Screenshot: Toem 2 Low-stakes picture puzzler and adventure game Toem is back with a sequel, Toem 2. Once again, you take control of the young photographer as you travel from location to location, meeting characters and accomplishing tasks. It’s more of the same, but it’s hard to complain when the result is so damn wholesome—and oddly satisfying. In Toem 2, you’ll be making the journey through an expanded world with brand new biomes to witness the Whirling Birch Bloom. While that familiar gameplay returns, there are a few added mechanics to change things up. You can now jump and climb in Toem 2, introducing new vertical challenges. The game's biggest hook for me wasn’t just its visual style, but how this new movement felt. While the new jumping puzzles require slightly more hand-eye coordination than the first game, they remain incredibly forgiving in true cozy game fashion. Moving around the world feels genuinely fun, and the platforming adds a refreshing layer to your traversal. Screenshot: Toem 2 Your main objectives often revolve around your camera, which can do much more this time around. While the controls remain familiar and intuitive for snapping great photos, the device now functions as a sort of multitool. You'll use it in wildly untraditional ways—like cutting or hammering—which opens up far more environmental interaction than the original game allowed. Of course, there are lots of little secrets to discover around every corner, and each of Toem’s characters is uniquely charming. Puzzles aren’t just fetch quests (though fetch quests certainly abound); they often require a little more creative thought. Tasks never feel like busywork, and the solutions can be surprising and gratifying. The Photo Challenge Guild even returns to add an extra layer of difficulty to the mix for each area you’ll travel through. Like its predecessor, Toem 2 highly encourages thorough exploration. While you don’t have to complete every quest in an area to move on, you’ll probably want to. After all, who wants to leave a startled bear without his jam, or refuse to help a worm control the growth of strange vines that make her sneeze? The sequel includes larger areas with different themes than the original, making for even more joy in discovery. Screenshot: Toem 2 The world is full of life and personality, even without being in full color. The hand-drawn style is unique, whimsical, and satisfying to play. This is further elevated by fantastic sound design that constantly reinforces a "you’re doing a good job!" feedback loop. From the little clicks and beeps that let you know you're on the right track, to the collectible soundtrack cassettes you can find along the way, the audio design shines. This is all in addition to the stamps you collect to access new areas and the new outfits hidden in gift boxes strewn about the world. Toem 2 is chock full of the charm of the original, with even more to do and see. It’s extremely rewarding to get to know the world around you and interact with everything you can through the familiar lens of your trusty camera. When you do, you’ll find that there’s a lot more magic in its world than simply making it to the end. Toem 2’s magic is in its simple, satisfying journey of breezy exploration. It’s pure joy. Toem 2 is out tomorrow on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Alrighty friends. It's time for another edition of Tik Tok Tawk, where we dredge up some of the hottest topics to hit the 'Tok. Let's start a little lighthearted with one for the horse girls and guys among us. Yep, we're talking about Katie Van Slyke, whose life on the farm garners her 5.6 followers, and whose goat Bella, is so very, very pregnant. If you're not a regular of her page, Katie Van Slyke runs a farm called Running Springs, and has a host of animals. She's known for breeding horses, but also has mini horses, donkeys, goats, barn cats, dogs...you name it. If you're an animal lover and kinda always wanted to have a farm, this is the content you watch before bed to calm down. UNLESS one of the goats is as wide as she is tall, past due, and hasn't produced her babies yet. But hey, here's some good news. Since this edition went up late tonight, I can report that Bella had her babies. Unless you subscribe, you won't see til tomorrow, but at least you can rest easy that they're happy and healthy. Let's move on to something a little more on the nose for us as journalists : the press pool boycott of White House coverage in solidarity with CNN, Politico and MS NOW. PBS, CBS, ABC and NBC joined the boycott and, in a surprise twist, so did Fox News, who represents the chair of the press pool and put out a statement saying they would not cover "any event designated as pool coverage of the president." Since September 21, 2026, it's gotten a lot more dicey for Trump and his administration to be able to broadcast absolutely anything and have it get out there. Notably, and passing through the For You page of almost everyone, was a press event in which there was absolutely no audio without press pool mics there to capture it. Welp. We'll see what develops. And in case it wasn't obvious, though we in no way have access to a White House press pool, we absolutely stand with the journalists from CNN, Politico and MS NOW. Moving on: Coffee much? Most of us do, and a lot of us might consider it up there with doomscrolling as a bad habit. Caffeine is addictive, after all, and there's that headache you get when you missed a cup. Good news if you're a java monster like some of us though. According to the American Heart Association, the safe amount of coffee per day for adults is FIVE cups. That's a little crazy coming from a health organization but like, it's better news than poop lettuce. So yeah. Go get you some. (There are some extra things you should know, so check out the details first) I feel like that rounds out the tawk, but if we missed anything, hit the comments!

Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim I’m a bit of a sucker for simulation games. It allows me to put myself in the professional shoes of those whose jobs I’ll probably never have. I don’t think I’ll ever be a pilot, nor will I ever be a train conductor. I will definitely never be the captain of a large seafaring cargo ship. And while I appreciate games that really lean on the simulation aspect, I don’t mind the option to have some helpful tools that take the ease off the mechanics a bit through player assists and automations. On paper, Seafarer: The Ship Sim is exactly the type of sim I could sink hours into: exploring the wide open ocean, moving freight, and just enjoying the sea spray. Unfortunately, this ship sim is dead in the water. Seafarer: The Ship Sim (lest you confuse it with another “seafarer” i guess) is a ship simulation game played from a first person perspective. And what better way to have a sim than to have actual sea legs that allow you to walk around these large vessels. I was immediately excited at the possibilities that lay in front of me as I started up a campaign. There’s some strange dialogue, sure, but it’s not the first time I’ve played a game with what seems like AI generated or badly translated dialogue. But what really matters is how the actual simulation is, and that means developer Astragon Development really put some effort into making it the best ship simulation that they could make. Right? Guys? Sadly, the answer is that they did not. Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim Ship handling isn’t great. Since the entire game centers around ships and, you know, actually piloting those ships, having poor ship handling is a non-starter. Despite billing itself as a sim, and even touting Nvidia’s Waveworks water simulation technology, the ships in Seafarer don’t handle like large vessels. Though I think the Waterworks 2.0 technology that is employed mostly deals with how the water looks, rather than how ships handle in it. I’ve never crewed a large ship like this before, so I took to the Steam comments and reviews to see if I was off the mark. According to random internet users, my suspicions are confirmed: this game does not approximate the feeling of operating a large maritime vehicle. Which is a major bummer, and instantly makes the rest of the game feel like slop. Well, at least I can still walk around some massive ships and check them out in their detailed glory. But it turns out, ships are a bit empty and boring. The first person view really helps with the immersion, but despite these big ships having some attention to detail put into their creation, they’re still big mostly empty metal boxes with not much to do in them besides be immersed–which is about as exciting as it sounds. Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim I mean, there are entire rooms that exist with one or no interactable objects, and instead exist purely for flavor. I’m not opposed to that, but again, it needs to be balanced with fun and capable components to make it worthwhile. I mean, you can add all the flavor to garbage you want, and it still tastes bad. And there are only 8 vessels to explore, which doesn’t make the ship selection feel overly robust. It’s not like there’s a lack of available activities, though. You can load/unload cargo, as well as bring it to its destination. You can also do non-freight activities like engage in patrols, or even fight fires using on-ship water cannons–which is probably my favorite activity. It gives you immediate feedback, it doesn’t feel as tedious as loading/unloading does–and you get to use a giant water cannon. Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim There’s also a story campaign that involves uncovering dark secrets while performing many of the tasks in Seafarer across several campaign missions. My attempts to play through the campaign kept getting stalled on objectives that just wouldn’t complete, even after I changed to the 1.0 press review build. While I appreciate the effort, the hokey presentation and strange voice acting combined with the odd dialogue made continuing through the campaign burdensome. If you ever dreamed of crewing a ship with your friends, Seafarer does help make that a reality with its multiplayer component. Up to four players can play together simultaneously, which helps ease the burden of some of the tedious loading/unloading of cargo–tasks that should go to AI crewmates, but inexplicably don’t. Despite being given a key to test the multiplayer component, my coworkers and friends declined. Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim I would love more than anything to come in and say that the reviews have it all wrong. That the Steam Early Access reviewers don’t know what they’re talking about. But the “Mixed” average review score for the Early Access product tells a lot of what you need to know about the game itself. My friends were right to pass on crewing this vessel. When the most enjoyable part of a game is spraying a water cannon to break up the monotony of manual labor that the AI refuses to do, the simulation has failed. Seafarer: The Ship Sim might look good on paper, but out on the water, it sinks under the weight of its own unpolished ambition.

Screenshot: Train Sim World 7 Dovetail Games has released its latest Train Sim World, already onto the seventh iteration in the long running train sim series. If you’re not familiar with it (and how could you not be, at this point?) Train Sim World is basically a train playground. You are the conductor, and you can play with all sorts of trains–from steam locomotives to modern diesel giants. If you’d rather drive around an electric commuter train getting passengers to their stops on time, you can do that, too. Train Sim World 7 is about trains, it excels at what it sets out to do. Train Sim World 7 is the premier train sim game, without a doubt. It’s hard to outdo the sheer amount of fidelity and attention to detail that goes into each one of the trains. If you’re a diehard simulator fan, this is the type of game you want to gravitate towards. What is mean is: this is a “simulator” in the strict sense, not the goofy sense–though that trend has been reduced lately. But because of the level of detail, each train requires knowledge of that engine’s quirks, etc. For instance, starting an electric train by engaging its pantograph, charging brakes, etc. is a different experience from a diesel engine, or even a steam driven locomotive. I’m not a train expert, though I am a casual enthusiast. I have to admit that I’ve been stuck in a train more than once trying to figure out why having the brake off and the throttle up isn’t making the train go. Screenshot: Train Sim World 7 Luckily, if you’re a beginner (or a near beginner, like me) there are lots of options to help get that train moving forward. There is a training center that helps familiarize you with all sorts of trains and their operations–from passenger loading, to freight coupling. If you’re completely against wanting to learn how to operate a train–from putting in selector levels, charging batteries, etc–you can completely bypass this by turning on the Beginner Controls layout. This simplified layout doesn’t drive the train for you, but it simplifies operations by mapping throttle and brakes to controller triggers, allowing you to play Train SIm World 7 like an arcade racing game. And new to Train Sim World 7 are AI conductors that simplify passenger door operations to make those passenger transit routes as chill as you want them to be. What you decide to do in Train Sim World 7 is pretty much up to you. There are a lot of ways you can play. You can learn a real life route, and run it like a real conductor. You can stay freight oriented and use Train SIm World 7’s new freight hauler mode which tasks you with choosing the appropriate locomotive and delivering cargo at your own pace. Or you can get into the 24 hour simulation and navigating the challenges of keeping to a schedule while having to deal with passengers and freight traffic. There are quickplay options that help you hop into quick and short sessions, too, if you’re like me an just want to get in and touch some trains. Screenshot: Train Sim World 7 The thing I love about Train Sim World 7–and the series overall–is the immersiveness. I love that i can walk around my locomotive, walk through the passenger sections, open up cabinets to see what switches and panels are there. You can even just forgo the whole train conductor thing and just ride the rails as a passenger, letting your computer be your own portal into a slow TV style relaxing afternoon. Train Sim World is a long running series. I started playing Dovetail Games’ version of train simulations way back with (the still somewhat popular) Train Simulator Classic, which release way back in 2009. Dovetail games has kept up a decent cadence of game releases, especially when it comes to their Train Sim World series which started almost a decade ago–and has had almost yearly releases since. Screenshot: Train Sim World 7 Some people might be shocked to see that Train Sim World 7 has over four thousand dollars worth of DLC right out the gate. It’s not so crazy when you consider Train Sim World compatibility, and how DLC bought from a previous pack moves forward. That means any DLC that you might buy for Train SIm World 7 should transfer to next year’s Train Sim World 8. There are a few specific expectations to this related to earlier titles, but your DLC purchases are pretty future proof if you decide to stick with the franchise. I think that’s a pretty baller move on developer Dovetail Games’ part. Important to noe that this only works on the same platform, but it still makes sense from a consumer standpoint when you’re dealing with yearly releases. Now Train Sim World 7 might sound perfect, but it’s actually full of little frustrating quirks that have stuck with it since I last played an entry in the series way back in 2023. But Train Sim World 7 brings a list of new issues. The biggest complaint I have is the live weather system. I love that Train SIm World 7 has weather events, but the game can go from sunny to violently stormy in what seems like an instant. The AI conductors also seem to forget to do their jobs sometimes, leaving the player (who already might be unfamiliar with the games’ systems) having to troubleshoot what’s going wrong. If you wanted to play with trains, Train Sim World 7 is your best bet. There really isn’t anything comparable–at least not to the level of immersiveness and attention to detail that Dovetail Games puts into each of the locomotives. This is a game that relies pretty heavy on the “sim” part of the title, and even with its assists it’s a hard game for casual fans to get into. If you’re a Train Sim World 6 player and are wondering if you should move onto this year’s release, the weather system is a compelling reason–even if the weather does tend to change abruptly. Train Sim World 7 is available now.

