Activities
Today
August 2026
This month has been the month of incremental and idle games. I’ve been extremely busy starting the 2nd year of my PhD program, and I’ve also started a new NIH-funded fellowship (a huge achievement in my field at my level), so lots of big things for me! I’ve also spent like a week or two playing Leagues 2 on RuneScape 3 (got Dragon Cup), so that’s been eating up some of my completion time as well. Overall, lots of progress both in real life and the realm of gaming!
Digseum is a brilliant little game that is very enjoyable while also valuing your time. The digging and excavation loop is genuinely fun, the incremental progression is satisfying, and I loved basically every second of it. It never gets boring, scales really well for its short runtime, and never once felt like it was padding itself out just for the sake of it. Highly recommended!
My Little Spider is a cute desktop companion idler that undermines its own appeal with a rough early game, poor customization, and an oddly active gameplay loop for something meant to sit in the background. The spider and art style are genuinely charming, but between the visual clutter, the lack of scaling options, and a slog of a first few hours before things actually feel idle, this one has a fair bit of friction for what's supposed to be a low-effort desktop pet. Recommended, but just know the game has a slow start and the more active elements don't exactly feel like they pay off all that much.
My Little Life starts off slow, cramped, and a little frustrating, but stick with it and it turns into something worth your time. Once you get a second person and enough money to actually start decorating, the game opens up in a way the early hours don't hint at. It's very forgiving with its economy, refreshingly customizable, and more active than you'd expect. Give it a real chance before writing it off. Recommended, but just know the start may be a bit rough.
No-good Streamer Mirai-chan has good art and excellent voice acting, but that's about where the good stuff stops. The interaction gameplay with Mirai barely works, the streaming segments are a drag, and the game spoils its own CGI events before you even reach them. I'd give this a mixed rating if Steam actually let me, but since it doesn't, this one barely scrapes by with a recommendation.
Rusty's Retirement is the perfect mix of active and idle content for a desktop companion game. It's an idle-farming sim that sits at the bottom of your screen, but there's actually a ton to engage with beyond just watching numbers go up. I'm not a fan of desktop idlers that don't have much substance to them, and this definitely isn't one of those. Between the layout optimization, the wonderful pixel art, and the way the game politely gets out of your way when you need it to, this one's a very easy recommendation.
Ropuka's Idle Island fails at being an enjoyable game, at least for me. The core loop is fine on paper: Ropuka cuts grass, Ropuka sleeps, Ropuka repeats, but the mechanics barely evolve from hour one to hour five hundred; coins take forever to earn, and the "collections" you're grinding toward barely add anything meaningful. I get the appeal of a slow, hands-off desktop companion, but I'd rather have nothing on my screen than this if this is the experience on offer. Just skip this and play a desktop idler that actually values your time. Not recommended.
All Hail the Orb has a lot of soul. The atmosphere, animations, and overall presentation are far better than I expected going in, the incremental progression has plenty of systems to sink your teeth into, and the developer even coded in a funny little callout for autoclicker users, which honestly won me over more than it annoyed me. A few UI and movement issues hold it back from being flawless, but this one's easy to recommend.
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Wordatro!
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Gloamvault
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The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
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PEAK
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Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced
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Divinity: Original Sin 2
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Far Cry 5
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Desktop Defender
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Chillquarium
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Ore & Odds
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Rekindled Trails
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Plantera 2: Golden Acorn
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How to Train Your Cock
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Dark Hunting Ground
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Military Incremental Complex
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Kin and Quarry
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Star Overdrive
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Kusan : City of Wolves
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Loan Shark
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Dicefolk
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Let Them Trade
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Bubbly
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Low-Budget Repairs
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Which Sausage, Mate?
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Magical Delicacy
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Don't Let It Starve
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The Chef's Shift
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Chef Knight
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Far Cry Primal
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Fell & Sell
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Void Pachinko
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VOIDFACE
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Iron Blight
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Our Adventurer Guild
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Lorn's Lure
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The Last Cat in the Universe
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Dokimon
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Brutal Orchestra
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Sludgineers
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Big Golden Rock
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MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
September 2026
September is finally here, and 'The Blood of Dawnwalker' is already preordered. I waited SO LONG for this game, so this month will mainly be taken over by it. But I do have some events/group activity going on, which I want to keep participating in. Really excited for this month, because alot of cool stuff is happening. I also want to take a look at 'Aniimo' which is a free to play Pokemon-like with Gatcha elements. I hope that part is beeing rather small, and won't take out all the fun the game has to offer.
Road to 100%
I finished 'Big Walk' and 'Lost Records: Bloom & Rage' last month, and I really want to get 100% on both of those games.
