PixlBit

This year has definitely felt insane like its bending time. During that time I've been working on some backlog stuff. 

Stage Select: 

During the early stages of this year I began Sekiro. Being a hard-core Souls fan I couldn't forgive myself for giving up on this last year. I finally reloaded it and started again. A month or so later and I had one of the greatest feelings ever in defeating that damn final boss. 

My family and I got super into Animal Crossing New Horizons for a few months. Its died down drastically but I'm sure I'll boot it up later.

I've tried some stuff on game pass such as Grounded. Went back to Slay the Spire to actually slay the damn Spire (still not completed yet). Golf With Your Friends has been a fun goofy experience. We also got back into Minecraft for a few weeks which was fun. 

I started Persona 5 Royal and am enjoying it so far but definitely need to get more time on it because its so damn long. Also finally installed Diablo 3 on Switch but haven't gotten far yet. Still a great game.

Stage Select: Well.... ummm.... Star Wars... I guess I heard that anything from the last 30 years or something wasn't canon so ill go with what is. So 2017 for the win.

Stage select: Mostly RPGs on the Switch such as Pokémon, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Trails of Cold Steel. My friends and family all have Pokemon. Early on in the pandemic, I built a mini arcade machine using a Raspberry Pi. I painted it up like a Donkey Kong arcade game. 

Cage Match:

Since I have no actual dog in this fight, not being a huge Star Wars fan, I'm going to go with the one that wasnt made by EA. So 2005 Battlefront. 

STAGE SELECT:

I've joined a community called Reading Gamebow full of Pixlbit people like me and 1up/Plus10Damage expats. I've been digging the monthly game "readings" (book club but for games) and entering the hangout chats while others stream some games. 

I also jumped in a few multiplayer Gang Beasts matches that were super fun. I'm also enjoying finishing Celeste for the "reading" ... ok that's a lie, to hell with both chapter 3 and chapter 4. Still, it has a lot of fun mechanics. 

Recently received Crash Team Racing in the mail and it's a good fun brain shutting off colorful time. Now I need to learn how to do this power slide boost thing, cause the game seems to really want me to only about 3 tracks or so in. 

In closing, I've also been stuck on this Grave Hoard part of Horizon: Zero Dawn, as I have been for the last three years. 

CAGE MATCH:

Oooooohhh, this is a tough one cause I hate the newer Battlefront 1 SOOOOOO much, but I've mildly enjoyed 2. But the 2005 games sound way more fun. But I've only played the new ones. 

I'll go Battlefront 2 (2017) but feel free to make some WEIRD ref decisions in the ring. 

Stage Select: I've been keeping up with a lot of new releases. Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing, Paper Mario, Phantasy Star Online 2, and especially Streets of Rage 4 all delivered. The Last of Us 2 did not. Other than that, I've been playing every Halo in The Master Chief Collection on PC before Infinite. Have a lot more time for it now! There have been a few random indie games like Time Spinner, Dead Cells, and Carrion thrown in there too.

Cage Match: Battlefront 2 2005 wins no contest. It's like comparing John Carpenter's Halloween to Rob Zombie's.

Stage Select: How have I been spending all this extra pandemic time? Well, you see, I have four small kids, so being stuck at home doesn't actually give me any extra time to do things. Those people joking on social media about finishing Netflix? Screw those people! It took me, like, three months to get through Neon Genesis Evangelion. All that is not to say that I haven't been doing anything. It just hasn't been any more than usual. Recently I did knock a couple backlogged Wii U games: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, which is a great game, and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. I'm not sure I've ever seen a game more lacking in meaningful content as Ultra Smash. The underlying mechanics are sound. There's just almost nothing to do. But at least I get to feel good about myself for finishing it.

Cage Match: I'm going to go with Battlefront 2 2005 because...old things are better?

Here's a stage select idea for you: What is your favorite series that was wholly contained in a single generation? (I wouldn't count portable entries against a series. Resistance, for instance, had a PSP game and a Vita game but I'd still say it counts since the main three games were all on PS3 and there never was a PS4 Resistance game.)