Fantasy adventure story about mail delivery gone wrong. I have no patience for "oh these revolutionaries are misguided" stories but luckily that's only a subplot and not a central premise.
Astro Boy Omnibus Volume 1
Astro Boy is so good! The quality is kind of uneven in this one, but seeing the original Most Powerful Robot arc and how it inspired so many stories in the future is fascinating.
Pluto
Astro Boy reworked into a murder mystery. Insanely compelling with interesting things to say about humanity. Urasawa's careful plotting and theming is particularly strong here when he has a place to stay focused on. Masterfully done and one of his best work.
Jasper Jones
I.... mostly liked it. Its a murder mystery about a small town in the 70s destroying itself with its racism, bigotry, and classism. I was expecting more mystery but you quickly realize its more about characters reacting and surviving in this horrible environment. And that's fine. Would like to enjoy it more.
20th Century Boys
Urasawa again! I really do love his stuff. And he does amazing work to constantly raise the stakes and demonstrate a world that's losing freedom to an angry, childish despot. The characters are insanely endearing and their psychology is deeply fleshed out and developed. At the same time, Urasawa's flaws are becoming more apparent back-to-back. He loves weird imagery and clues that lead to more clues that more people have to solve. It gets a little exhausting, especially when the story, time and time again, focuses on the repercussions of previous arcs. Which I love! Babylon 5 does it amazingly well and this gave me the same vibes. But it can also be a slog at times. I still love it a lot, however, and I think my feelings will stay positive the more I get away from it.
Horrorstor
Its a book about a haunted Ikea and it RULES. CAPITALISM IS NO DIFFERENT FROM PRISON. TEAR DOWN THE SYSTEM.
Beauty
i love my girlfriend. her taste in shameless fantasy fairy tales is unparalleled and GREAT.
Affair of the Mysterious Letter
Mostly good! You just gotta roll with the fact that you aren't going to understand this world at all and let it sweep you up in its bullshit. Delightful fun ride.
Easily one of my favorite Disney films, and not just because I watched it with my girlfriend who I love so very much. It’s an astounding film praising the values of complicated and seemingly negative feelings. An examination of why Sadness matters and how it ties to empathy. The way it demonstrates the complex feelings of a child going through a difficult time growing up is just inspired. 10/10.
John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch
Kind of all over the place, but still very charming.
Zootopia, Wreck It Ralph, and Big Hero 6 rewatches
Skeff hadn’t seen ‘em. Glad we did. Big Hero 6 is kind of mediocre, Wreck It Ralph is still great. Best part of Zootopia was Skeff going “is this a race metaphor???” in utter confusion. It’ such an unclear metaphor still too. It’s not clear who the minority is for much of the film and a character literally starts a race war. Weird stuff!
Parasite
Was really worried overhype would kill it for me but I absolutely adored it. Knowing spoilers going in didn't kill how well-crafted and layered the plot unfolded. Spectacular.
Kung Fu Panda 2
Skeff and Justyne were horrified I hadn’t seen it. But it’s a blast of a movie! Real themes, great villain, just a stunning film. Big props to the people who worked on it.
Birds of Prey
A weird movie, but I still enjoyed it. Harley Quinn’s break-up, Huntress, Black Canary? A+. Great villain too. Cassandra Cain... bugged me. Wish she was named something else. Whatever. Fun flick! Love this girl energy!
Batman vs TMNT
Batman said Cowabunga. 10/10
Batman Ninja
Gorgeous. Weird. Maybe should’ve been an AU rather than time travel, but it’s fun.
Really expected to find this dull and I still don't find space battles interesting but. Gundam. Its about some SHIT. And Amuro is so compelling as this guy forced into a horrible situation and doing his best. I think what space battles need are a really emotional current to it and this movie nails it 100 percent.
I didn't expect to find Char so charming too but the slow reveal of what an absolute piece of shit he is? Incredible. He's just in it for his revenge and everything else is an obstacle to that revenge. Absolute dickweed.
Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow
Liked it a little less than 1 but a lot of side characters get great and necessary development. The drama of space continues to unravel. The war pushes towards its inevitable despair.
Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
As someone who generally hates Tarantino, he did a good job avoiding his own bullshit enough for my mom to enjoy a movie he made. He still sucks tho.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Very charming kids adventure movie. Turtles need to take things... a little more seriously? No reaction to their dad’s kidnapping and they feel interchangeable at times. But still fun.
