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Yesterday

RobbyRatpoison

RobbyRatpoison's January BLAEO Review


Almost got 100% in Like a Dragon Gaiden, but there’s a very difficult optional fight that I couldn’t manage to beat. I was missing one achievement in The Stanley Parable and to get it I needed to leave the game open for an entire Tuesday, so dumb. A little while back I did some speedruns of the ChromaGun 2 demo and this month I decided to finally try the first game. It’s good but the puzzles mostly seemed easy having played the ChromaGun 2 demo, the levels are pretty small, and some puzzles felt kinda janky. I went back and played a little bit of the original Binding of Isaac and got the “Complete the full game” achievement. Finally I played a bunch of little hidden object games and got 100% of the achievements in all of them, excluding any achievements that are only available by buying their DLCs. Side note, I’ve been waiting over 6 years to get accepted into the Steam group. I’ve only recently started making these posts because just using the site for tracking my completion status seems to be insufficient. I’ve been working on my backlog and updating my completion status here since I joined the website back in November of 2018: https://www.steamgifts.com/go/comment/6Sx5e8c

1 day ago* 5 comments

Feb 03 2026

devonrv

Been going through my itch.io backlog some more, and as usual, it’s taking me a while to find another game I can recommend without any caveats. Frog Hop has a decent amount of content, but level design is kinda mediocre and sometimes aimless (which makes trying to find the collectibles extra annoying). Plus, the zoomed-in nature of the screen can result in some blind jumps/cheap hits, and the bosses–particularly the final boss–have attacks that you just have to memorize their foreshadow animations to be able to dodge them. Also, it’s $5, which might seem cheap if you’re used to the standard $20-$30 for indie games, but for this game, that price is a stretch at best.

Then there’s Gun Princess 2, which is a free metroidvania with more engaging level design and enemy patterns, but it also suffers from its final boss having cheap hits. Plus, it has this annoying mechanic where you have to wait for your main gun to reload ammo slowly, and this is on top of your other guns having finite ammo that only refills at save points. You also have to backtrack aaaaalll the way back to the ruins if you want to buy some of the items that you’d never have enough money to afford when you first get there, and I beat the game with less than half of the money you’d need to buy the “earn more money” item. Wasn’t a fan of its forward momentum, either.

Super Robot Ninja Girl is another free game, this one being a short platformer which does away with that slowly-refilling-ammo mechanic and forward momentum, but the game is entirely carried by the enemies’ SHMUP-style bullet patterns since the level design itself is quite flat (even moreso than Frog Hop). Plus, its final boss might just be the cheapest out of this bunch; I was only able to win by tanking hits with a full set of health after dying to it previously. I’m also not too keen on its lives system, but then again, the game is short enough that you don’t have to worry too much about getting game over (I only died twice).

Lastly, Xydonia Alpha 3 was ALMOST a solid recommendation, being a highly polished Shoot-em-up with decent level design, okay bosses, and lots of spectacle. Thing is, when you beat the first level, you get three different choices for which to play as the second level–and it’s already annoying enough having to replay the first stage three times to see everything, but the more you play, the more you start to notice certain things:

  • The boss of the middle second level (Stage 1B) has its weak point on top of it, which doesn’t give you much room or time to hit it with your rightward-shooting guns. Sure, the green gun has an upgrade that lets it shoot vertically, but you lose all your upgrades when you die, which will certainly happen when this boss’s missiles blindside you by suddenly shooting out fast, 8-way projectiles when they’re destroyed. Also, these bosses take way too long to defeat if you’re downed to your default guns.
  • The boss of the bottom second level (Stage 1C) has a move where it suddenly emits blue smoke from its mouth which is also harmful even though it just looks like a visual effect (in fact, I’m pretty sure it’s just a blue recolor of the harmless explosion graphics).
  • The third and final level is always the same no matter which second level you pick, and it’s also the one with the repetitive snake boss that does the same thing it already did twice during the regular stage. That said, at least with this one, you can just pause+quit so you don’t have to replay THIS level again.
  • The game never tells you this, but the characters in the character selection have weaker weapons the further right you go. If you play as the rightmost character, it’s bad enough that the levels themselves also become kinda tedious. Meanwhile, if the leftmost character is fully upgraded, he can sometimes defeat certain bosses before they’ve cycled their pattern once.
  • The meteors in the first stage don’t stand out too well considering one of them comes at you from the left at a decent speed (and that tiny red arrow warning about it also isn’t very eye-catching, either).

But the biggest one of all: the full game never came out even though it had a fully-funded Kickstarter campaign, last updated 2020. I don’t see much harm coming from playing this free alpha build; just keep in mind that this is likely all that will ever exist (perhaps even all that was intended to exist).

