Izzy's 2025

[isthatallyougot]

Interesting choice, devs. If they were trying to appeal to people like me who don't enjoy the stress/jump scares of survival horror... well, thanks, I guess. I also like an isometric, top-down view for a change of pace (thinking of Killzone: Liberation). I might grab this on PSN.

Let us know what you think if you do.

I actually went through and got the platinum in Cat Quest. I tried part 2 with the kiddo in co-op and we bounced off it real fast. It was an extremely turn the brain off and run around having just enough fun affair. I don't remember very much about it but I do know I din't hate playing it. I might have given it a 3/5. It was short and basic enough that I didn't hate my time with it but it was never going stick with me though the experience was pleasant enough.

Wow, the platinum?!? I don't know what the requirements are, but you must have really enjoyed it. And it wasn't bad for me, just more like how you felt about the sequel, I guess.

14) SkyGunner (PS2 - 2002 : 4 hours played) 3/5



I've noticed that during the course of my life, there are sometimes these little “brain worms” that seem to infect the mind. There are little fragments of experience that somehow persist, even though they weren't necessarily significant or especially noteworthy in any real way. And these little cognitive impulses somehow recur intermittently within waking experience, echoing into the present long after the fact. And I find them quite annoying at times, honestly. Why these relics of the past come along for the ride is a mystery of the mind. I mention this because one such incident of the phenomenon was a demo for a PS2 game I played so long ago. I know demos are much more wide-spread now than ever before, but even back then (and prior) there were demo discs that came with some games as well as separate discs you might find in magazines and elsewhere. One such demo I sampled was for a game called SkyGunner for the PS2. Now presently, I can't even remember if this was a pack-in with some other game or from a disc attached to one of many magazine subscriptions I had back in the day. I suppose I could dig through things and find out, but that is ultimately neither here nor there. What is relevant to this theme is that despite the relatively brief time I played that demo, it has somehow managed to remain present within my mind over the many intervening years. It's not that I found it incredibly compelling necessarily - I mean, I didn't even have a real desire to buy the game back then. But for whatever reason, that little nugget of experience has followed along with me for so many years, popping up in waking experience here and there, even if only faintly so. So, in the attempt to address this mysterious curiosity and fixation that somehow has continued to occupy some mental space - eating up my RAM - I decided I would allow the mind to have its way, and I played the full game in 2025.

Well, SkyGunner is, appropriately enough, a flight sim. Well, I suppose the word “sim” isn't necessarily appropriate here, but you get my meaning. It's set in an anime-style world where a group of three pilots are attempting to thwart a big bad named “Ventre” and his “eternal engine” that can run indefinitely. Honestly, the narrative presentation was very thin and not delivered in a very interesting manner. I have nothing against anime stylings if they're engaging, but there is very little background or character development on offer, and you're just thrust into the middle of things without having any opportunity to develop attachment or any reason to be invested. There is some voice, but there are no real cinematics - instead, the narrative is delivered via static panels or in-game sequences where speech bubbles carry some of the finer points of this particular conflict. I appreciate the effort, but in truth, if the story was all SkyGunner had going for it, it would be a pretty big miss for me. Although, in terms of full disclosure, things are fleshed out by playing all the campaigns - more on that later - but the general pull just wasn't there for me narratively. Thankfully, there's a game to be played as well, and one that fares markedly better.

