Gaming Review: Rapid Fire

Don’t forget to slow down and smell the flowers.


Unless it’s this one. Run far away from this one.

Cannibalistic horticulture aside, my sentiment remains true, in encouraging individuals to slow down, take some time, and enjoy some self-reflection when one can. With that said, I’ve reached the end of another work week, and as always, I’m positively pooped. In pushing myself to rise to the occasion to meet the “quotas” set forth by creative challenges (I.E. write everyday consecutively for a month), I do tend to wear myself thin, but it is in response to feeling as if I’m simply not doing enough. The downside to this is that I rarely can find the time to do more long winded articles…or really anything aside from quick posits of wisdom or straight forward news poats, which is at least still affording me some practice in the realm of creative consistency. To wit; one of the ideas I’ve had kicking around in my head to break up some of the monotony of posting such straight forward affairs is to try my hand at a new feature called Rapid Fire, where I look back on the last week of articles, and insert a quick aside or addendum on my thoughts involving the games I’ve keyed about recently, and possibly add a little more context that I may have missed the first time around.


Context is key when discussing emotional reactions,
as sometimes you’ll be lucky enough to live in ignorance

With that said, let’s get to rapid fire:

-My write up Pokémon Disaster is a perfect distillation of what happens more often then not here on Active Time Event: working with what you got in the time you have. The initial idea was to finally sit down and watch the Pokémon Presents video Nintendo posted nearly a month ago, and dictate upon it. Mind you, the video is only twenty minutes long, and I still haven’t found the time to sit down and watch the fucking thing through to generate ideas from with which to coax an article out of…but I still wanted to write about Pokémon and didn’t have much time to do so, ergo, the Pokémon disaster occured.


Not that one

– My Words of Wisdom: Non-Simulated Thinking is another feature I came up with to have my cake and eat it too. I wanted to mostly relax on my first “weekend” day, but I still wanted to keep up with a writing schedule, so some quick posit was the way to go. I still try not to skimp on quality of course, so the idea always has to have a strong premise. I think I could have perhaps added more reference points involving how to go about engaging with tech via video games through the use of critical thinking, or wax philosophical about how mindfulness is the way to help cut through the bullshit of algorithmic tendencies, but all things in hindsight…life remains something that can only be understood backwards but lived forwards.

– The Casual Delirium of Video Games: Tuesday Edition ended up being a Frankenstein post, as I had a bunch of disparate ideas, but once again, not enough time to really dive into them all, so a monster was thusly born. Todd Howard’s thoughts on Doom and Mario’s impact on games is on point, and having even met the game in real life, he is a delightful individual with excellent insights into the industry, it’s just a shame he has helped to make himself into a meme with all of his wildly over promising ideas regarding Bethesda games.


Depending on who you talk to, of course

–Video Game Workers Unite! was a rare moment of positivity on ATE, which is a currency I don’t often trade in, but the gaming industry has been in a rough spot for a hot minute, so giving credit where credit is due for those who make the magic is definitely worth any amount of time. Writing about a more relatively important topic of note within the standards of the industry, especially involving the importance of unionizing and workers rights in general, also yields to the notion of more authentic journalistic integrity, a reality of which both gaming journalists and freelance writers don’t get a chance to experience in liu of just needing to act the role of hype man while drowning in a sea of enthusiast press that is not totally dissimilar to just straight up hawking products or being low key advertisers. A cold hard fact that I’m guessing many companies take advantage of with glee, in seeing the rise of influencers amidst the journalists and freelancers, the former of which regularly showcase they have absolutely no scruples whoring themselves out for a cheap, greasy paycheck while happily dropping any pretense they have standards or integrity whatsoever.

–Doom & Animal Crossing 4Evaz!!1<3, most definitely feels like the likeliest candidate for softball article if there was one this week, but I am madly endeared to both series, and it was a unique dual double-birthday, so worthy of the amorous celebration I showered both with. I also very likely could have easily made the article four times the length and not broken a sweat in the matter, but time was once again, not on my side. There’s actually been a shit ton of news about Doom: The Dark Ages I likely will follow up on, and I am guessing Nintendo’s Switch 2 first look on April 2nd has a great chance of showcasing more about the next Animal Crossing, so expect ample fixation on both series moving forward.


