Author: Halsdoll

Spring Reading and Gaming Update

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Little leaves sprouting for spring

The sky is blue, the leaves are sprouting, and the birds are chirping. I can’t believe Spring is here, and my blog turned 8 years old! Thanks, WordPress, for the notification. I forgot my own blog’s birthday.

This year feels like I have been reading more, and I like it that way. It’s more calming with a cup of tea–even the games I am playing are less demanding. I completed The Count of Monte Cristo, which I started reading in late December. I could have finished the book sooner, but I was reading other things in between. During that time, I also started reading Claymore, the manga. As for Monster, I stopped at volume 4. I will resume once I have finished the other books. I didn’t like jumping from one book to the next. I realized this method didn’t work for me. I like to take my time to stop and think what I’ve read.

After reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I am going to read something shorter.

On top of my reading list, I have added Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, and Wuthering Heights. I have yet to read all three books by the Brontë sisters. It’s my way of celebrating International Women’s History Month.

Game Update

I have been eying Undernaunts Labyrinth of the Yomi for a long time… Thanks to my fiancé, I received it as a gift. The problem with Undernaunts physical copy for the PS5 is that I heard there is a bug that prevents players from progressing. I am not sure if it has been fixed as of 2026. Well, I suppose I will have to try! Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it anymore to buy physical copies. I am sure the Switch version is worth it for gamers who like collecting physical copies.

Instead of being an astronaut, you play as an undernaut. The title is clever.

In addition to my gaming collection, I am currently playing PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse. So far, I am not liking it as much. The reviews on Steam’s page are over hyped. I wonder if Square Enix staff wrote some of those positive reviews to boost sales. It is a bit disappointing for the price, but I will shut my mouth and try to complete the game. I believe I am near the end.

Stop lying. It’s about the money…

It’s all right. I am not all that angry. We all know these days, everyone is feeling the blow of inflation except for the delusional 1%. But my wallet hurts when I play a subpar adventure game. For $24.99, you could buy several adventurous horror games out there for the price of one during Steam’s sale. I remember for $1.99, I had a blast with The Cat Lady. This visual novel feels like reading an encyclopedia on the historical context surrounding Japanese mermaids. And the over the top theatrical character’s animation is not cutting it. It’s annoying.

Oh, I sure appreciate the subtle insult. Once again another game poking fun at its audience.

That’s a wrap up for my Spring reading and gaming update as of March. Until next time, be well.

Resident Evil 0 Remastered Is Classically Beautiful and Fun

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This is the fourth time I’ve played the game back to back. By now, I recall all the puzzles and the locations of the enemies. I love it so much that I am going to shoot for 100 percent! It might take me the entire year or more, since I don’t want to get burnt out because that will ruin the joy. However, I played the game enough to finally write a proper review. The gameplay is as addictive as Dark Souls to me! The lack of item boxes and the Resident Evil “report card” at the end make me want to become better at the game. It can be quite the sport.

Grading Rank Screen
Rank A on Normal Mode

A lot of people complained about the lack of item boxes. Having to haul your items because each character only has 6 slots to carry. Some items, such as the shotgun and the crossbow, take up two slots! Although I think part of my frustration comes from not knowing whether I should keep the items with me when I move on to the next area. That was me being greedy. On a side note, I do want to point out that the level difficulty determines item’s availability. On hard mode, there wouldn’t be a need to haul items since it’s scarce. However, this is bad if you run out of ammo towards the final boss!

Rebecca standing over all the items
I do feel the pain having to haul these items but it didn’t bother me too much.

Once I memorized the game layout and its sequence, I became more efficient. For instance, right before moving on from the training facility to the lab, I made sure that Rebecca was equipped with the crossbow because I didn’t want to backtrack and face the aggressive monkeys. They do re-spawn once an event has passed. I tried to avoid at all costs to conserve ammo and herbs. More importantly, save time. The longer you take to complete the game, the more it will hurt your rank.

Crossbow taking up two slots
I forget to mention that there is a limit to how many items you can leave.

In normal mode, it takes two shotgun shells to take down each hunter; one acid grenade for each spider; and one standard handgun bullet on each zombie if you aim for the head. Also, it’s not always necessary to shoot enemies if you don’t need to–like the leech man. Just run around it quickly.

