Backlog: The Embiggening – July, 2025
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/28/25 at 08:24 PM CT
Welcome back to another look into the near future! We are, once again, right smack in the middle of the Summer Games Drought, with only the miserable offerings of various non-E3 digital game showcases to keep us looking toward the future. It’s no wonder publishers are so hung-up on porting and remastering old games, when there’s next to nothing truly new to look forward to.
Of course, the Summer Games Drought doesn’t prevent shovelware from raining down upon us. We’ve got Licensed Swill coming based on the ancient ‘The Phantom’ superhero, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in “Tales of the Shire,” an OLD anime in “Hunter x Hunter x Nen x Impact,” and a newer anime in “Edens Zero.” In Swill that is 2 Cazual 2 Exist, Nintendo is christening the Switch 2 launch window with a ‘Mario Party’ game. Lastly, in Annualized Swill, EA is pooping out a ‘College Football’ game for 2026.
In new multi-platform releases, there are… a few titles, but nothing to get …
The Ghost of Consoles Future
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/21/25 at 09:37 PM CT
I saw a random video essay the other day that went into detail about how the PlayStation 5 feels like a console that doesn’t really exist, even though it was released 5 years ago. Yeah, FIVE years in, which, in the days of Moore’s Law and the rapid progress of microchip potency, would have been an entire hardware generation. Consoles like the NES, Sega Genesis, and even Sony’s first PlayStation had lifespans of about 5-6 years – maybe a tad longer – before their eminently-more-powerful successors would arrive on the scene. The video essay in question, produced by small-time YouTuber, Save Slot, suggests that, as the PlayStation 5 reaches the end of what would have been one of its predecessor’s lifespans… it really has nothing to show for itself.
I can’t help but agree, and foresee a similar problem in the Nintendo Switch 2’s future. Both the PlayStation 5 and the Switch 2 are platforms that, at launch, are basically glorified port machines, allowing Sony, and …
Without E3, Summer Game Hype Feels Dead
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/15/25 at 03:04 PM CT
It always used to be that around this time of year, E3 – the Electronic Entertainment Exposition – would dump an incredible amount of info about upcoming releases into the Games Journalism pipeline, drowning the public in cinematic trailers and giving special access to playable demos to trusted members of the press. Sadly, we don’t have much of any of that anymore – as neither E3 nor trusted members of the press exist in 2025.
This is the second year of E3’s official death, after two additional years of “temporary” cancellations and postponements, with promises of returning, “better than ever.” Originally created by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) as a trade show, E3 quickly became the pivot point upon which print journalism magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly balanced an entire year’s worth of coverage. When E3 was at its best, we saw the big platform holders competing for Gamers’ attention in a fierce marketplace of ideas, where dumb …
There’s a New Nintendo Console, and I Couldn’t Care Less
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/08/25 at 03:44 PM CT
Nintendo just released the Switch 2. It’s such a mainstream commercial product release that the legacy media networks all deemed it worthy of mentioning during their evening World News broadcasts. Yet, as someone who cares about gaming more than most other topics, I just can’t get excited about this thing.
We all know the “Cons” list going against the Switch2: It’s $450 without a game. New first-party games are $80. Most physical third-party games are digital downloads tied to special key-cards. Nintendo opted out of adding Hall Effect joysticks to prevent a repeat of the infamous Joycon drift issue.
None of those would really be deal-breakers for me individually, or even when piled together. The thing that’s preventing me from exuding even a fragment of interest in the Switch 2 is the complete and utter lack of compelling game releases. It’s been proven as objectively as possible over the last decade-plus of Gaming Economics that buying multi-platform titles …
Review Round-Up: Spring 2025
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/01/25 at 01:46 PM CT
Welcome back to another installment of the MeltedJoystick Review Round-Up. Here’s what our staff has reviewed since last time:
Nelson’s Reviews:
I finished the second of my 3 Backlog Ablution picks… and was sorely disappointed by it. Other than that, Chris and I got through two pretty good couch-coop ‘Vania-style games, and I splurged on a new Switch game that was good, but could have been better.
“Gal Guardians: Demon purge” – 3.5/5
“Pentiment” – 2.5/5
“The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom” – 4/5
“Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons” – 4/5
Chris’ Review:
Chris is STILL playing “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” feverishly, and insists that he’s “almost done.” On my advice, he’s waiting to set up his new gaming PC until he actually IS done, so Uplay’s cloud save feature doesn’t accidentally send him back to square one. Even more disappointing, in spite of completing 2 couch coop games with me this Spring, he only submitted a …
View Archive
