Pokémon Snap Such a cool idea for a Pokémon game. I absolutely love getting to actually see the Pokémon exist and interact within their natural habitats. It’s what I’ve always wanted from Pokémon since I was a kid, and we really only ever get it with the Snap series. 🧵

Sin and Punishment A fever dream of a game. Idk wtf was happening at any point in the story. But I also didn’t really care because the vibe, the set pieces, and the core gameplay were so good. Still, it definitely could’ve *benefited* from a story with some sort of context for comprehension. 🧵

Forsaken 64 OST slaps so fucking hard. There’s a new banger for every stage. The 6-directional, space bike controls took a moment to adjust to, but surprisingly not too long and it ultimately enabled the gameplay to feel unique, while still enjoyable.

Now at Tournament 8. Not having a good time. 😭 Also started up NBA Hangtime on the side and that game *is* a good time. Going for Grand Champion title to “beat” that one, which involves beating all 29 teams in the game. I’m about halfway through with 14 beaten.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones ✅ Very likable cast of characters ✅ Stunning pixel art ✅ Class and support progressions are satisfying ❌ Too many narrow passageway maps ❌ Some battles become cumbersome drags 8 / 10

After finishing Three Houses, I’m still in the mood for more Fire Emblem. I’ve only ever played Awakening and now Three Houses, so I’m going back to the GBA era for The Sacred Stones! Such beautiful pixel art, man.

Mina the Hollower ✅ Vast, rewarding exploration ✅ Great difficulty balance ✅ Perfect GameBoy spritework ✅ Trinkets & weapon types allow for satisfying variety in play styles ✅ Exceedingly charming characters & world ✅ Excellent level design on all fronts ❌ Narrative potential falters 9.5 / 10

Mina the Hollower is one of the most expertly designed games I’ve ever played. @yachtclubgames.bsky.social are masters of their craft. Having an absolute blast with it so far.

My 4 favorite games shown at #SummerGameFest - Final Fantasy VII: Revelation - gen Atlas - Stellar Blade: Blood Rain - Mighty Cuphead Adventure (+Cuphead Sequel)

Finally playing Mina the Hollower now that I’m back from vacation. Early on, it’s as good as everyone says it is.

I’m not *disliking* Eastward at the moment, but I’ve been playing for 3-4 hours and it’s been like, 70% dialogue. And so much of it is just unimportant flavor text. The gameplay is fun when it’s there. Would probably be loving it if it let me play more.

I did this review after first beating Standard Mode. A couple hours later, I beat Hard Mode. Several hours since then, I’m still playing. Chasing high-scores & speedruns. Hard Mode removed my previous sole con, everything is useful. I don’t have any negatives. Downwell is a perfect arcade game.

Now that I’ve discovered my type of roguelike, I feel like a whole new world of games has opened up. I’ve made a list of roguelikes to try out and it’s 20+ games. I’d been avoiding the genre for so many years because I thought it didn’t work for me as a whole. Here are 4 I’m excited to get to:

Beat Downwell on Hard Mode via photo finish! I couldn’t put the game down after beating it on standard. I’m glad I continued. It reminds me of Tetris in its simple concept with so much depth in execution. It’s probably the best arcade-style game I’ve ever played? Idk, it might be a 10.

Downwell ✅ Punchy, feel-good shooting ✅ Air-tight controls ✅ Perfect arcade aesthetic and design ✅ Tough, but fair ❌ Randomization of items and/or weapons can make some runs feel unjustly lesser 9 / 10

Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom ✅ Phenomenal aesthetic & art direction ✅ Controls beautifully ✅ Endless creative absurdity ✅ Great level design with constantly rewarding exploration ❌ A few too many time-limited stages 9 / 10

Started playing Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom and it’s fantastic! Still early on, but it’s like a Rareware N64-era collectathon platformer with an aesthetic closer to a DreamCast game. And also hopped up on LSD. Absurd to the nth degree. And it feels so good to play.

Dragon Age II ✅ Nuanced writing with legitimate provoking dilemmas ✅ Great cast of companions ✅ Lots of really good, subtle buildup ❌ Way too many loading screens ❌ Environments are extremely repetitive ❌ Stripped back customization 7.5 / 10

Dragon Age: Origins continues to be great. Performance and small issues aside, it feels nearly perfect. It’s moved to the top of my list of games I want remastered. So many little fixes could elevate it tremendously. I picked Leliana, btw.

It was a rough start, but I’m loving Dragon Age: Origins now. Just finished the Dalish Elves questline and it was great. Gonna have to make a decision between Leliana or Morrigan as my romance soon, tho. 😮‍💨

Continuing Dragon Age: Origins and I’m feeling pretty mixed. Combat sucks, but I think a big part of that is playing on PS3 where the framerate dies. It’s hard to even control because of it and you can’t zoom out the camera on console.

My nephew saw me playing and asked if he could borrow Skyward Sword HD. Obviously didn’t tell him no. So, while that playthrough is on hiatus, I’m gonna begin another game that I haven’t played in 15+ years… Dragon Age: Origins

What a sick title screen

Kid Icarus ✅ Tight platforming ✅ Well-designed stages with good variety of enemies ✅ Great OST ❌ Boss fights are underwhelming ❌ Progression can feel a bit obtuse or stagnant 8 / 10

Lunar Remastered Collection is platinum trophy 71, btw

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue ✅ Character-focused stories ✅ Fleshes out lore of Lunar in a satisfying way ✅ Narrative is more ambitious than Lunar 1, but maintains its classic feel ✅ Solid turn-based combat ❌ Inter-party relationships aren’t as established ❌ Permanent AI-controlled party member 8.5 / 10

Lunar: Silver Star Story ✅ Oozing with charm ✅ Fun, traditional turn-based combat system ✅ Stellar OST ✅ Likable characters with tons of personality ❌ Story is maybe *too* simplistic ❌ Lacks some build-up that could’ve benefited its character arcs and plot 8.5 / 10

Starting Lunar: Silver Star Story today! I’ve wanted to play the Lunar games since I was kid, but never had the opportunity. Not sure why it took me this long to buy the remasters, but I’m excited!

Astalon: Tears of the Earth ✅ Beautiful 8-bit aesthetic ✅ Charming character writing & interesting world-building ✅ Well-hidden, fun to explore paths & tower design ❌ Too much backtracking after death ❌ Characters feel a bit too imbalanced 8 / 10

My three favorite Zelda games, in no particular order: - Ocarina of Time - A Link Between Worlds - A Link to the Past