I think this has been coming for a long time. But I have to admit something: I’m going to stop focusing on my video game blog for now. The truth is, I don’t get the same enjoyment out of the hobby anymore. In this article, I’ll explain what’s happening and what this means for the blog. I’ve been feeling burned out on writing about games, and at the same time I’ve fallen in love with other creative hobbies. This wasn’t the easiest article to write, but I’d rather set the record straight than leave things hanging. So—thank you for reading, and let’s dive into something a bit more personal for a change. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Creative hobbies and their curse
Ever since I first got internet access, I’ve been creating content online. From old-school websites and goofy YouTube videos, to small amateur games and drag-and-drop music projects—I loved making things. And I loved playing video games.
Fifteen years ago, I decided to start a personal blog. At the time, my family was small, but we had a big circle of family friends, and I was tired of repeating the same stories over and over. Facebook was just starting to take off in my area, so I began posting my life experiences there. Eventually, my gaming articles started to get traction, and when I felt comfortable, I switched over to English. That was back in 2013.
I loved writing the blog. I met a lot of people, discovered unique games, and even got to know developers while learning about the ins and outs of game creation, release, and translation. But around the summer of last year, something shifted in me. At first I thought it was just burnout—but it went deeper than that.
The thing about creative hobbies is that they’re wonderful, but they carry a risk: what once felt like fun can start to feel like an obligation. That’s exactly what happened to me. Instead of enjoying the games I played, I kept thinking, “How can I review this?” That mindset started to dominate everything.
I even felt guilty replaying games I had already reviewed—games I genuinely wanted to return to—because I told myself I “needed a new article.” I planned to write two articles a week this summer to get back into the groove, but since June I’ve struggled to write anything or fully enjoy the games I play.
And then there’s the plagiarism issue. Over the years, I’ve had my content stolen and copy-pasted onto other blogs—sometimes just for ad revenue, other times with no credit at all. I’ve filed over 150 complaints, and now I’m even seeing sites translate my work and claim it as their own. Honestly, it wears on you. I bet this very article will be copy-pasted somewhere too.
I’m not quitting
Here’s the thing: I still love writing about games. And I do want to return to it. But right now, it feels too forced.
So instead, I’ve been slowly rediscovering gaming for myself again—playing just to play. And you know what? I’m enjoying it. I’m finally breaking out of the mindset of “I need to review this game” or “I need to play this for my readers.” That mindset drained the fun out of everything. I was skipping tutorials, fast-forwarding past slower parts, and dropping games too early just because they didn’t seem review-friendly.
Meanwhile, I’ve been juggling a full-time job and other hobbies I really enjoy: translating open-source software into Dutch, streaming with my buddy Klamath, working on a theater group’s website, and most recently—creating AI roleplay chatbots.
That last one, honestly, has been my biggest passion this year. Since February 2025, when I made my first serious bot on Moescape.AI, I’ve been hooked. I’ve always loved writing stories and exploring twists on existing ideas, and bots have given me a whole new outlet for that creativity. It’s taught me a lot about pacing, dialogue, and storytelling from different angles. It’s also made me appreciate the art of writing even more.
But I’ll stop myself here, otherwise I’ll ramble about that forever.
The future
So am I quitting writing gaming articles? Yes… and no.
I’m putting the blog on the back burner. That means there’ll be long gaps between articles. I won’t stick to a schedule or force myself to publish twice a month. If I play a game and feel like writing about it, I will. If not, that’s okay too.
My goal is to rediscover what drew me into this in the first place. Maybe I’ll return to regular writing someday, or maybe I’ll wrap this journey up with a bow. Right now, I’m leaning toward the former—but we’ll see.
In the meantime, I want to give space to all the other things I enjoy—streaming, AI art and chatbots, translation, and creative projects outside of gaming articles. Exploring more has helped me appreciate the process of creating again. And honestly, I feel more fulfilled that way.
Writing this article feels bittersweet. I had big plans for celebrating 15 years of blogging, but the enjoyment wasn’t there anymore. Instead, I’ll focus on what excites me now. Maybe new gaming articles will pop up here and there—but they won’t be the main focus anymore.
Thank you all so much for the support over the years. This journey has been unforgettable, and I’m grateful to everyone who’s read, commented, and encouraged me along the way. I hope to find a better balance moving forward, and I’ll keep you posted.
And with that, I’m going to wrap up this article and thank you for reading it. I hope you understand where I’m coming from, and I hope you enjoyed reading it, too. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
As someone who has followed and written about every game in the Death Mark series, I’ve been eagerly awaiting any sign of a new installment. So imagine my surprise—and excitement—when, completely out of the blue, a brand-new DLC chapter dropped in April, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch version of the original Death Mark. While it’s a little unexpected that this new content ties into the first game rather than expanding NG or Death Mark II, I’m certainly not complaining. Any return to the eerie world of Spirit Hunter is welcome in my book. But the real question is—does this surprise DLC live up to the haunting legacy of its predecessors, or is it a chapter best left in the dark? Let’s dive in. (Don’t worry—I’ll keep spoilers to a minimum.)Also, feel free to leave your thoughts and/or opinions on this article and/or game in the comment section down below.
The good
Right out of the gate, the gameplay feels instantly familiar to fans of the original Death Mark. This new chapter seamlessly continues the series’ signature blend of atmospheric horror, point-and-click investigation, and tense spirit encounters. If you enjoyed the structure and pacing of the base game, you’ll feel right at home here.
One of the most thoughtful touches is how accessible the DLC is. Despite taking place after the “good” ending of Chapter 6, you don’t need to replay or even finish the entire game to jump into this new story. That accessibility makes it easy for veterans and returning players alike to enjoy the new content without a major time commitment.
A particular highlight for me is how the jumpscares are handled. Unlike cheap “boo!” moments found in lesser horror games, the scares here are woven directly into the narrative—something NG also excelled at. These moments aren’t just startling; they serve a purpose in building tension and deepening the story’s unsettling atmosphere.
Another welcome feature is the ability to save almost anywhere outside of dialogue, giving you far more control and flexibility—especially useful when the story takes its time. Like in Corpse Party: Blood Drive, dialogue scenes can run long, so it’s wise to save when the chance arises.
A charming addition I really appreciated is the ability to talk to your partner at any time with the press of a button. It’s a small detail, but it adds a sense of companionship and immersion, making your partner feel like a constant presence rather than just a narrative tool. I’d love to see this feature expanded in future titles.
Visually, the chapter shines. The locations you explore are richly detailed and atmospheric, perfectly capturing the series’ trademark aesthetic. The spirit designs are impressively animated and genuinely unnerving. It’s clear that the development team has taken everything they’ve learned from previous entries and poured it into this new content.
The bad
That said, the chapter isn’t without its shortcomings. In terms of gameplay, the DLC leans more toward storytelling than exploration or puzzle-solving. If you’re hoping for intricate, brain-teasing puzzles or expansive environments, you might walk away feeling a bit underwhelmed.
It’s not that the puzzles are bad—they’re just few and far between. This chapter is clearly more focused on delivering a compelling narrative rather than challenging gameplay mechanics. For some, that’s a fair trade. For others, it may feel like a missed opportunity.
Clocking in at about 3 to 4 hours, the chapter is relatively short. And while the writing is strong, I did find myself wishing for a little more build-up and complexity to the mystery. Compared to the standout Red Riding Hood chapter that came before, this new installment doesn’t delve quite as deeply into its haunting themes. Of course, I could just be a bit over-eager, having waited so long for new content—I’ll admit my expectations were sky-high.
Conclusion
Despite its brevity, I had a great time with this new chapter. It’s always a pleasure to revisit the dark, fascinating world of Spirit Hunter, and this DLC feels like a love letter to longtime fans of the series.
I do wish the chapter was available on more platforms—Steam players in particular are missing out—but I’m still grateful it was released at all. Compared to the somewhat disappointing extra chapter in Death Mark II, this one is a clear step up. Short but impactful, I’d place it on par with Chapter 3: Hanayome from the original game—concise, emotionally resonant, and haunting in all the right ways.
