I 100%'d Expedition 33. Masterpiece of a game, NG++ has no appeal to me though, I preferred the french dub FWIW, I found American actors saying french words to be really offputting, but maybe that's because I'm Canadian.

Now that's done I've dusted off the PS5 for ** Death Stranding 2**. I just got to the place past the animal shelter to give a non-spoiler point in where I'm at. I really enjoyed the first game, mostly just the vibe, it's a very cozy game for me. DS2 is mostly more of the same, which is pretty much what I want. They greatly expanded the combat, and made it a more important part of side quests. I'm not particularly excited or bothered by that, it is more fun, particularly stealth but I'm a bit disappointed they haven't built up the trekking part of the game much, so far I don't think I have unlocked any items that weren't in the first game and isn't combat focused but I'm hoping they mostly added to late game. I do really like that roads are not the pinnacle of development any more (I LIKE TRAINS!!). The UI is also a bit of a step down for me, but I can't quite figure out why, it just feels a bit more awkward. I really like the added skill trees and the backpack modding, the new BTs are alright. The one thing I really really hated in the first game were the flashbacks to old wars, I despised these forced combat sequences and find them dull, thematically odd, and shows off the worst aspects of the game, I'm disappointed to see these are still in DS2 but with the better combat they are slightly more tolerable. Overall it's a good sequel and I'm having a really fun time, but it is going in a direction that I think makes it less special. I find the themes are really interesting with the series as a whole, developing the wilderness is obviously a good thing, having lots of teamwork and cooperation is genuinely really good for the world of DS, but also the structures you make are ugly, contributing to something worse and somewhat annoying. It's really interesting commentary imo and very nuanced which is a rare thing.

I recently discovered Celeste and love it so far. It's a skilled platformer that doesn't seem as punishing (edit) compared to other platformers that I've played, but still challenging enough to be satisfying. (edit: And the base story difficulty is not as bad as some other platformer games). The story is also really nice (overcoming depression and mental health stuff), not something I usually play but I was really engaged with it, and communicated in a nice simple way (not a ton of cutscenes like story-heavy games). edit: Celeste is similar to Hollow Knight, though I got stuck at a part of Hollow Knight and haven't picked it back up in a while. Celeste is much easier than N++ and Super Meat Boy, IMO.

(I had intended to play it on my 4k TV, but I found that it has a significant delay that makes it hard, and I somehow didn't notice it in other games. It's much easier to play on my PC).

Also RE the OP's mention of simple phone games, I really like "Simon Tatham's Puzzles": iOS, Android on Google Play and F-Droid. It's a collection of simple puzzle games that I enjoy idly playing for a few minutes at a time.

For the first time in forever I am playing multiple games at the same time.

Lands of Lore: Throne of Chaos. I had that game as a kid but I don't think I ever got any further than the first enemy. And it's amazing! The whole game is dubbed. And it has four protagonists to choose from, each with their individual voice lines about basically any situation or item you come across. And all the NPC's lines match them and they address you by name.

And the graphics are super beautiful. Pixel graphics but with great details and animations. Like when you get your spellbook you get a super elaborate T-1000-like animation of some droplets forming a scroll.

X-Wing via XWVM: The old X-Wing game with updated graphics and quality of life improvements. Just awesome! It's still an alpha but basically plays like a beta. I have hardly any bugs, just occasional crashes, and none are game breaking. And supposedly they are already pretty far along with TIE Fighter compatibility. Can't wait to play that. TIE Fighter TC is nice and all, but stuffing everything into the X-Wing Alliance engine feels pretty clunky while XWVM just works.

Cyberpunk 2077: My son bought it on sale and I wanted to try it as well, although I don't really like cyberpunk. Too realistic. But the game is great. Plays like a combination of Deus Ex and GTA. I'd say it feels more like the original Deus Ex than the newer Deus Ex games. Maybe with slightly less open levels. But not much.

Limbo: The game is about to be delisted from GOG so I got it quickly. It's chill to play which suits me well. Love it so far.

Finished the Lies of P: Overture DLC. It was a mixed bag for me. A rough beginning, which got better in the second half, and I got back into the rhythm after not playing this game in a year.

Not sure how to feel about the final boss. The setup was alright, the fight itself not bad, but for me, it was just constantly blocking the 10-20 hit combos of the boss, then maybe get one hit in. This boss in particular, but also other fights, felt like they weren't made for a player like me, who beat the game once and then came back for the DLC.

