If you haven’t watched Romantic Killer on Netflix, I strongly recommend you do so now. This series should at the very least be on your watch list, especially if you like anime. Romantic Killer is a cute anime with a lot of heart and exactly what you need if you are looking for comforting anime.
Anzu is a girl obsessed with video games with no intentions or time to find love. Unfortunately for her, a wizard appears and uses their powers to make her life into a dating sim. Anzu suddenly finds herself surrounded by hot guys and forced into situations that will decide her romantic future. Will this wizard succeed in their mission to help Anzu find love, or is she really as incapable of falling in love as she believes she is?
This series was originally intended as background noise as I built my gunpla kit. But my gunpla went unfinished as I quickly became absorbed into Romantic Killer’s silly and quirky plot. This series has a delightfully charming story with fun characters and a vibrant art style. I love how resistant Anzu is to the situation, but she is still willing to learn and grow from it. I love the awkward and hilarious situations the wizard puts her in. The only thing I don’t like about this series is that there isn’t an end yet, and I need to know what happens. I don’t want to get too detailed with this review because there is a bit of mystery to the plot that leads to its heartwarming resolution. The resolution and how all the pieces of the narrative connect is what makes this series special. I’ll admit that some of the plot points are a little forced, but it doesn’t matter when the result is this cute. I should go without saying that I love this anime.
Regardless of what you think of anime, you should watch Romantic Killer at least once. It is cute, dumb, and very entertaining. It can be slow, especially during setup, but it is worth the journey. If you have Netflix and need something fun and comforting to watch, this is your answer.
I couldn’t find the trailer in English, but there is English dubbing and it is solid.
Songs of Silence closed beta sign ups are now open
Signups for the Songs of Silence closed beta for PC, which goes live on August 14th, are now open. Sign up to test out what looks to be a beautiful and unique strategy game for PC and console. Song of Silence promises to be a story-rich game, with a fantastic soundtrack, and competitive multiplayer.
Play as a young queen in search of a safe place for her people in story mode, or fight online in a competitive multiplayer mode.
Combat is turn-based. It looks like you can summon units or cast spells using cards. It reminds me a bit of a game like a clash royal, but with a bigger field to play with. Players will have control of a hero who will have unique abilities to help their armies earn their victories. They will also have access to 1000’s units, spells, and unique heroes for almost limitless combinations.
The closed beta will have three biomes available: The Light Side, The Dark Side, and the Silence. Each biome comes with a unique landscape, factions, and units. It is a great time to try the game out if you are interested in the game. Keep in mind, the beta will be rough and unfinished, so don’t judge it too harshly if you get in. The beta exists to test the game so that the devs can make it better at release, not as a demo for the actual product. I’ve already signed up and am now waiting to see if I get in. Make sure you join the official discord to stay up to date on all the news, and don’t forget to add it to your wishlist.
Songs of Silence is a very pretty game , and with Hitoshi Sakimoto as a composer, the soundtrack is going to be amazing! I am warming up to strategy games, and this one looked manageable enough for my skill level. I will be receiving my review copy when the game comes out, so stay tuned for that!
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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a fun but cheesy live action adaptation of a pretty cool concept that should at least be on your watch list
My first exposure to Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is the live-action movie on Netflix, and absolutely love it. I understand the stigma behind live-action adaptations, but if you ignore the source material, it works. Zom 100:Bucket List of the Dead is a quirky and cute road trip comedy about a zombie apocalypse that should at least be on your watch list.
Akira believes he’s gotten his dream job after graduation but discovers he works for an exploitative company that has no problem working him to the bone. Akira spends the next year of his life as a zombie for his company, working tirelessly at a job he hates. Luckily for Akira, there is a zombie outbreak to free him from his misery. For the first time since he started his job, he is free to do whatever he wants, and he plans not to waste this new freedom. Akira makes a bucket list of the 100 things he wants to do before he turns into a zombie and sets off to complete it.
I love the contrast between the corporate life Akira had and the one he has in the apocalypse. Akira will often remember how miserable he was before the zombie outbreak and use that as motivation to live his life to the fullest. It is a very unique take on the genre because the story isn’t about a group of people simply surviving, but rather a quirky road trip comedy of people learning how to live.
The live-action movie is incredibly over the top and cheesy, but it gives the movie its charm. The tone is silly, the action is over the top, the soundtrack is fantastic, and the story is cute. I love the references to Super Sentai and how exaggerated the action scenes are. The music they choose for the action scenes made this movie for me. If you want to watch a fun cheesy movie and enjoy some cool JPop, watch this movie.
