Video Game Review #627: Gone Home

Gone Home

PlayStation 4

Before playing:

I've been aware of Gone Home for years and years now. I remember first reading about it in Game Informer probably about 10 years ago, and thinking "hey, that sounds interesting." It's been on my to-play list ever since. The only problem is that the game never seems to be on sale. I wasn't going to pay 30 dollars for a story based game that can be beaten in a few hours. So I waited. And waited. And waited... 

Here we are in 2026. I was finally able to catch the game on sale at a reasonable price, so I scooped it up. Would the game be worth the 10-year wait? Let's check it out.

Story/Gameplay:

The story is the main feature of the game. Let's get that out of the way. If you come here looking for a rich gameplay experience, you will be very disappointed. There are no enemies to fight. No health meter. This is a walking simulator. Essentially a movie with interactive elements. Because the story and gameplay are intertwined so closely, I'm combining both aspects of the game for this segment of my review. Be warned, there will be spoilers ahead.

The game tells the tale of Katie, a college student who returns home after traveling abroad for several months. The family has moved into a new home. Katie doesn't know this home very well. She arrives and finds a note on the door from Sam, saying that they are gone and to not come looking for them. At first I thought Sam was Katie's brother, but I quickly learned through the context of the game that it was her sister instead.

Believe it or not, I got stuck almost immediately in the game. I had the settings too dark, and I couldn't see anything aside from the windows and the note on the locked door. I couldn't get in. I looked all over the place for ten minutes, hitting the action button and looking all over the place, but I couldn't find anything. I ended up turning the brightness up. That's when I found the little cabinet you can open with the house key inside of it.

There is no one to be found in the house. You play answering machine messages and hear your own message saying you were coming home. It has gone unplayed, meaning no one knew you were coming. So that is why no one is there to greet you.

The whole premise of the game is that you are walking around the house and discovering clues to the whereabouts of your family. You learn the back stories of all the family members. I remember the dad and his struggles as an author being one of the standout side stories. But the parents stories end up being a wash. Nothing dramatic has happened. They are simply out on vacation.

The real story is what happened to Sam. You find out, through a series of journals left behind, that Sam was in love with another girl. It explores the relationship and the awkwardness around it from the beginning. But it quickly blooms into a fairly touching tale. Again, spoiler alert. The game leads you to think her fate has something to do with witchcraft and a Ouija board, but this is just a joke set up by her sister. Sam has run off with her girlfriend, ducking out on the military academy where she'd been enrolled.

So it's kind of a feel good story. It tricks you into thinking something dark and scary has happened, when really the answers are much more simple. The parents are off on vacation, and the sister has gone off with her girlfriend. The story will go on after the game ends. We'll never see what happens, but that is the beauty of it. This is one of the more grounded, real life-based stories I've experienced in a game. On the surface this may sound boring, but to me it was not.

As far as the gameplay goes, like I said, it is nothing special. You walk. You pick things up with a cursor. You can read books and interact with switches, faucets, phones, and other things in the environment. When I first started playing the game, I liked to grab everything I could and pile it up on the porch outside the front door. There was so much random crap out there. It was kind of funny. But once I realized that I could be doing this for DAYS because there are so many interactive things you can pick up, I stopped. It was fun causing a little mischief, but it got old quick.

The rest of the game flew by quickly. The house itself is very large and interesting. The fact that your character Katie isn't familiar with it (this wasn't her family childhood house; the family had just moved in when she left on her trip) makes the game seem a bit more ominous. Some of the journals left behind referenced the house having a reputation for being haunted. And then there's all the witchcrafty stuff set up by Sam before she left. But like I said, that all turns out to be nothing.

I think I beat the whole game in one sitting. It's not very long. If you have time for a movie, you have time for this. After beating the game, I looked to earn some of the trophies I missed. It was here that I learned that the entire game can be beaten in under one minute if you skip the clues and know exactly where to go first. It took me a few tries, but I ended up earning this trophy.

Luckily, I had gotten this game on sale for a cheap price. It is a very short experience. I think I would have felt a little ripped off if I had paid 30 bucks for this, or whatever it was before the sale. It's essentially a three hour interactive movie. But don't take that as a diss. I really liked this game.

