so somewhat against my will tyler bertuzzi is now on the leafs and while before he was like a vaguely alarming but distant ambiance of chaos with an undertone of rabies that i could ignore, he is now on a line with mitch and auston so i cannot help but pay attention to him and -

anyway so i searched “tyler bertuzzi looks like” on twitter and now emerge from my dumpster diving session with some gems to subject you all to

and my personal two favorites down below

I Try One of Everything at Salt City Market (Part 1)

I often rag on my hometown of Syracuse for not having a particularly creative restaurant scene.  A city with largely Italian and Irish populations has, surprisingly, yielded a lot of forgettable Italian family restaurants and Irish pubs that all kind of blur together.  Admittedly, I’m also a bit of a shut-in (especially with the pandemic), so I won’t claim to know all the ins-and-outs of some of the more “underground” restaurants.  So when I first heard about the Salt City Market, a collective of vendors selling foods from a wide variety of ethnicities, I was excited to hear about something new coming to that seeming-abandoned lot downtown.  They’ve had plenty of setbacks (most, obviously, pandemic-related), but now they’re finally open for our dining pleasure.      

This project has been almost a year in the making, so it’s no surprise that, on the day of the grand opening, people were so excited that everyone ended up running out of food.  Being the fool that I am, I assumed that going at 4:00 on the second day would be less busy.  We ended up waiting in line for about 10 minutes, as they were being very diligent about enforcing occupancy limits and getting people in and out as safely as possible.  Even though it was about 15°F out, I would say the overall experience was well worth the wait.  

I honestly was too busy trying to figure out what to get and also staying 6 feet away from everyone else that I didn’t pay much mind to the decor within the space. I didn’t even notice music was playing until one of my friends pointed out they were playing a song she liked (I know I’ve heard this song dozens of times, I could have sworn it was Animal Collective but after scouring their discography I guess it isn’t).  It had that kind of hip, start-up-y vibe that, when juxtaposed with the run-down apartment building across the street, would have raised questions about gentrification if it weren’t for the sheer number of POC chefs and entrepreneurs involved.  

So, without further ado, let’s talk about the food.  When I say I’m trying “one of everything,” I guess I actually mean “one thing from each vendor (or, rather, for this week, half of them),” which may be a little misleading, but let’s be real, I can’t afford one of everything.  (I briefly considered emailing them to see if I could get some sort of “Media Pass,” but I figured even if they did things like that it would require me to actually have readers lmao) Also, some places had also started to run out of things again, but I will do my best to review what they were able to give me without a sense of “ugh, this isn’t what I wanted.”  And obviously, since we got takeout and drove like 20 minutes to get the food back home, I’m not going to be judging the food in terms of things like “it was cold,” or “the breading got soggy from the condensing steam in the package.”

BIG IN BURMA- Samosas- $5

2 disclaimers- 1.) Of all the ethnicities represented at the market, I have the least knowledge and/or exposure to Burmese cuisine.  Judging by the menu and my basic understanding of geography, I’d say the simplest (and thus probably not super accurate) way to describe it is a cross between Indian and Thai food. 2.) I used to work with the dad of the owner, so I felt like trying Big In Burma first was a priority.  

While I initially wanted to try the Nan Gyi Thoke, they were out of noodles so I eventually settled on an order of samosas.  I say “settled,” but really, is there really anything better than a dumpling?

The dough was flaky and crisp, almost like phyllo dough.  The potato and onion filling was simple (and in my opinion could have used a little more of the curry spice blend they used), but tasty. The sauce that accompanied them isn’t described anywhere on their menu, but tastes a lot like Frank’s Red Hot but with a little more of a vinegary tang to it.  All in all, a great little snack that, despite being a fried dumpling, didn’t get too heavy, which was good because I had a lot more food to eat.

FIRECRACKER THAI KITCHEN- Spicy Basil Chicken- $13.50

My first thought upon tasting the chicken by itself was “Hey, that’s way too much fish sauce, I’m probably not gonna eat this whole thing.”  However, once you mix the chicken and the rice together, the flavors become much more well balanced, and I did end up eating the whole thing, thank you very much.  My biggest gripe, however, was that this “Spicy Basil” Chicken didn’t deliver very strongly on the “Spicy” or the “Basil,” two things I love in Thai food but found myself wanting more of.  The fried egg was good, though.  I’m always a sucker for a fried egg.

