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REVIEW: Beetle Shock

Developer: Afil Games Publisher: Afil Games Release Date: January 13, 2026 Available for: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch (version reviewed) Beetle Shock could be described in a sentence written in crayon on a napkin, and you’d lose nothing in terms of detail or value prospect. That’s not entirely a criticism, either – it is exactly what it looks like on the tin, short and slight yet adequate enough as a game to make the question of whether it’s worth your time more subjective an inquiry than normal. What we have here is a mascot platformer that owes part of its design to A Boy and His Blob , minus the jellybean-infused powers of a shapeshifting companion. Like the Boy of that game, Beetle Shock’s titular protagonist is limited in their mobility options; they can only run forward and back, jump, and perform a mid-air ground pound that smashes through breakable bricks and increases the height of jumps when hopping on mushrooms (this game's version of bounce pads).  The Beetle...
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REFLECTING ON... Dark Forces (a link ahead)

Not exactly the usual content for this blog o' mine, for sure. This is a piece I'd been working on for a while and felt would serve well as my inaugural article for QueueTimes.

DARK FORCES TALK AHEAD

Incidentally: go check out the lovely videos and articles on their site (no I was not paid to say that, this is of my own free will, et cetera, et cetera). I'd recommend starting with Zach Murphy's ongoing Treasure Trove series, aimed at highlighting what he feels to be the underappreciated or forgotten games of days passed. It's a fun series, and he's got a solid voice and interesting perspective on what constitutes a "hidden gem".
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