game was very buggy and you can read more in my review on @backloggd.com. backloggd.com/u/TheLordRey...
Game 37 was #inKONBINI on @xbox.com #XboxGamePass A nice slice of life story with a bit of simulation mixed in where you get to work in a convenience story ran by your aunt. You stock and straighten shelves, order products and help customers while learning about their stories.
Game 36.057 is @square-enix-games.com #FinalFantasyXVI Complete Edition on @xbox.com. What a fantastic game! The story was full of excitement and emotion. Gameplay was fun & the mechanics of the various Eikons were a blast to experiment with. Both DLCs were also amazing in this wonderful game!
Jörmungandr is doing really well after another month. The change in the image from last month isn't super noticeable but when looking at it in person, you can see how the leaves are spreading out and making room for the little ones in the center. #Houseplant🪴
Book 11 for 2026 is The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodward. #BookSky💙📚 #BookHistory This was my favorite non-fiction pirate book in my library (so far) and was a fun read. It covers a lot of individual pirates and their lifetimes and the government figures that hunted them as well.
#FinalFantasyV from @square-enix-games.com on @xbox.com #XboxGamePass was game 35 this year. This took a month to finish and the ending was a bit of a grind with a good difficulty curve but the job system and fun story made this a great experience.
Another read to prepare for #AssassinsCreedBlackFlagResynched and my 10th book for the year #BookSky 💙📚 #BookHistory is The Life and Trials of the Gentlemen Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet by #JeremyRMoss. Great read, loved the trial transcript at the end and the list of ships pirates by Major Bonnet.
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe was the 9th book I've read this year. I loved this adventure and I could see how Robinson's isolated life is considered an influence for modern stories and games. This 1979 edition edition had some nice drawings as well. #BookSky💙📚 #BookHistory
I finished the next pirate book on my #TBRList to prep for #AssassinsCreedBlackFlagResynched Under the Black Flag by #DavidCordingly was a great book that compares the Hollywood depictions of pirates (before the late 1990s) and the reality of the Golden Age of Piracy #BookSky💙📚 #BookHistory
I decided to shelve a few titles that I haven't finished. Games 32-34 include Supermarket Simulator (owned game 55), TCG Card Shop Simulator (GamePass), and Zoeti (owned game 56). The first two I use for my daily Xbox Rewards but am playing other things instead, and Zoeti I just lost interest in.
Game 31 is #NineSols on @xbox.com #XboxGamePass A great game with an amazing story based around Taoism with expansive world building and a great cast of characters. A solid Metroidvania game, but it is very very difficult to the point of FromSoft levels. Hard as hell but I'm happy I played it.
Not much growth that is visible from the outside this month, but lots of new leaves from the center of Jörmungandr's base. Still doing good for my first #houseplant🪴
Next up is The Voynich Manuscript with a forward by Dr. Stephen Skinner and intro by Dr. Rafael T Prinke & Dr. Rene Zandbergen. After which you can explore the full color scans of the manuscript with certain pages being ones you collected in #AssassinsCreed Black Flag. #BookSky💙📚 #BookHistory