Newsletter Update - May 2025

May 2025 Update

Life and Updates

So I was very happy with my March output and kept it going in the first half of April, but then I hit a bit of a stumble. I got wrapped up in WrestleMania weekend, which took more energy out of me than I expected. I also had a couple of migraines I dealt with, and work has been BUSY. Without getting too much in the weeds, my job deals with people born or coming from foreign countries, so we’ve seen an uptick in people trying to make sure all their stuff is in order with the current administration in government. I also went to Busch Gardens, which taught me a lesson that I’m definitely getting older and can’t walk around a theme park like I used to. That being said, I took this week to refresh and hope to make May a strong month.

Strachey’s List, my list of consequential video games, will get a slight rebrand to Strachey’s Games List. I’m adding the word games because I’ve had some new subscribers reach out who said the name of the series confuses them, and I think adding games helps. I did think of changing the name, but I wanted to keep Strachey in there because it’s my memorial to Christopher Strachey, the first video game developer. I also hope to release the rest of the 1980s list this month. I will finally bring back my Side Vault series and finish my Disney animation rankings. Expect reviews and opinion pieces as well. Lastly, I will get serious about finding a better way to deal with my older articles. I have to research if I can make separate sections on Substack so people can see my older articles better.

Mini Review: Contrast

Following my experience with South of Midnight, I played Compulsion Games’ first title, Contrast. First of all, this is a really short game compared to today’s games. You play as Dawn, an invincible friend to a little girl named Didi. You can jump into shadows cast by light and walk through the wall to reach objects and open doors as you help Didi, who is dealing with a broken family life and hoping to help her dad, who has dealings with questionable people. The game takes place in a unique setting similar to a 1920s aesthetic, but in a floating city. The world and personality I dug a lot and wouldn’t mind seeing something similar in a bigger game. The characters' performances are pretty mid, and I know Compulsion had almost no money when they made this, and you can tell with the voice actors.

The puzzles in the game can be quite unique. You’ll jump into walls when there are lights and use the shadows on the wall to traverse to the top of buildings or carnival rides. Some of the puzzles are easy and generic, but for the most part, I found the gameplay mechanics to be new and creative. The story isn’t bad; there’s a noir aspect to it, and Didi’s innocence works here, but it’s not exactly an unforgettable story like South of Midnight. By the end of this game, I felt I had an okay experience, but definitely not a game I will tell people they have to go out of their way to play. It has a unique world and gameplay mechanics, but overall you can tell it’s a small studio’s first game. I hope to play Compulsion’s second game, We Happy Few, soon when I have the time, so I can say I’ve played all three of their games.

Impressions and Hype

So I have been playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 like pretty much everyone else. I hope to have a review and be done with it by the time Doom: The Dark Ages comes out, but we shall see. I can say this: I would be shocked if this doesn’t end up being the favorite for Game of the Year. With Grand Theft Auto VI’s delay, I think this opens up an industry that is feeling pain to go all in with crowning a small team’s work on such an incredible game. Without giving away too much, I can tell you this is what I would call an event game - something akin to Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Breath of the Wild, The Last of Us, and so on. This is a game that future gamers will call a classic, as we do with RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII. The game is gorgeous, with a banger soundtrack, memorable characters, great performances, and a plot.

I have one slight issue with it… people are recommending this game without letting them know about the difficulty. I feel the same way about the Soulsborne games. I love them and give them high praise, but I don’t think I can recommend their games to everyone. I didn’t realize how important parrying and dodging in this would be, and it can make it really hard. While I was holding my own, with how little time I get to play, I had to turn the difficulty down to story mode and it can still have some rough parts. I’m not necessarily angry about it, I feel calling this the “Soulslike Final Fantasy” is a good description - and while that sounds badass to people like me, I don’t know if everyone will love that. We will see how it all shapes out when I finish it.

Of course, I will turn on the hype machine for Doom: The Dark Ages, which is coming at a perfect time to vent my frustrations about current events. Death Stranding 2 releases just in time to take over my summer, and I expect that game to take some time to beat. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers will be on Game Pass, so I will give it a chance to see how I feel about it. I’ve been picking up hype for Mafia: The Old Country, especially with the recent news that it’s going to be more linear and smaller. Somewhere in there could be another game or two, but my gaming life will be pretty busy.

Podcast / Live Stream Return

So my brother and I are back doing the Reel Lounge podcast, which is a live stream on YouTube. We aim to do Sunday nights around 9 pm, ending the weekends pretty much just hanging out for about two plus hours, talking movies, games, sports, and other important pop culture news. It’s not a gaming thing fully, as I’m the gamer of the two, but it’s just the brothers hanging out and talking. If you want to check it out, you can watch the Live Stream on Sunday nights on YouTube or listen to the podcast version (search The Reel Lounge). It’s mostly loose, and there is some drinking and cursing.

Thank You for the 100+ Subscribers

I want to thank all the new subscribers. As I write this, I have about 119 and counting. I know some would look at that number and find it small, but for me, the fact that many people even care what I have to write about or follow me is pretty cool. So, thank you, all of you, for subscribing and caring about my work. Reminder, you can follow me on other socials, and also note that I mostly tend to use BlueSky more than the X, and I barely use Threads anymore outside of promoting Substack stuff.

BlueSky - @1upvault.bsky.social

X (Twitter) - @1upvault

Threads - @1upvault

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Be Nice to All