Update 9/5/25

Hello everyone.

I know it's been awhile since my last video game article. Life...has not been kind to some people. People that matter to me. People that deserve to not be shoved aside. Honestly, I haven't been able to write like I would like to. I keep close to my Nintendo Switch and my laptop like my life depends on it. I keep notes as I play through games. Sometimes, I write as I am playing the game itself. Dictation is a great tool when your hands are busy. I remember using Dragon, a dictation tool that was really expensive, but I used it to speak my thoughts and write many college papers. Now, Microsoft Word has a dictation tool built-in, so that makes it easy for travel and playing games on the go.

However, pain has been surrounding me lately. Pain in emotions, mental stress, and physical happenstances.

In San Antonio, TX, the anime/video game/pop culture convention, San Japan occurred over Labor Day weekend. I was there as part of SJCares, their DEI program. My position is that of the digital communications officer. Yes, I am Uhura from Star Trek when it comes to SJCares. Anyway, as we were preparing for the convention and the flood of people, we lost one of our staff members. Everyone was hit with grief, but unfortunately, we had to push through in order to make sure the thousands of attendees had a great time. It's what that staff member would have wanted.

Through the fun and funny times of San Japan, we wrapped up the convention with a great sigh of relief: we survived another year. Then, another staff member passed. We were shocked, hurting, and couldn't believe another one of our tight-knit family had been loss.

Though we faced these losses, we still had each other to make it through. I went home shortly afterwards, ready to take on the next few events for the year.

Today, September 5th, I got the news that I could not believe: Someone in the community of CyPhaCon of Lake Charles, LA passed away. They were known well to me. They were there in the early days as I was an artist. I am in disbelief as I am typing. It shouldn't have happened. It wasn't supposed to happen.

Sometimes, I feel like a bratty child as I cry and beg for the news to not be true. I feel like it's not fair. I feel like it's not their time.

But unknowns, heart attacks, and cancer does not wait for anyone. It has been a rough few weeks, and I apologize for not getting reviews out to you guys as quickly as I have been.

When I started on this platform, I had a lot of material to work with. Granted, I started in late June, but my backlog of game reviews was vast and I was able to push out the reviews every couple of days. Now, I think I might need to dial back the speed in order to get the reviews to you guys that you all deserve.

As you can all imagine, paying close to $100 per triple A title takes a lot out of a gamer. So, I've been trying to get things as they go on sale, borrow from friends, or simply play titles I haven't picked up in many years. Itch.io has become a valuable asset, and I intend to use it for the indie developers who are using that platform for their creativity.

Anyway, that has been what has been going on with me for the past twenty or so days. Helping with conventions, grieving those no longer with us, and researching games within my means.

Thank you for reading, I always appreciate it.