The limited herbs also made it difficult to navigate, since Rebecca takes more hits than Billy. So here is where I had to strategize. Let Billy clear the path since he is more of a tank character. Rest assured, Rebecca is not a useless weak character. There will be time for her to shine. Not only is she skilled at mixing herbs, but she didn’t abandon Billy when she had the chance to, despite knowing he is a convict.

Rebecca caring for Billy
Billy rescued Rebecca many times, in the end, it was her turn to save him.
Billy lifting Rebecca for item
Great teamwork.

Lastly, I want to talk about the puzzles. I didn’t have to look up online once on how to solve them. It made the gameplay experience seamless. For me, the most frustrating thing to me in a game are cryptic puzzles like the ones in Goetia and Song of Horror.

Visual and Sound

The cherry on top of this game is the atmosphere and the sound. I feel so relaxed playing the game. As I mentioned in one of my posts, the sound of switching items between two characters is like ASMR to me. The train area is my favorite, and I wish it is longer because I enjoy the sound of the pouring rain, and the scenes are just stunningly beautiful, but you can say the same goes for the rest of the game. The training facility has an ominous, evil presence, but the lighting makes it so calming.

Rebecca and Billy looking up
Marveling at the equipment in the Training Facility.
Billy wearing prisoner outfit
The yellow and blue is so nice. What an artistic lab.
Billy walking towards train
Taking the train from lab to Treatment Plant.
Rebecca looking at the elevator
Factory elevator after defeating Tyrant. Red light =dangerous.
Rebecca walking up the steps
I like the green light reflection on the wall in the Treatment Plant.

All of the area was beautiful to me. I took over 300 screenshots!

Final Thoughts

Whenever I play a good game, I feel happy. It gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day or in the early morning. I love video games that make me feel alive, especially one that is strategic but not overly complex. Resident Evil 0 is my favorite game from the franchise. I guess to some people I have bad taste, but more so, I think I prefer something that has some technical limitations but is methodical. I wouldn’t like Resident Evil 0 as much if it did have an item box. It’ll remove the challenge and make it like any other survival horror game. Resident Evil 0 is unique. To me, it’s a good thing.

Critiquing AI Summary of My Blog

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It is lovely how AI can quickly summarize content, but I wonder how accurate and trustworthy the source is. I wanted to do an experiment, so I asked AI Gemini to summarize my blog. I asked it multiple times to see if the answers would change, and it did. It made me wonder, how much can we trust what is posted online? So, for today’s post, I am going to critique 3 summaries about my blog written by AI Gemini:

First entry:

  • Fishingformetaphors.com is a personal blog and archive created by an author known as Halsdoll. The site serves as a platform for reflective writing on various forms of media and art, characterized by a “poetic” and philosophical tone.

I am not sure why it puts quotation marks around the word ‘poetic’ when, in fact, I do enjoy writing poetically. Also, I didn’t realize my writing was philosophical. I take that as a compliment! It is a general summary, but it is missing some major components.

Second entry:

  • Fishingformetaphors.com is a personal blog providing in-depth, subjective reviews and reflections on video games, books, and films, with a focus on atmosphere and narrative. The site covers various media, including RPGs, horror, and classic literature, organized by thematic tags. Explore the full collection of reviews and reflections at Fishing for Metaphors.

I actually like this summary more than the first one. Straight to the point and informative. It feels more inviting than the latter. If I were a stranger who happened to come across this blog, I would be curious enough to subscribe. I like conversational blogs with interesting viewpoints, but I also I don’t judge people on perfect grammar. As long as it makes sense to me, I don’t mind typos and omitting words. Sometimes I think so fast that, even I omit words!

Third entry:

  • Fishingformetaphors.com is a personal blog and review site that focuses on video games, films, and literature from a contemplative, often female-centric perspective. The site features in-depth critiques of psychological horror games, martial arts films, and classic literature, emphasizing atmosphere and thematic depth over technical gameplay.

I think this summary might be on point. It is definitely female-centric in terms of perspective. However, that doesn’t mean I represent all the female kinds out there. Even though I am assertive like Ivy Valentine from Soul Calibur with her whip, I am not at all domineering or do I feel the need to be in the center of the attention to make a point. Oh, now I want to play a fighting game!

