Tag Archives: arcade

August Games

Played quite a bit this month, as well as falling down a rabbit hole of older games too. I had a couple of weeks to myself before starting a new job in the middle of August so there was plenty of time for games. I also realised I could backdate my account on How long to beat? with records of games I played prior to creating it, using my Xbox achievements and PlayStation trophies. It now has a fairly accurate picture of everything I finished since 2007. Probably not the most productive use of an afternoon, but I do enjoy me some stats.

Games completed this month

Open Roads – Xbox Series X

This was next Xbox title up to tick along the achievements for the Xbox rewards. A fun little story, I love GamePass for stuff like this that I probably wouldn’t have bought otherwise.

Dredge: The Pale Reach – Xbox Series X

This DLC had a nice sale so I picked it up and played through the story. I do still want to go back and mop up side quests etc. I think they’ve sneaked out some more DLC as well though.

SEGA Fighting Games – Xbox 360 / Series X

Apologies for lifting someone’s video thumbnail for this image, but it very nicely covered the three games I played. In my visit to my Xbox back catalogue, I realised I’d bought all these games, and barely played any of them. I put that to rights, hooked up the fight stick and spent a couple of hours playing all three of Virtua Fighter 2, Sonic the Fighters and Fighting Vipers, and getting all the achievements on each. Sonic is a bit of a novelty but the other two hold up really well.

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum – Xbox 360 / Series X

Didn’t even remember buying this, but while I was playing the fighting games I clocked this too. Didn’t go after all the achievements though, they were a bit more involved and also included some online stuff.

Who Shot Johnny Rock? – Arcade / Pi4

As planned last month, I set up my spare Raspberry Pi4 with the “Barebones” Batocera image for my Sinden lightguns. It was all as straightforward as I’d hoped, and I was soon playing even more games on my modern tv. I used to love Who Shot Johnny Rock? on the CDi, but even better I now have the HD version of the arcade game. Highly entertaining to play through, Mad Dog McCree next then!

Games played during August

Returnal – PS5

Last month’s pick up, I’ve made a bit of a start with this. Really love how it feels to play, and it looks incredible. Very difficult though with the roguelike elements so we’ll see how much progress I actually make with it. I’ve managed to defeat one boss and get to the second so far.

Tatsunoko vs Capcom Ultimate All-Stars – Wii / SteamDeck

Dabbling with emulation on my SteamDeck, I can now play this Nintendo Wii exclusive without having to set up the Wii itself. It’s a really fun versus fighter, even if I don’t really know the Tatsunoko characters very well. I’d love to see more of these things or just a new Marvel or SNK vs Capcom would be nice. Also playing on the Deck meant I could play it with a proper fight stick, as I discovered the one I bought for the Switch works perfectly on there. I even printed new art for it and got my Cricut machine to cut it out for me.

It seems to be getting harder to get hold of, but this is the stick I have*. It doesn’t really say much about connecting to anything other than a Switch, but it just showed up on my SteamDeck as a bluetooth controller and worked perfectly.

Tekken 7 – Xbox Series X

This month we apparently played fighting games. I dabbled a bit with the single player content in Tekken 7, it’s good fun but a bit late to be getting into it really. I’ll probably pick up 8 but may wait for a decent discount or some kind of bundle with DLC characters.

Raiden V – Xbox Series X

While the stick was hooked up it seemed like a good idea to play a shmup too. I know Raiden V isn’t very well regarded but I enjoy it for what it is.

Forza Motorsport – Xbox Series X

I also gave this another try. I played through a couple more of the cups, racing remains great fun but the career mode is so dull. I’ll probably drop back into it on occasion, thanks to my new purchase below I’ve got the space to keep it installed anyway.

CYGNI – PC

I heard good things about this prior to release, and it was free on the Epic Game Store at launch so I was looking forward to getting stuck in. Sadly I really didn’t enjoy it. I was expecting something a bit more traditionally arcade, but it’s something else. The controls are a bit erratic and the systems seem designed around you being expected to crash so there are loads of shields. That’s not really my bag. A pity.

Geometry Wars 3 – Vita & PS4/5

Fortunately, conversations with a friend involved us digging out our PlayStation Vita systems and tinkering with those. I spent 20 minutes faffing through the things I had installed on there, then 2 hours playing Geometry Wars 3. Annoyingly the leaderboards and trophies are separate on the PS4/5 version, and I wanted to play on the big screen so I moved over to that one. I did complete the campaign mode a while back but there are achievements and high scores to chase so I’ve been doing a bit of that.

What’s been on the arcade?

Thanks again to the purchase below, I freed up the external SSD drive I was using for backwards compatible games on my Xbox Series X. I swapped this with the slower drive in my arcade. The startup time and loading on the bigger games is much improved. Some individual games may need tweaks to their controls but I pretty much have it all configured how I want it. There are now video clips for all games on there which makes for a nice random attract mode when it is idling. I’ve also set up a few systems I didn’t have access to before.

It’s taken me far too long to properly get into RetroAchievements, but now I have, they’re set up on my arcade machine, my SteamDeck emulators and my lightgun build. Nice to have even more stats and goals to chase when playing classic games. This is my profile for it, I should add it to the gaming page on here too.

For the first time in ages, I also got back to the Ten Pence Arcade monthly game, they are playing Yie Ar Kung Fu, which was my favourite game on the Commodore 16 when I was about 5 years old.

Games purchased this month

2TB Storage Expansion for Xbox

Not a game as such, but I finally upgraded the storage for my Series X. This is mostly inspired by me changing internet provider. My download speed is dramatically slower than it was, so I wanted to go back to having everything I might want to play installed, so I don’t have a day to wait when I decide to play something new.

