52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

[dhaabi]

I normally avoid playing remastered versions unless there's good reason to visit them, yet this is one of those few instances when it's worthwhile since a considerable amount of new content that was originally planned but ultimately dropped has been added. For all intents and purposes, the original game is obsolete.

I played the original Nier on the 360 years ago and I absolutely loved it (still one of my favorite games ever). I plan on revisiting it some time again through the remaster, but if there's two reasons why I'm a bit weary of playing it: one, the original western release uses an older, father-figure protagonist instead of the younger one in the remaster (in my mind, it's hard to picture another person in the role). Two, the art direction of the original to me is superb, and it's hard getting used to some of the screenshots I've seen of the remaster (Kaine to me looks too clean and made out of plastic).

Those are definitely two criticisms that seem valid. For the former in particular, it did make me feel better to know that even if the game was released as two versions in Japan (Nier Replicant and Nier Gestalt), it was originally designed for players to assume the role of the brother figure whereas the father figure counterpart was designed to appease to Western audiences. I can't really comment on the quality of the game's art due to my own bias (since I've only played the remaster), but the remaster certainly does adopt a more modern anime-styled look. It's not even a style I particularly like in games but am more neutral toward, but I never found it to be detrimental to the overall experience.

[dhaabi]

35. Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands || Nintendo Switch || 09.20.2026



Unexpectedly, I found myself playing through Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands—a game I've not once ever heard of before—based on the recommendation of a friend. I don't particularly know why they recommended this game, but I decided to try it out at the very least and ultimately did like it enough to complete which was actually surprising.

First, I'll mention that Deathbulge is a video game adaptation to the webcomic series of the same name. Just like the game, I was completely unaware of its source material but did take a short time skimming through some of the comics after completing my playthrough. From what I've read, the comics don't really have a strong sense of cohesion from one to another—or any cohesion, really—and a lot of the humor in them just doesn't captivate me because of it. However, the same can't be said of the game. As one extended narrative, Deathbulge features this immense chaotic energy found throughout its entire cast from primary to tertiary characters and worldbuilding that permeates with this playful expressiveness. To be brief, the plot revolves around the eponymous band signing up to compete in a Battle of the Bands competition. It's an event that almost immediately has deadly consequences for all except the winners of the event as participants become cursed by some ancient demonic power that enables them to attack others by playing music. And though the circumstance is certainly alarming, the members of Deathbulge especially confront the situation as a trio of idiots set on removing the curse without murder.

So throughout their perilous adventure, the members of Deathbulge inevitably encounter enemies of all kinds, seldom of which are actually other participants. And while its subject matter may suggest that the game incorporates rhythm genre mechanics, Deathbulge is actually a turn-based RPG—and one that demonstrates its distinctive qualities quite quickly compared to other games from the genre that I've played that often seem too similar to another. In battle, party members fight as one unit with a single member being active at a time, though the same can't be said of enemies which means that each player action carries a lot of weight. Fortunately, players are able to swap from one character to another at any point both during or after the turn bar has filled. It's an act so simple yet still strategic as it's important to monitor when enemies ready their turn so that party strengths are exercised and statuses stay protected. With that said, it's this status for both the party and enemies that is crucial to exploit and protect. Each side readies their turns demonstrated on the turn bar, and the bar itself is divided into four measures. Across each measure, status effects can occupy its slot which have drastic consequences on securing victory as whatever status is currently in effect lasts the entire duration of the measure. So, for instance, the player's bar could be affected by both positive and negative effects such as speed reduction followed by speed hastened, speed hastened, and health restoration—and these effects will repeat each turn until overwritten or removed. There's a fair variety in the types of status effects, and they're made even more complicated by other conditions including being reversed or even strengthened. Other conditions can even be applied to the bar itself, so there's often a lot to manage because all of these elements act in tandem as one battle system.

However, the most important aspect of battle is the party class system that's directly tied to which skills are currently active for each member. There are 76 skills in total to gain, though that total is divided among the three party members with no two skills being the same. And though each character has over twenty skills, only three can be equipped at a time with one also dictating that character's fluid class. With that understanding, there's a lot of freedom to customize the party to adopt to one's play style, although it's to be expected to regularly swap these skills as more are collected and certain enemies are confronted to develop winning tactics. Really, there's been a lot of attention toward designing the class system that's evident by how strong it functions. Individual skills each have their own short melody and accompanying animation that plays, and this extends to enemies' skills as well. Characters' classes don't just change in battle either—an appreciated detail is that their in-game models and character portraits update too. At the same time, there are standard attacks that can be used freely without spending one's magic pool. They may seem more basic by comparison, but they can be upgraded and even combined together in ways that stacks debilitating effects on enemies, or beneficial ones on the party. And on the topic of the game's systems, Deathbulge somehow even manages to make its inventory system unique. Instead of buying items repeatedly, each individual is only purchased once. Items can be used indiscriminately, but they all share a combined stock total and have varying point costs.

