Impressions

Being Able To Play Mario Maker Online With Friends Makes It Even Better

Last week, Super Mario Maker 2 finally received an update that enabled players to matchmake with friends online, a much-requested feature that was missing when the game launched in June. Over the weekend, I played a few courses with two friends, and it was probably the most fun I’ve had with an online game in…

Indivisible Is Overwhelming In The Best Way

Fifteen hours into Indivisible, the long-awaited action role-playing game from Skullgirls creator Lab Zero, I’m still meeting new playable characters and discovering new ways to explore its gorgeous 2D world. I’m overwhelmed every time I play, and I love it. First announced in 2015, Indivisible is an action RPG that comes out Tuesday for PC,…

Adventure Time Creator’s New Card Game Has The Same Appeal As The Show

Card of Darkness has been my go-to phone game for about a week. It’s a tricky little card game, where you pick up cards from a board to fight monsters and traverse through dungeons. While I love the game, what also keeps me coming back are memories of Adventure Time Card of Darkness was made…

The Diversity In 80 Days Shocked Me, In A Good Way

80 Days, a game based on Jules Verne’s novel Around The World In 80 Days, is now available on Switch. Revisiting the game has allowed me to see myself and my culture in ways that aren’t always visible to me in video games. I am mixed race, with an Indian mother and a black father.…

This Week’s Borderlands 3 Event Isn’t Worth The Time

We’re currently in the midst of a week-long Borderlands 3 event, during which players can expect bosses to drop specific legendary loot with greater frequency. As someone still looking for a decent class mod, this was an exciting prospect for me, but after spending some time farming the bosses in question, I don’t see myself…

Go Ahead And Do Every ‘Optional’ Tutorial In The Complex New Gundam Battle Game

Bandai Namco’s free-to-play PlayStation 4 mech combat game Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2 came out in North America yesterday. It features fast-paced multiplayer battles on land and in space that players will surely fail at unless they complete every optional tutorial and put in some time in the game’s practice area. I learned this…

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Is Full Of Mysteries That Will Kick Your Ass

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is a lot to take in. In one fell swoop, the expansion resets player progression, institutes a new seasonal model for live events, and adds a wealth of new content. It’s going to take some time to get a grasp of the scope of things. Online, ever-changing games like this are less…

Days Gone’s Free DLC Is A Refreshingly Goofy Arcade

Over the course of the summer, Days Gone developer Bend Studios has been adding a series of arcade-style challenges to last Spring’s zombie survival game. All of these updates have been free. Now that they’re all collected, they make for a really fun set of standalone activities with a couple of great surprises tucked in.…

Playing Ori And The Blind Forest On Switch Is A Little Strange But Brings Back Great Memories

It’s weird seeing the Microsoft Studios logo appear on the screen as I load a game on a Nintendo console. It’s also odd to have see my Xbox Live avatar and Gamertag displayed on my Switch screen. Everything else about about playing Ori and the Blind Forest on the Switch is pretty much perfect. Moon…

Five Hours With Ghost Recon Breakpoint

Ghost Recon Breakpoint is here, or is it hiding in that bush over there? Whatever the case, Ubisoft’s latest addition to the Tom Clancy video game canon is here with plenty of loot to find and bases to assault. Breakpoint brings a lot of improvements over 2017’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. Cool character creation, tons of…

Everything You Need To Know About Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3‘s Big Update

Today’s massive update to Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 adds the first four paid downloadable characters to the game, but it’s not just that. The free update that accompanies the Curse of the Vampire expansion also adds a new game mode, ups the level cap to 150, and gives players the ability to spend in-game cash…

I Just Want To Cuddle Every Damn Animal In This Zoo

Planet Zoo, a new PC game from Frontier, the makers of Planet Coaster, is currently in a beta available to players that pre-ordered the deluxe version of the game. It’s about running a zoo. In order to do that, you have to build enclosures, outfit habitats with the proper flora for the species—species from the…

Mario Maker Level Lets You Compose Music And Play It Back

Some of the best creations in Super Mario Maker 2 often have extremely little to do with the experience of playing a Mario level. Consider the level “Music Maker – write a tune” by user knil (ID: 4MW-PJW-3JF). It isn’t a Mario course at all, but a really clever player piano of sorts that you…

Shenmue 3‘s Demo Is 1999 In A Bottle

Those who backed Shenmue III on Kickstarter, including me, finally got a taste of the upcoming adventure game this week with a “trial version.” While it’s limited, it definitely feels like old-school Shenmue: Stiff and stilted, but charming and detailed. I’m a longtime Shenmue fan. I was there when Yu Suzuki’s landmark adventure game series…

Planet Zoo is currently in a public beta for players who pre-ordered the deluxe edition of the game, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Here’s a shot of an elusive swimming warthog—I’ll have more coverage very soon.

New Streaming Mic Displays Emoticons, Because Why Not

A large percentage of on-camera streamers share the screen with microphones that do nothing but sit there and capture sound. Razer’s new Seiren Emote, announced today at TwitchCon, comes with a built-in 8-bit emoticon display that can link to Twitch and react dynamically to subscriptions, follows, and chat messages. Using Razer’s Streamer Companion App in…

Pinball Wizard Is The Perfect Game To Play On A Commute

Pinball Wizard, a new pinball game for Apple Arcade starring an actual wizard, has all the elements of a great subway game: It’s easy to learn, challenging as you keep going, and it doesn’t always need all of your attention. Pinball Wizard is basically pinball, but with spells. Your wizard is the ball, and you…

Code Vein‘s Character Creation Has All The Options

There are nearly 500 eyebrow options in Code Vein’s character creator. There is a lot of every option in the robust character creation toolset of Bandai Namco’s post-apocalyptic vampire adventure. Players begin by choosing a gender, one of the creator’s simplest options. From there, they can choose between 32 different premade characters. These serve as…

Mario Kart Tour’s Microtransactions Feel Gross In A Post-Apple Arcade World

Mario Kart Tour is a fine racing game. The graphics are lovely. The simple touch controls are fine once you get used to them. It’s overflowing with colorful Nintendo brand polish. Mario Kart Tour is also a free-to-play game with a microtransaction-fueled gacha collection mechanic and game options and rewards locked behind a paid monthly…

Three Hours With The Last Of Us Part II

I emerged from my three-hour The Last of Us Part II demo session tense and anxious, a coiled fire hose of pent-up adrenaline. I’d just piloted a now-19-year-old Ellie through peril after peril, amassing a grisly body count along the way. Few of those kills were clean. Many were desperate knife flurries, death by a…