Review dilemma: jazzy footwear or niche hardware?

A quick show of hands, please. I’ve decided that the first proper Friday feature of 2025 will be a review of one of my Christmas presents, but I can’t decide which present to assess. As Simon Bradley’s The Railways is out of the frame because I’ve not finished it yet, and my vocabulary and taste buds probably aren’t sophisticated enough to do justice to a bottle of Laphroaig single malt, the choice is between a striking pair of hand-knitted socks and an unusual sim peripheral. Which should I assay?

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Year Four

Apologies, I was too busy glugging Lemsip and mopping up snot in late December to put together the usual end-of-year digest. As my sinuses no longer feel like treacle-soaked sponges, my throat like a frogspawn-filled flute, here’s a belated look at some of the more substantial things posted on Tally-Ho Corner during Year Four.

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Praise the Titanic?

What the ongoing struggle between RMS Titanic and the Atlantic Ocean lacks in kineticism and pyrotechnics, it more than makes up for in atmosphere and pathos. While Early Access ROV sim, vROVpilot: TITANIC only managed to distract me for around an hour, it was a haunting and influential hour.

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Look, Mum, no hands (games that make great screensavers)

Your gaming room is so perishingly cold, removing hands from pockets is unthinkable. You’re cradling a dozing infant or pet and don’t wish to wake them by operating a keyboard or controller. You’re cohabiting with a petulant poltergeist who’ll trash the place unless distracted 24/7 by moving images… There are many reasons why you might want to ‘play’ a video game without actually playing a video game. Here are four current THC favourites that double as splendid animated screensavers.

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If I show you mine…

…will you show me yours? My Steam ‘Year in Review’ for 2024 contained a few surprises. For instance, I was somewhat taken aback to discover that I’d fired up Tabletop Simulator 208 times last year, and, for 49 consecutive days during the summer, played something Steamy every day.

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