Graphics:

This game looks great. It is set in what looks like a normal, lived-in, chaotic house. Well, not quite normal. Not everyone has a house this large and confusingly designed, filled with secret passages. What I mean is that you see things that people have left behind. Books, notes, dishes, remote controllers, hairbrushes, etc. It feels like a place that people live in. People with busy lives and not much time to clean up (or fully unpack from when they'd first moved in). You get a real sense of knowing who this family is just from what they've left behind.

This game won't win any awards for its outstanding beauty or anything like that. But it looks fine. It looks real. It's atmospheric. It works on every level. I have no complaints here.

Sound:

This game's sound is very good. It is eerie and quiet most of the time, contributing to the game's creepy atmosphere. There's a hallway early in the game that has a room attached to it where there is a radio playing. It's just a man's voice reading the news. But there is just something chilling about the quality of it, especially in contrast with the complete silence of the rest of the house. It made the hair on my arms stand up the first time I began creeping down that hall and heard the voice talking.

The voice acting is good also. Story games don't work without good voice acting. Sam steals the show and delivers an emotional performance. No complaints here, either.

Overall:

As you can tell by my overwhelmingly positive review of the game so far, I really liked it. If you're into these narrative kind of walking simulators, you should enjoy it also. I can understand how some might find this game to be boring. Others probably call it "woke" because of the lesbian love story. I also understand how it may seem disappointing that it isn't demons responsible for the family's disappearance, or anything dramatic like that. It's a much more grounded, slice of life kind of game that tells a very specific and unique story in the life of this family.

Whether or not you enjoy the story will determine if you like the game or not. Gone Home isn't about the gameplay. No one is going to remember the tight controls or the groundbreaking advancements this game makes. You just walk around and look at stuff. What people will remember is the story.

If you like the story, you'll like the game. If you don't like the story, you won't like the game. I suppose there's something to be said about the game's atmosphere and the clever design of the house. But the story is what ties everything together. It certainly isn't the gameplay.

If this sounds interesting, I'd highly recommend the game to you. If not, you can probably feel safe passing it over. There are so many games out there. I've given up on ever being able to play every thing on my to-play list. Don't waste your time on something you probably won't like. 

THE GRADE:

B+

(I just realized that my last review, GTA 5, also got a B+. So, a three hour game where you walk around and look at things got the same review score as a massive, living and breathing open world title that is one of the best selling games of all time. Dontcha love it?)

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Video Game Review #626: Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V

PlayStation 4

Nostalgia Factor:

It seems odd that I've reviewed 625 video games so far, but I still haven't gotten around to Grand Theft Auto V yet. It's only one of the biggest games ever made, staying relevant through its online content for over 13 years now. You would think I'd have reviewed it a long time ago. But there's a reason for that.

According to my trophy information, I beat the game in 2013, returning later on in 2014 to mop up some trophies. I started this blog in 2015. I only review games that I've just freshly completed. GTA V didn't qualify for that. It barely missed out. My plan was that eventually I'd play through GTA V again, but who knew it would take 11 years for it to finally roll back around on my plate?

My memories of the game are very vague. I remember liking the game, but being disappointed in the multiplayer mode because it kept putting me in games by myself for some reason. Multiplayer was a big part of why I'd liked GTA IV. But to me, it was a failure in V (ironic, I know, considering how it is one of the most successful online games ever). 

I enjoyed single player mode, though. It was more of a throwback to when GTA was wild and over the top, as opposed to the more grounded nature of GTA IV. But because the multiplayer version refused to cooperate for some reason, I quickly jettisoned the game after beating the single player mode. So while this game has had staying power among many gamers the last 13 years, it hasn't for me. Like I said, I last fired this game up in 2014. It's now 2026. I feel like this is an important distinction to make before we go too deep into my review.

Now that we know my history with the game, we shall move on.

Story:

This game follows the paths of three different characters: Franklin, Michael, and Trevor. Michael is the lynchpin that binds everyone together. He reminds me a lot of Michael Madsen, but playing a West Coast Tony Soprano-like character. He's the shady gangster with the nice house and the nice pool. He has a rocky relationship with his wife. His son is a degenerate who is only interested in drugs and video games. His daughter wants to be famous. He goes to a psychologist for therapy.

