Kaser Focus: Paldea, here I come

August 6, 2022

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I’ll be straight with you: Ya girl over here is not a diehard Pokémon fan. I have nothing against the series, and it’s been part of my personal and professional life since the 90s, so I couldn’t ignore it even if I wanted to. But the announcement of a new release never fails to make the little doe-eyed 3rd grader inside of me sit up and say “Hey, it still looks like fun!” And Scarlet and Violet are no exception. The Pokemon Company this week released new details about the new titles, including a look at the new region, Paldea.

I’m not going to say the possibility of having a Pokémon motorcycle will be enough to entice me to play the game. But it certainly doesn’t hurt. I can say that I’ll at the very least dip into it. I need to find out what the deal is with those darned crystal hats I saw in the presentation. I also think I’ll try my hand at knitting Grusha’s scarf, because it’s quite stylish.

Speaking of something that’s been part of my life since the 90s, a new Tomb Raider script has surfaced online. If real, then the game would follow the exploits of an older Lara Croft working with a team of other archaeologists. I haven’t read the documents myself, but I got the impression that Lara, now a legend and with nothing left to prove, has taken some young history buffs under her wing. She also might finally find herself a romantic partner. I’d be very happy if this turns out to be true. Lara Croft hasn’t really evolved as a character in 26 years. Not only does she deserve personal happiness and fulfillment, but she also deserves to take her place in the “former lone wolves turned bossy parental figures” hall of fame alongside Kratos, Dante and the cast of Mortal Kombat.

In personal news, I’m going to keep trying to hack it in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 this weekend. I’ve spent part of the week playing Two Point Campus (which I will speak about in more depth next week), and I feel like I need to cleanse my palate a bit. This is also a relatively lean weak on big new releases, so I think if anyone needs a moment to catch up — or catch their breath — this is it.