And Roger Is Amazing, but Go in Blind

Welcome to the latest edition of Punished Notes! In the 39th volume of my long-running collection of random gaming thoughts, I discuss a recent visual novel that ranks among this year’s best new releases, a puzzle game that quickly got me out of a brief gaming funk, and some thoughts on recent demos that knocked my socks off. In addition, I have an important note at the end about my decision to cancel my Xbox Game Pass account after more than seven years as a subscriber.

You Really Need To Play and Roger

TearyHand Studio’s interactive visual novel and Roger, simply put, is one of the most incredible games I’ve played so far in 2025.

Everything from its simple (and nearly minimalist) art direction to its bizarre and inconsistent approach to player input serves a grander narrative, whose apparent themes constantly change the further the player progresses. Each time I thought I’d figured out what and Roger was truly about, it threw another curveball at me, frequently making me question if I’d truly understood anything that had happened up to that point. Simple actions like brushing your teeth or cleaning a mess feel like high-stakes events in and Roger, and once you realize why, it hits you like a ton of bricks. The very fact that all of this thematic complexity fits into a roughly one-hour experience is astonishing, to say the least.

You might be asking yourself why I’ve chosen to write about a game as apparently special as and Roger in a short blurb in a collection of other notes instead of a longer review or op-ed. Admittedly, I had thought about doing a longer piece, but I don’t think it’s possible to talk about the game without spoiling it. I’m also not even sure someone undaunted by spoilers can truly understand the impact of and Roger’s narrative choices without actually playing it. Much like Half Mermaid’s brilliant Immortality — my personal Game of the Year for 2022 — and Roger’s story and gameplay are inextricably linked, to the point where one does not work without the other. Together, though, they work wonders.

All I’ll say at this point, dear reader, is that you should play and Roger. It’s only five bucks on Switch or Steam, and takes less time to beat than it does to watch an episode of Love Island. If you do play it, you’ll be rewarded with an unforgettable story that is equal parts heartwarming and devastating. And Roger is a classic example of the kind of unique, ambitious experience you can only get from an indie developer, and the most pure way to understand it is to know virtually nothing about it before playing it.

Reach for the Puzzles

I recently experienced an annual phenomenon that occurs around August every single year: What do I play now?

Typically, this month lacks big new releases, even though it follows and precedes months that often have tons of notable new games. At this particular moment, I’d (largely) finished Donkey Kong Bananza and needed to dig into a few other games before the fall slate hits. In the past, I’ve used this time for various backlog titles or replays, and this year was no exception… until I realized I needed something else entirely.

My first post-Bananza game was Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which I’ve had in my possession for over a year and a half since beating the first two games in the series for the first time. While there’s much to love about this one — the survival mechanics and camouflage systems in particular are phenomenal, even to this day — Kojima games can be a bit frustrating for me, as they require a particular level of patience and comfort with repetition I don’t always have. I also thought I’d go back to my New Game+ save of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — one of my favorite games ever made — and while it’s just as good as I remember, it’s still a game I’ve played before, and for many, many, many hours. Obviously, the aforementioned and Roger was a more than welcome detour, but that was over before I knew it.

So what now? I’ll tell you what now: a puzzle game emerges!

On a whim, I picked up Lumines Remastered, on sale on the Switch eShop for not even five dollars. The block-based puzzler — which looks like Tetris but plays a little more like Kirby’s Star Stacker — was just what I needed to get out of this gaming rut.

The simple-yet-nuanced mechanics combined with the ever-changing and mesmerizing aesthetic always sends me into a trance, where my mind focuses on nothing but the breaking of blocks, almost as if I was destined to do it. Though unlike most games I play (which typically involve playing as an actual person or being of some sort), brick-breaking puzzle games have the potential to make me feel as though nothing else in the world existed but the immediate task at hand. The most direct and pure form of “escapism,” you could say.

I’m not saying Lumines is the best puzzle game ever made, or that it’s even the most notable one I could play on Switch 2. But sometimes the basic, never-ending loop of a puzzle game resets my gamer brain. Every time I play a good one, it re-centers what I value in the medium, at least for a short while, hence why it’s the perfect genre to pull me out of the summer doldrums.

Sure, I’ll get back to other stuff very soon (especially as I’ve recently become a PlayStation Plus Essential subscriber), but a couple days of Lumines were just what I needed. Some might say you should follow up a big game with a small game. Me? I follow up my most anticipated game of the year with a tiny visual novel and many hours of making squares disappear.

LIGHTNING ROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• I have a message for the guy on the 1 Train in NYC on Sunday, August 9, who noticed the Punished Backlog t-shirt I was wearing: I salute you for A) reading anything on this site and B) noticing the logo at all on a packed train on a hot day while balancing an iced beverage from Luckin in your arm. If you’re reading this, please comment on this article, and thanks for your support!
• I recently killed a longer article on this subject, but I wanted to mention that replaying The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on Switch 2 gave me a greater appreciation for the game’s optimistic approach to a post-apocalyptic world. Moreover, I wish we as a society could learn a thing or two from Wind Waker about how to come out of a cataclysmic event (for example, a pandemic) with a greater appreciation and respect for one another, and I wish we could embrace a broader sentiment of community building and support. Sadly, this has not been the case, but I don’t need to get into the details of that here.
• As mentioned earlier, I tried Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for the first time recently, and while I didn’t like it as much as its two predecessors, I really admire a lot about it. Obviously, it has a really well-told story and some incredible world-building, but what stuck out to me most was how the constant green tint over every scene gives off a sense of the past (since the game takes place decades before MGS1) as well as a sense of unease around nuclear weapons. The upcoming remake removing this tint has actively dissuaded me from considering playing it, to be honest.

• I’ll parrot what David Silbert wrote: Based on the demo, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales has real potential to be one of the better Zelda-likes out there. Only major annoyance I have is how much the fairy talks. I don’t need a voice-acted guide at all times.
• Speaking of demos for supposed Zelda-likes, I had such a great time with the Mina the Hollower demo released on Switch 1 and 2 last week. I’m a big fan of Yacht Club Games (known for the Shovel Knight series), since they clearly understand how to take elements of retro games and spice them up with modern mechanics and sensibilities. Moreover, despite having a top-down perspective, I actually think Mina has more in common philosophically with classic Castlevania titles, particularly because of its combat system and approach to secondary items.
• I was so glad Nintendo finally decided to add Mario Paint to its Nintendo Classics collection on Switch 2. Even if it’s not really a “game” I’d spend much time playing these days, it’s a great tool for young kids interested in coloring, making music, and even making animated shorts.

• When I first saw the initial teaser for Ghost of Yotei, Sucker Punch’s follow-up to 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, I wasn’t largely nonplussed. Tsushima just didn’t really do it for me — I really felt like it embraced a lot of what I’ve grown to hate in so-called “checklist” open-world games — but after seeing a more comprehensive presentation on Yotei, it’s quickly become one of my more highly anticipated titles of 2025. Its new approach to combat looks intriguing, and centering its narrative on targeted revenge rather than a wishy-washy, half-assed commentary on “honor” is a stellar move, as I see it.
• On an important note: Following the latest report from The Guardian on Israel’s use of Microsoft Azure as part of its brutalization of the Palestinian people, I have decided to cancel Xbox Game Pass to abide by boycott guidelines from the BDS movement. Even though it’s a small move in and of itself, I want to do what I can to hopefully influence others to take action against such atrocities.