Don’t scratch too far beneath the surface, and it’d be easy to write off Harvestella as a somewhat undercooked mashup of JRPG and farming sim. Indeed, I’ve seen more than a few comments asking such lines since the game launched a few months ago (sorry for this extremely late review!), …
A compelling art style can do a lot for a game. Cuddle Monster Games’ Lone Ruin is a modest game from a small development team that doesn’t do anything to shake up the twin-stick roguelike formula, but the moody atmosphere conjured up by murky neon colours is enough to pull …
As far as video games are concerned, there is one attribute that I appreciate more than any other: entertainment value. And there aren’t many affairs more entertaining than an exceptional action game, something I haven’t had the opportunity to experience since Capcom’s brilliant Devil May Cry 5. Luckily for me, …
Spartacus. Lawrence of Arabia. Lord of the Rings. These presentations across various mediums can be tied together into a common thread with one word: Epic. In 2022, Sony Santa Monica’s God of War Ragnarok joins this thread as one of, if not the most epic video games in history, and …
Tales from the Borderlands was a quality game. The set pieces were brilliant and the characters were magnetically charismatic. It highlighted the exact strengths a narrative-driven experience needed to succeed and, crucially, established the tone needed to satisfy existing Borderlands fans as well as newcomers. This new sequel is devoid …
Before Final Fantasy Tactics, there was Tactics Ogre. It’s hard to overstate the significance of Yasumi Matsuno’s Super Famicom epic—not just in how heavily its ideas drove the iconic FF spinoff, but in how it influenced a whole breed of tactical RPGs. Even if you set that legacy aside, Tactics …
It took over 30 years for Ron Gilbert and Dan Grossman to finally be able to create their continuation to the Monkey Island franchise, and while there were other Monkey Island games released post-Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, they were completed and released post Ron Gilbert’s departure from LucasArts. As …
I’m just going to say this up front: I don’t really care about Batman. To me he’s always been a vehicle for stylish action movies or cool open-world video games. Aside from that, he’s just a libertarian power fantasy—a moneyed man that will do what that state can’t. And it’s …
I’ve never paid much attention to stance in a skating game. Riding switch–what’s normally your back foot in front, and vice versa—might get you a few extra points, but beyond that, in every game I’ve played, it’s superficial to the point of being unnoticeable. My skater faces whichever way they’re …
To say that the shooter market in 2022 is bursting at the seams would be an understatement. Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Fortnite—all are household names at this point. But despite the visual and mechanical differences, most still boil down to pointing an AK-47-adjacent-looking weapon at a target and pulling …
