Citrus Service: 2025

Friday, November 7, 2025

Control (2019)

"How do we hint at a new Alan Wake game in the coolest way?" Asked Remedy, "Lets make a game about it!".

The game starts by reciting/interpreting the synopsis of a movie that I've watched and recognized the reference immediately.

I will always love James McCaffrey's performance, he was great in every game I've played; from Max Payne, Alan Wake and here in Control it's no different. His role in this game wasn't as prominent in my opinion but, it makes every interaction with his character that much more alluring. So, I'd say it worked here.

James McCaffrey as Director Zachariah Trench.

What grabbed my eyes first was the brutalist architecture—the bureau is filled with plain concrete monoliths and all kinds of structural systems from flat to waffle slabs.

I like it!

These Rangers are issued Lewis machineguns for some reason?

Someone on Reddit provided an excellent answer as to why:

Still, I'm still not sure about the side grip. I couldn't find anything about that.

Someone is brushing up on their differential calculus.

I love the posters plastered all over the bureau, they are pretty cool. I might print some of them. Another Reddit post includes upscaled posters, I like these ones myself:

The music in this game is pretty good. I found a great list of the tracks that play when you interact with the radios in-game, here are my favorites (radio and otherwise):

Lastly:

Oh yeah, I didn't mention what the reference was from which movie; that's because the game tells you that in the most hilarious way possible—AT THE END OF THE DANG GAME!— However, I did feel vindicated after the reveal.

Links:

Friday, October 31, 2025

Singer - Sandra

I've listened to Sandra before however, after listening to a curated playlist on YouTube with some songs remixed; I believe I found something beautiful—as it is rare for me to not fall into the 'I guess it's another one song wonder' after listening to one good song from any artist or band and failing to find other songs with the same potency from the same artist/band.

This is what I had in my playlist for a while:

Maria Magdalena - The Long Play

Everlasting Love - Everlasting Love

Then, come the remixes:

Secret Land (Reverse Mix)

Forever [Straight 4 U Remix]

Such A Shame (Cool Club Version)

I'm not sure if I'm going to give her entire discography a listen but, never say never.

Links:

Friday, October 24, 2025

Loved by Her Sister's Former Fiancé (2025)

Unrealistically, cute...

The definition of a happy ending. This show has some beautiful romance and drama, with a hint of mystery. The only romance show that comes to mind, having some of the more patient people, talking stuff out, building trust and ensuring a safe space for the other spouse (physically and mentally).

Tea moment.

The story has a weird parallel with Cinderella—the girl in rags rising to the status of princess, the glass shoes and the insane parents. My God! the parents in this are so evil, it's almost comical; systematic and borderline domestic terrorism, blatant favoritism based solely on hair color! Delusional mother and morally corrupt father.

Overall fun show, go watch it!

Links:

Anilist - Zutaboro Reijou wa Ane no Moto Konyakusha ni Dekiai Sareru

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Background Blasters - Playlists

Browsing the Internet late at night, looking at different things from books and cars, to exploring and experiencing new tunes. It's a solitary, special time that I really adore.

Throughout the years, I've found that the Grand Theft Auto V's Pause menu soundtrack, is really really good for unwinding late at night. Especially since the announcement of GTA VI. I've been keeping track of how many days are until May 26th.

Down here I'll include some other Background Blasters that I also enjoy from time to time:

The only Album that I like 90% of.

Another Main menu. It's just so serene, it scratches an itch.

A certified classic. I especially love the 'Worksite' track.

I have a couple of playlists with many other background noise, from music to regular sound effects:

Links:

Friday, October 10, 2025

RoadCraft (2025)

As someone who played a lot of MudRunner on the PlayStation and on PC, I can say that RoadCraft is the logical and natural next step in this franchise, and it's nice.

The game is balanced weirdly; no fuel management (when the game released) like the older games in the series, not much body flexing as I would've liked, no manual transmission and, not much satisfaction from 'getting yourself unstuck' either.

The game looks nice and I love the variety of vehicles at your disposal, but I think I felt more lonely playing this game, as not one of my friends is remotely interested in this genre. However, when stuff goes your way in this game, it all feels worth it in the end.

The game is fun in that it brings out the builder in me to lay down roads and.. that's about it?

"Variety is the spice of life". RoadCraft understands that and variety it has! I really enjoyed the roster of vehicles included in the game and learning about them too. For example; the AT-T chassis is originally a Soviet T-54 tank chassis, but it is used in civilian contexts, like: digging utility trenches, carrying rubble/materials, and laying cables.

I recommend watching this video, as it shows the inspiration to the vehicles in the game and their real-life counterparts.

Here are some of my screenshots and some fun clips:

The next clip was actually captured during the demo before the game came out. It was and still is a satisfying experience unlike any other.

The next clip is my version of an ASMR. The tracks' sound and movement are so satisfyingly.

Wish ~~WarThunder~~ had this much track-traction.

