PS2 Backlog Committee

#16 Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC - 2001) 4/5 (Playtime 10-ish hours)



The first-person shooter genre is sort of a funny one for me. It's clearly one of the more popular mainstream forms of gaming, and while I also enjoy the formula, it's pretty rare that I find one to be exceptional. There are a select few that I'd elevate into my own personal hall of fame, but by and large, it's a genre that's almost always good fun but rarely leaves a truly lasting mark with me. So, I'll play one here and there, and they're always within my rotation, however sporadic.

Expecting to have another round of good but relatively forgettable fun, I fired up Return to Castle Wolfenstein in 2024. The only other entry I'd ever played in this long-running series was 2014's The New Order - a game I really enjoyed. Fighting Nazis must be one of the most natural gaming expressions. I suppose it satisfies a culturally acceptable outlet for violence (for most). It fits nicely into one of the most popular genres. And there's plenty of room for exploring more ‘out-there’ elements with Hitler's (and the Nazi party's) supposed fascination with occult stuff. It's easy to see why this series (and concept) has lasted as long as it has.

In this entry, we're sent along multiple missions from the titular castle to various other locations, both indoor and out. Places like air bases, research facilities, military outposts, and others provided plenty of visual variety for the mostly routine shooting. I really appreciated the overall variety, and this was accentuated by missions that were both of the stealth and action variety. The stealthier missions required you to take out foes from a distance with long-range scope-based weapons or up close and personal with your blade or silenced pistol. The stealth was relatively simple and not off-putting, I would imagine, if you don't care for that more narrow genre, though. The action-focused missions made up the bulk of this familiar shooter experience - levels like you'd expect in most any other shooter, and they were good cathartic fun as well. The enemy AI wasn't dumb as bricks either, as they'd kick back grenades you've thrown and move around corners in varying patterns. To be clear, the AI wasn't particularly noteworthy, but it was fun enough to keep things engaging. The overall challenge (on the default difficulty) was quite nice, however. Even though you're given suitable weaponry to deal with any situation, you can have your health and armor whittled away in a flash, especially if you get yourself into a tight spot. And the hail of gunfire was nicely unpredictable, as you'd sometimes have foes unloading their clips in a maelstrom of whizzing projectiles while missing you altogether, and then at other times you could get nailed by an unseen sniper, shaving a good chunk off your health in an instant.

There were also plenty of secrets to find in every level. Some of the secrets gave you extra ammo and armor, while others were Nazi treasures you could add to your booty count. And these were nicely hidden, as I rarely found them all within a level, which could add some moderate replay value should you find yourself really immersed. I also LOVE that Return included a kick button. Granted, it was no Bulletstorm boot of catharsis, but it was quite satisfying and funny to destroy Nazi chairs, pictures of Hitler, radio equipment, and other elements of their military campaign as you made yourself a general nuisance to their cause along the way.

In terms of presentation, the sound was really nice. The soundtrack was very military in tone,with a heavy emphasis on percussive elements that wonderfully suited a campaign with this wartime backdrop. The general sound effects were also well done,with plenty of little immersive touches like radio, enemy chatter,and lots of little audiovisual elements to bring the locations and overall scene to life. I always enjoyed hearing the Nazi forces yelling out, “Halt” whenever they found me. The guns provided nice audio feedback as well for the most part and were varied enough to feel like you had a complete and satisfying arsenal. Granted, some guns were far preferred over others, leaving some basic pistols sitting unattended in your rotation, but there were some interesting weapons, some of which were experimental in nature, which kept the carnage fresh. And the general atmosphere had an excellent horror-tinged flavor to complement the action due to the Nazi occult shenanigans, opening doors that should remain closed.

On the other side of this coin, I have heard that the main draw with this title has always been the multiplayer component, something that I didn't play and honestly had no interest in. And the performance could have been better in some spots. I've heard this was an issue with the “iortcw” version/patch that I played at first, and it must have been since it couldn't have been a hardware issue. And this was not a plug-and-play experience for me on Steam, having had a few hiccups in getting things going before finally being able to make my way smoothly via the aforementioned “patch,” which ultimately ran outside Steam. Also, the few bosses were pretty uninspired as well as being a bit unbalanced. They served their purpose but were not close to the highlight they ought to have been.

But overall this was generally what I've come to expect with the FPS genre. It was really good fun from beginning to end, and yet not something I'd necessarily go “gaga” over. The gunplay was greasy-quick and fun, the environments were varied and interesting, and the campaign was lengthy enough that I felt like I'd been on a proper adventure when all was said and done. Look, if you've played and enjoyed this genre in the past, you know what to expect. For me, it's a solid 4/5. Really good fun, but not quite something I'd personally place as an all-time classic.

I love the variety of this list. Great stuff.

Never heard of FUMIKO. Just watched the video and looks very cool.

canedaddy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 28, 2025 9:55 am I love the variety of this list. Great stuff.

Never heard of FUMIKO. Just watched the video and looks very cool.

What can I say, I'm a fractured being with no solid identity, and so I identify with all things. (and nothing )



But yeah, FUMIKO is great!

#15 Kaze and the Wild Masks (PC - 2021) 4/5 (Playtime 19.8 hours)





Revisiting a genre to which I often eagerly return, I picked up Kaze and the Wild Masks in 2024, a game released in 2021 by PixelHive, their only title to this point. This 2D platformer offers a minimal narrative hook about some tragedy or other that has befallen some anthropomorphic kingdom with a heavy fixation upon vegetables - a tragedy that can, of course, only be remedied by running, jumping, and collecting across four worlds and multiple levels for each. I certainly didn't mind the minimal narrative in this platformer that hearkens back to the more spartan presentational offerings of years gone by, a period of time when you just got right into the action.

