Gamer’s Thoughts: My Palworld wishlist

Steam store page – Twitter/X – Wikipedia

I know that I’m extremely late when it comes to the Palworld hype. Palworld released in early January 2024 and currently, since there aren’t a lot of updates dropping, the hype died out. Yet, the roadmap looks extremely promising. Since this game is still in early access, I’m always hesitant in writing about the game. Since, you never know which mechanics or things will change and evolve during the early access period. Especially since we are currently only at v0.1.5.1. So, I decided to hold off on my first impression/review article for now. But, I wanted to talk about this game. So, here are some things I’d love to see in the full version of Palworld or even in one of the next updates.

First of all, what is a Palworld?

Palworld is a combination of several games, all thrown into one. It’s easy to describe Palworld with saying which games it combines.

Foremost, at its core, it’s a game you can somewhat compare to Ark Survival Evolved. When I first started playing, I noticed the similarities right away. The way how you have a crafting system to build your base, and you have monsters running around you can tame/catch is totally here as well.

I haven’t played a lot of Ark, so I can’t say if this mechanic is also present in Ark… But, the fact you can use your monsters to preform tasks in your base reminded me quite a lot of The Survivalists. A game where you are stranded on an island, and you can train monkeys to preform actions for you. The big difference is that now certain monsters can only preform certain tasks, instead of the monkeys just copying you.

Now, a lot of other articles describe this game as Pokémon with guns. After playing this game, I think that’s a somewhat unfair comparison. When I think Pokémon, I think a journey with gyms and an evil team. I think turn based battles and a big ending tournament as its conclusion. While some Pals share a very similar design language to some Pokémon, most of the mechanics of what makes a Pokémon game aren’t in this game. The other big mechanic is the capture mechanic, but by now this isn’t exclusive to Pokémon games anymore. Especially since we have games like Coromon.

There are also influences of the latest Zelda games. Especially Tears of the Kingdom. There are these huge, strong bosses roaming around on the huge open world map, you can beat at any time. Also, the korok seeds to upgrade your character are also here in the form of effigies and Pal souls to upgrade your monsters.

This game really feels like the developers looked at all the games they liked playing, looked at what worked and threw it all together into one pot and shook it until it all clicked together. The mechanics of this game really click extremely well together. If I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t be surprised if I said that this was a finished game.

There are some silly bugs here and there and in some spots, this game feels unfinished. But, overall the game we have currently is amazing and if you would enjoy a game like this after reading what I wrote here… Give this game a try. I only told you the most basic things in this game. This game is a survival game with elements from a lot of other games like those I have already mentioned but also Minecraft, Dragon Quest Builders and various others.

Let’s talk improvements

While the game is a lot of fun to play at the moment, there are some things I wish that were improved or updated. While you get a lot of warnings that there are: save corruption bugs, crashes and bugs… Besides sometimes the lighting engine giving up for a moment or the AI of the pals or enemies doing some funky stuff, I haven’t seen too many worrying things.

Take for example this floating rock screenshot here. I have explored roughly half of the map after 35 hours of play, and this was the only floating rock I could find. That’s extremely impressive, especially since if you look at the size of the map… It isn’t small at all. In the future, new islands and area’s will be added so if they deliver them with this kind of quality, I have no complaints.

Well, I do have one recommendation. I’d love to see more landmarks in the map. Currently, almost all the landmarks in the game are based upon the terrain. I’d love to see more villages or ruins of them. I loved finding these things in the Zelda games and letting my mind wonder what happened there. It’s a very difficult balance act, since too many landmarks would make the map feel crowded and limit the amount of possible base locations.

Basically, I’d love more reasons for me to go exploring these regions and get unique rewards. Besides completing the Paldex, there isn’t a lot of reason to go exploring in certain area’s. And when you have set up the right kind of farms and work stations for your pals in your bases, the chance you run out of resources is rather small.

Speaking about bases, currently you can only have three bases. Most likely, this is done to improve the multiplayer performance. Since, the game emulates the three bases in the background, so you can easily have a base close to big ore clusters to farm those while you are working in your other base. If you don’t place a cap on those, it’ll tank the performance of any computer or server. Yet, I’d give the tools to the player to increase the cap. Personally, I think Minecraft has one of the best systems with the game rules. You can almost change anything to your playstyle and even disable or remove caps that are there for performance reasons. You already have quite a lot of toggles and sliders in Palworld, but I’d also expand on that.

Currently, the building system is decent, but it needs a lot of polishing up. The biggest problem I have with the building system are the stairs. It’s a nightmare sometimes to place stairs to go from one to another floor. Also, why can’t we place a full wall next to stairs? Most likely because some pals their hitbox would do some crazy stuff? Also, placing certain items or crafting stations on elevated floors doesn’t always work the best.

On top of that, besides the visual look of the floors, walls and ceilings, what’s the point of being able to unlock stone foundations? As a test, I tried to build a high tower with wood and one with stone. I didn’t find a difference. I’d love to see more meaning to what I unlock. Granted, stone can’t burn down. So, if you have any raids with flamethrower or fire enemies, your base isn’t in danger. But what’s the difference between stone and metal, then?

I honestly think that it’d be a bad idea if PocketPair only created more content and not make the mechanics have more depth. For example, something I’d love to see them implementing in the pal task system is a mechanic I love in Cult of the Lamb. When you welcome a new member in your cult, you can set the main focus of a member there. I’d love to see that you are able to set the main focus per pal. For example, when things are damaged in the base after a raid, you select one pal to go and get the repair kits and repair all damages first before going to do their usual tasks. Or when you have a pal that can do multiple things, and you mostly need that pal to pick up items, you could disable their other abilities. Maybe we need some items for that and those items can be only found in the wild, and we need to hunt for them. That’s an interesting idea to lure players out of their bases.

Dreaming like a madman

There are some UI elements I’d love to see change as well. First, I’d love to have a mini-map. The compass at the top of the screen only shows things in roughly 300m range, and that’s too short. Especially since in some areas the warp spots are spread quite far apart. A mini-map where you can pin certain things like the nearest warp spot would be amazing.

Secondly, in terms of the weapons. I’d love to see their stats before I craft them. Now it’s a guessing game that if I craft a certain weapon, if it’s going to be stronger or better than the one I currently have. It’d also be amazing if the durability is shown outside the inventory as well. There is some space in the UI element at the bottom right, so why not show it?

Now, in terms of the inventory. Sometimes I have issues with combining stacks of items. Sometimes I have to do it twice or thrice before they are combined. This is a rather small things, but outside of those… I don’t have a lot of small quality of life things that I could recommend. Maybe that if you sleep during the day in your bed, you can skip to night if you are hunting the nightlife pals?

Maybe there is one quality of life feature I think would be amazing. Quite often, when I’m hunting the stronger pals, I have my pal instructions set on “Focus on the same enemy”. I think it would have an amazing option if you have a feature where you are able to say to your pal if they are allowed to kill the wild pal or not. Since, if they are dead, you can’t capture them.

There is one attack that is a double-edged sword. In the Pokémon games, you have the self-destruct attack. You also have this one in Palworld, yet, some wild pals with this attack always take it over their other attacks. These bee pals always swarm me and instead of being able to weaken them, so I can catch them, I just get blown up. You barely have a chance to do any damage to weaken them to make capturing possible.

I just remembered one other quality of life feature. You can create saddles, gloves and other things to do special things with your pals. But, why I am allowed to create more than one? I mean, I can only use one of them at a time and they can be interchanged. So, if you make a saddle for a certain bird pal e.g. Helzephyr, that means you can use it on all Helzephyrs you catch.

But the biggest quality of life feature PocketPair could add is a mini-map inside caves/dungeons. The times I almost got lost in these caves is insane. Especially since there are only a handful of rooms in these and it’s easy to get turned around and confused.

Now, to completely change the subject… I wish there was more music in the game. The soundtrack in this game is amazing. Sadly, there isn’t enough in the game at the moment, so there are some silent moments. A little bit more ambient tracks would go a really long way in this game.

But, I saved one of my biggest things for last. That is inventory management. This is a total pain in bases. Since pals can put things inside chests, you can forget organisation. Thankfully, while crafting, the game pulls from all resources in your base, but if you need a certain item to use at another base, have fun to go searching through all your chests. What I usually do, if I can, is start crafting an item with the one I want to move and then cancel it. Since it drops the resources then and there. Now, how to solve this without breaking the game and the idea that pals can put things in chests? What if you have a new skill that pals can have? An organisation skill and depending on the level, they either put red things with red things or make a weapons chest and come to complain to you when there aren’t enough chests for their organisation?

If your base is fully set up, the proper of a lack of depth starts to show as well. When you build your base, why should you return to it besides needing to craft or repair your weapons? Give us some activities we can do in our base when we build them. I mean come on, we even have the amusement furniture set. If only we could play some mini-games with our pals to increase their sanity for example? Since currently, there is not a lot you can do when a pal is stressed.

Of course, a certain balance needs to be maintained. The more things a pal can interact with, the more chance you have to create lag or overwhelm the player. Also, the more depth you create, the more things you have to maintain and maybe that’s not the type of game that PocketPair wants to create. How I currently see Palworld is a playground sandbox in the schoolyard. It’s an amazing playground where you can make your own fun but it’s only part of the schoolyard and only has a swing, some monkey bars, a climb rack, a small castle and a slide. It’s all solid built and amazing to spend your time in… But, then you notice the potential this sandbox has to grow. What if we enlarged that sandbox with another castle, so the multiplayer can be player vs player as well? Or wait, why don’t we add an underground to that sandbox?

All I’m saying is that currently Palworld has an amazing foundation. The biggest issue at the moment is that the game lacks depth. While the current roadmap has a lot of expansions and more content, I hope PocketPair doesn’t forget to also make it more than just surface level. For example, imagne that the raid bosses can be captured and barely have an unique skills. Why should the player do the raids then? What reward do you get out of it? Not all mechanics can be fun because they are enjoyable to do. Players will get bored and they will look for a way to spice things up or to challenge themselves.

Now what that said, I’m going to close off this article. I’m quite excited for the future of Palworld and I’m going to wait a few more updates before I decide to write a review on the game. But overall, I’m really liking what I see. The basis of an amazing title is here already and I think we are going to get an even better game when this comes out of early access. Let’s wait and see what happens when the first big updates drop. Especially the raid bosses that got teased a few weeks ago.

Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. What do you think of PalWorld and what should be added or changed? Let me know in the comment section down below. Also, what do you think of my idea’s? I’m curious, feel free to leave a comment about that one to. But, I also hope to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

The top 10 games of 2023 – NekoJonez edition

It’s that time of the year again, where we get our usual top 10 lists or “game of the year” articles. That’s no difference on my blog as well. I have put together a list of 10 games I started playing this year. The big difference is that in my list, I don’t really care about release date. So, what is the best game I have played this year? I have to tell you that this year was anything but an easy year to put together. I had such a long list of candidates, that I created this list several times until I felt that I had a great list. In any case, enough rambling. Let’s get on with cracking my favorites this year. If you want to share your own list and/or your opinions on the games I have chosen and/or on the list itself… Feel free to leave a comment in the comment section down below.

Editorial note: some of these titles are multiplatform. The one I placed between brackets is the platform I played it on.

#10 – Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (2023, PS4)

I love games with unique story mechanics. The idea that you can fight ghosts via on old camera is just a perfect description of things that just interest me. Now, Fatal Frame is one of my most favorite horror game series. While I have to be honest and admit that I have played a part of this game before via a fan translation, I’m not really counting that as playing this game before.

This game finally got translated and officially released in the west. And not only that, it got remastered. Besides it being built on a new engine, it’s extremely faithful to the source material. While I haven’t played through this game to completion yet, I’m so glad I picked this game up, and I’m hyped to see new Fatal Frame/Project Zero content coming to the west. Now, I’m just hoping that we get a totally new Fatal Frame 6 in the future. In the meantime, I’m so going to beat this game, so I can finally say that I completed all the Fatal Frame games.

#9 – Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands (2022, PC)

I think that this year’s theme was unique story games. Since, this pick is another example of unique stories. A while ago, I played Knights of Pen & Paper and got hooked.

Now, when I started to play this game where you actually go through a D&D campaign instead of it being told to you and not only that, have the characters talk in their D&D character AND as themselves, I think it’s a complete package.

The charm of this game, and the silly campaign we are going through, is just amazing. It’s a medieval shooter that’s quite addictive and doesn’t hold your hand like other games would do. While I learned after the fact that this game is a spin-off from the Borderland series, especially Borderlands 3… I’m so happy that I played this and look at it as a stand alone. Now, I still have to finish that campaign… So, if you would excuse me after writing this article, I have a game to play.

#8 – PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (2023, Switch)

My review

What if you had a unique power that just put everything on its head. Not only that, what if you can use and control folk tales? Well, that’s what this game is about.

It’s really difficult to talk about the story and gameplay mechanics in this game and not spoil several unique twists that this game pulls. You really have to think outside the box in this game. It’s one of those games where I actually had to take notes to make sure I didn’t get stuck.

