Ben Stovall Blog

Tag: video games

  • 2025: Year in Review

    2025: Year in Review

    It’s certainly been a year, huh? Seems like there’s always bad news, doesn’t it? Times like these makes me appreciate beautiful stories and media all the more, and I’d be remiss to let this tradition slip aside. So, here’s to 2025 and what we had to enjoy this year. As always, some spoilers below.

    Books

    I’m like a broken record saying I wish I’d read more, aren’t I? That’s even more true this year; I read a total of two books. Reading fell to the wayside pretty early this year, as I focused on painting and playing Warhammer, had intermittent bouts of hyper-fixation on Warcraft, worked on my D&D campaigns, and wrote for this blog. That said, I did really enjoy the two books I read!

    Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

    Alright, they were the first two books of this series. It’s been getting a lot of attention lately and I received the first as a gift for my birthday. I had a great time reading it, and I’d hope there’s something to be said about it and its sequel being the only books I managed to stick with long enough to finish this year. A fun book in a fun style unlike anything I’d ever read, since I’ve never read progression-fantasy. Heartily recommended, though it certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste.

    Movies

    This year, my ’98 Tahoe finally kicked the bucket. Blew a literal gasket, and it would’ve cost more to fix than the car was ostensibly worth. Twenty-seven years of service isn’t something to scoff at; the point is I lost easy means of getting to the theater this year, and only made it out twice. One was for the Minecraft movie on Mother’s Day (I hold firm to the belief my sister had a thumb on the scale there), and while that movie proved to be more fun than I’d been willing to bet going in, it’s not going to get any further mention than this. Instead, I want to talk about …

    Superman

    James Gunn’s Superman feels like the first time a movie’s been made in my lifetime that understood this character. This wasn’t the one other time I got out to the theater this year; instead, I bought the movie digitally as soon as I could after hearing rave reviews from some very trusted sources. (Shout out to OSP’s great video on the movie.) I truly loved every minute.

    It’s certainly a James Gunn film, though, replete with everything you might’ve expected after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy. This wasn’t a detriment for me, but I trust you to know your own taste.

    Sinners

    Is there a person alive that hasn’t walked away loving this movie? When it came out, my YouTube feed had nothing but praise for it. I saw it pretty late in its theatrical run, hitching a ride with my mom and sister. I’d managed to dodge spoilers, but I guessed from the first frame of our villain’s introduction that we had a vampire on our hands. And, look, every bit of praise you’ve heard for this movie? It’s on point. It’s really that good.

    Wake Up Dead Man

    I’ve loved every movie in this series, and this is certainly no exception. Josh O’Connor is perfect in this movie, and as long as Daniel Craig keeps doing this, I’ll keep watching. But, to be honest, I didn’t think this would make the list, because it wasn’t in any nearby theaters. I’d have loved to have the chance to get out to one to see it on the big screen, but its limited release placed it a bit too far out of my range. I haven’t had Netflix myself in over a year, and as much as I wanted to see this film, I wasn’t going to subscribe for it alone. While at my mom’s on Christmas however, we threw the movie on since we’d meant to see it together anyway. I’m glad to say it didn’t disappoint (beyond my inability to enjoy it at a theater).

    TV

    With painting taking over so much of my interest earlier this year, I didn’t watch a whole lot of TV. Mostly, I listened to podcasts or podcast-adjacent media while focusing on making my orks just the right shades of green. That said, there was some adaptations and continuations I ensured I tuned into. (And I watched Ted Lasso! But I already wrote a bunch about that show here, so.)

    Invincible Season 3

    Oftentimes in my life, when an adaptation has begun that I’m unfamiliar with, I’ve checked out the source material to get my hands on the story ASAP. When it comes to Invincible, I’ve been battling that urge. I’m frankly too fond of the version of the story we’ve been getting that I don’t want to change my relationship with the show to be one of comparison; I don’t want to spoil my ability to be surprised by the story!

    The third season’s continued to shock and amaze me, and it was all the better for not having that long mid-season break like its predecessor. Looking forward to more!

    Murderbot

    I mentioned in my post on Ted Lasso that the reason I got AppleTV was specifically to watch the Murderbot adaptation, and it was well worth the cost of the service those couple months I had it. Some of the humor added to the show wasn’t to my taste exactly, but it ultimately didn’t detract from the overall experience. I adore this series of books, so I’m looking forward to watching however much they adapt for the screen.

    The Mighty Nein

    With three seasons of Vox Machina under their belt, I think Critical Role has become a master at adapting their D&D games into excellent animation. From the first three episodes, I knew this wouldn’t disappoint. At times, it almost felt like The Legend of Vox Machina ran so this show could sprint. The hour-long runtime, the animation quality, the acting – all are superb in both shows, but it miraculously feels like it’s been kicked up a notch in The Mighty Nein.

