Hi everyone, and welcome back to My Week Unwrapped, where I discuss all the games I’ve been playing over the last seven days. This week was a bit underwhelming, at least from the new games I played. Still, there are some new games that released this week that I already covered in the past, so it’s not a complete loss for the rest of you. There was also a free content update for Vampire Survivors, which is always a nice surprise. There’s a fair amount to discuss, so let’s begin.

The Talkie: Interactive Story

The Talkie is an interactive novel that released on Android a while back, and for some reason only just now came to iOS. I’ve so far played through the Prologue and three more chapters and I have mixed feelings about it. You play as a horror author named Jacob King, who witnesses the death of his pregnant wife almost immediately after we meet her. While burying her ashes, he comes across an old walkie talkie that somehow still works. I won’t spoil the rest for you, but I will say that I’m intrigued by the overall story and — to some degree — want to find out what happens. But there’s a few things that make me roll my eyes repeatedly. First off, I think it would have been better off without the images. They all look either like they were created by AI or maybe stock photos with filters over them. Whatever the case, they’ve been more distracting than anything else. I would have preferred either some quality artwork or nothing at all. Besides that, some of the writing is a little unnatural and overdramatic. The music can also be overdramatic and generic at the same time. I feel like I’ve heard all this music in other similar games. I do like the special effects on the screen, like raindrops or snow. And I’ll probably stick with it for now, but I can’t say that I’m as enthralled by it as others have been. I recommend watching some of my videos below to help you decide whether it’s something you’d enjoy.

Unloop

I’m one of the probably few puzzle fans who wasn’t completely enamored by HOOK. It’s well-designed, but just not really my thing. HOOK 2 did, uhh, hook me more, but I still can’t say it’s one of my favorite puzzle games. There are just too many out there that I find far more satisfying to play. So I guess it’s no surprise that I wasn’t in love with Unloop, which is basically HOOK in space (but from a different developer). Again, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just not my idea of fun. If you liked HOOK, though, and wish there was more of it, this is probably the game for you.

My Lovely Wife

I’m honestly not sure what to make of My Lovely Wife. Not unlike The Talkie, it shows about three seconds of a relationship before your wife dies. Once again, I feel nothing over her death because they exchanged like three lines of dialogue before they married. But anyway, their relationship was, I suppose, just a setup for some weird succubus management game. I feel ridiculous just typing that out. Basically, you need to summon succubi so they can gain Carnal Essence for you, which will eventually help you resurrect your dead wife. The problem is, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to the game and I was bored immediately. Each day, you can chat a bit with your succubi and then you just send them out to complete tasks — like taking classes in etiquette or earning money with their skills of temptation. But all these things are just depicted as progress bars. That’s what most of the game is — watching progress bars fill up. And some dialogue in between. I gave it about a half hour before I decided my time was better spent elsewhere. If you’re still interested, though, you can try it for free for yourself before paying to unlock the full game.

Vampire Survivors

Vampire Survivors is the game that keeps on giving, and this time it’s a winter-themed snowy area called Whiteout. It includes snowmen and other new enemies, and a boss that I still haven’t figured out how to beat. They also added six achievements, a new weapon, a new character, and an evolution for an existing character. I don’t really like the new weapon or character compared to others, but the snowy area is fun and I can’t really complain about free content anyway. If you need help finding all the new stuff, I have a guide here.

DERE Vengeance

I took a few weeks off from playing DERE Vengeance because I didn’t really have the time or energy to deal with the hardcore platforming. But I went back to it today and made more progress! I’m now near the end — I think — but again stuck on a section that I remember having difficulty getting past the first time. And it’s making me do it again. I can’t even remember how I did it, so I’m losing confidence in myself that I’ll be able to repeat it. I do hope I can finish the game, but wow is it punishing. I still recommend it to those who like hardcore platformers, but enter at your own risk. You can find my earlier videos here if you missed them and want to watch me suffer.

Genshin Impact

And last, I spent a lot of time playing a Genshin Impact this week, between the Waterborne Poetry event and the archon quests. There’s also a new banner now, featuring the new character Wriothesley. I kind of want him but I’m holding firm for now so I don’t wish for him impulsively. I still have a lot of exploration to do, as well as both Neuvillette’s and Wriothesley’s test runs. So there’s no shortage of content if you go at a normal pace. I’m trying to play about 1-2 hours per day at the most so I don’t burn out again. And focusing on the story and exploration and less on building characters, as that’s what usually causes me to burn out. So far, so good.

And that’s everything I’ve been up to this week. I should also mention that Kingdom Eighties released, which I covered last week. And South of the Circle got a standalone release, too. If you haven’t played it yet, I highly recommend it. You can also try it for free before paying to unlock the full game. Besides that, I finished Yellowjackets, which was quite the ride. I also watched the second Spiderverse movie, only to see it end on a cliffhanger. Now I wish I waited to watch it, even though it was a good movie. I just really hate seeing half a movie and then the other half years later. And now I’m watching Your Honor, which features Bryan Cranston in another extremely stressful situation. It’s a good show, but it makes me anxious the way Breaking Bad did. Anyway, let me know in the comments section which games you’re playing and I’ll see you back here next time for more of My Week Unwrapped!