Peter Sarrett
@psarrett.bsky.social
Sierra On-Line, Entros, XBox, Good Science, Glu Mobile, Bungie, Time's Up!. Opinions are my own.
The linear level design is the original sin. Make the level less linear and give the player agency to explore. This doesn’t have to mean a full open world. Just give the player many viable paths to progress, and exploration becomes an organic part of gameplay.
November 19, 2025 at 12:06 AM
The linear level design is the original sin. Make the level less linear and give the player agency to explore. This doesn’t have to mean a full open world. Just give the player many viable paths to progress, and exploration becomes an organic part of gameplay.
Evil West is fun, but also frustrating. When your level design is essentially linear, with one golden path, it is BAD DESIGN to put collectibles in dead end spurs. Nothing breaks immersion like finding the correct path, then turning around to go the wrong way first so I can get collectibles.
November 19, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Evil West is fun, but also frustrating. When your level design is essentially linear, with one golden path, it is BAD DESIGN to put collectibles in dead end spurs. Nothing breaks immersion like finding the correct path, then turning around to go the wrong way first so I can get collectibles.
I am SO done with dystopian games. Read the room, gamedevs. There's a wide blue ocean out there for utopian games. Find some new verbs.
October 16, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I am SO done with dystopian games. Read the room, gamedevs. There's a wide blue ocean out there for utopian games. Find some new verbs.
It all hangs together nicely and was fun to play, all the more impressive because the art, design, and code were all done by one person. Available on Game Pass.
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
It all hangs together nicely and was fun to play, all the more impressive because the art, design, and code were all done by one person. Available on Game Pass.
6. Smart level design that usually introduces you to a new combatant in isolation so you can learn how they work, then follows up with a bigger combat that tests you against a bunch of them. The result is that the game feels fair. So many games get this wrong.
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
6. Smart level design that usually introduces you to a new combatant in isolation so you can learn how they work, then follows up with a bigger combat that tests you against a bunch of them. The result is that the game feels fair. So many games get this wrong.
5. Upgrade currency is plentiful, and if you can't find upgrade points in the wild, you can just use that currency to buy them, so you feel like your time/effort is always being respected.
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
5. Upgrade currency is plentiful, and if you can't find upgrade points in the wild, you can just use that currency to buy them, so you feel like your time/effort is always being respected.
3. "Take no damage" challenges INSTANTLY restart in-place when you fail, making them no-cost mini-mastery challenges rather than grueling "now I have to remember where that was and get back there to try again" slogs.
4. Simple mechanics. No blocking-- dash and jump both evade attacks. Clean.
4. Simple mechanics. No blocking-- dash and jump both evade attacks. Clean.
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
3. "Take no damage" challenges INSTANTLY restart in-place when you fail, making them no-cost mini-mastery challenges rather than grueling "now I have to remember where that was and get back there to try again" slogs.
4. Simple mechanics. No blocking-- dash and jump both evade attacks. Clean.
4. Simple mechanics. No blocking-- dash and jump both evade attacks. Clean.
2. Ability to mark unfound objects on the map means the giant world doesn't become a series of needle-in-a-haystack problems in the endgame if you want to Get All the Things. Huge win!
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
2. Ability to mark unfound objects on the map means the giant world doesn't become a series of needle-in-a-haystack problems in the endgame if you want to Get All the Things. Huge win!
Got 100% on Crypt Custodian, a fairly straightforward and satisfying Metroidvania that made some very player-friendly design choices.
1. Frequent save/fast travel points take the pain out of revisiting locations, which you do frequently as you unlock abilities.
1. Frequent save/fast travel points take the pain out of revisiting locations, which you do frequently as you unlock abilities.
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Got 100% on Crypt Custodian, a fairly straightforward and satisfying Metroidvania that made some very player-friendly design choices.
1. Frequent save/fast travel points take the pain out of revisiting locations, which you do frequently as you unlock abilities.
1. Frequent save/fast travel points take the pain out of revisiting locations, which you do frequently as you unlock abilities.
I played all the way to the end(s), though, so I'm giving it a thumbs up. Just be aware that while you get a few powers along the way, there aren't any transformative system unlocks or hidden reveals. While there's plenty lurking under the sea in Dredge, what you see on the surface is what you get.
October 4, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I played all the way to the end(s), though, so I'm giving it a thumbs up. Just be aware that while you get a few powers along the way, there aren't any transformative system unlocks or hidden reveals. While there's plenty lurking under the sea in Dredge, what you see on the surface is what you get.
The inventory management game of Tetris isn't nearly as interesting as in, say, Backpack Hero, where what you keep and where you keep it actually matters. In Dredge, it's just a limiting factor and chore.
October 4, 2025 at 8:27 PM
The inventory management game of Tetris isn't nearly as interesting as in, say, Backpack Hero, where what you keep and where you keep it actually matters. In Dredge, it's just a limiting factor and chore.
I was also disappointed that the entire game essentially boils down to a series of fetch quests, in the sense that you're catching fish or dredging up trinkets which you bring back to dock to sell, then use that cash to buy upgrades and/or make repairs to set out and do it all again.
