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What Was Worth A Damn About Sony's June 2026 State of Play?

Sony really just couldn’t fucking help themselves, could they? Yes, I saw the news that the Sony Corporation would be discontinuing production of physical discs for PlayStation consoles by 2028 , pursuing an all-digital approach to the release of their games from then on. It’s a profoundly anti-consumer and anti-culture decision, stripping away agency from people to control how they enjoy the media they purchase and ensuring that any art that does emerge from this future status quo is ephemeral and able to be revoked – or outright erased – at any time. It is, put simply, a bad look to support Sony in its pursuits at this point and time. So what, then, does one do when one has spent weeks preparing a round-up of the very titles that might be subjected to this dystopian approach to media distribution? I watched the June 2026 State of Play, finding it adequate as a showcase and therefore sufficiently worth my time to cover. There were some good-looking games in that presentation, made by ...
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Review: SQUIDLIT (linked article)

Yes, I have indeed begun reviewing for QueueTimes.  First up: my take on the delightful retro platformer Squidlit.   Read on...
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Thoughts on... STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

Some Background, First Much like a lot of folks I know, and I imagine a significant portion of the populace, I grew up with Star Wars. I distinctly recall being in the theatre as a toddler, back in 1999, seeing The Phantom Menace for the first time. I also remember being woken up in the car by my mother, having (apparently) fallen asleep while watching The Phantom Menace, soooooo… yeah. The prospect of a Sequel Trilogy excited and thrilled me in a way I’d not felt in a long while - seeing that first teaser of The Force Awakens, where the Millenium Falcon comes swooping into frame over the deserts of Jakku, was nothing short of breathtaking. I’d loved the Original Trilogy, I had a certain abiding fondness for the Prequels, I adored the games, I liked the spin-off books I’d read (Tales of the Bounty Hunters and the early Rogue Squadron books, primarily). Point is, I cheer at the mere thought of new Star Wars.  The Force Awakens was quite pleasant, all told; not quite EMPIRE-leve...
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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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Kurt's E3 2018 Round-up Spectacular! Part 4

Nintendo Rather Interesting - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Don't care if it's "just" all the old fighters in a new package (which, as the footage made clear, it isn't). Don't care if it's functionally a high-definition port of previously-showcased Smash Bros maps, items and game mechanics. It's the biggest in scale, the largest in roster, and potentially the most ambitious in terms of detail and design. And can we just appreciate for one goddamn second that every fighter in Smash history is coming back for this game! No question, this is awesome. Runner-up - Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go Eevee GAH! Your starter Pokemon follows your player character outside of its Pokeball. You catch wild Pokemon not by battling it, but with luring it and carefully tossing Pokeballs a la Pokemon Go. All of the original 150 Pokemon, rendered as 3D models, in what appears to be a lovely recreation of the Kanto region. Okay, I dig where this is goin...
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Kurt's E3 2018 Round-Up Spectacular! Part 3

PC Gaming Rather Interesting - Maneater You're a shark in this one, you eat people. It's the reversal on Jaws I never expected nor thought I needed in my life, yet cannot imagine a world without. Silly malarkey, but of a breed that I appreciate thoroughly. Runner-up - Sable Drawing upon much more offbeat influences than many in the post-apocalypse genre (Belgian comics and Studio Ghibli films were specifically name-checked), the unorthodox look of Sable's world   makes me positively eager to see more of it in action. Has Potential - Two Point Hospital My biggest hang-up here is not having familiarity with Two Point Hospital 's spiritual predecessor, Theme Hospital . Beyond that, everything I've seen and heard tells me this'll be a quirky and charming hospital sim with a lot of fun scenarios to play through. Runner-up - The Walking Dead: The Final Season Not having followed up with Telltale's run of Walking Dead titles since Season 2 , I fi...
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Kurt's E3 2018 Round-Up Spectacular! Part 2

Square Enix Rather Interesting - Kingdom Hearts III Okay, I'm not so much of a grump that Disney's big, flashy, multi-million dollar exercise in nostalgia pandering - and also some Square Enix role-playing - can't warm my weary heart. Sora and company look swell in their new costumes, the mix of Disney's cartoon fantasy aesthetic and  Final Fantasy 's anime influences positively shine in high-definition, and by god (all the gods) the worlds on display are astounding. Monsters, Inc.! Tangled! Frozen! Wreck-It Ralph!  That third  Pirates of the Caribbean  movie that went on a bit too long, yet still managed to be the last time one of those films was any good! Whatever weird and borderline convoluted turns the game takes, I sense that  Kingdom Hearts III  will pack more than enough charm and splendor in its every seam to keep people hooked. Runner-up - The Keith David narration Spoiler: the Square Enix presentation was bad. Said very little, only s...
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Kurt's E3 2018 Round-Up Spectacular! Part 1

Electronic Arts Rather Interesting - Unravel 2 I'm not personally familiar with the original Unravel, so I can't speak to its quality. But I found myself drawn into the latest plight of the little yarn creature Yarny with surprising ease. The exquisite naturalistic environments shown in Unravel 2's trailer - staggered terrain obscured by plentiful long grass, moss-coated trees that could be clambered using the twin Yarny's connective string - beautifully contrasted with the brighter, simpler style of the red Yarny and his blue companion. That they went a step further and announced it was available for sale the day of the conference  is especially astounding. Okay, y'all have grabbed my attention, well played. Runner-up - Sea of Solitude I want to see more before I draw any further conclusions, but the nervous excitement of the on-stage writer/director (Cornelia Geppert) coupled with the artistry of what footage was shown gives me hope. I can appr...
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