Cactus plant flea market toys ebay
cactusplantfleamarket
2019.05.02 01:54 fencewatchbookclub cactusplantfleamarket
A place to buy, sell, trade, and discuss Cactus Plant Flea Market. Thank you for supporting self-discovery.
2023.06.08 20:22 Homes_With_Jan Weekend Events!
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2023.06.08 15:16 clearliquidclearjar TALLAHASSEE WEEKLY EVENTS, 6/8 – 6/14
Events are listed by the day. Events that happen every week appear first, one time stuff after that. If you have anything you’d like people to know about, comment here or message me and I’ll add it in. If you’d like further info about any of the events, look it up! I usually don’t have any extra to add.
Large Scale, Ongoing, and Multi-Day Events Local Running, Walking, and Biking Info: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/ OutdooFarmer’s Markets: - Lake Ella Grower's Market: Wednesday and Saturday, 11am-2pm. You can always find organic vendors, and foragers: The Holistic Cannabis Community, Artzi Farms, Hickory Nut Gifts, and others. Including Pita Queen! Farmer's Market Nutrition Program Coupons gladly accepted!
- Frenchtown Heritage Market: 524 N MLK Jr Blvd. Saturdays, 10am to 2pm. Come grow community and support your local farmers and makers, while you get your groceries for the week! Don’t forget! We match SNAP/EBT, so you DOUBLE your money to go towards locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables! If the guy with the pineapple is there, get it.
- Tallahassee Farmers Market: 2904 Kerry Forest Pkwy, Saturdays, 8am to Noon. Come see us at Tallahassee's longest-running farmers market! We are a year-round market, featuring local farms and vendors that provide the best seasonal produce, meats, baked goods, and more. We welcome you and your whole family (leashed pets included) to come out and meet your local farmers! Ample parking is available between our lot and the shopping center lot next door (by Red Elephant). Come early for the best selection.
- Tallahassee Downtown Market: Ponce de Leon Park, Saturdays, 10am-2pm. Join us for a stroll in the park among local makers, bakers, artists and farmers as live music is played by local musicians!
THURSDAY, 6/8 - The Hub at Feather Oaks: Bingo. 6pm
- Dreamland BBQ: Weekly Open Blues Jam. If you'd like to sing, please bring your own mic. 6pm
- The Rose Room: Open Mic Night. 6pm
- The Great Games Library: Solforge Fusion Sealed-Deck Tournament. Anyone interested in SolForge: Fusion, please come out! Thursday nights at 6:00pm to 9:00pm ish will be dedicated to SolForge Fusion gameplay and weekly tournaments. If you play or have played MTG but would like to spend less, this is a great alternative CCG with inexpensive entry and minimal purchases to enjoy playing competitively. In-store and online tournaments may be played with the same decks purchased at any store. SolForge was created by the same designer for MTG, Netrunner, and Key Forge, Richard Garfield, and the designer for Ascension, Justine Gary. 6pm/$35 Entry Fee for 4 Sealed Half-decks, Special Art Playmat Prize for 1st Place
- Oyster City Brewing Co: Open Mic Night! Join us on Thursdays from 6:30-9:30 PM for Open Mic Night hosted by the incredible Mike Ingram of The Brown Goose! This is your chance to show off your skills! Whether you're a musician, poet, comedian, or have a hidden talent, we can't wait to see what you bring to the stage. 6:30pm
- World of Beer: Trivia Night. 7pm
- The Bar at La Casa: Tallahassee Thursday Comedy. 7pm
- Lake Tribe III: Trivia. 7pm
- Smitty's Taphouse: Trivia Lab Thursdays. Teams of 6 or fewer players can compete for $30 / $20 / $10 Prizes + The Golden MacGuffin prize table! New format! Interactive smartphone answering for your comfort and safety! 6 Fun Rounds - 42 Total Questions. 7:30pm
- Cap City Video Lounge: Gamera: MST3K. Join us Thursday as we climb aboard The Satellite of Love along with Joel, Tom Servo and CROOOOW as the Gang riffs the 1965 kiju classic, GAMERA, who will devastate every city in Japan but maintains that he is a friend to all children...despite leaving them homeless and killing their parents. 8pm/free but donations encouraged
- Fire Bettys: Electronic Thursdays. There will be rotating music genres from local artists! 8pm/free/21+
- Poor Pauls: Trivia. 8/21+
- 926: Karaoke. 9pm
- La Casa: Comedy Night! 9pm
- Fire Bettys: Electronic Show. Join us for Experiment 002 and take a mind-bending trip into the sound of the future! Our electrifying music party will transport you to another dimension with cutting-edge beats and non-stop excitement. 9pm
- Bird’s: Karaoke with Nathan. 9pm
- Blue Tavern: Free Jazz Five Buck Thursday (and Jam Session) with the Longineu Parsons Trio. Expect the unexpected when the supertrio of Longineu Parsons, Brian Hall, and Michael Bakan hold court for Blue Tavern's exciting new Free Jazz Five Buck Thursday series (FJFBT). From Louis Armstrong classics to meditative musical dreamscapes, hard-driving funk grooves to wild Balkan beats, and free jazz adventures to the deepest downhome blues, Parsons-Bakan-Hall do it all--and they do it like no one else, whether here in Tallahassee or anywhere else on the planet. Oh, and don't forget to bring your instrument and sit in during the final 10:00 set open jam (space permitting). 8pm/$5
- Retrofit Records: King Krule “Space Heavy” Album Listening Event. 8pm
- The Bark: Closet Goth with No Face and Good Real Estate. 8pm
- 926: Jameson Tank with Learning To Swim and The Sparrows. 8:30pm
FRIDAY, 6/9
- Blue Tavern: Happy Hour with Everett Young. 5pm
- Hobbit West: Friday Night Dart Tournament. Anyone can Enter! Sign ups at 7:30, Darts fly at 8:00/$10 entry fee
- Ouzts Too: Karaoke with DJ Nathan. Best karaoke DJ in town. 8pm
- The Bar at La Casa: Latin Night. 8pm
- Just One More: Karaoke with DJ Rah. 9pm-11pm/21+
- 926: The Hot Friday Night Party and Drag Show. 9pm/$5/18+
- Proof: The Allie Cats. 5pm
- Peppers: Saylor Dollar. 6pm
- The Red Shed: Walkers Crossing. 6pm
- The Hub at Feather Oaks: Ben Baggett. 6pm
- Lake Tribe: John Moore. 6:30pm
- The Wine House on Markey Street: Little Mercies. 7pm
- Ruby Diamond: Second Annual Screen Spectacular featuring original film scores from student films and arrangements of music from film, TV, and video games performed by the FSU Studio Orchestra. 7:30pm
- Fire Bettys: Jupiter Troupe + Soul Candy - Free Show! 8pm
- The Bark: BRAT! with support from Brass Wizard, Slug Crust, Nightfall Ends, and Subpotent. 8:30pm
SATURDAY, 6/10 It’s my birthday! Happy birthday to me.
- Brinkley Glen Park: Invasive Plant Removal. Join Master Gardener Volunteers at this weekly invasive plant removal event. This is a great way to learn to ID our invasive plant species and how to remove them. We recommend wearing long pants and sleeves, closed-toed shoes, gloves, a hat and mosquito spray. Bring gardening tools such as hand clippers, loppers, trowels, etc. if you have them. We are removing coral ardisia bushes and berries, nandina, tung trees, Tradescantia flumenensis, cat's claw vine, winged yam, Japanese climbing fern, skunkvine and more. Directions: The best way to get there is to take Meridian Rd to Waverly Rd, go to the next intersection and turn left onto Abbotsford Way, then turn left at the next road called Woodside Dr. At the stop sign turn left onto Lothian. Lothian ends in a cul-de-sac and there is a sign that says Brinkley Glen Park. 8:30am-11:30am
- The Rose Room: The Rose Revue. Performances by your favorite entertainers and special guests! Shows at 8pm, 10pm, & Midnight! A unique cast EACH show! 7pm
- Duke’s and Dottie’s: Line Dancing Plus Lessons. 7pm/21+
- Bird’s Oyster Shack: Laughterday Night Fever. This week: Five Year Anniversary Laughterday Night Fever! Join us every Saturday at Bird's Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack for a free comedy show! 8:30pm
- La Casa Bar: Karaoke With Nathan. 9pm-1am
- The Bark: Sickening Saturday Drag Show. 10:30/$10/18+
- Woodville Branch of the Leon County Public Library: 2nd Saturday: History Under the Sea. Florida’s long coastline and crystal blue waters make for excellent diving experiences! The wonders of the sea have called many people to explore the depths! Come learn about diving practices through the years. Kids will go on a ‘dive’ of their own and discover the wonders of Florida’s waters! 11am
- Adams Street: Adams St Flea. Browse our market full of locally hand-made items, art, and vintage finds, all set to the vibes of our house DJ on Adams St. Make an afternoon of your trip by visiting the restaurants and shops in the heart of our Capital City. Noon
- Blue Tavern: 2nd & 4th Saturday Old Time Jam. All players & lovers of old-time Appalachian music are welcome to join! 4pm
- The Hub at Feather Oaks: Zach Lambert. 5pm
- The Rose Room: Grand RE Opening (Now in RR Sq). Welcome to our Rose Room... Come see how much we bloomed! WE have so much to show you... The Rose Review will leave you begging for more... with 2 amazing shows @9 and 11 followed by our very own burlesque troop @midnight ... This is a themed night Pride month so come out and support these AMAZING performers and show so Love... 6pm/$10
- 926: Mason Pace, Cinema Stereo, Satin, Copyright Claim, and The Fetish. 7pm
- Blue Tavern: Pat Puckett. 8pm/$5
- House of Music: Selwyn Birchwood. 8pm
- Cap City Video Lounge: Pride Burlesque Show. Shaken Not Stirred Burlesque is back at your fav local theater Cap City Video Lounge! We have an amazing show planned for Pride month! We're here, we're queer, & we're gonna make you cheer! Enjoy our queer cuties, exquisite enbys, & bi-babes! You don't want to miss our Pride Burlesque Revue! Pride looks/outfits welcome & encouraged! Don't forget to tip your performers! 8pm/18+/masks required/$10 General Admission, $20 VIP Admission: Front row seating, $35 Celebration Special: Ticket & a personalized song from Shaken Not Stirred Burlesque!
- Fire Bettys: Live Band Karaoke. 8pm/free
- SoLook Tally (434 FAMU Way): Submersive Sounds Hip-Hop Showcase featuring Nu Skinny, Trem Sol, Ro-Thoro, Tokyo.Extraordinaire, Da Beast, and DJ Ryan Chargers. 9pm
- Common Ground Books: June CGB Movie Night: Paris is Burning. 9pm
SUNDAY, 6/11
- Bicycle House: Sunday Ride. Ride at 10:30 AM from Bicycle House. We will ride the Cascades trail to the St Marks trail and down to Wakulla station and return, about 31 miles. Ride speed is 12 to 14 mph, with periodic regroups. Vernon Bailey is the ride leader. Vernon is a new CCC member who’s been biking for 50 years enjoys riding with small groups and weekend touring. 10am
- Gamescape: Pokémon League. Come learn, play, and trade with the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the Pokémon video games! We LOVE seeing new players, so come learn how to play! We play both the Trading Card Game and the Video Game casually and competitively. The store offers lots of different seating arrangements to meet our group's needs, as well as food, drinks, and Pokémon products for purchase. We are also hold regular, officially sanctioned tournaments for Pokémon Trading Card Game and Video Game Competitions! 2-4pm
- Lake Tribe: Colby Scheib. 3pm
- House of Music: Songwriter Sunday. Songwriters of Tallahassee hosted by Rachel Hillman. Bring your original songs on Sunday - sign up is at 4:30. No Cover Songs please - this is an event celebrating original music. Accompanists and Bands Welcome - you must be able to set up within two minutes, so no crazy pedals or amp shenanigans. No Backing Tracks - Please find someone to play your song with you. 5pm
- The Plant: Open Jam. All instruments, all players welcome. 5pm-9pm
- House of Music: Perkins Street Pickers. 5pm
- Oyster City Brewing: Comedy Night. Come have some laughs with us on Sunday nights! If you are interested in participating in the show, reach out to [email protected] 7:30pm
- The Rose Room: Synful Sunday. 8pm
- Ology: Marauder’s Market. Noon
- Goodwood: Tomato Feastival 2023. Join us for our 2023 Tomato Feastival on Sunday, June 11 from 2-6 p.m. at Goodwood Museum & Gardens! Enjoy great food, live music, meeting our farmers, playing games, and of course, local tomatoes. 2pm
- The Hub at Feather Oaks: Dominic Milner. BK’s SnowKone Factory is also here from 1-4 pm that day with their great selection of snow cone flavors and Dippin' Dots ice cream. The ice cream of the future of yesteryear! 3pm
**MONDAY, 6/12
- Just One More: Bingo. 5pm-6:30pm
- World of Beer: Corn Hole Night. 6pm
- American Legion Hall: Cha Cha - Weekly Lessons. 6:15pm/$5
- Hangar 38: Bingo. 6:45pm
- Vino Beano: Tipsy Trivia. 7pm
- The Rose Room: Karaoke Night. 8pm
TUESDAY, 6/13
- Blue Tavern: Shanice Richards Happy Hour! 5pm
- World of Beer: Poker Night. 6pm
- The Rose Room: Drag Bingo and Open Stage Night ft. Britney T. Foxx! 6pm
- Oyster City Brewing Company: Tuesday Night Beer-go! 6pm
- The Rose Room: Queer Dinner and a Movie! 6pm
- Crafty Crab: BOOMIN' Karaoke. 7pm
- Gamescape: Hobby Night. Slay the grey together! Join your fellow gamers and turn your pile of grey miniatures into a battle ready army. Need some painting tips? Feel free to ask at hobby night. You can bring any miniature for any game to paint. 7pm
- Ology Midtown: Jazz Jam Sessions. 7pm
- Island Wings: Trivia. 7pm
- House of Music: Tuesday Trivia & Karaoke. 7pm
- Burrito Boarder: Karaoke with DJ Roldus. 8pm
- Blue Tavern: Bluesday Tuesday with Bill Ricci. Every Tuesday is Blues Day @ the Blue Tavern and Blues Meets Girl is a Tallahassee favorite. This perfect, intimate venue provides just what you need for both a mid-week break and authentic blues music experience. 8pm/$5
- 4th Quarter: Professor Jim's Tuesday Night Trivia. Popular for a reason! 8pm
- Argonaut Coffee: Trivia Tuesday. 8pm
- 926: Tacos and Trivia. 9pm
- Fire Betty’s: Comedy Show. 9pm/21+
- Cap City Video Lounge: Tallahassee Filmmaker Meeting. Join us at Cap City Video Lounge to pitch and discuss coming film ideas and video projects, both currently in production or in the pre-production stages! Please bring your work and ideas via links, thumb drives, or discs so that we can showcase it on the big screen in the Cap City Video Lounge's Fantomas Theatre! (Trailers and Shorts only, please!) No experience is necessary to join, but a small $5 admission fee will go towards our wonderful meeting location to continue supporting the passion of movie making in the local community! Please invite local actors, crew members, and film enthusiasts to join us on Tuesday, June 13th! We will be returning to an itinerary for our meetings starting in July that will help amp you guys up for the next 48 hour competition in November! Tickets for the 48 Hour Film Festival Premiere from this past month are available for purchase in person or over the phone! Hope to see you there! 7:30pm
WEDNESDAY, 6/14
- Rose Room: Women's Wednesday. Featuring Our Rose Roulettes and drink specials all night long. A night for all of our female-identifying friends to enjoy a safe space and an awesome happy hour! 6pm-2am
- Blue Tavern: The Wednesday Night Lab Session. 5pm
- Sugar and Spice Tally: Game Night. Join us every Wednesday Night for community game night. Bring your own or use ours! Let me know if you need to reserve space for a large group. Free to attend! 5pm
- Tara Angel’s Magic: D&D Experience - Adult (18+) Group. Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition - Candlekeep Mysteries. A one-shot is a D&D event that starts and finishes in the same session, typically lasting 3 - 4 hours. We have pre-generated characters for players to choose from. WHAT TO BRING: Pencils, Dice (can be purchased in store), Mask (encouraged for unvaccinated participants), Enthusiasm! Please sign up in advance to reserve a spot in this campaign. Tickets can be purchased in-store, over the phone, or on the website. For more information, please email [email protected], or call: (850) 878-4555 6pm-9pm
- Goodwood: Wonderful Wednesday. 6pm/$5
- Level 8 Rooftop Lounge: Trivia. 6pm
- The Great Games Library: Open Game Night. 6pm/free
- American Legion Hall: Sue Boyd Country Western and More Dance Class. Session 2 - Beginner 6:30 to 7:45 pm What: East Coast Swing and Waltz. Cost: $8.00 per person. Wear comfortable shoes you can turn in. 7:45 to 8:15 - Practice dance with paid admission. 8:15 to 9:30: Intermediate - 2 Step and WCS. $8.00 per person or $13.00 for both classes. Vaccines are required. Face masks are optional. Changing partners is optional. 6:30pm
- Perry Lynn’s Smokehouse in Quincy: Wed Night Open Mic w/ Steven Ritter and Friends. 6:30pm
- Hangar 38: Trivia. 6:45pm
- Oyster City Brewing Tallahassee: Trivia. Teams up to 6 players for three rounds with 10 questions and a tie breaker each round. Winners are by round so don’t worry if you need to come late or can’t stay the whole time! Prizes include a round of beer, a 6 pack and a gift card! 7pm
- Proof: Trivia. 7pm
- Vino Beano: Wine Bingo. 7pm
- Fermentation Lounge: Trivia. 7pm
- Blue Tavern: Wednesday Open Mic with Doc Russell. The open mic night that has run continuously for almost 20 years, once housed at the Warehouse, lives on at the Blue Tavern. Doc Russell continues as the host with the most. Sign up starts at 7:45pm/free to attend
- House of Music: Bar Bingo! Free to Play & Late Night Karaoke. 7pm
- The Bar at La Casa: MidWeek KARAOKE! 7pm
- Fire Betty’s: Karaoke! 8pm/21+/free
- Dukes and Dotties: College Night and Line Dancing Lessons. 8pm
- The Bark: Karaoke with DJ Nathan. Best karaoke DJ in town. 9pm
- World of Beer: Karaoke with DJ Cowboy. 9pm
- 926: Dragged Out Wednesday. 10pm
- 926: Normalizing Hate: A Difficult Discussion on LGBTQ+ Rights in Florida. Gay-owned Junnier Law & Research P.A. is presenting "A Law & Your Rights Hour" discussion on "Normalizing Hatred: An Uncomfortable Discussion About LGBTQ+ Rights in Florida" at 926 Bar & Grill to talk about the government clawback of LGBTQ+ rights in Florida. We will informally discuss LGBTQ+ current events and how they affect our identity as a group and as individuals. Talk leads to anger, anger leads to planning, planning leads to action--Let's turn Anger into Action! 7pm
- Square Mug: Ahleuchatistas (feat. Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle/Fantômas) with Frogs Dogs and Cowl. 7pm
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2023.06.08 06:25 Lower-Goose-9796 Why the Radio Disney Pop Dreamers are some of my favorite childhood dolls.
Remember when I posted my dolls of the Radio Disney Pop Dreamers I showed you my original childhood Ella (With only one of her original outfits) I found a year ago,Put new batteries in her and she still works and shortly after I found Gabrielle and Ari at a Flea Market for 1.50 each and after I brought them home I fixed their hair put new batteries in them and they still work and they still have 2 of their outfits,Also here is my history with this now obscure doll line from Disney. Here is the story.
It all started in like the early 2000's I think it was either 2002 or 2003 I was like 8 or 9 years old at the time and I see these dolls on the shelf at a store and I noticed they were symbolic to the Disney Princesses like Ella is symbolic to "Cinderella",Ari is symbolic to Ariel and Gabrielle is symbolic to Belle and the three outfits you snap on them which is another way to get them to talk besides pressing the buttons on their flip flops had stuff that symbolize each princess and another cool thing about them is you put them together and they talk to each other and sang and I thought there cool so the first one I picked out was Ella,This was at a Kmart and my mom got her for me,I picked her first cause she has blonde hair with pink streaks (I loved the color pink at the time but I've always been both a girly girl and a tomboy) and she symbolized Cinderella (Who was one of the first Disney princesses I ever loved and Ariel was the very first since I was like 3),After I got home I played with Ella and I enjoyed the songs she sang which are "If you can dream" and "Be a star".
Also I got the CD shortly after(Which I still have somewhere) and it had all the songs in it including different versions of some of the Disney Princess songs like Ella's version of "A Dream is a wish your heart makes" from "Cinderella" Gabrielle's version of "Beauty and the Beast" from obviously "Beauty and the Beast" and Ari's version of "Part of your world" from "The Little Mermaid" and even Ella's version of "Someday my prince will come" from Snow White" and Ari's version of popular 80's songs like "We got the beat" and Walking on Sunshine" since the original disney's version The Little Mermaid came out in the late 80's also longer versions of the songs the dolls sing.
I also had a t-shirt with Ella on it from The Disney store,I wore when I was 9.
Months later at Christmas I got Ari and I loved her,I also loved how she symbolized the first Disney princess I loved like I said "Since I was like 3" So I had those 2 for a very long time until they were put away for a long time.
Then 20 some years later as a 28 year old which was a year ago I look through some of my old toys from when I was a little girl I had them in my closet,I look through some stuff I find a Disney Store Ballerina Cinderella (Which I fixed the hair on) and an doll of Stella from the original Winx Club (My favorite version of Winx) and then I find my childhood Ella (With one outfit and missing other accessories),Her face had some white stuff on it which I cleaned up and I fixed her hair,Then I put new batteries in her and she still works but I couldn't find my original childhood Ari for some weird reason but like I said "Shortly after I find Ari and Gabrielle at a Flea Market and I got them for a dollar and 50 cents each they still had 2 of their outfits but no guitars,I bought them Gabrielle still worked,Although she sounded a little disoreted a little bit but I put new batteries in her she worked she sounded good and Ari just need new batteries so I put new batteries in her and she worked I also fixed their hair and cleaned them up a little bit.
So that is my story and I am proud to have all 3 of them after all these years and their part of my doll and toy collection along with My Disney collection and I got Ella and Ari back.
