Nat Patterson
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Writing For
Checkpoint GamingLatest Reviews
Death Stranding, one of 2019’s most hyped and eagerly anticipated releases, was somewhat divisive when it released. Expectations were astronomical, as this was Hideo Kojima’s first project since his infamous falling out with Metal Gear Solid publisher Konami, and fans were chomping at the bit for something incredible. Upon release,...
An evil empire, slaves forced into hard labor, a jailbreak of epic proportions… these are some of the key ingredients to any good JRPG’s opening hours, and throw in a dash of main-character-amnesia, then Tales of Arise has stuck the landing and got me hooked. The first game in the...
In 2020, Sucker Punch Productions blew our expectations out of the water with the immaculate Ghost of Tsushima, a new IP which we called “a captivating, engaging and lovingly crafted open world to explore”. Fast forward to 2021, just over 12 months since the original release, and Sucker Punch are giving...
Imagine waking up and having your entire identity cancelled. You can’t go to work, you can’t surf the internet, you can’t purchase anything – your entire digital existence is wiped out. That’s the life of Evan Kapnos, the hero of new cyberpunk shooter Foreclosed, and he is on a mission...
Often, games pack so many characters, storylines, and mechanics into the experience that the end result ends up being a bloated mess. Occasionally, there are games that strip everything back and stick to a strict minimalist style and set the world on fire. Rarer still is a game that has...
There I was, about 6 hours into Cris Tales. The game was starting to make sense; there’s some timey-wimey stuff going on, classic JRPG combat, an unassuming hero. All in all, a classic formula. Suddenly, I’m presented a choice – who is going to lead the town of St. Clarity?...
Ahh, the Mana series. The once-proud third sibling in the Square Enix pantheon of RPGs, sitting a little behind Dragon Quest and a fair whack behind Final Fantasy, but consistently winning the hearts of JRPG fans across the world. Secret of Mana was a banger, Trials of Mana (Seiken Densetsu...
I consider myself a bit of a tourist when it comes to fighting games. I have dabbled across many different fighting franchises and achieved a fair level of competency in each one, without ever really putting in the hard yards to master any particular game. Guilty Gear -Strive-, from Arc...
Far Cry New Dawn
Ubisoft have continued their trend of releasing a non-numbered Far Cry title every other year, satiating the appetites of open-world enthusiasts around the planet. With Far Cry New Dawn, the narrative is a direct sequel to Far Cry 5 and as such has produced a level of character development, story...
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG
You know when you are about to explain something disappointing, or give someone bad news, and you take a real deep breath and sigh loudly before speaking? Imagine I just did that before starting this review.
Red Dead Redemption 2
From the outset, Red Dead Redemption 2 is not a game intended to be fun, but to be important. It is a game that bends our expectations about what a game should and could be. It exists right on that “cutting edge” that is so often referenced but so rarely...
Where the first Life is Strange showed players the intricacies of 2 close female friends, Life is Strange 2 has kicked off with the complexities of 2 brothers. In the first episode, titled ‘Roads’, we are introduced to the Diaz family, and witness the horrific racism, hardship, and turmoil one...
