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OpinionImpressionsIn Observation, You Play A Computer That Might Be Losing Its Damn Mind
In most science fiction stories, artificial intelligence is bad news. With the familiar beats of Greek tragedy, AI is almost always destined to bring ruin to those with the hubris to create it. So how would it feel if you were the AI, and it was your job to keep a human safe—even while something…
By Joshua Rivera Published May 21, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsPersona Q2 Has Me In An Extremely Fun Feedback Loop
Persona Q, a 2014 turn-based role-playing game for the 3DS, put Persona 3 and 4 characters into an extended “what-if” scenario where they had to band together and navigate gigantic labyrinths to escape an abandoned high school. It’s easily one of my favorite 3DS games, so you can imagine I was pretty hype for Persona…
By Natalie Degraffinried Published May 21, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsDruidstone Is A Worthwhile Tactics-Based Follow-Up To Legend Of Grimrock 2
Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest is pretty to look at, interesting to solve, and absolutely ruthless whenever you get things wrong. Drenched in classic fantasy and tabletop role-playing game mechanics, it’s part of a new breed of tactical role-playing games that leans more on puzzles than numbers. The game has you explore the…
By Ethan Gach Published May 20, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsPokémon Rumble Rush Is As Basic As Pocket Monster Battling Gets
The mobile game formerly known as Pokéland and now called Pokémon Rumble Rush is out today for Australian Google Play users. While the rest of the world waits for the latest mobile Pokémon game to come their way, we nipped off to Aussie Android land to give it a go. It’s pretty simple free-to-play fare.…
By Mike Fahey Published May 15, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsSniper Elite V2 Doesn’t Hold Up, Even In Pretty Remaster Form
Boy do I love Sniper Elite 4. Those beautiful, wide-open environments, spending a couple hours carefully navigating a map in order to make the most kills while alerting as few enemies as possible, enemy soldiers reacting more realistically than ever—it’s so good. But going back to play Sniper Elite V2—even a lovely, remastered version—is a…
By Mike Fahey Published May 14, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsRacing Game’s Free Update Lets You Swap Wheels With Hoverjets
Grip: Combat Racing is a high-speed futuristic racing game featuring vehicles with gigantic tires, capable of driving right side up or upside down on twisting, topsy-turvy tracks. It’s like Wipeout, only with wheels. Or it was. This week’s free “Airblades” update gives players the option to race with wheels or hover engines. It’s the best…
By Mike Fahey Published May 10, 2019 -
OpinionA Witchy Ritual Game That Takes A Full Lunar Cycle To Play
Ritual of the Moon technically takes 28 days to play. The story is broken up into five to ten minute segments; you can play one of these per day. Small decisions stack to create a unique narrative, and each brief moment on the moon holds magic and self-reflection. It’s a tricky experiment, but one I’ve…
By Heather Alexandra Published May 9, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsShakedown: Hawaii Offers A Breezy 16-Bit Farewell To The Vita
There are hundreds of missions in Shakedown: Hawaii, each one of them a bite-sized mashup of arcade violence and dark humor that takes aim at late capitalism. None of the missions overstay their welcome, but also, they don’t culminate into anything more rewarding than the experience of just driving around the game’s bright, lurid streets…
By Ethan Gach Published May 7, 2019 -
OpinionNew Detective Game Has You Edit Your Computer’s Files To Solve Puzzles
In the new indie game File://maniac, there’s a killer on the loose. Your job is to hunt them down. But instead of sneaking through dialog trees or picking up clues, you’re opening folders and deleting files on your PC. File://maniac, which came out last weekend for PC, Mac, and Linux, was created by Italian developers…
By Heather Alexandra Published May 3, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsMordhau Is A Clunky Game For Swordplay Nerds That I Can’t Put Down
Mordhau is a medieval multiplayer fighter named after a German sword technique from the Renaissance era in which knights hold their weapons by the blade and try to bash their opponents heads in using the pommel. Like its namesake, Mordhau is slow, awkward, and bloody, but for some reason, I want to keep playing. To…
