Messages

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: February 26, 2026, 06:23:05 pm »

6. Sly Raccoon [PS2]
Also known as Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus in the US, but I'm from Europe and my box says Sly Racooon so that's what I'm going with.

The first game in the Sly Cooper series, and actually the first PS2 game I've ever beaten if you can believe it. And well, I loved it!

This is a 3D platformer with elements of a collect-a-thon and stealth. I really loved its style. The character designs, art style and storytelling reminded me of Humongous Entertainment, and I mean that in the best way. It's cartoony, charming, appealing and just fun. It's also backed up by solid gameplay. Just moving Sly around is fun on its own, and when a game pulls that off you know it does something right. The game isn't hard at all, honestly it's really damn easy, but that's OK. Sometimes you want games like that. Spotting a collectible, and then making a jump or climbing a pipe to get to it is just fun. I've now beaten all the levels and collected all the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus. I have not done the time trials yet, but maybe I'll try a few out sometime.

Overall, you can definitely call me a Sly Cooper fan now. This game made me nostalgic for a type of game I didn't even know I was nostalgic for. I gotta keep an eye out for the other games in the series, because I'd love to try them!

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 24, 2026, 09:40:31 pm »

5. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

And that's game number 5, the long awaited Metroid Prime 4. Including by me. This game has been divisive, with some people and reviewers praising it but many players heavily criticising it. And honestly, now that I've beaten it, I'm rather split on it too. Full warning: I will try not to spoil anything, but I will be generally discussing some aspects of the game. And yes, sorry, this is a long one, but I have a lot of thoughts on this one.

Let's start with the good, because there is a lot to like here. This game is visually beautiful. Its visual design in the environment and creatures is just as strong as it was in the previous Prime games. I really enjoyed the boss fights. Those are always highlights for me in the Prime games, and these bosses do not disappoint. The gameplay loop is satisfying. The various areas in the game, although linear, are still fun to explore, and constantly finding powerups to slowly beef yourself up feels as good as ever. I really want to stress: there is a lot to like here, and at times, that did shine through for me.

But yes, there are annoyances here too. The game feels strongly linear. You still explore areas and solve puzzles to progress, which is still fun, but in some way, this just felt stronger in previous titles. The games's locations are connected by an open world, and I know it's a desert but it still feels empty. I think I preferred the more directly interconnected areas from the previous Prime titles.

By far the biggest criticism online is the supporting characters, and unfortunately, I have to agree with the critics. Throughout the game you're accompanied by a cast of Galactic Federation characters. They call you, join you on quests, and will talk to you whenever they're around. And yes, I found them annoying and grading. Some of them instantly got on my nerves, to the point that once the cutscene ended I jokingly tried to shoot them (which the game doesn't allow but still). They instruct you on every new step which makes the game not only feel even more linear, but also takes away some of that sense of figuring stuff out more on your own. The previous Prime games also had objective markers, but they were far less intrusive. And on top of this, they're a hindrance in combat. There are multiple segments where you get into fights and they join you. And while they're constantly depicted as capable soldiers, every time they almost die and you have to stop fighting and go heal them. Often multiple times per fight. Several times I found myself almost screaming at my screen: "This would be so much easier if you would just GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

But a deeper issue with them is that, to me, they don't fit Metroid. A core aspect of Metroid, to me, is its sense of loneliness. That feeling of you, alone, on a distant, intriguing but hostile world, with nothing but your wits and your skills to aid you. One of Metroid's biggest appeals to me is that atmosphere. And these characters, to me, ruin that completely. If I ever got into that mental state of getting lost in the world the game was giving me, whenever these guys popped up it immediately took me back out of it. They break the immersion, and also break that sense of isolation and weight. I admittedly don't play many games with chatty sidekicks like this, but still: I would've enjoyed this game so much more if I was just left to explore this world on my own, and only interact with ancient messages and the main villain.