Ivy Valentine from Soul Calibur VI
Ivy Valentine from Soul Calibur II

Lesson Learned

One of my favorite quotes comes from a children’s book called Charlotte’s Web: “They’ll believe anything they see in print.” And the internet is no different. It is even more dangerous when the consensus is built on a popular idea. So, how do we know if something is acceptable or valid? The question should be, does it align with your conscience, your values? You have the right to think for yourself. After all everyone is unique in their own way. So, do I agree with the AI summary of my blog? Not necessarily, although it did provide an objective overview of my blog, but I would definitely never let AI do all the work for me. Let alone, think for me. In fact, I had to edit its summary:

Fishingformetaphors.com is a personal blog and archive created by the author Halsdoll. She writes in-depth, subjective reviews and reflections on various media, particularly video games. Her game reviews often emphasize atmosphere and thematic depth over technical gameplay with a poetic, philosophical undertone. She is a martial arts fan who loves reading and watching anything that is poetic. She is also a self-proclaimed wise stray cat on the internet, hoping to find her way back home through her writings and gaming adventures.

Final Thoughts

Well, that was a fun little experiment. Life is too short not to find some moments to laugh and find some ways to express yourself, especially if you are on the reserved side. I think a machine will never understand that. Now, I understand what Crow, a robot character from Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon meant when he said, he’ll never know what it is like to be truly human. And so, I am not sure if AI can fully grasp my intentions for this blog (at least for the time being). However, I do like how it summarized my blog’s content: I write in-depth, subjective reviews and reflections on various media.

I must confess, I do miss real life human interaction before the internet days. The world is becoming increasingly lonely by the minute. Soon everyone will be writing SOS letter on the internet when they realize something essential is missing in their life, a human heart.

Speedrun Is a Great Skill to Have

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Rebecca in nurse outfit
First day on the job at the Morgue. Great outfit, Rebecca, you are dressing up for success.

Generally, I am not afraid to admit I am a slow gamer because I like to survey my surroundings, look at the map, and explore everything I can with a game: take pictures, kill monsters, test out different builds, change outfits, etc. While that is a great way to enjoy a game, there’s another way to enjoy a game multiple times. And that is SPEEDRUN! It can be so thrilling when you are under pressure. Some people come alive when their job is on the line. If you are able to achieve perfection and speed, it translates into efficiency. Congratulations, you possess a desired skill set that many people lack. Being fast and detail-oriented is a great skill set to have in any job!

Who wouldn’t want to become Soul of Cinder from Dark Souls III? He is the CEO of Dark Souls. He knows how to do everything! I don’t want his job, though. I just like killing tyrants because they make everyone’s life a living hell. Know Thy Enemy!

In the alternate world, I am boss killer! Queen of Hollow!
Who is laughing now? You are dead!

Enough reminiscence about Dark Souls III. I have been playing Resident Evil 0 Remastered, and it made me think. If I were a hiring manager, I would make people play this game to see how well a job candidate can work as a team as well as independently. No job is easy, especially when you have to think on your feet. Navigate through multiple systems. You have to learn and unlearn with the flow of the business if you want to survive. Most importantly, you have to learn how to cooperate with your peers. That’s the reality of most jobs if you want to succeed and stay sane in this mad world.

Billy in cody outfit in the train
With that outfit, are you telling me you’re going to fall asleep on the job?
Billy in the Train
You got this, Billy! Better in a suit!

Joke aside. Oh, I really hope you can tell I am half serious with this post! I am on my second playthrough. I want to test my ability to see how fast, or if I have what it takes to be fast, in Resident Evil 0. Speedrun is hard. It humbles me to say–it’s not easy to be efficient with speed, especially when you have to learn something new and make a decision quickly. It can be very stressful, but oddly rewarding. Likewise, real-life work situations can sometimes be like a bad game design. Sometimes, work instructions aren’t always clear when there is a big change within the company. Was there a lost in communication? Most leaders probably don’t know how to communicate to their employees why those changes our important. So that is why it’s important to know the rules (think critically) so you can come up with an efficient workflow to save your own sanity as well as your team members.

