Hunter x Hunter’s latest chapter was published for the first time in about a year and a half, so I’ll share my thoughts on it, along with some impressions of games I’ve been playing recently.
Hunter x Hunter Chapter 411 “Announcement”
Synopsis: Kurapika holds the second “Nen Ability Training Session.”
There are various other characters making moves as well, but since I didn’t go back and re-read the previous chapters before this one came out, I don’t remember what state each character is in at all, so honestly I’m not really sure what’s happening. Apparently a prince has died, and now that I think about it that might be right — and whether the claim that the 14th Prince doesn’t qualify for the succession war is true or just a bluff is anyone’s guess. It was a good chapter for building up that sense of anticipation that something is about to happen, just like always.
Also, the series of homophones for “restraints and vows” (制約と誓約) now has “matsuri to matsuri” (祀りと奉り, “enshrining and offering”) added to it, which expanded the wordplay and was fun.
PS5 “Stellar Blade”
I finished it. True ending took 47 hours. My overall impression is that the tedium ultimately outweighed the fun, and I didn’t enjoy it much. Things like not being able to fast travel freely, or the game automatically entering combat mode and slowing your running speed when you try to sneak past enemies — the QoL and comfort level was just low. Even on Story difficulty, enemies still have a lot of HP; the finisher attacks you can land after chipping away at an enemy’s posture through parrying just don’t hit hard enough, so battles tend to drag on endlessly. The whole thing felt lacking in exhilaration and was just plain tedious. In a word: a game with poor time-to-fun ratio and low fun density. That said, there were interesting elements scattered throughout, like the deception behind Mother Sphere and the world-building around things like the orbital elevator.
And the biggest issue — and the realization I came away with — was this: “This game pushes butts really hard, but I’m not actually that into butts. I prefer breasts, honestly.” That’s probably why I had this nagging feeling throughout my playthrough that this game just wasn’t for me.
So, this game is recommended for butt lovers. That’s blunt, but it’s what I’d say if I were recommending this game to someone.
PS5 “Exit 8” (PS Plus Game Catalog)
I was stuck for about 40 minutes. It’s old news at this point, but it was free to play on the Game Catalog so I gave it a try. My takeaway is that it gave me that satisfying feeling of being outsmarted — realizing that painstakingly tracking all those tiny numbers on the posters was completely pointless. I was annoyed, but I had fun, so I’d call it a win.
I signed up for the plan that includes the Game Catalog during the recent “Days of Play” sale, so I think I’ll start dipping into catalog games that catch my eye from now on.
Closing
This casual update blog was written on a whim to coincide with the return of Hunter x Hunter. Since it’s easier to write than dedicating a full article to a single game, I might keep doing this going forward. Or I might get bored and stop halfway through. Well, I’ll just play it by ear. Until next time.