MID 2022 FAVES: GAMES, BOOKS, FILMS

Hi everyone!! I’m a bit late on this, the end of July was super busy for me. But I’m back again with my mid-year favourites. 2022 has been kind of insane in terms of cool new releases–it’s hard keeping up! If you follow me on Twitter, most of these will come as no surprise, as I tend to scream from the rooftops when I like something. Without further ado:

CULT OF THE LAMB

So CULT OF THE LAMB may have only been released a little over a week ago, but I knew I would love it after playing the demo earlier this year. Combining fast combat and village simulator mechanics, it’s a super stylish game. Every detail is set up to fit the cult, from your missions being called “Crusades”, setting up the doctrines of your faith (my followers are totally fine with sacrifice, thank you very much) and brain-washing with psychedelic mushrooms. I adore the symbolism the cults and gods use, it feels very cohesive. There’s also a character named PLIMBO, so bonus points. Looking forward to reading the art book for this one!

HELPMEET BY NABEN RUTHNUM

A short and powerful novella about a woman caring for her ailing husband, who seems to be literally rotting. It’s beautifully written and exudes this Romeo and Juliet-style romance that really sucked me in. I know I’ll come back to this one again and again. The body horror elements are also insane, disgusting and descriptive–so you know I loved that too! Special shoutouts to the physical book itself, which is the smoothest texture ever…

LORD OF ILLUSIONS (1995)

I have many horror blindspots, I’ll readily admit that! I’m a huge HELLRAISER and Clive Barker fan, so obviously I had to get around to LORD OF ILLUSIONS eventually. I’m gonna be honest…I like this more than Nightbreed. Are the effects incredibly dated and 90s? Absolutely. Does the plot revolving around a magician–oh I’m sorry I mean Illusionist–automatically make it more cheesy? Yes!! But there’s so much here to talk about, like the shlubby cult leader who (way too late) realizes that being a prophet kind of sucks, actually. Scott Bakula is perfect for this role, and it would make a fantastic double feature with CAST A DEADLY SPELL. 

DREAD DELUSION

While the game is still in Early Access, DREAD DELUSION has been my favourite game world in recent memory. The regions, peoples and Gods are well developed and detailed, with more to be added in future updates. This guy up here? ^ Was once human, but the God Paeguth blessed him “to bear his fruit; to endure sweet agonies, so that I may heal the land and feed the people”.  The retro graphics of ye olde RPGs fit perfectly, and while I had a friend say it made their eyeballs hurt to look at, I can’t get enough of it. The skies are rich pink, giving a menacing and otherworldly vibe to everything. There’s even a pile of meat that gains sentience!! This game was made for me!

SPLIT SCREAM VOLUME ONE

Dread Stone Press was kind enough to send me an early copy of SPLIT SCREAM, and it became an instant favourite. Each volume will showcase two novelettes, penned by different authors. The first pair includes Carson Winter’s “The Guts of Myth” and Scott J. Moses’s “The Mourner Across the Flames”, both incredible. GUTS OF MYTH has a Cosmic, non-euclidian edge with some horrific body horror that gets a A++ from me. MOURNER tells of a decaying world and the religion that sprung forth in the aftermath. I don’t want to spoil either. Just get this damn book.

NOPE (2022)

There’s nothing new I can say to add to the many incredible analyses of NOPE that already exist out there. It’s beautiful in terms of story, direction, acting, cinematography…Just everything.  The second I got out of the theatre I was rushing to discuss certain aspects with friends, to unpeel the layers Peele (haha) has created for us. It’s been hyped up since day 1 for a reason! I will say as someone who’s petrified of aliens, speaking to others like myself…Give it a chance. It’s not what you think. 

That’s it from me for now. Love, Lor ※