Hi friends! It’s been a long time since I blogged about anything, my hobbies are very cyclical so I often take breaks and do new things before coming back to it.
I wanted to share my journey getting back into gaming! To be honest, I don’t think I’ve played any story games since high school. In 2026, I picked up Re4 (2005) on sale, and I’ve got sucked back into it. I’m still a newb, but I’ve changed a bit since my HS gaming days. My favorite games back then were Nier Automata and Undertale. A friend of mine introduced me to more retro horror, and I’ve found that I’m really enjoying this genre. Surprising, since I thought I would be a scaredy-cat.
Here’s some of my reviews for the games I’ve played in 2026!
Re4 (2005) — 9.4/10
This definitely is going in my top three games of all time! I almost couldn’t play it because the old tank/camera controls made me violently ill from motion sickness. Turns out, I can microdose old games until the motion sickness goes away… but it is quite unpleasant.
The humor, ambiance, and delivery of the VAs were excellent. It’s such a campy and funny game, and the fantasy/cultish vibe was up my alley. The story is definitely a “2005 Japan’s idea of an American agent” type of story 😂 we don’t get much character development and the plot is goofy, but thats partly what makes it a masterpiece. I enjoyed it so much because it was pure unserious fun.
Re4 Remake — 8/10
I appreciate that the remake turned the series into a more thoughtful and developed version. The gameplay was largely remastered to fit a newer audience, and it is very action-packed and visual forward.
To be honest, it did lose a lot of its original iconic identity, so I can’t say this game really stands out in a sea of other excellent action horror games. They toned down a lot of the humorous (and borderline absurd) moments, so it definitely is meant to be taken more seriously. The issue with that is… the plot is still the same goofy concept it once was 😅 that being said, the newer tone does feel more continuous with the identity the franchise is trying to establish.
Re9 Requiem — 8.5/10
The gameplay of this game was superb! There was an excellent balance of survival horror and action moments. It was my first introduction to a modern survival horror game with resource management and puzzle elements. Leon’s sections felt more like Re4 remake (hack and shoot), but Grace’s sections were extremely tense.
The story was relatively good, although there seemed to be some lackluster writing for Leon’s part. Leon’s voice acting was also not that strong for me and felt inconsistent at times. But to be honest, I thought Grace’s portions were pretty darn perfect! I don’t see myself replaying this game, because I think much of the enjoyment also came from unraveling the puzzles and seeing where the story went.
Re6 - 7/10
Hey, I didn’t really play much of this game, but my friend and I finished Leon and Helena’s campaign on split screen co-op and it was pretty fun! I can’t say I’m going to reach for this game again, but I guess I can say I tried it. It 100% feels like a slightly more advanced version of those 2-player arcade shooter games. The plot is super chopped too. I’m not going to play the other campaigns solo and taint the good memories I’ve had of it… LOL
Clocktower 3 - 8/10
I originally was going to give this a higher rating because I enjoyed it while I was playing, but I realized that if this game was any longer than it was (6 ish hours) I would’ve gotten annoyed with its gameplay quirks. Still, this is an amazing cult classic with a simple and straightforward plot. The puzzles are easy, but some of the boss battles are very hard.
I absolutely loved the ambiance and environment design. Some of the cutscenes were also downright gruesome, which contrasts the magical girl vibe. This game is like Silent Hill meets Sailor Moon. The stalkers in this game are good, but nothing to write home about. The boss battles unfortunately aren’t very enjoyable, even if you understand the mechanics well.
Tip! Save MOST (if not all) of your special arrows until the very last boss. The difficulty spike is weirdly severe.
Haunting ground — 9.4/10
If you liked CT3, you will love haunting ground. Is it weird to say that Clocktower 3 feels like a prototype of haunting ground? The characters, themes, graphics, and story feel much more developed and polished. The stalkers have motivations and backstories, the puzzles are extremely challenging, and the world is beautifully designed. Of course, you also get a dog companion who has a well-designed AI mechanic, letting you train him like a real dog. The moments between Fiona and Hewie are very emotional and sweet.
Back in it’s release, it got a lot of hate for the sexualization of the protagonist Fiona. I felt that it was rather intentional. The blatant voyeurism in the game forces the player to confront one of the major themes in the story. Oh Haunting Ground, you were ahead of your time…
I’m giving it a similar rating to re4 (2005) because it’s just that good! I think the length of the game was also perfect. I rarely say this, but I would replay this game.
Tomodachi life -- 2/10
Oh, I fear I was not the target audience for this game. I played it for about 15 hours, but the dialogue was rehashed and I already ran out of interesting content I wanted to unlock. There’s hardly any unlockable decor. This is coming from someone who spent 600+ hours on animal crossing, a game with bounds more content to see!
I ended up just selling the game because I had a physical copy. I would only recommend this game if you like drawing miis. You can spend a lot of time in it as a character creator, but just keep in mind, there isn’t much base content in the game besides that.
Currently playing:
Silent Hill 3
This is a masterpiece of a game, but the tank controls and chase camera do annoy me somewhat. Again, I used to want to hurl from motion sickness before it was finally playable… other than that, I really enjoy it! Heather is one of the best horror game protagonists of all time. Also Numb body fan forever.
Anima Mundi Dark Alchemist
I’m not really a VN fan, but the art and voice acting of this game are pretty good. Unfortunately, I found out it was released with a game-breaking bug, and it almost makes me want to drop it 😔 it’s one of the only physical games I own, so it’s a shame! Hopefully I can install the patch even though I already started the game.
To Be Played...
Some of the games I'm looking forward to!
- Metal Gear Solid
- Your Turn to Die
- Re2, Re1
- Kuon
