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.
To start this review with something very personal: My father passed away last week. It’s been difficult, to put it mildly. The reason I bring it up is that Dad absolutely loved Ten-Pin Bowling. Had his own ball, ball bag (I had no idea they made bowling ball bags), shoes, the works. He competed in social leagues all over the…
Having not played the original Code Vein, I have no idea whether Code Vein II is effective in building on it, or whether the two games are related at all. What I do know is that Code Vein II is an excellent soulslike. One that starts quite slowly, but has…
It’s incredible that Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergarde plays so well on…
Lached Up Games serves a very specific niche with its quirky and…
Most people with a casual interest in Japanese culture are aware of kabuki theatre on some level. Even if they’ve never witnessed a performance, the mannerisms and make-up of kabuki theatre are one of Japan’s great artistic exports. Noh is to kabuki what opera is to Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals,…
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I don’t really understand why Idea Factory continues to experiment with action combat systems. Action combat systems are far more resource intensive to get right, and for a company producing JRPGs on a very small budget, it seems counterintuitive. Recent Neptunia titles, including Neptunia Virtual Stars and Cyberdimension Neptunia, have…
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SteamWorld has, over the past decade, built up to become a highly eclectic series. It started with a humble DSiWare tower defence, which was quickly forgotten, but had a breakout hit with the first SteamWorld Dig, which was something of a Mr. Driller iteration. Since then there has been a…
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“We’re screwed. Writing is over. That’s it. It’s time to pack away your quill, your biro, and your shiny iPad: The computers will soon be here to do it better.” This quote came from a writer for The Spectator, and it was in an article talking about the explosive growth…
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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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It’s amazing to think that the Japanese, who have such a long and fine heritage with video games, have not traditionally been that prolific with board games. There are the classics, of course (Hanafuda card games, Shogi), and there are one or two hits (Love Letter being arguably the most…
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Paradox Interactive is at it again. The publisher has teamed up with Triumph Studios to announce a game that we’re over-the-moon excited for from the mere announcement alone. Age of Wonders has a big reputation for a good reason, and now there’s a new one on the way. Age of…
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Just a couple of days ago the news broke that Spike and Compile Heart were collaborating to bring a PS2 and Wii “classic”, Dokapon Kingdom, to Nintendo Switch. This game, titled Dokapon Kingdom: Connect now has online play, but is otherwise the game that a small niche absolutely loved. Now…
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Note: This article was originally published in the October 2021 edition of the Dee Dee Zine. As we have ceased production of that magazine, and school settings are relevant this week courtesy of the release of Persona 3 & 4 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 & 5 and Xbox Series,…
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I have reviewed Persona 4 Golden twice at this point. The last time I did – the PC release – I wrote 2,000 words about it. I’ve also penned several essays about the game’s themes, and enthused about it to just about everyone that will listen for the past decade.…
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