Dominic Tarason
@dominictarason.com
Veteran freelance games crit & PR. Hyped for indie games & mods. Bylines on RPS, PC Gamer, PCGamesN. Find my work, Steam curation & contact info below - He/Him
Find me elsewhere online at dominictarason.com
Contact email: jdtarason@gmail.com
Find me elsewhere online at dominictarason.com
Contact email: jdtarason@gmail.com
Oh sweet, they just announced a followup to RuinsMagus. Nice to see more indie studios doing VR stuff with charm.
store.steampowered.com/app/4147100/...
Gotta admit, I love the character design on the alt catgirl archer with the crop-top puffer jacket and a bow covered in band stickers.
store.steampowered.com/app/4147100/...
Gotta admit, I love the character design on the alt catgirl archer with the crop-top puffer jacket and a bow covered in band stickers.
November 14, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Oh sweet, they just announced a followup to RuinsMagus. Nice to see more indie studios doing VR stuff with charm.
store.steampowered.com/app/4147100/...
Gotta admit, I love the character design on the alt catgirl archer with the crop-top puffer jacket and a bow covered in band stickers.
store.steampowered.com/app/4147100/...
Gotta admit, I love the character design on the alt catgirl archer with the crop-top puffer jacket and a bow covered in band stickers.
It doesn't get talked about much on the western side but Sanabi was a COLOSSAL hit in Korea.
Them's some big numbers.
Them's some big numbers.
November 13, 2025 at 2:05 PM
It doesn't get talked about much on the western side but Sanabi was a COLOSSAL hit in Korea.
Them's some big numbers.
Them's some big numbers.
Steam patch notes for Tactical Nexus continue to be a truly magical thing.
store.steampowered.com/news/app/114...
store.steampowered.com/news/app/114...
November 13, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Steam patch notes for Tactical Nexus continue to be a truly magical thing.
store.steampowered.com/news/app/114...
store.steampowered.com/news/app/114...
As an aside, if you're unfamiliar with Plastiboo's books, check em! Glossy, professionally produced guide-books to videogames that never existed.
hollow-press.net/products/god...
hollow-press.net/products/ver...
hollow-press.net/products/ver...
I can practically remember how Godhusk feels & sounds
hollow-press.net/products/god...
hollow-press.net/products/ver...
hollow-press.net/products/ver...
I can practically remember how Godhusk feels & sounds
November 13, 2025 at 6:28 AM
As an aside, if you're unfamiliar with Plastiboo's books, check em! Glossy, professionally produced guide-books to videogames that never existed.
hollow-press.net/products/god...
hollow-press.net/products/ver...
hollow-press.net/products/ver...
I can practically remember how Godhusk feels & sounds
hollow-press.net/products/god...
hollow-press.net/products/ver...
hollow-press.net/products/ver...
I can practically remember how Godhusk feels & sounds
It took some nerve just to step away and block him instead of sending him this.
November 12, 2025 at 6:54 PM
It took some nerve just to step away and block him instead of sending him this.
It's so funny that I can often spot an AI-heavy game from a mile off just because of the color palette in a tiny thumbnail image. The Shit N' Piss miasma has sunk deep into the bones of all the image generator engines.
November 10, 2025 at 7:25 AM
It's so funny that I can often spot an AI-heavy game from a mile off just because of the color palette in a tiny thumbnail image. The Shit N' Piss miasma has sunk deep into the bones of all the image generator engines.
Minor bug report, one shared with GZDoom.
In PUSS19 - Dead Mappers Tell No Tales - several effects (like barrel explosions and cannonball smoke) which should be transparent render as solid white.
www.doomworld.com/idgames/leve...
Not major but perhaps something to go on the list?
In PUSS19 - Dead Mappers Tell No Tales - several effects (like barrel explosions and cannonball smoke) which should be transparent render as solid white.
www.doomworld.com/idgames/leve...
Not major but perhaps something to go on the list?
November 9, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Minor bug report, one shared with GZDoom.
In PUSS19 - Dead Mappers Tell No Tales - several effects (like barrel explosions and cannonball smoke) which should be transparent render as solid white.
www.doomworld.com/idgames/leve...
Not major but perhaps something to go on the list?
In PUSS19 - Dead Mappers Tell No Tales - several effects (like barrel explosions and cannonball smoke) which should be transparent render as solid white.
www.doomworld.com/idgames/leve...
Not major but perhaps something to go on the list?
Oh, and Thrasher is out today too. Good day for VR! And in a couple days, Lumines Arise, which has VR support - if it's anything like Tetris Effect, it'll be mesmerizing.
store.steampowered.com/app/2702300/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2370000/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2702300/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2370000/...
November 7, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Oh, and Thrasher is out today too. Good day for VR! And in a couple days, Lumines Arise, which has VR support - if it's anything like Tetris Effect, it'll be mesmerizing.
store.steampowered.com/app/2702300/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2370000/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2702300/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2370000/...