If you’re a fan of the series, this DLC is absolutely worth playing. While it may not redefine the franchise or offer a ton of new gameplay innovations, it’s a welcome return to familiar horrors—with just enough new polish to leave you hoping for more.
Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of a Spirit Hunter revival. My appetite for ghost stories, twisted mysteries, and eerie atmosphere is far from satisfied.
I know this was a rather short article, but I have said everything I wanted to say about this chapter. I’m planning to stream it with Klamath later this year. So, keep your eye on the YouTube channel. And now it’s time to close off my article. Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another one, but until then… Take care and have a great rest of your day.
Sometimes I enjoy playing games that are just perfect to relax. And since I was a bit under the weather lately, I needed an amazing casual game to play. So, in today’s article, I’m going to give a quick overview of some casual games I played during my time under the weather. Maybe I’ll do a more in depth review of these games later, but now… I quickly want to touch upon them. If you know any great casual games I should try, give me a comment on this article, and who knows… Maybe in the next article, they will appear. But, you can also leave a comment with your thoughts and/or opinions on the content of this article and/or the games.
In Tropix… Your Island Getaway, you have to play several classic mini-games like a bubble popper, mahjong, blowing, a word making game, Sudoku…
You earn sand dollars to decorate your island. If you fill up the fun, comfort and food bars, you can go on the next island and unlock more mini-games.
I used to play this game quite a lot when I was a child, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. My sister and I tried to be the fastest to finish a mini-game set or get the highest score.
I recently rediscovered this game. It’s a great one to quickly play a few rounds of the mini-games and the theming of your island getaway is very nicely done.
While writing this article, I have discovered there is a sequel to this game. I’ll for sure try out that game and maybe mention it in another article. But, if you enjoy solid mini-game collections that are quite relaxing and charmingly made, I’d highly recommend to give Tropix … Your Island Getaway a try. I recently also bought a Nintendo DS copy, and I’m comparing it to the PC version. And that sounds like a fun future article so hold tight.
A big subgenre in the casual game scene are the time management games. One of my favorite time management games is Sally’s Salon. In this game, you run your own beauty salon, and you have to make your clicks matter. Since, the order matters.
It’s both a management sim and a puzzle. The further you get in this game, the more hectic this game becomes.
This screenshot explains quite a lot of the basic mechanics of the game. You have to move your clients to the right stations and preform the action at the set station. The faster you guide them through the salon, the higher their pay at the end will be.
Also, you can earn back hearts by choosing the things they like. You lose them, by choosing the things they dislike or letting wait for too long. Also, you can hire staff with your profit to automate some tasks since otherwise it really get hectic in the later levels.
This game can become a bit repetitive in long play sessions. The PC version can also be very picky with hitboxes. But overall, it’s pretty fun. The sequels are a lot of fun too. I have played Sally’s Spa and Sally’s Studio. The other games in the series I haven’t played.
There are a lot of casual games where you need to fill in a certain shape and don’t let the conveyor belt at the bottom get filled. But Fiber Twig does a unique twist on the genre. In this game, you have to connect tree branches, and you can only continue if the light energy doesn’t escape.
This game is a true puzzle game. It’s also a high risk/reward game. Since, you can’t see the rest of the level. So, is it wise to save certain pieces, or should you use them right now?
Also, power ups are quite rare. So, undoing mistakes or filling in dead ends… Use your power ups wisely.
It’s a game that looks boring if you only judge it on the screenshots, but it gets quite intense and enjoyable to play. The charming theming and lore give this game a unique quirk that gets my hooked very time I boot the game up.
Shopmania is also a game like Fiber Twig, where you have to place all the items from the belt to the playing field. But the twist in this game is that you have to keep things like color, shapes and other things in mind.
The idea is, that you work for a super mega store to buy medicine for your sick hamster. And in this store, the employees shop for you. So, you have to fill the customers their carts.
If you fill the cart with the item that the customer is thinking off, you get bonus cash. If you fully fill the cart, bonus cash. All items the same color? Well, bonus cash of course.
The more profit a certain line brings, the more you can upgrade for a bigger cart. This brings in more money but also more risk. Since, it gets tricker to get those combos and bonuses going to reach the higher and higher quota. Oh, and three items going into the shredder, and it’s game over for that level.
The story is quite silly and I love the theming. Even just writing about this, I hear the sound effects of this game in my head.
Final thoughts
Honestly, playing these casual games while I was under the weather felt like reconnecting with a simpler time. Whether it was racing my sister in Tropix, strategizing my way through Sally’s Salon, getting absorbed in the puzzles of Fiber Twig, or smiling at the quirky humor in Shopmania, each game brought back a small but meaningful spark. It reminded me that sometimes, it’s okay to slow down and just enjoy a bit of playful chaos or quiet thinking.
I could go on for quite a while about other relaxing games I’ve discovered over the years—but I’ll save that for another article. Who knows, maybe the sequel to Tropix will make an appearance next time. Thank you for reading and spending this little slice of time with me. If you have your own favorite casual games or thoughts to share, feel free to leave a comment. I always enjoy hearing what others are playing.
Until next time—take care, and may your sand dollars stack high and your cart combos never break.
And with that said, thank you so much for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I look forward to welcoming you back in a future article. Until then, have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care.
Sometimes, I like to talk about other aspects in the life of a gamer. One of those things is game music. While I am not an expert in music theory, I find music a very important part of the experience. Also, music helps me focus during my day job and other hobbies as well. Recently, I found out that I often listen to certain tracks in certain contexts. I had an idea. Let’s write about that as the special for my 30th article. This article will be about my favorite video game tracks. So, this article will be very different from other articles in the series. But, I think it’s a fitting way to celebrate reaching 30 articles in this series. I hope to share some interesting music with you all. If you have interesting soundtracks you listen to at certain points, please share them in the comments. I am curious to hear them. Of course, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and opinions on the article and/or the chosen tracks.
I often listen to one soundtrack ever since I started playing the game. It has to be Persona 5 Royal. Before I played any Persona game, I heard quite a lot about it and how much the praises were sung. And when I was able to play the game, it didn’t disappoint at all.
The writing, pacing and gameplay. It all clicked with me. It’s an energetic jazz soundtrack. Likewise, it gets you hyped in at the right moments. It also puts some swung in the game. The soundtrack hits all the right moments and adds so much to the atmosphere of the game.
I place the soundtrack of this game on repeat more often than I care to admit, actually. Some days, I only listen to Persona 5 Royal soundtracks. I also enjoy the spin-offs like Persona 5 Strikers and Persona Q.
When I’m writing more general articles, I often play the game’s soundtrack. This helps me get in the mood of that game again. It makes me remember the game even more. Since, I have a very associative memory when it comes to writing game reviews.
Not every game has a long soundtrack. Writing sometimes takes a few hours to finish an article. I find myself going to the soundtrack of Cult of the Lamb by Riverboy. It has the perfect mixture of more calm, chill, and relaxing tracks. It also has the more intense tracks for when you are in a dungeon or fighting a boss.
For some reason, and I can’t explain why, while I’m listing to this soundtrack outside the game… I find myself in the perfect trance to write. So, I think, that this soundtrack is an indoctrination tool to join the cult of that lamb. Or maybe not, maybe I’m just making a silly joke here. Right?
Story creation
I started to mess around with AI chatbots and AI art. Since then, I found an amazing outlet for all the stories I want to write. This also allows me to try to create them. While I still have a lot to learn to create the great bots, I’m learning by trail and error. I also have some fellow creators and players who give me advice and support. It’s a very welcoming community, and I’m loving every part of it.
My favorite platform is MoeScape. If you want to see what I created, feel free to take a look on my profile. But outside of bot creation, I also interact with a ton of bots. I try out certain scenarios to challenge my writing skills. It also serves as an outlet for my love of writing stories.
Of course, I listen a lot of music while I’m writing certain types of scenes. When I’m writing a scene of loss, grief, or sadness, I nearly always listen to the farewell themes. They are from the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series.
