varingblaar

And Then There Were None

2026-06-03T00:00:00Z

While reading the book I discovered many adaptations of the work over the decades. The one that took my fancy was this British limited series. For my comments on the actual story, please read the previous article. This will be about the series itself and how it differs from the book.

Cast

Let's start with the actors I recognised from the poster, and immediately knew which character they played:

Charles Dance, Tywin Lannister obviously, but also Leopold Frankenstein, is a good choice for Justice Wargrave, though in my mind the character was heavy set and prone to anger. I might be wrong.
Sam Neill, Dr Grant in Jurassic Park, as General MacArthur. I didn't form enough of an opinion about MacArthur to judge this casting. The emotional scene on the beach was clearly not the actor's strong suit, but considering the general spent his life hiding his emotions it sort of works.
Toby Stephens, Captain Flint in Black Sails, as Dr Armstrong is absolutely perfect. Probably my favourite of the series.
Noah Taylor, Mr Buckets in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as Mr Rodgers is pretty spot on. He nails the balance of timid while serving, but controlling over his wife.
Burn Gorman, who I know as Murtry in The Expanse, as Blore. Eh. Could've really been anyone.

The others were not as obvious who they were, but made sense once introduced. Marston was the prick I expected hom to be, in the series even more so than the book. Emily Brent made me socially enraged several times at her brazen classism, if there weren't servants the nearest person she considered "below her" would do. Lombard didn't really make sense for the role but is probably fine.

Changes to Backstory

A few things from the book were different in the series. Some of them make sense, as a book usually doesn't directly translate to screen. Others changes were made for dramatic effect and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

The biggest change is some of the backstories, seemingly changed to have a more emotional reaction, or to be morally more "wrong". What upset me the most was Blore. In the book he provided false testimony and the fall guy died in prison. In the series he beat someone to death, seemingly because he's gay. I didn't like the character before, but I like him even less if he's homophobic.

Emily Brent from the book felt justified in her decision to kick out the "pregnant girl" under her charge, and showed no remorse even after Beatrice drowned herself. In the series it's heavily implied that Brent had feelings for Beatrice, and when she fell pregnant she popped the little idyllic bubblethey had created. Brent's decision to kick her out was not motivated by simple religious self-rightousness, but by anger and feelings of betrayal. This gives the character a little more depth, and makes the stone faced woman feel more human. This change I actually like.

Armstrong from the books had left a group of tribespeople to die, mostly for racist reasons. This would've been fine. In the series he actively killed and plundered for diamonds.

MacArthur from the book sent his wife's lover on a mission that ensured he would not return. In the series he outright shot him in the back of the head, and then presumably used his rank and the chaos of the war to hide the crime. This doesn't make a difference either way.

And lastly Miss Claythorne, who's backstory functions as a motif through the three episodes of the series and remains unchanged from the book. What is different, is how it is portrayed. In the book it seemed that Vera suggested Cyril try swim out to the rock, waited a little bit, and then tried to save him. In my mind she may even have regretted her actions and tried to save him before it was too late. In the series she makes no attempt to save him, enjoying the silence of the moment while my mind screams to save him. This didn't sit well with me, and casts the character in a completely different light. Where in the book I didn't understand her sudden urge to hang herself. For the series it could be her naive dreams were shattered when confronted with the truth of her actions, seeing how others react, and over time eat away at her conscience, shooting Lombard being the final straw. But it feels like it's not explained well enough on screen. More on this later.

Changes to Flow

Minor things, really. They don't alter the story as much as I feel the backstories do, but they made me go "oh this is different" a few times.

It's difficult to show guilt or an emotional struggle on screen. For Miss Claythorne, this is shown with frequent hallucinations. It actually gives the show a bit of a Horror ambiance. Most notably, a hand emerges from the bathroom basin and grips her by the throat. In the book, she walked into her room to see seaweed hanging from the ceiling and triggered a weird flashback or emotional break. To be honest, the series version makes more sense. Were women really considered to be so weak-willed in the 1930's?

Speaking of Miss Claythorne, I don't remember any sexual tension between her and Lombard in the book? There's also a whole party scene with brandy and cocaine that gives them a chance to bond and for the others to suspect them, which I don't remember at all from teh book. Was this for more romantic interest to make the story more interesting? It doesn't make a big difference, only confused looks when he leaves a different room and Wargrave mentioning it during the final scene. Again I feel it cheapens the character into a "final girl" trope that really wasn't necessary.

