Temporary speed

Everything seems to be shutting down in slow-motion. At the same time it’s all happening in a disturbingly fast way.

Tonight there was an ambulance at my neighbours house, across the street. It’s a lovely five story building that I can see while working, and that I’ve often looked at longingly. This time I looked as the owner, masked, was taken away on a stretcher by a team of paramedics, also masked. The man was coughing and wheezing, and his family, all masked, looked on too. Fortunately it was dark so the details were hidden.

Ten minutes later a supermarket delivery truck was in the same spot, delivering to another family lucky enough to have secured a delivery slot.

I don’t know who they are but I wish my neighbours well. I hope they get the time they need.

Half-Life: Alyx

I’ve been a big Half-Life fan since it came out in 1998. It’s one of the few games from that period I still remember playing and, at the time, I was very excited to use my shiny new nVidia TNT2 card to get half-decent 3D graphics.

This release date announcement of the upcoming Half-Life VR game makes me very happy.

Senua’s Saga

I’ve had Senua’s Sacrifice for almost two year and just never gotten round to playing it. Part of the reason is that it’s quite an intense game. I don’t mean that it’s physically intense, or that it’s scary, just that it puts you in the role of someone with psychosis and it’s not really suited to a quick ten minute blast – you need to be ‘ready’ for the overall creepiness and the way the psychosis is portrayed through voices in your head and visions. It even recommends playing with headphones for full effect.

I have played it now, though, and it’s certainly impressive. The trailer for the next game looks even more impressive, not to mention more intense. It may take me another couple of years to work up to playing this one.