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2023.06.08 05:29 Alarmed_Suggestion56 Can I introduce a new budgie or Cockatiel to my 2 aloof budgies?
| I was given these budgies about a year ago from a flea market in South Texas. Consistently throughout this year, i’ve been spending quality and quantitive time with them, trying to win over their trust. I’ve followed every tip, every piece of advice, and every hack that you could imagine, yet they are still untrusting of me and full-blown terrified of everything and everyone else. At times, they’ll have their moments where they’ll fall asleep in front of me or climb onto my forearm for food. They usually fall asleep, relax, preen, and grind their beaks to my voice whilst in their cage, but that’s all thrown out of the window as soon as I do something slightly intrusive such as trying to clean their cage, refill their food (Chop mix) and water, put in a new toy, or cover their cage at night. When I do any of these things, they usually depuff and huddle together in the back of their cage (They never have bitten me). Their cage is open for around 2-3 hours in the afternoon (Around 12-3, 1-4) and at night (5-8, (6-9), yet they rarely come out. Also, people in Southern Texas usually have many misconceptions on bird-care, so I’ve speculated that they were likely mistreated and mishandled as younglings (They were 3 months old max when I first got them) I’ve been very gentle and only want the best for them, but I’ve accepted that they’ll probably never be the social birds that I dream of them being. Naturally, since I’ve ran out of any more pieces of advice to follow, I’ve began looking at other solutions. I’ve considered giving them away to a local aviary that has a nicely sized flock of budgies, but I’ve been hesitant because of how attached I am to these cuties. Now i’m wondering if getting a hand-tamed budgie or cockatiel is a solution to hopefully ‘motivate’ my birds into being more social. My question is, is this a good idea or not? Would they be scared of a new bird, even if it was a budgie? Would they be motivated like I think they would be? Or would they not care at all and/or just bully the new bird? If this is a bad idea, what else could I do? I know living with permanently anxious budgies is bad for their health. I’m also worried in case of a day that one of them gets sick, and I can’t get them proper care because of how they are deathly afraid. (Also I don’t believe comments saying something along the lines of “Have you tried _____ or ____?” would help. I can almost guarantee you that I’ve tried whatever tip you can come up with.) submitted by Alarmed_Suggestion56 to budgies [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 02:28 queenofthescreen [Thank You] Whaddya give a sick lemon? Lemon-aid. How did lemon greet lime? Sour you doing? What did papa pear tree say to his kid pear tree too afraid to grow his first fruit? Son, grow a pear. How do oranges do well in school? They concentrate. Usain bolt must be a fruit-have you seen that mango?
https://imgur.com/a/pUCwPZf u/unseenbowl x 2 It was sooooo sweet of you to think of me with the pretty Monet flair congrats postcard!!!! Can’t wait for your flair dreams to come true too! Thank you for this super insanely adorable jungle-themed Wild About You V-Day card (arrived oddly late) and OMG WHAAAAAT?!? A MAGICAL MATCHING SHEET OF SWEEEEEEET STICKERS?!?! Is this witchcraft?!? I didn’t know that this type of card magic existed - it’s like you threw a party in a card, my sweet little unseenbowl. And even the interior of the envelope is all decked out in colorful hearts!!!! Solid color on one side but then this heart-tastic little secret just for my eyes only?!?!? Dude no one else gets to attend this party but me!!! And let’s do something about this you not being seen, because you’re honestly the cutest bowl I have NEVER seen but I want to see you. I see you, you sweet little bowl. I affirm your existence & your majesty! What kinda bowl are you anyway, sweetheart? A cereal bowl? An I’ll-eat-ramen-keto-be-damned kinda bowl that’s super deep & lets me soak my worries away? No matter what type of bowl you are, I wish for you to be seen & appreciated!!!
u/omggallout x 2 Thank you for the gorgeous watercolor floral card - such a stunning treat!!! I really like the artist’s talent in layering. I TOTALLY agree about the house thing - I feel the same way & wish we both had our dream houses now!! LOVE the gorgeous mint green crocheted butterfly - WOW!!! Your fine fiber arts skills are sooooo insanely impressive! Thank you for the stickers & the heartbreakingly adorable Winnie-the-Pooh postcard of Winnie gazing at himself in the mirror - I love it!!!! I really enjoyed the fun fact that the original Pooh was purchased at Harrods - I had no idea he was so flippin’ fancy!!! Wishing you a fabulously fancy spring & your dream home super soon, kind friend!
u/MarineWife0922 x 3 So sweet of you to think of me with my ADORABLE flair congrats card!!! It’s sooo cute & totally my style - I LOVE vintage kid illustrations!!! It’s gorgeous - I’d love to know where I can find cards in the same set please!!!! Thanks also for the *adorable* “Thinking of You” cards with the cute illustrated girl & flowers! I LOVE how you wrote so much you didn’t leave any white space in the cards hahaha! Thanks for sharing your fun personality & quirky thoughts with me! I loved hearing how dance has been therapeutic for you - that’s so beautiful. The blue raspberries bit - LMAO!
u/
StrangeMailings Thank you for the awesome cryptic postcard with the fun mystery paint job & creepy cool sticker! So fun to see the strange get stranger & cooler by the card LOL!!
u/clashvalley Thank you for the sweet Night-Blooming Cereus card - and what a delight that there was no white space left with all your awesome words!!! Also love the sweet floral sticker, thank you!! I loved how much you taught me about faeries - wow, I knew nothing about them, & it was fascinating to learn! I’ll bet your essay is awesome & that the teacher loved your work. :) It made me giggle to learn about the faeries “who enjoy punishing humans” LOL!!! Wishing you only the pleasant faeries who gift you delicious custard creams & bless you!!!
u/StrawberryForestLady Thank you for the neat vintage cactus postcard & your kind thoughts - love the illustration. =) Wishing you a thorn-free spring!
u/ninajyang x 2 Thank you so much for the surprise birthday card with the beautiful gift of sweet stickers!!! I was so touched you thought of me. I wish I could describe the card more to sing its praises but I’m writing this from memory as I don’t have the card with me (apologies no pic of this one). You made me feel super loved with your encouraging words. I can only hope to inspire people as much as you have, darling soul!! Thank you for the cool In & Out retro illustrated ad postcard - I always stare adoringly at their retro pics in the restaurant! I also love the 8 billion fruity, vintage-y stamps you used!! =) Hope you’re having a sunny & sweet spring (more thank yous pending, Beautiful!)
u/LadyLili13 x 2 Thank you for the gorgeous pastel postcards with the cool 3D effect of clouds & the super pretty sky!!! I loved hearing about your passion for Pathfinder. I’ve never played it before but now you have me so curious! Hearing about the character wedding making your sweet “heart sing” was so touching!! I just adore your sentimental heart! The stickers you included - OMG to-die-for. The dilapidated teddy bear sticker is my absolute fave!!! Thank you so much for thinking of me, you’re always so thoughtful, Darlin’!! Wishing you lots of joy as you continue to play your games! =)
u/shipping_addict Thank you for the gorgeous Yoshida postcard with the awesome crunchy salad recipe. BTW I did not deface the beautiful card with the black marker - I want to kill USPS. I honestly don’t understand what the heck they’re doing. OMG this salad is so my style & reminds me of my Blueberry Brainiac salad (will share it asap). Can’t wait to try it!
u/scared_deerfox x 3 Your beautiful, bouncy energy came roaring through your sweet envelope!! Thanks for the adorable card of the smooching bunny & baby chick!!! The stickers you used to decorate the card are so adorable too. You are SO deep - loved the way you responded to the bunny carrot nightmare prompt! Wow. Loved the analogy you used of the clouds & the blue sky. So sweet!!! I hope your friends & family appreciate your super kind, compassionate nature. Also love the Finding Nemo card & all the precious stickers you included. The smiling stars are just little dolls! I also love the mesmerizing Pacman Nebula postcard with the Chat GPT response to the prompt - that was so fun & surprisingly normal LOL!! I appreciate your kindnesses & hope that you have the most splendid spring full of fabulous flowers!
u/Accomplished_Hope788 Thank you so much for the absolutely ADORABLE “You Make my Heart Beet” postcard of the illustrated beet & the pretty floral sticker! The card is so delightful - the happy vibes from you & the card are jumping out at me! I totally agree about Deja Vu - it’s totally an otherworldly experience & is both baffling & beautiful.
u/BlacksmithEquivalent x 2 Thank you so much for thinking of me with the beautiful birthday card with fun wishes & the San Diego postcard! Plllleaaaase no apologies for sending the wishes out late - in fact, it’s an awesome feeling to receive birthday greetings at random non-birthday days LOL! I really like the cute illustration of the turtle carrying the gifts. Adorable. Wow - I’ll bet living in super hip San Diego is a total treat. I wish I could leave my state for cooler weather & cooler things to do. Wishing you sunny serenity in San Diego!
u/KeenEvergreen Thank you for the ADORABLE Easter pickle card!!! Soooo insanely cute!!! It was fun to see a unique, bunny-less take on Easter lol! Love the stickers you used to decorate the envelope. It was also a sweet surprise to receive the Perennial seed mix - how neat, thank you! My niece will love using these this spring. =) Hope your spring is sweet & serene!
u/Kuddledeadgirl Thank you for having such a fun username which always makes me giggle hahaha! Thanks also for the lovely book recommendations on the scenic Michigan postcard! I highly recommend “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles - he’s a brilliant writer. Wishing you happy reads!
u/cake-at-midnight Thank you for the sweet thank you card - it was my pleasure to think of you on your birthday! The donkey sanctuary sounds so cool & peaceful! LOVED your hand-drawn orange flowers on the envelope & your gorgeous calligraphy of my name!!! Thanks also for the awesome stickers - the mail-themed ones especially speak to my heart! Hope you have a blast at your next sanctuary visit. :)
u/retrorabbit79 Thank you for the hilarious bird insult postcard - “See you whenever the f%$& I come back to this sh#thole!” Hahaha, so appropriate to say to my dumb family! ;)
u/lunatenchi_ Thank you so much for the super inspiring handmade “You can influence the world” card! Lilac is one of my favorite colors! It’s so peaceful. You decorated the card with such fun stickers. =) I just love the kindness affirmations you shared! Here are a few affirmations for you on one of my fave topics, creativity. “I effortlessly connect with the universe's boundless inventiveness.” “Every day, creative energy runs through me.” “The universe's creativity manifests itself through me.” “Fresh ideas are constantly flowing to me. I am overflowing with creative energy.” Wishing you creativity in all its forms, sweet friend! Also love the Finding Nemo card & all the precious stickers you included. The smiling stars are just little dolls! I also love the mesmerizing Pacman Nebula postcard with the Chat GPT response to the prompt - that was so fun & surprisingly normal LOL!! I appreciate your kindnesses & hope that you have the most splendid spring full of fabulous flowers!
u/Chip-girl I’m so in love with this adorable, awesome homemade fabulous fruit card!!! Smiling fruit just makes my day!! Your art is so gorgeous - I’m so happy you sent it to me!!! I really like the creative way you cut out the border surrounding the fruit - this is such a neat way to make a card instantly fancy! And the way you wrote my address on the envelope is simply stunning - it’s insanely impressive! Hope you have a gorgeous spring!!
u/eccentric_bee x 2 THANKS A MILLION for this absolutely stunning, super beautiful watercolor robot art card!!!! LOVE all the colors & the beautiful quote you wrote. I also love the size - so perfect. Leave it to you & your incredible talent to bring a robot to life!!! The expression on his face is so amazingly human it seems like he just can’t be a machine & that he actually has a beating heart! That kind of skill takes such a brilliant artist!! Thanks also for the super soothing watercolor plant art card!! These cards make me so very happy. Thank you for thinking of me - these beauties are going straight into my art journal!! Wishing you lots of joy & peace as you continue your amazing art work!
u/Ohio_Geo HAHAHA thank you for the hilarious “F#%& off” card with the quirky cool stickers/memo sheets & the “F” word wood cut-out LOL I can’t wait to send it to a lucky friend!!! Love your sense of humor!! Hope you “F&$% off” too! ;)
u/specialist-chapter89 x 2 THIS GORGEOUS SHAKER BIRTHDAY CARD made my day!!!! THANK YOU!!! I'm so sorry I can't praise it more - long story but I don't have the card with me right now to thank you properly. I just recall it being a feast for the eyes - super pretty!! It really made my birthday so special to receive your warm sentiments & all the love you sent along with it!! I LOVE the handmade “Hello” card with the awesome quotes from Tusa- Karol G & Nicki Minaj & Flowers-Miley Cyrus! THANK YOU! I also love your elegant handwriting so much! Thanks also for the fun stickers!
u/loopyboops707 Thank you for the super cute homemade EasteSpring card! So much energy & positive vibes coming at me, thank you!!! Love all the scrapbooking bits & fun stickers you used to decorate the bright card! Thanks also for the lovely stickers you included. Wishing you a glorious, gorgeous spring, sweet friend!
u/GreetingCardShark x 2 Thank you for the cute birthday cake card & the sweet wishes - I so appreciate your lovely thoughts!! Thank you so much also for thinking of me with the sweet “Hooray” card in honor of my new flair! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. I also learned a lot from your card about how to jazz up card decorations - the yellow highlighting trick is soooo neat! It really looks like you sent me fireworks - I just love the effect!!!
u/kimkimMRW x 2 Thank you for the beautiful Andy Warhol postcards!!!! The Campbell’s Soup card is absolutely awesome - I love the colors!! The decorative “Lotus” stamp you used is also lovely! The way you decorated the envelope with the fun stickers & banana-themed washi is also super cool. :) Hilarious “I know where you live” sticker - hahahaha!! Love it. Wishing you an artsy, awesome spring, kind friend.
u/GuestBathroom Hahaha love your quirky username & your amazing handwriting - it’s PERFECT! Thank you so much for the gorgeous vintage stamp postcard. I love the way you decorated the card with all the fun vintage stamps! I also enjoyed hearing about your affinity for the color purple - it’s such a soothing, elegant color. I love how that color is associated with royalty. Wishing you a sweet spring with perfectly purple flowers!
u/BirdieBennet x 2 This. GORGEOUS! STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL “Birthday Loops” birthday card is undoubtedly one of the G.O.A.T. cards in my collection! This card made me so insanely happy - the bright colors & the super sweet, jazzy illustration is the epitome of what I love in a card!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!! I also went bonkers for the awesome, adorable kitty postcard to gift on -I just looove your taste in cards!!! Thank you also for the sweet stickers & cuuute memo sheets!! How you decorated the envelope with the pretty pastel washi tape & your perfect, pretty handwriting made me so happy too - you made my birthday insanely special, kind friend! Thank you for the super elegant “Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May” postcard - what a stunning illustration!!! I also like how the artist incorporated a mirror behind the subject - it adds such depth to the card. I loved hearing about how you laugh daily & your funny mom - of course she is so very proud of you!!! I also love the pretty pastel nature scene (I’m obsessed with this series) & desk scene postcards you included. I wish you endless laughter - here are some jokes for you. What has more lives than a cat? A frog, because it croaks every day. Why was the fish’s grades bad? They were below sea level. What’s Forrest Gump’s password? 1forrest1 (hahaha I LOVE this one!!)
u/maiiiu Thank you so much for the jazzy homemade card - as always, your positivity & beautiful nature come blasting through this sweetie!! The beachy vibes are so soothing. =) Thanks also for the adorable stickers you sent - I really love the creative tip of pasting them into the card with washi tape! That’s a great way to ensure they’re not flying around everywhere!
u/lifesucks_F Thank you for the sweet homemade constellation card - I really love the color combo of purple & pink! And the joke is hilarious too!!! Here’s one for you. Why was Cinderella so bad at playing soccer? She kept running away from the ball. ;)
u/snerdboff x 2 Thanks for the adorable handmade ice cream “You are quite the beauty” card! What a pretty chandelier on that scrapbooking paper. :) This fun card is a great example for me to use the next time I use scrapbooking paper as a card base. So elegant & I love the way you made it a flip from the top card. =) Thanks also for the handmade food truck themed card - it’s so fun!! Mmmmm, hot dogs & soda are always fun no matter the season. You did a great job using up all your leftover scrapbooking bits. :) Wishing you a sweet spring!
u/morenoodles Thank you for the Burbank postcard with the delicious carb conversation LOL! You have amazing taste in carbs, fine friend. If you’re into buttery flaky crusts, I highly suggest the Portuguese flaky-crusted treat “Pastel De Nata” - ever tried them? TO DIE FOR!!!! I became hooked on them in Portugal & although the ones at Trader Joe’s (marketed as “Portuguese Custard Tarts”) don’t compare, they are definitely delicious & I recommend them! Wishing you the creamiest of carbs!!
u/draftyelectrolyte Thanks for the neat-o Maine postcard with the lovely illustrations which REALLY makes me wanna come check out Maine asap! I also love the Jamie Wyeth quote you included. I’ve always been intrigued by Maine from everything I’ve heard & especially when authors write about it. So I appreciate the inspiration & your kindness! Wishing you beautiful balmy breezes this spring!
u/56Thorns x 2 Thank you for the “awwwww” inducing illustrated kitty cards!!! Sooooooo mindblowingly cuuuuute! The kitty wedding card is just…so cute it hurts!!! I love the whimsical style & fun colors for the card. The surprise bonus postcard of the kitty lounging in the potted plant is hilarious & super sweet! I love your taste in art. =) Thanks also for the big beautiful kitty sticker & the kitty-themed party napkin - so festive!!! Wishing you lots of joy & peace this spring, kind soul!
u/fancykiddens x 2 My fancy fine fabulous friend!!!! Thank you for the ***literally sweet*** Candy Heaven postcard - love the stickers you used to decorate!!! And I love your sweet handwriting! How sweet you are is apparent from this card! Thank you for the cuuuute doggie card with all the cute stickers!!! I LOVE your handwriting!!! Most of all, I love your constant positivity - I actually feel those rays of sunshine you’re bouncing to me all the way from your sunny state!!! Sending lots of love (and a promise to catch up asap).
u/on1omaniac Thank you for the adorable “Star meets little prince” postcard with your gorgeous handwriting! Your penmanship is soooo nice & even - how do you do it?!??!? It’s art!!! I also love the “Bear Mail” stamp you used. Adorable. And what a huge heart you have, sacrificing your alien love for all your loved ones! Wishing you a spring full of limitless (human haha) love!!
u/RitaAlbertson Thank you for the adorable handmade zebra-themed birthday card & your kind wishes!! Soooo cute! I appreciate you thinking of me on my big day. :) Wishing you a fabulous spring!
u/championvilla Thank you so much for the cool Carlsbad Caverns National Park postcard in honor of my birthday! Love the Alice in Wonderland rabbit sticker you used for the birthday proclamation - so clever & cute! I really appreciate you thinking of me on my birthday - thanks again!!! =) Wishing you a super spring!
u/RideThatBridge Thank you for the adorable vintage Easter postcard! And OMG this joke is AWESOME!!! “What do you call a Zen egg? An OMMMMMMM LET.” Hahahaha!!! Thank you for the sweet card & the awesome laugh!!! I also love the bunny-themed washi in fun colors & the bunny sticker you used. Hope you’re having a syrupy sweet spring, sweet friend (so many more thank-yous due, sweetcakes - posted about my drama in meta).
u/melhen16 Thank you for the pretty pastel Earth Day postcard with your kind wishes & the fun stickers!
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2023.06.08 00:30 AutoModerator General Questions Thread, June 07, 2023
A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community. Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here. For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in
the Bootleg Megathread. NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines
- For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
- For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.
Bootlegs
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops
Retailers:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Shop Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode Right Stuf FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Dekai Anime (UK) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan
Blogs/News:
Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)
Buying & Shipping
1. What’s the best place to buy my anime figures from?
That’s going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, there’s a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Don’t be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if you’re unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices you’ll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.
- Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
- Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
- EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
- Airmail
- E-packet
- Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
- DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.
3. I placed two+ orders for figures at different times. Will my items be shipped together, or will I have to pay shipping twice?
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:
- Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesn’t matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that month’s shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the “Combine Orders” feature under “My Account”.
- Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the “Order Recombination” feature on your account page.
- HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their “Private Warehouse”, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the “Private Warehouse” option as shipping when you order.
If you’re unsure about whether or not a shop we haven’t listed will combine your orders, please refer to their individual FAQs.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if you’d like. A few with that option are:
- Big in Japan (Japanese store)
- Tokyo Otaku Mode
- Anime Island
- Crunchyroll
Keep in mind that overseas stores will likely get the figure a few months after Japanese ones, so pay attention to the release date stated on the website you are buying from so as to avoid that confusion.
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
- Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
- European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under €150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >€150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
- UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <£135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <£135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >£135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
- Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
- United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely won’t have to worry about them at all.
6. The figure I want is an exclusive, how do I go about ordering one outside of Japan?
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but it’s easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:
Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item you’re looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, or you’re having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:
Again, be sure you thoroughly read through each sites proxy instructions.
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. They’re most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread that’s always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. What’s a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if you’re worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If you’re curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the “Releases” section on a figure’s entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! What’s the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the “Shops” section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, you’ll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you don’t know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the “details” in that figure’s listing.
11. Amiami has a figure I’m interested in labeled as “For sale in Japan only”. Does this mean I can’t order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiami’s English site has that warning on many items, and it’s mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so don’t expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesn’t want foreigners buying a certain product, they won’t even list it on their English site.
Displaying Your Figures
12. What display cases do you recommend?
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:
*If you decided on a Detolf, you might find that there is a lot of wasted space. Here are a few tutorials on raising the shelves or and adding extra ones in.
If you don’t live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your country’s equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikea’s Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights don’t get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyone’s figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:
Check your local hobby store for the first 2 options, or your local hardware store if you want to make your own.
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:
- Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isn’t exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
- Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed won’t raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.
Finding the Right Figure(s) for You
16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.
- "Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
- "Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
- "Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
- "Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to describe poseable figure lines such as figma and Nendoroids.
In recent years producers such as Good Smile Company attempted to further bridge the gap between prize quality and scales by introducing figure lines which are intended to be moderately-priced while retaining a higher level of detail than the typical prize figure, to varying levels of success.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:
- Alter
- Max Factory
- Good Smile Company
- Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
- Flare
- Stronger
18. I really love “series X / character X”- how can I check if any figures were ever made for it?
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if you’re looking at a figure’s MFC entry, most of the text under the “Details” section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.
Keeping Up with New Announcements
20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:
Many figure companies are active on Twitter, so following them there is recommended for quicker news.
To use MFC for this I’ll quote question #9.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyone’s excited about something called Wonfes….. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that I’m really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search “WonderFestival 20xx_[season]” to see all items announced at that event.
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2023.06.08 00:00 AutoModerator Bootleg Megathread, June 07, 2023
Hello
/AnimeFigures, and welcome again to the Bootleg Megathread!
Please use this thread to post any and all questions you might have regarding counterfeit figures.
This includes questions such as “Is my figure a bootleg?” and “Can I trust this seller?”. Remember to be as detailed as possible when asking for help. Provide clear pictures (ideally, multiple) or a link to the item you’re looking to buy, depending on what you’re asking. Let us know why you think this might be a bootleg, or why you don’t trust this seller. Also keep in mind that different types of figures vary in quality. For example, a prize figure won't have the same level of detail or quality as a scaled figure.
As bootlegs are a serious problem for anyone who enjoys collecting, we are also happy to provide you with a few tips to spotting them yourselves. We encourage you guys to practice these tips before posting here.
For figures you already have:
- Examine your retailer. Are they known to sell counterfeits? Keep in mind that all retailers on the sidebar are approved by /AnimeFigures, and do not sell bootlegs.
- Was the price far lower then the current average?
- Check MFC for known counterfeits. If a figure has any there will be red text indicating so on that figure’s listing. Click on the red text to see pictures of the bootleg.
- Compare yours to the counterfeit and the user pictures- Do not compare yours to the prototype. (Comparison tip: Start with the hair. I usually find that the be the easiest place to spot differences!)
- Look for poor quality paint jobs, materials, or sculpt work (lots of "coloring outside the lines", shiny skin, missing textures or gradients, ect).
- Examine the box. Some bootleg boxes are very easy to spot, and some- not so much. Look for a holo sticker of authenticity.
Past Bootleg Megathreads can be found
here,
for reference only. Please be sure to only post in the current one.
For figures you're looking to buy:
General Tips:
- Examine your retailer. Are they known to sell counterfeits? Keep in mind that all retailers on the sidebar are approved by /AnimeFigures, and do not sell bootlegs.
- Is the price far lower then the current average?
