It's hardly an original thought and I know I've said the same thing several times before, but... the worst thing about today's gaming world isn't microtransactions, loot boxes, free-to-play, live service, subscription services, Game Key Cards, or anything like that - but the totally exaggerated development times.

When Todd Howard now says that The Elder Scrolls VI is far away, even though it's been 14 years since Skyrim, it's nothing too strange. The wait for Grand Theft Auto VI is in the same region and overall we wait an unreasonably long time for everything.

Those of us who played Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 at the time of the game remember how three Bioshocks were released for the same generation, three Mass Effect, four Gears of War, three Uncharted, five Halo, three Skate, three Resistance, two Infamous, three Forza Motorsport, two Killzone, three Batman: Arkham, three Dead Space, three Far Cry, four Battlefield, four Saints Row, three Dragon Age and... well you get the idea.

Here some of you, especially those of you who were not there, probably think that there were too many games. But very few people thought that way when it happened. The games weren't as overly large, and if anything, more focused on gaming experiences (they weren't designed to sell battle passes and microtransactions because such things were barely invented) that today often appear on lists of the best games of all time.

It was simply a generation where we ate very often, ate very well and very varied. Today, it's a maximum of one game (possibly one and a half with a remaster or similar) per generation that counts, and often not even that. There are a few exceptions, but in general it feels empty quite quickly while waiting for bigger and bigger games - which too rarely translates into better and better games.

So... Is the old bastard trying to say that it was better in the past? No, not in general, but this area was better in the past, and it's starting to look like a crisis, half a decade and often much more is not reasonable waiting for new games.

Is it reasonable that nowadays there is only one or a maximum of two major games in a series released during an entire generation and that the waiting time today is at least half a decade?

It's unusual for me to sit down in front of a Guillermo Del Toro reel and feel disappointed. On the other hand, it's rare for me to be completely overwhelmed either. I often think that there are certain "kill your darlings" problems and often I think it's about movies that I would have given sevens or eights in ratings.

Very good of course anyway, and I love his movies. As I said, not always because I think they are the best, but because they are different experiences - something I appreciate more and more in a Hollywood that has lost its imagination and today is completely saved in green screen and make-ups of old brands that probably should actually have been left behind.

During the weekend I've been watching Frankenstein - and again I feel like I usually do. Del Toro sets the table with magical surroundings, emotions that take time to develop, beautiful design and that sense of craftsmanship - and again the fact that it could have been cut a little, a little more. The casting is also top-notch and I'm now even more looking forward to seeing Elordi return in Euphoria's third season and Mia Goth in Star Wars.

You can find our review here, I myself would probably have settled for a grade of eight. But a stable one. One of those record-breaking eight where you finally feel like you've seen something fresh and well-cooked instead of Hollywood fast food.

Have you watched Frankenstein and if so, what did you think?

Sure, it's always sad when games get delayed, and if it happens several times, it gives a feeling that everything is not right and that it's a project in chaos. But even with that said, yesterday's delay of around two weeks for Terminator 2D: No Fate was a mere trifle.

It will be released and hopefully it will be really fun. I think I can now also see that a new trend is crystallising. After 2022's smash hit for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, we've got Power Rangers Rita's Rewind and G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra - and around the corner awaits He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction, Marvel Cosmic Invasion and Toxic Crusaders.

All of them are very retro-inspired action games, and I really love this. Instead of trying to make AAA out of them - which requires them to be adapted for everyone and at the same time hardly even share the source material more than in name - these games are really made for the fans. And the fans seem to love this, because they were there when it happened. These had been luxury arcade games in the late 80s and early 90s.

Suddenly it is possible to make the games almost exclusively for this niche audience, base them on a classic gameplay loop and release them at a fairly fast pace. The low price and short running time also make them projects you can finish.

I believe and hope that this will be a long-term trend and not something that disappears. For that to happen, however, the games must be good and that they sell. But luckily, it seems to be working very well on that front so far - and there is no shortage of reports of younger gamers discovering both beat 'em ups and classic comics thanks to the games.

May this trend continue, this is an excellent way to manage 80's phenomena. Next up I hope for Brave Starr, Mask and Robotech. What do you think about this reconnaissance?

My experience with the Dragon Quest world of Alefgard is actually quite limited. When I was most into Japanese RPGs (during the 90s) they barely even had releases, and Final Fantasy dominated in the West. That's why I've missed a lot and was unreasonably happy when Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was released last year.

Partly because it gave me the chance to keep up from the start, and partly because it was a damn good game – without losing that charming simplicity that made the originals so loved. The HD-2D style is also like a loving hug from the past, with pixel perfection meeting modern lighting effects and animations that make castles, caves, and slime nuggets sparkle.

Yesterday I finally got started with Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, which despite the name is part two of this series (part III is a prologue to I & II), and although it's way too early to say anything concrete, it's hard not to smile from ear to ear when you hear the classic victory fanfare after yet another win against a blue Dracky. A reminder of why we once fell in love with the genre.

I'll be back with my complete review of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D in a week or two (but you can read our review here), but let me say right now that those who want something heartwarming and cozy in a sometimes hard and cold age, this seems to be the right way to go. And sometimes that's just what you need.

Don't forget to play III before I & II if you haven't already.

It can certainly be argued that I would be extremely amused and you should preferably not laugh at your own jokes (unless your name is Peter Wahlbeck, of course). Fixed... The joke, on the other hand, is not mine, and actually it is probably most tragic. But as I laughed today when I wrote the news about the artist Soulja Boy's new console.

For almost ten years, this gentleman has regularly tried to launch his own consoles, and always chooses something that stretches the laws, complete with extortionate prices and then spices it up with statements that have made countless sloppy politicians appear as the greatest truth-tellers of all time. Like the time it was Soulja Boy's hardware that made Reggie Fils-Aime resign from Nintendo, or that time when Atari wanted to give him one and a half billion dollars, or when he said that his pirate devices are legal stuff.

Every time he's been on the go, it's shut down very quickly, and once he almost got Nintendo on his neck, which is something you should definitely watch out for. Their patience with copyright infringement is something you are best measured in nanometers.

Now he's on the move again and has taken the Retroid Pocket Flip 2, without their knowledge despite it being a patented device, and says it's his console - whereupon the price has more than doubled. And it apparently has "Sonic, TikTok, Instagram and everything ya need."

Retroid has of course not approved of this and I guess that the device SouljaGame Flip, which he calls "his" stolen model, will soon go up in smoke - as will all his other ventures. And probably it's only a matter of time before he's up and running again, and I get the pleasure of laughing to report on yet another China device he claimed as his own, dusted at a completely obscene price on and then sold to his fans via social media. I'm already longing.

It doesn't sound like Soulja Boy will take over the gaming world this time either. But maybe next time (picture from his website where you can buy the device for over twice the normal price)?