The Quirky Characters of Ocarina of Time

As we reminiscence about The Legend of Zelda, and about all the things we’ve written about the series, I came across a post from five years ago that was part of the 35th anniversary.  We were discussing 35 things about Zelda, and one of these revolved around the weird characters inhabiting the games.  Last time,…

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Five Favorite Items from the Zelda Games – The 2026 Makeover

Thirteen years ago, we here at Virtual Bastion (then United We Game) made lists of our favorite items in the Zelda games. My original list included items from the six Zelda games I had under my belt then — Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, Twilight Princess, Spirit Tracks — and a…

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Appreciating the Poultry of Zelda’s N64 Era

As we revisit old memories, and old posts, from down the years, I came across an account chronicling several unpleasant encounters I had with the chickens (AKA cuccos) inhabiting The Legend of Zelda games.  To seasoned, Hylian veterans such as myself (and no doubt you, too, dear reader), it’s common knowledge that the chickens in…

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Twilight Princess: Still Low on the Replay List?

When first considering our month of nostalgia over our previous Legend of Zelda writings here, Twilight Princess leapt immediately into my mind. But it wasn’t because of the game itself; rather, it was because it made the number two spot on my Top 5 post from a few years ago called “Games Lowest on my…

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I’ve Changed My Mind About Open-World Zelda Games

When I was perusing some old posts of mine, few stood out as sorely requiring a revisit than a review I wrote back in 2017 about Breath of the Wild.  When the game first released, it was a momentous occasion for any Zelda fan.  Hyrule was larger and grander than ever before, and we had…

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40 Years of The Legend of Zelda: A Month of Nostalgia and Reminiscing

In February of 1986, the original Legend of Zelda was released in Japan on the Famicon (AKA the original Nintendo console).  Produced by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto himself, the game was inspired by his boyhood adventures around Kyoto.  Going on to become one of the most highly praised video game franchises of all time, it’s…

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Survival and Shopkeeping in Shift at Midnight

Imagine you are an overnight clerk at a convenience store tasked with running the store while saving the world from otherworldly doppelgangers that are bent on causing general mayhem and destruction. Welcome, then, to Shift at Midnight, a new indie title with a retro look and strange appeal that can be played alone or with…

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DK64 Boss Ranking: These Bosses Are Just Bananas

Donkey Kong 64 was one of my favorite games growing up.  Sure, it was very bloated and tedious with all the collectibles and the five playable characters that weren’t always convenient to swap between.  Nevertheless, my duckling self still got a lot of fun out of this clunky, yet charming, platformer.  I already ranked the…

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DK64 World Ranking: The Best and Worst Places to Monkey Around

Donkey Kong’s venture into the 3D platforming space was a mixed bag, to be honest. Starring five Kongs, each with their own collectibles, the game could be quite tedious at times, even by collectathon standards. Plus, it was often far too silly for its own good.  (The combination of copious amounts of burping sure to…

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A Re-Analysis of Kingdom Hearts 3: Is It as Bad as I Remember?

In recent months, I’ve been replaying every Kingdom Hearts game available to me on the PS4.  And eventually, I returned to the controversial third numbered entry in the series after having not played it since its release 7 years ago.  Like many others, I was not a fan of this game upon its release, so…

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Cato: Buttered Cat: Demo Review

We all know that cats always land on their feet.  And buttered toast, well, it always has the unfortunate habit of landing butter-side down.  So what would happen if you strapped a piece of buttered toast to the back of a cat?  Why, you’d get a spinning, flying cat, of course!  Cato: Buttered Cat is…

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Ranking as Many Kingdom Hearts Games as I Can Keep Up With

In recent months, I’ve been replaying most of the Kingdom Hearts games thanks to a handy collection I have on the PS4. In case you’re not familiar, this is a Final Fantasy and Disney crossover RPG created by Square Enix. The series is known for some complex lore and an emphasis on friendship and the…

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Ranking the Worlds of Banjo-Tooie

I’ve already ranked the wonderful worlds of Banjo-Kazooie, so now it’s time to discuss the much larger worlds of the sequel, Banjo-Tooie.  When placing these worlds in order of my least to most favorite, my criteria was largely based on how fun the levels are and how well they’re themed, though I will also be…

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Silksong (Act 2) Bosses Ranked by Difficulty

I’ve already discussed the act 1 bosses of the super difficult Metroidvania, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and today, I’ll be ranking those found in act 2.  While technically tougher, I often found these bosses to be less of a problem simply because the game is more open in act 2, allowing for more freedom to obtain…

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Fables of Dwale: Dredge Meets Fairy Tales

We were recently contacted by a small indie studio by the name of Pixel Maniacs about their upcoming game, Fables of Dwale, which they describe as “Dredge meets Fairy Tales”.  I really enjoyed the eerie world of Dredge, so I was curious to see how this game compared.  The trailer showcases a colorful fairytale world…

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Markiplier’s Iron Lung Movie Was Bloody Amazing (Spoiler-Free Review)

The original Iron Lung game came out back in 2022.  Created by one man, David Szymanski, it was praised for being a simple, but effective, horror game that relied on its atmosphere rather than jumpscares.  Not long later, popular Youtuber Markiplier began working on a film adaptation of the movie, which finally came to theaters…

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The Duck’s Many Trials and Triumphs of Silksong Act 2