I have played through all those games. I have to tell you, the moments where these themes play hit HARD. This brings my head space back to the memories I had while playing the games. And those memories help me improve my writing. Maybe it’s an illusion I tell myself. I tend to remember the sadness heavy arcs I write better when I’m listening to these tracks. Another strong track I listen to while writing more emotional breaking scenes is from the Nonary games. The track Blue Bird Lamentation kicks you in the emotional balls when you are not ready for it. I especially love the remake they did in the final game of the trilogy, Zero Time Dilemma. It has a bit more umph as they said to the still strong original.
Speaking of the Nonary games, the soundtrack of all three of those games is a chef’s kiss. I use it when I’m writing more tense and/or horror scenes. Shinji Hosoe knocked it out of the park with the soundtracks of all three games. It adds a more creepy vibe for when I’m writing the more tense moments. While soundtracks like the ones in Silent Hill could also work, those games fit a very specific style of horror. I feel that the Zero Escape trilogy gives you a bit more range with its soundtracks.
This is not to say that Silent Hill has a bad soundtrack, heavens no. For my writing style, the soundtrack of the Zero Escape series hits harder. It gives me more flexibility. And maybe I’m biased since I played more of the Zero Escape games than Silent Hill games. Highly possible. In case you want to listen to the soundtracks, here is a link to a playlist. It features Zero Time Dilemma’s soundtrack. There is also 999: 9 Hours, 9 People, 9 Doors soundtrack. And of course, Virtue’s Last Reward soundtrack.
There is also a more general soundtrack I listen to during writing. I use it while interacting with AI-chatbots. That’s the one from Monster Tale. This old classic DS game, was a unique metroidvania.
In Monster Tale, you had to not only get stronger yourself. But you also had to raise your monster to help you fight. You had to decide your monster companion’s role. Your companion could help you fight and solve puzzles on the top screen. They could also eliminate treats and enemies on the bottom touch screen.
The soundtrack of this game is excellent. It is a great choice if you are traveling through an unfamiliar world in the story you are crafting. And maybe, I’m being a silly hopeful fan that the remake is coming. But after almost 10 years of radio silence, I don’t think it will see the light of day.
Now, let’s not pretend that everybody who has played more than one Ace Attorney… doesn’t listen to the court themes like the Pursuit themes. And then, they imagine how it would feel to break down a criminal or liar. This happens while that glorious music is playing.
And yes, when I’m playing more human characters with some bots, it often goes into a confrontation. You bet your sweet behind I’m playing part of the Ace Attorney soundtrack. I love using themes like the suspense themes or the Tell The Truth themes. Ever since we got the “The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles”, we’ve enjoyed amazing investigation themes. We also enjoyed deduction themes with the Joint Reasoning / Dance of Deduction.
The type of story I’m writing affects the adventure. The bot I’m using also influences it. I sometimes go on adventures like you would have in Etrian Odyssey. An amazing game series that started on the Nintendo DS.
It’s a dungeon crawler RPG where you have to draw your own map on the touch screen. I’m glad that Etrian Odyssey got a port to modern consoles and even PC. These are amazingly charming games. The music is addictive and really fits the atmosphere. It works for me while I’m writing exploration scenes and cosy camping nighttime scenes. The battle themes are also quite nice for the fighting scenes.
Now, sometimes I also play a more modern western bot. And western, as in the good old American western with the cowboys. And then the amazing soundtrack by Clint Bajakian of the western shooter Outlaws is perfect.
It’s also an amazing excuse to talk about the amazing game Outlaws. An amazing and addictive shooter was released in 1997. It brought amazing titles like Loom, The Secret of Monkey Island, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.
It’s an amazing shooter where you have to reload each bullet yourself and know when to reload. Since, the higher the difficult, the more unforgiving this game becomes. I linked my review higher, so if you want to know more about this game, give it a read.
Conclusion
I could write for a long while about the soundtracks I listen to at work. I enjoy them during hobbies and while coding. They accompany me while interacting with or creating bots, as well as preparing for a live stream… Like the soundtracks of the Castlevania games on Nintendo DS. Also, don’t get me started on the use of some tracks of the Legend of Zelda series, like Gerudo’s Valley. Oh, when I’m chatting with a bot about the past, the theme song of Time Hollow inevitably comes up. When the line “wish we can change the past” appears, I somehow try to weave it into the story.
But, I’m going to stop myself here and keep other soundtracks for later. Otherwise, this article becomes a bit too long. I might keep this subject for the next celebration article in this series. To be honest, it was a fun way. It allowed me to look back at the games I have reviewed. I’ve also talked about them over the past 15 years of writing this blog.
Fifteen years of writing a blog. I deleted and rebranded my old Dutch lifestyle blog from 2010 till 2013. However, I have been writing about games since the very start. This blog is an amazing timeline and look back to all my adventures in my life. And the music associated with those games bring back so many memories. And thankfulness to everybody reading and interacting with my blog. I hope you enjoyed today’s article and also the sneaky look back to past articles. I can’t help myself. One final amazing OST I listen to while I’m coding is the one of Stella Glow.
With that said, I want to thank you so much for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you in a future article. Until then, have a great rest of your day. Take care.
Sometimes, it’s the simple games that entertain me for hours. Who thought that a new spin on playing Poker could be so refreshing? It even wins several awards at the game awards 2024. Now, my good streaming buddy Klamath bought me this game for my birthday. I decided to give it a go, and I was surprised. In this article, I want to share my honest first impression. I will also discuss what I like about this game. Additionally, I will mention what I don’t like about the game. I have played Balatro on my PC. But, if this game looks interesting to you, feel free to discover it on other platforms like mobile and consoles. Before I dive into this card game, please leave a comment with your thoughts. Share your opinions on this game or the content of this article.
The good
The visual presentation and style of this game is something that blew me away. Visually, this game looks amazing. The subtle animations of the cards, the way the UI hints pop up, the little hints on the planet cards…
The UI offers something nice during boss fights. It gives you hints when a hand isn’t going to score. But there are other little things in this game that are just fun. Like, you can click and drag the bind chip while you are thinking of a next move.
The gist of this game is quite simple. You have to play poker hands from the cards that you are given. You don’t always have to play 5 cards, in case you want to keep a certain card. Each ante has 3 rounds. A small and big blind and a boss fight. Each time, the goal of chips you need to earn raises. In between each blind, you earn money. This money, you can use to buy from a shop where a few joker or other special cards are offered.
These cards add multipliers to certain hands. This is a list of examples:
The chip’s multiplier doubles. This only happens if you have spades and clubs left in your hand.
The gained points for a played and scored ace doubles.
Gain 2 extra chips per card left in your deck after playing each hand.
Some of these Joker cards can be a lifesaver. Especially the free chips ones. Others, force you into a certain playstyle. Each time you hit the shop, it’s a difficult decision. Should I continue with this set of Jokers, or should I replace one? You only have 5 slots. Changing one out might increase your points just enough to survive another round.
This game is the perfect blend of strategy and luck. You need to get lucky with the cards and not use up all your discards quickly. Since, you don’t get them back easily. The rougelite elements in this game give the usual poker game should a fresh spin. How far do you get with all the jokers and how high will you score? Since, it doesn’t matter if you survive a round just barely. Survival is survival, and maybe then you can buy a new joker card that elevates your run.
You restart with zero points and new hand and full deck each round anyway. Or you can gamble it all and skip a round for an interesting bonus. And if you loose, you reset to the start of the game for a whole clean run. Once this game clicked, it became the perfect “one more run” game. Betting with myself how far I would get this time.
This game is quite responsive. In terms of controls, this game is quite easy to control. The UI is perfect as well. I’m also glad that there are various accessibility options in the game. Things like reduced motion and high contrast cards are important. The more people can play the game, the better.
The save system is easy to use. You can just exit the game and restart from where you left off with ease. Also, there are three player profiles. You can also name the profiles, so you easily know which profile is which. Not to mention, you can unlock everything, but then you won’t be able to go for those sweet Steam achievements.
The bad
If you are unfamiliar with the rules of poker, you might be in trouble. Thankfully, the valid poker hands don’t take a long time to learn. You also have the “run info” button to help you. In game, you don’t get too many lessons on making valid poker hands, so keep that in mind.
