I haven’t talked much about the Dungeons & Dragons campaign that I play in on Mondays. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to because there has been so much that has happened since we started. I wanted to take the time to get to know my character and find a balance in roleplaying as her. In the meantime, I asked Badwolf Adventure Studios to commission art based on my character. I did this with Levinia from Curse of Strahd, so it’s no surprise that I would do this with my new character. I am so excited to introduce Vesper Henshawe, my Human Sorcerer.

I wanted to provide a more detailed description of Vesper. Vesper Henshawe is a general. Three of the player characters are positioned below her in the hierarchy. Vesper is a student at the Academy, where she has been trained as a battle mage. She has graduated from the Academy, and upon graduation, she received a Ring of Spell Storing. From a personality standpoint, Vesper is a hard person to get to know. She can be abrasive and difficult to work with. Her personality comes from the backstory that I wrote for her. I’m not going to reveal all of that yet because some of it I have kept secret from the other players, so I want to keep that secrecy now.

Roleplaying as Vesper has been entertaining. When I originally played her, I made her purposefully abrasive. She had an attitude and didn’t share much about herself with others. As the events have unfolded in our campaign, she has started to open up to the other players. One of our characters was killed by a hobgoblin, which I think shook Vesper mentally. She is realizing that the more closed off she is, it may not gain allies in the world she lives in.

Badwolf did such an amazing job designing Vesper. I am obsessed with this picture as I think it captures Vesper’s personality and also the experiences she’s had throughout the campaign. I hope to write more campaign recap sessions here because there has been so much going on that our party has had to work through.

When I purchased all my new Steam games, I knew I wanted to play the Nancy Drew games first. One of my long-term goals is to play every single Nancy Drew PC game, and I’m on my way there. Out of the five Nancy Drew games I purchased, I decided to play Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy first. Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy had an intriguing plot, and while I didn’t like this game as much as the others I played previously, this might be a good game for those who are new to the Nancy Drew PC games.

In Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy, this game focuses on Nancy’s backstory and what happened to her mom. Nancy receives a letter regarding her mother’s car accident. It’s made clear to Nancy that her mom was a government agent and that she was investigating a potential terrorist attack in Scotland. The terrorist group responsible went dark, and Nancy’s mother died shortly after that. Nancy flies to Scotland to finally figure out what happened to her mother all those years ago.

Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy has one of the best stories out of all the games. It’s hard to beat a game that goes back into Nancy’s personal history. I liked the setting of this game. Set in Scotland, Nancy finds herself in and out of a train station, jetting off to various locations, including a safe house with access to spy gear. From a story perspective, I think that was easily the best part about this game in particular.

That said, I think Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy was a bit underwhelming. The main reveal of who was responsible wasn’t exciting. This is a big deal; this is finding out who was involved in Nancy’s mom’s death, but I felt like I didn’t get any real answers. Why was this person involved in terrorist activity? What did Nancy’s mom know that made her a liability? These may have been revealed, and I wasn’t paying attention, but I felt there was more that could have been done to make this more satisfying.

Another thing with this game, I felt the puzzles were convoluted. There was one puzzle that involved unlocking the phone of a suspect that Nancy was looking into. It involved finding a flag of a particular region. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the clue, and after getting some help from a walkthrough, I realized that the book I needed was at another suspect’s house, which I had missed. If that wasn’t enough, this puzzle was timed since Nancy was breaking into the hotel room. I don’t like timed puzzles to begin with, as I prefer to take my time figuring out the solution. It feels more satisfying when I can figure it out myself than trying to race against time before Nancy is caught.

Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy is essential to play since it covers Nancy’s backstory. I wish that this game were more satisfying. I think it ended up being a bit of a letdown. That said, I already have the next Nancy Drew game installed on my computer and can’t wait to play it. I would rate Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy three stars. It was fun, and I liked the game, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Is there any better way to kick off a new year than to buy new video games? I don’t think there is. I haven’t purchased any new games on Steam in a long time. I saw the Winter Sale was still going on, so now is the time to get stocked up to kick off 2024 with a bang. I wanted to share all the new games I bought on Steam because my haul is actually pretty massive.

All the Nancy Drew!

I bought five new Nancy Drew games. They are: Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy, Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull, Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem, Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness, and Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy. I don’t know what I will do with myself if I ever get to the point where I have played every single Nancy Drew game. I love the Nancy Drew PC games as I think they are a fun challenge. It’s become a routine where I sit upstairs in our loft, break out the notepad and a pen, and load up the newest Nancy Drew game. I think this should keep me busy for a bit.

Arcade Spirits

Arcade Spirits is a visual novel game taking place in the 1980s. As the player, you start your job at the Funplex game arcade. Who will you meet throughout your day at the arcade? I liked the art in this game, and this feels like a chill game to play during the week.

Beacon Pines

Beacon Pines is an adventure game that’s set in a mystery book. This is definitely up my alley. I’ll be curious to see how this runs on PC. I see that it is on the Switch as well. I don’t have a well-established game set up, as I play solely on my laptop. I could see myself liking this game, then buying it on the Switch, depending on how it runs on my laptop.

Bear & Breakfast

Bear & Breakfast is a simulation game in which players play as a Bear as they open a Bed and Breakfast. I was envisioning this to be a Diner Dash, except more campground themed. If that’s the case, I will love this game.

Zodiacats

Zodiacats is a cat puzzle jigsaw game where players solve puzzles to unlock the zodiac wheel. It should be no surprise that I bought another cat-themed video game.

With the Steam haul, I picked up nine games in total. I believe every game was discounted by some amount. I actually made a big dent in my Steam wishlist, which I felt was a long time coming. I’m excited to take some time and play through some of these new games. I’m sure there will be a lot of video game reviews coming up.

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 dived into superheroes. For those who aren’t familiar, Bethesda is owned by Microsoft, and 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 twelve 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 dispatch Sandman. From Sandman’s reasoning, it is alluded 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 has 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 Miles’ father, and Miles ends up saving Martin Li in the game. While Miles doesn’t forgive him, he 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 because they are physically strong. 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 as a 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 expecting 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’s 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 Games’ 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 based on the art. 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, meaning players work together to achieve an objective. Each character is a vagrant on a train called the Silver Ferryman. Vagrants will partner together to set ghosts free (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 rulebook 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 that 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 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 rulebook, but it lists all the different Haints that players can go up against. I love this! It creates a different gameplay experience every time. If I were to somehow 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 have got to be more than thirty 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 not one to buy a video game the weekend it releases. However, I made an exception for Marvel’s 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 wanted to share some first thoughts I had about the game.

There may be spoilers for both Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 below

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 Peter and Miles 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 and add it in later.

As a side note, as of March 2024, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has added New Game Plus. This post was published in 2023, edited on May 10th, 2026, to include this.

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 for the main story by 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). 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 him; 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 be forcibly bound to Strahd, 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 I have been playing the most is Marvel’s 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 my previous save. 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 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 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. My brother and I have been trying to schedule regular board game days, so I’m hoping to play these soon.

Roleplaying

As a nice change of pace, I’m in a new campaign at Badwolf Adventure Studios. Instead of playing on Thursday, I’m playing on Mondays. I prefer playing on Mondays versus Thursdays. Playing Dungeons & Dragons on Mondays gives me something to look forward to. By the time Thursday comes around, I’m usually tired from work, so I find it difficult at times to 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.