First update of the year, and I have a lot of administrative stuff to get out of the way first. Let’s start with my web host Squarespace. They’ve decided to upgrade my video hosting storage from 30 minutes to 5 hours. That means I get to put out a handful of videos this year and prune them when necessary for newer ones. All video uploads will be archived over at Community Videos moving forward. As far as what I’m talking about in the video above, you can find MateEngine on Steam and it’s extremely worth your time. A tip about Squarespace videos, it’s better if you download (or buffer) them first before watching. Unlike other video hosting services, they do not have on the fly compression and may lag considerably if you’re playing it raw (streaming). All buttons on my site are now green in color for easier reading.
I now have a Throne list for anyone who wishes to go the extra distance in supporting what I do here on the site. You can read about my new support me section in detail about the reasoning behind it all. Thank you to anyone who even considers throwing me a few snacks to keep on working in 2026 and beyond. Appreciate all of you, and I mean that.
So the first real bit of news for the year is the upcoming release of Taimanin Squad. You can pre-register for the game now if it looks intriguing to you, as I certainly will be cautiously optimistic for it. I have a lot more details in the audio blog to go over, but let’s just say this entire IP is held together by the works of Kagami Hirotaka and Aoi Nagisa. The “T” rating has me pause for concern however, considering the pedigree of the entire series is at least a “M” for sure and realistically an “A” if we were lore accurate.
I came across this game during the winter Steam sale, and it scratched an itch I didn’t think I had. I think because it has the same dopamine drip that gacha games give, without all the gambling mechanics or rng. The game is called Legends Of Dragaea, and I do think you all should give it a once over to see if it might be your cup of tea. As you can see in the screenshot above, you can use your own avatars for your characters; which I liberally took advantage of. Your wife and Your mother stare disapprovingly of my gameplay. Thanks to Lito Section for the video recap.
Artist is Omu / Ompf
Artist of the week is the talented Omu / Ompf giving us the lovely Izumo from Azure Lane. I particularly like this piece simply because of her expression. AI by the way can’t do subtle pouty expressions for some reason! Show the artist some love on their Patreon or Socials.