“Whatcha Playin’, Pixels?” – September 2023
10 min read
A monthly roundup of games enjoyed by the writers of The Pixels
It’s Fall! That time of the year when leaves change colour, kids return to school and hype builds for the big holiday gaming season! With the constant deluge of games being released this year, it’s been difficult for us writers at The Pixels to keep up (which is why we’re always looking for more writers!!). That said, it certainly doesn’t stop us from tackling the backlog and enjoying the little moments in the games we’re currently playing. So, how has September fared for our erstwhile writers? Let’s find out.
Ah, September. It’s the one month out of the year that I dislike the most, mainly because of the implication that big life changes always happen during this time. It’s also a stark reminder of what I have left to accomplish this year. Between now and February, I’ll be hard at work completing the second book of my fanfiction series, Mobius VII, so gaming time will be fair and few in between. Despite that, I managed to knock at least one game off of my backlog: Vampire Survivors! I’ve played all that I could of that title and set it down once I was able to see the final fireworks.
Speaking of backlog, I also took the time this month to catalogue my entire legal gaming library (physical and software, no emulation) and narrow down my backlog list. Of the games I own, I have 144 games left to complete across eighteen systems (handhelds and consoles combined). My goal for the remainder of this year and all of 2024 is to knock off at least half of that. A lot of these are small games, but there are some retro titles that are pretty lengthy, so I just have to manage my time wisely. As October is coming up, I’m going to focus on completing a bunch of Castlevania games a la the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. I’m also going back to Final Fantasy Tactics so that I can finish that one off as well. I sat on that game way too long and I need to finish it for my sanity LOL.
Oh yeah, I also tried out Square Enix’s newest free-to-play mobile title, Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis. I even wrote a first impressions post on it. Sadly, I’ve stopped playing it due to my focus on my written work. It just hasn’t drawn me in like I though it would. And the gacha/pay-to-win mechanics are very invasive. A Steam version has recently been announced, which hopefully means more FFVII and less pay-to-win. Hopefully.
I blinked and it’s the end of September. What happened? I don’t even know what I played this month. Who can remember such things?
I recall getting Sea of Stars and Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, two of my most anticipated games of the year. Were they worth the wait? Can a red mage without magic points still pull his weight against a hobgoblin? Of course! Both mark a kind of “return to form” but with updates that modernize, sleekify, and streamline, and both are excellent candidates for Game of the Year, as far as I’m concerned.
Regionally retconned title!!
Returning to my journey through every SNES RPG, I finished Final Fantasy IV and cemented my opinion that it’s the start of when FF became truly great. Lots of drama, huge cast, classic turn-based ATB, huge world, plenty of secrets… it was a joy revisiting it after 20 years had passed. With the inefficient memory I possess, the game might as well have been brand new!
Not a lot for me this month, unfortunately. Halls of Torment is as finished as I can get it now (until the next content update), and I picked up HoloCure – Save the Fans on friends recommendations. I don’t really watch any HoloLive stuff, but everyone said it was one of the best VS-likes, and you can’t beat the price of free. It’s fairly solid, even if you don’t know the characters. Beyond that, I’ve mostly been playing games for reviews that are up now or coming soon: The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo, Moonstone Island, and Par for the Dungeon. September is always a busy month for family stuff, so I haven’t been able to finish as much as I’d like. Perhaps October will be better.
It’s taken me the whole of September playing it, and nothing else, but I’ve finally reached the end. What a journey it’s been and I am confident that it’ll be a strong contender for Game Of The Year when December rolls around. I am talking, of course, about the masterpiece that is… Sea of Stars.
What else can I say? As a huge fan of the Super Nintendo and those wonderful RPGs that we in PAL regions were cruelly denied, this is gaming perfection. The combat is a delight, the puzzles and navigation of the maps are terrific, the plot is outstanding with some truly surprising twists. I can’t offer much higher praise than saying it’s my favourite turn-based RPG since Radiant Historia. More please, and viva the revival of this genre!
With all the festivals, art shows, fairs, and all-around-craziness behind me, I was able to get back to regular gaming. Having reupped on my Game Pass account, I was able to dive into two amazing titles that came in as day-one exclusives, Sea of Stars and Starfield. There is plenty to say about both of these titles, but there was one I had to finish first before I took the plunge.
Earlier this month, Red invited me to play and critique a game that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time. The game is called WrestleQuest, and it was made by one of my favorite developers, Mega Cat Studios. As a fan of modern WWE and legacy wrestling, I was drawn to this game because of its unique approach to the wrestling genre of titles. This game is not a fighter, it is an RPG that draws inspiration from some of the most influential games in the genre. I won’t go into details about it, you’ll have to read my critique of it in order to get my thoughts. I will say, however, that it is unlike anything I’ve ever played.
I have also played through Sea of Stars, an RPG that draws inspiration beautifully from Chrono Trigger and other turn-based retro titles. The developers at Sabotage Games wove together an incredible tale that has more twists and turns than a 6 Flags rollercoaster, and the game mechanics are tight and balanced. I highly recommend it!
Starfield is an unnecessarily controversial game. Sure, it was hyped up quite a bit, but as I have begun playing it, I realize the hype is what you make of it. The game is a massively immersive experience, and I have only scratched the surface of what it has to offer. I’ll have much more to say about it in my upcoming critique where I break down the best and worst parts of the title.
