The Queue: Goodbyes

This is the last reset before Midnight begins, so I’m feeling some feels. I’m excited to see where the story goes, but I’m going to miss all the friends we met along the way, especially Skitter. I do have a cool weapon, but I won’t hurt you, buddy.

This is The Queue, our daily column where you ask us questions and you’re not a lil guy so I might hurt you. It’s a tossup, really.

All Delves all the way down.

Though I still can’t see “delves” as an actual word after I use it like, twice in succession. Dwarf elves. D’elves.

Hoping for bracers or a trinket, like you do.

I got the broom, dragon skin, and butterfly in the first couple days. No rocket. Like Blizz intended.

It’s funny, because the rewards for this holiday are among my favorite but the actual event engagement are toward the bottom for me. How many times do I have to teach you this lesson, Crown Chemical Co?!

Tried out Hocus Focus, which was… aiight. There are very few customizations as of yet, and I didn’t really get to try any of them out, because they require currency to purchase and I couldn’t figure out how to get currency despite completing a couple of pomodoro cycles. It does have a weekly calendar function, which I very much enjoy, and the art style is different. Very few music tracks, all very lute-and-flute fantasy-themed. There are also very few ambients in the demo, which is something I really lean heavily on.

Tried Outbound, and enjoyed it. It’s relatively straightforward, though it feels like a survival game I’d play with my 10 year old in terms of complexity and difficulty curve (which is not actually a bad thing). The driving is very forgiving, and there are plenty of secrets to find. I did find the inventory management loop clunky and kind of annoying. I’ll probably buy this one when it releases.

I just downloaded the Wanderburg demo and I am PUMPED. I was cackling the entire time I played, though I’m not sure exactly how long the novelty will last because I’m really bad at driving my fortress and aiming off the sides. I’m absolutely buying this on day one though.

I may also try out Forbidden Solitaire, but that seems like what it says on the tin — Solitaire, but creepy. Not sure I really need to trial that, especially since I already played Grey Alien Games Regency Solitaire series.

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier.

When I first read it I was in high school and in a heavy “not like the other girls” phase. As such, I skimmed a lot of the initial few chapters, because it was like, meetcute romantic stuff. Gross. The part where we got into the Gothic Novel of it all was phenomenal, and I loved her prose, and the story is WILD and compelling. I remember very much enjoying it, and really enjoying the characters, especially the unnamed narrator.

I didn’t realize until I re-read it as an adult that the narrator was straight up lying to both me and herself the entire time.

It really struck me very early on just what a naïve child she is when she was describing the interaction between Maxim de Winter and the wealthy American woman Mrs Van Hopper she is the assistant and travelling companion to. She describes Mrs. Van Hopper as uncouth and sloppy and a fame hound, and she cringes out loud at the conversation Maxim and Mrs. Van Hopper have. But if you read between the lines, the conversation is actually incredibly boring and normal for two people who run in the same circles. The narrator is like a kid who is embarrassed their mom ran into their algebra teacher at the grocery store, and like that situation, if Mrs. Van Hopper didn’t talk to Maxim about her kid’s wedding, it would be weird and rude.

Once you have the realization that everything that happens is through the lens of this young woman telling you the story she wants you to hear, it changes the whole book. She got my ass the first time around.