It might also be worth mentioning that one of my friends got the “Street Style Eggs Over Rice,” which, despite the menu description including other things, was just a fried egg over a pile of rice and a cup of sauce.

MISS PRISSY’S- Fried Chicken Wings- $12.50

(I hope I’m remembering that price right, the online version of their menu seems incomplete.)

Miss Prissy’s seems to be one of the busier stands, given they were probably the hardest hit of the ones I went to when it came to shortages.  They were out of the braised oxtail and pepper steak that were my first and second choices, so I “settled” on the wings.  Once again, that’s not a bad thing.  

The breading on the wings was just the right thickness, and was somehow still crispy after traveling.  They were also a very good size, too. The only negative thing I could say about the wings was that it seemed like they were seasoned after cooking, instead of seasoning the breading, which lead to some pieces being more well seasoned than others.  (I’m noticing a trend of me thinking everything was underseasoned… did I catch the ‘rona without noticing or something…) 

The mac & cheese may look like my mom’s sad, dry mac at first glance, but it is NOT.  It was much creamier and cheesier than it looks.  The green beans, however, were pretty much just as sad and probably-canned as they look.  I look forward to getting the collards some day, once they stop running out.

(Also, this is really neither here nor there, but the leftover samosa sauce goes really well with these wings.)

PIE’S THE LIMIT- Oat and Berry Slice- $3.50

While they do have an interesting selection of savory pies, I decided to get something more dessert-y to round out my night of hedonism- uhh I mean supporting local business.

The crust was surprisingly tender and flaky for a vegan dough (ie no butter/lard/etc).  The berry filling was a pretty much perfect blend of tart and sweet that you would want from a pie filling.  The oat topping clearly uses some kind of steel cut oat- or at least something other than the instant oats I’m accustomed to in streusel toppings like this- because it has a more toothsome chew to it, which I thought added a nice contrast in texture.        

All-in-all, everything was very good, with most of the shortcomings easily being excused as these businesses try to keep up with how busy they’ve been.   I’m much as it kills me to have to wait, I’m probably going to have to wait a week or two for part 2 for the crowds to die down a little.

Pissgrave - Posthumous Humiliation

In 2015, Philadelphia’s Pissgrave took the death metal underground by storm through the sheer filth and vile gore of their debut LP, Suicide Euphoria, whose cover alone (which consisted of a realistic photograph of human bones, feces and other liquefied remains either rotting or being dissolved in a bathtub) caught even the most seasoned death metal fans off guard, and the band’s new album’s cover photograph is somehow even more visceral. While I always include the cover art to albums I discuss, and I have included the cover to this album as well, I have chosen to move it to the bottom of this post because it is especially realistic (it is a photograph, after all) so as to not traumatize those who might be traumatized by the sight of real life gore. Chances are, if you’re into death meal and you’re reading about Pissgrave, though, you’re pretty numb to blood and guts and the gore here is probably just another of hundreds, if not thousands of abominable album covers you’ve seen. But you never know. Regardless, I did want to spend some time talking about the artwork associated with this album because it does kind of necessitate a discussion about its use of gore and real human suffering.