The Wario Land series on classic GameBoy & GameBoy Color is fantastic, so when I came across a Wario Blast at my local game store, I had to check it out. Surprise, surprise, turns out this isn’t technically a Wario/Mario game at all! Oh sure, Wario is in the game. He’s right there on the cover art, after all. But if you squint at the little red text under the title, you’ll see what sort of game you’re really in for.
Much like Atomic Punk on the original GameBoy, Wario Blast is actually a Bomberman title in disguise. You begin wielding a single bomb with limited blast range. As you blow up obstructions, you’ll find power-ups that let you lay down explosives in multiples and with larger flame waves. Your bombs are just as much a hazard to you as they are enemies, so set your charges with caution as you attempt to clear each level. Patience and strategy win the day. Never fun to trap oneself between a dead end and active explosive by mistake.
So how does Mario’s evil doppelganger factor into this? Turns out Wario found a portal to Bomberman’s world, and seeing the destructive potential, decided to take over. Or try, at least. You have the choice of playing as either Bomberman or Wario, hero or villain, at the start of the game. Rather than the normal assortment of stock baddies, here you’ll be facing off against your rival and their clones, who drop the same bombs and collect the same power-ups. It’s akin to Bomberman’s much beloved multiplayer format. Speaking of which, if you have a Super GameBoy and SNES, you can have up to three friends join in the chaos for a true multiplayer experience.
So if you’re in the market for another classic Bomberman, give Wario Blast a whirl. The mustachioed villain might be on break from his platforming roots, but his penchant for mayhem is no less.
I largely spent the month with two homages to the RPGs of yesteryear. My longer gaming sessions were reserved for Sea of Stars (perhaps unsurprising, given how many of the Pixels writers were also doing so!) Editor’s Note: I really need to get off of my butt and get this game now. This was the game that played said homage pretty straight, wearing its influences on its sleeve. I’ve mostly seen it compared to Chrono Trigger (which I’ve only ever played a little of – I know, I know, I’ll fix that one of these days!!) and Paper Mario (which I’ve played a lot of), and it’s not too hard to see the similarities. I wasn’t quite invested enough in it to see it through the postgame – though I’m sure I will eventually – but I did have a good time with it all the way through to the credits. I really enjoyed the gameplay, familiar-feeling with just enough differences to hold my interest, and the light-hearted tone of the story and characters (even when it hit some heavier notes!) was right up my alley. It’s a game with a lot of charm and heart, and probably the current-year-release I’ve enjoyed the most, thus far!
My shorter gaming sessions, on the other hand, were spent with a much sillier, more tongue-in-cheek homage – Half-Minute Hero. When the Big Bad is casting a spell that’ll destroy the world in thirty seconds, how the heck are you going to be able to grind enough to beat it?! Why, make a pact with a money-loving Time Goddess, of course! Again, it didn’t hold my attention long enough to scrounge around for every secret and reward, but it was a fun little diversion, something to poke fun at the tropes and occasional tedium that can be found in the genre – a welcome “breather” between the longer sessions!
September has been a wonderful month in gaming, with Sea of Stars as its major highlight for me. Not to mention, Fall season has hit in full force up here in Michigan and with that comes another highly anticipated, enjoyable holiday season full of game releases incoming. I’m still playing through Blasphemous 2 as well as resuming the second half of Elden Ring. Lastly, in lieu of Dragon Quest: Dai getting disappointing reviews, I started a first playthrough of Dragon Quest Treasures with a childhood friend. October has one of the most stacked months of gaming I’ve ever seen, so I’m working on getting things out of the way for the onslaught of new releases!
I’ve recently been doing a fair amount of the Pokemon Scarlet/Violet DLC: The Teal Mask. Now that I’ve got all the stuff I want out of there, I’ll be looking at what to write next for the upcoming Halloween season. I’m thinking Amid Evil, Dusk, or maybe something a bit more…surprising? I’ve got a few oddballs up my sleeve that may or may not make it through initial approval, so we’ll see how things go.
Wellz I’ve been playing Starfield for last couple of weeks! It’s huge, full of quests and quirky characters and has spaceships, which is always very cool. Nothing could possibly tear me away from it, not a single thi-
Oh wait, new Cyberpunk expansion is out? Yes, I’ve been back to the world of Johnny Silverhand and the Arasaka corporation, lured in by Phantom Liberty and all of the overhauls it promised and, wow, there are many! The entire game seems to have been restructured, with a new skill tree, combat system and even expanded driving options that weren’t there just a couple of days ago! And you know what? Give me that game’s deep immersion and memorable characters any day over Bethesda’s cardboard cutout worlds anyday…
And so ends September. What have you been playing recently? What did you finish? And what’s next on your backlog? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you all again next month!
Ryan Cheddi – our friendly, neighbourhood caffeine addict – is a man of many talents: an engineer, a gaming historian, a fiction writer and a streamer. He is also a self-avowed Sonic the Hedgehog fan. You can check out his cool beans at his site – Games with Coffee – or find him on Twitter as @GameswCoffee, and Instagram as @games_with_coffee. He streams on Twitch, also as GamesWithCoffee.