I love this movie and have already watched it a few times. I recommend you check it out in the original Japanese, but the English dubbing is a solid option for enjoying this movie. If you a cheesy road trip comedy with a solid story, this is a cute one with a lot of charm. I don’t know how it compares to the source material, but intend to soon. You can stream Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead on Netflix.
Viewfinder is One of the best puzzle games you need to play
I was sent Viewfinder as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions.
Viewfinder is a first-person puzzle game for PC and PS5 where you solve puzzles using pictures to manipulate the world around you. A group of scientists created a virtual world where they worked on solving the world’s problems. It is believed that hidden somewhere in this world is a machine that can solve the negative effects of climate change. You are sent into this world to find this machine and any other secrets that can benefit humanity. What secrets will you uncover within this virtual labyrinth?
I got to play Viewfinder at this year’s GDC and have been excited for its release since. This game is as fun as I remembered and surpassed all of my expectations. If you are in the market for a relaxing and fun puzzle game, Viewfinder is your answer. The game has an interesting story, unique mechanics, a fantastic soundtrack, and a beautiful world to explore. This is one of the few games where I went out of my way to collect every bit of story I could from the notes, recordings, and journal entries.
The puzzles in this game are manageable and extremely creative. I had a ton of fun solving the puzzles because of how much flexibility there is for each solution. To solve a puzzle in Viewfinder, you use photos to manipulate the room around you. For example, you can use a picture of a side of a building to make a ramp to get you somewhere high, or you can use the same picture to make a bridge. How you use these pictures and solve the puzzles is up to you. Each puzzle feels open to multiple solutions, and watching the world change as I solved the puzzles was really cool to see. I am blown away by how creative the puzzles and mechanics are. You need to play this game to appreciate how much love and hard work was put into it.
My main complaint with this game is that it felt a little short. I was either having too much fun, or I am really good at puzzles because I felt like I breezed through this game. My other complaint is that some of the filters make pictures harder to see when placing them. The filters are optional, and therefore not a deal breaker.
Viewfinder is a fantastic puzzle game for players who are looking for something with a beautiful atmosphere, a solid story, and innovative mechanics. You can grab your copy of Viewfinder on Steam or PlayStation for $24.99. There is also a demo on Steam if you’d like to try it out first. This is one of the best games I’ve played this year, and I would argue that you will think the same.
Peacock’s Twisted Metal series is campy, cheesy, and bad, but I liked it?
I will start by saying that if you are a fan of the Twisted Metal games, you will be disappointed by this series. This isn’t the dark and twisted narrative that is the main draw to the franchise. This is a cheap and cheesy action series with a Twisted Metal theme. This series is bad. The writing isn’t great, the acting is inconsistent, and the CGI is horrible. But it isn’t the worst video game adaptation I’ve seen. Despite its many flaws, I had a lot of fun with this series. I enjoyed the games, and won’t deny my disappointment that this series isn’t a true adaptation. But I am also a fan of cheesy campy movies, and that part of me adored the general ridiculousness this series carries.
The world has ended. In a post-apocalyptic America, major cities have walled themselves off from the desolate wasteland that surrounds them. But not everyone can live in the cities. The undesirables are cast out, forced to fight amongst themselves in the ruins of the old world. Cities use these outsiders to trade goods with each other. These people are called milkmen, and milkmen are expendable.
John Doe is a milkman hired for the most important run of his life. If he can complete the delivery on time, he can enjoy a peaceful life inside one of these cities. But this won’t be an easy delivery. The roads are unforgiving, full of death and mayhem. Does John have what it takes to make it back alive?
The series is a prequel to the twisted metal tournament. The tournament is run by a mysterious figure who pits the best drivers around in a fight to the death. The winner of the tournament gets their wish granted. The story is pretty cool until it isn’t, but I recommend you watch the cut scenes or summaries on YouTube if you want the real story. The series exists as its own narrative, and while it does have some fun Easter eggs, I am not counting it as canon. It’s best to watch this series disassociating the two narratives, or you will have a bad time.
I enjoyed the series, but it isn’t for everyone. This series is bad, but it’s the fun kind of bad. There is an attempt at a story. It isn’t great, but it’s fine for how cheap the show is. There is a bit of humor, both intentional and not, but don’t expect this to be the action-packed mayhem it promises to be. The CGI looks terrible, and they use a lot of it. All of the action is CGI, and it is hilarious. I recommend this series to people who enjoy watching bad campy movies for fun. Everyone else, it depends on how much cheesiness you can stomach.
You can stream Twisted Metal on Peacock.
The Beanie Bubble is a poor attempt at capturing a weird moment in history that you aren’t missing out on.
