The sky is blue, the leaves are sprouting, and the birds are chirping. I can’t believe Spring is here, and my blog turned 8 years old! Thanks, WordPress, for the notification. I forgot my own blog’s birthday.
This year feels like I have been reading more, and I like it that way. It’s more calming with a cup of tea–even the games I am playing are less demanding. I completed TheCount of Monte Cristo, which I started reading in late December. I could have finished the book sooner, but I was reading other things in between. During that time, I also started reading Claymore, themanga. As for Monster, I stopped at volume 4. I will resume once I have finished the other books. I didn’t like jumping from one book to the next. I realized this method didn’t work for me. I like to take my time to stop and think what I’ve read.
After reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I am going to read something shorter.
On top of my reading list, I have added Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, and Wuthering Heights. I have yet to read all three books by the Brontë sisters. It’s my way of celebrating International Women’s History Month.
Game Update
I have been eying Undernaunts Labyrinth of the Yomi for a long time… Thanks to my fiancé, I received it as a gift. The problem with Undernaunts physical copy for the PS5 is that I heard there is a bug that prevents players from progressing. I am not sure if it has been fixed as of 2026. Well, I suppose I will have to try! Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it anymore to buy physical copies. I am sure the Switch version is worth it for gamers who like collecting physical copies.
Instead of being an astronaut, you play as an undernaut. The title is clever.
In addition to my gaming collection, I am currently playing PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse. So far, I am not liking it as much. The reviews on Steam’s page are over hyped. I wonder if Square Enix staff wrote some of those positive reviews to boost sales. It is a bit disappointing for the price, but I will shut my mouth and try to complete the game. I believe I am near the end.
Stop lying. It’s about the money…
It’s all right. I am not all that angry. We all know these days, everyone is feeling the blow of inflation except for the delusional 1%. But my wallet hurts when I play a subpar adventure game. For $24.99, you could buy several adventurous horror games out there for the price of one during Steam’s sale. I remember for $1.99, I had a blast with The Cat Lady. This visual novel feels like reading an encyclopedia on the historical context surrounding Japanese mermaids. And the over the top theatrical character’s animation is not cutting it. It’s annoying.
Oh, I sure appreciate the subtle insult. Once again another game poking fun at its audience.
That’s a wrap up for my Spring reading and gaming update as of March. Until next time, be well.
This is the fourth time I’ve played the game back to back. By now, I recall all the puzzles and the locations of the enemies. I love it so much that I am going to shoot for 100 percent! It might take me the entire year or more, since I don’t want to get burnt out because that will ruin the joy. However, I played the game enough to finally write a proper review. The gameplay is as addictive as Dark Souls to me! The lack of item boxes and the Resident Evil “report card” at the end make me want to become better at the game. It can be quite the sport.
Rank A on Normal Mode
A lot of people complained about the lack of item boxes. Having to haul your items because each character only has 6 slots to carry. Some items, such as the shotgun and the crossbow, take up two slots! Although I think part of my frustration comes from not knowing whether I should keep the items with me when I move on to the next area. That was me being greedy. On a side note, I do want to point out that the level difficulty determines item’s availability. On hard mode, there wouldn’t be a need to haul items since it’s scarce. However, this is bad if you run out of ammo towards the final boss!
I do feel the pain having to haul these items but it didn’t bother me too much.
Once I memorized the game layout and its sequence, I became more efficient. For instance, right before moving on from the training facility to the lab, I made sure that Rebecca was equipped with the crossbow because I didn’t want to backtrack and face the aggressive monkeys. They do re-spawn once an event has passed. I tried to avoid at all costs to conserve ammo and herbs. More importantly, save time. The longer you take to complete the game, the more it will hurt your rank.
I forget to mention that there is a limit to how many items you can leave.
In normal mode, it takes two shotgun shells to take down each hunter; one acid grenade for each spider; and one standard handgun bullet on each zombie if you aim for the head. Also, it’s not always necessary to shoot enemies if you don’t need to–like the leech man. Just run around it quickly.
