“Whatcha Playin’, Pixels?” – October 2023
12 min read
A monthly roundup of games enjoyed by the writers of The Pixels
Do you hear that? It’s the sounds of rattling chains. The haunting moans of ghouls and ghosts struck down by a dude in silver armour. And the crack of a whip wielded by a member of House Belmont, who’s come to slay Dracula and bring back the light. Yes, those sounds can only mean one thing: SPOOKY SEASON IS BACK! And what a season it’s been!
The ghosts of gaming’s past have graced us with two, huge, classic 2-D releases in Sonic Superstars and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Sonic and Mario releasing in the same month in the same year has made all of us think: “Have we entered the Twilight Zone and ended up in the 90s?” The thrills and chills are only heightened as Spidey dons the Symbiote Suit in Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2, also released this month. Really, 2023 will go down in history as one of the greatest years in gaming as we’ve seen hit after hit being released with no end in sight. And speaking of games, let’s get to our writers and see what they’ve been playing this month!
As it’s October, I’ve seen lots of gameplay of horror games streamed by friends of mine. The only horror game I’ve managed to play is Fears to Fathom – Ironbark Lookout, a fairly newly released game that came out in the past week of writing this. I’ve never played Fears to Fathom, but the stories in the game are based on true stories that the developed supposedly turned into a game. It’s an interesting idea. Anyways, I’m not very good with horror, I don’t handle jump scares very well. A game recommended by a friend who insisted I stream this. It was a fun experience, even if I was a bit shaken. Overall though, it’s definitely a worthy 2 hour game.
Another newly released game, I’ve been playing CRYMACHINA, a game developed by Furyu that… also released in the past week! I’m enjoying it so far, but I’ll leave my thoughts on this game for the review I am working on.
Lastly, I play Clone Hero A LOT. I don’t know if I mention it often here, since I play it so frequently, but it’s a game that I come back to all the time. It’s my favorite rhythm game and there’s a lot of different songs I can play. It’s basically a Guitar Hero clone except free and open for anyone to chart any songs. I started playing this back when I got a PS2 guitar Hero controller for $8 in 2019.
I’ve been super busy lately, but I still have managed to get some gaming in! I just recently was able to finish Sea of Stars finally! Personally I found it to be a tad easy for me. I loved the story and the experience of it all though. Some of the end-game optional bosses were some of the toughest and very fun, but at the end of it all I only died once or twice total. You can read more details on it on our review! Another game I played through is Payday 3 with a couple of friends.
It was my first Payday experience so I can’t compare it with the others, but it was a fun game to go through heists with friends. The shooting felt a bit off compared to other first person-shooters and we could’ve replayed some missions to try and find all the loot or try different methods but none of us were particularly interested in jumping back in after we finished all the missions. We might jump back in if/when they add new missions but for now we’re probably done with it. Other games I’ve been playing include Baten Kaitos Origins, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and Super Mario Wonder, so you might be hearing about those from me soon!
I have barely touched a video game in nearly a month. See you at the pillory.
Happy October, everyone! I hope you all have been properly spooky this month. I always like to be somewhat seasonal at this time of year. I finished up Par for the Dungeon for review and had a delightful time with it.
After that, though, it was all horror all the time. I unfortunately got sick and spent most of the month not really wanting to do anything, but I still managed to finish a few games. First off was the newest entry in the Rusty Lake series, Underground Blossom, which is a solid escape-room style game, but I somewhat preferred the earlier games. I also streamed the 1960s Taiwanese horror game Detention, which is wonderfully atmospheric. I’m also mostly done with Signalis, which I have mixed feelings on. I can see why people love it, but it’s not entirely a game for me. I still want to beat it though, because I know I can.
Despite being a bit of a From Software fanatic, I’m part of a minority who think that a lot of ‘clones’ made to the Souls formula are often missing a certain nameless something. There’s often just one small thing holding them back from greatness. Lies of P is one of those games.
That’s not to say it’s a poor game – not at all! In fact I’d go as far as saying it’s the closest thing we’ll ever get to a Bloodborne sequel. The atmosphere is spooky enough, wandering through dark Victorian steampunk streets is a joy and having a rather stylish Pinocchio slice and dice his way through lesser puppets never stops being fun.