^{(Also, a little side tangent, but I do not understand why Nintendo thinks we like the Galactic Federation so much. Personally, I don't. At all. If you want other characters: Prime 3 had you interacting with other bounty hunters that turn from good to evil, all from different species with wildly different designs and abilities. They were cool! Prime Hunters's other bounty hunters are still, to this day, fan favourites! Yet from Prime 3 to gosh darn Federation Force to this, they keep focusing on the stupid space army. Drop them and focus on something cool instead! Hell, Sylux is right there. If you focused on just him, he could've been so much cooler!)}

I think the biggest thing that stood out to me about Prime 4 is that it didn't feel as grand or epic as the previous games. The game does try to give your situation weight, trapping you in a completely unknown and isolated world, with a troubled history of a fallen civilization, but I rarely felt that weight. I don't know whether it's the world design, the npc's or whatever, but I never felt that immersion or weight. When I beat the original Metroid Prime games, I felt a sense of accomplishment, relief, grandeur, weight. With this game, I just felt like I had beaten another game.

And let me re-emphasize: that doesn't mean the game is bad. Tons of good games have left me without a major feeling at the end. And I did enjoy this game. I was always happy to pick it back up and keep playing, there are moments that did immerse me into the world and battles that are riveting. But yes, from Prime 4, I was also hoping to feel more.

I know that Prime 4 had an impossible legacy to live up to, but even seen on its own, I cannot ignore some of these annoyances. This is still a good game, there is no doubt about that. This is a high quality title that I don't doubt many people will enjoy. But to me, while I overall enjoyed my time with it, if I were to rank my favourite Metroid games, Prime 4 would not be very high on that list. I only just beat it, so maybe the positives will become stronger in my head over time. But right now, while this game is no doubt good and worth playing, I also don't feel comfortable calling it anything more than just "good".

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 16, 2026, 11:29:38 am »

4. inbento (Mobile)



Fourth game down, and actually the first mobile game I've ever beaten. I almost never play mobile games, but I got this game on itch and it looked adorable, so I gave it a shot. And I quite liked it!

inbento is, at its core, a pretty simple puzzle game. You've got a bento box with some squares of food in it, a few tiles you can use to either put more food in the bento or move food around, and your goal is to recreate the pattern it asks you to. It's a pretty simple concept, I'm sure you can tell from a screenshot how it works. It's pretty addicting though. I quite enjoyed pulling out the game on the train or on the couch at home and finishing a few puzzles. Helped by the adorable plot of a small family of cats making bento, told through adorable illustrations you unlock as the game progresses. There are over 120 puzzles here. Some are really easy, others can get very tricky. But it's nothing impossible: there were only two puzzles I could not figure out on my own (at least, not before I finally gave up and looked up a hint).

This game is adorable and comfortable, and I'm glad to have played it! As someone who never plays mobile games, this was a reminder that there's a lot more on that market than the typical ad-filled dopamine-rushing Raid: Shadow Legends-type ordeal I think of when I hear the term. This game is available on platforms like Nintendo Switch and PC, but I actually recommend it on mobile. It's perfect for the platform.

Tip: Unfortunately on Google Play the game is tied to Crunchyroll for some reason, but the game is also available on itch, where after buying it you get an .apk file that you can install on your phone yourself. Also, did you buy the 2022 itch charity bundle for Ukraine, like me? Then you already own the game! So all the more reason to give it a try and show the creators some love 

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 08, 2026, 11:04:20 pm »

2. Chaos Faction*
3. Chaos Faction 2



Well these certainly weren't games I was planning to add to the list this year, but here we are. Chaos Faction is a Flash game from back in the day that I liked a lot as a kid. I remember beating it on a school computer, with a friend watching, and I felt so cool when I did. I was surprised to find that Chaos Faction and its sequel were ported to native PC and rereleased together as Chaos Faction Legacy Collection on Steam. Hell, I didn't even know Chaos Faction had a sequel. But for nostalgia's sake, I decide to give them both a go again. Flash games are odd in general: do they even count for this? Well, I say they do. Sure, many of them are 5-minute long crap, but there were also some genuine gems on Flash, sometimes with substantial amounts of content. And I don't see how Flash games are that different from bite-sized experiences that we still see on platforms like Steam, itch or even the Nintendo eShop nowadays. So as far as I'm concerned, they count.

