As someone who finished unlocking all the trophies in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, I love seeing superheroes getting their own video games. While Marvel’s Spider-Man has been my primary focus, I remember the joy I felt playing through Rocksteady’s Batman games. When I saw Bethesda’s announcement about the new Blade game, I didn’t need to hear anything else. I could see myself pre-ordering Marvel’s Blade when a release date is announced. It’s about time that Microsoft hopped on the superhero bandwagon.

There isn’t much to be gathered from the announcement trailer. It shows Blade in a barbershop as alarms ring out from the shop. Blade quickly puts his gear on and it zooms in on Blade’s back as he draws one of his blades from its holster. The official Bethesda article mentions how Marvel’s Blade will take place in Paris during a supernatural emergency. That sounds neat. Playing as Blade while he annihilates vampires and other supernatural creatures with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop.

I think it’s about time that Microsoft dips into superheroes. For those who aren’t familiar, Bethesda is owned by Microsoft, therefore Marvel’s Blade will more than likely be an Xbox exclusive. Insomniac Games has a winning combination with their Spider-Man games and the upcoming Wolverine game. As long as Marvel’s Blade is a well-made game, I don’t see a reason why Microsoft shouldn’t have an exclusive for Xbox. It’s been fun to see two of my favorite hobbies; comics and video games, come together.

I am looking forward to hearing more about Marvel’s Blade. As mentioned, I definitely want to pre-order this as soon as more information is announced.

I felt like it was a race against time as I played Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. I needed to finish the main story before having the story spoiled for me online. When I played Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, I found myself exploring downtown NYC and completing several side quests. I’d end up playing for hours without completing one of the story missions. I finally decided to get serious and I ended up playing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for close to 12 hours straight, but I completed the story without being spoiled. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was nothing short of amazing and it’s easily the best game I played in 2023.

Spoilers Ahead – You Have Been Warned

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 takes place shortly after Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Peter was recently fired from his physics teaching position for abandoning the class to stop Sandman. Miles joins Peter and quickly the two despatch Sandman. From Sandman’s reasoning, it’s alluded to the fact that Sandman was being stalked by someone, but it’s not revealed who. Meanwhile, Harry Osborne, Peter’s childhood friend is revealed to be feeling better as he had an experimental exosuit put into his body that’s supposedly cured him. As Peter and Miles are overseeing a prison transfer, they meet Kraven and his followers who abduct Martin Li and Scorpion. If that wasn’t bad enough, Harry’s exosuit (aka. Venom) transfers to Peter which changes his entire demeanor. Peter and Miles team up to put an end to Kraven’s hunt along with trapping Venom for good.

The story for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is so good. Peter struggles with his Spider-Man persona especially when his relationship with Mary Jane is getting serious. Miles has his own battles especially when it comes to Martin Li. Martin Li is directly responsible for the death of Mile’s father and Miles ends up saving Martin Li in the game. While Miles doesn’t forgive him, Miles doesn’t let his anger get to him or let himself seek vengeance against Martin. Both Peter and Miles have their time to shine throughout the missions and side quests.

I can’t talk about the story of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 without addressing the villains. Kraven, in my opinion, was such a good idea to include in the game. Peter and Miles are powerful, but not from a physical strength perspective. I think Kraven keeps Peter and Miles on edge as I think they know that Kraven is a formidable opponent. Kraven’s boss battle was intensely challenging and I died a few times before I figured out how to get past him. I think the way the game handled Kraven’s story arc was awesome. Having Venom violently kill Kraven shifted the focus from Kraven to Venom being this formidable enemy. Speaking of Venom, being able to play as Venom was so cool. Venom being able to whack all of Kraven’s guards was satisfying. One of my favorite missions was when Venom (Harry Osborne regaining the suit) had to escape Oscorp after he injured Peter. Jumping from platform to platform, grabbing Oscorp guards, and unleashing havoc was so fun. The last mission that was a complete surprise to me was Mary Jane becoming Scream! I’m so glad that wasn’t spoiled for me. I read the Scream comics and I wasn’t anticipating to see Scream in the game.

