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52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

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dhaabi:
24. Dinner with an Owl || PC || 04.30.2025



Looking for something short to play, I decided to play through Dinner with an Owl. I don't remember how I came across this game, though I think it was from seeing it listed under a suggested games section within Steam after playing through a majority of Rusty Lake's games.

As a traditional point-and-click adventure game, Dinner with an Owl is a brief narrative experience with a horror-mystery theme premise. At the start, the player assumes the role of a Mr. Webb who's attending a business meeting and dinner with a partner, Mr. Brown. However, shortly upon his arrival, it's revealed that Mr. Brown is not normal as he is a man with an owl's head. The estate's butler, a woman, and the woman's young daughter are also present whom you later learn have been here for weeks—maybe even months—and are trapped by the peculiar lord. At nearly every chance he's granted during the first hours, Mr. Webb speaks up voicing his surprise at what sort of strange happenings are occurring but is immediately interrupted and ignored. In secret, he learns that their host has a history of being aggressive and that we should avoid provoking him.

Without divulging much, several days pass which generally follow the same sequence of events. While there are subtle changes which pass without any real major bearing on the end result, they seem to largely exist to demonstrate the game's surrealistic nature. Nevertheless, the player's goal is to secure the means to escape the manor, and the solution to this puzzle comes across as quite elementary at first. Surprisingly, though, what I would imagine many first-time players would think would be the logical end to a short story actually isn't, and the game subverts expectations abruptly for a pleasant twist which allows the this short game to become just a little longer. While there is an added layer to the only puzzle's solution, it's presented in a way which the opportunity can actually be missed. If that's the case, the player will continuing playing infinitely through a loop, so to speak, until the problem is overcome.

Despite it being within the point-and-click genre, the genre's staple mechanic of acquiring an assortment of inventory items to interact with the environment or in combination of another is quite limited and seldom used. There are only two items to gain, and they can only be used once each in one specific instance, and the ability to combine items isn't present at all. Similarly, most of the gameplay consists of reading through conversations and selecting dialogue choices without repercussions or any influence over the story at all, even. So, the game comes across more as one looking to share a bizarre story foremost, rather than providing gameplay experiences. Still, it's a game free to download as an indie project, so I cannot fault much over development choices.

And to be brief, I'll mention two other small aspects: visuals and sound. Regarding the former, there is actually little to see and nothing really to explore, as the player is limited to three in-game room environments which only two grant the means for players to move about. Even so, an impactful illustrated art style emphasizing deep orange and red is utilized which demonstrates a focus on environment design. As for the latter, the game's soundtrack greatly complements the game's themes and sense of atmosphere. All of the game's dialogue is fully voiced too, and it's nicely performed. While there isn't much conversation, this inclusion helped reinforce the unnerving situation at hand.

In the end, Dinner with an Owl offers a fine narrative-driven experience, though it lacks depth in what is the point-and-click genre's most defining characteristic. Although, perhaps that may be remedied in the upcoming prequel entry Owl Observatory, which I hope garners as much positive reception as this entry received.

marvelvscapcom2:
26. Platform 8 [PS5] - finished May 4th, 2025



Not sure if i'll combine these into 1 entry later as they feel a little cheap being under 1 hour long. But I will cover my experience with Platform 8. The successor to exit 8.


Ya know. Idk. It's definitely got more intriguing elements. A wittier ending and better setting. But it made me think less, puzzle solve less and ultimately get scared over the line I enjoy.  So if you're into the terror. This is for you.


Tbh im good with horror. Gore.  Slashers are an aphrodisiac as far as i'm concerned lol.  Me and my gf adore them.  But heres another fact about me.


Psychological horrors are not my thing lol

Indonesia and Japan know how to make these scary to a point where I'm not willing to participate.  Its the feeling of the unknown.

This one definitely has scarier elements. Much scarier. It adds more fright. Chased..ghosts. blood. Headless manequins? On a endless train?.yeah i'll pass lol.


The puzzle elements take a back seat which I dislike. The other game didn't insist upon itself too much.  This was improves the spooky like I asked. But botches the soul imo.

Rating - 67/100

kamikazekeeg:
Sadly have to drop my run through Super Mario RPG as my Switch's battery isn't good and I've sold it off to someone else to deal with lol The plan is hopefully, if this year isn't an absolute disaster, to pick up a Switch 2 down the road, where I have my save backed up and I can just bring it over to that and jump back into the game.  I may not be happy with a lot of Nintendo's decisions with the console, but now it's less about just looking at an upgrade.

dhaabi:
25. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage || PlayStation 5 || 05.01.2025



As I'm a fan of narrative adventure games, it was no surprise that I decided to play through Lost Records: Bloom & Rage shortly after its release. This game was developed by Don't Nod (previously Dontnod) who worked on the first two games within the Life Is Strange series, and I actually haven't played anything by them in about six years, so I was curious how much of their design philosophy, if any, had changed while hoping to experience a worthwhile story.

Utilizing a frame narrative device, Bloom & Rage presents the majority of its story from the perspective of a small group of friends reuniting after 27 years of intentionally being separated from another. After all this time, they've decided to come together once more to remember past events that have been purposely forgotten to help overcome a shared trauma, though they're all more than hesitant to actually be together. Periodically, the game will shift from one timeline to another as key moments are remembered from the past which comes in the form of player exploration and the past's own narrative to follow which then allows present-day characters to reflect upon it. At the same time, one of the game's biggest focuses lies in a the protagonist's use of capturing footage on a camcorder, though it really doesn't serve any major narrative purpose and certainly not within the present timeline due to events not revealed until the game's closing segments.

