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.
I have wanted to get back into Final Fantasy XIV for quite some time. I am a massive fan of everything it offers, from the art direction to the scope of the world and adventures that are held within it. I love the way that it handles narrative within the MMO format, and the massive range of locations to visit.…
Was Defender of the Crown the first “4X” strategy game to come from Western developers? I know it’s not a proper 4X, as several of the “Xes” are severely undercooked or nonexistent, and Japan’s Nobunaga’s Ambition beat it to market by several years, but when you look at it, you…
There was a time when visual novels were a rare thing in…
It’s been three years since the last Fire Emblem (Engage). In a…
The Future You’ve Been Dreaming Of is a voyeurism simulation, and coming from developer qureate, we all knew what that would involve upfront. As the developer has so brazenly shown with Duel Princess and Livestream Escape From Hotel Izanami, qureate’s teams likes the fan service to be heavy and unabashed.…
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,…
Read MoreCard Shark is what happens when you take the act of cheating at gambling and make it cultured. Devolver Digital has the most incredible knack for finding games that are just plain good fun to publish, and this is a very good example of that ability. It can be infuriating,…
Read MoreThere has been a lot of gaming news today (a lot). One of the bigger pieces of news is that Resident Evil 4 is getting the remake treatment, and that it will release next year. I have a big problem with this. Resident Evil 4 didn’t need to be remade.…
Read MoreWe had a special guest on the podcast this month – Ryan Brown from Super Rare Games! Ryan has been an absolute champion for the indie space over the years, and we pick his brain about his innovative “Mixtape” project. If you’re ever in the mood to discover games that…
Read MorePiofiore: Fated Memories is one of the most powerful, provocative, and interesting visual novels that you will ever play. It tells a story of a woman and three rival mafia factions, and it goes places. Now, thanks to Aksys, we have a release date for the sequel, Piofiore: Episodio 1926.…
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NOTE: This month our usual video editor wasn’t available, so instead you can just enjoy footage from a bunch of games I’ve been playing recently. These aren’t necessarily the games we’re talking about – apologies for any confusion, but things will be back to normal next month. As we look…
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Ogre is a classic board game that has been around in some form or another since the ‘70s. It is fondly remembered in the same way that the likes of Hero Quest or earlier editions of Dungeons & Dragons are: for older players, these are the kinds of games that…
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It has been more low-key than some of the other subscription services, but Apple’s Arcade project has grown into quite an impressive library of games. And, unlike the other subscription services, this one has been a value add to the overall industry. Where other subscription services have done nothing but…
Read MoreNOTE: This month our usual video editor wasn’t available, so instead you can just enjoy footage from a bunch of games I’ve been playing recently. These aren’t June releases – apologies for any confusion, but things will be back to normal next month. We’re doing something a little bit different…
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