D#01 (2025-01-10) #ArtisImpact #demo

I'm... not sure what to think about this #JRPG demo. Developed by a studio called Mas, the pixel art is really stylish and incredibly fluid, while the dialogue boxes and their generic fonts clash completely with the rest.

There are also a lot of cool, hand-drawn cutscene stills.

The English isn't the best, though, and the dialogue just feels chaotic. There's also a time of day and weekday system that I'm not sure why it's even there.

Weird.

#VideoGames

#01 (2025-01-20) #SonicOrigins

This is technically 4-5 games, depending on how you count Sonic 3 & Knuckles, that I finished over the last week or so?

This was my first time finishing #SonicCD, and I *have* finally gained an appreciation for the game's exploration-focused play style, but I still don't like its UFO Hunt special stages.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles remains my favorite, despite the changes to the music.

Amy is cute, and it's great that she's playable now.

#VideoGames #SonicTheHedgehog

D#02 (2025-02-09) #Cairn #demo

It's a mountain-climbing game where you play as a woman named Aava who plans to ascend mount Kami.

The demo features a climbing gym with a series of training walls. Reaching the goal for the first three lets you continue to Mount Tenzen, while finishing five more walls gets you some bonus items.

I did finish all 8 walls, but not the training mountain. It's an interesting concept and seems well-executed, but I don't think it's for me.

#VideoGames #ClimbingGame

D#03 (2025-02-10) #DropDuchy #demo

My kind of game! #Tetris #roguelike #DeckBuilder where you move along a path on the map to access trade or exploration opportunities.

You explore areas via a Tetris game, where the tiles are made up of either woods or plains. Completing one or more rows counts as an exploration and nets you their resources.

Tiles like Wood Clearer and Farm from your deck transform and benefit from the land around them. Military buildings create units for combat.

#VideoGames

D#04 (2025-02-11) #ChantsOfSennaar #demo

A #PointAndClick #puzzle #AdventureGame focused on figuring out a fictional language as you progress through a story seemingly focused on devotees of a sun god.

I had fun with the demo, and I'm both looking forward to playing the full game and seeing more future games about deciphering languages. (#HeavensVault is already in my Steam library, but I haven't played it yet.)

I also really enjoyed the warm and stylized desert aesthetic.

#VideoGames

D#05 (2025-02-13) #FantasianNeoDimension #demo

Disclosure:
I've never played a #Mistwalker game before. I have a Limited Edition copy of #TheLastStory, but the disc has never left its case.

This, though? The art is gorgeous, for sure. I'd love to see more games build PS1-esque backgrounds from diorama photos. The characters also seem to be very pretty.

The world seems like an interesting one, but the story kinda droning? And I could do without Generic Male Amnesiac Protagonist.

#VideoGames

D#06 (2025-03-03) #FatalTwelve #demo

In contrast to the previous game demo I played, this one is a #VisualNovel with a very compelling narrative. Gameplay-wise, choices were *very* limited, though, so I don't know how much you can influence the outcome of the story.

Main character Rinka dies in a train bombing and a divine entity pits her against Miharu (who has feelings for Rinka) and 10 other "contestants" trying to eliminate each other in order to win a second chance at life.

#VideoGames

D#07 (2025-03-03) #KathyRain2 #demo

I loved the original #KathyRain, by #ClifftopGames here in Sweden, so of course I was going to make sure I played this #NextFest demo of the sequel!

It's a strong start, for sure. A serial killer has recently murdered a famous author and as the local law enforcement is dumbfounded Kathy has the chance to try to solve the case so she can pay her bills.

The pixel art (including Kathy) is gorgeous, and animations smooth.

#VideoGames #KathyRain2Soothsayer

D#08 (2025-03-03) #Peripeteia #demo

I'm not entirely sure what to say about this one. You are a cyborg named Marie who wakes up on a scrap heap, much to the disappointment of the guy who bought you with the intent to scrap you for parts.

Since he doesn't want to scrap a living person, he sends you out to steal some valuable device from the local authorities so he can then sell it back to them.

Didn't finish this big, dark and confusing #ImmersiveSim in a post-apocalyptic Poland.

