Aussie readers of DDNet, have we got a treat for you! (Note: this competition is only open to Australian residents. Apologies, overseas friends, but I’m sure we’ll have another contest for you soon) Stranger Of Paradise is one of the finest, and smartest, games in Square Enix’s storied series. As we wrote in our 4.5/5 review: Do you know that…
Review by Harvard L. The survival genre is interesting to write about critically, since many design choices which would feel grating or exhausting in any other genre are, instead, the survival game’s calling card. Things like permadeath, repetition, disempowerment, unsatisfying combat, even at times tedium – normally we don’t value…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. So, I’ve got good news – I’m finally able to provide Patreon backers with a demo for Sade: A My Time With Dee Dee VN. This demo will give you the first (in-game) day of the five-day narrative, so you are getting a good chunk of…
Read MoreHello everyone and welcome to this month’s podcast! As always we kick things off with a look into the games that we can expect to play next month – it’s going to be a big one. Then we transition to talking about our topics for the month. We discuss the…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. You know what they say in the creative industries: “you can only break with the rules once you’ve understood them?” I would suggest that perhaps developers should learn how to do WWII with proper respect and thought before doing “alternate WWII” games, but developer PolyAmorous is…
Read MoreVideo by Matt S. It’s so easy to dismiss Nexomon: Extinction as a simple Pokemon clone. It looks like it might be one, but as it turns out, the game has a personality and style all of its own… and it’s *excellent.* In this video, I discuss the qualities that…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Pokémon is a hard thing to “clone.” Think about it – you’ve got to balance out hundreds (and hundreds) of collectible critters, and make sure there’s a steady flow of them to collect throughout a full-length JRPG. Then you’ve also got to make sure they’re all…
Read MoreVideo by Matt S. NISA recently released a console version of Giraffe and Annika – a wholesome little heartfelt game indeed. Unfortunately, it was subject to a lot of criticism around it being “short” and “simple”. It’s odd, because video games are the one art form where “short” is considered…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. In the grand scheme of things, you’re not going to remember Giraffe and Annika. It doesn’t do anything particularly eye-opening with its design and gameplay, and it’s not a substantial contribution to any particular kind of discourse. What it is, however, is blissfully sweet and good-natured,…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Dear game developers and publishers: if you’ve got a visual novel that needs localisation, you really need to consider the process of finding a quality localiser to be an essential step in the publishing process. Your game exists exclusively for that story, and if you can’t…
Read MoreNews by Lindsay M., News Editor Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news…
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