Monthly Update // December 2025

      Today is the 1st of December 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

Sometimes you gamble and you lose.

I decided to gamble my time in November on Tormented Souls 2 (when everyone else was playing Ghost of Yotei, Ninja Gaiden 4, or other higher-profile games). Unfortunately, I just don't feel the investment was really productive. 

At least two trophies are glitched for me which prevents unlocking the Platinum. I've already beaten the game on the highest difficulty and even under 5 hours. I could put this out, but the True Ending of the game has no voice audio. So I want to wait until a firmware update releases to fix this before publishing. 

The lesson to be learned here is that these indie-games with lower budgets are at higher risk of just not panning out. 

December 2025

• She's Leaving
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
• Skate Story
• Code Violet

A surprising decent release month for December. Code Violet is a guaranteed-play for me. Metroid Prime 4 I might be interested in if it's highly rated, and Skate Story looks to have some potential. 

 Release(s)

none

Monthly Update // November 2025

     Today is the 1st of November 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

In the month of October, I continued work on the Walkthrough of Hell Is Us.  

Then on the 22nd, I paused work on that to begin Tormented Souls 2.  I am about halfway through that game. It's basically a low-budget old school Resident Evil, isometric-view, complete with optional tank controls (same as the first game).

 

The experience so far is fine, but I got completely stuck in progress due to the actual camera view -- as interactive objects meant to progress forward weren't super clear. At one point in the game, I had to pull out an appliance to find a hidden passage! The appliance itself is only in view for a short time running through a part of the kitchen and the prompt to interact was hard to see. I remember playing the demo and luckily spotted an oven required for a puzzle which was also very easy to miss. Secondly, I ran into a few bugs such as no invisible boundary to keep me on the map. I fell below the map and had to redo 30 minutes of progress since the last game save.   

November 2025

• Lumines Arise
• The Last Case of John Morley

Not a whole lot going on in November that I'm interested in. I'm hoping to get something done and released so that I can work on The Last Case of John Morley.

 Release(s)

none

Monthly Update // October 2025

   Today is the 1st of October 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

In the month of September, I only played and worked on Hell Is Us. I have completed the game and only a few trophies short of the Platinum (which are easy grind ones). I would say I have spent around 80 hours in total, and discovered and figured out all the puzzles myself with the exception of two; which I begrudgingly looked up. I would have never figured them out, so I am glad I saved myself the time. 

I am currently in the process of outlining a Walkthrough for the game. It's kind of fun in a way, because it's similar to a logic puzzle to avoid backtracking and saving time. As for the game itself, I enjoyed it for the most part, but am disappointed in the lack of real substance to the story. This is truly a game where the journey and process of figuring out the mysteries is the bulk of the enjoyment. 

October 2025

• Ghost of Yotei
• Digimon Story: Time Stranger
• Bye Sweet Carole 
• Dreams of Another  
• Vampire Bloodlines 2
• NINJA GAIDEN 4
• Full Metal Schoolgirl 
• Tormented Souls 2

Directive 8020 was supposed to release here in October, but got delayed into 2026. I am not that hyped for Ghost of Yotei for two reasons: 1) it looks too similar to the original game and I'm burnt out on that (especially at full price asking), and 2) the super early review period makes me feel like everyone has already played this game already.

So instead I will focus on other games: Bye Sweet Carole looks interesting, maybe Vampire Bloodlines 2 if it gets good reviews, and Tormented Souls 2.

I'm going to try and stick to my rule of fully completing a game before moving onto the next one, so shorter games which I can complete fit the bill as I continue to chip away at Hell Is Us. 

Release(s)

none

Monthly Update // September 2025

   Today is the 1st of September 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

In the month of August, finally completed Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream and got the Platinum for it. This took longer than I thought and I didn't have much free time. I did give Mafia: The Old Country a chance, but only played it for just over an hour. 

 

The beginning of Mafia is so painfully dreadful. It is a completely uninteresting and on-rails section of the game. Then once I got to Chapter 1, I was loading up wine boxes and doing random work. I'm sure it opens up later, but I feel like I'm wasting my limited free time with this game, and would rather go back to finish Death Stranding 2.

I also have made a choice to skip MGS: Delta Snake Eater and get that at a later date. 

September 2025

• Hell Is Us
• Gloomy Eyes
• Arctic Awakening 
• Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree  
• Borderlands 4
• Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile 
• Silent Hill f 

I'm really interested in Hell Is Us after playing the demo, so I might check out the full game.  The other highlight for September is Silent Hill f but I might wait for a sale on that one.  

Release(s)

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream - Walkthrough, Full Game, Cutscenes

Monthly Update // August 2025

   Today is the 1st of August 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

In the month of July, I played a whole lot more of Death Stranding 2 and finally got into the groove of the game. Believe it or not, but I played a big chunk of this game offline. I checked a few of the trophies which require some online stuff, so I reluctantly updated the game and logged online, which is quite a different experience. 

