Willa Rowe

Author
70
Avg Score

This author account hasn't been claimed yet. To claim this account, please contact the outlet owner to request access.

Writing For

Latest Reviews

Nobody Wants to Die
unscored

In the first five minutes of the new cyberpunk noir game Nobody Wants to Die, the main character runs through a list of genre tropes in record time. He pounds down a bottle of pills, takes a swig of alcohol from his flask (while another unopened bottle of moonshine sits in the background), gets sad about his dead wife, and talks about being a disgraced detective who plays fast and loose with the law. This all happens before he gets a call from the police chief letting him know that he’s getting reinstated for a high-profile case. I love it.

You will never be able to stop thinking about Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. The latest game from developer Simogo, the team behind 2019’s Sayonara Wild Hearts and 2013’s buzzy, puzzly adventure game Device 6, will burn itself into your mind. That remains true even when you aren’t actively playing it, and continues long after you’ve solved its final puzzle.

In many ways, Wonder’s success is built upon the numerous iterations of past 2D Mario titles. The core idea of tight platforming across stages has been nailed down for so long that each new entry is able to iterate in more granular ways, even if it doesn’t innovate on a larger scale. Wonder doesn’t reinvent the wheel that is the Mario game, but it gives it a heck of a tune-up.