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Once Upon A Katamari (Switch): COMPLETED!

Posted on 10/04/2026 Written by deKay

It seems like forever since there was a new Katamari game. Aside from that incredibly hard iOS one that was free on Apple Arcade, of course, but that doesn’t count.

Running out of ideas for new things to roll up and places to do said rolling up, Namco Bandai Namco (Bandai) BandaiNamco have decided to use time travel in this iteration, with the King of All Cosmos taking The Prince across various stereotypical time periods and locations as Cave Man Times, Ancient Greece, and The Wild West, so you can roll up guys in togas and dinosaurs and pirate ships and stuff. Does it make a difference? Not really. It’s just an envelope for the levels to live in.

The rest of the game is exactly as you’d expect, and, I’d wager, want. It’s certainly what I’d want anyway. Loads of things to roll up so you get progressively bigger, with levels where you have to roll to an exact size, or avoid rolling up specific things (like the reprise of Cow or Bear from an earlier title), or roll things up while you constantly move forwards. Or roll up a person into food items to make them fat. Or become a sponge and spread water across a desert. You know, standard stuff.

And it’s as good as it ever was. I’m slightly disappointed there’s no Switch 2 update for it, ideally to get rid of the (to be fair, mercifully short) mid-level loading pauses, but it’s fine. I coped with the PSP game so I can cope here.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Diary, katamari, switch

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Switch): COMPLETED!

Posted on 07/04/2026 Written by deKay

What seems like a very, very long time ago, I played the original Mario + Rabbids (apparently it’s “Mario Plus Rabbids” not “Mario And Rabbids”, which sounds clumsy) on the Switch and it was great and I was well up for the sequel when it arrived. But, like many other things, it got forgotten and I never got round to buying it. Until it was so cheap on the eShop recently that it was basically free. And I mean this in a “it was about £5 instead of £50” way of being “nearly free”, rather than Kotaku’s thinly veiled adverts for “nearly free” Macbooks that are $899 instead of $999 or something. Yes, those adverts annoy me so much I’ve deleted Kotaku from my RSS reader. Yes, I still use an RSS reader.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. Sparks of Hope. In most ways, it’s more of the same not-quite XCom of the original, only this time it blends Rabbids with Mario Galaxy’s characters, mashing Rabbids with Lumas to make Sparks, which essentially give you extra abilities you can use in battles.

I’m also pretty sure the game no longer uses a proper grid-based movement system. I mean, it is still effectively grid-based but feels like it isn’t, with movement ranges being shown as circular areas and freedom to move whereever in that you like. You do, however, “snap” to a sort of grid, and cover like rocks and crates are still noticeably square, so it’s a bit fake. Outside of the battles, the overworld feels much less grid-like though, except many puzzles there involve moving things in rectangular areas.

Other than those changes, and some new characters and tweaks to moves and rules, it’s more of the same. Battles seem a bit quicker, although some of that could be the quicker load times on the Switch 2, and the game seemed a lot easier. So much easier that I don’t actually recall losing a single fight. Doesn’t really matter though, because it’s fun – especially when you manage to chain attacks like tackles, movement sensor reactions, and making baddies bounce into the air so they move and get shot all in one turn, obliterating even difficult foes.

Also, Rabbid Peach channelling Mean Girls is great.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Diary, mario, rabbids, switch

End of March Update – I am weak!

Posted on 07/04/2026 Written by gospvg

Play

Star Wars Outlaws (PS5) - Playing

After taking a gaming break for Ramadan, I'm back into playing this on a regular basis.
I'm currently planet hopping collecting resources to upgrade the speeder & ship.

 

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (PS5) - Binned
I've binned this, sorry I'm never free in the evenings for PMG gaming.
 

2026 Gaming Resolutions
1. Purchase no more physical games until I have reduced my backlog to 3 titles (currently at 13!).

