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Mario Kart World: completed!

Posted on 15/06/2025 Written by Xexyz

Hah. As if. And yet, I’ve seen the credits, unlocked the special cup, and have gold trophies displayed for all grands prix and knockout tours. This was done on the medium difficulty. By all my usual metrics, I’ve completed the game.

But Mario Kart’s not like that, and Mario Kart World is doubly not like that. The real game in Mario Kart appears at 150cc, the hardest difficulty level, when not only does your kart travel faster (to the extent that you might, shock, need to use the brake sometimes) but enemies are much more unfair, both in terms of driving ability and item use. In 150cc, I’ve completed four of the grands prix in first place, but never with three stars (which are awarded for being first in each of the four races) – I’ve come close, but a combination of blue shell, red shell and lightning on the final stretch meant I was overtaken by a couple of opponents before crossing the line. The controller survived, just.

See, credits.

The course design is superb. I was wondering how they would build on the last few iterations – which introduced the jump boosts in Wii, flying in 7, and anti-gravity in 8 – since having to include all those elements would get a bit restrictive. Anti-gravity has gone (except in one specific case), and in its place they’ve put in rail grinding and wall riding, allowing for some clever alternative routes and reimagining of older tracks. I’ve noted tracks from the SNES, Gamecube, DS, Wii, and 3DS games, though some are quite different; however, you don’t get to lap around the tracks that much since the races in the grand prix mode include a race to get to the stadium. There are a few occasions where, in order for this to be a single coherent world, the roads to the courses are a bit straight and – almost – boring, but at higher difficulties the threat of blue shells means you never relax.

After the 96 courses of the Switch game (with the booster pack), this game could end up feeling small, but the variety of courses should keep me going for a while yet. I’ve hardly done anything in the free roam mode, where you find challenges and medallions and can experiment with alternative routes, and I’ve only spent one evening online (where my best position was 3rd, and my worst was … 22nd). And I haven’t even worked out how time trial really works in terms of ghosts and friends.

Spoilers: there is a rainbow road

And, finally, multiplayer. On Fathers’ Day I spent two hours playing with Nicholas and Edward, through a number of grands prix and knockout tours. We unlocked loads of costumes, and I won, most of the time. Mario Kart n00bs.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Switch 2

Dordogne: competed!

Posted on 07/06/2025 Written by Xexyz

One of the disadvantages of the proliferation of games that are available, through Game Pass, and PS+, and the Switch Online service, and the thousand-odd games sitting on shelves and in boxes and on the internal storage of the Wii and Wii U and 3DS and Xbox 360 and PS3 and Switch and Playdate and PS Vita and N-Gage and … anyway, one of the disadvantages is that there is always something new to discover, something new to play. I will spend some time, maybe a couple of days, with an utterly charming game, but then something new will come along and I’ll put it back on the “to be completed” list. Or worse still, I’ll forget to do even that. For some games, that will be the end of the story. For others, they will get a reprieve – often spurred by me reading a retrospective piece in Edge, or being recommended the game by a friend, or (as is the case with Dordogne) facing the possibility of losing access to the game due to it being removed from Game Pass.

Which is a long way of saying I went back to the game, last played last June, and I completed it.

The artwork remained stunning until the end of the game, especially the underwater section.

The story was, in the end, a lot harder-hitting than I was expecting, with young Mimi uncovering arguments between her father and late grandfather, and older Mimi finally finding the reason that she was never allowed to see her grandmother again. Towards the end of the game there was an affecting exposition of delayed grief, and rekindling of missed connections. The text harassment from her father segued into concern from her mother and a sense of regret. It was a surprisingly complex relationship.

Definitely worth playing, and I then spent a little time going back through the story to collect stickers, words, put together new scrapbook pages, and complete one of the rhythm games more effectively (a top tip for that – don’t use your mouse, use your trackpad).

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, PC

June 2025 – I completed two games in a month!

Posted on 04/06/2025 Written by gospvg

Play

Like A Dragon Ishin (PS5)

I did not know this was a remake of a 2014 PS3 title, I'm enjoying the new setting and the game play is the familiar yakuza style.

