Better late than never, I guess. So after July was derailed by hand, foot and mouth disease, I lost a decent chunk of time and didn’t get around to my usual quarterly wrap. But nevertheless, Q2 2026 was pretty busy and I managed to knock through a surprising amount. With the arrival of my Ayn Thor, my RG CubeXX is looking more and more like it’ll get hocked. Shame. I enjoyed it while it lasted, but I think two devices is probably about as many as I can actually handle. Three is just that one too many. This quarter, I discovered and re-discovered the Nintendo Wii and overall I think it’s an underrated and underappreciated console. There’s some genuine bangers on here and I had a blast working my way through a limited portion of the library through May. I also worked through a couple newer games and some older titles on my Ayn Thor.
Well, let’s get to it…
I’m not sure why I put it off so long, but both Dishonored and Dishonored 2 were top tier experiences this quarter. A mate of mine recommended them for what I’m sure was the third or fourth time. I finally caved and thoroughly enjoyed both. I played them back to back both as Corvo and it just kinda felt right to continue the story that way. The stealth mechanics and the chaos system hold up well and I did find myself replaying missions just to see how a different approach might play out. It’s a bit of fun in itself. If you haven’t played Dishonored yet, do yourself a favour and dive right in. I reviewed my experience of the first game and it was near-perfect. Dishonored 2 somehow builds on it without ever feeling like it’s a direct copy of the original, which is no small effort for any sequel.
The month of May I dubbed Wii’re Going Back, or Nintendo Wii Month. I did a bit of pondering through the month too, questioning whether the Steam Link hardware box was still viable in 2026 mainly because I essentially used it as a wireless dock for the Steam Deck. I kicked the month off with one of my favourites, The House of the Dead: Overkill. I actually managed to buy one of the original Bang Bang Box revolver attachments and that nostalgia hit was all the sweeter. I’ve been meaning to finish The Force Unleashed for a long time. I originally got it in the dying days before I hocked my Wii and never really had the time for it. This game makes you feel like a force user. The Wii controls were truly something else. For a little unhinged content, I played through MadWorld which is said to be the most violent game on the console, despite being black and white. Greg Proops’ squeaky gremlin voice narrating with his horrendous one-liners does nothing but enhance the gory experience. I also managed to get some pseudo exercise in, which led to a retrospective on Nintendo Wii Sports. Spoiler: it still rules.
Continuing on with Wii Month, I explored Call of Duty making it to the Wii in detail and it’s actually a surprisingly enjoyable experience. I didn’t have time to finish all of them, except Black Ops, but I spent a little time with each of them and they were a clear standout for the month. Time was obviously a big factor, but I wanted to fit in at least a little Resident Evil. Resident Evil 4 still eludes me, but I managed to make my way through abridged versions of some of the other games in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. The on-rails shooter nature really works well with the storytelling, it’s just a shame that it features some of the worst voice acting I’ve ever heard. Stiff as a board. That didn’t improve when I played through Ghost Squad, truly the definition of point at screen and shoot bad guys. It’s undeniably fun, but it’s over before it even begins. Finally, Wii’re Going Back concluded with something actually living up to the hype. Super Mario Galaxy surprised me by being a deadset masterpiece. It’s pure fun from the first level and never really lets up from there, so do yourself a favour. All those nice things people have said about it? They’re all true. Play it. Play it now.
Right in the middle of Wii’re Going Back, I received my Ayn Thor Pro after several months of waiting and it’s been the best secondary handheld to the Steam Deck OLED. Sorry, RG CubeXX. I’ve had a crack at a few games while I’ve been messing around with this thing and I thought it was finally time to play the only Grand Theft Auto I’ve never finished. GTA: Chinatown Wars is incredibly underrated and may be one of the strongest games in the series. Rockstar really took advantage of every facet of the Nintendo DS hardware and the experience is only enhanced by the Ayn Thor’s dual OLED screens. The only other game I managed to rip through on this dual-screen banger so far is one I’ve been meaning to get back to for years. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for the Nintendo 64 has been an incredibly fun experience. There’s something about flying around as Luke Skywalker in an X-Wing that just feels unreal. Using a third-party app called megingiard which adds dual-screen functionality to single screen games, I’ve been using the bottom screen for the game map. It gave the whole thing more of a DS or 3DS feel.
This quarter I was approached by indie developer Sparrowland to review their game The Tragedy at Deer Creek. While I received a copy for free, I legitimately enjoyed it and I highly recommend it. It’s a modern, first-person adventure game with clear retro roots in an isolated mountain setting. That description in itself had me sold. I’ve been very slowly working my way through the Resident Evil series, mostly via the remakes. I finished the Resident Evil 2 Remake a while back now and I’ve had the Resident Evil 3 remake in my library for a long time. I finally got around to it and I’m actually pretty surprised at the hate it receives. I had a pretty great time. Yeah, it’s fairly short and there’s clearly some content cut from the original, but I thought it was really well done and it looked amazing on the Steam Deck. The final game of the quarter is one of the rare games I’ve actually paid full price for. 007: First Light is my pick for the top James Bond video game we’ve had so far. It’s easily the Bond game we’ve been waiting for and one of 2026’s standout games.
So, that’s Q2… even if it took until August to actually get it posted. Looking back, it’s been a pretty busy quarter. From crushing through Nintendo Wii alongside a Steam Link I dug out of a drawer, to biting the bullet and paying full price for what turned out to be one of the best games of 2026 (so far), there was a surprising amount packed into a short window. I’ve also spent some time getting properly acquainted with my Ayn Thor Pro, or trying to. There wasn’t a lot of downtime to work with. This quarter kinda came down to devices rather than just games with my RG CubeXX on its way out while the Ayn Thor proves itself and the Steam Deck OLED cruises along doing most of the heavy lifting. To pick out a couple highlights, it’s a bit of a toss up between Super Mario Galaxy living up to twenty years of hype and 007: First Light actually being worth full price, which almost never happens. Q3 will obviously be a touch lighter, due to nearly two weeks being eaten by a health-related plot twist. Here’s hoping there’s not another around the corner.
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