Until Dawn Remake (PS5)
On my bingo card of ‘Games that will set the Internet on fire’, I had no idea that it would be the Until Dawn remake from developer Ballistic Moon. This game seemed like a slam dunk and no-brainer when it came to release and reception, as there are plenty of people out there who enjoyed the hell out of the first release. Now, while Digital Foundry has a wonderful visual breakdown of what works and...[Read More]
Astronaut: The Best Review
There’s nothing quite like screwing up so badly that you are rewarded for it. I’m sure it’s akin to working in the United States government, where you are flooded with money by doing absolutely nothing correctly. Well, Universal Happymaker has decided to make that sentiment into a video game with Astronaut: The Best. Astronaut: The Best puts the player in the driver’s seat of director for the FRSA...[Read More]
Fall of Porcupine Review
Some games have so many moving pieces and parts that you think you know it only to find out that you’ve misread what it is about completely. Playing Fall of Porcupine for the last couple of weeks, I thought I knew the game and made an assumption about its simplicity and personality. What I have gathered going into week three is that this game is far more than what I assumed. This simple game revol...[Read More]
Harmony: Fall of Reverie Review
Throughout my tenure as a video game writer, spanning over 20 years, one of the more delightful elements of choice for me in gameplay design has been branching narratives. While I think this harkens back to my enjoyment of Choose Your Own Adventure books in the 1980s, where you get to choose the fate of the character you’re reading about, I think it goes deeper than that where I need to be in cont...[Read More]
Road 96: Mile 0 Review
There’s nothing like a good prequel to set things straight. Road 96 came out a while ago and brought some interesting, yet relevant content to the gaming world. It presented a balanced dose of serious political conflict with budding friendships and branching choices. Escaping a past to an uncertain future was also thick in its narrative. And eerily enough, the political conflict and manipulation w...[Read More]
Long Live the Queen Review
Ratalaika Games put together an interesting simulator/Choose-Your-Own-Adventure narrative-driven game with Long Live the Queen. You get to essentially raise and educate a young soon-to-be Queen in the art of everything. The joys of this game are the specific attributes you work with to develop the queen the way you see fit. The less-than-joyous parts of the game are the number of unpredictable sce...[Read More]
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me gets a new trailer
That’s a good trailer. Enjoy the official release details below. Leading video game publisher and developer Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. today released the latest trailer for THE DARK PICTURES ANTHOLOGY: THE DEVIL IN ME, the season one finale in the series. The trailer showcases new gameplay features and the game’s narrative which promises to take players down the darkest path yet...[Read More]
Road 96 Review
DigiXart created an odd bird of a game with Road 96 but at the same time an interesting experiment on choice and maybe even something that runs parallel with a former president. The game’s core runs on a branching narrative where choices either lead the player to freedom/success or get them caught and detained. While there is a tiny bit of puzzle-solving to be had in the experience, the core gamep...[Read More]
Blake: The Visual Novel Review
When I think of a visual novel, I simply see moving pictures, beautiful graphics, and some good music underneath. The last review I did of a visual novel fits this exact description. Truly, though, it was a visual novel, so choices weren’t exactly an option. It was…a visual novel. There’s nothing wrong with that! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like wool was pulled over my eyes on what to expect. Any...[Read More]
Last Stop Review
Stories are what make games memorable. That’s a mantra I have stood by for years and I’m not changing it anytime soon. Narratives drive it all. I’m sure there is room for someone to argue, but this is my review and we have comments turned off. So, bleh. With that bold statement in place, that doesn’t mean a game can’t falter in other areas of gameplay design. While the story will surely be the fou...[Read More]