Alex Goldman, known for co-hosting the podcast Reply All and now the creator of Hyperfixed, has found himself deeply challenged by the recently released Hollow Knight: Silksong. Despite a love for difficult games, Goldman admits that Silksong's demanding boss encounters have led him to question his gaming habits. "I spend six hours on a boss and I'm like 'what is life?'" he stated.
Goldman detailed his experience, noting that while Hollow Knight presented its own frustrations, he felt a greater sense of progression. With Silksong, however, he finds himself consulting external guides more frequently to overcome obstacles, particularly citing The Last Judge boss at the end of Act One as a significant hurdle that led him to abandon that particular path. This experience has prompted him to reflect on his own aging reflexes and whether his affinity for punishingly difficult platformers might be waning.
This confrontation with difficulty stands in contrast to Goldman's long-standing affection for games like The Binding of Isaac. He estimates having around 9,000 hours in the game, though he qualifies this by mentioning he often leaves it running in the background. For Goldman, Isaac offers a unique loop where short play sessions can be interspersed with other tasks. He notes that while he found earlier versions of the game to be at a perfect skill level for him, the most recent iteration, Repentance, has presented a new level of challenge.
Beyond his current struggles and enduring favorites, Goldman also touched upon other titles in his PC library. He recently spent time with Arc Raiders, appreciating its slower, more deliberate controls and the ease with which players can succumb to environmental hazards, finding it a compelling contrast to the fluid parkour seen in online clips. His earliest installed games are Metal Slug 2 and 3, which he fondly remembers for their intricate pixel art and animated sprites, appreciating them more now without the need for arcade quarters.
Team Fortress 2 also holds a special place for Goldman, despite its current bot-filled state. He credits the game with opening his eyes to the possibilities of team-based gameplay and cooperation in a way that felt novel at the time. He maintains an affection for its unique and beautiful design, even if he doesn't play it frequently. Looking beyond gaming, Goldman highlighted Ableton, music production software, as an essential non-gaming application, valuing its intuitive interface for creative exploration and loop-based composition, which he finds more emotionally engaging than professional tools like Pro Tools.