Console Catch-Up - March 2025 Monthly Recap

Things are slowly getting back on track. There is still a lot going on, but at least it feels like things are balancing out. I can't go into a lot of details about it because it's all personal. All I can say is that it was a rough start to the year, and it's been one blow after another. Whenever we feel like we've gotten back on our feet, something new comes swinging in.

Honestly, it's tiring. But the family is powering through it together. And that's what counts.

In the meantime, I have been chipping away at God of War (2005), and I should be nearing its end soon. That doesn't mean, though, that I don't have anything completed this month.

Name: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection

Date Completed: 14/03/2025

I mostly played this with my daughter. Now I am not saying I managed to get through all thirteen titles with her (That would have been an impressive feat). We only went through the first game, which was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade game. And boy was it tough, especially when compared to TMNT: Shredder's Revenge.

My daughter was mostly put off by the game, and honestly, I don't blame her. Even I was struggling to get through it. At least we had unlimited Credits.

While I don't think I will go back to it, because most of the entries are arcade beat 'em ups and fighting games, I may be willing to subject myself to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES game, which was included in the collection. I mean, who wouldn't want to relive some childhood trauma, right?

Name: The Plucky Squire

Date Completed: 29/03/2025

I'm going to be honest, what caught my attention with this game was the art style. It looked so colourful and cutesy that it piqued my interest for some reason.

And then, after I started playing it, it kept delivering.

The game was adorable on so many levels. From the colour, the story, the characters, and the music. I kept wanting to play it.

And it wasn't a difficult game overall. The puzzles were quite straightforward and, for the most part, the minigames were easy to grasp. Things did get a little harder towards the end chapters, but there are options to skip tough minigames (especially if someone, like my daughter, gets stuck but cannot progress - yes, I do help her if she asks).

And the story, while nothing spectacular, was perfect for this game. They ran with it in a very fun and innovative way. Most of it was cute, adorable, and plucky. But towards the end... wow did it turn dark...

The only fault I could find with it is that on the chapter replay select screen, it doesn't show which levels have collectible items you missed, so you would have to replay each level again to unlock all the achievements. Good thing I'm not an achievement hunter

BONUS ENTRY:

Name: inZOI

Platform: Steam

Status: Early Access

I thought I would add a bonus entry for this post.

This one is extra for three reasons: 1) I played it on PC. 2) It's a sandbox game, and 3) it's still in early access.

I mainly had been keeping an eye on this game because of my wife, because she is a big Sims fan. And the game is very much like a Sims clone.

The game entered early access on the 28/03/2025, and I was curious enough to give it a try. For someone who played The Sims, it was easy to get into because a lot of the premise and key configurations are the same.

The game, however, does feel a little more realistic compared to The Sims, and while it is still early stages, I am looking forward to seeing how they develop this further. It could end up being a nice alternative to The Sims. I don't really know of any other games that come close to competing with it. Singles is probably the only one that comes to mind, and even then, that game was limited.

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With this, we now move into April 2025. I do predict that at least I will complete God of War in that time. Not sure what else might be completed in that time. I hear Digimon Cyber Sleuth will be part of the April PSN bundle. Might be tempted to give that a go. I know there is RoboCop: Rogue City being included, but the only reason I won't be playing that is simply because I am currently going through it on PC for my R game. At the same time, I am still chipping away at Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel 3, but man, that will take me a while to get through. Feels like every few steps there's a cutscene. Kinda like a Yakuza game.