So you probably play video games and have spent a lot of time in various game worlds, perhaps even in different genres. You likely have a favourite, one you return to again and again just to exist there for a little while and escape the horrors of reality. A really good game world can be so immersive that you easily lose countless hours, forget to eat, maybe even push sleep to the bottom of the list. Perhaps a game you’ve played felt like it was merging with real life and you started seeing things from the game in your day to day living (I remember starting to see elfroot from Dragon Age: Inquisition in my local park for a while after playing it.)

Is it really that bad if the virtual starts to blend with reality?

Plenty of media has attempted to tackle the question in one form or another, with many using video games as a device to show the “unreality.” Have you ever noticed that these films often show video games and the act of playing them in a negative light? It’s no secret that video games have been blamed for the actions of real people. Some might say that absolute atrocities that have been committed were inspired by a video game.

Are your feathers ruffled by that? Mine certainly are, since getting into video games changed my life in a positive way, and I’m sure many of you would say the same. Anyway, let’s get back on track and talk a little about some films that aren’t just about video games, but have created entire virtual worlds…

Tron

Tron is an obvious pick, but it’s such an interesting concept that unfortunately, across all three films, has been more miss than hit with audiences.

Released in 1982, the original Tron starred Jeff Bridges as a computer programmer who when becoming suspicious that the company he works for is stealing his work, he hacks into the system and is transported into the virtual world or “the Grid” to come face to face with the digital incarnation of an executive at his company. It was so ahead of its time and is even one of the first films to use full CGI. Yet, it still manages to miss the mark and in all honesty, I found it to be pretty boring and slow.

The second film Tron: Legacy was released 28 years later and focuses on the son of Jeff Bridges’ character who enters the virtual world to try to find him after he disappears. This edition to the franchise is much more solid than the first from a story perspective, although some aspects still fall a little flat. The visual effects and cinematography are atmospheric and the soundtrack produced by Daft Punk is phenomenal! They’re the perfect band to create music for a virtual world.

Tron Ares steers away from the plots of the previous films, instead introducing new characters, most notably “Ares” played by Jared Leto - a combat AI created within “the Grid” who has to enter the real world to the secure the “Permanence Code” - software that allows digital constructs to exist permanently in the real world. I felt like this storyline was way more cohesive than the others, plus Jared Leto in his best role as… AI…. lol!

My favourite thing about this edition is the women in this film. Two of the main characters are played by Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith who are both fantastic in their respective roles. Overall, this film is much more inclusive and diverse with its characters and the actors playing them, since the first two had predominantly male characters and any female characters felt like they were there just to make the men look better.

Also, I’ve got to mention how great the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack is! I feel like it really held everything together and it ended up being my most listened to album of 2025!

Do the Tron films do a good job of implementing a video game-like world? As you can tell from above, the general consensus is that it’s very hit or miss. While the worlds, from a visual perspective are fantastically done, I feel like the narrative often lacks emotional depth and relies heavily on the visuals, atmosphere and sound design to carry them through.

eXistenZ

*If you haven’t seen this film and plan to, please skip this part. It’s not going to be too spoiler heavy, but I really feel like you’ve got to watch this film knowing as little about it as possible*

After watching Strange Days for the first time last year (which I loved!) eXistenZ kept popping up as recommended. I was surprised I hadn’t seen it since it’s a Cronenberg and Scanners is one of my favourites, but also.. How is a director that’s well known for body horror going to tackle a film about video games? The answer is by being extremely creative and unexpected.

At the beginning of the film, we’re introduced to Allegra Geller - a renowned and revered game developer who is about to demonstrate her newest virtual reality game “eXistenZ” to a group of playtesters. As I mentioned earlier, Cronenberg is the king of body horror, but he’s also well known for “intertwining the physical, psychological and technological.” I think he did an incredible job with this one. The way he implemented a way of experiencing a video game biologically was clever and also hilarious. The game “eXistenZ” isn’t experienced by simply putting on some VR goggles…

As a viewer, you never really know what’s real and what’s “the game” in this film. Cronenberg (who not only directed, but also wrote the screenplay) manages to blend reality with “unreality” pretty seamlessly so that I felt like they were equally as disturbing and unstable as each other.

The actors were also so good - Jennifer Jason Leigh as Allegra was manically obsessed with her own work in a bizarre, physical sense (which maybe isn’t so bizarre when you perhaps liken her relationship to the game she created to a mother and child relationship?) while at the same time, seeming kinda clueless and airy fairy which drove me crazy! (It kinda makes sense by the end of the film though…)

I honestly feel like I can’t say much about this film without giving it all away! It’s so well written, well acted, visceral and unhinged that I’m still thinking about it weeks after watching it!

Free Guy

Sigh… I don’t like being a hater, I really don’t. The last thing I want to do is yuck anyone’s yum so if you loved this film, skip this part and know that I’m glad you had a good time with this. I wish I’d had the same experience.

I’ve been going back and watching older films lately, and I think it’s because I feel like there’s something very wrong with most mainstream films that came out in the last 10 years (note that the next but is just my opinion and I’m just talking big budget mainstream films.) There’s not a lot of risk taking going on and so many of these films that are made by streaming services cost a bunch of money to make, but I watch them and come away wondering why they felt like a Hallmark movie, or the bad kind of B grade. They’re all overly glossy, one dimensional and share the exact same humour that is rehashed time and time again.

Free Guy should have been better. The premise was excellent - an NPC in the video game “Free City” starts thinking and doing things outside of what he’s programmed to do, while his creators try to expose the CEO of the company who released the game, for stealing the code they created. It’s a cool idea but I think the end result was overly cheesy.

The visual effects were great and shout out to the many stunt people involved. I liked that this was going for a summer blockbuster thing. I liked that I recognised elements from other great films like The Truman Show and The Matrix. There were also plenty of nods to video games I’ve never played like Grand Theft Auto, RDR2 and Fortnite, but none of it was enough to save this film from being disappointing.

Look, I know this isn’t supposed to be a post reviewing films, just focusing on the video game aspects of them, but this felt like it catered to one specific group of video gamers which I don’t fit into, or perhaps it’s for kids? except there was a lot of adult humour? Who is this film actually for? To be honest, I don’t know.

Now for the part that really p*ssed me off… This film tapped into the common idea that people play video games so they can be horrible people. That they can live out their The Purge fantasies with no consequence. Listen, not everyone wants constant violence in video games. Violence and fighting is sometimes a necessary evil while enjoying a well written, immersive narrative.

I really hated that aspect of this film.

Come on, Laura, lighten up. It’s not that deep.. But it is though! Video games ARE deep and there was no nuance to what happens in even a vast MMORPG in this film. Sometimes you just want to roam around, picking plants and enjoying a richly created world.

Also, we don’t have to put romance in everything!! GAH!

Gamer

Gamer is about to make a huge hypocrite of me!

After everything I said about Free Guy around violence and it catering to a certain type of gamer, this film does something similar, but it’s darker, grittier and at the same time jarring, garish and thoughtful.

This film sucked me in and I’m so surprised and confused by it! I think perhaps it was the incredible premise which wasn’t badly executed - Billionaire techbro creates multiplayer online games that uses mind-control to play them. One of the games “Slayers” utilises prisoners on death row to be controlled by the player. Enter Kable (played by Gerard Butler) a prisoner who has managed to survive multiple campaigns and now faces his biggest challenger yet, while trying to reclaim his identity and escape the game.

How good does that sound though??!

At first I thought “Oh no, not another Counter Strike situation!” But there was another mind control game called “Society” which was pretty much a spin on Grand Theft Auto where the avatars’ involvement is voluntary and they are paid a lot of money to participate.

“Society” is bright, shiny, pseudo sexy, but also violent and unhinged - an excellent counterpart to the grimy world of “Slayers.” Kable’s wife works in “Society” while trying to get back their daughter who has been placed in foster care.

Amber Valetta was so good as Kable’s wife Angie, especially in the “Society” scenes. The way she moved within the game was so well done. She was mesmerising to watch, even though the situation was pretty vile. Also, look out for a wild cameo by Milo Ventimiglia…iykyk..

This movie was released 17 years ago and yet, the ruthless techbro creator of these games is eerily familiar… Michael C. Hall plays him in a way that is equal parts delightful and horrendous. God, it felt so on the nose to watch his narcissistic antics.

The idea of developing a self replicating, microbiotic cell that can be used to mimic brain cells and then control someone’s actions and have the American government sign off on the use of inmates was a choice for a sure and there were so many nuances to the story - I haven’t even mentioned the activist group fronted by Ludacris who hack into TV and disrupt “Society” to spread the message that the technology used to play their favourite game will eventually be used to control them! Due to how much there was in this story, I inevitably felt like Gamer would’ve worked better as a limited TV series.

Overall thoughts?

Tron created a visually interesting video game world with so much potential, but the story was often underwhelming. eXistenZ explored VR and connecting it to gamers biologically, while blurring the lines between the real and unreal in a way that gave me so much to think about. Free Guy used as many video game cliches as possible while trying to hide its shallowness beneath a colourful, glossy, bubblegum veneer. And finally, Gamer, like eXistenZ, used biology to connect people physically to games with a blurry line between the controller and the controlled.

I think there’s an obvious notion that video games are generally violent and a way for gamers to live out their sadistic fantasies. I feel like that’s a terrible cliche that doesn’t fly now with the sheer volume of different kinds of games we have available and more and more people picking them up.

Let me know your favourite films about video games, video game adaptations, or even films with video game elements like Scott Pilgrim vs The World and that one incredible scene in The Beach…

Also, please check out this hilarious ode to video games by Eiffel 65…

Thanks so much for reading! If you like my posts, consider buying me a coffee! x

KO-FI

At the end of 2025, my partner and I went on an impromptu holiday to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. We created the trip around a Tool concert and have been to Japan many times, but hadn’t spent much time in Osaka or the nearby port city Kobe where the concert was held.

We spent a week exploring those two places, as well as an overnight stay in Koyasan (Mount Koya,) a world heritage site for Shingon Buddhism. Then, we spent two weeks in South Korea, staying in the K-pop capital of the world Seoul, and then Busan which reminded me of a slightly more squeaky clean Gold Coast. Finally, we spent the last five days in Taiwan’s capital city Taipei which was a complete hidden gem of a holiday destination. We really loved it and hope to return soon.

Now, I know this isn’t a travel blog. I’m just attempting to provide a little context to what this post is really about…. The video games we bought over there!

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to post about this cause it feels frivolous and ridiculous, especially with what’s going on in the world right now. However, maybe people need the distraction or maybe it’s informative to a degree? Either way, we’re here now… 😬

In terms of physical media, games weren’t the only thing we brought back from our trip… I also added a few vinyl records to my collection! I love collecting physical media, whether it’s books, vinyl or sometimes games (I mostly play games via Steam so I only usually buy physical versions of my favourites.)

