Played the Rubato demo on my Switch 2 last night and I just have to remark about that because it was utterly fantastic and I’m looking forward to buying the full game in March now.

But, for the weekend, I’m working today and my birthday party’s tomorrow, sooo… I’m sure we’ll play some form of party game tomorrow. Jackbox or Mario Party or something along those lines.

With my birthday being so close, I’m sort of using that to play more games than usual. I did finally start Terranigma after years of wanting to see what it was about and it’s a really beautiful 16 bit JRPG. I’d really like to start the Seance of Blake Manor tonight. I was also able to find Vib Ribbon recently and that’s been a definite go-to game for me. Man, do I wish Sony would revisit Vib Ribbon and Parappa… That’s a wish for the birthday candles…

It honestly looked fantastic. I can’t wait to see more. It looks like it absolutely will carry the torch for what the series was and will be going forward.

Also, how crazy is it that Peter Molyneux is also releasing a game this year? Wouldn’t it be wild to Peter Molyneux’s game vs Fable for GotY?

We still no next to nothing about Xbox’s release slate this year unless it’s truly back heavy, which, given that GTA is allegedly incoming, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I imagine we’ll probably get an update on this one in the summer in some capacity. We don’t even know about Gears or Halo, which are 2026 titles, so I’d imagine the ones without slated dates will get an update when they get an update. I’d like to see this one, but who knows? Clearly there’s more showcases to come as the release dates weren’t exactly all over the Developer Direct

I think the time has come when “Too Big to Fail” is over. Don’t buy it. Let them hurt from it. They got greedy with cutting corners with CoD and they had the worst launch in 17 years for the series. Let Forza have the same fate if they’re not giving a reasonable price for it. If the DLC is $60 in scope, it is, but I doubt it.

Bought both of these already to play on my Steamdeck for on the go play. Honestly, they both hold up really well in 2026 and they run far smoother than they did on my rig from ages ago AND I’d argue that both games are a better experience than Sims 3 and 4, even though 3 and 4 are more modern experiences.

8/10 for me. Fable looks fantastic and Beast looks really interesting. I’ll get them both… on PlayStation. I’m still meh on Forza. Kiln… I love Double Fine, but that doesn’t look like one of their better games.

I wonder if the surprise game will be Witchbrook. If it’s a “smaller indie game,” but also “ambitious,” that would sort of fit the bill if the rumors are accurate and it missed its winter 2025 release slate with no update, though it was advertised as a Gamepass title. It’s big enough for the showcase, I’d say, but small enough that it’d surprise those that haven’t followed the game for years.

It’s Life is Strange. I’m preordering it. I know everyone’s going to complain about it and meanwhile my wife and I will have fun with it just like we did with all of them so far.

I think it’ll hit with a thud on 1/26 and they’ll see how feedback is and make a call from there. These types of games are really expensive to make and it doesn’t make sense to delay it if it’s feature complete already. Delaying it won’t change how people feel about it, but word of mouth could.

I think I still have a few of these in storage. Child of Eden is disc only? I swear, I feel like I played it a year or two ago digitally? I could be wrong. Man, I love that game.

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, perhaps. I’m really considering finally starting my Terranigma playthrough as well. The Seance of Blake Manor is sitting on my backlog, calling to me too. My cousin asked me to pick up this game called Fretless too and said it was basically a game made for him and I specifically when we were 14, so I’m sort of compelled to learn more.

No intention on renewing currently unless there’s a big stock of games I’d like to try and there’s a deal for a single month to try before I buy basically.

Remake was released five years ago on a previous generation of hardware and I’d say there’s still less than a dozen games released since it that have felt as massive. It’s an absolute classic and, if you love it, Rebirth is even better. Hopefully Xbox players can get to enjoy that one later in the year too.

Xbox could use someone with his marketing talent.

Wishlisted and ready to purchase Day 1. I know Molyneux is full of it and full of himself, but he’s always made good games. I sort of miss the auteur era of gaming.

That would be extremely disappointing…

Village is better than 4, in my opinion. I know it’s not a common opinion, but it’s the second best game in the series, behind only 7.

