This Elusive Target might be Deja Vu for some of you. Unlike the previous Hitman 2 ETs, this is a “Legacy Target”. In other words, the brought this one back from the 2016 game to give players another opportunity to take them out.

So let us work together to take out “The Protagonist”. And afterwards, let’s look at some player made Contracts.

First off, while I would prefer for these old targets to just be available permanently so that players don’t have to adjust their schedule to fit in their weekly Hitman 2 redownload, it’s good to have them made available again so that those who missed them before get another chance.

This is actually a target I missed when it first came out, but watched someone else complete on YouTube after the fact. I could skip that exploratory “scouting” phase of the target can get right down to perfecting it. And since this is one of the earliest Elusive Targets, getting a Silent Assassin was simple.

I talked about contracts before in my episode on it from the old Hitman Let’s Play. While I don’t have much to add to that video/blog post, Contracts add another valve of replayability that help improve overall map mastery (in terms of player skills and miscellaneous challenges) that I can’t help but appreciate.

Here it is, guys. Multiple people have told me that this is the worst section of the game, and together David, Clayton and I will begin to explore the Sewer section with Ada Wong.

Of course, we have to bust out of the police station first before we can even think about that, but that shouldn’t be too hard.

Something I have noticed, especially in this Route B run, is that despite Mr. X’s status as the strongest and most relentless enemy in the game, he isn’t all that much of a genuine threat. Or at least, he doesn’t feel like one.

To be honest, the generic zombies pose a significantly greater threat than X. I am damaged much more often by them then by the big man himself. Despite my abnormally reasonable luck with them so far in Route B, lickers remain the most significant threat to me.

The other aspect of Route B that I have to call attention to is just how stingy the game is with ammo. I feel like I’m always at the razor’s edge, having just enough bullets to keep going. This was true in Claire’s Route A run too, but for a different reason. Claire had limited ammo on her person, but a mountain of it in storage. With Leon, I don’t have that surplus waiting for me in my Item Box. It’s an uncomfortable, not impossible situation, which I believe is the intention.

As for the Ada Wong section… it’s fine. I think Clayton and David overhyped it. I had much more trouble with the Sherry segment than I did with the Ada one. Sure, her resources are limited, but so is the time you send playing as her.

What I find more interesting is learning that Leon and Ada Wong have been linked ever since their first appearances. Before a friend of mine asked me to run Resident Evil 5 and 6 with them, my only exposure to the franchise was second-hand. I knew that those two characters had a history, but since I had no knowledge of RE2, I thought Ada’s first appearance was as a sort-of double-agent character in RE4.

This is quite a learning experience for me, and I’m having a great time with it.

We’ve seen Claire Redfield’s adventures. We witnessed as she braved the zombie hoards, along with so many other untold horrors, to protect and save a young Sherry Berkin from the virus her father unleashed…

…but there are two heroes to this story. What happened to a young Leon S. Kennedy on his first day on the Raccoon City police force while Claire was braving the zombie hoards?

This is Another Side, Another Story. Join us as The Spooky Bois play Leon – Route B.

Despite a rough start, my performance in this section of the game isn’t too bad. We managed successfully sneak around two lickers, juke my favorite buff monster, and complete a boss fight with a ton of healing items left over.

And yet, the only thing on my mind at the end of this section is how few bullets I have left after that boss fight. It’s shocking just how stingy the game is with ammo during the start of Route B. Admittedly, I probably used more bullets than I needed to taking out zombies in the police station, but that was all in service to making my life easier when we eventually return.

Clayton also made a great point that the timeline is… odd. In theory, this is what Leon was supposed to be doing while Claire was in the police station. And yet, he’s going to the same places, solving the same puzzles, and essentially trudging through the same locations. All of this without ever bumping into her along the way except for a few specific points. Further, there’s no evidence of any of Claire’s handiwork: The door under the statue in the police station is locked, even though Claire should have put the medallions into its slots by now. Berkin is also still down there, despite being beaten by Claire already.

Though it is strange to criticize the remake of an old game for the mistakes of its predecessor, I wonder if they could have done more than constrain resources to separate the A Route from the B Route.

Devil May Cry 5 has been out for quite a few weeks now, and by now there’s been enough time for most players to complete the story and start on some of the higher difficulties.

With that in mind, I requested a few of my friends, ZeroAsher (Sam) and AShadowLink (Matt), join me for a discussion about the game in its totality.

That’s right: This is a full spoiler, comprehensive run down on our combined thoughts every single aspect of Devil May Cry 5. From the story to the casts and the gameplay, everything is fair game.

