Ephemeral Enigmas
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ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social
Ephemeral Enigmas
@ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social
Giving offbeat, obscure, forgotten, or just cool and interesting games the attention they deserve on my blog once a week. Also a contributor to Hardcore Gaming 101. He/Him

http://ephemeralenigmas.com/
Pinned
New blog post time!

This week's game is Firebugs, a stylish PS1 racer that combines high speeds with lots of items and manages to make it very approachable even if you're a racing game casual like myself. If you're fond of the Rollcage games, this is kinda like a third one by the same people!
Firebugs
Firebugs is a cool game! It’s simple, but it’s polished and just plain enjoyable to play if you want a dose of high speed hijinks. Even though it’s very easy to beat, it sold me on its best qualiti…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
I know plenty of Digimon get guns, but the way they just gave this one an assault rifle and call it a "Wizard" type is sending me
February 15, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
Happy Valentine’s Day!

It is time, once again, to take a look at Chulip, the kissing RPG from the creators of Moon and Stray Children…

gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2021/01/03/c...
Chulip – The unloved “Kissing RPG”
When I started Games From The Black Hole back in September of last year, I chose Lovedelic’s moon as the ideal first post, almost as a statement of intent. It is exactly the kind of game that I thi…
gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
Happy Valentine's Day, I don't have a new entry today, but the last few years I have written up video games with the day's theme in mind. Like Chulip, a game about a lot of things, but mostly about kissing everyone you meet.
Retro spotlight: Chulip
In order to kiss your love, you must first kiss everyone else.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
It's live: closing the book on Dead of the Brain. This game was a lot, but I enjoyed cutting this together. Hope you enjoy!
A Brain-Dead Horror Game | Dead of the Brain 2 Retrospective
YouTube video by nurvuss
www.youtube.com
February 14, 2026 at 12:03 PM
February 13, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Duly noted
February 13, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
February 12, 2026 at 11:22 PM
I wanna see more of Rev. Noir, Konami making a new RPG not tied to any existing thing is really cool to me

This also might be the year I finally play through Blood Omen
February 12, 2026 at 11:33 PM
In Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, there's a part where your ship gets boarded by pirates and you have to surrender by saying yes to their demands.

If you keep saying no, though, they get increasingly desperate to the point where they'll actually thank you for saying yes
February 12, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
come through!! me and some of my friends got some games in here but what matters is that this shit is important. show up and support the people that need it right now. fuck ice but love immigrants more. cut a check if you can spare it, spread the word if you can't
The No ICE in Minnesota Charity Bundle has officially LAUNCHED!

There are 1,439 games to discover for a $10+ donation to Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota!

Purchase the bundle here: itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...
February 9, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
New blog post time!

This week's game is Firebugs, a stylish PS1 racer that combines high speeds with lots of items and manages to make it very approachable even if you're a racing game casual like myself. If you're fond of the Rollcage games, this is kinda like a third one by the same people!
Firebugs
Firebugs is a cool game! It’s simple, but it’s polished and just plain enjoyable to play if you want a dose of high speed hijinks. Even though it’s very easy to beat, it sold me on its best qualiti…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:24 PM
New blog post time!

This week's game is Firebugs, a stylish PS1 racer that combines high speeds with lots of items and manages to make it very approachable even if you're a racing game casual like myself. If you're fond of the Rollcage games, this is kinda like a third one by the same people!
Firebugs
Firebugs is a cool game! It’s simple, but it’s polished and just plain enjoyable to play if you want a dose of high speed hijinks. Even though it’s very easy to beat, it sold me on its best qualiti…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
My 2025 gaming recap has been posted on GemuBaka - breaking down nearly 100 video games played through to completion during the year. Comes complete with videos and GemuBaka features on the games if they are available!

gemubaka.com/2026/02/04/t...
The List: A GemuBaka recap of games played in 2025
A wide range of video games were played in the year 2025. In the rare feature in which I “review” video games, take a look at my capsule thoughts on those games! I also go into a brief …
gemubaka.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Ok man
February 8, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Getting back on that #RandomGameSaturday with Mon-Yu: Defeat Monsters And Gain Strong Weapons And Armor. You May Be Defeated, But Don’t Give Up. Become Stronger. I Believe There Will Be A Day When The Heroes Defeat The Devil King.

...I just wanted an excuse to post that entire name, really
February 7, 2026 at 11:53 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
NEW VIDEO: In 1974 Barbra Streisand started dating her hairdresser. 25 years later Will Smith fights a giant mechanical spider. There's also a videogame. Here's the full story:

youtu.be/tQS1GXzy7Dc
The Wild Wild West: The Game situation is... well...
YouTube video by Alien Bob
youtu.be
February 6, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
A new issue of our digi-zine, Between the Scanlines, is now out!

This issue: features on Jerry Lawson, 2000AD games on microcomputer, and the early days of id!

betweenthescanlines.itch.io/issue-thirty...

As much as we can spare from sales will be donated to the Black History Foundation.
February 6, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Video game intros and voice acting peaked in this moment
February 6, 2026 at 1:09 AM
Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout / Monster Farm Jump is perhaps the last thing I ever expected to see come back but I'm very cool with that
February 5, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
Super Bomberman Collection announced, out digital later today, physical in August
February 5, 2026 at 2:12 PM
When the fajitas come out sizzling!
February 4, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
New blog post time!

This week's game is Elfmania, an Amiga-exclusive fighting game with impressive visuals and some of the weirdest gameplay ideas I've seen in the genre. Playing solo probably isn't going to end well, but put this in your mystery tournament or something and you're cooking with gas!
Elfmania
As a fighting game, Elfmania also isn’t something that I think most people would enjoy since it stands in such defiance to everything we know about the genre. There’s almost no special moves, no co…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:23 PM
New blog post time!

This week's game is Elfmania, an Amiga-exclusive fighting game with impressive visuals and some of the weirdest gameplay ideas I've seen in the genre. Playing solo probably isn't going to end well, but put this in your mystery tournament or something and you're cooking with gas!
Elfmania
As a fighting game, Elfmania also isn’t something that I think most people would enjoy since it stands in such defiance to everything we know about the genre. There’s almost no special moves, no co…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas
every xenoblade 1 cutscene
February 3, 2026 at 1:34 AM
Replaying the bonus dungeons in the Dawn of Souls version of Final Fantasy is reminding me of how tedious they were, but it's also reminding me that they had things like counting beavers and a Trogdor reference in them too, so they're not all bad
February 2, 2026 at 8:03 PM