Nathan Grayson

Blues And Bullets Is A Surprisingly Great Noir Game

Blues and Bullets is a noir adventure series (kinda like Telltale’s stuff) that quietly crept onto Steam a few weeks ago. Turns out, it’s pretty great! Here are a few reasons why. (Warning: slight Blues and Bullets spoilers ahead.) There are not enough noir games First things first: noir is a rarity in games (we’ve…

Physical Boxes For Your Digital Steam Games

Steam games are digital. They exist entirely on your PC or servers. But they don’t always have to. Steam Game Covers is a site dedicated to the creation and hosting of templates people can use to make their own physical cases for Steam games. Just back up your game on a disc, print out a…

Here Is A Thing That Happens In The New Tales From The Borderlands Episode

Yesterday I talked about a very heavy moment in the latest Tales from the Borderlands episode. Today, I bring you a polka-dotted clown hanky to dry your tears. (Warning: Tales from the Borderlands episode four spoilers ahead.) The latest episode is uniformly excellent, juggling drama and comedy in almost equal measure. A few pacing issues…

The New Tales From The Borderlands Episode Has A Major Shocker

Wow, I can’t say I was expecting that. Even if you’re just a fan of Borderlands—not Tales from the Borderlands, specifically—this is a big one. (Warning: big spoilers for Tales from the Borderlands episode four ahead.) A new Tales from the Borderlands episode came out today, and it kicks off with one hell of a…

Why Star Citizen Is Taking So Long

On September 17, 2013, Star Citizen director Chris Roberts wrote a public letter in celebration of a milestone achievement: He and his team had raised a whopping $19 million from fans, significantly more than any other crowdfunding project in history. Roberts, best known as the designer of Wing Commander and a pioneer of the space-sim…

Probably Don’t Rent An Apartment Full Of Counter-Strike Dudes

Just a hunch. YouTuber GoldVision—best known for his Grand Theft Pacifist series—started his own (fake) ad agency. In this video, he attempts to sell you an (also fake) apartment in Counter-Strike. Note: if you have any recurring pest problems—say, roaches, rats, or terrorists—the landlord probably won’t be able to help. On a semi-related note, the…

It Sucks That The Witcher 3 Isn’t Getting Better Mod Tools

The Witcher 3 finally has official tools that modders can use to make cool shit from now until the end of time. There’s just one problem: they could be a lot better. Don’t get me wrong: the new tools—released by Witcher developer CD Projekt—are better than nothing. And even with nothing, modders managed to unlock…

Steam Snapshots: Energy Hook, Ubermosh, Sky Rogue

Every week, I play a lot of Steam games. Here’s what I think of a few I didn’t get around to writing up. Energy Hook I was really hoping I’d like this one more. It’s a game about swinging and soaring from the person who designed the web-slinging stuff in PS2/Xbox/Gamecube Movie Game That Was…

Wonky Pigeon Sure Is A Game About A Pigeon That Poops On People

I mean, I’m not really sure what else I was expecting. Let me set the scene for you: It was a Friday afternoon much like this one, largely because it was this one. I had just finished taking a ClickHole quiz entitled “Can You Match The Pigeons To The Way They’re Ruining My Whole Life?”…

Iron Maiden made a video-game-themed music video, and it’s surprisingly not horrible! I’m a big fan of the band’s older stuff, but I haven’t kept up with their more recent material. This video—littered with clever throwbacks for gamers and Maiden fans alike—has me convinced that I should rectify that mistake.

Are you part of a Steam group that’s doing something cool, ambitious, or unique? Tell me! I’m looking to highlight communities on Steam doing cool shit (kinda like this, though any game or feature can be involved), and I’d love to hear what you’re up to. Feel free to comment or mail me at [email protected]

Illuminascii Is A First-Person Shooter Made Of Text

Illuminascii definitely doesn’t look like other first-person shooters. Let’s start with a GIF. Look at me kicking down that door! Isn’t that cool? I wish more of Illuminascii felt that good. I’ve been playing the new Steam roguelike FPS for about an hour, and I really wish it was doing more for me. I mean,…

Sentris, a game that lets you create music, is out of Early Access. Developed by my friend (and fellow music enthusiast) Samantha Kalman, the game’s puzzles task you with completing songs as you see fit. It’s refreshingly simple despite being kinda tough to describe. Read my thoughts on the Early Access version

The most viewed gaming video on YouTube is… a compilation of Cars 2 gameplay. There’s no amusing commentary or anything. Somehow, this video racked up 120 million views. Eurogamer’s story on how, why, and what’s happening now is an excellent read.

I’m Liking The New Spider Game, Even Though I Hate Spiders

I hate spiders, and I hate it when games collect my real-world information. Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon should be my nightmare, but it somehow made me enjoy both those things. Spiders are icky. They have too many legs and weird eyes and they don’t meow or bleet or moo or anything to make…

Block’hood‘s Futuristic Cities Look Damn Cool

The latest SimCity was a total mess. It did have a few good ideas, though. Now one of them is getting its own game. Block’hood is a game about building vertical cities, something SimCity experimented with in its Cities of Tomorrow expansion. Vertical cities are seen by some as a solution to real-world population and…

A Game About Begging For Your Life

Someone’s about to kill you. What do you say to make them change their mind? There’s not a whole lot going on in free game Iron Sunset, but what’s there is fascinating. Initially, the setup is simple: as part of a military outfit (that’s apparently severely underfunded), you have only a single bullet to use…

Valve Offers Unconditional Refunds On Sketchy Steam Game

Journey of the Light was billed as “one of the hardest games on Steam.” Turns out, its first level was unbeatable and the rest were nowhere to be found. The purposefully obtuse puzzler has been available for purchase on Steam since May. Players—lured in by the promise of a challenge that’d leave their brains looking…

Star Citizen Shows New Demos, Some Cool, Some Not

Today Chris Roberts showed off three portions of his space game to be/end all space games, Star Citizen. Portions of the demo were definitely impressive, but the game’s still got a ways to go. You can view the entire obscenely lengthy presentation—complete with a cosplay showcase and a raffle to win Chris Roberts’ jacket for…

Steam’s Latest Hit Lets You Explore Space, Land On Planets

Steam-style survival with traces of No Man’s Sky? Interesting! Also, familiar. Empyrion: Galactic Survival is Steam’s latest out-of-nowhere top seller, and while usual complaints—“Ugh, more survival? Really? That’s already my full-time job”—apply, this one’s got an ambitious streak the size of the Milky Way. It’s still in Early Access, but already you can explore planets,…