Tag: Steam Deck

Returning to Tyria – A Moment I Didn’t Expect to Hit This Hard


I found out a few days ago that Guild Wars Reforged is coming out soon.
Updated UI. Steam Deck support pending. All campaigns bundled.
And the line that hooked me: existing players keep all their progress.

That was all it took.

I needed to know if my original account still existed.
If my characters were still there.
If anything I did almost twenty years ago survived.

So I turned the Steam Deck into a tiny PC again.
Installed Lutris.
Pulled down the old Guild Wars client.
Ran the full -image download.
Waited.
Then held my breath at the login screen.

And it worked.

Every character I made loaded instantly.
Nightmare Venom.
Spirits of Evil.
I Evil Arrow I.
All exactly where I left them.

Then I opened my friend list.

Every name hit me harder than I expected.
These were people I grouped with, explored with, wiped with, laughed with.
People I haven’t seen online in almost two decades.
Most of them probably don’t play anymore.
A few might not even remember Guild Wars at all.

But seeing that list again reminded me what this game meant to me.

So if anyone from that list ever finds this blog — even by pure accident — thank you for being part of my journey back then. You left more of a mark than you probably realise.

And if you do recognise me, please don’t mention my real name. Online names are more than enough here.
If you remember me and want to say hello, feel free to drop me an email at survivorincognito@gmail.com.

Guild Wars Reforged releases soon.
And for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’ve come home.

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🌊 Submerged: A Subnautica Survival Diary – Log 5.5: Racing the Sunbeam

5.5

“Rescue was coming. Naturally, that meant it was time to start a new project instead.”

Platform: Steam Deck
Difficulty: Survival
Recording: Lost due to file corruption — because the ocean clearly wasn’t done messing with me.

Author’s Note: Unfortunately, my recording for this session corrupted before I noticed. So this entry is reconstructed from memory — a cautionary tale for all survivors who trust autosave more than their capture software.

Message from the Heavens

It begins with the crackle of static — another message from the Sunbeam. They’ve located a landing site. They’re on their way. Forty minutes until pickup.

Forty minutes until salvation.

Naturally, I decide to ignore the pending rescue entirely and go chase the final piece of the Mobile Vehicle Bay instead. Priorities.

The Hunt for Titanium and Sanity

I swim toward the Sunbeam’s coordinates, eyes peeled for fragments. Just as I’m starting to lose hope — there it is. The final piece.

I bolt back toward my lifepod like my oxygen tank depends on it (which, to be fair, it always does). The excitement of progress pushes me faster than any propulsion cannon ever could. I check the crafting requirements — Titanium Ingot, Power Cell, a few odds and ends I already have scattered in lockers. Easy enough.

And since I clearly have time before rescue, I think, “Why not go bigger?” Enter: the Seamoth. The personal submersible of my dreams.

Building the Dream

The Mobile Vehicle Bay is first on the list. Titanium gathered, ingot forged, power cell crafted from the remains of old batteries. When it finally deploys and floats proudly on the surface, it feels like progress — real progress.

I climb aboard, ready to build my Seamoth, and immediately realise I’ve made a rookie mistake. No Titanium Ingot. Again. The ocean mocks me with its silence as I swim off once more, scavenging every bit of wreckage I can find.

Eventually, success. The Seamoth blueprint completes, and the little sub rises from the water like a gift from the deep. She’s beautiful — and mine. I climb in, listen to the AI purr, and feel an unfamiliar thing: hope.

There’s still time before the Sunbeam arrives. I point my Seamoth toward the landing site. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll make it in time to see the sky light up with something other than plasma fire.

Next: The Sky Burns

I set course for the island, my Seamoth slicing through the water like it was always meant to be there. The radio says twenty minutes until the Sunbeam arrives. The ocean says otherwise.

Continue the Journey:
Log 5: Waiting for the Sunbeam | Log 6

1

Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 2: Chuckya’s Revenge

Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music — chaos left entirely intact.

“Gravity and Chuckya joined forces today. I call it a hate crime.”

Fresh off the high of conquering Bowser and the Secret Slide, I decided to revisit Shifting Sand Land. One more star there couldn’t hurt, right? A quick trip across some quicksand later, I added another to the tally and figured it was time to see what lay below the castle.

That’s when I wandered into the Boo garden — home to ghostly giggles, hidden secrets, and one particularly smug Boo concealing a course entrance. I gave chase, stomped the spook, and jumped straight into the portal. The result? Tall, Tall Mountain. Great name. Terrible welcome.

Watch Log 2:

Thrown Off the Deep End

My very first spawn placed me in arm’s reach of a Chuckya. Before I could even process what I was looking at, the purple menace grabbed me and threw me off the mountain. Ten seconds in, one life down, ego shattered. I went back in for a rematch because apparently I enjoy suffering.

Round two went much better. I methodically climbed the slopes, dodged monkey theft, narrowly avoided falling logs, and picked up six of the seven available stars. Not bad for a course that literally tried to throw me away on entry.

The lone survivor is the 100 Coin Star, which I’ll tackle next time—assuming I can convince myself that collecting loose change while balancing on ledges is “fun.”

