since I had to ditch the latest Anno for obvious reasons, I finally went into Foundation since it left early access and oh boy that game is an awesome mess. I can’t remember last time I simultaneously enjoyed a game as much as that one despite its obvious and sometimes annoying issues. Its awesome concept of people just doing their own stuff in the zones you make for them (unlike Anno) creates an amazing chaos of scurry little peeps going on with their day. I really love these type of game concepts where there is more of a simulated system and not so much hard boundaries.
This however is not really well reflected in the UI and makes it tremendously hard to find out why certain things happening. For example it will always tell you “no access to this or that” but that doesn’t mean the required buildings are too far, but that there is a supply shortage somewhere down the line. The people do not like to commute long (very reliable!!) but how far that is, I do not know still. And when it comes to mixing classes, it all starts to create real headaches as f.e. one housing requirement for Citizen class is to have another citizen occupying the building. I guess I need to read up some more details on this or tips how to avoid a bunch of problems I’ve now created in my terrible designed town And still quite some bugs too. Yet all in all, I’m enjoying it a lot.
The other game I tried was Whiskerwood on Steam - I am not too much of a fan of the “survival” type of builder games that unfortunately has taken over this genre a lot, but Whiskerwood is pretty great. I’d argue its also a bit more forgiving, like my little mice didn’t immediately die in first winter, but I’ve not played too far yet so not sure how late game looks - it does get harsher with higher pop. One of the great things about it is the Minecraft styled world, every square block can be removed - or you can even build new ones (takes ages though). The map can be hollowed out completely as far as I know which is great as it lets you design the environment to build infra and logistics. The idea behind the economy is also interesting, you have to pay taxes to the cat (of course) king every few days and cannot directly trade, so you end up having to put aside resources as tax.
Its in Early Access right now and already feels extremely well built, I’ll leave it on hold and check back once it hits final. Can recommend to wishlist it at the very least if you like this type of games.
I have been obsessed with Robot Alchemic Drive for the past few weeks. I was always aware of it since it came out and wanted to try it but never got around to it. The streamer WayneRadioTV played it recently and I decided it was time to finally try it.
This game has that special kind of jank that you can’t do on purpose and I’m absolutely in love with it. The English voice acting is bizarre and almost makes no sense at times but I can’t help but genuinely enjoy the very alien way the lines are delivered.
The gameplay has really hooked me. The basic premise is you fight Kaiju with a robot but it’s remote controlled, you pilot the thing from the ground or on top of a building. The need to scramble and reposition your character for a better view of the action is often times more fun than you’d expect. The action of the actual battles is very slow and lumbering which really sells the scale of the fighting. These enemies and your robot feel enormous and powerful (probably helps that most of the time you’re looking up at them from the street).
The missions are very repetitive, just spawn in, launch your robot and smash the enemy but I’m 21 missions in and I’m still enjoying doing it each time. Probably helps that the missions are short and to the point lasting maybe 5 to 6 minutes each.
It’s a janky, flawed game with its fair share of frustration but I absolutely adore it. It’s so much more than just the “funny meme game” that I had passed it off as for years.
Unbeatable looked amazing when it was revealed, it instantly went on my wishlist. I tried the demo a while back and it was weirdly broken. Kinda scared to pick up the main game now
I’ve just finished the Metroid Prime Trilogy before I finally manage to get my hands in a switch 2 and Metroid Prime 4.
But now I’m playing Metal Gear Solid 2!
It’s cool but very… Cutscene focused.
I know that MGS as a series is famously chock full of long cut scenes, and loved it in the first (3rd?) game. It made it feel like an 80s/90s action flick!
but here it seems a bit excessive. I’m feeling like I only get 5 minutes of actual gameplay before I’m sat down for another 20 mins of Cutscenes or Codec dialogue (or both).
I’m definitely still enjoying it, I love the cool and outrageous story it’s spinning but I just wish I had more stealth and espionage in my stealth espionage game.
Been in the mood for some big tasty pixels lately!