But despite all the praise discussed above, I feel as if much of my enjoyment of the game's systems is a bit complicated. For most battle encounters across each dungeon, players will be engaging in the same fights over and over again. It's easy to formulate a strategy and simply employ it each time to ensure victory because of that fact. Likewise, players are always given the option to outright avoid enemies on the field to prevent the start of battle, and enemies respawn when revisiting a room, so it's quite possible to simply pick-and-choose which enemies are confronted. So after a time, battles do become stale when engaging in the combat with some regularity in any fashion, and there were times when I felt more compelled to progress because of the game's tone than its gameplay. In some sense, how complex the game's battle system can be is only ever fully realized by the game's end as difficulty spikes considerably even when the player's already achieved the maximum level cap. Although most boss encounters throughout the entire campaign also prove to be difficult, but the same really can't be said of field encounters. But with that understanding, the end game—and in particular, one optional test of the game's intricacies in the form of fighting all of the game's bosses with considerably heightened stats and behavior—does prove to be particularly challenging in a way that's simultaneously rewarding. Really, the optional challenge is especially demanding as it absolutely forces the player to evolve battle tactics with each and every encounter.

Far before the game's end, it became clear that Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands was a suggested game to play that exceeded my expectations. And a large reason for this is just how robust and unique its systems are that was especially fun to experience, though I won't deny that there's some monotony to bear along the way. Gameplay is really something I wasn't expecting to have such high quality from a game with a development team of five and limited budget.

[kashell]

67. Little Goody Two Shoes - Star-crossed.
68. Little Goody Two Shoes - The Kiss
69. Little Goody Two Shoes - Moira

All endings have been revealed. Each unique. I need to do one more play through for the final trophies. With a collection guide handy, I'll hopefully be able to breeze through it.

[Cartagia]

Finished Armored Core VI this morning.  Enjoyed it overall, and I can see how people would get super into the series.  I might try the others at some point, but I'm satiated for the moment.  The difficulty can be wildly spiky and varies greatly depending on your preferred build.

[kashell]

70. Little Goody Two Shoes - Das Ende

Phew. It's done. Platinum acquired. This is one of those instances where the speed run is more enjoyable than a regular run. Prioritizing tasks, finding the golden maidens, and only focusing on one maiden to romance made this relatively painless to get through. The dungeons from Wednesday's and Thursday's Witching Hours were still bad, but having the extra income allowed me to buy more healing supplies. With this game out of the way I can get ready for playthrough of the remade Fatal Frame II!

[marvelvscapcom2]

Finished Armored Core VI this morning.  Enjoyed it overall, and I can see how people would get super into the series.  I might try the others at some point, but I'm satiated for the moment.  The difficulty can be wildly spiky and varies greatly depending on your preferred build.

I been super interested in this series. My closest mech game is Dynasty Warriors Gundam.  Does it seem to have any plot continuity? Like if I buy VI do you think it ties into 5 and before?  Is this anything like dynasty warriors (1 vs 1000) type games. Or is it more tactics?   I almost bought ps3 ones but they're too pricey so may cop this one.

[Cartagia]

Finished Armored Core VI this morning.  Enjoyed it overall, and I can see how people would get super into the series.  I might try the others at some point, but I'm satiated for the moment.  The difficulty can be wildly spiky and varies greatly depending on your preferred build.

I been super interested in this series. My closest mech game is Dynasty Warriors Gundam.  Does it seem to have any plot continuity? Like if I buy VI do you think it ties into 5 and before?  Is this anything like dynasty warriors (1 vs 1000) type games. Or is it more tactics?   I almost bought ps3 ones but they're too pricey so may cop this one.

I could follow the plot no problem without having played any if them before.  So, if it does tie back to the old games I have no idea, but it is obvious they put a lot of thought into it regardless.