1 day ago 0 comments
86maylin

2026 January update

Currently Bashing My Head Against

Most Looking Forward To

Alphabetron

2.2 hours of playtime, 21 of 21 achievements
Personal rating: 6/10, Date of finish: January/08
Click for review

This is a word search game. Takes me back to when I was little, my mom bought me one of these books where you reveal word lines with these invisible ink pen, and the book was cat themes which is neat. I had fond memories. :3 The BGM is pretty alright, although there's only 3 so I still ended up muting and playing my own music. Towards the end I got a little bit bored tho with the bigger boards, I think I prefer smaller boards. Still a pretty alright game tho.

Spilled!

1 hours of playtime, 11 of 11 achievements
Personal rating: 7/10, Date of finish: January/11
Click for review

This game is both exactly what I expected, but also not. I expected it to be a ship cleaning game, it delivered that and I enjoyed it a lot. What I did not expect is for it to be this short, only a single hour of content. On one hand, if it had been longer it might overstay its welcome given the core mechanic is not strong enough and also doesn't change much, on the other hand I just kinda want more. xD The only thing I didn't like about the game is the "end boss", you fight the big ship by spraying water on it to make it sink...which just makes me go: Omg this seems like an environmental disaster. I mean, technically I know sink ships could become habitat for sea creatures, and with the special sucking equipment in the game, oil spills aren't that much of an issue, but still...it doesn't seem to fit the game's focus, cuz afaik most oil spills happen with boat accidents? Idk, I just don't agree with it is all. :P

Mizi NO!

1 hours of playtime, 20 of 20 achievements
Personal rating: 6.5/10, Date of finish: January/11
Click for review

It's a free puzzle game about a cat smashing pots and cups and what not. It is charming and I love the hints you can do(align pieces so no rotation needed, show silhouette and show the full picture temporarily), tho I played it primarily without hints. There's 15 free levels, rest are DLC which I probably won't buy, cuz I think I'm out of the jigsaw puzzle phase atm. Used to enjoy them a ton back in collage, now not as much plus they put a lot of strain on my wrists due to many mouse clicks. I would recommend this game tho if you like jigsaw puzzles! :3

A Building Full of Cats

36 minutes of playtime, 23 of 23 achievements
Personal rating: 8.5/10, Date of finish: January/12
Click for review

Very cute, wholesome, short and sweet. Only thing I didn't like was some of the interactible cats are hidden in 1 of the x cups, or 1 of the x containers in a specific pile and I'd have to click all of them to be sure. I like it better if it's something clever like clicking on the computer button shows a cat on the screen, which there's quite a lot of which I like, just wish all of them are like that. :3
Time played 161 hours 51 minutes ↓
Achievements gotten 114
Games 100% completed 4

It’s a purple month! Lots of game with purple in their thumbnail, so it’s a variety shade of purples, quite pretty. :3 I started Lies of P cuz of Alienware task actually, but then I kept playing cuz it’s a lot of fun! It’s my first ever souls-like game, so lots to learn. :P I am enjoying the “hit a wall and keep hitting it until you pass it” learning curve, and I must say I think I’m quite good, cuz I generally don’t get stuck on a boss for too long ever since I learned to actually block. The first boss did a great job and forcing that. xD

2 days ago* 5 comments
vigaristti

Log #22

Half-Life 2

Death and Taxes

11.7 hours
57 of 60 achievements
Half-Life 2

PEAK

30.4 hours
38 of 54 achievements
2 days ago 1 comment
Dog

#25 JAN 2026

Cassette Beasts

19.3 hours playtime, 87 of 123 achievements


Coromon

30.8 hours playtime, 44 of 80 achievements


A Plague Tale: Requiem

16.9 hours playtime, 24 of 35 achievements


Super Woden: Rally Edge

14.0 hours playtime, 26 of 26 achievements


2 days ago 1 comment

Feb 02 2026

Charles Nonsens

Report #56: January 2026

I didn’t beat a game this month. I beat two!

Beaten This Month 🥳

  • Myst III: Exile
    Classic Myst: beautiful worlds, dated puzzles (some better than others)
  • 1000xRESIST
    Pretty good sci-fi drama masquerading as a mediocre action game

Also Played 👍

  • The Council

Added to Steam Backlog 🙈

Nothing! Well done.

3 days ago 2 comments
OC/DC

She’s all legs

7.3 hours
None

I was first made aware of Pseudoregalia through a "souls-like games you might not have heard of" youtube video, which might give you an idea of the type of game this is, but you'd only be half right, and that's because combat is a minor aspect at best. I encountered two bosses, and enemies could almost always just be avoided

Where it does get the souls-like influence from is the environmental aesthetic, and overall vibe. It's your classic derelict castle, with odd creatures roaming the halls, and much to explore, but it also does the souls thing of not explaining anything, leaving it all to interpretation. I have a soft spot for this style, and i like that Pseudoregalia leans into the light comedy of this sort of storytelling. The N64/PS1 graphics also help with this dream-like vibe

