What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them?

I think I'm calling it quits on Elden Ring. I made it to the Mountaintops of Giants and it seems like such a sudden ramp up in difficulty--and annoying ass enemies--that I feel kind of done. Elden Ring is generally a fine game and there's a lot I like about it, but I do think it generally pales in comparison to the Souls series, especially Dark Souls 3. At this point, I feel like I'm well done with Elden Ring and probably will not be returning to it (again) to finish it off or start a new character or whatever.

After owning it for years and with the recent announcement of the new game, I finally decided to give Ace Combat 7 a go. I've only played one other Ace Combat game in the past, that being Skies of Deception on PSP and while I was initially put off by the Fantasy/Sci Fantasy trappings of the game, I really just enjoyed playing it. I don't give a lick about the story, but the Jets are fun to drool over and the flying generally just feels fun. I did get to one of those "Boss Battles" like the 7th mission or whatever, where there's an NPC who is clearly cheating by being able to fly and maneuver beyond the laws of physics, as well as taking multiple strikes from Missiles/Guns, but I guess that's whatever. It's not my favorite aspect of the game, but it's still fun enough. I've not played it for a few days now, but I'm thinking I'll go back to it relatively soon here.

Saturday was a rare day for me. I very rarely play games with my friends these days and even more rarely for long periods of time, but I ended-up playing Valheim with them from about 1pm to 10pm, with random breaks in between. My kids went off to a neighborhood birthday party and then ended-up playing with other neighbor kids afterwards and my wife left the house around 5pm, so I didn't have a lot going on. I'd been thinking about jumping back into it with the 1.0 patch and seeing my friends play convinced me it was time. So we made good progress and I had an awesome time hanging out with them all day and I've been jonesing for more Valheim ever since. I don't particularly feel like going back to my own playthrough from about two years ago, but my friend didn't start a dedicated server, so I haven't been able to jump on and just mindlessly gather resources for our base, so I'm kind of at a loss for what to do. I did end-up starting a new world with 3x resource gain and played for a brief period of time, but it's just not the same at the moment.

I finished replaying Fishing Craze (2009) on PC a few days ago.

I don't know anyone who's played it, which is really too bad, because it's a great little casual arcade/time-management hybrid with original gameplay and gorgeous aesthetics. It reminds me a lot of the old-skool PopCap games (which I need to review sometime).

The premise is that you play in fishing tournaments across the US where you race against time to catch as many fish as you can for points. But you gotta avoid certain predators that will delay you and lose you points.

There are 33 levels/tournaments in different lakes spread across 3 circuits (amateur, pro, and elite). You need to win 1st place (a PLATINUM trophy) in each one to become the New Fishing Champion. The story isn't super important tho.

The gameplay is really simple and completely mouse-based: move your boat with the mouse, click to drop the line and grab a fish, and then once it's in the air, move again to catch it. You can do cool combos too.

You can also buy upgrades at the shop using tokens you collect while playing. Bigger boats hold more fish, and fancier lures catch fish worth more points.

What I love most about this game is the whole vibe. The music is positive and upbeat, and a Frutiger Aero aesthetic pervades the entire game, from glossy, skeuomorphic buttons and heavily saturated colours to the cartoony aquatic theme to the overall optimistic tone. It's straight from the era too. And little details like the background art and the water design unique to each lake make it even more lively. A truly beautiful game that is satisfying to look at.

Oh, and they let the fish go back into the lake at the end!!

Regarding the difficulty, I gotta say the game is pretty easy, especially when you have maxed out your upgrades, but I don't really mind that. If you ever struggle with any of the predators, you're safe at your dock unless there are dolphins in the level. Anyway, on my next replay, I might try beating the game with no upgrades at all (if that's possible); that could be a fun challenge.

Overall, I think this is a true gem of a casual game with top-notch art direction. Best enjoyed in short bursts, I'd say. If you know what to expect, you'll probably have tons of fun with it! You can get it from Big Fish Games … or other places.