The limited herbs also made it difficult to navigate, since Rebecca takes more hits than Billy. So here is where I had to strategize. Let Billy clear the path since he is more of a tank character. Rest assured, Rebecca is not a useless weak character. There will be time for her to shine. Not only is she skilled at mixing herbs, but she didn’t abandon Billy when she had the chance to, despite knowing he is a convict.
Billy rescuedRebecca many times, in the end, it was her turn to save him.
Great teamwork.
Lastly, I want to talk about the puzzles. I didn’t have to look up online once on how to solve them. It made the gameplay experience seamless. For me, the most frustrating thing to me in a game are cryptic puzzles like the ones in Goetia and Song of Horror.
Visual and Sound
The cherry on top of this game is the atmosphere and the sound. I feel so relaxed playing the game. As I mentioned in one of my posts, the sound of switching items between two characters is like ASMR to me. The train area is my favorite, and I wish it is longer because I enjoy the sound of the pouring rain, and the scenes are just stunningly beautiful, but you can say the same goes for the rest of the game. The training facility has an ominous, evil presence, but the lighting makes it so calming.
Marveling at the equipmentin the Training Facility.
The yellow and blue is so nice. What an artistic lab.
Taking the trainfrom lab to Treatment Plant.
Factoryelevator after defeating Tyrant. Red light =dangerous.
I like the green light reflection on the wall in the Treatment Plant.
All of the area was beautiful to me. I took over 300 screenshots!
Final Thoughts
Whenever I play a good game, I feel happy. It gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day or in the early morning. I love video games that make me feel alive, especially one that is strategic but not overly complex. Resident Evil 0 is my favorite game from the franchise. I guess to some people I have bad taste, but more so, I think I prefer something that has some technical limitations but is methodical. I wouldn’t like Resident Evil 0 as much if it did have an item box. It’ll remove the challenge and make it like any other survival horror game. Resident Evil 0 is unique. To me, it’s a good thing.
Time is precious. And time is wasted when you are doing something you don’t enjoy. What better way to spend time with something that gives you a little cheer and excitement? My two main hobbies are books and video games, but sometimes I feel like I’m overgeneralizing these two interests. There is a specific genre of book I like to read, and a specific videogame genre I like to play — one that is perfectly catered towards my personality. I feel like I have found a good balance.
With that being said, I am very happy with the books I am currently reading, and I am so excited to add more to the list! Meanwhile, I have also made a list of video games that I am interested in playing! At first, I started playing Demon’s Souls (Ps3), but I realized I couldn’t capture pictures because I didn’t have a capture card. So I put the game aside for now. While playing Demon’s Souls, I recalled reading an interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki, who said Demon’s Souls was inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, which prompted me to wonder what has genDESIGN been up to? Lo and behold!
GenDesign’s Untitled game
Being a fan of Shadow Colossus, ICO, and The Last Guardian, I know I am going to play a good game. The trailer looks amazing!
Another game that I am interested in is Duskbloods, which happens to be an exclusive Switch 2 game. Now, I get the feeling I will be getting myself a Switch 2. I don’t know, though. Over the years, I had grown somewhat tired of FromSoftware games and its vocal fan base. Playing challenging games for the sake of challenge is not my cup of tea. Hopefully, FromSoftware doesn’t forget players like me who play for the environment. If I do become a Switch 2 owner, that would give me an excuse to play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, as well as other awesome titles.
There are plenty of other games I find interesting, but I highly doubt I will get to play them. For example, I am interested in adding PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse.
I played the first installment and appreciate the overall game’s craftsmanship. The art is pretty. The story is also interestingly funny even though it’s a horror visual novel. You could read my honest review here, if you haven’t already: PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo Review–I Found A Good Soap. I was laughing the entire time when I was writing the review. I wonder if readers can tell?
Another game I am interested in adding to my collection is Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. There’s a demo for Kunitsu-Gami, if you are curious. It’s a beautiful and strategic game. I don’t think there is a physical copy, but if you are interested in playing something new by Capcom, it’s worth checking out. I probably will get my copy on PSN because it’s still on sale until March 12, 2026. Although I am sure the Steam version will go on sale again eventually.
