Full disclosure: I am garbage at keeping track of how much time I spend on things (and sometimes, even what things I spend time on!) throughout the month. Nathin pointed me at a program called ManicTime which automatically tracks how much time I spend with various applications, and there is a even a monthly summary, which is 100% perfect for me! However, changing computers mid-month means I don’t have one pretty screenshot that covers everything, and I managed to … not save the data from the before the swap. Oops.
However, starting next month, I will be able to take a quick look and see what I spent the most time on over the month, which should make these “In Review” posts both easier to write, and more accurate.
By a large margin, I spent the most time this month on SMITE, despite still not doing a single post about it. This seems to be the first game that really appeals to the entirety of our friends group, and although we still spend a lot of time playing against bots, it’s been a really nice way to touch base with everyone for a game or two.
The only game I managed to complete this month was Spiritfarer, which validated the $5 I spent on XBox GamePass. I also dabbled briefly in Children of Morta, Forager, and Hypnospace Outlaw (the latter of which gave me a killer headache, I have NOT missed the 90s).
I also didn’t manage to do much of anything for the Community Game Along this month – I had the best of intentions with Sonic Generations, but it gave me incredible motion sickness, so I completed only one level.
I also briefly tried out Pikuniku, but it just didn’t grab me.
Unexpected Pick Ups
After SMITE, the second biggest distraction this month came by way of a few impulse purchases. The Council finally dipped down to 75% off after having been on my wish list for ages, so I played through most of the first (free) chapter, and liked it enough to purchase it, but have yet to go back to it.
I have also put several hours into Hades, a game I really expected to be too difficult for me to really enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m bad at it. But poking around the Supergiant site and the FAQ for the game, I discovered that they had the difficulty issue covered.
The fact that Hades was designed with variable difficulty to appeal to the widest audience cinched the decision for me. I figured if it was too frustrating I could return it. And then proceeded to play for more than three hours in my first sitting. Oops again.
The remainder of my meager gaming time this month was spent on Pax Online 2020 demos, and restarting My Time At Portia, which I really enjoyed last winter, but tended to be super crashy, so I never actually finished it. I expect that I’ll continue on with that one through at least next month as well.
GoodReads Challenge (35/36)
It’s been a crazy month, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time for reading either. However, after spotting The PikeCast on my Twitter feed early in the month, I decided to track down a copy of Die Softly and relive my teen years a little bit. I was a huge Christopher Pike fan back in the day, but I didn’t remember this one at all. I’m looking forward to the introductory podcast where they’ll be talking about this one.
Nerd Girl Thoughts 