I don’t know exactly how the band or their management came into possession of the photograph gracing the cover of this new album, but regardless of how ethically the band obtained it, using it as an album cover came with some responsibility that I’m not quite sure was upheld as well as it could have been. While the modus operandi of death metal has largely been to revel in violence and gore in a campy or perhaps profound manner, this album cover only seems to serve to outdo the edginess of other death metal covers and that of the band’s debut. Being that this is not the usual fictional depiction of death and suffering of most death metal covers, but rather an actual depiction of the aftermath of a real life ended violently in some manner, it comes off as tasteless and indeed disrespectful to whoever this person was and the people connected to him. Yes, it sure does help the album live up to its title because it’s putting this person’s death and their mutilated body on display for entertainment. Sure, it perhaps beckons pondering of the way we view death and shy away from its gritty details and how we see certain deaths as unnatural, but aside from the song titles and the flowery album descriptions associated with it, the band and their management do nothing but revel in how bold of a move the use if the cover is. There are no lyrics to explain what the band are trying to accomplish with the album cover, so with only the titles and the album’s descriptions, there’s nothing really making this album cover anything more artistically than what it is literally, a mutilated, dead face. I do think that it’s possible that if the photograph was obtained ethically that there could indeed have been some justifiable artistic premise for its use as the cover, but Pissgrave seem content to leave it at simply “celebration of pure torment and misery”, which is essentially just death metal syntactical white noise without anything else to supplement it to give it more profound meaning (ironic given the name of the label releasing this). In other words, the band don’t really do anything with it, it’s just trying to be shocking, and again, in this genre, it really isn’t even all that shocking, just try-hard. Yes, in death metal exuding brutality and comfortability with the darkness of death is a big part of establishing credibility within it, but that doesn't mean that every artistic move for brutality's sake is justified. It wasn't excusable when Mayhem did it with Dead's suicide for Dawn of the Black Hearts in 1995, and it's not beyond reproach for Pissgrave and Posthumous Humiliation now. And criticizing it is part of keeping the genre's artistic boundaries within a healthy margin of the boundaries of ethics, so as to minimize and avoid as much as possible the types of atrocities that made early 2nd wave Norwegian black metal scene so deservedly notoriously condemned (yes, a lot of those main figures were very fucked in the head and even if they produced some great art, the means and the lives they lived to do so were not always justified). I'm not trying to say this is on the level of activity that Varg's murder of Euronymous or even the entire NSBM scene is; I'm just trying to say that even though death metal strives to push artistic boundaries and use gore for art, there are still boundaries worth respecting because it is still an art. If anything, perhaps the silver lining of the tactless use of this photograph is a reminder to those involved in making dark art to be tactful with the use of sensitive material such as this. Anyway, with that out of the way, on to the music of this album, because I sure do enjoy it.

Posthumous Humiliation is hardly any different from its predecessor stylistically; it's a chaotic, storm of gratuitous drum fills, blast beats, atop downward spiraling tremolo guitar work akin to that of Portal's Ion, and harsh growled vocals sounding as though they're coming through a pillow or a static-y air control radio. The description the band/label give the album is indeed accurate; it's a deep indulgence in all of the sonic depravity that death metal is built on and continues to build on. However, from the moment I heard the first single and opening track, the furiously ripping “Euthanasia”, I knew it was going to be an at least somewhat more accomplished album musically. The dizzying lead guitar work, tinged with black metal tritone dissonance, was a lot more vibrant and confident, much less hurried than what was on Suicide Euphoria, as well as being more prominent and less buried beneath the barrage of sound the rhythm section drums up.

While it's possible to go into the nitty gritty details of the appeal of each song on here, this is the kind of album whose entire sonic style is either too ridiculously gross, guttural, or incomprehensible to be your style, or it's exactly the spice you need among all the polished death metal in your listening rotation.

There is variety to be found amid the merciless madness of Posthumous Humiliation, faster and slower aspects of the instrumentation to juxtapose each other amid the dense, debris-filled winds of the album's ethos as a whole, and indeed plenty of time during which everything is being fired at full power at full speed. While initial listens will definitely hide a lot of the nuance this album does have and make most of the album come off as one big sickening death metal mess, closer, repeated listens show what each of the individual songs do have to offer that the others don't and what justifies their separation into different tracks as opposed to being lumped into a homogeneous single 43-minute piece.

The second song, "Canticles of Ripping Flesh", is a faster, more straightforward death metal tune with a lot of early Cannibal Corpse influence behind it that the band works rather well with, and the songs "Into the Deceased" and "Posthumous Humiliation" take faster, old-school death amd thrash metal approaches and twist them through warped modern sadism and black metal nihilism with the wall of sound the band conjures. Meanwhile songs like "Emaciated" and album's third, "Funeral Inversion", show some of the band's versatility as the latter rides lower drum tempos (albeit supplemented by plenty of double-bass) over slightly down-tuned guitars in a more subtly menacing manner, which the subsequent, ominous "Catacombs of Putrid Chambers" expands on with it s ride cymbal-driven and classic-thrash-chugger-inspired palm-muted groove of its attack.

The closing track, “Rusted Wind”, with its less-supplemented, slowed down guitar lead outro is a bit underwhelming, but it doesn’t completely undo the stormy, gory vibe the album builds up beforehand. Overall, though, Posthumous Humiliation is the satisfyingly disgusting follow-up Suicide Euphoria deserved. It's not by any means a tremendous leap in quality that accomplishes much of anything new for Pissgrave, but it's a good way foe the band to prove that Suicide Euphoria was neither a fluke, nor a flash in the pan, and that their creative well is still flowing with indulgent death metal depravity. While the underuse of the cover photograph does shed some blemish on the artistic motive of this album, I am willing to give the band the benefit of the doubt that it was just a miscalculated move to up their aesthetic that stepped outside the bounds of tastefulness (and hopefully not good ethics) by accident.