Book Blore got hit in the head with a bear sculpture mantle clock. I commented at the time that it seems unlikely the killer could plan for that. In the series he dies from a garden variety stabbing and covered with a bearskin rug. It seems more feasible under the circumstances, though I'm not sure how weak old Wargrave would get the body into the house on his own.

And then the piece de resistance. In the book Wargraves confesses his entire plan in a multi-page message in a bottle. That wouldn't be very fun on screen, listening to a voice-over as the big reveal. So in the series, he reveals himself to Miss Claythorne as she's hanging from the noose in a very dramatic final scene, the culmination of the series. For the series this is perfect and typical of the genre. A proper end to the series.

Wargrave's final death doesn't rely on a weird elastic contraption, instead ending in a surprisingly accurate throw across the room. Probably fine.a

Overall

Before the "Netflix Original Mini Series" was a thing, British limited series were the best for these sort of stories. Longer than a movie, shorter than a Series. Give time to explain the plot and slowly reveal all the clues, but doesn't have to set up for the inevitable "season two". This is a prime example of exactly that. However the constant pressure to "modernise" a story or make it more "dramatic" has added a couple scenes that make it difficult to recommend. There are a crime thriller lovers in my life that would enjoy this story, but would not appreciate certain things from the series. I guess in that case they can read the book...

And Then There Were None

2026-06-03T00:00:00Z

Small update: My edition of the book is from 1972. While researching the series I found the poem in the original book was racially problematic and over the decades adjusted to be more appropriate for modern audiences.

Ten people find themselves invited to a little island that's only accessible by boat. Each of them invited by a friend of a friend or someone they think they've met. The owner of the house, presumably UN Owen, is nowhere but dinner is served. After dinner, a booming voice accuses each of them in turn of directly or indirectly causing the death of one of more people.

The characters are all over the place, and I had a hard time following who's who, but a few stood out to me. Justice Wargrave the judge, took control of the investigation from the start. There's no Poirot or Marple here, so we have to do it ourselves. Miss Claythorne who's accused of letting a boy drown and is racked with guilt over it. Dr Armstrong, mostly because he's actually a doctor and helps with a lot of the early investigating. Although him being a doctor also makes him suspicious. Lombard has a strong personality and is quite opinionated on situations. He also brought an actual gun. Blore, the private investigator and the closest thing we have to a detective. Emily Brent mostly because she annoyed me.

OK, I'm interested. Let's see where this goes.

Everywhere in the mansion, the only building on the island, is displayed the poem of the Ten Little Soldiers. Then people start to die...

Shortly after dinner Marston "choked his little self". Honestly I didn't like him from the beginning, with the car and everything. He seemed the most guilty anyway. Mrs Rogers "overslept" which is a tragedy. She seemed too nice to really do harm and it appeared her involvement in their murder was mostly circumstantial, because she couldn't say no to her husband. MacArthur was already being eaten by penitence. He "said he'd stay" by way of getting hit over the head. By this point we've started seeing the rules of engagement here, especially because the figures on the dining table are counting down. MacArthur made himself as easy a target as possible.

Mr Rogers "chopped himself in halves" but not really. I guess he's the only servant on the island, I can't imagine any of the others would pick up a hatchet as long as he's there... Emily Brent, being stubborn as ever, refused being helped and refused to go with the others. She was left along "a bumblebee stung".

Now things get interesting. Wargrave dies in a judge's costume, "in Chancery" as it were. It's revealed later that this was faked with the help of Dr Armstrong pronouncing him dead. The argument is, that if Wargrave is "dead" he can hunt the killer... But if I were a killer on an island, I'm sure I would notice someone getting killed when it wasn't me killing them... At the time we didn't know Wargrave faked it, this is revealed later.

Armstrong is next because he knows about Wargrave. "A red herring swallowed" him when he was pushed off a cliff. Again, we don't know this now, we find his body in a bit. This one has levels. He died in the sea so swallowed by a fish, but also a red herring is a false clue. Blore saw Armstrong leave and then they couldn't find him, so they thought they'd figured him out. I'm not sure whether Wargrave planned for him to be seen leaving the house, but it worked in his favour.