A lot of planning and play testing had to be done to make this game work. While it has a few issues, I think it all works together quite well. And not only that, we are actually playing a game that’s created together with a museum, and it’s not a big advertisement that takes you out of the experience. So, I have to say that the developers of this game did an amazing job on this one. And if you want to learn more, feel free to read my review. I think if you enjoy visual novel adventure games… You’ll really like this one.

#7 – Doom Eternal (2020, PC)

My review

For years now, I wanted to build a stronger PC. And this year, I finally did it. I built a totally new computer. On my old gaming desktop, I was unable to play Doom Eternal. While I heard that the game was “more of Doom 2016”, I still wanted to give it a try.

And let me tell you, at first… The new mechanics didn’t click with me at all. But, after a few levels… Something started to click together and started enjoying myself quite a lot. I especially loved the feature you can use a totally different skin during this game, and it changes also during the main campaign as well. The cutscenes and reflections are totally changed.

I totally felt that this game was one whole compared to Doom 2016. I loved that we had a hub part where we could unlock more special powers with things we unlocked during the levels. It’s a big improvement compared to Doom 2016 and I love it. I’m so glad I played through it and I gave it a chance.

#6 – Metal: HellSinger (2022, PC)

My review

I don’t like rhythm games at all. But, what if you combine it with a high action game like Doom Eternal? Well, you get this gem of an action game called Metal: Hellsinger.

While not all metal tracks suit my personal fancy, I just fell in love with the gameplay loop of shooting demons and going through amazingly designed arena’s that reward well timed attacks. And it’s also somewhat forgiving for people like me who aren’t rhythmic at all. It’s one of the biggest surprises to me this year.

I played this game not too long after I had beaten Doom Eternal and I was in the mood for a new shooter. I found this in my Steam library and without knowing it was a rhythm game, I booted it up and started playing it. Even when I found out that it was a rhythm game, I kept playing. The game got me hooked. The story was simple, the game mechanics as well. But, the loop is just so perfect and the music fits this game like a glove. Also, the DLC that released after I had written my article adds just so much more on top of the already amazing base game. I highly recommend this game to everybody who is interested in an unique rhythm game where no being rhythmic isn’t a gate keeping mechanic. Interested, feel free to read my review on the game.

#5 – Alan Wake 2 (2023, PC)

One of the main reasons why I loved the original Alan Wake so much is because the story was something I always wanted to play through. What if the story of a writer comes to life and starts attacking the writer. That, without even the writer knowing what’s going to happen in the story.

On top of that, the unique mechanics with the flashlight usage is just the cherry on the cake. This game plays with the themes of light and darkness as if it were nothing. Now, after a lot of years and content in other games… We finally have the next main chapter in the Alan Wake series. We tried streaming this game but we had a lot of technical issues we are trying to figure out. But, I also played this game outside us (Klamath, the_Kovic and I) streaming. And let me tell you, am I glad I built this new computer. It’s highly worth the price of admission. This game is taking the mind bending story telling of the original to a whole other level. While I’m only at the half way point in this game, I can’t wait to finish it so I can experience all the mind bending story this game has to offer. And after that, I still have to beat the other Remedy games and experience the other side stories of our beloved cursed horror writer Alan Wake.

#4 – Resident Evil 8 (2021, PS4)

My review

There is a reason why I write down at the start of the year which games I have played. Otherwise, they risk of being forgotten or just never considered to be put on this list. Yet, this game impressed me so much that I didn’t have to do that.

I found this game for quite cheap on the PlayStation store and I thought, why not? I was able to buy Resident Evil 7 for 2 bucks physical, why not the sequel for cheap as well? When I started to play it back in January and February, oh boy did it not disappoint.

While I haven’t beaten Resident Evil 7 just yet, I can’t wait to do so. Resident Evil 8 was a game I booted up once in a while during the year just to replay parts of it again. I have completed it twice this year. Now, I have been distracted by other games, so I still have to beat the DLC… But, I think that won’t be a problem. I think the next time I boot up my PS4 and this game, the game will hook into me again, and I’ll just keep playing the DLC until I’m done.

#3 – Cult of The Lamb (2022, Switch)

My review

So, when Cult of the Lamb came out, I placed it on my wishlist since I wanted to play it. But at that time, my budget was a bit too tight and I was unable to buy it.

Not too long before leaving on a family trip this year, I bought this game to play during downtime. And this game, just took me by surprise. This charming gem of a game is one of the best games I played all year. It even made me forget that a lot of big titles like Super Mario Wonder, Alan Wake II, Baldur’s Gate 3… all got released this year and were waiting on me to play them.

This game flows so amazingly well and apart from some glitches is near perfection. I have to admit that in several drafts of this article, this game took the number 1 spot. It’s so totally worth the price and it’s going to get a major free content update early next year. That content update got announced a few days after I had written my article about it, talk about coincidence. I can’t wait to see what the new update will bring and maybe I’ll restart my game and create a totally fresh cult and take different decisions compared to my current playthrough. But, I’ll need to be careful… Since it’s totally possible that I’ll be unable to put down this game and ignore all the other games I still want to play. Urgh, the dilemma’s of good games.

#2 – Fire Emblem Warriors – Three Hopes (2022, Switch)

My review

Did you ever play a 40-hour game with somewhat repetitive gameplay and after beating it, told yourself… Yes, I want to play this game again twice just to see the different routes? Last time I did that, I was playing Persona 5 for hours upon hours. This year, I have been playing Fire Emblem Warriors – Three Houses.

I started playing this game early-middle last month and it’s almost the only game I have been playing. It surprises even me, since I’m not that big of a Fire Emblem fan. Yet, the balance in this Warriors cross over hits that perfect balance for me that I keep playing it and just want to fully complete it.

Now, why am I placing this so high on my list? Well, that’s because it feels right on so many levels. The characters are stereotypes, but they are used extremely well. They tell quite in-depth stories and give amazing messages. The gameplay might be repetitive, but is quite rewarding and addictive to do. It also has unique outcomes depending on way you play it. The fact you can carry over so much in New Game+, so you can see the other parts of the story without having to grind for certain pieces is fun as well. And if you are afraid that it takes the challenge out of the game, well… Don’t worry… The higher difficulties are really going to give you a run for your money.

I honestly think that this is one of the best Warrior games I have ever played and fixed so many problems I had with all the previous games. I even tried to pick up Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity, and I have to be honest… I’m just too addicted to this game for now. It really does something quite unique and I think it’s slowly making me a Fire Emblem fan, since I really want to replay all the other Fire Emblem games in my collection that are sitting there gathering dust. Oh, and maybe give Destiny Warriors a try as well… that too maybe.

Honorable mentions

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code (Switch), Immortals Fenix Rysing (PS4), Venetica (PC), Ark: Survival Evolved (PC), Fire Emblem Engage (Switch), Stray (PS4), Cultic (PC), Escape Simulator (PC), HROT (PC), Dark Cloud (PS2), House Flipper 2 (PC), Control (PC)

#1 – The Legend of Zelda – Tears of the Kingdom (2023, Switch)

My review

Is this a surprise? That my game of the year is the new Zelda title? Maybe. But, this game just grew on me and I had a really difficult time putting this one down.

When I was creating this list, I looked at what the games brought to the table to impress me and make it stand out. Make it different compared to other games and make the experience stand out during the year. While the games on this list had some elements, this game kept having surprises left and right, I couldn’t justify not placing it on number one.

I didn’t think Nintendo would be able to re-invent their open world formula after Breath of the Wild. The fear of the sequel just being a rehash of Breath of the Wild was huge. But not only did they add two new world layers, they completely changed Link’s powers and opened up so much more of this game. As a test, I played some Breath of the Wild this year as well… And I have to admit, that they have outdone themselves. Tears of the Kingdom is my game of the year 2023 for just adding so much more depth and content that it just blew me away and made me quite exited for the future of one of my favorite game series out there. What’s going to be next?

Conclusion

Writing this ending section is always one of the most difficult sections I have to do all year. What do I write in here? A retrospective of my year? That’s possible, but I don’t want to go in too much detail to avoid throwing something private on the internet. Besides that, the main reason why people come to read these articles is because they want to read about the games I have played and recommend playing. I don’t want to look forward to next year, since that’s what my top 10 games I’m looking forward too is for. Of course, that’s the article I’m going to write next, so yeah.

What surprised me most this year is that I wrote fewer articles this year compared to last year, I had more readers compared to 2022. I also felt prouder of all the articles I have written. I feel my quality is finally going up, and I’m finding my way to write and review the games I have played.

If you have read articles from me before, you might know that I work as an IT admin in two art schools here in Belgium. This year, I had several interactions of students and coworkers who bought a game because they read about it on my blog and came to thank me for the recommendation. And I also had other coworkers who complemented me on my writing and said that they enjoyed reading my articles whilst not being into games.

And honestly, that’s what it’s all about for me. I have also said it in the streams with my buddy Klamath. I’m so happy that I have this creative outlet and I can entertain, inform and help others. Not only that, but I have been doing this for over 13 years now, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.

Each year, I start putting this list together during my summer break. I always think, what games are going to be put on this list? And each year, several games just surprise me. I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store for me, since 2023 was such an enjoyable adventure. But for now, thank you 2023 for being such an amazing year. It has been the year of rediscovery for me. Like I said earlier, I’m just felt prouder of the things I have been putting out, and I hope you are enjoying things as well. Thank you for the support this year and I hope to see you in the future. So, for now, have a great rest of your day and take care.

First Impression: The Legend Of Zelda – Tears Of The Kingdom (Switch) ~ Where To Now?

Wikipedia – Zelda.com page

In 2017, Nintendo changed the open world adventure game genre forever with Breath of the Wild. We got a game where freedom was the central mechanic in the game. You could play it however you want and have your own unique adventure. Two years after the release at E3 2019, we got our first teaser that a sequel was in development. In May 2023, that sequel finally released. Now, is this sequel worth our time and money? I played this game and after several hours, I’m ready to give my opinion on the game. I haven’t beaten the game yet, but I’m quite close to the ending, hence why I place this review in the first impression category. So, let’s dive right into Link’s latest adventure and let’s take a look if it’s a game we should be playing or if it’s one that we are overhyping since it’s getting high scores across the board from other reviewers. Here is my honest opinion, and if you want to say something about this game and/or the content of this article… Feel free to do that in the comments down below! Enough stalling, let’s go!

Where to now?

In this game, we take control of Link. In this story, Link and Zelda are investigating strange tunnels underneath Hyrule. While exploring these tunnels, they come across some ancient evil. This ancient evil awakes from its slumber and after a small battle, Zelda disappears, Link gets wounded and the Master Sword almost gets destroyed.

After that, Link gets rescued by a strange figure who heals his wounds. But his arm was beyond saving so that strange figure gives his arm to Link. After that, Link walks out of the cave where he was recovering and finds himself in the sky, ready to explore the new world… so he can start his quest to try to find and rescue Zelda.

Since you can experience this story at your own peace and order, it’s difficult to review this story. Due to the fact you can experience it out of order, some dialogues have to be kept vague and generic. Since, writing separate dialogue for each possible option would be a nightmare to write, program and debug.

Yet, I feel that in this game… The story and world building is more present this time around compared to Breath of the Wild. In Breath of the Wild, I felt that each town was its own mini-story with only the main plot holding those stories together. But, in this game, there are a lot more things in the world that gives life to the world. The main and side story segments are more spread around on the map. I can’t really put on my finger on exactly why, but I felt that Hyrule was more alive this time around compared to Breath of the Wild.

Something that can also make or break your story is the voice acting. In this game, apart from your grunts and things of that nature, we have a silent Link. The voice cast for the English version is extremely solid. Overall, I find that the voice acting in this game is good. Here and there, some scenes are dancing on the line of over acting, but I don’t dislike it. I think that the biggest issue is that a lot of people were used to the characters being silent. When characters are silent, you tend to put your own voice and tone on that character. This makes it impossible to find a voice for the character that everybody will like. So, I can understand why people dislike the voice acting in this game.

Honestly, the voice acting still drew me into the game. I feel that they are going on a good path forward here, and Nintendo should start to experiment with putting more voice acting in their games to see what works and doesn’t. Since, I that’s one big thing I missed in a game like Pokémon Scarlet and Voilet. Granted, the grunts of the NPC’s make them adorable, which fit this game nicely.

So, overall, with a world that feels way more alive and a story that’s more present while you are exploring the game… I feel that they improved that over Breath of the Wild by a more than a mile. Yet, I feel there is one issue at the start of this game that I didn’t have with Breath of the Wild. I quite often asked myself, “where to now?”.

After the tutorial sky island, we get dropped into Hyrule. So, we think that the world just has some sky islands now. And then suddenly, you learn about something in the underground. So, you think… Oh, caves. But then you find a hole that goes deeper and deeper… Almost to the center of the world. And then you find out that the map almost doubled in size. I felt overwhelmed at what to tackle first and where to go next.

