2025 was a weird year for games...

Persona 4 Golden's Heaviest Burden is Tradition

* (00:00) - - The eery quietness of Persona 4 Golden * (03:10) - - The Heisei mergers * (06:15) - - Persona 4 Golden is biased towards tradition * (06:55) - - Yukiko gives in * (08:55) - - Kanji's dyes his hair * (10:56) - - Rise goes back to showbiz * (12:35) - - These aren't real people * (13:03) - - Conservatism * (14:28) - - Tradition for tradition's sake To watch the member-exclusive video, you can go to my Patreon or Ko-Fi! https://www.patreon.com/c/flowstatecrit https://ko-fi.com/matthorton Thanks to  @FazPersona [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCEevYX4rCcfF0ZrxmnnONXA],  @shinobuSMT [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC3tsvQ9Tfps5qzvXUmRw5DQ], and  @SphericAlpha [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC6_FIEhH19dAy_z9aOCAbng] for game footage Watch  @LadyVirgilia [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCL_lKByYEtPLfT8LfOcyUAQ]'s video on the Heisei mergers and Inaba: https://youtu.be/gd2YrXqkchM Watch  @BiggeTwig [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCKueDc8duCDGRWUMAG9PDOA]'s "The Development of Persona 4": https://youtu.be/gd2YrXqkchM Thank you to my $5+ members: GJ Jenn Cheung Mike Turley Chase Allhart Zeno MajesticOstrich Kim Silellak Research Sources: Katsura Hashino blogs from the old Atlus website https://web.archive.org/web/20130831132713/http://www.atlusnet.jp/topic/detail/607 https://web.archive.org/web/20140205015317/http://www.atlusnet.jp/topic/detail/650 Podcast interview with Persona 4 dev team https://web.archive.org/web/20100908090614/https://game.biglobe.ne.jp/colweb/shoku/2010/100902/100902.html SiliconEra translation and summary of the podcast interview https://www.siliconera.com/behind-the-design-of-persona-4/ “The Development of Municipal Mergers in Japan” by Kiyotaka Yokomichi https://clair.or.jp/j/forum/honyaku/hikaku/pdf/up-to-date_en1.pdf Interview on 1UP.com with Yu Namba and Nich Maragos https://web.archive.org/web/20130228183558/http://www.1up.com/news/anime-expo-atlus-talks-persona Interview on 1UP.com with Katsura Hashino https://megatengaku.wordpress.com/readings/interviews/1up-persona-4-afterthoughts/ Shmuplations translation of Persona Club P4 book https://shmuplations.com/persona4/ Highlights from the Persona Club P4 book by Tumblr user, adachimoe https://adachimoe.tumblr.com/post/731417840378347520/random-stuff-from-the-persona-club-p4-book Toru’s blog on their visit to Fuefuki https://p4toru.jugem.jp Toru’s blog visiting the same street as the P4G team did on their tour of towns to base their design of Inaba on https://p4toru.jugem.jp/?eid=17 Fuefuki on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuefuki

The woman who made Blippo+ weird

0:00 - My boring question 0:38 - What is Blippo+? 1:17 - Why does JJ love 80s TV? 5:26 - Her analog video work 8:19 - JJ's genius made Blippo+ great 11:59 - JJ's reverence for her collaborators  14:23 - Giving "weirdos" the Holly wood treatment 15:07 - Following her dreams paid off 17:51 - My hope for Blippo+ Before I talked to JJ Stratford, I had a really boring question.  Is Blippo+ a video game or a cable service? But she was far more interesting than that question. Full interview with JJ available on Patreon & Ko-Fi: https://www.patreon.com/flowstatecrit https://ko-fi.com/matthorton Blippo+ is available on Playdate, Steam (PC & Mac), and Nintendo Switch

2025 was a weird year for games...

It was a weird year for video games, but here's my favorite moments among the mess. * (00:00) - - It was a weird year... * (01:01) - - and Roger * (01:48) - - Extra: Persona 4 Golden * (03:00) - - Dispatch * (05:15) - - The Séance of Blake Manor * (06:11) - - Unfair Flips * (07:20) - - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 * (08:54) - - Extra: Octopath Traveler 2 * (09:56) - - Fretless * (11:13) - - Fighting Games * (13:36) - - Q-Up * (14:45) - - Known Mysteries * (16:47) - - Citizen Sleeper 2 * (19:19) - - The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton dotzip's and Roger episode - https://share.transistor.fm/s/570f6f40 [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkxHSFJMMG5vQkM5VmU2MEFhWVFrQy1LclRWUXxBQ3Jtc0ttQU9CVEFPaDNLTS1vWEFvLXNYdWtNeEdSY3RDRTRDTFVYYUFPNm9WbTJsLTd5MWRuWjdSd3BjRHpUTkV4bzQ3eTJERG5xekYyOWJoYy1IRHB6aWFLWkpwRUJOeVRlMDBTXzJsc2pjSGxQODVVS2NUcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fshare.transistor.fm%2Fs%2F570f6f40&v=kkvQQwN5fyo] Brendon on YouTube - ‪@itswavelengths‬ [https://www.youtube.com/@itswavelengths] Stephen on YouTube - ‪@MemoryCardManuscript‬ [https://www.youtube.com/@MemoryCardManuscript]

It's time to admit it. Demonschool is disappointing.

After 14.5 hours of Demonschool, it’s time to admit that I’m disappointed. * (00:00) - - Demonschool is disappointing * (01:14) - - Demonschool's original sin * (02:45) - - A game that does it better * (03:22) - - It's not just expectation Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton Demonschool on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/19... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqblFiT2Q2VGV4SE1IVXFjSDAteDh5RUNfNUpLZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsa19Mb0x5R094amNTSl9LSVBUNVNYeVlsNHFSQ1RBQUgyQy1ULWJBRTAxMlpWQ0tmVkkxeFA3V3A2MmlJM1hjY3k0b0lGRHFFVVF0VE1ua3p2akxiN0FsVGg1TFhKd2VhcnVlMjNrbWRGMzg3MUE2aw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fstore.steampowered.com%2Fapp%2F1900250%2FDemonschool%2F&v=f2LtYQeKsWw]

THIS is how you make a detective game

* (00:00) - - The Séance of Blake Manor * (01:26) - - Irish AF * (02:14) - - Deduction in Blake Manor * (03:09) - - The art Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton The Séance of Blake Manor on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/13... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbjB0YWxYRDRZYTB5cl8tYVVEZmo0RGROQmVxUXxBQ3Jtc0tuSGp6RXB2VFl4MWpFODZTdmRWSkx1ampuSmlLWk9jQ3BnQlpQX0JvODNXdXU2S3YzS2pUdmE2MWJXSC1RX3BGYUpheDFtR2lNOXpQTmhkbHowRmFoMDFLY0xwTjc1Z0xfcUR0QnhqWDV2b0JjcnRIMA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fstore.steampowered.com%2Fapp%2F1395520%2FThe_Sance_of_Blake_Manor%2F&v=XZ-se3p3DJQ] It's two days before Halloween, and Declan Ward has been invited to Blake Manor to investigate the disappearance of a woman named Evelyn Deane. She and a number of guests are at the manor ahead of the Grand Séance, an attempt to speak directly to a spirit rather than through a medium. As the player, we navigate Ward through Blake Manor to solve the mystery of Miss Deane's disappearance, yes, but also to discover smaller, personal mysteries.