I’m gonna allow you to in on just a little secret: todaysviralmedia is bizarre. I can’t consider a single individual on workers (moreover me, clearly) who is aware of the right way to correctly take pleasure in good climate. My coworkers brazenly have a good time the crisp breeze of nostalgic autumnal air. They cheer on the first annual snowfall. Simply final week, somebody in our native Slack channel beneficial going exterior for lunch to benefit from the climate. The excessive that day? 63 levels Fahrenheit. However every time the temperature hits 90 F, it’s all, “Ugh, it’s horrible exterior,” or “That is approach too sizzling,” or “Ari, you’re gonna begin sporting sunscreen this yr, proper?”
So I would catch some warmth for this, however within the spirit of Retreat Week, somebody needed to be courageous sufficient to say it: Ultimate Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Costa del Sol is the perfect trip fantasy. If I needed to go wherever within the (digital) world, it’d be Costa del Sol.
I by no means performed the unique Ultimate Fantasy 7, so I can’t communicate to Costa del Sol’s tourism bona fides in that recreation, however its iteration in 2024’s Ultimate Fantasy 7 Rebirth actually has all of it. For a few yr now, I’ve been daydreaming of determining the right way to plug myself into the Matrix, purely so I can do a weekend in Costa del Sol.
It’s not simply the glistening blue waves (although these are good) nor the swaying palm timber (additionally good). Costa del Sol displays the enviably relaxed vibe that so typically appears to outline hot-weather locations.
For one factor, the actions you avail your self of are charmingly low-stakes: swimsuit buying, a card recreation, a pictures tour, some Rocket League with Pets. The PS5 doesn’t help olfactory tech but, however as you stroll round, you may virtually odor the mojitos by way of the display screen. (Although you know you’re ready at the least half an hour for the one you ordered to reach.) You navigate the boardwalk on a Segway, for crying out loud, a car actually designed to reduce the trouble of getting from place to position.
However think about when precisely the Costa del Sol chapter arrives in Ultimate Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Previous to visiting the seaside, you spend Rebirth on the run. You infiltrate enemy armies, combat big monsters, race dolphins, futz with gear menus, and in any other case interact in actions most rational people would deem disturbing. However then you definitely get on a cruise and make landfall at a spot so remarkably chill, your most disturbing activity includes renovating a seaside lodge. It’s the primary second in Rebirth the place you’re compelled to decelerate a beat.
Certain, the sandstone streets of Costa del Sol are seemingly too sizzling to stroll barefoot on. That lodge on the primary drag for positive has busted air-con, in contrast to the presumably extra temperature-controlled Gold Saucer. However Costa del Sol stays such an interesting daydream as a result of it essentially portrays the one factor any profitable vacation must be: a break, and a well-earned one at that.