Within each of the worlds, there are a series of levels you traverse on a map from left to right as the titular Kaze, along with a variety of objectives to keep you engaged. Besides simply making it to the end of each level, where you jump into a glowing portal for completion, there are different tasks to pursue. In the first place, there are four letters spelling out the name of the main character to collect. For every level you complete in this four-part task of grabbing K-A-Z-E, you get a complete golden gemstone, and you open up a journal page that has a piece of artwork to help inspire your connection to the world and story as you try to connect the dots via your imagination if you are so inclined to work out the details of the presumably interconnected imagery. There are also two hidden (to various degrees) levels within each level where you can collect 2 halves of a complete green emerald gem. These levels are timed challenges in which you usually must pick up a certain number of green crystals while avoiding obstacles or simply platform your way to a goal. When you collect both, you get the complete gem, and when you've collected them all for one of the four worlds, you open up a bonus and extra-challenging level, and I really enjoyed these creative and interesting takes on the overall formula. Finally, there is a goal to collect 100 red crystals in each level. There are usually 10 or so more available than required, but some of these can be tricky to grab, making it a fun goal most of the time. Beyond that, you can engage in timed challenges where you can earn various medals for your aptitude for speedy navigation through each of the stages. In all, there were plenty of little carrots (no vegetable pun intended) incentivizing your trips and revisits through the many levels, and I was really engaged by always having something to pursue as I tried to get closer to that satisfying 100% completion percentage, something that I eventually did, much to my own satisfaction.

The platforming itself in Kaze is also very tight, and the level design is quite precise and well-conceived, requiring a consistent level of execution to avoid having to restart. Even one mistake can send you back to the beginning unless you collect one of the rare hearts, which afford you an accidental bump with a hazard, although a fall out of the world will still kill you. There's also only a single checkpoint at the midpoint of each level, so there's really a nice challenge where you're forced to learn the levels well as you progress, which was a satisfying process all its own. It could surely be sometimes frustrating as you tried to get things just right and had to replay levels/sections over and over again, but there was a very pleasing sense of mastery as you made your way forward. The first world isn't too tough, to be clear, but the difficulty ramps up quite rapidly from there on, especially if you are pursuing a complete game file. There is a “casual” mode that gives you more lives and checkpoints, but I found the “original” mode to be thoughtfully balanced and nicely challenging without being overly frustrating most of the time. But the general flow of the levels was really clever and well designed, making the platforming both fun and challenging. In addition, there are the “wild masks” referenced within the title. These are masks that transform Kaze at various points within some levels into one of four beasts. There is a flying bird-type creature, a shark, a tiger, and a lizard creature of some sort. Each of these beasts has different abilities and limitations. The bird can, of course, fly throughout levels, and controlling Kaze in this state allows you to hover and circumvent moving aerial obstacles. The shark will naturally swim and can do so at various speeds, along with a dash that can break through enemies and barriers. The tiger can air dash, cling to walls, and scurry up them. And finally, the lizard creature is like Sonic in the “I gotta go fast” sense. This transformation forces Kaze into forward movement with no option to slow down or stop, which makes for some really fun and challenging sections, transforming those parts into a sort of auto-runner. This animal can also rapidly dash downward or apply an extra boost jump, and those abilities were woven nicely into the overall set of challenges. All of these different creatures really added to the nice sense of variety on offer, and they were also used within the various - and also very well-designed - pattern-based boss fights. To the point, there was an excellent sense of variety to the types of mechanical engagement throughout the experience, and the simple moment-to-moment act of playing was very satisfying, both in its immediacy and in the constant little incentives that kept pushing you forward.

I will say that, excellent design notwithstanding, Kaze has a very familiar feel in many ways. I've heard some criticize it for being overly derivative, particularly in regard to Donkey Kong Country. Clearly there are elements drawn from that series, like the collect 4 letters (KAZE/KONG), as well as the barrel-launching-inspired catapults that make their appearance in many spots. I've also heard people mention Rayman, and the tennis-shoe-wearing lizard form, along with the speedy nature of that transformation, and it also brought Sonic to mind in many ways (in the lizard form). And of course, it's a 2D platformer, which on its own carries a significant amount of déjà vu for most who've been gaming for very long. But I felt that the overall package was more fun than one of its more obvious inspirations - referring to DKC in particular here. (at least the first one, which was the only one I've played) And the visuals here don't make me want to scratch my eyes out. It also oddly reminded me of Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasures on the Genesis in terms of appearances in some ways - probably due to Kaze being a rabbit. I read quite a few opinions that claimed this was a pale shadow of DKC, and then I remembered how irrational Nintendo's hardcore cult memb...um...fans can be, and I quickly recalibrated my interpretation of those extremist views. This is the better game, imho. And while the music was generally good, it did feel a bit, um, “AI” or paint-by-numbers. There wasn't any real passion or unique flavor to the relatively inoffensive soundtrack. Finally, the game had an odd fixation with vegetables, with even the intro screens preaching the virtues of eating such rabbit food. It wasn't off-putting, and maybe even a little charming in a quirky sort of way, but it was a little strange nonetheless.

But I really don't have any harsh criticisms here. It may be well-trodden territory in terms of formula, but it was executed with an excellent level of finesse and was fun from beginning all the way to 100%. And I haven't even mentioned the graphics and animation, both of which were of a similarly high quality to the rest of the overall package. I don't know what else I can say. It's a great example of a beloved form of gaming that goes back to the early days of this medium. Highly recommended. 4/5.

#14 No One Lives Under the Lighthouse (PC - 2020) 4/5 (Playtime 3.3 hours)




Looking for something spooky to play around Halloween this year, I perused my options and landed upon a game I picked up on PC not so long ago. I bought the game No One Lives Under the Lighthouse because it's low-poly (close to PS1) horror, and that “genre”, if you want to call it that, is one of my favorites. There's just something incredibly compelling for me in the combination of fear/horror and the already hazy and somewhat indistinct imagery that just encourages your imagination to go wild. It's a visual style that just seems tailor-made for scary games. I know I'm not alone in this appreciation, and I imagine that this form of gaming expression will continue for a long time because those who really connect with this sort of presentation can be pretty fanatical.