Oh jeez, TWO VR space-fleet command games dropped today. And one of them is a Homeworld spinoff.
store.steampowered.com/app/3385960/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2949240/...
Could videogames slow down for like ten minutes? Let me catch up a little?
store.steampowered.com/app/3385960/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2949240/...
Could videogames slow down for like ten minutes? Let me catch up a little?
November 7, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Oh jeez, TWO VR space-fleet command games dropped today. And one of them is a Homeworld spinoff.
store.steampowered.com/app/3385960/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2949240/...
Could videogames slow down for like ten minutes? Let me catch up a little?
store.steampowered.com/app/3385960/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2949240/...
Could videogames slow down for like ten minutes? Let me catch up a little?
Okay, this has happened a whole bunch of times this week, but has anyone else noticed ads just being ADDED to your youtube viewing history? Presumably fucking up my recommendations?
I've removed this Boots ad THREE TIMES now, and have never watched it even once.
I've removed this Boots ad THREE TIMES now, and have never watched it even once.
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Okay, this has happened a whole bunch of times this week, but has anyone else noticed ads just being ADDED to your youtube viewing history? Presumably fucking up my recommendations?
I've removed this Boots ad THREE TIMES now, and have never watched it even once.
I've removed this Boots ad THREE TIMES now, and have never watched it even once.
The power of a game that exists almost purely as a memetic force...
November 6, 2025 at 1:10 AM
The power of a game that exists almost purely as a memetic force...
Ha, not sure when this was added, but that's a great feature and a great name for it.
November 3, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Ha, not sure when this was added, but that's a great feature and a great name for it.
Was just playing a bit of the excellent Doom mod Godless Night, and it has one of the best implementations of difficulty settings I've seen.
Five modes, each with a description and references for which campaigns they are most comparable to, from 'Vanilla D2' at the lowest level to 'Sunlust' at max.
Five modes, each with a description and references for which campaigns they are most comparable to, from 'Vanilla D2' at the lowest level to 'Sunlust' at max.
November 2, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Was just playing a bit of the excellent Doom mod Godless Night, and it has one of the best implementations of difficulty settings I've seen.
Five modes, each with a description and references for which campaigns they are most comparable to, from 'Vanilla D2' at the lowest level to 'Sunlust' at max.
Five modes, each with a description and references for which campaigns they are most comparable to, from 'Vanilla D2' at the lowest level to 'Sunlust' at max.
Ambrosia Sky is part immersive sim, part clean-em-up, part narrative tragedy, all gorgeous.
Million Depth is a wildly creative tactical real-time-with-pause bump combat roguelite.
Battlegroup VR 2 is a solo bridge-command, fleet-scale space strategy game. VR only, but it's all about that immersion
Million Depth is a wildly creative tactical real-time-with-pause bump combat roguelite.
Battlegroup VR 2 is a solo bridge-command, fleet-scale space strategy game. VR only, but it's all about that immersion
November 1, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Ambrosia Sky is part immersive sim, part clean-em-up, part narrative tragedy, all gorgeous.
Million Depth is a wildly creative tactical real-time-with-pause bump combat roguelite.
Battlegroup VR 2 is a solo bridge-command, fleet-scale space strategy game. VR only, but it's all about that immersion
Million Depth is a wildly creative tactical real-time-with-pause bump combat roguelite.
Battlegroup VR 2 is a solo bridge-command, fleet-scale space strategy game. VR only, but it's all about that immersion
Dog Witch is a very funny looking card-battler roguelite with big Adventure Time vibes.
Possessor(s) might be the last hurrah for Heart Machine (huge layoffs) but it's a slick-looking platform adventure.
Verho is a King's Field-esque first-person dungeon crawl about a world where faces are cursed.
Possessor(s) might be the last hurrah for Heart Machine (huge layoffs) but it's a slick-looking platform adventure.
Verho is a King's Field-esque first-person dungeon crawl about a world where faces are cursed.
November 1, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Dog Witch is a very funny looking card-battler roguelite with big Adventure Time vibes.
Possessor(s) might be the last hurrah for Heart Machine (huge layoffs) but it's a slick-looking platform adventure.
Verho is a King's Field-esque first-person dungeon crawl about a world where faces are cursed.
Possessor(s) might be the last hurrah for Heart Machine (huge layoffs) but it's a slick-looking platform adventure.
Verho is a King's Field-esque first-person dungeon crawl about a world where faces are cursed.
No Players Online JUST missed halloween, but it's a horror game about exploring a haunted, dead game and its surrounding OS.
Jitter is a monochrome, physics'y space space mining sandbox with some crunchy mechanics.
Thrasher is the follow-up to psychedelic VR-optional 'rhythm violence' gem Thumper.
Jitter is a monochrome, physics'y space space mining sandbox with some crunchy mechanics.
Thrasher is the follow-up to psychedelic VR-optional 'rhythm violence' gem Thumper.
November 1, 2025 at 3:01 PM
No Players Online JUST missed halloween, but it's a horror game about exploring a haunted, dead game and its surrounding OS.
