deKay's Lofi Gaming

Cave Buster (Steam Deck): COMPLETED!

Cave Buster is a short retro-style platformer which perhaps could be classed as a Metroidvania if it was a bit longer. You get a few upgrades that let you reach other areas, but there aren’t many areas (or many upgrades) so it doesn’t feel like you get to use them enough to consider it as that sort of game. It is fun while it lasts, however. I’m assuming it was the result of a Game Jam or something, with the …

The Cave (Wii U): COMPLETED!

I have a lot of games on the go at the moment so in an effort to resolve that I made a concerted effort to not play anything else until I’d finished some. It didn’t work as I accidentally started playing Assassin’s Creed III. I did, however, manage to finish The Cave. It’s not a big game, having clocked in at about 7 hours, but it was very funny and quite clever. The three characters I’d chosen were Hillbilly, Time …

Cave Story (Wii)

Oh how long I have waited for you! Yes yes, I know the PC version (and others) have been out – and free – for aaaaaages, but there hasn’t been a version yet for anything I own and use for games. Announced for WiiWare back in, what, 412AD?, Cave Story was hit by delay after delay, finally coming out in the UK on Friday. And oh is it lovely. Retro graphics, slightly broken translated dialogue, bizarre plot about bunnies and …

As if emerging from a cave

…to see the sun for the first time ever. That’s right – Xbox Live is down! And on forums the world over, it’s as if civilisation has collapsed. People are having to do other things! Like go outside! Or play with Lego! Or just get on with it and playing offline like we used to in the Dark Ages.

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Wii U): COMPLETED!

You know pretty much what to expect with a Lego game. You know there’s a series of levels with fixed characters and loads of secrets you can’t get see or access, some sort of hub world with more secrets you can’t see or access, a lot of silliness, and approximately two thirds of the game locked off until you’ve finished the story. Then it’s back to the earlier levels with new characters and abilities you didn’t have previously to attempt …

Stuff I’ve been playing recently

Fable III (360) It seems the best way to make money is to buy all the houses and shops, then just leave the Xbox on all day. So I did that. Now I have over 8 million gold, can pay off all my debts, and progress with the story. In doing so, I’ve revisited Aurora, pilfered a diamond from a cave, bought more shops and houses, and am now on the trail of a white Balverine in Silverpines. I also …

Prehistoric Isle (Steam Deck): COMPLETED!

I totally forgot (again, I expect) that I had access to that SNK game collection on my Steam Deck. I think it came from Amazon original, so isn’t Steam-native, so maybe that’s why. Anyway, stumbled across it again and had a look, and Prehistoric Isle caught my eye. So I completed it. Standard Arcade Shooter Disclaimer applies: yes, I used All The Credits. These games are designed to swallow 10ps, so I’ve no shame in pumping it full of virtual …

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch): COMPLETED!

What’s this, you say? It’s been over a month since I completed anything? You thought I was dead? Well, no! Turns out that Tears of the Kingdom is Quite Large and so it has taken me 95 hours to complete it. Which, across a month, is about three hours a day. That’s fine, right? There’s a lot to talk about regarding the game. For example, a number of people complained that it’s just using the same overworld as Breath of …

Biomutant (PS5): COMPLETED!

I do wonder sometimes what it is that makes me decide to play certain games. I’d cast a rough eye over reviews of Biomutant around the time it came out and it seemed to be an average open world adventure/explorey game, so ignored it. It’s now on PS+ (or possibly PS++ or PS+++: It’s hard to tell these days) and I downloaded it for reasons unknown, then started to play it. After picking the fur colours for my… rat? Meerkat? …

Dark Arms (Switch): COMPLETED!

This game is one I have for the NeoGeo Pocket and I remember I enjoyed it at the time, but don’t remember much about it. Aside from you shoot baddies to get souls which upgrade your guns. Seems, now I’ve completed it on the NeoGeo Pocket Colour Selection on the Switch, that really that’s all there is to it. OK, so not quite. There’s a story which is badly translated and makes little sense, and you don’t just have a …

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch): COMPLETED!

Yes, I finally caved and bought Mario Kart 8 again. I have it for the Wii U so didn’t really need it on the Switch, but then they went and announced a load of new tracks will be coming to it and it was 33% off so here we are. It’s the same as on the Wii U. Only you don’t get a screen each in two player and all the cups, tracks and characters are unlocked from the start. …

Cosmic Spacehead (Evercade): COMPLETED!

Although I own this on the Mega Drive, I don’t think I’ve ever played it. But with it being on the Evercade, as with many other titles, I’m rectifying that. And. completed it, of course. The game is split between a Lucasarts-style point and click adventure game (there’s even a reference to Lucasarts in the form of a cave painting) and a platformer, with simple platforming sections wedged between each location. With simple puzzles and no difficult platforming, it didn’t …

Star Trek Online (PS5): COMPLETED!

As it turns out, it is possible to complete Star Trek Online, and it’s possible to do it without paying any money at all. Because that’s what I did. I know that for many people, the game here is all the endgame content, playing with others, doing the same missions over and over and collecting all the ships and stuff. That’s not for me. I reached the cap of level 65, then finished all the single play missions remaining, and …

Star Trek Online (PS5)

If you’re a long time reader of this diary, or you follow me online generally, you probably know I don’t play games online very often, and I never play MMORPGs at all. Well, not since a brief dabble into Anarchy Online some 17 years ago, anyway. Why, you might ask, am I playing Star Trek Online then? And I would answer you with, I Really Don’t Know. As a free to play game, I did a bit of research first. …