Week in Review - 6/12/2026

  

I feel invested in Soul Hackers 2 since I bought it during a time where I'm trying not to spend (too much) money on video games. However, the game just really wore out its welcome and I'm struggling to sit down and play it when I only have an hour or so a night (if I'm not too tired). 

It was also a big week in gaming news and reveals. Some of the things I'm most excited about were the smaller projects that got swept away by big reveals like Final Fantasy 7 Revelations, Ocarina of Time and Persona 4 Revival & Persona 6 confirmation. I'm more interested in Castlevania: Belmont's Curse made by the team that did Dead Cells which was a great game inspired by the Castlevania franchise. I dare say Final Fantasy Resonance is about the most exciting Final Fantasy announcement I've seen in years. Brave Exvius was a game that looked awesome and I really wanted to play, but never got a chance - so I would love to see that game play out across Resonance installments. The trend of re-creating quality mobile gacha games into solid single-player experiences (Octopath 0, Another Eden) continues to delight me. 

• Monster Sanctuary (Switch)

I only got to sit down with this game for a few minutes this week, so I don't have much to report. Instead, I will tell you my early game team. I chose Spectral Lion as my Spirit Beast (starter) and his name is Solaris. I'm also using a Blob named Bloop as my healer. A Vaero named Beat as my buffer. I have not invested in my backup crew; they each have 9 skill points I have yet to distribute because I do not know how to build them. The backup crew includes Yetimon the Yowie, Magpi the Magmapillar, and Brock the Rocky. That's really all I have to say about it. I want to beat this game because it's good, but there's also something not-quite-right about it that doesn't hold my attention very long. My previous attempt, I got 24% completion and I'm sitting at 16% right now. 

• Rogue Legacy (PC - Steam)

This is a very fun rouge-lite game. I want to do some kind of challenge log with my son, but I haven't quite conceptualized what to do. The gist of this game is that you're playing a family bloodline that's trying to explore this dungeon. Each death is permanent, but then you choose your descendant to start a new run. Between runs, you build up your local township which unlocks new classes for future generations, increases their stats, or unlocks new items and equipment. The gameplay loop is very satisfying. Each character has a class they're locked into but they are also afflicted with genetic traits that can be positive or negative (and a few completely neutral). For example, if your descendant is colorblind, the entire run will be monochrome. It's very clever. 

Week in Review - 6/5/2026

 

I haven't had a chance to play games in the previous two weeks. I am a bit more committed to keeping up with the Week in Review this year, but I'm just so busy these days I don't have as much time for games! 

• Monster Sanctuary (Switch)

This is a very creative blend of monster taming and Metroidvania. I have started this game a couple of times now and never quite made it through to the end, but it's one I definitely enjoy. These developers recently made a pseudo-sequel which is monster taming mixed with roguelite elements in the same universe as Monster Sanctuary so it has reinvigorated me to come back to this world. That game is called Aethermancer and it is currently in early access. Monster Sanctuary lets you travel with 6 monsters that have unique field abilities to access new areas of the Castlevania/Metroid style map. You battle in 3v3 monster battles with your typical elemental weaknesses. The monsters have skill trees to make customizing them very unique. 

• Soul Hackers 2 (PlayStation 5)

I continue to push through this game because I bought it on sale as it fell off PlayStation Plus. My first impressions were overall positive, but as I continue through the game I see more and more flaws. The characters and monsters are quite stunning visually, but the dungeons are some of the most boring environments I've ever seen. Do you like sewers? These game developers do. The dungeon designs are really quite bad. The story is very confusing. This game is carried by its great combat system (a mix of Shin Megami Tensei & Persona) but everything else is starting to feel quite lazy. I know they also patched in some QOL elements like running and fast-forwarding battles. I can see why this game launched to unfavorable reviews. The more I play, the more I wish I was playing Shin Megami Tensei or Persona. 

Week in Review - 5/15/2026

 

• Planet of Lana (PC - GamePass)

I'm really hitting a lot of games before they disappear from the subscriptions that I pay for. This is a very short and very beautiful game about a girl named Lana separated from her ... friend? Sibling? The graphics are amazing. The music is amazing. I believe it took about 4-5 hours, so it's not a huge commitment of time for a very emotional and simply told story. It's a puzzle-platform game, so it reminded me of old classics like the Oddworld franchise - Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exodus. It has such a minimalist story told through the exploration of the world to reunite these two children - and you get a cute little pet to accompany you on the journey. I can't recommend this short game enough. I'm glad I got a chance before it disappeared out of my sphere of games. 

• Soul Hackers 2 (PlayStation 5)

This is another game that I've wanted to try but is falling off PlayStation Plus on May 19th. I highly doubt I will be able to finish it in time, but if I get hooked then maybe I will buy it on an upcoming sale. For a spin-off in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, it doesn't have the greatest reputation. I have to say the opening sequence was extremely confusing. The graphics are awesome and gameplay seem very fun so far. I see the name Kuzunoha is mentioned in this game. That's another game (Raidoh Kuzunoha) I need to play. It is so far and overall enjoyable. I'm not entirely sure what all the negative press was about, but it has also gone through a few patches as I'm playing it 2 years after its launch.

Week in Review - 5/8/2026

 

• Don't Starve Together (PC / Steam)

Back in the day, Don't Starve was a constant favorite. I've owned Don't Starve Together since it was created because I enjoyed playing the original in tandem with others to compete to see how far we could survive. Together takes it to a whole new level. I'm really bad at it. Though I don't starve that often, I can't seem to stay alive for longer than a week or two. I really want to get better at surviving in this game. So far, I only play Wilson. Perhaps I need to branch out.

• Sand Land (PlayStation 5)

I finished Sand Land this week. It took a lot of determination. It's not a bad game, but I found it very mediocre. The story is cute. The characters are endearing and memorable. It reminds me in a lot of ways of Blue Dragon in that regard. However, I had a lot more fun playing Blue Dragon due to it being a turn-based RPG with a robust job system. The systems in Sand Land feel very half-baked. I really enjoy crafting and kitting out the vehicles - which feels like the main draw of the game - but the combat itself is so repetitive and ultimately quite boring. I had to really force myself to finish the game on a deadline. It was enjoyable, but also rather forgetable. It made me want to play other tank-based RPG games like Valkyria Chronicles or something in the Metal Max franchise. 

• Vampire Survivors (PC / Game Pass)

This game has been on my radar for a long time. It's very popular. People love it. Everyone says I'd like it, but it doesn't look like a game that I would like. Since I absolutely love Vampire Crawlers, I finally tried it. Shocking news! I don't like it. I played it for 45 minutes then uninstalled it. I did like the references in Vampire Crawlers as they translated from this game, but I don't like the gameplay loop at all of this game. I don't like bullet hells in general - or reverse bullet hells, apparently. The exception is Hades because my love for Greek mythology surpasses vampires, I guess.