I’m actually quite good at poker. At least, I am at first. Every time I play poker the following little narrative happens: I sit down at a table with friends (or whoever I’m playing with), and we all toss in $20 and grab some chips. At first, I dominate the…
Read MoreIt’s funny how so many people play games for relaxation, and yet so many modern game designers never aim to make relaxation a key element in their games. With all the frenetic combat, fighting for survival and strategic manipulation present in our AAA titles, it’s a wonder that anyone manages…
Read More“If you’re reading this, I’m already dead.” What a great start to any game, but how unexpected it was to see at the beginning of a game about hacking. I couldn’t code my way out of a paper bag, how could I code my way out of this? I immediately…
Read MoreBeyond Eyes is the latest example of that kind of arthouse game. You know, the kind that is more focused on telling a deeply personal story than living up to some kind of arbitrary standard of what a “game” should be. We’ve been privileged enough to see a very wide…
Read MoreWhen I was a little less than a hour into the game, I had thought of a perfect opening to the review. It encapsulated the experience in short, pretty sentences. Due to the addictive nature of the game, I held off my review and continued playing. When I had clocked…
Read MoreH.P Lovecraft has proven to be without a shadow of a doubt the most difficult master of the horror genre to appropriate in either games or film. And this is because Lovecraft’s brand of horror relies on what his characters don’t see, rather than what they do. Lovecraft is of…
Read MoreIf there is any game that has come from Australia with a more heartful, potent, and downright valuable message to tell than Submerged, then I haven’t encountered it. Coming from the team that made the excellent-but-derivative Epoch games I wasn’t quite expecting to some across something so serene and meaningful,…
Read MoreBeing a fan of the original Evoland I’ve honestly wondered since the announcement of a sequel where it could be able to take what was already established. The original was a visual history of the evolution of video games from the early days to more modern play styles. Related reading:…
Read MoreMoving through various Norse realms, Jotun is already, in this early stage, a gorgeous work of art coming from Thunder Lotus Games. In the game, we follow our our recently deceased hero Thora, as she quests to impress the Gods by defeating elementals in combat so that she may enter…
Read MoreJourney was the indie darling through the last generation of consoles. A simple, emotional experience, it was a combination of graceful, elegant minimalism through its aesthetics, music, and gameplay that made for a accessible, but thematically deep and sincere adventure that anyone, regardless of experience or even interest in games,…
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