These* seem to have had a bit of a price drop recently, still pricey though.

Games retired in August

World of Warcraft – PC

Well I did it, about two weeks before the two months of game time expired, I got bored of WoW again. Very much enjoyed myself while I was playing it though. At least not wanting to carry on playing has saved me from buying another expansion and renewing the subscription.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones (if I’ve actually included any), which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

April Games

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Mostly spent the month playing DLC, but I completed them both so normal service is resumed.

Games completed this month

Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure – Xbox Series X

Had a great time with the Rally content for Forza Horizon 5, and while I was back into the game I did some of the monthly season content too. Still my favourite racing game.

Vampire Survivors - Tales of the Foscari

Vampire Survivors: Tides of the Foscari – Xbox Series X

Much like the last DLC for Vampire Survivors, it’s still just more of the same, but that’s not a complaint. I’ll happily do it again for a few more content packs too.

Games played during April

Tell Me Why – Xbox Series X

Didn’t get far yet but I did start this. Played just enough to confirm it feels like a Life is Strange game, so will will hopefully play more.

Gears 5 – Xbox Series X

Found time for a bit more Gears progress with my buddy. I still hate the open world areas, but otherwise the game is great. Some of the finest co-op gameplay going.

Dead Cells – Xbox Series X

I think I’m finally done with Dead Cells. Hit a bit of a wall playing with 3 Boss Cells active, and I’m not enjoying it so much. I may come back to it if any more content turns up, but I’ve had a good run either way.

I’m playing on Xbox because it’s on GamePass, although if it hadn’t been I probably would have gone for the Switch edition* as it’s the perfect type of game to take when you’re travelling.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - March Games

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Xbox Series X

I played a bit more of this at the start of the month but haven’t touched it for a couple of weeks. Worried that might be it for this again, but I won’t write it off just yet.

Octopath Traveller 2 – PlayStation 5

This hasn’t taken over my life as much as I expected yet, but I think the DLC for other games was too much of a distraction, I’m only 8 or so hours in but really enjoying it so far. The first game was really good, but it’s nice to see how well things have been polished to improve on it. The lighting in particular on the PS5 does make it look really impressive, despite the use of 2d sprites on 3d backgrounds.

It’s on Switch and PS4 as well, which may suit. I was glad to get another reason to play some PS5 though, and picked up this physical edition*.

Turtles - Shredder's Revenge - Xbox GamePass

Turtles Shredder’s Revenge – Xbox Series X

Had friends over, and after an hour or two on the arcade cabinet, we moved to the consoles. Dabbled with a couple of smaller games, then we settled on Turtles. 3 player arcade mode (Donatello, Casey Jones and Raphael if you were wondering), great fun. Sadly at the last boss 2 of us were already dead and out of continues, so we didn’t make the clear. I need to buy Streets of Rage 4 for next time, haven’t played that since it left GamePass.

Street Fighter 6 Demo – PlayStation 5

Although I’m going to play Street Fighter 6 on Xbox, the demo was released a week early on PlayStation so I grabbed it on there. Waste of time really, nothing much to do in the traditional Street Fighter sense unless you want to spar with a friend using Luke & Ryu. Otherwise there is an introduction to the new single player World Tour mode. I played half an hour of that, which was just long enough to establish I won’t be going anywhere near it in the full game. Ghastly.

The fighting itself still feels great though, I played a couple of goes against the CPU, but then deleted the demo to just wait for the full game.

What’s been on the arcade?

Ten pence arcade head a double header of Moon Cresta and Uniwar S. Managed a few credits on each and put in a couple of mid-table scores. Also 2 years after building the machine, I found the ‘mute’ button, so I’ve been able to leave it running other games without the attract mode demo noises annoying me. Has opened it up to lots more games that I can have ready for ‘just one quick go’.

As mentioned above as well, having a couple of friends over the cab really came into its own. Lots of arcade brawlers and vs fighters were played.

Pick ups during April

Arcade Components

Don’t think I bought any games this month, probably forgetting something though. Anyway I did grab these few parts from Arcade World UK* for a couple of projects. I’ll probably blog about them both separately when I’m happy with them, but it’s basically the buttons I need to mod the fight stick I bought in March, and a couple of bits to use to create a “Spinner” type controller to use with my PC.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

March Games

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Plenty of gaming, and too much money spent on accessories. Not a bad month in the grand scheme of things.

Games completed this month

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – Xbox Series X

In a very rare occurrence for me, I picked this up last month to replay it, and this month I can report I did just that and finished it again. Huzzah.

This was on sale digitally, but was available even cheaper for a used copy on eBay. If you’d prefer physical anyway, Amazon* do have it.

Dead Cells & Queen and the Sea DLC – Xbox Series X

I think the Castlevania content may have helped my run, as I believe I used one of the new weapons, but after 73 runs or 3 days 5 hours played, I cleared the third ‘very hard’ (2BC) completion. I’m now really struggling in the next level so could be the point at which I give up though.

I did also manage to clear the content from the Queen and the Sea DLC as well during March, beating the Queen and her sidekick bosses on ‘hard’ (1BC).

I’m playing on Xbox because it’s on GamePass, although if it hadn’t been I probably would have gone for the Switch edition* as it’s the perfect type of game to take when you’re travelling.

