I wish everybody a happy 2025 and hope you have spent a peaceful holiday season! I usually look forward to the Xmas break a lot but I’m also glad when the special events and celebrations are finally done. It’s been snowing over Xmas here in Switzerland which made for picture perfect holidays, so nobody gets to complain about that for a change.
It’s been a bit of a dreadful time at work the past two months which is why my November and December were quieter here on the blog. I don’t know how it is for other people but when times are stressful and full of meetings and deadlines, I lack the energy and muse required to write. I did get some gaming in over the holidays however and had a surprisingly good time with two new games which deserve a special mention.
Tiny Glade
Tiny Glade is officially called a ‘diorama maker’ and it’s the most gorgeous little builder I’ve ever played. The sandbox aspect is limited and yet surprisingly versatile once you grasp the basics and all possible building block combinations. As usual, the community comes up with the wildest creations but I’m quite happy building simpler things while enjoying the beautiful colors and light changes in the game. There’s something very whimsical about Tiny Glade and hopefully the developers will keep it alive by adding few more features (such as bigger plots) and assets to keep players going for a long time. The game is made for modding and if they have good sense, they will allow the community to add to it.
Path of Exile 2
Having missed the opportune window to join its predecessor, I’ve jumped into the (paid for) early access of PoE2 somewhat oblivious to the fact that the game’s free-to-play official launch is set sometime in mid-2025. After some growing pains with its many complicated systems and infamous skill tree, which are poorly explained, playing the Sorceress has been a blast; combat in PoE2 is extremely satisfying and the game presents a proper challenge with just the right difficulty for my taste and a good learning curve. Some of the bosses feel like MMO raid bosses which will require you to adjust your playstyle, active skills and gear resistances.
The game also looks and feels excellent with an atmospheric soundtrack to go along. That said, approaching the end of Act 3 I don’t expect to bother with anything above Standard campaign difficulty or the higher levels of Ascension – I am not a Souls-type player or sucker for punishment. As far as I understand the early access league will also not be merged with the future player base post official release, so I might not bother re-creating a new character at all. I guess I’ll just have to see what future patches and adjustments will bring.
Last year in review
According to Steam, Palworld and Enshrouded were the other two titles I’ve spent the most time exploring in 2024. Overall it really wasn’t too much of a gaming year for me personally which has been the trend ever since I stopped playing MMORPGs more regularly. There are many titles waiting patiently in my backlog and wishlist however and I look forward to returning to Palworld and some of the other games. The future is variety gaming!
For me, writing is a salve to dealing with work, but I can see where you’re coming from.
I’ve had my eye on Tiny Glade for a little while now, and I think you’ve mentioned it before (or if you haven’t, someone else has). I’ll have to consider it sometime soon.
I did mention it in one of the Wishlist posts few months ago 🙂
I was always gonna get it eventually but it turned out to be a Xmas gift. It really is quite wonderful, you will definitely enjoy it!