One of the first memories I have of intaking the internet's opinion on games is learning that Wii Music, a game that I loved before I could put it into words, was nearly universally criticized and made fun of. And while I intentionally avoid playing Wii Music for fear of realizing that my nostalgia is hiding a pretty underwhelming experience, I've never forgotten the feeling that game gave me - a feeling that adult me, for the first time, got through Trombone Champ.

Trombone Champ is an extremely goofy game, to some pretty high highs, like some really great jokes, and some pretty low lows, like the requirements to beat the game pretty much just being random. But, when you actually get into the gameplay, it's just so much fun to play. It's not a rhythm game that you could sink your teeth into for months on end, and the actual music played doesn't always, or usually, sound that great - but the approach towards appreciation for the fun of playing is so immensely rewarding.


It's pretty easy to get custom songs downloaded too, and, while some people create not so fun tracks, when you find a song you love with an actually fitting track - it creates such a rhythmically terrific time. Definitely a game I'll return to a bunch, as the catalogue of songs, both official and unofficial, continue to grow.

9/10
Game #30 of 2024, May 16th

It's been a while I was this excited for a game - and it lived up to that feeling.

Crow Country isn't a perfect game, as there is a complete lack of difficulty on the both the combat/puzzle side, with the combat especially being less than interesting, which obviously leaks into all parts of the experience. But, outside of that, everything else is pretty much perfect. The story is well written with a neat concept and a couple of fun twists, the PS1 graphics are just stunning, the music is terrific, (to the point where I'm excited about the soundtrack releasing), and the entire experience is so obviously lovingly crafted by people who understand survival horror.

Moving forward, while it's perhaps not the best of the genre, it's hard to think of a more beginner friendly, yet still amazing, intro to this style of survival horror. Definitely wish it was a bit longer, but would much rather be left wanting more than sick of it all by the end. Truly such a memorable time, and one that I'll definitely revisit.

9/10
Game #29 of 2024, May 15th

It's been a while I was this excited for a game - and it lived up to that feeling.

Crow Country isn't a perfect game, as there is a complete lack of difficulty on the both the combat/puzzle side, with the combat especially being less than interesting, which obviously leaks into all parts of the experience. But, outside of that, everything else is pretty much perfect. The story is well written with a neat concept and a couple of fun twists, the PS1 graphics are just stunning, the music is terrific, (to the point where I'm excited about the soundtrack releasing), and the entire experience is so obviously lovingly crafted by people who understand survival horror.

Moving forward, while it's perhaps not the best of the genre, it's hard to think of a more beginner friendly, yet still amazing, intro to this style of survival horror. Definitely wish it was a bit longer, but would much rather be left wanting more than sick of it all by the end. Truly such a memorable time, and one that I'll definitely revisit.

9/10
Game #29 of 2024, May 15th

Scars Above is an indie game that tries to feel AAA, to some mixed results.

On the one hand, there are some really fun gameplay moments tucked in here, as most of the encounters feel like a genuine tug-of-war between you and your opponent - at least, towards the beginning. The first hour or so is actually pretty difficult even on normal difficulty, as you have very limited resources to take on these huge beasts, culminating in this really fun first boss - a boss that the game then pretty much reuses over and over and over again, including in the [SPOILER]hilariously anticlimactic final[/SPOILER] battle, and never again to the same level of enjoyment. And while some of this comes from the fact that it's just not as enjoyable to redo stuff, a large part it comes from the abilities in this game, as fun and creative as they are, turn this game into a complete snooze fest. Use any of the best 3 abilities on any of the enemies and it'll probably just give you the win.

The story is pretty good though, especially if you can get past the resolution drop in cutscenes and a complete lack of lip-sync. It doesn't blow you away with ridiculously neat concepts, but, for a sci-fi story in this type of game, it's got enough cool ideas to carry it's 6 hour length. The voice acting too, while not given any terrific moments, is more than serviceable, with the main character, Kate, especially being pretty great.