Now, this is a difficult one to write. While the music in this game is amazing, the track variety is something of a mixed bag. Some of the tracks use the same sound font and melody. Sometimes, I don’t recognize that the pitch and instruments had changed. Don’t get me wrong, the soundtrack in this game is pretty good, but more variety would have been welcome. A few more ambient tracks would do the trick. Now, this is a major nitpick. To be honest, it only bothered me when I started to pay attention to it.
The small tutorial at the start of your first game is extremely helpful at explaining things. Yet, some information will be only told once in that tutorial. So, if you put the game down for a while and don’t remember everything… You have no real way to re-read the rules. Thankfully, most (if not all) concepts in this game aren’t hard to grasp. But a small refresher like having the option to replay the tutorial wouldn’t hurt.
If I may give an extreme nitpick, I think it will be this. In this game, you can modify the picture cards with references to different games. Now, this is per suit and each suit has a different set of games. I wish this was a fleshed out a bit further. Like, I love the art for Cult of the Lamb and Slay the Princess. But only having those face cards in one suit be changed, it didn’t scratch the itch enough for me. Maybe using smaller images on the number cards of the suit would make it even more enjoyable. Then again, how could you do this? It would require massive development time and designing a whole card deck per reference. So, I can totally see why the developers made this choice.
The conclusion
In the end, Balatro is a fantastic blend of strategy. It has elements of luck and engaging roguelite mechanics. These features keep me coming back for “just one more run.” Its polished visuals, clever gameplay twists, and thoughtful accessibility options make it a standout experience. The game has a few minor drawbacks. These include the limited tutorial recall, the music’s slight repetitiveness, and the poker learning curve. Despite these, the issues don’t overshadow the sheer enjoyment this game offers. If you want a new take on poker, try Balatro. It challenges your planning skills and keeps the stakes high.
I’m happy that Klamath gave me this game for my birthday. It took me quite the while to actually give this game a shot, but I’m happy that I did. I can easily play this game during short downtimes. It’s easy to pick up and play. I also think that this game might be even more fun on a tablet or on the go. During long play times, it can become repetitive. However, this is oh, so fun in short bursts. It’s also exciting if you are able to string together a long combo or run.
I want to congratulate the team behind this game. LocalThunk and Playstack, you made an awesome card game. It has a unique spin that makes me come back for more. The praise and awards are totally deserved. I am eager to delve deeper into the game. I am excited to discover what else some jokers I haven’t discovered yet may have in store for me.
And with that, I want to thank you all for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you in a future article. Until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
You walk in a corridor and after turning the corner and see an altar and 8 candles above it. Then you turn the corner again and you see the same corridor again. You remember the note. If something looks off in the exact copy of the corridor, you need to return to the start. Then walk the other way. Otherwise, you have to continue walking through the Everloop. Will you manage to escape the looping corridor and understand its mysteries? Well, that’s what we are going to discover in this game quicky article. I invite you to leave a comment down below. Share your thoughts and/or opinions on this game or the content of this article.
The good
The gameplay of Everloop is very simple. It’s basically spot the difference. You have to walk through the same corridor and check if something changed or not. These changes can be subtle, like a change in a painting or a book on a table changing color. Or these changes can be drastic and obvious, like totally different lighting. Only one change can be activate at one time, and it’s unsure if a change happened or not.
In case of a change, you have to turn back and walk in the other direction. In case there is no change, you have to keep walking forwards. Before the altar is the cut-off point. If you judged right, a new candle will be lit. If you make a mistake and miss a change, all your candles will be blown out. If you claim something changed and nothing has, you start over. The idea is that you have 8 rounds without a mistake in a row.
Now, it’s always random if a corridor has a change or not. So, you need to check it all, and it becomes a paranoia guessing game if something has changed or not. Since, you start to doubt yourself. Have the titles always looked like that? Has the cat suddenly changed color? Since, when you fail, you don’t get any feedback why you failed. It can be because there was a change you didn’t notice. Or, you mistakenly said that an unchanged corridor had a change while it hadn’t.
The amazing thing is, when you correctly identified a change, you unlock a small lore description in the codex. You can only see this description in the main menu. The descriptions are written amazingly. They were a lot of fun to read through.
The game maintains a tradition in this genre. It doesn’t show you duplicate changes unless you have beaten them all. You beat a change when you find it correctly and walk back from where you came. Then the change will be taken out of the pool that change show up. After finding all the possible changes and beating them, the game resets them. It throws them all back in the possibility pool.
The atmosphere in this game is very nicely done. I loved the visuals, and some changes were extremely sneaky to find. Like, one of the fans can be spinning in the opposite direction. I highly recommend avoiding the “all anomalies guide” in the Steam discussions. Reading it takes a lot of the fun away.
The controls in this game are a blast. They are responsive, and I could look in the corridor with ease. I can go in extreme nitpick mode. The tutorial prompt in the left corner shows WASD. I have an AZERTY keyboard, and it doesn’t adjust. But then I would be missing the point a bit. Since, you can play this game using a controller. And I don’t know what I liked more, the keyboard or the controller. Man, it this movement in this game snappy and perfectly tuned. But if I’m allowed to say, one more extreme nitpick. The tutorial shows that the “R” trigger is set to run, but the “L” trigger works as well.
The negative
Now, in this game, you don’t really have chaser changes. Unlike in other similar games in this style, you don’t have changes that if you touch them, end your run. This is something I feel mixed about. At one hand, it’s amazing to not have your run be ended out of nowhere. But on the other hand, it takes away some tension this game can have.
This is a nitpick, but the game doesn’t show you a number on how many changes still haven’t been discovered. But, you can easily calculate that by looking in the codex on the main menu.
Some people might find this a negative aspect of the game. But, I totally understand why the game works this way. When you exit the game and go back in it, you start from zero in your loop. So, keep that in mind if you think that the game saves your round progress.
You will notice all anomalies that this game offers. After beating the game, there isn’t much replay value. This negative isn’t big. This game is only €5. Still, I rather mention it in the negatives section. Some people find it important that there is replay value in their games. But, I personally don’t mind it since it’s a lovely small experience that is a blast to play through.
The biggest negative is that there is no easy way to reset your progress. To do that, you have to remove your save file and turn off Steam Save Cloud syncing. In various other games in this genre, there is an easy choice in the options’ menu to make that happen.
Conclusion
This is a small, bite sized game created by a small team of four people. You can finish this game completely in, gave or take 2 hours.
The Exit 8 set the standard for the games in this genre. As a result, the market has been flooded with a ton of games in this style. Shinkansen 0, Dead end Exit 8, Project 13 to name just a few. And I find that Everloop should be in the list of the better titles. It feels like a lot of love and care has been put into this game. Especially the codex with the small blurbs. It makes various things sound bigger and more dangerous than they actually are. It’s an amazing touch that Infinity Green Game Studio added.
If you want a small game made in Unity, I highly recommend this one. It is a nice spin on Exit 8 with a more Brazilian twist. I enjoyed my time with this game so much. I even placed it on the long list of my top 10 games I played in 2024.
And with that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about this game. I am curious to see if any of you give it a try. If you do, feel free to drop a comment with your thoughts and opinions. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you in another article. Until then, have a great rest of your day. Take care.
It’s that time of year again, a full year has passed. Normally, I publish these articles a lot sooner, but I took full advantage of my Christmas break… And after that, I had some problems with my internet connection. But now I’m back. And it’s about time I talk about my top 10 games I have played in 2024. The rules of this list state I don’t have to have beaten the game. Yet, I must have played the game for the first time from January 1st, 2024. This means that games released before 2024, but I have only started to play in 2024 are fair game. This list is my personal opinion, and I’m open to hear your opinion on my picks. Feel free to also add your own list down in the comment section. So, here we go, the big list. A list that I always have trouble in creating at the end of the year. As an editorial note, the listed platform in this article is the platform I played the game on. Not all the platforms the game released on. The date after it, is the release date for said platform.
#10 – Persona 5 – Tactica (PlayStation 4 – November 2023)
I have played Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers and I fell in love with the cast of Persona 5. And then, a new game got released with the Persona 5 cast and I jumped for joy.
The gameplay might not be my most favorite style of playing, but the game is quite addictive. It’s basically Persona in a Fire Emblem jacket. I’m now mid-way through the game but got distracted by other games. I can’t wait to finish this game in 2025. The story is quite well written. It is an amazing spin-off story for Joker and the gang.