The actual flying action here is really fun - I'll get that out of the way without any delay. Even though the environments are technically limited in size by the now-humble PS2 technology, the sense of flight in terms of speed and acceleration is very nice. There is a “turbo” button where you can sort of step on the proverbial gas, and when you do so, your relative movement to other craft on screen gives a wonderfully exciting sensation of pace. It's a very brisk and exciting feeling, although it can be (appropriately) disorienting as you criss-cross other craft within 3D space and try to track your targets as distance closes and expands rapidly, giving a pretty thrilling sensation of digital whiplash. This aspect alone made SkyGunner worth picking up and playing for me. And the targeting and combat mechanics can be pretty fun, especially when you lock on and launch some of your three special/optional weapons (to your machine gun) for extra damage and visual spectacle, most notably with the “fireworks” artillery. As fun as the sense of movement and combat could be, however, it was hard to really excel at in my time with the game. Within missions you are competing (at least for bonuses) against the two other story pilots on your team, and I always ended up at the bottom of the rankings at mission's conclusion. The scoring was oddly designed as well. You are penalized for using your optional weapons, but they are emphasized as important by the, admittedly nice, tutorial and training missions available. So, you have this better weaponry at your disposal, but if you use it, you take some massive point reductions to your end-of-mission scoring. There's even one mission where these optional weapons are mandatory to win. It's a very odd design and counterintuitive. And generally, progression was just a bit peculiar in spots.To be fair, there does seem to be some nuance and opportunity to increase your performance if you are really absorbed by things. You can replay missions, and there are different campaigns for each of the pilots, corresponding to different difficulty levels. So, if you are really loving the game, it could be a larger time sink than just running through the narrative on one of the difficulty levels, as you try to chase better scores and refine your pilot skills. Fair enough. As for myself, even though I really enjoyed the fundamentals, I didn't feel interested in plumbing the depths to discover my own skill ceiling. Even though it was fun in its core gameplay, I didn't think it was tightly enough designed to warrant that type of investment.

Despite the narrative and design negatives, the general sensation of fun was strong enough to justify a single run through the game. And it's not a lengthy commitment if you only want to see a single pilot's campaign. The basis for a really great game was surely there, but it was undermined enough by some strange choices and some weird execution in a few spots that kept it from soaring to the heights to which it was surely capable, given a bit more skill and attention. In the end I'm happy to have played it, if only to have exorcised that persistent brain worm that brought me to this title so long after its release. But, even without that relief, I would still give it a recommendation on its own merits, though just not a very strong one. It's disappointing relative to the potential so easily apparent in its fundamental mechanical qualities, but I think it's still worthy of a gamer's time. 3/5.

[canedaddy]

That one was much-hyped as a PS2 hidden gem. I think I played the demo (or maybe I grabbed the actual game?) but it didn't click with me for whatever reason.

[isthatallyougot]

13) Neurovoider (PC - 2016: 20 hours played) 3/5



I have always loved the twin-stick shooter genre. Dating back to the days of Robotron 2084 in the arcades, this type of game just has a unique appeal to me. The concept of being surrounded by an overwhelming contingent of foes and their ever-encroaching movements and flying projectiles while attempting to avoid and return fire is just a really satisfying type of chaos to me. And there are just so many examples of this type of game out there, and they seem to drop with an ever-increasing rate, especially within the indie scene. So, I'm surely spoiled for choice. One such game I sampled in 2025 was 2016's Neurovoider, a roguelike take on the formula.

I'll get the preamble out of the way quickly. You're some sort of brain that (somehow) inhabits a choice of three different kinds of robots in an attempt to overthrow whatever menace seems to be mucking things up in this universe. I honestly don't remember, or even if there was really anything TO remember. The set-up is only a weak secondary concession to the action, as it so often is within this genre, which is perfectly fine in my view. Once you've chosen your type of bot, you then select from a variety of perks, a single bonus quality to aid you on your run. You work your way through a handful of levels on a path before facing a boss, and this cycle repeats a total of four times to reach the end. The general idea is surely solid.