Starting with Chaos Faction 1, I played through the game again, and usually when I play through games for the second time I do count them with an asterisk here, so that's what I'm doing. This is pretty much a 1-to-1 port of the original Flash game. Almost to a fault: they didn't even bother to include built-in controller or Steam Deck support, so I had to manually map the buttons. That's a bit cheap guys, but thankfully the game is simple enough that mapping the buttons is easy. Apart from that, the only difference is some music and sound effects which I'm assuming is because in the original release they didn't have the rights (I mean, it was still an online Flash game).

Chaos Faction is a platform fighter. You jump around, attack your opponent, and collect items to attack your opponent harder. It's pretty simple stuff, but for a Flash game in the mid-2000s, this was legitimately good. Among the endless piles of junk and extremely basic or repetitive stuff on Flash game sites at the time (or, well, the Flash game sites I frequented as a kid), this game was a breath of fresh air. It's hectic, but with some strategy and skill to it. However, you really need to see it in that context of Flash games of the time. If you're looking for a platform fighter, there are so many options out there nowadays that are far better. The campaign mode has 15 stages and I beat it in half an hour. It's fun to look back on and still pretty enjoyable to me, but if you're not nostalgic for it like I am, there's probably little here to make it worth searching out. (And let's be real, if you're curious, you can also just try it through Flashpoint first.)

It's sequel, Chaos Faction 2, I played through for the first time. It also only has 15 levels in its campaign mode so that also didn't take too long to beat. Compared to Chaos Faction 1, there are some clear improvements here. More variety in the challenges per level, there's actual hitstun this time, movesets are expanded a little, in addition of course to the new skins, stages and items. It's clear some effort and skill went into this, and it's probably objectively the better game. However, my views on it are similar to Chaos Faction 1: if you're not nostalgic for these titles, they probably won't wow you. There's some fun to be had in these games, for sure. Including in multiplayer. Some of the items, if aimed right, can be blunt 1-hit kills, which creates a fun chaotic dynamic of trying to run for them and creating some "What was that?!" moments. If you're looking for a smooth, fast, hectic game with Flash-feeling fun, this'll do the trick. But I just find it difficult to see people who don't know already know these games really fall in love them.

So yeah, Chaos Faction was fun to go back to, and I'm sure I will again in the future when I'm feeling nostalgic again. But should you search them out? Well, if you're nostalgic for the mid-2000s Flash game era, maybe give them a try through Flashpoint, or support the developers by buying it if you want to (I mean, I'm assuming they're getting a cut). But otherwise, eh, as much as I will always have a soft spot for these games, you'll probably be all right skipping these.

(Also, if you haven't heard of Flashpoint yet: it's an archival project intended to archive as many Flash-based games and applications as possible, and make them playable on modern hardware. Do check them out and support them, they do great work: https://flashpointarchive.org/ )

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 01, 2026, 10:17:03 pm »

1. Spyro the Dragon (Spyro Reignited Trilogy)

And that's the first game of the year beaten already: the remake of the original Spyro the Dragon, from the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. I started this game a few years ago, but I finished it just now. And well, sorry to start the year off on a negative note. I know the original Spyro and this remake are beloved, and I genuinely wanted to like it. But I'm sorry, I didn't. There's a reason I put the game down a few years ago. I found some parts to be fine, but in other parts it was tedious and finicky.

Some sections were outright annoying. I'm thinking of some precise glide jumps that I would repeatedly die to until I made them, with no idea of what I did differently. And the enemies you have to chase with your dash, they can get lost. I always had a little difficulty controlling Spyro, especially when it came to those long glides and in lining up my dash attacks. In some levels the game wasn't bad, but even there it also just never grabbed me. Many times when I died, I just didn't feel compelled to try again. I just wanted to stop playing and pick up something else.