Big Walk
11.6 hours, 11 of 12 achievements
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
11.1 hours, 37 of 49 achievements
Escape From Mystwood Mansion
0 hours, 0 of 20 achievements
To be Played
As mentioned above, 'The Blood of Dawnwalker' is my main game this month! But other games are allowed to slither in.
Death Noodle Delivery
0 hours, 0 of 15 achievements
Wordatro!
1.2 hours, 6 of 50 achievements
Escape From Mystwood Mansion
0 hours, 0 of 20 achievements
No longer 100%
D4 season starts mid september, so I will probably look into it again and hopefully get some achievements done!
Diablo® IV
488.8 hours, 41 of 45 achievements
Game of the Month
I honestly thought this game might get boring pretty quickly, but I was completely wrong. It’s an absolute blast to play, especially with the right group of friends.
One feature I really appreciated is how the game automatically adjusts the audio levels of the characters, making sure everyone can be heard at roughly the same volume. The puzzles can be kinda challenging at times, but there’s almost always someone who eventually figures out the solution. We played as a group of five, and it worked pretty well.
My friends were rather skeptical at first, but they’ve all become huge fans by now. We finished the game after around 11 hours, and despite having completed the game itself, we’re already planning to go back and get 100%.
Overall, I’d highly recommend it whether you’re a casual player or a hardcore gamer. It’s a great mix of fun, challenging puzzles, and some chill moments.
August 2026
I got a lot of games in August, mostly gifted or won. The only one I bought was 'The Big Walk', and I don't regret spending a single cent on it. It's such a cool and funny game, even though it's rather chill. But that way, you get to not only have a really nice puzzle game, but also enjoy some time with people you appreciate spending time with. My game of the month review is found here.
New to library
As mentioned above, I got a really good handfull of games this month. I hope I can tackle the unfinished ones, once I finished 'The Blood of Dawnwalker'.
Completed & 100%
Got to finish some games. I really planned on finishing 'Bloodlines 2' before the release of 'The Blood of Dawnwalker', but sadly it went downhill with this game for me. I don't get motion sickness anymore after the patches addressing that, but i just don't like the game. I'm so incredibly bored by it, even tho the first like 3-4h had me hooked. 10h in now, and I just don't have fun anymore.
SteamWorld Dig
6.3 hours, 11 of 24 achievements
Slime Rancher
12.2 hours, 38 of 57 achievements
shapez
29.1 hours, 20 of 45 achievements
Big Walk
11.6 hours, 11 of 12 achievements
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
11.1 hours, 37 of 49 achievements
August 2026
August. What a weird month. I feel that I pumped a lot of hours into gaming, but barely made a dent on my backlog, and to make matters worse I won a lot of games. I mean, I won’t complain, but it doesn’t look good for my backlog.
I kicked the month off with Tinykin which was a treat. It’s short, charming, and is over before it gets old. I liked it so much that I came back to it after beating it in order to complete it. Luckily I was missing very few things by that point, so between beating and completing it I think it was only 1 hour of extra game time. I did not engage with the in-game races which are not required for completionism. After Tinykin, I played Crown Gambit, which was also insanely good, but in a very different way. Whereas Tinykin is chill and charming, Crown Gambit is heavy and dark. There is a lot of blood being shed in this game, and things will almost definitely not go the way you want, but it is still a very satisfying game and I really enjoyed my time with it. Added a few extra hours into 2024 Mosaic, but very far from beating it. On a rainy Sunday I booted Beetle Ninja, but while I expected it to be a game beatable in less than an hour, that was a mistake and I ended up dropping it for the time being. Batography was picked on its behalf, and in the 8 minutes I spend with it, I felt I had seen enough. I won Beast Breaker from herbes and they wanted me to play it sooner than later, so I got started with it and I’m probably 30-50% of the way to beating it, but I’m kind of cold about it, the reasons explained in the longer review I posted earlier in the month. I also started my Very Long PoP game, Harvestella, which is SO, SO LONG. I sank over 20 hours on it in August and I’m still on Chapter 3 out of 9. Goddamn it. It’s not terrible but also not great, but it’s still probably a positive review from me at the end of the day.
For September, hoping I’ll beat the games I already started and that’s it. Anything else will be a plus. If I have extra time, definitely want to start Dishonored (PoP pick) and CoD MW2 after beating MW1 a few months ago.
Happy gaming!
| Game | Playtime in August |
|---|---|
| HARVESTELLA | about 22 hours |
| Crown Gambit | about 12 hours |
| Tinykin | about 10 hours |
| Beast Breaker | about 5 hours |
| 2024: Mosaic Retrospective | about 2 hours |
| Beetle Ninja | 18 minutes |
| Batography | 8 minutes |
SG Wins
Tinykin
14.5 hours, 43 of 43 achievements
Crown Gambit
15.5 hours, 37 of 62 achievements
Backlog
Batography
0.1 hours, 5 of 12 achievements
Abandoned Games
None!
