Developer: Gearbox
Platform: PS4
I felt myself in the minority when I didn't want Borderlands 3 to just be more Borderlands 2. Sadly, the game we got out of Gearbox almost 8 years later is essentially Borderlands 2 with a new coat of paint. The humor I found to be grating in 2 is somehow even worse in 3. I enjoyed my playthrough of it, but I don't know how much I will come back to it. The post game content isn't as plentiful as I would have liked, and I am not generally the type to come back months later when new content is added.
The main praise I can give Borderlands 3 is that the actual act of shooting is vastly improved from its predecessor. Guns feel like they have actual weight now and are actually fun to shoot. The addition of mantling over obstacles and sliding on the ground add some much needed mobility to the action as well.
Borderlands 3 is fun enough, but I still can't believe it didn't change up the formula more. People often say don't fix what isn't broken, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have been improved upon even more. The sluggish menus and small inventory make picking up new guns a chore, which shouldn't be the case in a game about looting guns. I'll check out the game again when the first piece of DLC releases. Hopefully it can do something to hook me back in.
Game: Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Developer: Capcom
Platform: PS4
I have well documented my love for Monster Hunter on this page, so it's pretty clear that I was going to like Iceborne. Despite that I still wasn't ready to like this expansion as much as I do. Tons of monsters have been added with a few new ones and a ton of old favorites. My all time favorite sabre tooth tiger boy the Barioth has finally come back to me and I couldn't be happier.
I expected the new story content to be over withing 20-30 hours, but right now I'm 90 hours in and still going. Granted, I haven't been main lining the story and doing all the side missions, but I'm only 40 hours off from how much I played the base game. Nights have been completely melting away and I couldn't be happier about it.
The expansion introduces master rank, which is the equivalent of G rank from previous games. This means that all monsters from the base game have been updated with new moves as well. This gives new flavor to old content, which is awesome. The biggest change to the core gameplay is the clutch claw, which is essentially a grappling hook you can use to get up on monsters constantly. I could go on about how great this expansion is, but I'll cut it off here. Iceborne is great.
Game: Kind Words
Developer: Popcannibal
Platform: PC
The world has seemed a lot more awful in the past few years, so it's nice to see that there is a safe place for people to go and talk about their problems. Kind Words isn't necessarily a game, but it is sold on Steam. Upon launching the game a deer who also happens to be a mailman lets you know that they are new to the job and need your help writing letters.
Your entire job in Kind Words is to try and help other people with kind messages. You can start simple by writing a nice quote and sending it out into the world as a paper airplane for others to see. The meat of the experience comes from answering other people's requests. In case it isn't clear these are requests written by real people. Everyone has tough times, so people write up letters asking others for help and advice. You can look through recent requests and answer them. I try to stick with advice I know I am qualified to give, but I'm sure all responses are welcome.
I put up a few requests and have gotten an overwhelming amount of responses. I actually feel a lot better about the problems I was having. which is pretty cool. My problems aren't too serious, but many I have seen are. The game knows to take mental health issues seriously and often surfaces phone numbers people can call if they need immediate help. While it may not exactly be a game, I have found myself going back to a lot just to restore my faith in humanity.
