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I found The Wreck just casually sifting through the PS Store on a random weeknight and decided to pick it up. The first thing that drew me in was the art style. Part conventional visual novel, part comic book and part stop motion, the one thing that the visuals never stopped being in The Wreck were impressive. It may take a second to stop expecting the characters' mouths to sync with dialogue but I got over it quickly. The character models, movements and locations may not be photo-realistic but they're still striking. Atmosphere and style can be so crucial in helping to get the audience to buy into the world you're setting up and Pixel Hunt certainly achieved their goal here.

The true strength of The Wreck comes in the form of its layered characters and emotionally charged plot. One of the common criticisms I saw from other reviewers is that our protagonist Junon is "unlikeable." I never saw it that way, she can be self-absorbed and short-tempered but she's also very real. We all like to pretend we're truly virtuous and mature but those kinds of people are much more rare in life than we'd like to acknowledge. I felt like I understood Junon almost immediately and just like everyone else in this game, she's a flawed character that's struggling under a metaphorical mountain of grief. I never stopped rooting for her to make peace with what had happened and find the closure she so desperately sought. From her mother, to her sister, to her ex-husband, no one's motivation or rationale is simplistic or too basic. The Wreck puts the work into making you care about everyone's fate and helping you see the humanity in all of the characters but especially Junon.

Moving onto the story, we meet Junon on one of the worst days of her life. Her mother has suffered an aneurysm and Junon has been deemed as the caretaker for her decisions medically as she cannot do so herself. Everyone has an opinion on what she should do but Junon isn't so sure. Her relationship with her mother is rocky at best and dreadful at worst. She helps bring us in by telling us stories about her life, they're usually tinged with regret and sadness but they show why she is deservedly guarded, angry, sad and confused by this turn of events. Both the flashbacks and the events that are currently happening to her are all relevant, expertly told and deeply heartfelt. They're almost episodic but man do they pack a punch. A quick and easy solution to Junon's problems is not possible and the game commits to showing its audience all the angles on Junon's grief in an unflinching manner. I can't claim it's flawless (more on that later) but I was awestruck by how ambitiously and well-crafted they chose to tell this nuanced story.

As much as this game surpassed my expectations, there were a couple of small quibbles I have to share too. The first is that while this game is meant to be wandered through as opposed to sprinting through, it did drag a little for me closer to the end. The Wreck isn't a long game but it does require patience and I admittedly was starting to get a little anxious before the climax. If I felt that way, I'm sure I won't be the only one. The other aspect I wanted to mention is that while I liked the idea of using the titular "wreck" as the framing device for the game, it does get repetitive. Even though the scene is appropriately tense and jarring, it lost a little oomph after 10-15+ times.

If you haven't guessed already, I think this game is a home run. It certainly won't be for everyone, a visual novel that's 4-6 hours long that is also so unabashedly fervent about trying to wring tears out of its own audience. I'd describe that as niche. But I rode the emotional roller-coaster that this game is and I laughed, teared up and was ultimately moved by parts of it. I cant say it's the best game in this genre (What Remains of Edith Finch is still the king) but it's a steal at its price point and my favourite kind of pleasant surprise. If you want to "feel all the feels" and travel through an affecting but sadly believable story of grief and growth through emotional pain, The Wreck is definitely worth your time.

When I saw the marketing for Wild B@stards, I was stoked. I've put a lot of hours into the original game by developer Blue Manchu and the shift to the space cowboys motif seemed like an inspired choice. I'll start with that decision and I really dug the atmosphere and world/lore they built in this game. The animation style is still striking but they also switch it up a little by making it more angular and playing with familiar locales in the genre to put a new spin on it. This also applies to the character designs, I'll get to their personality and development later but I also liked how distinctive yet fun everyone looked. From Casino having a slot machine rollers for eyes to Roswell looking like an ET from yesteryear fiction to Kaboom being made of vapor, they really went all out. My hats off to the team for not just being content to just recycle what worked about Void and they decided to build upon it.

My biggest problem with Void B@stards was the lack of a strong central narrative. Other than trying to escape the Nebula as a dangerous convict, there's little to nothing else. I feel like the developers actually listened to the constructive criticism brought forward against Void and did their best to improve upon it. Wild's narrative isn't amazing but it's strong enough and effective in moving the story forward. A mostly dead gang of outlaws are mysteriously resurrected by their former ship to fulfill a mission and reach their version of a getaway. It's not Shakespeare but it's a noticeable previously missing piece of the puzzle that's been filled in and there's enough there to allow your focus to drift to the game's real strengths.

One of the best parts of Void was the real tension that permeated when you went scavenging on a derelict ship. Trying to maneuver around Screws and Zecs when you're almost out of ammo and oxygen is a RUSH. Wild let's the player choose their route and which outlaws to bring but the planet surface acts like a tabletop strategy game. You have so many movement/action points to accomplish your goal and the get out of dodge before the powerful enemies show up. I liked this function, it allowed for a different kind of control of the situation. I also liked the showdowns with the gunplay. They're relatively simple, you just eliminate all the enemies but you can alternate between fighters, use their perks and tilt the fight in your favour. To me, there's was a beauty in the simplicity and I really relished in each encounter.

