Earthbound and Dune 23.01.16

I got round to playing some Pony Island (Steam) this week, a weird little puzzle game which is set in an arcade cabinet. I wasn't deterred by the cutesy cheap looking menu, which lasts mere seconds before it becomes a completely different style both visually and conceptually. Basically the devil takes control of the machine (or might always have had control) and the game then becomes me trying to outwit the devil with a number of different puzzles, and a few kind've platformy/skill based bits (which are awful on a trackpad, so I'd advise a mouse or controller). It has more narrative than I was expecting, bits where I broke out to the operating system of the "game" and spoke to another person trapped where both funny and inventive. These are refreshing little chunks of the whole experience which I've really enjoyed, and certainly more since I dug out a mouse. It looks cool, and the music is a good mixture of catchy and creepy, it doesn't look like there is much more to the game but I like it a lot.

I came off my Splatoon (WiiU) sabbatical for a few games, which turned into a healthy couple of hours of gameplay, it's still really good. The most remarkable thing about the game is how accessible it is. I've probably stated before that I never feel like I'm not good enough or am being overwhelmed by better players, and I'm only level 16 or so, I've got my gun of choice which suits my tactics and I always feel useful and decent at the game. Even games like Rocket League are starting to be swamped with people either destroying me for no reason or giving me some fruity language for not performing a miraculous save, so the fact Splatoon hasn't devolved into an exclusive club for people who've played it religiously for the last 10 months is a remarkable thing. The last couple of levels which they've added are really cool too. 

Finally I played a ton more Downwell (iOS) while commuting and sometimes in a lunch break, it's fantastic even though I'm pretty terrible at it! That it's helped me go cold turkey from Animal Crossing on a train is an added bonus.