Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week March 22-28: The Late Late Edition That's Also Late

I had a whole topic typed up earlier, but left it on my laptop. I don't feel like retrieving it. The long and short is I'm kind of in a rut right now, mostly brought on by overworking, under sleeping and elevated caffeine consumption. Plus, I may be getting a promotion soon, so I'll be overworking like I've never overworked before.

I also haven't been gaming much, and what I've done has brought little joy. I've hit one of those rough patches where I recognize the content I'm experiencing as "good," but I'm ultimately numb and it doesn't *feel* good. In some cases, though, my selection was plain terrible, and I can't chalk those up to burn out. Spirit Roots, for instance, was just a straight up dreadful title.

I've also been picking at Bloodlines, not really caring much for The Longest 5 Minutes, and sort of enjoying my replay of Wild Arms 3. Other than that, I've been obsessively playing Pokemon GO because it's the only game to which I have constant access, and I've been hitting Klink raids like crazy via PokeRaid in an effort to secure three shiny Klink (one for each form). So far I've gotten two. I did the same thing with Shinx and Timburr over the last few weeks, and ended up completing the shiny collections for those families (as well as landing a shiny Alolan Raichu).

So reviews? Yeah, I've got 'em. Three reviewers this week, and three places for them to land.

-EmP- *ROTW*
You kick things off with a Lovecraft pun in your tagline. I'm proud of you.

Anyway, this is a good review as always. It helps that you're able to actually dish out some information without spoiling too much material, plus your points very well back up your criticisms. You easily lay this one out so that interested parties will know whether or not this game is for them, and with the usual finesse and cleverness.


-Brian- *THIRD*
Your only contribution this week was The Station. Right off the bat, one small crit: is it "then" or "than" in this instance? I'm leaning towards "than." On the whole, this is a solid review. I struggled a bit in the beginning to wrap my mind around the game because you had to remain vague, lest you spoil the game's premise and surprises. One paragraph also came across as an unnecessary digression. However, you follow that up with a wonderful explanation of what went wrong with the game's twist, and did so in a way that was clear, clever, and free of spoilers.

-Honestgamer- *SECOND*
Look at you, over-achieving with your three reviews. Until now, I had no idea Touhou was a series of games (I have Touhou Luna Night, so I'll probably keep an eye out for other stuff if I end up enjoying that one). However, your introductory paragraph succinctly gave me the run down on that Skydrift entry, and I very much appreciate that (I'm sure other readers do as well, as they might be put off by the idea of grabbing a franchise racing title without familiarizing themselves first, even if this one doesn't impact the franchise much). GENSOU Skyhook (which takes the second place position) is a good review that presents a wealth of information and solid support for its thesis. The review is just the right length, too. It's just snappy enough that it doesn't drag, and it's long enough to be a fully formed collection of thoughts and not just a brief discussion.

Same goes with Wild Park Manager. I like light tycoon games (a la Tiny Tower, and some that are slightly more complex), and this one sounds like it might be up my alley. I'll likely wishlist it soon. I don't really have anything to add to this one, except Ctrl+F the phrase "one more more."

Space Otter Charlie didn't make for much of an interesting read, though it is a technically sound review that gets the job done. I think more than anything the game's material doesn't lend itself to an explosive take.

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Now I'm going to make like a turd and scat.

The only thing my milkshake brings to the yard is a subpoena.

I think most of us hit points of burnout even with playing games. I know I've done it in the past, and I've recovered. Having a ton of work to do and responsibilities and stress--which most of us have during this pandemic, even without the added strain of working in your field--would definitely contribute to that unfortunate state. Game selection is definitely important in times like that. Sometimes, just playing something a lot different than what you've been playing a lot of lately revives the spark. And it's always worth doing. But anyway, thanks for the topic and comments on my reviews. I turned "one more more" into "one or more," which is what it was meant to be all along. Congrats to the others who placed this week!

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world2