Comprehensive player reviews, video game backlog slaying, and thoughts on video game culture.
Hey, friends! It’s been ages and I hope you have all been well. While I’m still not in the writing mood very often, I wanted to show readers what hobby activities I’ve been up to this past year, which is mainly growing a LOT of houseplants, and also playing the tin whistle and making nerdy video game, anime, and film song covers!
Continue reading “Post-Pandemic Check-in: Orchids, tin whistle, and video game music! ♪”Valheim is all the rage right now and I’ve been having a fantastic time with it and our friends who are also playing. It’s the first game my boyfriend and I have found mutual interest in, in like… 5 years? (It’s tragic that we have nearly opposite tastes in games.)
In fact, I’ve never felt drawn to the survival game genre. The only one I’ve ever really enjoyed is Ark: Survival Evolved, and that’s only because I’m highly dinosaur (and dragon) motivated. Spent the whole game taming dinos and nothing else. Valheim, however. Valheim I find so enjoyable that it’s inspired me to write about games for the first time in over a year!
You may have noticed, but I have been on hiatus over the past several months, for which I apologize profusely. I wanted to thank those who continue to stop by and catch up on my posts. I started this blog back in spring of 2019 and I was writing so much, so frequently, that eventually I hit burnout about two months after my PAX West trip last year.
In addition, my hobby interests have turned away from gaming and writing to other things for a time, namely Tarot (the happy fault of Sayonara Wild Hearts), drawing, and online community building. I tend to go through periods of “hobby rotation” where I’m really into one thing or another for a half year or so and then move to something else, eventually circling back to an intense focus on gaming. I do plan on writing more in the future when the burnout wears off.
It would warm my heart to see some of you on Instagram in the mean time. I’ve included a few of my art posts from Instagram between paragraphs below for anyone interested. 🙂
Yennefer. Who is she, really? In the Witcher 3 we see her relentlessly pursuing her goals across multiple continents, taking down any obstacles in her way. Yes, she cares passionately for her love, Geralt, but he won’t distract her from her ultimate goals. Despite their closeness, she keeps extremely important secrets from the Witcher during their travels, yet he trusts her implicitly. She is strong and wise, confident and skilled, and a timeless beauty. Their romance is legendary in the Witcher universe, literally.
Continue reading “Wolven Storm – Musings on Love and Feminism in Witcher 3”
The Autumn colors outside have had me feeling somewhat nostalgic lately and I wanted to expand a little on my older piece about how video games influenced the different phases of my life. It is less common than you’d expect for a non-sport hobby to stay with a child into their later adult life. What is it about video games that allow them to stick with us on such a deep, sentimental level for so many years?
Continue reading “Games of Our Childhoods”
It seems I’m fighting off a bit of writer’s block this week so instead of a text article I’ve got some official Fire Emblem illustrations to share with you from the concept art book that was included with the collector’s edition of the Three Houses. Obviously don’t view the rest of this post if you haven’t finished the game because some of the images have spoilers. In case you missed it, you can find my review of Fire Emblem Three Houses here.
Continue reading “Fire Emblem Three Houses Concept Art”
Sayonara Wild Hearts incorporates all 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot in its fast paced, pop-arcade, cosmic wonderland. You can check out my full review of the game here. I cannot understate how creative and ambitious studio Simogo is to have given us such a spectacularly beautiful, mesmerizing rendition of the Fool’s Journey in video game form.
I wanted to do a deep dive into the significance of Tarot cards and their meanings are used in Sayonara Wild Hearts to add a hidden layer of depth for those in know, so that’s what you’ll find in this article! I’ll be covering the entire game from start to finish (including a short explanation of Tarot at the start) so please be sure to complete the game before reading to avoid spoilers. You can also watch a play through of the game here.
Let’s pop!
I wanted to make it easier for gaming writers to connect with the gaming blogger community, so I started the “Rising Stars” series where both veteran bloggers and readers can discover and welcome new or relatively unknown gaming writers into the community. I hope this will help to encourage and support individuals as well as maintain the health of the gaming blogger ecosystem overall!
You can find the previous Rising Stars posts here, and now let’s take a look at this week’s featured bloggers…
Continue reading “Rising Stars – Gaming Blogger Spotlight #4”
In a month overflowing with anticipated, high quality releases, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a shining gem you should have on your radar. This game is an expertly shaken cocktail of neon colors, trippy, dreamlike environments, a catchy synth-pop soundtrack, and skillful level design. While Sayonara is on the brief side with about an hour of total playtime required to complete the campaign, it is a truly magical experience that blew me away with its dynamic art style, captivating music, generous variety of mechanics, and heart-pumping action!
Continue reading “Sayonara Wild Hearts (Switch) Review – heartfelt, magical, and mesmerizing”
Untitled Goose Game is best described as the virtual, interactive embodiment of the AnimalsBeingJerks subreddit, and it is extremely entertaining! Not only is it is highly likely to linger in your mind as one of the most amusing titles you’ve ever played, but gameplay is also a blast to watch as a bystander. This deceptively complicated, low stress puzzle game hatches from a simple concept: You’re a gleefully mischievous goose who’s life’s mission seems to be to drive the residents of a small town completely bonkers.
Continue reading “Untitled Goose Game (Switch) Review – finding your inner HONK”
Backlog Crusader 