#VideoGames

D#09 (2025-03-04) #HighEloGirls #demo

Another #VisualNovel, and in this one you're a girl who gets scouted as a substitute player for what is basically a #DotA / #LeagueOfLegends esports team.

The demo lets you choose between two characters to sub* for: Toya (top*), or Daphne (mid). I picked Toya (short demo), but will try Daphne (full demo) later.

There were some interesting and fun decisions for both the "game" portion and the regular game dialogue.

*yes, my mind went there

#VideoGames

D#10 (2025-03-04) #HighTimes #demo

This RAUNCHY #DatingSim / #VisualNovel is also a donut-making simulator. Similar to games like #VA11HallA, the story delivers unto you numerous colorful characters in need of mood-altering donuts, and a fair number of them just happen to be the exes you've accrued throughout your life.

And some of them are voiced by people you might recognize, like #JohnnyYongBosch or #LilyPichu.

I actually already backed this on Kickstarter, and I'm glad I did.

#VideoGames

D#11 (2025-03-06) #HouseOfNecrosis #demo

As someone who really liked the B-movie sci-fi zombie horror haunted house aesthetic of the original #ResidentEvil games, but couldn't get into them because it's #SurvivalHorror with tank controls, House of Necrosis is perfect for me.

Some control scheme bugs aside, it's an excellent, horror-themed #MysteryDungeon-like game where you'll engage zombies and other beasts in turn-based battles while collecting items and descending ever deeper.

#VideoGames

D#12 (2025-03-12) #KreatureKind #demo

This is a #CardBattler #Roguelike developed in Sweden by #ValiantGameStudio.

It's cute and has some nice tunes playing. Also, Yui's wheelchair pulsates to the beat, which just made me smile.

That said, it feels like the kind of game where the heart's in the right place—with a very blunt environmentalist message—but it just... seems pretty shallow and formulaic?

And the floaty character animation bothers me.

Could be worth keeping an eye on?

#VideoGames

D#13 (2025-03-29) #Locator #demo

This is a #Geoguessr-inspired game about locating an esteemed archaeologist by using her mysterious journal and photo log to track her travels on the alien planet of Farrow.

You have to place pins where a series of photos were taken—three at a time—to progress through the story and unlock more photos. You have to keep trying if any one of the three locations is incorrect.

The journal provides vital clues through text and illustrations.

#VideoGames #PuzzleGame

D#14 (2025-03-30) #RomancingSaGa2 #demo

I remember trying out one or two of the original #FinalFantasyLegend #SaGa games for the #GameBoy a long time ago, but never played them to any significant degree. My 3 hours with this demo is definitely the most time I've invested in one.

Mixed feelings on it. Gameplay was perfectly fine, and the art looked good aside from the one-note female character designs. My character selection did nothing, tho'?

#VideoGames #JRPG #RomancingSaGa2RevengeOfTheSeven

D#15 (2025-04-29) #BladeChimera #demo

Yeah, I lost my job a while back, which sucked, so I haven't managed to play anything at all... over the past month.

Not gonna lie, I definitely downloaded this #Metroidvania demo thinking it had a female protagonist, but turns out this guy, Shin, just has a really nice ponytail?

There's something in the story about this demon-hunter being an amnesiac and having made a pact with a spirit/demon, but the demo skips most of it?

Pretty fun, tho'

#VideoGames

#02 (2025-05-05) #TheLegendOfZelda #ALinkToThePast (USA)

Oh. Turns out I haven't played a full game (aside from some #MetroidFusion randomizer I forgot to toot about) since Sonic Origins in January.

Anyway, it might just have been a long time since I last played it, or maybe there are translation differences from the PAL version I used to play? A lot of really awkward English lines, regardless.

But it's a great Zelda game. The blueprint for OoT.

#TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast #alttp #zelda3

D#16 (2025-05-01) #CrowCountry #demo

Well, it turns out I saved and quit (as it was dinner time) 23 days ago when all I had left of the demo was to walk through a door and get the "thanks for playing" message.

Anyway, it's a really cool and moody survival horror game with the grainy aesthetic of one of those PS1 games with pre-rendered backgrounds, except it's actually fully in 3D with a rotatable camera.

Some shady mining venture beneath an amusement park went awry, so MONSTERS!

