Matt J
@turnarklight.bsky.social
Thirty-X years old, he/him, Safety & Environmental Professional. Aggressively okay at video games.
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
I had some issues with Dawn of Sorrow, but this one course-corrected for me! The map design is a little bit more separated than I'd want for the genre due to the portraits, but I at least felt like I was being rewarded for exploring! This was a good one!!!
I had some issues with Dawn of Sorrow, but this one course-corrected for me! The map design is a little bit more separated than I'd want for the genre due to the portraits, but I at least felt like I was being rewarded for exploring! This was a good one!!!
November 15, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
I had some issues with Dawn of Sorrow, but this one course-corrected for me! The map design is a little bit more separated than I'd want for the genre due to the portraits, but I at least felt like I was being rewarded for exploring! This was a good one!!!
I had some issues with Dawn of Sorrow, but this one course-corrected for me! The map design is a little bit more separated than I'd want for the genre due to the portraits, but I at least felt like I was being rewarded for exploring! This was a good one!!!
The trackpads actually have a really cool use other than "mousepad." They can also be set up so that pressing different parts of them activate different hotkeys/input shortcuts of your choice.
It's actually a really convenient option for emulator hotkeys, which usually use keyboard keys.
It's actually a really convenient option for emulator hotkeys, which usually use keyboard keys.
November 13, 2025 at 12:56 PM
The trackpads actually have a really cool use other than "mousepad." They can also be set up so that pressing different parts of them activate different hotkeys/input shortcuts of your choice.
It's actually a really convenient option for emulator hotkeys, which usually use keyboard keys.
It's actually a really convenient option for emulator hotkeys, which usually use keyboard keys.
I am going to evaporate into the sky
November 11, 2025 at 3:56 AM
I am going to evaporate into the sky
if i had known that this was the starting point of the initial skeet, the last 40 minutes of my life would have been different
November 11, 2025 at 3:54 AM
if i had known that this was the starting point of the initial skeet, the last 40 minutes of my life would have been different
I don't think I'd go so far to call it revisionism, I just think the internet has exposed too many people to the far extremes of any given trait. I can see how easy it can be to sorta lose sight of sentiment coming from the average reasonable person.
November 11, 2025 at 3:38 AM
I don't think I'd go so far to call it revisionism, I just think the internet has exposed too many people to the far extremes of any given trait. I can see how easy it can be to sorta lose sight of sentiment coming from the average reasonable person.
Obviously. Shit's fucked. It's not like I DON'T know that. I just think you're casting a way wider net than you need to. Sometimes personality traits and taste are just that.
November 11, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Obviously. Shit's fucked. It's not like I DON'T know that. I just think you're casting a way wider net than you need to. Sometimes personality traits and taste are just that.
The only thing I've been arguing is that if you're looking at spoiler-averse people who want the most positive first experience with media possible, and deciding that the root cause of this trait is marketing and social manipulation, that's cynical as hell!
November 11, 2025 at 3:28 AM
The only thing I've been arguing is that if you're looking at spoiler-averse people who want the most positive first experience with media possible, and deciding that the root cause of this trait is marketing and social manipulation, that's cynical as hell!
When I was in elementary school, my sib spoiled a late game plot point from Tales of Symphonia, and even back THEN, I knew that I wished I could have been surprised by learning it in-game instead.
You MIGHT have just forgotten what it's like to just casually enjoy the twists and turns of fiction.
You MIGHT have just forgotten what it's like to just casually enjoy the twists and turns of fiction.
November 11, 2025 at 3:15 AM
When I was in elementary school, my sib spoiled a late game plot point from Tales of Symphonia, and even back THEN, I knew that I wished I could have been surprised by learning it in-game instead.
You MIGHT have just forgotten what it's like to just casually enjoy the twists and turns of fiction.
You MIGHT have just forgotten what it's like to just casually enjoy the twists and turns of fiction.
I'd probably be rolling my eyes a bit less at some of these takes in the thread if I had ever met even a single person like that. I have no reason to doubt that they exist though! Just never had a convo like that myself.
November 11, 2025 at 2:27 AM
I'd probably be rolling my eyes a bit less at some of these takes in the thread if I had ever met even a single person like that. I have no reason to doubt that they exist though! Just never had a convo like that myself.
Attributing the enjoyment of not being spoiled and experiencing something blind to marketing and linking it back to the broken industry? C'mon. Like yeah obviously the industry is all kinds of messed up, but not EVERYTHING people enjoy about fiction is the work of The Mass Media Machine.
November 11, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Attributing the enjoyment of not being spoiled and experiencing something blind to marketing and linking it back to the broken industry? C'mon. Like yeah obviously the industry is all kinds of messed up, but not EVERYTHING people enjoy about fiction is the work of The Mass Media Machine.
this is all a really bizarrely cynical way of framing the honestly really simple idea that people know they like to be surprised by fiction
November 11, 2025 at 12:45 AM
this is all a really bizarrely cynical way of framing the honestly really simple idea that people know they like to be surprised by fiction
SC with this level of care and production MIGHT just be one of the best video games ever made.
