Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
“I feel the good in you, the conflict.”—Luke Skywalker, Return of the Jedi. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has been a long time coming, and is seemingly a galaxy away from what it could have been. The biggest expectation I had for Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was for it to completely revolutionize Lego games as we know them and directly focus its design on those of us who grew up with th...[Read More]
Weird West
The five interconnected stories of Weird West will have players’ choices rippling throughout the narrative. In this world of cannibalistic tribes, occult magic, and eldritch horror, tumbleweeds and dusty saloons hardly feel significant. Yet a strength of Weird West is its ability to balance both the Weird and the West. Packed with Arkane veterans, it’s little surprise that WolfEye Stud...[Read More]
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Ghostwire: Tokyo thrives on pushing the malleable boundaries of open world games. I’m unsure how many players will go into playing Ghostwire: Tokyo expecting a wide, open city packed with collectibles. How many playing this will have experience with Tango Gameworks’ The Evil Within series and its rapid emphasis on larger explorable spaces? Within the first hours, Ghostwire: Tokyo provi...[Read More]
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Review
Final Fantasy has been a series of constant evolution. Whether those changes be incremental or borderline genre shifts, the beloved RPG namesake feels virtually timeless. In the past 15 years, the fluctuating expectations of what makes a Final Fantasy game have been stretched to their breaking point. Is it a turn-based RPG? Is it a hybrid MMO? A buddy roadtrip adventure? I often think players over...[Read More]
A Musical Story
In my time interacting with A Musical Story I constantly wished to refer to it as A Musical Journey. A journey, while not inherently long, may take the player or reader or listener or viewer through a range of emotions and experiences. The acclaimed Journey, while brief, navigated players through a whimsical world and a silent, beautiful narrative. A story, meanwhile, may unfurl in a few moments a...[Read More]
Gran Turismo 7
Gran Turismo 7 is not a game made for me. And yet, strangely, it is. In 2003, I bought my first car, a ’98 Chevrolet Malibu LS for $3500. A week or so after I had the car, I got into a fake drag race with someone else. My car was actually in reverse, so I went backwards while my opponent skirted forward. Laughter ensued. In the summer of 2005 I drove the car to Chicago to go to Lollapalooza ...[Read More]
Elden Ring Review
Elden Ring is astounding. From its deliberate open-world design that incorporates Soulsborne gameplay mechanics, to its bountiful and intriguing lore, Elden Ring is able to deliver a game that shows a spectacular amount of restraint. Trust in a player’s ability is paramount to Elden Ring, as it gives the player everything they need to succeed; they just need to utilize it. The game knows whe...[Read More]
Horizon: Forbidden West Review
Composing a sequel to a mega-hit is no easy feat, especially one that’s expected to supersede everything that came before it. Many franchise’ before have fallen victim to this Herculean feat; although many have risen to the occasion. Star Wars had Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather had its Part II. Horizon: Forbidden West is this franchise’s Empire, with everything that comes with it. ...[Read More]
Infernax
Weren’t Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest weird anomalies? Two classic series, two polarizing games. But keep in mind… there was no standard in place after the first Zelda and Castlevania. Nintendo and Konami had no blueprint to follow from. A sequel could have literally been anything. A carbon copy. An educational game. A racer. A turn-based RPG. ...[Read More]
Dying Light 2 Stay Human
Dying Light 2 Stay Human‘s biggest triumph is that its open world feels both dangerous and highly exciting. As a fan of Dying Light and, by extension, Dead Island, Dying Light 2 checks the boxes of what we’ve come to expect of a game spawned from the popularity of The Walking Dead franchise. In 2022, zombies don’t feel as potent as they once were but that doesn’t mean a gam...[Read More]
OlliOlli World
OlliOlli was one of the first games I fell absolutely in love with at my first E3 in 2013. For the first time I had the opportunity to play games in their early-ish stages and, hopefully, speak with developers to form a picture of their aspirations. Roll7’s oddly brilliant idea of a 2D skateboarding game where tricks were dictated by flicks of the PlayStation Vita’s thumbsticks became ...[Read More]
Nobody Saves the World
As much as I want to compare Nobody Saves the World to The Legend of Zelda, I feel like doing so would be a great disservice to DrinkBox Studios’ latest genre retooling. Where Guacamelee! could be easily marketed as a Metroidvania, its Luchador hero’s emphasis on melee combat resisted the traditions of super missiles, swords, magic, space jumps, and transforming into bats. Nobody Saves...[Read More]