Game in Hand

While originally this was going to be the hardest crashing out games I've ever done, it's closer to a full games list of games I tried to force myself to enjoy, or did enjoy until developers/publishers ruined it for everyone. No low hanging fruit on this one like your Veilguards or e-sport shooters. These are all games I bought or was able to play with the intention of loving and then got scarred so deeply, I can recall my disdain in a moments notice. I think if you stopped the episode at the honourable mention, I'd get it. Some people like me are just criminally insane but walk in daylight pretending to be normal.

Face design? C+. Gameplay? A++. Average? hopefully an A-. I think we have a pretty strong May and June, then stuck waiting until August and September before I can see myself targeting some day 1 purchases. November GTA6 release is still the dooms day for other games but in our upside down world, even used consoles are going up in price. So probably a pass for me.

I think coop reignited my love for simple deck building roguelikes. I did a solo run to start and felt like "not this again", and then suddenly having a group of people succeeding or sucking kinda finding a healthy balance as you try and make your run work. The love of RNG might be the factor if you love or hate this game but I've spent nearly 3 times the playtime of the original and feel I got way more value out of STS2.

Struggling through the initial few hours definitely gets you set for upgrade combos later on but if the intended difficulty isn't your jam, you can pump up your damage dealt or ramp down damage taken if you just want to get a win for once. I did like the longer burn before I felt comfortable getting near azra every run, but the more you skill up, the easier it is to get there every time. A very fun game.

Not sure how a capcom game made it into nextfest demo front page but I guess you do what you gotta do. Probably over exaggerating but the selection of less than quality titles seems a lot higher this year. It definitely took a few days for the good titles to work their way to the top thanks to the steam community digging deep.

I think at this point they could add a 2026 honda civic as a playable character in diablo, and my primary response will still be "Okay... maybe I should go try and see what changes they made to my paladin and sorc?". The warlock is unnecessary pay to fun but I can give credit where credit is due. They made me pay full price for a game I bought 5 years ago and still makes me think path of diablo and project diablo 2 needed my $30 instead.

Some mixed signals in there with the story. But overall a very fun and playful atmosphere borrowing from some very strong themes. Easy recommendation in my books for any Paper Mario series fan.

January off to a slow start for new games, and really, we could just be carrying on games from 2025 and still be in really good shape. February will size up better but for now, a lot of old junk is landing in xbox game pass ultimate.... not so ultimate calibre.

Seasons greetings friends. I can't remember the last time made a >1hr episode, so bare with me for the mega finale of 2025. A lot of content, a lot of feelings in reflection, a lot of comments, a lot of games. It was a strong year for all walks of gaming. Maybe we can thank GTAVI for being perpetually pushed as studios cracked the whip to get games released early this year. But that's it for me this year, cheers.