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania – Xbox Series X

This was pretty much everything I hoped for, and more. A lovely dose of fan service, a bit more variety to the game in terms of the routes you can take on a given run, and some great new weapons and outfits. Some of the weapons, the axe and the cross in particular, have become new favourites and I adore Maria’s cat as a pet summon. I have now completed the gameplay content at least once, killing Death on ‘hard’ (1BC) and Dracula on ‘normal’ (0BC).

Games played during March

Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure – Xbox Series X

New Forza Horizon expansion came out, and like the others before it, has got its claws in me. Very much enjoying the Rally races with co-driver pace notes. New map feels a bit small but not sure if that’s just me.

Super Bomberman R – Xbox Series X

Had an hour or so one weekend reliving the glory days of Bomberman Live on the Xbox 360, with this game on the Series X. Playing locally with a couple of friends was a ‘blast’ (sorry not sorry) more of this please!

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Xbox Series X

Not sure if I’ll just give up on this again, but in enjoying Castlevania content again recently I thought I’d give it another go. Forgot I owned it digitally on Xbox 360, so quite nice to be able to play it upscaled on the Series X. I think I’m already further in than I was on the PS3 version.

What’s been on the arcade?

Ten pence arcade played Cyvern a great shmup where you’re a dragon rather than an aircraft / spaceship. I was enjoying it, but trying to do the mechanics to maximise my score kind of took the joy away. Oh well, I’ve also been playing more Super Street Fighter 2 on there.

Pick ups during March

Dragon Ball FighterZ – Xbox Series X

Given a purchase further down this list, and the fact that it went on sale for a bit as it left GamePass, I decided to grab it. Mate has picked it up too, so hopefully we’ll find a break in our Ryu vs Ken bashings to play this as well. My guy is the one in the colourful pajamas.

Octopath Traveller 2 – PlayStation 5

Next JRPG up, and one from the 2023 list. Have done the demo content and got so far as recruiting my first party member. Looking forward to getting into it properly, if Dead Cells and Forza (and pending new Vampire Survivors content…) allow.

It’s on Switch and PS4 as well, which may suit. I was glad to get another reason to play some PS5 though, and picked up this physical edition*.

Hori Fighting Stick Alpha – Xbox Series X

Well the stick I was looking at on the xbox dropped almost £50 in price to a slightly more palatable £150. So I grabbed myself this Fight Stick Alpha* ready for Street Fighter 6. It’s certainly also part of why I bought Dragon Ball above, and led to another purchase below too. I think I’ll probably mod this one, at least with custom art and maybe some new buttons. I do like the stick though so may keep that as is.

Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 – Xbox Series X

My mate sold me his spare series 2 elite controller, it was bare bones so I just needed to get the sticks and paddles. I bought this venom accessory set* and I was good to go! Very happy with it so far, the paddles are taking a bit of getting used to, but I can already see how much better it’ll be when my brain has adapted.

Tetris Effect PS5 Update – PlayStation 5

Not entirely sure why I bought this, other than one day I might get a PSVR2. At least if I do decide to play it just on my TV, it should look better than it would have done on my PS4 now. The upgrade was cheap at least.

Super Street Fighter IV – Xbox Series X

This is just so I can play it with my new arcade stick. I do have Ultra Street Fighter 4 on the PS4/5, which feels like a superior version, but since the Xbox seems to have taken over as my primary machine, I wanted it there too.

Games abandoned this month

Harvestella – Nintendo Switch

Well it happened, I’ve given up. I think the day & night cycle was the biggest factor for me, but either way I’ve had enough.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

February Games

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Quite a few games to mention this month, but the only completion is another loop of Dead Cells. Also managed to get away for a bit of winter sun at the end of the month.

Games completed this month

Dead Cells – Xbox Series X

Surprised myself by managing to do the second completion which I think is categorised as ‘hard’, managed that on my 41st run and 38 hours played for those keeping count. I’ve made it to the last boss a couple of times on the third loop (or ‘very hard’), but really struggling. Tend to lose most of my health and all my flasks in the level prior. DLC is out in March though so I’ll be onto that soon.

I’m playing on Xbox because it’s on GamePass, although if it hadn’t been I probably would have gone for the Switch edition* as it’s the perfect type of game to take when you’re travelling.

Games played during February

Task Force Kampas

Just as ridiculous as it looked, but I did have some fun with this. The game is quite tricky but an addictive little shmup.

Harvestella – Nintendo Switch

I have played more of this, but getting a bit worried about my progress. The day/night cycle is starting to annoy me. I really don’t like having to come out of a dungeon to go back home to sleep, and then run all the way back the next day. Pulls me a bit out of the mood. We’ll see, but I’ve already got my eye on the next JRPG.

I think it’s also availble on PC, but I’m playing the Switch version. It is still pretty new, so I bought it physical, so I can sell it on when I’m done. I picked it up reduced in GAME, but is also available on Amazon*.

Gears 5 – Xbox Series X

We managed another session on this, although much of it was spent on one frustrating boss. I’m glad we beat it though, was starting to think the game might be over before it really began! Hopefully we won’t have too many such pockets of resistance going forward.

Dragon Ball FighterZ – Xbox Series X

Had a bit of fighting game time this month, I’m mostly just passing the time waiting for Street Fighter 6, but this Dragon Ball one was on GamePass and is fun to play, even though I don’t know anything about the IP. I’d like to play it more but I think it’s now left GamePass, so may be waiting for a sale…

Injustice 2 – PS5

Since I was getting the fight sticks out anyway, it’s always good to give this one a go. I think the next game from the developer is going to be Mortal Kombat 12, which I’ll no doubt check out, but I really hope we get an Injustice 3 as well.