By Ethan Gach Published April 30, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsThe New Magic: The Gathering Expansion Makes Every Match More Spectacular
War Of The Spark, Magic: The Gathering’s latest expansion, is available one week early in Magic: The Gathering Arena, the card game’s digital version. It’s already shaping up to be one of the more memorable climaxes in the game’s recent history. Narratively, War Of The Spark couldn’t have arrived at a more opportune cultural moment.…
By Ethan Gach Published April 29, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Switch Version Of Mortal Kombat 11 Has Its Ups And Downs
The Switch port of Mortal Kombat 11 plays like a champ but looks like jaggy ass. It’s pleasingly portable but incredibly finicky about its internet connection. I want the Switch version to be my go-to, but it keeps pushing me away. As noted in my Mortal Kombat 11 review, I spent most of my time…
By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsPagan Online Mixes Diablo-Style Loot With Arcade Combat
What surprised me most about Pagan Online, a new action role-playing game that launched on Steam Early Access last week, was how meaty the moment-to-moment fighting felt. When I launched an attack and connected with a wave of enemies, it really felt like I was messing up their day. Pagan Online is a collaboration between…
By Ethan Gach Published April 25, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsMortal Kombat 11’s Tutorial Is An Excellent Intro To High-Level Play
Everybody knows how punching and kicking work, but do you know what Frame Advantage is? How about how to perform a Frame Trap? If you get knocked down, do you know which defensive “Getup” moves to use to counter your opponent’s likely follow-up attack? Work your way through Mortal Kombat 11’s exhaustive tutorials and you’ll…
By Mike Fahey Published April 22, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsA Newcomer’s Take On Disney World
Until this past month, I had never been to Disney World, nor any major theme park. I went to Six Flags as a young child, but I barely remember it. Going to Disney World for the first time as an adult, I can’t experience it from the perspective of a child who has the capacity…
By Maddy Myers Published April 22, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsMortal Kombat 11 Has A Great Story Mode
Thanks to the temporal manipulations of a powerful new foe, past and present versions of iconic heroes and villains collide in Mortal Kombat 11’s story mode. It’s easily the most entertaining tale the series has ever told, and it leaves the future of the franchise open to exciting possibilities. When we last left our heroes…
By Mike Fahey Published April 22, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsGod’s Trigger Is A Hotline Miami-Style Shooter That’s Better With A Buddy
A demon and an angel need to kill lots of people to stop Armageddon. That’s the premise of God’s Trigger, a gory top-down shooter whose slick combat and interesting levels help make it more than just another Hotline Miami wannabe. Out this week on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, God’s Trigger sees you play…
By Ethan Gach Published April 19, 2019 -
OpinionA Game About Meeting Cool Folks On A Hiking Trail
Before I moved to New York, I used to walk in the woods a lot. Sometimes, I’d drive with friends to mountains or parks and explore off the beaten path. A Short Hike, which is available for PC and Mac in this month’s Humble Bundle, captures the playful joy of walking on winding paths and…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 18, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsSmash Ultimate‘s Joker Is A True-To-Form Tightrope Act
The highly anticipated Joker from Persona 5 has finally been added to the roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a platform fighter that’s rapidly reaching Wrestlemania levels of “everybody is here—even, somehow, that guy.” Thankfully, with Joker, Smash Ultimate continues to hit it out of the park with newly designed fighters who continue to be…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published April 18, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsA Bullet Hell Set In Hell That’s Heaven To Play
The first time I saw Hell Is Other Demons was through a lovely gameplay GIF circulating on Twitter. It looked squishy and lo-fi, oozing with thick colors. I hoped the rest of the game would live up to its bold aesthetic. Now Hell Is Other Demons is out, and I can’t stop playing it. Out…
By Ethan Gach Published April 15, 2019