9 Years of Shadows Review (Nintendo Switch)
Metroid Fusion is one of my most favorite and cherished metroidvanias from my childhood. It’s not the perfect metroidvania by any means, but it’s memorable because of how it told a mysterious and intriguing story set in the Metroid universe alongside tight platforming combat and rewarding exploration. That said, it’s a short game – the last time I replayed Metroid Fusion, I was able to complete it...[Read More]
The Last Faith Review (PC)
One of my biggest issues that emerge when reading video game reviews occurs when a reviewer will express disliking a genre, reviewing a game of that genre, and then holding genre-defining gameplay elements as reasons to complain about the game being reviewed. I get it, we can’t expect every reviewer to love every genre, but we should attempt to be fair and as unbiased as possible when assessing a ...[Read More]
Blasphemous 2 Review (PS4 | PS5)
When I think of Soulslike games, I often think of FromSoftware titles that are punishing for the sake of being punishing, encouraging players to share their stories of pain and suffering with others around the water cooler at work or sharing clips on TikTok. Players are often exposed to dark fantasy-themed tales through environmental storytelling and inconsistent save points that only add to the s...[Read More]
Ebenezer and the Invisible World (PC)
When most of you think of Ebenezer Scrooge, you most often think of the phrase of “BAH HUMBUG.” Or, if you’re a goose/duck expert like me, you think of Scrooge McDuck diving into a sea of gold coins. For those who think of the man behind the Bah Humbug, your experience with Dickens’ A Christmas Carol may cause you to think of the ghosts of Christmas’ past, present, and future attempting to change ...[Read More]
Rogue Legacy 2 (PS5)
The past few years have seen some fantastic roguelite releases. I think of Hades, RETURNAL, Have a Nice Death, Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, OTXO, and Crypt of the Necrodancer, just to name a few. These titles successfully innovated on the roguelite genre by creating highly engaging yet variable gameplay loops that kept me, along with many other players, interested despite the typical ticket to entr...[Read More]
DOOMBLADE (PC)
Metroidvanias can be formulaic in their progression. You begin in a new place, your movement is restricted, your power is minimal, and your path is determined mainly by where you can’t go rather than where you can go. As you play, you unlock additional abilities that grant you access to areas that were once blocked off, be it a double jump, dashing, super jumps, wall running, and so forth. M...[Read More]
Ghost Song Review
Developer Old Moon understood what it wanted to do when it put together its 2D adventure Ghost Song. It is a focused effort in creating a game that puts players to the test with clever puzzles and a heavy-hearted storyline, while at the same time giving an honorable nod to Nintendo’s Super Metroid in structure, difficulty, entertainment, and creativity. While it lives in the shadow of Nintendo’s p...[Read More]
Moonscars Review
Torturous games these days are generally big hits. I think Dead Cells started the most recent trend of platform-action games that are incredibly difficult to conquer, but at the same time add charm to the process of slowly driving yourself bonkers. One of the strongest parts of Dead Cells is its backend structure which makes the constant dabble in dangers worth the journey. Following the path that...[Read More]
Souldiers soldiering on from Dear Villagers
Madrid, Spain (Oct. 21, 2021) – Working in partnership with publisher Dear Villagers (The Forgotten City, ScourgeBringer), indie studio Retro Forge Games has announced that their debut ‘Souldiers’ will be released on Switch as well as PC, with a launch planned for Spring 2022. To celebrate the announcement they also published a full game reveal trailer. Souldiers wraps Metroidvania explorati...[Read More]
Betrayer: Curse of the Spine Impressions
Betrayer: Curse of the Spine is a 2D Metroidvania with mechanics focusing on a soft RPG system, including leveling and crafting. These core concepts come together well in the 10 hours during my preview period for the game, with each of them playing into the other smoothly as the player explored the sprawling and maze-like maps of the world. Players will collect resources such as herbs and find upg...[Read More]
Metroidvania game “The Light of The Darkness” from Brazilian QUARTOMUNDO wins in Italy
The Nordic Game Discovery Contest (NGDC) is online and on the move with its fifth season, now presenting its most recent qualifier which was won in Italy, more precisely online with the DStars Connects conference. The Light of the Darkness from QUARTOMUNDO blends Castlevania progression, exploration and RPG aspects with Legacy of Kain story, dialogue and fan theories. It is a Metroidvania game ins...[Read More]
Ori and the Will of the Wisps Review
To say that to play Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an emotional rollercoaster would be an understatement. Filled with incredible, joyful highs and soul-crushing lows, Will of the Wisps is one of the few games in the last year that has truly held a vice grip on my heart. Developed by Moon Studios, this action-adventure Metroidvania is masterfully crafted and manages the perfect balance of intrigu...[Read More]