Always a feel good blast with these two

–The Last Laugh is more well deserved credit, by citing Balatro’s success at the 2025 GDCA, which continues to be representative of the notion I still give time to games that I’m not even a massive fan of. Even though I’m still playing Balatro, to attempt to understand the title as much as I can before moving on, one has to realize that even with ultra-eclectic tastes, one is just not going to like every experience under the sun. Balatro continues to remind me that I do ironically spend more time with games I don’t enjoy that much or perhaps don’t fully understand, just to get a better grasp on just why that is before just shrugging my shoulders and giving up, so there’s something admirable left to speak to, at least.

–Individualistic Collectivism was yesterdays post about the Katamari creators (Keita Takahashi) new game, To a T. There was a lot more to the interview that Game*Spark hosted and Automaton translated that I didn’t get to, one point of which involved the game’s narrative having roots in the realities of bullying, which was Takahashi’s way of attempting to humanize the story, and find connective issue of storytelling with a gaming public at large, and a topic that is taken as so mundane and everyday, most games would happily brush over it in favor for some epic cosmic battle. Nice to see in a space that continues to need to push itself to be relatable, and or at least one that still needs to strive to find a more humanistic approach, To A T is dojng so, and is not just lazily crutching on low-brow horndog schlock being shit out by a machine that regularly reguritqtes B-movie grade wank material for 16 year old minded boys.

–Gaming Review: Rapid Fire is a current work in progress. Fingers crossed it turns out well.

As always, time is against me, but it’s been fun keeping it real. That’s all…go forth and rock.

~Pashford

The Last Laugh

Life is a highway…


Use your fucking turn signal and make sure to stay
in your own god damn lane

A bit of a strained metaphor on that attempt at positing some wisdom, but I think there’s still a salvageable message somewhere in there. Shifting gears here, as someone who spends most of his day centered around gaming, whether it be thinking, reading, writing, playing…I still have trouble keeping up with most of the industry. I’m not sure if I’m within my rational means to accuse this hobby of being either a younger man’s game, or a medium that demands one has a lot of capital in order to enjoy what is on offer, but I definitely question who, outside of people employed within the industry, don’t feel utterly lost in the shuffle in attempting to keep up with the reality of the everyday of video gaming. To wit: I keep forgetting we are deep in the midst of award season, and no matter where I look, the majority of the titles nominated for any given award shindig are ones I haven’t even played yet, and I’m getting down on games everyday.


Mostly figuratively now a days, but engagement is engagement

This particular award ceremony was the 2025 Game Developers Choice Awards, so a bunch of the industry’s devs got together and gave their two cents on which titles were the cream of the crop. As previously mentioned, even though I am somewhat familiar with the games discussed, the fact of the matter is I haven’t even played most of them, which leaves me scratching my head as to what I was doing all of 2024, but I digress. I did (and am still) playing Balatro, which dominated the award ceremony, by taking home not only Best Debut, Best Design, and Innovation Award, but also claimed the top prize by winning Game of the Year.


The Joker steals the show again, but what else is new?

What I find maddening about this is what I must be missing about Balatro, cause it’s very obviously some key element that makes the entire experience so heavily praised, so what I’m not “getting” about the little card game that could baffles me. As I recently addressed in an article, the game doesn’t seem to be overly compelling to me as I sift through it’s simplicity and try to understand what it has to offer outside of some slightly spruced remixing of what appears to be a basic card game prominently featuring The Joker cards as strategic fulcrums that help win the day.This really could be a moment of different strokes for different folks, with my penchant for being totally repelled by anything even remotely resembling a table top game front in center. Whatever “it” factor that Balatro possesses that seems to elude me aside, game of the year is mighty impressive, so congrats to the Balatro devs for what they accomplished and for being recognized for their work. I’ll continue to contend with the title to see if I can make heads or tails of the experience, but uh…I might just not be of popular opinion on this one, even if obvious quality is staring me right in the face.


What I feel like when attempting to analyze what
makes Balatro so Balatro-y

~Pashford

Backlog Bullshit

The world of gaming moves pretty fast


Some parts faster than others

My gaming schedule is seemingly beset upon me with no clear resolution in regards of clear priority or proper resolution. I’m constantly in need to play new games, especially in relation to writing about them, but can never find time to finish them. A serious issue in terms of productivity to be sure, but I think one more so unique in regards to my attempts of writing about them, in all of their peculiar machinations. A few core examples to help illustrate my point from recent days are titles like Indiana Jones, Warhammer, and Balatro, that I’m consistently at odds with myself on just how much is enough to get the general gist of a game before being able to both write about it and move on. At least with Indiana Jones, there is a conclusive ending, same is true for Warhammer’s single player at the very least, in all of it’s charmingly try hard Bologna Boy Battalion Space Adventures kind of way.


