That Final Fantasy 9 remake will be grabbing most of MY eyeballs. Playing it, it’s TRULY amazing some of the design decisions we absolutely take for granted nowadays: clear guideposting, voice acting (incompetent or no), and clear sidegaming instructions (Tetra Battle can drown in a sinking ship, ESPECIALLY its…

I started playing Wolfenstein: The New Order, and I’m a little confused by how much I’m enjoying it. I mean, I’ve had it in my steam library for a while, so when I had a sudden hankering to kill Nazis this week, I decided to fire it up. And first of all, the basic gameplay is pretty fun. Maybe it’s just been a while…

It is indeed my first time playing it! I got the SNES Classic not exactly out of nostalgia, since I never owned the original console, but rather for an almost opposite reason - many of these beloved games are effectively new releases for me (except Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Link to the Past and Final Fantasy…

Been a weird week for me: I’ve been trying to get sick (which started literally the moment the plane took off from vacation); I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of people in the real world being uncooperative, and I’ve banged my head against other roadblocks this week. My frustrations and reminders of the whelming…

I think Minecraft’s enduring popularity is because, as you’ve put it, it’s a “software toy.” It’s a game that has rules and boundaries but beyond that just cuts the player loose to do as they will. You can play the build craft survive, you can run aroudn swooping off of mountaintops in your cape, you can play as safe…

Fallout 3

My first one of these in our post-Kinjapocalyptic age:

So I’ve started and had one longish session with Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. I’m impressed with the game and during cutscenes caught myself making weird/anguished faces at the pain and horror on-screen. The puzzles are fun and the game looks and sounds great. I’ve got only one negative but unfortunately it’s a big…

It’s nice to read a certain validation of my own flying anxieties, Clayton, although honestly, the only part of it scarier than the flying to me is the airports themselves, all stuffed with people and an endless stream of CNN-blasting TVs. I’m fairly certain I saw more of our regrettable president’s face than you’d…

That’s because CKII makes losing very, very fun and very narratively satisfying. My Emperor dying at the walls of Jerusalem just before conquering it and then his son doing the same - fucking typhus! - was... well, it fit the story I was telling.

For the most part, repetition in games doesn’t bother me a whole lot. But I can definitely see both sides of the equation on this issue. With JRPGs in particular, Devs want you to feel like you’re going through an arduous Hero’s Journey and developing new skills and talents accordingly to face any future adversity.…

I’d gotten HL2 and Ep 1 before the Orange Box, so I was already in love with that series. But when The Orange Box came out, I went straight for Portal. I don’t remember what specifically I saw before it came out (something on Penny Arcade, maybe?), but something told me that I needed to play that immediately.

So in terms of this weekend, I will be finishing AC:Black Flag. The main quest I found rather a let down, and the plot was a bit hard to follow. But the best bits are actually sailing around the Caribbean and blowing ship [sic] up. However, I would like to beg the indulgence of the audience for What I Was Playing 10…

I feel like y’all had this exact post a couple months ago when this first blew up. I should know. I’m Bobson Dugnutt.

I’m so sorry about your friend, and empathize with your friends dealing with his loss.

I’ve got two games occupying my focus this weekend, both of which got a fair amount of play last night: Picross S and Super Mario Run.

RPG Maker Fes update:

It’s the end of the busy month of the year at work, I’m exhausted! With my good boy bonus I got a new TV that’s all about clarity and colours, so I’m veging out, ingesting weeds and playing games with an emphasis on pretty colours.

Salutations~!

Salutations!~