The Haunting of Hill House ~ TV review

The Haunting of Hill House is a supernatural/horror television miniseries created and directed by Mike Flanagan for the streaming platform, Netflix. The 10-episode TV series premiered on the platform on October 12, 2018.

It's a fantastic TV show, so I'm inspired to do this quick mini review on it. I am a fan of Mike Flanagan's films such as Oculus and Before I Wake but for some reason I was dragging my feet when it comes to his many TV series that were currently available on Netflix. Finally this year, I took the first big step and watched the show, which is loosely adapted from the 1959 novel with the same name by Shirley Jackson. The show follows the Crain family, the husband and wife with their 5 children, and their experiences with paranormal activities after living at the Hill House. The show alternates between the time when the five children were still kids staying at the Hill House, and when they were adults still grappling with the tragedy that happened when they were kids.

I love how the way the show tells the story of the family; it took its time and slowly building up the tense and mysteries to finally revealed everything at the end. It's as much of a family drama as it is a horror story. The two elements blended beautifully. The first 5 episodes focused on each of the five children characters respectively (both when they were kids and adults), and I find that really helpful for me to get to know each of them and their struggles. There's also an episode each that focused more on the parents in the second half of the show.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered ~ video game review

Title - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (part of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection)

Played on PlayStation 4

I don't think this game need an introduction but for those who may not have known about this "little" franchise, here's a brief intro. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is the first game in the Uncharted series released way back on PlayStation 3 in 2007. Developed by Naughty Dog, the game received praise from game critics and gained quite a number of fans, which give rise to a couple sequels and even a film which starred Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg.

In 2015, a remaster of the first three video games was released, titled Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, for the PlayStation 4. This is the version that I played but I will only review the first game for today.

Time to Explore

Obviously, I'm late to this party. I played the game more than a decade after its initial release. I know it's the first game in a successful franchise but I have to be honest, my first impression of the game visual-wise was not great. I can definitely say that it was underwhelming...and I know the reason why. Throughout the years, I have been keeping up with the news on this franchise; reading articles and reviews, watching walkthroughs and reaction videos, et cetera, et cetera. So in a way, I am aware how the games have grown and evolved throughout the years. I think maybe the greatness that I saw of the 4th game in the series somehow cloud my judgement and I was expecting the visuals of the first game to be at the same level as the latest installment, which is foolish of me. I somehow forgot that this is the first, the very first, game in the series, and furthermore it's just a remaster, not a remake. But as I spent hours playing the game, the visuals grew on me, and I can finally see how beautiful the game is.

Even though it looks a little dated visual-wise, the game still managed to mesmerize me with its beautiful locations and settings; the lush jungles, the winding rivers, the ancient structures; they were all quite fascinating to behold. You get to walk around and explore these great locations and as a player, it feels amazing. Something that I wish the game would have though is more varieties for its locations because sometimes there are a little bit of sameness to some of the locations. 

My 2021 Top 70 Songs From Female K-pop Groups ~ No. 30 - No. 21

Here's Part 5 for my 2021 list of favourite songs from female K-pop group. You can check out the links below if you missed the previous parts;

Songs from number 70 to 61

Songs from number 60 to 51

Songs from number 50 to 41

Songs from number 40 to 31

Hope some of the songs in my list piqued your interest to check them out if you haven't already. Now let's get on with the list.

No. 30 - Let Me Know by Pixy

No. 29 - First by Everglow

No. 28 - Tiki Taka by T-ara

My 2021 Top 70 Songs From Female K-pop Groups ~ No. 40 - No. 31

Here is Part 4 for the 2021 list of my favourite songs from female K-pop group. Missed the earlier 3 parts? Click the links below to go there;

Songs from number 70 to 61

Songs from number 60 to 51

Songs from number 50 to 41

What other songs do you think will be in my list? Let's continue the journey with songs at number 40 to 31.

No. 40 - Gray Area by Hi Cutie

No. 39 - I Cook by HeyGirls

No. 38 - Stop by Minimani

Unravel ~ video game review

Title - Unravel

Played on PlayStation 4

Unravel is a video game developed by Coldwood Interactive and published by Electronic Arts. It was released back in 2016 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It's a puzzle platformer where you control Yarny, a creature made of yarn, across different sets of environment while solving puzzles along the way. It's sweet, it's lovely and it lets you look at the cycle of life through the perspective of its cute little protagonist.

Little Yarn in a Big World

First of all, let me tell you that Unravel is a beautiful video game. The settings are beautifully crafted from the peaceful, soothing locations of the house backyard and the seaside, to the dark, intimidating locations like a gloomy factory, a toxic dumpster area and snowy garage of abandoned vehicles. Everything is perfectly visualized. It feels like you have been shrunk to a small size and you get to explore these amazing places which are basically real-world based locations but from a different perspectives. The fact that it was greatly and beautifully constructed makes exploration a fascinating and wonderful experience.

The soundtrack for the video game is well-crafted too; complementing it's beautiful sceneries with soothing and calm music, while slow and melancholic music complement it's dark and depressing locations. The music and the environment go hand-in-hand in making the journey richer and satisfying. Not to forget the sound design; crashing waves, rustling leaves, flowing water, all of which play an important role immersing us in the adventure of our little protagonist.