2026 February

TLDR: finished American Theft 80s, played Expedition 33 and Deep Rock Galactic.

Deep Rock Galactic]

(store page)
has it’s long-awaited Season 6 update, so the game returned to the selection for a good while.

I "continued on" with Expedition 33

store page
a lot (89 hours) , but got to a point in the endgame when it just took so much energy, effort and planning to find an angle towards progress (other than to go back grinding) that I set the game aside for a while. Both the game and I needed some time to breathe.
The game is stunning. I could play it completely blind, only seen a few pictures, and not even trailers, and it’s an amazing expe~~dition~~rience with its story, design, music and overall world and tone. Though the “criticism” about it being super parry / dodge focused is 100% valid. If you don’t like it, there’s an accessibility option to skip it.
So, it just feels good to having developed the ability to balance playing a game, and taking a break from it. I’m sure it helps with my long-term appreciation.
Also, I was so afraid that I’ll get motion sickness from the fast camera changes in the game. None of that happened!

American Theft 80s

store page
Is a somewhat clunky thieving simulator, that’s just so full of charm and things to do. Anything linked to stamina sucks, the driving is a method of transportation (including the stolen goods) so don’t expect a GTA-like complex experience. The game’s focus is on handcrafted locations, NPC schedules, and playing around them, stealing stuff, selling it, and progressing through a story. A story, that honestly kind of sucks, but eases you into the game and the mechanics nicely, without overwhelming you with options and tools.
I really enjoyed my time with it (including a sandbox mode which has the goal of ~break into a lot of houses, be clever).
The 73% review rate is in the “good, but with obvious poblems” , but it’s 90% off currently, and I absolutely recommend getting it if: you’re interested in playing a car burglar while yeeting out TVs from the 2nd floor, then following it as there’s no fall damage, and random shenanigans like that. The mechanics are relatively abusable :) But if stealth is not your poison, just skip it, it’s faaaaaaaaaaaaar from a must-have title.

Activated an old key (that turned out to be working) for Poker Night at the Inventory (2010 Original Version), and Augment Anthem for beta testing.
Bought the Fanatical charity bundle, but haven’t activated anything from it (yet), nor from HB monthlies (yet).