I can’t remember the last time we had a year as good as 2017, in terms of the sheer number of excellent games. I played literally hundreds of games over the course of the year, with plenty of bonafide masterpieces among them. That all makes picking my favourite games of …
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (PS4, PSV) The majority of coverage of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana focused on its sub-standard localisation effort. Though that criticism was deserved, it overshadowed everything else that made Ys VIII such an enjoyable game. True to its franchise, Ys VIII is an action RPG …
Mattel’s Mega Bloks and Mega Construx toys have long been nipping at the heels of LEGO, but last year they made what is arguably their biggest play yet with the launch of a licensed Pokemon line. The sets cover a wide range of Pokemon, mostly from Generation 1, but with a few …
Shoot ’em ups are famous for their difficulty, but they also tend to find that sweet spot where the challenge is rewarding rather than frustrating. Most modern shmups will happily give you unlimited continues, letting the challenge from the game come from trying to keep that continue count as low …
“None of this is real. You’re not real. Rachel’s family isn’t real. This whole thing– It’s all just… theater.” “Well, you know what William Shakespeare said…” “Something about the whole world being a stage, so might as well act the fuck out of it?” “Nailed it.” “But I don’t want …
I always enjoy a good rogue-lite. I don’t much care for the more hardcore aspects of proper roguelikes, but I love the way games like Rogue Legacy and Children of Morta find a balance between the high stakes of permadeath and accessibility through meta progression systems. It’s into this camp …
Just in time for the holidays, Sony’s recently launched a handful of new games under the PlayLink banner. Like That’s You, released earlier this year, the new games are simple party games that use smartphones as controllers. I’m sure many folks will have less-than-fond memories of scrambling to find a …
Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier The biggest problem for Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier is that it’s difficult not to compare it with Hidden Agenda, and that’s not a kind comparison. Last Frontier is also a cinematic narrative game, but it’s a more straightforward one: the story plays …
Over the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion in support for entry-level game development tools like RPG Maker and GameMaker. Such tools were once written off as too simplistic to make “real” games, but the current indie boom has given these engines and the games made with them a …
It’s December, which means the “Best TV shows of 2017” lists are coming in thick and fast. On paper, it’s a time to recognize excellent, boundary-pushing television like The Handmaid’s Tale, Stranger Things, and The Good Place (and, apparently, Game of Thrones—apparently people are still watching that). For most people, …