Performance wise, this week I noticed a lot more frame drops, mainly when you move the camera. I think it's connected to small particles flying around, since in the epilogue, your base is just full of these tiny sparks, and fps just tanks. It would be unplayable, if you did more than just walk around for a minute or two. Otherwise, the drops weren't as bad, and they never caused a death or something, but it's definitely something the devs should look at.

I'm venturing into Transport Fever 2 as a total newbie and I definitely fucked up my first attempt make a profitable line on medium mode, by overspending with a train line in 1850 already. Imma try only some bus routes now as a start.

I started Katana Zero over the weekend. Really slick. I love the art and music, and the story and gameplay loop reminds me of Hotline Miami.

Popucom - new splitscreen co-op puzzle adventure game with bubble shooter mechanics

This game is by Hypergryph, the studio that made Arknights, which is apparently a fun rpg. idk much about it.

It has been quite fun. It's got a cute art style & animations, fun mechanics, and intersting puzzles. Doesn't feel repetitive.

Overall, recommend trying it out. This game is similar to Split Fiction & It Takes Two, surprisingly being better than them in some of the puzzles.

I just finished Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree today, after having to go to bed last night in the midst of fighting the last boss and coming back fresh today. That second phase definitely took me for a spin, or at least it did my particular build. Maybe a ranged build would have had an easier time. It was still a cool fight though, and that first phase was pretty much perfect.

I had a really good time with this game. The Soulslike Metroidvania with a PoE style skill tree ended up tickling me juuust right. I love theorycrafting and making builds, and it ended up being amazingly fun in this game. There is some interesting synergy you can setup by mixing and matching various classes' skill trees, and I'm already thinking about a potential second playthrough. Though I'm actually equally tempted by going straight into NG+, as my Chaos daggers build with two teleport skills ended up being super fun to play.

I definitely recommend it, especially if you like these kinds of games. My playtime ended up at just over 40h, though that was with me exploring basically 100% and finding all the optional bosses. Not bad for a €40 game, and if you can get it on sale I'd call it a bargain.

I played the Knights in Tight Spaces demo and it’s really good, they evolved the hand to hand brawl theme from the first to add multiple characters in a party. The first game (Fights in Tight Spaces) sometimes felt like there was only one good play for a given hand. I found it really satisfying but this sequel feels a lot more strategic

Finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and found it really disappointing.

I did like the idea of the whole story, but overall I didn't really care about anything. The prologue and the initial parts of act 1 where really strong, but after a while it wasn't really doing it for me. It picks back up right at the end, but the events there feel rushed, and while I do like where it goes, it didn't really vibe with me.

The combat on the other hand is a mess. The real time defensive actions are overpowered, as they completely prevent damage, so the only meaningful stats and equipment become the ones that increase the damage you deal. Before the end of act 1, I reached the damage cap on single hits and very quickly after that I reached it on multi hit moves. The enemies also follow the nonsensical animation design of Elden Ring where they hold a pose, twitch and feint, trying to get you to react earlier, which I just don't find fun.

Music was great tho, and I like the aesthetic even if after a while the environments got samey.

Finished Kathy Rain 2 few hours ago. Very nice point & click game with reasonable puzzles. The first game and this one went kinda off the rails towards the end, but it seems like "a thing" this series does, I say hoping there's a 3rd one.

The pixel art is just stupidly gorgeous with modern lighting/reflection effects and voice acting is good accross the board.

If anything negative, there's quite a bit of back and forth traveling to unlock-stuff-to-do-the-thing-elsewhere, it comes a off as a bit of "trial and error" style of exhausting options to get the crucial hint to progress. But other than that, the game is great.

I picked up FFIX and installed the Moguri mod. I thought people were overhyping it, but it really is like playing the game for the first time again. 10/10 would recommend.

I finished "Hardspace: Shipbreaker". It was pretty fun! Much better story than most sim games.

I'm mow playing "Enderal", a totally free full conversion of Skyrim. You need Skyrim, obviously, but everything is new. New world, story, questlines, skill trees, everything. So far it's really, really good. Much better than Skyrim. It's difficult, but there is no level scaling so you can actually revisit areas when you levelled up.

Currently playing Mecha Break.

Just finished Dead Space remake and have begun playing Dead Space 2. The remake is really phenomenal. It's proper horror, with amazing ambient sounds that keep you on your toes, and clever ammo system that kept me switching to weapons that I didn't care about. The metroidvania touch is a great change from the original, making revisiting older sections rewarding as you progressed in the game.

DS2 on the other hand feels pretty life less after playing the remake. I'm aware it's a well regarded sequel, but it's much less scary and almost a different genre of a game. I think I'm half way through and I don't think I'm able to immerse much into it. It's probably a great game from its era and seems less exciting in front of the remake.