Games I Played in July 2025
2025 August 07 video-gamesYou know when you start a month with a pretty good idea of what it will look like? Yeah, well that feeling is a lie, here's a list of games I didn't think I would focus on this month:
Backwater Eulogy
I shared most of my thoughts on this in a post about Autobiographical Games. It's tough to compare something like this to other games, but I do recommend it! It doesn't take advantage of being a game in the way the other work I discussed in that post does, but these are still a kind of experience that I think more people should give a try.
Two-Point Hospital
I've had the chance to play this one for a while, as a family member bought a Switch copy. But this is the kind of game I'd prefer mouse and keyboard controls for. So, when it was free on Epic for a week, I actually became a little excited to finally try it.
I am not enjoying it.
I don't think it's bad. I've seen some criticism that it's overly repetitive and while I can see where those complaints are coming from, I don't agree. The game tries to introduce new mechanics at a steady pace to always give you something new to juggle. Some of them are just "purchase this extra item," but others do add more layers of complexity that make it more engaging. Honestly, I don't even mind repetitiveness in a management game — it's almost expected — as long as I still want to interact with the systems it provides.
The problem is that I'm very unengaged while playing Two-Point Hospital. At some point, I had written down that it feels like a mix of an idle game and a management sim with emphasis on the idle half. That doesn't seem fair, as I have spent multiple regretful nights being very engaged with Cookie Clicker while watching livestream VODs or chill Let's Play series. While attempting to do the same thing here (at much more reasonable hours, at least): I found myself far more invested in someone level-grinding a Rattata in Pokémon LeafGreen than I was in the game I was actually playing.
The game is just far too forgiving with minimal effort. You get a pop-up for not having enough Doctors? Hire a new one. The lines outside the GP office are too long? Build another one. Staff needs training? Just make them happier or work faster I guess, since the hospital's cure rate is already more than enough for progression and doing specialized training will drop it for a while. There's a setting to automatically set a promotion's pay raise to the minimum that keeps the staff satisfied ,and I see no reason so far to do anything other than keep that turned on. Designing the actual hospital is also a bit too clunky. The grid doesn't feel as good as I ever expect it to, and the rooms feel far too large, even at minimum size. The additional plot numbers don't even match their proximity to the starting plot. Okay, that one's not even really an issue, I just don't like it and noticed it every single time.
Again, it's not a bad game. It's humor is fun and the progression mentioned earlier is used well considering it functions differently than player-guided systems in other games. But if I'm in the mood for a management sim, I think I'd rather play something where it's more satisfying to plan ahead and the rewards for doing so feel more impactful. And also where I don't need 5 GP offices in 2 rooms.
UFO 50: Velgress
Velgress is one of the games in UFO 50 that I was most drawn into from the start. It's basically an inverted version of Downwell, which is a game I enjoy quite a bit despite being quite terrible at. Velgress is made slightly easier by having the player move up rather than down; removing Downwell's entire identity yet maintaining all of the vibes. I'd often joke to myself that it makes me want to play the original Kid Icarus, and now that I've cleared Velgress, I worry the joke has become much more of an actual suggestion.
The game is quite short with just 3 stages. As I've proven however, you can spend a lot of time on it by simply being bad at video games. The difficulty is actually pretty fair. Stage 1 is focused on giving the player a good feel for the physics, while stage 2 adds much more variety to the obstacles and how you can interact with them. Stage 3 — You don't expect me to spoil everything about a game that can be beaten in under 15 minutes, do you? Overall, it's a very fun game whether you just need something quick to be engaged with or you're dedicating time to making progress in it. I may even go for the cherry - despite how inconsistent my efforts with Stage 1's requirements for it.
UFO 50: Camouflage
Double UFO 50 Feature! Apparently puzzle games revolving around a single concept have really been grabbing my eyes this summer. I saw one comment, probably on a YouTube video discussing UFO 50 as a whole, that said Stage 3 is the hardest. Honestly, I kind of agree with that. I say "kind of" because I'm not convinced Stage 3 is the hardest, rather it's the first one I did in this stretch after previously taking a break. Once you're on the same wavelength as the game, the puzzles are actually quite simple.
Don't mistake its simplicity for poorly-designed stages, however. Each one has a solution that is intuitive, but can't be accomplished by just bumbling through without worry. At least, you certainly can't if you go for every collectable. Which I did! That makes this game my first Cherry in UFO 50. And honestly, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I just did the standard clear, as going for everything is what highlights each stage's strengths.
I only have two complaints, and they're pretty minor. First, the gator enemies being time-based rather than action-based makes undoing actions when they're around a bit too finicky for my liking. I think that only came up twice during the game, luckily. And relatedly, the game is quite short. UFO 50 makes the most of short games, but I do think there was some room to do more with everything Camouflage had tried so far. Still a great part of the collection.
This game really highlighted one of UFO 50's strengths for me. It's really easy to just get into a game that's totally different than others you were playing. While I knew from the get-go that certain titles such as Velgress would totally be my jam; games like Camouflage are what really justify UFO 50's entire presentation.
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack
The night I beat Unicorn Overlord, I said in a call that I'd need to take some time away from tactics games. Well, the Fire Emblem bug is real and I sure as hell caught it again. Having last beat The Blazing Blade, and having the impression that the next is one of the most well-received, I went ahead and started Sacred Stones not knowing much about it.
I really liked it, and it's probably one of my favorite Fire Emblems that I've played so far. The GBA Fire Emblem games specifically have an aesthetic that nothing else quite compares to, and Sacred Stones pushes it even further with the monster designs. Compared to the game preceding it, Sacred Stones handles the idea of multiple protagonists much better. I went with Eirika's route and while I was satisfied with it, the changes present in Ephiram's route leaves me open to going back to it at some point. The game also had pretty good map design, avoiding a pretty infamous problem where some Fire Emblem maps are... not that great, let's say.
I do now know Sacred Stones is considered one of the easier games in the series. It has features that allow for infinite experience gain, and features a unit that is considered one of the strongest in the entire series. As someone who did not make use of either (Yes, yes, not using the Jagen archetype units is a pitfall, but I don't care), the game still had a couple moments where it was clearly easier than most of the series. I didn't mind the low difficulty, but in a tactics game being able to let the game play itself for a minute can be a sour point.
There was one story event that happens in Ephiram's route right before the two branches merge that I wish wasn't just told to the player in Eirika's route. And support conversations are still pretty awful just like the other GBA games. I saw three in the entire playthrough. One was the one available for free and the other happened in the final chapter. But if those were my biggest complaints, I'd say it was a pretty great time.
In fact, this is probably one of the better entry points for the series. A lot of the newer entries have core mechanics that make them play pretty unique from one another. This game's low difficultly and shared philosophy with most of the series make it easy to start with without that being a potential issue. Of course, features like Support conversations still give titles like Awakening and Three Houses broader appeal and truthfully the best starting point is whichever one you want to play.
Like I said in the beginning, very different list than what I thought I'd see at the end of the month. Still chipping away at those bigger titles, but it's nice to let myself mix it up as well.