Happy Tuesday

Hope you all are doing good today!

It’s been a bit since my last blog, but I’m glad to be back once again! Now that I’m on a sort of summer break from my main gaming articles, I wanted to share some fun things that have been going on in my life!

One thing I’ve been wanting to do as part of my break during the summer was to drive over to Dallas Love Field Airport and do some plane-spotting!

I enjoy photography as a hobby and have had some of my work put out in various places in the past. So, it was fun to go out and take some photos of the airplanes! For today, we’ll dive into this airport a bit with some history, and then take a look at some of the photos I took!

To wrap up at the end, we’ll go over some of the games I’ve been playing lately!

Let’s jump in!

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A Brief History of Dallas Love Field

Dallas Love Field Airport has been part of North Texas for a long time, nearly since the inception of practical aircraft.

This airport was built and formed back in 1917 to aid in the instruction of U.S. Army Air Service pilots for World War One. It was named in honor of First Lieutenant Moss L. Love, who had tragically passed away in an airplane accident in 1913 — only ten years after the Wright Brothers first took flight in 1903. More information about this pioneer aviator can be found on this obituary website.

According to the website for Dallas Love Field Airport, it was purchased by the city of Dallas in 1927 to serve as a civilian airport once the war and war efforts had ended.

Notably in its history, President John F. Kennedy had landed in Air Force One at Dallas Love Field back in November of 1963. Less than an hour later, he was assassinated in downtown Dallas while his motorcade drove through Dealey Plaza. The Governor of Texas at the time, John Connally, was seriously wounded in the attack.

Only about three hours later after Kennedy first landed at the airport, his Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, was sworn in as President aboard Air Force One while the plane was parked at Dallas Love Field — becoming the only US President to ever be sworn in, in Texas — and joining the small list of Presidents to be sworn into office outside of Washington DC. It was a dark, timeline-altering day in Dallas’ history that effectively started and ended at Love Field Airport.

Fast-forward to 2026, and this airport hosts the headquarters for Southwest Airlines and keeps plenty busy with a number of other planes flying in and out throughout the United States. The Dallas skyline continues to grow off in the distance to the south, and the surrounding cities continue to rapidly develop in all other directions. Just recently, they opened up an observation section that allows people to watch the flights landing and taking off.

This observation section is where I recently found myself on a hot, summer day!

Photos from Dallas Love Field

I had a lot of fun taking photos at this location!

I ended up with about fifty in total that I edited, but the photos below are the ones I liked the most. I’ll put comments down under some of the pictures!

Despite the heat (mid-90s / 35C) in the morning, it was a nice observation area with the shade they constructed. In this photo above, you can see the entrance with stairs leading up, as well as the city of Dallas off in the background.

There were a lot of plaques and signs around the area that told the history of Love Field Airport. The one I photographed above talked about the age when jets started to arrive to the airport.

There were so many airplanes parked in the distance near the terminals!

Often times, at least for the runway next to the observation area, there would be plenty of airplanes coming in for a landing and taxiing at the same time.

A good number of taxiing pilots would wave to those in the observation area!

It’s amazing to see how big these Southwest planes are compared to the pilots flying them!

Unfortunately, most of the larger Southwest jets were taking off from the runway on the other side of the airport. However, like in the photo above, I could easily see them taking off as they headed south, with views of Dallas and Reunion Tower in the distance!

There were little to no propeller planes flying. The red one above was the only one I saw while I was there!

And those are the main photos I wanted to share!

I’ve flown out of Love Field Airport fairly recently on Southwest, and it’s a nice experience with good terminals. While it’s a decently sized airport, it’s also nothing compared to the gargantuan, city-sized location of DFW Airport nearby (which is known for being larger than the island of Manhattan)!

I definitely plan to head back out again in the future to see some more planes taking off, and to time it better with a sunrise or sunset for more atmospheric photos!

Games I’ve Been Playing & What’s Next

I’ve been a bit relaxed on gaming for the past few weeks, mostly due to some other projects I’ve been working on. I’ve also been troubleshooting my PC that started to act up, so some games I had in mind to play have been shelved for now.

Otherwise, I’d say that the main game I worked on this past month was Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on the Switch! I played it for ’s Good Game Lobby Game of the Month on his Discord, and I had fun with it. It was such a wacky game that kept finding new ways to surprise me with its story, engaging characters, and its music. It’s hard to pick a favorite moment or character, but I really enjoyed it all! It also wasn’t too long of a game either, so I didn’t feel overwhelmed or too rushed to finish it.

I wanted to finish it as soon as I got about halfway through. Without spoiling it, all I can say is that the storyline goes places that kept me locked in until the end! Even more so, I definitely plan on replaying it in the future to catch things I missed. I give my thanks to and Sey for helping get this game in front of my eyes! It was a blast, and was a game I really enjoyed!

Other than that, I’ve been playing Bastion a bit earlier this past month, though I’ve been having issues with my PC that I’m still troubleshooting. I hope to get everything up and running again this week though, so that I can jump back into it and some other PC games that I’ve been wanting to play.

Lastly, I had played a bit of Fallout 4 when I wrote my article on the most photogenic places in that game! It’s always fun to get back into the Commonwealth Wasteland, and Fallout 4 is the type of game that is just relaxing to play nowadays!

I’m still debating my next game to jump into. I’ve been wanting to finish up Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on the Switch, so I might get back into that game. And as mentioned, I want to look at some Steam games I recently got once I get my PC back up and running!

I think that just about does it! Thanks for checking out this blog! My plan is to write up some more blog posts over the next few weeks while I’m still on my summer break from my main content, so keep an eye out for anything new popping up!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

See you all next time,
Joe

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The Impact of Immersion

I’ve talked about immersion a lot before in my past articles, and how important it is to me in video games.

To me, an immersive game is all about the well-written characters that draw you into the world, or the beautiful atmosphere that refuses to let you go, or the impactful and emotional storytelling that makes you grip the controller even tighter. Many aspects in a game can make you forget about the real world for a few hours, and make it feel like you’re in the shoes of that game’s character.

Like with a good book I can’t possibly put down, I find that immersion in video games keeps me locked in and engaged with that game’s world!

A few short weeks ago, I reached out to the community of game writers on Substack to join me in answering a question on this aspect in gaming:

All of the responses I received were amazing to look at! Everyone had such unique contributions that built this article up, and I know that you’re in for a great time. So, go grab a drink, sit back, and check out these incredible write-ups on immersiveness in gaming!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

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Peter Monks

Late to the LAN Party publication by Peter Monks

Someone who loves playing, thinking, understanding and reminiscing about video games. And my other loves in life, like animation and films. Completely off-trend and never a hot topic.

Games have an advantage when it comes to immersiveness. Films have to rely on visuals, cinematography and character. Music needs to rely on sounds and rhythm. While books have to rely on imagination and language. Games can achieve all three at once when done well, and then some.

The first game that came to mind when Joe suggested this was Metroid Prime, a prime (ha) example of how to draw you in. There is a story, yet it is not linear; you view the alien world you are exploring, marvelling at the ancient civilisations and structures long gone, and reading notes about history and piecing them together. The environment is sometimes barren, yet always atmospheric, full of character, mystery.

The one true selling point for immersion it has over many other games though is your viewpoint. You see what Samus sees, you move like Samus would. Look up at the rain and drops of water hit your visor. Walk through cold mist and your visor steams up, obscuring your vision briefly. As your weapon lights up, you sometimes see the reflection of your eyes on the inside of the visor, holding your free hand to shield you from the brightness. Even switching to x-ray mode shows the bones in your hand as you move your arm cannon.

To some, immersion could mean becoming deeply drawn into an imaginary world, completely ignoring real life. For myself though, Metroid Prime is immersive because it combines so many small, subtle details, pulls them together, and makes me feel as close as possible to being a renowned space bounty hunter. The screen is more than a window - it’s you.

Harrison Polites

Infinite Lives publication by Harrison Polites

Video game industry analysis and reviews from an Australian perspective.

Immersion can be a broad term. There are games that I’ve absolutely fallen into and obsessed over as I pore through the stories they tell. So many of them are JRPGs. But I want to take this in a different direction, because sometimes immersion doesn’t rely on story, and I think that’s worth calling out.

For the past few months I’ve been obsessed with Pokémon Champions. I’ve been thinking about teams in my downtime, replaying my past match-ups and the mistakes I’ve made. I’ve also been discussing this with a friend abroad, comparing notes. Right now, I’m all in on this game, and it’s the most immersed I’ve been in a title in a good while.

There’s no story here. Hell, the graphics are a bit mid too. Just a gameplay loop and some tough competition, but in some instances that’s enough. It just goes to show that immersion can be a bit of a funny term in gaming. Sometimes we want to fall into a world of pure fantasy, escaping from life. Other times we achieve it by getting wrapped up in mechanics and gameplay loops.

Yukisia

Yukisia publication by Yukisia

Game writer in the making. Really, in this economy.

The year is 2021. Freshly out of the COVID lockdown, freshly heartbroken, I felt like I had made more mistakes than my age would justify. I needed a game that would be more than an escape; I needed something to care about. A world that would also care about my actions, however impulsive they might be.

I couldn’t have picked a better moment to play Life is Strange. The climax was one of the most cathartic moments in my gaming life, and what I want to talk about today. (Some spoilers ahead).

Lost in a nightmarish rendition of reality, Max has to escape a blur of her actions’ consequences. Look away once and the world around you changes, showing you the worst of what it has in store. It appears the world is toying with you for the first time, after you have had your way time-travelling and correcting your mistakes. You are being punished, the way humans who play God usually are.

Max had brought all this upon herself, and yet she managed to escape. That’s what I needed to see: proof that it is possible to escape your fears & guilt.

Until now, I had never put this experience into words. My mind was hazy; I spent days crying, but for the first time, I was no longer crying out of defeat. I was pushing through alongside Max. Admittedly, I didn’t feel half as epic as her, because I was clicking buttons with a tomato-red face while she was facing her demons. When I finished the game, I was relieved to find my tears were completely spent. I thought things can only get better now, which gradually they did.

Evan C. Moore

Play Moore publication by

Medievalist and game studies scholar Evan C. Moore posts rants inspired by student questions and whatever he finds interesting at the time.

When it comes to immersion, I think of dwelling. Home. Sometimes comfort, but not always ease.

So I’m thinking of worlds and atmospheres rather than characters, dialogue, or themes (my usual custom). Let’s talk about feeling at home while constantly on the move upon Barnabas’s ship from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Kassandra’s story in ACO is justly named: she never stays in one place very long, and every stop along the way brings some new tragedy or mystery. She feels torn within and without, loving what she can never regain and seeking answers to questions she can’t fully articulate. And yet, despite the inner turmoil, despite the danger and the bloodshed and the game’s admirable commitment to showing the casual flippance with which the ancient world treated human life–despite all this suffering, I am drawn to Ubisoft’s re-creation of the ancient Greece that ancient Greeks thought they lived in. Mythic, beautiful, and so humanly broken.

There is a familiarity gained slowly through ACO, mostly due to the game’s gargantuan size. Athens is charming, sure, and I felt the comfort and then the grief. Sparta did not so much feel like a homecoming as yet another city to uncover. Kassandra is not a woman who lives best in childhood nostalgia. Nor am I such a man.

So we shove off. To set sail, to find sweet summer breezes on the sides of vineyards, to breathe in new air, to see the sun rise on a new horizon.

Barnabas’s ship, The Adrestia, is my home in Greece, where Kassandra learns herself most, loves most, sees most. I’ve got Herodotos in the back and a loyal crew in front of me.

These islands welcome us. The sun is soft on our skin, and there is hope around every corner. Let us enjoy the wine and recline upon our own common-wrought stonework roofs. We will sing “Bacchus Teaches Me to Dance” once more, we will crest the next wave to witness a growing storm, and we will emerge on the other side. For our adventures are not yet complete. We live here now, and here we shall truly live.

ROP

ROP’s Playbook publication and YouTube creator by ROP

Gamer Dad writing and creating YouTube content about games and stories formed through play. From reflective reviews, to nostalgic pieces, creative detours and growth oriented articles.

Years ago, I found myself slowly walking the dark halls of Clive Barker’s Undying... only to discover that the thing frightening me most was… actually in my hand. I was already carrying it.

You play as Patrick Galloway, a paranormal investigator battling horrors with an arsenal of mystical weapons and spells. But then... I found the Tibetan War Cannon. A dragon-shaped relic, forged in gold and steeped in Tibetan folklore and ancient myths. Theoretically, it was just another weapon... but in practice...

It growled.
It snarled.
It jerked its head as if it wanted to bite the hand carrying it.

So many times, I found myself slowly creeping through the mansion’s dark corridors, hearing Howlers somewhere beyond a closed door. Every nerve was on edge. And then, before I even reached them...

ROAAAR! an unexpected growl right beside me.

That weapon startled me more often than the monsters I was already afraid of.

It may have been made of gold, but it was Alive! A living Tibetan Dragon Head, launching icy blasts, while constantly snarling and growling… it had a life of its own, often outshining the game’s creepy Howlers and Scarrows.

To this day, I remember that growl more vividly than many of the monsters it helped me defeat.

Looking back, that’s probably the highest compliment I can give a game. It immersed me so completely in the mansion’s atmosphere that even one of its weapons became part of the horror. And it even made it stop feeling like another weapon in my inventory and it started feeling more like a companion with attitude, like a trained battle beast. Fierce. Loyal. Terrifying.

A weapon that, somehow, managed to scare me almost as much as the monsters we were hunting together.

The Video Game Storyteller

The Video Game Storyteller publication by

A publication about the stories in video games and the stories they create for us.

Lost in an Uncharted Space

The first time I played Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, I forgot I was playing a video game.

I know that’s a bit of a cliché thing to say, but if such a statement ever applied to my experience with a game, it was this one. Something magical happened when Uncharted 2’s cinematic scope, vibrant characters, gorgeous presentation, and exciting gameplay came together to entirely suck me into its world.

I think a lot of it has to do with the game’s pacing. There’s an argument to be made that Uncharted 2 uses its roughly ten-hour playtime better than some games five or six times that length. It all just flows perfectly. The heightened moments of action followed by stretches of calm. The constantly changing locations that always switch at the precise moment you feel as though you’ve gotten used to the scenery. And the story that builds, surprises, evokes, and satisfies with the masterful craft and exactness of a great orchestral symphony.

It all wrapped me up and immersed me to an extent I have yet to experience in another video game. Simply put, for those ten hours, I was Nathan Drake.

Joe | The Saved Game

The Saved Game publication by Joe | The Saved Game

This gaming-centered publication by Joe is all about uncovering new and old gaming favorites, sharing thoughtful opinions on gaming news, and helping my readers find ways to discover or rekindle their love for video games!

The Capitol Wasteland in Fallout 3 was one of my truest tastes for immersiveness in video games!

Back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, I only played a handful of open-world games (Mercenaries and Just Cause 2 notably). I loved the concept of massive worlds to explore, but often found them to be a bit boring and lacking depth after enough time.

That all changed when I started up my first playthrough of Fallout 3!

As soon as my character stepped out of Vault 101, I knew that I was in for a treat with this game! There was something so magical about my character’s vision adjusting to the dusty light of the outside world, and being met by the vastness of the wasteland in front of me. I knew I had to find my father, but I quickly found myself just wandering around, and investigating this post-apocalyptic world set in a fictional (and often wacky) 1950s time period.

It peaked for me when I arrived in Megaton — the first city your character is steered towards that hosts a massive, unexploded atomic bomb in the center. I found myself being surrounded by people that talked with me in thought-out conversations, who had quests to give me, and were all from various walks of life. For the first time in my memory, a video game didn’t feel fake. Rather, I felt myself becoming amazed at the idea that this was just one city out of many in this game!

It didn’t take me long to continue my journey throughout the Capital Wasteland and in the DLC content within Fallout 3, sinking an almost-embarrassing number of hours into this game. Over the years, I’ve often loaded up the saved game files I have for this title to simply explore, reminiscing on those times that I experienced my first, truly immersive experience in a video game!

Thank You

Thank you all for reading this article, I appreciate it!

A huge THANK YOU as well to everyone who contributed to this article! Thank you to , , , , , and !

If this collaborative article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below in the comments, share it with some friends, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you all next time,
Joe

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Beauty in the Ashes

The first thing you might not associate with the post-apocalypse are scenic and peaceful views.

In a world filled with unnaturally massive scorpions, bleak and desolate landscapes, packs of mutated, two-headed cows, and more irradiated monstrosities, the idea of photogenic locations could seem like a pipe dream!

In my experiences though, I often go out searching for the positivity in bad situations, so finding some quiet moments in this world was fairly easy for me — and often much-needed!

Fallout 4 offers a dire atmosphere. But for today, I want to go out and find the beauty that exists in the Commonwealth Wasteland! The immersive world of this game is flowing with danger and darkness, death and disease, and many entities that have your character in their crosshairs. However, like in the real world we live in today, the simple moments of peace and goodness often go unnoticed in the miasma of despair.

For that reason, we’re going to check out my top five locations in Fallout 4 that offer a moment of peaceful and beautiful respite!

My hope is that after reading this article, you’ll load up your game and find your own locations in the Commonwealth Wasteland that give you a moment of serenity too!

Let’s dive in!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then please consider supporting through a monthly subscription! Thanks!

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Sanctuary Hills

Is there a better location to start this article off with than Sanctuary Hills!?

Sanctuary Hills is nearly empty by the time you arrive back to it — save for your old Mister Handy robot named Codsworth. There are a lot of questions about what happened during the period that your character was frozen within Vault 111. However, one thing that’s for sure is that Sanctuary Hills largely remained frozen in time alongside you.

Once you arrive back for the first time, you’re reminded of the place in time when the bombs first fell on October 23, 2077. Halloween decorations are scattered around people’s houses, calendars are still set back to October of 2077, and remnants of your old home are easily recognizable. The fact that Codsworth is alive tells me that this location hadn’t see much action in the past 200+ years.

It’s fitting to me that this location truly becomes your first settlement of operations with the Minutemen. It provides a sense of hope, belonging, and literal sanctuary that serves as a good respite from the dangers of the wasteland. In fact, one of my past articles went over some of the cozier aspects of building a settlement here at this location!

Once you get settled into Sanctuary Hills, you find that there are many places to relax, including a few views that are quite photogenic! The nearby hills that surround the town offer several spots that you can sit back and watch the town from, as well as a nearby creek that flows into a lake just north of the settlement.

Walden Pond

Back in 1845 through 1847, Henry David Thoreau — a naturalist and philosopher — lived in a remote cabin by himself on Walden Pond in Massachusetts, which he later turned into a memoir titled Walden; or, Life in the Woods.

For two years, two months, and two days, Thoreau lived in this cabin, hoping to gain a more objective understanding of society. This experiment was influenced by Thoreau's interest in transcendentalist philosophy, which believed that people were at their best when truly self-reliant. By living off the land with few material possessions, Thoreau proved it skeptical to think that any outward improvement of life could bring inner peace and contentment.

— Automated Tour at the Walden Pond Cabin

The natural world surrounding you at Walden Pond is one that Thoreau wrote about hundreds of years ago. Though a gift shop that sells Thoreau merchandise was ironically and humorously built right next to the cabin, I find that the area is a quiet retreat from the rest of the Commonwealth Wasteland.

In this peaceful location south of Concord, you can get a sense of overwhelming solitary. It is inhabited by a small gang of raiders that can be easily taken out, but there’s more from nature in this area to explore. The woods in this area are largely masked off from the rest of the Wasteland, providing a section on the outskirts of Concord that are worth visiting!

Robotics Pioneer Park

From a passing view, the Robotics Pioneer Park seems like it just hosts a few ghouls and a feisty Deathclaw.

However, once you enter into this park, you get the sense of what it would’ve looked like when the bombs first fell in 2077. I could only imagine the large tree in the center quietly dropping autumn leaves, friends sitting on the park benches to catch up in the morning, kids playing in the adjacent playground, and the Protectrons getting prepared for their parade routine.

Now though, the remnants show a quiet scene that harkens back to 200+ years ago. The giant tree is rotted out, skeletons with tattered clothing sit on the benches, the jungle set on the playground is decayed, and the Protectrons sit inside their pods — awaiting activation.

In the moment you find this location and dispatch of any enemies, it feels less like a dangerous location and more like a tranquil memorial. Even with it sitting on the border to The Glowing Sea, the Robotics Pioneer Park is an ideal place for finding a moment of peace in the Commonwealth!

Relay Tower 0BB-915

A trip up to this relay tower is absolutely worth it for an early morning sunrise view in the Commonwealth Wasteland!

Due to the height and location, you can see for miles towards downtown Boston, and even out to the northern parts of the map. Just next to it on a cliff is the canister launching shack, where you can shoot off some “fireworks” by using the available canisters.

During foggy evenings, the nearby woods will host an eerie atmosphere that is hauntingly calm. There are few enemies in the near vicinity, and the sound of wind rustling through the trees creates a serene ambience.

The peaceful views surrounding this relay tower are likely the best there are in this game! It’s a simple place that is mostly forgotten about, but is one that offers a wonderful spot for pleasant views!

Kingsport Lighthouse

Out of all of the places on the eastern portion of the map, I think that the Kingsport Lighthouse is the most picturesque!

During periods of heavy fog, this location is definitely spookier than anything else. While this location doesn’t exist in real life, it could be a nod to H.P. Lovecraft’s use of Kingsport in his early work — based on a town bordering Salem — which is how close this lighthouse is to the game’s version of Salem.

Once this location is cleared out of enemies and you can settle it, it becomes a fantastic retreat for some nice views, especially from the top of the lighthouse. To the north, you can easily see Salem, of course you have the harbor with the great waves out towards the east, and a distant downtown Boston towards the south. Based on its position along the coast, it also provides decent defenses against future attacks.

It’s not a location that I’ve spent much time in, in the past. But this old lighthouse is a place that I often find myself visiting more and more in recent playthroughs. Whenever I stand out by the dock near the water, I can hear the waves crashing against the shore and radiated seagulls happily squawking overhead. I can practically smell the salt water in the air, and it all creates an atmosphere that is shockingly calm in the midst of such ruin from the Wasteland!

Many More Locations

We took a look at a few of my most photogenic spots in the Commonwealth Wasteland, but there are so many different locations that can be found in Fallout 4!

I loved being able to relax some while scouting out some of the peaceful spots for this article. I hope that you’ve gained some new ideas from some of my top locations in this write-up, and that you’ll go out and explore some more for yourself!

Thank you for the honor and privilege of your time! It means a lot that you’re here, and I appreciate your readership!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback!

See you again,
Joe

Check Out the Previous Entries

My Fallout 4 articles are a series! Check out my previous entries down below!

What are Your Thoughts

I want to hear from you!

What is your experience with Fallout 4? Have you played it?

What do you think is the most photogenic and peaceful spot in the Commonwealth Wasteland?

Leave a comment

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Happy Tuesday

Hope you all are doing good today!

My blogs have taken a bit of a hit lately due to being sick, other projects I need to work on, as well as general life stuff. But, I’m glad to be back and hope to get these out on a more consistent schedule!

I initially was planning to write out some more thoughts I had from the Sony news from last week regarding the loss of physical discs in 2028. It’s an important topic to me, and one that I could talk about all day.

I’m not going to do that for today though, just because everyone has already talked about it for days now and there’s nothing else I can really say without parroting others at this point.

However, I want to talk about another side of physical media in gaming: magazines, gaming guides, editions, and books! These other aspects of physical media have been around for much of my life, and I think it’s important to highlight them too.

Let’s jump in!

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What’s Been Going on in My World?

I’ve been doing a lot more reading this year, and have placed a focus on buying physical books as much as I can.

The look and feel of something I can hold is a big inspiration for today’s blog. I love seeing some of these pieces of media up on my bookshelf, and I love flipping through them. As someone that favors visuals, I find that I can gain so much inspiration when I can easily pick up a book or magazine and really immerse myself in it. I’ve already shown some of the gaming art books in the past, so I’ll focus on new things today!

Books, Gaming Guides, Editions, Magazines

Before all of the Sony craziness went down, I was reminded about this topic a few weeks ago when posted up a Note here on Substack about the Metal Gear Solid novel that came out in the 2000s.

It not only reminded me of this topic, but also reminded me that I have both of those books!

As I mentioned previously in a follow-up Note, I enjoyed those books for the most part. They’re definitely shorter reads for such expansive worlds, but I think they’re worth checking out — at least once. More so though, I love the way they look up on my bookshelf!

There are so many quality books based on games out there. I’ve read some of the Witcher books in the past, and I’ve been meaning to start reading the Mass Effect books in the near future.

Do you have any books based on games (or games based on books!) that you’d recommend? Let me know down in the comments!

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Continuing on with the Metal Gear Solid games, I also have a few guides that I’ve picked up over time. This series was one I was really into back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, so I remember picking up these guides over time, as I often enjoy flipping through them, seeing all the artwork, and reminiscing on old memories!

Fallout is another series that I’ve played a ton of. While I often write about Fallout 4 and mention that here on The Saved Game, I’m pretty sure I’ve actually played Fallout 3 more than any of the other games combined!

Way back in the early 2010s, I was obsessed with Fallout 3. I couldn’t believe how expansive the open world was, or how there were all the choices that your character could make. I fell in love with the Capitol Wasteland, and played through that game so many times.

I’m not sure when I picked up the guides for both Fallout 3 and New Vegas, but I loved seeing all of the different quests and options that were available. Each of these guides also came with a large map too, though I’m not quite sure what I’ve done with those.

Beyond just the gaming guides, I also picked up the Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition on the PlayStation 3 that came with a lunchbox and other items. I love flipping through the artwork book it came with, and I used to have the bobblehead displayed on my desk. There’s also a variety of other bobbleheads I ended up with at some point, which were designed a lot better!

I still haven’t talked much of it on here, but I also love both Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5! I came across this guide for Persona 4 years ago and picked it up, and it’s one that I love to flip through. I plan to pick up the one for Persona 5 in the future. I also have the animation on DVD, and it’s one I would highly recommend too!

One of the other things I wanted to point out are magazines too. I used to have a subscription to Game Informer while they were still partnered with GameStop, and I would often get them in the mail. They were a favorite of mine to flip through, though I ended up losing quite a bit of them over time. However, I did save a few of the recent one that I ended up with before they stopped making them (prior to their reorganization). At some point in the future, I would like to resubscribe, and I’m glad they still make physical copies!