At this point it could be Armstrong (who disappeared). But either Blore or Lombard could've taken him out while they were searching during the night. Then Blore gets a bear clock to the head. "A big bear hugged" him. Of all the rhymes this one feels the weakest to me. Did the killer really put that clock there so it could be a murder weapon? There's no way they could've planned it this perfectly. I guess once the murder weapon is established, there would be several ways to use the bear clock, one of which is a sneaky lob through an upstairs window...

After finding Armstrong's body, we now "know" that it has to be Lombard or Claythorne. Big confrontation, stolen gun, accidentally shot. Lombard "got frizzled up" which is probably the line I like the least. We've now moved from orchestrated killings to serendipitous happenstance. But it's fine, it's a theme, just go with it.

The happenstance becomes more obvious when the only thing Claythorne could do was hang herself. It's poetic (haha) but she spent several days fighting for her life. Why end it now? I wanted Vera to be the final girl. I guess things were different in the 1930's.

Then the Book Ends. Twice

The first ending is the police showing up. They go through the whole crime scene summarising them, which helps put the whole thing together. At this point we still don't know Wargrave was a hoax, so when the police find his body in his bed with a bullet hole in his forehead it makes sense. But things moved after Claythorne died so someone was here...

And then the final ending. Justice Wargrave's confession as a message in a bottle, explaining how he cleaned up the last few things and then rigged an elastic band to commit suicide with the gun.

Style Over Substance?

Going into the book, I expected the usual attention to detail of a Christie story, knowing there will be details deliberately left out and almost impossible to deduce on first read. About halfway through the story it became clear that the raison d'etre for the story was following the poem and exploring the location. Still a great story, and Agatha Christie's writing is strong as ever, but it wasn't a murder mystery meant to be solved, it was meant as an elaborate escape room. Still highly recommended. Though if you've read this far either you've already read it or it's too late.

Frankenstein

2026-05-28T00:00:00Z

This has been on my to-watch list since it landed on Netflix, but because it's a longer movie I hadn't made the time until now. I'm a big fan of Guillermo del Toro so it was important for me to be in the right mindset when I sat down to watch. I was not disappointed.

Sight and Sound

This is del Toro at his best. You can literally pause at any moment and it's a perfect picture. Lighting, composition, how people fill the frame, how the camera moves. It's all beautiful, even when grotesque. Every little details is deliberate, from wardrobe to set dressing.

Red seems to be a motif for Victor. From childhood there's a red scarf. Later when working with the cadavers the red gloves, which might be to hide blood but could also be a stylistic choice. Later he wears a red jacket, and whenever he has a visionary dream his bedding is red.

The music is fitting for this era, but also fitting of the Gothic tone of the movie. There's a melancholy creepiness throughout the movie. In parts it reminds me a bit of Edward Scissor Hands, but that might also be how the monster was portrayed...

Frankenstein's Monster

He's a big, tall, lean figure but his demeanour is vulnerable. Especially when we're just introduced. His childlike fascination with everything around him, only to be locked away in a basement never to see anything. Once he breaks out, through a traumatic experience, he gets to see the real world. When he shares berries with a deer, it's with kind, curious eyes he looks at the animal. And immediately he is again met with violence, but of a different form. He isn't violent or dangerous by nature, regardless of his strength. Our fear of "otherness" teaches him so.

Jacob Elordi is billed as "the Creature" and throughout the movie I think they call him the same. Or "it", I guess. But Elordi strikes a balance. He's clumsy, curious and kind. Then he's intimidating, brutal and unforgiving.

Baron Victor Frankenstein

Oscar Isaac is perfect for this. The obsessive way he talks about his work borders on mania. I don't remember the book particularly well, it's been decades since I read it, but I remember Victor being a spoiled brat. I quite like this more emo version of Victor. Having a troubled childhood gives his actions purpose. It also explains why his behaviour towards the Creature is so aggressive and uncaring. That's how his father taught him. It's all he knows. For all his knowledge of the human anatomy, he knows nothing of people.

Definite Rewatch Material

It feels like someone asked "If your favourite director could make any movie, what would it be?" The answer is "Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein" and that's exactly what we got. This is not my favourite movie, I don't believe in such a thing, but this is up there. I will definitely be watching this again, and if I find out someone hasn't seen it I will sit them down and watch it with them.

