DLC Review · Purchased September 6, 2024 · $11.20 CAD via PSN
Astro Bot Digital Deluxe Upgrade. Photo: PlayStation Store
The Setup
A digital upgrade purchased the same day as the physical copy of Astro Bot and the limited edition DualSense controller, unlocking extra cosmetics and bonus content tied to the game’s Deluxe tier.
The Review
Given how thoroughly Astro Bot earned its Game of the Year win (reviewed at length elsewhere in this series), an eleven-dollar add-on to an already excellent game is about as low-risk a purchase as exists in this entire spreadsheet. The extra cosmetics and bonus content are exactly what you would expect from a digital upgrade tier: nice to have, not remotely necessary to enjoy the core game, but a pleasant bit of extra flavour for a game I was already thrilled to be playing.
What I Liked
Trivially cheap add-on to an outstanding base game
Extra cosmetic content is a nice bonus rather than a cynical upsell
What I Didn’t
Entirely unnecessary if you are budget-conscious, the base game does not need this to be excellent
The Verdict
Rating: 4/5
As a cheap add-on to a Game of the Year-calibre title, this is easy to recommend, more because the base game earns it than because the upgrade itself is essential.
Hardware Review · Purchased September 6, 2024 · $111.98 CAD via EB Games
The Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense. Photo via PlayStation.Blog.
Sometimes you buy a piece of hardware for what it does. Sometimes you buy it for what it looks like sitting on your shelf. This is very much the second kind of purchase, and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
The Background
Astro Bot launched in September 2024 to the kind of reception that immediately tells you something special happened: near-universal critical acclaim, and eventually the Game Awards’ Game of the Year trophy. Sony backed the launch with a limited edition DualSense controller in Astro Bot’s cream-and-blue colour scheme, complete with small Astro Bot etchings and a matching light bar treatment, and it sold out fast enough that I count myself lucky to have grabbed one at EB Games on launch week rather than hunting resale listings afterward.
I bought this the same day as the physical copy of the game and the digital deluxe upgrade, so this was very much a “go all in on launch day” purchase rather than a considered, separate decision.
Living With It
Let’s be completely honest about what this controller is: a completely standard DualSense with a limited edition paint job. The haptics, adaptive triggers, built-in speaker, and touchpad all function identically to the roughly $85 base model. There is no functional upgrade hiding in here, no exclusive feature, nothing that makes Astro Bot the game play or feel any different than it would on a plain black pad.
What you are paying the premium for is entirely the aesthetics, and on that front it delivers. The colourway is genuinely well done, restrained rather than garish, and it photographs nicely if you are the type to post a setup shot. Because these sold out quickly around launch, there is also a small collector’s satisfaction in having one from the actual release window rather than picking one up later.
If I am being fully honest with myself, the DualSense form factor itself is what makes this purchase easy to justify at all: it is already a genuinely excellent controller before you factor in any paint job, with haptic feedback that meaningfully changes how a lot of PS5 games feel to play.
What I Liked
Clean, well-executed colour scheme that does not feel gimmicky
Same excellent DualSense hardware underneath (haptics, adaptive triggers, speaker)
Limited release window adds a bit of genuine collector’s value
Paired perfectly with launch day for one of the best games of the year
What I Didn’t
Zero functional difference from the roughly $85 base DualSense
Pure premium-for-aesthetics purchase, easy to talk yourself out of if you are budget conscious
Limited stock meant a real risk of missing out entirely if I had waited even a week
The Value Verdict
Rating: 3/5
Judge this one by what it actually is: a paint job on hardware you would probably buy anyway. If you love Astro Bot and want the shelf piece to match, it delivers exactly what it promises and nothing more. If you are looking at this as a controller upgrade, save the premium and get the base model instead.
Game Review · Purchased September 6, 2024 · $89.59 CAD via EB Games
Astro Bot. Photo: PlayStation Store
The Setup
Astro Bot took home the Game Awards’ Game of the Year trophy for 2024, and it did so as a pure, joyful 3D platformer built from the ground up to show off exactly what the PS5 and DualSense controller can do, level by inventive level.
