I'm keeping track of all the VR games I’ve played this year to catalogue them in hopes that they may give fellow VR gamers some fresh games to try out, or reasons to revisit older games that have had big updates. I'm currently up to 52 different VR games played this year. The first 22 that I played from January to March can be found here. The latest 30 games are mostly on the Quest, but many are available on PCVR.
Some of the games listed below, I can see playing all year long, others are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 30 games I’ve played during April and May of 2023.
TLDR: My top 5 games to check out are at the bottom and so is some info for a game giveaway.
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1. ARK and ADE $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A fun shooter with Pistol Whip vibes that is absolutely worth the price of admission. From the store page: “ARK and ADE is an action-jammed FPS shooter in which you get to experience the glory of the 80’s arcade era in a neon fused setting. Shoot your way through retro-futuristic levels filled with enemies, iconic over the top bosses and never ending bullets!” I played this game back when it was in App Lab before it graduated to the full store. It was such a fun shooter back then, and I’d look forward to new levels coming out every few months. Now that it made it out of app lab, has a bunch of levels and had the gameplay polished, it’s absolutely worth a pickup, especially for that price.
   
2. Project Third Eye $9.99 Quest My quick take: A game where you make your own fun. From the store page: “Project Third Eye is an action physics sandbox with a built-in visual scripting panel to apply logic to spawnable items. This allows you to build your own modifications to the game and customize behaviors as you like.” Just like the description says, this is more of a proof of concept and sandbox game more so than a full fledged game with objectives. There are certainly neat ideas here and there, and the dev is really active with updates on Reddit. If you like to experiment and see how concepts develop in a game, you may enjoy this, but there’s no real direction beyond experimenting, so I dropped off fairly quickly.
   
3. Jousting VR Demo $9.99 Quest / Steam Quest Demo My quick take: A bit light on gameplay, but there is some charm here. From the store page: “XIII century, Europe, royal market courtyard. You are a knight who joined the medieval tournament. Your task is 'simple.' Jump on your trusty steed, grab your lance & defeat the enemy. Take into consideration speed, accuracy, strength. Equipment is also important. The better gear the easier the task. Oh, and other knights - they want to win as much as you do.” As advertised, it's a jousting game in VR. I enjoyed the demo, but honestly it was a bit too finicky at times and just not worth a full buy to me. The atmosphere was fun though and there was a progression loop for those who get into it.
   
4. Demeo $39.99 Quest and Steam (flatscreen as well) My quick take: This is a great game that I revisited from start to finish with four players. A must own. From the store page: “Adventurers, it’s time to unite! Gather your friends and fight monsters in Demeo, the turn-based tabletop strategy game of battle and glory. Roll dice, pick up miniatures, and free the world of Gilmerra in round after round of tabletop board game fun. With a huge assortment of monsters, playable classes, and environments to explore, it’s never the same game twice." I finally got a chance to play through the entirety of the game in VR with four friends, through each world, while trying a variety of characters. We even made a video ranking the best players and levels. It really is a solid dungeon crawling adventure. With 2 or more friends, this game really shines and is such a fun ride, despite how punishing the bosses can be. This is the closest you can get to D&D in VR without having a dungeon master. Well worth the asking price.
   
5. Build and Drive Racing Demo Free Quest / Steam My quick take: Early days in development, maybe something to keep an eye on to see how it improves. From the store page: "Get ready for a new experience on Windows desktop and VR, where you get to build your ultimate racing machine, tailored to your driving style and optimized for performance, or race to the finish line with a monster what makes you smile. With stylised graphics and arcade-like physics, every turn, straightway and ramp will put your skills to the test. Feel the thrill of the race like never before in VR, as you immerse yourself counting the seconds on the home stretch." An early demo that has seen some updates. Maybe worth looking at in a few months after a bit more development. I did like what I saw, but honestly, if you’re looking for a finished racing game, try Mini Motor Racing X instead or some of the other heavier PCVR games available.
   
6. Les Mills Body Combat $29.99 Quest My quick take: No subscriptions, great coaches and fun workouts that will make you sweat. From the store page: “Work out at home with a premium fitness app. LES MILLS, the world's leading fitness company, brings the BODYCOMBAT experience to your VR headset with an extensive workout portfolio, top-quality coaching, innovative mechanics, and different intensities.” With no subscriptions or hidden fees, lots of workouts, motivating coaches and the ability to compete with friends on leaderboards, this really is a dynamite workout app. I was working up a good sweat during my workouts, so be sure you have good facial insert and a fan ready. Highly recommended if you want a workout in VR for just the price of entry.
   
7. Interkosmos 2000 $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A difficult puzzle game, but rewarding if you have the patience. From the store page: “Go to space. Save the Future. Try not to Die. Welcome (back) to the world of Interkosmos for an even wilder, weirder and more wondrous adventure. Experience the intense exhilaration of spaceflight. Explore the awe-inspiring interiors of a realistic space capsule. Master the crucial systems that will keep you in orbit (and breathing). And while you’re at it, try your best not to die. Should you complete your mission, you just might save the future – and yourself. Should you fail? Let’s not think about that.” An intense puzzle game where you’re piloting a space ship with some very finicky controls. I found the experience way too difficult and exacting. Along with a bit of bugginess, that didn’t help in me determining if the error was my fault or the game's. If you have the patience, there certainly is some rewarding gameplay here, and an interesting story, but I found it all a bit too much to see to the end.
   
8. The Light Brigade $24.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: In a world of rougelikes, this is one that stands out. From the store page: “As a member of The Light Brigade, humanity’s last line of defense, brave ruins bathed in darkness and free the trapped souls who need the salvation only your gun can provide. Shoot, master spells, and upgrade your capabilities to herald the Sun’s return in this roguelike VR shooter.” There’s quite a lot of rouge shooters on Quest and despite the plethora of choices, this one stands out. Be warned, it starts out slowly, but gets quite fun after you get to know the systems after about an hour in. While I did make it to the last boss, I died and never went back to finished it. The gameplay loop and dynamic levels were solid though. The slight upgrades and different classes during each run were interesting and kept me going for a while. The most frustrating time I had was learning the little tips, tricks and finer gameplay points, but it was worth the push through that initial rough patch.
   
9. Resident Evil 4 $39.99 Quest My quick take: One of the best games in VR. A must own. From the store page: “Explore the world of Resident Evil 4, entirely remastered for VR. Step into the shoes of special agent Leon S. Kennedy on his mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter who was kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Come face to face with enemies, and uncover secrets with gameplay that revolutionized the survival horror genre. Battle horrific creatures and face-off against mind-controlled villagers while discovering their connection to the cult behind the abduction.” I forgot so much about this game from when I first played it 18 years ago on the GameCube. The long length, fun characters and how exciting the gun play is, all just came together perfectly. The development team spent a ton of time getting the VR feeling just right, and it’s absolutely one of the best on the Quest and well worth the price of entry. Additionally, once you play through the game the first time it really changes from survival horror to a whole new type of game action game. Simply outstanding.
   
10. Mini Golf Hustler Free Quest My quick take: Early days in development. Some good ideas, but a bit too rough around the edges. From the store page: “Challenge Slick Willie Puttman in this FREE nine hole demo of Mini Golf Hustler. Hazards include armed torpedoes, tentacled arms, ornery tikis and more! Multiple betting games, including skins, match play and the fearsome traveling snake. All played at the same time.” I thought I’d check out another mini golf game to see what other ideas there might be outside of the king - Walkabout Mini Golf. While there were some solid ideas for holes, the betting felt uneven, and everything else felt in their very early stages. To be fair, no other mini golf game feels even close to the accuracy of Walkabout, so I think it’s a tough go for any other games to match. It's probably best to stick with the champ for now, but I applaud the dev for trying something different.
    
11. Pin City Free Quest (open beta on Discord) / Steam My quick take: Early days, but wow, worth a download and one to watch in the future. From the store page: "Pin City is a bowling game unlike any other bowling game you’ve played before. We strove to bring the spirit of mini-golf into the world of bowling. We’ve taken the standard bowling setup (straight lane, 10 pins, 1 ball) and expanded, transformed, and evolved it. We wanted to give people a chance to bowl in ways that would be impossible, illegal, or extremely impractical.” An early alpha game, but boy, what a great start, I’m really looking forward to the team getting the physics feeling right with weight and feel of the bowling balls and seeing how much more gameplay they can add. Really worth the download or heading over to their Discord to get a Quest key for free to try it out. The quirky bowling, physics and gameplay they're experimenting with really got me excited to see how this one comes together in the next several months.
    
12. Mash Me Up Free Quest My quick take: Please devs, add more multiplayer support! From the store page: “Do you want to play party games with your friends or meet someone new? All is just one button press away with Mash Me Up. One button, multiple games. Will it be Air Hockey, Pier Pong, Flingball, or… Get ready for a surprise! Press, Play, Enjoy and Go Again!” If this game got a bit more development love it would be incredible. As it stands now, there are several mini games you can play against one person. Most are just okay, but a handful are real gems, and one particularly is incredible - Geo Guesser. Hands down the best mini game in the pack. With four, or six players and some new content, they could easily charge for just this one game. As it stands now, it’s a great two player game, but you’ll need to bring your own friend as the servers are pretty barren. Worth a download though for sure as you’ll get a night of fun out of it.
    
13. THZZLS - Treasures Lost In Time $4.99 Quest My quick take: A unique puzzler that can be pretty relaxing, but repetitive. From the store page: “Our first THZZLE is called "Der Bazar", the world's first VR toy theatre puzzle game. The Bazar is a VR puzzle game where you have to place furniture and props in the right places in old-fashioned rooms according to an old picture you see. The game is set in 19th century Germany and each room has objects taken from the German lifestyle magazine "Der Bazar", published in Berlin.” This one used to be free, with paid content, but it has since changed as they added more content. You recreate a scene with cutouts of people and furniture in a 3D space. It seemed to have endless puzzles with randomization of scenes. I could see someone going to this for a relaxing 10-15 minutes, but it is a lot of the same each time and didn’t grab me fully. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that’s outside of the usual ones you find in the store, it’s not a bad choice for the price. Keep in mind though its hand tracking only, so for some that may be a non starter, even though it felt just fine.
    
14. Barbaria $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: What I imagine Gorn is like with a solid game loop of RTS. From the store page: “Do you have what it takes to be the Mightiest in Barbaria? Welcome to a brutal world where visceral motion-controlled combat blends seamlessly with god-scale base-building and asynchronous multiplayer raids. Use fists, axes, swords, bows, rocks, or anything you can grab to dominate your foes in intense 1st-person combat. Then jump out to your immortal form and watch your minions carry on the battle while you rain down meteors from above. Systemic combat, versatile enemy AI, and player-created defenses make every battle unique.” I recognize there is a lot here to do in this game - if you like the game loop. Unfortunately, it really didn’t do much for me. I was expecting more RTS than Gorn style gameplay and was not pulled in by the fighting or quests offered. I have to say that the humor was spot on, and it certainly had good visuals, the game was just not for me. All that being said, there is a lot of content here and you could be playing this for quite some time if you think this could be your jam.
    
15. Toy Monsters Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: Plants vs Zombies in AR with hand tracking that does enough unique stuff to be worth it. From the store page: “Toy Monsters VR is a mixed-reality tabletop tower defense inspired by classic Plants vs Zombies. Built from the ground up with hand tracking and passthrough in mind. As you progress through the 20 levels, you'll unlock new toys with unique special powers. You can enhance your toys with magical potions and use crystal power to unleash magic beams from your hands, transform your fingers into flamethrowers, and more.” This game has come a long way since its initial release. It’s a solid hand tracking Plants vs. Zombies game with its own twist on powers and uses passthrough quite nicely. My biggest complaint is that you really need to complete the game all in one go (about an hour or so) as it doesn’t keep track of your upgrades if you quit. Essentially, trying to pass a later level without prior upgrades or powerups is near impossible. Despite that one issue, give at least the demo a try and if you like it, the price is pretty fair for what you get.
    
16. Exit Condition One Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: A bit rough around the edges, but escape room fans will find fun with it. From the store page: “You awake from cryo in a mysterious museum. A robot refers to you as a curator and the security system is malfunctioning. Can you get things back to normal and escape? There are no jump scares. The game is designed ground-up for roomscale VR on the Quest, but supports all locomotion modes. Most objects can be interacted with, it fully uses physics, and the hands don't ‘ghost out.’” According to the description, this is still a work in progress. That being said, it was a neat escape game that I felt I got my money’s worth from. It certainly was a bit rough around the edges with its gameplay and had some obscure puzzles to work through, but I did finish it and had a good time with it. Try the demo for sure, and perhaps when it’s finally finished, some of those rough edges will be polished up, but as it stands now, it was pretty solid.
    
17. Hyperdash Free Quest / Steam My quick take: A solid online shooter, but you'll have to put in the time to get good to find the fun. From the store page: “Hyper Dash is a free VR multiplayer team based shooter. Payload, Domination, Control Point, (Team) Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Elimination, Ball and remix them with Mutators! Dash, sprint, and rail grind your way across the arenas to engage the enemy in fast-paced combat and secure the objective for your team. Offline mode/Bots, Dedicated servers, Private servers, Rebind-able controls, Left hand support, Voice chat.” For a free to play shooter, this one had great controls, nice graphics, a good gameplay loop, plenty of comfort options and a solid player base. All that being said, every player I faced off against were top tier, so I spent my time just dying round after round. This is a good game with a solid player base and there's fun here - if you’re willing to learn the ropes. It's bad for newbies like me just looking to have a good time and get a few kills.
    
18. Please, Don’t Touch Anything $9.99 Quest / $4.99 Steam My quick take: A game for escape room devotees only. From the store page: "Please, Don’t Touch Anything is a cryptic, brain-racking button-pushing puzzle game. Covering for a colleague taking a bathroom break, you find yourself in front of a mysterious console with a green screen monitor showing a pixelated live image of an unknown city. Also present is an ominous red button with the simple instruction to not touch anything! Push the red button once or press it many times. Your choices and actions will lead to outrageous and frightening consequences and over 30 unique puzzle endings.” This is a weird one. A really obscure puzzle game that rewards experimentation, but is absolutely punishing with difficulty. If you’re really good at escape games and don’t get frustrated easily, you may enjoy the tedium. If not, you’ll end up like me, watching a tutorial to find out how to get different endings. But if you find yourself doing that, why not just watch a playthrough.
    
19. Eleven Table Tennis $29.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Still one of the best, but there’s so much untapped potential. From the store page: “The ultimate Table Tennis simulator. Play opponents in online multiplayer or practice against the advanced AI. With physics designed to be as real as ever achieved in a Table Tennis simulator, you will forget you are in VR." I finally got back to this game after the new UI was implemented. It looks much more user friendly, but much to my disappointment, there were no new arenas, music, or official doubles options. There is so much potential for expanding this game, and I feel like the devs are just content to have it remain in the state it currently is. Which, to be fair, is a perfect implementation of table tennis in VR. It’s still one of the best VR games out there and absolutely a must own. I just really wish they would add an officially supported doubles mode and expand out the game a bit more because the unofficial doubles mode is a real pain to get set up and only barely worth the struggle. If you'd like to see how to set that doubles up currently, here is a video I was a part of.
    