SG Wins
Beast Breaker
5.5 hours, 14 of 37 achievements
HARVESTELLA
24.7 hours, 16 of 49 achievements
Backlog
2024: Mosaic Retrospective
11.4 hours, 29 of 96 achievements
SG Wins
SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell
0 hours, 0 of 30 achievements
Beast of Reincarnation
0 hours, 0 of 46 achievements
Chumini: Tiny Army
0 hours, 0 of 95 achievements
Beast Breaker
5.5 hours, 14 of 37 achievements
Rocket Rats
0 hours, 0 of 32 achievements
Catmaze
0 hours, 0 of 21 achievements
Until Then
0 hours, 0 of 29 achievements
Tails & Trails
0 hours, 0 of 8 achievements
Gifts and Freebies
Dokimon
0 hours, 0 of 44 achievements
Purchases
None!
Aug 2026
Jul 2026
Jun 2026
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Apr 2026
Mar 2026
Feb 2026
Jan 2026
Dec 2025
Nov 2025
Oct 2025
Sep 2025
Sep 2024
August 2026
Played: 4
Started: 1
Beaten: 1
Added: 5
Completion avg: 81.028% (+0.073)
Points avg: 5080 (+32)
Progress bar:
Beaten:
Progressed:
Added:
Mostly DMC4 and Silksong (so a theme of tough action games maybe ?), but with some Astroneer with my sister sprinkled around.
Shape of Dreams just needed an extra push, but seems it's slid back already, and of course i still haven't done anything about RE7. Ah well, let us quote the mantra, "hopefully next month will be better"
August 2026
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100 Dragon Cats
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100 Pet Cats
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100 Summer Cats
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100 Swamp Cats
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Kirakira stars idol project Ai
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Kirakira stars idol project Reika
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Kirakira stars project Nagisa
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Room 304 - A Boys' Love Story
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TRUE LOVE'S CURSE
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Equinox
0.5 hours playtime
no achievements
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LIP! Lewd Idol Project Vol. 1
1.6 hours playtime
no achievements
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LIP! Lewd Idol Project Vol. 1 - Hot Springs and Beach Episodes
1 hours playtime
no achievements
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LIP! Lewd Idol Project Vol. 2
2.5 hours playtime
no achievements
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LIP! Lewd Idol Project Vol. 2 - Hot Springs and Beach Episodes
1.7 hours playtime
no achievements
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LIP! Lewd Idol Project Vol. 3
3.0 hours playtime
no achievements
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LIP! Lewd Idol Project Vol. 3 - Hot Springs and Beach Episodes
1.0 hours playtime
no achievements
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Wishy Washy
0.6 hours playtime
no achievements
Stats
Completed: 17
Achievements: 47,549
Perfect: 1237
Average %: 95
Comments
You know what I cant get numbers right in my head lately apparently. I kept thinking the previous times I was at 50% so I’m not making progress but also not losing it but nope apparently it was 48% since the previous 3 times? Oh well I see 50/50 as a good split to keep things as gaming is clearly not my main purpose this year but this set does get me over 200 done. Which brings me to the other number not going right for months I’ve been thinking that I got an appointment on the 1st, I’ve said it so many times, thought it so many times and then I checked and its not until the 15th thats a whole 2 weeks away. Its a still a Tuesday at least but why did I think it was the 1st so much who even knows
The favourite game of the month goes to KiraKira Reika. That is the 3rd part of the series and even though I really liked Nagisa (2nd game) the most, the 3rd game was just more fun. I liked seeing the newbie idol, who isnt even suppose to the focus, and the old idol in Reika who clearly doesn’t take things as seriously as the previous 2. While there is adult content, romance isn’t actually a thing its just some side content after the game you can attach if you really want to. Sometimes its nice to know your mc isn’t just being sleazy picking up every idol possible and actually goes out of his way to not be seen that way, no single males entering a female idols house alone no can do!
August 2026
Managed to get into Outer Worlds after a while. I really wanted to like it more, but it was kinda lacking for me. Another PoP game done. For the last one it was supposed to be Shadow of War, which I sadly dropped after seeing the spiders. Don’t think I’m able to deal with that ;_;
Restory on the other hand was really fun. Had a lot of devices to fix and a nice story.
Talking about nice and chill games, Devcats games are always a hit for me. I just love those games.
Got Umami in a recent bundle and had an itch to play that. It was a cute little puzzle game.