The Review
I bought the physical copy on launch week alongside the limited edition controller and digital deluxe upgrade covered elsewhere in this series, and the game more than justified going all-in on day one. Every level introduces a new mechanic, gadget, or gimmick tied specifically to the DualSense’s haptics and adaptive triggers, and rather than the usual pattern of a few standout ideas stretched across a whole game, Astro Bot keeps generating fresh ideas at a pace that rarely lets up across its full runtime.
This has been widely compared to the best Mario platformers of the current era, and having played through it, that comparison holds up: tight controls, generous but fair difficulty curve, and a level of craft and polish in every individual level that most platformers, even good ones, do not sustain for an entire game.
What I Liked
Constant stream of fresh ideas and mechanics, level after level
Some of the best use of DualSense haptics and adaptive triggers in any PS5 game
Tight, satisfying platforming controls
Genuinely joyful tone throughout
What I Didn’t
As a mascot platformer, it will always have a lower ceiling of mainstream attention than bigger franchise names, despite deserving comparison to the best of them
Some players may find the difficulty curve too gentle if they want a harder platforming challenge
The Verdict
Rating: 5/5
This is the rare full-price game that consistently gets recommended as worth buying at launch rather than waiting for a sale, and having played it, I agree completely.
DLC Review · Purchased August 31, 2024 · $12.31 CAD via PSN
PowerWash Simulator: Alice’s Adventures Special Pack. Photo: Steam
The Setup
Listed in my own records simply as “Alice in Wonderland,” this is officially PowerWash Simulator’s Alice’s Adventures crossover pack, sending you through a grime-covered version of Wonderland armed with nothing but a pressure washer.
The Review
Consistent with every other entry in this crossover line, the whimsical, slightly surreal aesthetic of Alice in Wonderland translates well into the game’s cleaning-focused gameplay loop, and the level design leans into the property’s most recognizable imagery in ways that reward familiarity with the source material without requiring it. By this point in the year, having bought several of these packs already, the consistency of quality across the whole line had become its own kind of reassurance, I no longer hesitated before buying a new one.
What I Liked
Whimsical, well-realized Wonderland-themed levels
Consistent quality with the rest of the crossover line
Low price, low risk
What I Didn’t
Same short-runtime tradeoff as every pack in the series
Nothing here breaks new ground for the format at this point in the line’s history
The Verdict
Rating: 4/5
On brand with the rest of this DLC line’s reliably good value. By this point in the year, PowerWash Simulator’s crossover team had fully earned my trust to just buy on release.
Game Review · Purchased August 31, 2024 · $29.95 CAD via PSN
Life is Strange Remastered Collection. Photo: PlayStation Store
The Setup
This collection bundles remastered versions of the original Life is Strange and its prequel, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, cleaning up visuals, animations, and lip sync from the original last-generation releases, timed ahead of Double Exposure’s launch later the same year.
The Review
I picked this up specifically to refresh my memory before Double Exposure, and it turned out to be exactly the right call. The visual and technical upgrades are meaningful without changing the fundamental experience that made these games resonate in the first place: strong, grounded character writing, a distinctive time-rewind mechanic that the original built its entire narrative structure around, and a willingness to sit with difficult, real emotional material that set the series apart from a lot of its contemporaries when it first launched.
For anyone who only played these on previous-generation hardware, or never played them at all, this remains the definitive way to experience the story that everything else in the franchise, Double Exposure included, builds on.
What I Liked
Two well-regarded narrative games bundled for well under $30
Meaningful visual and technical improvements over the originals
Essential context before playing Double Exposure
Strong, still-resonant character writing years later
What I Didn’t
If you already own and have played the originals extensively, the remaster alone may not feel like a necessary re-buy
Core gameplay remains simple by modern standards, this is a narrative experience first
The Verdict
Rating: 4/5
Especially as a lead-in to Double Exposure, this is a strong deal: two well-regarded narrative games, cleaned up and modernized, for under $30.
Hardware Review · Purchased July 18, 2024 · $713.15 CAD ($506.76 USD) via Uturnaudio.com
The U-Turn Audio Orbit Plus. Photo via U-Turn Audio.
Every collection of receipts has one purchase that does not really belong with the rest, and for 2024, this was mine.