I have never enjoyed movies that are based on real people or events, and The Beanie Bubble is no exception. This movie is about the women responsible for creating the bubble and the man responsible for popping it. If you want to know the history around the Beanie Baby bubble, there are probably podcasts, YouTube videos, or articles that do a better job. This is a boring attempt to sensationalize an odd moment in history. It isn’t worth your time.
The acting and production are solid. The cast is fantastic, the colors and costumes are beautiful, and there is some cool editing. Unfortunately, the writing and the way this story is told is terrible. The movie jumps between three different women, jumbling the timeline and bringing it all together at the end. It’s an interesting idea, but the story isn’t interesting enough for it to work. The movie relies too heavily on narration, and the narration is overbearing. A lot of the plot is told through explanations of important events and internal monologues, essentially turning this into an expensive podcast. The tone of the narration becomes an issue because when it isn’t too quirky for its own good, it feels like the narrator is talking down to the audience. It also makes the movie boring to sit through.
The movie was intended to be an inspiring story of an empowered woman triumphing over a terrible man, but it was poorly executed. The monologues and dialogue are generic and lazy, Ty is too cartoonishly villainous to be taken seriously, and the sensationalized tone takes away from the woman’s accomplishments. When the pivotal moment comes when the woman breaks off from Ty, it doesn’t feel monumental because the women don’t feel real, and I had stopped caring a long time ago.
The biggest issue with this movie is that it tries to cash in on 90s nostalgia when people have moved on to something else. This movie throws up 90s nostalgia and will stop to show its audience how 90s it is. This slows down the movie and takes away from a story that isn’t good to begin with.
I wouldn’t bother with this movie. It may not be terrible, but it isn’t good either. If you lived through the craze, or are curious about it, there are better sources out there for this story. You can stream The Beanie Bubble on Apple TV, but I wouldn’t bother.
Apple’s The Crowded Room isn’t the psychological thriller it thinks it is
I almost didn’t finish watching this series, but I powered through for the review. The Crowded Room isn’t the worst show in Apple’s catalog, but it is boring. I’ll be honest. I didn’t have the highest hopes for this series going in. The trailer was boring, so I wasn’t surprised when the series was too. I am more disappointed by the fact that I wasted my time watching this than I am with the quality of the series. Do yourself a favor and go watch anything else.
Rya is an ambitious psychology professor who is asked to help Danny after he shoots up Rockefeller Center. Danny is a troubled kid who hears voices and needs help. Rya is the only person who understands Danny’s condition and can get him the help he needs. But with his trial moving ever closer, Rya is running out of time. Can she help Danny so that he can start healing before it’s too late? Can she convince the world that he needs help, or will he be sent to rot in prison for something that he has no control over? I feel like I have been saying this a lot lately, but this could have been a lot shorter. I believe it was meant to be shorter. This series has a lot of filler, and it took everything I had to not skip around. You can watch the first and last episodes and get the whole story, the rest of the episodes add nothing to the narrative. The Crowded Room spends so much on emotional speeches, psychology lectures, and showing the audience how diverse the cast is that it forgets to tell its story. It’s hilarious that the series is advertised as a thriller when it is missing everything that would make it one. The writing is worse than the pacing. Someone took everything they learned from their Intro to Psyc class, mixed it with some of the laziest emotional speeches, sprinkled in as many cliches they could think of, and threw it together to make this script. I can’t believe they wasted such a talented cast on something more fitting of a high school production. The Crowded Room is a slow build-up to one of the most boring and poorly written trials you will ever have to sit through, and then the series just ends abruptly. While I am happy that they didn’t sequel bait, they should at least have the decency to try to finish the story. The trial magically ends, and you get some meaningless epilogue and the empty feeling that you just wasted precious time you will never get back.
The longer I think about this series, the angrier I get about having sat through it. You can stream it on Apple TV if you have a subscription, but you have better things to do.
Nocturnal just got its first major update!
I was very fortunate to get to review Nocturnal Earlier this year. Nocturnal is a beautiful and unique platformer for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation that might be worth looking into even if you don’t enjoy the genre. I had a lot of fun with this game and recommend it to those interested. Go check out the full review if you want to get the full opinion.
Well, Nocturnal just got its first major update, and I felt the need to share the news. The new update brings with it some much-needed quality-of-life changes, a new enemy, and new story bits to play through. The update introduces a new performance mode that opens up the game to lower-spec computers, which I always love to see. I remember the days when my toaster could barely run anything, it’s nice to see when companies care about their players.
