Mastodawn

New blog!

I wrote a few words about Thin Ice as well as, I suppose, some impressions of the Intellivision Sprint.

I don’t have lots of experience with the Intellivision but this game really won me over!

https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2026/01/04/thin-ice/

Thin Ice – Taking the plunge on Intellivision Sprint

This Christmas I bought myself an Intellivision Sprint, a modern and faithful full-size recreation of the 1979 American games console, with no cartridge slot but 45 digital games built in. Mostly I…

Games From The Black Hole

Games From The Black Hole Dec 21

New blog!

The Outfoxies is a laugh riot in multiplayer but if you never play it alone you might miss its biggest surprise...

https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/12/21/the-outfoxies/

The Outfoxies – Outfoxing console no more

I can’t remember the first time I played The Outfoxies, but it definitely wasn’t in an arcade. In fact, I’ve never seen a single coin-op version of this game in thirty years. Anyone who says they p…

Games From The Black Hole

Games From The Black Hole Nov 9

New blog!

Final Fantasy Tactics was the last great strategy RPG I hadn't played, and now I have I realise it's totally unlike any of its peers...
https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/11/09/final-fantasy-tactics/

Final Fantasy Tactics – Huge Final Fantasy Tactics fan excited to play it for first time

The year is 1998… After playing Vandal Hearts and Shining Force III, I long for more great tactical RPG experiences and discover Final Fantasy Tactics in an issue of EDGE magazine. I’m very m…

Games From The Black Hole

Games From The Black Hole Oct 12

New blog!

MSX horror adventure, Dead Of The Brain seems like it might be a great companion piece to Snatcher but would actually be more at home on the top shelf of an 80s video shop... But, you know, in a good way.

https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/10/12/dead-of-the-brain/

Dead Of The Brain – Explicit scenes…

I’ve always been deeply intrigued by Dead Of The Brain, even before I’d seen a screenshot or knew what kind of a game it was. Right from that evocative if slightly nonsensical title down to the stu…

Games From The Black Hole

Games From The Black Hole Sep 28

New blog!

Mega Drive's Shadow Dancer saw Shinobi go to the dogs. But don't worry, this pooch is a very good boy indeed...

https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/09/28/shadow-dancer/

Shadow Dancer: The Secret Of Shinobi – Top dog

Shadow Dancer: The Secret Of Shinobi is something of a strange outlier in the wider Shinobi lineage. It was the second game in the series to launch on Mega Drive but is not a sequel to Revenge Of S…

Games From The Black Hole

Games From The Black Hole Sep 8, 2025

I booted up Dragon Quest III HD-2D on Switch 2 and it looks extra lovely with the upgrade. Now is a great time to check out this remake…

When I played it earlier this year, it really drove home how revolutionary the original must have been: https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/03/02/dragon-quest-iii/

Games From The Black Hole Sep 6, 2025

Happy birthday to me!

Today is the fifth anniversary of Games From The Black Hole, so I’ve written a few words on what the blog means to me and revealed the five most read posts to date…

https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/09/06/bonus-blog-five-years-later/

Bonus Blog – Five Years Later

September 6th 2025 somehow marks the fifth anniversary of the day Games From The Black Hole went live, with a post about the cult Lovedelic PlayStation adventure, Moon. I never really imagined that…

Games From The Black Hole

Games From The Black Hole Aug 31, 2025

New blog!

It's a damn shame Brandish Renewal has been removed from Nintendo eShop because it's yet another fantastic Falcom RPG and the PC-98's mouse controls make it delightfully slick to play...

https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/08/31/brandish/

Brandish – Renewed, renowned, removed

As readers of this blog will know, I’m a big fan of the EGGCONSOLE service on Nintendo Switch, which presents emulated versions of classic Japanese computer games at an affordable price with the mo…

Games From The Black Hole

Games From The Black Hole Aug 17, 2025

New blog!

After losing its publisher mid-development, Simon The Sorcerer 3D arrived late and visibly aged as the adventure market collapsed around it. But by taking inspiration from Zelda and Resident Evil, it remains a fascinating experiment...
https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/08/17/simon-the-sorcerer-3d/

Simon The Sorcerer 3D – Old hat

To say Simon The Sorcerer 3D passed me by would be an understatement. It released in April 2002 when I was at university and working a Saturday job at the GameStation in Camden Town. This was the o…

Games From The Black Hole

Games From The Black Hole Jul 6, 2025

New blog!

Playing Shining Force III: Scenario 2 without the save data from Scenario 1 is a great opportunity to experience the canonical story of this fantastic tactical sequel...
https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/shining-force-iii-scenario-2/

Shining Force III: Scenario 2 – The Empire strikes simultaneously

As documented at the end of my post on Shining Force III, as soon as I’d completed what instantly became my favourite game of all time, I was delighted to discover – via the brilliant fansite Shini…

Games From The Black Hole