Visions of Mana (PS5) – Played some more to wrap up the post-game. There are some really cool little additions to the NG+ mode, but I don’t think I really need to play this one again just yet. Maybe in a couple months.
Peglin (PC) – This is the game that doesn’t end, it just goes on and on, my friend…
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch) – Very good game! I really liked how it took pieces from a lot of other Zeldas and glued them all together to make an incredibly unique entry in the series. I wouldn’t say it’s world-shattering or anything, but I definitely look forward to inevitable replays.
I’ve been doing YouTube to incredibly mild success for a long time now, and I never in a million years would have expected that this is what would blow up for me.
A crappy let’s play of a crappy game of an actually pretty good film. Who would have guessed? Is suffering through terrible licensed games the way to make it big these days? I’ll never know, because I’m not going to do that.
Going by the comments, it might be mostly that people are shocked that this game even exists. But that shock has resulted in a nice big boost to my watch time and subs, so I’ll take it! We’re officially on the road to 500 subs and monetization, baby!
Peglin (PC) – What more do you want me to say? I guess I could stop listing it in the “Game Over” section, but does a successful run not count as “beating” the game?
FNAF VR: Help Wanted (Quest) – Played this again for the sake of a let’s play. Good times were had, except for the stupid Funtime Foxy levels. Those are the WORST.
FNAF VR: Help Wanted 2 (Quest) – As much as I enjoyed the first game, this is one is scores better. While it doesn’t have any mini-games that are quite as engrossing as the FNAF1-3 recreations, it also doesn’t have any ridiculously difficult mini-games like the stupid Funtime Foxy levels.
Spooktober is nearly upon us! To celebrate, I’ve not only got exclusively horror games on deck for the month, but I’ll also be posting three videos a week instead of the usual two! Make sure to keep an eye on your subscription feeds on Saturdays!
Bloody Ink (PC) – [Oct 1, 7, 14, & 21] – This four-part series is the newest offering from Doesn’t Matter Games. The first video is actually of the demo, which is packaged in with the full game and acts as a prologue. It’s all very Doesn’t Matter, but didn’t quite tickle my fancy the way that Lost Alone did.
Who Knocks (PC) – [Oct 3 & 10] – Conversely, this is Doesn’t Matter Games’ first game. Playing them back-to-back really illuminates how the DMG formula hasn’t really changed over time, but it has been refined with a number of quality-of-life improvements. I think this is actually my second-favourite game from DMG.
Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition (PC) – 20 years later, I finally understand why this game has a cult following that is desperate for a sequel. I’m not in that boat myself, but I get it. Alas, to a cynical Modern Ryan, it seems kinda like a very ambitious project that ran out of money halfway through development.
Peglin (PC) – Several rather large updates means, of course, more Peglin.
TMNT: Splintered Fate (Switch) – 2000+ words coming soon. I like this one. A Lot.
More movies have been watched. As Halloween season is rapidly approaching, I feel even more like I need to be writing about them. Both of the films reviewed below are Shudder originals, as you can plainly see on the posters. Preamble complete.
~ Deadstream ~
This one is about a livestreamer who goes to spend a night in a “haunted house” as something of a stunt to entertain his following. This premise is absolutely as cringey as it sounds, at least until about 15 minutes in and you realize that it’s actually a comedy. Kind of like Evil Dead 2 but with a modern twist.
That said, I had to watch Deadstream in two sessions, because it scared the absolute crap out of me the first time around. Early on in the film, our “hero” Shawn enters the house and starts recounting the tales of why it’s haunted, and he tells a story about a ghost called the Corner Man. If you weren’t already aware, I have a strong irrational fear of ghosts. Having all the lights turned off and watching movies about ghosts alone never ends well for me. I tried my best to remain rational, but I very quickly had to turn off the movie and turn on the lights, because my brain immediately started thinking it was seeing things in my peripheral vision. There aren’t a lot of things that genuinely terrify me, but my overactive imagination is definitely high on the list.
A couple night later, my fears had receded, and I decided to push through. This time with the lights on. As it turns out, after that singular scene, the movie’s tone changes dramatically, and it goes from horror-comedy to pretty much just straight comedy.
A new Five Nights at Freddy’s game came out last week. I knew it was a thing, but also forgot about it until I saw a bunch of let’s plays roll into my YouTube feed.
And who am I to do anything but throw another video on the pile? Well, multiple videos. There are at least two more for this game coming… eventually. Not sure how I’m going to schedule them yet, but they’re on the way.
Some movies, I can very easily ramble on and on about. Others don’t capture my attention/imagination quite as strongly, and I find it difficult to write about them. The following three films are of the latter variety.
~ Arcadian ~
It kind of seems like this one was marketed as whatever the movie equivalent of a “killer app” is for Shudder. I got a lot of emails promoting it! Although, it is a Shudder original, so maybe they just pushed it harder because it’s theirs. Anyway, it’s somewhat similar to A Quiet Place but with Nic Cage. Also, it’s not stupid due to major plot holes and braindead characters, but rather because stupid is just kind of the vibe it’s going for, which I can appreciate.
Plot is as such: About fifteen years after humanity falls to… something, Nic Cage lives on a farm with his two teenage sons. Every night, they maintain a stoic vigil to protect their home from attempted invasions. Obviously, the sons are polar opposites: one a hot-blooded tough guy, the other a quiet inventor. Their inability to reconcile their desires (girls vs learning) ends up ruining the balance that they’ve maintained for years and puts everyone’s life in danger. Because of course it does. Teenagers, am I right?
Froggo’s Adventure: Verdant Venture (PC) – A cute little game highly reminiscent (like, suspiciously so) of Kirby’s Adventure. Only it’s like seven levels long. Very reminiscent of Whipseey, only it looks more NES than GBA.
Froggo Swing ‘n Grapple (PC) – Simultaneously better and worse than its sequel (mentioned above). Better because it’s about twice as long, is much more challenging, and has more gameplay mechanics in general. Worse because the central “swing ‘n grapple” mechanic is a little too loosey-goosey and doesn’t feel great.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars (PS4) – An old-school RPG represented entirely in cards. It’s a bit slow and much too easy, but it’s a Yoko Taro game, so the story, characters, music, and art all make it worth the price of admission.
Happy Friday! I don’t know if I’m going to do this every month, but I like the idea of writing up a preview of all the video content I’ll be releasing in the next month, so here we are.
Please note that while the original home of TE Video is on YouTube, I’ve got my Rumblechannels up and running now, and they’re actually earning me money. Only a few cents so far, but considering that all the videos I’ve uploaded to Rumble have a total of maybe 150 views between them, that’s not bad! It should go without saying, but if you would be so kind as to watch my stuff on Rumble instead of YouTube, that would mean a lot to me.
(Also, I think I listed most of these last month, but ehhhhhhhhh)
Quest For Camelot (GBC) – The first episode went live yesterday, and second half will be up on August 1st. This is a weird, little game, and it’s not good! The first episode, to my best recollection, is pretty normal, but you’ll get to watch my sanity unravel in real time in part 2.