Fail - Purchased Eriksholm


2. I did well in 2025 and avoided buying the PS5 Pro and Switch 2, I need to keep that going in 2026, no new hardware purchases except if required PS5 controllers. 

Still Intact! Sort of, I did purchase a Switch 2 but that was for my daughter to enjoy Pokopia.


3. I have £80 on PSN credit and this all I can use until I reduce my digital backlog to 10 titles (either by playing or dropping, currently at 35 games). No more shopto top up codes!

Still intact - I have not purchased any new PSN credit. 

4. I did really well this year with FOMO, I did not go back to Fortnite even with the Simpsons map or the BTTF skins, I also avoided purchasing Arc Raiders. I don't have the free time for these type of games. Need to avoid the hype and just play what I already own.

Still intact, no FOMO

 

Backlog

Digital Games (43) - Purchased quite a few including Death Stranding 2

PS+ Monthly (19) - No change, nothing new added

Physical Games (12) - Added Eriksholm

Total = 74 Games

Alert - Steam Backlog inbound!


Shopping

2026 Target is spend less than £100 - Total spent £66.00  

Purchased Death Stranding 2, Sea of Stars & Eriksholm.
 

Want
Added Stranger Than Heaven & R Type Cosmos to the Wishlist.
 

Bin

Being weak and buying yet another physical game!

UGVM PMG - I don't game in the evenings so can't really take part in these anymore. 

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Death Stranding, Eriksholm, Playstation 5, star wars, switch, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain (Switch): COMPLETED!

Posted on 20/03/2026 Written by deKay

I have a soft spot for games by Chibig. I like how they’re all set in the same universe, often with recurring characters (like Mûn). Probably the biggest game of theirs was Summer in Mara, a sort of Wind Waker-ish, Harvest Moon-lite adventure. Most of their games are of slightly different genres too.

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is a sort of arcade adventure. It’s set on an island, at the top of which is a witch, whom you want to train you up but she immediately throws you off her mountain and you have to make your way back up by completing tasks for the locals to earn enough to repair your broomstick to the point where it can fly high enough.

Basically, you run (and fly, a bit) round the island collecting and delivering things. Most items you deliver need to stay dry and undamaged, so you can’t slam into rocks or take a swim, but (a few items aside) it’s not too tricky. The draw is in the characters and interactions, which Chibig do very well.

There are a handful of puzzles, and the odd bit of difficult traversal, but it’s mostly laid back and stressless. The island has a number of secrets to discover and exploring every inch of it is fun. There are a few character-related side stories too, like the relationship between the two fishermen or the unruly children of an artist who has lost his mojo, which (naturally) you get involved in and try to resolve.

Another joyous blue-skies game in the series.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Diary, mara, switch

Castaway (Switch): COMPLETED!

Posted on 20/03/2026 Written by deKay

Yes, it does look a lot like a Game Boy Colour Zelda game. It feels a bit like one too, not least because you have a sword and a hookshot and there are block pushing puzzles just like in Link’s Awakening. Only it’s only an hour or two long and there are only really three short dungeons.

Which is fine. It was enjoyable and tight and all that.

Once completed, however, you get access to a roguelike dungeon mode, where you have 50 small rooms with increasingly difficult baddies and traps to get past, with random upgrades every time you’ve collected enough XP. A run here will be maybe 45 minutes or so, and it’s great. I completed this too, but it did take about 10 or 12 runs to do so. Tip: the seemingly useless pickaxe upgrades should not be ignored (like I kept doing) as they make the final boss much easier.

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

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98: There Were No Ramekins
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Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? Of course not. You don’t listen to the podcast so why would some random jangling entertain you, eh? But do listen, because it’s only bloody Christmas again!

In Episode 98, deKay and Kendrick chat about some The Game Awards stuff, Half Life 3 (or not), and games!

98: There Were No Ramekins
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98: There Were No Ramekins
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97: I’m Feeling A Bit Squiffy
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96: Magic Beans
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