tldr videogame curation
melbourne, australia

Platform: Xbox Series X|S

For me, does relatively well to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was Subnautica. Super polished and great to look at. Compelling world to explore, lots to do. Definitely more fun with friends.

Distills the tenets of the franchise and starts fresh with the foundations of terror in a captivating setting. Now in first-person, the atmosphere is even scarier. A classic for fans of the genre.

The classic familiar-but-new the franchise is now known for, and potentially the spookiest it’s been. Not really for me, but if you’re into horror, it’s an instant classic.

Great example of how to faithfully refine a predecessor. Lots of charm, tonnes to do and a sensational level of variation and dynamics. Movement still feels a bit rigid to my taste, but that’s OK.

[Early Access] While feeling a bit like just Slime Rancher 1.5, it seems to improve on everything from the original, with extra delightful polish. Will depend on development, but fun so far.

A surprisingly compelling soulslike despite quite a bit of jank. World is cool & very pretty. Combat is easy but enjoyable. Disappointing amount of invisible walls, and overall a bit clunky, but fun.

Can’t blame them, but someone clearly loves Bloodborne. Thymesia is cool and like a lot of new soulslikes, has a bunch of neat ideas, but somehow feels like less than the sum of its parts. Decent.

A really fun balance of roguelike dungeon crawling and Animal Crossing colony sim inside a slick package of stunning art and great music. Bit buggy at launch, but still great and ripe for expansion.

Lovingly crafted and it shows - Stray is poetic and touching. Looks and sounds gorgeous, as well as providing a chuckle or two. Fantastic world building. Puzzles are simple but not mind-numbing. 🐈

Everything about this seems like it should be amazing, but for me it somehow falls short and is less than the sum of its parts. Movement less slippery and combat more engaging would go a long way.