The Best Video Game Concept Art Of 2016

Here, after much deliberation, is a collection of the best concept art from video games released in 2016. This piece was originally published on December 22, 2016. Pretty much every day I run a post for our Fine Art feature, which is about highlighting pieces from artists working in the video game business. That means…

The Japanese Predecessor To E.V.O.: Search for Eden Now Has A Full English Translation

Released in Japan for the PC-98 back in 1990, 46 Okunen Monogatari: The Shinka Ron was a game developed by Almanic Corporation and published by Enix that hasn’t had a complete, playable English translation until now. The project officially completed at the end of last year by 46 OkuMen. It takes the game that would…

Epitasis Looks Like One Of Tycho’s Songs Reimagined In Unreal Engine 4

Epitasis is a new project being worked on by Lucas Govatos. It’s a puzzle exploration game in the mold of Myst that was inspired by the soundscapes of electronic musicians like Tycho. It’s also being made entirely in Unreal Engine 4. The game, whose name is Greek for the main action in a play, grew…

2016, As Told By Steam Reviews

Taken on their own, individual Steam reviews don’t offer a whole lot of value. But taken together, they spin a yarn about a game that’s equal parts fascinating, weird, and occasionally funny. This piece was originally published on December 23, 2016. We semi-regularly round-up the best Steam reviews of the year’s biggest (and/or strangest) games.…

Latest Sci-Fi Art From Simon Stålenhag Captures The Strangeness Of The Road Ahead

More artwork from Simon Stålenhag nails that feeling of driving through familiar landscapes dotted with industrial oddities. We’ve featured Simon’s art here before, a couple times in fact, because it’s just so damn good. The latest book collecting his work, called Things from the Flood, came out last November, and followed up on his which…

The Good, Bad And Ugly Things Snacktaku Ate In 2016

2016 was a year of dazzling heights and dismal lows in the realm of snackology. A year of fast food crossovers, foul cookie combinations, depression day doughnuts and election night tequila. Also we ate a thing that looked a lot like nightmare poop. This piece was originally published on December 22, 2016. Here at Snacktaku…

The Assassin’s Creed Movie Has Some Beautiful Visuals

Surprise, the Assassin’s Creed movie is trash. But it’s not all bad; some of the movie’s effects are quite nice, in particular the Animus’ interface and other shots of computers doing their thing. Work on these visuals was led by Ash Thorpe, who has shared videos and screens of all the stuff he put together…

Couple Meets Online Playing Diablo, Gets Married

Alvin Lau (a Crusader) and Alexis Loo (a Demon Hunter) met online while they were playing Diablo III. Their online friendship blossomed into a romance, and the pair got married last year, celebrating the whole thing with an elaborate Diablo-themed cosplay photo shoot. This wasn’t the big day itself, just a pre-wedding shoot—it’s tough dancing…

The Week In Games: Welcome To 2017 

2016 came and went and now here we are: the first day of a new year, feeling rejuvenated and refreshed, ready to jump into all of 2017’s biggest and most interesting releases which will be coming…eventually. While the first week of the new year isn’t completely devoid of games, the pickings are sparse. And also demonic.…

The Gamers Of The Year, 2016

The people who play video games have an impact on what we play and the gaming culture at large. Since 2012, that premise has informed our annual listingof the Gamers of the Year. This piece originally appeared December 22, 2016. There’s no one achievement that can put someone on the list. Some are champions of…

Nothing says the holiday season like cosplay, Christmas trees and swimsuits. Just ask Holiday Matsuri, held every December in sunny 90-degree Orlando. Videos by GerWalk cosplay and Mineralblu

The Man Who Worked On The Original Game Boy Explains Why Nintendo Created The DS

Satoru Okada, who was General Manager of Nintendo Research & Engineering before he retired in 2012, said in a recent interview with Retro Gamer Magazine that no one on the handheld team liked the idea of the DS when it was first proposed. If some folks had gotten their way, Nintendo would have produced a…

The Best Video Game Music Of 2016

2016 was a great year for video games, and an even better year for video game music. It was also a diverse year, with a mix of Norse folk music, spy movie histrionics, ambient soundscapes and extremely heavy metal. This piece originally appeared December 21, 2016. As with past years (see: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)…

The 100 Steam Games That Made The Most Money In 2016

Today Valve announced the 100 games that have brought in the most revenue on Steam in 2016. The list is quite varied, ranging from top dogs like Grand Theft Auto V and the company’s own Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to more granular games like Stellaris The is the first time that Valve has put together such…