I am feeling the adrenaline rush. There’s a crazy monkey on Rebecca’s back! Got to help her!

So, if someone says they like videogames and doing speedrun on their resume, I think you should hire them, haha. Gamers aren’t unambitious; they just need clear direction and a lot of acknowledgement! Maybe the real problem is, we just need better leaders who aren’t going to send us early to our graves.

Image Credits: All screenshots taken from my play-through.

Refining My Hobbies Makes Me Happy

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Time is precious. And time is wasted when you are doing something you don’t enjoy. What better way to spend time with something that gives you a little cheer and excitement? My two main hobbies are books and video games, but sometimes I feel like I’m overgeneralizing these two interests. There is a specific genre of book I like to read, and a specific videogame genre I like to play — one that is perfectly catered towards my personality. I feel like I have found a good balance.

With that being said, I am very happy with the books I am currently reading, and I am so excited to add more to the list! Meanwhile, I have also made a list of video games that I am interested in playing! At first, I started playing Demon’s Souls (Ps3), but I realized I couldn’t capture pictures because I didn’t have a capture card. So I put the game aside for now. While playing Demon’s Souls, I recalled reading an interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki, who said Demon’s Souls was inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, which prompted me to wonder what has genDESIGN been up to? Lo and behold!

GenDesign’s Untitled game

Being a fan of Shadow Colossus, ICO, and The Last Guardian, I know I am going to play a good game. The trailer looks amazing!

Another game that I am interested in is Duskbloods, which happens to be an exclusive Switch 2 game. Now, I get the feeling I will be getting myself a Switch 2. I don’t know, though. Over the years, I had grown somewhat tired of FromSoftware games and its vocal fan base. Playing challenging games for the sake of challenge is not my cup of tea. Hopefully, FromSoftware doesn’t forget players like me who play for the environment. If I do become a Switch 2 owner, that would give me an excuse to play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, as well as other awesome titles.

There are plenty of other games I find interesting, but I highly doubt I will get to play them. For example, I am interested in adding PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse.

I played the first installment and appreciate the overall game’s craftsmanship. The art is pretty. The story is also interestingly funny even though it’s a horror visual novel. You could read my honest review here, if you haven’t already: PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo Review–I Found A Good Soap. I was laughing the entire time when I was writing the review. I wonder if readers can tell?

Another game I am interested in adding to my collection is Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. There’s a demo for Kunitsu-Gami, if you are curious. It’s a beautiful and strategic game. I don’t think there is a physical copy, but if you are interested in playing something new by Capcom, it’s worth checking out. I probably will get my copy on PSN because it’s still on sale until March 12, 2026. Although I am sure the Steam version will go on sale again eventually.

Help carve a path for the Goddess (screenshot from the demo on Steam)

I suppose I should have titled this blog post Games I Want to Play in 2026 because I already made one for books for this year. However, the entire point was that I found a way to refine my hobbies. Am I going to force myself to complete games and books as if I am on a tight deadline? No. I do what I can without pressure; become more selective of how I spend my time; and play a game based on my mood. This approach makes me happier. As the saying goes, “The tree that bends doesn’t break.”

Now I go to go deal with the Tyrant in Resident Evil Remasted 0…He looks like he spends way too much time in the sewer. Whew, he stinks! Someone could use a good soap.

Rebecca facing the Tyrant

Date Night with Resident Evil 0 Remastered

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I had no intention of adding games to my digital game collection, but sometimes, on a whim, I would make a purchase. I purchased two games: Resident Evil 0 Remastered and Ni no Kuni II Revenant Kingdom. There was nothing in my Steam library that I was in the mood for. Sometimes changing games it’s like changing a wardrobe. And so, I picked Resident Evil 0 to play at night. A game with good sound effects is like a massage for the brain.

Rebecca in Capcom cheerleader outfit and Billy in a suit

I have played Resident Evil 0 on the GameCube back in the day, and I loved it, so this is not my first time playing the game. However, there is something about playing it when you are older. You see things differently. You start to pay attention to game design and learn why you liked it back then. For me in particular, I like a good, balanced game. And there is nothing more balanced between two characters, Billy Coen and Rebecca Chamber. They make a really good team.

