How Beyond: Two Souls Helped Me To Share A Personal Pain

Every David Cage game is an experience, from the eerie Indigo Prophecy to the twisted murder mystery of Heavy Rain and the flawed but ambitious Beyond: Two Souls. Released in 2013 for the PS3, Beyond is an interactive drama action-adventure game about Jodie Holmes (played by Ellen Page) who has supernatural powers. This is largely…

The Quirky Voyage of StarTropics

The journey of StarTropics was as varied as it was challenging, taking players from the tropical islands of the Coral Sea to the spaceship of an alien conqueror. In many ways, the game is what you’d get if there was an 8-bit version of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker fused together with Indiana Jones,…

Life Is Strange’s Literary References Give Deeper Meaning To Its Journey

Gamers often talk about the convergence of film and games. But in Life Is Strange, some of my favorite moments are the literary allusions because they make the world feel richer and more authentic. That starts with Max’s last name, Caulfield, which is a reference to Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, the…

Gunstar Heroes Is An Exhilarating Ride That Never Lets Up

Gunstar Heroes is side-scrolling shooting sublimated, chaos synchronized into a bullet symphony that makes the game feel very addictive. Created by Treasure, a cove of ex-Konami developers who wanted to develop unique games and follow the philosophy of “anything goes,” Heroes covers the adventures of the Gunstars as they fight against an evil organization that…

Persona 5‘s Real World Is Scarier Than The Metaverse

In Persona 3 and 4, reality outside of the world of shadows was high school life, social links, and excursions that, for the most part, were enjoyable and light-hearted. In Persona 5, every day life is bleak. Warning, spoilers abound. High School Blues From the opening, the main protagonist is threatened, talked down to, and…

A Goat Made Me Cry In Terranigma

There are many scenes in Terranigma that challenged my notions of morality and how even our well-intentioned decisions can impact a society in ways we couldn’t imagine. It’s arguably one of the most compelling JRPGs ever developed because of those ambiguities, standing as the finale in the Quintet trilogy that includes Soulblazer and Illusion of…

Ghost In The Shell Goes VR Multiplayer In Tokyo 

VR Zone Shinjuku, Namco Bandai’s virtual reality arcade in Tokyo, is getting a four-on-four Ghost in the Shell team-based multiplayer shooter. Dubbed Ghost in the Shell Arise: Stealth Hounds, the game straps a PC on players’ backs and outfits them with VR markers, VR googles and an arcade gun. Battles go down in a dedicated…

Ash From Pokémon Sets A New Strength Record 

Earlier in the new Pokémon TV anime series, Pokémon: Sun Moon, Ash was shown as a wimp. He’s always been superhuman strong, so this depiction was a break from tradition. Good news! The most recent episode is a return to form. Herculean Ash is back and stronger than ever. Over the years, the Pokémon anime…

Cabugao Sunset. Ilocos Sur, Philippines. By Martin Tan. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

A Little Adventure

Jon Juarez is a freelance artist and illustrator from Spain. You can see more of Jon’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page. You can also buy prints of some of his pieces at his online store To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner.…

AI Is Learning How To Build Its Own Video Game Worlds

A team of researchers from the University of Lyon, Purdue and Ubisoft have published a paper showing what may well be the future of creating video game worlds: an AI that is able to construct most of its own 3D landscapes. Similar to Nvidia’s work that is able to conjure its own celebrity mugshots, the…

Guy Builds Robot To Grind (Badly) For Battlefront II Loot Boxes

There are two ways to unlock stuff in Battlefront II. You could pay for it, which sucks, or you could build a sense of pride and accomplishment by constructing a robot to grind progression for you. Lowberg has opted for the latter, whipping up this cute lil’ joke robot that obviously can’t play the game…

Super Massive Galaxy In Super Mario Galaxy 2 Is A Loving Tribute To Super Mario Brothers 3‘s Giant Land

Super Mario Galaxy 2’s gameplay is superb, having some of the most creative level design I’ve experienced. Discovering the new rules and parameters of each galaxy is a joy. Yoshi is back. There’s a variety of suits that are available like the Cloud Mario and Rock Suit that mix up the control scheme and the…

Earthbound Let Players Fight An Evil Cult Obsessed With Making The World Blue

When gamers talk about Earthbound, it’s usually about the quirky nature of the game and how it’s a refreshingly unique take on the JRPG. It definitely exudes charm in its eclectic interpretation of American culture from the vision of writer and director, Shigesato Itoi. But there’s one scene that resonates with me and made Earthbound…

Vagrant Story Is A Brutally Original JRPG

The PS1 had some of the most innovative JRPGs ever developed. Vagrant Story was at the top of its class. Directed and written by Yasumi Matsuno, it’s a role playing game that defied categorization, mixing genres while telling a complex story that blended seamlessly with the gameplay and art style. It’s by far the darkest…

My Strange Conversations With Seaman

It was midnight and I was alone in my room, talking with the Seaman on my Dreamcast. Seaman was asking about my love life and I felt embarrassed to admit I didn’t have one (this was many years ago before I was married). Seaman wondered, “Ok, I want to ask you something. This one is…

Child Of Light Is A Love Letter To Fables And JRPGs

Child of Light is a beautiful game and a mesmerizing experience that crafts a perfect fusion between RPGs and platforming. In many ways, it encapsulates what I love most about JRPGs, which are wondrous worlds with engrossing mechanics and a charming cast. On top of that, the art is sublime as the hand-painted environments and character…

Gifts For The Overly Competitive Player

We all love to compete, but as the generation that grew up on Quake and Brood War gets older, we’re not as keen on energy drinks and pop rocks anymore. Joints can ache after an hour’s worth of play, and quality-of-life improvements are a bigger deal than a mild video card increase or another headset.…