Even for a retro-apologist like me, £35 is a big ask for seven previous Arcade Archives releases that you’re already likely to have several of if Taito Milestones interests you, and three that haven’t made that cut yet. Agreed. Also got an Egret II Mini coming... Same. Not to mention the trackball ...

Even for a retro-apologist like me, £35 is a big ask for seven previous Arcade Archives releases that you’re already likely to have several of if Taito Milestones interests you, and three that haven’t made that cut yet.

I’ve finally moved on from over a month learning to play Mushihimesama on Switch to another classic Cave bullet-hell shooter, Espgaluda II, on there. I was clearing novice mode in a single credit pretty consistently before too long, so I’ve jumped to the original version and it’s a thrill ride! Amaz...

Alex79 wrote: ↑April 2nd, 2022, 8:22 am I don't really like Caelid as an area. Not the way it looks, not the way it sounds, not the enemies.

That's all.

Ha ha. I’m the opposite with how it looks and sounds. My favourite area! Just wish it wasn’t quite so dangerous so I could enjoy it a bit more.

Finally decided to have a go at Elden Ring’s second big boss after too long being a coward, which I’m now back to doing again but in a more dangerous area! Think I’m now done with total focus on bullet-hell beauty Mushihimesama, and ready to do the same with Espgaluda II, which felt great from the l...

3 Mar: Batsugun (Arcade) 6 Mar. Far Changing Tides (Xbox Series X) 12 Mar: Prehistoric Isle 2 (Arcade) 17 Mar: The Mandarin (Amstrad CPC) 26 Mar: Buggy Boy (Atari ST) 30 March: Mushihimesama (Arcade on Switch) Decided to challenge myself with original Batsugun rather than the more welcoming Special ...

I never did get off the fence about this, even now, months after finishing it! Unlike its predecessor, movement felt good in the main, but there were times where the camera went a bit old school and dampened my enthusiasm for the more complex platform areas. Apart from boss fights, combat was unnece...

I’ve mostly been flitting between Elden Ring on Xbox and Mushihimesama on Switch this week. I like both even more than I did last week and the week before! I did try F1 2021 too though, which just arrived on Game Pass. First impressions were good, especially with its career mode, but, like its prede...

Same. Weird West looks cool. Also noticed it’s on Game Pass too, which is a bonus!

Mostly Elden Ring! Notes full of stuff to do, drawing maps, studying how to level stuff up, working out how to use a hundred different upgrade item types… even had a good time playing it too! I’m about 25 hours in and it’s still remarkable, it’s becoming slightly less bewildering, and I’ve finally b...

When The Cuphead Show arrived on Netflix recently and was as good as it was, it was inevitable that I’d be going back to the sadistic, surreal and absolutely stunning game that spawned it, and I still hate it just as much as I love it! The brutal difficulty is just how I remembered, but I was a bit ...

Can you play all six on level 1 in this version? I’ve ordered the completely unnecessary collector’s edition so I’m still waiting! I thought you could only choose 1 and 2 twice in the original but 3 was unlimited. Anyway, regardless that means front-loading it so the first stages are more difficult...

This was my first experience of Cloud gaming when it arrived on Switch, and I was mostly curious about the tech over the game itself. Unfortunately it wasn’t my first experience of motion sickness in a game, but was about the worst outside of VR, and there was no way I could see it through. Possibly...

I couldn’t take poring over reviews and videos and getting started guides anymore and ordered the Elden Ring Launch Edition before it became any harder to come by - my justification for being too weak-minded to wait for my work bonus to hopefully arrive at the end of this month as was originally pla...

I only started playing Far: Changing Tides because it’s new on Game Pass this week, but wow! I’ve really enjoyed its meditative, melancholic, post-apocalyptic puzzling, which is incredibly hard to put down, especially when you’ve just worked out what’s been staring you right in the face for the last...

Jeff Minter was definitely the first game developer I ever heard of, and through my time with the VIC-20 and Commodore 64, his name was as good a reason to buy a game as a screenshot on the back of the box. My first encounter was the 1982 Gridrunner on VIC-20, bought on a trip to the exotic Hitchin ...

My brother didn’t have many games for his Mega Drive, but I reckon this would still have been the highlight even if he had! No idea how many dozens of hours we spent playing Virtua Racing on there, but my Switch tells me I’ve played that version for over seventy, and I’d say about half of that was w...

I think I’m ready to move on from focussing so much attention on arcade schmup masterclass Batsugun, not that I’m ever likely to leave it alone for long now I’ve found it, properly tuned into it over the course of this month, and can now consistently see the end in a respectable handful of credits. ...

Thankfully, you can see a fair bit of the game on 1 credit if you set all the stages to level 1 difficulty. I don't want to set it quite down to 1. I feel like that's kind of admitting defeat. I'd like to practice and try and get a bit better at it. Can you play all six on level 1 in this version? ...

Hanging out in Stardew Valley and (admittedly bizarrely!) the streets of Silent Hill 2 or the amusement park in Silent Hill 3 - specifically the rollercoaster operator’s hut! Increasingly bullet-hell shoot ‘em ups too, which can create a zen state of mind comparable to an angler staring at his float...