Phew, it has been a busy *checks watch* several months at work, but now that our big summer State of Play is out, hopefully things will slow down a bit. Probably not, but a man can dream. We finally announced (or dived deeper on) a few games I’m working on, though, so it’s been busy but also very exciting. God of War Laufey! Until Dawn 2! MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls! Wolverine! I would be genuinely excited to play all of these, even if I wasn’t working on them in some form or another, but that certainly adds a new thrill. I was also stoked as hell to see more of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. I’ve written about my love of the series before, and this one is looking like another banger, as the kids say. Used to say. Or something. Anyway, besides work, I have also been staying busy playing as many games as I can get my grubby little hands on, so let’s walk through some of them. I am going to leave out some crappy AI games I watched my friends play, because ew, and a couple of new visual novel sequels (Sakura Succubus 8 and Nekopara After) because they were largely more of the same that I’ve already written about. As always, There Will Be Blood, er, I mean there will be [SPOILERS] in both the screenshots and text, so avoid games you don’t want spoiled. If you want. I can’t tell you what to do, I guess. Can I? Will you let me? No? FINE. I didn’t want to anyway. Jerk.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Settle down, settle down, I finally got around to playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It was another situation where I wish I’d been able to play it in a vacuum, however. I know there are people that claim they can play games and not let outside opinions color their experience at all, but unfortunately I’m not one of them. When a game is as lauded as this, winning numerous Game of the Year awards, selling millions, being called “the greatest JRPG of all time,” it seems impossible for me to play it without those claims at least occasionally pinging through my head. Every time I run into something that seems like a bad game design choice, like the lack of a map, I can’t help but think about how highly everyone regards this imperfect game. It’s unfair to the game, and with games like this and Elden Ring, it’s impossible for me to fairly assess them so close to the hype of their release (which is why I don’t envy game reviewers, even if they usually play games before the launch hype catches up with them).
It’s a me problem, I concede, but luckily this blog isn’t about me making academic or critical assessments of games. It’s just my thoughts and feelings about games, and some quibbles aside, they were still quite positive for this game. I don’t think it’s in the running for greatest JRPG of all time, personally, but it was a very beautiful world, a refreshing if depressing story, and great voice acting. I won’t actually spoil any big story beats, but the whole concept of the Paintress, the Gommage, doomed expeditions, all of that was so new and interesting. I did find myself wishing some aspects were a little more robust, like the romance options, but I’m always happy when games have romance, even if it’s not all that deep. I actually missed out on romancing my chosen partner, Lune, because I didn’t realize how close I was to the final stretch and hadn’t camped enough, but alas. Maybe next time.
The combat seemed to be a huge highlight for a lot of people. While I do appreciate the occasional active kind of turn-based battle system, where it’s turn-based but with some active elements to keep you on your toes, I didn’t love the reliance on parries. A good parry in almost any game feels great, don’t get me wrong, but there were so many enemies from the beginning that seemed designed explicitly to sike you out, with feints, double feints, weird animations, etc. And because some battles would drag on for several minutes, it was especially annoying at times. Again, I didn’t hate it, and I can understand why some people love it, but it didn’t blow my skirt up. Overall, however, I did really enjoy my time with this game, despite my gripes here, borne mostly out of the previously mentioned unfair framing. It wasn’t a favorite for me, but I would probably recommend it to some people.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup in Bellabel Park
I had such a strong urge to play a classic side-scrolling Mario game recently. Every time someone on a podcast or social media would mention Super Mario World, Yoshi’s Island, etc., I would find myself gazing into the middle distance, lost in the nostalgia of a simple, classic platformer. Fortuitous timing, then, that Nintendo decided to release Super Mario Bros. Wonder (I understand the branding behind it, but the “Bros.” really doesn’t sound right in this title) for Switch 2. I missed out on it on Switch because it looked a little too… new? Different? I don’t really remember why, exactly. I also missed out on New Super Mario Bros., so maybe there is something that makes me extra skeptical to try newer side-scrolling Mario games. Regardless, I played it and liked it.
