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david.reviews
@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/
Pinned
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!
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...
My Favorite Media of 2024
David's 9th annual roundup of his favorite things he played, watched, and read this year.
xavd.id
Well, @rianjohnson.bsky.social has done it again! What a blast. This is a man who clearly likes his mysteries.

Go check it out!
December 13, 2025 at 7:25 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched WAKE UP DEAD MAN (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: Wake Up Dead Man
★★★★: Rain Johnson strikes again! I liked the core mystery a ton. The ensemble was well-cast, but the supporting characters were pretty underbaked. But the parts that work (which is most of it) REALLY...
david.reviews
December 13, 2025 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched LOVE HARD (for the 2nd time).
david.reviews: Love Hard
★★★☆: Hammy supporting cast and a pretty good pair of leads. Story was silly, but cute. It's a fun watch.
david.reviews
December 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched A SPRINKLE OF CHRISTMAS (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: A Sprinkle of Christmas
★★☆☆: Forgettable characters and a derivative script made this more of a slog than I hoped for.
david.reviews
December 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched FREAKIER FRIDAY (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: Freakier Friday
★★★★: The gold standard for legacy sequels. Pacing was a little slow, but the story was pretty decent and they clearly had a great time with it. And well-acted as always! And killer cameos, top to bot...
david.reviews
December 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched FREAKY FRIDAY (for the 2nd time).
david.reviews: Freaky Friday
★★★★: Great performances and a touching, if trite, climax. Bring on the next one!
david.reviews
December 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched KUNG FU PANDA (for the 8th time).
david.reviews: Kung Fu Panda
★★★★: Still an all-timer. Beautiful fight choreo, a great message, and genuinely funny jokes. The full package.
david.reviews
December 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
🕹️🎮 New videogame review! I just finished playing MARIO + RABBIDS SPARKS OF HOPE.
david.reviews: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
★★★☆: The tactical gameplay I liked from the first game was back, but the open-world levels were more filler than focus. The story levels themselves were varied and interesting, but there were plenty ...
david.reviews
December 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I'm slowly reading my way through the @scalzi.com backlog and it's a lot of fun!
November 26, 2025 at 8:13 PM
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading THE GHOST BRIGADES.
david.reviews: The Ghost Brigades
★★★★: Does an excellent job building and expanding on the first one. I liked the way it pulled the curtain back on the previously mysterious special forces. The epilogue is a little saccharine, but th...
david.reviews
November 26, 2025 at 8:00 PM
My friend has been working for years on a standalone version of his popular SC2 custom game and it's finally out! It combines poker, Warcraft 3, and autobattlers. I've played a ton during the closed beta and it's a total blast. No #poker experience necessary!

store.steampowered.com/app/1961710/...
Poker Warlords on Steam
Bet. Battle. Conquer! Poker Warlords fuses high-stakes poker with autobattler combat—turn cards into armies, outwit opponents, and claim victory on the battlefield and at the betting table! It is free...
store.steampowered.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:30 PM
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading THE UNHONEYMOONERS.
david.reviews: The Unhoneymooners
★★★☆: Fun premise that's only a little spoiled by its annoying characters. But if you lean into the romcom aspect, it's a decent time.
david.reviews
November 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM
New review! It's A CASE OF FRAUD, from @hesperusgames.bsky.social.

If you liked THE ROOTTREES ARE DEAD, this ticks a lot of the same boxes.