Screenshot: IGS Classic Arcade Collection The IGS Polygame Master arcade system is perhaps not as well known as similar systems in the United States, with the closest probably being SNK’s Multi Video System known as the Neo Geo MVS, which made its way to the home market in a slightly different form as the NEO GEO Advanced Entertainment System, or the AES. I’m comparing the two because the IGS Polygame system was the Taiwanese answer to SNK’s single JAMMA board dominating arcades. If you’ve never heard of the IGS Polygame Master arcade system or any of the titles in this classic collection, that makes sense, since we didn’t really get many of these arcades out west. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever run into one in real life. Galloping Ghost Arcade, one of the largest in the country, doesn’t even have a Polygame System, as far as I’m aware. Therefore, the IGS Classic Arcade collection is a rare opportunity to play these Taiwanese arcade games that you might not have ever heard of. Which makes sense, because a lot of these games were released around the time when games–and arcades especially–were transitioning to 3D graphics. Who wants to play a boring old 2D game? Well, it turns out modern audiences do, especially when they have great pixel art like a lot of MVS/AES games did. And while the IGS Polygame Arcade System technically has a bit more horsepower than what Neo Geo’s Pro Gear Spec could put out, it wasn’t a generational leap in graphical fidelity. So despite the IGC Polygame Master Arcade System boasting higher performance benchmarks than its SNK comptemporary, it only manages to provide more consistent frames than fancier graphics. Screenshot: IGS Classic Arcade Collection While I’m not an expert on the IGS Polygame System and its library, I would hope that the IGS Arcade Classics would be chock full of the best of what the system had to offer. If that’s true, then I don’t think I was missing out on much back in the day. I’m not saying the games are bad. They’re just good enough, with pixel art graphics that look second rate only compared to the best in the industry at the time, but still impressive to today’s standards. That said, if this is the cream of the crop regarding representation there is some serious lack in variety–and good titles. What you get in this bundle is 6 beat ‘em ups, 1 fighting game, and 1 run and gun game that is essentially a Metal Slug clone–and in my opinion the best reason to get the pack: Demon Front. I want to start with the good because I’m a game reviewer and a game historian at once, and these games definitely deserve to be seen and played by people. And Demon Front is a bit of a hidden gem. Calling it a Metal Slug clone isn’t incorrect nor an exaggeration. It shares a lot of elements of Metal Slug, but without the vehicles. It even has a similar graphical style–and it runs at a consistent high frame rate thanks to the (I’m assuming accurate) emulation of the IGS Polygame Master arcade system. I’ve never had a chance to play this game on original hardware, and while it is a bit underwhelming for a Metal Slug fan like myself it is definitely the strongest game in the bunch. Run, shoot, and use your companion to mitigate damage. Screenshot: IGS Classic Arcade Collection The second best game on the list is Martial Masters. It’s a fighter in the same vein as SNK fighters like the King of Fighters series with a four button layout. It’s a fast, very fluid fighting game that has an art style that looks a bit like Street Fighter III or a little bit like The Last Blade, but the latter could be attributed to the game’s Once Upon a Time in China-like theme. It’s an incredibly good fighting game, too. Which is rare when you come across one-offs that try to copy certain styles. And the pixel art is top notch, and could sit comfortably in with some of the best SNK and Capcom had to offer at the time. And then the rest of the games are beat ‘em ups. This is usually a genre that I’m fond of, but the only standout of the lot is The Gladiator. The Knights of Valor series is just okay, and is just another retelling of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. While Oriental Legend and Oriental Legend Spooky are based on Journey to the West. I liked these games a little better than the Knights of Valor series, but that’s mostly because they didn’t take themselves so seriously in their character design. While the games themselves are good enough, and worthy of checking out for those who are retro game minded, the presentation of the series of games leaves a bit to be desired. Mistranslations abound as some options have to be figured out through context clues. There’s also some graphical issues I had on some games. While it doesn’t say it’s compatible with Steam Deck or Steam Machine, it also doesn’t run on either of these devices, which is too bad because retro games are great on those systems. The games do have local co-op, and the ability to be played online–though I didn’t get a chance to test any network capability. The lack of graphical options is also a bummer, with some basic CRT/scanline effect toggable, but not much else–not even the ability to remove the arcade border, which is something I usually prefer to do. Overall, IGS Classic Arcade Collection is great because it exists. I’m always an advocate to getting old games into a form that can be played by later generations. But I wish the presentation is a little bit better, and I fear that the titles are so niche and/or obscure that this pack won’t get much traction in the west, and therefore not likely to see much in the way of western centric updates. But it’s worth getting just to play Martial Masters and Demon Front, two very worthy arcade titles that have been obscure in the west.

