Weekly Update 2025-09-28
GOTTA GO FAST!
Game Releases and Updates
Mystery of the Malign release - this detective story with a Next Fest demo among my favorites from June is finally out. I’ve got more to say in the next section, but as far as the release goes, it’s been mostly bug free and feature complete.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 1.0 - swooping out of the Early Access slipstream and blowing through its release date. The 1.0 update includes a completed story, [which I haven’t gotten to yet] quite a few new vehicles, [including a whole lineup from Honda and a few cars from Lexus] a lot more customizability, a New Game+, and maybe most importantly, the option to remove the restrictions on buying certain perks [and therefore certain cars and upgrades] before beating the gating bosses.
Aethermancer EA release - from the developers of the excellent monster-catching RPG Monster Sanctuary, another game all about crafting a team to tackle complex turn-based combat. Aethermancer is also technically a roguelike, which to be honest is part of why I didn’t really click with the demo, which I didn’t put much time into when it dropped. I’m also pretty overloaded with good games at the moment, so I think I’ll hang back and see how this develops over its Early Access rather than hopping in early. If it works well, this could be the perfect format for team-building microstrategy, like an expanded form of the Arena in Siralim Ultimate. If not, it could just be forgettable.
Bloodthief release - this release zipped by me in a low-poly burst of entrails, and I’m content to watch it from afar for now. I really enjoyed the demo, but it’s a type of game I’m not particularly good at or devoted to, and I’ll be perfectly happy picking it up sometime in the future when I have more time to throw away failing runs.
The State of Games Played
The vast majority of my free time this week was eaten up by Abiotic Factor - I feel like I’m about 2/3rds of the way through the main facility, and spent some of that time setting up forward bases to cut out the backtracking. I still get lost occasionally, but it’s a lot less stressful now that I can carry a panic button that takes me straight home, and there’s so much variety in gear to play with that I’m consistently finding new things to enjoy.
I’m also… maybe 2/3rds through Silksong? Based on the vague fragments I’ve picked up from other people’s comments, I think there’s three acts, and I’m probably at the end of the second one. I feel like I might be able to finish this this week, but that’s still a little close to when everyone else on the planet wrote a review for Silksong, so I’m tempted to shelve it for multiple months and then try to pick it back up again… maybe in February?
I didn’t start a new file for the Tokyo Xtreme Racer 1.0 release, but that’s because I already started one about a month ago and that file was only through the first ‘chapter’ of the game, which I believe is mostly unchanged now. So that means I got to pick it up right when I had a meaningfully expanded set of options for cars, and so I switched immediately to a Honda Civic Type R, smashed most of the competition for that section of the game, and then moved up to the Honda S2000, which was even better. I’m annihilating racers so far, and it makes me feel like maybe the S2000 is a little too good at this stage and tuning tier, but I’m sure the end bosses before I get to the new story stuff will still put me through the wringer.
I’m almost done with Mystery of the Malign… or, well, I’m nearly done with my somewhat failed first run, after accidentally locking myself into an ending before finding every clue. Thankfully, I should be able to start over and get back to sleuthing without a whole lot of time investment, and I’m genuinely looking forward to making more physical notes as I begin again. It’s shorter than I expected, but also more complex than I predicted, which is a good tradeoff for a game like this.
I also played the demo for Project Warlock: Lost Chapters, a more direct sequel/expansion to Project Warlock than 2 was. The demo takes place on a pirate ship, and uses a graphical effect to simulate constant rocking and occasional lurching, making for a shockingly disorienting and nauseating experience. The demo launches with a plea for you to immediately toggle the effect off if you are prone to motion sickness, which makes one wonder why the level chosen to be a demonstration is also one that features something that could make a significant proportion of the population hurl chunks. I mean, I’m not normally sensitive to this sort of thing at all, and I was starting to get a little queasy by the end of the very short stage.
It’s also just a bit odd in general - most of the weapons feel a bit weak, or rather… as though they have unstated effects that are unclear, and enemies may or may not take extra damage from some. They certainly look cool, but the stage is also visually busy, constantly rocking, and has a frankly terrible color palette, which doesn’t help one appreciate the new features. That all said, I really enjoyed the first game, and Lost Chapters is slated to have a full three episodes, which means most of it probably won’t be on poop-brown vomitoriums. At least, I hope not.
Writing
I’ve been spending so much time playing that I haven’t devoted much to writing, but that shouldn’t stop me from finishing and writing up Mystery of the Malign this week. I’ve really enjoyed the game, I’m close to wrapping it up, and it should be a fun post to write.
I’m also planning on wrapping up the first issue of my new, somewhat short-form, [can you believe it?] essay series, Genre Reveal this week. The inaugural issue will be on the topic of JRPGs - what are they, where do they come from, who’s even counting? This has been a bit easier to work on than most recent essays - mostly because it’s [planned to be] much shorter, and based primarily off of things I’ve played recently, so I don’t have to source a bunch of fresh media for it. Now, I say this week, but don’t get heartbroken if I don’t manage it. I’ll do my best.
Other
I got this roasted coffee alternative at Trader Joe’s and it’s one of the most incredible things I’ve had. I drink chicory fairly frequently, and while this has chicory, it’s not nearly as bitter or distinctly earthy as I’m used to. It genuinely tastes and smells like a smooth cup of black coffee, but with no caffeine. If I’d had this a few months ago my reset would’ve been a lot nicer. Now I have to go back and buy a crateload before they stop carrying it forever. I wonder if it would hold up with a little whiskey in it.