You can view all of their archived magazines here at this link.

There’s more that would make this post way too long, but I guess my main point in highlighting these various books, guides, and magazines is to showcase the impact that physical media has in gaming beyond just discs.

I love having these and many more pieces up on my gaming shelves. They serve as reminders for the games I loved, the virtual worlds I’ve been to, and many of the memories I have from simpler times. In no way would they have the same impact if they were just loaded onto my computer or on a tablet to read.

I’d definitely encourage you to take a look at some other forms of physical media to collect too! It’s fun to find new (or old) things, and I think it’s well worth it to uncover pieces of gaming media that will last you a long time!

Games I’ve Been Playing & What’s Next

My gaming has been all over the place for the past month — and I don’t mean that lightly!

On my last blog, I mentioned that I planned to play more of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on the Switch, but I just haven’t had the time. While I still want to play it, I’ve had to put it on the back burner for now. From what I have played so far though, it’s been very fun!

While writing my last article on Dante’s Inferno, I ended up playing it a bit! It’s a very fascinating, but dark game. I definitely learned a lot about that game while researching its background for my article. It’s always amazing what can be learned from watching developer commentaries and uncovering old news articles on the Wayback Machine!

I did take a bit of a break one day and added some spine sleeves to the cases of my Switch games! I don’t have too many Switch titles, but I loved coming across the r/SwitchSpines subreddit! Now, my default cases look a lot better, and I honestly feel excited to look for more physical games now for the Switch. Nintendo really should’ve stepped it up to make their cover art look better in the first place for Switch games (and even for the 3DS), but I’m glad I was able to get this done!

Over the past month, I demoed some indie games during Steam’s Next Fest, which I talked about on ’s latest piece! They were fun games, and I absolutely had a blast. If you haven’t seen that article yet, then you can check it out here and read up on the games I played and would recommend you to check out!

During the Summer Sale on Steam, I did pick up a couple more Quantic Dream games: Beyond Two Souls and Heavy Rain. I plan on playing these at some point in the next few months, though I mostly just wanted to snag them for their $2 price tag while they were on sale.

was kind enough to gift me Bastion on Steam! I played some of it to make sure it ran on my older PC (which it did), and it’s really cool! I played Supergiant Games’ Hades a bit last year, and it was alright. However, I really enjoy the atmosphere and controls for Bastion so far, and I plan on finishing it up soon. Thank you again ROP!

Lastly, I picked up Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on the Nintendo Switch while it was on sale. I haven’t had the chance to take part in ’s monthly Gaming Club he has on Good Game Lobby yet, and I figured this was a good chance to jump in!

There’s still plenty of time to jump in for this monthly Gaming Club! You can join in on Sey’s GGL Discord server (link here in Sey’s latest post), along with chatting with a lot of awesome and familiar people that hang out there!

Collaborative Article

If you are a subscriber and would like to take part in my next collab article, please take a look at this Substack Note for details:

I’d love for you to participate! The deadline to submit your piece is July 23rd!

That wraps it up for today! Thanks for checking out today’s blog, and I’ll be working on my next article that is slated now to come out on Thursday, the 16th!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

See you all next time,
Joe

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Welcome

Welcome to this Game Save!

It’s been a minute since my last Game Save article, but I hope that you all have been doing good!

We’ve got two big topics to go over today in the world of gaming news. First up, it’s hard to ignore the growing controversy over Grand Theft Auto VI with its upcoming physical edition that doesn’t have a disc, as well as Sony’s announcement regarding the end of production for physical discs. I have some thoughts to share with that massive and disheartening topic.

I also want to dive into some recent updates on Quantic Dream’s upcoming and ever-mysterious game: Star Wars Eclipse!

Afterwards, there are two community spotlights I have for some incredible creators from the past few weeks that I want to highlight. To wrap things up, I’ll have an announcement for my upcoming collaborative article that I invite my subscribers to take part in!

Let’s go!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome!

My name is Joe, and Game Save articles go over some of the latest gaming news you may have missed along with some thoughts I have on them, reviews of games or accessories, as well as a Community Spotlight for articles that I loved! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

🔥 Take a look at my recent main article on the Dante’s Inferno
💾 Check out my previous Game Save write-up
☕️ Read my latest Cup of Joe blog post

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then please consider supporting through a monthly subscription! Thanks!

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My Thoughts from Recent Gaming News

First up, let’s jump into the recent news and controversy surrounding Grand Theft Auto VI and Sony — with what could be the complete death of physical media for games!

Afterwards, we’ll try to figure out where the hell Star Wars Eclipse is currently at from Quantic Dream!

The Final Death of the Disc?

As it stands, Grand Theft Auto VI is slated to be one of the biggest games released of all time.

The first trailer currently has over a quarter of a billion views just on YouTube, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive admitted how the high expectations for this game have him terrified, and analyst projections for the estimated sales stagger into the billions.

Last week, Rockstar announced the pricing details for Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders ($79.99 for the standard and $99.99 for the ultimate edition). The price for the base game was lower than I was personally expecting, but it came as a bit of surprise to me when they announced the physical edition would contain a “download code inside the box,” seemingly dashing away the hopes for people that figured a physical version of the game would actually include a physical version of the game.

Just recently then on July 1st, Sony announced that they will cease production of discs in January of 2028. While that seems far away, it signals a major shift in the way that major brands perceive players and how people use their hardware — especially so soon after the announcement about Grand Theft Auto VI.

As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.

PlayStation Blog — Physical disc production ending in January 2028

Ironically, on the same day, Sony put out another statement that let people know the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita Stores would be shuttering in the near future.

Plus, as I talked about in a previous Game Save article, Sony was reported to be testing around with dynamic pricing on the PlayStation Store earlier this year. With there being just one storefront to buy digital games for the console, Sony definitely has a lot of control over the prices they set for games and other media. As Polygon reported earlier this year, Sony was even hit by lawsuits ranging in the billions of dollars for allegedly monopolizing the PlayStation Store due to “excessive and unfair” charges on their “closed eco-system.”

All of that news comes after yet another announcement from Sony just last week, noting how they’ll be removing hundreds of TV shows and movies from people’s PlayStation accounts — content that people paid for — due to license agreements with the studio, as reported by Game Informer. Did people know about those license agreements when they purchased the digital media? I know that I never heard of anything like that for the few shows I purchased years ago on my PlayStation account.

The lack of an actual disc with the game on it is a big deal, at least for me. I’ve collected games for years now, and I just prefer having physical media in general. There are games that are way older than I am in my collection or even newer games, all of which I love to play and am glad I can still play without having to worry about servers being online for code checks or having to download forced patches.

As I mentioned in my first Game Save article, I try to only purchase digital goods if I actually end up owning them, or if the sale is so great that I can part with the money.

Based on the harsh feedback I’ve seen online regarding the recent Grand Theft Auto VI and Sony announcements, I started to wonder more about the history of games being released only in a digital format or requiring users to perform an online check before they can play — especially concerning larger AAA games. A number of indie games have released in the past two decades as digital-only versions, but I want to focus more on the larger games.

We’ll take a quick look at three of them. The first one for Half-Life 2 took place over 20 years ago, and while it did have a physical release, it was one of the first large games that required an online check before it could be played.

Half-Life 2 and Steam

Ars Technica wrote an article about two years ago that went over the mixed launch for Half-Life 2 back in 2004. While some people had no issues, others had a nightmarish time to play this new title many years ago — even if they bought the physical game at a retail store.

In this article, they wrote about the impact that this game had on the industry, as it was one of the first major games to require an online check with Valve’s relatively new distribution platform: Steam.

Steam wasn’t just necessary to download a copy of Half-Life 2. Those who purchased a boxed retail copy quickly found it was useless unless they installed Steam and registered the Steam key included in the box with their account. That led many early customers to see Steam not as a bold new way to deliver games directly to consumers but as an intrusive and unwelcome form of DRM.

— Ars Technica, Half-Life 2 pushed Steam on the gaming masses (2024)

More so, many users reported major issues with their connections, and found that Steam’s servers seemed to be down.

Going back, I found old forum posts where people were complaining that they couldn’t even play their new game because they couldn’t get a connection to Steam working. One from a forum called Rage3D — posted one day after the launch of Half-Life 2 — showed players vehemently complaining and arguing about not being able to play this game. Steam even posted an update on the authentication issues when it first came out in 2004.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

The Video Game Chronicles reported on Hellblade II back in 2024, and how it would release as a digital-only game.

There were some reports I found that said it would be released with Limited Run Games on a disc (an American video game publisher/distributor that focuses on physically released games), but according to the official website, it’s still listed as digital-only. Despite being published and having the backing by Xbox Game Studios, I could not find where it has ever made it to a physical release, and it looks to remain locked away in the digital void.

Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake 2 also received controversy when it was released due to its digital-only format. According to the FAQ section of its official website from 2023, they had listed off three reasons as to why they made this choice.

There are many reasons for this. For one, a large number of players have shifted to digital only. You can buy a Sony PlayStation 5 without a disc drive and Microsoft’s Xbox Series S is a digital only console. It is not uncommon to release modern games as digital-only.

Secondly, not releasing a disc helps keep the price of the game at $59.99 / €59.99 and the PC version at $49.99 / €49.99.

Finally, we did not want to ship a disc product and have it require a download for the game — we do not think this would make for a great experience either.

Alan Wake 2 FAQ (2023)

Almost a year after this game came out though, they did decide to release it as a physical disc, as well as a Collector’s Edition — distributed by Limited Run Games.

What Can be Done?

Beyond just those games, there are others that have focused on being digital titles or forcing users to perform online checks before they can be played. Because the general direction seems to be heading towards a disc-less gaming society, is there anything that the consumer can do?

At the very least, it’s a good idea to look at the DoesItPlay website and see a list of games that can be played without a required download or online digital rights management (DRM) checks. They test all sorts of games to ensure they can play without issues after being purchased. This will help guide your choice for games that are strictly yours after you purchase it, and not reliant on anything else.

Likewise — at least in my opinion — it’s worth getting physical media when you’re able to. While some games require patches and downloads, you’ll be able to find plenty of media, movies, shows, and more out there that you’ll own and not have to worry about losing. Just a month or so ago, CBS reported on a Brooklyn video store that brought back VHS tapes and DVDs, with many customers looking happy to purchase something they can actually hold. After the announcement from Sony regarding them stopping production of discs in 2028, I think it’s doubly worth the effort to invest in local brick-and-mortar stores for physical games and media.

I think that Take-Two and Rockstar will do whatever they want with a game as massive as Grand Theft Auto VI is forecasted to be. There’s a host of reasons they’re just having a code in a box — including the game being too big, preventing leaks, or perhaps to just maximize profits. I hope that they will release an actual physical copy in the future, possibly on multiple discs like Red Dead Redemption II had. If not though, people that care for physical media can vote with their wallets if they choose to do so.

Sony will undoubtedly do what they want with how big they’ve become. I hope that the feedback they continue to get will push them to change positions, especially given what their stance on physical media used to be back 10 – 15 years ago. I also hope that their competition takes note of the backlash and responds in a way that favors consumers.

In my opinion, I think that Sony wouldn’t have received so much backlash if their online services were beyond stellar and they proved to support digital games for the long term. After all of the issues they’ve had in the past, including the infamous 2011 hack that brought the PlayStation Network down for nearly a month and other outages, I can’t imagine trusting them fully to host all of my digital games in the future. Likewise, after ditching online stores for their consoles — such as the PSP Store and the upcoming PS3/Vita Stores — they’ve proved that there is a time limit to digital gaming from their services.

Unfortunately, later in the future, I have the feeling that streaming digital games will only rise in popularity due to higher costs of hardware and growing number of digital-only games. Why spend $650 for a console and $80 for a digital code when you could just spend $24 per month to stream a plethora of games through a smart TV? Meanwhile, will other console makers in the future simply plan their platforms around a disc-less gaming environment?

Time will tell what happens, but I think that this issue is worth being vocal and pissed off about, so that other game/console creators and publishers know that people prefer to have physical copies to keep, to trade, or to share with friends.

Where the Hell is Star Wars Eclipse?

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been in a craze regarding Detroit: Become Human, as well as purchasing both Beyond Two Souls and Heavy Rain to play at some point in the near future, all games that were created by Quantic Dream — a Paris-based video game developer and publisher known for their story-driven, single-player games.

While I was busying myself with these other games, I realized that I hadn’t heard anything about the current status of Quantic Dream in quite some time — especially regarding their latest announced single-player game: Star Wars Eclipse. With the reveal trailer nearing five-years old at this point, I’d hope to find some good news.

What I found out though is damn near alarming.

According to various reports, there have seemingly been major problems brewing at Quantic Dream, though the company itself repeatedly stated that development for their latest Star Wars game is still on track.

Before we see the current status of where things are at now in 2026, it’s worth taking a quick look at a couple of big happenings with Quantic Dream from the past five or so years:

Acquisition by NetEase Games (2019 & 2022 – Current)

About one year after Detroit: Become Human was released in 2019, NetEase Games — a Chinese global developer and publisher — made an announcement that they will acquire a minority stake in Quantic Dream “…to further the development and distribution of global online games.”

A few years later in 2022, NetEase Games then made an announcement that they had fully acquired Quantic Dream, thus establishing it as the first studio in Europe under NetEase Games. David Cage — Quantic Dream’s founder, CEO, and Writer/Director — said in part: “We have highly differentiated games in the making and I truly believe that the best is yet to come from Quantic Dream. I am particularly proud that our employees, who were offered a significant share of our capital over the past years, will fully benefit from this acquisition.” This announcement did contain multiple references to the continuing development of Star Wars Eclipse.

MOBA Game Launch and Collapse (2025? – 2026)

Though I couldn’t find an exact date when development began, Quantic Dream had started work on a new MOBA game that was officially revealed in late 2025:

The name of that game was Spellcasters Chronicles.

Per the description on the reveal teaser, this game featured 3V3 action-strategy battles, summons for hundreds of creatures, the ability to cast devastating spells, and more.

However, just within the past few weeks on June 19th of 2026, Quantic Dream announced that Spellcasters Chronicles would be shut down permanently, and users who had made purchases in early-access would receive refunds. In part, they said that “…the game has not reached the audience needed to ensure its long-term sustainability.” Likewise, they mentioned that the studio would go through an “internal reorganization” because of the shutdown.

Where Are We at Now?

All of that leads us to where we’re at now in 2026 with Quantic Dream.

After the shutdown of Spellcasters Chronicles, reports from a French website called Gamekult described problems from the employees that are potentially getting let go from Quantic Dream. On the day that Lucasfilm was at the premises of Quantic Dream to review the progress of Star Wars Eclipse, the at-risk employees were out on strike, and talked with Gamekult on the challenges for the studio’s upcoming game.

Using Brave Translate, that report from Gamekult notes how several employees were heavily concerned about the development of Star Wars Eclipse, especially if the workforce gets cut. Some had concerns about NetEase Games’ involvement and confusion surrounding who exactly is making the decisions. Likewise, there was sentiment that the management at the top has resulted in severe disorganization.

According to one of the impacted employees, they said, “We consider that as it stands, the game [Star Wars Eclipse] literally cannot be finished if the PSE as planned is executed.”

On the flip side, the announcement for the shuttering of Spellcasters Chronicles included a specific note about Star Wars Eclipse and said, “The development of Star Wars Eclipse is not affected by this decision and continues as planned.” Plus, the fact that the Gamekult article confirmed that Lucasfilm is reviewing the progress of this upcoming game makes it seem like it’s fairly deep within development.

Regardless of what happens, it’s disappointing to me that people’s livelihoods are at risk. I would’ve hoped that Quantic Dream — assuming they’re the ones still able to call the shots — focused their efforts on what they do best with story-driven, single-players games.

What Are Your Thoughts on These Topics?

• What do you think about the release of Grand Theft Auto VI being digital only? How about Sony stopping production of discs starting in 2028?

• How do you feel about Star Wars Eclipse? When do you think we’ll see it get released (if it even does)?

Leave a comment

Community Spotlight

The two articles I have for this Game Save’s community spotlight are amazing, and absolutely worth checking out! They’re ones that gave me deeper insights into the topics the authors wrote about, which is something I always look for. I’m certain you’ll find them to be educational, as well as engaging!

Deep Dive into a Fictional Victorian London

posted up a wonderful article on a forgotten game (at least to me):

The Order: 1886!

I honestly never thought much of this game when it first came out. While I ended up with a collector’s edition of it that I found on sale years ago, I never played it and eventually lost track of where my copy of it ended up at.

However, after reading this article, I wish I kept it — because I really want to play it now! Chrysa goes over so much into the history of the world this game takes place in, using the background in archaeology they have to discuss the details of this adaptation of Victorian London. Chrysa did such a good job at expanding the depth of this game, and explaining how amazing it is to play. It doesn’t just sound like a good game, but an incredibly immersive experience set in a world that was caringly built by its designers and developers!

At the conclusion, Chrysa ends with a question, asking readers if they would play this game. My answer is a resounding “Yes” and I can’t wait to dive into the fictional Victorian world of The Order: 1886 in the near future!

Thank you, Chrysa, for this amazing read, and I urge others to check it out as well!

Think like an Archaeologist

The game that rewrote Victorian London

What happens when King Arthur’s Knights meet Nikola Tesla in the darkest streets of Whitechapel…

Read more

2 months ago · 7 likes · 4 comments · Chrysa Deliou

Steam Machine Woes

routinely shares incredible insights and reporting on gaming news and opinions. What I love about Harrison’s work is his high quality and ethical reporting, with him fact-checking all of his work and delivering words that are absolutely worth reading!

Harrison’s attention to details and factual reporting are why I loved his take on the Steam Machine’s recent pricing announcement! Not only did he go into the announced pricing structure, but he paid attention to the impacts the now-expensive Steam Machine will have for indie gaming — especially noting the thoughts of those in the Australian indie developer community. Likewise, Harrison touched on some enhanced details behind the impacts that AI is making around the globe regarding the higher prices for consoles, leaving the Steam Machine in a tough spot for those that had hoped it would offer a cheaper entry into gaming in a market that has seen explosive rises in costs.

The work Harrison does inspires me to be a better writer, and this latest piece was just another example of his excellence in gaming journalism. If you haven’t checked this article out yet, then I implore you to go read it as soon as you can!

Thank you, Harrison, for the work you do!

Infinite Lives

If gamers weren’t already angry with AI, the Steam Machine’s $1609 price tag sealed the deal

Read more

2 months ago · 20 likes · 12 comments · Harrison Polites

Upcoming Collaborative Article

I had hoped to get my next collab article started up in June, but due to a slew of unforeseen events in my life, I couldn’t find the time.

However, the time to announce it has finally arrived!

For my next collaborative article, I invite my subscribers to join me in writing a piece about immersion in gaming!

I’ve talked about immersion a lot before, and how important it is to me in video games. To me, an immersive game is all about the well-written characters that draw you into the world, or the beautiful atmosphere that refuses to let you go, or the impactful and emotional storytelling that makes you grip the controller even tighter! Many aspects in a game can make you forget about the real world for a few hours, and make it feel like you’re in the shoes of that game’s character!

Like with a good book I can’t possibly put down, I find that immersion in video games keeps me locked in and engaged with that game’s world!

And now, I want to hear your story about the most immersive experience you’ve ever had in a video game!

So, as before with my last collaborative article, there are some quick guidelines to follow.

Here’s What You Need to Know:

• The topic is this: What is the most immersive experience you’ve ever had in a video game?

• Only subscribers can participate!

• Try to keep it around 200 – 300 words, though a little over or under is completely fine though!

• Your Substack name will be tagged in the article, as well as your publication (with its description) if you have one!

• DM me your submission, as well as one photo if you want! The photo is optional!

• I will be collecting submissions until July 23rd from subscribers, and will tentatively get the finished piece posted on Thursday, July 30th!

• I will be capping it at the first 20 subscribers who DM me! There was plenty of room last time, so don’t hesitate to reach out!

Remember to have fun with it, and to keep in mind that you’ll have until the 23rd of July to submit your piece! Feel free to use the button below to send me a message and get started!

Closing

This was a longer article, but I thank you for reading!

Life’s been busy on my side, but I hope to be back to a normal schedule coming up soon with my articles and blogs. I’m still planning out my next article, but you should expect it on Thursday, the 16th — as well as some new blogs too!

Until then, I thank you again for your time and for reading today!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you all next time,
Joe

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Searching for More

Have you ever played a game or series and just wanted more?

More of a character. More of a fictional world. More of… everything?

After I finished up a few of the God of War games many years ago, I began to search for another hack-and-slash title to play. There was a hole in my heart that needed to be filled with fast-paced, grisly action that was as serious as God of War. After looking around, I came across Dante’s Inferno, a game loosely based on the epic poem, the Divine Comedy.

I remember being leery at the time, just because I hadn’t heard much of this game. The cover art looked amazing, and it even had an animated series made for it. But, the lack of knowledge I had on this title made me hesitant. What was significant about this game? Would it be worth my time to play? Would it give me the hack-and-slash satisfaction I desired?

Once I began my journey in this disturbing experience, I realized just how impressive it was — and how it met and even exceeded all of my expectations!

For today, we’re going to revisit the worthy gaming experience of Dante’s Inferno. This EA-published title has become a bit of a cult classic, and I was reminded of it recently thanks to from a Substack Note a few weeks ago! I don’t want to just talk about the comparisons to a game like God of War, but I want to dive deeper into the horrifying immersiveness and the pushed limits that this game provides to players. What was supposed to be a trilogy of games ended up falling short of being its own series, and lapsed into the memories of disappointed players that were left wanting more — but never received anything beyond this first title. However, the memories it left me have lasted for many years since I first played it.

To me, Dante’s Inferno wasn’t just a generic hack-and-slash that failed to rise above its competition, but rather a brutally beautiful game that has left a lasting impact.

My hope is that after reading this, you will pick it up and give this amazing game a try or decide to revisit it!

Let’s get started!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then please consider supporting through a monthly subscription! Thanks!

Want More? Join Other Subscribers Now 🔥

Creating and Marketing a Hellish Experience

Based on the behind-the-scenes content from the game, I found that the game studio behind Dante’s Inferno — the now-shuttered Visceral Games (makers of Dead Space) — took quite a few creative liberties when transforming the Divine Comedy into a video game.

Released in February of 2010 — one month prior to God of War III being published — the creators of Dante’s Inferno seemingly did everything they could to create a truly hellish experience for players. In doing so, they invested in a lot of strong talent to build a great game. A designer named Michael Cheng, experienced from his work on games like Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and God of War II, was brought in to lead the level designs. Wayne Barlowe, someone whose art has been praised by the likes of James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro, worked with Visceral Games to provide terrifying concept art of Hell. Musician Garry Schyman, known for creating music in the Bioshock series and many other games, helped create the soundtrack. Graham McTavish supplied his strong voice for Dante, with his other acting work spanning The Hobbit movies, the Uncharted series, and The House of the Dragon TV show on HBO.

Beyond the talent they brought in, I loved how the designers and creators of this game truly wanted it to be great. In the behind-the-scenes content, a lot of them talked about how much they worked to bring Dante’s Inferno to life in ways that would creatively expand their visions of the nine Circles of Hell. One of the lead designers, Steve Desilets, talked about this title pushing the limits, and how much they focused on immersing the player behind the horrifying perspective of Dante.

What I loved is that they desired to create a truly unique interpretation of the epic poem!

As it got closer to release, Dante’s Inferno made some bold marketing choices that garnered mixed reactions. As reported by Yahoo Gaming in 2009, they sent out unsolicited $200 checks in the mail to gaming journalists — with a message that seemingly taunted/tempted them about cashing the checks and a warning about greed and waste — loosely fitting with the themes of various sins from the epic poem. In another marketing stunt, there appeared to be legitimate protesters that held a rally outside of E3 in 2009 to condemn the game and its dark themes, even holding up signs that read, "Trade in Your PlayStation for a PrayStation." However, a spokesperson for EA later admitted that the protest was actually faked with actors, and was part of a publicity stunt to promote the game, as reported by the LA Times. Other similar marketing tactics were used until the game came out, as well as a 30 second Super Bowl commercial that was released in early 2010 (at an average cost of around $3 million dollars according to Statista).

As with the marketing, the game itself received fairly mixed reactions upon release.

Many of the reviews tended to compare the title to God of War. GameSpot awarded it a 6.5 with criticism on the repetitiveness. IGN gave it a 7.5 review and focused more of their criticism on the combat/battle system. Metacritic’s reviews hovered around 75/100 from critics and 7.6 from users a few months after it had come out in 2010. Some people seemed to absolutely hate it, while others felt it was a worthy competitor to other hack-and-slash titles.

So, with all of the average ratings and reactions to a game that was heavily invested in by EA and Visceral Games, why would anyone be interested to play it all these years later? If it’s so similar to God of War, is there any reason to buy it? Or should it just live in the past?

To me, it’s worth giving this game a chance for two main reasons. One is because of the horror-filled immersiveness you feel from Dante’s perspective — which greatly enhances the gameplay. Two is that the limits pushed by the creators and designers that made this game stand out in ways that might never be fully accomplished again for such a mainstream title.

Feeling Dante’s Horror-Filled Pain

Without any doubt, Dante’s Inferno is a brutal, violent, and dark game.

Early on in the game, you quickly enter into the hellish nightmare for Dante before he ever even sees the Underworld. In this retelling of the poem, Dante is a Crusader who battles in the Siege of Arc in 1191. He and others with him were told that their sins would be fully absolved — leading him to participate in numerous grave deeds that were unjustifiable. He is eventually stabbed in the back and faces Death, who informs him of his transgressions that have condemned him. In disbelief, he defeats Death and takes Death’s Scythe. Upon returning home to Italy, he finds his love, Beatrice. In a tragic twist though, he discovers that she had been killed, and can only watch as Lucifer drags her soul down to Hell because of a deal made with Lucifer. With the aid and guidance of Virgil’s spirit — a poet borrowed from the Divine Comedy — Dante descends into the tortured depths of the Inferno to save Beatrice.

Right off the bat, there’s a deep sense of helplessness from Dante’s perspective that you can feel in your soul.

