EDIT: Apparently some people were confused by the original text of this particular request, so I have felt the need to clarify it and now I am rewriting it for the sixth time. Since the original text is clearly still circulating, let’s focus on the obvious points:
- No, the Headless Horseman cannot take the head of his own horse.
- No, I didn’t get to ask him about that; he cannot talk because he doesn’t have a head.
- No, he can’t have my head. I need my head.
- No, he’s not going to take anyone’s head any more because he’s going to have a head.
- There are lots of heads that aren’t attached to people.
- No, I don’t mean a statue’s head. Yes, I know that isn’t technically attached to a person, but a statue’s head won’t work. I know this because if that solution would work, wouldn’t he have already tried it?
- No, I don’t have a problem with people who eat beans.
- Yes, it is probably a bad idea to make a head out of farts. I don’t know how you would do that but it sounds bad.
- Yes, I agree that a head where rats live is a problem.
- Yes, I should have set up the actual GoFundMe before writing this in What Are You Playing.
- Does it matter if I say I’ll hold? You’re going to put me on hold either way.
- No, I don’t want free earbuds.
Bonus question: What’s a non-horror movie (or show or book) that scares you?
Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): Gotta play my exercise games! January is kind of a busy month for me and the celebrations still haven’t ended. Hoping to get some Splatoon 3 time in too, as I’ve found some mean ways to use Toxic Mist and have been building outfits around it lately.
Without looking like a hippy or getting political, non-horror movie that scares me the most is the first Twilight movie. The first line of the movie had me warning my partner at the time that it was gonna be bad, yet I was forced to watch. It was physically painful. I can watch actual horror movies with graphic scenes no problem, but I constantly had to look away or think of something else to get through the movie. It still scares me that it was (is?) so popular.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna.bsky.social, blog): I’ve been playing a bit of Aloft and a bit of Stars Reach this week – probably going to try to get in some time in both this weekend too, as there’s a big SR test on Saturday.
All of the movies my brain is leaping to are suspense-driven sci-fi of some sort, which probably says too much about how fear works in my brain.
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes.bsky.social, blog): The Monster Hunter Wilds brainrot is real (I recreated some of the Grammeowster’s hunter platter for dinner a couple days ago), so to continue to cope until its release, I decided to reinstall and replay Monster Hunter World (regrettably solo) and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. I’m calling this part of a column assignment and not me desperately pining. Also there’s likely to be some Final Fantasy XIV and Marvel Rivals in-between.
I tend to shy away from horror films in general, but there are certainly a few suspense films that kind of hit that near-note or are cribbed into the same category. Two that immediately spring to mind are the movie Cape Fear and the anime film Perfect Blue. Those certainly had some spooky numbers!
Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): It’s Warframe and FFXIV in this house, but also a very exciting game to review (wow, that happened last January too, huh) so I’ll be pretty well occupied over the next couple of days.
While I love horror as a genre I also love things that sit on the outer edges of it, but I specifically asked the question in a way that I wanted to move away from all of those… and so I’m going to pick a real out-of-the-box moment by highlighting the mud-sinking sequence from the Secret of NIMH. Even as a child that terrified me, in a film that is for the most part a fantasy adventure about mice and rats.
Sam Kash (@samkash@mastodon.social): We’ve officially completed Sea of Stars co-op and it really was a lot of fun. We beat the game technically last weekend but we wanted that good ending so we spent this week running through all the little secrets and stuff to get the good ending. It was a really fun time. Now though, there’s an opening in our game schedule. I’m hoping it isn’t filled completely with Severance or another show but there’s time for Throne and Liberty soon. Also the new PvP servers have my attention for New World next week. I haven’t decided if I’ll already pay this weekend or not to get some muscle memory back or if I want to raw dog it.
Bonus: I’m going to go with something like Boyhood. As a human myself, I find seeing someone visibly age so quickly before my eyes is terrifying. Thinking about my own mortality always puts me in a weird place. Not to mention every year I myself keep getting older too! And that’s just the worst.
Tyler Edwards (blog): Probably more The First Descendant, but I am a bit discouraged that the new character is earned by doing the Void Vessel, an incredibly tedious bit of content I’ve already run far too much. I might switch gears and play something else. Age of Darkness: Final Stand is out of early access and on sale…
Bonus: I get pretty disturbed by stuff where there’s a blurred line between reality and delusion, even if it’s not particularly “scary” per se. I remember the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Frame of Mind really messed me up the first time I saw it.
Every Saturday, join the Massively OP community and staff for What Are You Playing, our roundup of what MMORPGs and other games we’re hoping to play this weekend (with a bonus question or two for our amusement). Tell us what you’re up to! Go off-topic! And don’t forget to have fun!
