We made it to the end of the year, y'all. I honestly don't have much to cover this month. I went on an unplanned hiatus from streaming and likely won't be back at it until 2026. I'm fully in the mode of just taking some time off to hang with friends and enjoy games off stream. I think I've talked about it before, I'm also just generally nervous to hit the go live button again after being offline for so long. But that's neither here nor there, I'm sure I'll be back at some point, there are too many games that I want to play with folk.
This Month’s Games
Absolum
I love this game lol. I finally rolled credits on it at the beginning of the month. Once I got used to the combat, I really felt like I was able to lock in and understand what the game wanted from me. I’ve now gotten both endings for the game, but there’s still so much more for me to explore. It’s been really cool learning more about the different characters and seeing how they interact with the world. I’m excited to see what else the game has in store for me.
You can pick up a copy here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1904480/Absolum/
Despelote
I’ve had my eye on Despelote for a while, but was always a lil nervous to play it because it’s first person and first person games give me motion sickness. I’m really glad I played it. Despelote feels more like an experience than a game while you’re playing it. I learned a bunch about what it was like to be in Ecuador when they were on their World Cup run in 2001. You play as Julián, an 8 year old who absolutely loves fútbol. It’ll only take you a couple of hours to complete the game and it’s well worth the time spent exploring it.
Go play some fútbol here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2367820/despelote/
Beacon Patrol
I’m a board game fan, I’ve talked about it in older newsletters. Beacon Patrol s originally a cooperative tile placement board game where you’re just sailing through the ocean trying to explore tiles. The Steam version translates the games really well and creates a really fun online experience. They added a couple of modes, a creative mode and an exploration mode. The exploration mode plays pretty similar to Dorfromantik, another great game. The goal is to score points so that you can get new tiles and you play until you can’t score anymore. This game is a great vibe and I’d recommend it as an option for folk who want to play board games with friends who don’t live close.
Explore the ocean here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2273850/Beacon_Patrol/
Silksong
I got the first ending as of Dec 27th. Gotta be honest, I’m not sure if I’m going to get the other credits lol. Silksong is difficult, fun, but difficult. It demands a lot of the player while usually feeling like it goes out of its way to make as unpleasant as possible lol. The game is beautiful and Christopher Larkin put together another excellent OST. But, like I talk about in my end of year recap (linked below), I’m not sure how much I would really recommend it as a game. Also, there are so many arenas and it feels like that’s how they scaled the difficulty for Silksong and it is just really not my favorite thing.
Suffer in Silksong here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1030300/Hollow_Knight_Silksong/
Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island
This was a cute lil game where I got to figure out the mystery of a haunted island. Frog Detective is a good way to pass a couple of hours with goofy dialogue and a charming vibe. This one also comes with a motion sickness warning. It’s a first person game, so I had to play in lil bursts so that I wouldn’t get hit too hard with the motion sickness. I played it on Playstation and have 2 more games to go because I got the first three games in a bundle pack.
Go solve a mystery here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/963000/Frog_Detective_1_The_Haunted_Island/
Ball x Pit
This was a very late addition to my game library this year. I wanted something that felt a lil action-y but wasn’t another roguelite/like. While I love a roguelite/like, I have played a lot of them recently and I wanted a break lol. So shoutout to the Steam Winter Sale because this game was on sale and it was finally time for me to try it. This game contains ball breaker, crafting, tetris, and basebuilding to create a game that really expects you to learn and experiment with the different mechanics. As of writing, I have the second to last area unlocked and I’m working towards the next one. It’s been a great way to spend a few minutes in the morning and before bed just playing a lil brick breaker. I’ve already sunk some time into it and I’m very excited to see the new things that I can create as I unlock new power ups.
Break some bricks and build a base here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2062430/BALL_x_PIT/
Other Content
I do have a kinda big content update. As of sending out this newsletter, I've released my 2025 Pizza Party. Instead of a video or something else, this year I put together a lil write up of all my favorite games (and all the games I played this year). I'd appreciate it if you checked it out! You can read it here: pizzayeti-makes.ghost.io/the-pizza-shop-presents-the-pizza-party/
2026 is on its Way
To be honest, I don't know what to expect in 2026. I went into 2025 with the thought that it would be my year. It was not lol. So I'm trying to not hold too many expectations for the new year. I know that I want to write more. I want to try making YouTube videos again. I want to learn how to be a better video editor. In 2026, I picked the phrase "create more than you consume." I'm not quite sure that I've decided on a phrase for 2026, but I know I want to try new things. It's kinda nice not having expectations for the new year.
I'm not sure if I'll start releasing things in January. I think that I want to, but dang, it's hard for me to start things in January for real. That month feels more like a reset than a time to start something new. But we'll see. I know that the longer I put something off, the less likely it is that I'll do it. So here's to starting something new when we have the energy to do so.
See y'all in 2026!
