What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?

May 2025

May 8th, 2025

All day, I've had the strange feeling that I had an unsettling dream last night and it's still just below the surface of my mind. I think I'm just sleepy, but it's a really strange feeling! Whenever I try to think about it, I remember dreams where I visited a too-big, maze-like version of this mall I used to frequent when I lived in Japan. I didn't think of it as that important while I was there, but I dream about it a lot. Having a grocery store, a bookstore, and a KFC under the same roof must have been too much for me to process.

Anyway, in terms of games, I've had my hands on Pico-8, a "fantasy console" for a while, and have thought that it seems very interesting. It lets users make and play 8-bit games, and it seems like people have used it to try out a lot of interesting concepts! I looked at the game making side of it a few years ago and felt overwhelmed, but last night, I decided to redownload it and just play other people's games.

I tried Buns: Bunny Survivor, a difficult, but cute little enemy swarm roguelike first, and stuck with it for quite a while. I could only make it three or so minutes, but today, I found out a successful run only lasts ten minutes. I don't know if I'll focus on this too much quite yet, but I did favorite it so I can keep going later.

I also tried Seinfeld Simulator, a game that approaches stand-up comedy through connecting setups with punchlines. I really got set on getting 100% in this game, but I don't exactly like the jokes or the gameplay too much. It's an interesting idea, though, and the games move so fast that it's easy to try again over and over. I fell asleep before I could finish last night, though, as I didn't realize that getting 100% was locked behind switching out of "kids mode."

May 7th, 2025

I'm trying to be cheerier today than yesterday, and get excited about moving and finding a nicer place to live. Moving sucks, though, so it's hard to get hyped for this! I will get there, though.

Yesterday, I realized I could play visual novels from itch.io on my tablet, so I blew all my work breaks playing Miss Inconspicuous Maid Cleaning Co. It's darker than it looks, which I'm not sure is a spoiler considering the game page's trigger warnings. I got very involved in it, though, as it's basically a very short visual novel/hidden object game, where you find messy bits of rooms to tidy up. I ended up running through it four times yesterday, to see every ending, and paid to get the artbook, too. It was an interesting distraction on a bad day!

I started Charm Studies, a Picross/visual novel, too, and it's so cute! The puzzles are a bit easy so far, but I'm looking forward to see where this goes. I quit after just a few puzzles last night so I could stretch it out over a couple of play sessions.

May 6th, 2025

Today, I had some living situation stuff that had been dragging on work itself out more smoothly than I expected, but rather than being relieved, I feel kind of down. My family and friends have all offered tons of help if I need it, and I am very grateful for that and happy. It still sucks for things to feel unstable, though, so I'm not at my cheeriest.

I am still doing well at my misguided 100 games in 100 days goal, though, and got caught up yesterday, which was day 32! I spent a lot of time with Find All 2: Middle Ages, which is more in depth than a lot of the hidden object games I play. It's still breezy and fun, but runs closer to three hours than the typical 10-15 minutes, and has some puzzles and a mini game, too. Since I got this in a bundle, I have a few more of them to play. I'm looking forward to seeing where the series goes!

I also played through Where Sacabamba Aspices, a normal "find the prehistoric fish in the stationery shop" game. This one was short, but very cute, too! I also did not really know what a sacabambaaspice was before playing this, so it had some extra challenge just in my figuring out what I was looking for.

Most excitingly, though, I beat the first stage of Pocky and Rocky: Reshrined! I just got in the zone when I went to play last night, and figured out that Pocky can reflect projectiles on top of that. When I looked back at the screenshots I took, though, I was impressed by how beautiful this game is! I love the color design, and the individual leaves on the pixel art trees, and all the personality the characters have! It's hard to notice how lovely this game is when I'm trying not to die, but it's very pretty.

That is all I've got for today. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better!

May 5th, 2025

My allergies are really intolerable right now, but I played seven new-to-me games yesterday and really want to post. I'm doing a basic post tonight, and'll go in and set up the individual game pages probably on Thursday, to give myself some time to feel a little better.

I had a few finishes yesterday, but the coolest game I played yesterday was Air Twister, a rail shooter with tons of environmental variety where you can unlock clothes and sometimes ride a giant murder swan. I really loved what I've played of this so far, and even if I fall asleep before I can try another run tonight, I'm excited to see more.