20. Breachers $29.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Come one, come all, this is 5 v 5 at its finest. From the store page: “In Breachers, you plan your assault or orchestrate your defense as a team through intense close-quarters combat. Whether you play as an enforcer or a revolter, master your nifty gadgetry, customize your powerful weaponry and beat your opponents in stunning environments. Intuitive to grasp. Endlessly playable.” Wow, wow, wow. This officially launched and is such a polished game. With multiple maps, intuitive movement and full lobbies, this game is simply spectacular. Despite the difficulty curve in being good at the game, it’s still a fun time even if you’re not the best, which is something special that few games manage to pull off. Where this game especially shines is with friends. If you can muster up a team of five to take on other random players, you’ll be playing this game for months. Give this a go, and if you're not any good, that's okay, because you'll still be better than the bots and a welcome addition to someone's team.
    
21. Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Outcast (Sidequest mod) Free Demo on Quest / $9.99 (Full Game on Steam) My quick take: Come for the lightsaber play, stay if you can tolerate the puzzles. From the store page: “JK XR is a standalone VR port of the popular Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast game by Lucasarts and Raven Software. Brought to VR by Team Beef & Friends. There are lots of mods and access to the free demo level available through the JK XR Companion App, which is automatically also installed alongside JK XR on your headset.” I never played this game when it first came out on flatscreen in 2002, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first part of the game you’re playing essentially as a Han Solo type - a smart talkin’ gun slinger. The next part, you’re a cool Jedi chopping off limbs. Absolutely great execution as always by Team Beef, and you can’t beat the price. There is even a free demo to try out to see if you like it. All that being said, the game’s old puzzles, navigation and gameplay felt every bit of 20 years old. After dying multiple times because of missing an exact jump, getting lost and backtracking because I didn't see an obscure elevator and wasting time trying to navigate odd puzzles, I just found it to be too much to overcome to continue to the end. This is no slight on Team Beef and the great work they did with this port, the game just hasn’t aged the best.
    
22. CoasterMania $9.99 Quest My quick take: Early days, but still some fun to be had. There could be something special here after a few updates. From the store page: “CoasterMania is a physics-based VR rollercoaster game where you create the ride of your life! Use wacky contraptions and elements to fly through the sky, then experience your creation by jumping in the front seat. Sandbox mode: Build your dream rollercoaster without any rules but the rules of physics. When you're done, share your coaster or experience the engineering marvels of others. Design your own rides and upload them online.” You know, this game is just silly fun. It's early days for sure, and the tracks don't twist and come together as easily together as I’d hoped, which makes for a difficult time creating exactly what you want. It is satisfying though to have a roller coaster leap from one track to another over a gap. At this point the game is more of a sandbox than a full game with objectives (which is coming). The coasters other people have created are fun, so if you’re not into creating, there is that option to play with other people's designs, plus you can ride them in first person. I look forward to more updates and think it's worth looking at for sure, but if you’re looking for something a bit more fleshed out currently you can try Stunt Track Builder.
    
23. David Slade Mysteries: Case Files $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: You’re a forensic cop, here are your tools. Good luck dummy. From the store page: “Take to the dark and violent streets of downtown Riverside, where you investigate gruesome and violent homicides using a range of Forensic tools and your wits! Inspired by the classic Police Quest adventure series, reborn & reimagined for VR. Includes two epic episodes!” Slade is a murder mystery game that is ruthless in it’s difficulty. Honestly, there are several play throughs of this game on YouTube and none have beaten the first case because it was too hard, they all gave up. This game offers no hints, is super abstract and insanely difficult. Why did I keep playing? Well, the game’s tools were implemented quite well, the story was compelling, and I just felt I had to see this through to the end for my own sanity. Despite being as hard as nails, I somehow managed to finish the first case, then moved on to the second. No real spoilers, but the second case does a complete 180 and essentially becomes a horror game where you’re only weapon is your wits. A real departure from the first case. Again, I found myself frustrated, confused and turned around, but again, I had to power through it because something kept pulling me in. If you’re a masochist for puzzle games, I’d recommend this game.
    
24. Home Detective Free w/IAP - Quest My quick take: Fun use of AR, but pretty basic. From the store page: “Use your own living room to solve the crime! Using passthrough, the crime scene is overlaid onto your play area, leaving you free to explore and find clues. Use the patent-pending Residual Heat Scanner to detect the criminals' recent movements, and then dust for fingerprints or try to find evidence left behind. With your wits, and your trusty sidekick Steve Dobbins' snarky comments, you're sure to get to the bottom of these confusing crimes.” I appreciate the interesting use of passthrough and AR in this game. The first case is free to try, so if you’re into AR and passthrough, it’s worth a try. It's $3.99 for another case if you’re into it, but right now, it’s a pretty basic, but solid idea. My biggest complaint is that all my tools were on a shelf that was inaccessible because they were in my wall. I guess AR is still not quite there yet.
    
25. Vertigo Remastered $24.99 Steam My quick take: A fun and wacky ride from start to finish. From the store page: “It's a classic premise - a massive subterranean scientific facility full of mysteries, with aliens bursting in from alternate universes to wreak havoc. The twist? You're one of those aliens. But you're not here to wreak havoc (collateral damage disregarded), you're just trying to get home. A difficult endeavor, as it turns out this facility is more than prepared to deal with extraterrestrial threats.” Because I heard such great things about Vertigo 2, I thought I’d try out this game before I played the sequel. I was really blown away by how fun the game was and pleasantly surprised that it holds up so well. Considering its a 2016 remake, and VR was still figuring out a lot of things like movement, this still felt fresh. With lots of unique ideas, upgrades and areas to play in, I heartily recommend this one and am looking forward to playing the sequel.
    
26. Playin’ Pickleball $19.99 Quest My quick take: Solid physics, but really only for pickleball fans, or a group of four friends. From the store page: “Playin’ Pickleball is an authentic reproduction of Pickleball in Virtual Reality! Physics, sounds and mechanics have been carefully mapped from actual Pickleball game play. Even the scoring and rules are based on the USA Pickleball Association’s Official Rulebook.” Pickleball is sweeping the nation and if I recall correctly, even ForeVR is getting in on the game with an upcoming title. I’m much more of a tennis than pickleball guy, but I have to say, this game has pretty solid physics. Like most games, this is exponentially better with one or better yet, three other people you know. The AI players can be pretty uninteresting hitting it back and forth without much variance. Also the environments are a bit basic. I have to applaud the movement, physics and customizable items though as they all felt very well implemented. If you want something a bit less daunting than tennis, this might be what you're looking for.
    
27. Pong $6.99 Quest My quick take: A neat take on Pong, but you’ll have more fun with Cybrix. From the store page: “Classic paddle game reimagined for VR. Destroy all the bricks. Use your paddles to swing at the balls and the balls have built-in assistance to return back toward you. Take advantage of the pistol and magneto power-ups to cause major damage. Or just swing hard at the balls to create large blast radius. Oh and watch out for those mines going for your head. Lean left/right or crouch to avoid.” I appreciated the ideas the developers had in this modern take on Pong, but it was ultimately quite short and not nearly as fun as Cybrix. That being said for the price, I got my money’s worth and would love to see it get a bit more polish and levels in an update.
    
28. Extreme Escape $4.99 Quest / Steam (Early Access) My quick take: One of those special games where you really feel like you're in the environment. From the store page: “Have you ever wondered how it would feel to travel in a hot air balloon and fly above clouds? Have you ever wanted to face your fear of heights and enclosed spaces? Perhaps you wanted to become a pilot and test your critical thinking skills. Looking for a breathtaking experience? Try Extreme Escape.” The game says “early access,” but honestly I believe this has been abandoned. For the price, you get an extremely short, but fun and unique escape room experience. You’re not going to find this game too hard, but I was brought into its world and completely immersed - I had a true sense of dread and panic. The even shorter “demo” inside the game puts you on a sinking submarine and was extremely memorable. Seldom have I felt so immersed in a game. I’d recommend it for this price, just because of how it made me feel, but it’s a real shame about the very short length and that it’s abandoned.
    
29. The Last Worker $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: Gaming with a heavy message, but mediocre gameplay. From the store page: “The Last Worker is an immersive narrative adventure centered around a lone worker’s last stand in an increasingly automated world, The Last Worker is a unique blend of work simulation and stealth strategic gameplay. The game is set in a lonely, oppressive but strangely beautiful environment, with characters designed by comics legend Mick McMahon. Kurt works for the world’s largest retailer and is forced to choose between capitalism or activism. Having dedicated his life to work, Kurt’s loyalty is put to the test when a group of activists ask him to dismantle Jüngle from the inside.” I really wanted to like this game. It had an interesting concept, but navigating, fail states and some very annoying bugs frustrated me to the point where I just said it wasn’t worth my time. That and the story wasn’t speaking to me. It’s well rated, so I’m probably on the opposite side of this one from most people. It's unique in many ways, so check out the teaser and see if it might be for you.
    
30. Shadow Point $19.99 Quest My quick take: Fisherman’s Tale vibes with an excellent story and puzzles that makes you feel smart. From the store page: “Built for VR, Shadow Point is a story-driven puzzle game set between a mountaintop observatory and an ever-changing fantasy world. Explore a vibrant kingdom, cast shadows and solve mind-bending puzzles as you uncover the mystery of missing schoolgirl, Lorna McCabe who vanished from Shadow Point Observatory twelve years ago. As your adventure unfolds, you will manipulate gravity, play with your own reflection, walk on walls, peer through a magical lens to reveal an alternate reality and much more.” I had this game on my wishlist forever and finally pulled the trigger, and boy am I glad I did. I really enjoyed the story, gameplay and ended up marathoning it in one session (which I don't recommend doing). It is a few hours long, and there are extra puzzles to go back to if you’d like. It had some serious Fisherman’s Tale vibes, so if you like those type of puzzle games, this is for you. The puzzles make you stop and think, and more importantly, progress nicely. I was never stuck, but certainly had to really contemplate how to solve some of them. It is slightly finicky with having to line up the shadows exactly to progress, but that is a minor complaint. Give this one a go for sure.
    

I hope you find a few games on this list that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know here or on the Ruff Talk Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.
Also, the week this is posted, I'm hosting a contest where one winner gets a $29.99 or less, Quest game of their choice. You can enter on the discord channel above, but will need to have five posts on the discord channel within a week to enter, so if that interests you, feel free to join. The Ruff Talk guys usually have giveaways every week and it's some solid VR chat if you're looking for like-minded individuals in a non-toxic space.
TLDR: Top five games to check out - Ark and Ade, Pin City, Breachers, Shadow Point, Vertigo Remastered

Small death-sand rustled all around Gareth, falling in rivers and patterns down the mounded dunes stretching into the distance. The Cube could still be steen, trudging across the horizon as the unstoppable force it was. Orange fire lit the skyline as the system’s star dipped below Kine’s curving breast and tucked itself away for its own sleep.
The ridgeline was closer than before, three hours having ached their way across the dunes beside him. A massive error had been made in calculating the distance, likely due to some core damage. Gareth’s depth perception, along with every other sense, began falling away as quick as he could pull himself along the sand.
There is beauty today, in every way.
It was a line from an old poem Helena loved. She would sing it sometimes, especially when she became stressed at work. He repeated the single line over and over in his mind. It was written as a tragedy and took every ounce of his willpower to push away the rest.
There is beauty today, in every way.
His arm had all but ground off, a single shredded stub shining and stripped as if it had been dipped into a powerful acid. The sand took its pound of flesh from everything, even the Cube had to be maintained in the white wasteland of bone and silence.
Without warning, the sand around Gareth began rushing downward, pulling him along faster and faster into the middle of a widening cone.
A sinkhole was forming.
Gareth tried to gain purchase, but doubted he would be able to escape even if he was uninjured.
Empty is empty, as such is our stay.
He slammed into the bottom of the rushing sand and was met with a deafening crunch and the shearing of ancient pitted steel. An opening spread wide and he plunged through the surface, down into a blackness his optics struggled to adjust to. All around him was falling sand and decayed metal, until he hit a first layer of thick galvanized piping, smashing through them like a boulder through dead timber. An echo spread wide and far but his neural module was unable to report distances. He spun through the void, senseless and for once in a long while, truly full of terror.
A platform, further down, broke his fall. The better preserved steel made the impact so hard, his core module readjusted once again, the optics of his face going dark and rebooting. The platform itself snapped away from the railings it was bolted to and exploded, spraying steel and sand in every direction, also changing his trajectory and pitching him sideways and out further into the darkness. When he finally landed, he met the same kind of steel platform as before, but this time it was solid enough to knock him unconscious for more than ten seconds, all of his core modules self-diagnosing and then rebooting in a safe mode configuration, preserving the neural module and entanglement core.
When he came to, he realized he was blinded. His infrared optic had been critically damaged in the fall and left him unable to see his own wrecked half of an arm as he held it up in front of his face. Most of the gloves he wore didn’t come with the infrared, but now he was swearing that it was gone. It was always like that, the universe has a cruel way of snatching the very thing that would bring you comfort or salvation and scattering it in the wind. He could see, but the absence of light affected even the normal low light vision modes his damaged system was cycling through.
The fall had been at least eighty meters to the first platform, another sixty to the next. His glove had been critically injured and the space echoed now to the sound of trickling core module cooling fluid. It spread out in front of his ruined form in a widening pool of pearlescent corrosive liquid.
He was relieved, this fall was far better than anything the cliff face would have done. At this rate he would desynchronize in a matter of minutes and enter the “cave”, the period of silent darkness awaiting upload to a new glove. Then, he could triangulate this position and figure out what kind of structure he had fallen into. A deep ocean once covered the entire area and this pocket wasn’t covered in the technical blueprints Gareth had examined.
The LIDAR scans might have shown something, but he doubted an entrance would be revealed. Just minutes before, his entrance had been a sealed plate buried under thousands of tons of sand, the LIDAR likely would have shown irregularities in the topology, but it took his weight and random stumbling in the dark to find a door.
Just not the one he expected.
Ministry military installations came with guaranteed secret sectors, usually buried or hidden under deep rock, or in this case under thousands of meters of water. He surveyed his sharpening surroundings, the small shaft of ambient light from above giving him just enough to make out edges. There was piping and ducting which spanned the length of sight in both directions, creating a sort of spiderweb mesh of metal and ancient electrical conduit. Whatever purpose this place was built for, it required an enormous amount of infrastructure. Gareth felt as if he were inside the middle of a mountain hollowed out and made into a machine.
There was sudden movement to his left, a shadow sliding across a pool of oil. He tried to focus his damaged optics, but they fought and squealed against his effort. Then again, movement to the left, this time further down the ruined platform he lay heaped upon. He pushed himself up against a pitted steel pillar, the sanded polish of his metal body struggling to gain purchase. There was a catwalk which extended far out in front, one of the search drones must have spotted him fall into the sinkhole.
He activated his external speakers, “I’m over here. I’ve suffered core damage.”
There was no return, no signal or light or scan from the darkness.
“Hello?”
His external speaker volume was getting weaker with the leaking of his glove’s lifeblood. He considered the drone may be scanning to ensure a safe scene before recovery, no sense in damaging oneself trying to recover ruined circuitry.
You act as if our resources are infinite.
Triarch’s words echoed through his mind, his own hypocrisy sour at the back of his throat. He was right, resources weren’t infinite and if they were sending drones to recover every glove, then things were worse for the Ministry than Gareth had realized. So many worlds with so many Cubes, he wondered if they really knew how the war was playing out at all.
From his perspective, it seemed like a losing battle. Even with the reseed engines, it took centuries to rebuild the infrastructure to bolster forces for a war. A planet goes through an apocalypse, the Ministry sends their Cubes, the planet builds and readies itself for another apocalypse. Yok Theron’s forces could be anywhere, at any time. With their consciousness uploaded directly to the cloud, they could jump across distances as a decentralized army, re-emerging on the other side as a fighting force with the intent and organization to bring an entity like the Ministry to its knees.
He could respect that, the willpower it took to bring one’s vision into reality. But Theron took away any willpower Gareth had when he killed his wife and three hundred thousand other souls aboard a reseed engine. That didn’t take willpower, only malice and disregard for life. That, Gareth would never respect.
The clang of pitted friction pulled him out of his thoughts and sent his heart racing. There was no drone down here with him, it was something else. He wasn’t hearing the falling of sand or steel, it was the precise and smooth echo of a footstep.
“Who’s there?” He shouted, but his core module was beginning to flutter, struggling to keep his mechanical body alive.
A clicking noise, like the tapping of a thousand nails, issued from the darkness and was followed by a subtle vibration in the dank stale air. Gareth could feel the pressure change as dust and sand flittered up, sucked into an invisible draft growing stronger. Out of the shadow, a swarm appeared. Gareth couldn’t tell what type of machines they were, or even if they were machines. He only saw the small tinkle and shine off their elongated winged bodies, as they fluttered and inched closer out of the pitch black. Likely some sort of archaic defense mechanism he triggered during the fall.
He tried to think of a command prompt to use when he saw the shine of two round eyes, peering out before the hypnotizing swarm.
Gareth’s heart stopped and he froze with fear.
He thought he had been taken by surprise earlier, but this was nothing he could have imagined. The light wasn’t strong enough to allow sight of the host, but it gave off just enough to glint across the lens of whatever crouched in the darkness before him.
Traces of light began splitting the air, following an intense geometric pattern, sophisticated beyond all imagination. The light faded just as quick as it appeared, but its brightness left an after image in the center of his focus, like staring at the sun when he was a child. He swore there were faces and shapes in the white.
Gareth lifted his ruined arm to shield his optics, triggering sudden movement in the swarming things.
He was covered before he could scream and plunged into the warm darkness of the cave, his curiosity replacing any rage he felt.