Carl's Doomsday Scenario

2026-05-25T00:00:00Z

Book two in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

Now that most of the explanation of the game is done, we can focus on story. This floor of the dungeon feels like a fantasy world, like something a dungeon master would come up with. I guess that suits the theme. The Skyfowl are a pretty cool race, with their own political stuff going on, that gives the characters something to interact with besides just the "surviving and beating bosses" thing.

Oh but there's also the whole Undead Circus story with the clowns. Also baboons. From this whole story we learned two things. Firstly, the creators of the show can be bargained with. The showrunners don't want to lose their biggest draw, and as long as the potential solution is good "for the views" they'll let it happen. The other thing we learned, is that Signet's storyline will come back in a later book. I don't mind, the concept of using tattoo creatures like Pokémon is pretty cool.

It stands to reason as the dungeon becomes more difficult, the group has to take their tactics more seriously. In any video game you're not only leveling up your abilities, you're also practicing and getting better at actually playing the game. The fact that the group has callouts and prepared combos makes a big difference and allows for cinematic moments when it works.

Mongo

I don't know how I feel about Mongo, but I understand his purpose in the story. Donut being the loose cannon of the book was fine for the first book, but it would get old and predictable if it were to continue. Mongo is the new chaos generator. He also offers something for Donut to riff off, so Carl doesn't have to be the focus of her "crazy" all the time. He's also a completely different build, so it allows for new ways of solving problems. He does seem a little overpowered though...

The Voices

I didn't notice Carl's voice changing until it was mentioned to me and I went back to check. He seems less frantic and more collected. Now that the insane circumstances have settled into "this is my life now" and there's no immediate urgency, Carl has time to think about things and come up with a plan. He seems to be more mature than the intro of the first book had us believe, but because "everything was on fire" we didn't really have time to get to know him as a character until now. Donut also seems to speak softer with him now. They're definitely becoming more of a unit.

I have to give it to Jeff Hays (again). Mordecai is a different morphology but the moment he spoke I knew it was him, even with the different voice. Then on top of that, Jeff Hays plays the character with the "same but different" voice as drunk for a good bit. So in the narrator's head there's now a single voice with two "mods" on top of it, each influencing the voice in a particular way. This is crazy! Is there an award for best audiobook narrator? Because Jeff Hays wins

Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game

2026-05-22T00:00:00Z

This is the perfect self-aware Zombie experience. The board game celebrates all the stereotypes. The characters are a prom queen, a jock, the policeman's son, the goth chick, the farmer's daughter, the priest. They all have an ability that makes sense for the character they play. The locations are all small town buildings randomly drawn during setup. High school, diner, police station, hospital, etc. The objectives are typical movie stuff. Escape in the truck, burn'em out, defend the manor house... You get the idea.

The best number of players is five. Four Heroes and one Zombie player. Each player controls one Hero and a single Zombie player controls all the Zombies. It can be played at other counts, but then players control multiple Heroes or the Zombie players share duties.

Heroes are quick and get things done. Most of the time they're in and out of buildings, getting them very close to the Zombies. Heroes can fend them off in a fight, but it's not often they outright kill a Zombie especially early in the game. Zombies are slow and their basic movement is predictable, but their power lies in numbers. 14 Zombies, or 21 when playing with some of the expansions. The Zombie Turn isn't very interesting, but the Zombie Event cards keep things interesting.

Speaking of expansions, there's a bunch and most of them add something major to the game. The main expansion is Growing Hunger which adds tiles, extra objectives and a bunch more cards. It also adds house rules with indicators to help balance the game. Some objectives use these too, but you can mix them up. Survival of the Fittest adds unique items, tactics cards that can change the tide of the game, and actual weapons for the Zombies. The rest of them add more variety but nothing massive.

Oh the game came with a soundtrack! On an actual CD in the box! It's terrible don't listen to it!

A few people I've played with complained that the game is unbalanced and they didn't stand a chance of winning. It's true that we often have to make a call for specific rules interpretations because it's not covered in the rules, but often we just imagine what would happen in The Walking Dead and go with that. Sometimes we find the official rule hidden in an example of play at the back of the rulebook, or we have to check the wiki. But it's not the kind of game you take that seriously.