Once Dante arrives in Hell — armed with Death’s Scythe — he finds that he can only move further down to get to Beatrice. Along the way, he gains new powers — such as a Holy Cross that can be used to fire projectiles of satisfying energy attacks, as well as abilities and combos that can be leveled up. With how terrible of a situation you discover yourself in, you will find thankfulness in your heart to have all the help you can get.

When Dante starts fighting through hordes of demons and horrific creatures, you can feel your grip tightening on the controller. Visceral screams of agony ring out from the halls of Hell. Visuals of desecrated souls all around you will torment your eyes through the different Circles of the Underworld. Epic choirs and deep chants with the orchestrated soundtrack promise to accompany you and Virgil deeper into the fires.

From the perspective of Dante, all hope should be lost. You soon find out that Dante has to confront his own past through the Circles of Hell. Bosses of historical figures try to stop your progress, including Cleopatra, Beatrice’s brother Francesco, Cerberus, and of course, Lucifer.

To me, that perspective from Dante is gold in terms of immersiveness. You’ll feel attached to this character while unraveling his story. As you face your own past in the game, you are given choices to absolve or condemn others — like a simple reminder as to why your character ended up in these Circles of Hell in the first place.

The immersiveness provides a haunting reason to play this game. On top of that though, the creative limits that were pushed add to the playability of this title!

Hellishly Pushing the Limits of Creativity

In the behind-the-scenes content, the overall theme I kept hearing from the creators was that they did not want to hold back and opted to push the limits for Dante’s Inferno. In the end, I think they easily accomplished that.

The atmosphere and environment of this game will chill you to the bone due to the hellish attack on your senses they provide. Many of the grisly creatures and monsters tower over Dante, promoting a vivid sense of dread. Whenever you find a new enemy or boss, it wouldn’t feel odd to be repulsed by it — given the nightmarish location this game takes place in. Your goal is to save Beatrice’s soul from the grasp of Lucifer, and slicing through a horde of horrific demons should only serve as fuel for your character’s spirit.

Given the amount of squeamish content in this game, I’m not entirely sure something like this would be given the green light nowadays for a mainstream title. I appreciate risk-taking in creative works, and I feel like the creators of Dante’s Inferno did not hold back on the brutal vision they had for this game. They wanted players to experience Hell through the eyes of Dante and his treacherous plight to save Beatrice, and they did their best to showcase what that journey would look like.

In that respect, I think they absolutely delivered on the type of risk-taking content in this game. I love a good horror movie or other work of creative art with terrifying elements, but Dante’s Inferno was the type of video game that made me audibly gasp and feel shocked at times in ways that other games have never done before. Was it too much? Some would argue it was. However, I think that the design choices made it stand out amongst a sea of games that choose to play it safe.

A title like this will not be for everyone. However, others will appreciate the limits of artistic creativity that were made in this game, and will want to see it for themselves!

Dante’s Lasting Legacy

On the day of its release in February of 2010, Dante’s Inferno seemed to be set up for success.

They had a collaboration of incredible talent working on it, significant amounts of resources poured into the marketing (as questionable as it was), and a tragic story that was worth retelling from an epic poem of old.

However, massive success eluded this game, and it seemed to fall into the shadows. On top of God of War III, many other renowned games came out around the same time. Mass Effect 2 came out in January of 2010, BioShock 2 released in February, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was published in March, and Red Dead Redemption was unleashed in May of the same year. It’s possible that Dante’s Inferno was simply swept away with the release of so many other popular games in 2010.

Over time, Dante’s Inferno has gained a bit of a cult following. If you visit old trailers, or various posts across the internet, you’ll often find commenters begging for a remaster or remake of this game. People’s memories of it seem to be a bit different and a bit more positive than when it was first released. Tal Peleg — a former senior cinematic animator at Naughty Dog and BioWare — even created an amazing animated short in tribute to this game.

As I mentioned in the beginning, this game was also supposed to be the start of a planned trilogy. After missing the mark with sales for the first game, the second title named Dante’s Purgatorio was killed off, as reported by Polygon.

IGN dug much deeper in an article last year, where they explored Dante’s Purgatorio and the third game that was never meant to be. In this write-up, they shared a lot of concept art and the story of the doomed sequels. The idea of “what could have been” is both breathtaking and heartbreaking at the same time. Please check that article out, it’s absolutely worth taking a look at to get many details about the tossed trilogy!

Dante’s legacy might not have lived up to the lasting impact of Kratos, but that doesn’t mean you should pass on this insane game. The studio behind it took risks to create their vision of Hell from the Divine Comedy, most of which I’d argue made it stand out in a positive light and increased the immersion. This title might live forever locked away in the seventh generation of consoles, but that doesn’t mean you should walk away from it. If you enjoy a good hack-and-slash that pushes the limits of creativity, then I’d recommend you jump into the mind and perspective of Dante, and explore the hellish world of Dante’s Inferno!

Thank you for the honor and privilege of your time! It means a lot that you’re here, and I appreciate your readership! Thank you again to for the inspiration I initially gained to create the post!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback!

See you next time,
Joe

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Happy Tuesday

Hope you all are doing awesome today!

It’s been a bit since my last blog, and I apologize for that! Between getting sick and some personal stuff coming up, I couldn’t find the time to write these as much as I would’ve liked to.

For today though, I wanted to share some thoughts on the new Google I/O announcements that took place a couple of weeks ago, and the implications that the new Google AI Search might have on original content. So much so, that it makes me wonder what the consequences would be for my own content in the future.

To balance that topic out, I also want to dive into some of the latest anime and TV shows I’ve been watching! I finished up some of the ones I mentioned last time, and there are others I’ve been checking out too.

Lastly, I’ll be talking about some games I’ll be jumping into next now that I’ve finished up God of War!

Let’s jump in!

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Thoughts About Google and AI

Between everything going on in May, Google had their I/O conference. I try to keep up with anything new going on in tech, and there were some thoughts I had from their latest announcements that I wanted to chat about.

“Just Google It”

Years ago, I used to frequent various forums for information on hobbies. Reddit has since taken over a lot of those communities, as well as other closed-off platforms like Discord.

One of the memories I have on those old forums had to do with people creating a new thread about often-asked questions, only to be met by people replying with a link to a website called something like “Let me Google That,” where it would be a very passive aggressive message to push people to just Google their question instead, so that repeated threads weren’t created!

It got the point across, and would result in hilarious banter between people on those old forums.

Regardless, for years now, Googling a question has always been a way to get answers or to find relevant, and fairly accurate information. Sponsored results would skew information sometimes, but it was fine for me to just jump past paid results to see original content I wanted to find online.

After this latest I/O announcement though, I worry about the future of finding websites and content like this to visit online. More so, after testing around with my own work, it makes me question the future of finding audiences online.

On their blog page for this announcement, Google mentioned that for the first time in over 25 years, Search will be “…completely reimagined with AI.”

AI Overview has been around for a while now, but it was always pretty random when it would appear for me whenever I searched on Google. However, I’ve noticed it popping up much more lately. While it does display the sources that it’s pulling information from, it doesn’t necessarily highlight the exact information — nor does it really encourage users to click towards that source’s website — especially if they’re just there for a quick answer.

One of the main worries I have is that people will be relying on these AI Overview results a lot more compared to finding information for themselves — even if that information is wrong or misleading. For years now too, I feel like people have made “Just Google It” synonymous with getting truthful answers. A report by the Associated Press covered a study on AI chatbots, highlighting how they are “…so prone to flattering and validating their human users that they are giving bad advice that can damage relationships and reinforce harmful behaviors.” For me, I don’t think a lot of people even know this, and it worries me that highly agreeable AI tools/systems are being implemented in so many places now.

After this I/O conference, some results on Google were returning odd AI Overview results as well, such as users trying to get the definition for “disregard,” which seemed to confuse the AI and acted like an instruction/prompt instead of just a typical search tool, as reported by TechCrunch, though it seems to be working at the time of writing this blog. Regardless, it’s upsetting to me because I used to be able to look up a word’s definition all the time on Google using the dictionary/definition tool, and it seems to have now been replaced by AI Overview.

For my own work, I’ve been happy to see that some of my articles will appear on the first page of Google results. For example, some of my Fallout articles seem to do well with this. If I type in “fallout 4 piper,” I’ll see my article on Piper Wright pop up in the results on the first page. However, I’ve also been seeing my article be absorbed into the AI Overview as well…

But, if my work shows up in these overviews, then what is the point for anyone to actually click into my articles, if all they wanted was a quick look at a certain topic? What incentive would people have by digging further unless if they were specifically trying to find more information, or if something else stood out.

I’ve also seen the issue of misleading information as well — or information that’s partially incomplete. For example, if I search “what are the core beliefs of Joe from The Saved Game on Substack,” then I can find information that is both true and untrue at the same time (as well as getting various results each time I search). In one example, it talks about how my publication “…advocates for the preservation of video game history and the importance of actual game ownership in the digital age,” through my Game Save articles. This is not entirely true though, especially since I’ve only covered ownership issues once as far as I know. I think it’s just seeing “Game Save” and imagining it’s about video game preservation. Likewise, it mentioned “gameness,” which is a term I’ve definitely never used before, and I think that was being pulled from somewhere else.

Stuff like this makes me wonder: What else is AI Overview getting wrong for anything else I search? Or what is it at least getting partially wrong?

More importantly though, this all makes me wonder about the future of searching and finding quality content and information on the internet.

What Can be Done?

Honestly, and unfortunately, not much can be done on the side of using Google.

As reported by TechCrunch, DuckDuckGo saw installs for their browser peak at a tad over 30% after the Google I/O conference. As a browser, DuckDuckGo allows users to control AI results, so that they can opt out if they would like to instead of seeing AI-generated results. I’ve used it, and it works pretty well — though I just need to give it some more time before I switch over to something new or recommend anything.

Education will also be important going forward in my opinion. Older folks especially need to be aware of potentially misleading content on AI Overviews, and that just “Googling it” should be taken with extra care nowadays before blindly trusting the results. Just the way a question is formed can change the output from my own experience, especially when it seems to want to overly agree with users.

As a writer and creator who would like to continue to expand my work, I’m not sure what options I’ll truly have to keep my work from being merged together with other sources in AI Overviews.

Substack does offer a way to opt out of certain companies from using your content. But, would doing that completely block my content from certain platforms, like Google’s Search results? I’ve not been able to definitively find this out, except for Substack’s own words, which says that opting out “…may limit your discoverability on these [ChatGPT and Gemini] platforms.”

In the future, I hope that companies like Google will give users the option to opt out of AI results without fear of losing relevance. In the long term, I feel like there has to be some incentives to make sure that real people keep creating original content and making sure they stay relevant. Otherwise, it seems like these AI models will start/continue to train on generated content that’s been flooding the internet right now — almost like a snake eating its own tail.

Regardless, it’ll at least be interesting to see what the future holds — though demoralizing might be a better word. Through it all though, I’ll still be creating original content and focused on my readers, and I hope that future readers will be able to easily find my work!

What’s Been Going on in My World?

As I mentioned at the start, May was filled with a lot of personal stuff going on, allergies causing me to get sick for a couple of weeks, and a lot more!

As far as The Saved Game, I was still able to get a couple of articles written, including a new Game Save write-up, as well as an article on Detroit: Become Human.

First up though, let’s dive into some of the recent shows I’ve been getting into, and then wrap up with the gaming section at the end!

Recent Anime and TV Shows

Spy x Family

In May, I was able to wrap up season 3 of Spy x Family! This was a fun anime, and I really enjoyed the lightheartedness behind the story and characters. It was still interesting to keep watching all the way through, with the main cast really driving the story forward.

I think season 2 was my favorite, just with the storyline that followed Yor on the cruise ship! It was hilarious, and the found-family dynamic works perfect for a show like this!

It was fun, it was heart-warming, and the comedy was awesome! I’ll be looking forward to keeping up with future seasons of this show!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I have never watched this anime before!

Throughout the years, I’ve been recommended it so many times, but kept pushing it off. Recently though, I started watching it, and I can’t believe I’ve never seen this anime until now!

I remember seeing scenes from a different Fullmetal Alchemist anime years ago, which seemed a lot darker after I saw a certain scene that has been burned in my mind since then. After that, I pushed it off until I felt like something more melancholy.

But, I’m glad to see that Brotherhood is a redo of the same show, but a lot more lighthearted! I’ve read that it follows the source material, so I’m glad about that. The tragic backstory works really well for the Elric brothers, and I’m invested to find out what happens next and what the ending will be.

I’m not too far into it, but I’m excited to watch more!

Arcane

Arcane is one of those shows that has been on my mind to watch for a few years now, but never got around to it. A friend of mine recommended it after telling me about how amazing it is, so I decided to finally jump in…

…and it’s been awesome so far!

I was worried at first that I would need to be aware of League of Legends before watching it (which I’m not), but I’m glad that I didn’t need to be. I’ve been loving the characters so far, and the backstories are masterfully told through near-perfect exposition. Just when I feel like the story might slow down some, it speeds right back up, all while not feeling rushed either. The art and design of it is also fantastic, with it feeling very original and executes well!

The only thing I wish is that the trailers I saw for it didn’t reveal as much as they did. While I’ve never looked up spoilers, I feel like I connected too many dots after seeing promotional art and the trailers.

Regardless, it’s still really good and I should be finishing up season 1 soon!

Recent and Upcoming Games

True to form, I’ve still been into Dragon Quest as of late!

Before that though, I wrapped up God of War (2018) a week or so ago, and had such an amazing time in that game! The world itself was incredible to explore, with so many moments that made me emotional and amazed at the same time. I’ll be writing about my experiences in a future article, so I don’t want to go too deep into it now, but I loved this game, and am so happy I got around to finally playing it all the way through.

One thing I’ll say is that I loved the storytelling and exposition between all of the characters. The pacing felt just right, and I loved all of the moments that revealed the truth about Kratos’ past. I also used the photo mode way too much — so when I do write up an article on this game, there’s going to be a lot of screenshots!

Now that I’ve finished up GoW, I plan on starting my next adventure in the Dragon Quest series with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on the Switch! I picked it up about a month or so ago on a good sale at BestBuy with a coupon I had, and I’ve been dying to play more of it.

I started up a new game right after I bought it, but got sidetracked with everything else going on. Coming from DQ:XI to this one is definitely a change, but the remake looks really good so far!

I’m sure that I’ll have a lot of thoughts on this game in the future, and I look forward to sharing more on it!

Updates and Closing

Lastly, I’ll be having another collaborative article soon to celebrate one year here on Substack!

More information will be available soon, so keep an eye out on my Chat as well as Substack Notes for updates. I’m hoping to get something out this week on this!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

See you all next time,
Joe

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A Near Miss

Have you ever missed out on a game you always meant to play?

That was me with Detroit: Become Human, until I finally picked it up to play last year.

Ever since it came out in 2018, I’ve been wanting to check this game out. I love games that immerse players in their worlds, and I loved the style this game had — including its decision-based mechanics, quick time events, and cinematic gameplay.

I became hooked on the story from the moment I first stepped foot in the perspective of one of the android protagonists!

It starts off with a beautifully orchestrated sequence of events, where you play as Connor — a prototype android created by CyberLife — used to help law enforcement track down deviant androids. These “deviants” are androids that have broken free of their programming, and possess a threat to humans based on their newfound discovery of free will. In this case — as a heavy electronic soundtrack played in the background — Connor had to track down a deviant that is holding a human girl hostage on the top of a roof, and he must use the resources available to him to save her life!

This prologue mission can end in a number of ways. It really allows the player to explore many choices that they can decide on in their efforts to save the girl.

It also shows the disturbing emotions of anger and rage that this particular deviant is experiencing after the decisions he made.

Through the eyes of Connor, you have to decide what choices to make, and find out if you did enough to save the girl, or if you will miss her at the last moment.

Detroit: Become Human showcases a sense of storytelling that could only be truly achieved through the format of a video game. The player can wonderfully sense a dystopian future of Detroit through the eyes of the three protagonists: Connor, Kara, and Markus — all three androids that have their fates intertwined with one another.

Using each of these characters, I want to explore the human emotions that Detroit: Become Human provides to the players, as well as the immersive, often-disturbing world that is the perfect host for them!

Of course, this article will contain possible spoilers for this game. If you haven’t already played it, I would recommend giving it a try and revisiting this write-up in the future! Likewise, these thoughts are based on my own experiences with this game, but given the many choices and outcomes, your gameplay may vary greatly.

Let’s get started!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

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Connor — A Conflicted Friend

The evolution of Connor in Detroit: Become Human was one that made so much sense for his character.

The relationship he has with Lieutenant Hank Anderson is one that works beautifully. Hank’s cynical view of androids — influenced by the tragic history of his son’s death — contrasts so well with Connor’s neutral innocence. Putting the two of these characters together made for some amazing storytelling, as well as a bit of humor!

Everything about Hank’s persona felt incredibly natural for who he is, including the older car he drives, the heavy metal music he listens to, the unhealthy lifestyle he lives — it’s all indicative of someone that’s not only been deeply hurt, but also hanging onto the past. There were a few moments that carried heavier themes too with Hank’s character, like when he would drink too much or delve into thoughts of suicide.

To me, the real emotional impact throughout Connor’s journey consisted of the times when Hank broke out of his hardened shell and demonstrated care for the android. On several occasions, Connor had saved Hank’s life, leading to a state of near-confusion or slight annoyance from the older Lieutenant — as if he couldn’t believe an android saved his life. Or, it was the slower moments that shed some light behind Hank’s opinion of Connor, such as the mission where they both met the slimy Elijah Kamski — the creator of CyberLife — causing Hank to stand defensively alongside with Connor.

It was all a beautifully slow build-up that showcased the budding relationship that Hank and Connor created, and I loved Hank’s changing attitude towards his android partner as time passed by — even after they were forced off their investigation.

Towards the end of my game, Hank’s attitude towards Connor had changed so much for the better. Likewise, it didn’t feel like Connor saw Hank as just the “Lieutenant” anymore, but rather as a friend or brother who trusted in and respected him.

Throughout it all, Connor seemed to feel a deep level of conflict about who he is, what his goals are, and what he is to those around him. Just as Hank slowly broke out of his shell, I felt that Connor peeled back the layers of his identity because of his relationship with Hank. The newfound free will and empathy that Connor experienced, and Hank’s supportive reaction to it, made for a satisfying conclusion!

Kara — A Protective Mother

Kara’s character was one of the most fascinating for me throughout the story in this game.

Her storyline shocked me with how fast things escalated at Todd’s residence. When Todd first brought Kara home, it was easy to tell that something was amiss due to Todd’s rage-filled actions and use of drugs. How Todd treated both Kara and his daughter made me feel sick, and Kara finally breaking out of her programming made sense when Alice was threatened — leading her to save the girl from that awful environment.

The way that Kara took on a fiercely protective and maternal role towards Alice worked so well for her character, as if she saw a bit of herself in the eyes of Alice by the way she was treated in the past. Kara knew that she could do something about it, and she showed a deep level of empathy that players could find something in common with.

Just based on the choices you were able to make early on, it was clear that Kara would stop at nothing to protect Alice — even if it meant making unethical or morally grey decisions — such as robbing the convenience store clerk for money to pay for a shelter, stealing from others, or bending the truth if need be. Honestly, she was a badass for the levels she went to in order to protect Alice!

While there were many moments that highlighted the emotional impact that Kara made in this game, I think the one that really put a spotlight on it for me was at the abandoned amusement park — Pirates’ Cove.

There was something so eerie about this mission that made me incredibly invested in it. After Kara, Alice, and Luther escaped from Zlatko's manor — a truly horrifying experience — the three of them ended up at Pirates’ Cove in the smoggy, nighttime blanket of the cold darkness. However, the trio became shocked when the android workers from the amusement park came back to life, and appeared to be enemies at first. Once they saw Alice, these androids — collectively called Jerry — were filled with joy and began to usher Alice towards the carousel in the park.

I was on the edge of my seat during this scene, just because I was imagining all of the things that could go wrong. However, I was pleasantly surprised when it ended up being a heartwarming moment between Kara and Alice, with Kara watching on in relief as Alice had a fun time on the carousel!

Just through the emotions from the acting, you could see a sense of relief and pride in Kara’s expression when she saw Alice smiling for the first time. It was a tender moment that had so much depth for Kara’s character and her emotions in the game, showcasing a special bond she had forged with Alice.

Markus — A Burdened Leader

One of the most interesting aspects of Markus was the heavy burden of leadership he took on throughout his part of the story.

As far as androids go, Markus seemed to have a fairly easygoing existence at the start of the game. He helped with caretaking for an elderly and wheelchair-bound man, named Carl. Unlike many of the other androids in this game’s world, Markus was treated well by Carl, helping him with painting, and learning many things about life from the older man — almost as if he was a father figure. It was Carl that really helped to develop Markus’ character during the time he lived with him.

After an incident with Carl’s estranged son, Markus was sent to a junkyard and was partially disassembled — leaving him for dead in this mechanical graveyard.

That entire scene in the junkyard stuck with me. It was horrifying from Markus’ perspective, but there was something that resoundingly clicked for his character: the resilience to get up and act. He didn’t give up, or deactivate himself. Rather, he scraped together pieces and parts from others, and resurrected himself from the clenches of death — heading off to find the safe haven for androids known as Jericho.

To me, it was the moments when Markus decided to step up as a leader that made his role stand out. Once he found his way into Jericho, he was thrust into a position to lead the other androids.

What I loved about his leadership was the burden he carried. It was great that the other androids didn’t blindly follow along, but that his new role had to be earned. It wasn’t an easy decision for Markus to step into a leadership position, and he had to earn the respect from everyone around him — including both humans and androids.

In the way he worked, you could see the human emotions that Markus presented, such as the fear of leading and the hesitation for the future. All of his emotions spilled out when he went back to visit Carl in my game, which is when he really committed to the decisions he would make going forward.

The sacrifices he had to make along the way really enhanced his character. Markus never just shrugged away a loss or took decisions lightly. In my game, I could really see the internal battles he endured while making decisions to remain peaceful or not. He understood the fear of losing others, and understood the prices that had to be made to ensure freedom for himself, as well as other androids.

Restoring Humanity

A conflicted friend. A protective mother. A burdened leader.

Detroit: Become Human explored the emotions of humanity through these characters in ways that shocked me in the best way possible. Experiencing the dystopian future of Detroit through the eyes of the main android protagonists in this game filled me with so many emotions, and it’s a title I wish I could replay again for the first time! Fortunately, with so many options and endings, I find myself still discovering new content in this game.

I feel like we latch onto characters that we hold traits or emotions in common with. The main characters in this game did such a wonderful job at displaying deep emotions and showcasing their humanity for this purpose — especially given that they were androids.

Of course, one of the most emotional aspects about this game involved the music, and how much it enhanced the gameplay. I was blown away at how detailed the soundtrack was in this game. As reported in this PlayStation Blog, the studio — Quantic Dream — had used three separate composers for each of the main protagonists and their respective themes.

Connor's style was much more robotic with hints of human emotion working through it, Kara had a more emotionally driven style of music to her theme, and Markus’ theme was delicately powerful with traces of vengeful emotion in it!

There were a few things I wish were different, like with the choice for a certain side character’s true nature towards the end, some of the controls acting up a bit, as well as the dialogue options not being too clear at times. But, the story of the three main protagonists and their intertwining fates were handled amazingly well!

There are many forms of media that can draw out strong emotions in people. However, there’s something about the immersiveness in video games that can really enhance the emotional toll an experience can leave you with. It’s like you feel more connected to the discoveries you make in a video games compared to the motions of a movie or the pages from a book.

Detroit: Become Human was one of those immersive titles that truly became incredible for me the longer I played, and I was hooked throughout the entire game to figure out what was going to happen next — and what choices I might make that could influence the ending.

It’s an experience that I would highly recommend you enjoy yourself if you haven’t already. The characters were extremely worthwhile to explore, and I can guarantee that you’ll fall into an immersive adventure if you sit down to play it! I would urge you to pay attention to the small details, and especially to focus on the humanity and emotions that are on full display!

Thank you for the honor and privilege of your time! It means a lot that you’re here, and I appreciate your readership!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you next time,
Joe

What are Your Thoughts

I want to hear from you in the comments below 👇

Have you played Detroit: Become Human? If not, do you plan to in the future?

If you did play it, what was the most emotional moment for you?

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Welcome

Welcome to this Game Save!

It’s been a bit since my last entry in this series! Life has been extra busy as of late, on top of getting sick, but I’m excited to jump back into some gaming news that’s been on my mind to write about.

For today, we’ll be diving into two gaming topics that I’ve been digging into lately. First up is some recent news about the creator of the famous Dragon Quest series being open to AI use in future games, and I wanted to share some thoughts on that. We’ll also look at the positive impacts that Asha Sharma and her new team at Xbox have seemingly had in the past few months, and the idea of Xbox turning around towards a good direction. To wrap up, I want to highlight two incredible gaming writers here on Substack and their awesome articles, as well as an update for The Saved Game!

Let’s go!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome!

My name is Joe, and Game Save articles go over some of the latest gaming news you may have missed along with some thoughts I have on them, reviews of games or accessories, as well as a Community Spotlight for articles that I loved! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

🧙‍♀️ Take a look at my recent main article on the Town of Salem in Fallout 4
💾 Check out my previous Game Save write-up
☕️ Read my latest Cup of Joe blog post on recent anime I’ve been watching

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then please take a look at my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

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My Thoughts from Recent Gaming News

I have a few thoughts on the news today, so let’s jump into it! First up, I want to go over the news on Dragon Quest franchise possibly embracing AI usage in the future — and why I’m honestly not too concerned about it. After that, we’ll take a look at what all Xbox has been cooking up lately, and the impacts that their new CEO, Asha Sharma, and her team have had.

Dragon Quest: The Growing Acceptance of AI in Gaming

An article popped up in the Japanese magazine called Toyo Keizai — a business and finance publication — that covered the creator of Dragon Quest speaking at a Google event.

Yuji Horii, who is known for the creation and contributions to the Dragon Quest series of games, was a Customer Speaker at the Google Cloud Next 2026 event in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is held by Google to share new technologies related to cloud tools, data and security advancements, and emerging tech in AI — as well as giving professionals a place to demo their work and forge new connections.

