Some vague ramblings, senseless and aimless as a colorless moth
Ahhh, it’s that time again.
This was a weird year for me, in terms of games. There was the release of something that I had been looking forward to for a long time, but it didn’t really hit for me. I spent the first half of the year paralyzed with fear and absorbed in old favorites, and the latter half too busy to get into anything new. So, there’s not a lot to go on here, really. But, I’ve still got Some Thoughts on a few things.
Continue reading “Game of the Year 2022”
Ahh, another year gone by.
It’s that time again, for me to write up my favorite games in a somewhat unstructured article. I did not play very many different games this year, but I did find a few gems that I really enjoyed a lot. These are presented in chronological order, not in ranking.
I am sitting on a motorcycle parked behind a cab that is being controlled by a sentient AI run amok. It is one of many such AI that I have tracked down as part of a long term sidequest involving a sentient AI cab company trying to bring its “children” back into the fold.
The Delamain AI is subjecting me to an endless litany of warmed-over Portal jokes, using the same kind of voice modulation that GladOS did in that game, over a decade ago. There’s a line about cake, references to testing, it is absolutely awful and I sigh out loud while I wait for it to finally be over. Continue reading “Cyberpunk 2077 Review: It’s Mostly Fine”
2019 was a good year for games.
Lots of interesting new ideas in the space, and some refinements of old ones. Here’s a list of my personal favorite games of this year, in no particular order. Making an ordered list can be fun, but it’s ultimately pretty pointless. Continue reading “Games of the Year 2019”
Hey! Game reviews are a thing I do sometimes, when the stars align just right.
So, after many years of development, another big Kickstarter success has finally been released. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is directed by Koji Igarashi, affectionately referred to by fans as IGA. It is, essentially, a new Castlevania game, in the style of those that were directed by IGA back at Konami, when they were interested in making video games. Continue reading “Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Review: A Fine Return to Form”
I have kind of a strange history with the Yakuza series.
Back in the PS2 days, it was just sort of another game on the shelves among hundreds. I had no idea what it was about, other than Japanese organize crime, or even what kind of game it was. As a Nintendo fan going way back, the fact that it was made by SEGA was meaningless to me, and if anything made me less inclined to give it a shot. Continue reading “Yakuza Kiwami: A Strong Foundation”
It’s been a while, but I feel like writing another game review.
I’m a big fan of the Souls series of video games, from From Software, going way back. Not quite back to the beginning, I played Demon’s Souls when it was released by Atlus and not the Asian version that was available in English before then. And, I must admit, I have never dared to try the old, impossibly archaic King’s Field series on the Playstation 1 and 2. But, going back reasonably far, shall we say. Continue reading “NIOH: Brought Down by Minutia”
I’m gonna try writing some reviews!
So, Octopath Traveler is basically the reason I got a switch. The very first previews of it instantly captured my attention. It was such an amazing combination of SNES-style 16 bit sprite work and modern graphical effects. Finally, Square was going to pay tribute to their legacy of classic JRPGs without some sort of awful compromise on the art style. Continue reading “Octopath Traveler: An Odd Duck”
Hey! Another sorta game review-ish thing.
Assassin’s Creed Origins is a perfectly fine game. It’s got some incredible scenery, some decent writing here and there, but the core gameplay is a bit lacking. It’s a problem with AAA games in general, and more specifically the type of open-world games that Ubisoft develops. Continue reading “Assassin’s Creed Origins: It’s Fine”
You may not have heard of this game, I certainly hadn’t when it came out. It’s a modest Kickstarter success from a few years back, at first glance merely yet another indie game drowning in labels. It’s a pixel art throwback metroidvania with LGBT characters and time travel! Very easy to overlook, at the end of the day.
The Beige Moth 