It's just sort of how it goes. Sometimes the randomness of the game just gets you. On other occasions we played until 3am howling with laughter at the ridiculous outcomes. It's still one of my favourite games ever, and the sheer variety in setups means we can play it over and over and not play the same situation twice.

As far as I can tell the game is out of print. There was a 10th Anniversary version in 2017 but that was the last. Good luck finding it.

We Solve Murders

2026-05-21T00:00:00Z

It's weird to get new characters from a writer I already know, especially after 4 books in the same universe with The Thursday Murder Club. The writing style is the same, as one would expect. There's a lightheartedness about everything, without denying the gravity of the situation. I do like the characters though. The story is sort of much of the same, but with a lot more globetrotting.

Amy is a bodyguard. Sorry, a "private security officer". It turns out her client is the target of a famous-but-mysterious assassin. Instead of letting it go, she gets her father-in-law a retired private investigator, to very reluctantly help figure out what's going on. In the process they uncover a whole fraud scheme within the company.

As an interesting detail, the assassin François Loubet uses ChatGPT to hide their identity. It also means a supposedly French assassin can be written as a "friendly English gentleman", which definitely makes the author's job a little easier. Smart move.

Rosie D'Antonio, Amy's client, is the main reason we're travelling all the time. Her spontaneity and eccentric life experience gets them in trouble but often gets them back out of the same trouble. She's an entertaining read and channels a lot of the "I'm old I don't care" energy while still being young of spirit. It lets us see a bunch of new places through the eyes of Richard Osman who until now has mostly written about the English countryside, though beautifully.

The relationship between Amy and her husband Adam is odd. It's very much a marraige of convenience, which is fine. I find it odd that she can call him up, tell him to visit someone in prison to find out about an international fraud network. It's only when he gets to prison to find her already dead, that he realises that this isn't a game anymore. Something we knew for a while already. It was a weird bonding moment for Adam and his dad Steve though, but at a distance.

So anyway I quite enjoyed the book. Lighthearted, doesn't have too much of the sadness The Thursday Murder Club has, but a lot of suspense in its own way. The ending was clearly written to setup another book, because that's what the contract with Viking says apparently. It sets up the company that will feature in the next book, similar to Mr Mercedes and Finders Keepers by Stephen King, although that's pretty much where the comparison ends...

Yep I'm definitely picking up We Chase Shadows when it drops later this year...

Sunderfolk

2026-05-20T00:00:00Z

"Card-based tactics game" is a phrase that's been popping up lately. Build a deck of cards, then play a level where you're limited to the actions you selected. If you fail, revise or re-evaluate.

Sunderfolk does a few unique things with this concept. Firstly, it's co-operative. Each player controls their character and you must work together. They setup their feck of cards and that's what they have available for that scenario. This basically sounds like Gloomhaven, but much less Grimdark and more family friendly. Also, to my knowledge Sundelfolk doesn't exist in physical form like Gloomhaven, which gives a bit more freedom of design.

The intended way to play Sunderfolk is with the game running on a big screen and each player's controls on their phone, similar to the Jackbox Party Pack games. We've successfully played over Discord, because as long as we share the game's screen everyone can join from their phone. It's a somewhat novel concept and works very well.

The devs did add single player mode where you controls all characters with their cards on screen, similar to Slay the Spire or Marvel's Midnight Suns, but that's not how it was intended to be played.

Looks Great, Plays Great

The theme and art style is very cute and friendly, but serious enough that you feel the weight of the story. Everything is beautiful. The story is told in a visual novel style with voice-over. All the voices in this game are performed by a single person, Anjali Bhimani. I didn't believe it when I was told, I had to look it up to make sure. It gives the feeling of a beautiful children's storybook. She's absolutely amazing.

Gameplay is solid with engaging decisions. Picking the wrong cards can make or break a level. Many levels have a turn limit, so there's a penalty for taking too long (can be turned off). When cards activate, the presentation of what they do is clear. More powerful abilities trigger a short dramatic scene to add gravity to the decision. Because these cards are digital not real cards on a table, they and (and often do) include random effects.

Once a level is done. There's a metagame of players visit different townsfolk to progress relationships, get items, pick up side quests and prepare for the next level. When leveling up new cards are unlocked, but equipped items also combine with abilities and cards so these need to be checked and adapted. The town develops over the course of the campaign and there's a real sense of investment and achievement.

