synthesis

hi, i'm syn. i'm a twitch streamer who likes cosy and indie games. this is where i stash my thoughts/reflections on things i played, watched etc. reviews: games • shows | carrd | game shelf --

[stsynna]

Genshin's colorism needs to be addressed

The issue of melanin (or lack thereof) has been controversial since Sumeru region dropped, and judging by the recent teasers for the upcoming Natlan, it seems like the Genshin Impact team and/or HoYoverse still do not understand/care why many people have an issue with the character designs.

tl;dr: Genshin Impact team and HoYoverse, please consider redesigning Natlan characters with respect to their originating cultures, e.g. include playable and non-playable characters with dark/brown skin tones.

I have written countless feedback to Genshin Impact team over the years with regards to diversity through their in-game surveys. Taking inspiration from Anilyan and June Yoon, today I've decided to also email Genshin Impact team regarding this issue based on their messages.

Feel free to use my/Anilyan/June Yoon's messages as a template - make adjustments to suit your situation. My message: http://tiny.cc/natlan

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While you're here, please sign this petition: Stop Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing in MiHoYo Games

Petition summary: "We call on MiHoYo to stop cultural appropriation and whitewashing in their games and to commit to respectful and accurate representation of all cultures."

[stsynna]

Frame of Mind - Syn's Game Review

Frame of Mind is a game where you find yourself in a white-and-blue world in which physics and surrealism collide. Since "each area of the game defies reason", it's important to to think outside the box to solve the puzzles and mazes throughout the whole game. Personally, I found it difficult but addictive.

Pros:

Interesting mini puzzles

Minimalist art style and color palette

Replayable (you can speedrun version after the first run)

Engaging because it's so wacky

Casual game

Cons:

Unclear navigation because of lack of instructions

Some of the puzzles were a bit too confusing. I had to refer to video walkthroughs at one point because I was stumped a few times.

In short, it's trippy puzzle game that may take about an hour to complete so it's good for casual play. I won't be playing it again, but it's worth trying out for puzzle-lovers.

My rating overall:

Art: 7/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Concept: 9/10

[stsynna]

Attention Overdrive

ADHD is a huge reason why I'm anxious most of the time, e.g. embarrassing myself for mixing up words, can't remember things, get distracted/overwhelmed. Sometimes I just laugh it off, but when you have an 'invisible' disability, people really don't take it/you and your struggles seriously.

I've tried many times, but I can't handle multiple conversations simultaneously, especially when it's purely verbal.

There's a reason I watch all videos/shows with cc on, even if I understand the language(s) used. It's an auditory processing issue. Also an ADHD thing.

Maybe this is why I'm an introvert. Juggling too many things/interactions is overwhelming. Trying to pay attention to too many things/people is overstimulating, my stressed brain goes into overdrive. All this is to say, I'm trying not to feel like a bad person for not being normal.

I don't have a goal for streaming, but it is one of my fav ways to chill online, and it's nice catching up with friends while I play stuff. Like going to your friend's and play games on their beanbag while they do their own thing. I just want a low stress hang out, ykwim?

When I started streaming, I knew barely anything about streamer culture. In fact, I only started catching streams (my friends' and also to learn) after I became a streamer. I'm not quirky or special, no niche audience or talents. I'm boring. I'm just me. If you're ok with that, I'm grateful.

[stsynna]

The Professional - Syn's Game Review

The Professional is a body-control simulated heist game. It was agonising. But a lot of laughter was also had playing this, lol.

The point of the game is easy - rob a jewel at the other side of the hall. The obstacles? Electrifying lasers, a short flight of stairs, and the limit of your patience.

This guy really deserves that jewel tbh lol.

Pros: Hilarious (it's hard not to laugh cry), the game objective is very clear, you only need a mouse to play.

Cons: It can be really frustrating (I wanted to quit a bunch of times), might not be suitable for people with unsteady hands and a terrible temper.

It took me about 2.5 hours to clear lol.

10/10 will not be playing again, but 100% recommended for a good laugh (for you and/or whoever else is watching you play), as can be observed here:

My rating overall:

Art: 6/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Concept: 9/10

[stsynna]

Bubble People - Syn’s Game Review

CW: mental health Bubble People is an existential point-and-click game packaged as a love story.

The game was a bit confusing at first, but you quickly get the hang of deciphering amusing symbols as you progress in the game.

