Here, you'll find up to 20 of the most recent posts from the people who have the good taste to follow my blog. Only public results gleaned from the last 200 overall posts to HG Blogs will be displayed. If you see no results below, that means not a lot of people are following me, or my followers haven't been active in a long while, or they simply aren't sharing their posts.
 | Please insert Life disc 2 |
I've taken some time away from this place, and now I feel the need to speak on it a little. Mostly, I need and outlet and maybe an attentive eye.
My wife and I weren't doing so good for the last several years. My dad and many close friends passed away between 2015 and 2021, tensions flared pretty much across the country in 2016, the pandemic hit in 2020, and I wasn't emotionally prepared for a lot of it. Losing my dad was made all the heavier by my refusal to engage my emotions because I needed to be emotionally stable for my mother, wife, and children. Not even a year later, a lost another friend to cancer, then my aunt, my cat, and several other good friends during the pandemic.
| Taking a short break |
Just letting everyone know I've got a lot going on in my life right now, so you're probably not going to see me super often over the next few weeks while I figure myself out.
But I shall return.🫡
| More Mega Man, another horror adventure, and a tour of some tropical islands (Not StarTropics, sadly...). |
Mega Man X4 (PlayStation)
Finished and reviewed. I restarted the game recently to see if I could finish it with Zero, and my mission was a success. This one is the best since X2. Sadly, the next two games are downhill. I'm not sure about the last two, but I haven't heard much good about them (although X8 does have a positive review on this site, so there's hope).
Mega Man X5 (PlayStation)
Finished and reviewed. Meh. Too many eggs in one basket, and level designs range from good to crap. It woud've been a better game if it weren't all over the place...
Mega Man X6 (PlayStation)
| A look back at this years time sinks... |
I've decided to start doing something different with my GIPTYTKA topics: introducing a “best in show” award (yeah, as if this is a dog show for video games) and an “epic” award that's not exactly a “second place,” but highlights a game that I found great that should still receive attention. Going back over the previous years' topics, here's what I've selected:
BIS 2022: Bayonetta 2
Epic 2022: Rise of the Third Power
BIS 2021: Mad Father Remake
Epic 2021: Wild Arms 3
BIS 2020: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Epic 2020: Ara Fell
BIS 2019: Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn
Epic 2019: Phantasy Star IV
This year's Epic and Best in Show will be presented after the list.
| Murderously! |
Here's where I'm at right now:
Some notes:
-1000 Heads Among the Trees replaced 2Dark for a couple of reasons. For one thing, I just don't feel like playing 2Dark. Not that I will never get around to it, but it just... I don't know... 1000 Heads is also unique enough that I felt it belong with this group of games.
-Downfall is somewhat of a placeholder that may be kicked out if I'm able to finish Dead Space 2 before next October. Currently, I only have about nine more reviews to hit, which means I'll have to play through nine more games.
-Football Game is another placeholder, but one that I feel fits here. Fran Bow, The Forest, and Final Doom remain potential usurpers.
| Five more titles have joined the frenzy |
Previously confirmed:
Absence (PC)
Blood Breed (Switch)
CALENDULA (PC)
The Note (PC)
Warships on the Halloween Night (PC)
And now:
Bloodwash (PC) - Part walking simulator, part '80s splatter movie throwback, all awesome. Who's murdering people at the 24-hour laundromat? Why it's... a naked masked person...
Doom II (Clasic) (Switch) - Do I really need to tell you what this is about? I'll at least mention that it comes with the original Doom II release, plus Master Levels in one handy package.
Garten of Banban (PC) - A first-person dealy where you inspect a sinister kindergarten to discover that you've wasted time playing a fraction of a full game, and you now need to buy all of the other portions separately to get any answers.
| The first five games revealed... |
Yes, I'm still eventually doing AlphaMurderthon.
Yes, I'm doing a separate OctJOEber this year.
No, I didn't do squat last year because I was busy with work. Unlike the previous year, I actually have some stuff played and reviewed and I will post it here come October. Here's what to expect so far:
Absence (PC)- You wake up in a bathroom in the middle of the woods and somehow end up in a sewer running away from a pre-made asset monster. The horror!
Blood Breed (Switch)- A marriage of PlayStation-era survival-horror and '80s VHS films where you outrun a masked killer, avoid his sadistic traps, and bump off the occasional minotaur.
| Now with more surreal RPGs |
I'm still here, I'm still writing. However, work is kicking my ass pretty soundly. I was able to get my crew's population up, only for it to dwindle again, which has led to the occasional 12- to 14-hour days and not a lot of energy for anything but light gaming and sleeping. And sometimes reading.
Where reading is concerned, I got through a handful of books recently:
| Many rumps were booted |
It's that time again: The Year in Review! I played a lot of great stuff this year, with the occasional spots of meh-ness. Honestly, it felt like a long year. I'm looking back on this list and thinking, "Man, that was this year?" Honestly, Gato Roboto and Football Game feel like two years ago at least.
2021 OMISSION
Gorogoa (PC)
| No money for Steam sales, I guess... |
I am a notorious physical horror movie hoarder. I call myself a collector because that sounds better. Every year, I hit movie sections at pretty much any store that carries movies and isn't grossly overpriced, while also ordering a bunch from websites like Arrow Video, Vinegar Syndrome, Kino Lorber, and Scream Factory. This year's haul is tremendous and will probably take me until next October to fully polish off. What did I land this time around?