So let's talk about the presentation and circumstances surrounding this tale. The setting is a small island where you've been sent to act as caretaker for a lighthouse which seems to have trouble in securing an ongoing steward for this crucial role. So the location is quite small/intimate. There's the lighthouse at the top of the bluff, along with a small beachfront and dock below, a little circular “island” at the base of the hill, a storage shed, and your home and outhouse as you make your way up the incline towards the lighthouse itself. So, you'll be exploring a relatively small area over the course of several days in your role as the story unfolds. You're tasked with keeping the lighthouse clean and maintained, taking care of the grounds, and keeping the torch burning and rotating in its vital role as a beacon of safety for nearby ships passing. In terms of executing your duties (the practical interaction of the game), you explore your surroundings and interact with various objects. Everything you can utilize is outlined/highlighted as you approach. So, it's mostly a matter of searching and figuring out what you can use and how to use it. The game never explicitly tells you, so you are left to your own devices and a bit of trial and error. It's not overly complex, to be clear. You might have to roam around a bit in order to sort out the next objective, but it's never too hard to move things along.

Visually and aurally, there is an excellent mood and atmosphere established here. Firstly, there is a real sense of isolation on this small island. It's easy to see how a person could feel “trapped” and insanity may creep in within such a context. It's just you and your routines along with the sloshing of the sea, the squawking of the gulls, and the moaning winds for company, leaving you to whatever dark corners of your mind that may have been obscured by the noise of the normal hustle and bustle of the inhabited world. And adding to the sense of place, there is an excellent use of lighting as the weather and conditions change from chapter to chapter, giving different moods to different periods. There was one chapter in particular that had an outstanding representation of a thunderstorm with maybe the best rain I've ever seen in any game. The skies had truly opened up, and the sheets of water were very convincing and really obscured your vision and made you almost feel yourself getting drenched. The sense of place was very dynamic and really accentuated the overall experience, making it feel like a believable, if surreal, locale. And the sound was similarly well done. In addition to the convincing environmental, weather, and nature-related noises, there were some haunting, deep, and echoing tones that fit nicely with a narrative that I'll get to shortly. And the world itself and its manifestation were inconsistent and added to the feeling of being uncertain and unsafe. The “rules” of what you could (or should) do in one scenario didn't necessarily apply to another, and any sense of solid ground to stand on was continually eroding beneath you in a practical sense as things progressed, narrative aside, leaving you straining for coherence.

In terms of the narrative, things unfold in a slow-burn descent-into-madness sort of fashion. Things are pretty normal early on, but before long, everything is clearly not quite right. One detail right from the outset that I found eerie and unsettling was a light under the short pier from which you debark at the start. It is just a ball of light that oscillates back and forth in the water under the dock. Yes, it's strange but also doesn't seem particularly threatening. But it's the sort of thing that makes you question what is happening, your sanity, or both. And this sort of strangeness only accelerates as the narrative unfolds. I don't want to spoil things, even though this is the type of story in which you're never explicitly told what's going on. And that's what I prefer, especially for horror. I found myself ruminating over possible meanings and details after I had completed things, which, for me, is always a sign that a game made an impact. I will say that there are many questions prompted by the unfolding events. Was what was happening real or a result of isolation and alcohol as a means of coping? There are numerous references to religion and mysticism as well. In fact, the achievement list consists of 23 things, 22 of which are the cards of the Major Arcana of the Tarot, and the 23rd is called "The Major Arcana". If you have any familiarity with the Tarot or the i Ching or are fascinated by the fact that a seemingly “random” dispersal of cards or other implements can be spookily referential, personal, and meaningful, then there is that sort of bizarre and unsettling flavor in the quantum mechanics “observer effect” sort of way. Some of the impressions made upon me here were of a tale that is both ancient and inevitable, a connection that is repeated endlessly and is agonizing, torturous, and, in an odd sort of way, perhaps a twisted love story or necessary bond of interdependent polarities in which suffering is the only outcome. Also, there was the incredibly devastating sensation that you become aware of this ceaseless cycle at the close of things, just before the “reset”, like a record set to return the arm back to the beginning of things at each conclusion of the series of melodies, knowing for a brief, crushing moment that you'll eventually end up right back there again. There was also this sense of otherworldly forces binding you against your will in a set of circumstances that you could never possibly understand, yet are compelled to experience. Things had this truly haunting flavor, and I found myself transfixed by the possibilities and suggestions within this hazy narrative. These were some of my own impressions and interpretations. Again, there is no mundane, matter-of-fact clarity on offer, and your enjoyment of things narratively will depend on your appreciation of interpretive storytelling. There are also multiple endings. I am still debating whether or not I want to see the rest or simply let the journey I had rest as my frame of reference for this experience, given how much I enjoyed it.

There are also a couple of negatives. There are a few chase sequences that were awkward due to you beginning at a 3rd person focal point very far from the camera, and the orientation of your movement wasn't intuitive, as I found myself running towards the threat rather than away numerous times due to this abrupt and unintuitive shift. The rest of the game is in first person, which also made things feel out of place a bit. You'll eventually get a prompt to opt out of these scenarios if you fail a few times. It's not that it's hard; it's just awkward in execution. I never chose to skip these sequences since they're all doable after you reorient yourself to the somewhat jarring change accompanying these moments. There was also a sequence in which you are inhabiting another being in the late stages of the game, and moving around the environments in this state was both disorienting and a little frustrating. But these complaints are, in the overall context of the experience, pretty minor. I really enjoyed No One Lives Under the Lighthouse. I found it to be both wonderfully atmospheric and rich with potential interpretation. It perfectly suited the Halloween season and was just a satisfying experience overall. Highly recommended for the low-poly horror or simply general horror fan. 4/5.