It was, of course, a blast. I will say that I had to really try to like it at first. I’m not a huge fan of the smooth, muted art style, so that was an immediate hurdle I had to get over. The enemies and other characters just don’t stand out to me as much as previous designs. Maybe that’s the old man in me coming out, or maybe bold, simplified designs are just more memorable? Either way, once I got beyond my distaste for the art style, I really got into the variation of levels, the multitude of power-ups, and the classic gameplay. I love me some massive, sprawling narrative games, duh, but there is something really nice about playing a game that fits easily into busier days. Even when I wasn’t able to game until late, I could still pick up my Pro Controller, grab a snack, and play just a few short levels to feel like I’ve accomplished something before heading to sleep. And of course I immediately picked my girl Peach and stuck with her the whole game. I do love that they have a pretty lengthy roster of characters to choose from, but if you let me pick Peach, I’m pickin’ Peach. You know, I could eat a peach for hours. Wait, why am I quoting Face/Off? Moving on.
Cairn
But enough of running left to right, what about climbing bottom to top? Cairn was getting a lot of heat (the good kind) on the podcasts I listen to, so with some time between games I decided to check it out. Again, I won’t talk too much about the story, but it did have a lot more of it than I expected. What I will say about it is that they do present a morally complicated scenario with a protagonist that made me bounce back and forth between sympathy and judgement. The climbing and some of the exploration were the stars for me, though. Scaling the mountain was intuitive but not exactly easy. Well, later on, anyway. I kept hearing about how hard the game was, but so much of the early rock walls and cliffs were a breeze for me. That’s not a humble brag, but I only fell a couple of times and I was always anchored so I didn’t suffer any deadly or inconvenient falls.
Then I came to The Wall. I don’t remember if it has a unique name in-game, but I think of it simply as The Wall because it’s just a huge, sheer cliff wall that was very difficult to climb. For the first time, I really felt like I had to think carefully and far ahead to make sure I wasn’t following a bad path that would lead me to tiring out and falling. Even if I was anchored not too far, it was hugely annoying to fall multiple times, realize this route is probably not doable, then backtrack and scope out a new path. I was so relieved when I finally conquered it. And I think that’s the magic of Cairn. It’s one of those games with simple mechanics so it feels largely accessible, but then it throws these difficult but rewarding challenges at you. I also really liked the cooking aspect. It was very fun to roleplay the actual climb and to plan out my meals, scrounge what I could, and regularly pull a snack from my bag for nourishment. I wasn’t quite as hot on the inventory system. I did like that you could shake your bag to make more room at first, but by the end it grew frustrating. I’ve heard people say “but it’s so much more realistic than manually placing items,” and sure, at its core it is. But when I shake a bag to settle a bunch of gear in real life, it doesn’t then expand and float back up to fill the bag again. I hated trying to fit a small item into a full pack, because I’d shake it until it was like 15% empty space, but by the time I tried to pick it up, the gear had somehow swelled and filled the gap again. Sigh. That aside, Cairn was a fun, introspective, challenging adventure.
Starfield
In prepping for this post, I almost passed on transferring Starfield screenshots from my PS5 because I was sure I’d already written about this game back in 2023. I was very excited for it to release on Xbox Series X, pre-ordered the physical Deluxe Edition, all that good stuff. And I did indeed play it at launch, sinking around 160 hours into exploring the galaxy and visiting its many, many bathrooms (does Starfield hold the record for most bathrooms in a video game? Hmm…). Scrolling down my blog, however, I wasn’t seeing any Starfield pics. I used the search function. Nope. I DID save screenshots, though, so I actually can’t remember why I decided to not write about it, unless it was an oversight. Very weird. Anyway, I was excited when I read that it was finally coming to PS5, so even though I don’t typically replay huge, sprawling RPGs (Persona aside), I really wanted to revisit this one. If I’m being honest, part of it is that there is still a little thrill at the idea of huge (former) Xbox exclusives coming to PlayStation. And despite it not living up to the hopes and expectations of many gamers, myself included, I did have a lot of fun with it the first time around. So, here we go again: once more unto the breach.