Michael is in witness protection. His past cohorts think he's dead. He gets drawn back into a life of crime when he crosses paths with Franklin, a car thief from the hood. These two almost have a Walt-and-Jesse-type relationship from Breaking Bad. Michael is the mentor and Franklin is his much younger cohort.

When these two wind up on the news, it catches the attention of Trevor, one of Michael's past associates. Trevor, who thought Michael was dead, shows up at his house one day. These three fine fellows team up and start pulling off major robberies and heists.

I'm not going to go into every single detail out there, as this game has waaay too much story for me to cover. But the feds get involved and start using these three men to do missions for them so they don't get their hands dirty. Honestly, I was never too clear on how the FIB was involved in the story, and I never bothered much to find out. Additionally, Michael and Trevor end up at odds at one point in the game, as Michael's past and the cause of his disappearance and entry into witness protection becomes a major plot point.

The game takes all kinds of unexpected twists and turns. You can take on missions for random people you encounter on the street. There's a paparazzi cameraman you work with from time to time. A guy who advocates for legalization of weed. You can buy airports and taxi stations, that kind of thing. And those businesses bring their own missions with them.

I could go on all day about this game's story, but I think I've done a decent enough job laying the groundwork. GTA V takes us back to the satirical, ridiculous, and over-the-top nature GTA is known for. This is definitely an insane game. It is nothing at all like the more realistic nature of its predecessor, and much more like San Andreas or other, more wild GTA games of the past.

Gameplay:

If you've played a GTA game before, you should be familiar with the open world gameplay. You take control of a character. You have a map. You travel to the points of interest on the map, usually indicated by a giant letter, to accept missions associated with your character. Pass the mission, you open up more missions. The more missions you pass, the more money you collect. The more new areas open up on the map. You know the drill. Although I think the entire map may be accessible from the jump in this game? Fact check me if I'm wrong.

Each of the three main characters has their own different strengths. I enjoyed playing as Franklin the most because of his driving skill. You can slow down time while driving to avoid accidents and get to your destination unscathed while still driving at a high speed. Trevor is good in combat, and has his own berserk mode you can enter. Michael can slow down time, similar to Franklin, but only when on foot - not while driving. I found Michael to be the most useless player, and the one I spent the least time with when exploring the city.

What sets this game apart from other GTA games is the massive amount of side content. Hidden collectibles, random encounters with strangers, etc. You can take your dog for a walk, play darts, do yoga, engage in street races, go parachuting, etc. The world of the game feels alive like no other GTA game. I feel like I could load up my post-game save file and still entertain myself for hours and hours, even though  I already completed the main story. And then there is the whole multiplayer aspect, which I will mainly leave untouched since I only played single player for this review.

GTA V feels like a return to the over-the-top silliness of Vice City and San Andreas. It's more "comic" in nature when compared to GTA IV, which took a grittier and more realistic approach. Having played both games within a few years of each other, I can definitely say I prefer GTA V. GTA is at its best when it is having fun, and this game definitely has fun.

One of the best aspects of the game, for me, is the mission prep. For each major heist, you have different choices of who you can recruit, and which choices you want to make. Like, do you want to sneak in or do you want to go the guns-blazing route? You can also do things like stash getaway cars in advance of the mission. There is a critical choice you can make late in the game that majorly alters the ending you get. These choices help give the game its own identity, as there are no choices or multiple paths you can take in games prior.

What didn't I like about the game? There's a lot of yakking going on. Some of the cutscenes are too long. The game tries to be too clever half the time. Just let us play. Sometimes when you pick a character, he's just hanging out in his house. You have to watch him get up and stretch. Maybe say some witty line. And then you have to slooowly make your way outside before you can open the map. I can definitely see the groundwork being laid for Red Dead 2 here. Speaking of which, that's another game I need to revisit soon. I don't feel I appreciated it the first time around.

Anyway, I had a good overall time with the game. I don't think it is the greatest game of all time or anything like that. It's a solid GTA title, and I put a good 30 to 40 hours into it before I decided I'd had enough. It didn't blow me away or make me look at video games in a new light or anything like that. Maybe if I cared about online gaming, I'd be singing a different tune. But I don't.