After Midnight
Annabelle Comes Home
The Asphyx
Baba Yaga ('70s giallo)
The Battery
The Black Belly of the Tarantula
The Blob ('80s)
Body Melt
Body Parts
The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
Cannibals
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman
Cinderella (South Korean)
The Cloverfield Paradox
The Convent
| A list of things to expect |
Yes, I'm still alive.
Yes, work has been a lot.
Yes, I'm still playing games. It's just been difficult to balance work, playing, family, horror movies, and writing of late while also getting sleep.
No, I haven't touched that swarm game I'm supposed to review. I will eventually, though.
Yes, I've finished Rise of the Third Power, and it is awesome and will be reviewed soon.
Upcoming reviews:
Crowd Evolution! (Android)
Rise of the Third Power (PC)
Valdis Story: Abyssal City (PC; rewrite)
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories (PS2; rewrite)
Ys I & II Chronicles+ (PC)
| Or Games I'm Playing Right Now |
Asguaard
Not that long ago, I reviewed the Aldorlea-developed RPG 3 Stars of Destiny. It was nothing special. You would think I'd stay away from their stuff as a result, but instead I found myself loading up this one. I'll give this game credit: it's a cut above 3 Stars. Unfortunately, it's still nothing great...
| Lots of horror, as usual |
I don't know if it's just me, but this list feels short. I mean, in comparison to the total number of different games I played this year, this catalog feels like nothing. I blame Wild Arms 3 for soaking up so much of my time, but also my own lack of scrutiny for buying so many blah Steam titles. Thankfully, I still ran into a respectable handful of decent games, and that's gotta count for something...
Honorable Mentions: Games I Didn't Play Enough to Qualify
Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark- A solid quasi-FFTactics that fell out of my favor because it just wasn't quite what I was looking for at the time I started it. I can see myself going more thoroughly through this one down the line...
| What else does a coming of age story need except ghostly possession, interdimensional travel, and cosmic horror? |
12. The Music Machine
Haley is possessed by Quintin, Quintin wants to kill Haley, and maybe they're going to bond? Who knows, because they're stranded on an abandoned resort island where a weird devices takes them to other worlds full of strangeness and suffering.
The Steam Marketplace Massacre
1. Mad Father Remake
2. A Wolf in Autumn
3. Apartment 666
4. Kio's Adventure
5. You Deserve
6. SIMULACRA
7. God's Basement
8. Oakwood
9. Locked-in syndrome
10. Tamashii
11. Gridberd
12. The Music Machine
| I don't know what's worse: the villain or the inability to walk beyond a snail's pace |
11. Gridberd
Escape a mansion owned by a masked, axe-wielding maniac bent on revenge. And by "escape," I mean "walk at such an insufferably slow speed that you want to bore-quit after ten minutes."
The Steam Marketplace Massacre
1. Mad Father Remake
2. A Wolf in Autumn
3. Apartment 666
4. Kio's Adventure
5. You Deserve
6. SIMULACRA
7. God's Basement
8. Oakwood
9. Locked-in syndrome
10. Tamashii
11. Gridberd
| AlphaMurderthon is still happening, just not this year |
"Joe, you haven't written much this year."
Correction. I haven't posted much this year, but I have at least 17 unposted reviews. I had one project I was working on that wasn't specifically intended to be an OctJOEber one, but just happened to see its completion right this month. Since we're this close, I may as well unveil it as such.
THE STEAM MARKETPLACE MASSACRE
Because I have enough horror in my library to do several October projects
1. Mad Father Remake
RPG Maker fare featuring a girl who discovers that her father is a mad scientist, and must find him somewhere in their mansion that's crawling with zombies and killer dolls.
2. A Wolf in Autumn
| In no particular order... |
-Get ROTW done. No, I haven't forgotten about this.
-Finish Shotgun Legend and review it.
-Post my Astro Aqua Kitty review.
-Finish Wild Arms: Alter Code F and review it as well.
-Sit in the dark and laugh ominously for a few hours.
| Let's hope I can get some more work cranked out, yeah? |
It's been close to 2.5 months since my work promotion, and I think I'm starting to settle in. A lot of my absence had to do with establishing a routine, as well as dealing with low staffing (especially late spring to early autumn, which we refer to as "prime time" at the hospital). I don't want to get too much into it for professional reasons, and because it's kind of a boring topic for this site, but I think it'll be a while before things fully stabilize. Because of that, I'll likely disappear every so often, but spring back up as much as I can.
| Moving right along |
Confirmed Games
A is for Alan Wake (rough draft complete)
B is for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (rough draft complete)
C is for Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (ready to submit)
H is for Hello Neighbor (rough draft complete)
I is for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (rough draft complete)
J is for Joe's Diner (ready to submit)
K is for Kindergarten (ready to submit)
L is for The Last of Us Remastered (rough draft complete)
S is for Stories Untold (rough draft complete)
X is for Xenophobe (ready to submit)
Next playthroughs (subject to change):
Dead Space 2
We Happy Few
| A breakdown of where I stand with each possible entry |
2Dark
I haven't even started this one, and probably won't for a bit. I'm kind of dragging my feet on it, despite Raynal's involvement with this one.
Alan Wake
Since I already had a review from my RoG days ready to for this one, I have an updated rough draft done. It wasn't difficult to rewrite.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Game complete, rough draft written. Man, what a game...
Castlevania Adventure ReBirth
Same situation as with Alan Wake, except with a fairly revamped review.
Dead Space 2
I started this game at one point and lost interest. I'll probably restart it soon. It's... okay, I guess...
The Evil Within
I've looked at the case (I have a physical copy). That's about it.
Fran Bow
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