One of the joys of streaming things that you’re playing for the first time is that the audience can see, in real time, you come to the realisation that what you are playing is just terrible. Fragment’s Note Plus is just terrible. In the hour or so of this stream…
Read MoreAs a leading art form, video games can be – and should be – used to convey more than entertainment. Just as film and television have documentaries and writing has non-fiction, video games offer an opportunity to share real and important stories. Indeed, the interactive nature of games, and the…
Read MoreIf you enjoyed the very famous Steins;Gate, or the much loved Robotics;Notes, then chances are you’ll like Chaos;Head Noah. It’s certainly a more extreme experience than those two, but this was the very first entry in the “Science Adventure” series, and it offers excellent, intense storytelling similar to its later…
Read MoreIt’s difficult to review fandiscs, because they’re a step beyond a sequel in terms of their reliance on the base material. Generally it’s fine to review sequels. You can go in-depth with like the Trails of Cold Steel series, or the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, because players can still play…
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 MoreAmnesia: Memories was first released over a decade ago, and it’s fair to say that the visual novel genre – and particularly the otome sub-genre – has moved at a rapid pace from that time. That’s not a criticism of Amnesia, by any means, but the experience of reading through…
Read MoreAdmittedly I wasn’t following Digimon Survive too closely in the leadup to release, however, I did know it was going to be a tactics JRPG featuring collectible monsters. That in itself was exciting given that I have fond memories of Pokémon Conquest back on the DS. What I was not…
Read MoreAustralians should make more visual novels. I don’t just say that because I make them and need to kick myself into actually finalising my latest one (it’s getting there, day by day!). It’s just that whenever an Australian produces a VN, it’s typically gold. Max’s Big Bust is a hilarious…
Read MorePerfect Gold: The Alchemy Of Happiness highlights just how mundane love and romance can be. I don’t mean that in a negative sense, though. Far too often in the arts romance, as a subject, either deviates toward smutty eroticism or overly sentimental tear-jerking. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of…
Read MoreWe 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…
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