Joffrey Company Artists Jose Pablo Castro Cuevas and Laila Madison. Photo by Cheryl Mann I don’t like to live in extremes. Especially as a reviewer, things that fall too far towards a total loss are hard to write about - because it’s not always as clean cut as there being no effort put in, and no thought. Sometimes it’s a lack of understanding or a leap too far left of center. Swing the other way, and something that you can’t really find fault with leads to a big ol’ case of writer’s block and oftentimes, can seem like pandering. There’s a reason for shades of grey. Even still, extremes are enticing. When you see something incredible, you tell everyone. When you taste something horrible, you call someone over to share the experience with you. I’m not going to keep you in suspense here, not that you necessarily were in suspense if you have any familiarity at all with John Neumeier or the Joffrey Ballet as a whole. From top to toe, they’re masters of their craft and Liliom is absolutely a reflection of that. It’s a masterpiece. It transcends. It’s stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful and absolutely heartbreakingly tragic. It’s more than a ballet but absolutely a ballet. The Joffrey Ballet’s Liliom fully embodies the original work but also extends its borders. And none of it would be as compelling to the core if every single part of Liliom wasn’t conceived, choreographed, lit, costumed, scored or danced as perfectly as it is. That intensity sets it on fire in the best way. Extremes are born of passion, and passion for better or worse is at the heart of Liliom’s story. If you, like me, were unfamiliar with the original 1909 play by Ferenc Molnar, and also, simultaneously unaware of the musical it inspired, Carousel, it’s putting it lightly to say it’s a tragedy. Set during the Depression in a city “very much like Chicago” it centers around a charismatic carnival barker going through a sort of Dickensian series of flashbacks of his life - why it ended, why it began, and actions he should or should not have taken. Setting the scene at the Lyric, the curtains were already drawn aside to reveal a window to the sky as we found our seats. In a theater as ornate on such an important evening, it almost seems like a tear in the fabric of reality to see the jagged edges of the backdrop give way to a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds. And it’s a great glimpse of what’s to come before the baton drops on the first song. Joffrey Company Artists Evan Boersma and Reed Henry. Photo by Cheryl Mann Liliom isn’t even our main character’s name, and even in the play, he hardly has one. It’s in fact the Hungarian word for lily (yes, like the flower) and it’s one of those monikers you get by being the opposite of the thing the word describes. In this case, being called a lily - something white, pure and delicate - is a juxtaposition to what you really are if you earn that nickname - a tough guy. One of the most interesting choices Neumeier made in the adaptation of the play to the ballet was to change the gender of Liliom’s child from a daughter to a son, and introduce a theme of generational trauma and masculine identity to the mix. While you’d be forgiven for thinking that a play that takes place in an amusement park that inspired a movie that had a name like Carousel would be all cotton candy and whimsy, Liliom takes that notion from you immediately with its first act, and the introduction of the Balloon Man. Now if I’d known any of that, or if I’d read the synopsis inside the program before I started taking notes, I wouldn’t have had the unique experience of solely interpreting the story through what I saw on stage. It was a decision made out of necessity (and anxiety) that turned out to be rewarding in a strange way - I only had the ballet to tell me the whole story. As a journalist it’s not something I admit with any sort of pride - doing the research is crucial. But it lent itself to the discovery that the entire company at Joffrey is capable of telling the story of Liliom without the benefit of words, and with the virtuosic talent of everyone involved. As the lights dim and the show starts, Balloon Man (who I’d simply referred to as Sad Clown in my notes) begins a slow and eerie solo journey from one dark corner of the stage to the other, a rainbow of perfectly glossy and buoyant balloons at times seeming to lift him, drag him, and tie him to his place. And he is a sad clown, quite literally, with a defeated, depressed greasepaint ghost of a grimace. He’s a clown. He should be happy. A lighter-than-air, candy colored array of balloons should be uplifting. But it isn’t, and his presence is instead a constant reminder that the other side of comedy is tragedy. I mean, hope floats, perhaps, but what happens if nothing else does? Liliom’s Balloon man, Evan Boersma, becomes a sort of River Styx tour guide, leading Liliom the man, through the afterlife, and the life he led before. It begins and ends with the amusement park, and everything about Ferdinand Wogerbauer’s set design, Jim French and John Neumeier’s lighting design, and Michael LeGrand’s scoring creates the perfect illustrated page for the Joffrey’s dancers to leap off of. It’s a feast of neon ferris wheel silhouettes, bright lights and the centerpiece carousel. But it’s no happiest place on Earth nor is it in its prime, and everything has the patina of diesel smoke, street trash and rancid puddles of a city that’s under the constant strain of economic depression. Playland’s sign is askew and in disrepair directly behind the gilded reins of ornate horses and other such tamed exotics waiting to take you away from reality and into a swaying, soothing spin or two around the circle. Joffrey Company Artists Jose Pablo Castro Cuevas and Victoria Jaiani. Photo by Cheryl Mann. Crowds rush in, pointing, laughing - falling in love. Balloons are everywhere in Liliom’s imagery, and to me seemed a direct representation of hope and its fleeting nature. Almost everyone could have it, but it rarely stayed with anyone for long, and the longer the play went on, the harder it was to obtain or keep. Liliom is the sort to have a lot of dates but never be dating, and he’s also the sort who’s seduced by fame and fortune. He’s got the talent and especially the charisma to win over crowds, and entice them to come in, but he’s also short tempered, impulsive and chronically emotionally unavailable. Which of course, makes him the sort who’s absolutely irresistible. A classic ‘bad boy’ (tough guy?) who oozes confidence but has never heard of caution. You get to know his character right away thanks to the bombastic talent of Jose Pablo Castro Cuevas, whose Liliom crackles with energy and whose solos are absolutely mesmerizing, embodying all the cocky charm of a natural showman, top hat and sparkly jacket included. He’s in the thrall of who I was calling, in my shorthand “Jazz Lady,” and the program tells me is Mrs. Muskat, the owner of the amusement park who is also his lover, a point I got all on my own, thanks to the standout talents of Amanda Assucena. Not only was she an incredible dancer, she was an incredible