Bad boy and a girl good always make a classic tale because it’s not always about romance, but about learning to get along.

“The name is Rebecca Chamber, but that’s Officer Chamber to you.” – Rebecca Chamber.

I really like that line. Actually, of all the female Resident Evil characters, I have always liked Rebecca the most. She is just relatable because she is brainy. So, I was always happy that Capcom made her the star in this survival horror game.

Sometimes I like to read reviews on the Steam page to see what others are saying about a video game, and it made me chuckle. The landscape of modern games has changed over the course of time due to vocal gamers. But that’s partially my fault. As a kid from the 90s, I was never the vocal type who gladly fill out the marketing questionnaire letter located in the sleeve of a video game case. I just thought games were a boy’s club only, especially when developer keep assuming the player is a little boy with a controller. The only reason why I know so many great titles is because of my brother, who happened to be my best friend growing up. Let’s just say my mother was on the stricter side when it comes to having friends outside of school hours.

So let’s talk about the gameplay, why it works for me and not for some “macho gamers”. For those who don’t know, art direction and the overall aesthetic of a game matter to me. The cinematic cutscenes just pull me in. I like a good suspense. I feel alerted. Something is not right about this train. Let’s go, Rebecca. Let’s go shoot some zombies in the head! Although I must confess, my aim is pretty bad. There is no assist aiming mode like in the new remakes! It has been a long time since I played this type of shooting game. I do miss it, surely. Games were harder back then.

I like the lighting and the color contrast.

Not only is the sound effect superb, but the clicking sound from switching in the game menu from partner to partner is also so relaxing. I like how it makes me feel like it is a co-op game, but it’s not a real co-op since you are the only player who is controlling these two characters. It’s a unique gameplay that relies on the player to switch from character to character to solve a puzzle. The gameplay is kind of romantic since both cannot survive without each other.

If you start on easy mode, there will be more items for you to carry. I didn’t like it, so I switched to normal mode and replayed the game. You only need enough to survive, and a little caution is good. It intensifies the experience and makes us a wiser player. What I appreciate is that you can use the herb without putting it into your inventory. It saves slots for other items. If you picked up too many items, you will run out of slots, and so you have to drop them. The problem is that when you drop them, they can easily get misplaced, especially if you saved the game and come back the next day!

There is a lot of backtracking, which relies on your memorization skills. I was shocked to hear that some people didn’t like that… Too slow, too boring? What do they expect, The House of the Dead? Actually, I like The House of the Dead, it’s one of the first-person view games that doesn’t make me sick! Well, maybe it’s because I don’t play arcade games for hours as I do at home, as if it’s a part-time job. Anyway, RE0 is A+ to me without making me cringe. So often, cute characters in video games are portrayed as some weird eye candy. Luckily, Rebecca has a brain and can hold a gun. She doesn’t look too bad either in the DLC cheerleader outfit. In fact, she is cheering for Capcom.

Well, I wish I had more to say, but that’s my thoughts for now. The rain is just so beautiful, don’t you think?

The One-Armed Swordsman Review

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I watched this film several times–not just for the poetic artistry, but for the cinematography. Older films are quite relaxing to watch; what I noticed is the hero’s shocking resemblance to Christ. He is the Servant Leader who chooses to lead a quiet life. So, let me explain why I believe so.


The story is about an orphan, the son of a servant belonging to a prestigious martial arts school, famous for its swordsmanship. In the opening of the film, the assassin attempts to assassinate the headmaster, teacher Qi, but fails. Instead, the protagonist’s father dies in his place. At the mercy of the protagonist’s father, the headmaster promises to train the orphan like one of his nephews as his disciple. The headmaster treats the orphan well. However, the orphan never sees himself as above a servant. He continues to accept his social status as a servant. This hard-headed, arrogant personality irritates the headmaster’s daughter who has taken a liking to him. Yet, he refuses to acknowledge her by name. He is aware of his social status.


Rejecting the headmaster’s daughter, who resembles a spoiled brat princess, causes lethal consequences. They say a woman’s wrath is quick-tempered, unforeseen, and unpredictable like the changing weather–one moment it’s sunny, and then in a flick of an eye, it’s pouring rain. She chops off the orphan hero’s right arm after losing a duel with the hero, who only uses his two bare hands. The hero, although shocked, will not lay a hand on the headmaster’s daughter out of respect for his benefactor. He flees and falls into the river. Luckily, he falls into the boat of a maiden.