Now I’m on Little Witch in the Woods. I really adore this game, it just has everything I want. Cats, fishing, cute characters and fun gameplay. Almost done story wise, then some grind for 100%. And gotta befriend all the cats!
Besides that I also started another playthrough of Silksong on the deck since I discovered the MetalOST mod, which replaces every soundtrack of the game with a metal version. I still prefer the original, but it’s a fun excuse to play it again alongside the other games.
Yesterday
August 2026
Another month down! I played 2 backlogs games and 2 wins/gifts, and added 2 more games (which I plan to complete for September’s PAGY). Everything must come in twos this month, I guess.
Games Completed
I won this game on SG at the very end of July (thanks ChrisKutcher!), setting it up perfectly to play for August's PAGY event. It had been on my wishlist for a while, so it was a pretty exciting win.
I reviewed it over on Steam but here's the TL;DR version. Until Then is a very narrative and character focused game, that starts off very slowly and picks up the pace (and the stakes) as the game progresses. And the story itself is a beautiful mix of genres and themes. It is a mystery story, a classic coming of age tale, a love story, and a story of grief, love, and loss and how we endure. The characters initially come across as shallow and a bit unlikeable but the game explores both their hidden depths and their capacity for growth. The devs really have a beautiful tale to tell, wrapped up in a broader tale of sci-fi and mystery.
That being said, the rhythm mini-games were some of the worst gameplay I have ever experienced. I admit, I've never been great at rhythm games; I was never a DDR or Guitar Hero champion. But some of these were just painful. And to get the 100% you had to do them perfectly. I hated them all so much and eventually had to give up and come back after I completed the game to perfect them. So while I enjoyed my time with this game and readily recommend it, I'd also suggest giving it a pass if you are a strict completionist unless you also really enjoy rhythm mini-games.
This was the first Inkle game that I have ever played and I can see why people enjoy them. This particular game appealed to me because it was a language based puzzle game which I feel like aren't prevalent enough in the gaming industry. Again, I wrote a longer review on Steam but I'm feeling lazy so here's another TL;DR version.
Pros: The world Inkle created felt very deep, as if there were a ton of lore and societal nuance present that your character was just not interacting with. The language that they created was surprisingly well-developed; I really felt like I was learning to read it as the game progressed. All the characters felt fully realized even though the number of meaningful interactions you could have with them were fairly limited. The design of the various locations were also beautiful and varied, even with the fairly simplistic graphics.
Cons: The movement speed was incredibly slow. There were long, drawn-out sections where you character would just trudge along a screen. This was especially noticeable on NG+ and even on the original playthrough, when going to one of the hub areas. This was made worse when the player character was talking to their robot companion because the conversation would prevent interaction points from appearing on the screen. So if you tried to walk and talk, you could end up missing a ton of important clues. This led to me just standing in place waiting for dialogue to finish to make sure no interactables were present before moving on.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Heaven's Vault, I just wish it had been a bit shorter or the movement had been faster.
I labelled this as "SG Gift" because it wasn't technically a win but was a direct gift instead (thanks Chrisised!). Full disclosure: I love dystopian government worker simulation games and I consider the Beholder games one of the best iterations of the genre (sub-genre? whatever). "Conductor" is technically a spin-off of the main Beholder series but other than being somewhat shorter than the main entries, I found it just as robust a game as any of the main titles.
The basic premise is simple: you are a train conductor working for an evil authoritarian government under duress. You are expected to fulfill all the basic train conductor tasks (checking tickets, responding to passenger requests) while also being encouraged to act as a spy for the State, reporting any suspicious or illegal behavior. And, as always, there is a sinister bigger picture lurking in the background.
Most of the actual gameplay, however, comes from sneaking around and uncovering everyone's secrets and then trying to make moral--or not so moral-- decisions based on your imperfect understanding. All while also trying to earn yourself a happy ending in a world where happy endings are very hard to get. The new train setting adds a time pressure that wasn't necessarily non-existent in previous titles but was definitely less prevalent. On your first playthrough this can add a feeling of stressful pressure but once you become more familiar with the game, you'll realize that you have plenty of time to do everything that you need to do.
Overall, I'd say this was a very strong entry into the series and if you are a fan of the series or this style of game, it is well worth your time. Also, you can adopt a cat. He's very cute.
This game was…certainly something. I played it for Playtracker's special event and it was--fine? Everything was over-exaggerated to an almost cartoony degree: the accents, the personalities, the whole vibe. The gameplay was also a bit repetitive but since the game was so short it wasn't overly noticeable. It was a very easy 100%, I suppose, otherwise I don't have a whole lot to say about it. Not painful to get through but also not something that I'm going to remember in a couple of months either. Just generally "meh."
Games Added
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