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OpinionImpressionsA Trippy Game Where You Solve Puzzles With Perspective
I don’t do drugs, so I’m not about to make any bold proclamations about the mind-altering properties of Infini, a new puzzle game out tomorrow on Steam from developer Barnaque. But the game is grotesque, thoughtful, overwhelming, and altogether trippier than any other game I’ve experienced. Infini tells the story of Hope, a being lost…
By Ian Walker Published March 3, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsKnuckle Sandwich Is An RPG That’s Like EarthBound Meets WarioWare
In Knuckle Sandwich, I stumble into a restaurant and the next thing I know my boss is barking at me to bring customers their burgers. A minute later, after barely passing a customer satisfaction survey, I get jumped in the alleyway while taking out the garbage by a green guy in a leather jacket. A…
By Ethan Gach Published March 3, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsGame Jam Combines Fishing And Horror Genres To Great Effect
Video game curators Horror You Haven’t Played recently tasked the independent development community on itch.io to create horror games with fishing as the unifying theme. This call to action produced seven games of varying lengths and styles, all of which do an excellent job of adding a sinister edge to life below the waterline. Fishing…
By Ian Walker Published March 2, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsBroken Lines Is A Tactical Breath Of Fresh Air
You think you’ve played one turn-based tactics game you’re played them all. Then along comes Broken Lines to remind us all that, hey, there are more ways to put a group of units into combat that simply lining up to take turns. Set in an alternate, BPRD-meets-Dirty–Dozen take on the Second World War, Broken Lines…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2020 -
OpinionImpressions3 Hours With Final Fantasy VII Remake: Thrilling, But Jarring
If you’ve played Final Fantasy VII, you’re probably familiar with the Air Buster, a floating robot who resembles a vacuum cleaner. Air Buster, the game’s second boss, takes roughly two minutes to kill. He’s more of a tutorial on enemy weak points than a genuine threat (hint: use the Bolt spell). So it’s more than…
By Jason Schreier Published March 2, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsOverwatch‘s New Experimental Card Turns Tanks Into Powerhouses
It’s a longtime dream of mine to be extremely large and basically unkillable. I’ve yet to accomplish my goal in real life, but I will—mark my words. Until then, I’ve at least got Overwatch’s new experimental card, which turns tanks into nigh-unstoppable meat walls, to help me imagine a better world. The experimental card, which…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 28, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsCrossy Road Castle Is Out For Apple Arcade, And It Is Splendid
I guess we finally know what Crossy Road’s blocky little animals were trying to get. Hipster Whale, the developers behind the most compelling road-crossing game since Frogger, have turned their technicolor talent toward multiplayer platforming in Crossy Road Castle, out now for Apple Arcade. Crossy Road Castle is not at all what I was expecting…
By Mike Fahey Published February 28, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsNew Modern Warfare Mode Offers Large-Scale Battles With No Pesky Tanks
New limited-time modes are giving players more options for large-scale warfare in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The February 25 update for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC game brings the new “Bazaar” Gunfight map, new cosmetics for purchase, and the usual host of general tweaks. But the most notable additions are the new…
By S.E. Doster Published February 26, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Latest Lego Game Is A Star Wars: Galaxy Of Heroes Clone, And That’s Fine
Released on iOS and Android in 2015, EA’s Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is a role-playing game in which players collect Star Wars characters, form teams, and fight in short but satisfying turn-based battles. Lego Legacy: Heroes Unboxed, launching this Thursday for iOS, Android, and Windows, is the same thing, only we’re collecting Lego minifigures.…
By Mike Fahey Published February 25, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsNew Checkpoints Make The Mega Man Zero Legacy Collection Worth It
The excellent Mega Man Zero and ZX games have always been trapped in the shadows of their more popular Mega Man and Mega Man X predecessors, but thanks to Capcom’s latest collection, the unique side-scrolling run-and-gun platformers finally get their due. Out tomorrow on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC, the Mega Man Zero/ZX…