Besides the story, there’s so much to do in NYC. In this game, there are more areas to explore which I liked. The side quests include Sandman’s memories, helping Mysterio with his virtual reality simulations, along with Kraven and Venom hideouts. I’m at 89% right now meaning I haven’t finished everything in the game, although, since I spent so much time on side quests earlier, I don’t have a whole lot to do. I am fully planning on unlocking every trophy in the game.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is everything I had hoped for and more. It’s the best game I played in 2023 and I can’t wait for Insomniac to make more Marvel games. I rate Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 5/5.

At Gen Con, I stopped by the Wyrd Game’s booth. As I walked around their booth, I kept looking at a game they had on display called Vagrant Song. The art on the board game instantly reminded me of Bioshock, one of my all-time favorite video games. I contemplated purchasing Vagrant Song solely on the art alone. One of the people working at the booth approached me and gave me a quick speech about what Vagrant Song was about. I bought the game shortly thereafter. Vagrant Song is a Spooky, Cooperative game I’m glad to have in my board game collection.

Vagrant Song is a cooperative game which means the players will work together to achieve an objective. Each character is a vagrant on a train called the Silver Ferryman. Vagrants will partner together to set free ghosts (called Haints). Once a Haint gains enough humanity, the Haint will be free to go into the afterlife. Each Haint has special abilities that impact how Vagrants can interact with it. Vagrants can gather items, use their skills, and gain material to aid them in their quest to stop the Haint. If the Vagrants are Westbound (meaning the Vagrants are killed by the Haint), they lose the game.

The art was what drew me to Vagrant Song in the first place. The rule book and the scenario book are beautifully illustrated. There are pictures of a gritty brown train car with the bright blue ethereal Haints flying out and about. The game board has this old-fashioned feeling to it with the way the train cars are designed. When I play board games, I don’t pay much attention to the art, but Vagrant Song was clearly an exception. The art is exquisite.

Another highlight for me was the characters. Each Vagrant has their own style which still falls into this old-fashioned cartoon look. For my first few playthroughs, I played as Empress The Driven who is supposed to be an army general of sorts. She is skilled in “busting” a ghost aka. giving it a good punch. Another character one of my family members played included a dog which had humanity benefits to help defeat the Haint. I’m curious to play as the other characters, so I can fully decide on which character I like the best.

The final thing I wanted to touch on with Vagrant Song is replayability. With some board games, there aren’t a lot of different gameplay options. If I play the same game over and over again, it might feel repetitive and I might need to take a break from playing that game. With Vagrant Song, there are a lot of options. This is partly due to the scenario book. The scenario book is separate from the rule book, but it lists all the different Haints that players can go up against. I love this! It creates a different gameplay experience every time. Plus, if I were to somehow have the time to defeat all the Haints as one Vagrant, I could do it again with a different Vagrant and that would change my gameplay experience. I’m not exactly sure how many scenarios there are, but the book is thick, so there has got to be more than 30 at least.

Vagrant Song is the first board game that I have reviewed using my new rating system. I would rate Vagrant Song 5/5. I would always be in the mood to break out this game and I love the aesthetic of the game itself. Wyrd Games is a board game company on my radar now and I would play another one of their games in the future.

I’m in a spring cleaning mindset even though it’s the beginning of winter. I recently dug through my closet and donated two big bags of clothes that I wasn’t wearing. I found myself staring at my board game shelf along with two boxes of unpacked video games in our spare bedroom. It got me thinking about how when I write board game or video game reviews, I never rate what I play. I write reviews on what I read, but that doesn’t translate to gaming. Going forward, I will be rating board games and video games that I play which I hope will help organize my gaming collection in the future.

Before I dive into my review scale, I wanted to share some backstory. I’m a collector. Being a collector, I tend to hold on to things if they provide any sentimental value. When I pick up that board game or a video game, I find that it prompts memories of where I was when I first discovered that game or where I was in my life when I was playing through the game. It’s more difficult for me to donate a board game than it is to donate clothing. I think part of the reason I feel this way is that gaming is a hobby that has stuck with me for a long time. It’s a hobby that’s gotten me through the toughest of times along with making me feel happy and content. I know for a fact that gaming will be a hobby that will stick around in the years to come.