I particularly like picking up media from overseas because they tend to have different versions or stuff I’ve never seen before. Our combined collections are richer and a little more interesting for these souvenirs. However, the rest of the world seems to have cottoned on to how great and well preserved physical media is in Japan which, based on a conversation I overheard at a record fair yesterday, is not great! (These two guys were talking about the multiple crates of vinyl they brought back from Japan. Yikes!) Japan has a huge secondhand market for physical media and I don’t think it should be abused by tourists or those seeking stock to sell on. Anyway, that conversation is for a different post altogether. I will point out though, that we primarily seek out second hand first and foremost and that’s in general, not just overseas.

Here’s a list of what we grabbed and I’ll talk a little about my picks (if anyone wants more info on the others, let me know):

Tamagotchi no Appare! Niji-Venture (たまごっちのアッパレ！にじべんちゃ) JP only, Nintendo DS

Everybody’s Golf World (aka Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots), JP Edition, PS5

Returnal, JP Edition, PS5 (disc only)

Stellar Blade, Korean edition, PS5

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, JP edition, PS5

Once Upon a Katamari, JP edition, Nintendo Switch

Neon White, JP Edition, Nintendo Switch

Urban Myth Dissolution Center, JP edition, Nintendo Switch

Dariusburst EX+ Another Chronicle, European edition, Nintendo Switch

Bear & Breakfast, European edition, Nintendo Switch

Detroit Become Human, JP edition, PS4

Tamagotchi no Appare! Niji-Venture

(たまごっちのアッパレ！にじべんちゃ)

The new Tamagotchi game Tamagotchi Plaza was released while we were travelling, and I was interested in buying it, but ultimately decided that getting a Japanese only Tamagotchi game would be better. I’ll need to use a translator to play this as there’s no English, but I think it will be fun to dust off the ol 3DS!

I also bought an actual Tamagotchi which you’ve gotta do when you’re in Japan…

Urban Myth Dissolution Center

I bought this purely because it looked interesting. I initially thought it was the Japanese edition of an English game, but it’s the other way around. It’s by Japanese developer Hakababunko who are known for the Makoto Wakaido’s Case File series. Urban Myth Dissolution Center is described as being many things - a paranormal, mystery, adventure game, and/or a psychological horror, visual novel. The player is tasked with investigating strange goings on in the “Dissolution Center” from cursed relics to dimensional anomalies. I’m looking forward to diving in as I don’t play many horror or mystery games!

Dariusburst EX+ Another Chronicle

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might have read my post about arcade games and how much I loved the 4 person bullet hell extravaganza that is Dariusburst. The soundtrack is especially memorable so I decided to check if it has ever had a release outside of arcades and was surprised that it was on the Switch in Europe and the US, but not Australia or even Japan where it’s made! I kind of put it out of my mind, so imagine my surprise when I stumble upon it in a secondhand stall in an electronics centre in Seoul! What are the odds?!

Detroit Become Human

I’m on a bit of a sci-fi kick at the moment after getting a touch of medieval fantasy fatigue, so I’ve had a couple of sci-fi and cyberpunk games on my wishlist to look out for. I was going to get this one next time it was in a Steam sale, but I stumbled upon this Japanese edition for PS4 in Seoul.

Neon White

This was one of my partner’s picks and I’d never heard of it before but I’m very intrigued! It’s a first person shooter and puzzle game about exterminating demons in heaven. The art style is awesome and you play as White, an assassin “handpicked from Hell to compete with other demon slayers for a chance to live permanently in Heaven.” I’m sure this game is gonna be quite hard for me to play, but I’m willing to give it a crack!

Here’s a little fun bonus… a Korean language player guidebook for one of my all time favourite games Dragon Age: Origins!

I’d love to know if you’ve ever bought physical media from overseas and how it went.

Thanks so much for reading, I know it’s been a while between posts but hopefully I’m back on track. I appreciate your support x

KO-FI

So this is my first time previewing a game and writing about it! I’m very excited!

Firstly, I’d like to thank The IndiEXP for providing me with a key before early access opens soon over on Steam. I love receiving emails from Alex and the team and when this one came through about a visual novel/puzzle game set in Melbourne, Australia, I was immediately intrigued!

Ashes is an interactive graphic novel by Melbourne-based developer Plot Twist. It follows Azar Warren, a 16-year old skater hiding out at her estranged grandfather Stan’s place after witnessing a murder. However, Stan starts displaying some strange behaviour, leading Azar to believe that perhaps he’s hiding something even more dangerous than what she’s running from …

I found it interesting that the developers were calling this “an interactive graphic novel” rather than a straight up visual novel. There’s certainly visual novel elements, but it reminded me more of a comic as the dialogue was short and sweet whereas visual novels tend to have a lot more written words. There’s also some mini puzzles in the form of clues that you need to piece together as the story unfolds.

The demo is super short, but it’s enough to suck me into the story and world, both of which are well done. I love the comic book-esque art style. The sketchy lines and dark colour palette suit the narrative and tone of the world, while the story and characters (so far) are distinctive. I also think the music and sound design is excellent. The urgent, electronic beats and sound effects conjured just the right amount of anxiety.

Ashes launches on Steam Early Access in April! Don’t forget to add it to your wishlist if you’re interested as this helps developers greatly! If you’re a fan of visual or graphic novels, I think this is a great one to keep an eye on!

For more information and to keep up to date with the game’s progress, follow their social media - Instagram, Facebook.

The thing about getting older is time goes faster every year! How is it January already? I hope the new year has been treating you well so far! 😊

I had a couple of posts planned for Babygamer, but side projects and an unexpected trip overseas meant they’ve either been put on the backburner or are evolving into something else 👀

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been drafting a post about the games I’ve played this year that are genres I haven’t tried before. But since there aren’t too many of them, I decided to include them in one post about all the games I played in the second half of 2025.

For games I played in the first half, see this post!

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

MODE: PC (Steam)

TIME: 100hrs

STATUS: Complete (for now)

I’ve talked about this game a lot this year and I thought I’d put way more hours into it than a mere hundred! I also thought I was going to do a big post about it, but I think I can say what I want to say about it in a paragraph…

This is a great game, especially if it’s the only game you’ve got. When it was first released in 2006, that was probably the case for many gamers. The content is endless and I decided in the middle of playing the Shivering Isles DLC (which is great by the way!) That I was ready to put it down for now. I also want to mention that the Dark Brotherhood questline is one of the best I’ve ever played in any game. It kept me up at night thinking about how well written it is and how strangely magnetic Vicente Valtieri is... 😳 I couldn’t actually finish it because of what it asked of me at the end (iykyk…) but I thought it was incredible!

Anyway, great game and I hope I get the opportunity to give the new remaster a go too one day.

Hollow Knight

MODE: PC (Steam)

TIME: 5hrs

STATUS: Not even close to complete, but I’ve put it down for now

People have talked about how hard this game is so often that I already decided I couldn’t do it 😅

I’m very new to this style of game. The most recent metroidvania-like game I’d played by the time I started Hollow Knight was Disney’s Illusion Island, which in hindsight, was an excellent gateway to the genre and definitely helped me.

Hollow Knight doesn’t tell you what to do, but it’s such a beautiful game. I wanted to stay in that world but unfortunately, I started to feel less like “I’m new here,” and more like “why are you punishing me?” I know it’s good to be challenged, but I found myself constantly thinking about where the nearest save spot is, which to me, isn’t fun, so I’ve put it down for the time being. Perhaps I’ll pick it up again when I feel more confident.

Fabledom

MODE: PC (Steam)

TIME: 10hrs

STATUS: I’ve seen enough for now

My partner is big into city builders. I’ve seen him play countless hours of Factorio and it simply didn’t appeal to me, until I discovered Fabledom.

Its fantasy theme and adorable art style piqued my interest enough for me to grab it in the Steam Summer Sale. However, it was pretty clear that I’m a total noob when I got 2 hours into the game and all my villagers started dying of starvation! Once I realised what I needed to do, I started again and things ran much smoother.

I really enjoyed the little world I was building, as well as the meet-cutes with other nearby rulers. These relationships are integral to the success of your town and you can choose who to befriend or romance or even make an enemy of! 👿

I especially enjoyed the fantastical instances that occur as your town grows. Random, fairytale objects or characters that you can get your “hero” to investigate and unlock more useful items for your inventory. After a while, I found that I hadn’t logged in for a few weeks and didn’t particularly want to, which is a sure sign that I’ve seen enough for now.

Left for Dead 2

MODE: PC (Steam)

TIME: 3hrs

STATUS: Ongoing

Two things I haven’t played before: survival horror and shooters (or shoot em up’s or anything with a gun or first person pistol situation.) I got to tick off both of those with this game!

I entered Left For Dead 2 with trepidation, assuming that since there were zombies, it was going to be scary. But all thoughts went out the window when the initial cut scene started. Why does it have to go so hard? I felt like I was watching a tv series recap rather than a video game intro!

I love this game, you guys! It was so much fun! I laughed, I yelled, and after each co-op session my biceps hurt for some reason? I’ll definitely be jumping back into this from time to time 🧟‍♀️

Dear Esther

MODE: PC (Steam)

TIME: 6hrs

STATUS: Complete

Another excellent game from the team that brought us Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture.

Dear Esther is a gentle walking sim set on an isolated, uninhabited island off the east coast of Scotland. As you walk, a voice narrates fragments of letters sent to their deceased wife whose death is revealed as the game goes on. There’s no interaction between the player and the world, but the narrative is so compelling it’s easy to get lost in it.

Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth

MODE: Nintendo Switch

TIME: 10hrs

STATUS: Ongoing

Another metroidvania! I’m not very familiar with the world of Lodoss War, but I picked up a physical copy for the Switch on my trip to Japan last year purely because I liked the cover 😅

I’m really enjoying it so far! The art and music are beautiful and the difficulty is fine. It’s challenging in a way that makes me want to get better. I don’t feel stressed. Save points are often right next to bosses, and you don’t lose items when you die, just HP which is easily built up again. It’s got me intrigued to look up the manga and anime it’s based on.

What else?

Hades - I’ve been dipping in and out of this game since it first came out and would really like to complete at least one run!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - I spent about 50 hours in 2025 fixing up my island in preparation for the new update coming in mid January.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - I only played a few hours of this and had to stop due to the overwhelming nausea I provoked! I persisted for as long as possible as I was really intrigued, but had to stop. If anyone has any advice for reducing motion sickness in games, please let me know!

What’s next?

Every January I think I have a vague idea of what I’m going to play over the next year and it always gets turned on its head 😅 Anyway here’s a little list of things I’m hoping to get to soon…

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition - I started ME1 on the 1st January and I’m intending to get through the whole trilogy in the first half of the new year.

Still Wakes The Deep - As you probably know, I’m a big fan of other games The Chinese Room have released that were written by Dan Pinchbeck (Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Dear Esther) so I bought this and the DLC Siren’s Rest for myself for my birthday. It looks incredible!

