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Smashing Bottles (PC) by jp (May 30th, 2026 at 18:16:28) |
Heard about this one recently and got stuck playing the demo on itch (though it's also available on Steam) for a few hours until I got to the final (demo) ending!
It's an incremental game with some interesting things going on - you have a bat and smash bottles, but you have a limited time to do so (in seconds, like max 25 or so after all the upgrades?). When time runs out you can go again or go to the shop to buy upgrades. As expected you want to get more money from smashing bottles and there's ways to do that - spawn golden bottles, champagne bottles (when they smash the corks fly out and can smash other things), and even molotov cocktails (that explode, smashing other things).
There's a few things I thought where nice/clever:
a. The game has two distinct phases (once you unlock molotovs, everything changes, really) - the "you smash" and the "maximize money in the time allowed". In the latter, the game mostly plays itself as the molotovs keep everything getting smashed.
b. The "you smash" has rotating bottles, and since the smashing can take a few hits, there's some interest in smashing champagne such that the cork flies in a certain direction for more damage.
c. The champagne corks are pretty clever - since it gives you a reason to, in the short time you have to smash, choose what to smash a little more carefully. Go for golden or champagne hoping for a productive chain reaction?
Of course there's also a prestige/reset mechanic - from which you can lock a separate bat that smashes.
I'm curious how far things will go once the full game is out - and what the nature of the upgrades will be. I'm really hoping for more variety in the experience beyond the simple "number go up" - in that sense the molotovs seem like they're capping the experience in a detrimental way (even as they were super fun to smash when I first unlocked them.
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Donkey Kong Bananza (NSW2) by jp (May 30th, 2026 at 18:07:32) |
Still playing!
It has an interesting structure in terms of its levels and such - the core metaphor is that you're going deeper into the planet with each level, and they're both thematic and numbered. I got to a point where there's a bifurcation - go right into what I thought was "jungle land" or left into "snow land". I went right did a few more levels, cleared the boss (it was plant/poison land) and in order to continue going deeper I was then told to go back to "snow land"! There's a fast travel/teleport system involving giant worms that can move your around, so it was easy enough to do this, but I was surprised to learn that the fork was just a "choose what order to do these" situation... and also, the entire "fork" makes little sense thematically so I'm curious to see how it's explained and communicated in the interface - will it look like a fork in the "hole" going into the planet's core?
The titular ability (bananza mode!) was a bit underwhelming - you turn into a bigger DK and can now punch things you couldn't before - it lasts a limited amount of time. But, I've since unlocked a new one - DK-bird - where you can glide around (and after paying to unlock) and drop an egg on enemies. The gilding around was important/necessary in the plant/poison levels, and I'm expecting it to be similarly required in the snowy ones. We'll see!
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Hollow Knight: Silksong (PC) by dkirschner (May 13th, 2026 at 14:58:07) |
Kicking myself for not writing an entry when I was playing this 6 months ago. I am cleaning up my wishlist, backlog, and etc., and the FEELING I get when I see Silksong "in progress" is anxiety. I had jotted a few notes in December, as follows:
"It’s true, Silksong is hard. Like, really, frustratingly hard. Like punishingly difficult. I hit a wall at the end of Act 1 trying to beat the Last Judge. The game likes to place benches far away from boss fights, such that retrying boss fights involves slogging back through tough platforming and other sections of the map."
I did kill the Last Judge and complete Act 1. I remember that took a very long time, and that after the Last Judge, I died a few more times and, probably, with shaking hands and rapid heartbeat, said, "I can't do this anymore." Actually, it may have been in one of those rooms with waves of enemies. This innovation is new and unwelcome to Silksong, rooms that lock upon entering and spill several waves of challenging enemies at you. Yeah, I think that is what got me, just being pummeled over and over in one of those rooms, getting tired of exploring the maze-like map, tired of dying, tired of corpse runs, just exhausted. The game became a chore.
Besides that, I loved it, haha. I was definitely into it for a while. It was sublime until it wasn't.
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Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (PC) by dkirschner (May 12th, 2026 at 17:20:35) |
I meant to quickly beat this back in April so I could have a "completion" for the month, but I got really busy after spending barely an hour one afternoon with Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, a bizarre little twin-stick shooter about a turnip...who robs a bank. The game builds off previous games in the series, which I have never played, in which Turnip Boy commits tax evasion and, according to this game at least, seems to have started a war. Work has slowed down for the first time in nearly two months, and while I wait for my next contract to begin, I figured I'd knock this out.
