Game EXP: lily's world XD (PC)

lily's world XD
Systems: Windows
Release Date: September 17, 2026
Publisher: Kwalee
Developer: SonderingEmily
Time Spent: 5 Hours

Maybe it's a cop-out as someone who plays video games and attempts to write reasonably well-thought-out reviews, but it's one of those games that the less that's known about the finer points of the story, the better.

lily's world XD is in the genre of "found device" games where you play as a person who's found a laptop straight out of the early-mid 2000s.  After logging into the computer, you have access to a handful of files and a Netscape-era web browser complete with access to MySpace-era social media pages and LiveJournal-type blogs of introspection.  The sound of the mouse clicks and even the animated mouse icon are all straight out of the early to mid-2000s.  There is a choice to have an optional ambient audio track in the background, and while I did try turning it off to maintain the immersion, I found that it actually accentuated the "feeling" of playing in the world created by SonderingEmily.

Like other "found device" games, lily's world XD is full of puzzles to access different parts of the laptop, unlocking private folders, and accessing online accounts that have been dormant for the last 20 years.  There is a compelling narrative mystery as new areas of the laptop are uncovered and communications with long-silent accounts are rekindled.

The game is broken up into several gameplay loops.  You solve puzzles, gather information through conversations, and discover other details on your own.  Using information that's given to you and that you read about on your own is what gives you the answers to the puzzles.  And repeat.

 You are presented with a handful of puzzles to solve, such as figuring out a password or where ot use a login ID from only a handful of available websites, where you end up finding a new website through a hyperlink on another website.  Then there are information/context/exposition dumps you receive from the laptop owner's friend Iris, who is your primary messenger contact.  Then it's rinse and repeat, but not in a bad way.  Several of the puzzles actually reminded me a lot of playing an escape room with Conklederp, Himo, and Folly (friends from college who we've been doing escape rooms with for the last 10 years), if we were all working to unlock different parts of a single laptop.

That's all I'm going to say about this amazing game (except for the P.S., but that's optional).  If you like 'found device' games and/or escape room-style puzzles and have a nostalgic view of early-mid 2000s computer aesthetic, I can't recommend lily's world XD enough.

~JWfW/JDub/TheFaceplantman/Jaconian

Katkeruuden liekin polttama?

P.S.  The quick and easy explanation for why I don't have a lot of images up for the game is that I inadvertently had the Notes app open on the in-game desktop, which contained a lot of the answers to passwords, email addresses, and other bits of information that I took down while playing.  Most of the pictures would then include a mass of censored lines to prevent spoilers.  I guess that's one of the biggest issues with not thinking ahead while taking screenshots during the game.  And so I decided to only include a few screenshots, ones that give off more of a vibe that the SonderingEmily was creating with the UI, and not include a bunch of screenshots with information blacked out.

P.P.S.  Below are spoilers of sorts, so proceed with caution.

There were several instances where the game messed with me in a way that can best be described as Eternal Darkness-esque and fourth-wall-breaking.  How that manifested (I'll link here if you're interested, but I won't include it in the article to avoid spoilers) was in ways more personalized than I've ever experienced in a video game.  More often than not, I was more excited by the creepy things happening than genuinely scared.  

There was also one instance where my webcam was accessed, but because I had the shutter closed, I didn't realize what was going on until after the scene was over.  There was a later moment in the game where the webcam footage was called back up, but because it had originally been closed, there was just a grey placeholder image, which was a little disappointing.

MIDI Week Single: "The City of Ruin" - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PSX)

 

"The City of Ruin" from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis on the PlayStation, Windows, Dreamcast, & GameCube (1999-2006)
Composer: Masami Ueda
Album: Resident Evil 3 Nemesis Original Soundtrack
Label: Mars Colony Music
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom

"The City of Ruin" is a great song that plays right after Jill leaves Bar Black Jack after her conversation with Brad, but only if you're able to save Brad.  During that conversation, Brad warns Jill about someone hunting STARS members and that they're all going to die.  Brad flees the bar on his own, allowing Jill a moment of respite and time to find the ammunition hidden by the cash register.  When Jill leaves the bar, that's when "The City of Ruin" first plays, with Jill now (vaguely) knowing that something is hunting her and her fellow STARS members.

