Dreamscaper (Switch)
Cassidy is a moderately normal young woman. She struggles with making a human connection. A tragic past event has put her guard up. Anxiety weakens her ability to communicate. And she can’t get a good night’s sleep. These days, though, who can? But Cassidy’s restless nights are plagued by a deadly dream world, twisted by her subconscious. In her dreams, her real world issues coag...[Read More]
NBA 2K22 (PS5)
The NBA 2K franchise has seen its ups and downs over the last decade. As with any sports franchise, striking a balance between realistic simulation and fun has never been more difficult. NBA 2K22 is no different as it strives to fine-tune its multitude of gameplay systems and weave it into an overall experience that is as fun to play as it is to look at. Even though many, if not all, of NBA 2K22’s...[Read More]
Garden Story
There came a point in Garden Story after I had learned how to fish items out of the water, collect world lore, break rocks with a hammer, revitalize plants with dew, and survive a day/night cycle that the game taught me how to craft. Garden Story had introduced several wrinkles in its Link to the Past-like homage that it had become more than just a top-down action game. Not only was I in full-blow...[Read More]
The Medium (PS5)
In a year that has brought players Resident Evil Village and Little Nightmares II, it would be understandable that The Medium has lost some of its place in the horror spotlight. Released earlier this year exclusively on Xbox Series X/S and PC, Bloober Team’s foray into third-person horror suffered from being delayed as a launch title, out of the ravenous grasp of 2020’s holiday season....[Read More]
Life is Strange: True Colors
Once Alex Chen left her bus and stepped foot in the small Colorado town of Haven Springs, I clicked the touchpad on my DualSense, checking her phone. I was greeted to a cluster of text messages to a character I had never met from characters I had never met, many that I never would across Life is Strange: True Colors‘ five chapters. The snooping would have to wait. Alex was on her way to meet...[Read More]
Deathloop
Deathloop defies expectations. As a player who has keenly watched the numerous trailers for Deathloop since its announcement I went in expecting a number of things. When I first saw Colt teleport across a surface I thought, “Oh, that’s Blink from Dishonored.” When the cyclical, time-looping plot was revealed I thought, “Oh, that’s the trippy narrative from Prey.”...[Read More]
No More Heroes 3
During Travis Touchdown’s fight against the Number 10 alien in the Galactic Superhero Ranking he became enveloped in Gundam-style armor and took to space to continue the duel. I barely had a clue what I was doing. The tutorial for the armor made a little bit of sense as it implied I just needed to move the camera around to lock on Mr. Black Hole–the #10 guy–and his weakpoints. Af...[Read More]
Aliens: Fireteam Elite Review
We enter through a decrepit blast door, taking in the scene around us. It’s quiet, not a soul in sight. We push forward through the grime-laden hallways that once housed the hopeful and hopeless alike—colonists. We know the foe that awaits us around the corner, the evil that will almost assuredly end our lives, but that’s why we’re there. We’re there to kick their ass. Further down the hallway, an...[Read More]
Tribes of Midgard
If you are the type of player who can easily corral a group of friends or is prone to openly chatting in silent lobbies, Tribes of Midgard may be for you. In fact, you’re the type of player who will likely enjoy the game the most. Over my several dozen hours with Tribes of Midgard, the times I had the most fun were when I loaded into a match where several people were openly talking, whether ...[Read More]
Cris Tales
Cris Tales is one of those games that will be strapped with the somewhat flattering “love letter” moniker. When developers grow up on a diet of specific consoles and games, it’s hard not to imagine they would wish to craft their interpretation of a childhood classic. If you told me developers Dreams Uncorporated and SYCK were devotees to Chrono Trigger, any SNES Final Fantasy, Br...[Read More]
Death’s Door
The Legend of Zelda all too often serves as a jumping off point of comparing and contrasting a vast number of adventure games. I suppose it’s difficult to separate how influential Link’s 35-year journey has been and how many developers around my age grew up slashing at Ganon with the Master Sword and have been inspired to make their own narratives about heroism. Acid Nerve’s Deat...[Read More]
Where the Heart Leads
Where the Heart Leads invoked memories of The Novelist, a “narrative adventure” I played in my early days of reviewing games. When The Novelist released in 2013, Gone Home was on the mouths of everyone. For me, that period felt strange and influential. I had spent so many years prior tearing through as many big budget games as my small budget would allow. The opportunity to play and re...[Read More]