Afterparty
What happens to us after we die? Where do we go? Is there a Heaven. Is there a Hell? Afterparty imagines Hell as a semi-tortuous, never-ending party. One where your deepest flaws and past mistakes persistently nag at you in the form of a personally assigned demon. But if you’re lucky enough, one of Hell’s numerous bars is open to drink the harsh reality away. Developed by Night School ...[Read More]
Door Kickers: Action Squad
Don’t let the simple execution of Door Kickers: Action Squad fool you… too much. On the surface, the game is very much a 2D platformer and shooter where players blast away bad guys as the good guys. Underneath that is a mildly tactical game about breaching rooms, rescuing civilians, and trying not to get brutally riddled with bullets. A few stages into Door Kickers: Action Squad and pl...[Read More]
Children of Morta
Children of Morta has all the trappings of familiarity. Being a roguelike with stylish–if not gorgeous–pixel art, developer Dead Mage has put itself into an already large box that is brimming with similar games. But Children of Morta is infinitely more than those familiar parts. It is a gripping game that takes the best elements of popular predecessors and funnels them into a tight, be...[Read More]
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier was one of the first games I ever reviewed. Seven years have passed since then. I’ve watched the sea change of various franchises as they’ve transitioned between generational shifts of consoles. Methods of storytelling have changed, familiar characters have undergone drastic makeovers. Worlds have grown to expansive size. Developers have s...[Read More]
The Surge 2
The Surge 2, like many sequels, is burdened with having to justify its existence. Tantamount is taking the core of the previous game and building on it to make a more cohesive, improved experience. Developers may trim the fat of what didn’t work in the first place or inject more attention and care into what was previously neglected. Or, possibly, you tweak all the great things and maintain t...[Read More]
Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 is the game where players open the door of a dilapidated wooden outhouse and a wad of cash ejects from the bowl with a brown squelch. Borderlands 3 is also the game where a glowing purple pistol is strapped to the door of that same outhouse; a pistol whose bullets will magically bounce off a critical hit and fly into the nearest secondary target. Borderlands 3 is a madcap game of end...[Read More]
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece
When I was growing up, educational games were about as well-intentioned and underwhelming as clothes for a Christmas present. Being on a healthy diet of Nintendo I was able to recognize the shortcomings in school offerings like Math Blaster. Solving math problems using the simplest of mechanics was elevated by the sole fact that I got to play a game during school hours. Mario is Missing! was one o...[Read More]
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint: Hands-on Preview
Minutes into Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, the tonal shift from its predecessor, Wildlands, is apparent. A small fleet of helicopters carrying 32 other Ghosts have been dispatched to the Auroa archipelago to investigate the mysterious sinking of the USS Seay. In an instant, Operation Greenstone commences. In an instant it is doomed. The helicopters are attacked and you, as Nomad, lead...[Read More]
The Blackout Club
The Blackout Club‘s prologue is a tantalizing appetizer. Once players begin to chew on this 30-minute morsel, they are introduced to a neighborhood-gone-wrong scenario that culls from the Hardy Boys, Stranger Things, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Lovecraftian sentiment. Our world is established in minutes. The town of Redacre is an island unto itself, there’s no cellular signal to t...[Read More]
They Are Billions (PS4)
They Are Billions is the type of game that thrives off the infinite permutations of random, chaotic moments. Those unexpected periods of time where the player is left surprised, gleeful, in awe, or hopelessly defeated make for the best and most relatable stories. They pique interest and incentivize experimentation. “Well I was so busy scouting out a ravaged town for materials that I failed t...[Read More]
Growtopia
For the better part of a decade, mobile devices have become an intrinsic part of modern parenting. Is little Johnny crying? Pull up YouTube on your phone and let him become absorbed in a video at full volume much to the ire of everyone in proximity who has to hear it too. I’ve seen kids beg for tablets and phones so they can plop down and poke at a screen and play mostly mindless games flood...[Read More]
Warhammer: Chaosbane
Before attending my first E3 I had virtually no knowledge of the Warhammer universe. Back in college, I was walking around a city in France with a friend and we passed by a comic book store next to a cathedral–you know, as one does. We looked inside and he was surprised at the amount of Warhammer merchandise inside, commenting that it must be a pretty big deal there. Over the years I’v...[Read More]