- Check item descriptions carefully. Bootlegs may be listed under fake brands rather than the known manufacturer. They may also contain descriptions like "China version" to avoid admitting that they are fake; similar weasel-word terms include "hand-made" (and its often-associated "item size may vary") and "colors may differ on your screen".
- Check MFC for a shop review listing.
Ebay Checklist:
1. Price.
- Again. Seriously, have I mentioned that yet? Insanely low prices should be throwing up some serious alert signals.
2. Look for pictures of the actual product, that the seller took.
- A lot of sellers like to list their items with the official photos put out by the manufacturer. Check MFC if you're unsure of what you’re looking at. If the pictures under "official" on MFC are the same as the ones on eBay, then they were not taken by the seller. Some sellers are just lazy and don't want to take pictures for every listing, but some use that as a trick to make you think you're getting an official item, when you're really going to get a bootleg.
- When in doubt, ask the seller for pictures of the actual product. If they ignore you, or say they can't do that, move on to a different listing.
3. Check their feedback.
- Look specifically for feedback where the buyer received a bootleg. This is usually going to be in the "negative feedback" section.
4. Check where it ships from.
- eBay is really good about letting you know where an item is shipping from. If it ships from China, that's a bad sign.
Frequently Asked Bootleg Questions:
1. Is AliExpress a good website to buy from?
- No, stay away from AliExpress. As far as figures are concerned, they only sell bootlegs.
2. How about Wish? And Mercari?
- Wish appears to be nearly as bad as AliExpress in terms of bootleg frequency. User reports from Mercari depict a wide range of scenarios, with good sellers mixed in with people egregiously marking up their merchandise and more than a few bootlegs. Use with caution.
3. Is Amazon.com a good source for figures?
- The increased use of the practice of commingling inventory has led to an increase in the amount of counterfeit merchandise appearing on Amazon. This increases the possibility of receiving a bootleg from them even if the seller appears to be otherwise trustworthy (even for "shipped and sold by Amazon.com"), and should be considered a reason to avoid them if possible. If one does choose to buy figures on Amazon, particularly with third-party sellers, apply the same criteria for price, seller photos, and deceptive descriptions as one would for a seller anywhere else, though the commingling issue will remain unless the item's path to the buyer is specified. Amazon listings may copy images and descriptive text from other sites. Be particularly careful to check that the company in the "Brand" line matches the item's official producer, and watch for questionable text as mentioned above.
4. My Nintendo nendoroid/Figma has a white, square sticker, rather then the shiny oval one that can be found in the official pictures on MFC. Does that mean I have a bootleg?
- No, the square sticker is also legitimate.
A Related Topic:
- People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another indicator is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on. While MFC does not list every legitimate item for various reasons, it does reject unlicensed ones. __________________________
Past Bootleg Megathreads can be found here, for reference only. Please be sure to only post in the current one.
Thanks TychoRC for creating this guide and helping answer questions!
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2023.06.07 17:16 SubManagerBot Incomplete and Growing List of Participating Subreddits Thread 2
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2023.06.07 15:00 hnqn1611 TOP 10 Things to do in MEXICO CITY - [2023 Travel Guide]
| https://preview.redd.it/f8i15pt9fl4b1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a7d7279425f6e14ed0e6c1e009994a63dfd5004 In this post , we'll show you ten best things to do in Mexico City. The suggestions are based on our fun trip to this unique historic metropolis. Sponsored by Beeyond compression packing cubes for travel. The link is in the description. Don't forget to like this post , subscribe to our channel, and enable notifications. And share your own Mexico City experience or ask a question in the comments below. And stick around until the end of this post because we have a bonus for you. Here are our top 10 picks. Top 10 things to do in Mexico City ⭐ Sponsored by BEEYOND packing cubes, a revolutionary new way to pack your luggage 🧳 🎒 👉 https://amzn.to/43uwwz0 👈 (on Amazon) 🔥 📚 Mexico City PDF Guide 👉 https://amzn.to/3WVsSvh🔥 NUMBER 10: Plaza del Zócalo Officially called Plaza de la Constitución and nicknamed Zócalo, Mexico City’s main square has been a meeting place for Mexicans since the Aztec times. People gather there for ceremonies, royal proclamations, military parades, and even national protests. The site was the main ceremonial center in the pre-Columbian Mexico City called Tenochtitlan. This large and well-developed city-state was built on the island of Lake Texcoco together with another city - Tlatelolco. According to Aztec mythology, it was considered the center of the universe. The nickname Zócalo means "pedestal" or "plinth." A monument to the Mexican independence was planned to be built here but only the base to support the statue called Zócalo was built. The plinth is no longer there, but the name has lived on. You won’t, however, be able to miss a giant Mexican flag placed in the center of the square. Zócalo is home to several important buildings, including the National Palace, the seat of the Mexican government, and the largest Cathedral in Latin America – Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, built in segments from 1573 to 1813 around the original church built atop the former Aztec Templo Mayor. While you're in the area, watch Aztec dancers next to the Cathedral that uses inspiration from ancient rituals and traditional dance just outside the cathedral. NUMBER 9: Templo Mayor Located right next to Zócalo, Templo Mayor or Greater Temple is a vast complex of ruins of religious and civic buildings from the Aztec times. Templo Mayor was the main Temple of the rulers of the Aztec Empire – the Mexica people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, or what is today known as Mexico City. According to Aztec mythology, the Aztec God of Sun and War Huitzilopochtli ordered his people to establish a new capital in a place where an eagle sits on a cactus, devouring a snake. The seal of the Mexican government represents this legend from Aztec mythology. That legendary location turned out to be a place covered by wetlands. The Temple was built on an island in the 14th century and was destroyed after the Spanish Conquests in the 16th century. The ruins of the temple's exact location was later forgotten, and the excavations was carried out at the end of the 19th century and some parts even in the late 20th century. Visit Templo Mayor Museum, a part of UNESCO World Heritage that showcases archaeological finds and exhibits related to the Aztec civilization. Or if you don’t have time, see the temple from the street above. Don’t skip a disturbing Skull Rack displaying hundreds of stone skulls representing the sacrificial victims to honor the gods and the power of the empire. NUMBER 8: Xochimilco Xochimilco was the most important city of the Xochimilca people, who first settled in around 900 BC up until it was conquered by the Mexica of Tenochtitlan in the 15th century. Xochimilco is best known for a vast system of around 170 kilometers or 110 mi. of canals, famous for its colorful gondola-like boats called trajineras. Canals of Xochimilco are one of the last traces of a vast water transport system built by the Aztecs. These canals were a part of a massive lake and canal system that connected most of the settlements in the Valley of Mexico. Both canals and the chinampa system of Xochimilco are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The name Xochimilco means "flower field” and describes flowers and other crops grown here. The vegetables, fruits, and flowers were shipped to Tenochtitlan via the canal. NUMBER 7: Street Food Mexico City's culinary scene offers a wide variety of food options, from affordable street food or antojitos (street snacks or appetizers) to gourmet international and local restaurants. Experience Mexican life through a variety of street food. Try some of the following options: tacos, quesadillas, tamales, chicharrón, machetes, delicious churros, or elotes - a, Mexican street corn topped with mayonnaise, chili powder and others. And if you are up to a challenge, even chapulines or grasshoppers. Don’t skip several important food and artisan markets spread throughout Mexico City, like Mercado de Coyoacán, etc. NUMBER 6: Torre Latinoamericana Torre Latinoamericana or Latin American Tower, completed in 1956, is a skyscraper in the historic city center of Mexico City. This 166 m or 545 ft high building is one of the city's important architectural attractions was the tallest structure in Mexico until it was surpassed by Torre Ejecutiva Pemex. It is the world's first major skyscraper successfully built on a highly active seismic zone. Torre Latinoamericana survived the 8.1 magnitude earthquake in Mexico City in 1985. Other buildings in downtown were severely damaged. The tower's observation area Mirador Torre Latino offers some of the best panoramic views of Mexico City. Don’t forget to explore Madero Street right below Torre Latinoamericana, a popular and crowded pedestrian area featuring bars, shops, and other attractions. Check our Mexico City 4K walking tour with closed captions to get the full experience. The link is in the description https://amzn.to/3WVsSvh NUMBER 5: Coyoacán Coyoacán is a bohemian neighborhood located south of the city center. Covered with cobblestone streets and known for its colonial architecture, the name actually derives from the Aztec language, meaning "place of coyotes." The area was used as a headquarters during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Coyoacán was the first capital of New Spain. The areas offers many activities and attractions, such as: La Casa Azul, a historic house and an art museum where Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was born and later lived with her husband, Diego Rivera. Mercado de Coyoacán: a traditional market famous for its colors and folklore, selling everything from clothing, plants to various food options and more. Plaza Hidalgo and Jardín Centenario full of colonial landmarks, bars, restaurants, Fuente de los Coyotes, Parroquia San Juan Bautista, beautiful Tranvía Coyoacán and other attractions. Or Plaza de la Conchita with the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception Church, the oldest church in Mexico. There are many other exciting neighborhoods and streets worth exploring, like Barrio China, Zona Rosa, etc. Check our travel guide for more suggestions. By the way, our mobile-friendly travel guide covers the top 20 things to do in Mexico City and things to know before you visit, including opening hours, links to buy tickets, itinerary suggestions, maps, and other information. By purchasing our travel guide, you are also helping us sustain this channel, so a big thank you for that! NUMBER 4: Bosque de Chapultepec The Chapultepec Forest is one of the oldest urban parks in the world and one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere. Chapultepec functions as the lungs providing oxygen to the Mexico Valley. In the pre-Columbian era, the forest was also a popular retreat for Aztec rulers. The most popular section of Chapultepec is home to popular attractions and activities, including the Museum of Anthropology, botanic garden, a zoo, and an artificial lake. Here, you can rent a boat and enjoy the escape from the busy city streets. There are two other lakes in the second section of the park. Don't skip Chapultepec Castle or The National Museum of History, built in the colonial period. The castle official residence of Mexican heads of state until 1940. It is located at the top of Chapultepec Hill, with amazing views towards Paseo de la Reforma and the rest of the city. Chapultepec served as an important water management system in the pre-Columbian era, featuring an Aztec-built ancient aqueduct. Did you know that the name Chapultepec derives from the Aztec language and translates as Hill of the Grasshopper. Check our travel guide for more beautiful parks suggestions, like an impressive Alameda Central right next to the Palace of the Fine Arts. NUMBER 3: Museum of Anthropology National Museum of Anthropology is the most visited museum in Mexico, offering the world's most extensive collection of ancient Mexican art, important archaeological and anthropological objects from Mexico's pre-Columbian heritage, like the Stone of the Sun (or the Aztec calendar stone) created in the 16th century. You can walk around the 23 permanent exhibit halls representing the colors and materials related to Teotihuacan, Olmeca, and Maya cultures. Don’t skip the stunning outdoor part of the museum. The building was designed by the architect Pedro Ramirez Vazquez, who also designed other important buildings in Mexico City, like Basilica de Guadalupe or Estadio Azteca. There are many other fascinating museums in Mexico City. Don't skip Voladores De Papantla or Flying Men – an ancient Mesoamerican ritual to ask God to end a severe drought in Tamayo Park close to the museum. This video is sponsored by Beeyond, helping you save space when you travel and organize your suitcase. A revolutionary new way to organize your luggage consists of a set of small and large packing cubes. Once you're done packing, just close both zippers, compress the air out of your packing cubes like this, and voila, your clothes are compressed, and your luggage is organized. We use Beeyond packing cubes on our travels, and they are even designed to fit your carry-on. Visit Beeyond's Amazon page to get your own compression packing cube set. The link is in the description https://amzn.to/3WVsSvh NUMBER 2: Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, basilica, and National shrine of Mexico and one of the most important pilgrimage sites of Catholicism. The present church was constructed on an earlier 16th-century church finished in 1709 due to its dangerous sinking foundation, the Old Basilica. The new basilica houses the cloak containing the images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the most important symbols of Mexican faith, based on a series of Marian apparitions in 1531. The basilica is visited by millions of people every year, making it the most visited Catholic shrine in the world. Don't skip the impressive and stunningly landscaped Sagrado Recinto del Tepeyac Garden and explore other impressive sites. NUMBER 1: Teotihuacán Located about an hour drive from Mexico City, Teotihuacan is a must-see. This ancient Mesoamerican city was probably established around 100 BC, long before the arrival of the Aztecs and its origins are still unknown. Teotihuacan began as a religious center in the Mexican Highlands around the first century AD. It was supposed to be the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with an estimated population of at least 125,000. In the 8th century AD, the city was abandoned, probably because of the extreme weather events in the centuries before. Walk along the Avenue of the Dead and admire the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, apartment compounds, and vibrant murals. Secret tunnels were discovered under the pyramids of the Moon and Temple of the Feathered Serpent. Teotihuacan was a prosperous kingdom and traded with obsidian, used for tools, weapons, and other. Close to the pyramids, you can even experience how people turn volcanic stone into a piece of art, observe the sun, how to use the entire cactus and turn it into a sewing kit, or how they ingeniously colored the sewing thread and used interior parts of the cactus as paper. And here is the bonus that we promised: Don’t leave Mexico without experiencing Mariachi, a genre of regional Mexican music and a symbol of Mexican national identity. Mariachi music as we know it today originated in Jalisco in the 19th century. You can listen to mariachi in various places around Mexico City, like Plaza Garibaldi. Whether you want to follow the footsteps of the Aztecs, experience centuries-old traditions during Día de los Muertos, admire the place where Frida Kahlo lived, immerse yourself in delicious street food, or discover artisan and other markets, there is plenty to do in Mexico City. submitted by hnqn1611 to TopPersonality [link] [comments] |
2023.06.06 00:39 madjames86 Reminder that this hobby can get expensive…
| So I made a shirt in my garage for under 10 bucks. I’m not into the classified line and hobby collectors are killing the eBay market. Still a true Joe fan and I’m happy to see all of the excitement around one of my favorite toys from childhood. submitted by madjames86 to gijoe [link] [comments] |
2023.06.06 00:15 ralo_ramone An Otherworldly Scholar [LitRPG, Isekai] - Chapter 10
“I’d warn you, I'm not as much of a catch as you think I am. In practical terms, I have more kids than you can count on two hands.“ Elincia said with a mischievous smile.
It had been a mistake to ask Elincia if she had suitors lining at her door because she had been having a field day with me. I could tell she was enjoying it.
“A small army of kids and easily triggered, gotcha.” I replied.
The tight breeches and adjusted bodice combo was entrancing for a fantasy nerd like me, but I managed to maintain a defiant look.
Elincia smiled at me, knowing she had won our verbal exchange and walked to her dresser while humming a sweet melody. After seeing the bundles of herbs, her mood had improved dramatically, making her even more annoying than usual.
I watched her lean forward as she rummaged through the depths of the drawers. The light blue bodice fit her well, however, I was having trouble reconciling the image of the rowdy amazon with her caring governess persona.
Elincia uttered a muffled curse before pulling a small wooden box and a set of brass scales covered in strange engravings. I did my best to keep my eyes on the scales rather than her shoulders. Elincia seemed to be unfazed by the chilly autumn weather. I focused on the brass scales and instantly detected an almost invisible trace of mana.
Elincia noted I was staring because she quickly said. “A poor governess has the right to have nice toys, you know?”
“An enchanted item?” I asked, putting my empty bowl of soup by the side and glancing at the scale as Elincia lined the plates up on the table.
“You could say it’s an heirloom.” Elincia replied as she ceremoniously opened the wooden box and extracted a set of five small crystals the size of dice, wrapped in silk handkerchiefs.
As soon as Elincia uncovered the crystals I noticed they weren’t regular minerals. Swirls of white mana particles danced inside them like diminutive galaxies. Despite the crystals being the same size, they shone with different intensities. The first one barely emitted any mana while the last one was like a small white ember.
“I assume Mister Scholar already knows how this works?” Elincia grinned.
The better her mood was, the more annoying she got.
“You put one item on each plate, then the heavier item drops, the lighter rises. You can measure the weight of an item balancing it against known weights. Obviously.” I replied.
“Obviously.” Elincia parroted as she reached for the herb bundles.
Elkadia Root. [Identify] Alchemy ingredient. Brewing ingredient. Cooking ingredient. Edible. Magic concentration: High. Fairy King’s Brooch. [Identify] Alchemy ingredient. Brewing ingredient. Edible Magic concentration: High. Moon Laurel. [Identify] Alchemy ingredient. Brewing ingredient. Cooking ingredient. Edible. Magic concentration: High. Barrel Root. [Identify] Alchemy ingredient. Brewing ingredient. Cooking ingredient. Edible. Magic concentration: High. “Well, let’s figure out what we are working with.” Elincia said, putting the third crystal on the left plate of the scale and a single stem of Fairy King’s Brooch on the other.
Surprisingly enough, the ‘weight’ of the plant was enough to offset the crystal despite the difference in sizes. It wasn’t hard to understand how the scale worked. It weighted magic concentration, not mass.
“All the herbs have high magic concentration.” I pointed out. If Elincia was going to measure every single stem, flower, and leaf, we were going to be sitting there for hours.
“Obviously the Hero is lucky enough to just pick the high concentration ones.” Elincia mockingly said. Her smile faltered a bit when I laid back in my seat and watched her with my best goofball smile instead of taking the bait.
Elincia scowled at me before focusing on measuring the ingredients. The movements of her hands revealed the mastery she had over the process and I wondered how many times she had measured ingredients along the years. If kids were as sickly as they were in my world, then the amount of potions she had brewed must be astronomical.
I stretched my back and let my mind wander. Eating a warm bowl of food felt good after days of eating only a few Hermit’s Gold, and being inside four walls felt cozy and safe after sleeping in the Farlands. For the first time since my arrival I had a moment to think about my next steps.
The idea of traveling to the Imperial Library to cultivate my class, as Elincia told me back in the Farlands, popped into my mind.
“Do you have a skill to replicate the explosive powder inside my shotgun shells?” I mindlessly asked. You couldn’t spell ‘alchemist’ without ‘chemist’ after all. The perspective of having a continuous supply of ammo in a world controlled by high level combatant classes was reassuring.
“I’m an Alchemist, I brew potions, ointments, and essences.” Elincia replied without taking her eyes off her work. “What you are looking for is a Transmuter or a Tinkerer, maybe. A Runesmith could also help you with that, but those are Prestige Classes. You are not going to find them here in Farcrest.”
Prestige Classes. That was a new concept. Elinica had already mentioned Advanced Classes, Alchemist was one of them. I wondered about how I could inquire about them without revealing my complete ignorance about the matter of this world.
“What the hell?” Elincia suddenly muttered. Her face grew more and more surprised as the ingredients’ magical concentration offset every crystal except the brightest one. She stubbornly continued measuring the bundles until she finished with the Fairy King’s Brooch.
“What are these plants used for?” I asked instead of saying ‘I told you’.
[Identify] wasn’t enough to answer all my questions.
“Elkadia Root and Fairy King’s Brooch are popular bases for mana potions and a wide range of medicines against common diseases. The Moon Laurel and the Barrel Root are used as bases for wound regeneration potions. You usually add an essence later on in the brewing process but the base is useful on its own.” Elincia glanced at me as she put the Fairy King’s Brooch by the side.
“Why would anyone brew a potion without an essence?” I continued with the questionnaire. At least Elincia seemed happy to answer my questions regarding her class.
“Low level Alchemists don’t normally add essences into their potions due to the risk of corrupting the base.” Elincia replied with a teacher’s tone as she continued to weigh the ingredients. “You usually won’t see the really top shelf stuff until your alchemist is level forty or more, but don’t be fooled, low level brewing is useful too. Most people can’t really afford high level potions so low level Alchemists are the real saviors of the working class.”
Elincia’s passion for her class was starting to rub off on me, making me wish I had a crafting class like her. I wondered what I could create with my knowledge of the modern world and a class like Tinkerer or Runesmith. Even if Scholars couldn’t really craft anything useful, I could meet talented people that could.
Elincia’s voice brought me back to the present.
“The more mana involved, the harder the brewing process is. For that reason, low level Alchemists are limited to brewing low and mid grade base potions. You know, the basic recipes provided by the System.” Elincia continued explaining as she measured the ingredients. “Man, I wish I could brew a Named Potion some day.” She added with a wishful voice.
It seemed that Elincia did not just dream of forests and mountains.
“A Named Potion?” I asked.
“Yes, like a brand new recipe that the System acknowledges as my own creation. I’m talking about something neat like ‘Elincia’s Tracking Potion’ or ‘Elincia’s Monster Repel’.” Elincia explained with the same hopeful voice.
I was wrong. Elincia’s alchemy dreams weren’t far from her love for the wilderness.
“Anyway, I’ll take half the Fairy King’s Brooch as a reward for escorting you here. I don’t know what Scholar trick you used to pick only high concentration ones but it will be more than enough to brew medicine.”
I was hoping to see Elincia brewing a potion but instead, she tied half the bundle of Fairy King’s Brooch and put it inside a flask. Then she put the flask away in a drawer among many other Alchemy ingredients. Elincia seemed to ignore basic information about Scholars like the fact I could use [Identify] to detect ingredients with high mana concentration so I was inclined to think classes kept their skills to themselves.
As Elincia put the Fairy King’s Brooch away, I separated each bundle in two halves; one for me and one for her.
“For the soap, the shirt, and the food.” I said as Elincia gave me a questioning look.
I hoped Elincia realized she had helped me more than I could ever repay her.
“And for the Common classes.” I added, remembering my newest title.
Elincia shook her head. “It’s too much. These are high quality ingredients from the Farlands. They are a precious resource in the hands of a competent Alchemist.” Elincia said, refusing to accept them.
“Consider it a donation and a token of friendship. For the kids. To replenish the potions you used in the Farlands.” I dismissed Elincia’s further objections with a movement of my hand.
“You can’t be serious. This is a lot.” Elincia said. Then, she realized how serious I was and a parade of emotions flashed through her face before she grabbed the half-bundles and tucked them into ingredient flasks. Surprise, relief, shame.
“Thank you, Robert Clarke. For everything.” Elincia sheepishly said as she returned from her ingredient rack at the opposite side of the bedroom.
“My friends call me Rob.” I smiled back. It felt good to be of some use for the orphanage.
Elincia gave me a charming smile before speaking again.
“Go to the Great Hall to ask for a passage permit, Rob, then go to the southern gate and jump on a merchant caravan. I’m sure the Sages from the Library are going to be thrilled to have you.” Elincia said.
“Are you sure you don’t need help with the kids now that Holst is gone?” I asked as I stood up, following her cue. Taking care of a dozen small kids sounded like a hell of a task for a single person.
Elincia raised an eyebrow.
“I got the Governess title years ago, Rob. Even the System knows I have things under control.” The woman said, putting a hand on my shoulder and pushing me towards the door. “ZAON, COME HERE!”.
The elven boy peeked through the dormitory door in a blink of an eye, which made me think he was already in the corridor when Elincia called.
“Did you call me, Miss Elincia?” The boy asked.
“Go to the kitchen and pack some bread and cheese for Mister Clarke. He’s departing for a long trip. Quick!” Elincia said and Zaon instantly disappeared. Then, Elincia guided me back to the main entrance where we waited for the kid to return.
“It was good to meet you.” I said, extending my hand. “If I find Holst in the Imperial Library, I'll make sure to send him your regards.”
Elincia gave me one of her trademark wicked smiles and shook my hand. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad, she was the first person I had met in this world and despite the initial difficulties, I had grown fond of her and her unapologetic style.