#VideoGames

D#17 (2025-05-26) #MINDWAVE #demo

Simply put, this is a #WareWare-like, with a seemingly dystopian storyline running through it. Protagonist Pandora has joined a competition where you enter your competitors' minds to beat them at various #MicroGames themed after their personalities.

The music is really catchy, and the pixel-art visuals are equal parts bizarre and cute.

The microgames have you following instructive prompts using the mouse, keyboard, or a combination of the two.

#VideoGames

#03 (2025-06-01) #MetroidFusion #randomizer

I recall not really feeling up to any sort of #speedrunning back in the day and just going for completionism instead, so there's a distinct possibility that this is my first time actually clocking in at less than 2 hours in this game.

Anyway, generating these randomized runs via #Randovania and the #m4rs code/functionality.

Might look into how to implement door lock randomization in the future, but happy with the regular dev builds now.

#VideoGames

#04 (2025-06-10) #TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime #randomizer

Played #OoT randomizer for the first time, and it took me 6 days to finish. A lot of time went into finding hidden Deku Scrubs that sold important progression items.

And then the mask shop ended up holding the Light Arrows and the Golden Gauntlets, with the final mask being with a scrub in Ganon's Castle.

It was fun, but not as accessible as the 2-ish hour ALttP and Metroid Fusion runs.

#TheLegendOfZelda #OcarinaOfTime #VideoGames

D#18 (2025-06-13) #DateEverything #demo

It's a funny #DatingSim #VisualNovel where you receive a pair of glasses that let you DATE (Directly Acknowledge a Thing's Existence) various things in your household. It's pretty technical. Ask your physicist about Thing Theory.

Date, Hate or Befriend attractive, anthropomorphized versions of everything from your bed to the toaster, the minibar, a sex toy, or the water flowing through the house's pipes.

Amazing voice cast, too.

#VideoGames

#05 (2025-06-22) #MetroidPrimeRemastered

Finally played #RetroStudios' 3D #Metroidvania masterpiece for the first time since... probably around 2004.

Played it with the original control scheme. Still feels great. The aesthetic also holds up really well, and the increased resolution and fidelity made it even better.

The most noticeable flaw, aside from the unnecessary sequence-breaking prevention, was the often random-feeling item placement, compared to later games.

#VideoGames #MetroidPrime

D#19 (2025-06-28) #CraftCraft #demo

Really enjoyed this one. Super-charming aesthetic, some good character customization (with human, elf, cat and insectoid options), and engaging crafting systems.

The game loop during the demo was basically: customer enters and makes a request (with dialogue options available), you try to craft the thing to their specifications, and then you get paid.

Did rhythm game blacksmithing, arts-and-crafts, and scavenging for components.

#VideoGames #VisualNovel

D#20 (2025-06-30) #GenerationExile #demo

This game borrows a lot from #4X #StrategyGames like Civilization, with character creation, NPCs, and #AdventureGame / #RPG dialogue.

Takes place on a colony ship that left Earth after it was ruined by unchecked capitalism. Unfortunately, the artificial environment onboard the ship also went to heck, and people took shelter underground.

After returning to the surface, it's your job to make it habitable again.

Interesting, but not for me.

#VideoGames

D#21 (2025-06-30) #QueerQuest #demo

Queer Quest: All in a Gay's Work is a queer (obviously) #PointAndClick #AdventureGame seemingly mechanically inspired by the #CurseOfMonkeyIsland and #FullThrottle era of #LucasArts games.

The demo was short, involving cooking nachos and getting a DVD collection sorted into the proper cases. Didn't get much of a sense of the story, but it starts with the butch-adjacent Lupe waking up on the lawn, and ends with her girlfriend seemingly abducted.

#VideoGames

D#22 (2025-06-30) #RaygunGadabout #demo

A colorful, whimsical and hand-drawn sci-fi #Metroidvania with some risqué elements to it. (Quinn does her bounty-hunting in a miniskirt dress and thigh-highs, and one alien boss monster has four sets of exposed breasts.)

You fight with a sword and raygun, with temporary weapons dropped from enemies, and sometimes have to deflect enemy projectiles with your limited-use shield.

It's fun! (And my brain gave Quinn a southern belle accent.)