#13 Legend Bowl (PC - 2021) 4/5 (Playtime 115 hours)





Since the beginning of the idea of representing sport within the realm of video gaming or otherwise, I have been interested in that convergence. When I was younger, I played Avalon Hill's (Statis Pro) Baseball and Pro Tennis. I've played Strat-o-Matic baseball, both the board and computer versions. I had many different handheld sports games from Mattel and others - you know, the ones with the little red LEDs representing the action. I even had the old electric football board game where you plug it in and the little guys vibrate around the metal gridiron in often hilarious and inaccurate ways; I still don't think those little adjusters on the bases did too much of anything, lol. (It was from the Vikings/Raiders Super Bowl XI season in 1977, and those were the two teams that came with my version. Sad face to the real game's outcome.) And in the video game realm, I was sports gaming from the outset, enjoying the original Atari Football and Real Sports Football, among many others, and across all sports. I have played ***countless*** physical and digital representations of so many different sports, all with their own distinct approach and flavor, and it's an interest that hasn't faded over time for me. So in that quest to scratch that persistent itch, I bought a 2021 independent football game on the PC called Legend Bowl, programmed by a previous member of some iteration of the Madden team, I believe.

From a presentation standpoint, it is reminiscent of the earlier 16-bit Maddens, viewed from above, although more directly above than those early games. And the players are all sprite-based, compact little guys that are quite amusing to watch run around the field. There's not a lot of detail visually, like you might expect even with the PS2-era NFL games, but the visuals are sharp, colorful, and uncluttered. As far as visual presentation, it's very basic and old-school. But there are pluses that come along with such simplicity. Being unbound to complex animation routines, the feel of input to action is very snappy and responsive, being untethered to realistic movements and the loss of immediate control that comes with such lengthy and control-removing cycles. The players' movement is crisp and tight, and you always feel rooted to whoever you're controlling in a satisfying way. You'll see no helmet logos on the players as they move or many other details common to more hardware intensive games, but there are plenty of nice touches to bring the game to life. Players chatter at each other endlessly in such amusing ways. There's always jawing going on, and when players get hurt, they'll call out in sympathetic pain to their fallen brother, “He hurt. He hurt!” I particularly loved how they mocked Peyton Manning's “Omaha” call. They gave it such a pathetic and wimpy vocal timbre, which for me was quite amusing. Maybe it wasn't intended as mockery (probably not) as they have other silly voice work aplenty, but I'll believe that it is, and it most certainly makes me smile. (God, I hate that soulless, shallow shill.) The ref will also fall down if he's bumped into, which is always funny to see. But to be succinct, there's plenty of playfulness in the way of little expressions that impart a charming style and personality. There is no NFL license, as should be expected in a post-Madden-exclusivity world, and even if that weren't the case, it would be unfair to expect a small developer to shell out the requisite fee. But there is modding as a part of the package, and I installed a full NFL mod right from the jump, and it had all the players you'd expect to see as well as a reworking of all the fields with team-appropriate logos in the end-zones. But even if you can't or don't want to mod things, you can adjust team names, player names (and ratings), along with a uniform-editor as well. So you can really go wild with the creation of your own little fictional football world if you are so inclined. As far as sound goes, there's a wonderful chiptune soundtrack that really evokes the old days. It's peppy with the right synth-style frequencies and seems like it could have been pulled directly from the era. On the field, aside from player chatter, there's also a nice representation of the physical struggle with player noises befitting the battle. There's even some entertaining soundwork for special moves when players say “trampoline!” when executing the hurdle maneuver or “BOOM” when executing the power move that comes accompanied with a satisfying screen shake if timed properly, leaving the would-be tackler satisfyingly thrown out of your way. The only real negative for me from a presentation standpoint was the fact that the camera doesn't swing around on punts, so rather than running away from your vantage point as viewed behind the screen (or upwards, I guess, to be more accurate) you are running towards it, which was awkward since in all other instances you'll be moving in a relative forwards/upwards direction. Granted, on defense you are going the other direction, but I'm referring to movement in cases where you have the ball. It was just a bit unintuitive, and I never felt otherwise, even after many hours of play. But overall, Legend Bowl makes a good showing of itself from an audiovisual standpoint.

As far as actual gameplay and structure are concerned, Legend Bowl also has a great deal to offer. In the first place, despite the cute presentation, this is much more of a sim in regard to most things. There's a satisfying amount of plays to select from on both sides of the ball, and more than in most football games, good playcalling really seems to be rewarded. Run a 46 defense against an empty set, and well, you should expect to get torched. Have your defense in a soft nickel or dime zone expecting the pass, and expect to get gashed by the run with mismatched personnel as your players have to try and adjust. Granted, other NFL games require understanding the fundamentals of the sport as well, but it just felt translated particularly well here, and simply calling plays in that chess match was really fun. Along those lines, you can also “play” all your games in coach mode, although I never did so and don't know if that would have translated as well with complete removal of control once the ball has been snapped. Also worth noting is that the PC will OFTEN audible out of their play in response to what you show them. And when you hear the QB call out a change, you'd often be wise to switch your coverage. The downside of this is that you cannot pre-select audibles on either side of the ball. You're limited to a selection of 4 calls - assigned to the d-pad - that are apparently randomly selected from the chosen formation prior to executing your audible. I would have much preferred to have had the option to craft my own specialized calls, even if only given four total, so that I could have familiarity with my options. Because usually after the opposing QB calls an audible, he'll snap the ball almost immediately, giving you little chance to view your potential adjustments, making you feel rather helpless in response. This aspect could be frustrating at times, but it was never so impactful that I felt like it decided the outcome of games. You also cannot use hot routes (on either side of the ball) for individual players, and having played so much NFL action over the years, I really missed the ability to make a granular change in response to what I thought my opponent was going to do based on the look they were giving me. Of course (at least on defense), you can take control of whomever you wish and force a shift in how things play out from a single player's perspective, and I often did so, bringing a safety or linebacker up to the line to pressure the QB when I felt my coverage could withstand the loss of that player in exchange for quick heat on the QB. In terms of plays and their execution, this game could have really benefited from a play editor. I always love crafting my own plays, and I can't remember that feature being present in any football game I've played since one Madden entry on the PS1. I always assumed that it's because it is too easy to exploit the CPU and break the game when allowed to structure your own plays, as was certainly the case with that old version of Madden, but I always really WANT to be my own mad scientist of an offensive and defensive coordinator. Unfortunately, even though the playbooks were pretty expansive, this was a missing feature that I keep hoping to see whenever I fire up a football game.