“If you ever visit Firecrest again you are more than welcome to stay with us.” Elincia said. Maybe it was my imagination but I detected a hint of sadness in her voice. Even if we had only known each other for a few days, we had hit it off considerably well. Surely Elincia had a temper but I recognized it was part of her charm.
“And if I manage to replicate a shotgun, I’ll send you one plus a box of ammo.” I said, imitating her wicked smile.
“Now you’re talking!” Elincia beamed as Zaon appeared from the corridor carrying a big satchel. Our time was over.
“Goodbye, Elicia.”
“Goodbye Robert Clarke, it was nice to know you.”
You have obtained Denial Lv.4. Temporary. *******\*
Zaon walked by my side through the deserted streets, silently humming the same sweet song Elincia sang as she used the magical scale. The elven boy was shy and stuttered a lot but his curiosity was stronger than his withdrawn personality. My [Teacher’s Sense] told me Zaon was the kind of kid that shined in small classrooms where he could speak freely.
[Awareness]: You don’t possess a skill called [Teacher’s Sense], stop fooling around. Did I just detect a hint of jealousy?
Maybe [Teacher’s Sense] wasn’t a real skill but I liked to think I had developed something like that after years working as a teacher. Most of my colleagues loved to hear their own voices instead of listening to their students. Then, they acted surprised when something bad happened.
I tried not to think about my past and focused on the present.
My shoes clacked against the polished cobblestone of the streets. More than half of the stone bricks were missing and rainwater accumulated in the holes left behind. The putrid smell of stagnant water filled my nostrils but Zaon was unfazed. He must've already gotten used to it.
As we climbed the step road, the precarious buildings of the northern district turned into well preserved houses and clean streets. Mold and rust turned into fresh white paint and varnished planks. Rotten and splintered shutters were replaced by clear glass windows. The eerie and abandoned atmosphere was replaced by lively and wide streets full of stores and workshops.
“How old are you, Zaon?” I asked as we left behind the narrow alleys of the north district. For some reason, Zaon didn’t speak unless prompted to.
“Fourteen. I’ll be fifteen during the winter and I'll be able to get a Class before the year ends.” He said, dejected.
It didn’t take a genius to realize something bothered him.
“Is there a problem with that? Having a Class is great, look at Miss Rosebud, she can brew handy potions because she’s an Alchemist.” I pointed out. I knew a few people who would die to achieve a class, whatever it was.
Zaon gave a disheartened sigh before answering. “I want to become a Knight and then a Paladin but I’ll probably end up as a lowly Soldier.”
The pieces of the puzzle regarding Class acquisition were starting to fall in place.
“Miss Rosebud told me she chose to be an Alchemist. Why do you think you’ll end up as a Soldier?” I asked.
Zaon sighed again and dropped his shoulders.
“I am not as talented as Miss Elincia, and Mister Holst said I’m not Knight material, so I’ll probably end up as a Soldier because there is basically no requirement to become a Soldier.” Zaon kicked a pebble out of the road.
Requirements. It made sense the System had requirements for certain classes, otherwise everyone would be a Mega Black-knight of Death or something along those lines.
“What’s wrong with Soldiers?” I asked.
“Is this some sort of test? Everyone knows what’s wrong with Soldiers and Archers.” Zaon said.
“I want to know why you believe the Soldier Class isn’t good, not the popular opinion.” I deflected Zaon’s suspicions using my high level [Teacher’s Bullshido]. Truth was, I was completely ignorant as to why the Soldier Class was looked down on. If I had to guess, a level 5 Soldier had the prowess to kick my Scholar ass any day of the week.
Zaon tapped on his lips with his fingers just like Elincia did when she was deep in thought.
“Well… the Soldier Class has the worst growths of all combatant classes, their mana pool is shallow as a puddle, and their skills aren’t really powerful. Even Blacksmiths have better Strength and Mana!” Zaon said, raising a finger for each con of the class. “Mister Holst says that the System reserves powerful classes for the nobility and really talented individuals.”
I nodded in silence trying to hide my inner turmoil from Zaon. My hatred for Holst was growing by the second. As if endangering the kids wasn’t enough, Holst had also been feeding them world-class bullshit. There was no more vicious practice than a teacher telling a student they were dumb and incapable of improving.
“Do you know why some people can become Knights and others can’t?” I asked.
Zaon seemed to assume that I was testing his knowledge.
“No, nobody knows. The System just offers you a Class according to the contents of your soul.” The elven kid replied.
“Then you should trust yourself a bit more, Zaon.” I smiled. “You were brave and determined by taking care of the younger kids during Miss Elincia’s absence. Maybe you are not as far from your goals as you believe.”
Zaon guided me in silence through the meandering streets of Farcrest. As we walked towards the southern district, the city continued to change. From the abandoned streets of the northern district to the bustling with activity of the inner city.
Stores lined up on both sides of the streets, offering their alluring goods from behind their windows. Horse drawn wagons loaded with crates traveled up and down making deliveries to stores and workshops alike.
Along the sidewalks, fine ladies and gentlemen walked up and down the street, hopping from store to store. Most of the inhabitants of Farcrest were humans but I noticed a few half orcs, half elves, and small gnome-like people from time to time.
The Great Hall towered by the end of the street like a black sturdy stone golem overseeing the market. In the same fashion of the walls, the Great Hall had been built to last. I wondered if the black stone had magical properties.
“You don’t believe me.” I pointed out as we emerged into a wide street, a few blocks from the inner wall.
“I wouldn’t say that.” Zaon replied but his tone betrayed him.
I stopped before entering the traffic on the main avenue and dug into my backpack.
“Take these ingredients to Elincia and tell her to brew some potions to help your training, I’m sure she will assist you the best she could if you tell her you want to become a Knight.” I said. “I can see the Great Hall from here. You can go back to the orphanage.”
Zaon grabbed the bundles, nodded, and got lost in the maze of streets. I glanced at the alley from which he had disappeared for a moment and turned around to face the Great Hall, wishing good fortune to all the inhabitants of the orphanage.
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2023.06.05 16:31 SlowShoes Quick thoughts on 30 different VR games
I'm keeping track of all the VR games I’ve played this year to catalogue them in hopes that they may give fellow VR gamers some fresh games to try out, or reasons to revisit older games that have had big updates. I'm currently up to 52 different VR games played this year. The first 22 that I played from January to March can be found
here. The latest 30 games are mostly on the Quest, but many are available on PCVR.
Some of the games listed below, I can see playing all year long, others are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 30 games I’ve played during April and May of 2023.
TLDR: My top 5 games to check out are at the bottom and so is some info for a game giveaway.
- ARK and ADE $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A fun shooter with Pistol Whip vibes that is absolutely worth the price of admission. From the store page: “ARK and ADE is an action-jammed FPS shooter in which you get to experience the glory of the 80’s arcade era in a neon fused setting. Shoot your way through retro-futuristic levels filled with enemies, iconic over the top bosses and never ending bullets!” I played this game back when it was in App Lab before it graduated to the full store. It was such a fun shooter back then, and I’d look forward to new levels coming out every few months. Now that it made it out of app lab, has a bunch of levels and had the gameplay polished, it’s absolutely worth a pickup, especially for that price.
- Project Third Eye $9.99 Quest My quick take: A game where you make your own fun. From the store page: “Project Third Eye is an action physics sandbox with a built-in visual scripting panel to apply logic to spawnable items. This allows you to build your own modifications to the game and customize behaviors as you like.” Just like the description says, this is more of a proof of concept and sandbox game more so than a full fledged game with objectives. There are certainly neat ideas here and there, and the dev is really active with updates on Reddit. If you like to experiment and see how concepts develop in a game, you may enjoy this, but there’s no real direction beyond experimenting, so I dropped off fairly quickly.
- Jousting VR Demo $9.99 Quest / Steam Quest Demo My quick take: A bit light on gameplay, but there is some charm here. From the store page: “XIII century, Europe, royal market courtyard. You are a knight who joined the medieval tournament. Your task is 'simple.' Jump on your trusty steed, grab your lance & defeat the enemy. Take into consideration speed, accuracy, strength. Equipment is also important. The better gear the easier the task. Oh, and other knights - they want to win as much as you do.” As advertised, it's a jousting game in VR. I enjoyed the demo, but honestly it was a bit too finicky at times and just not worth a full buy to me. The atmosphere was fun though and there was a progression loop for those who get into it.
- Demeo $39.99 Quest and Steam (flatscreen as well) My quick take: This is a great game that I revisited from start to finish with four players. A must own. From the store page: “Adventurers, it’s time to unite! Gather your friends and fight monsters in Demeo, the turn-based tabletop strategy game of battle and glory. Roll dice, pick up miniatures, and free the world of Gilmerra in round after round of tabletop board game fun. With a huge assortment of monsters, playable classes, and environments to explore, it’s never the same game twice." I finally got a chance to play through the entirety of the game in VR with four friends, through each world, while trying a variety of characters. We even made a video ranking the best players and levels. It really is a solid dungeon crawling adventure. With 2 or more friends, this game really shines and is such a fun ride, despite how punishing the bosses can be. This is the closest you can get to D&D in VR without having a dungeon master. Well worth the asking price.
- Build and Drive Racing Demo Free Quest / Steam My quick take: Early days in development, maybe something to keep an eye on to see how it improves. From the store page: "Get ready for a new experience on Windows desktop and VR, where you get to build your ultimate racing machine, tailored to your driving style and optimized for performance, or race to the finish line with a monster what makes you smile. With stylised graphics and arcade-like physics, every turn, straightway and ramp will put your skills to the test. Feel the thrill of the race like never before in VR, as you immerse yourself counting the seconds on the home stretch." An early demo that has seen some updates. Maybe worth looking at in a few months after a bit more development. I did like what I saw, but honestly, if you’re looking for a finished racing game, try Mini Motor Racing X instead or some of the other heavier PCVR games available.
- Les Mills Body Combat $29.99 Quest My quick take: No subscriptions, great coaches and fun workouts that will make you sweat. From the store page: “Work out at home with a premium fitness app. LES MILLS, the world's leading fitness company, brings the BODYCOMBAT experience to your VR headset with an extensive workout portfolio, top-quality coaching, innovative mechanics, and different intensities.” With no subscriptions or hidden fees, lots of workouts, motivating coaches and the ability to compete with friends on leaderboards, this really is a dynamite workout app. I was working up a good sweat during my workouts, so be sure you have good facial insert and a fan ready. Highly recommended if you want a workout in VR for just the price of entry.
- Interkosmos 2000 $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A difficult puzzle game, but rewarding if you have the patience. From the store page: “Go to space. Save the Future. Try not to Die. Welcome (back) to the world of Interkosmos for an even wilder, weirder and more wondrous adventure. Experience the intense exhilaration of spaceflight. Explore the awe-inspiring interiors of a realistic space capsule. Master the crucial systems that will keep you in orbit (and breathing). And while you’re at it, try your best not to die. Should you complete your mission, you just might save the future – and yourself. Should you fail? Let’s not think about that.” An intense puzzle game where you’re piloting a space ship with some very finicky controls. I found the experience way too difficult and exacting. Along with a bit of bugginess, that didn’t help in me determining if the error was my fault or the game's. If you have the patience, there certainly is some rewarding gameplay here, and an interesting story, but I found it all a bit too much to see to the end.
- The Light Brigade $24.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: In a world of rougelikes, this is one that stands out. From the store page: “As a member of The Light Brigade, humanity’s last line of defense, brave ruins bathed in darkness and free the trapped souls who need the salvation only your gun can provide. Shoot, master spells, and upgrade your capabilities to herald the Sun’s return in this roguelike VR shooter.” There’s quite a lot of rouge shooters on Quest and despite the plethora of choices, this one stands out. Be warned, it starts out slowly, but gets quite fun after you get to know the systems after about an hour in. While I did make it to the last boss, I died and never went back to finished it. The gameplay loop and dynamic levels were solid though. The slight upgrades and different classes during each run were interesting and kept me going for a while. The most frustrating time I had was learning the little tips, tricks and finer gameplay points, but it was worth the push through that initial rough patch.
- Resident Evil 4 $39.99 Quest My quick take: One of the best games in VR. A must own. From the store page: “Explore the world of Resident Evil 4, entirely remastered for VR. Step into the shoes of special agent Leon S. Kennedy on his mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter who was kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Come face to face with enemies, and uncover secrets with gameplay that revolutionized the survival horror genre. Battle horrific creatures and face-off against mind-controlled villagers while discovering their connection to the cult behind the abduction.” I forgot so much about this game from when I first played it 18 years ago on the GameCube. The long length, fun characters and how exciting the gun play is, all just came together perfectly. The development team spent a ton of time getting the VR feeling just right, and it’s absolutely one of the best on the Quest and well worth the price of entry. Additionally, once you play through the game the first time it really changes from survival horror to a whole new type of game action game. Simply outstanding.
- Mini Golf Hustler Free Quest My quick take: Early days in development. Some good ideas, but a bit too rough around the edges. From the store page: “Challenge Slick Willie Puttman in this FREE nine hole demo of Mini Golf Hustler. Hazards include armed torpedoes, tentacled arms, ornery tikis and more! Multiple betting games, including skins, match play and the fearsome traveling snake. All played at the same time.” I thought I’d check out another mini golf game to see what other ideas there might be outside of the king - Walkabout Mini Golf. While there were some solid ideas for holes, the betting felt uneven, and everything else felt in their very early stages. To be fair, no other mini golf game feels even close to the accuracy of Walkabout, so I think it’s a tough go for any other games to match. It's probably best to stick with the champ for now, but I applaud the dev for trying something different.
- Pin City Free Quest (open beta on Discord) / Steam My quick take: Early days, but wow, worth a download and one to watch in the future. From the store page: "Pin City is a bowling game unlike any other bowling game you’ve played before. We strove to bring the spirit of mini-golf into the world of bowling. We’ve taken the standard bowling setup (straight lane, 10 pins, 1 ball) and expanded, transformed, and evolved it. We wanted to give people a chance to bowl in ways that would be impossible, illegal, or extremely impractical.” An early alpha game, but boy, what a great start, I’m really looking forward to the team getting the physics feeling right with weight and feel of the bowling balls and seeing how much more gameplay they can add. Really worth the download or heading over to their Discord to get a Quest key for free to try it out. The quirky bowling, physics and gameplay they're experimenting with really got me excited to see how this one comes together in the next several months.
- Mash Me Up Free Quest My quick take: Please devs, add more multiplayer support! From the store page: “Do you want to play party games with your friends or meet someone new? All is just one button press away with Mash Me Up. One button, multiple games. Will it be Air Hockey, Pier Pong, Flingball, or… Get ready for a surprise! Press, Play, Enjoy and Go Again!” If this game got a bit more development love it would be incredible. As it stands now, there are several mini games you can play against one person. Most are just okay, but a handful are real gems, and one particularly is incredible - Geo Guesser. Hands down the best mini game in the pack. With four, or six players and some new content, they could easily charge for just this one game. As it stands now, it’s a great two player game, but you’ll need to bring your own friend as the servers are pretty barren. Worth a download though for sure as you’ll get a night of fun out of it.
- THZZLS - Treasures Lost In Time $4.99 Quest My quick take: A unique puzzler that can be pretty relaxing, but repetitive. From the store page: “Our first THZZLE is called "Der Bazar", the world's first VR toy theatre puzzle game. The Bazar is a VR puzzle game where you have to place furniture and props in the right places in old-fashioned rooms according to an old picture you see. The game is set in 19th century Germany and each room has objects taken from the German lifestyle magazine "Der Bazar", published in Berlin.” This one used to be free, with paid content, but it has since changed as they added more content. You recreate a scene with cutouts of people and furniture in a 3D space. It seemed to have endless puzzles with randomization of scenes. I could see someone going to this for a relaxing 10-15 minutes, but it is a lot of the same each time and didn’t grab me fully. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that’s outside of the usual ones you find in the store, it’s not a bad choice for the price. Keep in mind though its hand tracking only, so for some that may be a non starter, even though it felt just fine.
- Barbaria $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: What I imagine Gorn is like with a solid game loop of RTS. From the store page: “Do you have what it takes to be the Mightiest in Barbaria? Welcome to a brutal world where visceral motion-controlled combat blends seamlessly with god-scale base-building and asynchronous multiplayer raids. Use fists, axes, swords, bows, rocks, or anything you can grab to dominate your foes in intense 1st-person combat. Then jump out to your immortal form and watch your minions carry on the battle while you rain down meteors from above. Systemic combat, versatile enemy AI, and player-created defenses make every battle unique.” I recognize there is a lot here to do in this game - if you like the game loop. Unfortunately, it really didn’t do much for me. I was expecting more RTS than Gorn style gameplay and was not pulled in by the fighting or quests offered. I have to say that the humor was spot on, and it certainly had good visuals, the game was just not for me. All that being said, there is a lot of content here and you could be playing this for quite some time if you think this could be your jam.
- Toy Monsters Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: Plants vs Zombies in AR with hand tracking that does enough unique stuff to be worth it. From the store page: “Toy Monsters VR is a mixed-reality tabletop tower defense inspired by classic Plants vs Zombies. Built from the ground up with hand tracking and passthrough in mind. As you progress through the 20 levels, you'll unlock new toys with unique special powers. You can enhance your toys with magical potions and use crystal power to unleash magic beams from your hands, transform your fingers into flamethrowers, and more.” This game has come a long way since its initial release. It’s a solid hand tracking Plants vs. Zombies game with its own twist on powers and uses passthrough quite nicely. My biggest complaint is that you really need to complete the game all in one go (about an hour or so) as it doesn’t keep track of your upgrades if you quit. Essentially, trying to pass a later level without prior upgrades or powerups is near impossible. Despite that one issue, give at least the demo a try and if you like it, the price is pretty fair for what you get.
- Exit Condition One Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: A bit rough around the edges, but escape room fans will find fun with it. From the store page: “You awake from cryo in a mysterious museum. A robot refers to you as a curator and the security system is malfunctioning. Can you get things back to normal and escape? There are no jump scares. The game is designed ground-up for roomscale VR on the Quest, but supports all locomotion modes. Most objects can be interacted with, it fully uses physics, and the hands don't ‘ghost out.’” According to the description, this is still a work in progress. That being said, it was a neat escape game that I felt I got my money’s worth from. It certainly was a bit rough around the edges with its gameplay and had some obscure puzzles to work through, but I did finish it and had a good time with it. Try the demo for sure, and perhaps when it’s finally finished, some of those rough edges will be polished up, but as it stands now, it was pretty solid.
- Hyperdash Free Quest / Steam My quick take: A solid online shooter, but you'll have to put in the time to get good to find the fun. From the store page: “Hyper Dash is a free VR multiplayer team based shooter. Payload, Domination, Control Point, (Team) Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Elimination, Ball and remix them with Mutators! Dash, sprint, and rail grind your way across the arenas to engage the enemy in fast-paced combat and secure the objective for your team. Offline mode/Bots, Dedicated servers, Private servers, Rebind-able controls, Left hand support, Voice chat.” For a free to play shooter, this one had great controls, nice graphics, a good gameplay loop, plenty of comfort options and a solid player base. All that being said, every player I faced off against were top tier, so I spent my time just dying round after round. This is a good game with a solid player base and there's fun here - if you’re willing to learn the ropes. It's bad for newbies like me just looking to have a good time and get a few kills.
- Please, Don’t Touch Anything $9.99 Quest / $4.99 Steam My quick take: A game for escape room devotees only. From the store page: "Please, Don’t Touch Anything is a cryptic, brain-racking button-pushing puzzle game. Covering for a colleague taking a bathroom break, you find yourself in front of a mysterious console with a green screen monitor showing a pixelated live image of an unknown city. Also present is an ominous red button with the simple instruction to not touch anything! Push the red button once or press it many times. Your choices and actions will lead to outrageous and frightening consequences and over 30 unique puzzle endings.” This is a weird one. A really obscure puzzle game that rewards experimentation, but is absolutely punishing with difficulty. If you’re really good at escape games and don’t get frustrated easily, you may enjoy the tedium. If not, you’ll end up like me, watching a tutorial to find out how to get different endings. But if you find yourself doing that, why not just watch a playthrough.
- Eleven Table Tennis $29.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Still one of the best, but there’s so much untapped potential. From the store page: “The ultimate Table Tennis simulator. Play opponents in online multiplayer or practice against the advanced AI. With physics designed to be as real as ever achieved in a Table Tennis simulator, you will forget you are in VR." I finally got back to this game after the new UI was implemented. It looks much more user friendly, but much to my disappointment, there were no new arenas, music, or official doubles options. There is so much potential for expanding this game, and I feel like the devs are just content to have it remain in the state it currently is. Which, to be fair, is a perfect implementation of table tennis in VR. It’s still one of the best VR games out there and absolutely a must own. I just really wish they would add an officially supported doubles mode and expand out the game a bit more because the unofficial doubles mode is a real pain to get set up and only barely worth the struggle. If you'd like to see how to set that doubles up currently, here is a video I was a part of.
- Breachers $29.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Come one, come all, this is 5 v 5 at its finest. From the store page: “In Breachers, you plan your assault or orchestrate your defense as a team through intense close-quarters combat. Whether you play as an enforcer or a revolter, master your nifty gadgetry, customize your powerful weaponry and beat your opponents in stunning environments. Intuitive to grasp. Endlessly playable.” Wow, wow, wow. This officially launched and is such a polished game. With multiple maps, intuitive movement and full lobbies, this game is simply spectacular. Despite the difficulty curve in being good at the game, it’s still a fun time even if you’re not the best, which is something special that few games manage to pull off. Where this game especially shines is with friends. If you can muster up a team of five to take on other random players, you’ll be playing this game for months. Give this a go, and if you're not any good, that's okay, because you'll still be better than the bots and a welcome addition to someone's team.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Outcast (Sidequest mod) Free Demo on Quest / $9.99 (Full Game on Steam) My quick take: Come for the lightsaber play, stay if you can tolerate the puzzles. From the store page: “JK XR is a standalone VR port of the popular Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast game by Lucasarts and Raven Software. Brought to VR by Team Beef & Friends. There are lots of mods and access to the free demo level available through the JK XR Companion App, which is automatically also installed alongside JK XR on your headset.” I never played this game when it first came out on flatscreen in 2002, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first part of the game you’re playing essentially as a Han Solo type - a smart talkin’ gun slinger. The next part, you’re a cool Jedi chopping off limbs. Absolutely great execution as always by Team Beef, and you can’t beat the price. There is even a free demo to try out to see if you like it. All that being said, the game’s old puzzles, navigation and gameplay felt every bit of 20 years old. After dying multiple times because of missing an exact jump, getting lost and backtracking because I didn't see an obscure elevator and wasting time trying to navigate odd puzzles, I just found it to be too much to overcome to continue to the end. This is no slight on Team Beef and the great work they did with this port, the game just hasn’t aged the best.
- CoasterMania $9.99 Quest My quick take: Early days, but still some fun to be had. There could be something special here after a few updates. From the store page: “CoasterMania is a physics-based VR rollercoaster game where you create the ride of your life! Use wacky contraptions and elements to fly through the sky, then experience your creation by jumping in the front seat. Sandbox mode: Build your dream rollercoaster without any rules but the rules of physics. When you're done, share your coaster or experience the engineering marvels of others. Design your own rides and upload them online.” You know, this game is just silly fun. It's early days for sure, and the tracks don't twist and come together as easily together as I’d hoped, which makes for a difficult time creating exactly what you want. It is satisfying though to have a roller coaster leap from one track to another over a gap. At this point the game is more of a sandbox than a full game with objectives (which is coming). The coasters other people have created are fun, so if you’re not into creating, there is that option to play with other people's designs, plus you can ride them in first person. I look forward to more updates and think it's worth looking at for sure, but if you’re looking for something a bit more fleshed out currently you can try Stunt Track Builder.