Now, I won’t go too much in depth since I’m planning to write an article about this game. So, I’ll talk more in depth about this game soon. But, now… it’s time to save Joker from his forced wedding.
#9 – Slay the Princess – The Pristine Cut (Nintendo Switch – October 2024)
How do I explain this game without spoiling it too much? Slay the Princess is a game where you almost Groundhog Day your way through the same story. You walk up to a cabin, where you go to the basement to Slay the Princess.
According to the narrator, the Princess is a danger to the existence of the world. So, you have been sent to slay her. But, depending on the questions you ask, the decisions you take and even the order of your actions… The ending is different.
The story is just insane. It keeps you on edge what will be different in the next round. And the humor and writing in this game is just amazing. The voice action is just amazing. It brings the black, gray and white art to live and pulls you in the atmosphere quite well.
So, if you enjoy narrative games that mess with your head and expectations, give this game a try. Since, it’s a really good one.
#8 – Another Code – Recollection (Nintendo Switch – January 2024)
Cing was an amazing developer that sadly went bankrupt. They developed amazing games on the Nintendo DS and Wii like Another Code – R & Little King Story. But to me, the Another Code set of games is one of their best work.
When we got a total remake in 2024, I wanted to play it right away. I convinced my streaming friend Klamath to play this game with me live on stream. I have to tell you, they did the two games justice. I’m so glad that these two games saw the light of day again.
While I have beaten the originals, the new and improved version is just amazing. It has a strong message and is a blast to play through. Although it sounds like a boring setup, it’s a game full of surprises. It is a more relaxing and charming game. It is more grounded and keeps things realistic. The characters are well written and set in a charming world.
Trying to manage a community isn’t an easy task to do. It’s a fun challenge to do in a game. That’s why management simulators are so popular.
But, combine that with the old school internet from the time I was a young kid, I am beyond intrigued. So, we have to report and clean up personal websites and projects? As a creative, I have my own place on the internet. I can share my opinions there. This hits close to home.
I wrote my opinion on this game in my review. If you want to know more about this game, I highly recommend that you give my review a read.
Now, there is a sequel in development called DreamSettler. If that’s created with the same love and care for that time period, and it matches the devotion this game has for its time period, it will be thrilling. We are going to be in for a wild ride.
Sometimes, all that I need is a good open world game with unique mechanics. A world where you have to survive and explore. This year, Palworld brought that to me.
At first, I was skeptical. I thought: “This is going to be a monster catching game and nothing too much more.” But the more this game got developed, this more things got added that gave more depth to the game. More fun things to do, more polish to the game.
I have lost countless hours during this summer playing this game. It was an amazing time sink for the base game that is already here. A lot more is coming in the future. I wonder what the final game will be.
#5 – The Legend of Zelda – Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch – September 2024)
Okay, this might be an upset. Usually, I place new Zelda games quite high on my list. But, this time I place it right in the middle. This year had a lot of amazing games. I had a lot of fun with this title in 2024.
I dropped it for now. I got distracted by other games and I forgot that I was playing through this game. I have placed it on my top 10 list. It rightfully deserves a spot on that list. I want to finish this game for real.
Since, the concept of Echoes of Wisdom is just amazing. What I love most is that this is a totally new 2.5D Zelda game like the classic games. I hope that the reception of this game is enough for Nintendo to still make 2.5D and 3D Zelda titles. Since, both have their place in the market and with this amazing title.
#4 – Spirit Hunter Chapter 3: Death Mark II (Nintendo Switch – February 2024)
The Spirit Hunter series is one of the best horror visual novel series. This game ensures you don’t need to have played the original Death Mark. It’s excellent because you can still understand what’s happening in the story.
The game takes a lot of steps forward and makes the game have more meat around its bones. Walking around in the locations is a lot more fun in this title.
Some game mechanics are underused. For example, the jumpscares and the padding aren’t always present in this game. Things like the Soul Health are barely used. But, the battles with the actual spirits are even more amazing in this title. Especially with the randomness of your attack failing. It gives a more tense and realistic spin on battles.
Now, I’m hoping so hard that a 4th chapter will be released. Since the concept of this game is just beyond amazing. The writing is always great and the overall mystery is built up so nice. So, if anyone of Experience Inc, would be reading this… We want more!
I love writing small stories as a hobby. Since the summer of 2024, I wanted to give those AI roleplay apps a chance. And I’m happy that I did. MoeScape AI is a platform that really clicked with me and with the amazing community around it… I just feel in love.
My brain often gets creative. When this happens, there is a fun bot waiting for me. I can play around with the idea. And if there isn’t a bot that fits the idea, it’s easy to make one. The control that Moescape gives you is beyond amazing. You can easily make a knowledge base. There are various AI models to choose from. With each update, it gets better.
Something I really like is how open the staff is on the Discord. Like, they tell you when things are down. Or when certain decisions need to be taken. Like filtering certain things on the platform due to restrictions from Apple or Google. But, they have a less filtered platform as well. So, they have Moescape and Yodayo. If you go premium, your account is premium on both platforms, and it’s amazing.
#2 – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (PC – December 2024)
Okay, now. This is going to ruffle some feathers. I am a giant Indiana Jones fan. I placed one of the best Indiana Jones games in 2nd place on my game of the year list?
Now, that’s not because this game is bad or didn’t impress me enough. But, it wasn’t the game that made my year. Sadly enough, it released too late in the year for that.
I know it’s a strange reason. However, I feel like there is one game that pushed the boundaries more within its respective genre.
This game is a blast to play through. I feel that it deserves all the accolades it’s getting. It’s an amazing piece in the Indiana Jones franchise. It’s a love letter to the fans. I’m just thankful that the game turned out this amazing.
When I have beaten the game, I’ll for sure write an article about it. Since on the streams, a lot of random and enjoyable banter is happening. And truly, if you want to see amazing speedruns of this game, check out the_Kovic on his Twitch channel. He has deep knowledge of the game’s inner workings. He shares a lot of interesting insights during the streams.
Now, prepare yourself for an article on this game in the future. Since, I have a lot of things I still want to say and I’m keeping them all for the article.
Honorable mentions
This list wouldn’t be complete if I shout out various other games I have played in the past year. Not every game made the cut. I still wanted to mention those games that made the long list but didn’t survive the selection process.
Cave Digger 2 (PC), Buckshot Roulette (PC), Refind self (Nintendo Switch), Castlevania Dominus Collection (Nintendo Switch), Death Trick: DoubleBlind (Nintendo Switch), Dragon Quest Monsters – The Dark Prince (Nintendo Switch), Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (Nintendo Switch), Ciel Fledge -A Daughter Raising Simulator- (Nintendo Switch), New Super Lucky’s Tale (Nintendo Switch), CrisTales (Nintendo Switch), One More Dungeon 2 (Nintendo Switch), Monster Hunter Rise (Nintendo Switch), This is not my Neighbor (PC) and Tomb Raider I-III Remastered (Nintendo Switch), Everloop (PC)
#1 – Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew (PC – August 2023)
If there was one game that blew me away, that’s Shadow Gambit – The Cursed Crew. The way how it’s built and is the final swansong of the amazing development studio Minimi, it’s just fantastic.
The voice acting is top-notch. The story is excellent. Several game mechanics are seamlessly worked into the game world and the story. But that’s not all, this game has a mindblowing modding tool.
The little attention to detail this game does and the balancing is just mindblowing. The freedom you have to tackle each mission, and it just works. It’s balanced and doesn’t feel unfair. It also doesn’t feel like you made it too difficult by choosing the wrong characters. It also never becomes too easy, where one character makes sure you automatically win the game or the mission. Every character has their use. And you have 8 characters in the base game and 2 get added via the DLC.
I can gush for a long time about this game. If you are interested in a more in-depth article, I highly advise you to read my review linked higher.
This was 2024
I might have written fewer articles in 2024 because a lot of personal things where going on. I have written only 19 articles in 2024. One of the biggest reasons is that I’m just putting more time into finding the right writing style. This has a lot to do with it.