Jitter is a monochrome, physics'y space space mining sandbox with some crunchy mechanics.
Thrasher is the follow-up to psychedelic VR-optional 'rhythm violence' gem Thumper.
Jitter is a monochrome, physics'y space space mining sandbox with some crunchy mechanics.
Thrasher is the follow-up to psychedelic VR-optional 'rhythm violence' gem Thumper.
Just on the immediate horizon, we've got Unbeatable, an incredibly slick narrative rhythm game.
Whiskerwood, a city-builder about mice struggling under oppressive feline rule.
The Last Caretaker -single-player survival crafting FPS set at sea. Building up your ship and defending it from invaders.
Whiskerwood, a city-builder about mice struggling under oppressive feline rule.
The Last Caretaker -single-player survival crafting FPS set at sea. Building up your ship and defending it from invaders.
November 1, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Just on the immediate horizon, we've got Unbeatable, an incredibly slick narrative rhythm game.
Whiskerwood, a city-builder about mice struggling under oppressive feline rule.
The Last Caretaker -single-player survival crafting FPS set at sea. Building up your ship and defending it from invaders.
Whiskerwood, a city-builder about mice struggling under oppressive feline rule.
The Last Caretaker -single-player survival crafting FPS set at sea. Building up your ship and defending it from invaders.
It is demanding and standaoffish. It gives you a playground full of collectibles and obstacles, a handful of moves, and says 'Figure it out' and doesn't seem very bothered if you fail.
But if you really want something juicy and adventurous in a 3D platformer, you really should play it. It's free.
But if you really want something juicy and adventurous in a 3D platformer, you really should play it. It's free.
October 29, 2025 at 7:58 PM
It is demanding and standaoffish. It gives you a playground full of collectibles and obstacles, a handful of moves, and says 'Figure it out' and doesn't seem very bothered if you fail.
But if you really want something juicy and adventurous in a 3D platformer, you really should play it. It's free.
But if you really want something juicy and adventurous in a 3D platformer, you really should play it. It's free.
Just randomly scrolling through the Steam release calendar trying to see if there's anything else I've missed, and...
Y'know what, I gotta give props to a title that gave me pause for a second, just to process it.
Y'know what, I gotta give props to a title that gave me pause for a second, just to process it.
October 29, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Just randomly scrolling through the Steam release calendar trying to see if there's anything else I've missed, and...
Y'know what, I gotta give props to a title that gave me pause for a second, just to process it.
Y'know what, I gotta give props to a title that gave me pause for a second, just to process it.
Oh, sweet - after some drama (early WIP versions had some kind of DRM to prevent leaks), the expanded, modded version of the Mega Man X8 Demake is out, with Axl & Zero playable. Released a few months back but I missed it due to... *gestures expansively*
www.reddit.com/r/Megaman/co...
www.reddit.com/r/Megaman/co...
October 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Oh, sweet - after some drama (early WIP versions had some kind of DRM to prevent leaks), the expanded, modded version of the Mega Man X8 Demake is out, with Axl & Zero playable. Released a few months back but I missed it due to... *gestures expansively*
www.reddit.com/r/Megaman/co...
www.reddit.com/r/Megaman/co...
It feels rough, raw and amateurish - like levels thrown together using a rough heightmap and then a smattering of pre-fab blocks and platforms, but so far the level design has been... coherent? Ish? Curious stuff.
The color palette (even more scrungled when bunnyhopping) is a bit much for me though
The color palette (even more scrungled when bunnyhopping) is a bit much for me though
October 24, 2025 at 4:27 PM
It feels rough, raw and amateurish - like levels thrown together using a rough heightmap and then a smattering of pre-fab blocks and platforms, but so far the level design has been... coherent? Ish? Curious stuff.
The color palette (even more scrungled when bunnyhopping) is a bit much for me though
The color palette (even more scrungled when bunnyhopping) is a bit much for me though
Was this... written by AI?
October 21, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Was this... written by AI?
It just occured to me that the new 2D Ninja Gaiden plays more like Shinobi 3 - a fast, arcadey platformer with a big focus on setpieces using vehicles and the background.
The new 2D Shinobi plays more like an Xbox-era Ninja Gaiden; a character action game about stunning enemies for instant kills.
The new 2D Shinobi plays more like an Xbox-era Ninja Gaiden; a character action game about stunning enemies for instant kills.
October 21, 2025 at 11:40 AM
It just occured to me that the new 2D Ninja Gaiden plays more like Shinobi 3 - a fast, arcadey platformer with a big focus on setpieces using vehicles and the background.
The new 2D Shinobi plays more like an Xbox-era Ninja Gaiden; a character action game about stunning enemies for instant kills.
The new 2D Shinobi plays more like an Xbox-era Ninja Gaiden; a character action game about stunning enemies for instant kills.
If it makes you feel any better...
October 20, 2025 at 6:21 PM
If it makes you feel any better...