- David Slade Mysteries: Case Files $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: You’re a forensic cop, here are your tools. Good luck dummy. From the store page: “Take to the dark and violent streets of downtown Riverside, where you investigate gruesome and violent homicides using a range of Forensic tools and your wits! Inspired by the classic Police Quest adventure series, reborn & reimagined for VR. Includes two epic episodes!” Slade is a murder mystery game that is ruthless in it’s difficulty. Honestly, there are several play throughs of this game on YouTube and none have beaten the first case because it was too hard, they all gave up. This game offers no hints, is super abstract and insanely difficult. Why did I keep playing? Well, the game’s tools were implemented quite well, the story was compelling, and I just felt I had to see this through to the end for my own sanity. Despite being as hard as nails, I somehow managed to finish the first case, then moved on to the second. No real spoilers, but the second case does a complete 180 and essentially becomes a horror game where you’re only weapon is your wits. A real departure from the first case. Again, I found myself frustrated, confused and turned around, but again, I had to power through it because something kept pulling me in. If you’re a masochist for puzzle games, I’d recommend this game.
- Home Detective Free w/IAP - Quest My quick take: Fun use of AR, but pretty basic. From the store page: “Use your own living room to solve the crime! Using passthrough, the crime scene is overlaid onto your play area, leaving you free to explore and find clues. Use the patent-pending Residual Heat Scanner to detect the criminals' recent movements, and then dust for fingerprints or try to find evidence left behind. With your wits, and your trusty sidekick Steve Dobbins' snarky comments, you're sure to get to the bottom of these confusing crimes.” I appreciate the interesting use of passthrough and AR in this game. The first case is free to try, so if you’re into AR and passthrough, it’s worth a try. It's $3.99 for another case if you’re into it, but right now, it’s a pretty basic, but solid idea. My biggest complaint is that all my tools were on a shelf that was inaccessible because they were in my wall. I guess AR is still not quite there yet.
- Vertigo Remastered $24.99 Steam My quick take: A fun and wacky ride from start to finish. From the store page: “It's a classic premise - a massive subterranean scientific facility full of mysteries, with aliens bursting in from alternate universes to wreak havoc. The twist? You're one of those aliens. But you're not here to wreak havoc (collateral damage disregarded), you're just trying to get home. A difficult endeavor, as it turns out this facility is more than prepared to deal with extraterrestrial threats.” Because I heard such great things about Vertigo 2, I thought I’d try out this game before I played the sequel. I was really blown away by how fun the game was and pleasantly surprised that it holds up so well. Considering its a 2016 remake, and VR was still figuring out a lot of things like movement, this still felt fresh. With lots of unique ideas, upgrades and areas to play in, I heartily recommend this one and am looking forward to playing the sequel.
- Playin’ Pickleball $19.99 Quest My quick take: Solid physics, but really only for pickleball fans, or a group of four friends. From the store page: “Playin’ Pickleball is an authentic reproduction of Pickleball in Virtual Reality! Physics, sounds and mechanics have been carefully mapped from actual Pickleball game play. Even the scoring and rules are based on the USA Pickleball Association’s Official Rulebook.” Pickleball is sweeping the nation and if I recall correctly, even ForeVR is getting in on the game with an upcoming title. I’m much more of a tennis than pickleball guy, but I have to say, this game has pretty solid physics. Like most games, this is exponentially better with one or better yet, three other people you know. The AI players can be pretty uninteresting hitting it back and forth without much variance. Also the environments are a bit basic. I have to applaud the movement, physics and customizable items though as they all felt very well implemented. If you want something a bit less daunting than tennis, this might be what you're looking for.
- Pong $6.99 Quest My quick take: A neat take on Pong, but you’ll have more fun with Cybrix. From the store page: “Classic paddle game reimagined for VR. Destroy all the bricks. Use your paddles to swing at the balls and the balls have built-in assistance to return back toward you. Take advantage of the pistol and magneto power-ups to cause major damage. Or just swing hard at the balls to create large blast radius. Oh and watch out for those mines going for your head. Lean left/right or crouch to avoid.” I appreciated the ideas the developers had in this modern take on Pong, but it was ultimately quite short and not nearly as fun as Cybrix. That being said for the price, I got my money’s worth and would love to see it get a bit more polish and levels in an update.
- Extreme Escape $4.99 Quest / Steam (Early Access) My quick take: One of those special games where you really feel like you're in the environment. From the store page: “Have you ever wondered how it would feel to travel in a hot air balloon and fly above clouds? Have you ever wanted to face your fear of heights and enclosed spaces? Perhaps you wanted to become a pilot and test your critical thinking skills. Looking for a breathtaking experience? Try Extreme Escape.” The game says “early access,” but honestly I believe this has been abandoned. For the price, you get an extremely short, but fun and unique escape room experience. You’re not going to find this game too hard, but I was brought into its world and completely immersed - I had a true sense of dread and panic. The even shorter “demo” inside the game puts you on a sinking submarine and was extremely memorable. Seldom have I felt so immersed in a game. I’d recommend it for this price, just because of how it made me feel, but it’s a real shame about the very short length and that it’s abandoned.
- The Last Worker $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Gaming with a heavy message, but mediocre gameplay. From the store page: “The Last Worker is an immersive narrative adventure centered around a lone worker’s last stand in an increasingly automated world, The Last Worker is a unique blend of work simulation and stealth strategic gameplay. The game is set in a lonely, oppressive but strangely beautiful environment, with characters designed by comics legend Mick McMahon. Kurt works for the world’s largest retailer and is forced to choose between capitalism or activism. Having dedicated his life to work, Kurt’s loyalty is put to the test when a group of activists ask him to dismantle Jüngle from the inside.” I really wanted to like this game. It had an interesting concept, but navigating, fail states and some very annoying bugs frustrated me to the point where I just said it wasn’t worth my time. That and the story wasn’t speaking to me. It’s well rated, so I’m probably on the opposite side of this one from most people. It's unique in many ways, so check out the teaser and see if it might be for you.
- Shadow Point $19.99 Quest My quick take: Fisherman’s Tale vibes with an excellent story and puzzles that makes you feel smart. From the store page: “Built for VR, Shadow Point is a story-driven puzzle game set between a mountaintop observatory and an ever-changing fantasy world. Explore a vibrant kingdom, cast shadows and solve mind-bending puzzles as you uncover the mystery of missing schoolgirl, Lorna McCabe who vanished from Shadow Point Observatory twelve years ago. As your adventure unfolds, you will manipulate gravity, play with your own reflection, walk on walls, peer through a magical lens to reveal an alternate reality and much more.” I had this game on my wishlist forever and finally pulled the trigger, and boy am I glad I did. I really enjoyed the story, gameplay and ended up marathoning it in one session (which I don't recommend doing). It is a few hours long, and there are extra puzzles to go back to if you’d like. It had some serious Fisherman’s Tale vibes, so if you like those type of puzzle games, this is for you. The puzzles make you stop and think, and more importantly, progress nicely. I was never stuck, but certainly had to really contemplate how to solve some of them. It is slightly finicky with having to line up the shadows exactly to progress, but that is a minor complaint. Give this one a go for sure.
I hope you find a few games on this list that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know here or on the Ruff Talk
Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.
Also, the week this is posted, I'm hosting a contest where one winner gets a $29.99 or less, Quest game of their choice. You can enter on the discord channel above, but will need to have five posts on the discord channel within a week to enter, so if that interests you, feel free to join. The Ruff Talk guys usually have giveaways every week and it's some solid VR chat if you're looking for like-minded individuals in a non-toxic space.
TLDR: Top five games to check out -
Ark and Ade,
Pin City,
Breachers,
Shadow Point,
Vertigo Remastered submitted by
SlowShoes to
virtualreality [link] [comments]
2023.06.05 16:29 SlowShoes Quick thoughts on 30 different VR games
I'm keeping track of all the VR games I’ve played this year to catalogue them in hopes that they may give fellow VR gamers some fresh games to try out, or reasons to revisit older games that have had big updates. I'm currently up to 52 different VR games played this year. The first 22 that I played from January to March can be found
here. The latest 30 games are mostly on the Quest, but many are available on PCVR.
Some of the games listed below, I can see playing all year long, others are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 30 games I’ve played during April and May of 2023.
TLDR: My top 5 games to check out are at the bottom and so is some info for a game giveaway.
- ARK and ADE $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A fun shooter with Pistol Whip vibes that is absolutely worth the price of admission. From the store page: “ARK and ADE is an action-jammed FPS shooter in which you get to experience the glory of the 80’s arcade era in a neon fused setting. Shoot your way through retro-futuristic levels filled with enemies, iconic over the top bosses and never ending bullets!” I played this game back when it was in App Lab before it graduated to the full store. It was such a fun shooter back then, and I’d look forward to new levels coming out every few months. Now that it made it out of app lab, has a bunch of levels and had the gameplay polished, it’s absolutely worth a pickup, especially for that price.
- Project Third Eye $9.99 Quest My quick take: A game where you make your own fun. From the store page: “Project Third Eye is an action physics sandbox with a built-in visual scripting panel to apply logic to spawnable items. This allows you to build your own modifications to the game and customize behaviors as you like.” Just like the description says, this is more of a proof of concept and sandbox game more so than a full fledged game with objectives. There are certainly neat ideas here and there, and the dev is really active with updates on Reddit. If you like to experiment and see how concepts develop in a game, you may enjoy this, but there’s no real direction beyond experimenting, so I dropped off fairly quickly.
- Jousting VR Demo $9.99 Quest / Steam Quest Demo My quick take: A bit light on gameplay, but there is some charm here. From the store page: “XIII century, Europe, royal market courtyard. You are a knight who joined the medieval tournament. Your task is 'simple.' Jump on your trusty steed, grab your lance & defeat the enemy. Take into consideration speed, accuracy, strength. Equipment is also important. The better gear the easier the task. Oh, and other knights - they want to win as much as you do.” As advertised, it's a jousting game in VR. I enjoyed the demo, but honestly it was a bit too finicky at times and just not worth a full buy to me. The atmosphere was fun though and there was a progression loop for those who get into it.
- Demeo $39.99 Quest and Steam (flatscreen as well) My quick take: This is a great game that I revisited from start to finish with four players. A must own. From the store page: “Adventurers, it’s time to unite! Gather your friends and fight monsters in Demeo, the turn-based tabletop strategy game of battle and glory. Roll dice, pick up miniatures, and free the world of Gilmerra in round after round of tabletop board game fun. With a huge assortment of monsters, playable classes, and environments to explore, it’s never the same game twice." I finally got a chance to play through the entirety of the game in VR with four friends, through each world, while trying a variety of characters. We even made a video ranking the best players and levels. It really is a solid dungeon crawling adventure. With 2 or more friends, this game really shines and is such a fun ride, despite how punishing the bosses can be. This is the closest you can get to D&D in VR without having a dungeon master. Well worth the asking price.
- Build and Drive Racing Demo Free Quest / Steam My quick take: Early days in development, maybe something to keep an eye on to see how it improves. From the store page: "Get ready for a new experience on Windows desktop and VR, where you get to build your ultimate racing machine, tailored to your driving style and optimized for performance, or race to the finish line with a monster what makes you smile. With stylised graphics and arcade-like physics, every turn, straightway and ramp will put your skills to the test. Feel the thrill of the race like never before in VR, as you immerse yourself counting the seconds on the home stretch." An early demo that has seen some updates. Maybe worth looking at in a few months after a bit more development. I did like what I saw, but honestly, if you’re looking for a finished racing game, try Mini Motor Racing X instead or some of the other heavier PCVR games available.
- Les Mills Body Combat $29.99 Quest My quick take: No subscriptions, great coaches and fun workouts that will make you sweat. From the store page: “Work out at home with a premium fitness app. LES MILLS, the world's leading fitness company, brings the BODYCOMBAT experience to your VR headset with an extensive workout portfolio, top-quality coaching, innovative mechanics, and different intensities.” With no subscriptions or hidden fees, lots of workouts, motivating coaches and the ability to compete with friends on leaderboards, this really is a dynamite workout app. I was working up a good sweat during my workouts, so be sure you have good facial insert and a fan ready. Highly recommended if you want a workout in VR for just the price of entry.
- Interkosmos 2000 $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A difficult puzzle game, but rewarding if you have the patience. From the store page: “Go to space. Save the Future. Try not to Die. Welcome (back) to the world of Interkosmos for an even wilder, weirder and more wondrous adventure. Experience the intense exhilaration of spaceflight. Explore the awe-inspiring interiors of a realistic space capsule. Master the crucial systems that will keep you in orbit (and breathing). And while you’re at it, try your best not to die. Should you complete your mission, you just might save the future – and yourself. Should you fail? Let’s not think about that.” An intense puzzle game where you’re piloting a space ship with some very finicky controls. I found the experience way too difficult and exacting. Along with a bit of bugginess, that didn’t help in me determining if the error was my fault or the game's. If you have the patience, there certainly is some rewarding gameplay here, and an interesting story, but I found it all a bit too much to see to the end.
- The Light Brigade $24.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: In a world of rougelikes, this is one that stands out. From the store page: “As a member of The Light Brigade, humanity’s last line of defense, brave ruins bathed in darkness and free the trapped souls who need the salvation only your gun can provide. Shoot, master spells, and upgrade your capabilities to herald the Sun’s return in this roguelike VR shooter.” There’s quite a lot of rouge shooters on Quest and despite the plethora of choices, this one stands out. Be warned, it starts out slowly, but gets quite fun after you get to know the systems after about an hour in. While I did make it to the last boss, I died and never went back to finished it. The gameplay loop and dynamic levels were solid though. The slight upgrades and different classes during each run were interesting and kept me going for a while. The most frustrating time I had was learning the little tips, tricks and finer gameplay points, but it was worth the push through that initial rough patch.
- Resident Evil 4 $39.99 Quest My quick take: One of the best games in VR. A must own. From the store page: “Explore the world of Resident Evil 4, entirely remastered for VR. Step into the shoes of special agent Leon S. Kennedy on his mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter who was kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Come face to face with enemies, and uncover secrets with gameplay that revolutionized the survival horror genre. Battle horrific creatures and face-off against mind-controlled villagers while discovering their connection to the cult behind the abduction.” I forgot so much about this game from when I first played it 18 years ago on the GameCube. The long length, fun characters and how exciting the gun play is, all just came together perfectly. The development team spent a ton of time getting the VR feeling just right, and it’s absolutely one of the best on the Quest and well worth the price of entry. Additionally, once you play through the game the first time it really changes from survival horror to a whole new type of game action game. Simply outstanding.
- Mini Golf Hustler Free Quest My quick take: Early days in development. Some good ideas, but a bit too rough around the edges. From the store page: “Challenge Slick Willie Puttman in this FREE nine hole demo of Mini Golf Hustler. Hazards include armed torpedoes, tentacled arms, ornery tikis and more! Multiple betting games, including skins, match play and the fearsome traveling snake. All played at the same time.” I thought I’d check out another mini golf game to see what other ideas there might be outside of the king - Walkabout Mini Golf. While there were some solid ideas for holes, the betting felt uneven, and everything else felt in their very early stages. To be fair, no other mini golf game feels even close to the accuracy of Walkabout, so I think it’s a tough go for any other games to match. It's probably best to stick with the champ for now, but I applaud the dev for trying something different.
- Pin City Free Quest (open beta on Discord) / Steam My quick take: Early days, but wow, worth a download and one to watch in the future. From the store page: "Pin City is a bowling game unlike any other bowling game you’ve played before. We strove to bring the spirit of mini-golf into the world of bowling. We’ve taken the standard bowling setup (straight lane, 10 pins, 1 ball) and expanded, transformed, and evolved it. We wanted to give people a chance to bowl in ways that would be impossible, illegal, or extremely impractical.” An early alpha game, but boy, what a great start, I’m really looking forward to the team getting the physics feeling right with weight and feel of the bowling balls and seeing how much more gameplay they can add. Really worth the download or heading over to their Discord to get a Quest key for free to try it out. The quirky bowling, physics and gameplay they're experimenting with really got me excited to see how this one comes together in the next several months.
- Mash Me Up Free Quest My quick take: Please devs, add more multiplayer support! From the store page: “Do you want to play party games with your friends or meet someone new? All is just one button press away with Mash Me Up. One button, multiple games. Will it be Air Hockey, Pier Pong, Flingball, or… Get ready for a surprise! Press, Play, Enjoy and Go Again!” If this game got a bit more development love it would be incredible. As it stands now, there are several mini games you can play against one person. Most are just okay, but a handful are real gems, and one particularly is incredible - Geo Guesser. Hands down the best mini game in the pack. With four, or six players and some new content, they could easily charge for just this one game. As it stands now, it’s a great two player game, but you’ll need to bring your own friend as the servers are pretty barren. Worth a download though for sure as you’ll get a night of fun out of it.
- THZZLS - Treasures Lost In Time $4.99 Quest My quick take: A unique puzzler that can be pretty relaxing, but repetitive. From the store page: “Our first THZZLE is called "Der Bazar", the world's first VR toy theatre puzzle game. The Bazar is a VR puzzle game where you have to place furniture and props in the right places in old-fashioned rooms according to an old picture you see. The game is set in 19th century Germany and each room has objects taken from the German lifestyle magazine "Der Bazar", published in Berlin.” This one used to be free, with paid content, but it has since changed as they added more content. You recreate a scene with cutouts of people and furniture in a 3D space. It seemed to have endless puzzles with randomization of scenes. I could see someone going to this for a relaxing 10-15 minutes, but it is a lot of the same each time and didn’t grab me fully. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that’s outside of the usual ones you find in the store, it’s not a bad choice for the price. Keep in mind though its hand tracking only, so for some that may be a non starter, even though it felt just fine.
- Barbaria $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: What I imagine Gorn is like with a solid game loop of RTS. From the store page: “Do you have what it takes to be the Mightiest in Barbaria? Welcome to a brutal world where visceral motion-controlled combat blends seamlessly with god-scale base-building and asynchronous multiplayer raids. Use fists, axes, swords, bows, rocks, or anything you can grab to dominate your foes in intense 1st-person combat. Then jump out to your immortal form and watch your minions carry on the battle while you rain down meteors from above. Systemic combat, versatile enemy AI, and player-created defenses make every battle unique.” I recognize there is a lot here to do in this game - if you like the game loop. Unfortunately, it really didn’t do much for me. I was expecting more RTS than Gorn style gameplay and was not pulled in by the fighting or quests offered. I have to say that the humor was spot on, and it certainly had good visuals, the game was just not for me. All that being said, there is a lot of content here and you could be playing this for quite some time if you think this could be your jam.
- Toy Monsters Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: Plants vs Zombies in AR with hand tracking that does enough unique stuff to be worth it. From the store page: “Toy Monsters VR is a mixed-reality tabletop tower defense inspired by classic Plants vs Zombies. Built from the ground up with hand tracking and passthrough in mind. As you progress through the 20 levels, you'll unlock new toys with unique special powers. You can enhance your toys with magical potions and use crystal power to unleash magic beams from your hands, transform your fingers into flamethrowers, and more.” This game has come a long way since its initial release. It’s a solid hand tracking Plants vs. Zombies game with its own twist on powers and uses passthrough quite nicely. My biggest complaint is that you really need to complete the game all in one go (about an hour or so) as it doesn’t keep track of your upgrades if you quit. Essentially, trying to pass a later level without prior upgrades or powerups is near impossible. Despite that one issue, give at least the demo a try and if you like it, the price is pretty fair for what you get.
- Exit Condition One Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: A bit rough around the edges, but escape room fans will find fun with it. From the store page: “You awake from cryo in a mysterious museum. A robot refers to you as a curator and the security system is malfunctioning. Can you get things back to normal and escape? There are no jump scares. The game is designed ground-up for roomscale VR on the Quest, but supports all locomotion modes. Most objects can be interacted with, it fully uses physics, and the hands don't ‘ghost out.’” According to the description, this is still a work in progress. That being said, it was a neat escape game that I felt I got my money’s worth from. It certainly was a bit rough around the edges with its gameplay and had some obscure puzzles to work through, but I did finish it and had a good time with it. Try the demo for sure, and perhaps when it’s finally finished, some of those rough edges will be polished up, but as it stands now, it was pretty solid.
- Hyperdash Free Quest / Steam My quick take: A solid online shooter, but you'll have to put in the time to get good to find the fun. From the store page: “Hyper Dash is a free VR multiplayer team based shooter. Payload, Domination, Control Point, (Team) Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Elimination, Ball and remix them with Mutators! Dash, sprint, and rail grind your way across the arenas to engage the enemy in fast-paced combat and secure the objective for your team. Offline mode/Bots, Dedicated servers, Private servers, Rebind-able controls, Left hand support, Voice chat.” For a free to play shooter, this one had great controls, nice graphics, a good gameplay loop, plenty of comfort options and a solid player base. All that being said, every player I faced off against were top tier, so I spent my time just dying round after round. This is a good game with a solid player base and there's fun here - if you’re willing to learn the ropes. It's bad for newbies like me just looking to have a good time and get a few kills.
- Please, Don’t Touch Anything $9.99 Quest / $4.99 Steam My quick take: A game for escape room devotees only. From the store page: "Please, Don’t Touch Anything is a cryptic, brain-racking button-pushing puzzle game. Covering for a colleague taking a bathroom break, you find yourself in front of a mysterious console with a green screen monitor showing a pixelated live image of an unknown city. Also present is an ominous red button with the simple instruction to not touch anything! Push the red button once or press it many times. Your choices and actions will lead to outrageous and frightening consequences and over 30 unique puzzle endings.” This is a weird one. A really obscure puzzle game that rewards experimentation, but is absolutely punishing with difficulty. If you’re really good at escape games and don’t get frustrated easily, you may enjoy the tedium. If not, you’ll end up like me, watching a tutorial to find out how to get different endings. But if you find yourself doing that, why not just watch a playthrough.
- Eleven Table Tennis $29.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Still one of the best, but there’s so much untapped potential. From the store page: “The ultimate Table Tennis simulator. Play opponents in online multiplayer or practice against the advanced AI. With physics designed to be as real as ever achieved in a Table Tennis simulator, you will forget you are in VR." I finally got back to this game after the new UI was implemented. It looks much more user friendly, but much to my disappointment, there were no new arenas, music, or official doubles options. There is so much potential for expanding this game, and I feel like the devs are just content to have it remain in the state it currently is. Which, to be fair, is a perfect implementation of table tennis in VR. It’s still one of the best VR games out there and absolutely a must own. I just really wish they would add an officially supported doubles mode and expand out the game a bit more because the unofficial doubles mode is a real pain to get set up and only barely worth the struggle. If you'd like to see how to set that doubles up currently, here is a video I was a part of.
