Quick Recommendations
Quick Recommendation #6: Arco (video game)
Original, Tactical, Recreational
Last year, Panic published a terrific indie game I’d like to recommend: Arco. I’ve only played the first two acts, but I like it a lot so far.
It has great pixel art, music, writing, and story.
It also has a genuinely innovative turn-based combat, and guilt system, which makes in-game choices interesting.
It’s available on PC, Mac, and Switch. I’m playing it on Mac, with a controller – and it works flawlessly. (If you want to get it for desktop, I recommend getting it through Epic, as the dev gets a larger piece of the pie.)
Click here to see all my quick recommendations!
Quick Recommendation #5: The Mad Max Video Game
It’s not often I finish video games… One of the reasons, is that I often play games you can’t finish – like Europa Universalis and The Bazaar 🖇️. But I actually just finished, an r/patientgamers favourite: the Mad Max game, from 2015.
And it’s actually at 80% off on GOG at the moment!
It’s not a fantastic game – but if you like Mad Max (like me), I can recommend it. I saw someone on Reddit call it “the perfect mid-budget game”, and I agree.
It’s an open-world game, with a world of great flavour. The car-combat is especially good and unique.
But one piece of advice, if you decide to check it out: Exploring the open world gets quite repetitive – so it’s not worth it to approach the game with a completionist’s mindset. Just treat it as a bite-sized little treat, and do the stuff you find fun and run through the story. If you buy it for like €4, just try to get that amount of money’s worth.
I played in through Steam, and on my Mac Mini. It says it’s not available for Mac, but installing it still works, for some reason. (Not 100% sure about the GOG version, though.)
Quick Recommendation #4: Ultima Retrospective (YouTube)
I have no prior nostalgia for the CRPG series Ultima. I’ve always known about the series, but never played any of the games. Still, I’ve loved a series by the YouTube channel Majuular: Ultima Retrospective
The videos are long – but well-made, with a combination of story behind the development and reception, plus a complete run-down of the gameplay and story. It’s also not done, so I assume there’ll be more content down the line! (You know, if you’re done with the 14 hours made up until now.)
Quick Recommendation #3: What Makes This Song Stink (YouTube)
In general, I prefer positive content. So I prefer the vibe of CinemaWins over CinemaSins. But the series called What Makes This Song Stink, by Pat Finnerty, is an absolute treasure of YouTube content.
I think it can work for anyone – but it’s especially funny if you’ve spent any time on “Music YouTube”. (The series is packed with Rick Beato beats.)
I recommend starting at the beginning (of the playlist linked above), with Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down, and watch them in order. Then you’ll see the evolution of the form, and be in on all the terrific in-jokes. And already the third video, on Weezer - Beverly Hills, is a highlight.
It’s hard to explain, but the series just has so much heart, and Pat is just delightful. I highly recommend giving this series a try! (Also, he releases like a couple of videos a year – so its easy to stay on top of.)
Quick Recommendation #2: Better Markdown Preview in Finder
Hitting space to preview files (Quick Look) is one of my favourite Finder features. However, it does a pretty mediocre job with Markdown files. QLMarkdown is a little utility that makes these previews richer.
You can install it from this link, or by using this Homebrew command:
brew install --cask qlmarkdown
The app isn’t signed – so you need to do the little dance to convince macOS that you want to run the app. (This is detailed in the original link share up top.)
You need to open the app once for the utility to work. And that’s also where you change settings.
I get that many Markdown contexts are outside of Finder – but if you do use them there, I hope this little tool can be useful!
Quick Recommendation #1: Cheap Strap Locks for Guitars
Why buy expensive (or just kind of cheap strap locks, when you can go old school and just order a bunch of rubber gaskets for bottles??
Here’s a link 🖇️ to the listing I used on AliExpress – but there are probably plenty of others that are just as fine. 👍🏻
I know it’s silly – but for some reason I think it’s a bit more rock ‘n’ roll to use something not meant for the purpose. 😎