Graphics:

This game looks great. It is the closest I've seen to recreating a "real life" city in a video game. Businesses, pedestrians, cars, office buildings, etc. I have never been to Los Angeles, but there are ton of landmarks that stand out in the game. I wonder if they are based off of real things? Probably. I'm too lazy to research it though. Some reviewer I am.

The game looks just as good moving away from the city. The mountains and deserts are beautiful. I love flying above the city in a helicopter and just taking in the sights. The water in particular looks really good in this game. My favorite aesthetic from the game was when I was playing with Trevor, and driving around in the desert as the sun was setting. I had to stop to take it all in. It's hard to believe this came out 13 years ago already.

Sound:

I might catch some heat for this, but I was not a giant fan of the game's music. Looking at the music list on paper, you'd think it was the greatest GTA soundtrack ever. It contains sooo many all-time classics. Just look at this list:

https://www.ign.com/wikis/gta-5/Soundtrack_and_Radio

Yet for some reason when I was playing, it seems like all I would ever hear on the radio was either techno or rap music. Or people talking and babbling. I never actually heard anything I wanted to hear. It felt like 90% of the time, I was channel surfing looking for something, anything that I would like. You'd think with a soundtrack filled with so many absolute bangers, I'd encounter one every once in a while. Yet if I was playing for an hour, I'd encounter maybe one or two songs I'd like in that timeframe. And most of the time it was a Bob Seger song. I didn't even know Boston had a song on the soundtrack until I was nearly done with the entire game. 

Maybe too many songs and too many radio stations are actually a bad thing. Too much garbage to shift through. Look at Vice City. I could basically put on any radio station at any time and encounter a song I like. But here, I have to search, and search, and search. I'd still be searching by the time I got to my destination. What's worst is when you finally find a song you like, only to find that it is ending. Boo!

So yeah, there's my controversial take. The game's soundtrack: good, but not good.

The voice acting, however, is very good. Trevor steals the show. After initially playing the game back when it first came out, I started to notice Steven Ogg in things like Westworld, Better Call Saul, and The Walking Dead. I'm glad he cashed in on the opportunity. Michael also has a good voice that somehow fits the GTA "main character" archetype perfectly. Michael's family is good. Franklin is good. Everyone is good. My only complaint with the voice acting is that they say the N word waaayyy too many times in this game. It's like every other word at some points in the game. Seriously. Is that necessary? I don't mean to be a debbie downer or anything. And I'm definitely NOT complaining for political reasons of any kind. I don't give a shit about politics. I'm the least political person you'll ever meet. It just seemed very unnecessary.

Overall:

I enjoyed my time with the game. Objectively speaking, it is probably the best GTA game out there. It looks great, it has a lot to do, it handles well, the story is interesting. You could play this for weeks and barely scratch the surface of the game's world. I like how you have three main characters, and you can make choices that affect the way the game plays out. It's just a flat out fun, over the top GTA game.

Despite the fact that it's technically the best GTA game on almost every level, it lacks a certain something that I can't quite put my finger on. Let's use Vice City as an example. It doesn't look as good, it handles like shit, and it hasn't aged well in many, many ways. But when the dust settles a few weeks from now, and I start to think back on what my favorite GTA game is, Vice City is going to be the game that comes to mind. Or maybe San Andreas. But not this game. "Why" is an interesting question. I already said that this game is better on nearly every level. Why would I like the inferior games more? 

I don't know. And you're going to have to accept that answer. Is it nostalgia? Rose tinted glasses? Maybe. To be honest, it's hard for me to put a finger on it. 

That being said, this is still a really good game. And I didn't even talk about the multiplayer aspect much. Some people have been playing this game online since it first came out. Clearly it has staying power with a lot of people. I wonder if they'd say this is the best GTA game ever? I'm sure multiplayer adds a lot more to the game. I'm just not a multiplayer guy. I tried, back in the day, and couldn't get into it. 13 years later, I'm a full-time dad and I just don't have time to play multiplayer anymore. I'm sure it's lovely. I'm sure if I really dived into it, it would increase my score from a B+ to something like an A or an A+.