character, full of confidence, exuding a regal perfume of seduction that Liliom couldn’t help but fall for. Enter Julie (prima ballerina Victoria Jaiani) and her best friend, Marie (Natali Taht) who work together in a depressing job (I couldn’t figure out which depressing job, because again, hadn’t looked at the synopsis) but it later turned out that they were both waitresses at a cafe. That tracks. Joffrey Company Artists Jose Pablo Castro Cuevas and Reed Henry Wanting to get a break from what is actually oftentimes a very demanding and depressing job, they head to Playland,where our boy Liliom is quite literally in the spotlight, making the magic he was born to make. This is the sort of “rizz” you can’t just pull out of a hat - you have to be born with it, and he was. Julie’s in love. Sometimes it happens that fast. The thing is, she’s being wooed by a different guy, and a (literally) drunken sailor has just barged in to ruin a perfectly good meet cute. Instead, he takes up the reins of “drunk and disorderly” and starts pestering Julie. Liliom impulsively jumps in and defends her, and before long we’ve got a knife fight, courtesy a shady (turns out, underworld) character, Ficsur (Xavier Nunez) who’s always around to incite some sort of trouble. Liliom wins, but instead of drawing blood, he decides to let the sailor go. A jealous Muskat fires Liliom. Meanwhile, a different romance blooms, when Marie falls for a bellhop I called “Hops” whose actual name is Wolf (Jonathan Dole), we get to see a simple romance. They’re giddy, silly, and light. They fly together, all levity and infatuation, and run off into some beautiful summer evening. Julie’s alone, and so is Liliom, and the heat is intense. As much as the chemistry between Cuevas’ Liliom and Assucena’s Muskat sizzled, we’re shown an even brighter burning passion between Liliom and Julie. Even so, it’s never easy. There’s a push and pull and they never quite get to have that simple togetherness. Fiscur’s always around trying to get Liliom to give in to his baser desires and go do crime. But Liliom’s distracted and enchanted by Julie. The Joffrey Ballet Ensemble. Photo by Cheryl Mann. Life comes at you fast, though, and this is the Great Depression. So we haven’t got the time to have a love story here, because unemployment. Unemployment at a devastating scale, where it’s a fight for survival. Which…sounds familiar. Back at the Lyric, the carousel’s faded to the grey backdrop, the lights are out, the confetti’s now kicked up detritus as a mob of men head to the job agency. Their signs read things like “WHO WILL HELP ME GET A JOB. I DON’T WANT CHARITY.” A facsimile of Emmett the Clown appears as a spectre, kicking his own hat down the street away from himself. Colors drain. The Balloon Man is in all black, or he’s turned his face away. In all the darkness, we get a rare moment of sunshine when Marie and Wolf get married, but Liliom’s too far down in his depression to not be angry at someone else who can feel something other than despair. Things get messy as he lashes out at Julie, and it breaks the bubble of polite conversation topics and things you think would be hashed out in a ballet - we’ve now gotten into the meat of the play’s main topic - domestic violence. Muskat’s back and wants Liliom to return to Playland, but Julie’s pregnant, and suddenly that spectre of hope is back, this time with a whole bunch of other drama to sort through. And, if you recall, we’re still at a wedding. That doesn’t last long, and Liliom’s off on his own to be reckless and self destruct, so he does, with the help of Fiscur, a guy whose suave moves (ala MJ himself) and cool suit (which is, incidentally what I called him) belie his ability to make everything a hundred times worse and encourage the anger and violence he’s been harboring inside himself. Thinking he’s found a place where these things will work for him, he decides to get involved in some thievery. And it doesn’t end well, because, again, tragedy. Hungarian tragedy. (For reference: Hungary’s great at tragedies.) In a highly symbolic, surrealist setting like ours, details matter, and the internal storm that is Liliom’s anger, despair and innate violence (not my words, but a fact of the character, according to the source material) takes the form of a very broken, staccato and itself violent pas de deux with the bad influences, from Ferenc to anyone who shares the diagnosis. The directness of the movement means even someone who’s completely unfamiliar with the story can follow the through lines, but it isn’t trite or overwrought. It spreads from character to character like a disease and is unmistakable in its inherent disjointed way. Now, I told you much of the story. And I won’t tell you how it ends. You know it’s a tragedy. You can read for yourself what happens before they get through the first act, or before it even starts. You could Google it on the train. I hesitated, because the story is the ballet, but the ballet is the story, too. In telling you what I told you, you know the entire plot of the 1909 play Liliom, by Ferenc Molnar. But you haven’t seen the Joffrey Ballet performing John Neumeier’s performance and there’s nothing I can say that would spoil it, because it is so tied to each performer that graces the stage. Joffrey Company Artist Victoria Jaiani, Children's Cast Member Sam Farster. Photo by Cheryl Mann. You can’t see the way that even as Liliom courts Julie, he doesn’t fully see her as a person. She tries to show him but he’s always turned away. You won’t know that he pulls away (literally) just as he gets close to anyone, and you won’t see his resistance to being vulnerable. You won’t see the moment he lets down his guard, curls into a fetal position on Julie’s lap, and her hand softly brushes his hair back. Joffrey Company Artists Victoria Jaiani and Reed Henry. Photo by Cheryl Mann You won’t see that love turn cold with a slap, and her life turn into an endless cycle of trying to clean up all the broken things, or the way that she ragdolls and melts in Liliom’s arms during their dances, but soars and leaps and enchants on her own, which he still doesn’t see. Or the way that caress comes back later on. Or the moment you physically see the violence spread through that familiar, beautiful but jarring pas de deux, to the last place you’d want it to. It’s in every single step on stage with every single performer. It’s in the music, the symbolism of the balloons, the way Liliom peers from behind the veil to the life with Julie and his son he’s missing. It’s in the finer points of set design and the incredible costumes Neumeier designed. You could’ve read the synopsis, but you didn’t have to read a single thing before you saw the Joffrey perform Liliom. Why? Because Molnar’s words and Neumeier’s interpretations are carried by their feet, and the score, and the set. Every single thing comes together under the lights on that stage to tell a story of imperfect people, passion and loss that could come alive in no more realistic manner than this particular company’s portrayal, because they give it no less than everything in them. And I was hooked on every word left unspoken.

