Matt S. is the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of DDNet. He's been writing about games for over 20 years, including a book, but is perhaps best-known for being the high priest of the Church of Hatsune Miku.
Octopath Traveler 0 isn’t really Octopath Traveler. It’s good. It’s even excellent, frequently and for long stretches of time. But it’s not Octopath Traveler for this very simple reason: Both the original Octopath Traveler and its sequel told the stories of eight (“Octo”) different people, who would eventually come together (“All roads that you travel on, if you will, lead…
I don’t often write about films these days, but I recently saw something at the Japan Film Festival in Australia that was powerful, profound, and haunting enough that it has since occupied all my thinking. Kokuho, directed by one of Japan’s most noteworthy art film directors, Lee Sang-il, is, as…
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is a good headset. This is by…
Disclaimer: I’m making this quick disclaimer so it’s clear and up-front. I…
We get a lot of games, films, books, and other such media that take place during the Sengoku era. Samurai Warriors and Nioh, for example. There are endless films that depict various battles from the era. Netflix even produced a documentary, which was terrible, but highlights that the Sengoku era…
Read MoreUchikoshi Kotaro has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the thinky game artists going around. The Zero Escape series established that reputation, while the original AI: The Somnium Files reinforced it. The sequel, nirvanA Initiative (‘A’ and ‘I’ capitalised, geddit?) doesn’t break new ground, but then again it also…
Read MoreFire Emblem and Koei Tecmo’s Musou (Warriors) formula are a good fit. So much of what people love about the Musou series (a large roster with a big variety in the characters that are available), is also something that the Fire Emblem series is popular for, and while the Warriors…
Read MoreI’m a big fan of itch.io for the freedom and open platform that it allows for developers to be creative, experimental, and directly canvas the audience for feedback for games that are not yet ready for primetime on Steam and its ilk. In addition, itch.io allows you to be transgressive,…
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The Dee Dee Zine is a magazine for people who love games, music, film and art from Asia and independent artists. Every month we produce a magazine filled with essays and culture… and this month is jam-packed with interesting stuff to read! In the June 2022 magazine: – Haniwa, Japan’s…
Read MoreThere are a couple of different ways that you can approach an apocalypse in art. In most cases, artists depict desperately grim stuff, and that approach makes sense given that in these stories humanity is close to (or experiencing) extinction and mere survival in a harsh, traumatic world is a…
Read MoreSpellforce III is one of those games that, even a generation ago, would have been inconceivable as a console release. The game’s blend of RTS and RPG mechanics would have been deemed too complex for a controller to bother with, and the developers and publishers alike would have assumed that…
Read MoreMr. Prepper is so disappointing. It could have been something spectacular, given that it weaves a story that is so steadfastly critical of America, but instead it collapses in a whimper that never realises its mechanical ambitions nor delivers on its thematic premise. Combined, those two failings make it frustrating…
Read MoreNote: Though this is nominally a “for Xbox” headset, it works with PlayStation, Nintendo and PC devices just fine. I’ve even hooked it up to my emulation devices and had a great time. If you look at the Arctis Nova Pro For Xbox website, you’re going to get bamboozled with…
Read MoreI’m a big fan of itch.io for the freedom and open platform that it allows for developers to be creative, experimental, and directly canvas the audience for feedback for games that are not yet ready for primetime on Steam and its ilk. In addition, itch.io allows you to be transgressive,…
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