But those are hypotheticals; a B+ it shall be. I just can't quite put in the "phenomenal" range of an A or better. It's close, but not close enough. I'd still give this an easy recommendation though.

THE GRADE:

B+

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Re-Review #27: Bug!

Bug!

Sega Saturn

Originally reviewed HERE

October 10, 2017 (about 9 years ago)

All right, here we go. Back to Bug! yet again. When I last played it in 2017, I had a pretty rotten time with it. I enjoyed the premise of the game, and all the warm nostalgic feelings it invoked. But did I have a good time with it? No. I called it a frustrating affair that I would probably never play again. And I gave it a C-.

Why am I playing it again? Because of my kid. He's been interested in looking through my physical game collection lately. Bug! is a title that always seems to catch his eye. Unfortunately, my Saturn is in the basement in a storage bin, and I'd be absolutely shocked if it still worked. It was on its last legs the last time I turned it on, which was probably around the time of my first review of Bug! - 9 years ago.

I decided to emulate the game online so that he could check it out and play it for himself. He played it for about five minutes before losing interest and going back to Spyro: Reignited and Sackboy for the PS4. That's about what I expected. The game probably seems very primitive to him. BUT - he still wanted to see the bosses. He's always been fascinated by boss characters in video games for some reason.

So I decided to keep on playing. Except this time I was playing with the ability to save the game and drop out at any time. I had only ever played the game on original hardware before. This was like a revelation. It made the game so much more accessible. And not in an "I suck too bad at gaming to play through the difficult original so now I am cheating" kind of way. Being able to save and reload truly makes this game a more fun and playable experience.

Like I said in my initial review, the game is flat out difficult - and not in a fair way. It can get very cheap and unfair, very fast. The stages in each world are extremely long. Some can take over an hour to beat. And if you use up all of your lives, even if you are on the final stage of one of the worlds, you have to go back to the first one when you die and do it all over again.

Being able to save at any point takes most of the frustration out of the game. Imagine sinking several hours into the game, and then mistiming a jump and having to replay the last two hours again. Now I can just save before a difficult jump. And if I die, I can reload it and try again. Call it cheating, call it whatever you want. I call it making an inaccessible game accessible.

I played through Bug! from beginning to end, making sure to show my son each of the bosses. Even with save states, it still took me a long time due to the length and sheer volume of the levels. I'd say it took me a week to make it through the game. It's got a lot of meat on its bones, that's for sure.

I can definitely see where I would have gotten frustrated on past playthroughs. The slingshot sections are the absolute worst. You have to launch yourself from a slingshot and bounce off of bugs that are flying back and forth in the air, in in attempt to cross a large chasm. It would be easier to do if this was in 2D side-scrolling mode. But you have to do it when you are walking "up" on the 3D plane, where it is nearly impossible to judge or time distances. Even using save states, it took me five or six tries to make it through just one of these jumps. If I had been playing on original hardware, just one of these slingshot areas would have ended my game immediately. In fact, I'm kind of impressed with myself that I was able to do this in the past. But good grief. No wonder I don't think back fondly on this game.

I've always wanted to like this game so much. It was my first Saturn game. I remember renting it as a kid and playing it for dozens of hours on end. It looks good. It has a sense of humor. I like the giant stages with all the branching paths. All the makings of a truly great game are right there, which makes the end result of the game so frustrating. They came so close to making an all-time classic platformer. But they forgot to make the game fun.

My opinion on the game has increased since my 2017 playthrough, but that's not saying much. It goes from a C- to a normal C. Big woop. 

With all of that being said, I still have a soft spot in my heart for Bug! If you can find a way to play this, I would wholeheartedly recommend it. You may not like it, but I still think it is worth playing.

See you in 2050 when my grandkids become curious about this game and want me to turn it on for them...

THE GRADE:

C

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Video Game Review #625: Time Crisis

Time Crisis

PlayStation

Nostalgia Factor:

Prior to my playthrough for this review, I hadn't played Time Crisis in a very long time. It was back in, I want to say, 1996? 1997? Almost exactly 30 years ago. Dang, time is going fast. Anyway, I remember running into this game at an arcade, and it immediately caught my eye. I was a big fan of these kinds of games. Lethal Enforcers and Virtua Cop were my jam. I had known about Time Crisis from reading about it in video game magazines. I was a little apprehensive of the game because I was such a big Sega fan at the time. I was always rooting for them in the 32-bit console war. Didn't really go in their favor, though.

