Last year, it seemed like everyone was playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I was envious as I adored Animal Crossing: New Leaf on my 3DS. One of the highlights of my sophomore year of college was playing New Leaf on campus in between classes. I wanted to purchase a Switch, but never ended up going through with it. Recently, my work had a contest with a prize of accruing Amazon gift cards. Now felt like the perfect time to purchase my Nintendo Switch with my remaining Amazon gift cards.

I purchased the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch. I could have gotten the regular Switch for a better price; however, part of the reason I was buying the Switch in the first place was to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so I felt like it was fitting to pay extra for this version. My Switch arrived on Thursday, but I didn’t want to play it until the weekend. I named my island MaplePeaks. As a side note, all my town names have never been creative. I didn’t want to think forever on a perfect town name, so I came up with something generic. I’m still new to the game, so I don’t want to show off my island just yet.

Besides Animal Crossing, my fiancé wants to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Purchasing the Switch was a great idea for both me and my fiancé to play games we don’t have any other way to play.

While I may be late to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons party, please leave your friend code down below, so I can visit your island!

I decided to participate in another Seriously Geeky Sunday theme. If you missed my previous Seriously Geeky Sunday post, this was created by Heather at Just Geeking By. Every Sunday, Heather comes up with a theme. The first theme I participated in was centered around comic books; today’s theme is Science Fiction. This prompt had no questions; instead, it allowed for freedom in what to write. I decided to create a list of science fiction-themed board games that I love to play.

Cultists & Cthulhu

Cultists & Cthulhu is an easy game to teach people how to play. I like this game because of my love for all things Cthulhu, and the dice rolling puts players on the same level. Some board or card games give an advantage to those who have played the game before due to knowing the game’s overall strategy. Cultists & Cthulhu with the added dice component makes for a different game every time.

Star Trek Ascendancy

Playing Star Trek Ascendancy makes me want to become a Star Trek fan. This game is a bit more complex as there’s a lot more to keep track of. I liked being able to develop my faction and travel around space, attacking other players. Since this game takes more time to play, I would recommend devoting a whole day to learning the rules and seeing who wins in intergalactic domination.

Doctor Who: Time of the Daleks

Doctor Who: Time of the Daleks is cooperative, meaning the players work together to achieve a common goal. Cooperative board games are some of my favorite types of games to play, especially if I’m not in the mood for something competitive. This game can be challenging with relying on dice to pass certain challenges. I always play as the tenth or eleventh doctor; however, expansions have come out that feature other doctors. This is always a blast to play.

Pandemic

I haven’t been able to play Pandemic for a bit because it felt too real. I like Pandemic because it’s also cooperative. It’s easy to learn, and there are ways to make the game more difficult. I like how Pandemic is somewhat educational, teaching the geography of major global cities and the various roles individuals play in trying to stop a pandemic. This may not be considered science fiction, but oh well, I already included this game on my list.

This turned into a longer post than I had expected! Let me know what science fiction board games you are playing in the comments, as I’m always looking for recommendations! Another shout-out to Heather for putting on Seriously Geeky Sundays. It’s nice to have a prompt, so I don’t have to brainstorm what to write.

I’m back with another Nancy Drew game review. I still have four other Nancy Drew games I purchased that I haven’t played through yet. I tend to play each Nancy Drew game on Sundays because I usually have a couple of hours I can spend playing the game before I go to bed. Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill is the first installment of the franchise. While Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill was released in 1998, the game was remastered in 2010 and released on Steam. This was another fun outing, but it’s a bit clunky as the Nancy Drew video game formula hasn’t been established yet.

Nancy Drew visits her Aunt Eloise in Florida. Her aunt is the librarian at a high school, and Nancy is looped into investigating the murder of one of the high school students, Jake Rogers. Since Nancy is in high school, it’s assumed she can get information from the students. Nancy is introduced to the staff, several students, and works with an undercover detective to gather evidence as to who murdered Jake. From Nancy’s investigations, it seems every person Nancy interacts with would have a reason to want Jake dead. Who killed Jake, and will Nancy be able to solve the mystery without putting herself in danger?

The answer to the above question is no. There are several instances in this game where Nancy can die if she doesn’t solve the puzzle in time. This includes being trapped in a boiler room and accidentally setting off a gas explosion in a diner. Neither puzzle was tough to solve, and while I died at least once, I was able to figure out the puzzle quickly. There is one broad puzzle that encompasses the entire game, which involves searching for periodic elements Jake has hidden on student boards. The puzzles were fun to solve, and it helps to have a notebook handy while playing through the game.

I will say, this game has a twist that I didn’t see coming. There’s a videotape Nancy discovers that illustrates who could have been involved with Jake’s murder. I had my mouth open for a little bit because it genuinely came out of left field. This bad guy suddenly appears behind Nancy, which gave me a bit of a scare.

