>Observer_

The voice acting carries the game.

In this futuristic crime mystery, you are a cop locked in an apartment complex with a killer. Of my "second chance" list, this turned out to be my favorite - thank you to Juris who convinced me to look past the god-awful Layers of Fear (made by the same company) to try it out. While there are still some bullshit rail-roaded scare zones, a lot of this game is hunting down some not too hard to find clues with the occasional sneak or die segments.

Prepare for some tripping. Also, this is the only non-grimey scene in the game.

The use of a "lockdown" works thematically as well as programmatically, as most of the tenants are just talked to via hazy door monitors - yet this works really well thanks to the script and voice acting talent. It really helps that the protagonist is voiced by the amazing Rutger Hauer. The mini-game of "With Fire and Sword: Spiders" is also a great little extra. Definitely a game I recommend, and one I'd actually think would make a decent film (with a few tweaks to put more action). I give it 4.5 nano phages out of 5. Just be warned: It's not kidding when it says it can cause epilepsy.

Insight: If you are lost, consult your journal as it often points you in the right direction. In the sneaky parts, your objective is usually towards where the enemy is patrolling.

Skyrim: Bigger Baddies

Adventures in Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

The bigger they are...

The enemies just got bigger as I went deeper into the altar complex. Giant knights, giant(er?) hounds, even this giant stone atronarch. Their size didn't matter though, as the same shadow technique served me well.

There was even a familiar looking, reptile type critter: a daedroth! Ironically it was probably the weakest thing in this place, requiring only one combo to eliminate. It must help that I can close the distance so fast that it still counts as a sneak attack even if I come from directly front.

P0wned.

These giant goatmen did scare the heck out of me though. They were strong, resilient and most importantly - bloody fast. They could outrun me even with my darkness speed boost.

Might be related to Baphomet?

Every time I encountered them it required a decent amount of potion drinking: health, invisibility, stamina. The slow time shout also helped.

Skyrim: Altar of the Ascended

Adventures in Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

"Ominously dark" is a very apt way to describe the interior of the altar place that Vithdovah was guarding, and it was inhabited by horrible creatures not seen elsewhere. Fortunately they were all not very observant, and the shadows played to my strengths being a sneaky type. Especially with the armor that makes me run faster in the dark!

There were hounds that radiated smoke (or just farted a lot).

And a giant winged hound.

And giant shark men? These void gehenoths were often accompanied by scamps (like in Oblivion) or flaming guar (similar to those in Morrowind). As expected they could take a lot of punishment and throw me around with their melee attack.

They also have a creepy smile.

That's why I'd vanish into the shadows, reposition, and backstab (sometimes with slow time) their vulnerable rears, a flaw all the monsters in this place have. These particular ones are also quite slow and easy to get the drop on, meaning it was pretty basic to slay them all with just a little bit of patience.

Skyrim: The Lakehouse

Adventures in Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

Fortunately there was a deep enough pool to catch me at the base of the drop, and there didn't seem to be a way back up in the dark chamber I found myself in so I headed out the large double doors and found myself in a MASSIVE and almost pitch black cavern. It was a small city! A small, dead city inhabited only by a handful of skeevers feasting on the many charred corpses littering the streets and the spooky palace that had pressure plate activated lights that only illuminated the section you were in.

 

Why are empty halls scarier than ones with monsters...

Honestly this sort of unnerved me a bit. I was expecting Thalmor, or dwarven animuculi, not... nothing. It wasn't hard to find Cassia's brother. He was hanging by the neck from a dead tree in the center of town, a suicide note in his hand. He also looked ... old.

The note was one of regret, saying that "no matter what he tried, he couldn't help them - nor find a way out". He also advised that anyone reading it should also save themselves the trouble and just follow suit and kill themselves for there was no escape. Oh, and he mentioned to NEVER EVER GO NEAR THE LAKEHOUSE.

That's sort of the queue to "go to the lakehouse right?"

Inside the small shack that is "the lakehouse" is another note, this one written by Jarl Metellus. Apparently something went very wrong which caused a cataclysmic event. He tasks whoever is reading it to find out what happened and save them. With the last of his magic power and life force, Jarl Metellus had turned the Lake House into a portal back in time.

Now is a good time for you to watch the second trailer for this fantastic mod!