Another quarter down. Seriously, where does the time go? GIVE IT BACK. Yet again, I spent the quarter glued to my Steam Deck OLED. You may notice, if you’ve followed my other quarterly wrap-ups, that I’ve dropped the RG CubeXX from the title. It’s not that I don’t like the CubeXX; cubes are still cool, but I didn’t finish a single game on it this quarter. I did knock through a couple of games of NHL ’96 season here and there, but I didn’t actually finish anything. I made a few starts, pushed myself maybe a handful of hours into some promising titles, but never made it through to the end credits. Next quarter, I guess. Anyway… I ripped through nine games this quarter, so let’s get to it.
I’ll get the bad out of the way first. The Steam Spring Sale had me taking a chance on a few games and after having a blast with Boomer Shooter December, I took a chance on Wrack: Reclamation. It’s bold, it’s colourful, it’s awful. I mean no disrespect, but even for a relatively short game I found myself prioritising doomscrolling over finishing it halfway through. It has some neat elements, the combo system is pretty fun, but the overall package just isn’t overly interesting. I don’t think it’s any secret about my feelings of this next one. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate looks unreal, but I just can’t do roguelites. I recently posted my thoughts about roguelites and Splintered Fate was the game that made me realise I’m just not into the genre as a whole. An absolute blast from the past I came across, while doomscrolling mid-way through Wrack: Reclamation, is 2003’s Devastation. I reviewed Devastation recently and I’m sad to say that it simply does not hold up. It’s a bit of a janky mess that just never really pushes itself beyond being just somewhat-OK.
With one nostalgia rabbit-hole being a total swing and a miss, it was time to dive into something… Unsupported. Quake III Arena has Valve’s grey Unsupported badge of shame and that actually means absolutely nothing. I played right through Quake III’s singleplayer campaign, if you can call it that, without any issues. It required some manual configuration and a custom controller layout, but it’s just as good as it was all the way back in 1999. Yes, I did blow myself up with the rocket launcher countless times, thank you for asking. Still on the nostalgia train, I played through Star Wars: Dark Forces Remastered back in Q1 of 2025 and had such a great time. I intended to play the sequel much sooner, but… you know… I… uh, shut up. A year on, I got there and I’m super glad I did. Dark Forces 2 is an absolute janky mess. Continuing Kyle Katarn’s story through truly awful FMV cutscenes with incredibly corny B-movie acting may not sound great on the surface, but I assure you it’s well worth the ample cringe.
A pretty unexpected detour this quarter was into emulation on my Apple TV 4K. I hadn’t looked too much into emulation on Apple devices, I’ve been an Apple guy for a long time and emulation had been pretty much non-existent. But now? You can just install RetroArch on any of your Apple devices. You can also sync your library and saves with iCloud to pick up your games on the go. I started playing my way through NBA Jam, then I thought I’d see how far my Apple TV could go. It tops out around PSP and can run systems like Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn surprisingly well. Guide coming soon. I had a run through Time Crisis last year and thought I’d have a crack at another arcade classic. With my trusty 8bitdo SN30 Pro, I ripped through Virtua Cop 2 on the Sega Saturn for the first time ever. I’ve got a bit of a taste for arcade shooters now, I’m gonna have to do something about that.
I don’t know how many times I’ve said it at this point, but: I fucking love Fallout. I’ve replayed the original two Fallout games more times than I care to admit and I’ve been looking into fan-made mods. I played Fallout 1.5: Resurrection a few years back, it was pretty well done but I remember it being fairly short. This year, I thought I’d have a crack at one of the more well known mods and I have to say it was a pretty unreal experience. Fallout: Nevada is a total conversion mod for Fallout 2, so you get all the quality of life stuff the sequel brought with it. All the bugs and random crashes, too! I wrote a guide on how to get it going. More or less, you find yourself in the Nevada region on a mysterious quest for answers. It can be around 50 hours of classic Fallout, if you so choose. I couldn’t say no and I had a ripper time with it. Can’t wait to get started with Fallout: Sonora next.
TechDweeb‘s January pick for the Dusty Game Society was the classic adventure game: Myst. Honestly, great pick! I tried the original, but I ended up going with realMyst for my playthrough. I couldn’t say no to that slick looking 3D environment. Like I said in my review, Myst surprised me in a good way. It has this demand of the player that’s incredibly refreshing, you’re rewarded for patience and curiosity as you try to uncover the mystery of this strange and empty world. It’s pretty great for that super old school feeling too. Remember back in the day when you’d play a game, get stuck then turn that sucker off and come back to it several hours later? You’d fire it back up thinking you absolutely have the answer to the puzzle you’re stuck on, only to fail spectacularly. Those were the days.
Last but not least, and probably my favourite of the quarter, Killer Frequency is an unexpected banger. It’s a pretty ambitious premise, being that you’re a washed up radio presenter who’s filling in for a 911 operator, while the town is being stalked by a historic serial killer. Yeah ok, I’d watch that movie. You make meaningful choices, which lead to the townsfolk either living or dying. It’s a little short, which actually kind of plays into the whole package. I picked Killer Frequency up pretty much out of nowhere after I was interested in taking on another interactive story game. It absolutely ticked that box and then some with that retro ’80s setting really adding to the slasher-film novelty. Seriously, if you haven’t given it a look then please re-assess your life choices. …Oh, c’mon. I’m kidding! Kinda.
Well, that’s another quarter done and dusted. I ripped my way through nine games and learned a few things along the way. I finally came to terms with the fact that I just can’t do roguelites, Quake III Arena is still an absolute banger despite its Unsupported badge of shame, emulation on the Apple TV is definitely a thing that exists and it’s genuinely great. And finally: a washed up radio host trying to stop a serial killer somehow equates to one of the best games I’ve played in years. Oh, let’s not forget that Fallout: Nevada is insanely good. As always, the backlog isn’t getting any shorter, thanks Steam sales, and the next adventure is already queued up waiting for me to completely overlook it for something else.
See you again for Q2. Thanks for reading.
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