It's a shame. I want to like this game. I love Spyro's character design. I like the idea of a world populated by cartoony anthropomorphic dragons. I know these games are beloved. But this game just did not do it for me. Funnily enough, the first Crash Bandicoot from the N. Sane Trilogy didn't either, so that's an extra thing Crash and Spyro share I suppose. Maybe Spyro 2 and 3 are better, that's possible, but I honestly do not feel compelled to pick them up right now. I've got other games in my backlog I'd much rather play than more of this.

Speaking of which, Metroid Prime 4, you're up.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 01, 2026, 10:00:49 pm »

All right! 2026 edition, let's go! Last year, I managed to beat 19 games, 17 of which for the first time (and one I beat twice). Not my highest score ever, but not bad. Let's see how I do this year!

Beat:

• Spyro the Dragon (Spyro Reignited Trilogy) [Switch]
• Chaos Faction [PC / Steam Deck]
• Chaos Faction 2 [PC / Steam Deck]
• inbento [Mobile]
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition [Switch 2]
• Sly Raccoon [PS2]

(Purple = started it last year or earlier)
(Orange = already beat it before)

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General / Re: December 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: December 17, 2025, 06:19:28 pm »

I did it. One of the crown jewels of stupid gaming accessories, is now in my collection. Behold: the BigBen Cyberbike (Magnetic Edition) for Wii. Half exercise bike, half GameCube controller.



I can't help it, I have a fondness for stupid gaming accessories. I learned about this thing well over 10 years ago, and it's always been on my brain. So I'm so happy to finally own one! One complete with the papers and game, and in really good condition no less. All I'm missing is the original cardboard box.

So this thing works both as a GameCube controller and as a bike in the included game. I tried the included game, and it's a slog. But the real fun was gonna be using this thing as a GameCube controller. Immediate problem: the pedals and turning the handlebars are mapped to inputs even in GameCube mode. This made playing Super Smash Bros. Melee on it really hard (that, and the handlebar input constantly going off center). But then I had an idea, and what I found made the whole purchase worth it all on its own: it works with Mario Kart. Just out of the box. The buttons are remappable, but I tried it with Mario Kart Wii and the default settings work. You turn the handlebars to turn and you freaking paddle to accelerate. This is hilarious. I'm dragging this thing to the gamerspace I frequent and gonna have a blast with this.

...Now to just figure out where the hell I'm gonna store it.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 11, 2025, 08:00:16 am »

A few months ago I purchased a uDraw GameTablet along with uDraw Studio: Instant Artist and Pictionary Plus. A few weeks later I got hold of an fat PS3 with funtioning disc drive, which enabled me to play my PS3-games again after almost 7 years. I love funky peripherals and started off trying out the GameTablet with uDraw Studio: Instant Artist, trying to get the platinum trophy to finish it. But after getting stuck with the mini games of this title, I switched over to trying out Pictionary Plus.

Omg, someone else who remembers the uDraw GameTablet, no way. I have the Wii version collecting dust on my shelf, but I did try it out. Cool to see someone else who loves odd peripherals!
I'm currently trying to get my hands on a Cyberbike. Half exercise bike, half GameCube controller. That would probably be the crown jewel of my stupid accessories collection. Looking forward to trying and reviewing that once I get one.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 07, 2025, 03:31:21 pm »

20. Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies

Also known as Sin and Punishment: Star Successor in NTSC regions. This is the Wii-sequel to the original Sin and Punishment for Nintendo 64. I never played the original, but this series always interested me. It just looked like a cool action game. So when I got the Wii game, I was excited to play it.

This is an on-rails shooter. You are moved along on a set track, on which you move around the screen and shoot at enemies. There are two playable characters, I played as Isa. This game feels very arcade-style in its setup, going from section to section. I had fun with it! I wouldn't say it's the most engaging thing I played this year, but the action held my attention well enough.