Is this an issue or a blessing? Well, that depends on your playstyle and how you want to tackle this game. I see this game as a giant playground that we can explore and have amazing adventures in. Like I said earlier, the world now feels way more alive, so there is a lot more to do and explore. Yet, if you want some guidance, the main quest line does an excellent job at pushing you towards your next objective. But, do explore around in each area, you never know what you’ll find.

How shall we do this?

If you asked me to talk about each mechanic in this game, both old and new, we would be here for a while. A long while. The amount of things you can do in this game is so vast, it’s like asking which games you can play with a few balls.

At its core, this game is Breath of the Wild with a lot of new mechanics. And I really mean, a lot. Let’s start by talking about Link’s new abilities. In this game, you have four new abilities. First is the Ultrahand, compare that with Magnesis from Breath of the Wild… but this time you can pick up almost anything. And then, you put two logs next to each other, and you notice that some green liquid puts them together. And then it doesn’t take long before you learn that you can build a ton of machines by putting a lot of things together.

And then you wonder what would happen if I put a rock on your sword? Well, why not use the second new ability, then? Fuse. This ability is just insane. With this, you can create various new weapons and just do unique things. It’s a lot of fun to experiment and learn which things do what.

We do have two other abilities as well. Let’s talk about recall first. With this ability, Link can rewind time on an object for a set amount of time. I’ll explain it with this example. Image an ice-cold river where rafts are flowing over, yet you have to reach the other side. Well, when you hope on the raft and use recall… the rafts goes against the flow back to its previous position, helping you to cross the ice-cold river.

Finally, we have the Ascend ability. This ability feels like a sort of cheat, since whenever there is a flat surface you can stand underneath, you can ascend through the ceiling to the top. And it’s used so well in this game, it’s insane.

You don’t have the abilities from Breath of the Wild anymore, but these just open a whole other way to interact with the world and sets the two games apart and makes both of them unique. Now, I haven’t talked about all abilities, but let’s talk about the new champion abilities.

This is where I have one problem with the game. The new champion abilities are fine, while I miss Revali’s gale. But, the way to activate them is annoying sometimes. After you have completed a champion quest, you unlock their ability. Their spirit runs next to you and when you want to use their ability, you have to get close to them and press “A”. Now, this is where the issue lies.

It’s way too easy to press “A”. Often, I activated one of the abilities by accident. You don’t want to know how many times I activated the Sage of Wind’s ability and saw my sweet loot go over a cliff edge… Or my trying to find the Sage of Fire since I want to break a break-able wall, so I don’t have to use my weapons or a bomb flower. At the other hand, it’s a blessing that they help you fight, and they helped me to get out of tight spots… But, sometimes it works against the player.

Sadly, this isn’t the only small problem this game has. Another annoying problem in my opinion is that when you enter a shrine where all your items are taken away to have a special and unique challenge… Don’t pick up the enemy loot when you want to keep it. Since, when you get your items back, you don’t always get the loot back you picked up. I learned that the hard way. Since, I wanted to charge my battery for Zonai devices.

Oh yeah, that’s another big thing. Remember the Master Cycle Zero in Breath of the Wild? Well, that’s back in a way. But this time, it’s way more than just a bike. Earlier, I talked about how you can build machines with Ultrahand. Well, with Zonai devices you can do some much more stuff. Image making a raft and placing a fan on top of it. Put that raft on the water and activate the fan and away you go. And this is truly the tip of the iceberg on what you can do. Let me just say that people already build things that allow them to fly or make tanks. Yes, tanks.

While there are a lot of build tutorials online… personally, I highly recommend toying around with it yourself. I feel that this game is the strongest when you go in blind and try to do your own thing. I don’t mean that you can’t inspiration from others, but I’m saying that you should make your own adventure in this game. Just like if you want to use the duplication glitches in this game. Yes, there are duplication glitches in this game. While Nintendo is trying to patch them out, a new one or ones are discovered not too long after. Personally, I’m not using these duplication glitches since they would ruin the magic of trying to use what I find for me. But, that’s the beauty of this game… You are free to play it how you want.

Making steps towards the end

I know that I’m leaving out a lot of mechanics from this review. To name just a few: the improved stables, the return of the koroks, the whole depths, the wells… There is so much to do in this game, it is insane. Maybe a bit too much since some things can feel a bit undercooked like the main Gerudo quest before the temple.

Everytime I play this game, I feel like I’m taking more steps towards completing this game. Personally, I try to avoid following guides as much as possible since I love the feeling I get for discovering the solution myself.

Yes, sometimes I run into small little problems like having to fight to remove an icon from the map and place another… But, apart from some minor issues, I have a lot of trouble finding negatives in this game. The controls of this game are excellent, responsive and a joy to use. Sometimes I struggle a bit with rotation and Ultrahand but this happens so rarely and most of the time going out and back into rotation mode fixes it for me.

Also, the game is less silent during exploration. The enviroment sounds are much more present and we get the clamic envoriment tracks being played more often. In this game we get a mix of old and new music and the soundtrack of this game is just amazing. I have to admit that I listen to it while I work from time to time. It just brings back memories of me playing the game.

The game isn’t short at all. According to Howlongtobeat.com, this game will take you at least 60 hours to complete if you don’t use a guide or use speedrun strats. But, have you seen that avarge for 100% completion? That’s close to 230 hours.

On top of that, this game isn’t a cake walk. There are a lot of area’s where you really need to be on your guard. It’s a game that where when you learn the mechanics and how to world works, the easier the game gets. Yet, you have to be on your guard. There are ways to make things a lot easier, but these still require either skill, grinding or both.

Now, visually this game is stunning for the Nintendo Switch. Compared to Breath of the Wild, this game is a huge improvement in terms of the visuals, presentation and animations. GamingBolt wrote an amazing article comparing the visuals of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Honestly, I have to agree with GamingBolt on this one. Visually, this game looks a lot better than Breath of the Wild but the Nintendo Switch is showing it’s limits sometimes. But, these moments aren’t too frequent and mostly fix themselves.

Now, this game runs at 30fps. Stable, I rarely to never actually noticed frame drops. Now, some people are saying that this game should run at 60fps or higher or “look better”. I even hear arguments that this game look like it’s stuck in last decade. Please, don’t let these comments pull you away from this game. This game runs smooth and 30fps is still very playable. Also, having a higher framerate (then 30) doesn’t mean that the game runs smoother. For some people, they don’t even notice the difference between 60pfs and 80fps. Why does it matter as long as the game runs smooth? As long as you don’t have any visual glitches and everything reacts like it should without delay? I just want to enjoy playing a game with a stable framerate than worrying about how high that framerate number goes. And that’s what Tears of the Kingdom really delivers in both handheld and docked mode with a minimal amount of issues. But, I honestly think that most of these issues don’t come from the 30fps but more from the aging hardware of the Switch.

You might have noticed that I compared this game a lot to Breath of the Wild. That’s because this game is promoted as the direct sequel to Breath of the Wild and it has a lot of subtle references to it. Just like there are a lot of easter eggs and references to previous titles. Yet, I feel like the two titles can’t be seperated. If you enjoyed Breath of the Wild, you will have a blast with this one.

Honestly… When I started playing this game, I was afraid that this game was going to be more of the same. That it would be a rehash of Breath of the Wild with a new story. But no, what we got is more than that. We got new unique mechanics, two new layers in the world, a more alive world, a lot more side quests and side content… Nintendo raised the bar again. Now, I’m honestly worried that the sequel to this game might become too big for it’s own good.

If I have to be overly critical, then I do have a few things I would love to see improved in the sequel. First of all, make the core mechanic of the temples/dungeons more unique. Please, stop with the “active x amount of terminals” since it just doesn’t help to make them unique. I feel like this time around they blended in more since you didn’t have the interactions with the Divine Beasts. The quest before entering the dugeon is a lot more memorable… But, thank you for letting us enter the dungeons after beating them.

Secondly, while this game brings a lot more to the table compared to Breath of the Wild, the core structure is largely the same. Weapons that brake easily, no real “dungeons” where you find a new unique item anymore, a ton of shrines dotted around the map… And on that level I totally understand why some people are seeing this a sort of DLC to Breath of the Wild. It’s a fair point to make. Something Nintendo can do for example is have less but longer shrines in the sequel. Or maybe even have the abilities in the big dungeons instead of the tutorial area?

Thirdly and finally, I’d love some quality of life improvements. A search bar on the map would be amazing for example. Also, give us the ability to pin a side quest AND a main quest to the map instead of abusing beacons for that. And if I’m allowed to really nitpick, I feel that in this game the visuals of a discovered shrine and a not yet discovered shrine are too similar… I “rediscovered” shrines quite often compared to Breath of the Wild.

Tears of the Kingdom took the new formula in Breath of the Wild and expanded on it. It added a lot more depth. If Nintendo takes this formula and polishes it even further and change things around they’ll have an instant hit on their hands. Don’t get me wrong, this game is incredible but it has some flaws that can’t be overlooked. Some critisms like it being more of the same are in a way valid, yet if that bothers you… is up to you.

I honestly feel that this game totally deserves it’s score. It’s one of the best games I have played and will play this year. I highly recommend it to everybody who enjoys playing Zelda games, action/adventure games and open world games. But, I feel like Tears of the Kingdom blows me more away then Breath of the Wild. But, that might be because I’m now more used to the new Zelda formula compared to the previous time.

In any case, that’s everything I wanted to saw about this game for now. Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article and until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!

A list of 10 games I’m looking forward to play in 2023

Let’s continue my yearly tradition with a 2nd top 10 list at this time of year. After my top 10 games of 2022 list, let’s take a look at the games I’m looking forward to playing in 2023. Now, for this list I only focused on games that are releasing in this year. Since, it would be insane if I’m able to predict which retro games I’m going to play this year and I don’t want to force myself to play certain retro games in a year. Also, creating this list is a great way to keep up with more recent releases. In this list, I’m taking a look in no real order at 10 games I’d love to play in this year. And I’m also curious what you all think of my list. Did I miss any games or do you agree with the games on here? Feel free to leave a comment in the comment section with your thoughts and/or opinions.

#10 – The Legend of Zelda – Tears Of The Kingdom (Switch – May 12th)

In last year’s list, I talked about how I’m a big Zelda fan. How I miss the top-down 2D Zelda games, but how Breath of the Wild grew on me.

As expected somewhat, this game didn’t get a 2022 release but is getting a mid 2023 release. In the middle of May, I shall be able to play Tears of the Kingdom on the Nintendo Switch.

I’m trying to avoid reading too many articles about it and ignore all other trailers then the ones I have seen in Nintendo Directs. Since I want to be surprised as much as I can while playing this game.

I’m really curious to see what they are going to do with this title… Will they continue more the trend from Breath of the Wild or if they bring more old school Zelda gameplay back, like longer and more in-depth dungeons? I just hope that there are a lot of new area’s to explore, and this sequel isn’t an “expansion” / “DLC” for the original game.

#9 – Fire Emblem Engage (Switch – January 20th)

Later this month, a new Fire Emblem game is coming out on Nintendo Switch. While I own a handful of Fire Emblem games, I haven’t beaten any Fire Emblem game. Yet, I still have a lot of fun playing these games.

I can’t really explain why, but when I saw the trailer for this game… I got really interested in this title. Because I felt that there are features that are really going to help me. For example, there is a training mode for the characters. So, I can grind up the characters if I can’t pass a difficult battle.

Also, we can create our own battle maps and share them online. This game has a sort of Fire Emblem Maker lite in the game! The trailer and the additional “Welcome to Somniel” video really sold me on the game.

Like Fire Emblem Three Houses, there is more to do outside of battles and that’s something I’m really looking forward too. And who knows, maybe this game will get me interested in playing all those Fire Emblem games in my collection that I still have to finish.

#8 – Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II (Also known as: Shinigami: Shibito Magire) (Multi-platform – Fall 2023)

Five years ago, I gave Death Mark a chance. A horror visual novel where you have to fight spirits to save your own life… Oh, count me in. The game was created by a small Japanese indie team called Experience Inc.

To my surprise, later the next year we got a sequel to that game called Spirit Hunter – NG. Both were amazing games and I replayed them last year to prepare myself for the 3rd upcoming game.

This game started development with a crowdfunding campaign in Japan. And for a long while, it was unsure if this game was going to come to the west. But, thankfully, we got confirmation that this game is coming to the west in the Fall. Most likely, we are going to see the 3rd entry in the Spirit Hunter franchise around Halloween. That’s my guess at least. And you can bet on it that I’m going to review this game on my blog when I have beaten it.

This game is going to play somewhat different compared to the first two games, but I simply can’t wait to experience it. It’s going to be interesting, and I’m so glad to see that this game series is getting the recognition it deserves.