Mezmerizingly gross/10

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Close your eyes for a second as you’re scrolling past this if realistic gore doesn’t sit well with you.

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Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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Just how to Choose an Online Payment Solution

Just how to Choose an Online Payment Solution

 Exactly how to choose an Online Payment Service and also our choice

The payment supplier is selected based upon many different criteria. Several of these are the solution accessibility in the nation where your checking account is, prices of a purchase, monthly charges, the prices of integration, and whether it settles sales tax concerns or allows for integration with a few other popular payment solutions. A lot of these concerns should be responded to by You the customer. Stripe is our favored selection as it had exceptional API abilities. This article will certainly use Stripe as its payment cpu of selection. Alipay

Ideal Practices for payment suppliers

Retry if purchase did not been successful The transaction could fall short not just as a result of technological reasons yet in some cases inadequate funds might be the reason. You must retry processing the transaction between an hour to number of days later on.

Know when your CC will end Some of the card details will run out or their data will no longer stand for different reasons. When you do not have valid CC data charging the customer will not be feasible. The major card systems supply a service that allows you check if there are any kind of updates pending for the consumer information that you keep. Some of the on-line payment remedies will certainly also update card information for you. Red stripe will certainly do this for most of MasterCard, Discover, as well as Visa cards. Not just CC.

Be aware that in some parts of the world individuals are not willing to pay with their Charge card The most effective example of this is China when Alipay is the major payment resource. It is worth keeping in mind that not all customers more than happy handing out their card information so making use of a widely known payment approach assists to boost the completion price of potential deals. Red stripe also sustains Alipay for China as well as for Europe Giropay, iDEAL

We wish to have Alipay Often customers just want to use Alipay UK as they know with the brand name. Do not be stubborn - Stripe will certainly aid to optimize your revenue. Stripe and also Paypal are straight rivals there is no combination between them.

Best practices while utilizing the Red stripe payment procedure

PCI compliance with Stripe

Many users end up being PCI certified by filling out the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) offered by the PCI Safety And Security Standards Council. The kind of SAQ depends upon how you collect card information. The easiest technique of PCI validation is SAQ A. The fastest means to end up being PCI compliant with Stripe is to see to it you get a prefilled SEQ A. If so Stripe will certainly load the SEQ A for you as well as will make it readily available for you to download to your account's conformity setups after the initial 20 or so purchases. The means to attain this is as adheres to:

- Utilize the Embedded form called Check out, Stripe.js as well as Aspects (it provides far better format modification then Check out). You can utilize react-stripe-elements which makes use of Stripe.js API or Stripe mobile SDK libraries. When you're using react-native select tipsi-stripe. ipsi-stripe bindings are not formally sustained by Stripe so assistance will not formally inform you that they get approved for prefilled SEQ-A compliance - but they do.

- If you are making use of web serve your settlements pages need to utilize HTTPS.

In all those instances information is firmly transmitted directly to Red stripe without it passing through your servers. When you choose the fastest means you will certainly not need to do anything more. It is as straightforward as this up until you reach 6 million transactions annually then you will have to fill up a Record on Compliance to verify your PCI conformity each year.

Plan for technological failing - Idempotency essential If you are utilizing API to take payments you should plan for a technical failing as all networks are unstable. If failing occurs wit is not constantly feasible to understand if a charge was made or otherwise. When it comes to a network failure you must retry the deal. The Idempotency secret is a prevention device against charging a customer two times. If somehow you sent the payment twice - which might take place due to retrying procedures after a failing. In Stripes node lib you just add it to alternatives specification while billing. Each Idempotency key will time out after 24 hours so afterwards time if you make a payment with the same Idempotency secret you will charge the client.

Stripe charges in cents not dollars On the internet payment options like PayPal charge in bucks as opposed to cents. However that in Stripes all charges are made in smallest currency system. This is not only the instance concerning bucks, Stripes does it for all currencies.