I apologize for the poor audio mixing for the first part of this recording. Once we were made aware, it was addressed.

Once again, thanks to both Sam and Matt for agreeing to come on despite their busy schedules. I enjoy conversations like this because they help me make sense of all the lingering thoughts in my head.

Though we touched on so many subjects during that 2 hour talk, the one that I keep coming back to in my mind is the brief discussion we had about the style meter. The more I think about it, the more I double-down on the notion that it is one of the smartest mechanics Devil May Cry has ever implemented, and the crux behind so much of it’s success.

It allows the designers to make create scenarios that are easy enough such that most players will be able to finish that game on Human (Easy) or Devil Hunter (Normal) without too much challenge. If players keep trying and retrying, even if they need to use Gold Orbs, which the game is very generous with, they will almost definitely be able to make it to the end. However, because that style meter is in place, veteran players are able to challenge themselves to not just win each fight, but to do it as stylishly as possible, aiming for the elusive Smokin’ Sexy Style (SSS) rank. And this is important, because the game really wants its players to succeed. It is routing for each and every one of them, and players feel that in the way it treats them.

Aside from the questionably named D for Dismal ranking (which is not too hard to advance beyond), each letter grade is a celebration of how cool the game thinks the player is. As you score a B rank, the game displays the word “Badass” underneath, as if to say “Look at how Badass you are for getting that high in the Style rankings, Player 1”. As Matt pointed out, enemies telegraph their attacks in such a way that players should have enough time to react. It feels like the game is warning you, not because it feels bad for you, but because it wants to see what cool trick you have up your sleeve to dodge and/or punish this foe for daring to strike at you.

Someone I also made a note of as I was fighting (and losing) to the end bosses on my first run was that even the hint boxes seem written in such a way as to encourage the player to keep trying. When I restart the final boss in mission 20, the game’s hint system says that I already know rushing in blindly won’t get me anywhere. However, it also reminds me that if I focus, and pay attention to my opponent’s attack pattern, I should be able to figure out when he’s open to attack. Rather than insult my failure, it knows that I have the ability to see my adventure through to the end, and implores me to keep trying.

Even as the last boss beats me up, the game encourages me to keep fighting.

This desire to make the player feel awesome and welcome extends to the basic controls. Devil May Cry V has no interest in forcing one to memorize tons of complicated moves and combos. Every melee attack is bound to the same button, but flicking the analog stick in a different direction, or tapping it in a different rhythm is what enables different combo attacks. Gun moves tend to just need to be held down, and there is a dedicated button for each character’s special move (Nero’s Breakers, V’s finishers, and Dante’s styles). The controls are deliberately simple because the trick to building up style is learning how to use a variety of moves while not taking damage and keeping up pressure. Why bog the player down with unnecessary bloat in the control scheme when all the game wants to do is make them feel cool?

The series has a reputation for being a challenge, and it is… but only if that’s what the player wants. That’s the secret. If all one wants to do is get to the end of the game and have a complete story experience, the game is perfectly okay with that. Even if that means dropping the difficulty down to Human, that’s okay. On the other hand, the ones who desire a challenge, to push themselves in harder and harder difficulties and climb the ranks, the game is also okay with that. Whatever style of engagement works for you, Devil May Cry wants to be there to deliver on that. It’s a deceptive accessible game, and that’s part of why I love it so much.

Oh, and the cast are some of the most lovable goofballs you’ll ever meet in a video game, but you already knew that.

Update: Sam wrote his own piece on his new boyfriend, V, which you can read here.

Another Elusive Target has appeared, this time in the small but dense area of Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand.

Question is: Does the streak continue, or is this where I finally fall flat?

Speaking with a friend of mine who completed the target, I was close to figuring out what the intended solution for this assassination is. Had a spent a little more time observing the target, then I would have seen her smoking by the gas lamp. Getting up their the same way, taking a slight detour to pick up the wrench in the closet, I would have had plenty of time to dispose of the guard, dump his body, and sabotage the lamp before the target made there.

That said, I still got her, and there will be other opportunities for that final Silent Assassin I need to get the bonus suit. So all in all, not a huge loss.

What is important here is to learn for my mistakes. Always take the time to observe the target’s routine and look for opportunities instead of forcing one. Realistically, it would have taken much less time if I had been more patient. I would have also performed better.

That said, I understand now, in hindsight, why they chose Hawke’s Bay as the site for this Elusive Target. The challenge comes far less from the target itself, and more from the area’s security. For such a small map, it’s packed dense with guards and enforcers, so players need to be a lot more careful than they would be in any other map of the game.