With that said, I wanted to share how I will rate board games and video games in future posts. I will follow a five-point scale to help keep things consistent. If I rate a board game or a video game 5 out of 5, it means that it’s the best thing ever and I’m obsessed. For board games, I will want to bring it to every family or friend’s board game night. If it’s a video game, I know that I will replay the game again. If I rate something 4 out of 5, it means that I really liked it. It’s a board game that I’m glad that I own so I can play it whenever. For a video game, it means that it was great, but I probably don’t have to replay it until a significant amount of time has passed. If I rate something a 3 out of 5, it means I liked it, but I may have to be in the mood to play it. I think this applies to both board games and video games. If I rate something 2 or less, it means that I didn’t like it, it’s not for me, or I don’t see a reason to own it.

The first half of this post was more personal than I originally anticipated this post to be. I’m looking forward to my future gaming reviews and being more organized in writing gaming-related content. I have a board game review sitting in my drafts which will be the perfect way to kick off the new rating scale.

I’m not one to buy a video game the weekend it releases. However, I made an exception for Marvel Spider-Man 2 by Insomniac Games. I played Marvel’s Spider-Man back in 2018 shortly after my trip to New York City. Part of the fun was playing the game and slinging around New York City. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has been on my radar and I feel like I waited so long for this game to come out. I have been playing this game non-stop and I wanted to share some first thoughts that I had about the game.

I won’t be sharing direct spoilers, but I will talk about events in the game. If this is something you want to avoid, I wouldn’t read the rest of this post.

The first thing that I noticed was how cinematic this game is. Watching the cutscenes, it feels like I’m watching a movie. I forget at times that I’m supposed to be playing the game.

Shifting into the story, I am enjoying Kraven being introduced as one of the main villains in the game. I like how they designed Kraven with the fur vest and the shark tooth necklace that he’s wearing. Kraven is seriously jacked which I think helps to make him menacing. While Peter and Miles have their powers, Kraven carries his strength which is something that I don’t think the Spider-Men are prepared for. I’m looking forward to the final confrontation between them.

In between the story missions, there is so much to explore in NYC. The map is larger than the first game. I’m only a fifth of the way through the game because I keep getting distracted by all the side content. There are side missions and collectibles throughout each area of the city. I like completing the side quests in between the main story because it helps level up Peter and Miles. Once they level up, they can unlock skills to aid them in the story. I’m sure some gamers will complete the story first, but I like being able to alternate between the story and the collectibles.

One thing that I think is interesting is how there isn’t a New Game Plus mode in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. For those who didn’t play the first game, New Game Plus was unlocked after completing the game for the first time. In this game mode, players can take their leveled-up Spider-Man with all the gadgets, however, the villains and enemies are also tougher. This game doesn’t have New Game Plus as an option and I’m curious if Insomniac is going to respond to that critique and add it in later.

I’m absolutely loving Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and I try to play every chance I get as I don’t want to get spoiled to the main story on accident. I can safely say that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was worth the five-year wait.

Ginny Di is one of my favorite TTRPG (tabletop roleplaying game) content creators. I find her videos easy to follow and I like that she has tips for both players and DMs (Dungeon Masters) to improve the gameplay experience. I saw a video she recently posted titled Fixing Curse of Strahd’s Ending and I was immediately intrigued. My group completed Curse of Strahd earlier this year and I had a blast. I was curious what was wrong with the ending of the campaign.

Slight Curse of Strahd Spoilers down below and Ginny Di’s video

Some players had stated that they felt the Curse of Strahd ending was underwhelming. Some players found that depending on what level they were, they could take down Strahd in two or three rounds. In our game, Strahd put up a fight and that’s partially because our group didn’t have a plan on how we were going to face Strahd, we just wanted to take him down and we would figure it out as we went. Ginny Di reviewed a guidebook titled Curse of Strahd: The Wedding at Ravenloft by Wyatt Trull. The guidebook provides a potential way for players to face Strahd that would feel impactful.

In The Wedding at Ravenloft, players are invited to Strahd’s wedding to Ireena, an NPC (non-playable character, typically voiced by the DM) that the players met early on in the game. Players can either attack Strahd right away before the wedding begins or let the wedding proceed. If players let the wedding continue, they can object to the marriage or yell obscenities throughout the ceremony. After the wedding, Strahd takes Ireena, locks the players inside, and forces them to fight their way to him.