In terms of the players themselves, ratings really matter. Throw it up for grabs to Justin Jefferson, and often good things happen. Run it with Derrick Henry and knock down dem pins. There was a palpable value in relying upon your better players, and the better their ratings, the more likely it would be that they would win their individual matchups. It was generally very helpful and prudent to peruse your opponent's roster sheet and player ratings and probe for weaknesses on each side of the ball prior to the coin toss so that you knew exactly what you were dealing with as you looked for those advantages. Play calling and game planning are HUGE here. Understanding situations, both in terms of down and distance as well as opposing personnel, really allows the player to exploit advantages in their favor in Legend Bowl. Opponent weak on their right D-line? Well, you WILL notice a difference in running to your left side - assuming your blocking isn't very poor. (Speaking of blocking, Legend Bowl probably had the most satisfying representation of this fundamental element of football that I have experienced. Guys held their blocks if they were good blockers or got tossed aside if not.) Got a stud WR. Heave and hope (against single coverage in particular), and you'll see things turn out positively more often than if you're tossing it up to an average wideout. etc. The bottom line is that game-planning properly is wonderfully reflected between the lines, and thoroughly understanding the roster of both your team and your opponent, along with calling your plays in accordance with your strengths against their weaknesses (and masking your weaknesses as best as possible) will net realistic and satisfying results. It's pure sim in this regard. In that same vein, you can really build your team the way you want if you have a particular football philosophy, even with the limited roster management. (more on that later) Do you want to play a 3-4 with a focus on speedy linebackers? Well, draft that trait with your picks and upgrade your facilities to favor their position's desired qualities. (more on this later as well) Want a bullying run-game where you just ram it down your opposition's throat? Again, focus on those aspects in the draft and in your facility upgrades. Get your beef eaters up front and a stallion to feed the rock and make your opponent wilt. And because of the fact that player differences and their impact can really be felt in the course of actual gameplay, it's really satisfying to tailor your team to your preferred philosophy and play-style. Really fun. In short, the feel of football was nicely conveyed with players that felt unique and game-planning that impactfully reflected the strengths and weaknesses of rosters. Overall, players really feel ***DISTINCT*** which is huge and makes for a more organic feeling of pigskin. And coupled with the tight controls, it's ever-satisfying to throw out a stiff arm to a pursuing tackler, toss him to the side, and jet down the sideline for the score, by way of example. Good stuff. On the flip side of that, I did feel that the value of speed was a bit overemphasized. I drafted a speedy back one year, and even on the highest difficulty, I could often run sweeps to the far side of the hash at the snap and consistently get decent yardage. To be fair, you'd get blown up in the backfield sometimes, but it was too reliable and made speed too empowering. Similarly with linebackers, even if their overall rating wasn't up to snuff, if they were fast, they'd be flying all over the field making plays for you. It was fun, but a little game-breaking and unbalanced in that regard.

As far as the game modes, you can play exhibition, tournament, or franchise. There is multiplayer, but only local couch play. Of course, the meat of the sports game will always be franchise mode in terms of the single-player experience, and it was quite a unique version of that idea in Legend Bowl. It's a very streamlined and minimally micro-management-oriented experience. There is no full roster management like you might expect in Madden. Your team has a chemistry rating - basically if you're winning, most of your players, and therefore your team, will be happy. The less happy your team, the more roster “events” you'll have to deal with. Sometimes you'll be faced with three players, for example, and you'll have to choose one to drop. (This player will be replaced in a “trade” with a lesser player from some other team as a sort of penalty.) Or you may have contract demands that you can meet or reject, allowing the player to walk and again be placed with a lower-level player. In my experience, the finances never played much of a role, however. You are shown where your team roster spending ranks, and I think it influences events if you are higher in the league in terms of expenditures, but it never had any discernible impact that I could observe in the grand scheme of things. Granted, I stayed in the lower half of the league throughout my franchise time, so maybe if I'd gotten a really expensive roster, I would have noticed some effects. You will also occasionally be offered trades - something you cannot initiate on your own. In these situations you are offered a one-for-one deal for another player of the same position. You can accept or reject or cycle through other players of the same position on your team to generate an alternative trade (which was always accepted in my experience). Of course there are elements to consider, like how much the contract is, how old the player, the difference in ratings, and their soft traits like work ethic, loyalty, etc. But there is no aspect of micro-managing your roster. You can adjust depth charts, but you cannot offer trades, cut or resign players or free agents outside the limited scenarios that are presented to you. There is, however, a year-end draft, which I enjoyed. But it is a similarly pared-back affair where picks are in the inverse order of finish with no trades or other action to spice up the event. So overall, your experience with franchise will be a kind of middle ground between the simplicity of a game like Tecmo Super Bowl and the in-depth aspects of more in-depth sims like Madden and 2K. I felt like Legend Bowl wanted to walk a middle ground between being overly simple and offering some depth, with the primary focus on getting the player out on the field to play more games. It was a pretty nice balance, even if the tinkerer in me wanted to dig into things more than I was allowed. In addition to the roster management aspects, you will be earning money each week, and those funds will be used to build various stadium facilities that affect various modifiers like player ratings in specific areas, weekly income earned, player happiness, and the like. So if you've got a collection of good blocking linemen, for example, you can also focus on facility upgrades that strengthen those traits even further and turn them into real mauling monsters.