The Background
I have owned a couple of cheap, all-in-one turntables over the years, the kind that come with built-in speakers and a suitcase-style lid, and they were fine as an introduction but never satisfying as an actual listening experience. By mid-2024 I wanted to do this properly: a real hi-fi component, built by people who actually care about turntable design, rather than a novelty appliance shaped like one.
U-Turn Audio makes exactly that case for themselves. They are a small manufacturer out of Woburn, Massachusetts, hand-assembling their Orbit line in-house rather than outsourcing to a generic factory, and the line is specifically designed to be upgraded piece by piece over time (better cartridge, better platter material, an acrylic dust cover, and so on) instead of being replaced outright once you outgrow the base model. I ordered directly from their site rather than through a retailer, which is how the charge shows up in USD on my card even though I am in Canada.
Living With It
Setup took maybe twenty minutes, most of which was carefully balancing the tonearm and checking tracking force with the included tools, a process U-Turn walks you through clearly rather than assuming prior turntable experience. That attention to a smooth setup experience tracks with the brand’s whole reputation: this is a company that wants first-time buyers to succeed, not just enthusiasts who already know what they are doing.
The actual sound quality difference versus my old all-in-one player was immediate and obvious, not a subtle audiophile distinction you need trained ears to notice. Vocals sit clearer in the mix, bass has actual definition instead of being a vague rumble, and surface noise on well-kept records is noticeably lower thanks to a proper platter and belt-drive motor isolating vibration the way a cheap turntable simply does not.
What I appreciate most, a year-plus in, is that this does not feel like a purchase I will outgrow. If I want a better cartridge down the line, or the acrylic platter upgrade, those exist as add-ons rather than requiring a whole new turntable. The honest tradeoff: this is a genuine hi-fi component, and it asks a little more of you than a plug-and-play system. You need a separate amp or powered speakers, and you need to actually care about things like anti-skate and tracking force, at least a little, to get the most out of it.
What I Liked
Immediately, clearly better sound than any all-in-one turntable I have owned
Hand-assembled build quality that feels purposeful, not mass-produced
Genuine upgrade path if I want to improve components later instead of replacing the whole unit
Setup process designed for turntable beginners, not just enthusiasts
What I Didn’t
Requires a separate amp or powered speakers depending on configuration, an extra cost and extra research
Not a casual, walk-away appliance the way a suitcase player is
At $713 CAD, this is a real financial commitment for what is, at the end of the day, one hobby among several
The Value Verdict
Rating: 5/5
If you just want to spin records occasionally without thinking about it, this is more turntable, and more money, than you need. But if you are serious about actually listening to vinyl rather than displaying it, this is one of the best entry points into real hi-fi you can buy, built by a company that clearly still cares about the format.
Destiny 2: The Final Shape Collector’s Edition. Photo via Noble Knight Games.
Pre-ordering a collector’s edition means making a bet almost a year before you know if it paid off. This is how mine landed.
The Background
I put money down on The Final Shape Collector’s Edition back in 2023, well before the game’s story content, release timeline, or even final box contents were fully locked in. That is simply how Destiny 2 collector’s editions work: Bungie announces the tiers, you pick a lane based on trust in the studio and love for the franchise, and then you wait. The charge did not actually hit until 2024, closer to launch, which is why this shows up in my 2024 spreadsheet despite the pre-order going back a year earlier.
The Final Shape mattered more than a typical expansion because it was billed, correctly as it turned out, as the closing chapter of the entire Light and Darkness saga that has run through Destiny since the very first game. For someone who has put real hours into this universe, that context is the whole reason a collector’s edition made sense at all.
Living With It
Collector’s editions live or die on physical execution, and Bungie’s track record here has genuinely been inconsistent across past expansions, some tiers landing beautifully, others feeling thin for the price. This one landed on the better side of that history for me: the included statue and art book both felt like genuine collector-grade items rather than an afterthought bundled onto a digital purchase, and the packaging itself was clearly designed with display in mind rather than just shipping efficiency.
The digital side (season content, exclusive cosmetics, and the expansion’s exotic weapons and armor) delivered exactly what was promised at launch, and playing through The Final Shape’s campaign with the knowledge that this was the actual conclusion to a decade of storytelling gave the whole experience a weight that a standard edition purchase would not have carried in quite the same way.
The honest caveat, and the reason I cannot universally recommend this to anyone reading who is not already a Destiny player: none of this makes sense outside the context of years of investment in the game’s lore.