I like the idea of The Wedding at Ravenloft because it sounds like a video game boss battle of sorts. The wedding serves as the cut scene to battle with Strahd. There’s Ireena who serves as the motivation for the players because if they don’t save her, she will forcibly be bound to Strahd for the rest of her days including being turned into a vampire. I could see this being useful for a DM who wants to put their players in a position where any decision they make will have consequences.

This video was interesting to watch and put a new perspective on Curse of Strahd that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. For those who are looking for more TTRPG content, I would highly recommend watching Ginny Di’s videos.

Now that I’m getting back to my routine, I have been getting back into gaming regularly. I have a lot of options as far as what to play next. With the weather slowly getting cooler, I’m ready to get cozy under a blanket and play a game. I wanted to share where I’m at and what I plan on playing next.

Consoles

The game that I have been playing is Marvel Spider-Man as the second game comes out this month. I am playing on New Game Plus which carries over the previously leveled-up Spider-Man from a previous game. The enemies aren’t that tough, if anything, Spider-Man’s health drops more after every hit, so I have to be more strategic during boss battles. Once I finish the first Spider-Man game, I plan on playing the sequel. I’m looking forward to battling Venom and playing as Miles.

After playing through both Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, I want to play Jedi: Survivor. I finished Jedi: Fallen Order this year and I loved it I heard the sequel was equally as fun.

Regarding my Switch, I don’t have a specific game that I’m working through, however, I do have some pre-purchased games that I want to get to eventually

PC

I haven’t played a game on PC in a long time. I had to pull up Steam to see what I had in my library. I have three games that I haven’t finished yet and when I look at them, I’m not sure if I’m in the mood to play them. I could see a fresh Steam haul in the future, but since I spent a lot of money to travel to Europe, I need to focus on saving.

Board Games

I have so many new board games thanks to Gen Con. I have Queen By Midnight which is a game from Critical Role’s game company, Darrington Press. I have another game that I want to play called Vagrant Song Me and my brother have been trying to do regular board game days, so I’m hoping that I can play these soon.

Roleplaying

As a nice change of pace, I’m in a new campaign at Bad Wolf Adventure Studios. Instead of playing on Thursday, I’m playing on Mondays. I prefer playing on Mondays versus Thursdays. Playing DnD on Mondays gives me something to look forward to. By the time Thursday comes around, I’m usually tired from the work week, so I found it difficult at times to fully be invested in the campaign. I’m playing a human sorcerer in this campaign which has been interesting to manage since my character is more focused on spell casting versus being in physical combat.

Miscellaneous

I have been playing more Magic: The Gathering than I have in the past. Part of this has to do with the release of Wilds of Eldraine which is the fairy tale-themed set. I loved Throne of Eldraine, so I was happy to see that Magic was willing to go back to that set. I have six boosters waiting for me to open on Arena, so I could see myself trying to build a standard deck and playing on Arena, so I can fully enjoy the set.

It feels so nice to be able to unwind and play video games. I have a good plan in front of me and I cannot wait to play Spider-Man 2. I have been looking forward to this game for five years.

The most recent time I talked about Magic: The Gathering was when I talked about playing Magic at Gen Con. I don’t typically play Magic much anymore. Part of it has to do with not having enough time to play. The other reason I don’t play Magic much is that it has been difficult to keep up with the sets. Magic releases new sets all the time, and if I find I’m interested in a set, in a month or two, the set is old, and no one wants to play it. With all of that said, Magic’s most recent set is Wilds of Eldraine, which is a sequel to Throne of Eldraine, a set that was released in 2019. I played Throne of Eldraine a lot, and it’s a set that I really enjoy. I ended up buying two pre-release kits and playing them with my brother, and I had a blast! Wilds of Eldraine is going to be a neat set.

Pre-releases are Magic events where you can play a set early. Each pre-release kit has a promo card, a d20 die, and several booster packs. From there, the goal is to build a forty-card deck and play against your opponent. I have played in pre-releases at game stores before, and honestly, I don’t think I will play in them again. The events are timed, and I like being able to read each card and take my time putting together a deck. As a casual player, I like to ask questions and have a friend review my deck, as I’m not great at deck building. Additionally, I have had negative experiences at game stores, whether it be the people I’m playing with or feeling guilty for not winning a game or a match. I like to play the game for fun, not to win, so I’d rather play in a similar environment.