#7 – Tintin Reporter: Cigars of the Pharaoh (Multi-platform – 2023)

For those who don’t know, I live in Belgium. A famous comic book hero from Belgium is also Tintin. In Dutch, we actually call him after his hairstyle. Kuifje is his Dutch name. So, when I learned that there is a game in the works about him, I bookmarked the website for a release date.

This game looks right up my alley. An adventure, puzzle game set in Egypt and various other places that also promises to be faithful to the original material. I simply can’t wait. The only thing I’m a bit disappointed about is that this game isn’t going to be translated into Dutch. But, then again… It’s going to be translated into French, which is the original language of Tintin anyway.

I just hope to see a release date in the near future. Since, I want to play this game and with the release date, I can fit it in my schedule for sure.

#6 – Suikoden 1 & 2 HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars (Multi-platform – 2023)

After I played Suikoden Tierkreis on the Nintendo DS, I always wanted to play the other entries in the series. But getting a copy of the games is pretty expensive on eBay for my tastes.

Now, an HD remaster of the first two games is going to be released this year and I can’t wait to give the original two games a try. Are they as good as the DS game or are they going to show their age? In any case, this is a wait and see thing.

Who knows how this remaster is going to turn out. But one thing is for sure, I’m going to give it a shot. Since, two JRPG’s in one package? Count me in!

#5 – Alan Wake II (Multi-platform – 2023)

Is it a surprise that Alan Wake, a series about an author whose horror story comes to life, is a series near and dear to me? As a blogger who enjoys writing stories himself from time to time…

In any case, after 13 years, we are finally seeing a sequel to Alan Wake. Of course, we got American Nightmare, but that game was more of a glorified DLC since it contained idea’s and a story that they wanted to implement in the original game.

There isn’t too much known yet about this game, so I’m afraid that this game might be a 2024 release… But who knows? Maybe this game has been in development longer than we think, and the game is going to be released this year. So, let’s see what Remedy has cooked up since I want to see what happens to Alan next.

#4 – Tales of Symphonia Remastered (Multi-platform – February 17th)

I enjoy watching YouTube quite a lot. I watch quite a lot of content on YouTube. Something I adore watching are gaming channels who have their own gaming review shows like Caddicarus, NitroRad, Austin Eruption amongst various others.

So, I have heard about the Tales series from them quite a lot. One of the games I really wanted to try from that series after playing Tales of Vesperia is Tales of Symphonia. And now I have the chance to play it without having to hunt down a copy.

I’m really curious to see if that this game is going to pull me into the Tales series. Since, after playing Tales of Vesperia… I just might. And maybe, after playing the game, I’m going to hunt down the spin-off sequel to this game on the Nintendo Wii and play through that. Oh dear, it might already be starting. But let’s first wait and see if I enjoy Tales of Symphania enough to want to continue the story since my free time is rather limited, and I don’t want to spend it on games I don’t enjoy.

#3 – Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition (Multi-platform – Early 2023)

If we list all the big influential shooters from the ’90’s, it would be a crime if Rise of the Triad isn’t on there. You have DOOM, Quake and Duke Nukem as other examples of course.

But, early this year we are getting a remastered version of this game with new and restored content. Rise of the Triad is a shooter that’s on my backlog for quite a while and with this remaster I have the best excuse to jump into the game.

It’s coming out SOON(tm), so I know what to do. Refresh the page every so often to see if the “buy now” button is there. I’m so ready to make them EAT LEAD and burry them in my LUNCHBOX.

#2 – Minecraft Legends (Multi-platform – Spring 2023)

This game is being developed by Mojang and BlackBird Interactive. Now, why is this so important to mention? Well, BlackBird Interactive is a studio founded by former Relic Entertainment employees. Also, BlackBird Interactive is well known for their RTS HomeWorld.

So, that means that this game is going to be some sort of Action RTS game set in the Minecraft universe which is going to provide some additional lore to the series.

One of my favorite genres is RTS games. I’m not good at them, but I love playing them. So, I’m quite curious to see how an action RTS game in the Minecraft universe is going to look like. And how it’s going to set itself apart from the other spin-off Minecraft Dungeons.

From what I have seen in the trailers, it also reminds me a bit of the Overlord games. Yes, the one where you have to gather up minions for your tasks. And that makes me simply more excited. Since, I have played through the Overlord games and those had some amazing gameplay. So, in Spring of this year, I’m going to fight the Nether and save the overworld.

#1 – Master Detective Archives: Rain Code (Switch – Spring 2023)

When you watch the trailer of this game, it’s quite obvious that the people from Danganronpa are behind this game. The music, the gameplay… It all feels like a sort of Danganronpa 4. Surprisingly, this game is going to be a Switch exclusive.

I honestly can’t hide my hype for this game. I wouldn’t be surprised that this game is going to turn up as a review on my blog and maybe even in my top 10 games of the year. Yeah, I’m so excited about this game.

It’s even written by the writer of Danganronpa and the music is composed by the same composer. It’s almost like it’s the introduction of the next trilogy by the developers of Danganronpa and I hope it becomes as big as Danganronpa. Since, the idea’s behind shown in the trailer are a naturual evolution of the Danganronpa formula and gameplay.

But, I’m trying to keep my hype in check. So, that I’m not overhyped and that I don’t have unrealistic expectations of this game. Since, it’s a new IP and we have to wait for it to come out first. Let’s not judge this book by it’s cover too fast, while it’s pretty difficult to not do so.

Conclusion

There are a lot of games coming out in 2023, I simply can’t wait to play. I had to honestly stop myself from looking on schedulded games lists because I fear I’ll run my wallet dry.

Games like Octopath Traveler 2, the port of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, Fatal Frame: Mask of Lunar Eclipse, System Shock remake, Pikmin 4, Slime Rancher 2, The Settlers: New Allies… Man, it’s going to be a great year for gaming. The only big annoying thing is that we don’t have a release date for a lot of them. The list of “To Be Announced” is so long.

Which is a good and bad thing. Since, that means that there is no date set in stone yet and developers can create a polished title instead of rushing it and bringing us a buggy or unfinished mess.

Sadly, 2023 is going to be a busy year for me because a lot of personal things are going to happen. But, I’m totally looking forward to the upcoming year. I have a lot of games to look forward too and I have a lot of games I want to review on my blog. Also, I have a few things planned in terms of live streams with my friends and speedrunning as well. So, if you want to keep up-to-date with me, I highly recommend to follow my Twitter where I post updates when I’m going to publish an article or when I’m taking a break. Or when I just want to share something short with you all.

Anyways, the year has already started and I’m so ready to get into this year. It’s time to play some games from my backlog and start writing on some games. But, I’m going to wrap up this article with my usual outro. I want to thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

It’s almost there! 2022. It’s TOP 10 TIME!

It’s that time of the year again, it’s time to create lists. For the 11 years I have been blogging right now, I have created a tradition of writing two lists at the end of the year. A list of my favorite games I have played in the past year, and a list of the games I’m most excited about in the upcoming year. Today, it’s time to talk about what I’m so hyped to play next year. Since some amazing titles are coming out next year and I can’t wait to play them and/or review them on my blog. So, this is going to be my top 10 list of games I want to play in 2022. What’s your list? Feel free to leave it in the comment section down below, and let’s see how much better we are going to be playing in 2022.

#10 – Sports Story (Nintendo Switch – TBA)

I’m a huge fan when it comes to playing RPG/adventure games that put a spin on your typical “fight the enemy” or “save the world”. Now, when I learned about this game, I was hyped right away.

The reason I placed it so low on my list is that I’m afraid that a lot of the sports gameplay is going to be rhythm or reflexes based, which are two things that I’m not too good at in games and that might ruin it a bit for me. But, then again, looking at the trailer and the promotional material, this game looks quite promising.

Now, I know that this game doesn’t have a release date set in stone yet, so it might be not for 2022… But hey, if this one comes out in 2022, you can be sure that I’m going to play it!

#9 – Yurukill: The Calumniation Games (Nintendo Switch, June 10th)

I wish I could put this game higher on my list. But, the bullet hell gameplay worries me a bit. I easily get frustrated by bullet hell games, but I still enjoy playing them.

But, this game is an escape game that gives off a lot of Zero Escape and Danganrompa vibes and I love it. Also, it’s being developed by the creators of Death Come True and World’s End Club.

I’m quite curious to see what’s going to become of this game. How much they are going to blend the escape-the-room style of gameplay with bullet hell… It is two very different gameplay styles that don’t fit at all, and this might be crazy enough to work.

And even when I’m afraid that the bullet hell sections might frustrate me, since I’m not that good at them… Still, I want to see the end result. And who knows, maybe by playing this game, I might become interested in bullet hell games… We’ll have to wait and see.

#8 – The Cruel King and the Great Hero (Nintendo Switch, March 31st)

You know that moment when you see a trailer, and you fall in love with the art style, setting, and atmosphere right away? This is one of those games to me.

This game looks like a simple, charming RPG game that’s going to have a coming-of-age story.

At first glance, it might look mediocre and a game you might skip. But I think that would be a shame. Since this game looks adorable and charming, and it reminds me how I fell in love with Fantasy Life on the 3DS. A game can also be charming, enjoyable, and relaxing to be fun. And I’m sure this is going to be one of the games I’m going to play next year to wind down after a long day at work. And that’s one of the biggest reasons I’m looking forward to this game.

You know what, it also reminds me off? Like a storybook game. Where you go from location to location and stories are told to children to teach them life lessons. A bit like the core story concept of Blossom Tales.

#7 – Mario + Rabbids – Sparks of Hope (Nintendo Switch, TBA)

Throughout this year, I have been slowly chipping away at the Mario + Rabbits game. I have been distracted by so many other games, I didn’t finish the original.

But, then out of nowhere in a Nintendo Direct, this game got dropped. And I’m so happy to see this happen. The original game is an amazing mash-up of both worlds, and it would be a shame if it was a one-time spin-off.

And now we are getting a sequel. I feel it’s more than well deserved. The passion and love put into the first game… So, I have some time to finish the first game, so I can dive right into the next game next year. So, I know what I’m going to play right after this article is published.

#6 – Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (Nintendo Switch, Spring 2022)

The amount of times I wanted to start playing Advance Wars 1/2 or purchase my own copy via a second-hand website, is just crazy. I always wanted to give this series a try after I heard so many amazing things about it from other people I follow and YouTubers I watch.

But, next year is going to be my chance. I’ll be able to play both games and more in the remake. A big turn-based strategy game that started on a handheld that helped shape my childhood, the Game Boy Advance, is going to come to the Nintendo Switch.

And maybe, with a subtitle like “Re-Boot Camp”, it might mean we get an Advance Wars 3… It might be the reboot we are waiting for. So, I’m ready to enter the tanks in the Spring of 2022 and fight alongside Andy and the others.

#5 – The Stanley Parable – Ultra Deluxe (PC – Early 2022)

This game has been delayed since 2019 till early 2022. I honestly think that each and every time, the developers had more ideas and wanted to improve the game even more.

Now, as a writer and a gamer, I’m in love with the concept of the Stanley Parable that turns the story-telling in games on its head. So, the promise of seeing more of this, well, you don’t have to tell me twice.

So, I already wishlisted the game on Steam. The only thing I can do now is wait… Right Stanley? Did I follow the correct path? I think so, I haven’t taken a wrong turn anywhere…

#4 – Kirby And The Forgotten Land (Nintendo Switch, Spring 2022)

The last mainline Kirby game was Kirby Star Allies, way back in 2018. We got two spin-off games in the meantime, but Kirby is going to be back in 2022. And not only that, it’s going to be one of three open-world games from Nintendo in the upcoming year.

Yes, I couldn’t believe my ears. An open-world Kirby game. And yes, one of three. Anyways, I always wanted to play an open-world Kirby game. Well, honestly, I wanted to play a 3D Kirby game where you can explore the whole world.

And with this entry in the Kirby series, my wish came true. We shall be able to explore the forgotten lands and together with Kirby we shall uncover the secrets of the Forgotten Land.

#3 – Pokémon Legends Arceus (Nintendo Switch, January 28th)

I honestly think I don’t have to explain myself why I’m so crazy hyped about this game. It’s what Pokémon fans have been asking, begging GameFreak and Nintendo for years. Ever since the first generations, we always wanted a 3D Pokémon game where you can run around and catch Pokémon. Something more than what the main series is offering. Something where you can explore a world freely and maybe use Pokémon to your advantage.

And Pokémon Legends Arceus promises to deliver that. A sort of Breath of the Wild version of Pokémon. I’m really avoiding all released press materials, so I can go into this game as blind as possible. The only thing I have seen is the initial trailer and I also read the news that new materials have improved the frame rate of the game.

While I’m fully aware that we all have an extremely high bar set for this game… I’m going to play it with an open mind. I’m going to try and silence my critical voice in my head while playing this game and let this game’s atmosphere do the work. Since, I’m also silently hoping that this style of Pokémon will be a spin-off series or maybe… Even more. The next generation of gameplay.