Hot Wheels Unleashed – Xbox Series X

I was going to check this out on PS5 as the base game was free with PS Plus recently. However I hadn’t got round to it, and in February the full “GOTY” edition with all the DLC packs came to GamePass. I’d heard good things about the game, and it is fun. I’m glad I didn’t pay for it though, can’t see me spending much more time with it. The licenced vehicles are fun though, love the batman ones.

Vampire Survivors – Xbox Series X

There was another patch for Vampire Survivors in February that added 3 new achievements and some extra content, so naturally I went back and cleared those too. Still a great game, hope we get another full DLC pack.

Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1 - Switch

Neo Pocket Color Collection Vol 1 – Match of the Millennium

The first of two games I played on Switch that are ports from other handheld systems. This one though I played at home with the Switch docked on the TV, using the new controller described further down. Match of the Millennium is such a good game, the Neogeo Pocket library is easily my favourite for ‘portable’ fighting games. It’s great to be able to play these without the expense of that actual system. I’ve seen there is now a Volume 2 of these games, I think if I grab that I’ll pretty much have all the NGPC games I could want (apart from Sonic, but perhaps that is asking too much).

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon – Nintendo Switch

While I was on holiday I took my Switch thinking I’d play some Harvestella. I found I didn’t really like playing that kind of game in handheld mode though, so looked through my library for something else to play. What better than a port of a Gameboy Advance game if you’re going to be restricted to handheld? Quite happily played this first Gameboy Advance Castlevania a fair bit, and got about half way through. The test will be if I finish it now I’m at home.

What’s been on the arcade?

Ten pence arcade played the excellent Rainbow Islands during February, so I did join in with a few credits. I struggled to really do well though, seems I left my ability to play that game in the 90s. I also dabbled a bit with The New Zealand Story because some friends were playing it. A good month for cute platform games at least.

Pick ups during February

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – Xbox Series X

I think mostly because of all my time spent with Dead Cells, I really felt like replaying this one. As much as I enjoy Dead Cells, I do miss the traditional exploration of a metroidvania. In the mood as I am for ever more Castlevania, I felt like spending a bit more time with this. I originally played it through on the Switch, so at least I’ve changed platform.

This was on sale digitally, but was available even cheaper for a used copy on eBay. If you’d prefer physical anyway, Amazon* do have it.

House of Ashes – PlayStation 5

After we finished Little Hope recently, it was timely for this next game in the Dark Pictures Anthology to go on sale cheap. Hopefully the last game will do the same when we’re ready for that one too.

Strange Horticulture – Nintendo Switch

One of my friends was playing this, and initially recommended it for my girlfriend. She really enjoyed it, now I’ve decided I want a go too. Don’t really know much about it, but who doesn’t want to run an occult flower shop?

Arcade Stick – Nintendo Switch

I’ve actually been looking at new sticks for the Xbox Series X, it is good that I can use my Cronus Zen to let me use my old Hori EX2 Xbox 360 stick on the Series X (which is what I was using for Dragon Ball FighterZ above) but unfortunately it doesn’t like my Venom PS4/5 stick which I’d much rather use as it’s awesome. Anyway, the stick I fancy for my Xbox* is nearly £200, so I’ve parked that for now, but in browsing I spotted this PowerA stick* for the Switch and I couldn’t resist. I wasn’t expecting much from the Bluetooth mode, but it was absolutely fine for me. Once it arrived I spent a bit of time with Match of the Millennium, as described above. The stick can easily be modded with higher end components and artwork too, but not sure I’ll bother unless I find myself playing a lot more Switch games with it.

At time of writing, this is still less than £40 on Amazon* really good value in my opinion.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

April Games

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A whole lot of GamePass this month, buckle up.

Games completed this month

Guardians of the Galaxy – Xbox Series X

First completion this month was another from the 2022 playlist. I think Guardians of the Galaxy was a bit overlooked when it first came out, probably because of how badly received the Avengers game was. However, I really enjoyed this one. The writing captures the characters well, and it is one of few games where the chatter between the characters doesn’t get annoying. Very much worth playing, and great to see it on GamePass.

Easiest way to play on Xbox, Game Pass* but if you fancy it on another format or generally prefer a physical edition, they’re here on Amazon*

Life is Strange True Colors - April Games

Life is Strange – True Colors – Xbox Series X

Another game I wanted to try, as I really liked the first Life is Strange and the prequel Before the Storm. However, after not getting into Life is Strange 2, I was a bit reluctant to buy this new one. Was great to see it turn up on GamePass so I could try it, and I’m glad I did. True Colors is much more of a return to the form of the first couple of games and I pretty much played this entire thing over 2 days.

Boyfriend Dungeon – Xbox Series X

Started this out of curiosity as the premise sounded ridiculous but I’d heard good things on a podcast. It’s part simple dungeon-crawler action rpg, and part dating sim. The people you date also turn into the weapons you use in combat. It’s odd, but surprisingly engaging. I played the whole thing anyway and 100% completed it so…

Games played during April

Blacksad: Under the Skin – PS4 / PS5

I gave this a go, and will hopefully come back to it. The aesthetic is great but it is a bit clunky to play and the load times are criminal. I’ve moved it onto the faster SSD of the PS5 now but it hasn’t made too much difference really.

Available here* for PS4, Switch and Xbox

Puzzle Quest 3 – Mobile

I have been spending a bit of time with Puzzle Quest 3, but not sure how long I’ll stick with it. I do enjoy playing bejewelled as combat, and have liked a few of the previous puzzle quest games. My main issue with it is just that I don’t really like playing games on my phone.

Battletoads – Xbox Series X

Another game I tried on GamePass, and demonstrating the other benefit of the service. This is terrible. Move along.

