You should watch The Lodger (1944)

The Lodger is a parallel story, or is it, to Jack the Ripper about a man with an assumed name moving into a room in a house owned by a husband and wife and their adult actress daughter. It's moody, creepy, and evocative with  camerawork that puts you in the heart of the action and great sound design that reminds me of Italian giallo movies from the 70's. It's also somehow a musical and fans of Disney animation from the 60's will be happy with the casting choice of one of the leads. 

8 out of 10

Witch's Pranks: Frog's Fortune CE Review

 It's not often I can't wait to get home to play something these oh so jaded days. For some reason this is the one that did it for me. I don't know if it was the pleasing art or that I was able to make progress in the little bit of time I had to plays this in. So, if you like goofy and cute read on even if you are a gamer tm, branch out and have fun. 

 WP:FFCE has one of the worst names but it is kind of par for the course in the Hidden Object world which this game is most like. I say most like because it heavily leans on Adventure game logic and moving around to different scenes much like old ZX Spectrum games would back in the day. You'll end up traveling through a mirror to different inventive and frankly stunning worlds trying to transform frog princes back to just princes and probably have it completed in under 4 hours.

My only complaints are the fmv footage is fuzzy and stutters like an old PS1 game and I wish it had one more story in it since they didn't make any more of these. 

10 out of 10

Signalis - Review

This is the game I would tell me to play if they have never played a horror game before. It's such a good example of doing everything right and not doing the things that drag this genre down. It has just the right amount of gunplay but also let's you run around and not kill most things. It's perfect for Halloween. 

10 out of 10

Below is unfakeable proof my Tiktok video on Signalis had 666 views. 

Endless Fables: The Minotaur's Curse (Review)

 I will start with the positive and then go to the negative because the positive is very good and I don't want you to run away. The puzzles in Endless Fables are very well done. They are challenging but also extremely well laid out with lots of variety and they won't bore you. 

Okay, now let's talk about the constantly getting stuck because everything looks the same and oh my god I've been here thirty times already I'm just going to click hint, oh I'm in the wrong place, I'll just go back a screen and I'm still in the wrong place. This game likes to make the walking around it's world a slog. 

Also, FMV graphical issues due to how old it is I'm guessing. Basically, they were blurry and hard to make out even when they weren't blurry. Outside of Fmv problems the game was par the course for the time with good art that you can mostly make out.

Now story was fairly boring to me and not the least bit compelling. I was constantly trying to remember where this game even started and how we got here and should I care. 

5 out of 10

Endless Fables 3: Dark Moor (Review)

 Well, well, we'll, if it isn't my old friend HOPA. How are you my addictive but also low effort pal? Good let's begin.

If you like hidden object games than I will cut to the chase and say this one of them and it's very nicely paced and not too long, especially the second story. It's got good voice acting and great art. It's not too hard except for one very long and annoying puzzle that begged for the skip puzzle button and after 20 minutes I obliged. I knew how to solve it but at that point I couldn't be bothered to go through the paces on it. Big also here, I need these games to either let me go back to collect everything or let me know I missed something before I leave an area.

For people that don't like these kind of games stay away but for us weirdos this a solid one.

9 out of 10

Pinball FX - Swords of Fury (DLC)

 I love this table and I don't even play it right. It's my zen friend that I can go to and camp in the top left with my little flipper slapping the bad guys in the face over and over. Multiball is fairly easy to start even if I drain them almost immediately and most of the shots are fairly easy to hit as well. Everything has a weight to it like a great beat em up. It's like if Conan was a pinball table.

10💪 out of 10💪

Pinball FX 2023 (Steam Review)

 I am a big fan of Pinball FX from the beginning playing the first one on Xbox 360 and I had high hopes for this one being a more refined version of Pinball FX 3 but it's a different beast altogether. Let me elaborate.

I stayed away from the game until recently because of the not being on Steam thing and the not letting us move previously purchases tables to the new version. Making the decision to jump back in was fairly easy once I decided to only purchase tables I didn't already own and truth be told I'm probably going to stick with that until they decide to make the ball physics more accurate to real life. Dead balls are a major problem.

With that laid out, now I'm going to list some of the things this does right and then complain a lot.

