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 

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.