iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

the fact that it's not on NSO

James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Also re: Silent Hill Townfall - I really fucked with the puzzles. These are some pretty tough ones that help play into the story of the game in a cool way. But often I'd come up with a convoluted solution assuming it wouldn't be the answer but .... it was. Super satisfying.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Townfall is great! I was a down on the stealth (which is awful in a specific section) but everything else is great and classic Silent Hill / survival horror. This really feels like a RE7 moment for the franchise and, besides the stealth, a blast to play. Heaps to love despite obvious shortcomings.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Control Resonant is equal parts beautiful and baffling. It's easy to be seduced by how artistically brilliant it is but also annoyed at how it doesn't reach the full potential of the concept. My most complicated relationship with a Remedy game so far - though still a recommend at the end of the day.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Does anyone know where 7 News Adelaide got the scoop that there was a Pokemon 30th Anniversary Branded Xbox released today??

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

REALLY don't love the art direction of Ocarina of Time remake. It looks like they've turned Link into a PopMart Molly character AND it's all over the place. It's unusually inconsistent for Nintendo.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Also love how much this game calls back to old Onimusha without being blatant or obvious. There's so many little nods to the original PS2 games that as a fan I really appreciate from enemy designs to cutscenes. Meeting Guildenstern in Warlords vs. meeting Dokyo in Way of the Sword...for example.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Finishing up with (I assume) the first act of Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Musashi is far and away my favourite lead - way ahead of Samunosuke, Jubei and Soki. He's a great balance of goofy and serious and a surprise standout for me. Game is good, tho some side content is tedious.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Adored Blood of Dawnwalker more than I ever thought I would. It's got some technical issues, but the way it handles decisions and questing reminded me of all my favourite RPGs like Mass Effect / Deus Ex. Combat is fun as both human and vampire room. Excited to see where RW takes Coen next 🧛🏼‍♂️🦇

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Lots to catch up on - I loved Resonance as its own thing but the links to the Plague Tale games are very fleeting. Instead the take that they present on a classic Greek mythological tale is unique and interesting. Great for those who like modern Tomb Raiders. Strong characters and moody locale too.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

what is happening with Deus ex remaster

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I often defend the Keighley shows and accept them for what they are but that was easily his worst one ever and it's not even close 🫩

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I know this is spurred on by two groups that probably don't crossover but the internet being snide and negative about Wolverine AND THEN going on to attack the combat in Blood of Dawnwalker a few weeks later is so fucking exhausting? Like what do you want??? These people don't deserve games.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Revisiting Dragons Dogma 2 in preparation for the DLC and not only am I impressed with how much BETTER optimised it is than it was at launch (and with another update to come) but also reminded of how random and hateful it can be at times.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Beast of Reincarnation really has its heart in the right place but the repetitive enemies, locations, music and woefully uninteresting characters really undermines what is a surprisingly strong combat system. Wanted to love this one so much more but unfortunately just came away severely whelmed.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Turok 3 done. Never got into it much as a kid like the others, though revisiting it today, I can see why. Interesting to see the game pivot away from the Metroid Prime-esque design and structure to mimic something closer to the Half-Life games, but with a team clearly in turmoil and stretched thin.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

what happened to mindseye

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Finished Hollowbody at some point in the last couple of weeks and BOY does it feel inspired by Silent Hill 2 / PS2 era horror. Not necessarily a bad thing - but it invited comparison that I don't think is super favourable. Still some great atmosphere regardless, though enemy designs are average.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Life is a cruel mistress - this morning I am being denied my Southern Fried Chicken Wrap 7th Visit Reward

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Really enjoyed The Odyssey even if it trampled all over one of my favourite scenes from the poem AND sometimes I feel Nolan's insistence on removing whimsy from everything is maybe a shortcoming when adapting a story like this but I still loved it all the same.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Beyond happy to see Widows Bay getting the recognition it deserves - it took me by surprise when I started it last month. Random fun fact also that this is the showrunner and having watched it and absorbed it's humour that kind of makes sense?

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Reposted by James Berich

Press Start Australia @pressstartau.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Press Start Is Now Independent And Here's How You Can Support Us press-start.com.au/n...