Despite my uneasy feelings towards the game, I thought it looked fun, and I popped in some quarters and gave it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the game. It looked great and it was fun to play. I enjoyed having the ability to duck for cover, which I thought was an amazing thing to add to a game like this. I loved it. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough quarters to play it for very long.

I would never end up playing the game aside from that one very brief experience in a random arcade, thirty years ago. I don't know why I never checked the game out. It was just never a very high priority to me, for some reason. Well, here we are in the year 2026. I figured it's about time I finally played this. Get it? Time?

I'm a natural comedian.

Story:

I always thought this game had something to do with time travel or time manipulation because of the name Time Crisis. But I guess they just named it that because there's a timer. I've been wrong about this game for all these years.

Not that it matters. This game does not tell any kind of coherent story. You are a special agent, and you are sent into an enemy facility to rescue the President's daughter from an evil group of bad guys. Hmm, not a very original plot, but that's the least of our worries. After the initial cutscenes, all logic immediately goes out the window, and you can forget about the storyline completely. The plot becomes an incoherent mess of wild and over the top action scenes filled with terrible voice acting that leads from one big set piece to another. Take a look at the Wikipedia description of the game's story and tell me that it makes any damn kind of sense. Bonus points if your eyes don't start to glaze over about halfway through.

There is a "special version" of the game included on the PlayStation disc. It is not very long, but apparently it is an extension of the original game's story. Again, not really sure what happens here. I think you destroy a robot factory or something? Depending on how good you are at the game, there are different branching paths you can take which lead to different story beats. I played through this mode twice and went on the exact same branch each time. So I didn't get to see anything different. Oh well.

To top it all off, the game just kind of abruptly ends. You're in a shootout in a parking garage, and a car races past you (not sure if you can destroy it because I tried multiple times, reloading a save state over and over again and I couldn't do it). Then the credits start to roll. I was like wait, what?

Gameplay:

I don't have a whole lot to say here. If you've played any other light gun shooter that has ever been made, you should be familiar with the concept. Just shoot everything you see. Don't let the enemies hit you. Aim off screen and fire to reload. There are destructible things in the environment that hide power ups. Get hit three times and you die, and you have to use a continue.

What makes this game different is the duck and cover mechanic. Rather than just blasting away at everything you see, you want to duck, regroup, and then pop up out of cover. Shoot an enemy or two and then quickly duck again. You can't just leave yourself out in the open like, say, Virtua Cop, and expect to make it through the game unscathed. You must take advantage of the cover mechanic. This makes the game a little bit easier than other light gun games.

To counteract this, the game uses a timer. You have a strict time limit to make it through each area. You can't just hide under cover 90% of the time and progress through the game slowly and cautiously. There's still a sense of urgency to finish before the timer runs out. You have to shoot, take cover, come out, shoot, take cover, come out, etc. You need to get in a rhythm and make sure things are moving along quickly. It doesn't matter how careful you are and how much health you still have left: if that timer runs out, you're screwed.

But like I said, this is an easy game. Playing it on its default difficulty, I cruised through it in one day. I even played through the special mode twice. The special mode is cool, in that it gives the game a tiny bit more longevity. If this had solely been based on the arcade game, this would be one very quick and very shallow title. Heck, even with the extra mode, it still is. I beat this whole thing in one day, and I don't really see a reason to return to it. Like, ever. Not that this is a bad game. It isn't. There's just not a whole lot to see here.

Graphics:

This is a good looking game. It's right up there neck and neck with the Virtua Cop series. This was clearly Sony's answer to those games. Bright colors, blocky enemies, destructible things in the environment, etc. If I didn't know anything about games, and you showed this to me and said it was Virtua Cop 3, I would probably believe you.

But don't expect to be "blown away" if you are a modern gamer. This is definitely a product of its time. But being from that time myself, I think it looks great. You have to understand, these types of graphics were revolutionary when I was a kid. My jaw hit the floor when I first saw this game in action. Even though I realize there are much better looking games out there now, 30 years later, I still can't help but appreciate it. 