But, as someone who’s been invested in the Dragon Quest series lately, it was a bit surprising to see the creator of these games at an event like this. This led me to question: Why was someone like Yuji Horii giving a speech at a Google Cloud event?

According to that article, Horii was there to talk about the use of Google’s AI, Gemini, being installed inside a character in Dragon Quest X — with it being developed collaboratively with Google Cloud. If you’re unaware, Dragon Quest X was first released back in 2012 as a massively-multiplayer online (MMO) game with a subscription model. Since then, it’s received many updates and is still being actively supported, though it has never been released in the West.

Horii explained how a character named “Chatty Slimey” was created as a character, with it being powered by Gemini, especially Gemini Live — the real-time voice AI from Google. This character is in the form of a standard Slime from the series, where a player can talk to it in-game and they will get a response back from it. Though not released yet, is has reportedly been undergoing limited user testing. Chatty Slimey was touted to answer player’s questions regarding in-game equipment or player status, and offer general guidance. From that article, Horii made these statements:

I think the inclusion of AI has further advanced our previous adventures. Your fellow travelers will respond wholeheartedly to your words, and AI will become more than just a useful tool; it will become your friend.…

When I first created Dragon Quest, I wanted the lines of the townspeople to be as real as possible. Now I think AI can really answer questions and make things more human-like.

— Statement from Yuji Horii at Google Cloud Next Conference, Toyo Keizai (Translated to English using Brave Translate)

Horii also mentioned how the use of AI characters could possibly be expanded into other series.

In the same article, the Global Director of Games at Google Cloud, Jack Buser, was excited to see the collaboration between Dragon Quest X and Google — seeming happy about more game companies using AI in game development. The write-up also mentioned how Capcom partnered with Google Cloud to heavily reduce the number of hours to check for glitches in games.

From my perspective, I can’t help but feel a bit concerned about all of this whenever I hear of AI being implemented in games, especially as it relates to the impacts AI has on people’s jobs — though I’m honestly not too concerned about a feature like this with Chatty Slimey. Fundamentally though, it does feel like a big shift when a series as popular as Dragon Quest is starting to implement forms of generative AI, even if it’s in the form of a helpful Slime.

It seems like a lot of this technology is inevitable with the large amount of AI hype everyone has seen lately. As reported by GamesBeat, the President and CEO of Sony Interactive, Hideaki Nishino, said in a recent earning’s call that PlayStation’s goal remains as “…the best place to play and the best place to publish,” and continued further along by adding, “We see AI as a powerful tool to help us in this mission.” In an article by the Video Games Chronicles, they reported how the CEO of EA, Andrew Wilson, embraced the use of generative AI to make development more efficient, and saw the use of AI as an opportunity. On the flip side, Shigeru Miyamoto, the CEO of Nintendo, expressed a wary attitude about the use of AI, and that Nintendo “would rather go in a different direction” so that their brand and creations remain special and unique, as reported by IGN.

As I’ve mentioned before in a previous Game Save article, I’m not entirely opposed to the idea of NPC characters using modern forms of AI to increase immersion within a game’s universe — which I feel is the point of Chatty Slimey in Dragon Quest X. I also imagine that someone with the vast background of Yuji Horii would be exercising caution when it comes to implementing technology like this into a series as popular as Dragon Quest. In an interview with Game Informer late last year, Horii said that he considers “Dragon Quest to be my child,” so I’m really not concerned about the addition of this character, given how much he cares for this series. To me, I worry more about AI being heavily used in the writing, design, or development process of games compared to something like this, based on the information I’ve read and seen.

But, as a relative newcomer to the Dragon Quest series, I hope that the potential use of AI in future games will be limited as much as it can be, so that human-made creations truly stand out. A huge joy of playing games is seeing the creativity that people infuse into them and the passion they create them with.

We will see what the future holds, and I will be interested to see what the outlook of Dragon Quest games (and other games) will look like with the emerging and ever-changing advancements in AI.

The Return of Xbox

One gaming topic that has dominated my feeds for the past month has been the decisions being made over at Xbox.

Just as a quick recap: Phil Spencer, the former CEO of Microsoft Gaming who had led the Xbox brand for over a decade and had been at Microsoft much longer, resigned from his position. Succession plans had been drawn up, as reported by CNBC from a memo by Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella. Asha Sharma — a recent addition to Microsoft after joining in 2024 — was to take over the CEO role of Microsoft Gaming. Her experience over the Core AI business of Microsoft seemed to raise alarm bells, though her message to Microsoft’s gaming employees seemed to indicate the opposite, where she wrote about recommitting to the Xbox fans and players, and avoiding short-term efficiency with “soulless AI slop.”

As I’ve mentioned previously, I think that competition is a good thing. Even though I’ve primarily been a PlayStation gamer for most of my life, I hope that Xbox is able to turn around — especially after facing declines in revenue within Microsoft’s gaming sector late last year, with harrowing hardware sales going back even further, as explained in this IGN article.

However, since Asha Sharma arrived, there seems to have been some major improvements at Xbox.

One of the first major changes was the lowering of Game Pass Ultimate’s cost down to $22.99 per month, compared to $29.99 that it had been set at previously — at the cost of future Call of Duty games being available on day one. In a viral Tweet sent out in April, Asha had shared this news to generally good reception, especially now when prices rarely decrease.

The branding of Xbox was also changed to reflect a focus on the players, distancing from the previous “Microsoft Gaming” name. In a message sent out to Team Xbox employees, both Asha and Matt Booty (Chief Content Officer) outlined the frustrations that players have experienced related to pricing and experiences, and changed the team’s name to “We are Xbox.” It was also noted that they would be reevaluating their approach to exclusivity, with a focus being placed on the community that built Xbox and to deliver a global platform for players and developers.

Then, just recently, Asha Tweeted out the need to “deepen our connection with the community, and address friction for both players and developers.” In doing so, she announced that they will be winding down Copilot on mobile, and completely stopping the development of Copilot on console — an AI assistant that would’ve allowed users to ask questions in-game for advice or recommendations, according to GamesRadar.

Honestly, all of these changes seem to be very positive in my opinion. Asha seems to have done well with understanding the user base, and identified common pain points that have been causing stress for many gamers over the past five years — especially when other companies seem to be stifling their fan bases. Just recently, Sony announced another price increase for the PlayStation 5 consoles in a blog post, and worry has spread about DRM issues that would require regular online checks for game licenses — though Sony refuted that and said that only a “one-time check is required to confirm the game's license,” as reported by IGN.

I’m hopeful, and honestly a bit excited, to see people getting enthusiastic about Xbox again! Like I said, competition is good in my opinion, and I miss the days of my Xbox 360 — a console that really seemed to stand out on its own with a collection of amazing games. Issues remain though, and I will be interested to see what Asha Sharma’s stance on exclusivity will be in the future — especially after giving up many of their titles that are/will be available on the PS5, including Halo: Combat Evolved, Forza Horizon 5, and a lot more.

What reason will players have to buy an Xbox console in the future? Will these changes from the new leadership make a positive impact on people’s perspective of the Xbox brand?

Time will tell, but I’m glad to see the positive changes so far, and I hope that Xbox will stand on its own again in the near future!

What Are Your Thoughts on These Topics?

• How do you feel about the reported use of Google’s Gemini AI in Dragon Quest X? Do you feel like games should avoid using AI technologies altogether? Or are there exceptions?

• What are your thoughts on the current state of Xbox? How do you feel about Asha Sharma’s leadership as of late? What do you think the future of Xbox will be?

Leave a comment

Community Spotlight

I have two incredible creators and writers I want to highlight today!

First up is Evan, with his awesome series on community questions — especially for the one he wrote that answered some questions I had! Then, Cat’s Controller Corner wrote up an amazing article I loved about cheat codes, and it made me think deeper about the lack of cheat codes in modern gaming!

Class Discussion in Gaming

wrote up an amazing series over the past four months that he recently finalized, called Class Discussion!

I was super excited to get the chance to ask some questions for this series a few months ago. Evan has an immense amount of experience in games — both as a gamer and academic. So, I was beyond thrilled when he took the time to answer all of the questions I had! The specific article he wrote on my questions was fantastic, and it really offered so much insight into game studies that Evan teaches, and I learned a lot from it. I was even convinced to give God of War (2018) another try, and I’ve been having a blast lately with it! Evan’s writing style and prose is so easy to read and understand, which makes absorbing his content both fun and highly informative!

If you haven’t checked this full series out yet, then I implore you to go take a look! I’m sure you’ll learn quite a bit — and perhaps he’ll be able to convince you to pick up God of War too, like he did for me! Thanks again Evan for creating this series!

Play Moore

Do We Actually Do Anything in a Game Studies Class?

In this installment, I’m answering the five questions that Joe | The Saved Game sent in. Go give a sub, and I’ll try to be brief. Today, my drink of choice is tea (no bourbon) and a healthy amount of avoiding the grading I’ll do tomorrow (probably…

Read more

6 months ago · 16 likes · 4 comments · Evan C. Moore

To Cheat or Not to Cheat

created an incredible and absolutely fantastic article on cheat codes in gaming, titled “We Need Cheat Codes Back!”

This write-up really stood out to me because of my nostalgia with cheat codes growing up. It’s a sad fact that a lot of modern games don’t have cheats anymore, and Cat really brought up some excellent points and perspectives as to why that shouldn’t be. It’s something I didn’t really think about until I read this article. As I read through this, I couldn’t help but think back to games like Medal of Honor: Frontline, where cheat codes were actually super fun — such as having bouncy grenades. I have many memories of visiting the very basic website of GameWinners back then and printing off sheets of cheats for various games, or even picking up an unofficial disc from GameStop that allowed cheats. Even nowadays, if you handed me a GameCube controller, my muscle memory would easily kick back in, and I’d press out some of those old codes!

The idea from Cat that some unserious fun could be brought back into the current game industry using quirky cheat codes was fantastic! The dumb, fun stuff from video games is always a joy to uncover, and honestly, I really wish that more modern games would include content like cheat codes for the fun of it.

I’d highly recommend opening up this article right now in a new tab and reading it all, and giving Cat’s Controller Corner a sub if you aren’t subscribed already! Thank you, Cat, for this amazing article!

Cat's Controller Corner

We Need Cheat Codes Back

Last week marked a massive anniversary for millions of people who love games. The 40th anniversary of the Konami code was officially on the 25th of April! For those not in the know (wait, how do you not know?) the Konami code was basically the first ever cheat code that was so damn popular it elevated a game from good to great. It started in the 1985 NE…

Read more

3 months ago · 12 likes · 5 comments · Cat

Closing & Updates

Thank you all for reading, I appreciate it!

My schedule got all out of whack from personal stuff and getting sick, but I hope to be back to 100% soon!

To celebrate my one-year anniversary here on Substack in June, I plan on hosting another collaboration article! More information will be out soon on this, so stay tuned!

Otherwise, I’ll be getting back to my next article and upcoming blog post! Thank you again for reading!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you all next time,
Joe

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I put time and effort into the writing, designs, and creation of these write-ups, and I would love to keep doing them! If you would like to support my work, then view my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

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The Journey of Exploring

There’s always been something fascinating about discovering new locations that have hidden meanings behind them when out exploring the Commonwealth Wasteland in Fallout 4.

Immersion is important to me in video games, and Bethesda games are incredible experiences for immersive exploration. Some locations generate amazing ideas when I come across them, as if I’m making up lore in my mind based on pieces of the giant Fallout puzzle. It’s almost like I’m stepping into a forgotten world that has so much to offer, and I get to figure out what happened in the past and how it will currently impact me in the game.

One town in this game has always stood out to me. Not because it was filled to the brim with content, but rather, it provided a mostly empty canvas to explore and get curious about. As I investigated it for the first time years ago, I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. It was a small town that was shockingly large to explore, and was one that has been written in the real-life history books for generations because of the infamous witch trials that took place there.

This town’s name is Salem, Massachusetts.

For today, I want to explore the cursed town of Salem with you! Beyond Barney Rook — the sole survivor NPC who guards the town against Mirelurks — I want to dive even deeper. We’ll uncover some fascinating pieces of information that might help you understand this town’s background, including some cut content that would’ve been amazing had it made it into the final version of the game. But to start with, we’ll be checking out a brief history on this town — both in the real world for some added context, and in the universe of Fallout 4!

Let’s dive in!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then take a look at my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

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A Brief History of Salem

It would be of no benefit to write this article without a brief history of Salem, Massachusetts, and the infamous witch trials that took place there hundreds of years ago.

Some hints of the Salem Witch Trials made it into Fallout 4, especially with the famous location: The Museum of Witchcraft, which can be found just outside of Salem in the game. A haunting location it is, and one I counted as one of the most horror-filled places of the Commonwealth Wasteland in my last Fallout article.

However, the real location and history of Salem (and the surrounding areas) offers a fascinating and horrifying glimpse to the town’s design that was semi-adopted into the game.

Throughout the 1300s and 1600s in Europe, there was a “witchcraft craze” that saw thousands of accused witches executed, according to the Smithsonian. Towards the end of this period in Colonial America, a moral panic set in within the Puritan-controlled Salem Village that kicked off the trials in the 1690s. As an article by Connecticut History points out, there was little to no religious liberty by the Puritans in early American history within the Colonies, and much influence was controlled by the church who had the power to “…admit new members and to punish or dismiss those who offended against God’s laws.” Those that were not part of the church or considered as heretics were subject to “…fines, banishment, imprisonment, or corporal punishment.”

The first note of importance is the location. Back in the late 1600s, Salem Village is where the first of the infamous accusations took place that started the snowball effect in the nearby region. However, Salem Village is currently the city of Danvers in our day-and-age, which sits just North-West of the current town of Salem (which used to be named Salem Town). Based on the geography of Fallout 4, it’s likely that the old Salem Town is about where the small town of Salem sits in the game.

We’ll be getting back to this town of Danvers later when I discuss the cut content from Fallout 4, so keep this tucked away in your mind for now!

Prior to the 1690s, there was much quarreling and animosity that stirred up layers of anger among the people. As described in the book Witch Hill, written in 1870, there were many border and property issues between the various villagers and towns. Likewise, as a short article within the magazine History Revealed told, many of the early residents faced the dire possibilities of starvation, the need for survival from other people groups at the time, as well as their crops perhaps being contaminated by an ergot fungus that could’ve caused hallucinations. Over the course of decades and the immediate years preceding the trials, these widespread issues seemed to create a level of strife that greatly amplified the severity of the upcoming trials and hysteria.

There were contentions between certain parties spread over the few years immediately preceding the trials and executions, some of which were intensely bitter, protracted, and ultimately, wide-spread. These are believed, by many careful students of the witchcraft history, to have been the occasion of some of its worst features, and to account largely for its very existence.

— Witch Hill: A History of Salem Witchcraft, 1870

In 1692, there were accusations made against several supposed witches after the Minister of Salem Village (Rev. Samuel Parris) saw that his daughter, niece, and at least one other girl were suffering from unexplained illnesses and fits — which were attributed to witches. As the Congregational Library & Archives made note of, these accusations led to many warrants and arrests throughout the region, which involved jailing the accused and gathering evidence or confessions of their assumed practices in witchcraft.

The Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, named William Phips, established a Special Court of Oyer and Terminer (to hear and determine) in Salem Town. In the months that followed throughout 1692, the article from the Smithsonian detailed how those that were accused ended up being tried, and quite a few were executed as convicted witches. However, by the ending of the year, that court had been dissolved and the convictions were slowing by order of Phips (who was likely also being influenced too due to his own wife being questioned for possibly being a witch). A new court was formed, which led to a decrease in convictions and executions throughout the next year. In the end though, about twenty people had been tried and executed, some died in jail, and one man was pressed to death for refusing to go to trial — all from the result of a hysteric panic about witchcraft during this time period.

In the Commonwealth Wasteland of Fallout 4, there were some hints of these trials — mostly from the context of real life. However, the town of Salem in the game was otherwise quiet and empty, save for an old soul named Barney Rook and some feisty Mirelurks. As we’ll soon see though, there were other ideas that didn’t quite make it to the final version that were very much inspired from the Salem Witch Trials!

Salem in the Commonwealth Wasteland

You might have varying experiences when you first arrived in the town of Salem, depending on how you entered it in Fallout 4.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably come across it after exploring the Museum of Witchcraft. I’ve often continued up the rough road that leads to the town. There were plenty of buildings, including the Sandy Coves Convalescent Home, a church in the center of town, a department store, and a filling station. Many of the buildings are explorable, and you can tell that there is something off upon entering — almost as if you’re being watched.

When you look up at the roofs, or scaffolding, or even the steeple of the church, there is a presence that you can feel breathing down your neck. Turrets are everywhere, and the areas surrounding the town are crawling with Mirelurks. As you explore further along, you start hearing the shouts and screams of an old man on top of a house, and are naturally directed back to a new location: the Rook Family House.

After taking care of the nearby Mirelurks, the owner of the house, Barney Rook, implores you to come inside, even though he seems somewhat wary about you at first. He tells you that he’s part of the Salem Volunteer Militia, however, it’s easy to figure out that it’s just him and ‘Reba’ his custom gun. He asks you to help with the Mirelurks by activating the turrets around the town, thus providing better defenses.

Once you turn on each turret to rebuild the defenses, Barney will give you access to another custom gun he made: the Reba II, a special weapon that has a +50% bonus damage against bugs and Mirelurks.

The story of Barney is one of a lonely man that’s been by himself, perhaps too alone for too long. When asked about his background, he tells the Sole Survivor about how the town used to be safe and protected. However, he continues by saying how the late residents became too relaxed, and perhaps a bit of hubris was involved, that resulted in the town becoming overrun and the others getting killed off. The former residents claimed he was just being paranoid, which may have been a nod to the paranoia of the old Salem Village. At times, I’ve sometimes wondered if Barney may have been lying though the entire time, and perhaps was the one who killed everyone else himself — just due to his odd and quirky behaviour he exhibits to the Sole Survivor.

My family's lived in this town going back generations. Far as I can tell, we've been here as long as it has. Even after the bombs dropped, my folks worked hard to keep the town together and drive out any threats. We did such a good job that before I was even born, this place was one of the safest towns in the commonwealth. And soon everyone forgot how to be cautious.

— Barney Rook

But, Barney refused to abandon the town and vowed to protect it. He may be a lonely, one-man army; however, he follows his own morals and code that keeps him going. He only leaves, or perhaps passes away, after the Sole Survivor helps him out — which is when he no longer appears in the game anymore. It felt odd though that he was quick to disappear after being helped out and wasn’t purposefully left to protect the town and live out his days by the developers of the game, which always left me feeling even more suspicious of him and his character.

Outside of Barney and the Mirelurks though, the town of Salem is truly an empty canvas. Some locations dot the area outside the town’s limits, but they seem to be fairly random and aren’t connected to Salem, aside from the nearby museum. Salem also seemed like a prime location for a settlement, though you’re not able to build one here in the base game.

Was there anything else planned for this town? Besides the quest with Barney and obtaining the Reba II weapon, was there anything else for that could’ve filled in the otherwise-empty void for the town of Salem? Let’s take a look at the content that was cut out of this location next!

The Town of Salem We Never Got

Remember the town of Danvers that I mentioned earlier? Let’s talk about it now, and dive into the content that was cut from Fallout 4. As we’ll see, it could’ve added some incredible additions to the town of Salem with the town’s history of witch trials!

When doing an interview with Noclip back in 2018, the Lead Writer and Designer for Fallout 4, Emil Pagliarulo, revealed an incredible amount of details for the original thoughts of Salem. Beyond just Barney Rook, or even before the Deathclaw quest inside the Museum of Witchcraft, there was going to be a rivalry questline set up between both the town of Danvers and the town of Salem, with people who were mutated with magic-like powers! Even beyond that, they were initially using some of the code base from Skyrim, and were planning to introduce that same magic system into this cut content!

So we decided, let’s do a little bit of a rivalry between Danvers and Salem in the game. We were like, okay, what is the theme of Salem? It’s witches. Alright, and so, what if we have people [in Salem] with mutations that have weird powers? They’re kind of X-Men-ish but like, they’re caused by radiation, but they’re viewed as witches by the people of Danvers. So, there’s this sort of, like — they’re being persecuted somehow, we’ll get that witch theme. We were using the Skyrim code base, which had magic built in. So we had, alright, fireballs and telekinesis or whatever.

— Emil Pagliarulo, Noclip, The History of Bethesda Game Studios

As Emil continued to discuss this idea, I couldn’t help but feel how awesome this would’ve been for the town of Salem. It’s an idea that had the classic Fallout weirdness and humor, the oddball location hiding a deeper secret, and a rivalry that would’ve actually made sense in a historical context.

Of course though, that’s not what we ended up with in the final version of the game. Emil continued in that interview, and discussed the technical limitations the team faced with the town of Salem.

Well, you know, eventually, as we got deeper into Fallout 4’s development, that code [from Skyrim] got ripped out. And so, we’re like, we don’t have this magic stuff anymore, there are no more fireballs, you can’t get like… oh great. So, long story short, that quest had gone through, I wanna say, four or five variations and four or five designers, and it was this close to getting cut. And one of the issues was because our world is compressed, right? Danvers ended up being right next to Salem, and it was so close we ended up combining the two. And so there were no two towns that could compete against each other…

— Emil Pagliarulo, Noclip, The History of Bethesda Game Studios

Unfortunately, even after all the variations that this questline and location went through, all of this extra content got cut out. There was no extra town of Danvers, as it got absorbed into Salem, and the rivalry quest(s) got cut due to the lack of a magic system.

The solution that they came up with was the quest inside the Museum of Witchcraft, The Devil’s Due, where you face the trapped Deathclaw after finding clues outside of the building. That was a fantastic quest, and one I really enjoyed, but I also couldn’t help but think of the “what-ifs” had their original vision become a reality — especially since it was much more centered to the town of Salem with its history.

Salem: A Lasting Legacy — For Better or Worse

The town of Salem, Massachusetts has such a rich, and often disturbing history in New England. Many forms of media have portrayed the Salem Witch Trials over the course of generations, ever since they took place in the late 1690s. Plays have been written, movies have been made, fictional accounts have been created, and more beyond that — including video games. According to the aforementioned article from the Smithsonian, it was not until 1957 that Massachusetts formally apologized for the Salem Witch Trials.

It’s a shame that Fallout 4 was unable to see through to their goals of having a massive rivalry questline set up between the towns of Danvers and Salem — especially with the borrowed magic system. To me, it would’ve been similar to a unique location from Fallout 3 like Little Lamplight, or even Canterbury Commons.

There could’ve been so much potential for an otherwise quiet, empty town that’s occupied and protected by a lonely hermit and his turrets. A squandered opportunity might be a bit harsh to say, but I truly wish that the town of Salem offered more to the Sole Survivor on their road of exploration in the Commonwealth Wasteland. Even a settlement option would’ve been nice to have. A town overrun by Mirelurks was shockingly generic, and the nearby areas did not have too much to offer for a section of New England that hosts such a rich history.

Perhaps a large mod will come out in the future that might flesh out and better realize the vision that the designers, writers, and developers had many years ago. Until then though, the town of Salem will remain a hollow shell that truly could’ve been more, but never was.

Thank you for the honor and privilege of your time! It means a lot that you’re here, and I appreciate your readership!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback!

See you again,
Joe

Check Out the Previous Entries

My Fallout 4 articles are a series! Check out my previous entries down below!

What are Your Thoughts

I want to hear from you!

What is your experience with Fallout 4? Have you played it?

How do you feel about the town of Salem in this game? Do you wish it had more content? Or do you wish Bethesda was able to keep the magic quest in the final version?

Leave a comment

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Happy Tuesday

Hope you all are doing awesome today! It’s been busy in my life as of late, but I’ve been catching up on some anime lately that I missed seeing. They’ve been pretty good shows, and I wanted to share some thoughts on them here today!

At the end, I’ll also be chatting a bit about the next main game I plan on getting into!

Let’s jump in!

As a reminder, if you did not receive this post in your inbox but would like to get these blogs sent to your email, then you can do so by following this quick guide to opt-in! Thanks 🙌

What’s Been Going on in My World?

In my off time, I’ve been catching up on some anime!

I’ve been gradually building up some shows that I’ve been wanting to check out. A lot of recommendations I’ve seen have come from the Good Game Lobby Discord server by the incredible and others (definitely check that server out if you’re interested in an awesome community). The main ones I’ve watched or am in the process of watching are Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Delicious in Dungeon, and Spy x Family!

I’m fairly casual when it comes to anime over the years, but when I start watching some, I’ll end up getting super into it for a while. I think a lot of it started when I finished up Dragon Quest XI recently! Likewise, I just finished up both The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein on Amazon Prime, which I think propelled a desire to watch something new—especially anything fantasy related. I’m definitely open for any recommendations, so feel free to drop a comment below if you have any you think I might like—I’d appreciate it!

Leave a comment

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Frieren has been a very fascinating show!

I finished up season one, and I loved so much about it. There’s been very few anime I’ve seen in the past that have brought out such a range of emotions while watching it.

To me, the most unique aspect about this show is the vast range of time it’s set in. I love how it explores Frieren’s perspective with her old party that defeated the Demon King through the memories she’ll flash back to. While some people might enjoy the idea of living for thousands of years like the Elves in this universe can, this story really puts a spotlight on a more somber side through exploring the emptiness that Frieren experiences from those she’s lost over time—especially Himmel the Hero. To me, it’s not so much the fear of death, but the fear of losing oneself to severe levels of loneliness or grief that this show highlights in its own unique ways.

Once Fern and Stark join, it feels as though Frieren has a new breath of life! I enjoy the character dynamics, though I do find Stark to be a bit annoying at times. His character just feels too awkward, though I can only assume that his arc will transform quite a lot in the future. Some of the side characters have been unique and I’ll be interested to see what happens to them down the road, such as Übel and Denken if they show up again.

I’ll be looking forward to continuing this series. I plan on getting back into it soon to finish up season 2!

Delicious in Dungeon

Delicious in Dungeon has been my favorite out of the three I’ve listed here!

I had no idea what to expect when I watched it, other than hearing a good recommendation about it from Sey, as well as others saying positive things about it. I went into it spoiler-free, and was so happy I did!

