you should play old games bc good design transcends hardware limitations. not to say that it doesn't matter if a game is aesthetically pleasing at all bc what is gaming if not an aesthetic experience, but certainly fidelity falls as a priority when you're truly engaged in play.
November 16, 2025 at 2:51 PM
you should play old games bc good design transcends hardware limitations. not to say that it doesn't matter if a game is aesthetically pleasing at all bc what is gaming if not an aesthetic experience, but certainly fidelity falls as a priority when you're truly engaged in play.
satisfying gameplay loop! it's tough but fair. I like the atmosphere.
November 15, 2025 at 12:53 AM
satisfying gameplay loop! it's tough but fair. I like the atmosphere.
imo it's bc home vs arcade leads to different incentives for different kinds of design, and the modern shmup crowd is mostly responsive to the kinds of rigirous 1cc/score play that was a focus in arcades. everything else gets derisively called a euroshmup, which isn't great.
November 14, 2025 at 6:36 PM
imo it's bc home vs arcade leads to different incentives for different kinds of design, and the modern shmup crowd is mostly responsive to the kinds of rigirous 1cc/score play that was a focus in arcades. everything else gets derisively called a euroshmup, which isn't great.
one of many beautiful things about games is that playing one is an act of performance, which imo is inherently artful. competition is just one possible way to frame performance.
November 14, 2025 at 4:11 PM
one of many beautiful things about games is that playing one is an act of performance, which imo is inherently artful. competition is just one possible way to frame performance.
my every experience with sonic shuffle has been 2-3 people going "ughhh I'm so glad that's over" while I'm like now hang on, some of that was pretty neat. I should play some sonic shuffle...
November 14, 2025 at 2:34 AM
my every experience with sonic shuffle has been 2-3 people going "ughhh I'm so glad that's over" while I'm like now hang on, some of that was pretty neat. I should play some sonic shuffle...
every facet of final fight streetwise is abysmal, except the gameplay, which I would call serviceable but disappointing. like, it would stack up well in a lineup of mid tier ps1 3d beat em ups, if it weren't for the... everything else. it's very bad in predictable, well trodden ways. bleh.
November 14, 2025 at 2:16 AM
every facet of final fight streetwise is abysmal, except the gameplay, which I would call serviceable but disappointing. like, it would stack up well in a lineup of mid tier ps1 3d beat em ups, if it weren't for the... everything else. it's very bad in predictable, well trodden ways. bleh.
Gaben Delayed the Precious Thing
YouTube video by STBlackST
www.youtube.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:28 PM
I played a bunch of fps classics some years ago. I was riding the high of playing doom, duke 3d, blood, quake, etc., then felt that momentum come to a crashing halt with half life. recognizing all the set piece focused game design it inspired and feeling deflated. it's good but also, could you not
November 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
I played a bunch of fps classics some years ago. I was riding the high of playing doom, duke 3d, blood, quake, etc., then felt that momentum come to a crashing halt with half life. recognizing all the set piece focused game design it inspired and feeling deflated. it's good but also, could you not
I've been wanting a convenient way to bring my steam library to friends' places for ages now. literally just the steam deck but discounted after removing the screen and battery is all I'm after. if the price comes in under the steam deck, I'm sold.
November 12, 2025 at 6:23 PM
I've been wanting a convenient way to bring my steam library to friends' places for ages now. literally just the steam deck but discounted after removing the screen and battery is all I'm after. if the price comes in under the steam deck, I'm sold.
sit through two minutes of cutscene so you can get dropped into a 15 second beat em up segment where you're trying to get kills for yourself before your AI partners take everyone out and suck up all the experience points. repeat for two hours. I can't say I've played anything else like it, at least.
November 12, 2025 at 12:37 AM
sit through two minutes of cutscene so you can get dropped into a 15 second beat em up segment where you're trying to get kills for yourself before your AI partners take everyone out and suck up all the experience points. repeat for two hours. I can't say I've played anything else like it, at least.
the bouncer is a master class in this very specific aesthetic. doesn't do much else. I was caught very off guard by this like, 3:1 cutscene:gameplay ratio. wacky. it's a strange enough package that I think I came away feeling fond of it, though I'm not exactly singing its praises.
November 12, 2025 at 12:37 AM
the bouncer is a master class in this very specific aesthetic. doesn't do much else. I was caught very off guard by this like, 3:1 cutscene:gameplay ratio. wacky. it's a strange enough package that I think I came away feeling fond of it, though I'm not exactly singing its praises.
being a kid was nothing but terror and anxiety for me. I was always being scolded for not socializing correctly. I tried so hard to do it right, or to just not be seen at all so I wouldn't get yelled at. having one adult on my side would've changed everything. I'm glad you can give that to your kid.