I have been dedicating more time to various other projects. These include contributing to open source projects, translating open source projects, and streaming with Klamath. I am also working on projects for my local acting group. It takes time and effort and I’m enjoying those things quite a lot.
Outside of that, I turned 31 years old in 2024 and life just gets busier with various things. And because of that, I’m also playing less games. At first, I felt guilty that I’m publishing so few articles… But after two years of writing fewer articles, I now dedicate more time to each one. I feel a lot more content with the content I’m placing on my blog here.
I feel that my content only improved over the years. Not only that, I feel more content with my writing. It doesn’t feel like I’m pressuring myself to play a new game every week or two to write about. I can take my time to play the games I want. I also write about the topics I find interesting.
I think I’m finally finding the right rhythm for everything and that’s what I felt that 2024 was for me. Now, this year 2025 is going to be the year I’m writing for 15 years. Before I rebranded in 2013 to this blog, I write a personal life blog that started mid 2010. So, I’m going to celebrate this year with a few special articles. And I have been preparing and brainstorming idea’s for that in 2024.
But thank you everybody for the amazing support in 2024. It was a blast to see how people interacted with my articles and the new friends I made. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next. Like I said earlier, I feel prouder of the things I have been putting out. I hope you are enjoying things as well. Thank you for the support this year and I hope to see you in the future. So, for now, have a great rest of your day and take care.
When I was younger, I was always convinced that the first Tomb Raider game got a sort of remake on the Game Boy Color. It makes a lot of sense in my mind, since the title of the game was Tomb Raider. And in the same time period, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine also got a port to the Game Boy Color. That game was an interesting remake in 2D. Now, we are not here to discuss an Indiana Jones game, so let us focus on the Tomb Raider games.
I do not always do research before I start playing a game. This game is one perfect example. I just started the game up, expecting the story starting with a rendition of the Ice Caves. But, to my surprise, the game started up different.
The actual subtitle of the game is The Nightmare Stone. On the box-art, we just got Tomb Raider as a title. On the box-art, we see that Lara is running away from an erupting volcano and behind her, you see several skeleton enemies. The bottom section is reserved for company logo’s like Eidos, Core Dynamics, the licensor Nintendo, and the publisher THQ. We also got the “Only on Game Boy Color” triangle in the left corner.
The game was released in June 2000. On June 7th, North America, Europe got it on June 28th and the UK two days later. Only Australia got the game a little bit later. Their version got released on July 18th. Nowhere on the box-art, the game got the subtitle The Nightmare Stone. The game just released as “Tomb Raider” in North America and released as “Tomb Raider: starring Lara Croft” in all other regions. This is a practice also done with the other Tomb Raider games. It would have been easier if they just added the subtitle, to make conversation easier.
The critics gave Lara Croft is first entry on the Game Boy Color very high praise. Various gaming magazines and websites gave this title 8 or 9 out of ten. The average score of this title is 79% on the aggregator GameRankings. One of the lowest scores I could find was by a German magazine named 64 Power in their June issue, giving it a three out of 5 or 60%.
Since Core Design developed this game, it will not be a surprise that you find a lot of developers on this game also worked on the main Tomb Raider games. This game was developed by people who knew how a Tomb Raider game should play. In this title, Lara is hunting after the Nightmare Stone. This stone is in possession of a treasure hunting group who wants to use it to release the evil god Quaxet, a factious god in the Mayan mythology.
Playing through this game, you really want to play through a Tomb Raider game. Of course, there are some big differences since the game got released on a handheld. The most obvious difference is that the game is in 2D. There were only a handful of 3D Game Boy games, and most of them did not involve jumping.
Another significant difference with the main line Tomb Raider games is that this game plays a lot slower. The controls are more limited on the Game Boy Color, and more action-packed gameplay could not really be implemented, per se without it becoming really clunky.
Speaking about the controls, it takes some time to get used to. I mostly played platformers or adventure games on the Game Boy, and I was so used to push the A button to make my character jump. But Lara jumps with the up arrow in this game. Not only that, if you want to climb up ledges, you need to hold B. Which is the button you use to run. If you are moving left or right and press B, Lara starts running. When Lara is running, and you press the jump button, Lara jumps in the direction she is running. This gives you a hint how to jump a gap when standing still. You have to press B first before the jump button to jump over a gap.
This control scheme is quite ambitious since there is no real tutorial in game explaining the controls. You do not have a training or testing level in Lara’s home. The manual explains these things quite well, but if you bought your copy today from a garage sale without the manual, I would advise you to look for it online. The control scheme is something that you will not really expect from a Game Boy game.
Earlier, I mentioned that this game has a slower pace compared to the main line Tomb Raider games. That was intentional. If you start running everywhere, you will find that this game will be quite harsh and brutal. There are several pits and gaps that either eat a good chunk of your health or kills you right away. Enemies are also hidden everywhere, and their damage can be unforgiving.
You cannot save where you want in this game, since the save crystals from early Tomb Raider console games return in this game. Learning where the save crystals are important. It is the only way you can save, and it is you respawn spot when Lara losses all her health. The save crystals are not close to each other, either, so I was always happy to find one.
If you do not really know the controls, it can feel a bit like trial and error. For example, I did not know that when you are running and jump, Lara will land further than from a standing jump. I did not expect this mechanic to be in the Game Boy Color games as well. Other things like dynamite being able to use to explode walls, which is something I’d have loved to get explained to me.
Overall, visually, this game is extremely impressive. Once everything starts clicking together, and you get used to the controls, this game is a hidden gem on the Game Boy Color. When you know what you are doing, this game takes around 4 hours to play through. For a first playthrough, I would say that you can finish this game in roughly 15 hours.
The game must have been quite successful since a year later we got a new adventure in the same engine and style. Eidos tried to get this game released around the time the first Tomb Raider movie released. Tomb Raider – Curse of the Sword, released in late June in North America and in August in Europe.
This time, the game was not released by THQ, but by Activision. Most of the team who worked on the first Game Boy game also worked on this title. Because this game got a shorter development time, this game is shorter compared to the first Game Boy Color game. If you know what you are doing, this game can be beaten in two and a half hours. For a first playthrough, I estimate that it will take 8 to 10 hours.
The sequel got the same reception from critics when it released. This game still shows off impressive visuals for the Game Boy Color. Remember that the Game Boy Color is an 8-bit system, and these two Tomb Raider games had such fluid animations that it looked next-generation. Did you know that there are over two thousand animation frames per game to make the animation work? Lara’s model is also forty-eight pixels, making her one of the most detailed characters on the Game Boy Color.
Personally, I feel like both games are amazing entries into the Tomb Raider series. While they play quite different from their console and PC counterparts, both are an amazing adventure through various locations. You still must solve various puzzles and platform your way around. In Curse of the Sword, you even have a chase sequence on the rooftops.
When I look with a critical eye at these two games in 2024, I would say that the lack of a tutorial for the controls really hurts the game. Also, some people might be put off from the difficulty level of this game. These games have some really difficult sections. Use the save crystals well! Otherwise, you might lose a lot of progress. And if I am really nitpicky, I could say that some areas would benefit from a map screen. But the levels are a bit too complex for those and with the small Game Boy Color screen, the map might not be even readable. Thankfully, there are various sources online, like Stella’s Tomb Raider site (tombraiders.net) that have amazingly drawn maps.
When you read this, you might think that beating these games without a walkthrough is almost impossible. But do not worry. These games are quite linear and straight forward. I rarely got stuck in these games by not knowing what to do next. Most of the time, I did not know I was able to perform a certain action or how to solve a certain puzzle.
The streak of releasing a new game every year continues in November 2002. The Game Boy Color was on its way out, and the next title was released on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. For this title, Ubisoft Milan was tasked with creating a new game. That is because the main team was working on the sixth main title, Angel of Darkness. Tomb Raider – The Prophecy was released to mixed reviews. It released in early December in Japan.
This game played quite different compared to the Game Boy Color titles and played more as a top-down isometric puzzle platformer. If I am very honest, this is the gameplay style I expected more of the Tomb Raider series on the Game Boy. It is mainly because I associate Tomb Raider more as a top-down game on handhelds than it being a 2D side view game. The Game Boy Color version of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine showed me it was possible to have a game like that on Game Boy Color.