First off, the overall design and characters were the first thing to stand out to me. Even in the first couple of episodes, it was so easy to see how all of the characters stood out from one another. The humor between the characters was so fun, especially between Laios and Marcille! Marcille’s reactions and expressions were probably my favorite part of the show’s humor! The english voice acting was also really good, and I was surprised when I heard Emily Rudd (actress of Nami from Netflix’s One Piece) as the voice of Marcille. The visual design of the characters (and monsters!) were spectacular and super creative, all while feeling extremely unique with all of its world-building compared to other fantasy worlds.

I flipped through the digital version of the Delicious in Dungeon World Guide, and that has been super amazing. The creator seemed to really go into a lot of detail with the world, monsters, characters, and so much more! I’d definitely recommend checking that out.

The openings were incredible, and I really enjoyed the second one the best!

What I loved most about this specific series’ story is how much it caught me off guard through the season. I don’t want to go over any spoilers in case you haven’t watched it, but it was amazing how it could change from a mostly lighthearted show and switch over to intense horror-filled moments in a matter of minutes. It really made you feel for the characters, who were caught in this seemingly impossible mission as they work together throughout the show.

It was all amazing, and is a show I would definitely recommend! I enjoyed it so much that I’ve also just started up the manga too. I’m trying to figure out though if I start up in the manga where season 1 of the anime left off, or just restart it all. Regardless, I’m looking forward to reading more of it!

Spy x Family

I’m just about finished with season 1 of Spy x Family, and it has been a nice step back from the fantasy shows! I remember seeing this one get so much good feedback, and the awesome wrote about it last year in a monthly Nutshell write-up that really made me want to watch it!

Obviously, the humor stands out in this show. I love the way that Anya can read the thoughts of Loid and Yor to drive the plot forward, all while trying to help in her own way! The humor of both Loid and Yor hiding their own secret lives is often hilarious, especially with Yor when she tries to quickly come up with excuses for how powerful she is, or Loid when he has to figure out how to balance work with his new family.

The storyline itself is also very fun and engaging. I’ve never been interested in spy characters or plots too much in the past, but I love the lighthearted take on the genre this show has. It feels a bit slow at times in the first season, but that may just be from the setup is has. Henderson is a hilarious character to me, especially with the English dub when he demands Elegance!

It’s been a relaxing, fun watch that I’ve enjoyed! I’ll likely take a break after season 1 to look at another series to start on, but then come back to it!

Games I’ve Been Playing & What’s Next

Honestly, I’ve taken a bit of a break from gaming for the past week or so for the most part!

After finishing up Dragon Quest XI, I’ve been a bit burned out from playing too much. I did go back into that game to finish leveling up my characters to level 99 as I described in the last post I made on it, but I’ve completely finished it and have put it back on the shelf! In the future, I’ll be taking a look at the next Dragon Quest game to play, which will most likely be Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake!

For my next main game, there’s a title that I’ll be attempting to try again that revolves around a famous father and son that I’ve never been able to truly get into before: God of War (2018). I loved the old PS2 games in this series, but was never able to bring myself to like the new ones as much as I ever would’ve expected. A fellow Substacker and friend wrote up an amazing article in response to me questioning it, and I feel like it’s about time I give this game another shot!

If all goes well, I’ll be sure to give some thoughts on it in the future for its own write-up!

Besides that, I also need to finish up some of the Shantae games that I’m still gradually working through. One of the games I’ve put back on the shelf for now without finishing is Sea of Stars. It was a beautiful title with its graphics and design, but I just couldn’t get too much into the story. I might try again soon, but it’ll definitely be a bit!

Otherwise, I look forward to working on my next article that will be coming out on Thursday, the 23rd!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

See you all next time,
Joe

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Winding Back Time

Last time in Act 2 of Dragon Quest XI, the Hero and his party were split up across the world of Erdrea in an epic, explosive beginning of Mordegon’s rule over darkness! Not only had Mordegon stolen the powerful Sword of Light and corrupted it, but he destroyed the World Tree, Yggdrasil — the source of life and the representation of living things throughout the world — plunging the world into darkness that he reigned over as the Lord of Shadows!

Once the group was reunited through a series of personal growths, they sought to claim victory over Mordegon and restore the power of the World Tree. They had help along the way, including aid from the Mermaid Queen Marina in the underwater world of Nautica, a familiar knightly face that joined the party, old friends in the Hero’s childhood town, and the Calamus flute the Hero gained in Arboria — which summoned the huge, flying whale Cetacea!

However, the cost was high. You learn that the loud-mouthed Veronica sacrificed her life to save the party and many cities were left in ruin. Though the Hero’s party eventually destroyed Mordegon in the Fortress of Fear, they find that the scars of his horrific reign across the world were obvious. Entire cities destroyed and razed to the ground, towns turned into make-shift militia outposts, and lava-covered boulders covered the world.

Upon finding a glimmering object in some unique-looking ruins near Octagonia, the Hero took the flying whale to the skies and found The Tower of Lost Time — a tall structure that was home to the ethereal Timekeeper. She gave the Hero a choice to smash the Sword of Light against the Time’s Sphere, and take a risk of traveling back in time to stop Mordegon before he caused all the destruction, while possibly even save Veronica.

The Hero made the choice to do this, leaving his friends, companions, and grandfather behind.

When he woke up, the Hero was back in the mountainous town of Arboria, where he quickly reunited with Veronica and the others — destined to stop Mordegon from ever getting his hands on the Sword of Light in the first place!

For today, I’ll be picking up at the start of Act 3 of Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age as I conclude my series on this wonderful game! While I did enjoy Act 3, I also had a few thoughts on my experiences that I’ll chat about. I’ll also have some overall thoughts as well at the bottom of this article surrounding the whole game.

My hope is that you’ll be interested to also pick up and play this game, or to relive some amazing memories through this article if you’ve played it before!

Of course, this mini-series will undoubtedly have spoilers for this game — so keep that in mind if you’ve never played it before and plan to 🙌

Let’s get started!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then take a look at my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

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A Forgotten Reunion

As soon as the I traveled back in time at the start of Act 3, I found that the Hero landed himself in the easy-going town of Arboria — just outside The World Tree. I was essentially back to the end of Act 1!

Inside the main cathedral building, I came across Veronica, who was alive and well! The rest of the party soon joined, though they had visible expressions of confusion at the looks they were getting from the Hero who was happy to see everyone back together again. The Hero also noticed he now has a greatsword in his possession, the Sword of Shadows.

The next step — similar to the ending of Act 1 — was to climb up the World Tree and retrieve the Sword of Light.

With the knowledge of what was to come from Mordegon — who had possessed the body of King Carnelian along with Knight Jasper as his minion — the Hero was able to thwart off an attack and defeat Jasper! The still-possessed King was shocked, and could only watch on and wait as the Hero claimed the Sword of Light. In an attempt to throw off suspicion, the King announced a banquet and celebration back at the Castle of Heliodor!

The Hero and his party were given a warm welcome in Heliodor, and were rightly claimed as heroes for adverting a disaster — even though the Mordegon was still presently in the same room disguised as King Carnelian!

When Mordegon finally revealed himself when he tried to steal the Sword of Light, an epic battle ensued. It took everything in the party’s power, along with the help from Knight Hendrick, to defeat Mordegon before he got his hands on the sword.

A Disastrous Turn of Events

While this second defeat of Mordegon was a huge positive on the world of Erdrea, the peace was short-lived.

When everyone was celebrating, as well as Jade reuniting with her father — King Carnelian who was in his right mind again — a terrible darkness overtook the skies. Guards came running into the throne room, stammering about a dark star falling in the distance!

The giant glowing star, known as Erdwin’s Lantern, fell above the desert city of Gallopolis! It was the same one that appeared in Act 2!

However, the main difference now is that my party had just defeated Mordegon in the throne room. Going back to Act 2, we can remember that the star was fully destroyed by a mysterious figure that turned out to be Mordegon. So now, without the Lord of Shadows to intervene, this massive star smashed into the sandy environment and revealed a huge, otherworldly figure.

Upon getting closer to it, the party was met by the mysterious Seer, who beckoned them to use the Calamus flute to summon the flying whale Cetacea, and fly off to see the Watchers — the ethereal beings on floating islands in the sky. Once again, Hendrick joined in to help the Luminary in his quest to destroy evil.

I talked to the some of the Watchers, who explained that the Dark One who returned is known as Calasmos, who had brought forth a miasma of evil and destruction a long time ago. Now that Mordegon was dead, Calasmos was seemingly free to reign terror down on Erdrea without competition. The Watchers then prompt you to look at the path of the former Luminary, named Erdwin, and the Elder mentioned the Seedlings of Yggdrasil. It was a bit cryptic, but I soon set off on top of the whale.

This time though in Act 3, it felt like the world was truly open. As such, I decided to take off from here and start working on quests throughout the world of Erdrea that would help pave the path towards defeating the final boss: Calasmos!

Revisiting “Old” Friends

It was fascinating to see and explore the world in Act 3. It felt as though I had the freedom to explore in any direction I wanted to, without having a linear path to follow. The monsters were tougher, and were mostly of a malicious variant.

My journey took me to the ruins of the Hero’s village in Cobblestone first. Instead of it being turned into an outpost like we saw in Act 2, it’s back to the Act 1 setting after Jasper and his soldiers destroyed it. It was in ruins, but both the Hero’s stepmother and Gemma were there — along with the other original residents, so that they could all help restore it. To do so, Gemma literally made you a list of tasks to help with!

This was hilarious to me, because while I’m out trying to save the world from an unthinkable level of destruction due to Calasmos, Gemma is handing out tasks left and right to you so you can help rebuild Cobblestone!

However, some of those tasks and quests ended up helping me along my journey anyway, and it was well worth seeing Cobblestone returned to its early game glory!

In my travels around Erdrea, I ended up running into many familiar faces and situations that I had already completed in Act 2, but because of the time travel, they became available again. It was pretty overwhelming to see just how many quests there were to do in Act 3, with many of them not even being official quests, but rather smaller ones that were spread out all over.

Above the snowy city of Sniflheim, I ran into Erik’s sister again, Mia, who was a solid gold statue. Using the power of the Luminary, the Hero was able to revive her and complete Erik’s goal of saving his sister.

Back in the ruins of Dundrasil, I was able to save the Hero’s spirited father again after the locals in the nearby inn were having nightmares. Hendrick was given the opportunity to battle it out with Jasper’s spirit once more to get some really good armor. Somehow, Michelle the Mermaid was alive from Act 1 — where both her and Kai were on The Strand — being attacked by Mermen that I helped to defeat.

I will admit, it didn’t make sense to me as to why Michelle was still alive. She had turned into sea foam in the middle of Act 1, so even with going back in time, I ended up getting confused as to how she was alive. I even thought at first that she was a different mermaid, but I figured this was either an oversight or just how it was meant to be.

The party was also able to help Priestess Chief Miko in the mountainous village of Hotto, where she was able to save her son this time — instead of him being cursed forever in his dragon form — to the rejoicing of the village when they returned! I was also able to visit Angri-La and Grand Master Pang to train and work on the Wheel of Harma trials. Those trails were pretty tough, but I was able to get through all the main ones.

All of the quests in Act 3 were an emotional return back to the world of Erdrea that had not yet been scarred by the destruction of an evil power. However, Calasmos still remained, and I needed to figure out how to defeat him! But, I was blocked from defeating him. While he was up in the sky, I could not take the whale Cetacea to him due to a magical barrier protecting him.

Seedlings and a Fully Equipped Whale

The ethereal Watchers told me to go around the world to find some seedlings.

By interacting with them, you and the party could see some of the past with Erdwin and his group, including Serenica, the sage; Drustan, the warrior; and Morcant, the mage. These visions helped to explain quite a bit from the past, and how Erdwin planned to defeat Calasmos.

The mysterious Seer then showed up to reveal a greater memory using the power of both Veronica and Serena!

This expanded vision from the Seer showed how some of the actions the characters in the past took led to the current world. Morcant the mage was revealed to have succumbed to the power of darkness right before Calasmos was defeated, ended up stabbing Erdwin in the back, and became the evil Mordegon!

Serenica and Drustan were then unable to kill Calasmos without the help of Erdwin, so they and the Watchers banished the weakened Calasmos up into the heavens, held within the glowing star, Erdwin’s Lantern. Then, it was revealed that Serenica took the Sword of Light to the World Tree, but was left heartbroken about losing Erdwin. She attempted to turn back time, but lacked the strength to do so, leaving her to be transformed into the ethereal Timekeeper by the tockles, standing at the height of The Tower of Lost Time for many years to come.

After the vision, the Seer revealed himself to be the good part of Morcant the mage, the light that held out against the darkness! As he faded off due to Mordegon being destroyed, he prompted the Hero and his party to head back to the Tower of Lost Time and talk to Serenica.

Once there, now knowing that Serenica is actually the Timekeeper, we were able to perform a melody using the flute that ended up overpowering the great whale above in the skies with some more oomph!

With all of that done, I was directed to finally open a once-locked door under the ruins of Zwaardsrust, which would be a set of trials to strengthen the Hero and his party!

Getting Jacked and Taking on Calasmos

One reason I love the Dragon Quest games (at least the ones I’ve played so far) is that I’ve never felt the need to grind for experience.

Drustan’s Trials were a challenge though that I really enjoyed. It gave me the chance to revisit some familiar areas, as well as obtaining a lot of good items, experience points, and equipment.

It was fascinating to work through these trials, and I gained quite a bit of experience and some extras through it all.

Afterwards, I decided to level up my characters some more. After finding out about the Pep Powers that allow for greater XP gains (Haulellujah) and one that had the chance to spawn in metal slimes (Electro Light), I knew I was set! By the time I took on the final boss, I was around level 85 – 90 with my characters!

It was around this time that I went back to create a new Supreme Sword of Light. One of the Watchers in during the Drustan’s Trials had told me to get it, and I figured it would be worth it for the final battle.

Finally, after about 95 hours in-game, I defeated Calasmos!

His boss fight was pretty easy! My final line-up was the Hero using a sword, Hendrick with a greatsword, Rab using a heavy wand, and Sylvando with knives. My backup team was Serena with a wand, Veronica with a heavy wand, Erik using a boomerang, and Jade with her spear.

Right after the fight, the party returned to The Tower of Lost Time. The Timekeeper, who we now know is Serenica the sage, was shown to have been granted the ability to return back in time using the power from the Luminary — in her original form — and was reunited with Erdwin in a distant past!

Afterwards, the Hero returned to a peaceful and bright Erdrea in the beautifully restored Cobblestone. Everyone was so thankful for the Hero’s help in saving the world, and both Serena and Veronica were there to accompany him back to the World Tree to return the Sword of Light.

I’ll be completely honest though, I did not fully understand all of the final cutscenes after I returned the sword. Once the Sword of Light was replaced, the Yggdragon appeared and bestowed the title of Erdrick to the Hero, and she explained that though the darkness may appear again, another hero will surely arise to face the challenge. However, my confusion had to do with the scenes after this, where it appeared as if this story was being read as a book by a kid’s mother, who was then hinted at being the Hero for another game in the series. From what I’ve gathered, that game is Dragon Quest III.

So, it looks like I’ll likely be heading there next!

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, I ended up loving this game!

Once I finished up the final fight with Calasmos, I went back in to finish up a few things. I collected more of the outfits I missed, got some more mini medals, and also leveled up all my characters to level 99 using pep powers and a bit of time.

The world itself was massive with so much to explore and do. Everyone in my party had their own unique personalities that stood out, with a great balance of humor and serious moments. Rab and Jade were probably my favorite characters. Rab was awesome, just with his sense of humor and the way he reminded me of my own grandfather at times. Of course, the music and overall design was incredible too! I also really enjoyed using The Fun-Sized Forge over time, and finding the right materials and equipment was fun to collect! Pep Powers were interesting, and I got used to using them more and more throughout the game.

As I discussed in the second article, the main thing that slightly annoyed me was the concept of time travel between Act 2 and Act 3. It just felt a bit too convenient, and the sacrifices that were made seemed almost worthless if I could just go back in time. Likewise, it left me feeling pretty bad if the other Act 2 characters were left in some sort of alternate reality — which felt like it was implied. I had the feeling that I was just redoing a lot of various quests in Act 3 that I had already done, even if they were a bit different and even if they were part of the “good ending.”

The overall story was good, and I enjoyed it. The ending cutscenes to Act 3 were a bit confusing, but I suspect that it made a lot of other people enjoy it even more to see that type of ending, especially if it pointed back to the older games.

After completing the main story and finishing off anything else I wanted to, I felt that I was done with my adventure. In total, it took me about 105 hours.

Now, I’ve got my eyes set on the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake as my next game in this wonderful series to work on in the future!

As I walked around Cobblestone one last time, I couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional as I thought back to the long journey I took in Erdrea! It first started around last August, but I picked it back up within the past couple of months. There were significantly more highs than lows, and the time it took to uncover the breathtaking world and amazing characters made it all worth it.

To me, it was a wonderful experience that I won’t forget any time soon!

Thank you for the honor and privilege of your time! It means a lot that you’re here, and I appreciate your readership!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you next time,
Joe

Check Out the Full Mini-Series

This is a full series on Dragon Quest XI! Check out the other articles down below!

Act 1 | The Start of an Epic Quest

Act 2 | The Calamity of Erdrea

What are Your Thoughts

I want to hear from you in the comments below 👇

Have you ever played Dragon Quest XI, or any of the Dragon Quest games? How do you feel about them?

How do you feel about the story and adventures in Dragon Quest XI? Is there anything you liked or disliked about the second Act in this game?

Leave a comment

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A Devastating Turn of Events

Last time in Act 1 of Dragon Quest XI, Mordegon had used the Luminary’s power to bring forth an era of darkness to the land of Erdrea. In doing so, he destroyed Yggdrasil — the World Tree — and caused widespread destruction across the world!

Act 1 had this shocking finish, and it was one I was not fully expecting.

This game did a great job at reeling you in to believe everything would turn out fine, but with the sudden reveal that King Cornelian of Heliodor had been possessed by Mordegon, as well as seeing that Jasper the Knight aided Mordegon in his nefarious ways, you quickly realized that everything was far from fine!

Now, with the World Tree destroyed and monsters running rampant with Mordegon seated in the Fortress of Fear as the Lord of Shadows, the Hero and his party must come back together to take Mordegon on directly!

Upon waking up for the first time after the beginning of the darkness, I found myself in the shoes of the Hero’s faithful companions!

For today, I’ll be taking a look at Act 2 of Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age as I continue this mini-series on this wonderful game! It’s been an incredible experience, and one that I know I’ll look fondly back on for years to come!

My hope is that you’ll be interested to also pick up and play this game, or to relive some amazing memories through this article if you’ve played it before!

Of course, this mini-series will undoubtedly have spoilers for this game — so keep that in mind if you’ve never played it before and plan to 🙌

Let’s get started!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then take a look at my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

Want More? Join Other Subscribers Now 🔥

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A New Perspective

Once the first Act closed of Dragon Quest XI, I woke up in the shoes of none other than Sylvando — and eventually as the Hero’s other companions, such as Jade, Erik, and Rab!

The first several hours were a fascinating experience as I saw the world from these other character’s perspectives. It really helped to cement their place in the world, and the struggles they also dealt with. One thing they had in common though was their desire to reunite with the Hero and to defeat Mordegon!

Some of the characters, such as Sylvando and Jade, were fascinating to see from their eyes. Sylvando gathered up his senses and refused to go down without a fight, where he placed a heavy focus on spreading happiness wherever he went in the world. Jade as well had a similar fighter’s spirit, where she got thrown into a new and terrifying reality in Octagonia with the monsters that had taken over, and fought hard in an attempt to overcome the challenges!

Rab and Erik also had interesting perspectives for their parts at the beginning of Act 2. It was quite emotional to see Rab experiencing the life he once had back in the Kingdom of Dundrasil, where he has to make the effort snap back to reality — though that may not be what it seems when he faces his old teacher, Grand Master Pang, in a sort of dream-like reality.

Erik was always a fascinating character to me, and he really grew with his background throughout Act 2. At the start though — when he realized he was in a dungeon of sorts and with the help of a friendly Healslime — Erik made his way to freedom. However, after being cornered by powerful monsters, a mysterious figure called the Seer grants Erik powers if he gave up his memories, thus resulting in an amnesia after escaping!

Notably though, I never had one of these side missions from the perspective of either Serena or Veronica, which struck me as a bit odd.

After several hours of experiencing a post-Mordegon life from the perspectives of the Hero’s companions, the Hero finally awakens…

…as a fish!

It quickly became apparent that Queen Marina in the underwater world of Nautica had transformed the Hero into a fish to shield and save him from Mordegon’s power. Shortly after this, the Queen had a protective shield around Nautica that was failing from a giant sea monster, and she ushered the Hero up to the surface. She then pressed him to save the world from Mordegon — thankfully with the Hero turning back into a human shortly after resurfacing!

The Changed Landscape

After Mordegon destroyed the World Tree and set darkness on the world of Erdrea, the landscape was scorched and partially destroyed.

Erdrea was recognizable, but deeply scarred. Much like the lands and cities, the people in the world were existing, but dealt a severe blow after the fall of Yggdrasil.

Once I took control over the Hero on dry land, I found a new and surprising ally in a familiar place.

The Hero’s home village of Cobblestone had been rebuilt as a base of rebellion against the dark forces, with a much friendlier King Carnelian and Knight Hendrik in charge. I also had a reunion with both the Hero’s stepmother, as well as his childhood friend, Gemma! They both were thankfully safe after Jasper had attacked the village earlier back in Act 1, and were helping the effort against the monsters that had taken over the world.

The most surprising ally though came in the form of Hendrik, who swore his sword and shield to protecting the Luminary, and would help him bring about the end of Mordegon! He started off as an enemy in Act 1, but became a powerful companion to the Hero now!

Upon leaving Cobblestone, I found that the first step in my journey was to reunite with my lost companions. I visited new places, such as Angri-La — a settlement built into a snowy mountain that’s meant as a training ground — to find the Hero’s grandfather, Rab. I also travelled back to past locations, where I came across Sylvando near the city of Phnom Nonh in the western continent, with him rejoining the party. I also found Jade in Octagonia, where I helped undo the spell she was placed under from Booga and his army of monsters.

Walking throughout the world of Erdrea in Act 2 had a profound impact on me. Everything changed when Mordegon ushered in darkness and destroyed Yggdrasil, with the partially destroyed landscape showing the evidence of his ruinous reign of destruction over the world.

A magnificent moment came about near the desert city of Gallopolis. While the city was a familiar sight, there was a dark, red star known as Erdwin’s Lantern that was hovering in the sky just north of it! Upon a quick investigation with Rab helping to translate some words on the star, all you come away with are the words:

CALASMOS

Shortly afterwards, an unknown being destroys the star — with a small, dark Tockle (a small ethereal-type entity), that seemed to be horribly dismayed at the destruction of it. This was the same type of Tockle found in the intro of the game, which had me thinking more about the significance of it, and the others I came across elsewhere.

The world of Erdrea felt dark. Everything was a stark contrast to the first Act which felt so bright and hopeful. Throughout my journey in Act 2, I was reminded of the destruction that Mordegon caused, and there were plenty of moments during this time that were very emotional compared to the first part of the game.

Sacrifices and Emotions

There were many emotional moments that happened during the course of Act 2. Many of these moments seemed pretty indicative of the current world after the destruction of the World Tree.

One example was the emotional reunion with Erik’s sister, Mia, who the party helped save in the snowy continent, just north-west of Sniflheim. She was given a magical amulet by Erik before the story took place, which allowed her to turn anything to gold — like the Midas touch. However, she ended up turning to gold herself, but was broken free of the curse after Mordegon rose to power, with her then using the evil power of greed against the people of Sniflheim. After defeating the monster surrounding her, she was broken from the grip of Mordegon, and was happily reunited with Erik!

Another gripping moment that stood out was in the mountainous village of Hotto, right before I forged the Sword of Light. The Priestess Chief Miko was put into a terrible spot. It’s found out that her son, Ryu, had transformed into a nearby dragon named Tatsunaga that was terrorizing the village, and that Miko was willing to sacrifice villagers to the dragon so that she could find ways to get her son back. However, it came to a head when she — as well as the magic mirror item she had that could transform Ryu back — were consumed by the dragon. The Hero and party tracked down and took out Tatsunaga. Though the village was saved, the cost of losing Miko was high.

One emotional but more upbeat moment came in the form of reuniting with the Hero’s father, the former King Irwin of Dundrasil! It was a nice, heart-warming segment where you and the party were able to free him from his curse, and allow him to pass on in peace!

Once I completed many side quests, I made my way past Sniflheim in the snowy continent. From there, I was faced down by a once-frozen dragon that was shockingly powerful!

Fortunately, Serena stepped in and helped!

This was the first sighting of Serena in many hours, ever since the separation from the end of Act 1. Though, her sister Veronica was nowhere to be seen.

Once we got to Arboria, the truth came out about what happened when I looked back at past memories. Veronica, in an effort to save the Luminary and the rest of the party, sacrificed herself and shielded the others from death when Mordegon destroyed the World Tree at the end of Act 1!

Veronica had died!

Evil Defeated… or Not?

With the loss of Veronica filling the emotions of the Hero and his companions, I used the Calamus flute I received in Arboria, which summoned the great, flying whale Cetacea!

After a bit of leveling up and finishing off a few more side quests, I made my way to the Fortress of Fear to take on the Lord of Shadows: Mordegon, as well as any of the imps or monsters beneath him, such as Jasper!

The two stages of Mordegon’s boss battle were fairly easy, with my characters being around level 55 or so.

I felt a wave of relief after Mordegon was defeated. The World Tree was restored to life, and it honestly felt like a lot of Erdrea was returning to the way it was from Act 1. There was still a lot of destruction around the world, and the loss of Veronica was still hanging in the air. However, even with everything that had happened, it felt like a good closing to the story of the Luminary and his party of companions.

But… a glimmer in some ruins near Octagonia pointed to an ancient tome that described a way for someone that is lost to eternity being able to get restored to life. I figured there might be a way to bring back Veronica, even though I wasn’t sure what the cost would be!

It also made me realize that, while Mordegon was defeated, there was still the issue of that dark star — Erdwin’s Lantern — mysteriously appearing and being destroyed earlier on that really needed to be explained.

