I was inspired.

I do agree with the sentiment, but two thoughts: 1: It sucks when you're 20 hours deep in a game to find out you committed to a build that's dogwater (maybe less of a concern nowadays). 2: Sharing builds and tips is a delightful way to make a single-player game a social experience.

Spinoff sequel to this: At GameStop, a kid no older than 9 rushes in and goes "Do you guys have Super Nintendo games!?" He then saw a Dreamcast in the little retro corner and grilled the salesperson on everything he knew about it. The children also yearn for Lufia 2 and Skies of Arcadia.

Legitimately sad to learn that Borderlands Mobile is just a limited test. I was ready to crown it the greatest f2p mobile game ever made simply for having no sign of microtransactions outside a premium battle pass.

New Fire Emblem weapon triangle is crazy. #blutoid

Gonna throw out here that I’ll totally review this if anyone wants. I both have hundreds of hours in Borderlands experience and a proven track record of suffering through even the trashiest gachas for your entertainment. www.destructoid.com/reviews/revi...

Faith Fun Fact: When Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, a cherubim with a flaming sword was placed to guard the entrance. Scholars believe this to be the first documented instance of a door boss.

Someone needs to help Tim out, since he's not just a great writer, but also a fantastic guy to work with.

Just took a big financial blow today, so I'm here to say that I'm very open to any video game writing work. Writing and editing experience, happy to take on reviews, guides, features, etc. My essays have gotten comments like "the best thing I've read on this website," I can do those for you too!

Tim's a fantastic writer! get him work, get him hired!

Hire him. Also hire @krismoyse.bsky.social. Hire all the good folks I used to work with at Destructoid.

Just took a big financial blow today, so I'm here to say that I'm very open to any video game writing work. Writing and editing experience, happy to take on reviews, guides, features, etc. My essays have gotten comments like "the best thing I've read on this website," I can do those for you too!

Dissidia Duellum looks fun, but after Record Keeper, Brave Exvius, Mobius, and even another Dissidia (Omnia Opera), I genuinely can’t muster any enthusiasm for a mobile Final Fantasy live service even if I try. Also, I’ve never met a PvP gacha that didn’t turn into an immediate pay-to-win fest.

I'm not really interested in discoursing about games criticism, but Ken's take here resonates with me. If you have a meaningful experience with a game, and you can ground that meaning in the text, I think that experience is worth sharing.

Really sympathizing with indie devs finishing years-long projects today. Five years ago I booted an old RPG Maker game I worked on, said "this is a disaster," and spent months rewriting the dialogue. Today I booted it up, said "this is a disaster," and started rewriting the dialogue.

4 Player Slay The Spire 2 might be the most fun I've had with a game in the past 5 years. Just transforms a methodical game into absolute *chaos* in the best ways. Wildly unbalanced but I like it that way, the belly laughs were worth it. Adding drawing during downtime was a genius choice. #blutoid

One run of Slay The Spire 2 and it's already got its hooks in me. I was all ready to be like "man this looks just like the first game," but I got a bird that hangs out with you after you use its card in battle and this alone justifies a sequel. #blutoid

ok but what if

In addition to Nadia's take here, there's a fundamental difference in the experience of reading a random paragraph and a half of text on social media vs knowingly clicking a review for a game and seeing how that text relates to the entire piece. The former's how we got the "too much water" memes.

Still wrapping up Ys X: Proud Nordics, but I can say that Ys X remains a fantastic Action RPG. Proud Nordics generally improves upon it, but it mostly adds more stuff (which could have been DLC). Not an essential upgrade, but great if you haven’t played it or finished the game needing more. #blutoid

I’d normally wag my finger at all these unlocalized recommendations in this thread for someone less seasoned with video games. But after seeing the first games she chose to play were 初音ミク -Project DIVA- and モンハン日記 ぽかぽかアイルー村, I say go nuts fam.

All this talk about kids playing Roblox and my girlfriend’s 16 year old sister is telling us she just got a PSP and wants to know what games she should play. The children yearn for Tactics Ogre and Metal Gear Ac!d. #blutoid

I was never born to be a freelancer. Everything I pitch is like “Please let me write about this RPG, my thesis is unexplainable but the people will resonate with the boundless sorrow inside me.”

Been pretty sick so couldn’t do live Direct reactions, but I can’t believe Kyoto Xanadu is (kind of) a sidescroller. This is a Faxanadu sequel and you can’t tell me otherwise.

I've thought about this a lot for the past ~15 years. I described Ys Seven on Destructoid in the early 2010s as fast-paced Secret of Mana since that was my best frame of reference then. A decade later, I do one battle in Final Fantasy XVI and go "I can't believe Square Enix is making Ys now."

