The Queue: deck the halls in hurried frenzy

This is The Queue, our daily column where you ask us questions and we sing a refrain and back away quickly because we have a whole lot of stuff to get to today!

Fa la la la laaaa, la la, la, laaaaaaa!

On the one hand, yeah. If it’s a pretty standard platformer or roguelike you don’t really need to explain the death mechanic unless it adds something to the narrative. It’s okay to have an explanation but also you don’t need one, and the explanation can feel hamfisted and unnecessary.

However, sometimes a skillful explanation can weave itself into the generic idea of reviving which enhances the story itself in a lot of ways. I’m thinking of the brilliant SOMA as I say this, and story-driven horror can really lean into this to help flesh out the horror of a situation. The Forest is another good example… if you die out in the world you’re dragged to a new area swarming with abominations, and if you get out you’re fine, but if you can’t escape you die for real and have to reload a save.

But just like, Mario can revive, and that’s just game logic. Doesn’t need to be that deep.

Probably Sheetz, despite their annoying Z. They tend to be clean and the kids love the slushie machine. Plus, they’re adding a bunch of electric stations, and I gotta give em props for that.  If I found some kind of chain with good coffee I would instantly switch, though. Sheetz does have a few canned cold brews that are decent, but hot coffee is almost always my preference.

Controversial: I hate Buc-ees. I understand why people like them, but every time I’ve visited one I’ve been completely overwhelmed and overstimulated the entire time. Regardless of location or time or day, they’re slammed to the gills, with huge lines for everything despite having comically massive facilities for everything — even the gas pumps, like it’s the late 70s — and a crush of humanity, many of whom are screaming (it’s a branding thing?). The little caramel beaver-branded corn puffs are great, but they’re my little treat for making it through.

I’d give Mel from Pacific Drive fuzzy dice. He really needs them, and it’s one of the few options I was either unable to find in the game, or it wasn’t available.

Astrid from The Long Dark would get a hot tub out back of the Pleasant Valley farmstead that would work when the Aurora happens, and a great big bar of dark chocolate. Mackenzie would get a whole bunch of jerky.

Bea from Night in the Woods gets a small collection of classic literature: Jane Eyre, McTeague, The Awakening, The Turn of the Screw, As I Lay Dying, Country of the Pointed Firs.

Gus from Bear and Breakfast gets an egg dippy and a compliment, delivered over my shoulder while I run away.

All the swords in Boyfriend Dungeon get whetstones (though let’s be real, that’s really a gift for me).

I am a general saver of things in games, so I absolutely do this, and it’s motivated by a couple factors. Right now I’m having a tough time mentally with the holidays and stress and everything else, so there are a couple purchases I made just kinda waiting for me to not only get my act together, but also I want to have the luxury of a few minutes of peace to really sit down and dig in and have an enjoyable time doing it.

The games I’m waiting on are more or less like this. I really don’t want to get a quarter of the way into a game like Gris and have to stop playing for a week because I have to playtest the new Hearthstone meta for work and the kids have swimming and a concert and I need to get the car emissions tested and oh my god I haven’t even made cookies for Santa yet, and now I completely forgot what the heck was even going on in this game I’ve been told is a really compelling experience narratively. It stinks when this kind of thing happens with mechanics-heavy games, but with games that have a strong narrative I kind myself starting them over again.

And then there’s also the fact that you can never play or experience it the first time again. You can deepen the experience by replaying, frequently, noting those little spaces where you may have missed something, or now that you know the conclusion, seeing the small pieces of foreshadowing that didn’t seem too significant before you knew. But there will always only be one first time, and those first times can be special on their own. I’m just going to say Subnautica here, and if you know, you know, and if you don’t I’m jealous that you haven’t had your first experience with it yet.

And now that I’ve waxed philosophical about it all, no really, I need to bake cookies and decorate my tree before Santa gets here, oh my god. I hope all you Watchers have a cozy and restful holiday.