Author: JC (Page 1 of 67)

YouTube find: XPLovecat

While searching YouTube for Cyberpunk Red videos, reviews, and guides I came across a video by XPLovecat, and enjoyed her relaxed and low-key video style. She has posted a wide variety of videos, including reviews, gaming tips, and character design guides. She is also a fellow cancer survivor, and that of course makes me happy to see her doing well and continuing to be involved in her channel and this wonderful hobby. Go watch and subscribe!

Jesus Revolution

I was pleasantly surprised by Jesus Revolution, to say the least. I haven’t seen many (if any?) Christianity-focused movies before, and I was unsure going into the theater if I would get much out of it, if anything. There are parts of this movie that are emotional, moving, and introspective. It struck a good balance between actual events and the effect of Christ, church, spirituality, and religion on several people in various walks of life, all presented in a more dramatic manner as one would expect in a movie. It was nice to see how people changed, including teens and parents. I liked how it showed that it’s an ongoing process; finding Christ isn’t simply a one-and-done solution. Both internally through prayer, bible reading, and worship, alongside working with and helping others at church and elsewhere.

itch.io finds: March 2023

Church of Stratum (Prologue)

From Break Even Games, developer of my favorite pick from last month Northwood Legacy, comes another prologue/demo puzzle Church of Stratum. Featuring similarly-gorgeous graphics and atmosphere, this was a fun game to play. There were a couple parts that I got stuck and had to refer to the play-through video, but otherwise I got through it on my own. The ending is very sudden and a little lackluster, mostly because I was not ready to stop playing and wanted more!

Contemp

A short exploration of a seemingly-abandoned house, Contemp features very nice graphics and sound design. The design of the house was really good and felt very cramped and claustrophobic. Like Church of Stratum, I was left wanting much more of this game!

Dead Containment

I have always been terrible at on-rail shooters, but Dead Containment is a lot of fun!

Feet in the Snow

A wonderfully eerie and strange adventure game, Feet in the Snow is a really nice change of pace from other games, as it certainly takes its time and I would recommend really looking around each scene/screen.

INVITATIONEM

A very intriguing and creepy point-and-click, INVITATIONEM is genuinely one of the scariest games I’ve played in a good while. Running the game in-browser worked ok, but I’d really like to see an updated native application for it. The puzzles and inventory management worked really well and never got in the way.

Mooshie’s Kitchen

The greatest PC game ever created: it is not Half-Life, not Left 4 Dead, not Doom. It is Mooshie’s Kitchen. Go play it.

Re Watch

A short but very interesting and haunting experience, Re Watch really impressed me. The ending will definitely hit you hard, provided you’re not a soul-less zombie.

Rooted in Darkness

A very short but enjoyable and atmospheric game, Rooted in Darkness deserves more time and development to bring us more!

Security Booth

Although very short, Security Booth was a lot of fun and definitely left me wanting more. I liked the concept, and there was quite a bit of tension while waiting for the next car and odd sounds coming up.

Shiver

A fun adventure with only a few quirks of pixel-hunting and trying different item combinations, Shiver really impressed me. There was a little bit of backtracking, but overall it was a good length and would work great as a prologue or part 1 for a larger game.

SUB

A fun and different take on a lidar game, SUB has a beautiful atmosphere and music as you explore and fire off the sonar rays.

VHS Slaughter

A fun scary game similar to other “normal boring jobs interrupted” games, VHS Slaughter does take its time before the strange and scary things start to appear. The only disappointment is the ending; you’re given two choices, to call either the police or the number of the abductor. The former will get you killed, while the latter just abruptly ends the game.

Artwork find: Brian Kotzky

Both the Hardy Boys Casefiles and Christopher Pike books were a huge part of my childhood and a reason I continued to enjoy reading through my teens and up until the present. Like anyone else, of course, I can’t help but judge a book by its cover. Luckily, both series had an incredible cover artist for most of their books that instantly drew in younger and older readers alike: Brian Kotzky. The son of comic illustrator Alex Kotzky, Brian painted a large number of book covers along with continuing his father’s comic strip, Apartment 3-G, for a few years after his death.

Among all of the covers that Kotzky has done, some of my favorites would have to include Die Softly and See No Evil (pictured above). My absolute favorite? That would have to be the cover for Christopher Pike’s See You Later. It perfectly matches Pike’s tendency to mix horror with science fiction and mystery.

YouTube find: Smosh Pit

Apparently I missed out on quite a bit on YouTube back in the day, including various comedy sketch channels along with Let’s Plays (I didn’t get into Markiplier or similar until 2016 or so). One the longest-running and well-known is Smosh, which has now branched into several channels including Smosh Games and my favorite, Smosh Pit. Along with Smosh co-founder Ian Hecox, this channel features Shayne “Chosen” Topp, Courtney Freakin Miller, Olivia Sui, Damien Haas, and other regulars doing a wide variety of skits, try not to laughs, and other videos.

« Older posts

© 2023 Requiem for a Muse

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