Well, very funny to say in the last dispatch that I'd go to biweekly and then not actually send out another one for three weeks. Well, I've got a good excuse.
This Fortnight On exp.
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Said excuse! I suppose I did send this out to all subscribers at the start of the week. exp. 2602 has been in the works for a while, but it was put on hold when I rebuilt expzine.com, and then actually launching it got delayed even longer because I was so dissatisfied with ecommerce options like bigcartel and ko-fi (ko-fi in particular badly screwed me recently) that I decided to self-host—after all, I already have the website. I somewhat understand why people just pay to have someone else handle it all by now... but at least so far it seems to be working. Also—please consider pre-ordering! This is the last weekend before I absolutely have to get it to the printers, and your orders make sure I know how many to print!
This week's subscriber post showed up a little late because of the announcement, so I hope people don't overlook it. Namatakahashi is doing something really special in indie games right now.
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Man, when you see the games listed out like this I really grasp how some people find it hard to hook into what I'm doing here. But my tastes are too catholic for me to limit myself to being, like, only an RPG or retro blogger or something. If you only want to read one of these, please read about Many Nights A Whisper—there's only a few short months to find out if it stays at the top of my games of 2025 list. But uh... obviously read them all.
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A couple of really throw-away articles here but I still think what I wrote about Cart Life hits. A "compelling and thoughtful critique" according to Eggplant's Rob Dubbin, so that's nice. Surprisingly on Twitter, the website where linked articles go to die, I got some feedback on Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny too. @Yoshicookie, apparently a Kilik main, let me know it's "actually the better version of [Soulcalibur IV], if it had proper multiplayer." Good to know.
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exp. Capsule Review
Blobun Mini (Cyansorcery, 2025)
Didn’t really pay attention when downloading this because it looked so cute when it showed up in my feed–I guess I assumed it was a Crush Roller-a-like, or something. However, it turned out, concerningly, to be more of a “hard” puzzler, where you’re trying to fill in every square in a map with your cute little slimy bunny and you lose if you need to backtrack to do it. It’s not Sokoban, exactly, but it (maybe unfairly) raised memories of every game I’ve ever played where you do a complex chain of things but have fucked it up at one point in the last 100 moves and have to try and make sense of it.
As a result I was initially considering putting this down completely, but I decided to stick with it for a bit as it's a free PICO-8 game, so I was able to pick it up on my Trimui Brick whenever I had a spare moment (don’t leave me with my thoughts! I need to be doing something, please don’t leave me with my thoughts!) and Blobun Mini won me over for several very good reasons.
Firstly: every part of it glows with polish, from the charming UI through the responsive movement. Secondly, the game has an unbelievably smooth difficulty curve. It introduces new concepts carefully–and it has many for a game with just sixty levels–and every map is short enough that you never have too much to fix if you screw up. And thirdly, the game is unbelievably forgiving, with a complete rewind and even hints to start you off on each level.
Much like Dino Sort, if you’re looking for a charming puzzler that you can pick up and put down and eventually finish you can’t really go wrong with this (I mean, it’s bloody free) and if you like it so much you can go ahead and play the “full” version of Blobun, which does look like it’s too much for me, but that’s fine.
The only problem I have with this, actually, is that I finished every level but the last level didn’t “tick off” so it looks like I haven’t. A bug, maybe? But it’s a minor quibble.
exp. Du Cinéma
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Something something, catholic tastes. This is the second time a Motern Media production has shown up in this newsletter, so I assume you're all complete converts already.
Also reviewed: Eddington (2025), The Devil At Your Heels (1981) and Mountainhead (2025).
Zine News
"Middle-Aged Teenage Angst: The Zine is now available to buy in print or as a PDF. 52 pages of new writing by me on forgotten TV, old mags, radio, wrestling, growing up, badges and, of course, music."
"YES!! Over three years late, but I kept my promise, and the fifth issue of RGSH fanzine is finally finished and ready for you!!"
This came out a fair few months ago now, but only came to my attention (as zines often do) thanks to Forgotten Worlds.
"This is a magazine that explores gaming as a lifestyle (think Nintendo Power meets curated fashion and lifestyle magazine). The book features 60 pages of my artwork alongside photography and featured community projects."
This is absolutely beautiful but I'm sad to note that it's also fifty-nine dollars. I think it's neat that there are higher-end zines and journals out there—think the amusingly similarly titled ON and [lock-on]—but I have to admit that I don't have the funds to keep up. Maybe they'll be up for a zine trade?
Moheeb Zara's free zine making app now works on mobile! Make your own zine and then charge sixty dollars for it. That'll show 'em.
And Finally…
 This is a fun one. I'd put off watching this until I finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, as I'd heard the book this talk (from two years ago!) was about heavily inspired it. When you watch this you'll be absolutely shocked as to how much of a, well, complete rip-off Clair Obscur is, and of a book that was apparently a huge success in France! I'd be fascinated to read what French fans thought of the game—if they were just completely nonplussed by the things international audiences found fresh and exciting. Maybe that's why the game makes such, er, big swings at the end? To differentiate it?
Anyway, I'm absolutely gasping to read La Horde du Contrevent now. Considering I moved to Canada anyway, I should have really bothered to give a shit about French in high school. I guess if I can sell more copies of exp. 2602 I can be taken seriously as a publisher and try and get the rights? There's an English translation sitting there waiting!
Next week on exp.: Well, I did the Metroid, so...
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