Burning the midnight oil at noon

Thank you, July

I’ve been spending most of my gaming time in July trying to finish up some half-played games and short games to build out my YouTube lineup for the rest of the year (yes I record most things way in advance). But also… there have been a couple of really amazing new games released this month!

My last post was all about how much I’ve been enjoying Denshattack!, so you can just like, scroll down or hit the ‘previous post’ button or whatever to read that. Ironically, I don’t think I’ve played it since I wrote that post, because I’ve been very busy with other things, but I’ve been thinking about it a ton and listening to the soundtrack very consistently.

And then last Friday, Splatoon Raiders finally hit, which I was very jazzed about, because I adore Splatoon but can’t for the life of me force myself to play the previous games, because they’re all so competitively multiplayer and that’s just not my jam. Raiders, on the other hand, is single-player focused, and may or may not be exactly what I’ve been wanting from the franchise. I haven’t even played for two hours yet, I don’t know for sure, but so far so good!

Off the top, it’s definitely too tutorial-heavy, but that’s just what you have to deal with from Nintendo games. It’s been great, though, as the little bite-sized stages are a blast to run through, and you’re always picking up loot which you can use to upgrade your character, weapons, and base. What really got me, though, is when I learned that there are Pikmin-style dungeons which you explore floor-by-floor in search of treasures. The gameplay is obviously completely different from Pikmin, but that “see how far down you can get” hook is just so very tantalizing to me, and realistically I’ve only actually seen the one-floor tutorial dungeon. So my imagination is going pretty crazy dreaming up what might be coming next. Hopefully it’s not too far off from reality!

And yeah… I don’t normally record my playthroughs of big, new games (I usually prefer to savour them at a more casual pace), but this is a thing:

Densha! Densha!

A new video game called Denshattack! was released earlier this week. I’d been going out of my mind waiting for it ever since I learned of its existence in Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase back in March. It has been a grueling 4 months and change.

Thankfully, the game is exactly what I was hoping it would be. Which is to say: slick, stylized, and super fun. Gameplay is like (modern) Sonic the Hedgehog meets Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater meets a rollercoaster, with an aesthetic that reminds me of Splatoon, Jet Set Radio, and Katamari Damacy all at the same time.

Anyway, I have other things to do right now, but here’s the launch trailer:

I’m only about a quarter of the way through so far, but it’s looking like this will absolutely be one of my top 3 games of the year. It won’t likely be #1 because Pokémon Pokopia exists, but maaaaaaaaaan, I’m starting to waver on that.

Oh and for the love of everything good in the world, go listen to the goddamned soundtrack. It is, in a word, perfection.

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.

Hideously deformed

Here’s a doodle of Toxie that I drew this week. I think it’s neat.

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.

Cruis’n Riders

Well, it’s just about that time of year again. In just a little over a month, I’ll be riding a bicycle for charity again, and for the fifth year in a row, I’ve been asked to create a promotional image for my team. For the first time ever, though, I’m posting it here before it goes live anywhere else. Don’t you feel special!?

Any guesses as to what this year’s artwork is referencing? It’s not exactly subtle, so if you don’t see it right away, you almost definitely don’t know.

And of course, if you should feel the need to support me in this endeavor, you can donate here!

‘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!