@david.reviews
Small, independent reviewer of games, books, and movies! I like cool things. Run by @xavd.id.
Full site: https://david.reviews/
Also available as a Steam curator: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45203122/
Full site: https://david.reviews/
Also available as a Steam curator: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45203122/
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david.reviews
@david.reviews
· Jan 26
Well folks, it's here! My massive Favorite Media of 2024 roundup is live! I've got #videogames, #movies, #tv, and #books, plus links to everything that was eligible from last calendar year.
As always, it's a big one, but I think it turned out well. Enjoy!
xavd.id/blog/post/fa...
As always, it's a big one, but I think it turned out well. Enjoy!
xavd.id/blog/post/fa...
My Favorite Media of 2024
David's 9th annual roundup of his favorite things he played, watched, and read this year.
xavd.id
This is what all my reviews in a year lead up to! It's a big project and I'm super glad to have this year's iteration out in the world.
Let me know what you think!
Let me know what you think!
📽️ New movie review! I just watched BLACK BAG (for the 2nd time).
david.reviews: Black Bag
★★★★: Just as good the second time! Such dense dialogue and performances.
david.reviews
January 12, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched BLACK BAG (for the 2nd time).
📽️ New movie review! I just watched TRAINWRECK (for the 3rd time).
david.reviews: Trainwreck
★★★☆: Funny enough, but tonally inconsistent and it's comedy did a disservice to its drama. Needed more LeBron.
david.reviews
January 11, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched TRAINWRECK (for the 3rd time).
🕹️🎮 New videogame review! I just finished playing ASTRO BOT.
david.reviews: Astro Bot
★★★★: Delightful romp. The game oozes style and sets the bar for how the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers can be used in games. The world is vibrant and varied, doubling down on the Sony nostalgi...
david.reviews
January 11, 2026 at 6:00 PM
🕹️🎮 New videogame review! I just finished playing ASTRO BOT.
📽️ New movie review! I just watched SCHOOL OF ROCK (for the 2nd time).
david.reviews: School of Rock
★★★★: A feel-good classic. Though, and maybe I'm just getting old, it's sort of crazy how irresponsible everyone in this movie is and how it all gets waved away because of how good their concert is. U...
david.reviews
January 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched SCHOOL OF ROCK (for the 2nd time).
📽️ New movie review! I just watched GROUNDHOG DAY (for the 2nd time).
david.reviews: Groundhog Day
★★★★: Hadn't seen it in ages. Walks the line between charming comedy and existential horror well. It never occurred to me, but before this movie people wouldn't have described time loops as Groundhog ...
david.reviews
January 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched GROUNDHOG DAY (for the 2nd time).
📽️ New movie review! I just watched JOY RIDE (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: Joy Ride
★★★★: It's sort of wild how this movie mixes a spectacularly raunchy comedy with a truly touching story about family and friendship. I'm not convinced it wouldn't be improved by focusing in on one or ...
david.reviews
January 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched JOY RIDE (for the 1st time).
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON'T (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: Now You See Me: Now You Don't
★★★☆: Leans heavy on the cheese and is a little crowded, character wise, but felt more coherent than the last movie. Definitely sticks with the theme of "makes sense until you think about it too much"...
david.reviews
January 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON'T (for the 1st time).
I... am tentatively interested in this! I'm short on writing time right now but I'm also currently working on own my GotY post. So especially if part of that can get repurposed / reused, it'd make participation much more manageable.
January 5, 2026 at 9:55 AM
I... am tentatively interested in this! I'm short on writing time right now but I'm also currently working on own my GotY post. So especially if part of that can get repurposed / reused, it'd make participation much more manageable.
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading PLAY NICE.
david.reviews: Play Nice
★★★★: An absolutely fascinating look into the history of Blizzard Entertainment. Exhaustingly well researched and pieced together, making it easy to follow all the threads. It's a shame that money cor...
david.reviews
January 4, 2026 at 8:05 PM
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading PLAY NICE.
