Original title: "So this is the thing that's outselling Xbox??"

This update focuses on visual polish for the upgrade system and significant changes to the enemy encounter logic to increase gameplay intensity.

• Upgrade Card Visual Overhaul I have completely redesigned the upgrade cards to improve clarity and aesthetic appeal. The new system features unique frames and a refreshed color palette for each card type. This visual distinction helps players quickly identify upgrade categories during the fast-paced "Level Up" moments, where the character turns blue to signal the pause in action.

• Real Monster Hordes The enemy spawning system has been reworked to support much larger quantities of monsters within the ROOM. Players will now face true hordes of aliens and monsters simultaneously, requiring better use of the "Dash Kick" and "Throw Bomb" mechanics to survive. This change significantly increases the difficulty and emphasizes the importance of strategic positioning.
• Future Feature: Accelerometer Support I am currently researching and planning the implementation of accelerometer-based controls. This will offer a new way to play and control Kibo Wave in Starfish ROOM, providing a unique alternative for devices that support motion input.
• Technical Adjustments Optimized sprite rendering to maintain performance during large horde encounters. Refined the UI layer to ensure the new card frames display correctly on all screen resolutions. Adjusted monster AI to prevent stacking issues within high-density groups.

Link of Game: https://kittycreampuff.itch.io/starfishroom

Support Me: https://ko-fi.com/sketbr

Today's game is Halo 4. I continued my playlist with my friend and we started on this. Upon replaying it, i think i may have been too harsh on my initial decision against the game (though i'm not going to 100 say it for sure). I know it seems obvious, but playing on normal as opposed to legendary really makes it a bit more tolerable. Don't get me wrong, it's Halo 4, but it's come from like a 5.5/10 to a 6.5/10 for me.

Today's lag seemed extra atrocious though. It ended up being the reason i only played 2 levels. On one part seen above, the game froze for so long i got to study the closeup of a plasma grenade. Usually you only get to see that for a few seconds.

I will also add that, on retrospect. I am not a fan of the Forerunner designs in Halo 4. I'm not sure what it is but i do not like it. Too many colors I think. Something about it also just seems samey too me. I can't really tell any of it's sections apart like i could with the Bungie games. Though i may also not be the best judge of that due to my face blindness.

Like mentioned before me and my friend only did the first two levels because the lag got that bad. For some reason my WiFi card struggles anywhere beyond 10 feet from the router. So my signal is abysmal. I actually tried to replace it today with an AX210 which i heard works great on linux, but the card is completely dead, so i have to return it.

Despite having to wade through the absolute bullshit of the end zone in order to complete the main story. I felt Techland did a solid job with bringing back Kyle Crane and some reoccurring characters in the franchise up till this point, Castor Woods had a great mixture of terrain to explore and parkour in. It made me think about how I could stay outside the reach of those Infected people trying to get a bite to eat out of Crane.

The inclusion of working gasoline/diesel truck felt a bit out of place, given how gasoline/diesel would've long since lost its viability since The Fall of Mankind. I don't feel there would be enough infrastructure left to be consistently producing such fuels.

It's a game though, so this is really just a nitpick on my part; trucks helped make the map traversal easier, it is possible to get around Castor Woods without burning too much of that precious daylight.

I think Techland did an amazing job of making the night scarier again; as in Dying Light 2, I felt less fear when sneaking around at night. The world is really dark and the Infected pay attention to light sources now, making it risky to use your flashlight too much. Thankfully, Techland did add some cheeky light sources that made the Night at least a bit more navigable.

Dying Light: The Beast was fun enough that I will be playing in a post-game save, and messing around with Infected and exploring the whole map to find any secrets that I missed.

Fallout Shelter (working title) is a new reality competition series based on the hit Amazon drama and computer game of the same name. The dwellers (contestants) live together in a top-secret vault, where they will compete in a series of games that tests the seven core attributes from the Fallout world. Strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility and luck (S.P.E.C.I.A.L).

The series will not only test dwellers’ core attributes, but also their loyalty and alliances. It’s a game of power dynamics, popularity and social strategy which will ultimately result in a huge cash prize, but do you have what it takes to be the most S.P.E.C.I.A.L?.

I am sort of speechless, but for all the wrong reasons.

Good to know, but sad that it has to be said.

If you haven't played this game, highly recommend it. Fun 80's sci-fi movie vibes... with dwarves. Always stuff to do but it's not overwhelming. Definitely benefits from playing with friends but it's fun solo too.

Sometimes it's good to have some fun gaming news.

Today's game is some more Max Payne. Today was a bit short due time constraints and just overall exhaustion (i'm in the middle of moving). I did the Jack Lupino boss fight today. I bring this up because i wanted to talk about the very allusion to norse mythology, and which flew over my head until the last few chapters.

I'm astonished i missed it because it's slammed into your face so many times throughout the story. There's the nightclub, Balder, and Woden resembling Odin (along with the name). I am glad i picked up on it at all though. It makes for a nice story, and honestly is what makes Sam Lake's works amazing too me.

After coming through the nightclub for the second time ever it's a lot easier. I know i struggled a lot to figure out all the puzzles. Like the one where you have to lift the curtains. For whatever reason max just wouldn't look at them so i knew to raise them.

And then i wanted to end today talking about this altar room. This room is always the first one too pop into my memory when i think of this game. I have no idea why, it's not difficult, or really all to impressive, but something about it is so memorable. Maybe it's because it's right before the boss fight, and that was difficult. But something about this room right here is what pops into my memory when i think of this game. It's probably not a interesting room to associate the game with, but it's my room.

