Video Games

A few words about Hollowbody

I just completed my first run of a game called Hollowbody. This is an independently-made survival horror game; unmistakably modern, but with a clear sense of reverence for the classics. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say it’s like Silent Hill mixed with Chasing Static and maybe a little Among Ashes. Not that anyone knows what those last two are, but that’s the feeling I got from it.

Actually, I just looked it up, and Among Ashes was released a few months after Hollowbody, so… neither one is likely an inspiration for the other, but there are definitely a few shared elements between the two.

Aaaand digging deeper into it, Headware Games developed both Chasing Static and Hollowbody. So I suppose the mystery of why they feel somewhat alike has been solved.

Okay, anyway, back to what I actually came here to say: I like Hollowbody! A lot! So much so that I played the game start-to-finish in a single sitting, and I rarely ever do that for games with a run time of over about 90 minutes. There were multiple times when I thought “Ehhh, maybe it’s time to take a break…” but then just kept on trucking because I was so very enraptured. And that’s a little surprising in retrospect because the first half hour or so of the game was pretty darn rough.

MEVGWU: June 2026

~ Game Over ~

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.

Nintendo Direct 69 (nice)

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.

Stellar Blade – See above.

MEVGWU: May 2026

~ Game Over ~

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.

MEVGWU: April 2026

~ Game Over ~

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.

‘Mato & Egger

Some time ago, I downloaded a cookbook that is made up entirely of recipes from Final Fantasy XV. I’ve only tried to make two of them to date, because I keep forgetting it’s a thing, but here’s how my Classic Tomato & Egg Stir-fry turned out:

I liked this dish so much that I’ve actually made it several times. It also helps that it’s super easy and all the ingredients are staples in my kitchen. It doesn’t quite look the same as Ignis’ version (below), but honestly, I think mine wins as far as presentation goes. I really like the vibrant, contrasting colours a lot more than the soupier alternative.

Now, where did I find that cookbook? That’s a good question, and I don’t remember. Google it!

Mini’ Review

So out of nowhere a while ago, Nintendo drops an Indie World Showcase presentation, which is basically a Nintendo Direct but without any actual Nintendo games. Usually these spotlight a few cool-looking titles that I never end up buying because who has the time for all these games? This one was different, however.

Enter Minishoot’ Adventures (Nintendo Switch 2 Edition), a game that was announced and released on the very same day, which also happened to be the day I purchased it. Now I don’t know if this game was released on the original Switch or not, but it did come out on Steam at least in 2024. And I find it baffling that I’d never heard of the game at all until then, because it is AMAZING.

Minishoot’ is kinda like a Zelda game; run around a world map, battle enemies, discover power-ups, and journey through dungeons. The twist being that instead of a little adventurer guy, you play as a little spaceship-lookin’ guy. And also the “combat” is that of a bullet-hell shooter. Quite a combination, I know, and it works marvelously.

MEVGWU: March 2026

~ Game Over ~

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.

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails

In recent years, I’ve fallen head over heels for Ys, a lesser-known series of action RPGs by Nihon Falcom. The Ys series has been around for nearly as long as I have, but I’ve never really known anything about Falcom as a developer. So at some point in the last 12-24 months, I looked up what they have on the Switch eShop besides a handful of Ys titles.

One of the things I found was The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails. It sparked my interest, so I looked a little closer, and my first reaction to seeing the screenshots was “Wow, this looks very similar to Ys!” And it is a lot like Ys! Nayuta is actually a spin-off of The Legend of Heroes, which is probably Falcom’s biggest franchise, but while the Heroes games are more traditional turn-based JRPGs (to my understanding), Nayuta is a side-scrolling(ish) action RPG.

And so I had placed The Legend of Nayuta on my wishlist for some time, waiting more for a time when I would actually play it than I was for a sale. Then January 2026 rolled around, and I was all like “Well, I just finished up Clair Obscur, what do I want to move onto next?” I think the writing is on the wall for what I chose.

MEVGWU: February 2026

~ Game Over ~

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.