in the accursed year 2020, when my mental health was at a pretty significant low and i was staring down the barrel of what would end up being a two-year unemployment, two things came into my life: the good herb, and this game. the former would start to ease my ptsd and autistic overwhelm for the first time ever, and the latter would keep me company on endless long, lonely, worried days. there is some particular terpene that will always remind me of walking in to Whiterun for the first time, and it will always feel like home.
the first character i got attached to was a badass orc lady named J'x - i didn't roleplay her so much as invent a personality to fit my playstyle, which was pretty much just saying 'yes!!' without reservation to any quest opportunity. so i figured that J'x had had the concept of helping others explained to her once, dimly, and then spent the rest of her life doing good deeds with a level of ferocity and violence never before seen in Tamriel. her heart broke when sweet little Lucia said "will you be my mother?" and launched into a quest campaign with the singleminded desire to get her daughter a home. (imagine my surprise when i opened the door to Breezehome and discovered for the first time that it doesn't come furnished...) she married Farkas, and their love surpassed all others in depth and simplicity.
a few other characters i've played:
i would be remiss to talk about Skyrim without talking about my most steadfast and sarcastic companion - Lydia. oh darling Lydia, beloved and terrifying in equal measure. i've never gotten the hang of a mage build so i pass the magical staves along to her. i'll be in close combat and suddenly catch on fire, whipping around to see Lydia's glorious helmeted form rising from a stony outcrop, wielding flame in one hand and lightning in the other and using both to absolutely fucking fry the offending mudcrab i was just about to beat the shit out of. she swims upriver to vanquish any slaughterfish that looks at me funny. she stumbles into traps, ruins my stealth game, and makes snarky comments about my burdens. and yet she is my wife and i adore her.
her name is Twyla Clarion and she is currently mooning after sweet Jina while also sweating nervously every time Tamala approaches. she (not me, totally not me) has no sense of direction and can often be found spinning in circles in Kilima trying to orient herself. cardinal directions make her cry but she perseveres. if the game doesn't provide a museum for all her fish and bug specimens, she will, in fact, build one herself on her own home plot because the little 'ariums are so precious.
what an unexpected treat for my first foray into an mmo! fully hooked after playing nonstop over a long weekend. truly an autism wonderland - lots of quests and opportunities to be a good and helpful neighbor, lots of things to collect and track down and display.
the decorating system is a masterpiece. you can stack objects. you can put down shelves and arrange trinkets on the shelves. you can fill a cabinet with the dishware and cutlery you crafted and then move it into place in your adorable little kitchen. because you can cook, obviously, in this game - there are tiny rhythm minigames for chopping, stirring, flipping, baking, and they increase in complexity as you level up.
other little bits i'm enjoying:
My Time at Sandrock is the sequel to My Time at Portia, which i've also played and loved, but it stands alone. you play as the newly-arrived Builder (sort of a combo engineer and contractor) in the town of Sandrock, a small Old West-style town on the edge of the sprawling Eufaula Desert. one of the overarching goals of the game is attempting to re-green this desert with a straw-grid planting method which is super cool.
Sandrock has all the usual Stardew-like goodness - foraging, crafting, cooking, gardening, decorating - but the social game is what really charmed the hell out of me. there are lots of people to meet and they all have surprising depth, which you uncover as you hang out and/or date them. Stardew had me making careful decisions about who i wanted to pursue, but Sandrock had me continually kicking my feet and wavering as everybody decided to be adorable at me.
as a long-time desert girly i really appreciated the environment and visuals; sort of a post-apocalyptic Monument Valley feel that hit me in the soul. the music is fantastic, especially the softly mournful nighttime vibes.
i have hundreds of hours in this game. i have made spreadsheets and strategy notes for this game. i have not finished the game. i will someday, i promise, but i can't bear not having any more of it left. whatever Pathea Studios puts out next is a day one buy.
this page is still a work in progress (if it wasn't readily apparent).