Pillars of the Earth - I read the book last year then discovered this visual novel adventure game based on it. It allows you to change some of the outcomes of the story so I’m very interested in seeing how that goes!

Detroit: Become Human - I bought the Japanese PS4 version of this from a secondhand store in Seoul. It has English so I’m looking forward to giving it a go.

Read Only Memories - I bought 2064: Read Only Memories and its sequel Read Only Memories: Neurodiver in the Steam Winter Sale. They’re cyberpunk visual novels and I can’t wait to dive in!

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you’re hoping to play in 2026! 😊

Ko-fi ☕

I’d say it’s common knowledge that arcade games are built on a monetised system. It’s probably the grandaddy of monetisation in video games, with much of their design built around a coin-operated system. So what happens when it’s taken away? Will you have a better time if you can pocket your coins and tokens and play for as long as you want for a set fee?

Look, I know this is old news. Freeplay arcades have probably been in your neighborhood a long time 😅but I’ve never had the opportunity until recently when one relocated super close to where I live, so I thought I’d give it a go and write a little about my experience, because I had a way better time than I thought I would!

1UP Retro Arcade moved into the basement of Laser Force back in June and has around 140 arcade games, all set to freeplay with “a flat-rate daily entry and memberships that give you unlimited access!” I went in at around 5pm on a Friday evening and stayed til 9pm. The $25AUD casual entry fee was well worth it for 4 hours of unlimited games! (The memberships are great too!)

My meagre experience playing arcade games has pretty much been - give each game a go once or twice and not get very far in any of them. This means I’m only getting to experience each one for a couple of minutes, maybe five at most (I’m not great at them either😅) It’s not even a demo, but a mere glimpse into what a lot of these incredible games have to offer.

What I Played

I played a lot of different stuff in those 4 hours, but here are some of the standouts.

Willow

Capcom (1989)

Based on the film from 1988, Willow is a 1-player, side-scrolling platformer. I’m not expecting to become completely immersed in an arcade game’s narrative, and I’m sure it helps that I know the movie well. But I felt this was a pretty good movie tie-in. I’ve only really played movie tie-in games on the DS and many of them have been pretty average, but this was fun, immersive and challenging while capturing the magical vibes of the movie. The first boss was tricky and I undoubtedly would have dropped a lot of coins in the slot to get as far as I did.

Gachaga Champ

Konami (1999)

This one was so fun, even though it was an RSI hazard due to the double joysticks! Exclusively released in Japan, Gachaga Champ pits 2 players against each other in a variety of fast paced mini games, from car racing to puppetry! The joysticks needing to be jostled quickly make it kinda stressful but at the same time, a riot!

Dariusburst: Another Chronicle Ex

Taito (2010)

Can you believe I played a shoot-em-up and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it for weeks?! Neither can I! 😱

I’d never seen an arcade game like this one and I’ve been to Japan 6 times! 😂Dariusburst: Another Chronicle Ex is a 4 player, horizontal shooter that is part of a long and involved series that began in 1987. Yet, I hadn’t heard of it at all until I clapped eyes on this one.

It was an entire experience, you guys! To fit 4 players in, the screen was ultra wide and while you battle these frankly, stunning marine-inspired battleships in space, you are lambasted with music that would’ve stopped me in my tracks if it wasn’t for the captivating visuals.

The soundtrack is an ethereal, genre-defying mix of extremely fast paced drum and bass with a little grunge thrown in. It’s chaotic and perfect for the rapidity of the game. I’ve since discovered you can get it on Nintendo Switch so it’s on the wishlist!

Crazy Taxi 3

Aka Crazy Taxi High Roller, SEGA (2003)

Not the first time I’ve played Crazy Taxi, but definitely the furthest I’ve ever gotten in the game thanks to not having to feed coins in constantly! It’s such a classic and one of my faves. It’s so nostalgic, from the art style and of course the OG soundtrack with The Offspring and Bad Religion. This installment apparently has additional locations inspired by Las Vegas, San Fran, and New York, but I didn’t get past the first which I’m pretty sure is a version of LA. It cracks me up trying to drive while standing up! Pure chaos!

Honourable Mentions

Aliens Extermination

Global VR (2006)

I’m a fan of the Alien movies but have never played a game inspired by the films. This first foray was surprisingly good. I didn’t love playing as a “marine,” but it was engaging and I felt like it relied on casual gamers just dropping in for a round of shooting aliens than anything longer or deeper than that. The full voice acting and sound design were excellent too.

Bomber Man World

IREM (1992)

For up to 4 players, Bomber Man World is a hilarious game with a simple concept - drop bombs and get the heck out of there using only up, down, left, and right directions. I had a lot of fun trying to get out of the way of my own destruction and level up for some handy rewards like more speed and extra bombs! Nice!

Quake: Tournament Edition

Aka Quake Arcade, 1998

Quake never really had an arcade game beyond site testing. However, 1UP got their hands on the source code and managed to create a one-of-a-kind machine complete with custom trackball controls! I couldn’t get my head around the trackball, but I take my hat off to them for pulling it off and piquing my interest in Quake (another one for the ever growing wishlist!)

I played so many more games, but these were the ones I could recall and spent the most time with. It’s no surprise that my findings are that freeplay instead of coin-operated infinitely makes for a better gaming experience.

Do you have a favourite arcade game? Do you play them regularly? I’d love to hear about them!

Like my silly little posts? Consider buying me a coffee ☕💕

KO-FI

When I heard that the new Pokemon game Pokemon Legends had a DLC announcement pretty much the same day, heavily implying it was made alongside the main game. It got me thinking about what the deal is with DLCs and expansions in general.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know I’m pretty new to the gaming world so a lot of the games I’ve played already had new content readily available. Some of which I hardly noticed, especially when they’re things like fancy armour and other cosmetic enhancements. Others I’ve felt are the definitive ending to a game, such as Trespasser for Dragon Age Inquisition, and there’ve been others that have felt like a bonus for when you’re not quite ready to leave that world behind just yet, such as Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine for The Witcher 3. Then there’s what was supposed to be a DLC, but got so huge that it became a standalone game in its own right - Hollow Knight: Silksong.

I want to talk about these in more detail and get to the crux of their worthiness and perhaps the point of them at all. I’m sorry to tell you that this post is going to mention some of the games I’ve already written about in previous posts, just from another angle. So, if you’d prefer not to read another word (especially from me) about the OG Oblivion, The Witcher, or Dragon Age, now would be a good time to bail. Everyone else, we ride at dawn…

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

I’m desperately trying not to talk too much about this game as I’m planning on writing a big post about it later in the year, but I felt I had to address its DLCs.

First released in March 2006, bonus content started to drop just a month later. These were small things like fancy horse armour (I’ll go back to this in a sec) and spell tomes. These were followed by new quests that involve players setting out to repair old, decrepit buildings to become their home, like a wizard’s tower, or a dwarven orrery. Expansions on the main game followed with Knights of the Nine and The Shivering Isles. As for the small downloads, I didn’t know they weren’t part of the original game, even though I did find it odd that I’d unlocked so many quests just by turning the game on.

The question is, now that I’ve played the game, could I have done without the DLCs? Yes… but why would I? The housing quests are actually very handy, especially The Vile Lair quest which unlocks an underwater den which is convenient if you happen to be trying to get rid of vampirism… 👀

What about the big, expansive quests? I haven’t done The Shivering Isles yet, but I can take or leave Knights of the Nine. The gear you acquire is pretty cool, the lore is interesting and there are some great dungeons to traverse and puzzles to solve, but I didn’t feel like it added to my overall game experience. I also found having to do every little thing NINE TIMES pretty tedious. Still, I can imagine this would be a great addition if you’ve finished the main game and want an excuse to keep exploring.

Going back to the horse armour…I believe there was some controversy around this particular DLC as it was just cosmetic armour that was expensive for what it was (around $2.50USD. This was almost 20 years ago when microtransactions weren’t a thing like they are now.)

Dragon Age: Inquisition

The end of each Dragon Age game brings about a lot of emotion for me. It’s a time to reflect on the experience - the new friends I made, the companions I kissed and those I fought with, and that we managed to conquer evil together, all while discovering a little bit more about myself and my journey as a gamer. Our collective effort saved the world and it feels like there’s little more to be done… That is until Trespasser.

As the main game of Inquisition came to a close during my first playthrough, I was curious about Trespasser. I knew many fans considered it to be the true ending of the game as it essentially extends things out a little further while also opening up possibilities for the next game.

First though, I chose to get on with the other expansions… The Jaws of Hakkon and The Descent both open up new areas on the map, introduce us to new characters, include new music from composer Trevor Morris, and a round of new challenges adding another 10-15 hours of content to the main game.

The most noticeable thing about these expansions is the huge leap in difficulty. Suddenly, things got really tough, especially the final bosses. On subsequent playthroughs, I haven’t bothered with Jaws or Descent again, instead going straight onto Trespasser. Terrible I know, but I felt like I’d seen enough with those two. Trespasser takes place a few years after the events of the main game and there’s a lot of angst (IYKYK👀) All in all though, these DLCs are a great addition to the main game and worth exploring if you haven’t already.

Also, I’d like to note that I’m aware there is a multiplayer mode for Inquisition which also has its own DLCs, but I haven’t dabbled so I won’t go into them. I’d love to know if anyone has given them a go though.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I’m such a blatant, completely biased fan of these games it feels silly to even go there but I must! 😤

There’s around 16 free DLCs for The Witcher 3 that include new weapons, armour, hair and beard styles for Geralt and some small quests - all of which I didn’t notice were add ons because I played the Game of the Year edition 5 years after it first came out. However, the two big expansions made me feel like I was playing a brand new Witcher game! There’s nothing here that you’d want to skip and there’s no drastic jump in difficulty (unless you count the final boss in Blood & Wine, but let’s not go there…)

I bought these DLCs when I was about halfway through the main game for around the same price and I have no regrets (to be clear, my partner owned the main game but not the DLCs and I was using his copy. Needless to say, I had to rectify things pretty quickly!) They’re masterpieces in their own right (uh oh, here she goes...) and I got more than 20 hours of content out of them. I would love to go into more detail about them, but there’s so much detail and so much to explore, from the new areas that open up (Toussaint is exquisite, as is the fairytale world Geralt finds himself in.) The new characters we meet (I’d sell my first born for Dettlaff!) and some of the most stressful bosses (the Toad Prince) and the absolute worst, no good, evil bad guy (Man of Glass, need I say more.)

Some personal trivia - I had a huge, irl panic attack towards the end of Blood & Wine the first time I played it. I made a choice I wish I hadn’t and I was genuinely scared of what was transpiring. I had to stop for a few days to recalibrate and ultimately put a mod on to finish, after which I went back about 6 hours to make things right. Despite the anxiety, it’s still one of my favourite gaming moments!