    I do wish we’d gotten a little more resolution on that season finale, but I will admit that of the threads left hanging, none are the primary story of the episode. That one was certainly cleared up by the end. It’s a bold ending, and I’m eagerly awaiting our next season of this show.

    Music

    This year I did something fun and I compiled a playlist of songs I was introduced (or reintroduced) to in 2025 for the purpose of posting it to this blog! You can find it here. Most were thanks to my Discovery Weekly (which hasn’t been infested with AI slop yet by some miracle) on Spotify (much as I am growing to dislike the app lately). Others were needle drops in some of the media I’ve enjoyed this year, and a many were direct recommendations from friends.

    I wanted to specifically shout out two songs. First, Radio by Bershy was a needle drop in Dispatch and the song absolutely blew up afterward. In the space of months, it’s racked up 18 million listens up from only a few thousand. I saw this post on the Dispatch subreddit over a month ago of Bershy being blown away by the sudden attention and it renewing her love for making music! It doesn’t get better than that.

    Second, I’ve be absolutely obsessed with Hey You by Belair Lip Bombs since it dropped this fall. It landed on my top songs of the year with some 30-odd listens. Since September. (It released in August but that’s when I first heard it, alright?)

    (You can certainly tell when I played Dispatch from this playlist, huh?)

    Video Games

    Speaking of Dispatch, let’s get into the expertise of this post. I’ve been playing video games as long as I can remember, that makes me an expert, right?

    Dispatch

    It’s been a while since we’ve had a game like this. I didn’t play too many of the games released by Telltale studios, but I’d been eager to get my hands on this one since its announcement. It absolutely delivered, and I’m excited to see more from AdHoc Studious, especially with their partnership with Critical Role! I’m locked in for whatever they make next.

    Oblivion: Remastered

    A game that absolutely defined my childhood got a surprise remaster this year, and just as it did when I played it in 2006, I was consumed once more by this game. I kept delving into Oblivion gates, kept questing for each faction, until I hit a wall with my character reaching the maximum level and my enchants feeling like they couldn’t get better. I had only the Thieves’ Guild, the Shivering Isles, and the last couple quests of the main story left when I set it down. Might be something I get back around to at some point. Though, I’ve already gotten every achievement in this game once before, so I don’t really feel the need to do so again. (Luckily.)

    Megabonk

    One man asked, “What if I made Vampire Survivors in 3d?” And then he sat down and did the damn thing. It’s a blast to play. I’d gotten final boss kills on about half the roster of characters and 100 of 108 achievements before I set the game down. By then, I’d played nearly 40 hours, and the game only cost ten bucks. I can’t recommend it enough.

    Pacific Drive

    On the recommendation of a friend, I picked up this game earlier this year and I had a ton of fun with it. It reminded me a lot of Subnautica, but instead of the horror of the endless ocean, the horror is an endless road trip that you kind of love anyway. I didn’t quite get around to beating this game (yet); I mostly played it while I was enjoying a week off from work in the Spring. If it weren’t for painting, it might’ve been the only think I’d done that whole week.

    Hades II

    Hades is going to be one of the best games of this decade. It’s a masterpiece, full stop, and somehow, Supergiant managed to deliver a sequel that built upon it in every way with new weapons, new systems, an alternate route that gives the game twice as many unique bosses as the first. Players had one major criticism of the game when it first released, but an update has made adjustments to that pain point and it’s already a thing of the past.

    Ultimately, Hades II didn’t hit the same emotional peak as the first for me for that first roll of the credits, but the game itself plays incredibly well and it’s an easy game to recommend.

    My Game of the Year

    It truly, truly, could not have been anything in 2025 other than Hollow Knight: Silksong. I haven’t played Expedition 33 myself, truth be told. It could very well be as excellent as everyone says it is; hell, it might be truly incredible. I believe that’s probably the case, really. All this praise wouldn’t come out of nowhere.

    Playing Silksong though, I felt a sense of wonder and awe I haven’t had since I was a child. (Or, maybe I haven’t had since I first played Baldur’s Gate 3.) The game just kept expanding and expanding. A breakable wall would reveal an entirely new zone to explore, one you could roll the credits for the game without ever seeing and never know you missed. And that’s to say nothing of the game’s final act.

    I waited years to play this sequel, and somehow it still surpassed the greatest of my expectations, the wildest of my dreams. If that isn’t game enough for you, I don’t know what is.

    And that concludes our yearly retrospective. As always, thank you for reading. Here’s to more media to love in 2026!