I’m not finished with this playthrough just yet (I’m at 131 hours but there is still lots to do), but having already beaten it I feel like I can offer some thoughts before I pack it in for a second time. I wasn’t as cynical as some who played it at launch, with accusations that this game was essentially just a long chain of menus, fast travels, and loading screens. I was disappointed that it wasn’t quite as epic and freeroaming as it seemed like it would be early on, but I ended up having a great time zipping around the galaxy, doing as many of the faction missions as I could, romancing Andreja, and generally just acting out some form of my space-faring dreams. I did fiddle with the combat settings a bit this time around, turning up my damage and reducing enemy damage (not enough to affect XP, tho). Why? Well, first because I’d already played it and wasn’t interested in the challenge of combat as much as I was the story and exploration. And, second…
…I’m the motherfucking Galactic Batman, babyyyyy. One of my favorite quests in the game is the Mantis quest line, where you find a random note about a hidden base on a dead Spacer. When you travel to the base, you find that it’s the expansive underground Lair of the Mantis, a vigilante that strikes fear into Spacers, Pirates, and more. Holy shit. It’s Galactic Batman. As you continue to explore the base, you discover that the Mantis is, sadly, dead, and she (Galactic Batwoman!) is trying to pass the mantle on to her son, who has lived a life of privilege thanks to his mom’s fortune, and, well… he’s also dead, seemingly at the hands of the Spacers who are attempting to gut the base (if they would have survived the many booby traps… or me). So who will take the mantle of the Mantis and become the galaxy’s most feared vigilante? Fine, fine, twist my arm, I GUESS I’ll do it. Becoming the Mantis comes with a badass suit (unfortunately I didn’t get the invisibility perk that came with my first playthrough), a killer ship (my mod of it pictured below), and a reputation that far precedes you. Becoming the Mantis was honestly the biggest reason I decided to play this game again, and it’s been a blast being the cause of so many Spacer nightmares once more.
God Bless or Goddess
Are FMV games making a comeback? In China, they sure seem to be. A handful of Chinese FMV games have made their way to PS5 from Steam, and as someone who occasionally likes to partake in those kinds of games, I decided to give a couple of them a shot. First up was God Bless or Goddess, a… well, I don’t know quite how to describe it. It tells the story of a young man born into a sect of beautiful mystic arts practitioners who all seem to want you. It’s not a dating sim in the way we’re used to, but you can romance any of the ladies as you grow and realize your true powers. I went through all of the paths to see their stories, but my top pick was the adorable, mischievous Wenren Lanke.
There is something very charming and fun about playing a game that is a direct and unrestrained cultural product from another country. It was easy enough to click through dialog choices, so I even tried to get the platinum… I say “tried” because as fun as playing this very Chinese game was, I had a hell of a time navigating and understanding some of the text options. The localization is quite bad, and some of the menu/on-screen text buttons either don’t make sense or just don’t work (some aren’t even translated). So I hit a point where I literally couldn’t progress one of the story lines. Alas. I do want to point out one of my favorite parts of the game, though. At one point, you’re told you have to meet with a demon. In the west, we have a sad history of representing evil or moral impurity in our stories with the “other,” often someone who doesn’t look like us (foreign, disfigured, etc.). In this game? The demon is a woman with blond hair and blue eyes. I can’t tell if it’s a Chinese woman with a lot of makeup/cosmetic work, but it’s clear that her look is specifically manufactured. So, in the face of a lineup of beautiful Chinese women, the representation of evil is western-coded blond woman. It tickled me to no end seeing the standard reversed, in a way.
Sweetheart Empire (Sovereign Brain Empire)
Sweetheart Empire was the next Chinese FMV game I tried. I think many of these games are made by the same company or small group of companies, but this one is from a different developer than God Bless or Goddess. And it was… a weird one, in terms of narrative, and it also had very poor localization. You play a baby. Well, not really. You’re quickly told you are a grown man who has just been adopted by two women. Why would two women adopt a grown man? Get your mind out of the gutter, pervert (“P-p-pervert? Who you calling pervert?” “It’s on the bill!”), it’s obviously because they think you’re a baby. Do you look like a baby? Well, you never see your character’s face, but no. He is as confused as we are, but soon we discover that the the State has introduced an automated AI system that dictates what role or function people serve in society, and the system (which is thought of as foolproof and its determinations final) has wrongly set your age at one or two years old. It has also set one of your parent’s gender as “male,” despite her being female, so she plays the “dad” in the relationship she has with her wife.
