Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 30

We're back with a brand new Now Playing! We've been gone a couple of months, but we're back to show everyone what our team is enjoying right now. So let's get right to it!

Alexander B. Joy

Super Motherload

Sometimes circumstances align in such a way as to deliver you the perfect game at the perfect moment. In this vein, a serendipitous series of events introduced me to Super Motherload [sic], my current addiction: How appropriate that falling down a rabbit hole should lead me to a game about digging tunnels!

1. In my regular reading of Gamers With Glasses, I happened upon Samantha Trzinski’s impressions regarding Cyberwave’s A Game About Digging a Hole.
2. Weighing whether to buy the hole-digging simulator for myself, I sifted through its small handful of Steam reviews.
3. One review alluded to an old Flash game with a similar concept, noting that Steam offered an overhauled version of said Flash game.
4. A cursory search of Steam’s catalogue unearthed Super Motherload, on sale for about $5.00 USD.

As for the game itself, Super Motherload offers an elemental kind of fun. You pilot a tank/helicopter hybrid with a mounted multi-directional drill, and burrow your way through a planet in search of resources and riches. Players receive bonuses for collecting sequences of particular minerals or consecutive chains of a single one, encouraging forethought and strategy while exploring the underground. Meanwhile, a dystopian sci-fi mystery unfolds in the background for additional flavor.

I love Super Motherload for being one of those rare games that’s both relaxing and interesting. It’s simple enough to zone out and decompress while playing, but it has enough going on to remain consistently engaging. Carving up terrain with your drill feels remarkably like raking sand in a Zen garden, and is similarly rewarding. Four-person couch co-op introduces pleasant social elements to the proceedings. Simply put, I dig it.

C.S. Voll

Suzerain and Suzerain: Kingdom of Rizia

One thing that's clear to me after playing Suzerain is that I would make a terrible political leader. I'm too soft-hearted, indecisive, and principled to ever navigate the pitfalls of such a path. Suzerain can be a frustrating and unforgiving experience, because you're only given a limited amount of resources and you're in the dark about the expenditures. So, you spend money on a project hoping you'll reap the benefits, but then it never materializes in the end. Sometimes managing the country feels like driving in the dark without any headlights. Maybe an appropriate feeling for a country in dire straits, although it can feel unfair.

The game's expansion, Kingdom of Rizia, addresses many of these concerns with some updates to the management system. In this installment, you actually get to see the projected income for your next term, so you're able to plan ahead. I enjoyed the story, too. As a monarch, you have a lot more power, and you're choices can shape the country in drastic ways. I had a little more success this time around (although many of my subjects were still not very pleased with me). Torpor Games definitely has something interesting here with Suzerain: a game that blends elements of the visual novel and strategy game genres.

Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace

Here I am again with another Steins Gate. This time around, I'm playing Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace. The old adage about judging a book by its cover comes to mind, because at first I was a little hesitant to start my playthrough. It looks like one of those stereotypical romance spinoffs, after all! It has depth, though, and I've seen different sides of the characters. The game actually satirizes the typical spinoffs, subverting my expectations on more than a couple of occasions. Sorry for even doubting you, MAGES. To get a better picture, I'll have to finish it, though. El Psy Kongroo!

Jake Lang

Marvel Rivals

I’ve never been big into hero shooters, but Marvel Rivals, damn it, you’ve got me. I was never much of a PC gamer either, but this is the first game I feel like I would’ve played on console in the past and just not gotten it. Playing on PC, however, it just clicks. I’m still not very good, but it doesn’t matter—it’s fun no matter what. There’s a great flow to switching between heroes, learning their abilities, and figuring out how different matchups play out. Also, if you haven't, check out this in-depth SUPERJUMP piece by Pruthvi Das on the Narrative Value of Marvel Rivals.

ABZÛ – Relaxing in the Deep

ABZÛ has been an unexpected favorite this month. It’s just pure exploration, movement, and atmosphere—no pressure, no stress. To me, it’s cozy, and I was grateful enough for it to share the game with a retired professor of mine. They’re not much of a gamer, but they got Steam just so I could gift it to them. It’s cool seeing how games have become more accessible, how people who wouldn’t have touched them years ago are now open to the experience. Being a “gamer” isn’t the stereotype it used to be, and that’s a good thing.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater – Nostalgia on Repeat

I’d already been on a bit of a nostalgia trip—listening to more Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Goldfinger, thinking about the franchise, and playing it on GameCube—so much that I started digging into THPS 1+2 sales numbers and sentiment. Everything pointed to THPS 3+4 being inevitable, and now, with the confirmation, it just feels right. This series is still an all-timer, and with Skate 4 finally dropping this year, 2025 is shaping up to be a banner year for skate game fans.

Ignas Vieversys

Wattam

Since I was working on something related to Keita Takahashi for another (print!) publication, the video game maestro known for his whimsical Katamari Damacy franchise, I decided to properly give Wattam, his latest title, a try - if not for journalistic-y research, then for inspiration. The first and most obvious comparison that popped into my mind (as I was stacking tiny golden poops to match the height of a giant bowling pin that was hit by a random bowling ball the size of a miniature planet) was Teletubbies.

If you're a 90s kid, you'll be familiar with these four eerie-looking creatures, each with differently shaped antennas and TV screens for their bellies. They wave hello to the baby-faced sun and hover their flying saucer-shaped compound, forming a perfect fodder for creepy-pasta material. The funny thing is: if you try to recap an episode of Teletubbies to someone without any context, you will probably get arrested under the suspicion that you're high on acid - which is how I feel like playing Wattam.

For starters, you can take control of pretty much anything you see on the screen. Everyone giggles with glee, making baby noises. Some of the characters, like a mouth with legs called Beth and a Spring Tree, can gobble up other creatures. Occasionally, more characters will appear (some of them out of other's bums); some of them will be crying, and it's your mission to fix that. Once, controlling a balloon that was afraid of heights, I had to fly up into the air, a bottle of milk dangling in total fear below me, to retrieve a phone from the sun. Turns out, it was a big misunderstanding and the sun had no intention of upsetting Mr. Telephone. If someone asks me what I currently play, I will simply redirect the interested parties to watch some gameplay, rather than risk sounding like I'm high on something funny. Wattam might be preparing me for baby talk, but it's a jolly weird game that I will probably only play again as a parent.

Cruelty Squad

I got shot at a lot (sniped at is more accurate) and learned a thing or two about stocks in Cruelty Squad, which is an absolute fever-dream of a game that feels like almost having a seizure. I knew what I was signing up for when I bought the game (no tutorial? Check. PTSD-inducing soundtrack? Check. Cannibalism? Sure!). But, just like any great post-modern work of art (see "Infinite Jest", Murakami's "1Q84" or anything released by Kojima), sometimes you just cannot understand the appeal of a brilliant piece of art because it might not be the right time for it, which I realized was the case for Cruelty Squad.

Black Myth: Wukong

I also played a truckload of Black Myth: Wukong, finally reaching the "final boss" (it's not the REAL, post-game boss, unfortunately for my controller) after 40+ hours. My salutes go to all reviewers who had to speed through this beast of a game in less than a week. I get why it lost its GOTY title to Astro Bot, but, damn, I don't remember playing such a fully-packaged, gorgeous and ambitious title since first laying my hands on Elden Ring. Such a shame it got drowned by the culture war because it's truly one for the ages.

A big thank you to our writers for dropping by and to all our loyal fans for being here to check it out! Be sure to tell us what you're playing in the comments and check back next month for more of what our team is getting into.