Co-operation and Communication

This is the biggest lesson of the game. There has to be communication between players. Player classes must work together. You can switch classes reasonably easily during the campaign, but it makes most sense to pick a class and get used to its play style.

Once characters are chosen, the specific builds need to work together as the campaign progresses and becomes more difficult. The first few levels are mostly tutorial stuff so actions are limited, but very quickly there are more cards than you're allowed to take into battle so a decision must be made whether to go stealthy or hardcore (or something to that effect). Sometimes it's necessary to switch items and cards for a specific level, which also requires planning.

Then there's the turn-by-turn communication. Players can take their turn in any order but once a card is played it must be completed before someone else can go. More powerful cards take several turns to "cooldown" before they can be used again. And of course positioning on the board is very important. If you're not constantly talking through your actions, you're doing it wrong.

Must Play

Over several sessions of three or four hours each, we finished the main campaign in 20 hours or so. There's also a few one-shots for a quick game or to show someone how it works. Sunderfolk is free on Epic regularly. So there's really no reason not to try it.

Mixtape

2026-05-19T00:00:00Z

The story itself is nice. It's mostly nostalgia about the last few years in the lives of the characters. Stacey and her obsession with music, but also narrating most of the adventures the friends go on. It's slightly-extreme petty stuff. Underage drinking, sneaking out to go party, occasionally stealing stuff, never getting caught. Like what every teenager with a weak self-esteem tells other teenagers they've done. Slater just sort of goes with the flow, real best friend energy, there for any ideas and antics to bounce off of. He's probably my favourite character. Cass is the only one with character development. Strict parents (her dad is literally the police) that guide her life while she's trying to figure out who she wants to be.

The combination of somewhat relatable high school experiences, nostalgic music and melancholy "last day of summer break" vibes culminating in a weird dream sequence while we drive to the house party. As is the stereotype, for one night our outcast group is part of the cool crowd. There's an appropriate moment where they get to look at the whole thing from the outside (literally from above) and understand the meaning of everything, before it all goes wrong. Cass challenges her father in the classic "little bird spreads its wings" moment.

The whole experience is not so much a game, as a movie that you get to take part in. It's quite linear. The skateboard sequences are cool. Sometimes it's just getting from point A to point B with some exposition ("car!") and other times it's a chase sequence. Once it gets mixed up with a shopping trolley instead of skateboards but it's still really just a chase sequence and there isn't really a lose condition. It's possible to crash, but it simply rewinds a few seconds and you go again. Usually it doesn't rewind far enough and you crash multiple times before making it, so the story can continue.

A big part of the game is a small location where you can walk around and activate dialogue in any order. It doesn't really make a difference. Some of them activate little flashback sequences that forward the narrative a bit. Occasionally you need to collect a few things or do a few tasks. It's fun but not very challenging. My favourite section is the Night at the Roxbury head bob reference, where you literally tap a button to bob head (and other things) in time to the music.

The music is great, and forms the basis of the whole thing. The fact that songs are often announced with a preamble is a lot of fun. The whole soundtrack is fire.

Overall a nice game that doesn't overstay its welcome. The whole thing is about 3 hours long and I finished it in a single sitting.

Gears of War Judgment

2026-05-18T00:00:00Z

This is the fourth game in the series of playing through the Gears of War series in co-op.

Why does it feel like someone took an unrelated game and slapped a Gears of War story onto it? The control scheme is different and the game didn't tell me. It's not a major change, just grenades and weapons that moved, but 30 hours of muscle memory is difficult to change. The biggest problem is two weapons instead of three, severely limiting tactical options.

The most jarring change is the gameplay loop, and by extension level design. The previous games had a flow. There was no break in the story except for the occasional loading screen, but only if it's absolutely necessary. In Judgment (Judgement? weird) it's short, distinct levels with a summary at the end. Walk in, do the thing, walk out. Five minutes, tops. The Summary screen says who did what better. Each mission has an optional "declassified" modifier that increases difficulty in exchange for increased imaginary points that I'm still unsure what they do.

The moment-to-moment play is far more arcade-like. Doing cool things awards points that add up to stars. It drops little extra ammo things that give ammo to all players. So bullets can teleport now? Guns and ammo have always been a hand-waved in Gears, but do you have to be so blatant about it? I found myself running and gunning a lot more, instead of sitting behind cover and popping out for well placed shots.

