Summary for March 2026

Nothing lasts

A collage of four screenshots. A tank-like vehicle climbing a snow wall with the help of a cable. A PlayStation 1-looking black-and-white cow. A blonde woman with a sword on her back stands on a dark, rain-soaked street. A cartoony girl with long purple braids that look like arms stands on a platform as a small electric train arrives.

I realized is that demos are a great way for me to get my FOMO fix. Since they are short and free, I can figure out what people are up to these days and then go back to playing the game I was playing before, which is probably from years, if not decades, ago.

Gravebound is a short, free arena shooter. And if you’re curious, a companion is your fire spell friend.

Pixel art evokes old games, but with effects that were not possible on the original hardware. This scene is set in a forest with a blue sky visible behind the trees. The word “KINGDOM” is written in the middle using huge stone blocks covered in cracks and splotches of moss. On two sides of the word, there are small figures of a king and a queen, both riding horses and holding torches. At the bottom of the screen is dark water that reflects the entire scene.

There are plenty of games that try to distill a particular genre into something minimalist. Too often, they throw out something important and break the whole thing. Kingdom nails it. It’s as minimal as possible, yet it still allows for strategy. It looks great, is simple to control (three buttons, really), and can be pretty short if you just want to win or last you dozens of hours if you’re going for achievements.

I don’t have any excuses, not even a joke-y one. But I replayed Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. It’s a neat little game, that’s it.