Rosalia Rambles

Tag: reviews

  • Redundancy Review: Day 11, “Hot two? Damn”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/) 

    Good morning risers and shiners, welcome to Day 11 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    It is currently a wondrous 23 degrees Celsius outside at 9:15am (73 degrees in Freedom units) with the humidity at 59%. Combine this with the clay oven construction of the flat I live in and we get a formula for it once again being too damn hot. Thankfully the temperature is supposed to go back down to reasonable levels with 20 degrees being the peak instead of the lower part of the curve.

    Outside of the supply run I did with my partner yesterday, my productivity was minimised despite my best efforts to try to keep doing tasks – after a while of just moving small distances across the living room I turned into a sweaty mess that needed to sit down.

    Hopefully once things cool down and the flat returns to a reasonable temperature I can keep on my domestic quest to finish all the outstanding housework and tidying.

    Caught up with a friend and colleague of mine yesterday who mentioned that Poncle had closed applications for the QA engineer role, so hopefully I get to hear back soon enough (also cause I sent him the link to this site, if you are reading, hi!).

    Due to meet with the Jobcentre on Monday as well, hopefully I can get things sorted out with them and start receiving some extra money to help out with things.

    If you would like to help me out with my money situation, then I am available to be hired for writing work. Reviewing video games, card games, and board games are options alongside commissioning me for fiction – I love expanding my horizons and I would love working with you on your next project.

    So as part of my housework list yesterday, I resumed sorting my Magic: the Gathering cards. For those unaware, I own… a lot of cards…

    …possibly even too many one might say… this is not even a full representation of the entire collection, considering the amount of binders and commander decks I own.

    Though with consideration to today’s review subject, pictured above, keeping the collection organised has become easier.

    Those cardboard boxes are called BulkBox QUADs, being able to hold 3600 cards across four channels. They do require some assembly before use, and I will admit to minorly fucking up the construction on one of them but that is not a fault of the video tutorial I followed – created by Bulkbox themselves.

    Before purchasing this product, my cards were stored in a Fenrir Games 5000 count longbox that I had owned since around 2019. It definitely served its purpose for the time I had it but in my current living situation, it was difficult to use it without struggling to find a home for it.

    That is where one of the features of the BulkBox really appealed to me – a set of three QUADs fit perfectly into one IKEA Kallax cube. Having a massive amount of Kallax cube space already in my flat made it the ideal upgrade for my card storage solution.

    Picture taken from BulkBox’s website

    Even with the amount of cards currently spread across all three of the boxes I bought, I do not feel them bowing or bending whenever I pick them up – something I often encountered when needing to move my old 5000 count longbox. Even considering the somewhat botched job I did on construction, the Bulkbox holds up fantastically to the amount of cards I am putting into it.

    That said, I would consider Bulkbox to be premium-priced storage solutions. For a bundle pack of three QUADS (with free UK shipping) cost me £35. I do consider it worth it for serious collectors of cards and Kallax enthusiasts (that Venn diagram is a circle), especially if you want to minimise the footprint your collection has.

    Taking into account the rest of the collection I need to sort, it is likely I will need to buy from BulkBox again, and I know I can be assured of their quality.

    I think that covers everything for today, I am going to go focus on staying cool with soft drinks, frappes, and ice cream. Thank you for reading today, please stay cool and treat yourself to anything that cools you down.

    For more information on BulkBox products, visit their website here: BulkBox the best trading card game storage boxes

  • Redundancy Review: Day 10, “Running Up That Hill”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/) 

    Good morning climbers and divers, welcome to Day 10 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Might be a shorter one today as I have just come back from shopping at Asda to get supplies before a massive heatwave today and tomorrow. Plenty of drinks, snacks, and ice cream to get through a rough time – did involve walking up a very steep hill in quite humid weather all the same.

    Despite the heat though, I have been managing to keep busy domestically. It was a tough struggle but yesterday I managed to finally give the master bedroom a deep clean, picking up the floordrobe that had developed and giving the carpet a well deserved vacuuming. Being able to see the floor again and not have to walk around on eggshells is such a relieving feeling.

    I reconnected with an old friend yesterday as well. In the past we had helped each other get the multiplayer achievements on Borderlands 2 and he messaged me a few days back asking if I wanted help getting the ones on the original game as well (not the “Enhanced Edition” – quotation marks used quite literally there). He is in a similar situation to myself in terms of jobs so it was nice to shoot the shit for a bit about life.