Although this was a fun game, I wouldn’t start with Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill first. While it’s the first game released in chronological order, it’s a bit clunky, and the graphics, while remastered, are still not the greatest. I would recommend trying Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel or Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall first before starting this game. I think I liked this game more because I had played other Nancy Drew games first.

Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill was worth playing through. Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill can be purchased and downloaded on Steam.

The Nancy Drew computer games can be a huge hit (Ghost of Thornton Hall) or pretty mediocre (Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake). I’m determined to play through them all. It still surprises me how challenging the Nancy Drew games are. The puzzles require in-depth thought, and it’s easy to get stuck, not knowing what to do next. Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel was one of my favorite Nancy Drew games that I played.

In this game, Nancy is recruited by Paula Santos, the owner of Captain’s Cove Amusement Park in New Jersey. One of the horses from the Carousel was stolen, and some of the rides seemingly began to move on their own. Nancy is introduced to several employees of the park, who each have a motive as to why they would be interested in the park shutting down. Since this game is set at a carnival, this game is a bit heavy on mini-games, especially when Nancy explores the arcade. Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel is one of the better games to start with because Nancy isn’t at risk of dying in this game. If Nancy makes a wrong choice, she’s fired from the case rather than dying. There are also fewer “jump scares” in this game than in other Nancy Drew games I played.

I liked how this game had more suspects. It made it that much more intriguing when the culprit was revealed. I liked the setting at the park. Certain areas in the game were super creepy. I was a little anxious going through those areas because I was convinced something would jump out at me. The soundtrack to this game complemented the haunted theme.

Overall, this would be a good beginner Nancy Drew game. It’s less scary, and the puzzles, while challenging, are doable. I have five other Nancy Drew games installed on my computer, so it’s safe to say another Nancy Drew review will be written soon.

My mom has been doing spring cleaning at my childhood home. The latest find was old computer games I used to play. My mom was planning on donating them to Goodwill, but I insisted she give them to me instead. I’m not sure if I ever plan on playing them again, but I don’t think I can get rid of them. I’m not sure if they would work, considering that it lists Windows 97/98 as the system. I wanted to share the computer games that made up my childhood.

Carmen Sandiego Math Detective

I loved the Carmen Sandiego computer games! My dad bought them for me because technically they were educational. I liked the overall plot of the games and how the main goal was to capture Carmen even though Carmen would escape every single time. I have played through each Carmen Sandiego computer game at least five times throughout my childhood.

Backyard Baseball 2003

My dad bought me this game to help teach me the rules of baseball. I would watch Minnesota Twins games with my dad and constantly be asking questions about the game, the rules, and the players. In the Backyard sports games, it would take professional players and make them into little kids. I could pick the players I wanted to create my team to get into the World Series. The Minnesota Twins player included in this game was pitcher Brad Radke. I never played any of the other Backyard Sports games, but I know there was one for football as well.

Clue (1998 Hasbro Interactive)

This Clue game freaked me out. Once you navigated around the Boddy mansion and started accusing people, it would show a clip of the person you accused murdering Mr. Boddy with the weapon. I probably shouldn’t have been playing this game at a young age, but my friend and I had the best time. We would always turn off all the lights and play this game in my basement.

The Game of Life (1998 Hasbro Interactive)

Besides Clue, I would always play Life. I tried to have the most babies in one go through of the game. I liked how I could customize my character and change the color of the car I drove. I found myself constantly playing this interchangeably with Clue.

Computer games from the ’90s were my jam. I don’t think I can get rid of them because of the many memories attached to playing through each game. I may try to find a CD drive and run them on my Windows 7 laptop to see if they will play. Let me know in the comments if you still have any old computer games.

In 2018, I played Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4, and it was amazing. Superhero games can be great or terrible, and I’m happy Marvel’s Spider-Man was the former. Once it was announced that Miles Morales would be featured in his own game, I knew I would play it as soon as it was released. My fiancé bought my copy for me as a Christmas present, and I installed it right away. This past weekend, I finished the story, 100% of all districts, and unlocked all the trophies I wanted to unlock. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was a genuinely fun gaming experience, although I felt Miles didn’t get the same treatment as Peter Parker did.

Miles is on winter break, which gives him time to finish his homework and train under Peter. Peter has to leave town for a while, allowing Miles to be the main Spider-Man. Miles begins investigating Roxxon after a group called The Underground breaks into the main facility. Miles finds evidence that Roxxon’s energy invention, Nuform, could be making people sick. Miles, out of the goodness of his heart, wants to bring Roxxon to justice, while The Underground wants to exact revenge and make them pay for their mistake. Miles is torn as he finds a personal connection to The Underground. Relatively inexperienced, Miles struggles with right and wrong while hiding his identity from his family.