Even for Elusive Targets, this one was unique. It makes me wonder what else they have in store.

At with this, our time with Claire comes to an end. Despite a number of close calls, we ended with plenty of ammo and healing items to spare.

Next time, we’ll start Leon – Route B.

Difficulties with directions aside, this wasn’t a terrible section of the game. While we had some trouble with the plant men and a few lickers, we had more than enough healing, ammo, and items to make up the difference.

In fact, as my co-hosts were quick to point out, I had enough weapons and ammo to open up a small armory. Though I could only carry so much of it at once, it’s only towards the end that most players realize how generous that game actually is when it comes to resources. It’s designed so that the player feels like they are teetering on the precipice between success and failure, but in actuality there are a ton of safety nets to keep the player from a game state that is truly unwinnable.

Take that final run in the laboratory as an example. When I saw that I was surrounded on all sides by plant men, which David warned me would kill me in a single attack, I thought for sure I was going to die. And yet, I managed to have exactly enough grenades and combat knives on hand to survive every single time I was grabbed on my way out. Assuming I had died, all I would have needed to do was go back into my item box and retrieve the necessary materials.

Even in the room with the lickers, the truth is that I was much safer than the room might lead you to believe. Despite the number of wounds and mistakes I made in that run, I had more than enough healing to make up the difference. I feel this would have been the case even if I didn’t have David guiding me through most of the puzzles. If I was playing on my own, I would simply have a walkthrough on hand to help me. If this was a solo stream, and I didn’t have access to a guide, I would have simply relied more on trial and error and repeat sections until I could conserve as many resources as I deemed necessary.

As for the final bosses, they’re pretty standard. David seemed to panic a bit, presumably because in all other aspects of the game I turn in a mediocre performance. However, I’ve often fought my fair share of PS1-era video game bosses before. It’s odd how different these boss fights feel from the rest of the game. Despite being more powerful than the other threats I face, I feel much more at home fighting Berkin than I do hiding from lickers and plant men. He was nothing more than a resource hog.

Despite how little I’ve been talking about the story, I genuinely like the bond the Claire and Sherry form throughout the campaign. As they spend more time together, Claire overcomes her fear in order to be the maternal figure Sherry desires in her hour of need (since her actual mother leaves much to be desired). And Sherry herself, in turn, demonstrates how far she’s come when she’s willing to face the unknown in order to help Claire in the room just before the train.

I’m eager to start Leon’s side of the story, to see how they handled his character way back in the day. Remember, for me, this is all new. Everything I know about Resident Evil 2 is second-hand.

Another day, another adventure in King’s Canyon.

Many people have already spoken about this at length, but Apex Legends really shows how the game industry has been lagging behind in terms of minority representations. In theory, it shouldn’t be a big deal that there are two women of color, one openly gay character, and one non-binary character as part of the playable cast.

And yet, for the people who are part of these minority populations, this is a big deal because it is so rare for them to be able to play someone who looks like them, or relates to them in some way. I know someone who was moved to tears by the idea that two black women were just in the cast without any special attention brought to them. This is why I like to call out Gibraltar as “my beautiful gay boi” and Bloodhound as “my beautiful enby”. It excites me to know that these populations are being represented.

Rather than wait for some period of time to bring up these details, Respawn instead chose to be unfront about them from the very start. There was a recent Polygon article that talked about the amount of homophobia in the Overwatch community. With the recent reveal that Soldier 76 was a gay man, he’s become a target for the group’s vitriol. Since they waited so long to introduce queerness into the lore, and because the lore is so divorced from the actual gameplay, the disconnect between the message of inclusivity and the discriminatory player base had time to fester and grow. Furthermore, while I like that Overwatch is becoming more queer, it’s hard to ignore the “Dumbledore is gay” nature of it.

I am not so naive as to believe that just making these details apparent from the outset will be enough, on its own, to prevent a similar hostility from taking route in Apex. However, it’s a good start to building up that kind of community. If taken care of, and cultivated, the team at Respawn has a real chance to learn from Overwatch’s mistakes. They’ve got a real gem on their hands, and I’d hate to see it ruined by a specter of toxicity.

Despite all the trouble Discord’s outage caused, we still managed to get together and continue our adventures in Resident Evil 2.

This time, we traverse the dreaded sewers. I was told to that this is one of the toughest areas in the game, so I was a bit nervous.

I have… mixed feelings about the horror genre. As one can see, I don’t often actually get all that scared. However, I can’t deny that a find a lot of the core design principals frustrating.

