Well, here we are. It’s 2026 and the new video game season has officially begun. While 2025 started off with a bang, giving us a new-ish Ys game, 2026 seems to bring us back into the realm of obscurity, with nothing of major note to discuss.

Well, maybe that isn’t totally correct, there is a game coming out that is based on the popular (?) anime Fairy Tail, a deck building title called Dungeons. Now, this is a Switch port of a 2024 PC game, which is why I’m not highlighting it as the top title. However, it’s probably the most well know property out of all the upcoming releases so, like, maybe check it out? Aside from that, it’s all just a bunch of small titles releasing on PC (like we get every week).

The most interesting of the bunch is Pathologic 3, the third entry in the series that started back in 2005. What’s weird about this series, though, is that its sequels are remakes of the first Pathologic game but told from a different perspective. I don’t blame anyone for skipping this week’s games, I know I’m not itching to pick any of this stuff up. We’ll have more exciting titles to talk about next week; see you then!

• Aye Leon (PC) – Releases Jan. 6^th
• Bunny Hopper (PC) – Releases Jan. 6^th
• Final Frontier Story (PC) – Releases Jan. 6^th
• Kitty Can Cook (PC) – Releases Jan. 6^th
• Malón (PC) – Releases Jan. 6^th
• Pneuma (PC) – Releases Jan. 6^th
• Ancient Farm (PC) – Releases Jan. 7^th
• Bots & Mods (PC) – Releases Jan. 7^th
• EvoCreo (PC) – Releases Jan. 7^th
• Fairy Tail: Dungeons (Switch) – Releases Jan. 7^th
• Pichenette (PC) – Releases Jan. 7^th
• Snapshots (PC) – Releases Jan. 7^th
• Hero Seekers (PC) – Releases Jan. 8^th
• Frostrain 2 (PC) – Releases Jan. 9^th
• Paradise: Musubi (PC) – Releases Jan. 9^th
• Pathologic 3 (PC) – Releases Jan. 9^th

Notable Releases from 10, 20, and 30 years ago:

Games:

In notable games, 2016 gave us the narrative title That Dragon, Cancer. Created by the husband and wife team of Ryan & Amy Green, That Dragon, Cancer tells the heartbreaking story of their son, Joel Green, who passed away at the age of five from a devastating cancer diagnosis when he was only 12 months old. In the game, players get a look into the lives of Ryan, Amy, and their children during the five years that Joel was in their lives. Moments range from the stark reality, such as figuring out how to care for Joel after the diagnosis is given, to the more fantastical, in which a wagon race around the hospital is re-imagined as a high speed racing game.

That Dragon, Cancer received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the highly emotional title. The Green’s frank, candid re-telling of those four years in Joel’s life was the game’s strongest feature, and the decision to force players to interact with the world, such as making choices about how to care for Joel, made them more than just casual observers of the story, deepening the impact of the story. While not considered a perfect game, most critics could not deny how unforgettable the experience was after finishing That Dragon, Cancer.

While That Dragon, Cancer received numerous awards and nominations, including a win at the 2016 Game Awards in the “Games for Impact” category, sales were poor. Due to the game’s narrative structure, many Let’s Play channels would upload their entire playthrough, without any kind of commentary, on YouTube, where they would collectively earn millions of views. None of that revenue was going directly to the Green’s or their company, Numinous Games, and they began a campaign to have the videos removed using copyright strikes. This caused an uproar in the Let’s Play community, leading to Ryan Green apologizing for the way it was handled and asked that viewers of the videos donate funds to Numinous if they felt compelled to do so.

Following That Dragon, Cancer, the Green’s don’t appear to have worked on any further video games, while their company, Numinous Games, released one more title in 2022, a VR game called Area Man Lives. The success of indie titles is a crap shoot, like most artistic endeavors, and while That Dragon, Cancer might not have been the most financially successful indie in 2016, it’s certainly one of the most memorable.

From 2006, we have the DS title Electroplankton, developed by the Japanese studio Indieszero and published by Nintendo. Less a game and more an abstract piece of art, Electroplankton seens players tapping the DS’s screen, and using the system’s built-in microphone, to interact with floating plankton. In doing so, the plankton move around the screen and create musical melodies. When players are done, they simply turn off the game and go about their day. With no save feature available in Electroplankton, any compositions created by the player are simply washed away, giving them a new experience the next time they start a play session.

At release, Electroplankton’s availability was limited to just online retailers, such as Amazon, with Nintendo’s flagship store in NYC as the only physical retailer allowed to carry the game. With the limited availability, niche genre, and low level of gameplay, Electroplankton was not a big seller, only moving about 300k copies, worldwide. Critics weren’t terribly impressed with the game, but there was some appreciation for Nintendo’s willingness to release such an experimental title and helped further the idea that video games were a true art form, a major point of discussion the early parts of the 2000’s.

