Looping Back to Loop Hero
In March, our resident racing aficionado and all-around fantabulous human Benjamine Branscum wrote a glowing review of Loop Hero. In short, Ben argues that there’s a pleasant surprise that comes from playing a simple game of looping around and around, and worth considering on PC. However, it is now December (almost 2022, yeesh!!). Nine months since release, Loop Hero has also released on Nin...[Read More]
Serious Sam 4 (PS5) Review
“Why so serious, Sam?” was a question I repeatedly asked myself as I played Serious Sam 4 (PS5). After reviewing Doom Eternal on the Switch, I was excited for another opportunity to play a FPS demonfest on my PS5. Except, Serious Sam is far from serious. Gory? Sort of. Fun? Sort of. Equipped for the next-gen? Absolutely not. Serious Sam 4 is best described as a Doom meets Duke Nukem FP...[Read More]
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX Review (PC/Steam)
Picture this: It’s the early 2000s, you’re in middle school, and you’re bored with Pokemon. You got your hands on this new game for the Game Boy Advance that your friends are obsessed with. It’s like Pokemon, but you create monsters by typing in words and you actually raise them and *control* them in battles. Yep. That was my middle school experience: Investing almost 200 h...[Read More]
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story (PC/Steam)
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story was announced in Fall of 2020, and League of Legends fans like me became incredibly excited to explore the land of Runeterra in Riot Forge’s RPG. Not to be confused with Riot Games, League’s developers, Riot Forge is a publishing initiative comprised of Riot Games and other developers; Airship Syndicate developed this game. Ruined King was set to ...[Read More]
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Switch)
In late September, I was just as surprised as you when it was officially announced that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) was being remade for PS5 and that it a Switch port was being released to tide us over. As one who had never played the original (on XBOX, PC, iPhone, or Android), I was cautiously optimistic about what was in store. I knew that KOTOR had a cult following, I had a v...[Read More]
Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan Review
I’ve done my best to avoid being political in my reviews, but writing this particular review has proven to be challenging. As someone who has dabbled (and subsequently published) media research, I’ve spent several years of my life defending the notion that video games do significantly change our behavior. In more advanced terms: the “hypodermic needle theory” is bunk. IR...[Read More]
The Bear & The Admiral (Nintendo Switch)
A few weeks ago, fellow editor, dear friend, and head honcho Nathan Stevens reached out to me and asked if I was interested in playing The Bear & The Admiral. I hesitated, as I had never heard of it, nor its sole developer and publisher, Jack Boylan, nor had I seen much about it online. At time of publishing, it looks like there are no other critic reviews on Metacritic, either. I found a men...[Read More]
Flynn: Son of Crimson (PlayStation 5)
I love dogs, but I am sadly allergic (making my dream of owning a gigantic fluffy canine one that might never come to fruition). I recently followed a Twitter account whose sole purpose is to tell me if “I can pet the dog” in a game (or fox, if you’re playing Ghost of Tsushima); I use this Twitter account as a way to decide if I should pick up a game with a gigantic pupper in its...[Read More]
Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part 2 (Switch)
I know I was not the only one who was frustrated by the cliffhanger at the end of The Ancient Gods – Part 1. Perhaps frustrated is too strong a word; I was perplexed. After slogging through the annoying final boss that was Samur Maykr, I was left to learn that Slayer (Doomguy, if you’re nasty) went through all of this trouble to make…AN EVIL TWIN?! Thankfully, The Ancient Gods &#...[Read More]
Bravely Default II (PC)
The best JRPGs are those that give you a good reason to “grind” away through enemy encounters beyond “git gud.” Over the years, I’ve invested countless hours grinding through Final Fantasy and Tales games to “level up” my characters, often disappointed in how much time I was spending repeatedly defeating monsters for an upper hand in a massive (and potenti...[Read More]
Ion Driver (PS4)
I have hope for the future of the sci-fi racing genre, although fewer and fewer games that would fall into that category are released every year. While I did not play any of the F-Zero games that nostalgic Nintendo fans rabidly discuss on Reddit, I did play my fair share of the WipEout franchise from the PSP onward. The idea of obtaining insanely high speeds and making tight maneuvers in futuristi...[Read More]
NEO: The World Ends with You (PlayStation 4)
Fourteen years ago, Square Enix and Jupiter released the World Ends with You for the Nintendo DS, an action-JRPG set in modern-day Shibuya that very quickly became a best-selling DS game in Japan and North America. In 2018, TWEWY was ported to the Nintendo Switch, reminding players of an incredible JRPG from before 2010. Now, fourteen years after the release of the original game, Square Enix has b...[Read More]