Test

Red stripe offers lots of card numbers for you to examine various circumstances on the frontend and also symbols so you can straight check your backend. For instance you can not only test Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club and also JCB Cards yet additionally worldwide cards and also 3D Secure Cards. Stripe additionally supplies you with tokens so you can evaluate failing circumstances like a cost being decreased, or a cost being obstructed due to the fact that its deceitful, an ended card, or a handling mistake. So you will be prepared for every little thing that can take place when you go live.

Do not place JSON in description - Use metal

Be descriptive as you can. Metadata is your good friend. You can improve your Red stripe purchase with custom-made information so you can after that see it in the dashboard. For example you can add points like consumer ID or the delivery ID in metadata so there is no reason to pollute your deal summary.

Should I accumulate extra information?

The bare minimum to gather from a CC is its number, CVV and also expiration day yet you can accumulate extra. You can additionally collect the postal code/ CC holder name/ address for Address Verification System (AVS). If you accumulate them it will raise Wechat Payment UK safety since the scams avoidance algorithms will certainly have much more information and will have the ability to react a lot more accurately. Nonetheless, from the individual point of view it's even more information to kind - which is not constantly excellent. Clients are just human and also occasionally make mistakes when going into data which can additionally cause some deals to be rejected. So you must select just how much data you need and also what will certainly function best for you and also your revenue. Similarly financial institutions will sometimes deny repayments with a 'do not recognize' standing and also you will certainly have to call your client so they can ask their financial institution regarding the reason (high level of current activity on a card, an absence of matching AVS info, a card being over its limit, or a variety of various other reasons which only the financial institution will certainly recognize).

 If you are any kind of on-line supplier of service or products, a method for consumers to pay quickly and easily online is becoming increasingly more essential. Online payment options are abundantly offered, and offer consumers a far more streamlined as well as hassle-free internet purchasing experience. The complying with are several of the advantages to carrying out online payment remedies. These apply to small businesses and large ventures alike (though the substantial bulk of bigger companies do have on the internet payment services).

Reduce of Purchase

It only stands to factor: if a purchase is simpler as well as quicker to make, there is a greater possibility that a person will make it. When you contrast the amount of time and also problem it requires to write out a check, placed it in a stamped envelope, and send it with filling in a name as well as a couple of credit card digits and after that clicking submit, it is clear at to which the client will perceive as much easier. As well as, in fact they will certainly be right even in a measurable sense worrying the quantity of time invested. Hence from a standard sales standpoint, it makes sense to supply online payment alternatives UK.

Up-to-Date Appearance

Beyond the above, a site that uses on-line payment solutions shows up much more up-to-date and contemporary. Online payment is the standard now, the rule as opposed to the exemption. So it makes a site appear even more market mindful as well as technically updated. This can aid to strengthen the sight for the customer that the website is legit, present, and also customer-oriented.

Simpler to Track and Organize

It is less complicated to track as well as arrange sales that are made online. The software program that processes these payments may additionally include analysis and also organizational components that are very handy in both evaluation of the sales performance of the website and also publication maintaining. And also excellent analysis and organization of supplier information is constantly handy for optimizing as well as streamlining a business.

Conserves Time and also Resources

These online payment services UK conserve the moment and sources of a company. Some examples are their capability to immediately handle repeating payments, produce billings automatically, as well as act as user interfaces for customer questions and complaints. The sheer workforce conserved right here alone is factor to institute these services.

Movement

These repayments can be received anywhere internet gain access to is available. This significantly frees up time and also permits higher flexibility both of business employees and also customers. When a customer can buy anywhere they can utilize their laptop computer, and also a firm can similarly receive those repayments basically anywhere and also anytime, the window for making purchases is a lot higher. This is all thanks to the raised availability/mobility.

A relatively current growth in this area is what is known as mobile payment. This is a growing network that enables people to Wechat Pay for goods or solutions making use of just mobile phones. Once again, what is occurring here is that payment is ending up being also easier to make in a variety of different circumstances and areas.

As you can see, applying an on-line payment option E14 5NR for your organisation makes sense on various levels. If you anticipate to have any type of significant online sales presence, allowing customers to make on line settlements is basically a requirement. Discover a great solution that matches your company needs and also you'll be ready to go.

 Today's culture is slowly proceeding in the direction of a cashless economy! People favor to utilize their plastic as opposed to hard cash. Indeed, making use of charge card is a whole lot simpler than lugging money around. One card is all that you require to suit your purse whereas in case of cash money you need to carry a mass amount because you don't recognize how much you may need at one go. While talking with a company boss who lives next door, I realized the relevance of on the internet payment and also its growing importance for business globe. They have actually begun using different on-line payment remedies as well as terminating the acceptance of cash money from the customers. You need to work with people in order to man the cash counters while in case of online cash transfer the process is quick, basic as well as hassle-free.