I suppose I should have titled this blog post Games I Want to Play in 2026 because I already made one for books for this year. However, the entire point was that I found a way to refine my hobbies. Am I going to force myself to complete games and books as if I am on a tight deadline? No. I do what I can without pressure; become more selective of how I spend my time; and play a game based on my mood. This approach makes me happier. As the saying goes, “The tree that bends doesn’t break.”
Now I go to go deal with the Tyrant in Resident Evil Remasted 0…He looks like he spends way too much time in the sewer. Whew, he stinks! Someone could use a good soap.
I had no intention of adding games to my digital game collection, but sometimes, on a whim, I would make a purchase. I purchased two games: Resident Evil 0 Remastered and Ni no Kuni II Revenant Kingdom. There was nothing in my Steam library that I was in the mood for. Sometimes changing games it’s like changing a wardrobe. And so, I picked Resident Evil 0 to play at night. A game with good sound effects is like a massage for the brain.
I have played Resident Evil 0 on the GameCube back in the day, and I loved it, so this is not my first time playing the game. However, there is something about playing it when you are older. You see things differently. You start to pay attention to game design and learn why you liked it back then. For me in particular, I like a good, balanced game. And there is nothing more balanced between two characters, Billy Coen and Rebecca Chamber. They make a really good team.
Bad boy and a girl good always make a classic tale because it’s not always about romance, but about learning to get along.
“The name is Rebecca Chamber, but that’s Officer Chamber to you.” – Rebecca Chamber.
I really like that line. Actually, of all the female Resident Evil characters, I have always liked Rebecca the most. She is just relatable because she is brainy. So, I was always happy that Capcom made her the star in this survival horror game.
Sometimes I like to read reviews on the Steam page to see what others are saying about a video game, and it made me chuckle. The landscape of modern games has changed over the course of time due to vocal gamers. But that’s partially my fault. As a kid from the 90s, I was never the vocal type who gladly fill out the marketing questionnaire letter located in the sleeve of a video game case. I just thought games were a boy’s club only, especially when developer keep assuming the player is a little boy with a controller. The only reason why I know so many great titles is because of my brother, who happened to be my best friend growing up. Let’s just say my mother was on the stricter side when it comes to having friends outside of school hours.
So let’s talk about the gameplay, why it works for me and not for some “macho gamers”. For those who don’t know, art direction and the overall aesthetic of a game matter to me. The cinematic cutscenes just pull me in. I like a good suspense. I feel alerted. Something is not right about this train. Let’s go, Rebecca. Let’s go shoot some zombies in the head! Although I must confess, my aim is pretty bad. There is no assist aiming mode like in the new remakes! It has been a long time since I played this type of shooting game. I do miss it, surely. Games were harder back then.
I like the lighting and the color contrast.
Not only is the sound effect superb, but the clicking sound from switching in the game menu from partner to partner is also so relaxing. I like how it makes me feel like it is a co-op game, but it’s not a real co-op since you are the only player who is controlling these two characters. It’s a unique gameplay that relies on the player to switch from character to character to solve a puzzle. The gameplay is kind of romantic since both cannot survive without each other.
If you start on easy mode, there will be more items for you to carry. I didn’t like it, so I switched to normal mode and replayed the game. You only need enough to survive, and a little caution is good. It intensifies the experience and makes us a wiser player. What I appreciate is that you can use the herb without putting it into your inventory. It saves slots for other items. If you picked up too many items, you will run out of slots, and so you have to drop them. The problem is that when you drop them, they can easily get misplaced, especially if you saved the game and come back the next day!
There is a lot of backtracking, which relies on your memorization skills. I was shocked to hear that some people didn’t like that… Too slow, too boring? What do they expect, The House of the Dead? Actually, I like The House of the Dead, it’s one of the first-person view games that doesn’t make me sick! Well, maybe it’s because I don’t play arcade games for hours as I do at home, as if it’s a part-time job. Anyway, RE0 is A+ to me without making me cringe. So often, cute characters in video games are portrayed as some weird eye candy. Luckily, Rebecca has a brain and can hold a gun. She doesn’t look too bad either in the DLC cheerleader outfit. In fact, she is cheering for Capcom.
Well, I wish I had more to say, but that’s my thoughts for now. The rain is just so beautiful, don’t you think?
