Joshua Furr

According to the numbers, Japan ranks third globally in countries with the most McDonalds (US takes gold, China gets silver). Over 2,900 branches dot the nation’s 381,000 square kilometres, making the Golden Arches an ubiquitous site indeed. However, what makes the Big M really stand out in Japan has absolutely nothing to do with its signature burgers or fries.

Imagine my surprise last week when I booted up the Nintendo Switch Online’s SNES catalog to find a familiar face glaring back at me. It was that old cyborg soldier Fulgore from the original Killer Instinct, complete with his red-eyes and ponytail.

If there’s one thing I love, it’s concept art. One of my favorite coffee table books of all time is Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie. You don’t even have to be a Star Wars fan to appreciate the beauty of each panel. This guy has a talent for conveying space, which, as a byproduct, creates a strange sense of loneliness. That being said, Playdead must’ve taken a page right out of McQuarrie’s book.

Eight years on, and Eric Barone is still offering big updates to Stardew Valley, proving that updates can be as important as new releases.

That ephemeral-yet-iconic 90s anime, Cowboy Bebop, has proved itself to be quite the posthumous gift that keeps on giving. There was that live action attempt in 2021 (I stomached 3 episodes, then had to excuse myself from the room), and now we’ve found ourselves facing a second re-hash some 26 years after the show’s last episode — but this time in the most unlikely of places: Overwatch 2.

As an adult with a job, I’ve often thought about what a game centred around my current occupation would look like. Bad, that’s what. Nobody wants to see life through the eyes of a disheveled pajama-wearing dad clacking away at a laptop for hours while periodically gulping down cups of coffee. Or do they? Well, according to some simulation games, they do.

When I think about having to stretch past the confines of my cozy local play and interact with anonymous players online, it makes me want to unplug the WiFi in my house. But that was before Nintendo’s 99 series. Classics like Tetris, Super Mario Bros 35 and Pac-Man 99 ( currently discontinued ) were retooled as battle royales, brimming with players waiting to bust each other up. It’s a genius concept to get guys like me to mingle and hobnob with randos from all corners of the globe.

Here’s a sad fact: not many games make me chortle. Oh sure, Untitled Goose Game and Goat Simulator are hilarious concepts (those silly barnyard animals!), but hardly enough to make you well and truly guffaw. In fact, the last time I actually lol’d during a game was when I tried to feel young by playing Fortnite and was repeatedly shot down with no mercy. Embarrassing? Yes. Purposefully humorous? Not really. The real laughs, it seems, stem from that old tried-and-true gimmick: fourth wall breaking.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of casually sleuthing through the brief yet charming Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, a game that’s a self-proclaimed hybrid of the adorable office anime Aggretsuko and puzzle game Return of the Obra Dinn. It also gave me all kinds of Paper Mario, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and Ace Attorney feels.

Out now from Inti Creates, Umbraclaw made us care far too much about its representation of cats versus dogs.