Read my full review:

david.reviews/articles/cas...
"A Case of Fraud" pairs the delight of detail-oriented reading with a thrilling finale
Fans of The Roottrees are Dead will enjoy this simpler take on the genre.
david.reviews
November 14, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted
Hi folks, this is again a plea for help. There still is no cleared donor. People working through the system but again-if you're at all interested in trying to help, it takes months to get cleared as a donor. There's a lot of delays/appointments.
So please consider and spread it around, thank you.
I am afraid I have absolutely terrible news. I need a lot of help now, from everyone. I currently have NO CLEARED DONOR for transplant and we only have a short period of time to get this done. Please SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE AND PLEASE TRY TO DONATE!
All the information is at iggyland.org
Iggy needs a kidney - Iggy's Up All Night
The TL;DR on how you can help (if you scroll down, the full story is below): In short I have a disease that requires a living kidney donor. There are no other viable options for me. I have only a few ...
iggyland.org
October 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
In case you missed it: I reviewed ORBYSS, a fun litttle puzzle game that mixes precision and timing puzzles flawlessly, set against a cool sci-fi backdrop!

https://david.reviews/articles/orbyss-review/
"Orbyss" blends tricky puzzles with alien architecture to great effect
Orb-based puzzles and beautiful architecture make for a dynamite package.
david.reviews
November 7, 2025 at 9:23 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: The Thursday Murder Club
★★★★: Killer cast and a fun little plot. A worthy adaptation that manages to be both sweet and fun.
david.reviews
November 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
If you're interested in the design of puzzle games this is always a killer event!
Announcing the line-up for ThinkyCon 2025! 🎉 Tune in for 3 days of amazing talks from the makers of your favorite puzzly games!
thinkygames.com/even...
October 29, 2025 at 8:10 PM
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA.
david.reviews: The Lies of Locke Lamora
★★★★: I love heists, so it should come as no surprise that I absolutely adore this book. The cons are fun, the worldbuilding advanced, and the dialogue consistently colorful. I loved how the interlude...
david.reviews
October 27, 2025 at 7:00 PM
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL.
david.reviews: Dungeon Crawler Carl
★★★★: Starts a little slow, but it really picks up as it continues. I especially like the worldbuilding and intrigue around the corporations running the game. It feels like there's a ton going on outs...
david.reviews
October 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
david.reviews/articles/spo...

My latest review is up! It's SPOOKY EXPRESS, by @draknek.bsky.social & friends.

If you love seasonally appropriate media as much as I do, there's nothing better to get you in the Halloween-but-not-horror spirit than train puzzles!
"Spooky Express" is a charming monster mash on rails
Mix pathfinding puzzles with Halloween theming and you've got a heck of a ride.
david.reviews
October 21, 2025 at 4:14 PM
💙📚 New book review! I just finished reading BIRDING WITH BENEFITS.
david.reviews: Birding with Benefits
★★★☆: Like most romcoms, it starts stronger than it finishes. It's a funny concept, but they spend a lot of time on familial drama which is good for character building but a drag for the pacing. It's ...
david.reviews
October 13, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted
🚀🚀LITTLE ROCKET LAB IS OUT NOW!!! 🚀🚀

4 years of development, finally available on Steam and Game Pass

store.steampowered.com/app/2451100/...

RTs unbelievably appreciated!! <3
October 7, 2025 at 5:25 PM
📽️ New movie review! I just watched THE FANTASTIC 4: FIRST STEPS (for the 1st time).
david.reviews: The Fantastic 4: First Steps
★★☆☆: There was both too much and too little superhero stuff. Like, the scenes they had were only ok, but the rest of the movie felt like a lot of chatting and planning with no action. The characters ...
david.reviews
October 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
🕹️🎮 New videogame review! I just finished playing SIFU.
david.reviews: Sifu
★★☆☆: A beautiful, intense game that I unfortunately liked the idea of more than actually playing. On the one hand, Sifu has a lot going for it. Its environments are starkly beautiful. I also loved t...
david.reviews
October 1, 2025 at 5:00 PM
🕹️🎮 New videogame review! I just finished playing CRYPTMASTER.
david.reviews: Cryptmaster
★★★★: Mixes strategic combat with typing better than I would have thought possible. Guessing the words to level up worked well and getting letters as rewards is an ingenious bit of design. Remembering...
david.reviews
September 29, 2025 at 5:00 PM