Some of that is intention, and to be expected. I could hardly blame them for limited ammo, strong enemies in tight spaces, and restrictive inventory space requiring resource management. These add a layer of tension to the normal gameplay. Personally, I enjoy feeling as if I’m barely surviving against overwhelming odds. That doesn’t bother me so much, especially since the helplessness is such a well crafted illusion.

No, my irritation comes mostly from the puzzles. Perhaps I’m just bad at them, but very often they seem needlessly obtuse. I spend most of my time with a guide open just so that I won’t get lost (to which David is serving as GameFAQs’s stand in). Further, they often require a lot of complex navigation in spaces between all of that. It’s confusing to say the least.

It makes me wonder if I just don’t like the genre, or if there’s a way to get the tension I want without all that wandering and getting lost.

I’ve been playing Magic the Gathering: Arena on and off for quite a long time now, but it only recently occurred to me to post the matches to YouTube. I want to try to start showing off some of the decks I’m building. Even if they aren’t the best, I think there’s some good fun to be had there.

First off, a deck I’ve wanted to try for a long time, but never had the pieces for it in one Standard environment until now: Mardu Aristocrats.

This is an usual deck for me to pilot, because I’m much more used to a control strategy, which wants to delay the game as long as possible so that I can play a strong bomb and win the game through long-term value.

This deck is more of a midrange deck. It’s aims are to outlast more aggressive decks, and finish up a control player more quickly so they they don’t have time to set themselves up for late-game success.

The real stars of the show is Judith (naturally) and Elenda. They allow me to make extremely aggressive swings with relatively little risk. With Judith out, combat can quickly turn deadly with low cost creatures swinging in for high damage and pinging their injured opponent’s creatures to death if the choose to trade with them in the block step.

Likewise, Elenda grows stronger with each death, allowing her to keep her owner healthy with Lifelink, or else be sacrificed at just the right moment for a ton of tokens to go wide. Though none of them happened on stream, I have matches where Elenda grows to 30/30 or higher, and then I sacrifice her when the opponent attempts to exile her and win the match by swinging with more tokens than they could reasonably block.

And speaking of sacrifices, Priest of the Forgotten Gods and Pitiless Pontiff are excellent sacrifice outlets. The Pontiff also makes for a great blocker, since enemies can rarely attack when one is one the board. And the priest can be used to sacrifice fodder to slowly whittle away at a stalled board with providing much needed mana and card draw.

This package is bolstered by cards like Gutterbones, Footlight Fiend, and Hero of Precinct One who are either good sacrifice options, or generate disposal tokens that can also act as sacrifice options.

I don’t know if I’ll keep playing this, but I like it. It’s a fun strategy.

I didn’t think I would play much of Sea of Thieves when I gave it a go using my free trial of Microsoft’s game pass. Though I enjoyed my time with it then, I anticipated setting it aside like a do with so many other games.

And yet, here I am, getting a group together to explore the high seas: Digging for treasure and combating the undead hoards of those who came before us and failed in their own journeys.

Welcome aboard The Pride. Let us regale you with a tale of magnificent adventures.

The single greatest strength of Sea of Thieves is a solid fundamental core design and gameplay loop.

Getting a crew together and commandeering a ship to sail across the map is an intrinsically fun experience. There’s also a sense of camaraderie to it, as each person mans a separate station on the ship. And, of course, more people make it easier to sail since players can more easily split up the duties.

And when on a island to take on a quest to hunt for buried treasure or defeat an undead pirate captain, the systems at work can allow for all manner of engaging scenarios. Moments of saving my teammate from the undead skeleton with an exploding barrel by shooting them dead in the eye, leaving the barrel intact so that we could sell it to the merchant later readily come to mind.

Thanks to the updates Sea of Thieves has gotten over it’s life cycle, these emergent scenarios carry over to the trips back with to town to cash in on quest loot. While it might suck to have a bunch of loot lost to Davy Jones’s locker because a kraken, megalodon, or rogue pirate crew intercepted the player, those events ultimately add to the experience by introducing an element of risk that wouldn’t otherwise exist.

The lack of true character progression in the form of new skills or stronger equipment is definitely a downside because you never feel like the game is building up to anything, it also allows for people who have been playing a while to slot in a new recruit without worrying that they don’t have the necessary abilities to keep up with their more experienced teammates. The game wants you to adventure, and it doesn’t want to stop you because you don’t have a LV 15 sword or anything like that.

When we next talk of our adventures on The Pride, I will go into detail with some of my complaints with the game.