On the internet payment transfer is much safer option also. Credit cards are issued by a financial institution after a prolonged verification process. While paying with your charge card, you need to mandatorily check all payment related details before final confirmation. Likewise, you MUST inspect credit card and also bank declarations meticulously after every payment to make certain the appropriate quantity has actually been debited, and also that no scams has happened throughout the particular transaction phase. Bulk of individuals likewise make use of conventional payment portals (PayPal, Authorize.net, and so on) to transfer funds to the vendor. Occasion coordinators as well are relying greatly on such on the internet payment processing and also administration options to effectively deal with event registration charges and/or ticket sales.

On-line payment services feature some major advantages such as:

PCI Compliance

It suggests you can securely make use of such an option for monetary purchases of any kind of kind. PCI which means Payment Card Industry has actually gotten a few objectives that all credit card providing and also dealing financial institutions require to adhere to. Some of the objectives include keeping a protected network, securing the card owner's information, as well as consistently keeping an eye on every single deal that takes place using credit cards.

SSL 128-bit Information Security

Bulk of on-line payment administration software adhere to the SSL 128-bit data file encryption plan to protect info that passes through the system. Therefore, the online payment remedy allows you refine all types of credit/debit card settlements and payments made using preferred gateways firmly, stopping any kind of chances of fraudulence.

Tension-free Cash Handling

Companies of all kinds, event monitoring firms plus course organizers discover an online payment service extremely easy to use. It is since they don't have to trouble around separately collecting money from the consumers, attendees or trainees. The on the internet system successfully transfers money from the purchaser's to the seller's savings account in minutes with least human disturbance.

 On-line payment options could be the secret to saving personal time. It's simple to establish automatic electronic payment choices. You can log on each month to pay your expenses. Or you can license for repayments to be made as regularly as you want without going to your computer. Electronic settlements save you time due to the fact that you are not in the automobile or standing at the bank in line to make a withdrawal or transfer. Doing settlements online is very easy for people with standard computer system skills. If you want straight deposits from your business instead of waiting on a paper check, just offer your firm your account info to set up deposits with the financial institution, and also the transfers begin usually in a few pay cycles.

As an organisation on-line payment services will certainly conserve you a great deal of time and paperwork. You will have exact, organized records of the paychecks you spread at your fingertips. It will not take long to initiate worker pay-roll direct down payments when fundamental account information is authorized and become part of the system. Currently instead of preparing each specific check, printing it, and afterwards signing it, your pay-roll heads out at the touch of a few computer system keys.

Increasingly more company is being carried out online so online payment solutions is a progressively approved as well as preferred purchase. Cash can be transferred in real time where in the past, somebody could have to wait days for a check to show up, hoping it would certainly get to all and not obtain lost in the mail, and afterwards take it to the bank to deposit and wait for funds to clear. Currently, due to the strict regulatory steps that safeguard on the internet settlements, transfers are often offered to the recipient instantly or within a couple of hours of transfer. In today's stressed economy, having prompt accessibility to money that is your own or being able to pay your expenses in the nick of time when you can manage it, is a welcome benefit.

Online payment remedies is a terrific idea for people that require to move large or regular quantities of cash and also are worried for their safety and security. Before digital transfers, individuals had to take pay-roll to a bank, approve repayments personally, as well as handle money handy. Currently as opposed to stressing over being robbed at any step of the method, digital transfers offer a high degree of security. Staff members don't need to bother with washing a paper check when they do washing and after that needing to change it. Digital transfer guarantees the money goes straight to the designated account.

Days Gone – Review

From the makers of Syphon Filter and… Bubsy 3D, Bend Studio is now back with a new IP, Days Gone. On the surface, it seems like “that video game again”. As in, you’ve probably seen various elements of the game in other games before. Open world. Zombies (but not really). Survival elements. Crafting and upgrades. Three skill trees. Shooting and melee. Clearing outposts. You get the idea.

But Days Gone is better than the sum of its parts, though it barely held the parts together at times. Yet somehow, it’s still a hell of a ride from start to finish.

