Let's talk games.
God of War IV is the latest example of a welcome trend in the modern game industry, where an established gameplay model is used as a vehicle to tell a moving, emotional story. It works for Spec Ops: The Line (third person shooter), Horizon Zero Dawn (open world action/adventure), and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (hack’n’slash action) and it certainly works here.
A certain kind of player will absolutely relish this challenge. You probably already know if you’re the kind of player I’m talking about–and if you are, by all means, buy this game.
Now, you’re probably wondering what about this game makes me so conflicted–since so far so good, right?
It doesn’t matter if Finding Paradise fundamentally needs to be a game— what’s important is that artists like Kan Gao are starting to tell more mature stories using the medium. There’s a real emotional heart to Finding Paradise, and it’s every bit as resonant a mediation on the human condition as any novel, film, play, or other form of “high art.”
Caught amidst a torrential storm of shit-posting, down-trending Reddit comments, and sheer mockery of their loot box progression system, EA was battered and beaten over a game that should have been a complete layup. So, what went wrong?
The scavenger hunts also demonstrate why Nintendo deserves the best game direction award, as The Champions’ Ballad is a virtuoso demonstration of non-combat difficulty.
Studio MDHR’s Cuphead is a run-and-gun side-scroller that follows closely in the footsteps of 2D action titans like Megaman and Super Mario. Like these predecessors, the game requires precise timing, platforming skills, and pattern recognition to beat bosses and progress through the four main areas of the game. But, Cuphead is much more than an attempt to recreate the glory days of side-scrollers and platformers. It is a unique game with its own challenging twists and incredible art style that pays homage to the era of 1930’s Cel Animation.
After last year’s epic installment to the supernaturally athletic treasure hunters we all know and love, the Uncharted series returns once again with its latest title, The Lost Legacy.
I just think that Little Nightmares had an ocean’s worth of potential and it only gave me a rowboat’s worth of payout.
Written and uploaded by Drew Beyer // Edited by Andrew Busch // All images from Snake-Pass.com I’m not very good at being a snake. I add this to the ever-growing list of strange life lessons I’ve from gleaned from video games thanks to Snake Pass, a recent indie title. I’m not entirely sure what to do with this information, but […]
Written by Joe Ahart // Edited by Andrew Busch // Banner image courtesy of Chance Game Studios Whenever I play games on my phone, I always remember back to when Doodle Jump was the biggest deal in the world, and looking at the contrast for games today amazes me. Seeing games come so far never fails to impress, and […]
I blame Hidetaka Miyazaki for the countless hours of my life I’ve spent seething in anger, awash in the dull light of a tv, equal parts spellbound and infuriated by his incredible Dark Souls series.
Written and uploaded by Drew Beyer // Edited by Andrew Busch // Feature image courtesy of Zelda.com “My god, this game is horrible,” my friend Andrew Huber says, returning to Earth after spending twelve straight hours immersed in Breath of the Wild’s gorgeous rendition of Hyrule. He means “horrible” in the sense that once you start playing this newest installment […]
One of our editors spent the last week taking a close look at Wildlands and gathering his thoughts.
Written by Joe Ahart, Drew Beyer, and Andrew Busch // Edited and Uploaded by Andrew Busch Three of us spent last week playing through Night in the Woods and writing these reviews separate from one another. We only started to have a conversation about the game once we had written our thoughts so none of these opinions were dependent on someone else’s views. […]
Think about the worst dinner party you have ever had to attend. One where you sit down at the table and people start to make those politically charged comments that make you start to shift in your seat. You think to yourself, “Wow, I wish I could be anywhere but here.” Now imagine a similar dinner where you wake up […]
