Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | Scenery

While we here at Operation Rainfall love covering the latest in gaming news and sharing our reviews of titles new and classic, we also just enjoy playing games in our downtime. So with that, sit back, relax, and check out what the oprainfall gaming crew have been up to this week!


Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | Scenery

As you might expect, seeing as I mentioned only just starting the game in our last weekly gaming article, I got fully glued to Xenoblade Chronicles 3 this past week. First, I went through all the main story happenings in that wasteland area I mentioned going through before. Then, once a certain landslide was cleared up and I was free to explore a ton more, I did just that. I explored, found sidequests and got a few new classes unlocked. And then not wanting to level up too much, but fearing I was already overleveled, I continued on. After another big story happening, I yet again went back and sidequested a bit. At this point I was starting to feel like I should just avoid spending all my bonus exp on skyrocketing my level, so the story doesn’t become a breeze, but honestly, once I ran into even more sidequests above my level, I just gave in and raised my party to level 40. I’m trying to take my time and truly enjoy everything there is to enjoy in XC3, but to fully enjoy all the sidequests and adventuring, I’m realizing I’m gonna end up overleveled regardless. I guess I could set the game to hard instead of normal, when I’m too high leveled for whatever story bit I’m at, but I do think they should’ve allowed us to manually lower our level in a first playthrough. Anyways, I believe I’m about 35 hours or so into this playthrough and I’m kinda worried about already being at level 40, but I do hope there’s plenty left to enjoy because I’m having a fun time.

However, Xenoblade 3 wasn’t the only game I played. This past weekend, I actually did a bit of multiplayer Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It had been a while and a couple of different people wanted to play, so I enjoyed getting back into it. On one of my nights of multiplayer fun, I actually got a small taste of the DLC stages which I don’t have at the moment. Personally, I don’t think many of the music remixes are that great in Mario Kart 8, I never have. But I did enjoy that the new old stages, well the really old more basic ones, seem to have new routes added to them which makes it even more interesting. And then yesterday, I enjoyed the first night of August fireworks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’m not half as excited and absorbed into ACNH as I was back during that first year after its release, or even as much as the second year, but I still enjoy doing certain holiday events. – Jenae


Final Fantasy XIV | oprainfall gaming

Final Fantasy XIV is gearing up for the launch of Patch 6.2 with another Mogtome event, so I’ve been spending a lot of time in PvP again to grind out both Mogtomes and Series level experience. I made it to Series Rank 25 on my lalafell and collected the Archfiend armor, so I’m starting work on my au ra alt (see above) for the same. I really enjoy Crystalline Conflict so it’s been a fun slog, at the very least. Other that that, I’ve been working on a game review and continuing with OMORI. I really really like that game’s blend of innocence and horror, and the imaginative way it conveys a sense of loss, confusion, and isolation. Battles are a bit boring, and I find I don’t really use the Emotion system much, though Link attacks are my definite go-to. Working together with everyone feels really cathartic. On the other hand, battles aren’t really meant to be fun, so the tedium of them is likely at least partly by design. Like I said before when I wrote up about the game, though, OMORI delves into some fraught territory regarding depression and suicide, and while I personally find it humanizing and empathetic, it’s definitely worth considering if you’re particularly sensitive to those issues. – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

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