With some new knowledge from the tome, I flew on Cetacea to a tower in the northern part of Erdrea, where I would find out what I should do next!

The Cost of Turning Back Time

Once I was at the tower, called The Tower of Lost Time, I was given the choice by the ethereal Timekeeper at the top to harness the power of the Time’s Sphere by shattering it with the Sword of Light, thus allowing me to go back in time.

By doing this, I found that I could go back and possibly save Veronica!

The Timekeeper described the terrible consequences that could fall upon the Hero for seeking the path towards saving Veronica, or even going back to the time before Mordegon destroyed the World tree. Only the Luminary could use the Sword of Light to return. Nothing else could go back with me except for my items. The world, the reality, nor my companions would go back with me. The Timekeeper continues by saying that the life of the Hero may be lost as well, with it being impossible to foresee what may or may not happen.

To be honest, I’m not wholly sure I would’ve chosen to actually go back given the consequences!

This is a part of this game that I was a bit bummed out about. I didn’t see any spoilers about it at all, so it was shocking when I was hit with the reality that I would be leaving everyone to return all the way back to essentially the ending of Act 1. All the progress I made, all the character growth, all the hours invested in the world I knew, and everyone we helped save would just be… reset?

It also presented some moral challenges. Is it worth altering the reality of time in order to save the life of one companion? Is it right to leave behind the people who helped save the world with you and sacrificed so much in their lives for you? Would everyone else just be… left behind to live in that post-Mordegon timeline of reality without the Hero and Veronica? Left to deal with the consequences of you leaving?

I do wish that the story had weaved together the moral dilemmas better, so that the risk of going back in time and shattering the Time’s Sphere would make a bit more sense. Maybe if it had shown more widespread destruction, or more of the party had died, or a more desperate need to go back in time existed, then it might’ve made the risk seem more worth it.

It all just felt like a huge hazard to undertake for what I thought was an otherwise good ending. Not only that, but once I shattered the Time’s Sphere with the Sword of Light, the scene faded with my old companions seemingly left behind in that reality’s timeline — looking out towards the Hero being transported back in time — with Rab reaching out at the last moment to his only grandchild and imploring him to wait, though it was too late at that point... It just felt cold to leave them all behind after everything that we fought and sacrificed over — even though they eventually urged me towards going back.

Once I shattered it though, I was back in a brighter Arboria. There was no more destruction in the city, there was no sign that Mordegon had destroyed the World Tree yet, and Veronica was alive!

What I did love about Act 2 was the amount of character development. Erik really had a lot that he went through with losing his memories, and then he stepped up and helped to save his sister. Sylvando and Jade had to fight for others and themselves, with Rab choosing to not give up. Serena remained strong, despite the loss of her sister, and made the decision to continue helping the Luminary.

Mordegon’s defeat felt like a satisfying end to a hard-fought journey for all of the characters. It was an ending that honestly felt like the true ending to the game — or at least the most realistic ending.

But, it all just felt a bit hollow after I travelled back in time at the end.

Questions still lingered in the air though: Why were those dark Tockles trying to usher down that star in Gallopolis? What exactly was the star to begin with? Could the Hero — now with a full party again with Veronica — defeat Mordegon before the destruction of the World Tree?

In the next part, I’ll go over my experiences with Act 3 of this amazing game!

Thank you for the honor and privilege of your time! It means a lot that you’re here, and I appreciate your readership!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you again,
Joe

What are Your Thoughts

I want to hear from you in the comments below 👇

Have you ever played Dragon Quest XI, or any of the Dragon Quest games? How do you feel about them?

How do you feel about the story and adventures in Dragon Quest XI? Is there anything you liked or disliked about the second Act in this game?

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Happy Monday

Hope you all are doing well!

Today will be a bit of a change from my typical blogs! Since I visited the National Video Game Museum (NVM) in North Texas recently to view the Sony MSF-1 Prototype (as I talked about in my last Game Save article), I decided to share more about this museum here as a blog post!

It was a fun experience, and I learned a whole lot about video game history, the importance of gaming in the world over the past 50 or so years, and I had a lot of nostalgic moments too!

This blog will be a bit different since it will feature a lot more photos than I normally post. I took quite a few from my phone, so today’s blog will host a lot of pictures!

I hope you enjoy, and let’s jump in!

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What’s Been Going on in My World?

Since today’s blog will go over so much of my National Video Game Museum visit, I won’t spend too much time talking about the games I’m currently playing like I normally do at the end of my blogs. I’m also deep into Dragon Quest XI right now as my main game, so I don’t have too many new things to talk about with it!

I’ll be sure to have more on that game later on though once I finish it!

Let’s jump into the recap from my time at the National Video Game Museum!

Visit to the National Video Game Museum

As soon as you first walk in, you’re greeted by an awesome statue of Booker and Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite! Once you turn around, there’s a huge collection of TVs and consoles hooked up to form an art piece that is uniquely built. All of them are playing something that has to do with video games, like old footage or older gaming news from the past.

Right past this is the counter to get tickets, where you then enter into the main portion of the museum! Once inside, you see a statue featuring some famous characters, including Mario, Sonic, Pac-Man, and more in front of a large wall of video game consoles!

Right behind this statue, they had an awesome collection of consoles up on the wall from all points of video game history. This is also where they had the Sony MSF-1 on display!

Behind this wall of consoles were a lot of shelves with various video game pieces and collections. Some examples included unique PlayStation 2 consoles, a Panasonic Q GameCube, a Nintendo 64DD collection, and copies of Metal Gear.

Into the next section was a fun setup that mimicked a living room space back many years ago. I loved the wood siding on the walls, and you were able to sit down and play the game too!

Right before the arcade, they had a section with older demo display consoles! This was a throwback for me, because I remember seeing stuff like this (but with a GameCube and N64) in dental offices, stores, and similar settings as a kid!

After this, I circled back around to go up some of the main aisles. One of the larger sections was a big setup they have on Pokémon! As someone that never played Pokémon too much, it was very interesting to read up on the history of the game and look at all the collectibles they had on display!

Right behind the Pokémon collection was a nice setup they had on virtual reality. This was pretty neat to see some of the collections available, including a Nintendo Virtual Boy, a unique Power Glove, a VFX-1 Headgear, and an Atari Mindlink!

The next section was all on the TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine. This was interesting to learn more about since — at least for me — it’s a console that’s sort of faded into the background. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone I know of having one, and it came out quite a bit before my time!

Along the back wall was a large section that had a ton of old computers. These included a Commodore Amiga, Atari 800, a TI-99/4A, older Apple computers, a Famicom Family BASIC from Japan, an Atari 7800 Keyboard, and a whole lot more!

In a little nook off to one of the corners after the computer section was an awesome section on handheld consoles! This was super cool to see, just because I recognized the ones I’ve had over time. Seeing the Game Boy Micro in-person makes me realize how tiny that thing is, though I still want to pick one up at some point!

Once I finished up the handheld section, I backtracked a bit to see a few things I missed. Along a large side of the museum were a few setups that showed some information about the early days of video games, a history of controllers, a Dragon’s Lair collection, and more! A fun exhibit you can play is for The Typing of the Dead on the Sega Dreamcast, where you test your typing skills on a keyboard in a rail-shooter battle against the undead! They also had an awesome pair of statues from Castlevania and Halo!

After all of the museum portion, I went into their incredible arcade. They had about 30 – 40 arcade units by my count, and that was a ton of fun! There’s some old 1980s rock playing, all the lights were dimmed, and it felt like stepping back in time! The tokens were $.25 each, and there were plenty of machines to test out!

The National Video Game Museum was a fun visit! I’ve been before, but they had a few new additions I wanted to check out, and of course the Sony MSF-1 that they just acquired!

It takes about one to two hours to walk through it and costs $12 for a ticket (which includes some arcade tokens), and it’s definitely worth it if you’re ever in the North Texas area!

Be sure to check out the NVM’s website and socials that I linked down below:

Website for The National Video Game Museum | Twitter/X | Instagram

Games I’ve Been Playing

As mentioned near the intro, I’ve been continuing my playthrough of Dragon Quest XI!

I recently finished up Act 2, and it’s been a wild ride so far. I’m about 5 hours or so into Act 3, and without spoiling anything, I can say that there’s been A LOT of developments that have happened!

I’ll write more about it in the future, but one thing that I wish this game had is a pause button — especially for cutscenes. I think I’ve become spoiled by the pause mechanic in recent years, but I would’ve figured most games would’ve had it within the past 10 years or so. I also feel at times that I’m redoing quite a bit now in Act 3 (without getting into spoilers), even though the game is pretty huge.

With how much fun I’ve been having though in this game, I definitely give it a pass on some of the small nitpicks I might have.

I’ll have a lot more on this amazing game in the future, and I’m hoping to finish it up pretty soon!

Everything else is going good though. Don’t forget about the schedule change here on The Saved Game, where I’ve started to post up new articles every other week now with new blogs coming out on the off week. Check out my Schedule page for more information!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

See you all next time,
Joe

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Welcome

Welcome to this Game Save!

It’s been busy lately, but I’m glad to be back and writing these articles after the collaborative write-up from a couple of weeks ago!

Likewise, there’s a lot going on in the world of gaming news as of late. Every time I check, it seems like something new is going on all the time!

For today, I want to take a look at some news on two topics. We’ll be seeing the new home for one of the unique Nintendo/Sony Play Station developer unit prototypes, and the surprising news about dynamic pricing with Sony. The prototype was a bit special to me, as I got to see it in-person, and I was sure to include some photos here in this write-up from my experience!

I also have two spotlights for some amazing creators that really stood out to me over the past few weeks!

Lastly, I want to wrap up with a few updates for this publication!

Let’s dive in!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome!

My name is Joe, and Game Save articles go over some of the latest gaming news you may have missed along with some thoughts I have on them, reviews of games or accessories, as well as a Community Spotlight for articles that I loved! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

🐉 Take a look at my recent main article on Dragon Quest XI
💾 Check out my previous Game Save write-up
☕️ Read my latest Cup of Joe blog post

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then please take a look at my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

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My Thoughts from Recent Gaming News

Many things have been going on lately, but I want to focus in on two topics for today that are both related to Sony. These popped up over the past couple of weeks, and I’ve been reading up on them and became very interested in sharing more about them. Plus, I was able to get some up-close experience with one of the topics today!

The Nintendo… Play Station Developer Unit!?

In a bit of surprising news to see, it was announced that the National Video Game Museum (NVM) in North Texas would acquire a Nintendo/Sony Play Station prototype system as part of their collection — specifically the Sony MSF-1 — possibly one of the rarest pieces of gaming hardware.

The National Video Game Museum made this announcement in a post on Twitter/X.

If you’re like me, you know that Sony and Nintendo worked together back in the 1980s and early 1990s before the Sony PlayStation existed — but not much more than that. It was a partnership that seemed to be a good fit at the time, until Nintendo ultimately partnered with a different brand. We’ll get to more on that in a bit!

Since this museum and gaming relic are in North Texas, I decided to take a road trip there to see this fascinating piece of gaming history with my own eyes!

It was a breathtakingly simple piece of hardware. It was an amazing feeling to look at and observe, wondering in my mind about what all this prototype was used for or where all it had been. Nothing about it made me associate it with Nintendo or Sony to be honest, though the opening for a cartridge in the back reminded me of a dual partnership that could’ve been, but never was. It only has a few buttons, an on/off power switch, and a port on the side with a CD drive and a couple of lights on the front of it.

According to the sign in its display, the Sony MSF-1 was used by a subsidiary of Sony called ImageSoft, and is the oldest known development system of its kind to exist. It states that the estimated age of it is from 1992, and that it served as the development unit for what was supposed to be Sony’s Super Nintendo CD peripheral, elsewhere called the Play Station, with the unit being able to plug into a Super Nintendo system.

Of course, as history unfolded, we all know that Sony went another direction.

Polygon had a wonderful article on the early history of the PlayStation. Back in the 1980s, this write-up described how one of Sony’s engineers — then turned CEO — named Ken Kutaragi had a vision. He watched his daughter play on a Nintendo Famicom, and saw a future where video games would be widely popular. Kutaragi would then be involved with a deal for Sony to make the Super Nintendo’s sound chip. At the time, everything about it seemed like a successful collaboration, despite Kutaragi making that deal happen without consulting with his superiors at Sony. Kutaragi and Sony then started work on a CD-based peripheral device for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System called the Play Station.

However, trouble was brewing on the horizon, and Nintendo decided to suddenly partner with Phillips — cutting out Sony and seemingly all the progress they made in the process.

…Kutaragi went to work creating a prototype for the disc-based add-on, at the time called the “Play Station.” And then, in a famous-though-often-misreported story, Nintendo went back on its deal, terminating the partnership with Sony and announcing it had struck a deal Phillips instead.

— Polygon, The History of PlayStation was Almost Very Different (2019)

The Play Station CD device was never officially released for the SNES, with Sony and Nintendo parting ways when Nintendo surprisingly announced a partnership with Phillips at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in 1991. Based on an interesting article from Wired, the issue seemed to stem from Nintendo finding it unacceptable that Sony would control so much in regard to the CD-ROM games the device would use.

Sony had reportedly made other polished prototypes of the Play Station that they had brought to CES in 1991 and even continued working on the unit until the summer of 1992, according to the Video Game Chronicle. Likely, it was one of these systems that was sold for more than $300,000 back in 2020, as Polygon reported a few years ago.

Only a few years later after CES and the split in 1991, the Sony PlayStation would be released as its own console in 1994 to critical acclaim — setting up the Sony PlayStation brand of consoles to sell well over half a billion units throughout the next 30+ years based on Sony’s data.

According to the sign inside the museum, it said that this unit was used by ImageSoft.

ImageSoft — a subsidiary of Sony back in the late 1980s and early 1990s — was a developer and publisher for various Nintendo games. Mentioned by Sega Retro, it would then go on to create some games for Sega systems, until it became Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA) in the late 1990s, switching back entirely to being dedicated to the new PlayStation console by Sony. According to The Game Scholar — who has an impressive article on the Sony MSF-1 — little is known about the games that would’ve come out for the Play Station unit other than some reported educational titles.

It’s wild to think about the history of this piece of hardware, and the “what-ifs” that might’ve taken place had contracts been different, or if Nintendo made other choices, or if Ken Kutaragi never had the vision he did. It was a wonderful experience to see this MSF-1 prototype in-person, where I could wonder about those “what-ifs” while actually looking at the unit that played a role in it all.

If you’re ever in North Texas, I would highly recommend checking out this museum. Beyond this relic of the past, they also have many more pieces of video game history, a large arcade you can play at, and a lot more!

Dynamic Pricing on the PlayStation Store

PSPrices is a website I use all the time, and have recommended before on this publication.

They have an easy way to search up a game, and you can quickly see if it’s on sale or not. You can also check the pricing history on a game, as well as track a game’s price with email notifications set up. It’s a great website, and one I use all the time to monitor sales for games.

They came out with a recent report that claims Sony is testing out dynamic pricing on the PlayStation Store.

But, what is dynamic pricing? And should this be a cause for concern?

According to Stripe, the major online payment processor, dynamic pricing can be used as a tool to help businesses react to a variety of market conditions.

Dynamic pricing is a strategy where prices adjust in real time based on shifting market conditions. Instead of setting a fixed price that holds steady regardless of context, a business charges whatever the market will accept at any given moment.

— Stripe, Dynamic Pricing Explained (2025)

Shopify listed out some of the advantages and opportunities that a business can have from dynamic pricing.

While market conditions can shift quickly, when businesses charge a single, static price for their product, they’re missing out on two opportunities: to serve customers who would only pay less, and to charge more to the customers who are willing to pay more.

— Shopify, What is Dynamic Pricing (2025)

From other sources though, such as the New York Times video opinion down below (which is worth a watch), dynamic pricing in our current day-and-age is used primarily to take advantage of customers and their spending habits — especially when everything is being controlled or overseen more and more by algorithms and/or AI.

Based on the report by PSPrices, I can’t help but see that this is moving into an anti-consumer direction by Sony.

As shown in that report, PSPrices started noticing A/B price tests in the PlayStation Store since November of 2025, and it has greatly expanded since then to more regions, including the US.

Some PlayStation Store users see experimental prices that are significantly lower than the standard retail price. This is a controlled A/B test by Sony to study the price elasticity of demand. Users are randomly placed in control or test groups — and see different prices for the same games.

— PSPrices, Sony is Testing Dynamic Pricing (2026)

Some of the prices that were discounted include major Sony titles such as God of War Ragnarök, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Stellar Blade, and The Last of Us Part II. Discounts for these and other digital games ranged from 10%, all the way up to near 30% in the US storefront.

To me though, one of the more concerning aspects of dynamic pricing has to do with personalized pricing/sales. A Reuters’ report looked at a FTC research summary back in 2025 of eight dynamic pricing vendors that seemed to focus around the use of personalized data from people, noting that it “…found these companies' AI-driven pricing tools relied on consumer data such as location, browsing history, and purchase patterns to set individualized prices, adjust prices in real-time, and manipulate product rankings…”

In the PSPrices report, they took note of personalized sales.

Personalized sales

During the February PlayStation Store sales we found that experiment participants received a different discount percentage than regular users. For example, HELLDIVERS 2 was sold to regular users at -25%, while experiment participants saw -56%.

This means that Sony is not only testing base prices but also experimenting with discount sizes during sales.

— PSPrices, Sony is Testing Dynamic Pricing (2026)

Is that where Sony is heading with the PlayStation Store? Will discounts in the future be set based on personal information they have on people? Will we be fully dependent on these always-fluctuating prices in the future if physical media no longer exists?

Or, is all of this just simple A/B testing that Sony is doing to see what people in various regions are willing to pay for games?

It also worries me too that there’s essentially only one place to purchase digital games for the PlayStation (and the same is true for other consoles as well). There’s no other online store I can log into on my console to purchase digital games from. Everything comes from the PlayStation Store, and Sony is the one controlling what the prices are. If I can’t go to a separate place to purchase titles from, then Sony can charge as much as they can in order to continue making the most in profit — which dynamic pricing would likely make easier for them to do.

An additional annoyance for me would be that discounts might not be the same for everyone in the future if this does fall into dynamic pricing. If I see that a game I highly recommend goes on a 40% off sale, how do I know it’s going to be on the same sale for other people? Likewise, I would wonder how a site like PSPrices would even be useful in the future if discounts are personalized.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to see how this all turns out. I can’t imagine that Sony will back down from testing with dynamic pricing, if that’s what this is. The benefits to a business seem to possibly be worth the backlash, and the consumers will be the ones paying for it one way or another.

What Are Your Thoughts on These Topics?

• What do you think about the Nintendo/Sony MSF-1 prototype? Do you think about the “what-ifs” that could’ve happened had Nintendo and Sony stayed as partners in the 1990s?

• How do you feel about the news of the dynamic pricing that Sony seemed to be testing with? Do you feel like it necessary in our current, technologically driven age? Or could it just be a way to maximize profits from consumers?

Leave a comment

Community Spotlight

For today, I want to do a special spotlight for Alex Antra, who has done so much for me and for other game writers in the community! Likewise, there’s an amazing article from Calvin Barrett I loved about an absolutely wacky game that I hope you’ll check out!

The Hero Behind Connecting Game Writers

It’s about time I spotlight Alex Antra and the incredible work they do!

has created and released their newsletters on a weekly basis long before I joined Substack, and they provide a wonderful way to find many other game writers!

What I love about each Reconnect Recap article is that they highlight a wide range of gaming write-ups and writers that I never would’ve heard of before. Even beyond Substack, there’s a lot of articles and writers that Alex finds and provides a platform for that I’m now subscribed to! Plus, I love the short, blog-type content that Alex includes too at the top of each of their articles!

On a more personal level, I greatly appreciate all the times The Saved Game has been featured and recommended by Alex on Reconnect Recap! It’s given me a boost in confidence for my publication, in my writing, and in how I connect with others! Thank you, Alex!

If you have somehow not heard of Alex Antra and Reconnect Recap, then I encourage you to subscribe to them and check out their incredible work — both here on Substack, as well as on their Reconnect website!

Reconnect Recap

Reconnect Recap - w/e 8th March

Kia Ora folks…

Read more

5 months ago · 15 likes · 5 comments · Alex Antra

A Vibrant Train-Skating Game

with wrote a very insightful and amazing article on a demo for a wacky title called Denshattack, a game where you take control of a gravity-defying train to skate through a vibrant Japanese dystopia!

What I loved about this write-up was the witty style that Calvin used that matches the fantastic energy of this game. Likewise, there were a lot of amazing insights that Calvin was able to draw from based on their experience in Japan. This was a high-spirited and animated article for a vibrant game that I never would’ve heard about, but I’m extremely glad I did!

This write-up made me look up this game as soon as I could once I finished it. And for the first time in my life, I thought to myself:

Do I want to skate…a train?

Hell yeah, I do now!

I implore you to take a look at this article and read it for yourself! I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll have the same reaction I did!

Thank you, Calvin, for an awesome read!

Retro Journal

Retro Journal March 9, 2026: Denshattack let me kickflip a train

Welcome to Retro Journal, where I run free and write about anything on my mind from my recent video game experiences. After moving to Japan from the United States, I’ve found myself with much more free time on my hands, so I’ll write brief recaps, capture memories, and share whatever’s been going on between my ears recently…

Read more

5 months ago · 5 likes · Calvin Barrett

Updates & Closing

Thank you all for reading, I appreciate it!

After I have thought about it a bit more, I have decided to switch up my schedule a bit for The Saved Game.

As I wrote about in my last blog, I’ve been a bit stressed for time lately and am needing to find a better balance for my writing on The Saved Game. A lot of things are going on in life, and I want to make sure I create articles here that I’m proud of, and not in a rushed manner where I start getting burned out.

Because of that, I’ve decided that I’ll be switching over to releasing articles every other week. My plan is to rotate a main gaming article and then a Game Save write-up, and then I’ll post a blog in the off week.

In the near future, I may turn on a paid option with extra articles and content that come out as well.

My hope is to give my readers the best experience possible, while also maintaining a schedule for myself that prevents burnout.

Thank you for understanding, and I’ll see how this new schedule works out. If anything comes up, then I’ll make any adjustments as needed!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you all next time,
Joe

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Would you like to keep seeing my content and creative work?

I put time and effort into the writing, designs, and creation of these write-ups, and I would love to keep doing them! If you would like to support my work, then view my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

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Happy Monday

Hope you all are doing well!

Today will be a bit of a short blog post. I have had something on my mind for the past few weeks, and it has to do with balancing time in life and how best to use the extra time I have. I’ve especially been thinking more about it after a reminder from someone’s Substack Note this past week, and wanted to write more thoughts on it here.

Let’s jump in!

As a reminder, if you did not receive this post in your inbox but would like to get these blogs sent to your email, then you can do so by following this quick guide to opt-in! Thanks 🙌

What’s Been Going on in My World?

Finding a balance of time in life has always been a bit of a challenge for me.

My mind is always in a million places, and I tend to focus on one thing quite a bit until I’m satisfied, and then move onto something else. Sometimes though, I focus way too much on something and start missing out on other things in life.

wrote a Substack Note this past week that made me think about this all a bit deeper — or at least reminded me of some thoughts I’ve been having.

Specifically, the opening sentence really became something I thought about from that Note.

It definitely stuck with me a bit, and I wrote a brief follow-up Note real quick on a few thoughts I had, but I wanted to dive into some additional ideas on this topic here in this blog.

Does Balance Exist?

When I started on Substack last summer, I did so because I love writing and Substack seemed like the ideal place to put my thoughts out there.

The community on here has been a wonderful bonus, as well as the growth of new subscribers!

As always, I thank you all for that!

I wanted to start writing longer-form content to build up my skills, learn new trends, get some practice with copywriting and a bit of marketing, and hold myself accountable to posting about once per week. Likewise, I’ve been using my Substack as a portfolio of sorts to promote my work here.

Writing about video games is natural to me, and I do enjoy it. But, I have also noticed for the past 6 – 8 months that I’ve been focused a bit too much on writing about games instead of having fun playing them — similar to that Note Chris posted. And, there’s other things in life that I want/need to do, but have often brushed aside so that I can write more here on The Saved Game.

While I love writing about games, I also have other projects I need to get started on too. My worry though is that I’ll spend so much time writing here, that I’ll forget about other things I want to do in my life.

Should it be like this though?

Is there anything I could do about it?

Am I just going to burn myself out?

I think there is a balance, and I’m trying to work on finding it.

What are the Options?

Releasing an article roughly each week has been a challenge, just with all of the extras that can go into it. Whether that’s taking and editing screenshots from the game or photos I take, making designs, engaging with others, creating social media posts, etc. From the viewpoint though of a reader, I know that I would want to subscribe to someone that posts on a regular/scheduled basis. I also know that I have to stick with a schedule for myself, or else I’ll just procrastinate posting at all.

One option I’ve thought about is switching to a bi-weekly posting schedule, where I rotate main articles/Game Save articles every two weeks, and then do the shorter blogs on the open week.

Another option is to have the same weekly schedule I have now, but drastically shorten the length of articles — keeping them all at 1,500 words at most, as well as cutting out some of the additional content. But, for the naturally longer articles I have like the Game Saves or ones I want to spend more time on, I’m not sure how that would work.

Or, another option is to just post at random when I can. I feel like this option would kill any growth I’ve had though, or at least halt it. Likewise, from the perspective of a reader, not knowing when something is going to come out from a writer I follow is a bit of a bummer because I tend to forget about them.

Lastly, the thought of turning on paid subs has crossed my mind, where I would have a bit of a financial incentive to spend more time on weekly posts — and maybe make some of them paid-only. But, I always wanted to keep my writing open for others to enjoy, so I’ve leaned away from this by just having the Ko-fi link available if people would like to pitch in.

More to Come

If you write on Substack, I’d love to hear your thoughts on what works best for you in the comments!

I know that posting on a weekly schedule likely isn’t going to be feasible down the road as I get busy on other parts in life. As much as I enjoy writing, I need to find a balance with other things in life, so I don’t get burnt out.

Likely, I’ll have more on this in the near future when I figure out what I end up doing. I’ll still be here on Substack, but I just need to make sure I can put out quality content that I’m satisfied with while also not getting stressed over it.

Of course, I’ll let you all know of any changes that do happen!