With such a low print run and sales numbers, getting a copy of Electroplankton today is both difficult and expensive, sadly. In 2009, the game would be re-released on the DSiWare in a stripped down version that required microtransactions to gain access to every instrument in the base game. Electroplankton never received any sequels and has been mostly ignored by Nintendo over these last twenty years, though it does have a Super Smash Bros. stage based on it, first introduced in Brawl, likely to coincide with the DSiWare re-release. While it may be forgotten by Nintendo, I’m sure there are fans out there waiting for another release…probably.

Our last notable title this week is the tactical FPS game Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels. Set in the Warhammer 40k universe, Vengeance of the Blood Angels has you taking on the role of a squad of Space Marine Terminators (no, not the James Cameron Terminators), as they explore massive Space Hulk ships in an attempt to wipe out any alien lifeforms, specifically Genestealers, and recover any ancient relics, artifacts, and power sources.

Vengeance of the Blood Angels is based on the Space Hulk board game, in which players move miniatures around the board, killing Genestealers and accomplishing various goals. The video game version is no different than this, as players move, in first person view, around grid based maps, killing Genestealers and accomplishing specific tasks. What Space Hulk is best known for, though, is just how incredibly difficult it is to win. Vengeance of the Blood Angels does not shy away from this difficulty and you will die many, MANY times in the course of the game’s campaign.

Initially released on the short lived 3DO console, Vengeance of the Blood Angels would eventually get ported to the PC, PlayStation, and Saturn. The first reviews for the game were mixed but, I think, slightly elevated as it was one of the few 3DO games worth playing. Its subsequent ports were less well received due to its clunky controls, obtuse interface, and blistering difficulty. While certainly not the worst game I’ve ever played, it’s far from the best. I found some of the tactical ideas to be interesting but, overall, Vengeance of the Blood Angels is pretty bad and should only be viewed by hardcore Warhammer 40k fans who want to experience everything the property has to offer.

Movies:

In notable films, 2016 saw the release of the “long lost” Studio Ghibli film Only Yesterday. In reality, the film never went anywhere, as it was easily available in Japan following its 1991 release. However, in the United States, where Disney controlled the distribution of Ghibli films, Only Yesterday was purposefully kept hidden from American audiences because the film dared to have…FRANK DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE!!!!!!

You see, American children, who are the only demographic who watch animated films in the country, don’t need to learn about their menstrual cycle from movies, that’s for their priest to tell them about when they’re old enough, obviously. However, when the distribution rights for Ghibli films moved from Disney to GKIDS, Only Yesterday was finally released in North American theatres, and on home video, in 2016, sporting a new English dub with actors Daisy Ridley and Dev Patel in the lead roles.

Only Yesterday is a drama that follows a young woman named Taeko Okajima. Taking time off from her big city job to visit relatives in the rural countryside, Taeko is suddenly reminded of pivotal events from her childhood, specifically in the fifth grade, and starts her on a journey of self-discovery. It’s a quiet, poignant film that explores how our childhood experiences influence our decisions as adults.

At its release in 1991, Only Yesterday was a critical and commercial smash in Japan, becoming the highest grossing film of the year in the country, earning nearly 3.18 billion Yen, or about $20 million USD, at the box office. Easily available for view today, in the U.S., Only Yesterday is a magnificent film that stands as a fine, dramatic counter to the typical Ghibli fantasies.

From 2006, we have one of the most disturbing American films of all-time, Eli Roth’s torture film Hostel. Following the success of his independent horror film Cabin Fever, Eli Roth was a hot commodity in Hollywood. He received several offers to direct big budget horror films, most notably remakes for Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left, and The Fog. After meeting with Quentin Tarantino, a huge fan of Cabin Fever, Roth was convinced to create an original horror film. Taking inspiration from a conversation with Aint it Cool website founder Harry Knowles about murder tourism in Thailand, Roth decided to make a film set in Europe about a group of college-aged buddies who are kidnapped and tortured to death by rich businessmen on “murder vacations”.

The film would open in the #1 spot at the box office, earning a cool $20 million and would eventually gross $47 million in the US, $33 million in the rest of the world, for a final tally of $80 million on a budget of only $5 million. Critics were divided on the film, though mostly leaned in the positive direction. It was seen as wildly entertaining and took the deaths and gore from Saw, another recent release in the torture genre, to a whole new level. The film’s tone was, however, a major problem for some critics, who felt the torture scenes were far too graphic and stomach churning, noting that Hostel almost seemed like a legal version of a snuff film.

The film was particularly disliked by the Slovakian government, who felt that Hostel painted their country as a run-down hellscape full of murder, prostitution, and out-of-control violence. Their belief was that Hostel would ruin their tourism industry, a claim that Roth dismissed by arguing that Texas still gets plenty of tourists despite there being a film called Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hostel was followed-up by a sequel, Hostel: Part II, which was even more depraved and gory. A third entry was released in 2011, though it had no input from Roth.

