Dead Space(2008) Review-The scariest game I’ve ever played

I'm not a person that scares easily. Or, I should say, I'm not a person that scares easily at things I know can't hurt me. There's an unknown animal in the woods behind my house? Yeah, I'm probably not going out there to check. Scary stories though? Horror movies? Games? Not a problem. As much as I enjoy spooky shit, I had never come across a single work of fiction, in any medium, that would genuinely scare me. Until I played Dead Space.

Darksiders Review-Legend of Zelda in God of War cosplay

There are certain games that you only need a few minutes to tell exactly what they're all about. It has dodge rolls and bonfires? You can probably also expect a steep difficulty curve and boss fights against gigantic monsters who hit like a truck in a very predictable pattern. It's a party based JRPG with turn based combat? You're probably gonna end up killing God at some point. An Xbox 360 military shooter with an overwhelmingly brown color palate? You probably already know how its story goes beat by beat. Video games have been around for long enough now that there's nothing truly new under the sun, and most of them follow the tropes and conventions of their genre pretty closely. But occasionally, a game does surprise you.

Solasta: Crown of the Magister Review-The Budget Alternative to Baldur’s Gate 3

In the world of cinema, there is a phenomenon known as twin films. Every few years, two or more movies with a very similar premise will inexplicably come out around the same time. There's plenty of famous examples. Dante's Peak and Inferno. Antz and a Bug's Life. Observe and Report and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. You probably already know a handful of these examples yourself. Sometimes, its just a matter of one film trying to ride on the coattails of a bigger, more successful production. But most of the time, its more or less pure coincidence. Although it is not quite as well known, this sometimes happens to video games too. Case in point, Baldur's Gate 3 and Solasta: Crown of the Magister.

Resident Evil 4 Review-Is This Classic Horror Game Still Scary in 2022?

I was about 10 years old when I first tried to play RE4. Back then, I didn't quite understand what a horror game was supposed to be, and it didn't look particularly different from the action games I was familiar with. But the control scheme felt instantly wrong(keep in mind, I was playing mouse and keyboard too), and the constant lack of ammo was extremely frustrating. About 2 hours into the game, I got a random button prompt flashing on the screen for about half a second, then a boulder fell on Leon's perfectly coifed head, and I lost. That was about it for my first taste of Resident Evil. Coming back to it years later, this time armed with a controller and some knowledge of what the game was trying to do, I can't say I felt much different at first.

INSIDE Review-A Masterclass In Minimalistic Video Game Design

At first glance, Inside seems like a game that's a bit too recent and high profile for me to cover. The long awaited spiritual successor to indie critical darling Limbo, it was met with both immediate critical acclaim, and massive commercial success(well, for a 2d puzzle platformer at least). But for all the attention it received for it's striking aesthetics and wordless storytelling, it seems like much of what makes this game special has never quite made it's way into the cultural zeitgeist in the way it deserved to.

Yoku’s Island Express Review-An Open World Pinball Adventure

©Team 17Group Perhaps it's a bit of a cop out to call Yoku's Island Express a hidden gem. After all, it received a decent amount of attention on release last year. It was reviewed(mostly favorably) by several major publication, sold decently, and was even an Epic free giveaway at some point. However, I do think … Continue reading Yoku’s Island Express Review-An Open World Pinball Adventure →

The classic time travel JRPG-Chrono Trigger Review

There are certain clichés people associate with the JRPG genre. The convoluted, nonsensical narratives, the melodrama, the hours and hours of grinding. Honestly, this perception has kept me from trying Chrono Trigger for a long time, which is a shame since none of these clichés are true in this case. Chrono Trigger is refreshingly brief, grind free, and action packed, and it's characters and dialogue are as far removed from the soap opera stylings of the typical JRPG as they can be.

Halcyon 6 Lightspeed Edition Review- Star Trek as a retro JRPG

©Massive Damage Inc. via Steam When the somewhat confusingly named Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander(no, there's no Halcyons 1 through 5) was released in late 2016, it didn't make much of a splash. Though the game had a successful Kickstarter campaign, and received a whole bunch of positive attention in the months preceding it's arrival, the … Continue reading Halcyon 6 Lightspeed Edition Review- Star Trek as a retro JRPG →

Mirror’s Edge Review- The first person Parkour simulator

©Electronic Arts, via Steam When Mirror's Edge first came out, I was under the impression that it was a big deal. I was pretty young at the time, and it's one of the first few games I clearly remember being excited for (among others that I remember from that period are the first Assassins Creed … Continue reading Mirror’s Edge Review- The first person Parkour simulator →