Screenshot: Trivia Murder Party 3 The last time I played a Trivia Murder Party game was way back in (I think) Party Pack 3. I was playing in a crowd at C2E2, Chicago’s Comic and Entertainment convention, against a group of other convention goers. It was chaotic. I messed up some games because I felt super on the spot, but it was glorious, heady fun. This exact type of browser-based, room-code casualness makes Jackbox Party Pack games so accessible and alluring for casual audiences—and Trivia Murder Party 3 continues that. Just now in a standalone format. But there are some extras that make this not only a standout title for Jackbox Studios, but also make playing with strangers even easier. Screenshot: Trivia Murder Party 3 Traditionally packed within the Jackbox Party Pack, Trivia Murder Party 3 has broken out of its confines, and serial killer [Redacted] along with it. This time, the festivities take place at Camp Mass Acres, where you and fellow counselors will have to face off in a series of games that will test your trivia knowledge, your ability to decipher clues, and even your math skills. Get too many questions wrong, and you’re in danger of death—but not even death is permanent, and fortunes can change quickly in Trivia Murder Party 3. Making Trivia Murder Party III standalone and based on Unreal Engine 5 allows developer Jackbox Games to do a lot more than if it was bundled with a bunch of other games. That includes “true online multiplayer and matchmaking.” Which means matchmaking with random strangers on the internet—exactly how video game murdering was meant to be done. Of course, that doesn’t take away the ability to murder your friends. But now you don’t even need to wrangle a group of friends to play, yet you can still capture those big crowd moments like in the past. And you can even mix the groups together. The ability to fill out the rest of the ensemble of hapless counselors with internet strangers is a chaotically fun idea. Screenshot: Trivia Murder Party 3 Being a standalone title also means multiyear support. It would be great to see Trivia Murder Party 3 be updated with new minigames, trivia questions, and more–instead of relying on new release packs. I’m not saying I want the Jackbox Party Packs to go away, I’m just saying that having a dedicated Murder Party community stick around a game that has an ongoing roadmap is an alluring prospect. Right now Trivia Murder Party 3 will be in Early Access for 6 months to 1 year. So that means they’re giving the community some time to provide feedback before it hits 1.0. Screenshot: Trivia Murder Party 3 In its current state,Trivia Murder Party 3 is a polished experience, and I had no problems jumping in with friends and playing a few rounds. Though we did suffer from a disconnect or two using the traditional room code method. If you buy into Trivia Murder Party III Early Access you’ll get a game with over 800 trivia questions, 11 “Killing Floor” mini-games and four new “plot twists” that modify the game and help change things up. I’ve always been a fan of Jackbox Games, so it’s hard for me not to recommend Trivia Murder Party 3. While the extra graphical panache that the Unreal Engine 5 provides isn’t essential, it does help amplify the experience without bogging it down. This will easily slot into the rotation of party games I play with friends, and I’ll be keeping an eye on it as it makes its way to 1.0.

Screenshot: Cosmic Fear While I’ve played a few great games that could be classified as “walking simulators,” the vast majority of these types of games aren’t great. Sometimes it's the indulgence in the surreal, or the lack of meaningful progression or meaningful impetus to see what’s behind the next door, et that kills it. Cosmic Fear isn’t the best of the genre, but it’s a rare example of a game that sits in the middle ground. It doesn’t fall victim to the worst of the overused tropes that a lot of first person psychological horror games submit to, but it doesn’t rise above, either. First of all, Cosmic Fear isn’t a great name for a game featuring Cosmic Horror. I know it’s a bit petty to go for the game’s name right off the bat, but it feels particularly lazy in this case. While naming it “Lovecraft Mythos Game #3” would be a little bit on the nose, it would have been at least a bit more novel. I guess solo developer Alesandro Guzzo really asked, “what happens when someone is exposed to cosmic horror?” and answered in the most literal way you could imagine. (The answer is: Cosmic Fear.) Screenshot: Cosmic Fear But that’s probably because Allesandro was too damn busy making detailed environments to worry about trifling matters such as what to name his latest game in his Lovecraft inspired walking simulator trilogy. I can tell you this: I’ve only played Cosmic Fear and I don’t feel like I missed out when it comes to story and context, as it’s all pretty self contained. Most of what you will do in Cosmic Fear is explore the (again, beautiful) environments and either search for where to go next or where to use that item you just found. It’s a niche type of gameplay you really have to be into to appreciate fully. There are some hooks that can keep you searching for your next clue–and sometimes you’ll be told exactly what to do, and even then it might not seem obvious. There isn’t much hand holding (no scent trails ala Wolverine) but there were enough clues that I usually wasn’t stumped for any significant amount of time. Screenshot: Cosmic Fear While Cosmic Fear is definitely a psychological horror game I didn’t find it very scary. Sure, scary is subjective, and I tend to find cosmic horror more fascinating than scary. But even the detailed levels and immersive atmosphere couldn’t garner even a tiny bit of “spooked” out of me. While Cosmic Fear is more about exploration and being engrossed in the Lovecraft vibe it does have some light puzzle solving. These puzzles are usually in the form of lock and key type interactions: find the item that you need to remove whatever barrier to progress. And while there is a way to put items into an inventory, you’re never juggling inventory items to find the right one for any given situation. At least, that’s not a situation I ever found myself in. Screenshot: Cosmic Fear Cosmic Fear at least leans into the “cosmic” aspect of the cosmic horror. Far too often Lovecraft inspired turns into tentacles, strange writing and strange artifacts. Don’t get me wrong, Cosmic Fear has these things, but it also has some damn cosmic elements, too. I don’t want to spoil too much, since the game is mostly its story. Unfortunately, for a game that relies heavily on being narrative driven it has uneven pacing. That’s a given for a game that requires players to discover exactly how to move the story forward, but the open nature without extensive handholding exacerbates this problem. There are no waypoints showing you where to go, and only little white dots that appear over an item to indicate that you can interact with it. Screenshot: Cosmic Fear I don’t think Cosmic Fear is a good game, and I don’t recommend it. However, it does have some promise, and while solo developer Allesandro Guzzo is great at creating environment, there is work that needs to be done in almost every other aspect–including writing. But for a solo developer it's impressive, and if you absolutely have to play this Lovecraft inspired game you’re not in for any surprises–or fear.

