Directive 8020 Review
“You should totally save scum,” my friend whispered as they watched me enter a potentially harrowing scene in Directive 8020. I felt the same way. Wake-up procedures hadn’t gone as planned for the first wave of the Cassiopeia’s crew. Two Sleep Technicians were supposed to wake them up as they closed in on the planet of Tau Ceti f’s orbit. This handful of scientists, p...[Read More]
Call of the Elder Gods Review
After wrapping up Call of the Elder Gods‘ first chapter, I went to the PlayStation Store and downloaded 2020’s Call of the Sea. Developer Out of the Blue had created a compelling enough universe and I didn’t want to miss any detail. I remembered Call of the Sea being highly regarded by many for its puzzles and its story. And upon starting Call of the Elder Gods, I felt a twang of...[Read More]
Dead as Disco Early Access Review
Please let me take Dead as Disco back in time with me to the early 2010s. You better believe I would have put the thousands of mp3s I had downloaded to work. Remember those days? Back when mp3 blogs just gave you ways to download songs that you could upload to your iPod. Or your laptop actually had an optical drive and you could burn a CD that would play in your car. Now everything is streaming an...[Read More]
Crimson Desert Review
When Fallout 76 released in October 2018, I played it for maybe 20 hours the first week or two of launch. Most of my Destiny friends got the game because we were all fans of Bethesda’s work and could enjoy one of its worlds together. Time so often being currency, I ran out early on. For me, there wasn’t enough meat on the bone at launch and at its heart, Fallout 76 was still a Bethesda...[Read More]
The Spell Brigade Review
Vampire Survivors is my most-played game on an airplane. It doesn’t need an internet connection. I can use its endless waves of Castlevania knock-offs to potentially lull myself into a restless slumber in a cramped seat. I can upgrade a random stat after a match and feel accomplished. I’ve done it for years. Since poncle broke the mold and created a fusion of roguelikes, bullet hells, ...[Read More]
Life is Strange: Reunion Review
Life is Strange has always been about Max and Chloe inasmuch as Life is Strange has always been about people. When Max first used her powers to rewind time to save Chloe from death in that high school bathroom, it was less about science fiction and more about being human. The choices I made a decade ago came from an honest place; to help Max unravel the mysteries of Arcadia Bay and foster her rela...[Read More]
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss Review
The well-tread depths of H.P. Lovecraft’s vast oeuvre have been iterated upon and translated into countless forms of media. And at the center of it all often looms the monolithic, tentacled god Cthulhu. The Great Old One. A cosmic horror. It is an indecipherable terror that infects the mind and draws lesser men into incomprehensible worlds for whatever sinister purpose. Cthulhu is so promine...[Read More]
Pragmata Review
Minutes into Pragmata, lead character Hugh Williams expresses his distrust for robots and AI. He and his team have been summoned to the Earth’s moon to establish contact with a massive lunar research facility. As suspected, everything goes to hell. But not before it’s established that on this base, AI automation is heavily used and a substance called lunafilament seemingly can 3D print...[Read More]
TAMASHIKA Review
TAMASHIKA is very much a game you have played before. TAMASHIKA is very much a game you have not played before. TAMASHIKA presents a kind of quandary to a person wishing to encapsulate its whole in a kind of coherent manner, one that is digestible to the discerning eye who merely asks: “Should I play this or nah?” TAMASHIKA‘s developer, quicktequila, seems vaguely indifferent abo...[Read More]
People of Note Review
People of Note‘s soundtrack has been playing in my head for days which, for a game so focused on the magic of music, is certainly worth praise. And I swear I didn’t plan for that to rhyme but much like this game, surprises can always happen. As one gets older, it’s easy for exhaustion to cannibalize our enthusiasm. Over the years I have watched the industry go through numerous bo...[Read More]
ChainStaff Review
You need to play ChainStaff just to see the crazy shit developer Mommy’s Best Games cooked up. Level after level I was astounded at the visual barrage of inventive, weird creatures and worlds on display. Would I have a back of the box quote it might simply be “What the fuck?” in italicized Comic Sans with maybe a Wingding or two to obscure the expletive. My dudes, ChainStaff is s...[Read More]
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered Review
Playing Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered back in the winter of 2024, I was able to finally tick one game off the abyss that is my backlog. When a developer brings back a beloved but long-forgotten series to the modern era, there’s always risks to consider. Preserving what made the original so applauded by fans and/or critics is important. Lose that spirit and you’ve lost any ...[Read More]