As for the specifics, I'll begin with the positives. The presentation is pretty appealing. Even though the graphics aren't extraordinarily detailed, there's plenty of color and spectacle as projectiles of various types and opposing robots of differing size and kind are all whizzing about in a nicely energetic manner. The levels are procedurally generated, stitching together various pieces from several templates to create each stage. The shooting itself is punchy and satisfying, although depending on your weapon of choice, it can feel pretty different. There is tons of loot that is dropped, both from opposition forces and some in-level loot crates that you can blow up. At the end of each level you can check all your loot and compare whatever you've acquired that aligns with your class to see if the stat modifiers warrant upgrading or selling for scrap. You'll often acquire parts for your robot that aren't compatible with your class, but you can switch class if you so choose or simply sell those items for funds to upgrade your existing kit. You can also sometimes get “glitched” weapons that can be dramatically superior to some of the base artillery, and there is a perk to increase the predominance of these drops, if that's how you want to modify your run. Those guns were always exciting in their pure firepower. But there is an energy cost to weapon expenditure, and so with more powerful guns, it will deplete more rapidly, causing your bot to overheat, which, in turn, requires a cooldown period that will make you vulnerable and defenseless for a while. So, it behooves you to watch that meter and balance it against threats so that you aren't left with your metaphorical robot pants down by your ankles, taking on fire with no ability to defend yourself. But in the height of the chaotic action, it's very easy to sometimes just hold that trigger finger down and cause yourself problems. In general, I thought the flavor of shooting was fun enough, and the whole scene was supported by an intense and exciting robo/tech-infused ost that kept the adrenaline high.

But despite the high points, there were some real downsides to Neurovoider. The first major problem for me was the rhythm of combat itself. In the better twin-sticks, there's just this nice sense of flow where a continuous sense of “climax” is maintained. Not so here. The pattern here is a repetition of aggroing a few enemies, which first present themselves as encroaching exclamation icons from off-screen, and then retreating while firing to dispatch those who've been activated. Now, you could certainly go balls to the wall and just throw yourself into adjoining rooms and action with no caution, but you'll quickly learn that such action will result in being overwhelmed along with the end of your run. So, it's just this somewhat frustrating dance of closure and separation that never evolves into an ongoing and consistent sensation of flow and mayhem. I wanted constant action or “forward movement," but the game's design simply doesn't support that. It's attack-retreat-repeat at all times, with all loadouts and in all conditions. The rhythms just didn't reach those highs I really love in this genre. And while there is plenty of loot, so many of the guns are unsatisfying to use. Either due to the type of spread pattern or ammunition/effect, there weren't really many classes I wanted to incorporate within any run, especially after trying out most options. So, I found myself returning to a limited cache of weaponry, which diminished the theoretical potential in terms of combat. The environmental geometry could also be hard to read oftentimes. Some impassable world elements kind of blend in with the levels, and you can end up getting stuck as you move around because of this visual style, taking unnecessary damage. Also, there are a variety of moving platforms - conveyors and escalators - and these may be forcing you into harm's way or away from where you are trying to go as you move over them, and this was often VERY frustrating, as your pace either accelerated too rapidly or was reduced to a crawl as you traversed these moving world elements. And the game is pretty unbalanced overall. The regular levels between bosses rarely provide too much challenge, but the bosses themselves can be a nightmare, especially as you progress towards the end. They're all mostly the same too. There's a primary weak spot on this massive robot you must target that eventually opens a brief window to damage the foe, but as soon as you activate this state, you are immediately met with a drop of myriad new and more powerful opposition that demand immediate attention, negating the ability to address the very condition you had activated - the stalled boss and now-vulnerable weakness. And these boss fights are just an overwhelming hail of projectiles from all directions that are impossible to avoid in their entirety. You will be completely overwhelmed and must try and minimize harm as much as possible, all the while dealing with the boss and the little minions that terrorize you simultaneously. It's nicely chaotic and screen-filling action, but it's too much in the later stages and disproportionate to the rest of the experience.

Overall, I did have fun with Neurovoider. I spent 20 hours with controller in hand and enjoyed it for the positives it offered. I surely wouldn't give so much time to a game I didn't enjoy, but it ultimately failed to reach the heights I look for in this genre. I would still recommend it to any twin-stick or roguelike fan with the admonition to buy it on sale to see if it clicks for you. Even if it doesn't meet your loftier hopes, there's some fun to be had here if your experience is similar to mine. 3/5

[canedaddy]

I like the idea of getting loot in a twin-stick shooter. Are there better games that do that? I guess you could count the various power-ups and items in a game like Vampire Survivors, but I'm thinking more along the lines of true gear that changes your look AND your abilities.

