Video Game Journal 2 (Feb/Mar 2026)
Life carries on, as does playing. I find peace in fictional worlds, and little else does that better than video games, interactive alternative realities; only theatre comes a scratch close to it in its ability to allow for pure fantasy.
Anyway, these are a few short reviews of the games I've cleared over the last two months. Down on average from a strong start in January, but a few here are longer titles. And some I'm not yet done with...
Find 100 Ducks and Blast Them! (2025, Steam) ★★
A hidden object game with an extra dimension and a gun. Does what it says on the tin, and will keep you busy for an hour if your brain is too fried to focus on anything more involved.
Find it for free on Steam here.
Venetian Blinds (Atari 2600)
I opened the blinds and closed them. It's a pretty vista through that window.
Ultimately a tech demo, this is surely far more interesting for the story behind it than the thing itself. Maybe I'll write about it some day.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004, GameCube) ★★★★
Oppressive and bleak, Echoes is an odyssey in solitude. Perhaps the most hostile world Samus has visited, Aether and its Dark half appears at first to be less dynamic than Tallon IV, but by the end feels far more intimately connected. Dark Aether adds a layer of friction that I thankfully found engaging rather than abrasive, allowing the maps to feel vaster and enforcing tight effective design between the two worlds. I played the Trilogy version via Primehack, which I understand alleviated a number of questionable choices from the original release - something I did play on GameCube back in the day, and I'm pretty sure I never made it beyond Dark Agon Wastes.
Vampire Survivors (2022, Steam) ★★★★
I'm far from done with Vampire Survivors. I've seen the credits roll, cleared almost all the base game unlocks now, and yet feel as though I'm hardly scratching the surface. The possibilities for different builds seems near endless and the loop is addictive by design - a deadly combination. The mechanics are fundamentally shallow, but that's hardly the point when all those flashing lights and slot machine sounds are releasing all those happy chemicals in the noggin. Still, eventually the formula dulls, and one is left wondering what Vampire Survivors adds to the experience of life aside from a brief refuge from the world by way of drowning in your own endorphins. While I'm retiring the game for now, no doubt I'll be revisiting the Survivors again every so often.
Metroid: Other M (2010, Wii) [Unfinished] ★
Why did the bad men make Metroid a shoddy action game with the personality of a wet lampshade?
Puzzle Bobble Mini (1999, Neo Geo Pocket Color) ★★★
This Puzzle Bobble sure is miniature. Great fun.
Tetris (2002, WonderSwan Color) ★★★★
Hey man, if you have a WonderSwan and want to play Tetris on it, lucky you, this is it, and a pretty damn good rendition of it to boot. Heck, pretty fine if you want to play classic, no-frills shape falling in general, really. As a package it falls far short of something like Tetris DS, but then, does Tetris even need fancy modes and crazy visuals? In a world of ever-growing complexity, perhaps simplicity can be a boon.
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (1990, Mega Drive) ★★★
Fairly straightforward platformer with some neat ideas and a generally polished quality throughout. A slim package, I feel as though there's more to squeeze out of the formula even here. Still, that doesn't detract from a cheerful time all round.
Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (1993, Master System) ★★★★
A marked improvement over Castle of Illusion despite the downgrade in hardware. A fully explorable map, a neat variety of abilities, and solid if straightforward platforming presented with a surprising amount of charm.
Legend of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (1995, Master System) ★★★
Secretly a Kingdom Hearts prequel? A fine platformer that is a mild step down from its predecessor - I missed the lack of an explorable map, and the level design and general feel of the game is clunkier, but as it stands, a perfectly commendable adventure for the endlessly merchandised mouse.
Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001, PlayStation) [Unfinished] ★
"Zoinks Scoob, looks like our video game wasn't very good! No way! Turns out you're, like, no Crash Bandicoot, man!" "Ruh-roh, nostalgia can't rave this one Raggy!"
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (2003, Game Boy Advance) ★★★★
WarioWare is so packed full of energy and punch you can feel the developers flexing their creative juices through the screen. Apparently, the game got so popular in the office that colleagues from other teams and department pitched microgames of their own for fun of it, and we ended up with a smorgasboard of Nintendo at its weirdest and most heartfelt, an honest love for this bizarre artform glimmering like a shooting star with each passing challenge, a snapshot of the company at a time of bold new directions and creative evolution.
The microgames capture the pure joy of play, distilled into moments, snapshots that experiment with our expectations when we have only now to respond. A hell of a good time, dripping out a level of style I'd not quite throught possible for the farting yellow hat man. WarioWare's just so sincere it's hard not to get drawn into what it wants from you - to play it's games!