I haven’t written in a long time. Mostly, I didn’t think it was necessary—I’ve been caught up in other, more satisfying activities. So, what’s new? Well, for “I want some Action,” I tried changing up my promotion and distribution channels. The result? A total disaster. What did I do? I went back to the old channels and platforms. After all, in Italy we say “who leaves the old path for the new knows what they leave behind, but not what they’ll find”… and almost always, it goes badly.

“Show me,” on the other hand, is getting some traction, and I can say I’m satisfied—even if I expected more love for it, given that it deals with a popular anime like My Hero Academia. But hey, this just proves I still don’t know shit about what the public likes.

In August, people always advise me not to drop anything because everyone is on vacation and no one gives a damn. Fair enough… but my “nothing” will be “state of grace,” the third track from the new album. Even from a numerology standpoint, the title is a 3, and you might ask, “Do you really think it’ll be a hit just because you aligned the numerological 3 in the title with the release of the third single off the new album?” Well, probably not, but it’s an experiment that costs me nothing, so I’m doing it. Worst-case scenario, it ends up like “hand of fate”—probably the biggest flop of my brief recording career.

How am I doing psychologically? I’m sad, unmotivated, and disappointed by what I expect out of life’s events. I expect appreciation regarding a certain matter (and not just a musical one), or I expect more effort from someone, or better proficiency in archery, or more respect from people who owe me—and instead, jack shit! It feels like all the effort I put in doesn’t accomplish a damn thing. Nothing unblocks, and I’m developing a constant urge to just stay home. Though to be fair, the main culprit there is Rome’s humid heat. At least two showers a day are required just to keep interpersonal relationships intact—not so much because of the smell, but because the heat really gets to me and I get easily irritated, becoming moody and standoffish.

But enough complaining, I’m fucking sick of it.

I just finished playing Mad Max, a 2017 video game. It’s an action-adventure game right up my alley, similar to Canis Canem Edit (Bully), the various Assassin’s Creed games, The Witcher, etc.

I’ll start with what I didn’t like: how short the story was. I mean, I enjoyed it because I’m obsessed with totally “devouring” these games—so I clear every scavenging location and everywhere you can collect items or upgrade your character, completely wiping the map clean. But the main story itself is short. Some game mechanics feel a bit forced or unnatural; a few times I died in ways I still can’t explain, not to mention the times I threw bombs and hit a wall even though the game didn’t mark it as an obstacle.

That being said, I thought it was a well-made game. The steampunk environments are really cool and perfect for giving you a constant sense of grunge-like anguish and depression—a Fist of the North Star style setting that made me appreciate it even more. Convoy hunting was fun, and landmine clearing turned out to be funnier than expected because there was always some enemy nearby jumping out of their car and charging at me menacingly, only for me to step right behind a mine… so you can guess how that ended. Nice! Just the right amount of splatter—not quite on the level of Shadow of Rome, but acceptable. It doesn’t beat titles like The Witcher III, Shadow of War, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Sniper Elite 4, Skyrim, or Hitman, but it’s still fun and, most importantly, kept me properly entertained.

Maybe I would have made the bosses more responsive and dynamic, but I can kind of find a logic behind it: specifically, a boss with a monotonous fighting style represents the ultimate boss at the office—the guy who used to be good, but once he got promoted, he slacked off and rested on his laurels, becoming less skilled than his subordinates. At least, I like to look at it that way.

Next week I’ll tell you about a new Italian band that inspired me and a new game… or at least, that’s what I feel like doing right now, then we’ll see. Talk soon.