What I really like about "The City of Ruin" musically is how sad the song feels.  Chock full of slow MIDI strings and a choir, all in a minor key.  Then, at 18 seconds in, there's a chime followed by five percussive notes that come across as ominous, foreshadowing Nemesis's arrival outside the Raccoon City Police Department.  At that point, the song changes from one of melancholy to one of menace and dread.

My biggest critique of the song is that those five percussive notes and the later presence of the MIDI French Horn don't actually play "Nemesis's Theme," or that those five notes are not incorporated into "Nemesis's Theme," even though both songs were composed by Masami Ueda.  But that one thing aside, "The City of Ruin" is a great transition song between the first section of the game, where Jill only has to contend with the zombies she was familiar with from the original game, and now having to avoid the stalking horror of Nemesis.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian

On With Hope to the Grave

Game EXP: Platform 8 (PC)

 

Platform 8
Systems: Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Release Date: May 31, 2024
Publisher: PLAYISM
Developer: KOTAKE CREATE
Time Spent: 76 Minutes
First Play Series on YouTube

In theory, this will be a short article because I've only played Platform 8 for 76 minutes, and I've seen most of the game, including two different (colored) credit sequences.

Platform 8 is an anomaly-spotting game from KOTAKE CREATES, the same developer behind The EXIT 8, and, with some experience in the liminal anomaly-spotting genre, I felt it was played against me as a player.  But in order to talk about how to play the game itself, we're going to have to jump right away into spoilers.  So, be warned.  

~SPOILERS~

In several of the anomaly-spotting games I've played, there's frequently been a mechanic that tells the game you've seen an anomaly so you can proceed safely.  In The EXIT 8, if you spot an anomaly, you turn around and walk the opposite direction.  In The 18th Attic, you have to take a picture of the anomaly.  In Room 713, if you spot an anomaly, you take the hallway to the right, or the left if you don't spot anything.  In Platform 8, the mechanic is almost simplisticly nuanced to be overlooked or misinterpreted, potentially making the player feel that they're playing the game incorrectly.  Maybe that's a feature?  Unlike the list of rules you have to follow in The EXIT 8, the only direction that's given to the player is a small sign on both the front and back doors of the metro train you're riding in that simply reads, "Please check electric signs."

The direction is simple enough, but only if you register it as a sign put there by the developers to tell the players what to do when they spot an anomaly.  You'd be forgiven if, like me, you thought maybe that's a perfectly normal sign to find in a Japanese subway car, directing the passenger to look at what the sign above the door says regarding which stop is coming up next.  But no.  The key to progressing in Platform 8 requires the player to take into account two main facts.  The first is to look to the digital sign above the door for direction.  The second is that passing from one car to the next does not immediately count as progressing through the game, and progression only happens after you've seen an anomaly.

Anomalies in this game also work differently than they do in The EXIT 8 or other anomaly-spotting games.  Platform 8 feels like it forces the player to witness anomalies before you can continue.  You might pass through the double doors into the next car, and the lights flicker, and the door at the other end begins opening and closing on its own.  As you approach, the door closes and stops.  That's it.  You saw an anomaly and can continue.  You might pass into the next two cars without seeing anything.  Then, in the following car, you see the flickering image of a woman standing.  Above the doors, the electric sign flashes in red text: "Do Not Look Away."  If you follow the directions of the sign, you're allowed to proceed to the next car; otherwise, you run the risk of being "caught" or "killed" and starting over from the beginning.

Of all of the anomalies I saw in Platform 8, I didn't come across any that were as obscure as ones in The EXIT 8, like the face in the ceiling tiles or a poster slowly growing in size.  The developers want you to see the multitude of bloody handprints covering the windows or the little girl who writes "Find Me" on the ground and prevents the door to the next car from opening until after you've found her.  The game is having fun with the anomalies as opposed to making the player feel frustrated when you pass from Hallway 7 back down to Hallway 0.  That's something that I greatly appreciate because that tells me that the developer respects my time as a player without padding the hell out of their game.  It also shows evolution in a developer, not rehashing the exact same formula and mechanics in a different setting.  I did go into Platform 8 expecting another The EXIT 8 set in a series of infinitely connected subway cars, but what I played was so much better.