#2 – The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild 2 (Nintendo Switch, TBA 2022)

I’m crossing my fingers so hard that this game doesn’t get another delay. Since, I really want to play this game. It’s the 3rd open-world game scheduled for 2022 by Nintendo, and it’s one of the most anticipated games of Nintendo so far.

While I personally miss the top-down Zelda gameplay and first, I wasn’t too fond of the changes in Breath of the Wild, I have to admit that the game grew on me. It added so much more freedom to explore the unique mechanics and gameplay, instead of some items being under-used.

And from what we have seen from the sequel, this game is going above and beyond. From going through floors, skydiving and rewinding time… Man, the possibilities for puzzles and challenges is just huge. I can’t wait. But, if a delay is needed to polish up the game and/or iron out bugs… I wouldn’t mind a delay but on the other hand…

#1 – AI The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative (Nintendo Switch, Spring 2022)

Creating this list, and especially the top 5 was extremely difficult. There are so many good games coming out in 2022, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to play all the games I want to play.

Now, why did I put this game on top? Well, since I have the feeling that this game is going to be one of my favorite games I’m going to play in 2022.

When I played the original game, I was so impressed and blown away… I mean, it was almost my favorite game of 2019.

I’m a huge fan of Kotaro’s Uchikoshi’s work. Especially after the Zero Escape series, which I tend to quote in real life sometimes. And seeing a new game from him, made me extremely happy.

Which mysteries is this game going to bring? Since, you would think that the original game wrapped up everything with a nice bow on top of it. But nope, our beloved cast of characters is coming back and we are going to have a new adventure. I’m so ready!

Final thoughts

You might have noticed that my whole list is almost only Switch games. That’s because due to my busy personal life and events, I mostly play on my retro consoles or on my Switch. Currently, I have no major interest in buying an XBOX or PS5, since there aren’t enough games for me to justify buying those consoles. The same with PC games, the new PC games don’t grab my interest enough for me to upgrade my setup.

Maybe the ports of God Of War and Uncharted might be the games that make me consider upgrading my setup… But then, you have a sequel to Blossom Tales or Coffee Talk and then I get even less interested in upgrading my setup.

Then again, you have the Vampire: The Masquerade sequel… But that’s also coming out on Switch. And I also keep forgetting that huge pile of retro games I still have backlogged. 2022 will be a big year in gaming and for me personally, and I can’t wait to see where it will take me. So, 2021 is almost over and it’s time to wrap it up in the next article(s) and prepare ourselves for 2022. Since, it’s going to be big.

With that said, I want to thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Counting Steps: Pokemon Go!

General info:

Official website – Wikipedia entry

• Developed by: Niantic
• Published by: Nintendo, Pokémon Company
• Original release date: July 6th, 2016
• Platforms: Android, iOS
• Written in Unity

I was late to the game with Pokemon. My generation was in elementary school at the height of the Pokemon craze. From what I hear, it was a grand ole time. Due to some satanic-panic logic (that remains unclear to me) Pokemon was forbidden in my house, growing up.

In fact, that was the reason behind most prohibited activities of my childhood. No Casper. No Power Rangers. No Pokemon. All of that exclusion kept me away from the cool kids’ table. Nobody deserves to be bullied, but looking back, I wasn’t any of the things you usually see in kids that get picked on. Not being an obvious target wound up hurting me in the long run. “How could you get picked on? You’re the biggest kid in class!” I was. Eventually, I had to figure out how to get with it or get left in the dust. 

Not only was it banned at home, most of the disciplinary action I witnessed in grade school revolved around punishing kids for bringing Pokemon cards to school. That prohibition was my “in.” After confiscating a large quantity of Pokemon cards, teachers carelessly tossed the collection in one pile onto the floor. 

Predictably, there were dogpiles. Whatever lay on the floor was up for grabs. I was left out of the conversation, but I certainly overheard them. What 9 years old could resist the opportunity to brag about their 1st edition Charizard? Or their holographic Pikachu? The kids making fun of me gave away exactly which cards I should steal from them. With everyone’s eyes on the prize, nobody noticed the only kid in class who couldn’t play Pokemon joining the ambush. On a few occasions, I’d crawl out with quite the score. 

My brothers obtained their own collections over time. Only, they would get caught. Every time one brother was busted, I’d overhear my parents threaten to search every bag in the house. While they sniffed for clues, I’d ditch my cards among the discarded contraband in the kitchen garbage to save my skin. In the end, every heist proved fruitless. My name’s Eric Fellner, and I stole my friend’s and classmates’ cherished Pokemon cards so I could throw them in the trash.

July 2016. Imagine my surprise the day Pokemon Go comes out, and my mom has it downloaded on her phone. After all that effort! After years of enforcement! 

Possibly the allure of augmented reality swayed my mother’s feelings on the matter? Maybe she admitted to herself the ban never had any rationale to start with? Whatever occurred, Pokemon Go was my first game in the series at the age of 23. 

It was a good summer to start! I had returned from a month-long stay in Brooklyn, which was honestly the time of my life. I had booked my first show for my return to North Carolina. A month of walking around the city got me into great shape. To my knowledge, the relationship I was in was going well. July 2016 was starting off as the peak of my “Jordan-year.”

Additionally, the whole world seemed united in (at least novel) interest in this game. And I could finally buy-in! My co-workers at Starbucks would dip into the parking lot catching Pokemon while they took drive-through orders. All hours of the night, pods of kids and adults alike crowded what was suddenly considered “landmarks.” In search of resources. Battling over gyms. Trying to “catch ‘em all.” You’re familiar with the game.

Counting on!

Personally, I loved using the game as a pedometer! It kept me in great shape. Endlessly running through the neighborhood and shopping centers felt as true to the core gameplay loop of Pokemon as you can get. Only, there was slightly less animal violence.

Then, July came to a close. One night, I stopped in late to see my grandfather who lived in town, Popop. We had open plans to visit a 24-hour bakery in Charlotte called Amelie’s. Unfortunately, he passed in his sleep sometime before I arrived. 

Between that night and the funeral, the girl I had been seeing ended things over text. The next week, I played that show I had booked while I was in New York. Due to similar circumstances in the other bandmates’ lives, the band immediately disbanded. 

After a month of riding high, things crashed spectacularly. My enthusiasm for Pokemon Go died amid the chaos and depression of the time. I didn’t feel like running. I didn’t want to see people out, people together. It’s no exaggeration that week in August took years to recover from. Not just emotionally. Regaining the sense of momentum I felt that summer took time. Pokemon Go forever resides in my memory as the pop-culture phenomenon that coincides with that period of my life.

February 2020. After a couple rough years, I was quitting the worst job of my life (thanks for nothing, Target) to teach guitar full-time. Playing music, for a living. Then, wouldn’t you know it? COVID-19 struck! 

Boy did it. And the job I just went all-in on was at high risk of being yanked from under me. Reflecting now, I wonder if the sink or swim of the moment shocked me into a state of flow. One day, my boss and I devised a plan to transition the entire studio to a remote format. The next day, the admin team and teachers were executing that plan. We were infinitely fortunate. We never missed a single day of lessons.

My girlfriend lived two hours away in Raleigh, and we decided to lock down together while I could work remotely. Despite having some work, I still had a considerable amount of free time. We were 5 miles from Moore Park, the center of downtown Raleigh, with everything in the city closed. As that normal set in, I found myself running across Raleigh playing Pokemon Go. Me and my Snorlax, Popop.

Normal is hopefully starting to shift yet again, and I continue to log (slightly fewer) kilometers in Pokemon Go. I’m no longer interested in Pokemon to get along with classmates, and if tragedy strikes, I’m a little better prepared. Pokemon Go is more of a glorified pedometer more than augmented reality, but my fondness for it still runs deep.

This piece is part of a larger collaboration, Pokemon: Creator’s Catch. Click here to check out all the work by other great writers and artists!

Review: Pokémon Sword & Shield (Switch) ~ Want Some Tea And Battling Biscuits?

Official website – Wikipedia entry

Before I introduce the game, I want to mention that this article is a part of a collaboration with other content creators for the celebration of the Pokémon series, Creator’s Catch. If you want to read more Pokémon content on this 25^th anniversary of the original Pokémon games in Japan, there a hub article with more information. In any case, one of my pieces for this collaboration is a review on the latest main series Pokémon games called Pokémon Sword and Shield which released in late 2019 and got two expansion packs in 2020. Now, should you play this game or leave this game at the wayside? Was the “Dexit” controversy right, when not all the Pokémon were going to be included, to boycott the game or shouldn’t they worry? Let’s find out in my review of Pokémon Sword and Shield. I have played the Shield version and most of the DLC for this review. So, what is your opinion on the game and/or the content of this article, let me know in the comment section down below!

Want some tea?

This game takes place in the Galar region. This region is based on a place that’s extremely close to me. I just have to cross the pond for it. Our above neighbors Great Britain were the inspiration for this game. In terms of story, the structure of the game is extremely similar to the original games. There is less focus on a more unique attempt at gyms like in Pokémon Sun & Moon.

So, you start out in your home town, picking one of three starter Pokémon to set out on a journey to discover the secrets and the evil lurking over the region by going to each and every gym and trying to defeat the Pokémon league.

I’m going to be blunt and honest here. While the story has some fun and quirky characters, it’s way to stripped down of anything that gives some tension to it. There isn’t even an “evil team” in this game. The motivations of the antagonist are weak at best. The biggest flaw is that the story lacked depth.

I finished these games last year and to remind myself what happened in the story, I had to take out my strategy guide and skim through it to get the gist of it. Now, there are a few moments that stood out during the story but these moments were far and few between.

It’s a shame really, since the writing and potential for a better story are in the game. I’m not going to argue that the previous Pokémon games always had a very in-depth story but I’m going to argue that the story was more engaging and gave a better atmosphere to the game. For example, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire tell a story about the climate in terms of the balance of land and water. Pokémon Black and White told a story about the moral of capturing creatures to help in work. Pokémon Sun and Moon told a story about how power can go and make you mad.

I can’t tell you what the moral or message of the Pokémon Sword and Shield games are. In a matter of fact, the actual climax and buildup is so see through that I’m quite sure that even a young child is going to see the twist at the end coming from a mile away. The DLC thankfully takes a step in the right direction, they feel a bit more fleshed out and still have a story to tell instead of something quite generic that the main story is telling.

I think I could ramble on and on about the story, but I think I should focus on review this game and talk about other elements as well, so let’s take a further look into this Pokémon game and let’s see why the fans of the Pokémon franchise are so divided on this game.

Some biscuits, please!

Even when a game doesn’t have an enjoyable story, the game can still be quite fun. Now, let me first tackle the “Dexit” controversy. There was a group of Pokémon fans who were quite angry when it was announced that not all Pokémon would make it over into the Pokémon Sword and Shield games. I can totally understand from where these people are coming from but I can totally understand the viewpoint of the developers.

It’s a bummer for the fans that they might be unable to catch their favorite Pokémon or carry their Pokémon over from older games. I can totally understand the fear that it’s now possible that Pokémon are going to be locked behind a DLC-paywall. I would totally agree with that fear if the developers implemented a pay per Pokémon scheme, but thankfully enough, they didn’t. Thankfully in the DLC we got 200 Pokémon that were returning to the game for a reasonable price.

Now, what do I personally think about the whole Dexit controversy? Well, to be honest, I don’t mind the fact that not every Pokémon is in the game. And I’m going to explain myself. I think it would have been a huge workload to make close to 900 new models and make them work in the new game. In addition to that, I think it’s a great way to force players to experiment with the new Pokémon. Since why should you catch or try out the new Pokémon if you are able to catch all the ones you know?

Just thinking about the workload that adding 900 Pokémon in one game is going to bring is making my head spin. Not only you need to make sure that there is the right balancing, but you also need to make sure that every Pokémon has it’s use and reason for existing. And let’s not forget the fact that you need to animate them in a large dynamax form as well. Also, just imagine that you had an extremely low chance to catch a certain Pokémon just because there are too many in one route.

It would bloat the game beyond belief. I think that it’s quite possible that when the next generation comes out, we are going to have close to 1000 Pokémon. So, you could start to argue that maybe we shouldn’t have new Pokémon in the next generation but discovering the new Pokémon is just half the fun of a Pokémon game isn’t it.

Anyways, I think it’s time to focus on Pokémon Sword and Shield’s gameplay isn’t it? So, how does this game play? Well, in terms of gameplay, nothing really changed. If you have played Pokémon games in the past, you know what to expect in this game. You train your Pokémon during Pokémon battles in routes and cities and try to defeat 8 gyms that specialize in a type to gain 8 badges to defeat the 5 strongest trainers in the region. Meanwhile you discover the truth behind the legend of that region’s legendary Pokémon(s).