Thank you so much for reading! To celebrate all my wonderful subscribers and for reaching over 113 of you (wow! Thank you!) I’m doing a little giveaway! One lucky winner will win a Steam (PC) key for one of my favourite cosy games Mail Time! Funnily enough, I wish this adorable game had some DLCs! Lol!

Anyway, to be in the running, like this post and leave a comment! Not sure what to comment? Let me know what you’re playing or what DLCs you wish existed! I’ll draw a winner on the 6th October! Good luck and thanks again! 💕

Enjoy my work? Consider buying me a coffee! ☕

Ko-fi

I’ve backseat gamed a lot of games that I wouldn’t play, which is probably why it took me so long to figure out what I like.

My partner likes management games like City Skylines, Factorio, and Faster Than Light which don’t interest me as far as I can tell. There are some games that fall into the “I might play it if it wasn’t so difficult” category, like Dark Souls, and some that are intriguing, but some how not enough for me to give it a go, like any game by Hideo Kojima. I’ve backseat gamed many of his: Policenauts, Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding. I just love watching them being played more than the idea of playing them myself.

They’re so compelling, from the cinematic cutscenes, lengthy dialogue sequences to the fast paced boss fights. Kojima strikes me as a film-maker at heart and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed soaking up hours of his work without worrying about controls, or where I’m going, or what I’m supposed to be doing. I recently backseat gamed Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. I’m completely invested in this series although I’m not completely sure I know exactly what’s going on in them (a bit like The Locked Tomb series of books by Tamsyn Muir. I’ve read them multiple times and adore them, but don't ask me for a detailed run down of what happens in them!)

Anyway, I watched a DS2 playthrough from start to finish and was shocked to be moved to tears during the final scenes.

“But this isn’t even my game!” I blubbed to my partner.

I realised afterwards that perhaps, it was.

On that note, I’d like to hand you over to some other writers and their experiences of backseat gaming and how it’s shaped their own relationships with video games, and perhaps even the people closest to them.

Please give the following contributors a follow or subscribe to their blogs. The gaming community on Substack is so great and I’m very grateful for the new friends I’ve made here and the excellent content they’re creating that gets delivered straight to my inbox.

Special shoutout to Harrison Polites and Katya Ryabova for including me in their own collaborative posts which you should definitely check out on their respective blogs.

Thanks for joining us x

Auzin Ahmadi, Soft Hobbies

What stands out to me the most about backseat gaming is what it reveals about the person who’s playing. We all play games to relax and have fun, but the way we reach that end goal is as varied and diverse as the landscape of gaming itself.

Growing up, I watched my dad play 4X strategy games like Civilization and Heroes of Might & Magic, and he taught me some of the intricate mechanics of those games. They completely match his analytical, computer programmer mind.

Recently, I was at a friend’s house who is a huge Sims fan, and it warmed my heart to see her love and care for the generations of Sims that lived under her watchful eye. The Sims asks you to play God, and she chose to be a benevolent one.

My boyfriend relaxes with 90s creature shooters like Doom, Quake, and System Shock, which bring him a super cozy feeling of nostalgia and community with online fangroups. He also exercises his creativity by designing Doom mods.

I enjoy turn-based combat for a quiet sense of accomplishment, like the battles in Triangle Strategy or Baldur’s Gate 3. Once the battle system is ingrained in my head, it’s fun to move all my little chess pieces (characters) around and knock the opponent off the board. It feels like I’m using my mind, but it’s not stressful or urgent.

Our taste in games is totally custom to each person. Try asking your loved ones why they like the specific games they do, or try backseat gaming to see what appeals to them about a specific gaming experience. You might learn more about them, or get a new perspective on a game you didn’t connect with before <3

Margot, Margot Plays Video Games

Throughout my gaming life I have also been a backseat gamer. During the Sega Megadrive days, I would watch my friend play and act as another pair of eyes, calling out dangers or when to heal or save if things got a bit dicey.

More recently I have been watching my other half play a couple of games, one of which I would probably have liked to play too, but I loved to see him enjoy it so much.

The two games were The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Ghost of Tsushima. Both are big open world games, which is a problem if you want to see any action. My other half has to check everything. This means hours of him climbing trees and finding Korok seeds (if you are lucky) in Zelda: TotK and hours of him chasing foxes and birds, and sitting in hot springs in Ghost of Tsushima.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love watching the games but they initially felt so boring because whenever I was watching he wasn’t exactly doing anything exciting. I would ask him to do a quest or at least fight something, so I could see how the combat worked and so I could be useful. Although my usefulness was usually just shouting “Heal!”, “Eat something!”, “Low health!”, “Almost!”, “One more hit!”.

So this is my backseat gaming style, watching you battle and fight, so I can encourage you to keep your health up. :)

Harrison Polites, Infinite Lives

Guilty as charged: I’m a terrible Mario Party co-op player. As fate would have it, I have more than three friends, so when I manage to tempt a group into a game, we usually have to split into teams. And wow, do I feel sorry for my teammate.

We share controller time to keep things fair, given I own the game and know how to play. But that doesn’t stop me from coaching them, and perhaps getting slightly salty when they lose. I want them to improve, sure, but I also want to win.

It’s a personal foible I’ve worked on, and I really backed off during my last round with an absolute Mario Party novice as my co-pilot. What will be, will be; whether a Boo steals our Star or a ‘Chance Time’ event flips your commanding lead into last place.

Still, the fire — and the temptation to just snatch the controller off them — remains.

Vincent Krasauskas, Midlife Mixtape

Ever since the first time I heard a line of John Motson commentary on FIFA 97, I’ve been impressed by sports game developers’ attempts to make their presentation as realistic as the TV viewing experience.

Watching livestreams of modern Madden games, it occurs to me how every natural-sounding line of commentary, every faux commercial break, and every exciting pass or rush play adds to the realism of a TV presentation – and in terms of an exciting game experience, I think I prefer it to watching the real thing.

That isn’t so much down to the realism of the Madden experience, so much as it is the many annoying little things about watching a real NFL game. Constant ad breaks, commentators’ corny attempts to paint the key players as larger-than-life and each big play as a cinematic masterpiece – it all gets on my nerves. I’ll stick to the video games, thanks.

Noah Wizard, Game Maker’s Mistakes

My parents worried that games would take over my life; it took years to wear them down.

But by then, the damage had been done. My friends who grew up with games were able to platform and aim, but I could not. I’d missed the window to develop my twitch reflexes.

So many games felt like they were taunting me. I felt very left out.

RPGs saved me; you can manually ‘lower the difficulty’ by over-leveling.

There are so many games that I can’t play, because I can’t lower the difficulty.

My friend loves Halo. I knew the lore and level design were great, but often, all I could focus on was the game defeating me.

Now, he plays them, I watch the recording, with a Google Doc open, giving him my thoughts. The doc is over 27,000 words long, and he can comment on it with his follow-ups and answers to my questions.

ROP, ROP’s Passions

As a Gamer Dad, I’ve introduced my Junior to games since he was five, to simple ones that challenge without overwhelming. My role? The most important one: be the comfy chair. He’d sit in my lap while I guided his steps, encouraged risks, and taught him that failure isn’t the end.

That’s proper Gamer Dad backseat gaming—being both the seat and the “back” support.

Now, at 9 years, he’s no longer in my lap but by my side. We take turns, challenge each other, and surprise one another—him with Minecraft builds full of secret rooms and traps, me with “elderly knowledge” from decades of play.

And what I’ve found… many favorite moments come when I just sit and watch. See his skill grow, his awe at beautiful or touching scenes, his joy at overcoming the “impossible”. It is a wonder, and I think that’s the heart of backseat gaming, as a Gamer Dad: watching him play, learn, and grow!

Jim Mander, I Play Games So You Don’t Have To

For years I didn't really like puzzle games. Then a few years ago I had terrible bouts of insomnia, and the only thing that consistently lulled me to sleep were long, boring videos. Luckily, I found a YouTuber that mostly played puzzle games, including the venerable DROD series. DROD has dozens of user-made campaigns, which translates to hundreds of hours of soft yammering as he analyzed a different Gordian Knot every screen.

I'll never forget how frustrating it was watching him bumble around ignoring something I spotted ages ago. I'll also never forget my relief finding the perfect audio-visual opiate. And the puzzle-solving osmosis paid off - I've warmed to that genre ever since. Last year, it came full circle: that YouTuber released his own DROD-inspired game, Leaf's Odyssey, and I beat it under my own power. So thank you, Alex Diener, for being just the right amount of boring.

Sean Thomas Milligan, CTRL + ALT + DECAY

I started as a backseat gamer. I grew up watching my older brother play PC games in the early to mid 1990s that are today considered vintage (or even ancient)--games like Wizardry 7, Alone in the Dark, Space Quest, and Myst. While I was cutting my teeth on our family’s modest NES and SNES library, playing simple platformers like Super Mario Bros. 3, my brother was wading through the deeper, more arcane and complicated mechanics of old-school RPGs and adventure games. These titles featured obscure rules and controls that were just a bit beyond my grasp as a young child, but watching my brother confidently stroll through the foreboding forests and gloomy dungeons of games like Wizardry 7 ignited my imagination. It was a way for me to experience games I wasn’t ready to play myself. More importantly, it was a formative and valuable bonding experience between two brothers with a shared love of gaming (even if he sometimes grew annoyed with my constant questions asked over his shoulder!). These remain some of my fondest gaming memories.

Katya Ryabova, Playing This Week

Backseat gaming was what brought me into the gaming fold. As a child, I loved watching my brother play—we shared a computer, but I enjoyed being his co-pilot more than being in the driver's seat. Prince of Persia, Need for Speed, Aladdin… All single-player games that we still played together.

As an adult, for the longest time, I hadn't owned a computer suitable for "proper" gaming. I didn't play games, yet I wanted to take in the stories they told. I was especially drawn to horror. There is something about the agency that horror video games give players that elevates them above horror films for me, no matter how great. Watching Let's Plays of the likes of Markiplier and Jacksepticeye allowed me to experience horror without fear, but with a dose of humour that I enjoy to this day. I came for the personalities, but stayed for the stories.

Slowly but surely, I made my way into the driver's seat, too. I play a lot more games now, but my favourite Let's Play creators are still my go-to for catching up on the latest and greatest horror releases. Backseat gaming is a beloved companion to my gaming hobby.

Kevin T.C, Exploring The Games

Backseat gaming can be the most infuriating thing as a gamer, especially when playing fighting games. It’s all based on the fact that people think they can do better than you or that you’re suboptimal. And I went through it a lot when I attended Smash Bros. Ultimate locals when I was stationed in Virginia. I drove around an hour, I think, with some friends of mine to compete, and it was fun, even if I never won one match.

There’s one particular run that stood out to me of my competing couple of times. It was the usual match experience, in which I was playing my Jigglypuff, and I really wished I had my headphones on. I could hear two people behind me talking between each other, although not whispering or anything, normal tone, talking about every little mistake I made.

“I would’ve rested there.”

“He can’t hit a back air?”