All answers will be appreciated but I’d appreciate more female answers on this one. How long did it take for physical changes to be enough to start passing in public as female again? For reference I was on T for almost 6 years, I’ve had top surgery and I’m also 5’11. So I’ve passed in society as male for years. I currently work in the blue collar field in the state of Arkansas. I’m more nervous for the in between stage. I’m not necessarily in the most understanding area so I don’t want my work to know which is why I’ve been just continuing to present as what they think I am of male. Once I become more passable as female I plan on moving out of state, however that’s not cheap so I need some time to save before doing so. I’m trying to plan accordingly to how long I have to save etc but it’s hard not knowing how long I have to “pass as male” in my job. How long did it take y’all to visibly change in your face/body/etc enough for co workers to read you as female? Any other girls in a similar situation as me?

I'm keeping track of all the VR games I’ve played this year to catalogue them in hopes that they may give fellow VR gamers some fresh games to try out, or reasons to revisit older games that have had big updates. I'm currently up to 52 different VR games played this year. The first 22 that I played from January to March can be found here. The latest 30 games are mostly on the Quest, but many are available on PCVR.
Some of the games listed below, I can see playing all year long, others are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 30 games I’ve played during April and May of 2023.
TLDR: My top 5 games to check out are at the bottom and so is some info for a game giveaway.

1. ARK and ADE $9.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: A fun shooter with Pistol Whip vibes that is absolutely worth the price of admission. From the store page: “ARK and ADE is an action-jammed FPS shooter in which you get to experience the glory of the 80’s arcade era in a neon fused setting. Shoot your way through retro-futuristic levels filled with enemies, iconic over the top bosses and never ending bullets!” I played this game back when it was in App Lab before it graduated to the full store. It was such a fun shooter back then, and I’d look forward to new levels coming out every few months. Now that it made it out of app lab, has a bunch of levels and had the gameplay polished, it’s absolutely worth a pickup, especially for that price.
   
2. Project Third Eye $9.99 Quest My quick take:A game where you make your own fun. From the store page: “Project Third Eye is an action physics sandbox with a built-in visual scripting panel to apply logic to spawnable items. This allows you to build your own modifications to the game and customize behaviors as you like.” Just like the description says, this is more of a proof of concept and sandbox game more so than a full fledged game with objectives. There are certainly neat ideas here and there, and the dev is really active with updates on Reddit. If you like to experiment and see how concepts develop in a game, you may enjoy this, but there’s no real direction beyond experimenting, so I dropped off fairly quickly.
   
3. Jousting VR Demo $9.99 Quest / Steam Quest Demo My quick take:A bit light on gameplay, but there is some charm here. From the store page:“XIII century, Europe, royal market courtyard. You are a knight who joined the medieval tournament. Your task is 'simple.' Jump on your trusty steed, grab your lance & defeat the enemy. Take into consideration speed, accuracy, strength. Equipment is also important. The better gear the easier the task. Oh, and other knights - they want to win as much as you do.” As advertised, it's a jousting game in VR. I enjoyed the demo, but honestly it was a bit too finicky at times and just not worth a full buy to me. The atmosphere was fun though and there was a progression loop for those who get into it.
   
4. Demeo $39.99 Quest and Steam (flatscreen as well) My quick take:This is a great game that I revisited from start to finish with four players. A must own. From the store page: “Adventurers, it’s time to unite! Gather your friends and fight monsters in Demeo, the turn-based tabletop strategy game of battle and glory. Roll dice, pick up miniatures, and free the world of Gilmerra in round after round of tabletop board game fun. With a huge assortment of monsters, playable classes, and environments to explore, it’s never the same game twice." I finally got a chance to play through the entirety of the game in VR with four friends, through each world, while trying a variety of characters. We even made a video ranking the best players and levels. It really is a solid dungeon crawling adventure. With 2 or more friends, this game really shines and is such a fun ride, despite how punishing the bosses can be. This is the closest you can get to D&D in VR without having a dungeon master. Well worth the asking price.
   
5. Build and Drive Racing Demo Free Quest / Steam My quick take: Early days in development, maybe something to keep an eye on to see how it improves. From the store page: "Get ready for a new experience on Windows desktop and VR, where you get to build your ultimate racing machine, tailored to your driving style and optimized for performance, or race to the finish line with a monster what makes you smile. With stylised graphics and arcade-like physics, every turn, straightway and ramp will put your skills to the test. Feel the thrill of the race like never before in VR, as you immerse yourself counting the seconds on the home stretch." An early demo that has seen some updates. Maybe worth looking at in a few months after a bit more development. I did like what I saw, but honestly, if you’re looking for a finished racing game, try Mini Motor Racing X instead or some of the other heavier PCVR games available.
   
6. Les Mills Body Combat $29.99 Quest My quick take: No subscriptions, great coaches and fun workouts that will make you sweat. From the store page: “Work out at home with a premium fitness app. LES MILLS, the world's leading fitness company, brings the BODYCOMBAT experience to your VR headset with an extensive workout portfolio, top-quality coaching, innovative mechanics, and different intensities.” With no subscriptions or hidden fees, lots of workouts, motivating coaches and the ability to compete with friends on leaderboards, this really is a dynamite workout app. I was working up a good sweat during my workouts, so be sure you have good facial insert and a fan ready. Highly recommended if you want a workout in VR for just the price of entry.
   
7. Interkosmos 2000 $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take:A difficult puzzle game, but rewarding if you have the patience. From the store page: “Go to space. Save the Future. Try not to Die. Welcome (back) to the world of Interkosmos for an even wilder, weirder and more wondrous adventure. Experience the intense exhilaration of spaceflight. Explore the awe-inspiring interiors of a realistic space capsule. Master the crucial systems that will keep you in orbit (and breathing). And while you’re at it, try your best not to die. Should you complete your mission, you just might save the future – and yourself. Should you fail? Let’s not think about that.” An intense puzzle game where you’re piloting a space ship with some very finicky controls. I found the experience way too difficult and exacting. Along with a bit of bugginess, that didn’t help in me determining if the error was my fault or the game's. If you have the patience, there certainly is some rewarding gameplay here, and an interesting story, but I found it all a bit too much to see to the end.
   
8. The Light Brigade $24.99 Quest / Steam My quick take: In a world of rougelikes, this is one that stands out. From the store page: “As a member of The Light Brigade, humanity’s last line of defense, brave ruins bathed in darkness and free the trapped souls who need the salvation only your gun can provide. Shoot, master spells, and upgrade your capabilities to herald the Sun’s return in this roguelike VR shooter.” There’s quite a lot of rouge shooters on Quest and despite the plethora of choices, this one stands out. Be warned, it starts out slowly, but gets quite fun after you get to know the systems after about an hour in. While I did make it to the last boss, I died and never went back to finished it. The gameplay loop and dynamic levels were solid though. The slight upgrades and different classes during each run were interesting and kept me going for a while. The most frustrating time I had was learning the little tips, tricks and finer gameplay points, but it was worth the push through that initial rough patch.
   
9. Resident Evil 4 $39.99 Quest My quick take: One of the best games in VR. A must own. From the store page: “Explore the world of Resident Evil 4, entirely remastered for VR. Step into the shoes of special agent Leon S. Kennedy on his mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter who was kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Come face to face with enemies, and uncover secrets with gameplay that revolutionized the survival horror genre. Battle horrific creatures and face-off against mind-controlled villagers while discovering their connection to the cult behind the abduction.” I forgot so much about this game from when I first played it 18 years ago on the GameCube. The long length, fun characters and how exciting the gun play is, all just came together perfectly. The development team spent a ton of time getting the VR feeling just right, and it’s absolutely one of the best on the Quest and well worth the price of entry. Additionally, once you play through the game the first time it really changes from survival horror to a whole new type of game action game. Simply outstanding.
   
10. Mini Golf Hustler Free Quest My quick take: Early days in development. Some good ideas, but a bit too rough around the edges. From the store page: “Challenge Slick Willie Puttman in this FREE nine hole demo of Mini Golf Hustler. Hazards include armed torpedoes, tentacled arms, ornery tikis and more! Multiple betting games, including skins, match play and the fearsome traveling snake. All played at the same time.” I thought I’d check out another mini golf game to see what other ideas there might be outside of the king - Walkabout Mini Golf. While there were some solid ideas for holes, the betting felt uneven, and everything else felt in their very early stages. To be fair, no other mini golf game feels even close to the accuracy of Walkabout, so I think it’s a tough go for any other games to match. It's probably best to stick with the champ for now, but I applaud the dev for trying something different.
    
11. Pin City Free Quest (open beta on Discord) / Steam My quick take: Early days, but wow, worth a download and one to watch in the future. From the store page: "Pin City is a bowling game unlike any other bowling game you’ve played before. We strove to bring the spirit of mini-golf into the world of bowling. We’ve taken the standard bowling setup (straight lane, 10 pins, 1 ball) and expanded, transformed, and evolved it. We wanted to give people a chance to bowl in ways that would be impossible, illegal, or extremely impractical.” An early alpha game, but boy, what a great start, I’m really looking forward to the team getting the physics feeling right with weight and feel of the bowling balls and seeing how much more gameplay they can add. Really worth the download or heading over to their Discord to get a Quest key for free to try it out. The quirky bowling, physics and gameplay they're experimenting with really got me excited to see how this one comes together in the next several months.
    
12. Mash Me Up Free Quest My quick take: Please devs, add more multiplayer support! From the store page: “Do you want to play party games with your friends or meet someone new? All is just one button press away with Mash Me Up. One button, multiple games. Will it be Air Hockey, Pier Pong, Flingball, or… Get ready for a surprise! Press, Play, Enjoy and Go Again!” If this game got a bit more development love it would be incredible. As it stands now, there are several mini games you can play against one person. Most are just okay, but a handful are real gems, and one particularly is incredible - Geo Guesser. Hands down the best mini game in the pack. With four, or six players and some new content, they could easily charge for just this one game. As it stands now, it’s a great two player game, but you’ll need to bring your own friend as the servers are pretty barren. Worth a download though for sure as you’ll get a night of fun out of it.
    
13. THZZLS - Treasures Lost In Time $4.99 Quest My quick take: A unique puzzler that can be pretty relaxing, but repetitive. From the store page: “Our first THZZLE is called "Der Bazar", the world's first VR toy theatre puzzle game. The Bazar is a VR puzzle game where you have to place furniture and props in the right places in old-fashioned rooms according to an old picture you see. The game is set in 19th century Germany and each room has objects taken from the German lifestyle magazine "Der Bazar", published in Berlin.” This one used to be free, with paid content, but it has since changed as they added more content. You recreate a scene with cutouts of people and furniture in a 3D space. It seemed to have endless puzzles with randomization of scenes. I could see someone going to this for a relaxing 10-15 minutes, but it is a lot of the same each time and didn’t grab me fully. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that’s outside of the usual ones you find in the store, it’s not a bad choice for the price. Keep in mind though its hand tracking only, so for some that may be a non starter, even though it felt just fine.
    
14. Barbaria $19.99 Quest / Steam My quick take:What I imagine Gorn is like with a solid game loop of RTS. From the store page: “Do you have what it takes to be the Mightiest in Barbaria? Welcome to a brutal world where visceral motion-controlled combat blends seamlessly with god-scale base-building and asynchronous multiplayer raids. Use fists, axes, swords, bows, rocks, or anything you can grab to dominate your foes in intense 1st-person combat. Then jump out to your immortal form and watch your minions carry on the battle while you rain down meteors from above. Systemic combat, versatile enemy AI, and player-created defenses make every battle unique.” I recognize there is a lot here to do in this game - if you like the game loop. Unfortunately, it really didn’t do much for me. I was expecting more RTS than Gorn style gameplay and was not pulled in by the fighting or quests offered. I have to say that the humor was spot on, and it certainly had good visuals, the game was just not for me. All that being said, there is a lot of content here and you could be playing this for quite some time if you think this could be your jam.
    