What’s been on the arcade?

I played a fair bit of Solar Fox for the ten pence arcade podcast this month, but never really improved at it. Definitely need a solution for 4-way joysticks that doesn’t involve unscrewing my control panel. The new podcast games are a couple of awful submarine based Scramble clones (and I haven’t enjoyed Scramble since I was 5) so I think I’ll give this coming month a swerve. Did play some Bubbles and Robotron 2084 though, still favourites to play on my machine.

April Pick-ups

Vampire Survivors – PC

Raved about on a number of podcasts, this is an absolute steal at around £2 on Steam. It’s relatively simple to get into, there are a selection of characters and weapons that are pretty much lifted from the Castlevania series, and then you are just in control of moving the character while the weapons attach automatically on a timer. Very addictive and a lot of fun so far.

Zombie Rollerz – PC

I noticed this was on sale, and as a big fan of Video Pinball games (talked about extensively on the video pinball episode of Maximum Power Up) I picked it up. Short-lived however, as the actual pinball physics felt ‘off’ and the art style and overall presentation really grated with me. This is now the second game I’ve ever refunded from Steam.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Nintendo Switch

After I finished Tales of Arise, I’ve been waiting for my little JRPG group to pick the next game. We settled on this, helped along by it going on sale for £8 on the Nintendo eShop. Not far in yet but it seems promising. This is a remastered version of the PlayStation 3 game, which I was intrigued by at the time thanks to it’s Studio Ghibli art, but back then I wasn’t playing JRPGs.

At present it might still be on sale on the eshop, but if it’s back to full price or you’d rather have a physical copy, it’s available here from Amazon*.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

March Games

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Ticked off the first game from the 2022 playlist this month, and made substantial progress into a second. Also Game Pass continues to prove the best deal in videogaming.

Games completed this month

Tales of Arise – PS5

Fully completed this now, both with the main story “credits roll” at around 58 hours, and then with the optional extra stuff at about 90. Had a great time, but not sure it’ll break into the Top 5. I did even manage to pick up the Platinum Trophy, which is rare for me too. Think I have 8 so far spread across PS3, Vita, PS4 and PS5…

Thanks to my bout of Covid-related isolation in February I ended up finishing this ages in front of my friends (they’re still going now) and I want them to hurry up so we can find the next one to play.

I played on PS5, my friends are on PS4 and Xbox though and it seems like it’s great on them all. All formats are on this link*.

FAR: Changing Tides – Xbox Series X

This was a nice surprise coming straight to Game Pass. I played the original FAR: Lone Sails on the PC back in July 2020. I really enjoyed that one but found it difficult to recommend at full price given the relatively short experience. As with Unpacking and Gorogoa recently though, Game Pass is perfect for this new one. The game is about 4 hours long, and is very much more of the same but with new systems to drive the vehicle along. Definitely worth a try if you have Game Pass.

Games played during March

Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series X

Haven’t got as heavily back into this as I expected but I am still playing on and off. I imagine it’ll be when the first expansion pack arrives that I really get back on it.

Easiest way to play, Game Pass*

Destiny 2 Witch Queen – Xbox Series X

I finished the content up to where I needed to pay for the expansion and stopped. It was fun and I think I would like to carry on but couldn’t justify spending the money when I have so much else to play. I might come back to it later.

Animal Crossing New Horizons – Nintendo Switch

I took part in a book launch event that took the form of a treasure hunt on an Animal Crossing island. Was a pretty original idea and really good fun. The book itself is in the Young Adult genre, and if you’re interested it’s here from Waterstones – The Girl With No Soul.

https://twitter.com/kayjoon/status/1499114000495353858?s=20&t=vC2Ab44-jhpKl7sHblkSIw

It Takes Two – Xbox Series X

After playing through A Way Out back in 2020 with my friend Phil, I had been intrigued to hear It Takes Two had a similar approach to co-op gaming. Once again the game showed up on Game Pass so we gave it a try. I think we’re only a couple of hours in but it is great fun so far, hoping to get back on it next month.

Easiest way to play, Game Pass*

Guardians of the Galaxy – Xbox Series X

Another game from my 2022 plan, although I originally intended to pick this up for the PlayStation 5. It came to Game Pass though, so a no-brainer to play on Xbox instead. I’m about 2/3 of the way through now so hopefully I’ll be including it in my completions next month. It’s an excellent game, really captures the characters well and manages to separate them from their MCU counterparts nicely. Kind of feels like a middle ground between the movies and the comics.

Easiest way to play on Xbox, Game Pass* but if you fancy it on another format or generally prefer a physical edition, they’re here on Amazon*

Mario Kart 8 – Nintendo Switch

After my preorder last month, the first 8 of the new tracks came out in March. I haven’t spent a lot of time with them, but I played through the 2 new cups. I am most happy to have Coconut Mall from the Wii version back in there.

This is still a bargain from ShopTo, currently less than £17.

What’s been on the arcade?

Not played much on the cabinet this month, mostly down to being heavily into Tales of Arise, and because In the Hunt turned out to be stupidly difficult. Jury is still out on the new Ten Pence Arcade game Solar Fox too.

March Pick-ups

Blacksad: Under the Skin – PS4 / PS5

I didn’t know this was a thing until I spotted the Xbox version on the shelf in Game. I really like the Blacksad comics so was intrigued about the game. A bit of a google has it being something of a 6 or 7 out of 10, but the gameplay elements sounded like a mix of the Sherlock Holmes games with the control system from Grim Fandango. That is my cup of tea, and it was on sale for around £6 on the PlayStation Store, worth a punt at least.