I remember reading somewhere before the release of Song of Horror that Protocol Games wanted to make a true survival horror. My initial thought at the time was let’s see if they can genuinely make a good one. Personally, I haven’t come across that many horror games I considered great by indie developers (maybe I need to play more). The ones I liked were Detention and Soma, but even then, they didn’t leave an everlasting impression on me. And so, I was pleasantly surprised with this game. Not only did the developers achieve in building a suspenseful, tense horror game, but they also weave a good story into the gameplay without making it convoluted. The gameplay is also highly addictive.
Synopsis
On one Friday evening, as soon as Daniel Noyer comes home after a long day at work, his boss from Wake Publishing phoned him on the whereabouts of Sebastian Husher who happens to be an acclaimed, historical fiction author, and the shiny star of the publishing firm. Not only is the author missing but his manuscript has passed the deadline! Daniel, annoyed being as the errand boy, has no choice but to pay a visit to the Husher’s residency. From there, he finds the place abandoned with an eerie music box playing in the background. This mysterious tune will determine his fate. Will he find the missing author and the manuscript? Will he get his promotion that he so deserved?
Daniel is driving up to the Husher’s Mansion to retrieve the manuscript.
Gameplay
There are four difficulty settings: E.T.A. Hoffmann, M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft. Even though the game recommends players to start on Edgar Allan Poe, I switched over to the easiest so I could learn how to play the game. Once I become comfortable with QTEs (also referred to mini games) and the puzzles, I move up a level. The reason is because on Edgar Allen Poe, the player will experience more permadeaths and encounter more QTEs than M.R. James mode. It can get annoying fast when you are trying to progress the storyline. With the easiest setting (E.T.A. Hoffmann), you could restart at a checkpoint without losing a character permanently. However, if you pick Daniel, you will have to restart the episode regardless of the difficulty settings because he is the main character. So, be mindful on which characters you choose to play on the harder settings. Not all characters are created equal, but they balance each other out.
If you look at his serenity attribute, he is not good at staying quiet when facing The Silence in episode II, but his strength is strong for blocking the doors.
Daniel has an overall balanced attribute, but even playing as him, I struggled blocking the door from the menacing entity.
As mentioned earlier, I take baby steps first until I familiarize myself with the structure of the game. The game will punish impatient players. Making loud, stomping sound will trigger QTE, which means potentially dying and losing game progress. As for the puzzles, some of them are difficult. For instance, the description to break the code in episode V is vague. All it has are some doodle drawings and a sentence that reads: “From highest to lowest, the seven numbers in the photo.” At first in my mind, I tried to match 7 numbers to 5 drawings. Now that I think about it, I can see the thought process. There are 7 people total, 6 in white suits, 4 standing up, 3 sitting down, 3 wearing glasses, 3 with mustache, and 1 in black suit. The code is 7643331.
Creepy doctors!
I was surprised that I didn’t need to complete the game on the reccomended difficulty setting. Once I completed the game on M.R. James mode, the H.P. Lovecraft mode becomes available. It’s there for those who want a challenge. Indeed, it’s challenging. Pressing the button to control your breath, heart rhythm and block the door will leave you panting. If you are hardcore, go for it, but it’s going to require a lot of patience.
SOUND
Speaking of sound, a horror game wouldn’t be horrific without the special sound effects. There will be times when I have to press the character’s head against the door to listen if there is something behind it. Failing to listen will kill the character. I died many times because I had the volume on low. So, I recommend playing the volume on high or with a headset.
Erica is listening to what’s behind the door.
I could hear the rumbling, whispering and the slithering sound coming from the mysterious evil entity also known as the Presence with the headset on. The funniest part is the jump scare moments. I found it quite funny when Daniel screams. Apart from the haunting sound effects, there are moments where I could relax and breathe normally. Occasionally, you’d hear the characters exhaling and making disagreement noises when something doesn’t work out such as trying to open a blocked door or failing to combine two items. It’s comforting. I also appreciate Dr. Berenice Prestegard’s calm and intelligent voice. Exploring the mental asylum is frightening, but she makes everything feels okay.
Dr. Berenice is terrified of the dark, but she is brave enough to sleep alone. What an oxymoron.