[supremeusername]

38. Super Mario Sunshine | 2002 | 100% | Switch 2 | 9/25:



     I don't know if I've ever truly beaten Mario Sunshine -- at least not 100%. I do however, have fond memories of this game as much as I do with 64 & the Galaxy games. Sunshine always gets the middle-child disrespect between the earliest 3D Mario titles; and it's not hard to see why given both 64 and Galaxy 1 are some of the greatest platformers to ever exist. The biggest obstacle when playing Sunshine is the lack of polish. Mario doesn't wall-jump when you want him to, doesn't know whether to spin jump or side flip at times, and will occasionally neglect the camera, so you have to personally fight with the camera yourself. The placement with some of these Blue Coins are impossible to figure out without looking up a guide or accidently stumbling upon them while using F.L.U.D.D.. And the level design is all over the place: recycling content and lacking the freedom to choose stars out of order in a level like its predecessor did.

     All of this to say: Super Mario Sunshine is jank as hell. It is also the kind of jank that is very fun to play, even when going for 100% completion. You have your iconic levels like 'Pachinko', the 'Sand Bird', the 'Lily Pad', and the 'Chuckster', among many, many others. Any of these levels could make most people go insane -- and rightfully so -- but I love this kind of jankery. These levels are so weird and unique that I can't help but admire the creativity. You get the full feel of Mario's movekit throughout the game -- from using F.L.U.D.D. to glide across larger gaps and spraying down enemies, to having to dive and side flip on spinning platforms just to stay on because F.L.U.D.D. is missing. It's a side-step from Mario 64's movekit: both work respectfully in their own games and I don't think one game controls better than the other. Sunshine is just a very weird game.

     There's a lot of complex areas to navigate, with various levels of elevation between them and narrow platforms that barely give Mario enough surface area to stand on. Using F.L.U.D.D. makes the challenges of navigating these environments a whole lot more manageable, but never easy. You'll have to combo F.L.U.D.D.'s moveset with Mario's own separate moveset to make everything work. If there's one thing that could be considered "smooth" and not "jank" about Sunshine: the feeling of using both Mario & F.L.U.D.D. harmoniously never gets old. Like with Mario 64, the team that worked on Mario Sunshine really nailed the fundamentals of the game's movement. Even with all the most frustrating BS Sunshine has to offer, getting back into the fray isn't annoying.

     I think what always stuck out to me about this game is the setting. Winter is personally my favorite season, but man do I love the tropical Isle Delfino. Despite all the antics this game throws at you, Isle Delfino feels like the kind of gaming locale you'd want to live in. For being 24 years old (damn!), Mario Sunshine is still a visually beautiful, cozy game to look at. I've always liked how you can see other areas of the map as well from where you are. It makes Sunshine feel like a bigger, more complete game than it actually is. There's a lot of flaws with this game, but I noticed a lot of the things I like have plenty. I rather something be flawed, but full of charm than have something that's near perfect, but lacks personality. I never really saw Super Mario Sunshine as the middle-child. Could be the nostalgia, but I believe this game has every right to stand next to its brothers in the 3D Mario franchise with its head held high.



Grade: A-

[bikingjahuty]

58. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (PS5)

Back in the early 2010s, Sega was absolutely onto something with their Sonic & Sega All Stars racing games. Sega had finally managed to capture the same magic in a bottle that the Mario Kart games had been perfecting for nearly two decades by this point, and capture that undeniable Sega charm and feel into a fun kart racer. The first Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing game was great, however it's sequel, Transformed, almost perfected what was started in the previous game. I replayed Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing Transformed again for the first time in nearly a decade last year and I was astounded by how fun this game is despite now existing in a post-Mario Kart 8 world. That's right, Mario Kart 8 is the all time GOAT of kart racers. But anyhow it set my expectations sky high for whatever Sega had up their sleeves for the eventual sequel to Transformed.


The sequel we'd eventually get, if you'd even really want to call it a sequel was a fairly massive step backwards with 2019's Team Sonic Racing. While still a kart racer featuring Sega characters, almost all exclusively from Sonic games unfortunately, the gameplay, music, and pretty much everything else was worse than Transformed. While I've never officially reviewed Team Sonic Racing, my impression of playing it around the time it was released was it was a kinda boring, less interesting, and worse of all, less fun entry in a line of Sega kart racers. I thought for sure Sega would course correct with the most recent Sega kart racer, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, and well, they kinda did, but only about halfway.


