52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

[kamikazekeeg]

10 - Resident Evil: Requiem (PC 2026) - BEAT - Was gonna take my time, spread it out over the weekend with a few hours every day, but I just binged it hard lol I had a pretty good time with it, it was a fun idea they did, where they people like both the more slower survival horror side of things, RE2R/RE7, but also like the more actiony stuff, RE4/RE8, so why not both? Grace is perfect as someone new dealing with these horrors, having a setup that feels more standard survival horror, exploring a big hospital.  Leon slips in and out, and then later you get a section with him that is more actiony in general, generally splitting the game.

Part of me wishes it was more just Grace and doing stuff that feels more like RE2R/RE7, I'm not so nostalgia driven like some fans are where they need the lead to be Leon, or Chris, or whoever else has done this before, I like having a character who struggles to handle what is going on, it's what makes it more creepy, compared to Leon spouting off one-liners.  I do like those one-liners, I like how cheesy and action heavy he is, but I like the survival horror leaning the other way more.  That's something I wish they did more, there's not enough puzzling, maybe trying to figure out progression more, that feels abit lax in this game.  It's not bad, I just want more of that.

Overall quite fun, not my favorite, but definitely good.

[kashell]

10 - Resident Evil: Requiem (PC 2026) - BEAT - Was gonna take my time, spread it out over the weekend with a few hours every day, but I just binged it hard lol I had a pretty good time with it, it was a fun idea they did, where they people like both the more slower survival horror side of things, RE2R/RE7, but also like the more actiony stuff, RE4/RE8, so why not both? Grace is perfect as someone new dealing with these horrors, having a setup that feels more standard survival horror, exploring a big hospital.  Leon slips in and out, and then later you get a section with him that is more actiony in general, generally splitting the game.

Part of me wishes it was more just Grace and doing stuff that feels more like RE2R/RE7, I'm not so nostalgia driven like some fans are where they need the lead to be Leon, or Chris, or whoever else has done this before, I like having a character who struggles to handle what is going on, it's what makes it more creepy, compared to Leon spouting off one-liners.  I do like those one-liners, I like how cheesy and action heavy he is, but I like the survival horror leaning the other way more.  That's something I wish they did more, there's not enough puzzling, maybe trying to figure out progression more, that feels abit lax in this game.  It's not bad, I just want more of that.

Overall quite fun, not my favorite, but definitely good.

Dang! You plowed through that one!

[kashell]

19. Trails in the Sky First Chapter

Gehenna froze over twice this year! Am I Trails fan now? After another 50 hours with another entry (albeit a modern one) it's hard to say. I'll always prefer classic Falcom sprites to 3D models, but this remake really came through. I have a few complaints that I'll disseminate in a review, but the only one I want to mention now to get off my chest is enemy HP. I played on standard difficulty and all of the Intelligence Division enemies had HP bloated to high heaven. It was ridiculous. Naturally, they gave crap experience, too. Anything to pad the game, I guess? Otherwise, this was another pleasant surprise. I can't say I'm not intrigued by what Second Chapter would have in store based on the ending.

[kamikazekeeg]

Dang! You plowed through that one!

I didn't have anything else going on, so I played at Midnight for a number of hours and then just went crazy last night on it lol I was gonna spread it out across the weekend, savor it, but I got too engaged, been awhile since I went full gamer like that, I think Death Stranding 2 last year was the last time I went that hard.

I still put nearly 13 hours for the one main run and trying Insanity mode right now which is ridiculously hard, so it's living up to its name lol

[marvelvscapcom2]

17. Mario Kart 64 [N64] - finished Feb 28th, 2026




THE SWEET TEARS OF PERFECTION


Mario Kart 64 exemplifies the old adage of "they don't make them like that anymore".  A beacon that all Mario Kart fanatics run to when needing to point to the gold standard. A measuring stick so to speak. A game that took it's franchise to the moon in only the 2nd entry into the lineup. In both popularity, sales and prestige. Mario Kart is poetry in motion and perhaps one of the greatest art installations of modern man. I will get into every reason why...  but of course let's remind. That this is Mario Kart 64. So it speaks for itself.

But first, I must say. My past with this game runs deeper than even Guitar Hero III. So much so, that I cried while playing it. It had been about 15 years since i've played the game. Remembering my childhood friend Glen Constantino. My batman themed bed spread. Inflatable chairs and pogs? I cried not because I had realized that my fleeting childhood was never to be relived again or because every giggle, laugh and blue shell that came to define my most important adolescent years was now just a memory. Not because I had lost so much even though I did, but because I have gained so much.  It feels as though you have reuinited with an elementary school friend. And the friend reminds you of yourself. I miss it. I miss those Sunny Delight summer days when school was out, and the red glow of an N64 light illuminating the room was all we needed. This feeling is by design. It is in every essence of this game. It is why Mario Kart 64 is the mvp.  It does this for so many people.


GAMEPLAY

Mario Kart 64 takes all the errors of Super Mario Kart and makes sure to distance itself from them. Things like constant podiums, terrible rubberbanding and wonky ricochet mechanics of the karts are gone. Replaced with sensible and fair podium randomness. Peach can win race 2 and yet you may find her place 7th next time. This does quite a bit in balancing Mario Kart 64's difficulty. You can place 2nd in each race and possibly win in points at the end. That's how real racing championships work. Which is perhaps it's most important refresher and something that has carried over to every other installment of Mario Kart since.

The blue shell makes it's debut in this game. The gamer universe's beloved friendship ender. Drifting becomes more fluid than ever. And the graphics and textures of course quadruple from 16 bit to 64 bit.

The game is set up basically. It is pure couch co-op fun. You get 4 cups. Each have 4 levels. So 16 in total. And you progress by winning gold in each. If you win gold in each cup on 150cc. You unlock a mirror mode. No hamming about. Just regular simplicity that sometimes is lost on modern mario karts. 


I find the NPC intelligence in this game to be quite shocking. For example, a cpu character may lay a banana on the bridge. It knows that it is impossible for the next person to not hit it. A cpu character may also lay a decoy powerup with the real powerups to genuinely trick you.  The intelligence the cpu operates with made me feel like I was facing a friend via split screen while playing on 1P mode. It's fascinatingly good for it's day.


LEVELS


But perhaps the greatest part of Mario Kart 64 is the levels.  Toad's express way stands out above all. A interstate highway level where you race at micro size along side giant cars and semi trucks on a road. Being a kid, this level always blew my mind. Rainbow road is a ribbon of decadence, it glows seemingly 200 million colors to become this crazy color fest that resembles a lite brite toy from the 80s.  And each level is joined by beautiful soundtracks. Symphonies of hymns, harps, violins and electro synths make these melodies that transport you to the track. Colorful celestial vibes match rainbow road flawlessly. Adrenaline pumping jungle themes reflect Donkey Kong's level.  It is quite a connection to feel and it feels transportive.


Mario Kart 64 is God tier Mario Kart. Perhaps 20 years ahead of it's time. And to most it is more than that. Anyone who had this console at an age early than 15.  This game is like mother's hug. It is beyond sheer plastic and screws at this point.  Sometimes a piece of entertainment can become so connected to your soul that it ascends into your consciousness as metaphysical. Your central nervous system is rainbow road. Time stands still.  Welcome back.

Rating - 100/100