There is nothing better than the sense of accomplishment you get when completing a FromSoft game. At this point we all know FromSoft games for their unforgiving difficulty and Elden Ring is no exception. However, it never feels cheap or unfair. No death is a failure and is instead a lesson. Despite being stuck at certain points for a significant amount of time, each death motivated me to improve and come back stronger until I finally came out victorious. It's these personal experiences and the stories/memories I now have from overcoming these brutal challenges that makes Elden Ring and other games like it so special. It is a perfect example how video games have the ability to tell a story in a way that a book or film can't. There is nothing like the storytelling in these games and I thank Elden Ring for reminding me why I fell in love with video games in the first place.

I thought Cultic was essentially theft when I paid just ten bucks for it but I just beat Zortch and it was only five dollars. I didn’t even hear anything about Zortch until the Steam Top 250 curator added it to their hidden gem category. The game deserves more love because this is in the upper echelon of quality of indie boomer shooter throwbacks. Zortch takes aesthetic and mechanic inspiration from the later 90’s shooters such as Quake 2, Turok 2, and most of all the original Unreal, and I think it exceeds them.

The level design hits the ideal of what I want these throwbacks to have with multiple ways to approach. Secrets are actually super reasonable and are mostly keeping an eye out in the environment for stuff like vents. I don’t even think this game has a map but I didn’t even need it the level design was such quality. There's strong enemy variety and the basic alien grunts are actually rather smart, their AI akin to the enemies of Unreal. They will jump around to try and get the high ground on you or flank you and they will shoot you through chainlink any chance they get. Unlike Unreal though this isn’t frustrating because they aren’t constantly juking all your shots. The weapons are mostly standard but are solid. Admittedly I didn’t even realize that the guns had alt-fire modes until I was in the final episode, which fixed some of the problems I had with the guns like how super bouncy the basic grenade launcher shot is.

The narrative is essentially non-existent until an infodump at the end of the game, but that’s not really a detriment for a game like this. The game also doesn’t have much in the way of a soundtrack, instead having more ambient sounds for most of the game. This does work as it adds to the atmosphere, but man games like Cultic and Dusk have just spoiled me on rad soundtracks.

As I’ve said Zortch needs more recognition, as it is, alongside Slayers X, one of the best throwback shooters that have come out this year.

this game has crack house vibes. blockbuster rental vibes. "at your friends' house and his mom made you play this because she says you were playing Mortal Kombat for too long" vibes.

i hate the lifelessness of it. i hate the character models, expressions unwavering, proportions terrifyingly off-model, simultaneously human-like and not-so. i hate their faces and how most of them are just poorly mapped textures that don't change expression. i hate how the ghosts take up 4 different roster slots but have the same stats. i hate that Butt Ugly Martians looking alien. i hate how the character voices sound like muffled screams coming from inside a mascot costume. i hate the corny music with shoehorned namco melodies. i hate that this is like, the highest rated pac-man world game on this site. most of all, i hate that i had fun with it and there's nothing mechanically or structurally unsound that i can fault it for. great value cheese puffs type game. pool birthday party for your classmate that you aren't really friends with but he invited the whole class anyway type game. this game smells like mcnuggets

In Sound Mind is an extremely creative game that my brother and I stumbled across this Halloween. I wouldn't class it as a horror game, instead I'd say it has some horror elements. There are definitely moments that will make you jump as the game likes to mess with you. Just don't go into it expecting a pure horror experience as you might be disappointed.

The majority of the game focuses on puzzles and does a pretty good job with them for the most part. I didn't find any of them too hard but at the same time they weren't too hand holdy either. I thought the lengh was just right. New tools are introduced throughout the game which help keep the gameplay fresh so I never found myself getting bored. In Sound Mind also has a unique spin when it comes to it's bosses. Instead of just fighting a boss at the end of an area, they stalk you at times during the level, keeping you on edge the whole time.

Expected very little going into this but it has ended up being one of the top games I've played this year. Definitely give it a go.

I always enjoy returning to games I failed to complete when I was a kid. Out of all of these games Toy Story 2 was certainly at the top of this list.

There is something about exploring normal locations as a toy that I love, the way you use everyday objects to navigate each level is so much fun. All of the areas are full of creativity and charm but still manage to feel real and believable.

Graphics in video games have improved remarkably since the release of Toy Story 2 but for a PS1 game it still looks great. It manages to capture the magic of the Toy Story world perfectly. I still have no idea why but the copy we had back in the day was for some reason in black and white. If you've played the game you'll know there is a paint mixing puzzle early on and yes this was painful to complete without any colour! Being able to replay it all these years later with colour made me appreciate it even more.

I'd argue this is one of the best movie tie-in games, that doesn't mean I think it's perfect but for a movie tie-in game on the PS1 it does everything it needs to and so much more. I know the main complaint is its awkward platforming at times but for me I enjoyed the challenge. Managing to complete these sections and the whole game for the first time made it so much more satisfying as I could never do it all those years ago. I enjoyed returning to Toy Story 2, I can happily tick this one off the list. Definitely give it a go if you haven't already.

I haven't really explored the world of point-and-click adventure games so I wasn't sure what to expect when I started Broken Sword. It didn't take long to realise I'd made a good choice.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars has a captivating story that had me hooked from the start. It has some great humour and is full of personality. It is so much fun interacting with the different characters throughout the story.

I am so happy I decided to give it a go, it was a nice change of pace for me. What makes it even better is that there are more Broken Sword games to try,  I can't wait to play them all.