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 Ascent looks gorgeous in the kind of grim and nihilistic way that the best in the cyberpunk genre can look gorgeous. That gets it off to a most excellent start. From wading through the gank of refuse waste and… much less wholesome byproducts from humanity’s essentially wasteful existence, right…
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DigitallyDownloaded.net wouldn’t be the website it is without its mascots. Dee Dee, Nettie, Lorin and Amelia don’t just appear in our visual novels (don’t forget to check out the free demo for the upcoming A Week on the Water if you haven’t yet!). They also appear across the website, representing…
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Let’s get this out of the way from the outset: this is a Hatsune Miku game, and you all know how I feel about Hatsune Miku, so the score at the bottom of the review is going to be no surprise to you. It is what it is, so let’s…
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I’ve already reviewed Gal*Gun: Double Peace twice – once on import when it was originally released, and then again when PQube localised it for the rest of the world. I don’t have too much to add to either of those reviews in terms of an analysis of how they play,…
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Final Fantasy is important to Square Enix. I know that’s stating the obvious, but sometimes Square Enix is almost shockingly willing to experiment with it. If Final Fantasy VII Remake wasn’t enough to convince you that the company is willing to greenlight some risky, near transgressive projects, Stranger of Paradise…
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Dragalia Lost had so much going for it. Not least of which was that it was Nintendo’s first foray into creating a new IP for mobile devices. Developed in partnership with one of the giants of the space, CyGames, it was a generally well-received and respected JRPG. Now, though, everything…
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I have 1090 games on Nintendo Switch. Obviously, I’m an unusual case since, as a critic that largely focuses on Nintendo, I kinda have to have that many games. However, anyone who even had a fraction of the number of games on Switch as I do would know the pain…
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It’s worth remembering that we very nearly lost Rune Factory. The developer of the series, Neverland, went bankrupt, and 2012’s Rune Factory 4 on the 3DS seemed to be the end of it. Thankfully Marvelous stepped in, hired many of the original team to keep them together, and formed an…
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On the one hand, there’s a lot to admire about Ghostwire: Tokyo. There’s a clever concept in there, and the Noh theatre influences seem to run more deeply than just the masks that you see on the antagonists and the game’s key art. It goes without saying at this point…
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I’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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