For some veterans, the formula is getting a bit stale. I still enjoyed going through the whole game but I’m a bit disappointed that they are returning to the old school gym design. The trail challenges in the previous Sun and Moon games were such an amazing breath of fresh air. In this game, it’s a strange mixture between the old school gym design an a sort of challenge based design. It’s a step in the right direction to make gyms more fun but something that did surprise me is the fact that there are differences in the gym depending on the version you are playing. Finally, there are more differences between the versions then just the Pokémon you can catch. For example, in Circhester, you fight Gordie who uses rock Pokémon for the 6^th badge if you play the Sword version. But in the Shield version, you fight Gordie’s mother Melony and she uses ice Pokémon to challenge you. Sadly enough, this happens for one other gym. I would love to see more in the future. More differences between the versions instead of just the Pokémon you can catch and/or some minor visual/text differences.

There are two unique mechanics in this game. The first is dynamaxing. With this mechanic, you can dynamax your Pokémon in certain criteria. You can use this mechanic during special battles basically. When you dynamax your Pokémon, they grow quite large and they can use extremely strong attacks. I could explain it in detail, but if you want to know more, Bulbapedia has an amazing in-depth article on it. This mechanic really puts an interesting twist on battling but I feel that this doesn’t scream Pokémon to me. It feels like just a spin on Mega Evolution which is basically Dynamax Lite now.

The second unique mechanic are the wild areas. These areas are basically quite open routes where you can do just a little bit more than just battle trainers, battle wild Pokémon and go from one place to the next. If all the routes were more as open and as large to the wild area, then I would applaud the developers. Now, the wild area feels painfully underdeveloped. You can camp and cook in these areas but that is just a small distraction at best. The things you can do while camping feel extremely limited and the cooking mini game is enjoyable but I rarely came back to it.

In the cooking mini game, you have to combine berries and a core ingredient to create all sorts of curry. You can find these ingredients in the wild area. These curries can give a boost to the friendship you have with the Pokémon and other very minor boosts. One of these boots can be to experience gain.

There is a multiplayer aspect to camping and cooking but to be honest, I haven’t used it nor have I experimented with it that much so I’m not going to comment on it. Feel free to talk about it in the comments since I would love to know if it’s fun or not.

Something I feel rather mixed about is the fact you can easily access the boxes anywhere in the world. So, that means you can easily swap your team members on the fly. Thankfully, they don’t fully heal if you switch them in and out of the box during your adventure, since that would have broken the difficulty of this game even more.

This brings me to the point of the difficulty of Pokémon Sword and Shield. Balancing a game just right is something quite tricky to do. I have written a lengthy article about it in 2019. Now, I’m sad to say that this game doesn’t deliver in that department. You have to go out of your way to make the game more challenging. There are various video’s and articles floating around on the internet to give you tips and tricks to make the game more difficult. I’m just going to give some examples: TheGamer and NintendoLife.

The aftertaste

Now, it might seem that I’m ripping this game apart. Complaining about the story, the unique mechanics and the difficulty of the games. I think I’m going to run ahead of the conclusion of this article but I feel that Pokémon Sword and Shield could have been so much better, miles better in fact. The potential is there in the game.

The game controls amazingly well. It’s the first mainline Pokémon game on a console and it made the transformation quite well. While I got some minor slowdowns during some intense senses and during some battles after selecting a move, they weren’t too bad and the framerate got stable again quite fast.

Something I really liked in this game is the soundtrack and the audio design. Some tracks in this soundtrack like the battle theme of Bede or the battle theme of Marnie are absolute bobs. I also listen to the soundtrack from this game from time to time while at work and while writing articles. I enjoy it just that much. The sound effects add to the atmosphere of the game as well. For example, you feel that moves having the impact it should have to draw you in into the world of this game.

I can totally understand that some people are somewhat disappointed with the visual presentation of this game. Especially since some attacks have a 2D animation while some attacks have a grand 3D animation. To be honest, I didn’t mind it that much. I rather have a generic animation that can be used for every Pokémon that can learn or execute that move instead of the developers having to create a separate animation for each and every Pokémon that can learn the move.

This game is quite colorful and detailed. The visual presentation of a steampunk Great Britain is rather well executed and well done in my opinion. I really like the fact that battles with gym leaders are in a grand stadium, it’s something I always imagined as a kid. Then again, I wonder every gym battle can draw those huge crowds if this region where real. But that’s nitpicking beyond belief.

In terms of visuals, I have been comparing character models of Pokémon from Sun & Moon and Sword & Shield. I have to say that it’s a huge improvement and they look a lot better with better lighting and details in Sword & Shield. Now, you can clearly notice during the game that the developers hit the limits of the 3DS in Sun & Moon, so we should only get better models in the future. It’s also amazing to see that you can see the first Pokémon in your party to follow you in the overworld.

HM moves are a thing of the past in this game. This is something I really feel mixed about. It’s something that could be used to gate players from progressing too fast in the game in more unique ways instead of just blocking the road with various people. It also created more interesting puzzles by sliding blocks or having to dive under water. It’s something I’m going to miss to be quite honest yet I totally understand why it has been done. This way you don’t have to have a Pokémon in your party that’s simply your HM slave and make the world more open to exploration.

A huge positive in this game is the fact that they finally fixed the random battle system. You can finally see all the wild Pokémon in the overworld and avoid them if needed to catch a certain one. In addition to that, you can see which moves are effective against the Pokémon you are battling if you have fought the Pokémon before. If only there was an option to turn it off for more veteran players, that would be awesome. Like an option to disable the always on experience share or turn it in another mode would have been great as well.

This game also has a few online modes like raids and versus battles. But I’m not that big of an online gamer so I’m going to comment on those very much because I haven’t experienced them enough to talk about them. Now, you can do raid battles solo and those are fine but you feel that these are more enjoyable when you do them with friends or strangers online.

Something I’m totally forgetting to talk about is the fact that there is a way you can ease of the griding of your Pokémon! Since you can send them on jobs. In the Pokémon Centers you have a machine where you can play the Pokémon Lottery but more important, send your Pokémon on certain jobs. The better they preform on a better, the more experience and rarer items they will bring back. You can also choose for how long you will have to miss your Pokémon. It’s a sort of free daycare system.

That brings me to how content is somewhat locked in this game. The further you get in the game, the more items unlock. So, even if you were to cheat and go out of bounds towards another city’s Pokémon Center to go to the market, you won’t be able to buy more powerful items. It’s the same with collecting the League cards, which is just an immersion mechanic in the game.

Something new in this game is that there is an autosave feature. So, the days of manually saving are over. Surprisingly enough, there is an option to enable to disable the autosave feature. Now, I have mostly played this game without the autosave feature since I felt that my game ran a smidge better with it off.

The last things I want to talk about is the postgame and the DLC’s. Let’s start with the postgame. There is a minor silly additional story you get after becoming the champion. I’m sorry but I can’t take the characters in this story chapter seriously, I find it a bit ridiculous and silly. Apart from that, you can learn unique moves and do various other things. A nice list has been created by gamewith.net. Personally, I find the post-game content rather enjoyable apart from the silly story of course.

So, the DLC. I honestly have to say that it’s totally worth a purchase. The base game provides around 30 to 40-ish hours of content if you want to play the main story and the extra’s. If you add the two DLC’s on top of that, it’s another 10 to 20 hours on top of that. If you want to fully complete the game, you are looking at an adventure that takes close to 130 hours to complete.

The DLC is also amazing postgame content. It adds unique mechanics and is a step in the right direction when it comes to game difficulty. So, if you enjoyed the base game, I think that the additional 30€ is worth it for both DLC’s. They might be a tad bit on the expensive side but they add more then enough content to justify the price in my opinion.

To avoid spoilers, I’m not going to talk too in-depth about them, but one DLC is a whole new island to explore with a fun quest to find all the Digletts and to train a Pokémon to fight in one of two towers to choose between which legendary Pokémon you want in addition to the biggest wild area in the game. The other DLC gives a whole new boss rush rouge like mini game for legendary hunting and another new wild area.

And with that said, I think it’s high time for my conclusion. Since this review is getting rather lengthy isn’t it?

Conclusion

The bad:

-Rather underwhelming story.

-The game is too easy.

-Some parts of the game feel underdeveloped and underused.

The good:

+ Amazing visual design.

+ Interesting new spins on the gym battles.

+ Amazing soundtrack.

+ …

Final thoughts:

After I had beaten the main game and played parts of the DLC, I started a review of this game multiple times and scrapped it each and every time. This game has so many underdeveloped good and fun elements it hurts to see them dragged down by the two biggest downfalls of this game and that’s the weak story and the game being too easy for it’s own good.

I still enjoyed my time with the game but sometimes I felt that these games are becoming a shadow of their former selves. I honestly think that if the story had more depth and there were difficulty options, this game wouldn’t have divided the fanbase so much. Of course, you have the whole Dexit controversy thing, but as I explained before, I don’t find it too big of a disaster.

The game is still a blast to play with an amazing soundtrack, new and fun mechanics like the wild area’s and a lot of accessibility features like seeing the effectiveness of moves. Also, we are finally seeing more differences between both versions that just simply the Pokémon you can catch in the wild.

This generation took a few steps back and a few steps forward and I’m quite curious to see what we are going to get in the future. What games are we going to get in this anniversary year of Pokémon? Since I would love to see the franchise continue and thrive since this game proves that the formula can still be quite a lot of fun if it’s handled well.

So, should you pick up this game? I would recommend it but I would warn players that they shouldn’t expect an expansive story and a lot of challenge expect they create their own challenge. But, it’s still a great and enjoyable Pokémon game where you can sink a lot of hours into.

And that’s everything I wanted to say about this game. Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!

Score: 70/100

Remember, this article is part of a huge collab of content creators to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of Pokémon in Japan. Want to read more articles and content? Click here to go to the hub article where we all take a look at the main line Pokémon games and various spin-offs.

Game Quicky: Island Maze (Switch) ~ Each Island Is A Maze

Official Nintendo microsite – Drageus microsite

From time to time, I enjoy trying out cheap games. Especially when I have some budget leftover and I see a game that looks interesting. That’s why I agreed to write a small review article on Island Maze for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a game Drageus Games developed themselves instead of porting the game over. So, let’s take a look at this game with the review copy that the developers provided. Now, in this review, you will find my 100% honest opinion on the game but feel free to leave your opinion on the game and/or the content of this article down below.

Positives

This game is quite easy to grasp and has an enjoyable concept. The idea is that you get to the goal in the least amount of moves possible. The catch is that you can’t move over a colored tile without the correct gem. So, you have to think about how your dice is going to move over the field before moving.

Now, the game might seem to limit in the controls department, but you have a lot of helpful tools at your disposal. You can rotate the camera, zoom in and out and even undo moves. You can also reserve the camera’s direction when it doesn’t feel right to you to control.

This game allows you to skip levels. Whenever you are stuck on a certain level, you don’t need to play that level. When you complete 10 levels with the least amount of moves, you unlock every level.

The music is quite relaxing. It fits the atmosphere of the game amazingly well. Together with the amazing visuals, the game looks and sounds amazing. Maybe a bit more sound effects would be nice but then again, I think I would get sick of the dice rolling sound effect extremely quickly. Maybe one or two sound effects in the menus would be nice.

Negatives

There are a few glaring issues in this game that I want to address.

The first issue is that the undo button only works for one move. So, if you noticed a mistake that you made ten moves ago, you better restart.

Secondly, there is no hint system. So, when you are stuck on a level, there is no way for you to know more. So, if you don’t understand a new mechanic right away… You will have to experiment.

For some reason, the “-” button brings up the controller connect menu of the Nintendo Switch. This serves no purpose in the game at all.

The naming of this game is a bad decision. If you Google: “Island Maze”, the results are mostly the island mazes from Breath of the Wild. If this game was a simple hobby project, I wouldn’t mind it too much. But, I think that in future the developers should pay a bit more attention to the naming in case they want to promote their game online more easily.

This game has been out for a year on Steam. Compared to the Steam version, which is a tad bit cheaper mind you, nothing has been changed. I think that after a year, the game could use some new levels and mechanics to give the game a bit more depth.

Final Thoughts – Conclusion

This is a good game, but it’s on the wrong platform. The audience for the Nintendo Switch isn’t an audience for quick and short casual games like this game. I think that the game would be better suited for mobile platforms. I felt that touch controls would work better for this game. Honestly, the game gave me that sort of vibe.

Apart from the broken undo system, I don’t see anything wrong with the game. This game is a cheap and enjoyable puzzler that can be entertaining for a rainy afternoon or when you are waiting for the doctor or when you are traveling on the bus or something of that nature.

I’m just a bit sad to see that this game is so short while the concept has a lot of promise. I enjoyed my time with this game but I wouldn’t blame people when they get bored with this game or skip it.

And that’s everything I wanted to say about this game. Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!