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower
The Matrix
Gender is a myth.
Jupiter Ascending
Venom
Scoob
Really wanted to hate it but I shamelessly adored it. Shameless cash grab trying to be hashtag Relatable? Yes. Lovingly crafted ode to the original show and its history? Absolutely.
Snowpiercer
Homeward Bound
Paul Blart Mall Cop 2
utter unfunny trash cobbled together in this monstrous form. its a frankenstein monster of plotlines and characters that don't make sense. i know these movies only exist for kevin james to hang out with his buds but oh my god this is foul. Till Death Us Blart cannot prepare you for how the way mouths move, the way the editing cobbles together, the way the cracks and folds of the blart universe do everything it can to defend blart from the disgust he deserves. blart thinks he deserves a keynote speech? he gets a keynote speech. blart thinks his daughter shouldn't go to ucla? she decides not to go to ucla until he allows it. blart wants a last minute romance in the final minutes? he gets that romance. the world operates on blart's rules, not matter how hard they try to resist. blart chooses, and the world obeys.
The perfect show for the perfect time and the perfect place. I'll miss it a lot.
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
Colorful, energetic, heartfelt, and fun. An adventure story that delights in its characters and its silly animal world. Please Season 2.
Alfred J Kwak (Season 1)
ahahaha what the fuck. Dutch cartoons are where its at.
That said, as exciting as the Dolf arc is, there's so many episodes that's just "Alfred has a dream" and its fucking nothing and boring. You didn't cop out on the other stuff, why cop out in random episodes. Its weird. Love it! But weird.
Rise of the TMNT
Great! A TMNT that kept my attention for a whole season! Made me like characters I normally hate! Great work!
Lots of filler, lots of whining, really working hard to pretend to be straight but.... I think I liked it! Its a cartoon and its teaching fun lessons to girls. And its uncomfortably real towards the end. But fun! But way darker than expected.
Schitt's Creek (Seasons 1-5)
A delightfully charming show with a perfect cast. Its goofiness is grounded by a great cast and compelling writing. Dan Levy's first real outing as a lead actor is astounding. Eugene Levy's eyebrows are incredible. Its hard to watch a lot of plotlines, but the characters just get better and better over time. You love it see such careful plotting and development.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
Char's so fucking evil. What a dipshit. Love that bastard man.
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
THIS ONE'S FUCKED UP. JUST REAL PUNCH ME IN THE FACE EFFED UP. HURT ME SO GOOD.
Mobile Suit Gundam The 08th MS Team
The most "real" of the Gundam I've seen so far. Its got more in common with a Vietnam movie than a space story. Its really compelling and there's a heavy focus on gundams as tools rather than fighting action fun. Extremely compelling.
Inuyasha (Season 1)
Surprising levels of depth and nuance when Ranma has trained me not to expect it. Demons get surprising characterization that help sell them as people and the heroes are all well-defined and interesting. Really fun!
Banshee (Season 1)
She-Ra (Season 5)
Insanely important to me on too many levels to explain. I love Catra and Adora and their journey made me cry.
The Prisoner
ahahahaha what the fuck this rules. What a weird fucking surreal nightmare. I love it.
Kipo (Season 2)
Even better! Some characters get lost in the shuffle, but its still good.
Absolutely understand why it gets such praise and love. A landmark game with genuine things to say and an utterly unique translation that sticks out in my mind. I'll be thinking about it for a while.
Bug Fables
The financial controversy regarding unpaid devs soured me on it but... what a delightfully charming game. Not always a perfect game but it wears its heart on its sleeve and its flaws become endearing rather than problems.
Heart in the Woods
Gay, magical, full of dread, and a delight. Highly recommend.
Fire Emblem: Fates
Does a game have to be "good?" Is it not enough to see anime teens fight each out, now with the game hacked to let them be gay?
Literally couldn't finish it until I applied the gay hack.
Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path
Its got everything! Themes! Drama! Heroes challenged on their moral views! Sins of the parents left to haunt the present! It rules! One of my favorite of the franchise!
Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Its not... very good. But a lot of love went into it. They tried hard. I wish it didn't do the "all just a dream" thing but I get it. Its cool to them. Narrative dramas gotta start somewhere.