Visual
All the stages (episodes) are well designed and nailed the horror atmosphere to an extreme. Can someone please explain to me on what is the obsession with mannequins in horror games? Is it the secret ingredient to a good horror? I find that it’s becoming a cliché more than a tribute to classic horror games.
You can’t see it in the picture, but behind René Artigas there is a door chained up. One of the easter eggs. It’s a reference Silent Hill 4.
Anyway, there is the Husher’s mansion, the antique shop, the archive, the abbey, and the mental asylum, which have straight forward objectives if you know what you are doing. My favorite part of the game happens to be theantique shop in episode II. Whenever I feel threatened, I want to rush outside of the building into the rain. The sight and sound of the rain is soothing and it gives me the impression of fresh air. I like how balanced episode II is compared to other episodes.
The light shining on the rain is very pretty.
Conclusion
Do I recommend this game? Yes! Is this game perfect? No! They could have toned down the jump scares on Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft mode. Secondly, some of the puzzles are difficult and don’t make any sense. Hard for hard sake is not my cup of tea. Thirdly, the H.P. Lovecraft mode is insane at times. There are moments I literally tiptoe in the game to minimize random QTEs. Lastly, the game freezes quite frequently on H.P. Lovecraft mode. It starts to feel like obtaining the platinum is more of a gamble than based on effort. Despite the flaws, I still enjoyed the game. What I love most is the thought process behind the gameplay, atmosphere, sound, story, and characters. All the playable characters have diverse, interesting backgrounds. I enjoyed the game so much that I shoot for the platinum trophy! That should say a lot about the game whether it is worth your time.
I know it’s 2025, but I keep daydreaming about replaying my favorite games when I have a backlog to get through. Called it a video game freeze. I don’t like spending money for the sake of hoarding, especially when the economy is shaky these days. But that’s half the truth though. As my mother once said, you can’t eat video games. For more about my philosophy behind my small backlog, you can read it here: Rambling on Why My Video Games Backlog is Small.
Before introducing you folks to the demos I am currently playing, I’d like to express my gratitude for the cooler weather. September is a nice month. Summer is coming to an end, and that means I can drink hot tea. I am just excited to drink tea and play games! Without further ado, I introduce my list:
Haak
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this game. Oh, wait, I remember now. I thought the artworks looked cool, so I watched the trailer and found out that I can try the demo. To my surprise, I enjoy the gameplay. It feels fluid. But I am not sure if I will purchase the entire game. There’s one pet peeve I can’t stand: the text’s sound effect. Perhaps I can mute it or lower the volume. Despite that little annoyance, I don’t mind playing a good metroidvania game, especially one that takes place in the wasteland.
Strange Antique
I enjoyed Strange Horticulture. It was a relaxing game to play at the end of fall about two years ago. I found the sound of the rain in the game quite soothing and enjoyed the gameplay. The game did progressively get harder, but it was not overly difficult. Likewise Strange Antique has a similar vibe. I don’t own any antique but I do admire those who collect them. There is a lot of story in an object–from the person who crafted it and to the person who owned it. As an art lover, this game is going to be a treat for this upcoming fall. This is one game I will eventually purchase but not on launch day!
Crow Country
My brother brought this game to my attention. In the past, my brother was the to go person for video game recommendations and his recommendations never failed me. So far, I enjoy the demo but found some minor flaws in the game design that could use some improvements. Trust me, I don’t enjoy finding errors. My job was a nightmare…Despite those little user hiccups, the game is still worth checking out. I will potentially purchase the full game when I am in the mood for old school survival horror.
Bonus Game
Before I forget, I do want to mention I picked Song of Horror to review for the Halloween tradition on this blog. Each year, I pick one horror game to review. It’s a fun way to celebrate Halloween and be festive. So far, I am enjoying the game. It’s creepy. I love the exploring the abandoned mansion and learning about the characters through their inner dialogue. I completed the prelude and started on Sophie’s episode as of Sept. 9, 2025. I can tell it’s a quality game that I am going to appreciate and would definitely recommend it to horror fans because I am currently hooked!
Hope you found something interesting in this list!