#VideoGames

D#23 (2025-07-01) #TheTimeIHaveLeft #demo

Okay, so... I could *not* tell you what this game is about. It's an #RPG with a time management focus that reminds me of #UNSIGHTED (and to a lesser extent #MajorasMask).

For most of the demo, I just ran around blindly trying to figure out how to progress, but with no idea of where I'm going or *why*. Picked up notes about my mysterious time limit disease, keys, tools, candy bars, etc.

I love the aesthetic, though. And I finished it!

#VideoGames

D#24 (2025-07-04) #Ultros #demo

Another one of those games where I feel like I understand very little of the story and characters. It's a #FemaleProtagonist #Metroidvania, though.

The player starts off in a very colorful world, seemingly overrun with fungi and plants, retrieves a sword from a corpse that's not quite dead, and is sent on a mission to kill a person supposedly responsible for this world's temporal shenanigans and inescapability.

Not sure what to think.

#VideoGames #UltrosGame

D#25 (2025-07-05) #UsualJune #demo

#ActionAdventure game where you play as the titular June, who investigates the science lab of a certain Blackhurst along with her friend, Sunny. As the game is tagged #LGBTQ+ on Steam, my hope is that the two are or will be dating. 😛

The demo seems to start a fair bit into the story, with references to past events, and June quickly encounters the alien-looking ghost called Dead Teddy.

She's then pulled into another dimension to fight Blackhurst.

#VideoGames

D#26 (2025-07-06) #WinningLoveByDaylight #demo

A cute #VisualNovel about the gathering of a team of #MagicalGirls, who are all drawn to the same town/school for magical reasons.

I like the character designs with interesting events tied to them, but most of them have kind of the same "voice" (e.g., often ending sentences with "aha"), and there are also a fair number of spelling and grammar mistakes throughout the story.

Gonna want to try the 2nd chapter at some point. It's cheap.

#VideoGames

D#27 (2025-07-14) #DonkeyKongCountryReturnsHD #demo

Low-effort log entry without images or anything. Tried out the demo quickly on my Switch because I can't just go to bed as planned.

Three levels with a nice variety of styles and platforming gimmicks. The intro level, the dark/sunset level, and the minecart level.

Had fun but dislike some aspects of the controls, like how the attack button slams the ground and the down+attack combo is used to blow on dandelion seeds?

Pretty long load times.

#06 (2025-07-16) #SuperMarioBrosWonder

I was going to play this as a supplementary/side game for when I didn't feel like I had the time to play Metroid Prime 2.

Turns out it was just such a fantastic Mario game that I spent hours at a time on its fun platforming challenges. (Although a few of the more difficult ones ventured into "feeling unfair" territory.)

Anyway, a #SuperMario #platformer where I could play as #PrincessDaisy was cool, and I managed 100% the game! Recommend!

#VideoGames

#07 (2025-08-19) #MetroidPrime2Echoes

Took me a while to get back into it after Wonder stole my attention away from it.

While flawed, MP2 is a thoroughly enjoyable game. Especially the Wii edition. I like the dark aesthetic, but I'll admit I felt significantly more pressured by the corrosive Dark Aether sections than I remember.

There were two mean sequences where you couldn't save between a section of progress and a stressful boss battle.

Finished with 99% scans.

#MetroidPrime2 #VideoGames

#08 (2025-08-27) #PEAK

I've been playing PEAK a few evenings every week since the 7th. Can't really say I'm "done" with it, but I have finished the campaign a few times so far, so I figure I should log it.

Unlike Cairn, this co-op multiplayer game prioritizes gameplay I find more enjoyable for a #ClimbingGame. Less realism, and more focus on cartoonish ragdoll hilarity and fun items. (Like Pandora's Lunchbox or the Anti-Rope Cannon.)

Mesa biome > alpine biome

#VideoGames #PeakGame

#09 (2025-11-01) #HollowKnight

Welp. Spent the entire month on this one, since game time's been limited. Good one to spend the month with, though. Albeit one that required immense focus for many boss fights.

I've complained before about how many modern #Metroidvania games seem to be taking after this one when it comes to focus on high difficulty, but Hollow Knight actually felt fairer? Nightmare King Grimm aside.

30h for my first ending. 40 to get 100+% and defeat the REAL boss.

#VideoGames