Luigi's Mansion 3
Bounced off it for a bit when I hit the water level, but I came back and blitzed through it. Its not quite the same magic I'm looking for from Luigi's Mansion 1 but... maybe that's for the best. This is doing so many new and exciting things, with new characters and game mechanics galore. The series needs this. If this is the direction the franchise goes, all the better.
Wide Ocean Big Jacket
FANTASTIC. One hour experience, delightful, intimate, utterly charming.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Grim. Uncomfortable at times. I think the first death is a bad pick to introduce the game mechanics but... the rest of it is pretty good. It gives you a lot to think about and mostly nails what its going for. Leaves things just vague enough for you to make your own conclusions. And all around genuinely compelling.
Chibi-Robo
Time management games about helping people is my SHIT. I love every second of this. Its dark underbelly on top of everything else? Easily skyrocketed to one of my favorite games ever made.
Town of Light
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh not great but A for effort.
Chulip
It’s really unpolished, weird design choices, and the final “boss” requires a metric ton of effort into digging deep into the world of this game. But it’s also insanely charming, fun, adorable, and goofy. It helped me get through the first two weeks of quarantine.
Murder By Numbers
My first picross! Had lots of fun! Wore out it’s welcome pretty quick!
This game RULES. I can’t be impartial about it. It’s the first one I ever played. I bought this and Last Train at Target when I was ten or twelve. I adored it. I loved every second of it. I was almost disappointed to discover the rest of the games were modern era, but this is such a GOOD anniversary game. A perfect ode to what Nancy Drew is. This one teaches you about old things like ham radio, cars, and more.
Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
It’s less polished, but it’s also my second Nancy Drew game so I have a hard time being impartial about this one too. It’s a train mystery! Those are always fun! It's also got a fun batch of character and there’s a good theme in there about how to appreciate what you have. The villain reveal is fun too. There’s a character beat about a police detective trying to frame a black man that’s really HMMMM. I’m also deeply uninterested in its attempts to teach you mining stuff.
The Haunted Carousel
A deeply disturbing examination of memory and how we escape our own mistakes.
Danger on Deception Island
its... goofy. Goofy in the weirdest ways and not very interesting otherwise? Character motivations are never explained. The final reveal is… complete nonsense with a sudden swerve towards running around a smuggling ship. They try to explain it in the credits and it just does not work. Kind of a mess!
The Final Scene
I really appreciate the different layers this goes for. Every single person contributes to the MESS that this kidnapping turns into. The kidnapping itself is a mistake, but the other suspects contribute to making the situation worse. Simone turns it into a press event that leads to a fake kidnapper trying to wring money out of it, Brady hides evidence, the bureaucracy is a mess. The entire crime wouldn’t even have happened if the culprit had looked a little closer at the documents he had in his vault! It’s all such a complicated mess! I love it! There’s also a really great time mechanic that works wonders. A+
The entire final climax relies on the realization that no one is going to help you. Every single ally you have was using you for their own ends and now they’re betraying you. The nervous movie star? Using this for publicity and couldn’t give a shit that your friend is trapped somewhere in this soon-to-be destroyed theater. The police? Following a hoax elsewhere. The friendly caretaker? Slowly going out of his mind, revealed to be the culprit and potentially not even aware of his own actions. The protestor? Well, he’s only in it for his cause and he’s just one guy against bureaucracy. You’re on your own, Nancy Drew. Good luck.
Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
Kinda not great? There’s some character beats I like but it also completely ignores those moments at the end. There’s one character who should have depth and they completely ignore that depth. It’s weird.
Warnings at Waverly Place
GIRLS SCHOOL DRAMA. I LOVE IT. This one teaches Edgar Allen Poe and stuff. Kinda iffy on some parts but it’s a blast otherwise.
Message in a Haunted Mansion
Okay so this is the oldest Nancy Drew one I can Actually Play and. It’s too old. Pixel hunting and precise puzzles and shit. It’s too much.
Treasure in a Royal Tower
Vast improvement! Great puzzles, fun characters, it’s About something? It’s a big Marie Antoinette defense squad game while not defending the other rich people in the French Revolution. I really like that its really trying to be about SOMETHING rather than NOTHING. And its the first one to try and tell a story about a generation long past. Its really charming!