What I Liked
Physical items felt like genuine collector-grade quality, not an afterthought
Meaningful send-off for a decade-long storyline, which added real emotional weight
Digital content and exotics delivered exactly as promised at launch
A noticeably stronger collector’s edition than some of Bungie’s past efforts
What I Didn’t
Pre-ordering a year out is a genuine leap of faith with no guarantee on final quality
Entirely dependent on prior investment in the franchise to justify the price
Bungie’s collector’s edition track record has been inconsistent enough that trust, not certainty, is what you are buying on
The Value Verdict
Rating: 4/5
For a general audience, this is an easy pass, it simply does not translate outside the context of the game. As a longtime Guardian who wanted a real physical marker for the end of the saga, I got exactly what I hoped for: a well-made shelf piece and a proper closing chapter, at a price that only makes sense to people already this deep in.
Toys & Collectibles Review · Purchased May 27, 2024 · $782.99 CAD via Vonado
A comparable large-scale Tremortusk build. Photo: MOC Brick Store
Some builds test your patience. This one tested my table space, my wrists, and eventually my patience too, in that order.
The Background
Like the Thunder Claw covered earlier in this series, the Tremortusk is an unofficial fan design rather than a licensed LEGO product, this one modeled after the massive armoured machine from Horizon Forbidden West. The specific design lineage traces back to well-known MOC creators in the Horizon fan-building space (versions of this build by designers like Kaelfros are widely recognized within that community), running into the thousands of pieces in its larger configurations, making it one of the most ambitious machine builds the compatible-brick space has produced for this franchise.
Purchased the same day as the Ghost and Star Wars Hangar, this was the most expensive single item in that particular haul, and by piece count, arguably the most demanding build in my entire 2024 collection.
Living With It
This is not a build you sit down and finish in one sitting, or realistically even one day. The Tremortusk’s four-legged stance, articulated tusks, and heavily plated shell require careful, methodical assembly, and I found it genuinely benefited from being broken into several shorter sessions rather than one marathon attempt, both for focus and for hand fatigue with a build this dense.
The payoff for that time investment is real. Once complete, the sheer scale and weight of the finished model communicates the source creature’s intimidating presence in a way smaller builds simply cannot. Leg joints held their pose under the model’s considerable weight without sagging, which speaks well of the engineering behind the design even though it is an unofficial, fan-originated build rather than a professionally tested LEGO Group product.
If I am being fully honest, this is the one build in my whole collection where I would genuinely recommend clearing your schedule before starting rather than assuming you can knock it out over a single weekend the way I did with some of the other large sets in this series.
What I Liked
The single most impressive and imposing finished build in my entire collection
Strong structural engineering, held its pose under real weight without sagging
Genuinely challenging and rewarding build process for anyone who enjoys the assembly itself
A machine design that has no official LEGO equivalent at any scale
What I Didn’t
A serious time commitment, realistically multiple sessions rather than a single weekend
Physically demanding to assemble given the sheer part density
Among the most expensive single items in my entire 2024 spending
The Value Verdict
Rating: 5/5
If you love Horizon and want a genuine display centrepiece, this delivers more presence and engineering ambition than anything else in my collection. Just go in with realistic expectations about the time commitment, this is not a weekend project, it is closer to a small ongoing hobby of its own for however many sessions it takes you.
Toys & Collectibles Review · Purchased May 27, 2024 · $584.99 CAD via Vonado
A comparable large-format Ghost (VCX-100) build. Photo: MOC Brick Land
Three months after the big February haul, I went back for more, and this was the first purchase of round two.
The Background
The Ghost, the VCX-100 light freighter piloted by Hera Syndulla in Star Wars Rebels (and later appearing in Ahsoka), has a devoted fanbase that LEGO’s official catalogue has never fully satisfied. LEGO has released Ghost sets before, but always at a smaller, more compact scale than fans of the ship have wanted. The compatible-brick and MOC community has filled that gap repeatedly, with several well-regarded fan designs running well past 2,500 pieces and including full interior cabin and cockpit detail that the official smaller sets simply do not have room for.
What I bought from Vonado follows that same large-format tradition, and at $584.99 it represented my first big purchase of a second, separate haul in late May, alongside the Star Wars Hangar and Horizon Tremortusk sets covered next in this series.
