sharpen the edges, and it’s a home defense weapon

oh man probably me too. either that or Evanescence.

i was a angsty lil’ dickhead omg

Oh man Astroneer is so good — but I don’t think it’s up OP’s alley. There’s no quests to speak of, or even goals really, besides the 1. tutorial stuff, and 2. overall “reach the end” — besides that, it’s up to you to be self-directed.

Context: my breath-of-the-wild loving partners didn’t much get into Astroneer, unless I specifically set them goals and they didn’t have to figure anything out for themselves. :P (Well, one of them, at least …)

I think the “map marker check mark” dopamine game is a whole different thing from ‘true’ open-world … well, that’d unnecessarily exclusionary. Neither one is truer than the other. But they’re definitely extremely different.

Anyway, OP, my suggestion in that vibe would definitely be the Fallout or Assassin’s Creed serieses. Or Horizon: Zero Dawn! Great sidequest-driven, exploration-heavy, gigaaaaaantic games, all of them!

Try getting older!

A decade ago, I was extremely into hi-fi — most of my disposable income went to it. (Martin Logan electrostatic speakers and McIntosh amps, stereo JL Fathom 13.5” subs, sound treatment and reference mic for balancing and analysis …)

Now? I’m perfectly and completely pleased with my AirPods Max. My hearing just ain’t what it used to be, and I genuinely don’t hear the slightest difference. (… obviously modulo feeling the bass, hah.)

(Yes. I listen to music over Bluetooth. Not even APT-X. WHO HAVE I BECOME? 😭)

What’s this in reference to, as one Not In That Country?

“Pretty fly, for a wi-fi.”

I guess I haven’t seen that many, but there aren’t any comments yet, so I win by default!

It wasn’t English class before you got here — but, unfortunately, it turned out you missed the other English classes! No big deal, though, we’re happy to pivot.

So, let’s talk about the subjunctive …