“He needs to rest more.”

But it was around the usual backseat that would throw me off my flow when I took a stock, and my opponent reacted unexpectedly. As soon as I took a stock, he screamed fuck, and slapped his right knee. I could not focus on the match anymore, or the backseat people, because I just wanted to leave. Fighting game people, or just smash people, are crazy.

The Pneumanaut

Even the best mountaineers never climb alone. Feats of strength and endurance are best undertaken alongside others; people who will encourage you, support you, and offer a helping hand when you’re dangling on the cliff's edge. I, unfortunately, had nobody to spot me when I first climbed the Dark Souls mountain (the 2018 remaster). It was a gruelling experience, to say the least. That’s why, when my wife expressed an interest in playing, I was keen to sit on the couch beside her and offer whatever guidance I could. I would be her Sherpa.

But imagine my surprise and delight when she took to the game like a duck to water. She was slicing guys with her +15 Zweihander before I could even say ‘Praise the Sun!’ And her crowning achievement – overcoming the gankiest of all boss battles, Ornstein and Smough – that was all hers. (And Solaire’s.) No controller-passing required!

Gonçalo Santos, Button Musher

I beat Split Fiction back in April with my beautiful fiancée, who is an occasional gamer. Given my two decades of practice, I often ended up reaching the objectives sooner than her. Which led me to watch her struggle with camera controls and depth perception in platforming sequences, a unique backseat gaming experience. I’m getting better at not offering unrequested advice, but it is a tough urge to combat when it feels like we’re reading the same book in two completely different languages.

I do find holding a controller as natural as holding a smartphone, but this fluency in videogamish has made me blind to things that were obvious to my fiancée, despite the fact that she fights with her right analog with a furious passion. She solved most puzzles and breezed through the levels in which camera controls were taken away from us. Split Fiction ended up being one of the most fun games we’ve played, and— through the experience of watching how different everything was to my soon-to-be-wife— it feels like one which I beat twice.

Thank you so much for reading! BabyGamer posts will always be free, but if you’d like to support Laura further, you can always buy her a lil coffee! ☕

KO-FI

We’re already halfway through the year! Soon we’ll be talking about Christmas while putting away our winter clothes and checking our fans are in good working order for another obscenely long and inhumane summer (this is not a jab at all the northern hemisphere people who act like half the world doesn't exist below the equator 😏)

Regardless of the season, I played a bunch of games! Some all the way to the credits, and others until I felt I’d seen enough. Here’s a little breakdown of them…

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

MODE: PC (Steam)

TIME: 80 hrs

STATUS: Completed (saw those credits and played act 3 twice to get all the Steam achievements!)

Ah, the long awaited 4th installment of the Dragon Age series was finally released in October 2024 and gifted to me for my birthday in December. As a fan of the previous games (I’ve talked about them a few times in previous posts 😅) I was disappointed by the reviews that started to role in upon the game’s release, as well as news of much of the staff that worked on the game being let go at Bioware, but I cleared my head of expectations and just went for it. Sure, there were things I thought were strange. For example, all of the companions were too nice! Where was the bickering? The snark? There were a couple of characters who had a little animosity between them, but it was minor and was sorted out pretty quickly. If you throw random strangers together some of them will inevitably clash and even hate each other. That's how the world works! There were other aspects I couldn't put my finger on, like what tone the writers were going for and some of the dialogue seemed out of place. All in all though, I had a good time with it. I enjoyed the gameplay, the colour palette (which has divided some players) and I was happy with the story.

This is a really great post that I think encompasses a lot of how I feel about this game. That it might be a last hurrah for us DA fans and the team did the best that they could in what were undoubtedly terrible circumstances.

My biggest upset was the soundtrack. I found it underwhelming to say the least, and not a single stand out song that I was bound to play repeatedly for the rest of the year. The soundtracks for the previous games were wonderful. The music for the Inquisition DLCs - The Descent and Trespasser remain on high rotation. Why they didn’t rehire Trevor Morris, I'll never know…

Anyway, I really enjoyed The Veilguard. I loved the player character “Rook” and being able to wrap up my own story regarding my character player from Inquisition and her beloved Solas. I just hope this isn’t the end for the series…

Stardew Valley

MODE: PC (Steam)

TIME: 135 hrs

STATUS: I’ve seen enough… for now! You know what this game is like.. You put it down for 6 months then you’re back playing 8 hours straight!

I started playing Stardew Valley in 2020 when everyone else was playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. At the time, I didn’t own a Switch, but my PC ran games pretty well and Stardew seemed like the next best thing. If you’re familiar with this game, you’ll know there is MUCH to do! But I played it slowly, putting it down and picking it up again when I felt like it. Things really stepped up a notch when my partner got a copy and decided to co-op. Having 2 of us on the farm instead of just me meant things finally got done!

Playing together and working as a team really lifted the game for me. While I kept busy on the farm, fixing the greenhouse and community centre, my partner kept himself busy in the various mines and caves. After 100 hours, we got to the end of year five and realised we’d done everything we wanted to do. Even the cinema was now open and I didn’t want to marry any of the characters in town (although I was engaged to Elliot 😬) I don’t need to tell you that this is a wonderful game and I love that I can log out for now, but jump back in whenever I feel like it.

Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City*

MODE: Nintendo Wii

TIME: 5 hrs

STATUS: I’ve seen enough for now. I’m hanging out for Nintendo to put this on their online thingy, or I'll find other means… 🐬

I wasn’t sure whether to mention this one as I only played for a handful of hours, purely because I struggled with the Wii controls - a remote in one hand and a nunchuck in the other. What I did see I enjoyed, even though Nook was being a bit of a bully!

Hello Kitty’s Island Adventure

MODE: Nintendo Switch

TIME: 55 hrs

STATUS: I’ve finished the main story, but I can see myself ducking in from time to time

This game is the perfect remedy for anyone waiting for the next Animal Crossing game, or want something that feels like AC, but without having to start a new island. Hello Kitty’s Island is a super busy game with tons to see and do. The main story involves quests that will eventually open up hidden parts of the island and unlock the digital memories of TOPHAT - one of the founders of the island. I initially liked the gift-giving friendship mechanic, but after a while it felt like that was all I was logging on to do. However, there's so much going on, I won’t be able to include it all here. From cooking, fishing and deep diving, to solving ancient puzzles and traversing old mines in rickety carts! That’s just a glimpse into what’s available to you in this full, lush and I guess not all that cozy game. It also seems unbreakable (I tried multiple times!) It never once crashed.

Snufkin: Melody Of Moominvalley

MODE: Nintendo Switch

TIME: 6 hrs

STATUS: Completed. Saw the credits. Cried. Wished it was longer.

I picked up a physical copy for the Switch while I was in Japan last year, and as I grew up a fan of the Moomins, I was delighted to get to explore Moominvalley. You play as the humanoid character Snufkin as he thwarts an industrious park keeper’s attempts to ruin Moominvalley’s natural landscape. With an atmospheric soundtrack that features songs by Icelandic band Sigur Rós, I only wish this game was longer (I’m very excited to hear another one is coming!)

Disney Illusion Island

MODE: Nintendo Switch

TIME: 25 hrs

STATUS: Completed. Loved it!

Another one I bought in Japan! I had no idea I was going to love this game as much as I did! I thought it was going to be a platformer with not much story, but I was wrong. It’s a metroidvania (my first!) with an intriguing story and a gorgeously designed world.

I played it with my partner and we both really enjoyed the mechanics and gameplay. My favourite aspect was that when you lose hearts due to the various perils you face, just hug your team mate to gain them back!

What else?

Here are some more games I dabbled in…

Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn (on Nintendo 3DS) I spent a few hours with this one.

The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings (on PC) My 4th or 5th playthrough

Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture (on PC) 2nd playthrough

The Elder Scrolls Iv: Oblivion (on PC) Currently playing the OG! Huge contender for my GOTY!

What’s next?

If I get to any of the below this year, I’ll be stoked!

Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth

Fire Emblem: Engage

Pillars Of Eternity

Tales Of The Shire

The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

What have you been playing!? 👀👀👀

Buy Me A Coffee (if you want to!)

This year’s Queensland Games Festival was held at the stunning Powerhouse in Brisbane on Saturday 14th June and showcased some of the most exciting indie games to come out of the sunshine state!

As well as the showcase, which wasn’t just video games but board and card games too, there was also some free workshops, including a creative workshop with Gameloft and the extremely popular “Mini Mobile Game Development: From Idea to App” workshop which filled up super quickly (I found it interesting that this had an age range of 11-17. What about the adults who wanted to learn about it?)

Unfortunately, on the day of the festival, I was still recovering from sickness and it was my first time leaving the house in a week so I didn’t get as immersed as I wanted to, but I still got to chat with some lovely, inspiring developers and play their cool games!

Memento | Fat Alien Cat & Nomo Studio

What struck me about Momento is that it isn’t your usual cosy, room-decorating game by any means. This game plays out across a lifetime and the choices you make, such as the items you decide to keep with you, impact the story and even the player’s career as they move into adulthood. I loved this idea and the version I played was beautiful and has so much potential. I can’t wait to see how they progress with development.

Follow for more on Steam

Bumper Bout | Rockalot

Bumper Bout is a frantic, highly competitive, extremely fun twist on the classic arcade pinball game! I played against my partner for a few minutes and thoroughly enjoyed not just trying to keep all my balls in the game, but flicking more over to him to try to keep afloat. Absolute chaos!

Slated for an October 2025 release, you can keep updated on development here.

Deliverium | Sagestone Games

I was immediately drawn to the pixel art style of this sandbox adventure game by Sagestone Games. Up to 4 players can explore, build, farm, craft and even battle their way across this open world while restoring stability to the land. I was impressed by the work that’s gone into this game already and look forward to seeing how they build on things in further development.

The demo is available here.

Dungeon Pizza | Growing Games

Dungeon Pizza was probably my favourite game of the day at the games fest! It’s a point and click cooking game where you play as a pizza chef whipping up creations for adventurers that stop in at your pizzeria. The demo ran really well and I was grateful for the dev’s assistance on showing me the ropes. It’s so early in development that (one of) the devs I spoke to wasn’t sure what the end game will end up being but I can tell the team have had a great time making it!

I signed up to their newsletter and look forward to seeing how it goes!

Key Fairy | Owl Machine

I didn’t get a chance to play this one at the festival - mostly because my energy levels were starting to wane and it was time for me to call it a day. But I downloaded the demo when I got home and while I initially thought it might not be a game for me, I enjoyed it!

Key Fairy is a beautifully eerie, hand drawn, pacifist bullet-hell game where the player weaves through the folkloric world to collect their shattered stars while encountering strange creatures and long forgotten magic along the way. I believe it won the “People’s Choice” award at the festival which is absolutely deserved!

You can download the demo on Steam

Games I didn’t Get To Play but Was Intrigued By

Isopod | Sbug Games

Due for release in October 2025, Isopod is a spin-off of the game Webbed where you play as a little pill-bug rolling its way through the Australian bush.

