While RE9 continues to scare the living daylights out of me, I thought I’d pivot to something lighter.

I returned to Cyberpunk 2077 for the first time in a few months and still find it a fascinating game. It’s more playable on the PS5 than my original attempt on the PS4, and part of the fun is wandering around and seeing what is going on in the world. For instance, after a mission in this building I overheard a grievance between tenants and a landlord. They were asking for something to be fixed, and the landlord (a gang member) agreed to look into it. This was not the response I had expected and was on guard in case I had to intervene. I had set my controller down to listen to the conversation, then I moved slightly and the trigger pulled, shooting the gang member in the face. You never know what’s round the corner in this dystopian world.

Tomb Raider I–III Remastered

Nostalgia is a powerful force. I fondly remember not having a clue what was going on while wandering through sharply angled ancient tombs, and drowning in the occasional flooded tunnel. Turns out the feeling of not knowing what is going on is what the developers were going for.

The Tomb Raider Remastered bundle with the first three games is available as a PS+ game this month, and it is pretty much as I remembered. This remaster doesn’t mess with the original too much aside from markedly improved visuals and the removal of tank controls for quality of life.

It’s hard to overstate how little this game telegraphs what the hell is going on. You are thrown into the middle of nowhere with no real idea of what you are meant to be doing. In a way it is authentic to the real world experience. There would be no minimap. Nobody telegraphing a route or helping if you got stuck. It’s just you and the temple/tomb/ruin. It does make it difficult when there are few environmental clues guiding you to the next objective. There is a lot of wandering round corners looking for levers and keys, and trying not to be eaten by wolves. How so many wolves have survived trapped inside a massive tomb with no obvious food source (and a bear, mind) is anyone’s guess.

I’m willing to cut this game some slack given how revolutionary it was at the time it was released. Even more impressive, only two years later we saw the release of Metal Gear Solid which squeezed every ounce of potential out of the PlayStation. The clunkiness was nowhere to be seen, and cinematic cutscenes using in-game engine rather than strange pre-rendered set pieces.

I have a fondness for exploring the mansion as it was a safe space in the game. No wolves. No bears. No bats. Just a massive house to run around and practice techniques that would carry you through the rest of the game. And if you wanted to lock the butler in the walk-in fridge, that’d be just fine too. Don’t pretend you didn’t do it…

Of course, you can’t very well explore the Croft mansion without a drink.

Can I offer you a Bon Bon?

In pursuit of a sweet cocktail, I found us short of an ingredient for most recipes. I fancied a limoncello cocktail so headed over to Difford’s Guide for inspiration and came across the Bon Bon. This dates all the way back to a drink discovered in 2001. Positively ancient, right? Perhaps not compared to the Manhattan which appeared in the late-ish 19th century. So what’s in it?

• 45mL vodka (can anyone tell the difference between brands? It’s ethanol and water by definition…)
• 20mL limoncello
• 10mL butterscotch liqueur (I used Butterzout from the genever distillery in the Hague. Just saying)
• 20mL freshly squeezed lemon juice (lime substituted out of desperation to avoid leaving the house)
• 10mL vanilla syrup (Monin, but others are available)

Pre-chill your coupe glass. Shake all the ingredients with ice and fine strain into the chilled glass. This one might actually benefit from a dry shake before to build some volume. It’s quite a pleasant drink although on the sweet side.

Sunset (Almost) Paddle

We managed to get out on Plymouth Sound in the fantastic weather on Wednesday for a paddle on recently acquired stand-up paddleboards (SUPs). Being this close to the water has it’s benefits, and being able to head straight from work out onto the water was a real boon.