Abebe Tinari

they don't tell you how badly that virtual boy burns your face

NSO VB!

Mostly just a hunk of plastic until the VB app arrives next week, but it was interesting to try the 3D mode in Captain Toad.

another look at Saros, out April 30

Strongly agree!!

Bought Romeo is a Dead Man this morning, and loaded up my PSN wallet in anticipation of Pragmata (loved the demo.)

One of my resolutions this year is to show up on day 1 for bold original games I want to support.

Now, more than ever before, we cannot take games like this for granted.

Öoo won BEST PUZZLE DESIGN at the Thinky Awards 2025 🎉

Ya, I’m not sure why either, but I‘m really glad you enjoyed it now!

SAROS is going to be a very different game, but I am also giving it my all, so I hope you enjoy it too.

Symphony of the Night…
Aria of Sorrow…

They had to stop making 2D Search-Action Castlevania games because Grim Fandango was already taken.

Not an RPG, but if you get the chance please check out the second game as well (Zwei).

There is a remake coming out, but the footage released so far is a bit concerning. Might be better to go for the original Saturn version.

I haven’t finished it yet myself, but Panzer Dragoon Saga is very fun, and I think it’s only about 12 hours long.

My Dreamcast asking me to set the date, and showing the Japanese launch date of 27th of November 1998.

"Dreamcast", a haiku

Each day he rises.
Asks me, "Is it still launch day?"
"Yes," I lie. "Always."

David Lynch sitting in a naturally lit room and wearing sunglasses: “I’m wearing dark glasses today, because I’m seeing the future and the future is looking very bright.”

David Lynch passed a year ago today. I hope we all can absorb just a little bit of the energy he put out in his lifetime.

vertical shmups have names like "Understated Sadness" and sidescrolling shmups have names like "Glorbian"

If you haven't already seen it, a fun lil story about a big CRT:

bsky.app/profile/tina...

Thanks!

I hope you can make it to the ending, I’m really proud how it turned out!

It’s too bad we didn’t get a chance to put out an artbook. The closest thing may be the blog posts from around release and the article in the magazine CGWORLD.

My top 10 list for 2025 has come to a close. Thanks for reading!

2025 was one of the most difficult years of my life. For the 2nd time in my life I moved to a new continent and started learning a new language. I am finally starting to get my bearings, and I‘m excited for everything 2026 will bring!

I do not know how human hands created this many memorable bosses and enemies, but I feel thankful and humbled to experience the work of craftsmen of this calibre, able to fully realize their vision. Yes, it had some frustrating battles, but the reward for rising to those challenges was unparalleled

1 Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hours into Silksong I said to myself “I am currently playing one of the best games ever made.” A couple hours later, I was ready to write it off as overly-punishing trash. A week break, then a few hours more, and I was tearing up at the beauty Team Cherry had created.

I am happy to report that it surpassed even my lofty hopes for what a new Lumines game in 2025 could be. The OST is the most varied it’s ever been with more hits than misses and, while the core Lumines gameplay does not need reinvention, Burst is the best mechanical addition since the PSP games.

2 Lumines Arise

Ever since Enhance made Tetris Effect and Lumines Remastered was released, the possibility of a brand new Lumines game quietly resided in a corner of my mind. However, I didn’t dare hope too deeply, since the odds of it actually happening seemed miniscule.

While there are fewer focused platforming gauntlets, considering that 2025 was a very stressful year, I was in the perfect mindset for the (somewhat) mindless destruction that took the place of standard Mario athletics. DK was load, bold, and innovative; something I think deserves to be celebrated.

3 Donkey Kong Bananza

I love a new 3D Mario as much as the next guy, but nothing makes me happier than seeing a developer get a chance to work on something new. So, while it would have been nice to get a direct follow-up to Odyssey, I was overjoyed to see this team’s take on Donkey Kong.

This results in an overall experience that feels more ‘complete’ than anything I have ever experienced before. By the end I had mastered it: I not only knew what I could do, I knew exactly what I couldn’t do, because I had simply done *everything*

4 Öoo

The phrase that I feel best describes Öoo is “use every part of the buffalo”. In some ways it feels less like a game and more like an ascetic exercise in self-restraint. It introduces very few mechanics, but wrings every last possible pleasurable permutation out of each.

Wow, that is a really nice looking little console! I’m not sure if this is your first foray into the MiSTer stuff, but I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Best classic game purchase I ever made (although mine is not as pretty as that one.)

The depth it foregoes without buttons to attack and defend is won back with the interesting challenges it creates around movement and positioning. Add charming and expressive ‘low-poly’ graphics and a sublime soundtrack and you’ve got an experience that rivals Falcom’s best.

5 Angeline Era

On the spectrum of indie games that are totally avant-garde and those replicating a classic formula 1:1, Angeline Era strikes a lovely balance. It takes the concept of “bump combat” from early Ys games, but keeps things fresh with new abilities and tons of inventive boss battles.

Earthion puts forward a different answer, one that makes me the most hopeful for the future. A new game,limited to the specs of ancient (no pun intended) hardware. Despite (thanks to?) these constraints, it has solid design and audiovisual spectacle that competes with the best this year had to offer

6 Earthion

What does the game industry do going forward? Continue as we have for 30 years, with inflating budgets aimed at the ever-expanding audience required to recoup these mammoth costs? Or embrace AI tools to reduce costs while maintaining scale, at the risk of everything becoming sloppy?

I try to avoid pigeon-holing my taste in games. Although it is typically the mechanics of a game that pique my interest, I also strive to have an open mind toward quality presentation or narrative. Keeper is one such case: beauty and creativity of this level are special and deserve to be celebrated.