[isthatallyougot]

I like the idea of getting loot in a twin-stick shooter. Are there better games that do that? I guess you could count the various power-ups and items in a game like Vampire Survivors, but I'm thinking more along the lines of true gear that changes your look AND your abilities.

Hmm, maybe something like The Ascent would be up your alley. It's in my backlog, but I haven't played it yet. I think it would be really fun in that way, even if the reviews are only "Mostly Positive" overall. For me, it seems like something that would click.

In terms of pure shooter feel, I think you already played one of my favorites in Tesla vs Lovecraft, right? Although it doesn't check exactly the boxes of what you are talking about. Crimsonland, also by 10tons, hits that flow state I love as well, but it's a more humble thing visually, and also not the same as what you described. I think you might also like Neon Chrome - another 10tons game. Even though it's roguelite, it has persistent progression aspects. If you just want raw adrenaline, I still say Robotron 2084 remains one of the best, even as old as it is.



12) Piglet's Big Game (PS2 - 2003: 6 hours played) 3/5



It was getting towards the end of August in 2025, and I realized that my 25-year streak of playing at least one new-to-me PS2 game was in mild danger of being broken. Sure, I had a few months, but I had been so deeply engaged in a couple of other games that I knew I had better take action before it slipped my mind and my streak was kaput. So I took a brief break from some more serious stuff and decided to pick up some quick PS2 title just to keep my streak going, even if I may eventually have found the time to play another later in the year. Well, I decided to play Piglet's Big Game, a title set in Winnie the Pooh's universe. Go ahead and laugh. I'm just a big man-baby! So why did I choose this?

Generally more child-oriented entertainment wouldn't be on my radar, of course, but there are three reasons why this ended up on my gaming plate in 2025. The first is that I became aware of last year's mild viral phenomenon of sorts, where the game was compared to Resident Evil and Silent Hill due to some of the music/atmospheric elements. That made me curious, even though I didn't expect that sort of experience (and to be clear, it most certainly WASN'T, lol, but I had to see for myself.) Secondly, I've always loved the fiction of The Hundred Acre Wood and all the unique characters that inhabit this magical place. From my own childhood to raising my own child, I've gotten a lifetime of experience with this fictional place, and I've always found it incredibly endearing/charming. Finally, as mentioned, it was getting a bit late in the year of 2025, and I hadn't played ANY PS2 game. I've had a streak of playing at least ONE new (to me) game from that most beloved console every single year since its release in 2000 - a very lengthy streak, and I decided that I would at least get this one in. Granted, it wasn't a console exclusive, but as long as I'm playing the PS2 version - which I did - I consider the streak alive and active. 26 years complete and counting! May as well keep it going and retire it when my own life is retired. "Oh Dear!" (Piglet voice)



Now I will say that despite loving Pooh, I have quite a dislike (maybe not a strong enough term) for Disney, strangely enough. Granted this didn't start out as a Disney property, but like so much else with Disney, they tend to try to hoover up everything in sight if they think they can milk it. But, even with their significant fingerprints all over this fictional world, I still find it irresistible. There is, for me, such a warm sense of nostalgia within this setting that I feel is well deserved and is still alluring even today. There is a sweet innocence of a group of very different personalities that are nevertheless very good friends and both forgiving and appreciative of their differences, oftentimes even blissfully blind to such potentially frictional qualities. They accept one another as a “family" of sorts, and they are always very eager to encourage and aid each other when necessary. Enough gushing about The Hundred Acre Wood itself, though.

