Author: Andrea Blythe

Games I Played in April 2025

Games
screen capture from a video game, showing a woman drawing a bow on a man charging with an ax in a dark, apocalyptic setting
The Last of Us Part II | Source: Naughty Dog

The Last of Us is one of my all-time favorite games. I’ve played it through several times and have loved it all over again each time. So…, when the The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog) was released in 2020, I was incredibly excited. But when I actually started up the game, I struggled to get into the flow of it. I loved the characters and the dialog and the gameplay was smooth and fun, but something didn’t click for me.

Over the next couple of years, I returned to the game several times, trying to get through it, then eventually fell off entirely — always with the intention of coming back to finish. Since the TV series is current coming out with its second season, it seemed the right time to return the game.

Now that I’m back into the game, I honestly have no idea why I had so much trouble connecting with it the first time around. Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe I was thrown off by the tonal shift in switching to the sequel immediately after re-playing The Last of Us Part I. Or maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace for something so dark.

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Games I Played in March 2025

Games
A baker in her kitchen in Birth | screenshot by me

Birth is a lovely point-and-click puzzle game created by Madison Karrh. Facing loneliness in the city, the main character decides to collect bones and organs to craft a companion to provide comfort. The player is then presented with the task of finding the bones and organs required to construct this companion. Moving through different spaces — stranger’s rooms, a market, a library, etc. — the player completes puzzles to find, uncover, and unlock the pieces.

Each puzzle is wonderfully crafted with intuitive solutions. None of them are particularly difficult, but they have a nice variety of puzzle types and layers of tasks that makes the gameplay feel satisfying. The only room in which I faced pure confusion was the art studio, which I returned to several times, thinking I missed something — but it was really just a chance to sketch and free play with the art supplies.

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Games I Played in February 2025

Games
Looking toward the massive city of Baldur’s Gate in Baldur’s Gate 3 | screenshot by me

I’ve heard from several folks that Act 1 and 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) is really just the beginning of the game, that Act 3 is the largest part of the game. They were right.

Act 2 involves traveling to a land cursed by darkness, and the player can either fight against the forces controlling that darkness or side with them. I really enjoyed this section of the game. It had some fascinating side quests and a great epic battle to defeat a seemingly immortal being. Completing this era feels climatic — and then we discover that this is only the start of a new storyline, leading the player to Baldur’s Gate.

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Games I Played in January 2025

Games
Baldur’s Gate 3 | screenshot by me

I dipped my toes into Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) when it was first released in 2023, but only played about an hour at the time before putting it down. This was partially due to my confusion about how to play the game and partially due to various distractions at the time that stole my attention away to other games.

In January, I opened it up again just for research. I wanted to understand how how Larian approaches branching dialog and gameplay choices, assuming I’d play for only and hour or two — and before I knew it, I was lost in the story and having a hard time putting it down. As of writing this, I have played around 80 hours of the game. And I still have soooo much game to go.

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Games I Played in December 2024

Games
Chants of Sennaar | screenshot by me

Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc) is a puzzle adventure game, which I was introduced to and played a demo for at GDC 2024. What drew me in was the unique vibrant art style, combined by the unique puzzle mechanic, in which the player must translate and attempt to understand the languages they encounter through murals, writing, and conversations with NPCs.

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