I enjoyed the anomalies and was creeped out by several of them as well.  I came across one anomaly multiple times because I couldn't figure out how to get past it, but I never felt the frustration of being sent back to the beginning of the subway terminal.  I wanted to see the different anomalies, not just because they were how you progressed, but because they felt unique, and odd, and kind of absurd.  Yes, having a nearly faceless creature make noises at you is unnerving; seeing a giant hand pass through an open subway door and pad around for a few seconds is just bizarre.  That's what makes Platform 8 so much fun to play.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
You Hold Your Power As Your Fears

MIDI Week Singles: "The Front Hall" - Resident Evil 2 / Bio Hazard 2 (PSX)

 

"The Front Hall" from Resident Evil 2 / Bio Hazard 2 on the PlayStation, Windows, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, GameCube (1998 - 2003)
Composer: Masami Ueda
Album: Resident Evil 2 Original Soundtrack
Label: Geimu PIONEER, VIZ Music
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom

"The Front Hall" is the first song you hear when you enter the Raccoon Police Department after escaping the city streets, whether you're playing as Leon or Claire.  The song starts as soon as you open the door, even before you get inside, with a chime that, to me, sounds like something you'd hear in a church or sanctuary, a secure place away from the world's horrors.  Then there are the synths that add an air of danger, immediately reminding the player of the zombies outside.  Then the piano comes in, and it immediately reminds me of "Peace of Mind" from the first Resident Evil.  That calming piano line lets the player know they're safe.

The front hall of the RPD is the first full room in the game where there are no zombies, and the player can finally relax, but only just.  It's like the piano can't finish its phrasing because ominous chimes/synths/bass threaten to take over in the most aggressively passive way possible.  

It's a great piece that feels quintessential to the game and the location's memorability, as it was reused a year later in Resident Evil 3 when Jill returns to the RPD, and in the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake.  If Resident Evil 2 had a theme, this would definitely be one of the primary motifs.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
Don't Let Him Come Too Close To You

Thoughts About the Music in the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection

 

I bought the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection a while back, both on Steam and on the Switch.  All six NES/SNES-era Final Fantasy games in one collection, but each game is its own separate game.  But I'm not here to talk about the games, but the presentation within the games and the choice of which version of the music is played.  Each game comes with the original NES/Famicom sound chip soundtrack and a newly arranged version performed by the Japanese Century Symphony Orchestra.  The fact that the entirety of the soundtrack has been performed by a live orchestra is an amazing accomplishment in and of itself, and 14-year-old me would have been absolutely floored with this knowledge.

That being said, I have some thoughts.  Some curmudgeonly thoughts.  Some thoughts from a person born in the last century and last millennium.  

And I should preface that these thoughts are my personal opinion.

I love the orchestrated arrangement of each of the soundtracks.  I've listened to them all.  Final Fantasy I through VI, and they're amazing.  

But I don't have them playing when I'm playing.

For me, there's a kind of mental disconnect.  Something is off when I'm playing the original Final Fantasy that has a palette similar to that of Final Fantasy II (on the SNES), and I hear music performed by a live symphony orchestra.  It's similar to the "demand" from players when the pixel collection first came out in July, 2021, and the only font was a modern-looking one.  A pixelated font was added to the Steam and smartphone releases in a future update when it was released on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in April 2023.

I did try having the newly orchestrated music playing when I first started playing Final Fantasy in June of 2025 (not my first time playing Final Fantasy, mind you), but I wasn't fond of the orchestrations for the "Chaos Temple," "Matoya's Cavern," "Dungeon," and "Mount Gulg" in the context of the video game.  On their own, I enjoy them significantly more, but they just didn't sit well with me.  So I reverted back to the original MIDI score.

Let me give you a brief example from Final Fantasy III, because it's the one I'm currently playing; brief because the Switch can only record 30-second videos.

That's really it.  I could give side-by-side comparisons to nearly all of the songs in the early games of the franchise, but I won't, for both our sakes.  I love listening to the newly arranaged/orchestrated/recorded music on their own, but when playing, I have to have the original music on.  The instrumentation of the MIDI instruments just sits better with the visuals for me.  The one exception, because of course there's an exception, was "Pandemonium Castle" from Final Fantasy II.  Because spending close to 15 hours in that dungeon, even when using the new sprinting mechanic, I was going to listen to this amazing and completely overblown arrangement instead of the original 27-second song.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian

Instrumental

MIDI Week Singles: "Peace of Mind (Save Theme)" - Resident Evil / Bio Hazard (PSX)

 

"Peace of Mind (Save Theme)" from Resident Evil / Bio Hazard on the PlayStation, Windows, SEGA Saturn, Nintendo DS (1996 - 2006)
Composers: Makoto Tomozawa, Akari Kaida, Masami Ueda
Album: Resident Evil Original Soundtrack
Label: Laced Records
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom

As I started to write this article, I was convinced we'd already covered this song before in a MIDI Week Single, but that turned out not to be the case.