Secrets Can Kill
Its the original and the series hasn’t quite figured out its purpose yet. It’s dark and gritty and in a really silly way. Steroids, drug deals, murder- its all way too far and incredibly silly. I appreciate that the remaster leans into it rather than change it though.
Curse of Blackmoor Manor
There’s a whole thing in here about family legacy and its dangers. Everyone is so attached to the history of family, the things that used to be, that they can’t see the future available to them. The victim is an outsider to the family and is beginning to believe she’s been cursed for interfering with the family. Jane’s motive for hurting her stepmom comes out of resentment for the changes in her life. This is a really highly regarded Nancy game. This series is always evolving and in a great way.
That said, I don’t like this one. It goes so far into weird obtuse puzzles. It’s frustrating.
Shadow At Water's Edge
Compelling stuff, stronger writing. I burned out on sudoku puzzles.
Secret of the Scarlet Hand
I really liked this one! Weird fucking ending! But exciting stuff about shitty museum practices!
The best and worst of classic point and click homages. They throw every joke at the wall, even the dated offensive ones. They try to wring some feelings at the end but it doesn't quite nail it. Kickstarter games doing their thing.
Nairi: Tower of Shirin
A charming little point and click, more inspired by Layton than other examples. I found it really sweet and cute! Definitely worth keeping an eye on if it gets a sequel.
Fire Emblem Three Houses: Azure Moon
Wheels of Aurelia
If I was making a game about road tripping, with endings that change depending how well you drive, I would make the driving mechanics easy to use. RIP to devs, but I'm different.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Books
no subject
Fantasy adventure story about mail delivery gone wrong. I have no patience for "oh these revolutionaries are misguided" stories but luckily that's only a subplot and not a central premise.
Astro Boy Omnibus Volume 1
Astro Boy is so good! The quality is kind of uneven in this one, but seeing the original Most Powerful Robot arc and how it inspired so many stories in the future is fascinating.
Pluto
Astro Boy reworked into a murder mystery. Insanely compelling with interesting things to say about humanity. Urasawa's careful plotting and theming is particularly strong here when he has a place to stay focused on. Masterfully done and one of his best work.
Jasper Jones
I.... mostly liked it. Its a murder mystery about a small town in the 70s destroying itself with its racism, bigotry, and classism. I was expecting more mystery but you quickly realize its more about characters reacting and surviving in this horrible environment. And that's fine. Would like to enjoy it more.
20th Century Boys
Urasawa again! I really do love his stuff. And he does amazing work to constantly raise the stakes and demonstrate a world that's losing freedom to an angry, childish despot. The characters are insanely endearing and their psychology is deeply fleshed out and developed. At the same time, Urasawa's flaws are becoming more apparent back-to-back. He loves weird imagery and clues that lead to more clues that more people have to solve. It gets a little exhausting, especially when the story, time and time again, focuses on the repercussions of previous arcs. Which I love! Babylon 5 does it amazingly well and this gave me the same vibes. But it can also be a slog at times. I still love it a lot, however, and I think my feelings will stay positive the more I get away from it.
Horrorstor
Its a book about a haunted Ikea and it RULES. CAPITALISM IS NO DIFFERENT FROM PRISON. TEAR DOWN THE SYSTEM.
Beauty
i love my girlfriend. her taste in shameless fantasy fairy tales is unparalleled and GREAT.
Affair of the Mysterious Letter
Mostly good! You just gotta roll with the fact that you aren't going to understand this world at all and let it sweep you up in its bullshit. Delightful fun ride.
Quaratine Books
National Security Cinema
Sewer, Gas, Electric: Public Works Trilogy
The Once and Future
The Fifth Season
Movies
no subject
Easily one of my favorite Disney films, and not just because I watched it with my girlfriend who I love so very much. It’s an astounding film praising the values of complicated and seemingly negative feelings. An examination of why Sadness matters and how it ties to empathy. The way it demonstrates the complex feelings of a child going through a difficult time growing up is just inspired. 10/10.
John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch
Kind of all over the place, but still very charming.
Zootopia, Wreck It Ralph, and Big Hero 6 rewatches
Skeff hadn’t seen ‘em. Glad we did. Big Hero 6 is kind of mediocre, Wreck It Ralph is still great. Best part of Zootopia was Skeff going “is this a race metaphor???” in utter confusion. It’ such an unclear metaphor still too. It’s not clear who the minority is for much of the film and a character literally starts a race war. Weird stuff!