The levels are intricately designed and the combat feels close to perfect for this style of game. However… don’t expect an easy ride with any of the bosses. Some of them are so tough they make From Software’s equivalents seem tame by comparison… and that’s even after using some time to “Git gud.”
For anyone on the fence, if you like Bloodborne and crave a little more in the same style, you could do a lot worse than Lies of P. If you played the demo and were put off by the difficulty: don’t worry because the first bosses appear to have had their aggression turned down a lot since the demo’s release. Just be prepared and ensure that you bring a lot of patience with you into each boss arena!
October means it’s time to break out the creepy games! My entry is known more for its comedic side, but that doesn’t mean it lacked horror. Ghostbusters 2 was one of the first films I saw in theaters, though I only witnessed about seven minutes before asking to leave. Seeing malevolent slime bubble up through the New York sidewalk and possess a baby carriage was more than my 5-yr old brain could handle. I’d grow to appreciate the sequel, as it’s not as bad as its reputation would have you believe. There are plenty of fun, ghostly gags like a dancing toaster, demonic painting, reanimated mink coat, and the Titanic arriving “better late than never”.
As an adaptation, the Ghostbusters 2 on the Gameboy translates ‘busting into an arcade-style action game. You select two Ghostbusters at the onset, though you’re able to switch as you run into other characters within levels. Each stage sets a ghost limit, and you’ll have a set amount of time to capture said specters. When the clock runs out, all remaining free-floating entities morph into tougher-to-capture Ghostbusters symbols. You control the Ghostbuster armed with the proton pack, which you’ll use to stun apparitions. Your partner follows and deploys a ghost trap with a tap of the B button. You’ll need to keep both characters alive, as the slightest poltergeist touch will slime your health bars. Crafty positioning is key, as you’ll have to navigate your main character out of the way for a backup ‘buster to snare each ghost after you zap it. A simple concept, but enjoyable execution. Albeit, your sidekick easily gets stuck on obstacles, which is frustrating in cramped or enemy-heavy environments.
I could easily see this being an arcade cabinet, as the levels are briskly paced and scale rapidly in difficulty. The game’s plot only loosely follows the film, but includes plenty of the memorable ghosts like the jogger, aforementioned mink coat, and obviously Slimer. Heck, the Scoleri Brothers even show up as the game’s first boss battle. If you’re looking for an enjoyable arcade-style romp and only have a few free minutes to spare, Ghostbusters 2 offers a great pickup-n-play experience for the Halloween season.
After a bit of a hiatus, I spent October resuming my trip through the Trails series – as much as I enjoy them, several games’ worth of similar gameplay does necessitate a diversion for something different every now and again! I came back to the series with aplomb, however, as I polished off not just Trails of Cold Steel IV, but Trails into Reverie as well over the course of the month. Of the two, I think I liked Reverie a little better. Cold Steel IV was LONG – well, most of the series falls into that category, but I definitely felt the length of CS4 more than other entries, and it was starting to wear out its welcome as it dragged into the later acts (although the finale managed to make up for it). Reverie, on the other hand, was also long but felt a lot more digestible, from the way the story was broken up into more discrete chunks, and side content divorced almost entirely from the “main game” content so it could be approached at its own pace. The plot got a little Kingdom Hearts-y, but the game as a whole felt more like a send-off to the main casts of all the Trails games up to this point, so if the plot came across like more of an excuse to get them all together than something that furthers the overarching series threads… ya know what, I think I’m okay with that.
There’s been a couple other things I’ve dabbled with in-between, but I think I’ll save those for next month’s roundup – when I’ve had a chance to give them my attention more fully!
Spooky season is here, so I wanted to finally go through a few horror games that I’ve been looking at such as Limbo, Inside, and Outlast. I’m also still working through the end of Chrono Trigger, the last stages of Silent Hope, and approaching 70 hours of Trails in the Sky FC. Lastly, of course we had to add Super Mario Bros. Wonder into the mix and while I wasn’t one of the ones to finish it the day after release, I’m taking my time since it’s a shorter title and it has been at least 7 years since we got a new SMB release. Can definitely recommend if you were on the fence, and I can see it becoming many players’ favorite 2D Mario experience to date.
It’s been a pretty busy month, so I haven’t been able to play as much as I’d like. Introduced my 7 year old to TF2 and the Halloween Event, started my Amid Evil review, and got back into Pokemon Unite a little bit. Otherwise, life stuff has been occupying the majority of my time.