Here's the problem with all this: It changes how you play. The Gears of War games have always been co-operative. If one player struggles, the other could carry. Some players are better at hanging back and sniping, others are better at running into the action. With Judgment, the game makes you compete. "Which one of us co-ops harder?" That's not how I want to play. Our combined efforts unlock stars so we can get three stars on all the levels, so that's sort of fun... What is this, Angry Birds?

All this to say, Gears of War Judgment is my least favourite so far. The only reason we kept playing is to see what happens, and to unlock the Aftermath campaign for which you need a certain number of the stupid Angry Bird stars...

The Story

In medias res. We start with the impromptu military tribunal and then tell the story in flashback. The first few acts are told from the perspective of each character a few weeks after E-Day. Baird looks and acts pretty much the same. Young Cole is fun to see, but talks and acts the same as always. Paduk has a very sharp sense of humour that's entertaining to listen to, and Sofia deals with many chauvinist issues women in authoritative positions often need to deal with.

Col. Loomis is an ass, but that's his job. Towards the end he does fight alongside you (because he has no choice) but he's still an ass.

The story part is not too bad. Well written, connects the little short-burst missions together nicely, and the characters are entertaining with a lot of banter. It moves through some interesting areas with some fun fights. The constant stop to review who stayed in cover the longest and who did the most active reloads breaks the flow of the story, but otherwise it's fine.

Then there's a boss fight, cut scene, fade to black, main menu... Wait, was that the end of the campaign?

Well, that was unrewarding... Guess we play Aftermath now.

Aftermath

This happens during Gears of War 3 after we find the location of Azura but before we go to Azura. We're trying to find a ship, which ends up being on top of a building. Paduk's signature sense of humour and Baird's propensity to blow stuff up. Gotcha.

For most of it the story it feels like Gears 3. It has the flow of the other Gears games where we fight for a bit, then walk and talk to the next bit, then fight again. Some new lore is revealed. We find out Sofia was kidnapped by COGs and Paduk tried to rescue her. It didn't work out, but we don't know whether she survived. This also mostly explains how they showed up with a bunch of helicopters at the end of Gears 3.

It's only one extra act culminating in a pointless little zipline shooti scene, but it's good to get the lore.

Verdict

When researching this whole play-through journey, Gears of War Judgment was in the list to play, but begrudgingly. The Gears of War community as a whole is unsure whether to include this as a worthy title. I see it now. This game is completely different in design and tone from the other games, but still includes story that adds to the overall narrative. If I were ever to play through these games again, I would read a summary of the story and skip playing it.

6/10 don't recommend next please.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

2026-05-14T00:00:00Z

This is my first LitRPG. From what I understand this is many people's first LitRPG. It's weirdly meta. Besides telling the story of what's happening, we're also introducing the universe of the book (basically Hunger Games orchestrated by aliens for fun and profit), explaining how we got here (it's not the first of these games, it's a whole franchise), and detailing how it all works (you see things like it's a video game but it's not really there, basically Skyrim IRL).

Initially I found Jeff Hays's voice for Carl a little grating, but got used to it pretty quickly. Apparently it was supposed to sound like Patrick Warburton, specifically Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove. Mission accomplished, it sounds exactly like that. But for a few minutes is fine. I thought it would get annoying after 13 hours, but actually you get used to it. Also I think it mellows out a little. When it comes to the other voices, it's great. It's crazy to think they're all voiced by the same person.

Once I got over how insane the entire premise of the book is, the story is fast, frantic and funny. I was a little surprised that the book just sort of ended after the second floor, thank you for listening have a nice day. It's not a cliffhanger, but it does leave you wanting to know what happens next. I mean I just got the hang of how all these abilities work... So of course I got book 2...

I did come across a more immersive version of the audiobook. First episode is free. The main characters are still voiced by Jeff Hays, but others are a full cast and there's music and sound effects and everything. The first three books are available and I'm worried it might be jarring to go back to the normal audiobooks when I reach that point, so for now these will be reserved for re-listens. But it's good to know they're there.

Recommending the book to others usually involves mentioning the name, someone getting triggered, freaking out about how awesome it is explaining over each other and none of it making sense, ending it "trust me just get the audiobook thank me later". And if your friend is so inclined, be sure to wait for the "holy shit this is awesome" message a few days later.