The basic premise of this game has you inhabiting the role of the titular Piglet. He's always been a bit of a milquetoast, and within this narrative, he must face his fears so that he can help his fellow Hundred Acre Woods' residents with their problems while in their dream worlds. His uncertain, trembly nature was well suited to a (very) mild horror experience. Ultimately he will find himself facing off against Woozles, Heffalumps, and all those other nasties familiar to the fiction. You confront these threats by showing your own scary or intimidating faces to anything in your way, a gesture of Piglet embodying his attempt at confidence. And you can acquire a good number of expressions through purchasing them via cookies you collect by kicking some in-game objects, giving you faces that seem to be of an increasingly powerful nature in response to more terrible foes. (I didn't read the manual, ha.) These encounters with enemies unfold with a baddie seeing Piglet, and if you want to engage, you push “X” and it starts counting off a sequence of dots separating him from the threat, a sort of timer allowing for Piglet to respond. Then you will have to engage in one of a variety of button-matching quick-time events to damage (scare) the foe before they reach Piglet. Sometimes a singular victory sequence will dispatch a foe, and sometimes it can take up to three successes before Piglet wins. And all the while, the enemy is encroaching, closing ground by removing the dots of separation. You can affect the time/distance you have by trying to keep yourself as far away as possible prior to the enemy identifying you. So you can run away and try to engage from further out if you need to have more time. The penalty for getting caught/touched isn't severe, though. Piglet will simply become frightened, which slows his movement a bit throughout the world, a state that can be remedied by a comforting visit from Christopher Robin at some designated areas. The basics of combat were pretty fun and varied for a kids' game, but be warned, towards the end of the game this becomes the Dark Souls of Disney. The worst offender is an enemy who spins around the prompts so that they may occupy any area of the screen - below, above, left, or right. However, these symbols are not reoriented into an upright position as they rotate, so you have to read them from awkward angles, and in this case you have a combination of directional and face button inputs that must be entered in a sequence. If you make a mistake, it delays things for Piglet, giving the enemy time to close you down, and it was very easy to make a mistake due to the shifting nature of things. You might think it's easy, but trust me, the (very) late game is not, and I can't imagine a very little child, and likely the target audience, being able to complete these harder button prompts. If you doubt me, try it for yourself and let me know once you've reached the conclusion. (Or maybe I'm just getting really old, lol.) To be clear, it's very doable, just more challenging than I was expecting in regards to this one enemy. And even if you fail, the game keeps track of your successful sequences, so if an enemy requires 3 “wins” and you got two prior to being touched, you'll only need one more when you reengage that same foe. So, in all, everything is very forgiving, but I can surely imagine a very young one getting overwhelmed as the level of quick-time events increases in difficulty as the game progresses. But there were a variety of styles for these matching mini-games, and they were pretty fun, if mostly easy outside of the late-game stuff.

In addition to the combat, there are a variety of puzzles Piglet must solve to further the narrative and assist his neighbors. They're mostly simple, although many of them have multiple steps that give them a more fleshed-out feel. But ultimately, it's just a bit of busywork as you run from here to there repeatedly until all the quest “boxes” are checked. Outside the late-game combat, everything is simple fun. But the presentation is charming with authentic-sounding (as I remember them) voices for all the characters and a wonderful premise of lending a helping hand to those in need as well as facing your own fears in the process.

In terms of negatives, there were some annoying chase and stealth sequences where things felt very slow and tedious. Some of the collecting of cookies was annoying because they would only pop out of what you kicked for a brief period, and then they would return to the object from which they spawned. Sometimes they would scatter quite a distance away, and there was no way to collect them all before some returned to their container, and you had to do it again. Granted there are more than enough cookies to buy all the masks without collecting them all, but you don't know this as you are doing so, and so it was a little irritating when they could have just left them in the environment until they were all collected. But the negatives weren't too terrible overall.

In the end, I found Piglet's Bit Game to be surprisingly absorbing. Despite my affinity for Christopher Robin and the denizens of his world, I wasn't sure that would be the case going in. But it truly was a well-made game overall that had a nice diversity of locations due to the fact that you were venturing into other characters' dream worlds, which allowed for a little more creative license. Helping poor little waddling Piglet find his confidence was sweet and charming, and I'm glad I gave this game the 6-ish hours it took to finish. It didn't offer the suggested “horror” that the viral aspect of this title seemed to indicate, and that was honestly to be expected, given the target age for the title. But if you still are in touch with your inner child and have any appreciation for this fictional place, it's still genuinely worth playing, even as an adult. 3/5 Just watch out for those Woozles and Heffalumps. Scary stuff! 26-year PS2 streak down...how many to go? :skeleton: