What I've been playing
What a time to be alive. The meanest mother fuckers alive are somehow in charge and making everything worse. It's been a long, slow trainwreck where everyone can see the endpoint but nobody seems to want to stop it.
Anyway, here's what I've been playing between my bouts of rage and existential dread.
Cosmic Star Heroine
This was a Kickstarter RPG from 2017 that I recently picked up for less than $2. It's well worth the price. It's a very traditional game, but the writing is fun, the abilities are engaging, and the challenge is fair. It doesn't revolutionize the genre, but I didn't want it too. Playing it felt comfortable, which is nice.
Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3
Match 3 games are a lot of fun. Strang Scaffold creates very quirky games. Combining them both makes for a great time. This reminded me a lot of the Match 3 games on the DS, especially Puzzle Quest. There is a lot of meta humor, but it's handled really well. The "twist" after the first part of the game (what was available as a demo during Next Fest) caught me off guard in a positive way. This is a very deep game, certainly the deepest Match 3 I've ever played, and I think there will be a lot of replayability.
Terry's Other Games
I picked this up a while ago but didn't get a chance to play it until now. I'm sorry I waited so long. What a delightful collection of games this is. Terry in the title refers to Terry Cavanagh, the creator of VVVVVV and Dicey Dungeons (one of my favorite games of the last decade). This is a collection of some of his earliest games, from Flash games that were no longer playable to proof of concept demos that he didn't originally plan on releasing. This feels like a personal Gold Master game, which I really like. I hope other developers give their careers as good a reflection and release similar products. Playing through this gave me a greater appreciation for his other games, and it was a fun personal journey to go on.
Now that the games are out of the way, what are some things you can do about these times?
Zines are coming back. They're a great way to educate people. Commit to printing and folding some to pass out, or create your own!
Head to a Tesla Takedown this weekend!
Read banned books. Knowledge is power.
And don't forget to help your neighbors. Maybe cook a little extra for dinner this weekend and send them some leftovers. Or offer to watch their kids. Whatever will help lighten their load.