The story of this title is about the Tome of Ezekiel. In this tome, a story is told about three magical stones that bring great power. She faces a big cult by the name of Teg-du-Bhorez. The game takes about 6 hours to complete on a first playthrough. If you really know what you are doing, this game can be beaten in 2 hours and a half.
Honestly, for a portable Tomb Raider adventure, I really enjoyed this one. It is a rather underrated gem in my opinion and really can be quite exciting to play. Especially since the formula really works this way on the Game Boy Advance. The big issue is that reviewers compared it too much to the mainline series, which is quite unfair to do. What I can agree with, is that this game can feel a bit repetitive at times in terms of puzzles and level mechanics. But it is way less repetitive compared to the Game Boy Color titles, since a lot more puzzle solving like statue placing is used.
The final Tomb Raider title on the Game Boy line of platforms came in 2006. After the very mixed reception to Angel of Darkness, the IP was given to Crystal Dynamics and Tomb Raider Legend was born. Talking about that, can be an entire article in itself. But, to close off this article, I want to quickly focus on Tomb Raider Legend on the Game Boy Advance. I know there is a port to the Nintendo DS, but I do not have any nostalgic memories for that one. I do have nostalgic memories for the Game Boy Advance port.
Now, let me tell you, the Game Boy Advance port was rough. The game went back to the style in like the Game Boy Color games. Yet, it also tried to do intractable doors. I can totally understand why reviewers back in the day were extremely negative about this game. Especially, since the console and PC versions of this game were such a blast of fresh air in the series.
Still, why did I beat this title 100% three times? Because, it had a certain charm. You could find various secrets in the game to unlock secrets like concept art or even cheat codes. But you were not able to see if you got all treasures in a level. The jumping and swinging controls were a bit awkward, yet you had very forgiving checkpoints.
There are a few things that stick with me to this day, the fact that the final boss is rendered a joke in this version. Just mash the attack button and you easily win. No matter the difficulty. Also, the mini-games and exploring Lara’s home were fun distractions as well. Moreover, I want to thank all the pizza boys who delivered me pizza during the writing of this article, like in the credits of this game.
And with that, I want to wrap up this brief nostalgic look into the 4 Tomb Raider titles on the Game Boy Color and Advance. My name is NekoJonez and if you enjoyed my writing and want to read more of my work, you can find me over at: https://arpegi.wordpress.com. I want to thank you all for reading my article, and I hope you enjoy the work of the other writers in this magazine. But for now, I am out! I hope to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!
Editorial note: This article has been written for a gaming magazine. Did you find this article interesting? Then you should read the other articles right here. Thank you so much Dominus for letting me publish an article. There are various articles about Ultimate Underworld Retrospective – Sin God – The Making of the Wipeout logo design – …
Is it that time of the year again?It’s high time to start talking about the new games I’m looking forward to play in the upcoming year. I may have written fewer articles compared to 2023, but I have written better researched articles. But, looking back on 2024 is for the next article. In this article, I’m looking to the year 2025. A year when I have been writing articles for 15 years. And I have been writing these gaming related articles for 12 years. And the third year that I’m livestreaming together with my buddy Klamath. So, on this day, I’m going to reveal the 10 games I’m looking to play in 2025. What games do interest my on the release calendar. Also, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section with your list and/or thoughts on my list. So, let’s dive right into my list. Note, this list is in a random order.
#10 – Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Stole Time (Nintendo Switch – April 2025)
This game was supposed to be released this year. Yet, this game got delayed to 2025. Fantasy Life was a charm RPG on the Nintendo 3DS where you played through a charming and adorable story. You were able to play in different lives like a warrior, magician, wood cutter, miner…
This title from Level5 got a small cult following. We were beyond stocked when the sequel on the Nintendo Switch got announced. Now we can’t wait to play it and the delay is a shame. But on the other hand, the game may be even better because of the additional polish it might get. Or maybe the game will release on the Nintendo Switch 2, which is rumored to be released at that time. Who knows, we shall have to wait and see.
#9 – Professor Layton and the New World of Steam (Nintendo Switch – TBA)
On our live streams, when ever there is a logic puzzle… Klamath says I need to wait before I say my solution. For some reason, I have a knack for solving logic puzzles. I can’t tell you why. What I can tell you is that I love games where puzzles play a central role. Games like Professor Layton.
It has almost been 8 years since we got a new Professor Layton style game. And if you don’t count the spin-off of Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy… we need to go back 11 years to a cross over with the Ace Attorney series. Add another year for the final game with only Professor Layton in a lead role.
But a totally new adventure by the professor where solving logic puzzles in a central mechanic in the world is… a wild dream for me. So, please Level5… You have two amazing titles upcoming for 2025, don’t delay them or don’t undercook them. I’m beyond hyped.
Take this admission however you want. But, my first original Tomb Raider game was Tomb Raider Chronicles. Yes, I first played Tomb Raider V.
I have always been of the opinion that Tomb Raider V was a decent game and shouldn’t get the hate it got back then. I can understand that due to the departure on the original formula, like less ancient tombs and small mini-adventures… That it didn’t sit well with Tomb Raider fans. But, as a starting point, it was a blessing, actually. Now, does Tomb Raider V have problems? Yes, it has. But with the upcoming remake of Tomb Raider 4, 5 and Angel of Darkness… We finally have a chance to see a more improved version of it. So, a week after my birthday, dear Aspyr, you may be sure that I’ll be playing the remaster of Tomb Raider V on my Nintendo Switch to enjoy Tomb Raider V how it should have been. Or maybe on my PC for added nostalgia. That’s some food for thought.
#7 – Demonschool (Mutliplatform – Q1 2025)
As long as your game has an interesting concept, I don’t really care if you are a small studio or a big studio. Necrosoft Games is currently placing the final hand on their new title called Demonschool.
Demonschool is a turnbased tactics RPG game in the style of Fire Emblem, Shin Megami Tensei and Persona. The idea is very novel and adds a new depth to the genre. Where each unit has their own role, since the weakest enemies can be killed with one hit. So, it becomes more a chess match than anything else.
From the trailers I have seen, I’m beyond interested. I could try and explain it here in this article but I feel like the trailer and battle mechanics trailer they placed on the Steam store page explains it better than I can in this article. Also, give the demo a try since, I really enjoyed it myself.
#6 – Demon Tides (PC – TBA)
While I haven’t played through the original Demon Turf, just yet… I have played through various other similar games like A Hat in Time.
From watching the trailer, I have been highly interested and I got a nostalgia hit for A Hat in Time.
So, I wishlisted this game, and I’m so going to give it a try. Since I saw various video’s on the original game and I wonder by myself, why I haven’t played it. So, Demon Turf and your sequel. I can’t wait to play through you in 2025.
#5 – The Hundred Line Last Defence Academy (Nintendo Switch & PC – April 23th)
Danganronpa and the Zero Escape trilogy are two series very close to my heart. And now we get a new title with those two writers creating a game together and directing it.
Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi are working hand in hand in this game. You clearly see the influence of both their styles in this game. And it will even have a physical release.
To create this game, the studio Too Kyo Games has to take out a loan. That’s because a publishing deal fell through. Aniplex picked this game up as a publisher. And this game is being co-developed by Media.Vision, the company behind the Wild Arms series and various Valkyria Chronicles games. So we are in good hands for this title.
On purpose, I’m trying to avoid spoiling myself as much as I can. Since, I want to be as blind as possible when I play through this game.
#4 – The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st (Nintendo Switch/PC – TBA)
A RPG series I always wanted to get into was the Trails in the Sky series. Sadly, I was always distracted by other games or I had the bad luck of my PSP bricking and destroying my game.
When my PSP bricked, due to the internal battery leaking… I lost my save file as well and I was so annoyed that I didn’t want to restart the game right away.
So, the Trail series continued on and I saw amazing titles appear. Color me surprised that suddenly a remake of the first title gets announced and is coming to the Nintendo Switch and PC. So, I have a chance to play this game from scratch, and it’s totally remade from the ground up. Count me in. I can’t wait to start my journey in this series and see what I missed out on.