Available here* for PS4, Switch and Xbox

Tempest 4000 – PS4 / PS5

Although I bought this when it first came out on PC in 2018, I hadn’t spent so much time on it, preferring to stick to TxK on my PlayStation Vita (the greatest game of all time). Tempest 4000 is essentially the re-released version of TxK but with approval from Atari. There are some gameplay changes but it’s fundamentally very close. Anyway, fast-forward to 2022 and I was scrolling the ‘coming soon’ section on the Nintendo Switch store, where I spotted Tempest 4000 was being brought over. The Switch is definitely a good place for it if unlike me you actually play it handheld, and I bet it looks amazing on the new OLED screen version.

However. Much more exciting to me was then remembering that the game came out on both Xbox One and PS4, and playing that on the newer consoles would mean Tempest upscaled to 4K with auto HDR. A quick online search later, and I found the PS4 edition for £9.99 so I went with that. I think I’d have preferred the Xbox one, but for some reason that is still quite expensive. It’s a real treat playing this on the PS5, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with it.

This is the one* I picked up, still on sale for a tenner at time of writing. Easy recommend.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

February Games

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Poor impulse control strikes again in the pick ups, but still plenty of games played so I’ll count it as a win anyway.

Games completed this month

Blood & Truth – PSVR

Finally connected the PSVR up to the PlayStation 5, and went back and finished the Blood & Truth campaign. Still one of the best action games in VR, and looks even better driven by the PS5 rather than my old stock PS4. Using the PSVR with the PS5 is annoying though, I am definitely considering the PSVR 2 and its single cable connection.

I bought it digitally, but available from Amazon*

Dagon – PC VR

While I was in a VR mood I remembered hearing about this free VR game / experience on Steam. It’s only half an hour or so long, and is a mildly interactive retelling of the H.P. Lovecraft short story, Dagon. It was fun and nice to use the headset I have for my PC too. You can play it without VR as well, so worth a look for free if you’re interested.

Games played during February

Tales of Arise – PS5

Fully caught up in this now. Approaching 60 hours in and maybe nearing the endgame, although it’s a JRPG and it looks like I’ll still have a few things to do after. I appear to have gotten quite ahead of the JRPG support group though, and I could do with them catching up so was looking to play other things for a bit. Is the excuse I tell myself for spending a lot this month.

I’m playing on PS5, my friends are on PS4 and Xbox though and it seems like it’s great on them all. All formats are on this link*.

Tetris Effect Connected - February Games

Tetris Effect Connected – PSVR

Seemed rude not to play a bunch of this while I had the headset hooked up to the PS5. I still haven’t tried the new multiplayer modes though. I’ve heard good things about the Switch version of Tetris Effect, but I can’t imagine playing it not in VR.

I have this edition* although it is still on GamePass and playing on PC supports VR there too.

Rocket League – PS5

This has joined Worms W.M.D. as a regular multiplayer session, and while we continue to be dreadful, we still have a lot of fun. We tend to stick to casual matches though, those people on ranked are taking things too seriously…

SEGA Picross – Switch

Had a long weekend away in February and took along the Switch. Got back into this a bit but the puzzles are getting a bit trickier now. I think I’ll still drop into it from time to time, but gone are the early times of smashing through 10 puzzles in half an hour.

Sine Mora EX – Switch

The other game I played while traveling, it was quite nice to get back to Sine Mora. I last played this when it first came out on Xbox Live Arcade for the 360. It’s an interesting shooter, although in handheld mode some of the enemy bullets feel almost invisible. Not sure I’ll play much of it now I’m back, but I might return to it for future holidays.

I’ve got this physical version*, but it goes on sale digitally for less than a couple of quid.

Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series X

Bit of a spoiler for my pick up this month, but now I have the Series X I was keen to get back to Forza Horizon 5 and enjoy it in 4k at 60fps. Still my favourite racing game and now looking even better.

Destiny 2 Witch Queen – Xbox Series X

I haven’t bought the expansion yet, but did feel like checking it out on the new Xbox. So far I’ve just been enjoying the new story quests they’ve added to Free to Play but I may grab the DLC.

What’s been on the arcade?

The Ten Pence Arcade podcast extended the previous month’s game into February. I’d gone off “Up N Down” though so I had been playing a bit of 1942 on the cab. The new podcast game was announced towards the end of the month as “In the Hunt” though, so I’ve had a few credits on that too. It’s just as brutal as I remember it being on the Saturn. Maybe I’ll improve enough to make the leaderboards.

February Pick-ups

Xbox Series X

Here we are, the latest impulse purchase. Had got so used to them being impossible to find at RRP that when I spotted Currys had stock I just jumped straight in. I mostly went for the upgrade from my Series S because I haven’t been gaming much on the PC. The PlayStation 5 has become my platform of choice but I think that’s because everything just looked better than on the Series S. Decided to get the X to put them more on a level pegging. Pretty pleased with it so far and a friend bought the Series S from me which offset the cost a bit.

Pre-orders

Mario Kart Booster Pass

I couldn’t resist the prospect of more tracks for Mario Kart, and ShopTo have a good discount on the pre-order. Although this content is included in the Nintendo Online Expansion Pass, none of the other content appeals to me so for now this seemed the better option.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

January Games

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First of these for the New Year, and we’re off to a pretty good start. I completed some stuff. Granted, not as many as I did in December but still good going by my standards.