The game can be pretty difficult. I died a lot. Most of it felt like a good challenge though: I always felt like I could do it with enough tries and learning the patterns. Only the final boss drove me to points where it felt unfair, though spread over two evenings, I did manage to beat it. I played this game on normal difficulty with the Wii Classic Controller Pro. And with the sensitivity cranked up a bit, that worked fine. Though one tip: for the final phase of the final boss, swap to Wii Remote and Nunchuck. It made that final section significantly easier.

One thing I did find a little weak was the story. Clearly, with its arcade setup, that was just a backdrop for the levels to happen, but I still like there to be something I can latch on to. But I played the whole game and I still barely understand how this world works, what the villains wanted to do exactly and what the main characters even are. Maybe this gets established more in the first game? No idea. A shame, because I did really like this game's art direction. The characters and enemies all looked really cool. With a plot that was expanded on just a bit better, I think I could've fallen in love with this world.

Overall, I'd say the game was all right. If it established its world better, maybe I would've liked it more, but the gameplay was also just all right to me. Who knows, maybe bullet hell just isn't my genre. I liked it for what it was, but that's all I can give it. But still, if you're interested in this sort of game, I do recommend you give it a look. I can see that for some people, there's greatness in here.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a fresh new copy of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond with my name on it.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 02, 2025, 04:06:39 pm »

19*. Gori: Cuddly Carnage (hard difficulty)

Okay, this one may be cheating a bit, because I already beat Gori: Cuddly Carnage for the first time earlier this year on my Steam Deck. However, I really freaking love this game. Like, this is probably a top 5 game of all time for me, I love it that much. I won't even argue it's one of the most impressive games ever or anything: it's just the perfect game for me. Wacky, insane, campy over-the-top action. I loved it so much that I bought it again in physical form for the Nintendo Switch (which I had to get from Japan). And now on Switch, I've beaten the game again in hard difficulty, so I figured I might as well add it.

This game is part platformer part beat-'em-up/hack-'n-slash. As Gori, a cat, you zip around on your foul-mouthed hoverboard to traverse levels and slice up zombie unicorns and other monstrous toys. Controlling Gori feels great, both in platforming and in combat. The combat can get insanely hectic, to the point you can barely make out what's going on, but I can still feel what's happening, if that makes sense. I can compare it to Smash Bros.: once you learn to see through the chaos to process what's actually going on, it becomes an entirely different experience. The combat is all about zipping around your opponents, and knowing which enemies to take out or stun at which time to optimally take on the crowd. The toy-based enemies are beautifully imaginative, and just as grotesque as your takedown animations in which you make them explode in splatters of blood. I never get tired of pulling those off.

The only thing I'll say about the Switch version is that I encountered a couple of glitches. Twice I had to restart from a checkpoint because I glitched a required enemy or the boss out of the stage, and once the game crashed on me. Thankfully the game has a good checkpoint system so this was never a massive deal, but I do not remember this happening during my playthrough on Steam Deck/GOG. So that may be something to keep in mind. (Also, I played this on Switch 2, so I don't know if performance on Switch is different and/or worse.)

But still: I freaking love this game. It's crazy, campy over-the-top action, exactly how I like it. Especially coming from a small indie studio, this game is hugely impressive, and I cannot recommend it enough. Please go check it out. This game deserves a lot more attention than it gets and I need to see a sequel someday.

(Bonus fact: this physical Switch version also came with a poster of the main character Gori (again: "a cat on a hoverboard fighting [zombie] unicorns") flipping you off, which is now proudly framed on my wall.)

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 26, 2025, 05:16:23 pm »

18. Kirby Air Riders

The recently released Kirby Air Riders, is beaten! I've beaten the story mode's New Game+ campaign, which unlocks the true ending, and I've also unlocked all characters and vehicles. I never played the original Kirby Air Ride, but when this game was announced I was immediately intrigued. And when it was announced Masahiro Sakurai was once again directing, it was an instant pickup for me. Yes, he's a developer I have that much faith in, I'm just that big a fan of his work.