“”As long as you have the will, you can study anywhere.” -Raine
What seems like a fun kid’s game is actually more than meets the eye. Tales of Symphonia asked some big questions. So big that it cannot contain in a classroom. After all, I was warned by the mysterious character Kratos that assisting the Chosen One is no school field trip!
Kratos looking serious
Indeed, the plot was hardly meant for kids. Why do we have to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of society? Don’t all life forms have the right to live? Why do we discriminate those who are different from us? So, when the game indirectly asked me, “Don’t you sometimes think that what we’re doing is meaningless?” The answer is absolutely no.
I felt like I was part of the conversation.
You have to be a bit of a genius to like this sort of game because geniuses like to think outside the box. Simply put, this game was quite clever.
Genis’ wisdom
I wish I had the time and energy to give a thorough and detailed review because I enjoyed it that much. I highly recommend this game if you are a JRPG fan who appreciate wholesome humor. I know I laughed a lot. I will leave you folks with one of my favorite scenes in the game. Enjoy!
P.S.
I might make more gaming related videos and short blog posts like this. It’s kind of fun and to the point.
I wish I could say I beat a lot of games this year when realistically I only finished a few games:Ghost of Tsushima, Tales of black forest,Mandemon, Silent Hill the Message, andRemothered: Broken Porcelain. That’s not an impressive list, I know. On the contrary, Steam reminded me I played 30 games in total. 17 of them were demos. Now that I think of it, I did replay Nightcry and Shenmue III and started up a bunch of games. I suppose that is considered gaming, but yeah, the graph below doesn’t lie. I didn’t play all that much. Life got in the way…
Gaming Sessions on Steam
During days I don’t play games, I spend more time reading and watching movies to balance things out. Some notable movies I watched were Alien Anthology and Planet of the Apes trilogy. Recently I also finished Claymore the anime series. As for books, you can read the blog posts here:
I also read two children’s books that are full of wisdom: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. This brings me to the topic: why didn’t I publish more blog posts? Why did I downgrade my blog plan and not renew my domain? The answer is simple: any down time I have, I try to give my eyes a rest from the screen, which I learned recently from an ophthalmologist that I don’t blink enough when I stare at the screen and that I have narrow angles eyes which explains my constant headaches and eye pressure. Left untreated, I could go blind. Luckily, I had surgery, so I will be okay. Secondly, I have been wanting to do something more relaxing. One of my passions is to become a better cook but that hasn’t been too successful since planning and gathering ingredients can be so time consuming. It took me several trials and errors to get my mom’s chicken soup right. When I did achieve it, I felt so happy. Yet, I still have a long way to go to build a book of recipes that I could come home to.
Despite investing less time with this blog, I am feeling excited for the New Year. I still plan to tackle my backlog and play at my own pace. Blog whenever I can. So far, I am ending the year with Tales of Symphonia. After Tales of Symphonia, I will play Death Mark II. Then I am looking forward to playing Xandu Next. In addition to my backlog, I am adding Spirit of the North and Deadly Premonition 2. Here are the rest of my list for next gaming year:
The Bookwalker (Steam)
Teslagrad 2 (Steam)
Tales of Berseria (Steam)
Tales of Vesperia (Ps4)
Tales of Xesteria (Digital psn)
Songs of Horror (Digital psn)
Initially, I started this blog with a title: “Older games have more charm” because I want to replay Parasite Eve on the Ps1. Unfortunately, time flies so quickly that I never got the chance to play it and review it for Christmas. I learned that If you want to enjoy a game you stick to it and play it thoroughly despite all of the distraction from video games sales and releases. For instance, I want to play Unicorn Overlord, but it’s only made for consoles. I don’t really own a Switch or a PS5, so it might be hard to play those exclusive games. I have thought of investing in Switch 2 when it does come out or a Switch. But I don’t know yet because I am also interested in Steam deck since I spend more time on Steam than any other sites. Another game I am interested in purchasing is Tales of Grace remastered. There are tons of cool-looking games coming out which makes it difficult to focus on a game. So, whenever I start up a new game, I give myself about 45 minutes. If I am still not into the game then I just drop it. I don’t feel the pressure to complete games anymore.
Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hopefully, you are enjoying a good game. I know I have been enjoying Tales of Symphonia remastered very much!
brrr.. it’s cold
Picture credits: Featured image is Presea from Tales of Symphonia
I can’t believe it is September already. Last year, I made some goals. I reached them. Now, obstacles and challenges await me, which explains my lack of activity on this blog. I did manage to make a list of games I wanted to play now that I’m mentally recharged. It is so much fun putting this blog together! It’s like catching up with an old friend. Stepping away from video games for several months has revived my passion for games. So, I’d advise you to do the same if burnt out. Sometimes, all we need is a nice break.
Between the two games, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and Tales of Symphonia, I chose the latter. Why? The conversation in the game is humorous, and I feel like accompanying the Chosen One rather than recruiting heroes to go to war!
I take a field trip than going to war anytime.
Meanwhile, I still need to get through some horror games I bought last year. One of them is Tormented Soul, which I have a hard time playing. It’s not because it’s difficult, but because the atmosphere is too sexual and smothering. I should have done more research instead of just buying it on a whim. Clearly, the game was intended for male demographic.
Put makeup first because the next scene is Rated R.
Not this scene…I wonder if the rest of the game is going to be dark and enclosed like this
Toward the end of last year, I did mention in one of my blog posts that horror games burned me out, and perhaps that explained why I was critical of Tales of the Black Forest review. I don’t play enough RPG-maker games to give it a fair assessment, and I am not sure if the style appeals to me either. I do hope I can get back into the spooky groove for fall and play some quality horror games. Right now, I have my eyes on the following games:
In addition to my growing collection of horror games, I still need to play Remothered: Broken Porcelain, Songs of Horror, and Resident Resident Evil 7. Writing down my thoughts about the horror game I am playing might be a therapeutic exercise (I know it sounds counter intuitive). Last year, I wrote a review for Soma as part of the Halloween holiday tradition here.
Despite my rambling of horror games, the game I am enjoying the most (apart from Tales of Symphonia) is an indie puzzle game called Teslagrad Remastered. I randomly picked it up during Steam’s Labor Day sale. It was a pleasant surprise on how much I like it because I normally don’t play platformer games.
Well, I hope you found something fun to play as well. With so many forms of entertainment, it’s hard to get bored. You just have to be in the right mental state to enjoy them.
Note: TheAI generated the featured image. How amusing because I have always treated this blog as if I’m talking to friends.
It might sound absurd, but I haven’t come across that many games that blew my mind away in terms of storytelling. Yes, there have been decent games, but there were only a handful of them I thought were masterpieces. But is that a bad thing? To the contrary, no. Sometimes I just want to play something stupid and fun because when a game tries too hard to be serious and deep, it loses its spark. Now I am not saying games can’t be thought-provoking, but they need to have a good balance of humor because as we all know, life is already as serious as it is. Don’t reflect our realities in games. The last horror game I played, Tales of Black Forest missed the entire point of a horror game and it rubbed me the wrong way.
I hope they find their freedom by making games and not the other way around.
After being annoyed with the game, I picked up a book to read instead. It’s not that there wasn’t a story to the game, it’s the way how it was put together that left me with a bad taste. I get the sense the developer was hoping to make money off of games by advertising cute girls and horror themes and called it a game. You know throw some achievements, cute cat cafes, cute monsters, and cute girls. Too many cute things make me feel as if I am biting into a sweet cake and we know that too much sugar is not good!
I am glad you figured out your destiny but it’s unnecessary to project it in your game.
By the time I reached the end, I was so unconvinced with the story with what it was trying to tell that I felt as if the game was more about showing off than actually creating a genuinely good horror game. Because like the protagonist… ” Sorry to dissapoint you, I can see monsters and ghosts since I was born, and I have seen more frightening stuff than this.”
Thank you for speaking out my mind because that’s exactly how I feel about this game.
I know cut them some slack. It’s a RPG Maker game, but you can’t improve if you think you can get away with pretty drawings. Make it less about you and more about the player because someone is paying for it. But of course, that’s just one customer’s opinion. 🙂
P.S.
For short version of my reviews and reccomendations you can find them here on my Steam account.
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