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (for the 2nd time).
david.reviews: Now You See Me 2
★★☆☆: Gets a little too caught up being clever about its structure and not enough time on magic and character development that makes sense. It's a fun ride when you want to relax though. Has a couple ...
david.reviews
January 3, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (for the 2nd time).
📽️ New movie review! I just watched THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT (for the 2nd time).
david.reviews: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
★★★★: Absolutely rocks. Strikes the perfect balance between self-aware and genuinely fun plot. They make a great team.
david.reviews
January 3, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT (for the 2nd time).
🕹️🎮 New videogame review! I just finished playing CHROMA ZERO.
david.reviews: Chroma Zero
★★★★: Does a great job capturing the exploration aspects of Outer Wilds. It explains very little and sets you loose to understand the rules of the world. It expertly uses color theory as a base for mo...
david.reviews
January 3, 2026 at 6:00 PM
🕹️🎮 New videogame review! I just finished playing CHROMA ZERO.
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading EVERYONE THIS CHRISTMAS HAS A SECRET .
david.reviews: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
★★★★: Stevenson proves once again he really knows what sets his books apart by seamlessly mixing the meta narrative into the main investigation. This self-described "holiday special" is as twisty a my...
david.reviews
January 2, 2026 at 8:00 PM
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading EVERYONE THIS CHRISTMAS HAS A SECRET .
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NOW YOU SEE ME (for the 3rd time).
david.reviews: Now You See Me
★★★☆: All flash and little bang. It remains a fun watch, you just can't think about the plot points too much. Instead, sit back and enjoy the ride for what it is, not what it could be.
david.reviews
January 2, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NOW YOU SEE ME (for the 3rd time).
It's probably a skill issue on our part then. We caught a lot of the rules (e.g. 4s come in pairs) but consistently hit walls where we had no obvious information and too little health to reveal anything safely. We'd probably benefit from watching someone play who knows what they're doing
January 2, 2026 at 12:16 AM
It's probably a skill issue on our part then. We caught a lot of the rules (e.g. 4s come in pairs) but consistently hit walls where we had no obvious information and too little health to reveal anything safely. We'd probably benefit from watching someone play who knows what they're doing
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NEW YEAR'S EVE (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: New Year's Eve
★★☆☆: Murderers row of a cast, but the storylines were underbaked to fit everyone. I like Garry Marshall schlock, but even this was a little heavy handed.
david.reviews
January 1, 2026 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NEW YEAR'S EVE (for the 1st time).
Reposted
It's Thinky Awards season! The fine folks at @thinkygames.com invited me to be a juror again, so here's my brief impressions of all the nominees I played. There are a few days left in the Steam winter sale and many of these are discounted, so check them out!
A 🧵
david.reviews/articles/thi...
A 🧵
david.reviews/articles/thi...
Thinky Awards 2025 Nominee Impressions
First impressions of many 2025 Thinky Award nominees.
david.reviews
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 AM
It's Thinky Awards season! The fine folks at @thinkygames.com invited me to be a juror again, so here's my brief impressions of all the nominees I played. There are a few days left in the Steam winter sale and many of these are discounted, so check them out!
A 🧵
david.reviews/articles/thi...
A 🧵
david.reviews/articles/thi...
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NO SLEEP 'TIL CHRISTMAS (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: No Sleep 'Til Christmas
★★★☆: Doofy premise, but honestly a cute time. Performances are great for a budget this size. Not especially Christmas-y though
david.reviews
December 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched NO SLEEP 'TIL CHRISTMAS (for the 1st time).
📽️ New movie review! I just watched MY SECRET SANTA (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: My Secret Santa
★★★☆: Has pleasant farce elements, pretty good actors, and a fun Christmas message. Funny concept, too. Pleasant all around!
david.reviews
December 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched MY SECRET SANTA (for the 1st time).
(31/31) And that's all the nominees I played! It's a great slate this year and I can see the case for each and every nominee taking home the gold.
Thanks to the Thinky games crew for having me and congrats again to all the nominees!
david.reviews/articles/thi...
