This has to be one of the most boring concepts for a game that I've experienced. The core gameplay centers around matching audio samples with a number of provided samples that have been distorted and need to be correctly tuned using the crank, which turns out to be about as exciting as taking an exam. This truly felt like it belongs in a music theory class, which makes it a terribly dull gameplay experience. The story starts out interesting but rapidly devolves into drivel which offers no compelling reason to continue drudging through the horrendous puzzle sections. Truly one of the most mind numbing games I've had the displeasure of experiencing.

Chained Echoes has so much to like while also managing to feel unpolished in many other ways. It's genuinely impressive how much one person has created here, with a strong art direction, a solid story, and some great music as well. The battle system is the area that I take the most issue with. The ovedrive / overheat system is cool in theory, but ends up resulting in more micromanagement than necessary, often getting in the way of strategies by requiring random moves to reduce the heat bar. The Sky Armor battles feel even worse, given there are fewer ways to manage the heat bar. On top of this, too many bosses have the ability to act multiple times per turn, creating some scenarios that feel truly unfair. Despite these quirks, I did enjoy Chained Echoes a good bit, but it wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been.

I missed Pikmin back on the GameCube and have been intending to catch up on this series for years, so finally playing this I see what captivated players back in 2001. Pikmin is charming and unique, especially for a console RTS. That said, 2001 was nearly 25 years ago so some mechanics have aged somewhat poorly. The Pikmin themselves path quite poorly as they follow you, which can be frustrating, and the game can sometimes feel clunky to control. Additionally, the final boss felt unfairly difficult compared to the rest of the game. In spite of this aging, the game still holds up and was a blast to play through.

With The Crew's servers going down in less than two weeks, I felt compelled to play through the campaign before it goes away forever. My expectations were fairly low coming in, and The Crew was actually even more boring than I thought I'd find it. I did find the massive map to be impressive and driving through it could sometimes be zen-like, but the campaign events are repetitive and the plot is threadbare. The entire game feels pointless and boring as a result, with little reason to play event after event. The multiplayer aspects also appear to be shoehorned, though I didn't experience it directly.

Wendy: Every Witch Way feels like a prototype for WayForward's future game Mighty Flip Champs, so I wasn't surprised when I looked it up to find that it was actually the inspiration for that later game. This game is charming and looks amazing for a Game Boy Color game, but it's definitely lacking in challenge or longevity. It seems like the developers could have gotten a lot more creative with the stage design given their flipping mechanic (and they later would), but they mostly played it safe here.