Page 16 of Level Up
“Mal!” Scones calls after him, still standing by the entrance to the store. “Let’s go!”
“Don’t hold it against him,” Malcolm adds quickly before heading back towards his friend.
Scowling, I watch him walk away until Scones glances back at me, and I almost feel bad for being so pissed off. Which is ridiculous. I have every right to be unreasonable about this.
“Come on,” I say to Victory and Pal, turning to march off in the opposite direction. I’m not even sure this is the right direction anymore, but I need to be away fromhere.
They walk with me to my grandmother’s house, to make sure I get there safely, and then head off towards Victory’s apartment, where Pal intends to spend the night because they live further away and it’s late. It seems kind of soon forsleepoversalready, considering they only went on their first date a few days ago, but I’m in no place to judge what dating people do, given that I’m terrible with all of it.
I, however, am looking forward to spending the rest of the night alone.
I pryoff my shoes as soon as I get to my apartment and drag my exhausted shell of a body into the living room. I set the Deluxe Edition on my desk, but I decide not to open it now. I’d rather wait until morning, when I can see all the goodies in daylight. Besides, I just want to get playing.
I change into sweatpants and an even uglier sweater and settle in my desk chair with a twenty-ounce mug of cold brew sitting next to my keyboard—I intend to be at this for a while. I’m so eager to get started that I don’t even bother swapping for a keyboard with linear switches, which I tend to prefer for playingSOAgames because I like how smooth they are for running around. But there’s no time for that now.
I fold up my legs on my chair and open up Play’N to get the game loaded, grateful that I was able to pre-download the hundred-gig game ahead of time. Nothing is going to keep me from this, the moment I’ve been waiting for for nearly a decade.
A brand newStones of Ayorgame.
The title screen fills my main monitor, and I get goosebumps on my arms, but then a small notification pops up in the corner. A Play’N notification, a request for a private chat.
From SconesOfAyor.
Return to Ayor’s Rest yet again, in the fourth instalment of the critically acclaimed series,The Stones of Ayor.
A plague has swept the land, and the dead are rising from their graves to devour the living. Is it a curse, or is there something even more foul afoot?
Waking up aboard a deserted ship stranded off the coast, you are left with more questions than answers. How did you get here? And why is one of Ayor’s Stones in your pocket? Sinister forces are at work here in Ayor’s Rest, and you, brave adventurer, are the only one who can stop them.
With a cast of colourful characters, more quests than ever before, and over a million lines of voiced dialogue, embark upon the most ambitious adventureThe Stones of Ayorhas ever seen. Play your character your way. Make choices, face consequences, and save the world—or rule it.
— Promo forThe Stones of Ayor 4on Play’N, released September 26, 2024
six
no shame in any game
I stareat the little pop-up until it disappears.
I know I should just ignore it—taste of his own medicine—but my curiosity gets the best of me and I open a new chat window on my second monitor. I type up an impatient“what do you want?”message and return toThe Stones of Ayor 4, selecting New Game. The familiar theme music swells, and it feels like a hug. It feels like home.
SconesOfAyor:
Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for being a dick
Last week and tonight
I didn’t realize I was being a dick, but I was and I’m sorry
I guess I thought if I ignored the assholes they would drop it, I didn’t realize it would seem like I’m okay with them
Because I’m not
So yeah, I’m sorry and I won’t let it happen again
I read his messages during the first loading screen, but soon the voice-over starts up and I’m drawn into the game, ready to let myself disappear for the next few hours. I don’t need to worry about nemeses or awkward social interactions or any of that stuff. I just need to frolic through a fantasy land collecting mushrooms and finding magic rocks and killing zombies.
There are several minutes of exposition and cinematics at the start of the game, before the character creation screen. My favourite part.