November 9, 2025 at 3:16 AM
SC with this level of care and production MIGHT just be one of the best video games ever made.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (PS5)
Absurdly excellent remake from top to bottom. The combat is the best it's ever been, and the QOL is insane. Some of the field areas lost a bit of their vibe from the OG, and I miss that XSeed flavor in the English script, but other than that, truly NO COMPLAINTS.
Absurdly excellent remake from top to bottom. The combat is the best it's ever been, and the QOL is insane. Some of the field areas lost a bit of their vibe from the OG, and I miss that XSeed flavor in the English script, but other than that, truly NO COMPLAINTS.
November 9, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (PS5)
Absurdly excellent remake from top to bottom. The combat is the best it's ever been, and the QOL is insane. Some of the field areas lost a bit of their vibe from the OG, and I miss that XSeed flavor in the English script, but other than that, truly NO COMPLAINTS.
Absurdly excellent remake from top to bottom. The combat is the best it's ever been, and the QOL is insane. Some of the field areas lost a bit of their vibe from the OG, and I miss that XSeed flavor in the English script, but other than that, truly NO COMPLAINTS.
DC2 cont.
There's plenty I didn't engage with too. I could see myself having fun with the fishing systems, but it felt like more of a timesink than I wanted. As for Spheda........I guess I developed some amount of a taste for Spheda. I liked the game, but it left me wanting in a few ways. (3/3)
There's plenty I didn't engage with too. I could see myself having fun with the fishing systems, but it felt like more of a timesink than I wanted. As for Spheda........I guess I developed some amount of a taste for Spheda. I liked the game, but it left me wanting in a few ways. (3/3)
October 28, 2025 at 1:54 AM
DC2 cont.
There's plenty I didn't engage with too. I could see myself having fun with the fishing systems, but it felt like more of a timesink than I wanted. As for Spheda........I guess I developed some amount of a taste for Spheda. I liked the game, but it left me wanting in a few ways. (3/3)
There's plenty I didn't engage with too. I could see myself having fun with the fishing systems, but it felt like more of a timesink than I wanted. As for Spheda........I guess I developed some amount of a taste for Spheda. I liked the game, but it left me wanting in a few ways. (3/3)
DC2 cont.
I'm sorry, but for a game with SUCH a high-maintenance system for maintaining your weapons, the combat was WAY too simple to justify it. Game's got several other activities in play though! I loved being a photography fiend and inventing shit. (2/3)
I'm sorry, but for a game with SUCH a high-maintenance system for maintaining your weapons, the combat was WAY too simple to justify it. Game's got several other activities in play though! I loved being a photography fiend and inventing shit. (2/3)
October 28, 2025 at 1:54 AM
DC2 cont.
I'm sorry, but for a game with SUCH a high-maintenance system for maintaining your weapons, the combat was WAY too simple to justify it. Game's got several other activities in play though! I loved being a photography fiend and inventing shit. (2/3)
I'm sorry, but for a game with SUCH a high-maintenance system for maintaining your weapons, the combat was WAY too simple to justify it. Game's got several other activities in play though! I loved being a photography fiend and inventing shit. (2/3)
Dark Cloud 2 (PS2)
This one's considered a real classic iirc, and I get it! I got some mixed feelings about this one though. The world, writing, and vibe were all SUPER pleasant, sweet, and fun, but I kinda felt a significant lack of...characters actually interacting with each other?? (1/3)
This one's considered a real classic iirc, and I get it! I got some mixed feelings about this one though. The world, writing, and vibe were all SUPER pleasant, sweet, and fun, but I kinda felt a significant lack of...characters actually interacting with each other?? (1/3)
October 28, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Dark Cloud 2 (PS2)
This one's considered a real classic iirc, and I get it! I got some mixed feelings about this one though. The world, writing, and vibe were all SUPER pleasant, sweet, and fun, but I kinda felt a significant lack of...characters actually interacting with each other?? (1/3)
This one's considered a real classic iirc, and I get it! I got some mixed feelings about this one though. The world, writing, and vibe were all SUPER pleasant, sweet, and fun, but I kinda felt a significant lack of...characters actually interacting with each other?? (1/3)
10. Best gameplay:
LOADED-ASS QUESTION. Obviously I DON'T have a definitive answer to this, so instead I'll showcase an RPG with a battle system I find super underrated and was happy to fight every single battle the game threw at me. More devs should steal from them tbh.
youtu.be/JFxCnnOef3o
LOADED-ASS QUESTION. Obviously I DON'T have a definitive answer to this, so instead I'll showcase an RPG with a battle system I find super underrated and was happy to fight every single battle the game threw at me. More devs should steal from them tbh.