Although a step-down from the previous games in my opinion, but some vehicles' tire physics and frame movements are pretty nice.

Links:

Monday, August 25, 2025

Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades (2016)

The only reason I got myself a VR headset.

It's true. I have been watching the devlog videos on H3VR (Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades) since forever, then a couple years ago a friend of mine lent me his VR headset. I believe it was a Meta Quest model, which got me a first-hand experience into the world of VR, which I wasn't too interested in (and I still am). However, this game was something from my dreams.

A firearm and ordinance simulation unlike anything else on the market—I did try Pavlov for a while also but it's not as elaborate and nuanced as H3VR. The sandbox and various scenes provide an endless game loop, finding a particular weapon to mess around with, try out different ammunition types, the attachments, and of course the shooting.

The feeling of awe and childlike wonder, is displayed by my gaping mouth and unblinking stare that is glued to my headset, as I fire a bullet at a grenade shell and hear it explode sending everything around me flying, I realized what I've done after the smoke cleared. Or, when I tried out the musket for the first time, after the confusing process of reloading the thing. I was baffled by what I saw after I fired the thing, and said to myself out loud "Oh.. too much powder." the musket was in two pieces, one in my hand and the other somewhere else.

Any gun-nut worth his salt should get this game or, at least try it.

I'm still learning the mechanics and different aspects of this game. I'd love to see mod support in the future, and the ability to switch the sosigs (the game's NPCs) with a more humanoid NPCs.

Links:

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Cute-posting#3 ~Smol~

~Smol~

No copyright infringement intended. No money is made from these images, post, and blog.

If you want your art or material removed; please, reach out to me on Twitter/X.

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Cossacks II: Battle for Europe (2006)

A charming Napoleonic experience.

My first exposure to this gem was from this video. I enjoy a bit of Real Time Strategy games, however, not all RTS games are created equal, literally. Most RTS games are way too zoomed out, with multiple fronts and battalions. These aren't my type of games; I get easily overwhelmed by the amount of resource and army management aspects, resulting in a mostly menu gameplay without the fluff —looking at the animations of the units, soaking in the ambiance of the environments, and so on— So, when I saw how you could arrange your units' formations in this game, along with the firing line mechanics, with no menus to speak of, I got really excited to try it for myself!

Aww Shucks!

Now, I only managed to finish the French campaign and when I tried to start the Prussian one, it dawned on me; after playing the first mission I just couldn't stand how the AI was blatantly cheating with the amount of resources and units it had. It soured my experience a bit so I decided to stop playing this game before my opinion on it would change from positive to a more negative one.

Love the flanking unit hiding in the woods.

The game has some slav jank, but it compensates for it with fun stuff, like: building cannons and attaching them to horse carriages to get them to the frontline faster and having some beautiful art, sprites, architecture, and overall environment.

From my short time playing this game my biggest complaint (other than the cheating AI) is the quick depletion of coal, used in making gunpowder for your army. It runs out way too fast, in my opinion.

The soundtrack is generally nice, with my favorite tracks being: Britain, Egypt, and France.

The game has some charming FMVs that appear on the bottom right of the HUD. I wanted to share them here but, looking for these videos on the internet proved fruitless so, I took matters into my own hands and made this little compilation of the videos I found in the game's files. The videos are muted by default so I added the soundtrack from the game to them. They have poor resolution due to their miniscule size on your HUD in the game. Believe me when I say: It looks better in game.

I have to say, pictures don't do this game justice. The game looks way better in motion than it does in screenshots. Still, I'll leave you with my remaining screenshots:

Marching to the Prussian's town!

And thus the siege began..

Advance!

Reporting to the emperor himself.

Alternate history.

A bit unrelated (maybe?), I came across this unorthodox video about the history of Napoleon except, it's about his favorite dish!

Links:

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Cute-posting#2 ~Black and White~

~Black and White~

No copyright infringement intended. No money is made from these images, post, and blog.

If you want your art or material removed; please, reach out to me on Twitter/X.

Thursday, June 19, 2025

American Classic Automobiles (1950s - 1974)

Today, I want to share some photos and videos about some of my favorite types of cars—American Classics.

Now, this type can encompass different sizes and configurations from many eras, so let me zero it in more. I am generally attracted to American V8s made roughly between the 1950s to 1974 (known as the start of the Malaise Era, in American automotive history; in consequence to the Oil Crisis of 1973).

I have to add that—I'm not interested in speed, power, or loudness. All what I'm looking for is aesthetics, style, vibe, and feel. It is very subjective and/or abstract even, it's either you understand it or you don't. My taste has developed from watching movies with old car chases and playing Driver: You Are The Wheelman, at an early age.

I shared this intro before in a previous post, and I'll share it again; since I believe this intro single-handedly shaped my perception and taste for cars, for as long as I can remember.

I typically steer away from "fast back" designs, I prefer hard top versions better. I really love tailfin styling and finder skirts, which are extinct on contemporary cars.

I'll list some of my favorite American cars, that don't get much attention 'usually':