I feel like this theme is a quintessential "it's safe here" music cue.  The first time you hear it after stumbling upon an unmarked room on your map, you've already come across the first zombie and several others, and you're likely already starting to calculate how many more zombies you can take out with how much ammunition you have left.  You open a door tucked away behind a flight of stairs, and this music starts.  It's almost like your brain registers the calming tones before your eyes have time to register that there's nothing harmful in this tiny little room.  That small room with its warm orange glow is a haven, the first you find, and that cue, burned into your brain, signals safety away from the horrors of the mansion.

It's a wonderful little piece of music that has received variations throughout the series, at least in the games where safe rooms were utilized.

It's safe here; you can finally rest.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian

And Then You Smile, And Hold My Hand

Hot Take: ACE COMBAT 8: Wings of Theve is Playable with a Subpar Graphics Card

This isn't a first impressions article for ACE COMBAT 8: Wings of Theve because I've only played the first three missions in the game for about 3 hours, and easily half of that was just watching replays. The other hour was playing ACE COMBAT Zero: The Belkan War, which is only accessible by launching AC8.  Anyway, this is my hot take about ACE COMBAT 8: Wings of Theve, and I'm sure that it will be a controversial one in the ACE COMBAT community.

Like the title says, ACE COMBAT 8: Wings of Theve is, at least through the first three missions, playable with a subpar graphics card.  So y'all know where I'm coming from, here are the general/basic stats for my laptop:

OS: Windows 11 Pro

Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7735 U Radeon Graphics

Memory: 32 GB RAM

Graphics Card: AMD Radeon Graphics 995 MB

For reference, the "Minimum Specs" as recommended to play AC8 are as follows (taken copy/paste from the Steam store page):

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

OS: Windows 11

Processor: Intel Core i7-10700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

Memory: 16 GB RAM

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060[6 GB] / AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT[8 GB]

DirectX: Version 12

Storage: 150 GB available space

Additional Notes: This game requires an SSD, a hardware ray tracing-enabled graphics card, and DirectX 12 with Shader Model 6.6 or higher. Estimated performance: 1920×1080(Upscale)/30fps with graphics settings at "Low". Framerate might drop in graphics-intensive scenes.

Yeah, that graphics card is the main issue here, and I'm more or less okay with that.  It's not like I'm looking to play the newest high-end AAA video game releases over here.

I tried to run AC8 on the Steam Deck, but I couldn't even get the game to start, so I figured I'd try my laptop.  And you know what?  It worked.  Kind of.

On my laptop, the game automatically lowered all graphical settings to Low, which I fully expected, and I left them alone.  During the first mission, I had the FPS settings at 60 max, but then lowered it to 30 after Cinema scenes maxed out in the mid-to-high 30s.  While playing the campaign (I have zero interest in online play*), I'm anywhere between 13 and 20 fps.  No, that's not at all ideal.  But I was able to play through the first three missions.

I'm including what I recorded natively from Steam while playing, and yes, it's nowhere near as crisp and smooth as it should be, but I'm still really surprised that what I played was as playable as it was.  After a few minutes, I grew accustomed to the lower frame rates and, in all honesty, when you're watching FPS consistently between 15-20, a brief dip down to 11 for a half second is nearly imperceptible, as compared to a drop from 60 down to 10.

Obviously, I'd much rather play this on a system that could handle at least the recommended specs and was playable at a minimum of 30 FPS, but I'm making do with what I have.  I'm really just going to play as long as the game remains playable like this because I very much enjoy this series.  

So the tl;dr for those of y'all who've skipped to the end.  Ideal: no.  Playable: yes.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian

Instrumental

*P.S.  Once more for the people in the back.  I don't have any interest in online play, so needing a higher-end system to play online with up to 100 other people in the HUB world or eight other players in a sortie is a non-issue for me.  Even if I had a top-of-the-line desktop, zero interest.