Log 2 Summary

  • Stars Collected: 13
  • Stars Remaining: 107
  • Lives: 8

After the sandstorms and the mountain’s murderous intent, I’m learning that no amount of preparation can outmatch the randomizer’s sense of humour. Still, progress is progress—and at least this time I didn’t get flung into the void twice in a row.

Lessons from Log 2

  • Chuckya exists solely to ruin your day.
  • Always expect ledges to betray you.
  • Boos are pranksters, not friends.
  • Six stars and a grudge is still a win.
Continue the journey:
Log 1 |
Log 2 (You Are Here) |
Log 3
1

Transmission #1 – Chaos Detected (Super Mario 64 Randomizer)

Signal Source: Super Mario 64 Randomizer | Platform: Steam Deck
Status: Active Feed | Condition: Unstable | Duration: 10 Seconds of Pure Confusion

“Reality folded, gravity resigned, and Mario fell into the void. The transmission survived. Barely.”

The first proper signal after Transmission #0 has arrived — and it’s already malfunctioning.
Our sensors picked up an anomaly inside the Super Mario 64 Randomizer where stars, worlds, and basic physics decided to unionize against me.
The result? Ten seconds of pure, glorious nonsense, preserved for analysis.

Signal Debrief

  • Transmission Detected: [Signal #1]
  • Subject: Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Test Feed
  • Result: Star locations scrambled / logic evaporated / REC light flickering
  • Conclusion: Survival probability = mildly comedic disaster

Behind the Static

As with Transmission #0, this short keeps the same broadcast format: static, flicker, chaos.
This time, the “REC” overlay makes it feel like a recovered feed — a camera that should’ve stopped rolling but didn’t.
Think of it as portable chaos meets paranormal broadcast interference.

Continue the Journey

🔗 Back to The Survivor’s Camp

Signal Note: Full credit to Nintendo & original developers for Super Mario 64. Randomizer version tested via community build.
Static and signal formatting by Survivor Incognito — the chaos remains mine.

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My First Week with the Steam Deck: Expanding the Portable Chaos

My First Week with the Steam Deck: Expanding the Portable Chaos

“It’s not replacing my Switch — just giving the wolves more ways to find me.”

Back to PC… Sort Of

Once upon a time I had a PC. Then I didn’t. Then the Steam Deck came along, and suddenly all those forgotten Steam library games started whispering: “Play us again. This time you won’t rage-quit… probably.”

The first thing I did? Downloaded Viscera Cleanup Detail. Nothing says “welcome back to PC gaming” like mopping up alien goo while questioning your life choices.

Truck Sim Therapy

After that, I traded my mop for a lorry. Euro Truck Simulator 2 has been my chill-out spot — just me, the open road, and the occasional catastrophic parking attempt. It’s strangely peaceful knowing my cargo can’t eat me (unlike certain survival games).

Game-Hopping, Incognito Style

My first week has basically been a buffet of Steam games:

  • Alan Wake – because why not swap blizzards for shadows?
  • Dead by Daylight – handheld horror on the go, what could possibly go wrong.
  • Elite Dangerous – back to the black, this time from the sofa.
  • Team Fortress 2 – nostalgia and chaos, still alive and kicking.
  • 7 Days to Die – zombies don’t care that I’m handheld now.

I’ve been swapping between them like a survivor looting random cupboards: some junk, some gold, all of it entertaining.

Battery, Docks, and Prime Loot

Do I have a dock? No. Will I get one? Unsure. For now, handheld works fine — especially since the battery life is short, but honestly, I don’t mind. It’s like an enforced survival timer: finish your mission before the Deck keels over.

Also, shoutout to Prime Gaming for handing me freebies like it’s Christmas every week. It makes my library grow faster than I can play it.

A Companion, Not a Replacement

The Steam Deck isn’t stealing my Switch’s crown. My Switch is still home to The Long Dark, Skyrim, and the rest of my survival disasters. But the Deck? It’s a welcome companion — giving me the chance to replay old PC titles, test new survival challenges, and expand the chaos beyond Nintendo’s snowy borders.

Two handhelds. Twice the worlds to survive. Zero guarantees I’ll survive any of them.

Continue the Journey

Survivor’s Camp Hub |
Elite Dangerous Diary |
SnowRunner Permagear Diaries

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Steam Deck Joins the Ranks

The Steam Deck Joins the Ranks

The chaos just got an upgrade.

The Nintendo Switch isn’t going anywhere—it remains the cornerstone of this blog, and I’ll continue covering survival games there. But now, the Steam Deck has officially joined the lineup, bringing new formats, more chaos, and fresh handheld survival stories to share.

I’ve already got one Deck playthrough in the works—drafting a few days ahead now so I can keep the updates flowing smoothly.

The Long Dark

My current runs are resting at good pause points:

  • The Cold Chronicles — on hold for now; will return in time.
  • Customloper Diaries — likewise paused, but not forgotten.

New Series Starting

In the meantime, a fresh playthrough begins next week. Check out the series page for Isolation Protocol: An Alien Isolation Survival Diary if you want a sneak peek:

Isolation Protocol – Alien: Isolation Survival Diary

Portable survival chaos continues—now powered by both the Switch and the Steam Deck.

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