If I could have any job in the world (assuming the world wouldn't bat an eye at a pig working), I'd like to come up with ideas for a living. Not realizing ideas, mind, not bringing someone else's visions into focus — just thinking something up and sending it out into the world...

For money.

The bane of having a vivid imagination is that no sooner you come up with an idea, another one is beating down the doors to cram itself into your awareness. It's a tendency (affliction?) that makes for fantastic brainstorming, but can make it hard to focus on completing a single given task.

When I play games, this manifests most in ones with character generators: I'll be designing the PC, gleefully matching appearance to a coherent backstory, and – while I'm at it – my "no off-switch" pig brain will butt-in with another idea for a character – no less enticing than the one at hand – which I will then feel obligated to put together... Honestly, if time wasn't finite, I think I'd just keep making new characters and never actually play the game.

In practice, however – by tapping meager reserves of porcine willpower – I usually, manage to curtail my tendencies to "just" six or seven characters, which my (irritatingly) strong work ethic then compels me to see through to the end of their narrative.

Could I have simply written "I've been playing CP2077 to finish a backlog of characters"? Sure.

But where's the fun in that?

With Void Shadows (the first Rogue Trader DLC) not due until the end of the month and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 release pushed back to November, I've gone back to fulfilling my gaming commitments for the time being, splitting time between finishing my single, toffee-like (it keeps stretching and stretching) Fallout 4 playthrough, a second run of Rogue Trader (still fun) and taking V Number Three (of seven) through Dogtown (this one an "unsubtle tank" sort, with Sasquatch's Hammer, an LMG and zero affinity for Sneaking Around).

In Fallout 4, I finished Far Harbor (which was quite picturesque) and am on the verge of completing Nuka World (meh), which will leave "only" the main plot to take care of. While the game's quality hasn't diminished throughout the different DLCs, neither has it improved, leaving the overall experience feel a bit like a forced march. I'll see it through to the end, but I doubt I'll want to play it again.

My second Rogue Trader run has been fun enough. If I'm honest, for a game whose charm depends mostly on its narrative (which I've already experienced), I was kinda expecting it to feel more rote and predictable than it has. But while I have been skipping dialogue a bit more (because it's still fresh from Playthrough The First), the game's kept me on my toes with different decisions, altering gameplay just enough to keep it fresh. By virtue of something as slight as changing the party composition for the Unscheduled Commorragh Outing, I've learned something new about sister Argenta, for instance, which was a fun little detail.

And Cyberpunk? I still love it to bits.

The gameplay's nice and brisk, Night City looks as vibrant as ever, the narrative (mostly) doesn't disappoint and even the hardy, hardy bugs (which have made it through, what, twenty-one patches!?) feels like old acquaintances now...

Every now and again, I'll find myself standing in place, looking to the distant horizon at someplace I can never reach and I'll sigh inwardly just a little, but — what can you do? We all play the hand we're dealt.

Whatever you're playing, I hope you're having a blast. If you're not, have a gander at past reviews. Maybe something will strike your fancy.

I'll be back next week with a proper review.

Pig — out.