Games completed this month

Gorogoa – PC

Heard about this on a podcast a while back, I was interested in the idea of “solving puzzles by sliding pictures over each other”. Didn’t really visualise how it would work in practice though, and I forgot about it. Once again though, GamePass* to the rescue, the artwork is gorgeous and the puzzles very well designed. I think it might be best to play on a mobile device or a Switch with the touch screen, but I found it worked well enough on PC with a mouse. The whole game is only around 2 – 3 hours long which makes it a perfect fit for GamePass.

Unforeseen Incidents – Nintendo Switch

As evidenced by my Unforeseen Incidents review, I also completed this last month.

Games played during January

Final Fantasy VII Remake – PS5

Until I got distracted by the next game on this list, I was making decent progress on Final Fantasy VII Remake. I don’t have too much nostalgia for the original Final Fantasy VII, since back in the day my memory card corrupted not long after I made it onto the world map. However the characters and story are familiar, and it looks great. I’m probably only around 10 hours in, but I do want to come back and finish the game as it is on the list for 2022.

Available on Amazon*

Tales of Arise – PS5

It seems my 2022 blog did the job and my ex-wife picked this up in January as planned. I immediately dropped Final Fantasy as this is the game I wanted to be playing. Another of our friends is now playing as well so we have a JRPG support group. Enjoying it so far although the characters are a bit grumpy. Lots of owls though.

I’m playing on PS5, my friends are on PS4 and Xbox though and it seems like it’s great on them all. All formats are on this link*.

Animal Crossing New Horizons – Switch

Played on and off during January, still failed to catch a lobster and I think they’ve gone now till April. Oh well.

Traditional Amazon link*.

Aliens Fireteam Elite – PC

Prime GamePass fodder. Difficult to call this a great game, particularly on PC where it feels like a clunky console port. However, playing online with a couple of friends was good fun. We’ll probably play a couple more times before we move on to something else.

What’s been on the arcade?

In January my arcade play was mostly on SEGA’s Up N Down, the Ten Pence Arcade podcast monthly game. As much as I sort of enjoyed this, I really couldn’t get to grips with it and never really progressed beyond the second level. Next!

At the start of the year though I did pick up a proper amp and speakers for the cab and fitted those. I got them from the same place who supplied most of the components when I built the machine. The sound is much better now, although it does have a slight hum that I need to eradicate. Plenty of people seemed to have a similar problem with the Pi, so confident I can deal with it next time I have the cabinet open.

January Pick-ups

MYST & More Bundle – PC

Couldn’t resist grabbing this bundle of MYST goodness. Yes I did own all the games already, but my Steam library was missing MYST 3, 4 and Obduction, so at least I have them all in one place now…

Snowball!

My one purchase from the latest Steam sale, saw someone mention this little indie pinball game, would have been rude not to for 49p. It’s not on sale any more, but even full price it’s only £1.99. Worth a look if you dig Video Pinball like me.

ScummVM & RetroPie – RaspberryPi 3b+

Okay so this isn’t really a pick up as I owned it already, but I wasn’t sure where else to put it. As I mentioned in my Unforeseen Incidents review, I had intended to play the classic Point and Click game Discworld this year. As an alternative to using the Saturn version (which I found out doesn’t support the mouse) I decided to use one of the RaspberryPi 3b+ models I had spare so I could still play on my TV using a mouse.

I’ve basically just installed the usual RetroPie and setup ScummVM to play Discworld and a selection of other games supported by the engine. As a bonus I’ve also started configuring DosBox to run a some other games of a similar era, mostly other Point and Click games not otherwise supported by ScummVM. And Jazz Jackrabbit, because why not.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

December Games

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Rounding out the year by finishing 4 (well more like 3) games. Finished with a more respectable total.

Games completed this month

Spider-Man: Miles Morales – PS5

Think I enjoyed this more than the main Spider-Man game. Granted it is much shorter, but also had a lot less of the open-world ‘busy work’ that I find tedious. Also helped that it’s all set in a snowy December, probably the first time I’ve really been impressed by ray-tracing, the night levels look great.

This* is the edition I picked up, it’s a bit more expensive than I found it for on eBay though.

Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series S & PC

I think I ‘finished’ this in November, but forgot I’d achieved the Hall of Fame space that marked the end of the story. Wanted to include it so it didn’t get missed altogether, but I will be spending more time with the game anyway.

Best way to get this is still to buy GamePass*

Unpacking – PC

A pretty short game, took around two hours to play through in one sitting. It’s a very satisfying “putting things away” sim, but with a lot of heart. Very much enjoyed my time with it, and it is definitely worth a look. Specially if you have GamePass.

Again, buy GamePass*

Cthulhu Saves Christmas – Switch

After finishing Miles Morales I was ready for another Christmas themed game and this was on sale on the Switch eShop for less than a fiver. Another short one at only 4 or so hours, but it was a lot of fun.

Games played during December

Animal Crossing New Horizons – Switch

Played quite a lot throughout December, enjoying the snow and festive activity. After only managing one perfect snowman out of 5 attempts though I gave up on that part.

Traditional Amazon link*.

Duke Nukem 3D: World Tour – PS Vita

Had a bit of an itch to play the Christmas expansion pack for Duke, Nuclear Winter. I’d forgotten that it’s missing from the “Megaton” edition that came out a few years after this World Tour – 20th Anniversary one. So after firing up my Switch and discovering the version I have on there doesn’t have Nuclear Winter, I dug out my PS Vita and played a bit on there instead.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Switch

Of course it wouldn’t be Christmas without some local multiplayer and a few rounds of Mario Kart. Essential.

You don’t have this* already? For shame.

What’s been on the arcade?