From 1996, we’re going in a more lighthearted direction with the comedy Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. Written by and starring the Wayans brothers, Shawn & Marlon, the film is a parody of 90’s era gangster films particularly Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, Poetic Justice, and South Central. Despised by critics, who called it one of the worst films of 1996, Don’t Be a Menace would go on to become a hit with audiences, particularly on home video, and now hailed as a cult classic.

Made between older brother Keenan Ivory Wayans blaxploitation parody, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, and Shawn & Marlon’s horror parody, Scary Movie, Don’t Be a Menace sits neatly in a place where the Wayans brothers were just big enough to get their first film made, but not so mainstream that their comedy was too diluted for general audiences. Enormously silly, wholly idiotic, and laugh-out-loud funny, Don’t Be a Menace holds a special place in my heart, being one of those movie that my friends and I would watch on VHS from renting it countless times at Blockbuster.

Albums:

In notable albums, 2016 saw the release of David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar. Recorded in secret, Blackstar was released just two days before the beloved icon would pass away after a private, 18-month battle with liver cancer. The album contains seven songs, two of which are re-recorded from previous 2014 releases, while the song “Lazarus” comes from the 2015 musical of the same name.

Each track are melancholy in nature and all seem to be told from the perspective of someone who is dying or already dead. Not many artists get to leave a final message to the world and, while I’m sure Bowie would have much preferred to beat cancer, he had to know that his time left on Earth was short. The moving, brilliant Blackstar is a beautiful, but heart breaking, piece of work that allowed Bowie to tell the world, one last time, what he was thinking and feeling.

Hailed by critics as one of the best albums of 2016, and perhaps the greatest final album of all-time, Blackstar doesn’t falter in its explosive 41 minute run-time. The album would win five Grammy awards, Best Rock Performance & Best Rock Song for the track “Blackstar”, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Recording Package, and Best Engineered Album, while Bowie himself would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The album was a commercial success as well, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, with his greatest hits album, The Best of Bowie, in the #2 spot. I remember, vividly, listening to Blackstar, on a loop, for a solid 8 hours while I worked on the day he died. It was such a heavy loss for me and millions around the world, seeing such a remarkable artist taken away from us so cruelly. 2016 was a rough year in celebrity deaths, seeing us lose not just Bowie, but Alan Rickman, Muhammad Ali, Gene Wilder, Prince, Patty Duke, Gary Shandling, Leonard Cohen, Florence Henderson, Alan Thicke, Anton Yelchin, and the end of the year gut-punch of Carrie Fisher and then her mother, Debbie Reynolds. Hold your loved ones close and try to make every day count, life is just too short.

From 2006, we’ve got the album Mutemath from the band of the same name, their first full-length release. While the album was technically released by Warner Bros. records in September of 2006, the band first began selling it to the public in January of 2006, where it was only being offered at Mutemath’s live shows. While it never reached the Billboard Top 200, it did manage to reach #17 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, while its first single, “Typical”, reached #89 on the Billboard US Modern Rock chart.

It’s second single, “Control”, would not chart but it would, along with “Typical” be released as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band. The album was warmly received by critics, with “Control” taking home Best Modern Rock Song at the Dove Awards (a Christian music industry trophy), while “Typical” was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the Grammys, losing to “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” by Johnny Cash.

Closing things out this week, from 1996, we have the album Viva! La Woman, the debut full-length album from the band Cibo Matto. Mixing elements of alternative rock, hip-hop, and electronica, Viva! La Woman was wholly unique in the musical landscape of the mid-90’s but, at the same time, was part of a larger trend that was just starting to bubble up and usher us into the new millennium, the crossing of musical genres.

Among its 11 tracks you will find everything from a typical alt-rock song, to a 10 minute experimental art-song, to a cover of “The Candy Man” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, to an 18 second secret song in which the singer slaps her thighs with her hands. It’s weird, its beautiful and, while the whole album is very 90’s, it feels timeless. Critics were over the moon for Viva! La Woman, calling it one of the best albums of 1996, with particular praise given to the song “Sugar Water”, which spawned a music video shot by the notable director, Michel Gondry.

Cibo Matto would eventually go from a two piece group to a full band, which included Sean Lennon (son of John Lennon). They would release two more full-length albums and one more EP before calling it quits in 2017. Viva! La Woman is an incredible piece of work and I would strongly urge you all to give it a listen this week.

That Dragon, Cancer (PC/Ouya) – Released Dec. 12^th, 2016

Electroplankton (DS) – Released Jan. 9^th, 2006

Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels (3DO/PlayStation) – Released Jan. 7^th, 1996

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