Grandia HD Collection Review (PS5)
Grandia, unfortunately, has not had the staying power of numerous other long-running JRPG series players likely recognize. Unlike Final Fantasy, Ys, Dragon Quest, Shin Megami Tensei, Tales, or Trails, Grandia has long been dormant. With three numbered entries–the last being 2005’s Grandia III–and a short-lived MMORPG, it would be hard to argue that there is any kind of fervor beh...[Read More]
The Last Case of Benedict Fox: Definitive Edition Review
Rarely do we play games on “Day One” in their most optimal state. Often when I review games in their pre-launch state, a degree of lenience must be applied. It’s not uncommon for a patch that resolves known bugs or cleans up visuals to be applied the day before a game goes live for the rest of the world. Personally, I find it hard to judge a mildly messy review experience harshly...[Read More]
Alone in the Dark Review
In the early 1990s a young, anxious Ben Sheene had to quit out of Alone in the Dark. Ben had only been used to 8-bit games on his Nintendo Entertainment System, where the concept of “scary” was a darkly-lit level and musical stings. This was a time, mind you, when Jason Voorhees in a purple jumpsuit killing camp counselors off-screen was violent. Or when eerie music began to play, sign...[Read More]
Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator Review
Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator has no qualms readily identifying its goals to players. This is not an entry in the simulation genre meant to dissolve players’ time into crystalline tasks of micro-management. In the past handful of years, simulations seemed to have undergone a sea change in their ability to produce meme-worthy content. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy is Powerwash Simulator,...[Read More]
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth effortlessly carries the daunting weight of its own significance. A handful of hours into Rebirth, players are fresh off Cloud’s recollection of the incident in Nibelheim, one of the Final Fantasy franchise’s most significant moments in a singular title rife with them. The emotional knife is seemingly soothed with a figurative calm in the literal town of Kalm,...[Read More]
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Review
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League unfortunately does not exist in a bubble. The daunting weight behind Rocksteady’s newest major release since 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight is immeasurable. Kill the Justice League and Rocksteady have been pushing the boulder up the steep incline of gaming opinion since a formal reveal in 2020. Nearly any vantage point one might take in a review for...[Read More]
Immortality Review (PS5)
Immortality‘s subversive goal is to make the player uncomfortable. In essence, the act of “play” is moderately stripped from Immortality. It is, after all, another FMV, interactive piece of work from Sam Barlow who also crafted Her Story and Telling Lies. Players transmogrify into viewers, merely using the controller to dictate the pace and sequence of events in the game. Within ...[Read More]
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review
There is a perpetual sense of wonder throughout Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Admittedly, I was worried for a minute. In its opening hours, the game delivered some slick 2D action and an interesting premise. But none of it felt wholly special. A few “wow” moments trickled in, showcasing some unexpected visual spectacles to fuel intrigue. And then I got my first time power and was a...[Read More]
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review
“Oh yeah,” I thought as I had to crouch to go under a door, “I’m ten feet tall.” Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora asks players one simple thing: lose yourself in this world, let it absorb you. There is a kind of poetry in a game that allows its players to inhabit a central character. Not just a character that stands on two legs and shoots guns or slays demons or triumphs ...[Read More]
The Talos Principle II Review
Eventually I will return to The Witness. The 2016 all-encompassing puzzle game consumed me for a couple weeks upon release. I think it was that moment I realized line puzzles existed within the environment. I had climbed a ladder and was overlooking the bay of the introductory area hours after wrapping it up and noticed a near-perfect circle formed by pieces of scenery. “Wait…” I...[Read More]
Gangs of Sherwood Review
One benefit of cooperative play is that we can often ignore certain pressing issues which affect the quality of an otherwise lackluster game. When you’re goofing off with friends engaged in the chaos of multiple combatants delivering flashy, devastating blows to a screen full of fodder, you often don’t notice grueling difficulty spikes. When playing solo, enemies can easily gang up on ...[Read More]
Loot River Review
Loot River is one of the first games of its type that I’ve played in quite awhile. A few days ago`when writing a prior review, the difference between a roguelike and roguelite eluded me. Anymore, the blanket term for either has glided its way into becoming increasingly defined as Soulslike. Nuance is a tricky beast when applying definition. A sickly-sweet romance with laughs used to just be ...[Read More]