Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

After a viewing of Scooby-Doo (2002), we noticed that the sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, was also available for free streaming and decided we may as well give it a watch. Like the previous film, I remember seeing ads for it at the time, but nine-year-old me had no interest. Watching it now, we noticed immediate improvements over the original and I think I might’ve liked it as a kid, but it’s still not a great film.

Helltaker

Helltaker, developed by vanripper, flew under my radar when it launched on May 11, 2020, but my general browsing habits eventually led me to it. When I found out soon after that it was free, with the only DLC consisting of an art book and pancake recipe, I immediately added it to my Steam library and considered when to play it. Once I learned of its length, I jumped right into playing and now I’m glad I did.

Scooby-Doo

Note: This review contains spoilers for Scooby-Doo.

As we delved into other animated Scooby-Doo movies, we decided to also take a look at the 2002 live-action film, Scooby-Doo. One major aspect of this decision was the knowledge that James Gunn wrote the screenplay years before he got big with Guardians of the Galaxy. I remember the advertising not clicking with me when I was a kid, plus I also wasn’t that into Scooby-Doo at the time, but we decided to take advantage of a free Amazon Prime stream to actually watch it. As it turns out, nine-year-old me was smarter than 27-year-old me.

Donut County (Switch)

As with many games I had played I was intrigued by the premise of Donut County from a teaser trailer, due in part to its art style and interesting gameplay involving controlling a hole. Though the game had been on my radar, I got more serious about playing it once physical copies for PS4 and Switch began to be distributed via iam8bit. I missed my chance to snag a copy through them, however a local Best Buy in my area still had copies for the Switch, so I obtained a copy in the interest of having some form of entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic. After finally getting to play it, the game met my expectations, though there was a bit more to it than I initially thought.

Scoob!

Scoob! finds itself at a unique point in history, both for releasing a little after the franchise’s 50th anniversary and for having its release affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This third big screen outing for Scooby-Doo was originally slated for a May 15, 2020 theatrical release, only to get delayed indefinitely by the pandemic, but then revert back to its original date as a Premium VOD release due in part to the success of Trolls: World Tour. Out of curiosity, and to fulfill the purpose of Scooby-Doo Month on this blog, we bought the film at $25 (as opposed to a $20 rental) and watched it on “opening day”. While we went in with uncertain expectations, especially with the knowledge this was meant to kickstart a Hanna-Berbera Cinematic Universe, we thought it ultimately fell flat, both in its intended goal and as a Scooby-Doo film.

Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur

Note: This review contains spoilers for Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur.

On this blog, we’ve covered films that we watched for their reputation, either good or bad. However, we haven’t covered many where just a specific iconic scene drew us in. Such is the case with 2011’s Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur, the 16th installment of the long-running series of direct-to-video Scooby-Doo! films. While this one scene in particular, which I’ll go into later, was worth watching, the rest of the film felt very uneven.

AVICII Invector (PS4)

Though his career was short-lived, as he took his own life after suffering from mental health issues, Avicii’s music left a lasting impact on a number of people, with his family starting the Tim Bergling foundation in his name to promote mental health and suicide prevention. One of the efforts done in his memory was the rhythm game AVICII Invector, the announcement of which caught my attention as a fan of Avicii’s music. Though I got the game as a Christmas gift, I didn’t get around to playing it until recently, and I found it to be a good representation of the artist’s career and an effective gateway into his music.

Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders

After having finally seen Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost, we decided to watch Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, at least partly since the first four direct-to-video animated films, produced by Hanna-Barbera, form their own tetralogy of sorts. As I was watching the movie, I realized I had vague memories of seeing at least part of it somehow, though I had only recalled part of a minor subplot involving a jackalope. After seeing the whole thing in its proper context, I didn’t think it was quite as good as Witch’s Ghost, however it held up pretty well on its own merits.

MediEvil (PS4)

While I didn’t grow up playing the original MediEvil on the PS1, I did become interested in playing it for the first time through a remake of the same title, with some quality-of-life changes, that was announced for the PS4 and released last year. When a limited-time demo was available, I made sure to give it a try so I could see what the gameplay was like, along with unlocking the previously Japan-exclusive Dan’s Helmet item in the full game as an incentive. Needless to say, I was hooked on the game after playing the demo. Though I would later receive it as a Christmas gift, I didn’t get around to playing it until recently, with Dan’s Helmet unlocked and everything. Despite some difficulty spikes and flaws in the experience, I found it to be an overall enjoyable experience.

Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost

Note: The following review contains spoilers for Scooby-Doo and The Witch's Ghost.

Following the success of Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island in 1998, which reinvigorated the Scooby-Doo brand, a follow-up film was released the following year, Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost, beginning the trend of annual DTV Scooby-Doo films of varying quality. I will admit I wasn’t too aware of this movie when it first came out, however, I decided I had to see it since it seemed to form a set as one of the first four DTV movies based on Scooby-Doo. After finally getting to see it, I found it to be a worthy successor to Zombie Island, though it overall falls just short of the preceding movie’s quality.