alexronjohnston
2022
This is kind of the dream pokemon game I always wanted as a kid - catching pokemon has never been more fun than it is here, and the quality of life stuff they've added enabled me to spend 10x the amount of time needed to beat the game because I was trying to keep a team of like 100 pokemon levelled up at once - there are so many cool little guys in here, impossible to narrow it down to six. If the technical issues are a real problem for you i recommend playing in handheld - much less of a problem there for whatever reason.
I played with only Dudley - love a boxing character in a street fighter, the range, the pace - it all just feels good. Dudley is a blast to play with. The game as a whole, also good.
2022
Beautiful and incredibly well written game. The core mechanic of randomized resources that have to be spent carefully on a set of limited and time sensitive options is actually incredible and creates a huge amount of space for player choice and role-playing. Loved this one to bits.
1996
I was so confused that there was a 16 bit version of this game lmao - it was fine I guess? idk lol
2013
Hell yeah! Short and sweet, big dumb house to walk around in, and roleplaying as a nosy older sibling who can't leave well enough alone (not a stretch for me!). Those damn kids are so adorable!
Delightful bundle of games - if you've ever wanted to check out the Darkstalkers series (and why wouldn't you?!?!) this is an incredible way to do it - plus they threw some other cool shit in there too. The Japanese title of Red Earth was Warzard - that's so fucking good.
I have no idea what is happening mechanically in this at all but it's nice. Every character being jammed packed with a million alternate attacks and costumes that reference other capcom games - it's a neat little thing to spend some time with.
I don't know if I actually understand the mechanics of this but I managed to finish the arcade mode anyway. Match colour crystal go brrrrrr
Have no idea how balanced or playable this is as a competitive multiplayer game, but as a pick up and play casual fighting game with a single player mode it's a blast. Big dumb robots that can do all of the wild and wacky moves you'd want a big dumb fighting game robot to do.
2021
I thought this was just a horror game playing into the tropes of deckbuilding rogue-likes like Slay the Spire but it turned out to be a love letter to TCG's both physical and digital and ended up making me genuinely emotional. I've never seen a game that makes combines so many different gamplay, aesthetic, and narrative approaches let alone one that meshes them beautifully like this one. What a game.
Obviously SFII is the most important fighting game of all time, a full 5 as the actual video game existing in the world - as a single player experience on a home console it's kind of a nightmare - AI is murderous and bullshit. Still, it's SFII - it's got its charms no question.
2022
What an incredible multi-media object. I have some quibbles with how the "mechnics" work, but ultimately the mysterious and enthralling story just knocks it out of the park to a degree that I can overlook the way you sometimes end up going through the same 5 clips in a loop trying to get the game to give you a new clip to watch.
A really incredible fusion of a high concept sci-fi fantasy mystery combined with a cinephile's wet dream of an era spanning love letter to cinema and a truly unique approach to narrative. It's a fuckin banger.
A really incredible fusion of a high concept sci-fi fantasy mystery combined with a cinephile's wet dream of an era spanning love letter to cinema and a truly unique approach to narrative. It's a fuckin banger.
2022
One of the most beautiful games I've played in a long time. A vibe like nothing else - an eerie sci-fi world, sinking into the swamp - filled with strange and vibrant characters who feel like real people. A one of a kind game.
I cannot imagine playing this on an original gameboy without quick saves. If I was a child, and this was the only thing I had to play on a long car ride, I would have developed some kind of psychosis - this game is evil! Some of the things it asks you to do in terms of platforming are absolutely bananas, even with save scumming. The soundtrack absolutely rules though.
2011
Nice little platformer - I ended up really loving the levels that were fully 3D, but the 2.5D levels were solid as well, though without the 3D effects (which I will never use lol) sometimes judging depth could be a little tricky - although not as bad as you'd think! I know it's a mario tradition but the repeated fake outs of "you beat the game! psyche!" got pretty old pretty fast.