Games I’ve Been Playing

For the past couple of weeks, it has been all about Dragon Quest XI for me!

I’ve gotten a good ways through Act 2, and am about 65 hours into this game so far. It is such a fun title with so much to do and a lot to explore. The characters are still incredible, and I love the story so far.

All of the quests have been fun, though at times, some of them feel a bit like fetch-quests. With how amazing the rest of the game is though, I easily look past that and just take care of any side quest that pops up.

The first impressions still impress me in this game. Like in the screenshot I attached, walking into new locations is an awe-inspiring experience, and you really get the overall vibe from a location within just a few seconds of being there.

I’ll have a lot more to talk about with this game in the future when I finish up my mini-series on it. But so far, it’s shaping up to be one of my favorite games of all time. I’ll also be looking into the next Dragon Quest game I need to play next. I’ve heard the new remakes are good, and I did play the demo for Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, so I might pick that one up to finish!

I’ve also spent some time looking back into the lore of this series, and it’s amazing to learn more about it. I would highly recommend taking a look at Happy Console Gamer’s videos on it if you want to learn more about the series as a whole from someone who’s super excited to talk about it!

Otherwise, I also need to jump back into some other games that I need to finish up soon too. But, my focus is definitely on wrapping up Dragon Quest XI!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

See you all next time,
Joe

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A New Series

Back in 2024, I stepped into the world of Dragon Quest for the first time!

I spent a good chunk of that summer playing Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey of the Cursed King on the PlayStation 2. It was a blast, and it quickly became one of my favorite games on that console, and even one of my top games of all time too!

The characters were hilarious and heartwarming, the story was engaging, the massive open world was incredible for the PS2, the music from Koichi Sugiyama was rich and upbeat, the classic designs from Akira Toriyama were classic and fitting, and I could go on. It was a fun and soul-filling game, and I loved the time I spent in its world! I wrote about my experience with this game if you want to read more about my thoughts on it!

I was already looking at another Dragon Quest game to play next as soon as I finished it!

Fortunately, there’s a lot to choose from — especially as of late with all of the remakes of Dragon Quest 1 – 3, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, and even some of the older games that came out for the Nintendo 3DS in the past 15 or so years.

The most obvious choice to me though was Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age! I picked up the Definitive Edition, and loaded it up on my PlayStation 4!

But, I had to take a bit of a hiatus last year with a lot that was going on until I could really get going. However, over the past month or so, I finally had time to really sit down with it…

…and it has been amazing so far!

Since I’ve been playing through this game for the first time, I wanted to share my thoughts on this incredible title while I play it, and make it a short series here on The Saved Game. As of now, I’m planning on this being a three-part series. I want to go over the ups and down, the highs and lows, and everything in between as I chronicle my adventures. In doing so, I hope to help you rediscover your love for this game while I take you along for the ride!

Of course, this mini-series will undoubtedly have some spoilers for this game — so keep that in mind if you’ve never played it before and plan to 🙌

Let’s get started!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

If you would like to support my work and creative content, then take a look at my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

Want More? Join Other Subscribers Now 🔥

View My Ko-fi

The Call to Adventure

Dragon Quest XI started off right outside of the quaint, small village of Cobblestone.

I loved the townspeople that I ran into. Everyone was just so full of life and happiness, and the vibrant village was a breath of fresh air. It was all surrounded by large cliffs, with beautiful green grass everywhere, the sound of a nearby babbling stream, and the bustle of friendly and peaceful inhabitants.

The first task was a ceremonial journey up the Cobblestone Tor, a nearby mountain, with the Hero’s friend, who is named Gemma. This was a nice and short tutorial, and helped to set up a revelation and hidden power that the Hero has in his hand. It was there that I found out a bit more about the unique background of the Hero when a mark on his hand activates at the last minute when he needed to save Gemma!

After getting back down, I had the chance to explore around Cobblestone some more, collect some items, and then the Hero’s mom filled me in on more of his history. Once she heard about what happened on top of the Tor, she mentioned that the character’s grandfather wanted him to know that he was the reincarnation of the Luminary — with a special destiny in mind, and to show the King of Heliodor an amulet, which she hands over to him!

This background information was nice and short. I loved how the game gave me just enough information to get my mind interested without revealing anything that could hint at something darker going on. Even though it sounded like a quick quest to visit the nearby busy city of Heliodor, I knew that it would be an adventure to get there with all of the monsters on the way!

One thing I have noticed, especially when I saw Heliodor off in the distance — but as well as a lot of other major locations — is that the first impressions are really amazing and even awe-inspiring in this game. Often, I’ve found myself walking over the crest of a hill, or entering a new area, and have found that those first impressions are outstanding! Usually, I’ll just stand looking around for a few moments to take in all of the sights!

Once I was in the castle at Heliodor, I knew that something was off. Something felt wrong, even though everyone seemed to be cheering my arrival — especially when I noted the very stern looking Knights nearby, Jasper and Hendrik. I had very little expectation for what was about to happen next when King Carnelian accused the Hero of being the “harbinger of calamity” that will act as the herald for The Dark One, and being called the Darkspawn by those around him!

After a daring escape from jail with the blue-haired and quick-witted Erik, both he and the Hero literally jumped out of Heliodor, and found that Cobblestone was razed to the ground by Jasper, which was a horrifying sight to see when I realized what happened. After that, the Hero leaves to find his true purpose and destiny as the Luminary!

The gameplay has been incredibly fun so far! At first the Pep Powers were a bit odd in combat, but I’ve been able to use them pretty effectively. The battle system is also really fast-paced, which I greatly appreciate compared to Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2! All of the skills made sense, with them all fitting the character’s unique traits. I also loved that I could see monsters when out exploring, instead of battles being random encounters.

The world of Erdrea itself has been beautiful to explore! The vibrant designs of the unique cities and the magnificent sights from the scenery are unreal in the best way possible. As soon as I saw the world map, I felt a sense of joy and excitement, knowing that I’ll be exploring it all soon! The music is so rich too, and I thoroughly like the fact that I can switch the type of music that is playing, as I prefer the symphonic version. Of course, the designs for the characters and monsters from Akira Toriyama are nothing short of wonderful!

I think my favorite quest so far was right outside of the town of Phnom Nonh in the Champs Sauvage region. This quest had to do with the famous mural on a wall that seemed innocent enough on the outside, but had a darker secret once the Hero and team started to investigate. It got a bit spooky after we got trapped inside the mural and faced Dora in Grey! This quest was super fun and creative, and I really enjoyed it!

My time so far, about 40 hours, has had me hooked on this game! My journey has been about the quest to get to the giant World Tree in the northern part of the world, exploring and completing side quests, and of course, building my team!

Uncovering the Story with the Team

As with Dragon Quest VIII, I knew that I would need a party of adventurers to help on my quest!

Throughout the first act, I ran into the members of the team that joined along for the journey!

What I love about the Dragon Quest games I’ve played so far is the wide range of characters that end up on your team. They’re not ones that you get to know in a super in-depth way like in other games, but you learn much more about them as the story unfolds. This variety of personalities was very evident in Dragon Quest XI so far! I’ve enjoyed seeing the progression of everyone’s background when I’ve gotten to know them.

As I got further along, I started to get all the pieces of the puzzle put together. Some of the characters early on really helped with this, such as Erik, Serena, and Veronica. Their unique personalities balanced each other well for being those first, foundational characters, with the cool and mysterious attitude of Erik, and the often-hilarious contrast between Serena and Veronica.

The humor that is mixed in has been hilarious too! Of course, Sylvando was amazing when he showed up, and the interactions within the group have all been great so far!

Rab and Jade were especially a surprise to find in the city of Octagonia during the Masked Martial Arts Tournament, because it made so much more sense when I went back to watch the prologue movie. Once I heard their stories, and saw the Dundrasil Ruins, it all really echoed back to that opening movie, and helped me understand how both Rab and Jade fit into the events that took place!

Seeing Rab was a bit emotional too from what I experienced. I lost my grandfather fairly recently, and he was someone I always looked up to as a leader and a strong figure that was always there as an anchor in life. So, seeing Rab show up was a reunion that definitely tugged at my heartstrings a bit, especially when he started talking about how good it was to see that his grandson, the Hero, is alive and well and how much he missed his family!

I learned from Rab and Jade about the mysterious and legendary evil, named Mordegon, and found out more of the Hero’s background. This all helped piece together more of the storyline, and I really got more invested in the story once everything became more and more connected at this point.

The storyline has been super engaging overall. I feel as though I am uncovering more than I would’ve thought through my time spent with the characters, completing new quests, and advancing the main story!

I knew though that when I got up to the World Tree, Yggdrasil, from the nearby town of Arboria, that something major was about to go down. Like before with the castle in Heliodor, something in the air felt off despite the happy vibes, and I knew that everything seemed to be going a bit too smoothly!

A Destructive End to the First Act

My journey on the end of the first Act ended with an absolute blast — literally!

When I got up to the top of the World Tree using the Hero’s power as the Luminary to retrieve the Sword of Light, which was nestled in the Heart of Yggdrasil, I was surprised to find that Jasper followed along right behind me! Then, Hendrik followed suit, as well as… the King of Heliodor — King Carnelian!? When the king seemingly stabbed Hendrik in the back, I was shocked, and even more so when the king was revealed to have been possessed by Mordegon! It looked like both Jasper and Mordegon were in on it together!

I loved all of the reactions from the characters in this scene so much! The shock they had matched my own! Likewise, I knew that Jasper would be too strong when I faced him, and he struck the team down after only a few moves.

When Mordegon used the Hero’s power to get to the heart of the World Tree, and the Sword of Light within it, I could only watch as he corrupted it and seemingly took the once-bright power of Yggdrasil — destroying the tree and causing a massive explosion all over!

Once the World Tree decayed, everything went dark.

A short time later, I woke up from Sylvando’s point of view, with him having a renewed purpose, and he set sail for Gondolia!

This game has been a blast so far! When I wrapped up this first Act with the destruction of the World Tree, I felt like immediately jumping right back in. The storyline has been extremely engaging, the creativity is off the charts, and the characters have a wonderful mix of humorous wit, captivating dialogue, and charming personalities.

Out of everything so far, I think that the power of the characters has really drawn me into this world, and I’ve felt truly immersed in it because of them. The writing for the characters has been pretty incredible with loads of heartfelt emotions. My journey at this point has reminded me to relax a bit and take my time, listen to those in my team, and learn all about the world around me. For me, it’s not a race to speed through it all, as I’m much more focused on making my time spent in Erdrea worth it!

Now, as I begin from Gondolia as Sylvando’s character, I feel like my journey is far from over…

…and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Thank you for the honor and privilege of your time! It means a lot that you’re here, and I appreciate your readership!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you again,
Joe

What are Your Thoughts

I want to hear from you in the comments below 👇

Have you ever played Dragon Quest XI, or any of the Dragon Quest games? How do you feel about them?

How do you feel about the story and adventures in Dragon Quest XI? Is there anything you liked or disliked about the first Act in this game?

Leave a comment

Support and Connecting

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I put time and effort into the writing, designs, and creation of these write-ups, and I would love to keep doing them! If you would like to support my work, then view my Ko-fi page using the button below! Thanks!

Sign Up for New Content 📥

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The Powerful Inspiration of Gaming

Welcome to the first collaborative article on The Saved Game!

I sent out a question to subscribers a few weeks ago in a Substack Note, and asked for their contributions that are included in this article!

For the question, I wanted to know what the most nostalgic parts of their video gaming life consisted of, and how it inspired the person they became today!

It was a pretty open-ended question by design, as I wanted to hear the wide range of opinions and thoughts that people had. I loved how the stories that people shared inspired me, and gave me a deeper look at their source of inspiration. There’s a lot of personalities here, and I loved the responses I received back — which I am sure you will too!

For each of the contributions, I have included the name and publication for each writer, as well as the bio they wrote for their publications! This way, once you’re wrapped up here, you can go check out their other incredible work and follow/subscribe to them if you haven’t already!

Grab a cup of coffee or a drink, relax back, and read on for some of the amazing stories from the wonderful game writers on Substack that sent in their responses!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome and send my thanks to you for the privilege and honor of your time!

My name is Joe, and The Saved Game is my gaming hub that is a space about video game nostalgia, new and old favorites, and finding ways to rekindle your love for why you played video games in the first place! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

Do you want to support my work, get updated on new posts, or take part in future collaborative articles? Then join over 150+ other readers now by subscribing!

Thanks!

Want More? Join Other Subscribers Now 🔥

ROP

by

A father, gamer, and geek sharing thoughtful takes on games, tech, collectibles, and the joy of passing it all on.

Nostalgia is often seen as something we look back on, but as a Gamer Dad, I’ve discovered it can also be something you use… and not only as a lens to remember old games by, or a way to relive their memories, but also as a tool to build bridges. Not literal bridges, but personal ones: connections between friends, loved ones and, in my case, between Father and Son.

Nostalgia can be a way to take the things that once shaped you and gently place them into the hands of your child—not as relics, but as living experiences. When I introduce Junior to an old game I loved, I’m not trying to recreate my childhood or my memories… but I’m inviting him into them, letting him explore with fresh eyes, new reactions, and his own sense of wonder. And every time he laughs at a moment I remember, or struggles in the exact place I once did, nostalgia stops being memory. It becomes a bridge… a connection between Junior and me, a connection between the memories of old and the newly created ones.

It’s a tool that helps us sit together, play together and thus, make something new out of something old. The transmutation lies not in him playing my games, but in them becoming ours through the shared experience. In that space, between past and present, we’re building new memories that will one day become his nostalgia.

Mark’s Occult (Tech & Gaming)

Publication by

Quirky consumer technology, paranormal gadgetry, horror gaming, and all things that lie beyond the veil -- all in one convenient space.

To understand the importance of my “nostalgia game,” I have to rewind the clock. Growing up, I was never the brave kid. If anything remotely scary was on the TV, I made myself scarce. I was terrified of the My Buddy doll. The pond scene from Jaws left me traumatized. When my father watched old zombie movies, I knew nightmares of bony fingers scratching at the window would follow. Even into my preteens, I avoided haunted attractions. I was, for lack of a better word, a wuss.

Then came my 13th birthday.

Against my mother’s wishes, I’m sure, my brother gifted me Resident Evil: Director’s Cut. This was before the internet, so I didn’t know much about it. The game and horror were rather foreign to me. So, I was a little surprised when I was immediately hooked. The campy acting. That first zombie scene. The iconic Cerberus jump scare. Not to get corny, but it awakened something in me that shaped who I am today.

After playing through Resident Evil, taking on Hunters and giant spiders with joy, I was drawn to zombie media. Suddenly, all those movies my father watched that frightened me so were films I rented from Blockbuster and watched while my parents were out on the town.

I can confidently say that, had my brother not taken a chance and introduced me to Resident Evil, I wouldn’t have an office littered with Resident Evil, The Thing, and Alien memorabilia. I wouldn’t have Ghostbusters tattoos or be so enamored with the macabre that I write for a ghost tour company.

I somehow still remember that first playthrough, too, and will often return to the original title to recall being a kid in the basement, discovering what would blossom into a formative love for horror.

Peter Monks

publication by

Someone who loves playing, thinking, understanding and reminiscing about video games. And my other loves in life, like animation and films. Completely off-trend and never a hot topic.

The very first time I played video games that I owned was not on a console. Going back to the dark ages of 8-bit microcomputers in the 1980’s, Britain had a particular love with the ZX Spectrum, a dinky computer that could be plugged into any television. They were not as powerful as personal computers, but the Spectrum was very cheap and simple in comparison, so a good way to become a hobbyist. In theory it was now possible and accessible to automate your home life, though we can all guess what children wanted it for.

Video games were primitive, varying wildly in quality. There were some good games available - the developers of the legendary Donkey Kong Country cut their teeth on the Spectrum first. Even so, I don’t have any particular fondness for the games I played. Games were easy and cheap to distribute on cassette tapes; loading the games took an eternity though - up to 5 minutes or more! Typically I would then discover after 30 seconds of play that the game was actually terrible, and would try a different one. Why we subjected ourselves to this, I cannot fully explain.

Better still, the Spectrum came with a built in BASIC interpreter, a simple computer language that anyone could pick up. The manual explained how you could write your own programs, and magazines would offer print outs of submitted programs to share, which you would re-type line by line to reproduce. It taught me that computers are not magic; they are just machines that follow your instructions, you just need to understand what those instructions are. Which has led me to a lifelong career as a software engineer, building all kinds of interconnected systems used on a daily basis. And I all owe it to the tiny little game machine that could.

Calvin Barrett

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Calvin is a writer, editor, and Mario Kart savant from the USA, now living in Japan. He's a Nintendo Switch owner who got off to a slow start and sentenced himself to a lifelong quest to climb out of his ever-growing backlog.

I used to spend countless hours on Mario Kart time trials. Carving corners, attempting gut-check shortcuts on once-in-a-lifetime runs, and fighting for each narrow time shave in an endless effort to improve at a game I loved. Unfortunately, being a child who knew nothing of Funky Kong or racing lines, I could never beat all 32 staff ghosts to unlock Mii Outfit B -- the only thing missing from my nearly-perfect profile. Though I’d never admit so at the time, that minor failure ate at me whenever I saw the partially-incomplete character roster.

When I picked up a copy of Mario Kart Wii on my thrifted Wii console over a decade later, I braved the gauntlet once again, with the knowledge to utilize the best character, kart combination, and a drive to finish what I started so many years ago. But something felt very, very different this time around. As the countdown reached zero, and I boosted ahead into each track, I felt a warm sense of peace. A calmness that came not only from familiarity, but also a recognition of all the changes I had experience in my own personality since childhood. I felt forgiving of slip-ups, patient on restarts, and a steady hand that felt capable of accomplishing this once insurmountable challenge.

My nostalgia allowed me to be introspective, and I was filled with an unfamiliar, but completely welcome sense of peace, accomplishment, and progression.

Yukisia

Yukisia publication by

I'm terrified "the zone" will swallow me whole. Join me, maybe?

Playing Pokémon EVERYWHERE. I don’t know what they were feeding us back in the day, but I could play for hours -even in a moving car- without feeling weak or dizzy.

The world philosophy of Pokémon shaped me, my ambitions, my courage and my love for new beginnings. Accepting defeat and training for what you love is only one side of the coin. The other side filled my little heart with awe: being a kid, travelling the country on your own, in a world full of potential friends, lessons, and victories. Having a team that supports you and accepts you.

Of course, I have to mention the music. This is highly biased, but I think the soundtracks for Pallet Town and Littleroot Town are among the best game soundtracks ever made. They are the soundtracks of letting go, simple and innocent as they should be.

Speaking of the music, just a couple of weeks ago I had a moment of deep, complete, undeniable calm. I was at work and for no apparent reason, all the weight of life was lifted off my shoulders. Nothing mattered. My brain just stopped processing everything.

I was looking out the window, over the northern suburbs of Athens, and Littleroot’s theme song was playing in my head. The trees looked greener, the concrete houses brighter, and Japan’s flag was flying proudly by the embassy’s building.

At that moment, life started again. And it was all thanks to a little cartridge and whatever they fed us back then that helped us play for hours.

Christena Maurer

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A weekly look into the video game soundtracks and movie scores that make up my writing playlist, along with periodic interruptions for thoughts on writing, gaming, and storytelling.

As a child of the 90s, I’ve had several series of games that have sort of “grown up with me”, but the Legend of Zelda games have always had the top spot.

If we had A Link to the Past, I’m guessing I only watched my brother play, but the games that followed, we got as Christmas or birthday gifts, and learned patience and backseat-gaming-basics as we helped each other through Ocarina of Time’s puzzles. I still remember the feeling of independence that came with saving up my own money to buy my own copy of Oracle of Seasons (and making mom or dad drive me to Toys R Us to get it). Then realizing that independence also meant figuring out the puzzles on my own.

Side note…I still have not beaten Seasons...oops.

Even as an adult, Breath of the Wild was the reason the Switch was the first new console my husband and I purchased together. And more recently, I’ve been able to introduce a new console generation’s version of Link’s Awakening to a new generation of gamers by playing it with our son.

So why did Zelda stick with me in ways other great gaming IP didn’t? I think that comes out more in the fiction I write now.

I love building worlds and characters that inspire curiosity, and that hold up when that curiosity inspires a closer look. The same way every rock and pot and sprig of grass in Hyrule might contain something valuable, and every NPC might have a side-quest. I also love telling stories where there is great darkness, but (unlike recent grimdark trends) there is always a throughline of hope and heroism, and an emphasis on wisdom and courage pushing against powerful evil. Suffice it to say, if you’re ever reading the stories I write and don’t see echoes of a Hero of Legend in a green tunic, we might both be overdue for a trip back to Hyrule.

Harrison Polites

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Video game industry analysis and reviews from an Australian perspective.

I love Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest—it’s one of my favourite games. As a 10-year-old, I managed to beat it to 102% completion, which means finding every hidden coin, doing every bonus, and beating the hidden world at the end of the game. It took what felt like a lifetime as a child, and was tough too. This was before internet guides, the era of the Nintendo Hotline. Some of those secrets were pretty hard to find; other sections of the game were even harder to beat. Shoutout to that one level where you have to navigate a windy bramble maze that pushes you into the thorny walls—Animal Antics. What an ordeal!

So I beat it, and had this perfect game save sitting there on my cartridge. I don’t remember how it happened, but a family friend booted up the game and overrode it, deleting my save file in the process. I was genuinely shattered and angry. This was my life’s work (as a 10-year-old) gone.

Eventually, when the emotions cooled, I replayed the game. And I beat it a second time, in a fraction of the time too. I’ve done this as an adult as well, many times in fact. I can get through most of the game in around 5 to 10 hours. But the whole experience taught me a few things: First of all, you can always rebuild. There’s few things in life that are absolute and final. Secondly: Don’t sweat the small stuff. One thing age gives you is perspective. While a missing save file will always annoy me, it won’t end me. The same goes for missing bits of work, or accidents. Things happen. You can’t control them. And for someone who is a classic Type-A stress-head personality, it really is a good lesson to learn.

Laura B

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Games, writing, and everything in between

I’m a nostalgic person by nature and tend to hold onto the past with a vice-like grip. Gen Z’s interest in all things 90’s/early 2000’s and the current state of the world have lately caused me to be even more wistful for a time when things seemed easier, freer, and there was less pressure.

The most nostalgic parts of my video gaming life are around the comfort and connection I experienced during that time. As a teen, I have fond memories of sleepovers, playing Mario Kart and Goldeneye well into the night. It really instilled a love of playing games with other people in the physical sense rather than online. I love passing the controller back and forth with another person, even if it’s not a multi-player game. I’ve played a few solo games with my partner this way and didn’t realise how much it mirrored those former experiences until writing this. It’s something I always make time for and it reminds me so much of those cosy sleepovers.

Milly Gaming

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Cozy gaming, video game collecting, with a touch of nostalgia and analogue hobbies.

I never used to see myself as a collector. I grew up playing games on DOS, SNES, N64, and GameBoy. My siblings and I didn’t have every console growing up, but what we did get, we cherished and shared amongst ourselves. My excitement for games continued most of my teenage years, with a slight lull as I approached my college years.

Once I was an adult, I got the chance to buy my very own console, the Wii. Over the course of its lifespan, I acquired games here and there until I had a small but decent library of Wii games. Even then, I didn’t consider myself a collector, just a Wii owner.

Then came the Switch, and at some point, my ability to buy games skyrocketed. Soon, I had a huge library of games. But something was missing. I still craved those retro experiences I had as a child, and even the ones I missed.

And this, my friends, is when I became a collector. It started with a simple Nintendo DSI and has turned into the collection it is today.

My collection is the most nostalgic part of my video game life. It’s given me a chance to find joy and reconnect with my childhood. And it inspired me to start my content creation journey 5 years ago. A journey that propelled me into my first social media marketing job.

I quite literally wouldn’t be where I am today without rekindling my love for my childhood games.

Dusty Gamer

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Dusty Gamer is more than just a video game directory – it's a revival of that warm, fuzzy feeling we get when we discover a truly great game!

For me, nostalgia isn’t a single overriding memory but a cumulative frequency of memories. When I consider everything, I feel that gaming has been an escape, a place in time to step away from the noise and quietly solve my problems and center my emotions. It’s the “mental reset” I found in games like the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, Half-Life, Max Payne, Deus Ex, and Need for Speed, all of which helped transform gaming from a hobby into a window for exploration.

The experience of immersion for me may have begun with Half-Life or GTA III, but it was Vice City and San Andreas that truly anchored my feelings of nostalgia. I can still vividly recall speeding along the Vice City coast in a speedboat while Hall & Oates’ “Out of Touch” blared through the radio. In that brief moment, I was entirely lost and free in my mind. Even now, hearing that song acts as a psychological anchor, instantly pulling me back to that digital shoreline. Similarly, San Andreas had its rich characters, their stories, and betrayals that had me laughing and crying.

Beyond the rich stories and immersive atmosphere, these games sparked my curiosity about the technology powering them. I initially set out to be a game developer, not only to understand that magic but to contribute back to gaming. While my chosen career path was blocked (Thank you, Math), I eventually pivoted toward studying humanities and business, it was no surprise I ended up working in the broader technology space. That original spark of wanting to know “how the world works” remains the engine of my professional life even to this day.

While the GTA series provided the sandbox, titles like Deus Ex and Max Payne provided depth through rich story narratives. They subtly introduced me to complex political, social, and personal philosophies. These weren’t just games; they were my first seminars in ethics, politics, societal structures, and a wide range of historical subjects that would eventually comprise the bulk of my university majors.

Gaming allowed me to escape the confines of my own being and experiment with different life choices. Today, I look back at those “nostalgic moments” not as distractions but as the foundation of my career in tech and my perspective on the world.

Brian Schneider

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Recording the Alternate Worlds podcast now, about game makers, creators and Magic: the Gathering legends.

For me, gaming really starts with my dad. He’s a sporting fellow and traveled the US as a chess master in the 60’s & 70’s, and when the Atari came out he was all about it. He’d beat games for us & then we got a Nintendo -- and we’d all play together, and then eventually we all began to take on our own gaming journeys. But it’s quite clear where the origin point stems from. :)

Joe | The Saved Game

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This gaming-centered publication is all about nostalgia for new and old favorites, thoughtful opinions on gaming news, community spotlights for others, and helping readers find ways to discover or rekindle their love for video games!