15. Toy Monsters Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take:Plants vs Zombies in AR with hand tracking that does enough unique stuff to be worth it. From the store page: “Toy Monsters VR is a mixed-reality tabletop tower defense inspired by classic Plants vs Zombies. Built from the ground up with hand tracking and passthrough in mind. As you progress through the 20 levels, you'll unlock new toys with unique special powers. You can enhance your toys with magical potions and use crystal power to unleash magic beams from your hands, transform your fingers into flamethrowers, and more.” This game has come a long way since its initial release. It’s a solid hand tracking Plants vs. Zombies game with its own twist on powers and uses passthrough quite nicely. My biggest complaint is that you really need to complete the game all in one go (about an hour or so) as it doesn’t keep track of your upgrades if you quit. Essentially, trying to pass a later level without prior upgrades or powerups is near impossible. Despite that one issue, give at least the demo a try and if you like it, the price is pretty fair for what you get.
    
16. Exit Condition One Free Quest Demo / $4.99 Quest My quick take: A bit rough around the edges, but escape room fans will find fun with it. From the store page: “You awake from cryo in a mysterious museum. A robot refers to you as a curator and the security system is malfunctioning. Can you get things back to normal and escape? There are no jump scares. The game is designed ground-up for roomscale VR on the Quest, but supports all locomotion modes. Most objects can be interacted with, it fully uses physics, and the hands don't ‘ghost out.’” According to the description, this is still a work in progress. That being said, it was a neat escape game that I felt I got my money’s worth from. It certainly was a bit rough around the edges with its gameplay and had some obscure puzzles to work through, but I did finish it and had a good time with it. Try the demo for sure, and perhaps when it’s finally finished, some of those rough edges will be polished up, but as it stands now, it was pretty solid.
    
17. Hyperdash Free Quest/Steam My quick take: A solid online shooter, but you'll have to put in the time to get good to find the fun. From the store page: “Hyper Dash is a free VR multiplayer team based shooter. Payload, Domination, Control Point, (Team) Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Elimination, Ball and remix them with Mutators! Dash, sprint, and rail grind your way across the arenas to engage the enemy in fast-paced combat and secure the objective for your team. Offline mode/Bots, Dedicated servers, Private servers, Rebind-able controls, Left hand support, Voice chat.” For a free to play shooter, this one had great controls, nice graphics, a good gameplay loop, plenty of comfort options and a solid player base. All that being said, every player I faced off against were top tier, so I spent my time just dying round after round. This is a good game with a solid player base and there's fun here - if you’re willing to learn the ropes. It's bad for newbies like me just looking to have a good time and get a few kills.
    
18. Please, Don’t Touch Anything $9.99 Quest / $4.99 Steam My quick take: A game for escape room devotees only. From the store page: "Please, Don’t Touch Anything is a cryptic, brain-racking button-pushing puzzle game. Covering for a colleague taking a bathroom break, you find yourself in front of a mysterious console with a green screen monitor showing a pixelated live image of an unknown city. Also present is an ominous red button with the simple instruction to not touch anything! Push the red button once or press it many times. Your choices and actions will lead to outrageous and frightening consequences and over 30 unique puzzle endings.” This is a weird one. A really obscure puzzle game that rewards experimentation, but is absolutely punishing with difficulty. If you’re really good at escape games and don’t get frustrated easily, you may enjoy the tedium. If not, you’ll end up like me, watching a tutorial to find out how to get different endings. But if you find yourself doing that, why not just watch a playthrough.
    
19. Eleven Table Tennis $29.99 Quest/Steam My quick take: Still one of the best, but there’s so much untapped potential. From the store page: “The ultimate Table Tennis simulator. Play opponents in online multiplayer or practice against the advanced AI. With physics designed to be as real as ever achieved in a Table Tennis simulator, you will forget you are in VR." I finally got back to this game after the new UI was implemented. It looks much more user friendly, but much to my disappointment, there were no new arenas, music, or official doubles options. There is so much potential for expanding this game, and I feel like the devs are just content to have it remain in the state it currently is. Which, to be fair, is a perfect implementation of table tennis in VR. It’s still one of the best VR games out there and absolutely a must own. I just really wish they would add an officially supported doubles mode and expand out the game a bit more because the unofficial doubles mode is a real pain to get set up and only barely worth the struggle. If you'd like to see how to set that doubles up currently, here is a video I was a part of.
    
20. Breachers $29.99 Quest/Steam My quick take: Come one, come all, this is 5 v 5 at its finest. From the store page: “In Breachers, you plan your assault or orchestrate your defense as a team through intense close-quarters combat. Whether you play as an enforcer or a revolter, master your nifty gadgetry, customize your powerful weaponry and beat your opponents in stunning environments. Intuitive to grasp. Endlessly playable.” Wow, wow, wow. This officially launched and is such a polished game. With multiple maps, intuitive movement and full lobbies, this game is simply spectacular. Despite the difficulty curve in being good at the game, it’s still a fun time even if you’re not the best, which is something special that few games manage to pull off. Where this game especially shines is with friends. If you can muster up a team of five to take on other random players, you’ll be playing this game for months. Give this a go, and if you're not any good, that's okay, because you'll still be better than the bots and a welcome addition to someone's team.
    
21. Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Outcast (Sidequest mod) Free Demo on Quest / $9.99 (Full Game on Steam) My quick take: Come for the lightsaber play, stay if you can tolerate the puzzles. From the store page: “JK XR is a standalone VR port of the popular Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast game by Lucasarts and Raven Software. Brought to VR by Team Beef & Friends. There are lots of mods and access to the free demo level available through the JK XR Companion App, which is automatically also installed alongside JK XR on your headset.” I never played this game when it first came out on flatscreen in 2002, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first part of the game you’re playing essentially as a Han Solo type - a smart talkin’ gun slinger. The next part, you’re a cool Jedi chopping off limbs. Absolutely great execution as always by Team Beef, and you can’t beat the price. There is even a free demo to try out to see if you like it. All that being said, the game’s old puzzles, navigation and gameplay felt every bit of 20 years old. After dying multiple times because of missing an exact jump, getting lost and backtracking because I didn't see an obscure elevator and wasting time trying to navigate odd puzzles, I just found it to be too much to overcome to continue to the end. This is no slight on Team Beef and the great work they did with this port, the game just hasn’t aged the best.
    
22. CoasterMania $9.99 Quest My quick take:Early days, but still some fun to be had. There could be something special here after a few updates. From the store page: “CoasterMania is a physics-based VR rollercoaster game where you create the ride of your life! Use wacky contraptions and elements to fly through the sky, then experience your creation by jumping in the front seat. Sandbox mode: Build your dream rollercoaster without any rules but the rules of physics. When you're done, share your coaster or experience the engineering marvels of others. Design your own rides and upload them online.” You know, this game is just silly fun. It's early days for sure, and the tracks don't twist and come together as easily together as I’d hoped, which makes for a difficult time creating exactly what you want. It is satisfying though to have a roller coaster leap from one track to another over a gap. At this point the game is more of a sandbox than a full game with objectives (which is coming). The coasters other people have created are fun, so if you’re not into creating, there is that option to play with other people's designs, plus you can ride them in first person. I look forward to more updates and think it's worth looking at for sure, but if you’re looking for something a bit more fleshed out currently you can try Stunt Track Builder.
    
23. David Slade Mysteries: Case Files $9.99 Quest/Steam My quick take: You’re a forensic cop, here are your tools. Good luck dummy. From the store page: “Take to the dark and violent streets of downtown Riverside, where you investigate gruesome and violent homicides using a range of Forensic tools and your wits! Inspired by the classic Police Quest adventure series, reborn & reimagined for VR. Includes two epic episodes!” Slade is a murder mystery game that is ruthless in it’s difficulty. Honestly, there are several play throughs of this game on YouTube and none have beaten the first case because it was too hard, they all gave up. This game offers no hints, is super abstract and insanely difficult. Why did I keep playing? Well, the game’s tools were implemented quite well, the story was compelling, and I just felt I had to see this through to the end for my own sanity. Despite being as hard as nails, I somehow managed to finish the first case, then moved on to the second. No real spoilers, but the second case does a complete 180 and essentially becomes a horror game where you’re only weapon is your wits. A real departure from the first case. Again, I found myself frustrated, confused and turned around, but again, I had to power through it because something kept pulling me in. If you’re a masochist for puzzle games, I’d recommend this game.
    
24. Home Detective Free w/IAP - Quest My quick take:Fun use of AR, but pretty basic. From the store page: “Use your own living room to solve the crime! Using passthrough, the crime scene is overlaid onto your play area, leaving you free to explore and find clues. Use the patent-pending Residual Heat Scanner to detect the criminals' recent movements, and then dust for fingerprints or try to find evidence left behind. With your wits, and your trusty sidekick Steve Dobbins' snarky comments, you're sure to get to the bottom of these confusing crimes.” I appreciate the interesting use of passthrough and AR in this game. The first case is free to try, so if you’re into AR and passthrough, it’s worth a try. It's $3.99 for another case if you’re into it, but right now, it’s a pretty basic, but solid idea. My biggest complaint is that all my tools were on a shelf that was inaccessible because they were in my wall. I guess AR is still not quite there yet.
    
25. Vertigo Remastered $24.99 Steam My quick take: A fun and wacky ride from start to finish. From the store page: “It's a classic premise - a massive subterranean scientific facility full of mysteries, with aliens bursting in from alternate universes to wreak havoc. The twist? You're one of those aliens. But you're not here to wreak havoc (collateral damage disregarded), you're just trying to get home. A difficult endeavor, as it turns out this facility is more than prepared to deal with extraterrestrial threats.” Because I heard such great things about Vertigo 2, I thought I’d try out this game before I played the sequel. I was really blown away by how fun the game was and pleasantly surprised that it holds up so well. Considering its a 2016 remake, and VR was still figuring out a lot of things like movement, this still felt fresh. With lots of unique ideas, upgrades and areas to play in, I heartily recommend this one and am looking forward to playing the sequel.
    
26. Playin’ Pickleball $19.99 Quest My quick take:Solid physics, but really only for pickleball fans, or a group of four friends. From the store page: “Playin’ Pickleball is an authentic reproduction of Pickleball in Virtual Reality! Physics, sounds and mechanics have been carefully mapped from actual Pickleball game play. Even the scoring and rules are based on the USA Pickleball Association’s Official Rulebook.” Pickleball is sweeping the nation and if I recall correctly, even ForeVR is getting in on the game with an upcoming title. I’m much more of a tennis than pickleball guy, but I have to say, this game has pretty solid physics. Like most games, this is exponentially better with one or better yet, three other people you know. The AI players can be pretty uninteresting hitting it back and forth without much variance. Also the environments are a bit basic. I have to applaud the movement, physics and customizable items though as they all felt very well implemented. If you want something a bit less daunting than tennis, this might be what you're looking for.
    
27. Pong $6.99 Quest My quick take:A neat take on Pong, but you’ll have more fun with Cybrix. From the store page: “Classic paddle game reimagined for VR. Destroy all the bricks. Use your paddles to swing at the balls and the balls have built-in assistance to return back toward you. Take advantage of the pistol and magneto power-ups to cause major damage. Or just swing hard at the balls to create large blast radius. Oh and watch out for those mines going for your head. Lean left/right or crouch to avoid.” I appreciated the ideas the developers had in this modern take on Pong, but it was ultimately quite short and not nearly as fun as Cybrix. That being said for the price, I got my money’s worth and would love to see it get a bit more polish and levels in an update.
    
28. Extreme Escape $4.99 Quest / Steam (Early Access) My quick take:One of those special games where you really feel like you're in the environment. From the store page: “Have you ever wondered how it would feel to travel in a hot air balloon and fly above clouds? Have you ever wanted to face your fear of heights and enclosed spaces? Perhaps you wanted to become a pilot and test your critical thinking skills. Looking for a breathtaking experience? Try Extreme Escape.” The game says “early access,” but honestly I believe this has been abandoned. For the price, you get an extremely short, but fun and unique escape room experience. You’re not going to find this game too hard, but I was brought into its world and completely immersed - I had a true sense of dread and panic. The even shorter “demo” inside the game puts you on a sinking submarine and was extremely memorable. Seldom have I felt so immersed in a game. I’d recommend it for this price, just because of how it made me feel, but it’s a real shame about the very short length and that it’s abandoned.
    
29. The Last Worker $19.99 Quest / SteamMy quick take:Gaming with a heavy message, but mediocre gameplay. From the store page:“The Last Worker is an immersive narrative adventure centered around a lone worker’s last stand in an increasingly automated world, The Last Worker is a unique blend of work simulation and stealth strategic gameplay. The game is set in a lonely, oppressive but strangely beautiful environment, with characters designed by comics legend Mick McMahon. Kurt works for the world’s largest retailer and is forced to choose between capitalism or activism. Having dedicated his life to work, Kurt’s loyalty is put to the test when a group of activists ask him to dismantle Jüngle from the inside.” I really wanted to like this game. It had an interesting concept, but navigating, fail states and some very annoying bugs frustrated me to the point where I just said it wasn’t worth my time. That and the story wasn’t speaking to me. It’s well rated, so I’m probably on the opposite side of this one from most people. It's unique in many ways, so check out the teaser and see if it might be for you.
    
30. Shadow Point $19.99 Quest My quick take:Fisherman’s Tale vibes with an excellent story and puzzles that makes you feel smart. From the store page: “Built for VR, Shadow Point is a story-driven puzzle game set between a mountaintop observatory and an ever-changing fantasy world. Explore a vibrant kingdom, cast shadows and solve mind-bending puzzles as you uncover the mystery of missing schoolgirl, Lorna McCabe who vanished from Shadow Point Observatory twelve years ago. As your adventure unfolds, you will manipulate gravity, play with your own reflection, walk on walls, peer through a magical lens to reveal an alternate reality and much more.” I had this game on my wishlist forever and finally pulled the trigger, and boy am I glad I did. I really enjoyed the story, gameplay and ended up marathoning it in one session (which I don't recommend doing). It is a few hours long, and there are extra puzzles to go back to if you’d like. It had some serious Fisherman’s Tale vibes, so if you like those type of puzzle games, this is for you. The puzzles make you stop and think, and more importantly, progress nicely. I was never stuck, but certainly had to really contemplate how to solve some of them. It is slightly finicky with having to line up the shadows exactly to progress, but that is a minor complaint. Give this one a go for sure.
    

