I’m not sure what games I’ll be playing in the year 2026, unless hiding from packs of wild dogs is a game. I can tell you what I’ve been playing in 2024 though! I’m still not really into any one big game at the moment but I’ve put a few hours into some fun stuff here and there. This is what I’ve been playing:
I did a much larger post about this game last week when it was in a sort of closed beta for purchasers of their founders edition. Now you can pick it up for $22 bucks and get in on their early access. The TLDR is that they have stripped all the F2P mechanics out of the game after parting ways with their original publisher Digital Extremes. It is no longer an always online MMO with microtransactions. It’s an ARPG that you can play offline alone or in co-op with up to two other people. It’s a beautiful game that’s a lot of fun to play and I’m really glad they were able to restructure it like this to keep it alive. If you ask me, this new version is actually a much better game.
This is a fast paced Doom style shooter with some fun modern elements. Everything about Selaco just feels great from the shooting to the slide tackles. The music is also killer and really sets the mood. Just like Wayfinder this game is also in early access right now and you can grab it for $22.
Since I first saw SNK games like Metal Slug and Samurai Showdown in the arcade, I have loved their incredible pixel art. I’ve owned all sorts of Neo Geo hardware over the years from the home console to the 4 slot MVS boards, the pocket system and at one point I even had a super rare Hyper64 motherboard hooked up in an arcade cabinet. So I might be kind of weird about SNK games but with all of that said I really like this new Metal Slug Tactics game. The pixel art is out of control and it has some really fun tactical hooks. There’s a free demo you can grab on Steam right now!
In other news, my reinvestigation of 90’s media continues. I’m re-reading the X-Wing book series and watching old Star Trek. I don’t know if this is mid life crisis behavior or not. All I know is that watching Voyager again feels like getting underneath a warm blanket.
-Gabe out