So mostly, I was really satisfied and enjoying Legend Bowl. But it did have some weaknesses to its game, and I'm afraid I have to toss at least a 5-yard flag. Firstly, like all the rest of the on-field action, playing defense was fun and controlled well, but generating user interceptions was a mystery I'll never solve. Of course I did get some interceptions, but it had nothing to do with my positioning (even when it was perfect). It just felt random and beyond your control. It was more about having the right play called and/or getting pressure, or just dumb luck, really. Also, on the defensive side of the ball, lining up your tackles could be really tough sometimes. It was most problematic when lining up close to a receiver who had just caught the ball. It was very easy to be off in your angle for your hit, and you'd end up whiffing, setting the player loose. This was because your defender would be shifting around on his own as the ball approached. The only solution was to take control of that defender BEFORE the ball arrived, but it was still a little tricky and awkward oftentimes. Movement is snappy, and it's very easy to take a poor angle and give up a big gain. On the flip side, making a big hit and getting a huge stop is REALLY satisfying, especially if you are blitzing and blow up the RB or QB with user control to really put them behind the sticks. Some little details could also be off at times. I clearly ran out of bounds one time, yet it wasn't called, and I ended up scoring. I think the issue was that I had executed a special move at the exact same moment (a stiff arm), and the game read that move as being in-bounds since it probably was at the time, and failed to account for the change in my player's position after the fact. On kickoffs there were a couple of instances of a player popping into the play from nowhere. I'm sure he was always “there” within the game code, although not visible for some reason. Stuff like this was rare and didn't affect my overall enjoyment, and the issues of incorrect “processing” were fewer than you get in animation-heavy 3D game engines overall, to be fair to Legend Bowl. One of my biggest gripes is the aforementioned fact that there is no online multiplayer. This game is just BEGGING for that head-to-head competition, and I was craving going online and testing myself against the better players out there. Which brings me to my biggest complaint. The game was just too easy overall. Selecting a difficulty in single-player sports games is not something I take lightly. Ideally, of course, (properly balanced) human multiplayer brings out the real fun and excitement when evenly matched players adjust and adjust to those adjustments - that stuff is THRILLING - straight FIRE! But in the absence of a human opponent, there is still plenty of fun to be had against a reasonable AI. What I've found works best, if I'm intending to play many seasons, is to start out on the default difficulty (no need to play the lower levels) and keep it fixed on that until I've won a championship. After I've done that, I bump up to the next level and repeat. If I reach a point that the top difficulty is no longer an obstacle to dominance, I know I've squeezed all the juice I can get out of a title. And that's what I did here. I started on “PRO” (the default difficulty - there are difficulties below this) and bumped it up as I went. I went 14-2 (won Super Bowl) on PRO difficulty, 15-1 (won Super Bowl) on Veteran difficulty, and 15-1 (won Super Bowl) on Superstar difficulty. It wasn't until the maximum difficulty (Legend) that I started to encounter any real resistance, and it was mostly in the form of a super-powered AI opponent. Granted, I kept winning almost every game and could move the ball and play defense, but running the ball became much more of a chore. (until I got a really speedy back - by ratings and facility upgrades).........But once I won my fourth Super Bowl in my fifth season and did so going a total 19-0 with the number one offense and number one defense AND on the highest difficulty of ‘Legend’, beating the Ravens in the title game 63-21 (sorry cane), I felt the challenge and life of the game were gone. I ended up with a +317 point differential in that fifth and final season, with the Ravens finishing second at a +112. That's right, my average margin of victory over the 16-game schedule was 20 points (rounded)...on the toughest challenge the game had to offer. I had a lot of fun, but lacking online multiplayer and having no one close who's into sports gaming (or gaming in general), I found myself having exhausted this title. Granted, I got many hours of fun from it, but I would have LOVED to see some online action of any kind - especially franchise.

Like with many sports games, once you get the basic concepts and execution down and learn the particular game's “rules”, the only challenge can come from an unfair AI opponent. I appreciate that Legend Bowl didn't cheat like, um, some other games not to be mentioned, but I also was rarely challenged. After playing 115 hours and 5+ seasons and playoffs, I had a combined record of 87-8, four Super Bowl wins in 5 seasons and had started 2-0 in season six, realizing that having no challenge just exhausted my desire. The reason winning is a worthwhile and satisfying goal in sports is because the opposition gives meaning to your victories - it's tough to win and climb that mountain. When you're a major league club against a bunch of high-schoolers, tossing perfect games like handing out candy, if you'll forgive the mixed sports metaphor, there just isn't any real value in the accomplishment. It loses its flavor and meaning. And so it was here for me in the end. Granted, Tecmo Super Bowl is similarly void of challenge, and I love that as well. But this also had an aspect of feeling too mechanical and overly uniform, without some of the idiosyncrasies and odd quirks that give a game a real fascinating personality. Like the aforementioned Tecmo Super Bowl, you've got the hilariously unbalanced presence of Bo Jackson that is so completely game-breaking that the Raiders are banned from all serious tournament play. Legend Bowl didn't have any of those uneven edges to give it a really distinct and memorable flavor, even though it did play a very good game of X's and O's. It felt...predictable, and without that...dynamic variability, things sort of devolved into a bit of a mundane experience, as it was really easy to identify coverages and just pick teams apart on both sides of the ball. The bones are FANTASTIC, and if there was an online component where you could match sticks and wits against other good players, I would have likely, almost assuredly, given this a 5/5. But as it is, it's a strong football/sporting experience that was just a little shy of greatness for me. Certainly recommended for any football fan, and of course, ymmv with difficulty. I'm certainly not great at all games, and I struggle with many titles that others find easy, but I just wasn't challenged enough with Legend Bowl to make the overall experience feel like it had the legs that the fundamentals deserved, and I did read a good number of takes that complained that it was too challenging on the higher difficulties. I wanted to play the advertised “infinite number of seasons” and to watch my roster evolve and change over time as well as knocking down some hallowed NFL records while doing so - records that are there for your perusal and obliteration if you are able. But it would have simply been rote button mashing without any highs and lows once I had "conquered" the game, in the end. 4/5 and surely worth it, and even more so if you have a local bud to enjoy the game with.

isthatallyougot wrote: ↑Mon May 12, 2025 1:50 pm There is no NFL license, as should be expected in a post-Madden-exclusivity world, and even if that weren't the case, it would be unfair to expect a small developer to shell out the requisite fee. But there is modding as a part of the package, and I installed a full NFL mod right from the jump, and it had all the players you'd expect to see as well as a reworking of all the fields with team-appropriate logos in the end-zones.