And it lived up to my expectations. Kirby Air Riders is a blast! Right from the start this game clearly has the Sakurai-action style to it. When you first pick it up, the wild action and effects are so overwhelming you can sometimes barely tell what you're doing, but that doesn't take away from the fun. And then once you get the hang of it and the game clicks in your mind, the gameplay becomes enthralling. I'm still not that great at the game, online I usually get my butt kicked, but every match I play, no matter what mode, I find myself focused in a zen-like state I otherwise only really get from, well, Smash Bros. (which is one of my favourite games ever btw). It's a blast.

The single player content admittedly isn't spectacular. The story mode is just a long series of challenges with little to tie them together. Now that on its own isn't a problem if you enjoy the gameplay enough, which I definitely do, but it's still primarily a long challenge run. But that's fine: Kirby Air Riders is fun solo, but is also clearly about the multiplayer. And I gotta say: I had an absolute blast with it on that front. A day after release, I took it with me to a weekly gamer hangout I go to, where we played it with a group. And it was insanely fun! Nobody had a clue what was going on, but we had a blast with it! I hope we can do more races in the future.

I can whole-heartedly recommend this game. If you're looking for a wild Smash Bros.-vibe-like multiplayer game, or if you've just seen the trailers and this looks interesting to you, give it a shot. I already feel like I want to hop back in, and I can definitely see myself coming back to this repeatedly for a good long while.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 18, 2025, 08:50:48 am »

16. Yoomp! [Atari 8-bit]



Another game from Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. Yoomp! is a game for Atari 8-bit computers, developed in 2007 by homebrew developers Marcin 'Eru' Żukowski, Łukasz 'X-Ray' Sychowicz, Bartek 'BeWu' Wąsiel and Piotr 'OxF' Fusik. It was included in Atari 50 both as a symbol of the homebrew community surrounding Atari systems, and as an example of how much the Atari 8-bit hardware was really capable of. And wow, yeah, this game really shows that off. I am super impressed that they got something like this running on Atari 8-bit hardware. I mean, just look at it! THIS butttery-smooth pseudo-3D title is running on the same platform as that choppy barely-playable Food Fight port??

But not only is Yoomp! technically impressive: it is also really fun to play! I think the best term I can give it is a rhythmic cylindrical platformer? You control the ball, bouncing through the cylinder. You can move it left and right, and it will move forward one square with every beat of the music (which is very catchy by the way). Different tiles will have different effects on the ball, like launching it over a tile, sending it sideways or warping it to the other side. Your goal is simple: make it to the end of the 21 levels.

It's really addicting! Most games in Atari 50 were games I was content trying out for a few minutes and then moving on from, but this one instantly hooked me. I just kept playing it until I beat it. This is without a doubt a highlight of the collection. Hats off to the developers.

You can download the game for free on the official website by the way, to emulate or to run on a real Atari 8-bit computer if you have one. And I recommend it! It's really fun! https://yoomp.atari.pl/

EDIT

17. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

So Atari 50 is a collection of games from across Atari's history, but it's also a digital museum tour with a lot of background information. I've decided to count finishing the museum tour as "beating" Atari 50 itself, and then counting all the games in the collection (when beatable) as separate entries. Hence why the last two games before this were games that were in this collection. So I've now finished the museum tour, and at least tried out every single game that's part of that tour.

Context: I'm from 1998, so I didn't grow up on Atari. However, I am of course aware of their impact and legacy, and ever since I was a kid, that did intrigue me. I remember once finding and playing an Atari machine (I think it was Centipede?) as a kid and just being fascinated by it. And as someone with interest in that history, I found this to be a joy. This game is filled with video interviews with some of the key people from Atari's history, along with scans of ads, behind the scenes documents, manuals, box art, artwork, etc. I think in that sense this title holds a lot of value, as a digital archive of those stories. I definitely enjoyed watching these interviews and looking at these images.

Since this is an entry about the whole title, I'll also briefly mention the game collection as a whole here. It's Atari. I think you can estimate from that what you think of it. It covers their entire history: arcade, 2600, 5200, 7800, 8-bit computers, Lynx, Jaguar and a few miscellaneous things. Of course you have your classics like Asteroids, Missile Command, Pong, Centipede, etc. You've got some cult classics too that this title makes easily accessible, like Tempest 2000. And there's some hidden gems in here too: Yoomp! was a standout for me. The modern reimagenings of titles are a nice touch too, even if I mainly just like the novelty.

