Console Catch-Up - August 2025 Monthly Recap

We're nearing the end of summer, and it has been an absolute rollercoaster ride. Not including whatever happened before the summer months, I had the absolute 'joy' of dealing with a redundancy and an agonizing two months of uncertainty and job hunting.

While I did find a job towards the end of August, I am not out of the woods yet. As is customary with this year so far, good news doesn't last long. And sadly, this job has brought its own share of troubles. But, I am not here to talk about my woes. I am here to talk about games. I will say, that this month, I have managed to complete a few titles - two for the A to Z challenge and one for the PS5.

Name: The Blue Prince

Date Completed: 08/08/2025

This game was the one my daughter and I spent days on. Every now and then, we would load it up, bring out our notepad and pen, and try to find a way to get to the elusive room 46.

The Blue Prince was an interesting puzzle game. The idea is that you need to create a path by picking randomly offered rooms to access Room 46 at the far end of the mansion. But... It's not as simple as that. You have a limited amount of steps, that go down with each room you enter or if certain conditions are met. Sometimes you might find ways to gain steps to prolong your stay. Secondly, some doors are locked or some rooms need gems to generate them. So you need to keep an eye out for these, or you'd get stuck.

Thirdly, there are puzzles everywhere, with their solutions littered around other rooms. Solving them would either grant you access to new areas/blueprints or give you solutions to other puzzles. Being able to solve these with my daughter was probably one of the highlights. Seeing her face light up when we would connect the pieces and uncover something new was worth it. We would then pore over our notes to see if we had gathered enough information to crack a different puzzle.

There were times of frustration, especially when we felt like we were getting close, and the random generation aspect worked against us. This was more so because we couldn't carry over items, and, with a few exceptions, the rooms were reset. So there was a lot of planning; a lot of strategizing. And the game allows this, because there are multiple ways of accessing the final room, so if one path is closed off, there may be another.

And when we finally managed to hit all the requirements and carved a clear path to the end... it truly felt like an achievement. Now we need to find a game that can match the same vibe we got with this one.

BONUS ENTRY:

Name: Expeditions: Vikings

Platform: Steam

Status: Released

I finished this game back on Jan 03, 2023, and I wanted to share my thoughts about this one.

I was always a fan of the Expeditions franchise by Logic Artists. I started off with Expeditions: Conquistadors and even played Expeditions: Rome before I played this one (Vikings was their second game).

I had tried to play it before Rome, but there was one mechanic that had put me off - a global timeline. With these games, I wanted the luxury to explore the world, like I did with Conquistadors, without the pressure of having to complete the major goal before the deadline. The amusing thing is, in Rome, the devs make fun of the deadline, so I appreciate that they acknowledged that the mechanic hadn't been the wisest addition.

The game (as well as the others in the series) is a decent tactical turn-based strategy game, where choices can have an impact on the direction of the story. It does blend a little historical accuracy with fiction, so there is a nice touch to that. And the story, while nothing extravagant, is decent.

I honestly find it a shame that the company had to close down after Expeditions: Rome. I would have loved to see more of their work.

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Well, this is it for my August summary. There are still some troubles on the horizon I need to get through before I can comfortably get back into a rhythm. When I do, I want to finish War for the Overworld for the A to Z challenge - I hope to complete my second run before the end of the year.

As for the console, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater Delta came out on the 28th August. With me being a big fan of the franchise... well, you can guarantee I will be putting time into that one. I need something good to look forward to after all.