If anything could ever get me into PC gaming, it would be stuff like that. So cool to have all the real players without having to go through and edit them yourself (which would probably take days or weeks).

It would be nice if the NFL would bless a high-quality retro/arcade football game with real players... alas.

canedaddy wrote: ↑Tue May 13, 2025 12:37 pm If anything could ever get me into PC gaming, it would be stuff like that. So cool to have all the real players without having to go through and edit them yourself (which would probably take days or weeks).

It would be nice if the NFL would bless a high-quality retro/arcade football game with real players... alas.

Yeah, modding is definitely a huge plus with PC gaming - just the sheer wealth of options. Sometimes it just extends the fun with a game or is a nice bonus to play around with, and sometimes it can be vital for the best experience. The latter was the case with Morrowind. It was quite the mess of a thing *with* mods, but MUCH less of a beast than it would have been otherwise. It's definitely something that once you get used to, it's hard to imagine gaming without. Although consoles do get some mods, and ideally what you play shouldn't need them at all. But it's great if you like to push the boundaries of what a game *is*, both out of fun and necessity sometimes.

#12 The Thief, The Witch, The Toad, and The Mushroom (PC - 2024) 4/5 (Playtime 3.9 hours)




Before theater, radio, television, film, and video games, we still had the written (and spoken) word as a form to entertain, enlighten, and engage us. And the effects of language are so pervasive that to imagine how life may be experienced in the absence of that deeply ingrained abstraction is a near impossibility. “In the beginning was the word.” And all of this artificial and imaginary space has allowed humanity to dream of what ISN'T, of what could be, which is not within present experience. And through this symbolic magic, we dream a collective dream with many individual dream worlds contained within. The power of language is undeniable, both in its deception and in its creative potential. These dreams captivate as we each imagine an individual tale that is woven into the overarching narrative of the collective consciousness born of the symbolism of language. This is the power of such a toolset, the power to create worlds that, while abstract and not rooted in reality, nevertheless capture the mind(s) and spirit of those who are bound to such forms of self-deception, such wonderful of realms play. "All the world's a stage," as Shakespeare observed, and the characters all take their shape and role in this drama/comedy of life as energy is exchanged and transmuted via the art of words/symbols...things that are not real in and of themselves, yet things that move and influence (and reflect) “reality”. Given the power of language - the power of the word, the impact of books can be profound. All this pointless pontificating about language is due to the fact that I played a particularly compelling game called The Thief, The Witch, The Toad, and the Mushroom in 2024.

It's a choose-your-own-adventure-style game-book that many have enjoyed in physical form with the added advantage of the incorporation of music and sound into the package. At its essence, it has the spirit of folktales and those common archetypes that have permeated the stories we have told one another, even prior to the advent of the written word, I suppose. It's a tale that attempts to bring the unknown (the unknowable) out of the inky darkness and into the forefront of at least some hazy level of “awareness”. It attempts to convey such incomprehensible mysteries through the use of fictional characters and personas common to the natural world and human experience - things that have been largely relegated to the forgotten shadows with the march of time and progress. Like many folk or fairy tales, things are not exactly rooted in everyday experience, at least from a practical perspective, and given the forms of the entities, both in terms of appearance and behavior, there is a wonderful playfulness that is both whimsical and dark, nicely reflecting the dual nature of all experience. It's both wonderfully beautiful and wonderfully awful in its descriptors. It somehow imparts the mystery of the natural world, where we still know deep within our wild and unconditioned hearts it to be a place of magical fae, woodland spirits, and all manner of inexplicable occurrences that have been hidden and muted through the process of our “civilization.” As someone who adores nature and holds occasional communion with the fruits of the mystical, infinite, and interwoven strands of connective mycelium supporting all life on Mother Earth, this text sprouted to life and resonated deeply within, somehow and paradoxically encapsulating the ineffable nature of experience...the mysterious and inexpressible ride of existence. Suffice it to say that there is a real magic to this well-written, virtual, and interactive tome that I think anyone who is fond of captivating narrative would find alluring and satisfying.

In practical form, this tale plays out from the perspective of yourself as a main character as you venture into this odd world, meeting strange friends corresponding to the four cardinal directions relative to your home and family. Each of these friends comprises one of four main paths where you will make (apparent) choices and enjoy the unfolding story. I don't want to spoil anything further, as it's best experienced firsthand and blind, but there is a wonderful flowering to this tale as things develop which ramp up in both intensity and mystery as everything plays out. The artwork was mostly excellent as well, both in terms of characters and environments. Things were often the right amount of inscrutable, adding to the sense of a dreamy mystery. In addition to the excellent story and superb and evocative writing, there is a really nice soundscape that brings things to life, both via music and environmental sounds. This aspect really pushed living breath into this adventure and added to the overall impact and raised the level of immersion significantly until the pulse-pounding climax.

