Indika Review
Between each new scene, Indika harshly cuts to black. The effect is a whiplash. Narratively. Mechanically. Technically. A fall down a hole or a jump through a window or a gunshot ringing out. Indika refuses to be cohesive, rejecting to make a complete circle of sense. Its most basic throughline becomes muddled with questionable events and indecipherable landscapes. The director framing the action ...[Read More]
Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game Review
Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game. What a time to be alive, right? In a few years gaming will likely have tapped the final keg of horror movie properties to borrow from. The asymmetrical multiplayer genre has been a relative boon for franchises that never could be molded into sensible games. Like many, I was victimized by Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street for the NES. Those hone...[Read More]
Hauntii Review
Hauntii is one of those wonderful games that isn’t overshadowed by its intoxicating aesthetic. Undoubtedly, Moonloop Games’ debut title is one that could sell based on its trailer. Countless independent games over the years have battled for recognition through any number of quirks and often work to ensnare eyeballs through a sleek or–for a lack of a better word–haunting tra...[Read More]
Braid, Anniversary Edition Review
Reflecting on Braid‘s significance, one has to play with time. The landscape of 2008 was vastly different for gaming, for most media. In this moment I try to peel back the thick, foggy folds of time and remember August 2008, the month Braid released on Xbox Live Arcade. Poor aimless, hopeless Ben. Unlike Braid‘s main character Tim, I had no steadfast goal to cling to. Much like Tim, li...[Read More]
Crow Country Review
Crow Country is not a game meant for anyone who would look at it and think, “ew.” The blocky, polygonal characters. The scanlines eerily misting over the screen. The crunchy sound effects. It’s meant to shove players face-first into a nostalgic bath of PlayStation 1- and Nintendo 64-era trappings. When I was a teenager, I freebased this stuff. “The asylum I grew up in?̶...[Read More]
SaGa Emerald Beyond Review
It would be difficult to conceptualize SaGa Emerald Frontier to those, like me, who have no experience with the SaGa franchise. After the long, winding trail that was Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Emerald Beyond wasn’t necessarily a polar shift. Certainly, like Rebirth, Emerald Beyond is packed with quaint characters that are distinctly 90s-era JRPG vessels. There’s a capacity for multip...[Read More]
Stellar Blade Review
Stellar Blade marvelously glistens when viewed through the lens of a Golden Age PlayStation 2 game. There is a distinct feeling that specific era evokes. One where a console manufacturer was at the top of its game and publishers and developers were churning out bombastic, diverse, incredible videogames. It was a vibe that fueled the cocky, experimental Wild West of the PlayStation 3 as well. I loo...[Read More]
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU Review
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU excels most at storytelling, enveloping players in a rich, emotional journey. Often, that may not be the sentiment one wishes to hear from a game, rather a film or gripping piece of music. But using a videogame as a delivery vessel, Surgent Studios and creator Abubakar Salim have accomplished a harrowing task. My time with Tales of Kenzera: Zau was bookended by the death of m...[Read More]
Grandia HD Collection Review (PS5)
Grandia, unfortunately, has not had the staying power of numerous other long-running JRPG series players likely recognize. Unlike Final Fantasy, Ys, Dragon Quest, Shin Megami Tensei, Tales, or Trails, Grandia has long been dormant. With three numbered entries–the last being 2005’s Grandia III–and a short-lived MMORPG, it would be hard to argue that there is any kind of fervor beh...[Read More]
The Last Case of Benedict Fox: Definitive Edition Review
Rarely do we play games on “Day One” in their most optimal state. Often when I review games in their pre-launch state, a degree of lenience must be applied. It’s not uncommon for a patch that resolves known bugs or cleans up visuals to be applied the day before a game goes live for the rest of the world. Personally, I find it hard to judge a mildly messy review experience harshly...[Read More]
Rise of the Ronin Review
Rise of the Ronin‘s first hour came searingly close to breaking me. That shouldn’t come as a surprise for myself, who was thrown to the wolves across two Nioh games. As an immense fan of difficult games, Nioh 2 featured one of the few skill brick walls I’ve encountered during either casual play or during a review period. The fangs of that game sunk in deeply and I found myself at...[Read More]
Alone in the Dark Review
In the early 1990s a young, anxious Ben Sheene had to quit out of Alone in the Dark. Ben had only been used to 8-bit games on his Nintendo Entertainment System, where the concept of “scary” was a darkly-lit level and musical stings. This was a time, mind you, when Jason Voorhees in a purple jumpsuit killing camp counselors off-screen was violent. Or when eerie music began to play, sign...[Read More]