Merp in Merpworld is gorgeous, with some beautifully chunky sprites and especially striking backgrounds, and lovely music. Levels are short and tightly designed, and some of the medals have me completely stumped. Not finished yet, but can highly recommend
Okay, I’ve started Unbeatable now and oh my god it’s so good. It’s a little buggy on my Steam Deck, but it’s still perfectly enjoyable and it just radiates so much personality in every little detail from its characters to its menus to its presentation… It’s just so damn good. Definitely a must-buy.
Pulled out my Game Boy Pocket today, which had Kirby’s Block Ball plugged in, and I ended up getting sucked into it (and moved over to playing it on my Super Game Boy at home), it’s a really fun breakout clone! Though it can be a bit annoying sometimes when the ball (Kirby) gets stuck bouncing at pre-determined angles and unable to hit the last block you need to clear the level sometimes.
Also, the last stage is really hard which is why I’m talking about it here and not in Beatlog. EDIT: see Beatlog now
You know what’s great for relieving stress when you work as an entirely online teacher?
Playing Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town on steam on the computer while looking dead-eyed into the camera back at students when they are doing a test.
Since I never got to engage too much with the post-game and online features of Nioh 2 since playing it way back when, I thought I’d run through the first Nioh again on PC before doing the same with Nioh 2.
Now that I know Nioh 3 is coming early 2026 and I’m almost done with the last NG+ cycle of Nioh 2, there’s a good chance I’ll be playing Nioh for three years straight. I could just sit down and get it all done in under two days, but the Nioh series’ mission-based levels make it the perfect game to crack open for 40 minutes, get a level or two done, and maybe rework some gear in preparation for the next session.
Nioh 1 and 2 are games I love to both play and put down; they’re fun for me with a controller in hand and when I’m just sorting Excel sheets to plan out my build.
Very few games outside of the blobber genre really hook me like that.
My current pet builds I’m trying to get working are…
Daytona USA → which uses a Wheel Monk’s Soul Core to transform into a burning wheel and stay transformed for as long as possible in order to just drive through levels,
Gatorade Vampirism → a water element-based lifesteal build to stay topped up and reap other benefits from being at full health,
And lastly, a build I haven’t got a good name for that’s a tanking & magic-based build styled after what I used to beat Nioh 1 the first time.
I’m currently neutral on a lot of what I’ve heard about Nioh 3, though I know I’ll miss the mission-based levels as Nioh 3 focuses more on a zone-based open world, but at this point, I’m already strapped in.
I’ve become a Nioh animal, one I don’t always recognize in the mirror…
I finished Unbeatable on PS 5 some days ago…with the credits not loading, and me looking at a black screen and the Journal and time of day sliding in view . It’s a very funny and cool game but slightly buggy. As of right now they’ve released a patch that fixes some stuff again and there will be more save files and a chapter select screen . I guess, it gets better over time. So, I agree, it’s a must-buy
Is it the Watch_Dogs or the WiiU you’re disenjoying?
I never played the first Watch_Dogs but I actually really enjoyed Watch_Dogs 2 despite being Ubislop. I think that entry got a lot of hate, but it was goofy in a way I really appreciated. I tried to follow through to Watch_Dogs Legion, but it was as bad as everyone said it was. I was playing on permadeath mode because I’m a masochist and wanted to enjoy the recruiting mechanic to its fullest when a bug caused everyone in the building to aggro on one of my favorite agents despite me having done nothing wrong. Murdered through no fault of my own, I just kinda closed the game and never opened it again
Something made me go back to Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II for the Gamecube. I played HOURS of this when it came out despite not having the online adapter or ability to go online. I don’t remember hardly anything of it, but the vibes are immaculate early 00’s. Anyone wanna figure out how to get online with Dolphin and join a server with me?
And still quite some bugs too. Yet all in all, I’m enjoying it a lot.
. It’s a very funny and cool game but slightly buggy. As of right now they’ve released a patch that fixes some stuff again and there will be more save files and a chapter select screen 
. I guess, it gets better over time. So, I agree, it’s a must-buy