There are also some nice updates to the level and UI design and improved combat feedback for both players and bosses. The game has been released, but it is nice to see the devs are still passionate to make the game better for their customers. It is even nicer that this update isn’t locked behind paid DLC.
I recommend you look into this game if you are in the market for something new. It looks like there are still plans for future updates. It is currently on sale on Steam for $11.89 (normally 16.99) until August 7th. PlayStation also has it on sale for $14.99 (normally $19.99) until August 16th. Sorry Xbox mains, you have to pay the full $19.99 for now.
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Digimon Seekers: Chapter 2-6: Revenge and Reunion
I am sorry for the late post, work has been crazy. Thank you all who have been keeping up with this project, it means a lot to have people read it every week. If you’ve been enjoying this project, please consider subscribing, liking, commenting, and sharing this with your friends. It really helps me out. And as always, don’t forget to support the official release!
Back on the Sons of Chaos channel, the avatar of a cartoonish businessman stands at the door of Marvin’s private chatroom. The avatar is unkempt and dirty. He leans drunkenly against a nearby wall and watches Marvin scrolling through the Grimm news feed.
The attack on Nation X was trending throughout GriMM.
Word had it that the hacker Judge singlehandedly stopped a large-scale attack on Nation X orchestrated by the Sons of Chaos. He was not only able to destroy Nation X’s powerful Digimon, but he also outsmarted Tartarus and the Sons of Chaos.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Marvin asks, taking notice of the interviewer for the first time. “Come to wish me well?” His tone is playfully mocking.
“Glad to see you up so quickly. And I asume…No side effects,” a different voice says sincerely. A small fox with dragon wings and a large ruby embedded on its forehead appears near the interviewer. Its tail flicks at the air.
Marvin smiles. “I wouldn’t have made it back withouty you.” He reaches to Dorumon and ruffles its fur playfully.
“What about Megadramon… Er Aidramon?”
“Luckily,” Marvin stops petting Dorumon and stands to finish his explanation, “there was no heavy damage to the Digicore. It’s currently undergoing repairs and will probably be out of commission for a while.”
“That was close Marvin. We could have lost you out there.” There was concern in the Digimon’s tone.
Marvin grimaced at the thought. “That kid you scouted saved me.” Marvin runs his fingers through his dreadlocks. “I can’t believe I let a hacker surprise me like that. I’m getting old man.” He lets out a nervous chuckle. “Maybe I should plan for an early retirement.”
Dorumon ignores the joke. “We have to do something about Judge. We’re exploring options for retaliation”
Marvin shakes his head and crosses his arms. “You mess with Leon and we’ll have the Americans all over us. We have to think this through.”
“He attacked first!” Dorumon shoots back, its voice almost a growl. “This is an insult to us and what we stand for. We can’t let this slide.” The fur down its back stands angrily. Its tail flails behind it.
“He’s right,” the interviewer speaks up for the first time. His voice is stern and gruff. “We can’t let this go.” The interviewer drops his disguise. Tartarus stands before Marlin with a bored look on his face. He is neatly dressed and well-kempt. He has a scar over his right eye and stands taller than Marvin.
“So what then? We go to war? The big war you…both have been planning?” Marvin doesn’t hide his frustration.
Tartarus looks at his friend pensively for a moment before moving to a nearby couch to sit. He spreads himself out comfortably and turns his attention up to Marvin. “I’ll admit, losing the Machinedramon was a….setback, but the pieces have fallen into place. This can still work.”
“Loogarmon, you mean. And Eiji. Those pieces?”
“What do you think of them by the way? Good huh?” Tartarus smirks as he leans forward, eager for Marvin’s answer.
Marvin sighs. “The kid surprised me,” Marvin says, taking the seat opposite of Tartarus. “At first I thought he was just another cocky code cracker, all-flash, and no substance. But he did good. He doesn’t get a big head and listens to directions. He’s got good instincts too.” Marvin starts to relax in his chair. “and he didn’t leave me behind. I like him.”
Dorumon gives lets out a smug smirk.
“His partner is still just at champion level though.” Marvin sounds concerned.
“He’s young, he’s got room to grow.” Tartarus leans back in his seat and folds his hands behind his head. “I’ve got something to help him grow a little faster.”
“You don’t mean…”
“We don’t know the full extent of Eiji’s power yet,” Tartarus begins as he brings up Eiji and Leon’s profiles on a virtual monitor. “We can’t rely on him until we know the extent of that power. We have to push him. We have to know that he is down for the cause and that he will stick with us to the bitter end.” Tartarus pauses for a moment to examine Marvin’s reaction. “Are you still with us?” He asks grimly.
“Of course I am.”
