Seem to have spent quite a bit this month, and played some too. Nothing completed yet though.
Games played during March
Alan Wake 2 – PS5
Got to the point of no return in the campaign, so confident I’ll finish this in April. Given I’m typing this in April, I may have insider knowledge. The game is incredible, and I think I need the full soundtrack.
Hades – Xbox Series X
I know I’m very late to this party, but craving something like Dead Cells it seemed time to give this a proper go. I bounced off when I tried it some time ago on GamePass, so I picked up a used physical copy to try again. At least I could trade it back in if it still didn’t click. I needn’t have worried, I immediately put 20 hours in and am having a great time. I don’t think it’s quite as slick as Dead Cells, and I certainly needed some space between playing the two.
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! – Steam Deck
Haven’t played the deck much recently, I suspect the above game is to blame for that. I did play a bit of Doki Doki though. It’s still compelling but I’m not sure if I’ll go through it all again.
What’s been on the arcade?
Haven’t been into anything specific on the cab this month, dabbling with some random stuff and thinking about the eventual upgrade to my Pi5.
March pick ups
Sinking City Deluxe – Xbox Series X
Heard very mixed reviews on this one, but a couple of podcasts I’ve listened to recently made me want to give it a try. The complete deluxe edition popped up very cheap so definitely the time to do it. Or at least add it to the library to never get round to playing.
Command and Conquer Ultimate Collection – PC
EA finally released the missing games from this series onto Steam. I grabbed them so I can completely remove EA’s launcher from my memory. Already can’t remember what it was called, but I haven’t had it installed for years anyway.
Xbox Series S
Picked up a pre-owned Series S this month for my girlfriend. Great that she can access my existing library and GamePass subscription games easily enough, but also so we can continue co-op games together whether we’re at her place or mine.
Seventia Collection – PC
Bit of a random one, but my friend tipped me off that this bundle of two shmups was solid for less than a quid, so I’ve picked it up. One of them looks good for the steam deck too. Which is nice.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story – PC / Steam Deck
This was right up my street when it was announced, and a must buy. I haven’t spent time with it yet though, want to clear some time to do it all justice. I did rewatch Bedrooms to Billions though in preparation.
Forgive Me Father – PC
This originally passed me by, but a sequel came out and caught my attention. Went looking for the first game and found it for a couple of quid. Result.
Pre-ordered during March
Sinden Light Guns – Arcade
I’ve been thinking about spending the money on one of the modern light gun solutions for a while. There are a few options, and a community for each type explaining why each one is the best / worst. I liked the sound of these Sinden ones most. It looks like I should be able to have a standalone Raspberry Pi4 setup on my TV with most of my favourite gun games easily enough. Then longer term the goal is to have them hooked up to the arcade cabinet. One way or another.
They’re on back order anyway, so probably at least a month or so before they ship. I’ve gone for two guns, player 1 in blue with recoil, then a red one for player 2 without the recoil module to save a bit of cash and because it’ll probably get used less. I also ordered the holsters for mounting on the side of the arcade machine eventually too. I’d have liked to add a pedal for Time Crisis as well, but they’re more than twice the price of the basic gun. Maybe another day.
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