In terms of very limited negatives, there were a couple of points where the narrative “forgot” some of the details of the branch of the story you were on. These instances were very minor and only in a spot or two, but I did notice. They weren't impactful to the overall sense of things, though. Also, I know that some may not qualify this sort of thing as a “game,” but if Telltale games are “games,” this is every bit as much of one. Regardless of arbitrary and unnecessary labels, I must say that I found The Thief, The Witch, The Toad, and The Mushroom enrapturing from beginning to end. It took me about four hours to go through everything and get the game's only achievement, and I know that there are some things I missed, judging retroactively by some in-game choices that I could have made but didn't have the required item or condition to do so. But really, there is very little in the way of negatives here for me. Overall, I was stunned by how much I enjoyed this work. I've enjoyed other examples of this form, both physically and digitally, but this is near or at the top of those experiences for me. It's a deeply haunting and bittersweet folktale that is full of mystery, melancholy, and wonder. Just incredibly well-made. And hey, it's literally free on Steam, so there's no excuse if you have the slightest interest and access to ANY computer at all. Just another notch in PC gaming's belt. A very enjoyable 4/5.

#11 Far Lone Sails (PC - 2018) 4/5 (Playtime 4 hours)




I have a particular fondness for games that can pull me into their world with minimal or zero verbal exposition - games that tell their story via tone and atmosphere along with environmental world-building. I've had a love-hate relationship with language forever, and I have long felt that the symbolism of words often detracts from, rather than enhances, experience…presence. We got lost in this abstraction instead of being present with the immediacy of what is occurring, lost in language. And there is also a real craft in creating compelling experiences that speak for themselves without any proper, wordy explanation.”

Enter a game called Far: Lone Sails. We're introduced to a squat, little, red-attired character who is traveling eastward in a landship, a vessel that he must fuel and operate. (I'll assume it's east because we move left to right, lol.) It is clear that this world he inhabits has seen some devastation as we traverse this wasteland that has broken asunder under the ravages of what we may assume to be self-destruction born of greed and environmental abuses or war, or some combination of factors that have torn apart the safety and comfort offered in the veil of a functional society. We are never told the cause of the destruction, and we don't know where our journey will take us, but it is easy to imagine that he is looking for some sort of salvation, whatever form it may take - some respite from this ruined world. Along the journey, you must operate this vessel by finding fuel - objects scattered about the land that may be thrown into a device within your ship and consumed for the energy to continue moving forward. The use of this energy results in a buildup of pressure, which must be managed by activating the steam release onboard, and so there is a balance of fueling, activating the ship's drive, and watching the steam gauge along with continuously collecting more fuel. Sometimes things can break down, resulting in fires and electrical issues, and there are tools to deal with these crises in the form of a hose and some sort of welding repair tool. You grab these things and move them to the affected area until things are working properly again. There's also a sail, appropriately enough, that you find and install early on, which allows you to take advantage of the winds, relieving your need for a continuous fuel supply and wear on your engine. But the winds aren't always in your favor, and you encounter a variety of circumstances in which you'll have to lower your sails for various reasons. Overall there was a kind of Mad Max vibe to things, as you struggled to gather enough resources to JUST keep going. Even though it wasn't overly challenging, the feeling of desperation was nicely conveyed through the overall set of circumstances, and I felt like this was a real, dangerous, and risky journey, but one that must be taken as it was likely the only hope. Where exactly this character was going was unknown, but it was very clear that he must press on and that the circumstances demanded action. It carried a nice tension in this way, and I wanted to take this journey along with this character as I found myself really invested by proxy.

In addition to managing the movement of your vessel, there's also a variety of puzzles that crop up. Most of them stop your forward progress with a wall or some other obstacle that requires you to figure out how to proceed before continuing. Most of these puzzles involve navigating to one of the many conspicuous red buttons that populate the game, both in your ship and in the world. And figuring out how to pass these points was often pretty fun, if not overly complex. There was always a sense of satisfaction, however, because, as mentioned, this journey felt urgent, and passing another obstacle always felt meaningful and came with a sense of relief as you could feel yourself getting closer to your destination.

The overall atmosphere was also incredibly well done. The graphics weren't pushing any technical boundaries, but they were very evocative in their minimalism as your scenery changed alongside your massive rolling wheels. There were graveyards of whatever society used to be on display here, natural landscapes with mountains and waterways, deserts, and just a nice variety of scenery that helped to convey the feeling of a lengthy journey despite the relative brevity of the game proper. (I finished in 4 hours.) There was excellent use of contrast and lighting, which really made objects and environments pop, and things were often striking despite the humble assets on offer. Audio was very nice as well, musically and with different sounds for ship issues as well as wind and environmental effects helping to paint a more vivid picture of this epic journey. Things just had a very unique flavor, and I really loved the overall mood of this adventure.

There wasn't much I had in the way of complaint. Sometimes it could be awkward when you used your ship elevator to go between the first and second floors, since it didn't automatically stop before continuing on to the top of the ship. So often, I'd try to get off to refuel my engines on the second floor but end up at the 3rd because of the rather zippy trip and have to do it again. Also, you could get too much scrap accumulated as your fuel reserves, and the little area that held it all could become too full, making picking up and placing items more awkward than I would have liked. To be clear, these were minor issues.

But overall, I was really surprised with how wonderful this little adventure imparted a sense of mystery, struggle, and hope. I was drawn in from the very beginning and remained thoroughly invested until its conclusion. There is no tutorial, instruction, or explanation of any kind outside environmental storytelling. You are on your own to try things until you figure out how to navigate the rules of this world. And due to the lack of any overt explanation, I'm left with that feeling I always love - the feeling of being able to use my own imagination to tell the “rest” of the story, coming to my own conclusions about this world, its tragedies, and the dream this character had as he took this journey to his own “promised land.” If you like minimalist gaming narratives that show rather than tell and do so with wonderful atmosphere and some fun puzzles, you really ought to give it a shot. I don't even remember when I picked it up, and even though it had very positive reviews, I wasn't sure it would click so nicely for me as well. But I'm really glad I played it. Now I want to play the sequel, which also released a while back. Solid 4/5.