Multiplayer Minute: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3

Played this one with @PohnDip over the past week, and honestly, it's exactly the kind of co-op experience I've been craving. A ton of mindless fun on the surface, but there's just enough depth underneath to keep you honest. You can't just mash buttons the entire time — you've gotta dodge, you've gotta block, and the boss battles will absolutely punish you if you're not paying attention. That balance between accessible and challenging is a sweet spot that a lot of modern games completely whiff on.

One thing I genuinely loved — you can skip every single cutscene. Made the experience so much better. There's this funny little dynamic that develops in co-op where if you skip but your buddy hasn't yet, you get hit with a loading spinner. I'd jokingly say "I'm in a loading screen" and @PohnDip would go "oh!" and realize I'd already skipped, then he'd skip too. And vice versa. It became its own little running joke. That's the kind of organic multiplayer moment you can't manufacture.

The game didn't take too long to beat, but here's where it really clicked for me — about 30% in, I switched characters and went from level 15 down to level 6. The game dropped us back at the start, and something just connected in my brain. This game is meant to be replayed. Over and over and over. That's the loop. And it's a well-polished, intentional loop at that.

Man, I miss old school game design like this. No battle pass, no seasonal FOMO nonsense, no live-service drip feed. Just a tight gameplay loop that respects your time and rewards you for coming back because the game itself is fun — not because some algorithm told you your daily login streak is about to expire. More of this, please.