Overall, I like Scars Above, but it definitely feels like it came out ~15 years ago, and could have used a bit more playtesting to balance the game a little more, and try to sustain the 'horror-survival-esque' gameplay of the opening chapter. I hope they take another crack at this though, as the ending does certainly allow for sequels, as a game filled with Scars Above's best moments would be absolute terrific - but what we got was also pretty good.

7/10
Game #28 of 2024, May 12th

Scars Above is an indie game that tries to feel AAA, to some mixed results.

On the one hand, there are some really fun gameplay moments tucked in here, as most of the encounters feel like a genuine tug-of-war between you and your opponent - at least, towards the beginning. The first hour or so is actually pretty difficult even on normal difficulty, as you have very limited resources to take on these huge beasts, culminating in this really fun first boss - a boss that the game then pretty much reuses over and over and over again, including in the [SPOILER]hilariously anticlimactic final[/SPOILER] battle, and never again to the same level of enjoyment. And while some of this comes from the fact that it's just not as enjoyable to redo stuff, a large part it comes from the abilities in this game, as fun and creative as they are, turn this game into a complete snooze fest. Use any of the best 3 abilities on any of the enemies and it'll probably just give you the win.

The story is pretty good though, especially if you can get past the resolution drop in cutscenes and a complete lack of lip-sync. It doesn't blow you away with ridiculously neat concepts, but, for a sci-fi story in this type of game, it's got enough cool ideas to carry it's 6 hour length. The voice acting too, while not given any terrific moments, is more than serviceable, with the main character, Kate, especially being pretty great.

Overall, I like Scars Above, but it definitely feels like it came out ~15 years ago, and could have used a bit more playtesting to balance the game a little more, and try to sustain the 'horror-survival-esque' gameplay of the opening chapter. I hope they take another crack at this though, as the ending does certainly allow for sequels, as a game filled with Scars Above's best moments would be absolute terrific - but what we got was also pretty good.

7/10
Game #28 of 2024, May 12th

Just because Solar Ash could have been better, doesn't mean that it's not great.

At its core, Solar Ash is a movement based Shadow of the Colossus, that somehow looks even better. It even has the same type of twist, (although Solar Ash's ending, which is so easily the best part of the game, does enough different from SotC to appreciate them equally and separately). Of course, while there are benefits to being similar to such a beloved game, it's hard to not immediately draw comparisons between the two.

On the one hand, when it's at its best, Solar Ash is as fun any really any game can get. Most of the boss fights reach this height, with the final pair being just unbelievably good, as you just zip all around with a really great move set. Visually too, this game is so beautiful, with the stunning colors and terrific sequences being a constant.

Unfortunately, this game does struggle in one key compartment, which is its attempt to recreate 'Team Ico'-esque simplicity. The game makes the decision to not really explain most of its concepts, something that causes a bit of confusion as you just go around hitting stuff until something happens, but something that does increase immersion. The problem with this though, is that this immersion is immediately destroyed by the inherent 'gamey' ness of this game, with health upgrades and glowing weak points and everything. At parts of Solar Ash, it feels like you get the worst of both worlds, as you struggle to figure out what to do, while also feeling like there's a layer in between you and the story.

Speaking of which, the story is... overall fine. There is a ton of dialogue, (especially if you go for the side quest stuff,) all of which having pretty rough voice acting. There are a couple of twists at the end that I did really enjoy though, and it's the type of story where you can kind of forget about the boring first 90% because the ending is just that solid. Definitely a moral at the end that'll rumble around your brain for a bit.

Overall, Solar Ash is a weird game to talk about, as there are so many parts of it that are truly fantastic, but you still unfortunately spend about half your time either looking for the next fun bit, or reading mountains of dialogue. Still, if you can sit through some somewhat boring stuff, and you allow yourself to struggle while learning the game's rhythm, there's a really good core here.

7/10
Game #27 of 2024, May 10th