Things that are good:

The events are really good and even if you don't have the tables listed for the events you can still play some of them and earn decorations and skins.

The game feels more grounded with a ball that floats around the field less.

Things that are not good:

Ball physics that make you lose a ball because the game decided to Bork your progress.

The menus are a big step back from the Pinball FX 3 and I find myself getting very lost with where things are placed and when I earn something I have no clue what it will be listed as which means I am left going to random areas and clicking until I find the thing I just received. 

Unless I'm really wrong, the amount of challenges on each table has been extremely simplified to the point of turning everything into a high score race which doesn't interest me. I want to do all the fun things on the table not do three things over and over until I have a top score. One of my favorite tables is in this game and I see know reason to play it once I get the last two items I need from it.

With that said I give Pinball FX 2022-23 

7/10

Deadloch (2023)

 Wow, that was a ride! I think I might have accused almost half the cast of being the killer along the way but we finally got there in the end. That's not normally how this goes for me, I typically am way ahead of the detectives and banging my head against the wall waiting for everyone to catch up. 

Deadloch is built different. It's somehow a comedy, a mystery, and a drama all at the same time mixed with social commentary and a violent horror movie. It's amazing and balances everything quite perfectly. 

Now for me to vaguely talk about plot. A sleepy coastal town is turning quickly into a haven for people with progressive values is shaken by a dead body found on the beach. Small town politics threaten to derail the investigation all while a new detective is sent in to help.

I can't say this hard enough, this is one of the funniest show I have ever seen and it would be a shame for this to not do well especially because it is streaming on Amazon Prime and most of us have Prime. So go watch it. 

A small review of each Game Boy game on Nintendo Switch Online

 Alone in the Dark The New Nightmare

I forgot how good this one is. It controls very fluidly and I might prefer it to some other survival horror games of its time. The fact that it plays so well still should make you try it if you haven't before

Game & Watch Gallery 3

This one I don't know if it was really necessary to put here at this point. Probably later would make more sense. If you like Game and Watch games this one's got a bunch more in it than the 5 games it lists on the front of the box.

Gargoyle's Quest

Great hard vertical and horizontal platformer that you should try or replay if you've tried previously. It's a spin off Ghosts and Goblins where you control Firebrand and try to survive. 

Kirby's Dreamland

Very short and sweet Kirby game that lacks the ability copying part. Almost an alpha version of what it became. Still very fun though. 

Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

Its the remake that was remade later. Classic Zelda highly recommended. 

Metroid II

It's the last Metroid before Super Metroid. Still spooky and hard.

Super Mario Land 2

I wish the first one was here but there is still a ton to like about the sequel. Better platforming, graphics, and control. And it still holds up. 

Tetris

Don't really understand why this is here. It's just Tetris, I'm guessing nostalgia but there are tons of games that would have been better choices. 

Wario Land 3

Super deep platformer with some puzzle elements. You are Wario and mostly can't die. Wish they would do more like this. 

I bought 24 QubicGames published games for 50¢ each

QubicGames had, and is still having, a massive sale. If you owned one of their games you could buy almost any of their other games for. 50 cents US a piece. So I running out of Switch stuff to play jumped on that deal and decided to review every game I bought so that the next time the deal is going on you can grab the best ones. So without further a dudes here are my findings. 

Bit.Trip Beat

Tried this with the motion controls and hated it. Switched them off and liked it a ton more. It's a long kind of game with great music. Tons of stuff to do and well balanced.

9 out of 10

Bit.Trip Core

No thank you. Not for me. My brain can't handle it but it seems like a lot of people would like this. You are controlling rays of light that you turn on to intercept small dots but I can't get it going for very long at all. 

7 out of 10

Bit.Trip Fate

A unique track based shoot em up with lots of dodging. Such a good concept that should be revisited. 

10 out of 10

Bit.Trip Flux

It's a reverse Bit.Trip Beat. Literally, just move up and down on the right side if the screen and intercept the blips that come from the left. 

9 out of 10

Bit.Trip Runner

Excellent level based endless runner that is extremely difficult but I know if I knuckled down I could eventually get through a lot of it. 

