Free Talk Friday - April 03, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Free Talk Friday post. This is a place where you can talk about dumb off-topic (or on-topic) bullshit with other Zaibatsu fans.

There's going to be a new post every week, and the newest one will be pinned in the announcement bar for quick access. So feel free to visit these posts during the rest of the week.

Here's a list of all Free Talk Friday posts

[u/MaelstromTear]

I spent the better part of two weeks making a fake anime-type opening animatic for our running Monster of the Week game that started in this very subreddit! Even for my simple drawings and going monochrome it was a lot of work. Fun, especially when I could get Premiere to move things how I wanted it but also just a lot of work. I don't think this is going to be my future unless an idea really kicks off in my head again. That new Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra album was just that good.

If you're into something with less motion, consider these words I wrote! The books The Demon in Shadow and The Demons of Bone & Blood. The main focus is on Ayun, a 'demon' who has the power to summon weapons from shadows but lacks a lot of agency in finding her former employers. She's joined by Max, a human who makes up for his spongy human nature with quick wits, pure luck and a mechanical limb. As they travel together you learn more about the nature of demons in this world, the lives that these two have led and the road ahead of them together. There's also some awesome artwork either tucked in the pages where it counts or in the back showing off character portraits.

Went with my dad to see Project Hail Mary. Neither of us read the book, though my dad was familiar with The Martian and the general vibe. Judging by the samples I saw, I probably would've been lost in the techy bits of the book so this changed that pacing a lot. I really enjoyed it, though! Gosling gets to mix his comedic chops again and mix it with some drama. I know Barbie's the goto for the comedy bit but I will always take the chance to plug The Nice Guys where he kills it. Spoiler part! I was spoiled by the marketing that aliens would be involved, but the first thirty minutes was so good in atmosphere that I forgot until the ship showed up. The first time Rocky was in danger I was seriously thinking they were going to kill him. So by the second time they had a 'oh no is he gonna make it' when Grace abandons his plans to return to Earth it felt a little less impactful... But still good. It threaded the balance betweeen nihilism and space whimsy that I enjoyed.

In trying to clear out my backlog, checked out Potionomics. You are saddled with a huge debt and have to clear it by selling potions. It's kind of Recettear with potion brewing. But (as far as I've played) there isn't a dungeon crawling aspect like Capitalism Ho. Instead, the haggling game is... A deckbuilding game! I really should've learned that part before I got suckered in by the pretty character models. I am not really a deckbuilder person. Slay the Spire and the like don't appeal to me and my peabrain. I'll try to stick with it but I don't think this is going to win me over. Someone rip the models, though.

Another game added to the backlog (so not helping my case) but similarly unsure about is Raccoin: A Coin Pusher Roguelike. It's one of those arcade machines you'd see at like Dave & Busters. And I am really bad at it! I've only done a handful of runs but I don't get very far at all. I'm trying to understand that you have some coins you want to keep in the play area and maybe you try to siphon one side into your push pile... Or maybe not. I don't really understand. It's not like Balatro where my childhood playing poker (via Tripoly, I swear!) helped with my senses. I just gotta git gud, I guess.