youtu.be/JFxCnnOef3o
[Ar Tonelico II] Various Bossfights (Hard mode)
YouTube video by Saint Mauve
www.youtube.com
October 15, 2025 at 11:04 PM
10. Best gameplay:
LOADED-ASS QUESTION. Obviously I DON'T have a definitive answer to this, so instead I'll showcase an RPG with a battle system I find super underrated and was happy to fight every single battle the game threw at me. More devs should steal from them tbh.
youtu.be/JFxCnnOef3o
LOADED-ASS QUESTION. Obviously I DON'T have a definitive answer to this, so instead I'll showcase an RPG with a battle system I find super underrated and was happy to fight every single battle the game threw at me. More devs should steal from them tbh.
youtu.be/JFxCnnOef3o
9. Saddest game scene:
Cheating a little bit on this one, since I think this is a couple different cutscenes compiled together, but it all basically takes up the slot of a sequence that was very affecting to me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXTo...
Cheating a little bit on this one, since I think this is a couple different cutscenes compiled together, but it all basically takes up the slot of a sequence that was very affecting to me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXTo...
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 - Cutscenes 8 "The sacrifice of Roland and Argilla" [HD]
YouTube video by davidramons
www.youtube.com
October 15, 2025 at 10:55 PM
9. Saddest game scene:
Cheating a little bit on this one, since I think this is a couple different cutscenes compiled together, but it all basically takes up the slot of a sequence that was very affecting to me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXTo...
Cheating a little bit on this one, since I think this is a couple different cutscenes compiled together, but it all basically takes up the slot of a sequence that was very affecting to me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXTo...
10. Favorite song from this year
youtu.be/eTrw_XENjDk
"Nightmare" from Lies of P Overture. I wonder how the OST to that new Layton game is coming along.
youtu.be/eTrw_XENjDk
"Nightmare" from Lies of P Overture. I wonder how the OST to that new Layton game is coming along.
Lies of P Overture [OST] - New DLC Record: Nightmare [HQ | 4K]
YouTube video by Taneomi
youtu.be
October 15, 2025 at 10:48 PM
10. Favorite song from this year
youtu.be/eTrw_XENjDk
"Nightmare" from Lies of P Overture. I wonder how the OST to that new Layton game is coming along.
youtu.be/eTrw_XENjDk
"Nightmare" from Lies of P Overture. I wonder how the OST to that new Layton game is coming along.
8. Best Soundtrack:
This one is an absolute KILLER, cause there are just so many soundtracks I know and love, but I'll just throw down one that's short, sweet, and SUPER consistent in its very high quality.
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
More people need to hear the Mr. Driller Drill Land soundtrack.
This one is an absolute KILLER, cause there are just so many soundtracks I know and love, but I'll just throw down one that's short, sweet, and SUPER consistent in its very high quality.
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
More people need to hear the Mr. Driller Drill Land soundtrack.
Mr. Driller: Drill Land Soundtrack - YouTube
Featured on What They Call Games: http://whattheycallgames.blogspot.com/2012/10/5-puzzle-games-with-puzzlingly-good.html
youtube.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:40 PM
8. Best Soundtrack:
This one is an absolute KILLER, cause there are just so many soundtracks I know and love, but I'll just throw down one that's short, sweet, and SUPER consistent in its very high quality.
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
More people need to hear the Mr. Driller Drill Land soundtrack.
This one is an absolute KILLER, cause there are just so many soundtracks I know and love, but I'll just throw down one that's short, sweet, and SUPER consistent in its very high quality.
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
More people need to hear the Mr. Driller Drill Land soundtrack.
9. Favorite Rhythm Game Song
youtu.be/2eavC2Zl4K4
"I Race the Dawn" from Deemo. Don't even really have to think about this one.
youtu.be/2eavC2Zl4K4
"I Race the Dawn" from Deemo. Don't even really have to think about this one.
Deemo-I Race the Dawn(Official soundtrack vol.2)(官方cd完整高音質版本)
YouTube video by Wang Luke
youtu.be
October 15, 2025 at 3:35 PM
9. Favorite Rhythm Game Song
youtu.be/2eavC2Zl4K4
"I Race the Dawn" from Deemo. Don't even really have to think about this one.
youtu.be/2eavC2Zl4K4
"I Race the Dawn" from Deemo. Don't even really have to think about this one.
7. Favorite Game Couple:
had to scrape my brain a little bit but I don't think I could pick anyone but them
had to scrape my brain a little bit but I don't think I could pick anyone but them
October 15, 2025 at 2:55 PM
7. Favorite Game Couple:
had to scrape my brain a little bit but I don't think I could pick anyone but them
had to scrape my brain a little bit but I don't think I could pick anyone but them