Tom F

TOEM, my daughter and I played this together. She ended up completing it without me so I still don't know how it ends. However I do know it's a great little game, gorgeous soundtrack too. You take your time, frame things up and discover the weird and quirky inhabitants of TOEM.

"Yes, a lot of illustrative plagiarism went on in the early games industry, mostly due to the ridiculous deadlines most people were working to. The same thing applied to the games themselves… “if it sells, copy it!” www.retrogamesmaster.co.uk/bob-wakelin/

Capcom's breakout title, 1986's 5th highest grossing arcade game. I used to go to the pub on a Sunday with my family and beg my parents for 10p or however much it was to play and this game. A true classic.

Theme Park, 15 million copies sold, graphics deemed "too cartoony" for US audience, each human made up of 200 bytes, salty fries, watered down drinks, "the most complex Megadrive game ever created"!

Gryzor, or as you may know it, Contra. This was a masterpiece on the CPC464, one of the greatest action games of all time, spawned numerous sequels and little 8 year old me was obsessed with it. The cover art was made by Bob Wakelin and was inspired by the Arnie classic Predator.

So on my recent journey of remembering things I came across the Barcode Battler. It's kind of hard to explain but essentially it was a handheld device where you battled barcodes. You could cut out a barcode from a cereal box, scan it and battle enemies. Describing it makes me think I've made it up

When I was 8 years old my favourite game was Barbarian where you had to time your spinning sword attack perfectly in order to decapitate your opponent. Years later I would learn that Wolf from Gladiators was on the key art.

Remember Speedball? Spent hours as a 10-year-old playing these. Rules were optional, refs were bribable, and knocking out the opposing team was just good tactics. Peak childhood chaos. 'It's all part of the game!'

Back in the early 90s I was a Sonic fan and my first adventure was on Master System. It honestly felt so fast at the time.

My first console was the SEGA Master System 2 and this game came built in. Instant flashbacks whenever I see the gameplay. Alex Kidd in Miracle World.

ToeJam & Earl lives in that hazy space of weird 90s memories: funky aliens, shopping carts out for blood, and random presents that could heal or destroy you. It was chaotic, hilarious, and somehow felt fresh. Was it genius or just totally bizarre? Both.

California Games was a proper gem. Surfing, skateboarding, that one where you kick a bean bag in the air and that endless half-pipe—felt like a slice of sunny California life.

My first computer was an Amstrad CPC 464, games were on tapes and took minutes to load. One of those classics was Dizzy. Basically an egg jumping on platforms.

Watched a great documentary about the spy Beluga today and it reminded me of this classic. The hype around this game was real. Ecco the Dolphin.

Another belter from the early 80s. Chuckie Egg was another of my sister's favourites that by proxy became one of mine. For hours I'd watch her jump around collecting eggs. Again another cracking key art.

One from my early years, Jet Set Willy. Remember playing this with my sister and being in complete awe of it. Incredible artwork too.

We announced recently Sintopia, launching into early access next year, working with Piraknights Games. Essentially a hell management sim, but so much more. The humour, attention to detail and game loop are right up my street. Definitely one to watch! youtu.be/V6Kzur_yZpA?...

This made me laugh. Will try it later.

The Journey of a Broken Circle was like playing my life story. Games like this are what I love about the gaming industry.

The award for the best menu screen goes to...

With Halloween around the corner we started playing Sticky Business again to make use of the Halloween themed stickers. Working with Spellgarden Games on Ritual of Raven next. Can't wait for that one.

Just a small one today, one of my favourite games of all time, still not finished the main story and not in any rush, nearly 500 hours in, Tears of the Kingdom. Here's me riding a deer.

Balatro. I'm addicted. I was going to post different games over the weekend but I've been taken over completely by this game. It's all consuming. Time for me to shuffle off and try again.

"You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once." - Amarillo Slim. So I bought Balatro to see what the fuss was about, 4 hours later I am hooked. Such a great concept, whoever invented this was a certified genius.

Dave the Diver. I'm still playing it. I bought the physical version recently. They keep releasing free DLC. It has DREDGE in it. I find the fishing relaxing. I enjoy the menu selection and serving. So many varied minigames. This game has a lot and I love it.

First time I ever played DREDGE I lost like 4 hours of time without realising it. When a game can do that to you you know it has something special. A privilege and a delight to work on this game.

7. A Short Hike is possibly the most perfectly packaged gaming experience I've ever played. Just wish it was 10 times as long or even never ending.

6. A game I keep coming back to, the best part is explaining to my kids what some of the things are. "That's a GameCube". Unpacking.

#5 This game changed the way I looked at games themselves. Firewatch.

#4: I've long been an advocate for primate rights so when I saw this game existed I bought it on day one and was not disappointed. Beautiful art style and a meaningful story. Long live Gibbon: Beyond The Trees