So… yeah, a bizarre premise to start. As the story progresses, you eventually start to confront the strangeness of the situation and begin to decide whether you want to continue this existence or find a way to correct the record for you and/or your parents. There’s a conversation with one of them where you ask if they want the situation to be fixed, since they seem to love each other despite their same gender, and she says they would love each other even without being legally married (if I understood it correctly, anyway). Hell yeah marriage equality? Kind of? Another example of the strange localization is the title: The key art and name in storefronts is Sweetheart Empire, but when you install it, it shows the title as “Sovereign Brain Empire” – what? Like God Bless or Goddess, there are certainly some lightly suggestive scenes, but it’s not at all explicit or overly sexual. There are a couple of strange scenes where you have to poke your adoptive mom’s buttcheeks (a hell of a sentence), but that’s about as racy as it gets. Still, it was another fun, weird Chinese FMV experience.
Nintendo Switch 2 Virtual Boy (Mario’s Tennis and Galactic Pinball)
I wanted a Virtual Boy so bad when they came out. Well, before they came out, technically, when I was invested in Nintendo Power and would pore through every issue, dreaming about having enough money to buy whatever games and consoles I wanted (I made it, twelve-year-old me!). The Virtual Boy sounded so cool. Games that exist on multiple planes? That feel like they have depth? Okay, so everything was in red, but Nintendo said they would eventually add support for yellow and green, and-and-and could you really put a price on being on the cutting edge of high tech video game technology? This device was going to be HUGE! At least this is argument I used on my parents in 1995, trying to get them to slap down $180 for what I was sure was going to be The Next Big Thing. Being the middle of the summer, not quite close enough to my birthday or Xmas, they unsurprisingly refused my request. We did rent one from Blockbuster, though, so I was able to play Mario’s Tennis, Red Alarm, and Galactic Pinball (for a few days, anyway).
I was a spry young lad at the time, so I didn’t suffer the neck pain and eye strain that beset others, but I was mostly cured of my once-ravenous desire for this headset. I did still want one, but other than Mario’s Tennis, I didn’t really get too into it. I went on to buy a used Virtual Boy with a defective power adapter later in life, but it wasn’t until Nintendo shocked the hell out of me by releasing a Virtual Boy adapter for the Switch 2 that I was able to revisit some of those crimson classics. Mario’s Tennis is still fun, though it is very basic and doesn’t offer much to pull me back. Similarly, it was fun to revisit Galactic Pinball but after a handful of games I was ready to move on. I’m still thrilled Nintendo did this, as they have all but ignored the Virtual Boy as part of their legacy for the last 30 years. I’ll report back when I try more of the titles they’ve offered. One minor complaint before I go… was no thought put into what happens when you take a screenshot in Virtual Boy mode? I understand that it’s a pretty standard screen capture function that just grabs everything on the screen but… come on, man.
Mario Tennis Fever
Speaking of coming on men (this segue, despite not having anything to do with Mario Tennis Fever, is brought to you by Pride Month; support your queer friends), I decided to make Mario Tennis Fever my work trip game on a recent week-long trek to the office. I played EarthBound on the plane, as it really is a perfect travel game for me, but once I got to my hotel I spent most evenings playing through the story mode of this game, which was a lot longer than I’d expected.
I have a mixed history with Mario Tennis games. As mentioned, I really liked Mario’s Tennis when I played it on Virtual Boy and I had a ton of fun with my friends playing Mario Tennis for the N64. I also played a lot of Mario Power Tennis, but Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Mario Tennis Aces failed to keep my attention for long. I enjoy some of the wacky twists on regular tennis, but it’s a delicate balance for me, it seems. I think I favor tight, responsive tennis to over-the-top power-ups, but I do enjoy the mix – if the ratio is right. It was pretty right in Mario Tennis Fever, I think, so I had a lot of fun serving both aces and… well, you know… *whispers* the C word… as my beloved Princess Peach, but also Rosalina and Pauline. It didn’t knock my knickers off, but it was a fun distraction to the loud, uh, “party” that was happening above me a couple of nights at the hotel.
Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted
I haven’t played very many mobile games, and I’m not even sure I had much interest in the original Plants vs. Zombies outside of the urge to play it for historical/educational purposes… until I discovered the incredible soundtrack by Lauren Shigihara as I was making a playlist of video game music to listen to while I work/write. Tracks like “Zombies on Your Lawn,” “Braniac Maniac,” and “Watery Graves (Slow Version)” have been on regular rotation for at least the last few years, and I ended up buying the soundtrack on vinyl recently along with the new “Bad Zombies” 7” single. So when Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted came to PS5, I decided it was probably finally time for me to plant some sunflowers and see what the hype is all about.
I wouldn’t say it was a transformative experience, but it was kind of nostalgic to play such a finely polished game from what seems like a bygone era of mobile game design. The gameplay is simple, you’re constantly being introduced to new power-ups and enemy types, and the art style is charmingly simplistic. And, of course, there is the upbeat, catchy soundtrack. I wouldn’t say it was the most challenging game, aside from the last couple of levels, but I had a lot of fun with it and am happy to say I’ve finally played it after all these years.
Jaws: Retro Edition
I loved Jaws for the NES when I was a kid. It seems to be the butt of jokes when it’s brought up in conversations about retro games. One of the many examples of the kinds of bad movie tie-in games that were regularly released at that point. And, sure, there was no conch shell collecting or jellyfish bombing in the movie Jaws, nor did the intrepid shark hunters blast the shark with a submarine or stab it with the point of their ship. But I loved Jaws, sharks, the oceans… and this game, damn it. Besides playing it as a kid, I remember cleaning my room once as a teenager and plugging in a small, old CRT TV I’d gotten for Xmas. It was too small for my N64 and PlayStation, but it seemed like a good opportunity to plug in my retro consoles and revisit some of my childhood favorites. I had just started collecting NES games at that point, to rebuild the small library my dad had pressured me into selling years earlier. Jaws was one of the games I sought out, and I was playing for the first time since my childhood. Would I remember it?
Of course I did. I played games into the ground growing up, partly because I got so few of them, so I’d beat Jaws many, many times. It was fused into my DNA, and when I fired it up on that small CRT years later, I beat it within 30 minutes. Jaws: Retro Edition has a longer, more involved story mode where you have to basically beat the same game five times but with new, more challenging enemies in each section. The jellyfish that somehow dart around, up and down, are the bane of my existence. I’d somehow forgotten that the game also had a rewind feature, so I did end up dying a few times in the last area, but overall it was still a breeze thanks to my retro-coded mutated genetics. I got the platinum, enjoyed every second of cheesy 8-bit music, and for a few brief moments returned to a simpler, less dystopian time.
Jurassic World Evolution 3
I loved Jaws as a kid, but I loved Jurassic Park. I’ve seen it eight times in theaters, the most I’ve seen any movie. I’ve written about my love for the previous two Jurassic World Evolution games, but I don’t exactly see these games in many game conversations on social media. The sales must be healthy enough, but they’re not the kind of games that generate a lot of buzz, so I was happily shocked when a third entry was announced. I didn’t mind that Evolution 2 mostly just refined features from the first game, and though adding babies and breeding to this one is a pretty major feature, it’s still mostly the same old park-building formula. Which is why I love it.
As with the previous games, I played through the story and got every trophy outside of those that required me to play on the hardest difficulty. I do enjoy the challenge of the default campaigns in these games, but I’m always more interested in the dinosaurs. I love making big, roomy pens with thoughtfully placed trees, water, sand, etc., and taking care of the dinos even to the detriment of the park visitors. Adding babies to the mix brought a whole new element, where I’m ever-conscious about population numbers, the age of my dinos, and how comfortable and safe they are. And the babies are so, so cute. I do wish we could add more things to the water enclosures, like reefs, surface plants, stone features, etc., but maybe that will be in Jurassic World Evolution 4, which I’m kind of now hoping is an inevitability.
Minecraft
I don’t often write about games that I revisit unless it’s been a very long time or I have some kind of new revelation, but Minecraft is kind of an exception because with each new server comes new projects, new experiences, new memories. My friend Amy invited me to play on a new server with her recently, and I immediately said yes… but I have to admit there was a part of me that was like “another new server? What will I even do? Make yet another Wayne Manor?” The answer is, as it always seems to be with Minecraft, “I’ll figure it out.” And I did. Besides going on lots of fun adventures with Amy and her husband Russell, including our combined efforts to revitalize, build up, and ultimately exploit a village, I built a long rail system between our starting point and our town project, built a Wayne Tower (kind of?) that reaches to the upper build limit, and of course had to make a new Batcave for it.