However, let's also just be fair: a lot of Atari's library either just does not hold up or has never held up. A lot of the 2600 titles may have been good for the time, but have not aged well. And many of the titles for the Lynx and Jaguar were never good to begin with. Now granted, especially the older titles also need to be viewed through the lens of time. And Atari 50 isn't a simple rerelease: it's a digital museum of Atari's history. And in that context there's absolutely value in these games being preserved here. But if you're going to get into this title, I think you need to see it through that lens. As a look into history, a museum tour, rather than a compilation of games you all want to endlessly replay. And thus you need to be interested in that.

If you are though: I can recommend Atari 50. It was neat to learn about this essential part of gaming history, and to try out all of these classic titles. I'm not sure how often I'll come back to it, but who knows, there's some stuff in here that even decades later is still as addicting as ever.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 16, 2025, 04:18:59 pm »

15. Haunted House [Atari 2600]

I picked back up Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. My goal is to get through the museum mode (which I will consider its own game) and at least play every game in the collection. Not beat all of them, but at least try them out. (So yes, I beat this game emulated. I unfortunately don't have an Atari 2600 yet (but if you have one laying around, feel free to send it to me /j).

Now, this being an Atari collection, of course most games aren't gonna be beatable. If you know of a way to "beat" games like Pong, Breakout or Combat, please do let me know, but for this challenge I'm not going to be counting any of those. However, some of the games in this collection are beatable, Haunted House being one of them. Granted, within ten minutes, but still, I did it, and I'm gonna count it. At least, the game has nine different modes, with mode 9 officially being called "Ultimate Haunted House" and being the most difficult, but I now beat it on difficulty mode 3, and I'm going to consider that "beating" it and beating level nine "completing" it. That seems the most accurate to how "beating" and "completing" works nowadays, right?

Atari 2600 games are games you need to see through the lens of time. But seen through this lens, Haunted House is charming. It's a fun little challenge, and one of the first examples of survival horror it's also decently effective. If you're ever yearning for some Atari and haven't played Haunted House yet, it's worth a look. It's nothing to search out nowadays, but it's an admirable title for its time and I'd argue still holds more value than a lot of other Atari 2600 titles.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 15, 2025, 08:01:18 pm »

14. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed [PC/Steam Deck]

This game is not new to me: I first played it over 9 years ago. I enjoy it quite a lot, and I've often praised it as one of my favourite kart racers. However, despite that, I never actually "beat" the game. I know it's debatable what you even consider "beating" a kart racer, but I certainly hadn't yet done it with this one. So I now finally sat down and did it. I unlocked all of the characters, I beat all events in World Tour mode on at least Normal Difficulty (most on Hard or Expert), and I beat all Grand Prix cups on at least Normal difficulty. I think that all must count as beating it, right?

And yeah, I stand by what I said. This is a fantastic kart racer, and one of my favourites. I'm not sure I'd put it above Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it's definitely up there. This game feels very action-packed. You are driving over gorgeous tracks that dynamically alter as the race goes on, often taking tight turns and doing tricks in tight spaces to boost yourself forward as much as you can, shifting between three vehicle modes that require at least a non-trivial amount of rapid shifting in strategy. Races are a thrill. I will say it can be a bit jank sometimes, with it being easy to bump into walls or something get out of bounds, and I swear there are some tracks with corners that are just too tight for some character loadouts to take without hitting a wall. But overall, it feels great to play. It is also not easy. Mario Kart, at least against CPU's, I can almost always get first place no problem. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed? I have almost fourty hours in this game now (spread over 9 years but still), and it can still kick my ass. Beating everything on Expert difficulty is actuallly challenging (which is why I haven't 100% completed it yet). But I like that. It's annoying when you're just trying to finish some tasks, but in races, it's great.