Mechanically, it's a 3D metroidvania, but in the purest sense. The main thrust of the game is almost entirely focused on gaining new movement abilities, and then mastering those abilities to reach new areas. Pseudoregalia nails this loop down to a science - pretty much every ability is useful on its own first and foremost, and the fact that they gate your progress almost seems incidental. Brilliant design, in my opinion, and feels good to play with too

Another lovely game played. A bit sad that it doesn't have achievements, but on the other hand, it was kind of freeing, to just play the game as it is, and not worry about anything external


3 days ago 2 comments
Mortvie

Update 13
Some good gaming in January, I only wish I had more time with my PS5 since I wanted to platinum Ghost of Yotei, but didn’t end up having time before leaving for uni. Cronos the new dawn is no longer in my library, cause it ran like shit. I’ll be back for it at some point when there’s significant sales, probably wouldn’t expect much in terms of performance updates since it’s blooper and they suck at optimisation, but if I sacrifice high graphics it’ll be good enough. Just didn’t feel right paying over 40 quid for it at this stage.

Games beaten:

16.1 hours
12/29
10/10
Played on Steam

This game needs no introduction, we all know it's peak.
What's funny though is that I had a terrible time playing the remastered version on my PS5 a few years ago. Maybe my aim just sucks with a controller. Either way, I was one of the people annoyed at them for making a remake (that's really a remaster but sure whatever) since the PS4 remastered version already looked good enough and wasn't that old. I have to say, while I still think it was a bit wasted, the game does look absolutely stunning. I will never forget that bricks wouldn't break on first hit, team brick forever.


Half-Life 2

Ghost of Yotei

10/10
47 hours
44 of 56 achievements

Incredible game, much is improved from Ghost of Tsushima. The only thing I wasn't a big fan of was the direction the story ended up taking. The world is beautiful, the combat is satisfying and the side quests are fun and don't feel like a chore. I don't really understand the sentiment of people getting bored of 'samurai' games, yes there's a lot of them, but they're always so damn fun. I plan to go back and 100% the game as soon as I can, and I'm not usually the type of person to go for completion.

There is one battle that suddenly ramps up the difficulty like crazy. It was a fun battle, but I kind of ended up spamming the quick throw items to defeat Takezo, especially once you get to the point of being one shot.

Half-Life 2
#24

Shelldiver

8/10
4.5 hours
13 of 13 achievements

This game was really chill and wholesome, the art style is phenomenal. It's also a great feeling seeing yourself grow in power exponentially.

Half-Life 2
#25

Beacon Pines

6/10
4.0 hours
11 of 11 achievements

Very interesting game, I enjoyed the mystery which actually when a completely different direction that what I was expecting. It's a short game, but I would definitely recommend playing it.

There was one branch in particular that stuck with me since it was so good, that being the one where you sacrifice the kid with the messed up face from the goop.

Half-Life 2
#26

CHUCHEL

6/10
1.9 hours
3 of 7 achievements

If you've played any other Animata Design games, you probably know what to expect. This one is a decent bit weaker than the likes of Botanicula or Happy Game, but it was still enjoyable.

Half-Life 2
#27

Quarantine Zone: The Last Check

6/10
10.7 hours
24 of 25 achievements

This is like the type of game that is really stupid, but very fun and addicting at the same time. It has some issues, but it's not a bad way to spend a few evenings.

I’m getting rid of the currently playing section, I feel like it doesn’t exactly suit the way I play games. We’ll see if I replace or change it in some way for future updates.

New backlog additions:
As Dusk Falls (win)
Nine Sols (last of Secret Santa that came after my last update 🫶)
Sonic Frontiers
Settlement Survival
Tomb Raider IV-V-VI Remastered

5% (17/326)
19% (63/326)
6% (18/326)
58% (188/326)
12% (40/326)
3 days ago 3 comments
Jekofob

I AM BACK!! I had to take a break from the internet to focus on the real world, but now I am back again. And very late with my updates. I will try and post my bought games often until I get to this year. I like to keep track of things this way :D

Games added in July 2025

Games added: 31 (16 more than last month)
Games won: 1 (1 more as the month before)

And got lots of dlc’s (or extra levels) for the cat games and JPP.

A lot of games, some I even had the chance to play ;) As always I will happy to hear recommendations for the games I have not tried yet :D

3 days ago 2 comments
mordsmiez

Log #45 - January 2026

30% (273/920)
4% (41/920)
15% (139/920)
50% (458/920)
1% (9/920)

Backlog Growth: +7 -7 = 0

Wow, this might be the first month I did not add more games to my backlog than I actually managed to complete, good job me!

Assassinations of January

As you can see, I played quite a few HOGs, including 2 from the FIND ALL series, which might be my favourite when it comes to simple HOGs.

Ocean’s Heart: Cute Zelda-like, fairly easy, but engaging. I had a really good time and recommend to check it out!
Idle Bouncer: Fairly mid idle game. Not much to do or unfolding.

That’s it from me, until next month!

3 days ago 2 comments