Mastodawn

🎮 #VideoGamesFinished in 2026

I'll reply to this thread every time I "finish" playing a video game this year. That could mean getting to the end of the story it tells, or just getting to a point where I think I've experienced what the game has to offer me.

Demos are numbered separately, and sometimes what a game has to offer me is the realization that it's just not for me... and that's okay.

The previous thread for 2025 is available here:
https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@jedimb/113798760157739773

J M Berntson (@[email protected])

🎮 #VideoGamesFinished in 2025 I'll reply to this thread every time I "finish" playing a video game this year. That could mean getting to the end of the story it tells, or just getting to a point where I think I've experienced what the game has to offer me. Demos are numbered separately, and sometimes what a game has to offer me is the realization that it's just not for me... and that's okay. The combined thread for 2023 and 2024 is available here: https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@jedimb/109837082389682670

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J M Berntson Jan 11

#01 (2026-01-11) #PainkillerGoldEdition

I adored the demo in the mid-00s, with its cool Bolt Gun physics, watching as monsters got nailed to walls in cool environments. Eventually bought the game in late 2008, and it became an early Backlog Game.

Now that I played a few levels? Feels uninspired and janky, fighting waves of copy-pasted enemies in dull environments, with less impactful physics than I remembered.

I can spend my time better. So I will.

#VideoGames #PainkillerGame #Painkiller2004

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J M Berntson

#02 (2026-05-26) #ChronoTrigger

Okay, it's just been 4½ months of nothing logged. I've actually played a lot of cozy life sim type stuff, and I'll be logging a few of those soon enough.

But a few days ago I picked up playing Chrono Trigger again on my 3DS, after originally playing through it in 2009.

It's one my very favorite Japanese-style RPGs, but I only ever unlocked a single one of its 13 endings. Well, now I'm at 13 out of 13, and it was delightful.

#VideoGames #ChronoTriggerDS #JRPG

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J M Berntson 3d ago

#03 (2026-06-26) #PokémonPokopia

Started on the 10th. Finished the story on the 20th. Post-game quests on the 21st.

Kept playing at least some each day since.

It's nice to have one of these cozy games where there's a concrete, satisfying "ending" you can reach in relatively short order, which shifts the game into a mode where you can just aim for completion at whatever pace you prefer.

I want to find Absol tomorrow. Absol is cute.

#VideoGames #Pokémon #Pokemon #Pokopia #PokemonPokopia