10 out of 10

Bit.Trip Void

So fun, I could see playing this avoid em up and gather em up. I don't know what to call it but I like it. Give this a try. 

10 out of 10

Chex Quest HD

A great paced FPS that is a remake of the first game in the series only, but what is here is very fun and controls well. The single player is 5 levels long and each one has very well hidden secrets to find. I was not able to play the multiplayer. 

Single player rating 10 out of 10

Coffee Crisis

Where do I start, I think this might be better on a TV just can't wrap my head around it in handheld mode. All I keep doing is getting pummeled by the computer. Feels very Weaponlord, as in it seems like it was built for people that play brawlers on the top difficulty. Also, a little stilted with the movement. 

Going to come back to this a bunch to see the great art more and see where it goes story wise. 

6 out of 10

Doorkickers

I did not like this. It feels like a slow puzzle version of Hot Line Miami with controls that just don't work for me and coupled with the timer that is way too restrictive to how I want to play this. 

5 out of 10

Dungeon Top

Not for me. Roguelike deck builder for people that like deck builders. And Roguelike. If that's you, you should give it a go. 

7 out of 10

Escape Doodland

Very hard endless runner style game with set goals and many unlockables that I am absolutely terrible at. Great art and fairly smooth game play that makes for an approachable game that the difficulty spikes through the ground. I most likely won't be playing anymore of it but I could see a lot of people really enjoying this if they gave it a chance. 

7 out of 10

Good Night Knight

Okay, I like this one. It's giving Sega Genesis with graphics and the odd line of sight fog of war vision system. Top down Zelda mixed with Dark Souls mechanics. Play this. 

10 out of 10

Mini Trains

It's a shallow puzzle game with a very confusing gui. The game is played by placing track to link the start and end stations and to collect stars. That's pretty much it. Purchase if you like puzzle games but skip if you just like trains. 

3 out of 10

Om Nom Run

A party game endless runner with a really great single player mode. The single player has a bunch of levels to play and I could see doing all of it. 

8 put of 10

Pocket Mini Golf (paid full price)

A very limited mini golf Simulator. You have three modes casual, challenge, and multiplayer

2 out of 10

Pocket Mini Golf 2

It's more mini golf but done extremely well. Where were you hiding. Excellent single player with tons of trophies to unlock. 

10 out of 10

Pocket Pool

Way better than Pocket Mini Golf but not as good as it's sequel but maybe it doesn't need to be. The challenge mode is a very cozy and measured experience that I could see coming back to again and again. 

9 out of 10

Pudding Monsters

Wow this is a great puzzle game. Just figure out how to combine the monsters so they end up covering the stars. 

10 out of 10

Puzzle Book

A bog standard jigsaw puzzle game with great art and dlc for even more great art. The actual jigsaw design and mechanics are what pull this down to average. If you like jigsaw games you will like this if not skip it. It will not convert non believers. 

4 out of 10

Rimelands

It's a tactical rpg with very dated style. Okay, this pushed me away but it eventually showed it's janky colors and I really enjoyed playing this.

9 out of 10

Robonauts

Remember Super Mario Galaxy, you want to do that but 2d and with guns. I don't like the chaos of the amount of spawning enemies so this is not for me. But you may like this one. 

9 out of 10

Run Sausage Run

It's a fun party game with a decent single player experience. That I enjoy the single player multitudes more should say something about the multiplayer. Mainly the game needs tons of players or 1 player nothing in between. 

7 out of 10

Sheep Patrol

It's a sheep herding puzzle game. No menu when you start and obviously made for mobile which to me means a lack of control.

3 out of 10

Space Pioneer 

Kind of a real time strategy slash action rpg with a lot of rpg then you think. It's pretty good fun. Oh and it has kind of a cool stamina system. 

9 out of 10

Timothy and the Mysterious Forest

I hated this stealth game about trying to save your grandfather. Even though it has great Game Boy style graphics their I two major flaws the movement was the thing that caused me the most trouble and after I got more used to that I got into a cycle of dying over and over because having save points instead of just letting me save where ever I wanted was causing me tons of problems. 

2 Out of 10

I hope this helps you pick some fun games for not much money. 