Parasite
Was really worried overhype would kill it for me but I absolutely adored it. Knowing spoilers going in didn't kill how well-crafted and layered the plot unfolded. Spectacular.
Kung Fu Panda 2
Skeff and Justyne were horrified I hadn’t seen it. But it’s a blast of a movie! Real themes, great villain, just a stunning film. Big props to the people who worked on it.
Birds of Prey
A weird movie, but I still enjoyed it. Harley Quinn’s break-up, Huntress, Black Canary? A+. Great villain too. Cassandra Cain... bugged me. Wish she was named something else. Whatever. Fun flick! Love this girl energy!
Batman vs TMNT
Batman said Cowabunga. 10/10
Batman Ninja
Gorgeous. Weird. Maybe should’ve been an AU rather than time travel, but it’s fun.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly
HE’S A GOOD BOY. LEAVE HIM ALONE.
Quarantine Movies
It’s the perfect movie.
Mobile Suit Gundam I
Really expected to find this dull and I still don't find space battles interesting but. Gundam. Its about some SHIT. And Amuro is so compelling as this guy forced into a horrible situation and doing his best. I think what space battles need are a really emotional current to it and this movie nails it 100 percent.
I didn't expect to find Char so charming too but the slow reveal of what an absolute piece of shit he is? Incredible. He's just in it for his revenge and everything else is an obstacle to that revenge. Absolute dickweed.
Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow
Liked it a little less than 1 but a lot of side characters get great and necessary development. The drama of space continues to unravel. The war pushes towards its inevitable despair.
Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
As someone who generally hates Tarantino, he did a good job avoiding his own bullshit enough for my mom to enjoy a movie he made. He still sucks tho.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Very charming kids adventure movie. Turtles need to take things... a little more seriously? No reaction to their dad’s kidnapping and they feel interchangeable at times. But still fun.
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower
The Matrix
Gender is a myth.
Jupiter Ascending
Venom
Scoob
Really wanted to hate it but I shamelessly adored it. Shameless cash grab trying to be hashtag Relatable? Yes. Lovingly crafted ode to the original show and its history? Absolutely.
Snowpiercer
Homeward Bound
Paul Blart Mall Cop 2
utter unfunny trash cobbled together in this monstrous form.
its a frankenstein monster of plotlines and characters that don't make sense. i know these movies only exist for kevin james to hang out with his buds but oh my god this is foul. Till Death Us Blart cannot prepare you for how the way mouths move, the way the editing cobbles together, the way the cracks and folds of the blart universe do everything it can to defend blart from the disgust he deserves. blart thinks he deserves a keynote speech? he gets a keynote speech. blart thinks his daughter shouldn't go to ucla? she decides not to go to ucla until he allows it. blart wants a last minute romance in the final minutes? he gets that romance. the world operates on blart's rules, not matter how hard they try to resist. blart chooses, and the world obeys.
One star for Maya Blart, doing her best.
The Princess Diaries
Klaus
Trollhunter
2001: A Space Odyssey
Paper Moon
Say Anything
Soylent Green
TV
Jan to March
The perfect show for the perfect time and the perfect place. I'll miss it a lot.
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
Colorful, energetic, heartfelt, and fun. An adventure story that delights in its characters and its silly animal world. Please Season 2.
Alfred J Kwak (Season 1)
ahahaha what the fuck. Dutch cartoons are where its at.
That said, as exciting as the Dolf arc is, there's so many episodes that's just "Alfred has a dream" and its fucking nothing and boring. You didn't cop out on the other stuff, why cop out in random episodes. Its weird. Love it! But weird.
Rise of the TMNT
Great! A TMNT that kept my attention for a whole season! Made me like characters I normally hate! Great work!
Quarantine Shows
Lots of filler, lots of whining, really working hard to pretend to be straight but.... I think I liked it! Its a cartoon and its teaching fun lessons to girls. And its uncomfortably real towards the end. But fun! But way darker than expected.
Schitt's Creek (Seasons 1-5)
A delightfully charming show with a perfect cast. Its goofiness is grounded by a great cast and compelling writing. Dan Levy's first real outing as a lead actor is astounding. Eugene Levy's eyebrows are incredible. Its hard to watch a lot of plotlines, but the characters just get better and better over time. You love it see such careful plotting and development.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
Char's so fucking evil. What a dipshit. Love that bastard man.
