Paradise: Musubi Boys Love Review – Sometimes You Have to Make Your Own Paradise

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://blerdyotome.com/2026/01/08/paradise-musubi-boys-love-review/

Hunting season never ends.

Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak doesn’t reinvent the wheel — it tightens every bolt: faster hunts, a satisfying loop, and some truly ridiculous drip.

Full write-up on WOTS.

#MonsterHunterRise #Sunbreak #MonsterHunter #Capcom #PS5 #GameReviews

http://whatsontheshelf.blog/2026/01/06/monster-hunter-rise-sunbreak-review/

Geektown Radio: Episode 483: Ghost of Y?tei, Rematch, Pluribus, Percy Jackson Season 2, Fallout Returns & The Game Awards

This week on Geektown Radio, Dave is joined by Matt from Entertainment Talk for a packed episode that blends hands-on gaming impressions, though

https://www.geektown.co.uk/2025/12/16/geektown-radio-episode-483-ghost-of-yotei-rematch-pluribus-percy-jackson-season-2-fallout-returns-the-game-awards/

#GameReviews #Gaming #GeektownRadio #Podcasts #TVNews #UKAirDates

I was invited by @joel to contribute to his collaborative post on the topic "What video game would you bring to a desert island?"

Read his post to see which game(s) 19 different gamers picked.

My entry:
➡️ https://joelchrono.xyz/blog/desert-island-games/#naty

#gamereview #gamer #videogames #gamereviews #gaming #collab

Just finished #MetroidPrime4 with 100% scans. It was ok, but I really didn't like it all that much on the whole. I was really looking forward to this game, and like most things I'm excited about, I didn't look into it at all; I wanted to come in fresh. But I ended up being very disappointed.

Positives

• The game looks great. Vivid atmospheres, decent (if bog-standard) biomes. It doesn't break any barriers or look a hell of a lot better than the average Switch game, but the art direction is solid.
• The controls are really smooth and responsive when you get used to them. I turned off the free aim lock setting entirely so that I can always free aim while locked on, and I thought it was the best that a Metroid game has ever controlled.
• The music is really good. Definitely holds up against the rest of the series. Even while the game was frustrating me, I was still loving the soundtrack.
• Save stations also recharge ammo. I think I'd prefer separate ammo stations, because this is a touch too generous, but it beats the opposite extreme of the game wasting my time by forcing me to farm ammo.
• When you go back to a previous area to collect items you missed and don't have a companion, or a waypoint, or some other part of the game walling you into a specific path, it actually feels like a Metroid game and is pretty fun.

Negatives

• The plot. run-of-the-mill "Chosen One" prophecy story mixed with a "we scienced ourselves to death" plot. A mostly uninspired grab-bag of cliches.
• The tutorial section of the game is way too long. Like several hours long. It's not really over until you're out of Volt Forge, and the bike tutorial section was like pulling teeth.
• Annoying companions. And I'm not talking just about Mackenzie's Joss Whedon dialogue, but the nature of companions in a Metroid game in general. Constantly chattering, "Don't go that way, go this way instead", getting knocked out and needing to be healed. I legitimately like the sense of isolation and desolation in a Metroid game, and they seriously trashed the atmosphere. And that's before you get into the marines all fanboying over Samus and asking for her autograph. The Metroid series definitely does not benefit from full voice acting.
• The desert. Big, mostly empty, with some Breath of the Wild shrines. I don't get the point. They could have easily just connected the areas together directly and dropped the desert entirely and it would have been a strict improvement.
• Hand-holding on rails gameplay. It's virtually impossible to get lost or go the wrong way. The worst offender was at the volcano, where in a cutscene you are informed of the next 5 destinations in order, which doesn't matter because the game doesn't let you move on from one location until you've finished it, and then it shuttles you (literally) to the next goal. This is the closest Metroid has ever been to being a simple corridor shooter.
• Tons of cutscenes with some really unimaginative direction. I lost count of the number of times a cutscene ends with Samus just pointing her gun at the screen. Having Samus not talk in them is awkward, because all the other characters talk to her, even asking her questions, and she just stares blankly back at them.
• Lack of creativity around powerups in general. All the beams are more or less the same ones from the first Prime, but with different names and they take ammo. Almost all the powerups and abilities are also the same as before, but with the word "Psychic" as a prefix and little to no other differences (other than needing the purple boots to walk on purple platforms). I got déjà vu with the majority of the puzzles.
• Padding. Every extra shot chip needs to be brought back to Miles. You have to gather all the green crystals, which takes forever. You have to collect all of the mech parts. This isn't just ordinary backtracking like in a Metroid game. This is forced padding like the Zelda Wind Waker triforce fetch quest (which I actually appreciated to some degree, because I liked exploring the ocean), but elevated to a ludicrous degree.
• Amiibo-paywalled content.

To be fair, maybe the well has run a little dry, and there's only so much you can do with the formula. They did decently with Prime 2, mixing it up with the light and dark worlds. Prime 4 just feels like the most formulaic aspects of Metroid, with a big empty desert and companions that detract from the experience. It reminds me of a typical third person shooter from 20 years ago in a Metroid coat of paint and a hub world. Maybe I was set up for disappointment by having just recently finished #HollowKnight #Silksong, which is a legitimate masterpiece.

Definitely not worth the wait. I'm definitely not going to play hard mode; I probably won't ever replay the game at all.

#Metroid #Nintendo #NintendoSwitch #MetroidPrime4 #MetroidPrime4Beyond #GameReview #GameReviews #MetroidPrime #hollowknightsilksong

Geektown Radio: The Geektown Awards 2025 Launch Episode – Cutting Down the Chaos

The Geektown Awards are officially live for 2025… which means it’s time for the annual tradition of locking Dave, Matt and Gray in a metaphorical room and forcing them to battle through the infa

https://www.geektown.co.uk/2025/12/01/geektown-radio-the-geektown-awards-2025-launch-episode-cutting-down-the-chaos/

#GameReviews #Gaming #GeekTownAwards #MovieNews #MovieReviews #Podcast #TVNews #UKAirDates

The Game Awards 2025 airs December 11 with 29 categories. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads with a record 12 nominations, while Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yōtei each earned 7. Gaming's biggest night features indie gems and AAA blockbusters.
https://theurb.co/game-awards-nominees-2025

#GameAwards2025 #GameAwards #GamingNews #VideoGames #Gaming #GameOfTheYear #GOTY2025 #GamingCommunity #GameReviews #IndieGames #AAAGaming #PS5 #NintendoSwitch2 #PCGaming