Score: 3/5

Gamer’s Thoughts: NekoJonez’s Top 10 Played Games of 2018

2018 was an extremely strange year for me personally. A lot has happened in the past 12 months both good and bad. I have graduated this year. I’m now a bachelor in Computer Science – Networking. But on the other hand, I have gone through a lot of personal rough patches that did quite a number on my mental health. I’m slowly recovering and the support I’m getting is motivating me, even more, to go forward and get better. That said, I also played quite a lot of games this year. I got a Switch this year and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I also finished and completed a lot of games I started in the past few years so I had a bit of trouble putting this list together. So, for those who are new here, this list contains my 10 favorite games I have STARTED playing in 2018. The release date of the game itself doesn’t matter, what matters is that I started playing it in 2018. Before we get into the actual list, reminder, this list is my personal opinion. So, feel free to discuss it in the comments and also feel free to post your own list into the comments. I’m rather curious. Anyways, this introduction is getting quite long, it’s time to get into the actual list.

Place 10: Angels of Death (Nintendo Switch)

My review

At first, this game would have a higher place on this list. The story and theming of this game grabbed my attention so much, I felt the black hole after finishing this game quite hard. I wanted to spend more time in the world of this game and spend more time with the characters.

I think that my love for the Corpse Party series and the Zero Escape series made me enjoy this game so much more. If you are a fan of either series, I highly recommend that you check out this game.

In addition to that, this game might have one of the best soundtracks I have heard this year. How many times I have listened to it this year, I lost count already. And mind you, I found this game in late October.

Now, why is this game not higher on the list? I praised it quite a lot in my review and I might have given the impression that this game would be my game of the year… Well, it’s because I played another horror game this year that just did that bit more. Outside of that, the short length and gameplay; the game felt like a game I play in between big releases. So yeah. That’s why.

Place 9: Shining Resonance – Refrain (Switch)

Wikipedia

So, back in 2016, I played Stella Glow. I got quite into the story of music playing a big role in an RPG by giving buffs or debuffs. When I found Shining Resonance: Refrain on the Nintendo eShop on the Switch and read that music played an important role as well, I was sold.

When I started to play this game, I got flashbacks to Stella Glow. Even when this game plays quite a lot differently than Stella Glow. This game is more action-focused and in real-time while Stella Glow’s gameplay is more a big puzzle and turn-based.

While I haven’t even come close to finishing this game, I’m quite curious about what else I’ll encounter in this game. I’m at the midway mark of this game but I have been rushing through it. I think that the next couple of playing sessions will be to catch up with various side quests and improving my characters and their equipment since I quite a lot of trouble while battling the last boss.

Now, this game is a port of a PS3 game released in 2014. It’s also a part of the Shining series. If the other games in the series are as enjoyable as this game, I think I might explore this series in the future. Too bad that a lot of games in this series haven’t left Japan.

Place 8: Atelier Rorona – The Alchemist of Arland (Nintendo Switch)

Wikipedia

So, not too long ago, a bundle of three Atelier games got released on the Nintendo Switch. These games are the Arland trilogy. After I figured out what was the first game in the series, I started playing Atelier Rorona.

I was very surprised with the game actually. The game is quite enjoyable to play but it can be repetitive. The game is about an alchemy workshop with a very lazy owner. You play as her pupil named Rorona. When the kingdom orders the closure of the workshop, you get three years to prove the worth of the shop and finish various assignments of the kingdom. If you fail one of these, the workshop closes right away.

Now, what I didn’t know is how replayable this game is. These are so many mechanics I discovered during my first time playing this game, I also found out that there are a lot of various endings to the game. Now that I have beaten the game once, I think I’ll first beat the other two games before I do another playthrough to get an even better ending.

I personally really liked this game but I have to say that this game isn’t for everyone. I recommend this game to everybody who enjoys a more laid back RPG game. This game does have a lot of depth, but overall I found this game a more relaxing experience. That statement might change if I try to go for the other endings, who knows.

In any case, I’m rather curious about what the other two games have an offer for me. Since I’m going to beat those next. And who knows, these games might convince me to further check out the Atelier series, of which there are many… many games.

Place 7: Resident Evil 4 (PlayStation 2)

Wikipedia

When I started playing games like Corpse Party, Fatal Frame and Zero Escape; I knew that one day I’ll have to look into the horror genre. A long time ago, in one of my local toy stores, there was a PS2 booth where a demo of Resident Evil 4 was playable. I think I was 14 years old and while I enjoyed playing the game, I didn’t even know the title nor the impact that game was going to have in the gaming scene. I think I only played the game for like 10-15 minutes in total since the next time I went, the booth was replaced with a demo Gamecube with Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

I actually forgot about the game until some of my favorite YouTubers started to talk about it on their channels. Back then, I was more into adventure and puzzle games, so I took note of the name and moved on.

Fast forward to this year. I was browsing the second-hand games in my local game store and I saw a copy of Resident Evil 4 for the PS2 for only 10€. I didn’t hesitate twice. I bought this game and after I came home I started to play it right away. While I was afraid that I would suck at survival horror, I was able to finish chapter after chapter.

I also got quickly used to aiming and firing a gun with a controller. Since that was one of my biggest fears. I tried playing various shooters with a controller in the past and I always had a lot of trouble.

So, because I was highly surprised at how much fun I was having, I felt that this game rightfully deserved a spot on this year’s list.

Place 6: Project Zero II (Fatal Frame II) – The Crimson Butterfly (PlayStation 2)

Wikipedia

So, due to Project Zero V – Maiden of the Black Water last year, I got quite into the Project Zero / Fatal Frame series. But seeing the pricing of getting other entries in the series ranging from 30€ to 60€, I had a hard time tracking down a copy.

To my surprise, around my birthday, somebody brought Fatal Frame I, II and III into my local game store and I was able to buy the three titles for 20€ each.

I started playing all three games to test out if the games worked or not. Yet, when I was testing Fatal Frame II, I found myself not able to stop playing the game. The concept of the story where one sister is always looking for her sibling just spoke to me on a personal level. It was quite tricky to get used to playing this game on the PS2 since I always tried to move the camera while moving the PS2 controller since I was used it that playing the other game on the Wii U.

I enjoy playing this game the most, late at night while I darken my room and turn off the lights so I have only the glow of the TV and the disc spinning in the PS2 to keep my company. This makes the game and the experience that more enjoyable. I can’t wait to boot up my PS2 again tonight and try to make some more progress in this quite enjoyable game.

Place 5: Death Mark  (Nintendo Switch)

Official website

It looks like I was in a horror rush this year. Death Mark is the 4th game on my favorite games of 2018 list. Now, when I wrote my Halloween special on Angels of Death this year, I actually completed the game before Halloween. So, I was looking for a new horror game to play on Halloween and that’s when I found Death Mark on the Nintendo eShop.

When I was looking at the screenshots and reading the description, it felt like a mixture of Corpse Party and the Zero Escape series. A visual novel horror adventure game that throws you in front of a lot of puzzles.

And that’s what the game delivers perfectly. An enjoyable story with multiple outcomes depending on your actions and one that gripped me to the end. While I was able to see some twists coming from a mile away, the pacing and writing the story more than made up for it.

The story is about a mysterious mark that appears on your body when you go to a haunted place and that mark spells death by dawn if you are unable to clear the grudge of the spirit that gave you the mark. So, if you enjoy a visual novel style horror adventure game, I highly recommend that you check out this game.

Now, Japan is getting a sequel/follow up to this game next year.  Now here is my call to the developers, please localize the follow-up game as well. Looking at the screenshots and the teaser, I’m quite interested! And here is my call to everybody who is interested in horror, please give this game a shot and share it around. This game is highly underrated and deserves more attention and love!

Place 4: Blossom Tales (Switch)

My review

I often check the Nintendo Switch store for interesting and unique games. When I came across Blossom Tales, I was sold. The game looked like a well made 2D-Zelda clone and as a big fan of the Legend of Zelda… Let’s just say it was a no-brainer.

And I didn’t regret that decision once. I enjoyed playing this game quite a lot. I felt right at home as a Zelda fan. Also, this game reminded me a bit of the Fairune games. It reminded me how fun that 2D Zelda games are and how much I miss that style of gameplay. I wonder that if we are going to ever see a 2D Zelda game again after the massive success that was Breath of the Wild.  Only time will tell, but for now, I’m happy to see that there are indie game studios that will create games in that style so I’ll always have a game in that style to look forward too.

What I liked the most about this game was the unique way the story was told. A grandfather telling his grandchildren a story since they are bored. That’s one of the biggest strengths of this game. It gives off so much charm and character to the game, for that alone I would recommend that you play this game. And, since we are in the holidays period, the charm is even better!

Place 3: Fire Emblem Warriors (Nintendo Switch)

My review

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. This game is one of the reasons I bought a Nintendo Switch. I think the praise I gave in my review on this game made it pretty clear that this was one of the best games I have played in 2018.

Honestly, at first, I was afraid that I wasn’t going to like the game. Since I had put so many hours into Hyrule Warriors, I was afraid that I was burnt out on the formula and gameplay.

But Fire Emblem Warriors brings a lot of new and fresh mechanics to the table to make me enjoy the game even more. The only criticism I have about the game is that some parts are a bit too complex and not well explained enough in-game. Everything else is highly polished. Even the trick that Drakalus gave me to improve the frame rate in multiplayer aided quite a lot.

Thanks to this game, I got back into the Fire Emblem series. I think that in the upcoming months, I will start tackling my huge backlog of Fire Emblem games I have in my collection. I have at least 6 Fire Emblem games that I have started but never finished. I think it’s time to change that. This game convinced me that the series has quite a lot to offer and I can’t wait to see which adventures the world of Fire Emblem will bring me.

Place 2: Dragon Quest Builders (Nintendo Switch)

My review

When I saw a trailer for Dragon Quest Builders for the first time, I was hooked. I was disappointed when I learned that this game was going to release for the PlayStation 3, 4 and PSVita. At first, I was considering to buy a PSVita for this game (and Corpse Party Blood Drive before that got ported over to Android)

The game got ported to the Nintendo Switch, so I was able to buy it on the system I bought this year. And I’m glad I was able to play this game. I loved every moment of this game and I’m so extremely hyped for the upcoming sequel. The Japanese version released a couple of days ago. It’s quite tempting to look up let’s plays but I want to keep my experience as spoiler-free as I can.

The only new negative is that I’m unable to play the Terra Incognita mode. Since I have to pay for a Nintendo Online subscription and purchasing that for only that and a few NES games is currently not worth it for me in my opinion. But hey, that’s my opinion.

Honorable mentions

Now, I have played a lot of games and some games deserve a mention but haven’t made it on my list for various reasons. So, before I reveal my “game of the year” / number 1, it’s time for the honorable mentions.
Cleopatra – A Queen’s Destiny (PC), Knights of Pen & Paper (PC/Switch), Darkest Dungeon (Switch), Kamiko (Switch), A Magical High School Girl (Switch), Grumpy Cat (Android),
Etrain Odyssey 5 (3DS), Zack & Wiki (Wii), Steamworld Dig 2 (3DS), Silent Hill 4 (PS2), Telsagrad (Wii U), DuckTales (NES), Age of Empires – Definitive Edition (PC), Devil May Cry 4 (PS2).

Now, I know that a lot of major titles released in 2018 didn’t make it on my list or on my honorable mentions. In any case, I think it’s time to reveal the game I was most hyped for this year and I enjoyed the most. Which game is MY personal game of the year 2018? Let’s. Find. Out.

Number 1 – Game of the Year – Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PC)

My review

So, this experience. This game is my game of the year in 2018. Shadow of the Tomb Raider. When I was planning the Tomb Raider – Writers Raid collaboration, I claimed this game right away. I wanted to write about this game.

While some fans in the Tomb Raider series aren’t a big fan of the reboot since it’s a more action-focused and linear game; I enjoy the new direction of the series. Especially this game. The improved visual style, improved writing, the improved quality of life features… The game is just an amazing way to finish this reboot trilogy.

I seriously hope that this isn’t going to be the final game in the Tomb Raider series. Since I enjoyed myself with this game so much, I can’t wait to see where Lara goes next. Besides that, this year a new Tomb Raider movie got released. That movie I personally enjoyed quite a lot. For a movie based on a video game, I find that they did an extremely good job. I’m not really a movie review but if I have to grade the movie, it would get a 75/100.

Now, why did I enjoy this game so much? Why did I pick this game as my game of the year? For several reasons, the first reason is that this game’s story is the best story out of the three games in the reboot series. I had several moments where I felt the emotions of the characters, the voice actors did that good of a job.

The second reason is that this game is just beautiful. The visual presentation is just amazing. There are various spots where you look out over a huge forest from on top of a mountain or you get other breathtaking views. Now, a few moments had some minor visual glitching or some spots where the game could have look a bit better, but that might be because of my older GPU on my desktop. That might explain various lighting glitches I have in the post-launch DLC.

A third reason why this is my game of the year is that the Tomb Raider series just means a lot to me personally. I’m a huge Indiana Jones fan and I see and I have always seen Lara Croft as a sort of “sister” to Indiana Jones. But Indiana Jones doesn’t get a lot of attention in the video game scene while Lara does get that. So, being able to play games like Tomb Raider… Well, it’s my favorite genre and style of games after all. A mystery adventure game mixed with action and platforming segments.

