danbruno.net

August 2024 media

  • O Brother, Where Art Thou?: With how few movies I see rewatching something almost seems like a waste, but I couldn’t resist after the recent Remap Radio podcast episode. Still holds up, still one of my all-time favorites. I remember when the soundtrack sort of broke containment and became a success all on its own; if you only ever listened to that, give the film a shot!

  • Ys IX: Monstrum Nox: I bounced off of the demo for Ys IX when it first released, but I figured with X on the horizon it might be worth another shot. After a somewhat slow opening, it’s working for me this time! The verticality makes exploring a lot of fun—still unsure how I feel about its effect on combat—and I always like to see a game with a large city. (Long live Crossbell and Kirkwall!) I don’t know if I’ll love IX like I did VIII, but I think it’ll stick.

  • Genshin Impact version 5.0: This is among Genshin’s largest aesthetic swings yet; I imagine the designers looking longingly at Honkai Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero and wanting some of that contemporary flair for themselves. The upshot is that your new dragon-possessing powers are set against a backdrop of tribes in the new Latin America-inflected nation of Natlan that specialize in graffiti, breaking, DJing, and extreme sports. It doesn’t all hold together perfectly, but it works better than expected!