- Breachers $29.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Come one, come all, this is 5 v 5 at its finest. From the store page: “In Breachers, you plan your assault or orchestrate your defense as a team through intense close-quarters combat. Whether you play as an enforcer or a revolter, master your nifty gadgetry, customize your powerful weaponry and beat your opponents in stunning environments. Intuitive to grasp. Endlessly playable.” Wow, wow, wow. This officially launched and is such a polished game. With multiple maps, intuitive movement and full lobbies, this game is simply spectacular. Despite the difficulty curve in being good at the game, it’s still a fun time even if you’re not the best, which is something special that few games manage to pull off. Where this game especially shines is with friends. If you can muster up a team of five to take on other random players, you’ll be playing this game for months. Give this a go, and if you're not any good, that's okay, because you'll still be better than the bots and a welcome addition to someone's team.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Outcast (Sidequest mod) Free Demo on Quest / $9.99 (Full Game on Steam) My quick take: Come for the lightsaber play, stay if you can tolerate the puzzles. From the store page: “JK XR is a standalone VR port of the popular Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast game by Lucasarts and Raven Software. Brought to VR by Team Beef & Friends. There are lots of mods and access to the free demo level available through the JK XR Companion App, which is automatically also installed alongside JK XR on your headset.” I never played this game when it first came out on flatscreen in 2002, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first part of the game you’re playing essentially as a Han Solo type - a smart talkin’ gun slinger. The next part, you’re a cool Jedi chopping off limbs. Absolutely great execution as always by Team Beef, and you can’t beat the price. There is even a free demo to try out to see if you like it. All that being said, the game’s old puzzles, navigation and gameplay felt every bit of 20 years old. After dying multiple times because of missing an exact jump, getting lost and backtracking because I didn't see an obscure elevator and wasting time trying to navigate odd puzzles, I just found it to be too much to overcome to continue to the end. This is no slight on Team Beef and the great work they did with this port, the game just hasn’t aged the best.
- CoasterMania $9.99 Quest My quick take: Early days, but still some fun to be had. There could be something special here after a few updates. From the store page: “CoasterMania is a physics-based VR rollercoaster game where you create the ride of your life! Use wacky contraptions and elements to fly through the sky, then experience your creation by jumping in the front seat. Sandbox mode: Build your dream rollercoaster without any rules but the rules of physics. When you're done, share your coaster or experience the engineering marvels of others. Design your own rides and upload them online.” You know, this game is just silly fun. It's early days for sure, and the tracks don't twist and come together as easily together as I’d hoped, which makes for a difficult time creating exactly what you want. It is satisfying though to have a roller coaster leap from one track to another over a gap. At this point the game is more of a sandbox than a full game with objectives (which is coming). The coasters other people have created are fun, so if you’re not into creating, there is that option to play with other people's designs, plus you can ride them in first person. I look forward to more updates and think it's worth looking at for sure, but if you’re looking for something a bit more fleshed out currently you can try Stunt Track Builder.
- David Slade Mysteries: Case Files $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: You’re a forensic cop, here are your tools. Good luck dummy. From the store page: “Take to the dark and violent streets of downtown Riverside, where you investigate gruesome and violent homicides using a range of Forensic tools and your wits! Inspired by the classic Police Quest adventure series, reborn & reimagined for VR. Includes two epic episodes!” Slade is a murder mystery game that is ruthless in it’s difficulty. Honestly, there are several play throughs of this game on YouTube and none have beaten the first case because it was too hard, they all gave up. This game offers no hints, is super abstract and insanely difficult. Why did I keep playing? Well, the game’s tools were implemented quite well, the story was compelling, and I just felt I had to see this through to the end for my own sanity. Despite being as hard as nails, I somehow managed to finish the first case, then moved on to the second. No real spoilers, but the second case does a complete 180 and essentially becomes a horror game where you’re only weapon is your wits. A real departure from the first case. Again, I found myself frustrated, confused and turned around, but again, I had to power through it because something kept pulling me in. If you’re a masochist for puzzle games, I’d recommend this game.
- Home Detective Free w/IAP - Quest My quick take: Fun use of AR, but pretty basic. From the store page: “Use your own living room to solve the crime! Using passthrough, the crime scene is overlaid onto your play area, leaving you free to explore and find clues. Use the patent-pending Residual Heat Scanner to detect the criminals' recent movements, and then dust for fingerprints or try to find evidence left behind. With your wits, and your trusty sidekick Steve Dobbins' snarky comments, you're sure to get to the bottom of these confusing crimes.” I appreciate the interesting use of passthrough and AR in this game. The first case is free to try, so if you’re into AR and passthrough, it’s worth a try. It's $3.99 for another case if you’re into it, but right now, it’s a pretty basic, but solid idea. My biggest complaint is that all my tools were on a shelf that was inaccessible because they were in my wall. I guess AR is still not quite there yet.
- Vertigo Remastered $24.99 Steam My quick take: A fun and wacky ride from start to finish. From the store page: “It's a classic premise - a massive subterranean scientific facility full of mysteries, with aliens bursting in from alternate universes to wreak havoc. The twist? You're one of those aliens. But you're not here to wreak havoc (collateral damage disregarded), you're just trying to get home. A difficult endeavor, as it turns out this facility is more than prepared to deal with extraterrestrial threats.” Because I heard such great things about Vertigo 2, I thought I’d try out this game before I played the sequel. I was really blown away by how fun the game was and pleasantly surprised that it holds up so well. Considering its a 2016 remake, and VR was still figuring out a lot of things like movement, this still felt fresh. With lots of unique ideas, upgrades and areas to play in, I heartily recommend this one and am looking forward to playing the sequel.
- Playin’ Pickleball $19.99 Quest My quick take: Solid physics, but really only for pickleball fans, or a group of four friends. From the store page: “Playin’ Pickleball is an authentic reproduction of Pickleball in Virtual Reality! Physics, sounds and mechanics have been carefully mapped from actual Pickleball game play. Even the scoring and rules are based on the USA Pickleball Association’s Official Rulebook.” Pickleball is sweeping the nation and if I recall correctly, even ForeVR is getting in on the game with an upcoming title. I’m much more of a tennis than pickleball guy, but I have to say, this game has pretty solid physics. Like most games, this is exponentially better with one or better yet, three other people you know. The AI players can be pretty uninteresting hitting it back and forth without much variance. Also the environments are a bit basic. I have to applaud the movement, physics and customizable items though as they all felt very well implemented. If you want something a bit less daunting than tennis, this might be what you're looking for.
- Pong $6.99 Quest My quick take: A neat take on Pong, but you’ll have more fun with Cybrix. From the store page: “Classic paddle game reimagined for VR. Destroy all the bricks. Use your paddles to swing at the balls and the balls have built-in assistance to return back toward you. Take advantage of the pistol and magneto power-ups to cause major damage. Or just swing hard at the balls to create large blast radius. Oh and watch out for those mines going for your head. Lean left/right or crouch to avoid.” I appreciated the ideas the developers had in this modern take on Pong, but it was ultimately quite short and not nearly as fun as Cybrix. That being said for the price, I got my money’s worth and would love to see it get a bit more polish and levels in an update.
- Extreme Escape $4.99 Quest / Steam (Early Access) My quick take: One of those special games where you really feel like you're in the environment. From the store page: “Have you ever wondered how it would feel to travel in a hot air balloon and fly above clouds? Have you ever wanted to face your fear of heights and enclosed spaces? Perhaps you wanted to become a pilot and test your critical thinking skills. Looking for a breathtaking experience? Try Extreme Escape.” The game says “early access,” but honestly I believe this has been abandoned. For the price, you get an extremely short, but fun and unique escape room experience. You’re not going to find this game too hard, but I was brought into its world and completely immersed - I had a true sense of dread and panic. The even shorter “demo” inside the game puts you on a sinking submarine and was extremely memorable. Seldom have I felt so immersed in a game. I’d recommend it for this price, just because of how it made me feel, but it’s a real shame about the very short length and that it’s abandoned.
- The Last Worker $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Gaming with a heavy message, but mediocre gameplay. From the store page: “The Last Worker is an immersive narrative adventure centered around a lone worker’s last stand in an increasingly automated world, The Last Worker is a unique blend of work simulation and stealth strategic gameplay. The game is set in a lonely, oppressive but strangely beautiful environment, with characters designed by comics legend Mick McMahon. Kurt works for the world’s largest retailer and is forced to choose between capitalism or activism. Having dedicated his life to work, Kurt’s loyalty is put to the test when a group of activists ask him to dismantle Jüngle from the inside.” I really wanted to like this game. It had an interesting concept, but navigating, fail states and some very annoying bugs frustrated me to the point where I just said it wasn’t worth my time. That and the story wasn’t speaking to me. It’s well rated, so I’m probably on the opposite side of this one from most people. It's unique in many ways, so check out the teaser and see if it might be for you.
- Shadow Point $19.99 Quest My quick take: Fisherman’s Tale vibes with an excellent story and puzzles that makes you feel smart. From the store page: “Built for VR, Shadow Point is a story-driven puzzle game set between a mountaintop observatory and an ever-changing fantasy world. Explore a vibrant kingdom, cast shadows and solve mind-bending puzzles as you uncover the mystery of missing schoolgirl, Lorna McCabe who vanished from Shadow Point Observatory twelve years ago. As your adventure unfolds, you will manipulate gravity, play with your own reflection, walk on walls, peer through a magical lens to reveal an alternate reality and much more.” I had this game on my wishlist forever and finally pulled the trigger, and boy am I glad I did. I really enjoyed the story, gameplay and ended up marathoning it in one session (which I don't recommend doing). It is a few hours long, and there are extra puzzles to go back to if you’d like. It had some serious Fisherman’s Tale vibes, so if you like those type of puzzle games, this is for you. The puzzles make you stop and think, and more importantly, progress nicely. I was never stuck, but certainly had to really contemplate how to solve some of them. It is slightly finicky with having to line up the shadows exactly to progress, but that is a minor complaint. Give this one a go for sure.
I hope you find a few games on this list that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know here or on the Ruff Talk
Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.
Also, the week this is posted, I'm hosting a contest where one winner gets a $29.99 or less, Quest game of their choice. You can enter on the discord channel above, but will need to have five posts on the discord channel within a week to enter, so if that interests you, feel free to join. The Ruff Talk guys usually have giveaways every week and it's some solid VR chat if you're looking for like-minded individuals in a non-toxic space.
TLDR: Top five games to check out -
Ark and Ade,
Pin City,
Breachers,
Shadow Point,
Vertigo Remastered submitted by
SlowShoes to
OculusQuest [link] [comments]
2023.06.05 16:27 SlowShoes Quick thoughts on 30 different VR games
I'm keeping track of all the VR games I’ve played this year to catalogue them in hopes that they may give fellow VR gamers some fresh games to try out, or reasons to revisit older games that have had big updates. I'm currently up to 52 different VR games played this year. The first 22 that I played from January to March can be found
here. The latest 30 games are mostly on the Quest, but many are available on PCVR.
Some of the games listed below, I can see playing all year long, others are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 30 games I’ve played during April and May of 2023.
TLDR: My top 5 games to check out are at the bottom and so is some info for a game giveaway.
- ARK and ADE $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A fun shooter with Pistol Whip vibes that is absolutely worth the price of admission. From the store page: “ARK and ADE is an action-jammed FPS shooter in which you get to experience the glory of the 80’s arcade era in a neon fused setting. Shoot your way through retro-futuristic levels filled with enemies, iconic over the top bosses and never ending bullets!” I played this game back when it was in App Lab before it graduated to the full store. It was such a fun shooter back then, and I’d look forward to new levels coming out every few months. Now that it made it out of app lab, has a bunch of levels and had the gameplay polished, it’s absolutely worth a pickup, especially for that price.
- Project Third Eye $9.99 Quest My quick take: A game where you make your own fun. From the store page: “Project Third Eye is an action physics sandbox with a built-in visual scripting panel to apply logic to spawnable items. This allows you to build your own modifications to the game and customize behaviors as you like.” Just like the description says, this is more of a proof of concept and sandbox game more so than a full fledged game with objectives. There are certainly neat ideas here and there, and the dev is really active with updates on Reddit. If you like to experiment and see how concepts develop in a game, you may enjoy this, but there’s no real direction beyond experimenting, so I dropped off fairly quickly.
- Jousting VR Demo $9.99 Quest / Steam Quest Demo My quick take: A bit light on gameplay, but there is some charm here. From the store page: “XIII century, Europe, royal market courtyard. You are a knight who joined the medieval tournament. Your task is 'simple.' Jump on your trusty steed, grab your lance & defeat the enemy. Take into consideration speed, accuracy, strength. Equipment is also important. The better gear the easier the task. Oh, and other knights - they want to win as much as you do.” As advertised, it's a jousting game in VR. I enjoyed the demo, but honestly it was a bit too finicky at times and just not worth a full buy to me. The atmosphere was fun though and there was a progression loop for those who get into it.
- Demeo $39.99 Quest and Steam (flatscreen as well) My quick take: This is a great game that I revisited from start to finish with four players. A must own. From the store page: “Adventurers, it’s time to unite! Gather your friends and fight monsters in Demeo, the turn-based tabletop strategy game of battle and glory. Roll dice, pick up miniatures, and free the world of Gilmerra in round after round of tabletop board game fun. With a huge assortment of monsters, playable classes, and environments to explore, it’s never the same game twice." I finally got a chance to play through the entirety of the game in VR with four friends, through each world, while trying a variety of characters. We even made a video ranking the best players and levels. It really is a solid dungeon crawling adventure. With 2 or more friends, this game really shines and is such a fun ride, despite how punishing the bosses can be. This is the closest you can get to D&D in VR without having a dungeon master. Well worth the asking price.
- Build and Drive Racing Demo Free Quest / Steam My quick take: Early days in development, maybe something to keep an eye on to see how it improves. From the store page: "Get ready for a new experience on Windows desktop and VR, where you get to build your ultimate racing machine, tailored to your driving style and optimized for performance, or race to the finish line with a monster what makes you smile. With stylised graphics and arcade-like physics, every turn, straightway and ramp will put your skills to the test. Feel the thrill of the race like never before in VR, as you immerse yourself counting the seconds on the home stretch." An early demo that has seen some updates. Maybe worth looking at in a few months after a bit more development. I did like what I saw, but honestly, if you’re looking for a finished racing game, try Mini Motor Racing X instead or some of the other heavier PCVR games available.
- Les Mills Body Combat $29.99 Quest My quick take: No subscriptions, great coaches and fun workouts that will make you sweat. From the store page: “Work out at home with a premium fitness app. LES MILLS, the world's leading fitness company, brings the BODYCOMBAT experience to your VR headset with an extensive workout portfolio, top-quality coaching, innovative mechanics, and different intensities.” With no subscriptions or hidden fees, lots of workouts, motivating coaches and the ability to compete with friends on leaderboards, this really is a dynamite workout app. I was working up a good sweat during my workouts, so be sure you have good facial insert and a fan ready. Highly recommended if you want a workout in VR for just the price of entry.
- Interkosmos 2000 $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A difficult puzzle game, but rewarding if you have the patience. From the store page: “Go to space. Save the Future. Try not to Die. Welcome (back) to the world of Interkosmos for an even wilder, weirder and more wondrous adventure. Experience the intense exhilaration of spaceflight. Explore the awe-inspiring interiors of a realistic space capsule. Master the crucial systems that will keep you in orbit (and breathing). And while you’re at it, try your best not to die. Should you complete your mission, you just might save the future – and yourself. Should you fail? Let’s not think about that.” An intense puzzle game where you’re piloting a space ship with some very finicky controls. I found the experience way too difficult and exacting. Along with a bit of bugginess, that didn’t help in me determining if the error was my fault or the game's. If you have the patience, there certainly is some rewarding gameplay here, and an interesting story, but I found it all a bit too much to see to the end.
- The Light Brigade $24.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: In a world of rougelikes, this is one that stands out. From the store page: “As a member of The Light Brigade, humanity’s last line of defense, brave ruins bathed in darkness and free the trapped souls who need the salvation only your gun can provide. Shoot, master spells, and upgrade your capabilities to herald the Sun’s return in this roguelike VR shooter.” There’s quite a lot of rouge shooters on Quest and despite the plethora of choices, this one stands out. Be warned, it starts out slowly, but gets quite fun after you get to know the systems after about an hour in. While I did make it to the last boss, I died and never went back to finished it. The gameplay loop and dynamic levels were solid though. The slight upgrades and different classes during each run were interesting and kept me going for a while. The most frustrating time I had was learning the little tips, tricks and finer gameplay points, but it was worth the push through that initial rough patch.
- Resident Evil 4 $39.99 Quest My quick take: One of the best games in VR. A must own. From the store page: “Explore the world of Resident Evil 4, entirely remastered for VR. Step into the shoes of special agent Leon S. Kennedy on his mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter who was kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Come face to face with enemies, and uncover secrets with gameplay that revolutionized the survival horror genre. Battle horrific creatures and face-off against mind-controlled villagers while discovering their connection to the cult behind the abduction.” I forgot so much about this game from when I first played it 18 years ago on the GameCube. The long length, fun characters and how exciting the gun play is, all just came together perfectly. The development team spent a ton of time getting the VR feeling just right, and it’s absolutely one of the best on the Quest and well worth the price of entry. Additionally, once you play through the game the first time it really changes from survival horror to a whole new type of game action game. Simply outstanding.
- Mini Golf Hustler Free Quest My quick take: Early days in development. Some good ideas, but a bit too rough around the edges. From the store page: “Challenge Slick Willie Puttman in this FREE nine hole demo of Mini Golf Hustler. Hazards include armed torpedoes, tentacled arms, ornery tikis and more! Multiple betting games, including skins, match play and the fearsome traveling snake. All played at the same time.” I thought I’d check out another mini golf game to see what other ideas there might be outside of the king - Walkabout Mini Golf. While there were some solid ideas for holes, the betting felt uneven, and everything else felt in their very early stages. To be fair, no other mini golf game feels even close to the accuracy of Walkabout, so I think it’s a tough go for any other games to match. It's probably best to stick with the champ for now, but I applaud the dev for trying something different.
- Pin City Free Quest (open beta on Discord) / Steam My quick take: Early days, but wow, worth a download and one to watch in the future. From the store page: "Pin City is a bowling game unlike any other bowling game you’ve played before. We strove to bring the spirit of mini-golf into the world of bowling. We’ve taken the standard bowling setup (straight lane, 10 pins, 1 ball) and expanded, transformed, and evolved it. We wanted to give people a chance to bowl in ways that would be impossible, illegal, or extremely impractical.” An early alpha game, but boy, what a great start, I’m really looking forward to the team getting the physics feeling right with weight and feel of the bowling balls and seeing how much more gameplay they can add. Really worth the download or heading over to their Discord to get a Quest key for free to try it out. The quirky bowling, physics and gameplay they're experimenting with really got me excited to see how this one comes together in the next several months.
- Mash Me Up Free Quest My quick take: Please devs, add more multiplayer support! From the store page: “Do you want to play party games with your friends or meet someone new? All is just one button press away with Mash Me Up. One button, multiple games. Will it be Air Hockey, Pier Pong, Flingball, or… Get ready for a surprise! Press, Play, Enjoy and Go Again!” If this game got a bit more development love it would be incredible. As it stands now, there are several mini games you can play against one person. Most are just okay, but a handful are real gems, and one particularly is incredible - Geo Guesser. Hands down the best mini game in the pack. With four, or six players and some new content, they could easily charge for just this one game. As it stands now, it’s a great two player game, but you’ll need to bring your own friend as the servers are pretty barren. Worth a download though for sure as you’ll get a night of fun out of it.
- THZZLS - Treasures Lost In Time $4.99 Quest My quick take: A unique puzzler that can be pretty relaxing, but repetitive. From the store page: “Our first THZZLE is called "Der Bazar", the world's first VR toy theatre puzzle game. The Bazar is a VR puzzle game where you have to place furniture and props in the right places in old-fashioned rooms according to an old picture you see. The game is set in 19th century Germany and each room has objects taken from the German lifestyle magazine "Der Bazar", published in Berlin.” This one used to be free, with paid content, but it has since changed as they added more content. You recreate a scene with cutouts of people and furniture in a 3D space. It seemed to have endless puzzles with randomization of scenes. I could see someone going to this for a relaxing 10-15 minutes, but it is a lot of the same each time and didn’t grab me fully. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that’s outside of the usual ones you find in the store, it’s not a bad choice for the price. Keep in mind though its hand tracking only, so for some that may be a non starter, even though it felt just fine.
- Barbaria $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: What I imagine Gorn is like with a solid game loop of RTS. From the store page: “Do you have what it takes to be the Mightiest in Barbaria? Welcome to a brutal world where visceral motion-controlled combat blends seamlessly with god-scale base-building and asynchronous multiplayer raids. Use fists, axes, swords, bows, rocks, or anything you can grab to dominate your foes in intense 1st-person combat. Then jump out to your immortal form and watch your minions carry on the battle while you rain down meteors from above. Systemic combat, versatile enemy AI, and player-created defenses make every battle unique.” I recognize there is a lot here to do in this game - if you like the game loop. Unfortunately, it really didn’t do much for me. I was expecting more RTS than Gorn style gameplay and was not pulled in by the fighting or quests offered. I have to say that the humor was spot on, and it certainly had good visuals, the game was just not for me. All that being said, there is a lot of content here and you could be playing this for quite some time if you think this could be your jam.
- Toy Monsters Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: Plants vs Zombies in AR with hand tracking that does enough unique stuff to be worth it. From the store page: “Toy Monsters VR is a mixed-reality tabletop tower defense inspired by classic Plants vs Zombies. Built from the ground up with hand tracking and passthrough in mind. As you progress through the 20 levels, you'll unlock new toys with unique special powers. You can enhance your toys with magical potions and use crystal power to unleash magic beams from your hands, transform your fingers into flamethrowers, and more.” This game has come a long way since its initial release. It’s a solid hand tracking Plants vs. Zombies game with its own twist on powers and uses passthrough quite nicely. My biggest complaint is that you really need to complete the game all in one go (about an hour or so) as it doesn’t keep track of your upgrades if you quit. Essentially, trying to pass a later level without prior upgrades or powerups is near impossible. Despite that one issue, give at least the demo a try and if you like it, the price is pretty fair for what you get.
- Exit Condition One Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: A bit rough around the edges, but escape room fans will find fun with it. From the store page: “You awake from cryo in a mysterious museum. A robot refers to you as a curator and the security system is malfunctioning. Can you get things back to normal and escape? There are no jump scares. The game is designed ground-up for roomscale VR on the Quest, but supports all locomotion modes. Most objects can be interacted with, it fully uses physics, and the hands don't ‘ghost out.’” According to the description, this is still a work in progress. That being said, it was a neat escape game that I felt I got my money’s worth from. It certainly was a bit rough around the edges with its gameplay and had some obscure puzzles to work through, but I did finish it and had a good time with it. Try the demo for sure, and perhaps when it’s finally finished, some of those rough edges will be polished up, but as it stands now, it was pretty solid.
- Hyperdash Free Quest / Steam My quick take: A solid online shooter, but you'll have to put in the time to get good to find the fun. From the store page: “Hyper Dash is a free VR multiplayer team based shooter. Payload, Domination, Control Point, (Team) Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Elimination, Ball and remix them with Mutators! Dash, sprint, and rail grind your way across the arenas to engage the enemy in fast-paced combat and secure the objective for your team. Offline mode/Bots, Dedicated servers, Private servers, Rebind-able controls, Left hand support, Voice chat.” For a free to play shooter, this one had great controls, nice graphics, a good gameplay loop, plenty of comfort options and a solid player base. All that being said, every player I faced off against were top tier, so I spent my time just dying round after round. This is a good game with a solid player base and there's fun here - if you’re willing to learn the ropes. It's bad for newbies like me just looking to have a good time and get a few kills.
