Te Papa Tongarewa museum in Wellington is undertaking a new curatorial project with the aim of highlighting Ainu artifacts in the museum’s collection, telling stories of Japanese migration to New Zealand, and exploring the shared histories of colonisation between indigenous people of Aotearoa and Japan. The Cipiyak project—named after the …
The King of Fighters is among the most significant and longest-running fighting game series, but its history has never really been comprehensively told. That’s set to change next month, with SNK partnering with Bitmap Books to release The King of Fighters: The Ultimate History, a deep dive into the history …
As an epic poem with its roots in the stories told by travelling bards, telling the story of the Genpei War from a wide range of perspectives, The Tale of the Heike isn’t exactly an easy thing to adapt—into any medium, let alone an 11-part anime series. But by drawing …
Unfolded: Camellia Tales is now available on Steam, giving players a chance to explore the folklore and tragic history of Korea’s Jeju Island through puzzles, poetry, and hand-drawn art. With Unfolded, South Korean indie studio COSDOTS aims to shed some light on the Jeju Uprising of 1948, when the violent …
At a glance, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey looks nothing like the series early days. It leans heavily into role-playing game systems, more so even than last year’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, to the point that many liken it to The Witcher and BioWare’s games. Stealth still plays a big role, but depending …
Wulverblade feels like a game made for two wildly different audiences. On one hand, it’s an over-the-top, cartoonishly violent beat-’em-up that harks back to the likes of Golden Axe; on the other, it’s a game steeped in fascinating real-world history, with a wealth of information to share. But to developer …
It didn’t take long for Assassin’s Creed Origins to blow me away. It wasn’t the game’s stunning re-creation of Ptolemaic-era Egypt that did it. It wasn’t the meticulous authenticity or the impressive production values. No, the thing that sold me within minutes of firing up the game was when main …
When I reviewed Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds last month, I wrote at length about the lengths and detail that game goes to in keeping it as historically accurate as possible. Even though it’s a work of fiction, it’s one of the best accounts of the Shinsengumi that you’ll find in English, and its …
Many will come to Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds for the beautiful boys, but what struck me most about the game is its attention to detail and historical accuracy. Note: There are some minor spoilers in this review. It’s bizarre to me that video games haven’t really tapped into the potential of …
