It's been a full (and very busy) semester since I wrote a proper post here, so let's do a bit of catching up. Here are a few great games I've been playing over the past 6 months or so, in no particular order:
First up is a free-to-play wizard brawler for fish people. In Fishards, you are a fish (with legs) who is also a wizard. You shoot your friends with fireballs and eldritch blasts, like any good fish does. You wield up three magical elements at once, crafting spells on the fly by combining elements. Very little is explained because little explanation is needed. You are a fish. And a wizard. Perhaps wearing a hat.
Next up is the wildly popular Helldivers 2. I don't think I need to explain much about this game, but in case you haven't heard of it, Helldivers 2 is a third-person co-op team shooter. It's a ton of fun to get together with three friends and blow up some Terminids or Automatons (especially Automatons IMO). I also really love the satirical elements of the game.
For a more niche pick we have Kingdom Hearts 2. I picked this up on Epic (alongside KH1, KH: Chain of Memories, and KH: Birth by Sleep) in the confusingly named "KIngdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX" collection. It has a few issues on Linux: occasional it crashes and locks up my DE until I relog, and pre-rendered cutscenes don't work. But aside from those two issues, it's been a great game. There are lots of little improvements over the original. Combat in particular feels very fresh (which is saying something for a nearly 20-year-old game). The storytelling is still endearingly awkward. I'm about halfway through the main narrative, and having a lot of fun. This seems like one to pick up if you're a fan of action RPGs.
I also picked up Animal Well this week. I'm only a couple hours in, but the trippy visuals and the clever puzzles have been great fun so far. I'm not far enough in to give it a recommendation yet, but it seems promising. I can certainly say I've never been so excited about finding a slinky until this game.