Sound:

The only thing I remember about this game's sound is its terrible voice acting. I don't remember a damn thing about the music - and I played through this game three times for my review. So yeah. Seems like there's nothing memorable there, or it would have stood out to me.

Overall:

This is a fun game, and if you are into light gun shooters, you will probably enjoy it. That said, it left little lasting impression on me. Don't take that as an attack on the game. I know this is a popular game. And it is fun. Maybe if I'd bought this game for the PS1 and had grown up with it, I would appreciate it more. 

It was tough coming up with a final grade for the game. I ended up settling on a C+.  I feel like this may be too low. Like I'm saying: "yeah, this is a slightly above average game - and that's all there is to it". But I don't meant to undersell it. I do feel like this is a well-made game, and I truly wish I could give it a higher grade. But I can't. There's just not enough meat on the bones for me. It's fun for what it is. But ultimately, like I said, it left little lasting impression on me. 

THE GRADE:

C+

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2026 Things: June

A complete list of all the movies I watched, podcasts I listened to, video games I completed, and episodes of TV I watched in the month of June, 2026.

Previous 2026 months:

January

February

March

April

May

6.01: Watched 2 episodes of Breaking Bad (2.10, 2.11). Watched movie: Waterworld. Listened to 1 episode of Looking Back at Lost (121). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.18). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 271). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Complete History of Goldeneye feat. Alyse Knorr). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (At the Movies: Project Hail Mary).

6.02: Watched movie: Triangle. Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (ep 68). Watched 2 episodes of Breaking Bad (2.12, 2.13). Watched 2 episodes of Pirate Master (1.06, 1.07). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks: Triangle. Listened to 1 episode of Creepy pod (Why Babies are Born Screaming). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (35.01). Watched movie: Special Bulletin. 

6.03: Watched 2 episodes of Breaking Bad (3.01, 3.02). Listened to 1 episode of Ear Biscuits (ep 79). Watched 1 episode of Pirate Master (1.08). Watched 1 episode of The Sopranos (4.09). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 88).

6.04:  Watched 1 episode of Pirate Master (1.09). Listened to 1 episode of Looking Back at Lost (122). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (35.02). Watched 2 episodes of Breaking Bad (3.03, 3.04). Finished video game: Croc: The Legend of the Gobbos Platinum Edition. Listened to 1 episode of The Retro Blast (Final Fantasy X).

6.05: Watched 3 episodes of Pirate Master (1.10, 1.11, 1.12). Watched 1 episode of The Sopranos (4.10). Watched 2 episodes of Breaking Bad (3.05, 3.06). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.12). Watched 1 episode of Star Trek: Voyager (1.10). Watched 1 episode of new American Gladiators (1.02). Listened to 1 episode of Creepy pod (The Elevator Ritual). 

6.06: Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 238). Watched 1 episode of Pirate Master (1.13). Watched 1 episode of The Sopranos (4.11). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (3.07). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (ep 320). Listened to 1 episode of Creepy pod (Remember, They Are Watching). 

6.07: Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 272). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (35.03). Watched 1 episode of My Next Guest (MrBeast). Watched 1 episode of new American Gladiators (1.03).

6.08: Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 89). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (Quick Save Club 15). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (35.04). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Talkin' Hawkins: Stranger Things 2016). Listened to 1 episode of Retronauts (ep 124). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (3.08). Watched 1 episode of The Sopranos (4.12).

6.09: Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Black Panther Wakanda Forever). Watched movie: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Watched 1 episode of Pirate Master (1.14). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Twisted Metal Black). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (3.09). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.21). 

6.10: Watched 2 episodes of Survivor (35.05, 35.06). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (3.10). Listened to 1 episode of Stephen Kingcast (ep 177).

6.11: Watched 1 episode of Survivor (35.07). Listened to 1 episode of Looking Back at Lost (123). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 273). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (10 Worst Places to Live in Video Games). Listened to 1 episode of Creepy pod (Tulpa).

6.12: Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (ep 321). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (3.11). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (19.01). Watched 1 episode of The Sopranos (4.13).