We also had fun getting specific trophies, like the one where we had to fall from the upper build limit all the way to the bottom of the world, and Amy led efforts to get us a fully enchanted set of diamond armor, which has made exploration and solo journeys much less stressful. I have yet to fully fill all of the floors of Wayne Tower with furniture and such, but Amy has her own floor, Russell made a Thomas and Martha Wayne Memorial Activity Center, and I built the lobby around a Nether portal, made an expansive storage floor, and have a nice little penthouse at the top of the tower. There’s something so nostalgic and lovely about returning to Minecraft every now and then.
Resident Evil Requiem
Oh, Resident Evil. In the darkest of times, you are a beacon of biohazard-fused zombies, mutated monsters, and spooky hallways. As you may have guessed if you’ve read any of my previous posts about Resident Evil, it’s in contention for my favorite game franchise of all time. The first two games were the main reasons I wanted to betray my beloved Nintendo and get a PlayStation, and I’ve been popping heads and chomping herbs ever since. And the RE games have had a real Renaissance lately. Resident Evil Biohazard is probably the scariest game in the series, returning the games to the slower, more atmospheric entries fans like myself loved, the remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 have all been stellar, and Resident Evil Village brought us my beloved Lady Dimitrescu. I was a bit nervous when Capcom said Requiem would be a split between first-person horror segments (Grace) and over-the-shoulder action segments (Leon), but both proved successful recently so I trusted them. And it paid off. Resident Evil Requiem is one of my favorite entries in the series.
Let’s go back to the spooky hallways I mentioned, though. Carefully crafted environments have always been such a huge part of Resident Evil games, and moody, atmospheric hallways with moonlight shining through billowing curtains or starkly lit futuristic lab halls have always stood out to me. They seem to be a staple, and I love them. Capcom’s attention to detail in character and environmental design is amongst the best out there, and my initial playthroughs of their games are often long because I legitimately find myself pausing to marvel and appreciate subtle details of texture, lighting, environmental storytelling, and graphical fidelity.
Like many, I was very happy to have Mr. Kennedy back in play, but Grace surprised me by how likeable she is and how naturally she feels woven into the RE universe. Angela Sant’Albano should be nominated for some kind of award, because her VO is top-notch, and I am obsessed with Grace in the Lady D costume. Some people complained that it was a cheap cash-in on Lady D’s popularity, but I don’t care. I want to see every RE character in that dress and big hat. If we don’t see Chris Redfield stuffing his bulging biceps in it in future games, I will be sorely disappointed. But, yes, I really liked the division between slower, scarier Grace sections and faster, freakier Leon sections.
I also ate up the fan service, like returning to the Raccoon City Police Department, one of the most memorable and iconic settings in the series. Between the original game, the DualShock Version, and the remake, I’ve been to this police station many, many times, so seeing things like Leon’s desk, the S.T.A.R.S. office, library, and specific details (like the cop with the missing jaw) was so fun and nostalgic. And then Mr. X drops in to complete our little reunion? Perfection.
I could have done without Zeno as a character, I guess. Having a Wesker there does seem important at first, but he didn’t really add much to the story or plot. I did like Victor Gideon, though, and The Girl was a very scary and cool new Big Bad. I played through Requiem multiple times at launch, earning the platinum trophy, but I still think about it now, after I’ve moved on to other games. I love it so much. I started writing this post after the PlayStation State of Play, but I’m finishing it after watching the big Summer Game Fest stream, which included a killer Resident Evil Veronica trailer to open. Fuck yeah. I was ready for a remake of the first game or the heavily rumored Resident Evil 5 remake, but (Code) Veronica is in the most need of a rebuild, in my opinion. And it looks like they are fully overhauling it, as they have done with the other remakes, which is rad as hell. I can’t wait for 2027. Maybe I’ll revisit Grace in that Lady D dress a few more times before then, too.
A New Game Plus 