  • Warcraft Housing Needs Adjustments

    Warcraft Housing Needs Adjustments

    At the beginning of this month, Blizzard released their anticipated Player Housing system into the World of Warcraft as an early-access/pre-order bonus for their upcoming expansion, Midnight. For years, for over a decade, people have been clamoring for this kind of customization and expression to come to Warcraft. Hell, it’s practically the only big MMO on the market that didn’t have something like this. It’s basically industry standard.

    On the whole, the system’s quite good. Buying a house could scarcely be easier, having a neighborhood of my guildmates rules, and furnishing my house has been a fun distraction: whether that be collecting decor items or placing them in my house and settling on a layout of rooms.

    Unfortunately, there’s some design decisions that really need a second pass. There’s trouble in paradise (or, at least, in Razorwind Shores). (And whatever the name of the Alliance’s neighborhood is.)

    Limited-Use Decor

    The first issue one is likely to encounter when furnishing their digital home is this: for every door, every chair, every candle one wants to place, you have to have collected that many copies thereof. If I want a dining room with two tables and six chairs each? I’ll need to buy both tables and a dozen individual chairs to make it happen.

    The price of these items aren’t all terribly exorbitant, but it doesn’t sit right with me that this plain old stool requires multiple purchases to fill out every edge of a table, with another for a desk, and more for a reading nook or study. And I did say they aren’t all pricey; some of them do have a meaningful cost making multiple copies a large investment of time or money, because with the existence of the WOW Token, every piece of gold has some equivalent real-world value.

    Obviously this is meant to function as a gold sink, but I think its execution is all wrong. Better in my view for some items to be limited per use – the Maelstrom Altar I earned from all the activities I did in Legion on my shaman? I don’t take umbrage with that being limited. However, such items should be the exception, not the rule. As for the gold sink, maybe these “common” decor items with unlimited uses could cost a small amount more to unlock, and the majority of the drain on the economy could be spent on expanding the size of the house, our interior decor budget, alternative facades, or interior utility items like teleporters and profession hotspots; things that are permanent, account-wide bonuses. Something of the like, at least.

    Especially since some decor items will eventually be bought with real money from the in-game store. We don’t know much about how this will look yet, but I think it’s fair to assume they’ll likely be selling these items in bundles. If we want five of a special shop-only chair, but they’re only sold in multiples of four? Pony up twice or find an alternative, sorry pal.

    And this all gets worse when we consider the overall collection limit.

    Be Careful What You Collect?

    In a mad dash to fill their decor collection with a few copies of every item they’d unlocked, a few users discovered there is an overall cap on the number of decor items we can have at our disposal at any given time. This is entirely at odds with the game’s myriad other collection systems. We’ve never reached a hard cap on the number of mounts, pets, or armor appearances we can collect; each season simply adds a new swathe of things to add to our mountainous hoards.

    I certainly understand that there’s a real-world cost to storing data, especially on the scale that an MMO requires, but a limitation on this spiraling out of the requirement that I own several individual copies of all the light fixtures I want to mount on my walls? It just feels … misaligned. As Warcraft has evolved in recent years, it’s become more-and-more collection-focused. In Midnight, we’ll earn the alternate colors of our class tier sets from the lower difficulties whenever we complete a set. I just can’t help but imagine that the variables they’ve included forced them to install this limitation, and they’d only hoped it wouldn’t be discovered so soon.

    A New Source of Loot Drama

    The night after housing was released, after I’d played with the system a bit, I logged back over to Legion Remix to work on the last few thousand Bronze I needed to complete my goal of buying everything from the event vendors. As each night before, I pinged my guild and got the usual suspects together. Things proceeded much as we all expected, until we ran the Nighthold. There, after beating Spellblade Alluriel, we discovered a new item had been added to her loot table: a Nightborne-themed fountain.

    But, only one dropped, and we had to roll to win it from one another.

    Naturally, we all have many max level characters. If anyone was desperate to have this fountain, they could get it pretty easily. But … it’s weird it’s a roll-off to begin with, right?

    Like, come Midnight, we’re going to be doing raids and dungeons we can’t just solo on our own. Maybe that rug from this boos is really going to tie the whole room together, but for me to have it, everyone else that was involved in whatever activity has to wait until next time? Why aren’t these just awarded to everyone?

    Not to mention that presently some of these items aren’t popping up a window prompt to roll for them, but are instead just looted by whoever clicks the boss fastest.

    The bottom line is this: Blizzard’s player housing is good. Hell, I don’t play a lot of other MMOs, it might be the best on the market. (I certainly like it more than ESO’s.) But, with the above issues, I don’t think the system will ever be the best that it could be. Falling short of that peak just seems so … unnecessary.