Presentation

Days Gone takes place in the wilderness of Oregon, USA, 2 years after “things went to shit” as it colloquially referred to. Society falls after an outbreak killed billions and turned many of them into Freakers.

The open world is gorgeous. There is a dynamic time and weather system that dramatically changes the environment as well as impacting gameplay. Heavy rain turns the side roads muddy and slippery while the night brings out most of the nasty Freaks.

If you like taking screenshots, there’s plenty of beautiful (and gross) sceneries. And the Photo Mode is decent.

The open world feels small but dense but over time, it becomes larger, with some changes reflective of the story.

The zombie-like but not-zombie Freakers look and sound gross. Blood and gore do spill, with body parts falling off the Freakers, or human enemies when heavy force is applied. Like shooting at the face with as shotgun.

Days Gone has plenty of cinematics with great performances by the actors. Though I find it jarring to see a few seconds of a loading screen, a cut-scene plays, and then another loading screen to go back to gameplay. It ruins the flow a bit, especially when the scenes are just a few seconds long.

It’s really enjoyable riding on the open road (when nothing is out to kill you). The excellent soundtrack kicks in slowly on the longer, uninterrupted journeys. That particular song, which starts and end dynamically, is emotionally charged, swooping and atmospheric as it is soulful and mellow. Perfect for a biker traveling the open roads.

When the faced with the horrifying Freakers however, tunes of dread and suspense pipes in. Whilst the tender, emotional moments are just heartwarming to hear. The overall soundtrack, including the choice of licensed music, is astoundingly well put together.

Unfortunately, the game is crippled with performance issues. The pre-release version I played through saw massive dips in framerate on the base PS4. Slowdowns, textures not loading in, and sometimes even assets not loading in will happen if you move fast enough. Especially while riding the bike.

You will definitely notice the slowdown. At worse, the game crashes.

I can’t tell whether the performance issues are due to the modified Unreal Engine they are using, or a sign we have reached the hardware limits of the PS4.

Gameplay

In Days Gone, you play as Deacon St. John, a former biker gang member (or for you Malaysians: an American Mat Rempit) who is now a Drifter. He does odd jobs for various encampments, either clearing up hideouts or finding lost people or taking out bounties. While the plan was to head out north, circumstances lead to Deacon losing his bike and having to keep doing jobs with the camps he wanted to get away from.

From there on, an overarching story of multiple threads will unravel, weaving various subplots in and out as you progress. You don’t have quest lines, you have storylines, where one mission may advance one or more storyline as it is being completed.

Though for the most part, it’s a story of a man still clinging to the past. Heck, the in-game day tracker counts starting from two years (more accurately, 734 days gone) since he last saw his wife.

The map is packed and there’s really not much downtime going to point A to point B. But the fact that the roads are all windy, filled with obstacles to avoid and danger lurking, you are really on your toes while riding the bike.

If you go on the road for too long, then you better start expecting trouble is coming, either a sniper ambush or swarms of Freakers.

Fiddly (By Design) Controls

You will need to spend some time getting the hang on Days Gone’s controls. R2 is for melee and you need to aim with L2 to use your gun, no blind fire. Grenades are tucked within the Survival Wheel, which requires holding L1, select the grenades category, wait a bit, then select the grenade of choice. Combat is not that fluid, but I guess it’s a deliberate design choice- it’s a survival game, after all.

Weapons are pretty inaccurate at the start, ammo is scarce, and powerful melee weapons break. You will need to use stealth and loot for resources, but you definitely can go gung-ho once you’ve got most of the skill upgrades and stat buffs.

Loot

If the survival elements sound dreadful, just take the solemn that Bend Studio took lessons from Red Dead Redemption II. Looting is quick and easy to do- some enemies like Freakers don’t even need a button prompt to loot.

Resources and melee weapons are scattered around the desolate buildings in the world. They are plentiful but don’t expect them to respawn immediately. Thankfully, gas cans and gas stations have infinite gas.

There’s a sense of permanence in Days Gone. I had a firefight in a small town but didn’t get to loot the area properly as I was locked in a story mission. Revisiting the area not long after (within the same in-game day) and all the bodies and missed crafting components are there as I remembered.

Some Bugs

Alongside the framerate drop and texture loading issues mentioned, the AI pathfinding also frequently bugged out. I’ve seen enemies stuck behind geometry, and even friendly NPCs during missions getting stuck because a Freaker body is in the way.

