Alex Carlson

NEW VIDEO: In its vigorous pursuit to outdo its original, Yooka-Replaylee sacrifices a lot more than it really should have. Listen to me talk about it for 25 minutes. Link is right here 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQGs... 👈

Last night's Gojira show was incredible. I can't remember the last time I felt this close to a band while they performed. It was unreal to see such a huge act play at such a tiny venue, so I couldn't help but be blown away.

Happy 30 years to Ænima by Tool, a wonderfully weird metal record that set the progressive trajectory for the band without losing the underground grime of Undertow. Psychedelic, heavy, a metal classic. Love it. #NowPlaying

I listened to Radiohead's Kid A album in its entirety for the first time.

Do you file it under Z for "Zelda" or under L for "Legend of Zelda"?

Persona 5 turns 10 years old today. Even with Persona 6 on the horizon, it doesn't seem real that Joker and his band of Phantom Thieves are celebrating their first adventure's ten-year anniversary. We're still seeing Persona 5 everywhere. It still feels like a blockbuster to this day.

You see the announcement for the Russian Circles/Pelican shows, @jello44.bsky.social?

And for my Capcom faithful over on the PlayStation 2 side, God Hand turns 20 years old today. The last game by the best damn studio to do it, Clover Studio, you can see the lifeblood of PlatinumGames slowly rising in this wild, over-the-top, and endlessly fun action game.

Happy 25 years, Nintendo GameCube. Some of my best gaming memories came from this console's library, from Metroid Prime to Wind Waker, from Melee to Eternal Darkness. It was a humble system that still had plenty worth appreciating, even in the face of its competition.

Discovered a Florida metal band called Kaiju this week and gave their recently released debut album a spin. There are a ton of styles here, from noise rock to hardcore to full-on post-metal. Jumping from a 2-minute-long punk song to a sludgy 17-minute-long post-metal jam? Great stuff. Recommended.

I swear, the animation of Logan opening the crate, looking at the item inside, then storing it away was nearly identical to God of War 2018 and I think that's a spot-on indication of how exhausting this "AAA prestige game" thing has gotten over the years. (Stellar vid, @writingongames.bsky.social.)

Gojira announced today that they're playing a charity show at a small venue here in STL. The show is just a week away. I'm insanely lucky that I was listening to my local alt-rock radio station at the exact moment when the DJ broke the news. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten my tickets! Hyped!

A piece to tackle the burnout in my brain! Not sure what's up with Samus but she is PISSED in Metroid Ravenous....and we're here for it 💪😁

I still love that stupid-ass Blood Dragon font on "Ravenous." Watch this be the most totally radical Metroid game yet.

A lot of people are writing off Showing Teeth as "deathcore for tiktok users" but I gave a listen to their A Fate Worse Than Loneliness EP today, and came away impressed. Holy crap, can Addison scream. Her vocals are monstrous. youtu.be/el2qML9p1-s?...

I've been seeing more and more indie projects citing Donkey Kong Country as an inspiration, and while their mechanics manage to feel like DKC, I wish they would invest more into the atmosphere too. DKC1 in particular had so much ambience in its vibes. I haven't seen any DKC-like even come close.

Just saw a lighthearted jab post about gaming Youtubers from a rando that I honestly want to repost, but I don't want the rando to think I can't take the joke and that I'm putting them on blast or anything.

Alec continues to set the bar higher than anybody else in the Youtube scene. Even if you have no experience with Homebody or any horror games like it, this video is still worth your undivided attention.

NEW ARTICLE: Denshattack! wants its message to travel far and loud, but when you’re shouting at the top of your lungs for so long, eventually you’ll start to lose your voice.

Discovered this pleasant campfire world in VRChat a couple weeks ago and found myself spending a lot of time just vibing in it. Ended up saying "this reminds me a lot of Outer Wilds," then heard the background music and it was a piano cover of one of the songs from the Outer Wilds OST. Perfect.

Happy 25 years to one of the wildest, ugliest, most earth-shaking metal records of all time. The scene has had plenty of chances, but to this day, nothing else sounds like Jane Doe. #NowPlaying

Everything I've heard about that site has been against my will from people who assuredly should know better than to proliferate it.

Absolute sickos have the capacity to make an Astral Chain Switch 2 Edition and haven't done it

Wrapped up Denshattack! and got all achievements too. Think I'm going to write up a review of this for the blog, because there's a lot to talk about.

The DK64 recomp is now out! Play "DK64 Rekongpiled" now! Playable on Windows, Mac and Linux, just provide your own DK64 rom. No generative AI used at any point in the process. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVUvGGXTk0E dk64recomp.com

20 years ago, Volition challenged the king of open-world games and ended up building their own kingdom. Though it's changed a lot over the decades (for better or worse, depending on who you ask), the Saints Row series is a special one. It's still such a wild ride. Happy 20 years, Saints Row.

Hope ya had a good birthday, @pikanjo.bsky.social. ✌️

Moving away from Retroarch for game emulation has been remarkably painless. Many of the emulators I use have been very easy to use and configure, and since I use Playnite as a launcher, I can still keep things centralized. I recommend giving individual emulators and dedicated frontends a go.

Paul Simon's Graceland album turns 40 years old today. It's an exceptional record, but most importantly, this was one of my mother's favorite albums. Can't help but think of her whenever I hear it. I miss you so much, Mom. #NowPlaying

It showed up again this afternoon. It's nice having a routine visitor like this.

Over the last week, this calico cat has made its way into my backyard multiple times and just chilled beneath my deck. They didn't have a collar and they seemed comfortable approaching the glass door to my house. No lie, I'm tempted to just adopt it.

Finally, a firm answer from the management at Compulsion Games, and a good answer too.

Magikarp Pokédex entries: "Magikarp is worthless, pathetic, pitiful, idiotic, and the weakest Pokemon to ever exist." Magikarp Pokédex entry in Pokémon Sun: "Magikarp is incredibly fertile."

Hard to believe this one is 10 years old now. Doesn't seem that long ago when everyone collectively lost their minds over it.

cousins 🗻

I'D LIKE A PIECE OF FISH I'D LIKE A PIECE OF FISH

#gamedev It's weirdly satisfying punching clankers with this ridiculous fist #metroidvania #solodev #animation