The only disappointing thing is that I don’t have a physical copy of this game. The PC version of this game hasn’t gotten a physical release. And I feel it would be a waste of money to buy a PS4 or XBOX copy of the game just to have a physical version. But, if you want to know my actual opinion on the game, I advise that you read my review. Since I really detailed my opinion in that article.

So, if you will excuse me now. I think it’s time to wrap up this article so I can play the newly added tombs and story segments.

Wrapping up 2018.

Like I said at the beginning of this article, 2018 was an extremely weird year for me. I even got my articles stolen various times. Outside of that, I had 25,000 views on my blog. This is more than double compared to the number of views I got in 2017.

This inspires me to continue and write even more articles in 2019. I have a few in mind so I hope I’ll be able to welcome you on my blog next year. Blogging is my biggest hobby since I’m able to share my opinion on the games I have played with the world. I’m quite grateful for everybody who reads my articles and leaves comments or talks to me on social media or even in person about my articles and/or the games I have talked about.

I also love it when developers contact me and give me various chances to play unique and fun games. It also helps me to expand my collection and takes makes me even happier.

If I have to pick my favorite blogging moments of this year, I have to say how the community came together for helping me and other bloggers in fighting article theft, the Tomb Raider project and the various milestones I reached like 500+ followers on my Twitter. It’s still the best way to keep up-to-date with me.

2019 is going to celebrate the 9th year I have been blogging. Before 2013, I had a Dutch blog. That means that this blog will be 7 years old next year.

That will mean that 2020 will be an extremely special year for me. But, let’s focus first on 2019. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Speaking of 2019, I think I should talk about the games I’m looking forward to! That’s going to be (one of the) next articles on my blog. So, keep an eye out for that.

With that said, I want to thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

The Sunshine Blogger Award #2 of 2018 for NekoJonez

It took me quite some time to reply to this. I was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger award for the second time this year. Now, I want to thank Why We Play Games for this award. The recognition means a lot to me. I just love writing and sharing my experiences with people who want to read my stories. And, people do enjoy it. As shown by the various community awards my blog keeps getting. I also love these community awards, since it not only helps the readers to discover new people, it’s also a motivational boost for the person who receives it. And another reason is, it’s a nice opportunity to get to know the actual person behind the blog. So, it’s time to do my duty here and talk about this award. As usual, feel free to give your opinion on the content of this article in the comment section down below. 

The rules

Ah, copy-paste is a useful thing in these kinds of situations.

• Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
• Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

So, we can already check that first one from the introduction. Now, let’s take a look at the questions that Why We Play Games asked us.

Questions and answer

1. What is the game that you play the most?

Well, I have some games I have clocked more than 200 hours in. Since not every console tracks your playtime, I can’t say with which game I spent the most time. So, here are a few.

Minecraft: it’s a game I play on and off. There are times I don’t play anything else besides Minecraft and there are times I don’t want to play it. I just love exploring the worlds the generator throws at me. I create a base, where the main focus is a storage system of all the different things I hoard during my explorations. Also, I have very fond memories of playing on various servers with my friends. Ah, good times.

Europa Universalis IV: I have to thank one of my best friends MiseryLC for this. From the over 350 hours I have clocked in this game, I think more than half is spent with him. It’s really surprising how addictive this game is while it’s nothing more than staring at a map.

To avoid that this article gets too long, here are a few games that I adore and I have spent ages playing.

Rollercoaster Tycoon, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons, Age of Mythology and The Legend of Zelda – Breath Of The Wild to name a few

2. What is your favorite gaming memory?

Well, it is the memories that stick with me. Like various stories, I can tell from my times playing together with friends. Besides that, there are various other games of which the story really hit some emotional strings.

Games like A Hat in Time, The Legend of Zelda – Breath Of The Wild, Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, Zero Time Dilemma (and the whole Zero Escape series actually), Bioshock 2, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon are just a few games that come to mind.

There are other games were the story or the concept really interests me. Games like Alan Wake, Evoland, Remember Me and Mirror’s Edge are a few that come to mind. I could list these games for hours.

I just love how they give inspiration for other stories. When I was a young lad (I’m 25 now) I used to write fantasy stories. And playing these games and them giving me new inspiration for writing stories is just amazing. So, I’m sorry that I can’t pinpoint my favorite memory since I have too many.

3. What is your favorite gaming series?

This is an evil question. But if I have to name one series that’s almost always an instant-buy for me than it’s… The Legend of Zelda. Those games introduced me to my favorite genre in gaming and that’s the adventure genre. Which are adventure games?

While I love playing a lot of genres, adventure games are my absolute favorite. There aren’t too many genres that I love playing more. I just love exploring worlds and going on quests. Sometimes I enjoy some additional RPG elements like in Pokémon and sometimes I want to explore tombs like in Tomb Raider.

4. What is your favorite part of gaming?

The answer to this question has two parts for me. The first part is simple. Gaming is my hobby. It helps to get my stress levels down and help me relax. In addition to this, it transports me to different worlds and has amazing experiences. And these experiences feel more immersive than movies or books.

The second answer is this blog. I love sharing my experiences with you all. Thanks to this blog, various developers contacted me and gave amazing and very interesting experiences to play.

So, thanks to this blog I can combine the two biggest things I love about this hobby. I can relax and enjoy playing games while I’m able to share my opinion about it.

Actually, thinking about this question, I have another answer as well. I enjoy having interesting experiences. And thanks to modern and retro games I have that experience. That’s why I perhaps go after the more unique and less known games.

5. What is your favorite genre of music?

If I have to choose an absolute favorite style of music, I have to say that I love Euphoric Hardstyle. Here is an example of this style of music, it’s an almost 3-hour long mix created by Euphoric Hardstylez.

I can’t say when I discovered hardstyle. Back when I was younger, I had a friend who introduced me to Angerfist and various other techno hardcore artists. I think that thanks to YouTube I discovered artists like Coone, Zatox, Code Black, Frontliner, Wasted Penguins and various others.

Yet, I don’t like every hardstyle track. It has to be melodic. I really dislike music where it sounds like some broken machines. While I’m sure there is an audience for those styles of music, it’s not really in my library.

Besides that, I have a few other genres that I really like. Obviously, I really like game OST. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have written a lot of articles about my favorite tracks I heard while playing games. I also like Vocaloid, chiptune, orchestral, techno, dance, trance, Eurobeat, pop-rock, symphonic metal, power metal, drum & bass…

6. What is your favorite book or book series?

Well shoot, I’m not really a book reader. I used to enjoy reading books but the last time I actually read a book was a couple of years ago when I read the novelization of Alan Wake.

It’s really awkward. I enjoy writing stories and novels, but I don’t like reading them. I think my main issue is that I always think of how things could be written differently. How would I have written the story?

And now, allow me to make it even more awkward. I love visual novels*. The asterisk means that there is an exception. I don’t like kinetic novels, those games where there is barely any gameplay.

I love reading stories in games. Games like Ace Attorney, Zero Escape, Another Code, Time Hollow, and Corpse Party are just a few examples of games I really like to play. These games are very rare and I rarely come across them. But, when I find them, these games I always finish.

So, yeah. I think I read a maximum of one book per year. And in most cases, these are books related to my education or a game series I really like. Yet, I adore story-heavy games and I love writing stories myself.

7. What things do you do to relax?

Besides playing games, I really love writing. For some reason, it helps me to zone out. When I was younger, I always wanted to create content or improve already existing content. After experimenting with creating videos, music, art and various other things… I finally settled on writing.

So, other things I really like doing are watching anime. I really like anime since it feels nostalgic but always new and fresh. Also, the storylines in anime just appeal more to me than western series.

Another thing I do to relax is to experiment with virtual machines or computers. Just trying to find little tricks and tips to fix computers really interests me. I find that I learn the most when I was able to experiment or find it out myself.

Let’s not forget about my theater group. I really enjoy being up on stage and playing a role to entertain an audience. It’s quite a lot of work in studying lines and during rehearsals but it’s oh so gratifying when you get the applause when everything comes together.

On rare occasions, I really like exploring cities. It’s really fun to do. Just take a train to a city and explore. Don’t prepare yourself. Besides the opening hours of some places, you want to visit. But, just explore the city. I have discovered so many places that way.

8. What inspired you to start blogging?

I have told this story various times before. I don’t have a large family, but we have a lot of family friends. So, I got tired of telling each story five or six times each family party. Or answering the same questions again and again: “How is school?” or “How is it going with such and such?”. So, that’s why I decided to make a website and share these stories on a personal site. I wrote my articles in my native language back then, which is Dutch. Well… it’s Flemish. But Flemish and Dutch are like American and British English. Quite similar but not the same.

At first, I shared it with Facebook but not too long after, I got visitors that found my blog over Google. One summer week when nothing special was happening I decided to write a game review. And I got hooked.

I decided to remove the Dutch blog, but I still missed writing. So, back in 2013, I decided to start writing in English after I played the reboot of Tomb Raider.

Besides that, I have been writing since my childhood. I just love writing and creating stories. As I said earlier, I’m not that good at creating art or music; so I settled on writing.

9. What is one of your favorite articles that you have written?

I have been writing for 8 years on my blog so picking one of my favorites is quite difficult to do. I enjoy writing to each and every article a lot. It’s fun thinking and reflecting on the gaming industry.

But, if I have to choose it’s my Zelda project I did last year. Just the fact that I was able to work along with all these other bloggers and that two of those bloggers started the Final Fantasy project in the style I did my Zelda project… well, it’s humbling.

This year I’m following it up with the Tomb Raider project, which I’m quite excited about. We are trying to aim for the release in October.

10. What is your favorite part about blogging?

The moment when it all comes together. When I’m able to write and don’t need to interrupt myself with looking something up or thinking about how I formulate a certain sentence.

But, something I love doing more is the interaction with readers and developers. Yeah, the PR stuff. I write this gaming blog for two reasons. The first reason is to have some sort of log/diary of my gaming life.

My 2nd reason is to talk about games that I want to talk about. Certain games I play don’t get a lot of attention and I want to change that. Thanks to that, I got the chance to play various games that have unique experiences.

It surprises me every time that developers actually want to know my opinion or what I would change in a game. It’s quite an honor and I enjoy playing the beta versions of these games and giving them feedback to improve their game. And I enjoy playing these games months or years later to see what the finished product is.

11. What is one piece of advice you would give to other bloggers?

Well, I have been blogging for 8 years so I could give various points of advice. But something I think is very important is, get yourself a place to write down notes that’s handy to take along and is easy to manage.

I use a built-in note app on my tablet. It’s easy to sort and when I’m looking for certain notes about a game, I can easily find them. It’s a godsend. Since you never know when inspiration will strike.

My 11 nominations

Drakulus – I really like the style of content he puts out. He is a great reviewer and always gives his honest opinion. Check him out.

SheikahPlate – A very tasty gaming blog run by an outstanding woman!

TriformTrinity – This guy creates amazing content. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

LaterLevels – Always a joy to read and maybe level up… 😉

I Played The Game! – Thanks again for helping me defeat those theft bots earlier this year. You are a great guy and write pretty nice stuff.

LividLightning – I’m so glad that you are back. I really love your stuff.

KillerRobotics – The support this guy gives to bloggers like us is heartwarming. He also creates very interesting content for tech people so give it a read!

FalconGameReviews – Reading his blog wants me to spend a whole afternoon browsing his website. Good stuff man.

OverThinkerY – I don’t need to overthink this to nominate this blog!

AdventureRules – The charm and art on your blog are lovely as is the writing and blogging collabs you organize!

The Well-Red Mage – Hey my magey friend! Keep rocking on!

AmbiGamingCorner – What are you doing? Go and read AmbiGamingCorner, this is a must-read site!

And there are many others I would love to nominate but I already cheated with 12 bloggers here… Sorry to everybody else.

My 11 questions

1. At what point do you decide a certain game is good enough to write an article about?
2. How would you describe your own writing style?
3. About what would you want to write if you weren’t allowed to write about games for a year?
4. Would you wait on the DLC release of a game before you review the game or do you review the DLC later?
5. What inspires you to come up with ideas for articles and/or events?
6. How do you write? Do you create a draft first or just start writing? Do you write while listening to music?
7. Do you have hobbies and/or activities you do outside writing/gaming?
8. What game(s) are underrated or not well known enough in your opinion?
9. Are there genres you don’t like reviewing and why?
10. Would you consider writing/blogging as a job?
11. What you dislike doing the most when writing or publishing an article?

Closing words

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed reading this since I really enjoy writing Q&A’s like this. If you ever have a question for me, feel free to contact me on Twitter or my contact page. I love answering them.

Receiving community awards like these are quite a lot of fun. The fact that your peers recognize you is such a humbling feeling. But, I’m also quite surprised by the amount of traffic my blog is getting the past few months. It’s a big motivation for me to continue in what I’m doing and I hope you keep enjoying the content I’m writing. So, with that, I hope I’ll be able to welcome you in another article but until then have a great rest of your day and take care.