Week in Review - 6/26/2026

 

This review will cover this week and last week, because I was out of town and did not get a chance to update as much as I hoped. Now that Soul Hackers 2 is crossed off my list, I'm having trouble deciding what my next big game will be - so standby for choice paralysis. 

• Dave the Diver (PC - Steam)

This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I do really enjoy fishing in video games. Dave the Diver is not your typical fishing since it's more about diving with a harpoon than fishing with a rod, but I love it all the same! This is one of my comfort food games. I go back and restart it once a year and I daresay I've never even finished it. Every time I come back there is new DLC to (maybe?) check out if I get far enough into it - and this year is no different. "Into the Jungle" just came out, so I decided to dive back into Dave. I'm really going slow and building up the restaurant more than I ever have before. I doubt there will be new content because Bancho a prequel story has been announced and I'm there for it. 

• Dead Cells (Switch)

This is another comfort game. It's another game I start over and over again - collect things over and over again, but never really get to its ultimate conclusion. It's another game that always seems to have new free content or new DLC each time I come at it. It's another game that I think content is at its cap, though, because this team has been working on a new game that I am super excited to get my hands on this year. Konami actually gave these guys the keys to the kingdom to make a new Castlevania game - the first in over a decade! Castlevania: Belmont's Curse comes out this fall - right around my birthday! - and has a female protagonist to really entice me into buying it on its launch day. I love Dead Cells and I am so excited to see what they do in Castlevania. 

• Don't Starve Together (PC - Steam)

I have been playing this once or twice a month with a close friend. I used to play Don't Starve (the original game, not Together) quite a lot when it came out and I got quite far into it. I have forgotten all my skills, or Together is just such a different animal that you have to relearn how to stay alive. That said, this last attempt we got to our first winter - and immediately died. It's the farthest we've made as a team! There's so much time that passes between each attempt, though, that anything we learn will have to be relearned and relearned over and over. Progress is very incremental, but it's a fun way to pass a few hours laughing and enjoying time with a friend or two. 

• Soul Hackers 2 (PlayStation 5)

I beat this game last week. I really had to force myself to keep playing it. As I mentioned, I tried it while it was in its last few days on PlayStation Plus. I knew it had bad reviews, but the beginning of the game actually impressed me. The visuals are great. The character designs are great. The graphics in battle - especially the demons themselves - are outstanding. The battle system is very fun. As it fell off PlayStation Plus, it was on sale with all DLC for $17 and I bought it. However, the game really starts to fall off after those initial good vibes. The story is incoherent. It's interesting, but I never really had a clue what was going on. The dungeons are so, so boring. I hope you like subway systems and warehouses. This is just a very mediocre entry in the franchise that does not live up to its potential. 

Games I Need to Finish

• Pokémon Blue (Genlocke)
• Yakuza 3 Remaster
• Yakuza Kiwami 3 / Dark Ties
• Monster Hunter Stories 2
• CyberPunk 2077
• Trails to Azure