A lot of the game is preparation and trekking; and also watching out for hazards and efficiency-maxing. But the process is meditative and soothing. Even the enemies don't really cause that much stress (Normal difficulty), and are pretty easy.

 

In mid-July, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream released and so I stopped progress on DS2 and began on that game. I'm about more than halfway through it, and hopefully will have this done and out early August, before the new Mafia game releases. I really like this game -- it's quite simple but very fun sneaking around, and figuring out methods to get around guards.

August 2025

• Mafia: The Old Country
• Sword of the Sea
• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater 
• Lost Soul Aside 

Mafia: The Old Country and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater are August's top picks, with Mafia being the priority.  

Monthly Update // July 2025

   Today is the 1st of July 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

In the month of June, I've completed up to Act 2 of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with around 70+ hours, I think. I really wanted to finish this one but just didn't have the time. The novelty of the game starts to wear off at this point. 

In mid-June I went ahead and bought Death Stranding 1, in an attempt to see if this was a game for me, in order to maybe get into the sequel on the 25th. I only got in a few hours, but went ahead and pre-ordered Death Stranding 2 because it was a new Playstation exclusive.  I haven't had much time into it yet; only 6 hours.

July 2025

• Code Violet
• Edens Zero
• Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream 
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Wheel World
• Wuchang Fallen Feathers 

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream looks to be a solid Day 1 buy for me, based off the trailer (by developer River End Games). 

Everything else I can wait for a sale on while I continue to play Death Stranding 2. 

KARMA: The Dark World Collectibles Guide

 Here is a list of the collectibles in KARMA: The Dark World and their timestamps for the accompanying video. Please let me know if there are any errors.

First -- here is the list of Memos and Rule Followers as it is shown (ordered) in-game. This allows you to view which ones you may be missing (ones marked ???). There are a total of 61 Memos, and 15 Rule Followers to find.

Monthly Update // June 2025

    Today is the 1st of June 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

I've been working through Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 the entire month of May. I have put over 61 hours into it (according to the game save; Playstation dashboard only says 42 hours), and I think just only halfway done.

I'm not really into turn-based games as much these days, but this one has a few changes that makes it more engaging than others. It feels great to hit a parry on enemies. The presentation is great -- the music in this game is good as well. It deserves the acclaim it's receiving.

June 2025

• Mindseye
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

The Nintendo Switch 2 releases in this month and I have it pre-ordered along with Mario Kart World, but I have no plans to work on any content for that. 

I've not been thrilled at anything I've seen from Mindseye, but I'll wait for reviews and possibly get it later when it's on sale. Death Stranding 2 is the big game for June, but I'm indifferent to it since I have not played the first game. It also seems like a long one, but if it gets highly rated, I'll have to give it a try.

Monthly Update // May 2025

   Today is the 1st of May 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

I primarily worked on KARMA: The Dark World and finished that up 100%. That game released in late March, but I only had a bit of free time to play through it on weekends. I have completed the full walkthrough recording, and so I just need to sit down and edit it.

 I also started playing through Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but it's very slow going. I pre-order a physical copy for PS5 a week before release, and do like it so far.

May 2025

• Metal Eden 
• The Midnight Walk
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Blades of Fire
• Lost Soul Aside

Metal Eden is supposed to release in May, but now it looks like it's release date hasn't been set. I did not get a chance to play the demo. It might have been pushed back since Doom: The Dark Ages will probably overshadow it. 

I have some interest in Blades of Fire but unfortunately it releases in late May. I don't want to buy it and invest time into it, only to drop it in June. There are a few titles in June that I have even more interest in...

Update (2025.05.15): The developer of Lost Soul Aside tweeted on the last day of April that the game would be delayed.

Monthly Update // February 2025

Today is the 1st of February 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

More time spent on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: including finishing Johnny's Treasure Trove and unlocking 7-Star Hotel gold trophy. 

February 2025

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - I had a lot of fun in KCD 1 and actually beat that game. It was quite a slog to the finish, and felt anti-climatic as it didn't have such a great finale. But I was addicted to KCD for a good while. I don't expect to purchase or play KCD 2 on release, however, since that game seems to be quite large as well. 
• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii - the last game I played from RGG Studio was  Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and I enjoyed it. But I will skip this one on release, unless it gets high 90s critic score.

I have no real interest in Avowed, especially since it is not getting a physical release. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is the latest game from DONTNOD and looks fairly short, but I'll probably skip this one for now. I never got into the Monster Hunter games, so Monster Hunter Wilds is ignored.

Monthly Update // January 2025

Today is the 1st of January 2025.

Monthly Updates are posts at the beginning of every month, to go over the events of the previous month, and to prepare for the upcoming month. 

Previous Month Recap

Still on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, working on the final challenge.

January 2025

No major releases this month, which gives me a bit more time to focus on FF7R.