Contra Force is a very funny game, it really does just run Like That I need to play more of it at some point
Ephemeral Enigmas
@ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social
Giving offbeat, obscure, forgotten, or just cool and interesting games the attention they deserve on my blog once a week. Also a contributor to Hardcore Gaming 101. He/Him
I had a lot of issues with this one, but I think the biggest problem is that the box art has Dracula looking all cool and blinged-out, but he just looks like a normal Dracula in the game itself. I can't help but feel a bit betrayed!
Ephemeral Enigmas@ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · yesterdayNew blog post time! This week's game is Dracula: Crazy Vampire, a GBC game that is way more mundane than its name suggests. It offers a bit of novel roleplay in that you have suck blood to heal and avoid sunlight, but the level design is such a nightmare that it ruins the whole thing #blog #gaming
New blog post time! This week's game is Dracula: Crazy Vampire, a GBC game that is way more mundane than its name suggests. It offers a bit of novel roleplay in that you have suck blood to heal and avoid sunlight, but the level design is such a nightmare that it ruins the whole thing #blog #gaming
Dracula: Crazy Vampire
This blog was founded on upholding an ideal of kindness, so I don’t like to bare my fangs when I don’t have to, but Dracula: Crazy Vampire feels like a cursed enough game to justify it. I’ve played…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
Some helpful advice for y'all as we get closer to Halloween
Hey y'all. I've been let down again on some promised client work that would have tided me over till the end of the month. I've put together this mega-bundle containing all 38 issues of my retro gaming history, features, and community contributions digi-zine. ko-fi.com/s/fab638b683 1/2
Whoops! I forgot to post this on the web store, but the latest issue of Pixels and Polygons Quarterly is now available for purchase! This is a rad one, if I say so myself. Includes contributions from @marcdachamp.bsky.social, @mathewkumar.com, @othatsraspberry.com & more!
Pixels and Polygons Quarterly 2026 Q4
Pixels and Polygons Quarterly is a retro gaming zine. It measures 8.5” x 5.5” and includes 98 pages of premium color paper and a heavy soft-touch cardstock cover. Inside each issue you'll find game an...
pixelsandpolygons.net
For this #RandomGameSaturday, I have Maglam Lord, a game that combines action RPG combat with romance and character designs from illustrator lack of Fate/Grand Order fame. Reviews for this one weren't great, but it reminds me of Summon Night: Swordcraft Story, so I'd like to give it a chance someday
I like to think X already knows the answer considering his job, but just gets a kick out of telling everyone they're Maverick like it's a surprise anyway
NEW VIDEO: Nobody asked for it, but I did it anyway! Three 90s FMV adventure games based on 90s movies that I probably should never have touched. But I did anyway, and here's the result! youtu.be/c156GXrgjPw
Erase(r) the Arrival of Johnny Mnemonic: Only on CD-ROM
YouTube video by Alien Bob
youtu.be
He has so many of these my favorite is the Frost Man one
New blog post time! This week's game is Night Creatures, a TurboGrafx-16 horror action game that's a little like Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. High stakes and very limited resources make this quite a harrowing game to route, but if it was less janky, it'd honestly be really cool: #blog #gaming
Night Creatures
There’s inherent fun in mastering this game and being able to route it by memory, but the whole thing is cut down by good ol’ nebulous “game feel” because it just never controls as tightly as it sh…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
New blog post time! This week's game is Night Creatures, a TurboGrafx-16 horror action game that's a little like Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. High stakes and very limited resources make this quite a harrowing game to route, but if it was less janky, it'd honestly be really cool: #blog #gaming
Night Creatures
There’s inherent fun in mastering this game and being able to route it by memory, but the whole thing is cut down by good ol’ nebulous “game feel” because it just never controls as tightly as it sh…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
Hey look, it's John Dragon Valor from the hit Playstation game Dragon Valor
Toaplan's Slap Fight didn't have a huge production run or the success of the likes of Tiger-Heli or Truxton. It's an important game in the studio's history, though, that combined ideas from its existing work with that of Gradius, B-Wings, and more, and is available once again in the present.
Past meets present: Slap Fight
Toaplan's second STG went sci-fi, loaded up on secrets, and influenced their designs of the future, as well.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
This week: Penguin Colony, Ace Combat 8, and the purpose of play: critical-distance.com/2026/10/18/o...
October 18th
Welcome back readers. As a heads up, I’m planning on observing a slightly shorter submission window for next week’s issue for a simple and selfish reason: Desert Bus for Hope’s 20…
critical-distance.com
For this #RandomGameSaturday, I have Burning Soldier, Genki's first 3DO game and a collab with good ol' Pack-In-Video that came out right around the first Drift King Shutokou Battle. It's one of those FMV shooting games like a Starblade or a Sewer Shark, there used to be quite a few of those!
Well, well, well, if it isn't the Doobie Brother
I fulfilled my "one rpg per year" rule... I finally gave saga a proper chance and ended up really enjoying it. it's choppy, but it emphasizes the tapestry of little stories that the game is comprised of, whether the grand narratives of the main worlds or the small sojourns in the tower. link below!
I like playing as Xu Zhu in every Dynasty Warriors because he reminds me of Big the Cat, so when he tells the story it sounds like Big the Cat is telling me about Romance of the Three Kingdoms
New cover reveal! Here's the front illustration for our next book, The Guide to Mascot Platformers Vol. 1, by @bimshwel.bsky.social! Try to see if you can figure out all of these weird little dudes!
New blog post time! This week's game is Musya: The Classic Japanese Tale of Horror, an atmospheric action platformer with a bit of a misleading name. It's a slow-paced game that doesn't ease players in, but if you like beating the odds, there's satisfaction in learning its tricks: #blog #gaming
Musya: The Classic Japanese Tale of Horror
Musya is living proof that your perception of a game can and will change the more you play it. If you really put your mind towards understanding a game, that is absolutely an inevitability. You may…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
New blog post time! This week's game is Musya: The Classic Japanese Tale of Horror, an atmospheric action platformer with a bit of a misleading name. It's a slow-paced game that doesn't ease players in, but if you like beating the odds, there's satisfaction in learning its tricks: #blog #gaming
Musya: The Classic Japanese Tale of Horror
Musya is living proof that your perception of a game can and will change the more you play it. If you really put your mind towards understanding a game, that is absolutely an inevitability. You may…
ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com
For the first time in almost a year, i did a review. Pokemon Sword & Shield, an entry I have a lot of mixed thoughts on but ultimately came away liking a fair bit. I spent the first third talking about a discourse topic I fucking hate because I'm smart. blazingwaters.neocities.org/posts/PokeSw...
It's not clear what kind of move Peppe was trying to do
In Tom & Jerry: Fists of Furry, CPU opponents have the ability to jump an infinite number of times and they will make constant use of it to avoid fighting you. I have no idea why it's like this, but it's funny and it actually works in your favor since you can easily win via time out with a life lead