The gameplay in Spider-Man: Miles Morales is the same as the 2018 game. Why change a system that isn’t broken? One unique difference between Miles and Peter is Miles’ “Venom Blast,” which is a bioelectrical charge Miles can build up and blast enemies with. It’s useful in combat situations and can be used to heal Miles if needed. The Venom punch is what I used most often in combat situations and helps push back powerful enemies.

I loved completing the side quests! They felt personable to Miles and his story. One side quest, unlocked after completing the main story, is collecting postcards. Mile’s mom hides postcards around the city, and taped on the back of them were USB drives with messages from Mile’s dad. As a reminder, Miles’ dad was killed in the previous Spider-Man game. It allowed Miles to hear from his dad on his birthday. There’s another side quest where Miles has to locate a cat. After completing this side quest, Miles can unlock a suit with Spider-Cat! The orange tabby gets his mask and gets to hang out in Miles’ backpack as he glides throughout the city. Of course, this suit was my favorite to unlock.

Additionally, Spider-Man: Miles Morales has a great soundtrack. The songs on the album embody Miles’ experience growing up in Brooklyn and moving to Harlem. I have been listening to “I’m Ready” by Jaden and “This is My Time” by Lecrae on repeat.

Throughout playing Spider-Man: Miles Morales, I found myself comparing it to the 2018 game. The Miles Morales game is short, with the campaign taking 8 – 12 hours to finish. Marvel’s Spider–Man had a story lasting anywhere between 17 – 23 hours. Marvel’s Spider-Man was twice as long as the Miles Morales game. When playing through Miles Morales, I found myself thinking that this game didn’t take me as long to finish. Besides the length of the story, Miles Morales hasn’t been given any DLC, unlike the three DLC stories for the 2018 game. When comparing the games, it’s clear that the Miles Morales game wasn’t on the same level. It’s disappointing to say the least.

So what’s next for Miles? While writing my review, I looked to see if any DLC has been announced for the game, and I didn’t see anything. The next Spider-Man game should be released in 2022. It seems Miles is a placeholder for fans until the sequel is released for Peter. I wish Insomniac Games would work on DLC for Miles, as his story felt too short.

Last year, I invited a couple of friends down to my apartment to play Vampire: The Masquerade. Vampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game created by White Wolf where players create their vampires and roam around a dark city. Vampire: The Masquerade is one of my favorite role-playing games, as I love the dark aesthetic of the game. I found on Steam a variety of different Vampire: The Masquerade video games and decided to play them. Overall, it’s a gritty gaming experience, although I was left wanting more.

Vampire: The Masquerade Shadows of New York tells the story of Julia, who’s a reporter in NYC. The story she’s writing falls through, and she’s swiftly fired from her job. On the subway home, she’s approached by a vampire whom she’s “embraced,” which is Vampire: the Masquerade terminology for being turned into a vampire. As Julia gets comfortable with vampire society, she’s sent to investigate the murder of an older, more senior member of their clan. As she interviews other vampires, she realizes the murder is only the beginning of a sinister plot set to unfold.

I loved the art in Shadows of New York; it was easily the highlight of playing the game. Each scene Julia was in had darker tones mixed with a dark purple, which reminds me of the cover of the Vampire: The Masquerade rulebook. The above screenshot is when Julia was embraced. She looks down at New York with sudden darkness she never had access to before. Everything artistic about the game was aesthetically pleasing to look at.

Shadows of New York is described on Steam as a visual novel, which is fitting for the game. There wasn’t much interaction I had as the player; it was a lot of listening to the dialogue and choosing actions when prompted. The game prided itself on being able to sway the outcome of the story; however, there were only five major choices for Julia. I wish there were more. I don’t feel duped, as this was a visual novel, so it’s more about viewing the story versus participating in the game, but I wish I were able to choose more outcomes in the game.

Besides the interaction piece, the game felt too short. According to Steam, I only played this game for five hours. There isn’t anything I need to replay since I finished the game twice, and I have unlocked all the achievements. I think it was worth it to replay this game twice to see both endings. Five hours for two full playthroughs of the game means each time I played a full game, it was about two and a half hours apiece. The game itself is priced at $12.99, which I would say is fair for what I got. I wonder if DLC will get released for this because I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Vampire: The Masquerade Shadows of New York was an enjoyable game; however, I wish there were more to the game. I want a game released similar to Shadows of New York, but make it more investigative. Let me, as the player, examine crime scenes and pick which mortal I can feed on. Let me customize my vampire, pick my clan, and change the appearance of my vampire. Once that game is released, I will be a happy vampire camper.