What is this?

To start with, it’ll be reviews of Evercade carts. Eventually, I may end up with something else I want to write about, in which case it will end up being that as well.

Who are you?

Lemme just get this out there up front: I don’t know shit about video games, game history, or the games industry.

Don’t look to my reviews for insightful historical analysis of games, informed discussion of people involved in the games, comparisons to other similar games, or anything at all like that. I like to play video games, I like lots of games across lots of genres. And I’m pretty okay at separating “I think this game is fun” from “this game is bad” (as well as the inverse).

My posts are mostly “I think this game is fun (or not),” and I’m not likely to pretend it’s anything else.

If you like the things I write, feel free to let me know on the Evercade Discord @nromdotcom, on BlueSky @nromdotcom.cloud, or if you feel really compelled you can buy me a Ko-Fi.

How do the ratings work?

Well, I’m brand new to quantitative ratings for things. I’m not practiced in 5-stars or 1-10 or anything like that.

For the most part, since my reviews are just “do I think this is fun? Do I recommend it?” I’m trying to keep my ratings consistent with that view: more “how much do I recommend this?” as opposed to “how good is this?”

The specific ratings I’m starting with are:

• Avoid - I don’t recommend anybody buy this cart. It is not worth the money and has no redeeming qualities. Proceed only if you’re a full-setter.
• Consider - We’re all adults here. You probably know what games you like. These carts probably don’t have great bang for the buck, or the games will have only limited appeal. But if these are the sorts of games you like, you should consider picking it up.
• Recommend - The carts aren’t going to please everyone but they are going to please most people. If you are only here for puzzle games, you probably won’t get on too well with a cart of 3D action-adventures. But if you have reasonably broad tastes, you’ll probably find something to like.
• Essential - These carts are the cornerstones of the library. They have a good variety of high-quality games that almost no one should object to.

This all is, of course, experimental for me and certainly subject to change. But that’s what I’m starting with. I expect most carts to fall under the middle two bullet points, in which case it may not prove worthwhile, but let’s see.