If you enjoy kart racers and you have not played Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed before, you're missing out. Only thing I'll say is that I've heard reviewers say that the recent Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is apparently even better, but I haven't played that yet so I wouldn't know. But Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, I can whole-heartedly recommend.

15

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 04, 2025, 06:30:26 pm »

13. Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

A recently released game joining the list. And I really enjoyed this one!

As a kid I used to buy and play every mainline Pokémon game, from SoulSilver up to and including Sun, so safe to say I have a history with the series and a soft spot for it in my heart. Despite that, I did skip most Switch games. That includes Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I heard the gameplay was apparently really fun, but I could never get a feel for it from footage, and the historical setting just didn't appeal to me at all. Couple that with the performance issues, weak graphics and other stuff Pokémon was synonymous with at the time (remember Sword and Shield everyone?), and I decided to skip it. However, the setting of a modern city does really appeal to me, and this game looked a bit more polished. And with my last Pokémon game being 2022's Violet (which I enjoyed for what it was but it barely left an impact), I felt ready for another Pokémon adventure. And I'm glad that it ended up being Legends: Z-A!

I know the Pokémon series gets a lot of flak, especially nowadays, and I'm not gonna act like Legends: Z-A is a masterpiece. There's plenty to criticise, from the fairly monotonous city design to the at this point distracting lack of voice acting. But with this game, for me, that was all overshadowed by what it does right.

In case you don't know, the Pokémon Legends games ditch the turn-based approach of the classic games in favour of more real-time battles. You need to coordinate your Pokémon around, order it to perform moves, dodge attacks, switch out your Pokémon, keep track of move recharge timers, change your own positioning to dodge attacks yourself and change targets, all at the same time. I will admit that I have not really played a game with this type of combat before (I believe Monster Hunter and Xenoblade are supposed to be similar, but I'm not sure). But I found the battles really fun and engaging. Far more engaging than the turn-based Violet at least, and more engaging than I was expecting from the series at this point. It requires you to know your team and your strategies, and to react quickly. It's fun! As was catching Pokémon. Yes, the areas were kind of small and limiting, but the real-time catching and surprisingly tough wild Pokémon made the battles very enjoyable, and it was just a pleasure to find new creatures that I know and love.

In general this game's difficulty impressed me. It's still not hard at all, god no, especially not if you use healing items you buy  with the money the game showers you in. But there were a few times where the game made me flinch or clench my fist. It's not exactly complex for this type of game either, it's still Pokémon, but it does require you to at least know your basics and account for that in your team build if you want to get through.

All tied together by a plot that, while nothing special, did once again manage to engage me. I actually felt a little emotion once I reached the credits. Also just helped by my love for the series. I remembered my playthrough of Pokémon Y back when I was a teenager, and how it felt to explore this city and see my Pokémon in 3D for the first time. I went through this game with Braixen, Pangoro, Doublade, Starmie, Lopunny and Meganium, and they did start to feel like partners. Meganium especially reminded me of my very first Pokémon game where I traveled with a Chikorita turned Meganium too, and this Meganium started to feel like that very first Pokémon I ever had over 15 years ago.

Yes that may be nostalgia-drenched and sappy, but who cares? This is Pokémon, what do you expect? As genuinely enjoyable as I found the battles, of course my pre-existing love for these creatures and my familiarity with the series' mechanics played a role in my enjoyment. But what's wrong with that?

I genuinely enjoyed Pokémon Legends: Z-A. I almost want to pick it up again to go through the postgame, but we'll see whether I'll actually commit to that. I'm definitely keeping an eye on the Legends subseries from now on though. I just beat it so I'm gonna have to let the game sink in for a bit, but this may even be my preferred form of Pokémon from now on. If you're not already a Pokémon fan and you're familiar with this type of game, I doubt this game is going to impress. It's no masterpiece, it's not gonna wow you, and objectively it doesn't hold a candle to other AAA-games in this genre you can get at the same price (even if those are also probably less accessible). But if you already like Pokémon, you like the setting and you're urging for a new Pokémon journey, I'd say this game is worth considering.