I hope you find a few games on this list that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know here or on the Ruff Talk Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.
Also, the week this is posted, I'm hosting a contest where one winner gets a $29.99 or less, Quest game of their choice. You can enter on the discord channel above, but will need to have five posts on the discord channel within a week to enter, so if that interests you, feel free to join. The Ruff Talk guys usually have giveaways every week and it's some solid VR chat if you're looking for like-minded individuals in a non-toxic space.
TLDR: Top five games to check out - Ark and Ade, Pin City, Breachers, Shadow Point, Vertigo Remastered

Cover Art <<Previous Start Next >>
Her escort returned, then led her into the main hall and towards the thrones, where he bowed to the king and queen as he introduced her. “Your Majesties, this is Lady Moriko, of the Sakiya Temple.” The hall was not terribly busy, but it was also the center point of business for the court, so there were plenty of people to see her being introduced and hear her name. She’d also spotted Princess Kagami, though she didn’t really have the opportunity to look around for the rest.
“It is a pleasure and honor to meet you, Your Majesties.” Moriko said to them as she curtsied. She’d practiced enough to not be awkward, but she’d always preferred bowing. Court rules were more formal than the rest of life however, and she had been given a recent education to make sure she got the basics right.
“Lady Moriko, it is good to put a face to one of the names I’ve been hearing so much about recently.” King Yoshihiro replied, giving a slight nod to acknowledge her introduction, signaling her escort to leave.
Queen Phaedra shot her husband an amused glance before leaning forward to give Moriko a warm smile. “I’ve heard much about you from my daughters, they seem quite taken with you. I am quite looking forward to talking with you over dinner tonight.” The queen’s fair appearance gave quite a bit of proof to Princess Kagami’s name, the eldest daughter was practically a mirror of her mother.
“There is some court business to attend to yet, but we will be joining you in our private dining hall shortly.” The king was about to continue when another male voice spoke up.
“Lady Moriko, perhaps I can escort you there and keep you entertained awhile?” The speaker was a young blonde man in his teens, though tall and unusually solidly built for his age, with a moderately tan complexion that contrasted with his fairer hair.
King Yoshihiro smiled slightly as he gestured toward the boy. “Lady Moriko, I should like to introduce you to Prince Gou, my youngest.”
Moriko gave the young prince a shallower curtsy than she’d given the king and queen as she considered how best to respond. “Ah, it is a pleasure to meet you, your highness.” Prince Gou’s smile was a touch too warm and eager to please, and Moriko wanted to make sure she defused any vague hopes quickly. She doubted that he had any specific ideas in his mind beyond wanting to show off and be admired, but the young could become over-focused quickly.
Then she spied Princess Kagami looking at her youngest brother with an expression Moriko was certain she’d worn herself, and the perspective change gave her inspiration. “And I would be happy to be escorted by such a dashing young man.” She pitched her voice to make sure that ‘dashing’ sounded more like ‘cute’ than ‘handsome’, and had to suppress a desire to laugh as she took the offered arm with a smile. “You remind me of my younger brother, he’s always so earnest. I do hope you are a better swordsman than him however, it wasn’t too long ago that he lost a spar to a rabbit actor. Admittedly, the rabbit was a dungeon creature, but he’d only been a three-foot-tall humanoid for a few weeks.”
The twitch in Gou’s expression told Moriko that her verbal combo had hit his ego, but the prince only briefly stiffened before he inclined his head. “Well, maybe I can visit your dungeon someday and test myself against the same actor, and we could see.” His smile still seemed genuine enough, just a bit less intense, and Kagami’s smirk looked satisfied, so Moriko was fairly certain that she’d struck the right balance. He got to treat her like another older sister, no more.
As he showed her the way to the dining hall, Moriko replied “Well, if you have a good showing, perhaps my husband or I could have a spar with you as well. Don’t forget that I am a disciple of the monastery.” Well, that got his interest focused, and the resulting conversation was more about martial techniques than anything else. He really did remind her of Galan, though more composed and broadly educated. They’d either be best friends or consider each other rivals. Though the difference could be hard to tell sometimes.
The dining hall was maybe not quite as big as her family’s home back in Riverbridge, but they also had a larger home than average for their town. It not only held the large dining table but had enough space around it for servants to pass by each other while pushing carts, with furniture decorating the walls as well. If this was the private dining hall, the banquet hall had to be bigger than her monastery’s dining hall.
The rest of the royal family filtered in shortly after their arrival and Moriko finally got to meet the heir, Prince Ailwin, as well as the royal spouses; Prince Zarod, Princess Amhis, and Princess Catherine. Princess Tiriana’s fiance, Lord Ilimater, was currently in his homeland. He would acquire the title of Prince as well, once they were married.
There were a lot of names and faces to remember, even with having met the royal princesses two days ago and having studied the notes her master had given her. Prince Zarod was a little taller than Moriko was while she was wearing these boots, with curly, light brown hair that was kept barely tamed. He seemed affable enough and clearly doted on his wife, but to Moriko’s eye any apparent softness was an illusion, he had a solid sort of confidence that suggested he was reasonably capable at the least.
Princess Amhis was the least physically imposing member of the royal family. She was dark-haired with dusky skin, and barely taller than Kazue but not as slender, which led to a slight excess of curves. However, she was energetic to the point of effervescence, always ready to join any conversation while managing to keep track of everything going on in the room, and broke smoothly away when she was needed by one of the servants. She was quite the contrast against her much taller husband, but they also fitted against each other charmingly when she had a moment to rest in his arms.
Princess Catherine on the other hand was like a narrower, sharper version of her wife, Princess Kitiara. Both tall and blond, Catherine was more of a ‘rapier’ compared to Kitiara’s ‘broadsword’. Comparing them to weapons seemed apt, as neither took any care to hide their military bearing.
Moriko found herself swept into different conversations, not quite guided along a set flow so much as the center of a concerted effort to ensure that she was entertained and occupied until the King and Queen arrived. Following a bit of advice from Mordecai, she took the time during these conversations to make sure she complimented each piece of jewelry she’d been loaned for the occasion, borrowing some of her terminology from Kazue and Mordecai but keeping her compliments sincere. Her favorite was the necklace, a string of spectacular blue opal beads woven into a rope of gold threads, the beads flashing with occasional hints of fiery reds and yellows.
She hadn’t been certain where they were going to seat her, but she was only a little surprised to find herself seated between Queen Phaedra and Princess Kagami. Her new status as a Lady certainly didn’t put her there, but as an ‘ambassador’ and a specifically invited guest for a private meal it made more sense.
The dinner that was served was closer to a feast, and it came with the difficulty of restraint. Moriko was certainly not a messy or noisy eater, but eating in careful, small bites at a relatively slow rate was not the same as normal polite eating. It made talking during the meal easier, but it also made eating take at least twice as long, and Moriko tended to eat quite a lot. The conversation was kept social during the meal as well, ‘business’ talk waited until after dessert had been finished and the table cleared, then a selection of lightweight snacks and drinks was placed. The serving staff filtered out, leaving more items covered on the sideboards, but one new person entered. A young man in scribe’s robes, carrying a small portable desk and a couple of folders full of paper as well as a wax tablet and steel scribe for taking notes.
“Well, I suppose it's time to get down to business then,” Phaedra said softly. The scribe set up his desk and materials a discrete distance behind them. “We would like an official relationship with your family and dungeon. The very first thing we’ll need is an official name for the territory.”
Moriko took a moment to consult with Mordecai and Kazue, who had been spending a fair amount of time on the idea already. “Well, there have been a few thoughts. ‘the twin core dungeon’ was proposed, but dismissed due to possibly creating too strong an association with The Twins, and the same for being called the Kuiccihan dungeon. There weren’t any other descriptive title sort of names that anyone strongly wanted, so going back to geography, we’ve decided on being The Azeria Mountain Dungeon.” She smiled slightly. “Riverbridge is about the same distance as Azeria Forest, but I have to admit it doesn't have quite as strong a name."
King Yoshihiro chuckled. “Should I take offense that you wish to keep some distance from the Kingdom? No, no, I understand. Remaining distinct like that is for the best, it avoids confusion. Hmm.” He gave a thoughtful frown for a moment. “The mountain range itself is the Raincatcher Mountains, but as far as I know nothing is keeping the mountain and its foothills from being named Azeria Mountain. Assuming it doesn’t trip any existing treaties, we have no problems acknowledging that name officially.”
“Speaking of,” Moriko replied, “Could you go into some more detail on that? It’s not exactly something Kazue or I paid a lot of attention to, and Mordecai was rather out of the loop.”
Prince Ailwin took the lead here. “The basics are not complicated, though the treaty itself goes into a lot of specifics, exceptions, and conditionals. Throughout the mountain range are many tribes and small nations, plus a dwarven kingdom deep below. Most are considered Independent and are simply in a trade agreement mixed with a mutual defense treaty, as well as delineating their rights to travel freely as individuals inside of Kuicchan. Most of the burden of defense is left to the kingdoms, but the tribes can not let hostile forces traverse their territories without some level of challenge, unless clearly outmatched. In addition to those, other tribes are more closely tied to us, and have the status of Vassal State. They rule themselves independently but follow all of our applicable laws. Individuals of those tribes do not owe taxes to Kuiccihan, but the tribe as a whole owes some sort of duty to the kingdom.” He smiled slightly at that. “As most tribes who chose to be that independent and prefer the mountains also tend to have unique traits or talents, they also tend to be suitable for training the Marked, and that availability is usually accepted in lieu of tribute.” The prince paused a moment before he continued. “There are also some other arrangements involved with that, but it starts to get complicated, and they don’t affect your dungeon, so I think it best if we skip it for now.”
Moriko pursed her lips thoughtfully as she spoke with her spouses, then turned her attention back to the royals in front of her. “Alright, so what form of relationship are you seeking with us?” The princesses had talked about it with her the other night, but this occasion was stating it more formally.
“Something in between,” the King answered, “Namely, an Associated State. You would have more duty to us than the independent tribes, but the laws of our land do not automatically apply in your territory, unlike the vassal states. You would have a more complete sovereignty, just a formalized duty to be allies. In exchange for this, you gain our protection, and while our laws would not apply to you or yours inside the dungeon’s territory, they do apply to any of our citizens who are in your territory, and should you have grievance against a citizen of Kuiccihan who has left the dungeon, we can either judge the citizen by our laws or extradite them to your territory, depending upon your preferences.”
From there it became a matter of negotiating the fine points and then reviewing the finalized treaty after the scribe used his notes to edit the papers with an enchanted quill. Once everyone agreed on the finalized version, the scribe brought out a scroll case and a small stamp. He stamped each of the pages in order, then tapped the scroll case. The papers merged and flowed into a single sheet of paper as the scrolls case opened up, creating a single continuous document that then wrapped itself into the scroll case. All that was left was to sign and swear oaths to the intent and purpose of the treaty. When completed, the enchantments on the scroll case finished activating and the contents were fixed into place. There was no more editing that treaty, if anything needed to be changed it would have to be a whole new treaty written, witnessed, and signed.
It went a lot easier than it would have if Moriko didn’t have Mordecai and Kazue sitting in her head. Moriko didn’t have to process what she was reading, so she could just quickly scan over the lines and let the cores do the memorization and double checking everything was written correctly. Mordecai was the focus of analyzing it, given his experience, but Kazue’s passion for reading made it easier to take all the information quickly as she was used to reading fast.
It was late into the evening when everything was done, and much of the dessert and snack foods were gone. The King, Queen, Princess Kagami, Prince Ailwin, and his wife Princess Amhis were the only ones involved for most of the process, the rest had relaxed into a more lightweight socialization mode, coming and going as they pleased, though occasionally offering thoughts and opinions.
“Well, one more thing needs to be done tonight,” Queen Phaedra said with a smile. “Give us a moment, we need everyone back here, but they shouldn’t have gone far.”
<<Previous Start Next >>
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Hi all,
Thank you for reading. I’m currently on holiday and I have bad Wi-Fi connection so I hope this post will be able to be posted which is why I have to go immediately to the point.
I’ve been dating my BF, John, for 2,5 years, living together for 1,5 years.
As soon as we moved in together, John changed a lot. He struggled with depression, was often very mean to be (calling me names, insulting my capacities in bed, my appearance, my character). He also refused to come to any family events of mine, often telling me that they weren’t fun and throwing a whole fit about it on the way there.
During all of this, last summer, John told me he wanted an open relationship without rules, which I didn’t. So he got very mean about that and just kept it too ‘If we ever feel attracted to someone we should go for it and explore that’.
Starting December 2022, John became a bit more himself. Thanks to seeing a therapist and working on himself, he still repeated that if we ever felt attracted to someone else, that we should explore it and often talked about how he was not jealous at all.
In February 2023, I joined a gay soccer team with some friends. One of the guys, Ben, and I got along immediately. I told John, who was immediately jealous because he knew Ben was my type, going so far as throw fits about it and being very jealous. So I stopped going, however I was still in a messenger group with my friends from the soccer team and Ben. Sometimes we posted memes in this, all very innocent.
In March, my mom got a diagnosis that she was dying. On the day that I got back from the hospital, John announced that he has been applying for jobs in Italy, cause he doesn’t like the weather where we live (Germany) this upset me a lot. In the meanwhile John was still very jealous about Ben and called it suspected that I stopped going to the soccer games.
We argued a lot and John and I agreed on taking some distance from each other. He wanted me to move out cause he preferred to stay at our place alone to think while I had to go back to my ill mother who lives 3 hours away.
During this period of no contact with John, my soccer friends and Ben were there for me, they texted, called and really cared a lot.
When my mother was taken to the hospital, I texted John, who immediately asked me to come back. But upon arrival he was cold and told me that it bothered him that now his thinking proces was bothered by me coming back. This hurt me and while he did try, I went back home.
Ben and the others were very caring and still called me, they gave me advice about John and my mom’s situation.
With Ben in the friend group we started to make jokes a lot and we talked a lot. But both of us were in relationships and we talked a lot about that too.
At a certain moment it seemed like John and I would break up and Ben even helped me find houses.
However things took an unexpected turn and John and I tried to work things out. I had told John about the fact that Ben was my type and that I had felt attracted to him. Ben asked me to cut contacted with him which I was already doing.
So I told Ben everything. He told me that he d an had felt attracted too but that this could be just through texting and that he had sometimes wondered what it would be like to date me. I told him that I had thought about that too but that I was with John. And we decided to cut off contact.
A few days later Ben texted me asking to meet up to talk about it, cause maybe we could just be friends. I agreed an when we met up, we talked and decided to just not be in contact cause there was an attraction still.
I did not immediately tell John about having seen Ben but when I did, 2 weeks later, he asked me to block him everywhere, which I did.
My BF accuses me now of ‘cheating’ which I don’t agree with since he was all for open relations etc and I never acted on that. Could you give me your advice ?
Tl;dr: BF (32M) accuses me (28M) of cheating, how to move on from this?