Sonic Racing CrossWorlds does fortunately lean on Sega's many other amazing IPs and includes characters, music, and themed karts to go along with them. Of course, there are copious amounts of characters from Sonic games to race with, but you also have characters from games like Crazy Taxi, Yakuza, Project Diva represented. While these were meaningful additions that make this game less homogenous, unfortunately, Sega sorta fell short by not making any themed stages around these characters or the franchises they originated from. In fact, outside some DLC characters and stages, which aren't even Sega properties btw, courses are all just fairly generic tracks themed around your typical kart racer tropes. Still, credit where credit is due, these are some very pretty generic stages, but sadly none of them are themed after or even reference any Sega characters or franchises. The courses unfortunately really diminish the appeal of this game, and that's despite the the whole "CrossWorlds" gimmick of being able to race briefly in another course midway through the current race. I guess this males races more dynamic, but in reality it's just thrown into the game like an adult jangling keys in front of a child to distract and mildly entertain them.


The audio in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds suffers from similar issues with not doing a great job of fully leveraging Sega's properties as well as tey should Sound effects, voice acting, and even some of the music definitely sounds like what you'd expect out of the various Sega IPs represented or mostly just Sonic games in general, however where this game kinda falls on its face is the music. No, the music doesn't necessarily sound bad, but rather CrossWorlds is filled with covers and arranged versions of various iconic Sega songs, none of which sound as good and especially not better than the original versions they're based on. When the brief sound clips trump the music in a game, you know someone screwed up, and this is precisely the case with Sonic Racing CrossWorld's audio.


I wish I had better things to say about the gameplay, but it too feels a tad undercooked and blandly executed. Nothing about CrossWorld's gameplay is horrendous bad or even kinda bad. Rather, this game definitely skated by on the bare minimum without fully fleshing the gameplay out to make races more dynamic. What's sad is they didn't even have to reinvent the wheel here; they could have easily looked at Mario Kart 8, adapted it's mechanics while giving them a Sega coat of paint, and CrossWorld's could have been a true contender, Unfortunately, CrossWorlds does the bare minimum to play smoothly, but the use of weapons combined with the course layouts doesn't lend itself to the most dynamic races. There are also mechanics like the midair flip mechanic which I found to work inconsistently, but luckily it deciding to execute my commands abpout 1/3 of the time didn't really impeed my ability to win races anyways. That's because the use of items is handled more like a game of Rock'em Sock'em robots rather than a game of chess like in Mario Kart 8, or even All Stars Racing Transformed. Everything works fine, it just all feels a tad generic and uninspired, much like a big chunk of the rest of this game.


I don't know what the hell happened after Sonic & Sega All Stars Transformed was released, but how Sega's kart racing franchise ended up here is a bit perplexing and unfortunate. I did mostly enjoy playing CrossWorlds, but overall it was impossible to ignore how much better this game could have been with a little more effort and planing. Even if this game would have left the gameplay identical and just made more of the game look, feel, and play like the games represented in it, it would have gone a long, long way towards making CrossWorlds a more enjoyable experience. Instead, we have a game that's luckily an imprivement over Sonic Team Racing, but a massive step backwards from an age of much better Sega kart racers from over a decade ago. Regardless, I'd say try this game out still, even if you're bound to have mostly a wildly okay time playing it. (9/27/26) [33/50]

[telly]

70. Little Goody Two Shoes - Das Ende

Phew. It's done. Platinum acquired. This is one of those instances where the speed run is more enjoyable than a regular run. Prioritizing tasks, finding the golden maidens, and only focusing on one maiden to romance made this relatively painless to get through. The dungeons from Wednesday's and Thursday's Witching Hours were still bad, but having the extra income allowed me to buy more healing supplies. With this game out of the way I can get ready for playthrough of the remade Fatal Frame II!

I just picked up the remake and am excited to give it a shot!

[kashell]

71. Demons of Asteborg

The spoopy season continues with this Genesis styled throwback. The game feels like a holy alliance of Demon Crest, Ghouls and Ghosts, Castlevania, and probably a few more titles of that ilk. With that comes with the good and the bad. I'll start with the bad: some of the levels are infuriating with the way traps, pits, and spikes are placed. Also, it's not entirely clear how to handle some of the bosses. At least at first. The game uses a traditional life count. Running out of lives means Game Over. Fortunately, that just means starting a stage over instead of the entire game. (It happened one time to me.) Luckily, the stage I had to redo was the final one and it was easy to get through. Which brings me to the good. Each new area, despite its frustrations, always has some initial excitement. Finishing a stage lets you buy upgrades which can be super helpful. Enemy designs are sleek and animation is as beautiful expected for a Genesis game despite the muted color scheme. I think the biggest surprise was the story. Yeah, the action is fun and all but we get to learn about the main character, his past, and the world he calls home. I was not expecting to be invested in his struggles. So, a solid 7/10. It's a good game with a style we've seen before but it was fun to play despite some aggravating moments.