Charlie Kelly
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Writing For
Checkpoint GamingLatest Reviews
If you ask anyone who owned and played their Nintendo 3DS religiously, “What is the handheld most known for?”, they’ll tell you that it was an awesome little RPG machine with dozens, if not countless, cult hits to sink your teeth into. As someone who didn’t own the console at the time, I look at my fiancée’s collection on our game shelf and note the many RPGs that would still be well talked about now, more than 14 years after the platform’s original release. Countless Pokémon g...
Ever since Konami started being in the business of making (and publishing) games again for the first time in years, following both the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1 and last year’s Silent Hill 2 Remake with Bloober Team, all eyes have been on them. Are they back in action? What’s next on their agenda? It turns out that it was releasing a launch game for the Nintendo Switch 2 in Survival Kids, a return to the survival series that started back on the Game Boy Colour, went on...
Soulslikes are a dime a dozen at this point. This over-saturation was inevitable, given that games like Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls were the catalyst for this specific branch of action RPGs. Naturally, a lot of other games want a taste of this action. Over the years, we’ve had experiences that have soared despite their bizarre premise. We’ve also had Soulslikes that dwindle into not much of anything—situated somewhere in the middle, thanks to its curious world and interesting, if im...
A fisher. A woodcutter. An artist. A farmer. A hunter. A Paladin. A hero. Fantasy Life I: The Girl Who Steals Time is the sequel to the cult-classic Nintendo 3DS life simulation game, where you can take on many jobs and live multiple lives. Now, after a few delays and a lengthy wait, the latest Level-5-developed joint is finally released on multiple platforms, with high hopes weighing on it. Thankfully, it pulls off those ambitions, not just presenting a vibrant and charming new RPG adventur...
Ever since the ’80s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has been one of the hottest properties to adapt into games. Across several decades, dozens (close to 50!) of games starring the lovable crime-fighting reptiles have graced our screens. Though there have been a lot of misses in that time, there have been countless adventure games, beat ’em ups and platformers that have charmed fans endlessly. At this point, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a cross-media staple and are a ...
In 2006, Bethesda Studios released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, an ambitious and widely adored first-person fantasy RPG that further cemented the company as a beloved Western RPG developer. Featuring a vast open world where it felt like the sky was the limit, it captured people across the globe. 19 years later, and we have the re-release with new embellishments in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Remaining simultaneously a product of its time and reflection of the highs and lows ...
The Midnight Walk is a new venture from some of the people who brought you Lost in Random. Depicted in a claymation art style, this dark foray sees you embarking on a hike up a mountain in the middle of the night with a little clay creature with a pot for a head. Featuring a dark and mysterious world where everything around you is in stop motion, this debut from MoonHood is exactly what it looks like on paper and what you’ve perhaps summised in its trailers: more of an artpiece and moving ...
What I love most about RPGs is how they make you feel—the wonder, the whimsy and magic, but also the weight of the world. Having tackled a lot of the space in this space, I rarely feel like I’m seeing something new. Visiting LUNAR Remastered Collection, a pair of games I’ve admittedly missed, I’m left wondering why it took me so damn long to get to them. And why don’t people make games like this anymore?
It was only announced mid-last year, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feels like an adventure that my fellow RPG fans and I have been waiting for all our lives. A flashy debut from studio Sandfall Interactive, all about mixing up beloved combat systems, fusing turn-based with real-time, alongside a killer narrative. A fusion promised to be more meaningful than those that have given it a stab before. Not like those other ones! Now that we finally have it in our hands, how does it fare? Sandfall...
What’s most exciting about The Talos Principle is how disarming the series is. One minute, you’re exploring the ethereal digital landscape depicting arid deserts at sunset and green forestry amidst peaks and valleys, a metaverse that feels both impossible and familiar. Then you’re having philosophical debates over an old, dingy computer terminal with an AI. Or you’re getting your rear handed to you in the many bespoke and intricate puzzles found within. You don’t quite know if you...