The maiden happens to be an orphan as well. So she quickly feels a connection with the orphan hero. As time progresses, the hero is nursed back to health. One day, while they were outside fishing, two martial artist bullies noticed the couple. They start harassing the maiden, humiliating the hero in front of his face. The hero is frustrated because he cannot defend her.


And so…the maiden offers him a powerful martial arts book. This book contains only the left-handed portion. We learn from the maiden that the martial arts book was thrown into the fire because the maiden’s mother blamed the book for taking her husband’s life. Magically, it seems that this book is meant for the hero. He becomes stronger with the new martial arts technique than when he still had his right arm.


This new technique helps the hero defend himself. It also helps him face Smiling Tiger, who has captured the headmaster’s daughter. To make the story short, the headmaster’s daughter is saved, and the bad guys are eliminated. The hero is then given praise for being a true martial artist worthy to become the headmaster’s successor. But the hero turns down this recognition and leadership. His father died because of martial arts. The maiden’s father died because of martial arts. The hero chooses to abandon the martial arts world. He decides to become a farmer. He lives a peaceful life with the country girl who saved him.


From time to time, I enjoy a feel-good story, especially a humble one. The hero is a farmer, maimed, and a simple man. What I find so admirable about the protagonist is how he sticks to his true self. He has always identified himself as a servant. Even as the leader, he continues to fight like a servant. He uses his strength to protect and not to harm others. As the saying goes, lead by example. From watching the film, I realized something. Sometimes the manliest of men is the one who lives a quiet, simple life, or at least he attempts to.

Originally published Sept. 05, 2019; Revised Feb, 13 2025.

Demon’s Souls (Ps3): My Favorite Winter Game

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I am playing Demon’s Souls Remake (Ps5) and Demon’s Souls (Ps3) side by side for fun. Okay, I lied. I only beat the first boss, Phalanx in the first level of the remake. The majority of my time is spent on the Ps3 version. I am not abandoning the remake completely, though. I just don’t know if I will ever finish it.  So far, the atmosphere feels different. I prefer the cinematic opening to the original Demon’s Souls to the remake. The remake makes me feel as if I am about to play a brutal arcade game.  Demon’s Souls was never designed to be difficult just for the sake of being difficult. If you destroy the art, you destroy its meanings. The lines below become meaningless:

On the first day, man was granted a soul and with it, clarity

On the second day, upon earth was planted and irrevocable poison

A soul devouring demon

Of course, I am not here to talk badly about a remake that I have not completed. It’s still a decent game if you don’t mind the new cosmetics look, that is. Clearly, the immersive atmosphere of the game is destroyed. On the positive side, I must say, the gameplay feels fluid to me, and the new soundtrack is not bad. My favorite soundtrack from the new OST is the hero creation menu. However, I still prefer the original soundtrack. I think back in the day, I listened to One Who Craves Souls the most. Does that make me a demon?

This is why I spent more time with the Ps3 version. Revisiting this game made me realize why I liked it so much back then. I still like it. It’s like a pragmatic bible on how to live. If you are not careful, you could lose your soul. You might turn into a servant of the demon, trapped in the nexus for all eternity. Of course, Dark Souls is more of a polished Souls game than Demon’s Souls in terms of world building. And yet, the game is still very endearing to me. The atmosphere of Demon’s Souls has always been quite comforting to me. It feels like I am inside a twisted cathedral. It’s something the remake seems to fail at capturing.

I noticed the Demon’s Souls‘ official guide doesn’t include a map of the levels. It also lacks item locations compared to the other Souls games. I am not complaining, though. I only use a guide as a reference because I like to see a list of armor, weapons, items, and enemies.

The guide gives you enough information on how to play the game and build your character. It also put the walkthrough toward the end of the guide, which makes sense to me. Teach me what I need to know then send me off into the fog. Let me make mistakes and I’ll learn from it. There is also a perfect run walkthrough, but I don’t see the point in it. It’s not fun if you don’t explore things on your own. However, I can see someone doing it for speedrun. There is so much content, but it’s worth every dime.