Follow their Steam page for updates.

Lone Pine | Bang Bang Bang Interactive

Lone Pine is an intriguing, 2D adventure game where you play as “Lizzie” who has come to Lone Pine to find and take photographs of the mysterious cryptids that might be lurking there…

Follow their Steam page for updates.

Cast N Chill | Wombat Brawler

Cast N Chill is a cosy fishing game that is already out and on sale on Steam if you’re into it! The pixel art is gorgeous and it looks like a lovely, relaxing game.

And there we have it! A great first QLD Games Fest for me! Although I wish I’d had a chance to check out the board and card games as well. Hopefully next time!

Have any of these indie games piqued your interest? I’d love to know!

Enjoying my silly little posts?

Consider buying me a coffee!

In Katya Ryabova’s wonderful, collaborative piece in celebration of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s 10th birthday, I wrote that when I play The Witcher games, I don’t assume the role of Geralt. Instead, I play as though I’m his spirit guide, or a strange constituent of his consciousness. We work together and I offer advice, usually out loud so my whole household unfortunately hears what I’m telling or yelling at him. I feel that playing this way has endeared him to me. I care about him despite, and perhaps because of his grizzliness and dry sense of humour (some might argue that he doesn't have a sense of humour. They would be wrong.)

When I came across this video from 2017 celebrating 10 years of The Witcher series as a whole, I surprised myself by getting emotional. It felt like he was thanking me personally for helping him on his perilous journey and I took it to heart. I just love those games so much!

So what about the games where you get to create and play as your own character?

I absolutely love character creators in games, but probably not in the way you think. For example, I don’t particularly like ones with too many options because I get overwhelmed and thus frustrated.

A personal point to consider is that I never create myself. You will never catch me creating a character that has any semblance to me, except age (no shade to those that do!) This is because I prefer to create brand new people that I get to move around a screen and create a story for. Creating a character from scratch or perhaps with a face claim in mind is one of my favourite things about playing games in general. They are a special, almost ritualistic part to starting a game, and while I haven't played that many, so haven't experienced the full breadth of what a character creator can offer, here are a few I’ve come across and the characters I made with them.

I’ll be honest, this post is pure self indulgence and may contain spoilers for the character creators and some plot in Fire Emblem: Awakening, The Arcana, and all 4 Dragon Age games.

FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING

(Released in 2013 on the Nintendo 3DS)

This character creator is pretty simple, but it does have 3 voice choices which is more than some of the more recent RPGs I’ve played. I created my “avatar” or “unit” choosing between male or female, 3 builds, 5 faces per build, 5 hairstyles per build and 20 hair colours.

This game poses some restrictions, like your appearance will determine who your character can marry. *spoilers ahead* I didn’t know that was a thing until I realised I didn't have enough points with my chosen beau and had to marry Prince Chrom, who turned out to be a nice enough husband, but what a wild thing to include in a game!

My character Valere (the default name is Robin) may not have been able to marry who she wanted (because I didn’t know what I was doing) yet I still really loved this game and developing her over 40 or so hours. I even commissioned art of her…

THE ARCANA

(First released by Nix Hydra Games on Android and iOS in 2017 following a successful Kickstarter)

I briefly mentioned The Arcana in my very first substack post. I discovered it in early 2018 and it was my gateway back into the world of gaming after a long absence. In this visual novel, which you used to play on Android and iOS (I don’t know whether this still stands as it has since been bought out by a bigger company and “changes” have been made.)

In The Arcana, you can play as yourself or create someone new. Either way, there's no character creator per se, just some basic options like name and pronouns. I liked the invisibility this game presented and used it as an excuse to let my imagination run wild, especially with the vague background of “you, the player, are an apprentice magician with a gift for fortune-telling.”

I quickly became obsessed and while I avidly awaited each new chapter release, I wrote plenty of fanfic and role-played with other fans online. Some of whom I’m still friends with and have even met irl!

There’s something extraordinary about being able to add yourself to a piece of media that already exists. To insert yourself or a character into a story and for it to work so well is a gift, and I hope the original creators know that they made something really special here.

My “apprentice magician” Sev has since found new homes in several of my original stories, finally settling in the world my novel is set in… 👀

THE DRAGON AGE SERIES

(The Dragon Age series began with Origins in 2009, DAII in 2011, Inquisition in 2014, and the latest installment The Veilguard in 2024)

First things first, you should know that I loved The Veilguard and you’ll probably never hear me say anything to the contrary. Now that that's out of the way, let’s jump straight into what to expect from the varying character creators across this series and how I made somewhat of a dynasty of fem mages whose lives somehow intertwine with each other.

DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS

I tried to play this game on PC many times and I always got stuck in the same place (Redcliffe village.) A couple of years later, I bought a PS3 and decided to give it one more try.

By god, am I glad I did.

Origins wasn’t my first foray into the world of Thedas. I actually played Inquisition first and I still feel that it’s a great starting point, especially now there’s a sequel.

A character creator for Origins was released before the game did, giving players time to get a character ready to upload when the game dropped. You choose between male and female, 3 races: elf, human, dwarf, and 3 classes: magi, rogue, warrior. As the title of the game might suggest, you get to choose an “origin” or background for your character which would greatly affect the first few chapters of your game. These include: city elf, Dalish elf, dwarf commoner, dwarf noble, human noble, and magi (all races.) You can read more about these choices here.

I’ve only ever done the magi origin. Playing any of the others would mean branching out from what I know! (I always play as a mage in everything 😅) Regardless of what you choose here though, your character will become a Grey Warden - an order of warriors who undergo a special ritual known as “the Joining” which if they survive enables them to sense and fight darkspawn (one of many enemies in the DA world.)

Now, when it comes to creating the physical attributes of your character, there is a striking issue that I later discovered was an ongoing problem with future games, finally rectifying itself in The Veilguard. That issue is hair choices. In the end, I just gave my character a shaved head and called it a day. Little did I know that it would actually suit her sweet little elven face…

DRAGON AGE II

The second installment in the DA series was released a mere 2 years after the first and due to a lot of work being carried out on the Origins DLC Awakening, it meant there was only 16 months or so to finish development on DAII. This resulted in the reuse of assets and a tightening up of the story in a way that meant there is only one origin for your character this and you can only play as a human (boohoo!)

While I was initially bummed by this, it worked well for the story and the hair was starting to get a little bit better! Despite the quick turnaround, DAII is a solid game that benefits from you selecting a preset at the beginning, or importing your Origins save so that your choices reflect the world your “Hawke” is about to enter.

DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION

My entry point into this wonderful series started right here! It was only the third RPG I’d ever played (after The Witcher 2 and 3,) so I hadn’t worked out yet that mages and elves were my go to, so the first character I made was a male rogue! I played Inquisition again after finishing the first two and developed my Dalish elf who would eventually go on to romance Solas (I know, I know…)

The character creator in this one really comes together with the addition of the Qunari race alongside human, elf and dwarf. Which race you choose determines your origin, but these are well written and give you plenty of room to explore some interesting possibilities within the lore itself.

As for physical attributes, just remember not to be too heavy handed with the blush or eyeliner or the first in-game cutscene will be a rude awakening! Much like this player’s experience…

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD

As you’re probably aware, this game has had plenty of bad press. I didn’t have to wait 10 years for this games’ release because I’d only recently joined the fandom so I don’t think I had the same expectations as others did and look, I do feel like there are plenty of people who gear up to see their most anticipated games flop. In saying that though, plenty of DA fans loved this game just as much as I did.

The hair choices are fantastic! They finally did it! (I know any modders reading this must be confused, since they’ve been able to give their characters great hair for years!😂) I mentioned earlier that I don’t love too many options, but this creator made me feel like a kid let loose in a sweet shop! You can finally choose a non-binary option, add top surgery scars if you want to, and flick through a ton of tattoos and body art (although it would be wise to look into the race, origin and faction you’ve chosen as most of them have meaning, even though it doesn't explicitly say so. Tumblr has some great resources!)

The origins in The Veilguard include several factions, some of which I was familiar with, some I’d seen mentioned in the comics or books, and some I hadn’t heard of at all. I lingered so long over which one to go with. The Veil Jumpers seemed like the right choice, but after creating my character's physical attributes, I decided to go with the necromantic Mourn Watch faction and it worked out perfectly.

For my first playthrough (because I just knew I was going to make a few characters for this one 😉) I went with my usual fem, elf mage and since The Veilguard is set 10 years after the events of Inquisition, I made sure she looked a little older, maybe around my own age (although, what does a 41 year old look like these days?) I was completely smitten with the result, and this might sound strange, but I came to adore my own character in the same way I’m often enamoured with certain companions! She fit into the world in a way that felt different to the first 3 games. “Rook” didn’t seem like any kind of chosen one, or even a heroine. Just a necromantic elf that’s gotten tangled up in things she’d really rather not be involved in.

One of my favourite things about the Dragon Age series is the mentions of the characters you created in the games that came before. Every time someone brought up the “Hero of Ferelden” I smiled, remembering how my kick ass wee elf babe in Origins saved everyone and people are still talking about it. Or whenever Varric shared an anecdote about his best friend “Hawke,” I’d silently wipe away a tear of pride.

Okay, I realise this has quickly turned into a I ❤️ Dragon Age post so if you're still reading, I thank you. Let’s turn this wagon back in the right direction…

Many years ago, when I was rekindling my love of writing and even thinking about branching out from my usual poetry and nonfiction dabbles, I thought I’d have a go at writing a story. Like a fiction story that might potentially become something longer. I had no idea where to begin, but making character profiles seemed like a good place to start. Unfortunately, I over thought it all and the profiles were as far as I got. When I should have just started writing, I focused too much on the cast of characters who might be in the story. I then proceeded to tell myself that this is something only clever people can do, and abandoned all hope. When

I started playing games with character creators in them, I still didn't think I’d ever be able to write a story beyond the little snippets I wrote for my university classes. Even then I avoided things like dialogue because I simply didn’t think I knew how to do it.

I wholeheartedly believe that for me, playing games was how I learned about character creation, dialogue and the basic elements of how to unfold a story. The story that was inside me, lying dormant for decades, started to seep out slowly, almost without me realising, until I had a 90k word draft on my hands.

What I’m trying to say is thank you to Fire Emblem, The Arcana and most certainly Dragon Age for dragging the storyteller out of me kicking and screaming! 😂

What are your thoughts on the character creators in games? Show me your characters! I want to hear all about them!

Buy Me A Coffee?

I’m a keyboard and mouse girly. When I returned to games after a long absence, that’s where I started and although I can manage a Switch fine, as soon as I plug a controller into my PC or hop on the PS4, I’m back to knowing absolutely nothing about how to do the thing.

That’s fine though, right? All I’ve got to do is learn…

Sure, but why aren’t the controls standardised across consoles???