Playing with my brother was way more fun than playing in a pre-release. We would show off which cards we got and trade if needed. I had my brother review my deck, where he would offer suggestions for last-minute card switches. Finally, we would disregard the mulligan rules and let each person have the perfect opening hand. Mulligans are where you can discard your hand if you don’t like it, but if you do, you draw one less card. It feels bad when you have to mulligan a lot, and then you have fewer cards in hand.

While I did not win a single game, I liked the deck I built! I built a red/black rats deck. I pulled a few cards, including Totentanz and Swarm Piper. Totentanz‘s ability is that whenever a creature dies, you create a rat. By paying one and a black, you can create death touch for all your rats, which is awesome. I also pulled Ratcatcher Trainee, which has first strike as long as it was your turn. I had my army of rats to try to take on my brother. Each game that we played was so close! I had my brother in the single digits as far as his life total, although my brother squeaked out the win every time.

It was fun to play with a pre-release kit since it’s been a while. I think my brother had fun since he texted me asking if he should pay me back for the next kit, so maybe this will be my re-entry into Magic.

The first time I played Jedi: Fallen Order was in 2020 during lockdown. I only played through a small portion of the game before moving on to something else. Whenever I wanted to pick up where I left off, I felt like I couldn’t. I kept being reminded of 2020, and I thought more time needed to pass before I could restart Jedi: Fallen Order. It’s interesting how strong memories can tie us to periods of our lives. This year, I was determined to play Jedi: Fallen Order from start to finish as I felt enough time had passed. I’m so glad that I gave Jedi: Fallen Order another chance. Jedi: Fallen Order is an essential game for Star Wars lore.

Jedi: Fallen Order takes place five years after Order 66, when the Republic turned into the Empire. Former Padawan Cal Kestis is in hiding, knowing that if he reveals his connection to the Force, he will be hunted. On a job site, Cal saves his friend Prauf by using the force. Inquisitors show up and kill Prauf, forcing Cal to retreat. Cal is saved by former Jedi Knight Cere Junda and pilot Greez Dritus and stows away on their ship. Cal learns that there is a Holocron that shows all the force-sensitive children. It becomes a race against time to find the list before the Inquisitors do.

Slight Spoilers Below:

I love the time period Jedi: Fallen Order takes place in. The Inquisitors are a force to be reckoned with. I finished Clone Wars before playing Fallen Order, and that helped me love the game even more. I liked seeing Cal go to Dathomir and meet Merrin, one of the only remaining Nightsisters. I love that Merrin became a part of their crew. Additionally, I loved the final battle with Cal and Cere going after the list. I wasn’t expecting Darth Vader to make an appearance, as that wasn’t spoiled for me before playing.

I loved the mechanics of the game. I liked how, as Cal gained skills, he did get stronger. I would return to some of the previous planets to collect items, and some of the enemies I used to fight were a lot easier. It was rewarding to see Cal become more skilled and how those skills benefited him. Also, it’s worth going back to the planets and gathering the collectibles before completing some of the final story sequences. Some of the planets carry additional stims or health packs for BD1 to carry along with secrets, which can increase Cal’s force meter and health meter. It’s worth it to spend time going back to previous planets to gather these items before proceeding through the story.

One thing about Jedi: Fallen Order that threw me for a loop the first time I played was the difficulty. In my opinion, Jedi: Fallen Order is a difficult game. I played on the Jedi Knight difficulty, and I found it challenging. I ended up dropping the difficulty of certain boss fights. I normally avoid games like Dark Souls as I want to enjoy playing video games, not hate them. For those who like Dark Souls, Jedi: Fallen Order is probably up your alley.

Another challenging portion of the game is traveling around the planets. There were times when I found it difficult to make it back to the Mantis, the ship that Cal was traveling on. It’s almost like I had to memorize where I had gone to make it back. There were times when I felt I was traveling in circles before I was able to make my way back. In one instance, I ended up using a walkthrough simply to navigate back to the Mantis, which was a little aggravating.

I’m glad that I gave Jedi: Fallen Order another shot. While it’s a challenging game experience, it’s satisfying to have finished the game. I can’t wait to play Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order, which was released this year. Jedi: Fallen Order can be played on Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 5, and Windows.