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52 Games Challenge 2026!!!
dhaabi:
18. Dust Bunny || Pico-8 || 04.19.2026
On a whim, I decided to see what sort of games have been recently developed for Pico-8 since I last found out about the platform last year. And after briefly trying a few different games, I settled on playing Dust Bunny.
In short, Dust Bunny is a puzzle game tasking playing to remove all of the dust particles present in each of the thirty single-screen stages. As the eponymous white dust bunny which begins each stage as a 1x1 block, players are able to clean away dust easily, but the goal becomes complicated as certain segments on the field will attach to any of the four sides of the bunny upon touching them. Of course, what this also means is that even these attached segments can have additional segments added onto them as well, something that results in the player avatar taking various form. So as simple environmental elements are added that create corners and pathways, players will need to strategically grow the size and shape of the dust bunny or else they'll be unable to actually reach where they're needing to be.
Around the game's midway point, new puzzle mechanics begin being introduced intermittently that force the player to think differently. While the end goal remains the same, new obstacles make reaching it much more difficult. For instance, the first noteworthy change is that certain dust particles will now be able to attach to the dust bunny in the exact way that the aforementioned ones do, except now they create a path of dirt with each directional movement the player takes. To counteract this, players will need to think about how dust bunny segments and dust particle segments can combine in such a way that all of the stage's dust can actually be removed. However, perhaps my favorite mechanic is the one that presents additional dust bunny particles to collect that attach to the player as they normally do but will become dirty and drag dust once actually encountering a dust particle.
Surprisingly, Dust Bunny's final stages are considerably easier than the ones leading up to it. Generally, these stages mostly or even wholly remove barriers and obstacles while instead presenting an open level design. So now, the focus is entirely on gathering dust bunny segments in a specific order just as before but with a lower difficulty threshold. So, in my opinion, there seems to be a balance pacing problem, but it seems easy to rectify as all it takes to solve the issue is to reorder stages.
Even though the game's presentation is simple, its puzzle difficulty is sufficient. Two stages especially were challenging for me, so it's a game that players will inevitably learn more through trial-and-error play. But in some ways, Dust Bunny still feels like a development project still being worked on—or, rather, it's still needing to be worked on. The biggest oversight is that there is neither sound nor music throughout play. Another thing worth considering is the ability for players to skip stages, as they're not required to solve a puzzle before advancing to the next one. Ultimately, though, these are minor problems.
After finally completing all of Dust Bunny's thirty stages over a few days of play, I left feeling satisfied and accomplished, as some of the game's middle puzzles were particularly challenging for me. These sorts of small puzzle experiences in particular are fun to solve.
realpoketendonl:
#12. Red Alarm
Well, I bought the giant red hunk of plastic that is the Virtual Boy shell for Nintendo Switch. It makes sense to then also beat a Virtual Boy game on it.
Firstly I'll briefly talk about the Virtual Boy for Nintendo Switch 2/Nintendo Switch though (because when the hell else will I?). In case you haven't heard: Nintendo released an almost 1-to-1 recreation of the Virtual Boy, that you can put your Switch or Switch 2 in to play Virtual Boy games. Visually, it's a striking recreation of the original Virtual Boy. As a huge Nintendo fan, it's a perfect piece of decoration for on my shelf (not that I have any space on there, but still). I've only ever played a real Virtual Boy for a few minutes in a museum expo, so I can't speak for how it compares in terms of visuals, but playing Virtual Boy games on this thing with the Switch inside of it, the games are sharp and crystal clear, and the 3D is very effective. Is it still uncomfortable to play? Of course it is, though I've found that easily the best place to play this thing is at my standing desk. That way I can move the desk up so I can keep my back a little more straight when I'm playing it. Free tip if you have an adjustable desk.
I briefly tried out all the games on Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics when it launched, but Red Alarm caught my attention. So I started to properly play it, and stuck with it until I beat it. This game gets a lot of flack (like most things Virtual Boy) for supposedly being disorienting, but I'll be damned. I'm a Red Alarm defender now. This game is good and fun. Flying around, dodging projectiles and shooting up enemies feels good. I like that you can quickly make your ship strafe in four directions to avoid projectiles, along with halting your flight or reversing if you want. It's less about wildly shooting and more about when and how to approach enemies. I hear many people online say the game is disorienting because everything is just untextured wireframes. I can't speak for what it's like on original hardware, but in the Switch shell, I did not have that issue at all. The 3D did wonders to show me what was what. Apart from that, it's about recognising shapes and patterns in the design of the level. Only very rarely did I get lost. I did use save states, but just to restart the boss when I died without having to replay the level first (I mean, I got to the boss which proves I can beat the level, so I think that's fair). It's a short game, only six levels, but it has some pretty good challenge. I liked it!