Screenshot: BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER BEFORE 4: DEMONS FROM THE PORTAL TO HELL I OPENED ARE STILL IN THE FAVELA AND NOW I HAVE TO SAVE MAMADAS FROM RONALDO Listen: This is definitely not the first time I’ve come across this specific hyper-niche brand of absurdism in video games. I’m not sure exactly what it is that makes gaming such prime ground for over-the-top dedication to bad art styles, whimsy, absurdity, and avant-garde presentation. While I could go on and on about how versatile video games are as an artistic medium, doing so in a review for BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER BEFORE 4: DEMONS FROM THE PORTAL TO HELL I OPENED ARE STILL IN THE FAVELA AND NOW I HAVE TO SAVE MAMADAS FROM RONALDO doesn’t really seem to be the most appropriate place for it. BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER BEFORE 4: DEMONS FROM THE PORTAL TO HELL I OPENED ARE STILL IN THE FAVELA AND NOW I HAVE TO SAVE MAMADAS FROM RONALDO BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER BEFORE 4—or just Brazilian Drug Dealer 4, which is the first game in the series I’ve played—has a reputation that precedes it. You can even buy a physical copy of Brazilian Drug Dealer 3, complete with low-resolution graphics blown out of proportion with a sheer “graphic design is my passion” panache. And while the whole thing is an obvious joke that screams of streamer bait, it’s actually a game that follows a solid tradition and ends up being fun, too. I can address the “fun” and “tradition” parts simultaneously. While this can certainly be viewed as a meme game, it’s exactly what I would expect from a Quake mod—which is what this essentially is. It’s not really a fully unique game, instead using gameplay and enemies straight from Quake, just reskinned with some behaviors tweaked. There are some extra movement abilities thrown in for good measure, too–like the ability to double jump and air dash. Don’t get me wrong, there have been enough changes to at least call this a Quake “total conversion,” but to me, it’s definitely just another Quake mod—and that actually wins it some points in my book. BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER BEFORE 4: DEMONS FROM THE PORTAL TO HELL I OPENED ARE STILL IN THE FAVELA AND NOW I HAVE TO SAVE MAMADAS FROM RONALDO I spent a lot of time in my youth (you can tell I’m old because I say “my youth”) downloading mods for Doom, and later Quake and Quake 2. I know mods are still around, and while turning enemies into Thomas the Tank Engine has always been popular, I distinctly remember turning all of the Imps in Doom into Barney the Dinosaur. There are definitely worse games to use as a foundation, because Quake is one of the best first-person shooters of all time. And, in my humble opinion, it's exactly the type of game every modern “boomer shooter” should aspire to be—unless they’re specifically going for a Build Engine or Doom clone feel. BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER BEFORE 4: DEMONS FROM THE PORTAL TO HELL I OPENED ARE STILL IN THE FAVELA AND NOW I HAVE TO SAVE MAMADAS FROM RONALDO Because Brazilian Drug Dealer 4 just reskins a lot of weapons and enemies to function like their Quake counterparts, I felt right at home running around and blasting… okay, whatever the hell it is I’m blasting. Honestly, I have only a vague clue as to what’s happening here. While I think being Brazilian might help a bit with the context, even then the entire thing feels like an inside joke I’m not a part of. To summarize: I don’t care about the meme content, and while I appreciate the presentation for its audaciousness and for pulling off exactly what it was going for, it’s not really “for me” and it detracts from the underlying shooter. While you probably don’t play a game like this seriously, I had a hard time finding it amusing in any sort of humorous way. Again, I feel like I’m missing context, or maybe I’m just too old. But if you want some good gunplay in your meme game, having Quake as a (barely) concealed framework is a winning bet.

Screenshot: Monowave I love when a game isn't afraid to try new things, get its hands dirty, and makes a few mistakes along the way. There are indie titles out there that really swing for the fences in terms of bold new mechanics, genre mash-ups, and everything in between. Monowave is an interesting specimen that attempts to introduce a novel emotional mechanic, presenting itself in a very indie, almost arthouse sort of way. I would love to say that developer Studio BBB Inc. stuck the landing, but the more I played Monowave, the more I hated it. Monowave is a game about emotions. Rather, it uses the names of emotions to describe different states that the main character, Mono, can shift into—ostensibly to bypass whatever obstacle is blocking the critical path. It all checks out on paper, but I have to make something clear about how rewarding game design actually works. Screenshot: Monowave Clever adventure and platforming games will hand you a power-up only after teasing you with a path you can’t take or a puzzle you can’t solve. When you finally discover the solution to that puzzle that’s stumped you, you have that "aha!" moment. Rinse, repeat, throw in some interesting enemy and boss encounters and baby, you have a stew going. There’s a reason for that formula: it feels good. It directly taps into the dopamine center and rewards the player, telling them not only "you did this!" but "you’re a very clever player." Monowave completely abandons any sense of cleverness. Sure, it possesses a whimsical and charming art style—and while I definitely overuse the word “charming,” it really does fit here. It has side-scrolling. Boy, it does that, too! With platforming! But it’s all executed in a way that feels like the developers either haven’t played a modern video game, or they just don’t care to engage with one. The movement feels tight enough, but almost every interaction with the world is incredibly superficial. Screenshot: Monowave There is no satisfying sense of progression or discovery. You never have to backtrack to use a newly found item in a clever way. In fact, almost every ability or emotional state you need to progress is handed to you right in front of the obstacle it solves. It's the equivalent of putting a locked door in a game and leaving the key on the floormat, so puzzles are usually about positioning and timing. Monowave tasks you with shifting between four emotional states—Happiness, Sorrow, Anger, and Anxiety. On paper, it sounds great. Happiness grants an empowered jump, Sorrow lets Mono squeeze through tight passages, Anger unlocks wall-jumping, and Anxiety lets you safely tip-toe over hazards like brambles. Screenshot: Monowave You can even pass these emotions to enemies to change their behavior, like making a creature angry so it burns down a plant blocking your path. But instead of layering these mechanics into complex, brain-teasing encounters, the game just sets up simple locks and immediately hands you the corresponding emotional key. It’s a puzzle game, so I always have to emphasize that puzzle difficulties can vary wildly between people–but in this case it wasn’t about difficulty, but about the entire setup. Screenshot: Monowave It might seem like I’m being hard on Monowave, and I probably am. But it’s just not a very good game. It’s always difficult to look at something that clearly had love, energy, and skill poured into it, just to tell you all that it falls flat. It does have a great art style—I love the bright colors and the hand-drawn scratch-art aesthetic against the dark backgrounds. But that’s really the sole bright spot I can find from my time with it. Ultimately, Monowave feels like one of those indie games I would cover years ago in an attempt to prove that video games were art, showcasing titles that highlight the visuals while ignoring the fact that they are barely games at all. For the record: all video games are art. I don’t need to validate that anymore. But not all art is good, and as a game, Monowave is not good. (I’m so sorry.)