Living With It
The scale difference versus LEGO’s own official Ghost sets is the whole point, and it delivers on that promise. This build includes real interior detail: a cockpit you can actually see into, a cabin area referencing the ship’s crew quarters, and a level of hull articulation and greebling (the small mechanical surface detailing that makes a sci-fi ship look lived-in rather than smooth and toy-like) that smaller official sets simply do not have the piece budget to include.
Assembly ran a full weekend, broken into clear sub-sections (hull, interior, mandibles, landing gear) that made the overall size manageable despite the piece count. Structural rigidity held up well once complete, an important detail on a ship this large where sagging or drooping sections would undercut the whole display.
For anyone who grew up on Rebels or came to the ship through Ahsoka, seeing this ship rendered at a scale that actually matches how significant it feels on screen, rather than the compact official version, is a genuinely different experience than owning the smaller LEGO set.
What I Liked
Scale and interior detail that no official LEGO Ghost set has matched
Strong structural rigidity despite the large footprint
Manageable, clearly organized build sequence despite the high piece count
A real payoff for fans specifically because the official market has underserved this ship
What I Didn’t
A serious weekend-length time commitment, not a casual build
Large finished footprint that needs a genuinely sizeable shelf or display case
Price reflects the gap-filling nature of the product, this is not a budget option
The Value Verdict
Rating: 5/5
For Rebels and Ahsoka fans specifically, this is close to a must-buy within the compatible-brick space, precisely because it does something the official market has never done. If the Ghost means something to you, this is the version of it worth owning.
Toys & Collectibles Review · Purchased May 27, 2024 · $775.99 CAD via Vonado
A comparable large-scale Star Wars hangar bay diorama. Photo: MOC Brick Land
Buying a large diorama base right after buying a large ship is either very smart planning or a very effective upsell. I will let you decide which this was.
The Background
Purchased the same day as the Ghost (VCX-100) covered previously, this large hangar and diorama-style set is designed to give one or more ships somewhere purposeful to sit, complete with ground crew figures, support vehicles, and hangar bay detailing, rather than leaving an expensive ship model to sit awkwardly on a bare shelf. Modular hangar and display bases like this are a popular category within the MOC community specifically because official LEGO rarely produces display bases at this scale on their own, usually bundling smaller docking or landing elements into a ship set itself rather than selling the base separately.
At $775.99, this is one of the pricier single items in my entire 2024 haul, and its value is genuinely tied to what you already own or plan to display alongside it.
Living With It
As a standalone build, the hangar delivers a lot of the same satisfaction as the Coruscant Diorama covered earlier in this series: real detail work in the flooring, support struts, and background elements that make it feel like a lived-in space rather than a blank pedestal. Ground crew figures and small support vehicles add points of visual interest at a smaller scale that contrast nicely against a large ship once one is placed inside it.
Where this set truly earns its keep is exactly what I bought it for: giving the Ghost, and potentially other ships from this collection, an actual context to sit in rather than floating awkwardly on an otherwise empty shelf. Once I placed the Ghost inside it, the combined display genuinely looked like a professional diorama rather than two separate, unrelated purchases sitting near each other, which is the best compliment I can give a display base like this.
On its own, without a ship to put inside it, this is a much harder purchase to justify. The value here is almost entirely relational to the rest of the collection, which is worth knowing before buying: this is an accessory purchase dressed up as a standalone set, and it should be budgeted for accordingly.
What I Liked
Genuinely elevates the display quality of ships placed inside it
Detailed enough to stand on its own rather than reading as a blank pedestal
Ground crew and support vehicle details add scale and life to the whole display
Transforms a collection of individual ships into something that reads as one cohesive scene
What I Didn’t
Value is almost entirely dependent on already owning (or planning to own) ships to display in it
One of the more expensive single items in the whole year’s spending
On its own, without context, this is just an expensive backdrop
The Value Verdict
Rating: 4/5
Rate this one based on what you already own. As a companion piece to the Ghost, it turned two separate purchases into one genuinely impressive combined display, which is worth something real. Bought in isolation, without ships to put inside it, this would be a much harder recommendation.
The Compulsive Canadian Gamer 