What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?

Mars Survivor (PS4)

August 11th, 2025

Yesterday's kart racer was Crazy Chicken: Star Karts for the DS, which I liked more than I expected to. I only got a couple stages into story mode, since I got stuck on a rival race. The controls are janky and the recoil on the rocket launcher drove me nuts. I've played a lot worse lately, though, and I kind of like collecting ammo for weapon pickups rather than taking random ones.

My true gaming experience of yesterday, however, was picking up Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviors for cheap on Steam. I can't say too much about it tonight, because I've played it quite a lot today, too, spoiling what I have to say. It's so cool, though, and feels really good to play! The DLC is crazy, too! It's good space shootin'.

I also spent some more time with Mars Survivor, since I had my PS4 on as a blu-ray player. It's very satisfying to tidy up the landscape in it, and the slight story is starting to pick up, too.

August 9th, 2025

I just went to get a drive thru coffee, and an Oscar Meyer Weinermobile drove by while I was waiting. It has nothing to do with games, but it's interesting to be waiting for an overpriced latte and see a giant hot dog zoom by.

Anyway, last night I rolled credits on Vampire Survivors. I don't even feel like I'm at 25% in this game, so it's not a big accomplishment. It's a nice milestone, though.

Before that, I tried a super cheap game called Mars Survivor on my PS4. I was expecting a little Survivors-like in space, but it was more of a super-simplified survival game. It drove me a little crazy that it's trying to get me to pony up for mobile style microtransactions on console, but it seems small enough that I kind of want to press on.

As far as kart racing goes, I tried Smurfs Kart on my XBox last night. It was actually fine! I really like the 80s Smurfs cartoon, so there is some bias at play here, but the Smurfs being tiny allowed for some charming tracks that play with scale. There's quite a lot to do and unlock here, too. It's not an amazing game, but I can see myself putting quite a lot of time into it.