2026 media

While this game's art, presentation, and music were all spot-on, the writing was lackluster... I think it was a mistake to put us in the shoes of a character that wasn't even a detective in the first place, and this isn't even getting into the extremely mixed messages from the political backdrop of the setting. It did feel like they were trying to account for multiple different scenarios and how to approach a problem, but the execution left a lot to be desired. I would normally score this higher, but I just can't do that in good conscience when it's a narrative-focused experience! I don't think any amount of good art/writing can save that...

While I preferred the first entry in the Zero Escape series, this wasn't a bad one by any means. I found the addition of the timeline preferable to 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors' approach which requires a guide for the best experience. I found all the characters in Virtue's Last Reward extremely interesting with Tenmyouji, Phi, and Luna high on my personal list... Unfortunately I think some of the science fiction got a little bit Too deep for me, and I was disappointed to find out the plot twist at the end of the game is barely addressed in the next game.

A really cool first-person walking-simulator/dungeon crawler! I watched my friend Mercy play this one so I did not have the pleasure of playing it myself, but it's made me very curious about Psychopomp 2. I love the lore/environmental storytelling of this one, so I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes.

I have very fond memories of this game, so revisiting it was a treat, but it definitely hasn't aged very well. The gameplay mechanics are a bit awkward and the platforming is jank, and some segments where what you need to do to progress isn't well-telegraphed to the player.

Nevertheless, I still find the story of Wandersong really compelling, especially right now when times are tumultuous. I think Miriam is still the strongest written character in this game and that she deserved much more screentime even if she already had a lot. Some of her later realizations do feel a little bit delayed, but I still enjoyed her nonetheless. Audrey is still such an incredibly unique character to me and I love how mysterious she is. We will probably never get a follow up on this story from Lobanov, but I'd love to see a character like her explored in another game.

A short story I reread to contextualize the next entry on my media list... A middle school friend of mine loved this story and was obsessed with it, and I can see why. I think it paints a really grim picture of humanity and how we create tools to suit our own purposes, but we never really consider the consequences of those purposes. I only don't see this story in high regard for how it treats the "token woman", but this is an issue I have with horror sci-fi in general, I think.

As of writing this only covers up to Episode 8. I won't spoil anything here, but I'll score the ending of the series as its own thing later when they're all released.

I'll maybe be a bit more detailed in a blog post, but I don't like this series. The directing, writing, and visual style are pretty mediocre all-around. The scripting/dialogue is obnoxious and contrived, and it is severely held back by its instistence on referencing I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. The episodes feel directionless/aimless and they don't even feel like they're...about the main characters. I have seen the staff of this cartoon criticizing their audience for being upset that the story is about Pomni and Jax, when I really don't think the first few episodes came off that way. The focus was really scattered with the only compelling episode being Episode 3, where we really get to see Pomni and Kinger's characters shining since this is the emotional core of the series...?

Super cute show! The good amount of drama and fluff is really filling the void that Enstars used to fill.. Sogo, Tamaki, Yamato, Riku, and Tenn are definitely my favorites. Some of the drama was a little contrived and the music isn't stellar but I do really like Trigger's discography.

It's probably because I watched this coming off of a breakup with my partner of 11 years and best friend, but this made me cry and cry and cry and cry. And then I saw it again with the director commentary the same week and cried and cried and cried and cried some more. I loved the emphasis it placed on relationships, not just with other humans, but with the world we live in and how we're all part of a greater universe and system. The ecological angle of the film was what sold me at first, but watching it the second time around and thinking about Grace's relationship and his struggle to be vulnerable leading to him meeting his best friend in the entire universe in Rocky really really got to me. I can't write or talk about this film without crying my eyes out, but The LEGO Movie was one of my favorite films as a teenager and it was super era-defining... It's kind of poetic for one of their films to be there with me during another major turning point in my life.