By Ethan Gach Published February 24, 2020 -
OpinionA Short Game In A Tiny Cave Can Feel Like A Whole World
Stories often have strength because we fill in the gaps. Whenever there’s ambiguity, there’s a chance to speculate and create meaning. Some of the most successful games understand this—Shadow of the Colossus isn’t just impressive for its giant monsters, but also for a story where nothing is entirely explained. Stories and Smoke operates on the…
By Heather Alexandra Published February 21, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsOf Course They Named The Third Chopin Rhythm Game Fred3ric
I love eighteenth century composer Frederic Chopin. I love video games. I really love video games featuring Frederic Chopin. With the release of Fred3ric, available now on the Nintendo Switch eShop, Forever Entertainment cements its position as the world’s most prolific producer of Chopin video games. They’ve made three of them, beating out both Bandai…
By Mike Fahey Published February 21, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe New Batman: The Animated Series Board Game Is A Big Box Of Bat Action
While DC handles Batman’s comic book adventures, the folks at IDW Games are in charge of turning the caped crusader’s animated adventures into tabletop crimefighting (or crime doing) for one to five players. There is a whole lot going on inside the box of Batman: The Animated Series—Shadow of the Bat Packed with miniatures, cards,…
By Mike Fahey Published February 21, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsDeath Is Like A Hurricane Here In Darksburg
There’s a sinking feeling I get every time my team in Darksburg gets surrounded by purple-tinted goth zombies. Waves of them break against us, driven back by our attacks, only to reform and come at us again. Surely this is the last one, I think, only to find our party of four overwhelmed once again…
By Ethan Gach Published February 20, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsOld-School Adventure World Of Horror Is Like Stepping Into A Junji Ito Manga
My flashlight casts a trembling light on the dark, dingy school bathroom. My head throbs from concussion, my face stitched up and heavily bandaged. I wonder if anything will be left of my hometown when the riots and thunderstorms give way to tomorrow’s sunrise. The Old Gods are stirring, and the secret to stopping them…
By Ian Walker Published February 19, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsShadowbringers‘ Latest Expansion Ups The Stakes (And Robot Teeth)
Final Fantasy XIV’s current expansion Shadowbringers landed with a bang last July, and it’s been expanding since then with more battles and intrigue. Those additions have come in pieces: a string of raid monsters here, a cross-over collaboration with Nier Automata there. The early additions were enjoyable, but the story took time to move its…
By Heather Alexandra Published February 18, 2020 -
OpinionImpressions5 Reasons Vanquish Hero Sam Gideon Is Still The Greatest
Today Sega releases the Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle bringing two of Platinum Games’ best to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with support for 4K at 60 frames per second. Both games look and play beautifully, but sequel-having Smash Bros. fighter Bayonetta has gotten enough attention. It’s smoking-and-sliding Vanquish star Sam Gideon’s time…
By Mike Fahey Published February 18, 2020 -
Opinion‘Sam’s Story’ Sends Metro Exodus Off With A Bang And A Harmonica
“Sam’s Story,” the second of two planned DLC episodes for Metro Exodus, lets you do this thing where, if you come across select chairs dotting its rotting landscape, you can sit down and play harmonica. You, as Sam, will just jam over some grimly scenic vista. You can play for as long as you want.…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 18, 2020 -
OpinionI’m Not Sure I Like Snack World But I Keep Playing Anyway
I do not enjoy questing in Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl Gold. It’s boring and repetitive, killing the same creatures on the same maps for underwhelming rewards. And yet I’ve been playing for eight hours and can’t seem to put down my Joy-Cons. What’s keeping me playing? Is it the puns and poop jokes? It’s…
By Mike Fahey Published February 18, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsZombie Army 4 Is Just Another Zombie Game, But It’s A Really Good One
Zombie Army 4 doesn’t reinvent the wheel. If you have played a shooter or a game featuring zombies in the last 5 years, you will have seen almost everything Zombie Army 4 does throughout its story campaign. Big armored zombies, last stand moments against waves of enemies, some RPG mechanics, co-op, special abilities, Nazi zombies,…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 17, 2020