Dorfromantik. I had bought the award-winning board game as a gift for a relative and figured I’d try the videogame version. Please send help, I can’t stop playing. This game is so addictive, it should be classified as a dangerous narcotic. I have deliberately not installed it to my Steam Deck (which it’s verified for), because I need at least a few hours per day that I’m not playing it. In completely unrelated news, who knew birds are waking up this early?
I’ve also been playing a bit of GTA Vice City and San Andreas, not the botched remasters, but the original PC ports with mod packs (Reviced and SA Enhanced Edition Plus) that restore features from the PS2 version and overhaul them a little. I’m having a blast, unsurprisingly. These are games you can replay forever. San Andreas in particular absolutely glows (both figuratively and literally) with the restored lighting and holds up incredibly well. Since it’s been a while since I last played it, I noticed just how incredible the architecture in this game is. Weird thing to focus on, I know, but every building has the right proportions and, by PS2 standards at least, a remarkable amount of variety and detail, in large part due to the photo textures. Even most newer open world games don’t even come close, like the entire Saints Row series or the recent Mafia 1 remake (which I actually enjoyed quite a bit otherwise). It’s a huge step up from Vice City in this regard, which is however still a ton of fun. The attention to detail in SA remains impressive in every way, like how radio talk hosts will comment on story events.
I tried a bit of the classic hacking game Uplink again, with the brilliant UplinkOS mod that modernizes its UI and makes the game usable on modern display. I haven’t done many missions yet, but it’s still as enjoyable as when it was new 23 years ago. It’s remarkable how little this old Indie darling needs to set the right atmosphere: Some appropriately beepy Hollywood sound effects, a charming electronic soundtrack and just the right amount of well-written text.
Parking Garage Rally Circuit: Little retro arcade racer with a delightfully limited scope. If you like the old Sega arcade racers, this one is a well-crafted throwback and even if you don’t, it’s the perfect game to play in short bursts. The difficulty is old-school hard too - and comes with tons of filters and resolution options to make it look like it’s playing on your parents’ crappy old tube TV.
Dorfromantik. I had bought the award-winning board game as a gift for a relative and figured I’d try the videogame version. Please send help, I can’t stop playing. This game is so addictive, it should be classified as a dangerous narcotic. I have deliberately not installed it to my Steam Deck (which it’s verified for), because I need at least a few hours per day that I’m not playing it. In completely unrelated news, who knew birds are waking up this early?
I’ve also been playing a bit of GTA Vice City and San Andreas, not the botched remasters, but the original PC ports with mod packs (Reviced and SA Enhanced Edition Plus) that restore features from the PS2 version and overhaul them a little. I’m having a blast, unsurprisingly. These are games you can replay forever. San Andreas in particular absolutely glows (both figuratively and literally) with the restored lighting and holds up incredibly well. Since it’s been a while since I last played it, I noticed just how incredible the architecture in this game is. Weird thing to focus on, I know, but every building has the right proportions and, by PS2 standards at least, a remarkable amount of variety and detail, in large part due to the photo textures. Even most newer open world games don’t even come close, like the entire Saints Row series or the recent Mafia 1 remake (which I actually enjoyed quite a bit otherwise). It’s a huge step up from Vice City in this regard, which is however still a ton of fun. The attention to detail in SA remains impressive in every way, like how radio talk hosts will comment on story events.
I tried a bit of the classic hacking game Uplink again, with the brilliant UplinkOS mod that modernizes its UI and makes the game usable on modern display. I haven’t done many missions yet, but it’s still as enjoyable as when it was new 23 years ago. It’s remarkable how little this old Indie darling needs to set the right atmosphere: Some appropriately beepy Hollywood sound effects, a charming electronic soundtrack and just the right amount of well-written text.
Parking Garage Rally Circuit: Little retro arcade racer with a delightfully limited scope. If you like the old Sega arcade racers, this one is a well-crafted throwback and even if you don’t, it’s the perfect game to play in short bursts. The difficulty is old-school hard too - and comes with tons of filters and resolution options to make it look like it’s playing on your parents’ crappy old tube TV.