If you’re able to find one cheap and you’re subbed for xCloud, Xbox One can still play everything on the Series consoles. Sometimes through streaming, the games can play just about as well on the One as the Series X too if you’ve got a stable enough internet connection, or at least they could two years ago. When I unsubbed last summer, streaming was honestly a bit rougher, probably due to more people using the service (the Stadia era and early xCloud era of streaming games was underrated). Regardless, it can still reach that capacity. I’ve honestly used my Xbox One to play more Series exclusives than my S this generation, just because of its convenient placement in my house. It’s a solid machine.

Will be playing the Metal Gear Solid board game tonight with friends. Got my Steamdeck with me in case we do a bit of Arc Raiders too.

Tomorrow, I’d like to play more of the DQ7 demo too and maybe start Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. I’d still like to start The Seance of Blake Manor with the wife too.

Realistically though, I’d not be surprised if I play some NES games and Cast ‘n Chill instead. I’ve been having more fun with my NES library than my modern library the last couple months. I’ve been loving exploring the lesser known games in the catalog. Things like Panic Restaurant, Whomp ‘Em, and even Japan only games like Mitsume Ga Tooru. One of these days soon I’m going to hop to the SNES too. As an American, I missed out on Terranigma. I’m definitely going to find time to play it this year. January could be a good month.

There’s so much to play! I’m glad nothing is coming out for me til Mario Tennis and RE9. I get so caught up in new releases sometimes that looking back feels so good right now.

1. Fable
2. Beast
3. The surprise
4. Forza

To be honest, Forza doesn’t do much for me. Fable, I’m already sold. Beast looks like it could be really cool and I’m always down for surprise games.

Took them long enough to finish Starcraft: Ghost.

It’d be cool if there was a cross remake of Fallout 3 and New Vegas where you have the same character in both worlds. I know that doesn’t really make sense, but I thought it would’ve been cool as a kid (though I was an adult when they both came out) and I still do.

@Balaam_ Everyone has different pillars, I suppose. Fable’s been dormant for ages though, so it makes sense why it may not be a pillar to some. To me, Fable’s more important than Forza and Gears, only second to Halo.

Guessing Clockwork Revolution is the fifth game. State of Decay would be nice, but it’s a meme now. Would be interesting to see Xbox pull a Pragmata at TGA and subtly drop that games are coming to Switch 2 after not being previously announced.

Is Beast of Reincarnation an Xbox exclusive?

I anticipate Xbox is shifting to being a PC-based entity again, just where there’s more avenues to play the games, ie handhelds, phones, tablets, etc. Why invest in a mainstream console infrastructure if Sony and Nintendo can do that and you can make more money off of your games being sold on there?

Let’s face it: Xbox’s consoles right now are like a third shift employee that gets paid to hang out with a dozen regular customers a night rather than actually pushing any merchandise. Meanwhile, the cloud infrastructure is first shift and software is second shift.

I’m aiming to buy fewer games and play the games I buy. I reduced my purchasing in 2025 and still ended up buying more than 50 games and two consoles… I’m going to buy zero consoles in 2026 and try to purchase less than 30 games. I’m also going to aim to enjoy gaming more this year than last year. I sort of felt like I forced myself to play a few trendy games last year and I’m just really not going to try to keep up anymore unless I really like the games.

Maybe this is the weekend I finally tackle that Pragmata demo. I think I’ll play some Counter Strike and Cast ‘n Chill. I feel like going back to Sektori, Earthion, and Toree Saturn too for the fun of it. I bought Zak McKraken and the Alien Mindbenders yesterday too for old time’s sake. Maybe I’ll indulge in a classic for a bit. I don’t anticipate I’ll be playing anything consistently til February, so I’m just going to have some fun.

@Grumblevolcano This sounds pretty reasonable as there has been news circulating that people have tried the Starfield update. I think there’s more evidence to this being Bethesda’s current baby than a Fallout 3 remaster. Is there any proof on the Fallout 3 remaster? As much as I’m not really a remasters kind of guy, I know I won’t be able to resist that one.

An update on Clockwork Revolution, State of Decay, or Fable would be nice. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Plague Tale game gets a shout too. The Dev Direct is usually one of the best showcases of the year.

