My Day in Gaming [2026/01/01]

[Kamako]

So I finished Secret of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge earlier today...but I used a walkthrough.

And ya know what, I'm glad I did, because without it, I'd have made a pretty fun 3 hour experience into a totally miserable 40+ hour experience.

Having used a guide though, I'm left feeling like I should've just saved my money, and watched a playthrough on YouTube... though I don't think I'd have ever taken the time to do that. Hmm.

Monkey 2's a well-crafted game. But also one that is (in my opinion) over-designed to the player's detriment, simply for the sake of artificial padding. Listening to the Developer's Commentary as I played through it, I got the sense that they themselves acknowledge this as well.

Key items and interaction points are also obscured, I assume purposefully.

Take a look at this screen for instance:

How many exits do you see?

I'm gonna go ahead and assume you see 5, or maybe 6 if you're eagle-eyed and spot the hatch which the character has just exited.
But nah mate, you're wrong. It's 7.
You didn't take into account that one window on the side of the ship that looks identical to the other two next to it. That's an entry/exit point.

And trust me when I say that my one example is just the tip of the iceberg. xD I feel the need to re-iterate, this is not a bad game. It's just not one that's very fun to play.

But it's not all grumbling! I've since started playing Hi-Fi Rush, and woah! What a colourful, energetic experience that's been so far. One thing I can safely say about both games is that they were made by extremely talented people with a vision. And with Hi-Fi Rush, the attention to detail is apparent from the very first opening seconds. The absolutely bombastic cel-shaded art style feels timeless, and makes movement feel fluid and exhilarating. I enjoy rhythm games, and I'm sure I'm gonna enjoy this one a tonne. I've just beaten the first boss (accompanied by some NIN on the soundtrack) and I'm looking forward to playing more.

I have a lot more to say about the opening to HI-Fi Rush, but I'll leave it here, as this post is already long enough.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

I love a lot of these old school adventure games, but mostly for the comedy and writing as opposed to the actual puzzle-solving gameplay. I try to not use guides in most games, but I am totally with you for using a guide on games like these

 

[gastd]

This game is a classic and it never gets old!

 

[Elwiwi]

Is hi fi rush a rhythm game ?

I couldn't play those point and click games I feel they are too obscure and like you've said a while ago they have too many pixel hunting moments

 

[Kamako]

I love a lot of these old school adventure games, but mostly for the comedy and writing as opposed to the actual puzzle-solving gameplay. I try to not use guides in most games, but I am totally with you for using a guide on games like these

Same here, most point 'n' click games I've played have been excellent, both old and new, crammed with snappy dialogue and sight gags.

I recently played through the 1st Monkey Island game for the first time, and it was a totally different experience with regards to the puzzles! Some of the solutions bordered on the abstract, but it was all quite manageable without a guide.
I did end up using one at the very very end of the game, to my frustration, but that was due to a critical logic fail on my part, not due to unfair puzzle design.
With Monkey 2, I needed a guide before I'd even left the starting island xD

 

[Kamako]

Is hi fi rush a rhythm game ?

Yep! It's a hack 'n' slash rhythm game, slower than something like Devil May Cry or God of War (at least so far) but very well balanced, as enemies can only attack at the same time as you can (on the beat), so you can always predict when an attack is coming. It's great so far.

I couldn't play those point and click games I feel they are too obscure and like you've said a while ago they have too many pixel hunting moments

Not all of them are like that thankfully! I really enjoyed one recently called Unavowed, which is brilliantly broken up into mini X-Files type stories. And I'm sure there are plenty other examples I could think of that I might recommend if I stopped to think about it some more. :]

*Edit: I'd recommend Day of the Tentacle and Thimbleweed Park, as they're probably two of the best games I've played in the genre.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I agree with a lot of what you said there, Kam.

My biggest gripe with LeChuck's Revenge is that it feels to have sacrificed its silly soul in order to appeal to a wider audience and that never sat right with me -- Guybrush blinding and robbing Wally, getting the cook fired and leaving Stan for dead are all things that took me out of the experience a little because they didn't seem like the kind of shenanigans our boy would be up to after the first adventure... And then they rub it all in by having actually great MI stuff sandwiched in-between the madness: new additions Largo LaGrande and Captain Kate Capsize are a delight, but they both vanish too fast to leave a lasting impression.

I liked the locations and some of the puzzles a lot, but the game seemed to be deeply entrenched on a war against itself and eager to undermine its best qualities for reasons unknown.

And the ending was really weird, forced and awkward, too.

But you know what's the most infuriating thing about it? I still love the hell out of it, for it stands heads and shoulders above its peers regardless of everything... That'd be the Ron Gilbert special, matey.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Starting the year a little bombastic i see kamako.