This game sure has some production values but moments when such issues pop up, coupled with the controls, make it feel like a janky, cobbled-up together game at times.

The Bike

The bike is the star of Days Gone’s gameplay. It’s your only mode of transport, and it needs to be taken care of. You need to keep it away from damage and make sure you have enough fuel or face some big issues. You don’t want to be on foot for too long with Freaks roaming around ready to maul you.

It really makes you consider your traveling plans. In the early game, you’ll have to stop by a gas station for fuel or find a gas can in one of those NERO checkpoints. I spent the first few hours lifting and coasting a lot to save fuel while driving very carefully not to hit anything. And I love that I have to do that.

But later on, you get to upgrade the bike with cosmetics and performance parts, either of which changes the bike’s look, You get to see the Engine III upgrade is a bigger engine block with a different, deeper engine tone. Even racing games don’t go that deep with customisations these days.

Welcome to the Freakshow

The Freakers come in various archetypes. From the little ki- I mean Newts, to Runners, infected wolves that will chase you down even when on a bike.

But the Horde is the big selling point for Days Gone. As those early trailers showed, they are indeed vicious and they are huge. The biggest Hordes have hundreds of these Freakers roaming together.

The early game is spent on avoiding the massive Hordes unless you have a death wish taking them on. But as you progress, Deacon will get more skill points, better weapons and also stat buffs that will allow you to mow them down. Yes, it’s a lot of just running around, then looking at the back taking pot shots but the areas you fight them in do have multiple routes and explosives to use to your advantage.

Crafting all the gear needed, stocking up ammo, and laying up all the traps before engaging the Horde is both the most exhilarating and the most cathartic experience in Days Gone. Nothing like mowing down hundreds of not-zombies after hours of just gasping looking the sheer size and wondering: “How the heck am I supposed to kill them all?”

Content

Days Gone is longer than you would expect. The game has about one hour worth of tutorial before opening up the world for you to explore. The fact the open world only opens up gradually means the size, and the number of side-missions available, will not overwhelm you as a result. Side-missions like clearing marauder camps each have a small reward, which can be tracked in the menus. And finding them is easy, just explore the map and it will mark the spot when you are close enough.

The story does feel cliche. “Sons Of Anarchy meets The Walking Dead” is a rather apt description, but the plot is more than just the biker life and post-apocalypse melodrama.

There are many interwoven subplots coming in and out of the main progression, all focusing on character interaction. Deacon is a dick, the name checks out, but a generic white-man protagonist he is not. Seeing him bouncing off with the rest of the cast, some with great chemistry, others with clashing personalities, is entertaining to see. And the poignant romance story, of how he is dealing with the loss of his wife, is gripping. With a great payoff.

Outside of the surprisingly good story, expect the same-old side missions and collectibles. It is an open world game, after all. Though taking down the Hordes is really fun to do by the end game.

It took me around 41 hours to finish Days Gone and see the credits. Though completionists will definitely spend more than that.

Personal Enjoyment

Days Gone sure sounds like just another open world game on paper with technical issues. But somehow, I really like it.

I am a stickler for games running at its intended framerate cap. So there’s a lot of moments where I just reel back and cringe seeing all the slowdowns. Despite that, the pros outweigh the cons. I enjoyed seeing Deacon’s story unfolded. The number of optional camps to clear is just enough- and with enough variety- to keep me engaged.

I enjoyed customising, upgrading and maintaining the bike. Plus, there’s enough wiggle room in the systems to see something dynamic happen. I tried taking down an ambush camp but forgot to put silencers on. That caught the attention of a nearby Horde and ravaged the camp for me while I cowardly hide in a bush. That’s neat!

Verdict

Days Gone is an ambitious open world survival game that is almost bursting at its seams. The dynamic open world is lovingly crafted to not only look good, but serve gameplay purposes. The customisable bike rivals those seen in racing games. The tension coming from facing the Freakers and managing your crafting resources won’t get old. The story is amazingly well told filled with great character moments.

Yet technical issues, from noticeable framerate drops to the various glitches and crashes are a letdown. It makes you think whether the PS4 is at its last legs… or the game is just too ambitious for its own good.

Whatever the case is, should you persist through the jankiness, Days Gone is the best open world biker survival game, that happens to have sort-of zombies, out there.

It’s a hell of a ride.

Review based on version 1.02 and version 1.03 (pre-release), played on the base PS4. Review copy provided by the publisher

Days Gone – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/