Happy Valentines to all! To celebrate the day, a new story has been published to Shorts of the Rula. Cloe and Marcus are a couple, with Marcus wanting to try a love of Cloe's. So, they are at a skiing resort for his birthday. Is he in love with skiing as much as Cloe? Find out with Skiing Love.

The remade Erdrick trilogy has been great to play through, but I find myself enjoying Dragon Quest VII Reimagined a lot more. The story structure, battle flow, and design of all elements makes this a great experience and one I can easily recommend. A great start for first-time players of the series.

Yesterday I was out at the Yorkshire Card Show: NEC Takeover. And what a surprise, buying everything but a card. Happy with all that I did get, with that CTR coaster getting me on Nitro-Fueled for the first time in ages to relive some memories.

God damn. The madman actually did it. The butcher of Sapienza has another title to his name.

Just seen that Armorsaurs has been picked up by the BBC for distribution in the UK. So much for it appearing on Disney+ here. Still, not a long wait for it, with it coming on 18/February. Just have to hope iPlayer actually wants to work for me.

An hour with Dragon Quest VII Reimagined and I feel I'm liking it more than 1-3. The more dynamic battles, the great friendship between its leads, and the seeking of adventures and wading through the mysteries of the lost islands helping with that. A lot.

For three weeks of work, this has the beginnings of a great racer. Here's to it seeing a lot more development and becoming a success.

Last week I found this at the retro store in Blackheath Market. I was tempted, but decided not to. Well, the temptation returned and I've got it. Time to get it into my 3DS and see just what this Power Rangers game holds. It most definitely is morphin time.

And Dragon Quest II HD-2D Remake is now complete. Again via easy mode and invincibilty for the final boss. I never had such issues with the final boss of the third game. It felt so much fairer than both 1 and 2. Attacks dealing 200+ damage on all party members being one such unfairness.

I saw Power Rangers Super Legends on the DS for £3 at the Blackheath Market today, and damn was I tempted to get it.

Xbox have shown a deep dive into four games with the latest Developer Direct, with some grand worlds for players to explore. Here, I talk of all four games shown off in the showcase. Naturally, it should be no surprise which game had me most hyped.

Hell yes! This is looking to be a great one. Coruscant intrigue, lightsaber action, and just so. Much. Maul. And what a bonus that it premieres in Star Wars Month. One more article during that event month. It's looking a good month.

🚨GO KART ISLAND IS OUT NOW ON SWITCH!🚨 An open-world, story based kart racer comes to Nintendo Switch! WITH A COW! 🐮🏁 Grab a copy NOW with 20% off! 🥳 $7.99 / €7.19 / £6.39 🇺🇸 tinyurl.com/564pkrdj 🇬🇧 tinyurl.com/54ryafjw #indiegames #indiegaming #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #nintendo #switch

First seeing this during its release on Steam last year, it is now also available on Steam. So, in giving Go Kart Island a drive, I fell in love with the variety and humour it offers. It's an easy recommended one, with my experiences showing why.

It's a new year, and a time for hoping for new things. And one of the things I hope for is new additions to #MarioKartWorld. And one wish that I hope for is an adventure mode to provide a new way to explore this open world. So take a read of my latest concept article.

I've not really followed the Truck Driver franchise since finding out Soedesco were working on a second game. And now I find out there's a third that has already been released! Well, I think it's time to dive back into the franchise. Soon.

April for DarkRula Media is Star Wars Month, and with photography now being a part of the label, I want to feature some great Star Wars cosplay as part of the month! If you want to be part of the month, contact me and we can discuss the details. #starwarscosplay #ukphotographer

If the date here is true, I'm one out of two on release month guesses for the games showing up at the Developer Direct. As a reminder, I've said Forza in May. Fable in April. And I'm adding one for Beast of Reincarnation, which I suspect will be February.

And so the LEGO Pokémon sets are revealed, ready for release on Pokémon Day. Damn do they look great. And fortunately Eevee - the one I couldn't resist - is the cheapest. I would absolutely love the other two if I had the room for them.

All these barely above 0C temps can get lost, honestly. Yes, it's fun to see snow on the ground, but I can't be dealing with sudden breathing constrictions every time I want to go outside. And sometimes even when inside.

Tracking playtime is something I enjoy doing. I don't place too much importance on it, but it is nice to see the trends that develop. The games I get invested in across a year. So for 2025, I went a bit deeper. Using Exophase and a spreadsheet to track by month. Now, I'm revealing highlights here.

And so Dragon Quest I HD-2D Remake is complete. A good time, for sure. Though only having one party member to use for the entire story does make things more difficult than it feels it needs to be. Especially coming up against the final few bosses. Thank you Dracky Mode + Invincibilty.

Well, it's time to start looking ahead at what the year can bring now it's 2026. So, here's two articles where I look at all the games, TV and films I'm waiting for across 2026. TV & Film- home.darkrulamedia.uk/tv-film/the-... Gaming - home.darkrulamedia.uk/gaming/the-g...

Because it's on Gold again, I've just had a weird thought. GTA: Miami Twice. A retelling of the Only Fools and Horses episode within GTA: Vice City. Not sure exactly how it'd work, but it would be funny to see exist.

While I don't normally post the monthly updates to socials, this one is a bit different. As this year is the start of a new era for DarkRula Media. As such, this monthly update goes through the changes seen as part of that, as seen with the new landing page. home.darkrulamedia.uk/update-archi...

