August came in like a soft breeze but also like a heatwave boss fight! My energy bar dipped, but I still managed to tick off some achievements, both in-game and in life. Step into my August 2025 gaming diary and explore my monthly update in this amazing gaming diary!
New Content
- Game of the Month: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – It is basically me vs. my intrusive thoughts, but with way more screaming. It’s a gorgeous, stressful walking trip through the underworld where the voices in your head have opinions about everything you do. 10/10 recommended!
- The Sims 4: Enchanted by Nature Expansion Pack – A place where Sims meet fairytale chaos!
- Creative Writing Patch – Progress made on projects, including a few half-finished but WIP articles.
Balance Changes
- Reduced scrolling until 2 AM from 7 nights per week to 4 nights per week.
- Buffed hydration skill by carrying a water bottle everywhere now grants a +10 stamina boost in heatwave weather. Effectiveness drops when distracted by side quests. (success rate: ~70%).
- Nerfed overthinking slightly. Temporarily reduced mental replay of awkward moments from the last decade. Still prone to sneak back in during quiet loading screens.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed issue where brain kept replaying awkward conversations from 2013.
- Patched a minor glitch in time perception. August didn’t disappear quite as fast as July, though loading screens (a.k.a. waiting in queues) still feel endless.
- Fixed a glitch where I thought “I’ll do it tomorrow” meant “I’ll actually do it tomorrow.”
- Reduced lag in decision-making when picking the next game to play by 3%.
Looking Ahead
September quests:
- Try at least one new game without abandoning the current one.
- Finish a WIP article before starting three more.
- Maintain hydration and emotional XP!!!
August felt like one of those games where you don’t rush the main quest, you gather little treasures, and accidentally stack up side missions until the map is full of markers. It wasn’t flawless; there were bugs, some lag, and the occasional boss battle I didn’t feel ready for.
But between the warm evenings, pixel adventures, and the quiet moments that felt like secret cutscenes, I think I leveled up in ways that don’t show on a stat sheet. Here’s to carrying that XP into September, one side quest at a time. See you in the next update, Norpaners.