It seems like that’s a whole argument in itself and yes, I know I can bind the controls to suit my preferences, although that's not always possible with some games.

I had to quit Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two on the Wii U before I’d even finished the tutorial because I just couldn't get my head around the controls! The Wii consoles are their own beasts when it comes to gameplay and it’s not the contrary systems that fill me with trepidation.

The design of gaming controllers has a long history. Apparently, Nintendo are all about ergonomics and comfortable gaming and put a lot of research and work into the design of their controls (tell that to my right thumb after months of playing Mario Kart on the N64 in 1997! The tiny joystick is no joke! 😒)

There’s a reason why I keep playing the same games over and over, sinking unimaginable hours into the same fandoms. In my defense, these games have immense replayability.

Sometimes playing a new game on PC is daunting too. I found Skyrim overwhelming to play and inevitably put it down. Hades was not great on keyboard and mouse so I gave up, but recently had another go on the Steam Deck - I'll admit, it's way better!

I’m a visual person and I love seeing all the spells/skills available to me in a neat little row at the bottom of the screen. Being able to access everything at the touch of a button all adds to a streamlined experience that leaves my brain free to concentrate on what's happening in the game itself. The wheel that appears when a controller is plugged in is painful to me (don’t ask how I managed to play Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 on the PS3 because I simply don’t know 😅)

The Blank Page™

In my last post, I mentioned that I’m querying my first novel with agents. It’s a long, emotionally draining process so in the meantime, I’m drafting the sequel. I’ll admit that having the world pretty much built and the majority of the cast of characters already formed cuts out a lot of the heavy lifting. Even so, I’m continuously faced with the dreaded Blank Page.

You’d think that every time I start a new chapter, it wouldn’t feel difficult or daunting as the story is already unfolding, but I exist in a perpetual haze of not knowing what I’m doing. I don’t know how I’m going to tackle certain aspects of the story or what direction I’m going to take things in and I’m often frozen by the prospect of continuing such a huge task. Similarly, I occasionally dabble in fanfiction gift exchanges and nothing is scarier than writing to a complete stranger’s desires and specifications, never mind my own.

The Blank Page is a way to start again too. Not loving what you're working on? Scrap it and bring up a new document, or turn the page in your notebook to a fresh one. Like picking up a new game, we might not know how to begin, or where it will take us. We might not know if it will be easy, or stress us out with its tricksy ways, but it is almost always worth giving it a crack anyway.

What are some of your non-gaming related hobbies? Is there a game that you simply cannot play due to the controls kicking your ass? Do you have a favourite way to play? ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE CRAZY AMAZING DEMONS THAT PLAYS INVERTED? I’d love to know!

Buy Me A Coffee

How do I write about my favourite game that isn’t just a review or nonsensical brain mush?

The truth is, I tried my best and that's all any of us can ever hope for lol 😂

Thanks for being here and reading my nonlinear ramblings x

***Note that this post contains spoilers for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings***

Released in 2011, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is the second game in The Witcher franchise by CD PROJEKT RED, and my very first full length game after a long absence of playing them.

I first played The Witcher 2 in 2019 and even though I was in the middle of learning how to play the game and figuring out how to stop getting screen tears (I was playing on a HP Pavilion All-in-One PC bought specifically for studying purposes*) I was barely out of the tutorial and already sucked into the story.

*I still play games on the old HP, just not anything made later than 2015 with heavy duty graphics. Sorry BG3 🙁

I was new to The Witcher world, although one of my oldest friends had been badgering me to at least read the books (I have now, three times over, but that’s for another post.) If you read my very first post here, you might recall that visual novels were my gateway games which led to me deciding I wanted to give RPG’s a go. The Witcher 2 was sitting unplayed, and largely unconsidered in my husband’s Steam library and so it began.

The opening cutscene alone is utterly compelling. We’re treated to a mini movie of a big burly bloke with golden cat eyes sneaking onto a ship out at sea where he *spoilers* demonstrates some pretty amazing moves and magic use, killing everyone on board including King Foltest of Temeria. The game then opens (after the tutorial if that's your first stop) to a prologue where we meet Geralt who is in prison suspected of killing the king.

I know there’s no point in telling you the plot of this game. I don’t want this to be a review post (it’s a 10) I’m actually just trying to get you interested enough to want to give it a go, especially if you’ve played The Witcher 3, loved it and haven't played the others. The graphics aren't that bad you guys, you should play it!

Anyway, my point is we’re only a few minutes into this game. We’ve barely touched the controls and already the story is fizzing with intrigue. We, as the player, already know who killed the king and so the game becomes us guiding Geralt to uncover the truth.

The thing is, The Witcher 2 has several different paths Geralt can potentially take, which lead to multiple endings - 16 altogether. Now, I’ve played this game many times and try as I might, I haven't been able to get the same ending twice. I even tried to do identical playthroughs and still got everything to match except for one line of dialogue. I was equal parts furious and awed.

There’s a huge turning point at the end of chapter 1, where the player has to choose between helping Iorveth, an elven rebel thought to be in cahoots with the kingslayer, or Roche, the head of the Temerian Special Forces. This is an excellent point in the game to save so you can return and try a different choice, but guys… my beloved friends and subscribers.

I have never sided with Roche. Ever.

I know it’s ridiculous and I don’t dislike Roche (although I might hold a grudge that he was in The Witcher 3 while Iorveth was barely mentioned. Please CD Projekt Red, I’m begging you to put him in The Witcher 4! 🙏)

I’ll admit that I’m a Scoia’tael (aka squirrels) sympathiser and could write entire posts about the elven rebels and why I keep siding with them at every opportunity, but for differences sake, you’d think I’d give the other side a crack.

I just can’t do it.

Regardless of the choice made here, even tiny decisions Geralt makes going forward, begin to inform the story in big ways. I can’t even begin to imagine how many branches are on the tree of this story.

So, what did this teach me about writing?

Despite having a degree in creative writing and being an avid reader who loves stories and loves writing, I never thought I’d ever write a novel. I don’t know why. I probably just thought I wouldn't be able to, and yet I have and it’s sitting in the query trenches right now (one of the reasons I started this blog was to distract me from the agony of it.)

I realised that playing games is a lot like writing a story. In fact, playing an RPG where you create a character (like in Dragon Age) is an incredible way to get started. You make a little guy, you give them a personality, and you guide them through the world and see what it makes of them.

A piece of writing advice you often see is to write for yourself, or write a story you’d like to read, so of course, my novel is about queer monster slayers and elves (something that I’m starting to think is unpublishable, at least traditionally, so if anyone out there has any self-publishing tips, please send them my way!)

When I reached the end of the first draft of my book, I realised something…while I’d started out writing the story from the perspective of a single point of view, by the end, I’d turned the narrative to the views of other characters.

But Laura, what does this have to do with The Witcher 2?

Okay well…. I obviously couldn't write a “choose your own adventure” situation like a game, but I could show the reader how the choices of one character affect what happens to another, even when they’re not in the same vicinity as each other.

What exactly is a branching narrative, or branching storyline?

Well, it’s nonlinear, much like the organisation in this post (sorry gang!) And as I said before, it creates an enriched experience when it comes to the storytelling aspect and you, the player, move through the game and ultimately, how it ends for you. Now, that brings me to one of my biggest gaming peeves.. People like to use the terms “good and bad endings” which are common in many games, not just those with branching narratives. The problem is that it reminds me of when people say they “beat” a game instead of “completing” it. I’ll be real with you, I hate that term. It harks back to the days of arcade games and how the object was to beat the game, but in RPG’s it makes it sound like you’re not having a good time. That it’s a slog.

When you say you completed a game, I think “heck yeah, you reached the end! You saw the credits and the special cutscene! You did it! Rejoice!” When you say you beat a game, my brain imagines undefeatable bosses, gritted teeth, lots of swearing, possibly a controller being tossed and pixels melting down your screen…

Ultimately, what I learned from The Witcher 2 is that there's more than one way to tell a story and there’s more than one way for a story to end, which I think is endlessly inspiring and makes me want to return to the game time and time again.

Even if I always end up siding with my beloved squirrels 😘

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The approaching equinox manifests in different, perhaps much more subtle ways here. The frangipani dies off leaving swathes of brown leaves on the ground among crushed, scented petals, and if you get up really early in late autumn (like 4am) you might see a little dew on the ground.

I’m sure the northern hemisphere folk reading this are snickering and probably think it would be nice to live somewhere with cooler seasons that are on the mild side. But I personally get a lot out of the physicality of the change of seasons and tend to look for media that reflects the feelings and visuals I don’t get in real life (not to worry though! I'm going to Melbourne in May for my annual autumn fix where it’s close enough to winter that I'll be able to wear a coat!)

So, wherever and whenever you celebrate what is arguably the best time of year, here are some of my favourite autumnal games.

Mail Time

This was my favourite game that I played last year. A gorgeous, autumnal, cosy little adventure game by Kela van der Deijl, you play as a little mushroom capped, customisable Mail Scout, delivering mail to the forest inhabitants and the odd fetch quest while exploring Grumblewood Grove.

The art and music of this game is so sweet and the characters are both adorable and funny. There's quite a lot of dialogue so be prepared to press “enter” or the console equivalent a lot, but honestly, I loved the chats and solving the communication issues some of the characters were dealing with (typical of any small town if you ask me.)

I also want to give a shout out to the gliding ability, giving Scout a bird’s eye view of the wood and its residents, as well as being a little like fast travel in some instances.

Mail Time took me almost 5 hours to complete, including sticking around after the main story to make sure I got all 23 Steam achievements.

A Short Hike

A Short Hike is a lovely exploration game by Adam Robinson-Yu about hiking up a mountain in order to get cellphone reception. You play as Claire, a cute little bird visiting her aunt for the summer who works as a ranger at Hawk Peak Provincial Park. Claire is expecting an important phone call and with no reception at the park, must reach the summit. On the way up, she meets some delightful critters hiking, fishing or just hanging out in the park.

I adore the pixel style artwork of this game and all the little quests feel important to the task at hand. Like Mail Time, this game also has a glide mechanic which is a great way to see the lay of the land. The soundtrack adds to the ambient atmosphere, often changing to suit the terrain.

The story is emotional and I found myself shedding as few tears at the end of the 2 or so hours I spent playing.

Cozy Grove

Cozy Grove is a life simulation game by Spry Fox where you play as a Spirit Scout who has recently arrived on the haunted island of Cozy Grove. You’re tasked with helping the spirits of the island which are adorable little bears all with unique personalities and things they want from you. Each quest opens up new dialogue and tells the story of what happened to each bear as well revealing more of the island as you go. I loved how this was done through the use of colour.

The style of this game is lovely and a little different to other simulation games I’ve played. Your spirit guide is customisable with the opportunity to find new clothing and other bits and pieces to help build your little life on the island.