I will defend Red Alarm. It's a good game. Now, should you go out of your way to play it? Well I wouldn't say that. But if you have the ability to try this game out in 3D, I say at least give it a shot. It's genuinely pretty good.
#?. Donkey Kong Jr.
Oh, also just beat Donkey Kong Jr. on NES, which I was shocked to find I hadn't beaten yet so I just did. Though, can you really consider Donkey Kong Jr. beatable? Or is it endless? I considered Donkey Kong endless in my backlog, so I suppose I'll do the same for Donkey Kong Jr. and not count it here.
We'll see where I go from here. I started The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and I was enjoying that, though I'm also playing a LOT of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream right now. A game that's great fun but that cannot be beaten. So we'll see when I'll have my next game properly beaten.
supremeusername:
--- Quote from: dhaabi on April 18, 2026, 12:52:33 pm ---To a degree, certain aspects of the game are needlessly challenging, though it's not to the point of frustration. And, I will acknowledge that a certain level of difficulty is required beyond the depleting time limit to complete stages. Nevertheless, it's common to navigate throughout a stage without much direction, and there are times when the map system becomes useless as where players may need to go is a different segment of the map and can't be accessed unless already physically there. Meanwhile, antagonistic forces have the utmost intent to leave you incapacitated without any health, utilizing fists, guns, or even explosives while you're instead left with the only option to evade them. On that note, health can quickly deplete, and desperately searching for restorative spray paint cans while an enemy encounter occurs adds another layer of stress as time ticks down. Between these two elements, first-time players or even players who simply become lost will struggle.
--- End quote ---
Although I enjoyed playing it again this year, this was probably my biggest gripe with the game. The city mission with all the rooftops and elevation was exceptionally more brutal than I remembered. Not just with figuring out where to go, but how to get to the graffiti while dodging the helicopter and electric dudes that shock the poles you have to grind on to progress. Cool-looking level, but I really did not enjoy it. It also runs poorly on OG Dreamcast hardware.
--- Quote from: dhaabi on April 18, 2026, 12:52:33 pm ---At the end of stages, players are scored based on a ranking system, and I can only imagine that trying to reach the highest rank for them all is a trial of patience amidst the aforementioned problems present. To help players accrue more points, optional tag locations can be found and used to bolster one's score, but using them obviously comes at the cost of depleting their stock of spray cans.
--- End quote ---
The best way to accumulate more score is to pick a character with a high "Graffiti" stat (like Gum lol). I think you also get more score if you complete graffiti in one interaction -- without getting hit, running out of paint cans, or messing up the QTE -- cause the score multiplies. So it's better to do the large graffiti first with a full inventory of paint cans for max score, and you won't have to worry about it when the more difficult enemies appear later in the level.
bikingjahuty:
32. The Last of Us: Part I (PS5)
One thing that continually surprises me is how every time I pick up and play The Last of Us (TLOU) I enjoy it a bit more than the last time I played it. 2022's The Last of Us: Part I was a welcome improvement to the original game on PS3 and PS4. Not only did it look significantly better, borrowing the visuals and engine from TLOU: Part II, but it also borrowed it's quality of life improvements when it comes to controls, enemy balancing, and just the overall gameplay. The end result was a game that nearly makes the original version of TLOU obsolete.
Speaking of TLOU's gameplay, it's the only part of this game which I would consider to be imperfect. Still, make no mistake, TLOU's gameplay is still very good and its combination of stealth, action, third person shooting, puzzles, and various other gameplay elements are all implemented wonderfully for the most part. There are still the odd sections of this game that are still somewhat annoying and there are at times inconsistencies when it comes to remaining undetected when sneaking around or lining up a lethal headshot on an enemy. Regardless, these occasionally frustrating parts don't diminish too much what is otherwise a very enjoyable game to play.
When I said the rest of TLOU is perfect, I meant it. The audio and visuals are top of their class. The OST is great and absolutely fits what is occurring at any given time, but what really steals the show is the overall sound design. This game does an amazing job at ramping up your anxiety, even if you've played this game half a dozen times like I have and know what's coming. The impact of TLOU's audio is a masterfully designed rollercoaster that will have you breaking out in a cold sweat one minute and the next have you appreciating an oddly serene moment in an otherwise violent, chaotic world.
