Martin Robinson

A new website about PC games, from me, @brendyc.bsky.social and @jonhicks.com.

Reader-supported, which means no ads, no guff, and lots of games blogging about delightful things to play. If you liked our work on RPS, we think you'll like @jank.cool.

A Budgerigar painted onto a James Hunt Malboro World Championship Team beer mat from the 1970s. Beermat painting. Watercolour.

James Hunt loved Budgies apparently.

darrenhaymanart.com

Today I noticed the bongos in #Bananza.

They didn't have to put the bongos in.
Or give them a little start button.
Or make them bouncy!?
They didn't have to add an extra bongo track in the audio that comes in when you're near.

But they did.

I’ll be watching remotely this year from my sofa with some beer and space chews, because frankly fuck going to the US right now. But tune in later if you can, and stick around for when the GTPs start catching the slower traffic. Multiclass endurance racing is pretty much as good as it gets.

The winning Porsche 963, carrying all the filth from the Daytona 24

I don’t know of any other major international race where you can get this close to the winning car minutes after it’s completed its journey

GT3 Merc carrying battle scars after the D24

Last time I went was a couple of years ago when they were filming scenes for the film - the most amazing thing about going to Daytona is the access you get, where you can walk right up to the garages and watch all the really special stuff happen

And ofc if the intro to the F1 movie took your fancy, this is a chance to see wrinkly old racers outbraking each other into the Le Mans chicane at just before midnight as the fireworks bloom

An Aston Martin GT3 chases down a Corvette into the sunset at Daytona

If you’ve got into motorsport through F1 and are curious about the world of sportscar racing there’s no better intro, and over time I’ve come to realise it’s every bit as magical as Le Mans in its own way

2026 IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona | PART 1 | WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | Daytona Beach, FL YouTube video by IMSA Official

It’s race day! In just over two hours at around 6.45pm GMT the season properly kicks off with what’s always a highlight of the season, the Daytona 24. And it’s all streamed live for free (in the UK at least) www.youtube.com/live/uGOgs9b...

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles review – remastered 1997 classic is even more politically resonant now This landmark role-playing game remains a revolutionary tour de force

This is getting published a little later than intended but it's here now: a short, sharp write-up on the political resonance of FFT: The Ivalice Chronicles in the year of No Kings protests — one turn-based battle after another ✊

www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...

The best morning

January 01, 2026
#NeoGeo #PocketHoroscope

Wasting my one new years wish on the hope that 2026’s Ferrari won’t be a complete shitbox 🙏🙏🙏🍝🍝🍝🍝🙏🙏🙏

Ridge Racer.....iiiiiiiitttt's RIIIIIIIIIIDGE RRRAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCER

Macros 2 hori shmup

Outfoxies - a woman machine guns a guy in a murder wheelchair on top of a blue whale. Yeah, you read that right

Action puzzle game VS Tower of Babel AKA VS Mystery Tower

The most important releases of 2025

1. Ridge Racer
2. Super Dimension Fortress MACROSS II
3. The Outfoxies
4. VS Tower of Babel
5. Mach Breakers
6. Dead Connection
7. Marchen Maze
8. Nebulas Ray
9. Gee Bee
10. Castle of Dragon

1/12⬇️

A pair of sailors walk the streets of Yokosuka

And yes, I did find some. Fucking bingo.

A collection of shipping containers and warehouses in a Japanese dockyard

A staff house in a Japanese dockyard

A Toyota forklift truck in Yokosuka dockyard

I ventured out to the docks this time and wasn’t prepared for the amount of emotional damage these warehouses laid on me

A vintage jacket stall on Dobuita St, which will be familiar to Shenmue players

A suburban road in Yokosuka, which has similarities to the road players travel to Dobuita by in Shenmue

An American bar in Yokosuka called Tom & Jack, with a Stars and Stripes signage

A convenience store in Yokosuka which was used for loose inspiration for Shenmue’s own convenience store

I last went in 2009 on my first trip to Japan (it was my first destination because I’m that tragic about Shenmue) and it was ace to walk the streets again now I’m not so spun out by it all

Dobuita St in Yokosuka, a pedestrianised street dense with shops

Happy 26th to Shenmue, a video game that goes out of its way to celebrate the mundane and remains one of the most preposterous AAA productions. Popped by Yokosuka again earlier this year on a spare day in Japan and it only solidified what special magic SEGA and AM2 conjured

i miss having someone sub my shit writing, but also hugs and kisses to you sir

Ugh, I’m away from my rig until the new year and am missing it dearly. Also loved the fever dream of getting Salamander 3 and Metroid Prime 4, the best 7/10 of the year. And plenty more besides - through all the shit games have delivered. Thank you games!

Le Mans Ultimate - a threadbare 1.0 release blossomed into what, for me and for now at least, is the go-to place for the very best authentic online racing. Looks, sounds and handles like a dream, works a treat in VR and replicates the greatest racing series in the world in all its brilliance.

Time Flies - thoughtful, funny, can be played through in an evening with a partner for a wholly satisfying experience. The dream!

Donkey Kong Bananza - I love it when Nintendo goes weird, and all the better when it’s the Tokyo team given the keys to an all-time icon. Runs out of momentum slightly but the thrill of a platformer that literally smashes up the rulebook put the biggest smile on my face while the fun lasted.

Despelote - pushed my perceptions of what’s possible within the form while also at its heart providing an intoxicating hymn to what makes football the beating heart of world sport. Absolutely essential.

Lonely Mountains Snow Riders - retains the same compulsive rhythm of its predecessor and builds out beautifully to capture the thrill of conquering its mountains, and feels absolutely sublime in the process.

Because fuk it y not, a quick list of my fave games from 2025

AI boom adds more than half a trillion dollars to wealth of US tech barons in 2025 Elon Musk’s net worth increased by nearly 50% to $645bn with founders of Google and Amazon also seeing huge wealth gains

Fuck AI www.theguardian.com/business/202...

YouTube video by The Video Game History Foundation The Untold Story of the Nintendo Entertainment System

Merry Christmas! If you'd like to spend 45 minutes celebrating video game history with me, we're about to debut The Untold Story of the Nintendo Entertainment System. I worked on his ALL YEAR, and I genuinely think it will reshape how we all think about the system. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJvp...

An old photo from the early 2000s of the Divers combi Dreamcast TV n its darker eggshell blue glory and a glowy orange cybergrid from Rez on thescreen. Its design is rounded with twin plastic prongs sticking out either side above ands below the screen like some sort of pulp scii tv.

A shot of the top loading cd drive that lifts up from the top of the tv.

A shot of all the access with a green translucent keyboard, a matching dreamcast controller, cables, and a remote.

Another older photo with some Japanese PCs flanking the Divers with the controller and keyboard in front of it.

Objects of desire...

The Divers 2000 CX-1 Dreamcast + TV combi, with network capabilities and DreamEye digital camera.

Co-developed by Sega, CSK, and Fuji, it had a tiny production run, numbering just two hundred. The remote is essential as it's the only way to switch it into DC mode.