The whole game is silly. The world is populated by sentient fruits and vegetables. You are employed by a pickle / mafia gang leader to rob a bank of a garlic bulb / bad guy / killed your dad. You have a base, where you can get new weapon loadouts by bringing weapons from the bank (always try to return with something new or high-powered!), purchase progression items from the "dark web," and upgrade stuff at another vendor. You go on "runs" to the bank, which are timed (starts at 2 or 3 minutes, goes up to 5 or 6 with upgrades). Runs are over when you die or when you exit the bank. Die and you lose half the cash you accumulated in the run. Survive and you are handsomely rewarded. Upgrade stuff. Go back to the bank. It's a roguelite too.
The bank has a specific layout of rooms, but you'll encounter some randomized areas too, and enemies and treasure are somewhat randomized. Throughout the bank are tons of NPCs with little fetch quests that usually reward you with pictures (fun/ny to look at) or hats (fun/ny to equip). A blueberry might want you to find its wedding ring, a lime wants you to get divorce papers from her lemon husband, a scientist pineapple wants you to find a philosopher mango and ask it an ethical question about experimenting on fruits, etc. I had some good laughs.
In each corner of the bank is a boss. Boss fights were fun, but the most challenging were early on. Once you start upgrading stats, the game becomes easy. It definitely ends up being an "upgrade everything and go nuts on all the enemies!" type game, experience being overpowered.
I haven't played a twin-stick shooter in a while, and while this wasn't revolutionary or anything, it was fun and scratched the itch. I gotta get back to Divinity: Original Sin 2. I might have some extra time till my next gig, so maybe I can boot it up, remember what I was doing, and make some progress this week.
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Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) by jp (Apr 27th, 2026 at 22:04:52) |
I got to that point where I hit a monster/boss that just wasn't that much fun, and then I got a bit lost in terms of where to continue making progress, and the backtracking started to get a bit tiresome...as I explored and searched for different paths. So, time to bail!
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Murder in the Dark (Other) by maybeK4T1E |
| Murder in the Dark is a fun and silly game to play when you and your friends want to do something that doesn't involve staring at a computer or TV screen. |
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most recent entry: Thursday 27 January, 2011
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Murder in the Dark is a popular children’s game that is a derivative of tag.
_Players_
The minimum number of characters for the game is three, and there is no maximum. However, the optimal number of players is between five and fifteen for an average-sized house. I played the first game with eight people and the second with ten.
At the start of each game, each player selects a slip of paper from a hat or other container. One slip designates a player as the cop, one designates the murderer, and the others are civilians. The contents of the paper must be kept secret from all other players, and they are returned to the hat before the start of play.
_Gameplay_
There are two factions of players. The cop and the civilians are on one side, and the murderer is on the other. The cop and the civilians want to discover the identity of the murderer. Additionally, the cop wants to avoid being killed at all cost because if he is the murderer automatically wins. The murderer wants to avoid being caught and to kill as many people as possible in the hopes that one of his victims is the cop.
When the game starts, all lights are turned off, and the players start to move around the house. Since the murderer does not want to arouse the suspicions of the other players and the cop doesn’t want the murderer to target him, all players behave like civilians, either sneaking around or hiding.
Once the murderer feels it is safe to do so, he begins looking for good opportunities to kill people. He does this by sliding his hand across their necks. Victims are not allowed the struggle against him or shout, and after they are killed they slide to the ground and must remain silent and motionless. The only exceptions are when the murderer forces them to move to another location or if someone asks them if they are alive.
When someone finds a dead body, he yells, “Murder in the dark!” and everyone turns on the nearest light. The murderer is allowed to kill people as long as the lights are off, so it is important to get the lights on quickly to avoid being killed.
Once the lights are on, any dead people are allowed to go into the main base with everyone else, but they cannot take part in the discussion and voting and can’t play for the rest of the game.
All living players, including the unknown murderer and cop, then discuss who they think is the murderer, and everyone votes on a single person. During the voting, all players become vigilantes and kill the suspect, meaning he is also out of the game. The suspect then reveals if he is or is not the murderer, and if the cop was killed he reveals his identity. If the murderer or the cop is killed by anyone, the game is over. Otherwise, the lights are turned off again, and the remaining players continue until the murderer kills the cop or they catch the real murderer.
