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.

Last year, I played Hidden Through Time, a hidden objects game available on Steam. Hidden Through Time was one of my favorite games I played in 2020. Steam recommended Wind Peaks, another hidden objects game centered around kids heading off to summer camp. The premise of Wind Peaks sounded promising, but I found myself comparing Wind Peaks to Hidden Through Time. When I compared the two, Wind Peaks was fun, but I loved Hidden Through Time more.

Wind Peaks included a story with cut scenes in between each map. The story can be quickly summarized as kids heading off to summer camp in search of buried treasure. The treasure is buried somewhere within the camp, and collecting these objects will aid in their search. I’m not sure why a story was introduced because I’m not sure if any of the kids were given names. I liked the overall aesthetic of Wind Peaks. The summer camp theme gave off a cozy, relaxing feel while playing.

I wasn’t a fan of the hint system in Wind Peaks. To get a hint, you would click on the object. A countdown would begin, and if the object wasn’t found within that time, the object would be revealed on the map. That’s not a hint system. In Hidden Through Time, a hint is included above the object, so I could still find the object on my own without it being given away.

Additionally, I felt the maps in Wind Peaks were too big. I couldn’t zoom out to view the map as a whole, so it took a while to visually scan the map. I wished either the maps would have been smaller or the zoom function would have allowed me to view the whole map. I also can’t stand using WASD instead of the arrow keys. The arrow keys make sense; I’m not sure why I couldn’t have used them to move around the map.

Wind Peaks was an enjoyable, cozy, cabin hidden objects game. The gameplay, in my opinion, could have been better, but it didn’t take away from the experience. The way Wind Peaks ended left open the potential of new maps being added to the game. I would play through the new maps in Wind Peaks, although I hope the hint system is overhauled. Hidden object games are a nice distraction from the console games I’m currently playing through. I would rate Wind Peaks a 6.5 / 10.

I had high hopes for Marvel’s Avengers. As written in a previous post, superhero games can either be well-made or unplayable. From everything I had read regarding Marvel’s Avengers, I thought this game had potential. I didn’t buy the game immediately after it was released, which is something I usually never do. However, my fiancé brought it home for me one day since he knew I wanted to play it. Marvel’s Avengers is a mediocre and disappointing superhero game.

The game opens with a celebration titled A-Day. A-Day launched the new Avengers HQ in San Francisco along with a helicarrier powered by a Terrigen Crystal. The Avengers have pulled away from A-Day celebrations after an attack by Taskmaster. Unfortunately, the helicarrier is destroyed, leaving the surrounding citizens in San Francisco exposed to the Terrigen mist. The Avengers were blamed and forced to disband. Kamala Khan was exposed to the Terrigen mist during the ceremony and has been hiding her powers. Five years after A-Day, Kamala investigates “AIM,” the replacement for the Avengers, and discovers some incriminating evidence against them. She’s on the run to protect her family and bring the Avengers back together.

Marvel’s Avengers claims to be an Avengers game when really it’s centered around Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel. I loved playing as Kamala. She’s a character I didn’t know much about, and her positivity helped bring back the Avengers. I believe the game wasn’t marketed as well as it could have been. The title of the game is Marvel’s Avengers, so I went into playing this game believing I would be playing an Avengers game. Kamala is on the cover, although most of the gameplay is her story. Besides Kamala, the Avengers sound like the characters they are supposed to represent. I thought the voice acting was spot on, and the way the characters were designed felt true to the comics.

In my opening paragraph, I stated how Marvel’s Avengers is a mediocre game. This game could have been so much better. I hated how I wasn’t able to switch heroes during a mission. The heroes have various abilities that allow them to collect resources. Resources are used to level up the Avengers. For example, if I played as the Hulk on a level, there might be a collectible to unlock as Black Widow, but since I can’t switch hero mid-mission, I’m not able to unlock this collectible. It’s annoying! I don’t understand why there couldn’t have been a button on the controller allowing me to switch between the heroes.

Let’s talk about the missions. There are the main campaign missions contributing to finishing the main story, along with side missions. I found the missions were repetitive. If I played a side mission on one map, it was often repeated in the campaign. It’s lazy to create missions as side quests only to replay them in the main campaign.

Finally, I disliked how the Avengers’ health worked. As an Avenger loses health, one of the few ways to regain health is to punch green boxes on the maps. This would allow an Avenger to heal. It seems odd that a god of Thunder doesn’t regenerate health; isn’t he a god? Doesn’t Captain America’s super-soldier serum allow him to regenerate automatically? The health system could have been designed better to be unique to the specific Avenger I was playing as.

Overall, Marvel’s Avengers was a fun game. It could have been amazing if the game had been tweaked. I must not be the only gamer who feels this way because Square Enix lost $105 million from this game. To bring life back to the game, Square Enix is introducing Kate Bishop and Hawkeye as DLC. I’m afraid it’s a bit too late. I’m undecided if I would invest more money into the game or pick up the game again. I give Marvel’s Avengers a 6/10.

Superhero video games are either fantastic or terrible; there doesn’t seem to be anything in between. Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of my all-time favorite video games. Rocksteady took the Batman universe and melded it into an enjoyable gaming experience. I’m playing through Marvel’s Avengers now, and while I’m having a fun time, it’s a flawed game. I was thinking the other day about which superheroes deserve the “Arkham Asylum” treatment, which led me to create this post.

