Nine Sols (PS5) – If you’d told me that a metroidvania with parry-based combat where you play as a cat would completely enthrall me, I would have slapped you and called you mad. But here we are, and I thoroughly enjoyed this game, despite my horrendously bad reflexes. The beautiful visuals and overarching theme of Taosim really went a long way to sell it to me, but the gameplay was also just shy of stellar. Except for the bullshit final boss, who is exponentially harder than anything else in the game and forced me to knock the difficulty down after hours of trying to over come her first phase.
Bloodwash (PC) – I’ve lost track of how many let’s plays of this game that I’ve watched, but it was still fun to actually play for myself. There was a little less to explore and discover than I’d hoped, to be honest.
Mega Man Battle Network 2 (GBA) – I vividly remember finally 100%ing this game many, many years ago. I was on my original GBA, sitting in my mom’s car, as we waited to pick my youngest brother up from school. Playing it again brought a lot of those fond memories back, and I honestly had a wonderful time revisiting it, even though it took me about a year to actually get through it.
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these things, so…
Rhythm Heaven Groove – Don’t get me wrong, nearly everything about Rhythm Heaven is perfect and wonderful, but it’s focus on PERFECT timing is too much for me. This one looks like it’s got an adventure mode of some sort though, so I may still give it a chance.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword – I’ve never played an Onimusha game, and while it looks really cool, it also looks like it’s got heavily parry/counter-based gameplay, which never works well for me. Again, I don’t have great reflexes, so this physically doesn’t work for me.
Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen – I have this on PS5 and haven’t even had time to boot it up once yet.
Wicked Seed (PC) – A third-person survival horror with a heroine that looks like Claire Redfield and Parasite Eve-style combat. There are tons of things to unlock, including a randomizer mode, so it’s built for replays. What more could a boy ask for? Honestly, if it weren’t for RE:Requiem and Pokopia, this could easily be my game of the year. Speaking of which…
Tower Hunter: Erza’s Trial (PC) – Remember earlier this year when I played Frontier Hunter? This is the game that came before it, and it’s a 2D-action roguelite. Controls are a bit funky, but it’s decently fun once you get into it… and are able to decipher the astonishingly bad Engrish translation.
Resident Evil Requiem (Switch2) – Booted ‘er up to try out the new Leon Must Die Forever minigame. It’s cool and all, but not really something I want to grind.
Minishoot’ Adventures (Switch2) – All my thoughts here.
Peglin (PC) – All Cruciball levels for all characters are finally complete. 400+ hours later, this game is DONE. At least until the next update.
Back to the Future: The Game (PC) – If I were a bigger Back to the Future fan, I’d probably have stronger feelings about it, but as things are, I just think it was a pretty average episodic adventure game. I can’t say that anything about it really stood out besides the IP, which, as far as I can tell, was used to the fullest.
Resident Evil Requiem (Switch2) – I have a couple misgivings, but overall this is a fantastic video game. I will someday say more. Much more. Probably.
Pokémon Pokopia (Switch2) – What can I say about this other than it’s what I spent like 70% of March doing? I guess that all I needed in life this whole time was a Pokémon-themed “cozy” game.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind (Switch) – I’d been listening to the (excellent) soundtrack lately, and it reminded me how much I enjoyed the game. So I gave it another run. Apparently it’s been significantly polished up since launch, but I didn’t notice much difference aside from the (seemingly pointless) new level-up system.
Resident Evil 3 (PS5) – Sometimes you’ve gotta set it to Assisted mode and just have a good time. Got myself an S rank, even. With a measly two minutes to spare!
The Last Train: Baquedano (Switch) – A surreal cat-and-mouse horror game where you’re trying to escape a train station while a killer stalks you. It’s strange and a little difficult at first because it doesn’t give you any direction, but once you figure out your goal, it’s actually pretty thrilling. Also, might just be a meme game – I’m not sure, I’m too old.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Switch2) – The Mega Dimension DLC is a little repetitive, but good gravy did it ever rope me in good. The new mega evolutions are also awesome and wild, with many of them being for Pokémon you really wouldn’t have expected to get a mega. I just really like this game in general, and I’m happy for additional content, even if it was muy expensivo.
