https://youtu.be/dyqgJTWTEMs?si=-sJksdEK-s9kAVX5 Hades 2 will be a masterpiece. Anyone who has gone on to play the Early Access, in which I have over 35 hours of playtime at the time of writing will know as much (45 hours by the time I finished writing this). This isn't breaking new ground, it's not telling you anything you... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/kQbj6I_-Ng4 Lil' Guardsman takes the core concept of Papers, Please! and places it in an irreverent, colourful setting that oozes with charm and an endless amount of humour. If protagonist Lil, short for Lilith, was just a sarcastic little imp, it would not have worked as well as it does. But because she has heart--because... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/HVr5liJhOMs?si=CLYBe2Ws8bCoWmgR The age of the Earth's exploration--or of its mapping, rather--is long since over. Yet the age in question continues to fascinate. And arctic expeditions, those journeys into the most inhospitable climate on the surface of the planet, hold a special place in the public imagination. For millennia, European peoples believed (and searched for) an... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/F6JvtdeQXAM Now and then comes a narrative game that will glue me to the screen. 2023 has been excellent at offering me those, and all of them different experiences: from the survival narrative of The Pale Beyond to the fantastic saga of Baldur's Gate 3 to the metanarrative mind-bending horror of Alan Wake 2, I've... Continue Reading →
The video and text below spoil the ending to Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. https://youtu.be/3AvaZW761l0?si=EX-O6PiQjumXZKcJ Trust, betrayed. Friends and mentors slaughtered. Unendurable loss, endured. But how well? Jedi Survivor's ending cutscene highlights a side to Cal Kestis we haven't seen, and illuminates before the player an emotion that games continue to struggle in representing: grief. Despairing... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/N0O3Cuvr2G0 The hero-driven real-time strategy(RTS) genre left an indelible mark on me at an early age. Warcraft 3 opened a whole new world ; I fell in love with its universe and story and gameplay, and had my first experience with the powerful sense of community a video game can create, in the best possible... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/7LzmsWBamkw?si=Q3PKthfr0vHX2HAt Long-time viewers will know that I played Planet of Lana's demo during one of the tri-monthly Steam Next Fests, several months ago. The demo promised an atmospheric world rendered with beautiful hand-drawn art. This 2D scroller with its enjoyable if simplistic puzzles, with its likeable protagonist and little black ball of cuddly alien goo,... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/uXoQTm74wP8 Introduction When I examined Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, I wrote that it was "almost a masterpiece". My evaluation of Jedi Survivor is a little less favourable. For all that it does right, this second chapter of Cal Kestis' journey has several issues that spoiled my enjoyment of what could have--should have--been an experience... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/3RDHWGvNFO4 DON'T NOD made a visual novel of superb audio-visual quality! But does the writing measure up? I'll try to explain why I think that it does. I'll pay special attention to why the last Chapter of the game works, and why it is that you might think it does not. If you do--that's perfectly... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/zdcI0AWBV7s Here's a walking simulator I can't wait to play. Question: What's a walking simulator? Answer: A game whose mechanics include little other than exploring a virtual space. They're not mechanically complex, but they can be engaging. Every time I've seen the Invincible, I've become that much more certain it's exactly the kind of narrative... Continue Reading →
The Grimoire Reliquary 