It's nice to be back in the Yakuza content hole with Ishin. Beyond the new batch of activities (udon slinging, dancing, farming), it's also an incredibly weird piece of fanservice(?) due to the returning actors. Shibusawa is...just chill now?

The Quest Mode of Deception 4 was a nice way to cap off my marathon. It's comprised of 100 challenge puzzles that include TRAP BATTLES with previous heroines. It's the sort of thing where you can tell the designers had fun pushing the mechanics further.

Deception 4 really upped the skill ceiling to a ridiculous degree, to the point where it makes me feel dumb at times. But not as dumb as the game itself, holy shit is it stupid and horny in the best possible way. Image related.

I think Deception 3 is my favourite so far. They actually gave the heroine a personality and the presentation ain't bad. Also, trap progression is horizontal now, so you don't have to waste money just to get what you want. Onto 4!

I got very cold after donating blood today and felt a bit sick, making me feel very immersed in Metro Exodus. Would not recommend. Though it did cause my brain to short out so I shot a guy on a ladder in the ass like 8 times with steel balls.

He turned himself into a fighter jet. Funniest shit I've ever seen.

It was imoressive to see that Deception 2 nailed almost every single aspect of the formula that made it into Trapt. This one is harder though, making it feel more like a survival game thanks to some jank. But the corner strategy still work!

Deception 1 is King's Field as fuck, so I was perfectly eqipped to enjoy its janky charm. It has some fun ideas about progression systems, but is very unbalanced in the player's favour. Made for some good satanic Pokémon though.

Having not tried Deception before, I found Trapt quite inspired. It's a minimalistic tactical RPG centered around using traps in real time to murder invaders in brutal/silly combos of absurd mayhem. Gonna see what the rest of the series has to offer.

Van Helsing was decent, but the Ghost Rider game kicks ass. Instead of merely being a GoW clone, it takes in mechanics from DMC and Onimusha as well, making it a sort of best-of for PS2 games. Also, there were demon clowns on unicycles.

While I was being facetious earlier, Van Helsing is totally a more worthy successor to DMC1 than DMC2. It's jank as hell, but has a story, tons of bosses, challenge despite the gun focus and even three rival battles with Dracula!

Only the finest in retro gaming makes its way into my collection these days. Gotta know how Ghost Rider stacks up to Van Helsing. No idea why the Homecoming package had a receipt for condoms in it though.

I was hesitant to play Haven: Call of the King but while it isn't good, it was an interesting game. It's riddled with cool ideas that got nowhere enough polish. It feels like bizarro Jak & Daxter with some remarkable tech behind it.

As if to punish me for daring to pay someone else to build my PC for me, installing my Avermedia capture card was a herculean task. It died after 15 seconds of use and then it bluescreened my PC and died even harder. But now it works!

It's been a long journey, but I finally got my hands on the true Devil May Cry 2. Viewtiful Joe PS2 and SMT 3 Nocturne threw me off the scent, not to mention that weird game with zombie tanks and helicopters. But now I have it!

Holy shit, Limit Breaker just doesn't stop topping himself. The editing on display here was immaculate, the humor too. I somehow learned one more piece of useless data about DS2 as well, even after all these years.

My endless quest for survival-horror games brought me to Cursed Mountain. It's an ok time with a neat setting, but it feels like knock-off Fatal Frame with waggle controls. The combat had some depth, but the game just drowns you in enemies.

P5 Strikers was delightful. It's derivative of the main game, but being shorter and more difficult made what's there so much easier to enjoy. I also really liked the more tragic theming and all the metal remixes in the soundtrack.

I got my fill of Burning Shores. I wouldn't call it a must-play, but it rounds out the game a fun way and showcases some new ideas that I presume will make Horizon 3 even more of a behemoth super game. I assume they'll go all-in on destruction physics.

The higher level cap of the DLC was enough for me to go out and clear out the basegame of Forbidden West for the Platinum. The new stun grapple move does wonders for the combat. And by abusing the drop rate option I got my gear all prepped for DLC. :D

The Trails anime was very middling and rushed, with a couple of bright spots, like a few returning English VAs. I wasn't expecting much, but the series anime curse continues. At least it had every single conceivable cameo possible?

Disco Elysium Log #12: It's done. The case is solved, but that's not important. What is important is that this is a game about anger, neglect, sadness and the ability to overcome all that to live. Like a spiritual enema laced with pre-war alcohol.

No, I did not buy it for the meme. The first game was cool and I have vague memories of playing the demo of this around 2007. Might make for a good time? I'll report back.

My super early impressions of P5 Strikers are really good. It's so nice to have these characters in a slimmer plot without all the social sim bullshit. Megan Taylor (Towa from Cold Steel) voicing the new character is also nice.

My craving for PS2 action games never fades, so I played through Genji. In the grand canon of parry-based samurai games it holds up pretty well! Having your super move be a callout that locks you in a showdown is such a good idea.