It's an interesting puzzle experience, but don't be fooled by its minimalist, innocent-seeming image and gameplay, because the meaning behind your actions in the game... aren't exactly cute. Because the goal of each 'chapter' is to make living and non-living beings around you disappear (because they disturb your peace), which is pretty unnerving.

Since I downloaded this game over a year ago, I forgot that the game has multiple endings.

There are a few 'hidden' chapters where you could undo all the popping you've... uh... committed. I realised this because I only managed to get half the game achievements after completing the first ending.

(Knowing that in reality some actions can never be reversed made me a bit sad, but I appreciated that 'unpopping' is possible in the game.)

Pros: Cute minimalist graphics, easy controls (just point to items and click for a few seconds to pop; auto-clicking is possible too), nice sound effects and music, interesting concept, fun if you like popping bubble wrap.

Cons: Subject-matter is quite depressing, symbol-based 'dialogues' are somewhat confusing, the hidden-object objective gets a bit tedious after a while.

My rating overall:

Art: 5/10 Gameplay: 6/10 Writing: 5/10 Concept: 9/10

[stsynna]

Genshin is intense tbh

I recently started organising the games I wanna play, am playing, or have played and tagging them (my gameshelf is here) for easier reference when I realised that Genshin is a dark and emotional game for me. The number of times the game made me cry, man.

I'll probably elaborate more on why I consider it dark when I have the capacity to, but I don't think it's that hard to imagine if you are invested in the story through events/characters in the game. I'm not even that deep in the loredive but I feel like I'm suffocating sometimes. It may just be a silly/grindy gacha game for some, but it's heavy for me. This probably explains why I need to take breaks from Genshin. I love the game, but it's temporally & emotionally difficult to progress/keep up for me.

As a narrative enjoyer, if I don't pace myself, I'd be playing in distress (= I won't be able to appreciate the story). Not fun. I'm writing all this as a reflection to learn about my own boundaries and understand myself better.

I didn't get to play video games much as a child so I'm a noob at game mechanics, strategy-making, tropes etc. I may be slow, but I'm learning. I'd rather take my time and enjoy the ride rather than race to the finishing line.

At the end of the day #SynIsTrying 🙏

[stsynna]

ELLI - Syn's Game Review

Elli is a single-player adventure game where you chase down the mysterious Ghasti who has stolen something from you, while solving puzzles and collecting items along the way.

Tbh, I adore this game. But after playing this for a few hours (mostly in frustration), I decided to drop it.

Pros: Beautiful game with cute characters and interesting puzzles. The interactions with NPCs are adorable and even funny sometimes.

Cons: Many of the puzzles tend to be timed challenges (with added obstacles like disappearing platforms, enemies shooting fire etc), which is anxiety-inducing if you have bad controller-navigational skills or if you're afraid of heights lol.

On a serious note, as someone who is fairly new at PC gaming (I technically started a little over a year ago), needing good controller navigational skills AND working under a strict time limit means taking too long to complete the challenges, which got quite frustrating/demotivating after a while.

I'll probably come back to this game eventually, but as of right now I'd rather play less stressful games.

Art: 9/10 Gameplay: 6/10 Writing: 6/10

[stsynna]

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure Game - Syn's Review

"Even the smallest person can make a big difference. Join Alba, as she sets out to save her beautiful island and its wildlife. And possibly start a revolution."

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is a cosy, wholesome game where you join Alba visiting a beautiful island at risk of a wildlife crisis, and with the help of her bestie and fellow islanders, tries to save it.

It's a sweet, cute game -- love the graphics and sounds/music, the gameplay is fairly easy, the characters are adorable, and the story warms my heart. Part of the charm of the game imo is how much love you receive when you finish tasks (even from trash cans lol). Some tasks (like taking photos of birds doing zoomies) were a bit hard, but overall I really enjoyed the game.

One of the things that made me enjoy the game a lot as well is how diverse the characters are - so many skin colors, names, and some characters also seem queer-coded. It's so refreshing to see this!

It took me about 8 hours to finish this game. Finding all the animals was challenging, but I managed to tick off everything on the to-do list on Saturday in the game. Yay :)

Art: 8/10 Gameplay: 9/10 Writing: 8/10

[stsynna]

LAY - Syn’s Game Review

LAY is a free adventure game on Steam where you are Elise, a young explorer full of energy, travelling a mysterious world full of colour and life.

I gave this game a go for about 15 minutes, but I got so frustrated by how much I was struggling with navigation (with barely any guide), that I decided not to continue.