Okay, so, remember how I loved Cyberpunk 2077? Well, after playing the DLC Phantom Liberty I can confidently say that it is one of, if not the best video game of all time on my jaded, useless eyes! The new story is beautifully presented, the introduction of Dogtown is very well done and more dialogue from everyone’s favourite Keanu Reeves rockerboy Johnny Silverhand is always welcome too! The 2.0 update changes the fundamentals of character building and combat a ton too, with armour now being attached to cyberware, freeing you up to dress V however you like (mine is rocking David’s EMT jacket from the Netflix series, which is a brilliant touch)!
I’ve also been playing Forza Motorsport, which I was browbeaten into by my friends and relatives, somewhat reluctantly. The last time I played a racing sim was Forza 2 back on the Xbox 360, and that was well over a decade ago! You know what though, I love it! The game has reminded me just how much I am fascinated by cars, and how stunningly beautiful and fun these cars can be. I also massively respect Motorsport for the way it handles car upgrades, using a separate in-game currency that you earn by actually using the car to pay for its upgrades promotes investment, and the fact that you are always refunded for parts you don’t want means that you can end up with some very flexible builds!
October 2023 marks the last month that I’ll be purchasing any sort of games until 2025, as I begin my quest to finally slay my backlog beast! As I mentioned last month, I have close to 150 games on my list to complete and complete them I shall by any means necessary! Guides, cheats, save states, you name it and I will exploit it in order to clear this list LOL. With it being Halloween season, I began the month by clearing away the classic Castlevania games that I haven’t played yet. I started with Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest and then moved on to Castlevania III (which I LOVED!), Super Castlevania IV (another great banger of a game!), the Game Boy Castlevania games, Castlevania Bloodlines (super fun title!) and Kid Dracula. I finished these titles using both my SNES Classic and the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. Of those games, my favourite ended up being Castlevania II, solely because it was similar to my all-time favourite Zelda game, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Moving on, I started tackling some N64 games via the Nintendo Switch Online service. I played through a bit of Yoshi Story (I’ll have to return to that one in a bit) and finished both Pokemon Puzzle League and the incredibly weird yet extremely entertaining Sin & Punishment. The story is all over the place and the voice acting is terrible, but it was still such a fun game to play!
I picked up both Sonic Superstars and Super Mario Bros. Wonder on release day and I swear that these will be the last games I buy until I bring the backlog down to the low double digits. Strangely enough, I haven’t touched both of those games yet as I’ve made the conscious decision of finishing up the remaining Sonic Frontiers DLC that I’ve neglected. The first is the Sonic’s Birthday content, complete with Action Chain timed challenges and new Koco that increase the Boost meter similarly to Stamina Vessels in Breath of the Wild. You get a huge, gamebreaking reward in the Spin Dash once you complete and S-Rank the Action Chain Challenges. Using the Spin Dash is like boosting, except you’re a ball and Sonic ball physics exists. It makes for some straight-up shenanigans.
The second is The Final Horizon content – the final bit of DLC for Frontiers featuring Amy, Knuckles and Tails as playable characters, a new story and a form beyond Super Sonic (so, like a Super Duper Sonic!). It’s said to be extremely challenging and I welcome that with open arms. The story opens up with Sage presenting an alternative to defeating The End using an even stronger form of Super Sonic. She notes that this has a next to zero chance of succeeding. Sonic, being Sonic, likes those odds and suggests going for it! To that end, Sage restored the Cyber Space versions of Tails, Amy and Knuckles to hunt down the Chaos Emeralds while she and Eggman stabilize Sonic’s cyber corruption. Should be a fun time.
Oh, and I even dusted off the ol’ PS3 and started a playthrough of Jak 3 as part of the Jak & Daxter Collection. It’s been on my backlog for a literal decade and so, I felt it was time to finish that title off once and for all. The Backlog Busting continues!
And so ends October. What have you been playing recently? What did you finish? And what’s next on your backlog? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you all again next month!
Ryan Cheddi – our friendly, neighbourhood caffeine addict – is a man of many talents: an engineer, a gaming historian, a fiction writer and a streamer. He is also a self-avowed Sonic the Hedgehog fan. You can check out his cool beans at his site – Games with Coffee – or find him on Twitter as @GameswCoffee, and Instagram as @games_with_coffee. He streams on Twitch, also as GamesWithCoffee.