With that said, the game's goal is to provide successful storytelling foremost. As a narrative adventure game, Bloom & Rage offers little traditional gameplay beyond walking around throughout 3D environments and making choices which impacts the direction of other characters' involvement within the story being told. Regularly, the player is given a selection of choices to decide how they want the protagonist to behave which warrants a varied response from other cast members, but the options available are fluid since dialogue options may or may not all be available as the story progresses and relationships develop. With that said, there is a relationship system incorporated which, as mentioned, does impact the story, but its accessibility is limited to only the end of each of the game's halves. Going back to dialogue, there is a finite amount of time to select choices with silence also being an option, and more options may become available as the time meter depletes as others continue to dictate the conversation. In my experience, the choices made during the game's second half are made to have a much more noticeable impact. However, perhaps that impact was always present but didn't necessarily feel so, or maybe this aspect is a result of choices accumulating.

Moving forward, a large reason for why the above story elements are generally successful is in part to the game's cast and setting. Set in the summer of 1995, the story centers around four teenage girls who begin a group friendship while taking place in a rural town with little to do. Character designs are realistictic, incorporating various clothing styles, body types, and a considerable amount of acne. Conversation and banter among them is natural as they'll talk over another without awkward pauses or lines being read one after another. The central cast will be giddy with excitement at times and then dismissive over what's oppressive over them concerning all things that make a teenager react in such ways. Perhaps more than anything, the game's biggest strength lies in presenting a cast of characters who are not only representative of their 1990s upbringing but also a by creating a convincingly real friend group dynamic.

Alongside decision-making, the other half of gameplay revolves around the use of a video camcorder. Regularly, the player will be tasked with filming a certain number of capturable moments or subjects to advance the story. Beyond filming, players have the means to edit, rearrange, curate, and recapture footage, but I didn't engage with any of these mechanics and only did what was necessary without putting much effort toward waiting for specific moments to occur or about the order of events being filmed. In fact, more often than not, I felt as if these scripted events negatively impacted the story's pacing. Something else worth mentioning is that these film opportunities are presented as in-game collectible. Players will unlikely discover them all in one playthrough, so the game also presents a mode to revisit each chapter without impacting the story to seek them out. For me, I really didn't find this sort of gameplay all that rewarding, although the presence and use of the camcorder on a general level is a fun incorporation to the story being told. Throughout the game, there are small segments which employ other gameplay elements which are elementary but serviceable—having a few more of these or even slightly broadening the scope of the existing ones would have been nice to see.

In the end, Bloom & Rage offers a well-written coming-of-age narrative that fans of Don't Nod's previous work will likely enjoy, and I think my stance is that this latest project is most successful as it handles a variety of themes quite well. It wasn't until I sat down to write out my thoughts did I learn that Don't Nod plans to make Lost Records its own series, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. So, there may come a time when I play a follow-up of sorts to Bloom & Rage, and hopefully its writing is strong too.

bikingjahuty:
4. The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare (Genesis) - ABANDONED

Being a Simpsons crazed child back in the 90s, one of the highlights of my day was catching Simpson's episodes on Fox at around 5pm every evening. I was in elementary school throughout most of the Simpson's golden years (1992-1997) and even though a lot of the humor went totally over my head, I still loved it. Of course, also being in love with video games during this time too, knowing games based on the show existed had me beyond excited ti rent and play them whenever I could. The Simpsons game that I had the most couch time with, even to this day, was Bart's Nightmare on the Genesis.


To put it bluntly, Bart's Nightmare is not a good game. I do have to give some credit to the developer for pretty accurately distilling the feel and humor of the show into a 16-bit video game. Many of the characters you're probably familiar with if you watched the show are present in one way shape or form, and the content of Bart's nightmares definitely seem on brand with the character. The audio, while nothing special, also fits in with the zany nature of the game's premise which has you playing through Bart's nightmares as he attempts to collect pages of a homework assignment that flew out his window after falling asleep at his desk, and somehow ended up in his dreams where he must retrieve them. There are even pretty good voice clips from variopus characters that definitely add to the authentic feel of the game. Looking at Bart's Nightmare's presentation alone, one might think this game was pretty good, or at least decent. That is until you actually start to play the game.


Bart's Nightmare is more or less a collection of mini games that represent Bart's various nightmares where he must beat in order to collect pages of his homework assignment. There are several of these including Bart flying through the sky above Springfield as a super hero, Bart being a city destroying Kaiju monster, and Bart getting trapped inside an episode of Itchy and Scratchy. There are several other level types as well, but most levels come in two forms; once you've beat the first form of the level, you'll need to do it again, however this time it'll be different, but based on the same premise. There is also an overworld where you have to find pages of Bart's homework floating around so you can enter these mini games while also avoiding various obstacles that can give you a game over if too many of them hit you. While I could discuss each individuals mini game or the overworld gameplay, I'll just be short and say none of them are well made or really that enjoyable. The most competent of the mini games stages are the Super Bart levels, but even those kinda suck. The worst are the Indiana Jones tomb themed levels that have you platforming on sinking blocks while contending with various obstacles. Other mini games you can cheese really easily making them super easy for all the wrong reasons. The overworld is also a fristrating mess that will have you getting hit by speeding busses or other obstacles you won't see until it's too late. There isn't many positive things to say about Bart's Nightmare's gameplay, which is also a big reason why I don't think I've ever got more than a B- grade by the time I hit a game over. Despite the game sucking, however, I don't actually hate this game.


There are various games from my childhood that while I've come to terms with them being awful or at least mediocre, I still mostly enjoy playing them. Bart's Nightmare firmly fits in this category. While I will probably never be able to beat this game, nor do I care if I ever do, I still enjoy at least trying every few years and reliving a period of my life where the Simpsons was a near flawless show and some of the games for it, including this one, distilled that essence fairly well into a video game. (5/4/25) ABANDONED

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