Latest Reviews
I used to go to MAGfest every year, a 24-hour music and gaming convention on the east coast that’s a bit too big and pricey now, but that’s not why I bring it up. I had a tradition; every year the first thing I’d do in the console space was...
What if Celeste was a psychological horror game? That’s the easiest way to pitch Love Eternal, the debut game from brlka. That said, there’s far more to it than that. It’s an unconventional platformer that blends genres while juggling horror and humor to deliver something wholly unique.
I still remember how hyped I was when BlazBlue first came out, all the way back in 2009. I was at my peak interest in fighting games, Guilty Gear was on some kind of hiatus, and this was the next best thing with its own cool twists. Eventually, I fell...
Mario Tennis Fever kicks off the Switch 2 era of Mario sports games with a fresh take on the long-running series. This time, Fever Rackets are the hot new feature, spicing up gameplay with unique effects that can be dealt to either side of the court. Beneath all that, though,...
Romeo is a Dead Man is a collage of different ideas and mechanics, textures and styles, none of which alone are exceptional, and that doesn’t change when they’re mixed together. Even standing back a few feet and taking a macro view does little to help form a cohesive piece of...
The somewhat controversial Yakuza Kiwami series continues, with its most controversial entry yet. There’s a lot to unpack here, but needless to say the internet has been alight with discourse, with hardcore, longtime Yakuza/Like a Dragon fans clashing with more casual or newer fans over retcons, casting decisions, gameplay changes,...
Nioh 3
Three games into the Nioh series, I’ve been consistently impressed with how Koei Tecmo has evolved this IP game to game. The first Nioh was a solid and challenging first step into this new Souls-like take on the mythology-infested world of Feudal Japan. The second refined that formula with new...
Cairn
A video game has never made my palms this sweaty. The majority of my Cairn playthrough saw me on the edge of my seat, utterly breathless, hands slipping on my controller as I edged Aava up a series of increasingly sketchy pitches. This is one of those special games we...
Cairn
A video game has never made my palms this sweaty. The majority of my Cairn playthrough saw me on the edge of my seat, utterly breathless, hands slipping on my controller as I edged Aava up a series of increasingly sketchy pitches. This is one of those special games we...
The dichotomy of the Metroidvania as a genre is an interesting one. Its world is always ruined, cruel, hostile, perhaps once beautiful, now broken, but the genre asks you to imagine that it wasn’t always that way. That it was beautiful, once, worthwhile, and that no matter how hostile it...
You know when you see something and just think, “That’s cute,” afterwards? The thing in question didn’t inspire deep thought, didn’t incite a strong emotional response, and probably didn’t leave a lasting impact. It was cute, though. Like walking outside into a cool breeze before heading to your next destination....
The Mario Kart franchise sat an an interesting crossroads at the end of the Nintendo Switch generation. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was the best-selling game on the platform, and it was pretty much the ultimate celebration of the kart racing series. The game featured remakes of tons of tracks from...
