Constance (Steam Deck, 13 hours): Challenging and beautiful, with clear influence from Hollow Knight and Celeste. Much boss, little exploration. Some fights and traversal sections hit just right. A story of paint and anxiety.

No one: The automated cashier at the grocery store: move your ᗷᗩᑎᗩᑎᗩᔕ to the bag

Game of the Year (2025): Hades II

I've been mad at congress doing nothing this whole time, but now I'm mad at the international response. Why are the world's governments letting Donald Trump do whatever the fuck he wants? You are not being a friend to the US, you are enabling its oppressor.

The Chaotic Carnival in Constance is excessive. It's just excessive. 5 bosses, one with 3 phases? I'm at the final boss, and I'm going to beat it soon, but this is way too long to delay me from the other things this game has to offer.

hard 2 explain but I'm finding it more difficult to write with all this "how to write" content everywhere. it's making me think about writing, which is, cruelly enough, bad for writing

I am probably about to enter my Hayley Williams era.

Hirogami (PS5, 5 hrs): Absolutely gorgeous and absolutely nothing else. Unrewarding and repetitive platforming and combat. Boring story, characters, and writing. If you omit the collectables and the dialog and about 90% of the playtime, you might have something.

hooked up the Wii U again so i could play Epic Yarn with my daughter. this system makes me so happy.

Gigasword (PS5, 24 hours): It's janky, it's buggy, it's a little too unforgiving, but this game has a singular quality. The top of the tower called to me. The plodding progression, the searching and puzzling, the heavy swing of the sword: I had to see it to the end. Particularly enjoyed the bosses.

South of Midnight (Steam Deck, 12 hrs): Pro voice acting and storytelling. Emotionally resonant soundtrack. Breathtaking environments. Combat—a little tedious. Platforming—pretty fun. A macabre folk tale about suffering and healing.

and Roger (Steam Deck, 75 m): Really a masterclass in subtle storytelling. Feelings conveyed through player action—circumstances illustrated through provocative subtext. A story of ordeal with love at its core.

South of Midnight!

i love walking around the warehouse on christmas eve wearing the order picker safety harness and saying “i forRRrRged these chains in liiiife” no one laughs but that’s ok some things can just be for you

Carimara: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs (Steam Deck, 52 minutes): Small creepy mystery. Compellingly unsettling animation and dialogue. Chilling but ultimately warming.

Cipher Zero is kind of neat, but I wish I could play it on mobile.

Skate Story (PS5, 6 hours): A surreal psychedelic adventure through a dark, glimmering hell. A narrated fairy tale of rebellion and freedom. Fight moons with tricks and combos. Skateboard controls are a little loose, but the music is tight. The poetry goes hard.

What happened to hard candy? The good stuff? Runts? Jolly Rancher sticks? Every store it's like all chocolate and gummys.

Opinion: Who Needs Link? This Top-Down Metroidvania Is The Best Zelda Game Of 2025.

Anne Brontë's Preface to the Second Edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is boss as hell. victorian-studies.net/Bronte-Wildf...

Tight cohesive level design with lots of exploration and secrets. Excellent music. Keyblades were satisfying to collect.

yes.

Skate Story is one of those games that turns out to actually be as cool as it looks.

lend me the strength to stop playing a video game that i'm not that into

Two of the most fun moment-to-moment games of the year. I rly love it when games give a sense of motion and freedom, like a brief holiday from being subject to gravity.

My most toxic Christmas trait is that I unironically love the Mariah Carey song.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo (PS5, 19 hours): Overworld! Dungeons! A brightly colored, top-down, snappy action adventure with novel upgrades. Packed with little puzzles and challenges. Occasionally formidable but immensely forgiving. A favorite formula done perfectly.

We have something VERY special to share today 😱 Tune into the Deutsche Indie Showcase this evening to see something new and cool (and different) from Okomotive 👀 Where/When: Gronkh's YouTube channel this evening at 9pm CET ✨ www.youtube.com/@gronkh/

I have a growing animosity toward people that wave me forward at a stop sign when it's their turn to go. You are not being nice! You are being confusing and annoying!

Can we say Outer Wilds, Tunic, Transistor, and Citizen Sleeper?

While I haven't ranked 2025 games for myself yet, I already know the two most *underrated* games of the year: - Haste - Possessor(s)

Öoo being missed by so many people makes me sad. It’s an immaculately designed 2d platform-puzzler from the same creator as ElecHead. It only takes a couple of hours to beat and never runs out of clever ideas/mechanics. Please check this little gem out!

Happy Skate Story Day to those who celebrate.

companies shouldn't be allowed to buy other companies

Mario and I was unstoppable.

Can't wait to read Game Informer while sitting cross-legged in the magazine aisle at the grocery store while whoever I'm with takes forever looking at beans or whatever. A timeless tradition!

(Get me pictures of Spiderman voice) Give me time off to play Pipistrello!

why is Jira attacking me personally

England, I'm confused. It seemed like Labour was good? A few years ago?

It feels bad to admit that as much as i loved so much of Silksong, i don't, ultimately, like it. It was too mean to me on purpose. Not in a fun way. I am still angry about it.

Necco wafers set unreasonable expectations for the taste of chalk.

It honestly bothers me that people still side with Platinum on this. A hundreds of millions of dollars series can and should pay its actors more. I don't care how many hours they worked.

The cancelled TV show you'll never stop thinking about.

The Séance of Blake Manor (Steam Deck, 28.5 hours): Hunt and click mystery horror with a cap on clicks. The thick line 3D art captivates. Interwoven stories give a nice drip of discoveries with climax, but leads and logs aren't perfect and things can be easily missed. Overall gripping ghost story.

Game 24: Gravity Rush I really love the hell out of this game. The game mechanics are amazing, the world building is fun. The open world is fairly empty but it's also very intricately designed. I can't wait to discuss this one. ~10 hours

Thanksgiving is a holiday invented by Big Lion to sell more Lions.

Acceptance as in like the stage of grief? Definitely getting there.

Time Flies (Steam Deck, 1.5 hours): Life is short, so get your kicks in ASAP.