I'm afraid that potential future employers will say "hey, you were only at XYZ for 7 months. Why'd you leave so soon? What happened at XYZ?"
The rest of my resume is 2-5 years at each employer, so it's not like I change jobs every 6 months. I know 2-5 years isn't exactly a career either but I feel like these days a lot of employees move every few years. we're sorta past the days of our grandparents who picked a job and stayed there for 31 years.
So why am I leaving after 7 months? My boss is awful, toxic and just generally bad. But I can't say this to my next employer. No one likes a negative nancy. I'm planning to quit and take a month or two to sorta chill and find myself a bit (I have plenty of savings for this). But when I get back to the job hunt, I suspect potential employers will wanna know why I had such a short tenure at my current job.
What do I say when they ask about this? I have some ideas but I'd like some better ones LOL

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• Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night
  • May 31 - June 25, 2023
  • Often regarded as William Shakespeare’s greatest comedy, Twelfth Night is bursting with romance, music and high times.
  • Shakespeare in the Park is free to attend; no reservations are required. Just show up with your blankets, chairs and picnics and find a spot on the lawn. Shakespeare Glen opens at 6:30. Food by Steve’s Hot Dogs is available for purchase, and drinks by STL Barkeep.
• Soccer Pre-Match Street Party at Schlafly Tap Room
  • June 10, 2023
  • Join others before every City SC home match for a Street Party with the St. Louligans Soccer Supporters Group. They will block off the street next to the Tap Room (now known as Louligan Street) so fans can enjoy good beer, great food, music and fun before they march over to the stadium together.
• Soulard Farmer's Market
  • Wednesdays - Saturdays
  • Soulard Farmers Market is located at 730 Carroll Street in St. Louis, Missouri, a half mile north of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. The market is open Wednesday through Saturday, year round. They feature locally grown and shipped in goods, including: produce, meats, cheeses, spices, gourmet kettle corn, flowers, baked goods, and general merchandise. There are also several different eateries that have many food options, which allows customers the convenience to grab a quick bite to eat and a drink while shopping.
• St. Louis Soap Box Derby
  • June 11, 2023
  • The All-American Soap Box Derby is a youth racing program, which has run nationally since 1934. Hosted by the St. Louis Jaycees, the regional St. Louis race has been held each June on The Hill for more than 15 years.
• Summer Beer & Food Pairing at the Biergarten
  • June 9, 2023
  • This beer and food pairing at the Anheuser-Busch Biergarten will get you ready for summer.
  • The meal begins with pineapple-chicken kebabs paired with Beach Bum, a combination of Kona Big Wave Golden Ale and Mango Cart, and a summer solstice salad accompanied by Stella Artois Solstice Lager. The entrée will be Spanish paella paired with Cutwater Lime Margarita, followed by a dreamsicle float for dessert and a NÜTRL Orange Hard Seltzer to wash it down.
• Sunrise Yoga at Kiener Plaza
  • Every Tuesday
  • Awaken your body and bask in the morning sunlight! This gentle yoga practice is designed to energize and align your body and mind through movement and breath. Bring your own mat/towel and water bottle.
• Thursday Nights at the Museum
  • Every Thursday
  • Kick off your weekend at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park! Each Thursday Night at the Museum will be the most fun, engaging, uplifting, thought-provoking, perspective-shaping night of your week. And there are drinks.
  • Join others starting at 5:30pm for happy hour and pop-up activities, such as brief tours, games, and performances. The main stage comes to life at 6:30pm, light appetizers and drinks are available for purchase until 7:00pm, and the Museum’s exhibits are open until 8:00pm for you to explore!
• Tower Grove Farmer's Market
  • Every Tuesday & Saturday
  • Join others every Saturday of the 2023 Tower Grove Farmers Market Season. They'll have over 100 vendors with local produce, meat, flowers, eggs, honey, prepared foods, art, jewelry, live music, and so much more.
• Twangfest at Off Broadway
  • June 7 - 10, 2023
  • Twangfest, a nonprofit grassroots music festival presented by Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., returns to St. Louis from June 7 to 10.
  • Held at Off Broadway, Twangfest will feature the best in live Americana, country, folk, pop, rock and soul. This year’s lineup includes Black Joe Lewis, James McMurtry, Nadine, The Waco Brothers and more.
• Whitaker Music Festival
  • Every Wednesday until August 2nd
  • The Missouri Botanical Garden is an idyllic place to listen to live music. On Wednesday evenings throughout the summer, the garden hosts free, open-air concerts as part of the annual Whitaker Music Festival.

​

Sporting Events This Week	Attractions Around the Area	Comedy This Week
St. Louis Cardinals schedule	Anheuser-Busch Brewery	Funny Bone Comedy Club
St. Louis Blues schedule	City Museum	Helium Comedy Club
St. Louis City SC schedule	Gateway Arch	The Improv Shop
St. Louis Battlehawks schedule	Missouri History Museum
St. Louis Billikens schedule	National Blues Museum
Gateway Grizzlies schedule	St. Louis Aquarium
Gateway Motorsports Park	St. Louis Art Museum
St. Louis Ambush schedule	St. Louis Science Center
	St. Louis Zoo

​

Trivia Nights
Location	Date/Time	More Information
Anheuser-Busch Biergarten	Tuesdays 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm	Trivia Details
Bar K	Tuesdays at 7:00 pm
City Foundry	Thursdays 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Joey B's on the Hill	Mondays 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm	Trivia Details
Nick's Pub	Mondays
Felix's Pizza Pub	Tuesdays at 8:00 pm	Trivia Details
Schlafly Brewpubs (Any Location)	Tuesdays 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Trivia Details
Rockwell Beer Co	Tuesdays	Trivia Details (Reservations required)
The Mack	Tuesdays at 8:00 pm	Trivia Details
The Pat Connolly Tavern	Wednesdays at 7:00 pm
The Post	Wednesdays 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm	Trivia Details
Pieces Board Game Bar & Cafe	Wednesdays	Trivia Details
HandleBar	Thursdays at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Trivia Details
Steve's Hot Dogs	Tuesdays 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Trivia Details

​

Live Music This Week
Music Venues	Live Music Around Town
Blueberry Hill Duck Room	1860 Saloon
Chesterfield Amphitheater	BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups
Delmar Hall	Broadway Oyster Bar
Enterprise Center	City Foundry
The Fabulous Fox Theatre	Gallery Pub
The Factory	Game 6 Honky Tonk
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre	Gaslight Lounge
Off Broadway	The Heavy Anchor
Old Rock House	Jazz St. Louis
The Pageant	Joe's Cafe
Red Flag	The Lot on the Landing
The Sheldon	McGurk's
St. Louis Music Park	SoFar St. Louis Secret performances around town
St. Louis Symphony Concert Calendar	Venice Cafe
Stifel Theatre	Yaquis on Cherokee

​

Recurring Outdoor Activities
Big Muddy Adventures – STL Riverfront Adventure	Big Muddy Adventures was established in 2002. They are the first professional outfitteguiding company providing access to the wild wonders of the Middle Mississippi and Lower Missouri Rivers.
Gateway Arch Events	There are a variety of things to do along the Mississippi River.
Hidden Valley Ski Resort	Ziplining, scenic chairlift rides, and hiking trails opened during the summer. Skiing, snowboarding during the winter.

Overview:
With Necromancy coming in hot, being a polished style, melee sits as a very toxic style to use at high levels. It's the obvious worst style, both for beginners, and for the sweats, while also having the most upgrades (probably) and most tier 95 gear (by a lot). This is just some rough ideas I had to boost melee to being the best style, as it should theoretically be with the amount it has, and to eliminate how toxic the style is to use. Welcome to my melee overhaul.
Disclaimer:
-I am a high end pvmer. Challenging myself to get that extra second off of a boss gets me going, and I enjoy the more effort, more output concept.
-I don't think numerous switches are healthy, but its been runescapes identity since release. I'm all for a few core switches.
-What I find to be toxic is any form of armor switches (I guess unless you are swapping between styles, but I thoroughly don't enjoy this) to include HELM and GLOVES... My aim is to continue to use one set of dual wields, a 2h, and a not as often, unique weapon. -I thoroughly believe greater abilities are healthy for the game and that abilities tied to weapons (Leng swords hurricane passive) are unintuitive as you will lose this passive, (t97s) unless it is strictly a switch.
-None of this is calculated. Ability damage and more specific information will likely be needed. This is a generalization of what I believe would work.
Problems:
-Jaws of the Abyss (Helm Switch)
-Abyssal Scourge (Camping this is better than camping T95)
-Vestments (Enjoy the concept, but execution is off)
-Gloves of Passage (Glove switch for one ability)
-EZK (Optimizing requires 2)
-Essence of finality (Becoming monotonous with every style, but overall, a very nice addition)
-Lengs special (very niche, almost useless)
Proposed fixes:

1. Introducing greater bezerk. Would be nice to have a standalone boss that this would drop from outside of current RS3 storyline (ie. Raksha type boss)
   -Same effects as vestments full set (I know, seems like a lot, but we don't have great sun, or DS to compare it to).
   
2. Vestments of Havoc. Not everything needs to be complex. Each piece, on top of the armor stats, increases melee damage by an additional 1%. Full set, gives you 5%.
   
3. EZK special Change. Scrap the old spec. New spec will allow you to become encased with lava and start charging a large swing (similar to deto), eventually swinging at your target and creating a crater on the ground (similar to sun and DS effect when enemies stand in them). DOES NOT WORK IN BEZERK.
   -This will have 5 tiers to it. Each tier will generate a new hitsplat and break hitcap. Attack damage is calculated through auto attack damage (preventing you from just chucking it into an eof to use with lengs) 60 second cd.
   -Now instead of bleed damage, this chonky sword will now do chonky damage. It also fits the identity of melee, being burst.
   -Like I mentioned, this will act like deto, therefore, you will be able to throw out an ability within the same tick as you release, adding to the burst.
   -Thoughts behind this, was to mainly eliminate the need for throwing EZK into an EOF. Yes I know, it will someday be the case, but until then...
   
4. Leng special. Most popular fix I've seen is to make the special a passive. I agree this would be more productive for the weapons, but I don't believe it is a smart and thought out idea. The future power creep will likely be required to break hit cap as well, why start with a passive t95 to do so?
   -Remove all of the lengs effect to include the hurricane passive effect as this is random and eventually will lead to more switches later on down the road once t97s are introduced (opportunity down the road for a greater ability)
   -New spec: imbue your weapons with ice, causing each hit to be broken up into shards. The number of shards it's broken up into, depends on how high the hit would be. Each hit that the attack is broken up into, applies additional ice damage to the target and applies frozen stacks. Frozen stacks increase ice damage the target takes until the spec has ended. 30 second up time, 60 second cd.
   

   -The idea behind this, is that this will be your zerk rotation spec. The hits will be broken up into smaller hits, allowing for you to (technically) break hitcap, while also applying additional damage. 

5. Abyssal Scourge: Remove passive, make a spec weapon instead. Slash the target with the whip, causing the target to hemorrhage for 60 seconds. With each bleed inflicted on the target, another tick is added (after spec=1 bleed, use a bleed under the spec=2 bleeds, ect.)(bleed can be extended to double before it won't extend further). Damage will be additive.
   -This isn't meant to be a ground breaking amount of damage. Will still be strong in itself, but the point is to add to melee's consistent damage, while also giving melee the adren that mage or range is capable of generating, while also being less RNG, when paired with Jaws of the Abyss.
   

Now... for perhaps the most interesting change...
Introducing the construction update, the Enchantment Room. This will also stray somewhat from the main topic of specifically fixing melee, but will be all around QOL fixes towards combat and RS3 in general.
Now there will be potential for a lot of different ideas and I would love to hear more! But here is the basics of what I conjured up:
The enchantment room will be a new room you can construct in your POH (limited to 1), with many different pieces of furniture you can build.

1. The enchanted armor stand
   -able to construct replica combat dummies for each style.
   -each dummy replicates head, chest, legs, boots, and gloves.
   -you can place items on the stand to obtain the effects of those items (just effects/passives, not stats)
   

   -example; gloves of passage. Throw them on the stand, and you have that passive all of the time -set effects are included, and can synchronize with what you are wearing (ie. 3 piece vestments on the stand, 1 on your character, gives you 4 piece effect) -I can't speak on behalf of jamflex, but I hope the coding would be capable of handling this... 

   -hybrid gloves may be placed on any stand, but only work for the given style
   
2. The essence of finality rack
   -Able to mount up to 6 EOFs and enchant them, granting you their ability (still must be wearing an EOF to earn benefit) (potential for an all mighty EOF down the road)
   -I understand their is only one EOF button, so more would have to be added. Can either be colored, or have the image of the weapon spec being used... Not too sure...
   
3. Ring rack
   -Stores 2 rings to give you their effects (effects do not stack. ie. LOTD while you are wearing HSR)
   

   -this encourages the wear of the rex matriarchs rings, while store stuff like LOTD 

Some random idea(s) that I thought were cool and could be very useful in the Enchantment room.

1. Enchanted overload pool -drink from the pool to grant you 1 hour of the selected overload used. This must be refilled so it's not game breaking, but it will allow 1 sip to go further and elongate overload usage. Right now 10 sips, lasts one hour. The pool would be let’s say 6 per 1 hour) -This could also, possibly, be turned into overall passive potion pool. (ie. weapon poison lasting an hour) 

That's really it. Melee has always been a style I've loved, but in its current state, will not use. Maximizing its potential is just not fun or intuitive to me, nor is 5 ability bars enough. I would love to hear some opinions, good, bad, ugly, or if you just have some tweaks you'd make. Hope you all enjoyed!