My early days of gaming included a lot of Nintendo, a few PC games, and a select number of titles on the original PlayStation!

The clunky CRT TVs taking up space in the TV cabinet, the wired controllers that made a mess all over the floor, the video game cartridges or CDs that never found their way back in each box, the late nights with friends over — it all ended up being a very quintessential childhood for me with games!

The one thing that every game had in common was the imagination they inspired in me…

…and none did it better than Super Mario 64!

The open world this game had gave me an early realization about what future games might look like. Even as a kid, it really expanded my mind about the type of creativity that can be injected into games. I wasn’t around when Mario first came out, but I quickly accepted that jumping around levels as a plumber in overalls to save a princess from a giant, fire-breathing, turtle-like creature named Bowser made perfect sense!

The gameplay mechanics, the quirky designs, and the joy of exploring the castle all gave me so much to do as a kid. For me, the gameplay was endless, and the creativity inspired me from the moment I first jumped into a painting!

Throughout my life, I often think back to Super Mario 64 with the endless creativity it had. Whether on the Nintendo 64 or the DS, it made me look outside of the box when brainstorming issues and I think it has given me a more creative mindset that I use all the time.

Nowadays, I’ll sometimes pop the DS cartridge of Super Mario 64 into my 3DS and jump around for a bit, explore the castle I grew up with, and defeat Bowser one more time. It will often lift my spirit and give me a warm dose of nostalgia as I fly around the levels, stomping on Goombas, and saving the Princess!

More often than not though, it will simply remind me about how far I’ve come in my own creative journey, and the gaming inspirations that have influenced me along the way!

Thank You

Thank you all for reading, I appreciate it!

A huge THANK YOU as well to everyone who contributed to this article! Thank you , , , , , , , , , , and !

All of the responses I got back were amazing, and they all really highlighted how people’s past with gaming can inspire the unique person they became today!

I definitely plan on doing similar collaboration articles throughout the year, so be sure to stay tuned and subscribed for more!

If this collaborative article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below in the comments, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you all next time,
Joe

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Happy Monday

Hope you all are doing well!

There’s been a few things on my mind as of late that I wanted to chat about!

The first thing has to do with Substack itself, and the changes lately from their side of things. It’s got me thinking about the future of this platform, and thoughts about the direction they’ve seemingly been going with it. I also want to show off some cooking, take a look at a few games I’ve been playing lately, as well as keeping you all in the loop about a quick update for these blogs!

Let’s jump into it!

As a reminder, if you did not receive this post in your inbox but would like to get these blogs sent to your email, then you can do so by following this quick guide to opt-in! Thanks 🙌

What’s Been Going on in My World?

Substack has been on my mind lately. I’ve enjoyed my time here since I joined last summer, but there’s been a few thoughts I’ve had!

I also want to jump into some of the games I’ve been playing lately, recent cooking I did, as well as a quick update about these blogs towards the end of this write-up!

Let’s Talk About Substack

A few weeks ago, Substack shared their latest feature: a TV app. It definitely spread all over from what I saw, and generated a lot of pushback, as well as some positivity surrounding it. You can read that article for yourself here.

I was a bit surprised when I read it!

I left a comment on that write-up, as did hundreds of other creators, about the purpose or reason for something like this on a platform that seemingly was focused more on writers. Here is a part of the comment I left:

…Are videos that popular on here? I always thought of Substack only for long-form writing for the most part.

All the while, gaming writers here have been asking for and would love a publication category!

I just wanted to voice my thoughts with the direction this platform has seemingly taken. I’m not a long-time pro at Substack, nor am I brand new either, but seeing something like this does make me wonder what the long-term goals are for this platform — especially based off of that post. It also makes me realize that videos/podcasting are major avenues that Substack seems eager to explore — or possibly needs to explore given the landscape of social media nowadays. Though, I personally wish that they would just focus deeper on written forms of content and making improvements for writers.

With that said, I also see some people successfully using various video or podcasting features here on Substack in a positive way that helps build up their brand/publication. I have nothing against that at all, and I think it’s great for people to utilize what they can so that they can stand out.

Shortly after this, my page kept messing up with the thumbnails for all of my posts. Something was going on that kept switching my thumbnails to a wider aspect ratio, which completely reformatted a lot of the designs I’ve made in a negative way. After a while, it finally reverted back to what it used to be.

Just to self-promote real quick, I have a tutorial that goes over designing a thumbnail and the dimensions that seem to work best on Substack — assuming they don’t change anything again. You can find it here on my old publication.

Last week though was a bit of positive reversal when Substack released some new features to help creators with their pages. This included the ability to resize the Wordmark at the top of your page, a cleaner page editor, and a footer that you can now add.

So… my thoughts have been all over for the past few weeks about the future of this platform.

What Does the Future Look Like?

When I think of the future for Substack and The Saved Game, I keep thinking of various aspects that I like about being here and other parts that make me wonder what the outlook is down the road.

One of the main must-haves for me is a clear pathway for growth. Substack seems to have this, and I’ve been here long enough to see quite a few people, including myself, get real readers/subscribers that love the writer’s work and will happily follow for more. Substack has been really awesome for this, and the Notes feature has been a fantastic way to join or build community!

A lot of other similar options (Ghost, Beehiiv, etc.) would not have that level of community-building. I would have to do a lot more to find readers and subscribers — such as being more active on other social media platforms, making short-form videos, etc.

But, I also worry about the unannounced changes that Substack pushes. I’m glad the thumbnails seem to be fixed now. But if they didn’t get fixed, that would’ve caused me a lot of work to go back and redo most/all of them. The TV app is something I’m not overly thrilled with, mostly because it makes me question what the overall goals are for this platform and if the support for writers will be present in the months/years to come. Or more simply, what if something else unannounced changes in the near future?

One thought I’ve had lately is to branch out to my own site at some point. I’ve seen others do this, with it seeming like a good way to maintain branding and to serve as a backup — while keeping everything in one place. I feel like it would also be nice to have the ability to customize my own site more to my liking, and not have to worry about changes that I have no control over.

I’ve looked at various options, such as Wordpress or other choices. As of now though, I’m just in the process of thinking about it and researching what others are doing.

I want to continue writing about stuff I love, and I still plan to do that here on Substack. But, if anyone has created a separate site before or has any thoughts, I’d love to hear about your experiences down in the comments!

Beautiful Weather for Grilling

This winter has been very warm in North Texas.

We did have a small ice/sleet storm that blew through a couple of weeks ago, but other than that, the temperatures have been well above normal. If I remember right, Christmas Day was 80°F (26°C)!

I prefer the warmer temps, so I’m completely good with it. During the spring and summer, I also enjoy getting out and doing some grilling!

Since it was warmer this past week, I had time to fire up the grill and cook a couple pans of chicken. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I’ve been working on eating healthier and exercising. Baked or grilled chicken has definitely been a part of a leaner diet for me, so I’ve been focused on finding new ways to make it a bit tastier!

This version was marinated with fresh pico de gallo (finely diced onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeños) alongside a variety of spices and minced garlic, and then mixed with some olive oil and honey. After it marinated, I grilled it around 400° for about 4 – 6 minutes per side.

It turned out pretty good! I loved the grilled crust on the outside and the vibrancy of the spices, and most of the pieces were very tender and juicy on inside.

All of the experience was nice, and I thoroughly enjoyed being outside in the sun instead of sitting in front of the computer screen!

Games I’ve Been Playing

I honestly have not had a lot of time for games over the past couple of weeks!

Whenever I work on my articles, I tend to play some of that specific game I’m writing about. So, I ended up playing a few hours of Fallout 4 after the article I wrote on the horror locations a week or so ago.

I have fun using the remote play feature on it with my PS Vita too. It’s amazing how good that works, especially for tech from the 2010s!

I also jumped into Dispatch on the Switch to play more of that game. I think I finished up chapter 2 of it, and I’m still wondering if I just wait to resume my playthrough until AdHoc releases a possible update for it to address any of the censorship or not.

There were a few issues I’ve been having with my Slim PlayStation 2 lately, especially when reading discs. But, I think it’s all working again at this point. The main thing was just cleaning off the laser lens, and I think it’s reading discs correctly now. I was wanting to play some Odin Sphere, and I did a bit. That game looks really good for being on the PS2, and the component cables I have make it look all the better!

Lastly, I got back into Dragon Quest XI on the PlayStation 4. Around the late summer of last year, I put around 15 hours into it after picking it up for the first time, and really enjoyed a lot about it! I got sidetracked by a bunch of other stuff going on during that time and never got back into it, so I ended up taking a break. But, once I started it back up yesterday, I spent a couple of hours just reacquainting myself with the mechanics and where the storyline is at. Currently, I sailed into the Zwaardsrust Region and am talking to some of the NPCs about the a tournament!

The one game I think I’m going to put down for now is Code Vein. I figured I would enjoy it, but it just didn’t click for me as I talked about it my last blog. The gameplay was fun, but I had very little interest in the world or story. I also didn’t have time for Sea of Stars either over the past couple of weeks.

There are also the Shantae games I picked up a few months ago that I need to finish as well!

Lots to do, and my backlog grows. I’m finding myself with a dwindling amount of time, but I hope that I’ll be able to balance the games I want to finish, such as Dragon Quest XI and Sea of Stars, with some of the other ones I’m just casually playing!

A Cup of Joe Blog Update & Closing

To end things on, I’m thinking that I will be changing these blogs to be on a more varied schedule. I was originally doing them weekly, but I think that’s a bit too much currently, so I’ll be cutting them back some!

I may still put them out every week sometimes, but I don’t want to force myself to make them either if I don’t have time.

But, we’ll see how it goes in the future! Everything with this publication has always been a work-in-progress, so this is just one of the adjustments that I’m testing around with to see what works best!

I’ll also have the Collaboration Article coming out on Thursday, so be on the lookout for that! I got a LOT more responses than I was expecting, so I look forward to getting it published!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

See you all next time,
Joe

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Let’s Jump In

Welcome to this Game Save!

I hope that you all are having a fantastic week so far!

For today’s Game Save article, I want to take a look at the latest on the release of Dispatch for the Switch. I pre-ordered this game, and have felt like it’s been all over the place for the past couple of weeks. So, I wanted to write out the latest with the censorship, some details about CERO, and what all happened with its release that I know of so far.

Afterwards, I have a controller that’s been on my mind to review! It’s the 8BitDo SN30 Pro+ controller, and I’ve got some thoughts on it — especially when I compare it to my other 8BitDo controller, and seeing if it’s still worth buying nowadays.

Lastly, there’s some fantastic write-ups from the community I want to give a special spotlight to over the past couple of weeks! These have been awesome, and they’re ones you should absolutely check out!

Let’s dive into it!

Welcome to The Saved Game

First off though, I want to extend my warmest welcome!

My name is Joe, and Game Save articles go over some of the latest gaming news you may have missed along with some thoughts I have on them, reviews of games or accessories, as well as a Community Spotlight for articles that I loved! Read more here about my Substack page and content!

☢️ Take a look at my recent main article on horror locations in Fallout 4
💾 Check out my previous Game Save write-up
☕️ Read my latest Cup of Joe blog post

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My Thoughts from Recent Gaming News

The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy with gaming news!

The latest season of Fallout has ended on Amazon Prime Video, Nintendo has been having their Directs to convince everyone to buy a Switch 2, Highguard came out and has seemingly faded back out of the spotlight, Riot Games made unfortunate reductions in their team due to lackluster support for 2XKO, and Sony is having their latest State of Play that starts later today!

For today though, I want to dive into just one topic that I hope will catch up people on all that’s happened with it: Dispatch’s release on the Nintendo Switch!

Let’s get started!

Dispatch on the Nintendo Switch

I’ve been a fan of AdHoc Studio, the developers behind the hit game Dispatch, ever since it came out late last year!

As I mentioned in a previous article, I loved the TellTale games — especially The Walking Dead. So, when I heard about Dispatch, and more so the good reviews for it, I knew it was a game I wanted to pick up at some point. Since it’s been reported that this title was coming out for the Nintendo Switch platforms back in December of 2025, I figured it would be a great way to play it! I loved The Walking Dead on my PlayStation Vita years ago, so I looked forward to playing Dispatch on a handheld. Likewise, I kept myself from seeing or reading about any spoilers for months now.

For the first time in over a decade, I also pre-ordered it. The last game I pre-ordered was Dark Souls II for the PlayStation 3 many years ago, but I figured that Dispatch would be fine to order ahead of time because of the great reviews, the 10% off discount, and the positive feedback that AdHoc has received since last year.

The Reports Ahead of Time

Before Dispatch came out, there were reports of censorship already taking place.

I wrote about this in a previous Game Save article, but the quick recap is that the art cover for the Dispatch Art and Comics Pack on the Nintendo eShop had some changes made compared to the PlayStation 5 or PC releases. From what Nintendo Life shared in their reporting (which includes the examples), it didn’t look like much and I personally didn’t think a lot about it. The odd thing was that AdHoc Studio seemed purposefully quiet about it. Before the game came out, AdHoc said that they could not comment when asked about possible censorship in the actual game itself, based on an interview from a publication called GoNintendo.

A report from EuroGamer showed that AdHoc also released a statement, apparently just prior to release, that mentioned the censorship. But, that statement encouraged future players, saying: “…the core narrative and gameplay experience remains identical to the original release.”

Likewise, I do not remember seeing anything in the description on the eShop about there being any changes compared to the other versions. Once I started playing the game though, I quickly found that it was not limited to the extra art and comics pack.

Censorship Upon Release

When I downloaded and played the Switch version of Dispatch on the 28th of January, all of the censorship moments in the gameplay itself were laughably bad. The large censor blocks they used to hide content took up a lot of screen space in some cases, and on the face of it, it just seemed like a very odd attempt to create a cleaner version of this game. I honestly thought it was pretty hilarious with how it looked, but I could understand why people might not be too happy. Come to find out, the toggle available to PS5 and PC gamers to turn on/off the visual censorship apparently did not exist on the Switch release.

More so though, as far as I am aware, there was no major disclosure about this on the eShop or from AdHoc prior to the day it was released for those that pre-ordered.

So, where does that leave us? And why exactly did AdHoc do this?

The Immediate Fallout and CERO Ratings

It seemed that I was not the only one that felt a bit misled by the pre-order for Dispatch on the Switch.

Right after the game released, many reports, comments, and articles flooded my feeds about people’s complaints regarding the censorship, as well as the description on the eShop not being clear enough about what was changed or if there would be any censorship at all. I also read various posts about people just getting their pre-orders refunded from Nintendo, as described in this GameSpot article. Likewise, people were quick to point out that other games on the Switch platforms (in North America) have explicit content without being censored, such as Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and others — but there’s a bit of an asterisk next to that, that we’ll jump into next.

There were a lot of rumors about AdHoc seemingly making just one global version of Dispatch that aligned with the Japanese CERO rating system compared to others.

Let’s chat about CERO for a moment, especially because I only became more aware of it after all of this came out.

CERO (Computer Entertainment Rating Organization) is the non-profit rating organization in Japan — similar to the ESRB in North America or PEGI in most European countries. For a quick example, the ratings look something like this compared to the ESRB rating system:

However, there have been numerous reports that CERO is a lot stricter when it comes to certain content, often requiring the developer to make changes to their games. GameRant covered changes the developers made to The Last of Us Part 2, where a scene with explicit content was cut in the Japanese release, despite the game getting a CERO Z (18+ only) rating. Likewise, Kotaku wrote about some of the differences that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt had in the Japanese release, again with the game receiving a CERO Z rating. PC Gamer had an article that went over some of the changes that Cyberpunk 2077 had to make in its Japanese release with a CERO Z rating. The Callisto Protocol was also never released in Japan due to the developers announcing that the game had been refused classification by the CERO rating system, resulting in them refusing to change its content, as reported by Push Square back in 2022.

A Japanese website that publishes video game-related content called AUTOMATON had an article back in 2024 that piqued my interest on this topic. In this article, they wrote about some of the financial burdens and the various fees that are placed on developers to release a game in Japan with a CERO age rating.

With all of this, it makes sense as to why people would wonder if Dispatch made just one version of the game for the Switch platforms — one that would allow it to be released without issue in Japan while having a CERO D rating.

The Statements and Current Status

At first, there was silence from AdHoc Studio and Nintendo. However, in response, Nintendo came out with a statement on the 30th of January in a GoNintendo report and tried to clear it up from their side.

Nintendo requires all games on its platforms to receive ratings from independent organizations and to meet our established content and platform guidelines. While we inform partners when their titles don’t meet our guidelines, Nintendo does not make changes to partner content. We also do not discuss specific content or the criteria used in making these determinations.

— Nintendo Statement, GoNintendo (January 30th 2026)

Shortly afterwards, it seemed that all eyes were on AdHoc, who released their own statements and other information since then.

According to EuroGamer on the 31st of January, AdHoc seemed to want to wait a few days before addressing anything. Their statement though seemed to throw the majority of the weight back over to Nintendo, but also taking ownership over the placement of the disclaimer.

We initially assumed, like some of you, that because games like Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk are on the platform with similar types of uncensored mature content, Dispatch would be allowed to do the same. During the porting process it became clear that was not the case.

…

It was our intent to go out of our way to tell people looking to buy the game that the content was censored. Wires got crossed and we put the disclaimer in the field literally titled 'Disclaimer', instead of the 'About The Game' section. We didn't catch this until after the launch when we saw people saying we should have called out the changes on the store page, and we went to go make sure it was there. It technically has been the entire time, just in the absolute worst spot that makes it look like we were trying to hide it.

This is 100 percent our mistake and it was fixed in the Americas store pages a few hours after launch to give more visibility.

— Excerpt from the AdHoc Studio Statement, EuroGamer (January 31st 2026)

Likewise, and more importantly to me, AdHoc mentioned at the end of their statement that while they "can't make any specific promises just yet", they are looking at ways in the future to push an update to address some of the censored content — though it may take some time.

A few days after this though, the fallout continued when AdHoc commented to GoNintendo on February 2nd about a physical release and the rumors spreading that they had released just one version of Dispatch. In regard to a physical copy that could feature uncut content, they said there was: “…no possibility for a physical version to be released without the adjusted content.” When asked about the version of Dispatch that came out, and if it had to do with the different regional SKUs, they were told that: “AdHoc is legally unable to provide further comment on why separate SKUs were not possible for different regions.”

Why AdHoc was unable to answer that last question is a bit of a mystery to me, and I haven’t found any more information after this. Again, AdHoc’s statements before and after the release of Dispatch on the Switch have just been a bit odd. Why they weren’t able to release both a Japanese Switch version that complied with the CERO rating and another other version for different regions also leaves a question mark over this all as well.

My Thoughts on this Version of Dispatch

As I mentioned, I’ve been wanting to jump into this game ever since it came out, so I was excited when it arrived on the Switch. If AdHoc Studio needed to censor Dispatch to be compliant on the Switch or if they just wanted to make one universal version for whatever reason, then that’s their choice to do so. I truly want to root for AdHoc to do good into the future, so that they’d be able to continue this genre with future games down the road.

But, my concern with all of this was the apparent lack of transparency and terrible communication from the start with AdHoc. All of the statements before the game came out, even when asked directly about it (such as the GoNintendo article on it prior to release), made it seem like they were avoiding this topic and hoping people would somehow not notice any changes. But, their statement from EuroGamer made it sound like they apparently went out of their way to make sure people knew about the changes, but I do not remembering seeing anything about that before the game came out. I wish they had clearly put in the description on the eShop that it would be a censored edition, and I would have preferred that they publicly posted about any changes like this for the Switch platforms — especially for pre-orders.

My hope is that there will be some sort of update that comes out in the next few weeks as AdHoc suggested. At this point, I’m just waiting to continue with my playthrough after we hear if there will be an update in the near future. Besides the censorship and lack of clarity, I have had fun so far, and really enjoyed the characters, story, and gameplay. So, I plan to continue it soon and see what’s next.

Would I recommend that you pick it up for the Switch if you are still on the fence? Probably not yet, at least not until there’s either an update or something more concrete from AdHoc. But, it’s up to you if you care more about the censorship being present or if you would rather just focus on the story.

I also plan to pick up a PlayStation 5 this year. So, I’ll likely just grab a copy of it on that platform so I can play the original version in the future…

…all while being wary of pre-ordering again!

What are Your Thoughts on This Topic?

• Do you think AdHoc Studio should have been more transparent upfront with how they handled the censorship on the Switch platforms?

• Does any of this news change your feelings toward AdHoc or Nintendo?

• If you’ve played Dispatch, do you think it’s worth playing even if it’s censored?

Leave a comment

Retrospective Review of the 8BitDo SN30 Pro+

It’s been a bit since I’ve had this controller from 8BitDo, several years in fact, but I figured it was worth sharing some thoughts on it! It’s one I’ve used quite a bit for my Nintendo Switch, and some of them can be found for a pretty inexpensive price nowadays!

First off, the price on this controller can be pretty good nowadays if you find one in used condition, especially if you are looking for something that is reminiscent of the old SNES/Nintendo-style of controller. I’ve seen them under $30, and for a controller that’s been out for a while, that’s the most I would want to pay for this one.

I’m a sucker for the color design and overall shape of this controller. I used to have an old SNES, and it reminded me of that! The buttons feel good, the analog sticks work great, and the USB-C charging port is accessible with a battery that has lasted for years now. My biggest gripe about the overall functionality is the L2 and R2 triggers, just because they don’t offer a lot of resistance, and I do not like the way they feel when pressing down on them.

The build on it, similar to other 8BitDo controllers, feels really nice. The hard casing on it is solid, and it feels pretty good in the hands. It is a bit wider than I normally like, but that could be a plus for some people. Everyone else that has used it for Mario Kart 8 or other games have really enjoyed it, and have had nothing but good things to say about it!

Does this controller hold up to the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C, or even the Nintendo Pro Controller? Probably not, in my experience with it. In 2026, this would be a controller to grab if you find it for under $30 and really like the aesthetics of it, or would like a backup/share controller. The triggers on it are a bit of an issue for me and the overall shape of it is a little too wide of my personal preference, but that’s also more of a subjective issue.

Anything over $30 though would be the time to look at something like the Ultimate 2C controller or something else!

Community Spotlight

There was a lot of awesome articles that have come out in the past few weeks that have meant a lot! One of the ones I wanted to spotlight today is a fantastic resource with a lot of work put into it for the gaming community here on Substack, and the other article was an incredible retrospective of a game I’m dying to get now!

Let’s jump in!

Fantastic Resource for All-Things Gaming

created what is likely the best single resource here on Substack for all-things gaming:

The Substack Gaming Yellow Pages!

This is a fantastic resource/directory on Brian’s publication, , that goes over the many people that are associated with the gaming world on Substack! It was a wonderful idea, and it’s already been a great way to find new publications that I’m interested in.

What I really love and appreciate is that Brian has gone out of the way to make sure so many people are included. Likewise, Brian has been incredibly welcoming, and it’s amazing to see the different categories that are represented here, including Tabletop & TCG & TTRPG, Chess, Video Games (with multiple language publications), Games Industry & Analysis, and Game Music! I also think that the descriptions/blurbs for each of the people are a great idea, and it’s easy to see who everyone is and what it is that they write about! , a masterful writer/researcher for RPG gaming that I’ve followed for many months, has also been contributing, adding, and improving it as well!

If you have somehow missed this on Substack, then I implore you to take a look for yourself and check it out! A huge thank-you as well to both Brian and Magnvs for your work on this!

Alternate Worlds

Substack Gaming Yellow Pages

I wanted a central place where creators who focus on games can more easily find each other. If you’re into video games, tabletop games, TCGs, the games industry or etc., you’ll find creators related to your interests below…

Read more

6 months ago · 101 likes · 118 comments · Brian Schneider and Magnvs

A Deeper Look at Dusk

wrote up a fascinating article on a game I’ve briefly heard about, but am now very much interested in playing: Dusk!

In this article on their publication, , Chris talked about the history of “boomer shooters”, (fast-paced FPS games inspired by classics such as Doom or Quake). More so, Chris really went all in to review a unique game in this genre that came out in 2018 called Dusk! I’ve heard about this game in the past, but brushed it off for the most part. While I’ve played Doom and similar games before, they were never something I deeply cared for. In this retrospective look on Dusk though, Chris did such an incredible job at explaining what this game was about and why the reader should care for it!

Chris hit on all the notes I’d be wanting from an article like this. But, they went beyond and really sold me on this game with their masterful way of describing this game! As soon as I finished reading it, I had a new tab opened up to see where I could buy this title from. Chris really highlighted the experience someone would get from playing Dusk — whether it was the detail of the droning hissing noises, the visuals of mind-bending landscapes and horror elements, or just the way the gameplay moves along — it was all wonderfully written!

Chris swayed me to keep an eye out for Dusk, and I plan on picking it up soon. Once you read Chris’ article on this modern-classic game, and I highly encourage you to do so, then I’m certain that you’ll feel the same!

Game Sense

Dusk Retrospective

The indie gaming scene has no shortage of “boomer shooter” revivals - games inspired by Doom, Quake, and the like emphasizing high action, quick movement, and quicker reflexes. It’s not hard to understand why; for a while in the 2000s, boomer shooters fell by the wayside as developers and audiences were more interested in narratives like…

Read more

6 months ago · 4 likes · 3 comments · Chris Mumola

What's Next & Closing

Thanks all for reading, I appreciate it!

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY to submit a contribution for my upcoming Collaboration Article!

My question for you with this collaborative write-up is this:

What is one of the most nostalgic parts of your video gaming life, and how did it inspire the person you became today?

I’ve received quite a few responses so far, and it’s been amazing to read them! I do have a few more slots open up though, so if you are interested and are a subscriber, then please take a look at this Note below for all the information/guidelines and submit a response to me before the end of the day tomorrow! Thanks!

Beyond that, I plan to take a week off later this month to catch up on some stuff and take care of some admin tasks, but I will be back with a new article shortly afterwards!

Unless something pops up, the finalized Collaboration Article will be coming out next week on Thursday the 19th, and I can’t wait for you all to see it!

If this article meant something to you and you enjoyed it, then please drop some love on it down below, share it with some friends or foes, and let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate the feedback 🙌

See you all next time,
Joe

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