Last time I wrote about my time with Silksong, I had gotten stuck in the Underworks and loaded an auto-save that took me back to the start of act 2.  I just didn’t have it in me to do anything too difficult after being annihilated by the Phantom for a good solid 1.5 hours.  Since…

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Backrooms Anomaly: Demo Review

Two big trends on Youtube right now are anomaly and Backrooms games.  As I searched Steam for free demos to play, I encountered Backrooms Anomaly, which combines both of the things I was looking for.  While I’ve never actually played an anomaly game myself, I’ve seen plenty on Youtube, and the concept is simple.  You…

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The Highs and Lows of Silksong: Reaching Act 2

When last I discussed my early thoughts on Hollow Knight: Silksong, I left off not feeling too happy with the game.  I had, in fact, just conquered the room where you’re ambushed by “birds” before encountering yet another boss fight that was required to progress.  By now, I was getting downright fed up.  It almost…

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Silksong (Act 1) Bosses Ranked by Difficulty

Silksong is the long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed Hollow Knight.  Both are Metroidvanias where you play as a bug.  And both are very difficult.  Considering this game has a heck of a lot of bosses, I’ll be breaking them down by act.  While the act 1 bosses are, technically, easier, they sometimes felt more…

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Five Laps at Freddy’s: Demo Review

The demo for the racing spin-off, Five Laps at Freddy’s, was released as part of the Five Nights at Freddy’s 10-year anniversary back in August of 2024.  While I have watched other people play it, I didn’t get around to playing it myself until roughly 1.5 years later because of my recent delve into PC…

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Unforgettable: Cogwork Dancers

As I slowly work my way through Hollow Knight: Silksong, I find myself having a love/hate relationship with the game.  There are lots of good moments, sure, but there are also plenty of very, very annoying ones that test my patience to the limits.  I especially loathe every time I get stuck on yet another…

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Light Dude: Demo Review

We were recently contacted by the solo developer of Dergham Games about his upcoming game, Light Dude, a “skill-based action game” where the “level hides when you move”.  I recently played the demo for myself, which contains 9 levels and a boss fight.  These levels teach you the basics of the game, and the concept…

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Ranking the Banjo-Kazooie Mumbo Transformations

After my most recent playthrough of one of my favorite games of all time, Banjo-Kazooie, I thought it would be fun to do a handful of ranking posts.  I’ve already ranked all of the game’s 9 delightful worlds, and now I’d like to rank all of the transformations.  Although Mumbo’s magic in Banjo-Kazooie isn’t quite…

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Rethinking Rougelikes

About a million years ago, I played (and maybe you did, too) the game from whence all current roguelikes and roguelites were born: Rogue. Apt title, right? Originally a DOS game, Rogue was a procedurally generated dungeon crawler where no two runs were ever alike. Each run began with a blank screen, a single character…

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An Overdue Banjo-Kazooie World Ranking

With my Nintendo 64 currently packed up, I finally decided to give in and purchase that Expansion Pack for Nintendo Switch Online so I could revisit some of my all-time favorite games.  We’ve actually discussed the Banjo-Kazooie franchise many times over the years, but I can’t believe I never ranked these sprawling and colorful worlds…

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The Duck’s Initial Thoughts on Hollow Knight: Silksong

As usual, I’m a bit late to the party, but I’ve finally gotten around to playing the long-awaited Hollow Knight sequel, Silksong.  This time, we’re playing as the nimble Hornet in the haunted kingdom of Pharloom.  And instead of bugs being infected with a nasty disease, there are bugs being controlled by…some different sort of…

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Analyzing the Two Super Mario Galaxy Movie Trailers

After the massive success of The Super Mario Brothers Movie from 2023 (because we do NOT talk about the live-action movie from 30 years prior), it was no surprise that they’re making another one.  What is surprising, however, is that they’re skipping straight to Super Mario Galaxy, with some elements from other games thrown into…

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Bruma: Demo Review

Bruma (Spanish for haze) is a lovely platformer with a unique art style about a cat named Luna who must seek out an old lady’s lost memories.  According to the game’s Steam page and Kickstarter, you will explore an abandoned city submerged in a mysterious mist, where you can use traps or stealth to deal…

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The Marathon Situation is Kinda Silly

I’m gonna keep it real here, I was as prepared to hate on Marathon as just about anyone else, but after playing it for myself during the Marathon Server Slam last week, I don’t think it deserves it. This doesn’t mean that I like the game or the business practices Bungie seems to want to…

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The Last Cube: Demo Review

The Last Cube is a deceptively simple looking puzzle game where you play as one of the most unassuming characters ever.  A cube.  Silly though it may feel to play as a basic geometrical shape, this game actually had some decent puzzles that made me think.  At the same time, the demo’s 4.5 levels could…

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Top 10 Most Aggravating Levels from Donkey Kong Country 3

Being my least favorite Donkey Kong Country game in the original trilogy, I could still admit in my previous list that this game has plenty of fun and memorable levels.  It also has plenty of evil ones that I despise to varying degrees of white-hot hatred.  Whether it’s dealing with a level that doesn’t even…

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How Much Value is Actually in Gaming Subscriptions?

In the past, I’ve talked about Xbox Game Pass and how I don’t think it offers subscribers as much as it seems to. It’s not just Game Pass, though. It’s all of these monthly subscriptions: Game Pass, PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online. They all offer access to lots of games, but I wonder how…

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