Since the dawn of D&D players have chased treasure. Coins, Trinkets, Gems, Jewelry, and Items of Power. Rarely do we do so with any form of realism. Metals are extremely heavy, and any realistic thought of carrying around tens of thousands of valuable metal coins is not only absurd but functionally impossible. Ever try and pick up a large change jar, like the kind you granny kept? Full Plate Armor weighs almost nothing compared to that sucker. But here is the thing… we don’t care. And we don’t care because it is fun to have 10k in gold coins jingling around in our pockets! I don’t know if we will ever do away with the nuttyness of carrying all those coins, but I do think we can do something about their value.
If you’re of the persuasion that the original D&D brand of cp, sp, ep, gp, and pp is the way you wanna go, and tracking all that is fun for you and your party then by all means keep on keeping on. Nothing wrong with that! But I am about to suggest a little something I call the Ale Standard. A method of tracking and using a modified standard currency, because I got a suspicion that a lot of us out there just don’t like dealing with the minutia of all those coins and conversions. We would also really like wealth to continue to matter, and in most cases matter more. I’ve noticed a trend toward “items” and a lot more hand waving when it comes to money. Which is just fine, but I, and maybe you, want to run games where every coin matters!
So let’s start with values. Assuming a metal rarity in your D&D world that is similar to our own… How much is a gold coin actually worth? Most of us in our minds picture a pirate movie-esq doubloon sized gold coin. Which is pretty huge if you think about it. And for the most part fictional. Actual gold coins were much much smaller. I’m going to warn you, parts of this train are pretty mathy. Hopefully you’ll ride it out, as after 40 years of D&D I think it is well worth it.
A U.S. dime. A coin worth 10% of a dollar weighs 2.268 grams. As of 2023 Gold sells for a little over $60 a gram depending on purity (US dollars). We will stick to $60 for simplicity. Gold has retained a pretty consistent value throughout human history. $60 can buy you some jeans and a shirt today and generally speaking that same amount could buy an equal value outfit when Jesus was kicking it in the middle east 2000 years ago. That’s why Gold was used as an economic standard for a long time.
(Well… we used to. Not saying the Gold Standard was perfect, but now we just make up numbers based on what we guess something might possibly be worth if it were to be a tangible item we could actually sell, all while just adding more numbers to our imaginary digitally created values… … … anyway… It’s sad, but D&D’s economy might actually make more sense, and I don’t think it makes any sense at all. But that's just an aside, and one some folks will probably disagree with.)
ANYWAY, no economic system is perfect, but we can tr and get a little closer in our Fantasy Games. A gold coin the weight of a dime would be worth about $150 dollars. An actual Spanish Doubloon weighed about 7 grams and was a little less than an inch wide (Varied depending on the time period). Making a standard gold coin worth $420. The price of a cheap, but not bottom of the barrel, flatscreen TV in 2023. How many times in our games do we as DM’s simply say for some drinks at the tavern or for an apple from a street vendor “1 Gold” to cover the costs. The ratio realistically doesn’t work. You could hand wave and say that Gold isn’t as rare in your world, well sure, but if a Gp covers an apple what the hell are people making Copper Coins for? And how then is anything made of Gold valuable at all? It just doesn’t track! And I really want treasure to matter in my world, and if an Apple is worth a Gp, or, you know, $420, gold doesn’t matter at all.
Player: Would you like an apple?
Player: Why Yes I would!
Merchant: That will be one TV.
Player: No Problem! I happen to have 750 TVs right here!
See how lame that is?!
Which brings me to the point of all this. Once the cost of items drifts into Gp territory in D&D, the economy completely falls apart. The PHB says Modest living is worth 1gp a day, you know $420 for a day’s expenses… over $50 an hour! That’s more than many people make in a week. Comfortable living (middle class) is twice that! So let’s put this back on track, and I suggest you do so by switching to a basic currency type. Call it whatever you want! It can be Crowns, Dollars, Coins, Gil, Rupees, Pinches of Salt, or whatever you wanna call it because the name becomes part of the flavor of your world.
The next thing you want to do is take one unit of that currency and equal it to a commonly bought item that costs 1 Unit of your currency. In my world that is the Ale Standard. The average Ale at any given tavern across the world costs 1 Coin. So when pricing things I ask myself how many Ales is this worth? And then I build off of that, creating other value benchmarks I can reference along the way, and very often using real world pricing to reflect the Coin cost.
Best of all it is not hard to track! Most people understand and are skilled enough with basic currency values, and so operating this way just makes sense to them. That aforementioned apple now costs a Quarter Coin… you know $0.25. Your player, who is about to begin tracking their wealth the way we track modern money, knows exactly how to take a quarter off their total. No more dealing with conversion tables for different coinages.
Say you go out to eat at an average restaurant. You get a drink (Ale). That drink typically costs about 205% of a single mid-priced meal. So an Ale is one Coin and a meal is 4 Coins. Total package 5 Coins. That is $4 for a drink and $16 for a meal so $20. A mid-level hotel stay is about $120 (30 Coins). A day’s wages for a poor lifestyle is 2sp according to the PHB. Which 20% of a gp, which according to our math above is about $120 a day or… $15 an hour… or 30 Coins. Which tracks for a poor but not squalid lifestyle. Stuff like that! And now that we’ve figured out a day’s wages we can easily calculate almost any value in our world simply by multiplying it by 30 Coins.
“But Mike” you cry “This does not sound simpler.”
Not up front. No. No, it does not. But after just a few conversions it will start to feel natural and just hang on… Imabout to blow your mind.
Once your “Coin” value is set and you have a good working knowledge of your base currency you can begin to quickly set reward values and costs in the D&D World that are often nebulous to us. As I said before, the pricing in the PHB doesn’t track well once they move into the Gp territory. A longsword in D&D would cost a ridiculous amount if Gp is translated accurately on the gold scale. But now we’re able to fix that, quickly. We’ve already determined a poor day’s wages above was 2sp (30 Coins), that means a D&D Gp should be worth 150 Coins. But according to the PHB a longsword is 15gp. Or 75 days worth of labor. Or you know… $9000. Which is BONKERS! And don’t even get me started on the cost of Full Plate Armor! A standard Iron Longsword, nothing fancy, probably took a couple days to make. So paying a laborer 30 Coins a day for two days is 60 Coins, plus say another 15 Coins for materials putting it at $350, Which, according to the internet, is completely in the ballpark for a “middling quality” hand forged weapon even by today’s standards.
This quickly translates to everything that happens in the world around you. You can begin to take a day’s wages and real world pricing and reduce it down to coins VERY quickly. Need a cart ride to the next town? 30 coins for the day’s work. Want a few hours worth of errands run? 15 Coins! Want a fence built over the next two days? 60 Coins. Sure it was easy to just say a Gp. But imagine paying someone $450 just to water your horse. That is insane, but we do it in our games all the time!
Looking for a skilled or expert laborer, double up the cost of the day’s wage! For example, building a simple one room house (Think Log Shed)? 5 skilled laborers at 60 Coins a day for 5 days would be 1500 Coins ($6000 for those not doing the math. Guess how much a 20x20 Aamish built shed costs?) Add land and furnishing costs and the total comes in at about, oh lets say, 10,000 coins or $40,000! Which feels about right for a tiny piece of land with a small furnished building on it. I mean compare that to a Basic Guildhall which has a listed cost in the DMG of 5000gp or you know almost $3,000,000… A cost that could be used to realistically build 65 20x20 buildings. You could build a good sized village for that cost if we’re talking sensible pricing.
Shifting gears back to selling stuff off, it is also now very easy for the players to reasonably counter-offer if they go after a deal… which we all know they love to do. And to have stuff ordered and crafted for them! Now when they do these things, you can make up prices that feel real and connective on the fly without needing to consult the PHB or DMG. How much does a healing potion cost? (PHB says $21,000) Pfffft…. You just quickly guess at and add some things like 10 Days of work, Highly Skilled Labor (say 100 Coins a day), and Expensive Materials (500 Coins). Voilà, your potion costs 1500 Coins. Or realistically, just over 3gp. Still pricy to early level adventurers but also still within reach!
I use the Ale Standard because it is close to realistic pricing, but still simple enough to multiply quickly. But if that is still a little too mathy for you, just jump a day’s wages being 25 or 50 coins. Multiplication by quarters and halves is a lot faster for those of us who don’t like math. It isn’t quite as on the money as realistic pricing as 30 coins, but it is still way better than $900,000 Full Plate Armor… or you know 2143 TVs.
I know this is a huge departure from the PHB economy, and that can be a little hard to get your head around. But I encourage you to do it! I think you’ll be surprised at how easy it is once you get going and best of all, you now just turned your “How much does that cost?” “One Gold” “How much does that cost?” “One Gold” “How much does that cost?” “One Gold” shopping sprees into something that actually reflects costs and makes money matter again. It becomes easy to charge them for things like tailoring and blacksmithing in a way that feels real and most importantly fun. Because let’s face it, when everything costs a gold, it becomes a lot less fun to spend a gold.
“But so what? We’ve done these extra hurdles, and for what? I could still do all this and use the coins listed in the Rule Books!”
Well, hang with me till next week when I show you the most wonderful effect doing this causes. How switching to Coins makes treasure matter more than it has since it was tied to Experience Points!
​
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Hello there! I’m searching for someone to play a canon character from legend of Zelda breath of the wild and forward! So that includes the new name tears of the kingdom. I have been roleplaying for around 9+ years now and I have been looking for someone to make a fun story with. I’m mainly working on my art shop so I have a lot of free time (: I am central time zone so I prefer to have a partner in a close ish time zone but it’s alright if not. Also! I do prefer you to play male characters but I understand if you aren’t comfortable doing so. Excited to hear from y’all!
Rules: - please be 18+ - at least 5 sentences per response - work on the story with me -be kind and make sure we set up no no’s for the story (: - I don’t play a canon character
Characters I’m open to people playing! - Sidon (he is top preference (: )) - Ganon (this would require changes to the story) - link - the champions - if you have a suggestion I’m very open to ideas! Let me know and don’t be afraid to ask! (:
This story line can take place ether at the start of BOTW or at the start of TOTK! Ether is okay with me. I am in the middle of playing TOTK and so that will make this story a slow burn so that way we don’t rush through the story line too quickly where ether i or both of us don’t know what comes next! I hope to hear from people soon! I’m excited to create a amazing story with you !

hello, this is going to be a LONG one so sit tight. I unfortunately have no friends to turn to for this advice and every member in my family are either divorced or have no room to give relationship advice.
I met my husband when i was 19 & he was 21. I was able to meet him through my best friend who is in the military as is he and we just hit it off. I had ended a prior relationship & this was his first one. The first three months of our relationship was long distance as we lived in different states but covid allowed for me to take the chance to move down here with him, after visiting him twice, for good as college classes moved online. Shortly after we tied the knot, & i’d like to think him being in the military had no influence on this decision but i know deep down it was the best thing to do to provide means for us both. The first year of us being together was what many would label the “honeymoon stage”. I’ve always been a hopeless romantic and always considered that every stage of the relationship should always be the honeymoon stage. But i guess that’s just unrealistic. These past two years i’ve noticed a significant change in the way our relationship is. For example, There would be times we would get into arguments and he would immediately go to comfort me if i were to get emotional but now he has no problem with just leaving me alone to cry, heck there have been countless of times where i would be crying alongside the bed beside him while he slept. There have even been times where events, such as my birthday christmas or the military ball, i would be crying because of an argument and he wouldn’t even care to apologize or comfort me. Even when he should apologize & attempts to he turns it into, “well if you didn’t do x then i wouldn’t have done y and you wouldn’t be crying right now.” Or, as juvenile as it may sound, he would buy me chocolates and flowers on my period and now i literally have to beg to even receive flowers. His excuse is that he can’t afford $5 flowers but he has no issue buying $100 worth of pre workout every month. I’ve always been a “if he wanted to he would” type of girl and i know it may seem trivial but how hard is it to get your girl some flowers even if it’s plucked from the side of the road. It’s just the thought that counts, i want him to want to do these things for me and not because he wants something in return. The last flowers i got was because i told him he could do what he wanted with me if he got me some and then what do you know i have flowers now. Stuff like that just genuinely upsets me. I just want him to love me the way i love him. I’ve talked to him about this things multiple times but i feel it falls on deaf ears because it keeps happening. He keeps telling me he’ll change but he never does. I think what made me want to write this was last night. I finally found a group of girlfriends to hang out with and i was at their apartment. It was two girls who were roommates and we all had a fun genuine times together. It kind of made me think of when i was younger how i’d imagine my life to be in my 20s, I’m 23 now my husband 25, and it made me mourn the life i’ve never had. Living on your own with friends having your own space. & how i’d meet someone who will love me the way i deserve. what’s even worse is that i got a text from him asking when i’d be home and it kind of brought me back to reality. I’ll never experience the life i’ve imagined as a young girl, heck i didn’t even experience a proposal or a wedding. we just went to the court house. A part of me feels like a bitch for even complaining because i know he goes through a lot at work and i try to talk to him about it but he doesn’t open up. He always throws it in my face how he has it worse in life so i shouldn’t complain about things i have going on in my life and he’s also thrown in my face how this is “his apartment” since he pays the bills and it’s like really after three years of marriage and it’s yours not ours? I guess i’ve just come to a point where i don’t know if i’m even happy. i like to imagine my life living with roommates experience the life i wanted and meeting the person who my hopeless romantic side likes to believe is still out there, but then the other part of me wants to stay and try to work things out but it’s like an never ending cycle. I really do love him, when i think about leaving it breaks my heart because i can’t imagine him being with anyone else and i think about how much i’ll miss him. But i just don’t think i’m happy anymore, i always picture myself being the one in a sappy romance movie or novel because it’s lacking in my relationship, & it shouldn’t be that way. i don’t even like being intimate with him anymore because i don’t feel loved by him. our kisses feel empty to me. I don’t know if this is something people experience and have worked on, i am only 23 and i don’t want to call it quits on something that is so important. One thing that does constantly play in my mind is the “three loves theory”. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi all,
Thank you for reading. I’m currently on holiday and I have bad Wi-Fi connection so I hope this post will be able to be posted which is why I have to go immediately to the point.
I’ve been dating my BF, John, for 2,5 years, living together for 1,5 years.
As soon as we moved in together, John changed a lot. He struggled with depression, was often very mean to be (calling me names, insulting my capacities in bed, my appearance, my character). He also refused to come to any family events of mine, often telling me that they weren’t fun and throwing a whole fit about it on the way there.
During all of this, last summer, John told me he wanted an open relationship without rules, which I didn’t. So he got very mean about that and just kept it too ‘If we ever feel attracted to someone we should go for it and explore that’.
Starting December 2022, John became a bit more himself. Thanks to seeing a therapist and working on himself, he still repeated that if we ever felt attracted to someone else, that we should explore it and often talked about how he was not jealous at all.
In February 2023, I joined a gay soccer team with some friends. One of the guys, Ben, and I got along immediately. I told John, who was immediately jealous because he knew Ben was my type, going so far as throw fits about it and being very jealous. So I stopped going, however I was still in a messenger group with my friends from the soccer team and Ben. Sometimes we posted memes in this, all very innocent.
In March, my mom got a diagnosis that she was dying. On the day that I got back from the hospital, John announced that he has been applying for jobs in Italy, cause he doesn’t like the weather where we live (Germany) this upset me a lot. In the meanwhile John was still very jealous about Ben and called it suspected that I stopped going to the soccer games.
We argued a lot and John and I agreed on taking some distance from each other. He wanted me to move out cause he preferred to stay at our place alone to think while I had to go back to my ill mother who lives 3 hours away.
During this period of no contact with John, my soccer friends and Ben were there for me, they texted, called and really cared a lot.
When my mother was taken to the hospital, I texted John, who immediately asked me to come back. But upon arrival he was cold and told me that it bothered him that now his thinking proces was bothered by me coming back. This hurt me and while he did try, I went back home.
Ben and the others were very caring and still called me, they gave me advice about John and my mom’s situation.
With Ben in the friend group we started to make jokes a lot and we talked a lot. But both of us were in relationships and we talked a lot about that too.
At a certain moment it seemed like John and I would break up and Ben even helped me find houses.
However things took an unexpected turn and John and I tried to work things out. I had told John about the fact that Ben was my type and that I had felt attracted to him. Ben asked me to cut contacted with him which I was already doing.
So I told Ben everything. He told me that he d an had felt attracted too but that this could be just through texting and that he had sometimes wondered what it would be like to date me. I told him that I had thought about that too but that I was with John. And we decided to cut off contact.
A few days later Ben texted me asking to meet up to talk about it, cause maybe we could just be friends. I agreed an when we met up, we talked and decided to just not be in contact cause there was an attraction still.
I did not immediately tell John about having seen Ben but when I did, 2 weeks later, he asked me to block him everywhere, which I did.
My BF accuses me now of ‘cheating’ which I don’t agree with since he was all for open relations etc and I never acted on that. Could you give me your advice ?
Tl;dr: BF (32M) accuses me (28M) of cheating, how to move on from this?

Lesson: Importance Of Physical Fitness And Preparation

I. Introduction

Universal Adventures is a renowned adventure travel company that specializes in organizing trekking expeditions. With their expertise and experience, they provide thrilling and unforgettable experiences for adventure enthusiasts.
Sharing lessons and fails from these expeditions is crucial as it allows others to learn and be better prepared for their own explore travel trekking adventures.