Happy New Year, all! Yes, I'm a bit late with it, but I've been working on getting the changes to my site done. Ready to welcome in 2026 with the start of the fifth era of DarkRula Media. More details to come with the monthly update I'll be getting up sometime today.

For years, I have tracked playtime on both Xbox and Switch per year. Since starting to use Exophase last yar, I decided it would be fun to start tracking by month. Yes, I really have a spreadsheet tracking games played per month. It's been a fun thing to see develop across the year. Of course...

The end of 2025 is here. So, I've got my usual looking back articles providing my highlights of the year across both Gaming and TV & Film. There's been some very great things from both this year. TV & Film - home.darkrulamedia.uk/tv-film/the-... Gaming - home.darkrulamedia.uk/gaming/the-g...

The year is coming to a close, meaning one last look at the planning for some short stories. Those of this fourth quarter, which include two seasonal stories added to Shorts of the Rula, and the final story of The Alternate Extras of Halesowen.

Merry Christmas to all! Hope you're day is a great one, no matter what you're doing on this day.

#12ShortsOfChristmas And with one more day before Christmas, the last short story of the year is published. Elfish Photography, as part of Shorts of the Rula, is set on Christmas Eve at a kids Christmas Party. From the first person perspective of Tyler, see the events of that party.

Y'know what? I totally get the people who dislike the snow weather after doing that MC business sale mission. The most terrified I have ever been in GTA Online. Still a lot of fun on the ground, though, so I think I'll just stay down there for the rest of the week.

#12ShortsOfChristmas The reason for a short story a month this year came to a close as The Secondary Futures got published to The Alternate Extras of Halesowen. The third viewpoint of the start of the second year, Vector reflects on what his friends have been thinking about their futures.

And so ends another fantastic #JingleJam. It's been a wild one, with some great stuff coming from both the Yogscast and various other fundraisers. This comes later than I would usually post for a reason, and that is being partnered with Trust in Rust. But now, the final total is confirmed.

#12ShortsOfChristmas With October being the month of Halloween, Shorts of the Rula was bound to be given another themed story. And so Let Sleeping Secrets Lie told a mystery of eternal daylight and people falling asleep from it. Told in first person, one discovers the reason, and pays for it.

Trust in Rust has concluded, and they’ve raised an amazing £224,321 for our charity partners! A massive thank you to @fcpnchstds.bsky.social, hJune and team! That means we’ve officially raised £3,423,763 this Jingle Jam! Absolutely unbelievable generosity—thank you, and see you next year!

#12ShortsOfChristmas September saw another short published to The Alternate Extras of Halesowen to return things to the usual rotation after Racing Month. Weston Delights sees Daniel and Quinn enjoy a day out at the beach, where Max joins them for some fun of his own.

Got a digital reader in the family? Want to get them a Christmas gift for their Kindle? Then, good news! For a week from 21/December, the Alternate Halesowen and Beyond series will be 99p! Check out the short stories of the media group, along with an adventure far from the UK this Christmas.

Perfection

Steam Replay is no surprise. The PowerWash games have just got me hooked, especially since I got a Steam Deck to use. It's been fun seeing the Early Access journey of Wreckfest 2, driving the new track additions as they come. And Train Sim World 6 is a lovely new sim to be enjoying.

Happy Birthday to me! As you can see, I'm comfy. In a great blanket gifted to me by a great friend. A fantastic fun day yesterday with said friend means today is a peaceful one where absolutely no action is happening with my choice of games.

#12ShortsOfChristmas August saw a return to The Alternate Extras of Halesowen with Party Revelations. From the point of view of Alicia, Elizabeth's birthday meal is returned to, reframing the reveals of that day with the analytical mind of Alicia.

The #JingleJam has reached 3 million! What a huge amount for charity. So many people doing great work in fundraising for the eight charities part of the event this year. Absolutely amazing. And still around 14 hours to go until it closes. Could it reach or even surpass the totals of 2021 and 2022?

#12ShortsOfChristmas July being Racing Month, it was always my intention to take another road trip to the Zincite Storm universe. And so Rival Running released on Shorts of the Rula. Taking on a delivery job to the city of Zincite, Shannon gets help from a rival who turns the job into a race.

Last game of the #JingleJam Games Collection for me this year is #RogueWaters. Developed by Ice Code Games, this turn-based tactics game wraps itself the trappings of a roguelike for even more choice of strategy. It's an enjoyable one, which is why I easily recommend it.

#12ShortsOfChristmas Into June, and a return to the Herzan State for Terminal Ruins, featured as part of Shorts of the Rula. Alan brings his partner to a theme park he enjoys for the first time. But the fun of the fair hardly begins when ruin is wrought to the park by an opportunistic gang.

A Star Wars racer? Featuring more than just pods? By former Criterion devs? Oh, sign me up! It's something I've been wanting for ages. Hopefully it proves to be a great one and is successful. Maybe then we'll see even more racers in the Star Wars universe.

The third game of the #JingleJam Games Collection I'm looking at is #TheRoyalWrit. A card-based tactics roguelike from Save Sloth Studios that has some fun strategy. Strategy that can be upended ready to overcome. It's an easy one to recommend.

#12ShortsOfChristmas Slipping into May and a return to The Alternate Extras of Halesowen with Ice Cream Frustration. Quinn meets Hannah for a day out, but it is clear her friend is hiding some personal issues. Especially when an argument breaks out at an ice cream van.

I’ve been in a Metroid mood lately, so I took some photos of my old Samus figure out in the snow today. This might be my favourite shot I’ve taken in a long time! #toyphoto