There’s nothing quite like El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. Sure, a stylish action game that goes heavy on the religious imagery makes the likes of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta an obvious point of reference—indeed, director Sawaki Takeyasu worked on the original Devil May Cry as a character designer—but …
The premise behind Staxel is simple, but compelling: what if you mixed the farm life sim of Story of Seasons or Stardew Valley with Minecraft’s block-building creativity? It seems like a natural fit: disparate as the genres are in a lot of ways, they have similar rhythms to their relaxing …
For just shy of 20 years, WarioWare has been down the delightfully absurd corner of Nintendo’s repertoire with frantic medleys of bizarre “microgames”: bite-sized minigames, each lasting only a couple of seconds, played in rapid succession to hilarious outcomes. WarioWare: Get It Together continues that legacy, but with a big …
Deathloop is the latest in an increasingly rare breed of games that value focus above everything else. Arkane’s latest immersive sim adapts the freeform design philosophies of its longer and larger triple-A contemporaries into a laser-focused experience more concerned with minutiae than grand vistas. The game’s shorter length (compared to …
A bold fresh start for the series, Tales of Arise masterfully turns JRPG familiarities into an incisive reflection on imperial oppression. Rebellious uprisings against oppressive, imperial regimes are a JRPG staple. Slave revolts and underground resistance movements are about as familiar to the genre as fighting gods and amnesiac, spiky-haired …
Button City might just be the quintessential “wholesome game”. It’s got the low-poly graphics, the cute, anthropomorphised characters, and the hyper-saturated pastel colour scheme. It’s got a simple but moving story about making friends and finding a sense of belonging, told through an assortment of quirky loveable misfits, pop culture …
There’s something wonderfully, refreshingly small about Arietta of Spirits. It’s a pleasant surprise, too: with its clear Legend of Zelda inspiration, vibrant pixel-art depiction of a beautiful world, and premise of venturing between the real world and that of the spirits, it’s easy to assume Arietta would be some sort …
There’s a lot to like about My Time At Portia. First released in 2019 for PC and consoles, its blend of comfy, crafting-centric life sim with a slice of adventure and a little dash of mystery made it an easy game to just lose yourself in for a while. But …
Psychonauts 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2005 cult hit Psychonauts, is a game I can only describe as “mental”. It’s apt, as the game is “mental” in the way it is written and designed by the idiosyncratic mind of Tim Schafer and the Double Fine team, and in the …
Cotton isn’t exactly a household name, and that’s a damn shame. “Cute-’em-ups” are a delight, with their blend of super-cute presentation and classic shooter action, and 1991’s Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams and its handful of sequels more than earned their place alongside the TwinBees and Fantasy Zones of the world. …