Kirby Air Riders (Switch2) – Cleared the Road Trip mode, but will be playing it more to unlock the true ending. Also just played a bunch in general, both on my own and online multiplayer. This game is the most fun 🙂
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Switch2) – Been waiting for this one for what, like 20 years? Maybe it’s more like 17 or 18, but man… It was worth it. While it’s a bit too linear and doesn’t top the heights of Prime 1, in my opinion, it’s still really good. It still gives you the opportunity to explore a Metroid game in first-person, and that’s all I really want in life. Now, to replay it on hard mode…
I think I’ve called a handful of games on my list controversial already. Though none of them hold a candle to this one.
Release year: 2025
Developer: Game Freak
Platform: Switch, Switch 2
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is my favourite game in the franchise. It was a breath of fresh air in a series that was increasingly feeling like it was never really going to make any major changes. It was a huge game that focused on exploration and catching more than battling. And then the first teaser for Pokémon Legends: Z-A dropped, which made it look like it would all take place in one city? I wasn’t sure what to expect from such a scaled-down game, but I knew it wasn’t going to hit the same.
This game does, in fact, all take place within the walls of Lumiose City, the largest city in the Kalos region. You play as a no-name teenager who shows up in Lumiose for no real reason at all, immediately get robbed, and then swept up with a bunch of local weenies. You’re given lodgings at a hotel run by a very tall, very old man, in exchange for investigating what’s going on in the city that’s causing Pokémon to randomly mega evolve and (potentially) go nuts. Also there’s a battle tournament. Multiple battle tournaments.
While Z-A is in fact, a much smaller game than Arceus in every way, that did not at all take away from the fun that I had with it. Lumiose may not be a huge city, but it’s structured like a gigantic maze, and I spent tons of time just running around aimlessly. Well, maybe not completely aimlessly. There are items of various rarities scattered all about the place, and the more valuable ones often require you to navigate fun, little parkour courses and jump around from rooftop to rooftop. For me, the experience of simply moving around the game world means a lot, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A did not disappoint in that aspect.
Now the battling, on the other hand… is also super fun. Pokémon battling is now, for the first time ever, a real-time affair, where you’re running around the battlefield and issuing commands to your Pokémon without any breaks in the action. It’s wild and frantic, and sometimes quite difficult. It’s also even faster than the battling was in Arceus, which already seemed to move at lightspeed compared to the non-Legends games. The main battle tournament that takes place at nighttime, the Z-A Royale, is far too addicting, not only being the main source of battles in the game, but also constantly challenging you to push just a little harder for more rewards.
And then there are the new mega evolutions. I was very afraid of what Game Freak might do with the new megas, but I genuinely think they’re all fantastic. Well, almost all of them. Some are cool some are goofy, but most importantly, they all fit the Pokémon very well. For all the cost- and corner-cutting that Game Freak may do, they are top of class when it comes to creature design.
I played Pokémon Legends: Z-A for a little more than 40 hours before I finally finished the main story, and after that, I was flabbergasted by the number of little icons on the map denoting sidequests that I had left to do. And then there’s the post-game content. And then there’s the DLC expansion that just came out and I’m having extreme difficulty tearing myself away from. I’m having an absolute blast with the game, despite the fact that it’s not nearly as ambitious as its big brother.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Switch2) – While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Legends: Arceus, it was clearly going in a very different direction from the start. Not outstanding, but I had a lot of fun playing it! And will keep playing through the postgame and DLC expansion.
Ramona (PC) – What I’ve been calling an “escape house” game, this is the most recent Doesn’t Matter Games release, and it doesn’t disappoint. A creepy house full of puzzles and jumpscares? Sign me up!
Kromaia (PC) – A neat 3D space-shooter game that’s as dizzying as it is impossible to see what’s going on. While I could see myself playing it through in leaner times, there are so many other games I’d rather spend my time on. So I beat the first level and then tossed it on the “not really feeling it” pile.
The Trees Holding Heaven (PC) – A teeny-tiny “horror” game, which is mostly just a parable about not disposing of science water in the forest. It did legitimately cause me to scream, so that’s a thing.
Ramona – Play With Me demo (PC) – You ought to know how I feel about Doesn’t Matter Games by now. This is the demo for an upcoming title. It’s… exactly what you’d expect if you’re familiar with the developer. I liked it!
The Moth Inside Me (PC) – A horror game made for the “2024 LSD Game Jam”, which should tell you all you need to know. Great atmosphere, and some parts definitely resonated with me. While I think it was often a little too hard to figure out what to do next, I did enjoy it overall.