“Nice work Leon,” Pulsemon says, greeting his partner as he wakes from the testing pod. Leon sits up, taking off the helmet used to measure his vitals. His blond hair is matted from the sweat.
Pulsemon begins running around the lab impatiently.
“You too Pulsemon,” Leon says softly as he stands up from the pod and walks over to a nearby monitor. “We set a new record,” Leon remarks with excitement as he reads over the results of their endurance test.
Pulsemon nods eagerly. “We’re unstoppable! It’s all because they put you in that diaper.” It snickers at its own joke.
“Shut up!” Leon can’t help to laugh along with his oldest friend.
“Phenomenal,” a voice says over the intercom.
Professor Ryusenji stands on the other side of the observation window with a large smile.
“I didn’t realize you were here!” Leon bows his head slightly in an attempt to hide the sudden flash of redness on his face.
“Ryu-booo!” Pulsmon chirps, waving eagerly. “Did you see?! Did you see?!”
“Pulsemon my friend! You did such an amazing job!” the professor responds, matching Pulsemon’s energy. “And you too Leon.”
“Thank you, professor.” Pulsemon continues to fidget through the room.
“To think, the lone hacker judge taking out a whole nation, the Sons of Chaos, and a Machinedramon? America must be so proud.”
“It was now or never,” Leon says solemnly. “They had to pay for what they did. For killing all those people…” Leon pauses for a moment. “I had to do it, for myself. It was the only way I could move forward as a hacker.”
The professor nods and gives a proud smile. “I would have never guessed you would grow up to be so strong.”
Leon moved to Japan in elementary school. His dad worked as an assistant professor at the Tokyo University of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He would often take Leon along to work with him.
“You look like someone who is good at taking care of things,” the professor said to Leon one day. He crouches down to bring himself closer to Leon. He hands him a small screen with the pixel art Digitama on it. “I bet you’d be great at raising it with love and care. I’m giving this to you, can I trust you?”
Leon nods his head as he looks down at the small device and studied the strange video it plays. The small egg occasionally shakes.
“This isn’t a game,” the professor continues his explanation. “This is a Digimon, it’s alive and it exists in the Digital world.” The professor goes on to explain the existence of Digimon and the importance of this task.
Leon promises to take care of his Digimon. From that day on, Leon and Pulsemon became inseparable. Together they grew stronger, setting and surpassing limits until they were as part of the DDL as the professor was.
Leon walks out through the security gate and into the lobby. TV displays throughout the room report on the recent attack on Nation X. He sees Eiji sitting across the room, his head buried in his phone as he scrolls slowly through the day’s feed.
“Eiji!” Leon shouts, waving to get his attention. His voice echoes through the lobby. Eiji lifts his head and finds Leon walking towards him.
He waves back as the memories from elementary start rushing back.
I picked up Revita and thought it was cute and fun, but is it worth it?
I picked up Revita for the Nintendo Switch because I was in the market for a casual game that didn’t require much commitment. The game features cute art, a fantastic soundtrack, and promised gameplay that seemed manageable with my current skill level. Revita delivered on most of my expectations. The game is a fun casual journey through a cute world that I will continue to pick up.
Revita is a unique twin-stick shooter roguelite with procedural dungeons. There is a story, but it serves more as flavor rather than creates the game’s identity.
The gameplay loop for Revita is simple. You start each run with a set amount of life and fight through the floors of enemies until you either clear the tower or die and start again. Each floor is randomly generated, making each attempt feel unique. The RNG isn’t always fair, but you can easily and quickly restart without losing your progress.
What makes this game unique is that it uses life as a currency. You can trade life for randomly generated upgrades at shrines or stores to give your character an edge against the monsters and bosses. There aren’t many chances to regenerate life. Life in Revita is a precious resource and the source of many difficult decisions. How much life will you be willing to sacrifice for power?
Revita is a game where you will die a lot by design. As you play the game and collect resources that you can use to buy permanent upgrades that make future runs easier. This game has a grind, but it doesn’t feel soul-crushing. The gameplay is a bit repetitive, but I found the repetition relaxing. That said, this isn’t a game I can main or no life because the loop gets stale after a while. This is a game you pick up in quick bouts when you don’t have enough time to game or are just looking for a quick and fun distraction.
I had a lot of fun with Revita. The art is great, the soundtrack is amazing, and the gameplay is solid. While I don’t necessarily regret my purchase, $17 is a bit too much for this game. Unless you know you are going to love this game and will be putting hundreds of hours into it, I would wait for it to go on sale. You can pick up Revita on Switch and Steam for $16.99. It is currently on sale on Steam for $11.04 until August 7th.
