I managed to complete one round in Monstrum . I nearly quit a couple times, because wow this game can be frustrating. But I made it through in the end, once I got a better idea of where certain items would be and how the monsters vibe. I’m kind of glad I stuck with it for a couple days; it made escaping that much more satisfying.

The Spectrum Retreat seemed intriguing, so I gave it a go. It was not quite what I was expecting, and I’m not sure I really liked it. The set up was a little odd, in my opinion, where you would have a bit of story and then a block of Portal-like puzzles, sans the humor. The puzzles weren’t really all that difficult, but they seemed disjointed from the story, which in itself was vague and left me with a lot of questions. I guess I shouldn’t have expected much for a game built around puzzles, but still.

Also played through The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux. I gotta say, the story is not at all what I expected, in a good way, although I’m not sure I’m a fan of the ending. Walking between areas was a little tedious, but the scenery was absolutely beautiful, and the sprint speed was a lot better that most walking sims I’ve played. It kind of reminds me of What Remains of Edith Finch or Dear Esther, both of which I also enjoyed. I think I might play this again sometime just to take screenshots.

I’m not sure what game I’ll be playing next, but Diablo 4’s Season 5 is coming up next week, so I’ll probably dip back into GamePass to see what’s on there.