    The job search continues, albeit very slowly right now. Got an official rejection from Jagex for the producer role I had applied for, which whilst it sucks to be rejected, I do appreciate them sending a proper rejection email. It says something that actually receiving one is a rare courtesy these days.

    Still waiting to hear back from Poncle, which is definitely the main cause of my waiting room syndrome right now. I think getting an answer one way or another from them would help me move on to applying at a great speed. 

    If you want to help me out in the interim, I am available for writing work as always. Doing these redundancy reviews have really helped me out in staying in the routine and always thinking how to improve my own work, being able to tell my story no matter what also helps. I have always liked to think of myself as a storyteller above all else and maintaining a public journal of sorts helps me feel like I am making myself a better one.

    So, initially I was going to cop out today and review one of my favourite Magic: the Gathering cards for today, but me emphasising the quotation marks on the Borderlands “Enhanced Edition” makes me want to cover that, especially with playing the original yesterday.

    Borderlands is a first-person looter shooter initially released in 2009, with the Enhanced Edition coming out in…

    …well that does not link up. Wikipedia is telling me the Enhanced Edition released in 2019 whilst the Steam Store page is saying 2023… 

    Oh well, moving on.

    For my thoughts on Borderlands across both versions, I can summarise it simply as “very successful tech demo”. Borderlands was the first game to bring the looter shooter genre into the public spotlight, previous attempts had been made but this game made it mainstream. That said, outside of the loot system I do not think the original has much going for it in today’s market.

    Especially when compared against the vastly superior Borderlands 2 released in 2012, which I personally think is where the franchise peaked and has been struggling to live up to it ever since, but that is a different story.

    The driving mechanics are passable, but feels more like a way to get from point A to point B quicker than anything else – especially prevalent in the third DLC which puts a heavy emphasis on needing to drive everywhere. 

    Whilst there are some funny moments with characters in the base game a lot of the humour is told in flavour text rather than character dialogue. This is rectified in the DLC, where the comedy and writing style of the sequel starts to take shape with each passing addition.

    In terms of thoughts on the Enhanced Edition… I do not want to be kind to it. The graphical improvements and expansion of graphical options is a very needed addition, as the original game does not have VSync or a Field-Of-View slider – noticeable omissions especially when playing that version at 4K

    But outside of that I have encountered a lot of issues in my playtime, including numerous crashes and issues with the minimap being retroactively added into the game. Its inclusion does help with navigating the world better compared to the pure compass system of the original, but in multiplayer I have seen several issues with waypoints not working for me as the joining player.

    Borderlands 1 Title Screen
    Borderlands 1 in Fyrestone
    Borderlands Enhanced Title Screen
    Borderlands Enhanced Outside Fyrestone

    When looking at texture quality as well, I think the visuals of the original look better. Both games have the cel-shaded look but the original has sharper lines, a more defined style, one that especially shines considering the era of brown modern military shooters it came out in. The lighting in the enhanced edition is better on a technical standpoint, but I feel it loses some of the edge the original had.

    I will end on a positive note, and highlight one thing that always brings a smile to my face whenever I have revisited the original: Mordecai.

    Mordecai is the “Hunter” class of the game, with skill trees focusing on his pet Bloodwing, the usage of pistols, and my preferred tree of choice: Sniping. Whilst the trees are much smaller compared to later entries; Mordecai’s sniping tree is beautifully simple in its execution, boosting damage, ammo capacity, and ending off on a capstone of bypassing shields once fully levelled up.

    Trespass is a hilariously broken skill in this game, especially considering the endgame Eridian Guardian enemies are all shields and no health. What is supposed to be a tough enemy to break through their defenses while they bombard you with attacks becomes trivial fodder that dies to a single headshot, only rarely needing a follow up shot to finish the job.

    Playing as Mordy was so fun that my initial playthrough of Borderlands 2 was done using Zer0 and trying to do a similar thing, but he could just not reach the expectations I had – though this was not a bad thing, as I then switched to Salvador who is stupid amounts of fun to play as.

    But rambling about the sequel needs to be another day, especially as I uh…

    …liked that game a lot more.

    That does it for today, what I initially thought was going to be a shorter review turned into an over three page rant. Thank you for reading if you made it this far, please stay cool wherever you are and remember to hydrate regularly throughout the day.

