180 Lunches

  • Grounded 2 – Early Access

    After a summer gaming lull, the kids and I were eagerly awaiting Grounded 2. I played the first one sometime between 2020 and 2022 when it went from early access to full release. I went in solo and it was fun, but that lacked the punch of a full co-op run.

    A few weeks back the sequel dropped in early access and the three of us jumped in. The novelty of getting honey I shrunk the kids-ed is still incredibly strong. Things are early, but the map feels big and there is lots to do. Riding ants introduces a new level of mobility and makes some of the death runs from the punishing difficulty a little less painful.

    The survival and tech tree loop are already there too. There will need to be balance changes and an evolution of the late game, but the foundation they’ve built is solid. There’s a long term roadmap too that is fun to day dream about “what if” and “when”.

    Last thought and a warning combined. It is buggy and sometimes buggy as hell. It is the first few weeks of early access so that is to be expected. But we had a few crashes and even more things that just bugged out. From missions, to disappearing mounts, to straight up base functionality just stopping. All of it is worth trying though, especially if you already have Game Pass. Really excited to keep an eye on this as it progresses.

  • Don’t Tap The Glass – Tyler, The Creator

    I didn’t see a new Tyler album dropping less than a year after 2024’s excellent Chromakopia. Yet another curveball along his musical evolution. A dance music inspired rap record is right up my alley. See everything Amine has been doing since 2020. Lastly, the Clipse and Lebron in the same music video, while Tyler does his best Jamiroquai, is really playing to my old head tendencies.

  • Videogame Wilderness: Summer 2025 edition

    V Rising v1.1 was the last game to make the best 50 list back in May. Ever since I’ve been playing games, but nothing that sticks to the ribs.

    Death Stranding 2

    I played a grand total of 2.5 hours of the first game before deciding it was not for me. So how did I get tricked into spending $70 on the sequel? I am over 30 hours played and I can’t quit it. I don’t know that it is good or that I’d recommend it, but it’s hooks are in me. There is something meditative about delivery missions and completing new roads. It’s combat is not great, but it’s story is bonkers, entertaining, and confusing. Highs and lows.

    Cauldron

    There is a steep bar for me with “clickers” and I’ve never played an auto battler before this. this little ear worm sneaked in via the Besties. I had a fun weekend playing it on the Steam Deck in a hotel room and never went back to it. You play mini games to get high scores, that make the automatic numbers go up, so you can upgrade your abilities in the mini games to get new high scores.

    Rematch

    Rocket League, but players not cars. Yes, that is the reverse devolved pitch for Rocket League. This a soccer game by the Sifu development team. It shows in it’s art, fast pace, and hard to master controls. This could be a top 50 pick once it gets cross-play. They seem to be crushing it right now, so hopefully that community sticks around.

    Terraria

    I have a teenager who loves a survival crafting game. I am always up for trying a new game with him, but he is the fuel in the engine. Terraria looks bad, and that is not a knock against pixel art, there are better looking pixel art games from the same era. It also has an overwhelming catalog of materials, and simplistic combat that is just wild clicking. Despite those shortcomings it’s progression loop is fun and made even better playing it with my kid.

    Wheel World

    Open world chill cycling and racing are right up my alley. The cell shaded graphics evoke good times with Jet Set Radio and Wind Waker. So why didn’t this make the cut? The difficultly feels out of tune. The first three hours offered little to no challenge, making the rewards of upgraded bike parts an empty loop. The performance got bad to unplayable as the number of buildings and objects on the screen increased. I run a 4080 and was getting big frame drops in a game that could have run on a Dreamcast in 2000.

  • Moisturizer – Wet Leg

    Wet Leg was a Mike pick on the podcast way back in 2021. It resonated with me and got caught in my ear for the rest of the year and beyond. Their sophomore album just dropped they’ve caught the same and some new lightning in the bottle all over again. As a bonus they showed up on Tiny Desk the and killed it.

  • F1 Arcade Field Trip

    Back on Father’s Day weekend I took my second trip up to the F1 Arcade in DC. I now have more solidified opinion on it. The short version is, it’s a good time, not a great time. And that it is a solid companion piece to a night of fun, not a main attraction. To that end:

    Trip #1

    I went up with two friends the month after it opened for a late night start into an overnight trip. We arrived just in time for our 8pm timeslot. Raced for an hour, at dinner, drank, raced again, drank, and walked back to rental at 1am. The whole evening was spent in the F1 Arcade and it started to wear thin.

    Trip #2

    The recent trip was two couples in DC for a weekend. We paired it with:

    The F1 arcade shined as a spot of evening fun, but get your food and drink elsewhere. It is a fun time and worth a trip, but there are a few things that could make the racing part better too:

    • A party of four can not race at the same time. You either share three sims or trade off two at a time, not ideal.
    • Every race is a time boxed event. You fire off the start line and then whoever is in the highest position when the time runs out wins. A fixed 2-3 lap race would feel more competitive.
    • Your group races against AI opponents and that feels like a missed opportunity. Every timeslot starts on time and ends on time. It is efficient and ensures they can keep on schedule. That being the case, you could coordinate it and get 20 people racing at the same time.

  • NEVER ENOUGH – Turnstile

    Early in 2024 I got the bug to return to the punk and hardcore genre’s of my youth. While on that journey I got recommendations from a like minded crowd that never left. Turnstile came from a soccer parent and shot to the top of my non-rap listening list. Then in June they dropped NEVER ENOUGH and in September I am seeing them live. Can’t wait!

  • 52 Miniatures: 40k Diorama

    Part 1 and 2 of a diorama project that is right up my alley. Some scale models, some 3d printing, and some scratch building. They don’t have a lot of other content on their channel, but I subbed it purely off of what you see here. And the attention to production value and story telling.

  • Let God Sort Em Out – Clipse

    The last Clipse record came out 16 years ago. I’ve been a Pusha T fan all along the way since, but as a solo act it was great, but different. This new record, with Malice and Pharrell, is a return to form of the collaborative trio. My favorite track is So Be It, but the music video for Chains & Whips (above), is just too dang good not to share here.

  • ABCs: Halfway!

    Three more restaurants for the Richmond Alphabet Challenge. We are up to 13 and running strong. In late June we spent just over a week in Seattle, absolutely crushing some of their best food. Some travel logs are in the works, but none of that counts here, so on to Richmond.

    Cobra Cabana

    Tucked behind the Siegel Center on Marshall St, Cabana is equal parts punk bar and neighborhood pub. We went for dinner and sipped High Life’s while picking off the sandwichesss menu. The Banh Mi So Hungry and Inna Gotta Da Pita are two great choices and also give you a little hint of the vibe they are going for.

    Demi’s Mediterranean Kitchen

    We finally got over to this Northside spot after having it on our restaurant to do list for ages. Well worth the wait and hype. Everything was on point. The cocktails, appetizers, entrees, and dessert all got top marks from us. Only after the fact did I find out it is the same owners as Dot’s Back Inn.

    Pinky’s

    We generally have a planned list of letters and locations to visit for this challenge. In May we walked into Lolita’s and broke that mold. Leaving us open to organically find new places too. In June, on the heels of a work happy hour, we decided to look for a walkable good restaurant near the Veil. Pinky’s was the spot. And Pinky’s was great. “Is this a letter?” “Yeah I think it is!”

  • 13 Months of Sunshine – Aminé

    Aminé’s journey into dance music influenced production, while maintaining everything that brought me into his music in the first place is a treat. This genre branch felt like a natural progression. Hell, I thought he would lean in even harder after KAYTRAMINE, but this new record is a bit of a return to form and I love it.