Digitally Downloaded – Page 805 – Your specialist source of news and reviews for games, anime, manga, film and literature

The Friday Ten: Ten western Musou (Warriors) games that we’d love to see

June 10, 2016

Friday 10s/Koei Tecmo/list/Musou/The Friday 10/Top 10/Warriors

List by Matt C. Next week at E3, Koei Tecmo will announce a new Musou (or Warriors, if you prefer) game, and it’s looking likely that it’ll be another crossover – like Dragon Quest Heroes, One Piece Pirate Warriors, and Hyrule Warriors – but with a “prominent overseas IP”. In…

Why Japanese horror is different; Ju-On director, Takashi Shimizu

June 10, 2016

DDNet Premium/Features/film/film review/Horror/Interview/Interviews/Ju-On/Major Feature/NightCry/Takashi Shimizu

Feature by Matt S. Horror is a product of culture. How that manifests might be different from one example of the genre to the next, however. It might be because the work is tapping into deep seated fears that are a combination of biological responses to perceived threats – the…

no-art-does-not-have-to-be-profit

June 10, 2016

Art/Daily Review/Opinion

Opinion by Matt S. One of the common points of view that I see out there about the arts, as a whole (and including games) is that they have to be created with commercial success in mind. If an art work isn’t profitable, the work is be default inferior or…

Review: Anima: Gate of Memories (Sony PlayStation 4)

June 9, 2016

Anima/Anima: Gates of Memories/Indie/PlayStation 4 Review/Reviews/RPG

Review by Matt S. Occasionally a game will come along and in playing it you’ll develop a new appreciation for the masterpieces of the genre. In being overwhelmingly dull, these games are, oddly enough, worth playing, as they will highlight all the subtle things that the better games manage to…

Early Access Review: Master of Orion (PC)

June 9, 2016

4X Strategy/Early Access/Master of Orion/NGD Studios/PC Review/Strategy/WG Labs

Review by Nick H. Master of Orion has a long history and heritage, and games with long histories can be divisive with passionate fans when someone decides to “reboot” them. It is always a tricky balance trying to call back on the things that worked in the past while attempting…

The Wii U is the most underrated console ever

June 9, 2016

DDNet Premium/Nintendo Wii U/Opinion/Wii U

Opinion by Matt S. No one would say that the Wii U was a commercial success. Actually, scratch that, no one aside from the most rabid fanboys would make such a claim. The console suffered from a complete dearth of support from third parties, sold in trickling numbers across the…

Touhou Genso Wanderer is one sweet looking game

June 9, 2016

JRPG/News/NISA/Roguelike/Touhou Genso Wanderer/trailer/Trailers

News by Matt S. NISA has announced that it will be bringing Touhou Genso Wanderer to PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 early next year (yep, more Vita games into 2017!). This is a roguelike JRRG set in the Touhou Project universe, and it looks like it’s a fairly traditional one.…

Review: Shadow Blade: Reload (Sony PlayStation 4)

June 8, 2016

2D platformer/Indie/platformer/PlayStation 4/PS4 Review/Reviews/Shadow Blade/Shadow Blade: Reload

Review by Pierre-Yves L. Shadow Blade: Reload is the PlayStation 4 version of Dead Mage’s Shadow Blade which has already slashed its way across the iOS, Android, and PC platforms. Starting off as what seemed to be just another fast paced ninja platformer, Shadow Blade offers something a bit different…

Review: Retsnom (Sony PlayStation 4)

June 8, 2016

2D platformer/Indie/platformer/PlayStation 4/PS4 Review/Retsnom/Reviews

Review by Matt C. In Retsnom, pressing L1 will cause your character to commit suicide in a brutal, graphic fashion. This is noteworthy, and not just because it’s a useful reset button when you inevitably dig yourself into a whole, or because it carries some heavy narrative consequences. It’s noteworthy…

On bringing niche games to physical retail: Limited Run Games

June 8, 2016

DDNet Premium/Indie/Interview/Interviews/Josh Fairhurst/Limited Run Games

Interview by Matt S. How’s this for unexpected; when digital download platforms, such as the PlayStation Network, Steam, and Nintendo’s eShop, started to really take off and become a common way for people to play games, the writing seemed to be on the wall for the physical games media. The…

Latest