Players may include their own house rules to increase or decrease difficulty. I and my friends limit games to fifteen minutes and forbid people from sticking together in groups for safety, but we also allow a minute or two at the start of each game to allow people to adjust to the darkness and find hiding places before the murderer can start killing.
_Set-Up_
Darkness is the most important element of the game. The play area, typically someone’s house, must be as dark as possible. Windows and blinds must be shut, TVs and computer screens must be turned off or covered, and all lights must be turned off. Adequate hiding places are also important. Any fragile or dangerous objects should also be put away to prevent anyone hurting themselves stumbling around in the dark. One central play area, such as a living room or kitchen, acts as a base where players will convene to discuss the identity of the murderer and find out their roles for the round. That room’s light does not get shut off until real play begins.
_Game Sessions_
Game 1:
At the start of the round, each player drew their roles from the hat. I was a civilian. Once everyone indicated they were ready to begin, the living room light was shut off. All players were familiar with both the game and the house, and several people quickly settled into their favorite hiding places. People usually altered between hiding and walking around, trying to find people behaving suspiciously and checking to make sure the people in hiding places were still alive.
I knew that the area beside the refrigerator was well-shadowed and would give me a decent hiding place before everyone’s eyes adjusted fully. It would allow me to observe the other players while still staying in a place that was too wide open and centrally located for the murderer to feel comfortable killing me there. I almost gave my friend a heart attack when I finally stood up. I thought he had seen me, but clearly he hadn’t! After abandoning the kitchen, I made my rounds around the house, searching out people hiding and checking to see if they were still alive.
After about five minutes, my friend Sara shouted, “Murder in the dark!” and everyone quickly moved to turn on the nearest lightswitch. Bruce had been slain! We all convened in the living room and voted on our suspect. We decided to kill Danny, who revealed he was not the murderer. Neither one was the cop, either. Down two players, we resumed gameplay.
This time I decided to hide. I settled in at the back of the laundry room, feeling secure in my very dark spot. Unfortunately, the murderer must have been following me, because no sooner did I settle in did I feel a hand sliding across my neck. It was Sara! She had been the one to “discover” Bruce’s body! Feeling annoyed at falling for her clever trick, I spent the next five minutes on the floor, hoping that someone would find me in my obscure hiding place. No such luck, but thankfully another body was found elsewhere in the house, and I could get up. Sara had made quick work of the others, and now only three people remained alive. Unfortunately, one of the people killed was the cop, which meant Sara won the game.
Game 2:
The second game was played immediately afterward, with the addition of two more players. Again I was a civilian. Determined to catch this round’s murderer in the act, I decided to follow people around. This ended up backfiring because every time someone spotted me sneaking around, we ended up warily dancing in circles around each other, each suspecting the other was the murderer and unwilling to turn our backs on each other. Changing tactics, I instead found a hiding place that would allow me to see into the master bedroom, where I was hoping to catch the murderer in action.
I watched several people go through the room, but everyone left alive. After several uneventful minutes, someone started to approach me. I hopped up, hoping to get away in time, but I was cornered and murdered by Morgan.
Unlike methodical Sara, Morgan didn’t hesitate after he made his first kill. He went on a killing spree, hoping to get as many people as he could before anyone discovered a body. From my spot, I could tell that the house was growing very quiet and worried that Morgan would end up killing everyone and winning the game.
Luckily, Danny had other plans. Knowing that Austin was well-hidden in the living room, Danny did his best to lure the murderer in there as well. The murderer would think he was alone with Danny and would take the opportunity to kill him, while Austin secretly watched all the action. It was a risk, since he wasn’t sure if Austin was the real murderer, but in the end it was a success. Danny was murdered, and Austin called, “Murder in the dark!” and flicked on the lights. With an eyewitness report, the remaining players quickly decided to off Morgan, and the civilians won the round!
_Opinion_
Murderer in the Dark is a very fun game to play with friends. It is accessible to most ages and all skill levels. While it is similar to hide-and-seek or tag, the dark, creepy environment and the threat of being “murdered” create an air of urgency and excitement. The game changes with each group of people because everyone has their own play style and schemes, and even within the same group people are always switching up tactics. I really enjoy the game, but I do suggest putting a fifteen or twenty minute time limit on games, because it can get tedious waiting up to ten minutes for a hesitant murderer to finally start killing.
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