Infinite - Beyond The Mind

At long last, I can finally share with you that review I've been working on for Sick Critic now that the embargo has been lifted. The game was called Infinite - Beyond The Mind, it's only a little indie game so there's no real fanfare attached to its release, but I reviewed it just as I would any other game. You can read my article here, though I should warn you, it's not especially kind. I personally think it's sharply written and it was nice to flex the less flattering side of my vocabulary - typically I like to see the good in most things but this game gave me zero satisfaction to play.



Dinner's have begun to go a little on loop since this whole pandemic hit so I wanted to push the boat out a little and experiment with what we had to make something unique. So I butterflied some chicken breasts and rolled them in chili powder and paprika , cut up some homemade chips and cooked some sweetcorn to make a DIY Nando's style dish. Cooking the chicken in my cast iron let me practice making a pan sauce from the fond too, but that part didn't go so well. I added too many flavours and managed to over-reduce it so it ended up tasting like insanely garlicky popcorn. Put it in a ramekin for optional dipping though so no harm done! Next pan sauce will be all the better for this little failure.

Dead Weight at the DeadLine

Finished up the first draft of that review I've been working on over the past few days. I always assumed I needed to hit a deadline with this one, but my editors aren't showing many signs of hustle if they want it released the moment the game's embargo lifts. In fairness, it's not the biggest game so there really isn't a captive audience for it, but it would help for viewing numbers. Never mind though, I just hope the editor's notes aren't as exhaustive as last time.

Rebecca and I spent a bit of time this evening discussing what fun activities we can do to mark the Bank Holiday. I voted for baking and she didn't need convincing. I've been eying up a brownie, cookie and a mocha semifreddo recipe recently, doesn't matter what order, I want to try them all.

Pre-empt the Edit

I hid myself away in my dining room/study for a very sizable chunk of the day to work on my upcoming game review for Sick Critic. Even after dinner I went back to work so I could get a head start on rewriting it for delivery tomorrow evening. After my last review required heavy re-editing I want to make sure this one only needs minor tweeks before it goes up. Having read some sentences aloud to Rebecca I think we're onto a winner here but I don't want to speak too soon. Got almost 1000 words written and polished today which is a damn good day in my book.

Clueless Reviewer

Begun the day early and got in my writing chair in record time today which felt really nice. I put in for a review code for a game I'd never even heard of the other day with Sick Critic. I figured it would be good practice to write a review for something where opinions and conversations about a product simply didn't exist. I spent the afternoon playing the whole game and I've already started brainstorming bits to put in my review. To add to the sense of professionalism, I have a deadline and even an embargo date, though I'm not allowed to voice my opinions just yet, Rebecca knows exactly how I feel about the game - I'll be working on that tomorrow no doubt.

On the 7th Day...

Wow, where has this weekend gone? I actually don't really remember what I dd today, mostly I just did what God did on the 7th day, but maybe I took that advice a little too literally. I'm sitting here now writing this with a head full of... not regrets, but with some keen desires. I want to bake something next week, not just because I owe Louis and Rachel some treats, but just to do something a little different. I want to cook a new dish, go for a walk and crack on with some work. This isolation has turned me into a cocoon, but now I feel oddly invigorated to become a butterfly. 

I'm pumped to start next week, I want to set my alarm for a good time and rise at a good time - some days next week feel like they're in dire need of seizing.

Greasing Up for a Walk

A cooked breakfast, that's just the ticket when everyday starts to feel the same. Rebecca and I indulged in rustling up a full English this morning. We're talking scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, fried mushrooms and toast, in my youth I would have gone for double size portions, but older, more modest me had a sensible helping but I was still stuffed afterwards.

Walking off the bacon grease was a good idea we figured so we headed out into a part of Bristol we had never really explored. Just a 15 minute walk up the road and we found another really lovely park which an incredibly panoramic view of the city, it's apparently the best spot to watch hot air balloons when they take to the sky. Nice to know there's still magical little spots just on our doorstep.

Finished the day by chatting with friends, in particular Daniel. We each proposed a games night with some others but everyone else kinda fell by the wayside for various but fair reasons so we just ended up playing games as a pair. Instead of gaming, we just chewed the fat, quietly reminiscing, joking and chatting about games - an honest to God hang out session. Was real nice too, don't often get to chat with Dan like that and I'm always glad when I do.    

Shaggy Rug

We ordered a very cute circular rug to go under my mini office chair the other day. We expected it to arrive weeks from now but Rebecca and I were gob-smacked to hear a knock on our door this morning with a delivery. Now the florr is protected AND my feet are warm while I work. Speaking of, today marks the end of the full week I gave myself to develop an idea running around my mind, I wanted to see if I thought it had legs and now I think it does. If it fell apart I would've walked away but I think I've done enough now to keep working on it - but man, I am looking forward to the weekend so I can give it room to percolate.

Rebecca and I at long last got a chance to see Danny Boyle's Frankenstein on YouTybe, having now got the dates correct. I've now seen both versions, with the leads swapped, and I think I now prefer Cumberbatch as the monster. Never thought I'd change my mind on that but it was a super physical performance. Both versions are still free to watch on YouTube this week, if your a fan of the story its a great adaptation.