Digitally Downloaded – Page 305 – Your specialist source of news and reviews for games, anime, manga, film and literature

Review: The Plane Effect (Nintendo Switch)

September 24, 2021

Art Game/Indie/Nintendo Switch/PQube/Reviews/Switch Review

Review by Matt S. Making a game that is critical of what we take for granted in capitalism seems like a Sisyphean effort, given that, more than any other art form, the entire industry is slavishly and unquestioningly devoted to capitalism. This same week people are out there buying a…

oh-holy-pretty-boys-koei-tecmo-is

September 24, 2021

Koei Tecmo/News/Nintendo Switch/release date/Release Dates/trailer

News by Matt S. You may or may not have heard of Touken Ranbu, but to give you a brief summary: it is a massively popular property in Japan where famous swords throughout history take the form of ridiculously pretty boys. Seriously. I’ve seen entire documentaries about Japanese women that…

On sexualisation in games: Are developers obliged to change

September 24, 2021

fan service/objectification/Opinion/sexualisation/Video/Video review

Video by Matt S. Over the last couple of weeks there has been an ongoing discussion regarding one upcoming PlayStation 5 game. Project Eve, it’s called, and it goes pretty heavy on the fan service. There has been some criticism on this, but one of the more interesting pieces…

Review: Death Stranding Director’s Cut (Sony PlayStation 5)

September 23, 2021

Art Game/Death Stranding/Hideo Kojima/PlayStation 5/PS5 Review/review/Reviews/Sony PlayStation 5

Review by Matt S. I find the framing of the PlayStation 5 extended edition of Death Stranding intolerable. The concept of a “Director’s Cut” comes from cinema, and it represents the uncompressed creative vision of the director. Oftentimes a film has studio and producer meddling that results in a cinematic…

It’s okay for games to be bad

September 23, 2021

Opinion/Video/Video review

Video by Matt S. This is a bit of a think-piece video. Basically, the prevailing idea is that video games can’t be bad. They’re products, and if a game doesn’t turn out the way fans want it to, then the developer should be obliged to “fix” it somehow. The thing…

The catch-up coffee: Thursday, September 23, 2021

September 22, 2021

catch-up coffee/News

News by Lindsay M.Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)! SWERY’s…

otomate-visual-novels-these-games

September 22, 2021

Otomate/Video/Video review/visual novel

Video by Matt S. Olympia Soirée is the latest visual novel from Otomate to be released on consoles in the west. And it is an incredible, beautiful game. What’s amazing is that after years (and over 100 releases), Otomate remains one of the very finest purveyors of visual novels. Just…

Review: Olympia Soirée (Nintendo Switch)

September 22, 2021

Aksys/Idea Factory/Otomate/review/Reviews/romance/visual novel

Review by Matt S. One of the benefits of publishing a review a little later after release is that you can check against some of the other reviews to see how your own take on the various themes and ideas expressed by the game were taken by others. Having checked…

Review: SkateBIRD (Nintendo Switch)

September 21, 2021

Indie/Nintendo Switch/Reviews/SkateBIRD/sports game/Switch Review

Review by Matt S. Do you remember that episode of The Simpsons where Homer ends up in the dictionary, and “to pull a Homer” means “to succeed despite idiocy?” Well, I reckon SkateBIRD should get a dictionary entry too: “to completely and utterly fail despite having an infallible concept.” SkateBIRD…

Anti-capitalism or just melancholia? An interview on The Plane Effect

September 21, 2021

Art Game/Indie/Interview/Interviews

Interview by Matt S. The Plane Effect is the kind of game that will immediately catch your attention, for its distinctive aesthetics and “arthouse” vibe. It’s out this week (and there’s a demo available now), and being published by PQube, so I figured I’d have a quick chat with…

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