6.13: Watched 2 episodes of Survivor (35.08, 35.09). Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (6.18.21 Live Show). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.17). Listened to 1 episode of Looking Back at Lost (Reflections on Season One). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (19.02). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (3.12).

6.14: Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (ep 86). Watched 1 episode of new American Gladiators (1.04). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (ep 322). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 90). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (3.13).

6.15: Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.24). Watched 1 episode of From (4.01). Watched movie: Freaky Tales.

6.16: Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Vigilante 8 Review). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks (Freaky Tales). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (35.10). Listened to 1 episode of Looking Back at Lost (124). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (At the Movies: Mario Galaxy & Mortal Kombat II). Watched 1 episode of From (4.02).

6.17: Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (4.01). Watched 1 episode of The Sopranos (5.01). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (19.03). Watched movie: Single White Female.

6.18: Watched 1 episode of Survivor (35.11). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (4.02). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (19.04). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.20). Watched movie: A History of Violence. 

6.19: Listened to 1 episode of The Stephen Kingcast (ep 139). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 92). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (King's 10 Best Stories for Summer). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (35.12). Watched 1 episode of From (4.03). Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Mainline Cast: EP 8). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (5.05). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (4.03).

6.20: Watched 2 episodes of Survivor (35.13, 35.14). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 274). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (4.04). Listened to 1 episode of Stephen Kingcast (ep 178). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (19.05). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (QSC Savepoint - Ep 4). 

6.21: Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (4.05). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 94). Listened to 1 episode of Ear Biscuits (ep 81). Watched 1 episode of From (4.04). Listened to 1 episode of Retronauts (Micro 74). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (The Wicked City). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Are Video Games Getting TOO Big?). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.23). Watched 1 episode of The Sopranos (5.02). 

6.22: Watched movie: Little Miss Sunshine. Finished video game: Time Crisis. Listened to 1 episode of Looking Back at Lost (125). Watched 1 episode of From (4.05). Listened to 1 episode of Boss Rush Podcast (Interview: Retrovaniacs). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Ep 69). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (Bonus: Burgertime Deluxe). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Everything's Eventual Pt 1).

6.23: Watched 2 episodes of Breaking Bad (4.06, 4.07). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (ep 87). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (19.06). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (29.01).  Listened to 1 episode of Creepy pod (The River Country Film).

 

6.24: Watched 2 episodes of The Amazing Race (19.07, 19.08). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (4.08). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.25). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (29.02). Watched 1 episode of From (4.06). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 275). 

6.25: Watched 1 episode of From (4.07). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Everything's Eventual Pt 2). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (19.09). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (29.03). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Video Game Power Ups Draft). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.27).

6.26: Watched movie: Backrooms. Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (19.10). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (29.04). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (ep 323). Listened to 1 episode of Stephen Kingcast (ep 179). Watched 1 episode of Breaking Bad (4.09).

6.27: Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (29.05). Watched 2 episodes of The Amazing Race (19.11, 19.12). Listened to 1 episode of Retronauts (ep 130).Listened to 2 episodes of The Stephen Kingcast (eps 179, 181).

6.28: Watched 1 episode of The Sopranos (5.03). Listened to 2 episodes of The Losers Club (Nightmares & Dreamscapes TV Review, 1408 Movie Review). Listened to 1 episode of Looking Back at Lost (201).

6.29: Watched 1 episode of From (4.08). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (ep 153). Listened to 1 episode of Quick Save Club (ep 0). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 276). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Backrooms). Listened to 1 episode of The FF Dynasty (10.28).

6.30: Finished video game: Grand Theft Auto V. Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (29.06). Finished video game: Gone Home. Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 95).

Most consumed media (minimum of 6)

26 episodes of Breaking Bad watched

14 episodes of Survivor watched

12 episodes of The Amazing Race watched

10 episodes of The FF Dynasty played

9 movies watched

9 episodes of Pirate Master watched

8 episodes of From watched

8 episodes of The Sopranos watched

8 episodes of Retrovaniacs played

7 episodes of Looking Back at Lost played 

6 episodes of The Challenge watched

6 episodes of Stephen Kingcast played

6 episodes of Collateral Cinema played

6 episodes of The Losers Club played

6 episodes of Arcade Attack played

6 episodes of The Retrograde played

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

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