To review the Gothic 1 Remake, I played it side-by-side with the original Gothic, as released on the Nintendo Switch. One hour in the remake, one in the original. Then back to the remake. I did that because Gothic is, in its own little way, an enormously influential classic. It…
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The best thing about Flintlock is the setting. It’s a hodgepodge of historical influences – the opening sequence focuses on trench warfare and sappers that could be straight out of a World War 1 drama, before the game settles back to a more colonial era affair, set against a horde…
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Unfortunately for Crymachina, NieR: Automata exists, and so as a concept “post-apocalyptic world where robots ask existential questions about what it’s like to be human,” is probably a theme that should be scratched from all other developers’ brainstorming sessions. Despite that very prudent advice, the team that took on Crymachina…
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There are times when it genuinely feels like the artists who work in game development teams only know Zdzisaw Beksiski and H.R Giger. These two artists are magnificent, don’t get me wrong, but they are so often the inspiration behind a game’s aesthetics that it’s become a visual cliché. And…
Read MoreARGH! Argh, argh, argh, arghhhhhhhhhh! Dusk Diver 2 is so frustrating. So utterly, cruelly frustrating. Somehow this sequel is even more frustrating than its predecessor. I can see what the developer wanted to achieve with it, and I appreciate it on so many levels. It just doesn’t come together in…
Read MoreForget the absolutely dismal Dark Alliance dungeon crawler that was released last year. There was a time where “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Dark Alliance” put together was something worth getting excited about. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance was a series of just two games, but they remain two of the better…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Elden Ring feels like the journey that developer, FromSoftware, has been on for the past 28 years has finally come full circle. In 1994 there was King’s Field, then in 2009, it was Demon’s Souls. Then came the Dark Souls series, but it feels like 2022’s…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The Hyakki Yagyō – Night Parade Of 100 Demons – might be my favourite piece of Japanese folkloric storytelling. A “monster manual” of sorts, featuring some of the most bemusing, weird, wild, and entertaining spirit monsters, Hyakki Yagyō speaks deeply about the Shinto view of the…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Maglam Lord is such a quaint little game. To its detriment, I think, especially with so many stand-out JRPGs on the way in such a short span of time. But also, it’s quaint in a fun and playful way that will appeal to genre veterans in…
Read MoreReview by Harvard L. I wanted to like Starlight Alliance, I really did. It’s a hybrid RPG and Third-Person Platform Shooter, kind of like if Ratchet and Clank had an EXP system, or if NieR was all gameplay and no existential navel-gazing. It’s the combination of two things I like,…
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