    To purchase both Borderlands and Borderlands Enhanced, visit the Steam Store here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/729040/Borderlands_Game_of_the_Year_Enhanced/ 

  • Redundancy Review: Day 1, “A New Beginning”

    As of yesterday, 10th June 2025, I am redundant.

    Well, that is a question I have been asking myself for a fair few days after getting the initial news that the company I worked at was in trouble. Even if I saw it coming to some degree it was still a shocking thing to process, but weirdly enough now that I know the outcome I am… relaxed in a way?

    Obviously there is a tonne of stress still to come, from finding a new job to managing finances during this time, though the former is partially why I am writing this.

    One of the things I knew I needed after the axe dropped was a sense of routine, something to keep me getting up in the morning and not just rotting in bed as I would be so inclined to instead.

    That gave birth to this idea: “The Redundancy Review”…

    …I really do like alliteration with R words huh. Anyway, back on track.

    This blog of mine has been dormant for a while, partially because I was busy advancing my primary career of working in production and directing all of my writing energy towards proposals, scripts, and all other sorts of professional copy. Now it is time for me to make a comeback!

    I still have aspirations of being able to work as a copywriter in any industry, so I will be using this blog to build up a new portfolio of work alongside my job search. 

    The Redundancy Review will be a daily article series, written each morning as I eat breakfast and drink a delicious mocha, with the following structure:

    • A brief emotional check-in, talking about how I feel in regards to my situation and any stumbles I have encounter
    • Job search update, any fun roles I have applied for or any opportunities I think are cool
    • Finally, the real “review” part of the article, where I talk about something I enjoy at varying lengths

    I will also be including a call to action in each article, emphasising that I am available for all sorts of work. If you like what you are reading and want to inform me of an opportunity or offer me paid writing work, I would absolutely love to hear from you.

    With the introduction to the series out of the way, let me inaugurate it with the first Redundant Review of something I have been loving to play recently…

    Oh yeah, we are starting strong with this one.

    Beat Saber is a Virtual Reality (VR) rhythm game developed by Beat Games and released in 2019 for Playstation VR and PCVR platforms, and standalone mode for Meta Quest platforms.

    The main objective of the game is to smash blocks with various directional arrows (or dots for hitting them in any direction) in time with a song whilst walls and bombs fly by you, needing to keep your head and sabers away from them respectively.

    I got into it recently as a way of exercising within my home in a way that is more mentally stimulating to me – and it is certainly a workout. 

    Your centre of gravity gets time in by needing to lean your body side-to-side to avoid any walls, whilst your knees get their activity by needing to duck under the same obstacle. Specifically in my case as well, once I really get into a song I can feel my hips swaying and my feet bouncing, dancing along with my lower body whilst my upper body is twisting and turning to hit the blocks.

    My reaction time has also definitely improved from when I started out. Initially I would struggle to keep a good combo going on some “Normal” difficulty songs, even failing a handful of the custom levels I had installed – but now I am able to competently clear a good majority of “Hard” songs and even pushing myself towards “Expert” for some.

    As mentioned above, Beat Saber supports custom levels. These maps are designed by community members and uploaded on various sites, with my site of choice being BeatSaver – Home. My choice primarily includes original songs by Hololive talents and the RWBY OST, with a few mainstream songs in there as well.

    That said, custom levels are not needed to enjoy Beat Saber. Built into the base game is a wide array of original songs, including an entry by legendary power metal band Dragonforce, “Power of the Saber Blade”, one of my personal favourites to play due to its high-intensity note patterns and upbeat energy of the song.

    And even beyond what is already available, as of time of writing, there are 245 DLC songs across a massive range of artists and genres, including:

    • A full Linkin Park pack
    • A full Imagine Dragons pack
    • A full Lady Gaga pack
    • Various iconic internet culture songs, such as Sandstorm by Darude, and Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd

    There is something for everyone in Beat Saber, and with how easy it is to add custom levels on PC I can guarantee if my review has made you interested, something will be out there for you.

    Well, that’s Day 1 of the Redundancy Review in the bag. I hope you have enjoyed reading this today, and whatever you get up to today, I hope you have a good day. You definitely deserve it.

    You can purchase Beat Saber from the following locations:

    Steam: Beat Saber on Steam

    Playstation: Beat Saber – PS VR & PS VR2 Games | PlayStation (UK)

    Meta Quest: Beat Saber on Meta Quest | Quest VR games | Meta Store