Thanks to the Thinky games crew for having me and congrats again to all the nominees!
david.reviews/articles/thi...
Thinky Awards 2025 Nominee Impressions
First impressions of many 2025 Thinky Award nominees.
david.reviews
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 AM
(31/31) And that's all the nominees I played! It's a great slate this year and I can see the case for each and every nominee taking home the gold.
Thanks to the Thinky games crew for having me and congrats again to all the nominees!
david.reviews/articles/thi...
Thanks to the Thinky games crew for having me and congrats again to all the nominees!
david.reviews/articles/thi...
(30/31) Type Help is another narrative logic game that that really calls for a pen and paper. It's a little low-fi, but the puzzles are great. It's also getting a remake next year which will be a big upgrade ("The Incident at Galley House")!
william-rous.itch.io/type-help
william-rous.itch.io/type-help
Type Help by William Rous
The Unsolvable Mystery
william-rous.itch.io
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 AM
(30/31) Type Help is another narrative logic game that that really calls for a pen and paper. It's a little low-fi, but the puzzles are great. It's also getting a remake next year which will be a big upgrade ("The Incident at Galley House")!
william-rous.itch.io/type-help
william-rous.itch.io/type-help
(29/31) The Roottrees are Dead (@roottrees.com) basically invented the archival research game genre. It's huge, polished, and such a satisfying solve. Killer 90s early internet vibe, too. Absolute must-play if you haven't.
roottrees.com
roottrees.com
The Roottrees are Dead | A family tree puzzle game
The Roottrees are dead is a puzzle game where you piece together a mysterious family tree using evidence scoured from the internet circa 1998.
roottrees.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 AM
(29/31) The Roottrees are Dead (@roottrees.com) basically invented the archival research game genre. It's huge, polished, and such a satisfying solve. Killer 90s early internet vibe, too. Absolute must-play if you haven't.
roottrees.com
roottrees.com
(28/31) Strange Jigsaws (by @flebpuzzles.bsky.social) is chaotic, creative, and joyous exploration of the concepts of jigsaws. It's an absolute blast and is just so whimsical.
store.steampowered.com/app/2702170/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2702170/...
Save 20% on Strange Jigsaws on Steam
A game of strange jigsaws.
store.steampowered.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 AM
(28/31) Strange Jigsaws (by @flebpuzzles.bsky.social) is chaotic, creative, and joyous exploration of the concepts of jigsaws. It's an absolute blast and is just so whimsical.
store.steampowered.com/app/2702170/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2702170/...
(27/31) Strange Antiquities (@badvikinggames.bsky.social) is a spooky game about running a store. The puzzles are good, but there's a lot of other fun stuff packed in as well. And I loved how tactile the knobs in the store are.
store.steampowered.com/app/2885870/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2885870/...
Save 25% on Strange Antiquities on Steam
Become the custodian of a store dealing in occult antiquities. Explore the quaint and gloomy town of Undermere, where strange goings-on and dark mysteries abound. Find and identify arcane artefacts, u...
store.steampowered.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 AM
(27/31) Strange Antiquities (@badvikinggames.bsky.social) is a spooky game about running a store. The puzzles are good, but there's a lot of other fun stuff packed in as well. And I loved how tactile the knobs in the store are.
store.steampowered.com/app/2885870/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2885870/...
(26/31) StarVaders (@starvaders-game.bsky.social) combines mech comabat with roguelike deckbuilding and a board. There's a ton to unlock and the art is great. I had a good time with it!
store.steampowered.com/app/2097570/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2097570/...
Save 25% on StarVaders on Steam
Pilot a powerful mech to fight off the alien invasion in this ULTIMATE fusion of deckbuilding and grid-based tactics. Discover game-breaking combos, rewind time to alter your fate, and protect the fut...
store.steampowered.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 AM
(26/31) StarVaders (@starvaders-game.bsky.social) combines mech comabat with roguelike deckbuilding and a board. There's a ton to unlock and the art is great. I had a good time with it!
store.steampowered.com/app/2097570/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2097570/...