A screenshot from the epic conclusion of Warhammer
40k: Space Marine 2’s finale

Warhammer’s multiplayer though? That’s a tougher nut to crack, though I suppose reducing the answer down to the simplicity of “when enough is enough” without overly complicating the issue is the answer I’m not attempting to write some kind of grand opus deconstructionism of the title after all, nor am I trying to position myself as the go to expert of the Warhammer multiplayer sphere moving forward. With that in consideration, having finished the story mode at the end of January, and having only found the enthusiasm to play a handful of matches in the last month and a half, doesn’t that send a clear enough message to me that the excitement levels just aren’t there and that I should just pull the plug on the entire thing and just move on with my heretical life?


Maybe if I just paint more minis the game
will seem like it’s more fun

More to my point: there’s always going to be another shooter, and plenty of the more competent ones (See: Warhammer) will eventually have to be left behind for greener pastures. I’ve even been thinking about how I want to get back to Halo, truth be told, not even having finished the campaign when I played it on the Xbox One, and having really enjoyed the multiplayer to boot. I’ve also, much like my ridiculously long journey with Rare Replay that I’ve been detailing recently, have been slowly moving towards “100%in” The Master Chief Collection for the better part of a decade now, and still have a long way to go in getting all the cheevos attached to the compilation of titles. Unlike Rare Replay however, deep down I’m fairly certain it will all be for naught, as just the multiplayer aspect alone of the Chief Collection will likely stop me from acquiring every last achievement, but the interest in the attempt remains.


At least I can be rest assured I will never run out of
teabags, no matter how long the attempt takes

I say all of this while sitting on the world select screen of Sonic Colors Ultimate, a game I meant to write about today, which is another title I just started, in spite of constant reminders to myself to *not* start another game on the PS4 until I get the Platinum on Elden Ring, which has been an ongoing project for the last year of time, while my poor Switch (and Zelda to that point) continues to collect dust. This is all the while, as previously mentioned, I attempt to justify another ante in Balatro to see, much like Warhammer, I really *get* the game before moving on, even while plenty of other titles I love sit there screaming “play me” amidst the chaotic schedule that has me constantly on the hunt for a free minute to enjoy a new game.


Ah shit, I knew I forgot to download something

The backlog remains an eternal struggle in a never ending game of tug-o-war…at least I have plenty to entertain me for the rest of eternity.

~Pashford

Playing For Shits And Giggles

When the world is falling apart, be sure to have a comfortable front row seat.


How I look checking the headlines for what frightening nightmares the new day brings

Another short one from me today my riztastic readers, as per my quickie yesterday, at some point in my week, I do have to both get some well deserved rest *and* find time to you know, actually play the games I wish to write about. Mar10 Day shennigans definitely derailed me a bit, but it’s good to catch up with Nintendo’s sacred cow once in a blue moon. I use to make it a habit to do a one shot playthrough of any major Mario game upon it’s release day, and just do one massive 12 hour session to 100% the whole thing in it’s entirety to help manufacture the greatest amount of challenge and really highten the dopamine rush of some gaming par excellence. A reality I sadly was not able to predicate upon with Mario Wonder on day of launch, but playing through the game in a similar manner is still in the cards.


Super Mario Wonder definitely the elephant in
the room of my potential Mar10 Day festivities

Speaking of cards…that segways perfectly into a game I did finally get to sit down with briefly and try out after reading so much bluster involving it’s highly addictive nature, and that’s Balatro, which has been regularly praised by outlets far and wide as the new hotness, being a highly addictive card game you will simply not be able to put down. Well, after putting the title down after about twenty minutes of playtime, I can tell you emphatically that is simply not true.

Admittedly, it would seem I merely dipped my toe into the perverbial waters of interest, and plan on continuing to play it to see just “what is up” with the game, but thus far, it is seemingly just some suped up remix of Poker with more of a collection aspect to it involving combo cards with special abilities. Not sure if there is some crazy grand twist to the game along the lines of Doki Doki Literature Club where the game does a 180, ditches the faux premise it sets itself up to appear to be, but then diverts right into crazy town by being super meta while simultaneously possessing a twisted narrative hidden behind an unassuming aesthetic….or if Balatro really is just, you know, kind of like poker.


Pictured: Balatro’s main gameplay hook

The jokers are wild, it would seem.

~Pashford