If you assumed The DioField Chronicle was another “traditional” turn-based tactical RPG, guess again—we’re going real-time, this time. I clearly haven’t been paying close enough attention, because ever since its announcement a few months ago, I’ve just assumed The DioField Chronicle would be another turn-based tactical RPG of the Final …
Ah, the good old time paradox, bane of every temporal traveller and source of many a narrative twist. But what if time travel was so ordinary and so commodified that paradoxes were just a risk to be mitigated while making bank off people wanting to go back in time to …
While everyone else was getting excited about what a FromSoftware / George R. R. Martin mashup could bring, the announcement of Elden Ring honestly just made me feel tired. What could the Game of Thrones author bring to the table that Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team don’t already do better? …
Blue Reflection was, easily, one of the most mesmerising games of the last generation. Intimate, heartfelt introspection on depression and trauma, seen through the empowering lens of the magical girl genre and the utter, absolute beauty of Mel Kishida’s character designs is a recipe for something truly special. It’s also …
A few years ago, I would have told you that a flawless online experience for a fighting wasn’t possible, and certainly not for one as fast-paced and technical as Guilty Gear. Netcode tech has improved over the years, especially with increased take-up of a rollback framework rather than delay-based, and …
I don’t know what it is exactly, but there’s something incredibly satisfying about a good job system in a JRPG. Grinding levels is whatever, but farming JP for hours on end to master every job and find the best ways to mix and match their skills? That always hits the …
I have to be honest: I’ve never played Pikmin before, nor have I really had any inclination to. I never had a GameCube, so Pikmin and Pikmin 2 never even crossed my radar, and none of the nostalgic attachment when Pikmin 3 came out almost a decade later. All I …
Running a country is one job I’d never, ever want to have. The level of responsibility, the very real and wide-reaching consequences of your actions, the fact that no matter what you do, you’ll always leave someone feeling let down-—there’s no paycheck on the world that I think could be …
Last month, indie developer Benny Heller released Arachnowopunk, a single-button, infinite-runner metroidvania. It’s a concept that doesn’t sound like it should work—the defining features of the genre are a variety of different abilities that improve your ability to explore, and the freedom of movement to actually do that exploring. How …
There are some big expectations being placed on Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. This is the first new Crash Bandicoot game in a while, and an explicit attempt to return to what made the original trilogy so popular. Doing those beloved games justice with a remake like Crash Bandicoot …