As for TLOU's visuals and presentation, they're even better. The character models, animations, apocalyptic set pieces, and grotesque enemies all look phenomenal. They all compliment one of the best stories and writing ever put into a video game, with TLOU's world telling just as much of the story, if not more, than the things revealed through dialogue and cutscenes. I adore the world and lore of TLOU and it pains me we only have two games in probably my favorite post apocalyptic franchise ever. But yes, the visuals do not disappointment at any point, and neither does the writing.
I'm at the point with TLOU where I'm tired of pretending it's not about as close to a perfect game as you're going to get. I know it does have its flaws, but when looked at with the context of the sum of all its parts, TLOU is a masterpiece that I will never grow tired of playing through. (4/22/26) [45/50]
dhaabi:
--- Quote from: supremeusername on April 22, 2026, 11:37:01 pm ---
--- Quote from: dhaabi on April 18, 2026, 12:52:33 pm ---To a degree, certain aspects of the game are needlessly challenging, though it's not to the point of frustration. And, I will acknowledge that a certain level of difficulty is required beyond the depleting time limit to complete stages. Nevertheless, it's common to navigate throughout a stage without much direction, and there are times when the map system becomes useless as where players may need to go is a different segment of the map and can't be accessed unless already physically there. Meanwhile, antagonistic forces have the utmost intent to leave you incapacitated without any health, utilizing fists, guns, or even explosives while you're instead left with the only option to evade them. On that note, health can quickly deplete, and desperately searching for restorative spray paint cans while an enemy encounter occurs adds another layer of stress as time ticks down. Between these two elements, first-time players or even players who simply become lost will struggle.
--- End quote ---
Although I enjoyed playing it again this year, this was probably my biggest gripe with the game. The city mission with all the rooftops and elevation was exceptionally more brutal than I remembered. Not just with figuring out where to go, but how to get to the graffiti while dodging the helicopter and electric dudes that shock the poles you have to grind on to progress. Cool-looking level, but I really did not enjoy it. It also runs poorly on OG Dreamcast hardware.
--- End quote ---
I actually don't remember that segment of a mission from that stage—particularly the electrified grind rails. It did take me far longer to complete this game than it normally does since I took an extended break from it, though, so either I'm just not remembering that aspect of the mission or I was able to clear that particular mission without issue. I do remember falling off from the pier area of that stage into the water a lot during one of the earlier visits there, and I was thinking about it specifically when mentioning my struggles to regain health as antagonists were pursuing me.
I hadn't looked up anything about whether Jet Set Radio actually performs well on Dreamcast hardware or not. I suppose I particularly was hoping to play the game with the original controller, as I think those sorts of details are important to playing older games especially as they were developed for and intended to play. If the performance is that poor, though, then maybe it was more worthwhile to play the PC port than just waiting to buy the game outright for Dreamcast someday day to play. But maybe one day I'll still do that.
--- Quote from: supremeusername on April 22, 2026, 11:37:01 pm ---
--- Quote from: dhaabi on April 18, 2026, 12:52:33 pm ---At the end of stages, players are scored based on a ranking system, and I can only imagine that trying to reach the highest rank for them all is a trial of patience amidst the aforementioned problems present. To help players accrue more points, optional tag locations can be found and used to bolster one's score, but using them obviously comes at the cost of depleting their stock of spray cans.
--- End quote ---
The best way to accumulate more score is to pick a character with a high "Graffiti" stat (like Gum lol). I think you also get more score if you complete graffiti in one interaction -- without getting hit, running out of paint cans, or messing up the QTE -- cause the score multiplies. So it's better to do the large graffiti first with a full inventory of paint cans for max score, and you won't have to worry about it when the more difficult enemies appear later in the level.
--- End quote ---
I'm sure those are details I would have realized had I played missions multiple times to prioritize high scores. I didn't see first-hand just how much of a difference other characters make (I only played as Beat across the entire playthrough), but I did read about those details right before I published my thoughts on the game. I suppose I just completely ignored how stats would vary the play experience, so maybe achieving the best rank for each stage isn't that challenging then. More than anything, though, I think earning a high rank is really dependent on just being overly familiar with the stage design and objectives—something that's just a matter of practice.
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