X-Men: Open World or a Super Smash Bros Brawl

I could see the X-Men having one of two different game designs. An open-world X-Men game would be great. Having a story mode with plenty of side quests would allow you to unlock various members of the X-Men. Another intriguing game concept would be a “Super Smash Bros.” style game, playing as the X-Men. I think gamers would fight over who gets to play as Wolverine, but still, I think this concept could work.

The Defenders

The Defenders would be similar to Spider-Man in the sense that it would be an open-world game set in New York. I could imagine this game turning New York into a darker version similar to Gotham. It would feature stories allowing you to play as Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist. Additionally, let’s introduce Valkyrie (played by Tessa Thompson in the movies), Hellcat, and Silver Surfer. Can someone please make this??

Birds of Prey

My ideal Birds of Prey would be an older Oracle being the head of the organization. Black Canary would be the main playable hero, with Helena Bertinelli on standby. I’m imagining Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey run was turned into a video game. The possibilities!

Sinister Six Meets GTA

Hear me out. The Sinister Six somehow get the upper hand, Spider-Man is supposedly killed, and New York is in chaos. Being able to rotate which Sinister Six character you play as while roaming around New York and blasting everything to bits. I could see halfway through that we learn Spider-Man is alive and works with the Avengers to reclaim New York.

I wish more game companies would take on superhero-based games. As mentioned in my opening paragraph, it can be a big undertaking to make a superhero game. Square Enix lost a lot of money making this game. I think if game companies are willing to put in the work of understanding these characters and creating a fun game, these games can be profitable. If you’re unsure, why don’t you ask Rocksteady?

I’m back to writing regular posts! After hosting a Halloween party followed by the US election, I wanted to take a week off from writing posts. I can’t believe Halloween is already over, and Thanksgiving is a couple of weeks away. I wanted to write a post about one of the spooky games I played leading up to Halloween this year. This was one of the games I mentioned in my “Spooky Steam Haul” post. Gibbous – A Cthulhu Adventure is a spooky, point-and-click game with a magical talking cat.

The story focuses on two major characters. Detective Don R. Ketype is a PI tasked with recovering the Necronomicon. For those unfamiliar with Lovecraft’s writings, the Necronomicon is an evil book filled with spells destined to bring the world to its end. Don visits the library and meets Buzz Kerwin, a college student. An explosion occurs, with Don getting kidnapped, and Buzz finding the Necronomicon. Buzz takes the book back to his apartment and repeats a spell that allows his cat, Kitteh, to speak to him. Both Don and Buzz need to find out who’s after the Necronomicon and return Kitteh to her normal kitty state.

I adored this game. I liked playing as Don and Buzz, although Buzz was my favorite since he had Kitteh with him. The game was well-designed and never glitched. The game was challenging enough that certain levels took me a bit of time because I would get stuck on what I was supposed to do next. Being a fan of Lovecraft’s work, there were several references to his work throughout the game.

As far as replayability, I ended up playing this game twice through. The first time to complete the game and the second time to unlock all the Steam achievements. There are story-based achievements and missable achievements. The missable achievements were slightly annoying at times because you can’t go back and play a level. If you miss the achievement, you would have to play the entire game over to get that achievement. According to Steam, I played this game for 13.9 hours. This is with two full playthroughs of the game. It’s safe to say this game will take six hours to complete.

Gibbous – A Cthulhu Adventure is a fun, spooky game perfect for any cat lover or HP Lovecraft fan. Gibbous – A Cthulhu Adventure can be purchased on Steam for $19.99.

It’s Spooky Season! This is the time when I hang Halloween decorations, read horror books, watch scary movies, and play themed video games. To get into the mood of the season, I purchased a couple of new video games on Steam. I wanted to share my Halloween-themed gaming haul.

Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure

I discovered Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure by accident after typing Cthulhu into the Steam search bar. I’m a Lovecraft fan and will immediately play anything with Cthulhu in the title. Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure begins with Detective Don Ketype as he tries to track down the infamous Necronomicon. Ketype crosses paths with college student, Buzz Kerwan, who winds up with the Necronomicon and accidentally sets off a spell, which leads to his kitty (named Kitteh) being able to talk. The trio team up to stop the cultists from performing a horrific ritual.

I’m about halfway through this, and I’m loving every second of it.

Nancy Drew Danger by Design & Nancy Drew Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake

I’m determined to play more of the Nancy Drew games by Her Interactive. The first game I played was endless in the number of jump scares, so I’m hoping this could be extended to the other games in the series. Based on reviews on Steam, I purchased both Danger by Design and Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake. I plan to play both of these games next after I finish Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure.

Vampire: The Masquerade: Shadows of New York

I first played Vampire: The Masquerade at Gen Con last year. Vampire: The Masquerade: Shadows of New York is a game inspired by the RPG. This game stars Julia Sowinski, a reporter who has been Embraced (Vampire: The Masquerade’s term for being turned into a Vampire) and is asked to investigate the murder of Anarch Baron Callihan. This game is described as a visual novel that changes as the main character makes several crucial decisions.

Vampire: The Masquerade is one of my favorite RPGs. I cannot wait to play this.

Later Alligator

Later Alligator isn’t necessarily a Spooky game, but it’s a game I had on my Steam wishlist for far too long. Later Alligator, as the title states, stars an alligator named Pat. Unfortunately for Pat, he’s involved in a huge conspiracy that puts him in danger. Can the player save Pat before the clock runs out?

The majority of reviews on Steam list Later Alligator as overwhelmingly positive. I plan on playing Later Alligator after all of the other Spooky games I purchased.

Nothing gets me excited about being in Quarantine like having new video games to play. Let me know in the comments which Spooky video games you’re playing this month!