    As always, thank you for reading. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to reconfigure my house’s whole layout. Again.

  • Legion Remix and the Mage Tower

    Legion Remix and the Mage Tower

    Last week, Blizzard announced in a blue post that during the upcoming Legion Remix event, the unique weapon appearances from the Mage Tower will not be made available again. This was a rather contentious announcement – there are many who want the weapon appearances to return, and there are perhaps just as many that want them to remain gone to elevate the weapon appearances; to grant them a level of prestige from their exclusivity.

    As someone who’s been playing Warcraft way too long, I’ve got my own opinion.

    A Brief on FOMO

    I’ve written on my blog before that I find weaponizing FOMO (the Fear of Missing Out) to be a blight upon game design. Usually, they’re used to pressure players into spending money on microtransactions, to incentivize daily engagement, or prolong retention. Frankly, I think if a game isn’t simply fun enough for its players to want to log in every day, or week, or month, then maybe the game has other issues it should address?

    Presently, there’s a few events going on in World of Warcraft. Right now, there’s Turbulent Timeways, which grants a unique mount for playing a handful of Timewalking Dungeons for a number of weeks during the event’s duration. There’s Collector’s Bounty, which has boosted the drop rates of many rare mounts and items from old raid and dungeon bosses. There’s Greedy Emissaries, treasure goblins from Diablo invading our capital cities and the patch zone that give you currency when killed that you can use to buy recolors of an HD updated version of one of the classic and iconic class sets from the game’s earliest years.

    To some degree, these all engage in some level of FOMO, to varying degrees of vexation. First, the special recolor armor sets from the Greedy Emissary event, we have no information on if they’ll ever be available again. Get them now, or maybe lose the chance to earn them forever. Second, the Collector’s Bounty event offers a greater amount of efficiency to earning old, rare mounts and items, but those items will remain in the game after the event ends; you’ll only lose the increased efficiency. Lastly, for engaging in Turbulent Timeways, the unique mount you can earn will likely become available for Timewarped Badges (a currency earned from Timewalking events) the next time the event runs, like the two mounts from the previous time this event has been available have.

    Naturally, I think the Greedy Emissary event is the most egregious with FOMO – but even it is something you can earn every reward from in one week if you’re willing and able to put in enough time. For Collector’s Bounty, missing out on the efficiency will be tough, but all the items will still exist. For Turbulent Timeways, I myself realized I started engaging in the event a week too late, and until I discovered the mount would likely be made available again in the future, I was really kicking myself for missing one week too many.

    Luckily, between Remix events and the game’s monthly Trading Post, the items from the Greedy Emissary event will likely come around again in the future – but right now, we don’t know if they ever will.

    But enough about that. Let’s discuss the Legion Remix.

    The Mage Tower

    During the Legion expansion, in patch 7.2, our brave heroes returned to the Broken Shore to establish a foothold and stage an assault on the Tomb of Sargaeras raid when it launched a few months later. As part of this patch, there were several buildings the players could cooperate to construct, and the most compelling to many players was the Mage Tower.

    The Mage Tower provided everyone with a single-player boss scenario focused on mechanics to overcome, and when successful, you’d unlock a special appearance for your artifact weapon and an achievement for doing so. These are some of the most unique and special weapon appearances that exist in the game, and at the end of Legion, they were removed when the Mage Tower became inaccessible.

    Now, after nearly nine years, we likely have players who’ve come to the game who, if they’re the same age I was when I started playing, would have been in preschool during Legion. These players could be some of the best in the world – they may become world-first class raiders. But they can never earn these weapon appearances because they weren’t playing the game at the right time?

    To me, that sounds like bullshit.

    And, before anyone wants to say that I just want to earn these weapons myself – I told you I’ve been playing this game too damn long. The 7.2 patch launched on 03/28/2017. This is my former main, who has the achievement for A Challenging Look from the first time the Mage Tower was built, earned on 04/05/2017. Throughout the expansion, as players earned more gear and more power from their artifact weapons, these challenges became easier. I completed them on classes I had no business playing by the end of the expansion, they became so simple. Completing the Mage Tower challenges now, with the scaling tech involved, is harder than they were at the end of Legion.

    But I don’t feel like my achievement is any less valuable for other people having earned it themselves. I have a sense of prestige not because I own this appearance, but because I overcame the challenge. And if these weapon appearances will give people an incentive to challenge themselves, then I say they should come back. Give us a reason to enjoy remix. Lock our scaling in the Mage Tower to retain the challenge? Whatever. Just let people earn them again.

    A recolor is the least Blizzard should do, but I think they should just come back in full.

    As always, thank you for reading. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some more Stonecore runs to do to see if I can loot this dragon.