I bought WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS for 99 cents and here is a small review

The extremely long named baseball game that I refuse to type out came out from Konami today. And I picked it up for next to nothing.

I'll start with the major thing, I'm sure this was made for multi-player but at this point I can't get online to test it so I played a bunch of the single player game in hopes I would be able to at least give somewhat of an idea on how it plays. 

The batting and pitching are excellent if a little hard even on easier settings so practice is helpful but I'm sure it's different for competing online. You can play a single game or tournament mode and you can do it with your custom team. I didn't go in to a bunch of the custom stuff but it looked quite impressive. 

The game is extremely inexpensive for how good it plays, I only hope the online lives up to the single player.

Single player only rating

9 out of 10

UnderDungeon is Amazing - Review

This game is so good and I heard absolutely nothing about it. It's close Zelda with the aesthetic of Minit and kind of hard but in the way that when you die it's your own fault.

You are a cat and you are delivering packages which leads to you solving problems for the package receivers.

There I put a short synapsis of the game up now go play it.

You're still here, um... 

100 out of 100

Now come back after you've played it so I can list some cons. 

My main problem is it's too easy to use your sub items, kind of wish it was left stick in and B was to run. And to a lesser extent the main character can get lost on the screen but that is a small price to pay for a real cute game.

100 out of 100

Sidebar - Lost Childhood Games

Sidebars might be a semi regular thing on this here blog especially when I'm working all week and don't have time to play much of anything. And this sidebar is on games from our childhoods that are lost to our fleeting memories.

I have a holy grail game that I've tried to find for years. I can't remember the name and I know it was most likely a DOS adventure game most likely from the late 80s early 90s. If I'm remembering this right you played as a cursor, like when you type something into a computer, and walked around a castle trying to find something to give to a knight who would not let you pass. The knight had a portrait when you talked to him. And that's all I can remember.

I still have hope for finding it even with the little I can remember about it because of the below story. 

I had a Commodore 64 and a bunch of games on 5 1/4 floppy disks and one of those games was one no one that I shared the house with remembered. I would look for it constantly for years until I stumbled on a screenshot on Google while looking for something else, but once I saw I knew what I had stumbled upon. It was a 3D version of Pac-Man, unlicensed and called 3D Pac Man and it scared the crap out of me and probably led to me falling in love with survival horror 

Which is why I always have hope because if I can find that game how does my holy grail game have any chance. 

ParaMonsters and the Haunted Escape Room (Review)

It's only my second review and I'm already breaking the rules of sticking to the backlog games. But I have a good reason. Hardly anyone has played this and it's very cute and Halloweeny. Yeah I'm using that not real but so real it hurts word, Halloweeny.

ParaMonsters is a short point and click adventure game mostly set in a haunted escape room that has you controlling the leader of a paranormal club. Did I mention all the characters are monsters.  You walk from room to room solving small puzzles until... 

You can purchase the game on Windows at the link below. 

https://moonmetrodigital.itch.io/paramonsters

85 out of 100

Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan (Review)

Content warning (Death of a Parental Figure) 

My grandmother died while I was playing through the game and that may have influenced my not liking some things in Rainbow Billy that I might have otherwise liked if I wasn't going through what I was going through at the time

Rainbow Billy is a turn based RPG where you and friends you make along the journey try to befriend different creatures around the world in an attempt to turn the world back to color after Leviathan thrust it into black and white.

You move around the game trying to figure out what each creature is weak to by listening to them and talking through things they bring up. At the same time you are playing friends from a deck trying to discover through trial and error what symbols the creature you are trying to befriend is weak to. It's a great system with a glaring problem: the deck of friends does not have a limit which means you can't structure it for a specific situation and some battles ended up with me discarding my hand three or four times in a row just get the last symbol I needed to finish the battle. 

It has great moments throughout as you peel back parts of an overarching story which I won't give any away but I feel like it's important to say that the trigger warning should apply to not only this review. Those moments are spread out well but are obscured by the sheer amount of dialogue from all of the friends each having small storyline of their own. I could see two paths to fix this either cut down the amount of creatures you befriend or have less dialogue all together. 

With all that being said, if this is your cup of tea or you can look past the cons I've pointed out, you owe to yourself to play Rainbow Billy.

90 out of 100