II. Lessons Learned During Explore Travel: Trekking with Universal Adventures

1. Proper preparation and fitness training for trekking: Trekking requires physical endurance and stamina for this types of adventure activities. Adequate preparation and training before the expedition can significantly enhance the overall experience.
2. Importance of packing light and essential items only: Carrying a heavy backpack can hinder mobility and cause discomfort during the trek. For outdoor adventure travel Packing only essential items and minimizing unnecessary weight is vital.
3. Researching and understanding the trekking route beforehand: Acquiring knowledge about the route, terrain, weather conditions, and potential challenges helps in planning and preparing effectively.
4. Adapting to altitude and acclimatization techniques: Trekking in high-altitude regions which considered under adventure sports activities like Ladakh requires acclimatization to prevent altitude sickness. Taking gradual steps, staying hydrated, and following proper acclimatization techniques are crucial.
5. Staying hydrated and maintaining a healthy diet during the trek: Drinking plenty of water and consuming nutritious meals are essential for maintaining energy levels and combating altitude-related challenges.
6. Following the guidance of experienced trek leaders and guides: The expertise of trek leaders and guides is invaluable. Listening to their instructions and following their guidance ensures a safe and enjoyable trekking experience.
7. Respecting the environment and practicing responsible trekking: It is vital to leave no trace and minimize the environmental impact of trekking activities. Respecting the local flora, fauna, and ecosystems contributes to preserving the natural beauty of the region.
8. Being flexible and open to unexpected changes or challenges: Trekking often involves unforeseen circumstances such as weather changes or route modifications. Being flexible and adapting to these situations with a positive mindset enhances the overall experience.

III. Fails Experienced During Explore Travel: Trekking with Universal Adventures

1. Underestimating the physical demands of the trek: Failing to adequately prepare physically can result in fatigue and difficulty during the trek.
2. Overpacking and carrying unnecessary items: Carrying excessive baggage can slow down the trek and cause unnecessary strain on the body.
3. Ignoring signs of altitude sickness and not taking appropriate measures: Neglecting symptoms of altitude sickness can lead to serious health risks. Recognizing and addressing these signs promptly is essential.
4. Neglecting to bring proper trekking gear and equipment: Inadequate gear can compromise safety and comfort during the trek. Having the right equipment is crucial for a successful expedition.
5. Overestimating personal capabilities and pushing beyond limits: Trekking within one's physical limits is important to avoid exhaustion and injuries.
6. Disregarding safety precautions and risking injury: Ignoring safety guidelines and taking unnecessary risks can lead to accidents and injuries.
7. Failing to communicate effectively with fellow trekkers and guides: Clear and open communication is crucial for coordination and safety during the trek.
8. Not respecting local customs and cultural sensitivities: Understanding and respecting the local culture and customs is important to ensure a positive interaction with the local communities.

IV. Lessons and Fails Summarized

Learning from both successes and failures is essential for personal growth and improvement. Incorporating the lessons learned from the trekking experiences with Universal Adventures can enhance future trekking endeavors. Sharing experiences and insights fosters a community of knowledge and safety, ultimately creating more enjoyable and memorable trekking adventures for everyone involved. Adventure activities and outdoor exploration provide opportunities for personal growth and an appreciation for the beauty of nature. Explore travel and adventure sports can open doors to unique experiences and create lifelong memories.
To Know More Click Here

To start, my list of crimes as follows; -I left before cake -I didn’t dance -I left before saying goodbye to the bride and groom -I haven’t attended most of my previous family events the last few years and when I do, I usually leave early or partipate minimally
Now for my case:
I (27) have several chronic conditions but symptom wise, I struggle with chronic pain, inflammation/pooling, fainting, severe fatigue, allergies/asthma, food restrictions, dislocations, and in general autoimmune. Some of my family understands it pretty well, and others not so much.
My cousin's wedding was at a heritage site and a bit over two hours away (5hrs there and back). Most of my family booked hotels and my partner thought it would be best if we drove home afterwards, we agreed that we would leave at 8.
When we arrive, I’m unable to use my wheelchair because it’s all gravel walkways, and it’s too hot to wear my helmet (toque style). So I’m left with just walking around with my cane.
Two hours in and I’ve already cried off most of my make up (just silent tears at this point). There is a three hour lull between ceremony and dinnedance. We walk around the heritage site for a bit and I start feeling my pain ramping.
Later, they cut the cake, we take group photos, and the bride runs off to change….. they say theyll pass out the cake once she returns….
But by 8:30, I was outta time. My pain was really high now.
On my way out, my granny sees me and mentions her disappointment I’m leaving already, and asks if I can’t just dance a little. Even a little shuffle. But I’m feeling like Cinderella and I know I’m running outta time. I at least wanted to say goodbye to my cousin, but she was missing for at least an hour? So I told a bridesmaid to pass on my love/goodbyes.
11pm and I’m in bed. Im sobbing uncontrollably. My hubby, helped me takeoff my jewellery and clothes and tucked to me in. make sure I had and took my meds. And I’m bedridden till today.
Today (Monday 5:30am) I’ve already caught wind of the disapproval (mostly from gma and few relatives). Honestly, I’m not sure how it could’ve been any better. People take it as I’m not participating hard enough, but I’m actually pushing limits. AITA?

So, for about 2.5-3 weeks now I've been noticing an increase in feeling like something is stuck in my throat. Additional feelings are reduced lower range (like my lowest 4-6 notes), a slight increase in power to speak normally, some very mild change to breathing feel, and a vast decrease in the vokume i can muster most of the time. Everything just feels like it takes more effort to do vocally. At first I thought my mold/mildew allergies since we've had so much constant wet and rain recently, or maybe stress from COT exam, but now... I'm not so sure. So I thought I'd reach out to this community and see if anyone has had this problem before and what steps they took to resolve it. I'm worried mostly about vocal nodes/nodules or some form of dysphonia. I use my voice alot as I need to give patients instructions all day and communicate with my wife and kids. But I haven't done anything out of the ordinary. I trained in voice growing up and speak mostly in a chest voice that doesn't require much effort and know how to project without strain, so I don't THINK I've been misusing it? But maybe? I probably need to go to an ENT but thought I'd check here first for additional information and help. 😀

My physique doing just pullups and dips
https://imgur.com/a/ZumcAHO
There's a lot more impressive physiques than mine on this sub, but I am very happy to know now that it is possible to bulk up with just pullups and dips!
That's basically the post, but if you are a beginner and want to get a physique like mine and eventually surpass it, feel free to read on.

1. Goal = lumberjack physique = wide back, big powerful chest, big arms.
   1. I used to have a skinny fit physique in my teens and early 20's, which only revealed itself when I took my shirt off, otherwise I looked like any other skinny guy. After getting a dad bod after marriage, I decided I wanted a bulked up physique this time that actually looked good with a shirt on.
2. Achieved goal? = No. About 70% of the way. Wife called me a gorilla the other day lol and actually wants me to slim down. So that's progress!
3. Training period = 23 months so far (and hopefully for the rest of my life)
4. Diet = Nothing special. I eat whatever (I'm a grad student in my 30's, so no income), just work out hard to compensate. White meat (chicken) with rice and veggies usually these days but I also eat instant noodles or takeout too. I also eat some protein after workout (eggs or yogurt or chicken).
   1. As I've been bulking up more, I've also been eating more calories.
5. Supplements = None. No protein shakes or creatine = too much money. No steroids (as you can tell in the photos LOL).
6. Routine = low reps x high sets = high total volume.
   1. I start my timer. 5 - 6 pullups. Next minute, 5 - 6 dips. Next minute, back to 5 - 6 pullups. Next minute, back to 5 - 6 dips.
   2. 60 minutes = 150 - 180 pullups and 150 - 180 dips.
   3. I do this for 2 days and then on the 3rd day I do a leg day (which I added after the recommendation of this sub). And then the 3 day cycle repeats. No rest days unless overly fatigued or in pain (which is different from soreness or discomfort), or if life just really gets in the way.
7. Progression = I've been training for just under 2 years. If I remember correctly, I started with something like 10 sets of 3 pullups, 3 dips. (If you are a beginner who cannot do pullups or dips, you can do bodyweight rows and pushups instead and get almost the same intensity workout and same results). I progress in 2 ways, by either...
   1. Working on mastering my form. Minimizing my kipping and making sure to do full range of motion with each rep. So for pullups, down position means elbows fully extended (locked out) and up position means chin fully above the bar. Also doing the movement under control rather than relying on momentum to half ass the reps. So even if the rep count stays the same or even decreases because I am stricter on my form, I am progressing.
   2. Increasing the rep count in each set. That is why I'm doing 5 - 6 reps in my routine right now. 5 reps per set got a bit easy (150 pullups and 150 dips), but doing 6 reps for 30 sets is really challenging for me right now (180 pullups and 180 dips). So I am in the transition phase of doing 6 reps per set until it gets too difficult and then dropping down to 5 sets for the remainder of the workout (usually about 40 minutes in).

And that's basically it.
Some people may think this is overtraining, but I slowly built up to this over the last two years, making sure to stop immediately if I experienced any joint pain at all and taking a rest day if overly fatigued from the previous day's workout. Listening to my body and differentiating between mild soreness and actual pain helped me avoid any injuries.
After 2 years of this, I've come to the conclusion that too many beginners worry about overtraining when they should instead worry about undertraining. The people who I've seen undergo incredible physique transformations are those who workout a lot, not those who workout only a little out of fear of overtraining. Our bodies are capable of a lot more physical activity than we give them credit for.
Even for myself, although I still have a ways to go, I am now receiving compliments on my physique regularly. My male classmates (who I've known now for 2 years) are now calling me swole and my female classmates are now complimenting my fit. What I wear didn't change over the past 2 years but my physique did...I bulked up and fill out my shirts now which looks better than a skinny body in a shirt.
That's basically the post. Thank you for reading a fitness beginner's post. If you are also a beginner, I encourage you to work out consistently to see results! I think consistency is the key to success. I also recommend bulking up so your physique looks good in a shirt, which is going to be 99% of the time. I am much happier with this physique than when I was skinny fit in my teens with a 6 pack.

TW: ppd, suicidal thoughts
English is not my first language and I am on my phone so sorry for any inconvenience. Sorry, really long post.
My (f36) partner (m36) and I have been in a relationship for the past 7 years and have two kids together (f3.5, m1.5). We both work a lot (I am writing my PhD thesis dissertation while teaching at university and he also teaches and is doing a postdoc at the same time).
After having my son a little bit more than a year and a half ago, I ended up having postpartum depression that went untreated for almost a year and came close to ending my relationship. I was always exhausted, constantly impatient and every single day seemed like a mountain to climb. I kept on dismissing the symptoms because I thought I was only tired and overwhelmed with work (I started working remotely when my baby was 6 weeks old while still caring full time for him). It took me having recurring suicidal thoughts and putting together a concrete plan to end my life before I actually realized something was clearly wrong, that I couldn’t get better by myself and asked a friend for help. He put me in contact with a wonderful therapist, I started taking medication for depression which worked really well and, seven months on, I can safely say that I am back to my former self and feeling good. My therapy is still ongoing and I am still on medication, but things are under control.
While I was at my worst, we had really bad arguments with my partner and he suggested multiple times that it was maybe better that we go our separate ways. He is also very uncomfortable and suspicious of anything that has to do with mental health practitioners and medication because there is a very serious history of mental illness in his family (grandad committed suicide, mom had eating disorder and depression, dad is an addict and narcissist, half-sister and half-brother have both been institutionalized for psychosis and the half-brother is probably full on schizophrenic, still waiting for a diagnosis because he is an adult and won’t go see the doctors). Because of this, I hid from him at first that I had started medication (not the therapist). I was scared that telling him this would make him convince me that I didn’t need it (he had done so when my doctor first prescribed it to me a few months earlier seeing that I wasn’t well) or that knowing that I had depression would just add something more on his shoulders (he is dealing with a lot family-wise on top of having kids, work and studies). I was scared also that he didn’t love me anymore because of the talks of separating and I didn’t want my mental health to be the reason our family would be broken. In retrospect, hiding it from him was not a good idea, but I wasn’t exactly thinking straight in the throws of depression. I told him about it about a month later. He felt hurt that I didn’t confide in him but kind of understood after I explained to him all the reasons that lead me to it. Ever since then, we have been actively working on our relationship (I also get help about it from my therapist). Being less emotional and not instantly feeling attacked when he talks to me, we are able to have conversations about things in our relationship and as parents that need to change, we have put time and effort to spent quality moments together and there is a real complicity that is back between us. He also makes sure to be more demonstrative to comfort me about his feelings for me. All is good on that front.
The problem is that now that I feel better, I can see that he is really not feeling well. I don’t know if it’s the result of having to live with someone who was depressive and not treated for a full year or just the toll of life as a parent of young kids who work full time but he is constantly impatient with the kids, has a super short temper, says things like he is feeling like he is about to hit a wall and things can’t continue the way they do now, that daily life is just weighing on his shoulders, that he feels trapped, that he can’t believe that « this is it, that’s what his life is », that he is constantly feeling tired and exhausted, etc. I can see a lot of how I was feeling when I was depressed in how he acts. He used to be a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, had infinite patience and was the « fun » parent, but even people around him have started to see a difference. Living with him I feel like there is always the slightest thing that will make him snap, sigh and that I just need to compensate to shield the kids from feeling and seeing it (even though I know they are not stupid and can sense these kind of things).
I love him dearly, he’s a wonderful dad, a great partner and I would love for him to feel better because the more I take on to spare him, the more dangerous it is for me to exhaust myself again and fall into a bad place again mentally. I have talked to him about it plenty of time, that I am worried about him and his well-being, that I would be more than willing to give him a break so that he can go somewhere and recharge (although that would only be a temporary fix), that he seems like he is in a depression or a burnout, but nothing works. He feels like I am projecting my mental health issues on him, that he doesn’t need to see a psychiatrist to know that not sleeping enough, working like crazy and taking care of the kids is what makes him tired and that something needs to change in our dynamic so that he won’t feel trapped anymore. In his mind, nothing is wrong with him mentally, and the causes are external (I thought that way too last year when I was convincing myself that too much work was the only issue).
He keeps on insisting that his mom comes to the house to babysit so that we can do something outside with the kids. We have done so a few times (I love his mom and she has a great relationship with the children), but I don’t think it is a long term solution. He is an extrovert, almost cannot stand to be by himself and recharges by seeing other people. He used to go out to see his friends but finds that the lack of sleep with going out is worse than not socializing. I keep on telling him to go out during the day during the weekends and that I’ll take care of the kids but he insists that he also wants to spent time with the children and relaxing at home (kind of a catch 22 here)… I myself am an introvert who recharges by being by myself. Going out and socializing really takes a toll on me and I prefer being by myself or with my kids at home (I see my friends here and there but they mostly have children too so we do family friendly stuff). That’s why forcing myself to go out and let his mom take over just isn’t the magic solution he seems to think it is because it doesn’t really give me the kind of break I want.
All this super long text to say that I would love to find a way to help him and make him realize that his mental health needs professional care (not just a babysitter). I miss him and the person he used to be, the kids deserve a dad that feels better and I’m sure that it must not be nice to feel like that for him on a daily basis. So how do I go on about making him see it?
TLDR: my partner is showing symptoms of depression but doesn’t think that is his problem and doesn’t want to get help. How do I go about it?