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Master Quest done. Glad I've done it, but I've no desire to return to it. It's an oddly sloppy/ROM-hack feeling for a Nintendo project, and puzzle logic would always trip me up. Still, running thru OoT "fresh" was novel and revisiting all of these locations excites me for how they'll look in remake.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I'm quickly becoming Neon Genesis Evangelion-pilled and I'm sorry for the person I will become.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I was recently finishing up a Grad Dip at Uni and one of my lecturers turned every module into a podcast and it was easily the worst thing I've ever listened to but everyone else in the unit thought it was helpful and I felt like mass psychosis was occuring

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

A little bit of the way thru Master Quest for Ocarina of Time and while I appreciate going into OoT essentially blind, some puzzle logic is REALLY obtuse. The PC port (Ship of Harkinian) is super nice though - some nice changes like extra items and speed-ups that really help the whole experience.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Never finished or even played Master Quest before, so sure, why not? >_>

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Enjoying Adventures of Elliott but can't believe how annoying Fae and her voice is. I've switched to JP before conceding to just muting all voices because she talks SO MUCH and it's the most dreadful fucking voice too. There needs to be an option to reduce her dialogue or mute her specifically.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Absolutely adored Mina The Hollower and one of my easy frontrunners for GOTY. While I expected a Zelda experience I got something closer to a FromSoft experience and I really loved it for that. A major flaw is that YMMV with the order you do things, but for how I approached it, it felt pretty great.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

The one thing that stands out most about 007 First Light is that Patrick Gibson does a GREAT job of playing Bond. He is definitely his own version of the character - doesn't quite get bogged down in trying to emulate anyone else - and I hope that he gets to do it all again someday.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Finished 007 First Light. As a Hitman player, I was very whelmed with its streamlining. But as a James Bond fan, I enjoyed a lot - the cast, the jetsetting, the social stealth. Appreciated that it wasn't ALL just action, and the AI angle of the story was well done and not quite what you'd expect.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Catching up on everything and wrapped Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. The sense of discovery is cool and sometimes clever but it is weirdly paced - there's essentially two halves here that clash, though the vibe works. Mainly appreciated it as it didn't just try to recreate Yoshi's Island again.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

"A Memory Palace is a technique that uses spatial memory to store and recall information. You visualize a familiar physical space and mentally "place" the facts you want to remember along a specific route." My memory palace after two months of revision:

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

I'll believe it when I see it 😠

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

The "My Immortal" drop in Season 2 of Devil May Cry on Netflix genuinely had me let out a choke-laugh-cough in disbelief. Somehow so bad but so good at the same time? Ffbidujk

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Genuinely bizarre that Dead Space is so slept on. The remake was sublime in everything it did and the world was just so ripe for expansion. Huge shame that it's probably doomed to just be sat on by EA for eternity.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

The Portishead drop in Mixtape is very good 😭

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Saros finished. It's a huge step back from Returnal in practically every way except technical spectacle and the core combat loop. There's no reason to build craft and I inadvertently finished three biomes in one go. Weird game but ironically one I'd recommend to people BEFORE they try Returnal.

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Reposted by James Berich

Genki-JAM @genkijam.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

While I was iffy on first look at the Star Fox redesigns, they grew on me the more I looked at them. They definitely wanted to push the concept behind the original puppets to the extreme. James is what won me over. Realistic fox in sunglasses fucks HARD.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

This looks incredible visually and I like the idea of the expanded story and cinematics and what not but this is like almost the FOURTH time we'll be playing some version of 64 and like......I dunno.......🫪

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Very conflicting thoughts about Saros so far as Act 1 closes - it's unabashedly Returnal but with all its edges sanded down but has anybody called it Doom Returnal yet 🌚

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Finished Pragmata in time for Saros. Enjoyed it - story blows and Hugh is boring - but the combat loop is super satisfying and stays fresh to the end. Not sure I see how a sequel could improve on the mechanics, but along with this and Kunitsu-gama I love that Capcom isn't resting on their laurels.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

About to finish third zone of Pragmata and really enjoying it. I'm sceptical it'll stay interesting from this point BUT the action and the way it keeps layering things on top of it's combat system is incredible, and the music/aesthetic are so on point. Pleased to see it's done so well for a new IP.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Finished up Star Fox Zero. I was a staunch defender of it back then and still am now. While 64 will always be my fave, Zero has some great setpieces, sastifying action and it looks really good too. I can see why people hate the controls, they are very finnicky, but I never had problems with them.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Playing through Sons of the Forest during the late night hours and as a huge fan of LOST and The Descent it is scratching all the right itches for me. It's a survival game without the annoying repetition or RNG elements that normally puts me off them.

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James Berich @jamzy.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Star Fox Command done. Appreciate the strategy angle they took, and how it harkens back to Star Fox 2, but also for its branching story. It's very repetitive, owing to its fit-for-purpose appearance on a handheld. No real screens, as I can't cap on my DS, but here's goofball ending art instead.

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