Knockout City

Knockout City became an instant classic with me and my twin boys, but seemingly has fallen off much to my dismay.  I love this game and I loved playing with them.  Think Splatoon meets Arms.  That's pretty high praise from me who loved both games.  It's a very fun game that I've put my fair share of time into and will go back to now and again.  Highly recommend.

Immortals: Fenyx Rising (Xbox Series X)

This is the first game I've bought in a long time other than some used classics I bought on disc.  $40 well spent.  I knew what I was getting into here, this is a "Breath of the Wild" clone through and through, and while it falls short of what that game accomplished, it scratches that itch that's been bothering me for so long.  Let's get this straight, I like this game, but where it falls short primarily is that Breath let's you be creative in your puzzle solving, this game has a clear solution with little to no sway.  Breath allows you to get places, do things, skip entire shrines with a little creativity.  You have more powers at your disposal which makes Breath feel like you're more in control.  The puzzle solving in this one gets quite old.  This game outshines in the graphics department, it's a beautiful game.  The sound is good, with pleasing music, but the game is overly chatty.  I ended up skipping the majority of the cutscenes and story beats.  I did enjoy my time with the game, it tries hard, but can't quite catch the magic Nintendo cooked up with Breath of the Wild.  Still Recommend.

New Super Lucky's Tale (Xbox Series X via Game Pass)

FPS Boost is something Xbox is doing to old games to make them perform better.  One of the first games to add this feature was New Super Lucky's Tale.  I'd tried the game before in it's original state and original game just simply "Super Lucky's Tale", but the enhancements really made this game shine. This is an old school N64 era platformer and a pretty good one at that.  It won't hold up against Super Mario Odyssey, but it was a fun romp for a few hours of platforming fun that I can't help but recommend.

Minecraft (Xbox Series X via Game Pass)

I swore off Minecraft for years claiming I just "don't get it", but Microsoft Rewards points issued me a challenge to kill 5 zombies, so I picked it up for that shiny internet nickel and found myself quite enjoying it.  What I grew to appreciate was the creative mode and playing with my kids.  All 5 of us would queue up on the same screen and build fantasy worlds.  I made a pretty good representation of our house, and look forward to more virtual lego in the cooler weather when we spend more time inside.  Absolutely recommend.

MLB The Show 21 (Xbox Series X via Game Pass)

I got into the show more than any other year, partly because of the hype of a PlayStation game coming to Game Pass, but also because I got in at the start of a new season.  I was chugging along doing my daily challenges, getting better at seeing pitches and seeing my timing improve.  I spent a lot of time with this game but eventually put it down because it all felt so repetitive.  This is a beautiful game and I may "get back in" but the old adage of the series still rears it's ugly head ... it's just too slow.  I'd still rather play Super Mega Baseball.  There's a lot of nostalgia at play here with old players and cards to collect, but part of the beauty of baseball is the long play of 9 innings, and for that, it just takes too long.  I do okay with normies online, but when you climb the ranks, I get CRUSHED and I'm just not good enough to put the time and effort in to "get gud".  I still recommend this game, but it's still something I'll only play here and there and unfortunately this will not be my "go to" for the summer.

Dirt 5 (Xbox Series X via Game Pass)

This was a launch game which quickly hit Game Pass and I was quick to give it a try as I'd heard it was quite a graphical showcase on the new consoles.  It did not disappoint. There's a lot going on in this game, dirt and confetti flying everywhere, but the gameplay is what kept me back.  This is not an open world never ending game, it's a pretty basic, select a track, play a track game.  Now either I was very good at or it or it's incredibly easy, I'm not sure because I rarely lost, but I kept coming back to it.  It's a fun mindless game that ran exceptionally well on my laptop.  Xbox play anywhere let me pickup right where I left off whether I was on PC or Xbox.  Recommend.

Rain on Your Parade (Xbox One via Game Pass)

I draw some similarities between this game and another small game I quite enjoyed, Donut County.  Where Donut County had an engaging story and dialogue, this game is more about creating havoc, but the gameplay hooks are quite similar.  This game has some need nod to pop culture featuring a level based on "The Office" TV show, and a Zelda inspired level.  I enjoyed my time with the game and revisit it from time to time.  Recommend on game pass, but at $20, that's gonna be a pass.