October 4, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I was also disappointed that the entire game essentially boils down to a series of fetch quests, in the sense that you're catching fish or dredging up trinkets which you bring back to dock to sell, then use that cash to buy upgrades and/or make repairs to set out and do it all again.
Rolled credits on Dredge. I enjoyed a lot about Dredge-- the Lovecraftian undertones, the fishing minigames, the fluidity of navigation-- but wish it had more (ahem) depth. I wanted my decisions to matter more, but while the order may be different per player, you wind up doing all the same things.
October 4, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Rolled credits on Dredge. I enjoyed a lot about Dredge-- the Lovecraftian undertones, the fishing minigames, the fluidity of navigation-- but wish it had more (ahem) depth. I wanted my decisions to matter more, but while the order may be different per player, you wind up doing all the same things.
There was an episode of What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law about this: trumpconlaw.com/84-deepfakes...
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September 28, 2025 at 11:28 PM
There was an episode of What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law about this: trumpconlaw.com/84-deepfakes...
My quibbles aside, I love that this game got made at all, and I enjoyed my playthrough. A great example of the value of Game Pass.
September 25, 2025 at 1:03 AM
My quibbles aside, I love that this game got made at all, and I enjoyed my playthrough. A great example of the value of Game Pass.
I also didn’t love how the lore text told me about a character’s personality and foibles, not trusting the in-game narrative to show me. We see Beaux for what, 30 seconds? But the lore practically sets him up for his own spinoff. Too much.
September 25, 2025 at 1:03 AM
I also didn’t love how the lore text told me about a character’s personality and foibles, not trusting the in-game narrative to show me. We see Beaux for what, 30 seconds? But the lore practically sets him up for his own spinoff. Too much.
It didn’t have to be that way. The levels could have been built less linearly, giving the player real options for organic discovery, rather than pitting the player against the story. Start me in a corner and let me find my own way, instead of plopping me down on the yellow brick road.
September 25, 2025 at 1:03 AM
It didn’t have to be that way. The levels could have been built less linearly, giving the player real options for organic discovery, rather than pitting the player against the story. Start me in a corner and let me find my own way, instead of plopping me down on the yellow brick road.
It also breaks my trust with the game. “Oh, you’re pointing me THAT way? I’ll bet there’s a collectible in the other direction, so I’ll ignore the way you obviously want me to go.”
September 25, 2025 at 1:03 AM
It also breaks my trust with the game. “Oh, you’re pointing me THAT way? I’ll bet there’s a collectible in the other direction, so I’ll ignore the way you obviously want me to go.”
The game routinely puts you on a clear path with a narrative driving you forward. But if you want the currency to upgrade your fighting abilities, you have to ignore all that and go the other way first. This creates ludonarrative dissonance— I’m exploring when my character expresses urgency.
September 25, 2025 at 1:03 AM
The game routinely puts you on a clear path with a narrative driving you forward. But if you want the currency to upgrade your fighting abilities, you have to ignore all that and go the other way first. This creates ludonarrative dissonance— I’m exploring when my character expresses urgency.
It’s a shame the gameplay didn’t show the same level of innovation and risk. It’s pretty formulaic platforming and repetitive arena battles, and the level design commits some cardinal sins, all of them involving collectibles.
September 25, 2025 at 1:03 AM
It’s a shame the gameplay didn’t show the same level of innovation and risk. It’s pretty formulaic platforming and repetitive arena battles, and the level design commits some cardinal sins, all of them involving collectibles.
There’s a lot to like about South of Midnight. The soundtrack is phenomenal. The exploration of southern black folklore is not something you see much (at all?) in video games, and I appreciated the focus on healing and recovery.
September 25, 2025 at 1:03 AM
There’s a lot to like about South of Midnight. The soundtrack is phenomenal. The exploration of southern black folklore is not something you see much (at all?) in video games, and I appreciated the focus on healing and recovery.
Burnout: paradise wants a word
August 5, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Burnout: paradise wants a word
Season 3 is the weakest season, though it has a great set piece in the finale.
June 28, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Season 3 is the weakest season, though it has a great set piece in the finale.
I love the central conceit of Expedition 33 (one of many) that dozens of past expeditions have preceded you, knowing they were doomed to fail but sacrificing themselves to move the ball a few inches forward for those who would follow. It’s deeply poignant and inspirational in today’s me-now climate.
June 23, 2025 at 7:42 PM
I love the central conceit of Expedition 33 (one of many) that dozens of past expeditions have preceded you, knowing they were doomed to fail but sacrificing themselves to move the ball a few inches forward for those who would follow. It’s deeply poignant and inspirational in today’s me-now climate.
I finished Act II tonight and am into act III. A triumph on so many fronts. I’m astounded at how big each level is. The art time to make the palettes and create, decorate, and light those levels blows my mind. Phenomenal soundtrack. Emotional depth. Character design. Maelle’s hair. So good!
June 16, 2025 at 6:37 AM
I finished Act II tonight and am into act III. A triumph on so many fronts. I’m astounded at how big each level is. The art time to make the palettes and create, decorate, and light those levels blows my mind. Phenomenal soundtrack. Emotional depth. Character design. Maelle’s hair. So good!