You guys are crazy saying you’d spend $1000+. No way would I spend that unless gaming got so expensive across the board that that was the cheapest option. I bought my Series S for $300 after all…

Realistically, I’d say $5-600 for me for a new Xbox. To be totally honest, I’m not sure I plan to continue on with Xbox into the next generation unless they make some big shifts into making the brand less chaotic and offer some form of value for being a customer.

Feels like February, April, and August are the best months to do it from a business perspective, but I’d pick January because my birthday’s in January and if I could ensure myself a gift in gaming, I would enjoy that. Some years I can, some years I can’t.

I’m down for this. I like Luke Stephens even if I frequently disagree with his opinion and don’t have much overlapping taste. I appreciate his honesty though. It’s a unique format too. It’s good to see people outside the typical circle get a show too.

Now if only Electric Playground and Happy Console Gamer could have one of these…

@SeaDaVie Comment of the year winner!

I think there’s few people out there that are truly pining for a new generation right now anyway, so I think that might be a positive decision.

I voted:
1. Silksong (though I played it on Switch 2 instead)
2. Balatro (though I didn’t play it on Gamepass and own it on three other platforms)
3. Blue Prince
4. Other (To a T)
5. Banishers Ghosts of New Eden (though I’d played it previously on PS5)

It was a very strong year for Gamepass. I do think the service lost steam for me after the price hike, but genuinely the first half of the year was a heavy Gamepass period for me.

Disco Simulator? They really do make games for everyone these days.

I have two more Christmases this weekend to do, so probably not much of anything. I’m feeling ok with the amount of 2025 games I’ve beaten to compile my year end list now, so there’s that. And because of that, I’ve sort of drifted towards playing through comfort food in the form of NES games. Little Nemo, Little Samson, Bucky O’Hare, Whomp ‘Em, Wallstreet Kid, Princess Tomato, and Mitsune Ga Tooru are ideas for what I might finish next. Beat Adventure Island 2, Kung Fu, and Friday the 13th over Christmas Eve/Day. Wallstreet Kid might be my first choice since I failed at it miserably on Christmas Day.

I’ve finished a lot of games this year, a couple on Xbox. Expedition 33, Blue Prince, and South of Midnight for sure on Xbox. That might be it for Xbox though. Feels like there’s more. I don’t keep a record of my completions though. I’ve beaten probably 30-40 games this year. Just beat Adventure Island 2 (NES) on Christmas Eve and Friday the 13th (NES) on Christmas, so those are the most recent, but the most recent 2025 game I beat was Metroid Prime 4.

Zero. Cancelled my Gamepass subscription too. Was a fantastic first half of the year for the service til they shot it down with a price hike. I’ve effectively sorta left the Xbox ecosystem. I’m contemplating getting the Outer Worlds 2 on PS5 or Steam though. Still buying Xbox games, just elsewhere now.

To a T deserved far more love.

No way to tell. Only way for anyone to know what’ll be in the GotY discussion is to wait until we know what the YouTubers like. I wouldn’t say anything on the 2026 Xbox docket has much hype. Right now, Phantom Blade Zero, Sony’s Marvel games, and Resident Evil are practically the only games with “hype” at the moment. RE will probably feel like a lock for awards when it launches, only to be forgotten about by the end of the year though. Happened to Village and I’m expecting it’ll happen to Requiem.

That said, I could definitely see some Xbox games landing in my personal list. 2026’s release schedule looks better to me than this year’s list for sure and that’s largely based on Fable

Just beat Metroid Prime 4. Fantastic game. Time to finally compile that personal year end list.

Onto some assorted oldies like The Sims 1, SimCity 3000, Adventure Island 2, Rampage Universal Tour, Half Life, etc, whatever I feel the random urge to play the rest of the year.

These games are all in bulk on the discount shelves of my local Walmart for $5-$15. I’d imagine sales are low enough now on these that they didn’t extend paying for the licenses.

I’d be able to tell you specifically if Xbox had a year end recap!

This year, I’d wager my gaming looked like this:

50% Switch 2
20% Xbox
15% PS5
13% Mobile
2% Steamdeck

Just got a Steamdeck, but I’m anticipating that number to rise next year. I really liked Nintendo’s first party output this year. I know Silksong was the game I played the most (edit: on consoles) this year on Switch 2 regardless of a year end update. This is definitely the year I played my PS5 least and might be the year I’d played Xbox most this generation.