Anyways, tomorrow i'll hopefully have a lot more free time so hopefully i can get a lot further than this snail's pace i've been progressing at.

We expressed concerns about Bully Online, a massively ambitious mod that promised to bring multiplayer and a host of new systems to Rockstar's classic school sim, when we ran across it in November 2025. It looked great, but the initial release was limited to people willing to pay for it through the mod team's Ko-Fi page, and that seemed like the sort of thing almost guaranteed to attract unwelcome attention from Rockstar's lawyers. Sure enough, just a month after the mod launched, it's gone.

"The Bully Online project is shutting down. Thank you all for playing," a message posted on the website of YouTube and project lead Swegta (via Insider Gaming) now states. The Bully Online page on Swegta's website is already gone, as is the Mod DB page, although it can still be seen through the Internet Archive.

A more detailed message about the closure was posted today on Swegta's Discord server. "The Bully Online project is shutting down forever, which unfortunately means all the following is going to happen in 24 hours: our official Bully Online server (on swegta.com) will be shutdown, development of scripts for Bully Online will stop, the source code will be removed from swegta.com, all our webpages referring to it will be removed, the launcher downloads will taken down, and all Bully Online account data will be permanently deleted."

Civ VI would only use one controller and you had to pass it around. That's annoying.

Today's game is Halo 3. Me and my Friend finished up our run. I believe last time i incorrectly stated that we finished it due to being used too finishing it all in one sitting. We did finish it this run though. The Covenant level seems to always be our major bottle neck, and this time was no different. It took us maybe 25 minutes this go around, though we did kill eachother a few times. You can piece together what happened from the screenshot above. We also always seem to have major network issues on this level though for some reason. I have no idea why but it always seems to happen.

I then proceeded to do it a second time with the Spartan Laser. I really like this one because Arbiter has that "Crap" look on his face. Like he knew this was going to happen.

There was also a random Marine we carried through the entire level. This was our little guy. Nothing mattered more too me than getting him through alive. And by god we did.

After that was the level Cortana. There's not much to say about this one. It's Cortana. The image for it really speaks volumes to be honest.

Finally there was Halo. We did the Warthog run for this all in one sitting without dying. The battle up the hill was a bit more of a struggle, but to be honest, when i grabbed the skull and carried it through it suddenly became a whole lot easier. Maybe it's just luck but i like to imagine the Skull gave Chief the motivation to do it. I also beat my friend's head in with the skull. So that may have helped too.

After this is Halo 4. That will be a bit later though i think. After playing Halo 4 on Legendary and Normal before, I am in no rush too get too it. Don't get me wrong, i don't hate it, but i also am not eager to play it again. Though, i suppose i'll have too in order to get closer to the last 25% of achievements for MCC.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.ca/c/hytale/p/450908/hytale-is-out-now-in-early-access

Note: Not my screenshot

It's been over 7 years since the game was announced, and after being cancelled by Riot and bought back by the original devs, against all odds it is FINALLY playable!

The game was supposed to come out in an hour but it seems the devs released it early. I'll wait and see some early gameplay but it looks like I might buy it on launch day. Feels surreal that the wait is finally over.

AI in video games is a caustic enough subject that Valve requires developer disclosure if a title utilizes the generative technology. This way, people who have qualms about AI or its impact can opt out of purchasing anything that uses the genAI. One developer, however, is saving everyone from the moral quandary in the first place by just deleting their game altogether.

Hardest is a free-to-play roguelike on Steam that was released in the summer of 2025 with the tagline, "stop time, summon tsunamis, shoot with bubble guns, feed cards to mimic, collect rare negative cards!" Except for a user who says the game helped him bond with his son, Hardest mostly got a negative reception. "I assume the whole thing is AI slop," one reviewer wrote.

You'd think flopping like this would be the end of the story, but half a year later, Rakuel, the developer, has undergone a revelation. On Jan. 10, the indie creator posted an update to Hardest announcing that he would pull the game from the platform by the end of the month.

Today's game is some more Animal Crossing New Leaf. I've made it past the 3 day mark for abandonment! New record for me. What's with the hat choice? I started buying whatever hat was in the first hat slot in the store. The sombrero just so happened to be today's. Yesterday's was a newsboy cap (and so far that one has been my favorite).

There wasn't much going on in town today. Mainly just some daily stuff. I made a stop by the museum and looked though. The Aquarium is my favorite section of the museum in every game. New Horizons has my favorite, but i like the aesthetic of New Leaf. Combined with the music it's got this vibe too it i love.

Someone is moving in next to the Able Sisters. I have no idea who they are because i don't recall ever actually getting this far, so i'm excited to find out who it is. I have a few hunches but i'm excited regardless. I like unlocking new things.

I've also expanded my house and invested in two pieces of furniture. There's my Bed and then my Cactus. The Cactus is my emotional Support Cactus. Bad day? Pet the Cactus. Need a distraction? Pet the Cactus. Feelin' lonely? You guessed it, pet the Cactus.

I've also been neglecting to visit Tortimer. I'm not sure why, but now that Isabelle brought it up i've taken it personally and won't do it for even longer. I will not be bullied onto the old mayor's island. I don't care how many people tell me to go.

But yeah, that's just a quick recap of everything as of recent. One last thing though, There's also a new bridge i built. I noticed there was a lack of really any major paths over the river on the Eastern side of town, so i built a bridge too help people get across easier as my first official act of mayor. I got to open it today.

Plus, Nex Playground heads to Europe and Phasmaphobia devs launch publishing arm