November 8, 2025 at 2:29 PM
being a kid was nothing but terror and anxiety for me. I was always being scolded for not socializing correctly. I tried so hard to do it right, or to just not be seen at all so I wouldn't get yelled at. having one adult on my side would've changed everything. I'm glad you can give that to your kid.
I went through this in my mid 20s, replaying memories through that lens and suddenly everything made sense. there was a retrospective horror, but also vindication. having language to describe what I struggle with has been a tremendous help. I'm kinder to myself now.
November 8, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I went through this in my mid 20s, replaying memories through that lens and suddenly everything made sense. there was a retrospective horror, but also vindication. having language to describe what I struggle with has been a tremendous help. I'm kinder to myself now.
to me, the former feels like a drag of a decision confidently made for no clear reason, which is something I can easily get fascinated by and drawn into. I want to understand. the appeal of the latter feels so obvious that it reads as pandering, and also it's a drag, so I just don't like it.
November 7, 2025 at 8:32 PM
to me, the former feels like a drag of a decision confidently made for no clear reason, which is something I can easily get fascinated by and drawn into. I want to understand. the appeal of the latter feels so obvious that it reads as pandering, and also it's a drag, so I just don't like it.
I just watched a friend play sin and punishment who hadn't watch eva and was like, what a different experience it must be playing that and not realizing like half the game is lifted straight from there, lol.
November 6, 2025 at 3:54 AM
I just watched a friend play sin and punishment who hadn't watch eva and was like, what a different experience it must be playing that and not realizing like half the game is lifted straight from there, lol.
the few hand hold-y action games things it does (crowds of enemies waiting their turn, enemies disengaging off camera, etc) are all disabled if you just maintain a high rank. awesome. not that I'm good enough to maintain rank lol, I only saw rank 3 once. I wanna go again and try to keep it up.
November 3, 2025 at 2:57 PM
the few hand hold-y action games things it does (crowds of enemies waiting their turn, enemies disengaging off camera, etc) are all disabled if you just maintain a high rank. awesome. not that I'm good enough to maintain rank lol, I only saw rank 3 once. I wanna go again and try to keep it up.
okay yeah, I get why ppl won't stop talking about god hand. I feel like most every action game leans into either making individual enemies complex to fight or making them simple in favor of fighting crowds all at once. this game does both. everything you do feels manual and deliberate. delightful.
November 3, 2025 at 2:57 PM
okay yeah, I get why ppl won't stop talking about god hand. I feel like most every action game leans into either making individual enemies complex to fight or making them simple in favor of fighting crowds all at once. this game does both. everything you do feels manual and deliberate. delightful.
"spends about $60 a month at coffee shops even though she [...] can get her caffeine fix for free at work"
please support your local indie coffee shop making delightful drinks and do not compare it to the caffeine delivery sludge in the office break room.
please support your local indie coffee shop making delightful drinks and do not compare it to the caffeine delivery sludge in the office break room.
October 31, 2025 at 6:59 PM
"spends about $60 a month at coffee shops even though she [...] can get her caffeine fix for free at work"
please support your local indie coffee shop making delightful drinks and do not compare it to the caffeine delivery sludge in the office break room.
please support your local indie coffee shop making delightful drinks and do not compare it to the caffeine delivery sludge in the office break room.
instead of yellow paint they should simply have gorgeously prerendered environments dotted with suspicious low poly interactable objects.
October 29, 2025 at 10:12 PM
instead of yellow paint they should simply have gorgeously prerendered environments dotted with suspicious low poly interactable objects.
oh my god, the post game stage select just gives you all the shop upgrades for free? no foolin??? gun valkyrie the goat why can't dmc be more like you
October 29, 2025 at 5:19 AM
oh my god, the post game stage select just gives you all the shop upgrades for free? no foolin??? gun valkyrie the goat why can't dmc be more like you
gun valkyrie. now here's a game with a learning curve. it's unintuitive and strange and the game doesn't do nearly enough to explain what it expects of you. but once you get it, man. feels totally unlike anything else. cool game.
October 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM
gun valkyrie. now here's a game with a learning curve. it's unintuitive and strange and the game doesn't do nearly enough to explain what it expects of you. but once you get it, man. feels totally unlike anything else. cool game.
tron 2.0 is still the best thing in the franchise. I should get some friends together for tron 2.0 multiplayer...
October 29, 2025 at 1:24 AM
tron 2.0 is still the best thing in the franchise. I should get some friends together for tron 2.0 multiplayer...
tron ares rules. it's also: not very good. characters and story drag it down. but it's so cute, all these silly lil computer guys. adorable. the soundtrack is doing a lot of heavy lifting but holy moly can it ever lift. gives it a very different tone than the other two. I had a great time.
October 29, 2025 at 1:24 AM
tron ares rules. it's also: not very good. characters and story drag it down. but it's so cute, all these silly lil computer guys. adorable. the soundtrack is doing a lot of heavy lifting but holy moly can it ever lift. gives it a very different tone than the other two. I had a great time.