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
THIS ONE'S FUCKED UP. JUST REAL PUNCH ME IN THE FACE EFFED UP. HURT ME SO GOOD.
Mobile Suit Gundam The 08th MS Team
The most "real" of the Gundam I've seen so far. Its got more in common with a Vietnam movie than a space story. Its really compelling and there's a heavy focus on gundams as tools rather than fighting action fun. Extremely compelling.
Inuyasha (Season 1)
Surprising levels of depth and nuance when Ranma has trained me not to expect it. Demons get surprising characterization that help sell them as people and the heroes are all well-defined and interesting. Really fun!
Banshee (Season 1)
She-Ra (Season 5)
Insanely important to me on too many levels to explain. I love Catra and Adora and their journey made me cry.
The Prisoner
ahahahaha what the fuck this rules. What a weird fucking surreal nightmare. I love it.
Kipo (Season 2)
Even better! Some characters get lost in the shuffle, but its still good.
Amphibia (Season 1)
Central Park (Season 1)
Aquarion Evol
Doom Patrol (Season 2)
Stargirl (Season 1)
Infinity Train (Seasons 2 and 3)
The Owl House (Season 1)
Video Games
Jan to March
Final Fantasy VII
Absolutely understand why it gets such praise and love. A landmark game with genuine things to say and an utterly unique translation that sticks out in my mind. I'll be thinking about it for a while.
Bug Fables
The financial controversy regarding unpaid devs soured me on it but... what a delightfully charming game. Not always a perfect game but it wears its heart on its sleeve and its flaws become endearing rather than problems.
Heart in the Woods
Gay, magical, full of dread, and a delight. Highly recommend.
Fire Emblem: Fates
Does a game have to be "good?" Is it not enough to see anime teens fight each out, now with the game hacked to let them be gay?
Literally couldn't finish it until I applied the gay hack.
Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path
Its got everything! Themes! Drama! Heroes challenged on their moral views! Sins of the parents left to haunt the present! It rules! One of my favorite of the franchise!
Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Its not... very good. But a lot of love went into it. They tried hard. I wish it didn't do the "all just a dream" thing but I get it. Its cool to them. Narrative dramas gotta start somewhere.
Luigi's Mansion 3
Bounced off it for a bit when I hit the water level, but I came back and blitzed through it. Its not quite the same magic I'm looking for from Luigi's Mansion 1 but... maybe that's for the best. This is doing so many new and exciting things, with new characters and game mechanics galore. The series needs this. If this is the direction the franchise goes, all the better.
Wide Ocean Big Jacket
FANTASTIC. One hour experience, delightful, intimate, utterly charming.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Grim. Uncomfortable at times. I think the first death is a bad pick to introduce the game mechanics but... the rest of it is pretty good. It gives you a lot to think about and mostly nails what its going for. Leaves things just vague enough for you to make your own conclusions. And all around genuinely compelling.
Chibi-Robo
Time management games about helping people is my SHIT. I love every second of this. Its dark underbelly on top of everything else? Easily skyrocketed to one of my favorite games ever made.
Town of Light
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh not great but A for effort.
Chulip
It’s really unpolished, weird design choices, and the final “boss” requires a metric ton of effort into digging deep into the world of this game. But it’s also insanely charming, fun, adorable, and goofy. It helped me get through the first two weeks of quarantine.
Murder By Numbers
My first picross! Had lots of fun! Wore out it’s welcome pretty quick!
The Nancy Drew Marathon
This game RULES. I can’t be impartial about it. It’s the first one I ever played. I bought this and Last Train at Target when I was ten or twelve. I adored it. I loved every second of it. I was almost disappointed to discover the rest of the games were modern era, but this is such a GOOD anniversary game. A perfect ode to what Nancy Drew is. This one teaches you about old things like ham radio, cars, and more.
Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
It’s less polished, but it’s also my second Nancy Drew game so I have a hard time being impartial about this one too. It’s a train mystery! Those are always fun! It's also got a fun batch of character and there’s a good theme in there about how to appreciate what you have. The villain reveal is fun too. There’s a character beat about a police detective trying to frame a black man that’s really HMMMM. I’m also deeply uninterested in its attempts to teach you mining stuff.