Screenshot: Shroom and Gloom Sometimes it feels like you can’t open Steam without seeing a new roguelike deckbuilder for sale. Don’t get me wrong: I love the genre, but it gets a bit stale after a while. That’s why a game like Shroom and Gloom feels so fresh. Entering Early Access today, it melds the deckbuilder format with a psychedelic, gross-out art style and novel gameplay mechanics that make it stand out from the crowd. Published by Devolver Digital and developed by South African Team Lazerbeam, this first-person dungeon crawler trades the genre's standard 2D maps for 3D exploration and a culinary combat system that requires you to literally eat your fungal foes to survive. Shroom and Gloom is played from a first-person perspective. While that doesn’t drastically alter the core combat loop of a deckbuilder, it does boost the immersion a bit. I enjoy the fresh perspective, at least. Screenshot: Shroom and Gloom What really sets the game apart, however, is its dual deckbuilding system. Not only are you building a combat deck to take on foes via tight synergies, but you’re also managing a separate Explore deck. These support cards are used between battles to heal your character, discover new cards, interact with the environment, or upgrade your existing deck. It makes decisions between battles just as crucial as the combat itself, and it’s vastly more engaging than just clicking down branching pathways on a static map. Screenshot: Shroom and Gloom Another unorthodox aspect is the card scaling. If you build an Explore deck that allows you to fully utilize those quiet moments between encounters, you can continuously modify your cards throughout a run. It turns weak starting abilities into overpowered attacks and game-breaking super-weapons. While most deckbuilders rely heavily on damage mitigation, Shroom and Gloom revolves around taking damage—and then immediately eating your enemies to heal it. You can add modifiers to foes so that, upon death, they become edible and bestow energy, health, or both. You can season, skewer, roast, and physically devour the fungal myco-monstrosities, or throw them into a pot to brew game-changing soups. Screenshot: Shroom and Gloom Because Shroom and Gloom is an Early Access release, it’s naturally going to need a bit of time to ripen before hitting 1.0. Developer Team Lazerbeam estimates a 12- to 24-month Early Access period to get things just right. The current serving offers two distinct zones to explore, complete with different characters and tailored decks, but there's a lot more on the way. The studio plans to gather direct community feedback while they cook up the final version. Ultimately, the standout feature of Shroom and Gloom is its vibe. There’s something deeply unsettling about the secrets hidden in the Gloom, and I have a feeling that the more we uncover, the worse it’ll get. It doesn’t help that you’re literally told you’re being "ripened for consumption" during the game-over screen. And the unlockable characters include “concerned parent,” who I’m assuming is looking for her son–the Paper Boy, which is the default starting character. This is a dungeon crawler that promises to be as weird as it is strategic, and I'm looking forward to what Team Lazerbeam has in store for us in version 1.0.

Make it so mine. Please, Le Creuset. Hear my plea. Star Trek x Le Creuset. If you want to give nerd cred where nerd cred is due, look no further than your nearest Trekkie. If you're reading this, the thing I'm writing, then that's me. The Trek fandom has endured the worst insults while simultaneously spearheading some of the things all of nerddom holds dear, like conventions, letter writing, canon and merch. We've had 60 glorious years of captains, starships, tribbles, Klingons and the Federation and our imagination knows no bounds. There are generations upon generations of fans. Some came into it way back when Lucille Ball gave it the boost it needed to become a thing in the first place. Some watched TNG because their parents were watching it and didn't come to appreciate it until later. Some just discovered it with Lower Decks, Discovery, Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks. The point is, there's a lot of us, in every demographic, every class, every single place in every nation. And we've got money to spend if you've got the wares. Well. Someone told Le Creuset, and I'm fearful my wallet will never recover. I thought it was too much- certainly there's no way Le Creuset would go THIS far. I mean, it's not just one beautiful enameled cast iron with a Starfleet Delta. There's a Galileo casserole. A Spock spoonholder. A mother flippin' COMMUNI-GRATER. Friends. Trekkies. People who like to cook. I have one thing to say to you: Now, I'd have bought a Le Creuset anyway. Do I have other brands of enameled cast iron that work just as well? I sure do. But the beauty and timelessness of a Le Creuset makes me want one. The fact that they stand by their lifetime warranty makes me want one. The love and craftsmanship they put in each piece makes me want one. And now, they went full bore into Star Trek with it. My bank account will absolutely never recover. Let's explore just a FEW of the things I need to get my hands on yesterday and fear I never will: I mean, it even goes fast. You can tell by the way it is. Here's the 500 dollar Enterprise Round Dutch Oven with Starfleet Delta Knob. I weep. Or this Star Trek Collection Klingon Round Braiser with Klingon Trefoil Knob coming in at 450 dollars with a whole lot of phaser fire? Fireworks? Some sort of spacial anomaly? I mean, we'll get on that later. But wait, there's more. For 60 bucks you can get your hands on a Gorn, Balok or Talosian Mini Cocotte. OMG, it's a Galileo Rectangular Casserole for $150. To be honest, when I saw it in the main collection image I thought it was a butter dish but wanted it no less. Now I can make enchiladas in it instead of just putting out the butter. This is the Communi-Grater. No, I'm not just calling it that. That's what it's called. It's $68 dollars, and I simply must acquire it. It needs to go right along with our Enterprise pizza cutter, and I will accept no substitute. There's also Spock mugs and spoonrests and a host of other amazing, kitschy things I want to buy so damn bad. Say you were a crazy Trekkie and wanted it all? It'd set you back 1578 dollars but that's a small price to pay to have amazing quality super nerdy cookware, I think. Hint hint, literally everyone who's planning on buying me a birthday or Christmas present. If you're even a little geeked out by this and want to...engage in commerce...here's the link. Make it so.