As always I am distracted by the side content, this time fishing & gardening. 

Balatro (PS5)

The addiction is real, I've completed the first few decks but trying to manage the digital crack and have left it alone to enjoy Ishin.

Robocop Rogue City (PS5) - COMPLETED

I enjoy this janky action shooter and even went and got the last few trophies for the platinum.

 

Road 96 (PS5) - COMPLETED

Completing two games in a month! A miracle I know!

This is what happens when you avoid huge open world games, Road 96 is a procedural indie game that has you helping teenagers escape from a politically charged country.

Backlog

Shopping

Purchased two physical games in System Shock & Star Wars Outlaws.

Want

I'm not interested in the Switch 2 but looking forward to the many Not E3 showcases this month.

Bin

Nothing, the bin is empty

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Balatro, completed, Like A Dragon Ishin, Playstation 5, Road 96, Robocop

June 2025 – I completed two games in a month!

Posted on 04/06/2025 Written by gospvg

Play

Like A Dragon Ishin (PS5)

I did not know this was a remake of a 2014 PS3 title, I'm enjoying the new setting and the game play is the familiar yakuza style.

As always I am distracted by the side content, this time fishing & gardening. 

Balatro (PS5)

The addiction is real, I've completed the first few decks but trying to manage the digital crack and have left it alone to enjoy Ishin.

Robocop Rogue City (PS5) - COMPLETED

I enjoy this janky action shooter and even went and got the last few trophies for the platinum.

 

Road 96 (PS5) - COMPLETED

Completing two games in a month! A miracle I know!

This is what happens when you avoid huge open world games, Road 96 is a procedural indie game that has you helping teenagers escape from a politically charged country.

Backlog

Shopping

Purchased two physical games in System Shock & Star Wars Outlaws.

Want

I'm not interested in the Switch 2 but looking forward to the many Not E3 showcases this month.

Bin

Nothing, the bin is empty

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Balatro, completed, Like A Dragon Ishin, Playstation 5, Road 96, Robocop

Dig Dig Dino! (Playdate): COMPLETED!

Posted on 31/05/2025 Written by deKay

Season Two of the Playdate games have started arriving, and the first one I worked through is this lovely little archaeology title, where you dig down and find bones and… well, you do that a lot.

It reminds me a lot of SteamWorld Dig, although it isn’t a platformer and has (almost) no combat, but progression is similar. The deeper you dig, the more energy it takes to dig, so you buy upgrades (with money earned from things you’ve dug up) that give you more energy or let you dig more easily or deeper. Unlike SteamWorld Dig, it’s viewed from above rather than the side, so you have wider areas of things to uncover, and there’s a bit of a puzzle element as some rocks and things need to be fully uncovered before you can destroy them and dig underneath.

Another thing that is similar to SteamWorld Dig is the twist that I won’t be revealing. If you’ve played that game, then when you get to a certain point in this game you’ll realise the same thing!

It’s a pretty simple game, but there’s a moreish gameplay loop as you finish each run with usually just enough money to buy upgrades to get you just a little further next time. It’s clearly been tuned to keep you coming back, as every run seems to get you something new.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Diary, playdate

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93: A Playdate In The Back Room of Ann Summers
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Blood is the unintentional theme of this episode, not just in the titles and contents of the games but also in that it’ll make your ears bleed. Maybe? Frankly, I wouldn’t risk it. All that mess for no real benefit, and we wouldn’t want a lawsuit on our hands anyway.

However, should you decide to listen against our strong advice not to, you will find that deKay, Toby, Kendrick and (Fresh Blood) Harry have prepared some tasty meats to sate you. Discussion about the coming Season 2 of Playdate games, rumours about the new PlayStation handheld console (and, relatedly, the PS6), Ys/Trails in the Sky crossover remake shenanigans, and the death of PS+ Stars, the rewards scheme you’ve never heard of until just now. Plus, additional snacks in the form of these games.

93: A Playdate In The Back Room of Ann Summers
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93: A Playdate In The Back Room of Ann Summers
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92: You Do Realise You Can Take The Discs Out
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91: Slippers Go Under Defeat
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