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COGconnected is your source for PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, Nintendo Switch video games with News, Reviews, Videos, Cosplays and Top Lists.
Latest Reviews
Thymesia
Dark Souls and its FromSoftware brethren have long had a reputation for punishing difficulty. Of course, that perception is only partially true. FromSoftware games brilliantly build in mechanisms for player improvement. None of the games have a difficulty slider, but there are character classes and builds that can stand in...
The short version of this review is that Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince is an amazing 2D Zelda clone. It might be the best 2D Zelda clone, easily challenging The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening as the Switch’s best offering.
Rollerdrome
Way back in 1975 there was a science fiction movie, that postulated a world run by corporations, where the major outlet for violence lay in a violently modified and deadly game of roller derby, called Rollerball. Aesthetically, Rollerdrome takes 1970s artistic inspiration from that movie and comic book artist Moebius...
Arcade Paradise is a genius idea for a game. A 19-year-old college drop-out is forced by their Dad to manage a dilapidated, family-owned, laundromat. The back of the laundromat has a storage room, with a few arcade machines. When emptying those for the first time, our hero discovers that those...
When I reviewed Digimon Survive, I started out thinking it would be a playable Digimon anime. I was absolutely correct. But it’s a Digimon anime that ventures pretty deep into the horror genre. Some scenes look like something straight out of Silent Hill. The game opens with a grayscale prologue...
Lost Epic
One of the most fantastic feelings is going into something with zero expectations, then getting blown away by it. This usually manifests for me with seeing an unknown opening band at a concert or picking up a game review I’m not excited for. Lost Epic blew me away. And I...
Hindsight
When I previewed Hindsight, I said it promised to be a thoughtful exploration of memory, childhood, and family relationships. Creative director Joel McDonald and narrative writer and designer Emma Kidwell deliver on that promise. Hindsight is a narrative exploration game spanning the entirety of a woman’s life through memories that...
Stories can be told in many forms but there is something unique about their implementation in video games. BAFTA winners, State of Play, look to harness this to tell an emotional and personal tale. South of the Circle is a narrative-driven, cinematic experience but will it prove to be another...
Hohokum
When it comes to entertainment — whether movie, TV, book or videogame — there’s room at the table for everyone and everything. Not every game needs to be an action blockbuster, serious drama, open-world masterpiece or platforming extravaganza. Sometimes, just being chill and colorful is enough. That’s certainly true of...
I really enjoyed playing otome games growing up, so I do have some standards when it comes to fictional relationships. The difference now is my standards have become too realistic – like, there’s no way a guy could ever say that! Nevertheless, with zero hesitation I picked up Birushana: Rising...
Westwood Studios originally released Blade Runner, the PC game, in 1997. Though the game bears the same name as the movie, the game tells an original story that takes place on a parallel path with the film. It occasionally crosses narrative paths with the movie.
Live A Live
Good games should have a focused vision. They need a running theme, a thesis statement that binds everything together. The more branching out you do, the more potential trouble you invite. Live A Live flies in the face of this wisdom. The protagonists seemingly have nothing to do with one...