P.S.

The Demon’s Souls deluxe edition also included the artwork and the original soundtrack for anyone who is curious.

Things that help Me Stay Calm

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anime style Asian girl with glasses reading a book

I like to keep track of the books I want to read on an Excel spreadsheet. This way, I can stay focused. So far, it has been working. I have been reading more. However, I didn’t enjoy checking off a book once I finished reading it. I started to feel like I was on a reading conquest. It was as if I were turning into a dark soul, losing sight of why I was reading. Was I trying to become the Scholar of the First Sin? So, this year I won’t abandon my list, but I will only refer to it when I need a reminder. It helps take off a huge mental load. Also, having books nearby and visible encourage me to pick up a book instead of my phone. Keeping up with current news can be tiring. Everything is just bad news.

I found more solace in books than in following the news, hoping that things would turn out for the better. Mass employment in the headlines? Europe potentially going to war because of Greenland? The price of groceries skyrocketing. Not a good sign. Anyway, I realized if the world is going to burn, I am just going to read books to stay sane. The books/manga I am currently reading are:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Dune by Frank Herbert
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
Grimm’s Fairy Tales Volume III
Monster Volume IV by Naoki Urasawa

Here are some of the books I would love to read this year. Some books I have had for a while.

My Antonia by Willa Cather
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
The Sea Wolf by Jack London
The Call of the Wild by Jackon London
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Coriolanus by Shakespeare

Gaming

As for games, I went back to Demon’s Souls (Ps3). It is probably the only game I will play for the entire year. It’s a peaceful, difficult game. What can I say? I am a slow gamer. Plus, I got to make time for others things too such as gathering healthy recipes. Although sometimes it feels like work.

I finished the demo of Trails in the sky 1st chapter. It was fun!

Final Thoughts

I hope you will find some solitary moments away from this chaotic world. It’s hard to escape to video games these days when real world events feel like a circus show. I guess everyone is a star in this crazy reality T.V show.

Note: Featured image is AI generated. I am impressed that it captured the right mood for this post. The funny thing it looks like she is wearing my old reading glasses. It’s broken now.

The Left Hand of Darkness Review

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One of my favorite quotes from this book comes from the introduction of the 50th anniversary edition. The author, Ursula K. Le Guin, said,” Science Fiction is a metaphor.” Indeed, the world inside this book is entirely a metaphor. The first few chapters are not easy to read. The book starts to make sense when the author delves into detail about the Gethenians’ sexuality in Chapter 7. The Afterword by Charlie Jane Anders is also insightful. It made me view gender in a different light. I see why this book is great for gender studies and discussions.

Synoposis

Genly Ai is sent to a planet called Gethen, also known as Winter. His job is to convince the inhabitants to join an intergalactic civilization. There, he faces resistance, obstacles, and challenges from the inhabitants. They don’t understand why their planet is in danger from outside threats. With the help of Estraven, a powerful and influential lord, Genly Ai finally understands Gethenian’s worldview.

The Concept Is Interesting

I find it ironic that I went into this book because I don’t read enough books by female authors. It’s as if I have already assigned myself some stereotypical views on what I know about gender. Ursula K. Le Guin is far from typical. The way she tells the story in the Left Hand of Darkness is methodical and scientific. The story is so factual that it sounds plausible. I believe the author was building her story around a question: Have we considered what we think to be true is not influenced by the narrative of our physiology?

“Truth is a matter of the imagination. The soundest fact may fail or prevail in the style of its telling…” –Chapter 1

In this book, the author presents a concept where people experience a unique biological cycle called kemmer on an imaginary planet called Gethen. The inhabitants can shift from male to female, which make them ambisexual. It takes an insider (Estraven) to betray one’s kind to convince an entire planet to accept Genly Ai’s proposal. I can’t say, though, I enjoyed her writing style. It’s creative but not artistic.

Final Thoughts

The Left Hand of Darkness is a dense read despite only being 367 pages. I did, however, enjoy the last half of the book where the story starts to come alive. A reread of the book might make me appreciate it more. I am pretty sure I miss the little detail that helps enliven the world. Truly recommend this book for those who want a challenging read.