As a fan of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, I thought I’d love this, but after 40 or so hours, I found elements of the game repetitive to the point that I felt I’d seen enough. However, if you’re looking for a cosy game designed so that you play for an hour or so every day with no way to skip ahead, then this might be for you.

Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture

This game you guys… this beautiful beautiful game….

I’d never played a walking simulator before and I was a fan of the soundtrack long before I played. I can honestly say that this is one of my favourite games, ever.

Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture is an adventure game by The Chinese Room. Although not autumnal (it’s set in early summer time,) it feels like it is due to the supernatural elements of the story.

Set in 1984 in the fictional, rural town of Yaughton in the UK, you, as the player, are tasked with exploring the eerily empty town to discover what became of its inhabitants. Abandoned radios and telephones leave behind messages and as you wander the town, you trigger the ghosts of conversations between the residents who appear to be on the cusp of something akin to the apocalypse.

The level of detail is incredible and the sound (did I mention how much I adore the soundtrack?) is haunting and ethereal. The choral arrangements by Jessica Curry with lyrics lifted from the bible itself add a poetic, doomsday quality to the game that somehow fits perfectly with the calm, pastoral atmosphere. Make sure you wear good headphones while playing to get the full effect.

Be aware that this game relies heavily on patience and you’ll need to be okay with moving through the world at a leisurely, walking pace as you explore. While there’s definitely a few elements I thought could be better (as do a lot of other gamers who couldn’t even finish it,) I found that not being too concerned with what it wants from you is the key to enjoying this beautiful, thought proving game to the full. Just walk, pay attention and watch the non linear story gradually unfold.

The Lord of the Rings Online

The Lord of The Rings Online (fondly nicknamed LOTRO) has been continuously running since its release in 2007 by Standing Stone Games.

While this MMORPG recreation of Tolkien’s Middle Earth has paid subscriptions, I’ve only ever played with a free account, occasionally purchasing what I deem a necessity, such as the riding ability (simply running around and trying to utilise the basic fast travel mechanic gets old quickly.)

In saying that, it’s absolutely possible to play solo and for free! There’s a lot of freedom to do what you want, whether that’s going through the quests available to you, getting ahead with your crafting (there’s a host of different races, classes and specialisations available even in free-to-play,) or just jumping on your horse and roaming the huge, open world.

There’s also frequent, seasonal events with different quests and ways to earn cosmetic rewards for your character and their home (yep, you can build a home for yourself in Middle Earth!)

I’ve dipped in and out of this game for years, always finding myself logging on during Easter weekend when autumn is in full swing and I might even be wearing slippers as I ride my pony though the beautiful, autumnal forests of Ered Luin like the elven princess that I am (lol!)

I’m in the Brandywine Server if you ever wanna hang out ;)

And that brings us to…

The Games I Hope To Play This Autumn

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley

I loved the animated Moomin tv series as a child and this looks like it fills the spot the series left behind! Snufkin is a chill guy and Moominvalley looks decidedly autumnal in this musical adventure game by Hyper Games.

Night In The Woods

Developed by Infinite Fall and Secret Lab, Night In The Woods is a single player, adventure game focusing on story and exploration in a small town and the dark woods beyond it. Sounds to me like it fits the bill for an autumnal game!

Spiritfarer

It shames me to acknowledge that Spiritfarer has been in my library for years, and now even has a “Farewell Edition.” Developed by Thunder Lotus Games, I think the melancholy story element to this life sim/sandbox game has the right kind of autumnal vibes for me.

I’d love to know your autumnal game recommendations and whether you’ve played any of the above.

Buy Me A Coffee

If you were here for my last post, I mentioned owning Dr Franken on GameBoy as a kid and I wanted to talk more about it. I’ll be honest though, this is less about the game and more about my feelings.

Dr Franken was released on the Gameboy in 1992 and on SNES in the US in 1993 with the title The Adventures of Dr Franken.

At first glance, you might be wondering how a 10 year old girl ended up with a game definitely not marketed towards that demographic… This is completely random, but I bought it from a duty free trolley on a flight. As is the nature of the duty free trolley, there was only one game up for grabs and the spending money my grandparents had given me for this package holiday (one of those prepaid, family resort deals somewhere in Spain) was burning a hole in my bumbag before we’d even touched down.

I had to have it.

Especially since I'd played the other games I owned to death. To this day, I’m still surprised my parents let me (they even pitched in alongside my pocket money because I would not let up!) The cover art is spooky and not exactly on par with my last fave Barbie: Gamer Girl.

Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice were counted among my favourite movies back then so in some ways, baby me loving the idea of this strange, macabre game makes sense, especially with this intriguing blurb…

HELP YOUR FAVORITE BONEHEAD GET HIS GIRLFRIEND BACK TOGETHER. GO AHEAD. THROW THE SWITCH, AND COME ON A MONSTER JOURNEY WITH GOOD OL’ FREAKY FRANKY. HE’S LOOKING FOR ALL THE PIECES OF HIS BEAUTIFUL BITSY’S BODY SO HE CAN PUT THEM BACK TOGETHER ON DR. FRANKENBONE’S LIFE MACHINE. EXCEPT IT LOOKS LIKE ITSY BITSY HAS BEEN SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE CASTLE. 7 CREEPY LEVELS. AND THERE ARE 230 ROOMS FULL OF THINGS JUST WAITING TO GRAB YOU. SO WHAT’S THE MATTER ALL OF A SUDDEN? YOU WOULDN’T BE SCARED NOW, WOULD YOU? THERE’S NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF. IT’S JUST ENOUGH TO DRIVE ANYONE BATTY.

That sounds like it has potential, right?

Unfortunately, all I remember was running around multiple floors of the castle that all looked exactly the same, following a map that made no sense at all and sometimes sometimes finding one of Bitsy’s extremities while an 8-bit version of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata plays over and over and over.

This review by The Game Hoard really hits the nail on the head…

“Dr. Franken’s early thrills of finding vital items around Frankenbone’s castle wither away as you contend with the scope of your work. Navigation is already a nuisance thanks to Franky’s poor movement ability, but with often little direction on where to head or how items relate to your work, Dr. Franken can boil down to bumbling about hoping you’ll find a room with something worthwhile.”

Ouch.

Did I mention Dr Frankenbone’s castle has 230 rooms? 230 rooms that all look pretty much the same!

Am I bad at games, or was it just bad game play?

These days, I have a decent grasp of what my capabilities are as a gamer. I'm not going to subject myself to infamously difficult games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Don't get me wrong, those games are probably extraordinarily good… to the people who love them. I know that I can't sit through battling the same boss 60 times, so I won't. So why does Dr Franken bother me so much? Why can’t I just let it go? It was thirty years ago, Laura!!!

Well, this is the game that made me think I suck at them and was (possibly) why I put the Gameboy down and didn’t pick it up again. But as I mentioned in my last post, I played on other people’s consoles and my sister’s PS1, yet I never asked for one myself though. A gaming console was not on my wishlist.

While I can’t replicate what it feels like to play the game on Gameboy (I’ve since played Super Mario Land many times thanks to it being available via a Nintendo Online membership on the Switch,) I have tried to play it on this emulator. And lo, it is painful.

So, I watched a full playthrough by someone who’d obviously played it a million times, and yet it didn't take away how obviously laborious the whole thing is. Even the ending, which I assumed would make it all worthwhile, is anticlimactic as Franky finally gets all Bitsy’s parts together in the lab, but before anything happens, it cuts to black. Roll credits.

Now that I’ve returned to games after a long absence, I know that narrative and puzzles are things I enjoy, especially since I know I put a lot of time and determination into Dr Franken. Even when I struggled with a janky game, I was a baby gamer and I guess I feel a little sad that Dr Franken subdued that for me.

There’s a psychology behind feeling like you’re bad at games. The way video games are essentially goal orientated and we as humans are partial to goals and not reaching them feels pretty terrible. I’ll never know if I simply hated that I couldn’t reach the end, in the same way I will struggle through a book I’m not enjoying just so I can say I finished it.

These days, I'm much better at DNF’ing the things I’m not enjoying.

Have you played Dr Franken? What did you think? Did a game ever put you off playing them? Do you have any metroidvania games you’d recommend a baby gamer? I’d love to know!

Buy Me A Coffee

I’m sure you guessed from the title and perhaps the “about” page if you navigated there, that this blog is about video games, but what about them? I’m mostly going to write about my experiences playing them on casual mode in video games. I almost always play games on casual/easy/story mode. The “almost” is for the times it isn’t an option (I’m looking at you, Ocarina of Time!)

The thing is, I’m pretty new to video games. Sure, I had a GameBoy in the 90’s with exactly four games - Tetris (of course), Super Mario Land (a classic), Barbie: Game Girl (incredible), and Dr Franken (Okay, I have a whole post in my head about this game, fyi)

I have wonderful memories of playing on friends’ Nintendo 64s - the epic Mario Kart races and freaking ourselves out playing multiplayer on Goldeneye. Christmas 1998 saw my younger sister get a Playstation 1 loaded with some demos including MediEvil (which we both played to death) and the fun, but frustratingly difficult Spice Girls game Spice World.

After that, as far as I can recall, I didn’t play a video game for another 20 years.

Two whole decades!

I know, it’s wild.

For a long time, I couldn’t figure out what happened, or why. I could say life got in the way, and it probably did to some extent. My partner, whom I’ve known almost that long, loves video games and has always played them around me. He’s owned various consoles over the years, eventually getting a fancy gaming PC. Later on, we realised that the games he’s into (mostly things to do with logistics and errr… FIFA although that period of his life is over now lololol) weren’t my kinda thing. So what was my gateway back into the world of video games?

It was 2018, an artist I followed on social media posted some fanart of a character from a visual novel they’d played. I liked the look of it, searched for it, played it, loved it, immediately opened an ao3 account….

I WAS BACK!

It was as simple as that. I was hooked on the story driven narrative, stunning artwork and ease of access due to a lot of VN’s being readily available on mobile phones for free (to a degree.) As someone who was starting to take writing more seriously (my background was mostly in poetry and both nonfiction and fandom zine making, but I was slowly working towards a degree in Creative Writing in the hope it would help me gain more confidence to write fiction) this way of storytelling was a revelation!

What does this have to do with casual mode? Well, visual novels are essentially what they say they are - a novel with pictures or artwork. They’re by no means “difficult” to play. I know there’s plenty of discourse around over whether VN’s are considered games and I don't want to go too deep into that, but I will say that I personally wouldn't question something that has such intricate and sometimes beautifully written, branching storylines that rely on the “player’s” choices to decide the outcome of the story. To me, that’s a game, and that's where my journey into becoming a fully fledged gamer began and where this first post comes to an end.

What were your first games, and did you ever take a big break from them?

Oh, and the visual novel that I mention above is The Arcana. I’d love to say “you’re welcome!” but apparently its monetised system has reached new levels of daylight robbery. If you have a favourite VN, I’d love to hear about it. Especially if it’s one you can purchase outright.

Buy Me A Coffee