Well then. #blutoid

Hello. I just want to say that trans and non-binary people deserve infinite love at a time when the scant few rights they had are being so cruelly torn away. I am so blessed to have trans and non-binary friends, colleagues, neighbours and relatives, who inspire me every day. Love to you all.

Questions for people who have played Dragon Quest I HD-2D Remake. 1: Did you keep Gwaelin with you for the second half of the game? 2: If not, did you realize that you could? And to answer your question, yes I have now beaten this game twice.

Questions for people who have played Dragon Quest I HD-2D Remake. 1: Did you keep Gwaelin with you for the second half of the game? 2: If not, did you realize that you could? And to answer your question, yes I have now beaten this game twice.

This week's issue features links to @solfleet.bsky.social, @marioprime.bsky.social, @jmariye.bsky.social, @timmonbleau.bsky.social, @mads.haus, @darylbaxter.com and others ⤵️

“We can’t give in to fear. If we run, then what happened to us will happen to others. The world won’t be safe. So we have to be strong. And we have to keep going.” Beautiful work, @timmonbleau.bsky.social 💖 kotaku.com/dragon-quest...

It means the world to me to see this piece so warmly received this past day. The last few weeks have been beyond hard for me, and so much of this was driven by my own struggle to find the strength to keep my chin up. I feel that weight lifting seeing these feelings resonate, thank you all.

Beautiful interpretation of the new Dragon Quest remakes. And here I simply walked away marveling at how DQ1 took me twenty hours to beat! (Among other positives, of course.) We could use more of the spine-tingling hope Mr. Monbleau offers -- or perhaps reminds us -- at the very end here.

Not to spoil the ending too much, but “a bedtime story for the broken” is such a *bar* that I need a cigarette. kotaku.com/dragon-quest...

I'm beginning to think DQ1+2 HD-2D have a legit claim to being the best "game" of the year with how everyone I know and respect on the genre are talking.

wonderful piece. i really resonate with how overwhelming the emotional core of dragon quest 2's remake in particular can be. i find myself bowled over constantly playing this thing, which is all the more shocking given the original game's reputation as "the worst one."

absolute cookery from Tim here. putting this in a tab to read through later, but i spied the last graf and it's some good stuff. hell yes.

A phenomenally insightful piece. Timothy interrogates the themes of these games with refreshing optimism. He also gives voice to my own feeling of loneliness playing DQIII HD-2D. I yearn for the catharsis of camaraderie embedded in its pre/sequels. Guess I’m getting on with those sooner than later.

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is not Dragon Quest I or Dragon Quest II, but it is a a classic song of hope for our modern, hopeless times. In one of my deepest dives yet, I unpack how these games have changed, and how the meaning of Dragon Quest has evolved for me through these remakes. #blutoid

I know being anti-AI isn't brave, but I can't stand tech bros going "with AI you can talk to grandma again!" I spent nearly a decade caring for my grandparents as I watched them deteriorate. Their AI ghosts won't fix me, but a world that offered them the care and dignity they deserved would have.

With the power of AI, you too can live every waking moment of your life as if you were Omori from the hit RPG Omori.

Final Fantasy XIV should make Culinarian a healing class so they can have a move called Eggs Benediction.

I drew the duck blue because I've never seen a blue duck before and, to be honest with you, I wanted to see a blue duck.

Holding off on a verdict until I see the end credits (twice), but I’ve been enjoying Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. It’s so wildly transformative that you could call it a new game, but its story-driven focus on keeping hope alive is just what we need now. More to come on this soon. #blutoid

It's crazy that my girlfriend @lunardove.bsky.social is not only an amazing and supportive partner, she can also snap some damn good photos too. I was long overdue for a new profile picture, especially now that I've got some stuff on my face.

Thank you EGM and Seanbaby for goading teenage Tim into playing this. I'll be honest, it's not the WORST thing I've ever seen. Lunar: Dragon Song single-handedly ensured I'd never buy a game without reading reviews again, and that's coming from the man who beat the Diabetes platformer.

Been reading criticism of roguelite systems today, which I typically agree with. Absolum's take on it did manage to work for me, which I discuss here. My advice: Spend those first 8 hours learning enemy tells and your defensive options. Gaining that knowledge is as important as the stat upgrades.

@timmonbleau.bsky.social is here to tell us all about Absolum and its place in the hierarchy of bemups! maxutmost.com/review-absol...

Don't sleep on Absolum. Dotemu and Guard Crush's follow-up to Streets of Rage 4 combines meaningful variety with crunchy mechanical depth, and its story about the rise and effects of tyranny inspired ~700 words of analysis out of me. Absolutely loving this, even 30 hours later. My full review below:

Hey Absolum absolutely whips and you should not sleep on it. Roguelikes are usually harder sells for me because I don't like banging my head against a wall until it breaks, but this one's fantasy beat-em-up dressings got its hooks in me.