- Please, Don’t Touch Anything $9.99 Quest / $4.99 Steam My quick take: A game for escape room devotees only. From the store page: "Please, Don’t Touch Anything is a cryptic, brain-racking button-pushing puzzle game. Covering for a colleague taking a bathroom break, you find yourself in front of a mysterious console with a green screen monitor showing a pixelated live image of an unknown city. Also present is an ominous red button with the simple instruction to not touch anything! Push the red button once or press it many times. Your choices and actions will lead to outrageous and frightening consequences and over 30 unique puzzle endings.” This is a weird one. A really obscure puzzle game that rewards experimentation, but is absolutely punishing with difficulty. If you’re really good at escape games and don’t get frustrated easily, you may enjoy the tedium. If not, you’ll end up like me, watching a tutorial to find out how to get different endings. But if you find yourself doing that, why not just watch a playthrough.
- Eleven Table Tennis $29.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Still one of the best, but there’s so much untapped potential. From the store page: “The ultimate Table Tennis simulator. Play opponents in online multiplayer or practice against the advanced AI. With physics designed to be as real as ever achieved in a Table Tennis simulator, you will forget you are in VR." I finally got back to this game after the new UI was implemented. It looks much more user friendly, but much to my disappointment, there were no new arenas, music, or official doubles options. There is so much potential for expanding this game, and I feel like the devs are just content to have it remain in the state it currently is. Which, to be fair, is a perfect implementation of table tennis in VR. It’s still one of the best VR games out there and absolutely a must own. I just really wish they would add an officially supported doubles mode and expand out the game a bit more because the unofficial doubles mode is a real pain to get set up and only barely worth the struggle. If you'd like to see how to set that doubles up currently, here is a video I was a part of.
- Breachers $29.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Come one, come all, this is 5 v 5 at its finest. From the store page: “In Breachers, you plan your assault or orchestrate your defense as a team through intense close-quarters combat. Whether you play as an enforcer or a revolter, master your nifty gadgetry, customize your powerful weaponry and beat your opponents in stunning environments. Intuitive to grasp. Endlessly playable.” Wow, wow, wow. This officially launched and is such a polished game. With multiple maps, intuitive movement and full lobbies, this game is simply spectacular. Despite the difficulty curve in being good at the game, it’s still a fun time even if you’re not the best, which is something special that few games manage to pull off. Where this game especially shines is with friends. If you can muster up a team of five to take on other random players, you’ll be playing this game for months. Give this a go, and if you're not any good, that's okay, because you'll still be better than the bots and a welcome addition to someone's team.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Outcast (Sidequest mod) Free Demo on Quest / $9.99 (Full Game on Steam) My quick take: Come for the lightsaber play, stay if you can tolerate the puzzles. From the store page: “JK XR is a standalone VR port of the popular Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast game by Lucasarts and Raven Software. Brought to VR by Team Beef & Friends. There are lots of mods and access to the free demo level available through the JK XR Companion App, which is automatically also installed alongside JK XR on your headset.” I never played this game when it first came out on flatscreen in 2002, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first part of the game you’re playing essentially as a Han Solo type - a smart talkin’ gun slinger. The next part, you’re a cool Jedi chopping off limbs. Absolutely great execution as always by Team Beef, and you can’t beat the price. There is even a free demo to try out to see if you like it. All that being said, the game’s old puzzles, navigation and gameplay felt every bit of 20 years old. After dying multiple times because of missing an exact jump, getting lost and backtracking because I didn't see an obscure elevator and wasting time trying to navigate odd puzzles, I just found it to be too much to overcome to continue to the end. This is no slight on Team Beef and the great work they did with this port, the game just hasn’t aged the best.
- CoasterMania $9.99 Quest My quick take: Early days, but still some fun to be had. There could be something special here after a few updates. From the store page: “CoasterMania is a physics-based VR rollercoaster game where you create the ride of your life! Use wacky contraptions and elements to fly through the sky, then experience your creation by jumping in the front seat. Sandbox mode: Build your dream rollercoaster without any rules but the rules of physics. When you're done, share your coaster or experience the engineering marvels of others. Design your own rides and upload them online.” You know, this game is just silly fun. It's early days for sure, and the tracks don't twist and come together as easily together as I’d hoped, which makes for a difficult time creating exactly what you want. It is satisfying though to have a roller coaster leap from one track to another over a gap. At this point the game is more of a sandbox than a full game with objectives (which is coming). The coasters other people have created are fun, so if you’re not into creating, there is that option to play with other people's designs, plus you can ride them in first person. I look forward to more updates and think it's worth looking at for sure, but if you’re looking for something a bit more fleshed out currently you can try Stunt Track Builder.
- David Slade Mysteries: Case Files $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: You’re a forensic cop, here are your tools. Good luck dummy. From the store page: “Take to the dark and violent streets of downtown Riverside, where you investigate gruesome and violent homicides using a range of Forensic tools and your wits! Inspired by the classic Police Quest adventure series, reborn & reimagined for VR. Includes two epic episodes!” Slade is a murder mystery game that is ruthless in it’s difficulty. Honestly, there are several play throughs of this game on YouTube and none have beaten the first case because it was too hard, they all gave up. This game offers no hints, is super abstract and insanely difficult. Why did I keep playing? Well, the game’s tools were implemented quite well, the story was compelling, and I just felt I had to see this through to the end for my own sanity. Despite being as hard as nails, I somehow managed to finish the first case, then moved on to the second. No real spoilers, but the second case does a complete 180 and essentially becomes a horror game where you’re only weapon is your wits. A real departure from the first case. Again, I found myself frustrated, confused and turned around, but again, I had to power through it because something kept pulling me in. If you’re a masochist for puzzle games, I’d recommend this game.
- Home Detective Free w/IAP - Quest My quick take: Fun use of AR, but pretty basic. From the store page: “Use your own living room to solve the crime! Using passthrough, the crime scene is overlaid onto your play area, leaving you free to explore and find clues. Use the patent-pending Residual Heat Scanner to detect the criminals' recent movements, and then dust for fingerprints or try to find evidence left behind. With your wits, and your trusty sidekick Steve Dobbins' snarky comments, you're sure to get to the bottom of these confusing crimes.” I appreciate the interesting use of passthrough and AR in this game. The first case is free to try, so if you’re into AR and passthrough, it’s worth a try. It's $3.99 for another case if you’re into it, but right now, it’s a pretty basic, but solid idea. My biggest complaint is that all my tools were on a shelf that was inaccessible because they were in my wall. I guess AR is still not quite there yet.
- Vertigo Remastered $24.99 Steam My quick take: A fun and wacky ride from start to finish. From the store page: “It's a classic premise - a massive subterranean scientific facility full of mysteries, with aliens bursting in from alternate universes to wreak havoc. The twist? You're one of those aliens. But you're not here to wreak havoc (collateral damage disregarded), you're just trying to get home. A difficult endeavor, as it turns out this facility is more than prepared to deal with extraterrestrial threats.” Because I heard such great things about Vertigo 2, I thought I’d try out this game before I played the sequel. I was really blown away by how fun the game was and pleasantly surprised that it holds up so well. Considering its a 2016 remake, and VR was still figuring out a lot of things like movement, this still felt fresh. With lots of unique ideas, upgrades and areas to play in, I heartily recommend this one and am looking forward to playing the sequel.
- Playin’ Pickleball $19.99 Quest My quick take: Solid physics, but really only for pickleball fans, or a group of four friends. From the store page: “Playin’ Pickleball is an authentic reproduction of Pickleball in Virtual Reality! Physics, sounds and mechanics have been carefully mapped from actual Pickleball game play. Even the scoring and rules are based on the USA Pickleball Association’s Official Rulebook.” Pickleball is sweeping the nation and if I recall correctly, even ForeVR is getting in on the game with an upcoming title. I’m much more of a tennis than pickleball guy, but I have to say, this game has pretty solid physics. Like most games, this is exponentially better with one or better yet, three other people you know. The AI players can be pretty uninteresting hitting it back and forth without much variance. Also the environments are a bit basic. I have to applaud the movement, physics and customizable items though as they all felt very well implemented. If you want something a bit less daunting than tennis, this might be what you're looking for.
- Pong $6.99 Quest My quick take: A neat take on Pong, but you’ll have more fun with Cybrix. From the store page: “Classic paddle game reimagined for VR. Destroy all the bricks. Use your paddles to swing at the balls and the balls have built-in assistance to return back toward you. Take advantage of the pistol and magneto power-ups to cause major damage. Or just swing hard at the balls to create large blast radius. Oh and watch out for those mines going for your head. Lean left/right or crouch to avoid.” I appreciated the ideas the developers had in this modern take on Pong, but it was ultimately quite short and not nearly as fun as Cybrix. That being said for the price, I got my money’s worth and would love to see it get a bit more polish and levels in an update.
- Extreme Escape $4.99 Quest / Steam (Early Access) My quick take: One of those special games where you really feel like you're in the environment. From the store page: “Have you ever wondered how it would feel to travel in a hot air balloon and fly above clouds? Have you ever wanted to face your fear of heights and enclosed spaces? Perhaps you wanted to become a pilot and test your critical thinking skills. Looking for a breathtaking experience? Try Extreme Escape.” The game says “early access,” but honestly I believe this has been abandoned. For the price, you get an extremely short, but fun and unique escape room experience. You’re not going to find this game too hard, but I was brought into its world and completely immersed - I had a true sense of dread and panic. The even shorter “demo” inside the game puts you on a sinking submarine and was extremely memorable. Seldom have I felt so immersed in a game. I’d recommend it for this price, just because of how it made me feel, but it’s a real shame about the very short length and that it’s abandoned.
- The Last Worker $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Gaming with a heavy message, but mediocre gameplay. From the store page: “The Last Worker is an immersive narrative adventure centered around a lone worker’s last stand in an increasingly automated world, The Last Worker is a unique blend of work simulation and stealth strategic gameplay. The game is set in a lonely, oppressive but strangely beautiful environment, with characters designed by comics legend Mick McMahon. Kurt works for the world’s largest retailer and is forced to choose between capitalism or activism. Having dedicated his life to work, Kurt’s loyalty is put to the test when a group of activists ask him to dismantle Jüngle from the inside.” I really wanted to like this game. It had an interesting concept, but navigating, fail states and some very annoying bugs frustrated me to the point where I just said it wasn’t worth my time. That and the story wasn’t speaking to me. It’s well rated, so I’m probably on the opposite side of this one from most people. It's unique in many ways, so check out the teaser and see if it might be for you.
- Shadow Point $19.99 Quest My quick take: Fisherman’s Tale vibes with an excellent story and puzzles that makes you feel smart. From the store page: “Built for VR, Shadow Point is a story-driven puzzle game set between a mountaintop observatory and an ever-changing fantasy world. Explore a vibrant kingdom, cast shadows and solve mind-bending puzzles as you uncover the mystery of missing schoolgirl, Lorna McCabe who vanished from Shadow Point Observatory twelve years ago. As your adventure unfolds, you will manipulate gravity, play with your own reflection, walk on walls, peer through a magical lens to reveal an alternate reality and much more.” I had this game on my wishlist forever and finally pulled the trigger, and boy am I glad I did. I really enjoyed the story, gameplay and ended up marathoning it in one session (which I don't recommend doing). It is a few hours long, and there are extra puzzles to go back to if you’d like. It had some serious Fisherman’s Tale vibes, so if you like those type of puzzle games, this is for you. The puzzles make you stop and think, and more importantly, progress nicely. I was never stuck, but certainly had to really contemplate how to solve some of them. It is slightly finicky with having to line up the shadows exactly to progress, but that is a minor complaint. Give this one a go for sure.
I hope you find a few games on this list that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know here or on the Ruff Talk
Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.
Also, the week this is posted, I'm hosting a contest where one winner gets a $29.99 or less, Quest game of their choice. You can enter on the discord channel above, but will need to have five posts on the discord channel within a week to enter, so if that interests you, feel free to join. The Ruff Talk guys usually have giveaways every week and it's some solid VR chat if you're looking for like-minded individuals in a non-toxic space.
TLDR: Top five games to check out -
Ark and Ade,
Pin City,
Breachers,
Shadow Point,
Vertigo Remastered submitted by
SlowShoes to
oculus [link] [comments]
2023.06.05 16:23 SlowShoes Quick thoughts on 30 different VR games
I'm keeping track of all the VR games I’ve played this year to catalogue them in hopes that they may give fellow VR gamers some fresh games to try out, or reasons to revisit older games that have had big updates. I'm currently up to 52 different VR games played this year. The first 22 that I played from January to March can be found
here. The latest 30 games are mostly on the Quest, but many are available on PCVR.
Some of the games listed below, I can see playing all year long, others are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 30 games I’ve played during April and May of 2023.
TLDR: My top 5 games to check out are at the bottom and so is some info for a game giveaway. - ARK and ADE $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A fun shooter with Pistol Whip vibes that is absolutely worth the price of admission. From the store page: “ARK and ADE is an action-jammed FPS shooter in which you get to experience the glory of the 80’s arcade era in a neon fused setting. Shoot your way through retro-futuristic levels filled with enemies, iconic over the top bosses and never ending bullets!” I played this game back when it was in App Lab before it graduated to the full store. It was such a fun shooter back then, and I’d look forward to new levels coming out every few months. Now that it made it out of app lab, has a bunch of levels and had the gameplay polished, it’s absolutely worth a pickup, especially for that price.
- Project Third Eye $9.99 Quest My quick take:A game where you make your own fun. From the store page: “Project Third Eye is an action physics sandbox with a built-in visual scripting panel to apply logic to spawnable items. This allows you to build your own modifications to the game and customize behaviors as you like.” Just like the description says, this is more of a proof of concept and sandbox game more so than a full fledged game with objectives. There are certainly neat ideas here and there, and the dev is really active with updates on Reddit. If you like to experiment and see how concepts develop in a game, you may enjoy this, but there’s no real direction beyond experimenting, so I dropped off fairly quickly.
- Jousting VR Demo $9.99 Quest / Steam Quest Demo My quick take:A bit light on gameplay, but there is some charm here. From the store page:“XIII century, Europe, royal market courtyard. You are a knight who joined the medieval tournament. Your task is 'simple.' Jump on your trusty steed, grab your lance & defeat the enemy. Take into consideration speed, accuracy, strength. Equipment is also important. The better gear the easier the task. Oh, and other knights - they want to win as much as you do.” As advertised, it's a jousting game in VR. I enjoyed the demo, but honestly it was a bit too finicky at times and just not worth a full buy to me. The atmosphere was fun though and there was a progression loop for those who get into it.
- Demeo $39.99 Quest and Steam (flatscreen as well) My quick take:This is a great game that I revisited from start to finish with four players. A must own. From the store page: “Adventurers, it’s time to unite! Gather your friends and fight monsters in Demeo, the turn-based tabletop strategy game of battle and glory. Roll dice, pick up miniatures, and free the world of Gilmerra in round after round of tabletop board game fun. With a huge assortment of monsters, playable classes, and environments to explore, it’s never the same game twice." I finally got a chance to play through the entirety of the game in VR with four friends, through each world, while trying a variety of characters. We even made a video ranking the best players and levels. It really is a solid dungeon crawling adventure. With 2 or more friends, this game really shines and is such a fun ride, despite how punishing the bosses can be. This is the closest you can get to D&D in VR without having a dungeon master. Well worth the asking price.
- Build and Drive Racing Demo Free Quest / Steam My quick take: Early days in development, maybe something to keep an eye on to see how it improves. From the store page: "Get ready for a new experience on Windows desktop and VR, where you get to build your ultimate racing machine, tailored to your driving style and optimized for performance, or race to the finish line with a monster what makes you smile. With stylised graphics and arcade-like physics, every turn, straightway and ramp will put your skills to the test. Feel the thrill of the race like never before in VR, as you immerse yourself counting the seconds on the home stretch." An early demo that has seen some updates. Maybe worth looking at in a few months after a bit more development. I did like what I saw, but honestly, if you’re looking for a finished racing game, try Mini Motor Racing X instead or some of the other heavier PCVR games available.
- Les Mills Body Combat $29.99 Quest My quick take: No subscriptions, great coaches and fun workouts that will make you sweat. From the store page: “Work out at home with a premium fitness app. LES MILLS, the world's leading fitness company, brings the BODYCOMBAT experience to your VR headset with an extensive workout portfolio, top-quality coaching, innovative mechanics, and different intensities.” With no subscriptions or hidden fees, lots of workouts, motivating coaches and the ability to compete with friends on leaderboards, this really is a dynamite workout app. I was working up a good sweat during my workouts, so be sure you have good facial insert and a fan ready. Highly recommended if you want a workout in VR for just the price of entry.
- Interkosmos 2000 $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take:A difficult puzzle game, but rewarding if you have the patience. From the store page: “Go to space. Save the Future. Try not to Die. Welcome (back) to the world of Interkosmos for an even wilder, weirder and more wondrous adventure. Experience the intense exhilaration of spaceflight. Explore the awe-inspiring interiors of a realistic space capsule. Master the crucial systems that will keep you in orbit (and breathing). And while you’re at it, try your best not to die. Should you complete your mission, you just might save the future – and yourself. Should you fail? Let’s not think about that.” An intense puzzle game where you’re piloting a space ship with some very finicky controls. I found the experience way too difficult and exacting. Along with a bit of bugginess, that didn’t help in me determining if the error was my fault or the game's. If you have the patience, there certainly is some rewarding gameplay here, and an interesting story, but I found it all a bit too much to see to the end.
- The Light Brigade $24.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: In a world of rougelikes, this is one that stands out. From the store page: “As a member of The Light Brigade, humanity’s last line of defense, brave ruins bathed in darkness and free the trapped souls who need the salvation only your gun can provide. Shoot, master spells, and upgrade your capabilities to herald the Sun’s return in this roguelike VR shooter.” There’s quite a lot of rouge shooters on Quest and despite the plethora of choices, this one stands out. Be warned, it starts out slowly, but gets quite fun after you get to know the systems after about an hour in. While I did make it to the last boss, I died and never went back to finished it. The gameplay loop and dynamic levels were solid though. The slight upgrades and different classes during each run were interesting and kept me going for a while. The most frustrating time I had was learning the little tips, tricks and finer gameplay points, but it was worth the push through that initial rough patch.
- Resident Evil 4 $39.99 Quest My quick take: One of the best games in VR. A must own. From the store page: “Explore the world of Resident Evil 4, entirely remastered for VR. Step into the shoes of special agent Leon S. Kennedy on his mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter who was kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Come face to face with enemies, and uncover secrets with gameplay that revolutionized the survival horror genre. Battle horrific creatures and face-off against mind-controlled villagers while discovering their connection to the cult behind the abduction.” I forgot so much about this game from when I first played it 18 years ago on the GameCube. The long length, fun characters and how exciting the gun play is, all just came together perfectly. The development team spent a ton of time getting the VR feeling just right, and it’s absolutely one of the best on the Quest and well worth the price of entry. Additionally, once you play through the game the first time it really changes from survival horror to a whole new type of game action game. Simply outstanding.
- Mini Golf Hustler Free Quest My quick take: Early days in development. Some good ideas, but a bit too rough around the edges. From the store page: “Challenge Slick Willie Puttman in this FREE nine hole demo of Mini Golf Hustler. Hazards include armed torpedoes, tentacled arms, ornery tikis and more! Multiple betting games, including skins, match play and the fearsome traveling snake. All played at the same time.” I thought I’d check out another mini golf game to see what other ideas there might be outside of the king - Walkabout Mini Golf. While there were some solid ideas for holes, the betting felt uneven, and everything else felt in their very early stages. To be fair, no other mini golf game feels even close to the accuracy of Walkabout, so I think it’s a tough go for any other games to match. It's probably best to stick with the champ for now, but I applaud the dev for trying something different.
- Pin City Free Quest (open beta on Discord) / Steam My quick take: Early days, but wow, worth a download and one to watch in the future. From the store page: "Pin City is a bowling game unlike any other bowling game you’ve played before. We strove to bring the spirit of mini-golf into the world of bowling. We’ve taken the standard bowling setup (straight lane, 10 pins, 1 ball) and expanded, transformed, and evolved it. We wanted to give people a chance to bowl in ways that would be impossible, illegal, or extremely impractical.” An early alpha game, but boy, what a great start, I’m really looking forward to the team getting the physics feeling right with weight and feel of the bowling balls and seeing how much more gameplay they can add. Really worth the download or heading over to their Discord to get a Quest key for free to try it out. The quirky bowling, physics and gameplay they're experimenting with really got me excited to see how this one comes together in the next several months.
- Mash Me Up Free Quest My quick take: Please devs, add more multiplayer support! From the store page: “Do you want to play party games with your friends or meet someone new? All is just one button press away with Mash Me Up. One button, multiple games. Will it be Air Hockey, Pier Pong, Flingball, or… Get ready for a surprise! Press, Play, Enjoy and Go Again!” If this game got a bit more development love it would be incredible. As it stands now, there are several mini games you can play against one person. Most are just okay, but a handful are real gems, and one particularly is incredible - Geo Guesser. Hands down the best mini game in the pack. With four, or six players and some new content, they could easily charge for just this one game. As it stands now, it’s a great two player game, but you’ll need to bring your own friend as the servers are pretty barren. Worth a download though for sure as you’ll get a night of fun out of it.
- THZZLS - Treasures Lost In Time $4.99 Quest My quick take: A unique puzzler that can be pretty relaxing, but repetitive. From the store page: “Our first THZZLE is called "Der Bazar", the world's first VR toy theatre puzzle game. The Bazar is a VR puzzle game where you have to place furniture and props in the right places in old-fashioned rooms according to an old picture you see. The game is set in 19th century Germany and each room has objects taken from the German lifestyle magazine "Der Bazar", published in Berlin.” This one used to be free, with paid content, but it has since changed as they added more content. You recreate a scene with cutouts of people and furniture in a 3D space. It seemed to have endless puzzles with randomization of scenes. I could see someone going to this for a relaxing 10-15 minutes, but it is a lot of the same each time and didn’t grab me fully. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that’s outside of the usual ones you find in the store, it’s not a bad choice for the price. Keep in mind though its hand tracking only, so for some that may be a non starter, even though it felt just fine.
- Barbaria $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take:What I imagine Gorn is like with a solid game loop of RTS. From the store page: “Do you have what it takes to be the Mightiest in Barbaria? Welcome to a brutal world where visceral motion-controlled combat blends seamlessly with god-scale base-building and asynchronous multiplayer raids. Use fists, axes, swords, bows, rocks, or anything you can grab to dominate your foes in intense 1st-person combat. Then jump out to your immortal form and watch your minions carry on the battle while you rain down meteors from above. Systemic combat, versatile enemy AI, and player-created defenses make every battle unique.” I recognize there is a lot here to do in this game - if you like the game loop. Unfortunately, it really didn’t do much for me. I was expecting more RTS than Gorn style gameplay and was not pulled in by the fighting or quests offered. I have to say that the humor was spot on, and it certainly had good visuals, the game was just not for me. All that being said, there is a lot of content here and you could be playing this for quite some time if you think this could be your jam.
- Toy Monsters Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take:Plants vs Zombies in AR with hand tracking that does enough unique stuff to be worth it. From the store page: “Toy Monsters VR is a mixed-reality tabletop tower defense inspired by classic Plants vs Zombies. Built from the ground up with hand tracking and passthrough in mind. As you progress through the 20 levels, you'll unlock new toys with unique special powers. You can enhance your toys with magical potions and use crystal power to unleash magic beams from your hands, transform your fingers into flamethrowers, and more.” This game has come a long way since its initial release. It’s a solid hand tracking Plants vs. Zombies game with its own twist on powers and uses passthrough quite nicely. My biggest complaint is that you really need to complete the game all in one go (about an hour or so) as it doesn’t keep track of your upgrades if you quit. Essentially, trying to pass a later level without prior upgrades or powerups is near impossible. Despite that one issue, give at least the demo a try and if you like it, the price is pretty fair for what you get.