The real strength of Wild for me was in the diverse cast of characters, their interplay and how gameplay changes based upon which one you use. The gang looks great, sounds great (the game has a lot of fun vocal performances, credit to the cast for sure) and they're often hilarious. I couldn't really get attached to any of the characters in Void, I didn't have that problem here. You can also create alliances and squash feuds inside the gang with resource allocation and it can lead to different perks opening up that will help in showdowns.

If you haven't gathered from the paragraphs above, I mostly adored this game. The only minor flaws I can fling at it are that it can be a tad repetitive and that if you don't allocate resources or budget personnel properly, the difficulty ramps up quickly. I understand that the game can be a little rote for some but so was Void to be honest. The loopish style and the cyclical nature of combat is part of the genre, I'm not criticizing the opposing viewpoint but I don't know what people were expecting from a sequel to the original game. In terms of the difficulty, I think Void was actually more punishing to the player when you made mistakes so I can only recommend turning down the difficulty if the challenge is insurmountable.

I know this game has gotten a mixed reception from Void's fans but I was supremely pleased with Wild. Wild is brave enough to be different while still retaining a lot of what made Void work. Stronger plotting, stronger character development and a new genre slant propels Wild slightly past Void. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but it's mine for sure and I'll wholeheartedly recommend it.

I primarily played Street Fighter 6 on the new World Tour mode (essentially campaign/story mode). I was pleasantly surprised how much effort was put into this to update the game and yet tell a coherent story. I don't know if any fighting game will ever have a literary-quality story (my favourite is still Def Jam Vendetta 2: Fighter For NY) but Capcom also didn't phone it in. The protagonist searches for the meaning of strength while gradually interacting with the rest of the roster and picking up styles and moves from sparring with them. There's a larger focus on the disappearance of his friend Bosch as well and that got the job done for me. But as much as I enjoyed playing through the story, I'd be remiss if I didn't also explain how it could be so subsequently frustrating. World Tour isn't super challenging until it is. Forget about facing characters leveled past you, you don't have any shot whatsoever. Certain battles took multiple attempts, spamming certain attacks or oodles of consumables just to finish. Difficulty can also spike randomly to infuriating results. I didn't love the lack of checkpoint in tournament-style engagements as well. If you've got 4 scheduled matches and you lose on fight 4, you're transported back to the beginning. This just seemed unfair to me and I would have to go fight random npcs over and over again to level up to a point that I would finally do sufficient damage. World Tour is surprisingly well crafted but I considered giving up at a couple of times too. The game can be punishing and that affected my enjoymen at times. I also enjoyed the largely goofy tone but it also felt like it was cribbing of some of the strange vibe from games like Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Street Fighter 6 was funny for sure but not wholly original in the weird directions it decided to go.

Street Fighter 6 allows you to either use classical controls or an updated version called modern. When you're not an exceptionally talented player (such as myself), the concessions the game makes to help more people get comfortable can be a tricky balance. You have to prioritize engagement with the uninitiated without ticking off veteran players. I was mostly satisfied with how the game functioned, I thought the controls were slick but still carried the much needed punch. I enjoyed stringing together combos and countering while blocking and playing defense far less than I should have. The bouncy tone of the game overall flows into the sound design. The pops and crunches boom in a way that's not realistic but they amp up the stakes. But I didn't find anything too buggy or discover any notable performance issues and with the state of gaming today, that's a low bar that's cleared far fewer times than it should be.

While I think World Tour was mostly well done and the mechanics are impressively accessible, I think the biggest draw for this game will be the varied cast of characters. While the NPC fighters get repetitive (which was predictable) I never got tired of interacting with or fighting as our main roster. They all are distinct, funny and fun-loving. Street Fighter 6 is not a subtle game but I also doubt that's what the creative team had in mind. The characters all have different styles that can be mastered and it's a lot of fun experimenting with each of them. They updated the designs of the characters while retaining the flavour and I appreciated the effort.

I can't say I loved/enjoyed every moment I spent playing Street Fighter but colour me impressed overall. I'm not going to touch on the online/co-op play, I would never consider myself good enough to even attempt to beat other people who play this game regularly. I know some of the fans are exclusively picking up the title for that side of the game but it's just not my forte. World Tour mode is a genuinely fun and surprisingly fresh take on the campaign of a brawling/fighting game despite some migraine-inducing difficulty spikes and some checkpoint systems that tilt the game in favour of the house. While I think the game will please a lot of fans of the franchise, Street Fighter 6 is a great introduction to new players and I think that's where it succeeds the best. The controls are easy to pick up, the characters are a lot of fun and I think the enthusiasm the game is reveling in borders on infectious. I got this 1/2 price on sale and I more than got my money's worth out of it. Fighting games can be a little intimidating but if you're looking for something to even play casually, I'd have no reservations about recommending Street Fighter 6.