The controls are incredibly confusing, both keyboard and game controller. It didn't help either that the game kind of makes my computer lag (which has never happened before when I stream other games that are graphics-heavy).

I was really looking forward to playing this, but it is what it is.

A real pity, because the game looks really good and the plot seems promising.

Art: 8/10 Gameplay: 3/10 Writing: ?/10 (not enough info to say)

[stsynna]

Guys and Dolls (Star 2015) - Takarazuka Revue

Guys and Dolls is an old musical based on stories written by Damon Runyon in the 1920s and 1930s about gangsters, gamblers, and other characters of the New York underworld. The show premiered on Broadway in 1950 and even has a 1955 film adaptation.

Since this story is set in New York in the early 1900s, it's inevitable that this musical comedy would be strongly accented with western cishet norms/stereotypes (which usually bugs me), but the show was entertaining nonetheless.

Since I just recently discovered Takarazuka Revue (I know very little about Zuka shows, and only because of I saw some Yazawa Rei content in socmed), I'm not familiar with other troupes. Hokushou Kairi's (ML) performance was brilliant, as were the other leads'.

Apparently, Zuka performers can switch between male/female characters (otokoyaku and musumeyaku respectively) in different productions. I only knew this because of Yozoragumi on Tumblr, which is how I was able to watch this show to begin with. Thank you so much for the hard work fanslating the shows and also educating the viewers about Zuka culture!!

More info: Takawiki | Wiki

[stsynna]

Top Hat (Flower 2022) - Takarazuka Revue

Just watched Takarazuka Revue's version of Top Hat, staged in 2022.

The show is adapted from an old Broadway musical (which was based on a 1935 screwball comedy film of the same name) about Broadway dancing star Jerry Travers who falls head over heels for fashion model Dale Tremont and desperately tries to win her affection. Hilarious misunderstandings and forehead-smacking chaos ensue.

I just found out about the theatre troupe recently and was intrigued by some IG reels of Yuzuka Rei. Hoo boy my heart was not ready for this; she is so heartbreakingly dashing!

All in all, I really enjoyed the 2 hour+ show. I needed the comic relief this weekend, the cast are amazing, and the main leads (Yuzuka Rei as Jerry and Hoshikaze Madoka as Dale) have such good chemistry too!

For a lengthier review, click here.

I really hope I can watch Takarazuka shows live someday, especially with Yuzuka Rei in them. <3

Note: Screenshots taken from here.

[stsynna]

GRIS - Syn’s Game Review

Besides the beautiful aesthetic/atmospheric visuals, I cannot verbalise enough how much I adore GRIS for illustrating (what I believe is) the stages of grief.

Both surreal and ethereal, captivating in every way - this game was an emotional experience and finishing it in the last few hours of 2022 left me with all sorts of emotions... mostly cathartic relief, with a not-so-small feeling of sadness that it's over.

To watch my full gameplay, check out this playlist:

🎮 Game: GRIS

Status: Completed (VODs pending). I wrote a review here: https://stsynna.tumblr.com/post/705355372991545344/finally-finished-gris-and-i-have

It took me months to reach the end not only because I was busy irl, but because the game deserves not to be rushed; speedrunning this game would probably even defeat its purpose. Like healing, time and space are much needed to process things, so I'm glad I just let the journey run its course by only playing when I was prepared to.

It's quite apt (and ironic) that I feel like I am grieving over finishing a game about overcoming grief heheh.

GRIS makes me believe that we are all capable of healing; that even though we will at some point in life face difficult moments of loss, all hope is not lost as long as we keep moving. That even if the world may lose its colors during those moments, we can see life in technicolor again eventually.

I am not exaggerating when I say this game is close to my heart.

I'm really glad I played this, and I highly recommend it.

Art: 10/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Writing: 8/10

[stsynna]

Welcome to my blog!

I'm a neo-nephalem VTuber who casually streams games, art, and other things on Twitch.

As both a saint and sinner, I exist as a wandering soul in the grey areas of Purgatory.

While trying to balance sins and virtues in search of Truth, I stumbled down the REALITY rabbit hole in 2021. I have since then moved to streaming mainly on Twitch, and my past VODs are available on Youtube.

I find humans interesting and I particularly enjoy cosy and indie games, so I'll probably be writing mostly about these topics here.

For more information about me, check out my Carrd and VTubie profiles.

[stsynna]

hello world