A persistent issue I have with video game adaptations of stories from other mediums is that the developers might latch on to the characters and setting of the base material, but almost inevitably the game lacks any understanding of the themes and depth of meaning that made the original work noteworthy in the first place. Like that Dune one I…
The smartest decision they made in Silent Hill: Townfall was to have it play out in first person, something that the series doesn’t typically do. But a first-person perspective makes the horror more immediate, direct and, ultimately, intense. Townfall is downright visceral in its horror atmosphere trappings, which is just…
Hyper Real has announced it will publish Zeitgeist Studio’s daylight-horror cult-mystery adventure,…
I almost forgot about Supermassive Games’ Dark Pictures Anthology. That’s not from…
Almost a decade ago, Sony published The Last Of Us on PlayStation 3. The sheer hyperbole that the game got was, in retrospect, silly. Empire even went as far as to say that the very cinematic game was comparable to Citizen Kane. Of course, since then, Sony alone has published…
Read MoreReleasing a “Soulslike” in the same year as Elden Ring is, I would argue, unwise. You’re never going to come off well in that comparison and it’s only going to result in your game being judged more harshly than it deserves to be. In that context, Thymesia really should have…
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Admittedly 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 MoreThe biggest problem with Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel is that it lacks an identity of its own. The developers are clearly fans and students of the horror genre, stretching all the way back to Resident Evil, and have done a passable job of building a warm homage to it.…
Read MoreSome people like to find ways to murder people in the Sims. I’m not saying I’m one of them (I’m far too impatient) but it’s not an uncommon occurrence. If you take that idea, and put it into a haunted house with a smidgen of plot and some tower defence…
Read MoreNISA is on to a good thing with the Yomawari series. These might look like humble little indie anime games, but they know how to throw an emotional and horrific gut punch and a half. The publisher has a third on the way later this year and has shared an…
Read MoreBig Bad Wolf, the developer behind 2018’s The Council, was the right developer to tackle Vampire: The Masquerade. The execution of Swansong isn’t perfect, but the effort to recreate the pen-and-paper experience is spot-on, and so, the team at Big Bad Wolf have achieved something that’s increasingly rare in video…
Read MoreBefore the film that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp had way too much fun with, and before even the Stephen Sondheim musical that more people should see a production of, Sweeny Todd was a Penny Dreadful. People don’t really know what these are anymore, but they were once wildly popular…
Read MoreIt’s a lightgun game where the lightgun aim doesn’t work properly. It’s an arcade game that offers no challenge no penalty for running out of lives. It’s a remake that has lost all the atmosphere and appeal of the base game. Congratulations, developer MegaPixel Studio, I genuinely have no idea…
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