When you see the title of this game, you most likely think to yourself: “Jonez, what in the name of …”. Well, I told you earlier in this article… That if your game has an interesting concept, count me interested.
In this game, you literally can date EVERYTHING in your house. If you have seen those YTShort skits by ProZD where everything is sentient, well… What if it is. And you can date those characters?
That’s what this game brings to the table. And this game is fully voice acted, has 100 (!) characters and branching paths. And get this, there are at least 3 different endings per character. You have the love ending, friends ending and hate ending.
Now, when I saw this concept and gave it a thought, I was like… Oh hey, this has a ton of potential. Since the potential for humor and amazing story telling in this is just huge. And as somebody who loves writing stories and articles myself, this clicked right away. So, I’m going to give this game a chance and see where they go with it.
If I look at all the retro games I still want to play through, like Lufia, my list is getting pretty long. Once, I wrote an article about my backlog, and it has gotten even more out of hand.
So, if you give me a collection of games to play through to shorten my backlog, then consider me interested. Especially when it’s good old fantasy RPG.
A story where you are dumped in a fantasy world and explore it’s various stories. With the upcoming remake, I’m quite curious to dive into the Lunar series and see why various people have recommended it to me.
Imagne a tactics RPG, where each battlefield has two sides. Yes, basically a light and a dark side so to speak. And can manipulate the battlefield by flipping the tiles.
Do me a favor and watch the trailer for this game. And then think how many interesting gameplay concepts that this game can have. How is the flipping mechanic going to work. What are the limits of this power.
I’m mostly interested in the story behind this game. Since it’s the style of story I love to write for my personal amusement. But, the gameplay is looking mighty interesting. Now, I have only to decide if I play this title on my PC or if I take it on the go with me on the Switch. We shall see, since the game will have modding support, so the PC version might be my best option.
15 years of game blogging
While this year has been a heavy year for me, I’m happy with everything I achieved. I have been recently published in a fan gaming magazine called ReLOADED by Dominus. And I’m so happy I was able to contribute my work to it.
Next year, I’ll be writing articles for 15 years. I have several special idea’s in mind and have been working on preparations for them. But, I’m not yet going to reveal what they are. Since, I want to leave them a surprise for all of you guys and girl. While 2025 is going to be a busy year for me, I’m sure that it will be filled with amazing adventures and unique opportunities.
When I look at the games that are going to release in 2025, I’m beyond stocked that I will have a lot of games to play and talk about in my blog. But, who knows, games on my backlog or retro games I find might grab my attention more and more.
And with that, I’m going to wrap up this article here. I want to thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another one, but until then have a great rest of your day and take care.
AI is everywhere lately. I think it’s something that won’t blow over or will go away in our lives. In the past few months, I had a craving to write stories again. So, I downloaded one of those AI chatbot apps on my phone and at first, I was afraid that it would be something very niche or something that was a fad. Yet, I found value in these apps and I wanted to talk about them in this article. This article isn’t meant as a review of these apps, but more to open a general discussion of these apps. Since, I think these apps have their place in our lives and can help if they are used correctly. Yes, they also have their pitfalls and dangers. And that’s what I wanted to explore in this article. So, let’s dive right into the world of roleplay and story creation with AI.
What are these apps?
There are a lot of these apps. You have examples like Talkie, Character.AI and Moescape. The idea of these apps is that you create a character that replies to you. In a lot of cases, these characters fantasy characters to play out a story.
Some of the advertisements don’t do these apps any favors. By advertising them as apps where “you can create your own girlfriend” or “combat being lonely”. And it’s a darn shame, since the creativity that you can find on these platforms is amazing.
I personally feel that these apps are the strongest when you look at them what they really are. Apps to let you roleplay a story like old school text adventures. The biggest difference is that you can totally craft the world and have full control of the story line.
This does create a big risk that you fall in an echo chamber. I call it the “main character syndrome”. Where your character in these stories barely get any problem in their way, without it being solved in a few dialogues later. Then again, power fantasies are something that’s quite attractive to people. It’s fun to play a character that can overcome anything and is the best version of yourself. Or where you can say anything you want in an argument.
Some of these apps add additional features for you to play with. Things like a character speaking their dialogue, creating various AI generated images or even love songs. After trying various apps, I personally landed on Moescape. At the moment of writing, this app keeps things quite simple in the character department. Giving great replies and amazing in playing multiple characters.
Essentially, these apps are apps where you can write a story, but AI plays another character and tries to challenge you from time to time to be creative. This is really something where you have to create your own fun.
Limitations of AI
While ChatGPT turned two years old this week, AI isn’t still fully there yet. It still needs quite a lot of processing power and other things to run properly. It’s quite clear that the AI is also quite dependent on your reply.
I notice that the AI in the apps I tried is rarely to never negative towards the player. Which is a tricky thing, especially when you want to create character depth.
I tested this with playing a couple going through a rough patch. And I noticed that the AI always tried to get back together with you. Even when you give it the worst backstory, your mind can come up with. But that’s not the only problem. The AI story memory is quite limited. Sometimes you need to repeat certain parts, like where you are, or what your name is.
Thankfully, almost every app has a regenerate button. This regenerates the message in case you disliked the reply or if it didn’t fit the storyline you are making at all. Some apps even allow you to give feedback to the AI on the generated messages, so the AI knows how to craft more engaging messages for you.
What I personally love about Moescape AI is that you can tweak the settings of the AI quite a lot. You have various different models to play around with to get the best experience. I even tried to play the same 3 scenarios with one of my characters with different models and got very different and interesting results.
Now, how do you make apps like this profitable? I have seen apps that limit the amount of regeneration you can do or have other limitations. Some apps even offer a call feature where you can call your AI bot. Personally, I haven’t tried that yet, since I love playing stories where there are multiple characters involved. And since the calls only answer in one voice, it’s a difficult.
But most apps have ads or limit the more advanced features. I have tried some apps, but as soon as the “BUY PRO NOW” features became too aggressive, I stopped using them. I’m not here to buy the PRO version right away. Let me first try out the quality of your AI and if I like it, I’ll buy a PRO subscription.
There was one app where I almost bought the PRO membership, but it has one major issue that I notice in a lot of apps. The issue of multiple characters.
The perfect app
For me, the perfect AI chatbot app should be able to handle to play multiple characters. I dislike app where the AI only plays one character. It’s not the stories I like to write.
I like to write stories where you can play multiple characters and interact with multiple characters. Yet, with AI, this brings its own can of worms. Sometimes the AI ends their message with a question to a character they are playing. Why don’t they reply on it themselves?
Or better yet, I have a story where you are part of a friendgroup where almost, without fail… One character gets forgotten and barely gets any interactions. So, you are not only playing the story out to its conclusion, but you are also playing a moderator on how the AI is reacting.
At the moment of writing, the app that best fits my needs is Moescape AI. The reason why is quite simple. It has the best models that fit my writing style and the way how I want to go through the story. It allows quite fine control on the settings of the app and the bot. You can see earlier generations when you regenerate replies. You can create a wiki with trigger phrases for your bots to reply too. Like if you set up certain lore, you can use a trigger phrase you set up and the AI will keep it in mind.
But, I’ll keep a review on that platform for a later article. Since, I mainly wanted to focus on how these apps can be used for good. I personally use them to write out various stories I always wanted to write and see if certain arcs would work or if they would fall flat on their face. I find them a great outlet of my creativity.
Sometimes the strange replies, forgotten characters and other weird generation things can pull you out of the story… But, a good writer knows how to solve these things. Sadly, some of these apps can be money traps. So, before you spend any money on these apps, look into it. Test it out and see if it’s for you. Since, I have to admit, I’m somewhat addicted to my stories. I’m so glad I have these apps a chance and I found the app that best clicked with me. If you want to see the characters and stories I came up with, you can find my Moescape profile here: https://moescape.ai/@jonez
I’m curious what you all think about these apps. I totally understand that they seem “weird” but, I urge you to give them a chance and look at them with an open mind. Since, they hold value. Yet, I have talked about some traps in this article. So, keep those in mind as well.
With that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about these apps for now. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another one, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
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