- Exit Condition One Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: A bit rough around the edges, but escape room fans will find fun with it. From the store page: “You awake from cryo in a mysterious museum. A robot refers to you as a curator and the security system is malfunctioning. Can you get things back to normal and escape? There are no jump scares. The game is designed ground-up for roomscale VR on the Quest, but supports all locomotion modes. Most objects can be interacted with, it fully uses physics, and the hands don't ‘ghost out.’” According to the description, this is still a work in progress. That being said, it was a neat escape game that I felt I got my money’s worth from. It certainly was a bit rough around the edges with its gameplay and had some obscure puzzles to work through, but I did finish it and had a good time with it. Try the demo for sure, and perhaps when it’s finally finished, some of those rough edges will be polished up, but as it stands now, it was pretty solid.
- Hyperdash Free Quest/Steam My quick take: A solid online shooter, but you'll have to put in the time to get good to find the fun. From the store page: “Hyper Dash is a free VR multiplayer team based shooter. Payload, Domination, Control Point, (Team) Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Elimination, Ball and remix them with Mutators! Dash, sprint, and rail grind your way across the arenas to engage the enemy in fast-paced combat and secure the objective for your team. Offline mode/Bots, Dedicated servers, Private servers, Rebind-able controls, Left hand support, Voice chat.” For a free to play shooter, this one had great controls, nice graphics, a good gameplay loop, plenty of comfort options and a solid player base. All that being said, every player I faced off against were top tier, so I spent my time just dying round after round. This is a good game with a solid player base and there's fun here - if you’re willing to learn the ropes. It's bad for newbies like me just looking to have a good time and get a few kills.
- Please, Don’t Touch Anything $9.99 Quest / $4.99 Steam My quick take: A game for escape room devotees only. From the store page: "Please, Don’t Touch Anything is a cryptic, brain-racking button-pushing puzzle game. Covering for a colleague taking a bathroom break, you find yourself in front of a mysterious console with a green screen monitor showing a pixelated live image of an unknown city. Also present is an ominous red button with the simple instruction to not touch anything! Push the red button once or press it many times. Your choices and actions will lead to outrageous and frightening consequences and over 30 unique puzzle endings.” This is a weird one. A really obscure puzzle game that rewards experimentation, but is absolutely punishing with difficulty. If you’re really good at escape games and don’t get frustrated easily, you may enjoy the tedium. If not, you’ll end up like me, watching a tutorial to find out how to get different endings. But if you find yourself doing that, why not just watch a playthrough.
- Eleven Table Tennis $29.99 Quest/Steam My quick take: Still one of the best, but there’s so much untapped potential. From the store page: “The ultimate Table Tennis simulator. Play opponents in online multiplayer or practice against the advanced AI. With physics designed to be as real as ever achieved in a Table Tennis simulator, you will forget you are in VR." I finally got back to this game after the new UI was implemented. It looks much more user friendly, but much to my disappointment, there were no new arenas, music, or official doubles options. There is so much potential for expanding this game, and I feel like the devs are just content to have it remain in the state it currently is. Which, to be fair, is a perfect implementation of table tennis in VR. It’s still one of the best VR games out there and absolutely a must own. I just really wish they would add an officially supported doubles mode and expand out the game a bit more because the unofficial doubles mode is a real pain to get set up and only barely worth the struggle. If you'd like to see how to set that doubles up currently, here is a video I was a part of.
- Breachers $29.99 Quest/Steam My quick take: Come one, come all, this is 5 v 5 at its finest. From the store page: “In Breachers, you plan your assault or orchestrate your defense as a team through intense close-quarters combat. Whether you play as an enforcer or a revolter, master your nifty gadgetry, customize your powerful weaponry and beat your opponents in stunning environments. Intuitive to grasp. Endlessly playable.” Wow, wow, wow. This officially launched and is such a polished game. With multiple maps, intuitive movement and full lobbies, this game is simply spectacular. Despite the difficulty curve in being good at the game, it’s still a fun time even if you’re not the best, which is something special that few games manage to pull off. Where this game especially shines is with friends. If you can muster up a team of five to take on other random players, you’ll be playing this game for months. Give this a go, and if you're not any good, that's okay, because you'll still be better than the bots and a welcome addition to someone's team.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Outcast (Sidequest mod) Free Demo on Quest / $9.99 (Full Game on Steam) My quick take: Come for the lightsaber play, stay if you can tolerate the puzzles. From the store page: “JK XR is a standalone VR port of the popular Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast game by Lucasarts and Raven Software. Brought to VR by Team Beef & Friends. There are lots of mods and access to the free demo level available through the JK XR Companion App, which is automatically also installed alongside JK XR on your headset.” I never played this game when it first came out on flatscreen in 2002, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first part of the game you’re playing essentially as a Han Solo type - a smart talkin’ gun slinger. The next part, you’re a cool Jedi chopping off limbs. Absolutely great execution as always by Team Beef, and you can’t beat the price. There is even a free demo to try out to see if you like it. All that being said, the game’s old puzzles, navigation and gameplay felt every bit of 20 years old. After dying multiple times because of missing an exact jump, getting lost and backtracking because I didn't see an obscure elevator and wasting time trying to navigate odd puzzles, I just found it to be too much to overcome to continue to the end. This is no slight on Team Beef and the great work they did with this port, the game just hasn’t aged the best.
- CoasterMania $9.99 Quest My quick take:Early days, but still some fun to be had. There could be something special here after a few updates. From the store page: “CoasterMania is a physics-based VR rollercoaster game where you create the ride of your life! Use wacky contraptions and elements to fly through the sky, then experience your creation by jumping in the front seat. Sandbox mode: Build your dream rollercoaster without any rules but the rules of physics. When you're done, share your coaster or experience the engineering marvels of others. Design your own rides and upload them online.” You know, this game is just silly fun. It's early days for sure, and the tracks don't twist and come together as easily together as I’d hoped, which makes for a difficult time creating exactly what you want. It is satisfying though to have a roller coaster leap from one track to another over a gap. At this point the game is more of a sandbox than a full game with objectives (which is coming). The coasters other people have created are fun, so if you’re not into creating, there is that option to play with other people's designs, plus you can ride them in first person. I look forward to more updates and think it's worth looking at for sure, but if you’re looking for something a bit more fleshed out currently you can try Stunt Track Builder.
- David Slade Mysteries: Case Files $9.99 Quest/Steam My quick take: You’re a forensic cop, here are your tools. Good luck dummy. From the store page: “Take to the dark and violent streets of downtown Riverside, where you investigate gruesome and violent homicides using a range of Forensic tools and your wits! Inspired by the classic Police Quest adventure series, reborn & reimagined for VR. Includes two epic episodes!” Slade is a murder mystery game that is ruthless in it’s difficulty. Honestly, there are several play throughs of this game on YouTube and none have beaten the first case because it was too hard, they all gave up. This game offers no hints, is super abstract and insanely difficult. Why did I keep playing? Well, the game’s tools were implemented quite well, the story was compelling, and I just felt I had to see this through to the end for my own sanity. Despite being as hard as nails, I somehow managed to finish the first case, then moved on to the second. No real spoilers, but the second case does a complete 180 and essentially becomes a horror game where you’re only weapon is your wits. A real departure from the first case. Again, I found myself frustrated, confused and turned around, but again, I had to power through it because something kept pulling me in. If you’re a masochist for puzzle games, I’d recommend this game.
- Home Detective Free w/IAP - Quest My quick take:Fun use of AR, but pretty basic. From the store page: “Use your own living room to solve the crime! Using passthrough, the crime scene is overlaid onto your play area, leaving you free to explore and find clues. Use the patent-pending Residual Heat Scanner to detect the criminals' recent movements, and then dust for fingerprints or try to find evidence left behind. With your wits, and your trusty sidekick Steve Dobbins' snarky comments, you're sure to get to the bottom of these confusing crimes.” I appreciate the interesting use of passthrough and AR in this game. The first case is free to try, so if you’re into AR and passthrough, it’s worth a try. It's $3.99 for another case if you’re into it, but right now, it’s a pretty basic, but solid idea. My biggest complaint is that all my tools were on a shelf that was inaccessible because they were in my wall. I guess AR is still not quite there yet.
- Vertigo Remastered $24.99 Steam My quick take: A fun and wacky ride from start to finish. From the store page: “It's a classic premise - a massive subterranean scientific facility full of mysteries, with aliens bursting in from alternate universes to wreak havoc. The twist? You're one of those aliens. But you're not here to wreak havoc (collateral damage disregarded), you're just trying to get home. A difficult endeavor, as it turns out this facility is more than prepared to deal with extraterrestrial threats.” Because I heard such great things about Vertigo 2, I thought I’d try out this game before I played the sequel. I was really blown away by how fun the game was and pleasantly surprised that it holds up so well. Considering its a 2016 remake, and VR was still figuring out a lot of things like movement, this still felt fresh. With lots of unique ideas, upgrades and areas to play in, I heartily recommend this one and am looking forward to playing the sequel.
- Playin’ Pickleball $19.99 Quest My quick take:Solid physics, but really only for pickleball fans, or a group of four friends. From the store page: “Playin’ Pickleball is an authentic reproduction of Pickleball in Virtual Reality! Physics, sounds and mechanics have been carefully mapped from actual Pickleball game play. Even the scoring and rules are based on the USA Pickleball Association’s Official Rulebook.” Pickleball is sweeping the nation and if I recall correctly, even ForeVR is getting in on the game with an upcoming title. I’m much more of a tennis than pickleball guy, but I have to say, this game has pretty solid physics. Like most games, this is exponentially better with one or better yet, three other people you know. The AI players can be pretty uninteresting hitting it back and forth without much variance. Also the environments are a bit basic. I have to applaud the movement, physics and customizable items though as they all felt very well implemented. If you want something a bit less daunting than tennis, this might be what you're looking for.
- Pong $6.99 Quest My quick take:A neat take on Pong, but you’ll have more fun with Cybrix. From the store page: “Classic paddle game reimagined for VR. Destroy all the bricks. Use your paddles to swing at the balls and the balls have built-in assistance to return back toward you. Take advantage of the pistol and magneto power-ups to cause major damage. Or just swing hard at the balls to create large blast radius. Oh and watch out for those mines going for your head. Lean left/right or crouch to avoid.” I appreciated the ideas the developers had in this modern take on Pong, but it was ultimately quite short and not nearly as fun as Cybrix. That being said for the price, I got my money’s worth and would love to see it get a bit more polish and levels in an update.
- Extreme Escape $4.99 Quest / Steam (Early Access) My quick take:One of those special games where you really feel like you're in the environment. From the store page: “Have you ever wondered how it would feel to travel in a hot air balloon and fly above clouds? Have you ever wanted to face your fear of heights and enclosed spaces? Perhaps you wanted to become a pilot and test your critical thinking skills. Looking for a breathtaking experience? Try Extreme Escape.” The game says “early access,” but honestly I believe this has been abandoned. For the price, you get an extremely short, but fun and unique escape room experience. You’re not going to find this game too hard, but I was brought into its world and completely immersed - I had a true sense of dread and panic. The even shorter “demo” inside the game puts you on a sinking submarine and was extremely memorable. Seldom have I felt so immersed in a game. I’d recommend it for this price, just because of how it made me feel, but it’s a real shame about the very short length and that it’s abandoned.
- The Last Worker $19.99 Quest / SteamMy quick take:Gaming with a heavy message, but mediocre gameplay. From the store page:“The Last Worker is an immersive narrative adventure centered around a lone worker’s last stand in an increasingly automated world, The Last Worker is a unique blend of work simulation and stealth strategic gameplay. The game is set in a lonely, oppressive but strangely beautiful environment, with characters designed by comics legend Mick McMahon. Kurt works for the world’s largest retailer and is forced to choose between capitalism or activism. Having dedicated his life to work, Kurt’s loyalty is put to the test when a group of activists ask him to dismantle Jüngle from the inside.” I really wanted to like this game. It had an interesting concept, but navigating, fail states and some very annoying bugs frustrated me to the point where I just said it wasn’t worth my time. That and the story wasn’t speaking to me. It’s well rated, so I’m probably on the opposite side of this one from most people. It's unique in many ways, so check out the teaser and see if it might be for you.
- Shadow Point $19.99 Quest My quick take:Fisherman’s Tale vibes with an excellent story and puzzles that makes you feel smart. From the store page: “Built for VR, Shadow Point is a story-driven puzzle game set between a mountaintop observatory and an ever-changing fantasy world. Explore a vibrant kingdom, cast shadows and solve mind-bending puzzles as you uncover the mystery of missing schoolgirl, Lorna McCabe who vanished from Shadow Point Observatory twelve years ago. As your adventure unfolds, you will manipulate gravity, play with your own reflection, walk on walls, peer through a magical lens to reveal an alternate reality and much more.” I had this game on my wishlist forever and finally pulled the trigger, and boy am I glad I did. I really enjoyed the story, gameplay and ended up marathoning it in one session (which I don't recommend doing). It is a few hours long, and there are extra puzzles to go back to if you’d like. It had some serious Fisherman’s Tale vibes, so if you like those type of puzzle games, this is for you. The puzzles make you stop and think, and more importantly, progress nicely. I was never stuck, but certainly had to really contemplate how to solve some of them. It is slightly finicky with having to line up the shadows exactly to progress, but that is a minor complaint. Give this one a go for sure.
I hope you find a few games on this list that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know here or on the Ruff Talk
Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.
Also, the week this is posted, I'm hosting a contest where one winner gets a $29.99 or less, Quest game of their choice. You can enter on the discord channel above, but will need to have five posts on the discord channel within a week to enter, so if that interests you, feel free to join. The Ruff Talk guys usually have giveaways every week and it's some solid VR chat if you're looking for like-minded individuals in a non-toxic space.
TLDR: Top five games to check out -
Ark and Ade,
Pin City,
Breachers,
Shadow Point,
Vertigo Remastered submitted by
SlowShoes to
RuffTalkVR [link] [comments]
2023.06.05 03:11 virexgaze Spring Cleaning Merch sale
| Just did some spring cleaning and have some old merch for sale. Please let me know if you have any questions about anything. From a smoke free home. Thanks for looking 😊 T-Shirts: 20.00 Tanks: 10.00 Accept Venmo, Paypal (G&S) Black 2022 Coachella XL Grey VHS Tapes L Space Bears L Pink Billboard S Black Palm Trees 2019 Lineup L Grey 2014 Lineup Woman’s L Grey Men’s Workers Shirt L (40.00) Black Palm Spring 2019 lineup tank top Woman’s S/M Black Horizon Tank 2018 lineup S White Rainbow 2019 Lineup Tank Woman’s S/M/XL Black Space Man 2015 Lineup Woman’s M Cat Tank Woman’s M Space Ship Tank 2014 Lineup Woman’s M Sunset 2013 Lineup Woman’s M Coachella Sunglass (10.00) Cactus Plant Flea Market WK 1 sweatpants S (Ask about pricing) Palm Springs 2019 Lineup Zip Up Hoodie L (25.00) Lollapalooza 2021 Lineup XL submitted by virexgaze to Coachella [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 21:10 kavyaorganicfarm Why is There is Dragon Fruit Pink Colour ?
| https://preview.redd.it/4mkwwwvlu14b1.jpg?width=1070&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cebaeefd11ccf1c75044c7858eae789033d1946c Dragon fruit, also known as pitaya, is known for its vibrant pink or magenta-colored flesh. The color of dragon fruit is primarily due to the presence of natural pigments called betacyanins. Betacyanins are water-soluble pigments that belong to the larger group of compounds known as betalains. - The betacyanin pigments in dragon fruit are responsible for its striking pink coloration. These pigments are especially concentrated in the pulp or flesh of the fruit. The outer skin of the dragon fruit, on the other hand, is usually a bright pink or reddish color, but it can also be yellow or even white.
- The color of dragon fruit is influenced by various factors such as the specific variety of the fruit, growing conditions, and ripeness. Different varieties of dragon fruit can have slightly different shades of pink, ranging from pale pink to deep magenta.
- It's worth noting that not all dragon fruits are pink. There are also other varieties of dragon fruit with white or yellow flesh. These varieties contain different types of pigments, such as betaxanthins, which give them their distinct colors.
In summary, the pink color of dragon fruit is due to the presence of betacyanin pigments, which are natural compounds found in the fruit. These pigments contribute to the unique and visually appealing appearance of the dragon fruit. - Is dragon fruit naturally pink?
No, dragon fruit is not naturally pink. The natural color of dragon fruit is actually white or yellow. The pink or magenta-colored dragon fruit that is commonly seen is a result of selective breeding and genetic variations. Originally, dragon fruit had white or yellow flesh. However, through cultivation and hybridization, varieties with vibrant pink or magenta flesh were developed. These pink-fleshed dragon fruit varieties became popular due to their attractive appearance, and they are now commonly found in many markets worldwide. So, while pink dragon fruit is not the natural color of the fruit, it is the result of human intervention and breeding techniques to create visually appealing variations of the fruit. - Why is my dragon fruit pink instead of white?
If your dragon fruit has pink flesh instead of white, it is likely because you have a variety of dragon fruit that naturally has pink flesh. There are several varieties of dragon fruit, each with its own unique characteristics, including the color of the flesh. Pink-fleshed dragon fruit varieties have been developed through selective breeding and genetic variations. These varieties contain specific pigments, such as betacyanins, which give them their pink color. The presence of these pigments is determined by the genetic makeup of the plant. It's also possible that environmental factors, such as sunlight exposure or growing conditions, could influence the intensity of the pink color in the fruit. However, the primary reason for the pink flesh in your dragon fruit is the inherent genetic characteristics of the particular variety you have. It's worth noting that dragon fruit comes in various colors, including white, pink, yellow, and even red. Each color has its own unique flavor and appearance, offering a diverse range of options for consumers to enjoy. - What kind of dragon fruit is pink?
There are several varieties of dragon fruit that have pink flesh. Some popular pink-fleshed dragon fruit varieties include: - Hylocereus undatus: This is the most common variety of dragon fruit with pink flesh. It has a white or pink skin with green scales and the flesh inside is typically white or pink. It is often referred to as the "white-fleshed dragon fruit" but can have a pinkish hue.
- Hylocereus costaricensis: Also known as the Costa Rican pitaya or red-fleshed dragon fruit, this variety has vibrant pink to deep red flesh. The skin of this dragon fruit is usually red or magenta.
- Hylocereus polyrhizus: This variety is commonly called the red dragon fruit or red-fleshed dragon fruit. It has a reddish skin and the flesh inside can range from pink to deep red.
- Hylocereus megalanthus: While the exterior of this variety is yellow, the flesh inside can have a light pink hue. It is often referred to as the yellow dragon fruit or yellow pitaya.
It's important to note that the intensity of the pink color may vary within each variety, depending on factors like growing conditions and ripeness. The specific variety of dragon fruit you have will determine the exact shade of pink in the flesh. - Is it OK to eat pink dragon fruit?
Yes, it is absolutely safe to eat pink dragon fruit. Pink dragon fruit is a popular and widely consumed fruit. The pink color of the flesh is natural and does not indicate any health concerns or issues. Dragon fruit, including pink-fleshed varieties, is known for its nutritional benefits. It is a good source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It is low in calories and rich in fiber, making it a healthy addition to your diet. When consuming dragon fruit, it is important to ensure that it is ripe. Ripe dragon fruit should have a slight give when gently squeezed, and the skin should be bright and evenly colored. The flesh should be juicy and sweet. If the fruit is overly mushy or has an off smell, it may be spoiled and should not be consumed. As with any food, it is always advisable to wash the dragon fruit thoroughly before cutting into it. You can enjoy pink dragon fruit fresh on its own, or you can add it to smoothies, salads, or other dishes for a vibrant and nutritious boost. - Who can't eat dragon fruit?
While dragon fruit is generally safe for consumption, there are a few groups of people who may need to exercise caution or avoid it: - Allergies: Some individuals may have allergies to dragon fruit or other fruits in the cactus family. If you have a known allergy to cacti or have experienced allergic reactions to similar fruits, it is advisable to avoid dragon fruit.
- Medication Interactions: Dragon fruit contains compounds that can interact with certain medications. If you are taking medications, especially those metabolized by the liver, it is best to consult with your healthcare provider before consuming dragon fruit. They can advise you on any potential interactions.
- Diabetes or Blood Sugar Concerns: Dragon fruit is relatively high in natural sugars, which can impact blood sugar levels. If you have diabetes or are watching your blood sugar levels, it is important to consume dragon fruit in moderation and monitor your blood glucose response.
- Digestive Sensitivities: Dragon fruit contains dietary fiber, which can be beneficial for most people. However, individuals with sensitive digestive systems may experience discomfort or gastrointestinal issues when consuming excessive amounts of fiber. Start with small portions and observe how your body reacts.
- Oxalate Sensitivity: Dragon fruit contains oxalates, which are naturally occurring compounds that can contribute to the formation of kidney stones in susceptible individuals. If you have a history of kidney stones or are prone to oxalate-related issues, it may be advisable to limit your consumption of dragon fruit.
As always, if you have specific health concerns or conditions, it is best to consult with a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian who can provide personalized advice based on your individual circumstances. - Which dragon fruit is best?
The "best" dragon fruit can be subjective and depends on personal preference. However, here are some popular dragon fruit varieties known for their taste and characteristics: - Hylocereus undatus (White-Fleshed Dragon Fruit): This is the most common variety with white flesh and a mild, subtly sweet flavor. It is often described as having a refreshing taste and a texture similar to kiwi.
- Hylocereus costaricensis (Red-Fleshed Dragon Fruit): Also known as the red-fleshed dragon fruit or Costa Rican pitaya, this variety has vibrant pink to deep red flesh. It is often sweeter than the white-fleshed variety, with a slightly more intense and berry-like flavor.
- Hylocereus polyrhizus (Red Dragon Fruit): This variety is known for its striking red or magenta skin and red flesh. It has a slightly sweeter flavor compared to the white-fleshed dragon fruit and is often described as having a hint of tropical sweetness.
- Hylocereus megalanthus (Yellow Dragon Fruit): This variety has yellow skin and white or pale yellow flesh. It has a milder taste compared to the red or white-fleshed dragon fruit, with a delicate sweetness and a hint of acidity.
Ultimately, the best dragon fruit for you will depend on your personal taste preferences. Some people enjoy the subtly sweet flavor of the white-fleshed variety, while others prefer the bolder and sweeter taste of the red-fleshed or yellow dragon fruit. It can be fun to try different varieties and determine which one you enjoy the most. submitted by kavyaorganicfarm to u/kavyaorganicfarm [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 18:00 greenjacket021 Given up on flea markets
Recently got into collecting and every time I go to a flea market it’s been a complete bust. At this stage it’s looking like eBay is the way to go!
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2023.06.04 15:43 AdHour389 Here are the Spawn Toys from my flea market trip yesterday. Apparently my phone glitched out and these were the only ones I actually took. Sorry for the bad pics. People were in my way and I was getting irritated lol.
2023.06.04 08:41 WTXRed June B.A.G.E.L.
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2023.06.04 07:43 AutoNewspaperAdmin [World] - US, Chinese buyers flock to Japan flea market apps to snap up Hello Kitty, Pokemon toys due to weak yen South China Morning Post