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OpinionImpressionsPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team‘s Storybook Switch Makeover Is Enchanting
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team Blue for the Nintendo DS and Red for the Game Boy Advance looked good enough on their respective systems, but the upcoming Switch version, with its adorable hand-drawn art style, is downright delightful. Spike Chunsoft’s Mystery Dungeon series is all about roguelike dungeon crawling. The games’ heroes, be they Dragon…
By Mike Fahey Published January 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsI Can’t Wait To Fight Pokémon Shield‘s Nerdy New Psychic-Type Rival
The upcoming Pokémon Sword and Shield DLC, The Isle of Armor, will feature two new rivals exclusive to each of the games. Sword will get Klara, who specializes in poison type Pokémon, while Shield will get Avery, a Psychic-type gym trainer. I have Shield, and while Klara is demonstrably cuter than Avery, I can’t wait…
By Gita Jackson Published January 10, 2020 -
OpinionApocalypse Now, And Again, And Again
In video games, I have watched the world end countless times. I have also seen what comes after. Right now, I feel like I am going to die all the time. It’s not just depression: when I look at the news, I also feel like death is imminent. In the past week, the United States…
By Gita Jackson Published January 9, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThor’s Avengers Game Comic Book Is A Fresh Take On A Classic Brawl
Last month’s Marvel Avengers: Iron Man comic established the Avengers in Square Enix’ upcoming video game as a superhero team rife with internal tension. In Marvel Avengers: Thor #1, out this week, Thor’s trickster brother Loki amplifies that tension into all-out brawl between two of Earth’s mightiest heroes. It feels more like a classic reprint…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2020 -
OpinionLost Ember Lets You Play As Loads Of Animals, Like Wombats And Hummingbirds
At this point “Charming Game Where You Play As An Animal” has become something of an indie game staple, but there’s a good reason for it. In many of these games, you can see the world from a fresh perspective and immerse yourself in nature. Lost Ember capitalizes on these strengths, giving players a mysterious…
By Heather Alexandra Published January 6, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe First Witcher Game Has Not Aged Well
2007’s The Witcher is a fascinating but flawed artifact from PC gaming’s past and that’s probably where it should stay. I returned to the first video game entry in the popular fantasy series over the recent holiday break because, like a lot of other people, I’d just finished Netflix’s Witcher TV show and wanted to…
By Ethan Gach Published January 6, 2020 -
OpinionStar Wars Games Don’t Always Need To Include Jedi
Star Wars is a large universe with thousands of characters, planets, ships, and aliens. And yet, again and again, most Star Wars games seem to focus on or include one part of the franchise. The Jedi. Those wild space monks with lightsabers and force powers. I love a good Jedi game as much as any…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 5, 2020 -
OpinionDestiny 2‘s Eververse Store Is Getting Out Of Hand
One of the quintessential Destiny experiences is logging onto the game, dropping into a familiar activity and encountering a stranger who looks badass. Maybe they bailed you out of a tough fight, or out-gunned you in a Crucible match, or just have armor that looks light years better than what you’re wearing. You click over…
By Ethan Gach Published January 3, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsMelancholy Music Game Deemo Is More Heartbreaking In 3D
Released in 2013 for mobile devices and ported to the Vita and Switch in 2017, Deemo is a simple piano-based rhythm game with a truly heartbreaking story. I’ve played the original version on several different platforms, and it crushes me every time. For Deemo Reborn on the PlayStation 4, developer Rayark transformed the game into…
By Mike Fahey Published January 3, 2020 -
OpinionWho Even Wants An Uncharted Movie?
I love the Uncharted games. I’ve played through all of them at least a few times. I’m currently looking to buy a PS Vita just to play through Uncharted Golden Abyss again. Yet, I have nearly zero interest in an Uncharted film. And I don’t think I’m alone. Even if millions upon millions of people…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 1, 2020 -
OpinionFight, Magic, Item: The Comfort Of Simple RPGs
The last two games I played on my Switch were the original Dragon Quest and Breath of Fire, two early examples of the Japanese role-playing game. Today, they might seem overly simplistic: grind for levels, brute-force through a boss, repeat. These two games are, if anything, even more simplistic than their peers. And right now,…
By Chris Kohler Published December 30, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Sims 4 Unexpectedly Captures The Best Part Of New Year’s Eve
I have a fondness for New Year’s Eve that I find hard to explain. When I drank, the appeal was absolutely the drinking, which makes sense. After experiencing my first non-drinking New Year’s Eve last December, though, I realized there’s something more to the night before the calendar rolls over than just partying. It’s about…
By Gita Jackson Published December 30, 2019 -
OpinionEvery Game Should Let You Skip To The Side Quests
During my holiday travels, I’ve been messing around with the Switch port of The Witcher 3, partly out of morbid curiosity and partly because I’ve never actually played its two expansions. Much like the Complete Editions on other platforms, the Switcher lets you jump straight to the DLC by generating a save in which the…
By Joshua Rivera Published December 27, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsMy Boyfriend Keeps Pranking Me With The Theme From Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
There is no greater pleasure than owning one’s significant other. Here’s how Assassin’s Creed Odyssey helped me do that this holiday season. My dad, an extremely normal guy, got himself an Echo Show this Christmas. Last night as my Jewish boyfriend and I were making latkes, we started fooling around with it—mostly screaming at it…
By Gita Jackson Published December 27, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsThe X-Men Update Adds Friendly Competition To Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
Rise of the Phoenix, the second installment of paid downloadable content for Switch exclusive Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, is now live. The level cap has been upped to 200; Iceman, Phoenix, Cable, and Gambit join the fray; and the new Danger Room mode gives players a cool new way to team up and compete. As…
By Mike Fahey Published December 23, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsGet Kills Or Go Kaboom In Modern Warfare’s New ‘Cranked’ Mode
Modern Warfare’s newest mode is a return to the fast-paced, addictive multiplayer we expect from Call of Duty. It forces players to move around for kills, or else go kaboom. This week’s update for Modern Warfare added new Special Operation missions and more multiplayer maps, but the new mode, called Cranked, was by far the…
By S.E. Doster Published December 20, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsLego’s New Apple Arcade Game Is A Quiet, Thoughtful Puzzler
Lego Builder’s Journey, out today on Apple Arcade, is a far cry from the usual lighthearted and playful Lego video games. It’s a quiet, thoughtful puzzle game that wordlessly tells the tale of a father and son discovering the importance of play. It’s an incredibly nuanced toy commercial that hits me right in the dad…
By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsBorderlands 3‘s First Major Expansion Reminds Me How Much I Missed Handsome Jack
Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, the first of four major DLC expansions planned for Borderlands 3, is an odd duck with regard to the way it’s made me reconsider the game’s main campaign. While I very much enjoyed Borderlands 3 and believe this is a fun and necessary continuation of its looter-shooter adventure, the…
By Ian Walker Published December 20, 2019 -
OpinionHow I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Spoilers
Pop culture moves at lightning speeds thanks to the internet. We are able to discuss whatever we see as soon as we see it. There are no secrets on the internet. Walk around the block and you might stumble into all kinds of information. For movies and games, that means spoilers. Those dreaded plot point…
By Heather Alexandra Published December 19, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsNo Man’s Sky Now Lets Players Make Music And It’s Wild
No Man’s Sky players have been using the newly added ByteBeat machine to make their own tunes, some of which truly whip ass. Who knew what No Man’s Sky needed to get people’s creative juices flowing was a sophisticated synthesizer? The ByteBeat machine is a fun little holiday present from Hello Games to No Man’s…
By Gita Jackson Published December 19, 2019