In a nutshell | October 2025

Of Hades II, Honkai: Star Rail, A Short Hike and Spy x Family

Inspired by amazing Substack writers like Margot and Inna, I decided to do a little monthly post where I write about the things I played, watched, or read. I want it to be like a journal, to summarize what media I consumed and which ones I enjoyed. Because of my ADHD, I tend to forget what I consumed and when, so I think writing down my thoughts in an orderly fashion would help me remember them better.

Hades II

A lot of my free time has actually been consumed by Hades II. I wrote about my thoughts in detail in this post, so head there if you are interested. But long story short, Hades games are great to just pick up and play. I always go in with the intention of doing one run, which usually extends to more. The runs in Hades II are longer than its predecessor, depending on how well you do on them.

I wish we could spoiler-mark stuff on Substack because on a recent run, I beat TWO end-game bosses on my first try. The dopamine rush I got from it was a little addictive, so I had to physically put my Steam Deck away to do other stuff and not sink another two hours into the game.

Honkai: Star Rail

I had taken a long break from this game. I’m not a Day 1 player, but I started playing very early. I wrote about it back in August 2023 (not my best work, but still), and wrote about how much I enjoyed it. Dan Heng was my favorite character, and I was saving for his Imbibitor Lunae form when I wrote that post. Even after two years, my heart hasn’t swayed, and he remains my favorite.

I stopped playing shortly after Penacony, I had a little bit of a burnout. But seeing March 7th and Dan Heng’s new forms in Amphoreus brought me back, more interested than ever. So I’ve been trying to catch up with the story, though it’s taking me some time. But Amphoreus is a lot more interesting to me than Penacony so far, so it’s been going well - I do love Greek mythology after all. Dan Heng Permansor Terrae is one hell of a name, and I was eager to find out how he got it.

I’ve been hoarding gems for such times, so even though DHPT was free, I immediately went and pulled for him and got his E1. And I did something I never do: I got his Light Cone too. Hoyo really got me at the palm of their hands. But DHPT is really comfortable to play, he is an improvement to almost all the teams I add him in.

Also the explanation for the fact that he was free and practically shoves himself into your account is because he wants to protect those around him? He is the guard of the express, alright.

Can you tell that I love the Astral Express? And yes, Sunday is a part of the group. And yes, I’m eagerly waiting for new versions of Himeko and Welt.

I finally got caught up and I must say that Hoyo popped off with this story. I do have my criticisms, but it was still very good. Especially the patch that features Phainon heavily, like whoa! His animations are actually out of this world. Kind of regretting not pulling for him, I’ll definitely try to get him on his rerun.

Though I will say that I’m not sure if Hoyo knows what a million is. I’m usually pretty good at suspending my disbelief when the story requires it, but even I was pushed to the limits and played some parts with an eyebrow raised. Not gonna post any spoilers but like… come on. There is just no way you are talking about millions. The storytelling was still incredible though, maybe one of the best that HSR has ever done.

Tiny Bookshop

I had this game on my wishlisht even before it came out, and it is shooting up the ranks to become my cozy game of the year. The idea of selling secondhand books and recommending books to people based on their preferences is so good, and the visuals are super cute.

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And in an unexpected turn of events, I was chosen as a ‘Book Council Member’ for the game! This means that I get to contribute books in Turkish to the game and write their descriptions! It’s been really fun, and as a booklover, I was really excited for this project.

But it made me realize that I don’t read Turkish authors that much anymore, which I should amend ASAP. Thankfully this game is a great source of inspiration when it comes to choosing books, so even by just playing, I was able to put some books to my ‘to-read’ list. Give this game a try if you are interested in books!

A Short Hike

I played this back in 2020 and loved it to bits. In October, as part of the Good Game Lobby Discord Gaming Club, I replayed it and had a blast. It’s a short and simple game with a really charming art style and does not overstay its welcome.

Despite how short the main story looks, there is more to it than meets the eye. But I am bad at games where I’m not given explicit directions, so I couldn’t find all of them. Still, stumbling upon a fun mini-game or a short quest was a delight. And I loved the ending. Very good game overall, and a great pick if you are looking for a short and sweet game to finish in one sitting.

The next game on the gaming club is TOEM. I’ve been meaning to replay this game too, as it is a delightful and charming game like A Short Hike (though it is longer than A Short Hike). Join the club and play alongside us! We discuss the game of the month at the end of every month.

Spy x Family

This show heals my soul. I’ve been a fan of it since season 1, and started reading the manga right after. I’ve always been very fond of the ‘found family’ trope in fiction, and it doesn’t get more found family than this.

For those who don’t know, the show is about a spy dad (Twilight/Loid), an assassin mom (Yor), and a telepathic child (Anya) coming together to pose as a family. They also get a dog at one point. Only the child knows everyone’s true identity, which leads to some really fun schenanigans.

An actual found family

It’s a comedy show first and foremost, but it has a lot of wholesome moments alongside some really badass ones. When the mom is a freakishly strong assassin and the dad is an incredibly smart spy, these badass moments are inevitable. Watching them grow as a family and be each others’ support is really cute.

The show and the manga also have a very strong anti-war message sprinkled throughout the show, and some moments hit really hard because of this. For a mainly comedy show, I think it does a pretty good job at getting the anti-war message across.

Season 3 is currently airing and I absolutely recommend it for anyone who is looking for a simple and heartwarming show.

Closing Thoughts

October was a great month in terms of games and other media for me. I was a bit overwhelmed with my personal life, but I’m happy that I still found the time for my hobbies.

I also wanted to do a music section but I realized that I wouldn’t have much to talk about since I’ve had Expedition 33’s OST on loop again this month… Hyperfixations are a thing, huh? I’ve talked about the OST here so I’m not gonna do it again here.

I’m expecting great things from November, and I hope y’all had a good October as well! I’d be curious to know how your October was, so let’s discuss in the comments if you’d like. Thank you for reading!