I see. I… might need to check that out, then. Though I'm (irrationally, I realise) a bit reticent to try a Picross title not developed by Jupiter.

Totally! Only, if they do so, I hope they do it with all the extra mechanics in the Pokémon version. Having all the different powers, and incentives to finish puzzles in various ways and with different time limits just made the game so incredibly engrossing, and it's a shame Jupiter doesn't (or isn't able to, more…

You're right about the traversal; I'm just trying to remain zen about it and treat the trek as a meditative activity. For me, cranking the 3d slider all the way up and trying to look around more has transformed the experience for me compared to the last time I took a crack at it. Even if the textures are rough, even…

Ah, okay. Do remember to check back in here and give us a heads up when you decide to post that retrospective, then; it sounds really interesting!

I found a copy of this relatively cheaply recently, and I'm really looking forward to digging in. Just debating whether I should play the Drakengard games first or not.

I was just thinking about post release reviews, or patch-centric coverage. Having just subscribed to a bunch of (British) print mags due to Zinio's aggressive offers strategy, the lack of a column or section dedicated to such coverage in the official PlayStation magazine seems like a huge wasted opportunity. I think…

That's a great point; makes me wonder whether difficulty might be one of the more tricky aspects to playtest for, given that testers skew (I assume) to the hardcore side of the gamer spectrum.

That's really helpful, thanks! I might look around and see if I can find a copy to borrow or something, to test out the controls before I take the plunge.

How does it control? I feel like filling squares with my big sausage digits would be woefully imprecise.

The Twilight Princess one was well executed for what it was, but coming to it after Pokémon Picross, the relative shallowness of the mechanics was a disappointment. Also, for some unfathomable reason, Jupiter decided to change up my preferred control scheme (stylus + d-pad), suddenly making me maddeningly error-prone.

It's interesting how different that game sounds from the one side of the paywall to the other; not exactly better or worse, but definitely a considerable difference. I'd love to see an article (or a series) where two people play through it for the first time in parallell, one paying, the other not.
Also, flip yes Kirby…

I really need to restart Pokémon Picross and try to play through it without spending any money. Like I've said on here previously, I caved pretty early and paid the max amount, but given how I ended up putting close to 130 hours into that game before completely beating all the challenges and whatnot, it was a complete…

Thanks so much for the rundown! Maybe Diablo will have to wait until the (sadly inevitable) PC upgrade.

It's probably been over ten years since I played it, so my opinion shouldn't count for a whole lot, but I remember Bully as a very pleasant, contained experience that managed to sidestep a lot of the most obnoxious qualities of the GTA franchise.

Any chance of getting you to post some shots of those miniatures, or are they too work in progress at the moment?

That's really interesting (and heartening) to hear about how Spla2n's mechanics interact with your anxiety and OCD. I've been trying to use gaming as a tool to tussle with my own similar guff lately, and have only just started dipping my toes in the online multiplayer side of things, which has brought about some…

What's your channel?

Patrick Klepek voice: pub-guuuuuuuhhhhh

I don't know how the long tail works out financially for a game like Tumbleseed, but from what I heard, it seemed like the publisher/devs were pretty resigned to never breaking even. Which is pretty heartbreaking, considering the hype they had going before being felled by the misjudged difficulty at launch.

Having read Mike Pondsmith's thoughts on the development of that game in a couple of interviews a few weeks back, "absolutely disgustingly hyped" sounds just about right, I would say.