With all the Christmas going on, I haven’t been on the cabinet as much. I did play a fair bit of Super Pang for the Ten Pence Arcade game of the month, which is excellent. However I didn’t play enough to really improve my score so I’m going to be disappointed by the leaderboard I think.

December Pick-ups

Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1 – Switch

A Christmas gift from my sister, I’ve had my eye on this for a while. I loved my Neo Geo Pocket Color, receiving it for Christmas the year it launched in the UK. This compilation plays perfectly with 10 of the games that are not available to play anywhere else. The fighting games and Metal Slug ports are worth it, but had been available separately from the Switch store. The real star here for me is Neo Turf Masters, one of my favourite ever golf games.

Amazon link* if you were interested in this one, it’s a solid collection but it’ll help if you have some familiarity with the system already.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

November Games

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Well look at that, I finished something, and also unsurprisingly played an awful lot of Forza Horizon 5.

Games completed this month

Control: Ultimate Edition – PS5

Pleased to say I managed to push on and finish this. There were only a couple of times I got stuck on a fight and they didn’t last for too long. There is still plenty to do if I want to go back, but for now I’m happy to have finished the main story. I do at least want to play through the Alan Wake content in the DLC, but that will be for the New Year.

The physical edition of the version I’m playing is available here from Amazon*, although I have it digitally. I think the Xbox and PC editions are solid too, although I heard the older consoles struggled a bit with the framerate.

Games played during November

Animal Crossing New Horizons – Switch

Played a bit with the new content to open my coffee shop but not the hours I was expecting. Bring on snow.

Back 4 Blood – Xbox Series S – GamePass

This was oddly disappointing. While it is no doubt a good game, and a worthy spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, it’s so close to Left 4 Dead, that I felt like I’d seen it all before. Glad I didn’t need to buy it, in no rush to play any more of it.

Here* for all the main platforms if you want to buy it. I wouldn’t though.

Quake – Xbox Series S – GamePass

This has been great fun. Playing through the expansion packs in online co-op with a mate. Still remains one of the best games of all-time.

Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series S & PC

This turned out to be almost everything I hoped for, and once again replaces the previous entry as my favourite yet. I’ve put quite a lot of time in already, my only disappointment (and I think many are sharing this) is that the multiplayer is still broken. It never really worked that well in Horizon 4, I hope it gets a robust update to repair that. I should push on and do the last couple of big races though to ‘complete’ the story.

Best way to get this is still to buy GamePass*

What’s been on the arcade?

A fantastic month on the arcade. The game of the month from Ten Pence Arcade was Lode Runner, which turned out to be great so I played that a lot. Also my buddy Ross managed to visit for a few hours, and along with taking it in turns for Lode Runner credits, we also played a few other games including Robotron 2084 and some two player Raiden II.

November Pick-ups

Miles Morales – PS5

Found a bargain copy of this on eBay, so I could play it once I finished Control. Looking forward to getting onto it next.

This* is the edition I picked up, it’s a bit more expensive than I found it for on eBay though.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

Games completed this month

Open Roads – Xbox Series X

Dredge: The Pale Reach – Xbox Series X

SEGA Fighting Games – Xbox 360 / Series X

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum – Xbox 360 / Series X

Who Shot Johnny Rock? – Arcade / Pi4

Games played during August

Returnal – PS5

Tatsunoko vs Capcom Ultimate All-Stars – Wii / SteamDeck

Tekken 7 – Xbox Series X

Raiden V – Xbox Series X

Forza Motorsport – Xbox Series X

CYGNI – PC

Geometry Wars 3 – Vita & PS4/5

What’s been on the arcade?

Games purchased this month

2TB Storage Expansion for Xbox

Games retired in August

World of Warcraft – PC

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Games completed this month

Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure – Xbox Series X

Vampire Survivors: Tides of the Foscari – Xbox Series X

Games played during April

Tell Me Why – Xbox Series X

Gears 5 – Xbox Series X

Dead Cells – Xbox Series X

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Xbox Series X

Octopath Traveller 2 – PlayStation 5

Turtles Shredder’s Revenge – Xbox Series X

Street Fighter 6 Demo – PlayStation 5

What’s been on the arcade?

Pick ups during April

Arcade Components

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Games completed this month

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – Xbox Series X

Dead Cells & Queen and the Sea DLC – Xbox Series X

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania – Xbox Series X

Games played during March

Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure – Xbox Series X

Super Bomberman R – Xbox Series X

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Xbox Series X

What’s been on the arcade?

Pick ups during March

Dragon Ball FighterZ – Xbox Series X

Octopath Traveller 2 – PlayStation 5

Hori Fighting Stick Alpha – Xbox Series X

Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 – Xbox Series X

Tetris Effect PS5 Update – PlayStation 5

Super Street Fighter IV – Xbox Series X

Games abandoned this month

Harvestella – Nintendo Switch

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Games completed this month

Dead Cells – Xbox Series X

Games played during February

Task Force Kampas

Harvestella – Nintendo Switch

Gears 5 – Xbox Series X

Dragon Ball FighterZ – Xbox Series X

Injustice 2 – PS5

Hot Wheels Unleashed – Xbox Series X

Vampire Survivors – Xbox Series X

Neo Pocket Color Collection Vol 1 – Match of the Millennium

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon – Nintendo Switch

What’s been on the arcade?

Pick ups during February

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – Xbox Series X

House of Ashes – PlayStation 5

Strange Horticulture – Nintendo Switch

Arcade Stick – Nintendo Switch

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Games completed this month

Guardians of the Galaxy – Xbox Series X

Life is Strange – True Colors – Xbox Series X