The Haunted Carousel
A deeply disturbing examination of memory and how we escape our own mistakes.
Danger on Deception Island
its... goofy. Goofy in the weirdest ways and not very interesting otherwise? Character motivations are never explained. The final reveal is… complete nonsense with a sudden swerve towards running around a smuggling ship. They try to explain it in the credits and it just does not work. Kind of a mess!
The Final Scene
I really appreciate the different layers this goes for. Every single person contributes to the MESS that this kidnapping turns into. The kidnapping itself is a mistake, but the other suspects contribute to making the situation worse. Simone turns it into a press event that leads to a fake kidnapper trying to wring money out of it, Brady hides evidence, the bureaucracy is a mess. The entire crime wouldn’t even have happened if the culprit had looked a little closer at the documents he had in his vault! It’s all such a complicated mess! I love it! There’s also a really great time mechanic that works wonders. A+
The entire final climax relies on the realization that no one is going to help you. Every single ally you have was using you for their own ends and now they’re betraying you. The nervous movie star? Using this for publicity and couldn’t give a shit that your friend is trapped somewhere in this soon-to-be destroyed theater. The police? Following a hoax elsewhere. The friendly caretaker? Slowly going out of his mind, revealed to be the culprit and potentially not even aware of his own actions. The protestor? Well, he’s only in it for his cause and he’s just one guy against bureaucracy. You’re on your own, Nancy Drew. Good luck.
Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
Kinda not great? There’s some character beats I like but it also completely ignores those moments at the end. There’s one character who should have depth and they completely ignore that depth. It’s weird.
Warnings at Waverly Place
GIRLS SCHOOL DRAMA. I LOVE IT. This one teaches Edgar Allen Poe and stuff. Kinda iffy on some parts but it’s a blast otherwise.
Message in a Haunted Mansion
Okay so this is the oldest Nancy Drew one I can Actually Play and. It’s too old. Pixel hunting and precise puzzles and shit. It’s too much.
Treasure in a Royal Tower
Vast improvement! Great puzzles, fun characters, it’s About something? It’s a big Marie Antoinette defense squad game while not defending the other rich people in the French Revolution. I really like that its really trying to be about SOMETHING rather than NOTHING. And its the first one to try and tell a story about a generation long past. Its really charming!
Secrets Can Kill
Its the original and the series hasn’t quite figured out its purpose yet. It’s dark and gritty and in a really silly way. Steroids, drug deals, murder- its all way too far and incredibly silly. I appreciate that the remaster leans into it rather than change it though.
Curse of Blackmoor Manor
There’s a whole thing in here about family legacy and its dangers. Everyone is so attached to the history of family, the things that used to be, that they can’t see the future available to them. The victim is an outsider to the family and is beginning to believe she’s been cursed for interfering with the family. Jane’s motive for hurting her stepmom comes out of resentment for the changes in her life. This is a really highly regarded Nancy game. This series is always evolving and in a great way.
That said, I don’t like this one. It goes so far into weird obtuse puzzles. It’s frustrating.
Shadow At Water's Edge
Compelling stuff, stronger writing. I burned out on sudoku puzzles.
Secret of the Scarlet Hand
I really liked this one! Weird fucking ending! But exciting stuff about shitty museum practices!
Quarantine Games
Final Fantasy V
Gibbous: A Cthulu Tale
The best and worst of classic point and click homages. They throw every joke at the wall, even the dated offensive ones. They try to wring some feelings at the end but it doesn't quite nail it. Kickstarter games doing their thing.
Nairi: Tower of Shirin
A charming little point and click, more inspired by Layton than other examples. I found it really sweet and cute! Definitely worth keeping an eye on if it gets a sequel.
Fire Emblem Three Houses: Azure Moon
Wheels of Aurelia
If I was making a game about road tripping, with endings that change depending how well you drive, I would make the driving mechanics easy to use. RIP to devs, but I'm different.
Sayonara Wild Hearts
The Outer Worlds
Hypnospace Outlaw
What the Golf?
The Samaritan Paradox
Umineko Episodes 1-4
Feria d'Arles
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
The Outcast Lovers
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi
Fire Emblem Three Houses: Verdant Wind
Fire Emblem Three Houses: Cindered Shadows
Unforeseen Incidents
Takeshi and Hiroshi