Edit: actually, Balatro on my phone was my most played game this year as I broke 100 hours on it this year… just updated my percentages with that though my mobile time is all Balatro and I’m sure my percentages are wrong.

@Runex2121 I agree with you. Us hardcore gamers are likely finding more and more frustration with the industry the broader it gets because, even if we were the original foundation of game sales, we aren’t the target demographic anymore.

I suppose backwards isn’t the right description, though it is lower tech that is made more cheaply and quickly. There’s nothing wrong with this though. After all, there’s still plenty of Wiis hooked up in senior centers and schools. It’s arguable that the Wii if sold very cheaply may still be a viable selling console because there is a different demographic that wants motion controlled, casual fun style experiences.

Given the increasing costs of development and consumer pricing, I’m not surprised we’re going backwards as an industry to sell to the casuals. I don’t feel any of the big 3 are fully invested in the casual market currently.

@InfamousOrange It’s coming in January.

If this is good and the price is fair, maybe I’ll snag World War Z for this. Loved TWD during its run. Some shows end and you miss them years later and TWD is one of those shows for me.

@Smackosynthesis This has been a quantity over quality year in terms of first party releases for sure

Haven’t gotten around to Keeper or the Outer Worlds, and I suspect one of them might be the real answer, but I’ll go with one I played and I played almost all of them. I don’t think it’s a perfect game, but I picked South of Midnight.

@BAMozzy You misunderstand the point I’m making. The point I’m making is that the games that receive the most marketing and have the most financial backing are pushing out unique experiences and many of those games that have the financial ability to do so are engineered in a way to prioritize engagement and the addictive properties in games. It’s a more intricate and nuanced subject than “vote with your wallet.” Just because most people have Facebook circa 2025 doesn’t mean that it’s healthy for peoples’ mental health to scroll on it out of addiction, you know? Most people don’t actually know what is out there with games and continue to support what they know rather than exploring more games that may broaden their tastes and palette. This has never been more apparent than in the current era of gaming.

The reality is that most people don’t truthfully know if they would like a spectrum of games because they are not exposed to them or aware of them. Gamers have become risk averse because the larger corporations are telling them to do so and they don’t know any better and probably don’t realize this influence.

By the way, totally believe Hellblade should get more exposure for the unique things it does. I get that it’s maybe not “the best game,” but as a piece of art, it’s highly successful. The first game really didn’t look appealing to me, so I didn’t play it at release, but a family member of mine recommended it, so I checked it out and I’m glad I was told about it. The last two generations, I’ve found myself digging harder because I’ve noticed people used to recommend more games and used to try to expose people to unique experiences, but aren’t doing that so much anymore. I ask about this and usually the answer I get is that people don’t know what’s out there anymore.

That’s why I continue to try to get these kinds of games exposure and tell people about them, wear t-shirts of “obscure games,” etc. Things have changed to make it more difficult for indies to flourish for a multitude of reasons. But I’m happy to help people find more games they’d enjoy. It’s sort of cool seeing others enjoy a game they didn’t know about.

@jesse_dylan @BAMozzy I dunno. I think we should support games that feature disable characters or stuff that is child friendly without being made from a marketing machine. I dunno about anyone else, but I’d rather my kids learn about overcoming obstacles in spite of being different vs “Paw Patrol game #4.” Not that there’s anything wrong with Paw Patrol, but it’s up to our wallets to ensure that people are still able to craft art and idiosyncratic experiences. It’s not like To A T got much of an opportunity for the right people to know it exists, you know? It just irks me when predatory content like Five Nights at Freddy’s, Roblox, and Fortnite are aimed at kids right now and monopolizing their free time and headspace when something like this doesn’t even have the ability to market itself toward any success.

I’m not giving up on the good fight. I’m crusading for unique games until the fight is won. I know I’m on a “kids games hill” for this one, but honestly this generation has been regressive towards much of what is unique in gaming.

Also, I am so thankful for Kojima. As long as he and Remedy continue to find success, there’s hope out there in the industry.