My first day of the new year was spent on Sudden Strike resources war , i played the single mission "big landing" or as the briefing call it "nurse the blind pew" where you assume command of an American taskforce tasked with assisting a large force of marines under the command of "blind pew" a inexperienced yet arrogant man who happen to be the nephew of an Admiral.

Our task is simple intervene as much as possible to avoid getting the blind pew men slaughtered against the fierce Japanese resistance sounds easy right? NO you need to destroy 280mm artillery spread throughout the eastern/central part of the map , i had to dig through a minefield to reach a nearby radio station to call British paratroopers then got shelled by the damn japanese long range artillery aaaand the station got razed , i combined British paratroopers with my own infantry along with some tanks and pushed through the dense jungle some losses there and there including a mad dash by 5 Shermans that got blasted quickly (RIP) eventually the blind pew figured i was better suited for the task so he transferred command of squad A to me , i disposed of most coastal artillery and that's it? Honestly one of the better designed scenarios in this game , no infinite attacks to bother you constantly it's fun but require careful planning as signaling to squad A in the wrong time can lead to massive armor casualties.

 

[secreto7]

Yes, the pixel hunting and absurd puzzles seems it was kind of the staple for the genre back in the past, and some newer games too.

The trollish and some of the black humor of Monkey Island 2 seems to be reflecting the bitterness of Ron Gilbert that I think didn't want to make a sequel and also was about to leave Lucas Arts?

 

[Kamako]

And the ending was really weird, forced and awkward, too.

Oh yeah, what the f**k was that ending?
I just sat there baffled, though admittedly, I had a big grin on my face the whole time too. :P

But yeah that finale came so far out of left field to have felt like it came from the right field.

 

[Kamako]

The trollish and some of the black humor of Monkey Island 2 seems to be reflecting the bitterness of Ron Gilbert that I think didn't want to make a sequel and also was about to leave Lucas Arts?

I did not know that! But now that you mention it, that makes a whole lot of sense.

The developers didn't mention that in their commentary track funnily enough, though they did mention making Ron mad one time by throwing a bottle of water over his head that he'd been using to squirt at people who talked to him for too long xD

 

[Kamako]

Starting the year a little bombastic i see kamako.

I suppose leading a taskforce against a ruthless resistance militia and engaging in warfare across jungle and coastal terrain in one protracted campaign is your idea of a picnic, eh Panda? :P

I'd never heard of the game but it sounds epic and taking a look at some gameplay just now it looks pretty awesome.

 

[Lod 10]

BomOkay guys, I was playing Pokémon Platinum, it was the first game I played in 2026, here's my team.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

I suppose leading a taskforce against a ruthless resistance militia and engaging in warfare across jungle and coastal terrain in one protracted campaign is your idea of a picnic, eh Panda? :P

I'd never heard of the game but it sounds epic and taking a look at some gameplay just now it looks pretty awesome.

Gotta start the year with some action even if off duty



I play my own modded and actually fixed version of Resources war instead of whatever the devs cooked up at the time gosh that tank balance is horrible....

 

[Blamhammer]

Glad more people are playing Hi Fi Rush now. I swear MS was purposefully trying to bury that game, with Denovo and the shuttering of Tango Gameworks.

 

[Kamako]

BomOkay guys, I was playing Pokémon Platinum, it was the first game I played in 2026, here's my team.

Looks like an evenly levelled and well-balanced team. Good luck battling and catchin' 'em all!

 

[Lod 10]

Parece uma equipe equilibrada e com níveis iguais. Boa sorte nas batalhas e na captura de todos eles!

Thanks

 

[Elwiwi]

Are you going to do another thread each day you play? If so you're crazy crazy .


I have hi fi rush on my radar since they announced it ( and released it ) but why is the game suddenly living a second life ?

 

[Kamako]

Are you going to do another thread each day you play? If so you're crazy crazy .

I would love to, but I don't think I'd be able to find the time. I write very slowly, and if I have to choose between writing about video games or playing them, I'll choose to play. :]

I have hi fi rush on my radar since they announced it ( and released it ) but why is the game suddenly living a second life ?

I think it might be because it's currently (or was recently) on sale on Steam, so people like me are picking up now that the price is more reasonable and we're the other side of Xmas and New Year to play something different. I don't even know how long it's been out for, but it's been on my wishlist since Yahtz gave it a glowing review.

 

[Elwiwi]

I would love to, but I don't think I'd be able to find the time. I write very slowly, and if I have to choose between writing about video games or playing them, I'll choose to play. :]

Owww I wanted my day in gaming number 293 XD

Back on my early rgt days I made a journal of my DMC 3 playthrough and I had fun , but most of the times were " I completed x chapter hooray" or I didn't know how I was going to approach certain games ( I tried doing one of FF tactics) and I just dropped the idea