The other shooter I tried yesterday was Pocky and Rocky: Reshrined, because I remember renting the SNES Pocky and Rocky as a kid and finding it too difficult. It is also too difficult for me as an adult, but I have more time to play now and don't have to take it back to Blockbuster, so I am at least going to see stage two of this game.

From here, I guess I'll go to the stuff I finished yesterday. I ran through a couple of very short story games I had saved on my Legion Go, the first being In the Rural Village of Nagoro. This is a really melancholy little Steam freebie, about ten minutes or so long, but it didn't really click with me. The art is lovely, and the song over the second half is nice, but it felt a bit themes-first, character-second to me.

Un Pas Fragile, which I had from an itch.io bundle, is also a 10 minute short story, but much more of a character study than the other one I played. It did click with me, though- it's not very eventful, but it's a calm, quiet little game about small changes. It's also really cute, which doesn't hurt.

I also, as per usual, cleared a hidden cats game. This one, Purrfectly Hidden Cats: Kittenrock, I'd tried on vacation, but needed a keyboard and mouse setup to actually play it. It's a cut above a lot of these, with a lot more interactivity and personality to it. I will probably be playing some of this team's paid games soon.

I tried another Survivors-like called Cookie Survivors, which also requires keyboard and mouse controls, and got a game clear on my third run. It was fun, though, so I'm going to knock out the achievements before calling this one cleared. One run took 100 minutes, though, so I might take my time with this quest.

I also tried Tokyo Rush: Street Racing, a 20 cent game I had stashed on my Switch. I'm bad at racing games, and this feels super easy to me. Also, the cars drive down the same sides of the street Americans would, which feels like an oversight for a video game about driving in Japan. It's an okay time waster, but I have no strong feelings about it.

May 4th, 2025

I've been pushing for max productivity today, trying to finish at least 3 tasks on my weekly to-do list every hour, so I am doing this post right before I go buy chicken strips and collapse. I have gotten a ton of cleaning done since last night, which is great, but I need to learn how to spread chores out better!

Yesterday, I mostly just zoned out, but I did have a really fantastic run in Vampire Survivors before bed. I cleared the library level, which was cool, and then cleared a short level where there were just a bunch of flowers everywhere. It made me feel powerful, and I might use that flower level to grind for some levelling currency.

I tried W.A.N.D. Project again, too, but it hasn't clicked with me yet. The runs are short, though, so I'm not going to totally give up on this.

May 3rd, 2025

I'm having trouble focusing on posting today, but am working rather steadily to make a tiny diamond painting of Marian from the NES version of Double Dragon. It's a game related project, so it's fair game! I used to get the supplies for these at Jo-Ann's, and, luckily, have a decent amount on hand right now. When I was thinking about the background for this, though, I got so frustrated that I can't just go to the store and take a look at the available gem colors. These are still available to order online from the company that makes them, so it's not like I'm cut out, but I'll miss being able to try to eyeball things in person. It sucks!

Oh, this is a games blog, though, right? Last night, I played King of Fighters: Sky Stage for a little bit, and was still struggling with it. I'm struggling a little less now, though, especially playing as Kyo. I don't love this game, as it's somehow both boring and overwhelming at once, but I'll keep chipping away at it from time to time.

I tried W.A.N.D. Project on Switch last night, too, a wave-based survivors-like with magical girl vibes. It hasn't clicked with me yet, but it has a needlessly complicated power up system that I kind of like. The challenge level is pleasantly frustrating, too.

I also chipped away at the unlockables in Candivity, which was fine. I merged many sweets.

May 2nd, 2025

My allergies are still wrecking me, so this is going to be a shorter post than these games deserve! I played through Where Kiwis last night, which was cute, brief, and let me find kiwi birds and kiwi fruits both.

I was in a Vampire Survivors mood, so I played a few rounds of that, accomplishing nothing.

I tried Replik Survivors, too, which was interesting and vaguely mysterious.

The weekend is ahead, and one of my friends gave me a Steam key for Andros Dunos 2, which I am excited to try, but for now, I gotta get some rest.

May 1st, 2025

I am feeling super crummy tonight, so I'm glad I didn't play much last night. I chipped away at unlocking everything in a couple of cheapo mobile game ports on Switch, starting with Hole.io. I played in the office level last night, which felt a little cramped, but satisfying. There were a lot of walls to take down. The mall stage is still more fun, though.

I played Candivity a little bit, too, and was impressed by how much the alternate stage changed the feel of the game. It was fun!